Subdual
Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 9:58 am
Greetings,
The Subdual system has always fascinated me, as it seemed to allow a certain alternative to conflict roleplay other than "Kill => Raise" / "Kill => Bash" , and the few times I used it (very few, like two) It allowed for story to develop beyond the usual swift end it comes to, once you kill someone.
But it is flawed in many ways, thus the rarity of it's usage, I'd like to open a conversation about it, and it's limitations.
1- Why is the game punishing the characters that wish to resolve a hostile situation with "disabling" your foe, with a baffling -4 AB unless they have the most useless feat in the game (Dirty Fighting)? Does it make sense that a character with a weapon focus, and an epic weapon focus for example, or a weapon master with superior weapon focus still suffers to hold back against an opponent despite having a complete mastery over their weapon?
2- Why is the game disallowing characters to use any weapon to resolve a hostile situation with "disabling" your foe? if you wish to subdue someone, it is not completely impossible to do so any weapon. A longsword has a flat side, a katana, scimitar, has a false edge, an axe is heavy and you can just cause a concussion with the blunt side, etc..
As it is right now, you have to resort to fighting with a stick, a club, or a halberd, which already means you suffer a mechanical hold back unless those weapons are your focus, on top of the -4 AB from earlier, rendering you completely impotent in a fight.
Do you believe this system would see more usage if it is more usable, or you believe it to be good as it is?
The Subdual system has always fascinated me, as it seemed to allow a certain alternative to conflict roleplay other than "Kill => Raise" / "Kill => Bash" , and the few times I used it (very few, like two) It allowed for story to develop beyond the usual swift end it comes to, once you kill someone.
But it is flawed in many ways, thus the rarity of it's usage, I'd like to open a conversation about it, and it's limitations.
1- Why is the game punishing the characters that wish to resolve a hostile situation with "disabling" your foe, with a baffling -4 AB unless they have the most useless feat in the game (Dirty Fighting)? Does it make sense that a character with a weapon focus, and an epic weapon focus for example, or a weapon master with superior weapon focus still suffers to hold back against an opponent despite having a complete mastery over their weapon?
2- Why is the game disallowing characters to use any weapon to resolve a hostile situation with "disabling" your foe? if you wish to subdue someone, it is not completely impossible to do so any weapon. A longsword has a flat side, a katana, scimitar, has a false edge, an axe is heavy and you can just cause a concussion with the blunt side, etc..
As it is right now, you have to resort to fighting with a stick, a club, or a halberd, which already means you suffer a mechanical hold back unless those weapons are your focus, on top of the -4 AB from earlier, rendering you completely impotent in a fight.
Do you believe this system would see more usage if it is more usable, or you believe it to be good as it is?