Two weapon fighting and Staff

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Can a player with 2WF block with a staff in one hand and a One handed weapon in the other?

The rules are only partialy clear.

The rules for combat on pg.94 with the Skill list for Staff and 2WF say no, But the rules for Staff on pg83 under weapon constuction suggest that you can.
 
I would look at the following text:

From the skill description for Two Weapons on Pg. 68
This skill allows the character to hold and use two weapons in combat, one in each hand. Neither weapon can be a two handed weapon,

and one of the weapons must be a Short or Small weapon
.

Staff is listed under the two handed weapon master skill, and the Staff skill itself says you need to keep two hands on the weapon. The weapon length chart labels the Staff as a two handed weapon

I also note that the max length for a spear is 58" and the minimum length of a staff is 60" in the new construction guidelines.

So my reading is that a staff is a two handed weapon, and I see no exception whereby a Staff and short sword combination is allowed. This has come up in chapters I play as well, so I am highly interested.

Joe Siegel
 
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In the second paragragh on 94 it says

"Weapon attacks must be done in a specific
way. If you are holding a weapon in a way that
is not allowed by the skill, you will take the
damage."

and under the staff skill description it says

"This skill allows the character to wield a
staff. Staff use is restricted for safety reasons,
so a player using a staff must keep both hands
gripped within the middle three feet of the staff."


I guess the clerification just needs to be in regards to the section on Staff in the Weapon construction guidlines that states

Staffs may only be handled in the middle
3 feet. This distance should be marked off so it
is easily identifiable. You must have both hands
on the staff to attack, but you may block with
only one hand on the staff, or in conjunction
with a short weapon for the purposes of the Two
Weapons skill. Note that for safety reasons,
padding may be required on the grip section of
the staff depending on how it is designed.
 
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The safety rules are intended for purposes of attacking safely. Using one hand to attack with a staff would result in insufficient control to be generally safe. But using it to block isn't too much different than using a longbow to block.

So yeah, you can totally use a staff in one hand to defend, even if the book could stand to be a little clearer.
 
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So your saying that We should follow the Weapon Constuction Guildlines in the book instead of the Combat guildlines and Skill rules in the book, Draven?
 
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The exception for staff is meant to be similar to the exception for bows (another two-handed weapon that may be used in one hand for blocking, and so used in conjunction with a second weapon).

As you note, to attack with a staff, you need both hands on the weapon as described on page 94. To block, however, as noted in the Skill description, you need only one hand.
 
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So then in conjunction to that does that mean that if some one who is welding a staff and a sword, using the staff to block, and gets hit with a wither spell on his sword arm, able to still still defend himself with a staff in his one hand even though his other hand is incapacitated? such as in the discription of the Two Handed weapons paragragh of on Page 83.

It just seems to me that this Exception to the rule is in the wrong place with in rules of the book, and completely negets the very Text of the Skill it self.

Should I bring this forth to ARC?
 
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So then in conjunction to that does that mean that if some one who is welding a staff and a sword, using the staff to block, and gets hit with a wither spell on his sword arm, able to still still defend himself with a staff in his one hand even though his other hand is incapacitated? such as in the discription of the Two Handed weapons paragragh of on Page 83.

You may still defend with a staff one-handed per the description in ARB v1.2 Page 83:

Staffs may only be handled in the middle
3 feet. This distance should be marked off so it
is easily identifiable. You must have both hands
on the staff to attack, but you may block with
only one hand on the staff,
or in conjunction
with a short weapon for the purposes of the Two
Weapons skill. Note that for safety reasons,
padding may be required on the grip section of
the staff depending on how it is designed.

It just seems to me that this Exception to the rule is in the wrong place with in rules of the book, and completely negets the very Text of the Skill it self.

I wouldn't call it the wrong place, but the rules are very spread out and it would be nice if they were a bit more linear.

Should I bring this forth to ARC?

No need. This old ARC clarification is what created the rule in the book.
 
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Alvatar, I would call it the wrong place when it comes to the exception of the rule. Try and look at from this point:
A new player comes to game and reads the rules. He reads the skill list and figures out how he wants to fight. Then he reads the Combat rules and sees that the rules are very strict due to safty concerns with in the game. Then he finds an Exception to the rules under a section of the rules detailing the standereds of boffer construction, that completely negats two intire skill listings with in the rules and a small portion of the combat rules. Who do you think a new player is going to see it?

I am fine to hear what interprataions come down from others chapters marshalls but it seems to me that its being misinterprated.
 
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How would you resolve the issue? Not asking to be snarky, actually interested. What would be a better way to identify the general rule (two hands on two handed weapons for attacking and blocking) while also denoting the exception (you can block with only one hand on a bow or staff, and as a result, use a second weapon with them)?
 
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The Rules As Written and the Rules As Intended both state, and clearly enough that all Marshals involved in this discussion agree, that you can

1) Use a staff in one hand for defensive purposes

2) Use a small/short weapon in your remaining hand for attacking

3) Attack with a staff as long as you're using both hands to do so.

At this point, and I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but you seem to be arguing that both the Marshals, and ARC for that matter, are wrong, because you don't believe the book is clear enough.
 
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