[Alter Ego] Weapon Skills

[Hereward The Wake]

This back tracking somewhat, but what the heck!
The problem with most games is they don't reflect the realities of training to use weapons. Someone mentioned about training with a style/master, that would give a package of weapon skils that would be learn't. Even in cultures, where there would not be 'Masters' teaching skills, where skills were learn't more as part of the culture one would have a package of skill that would be learn't. Therefore the initial skils to be built on would be part of developing the PC to start with

Now on to developing skills. Speaking as someone who teaches people to use weapons for a living I would make the following points.

Much of a persons ability to adapt to different weapons is down to their apptitude to the skill in the first place. One can train some one to a reasonable skill but if they don't have an aptitude for it, it will be much harder forthem to make the transition into different styles and weapon types. There fore a merchant, who unilike the knight has not been trained to use weapons from boy hood, might become proficient with one weapon, though less so than the knight, but whould find it hard to apapt to a weapon they were not already familiar with, unless they were an exceptional person.

The ability to make a transition between styles and weapons, increases with the base skill, so a person who is highly skilled with a single handed sword with make an easier transition to other single handed weapons. Where the less skill full fighter would be less able to thnk out of the box and make transition.

Again though it comes to how one deals with weapons in the first place. Generally in history, the types encountered in one period are fairly narrow, with the weapons classes staying in fairly tight types. Therefore medieval swords all share fairly similar charecteristics and the transition would be easier than if one were to suddenly through a rapier in to the equation. Though again my argumen is that thee more skill full fighter would immediately use the rapier based upon its design, where as the less skillfull would use it in a fashion based on the style they were previously familiar with.

Just some thoughts
Jonathan