Combination weapon fix for ABP

[aobst128]

I recall a while ago in one of the gun balance threads that combination weapons kind of broke with ABP in the picture since they loose their main benefit of sharing runes. It was suggested that a buff would be appropriate for ABP games but I'm uncertain what exactly. A straight forward one would be to simply bump the die size on either 1 or both modes. I think what was suggested was to put a weapon inventor modification on them too. What else could help them?

[Ascalaphus]

Die size bump does sound like the obvious one. Keeping in mind traditional caps on the dice size of agile and finesse weapons though.

I haven't really looked at the inventor, so having to know about inventor game mechanics as a gunslinger doesn't really thrill me. But that's just my preference.

Another option is to turn switching between melee and range mode into a free action. Because right now, switching between a bow and a sword takes more or less the same amount actions, but before ABP those wouldn't share runes.

You could also mix it; some combination weapons get a dice bump and others get quick mode switching (such as the ones with finesse that couldn't get a dice boost).

[Captain Morgan]

Ascalaphus wrote:

Die size bump does sound like the obvious one. Keeping in mind traditional caps on the dice size of agile and finesse weapons though.

I haven't really looked at the inventor, so having to know about inventor game mechanics as a gunslinger doesn't really thrill me. But that's just my preference.

Another option is to turn switching between melee and range mode into a free action. Because right now, switching between a bow and a sword takes more or less the same amount actions, but before ABP those wouldn't share runes.

You could also mix it; some combination weapons get a dice bump and others get quick mode switching (such as the ones with finesse that couldn't get a dice boost).

With Quick Draw, it often takes less actions to switch between the bow and sword. The advantage the combination weapon has is you don't have to drop the one weapon to draw the other, because occasionally you need to flee and/or don't have time to retrieve your dropped items. But the cost of leaving a weapon behind also matters less in the ABP.

[Ascalaphus]

Yeah that's kinda what I was thinking too. So I think combination weapons are supposed to be a major if not THE option for someone who wants to switch-hit.

Rune-sharing was one way to do it, since keeping two weapons maxed out is costly. But ABP takes that away.

I think I'd run it with:

- Make switching a free action (without trigger, so only during your own turn; you have to choose between threatening AoO if you have it, and Fake Out).

- Go over die sizes and compare to the regular weapons they're related to, and see if an increase is possible. You should still be paying something for the extra flexibility and combination actions/crits.

- But the base die size shouldn't be too low either. Sometimes it might be possible to lose a trait compared to the base weapon, so that there's budget for increasing the die size

- While still respecting that agile/finesse weapons pretty much never go above d6 unless they're Advanced or a monk style.

[aobst128]

Well, my player is going with triggerbrand. The main benefit of touch and go is the ability to reload and switch modes in one action so I don't think I'll change the action economy. Going with the inventor mod idea. They seem happy to have trip on their gunsword. Think any more than that is appropriate?