[Atgxtg]

Nightshade,

Well, the point with firaems is that they do come with tradeoffs. It is just those tradeoffs haven't been addressed in BRP much. Mostly becuase, as we've mentioned before, firearms have always been something of an afterthought to the games that have them. Superworld is a suerpheor RPG, Furture Wolrd was a high tech setting, and CoC isn't about gunfights as it is about unspeakable horror.


But other stats would help, and would be useful in a setting where firearms are a major factor in the combat. I could image CON and DRAW being very important stats for an espionage setting.

I'll agree that a lot of RPGs just have people grabbing the biggest damage dooers and marching on. D20 is a prime example. But in most cases that is because those RPGs focus on lots of fighting and tend to deemphasize everything other than damage. For instance in D&D, where characters can have 50-100 hit points, getting in the first shot with a pistol that does 2d6 isn't that important.

Liekse, given the nature of most D20 games, being cvaught with a conceal weapon doesn't come up much.

But in a less combat oriented campaign, it would be important. A pocket pistol that is fairly useless in a battle can be a lifesaver around the card table. Especially if the other people don't know that you've got it.



As for blades. Most of the players I've seen tended to go with the broadsword. Those who didn't mind loosing a shield went with the greatsword. The STR min was rarely an issue. Especially since RQ yets you get around the minimums with a penalty. So most players would take a slight penalty to use the broadsword.

The shortsword was popular with two weapon users, and the bastard sword was probably my personal favorite, although it didn't catch on with most other players.

The scimitar and rapier did get used in my groups. The kurkri never did, as it was a bit to culture specific.

Realsitically if the saber and such got a bonus from horseback, like they should, they'd have gotten more use with mounted characters.



Probably the best way to try and please everybody is to do up the stats, and then take some default weapons to be the standard pistol, rifle etc. That way those who want it have the details, and those who don't have generic weapons.

For instance, in a late western era, where the "Peacemaker" was the most popular pistol it makes sense to have it as the default pistol stats. Ditto for the Winchester rifle. Add in a pocket pistol/derringer, big game rifle, and a shotgun and you got enough for generic weapons.

For those who want the extra details, like a "frontier" instead of a "Peacemaker" to match the ammo of the Winchester, or those who want a Schofield for faster reloading time, it can still be there.