I'm thinking something like 'critical strike'. IT could be akin to backstab in ways like it owuld initiate combat, and do lots of damage right of the bat once practiced, but it is not stealthy and echos to everybody in the same room. I'm sure a 200 day HG warrior could get a pretty kickass hit right away anyway, but I'm thinking something like this.
Noble#1 is sitting at the bar conversing with Noble#2. You draw your sword and plunge it into his neck, killing him instantly, or at least almost. Fails could be the same as backstab, the target whirling around, you missing, but minus the foot scraping ont he floor, cause you are not trying to hdie yourself.
Anyone like this idea? (Be as open as you like negative or positive :wink: )
Warriors don't NEED this.
Heh.
Take it from a learned man of the warrior trade.
It gets ridiculous how good strikes you can get off on people.
there was this one time and bandcamp. I did the following:
Break bottle
Ep bottle
kill bastard with big pecs
You wound the big pecced man with a slash to the neck. (or something)
Warriors already kick much ass on the mud. They don't need to be overpowered.
Dont need it, played a warrior held my own against rangers in just two weeks of play. Trust me, they dont need it.
And if you want that kind of skill, get yourself into a clan and train an assassin up in combat.
Yeah, take it from some one's who's played a pantload of warriors. It doesn't seem neccesary, at least not in its current incarnation.
A 'surprise attack' thing doesn't seem to be too bad an idea, though. But I don't think it should be limited to just warriors. Maybe on a success, you get a few moments of unhindered combat? That is, you get into twice as many attacks as you normally would for the first round, then combat continues as usual?
Meh. Still not really neccesary.
By the way, the scenario you described would probably be best played out with just using the currently-existing backstab skill. Remember, a backstab doesn't have to mean your characters floats in from the rafters, sneaks up from behind, literally stabs the victim's back, then disappears into the night like ze ghost.
A 'critical strike' is, more or less, a backstab- an attack designed to kill or severely injure a person in a single, unexpected strike, and it can just as easily come from the front as the back.
What you're suggesting is already implemented in two ways: backstab, first of all, which is a crtical strike used specifically against an unready enemy, and kill, which is a series of critical strikes used against pretty much anyone. After all, if you're fighting for your life, shouldn't you always be trying to land killing blows?
In your specific example of the noble at the bar (so long as the noble's guards don't get in the way) he doesn't stand much of a chance, anyway. Seated, unarmed people do not fare well against armed, combat-ready killers.
Just consider any grievous wounds, horrendous damage, etc. etc. type things as critical strikes. I really like the contrast between what warriors and assassins are capable of, and this would just make warriors uber assassins with all the combat skills.
I haven't played a 200 day warrior, but I've played a 100 day one.
Given your example (a noble seated in a tavern), I would probably rather have two full attacks with regular weapons than a critical strike based on the damage I could inflict. As others have noted, there's no need for this skill on a warrior, they do enough damage as it is with their other skills.
If you want to play a warrior role, but include this critical strike in your RP, then perhaps choose the assassin class and choose a subguild that helps compliment the other areas of your desired skillset. Warriors train to engage in all manner of regular combat situations, and those skillsets help them against a broader range of situations/foes than other classes. It wouldn't make sense to add such a skill to an already powerful and versatile class.
-LoD