Sword & Shotgun set

[Scarlet Shocker]

I've always wanted to have a kind of Dragoon style set. 

 

For those who don't really know what that means, Dragoons were an early-modern invention; highly mobile lightly armoured troops who could get to a position and then defend it, be that a flank or a fortification or something. They would have early firearms but also swords for close fighting. They are the proto-light mechanized infantry of the day. 

 

That's a very brief overview and in this game I imagine that would be exemplared by a firearm and a melee weapon (often the two were synonymous, historically; once you'd fired your flint/matchlock you would use it as a bludeoning weapon in close quarters combat)

 

I chose Shotgun here because we have many firearms in game but that is not one we already have and gives an interesting range of options. And whilst we have a few bladed weapon options (Dual Blades, Greater Fire Sword) we don't have many single actual blades. And of course, in this game a sword can mean anything from a dagger to a boar hunting sword. 

 

So having thought about this a bit here's kind of where I'm at. I'm completely aware that seeing this in game is very much wishful thinking not least because it would require new animations as well as weapon models and it does blur those distinct melee vs range guidelines that all but VEATS and HEATS break but I hope you like what I've come up with so far. 

 

Sword & Shotgun: 

You wield two weapons, a sword and a shotgun, thus inflicting both smashing and lethal damage on your opponents depending on which weapon you happen to be favouring at any given moment. Very much a 2nd line role you will be supporting your allies with a range of melee and ranged attacks. Because your opponent can never be entirely certain what weapon you will use to attack him, you have a very slight chance to disorient him with every attack. 

 

1. Single Shot: You shoot your gun once at an enemy doing minor smashing damage with a very small chance to knockdown.
2. Slash: You slash at your enemy with your sword, doing some minor lethal damage 
3. Bludgeon: You use your shotgun as a cudgel and bash your enemy in the face with the butt, doing smashing damage with a small chance to disorient
4. Viscious Stab: You stab at your foe trying to gut him, delivering moderate lethal damage.
5. Both Barrels: You let your opponent have both barrels up close and personal giving him serious pause for thought and a good chance for knockdown
6. Thumping Headache: You fire your shotgun at your enemy doing smashing damage and then follow up with a brutal slash causing lethal damage. A successful hit will knock your enemy down and possibly disorient him for a while
7. Boarstrike: You rush to your foe with a sudden fast teleport, your sword stretched out in front of you to impale him with lethal damage. Then you follow up with a bludgeoning strike with your shotgun's butt doing more smashing damage. A successful charge increases your To Hit for your next two attacks and can knock the enemy down
8. Mr Slash Slash Bang Bang: You slash at your enemy and then stab him, dealing a double dose of lethal damage and having done that follow it up with a blast from both barrels of your shotgun, almost certainly knocking him down and disorienting him. All of these attacks do superior damage. 

 

I feel like I've got the bones of it there but I'm sure I've missed some interesting functions out and I know you guys will have plenty of input as well so I'd love to see how you can refine and improve on this

 

 

[Scarlet Shocker]

ugh I realised I've left something out. 

 

Most sword attacks should be ST while the shotgun attacks should be a cone. 

[biostem]

20 minutes ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

ugh I realised I've left something out. 

 

Most sword attacks should be ST while the shotgun attacks should be a cone. 

You can edit a topic by clicking the 3 dots in the upper right of the post.  Either way, why pair shotgun w/ a sword?  Seems like an odd choice.  Personally, I'd rather see a single blade and single pistol set, but it's still an interesting concept...

Edited 10 hours ago by biostem

[Scarlet Shocker]

5 minutes ago, biostem said:

You can edit a topic by clicking the 3 dots in the upper right of the post.  Either way, why pair shotgun w/ a sword?  Seems like an odd choice.  Personally, I'd rather see a single blade and single pistol set, but it's still an interesting concept...

 

Thank you. Yes, I was aware but then I'd probably have to add it as a postscript anyhow or then go into each power and change the description at length.

 

The reason I went for Shotgun rather than pistol is that I wanted the dragoon concept and pistols were much more of a cavalry weapon in the early modern period of the military revolution. Dragoons would ride to a fortification, such as a stone wall, dismount and take cover there. They would use ranged weapons. The Carbine (A short barrelled firearm, not always rifled) was developed for their purpose since easier to transport on horseback than a long musket. As I explained in my OP I felt that a shotgun provided a different firearm than we already had in the game. I did consider a pistol - but that might be too close to aping the SBB poster of the gladiator and I felt that making a set synonymous with that might create a preconception of "Romans with Gunz" 

[srmalloy]

"Early-modern" being the 1600s? Although if you go back to their original employment as mounted infantry, the concept goes back to very early in the history of organized warfare. However, being disparagingly compared against true cavalry, dragoon units sought to increase their skills and status, and wound up in the space between heavy cavalry and light cavalry, in the role of reconnaissance, picket duty, and skirmishing. Gustav II Adolf equipped his dragoons with a sword, an axe, and a matchlock musket, and the armament of sword, musket (later carbine) and pistol(s) eventually became the 'standard' armement of dragoon units; some would add a lance for mounted work, but this would generally be discarded or left in camp when dismounted. By the First World War, the dragoons had largely become indistinguishable in role from other cavalry units, although the unit designations remained for reasons of tradition.

 

If keeping the 'traditional' weapon mix, you'd have a sword like the pallasch, smaller and lighter than a broadsword, one or more pistols (likely just one for game purposes), and a carbine or light rifle. 

[Scarlet Shocker]

I like that you know your history. I was thinking more about Maurice of Nassau and his early drill manuals and the English Civil War where dragoons were deployed with considerable effect. 

 

I'm not expert in that arena, but I know a fair bit, though it wasn't an area of specialist study. My main goal in this is to convey a concept of a highly mobile force capable of wielding range and melee weapons and bringing something new to the game that was a mainstream power set not exclusively for VEATs or EATs and my weapon choice is as above. As I said earlier I think we have plenty of "rifles" - the best "guy with a gun" in game is probably a Huntsman Spider VEAT, just ignore the respec and go centre path all the way and you have other options with Mercs MM, Beam Rifle (regular readers of my input here will know how I feel about that) and the AR set. A shotgun allows for something different because the vast majority of gun sets are ST and I envisage this set as a cone

 

TL;DR - I'm not trying to provide an history lesson here, simply a concept inspired by history that fits within our game. . 

 

 

Edited 9 hours ago by Scarlet Shocker
TL;DR