Fencer Archive

It seems like every combat class has some sort of complaint about the HAM usage for their styles. I know there's the new thing on TC to help remedy this, but here's another idea I thought up a while back.

Make a new skill for weapon proficiency. Since this is the fencer forum, I'll use Fencer for an example:

Each skill box grants two points of one-handed proficiency (including the boxes in the brawler tree). Master Brawler, Novice Fencer, and Master Fencer each grant five points. Each point counts as a 1% HAM style cost reduction. This adds up to 50% HAM reduction at Master (55% with Master Brawler). Double the cost of One-Hand Hit 3, and scale the skills in between so the cost is near current values when you gain them. This would lower the cost of most skills (for a master), while maintaining near the same cost for the higher level skills. It only makes sense that it's less taxing to perform a BodyHit2 when you know how to BodyHit3.

What this will do is allow the player to decide on doing more damage, or a bit less damage for a lot less HAM. In addition, we could switch to a high damage/high HAM weapon and use the lesser styles without as large of a penalty as we see now.

Only idiots complain about HAM costs. If there were no HAM costs the game would be spam, spam, spam. Well actually the game can be spam, spam, spam, it's called BUFFS. So there's really no problem with ham costs, just a problem not realizing they can eat food, spice, get entertainer and doctor buffs and not worry about ham costs.

-- Ypi

how intelligent are the people who call names? especially people who have clearly thought about this long and hard and are trying to make a valid contribution, as opposed to someone who just tossed off a quick post without much thought.

scalable HAM wouldn't be the end of the world or unbalancing if done correctly. i don't think it should work *quite* like he describes it, but it's not a worthless idea by any means.