make scythes aweosme

[twelwe]

scythes have the rare distinction of being rare and terrible. could this perhaps not be the case in the future, could scythes totally 0own?

[gammafunk]

Reach+cleave, call it Scything brand? If we're serious about this, admit that damage and accuracy are boring and don't really do anything.

[Arrhythmia]

farming implements are shitty weapons, no twelwe

[duvessa]

to be fair a double-ended flail is an even shittier weapon irl, but not in crawl

[Siegurt]

to be fair a double-ended flail is an even shittier weapon irl, but not in crawl

Which item is a double-ended flail? (mean we have a double sword, so I could see that being a thing, but I haven't seen a double flail.)

Further if I did see something that was called a double flail I would be tempted to assume it looked like this:

[duvessa]

no amount of post-hoc description retconning can cleanse the taint of the goddamn stupid idea of a double-ended flail

[WalkerBoh]

Nice try, Sigmund.

[Aethrus]

Reach+cleave, call it Scything brand? If we're serious about this, admit that damage and accuracy are boring and don't really do anything.

I'm sure with enough slaying I could take advantage of the ability to attack 24 tiles at once. Crawl combat is swingy enough that even with bad accuracy and damage I'm guaranteed to roll high on several if I attack that much at once.

Although I suppose if I needed to hit them all I've made quite a few mistakes.

I'd be in favor of this though.

[Sandman25]

Speaking about unusual weapons, why don't we have a weapon with push effect (something like trample but can be used at distance 2 like reaching also)? Call it a log or battering ram. It would be very nice with Conjure/Sticky Flame, clouds and summons.

[byrel]

It's a nice idea. Obviously, the best weapon in the game will be a vampiric scythe.

Ignoring artifacts of course. The truly best weapon would be

  Code:

the +3 scythe "Doomwander" {vamp, -Cast, rN++, rPois, rCorr}

[archaeo]

Speaking about unusual weapons, why don't we have a weapon with push effect (something like trample but can be used at distance 2 like reaching also)? Call it a log or battering ram. It would be very nice with Conjure/Sticky Flame, clouds and summons.

Pretty sure player trampling was not a beloved effect. If you mean that the battering ram would just push things a square away, eh. For melee use, that would just mean having to chase a dude you're pushing around for awhile, whereas casters can just learn force lance if they want to push monsters away, among many other spell choices to get distance from enemies.

n.b. I totally support aweosme scythes, why haven't the devs already implemented this

[Sandman25]

Force lance does cost MP, I used it as Fe of Sif with freezing cloud, lots of fun.

[njvack]

I maintain that there is absolutely no way a scythe could be a good weapon; bones are way tougher than grain stalks.

I wager you couldn't even get one to cut a chicken in half.

[dowan]

Well a broom is also a terrible weapon. Armor is much harder to get through than dust. This may be part of the reason why brooms aren't a weapon in dungeon crawl, because they would essentially represent a false choice. A "no brainer", if you will.

The point being that scythes are much like the broom in my example, except they currently do exist in crawl, despite the fact that they offer a false choice.

[Dharmy]

We should have triple staves.

[Berder]

It wouldn't be a question of the scythe not being able to deal enough damage. Medieval weapons of war - swords, hammers, axes - were actually quite light, usually only 1-3 lbs. Farm implements like axes, splitting mauls, sledgehammers, or scythes were often much heavier, 5-15 lbs. It doesn't take a lot of force to penetrate skin or even the kind of armor they had.

The real issue is that a weapon that's too heavy can't be moved quickly enough for combat. It can be dodged, or the faster weapon can simply strike first. Unless you're built like Mike Tyson, you can't fence with a sledgehammer (or a scythe).

I do, by the way, possess an old rusted scythe. It weighs 7 lbs. I've never actually used it, but from a few test swings a major problem if it were used as a weapon is that the handle is deeply curved to help you reach the wheat without bending too low. So, if you try to swing the scythe with force, the curved handle causes the blade to twist away from the target.

[Sprucery]

I do, by the way, possess an old rusted scythe. It weighs 7 lbs. I've never actually used it, but from a few test swings a major problem if it were used as a weapon is that the handle is deeply curved to help you reach the wheat without bending too low. So, if you try to swing the scythe with force, the curved handle causes the blade to twist away from the target.

I've also used a scythe some time and yes it would be really awkward as a weapon. The natural move I guess would be to try to sweep at the legs of the enemy. Maybe hitting enemies who have legs could cause a slowing effect.

[byrel]

I strongly recommend not basing either crawl mechanics on real life or vice-versa. If 8 ninja's attack you at once, don't expect to be able to cleave your axe through all of them. Just don't.

[duvessa]

I do, by the way, possess an old rusted scythe. It weighs 7 lbs. I've never actually used it, but from a few test swings a major problem if it were used as a weapon is that the handle is deeply curved to help you reach the wheat without bending too low. So, if you try to swing the scythe with force, the curved handle causes the blade to twist away from the target.

I've also used a scythe some time and yes it would be really awkward as a weapon. The natural move I guess would be to try to sweep at the legs of the enemy. Maybe hitting enemies who have legs could cause a slowing effect.

who cares that you have a scythe, well i, by the way, have a dildo and have used it. want me to talk about that? see, nobody cares

[Sprucery]

who cares that you have a scythe

I never said I have a scythe.

well i, by the way, have a dildo and have used it.

And your friends have used them too!

want me to talk about that?

No, but put a video in Youtube and I'll check it out.

[daggaz]

Is it a dragon dildo or the whale penis replica?

[Zooty]

I strongly recommend not basing either crawl mechanics on real life or vice-versa. If 8 ninja's attack you at once, don't expect to be able to cleave your axe through all of them. Just don't.

Actually it would be easy to hit 8 at a time. A solitary ninja would be impossible though

[dowan]

The nice thing about fighting 8 ninjas is the first 7 will attack one at a time, and be easily dispatched in a single blow. However you should expect the 8th ninja to be far more challenging. Therefore axes are quite sub-optimal for ninja fighting.

[Siegurt]

The nice thing about fighting 8 ninjas is the first 7 will attack one at a time, and be easily dispatched in a single blow. However you should expect the 8th ninja to be far more challenging. Therefore axes are quite sub-optimal for ninja fighting.

You will be able to tell the hard one apart from the others, that ninja will either be in all white, or be a woman, or possibly a robot with glowing eyes, if it is all three you are boned.

[twelwe]

Reach+cleave, call it Scything brand? If we're serious about this, admit that damage and accuracy are boring and don't really do anything.

of course we are serious about this. we made a new thread and everything

[gammafunk]

I agree your making the thread was a nice move on your (our) part, but I want to move things forward into the endgame scythe simulations and scenarios.

[tasonir]

Reach+cleave, call it Scything brand? If we're serious about this, admit that damage and accuracy are boring and don't really do anything.

of course we are serious about this. we made a new thread and everything

It all makes sense now! you are two people, T and L, and that's how your name TweLwe came about! (capitalization mine)

[Arrhythmia]

Reach+cleave, call it Scything brand? If we're serious about this, admit that damage and accuracy are boring and don't really do anything.

of course we are serious about this. we made a new thread and everything

It all makes sense now! you are two people, T and L, and that's how your name TweLwe came about! (capitalization mine)

actually, twelwe just couldn't spell the word twelve at the time.

[njvack]

HOLY FUCKING SHIT HAS IT REALLY BEEN TWELWE THIS WHOLE TIME

[twelwe]

i am just one person

[wheals]

New theory: twelwe is twelwe.

[gammafunk]

Actual Truth: twhealswe