CONAN 2nd Edition - How does "Lock Weapons" work?

[Der Rote Baron]

Hi there! Just got the new rulesbook, flipped through it and found the "Lock Weapons" maneuver.
So, any Idea how that works? It say in the text that combatants lock weapons if "the character's attck roll is exactly equal to the opponent's Parry Defence or his Parry Defence is exactly equal to his opponent's attack roll".

Okay. So far, so confusing because

(a) when do you roll for your Parry Defence? In my oppinion it is a fixed number (10 + STR bonus + modifiers like shield bonus, Parry Feat etc).

(b) I always thought that if you hit the Parry Defence then you scored a hit and did damage. But "locking blades" aren't really digging into anybody's flesh far they are ... well... locked.

So, does that mean that you have to hit Parry Defence + 1 to do damage and an exact hit is a "Locked Weapons" situation?

Or do you lock weapons AND do damage (makes no sense IMHO)?

 

[Supplement Four]

(a) when do you roll for your Parry Defence? In my oppinion it is a fixed number (10 + STR bonus + modifiers like shield bonus, Parry Feat etc).

Yes, your Parry Defense is a static number. It's your Parry AC.

When an attack exactly equals a character's Parry AC (and the character is defending himself by Parry, not Dodge), then the weapons are considered locked. Roll grapple checks and resolve the moment per the Lock Weapons rule on page 209 of 2E Conan.

Example:

Conan is fighting a Vanir, and the mighty Cimmerian is defending himself using his Parry AC 16. When the Vanir attacks, his attack roll exactly equals 16. This means that the Vanir and Conan have their weapons locked. The Vanir rolls his grapple check, followed by Conan's grapple check, and the moment is resolved using the Lock Weapons rule.

(b) I always thought that if you hit the Parry Defence then you scored a hit and did damage. But "locking blades" aren't really digging into anybody's flesh far they are ... well... locked.

Usually, an attack roll succeeds if the opponent's AC is matched or exceeded. The Lock Weapons rule is a special case (that makes Parrying slightly more effective than Dodging, for the defender) where a matched roll does not indicate a successful attack but a locked weapons situation instead.

So, does that mean that you have to hit Parry Defence + 1 to do damage and an exact hit is a "Locked Weapons" situation?

Yes.

Or do you lock weapons AND do damage (makes no sense IMHO)?

No. When Attack = Parry AC, no damage is done to the defender, but a locked weapons situation has begun. Go to grapple checks to resolve the incident.







Note: Page 174 of the 2E Conan rules provides an Optional rule that works exactly like the Lock Weapons rule. The optional Weapon Breakage rule says that: whenever Attack = Parry AC, then the attacker is considered to have sundered his opponent's weapon.

Damage is applied to the defender's weapon instead of on the defender himself.

This optional rule creates two questions. First, how do you resolve this rule when also considering the Lock Weapons rule on page 209? Second, what happens if the defender is using a shield?

The answer to these questions is in the province of the Games Master, if the optional rule is used.

Here's how I use both rules in tandem.

Attack = Parry AC

Step 1: Consider the attack a successful Sunder on the opponent's shield. Damage is applied to the shield instead of the character. If the defender does not have a shield, move on to Step 2. Otherwise, stop with this step.

Step 2: Consider the attack a successful Sunder on the opponent's weapon. Damage is applied to the weapon rather than the character. If the weapon is not destroyed, then move on to Step 3. Otherwise, stop with this step.

Step 3: The weapons are considered locked, using the Lock Weapons rule from page 208. Use grapple checks to resolve the Lock Weapons situation.