Two Weapon Fighting

[bestialwarlust]

As combat rounds are about a minute long it's assumed that several strikes, parries, blows etc.. are done during that minutes time.

So it seems redundant to have a character that uses two weapons gain an extra attack. What would be a good way to represent that? looking for some good ideas? an additional +1 to hit? extra damage? what about a penalty for someone not trained with two weapons?

[Deleted]

One popular solution is to give dual wielders +1 "to hit", two-handed weapon users +1 damage, and (of course) shield users +1 AC. I always thought this solution, proposed by Philotomy Jurament, was a nice little symmetry.

[calithena]

That is a good solution, although I would make the 2H damage bonus in D&D +2. DaD might have its own complexities, but in theory you ought to be able to make the numbers work out in most systems...

[aldarron]

Bonuses to damage are one good way to do it. An important thing to understand, that a lot of people don't seem to unless they have done some kind of mock combat, is that a shield is also a weapon. It is a big whoping board that can knock the snot out of you if you are bashed with one, and the edge can be use quite effectively in several ways to knock or twist a weapon loose.

Anyhow, here's a little preview of the Supplement of a rule derived from Arneson that I like to use:
"Although it will negate a shields defensive bonus, a character may gain 1 additional Attack Value using their shield offensively or with a weapon held in the second hand in place of the shield or with a two handed weapon. Such attacks add half again as much damage (+ ½ HD) to the damage roll total. Likewise, a second weapon may be wielded defensively in place of a shield. The weapon will provide the same defensive bonus as a shield in melee, but not against projectiles. A secondary weapon cannot be used defensively and offensively in the same round."

[bestialwarlust]

Very cool can't wait to see the supplement!