I think I already know the answer to this situation but I’ll ask it anyway to put my mind at ease.
I have a player who is dual-wielding weapons. On a 7-9 said player wants to deal full damage with one and partial damage with the other. My thought is that this is like giving 10+ result to a 7-9 and should not be allowed, correct?
I’d say – it depends.
A 7-9 Kick Some Add result does day that the hunter gets to deal their damage, but this is always the damage as established, which could go either way here.
Maybe it makes more sense to define a new “Paired Swords” (or whatever they are) weapon that has a higher damage rating than one but no necessarily as high as double? That way you can customise the tags to ensure that everyone understands the paired weapon capabilities and downsides.
In my opinion wielding 2 weapons should just be part of the fiction. What your player wants reeks of D20 power-gaming.
What about main hand only does damage with +1 armor on a 7-9, as the second weapon is being used defensively. On 10+ both weapons deal damage, full for main and half for off hand.
Joey Mullins personally, I would not want it so complicated
In real life “dual wielding” is a hindrance. In the movies, it mostly just makes you look cool and sometimes let’s you hit more people. Maybe a custom move that adds the area tag?
A paired set of weapons would seem to me to be a single weapon as far as mechanics goes. Everything in this game is very abstract. If they had a special Dual Wield move that let them choose between +1 harm or +1 forward against that enemy with each successful attack. That would be fine.
For reference to how far the weapon rules can go, I had a player actually create Atomic Robo for a scenario.
One of Robo’s weapons was 4 Harm, Area, Messy, Autonomous. He was named Jenkins.
Joey Mullins you don’t roll to hit, though
Hrrrmmm…
It’s a 2-harm sword and a 3-harm area whip, so the whip already has Area. Giving extra damage on top of the area damage is not something I’m comfortable with.
I would use an approach similar to “Ancient Fighting Arts” from the Initiate or “Warrior” from the Exile. So a move that, when he succesfully Kicks some ass in close combat, lets him choose a main weapon for the damage and then pick a +1 damage to one target (he’s using the secondary weapon to cause harm) or a +1 armor (he’s using the secondary weapon to deflect blows) on top of what the basic move already gives him.
I’d say pick a weapon to do damage with, and “practicing” with dual wielding is a great excuse for why they can take a combat oriented move next time they advance. 😉
Oh, and I mean that specifically for sword + whip. They’re getting a benefit in the form of versatility. I think wielding 2 of the same weapon is a fine excuse for +1 harm or +area to account for the loss of a free hand… But they still get a benefit in the form of “still got a weapon of you drop one on a 6-.”
Edited to better state what I was trying to say. LoL
Sure, but that’s not a roll “to hit” with a weapon. It’s a roll to determine the result of the risks in an exchange.
The best answer has already been said by Michael Sands: make 2 weapons a single weapon with some versatility.
The only way to make what the player wants viable is to make repercussions more difficult. Perhaps they have 1 less armor on all incoming attacks, or step up their harm effects by one step. Alternatively, perhaps you can always hit them for an additional zero harm effect?
You could also just have them roll Kick Ass twice, but then they will level twice as fast, which can be a problem.
One other thought: you can just take their secondary weapon away from them regularly. Wips are BEGGING to be snatched up by monsters, and drop something is a 1 harm move.