Close Combat

Hard

Defaults: prerequisite skill-4, -8, or -12.
Prerequisite: Any Melee Weapon skill; cannot remove more
than half the default penalty.†
In close combat (p. B391), a weapon without “C” in its
Reach statistic gives a skill penalty based on its reach: -4 for
reach 1, -8 for reach 2, or -12 for reach 3. In addition, swing
damage is at -1 per yard of reach; e.g., a broadsword does -1
damage, a greatsword gets -2, and a full-sized halberd has -3.
Thrusting attacks do normal damage. Calculate skill and
swing damage penalties using the weapon’s longest reach, not
the reach at which it’s currently ready.
This technique lets you buy off half the skill penalty. You
may buy it up to skill-2 for a reach 1 weapon, skill-4 for a
reach 2 weapon, or skill-6 for a reach 3 weapon.
All of this assumes a normal grip. See Reversed Grip
(pp. 111-112) for an alternative. Hilt punches and the like use
Pummeling (p. 111) instead of these rules; this technique
doesn’t apply.
† Close Combat is also available for ranged weapons. This
lets you buy off the entire Bulk penalty for close-combat pur-
poses only; see Weapons for Close Combat (p. B391). Those
with Heroic Archer (p. 45) don’t need this technique.