So, say a little Gnobbit Trickster has found a dagger called Stink...
He's got:
15 PRW INI (just rolled it!)
23 PRW Rank (just rolled that, too!)
This gives him 38% PRW and a 3 Warrior Strength.
He can take 11% or 22% off his PRWr. 11% gains him +1 WS. 22% gains him +2 WS.
The exchange lowers his current PRWr and PRW% total, thereby counteracting the effect of the new weapon mastery. The benefits of this exchange are not be seen immediately. In fact, the Gnobbit is generally weaker for it! For a short time, he's not going to be very good at stabbing things based on his PRW% alone (though he will probably use
Stealth Attack to hit).
And let's not forget about Wounds! They drop, too! Wounds is derived from PRW and RUG rank. When either decrease, so do Wounds total. This levels the playing field a lot, as folks probably won't want to take a Wounds hit of 22 points.
Chances are this little Gnobbit will do an 11% buy in, growing his weapon mastery of Stink a little bit at a time. This also makes the Gnobbit more and more reliant on this one weapon.
Weapon mastery is a gamble - but how else are you going to excel at a single weapon without any real sacrifice?!?
It is a way to dramatically connect a hero with a weapon.
And a good reason for foes to fear the drawing of it in battle!
ps - Stink probably possesses a +4 WS bonus as it is a superbly forged weapon. All the more reason to master it!
L. Willy Wick
www.GameWick.comMaker of
WEGS, the Wickedly Errant Game System
Sword-n-Sorcery With A Vegas Twist!
"Stick THAT in your bag of holding!"