Greetings. This is a 3rd edition of "Jessie's guide to a good BASHER." I have a little more time to upgrade my second article to give you some more info regarding my favorite style. The major changes are in the weapons and strategies section. But read the whole thing, I've made other changes as well. Also, this article doesn't discuss the SCUM basher or other mutant variations of this style. It deals mainly with ones meant to last past 10-15 fights.
Most new mangers or managers that don't run bashers that much don't understand how to make a good basher. Needless to say, they don't run them right, either. Even with my hoard of bashers, each one varies somewhat.
The 4 MOST important things to a basher are DECISE skills, ATTACK skills, DAMAGE bonus, and maintaining the INITIATIVE. This is also the order of importance as well. Bashers also learn ATTACK, DECISE and INITIATIVE skills faster than other skills. They are very similar to slashers in many ways.
1. DECISE SKILLS: A basher needs to strike first, and this is why his number of decise skills must be high. His bigger size will give him bonus DECISE skills, as well as bonus INITIATIVE skills. Bashers have poor defense and parrying abilities, this is why they need to gain the initiative. A BASHER'S best defense is a good OFFENSE. Speed also gives decise skills. But I don't add to speed, 'cause speed isn't vital to a basher or his performance.
2. ATTACK: After gaining the initiative, the number of attack skills will determine when he hits or not. Bashers need to hit what they swing at, cause they may not get another chance to swing. I recommend a 10+ base in attack for a basher. This means he should have a HIGH ORDER WIT statement for attack. The higher the attack rating, the easier it will be to get through the parries and dodges of the opponent. If you check the WIT statement chart and he doesn't have HIGH ORDER attack, he may not do well.
3. DAMAGE: This is a MUST for any basher. Would recommend no less than a GOOD DAMAGE rating. I prefer GREAT DAMAGE for my bashers, or more. A basher must be able to do ALOT of damage when he hits, 'cause he is trying to bring his opponent down fast. Because he can't afford to let his opponent attack back with the low defensive abilities the basher has. That is why he needs to make every hit count.
4. INITIATIVE: He needs to start with at least a LOW ORDER initiative WIT statement. He needs to maintain his attacks to get enough hits to bring his opponent down, so there is no counter-attack. It does no good to strike first if he can't maintain his initiative. Big size, high WIT, and high DEFTNESS will give your basher extra starting INITIATIVE skills.
Designing a good basher doesn't take a rocket scientist. If you've been wondering what to do with big guys, BASHER is the answer. Bashers make excellent BASIC warriors. And if you get one that has some defensive abilities as well as offense, he might be good at the higher levels of the game. Smaller bashers that have higher skill bases fare better at higher levels of the game than bigger ones with less skill. The only problem with small ones is surviving BASIC. 'Cause, they don't have the DAMAGE or HIT POINTS the big ones have.
Strength: 10-17 Don't skimp, you need the damage. But WIT is the first concern. Strength is number 3 in the priority race. You might need a little higher if you have a small one. Remember you want to at least get a GOOD DAMAGE rating. You can also train strength later, so don't worry about starting with it too high. I always try to get odd numbers on strength, 'cause that's where most of the strength requirements are for basher weapons. 15, 17, 21 STR also give extra skills.
Constitution: 6+ Try to get it to a least 6. If you already have it above 6, don't add points here. This is low priority for adding points.
Size: 9+ is recommended, but I wouldn't go below 6 unless you got at least a 15 strength. If you have a size 15+, then you can go as low as 10 on the strength. A QS, only needs an 11 strength to wield. You can use it till you get a 12 or more strength to wield the bashers best weapon the WARHAMMER. Don't forget big size! 12+ get bonus HIT POINTS, DECISE SKILLS, and INITIATIVE SKILLS. But they also get a penalty in their starting DEFENSE skills. Smaller ones, 8 or less, get bonus defense, but less hit points. They also get hosed on DAMAGE bonus. But, the smaller ones usually start out with more skills than the bigger ones.
WIT: 15, 17 or 21. Since a basher starts out with lower skill bases than most styles, he needs to learn fast. Even if he is only an average basher, he can make up for it by learning fast. Having a high WIT will help him learn fast. If you have a slow learning basher, he won't be competitive after about 10 to 15 fights. The reason is because the other styles that start with more skills than a basher will pass him up in the skills department. This will cause many losses and even death. This is a number ONE priority when adding points.
WILL: If you can't get 15, 17, or 21, don't add points here. WILL is not a basher priority. If you want your basher to go to ADM, you need at least a 15 WILL. Bashers are low endurance burn, and don't need high endurance. But it is nice to have. Some of the best short term Bashers have low wills.
Speed: 5+. Speed is not a basher priority. Don't add points here. I don't like 3 speeds, I believe there is a voodoo curse that penalizes you too much.
DEFTNESS: Many managers skimp here. DON'T SKIP on deftness. I see many managers see that a roll up has low deftness and automatically say, "Make it a basher." That greatly damages your basher. For a lunger or slasher who already have ALOT of skill to start out with, it's okay to have a low deftness. But not a basher who doesn't have those skills. Deftness is where most of the bonus skills come from. Don't ROB your basher of the skills, he needs all he can get. I recommend 13+. 11 is okay if you have a 17 or 21 WIT. I never go below 9 deftness, period.
BASHER WEAPONS: After experimenting with all of the basher weapons extensively, I have more info in this area to give.
Basher Weapon Requirements :
Warhammer: STR 13, Size 3, WIT 9, DEF 7 Mace: Str 13, Size 3, WIT 7, DEF 5 Morning Star: Str 13, Size 3, WIT 9, DEF 13 War Flail: Str 11, Size 3, WIT 7, DEF 7 Quarterstaff: Str 11, Size 9, WIT 11, DEF 11 Great Axe: Str 13, Size 3, WIT 9, DEF 11 Great Sword: Str 15, Size 9, WIT 11, DEF 11 Maul: Str 15, Size 9, WIT 5, DEF 7 Halberd: Str 17, Size 9, WIT 11, DEF 11Those weapons above are well suited to the basher. Also, weapons that are marginally suitable are battle axe, broadsword, and fist. You do get a little penalty for using marginally suitable weapons, but not enough to notice. Your basher's favorite weapon can only be a well suited one.
Besides strength, other important factors that determine what weapon you equip your basher with are ENDURANCE and current ATTACK skill level.
If your basher has an ENDURANCE problem, use the QS or WH. Or if he is fighting against a heavy armored defensive style, these weapons are the best choice. Warhammer is good against plate. Don't use a ML or HL with an endurance problem, 'cause he won't last past round one.
If your basher hasn't gained enough skill yet, and is being parried most of the time, use BIGGER weapons. If you have the strength and endurance use the ML or HL. Using these weapons will increase the damage you do, making each hit count. In basic, when weapon speed is a major factor, big weapons aren't really that slow. It is very easy to jump your opponent using a HL or ML, I do it all the time.
Another tactic I use often with great success is using big weapons for light armor and lighter ones for heavy armor. Most offensives in basic wear lighter armor and have fewer hit points. Offensive styles are more deadly to bashers than defensive styles. Therefore you need to bring them down as quickly as possible. Using a HL or ML against scale armor or less, usually only takes one or 2 hits to bring an offensive style down. Defensive styles parry and dodge a lot of your attacks, so you need a lighter weapon so you won't tire out quickly. Using a warhammer for chainmail and above will let you last long enough to bring a defensive style down. Warhammer also does very well against heavy armor.
Warhammer: 13 STR required. This is the BEST weapon for a basher without a doubt. Its light weight and speed are unchallenged against all the other Basher weapons. It also does a surprising amount of damage. Can be used against all armors with great success. This weapon rarely breaks.
Mace: 13 STR required. This is an okay weapon, but doesn't compare to the WARHAMMER. It has problems inflicting damage
Morningstar: 13 STR and 13 DEFT required. Does good damage, but is slow and heavy. Isn't worth the endurance burn.
War Flail: 11 STR required. The is the WORST weapon in the game. DON'T USE IT!!!!! Damage for this weapon is very lame and I have see it bounce off of ALE and NO ARMOR opponents. I believe daggers and fist do more damage!
Quarterstaff: 11 STR and DEFT required. This two handed weapon is light weight, quick and good against all armors. This is a basher's fourth best weapon. This weapon's main problem is that it breaks too much. I use the FIST as a backup when I use the QS, so when it breaks he doesn't have to draw a backup weapon. Offensive styles may not give you a chance to draw your backup weapon. With a fist back-up you will continue attacking after your weapon has broken, maintaining your initiative.
Great Axe: 13 STR and 11 DEFT required. This is also much like the QS, but weighs a little more. Does more damage than a QS. It will tire your basher faster. This weapon also breaks a lot.
Maul: 15 STR required. Does massive damage, but is very heavy and tiresome. This weapon is a better all-around weapon than the halberd. This is the 2nd best bashing weapon.
Halberd: 17 Str required. Does the most damage in the game. This weapon also is only for those warriors who have the strength and the endurance for it. This is a basher's third best weapon.
Greatsword: 15 STR required. See WAR FLAIL. This weapon also breaks a lot.
Shields: Are well suited to bashers, but don't ever use one. They do hardly any damage. Don't ever use a shield and any other weapon in a bashers OFF-HAND. They rarely use their OFF-hand to parry and when they do use it to attack with, they do less damage. When the computer gets to the part in the program where it selects which hand to use, you want him to use his PRIMARY weapon to do the most DAMAGE. Not to pick an off-hand weapon that does lesser damage. Also you get an attack bonus for using two hands with many weapons.
Bashers favorite weapon: Well, out of 90 Basher ADM graduates, the following is a list of their favorite weapons.
MS(9), MA(17), GA(5), GS(9), ML(9), WF(8), HL(8), WH(7), QS(9), ME(2), LG(8)
You have to try each of them if you want to guess which one it is. If you're lucky and get the WH, then praise the gods!!
16 of the 90 bashers got the BASH tactic as their favorite tactic. But I wouldn't use the BASH tactic; the DECISE tactic is awesome for a BASHER. I use it with all my bashers. Two bashers got DECISE as a favorite tactic. Bash is only good to use against strong defensive styles after round one. I have used the DEFENSE or PARRY Tactics in desperation with great success. I will chose the one that the basher has a WIT statement in. IE: If he has a DEFENSE statement, I use DEFENSE tactic in DESP. If a parry statement, then PARRY in DESP. If neither, then PARRY 'cause it's almost always higher than DEFENSE for a basher.
Basher Armor: ALE/S or H to start. If he doesn't seem to get the jump on most of his opponents, then go to heavy armor. You can `sponge' your opponents by taking hits and hope to hit them when they're tired. But if they do to much damage to you first, you will lose.
Favorite Rhythms: Offensive effort should be between 8-10 the first minute and 5-8 there after. In DESP. 5-10. Activity Level should be 5-10 in the first minute and 1-3 thereafter. IN DESP between 1-10. KD between 5-7 all rounds.
Typical Strategy: MIN: 1 2 3 4 5 6 DESP ======================================== OFF. 10 8 5 5 5 5 10 ---------------------------------------- AVT. 10 1 1 1 1 1 6 ---------------------------------------- KD. 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 ---------------------------------------- Att. RA RA RA RA RA RA RA ---------------------------------------- Pro. HE HE HE HE HE HE HE ---------------------------------------- TAC. DECISE in minute one. Bash in later minutes against scum or heavy defensive styles. Defense or Parry in DESP.If you aim for the limbs, you can take your opponent down quickly. Bashers tend to hit the upper half of the body more anyhow.
-- Sir Jessie Jest