Colt Python in one hand and a Long Sword in the other... What are the penalties?

[reveal]

IMC d20 Modern campaign, a character has a Colt Python and a Long Sword. Sometimes, he'll hold both, one in each hand. He doesn't attack with them both in the same round, he just holds one and attacks with the other, i.e. he'll shoot his gun at an enemy, move up to them and, in the next round, he'll slash at them with his sword.

So my question is: Are there any penalties? Technically, he's not attacking with them both in the same round and d20 Modern seems to not care about which is the "off-hand" for a character.

 

[Breakdaddy]

I would say no penalties apply if he is only attacking with 1 weapon a round. As a DM, I would only penalize him in one way: When he wants to switch the weapon he is using, he would have to switch hands as a move equivalent action.

 

[Tellerve]

As long as he doesn't attack with both in the same round he should be fine. I can't think of any reason he should be penalized. As you said, they don't have any rules for handedness and so if he uses his left hand to fire the gun one round and then the next round his right hand to swing a sword, so be it.

Tellerve

 

[DanMcS]

IMC d20 Modern campaign, a character has a Colt Python and a Long Sword. Sometimes, he'll hold both, one in each hand. He doesn't attack with them both in the same round, he just holds one and attacks with the other, i.e. he'll shoot his gun at an enemy, move up to them and, in the next round, he'll slash at them with his sword.

So my question is: Are there any penalties? Technically, he's not attacking with them both in the same round and d20 Modern seems to not care about which is the "off-hand" for a character.

The only penalty I could think of is that he shouldn't threaten with the sword in a round in which he doesn't attack with it, or at least take a penalty to-hit with his gun to represent dual wielding.

 

[Breakdaddy]

Ok, forget handedness for a moment. Call it "changing stance". Either way, he should not be allowed to keep from having to acquire the quick draw feat to have a second weapon at the ready as a free action. Yeah, Im a hardass, so what?

 

[takyris]

I disagree. He's being penalized right now by not having a hand free to steady his gun (making it harder to disarm) or give bonus damage on his longsword. He also can't open a door or do anything else with that off-hand. If you're strict about needing hands to do stuff, this gets ugly pretty fast in the d20 Modern world.

I'd probably assign a -2 or -4 off-hand penalty just for the sake of realism, with the assumption that two-weapon fighting does BOTH for you. But that's not in the core rules.

 

[Tellerve]

Yeah, I gotta agree with takyris on this one. Having no hands to do stuff with is sometimes quite important, and as long as you remember that fact you should be good. Besides the quick draw feat does more than just what you're thinking. But whatever, that's been talked about before with its usefullness.

Tellerve

 

[Ranger REG]

So my question is: Are there any penalties? Technically, he's not attacking with them both in the same round and d20 Modern seems to not care about which is the "off-hand" for a character.

If he chooses only one of the two weapons to attack on his turn determined by initiative order, there is no attack penalty.

Take note that he can use his longsword to make AoO if provoked, even if he did not attack with the longsword on his turn.

As for the two points above, (1) that's why you shoot your gun at a distance to soften or harm your target before closing in for melee swordfight to avoid any melee disarm attempt on your handgun, and (2) wielding longsword two-handed would have been given extra damage bonus, but it is a single-handed weapon and wielding it so has no penalty.

 

[Ka-bar]

His real penalty is in the form of -10 style points.

A longsword! didn't anyone tell him Katanas can cut through tanks and stuff.

If he also has a trenchcoat but no katana, thats at least another -10.

 

[DelayedReactionMan]

From a "realism" standpoint, a lot of it depends on whether or not he's ambidextrous. Assuming his Dexterity is high enough (around 16 I think), he shouldn't get a penalty for using different weapons in different actions. Dual-weild penalties only apply when your character is attempting to use two weapons in the same action. Even ambidextrous characters lack the mental coordination and physical training (muscle memory) needed to dual weild without practice.

I would suggest a -2 penalty for using an off hand weapon if your character has a lower Dexterity. A move-equivalent action would allow you to swap weapons between hands (drawing a sword is easier and faster than swapping things between your hands, particularly since the receiving hand isn't empty and you're trying not to get killed).

I would give him style points for the Python/Longsword combo. It's original and unexpected, particularly if he also eschewed the black trenchcoat. Only problem is that it's really hard to give that up; they're so useful!