QUOTE (Manunancy @ Jan 26 2011, 02:29 PM)
Melee weapons (be they spears, mauls, two-handed swords or whatever) don't differ much in their configuration from their one-handed version which lets a troll handle them one-handed. Guns are another kettle of fish - the pistol grip lends itself somewhat to firing the rifle one-handed, but the stance used for a bayoneted rifle doesn't translate as easily. If I remember the rules right, the -2 modifer reduced to -1 for trolls is for firing a gun, not for handling it in melee.
Picture a gun with a bayonet fitted on. Handlig it with two hands usually means one hand on the pistol grip and the other holding the barrel, using the gun somewhat like a short spear. Now try to imagine how you'd wield it one-handed - the pistol grip is perpendicular to the weapons. The only melee weapon with that sort of grips that come to mind is a tonfa, but the trigger guard and the butt don't let you pull most tonfa moves. I can see only two ways to get arouns the problem. One is to grab the barell to use the gun as a club - a great way to ruin it. The other would be to grab the barrel just in front of the magazine pit or the sights/scope dependign on the weapon's configuration. Which is somewhere i nth middle of the weapon, reudcing the reach to that of a one-hander at best.
The vibro-sword equiped Ares alpha you're mentioning seems a variation on the bayonet - though I wonder how the gun's sights zeroing will fare with the sowrd's vibration
Ok. Page 162 of
Arsenal lists penalties for using a 2 handed firearm in one hand. Page 161 lists penalties for using a 2 handed melee weapon in one hand. Both sets of penalties are the same, except for the DV penalty to firearms. Trolls halve both the -2 penalty for 1-handing 2-handed firearms and the -2 pentalty and damage for melee weapons.
Mechanically identical to what I said.
Also, the Bravo (vibro-Alpha) probably has some sort of smart-material on the connecting piece for the sword to the gun that would not make the whole of the weapon vibrate. This is 2072-73 with the world's best weapons manufacturer. I'm sure they're smarter than that.