The Art of Swordsmanship - a combat overhaul (PTF)

The Art of Swordsmanship

The Art of Swordsmanship is a combat overhaul mod designed to adapt the historical and mechanical realities of weapons into KCD2. Though a use of buffs applied to weapons and nerfs to certain perks, I hope to make weapons more distinctive and fun to use. I was heavily inspired by an extremely historical approach through the examination and application of several fencing and warfare manuals and manuscripts; from Sigmund Ringeck to Hans Talhoffer. They served as the providers of insight around the topics of fencing and war. This description includes a bibliography, formatted in APA7, if you want to read the sources that helped shape this mod.

The mod consists in the overhaul of the weapons, the nerfing of some perks and the introduction of a new perk: The Art of Swordsmanship.

I must make clear that I’m not a historian or practitioner of HEMA. I’m a postgrad student of philosophy. I read the material and extracted the principles of the sources, and tried to apply them to the weapons in-game. A 100% faithful transliteration of these principles to the mechanics of KCD2 is, in my opinion, almost impossible. If you have critiques of my approach or decisions, you can make them and post them in the comments.

Here are the changes made to weapons and historical justifications:

Short Swords, Sabres & Hunting Swords

This category covers one-handed arming swords, hunting swords, and sabres.

The Technical Changes

•   wac0. 8 (Weapon Attack Cost): Attacks consume 20% less stamina.

•   dsc0. 9 (Dodge Stamina Cost): Dodging consumes 10% less stamina.

•   fob+0. 1 (Feint Object Block): Increases the success rate of feints by 10% (making them harder for the enemy to block).

•   slh1. 3 (Stamina Loss on Hit): You lose 30% more stamina when blocking an attack.

•   srb0. 85 (Stamina Regen Block): Stamina regenerates 15% slower while holding a static block.

•   wde*0. 6 (Weapon Defence): The weapon's passive defence rating is reduced by 40%.

•   cli-0. 5 (Clinch Advantage): Significant penalty to winning a clinch (bind).

•   cat-0. 5 (Clinch Attack): Significant penalty to damaging an opponent in a clinch.

•   hko+0. 01 (Head Knockout): A 1% probability to cause a knockout on a head strike.

Historical Justification

1. Speed, Deceit, and the Vor (Initiative): The buffs to attack cost (wac), dodge cost (dsc), and feints (fob) are derived from the teachings of Johannes Lecküchner regarding the Langes Messer. Lecküchn