Crushthrough is a very powerful mechanic. Many shout that it's too powerful, but we'll leave that aside. The main issue is when it becomes almost unbeatable in certain circumstances (e.g. Hiding inside a tower with a great maul). Now, a powerful mechanic that's really powerful in certain cases is fine. The issue is when it's powerful to the point of leaving no hope for the enemy. No hope, for me, means no fun. Most other mechanics allow for some hope (e.g. jump and stab at horses with swords, an enormous capacity for blocking on most weapons, and feinting). Here's my suggestion for giving hope against crushthrough:
Give many polearms a bonus against crushthrough. Not enough that a polearm blocks crushthrough every time, certainly not, but enough of a bonus that an overhead great maul swing is not always a killshot. Here are some considerations:
- polearm users block by holding their weapon near both ends, providing maximum reenforcement for their block. This is as opposed to the standard 2h block where the weapon is gripped only at one end.
- there is only one polearm with crushthrough, the rest are 2h. Perhaps polearm could be the anti-crushthrough class?
- many 2h also have a polearm alternate mode. Perhaps this should get some bonus against crushthrough too (if yes, stronger, weaker, or equal to polearms?)?
- some polearms are just big metal sticks. I can't imagine a better device for blocking crushthrough. Perhaps these should get an exceptionally high bonus?
I've tossed this idea around in the Tsardom teamspeak and it hasn't received any crippling objections. For the most part, people have just noted that its usefulness/balance would require careful implementation.
