Re: [OOC] Chat
Conspicuous sure, but threatening? If anything, a person wearing plate armor is LESS threatening, because their mobility is restricted.
I'm not familiar with GURPS (I've been a bit interested in learning more lately and I've heard its excellent) but regardless of what GURPS has to say, I'm doing my best to avoid basing this world off TTRPGs. For example, I really like D&D, but it's designed for 'gameplay' not 'worldbuilding'. Plenty of fans of the game point out that some things just don't make sense if you think about them too much.
I'm sure GURPS is the same, at least to some extent. Sacrifices always have to be made for TTRPG systems, because you can't model reality while maintaining playability (a good example of not recognizing this is FATAL, which on top of being horribly designed and purposely offensive, is also unbearable to actually play)
This game is freeform, so it can avoid those problems because it's more about telling a story (though the power systems lean towards hard fantasy, as that's my preference, but mainly because it makes it easier to ensure players know what is and is not possible for their characters)
All of that is tangential though, because the idea doesn't actually rely on the GURPS rules.
This seems to be getting some discussion, so this is what I'm currently thinking: It all depends on the region
ex. If the region is very violent, peacebonding would be more of a necessity
ex. If the region has a warlike culture, carrying a weapon may be considered a personal right, even amongst commoners.
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I agree with your distinction between landed and foreign nobles. However, there are still a number of reasons Li Hua would be permitted to carry a sword.
Firstly, she's very conspicuous, so it's doubtful whether she could commit a crime and escape easily. Getting away with crime is easier than it is in modernity, but it would be harder for her than it would be for the average person.
Secondly, Abarion is actually rather sensitive to other cultures. It's a trade city after all. They may presume it's part of her culture to carry a ceremonial weapon. She also has valuable items on her, so merchants whouldn't want to offend her and risk losing her business.
Thirdly, she is clearly in possession of some wealth. If someone were to try and steal from her, she must be able to defend her self and property.
Fourthly, her weapon is copper. That doesn't mean it can't kill, but that it's inferior to the bronze weaponry used locally. Whether guards are actually armed with swords rather than clubs or something is a changing variable depending on where you are in the kingdom.
Fifthly, it's for the same two reasons I let my adventuring parties carry their equipment - 1. it's more convenient and 2. there's always a bigger fish. If Li Hua went on a rampage for whatever reason, the city has enough resources to take her down.
Li Hua would have entered the city properly, and so she is known by the city administration. She's only been here a short time, maybe just one or two days - so she will likely be contacted soon to sort out the terms of her visit.
There are even more reasons to carry a weapon, but they don't apply to Li Hua. For nobles, they would also have to keep in mind that:
6. Should they misbehave, they have a lot to lose. It's only worth drawing a weapon if its an emergency. Using it to intimidate would mean social or legal punishment.
7. It's a display of status to carry a good weapon. Especially among more military-oriented families. It would be discorteous to make a comment about it, let alone to deny their right to carry one.
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Now some reasons why peacebonding or disarmament could be preferrable:
1. Reduces risk of violence. For a number of reasons already stated, it's exceedingly rare for a noble with a weapon to use it. For commoners, they would have much more reason and chance of using it. Thus, they are not allowed to carry weapons. The guards would be suspicious and take you in (there's no human rights in the ancient age, so they can arrest you if they can justify it to their superiors later)
2. More peaceful atmosphere. This would be relevant if the atmosphere was one of conflict, but its not in Abarion. It's a trade city, mostly peaceful. The powers at be have a vested interest in ensuring that trade flows smoothly. Violence would be punished much more harshly than it would be in other settlements.
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As for the interpersonal arguments between Kavian and Li Hua, it seems that it could be solved simply by agreeing to meet at a later date?
On the possibility of combat,
here's a few things to keep in mind:
1. Li Hua with sword could kill Kavian and Asherah with little effort. If they split up to run away, she could probably only kill one.
2. Li Hua without a sword still has enough training be able to overcome the mere physical difference between her and Kavian. A grapple would be the worst case scenario for her, but it would end up as a wrestling match on the floor, rather than a one-sided chokehold. Also, despite her small stature, she would have a deceptive amount of arm strength since some force is required to wield even a lighter sword.
3. If the two attacked her together, while she was unarmed, it would be a brutal fight.
4. Li Hua without a sword versus Kavian's party members (excluding himself) would come down to the terrain. If it's the cave, she gets overwhelmed and dogpiled. If it's open, she could try and make it a series of individual battles, or just decide to escape.
5. Li Hua with a sword versus Kavian's party members (excluding himself) would also come down to the terrain, but with more bloodshed. If it's the cave, she likely maims or kills a number of them before getting disarmed and dogpiled. If it's open, she could win or lose depending on how everything plays out.
If any of you think any of this is inaccurate, let me know. It's just my estimation of what might happen in certain situations. The cave in this situation counts as both cramped terrain (bad for sword wielding and for kiting) and terrain that is exclusively familiar to one side.
Also, a couple of Kavian's party wouldn't be actual fighting forces. The young ones who haven't hit puberty yet would at most serve as distractions, they wouldn't be able to grapple Li Hua properly. They would be at a major physical disadvantage, as well.
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This isn't me advocating for combat. Rather, hopefully you can see that most of these situations end with mutual damage. Whether your characters know this much or think this way is up to you. To me, Li Hua seems a bit underconfident when disarmed, but a bit overconfident when armed.
Kavian is correct that he doesn't believe he represents a threat, but he might not have the experience to recognize that with numbers and terrain, he poses an equal threat to Li Hua.
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Anyway, meeting in neutral ground would be good, but it seems you're all getting dragged along with Sigismund (the old man is Alvisdan if you remember that NPC, though none of you have learned his name yet) - technically this could be considered a kind of neutral ground.
Actually, funnily enough, Alvisdan appearing was planned before I realized where this convo on safety and threat was going. In a sense, this is a good solution, because Alvisdan could and would stop any violence that breaks out. I won't say any more, you all might or might not get a chance to see him display his strength.