6th July 2008, 8:33 PM
Quote:Well in MMOs they do mitigate this by both requiring a certain character level before you can even equip high powered weapons and by giving every weapon type it's own skill level you have to train in before you are able to actually hit things with it.
However for most RPGs, yeah all you need to do is equip that ultimate sword at level 1 and you have perfect strength and accuracy.
True, MMOs do have level requirements, and in D&D and stuff things may have stat or skill requirements (you need X strength to use this, etc), but still...the sword itself adds to your power. Hold it and you are stronger and a better fighter and more likely to hit the enemy (depending on what its enchantments are). Sure a sharper sword will cut better, but it won't actually add to your skill or power, just your potential for doing damage if you hit...
In the actual Middle Ages, if you look at a poem like Beowulf, the sword in that poem gives the wielder no more power than they already have; a weak person would get nothing from holding a great sword. It is the user's ability that truly matters... of course there were things like named swords and the like, and if magic were real it would make sense that some would be enchanted in some way, so it's not entirely ridiculous, but still... it emphasizes "things" over "ability" which is a questionable move, really.