FATEwiki - Dramatic Combat Options

(This is the default for FATE.)

This is the default for IDC as well.

Weapons aren't identified by technical statistics, but by the advantage they provide in combat. Thus, Superior Weapons provide a +1 bonus in combat. Superior, in this case, indicates providing an advantage over an opponent.

So, if two combatants are on an equal footing (a sword vs a mace, two different pistols), there is not advantage. If a weapon has a distinct capability or situational advantage (burst capability vs single shot; a rifle at range instead of a pistol), it provides a +1.

Part of this is, as mentioned, situational; a sword is better than a knife when there's room to maneuver; in a cramped sewer, the knife might have the advantage.

Armor works the same way; Superior Armor provides a +1.

The dramatic system works on a simple principle: modifiers are only necessary to represent an advantage, not an absolute value. "No system can ever fully capture all of the subtleties and minute details of combat."

The responsibility for tactical color, then, comes from the players and GM.

Other Combat Modifiers are also in play.