Fencine W.P. rules in TMNT

[Rali]

In regards to fencing and W.P.:

In the skill section, it clearly states that a character cannot chose the same skill more than once, however, in the combat section, in the example, it states that the character took the fencing skill 3 times to get a higher bonus.

How is this worked out?

You are referring to the first paragraph of "Combat in Action" on pg 60 of TMNT&OS. While it is not stated, we must assume that Shela was created with the "Team Characters" rules on page 11.

Team Characters can apply a one-time bonus skill level for each additional member of the team, so Shela must have three other team mates which allowed here to add three levels to her Fencing skill.

UPDATE: As indicated below, Fencing should not have been able to take multiple times. On pg 19 of TMNT&OS it says "you can NOT choose the same skill twice to get multiple bonuses". It's most likely a remnant from the pre-revised rules.

[Rali]

How do you handle weapon levels

All skills grow as the character advances in level, WP included. The only time a skill would not be the same level as the character would be in the case of the Team bonus or if the skill was gained after first level.

how do you handle fencing and W.P. bonuses?

Fencing is a one time bonus (pg 19: "you can NOT choose the same skill twice to get multiple bonuses") that is added to your WP Sword skill. Note that this invalidates my previous post and indicates that it may be a typo that wasn't caught by the editor or a remnant from the pre-revised rules.

Ancient WP bonuses increase as your character levels as indicated by their descriptions.

Modern WP bonuses do not get added to Hand-to-Hand or Combat Skill bonuses and do not grow as you gain levels.

[Rali]

I can't believe I never noticed this before, especially considering how much we used to play this and other Palladium games.

You and me both, but this is nothing new. Palladium, I am sorry to say, has never been know for exemplary proofing or editing skills. In the 2nd Edition you can still find contradictory statements and stuff that is missing. I still love the game though.

In an adventure we may use cooking once, but dammit if we didn't use our swords and other weapons, and our fists, hundreds of times...use a sword a lot, and your skill in that weapon increases more than your skill in other weapons; jump a lot and your jumping skill will get better before your swimming skill and so on.

That would be the most logical way of running skills, and several other systems run that way. Palladium favors the theory that as a character grows in level they become more awesome at everything they do.

[Fubarius]

Granted the text is vague, but I never got the impression Fencing required WP Sword as a prerequisite before it was useful. It's a teaching of "Hand to Hand Weapon," a somewhat ridiculous statement which (to me) implies a weapon proficiency. Thoughts?

Well, technically Fencing is a sport. A sport that happens to use a sword, but still a sport, with it's own rules and techniques. These techniques may come in handy in a sword battle, but doesn't equate to skill in trying to actually kill someone with a sword. A fencer can not, for example, slash at someones exposed leg, or arm, or any number of illegal moves, all which are pretty standard stuff in a real fight. It's just like how boxing and wrestling are not equal to a real hand to hand technique, but can add significantly to an existing hand to hand style.