An idea, stolen from the "The Dark Eye" (TDE) (pen&paper RPG) is that different weapons have different distance ranges, and you need successful actions to chang

An idea, stolen from the "The Dark Eye" (TDE) (pen&paper RPG) is that different weapons have different distance ranges, and you need successful actions to change the current distance. (Yes, I know, it introduces a second gauge) IIRC in TDE there are four distances, one for very long weapons (like Halberd), one in between for two-handed swords and the like, one for normal sword fights, and one for hand fights and knifes. And of course a Halberd is no use to use if the opponent is only half a meter away with a knife. So different weapons have different penalties based on the distance; changing weapons costs time, which your opponent can use against you; changing distance also costs time (for example with feints that keep the enemy at their current spot, and give you freedom to move away). Then you have different skills for different weapons, and general skills for actions like switching weapons, changing distance and the like. I'm now tempted to try making a battle system based on that, but I fear time constraints (two small children at home...) make it unlikely that something good comes out.