The material presented here is intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.
Striking and Missing
New Maneuvers
Engagement
Exchanges
Lulls
Pressing
Stalling
Time Dilation
Adds a bonus or penalty for melee attacks as it does for ranged attacks. Attacks on a gnome are at -1, attacks on an ogre at +1.
Any attack that fails by one, or a defense that fails by one, results in a glancing blow. A glancing blow inflicts half normal damage, and damage resistance against it is tripled. If both the attack and defense fail by one, damage is quartered, and DR is multiplied by six.
An attack on a hit location which offers a differnent hit on a miss by one, will not lead to a glancing blow.
Treat as a Step and Attack, but attacker is at +1 on defense this turn or may make 2 defenses, each at –2.
The attack suffers one of the following sets of penalties, of the player’s choice:
-2 damage
-4 skill
-1 damage and –2 skill
If using a technique that is resolved by a contest of skills, then ignore the above options; the attacker is at –2 skill.
Treat as a Step and Attack, but attacker is at –2 on defense this turn. Player chooses one of the following sets of bonuses on the attack:
+1 damage
+ 2 skill
Opponent at –1 on active defenses
If using a technique that is resolved by a contest of skills, then ignore the above options; the attacker is at +1 skill.
When combat breaks out, roll for Partial (or Total) Surprise.
Then every character makes a Tactics roll, regardless of surprise.
On a failed roll, the character spends (margin of failure) turns looking around the battlefield, deciding what weapon to use, where to stand, etc. He's not stunned -- he's taking a long Concentrate maneuver to figure everything out. If he desires, he may rush into combat, or he may be rushed into combat by an engaging enemy). If rushed, he will have a penalty equal to [(margin of failure-number of turns surveying the field)/2] (rounded up) to all combat rolls except active defences, for the remainder of the exchange.
On a critical failure, roll 1d: on 1-3, the character is unnerved and routs -- he takes a Move maneuver directly away from the foe until the battle is over; on 4-6, he's terrified and is stunned for the whole thing.
Success indicates that the character can fight normally; the character with the greatest success claims the "high ground" or whatever and gets +1 on all combat rolls in the first exchange.
A critical success means that the fighter receives +2 on all combat rolls in the first exchange, regardless of who made the roll by the most.
The combatants pick their opponents in order of [the margin of success on the Tactics roll+adjusted Move].
After the opponents are picked, roll 2d for each "mini-combat", this is the duration of the first exchange of that combat.
After the first exchange, comes a lull. Each subsequent exchange lasts 1d seconds.
Exception: If there is more than two fighters attacking an opponent, there is no lull until the fight is over or the odds are one to one.
Each lull lasts 1d seconds. During the lull the combatants circle for position. Roll a Contest of Tactics, the winner gains a +1 bonus which can be applied to any one roll (attacks, defenses, damage, etc.) in the first second of the next exchange, the bonus must be allocated before the roll is made. If one combatant wins the contest by 10 or more, his opponent(s) may not attack or All-Out Defend against him for the first second of the next exchange. A lull is followed by another exhange.
See pages CII81-88 for more on exhanges and lulls
When the time comes for a lull, a combatant may attempt to prss his opponent. If one combatant tries to press, roll a Quick Contest of the better of IQ or Tactics, adjusted for Strong/Weak Will. If the pressing combatant wins, the lull is skipped, and combat continues for another exchange (1d seconds) without circling for positions. If he loses the contest or it is a tie, the lull occurs normally. If both combatants wish to press the exchange, success is automatic. If the exhange is pressed, all combatants in that exchange loses one point of Fatigue at the end of the new exchange.
A combatant can also attempt to stall for time, breaking of the exchange early and forcing a premature lull.Stalling is a maneuver, the stalling combatant foregoes his attack (but may defend normally) on the next turn. At the end of the turn, roll a Quick Contest of the better of IQ or Tactics, adjusted for Strong/Weak Will. If the opponent trying to stall wins, the GM immediately rolls lull, which begins on the next turn. If he loses or ties, combat continues normally. If both both sides stall, a lull is automatic. A combatant cannot attempt to pres if his opponent has successfully stalled.
y attempt to bypass his opponents armour. For every -2 penalty taken to the attack, the character gains a 1/6 chance of halving armour DR against that attack. This chance cannot exceed 3/6. This maneuver as an additional -2 penalty against full plate armour harness. If the opponent is partially armoured in the location hit (as by an open-faced helmet, or greaves) the bypassing chance is added to the chance of hitting in an un-armoured location.
To settle drawn-out fights between combatants with high defense scores, without hours of dice-rolling, use a longer "virtual" play turn. (This works well in a duel.)
With a two-second turn, subtract one from defenses. With a four-second turn, subtract two from defenses. Subtract three for an eight-second turn, four for a sixteen-second turn, and so on; choose the turn length so that defenses are brought down to the point where someone might get hurt.
Comment: I will increase turn length until the lesser defense has a base of 12)
Of course, the combatants are striking and defending every second of the abstract longer turn; the reduced defenses represent the greater chance that one of the many blows will have hit somewhere during that time.
Roll to-hit normally, though, once per long turn. (Fighters with unready weapons will make a to-hit roll once every second or third long turn, representing their weapons' lower speeds.) Roll against the lowered defenses, if hits are scored. If the combatants continue fighting, keep running "long turns" until the battle ends