[tbeard1999]

Regarding adapting GURPS mechanics - I would avoid replicating the GURPS combat system for the simple reason that I do not like it as much as I like the TFT combat system. In particular, I'd avoid active parry rolls. These slow the game down too much in my opinion. And at the end of the day, that game and combat system already exists - GURPS.

If you agree that some sort of defense is in order, then I think it is in keeping with the TFT design philosophy to use a system that only requires one figure to do anything.

One simple solution would be the expert and master weapon talents, which require the enemy to roll 4 or 5 dice (or suffer a -3/-6 or -7 penalty to a 3d6 roll). The defensive modification is cooked into the attacker's adjDX roll.

A slightly more involved (but also more nuanced) approach is the Defense mechanic above. It would make high DX, but very lightly armored figures harder to hit. (I like it the most, despite its slight complexity because it targets and resolves a specific issue - the swashbuckler type character. I am fine with heavily armored figures whaling away on one another with no defense.) This ability could, but doesn't have to be, talent based.

The Parry/Riposte mechanic might work as well. (Allows a figure to parry X number of hits with a hand weapon, at a Y adjustment to DX). This ability could, but doesn't have to be, talent based.

And there's the super simple option of letting figures reduce their DX and the DX of their opponents by up to X points. Some playtesting would be needed to determine the limits, but a first approximation might be that the adjustment can't exceed (say) 1/3 of your DX. This ability could, but doesn't have to be, talent based.

Any of these mechanics would be superior to a parry roll in my opinion, because they don't slow the game down as much. And they can produce reasonably accurate results as well.