Quote:
Originally Posted by vicky_molokh
Any particular reason why you discount the possibility of the blade/boot slipping out/off and similar events described in the box? (Admittedly, the box didn't both to mention a failed roll as a case of a slipping.)
Also, you said 'especially' - so what are the other finely-detailed reasons? I'm asking because I'm really curious; I've usually found players unhappy when an action is either declared impossible due to a lack of rules, or made undesirable by the need to recall highly different or complicated rules for said action.
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Well lets keep it to one example:
"The victim might twist so that the knife slides
out (dodge),"
Do we image that lifting your body off a weapon is anyway analogous to dodging an incoming blow, in either rate of success or in avoiding further damage?
" use his shield to shove you away (block),"
This one is a bit better, but a block in GURPS is blocking the weapon which obviously impossible here. What's described is a shove. This might seem a pedantic distinction but try and visualise how this manoeuvre would actually physically work, say with an impaling knife, longsword of spear. Then again you have the issue of the weapon being removed without causing damage.
"or restrain your wrist (parry)."
That not a parry that's a grapple (or conceivably a bind weapon). How is parrying blade going to stop someone twisting of further thrusting a weapon into you?
I might consider a beat, but that going to hurt a lot!
"His armor DR would
affect the second attack – despite the knife being
inside his armor – because you have to rip through
him and his armor. "
No it won't unless I'm actually trying to drag my weapon through the armour, and why would I do that?
If I have thrust my sword through your armour enough to get the tip through, I'm actually going to either:
push further in (we're both moving around at this point so chances are that will change the angle of the wound channel widening it over all.
pivot my weapon to widen the wound channel using resistance of the armour as leverage.
Now DR would make twisting the weapon (as in the classic stab, twist, pull, bayonet drill*) difficult so I'd count it against that.
If nothing else if DR is partially fixing my penetrating weapon in place and stopping me from further working it into you, it's going to hamper the above defensive efforts to pull off the blade (dodge), push me off (block), or 'parry' it out.
And then this leaves aside the second to hit roll that just does't makes sense at all here (I see this as analogous to increasing the effects of grapple that you had previously established). I'm rolling to hit you while my weapon is inside you, and at a penalty?
Thing is rapid strike is just that two faster hits in the same space of time as one normal one. But once you start moving away from that basic premise it get's less and less appropriate for describing more and more varied things.
Another case in point rapid strikes require a readied weapon, So I can stab and twist with a sword, but not with an axe?
None of this is a big thing, all these things can be house ruled with a couple of seconds thought (and this particular one can be handed with TG).
Also I realise the examples are designed to be range of flavour descriptions to widen rapid strike to things we'd possibly want to emulate, and that's fine too.
None of this is stuff I lie awake at night thinking about, but you asked for an example and this is one.
*more modern ones seem to involve thicker shorter blades designed to push ribs apart IIRC