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Varyon · 01-08-2015, 12:53 PM

Some time ago, I created an initiative system for GURPS. It was complicated, clunky, and ultimately unusable. Since then, I've managed to think up a way to simplify the system into something more feasible. This is that system. I have divided this into four posts - the first to explain the core of the system and handle several of the particulars, the second to list and explain the available Maneuvers (and their costs), the third for a variety of special situations, and the fourth for some Techniques that are unique to - or need to be adjusted for - this system.

First, a brief explanation. At its core, this system is designed to make the combat sequence more fluid and unpredictable than A goes, B goes, C goes, repeat. It does so by introducing a new trait, Initiative (Init). Characters accrue Initiative Points (IP) every Tick (approximately 1/5th of a second), and once they reach 100 IP they can act, spending IP to move, attack, and so forth. Spent IP represent both the amount of time needed to perform an action as well as the amount of time needed to recover enough to do something else.

Many effects in GURPS are described as occuring over a course of a number of seconds. If such events are independent of character speed, such as a timebomb counting down, simply use Ticks - a grenade that explodes in 3 seconds would instead explode in 15 Ticks (or 4d+1 Ticks if you wanted some variability). If they are not independent of character speed, such as taking a Step, each second is equivalent to the amount of time it takes the character to recover 50 IP - an Init 10 character can take a Step every 5 Ticks, but one with Init 17 could take one every 3. To save time, it's typically best to simply record how many Ticks are a one-second equivalent for your character (this is 10 for Init 5, 9 for Init 6, 8 for Init 7, 7 for Init 8, 6 for Init 9, 5 for Init 10-12, 4 for Init 13-16, 3 for Init 17-24, 2 for Init 25-49, 1 for Init 50+).

Initiative (Init): Init is equal to 5+Basic Speed. It costs [10] for every +1 Init. As a side note, +1 Basic Speed [20] now consists of +1 Dodge [10] and +1 Init [10] - Basic Speed no longer has a direct influence on Basic Move, and Improved Dodge is only [10]/level.

Movement: Movement has a base cost of 10 IP per yard. Every -1 to this price costs [5], to a minimum of 5 IP per yard (use Enhanced Move for faster movement, with x2 to move being x1/2 to price). Every +3 to this price costs [5], to a maximum of 35 IP. For lesser movement rates, the character has no combat-relevant movement; being able to move a yard per minute is probably [-35], being truly immoblie is [-50]. Many actions allow for a Step, which is however far you can move by spending 10 IP, round down, to a minimum of 1 yard. Steps have normal cost but perfect maneuverability, and you typically can only take a single Step every 50 IP.

To determine a character's overland movement rate (for hiking, jumping distance, and so forth), divide 5xInit by the price above. Thus, a character with an 8 IP Move and Init 12 would use Move 7.5 for calculations that call for Basic Move. Players should typically record their Move in yards per second with cost in parentheses - the above character would have Move 7.5 (8 IP).

Encumbrance: Encumbrance is handled slightly differently from default GURPS. Every full multiple of BL the character is carrying increases the IP cost of move by 25%, round up. How to deal with skill and Dodge penalties is up to the GM - to maintain the current trend, you take a cumulative -1 at 1xBL, 2xBL, 3xBL, and 6xBL. A more lenient version would be -1 for every 2xBL.

Starting Combat: At the beginning of combat, characters roll 3d for initiative - multiply this value by 5 to determine starting IP (if you prefer to avoid rolling, characters start with 50 IP). Thereafter, every Tick, every character gains IP equal to Init. A character who reaches 100 IP gets a turn, spending up to 100 IP (and deducting whatever is spent from their total). Resolve ties based on whoever has the highest IP, highest Init, or highest roll on 1d6, in that order. A character can never spend enough IP to drop below 0, and if a character ends his turn with more than 90 IP remaining, reduce it to 90 IP.

A few traits can influence starting IP. In addition to its normal effects, Combat Reflexes gives a +10 starting IP. Lightning Reflexes is a Perk that grants a +20 starting IP, and stacks with Combat Reflexes. Enhanced Time Sense includes both Combat Reflexes and Lightning Reflexes, for a total of +30. It also means never (outside of Suprise, see below) starting with IP lower than 70, and the cap for amount of IP remaining after an action is 100.

Surprise: In cases of Partial Surprise, characters start as above but suffer a penalty of -50 IP and must roll against IQ (with relevant bonuses, as for recovering from Mental Stun). Characters gain 10 IP per MoS (this cannot give a net bonus) or lose 20 IP per MoF. In cases of Total Surprise, the GM deducts 1d*50 IP from every affected character, in addition to the effects of Partial Surprise.

Prepared: On the opposite end of the spectrum, characters may already be perfectly well prepared for combat, as in the case of executing an ambush or having a Delay (see next post) ready. In such cases, assume characters start with 90 IP, or 100 IP if they have ETS.

Injury: Optionally, injury and pain can cause loss of IP. If using The Last Gasp (Pyramid #3/44), every AP lost to injury or pain results in the loss of 5 IP. If not using that system, every full 10% of HP in injury causes a loss of 5 IP. An HT roll can lessen the effect, restoring 5 IP per MoS (treat MoS 0 as MoS 1; as always, this cannot cause a character to gain IP). High Pain Threshold gives +3 to this roll, while Low Pain Threshold gives -4. Pain instead causes continual loss of IP - 2 per Tick for mild, 4 per Tick for moderate, 8 per Tick for severe, 12 per Tick for terrible, and 20 per Tick for Agony. For Pain, HPT and LPT have their normal effects, and also serve to halve or double the rate of IP loss.

Stunning: For events that normally Stun a character for a set number of rounds, the character instead suffers 50 IP damage for every round the effect normally would have lasted. For Stunning that allows a roll each round to recover, the character takes 50 IP damage per MoF on the initial resistance roll (Stunning that gives a +1 per additional roll instead causes 20 IP damage per MoF). If also penalizing IP for Injury (see above), it may be appropriate to ignore the first 25 IP for Stunning from Major Wounds (as the character may have already suffered such a loss).

A character who drops below 0 IP due to Surprise, Injury, or Stunning is Stunned. While Stunned, a character may only Dodge, at -4 (due to being unable to spend IP; see later). Additionally, at -50 IP characters will typically either drop whatever they are holding or fall prone, and at -100 IP they will typically do both.

01-08-2015, 12:53 PM	#1
Varyon Join Date: Jun 2013	GURPS Overhaul - Initiative, Revised Some time ago, I created an initiative system for GURPS. It was complicated, clunky, and ultimately unusable. Since then, I've managed to think up a way to simplify the system into something more feasible. This is that system. I have divided this into four posts - the first to explain the core of the system and handle several of the particulars, the second to list and explain the available Maneuvers (and their costs), the third for a variety of special situations, and the fourth for some Techniques that are unique to - or need to be adjusted for - this system. First, a brief explanation. At its core, this system is designed to make the combat sequence more fluid and unpredictable than A goes, B goes, C goes, repeat. It does so by introducing a new trait, Initiative (Init). Characters accrue Initiative Points (IP) every Tick (approximately 1/5th of a second), and once they reach 100 IP they can act, spending IP to move, attack, and so forth. Spent IP represent both the amount of time needed to perform an action as well as the amount of time needed to recover enough to do something else. Many effects in GURPS are described as occuring over a course of a number of seconds. If such events are independent of character speed, such as a timebomb counting down, simply use Ticks - a grenade that explodes in 3 seconds would instead explode in 15 Ticks (or 4d+1 Ticks if you wanted some variability). If they are not independent of character speed, such as taking a Step, each second is equivalent to the amount of time it takes the character to recover 50 IP - an Init 10 character can take a Step every 5 Ticks, but one with Init 17 could take one every 3. To save time, it's typically best to simply record how many Ticks are a one-second equivalent for your character (this is 10 for Init 5, 9 for Init 6, 8 for Init 7, 7 for Init 8, 6 for Init 9, 5 for Init 10-12, 4 for Init 13-16, 3 for Init 17-24, 2 for Init 25-49, 1 for Init 50+). Initiative (Init): Init is equal to 5+Basic Speed. It costs [10] for every +1 Init. As a side note, +1 Basic Speed [20] now consists of +1 Dodge [10] and +1 Init [10] - Basic Speed no longer has a direct influence on Basic Move, and Improved Dodge is only [10]/level. Movement: Movement has a base cost of 10 IP per yard. Every -1 to this price costs [5], to a minimum of 5 IP per yard (use Enhanced Move for faster movement, with x2 to move being x1/2 to price). Every +3 to this price costs [5], to a maximum of 35 IP. For lesser movement rates, the character has no combat-relevant movement; being able to move a yard per minute is probably [-35], being truly immoblie is [-50]. Many actions allow for a Step, which is however far you can move by spending 10 IP, round down, to a minimum of 1 yard. Steps have normal cost but perfect maneuverability, and you typically can only take a single Step every 50 IP. To determine a character's overland movement rate (for hiking, jumping distance, and so forth), divide 5xInit by the price above. Thus, a character with an 8 IP Move and Init 12 would use Move 7.5 for calculations that call for Basic Move. Players should typically record their Move in yards per second with cost in parentheses - the above character would have Move 7.5 (8 IP). Encumbrance: Encumbrance is handled slightly differently from default GURPS. Every full multiple of BL the character is carrying increases the IP cost of move by 25%, round up. How to deal with skill and Dodge penalties is up to the GM - to maintain the current trend, you take a cumulative -1 at 1xBL, 2xBL, 3xBL, and 6xBL. A more lenient version would be -1 for every 2xBL. Starting Combat: At the beginning of combat, characters roll 3d for initiative - multiply this value by 5 to determine starting IP (if you prefer to avoid rolling, characters start with 50 IP). Thereafter, every Tick, every character gains IP equal to Init. A character who reaches 100 IP gets a turn, spending up to 100 IP (and deducting whatever is spent from their total). Resolve ties based on whoever has the highest IP, highest Init, or highest roll on 1d6, in that order. A character can never spend enough IP to drop below 0, and if a character ends his turn with more than 90 IP remaining, reduce it to 90 IP. A few traits can influence starting IP. In addition to its normal effects, Combat Reflexes gives a +10 starting IP. Lightning Reflexes is a Perk that grants a +20 starting IP, and stacks with Combat Reflexes. Enhanced Time Sense includes both Combat Reflexes and Lightning Reflexes, for a total of +30. It also means never (outside of Suprise, see below) starting with IP lower than 70, and the cap for amount of IP remaining after an action is 100. Surprise: In cases of Partial Surprise, characters start as above but suffer a penalty of -50 IP and must roll against IQ (with relevant bonuses, as for recovering from Mental Stun). Characters gain 10 IP per MoS (this cannot give a net bonus) or lose 20 IP per MoF. In cases of Total Surprise, the GM deducts 1d50 IP from every affected character, in addition to the effects of Partial Surprise. Prepared: On the opposite end of the spectrum, characters may already be perfectly well prepared for combat, as in the case of executing an ambush or having a Delay (see next post) ready. In such cases, assume characters start with 90 IP, or 100 IP if they have ETS. Injury: Optionally, injury and pain can cause loss of IP. If using The Last Gasp* (Pyramid #3/44), every AP lost to injury or pain results in the loss of 5 IP. If not using that system, every full 10% of HP in injury causes a loss of 5 IP. An HT roll can lessen the effect, restoring 5 IP per MoS (treat MoS 0 as MoS 1; as always, this cannot cause a character to gain IP). High Pain Threshold gives +3 to this roll, while Low Pain Threshold gives -4. Pain instead causes continual loss of IP - 2 per Tick for mild, 4 per Tick for moderate, 8 per Tick for severe, 12 per Tick for terrible, and 20 per Tick for Agony. For Pain, HPT and LPT have their normal effects, and also serve to halve or double the rate of IP loss. Stunning: For events that normally Stun a character for a set number of rounds, the character instead suffers 50 IP damage for every round the effect normally would have lasted. For Stunning that allows a roll each round to recover, the character takes 50 IP damage per MoF on the initial resistance roll (Stunning that gives a +1 per additional roll instead causes 20 IP damage per MoF). If also penalizing IP for Injury (see above), it may be appropriate to ignore the first 25 IP for Stunning from Major Wounds (as the character may have already suffered such a loss). A character who drops below 0 IP due to Surprise, Injury, or Stunning is Stunned. While Stunned, a character may only Dodge, at -4 (due to being unable to spend IP; see later). Additionally, at -50 IP characters will typically either drop whatever they are holding or fall prone, and at -100 IP they will typically do both. Last edited by Varyon; 01-13-2015 at 07:39 AM.