Keeping Opponents at Bay

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Personally, I think that if someone wants to charge an opponent and retreat along the way, it isn't an issue if you visualize it correctly.

Indeed. In the anime Rurouni Kenshin - which is obviously cinematic - there's a notable case of a character (Kenshin) with Wait (All Out Attack Strong when target gets in range) and a foe (Jin-e) who opts to make a Committed Attack (Dedicated) from 2 yards* out. Jin-e Steps to 1 yard out, does a Retreating Dodge against Kenshin's attack, then Steps forward again to do his own attack, only to discover Kenshin's AOA was actually part of a Dual Weapon Attack. Of course, in the anime, this is shown as Jin-e dashing forward, pausing and leaning back to avoid Kenshin's strike, then continuing forward only to get his arm broken by Kenshin's second strike with his scabbard.

*It's probably closer to 4 or 5 yards, but the characters involved most likely have 2 yard steps, so it's all good.


Of course, one other oddity that shows up is that if the knifeman opts to Move and Attack into Reach C and scores a potential hit, the spearman can do a Retreat, then on his turn step back again (putting 2 yards between them), but if the knifeman misses or opts instead to simply Move, the spearman can only put 1 yard between them by stepping back. Personally, I see no real issue with a character being able to "waste" their Retreat in response to a foe's action, regardless of if that action would normally allow a Retreat.

[Kromm]

Remember that it's critical to "black box" combat. The individual maneuvers, steps, posture changes, and even wounds aren't important; the outcome is. It's best not to try to associate every game decision with a real action. The game rules are intended for use on a quantized time mesh (one-second turns) and quantized space mesh (hex map) – and of course real life isn't quantized that way, but has overlap and intermediate values, not to mention true rather than simulated simultaneity. Thus, those rules are abstractions . . . even if nobody, at any point, actually steps back a yard, the rules might use that device on a map in order to produce a sensible end result.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Varyon

Of course, one other oddity that shows up is that if the knifeman opts to Move and Attack into Reach C and scores a potential hit, the spearman can do a Retreat, then on his turn step back again (putting 2 yards between them), but if the knifeman misses or opts instead to simply Move, the spearman can only put 1 yard between them by stepping back. Personally, I see no real issue with a character being able to "waste" their Retreat in response to a foe's action, regardless of if that action would normally allow a Retreat.

Yeah, I do find the 'mobility depends on being attacked' to be a significant problem some times. Though being allowed to burn it wherever you want could do some weird things, you may want to pin it down more than that. (Particularly, if the knifeman only has just enough movement to get into reach, the spearman could deny them the attack entirely by retreating first.)

[hal]

For what it is worth, I'm taking the cover off GURPS MARTIAL ARTS for my upcoming GURPS ATLANTIS campaign (based upon Bard Games of the 1980's fame). One player is going to be playing a half-breed whose mother was Atlantean and whose father was Khitian. We intend to bang the hell out of all of the Martial Arts rules just to see what is possible. After gorging myself on some Netflix dubbed moves from China, some of the weapons in the movies - exotic though they may well be, look to be interesting in their own right. The one weapon (possibly a Dao???) looks like a horse cutter on a sword hilt instead of a staffed blade. The Chinese soldier using it was using a shield in conjunction with it. That's when I thought "Hmmm, an extra +1 swing damage as compared against a broadsword, unbalanced, but used in conjunction with a shield would quite possibly work". Then I wondered about the Jian. It is a 2 hex reach weapon when thrusting, a 1 hex reach when swung, and used in conjunction with a committed attack long, looks like an interesting change from the swing/block/swing/block/swing/block routine that the players usually use.

I finally will be able to get the players to use ALL of what is available in GURPS MARTIAL ARTS!!!

Now for the fun part...

I'm looking to use those business card templates from Avery with Microsoft Word, and try to print double sided combat Cue cards. On one side, it says the Maneuver, on the flip side it says the bonus and penalties involved. Might work wonders for organize game play.

[mr beer]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Spears are probably not better against armor than swords are, so that alone can't do much to explain the position of the sword.

Like I said, 'also'.