Dodge and drop: drop down as a free action?

[mirtexxan]

Hi,
I thought of a weird rules inconsinstency... if you can ONCE on yourn turn dodge and drop as an active defense (or dive for cover)... why you need a change posture maneuver to get to a lying position?

I think it would be fair to allow a PC to drop down or dive for cover as a free action in his turn, by renouncing to the special active defense options in his turn.

What do you think?

Bonus question: Falling down a single yard deals non trivial (1d!) damage to most creatures? Really? There are so many places in the rules where you fall down from such heights whitout taking damage! Am I missing something?

[sjmdw45]

I very much agree. It doesn't make sense to require Change Posture to drop prone.

RE: falling, an unexpected fall of zero feet can kill you (if you trip and hit your head or something--although maybe I would count that as a fall of half your height), so it doesn't bother me if a 3' fall can do 1d to a random hit location in GURPS. If anything falling does too little damage. See https://www.gamesdiner.com/2019/05/r...ough-in-gurps/ for an argument in favor of increasing it.

[Anaraxes]

Here's a study from Taiwan on injuries in falls, including a category for those less than 1m. Of 7001 patients who suffered those short falls, including "ground level falls" (GLF), 9.4% suffered "severe" injuries (an ISS score of 16+) while 2.2% were "critically" injured (ISS 25+). Maybe a mere 1d really isn't enough. The "critical" results we could perhaps leave to, well, critical hits, but even triple damage and a max roll of 6 isn't likely to put anyone not especially fragile at risk of a death check.

[sjmdw45]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

Here's a study from Taiwan on injuries in falls, including a category for those less than 1m. Of 7001 patients who suffered those short falls, including "ground level falls" (GLF), 9.4% suffered "severe" injuries (an ISS score of 16+) while 2.2% were "critically" injured (ISS 25+). Maybe a mere 1d really isn't enough. The "critical" results we could perhaps leave to, well, critical hits, but even triple damage and a max roll of 6 isn't likely to put anyone not especially fragile at risk of a death check.

6 damage is however enough to permanently cripple the hand or foot of a ST 8 individual, which is fairly severe.

The solution I landed on for falling damage after reading T-bone's article was, instead of doubling falling damage, to roll falling damage twice for any fall. If you're lucky both injuries will be to your torso. If you're unlucky you could break both legs, or crack your skull open and also sprain your weapon-hand wrist.

[Lovewyrm]

Maybe an acrobatics roll + 2 (or maybe even 4) to properly make a deliberate dive.
Margin of failure is how much shock the character suffers, capped at 4.

Simulating getting the wind knocked out, but no real injuries.
If a random hit roll lands on the head, then maybe margin of failure seconds of stun, perhaps capped at four, also.

It won't be a real injury, just a disorienting, painful stunning 'jostle' or something.

I'd just allow the dive without any of that tho...

[Mr_Sandman]

Thinking about it, I’ve never required anyone to take a change posture maneuver to change posture downward. Kneeling or crouching or diving to the ground to grab a weapon or macguffin has always been automatic in my games, more or less treated as the step part of another maneuver. Getting back up could cost turns. This thread had me wondering if I should change that to be closer to RAW, but mostly I feel that would make high action scenes more fiddle.

I think it’s reasonable to treat the change posture maneuver as the only way to get to laying down without risk of injury. Let someone dive or drop as the step for another maneuver, but treat that as a 1-yard fall (or half height for characters over 3 yards tall). Perhaps an acrobatics roll can avoid the damage, but roll that and any other rolls that turn at -2 for doing two things at once. The rules for losing concentration if the character takes injury apply. It’s hard to imagine maintaining aim though.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Lovewyrm

Maybe an acrobatics roll + 2 (or maybe even 4) to properly make a deliberate dive. Margin of failure is how much shock the character suffers, capped at 4.

That makes sense and would make a good house rule.

I'd allow a roll vs. Soldier or any other suitable skill to go prone in a hurry without injury though, not just Acrobatics, although only Acrobatics should give a bonus.[/QUOTE]