The Step in tactical combat, moving backwards?

[Ultraviolet]

The Step in tactical combat, can it be used to move sideways or backwards? Normally this costs 2 Movement Points.

It seems to me the Step should be a single Movement Point, thus only allowing forward movement. Am I right in this assumption?


So if you wanted to perform a Step and Attack backwards could you call a Committed Attack (MA p99) and interpret the extra Step allowed (for -2 skill) as +1 Movement Point instead? To use those 2 Movement Points to move 1 yard backwards or sideways?
Also, for using Guns an AoA(Determined) only gives +1 not +4. So what would a Committed (determined) gun attack give? I'd say +0, and the extra Step would yield -2. Still better than Move and Attack though.

I've looked i MA and TS and could not find anything

[trooper6]

This is in the basic book, pg 363: "Many maneuvers restrict movement to a “step.” This is movement up to 1/10 your Move, minimum 1 yard, in any direction, a change of facing (for instance, to turn around), or both. You can perform your step before or after the rest of the maneuver; for instance, you could step and attack or attack and step."

[Ultraviolet]

Originally Posted by trooper6

This is in the basic book, pg 363: "Many maneuvers restrict movement to a “step.” This is movement up to 1/10 your Move, minimum 1 yard, in any direction, a change of facing (for instance, to turn around), or both. You can perform your step before or after the rest of the maneuver; for instance, you could step and attack or attack and step."

Ah thanks. Although it seems cheap for backwards movement, which normally counts double, your step can hardly be shorter than 1 hex/yard. It's good for simplicity.
But a Move 2 person wanting to move backwards might as well make an attack while stepping back rather than spending his entire turn performing a Move action...

[Railstar]

The other thing to come to mind is Long Weapon Tactics, which suggests a step back and a Retreat, forcing the foe to continually advance - so it assumes you can Step backwards & Retreat in the same round and still fight normally.

[Dalzig]

When you quantize the world onto 1 yard hexes, things will eventually get weird at some point. Either you round steps up and slow people get overly large steps or you round steps down and slow people start losing combat options like retreating. Rounding up is generally the funner thing to do.

I'll gladly accept an oddity like a step backwards being equal to a move backwards.

[Tomsdad]

It can get a bit weirder when you bring in the committed attack's double step option.

As Mv rates for some actions are based on fractions of Mv rounded down and steps are always 1 yard. So committed attack's double step is always 2 yards, even if your AoA half Mv is 2 yards or lower!

and of course you can often get a step's worth of movement for free with retreat

But yep as people have already said such is the nature of playable abstraction and workable lower limits for what you want to track!

[Maz]

Sometimes I require a DX-check to step backwards if it's difficult terrain.

Like if your fighting on a stair, or on a slippery or uneven floor. Likewise for a retreat.

This way I do not interfere with the "minimum 1 hex move" but there is still a penalty to take those actions. I allow the Alien Cat-race PC with Move 11, to avoid this DX check if he spends both Steps to move only 1 hex... but he has such a high DX that he usually go for the DX check anyway.

[ericthered]

Arguably, the solution is that folks with move 2 shouldn't have a step at all. Yes, that's a big handicap. But move 2 should be a big handicap.

Yes, I know that gurps doesn't have that as a rule. But its a house rule worth looking at.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Railstar

The other thing to come to mind is Long Weapon Tactics, which suggests a step back and a Retreat, forcing the foe to continually advance - so it assumes you can Step backwards & Retreat in the same round and still fight normally.

There's no question that the rules allow that. Some people think they shouldn't and have house rules for that, but by the book Retreat is entirely independent of the regular movement that comes with your Maneuver.

Originally Posted by Ultraviolet

Ah thanks. Although it seems cheap for backwards movement, which normally counts double, your step can hardly be shorter than 1 hex/yard. It's good for simplicity.
But a Move 2 person wanting to move backwards might as well make an attack while stepping back rather than spending his entire turn performing a Move action...

GURPS runs into lots of granularity-related problems when you slide capability sharply down from '0-point human'. This is one.

[Jeminai]

Originally Posted by Tomsdad

and of course you can often get a step's worth of movement for free with retreat

It is my understanding that if you did a free step and attack on your turn and then your opponent attacks you, you are unable to retreat because you have already used your step in this turn.

This makes reach 2+ weapons vs shorter weapons so effective. If you are two hexes away your opponent must step to attack you. When you retreat you get your bonus to dodge. Then you attack, but they cannot retreat because they have already stepped.