Unified Combat Skills

[AlexanderHowl]

In GURPS, every combat skill has three versions: Art, Combat, and Sport. Each version is the same difficulty as the other versions and defaults at -3 to other versions. This means that a character with Karate Combat (just known as Karate) at DX+4 would default to Karate Sport and Karate Art at DX+1.

I think it would be better to treat every version of a combat skill instead as a specialty of a unified combat skill that is one difficulty level higher than its components. For example, Karate Unified (VH) would be the overarching skill for the specialties of Karate Art, Karate Combat, and Karate Sport (all H). Since they would all be specialties of the same overarching specialty, they would default to it (and each other) at -2. This would mean that a character with Karate Unified at DX+3 would have Karate Sport, Karate Combat, and Karate Art at DX+3.

What do you think? Would unified overarching combat skills be better? Would you use unified combat skills in your campaigns?

[zoncxs]

I wouldn't do that. What I do is have one skill with 3 specialties. You pick one when you purchase said skill. The other 2 specialties default to it at -3 and are average techniques.

So someone can have:

karate(sport) at DX+0 [4]

And will have:

Karate(art) DX-3 [0]
Karate(combat) DX-3 [0]

The reason is because a sport version of a martial art is different from the combat version and "art" version.

[Varyon]

Honestly, part of me feels Melee Weapon should simply be a DX/H skill. Those skills that are already DX/H, like Flail, would instead have the "-1 to skill" note (or be at a further -1 to skill, if they already have a penalty). Using light weapons in a fencing style (Parry F) would probably be a Perk (or even a Feature if you only know how to use them in this manner). Someone who wants to specialize in a single class of weapons (Broadsword, Axe/Mace, etc) can do so, for an effective +1 to skill. Beyond that, Art/Combat/Sport should probably follow zoncxs' suggestion - choose one, then use Techniques for the rest.

[zoncxs]

For my martial arts game I turned all fencing skills into an average technique for certain weapon skills.

[AlexanderHowl]

There are radical differences between the various melee weapons though. An individual who knows how to use a spear does not necessarily know how to use an axe, a shield, or a whip. Attempting to bunch everything under the sun together is the province of Wildcard Skills, not any realistic skill.

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Since they would all be specialties of the same overarching specialty, they would default to it (and each other) at -2. This would mean that a character with Karate Unified at DX+3 would have Karate Sport, Karate Combat, and Karate Art at DX+3.

Shouldn't that be DX+1?

So instead of spending 8 pts to get DX+1 for each skill, for 24 pts, that's 20 pts to get that level. By why wouldn't you buy Karate Combat up to DX+4 for 20 pts instead and still get Art and Sport at DX+1?

And what does the raw Karate Unified skill do? When would I roll against it as is?

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

There are radical differences between the various melee weapons though. An individual who knows how to use a spear does not necessarily know how to use an axe, a shield, or a whip. Attempting to bunch everything under the sun together is the province of Wildcard Skills, not any realistic skill.

The idea would be more that a character who gets Melee Weapon (DX/H) rather than a specialization of it has trained in a large variety of weapons (which, historically, tended to be the case for warriors other than peasant levies and the like - and those are supported by the option to specialize in Spear, for example). Familiarity would still come into play - most characters would be at -3 to use a whip (-1 for Whip normally being DX/H, -2 for familiarity; optionally, the GM could make non-intuitive weapons like the whip and kusari have a harsher familiarity penalty), for example. Balance-wise, as others have noted in the past, once you have one melee weapon skill, having others at a comparable level is only a minor advantage, typically in those odd circumstance where you're separated from your own equipment, but have access to other equipment, yet none of the other equipment uses your preferred skill.

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Shouldn't that be DX+1?

I think the idea is that Unified Karate gives you all three skills at the level of Unified Karate. Basically, anytime a roll against Karate, Karate Art, or Karate Sport is needed, you simply roll Unified Karate. The -2 default is if you opt to take an Optional Specialization so that you just know Karate, or Karate Art, or Karate Sport.

[corwyn]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

There are radical differences between the various melee weapons though. An individual who knows how to use a spear does not necessarily know how to use an axe, a shield, or a whip. Attempting to bunch everything under the sun together is the province of Wildcard Skills, not any realistic skill.

And yet plenty of games out there use a single fighting skill. It all depends on how interesting you think the choice of multiple weapons is.

Spoiler: GURPS isn't always realistic (DF, Action, etc.). Action could easily have one melee skill (or even combat skill) and satisfy most movies in the genre.

[ArchonShiva]

None of these would be better for GURPS as a whole, because GURPS needs to fill a lot of needs. Any of these is probably fine for some games, including yours.

Melee Weapons as a single skill is fine. Combat as a single skill is fine. But it makes for a different game.

If you want to explore situations where people with street skills and dojo skills adapt to each other’s circumstances, unified is ill-advised. If you’re playing Action Flicks and one guy is a martial arts champion, sure let him take the unified.

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I think the idea is that Unified Karate gives you all three skills at the level of Unified Karate. Basically, anytime a roll against Karate, Karate Art, or Karate Sport is needed, you simply roll Unified Karate. The -2 default is if you opt to take an Optional Specialization so that you just know Karate, or Karate Art, or Karate Sport.

That's one way of doing it, but that's not how I read what AlexanderHowl had written there.