Blocking the way in tactical combat

[pfharlock]

Is there a way to effectively "Block the way" in tactical combat. It seems to me that there is not after having read the rules for "evading". It looks like as long as an enemy has enough movement to move through your hex, they may do so unmolested.

I read the tactic of using a wait maneuver to attack as soon as they enter either the hex you are in or an adjacent hex, but I'm pretty sure this only gives you one attack, (ie another enemy would be free to move through), or if you used an all out attack to attack twice then at most you could attack two targets that entered the hex. Also It's my impression that if you fail to kill the enemy in this way then they can continue to move through your hex anyway after your attack is over.

So the real question is, is there any way to truly guard ground in gurps, ie I shall let no man pass this hex unless my character is dead or incapacitated. This would alow for things like setting up lines of defense and being able to more effectively guard protected areas.

Thanks in advance for whoever answers this question.

[Son of Dave]

Have the defender make a wait maneuver, responding to the evasion of his opponent by stepping and grappling, or shoving, or attacking his feet/legs in an attempt to cripple him.

You might, alternativly, decide to intercept instead of just holding position.
You can use a Wait>Move&Attack (Slam), or utilise techniques such as Sweep, or Trip (or indeed, Grapple>Judo/Wrestiling Throws) to put the attacker on his backside.

There are quite a few options, but GURPS combat does not reward just standing there, occupying space. You have to activly prevent opponents from just walking past you.

[thulben]

Originally Posted by pfharlock

(ie another enemy would be free to move through), or if you used an all out attack to attack twice then at most you could attack two targets that entered the hex.

This passes a reality check (to a point). If I and two of my friends are trying to get by you, it seems reasonable to me that you'd only be able to occupy one of us while the other two would be able to pass by relatively unmolested.

[Icelander]

See also MA p. 106 'Dealing with Charging Foes -Obstruction', which allows the blocker to use his weapon skill in the place of DX to counter Evade attempts from the front and allows him to do damage on a successful roll.

[Dustin]

While it does require some challenging Wait maneuvers to prevent someone from walking past your hex, it's pretty effortless to prevent them from going through your hex. A successful Evade requires that the moving character succeed on a Quick Contest of DX at a -5 penalty (B368). So Legolas and Daredevil are probably sailing right through, but it's going to be nearly impossible for more evenly matched opponents -- PCs in my fantasy campaign almost never even try, it's not worth the bother.

[Phoenix_Dragon]

Evading through an occupied hex is so hard that I've never seen it done unless the defending character is badly outclassed (And even then, it can be iffy). Waits are the only way to cover other hexes, of course. And yeah, if two people try to run around either side of you, it's going to be hard to stop them. No surprise there :>

[Ulzgoroth]

The Trip technique allows you to mess with people running by you as a parry.

[lexington]

You might build a technique for Immovable Stance or even just rule that one of the benefits of using the skill is that people cannot pass through your hex unless they cause knockdown or knockback.

[Anaraxes]

How about a use of the Intimidate skill to prevent attackers from risking bypassing you? If they're willing to take a chance, then realistically they might be able to bypass you. If they're not willing to take that chance, the die rolls will never come up.

[Agramer]

Originally Posted by Dustin

A successful Evade requires that the moving character succeed on a Quick Contest of DX at a -5 penalty (B368). So Legolas and Daredevil are probably sailing right through, but it's going to be nearly impossible for more evenly matched opponents -- PCs in my fantasy campaign almost never even try, it's not worth the bother.

Originally Posted by Phoenix_Dragon

Evading through an occupied hex is so hard that I've never seen it done unless the defending character is badly outclassed (And even then, it can be iffy).

I had a MA character who bought Evade techniqe fully(to +5 to Acrobatics) and had high Acrobatics...So I was wading through battlefield as I pleased.

I also had Extra Attack,and when in doubt I feinted before Evade attempt.