Baiting and Revised Hit Location Rules

[EskrimadorNC]

Hey Folks. I'm posting some house rules for review and feedback from the community. I've already been using the Revised Hit Location rules for a while, and they seem to work in the last few campaigns I've run (Action and ATE settings). The Bait rules are new, and I've not done any live testing of them yet. Please let me know what you think, and don't hesitate to point out any glaring misses in the below write-ups. I've also included some "Designer's Notes" so you guys would see where I am coming from and what I am looking to accomplish here. Thanks in advance for taking a look and providing feedback.


Revised Random Hit Location Rules
Before a PC makes a melee attack, the GM will make a random hit location roll to determine what location is “open” and communicate this to the PC. (see Table below)

Random Hit Loc/Roll (3d6)
Head*/3 - 5
Right Leg/6 - 7
Right Arm/8
Torso /9 - 11
Left Arm/12
Left Leg/13 - 14
Hand/15
Foot/16
Neck/17 - 18
*Note: If the “Head” is open, you can choose to target the Face at no penalty or the Skull at -3.

After the GM determines what is open and communicates this, the PC has 3 options:
• Option 1: Target the Torso at no penalty.
• Option 2: Target what is “open” at no penalty.
• Option 3: Target a specific location at the normal penalty (i.e. -2 for Arm, -5 for Face, etc.)

Note that the following locations are never “open” and must be deliberately targeted to be struck:
• Groin
• Eyes
• Vitals
• Held Weapon

Interactions with Improved Targeted Attack Techniques:
Targeted attack Techniques never improve your chance to hit above your base Skill. For example, if you have maxed out TA Brawling Punch/Face, you normally target the Face -2. If the GM rolls that the Face of your foe is “open”, you still target it at full skill, just like a PC without the improved targeted attack technique.

Also note that this only applies to Random Hit Location rolls for Melee Combat. Ranged Combat uses the RAW Random hit table/rules.


Bait (a Feint Variant)
A common tactic used by skilled melee fighters is to present a certain body part to your foe as though it is unprotected and available to be struck. In reality, the skilled fighter has prepared for his foe to take the “bait” and attack the target that seems to be “open”. This makes the foe’s attack more predictable and thus easier to defend, and normally sets up a devastating counterattack. In the Martial Arts world, we call this “Baiting”. In GURPS rules, this sort of activity is abstracted and cast in the form of the Feint action. The Bait rules presented here take a more nuanced approach and are made possible by the revised Random Hit Location rules posted above. The Bait rules, if used, should replace the Feint rules in the basic set. In general, a Feint gives roughly the same bonus as Bait, but is lower risk, so PCs will most likely use Feint exclusively over Bait.

Bait Mechanics:
Like Feint, Bait can be used in place of an attack. Unlike Feint you cannot take advantage of the bonus until your NEXT TURN. This means you cannot use Bait with AoA-Double, Rapid Strike, or Extra Attack. The following step list takes you through how Bait works in play:
• Step 1: On your turn, declare you will perform a Bait. You must select one of the following maneuvers: Attack, Committed Attack*, or Defensive Attack*. Baits cannot be used with AoA or Move & Attack.
• Step 2: Pick a hit location target to present to your Foe as part of the Bait. Here are the available targets that can be presented in this way: Head, either Hand, either Arm, either Leg.
• Step 3: Roll a Quick Contest of Melee Weapon skills or unarmed weapon skills with your foe. Your opponent can choose to roll against IQ based Melee or Unarmed skills if that is better. If his DX is better than his combat skills, he may roll against DX instead.
o If the NPC wins the quick contest, he is wise to the PC’s Bait attempt and will likely just ignore the presented target.
• Step 4: NPC’s turn. It is up to the GM as to whether or not the NPC takes the Bait**.
o The NPC can choose to attack a different location or not attack at all (i.e. Perform an Evaluate, AoD, Move, etc.). If the NPC does not take the Bait, combat proceeds normally. If the NPC DOES take the Bait and chooses to attack the presented target, move to Step 5.
• Step 5: The NPC makes an attack aimed at the target the PC presented. The NPC suffers no hit location penalty on his attack roll*** and can use options like Deceptive Attack as normal.
• Step 6: If the attack is a clean miss, move to Step 7. If the attack hits, the PC gets a +2 to any one Active Defense roll he makes to avoid the attack. This represents the face that the PC has anticipated the NPC’s chosen target and is well positioned to defend against attacks on that target (just like with a Telegraphic Attack). If the PC fails to defend and is hit, the Bait is foiled and combat continues normally. If the PC successfully defends the attack, move to Step 7.
• Step 7: If the PC chooses to attack on his next turn (AoA, CA, DA, etc. are all valid options), the NPC then suffers a penalty to his Active Defenses = the PC’s Margin of Victory in the quick contest (just like with a Feint). This represents a well setup counter move that was planned in advance, and enabled but the NPC making a predictable attack. This penalty DOES stack with other penalties from things like Deceptive Attack, Riposte, the Counterattack technique, etc.


*For a Committed Attack Bait, the PC will get a +2 on the Quick contest, but then defend with no bonus (also will not be able to retreat or defend with the attacking limb). For a Defensive Attack Bait, the PC will get a -2 in the QC, but an additional +1 on his defense roll if the NPC takes the bait.

**There are ways to force this mechanically, but I would prefer to leave it up to the GM. For example, if a PC is wearing a closed face motorcycle helmet with no other body armor and decides to Bait with his head, only the most brick-headed gang-bangers will go for that shot. In addition, this allows PCs complete agency to decide if they want to attack a location that is open, especially if that location is better protected than others.

***Technically, under these rules you cannot bait with the “Skull”. However, if you Bait the “Head”, the NPC can choose to target your Face at no penalty, or target your Skull at -3.

Designer’s Notes:

Spoiler:  

This all started when I began working on revising the Random Hit Location table. I never had issues with it when dealing with Ranged combat, but some results simply didn’t make sense with melee combat. Add to that the sequence of events in the Basic set for random hits in melee (Roll to hit, Foe rolls Active Defense, then you roll Random hit location) and you end up with a big fat mess that often becomes mechanically unsatisfying and challenging to describe narratively.

My first stab at addressing these issues started with a slightly modified Random Hit Location Table (for melee only) and a sequence change. The roll to see what target is open comes first. That way, if the GM rolls “Foot”, the player can decide to throw something like a Kick (or Stamp Kick) at the target. This makes more narrative sense as a fighter is not likely to pick an absurd method of attack for the target that is open (i.e. a standing fighter throwing a punch at a foot). In addition, it helps the defender when choosing a defense. Under the Basic rules, if a foe throws a kick at a random location, a PC cannot use the Jam technique to defend as the hit location isn’t rolled until after the Active Defense roll. If the bad guy rolls “Face” for the hit location, you can’t very well Jam that attack. Under this new ruleset, the Defender knows what location is being targeted BEFORE he chooses an Active Defense, and can choose to perform Aggressive Parries or Jams as appropriate.

Once I established and play-tested these rules (they have been in play with my group for a few months now), my Martial Arts brain started thinking “What if I present a target to make it appear to be ‘open’, but in reality I am baiting my opponent to strike at a certain location/zone, which not only makes the attack easier to defend (I know what’s coming), but also makes my counter-attack more likely to land?”

In reality, a Bait is always risky. If your opponent is fast enough or attacks the presented location from an unanticipated angle, he might easily strike what you presented. However, by knowing your foe’s most likely target, you can more easily defend the coming attack and setup an effective counter strike. I prefer to introduce options that way reward against risk. With the Basic Set, a Feint carries no risk other than a wasted action (same thing as performing an AoD and then your foe chooses not to attack you). I wanted a rule change that forced the players to take a risk on order to reap a significant reward. In addition, this system is much easier to describe narratively than with a Feint where the NPC gets a counterattack between the initial Feint and the PC’s follow-up attack.

For me, it’s fairly crucial to keep as a GM Fiat whether or not the foe actually takes the Bait. I could easily see PCs setting up absurd situations (like having a ton of DR on just one arm and always baiting with that arm) if their foes were forced to attack the presented target.

[EskrimadorNC]

My apologies for the very verbose post. I bet you folks took one look at the wall of text and immediately decided to exit stage left.

I've hidden some of it so it's easier to digest.

Any feedback would be welcome.

[Dustin]

The Revised Hit Location rules would seem to slow combat down, since there's back-and-forth between the player "I make a melee attack", GM "its leg is open", and then the resolution of the attack attempt by the player.

In our games, we declare "attack to the torso" or "attack to the random" (with no location penalty) and resolve the location after the hit.