Combat question with Pick weapons

Zorian · 10-07-2009, 04:44 AM

A friend may be starting a GURPS game soonish and I'm trying to get the particulars down ahead of time. We are using the MA book.

Basically the character would use a pick type weapon ,i.e. can get stuck, and once he gets a good solid hit (one round) he would then grab the target's arm (one round) then do a arm wrench (one round).

The question is if he uses a 2 handed pick weapon (warhammer say) would he be able to perform the contested roll with the target if they want to move? And if so are there penalties to doing this one handed, I would think so?

The next question situation: the PC has one hand on the handle of a pick and the other on the forearm of a target. Can he then perform arm wrench or does he have to spend another round putting the other hand on the target? Does the grapple for arm wrench consist of using both hands?

mlangsdorf · 10-07-2009, 05:26 AM

Look up "The Sound of One Hand Grappling" from MA p 116.

He has a DX penalty to initiate the arm lock with one hand and halves his effective ST.

The rules are silent on holding a 2-handed pick in 1 hand to resist the opponent pulling away, but I can't see why it would be harder than resisting the opponent when you started with a 1-handed pick.

Honestly, this sounds like an overly complicated way of combat. If you hit people in the chest with a pick, they generally fall over and die, or at least are stunned. If they are stunned, your best course of action is usually to pull the pick out and hit them again. If they aren't stunned, grabbing at them with a bare hand is generally unwise - armed parries hurt!

Zorian · 10-07-2009, 01:52 PM

The sound of one hand clapping is one bit of info I wanted. I can't believe I forgot that sidebar...probably because I read it originally about 2 months after the book came out. :)

So how does this sound: he gets a -2 to start the grapple for the arm wrench one handed BUT using a Combat Style Perk (there are some that allow shifts from one or two handed or grips as a free action) allows him to next round remove his hand from the handle and perform the actual wrench with his full strength?

As for the combat style, I'm making a character who is a village wrestling champion and uses some of his wrestling in fights. The arm wrench would be a takedown more than anything else. If they don't fall down from the weapon attack but are stunned then great. If they fall down from the weapon attack then <shrug> next target. As for parries...a surprisingly high # of "common" weapons don't get parries if they have attacked already in the round. That and I plan on having the character having high rigid armor on the arms/hands.

10-07-2009, 04:44 AM	#1
Zorian Join Date: Feb 2006	Combat question with Pick weapons A friend may be starting a GURPS game soonish and I'm trying to get the particulars down ahead of time. We are using the MA book. Basically the character would use a pick type weapon ,i.e. can get stuck, and once he gets a good solid hit (one round) he would then grab the target's arm (one round) then do a arm wrench (one round). The question is if he uses a 2 handed pick weapon (warhammer say) would he be able to perform the contested roll with the target if they want to move? And if so are there penalties to doing this one handed, I would think so? The next question situation: the PC has one hand on the handle of a pick and the other on the forearm of a target. Can he then perform arm wrench or does he have to spend another round putting the other hand on the target? Does the grapple for arm wrench consist of using both hands?

10-07-2009, 05:26 AM	#2
mlangsdorf Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Austin, TX	Re: Combat question with Pick weapons Look up "The Sound of One Hand Grappling" from MA p 116. He has a DX penalty to initiate the arm lock with one hand and halves his effective ST. The rules are silent on holding a 2-handed pick in 1 hand to resist the opponent pulling away, but I can't see why it would be harder than resisting the opponent when you started with a 1-handed pick. Honestly, this sounds like an overly complicated way of combat. If you hit people in the chest with a pick, they generally fall over and die, or at least are stunned. If they are stunned, your best course of action is usually to pull the pick out and hit them again. If they aren't stunned, grabbing at them with a bare hand is generally unwise - armed parries hurt!

10-07-2009, 01:52 PM	#3
Zorian Join Date: Feb 2006	Re: Combat question with Pick weapons The sound of one hand clapping is one bit of info I wanted. I can't believe I forgot that sidebar...probably because I read it originally about 2 months after the book came out. :) So how does this sound: he gets a -2 to start the grapple for the arm wrench one handed BUT using a Combat Style Perk (there are some that allow shifts from one or two handed or grips as a free action) allows him to next round remove his hand from the handle and perform the actual wrench with his full strength? As for the combat style, I'm making a character who is a village wrestling champion and uses some of his wrestling in fights. The arm wrench would be a takedown more than anything else. If they don't fall down from the weapon attack but are stunned then great. If they fall down from the weapon attack then <shrug> next target. As for parries...a surprisingly high # of "common" weapons don't get parries if they have attacked already in the round. That and I plan on having the character having high rigid armor on the arms/hands. Last edited by Zorian; 10-07-2009 at 01:59 PM.