[Fantasy] Assassin Backstab?!

[johoohno]

If I were to create something advantageous for assassins when backstabbing someone, what would it look like, should I use skills or advantages? What I'm looking for is something that gives extra damage (and/or extra skill) when sneaking up from behind on people and attacking them.

[blacksmith]

Originally Posted by johoohno

If I were to create something advantageous for assassins when backstabbing someone, what would it look like, should I use skills or advantages? What I'm looking for is something that gives extra damage (and/or extra skill) when sneaking up from behind on people and attacking them.

Well in that situation you can go with a telegraphed attack as they can not defend themselves.

[Mailanka]

GURPS has no real need for an obvious "backstab" advantage. When attacking from stealth, your opponent does not get a defense, so you have all the time in the world for an Evaluate, an All-Out Attack and/or a Telegraphic Attack (GURPS Martial Arts), which will help overcome the penalties for a knife-stab to the vitals, which is what a D&D-style "Backstab" really represents: A knife to the kidneys or lungs, rather than a random slash at the shoulder, chest or ribcage.

Even so, Dungeon Fantasy uses "Striking Strength (Only when making surprise attacks -60%)," and I imagine you could use a similar variation on some Innate Attacks (with or without the muscle-powered enhancement)

[vicky_molokh]

Use Telegraphic Attack. Use perks like Long-Distance Telegram, Rolling Stone, Master's Watchful Eye etc. to improve your Evaluates and TAs. Definitely take Targeted Attack: Vitals or somesuch.

Maybe also take Focused Fury (if you want to spend FP on damage) and/or Rules Exemption to allow TAs to benefit from wider criticals.

[johoohno]

You guys are awesome, I don't even get the chance to finish another post before I find a lot of answers. I'll flip through my MA then (the only book I haven't looked through yet) and take a look at telegraphic attack. Though I feel Mailanka's idea useful too, then I won't need a specific skill for the attack, only good skill in stealth.

[Kuroshima]

Another gem for this, is the Dirty Fighting perk from Action 3, that gives +1 to any feint or attack delivered as a "sucker punch" before combat begins. While it's intended to model action movie surprise punches, I think that it woul fit fantasy assassins perfectly.

[mlangsdorf]

Dungeon Fantasy also offers an -80% modifier to Striking Strength for "surprise attacks from behind when the target doesn't even know you're there." A couple of levels of that, a few points in the Targeted Attack (Swing/Neck), and a Telegraphed Attack from behind and you'll be backstabbing your foes into decapitation.

[LemmingLord]

37 points: afflict heart attack +300%, melee -30%, +40% link with stab, not against enemies using an active defense -40%

i picked 40% for link since a stab isn't an innate attack and wouldn't have the normal 20% enhancement applied to it, so might as well handle both 20% here.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by mlangsdorf

Dungeon Fantasy also offers an -80% modifier to Striking Strength for "surprise attacks from behind when the target doesn't even know you're there." A couple of levels of that, a few points in the Targeted Attack (Swing/Neck), and a Telegraphed Attack from behind and you'll be backstabbing your foes into decapitation.

-80%?

ISTR it was -60%.

Also we had a thread, on here, some months ago, about how to interpret it, and Kromm's idea of how often it should be applicable was markedly more generous than that of most other posters.

[thulben]

Originally Posted by Molokh

Use perks like Long-Distance Telegram, Rolling Stone, Master's Watchful Eye etc. to improve your Evaluates and TAs.

Perhaps I'm being dense, but where do those perks exist? I looked in both MA and PU2 and didn't see any reference...