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Old 09-11-2019, 10:38 AM   #1
Anders
 
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Default Murphy's rules: How to survive a fall and more

This thread is for minor rule bugs with humorous consequences in GURPS. Because no system is completely without them.

You have to wear armor for this to work. Enough armor to soak all falling damage. The problem is that all armor is treated as flexible for the purpose of falling damage. This does 1 point injury per 5 points of damage.

BUT... if you place a large spike where the guy is falling, this converts damage to impaling, and then damage is only 1 point injury per 10 points of damage. A saw-blade (cutting damage) also works.

:o)
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Last edited by Anders; 09-11-2019 at 10:45 AM.
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Old 09-11-2019, 10:55 AM   #2
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Default Re: Murphy's rules: How to survive a fall

Speaking of surviving a fall, if you strike a liquid and make a successful Swimming roll, at a penalty based on your velocity, you avoid all damage. That means that if you have a high enough skill to tank a -10 penalty (maximum possible terminal velocity is described as Move 100), then you can fall from any height and emerge completely unscathed as long as you hit water. This does mean that it's all-or-nothing, though. Fail and you almost certainly will die.
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Old 09-11-2019, 11:08 AM   #3
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Default Re: Murphy's rules: How to survive a fall

I'm not sure that would quite qualify as a Murphy's in that most people would want to play that way. It is how it works in fiction, even "realistic" fiction.
(Now I don't have my books at the moment.. but if there's no requirement for water depth based on velocity, that could qualify.)
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Old 09-11-2019, 11:13 AM   #4
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Default Re: Murphy's rules: How to survive a fall

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Originally Posted by Flyndaran View Post
I'm not sure that would quite qualify as a Murphy's in that most people would want to play that way. It is how it works in fiction, even "realistic" fiction.
(Now I don't have my books at the moment.. but if there's no requirement for water depth based on velocity, that could qualify.)
It's just a quick sentence, and yes, there is no explicit reference to required depth. It may have been expanded on somewhere besides the Basic Set, but I haven't seen it.
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Old 09-11-2019, 11:32 AM   #5
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Default Re: Murphy's rules: How to survive a fall

I just find the image of a battletrooper falling from orbit and someone crying "we have to save him - bring out the large spike!" hilarious.
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Old 09-11-2019, 12:22 PM   #6
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Default Re: Murphy's rules: How to survive a fall

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Originally Posted by Anders View Post
I just find the image of a battletrooper falling from orbit and someone crying "we have to save him - bring out the large spike!" hilarious.
And don't forget... the more HP you have the more damage you take, even your weight/mass is the same as someone with far, far less HP than you...


(One of the many rules I prefer in DFRPG rules over Basic)
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Old 09-18-2019, 06:59 PM   #7
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Default Re: Murphy's rules: How to survive a fall

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyndaran View Post
I'm not sure that would quite qualify as a Murphy's in that most people would want to play that way. It is how it works in fiction, even "realistic" fiction.
(Now I don't have my books at the moment.. but if there's no requirement for water depth based on velocity, that could qualify.)
So if you carry a canteen and squirt it out below you as you fall you will land in water and since depth doesn’t matter so long as you can swim you are ok?
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Old 09-18-2019, 07:32 PM   #8
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Default Re: Murphy's rules: How to survive a fall

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Originally Posted by Rannith View Post
So if you carry a canteen and squirt it out below you as you fall you will land in water and since depth doesn’t matter so long as you can swim you are ok?
Water falls more slowly than people in atmosphere (it has a rather low terminal velocity, which is why we don’t have to take cover in armored bunkers when it rains*), so that would just end up splattering water in your face. If you time it right, you might be able to chuck a bottle/canteen down and create a puddle, but you’d need to do so so close to the surface you wouldn’t have time to switch to a diving position and would still splat.

*Is it possible to have an atmosphere where rain can form and won’t boil off before hitting the ground, but the atmosphere is thin enough for water to have an impressively-high terminal velocity, while having low enough gravity for humans to settle there? Could be an interesting planet. “Quickly, we have to get the shields back up before the rain reaches us, or it’ll punch holes into the hull!”
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Old 09-18-2019, 09:08 PM   #9
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Default Re: Murphy's rules: How to survive a fall

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rannith View Post
So if you carry a canteen and squirt it out below you as you fall you will land in water and since depth doesn’t matter so long as you can swim you are ok?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon View Post
Water falls more slowly than people in atmosphere (it has a rather low terminal velocity, which is why we don’t have to take cover in armored bunkers when it rains*), so that would just end up splattering water in your face. If you time it right, you might be able to chuck a bottle/canteen down and create a puddle, but you’d need to do so so close to the surface you wouldn’t have time to switch to a diving position and would still splat.
So you need a really high-end supersoaker and the skill to fire it straight down?
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Old 09-18-2019, 11:24 PM   #10
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Default Re: Murphy's rules: How to survive a fall

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Water falls more slowly than people in atmosphere (it has a rather low terminal velocity
It doesn't inherently have a low terminal velocity, it just tends to occur in small droplets and it isn't solid so it gets spread out by air resistance. If you put it in a container so it doesn't spread out, a person-sized bladder of water has similar terminal velocity to a person, a larger or better streamlined object has a higher terminal velocity.
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