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Old 10-03-2011, 11:11 AM   #1
Pluribus
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Default Parrying with an opponents weapon?

Okay, here's a question that came up during a GURPS themed dream I had last night.

The protagonist was dual wielding sais and fighting against two opponents. One foe had a glaive pole-arm and the other had a large club. The first opponent attacked and the hero blocked it by catching the glaive with both his sais. Then the club wielder attacked. The club was too large to be parried by sais so the hero pulled the glaive into the path of the club. He basically parried with his opponents weapon. It was at this point that my dream paused while I considered how that action would work within GURPS rules. Yep, it was that geeky of a dream.

I've come to a conclusion that I think would work, but I'm curious to get other opinions.

I think it would pretty much only work with the jitte/sai as they have the special rule that lets you make a disarm attempt after a successful parry without needing to strike the weapon. Basically implying that a jitte/sai parry equals a 'catch'. This may also apply with other 'catching' weapons such as a chain.

My idea is that in order to do this type of parry you must have parried the first attack successfully. Then you must make a disarm attempt and at least succeed in unreadying your first opponent's weapon (a high enough roll to disarm still just unreadys the weapon in this case). Unreadying the weapon implies that you have enough control over it to manipulate it. Then you make a jitte/sai parrying role with some penalty depending on the weapon in question. A polearm probably being no penalty while a knife would be rather high. The weapon that intercepts the blow is subject to breaking as if it had blocked the weapon on it's own.

What do people think? Hopefully I've made my logic followable.

Could this also work for pulling your opponent into the path of the blow?

Also, my spell check hates that fact that I'm using the word "unready" as a verb.

Last edited by Pluribus; 10-03-2011 at 11:17 AM.
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Old 11-21-2011, 01:39 PM   #2
Talonos
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Default Re: Parrying with an opponents weapon?

I'd allow it.
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Old 11-22-2011, 05:21 AM   #3
Ultraviolet
 
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Århus, Denmark
Default Re: Parrying with an opponents weapon?

It sounds quite reasonable, I'd go for that too. Good ideas for mechanics, especially the thing about the Disarm only catching the weapon never removing it no matter the roll.

But why is a club too heavy to parry if a polearm isn't? Doesn't the glaive weigh more than a club, or are we talking about a huge, unbalanced maul?

About the unarmed version, that one seems like it may fly as well. I believe I've seen such in one hong kong flick or another. But perhaps it is more diffocult to pull the arms around than a weapon held in said arms, because of the body weight I believe you need to pull around as well. I dunno.
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Old 11-22-2011, 04:09 PM   #4
Maz
 
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Denmark
Default Re: Parrying with an opponents weapon?

There are some cinematic rules in MA about using other people as a weapon or proxy. This would fall within that.
I think it's a cool move and would allow it in a less cinematic game as well, as you describe it :)
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Old 11-22-2011, 08:12 PM   #5
Snargash Moonclaw
 
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: PDX/Deep UrLand, The OtherWorld
Default Re: Parrying with an opponents weapon?

"Furthermore, if you attempt to disarm
on the turn immediately after you
parry your opponent’s weapon, you
need not roll to hit his weapon first." (B208)

If the sai wielder's turn fell in between the glaive user's and the club user's then the attempt might be possible - if the club wielder attacks before the sai wielder's turn then the latter would not have had the chance yet to even attempt the disarm of the glaive. Even so, if the sai wielder had only succeeded in unreadying the glaive I would permit the glaive wielder to contest the sai wielder's parrying attempt - the sai wielder doesn't really have control of the glaive in this case, he has only negated the glaive wielder's control of his weapon - neither of them is really in control of it at the moment. Remember - you can only parry with a ready weapon and the sai wielder has not readied the glaive. That detail would technically rule out the attempt but I think I would allow it - the sai wielder rolls to parry while the glaive wielder makes a skill roll to contest his attempt to control the glaive with his sais. In this case, for purpose of determining success, I would treat the necessary margin as the glaive wielder attempting to disarm the sai wielder - that is, the sai wielder must win the contest by 3 or more or he fails to "ready the glaive" and the parry will fail. (If the sai wielder's parry roll was low enough to succeed as a parrying attempt but not enough to win the contest this would simply mean that while he moved the glaive enough to interpose it, he didn't have enough control wrested from it's user to prevent the club wielder's blow from powering through.) If the glaive wielder actually wins the contest then he doesn't disarm the sai wielder, however he would break his weapon free from the sai wielder's hold, having to ready as normal on his next turn. Critical failures by either would result in loss of weapon.
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