10-04-2009, 12:31 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Earth
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[Question] Combat turn overlap
After admitting to myself that I'll need to relearn GURPS in order to GM it, I've reread the books (mostly, skipped things that won't or will not come up a lot). In doing so, I think I may have been misunderstanding the combat flow. Or I may just be over thinking it...
I'm a little confused on the turn overlap...essentially, when are the effects of the action applied, especially with regards to spells? In other words Combatant A and combatant B are fighting hand to hand. Combatant A goes first... If combatant A attacks, hits, and damages combatant B, does the effects of shock penalty be applied to combatant B's immediate upcoming action or action afterward? Combatant A is casting a 1 second spell on combatant B. Combatant A goes first... Since the time to cast the spell is one second, when does the effect of the spell affect combatant B?
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10-04-2009, 12:51 PM | #2 | ||
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
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Re: [Question] Combat turn overlap
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"It is easier to banish a habit of thought than a piece of knowledge." H. Beam Piper This forum got less aggravating when I started using the ignore feature Last edited by Polydamas; 10-04-2009 at 12:56 PM. |
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10-04-2009, 12:52 PM | #3 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: [Question] Combat turn overlap
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I'm pretty sure there's a clearer description in one of the FAQs, but the key concept is when the term is used properly (and sometimes it is misused as a synonym for second, though 4e is much better about that) GURPS turns have no duration. Turn is used in the normal English sense, and is personal to each individual, not to label a specific slice of (game) time. There is nothing preventing character A from having several turns before character B gets one. A good visualization tool is to imagine handing around a single actual object that marks who's turn it currently is. Your turn begins when you get it, and ends when you hand it to the next person. Any effect using turns in its duration description should tell you whether it lasts until the beginning or end of a specific person's turn. If it doesn't then its not described right.
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10-04-2009, 03:37 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: France
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Re: [Question] Combat turn overlap
Contary to many other games, in GURPS there is no generic turn. Each combat turn is the turn of one precise character. And since the turn of one character ends just when his next turn begins, that means that turns do overlap. So, during B's turn, A's turn is not over. A's turn will only end when A's next turn will start.
What does it concretely mean? When A hits B, it is A's turn. If B didn't choose any maneuver that forbid a defense roll during his turn (just before A's attack), he can try to defend. Suppose that he misses his defense roll. A's damage affects B immediately. If it is a major wound, B will have to roll immediately to know whether he falls down. If B's hit points reach a deathly level, he will have to roll immediately to know whether he is dead. But the shock will only affect B when he will take a new maneuver, i.e. when he will do something else than defending, since defense are not affected by shock. Likewise, B will only have to roll to know whether he falls unconscious at the very begining of his next turn. Now, for magic, the spell begins at the begining of the spell caster's turn and ends at the end of his turn (not at the target's turns). So if A must concentrate X turns to throw a magic spell that last for Y turns, for instance, he will have to spend X full turns with the concentrate maneuver and, the spell will be cast at the begining of his next turn and will affect the target untill the end of his Y next turn - without taking into account the turns of the targets. Hoping this will help and, above all, that I have really understood the turn sequence! ;-) |
10-04-2009, 03:50 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Earth
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Re: [Question] Combat turn overlap
Okay, I did it right when I GM'd 3rd edition and I was over thinking it when reading 4th ed.
Thanks for the feedback.
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10-04-2009, 05:52 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: [Question] Combat turn overlap
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Secondly, I believe that 4e spells now take effect at the end of the last turn of Concentration, ergo before the actions of the next person in the turn sequence. In order to interrupt that last turn of Concentration (or the single turn, in the case of spells only taking 1 turn to cast), an opponent needs to have a Wait. |
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10-04-2009, 11:31 PM | #7 | |||
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: France
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Re: [Question] Combat turn overlap
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1) "Realism": a turn is very quick (just one second) and collapsing take at least one second. 2) Defenses are pure reflexes; they don't require a lot of consciousness. 3) Ease of play: this is easier to make this HT roll at the very begining of the character's next turn than just after the attacker's hit. 4) And drama. It adds fun to the game: "I attack him! - But you feel very bad... Make a HT roll to see if you can do anything." Quote:
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So, to my mind - but I can be wrong - the roll is made just before A's next turn, which mean that even with a 1 second-concentration spell, he can be interrupted or suffer penalties caused by injuries or anything else during his foes actions. |
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10-05-2009, 01:17 AM | #8 | ||
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Binghamton, NY, USA. Near the river Styx in the 5th Circle.
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Re: [Question] Combat turn overlap
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Eric B. Smith GURPS Data File Coordinator GURPSLand I shall pull the pin from this healing grenade and... Kaboom-baya. Last edited by ericbsmith; 10-05-2009 at 01:26 AM. |
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10-05-2009, 04:20 AM | #9 |
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: France
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Re: [Question] Combat turn overlap
I knew I could be wrong. Thank you for the correction.
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10-05-2009, 08:53 AM | #10 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: [Question] Combat turn overlap
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Remind me, what does it say about HT rolls vs. death? Same deal, or taken immediately? Not that dodging a few extra attacks makes as much difference if you're about to die, anyway... other than how much work the mortician has to do, I guess. |
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