Catching and Pulling Someone to Safety

kdtipa · 10-20-2016, 02:55 PM

Here's another one where I couldn't find specific rules to address a situation a player is asking about. It's the same player who wants to do flying slam attacks...

damage from collisions in armor

He brought up a scenario from earlier in the campaign where his character used a jet suit to propel themselves at a friend to catch them up and bring them further from the center of an explosive. It was an effort to save them. At the time I hadn't equated that effort with a slam attack. I just went with the idea of being able to grab and hang on to the person to help them. It was cinematic, and it worked fine, but now my player is saying this kind of thing might happen more often.

I tried searching the forums and found a couple about catching a person who is falling from above you...
Catching someone math
catching a falling character

Neither of those seems to be what I'm looking for.

I can imagine this a couple ways. If you tackle the person to pick them up while you're flying, you're kind of aiming for center mass with a shoulder, and this seems like a slam, and the distance you get them might be based on the knockback amount from the damage. That one makes sense as a simple way to handle it.

But I can imagine another scenario where you're trying to fly past them, and catch them with your hands to carry them, and avoid doing outright damage (though jerking someone from stationary to fast moving might cause damage). I started looking at the rules for grappling, and the roll to grab on to the person is there, but (not surprisingly) it doesn't address the situation where you're trying to pick them up and hold onto them to drag them with you.

I suppose that second scenario might be similar to Person A falling from a balcony a few floor up from Person B who wants to reach out and catch the person falling past, and save them from the fall that way. Both scenarios involve a grab while one of the people involved is moving, and then a moment of trying to hang on while the movement is either stopped or started.

Yeah my players come up with wonderful ones. I'm going to make a ruling, but I wanted to see if anyone had particular advice or perhaps there IS a rule I missed somewhere. I'd love to hear some thoughts on this.

Flyndaran · 10-20-2016, 03:22 PM

Realistically I doubt you should be able to just pick up someone and continue onward without trouble unless they're trivially light.

At best, it sounds like a move and attack-grapple with a hefty strength requirement.
I know there's a rule where if you, the grappler, weigh less than their heavy encumbrance, they can keep moving with you hanging on. This is almost the reverse.

(E) · 10-20-2016, 04:07 PM

If the person being lifted is prone then there are issues with changing stance to pick them up.

Flyndaran · 10-20-2016, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by (E)

If the person being lifted is prone then there are issues with changing stance to pick them up.

People are horribly floppy and unless cooperating, and sometimes even then, take much more effort than carrying inanimate objects of equal weight.
But picking up anything from flat on the ground is not so easy... lift with your legs.

(E) · 10-20-2016, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

People are horribly floppy and unless cooperating, and sometimes even then, take much more effort than carrying inanimate objects of equal weight.
But picking up anything from flat on the ground is not so easy... lift with your legs.

The closest I have ever done is pull my step son out of the way of a rolling vehical, he was about 12 and I managed a one handed grab and lift. I didn't have to move my feet though.

Flyndaran · 10-20-2016, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by (E)

The closest I have ever done is pull my step son out of the way of a rolling vehical, he was about 12 and I managed a one handed grab and lift. I didn't have to move my feet though.

Pulling for a split second isn't quite the Ironman running grabbing, and carrying an adult without any appreciable slowing down I assume OP asked about. But I get your point, I think.

(E) · 10-20-2016, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Pulling for a split second isn't quite the Ironman running grabbing, and carrying an adult without any appreciable slowing down I assume OP asked about. But I get your point, I think.

The Gurps mechanics that suit may be close to the rules required for throwing someone?

The other case the OP mentioned was catching a falling person, Dex check then one handed lift maybe?

Culture20 · 10-20-2016, 06:13 PM

And if they're concerned that cinematic comic books featuring super heroes don't feature realistic physics with deadly results when saving someone from certain death, remind them of Spider-Man and Gwen Stacey. Sometimes the rule of cool gets suspended for a greater rule of cool.

kdtipa · 10-27-2016, 06:52 AM

Sorry to revive this... I haven't been able to log in for a little while.

Interesting thought about basic lift. The definition in the book is the amount of weight you can lift from the ground to over your head in one second with one hand right? So I suppose if the character is strong enough for the person they're trying to pick up to be under their basic lift, it might be feasible at least. And maybe a two handed grab gives them twice basic lift?

I'll have to figure out how it'll affect the speed of the flier. The added weight on the flying machine will have an impact too.

<sigh />

Well thank you everyone that responded. It's helpful. :)

kdtipa · 10-27-2016, 09:42 AM

Here's the house rule I put together for this crazy stunt...

www.highdex.net/GURPS/GURPSCinematicHighSpeedGrabs.pdf

It's a PDF I made with Microsoft Word (then just saved as PDF). If it's helpful to you that's great. If you have comments on it, I'd be happy to hear them.

10-20-2016, 02:55 PM	#1
kdtipa Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Southern New Hampshire	Catching and Pulling Someone to Safety Here's another one where I couldn't find specific rules to address a situation a player is asking about. It's the same player who wants to do flying slam attacks... damage from collisions in armor He brought up a scenario from earlier in the campaign where his character used a jet suit to propel themselves at a friend to catch them up and bring them further from the center of an explosive. It was an effort to save them. At the time I hadn't equated that effort with a slam attack. I just went with the idea of being able to grab and hang on to the person to help them. It was cinematic, and it worked fine, but now my player is saying this kind of thing might happen more often. I tried searching the forums and found a couple about catching a person who is falling from above you... Catching someone math catching a falling character Neither of those seems to be what I'm looking for. I can imagine this a couple ways. If you tackle the person to pick them up while you're flying, you're kind of aiming for center mass with a shoulder, and this seems like a slam, and the distance you get them might be based on the knockback amount from the damage. That one makes sense as a simple way to handle it. But I can imagine another scenario where you're trying to fly past them, and catch them with your hands to carry them, and avoid doing outright damage (though jerking someone from stationary to fast moving might cause damage). I started looking at the rules for grappling, and the roll to grab on to the person is there, but (not surprisingly) it doesn't address the situation where you're trying to pick them up and hold onto them to drag them with you. I suppose that second scenario might be similar to Person A falling from a balcony a few floor up from Person B who wants to reach out and catch the person falling past, and save them from the fall that way. Both scenarios involve a grab while one of the people involved is moving, and then a moment of trying to hang on while the movement is either stopped or started. Yeah my players come up with wonderful ones. I'm going to make a ruling, but I wanted to see if anyone had particular advice or perhaps there IS a rule I missed somewhere. I'd love to hear some thoughts on this.

10-20-2016, 03:22 PM	#2
Flyndaran Untagged Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon	Re: Catching and Pulling Someone to Safety Realistically I doubt you should be able to just pick up someone and continue onward without trouble unless they're trivially light. At best, it sounds like a move and attack-grapple with a hefty strength requirement. I know there's a rule where if you, the grappler, weigh less than their heavy encumbrance, they can keep moving with you hanging on. This is almost the reverse. __________________ Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check.

10-20-2016, 04:07 PM	#3
(E) Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: New Zealand.	Re: Catching and Pulling Someone to Safety If the person being lifted is prone then there are issues with changing stance to pick them up. __________________ Waiting for inspiration to strike...... And spending too much time thinking about farming for RPGs Contributor to Citadel at Nordvörn

10-20-2016, 06:13 PM	#8
Culture20 Join Date: Feb 2014	Re: Catching and Pulling Someone to Safety And if they're concerned that cinematic comic books featuring super heroes don't feature realistic physics with deadly results when saving someone from certain death, remind them of Spider-Man and Gwen Stacey. Sometimes the rule of cool gets suspended for a greater rule of cool.

10-27-2016, 06:52 AM	#9
kdtipa Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Southern New Hampshire	Re: Catching and Pulling Someone to Safety Sorry to revive this... I haven't been able to log in for a little while. Interesting thought about basic lift. The definition in the book is the amount of weight you can lift from the ground to over your head in one second with one hand right? So I suppose if the character is strong enough for the person they're trying to pick up to be under their basic lift, it might be feasible at least. And maybe a two handed grab gives them twice basic lift? I'll have to figure out how it'll affect the speed of the flier. The added weight on the flying machine will have an impact too. <sigh /> Well thank you everyone that responded. It's helpful. :)

10-27-2016, 09:42 AM	#10
kdtipa Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Southern New Hampshire	Re: Catching and Pulling Someone to Safety Here's the house rule I put together for this crazy stunt... www.highdex.net/GURPS/GURPSCinematicHighSpeedGrabs.pdf It's a PDF I made with Microsoft Word (then just saved as PDF). If it's helpful to you that's great. If you have comments on it, I'd be happy to hear them.