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Old 08-17-2010, 12:20 AM   #1
zylosan
 
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Default Weapon Parries based on damage to objects.

It was mentioned in another thread that a system for parrying heavy weapons based on the item damage rules would be more accurate but time consuming during play. Well I use a great deal of automation during my games and would not find the number crunching to be overly burdensome, so I was wondering if anyone would like to voleenter a system?

I was kind of hoping to hear from Icelander on this one as I like most of his house rules I have seen. hint, hint, wink, wink. :)
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Old 08-17-2010, 05:24 AM   #2
Icelander
 
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Default Re: Weapon Parries based on damage to objects.

I caution that the following has not yet been extensively playtested. Blame the fact that my players seem to think that taking jobs as rural doctors for a year is more important than gaming. Still, year almost over.

First things first. You don't consider the Damage to Objects rules (p. BA483) too complex to use in play, do you? Because they are used, in their entirety and unchanged*. My house rules just clarify when they apply and when they don't.

Very well, modifier the first. Striking at Weapons (p. BA400) automatically counts as a ST-based Knocking a Weapon Away attempt as well as Breaking a Weapon (rolling only against ST for the striker, but ST-based skill for the defender)**. Use the modifier calculated in 'Absolute Weapon Weight' under Martial Arts's A Matter of Inches section (MA p.110) so that light weapons have a penalty and unbalanced ones have a small bonus. Further, rule that the +2 bonus for having a two-handed weapon when resisting Disarms also counts when making them, since it allows more force to be exerted.

While this makes the Striking at Weapons rules more realistic (less chance of smashing up a weapon without causing the user to drop it), it doesn't address the problem of parrying heavy weapons with light ones in general.

For that, I introduce my fix the second. In the Damage to Shields rule (on p. BA484), we are informed that if shield DB makes the difference between success or failure on an Active Defence, the blow strikes the shield squarely. By analogy, I rule that a Parry that is made exactly, i.e. with a Margin of Success of 0, also causes a weapon to be hit squarely.

This works like a deliberate Striking at Weapons attempt above.

On the other hand, a heavy weapon is probably harder to redirect or deflect harmlessly with a light weapon. Lack of leverage and so on. There should therefore be a greater chance of suffering harm to your weapon when parrying a much heavier weapon. In such cases, we add 1 to the necessary Margin of Success to avoid damage for weapons that weight 3 times more than the parrying weapon and then a further 1 for every multiple after that.

That is, when parrying a weapon up to x2.99 of your own weapon's weight, your weapon suffers the effect of Striking at Weapons if your Parry is made exactly, i.e. succeeds by 0. When parrying a weapon of x3-x3.99 your own weapon's weight, it suffers these effects if your Parry succeeds by 0-1. When parrying a weapon between x4-x4.99 it suffers them if the Parry succeeds by 0-2, etc.

Edit: Two more things.

If, for some reason, the character parrying a heavy weapon cares more about preserving the weapon than avoiding being hit (maybe he's doing friendly sparring with a really expensive sword), he can accept a penalty to avoid this. Each -1 to the Parry eliminates 2 points of the necessary Margin of Success to avoid damage, and yes, this can eliminate the chance completely.

Second, if the weapon you are parrying is extremely heavy compared to your own or you are extremely unlucky, the Parry may not count despite your BL being sufficient. If your Margin of Success is 10 or more points less than it needed to be (even if the Parry is technically successful), you are disarmed and your Parry does not affect the enemy's attack (in addition to your weapon suffering damage). As an example of this, a strong man with a small knife (0.5 lbs.) parrying a maul (12 lbs.) needs a MoS of 22 to avoid damage to his weapon. If he succeeds at his parry with less than a MoS of 13, his Parry does not even count***.

This means that when there is a large disparity between the weights of the weapons, it's best to just Dodge, even if you know that your weapon can take a blow or two.

*Well, it may be that I apply the same modifiers to object DR as I do for armour DR, based on the rules in Cabaret Chicks on Ice. But that fabled tome is not out yet, so it is hardly appropriate to reveal housr rules based on rules in there. Just note that my house rules here mean that I improve DR against balanced cutting and crushing weapons dramatically, vs. unbalanced cutting weapons less dramatically and retain it unchanged against other weapons.
**It remains possible to use Disarming without also trying to do damage to the opponent's weapon and in that case, the attacker can use his ST-based weapon skill, for better odds.
***He'd do slightly better if he chose a penalty to his Parry, as above, but he'd still be at a massive disadvantage.
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Last edited by Icelander; 08-17-2010 at 05:55 AM.
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Old 08-20-2010, 10:03 PM   #3
zylosan
 
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Default Re: Weapon Parries based on damage to objects.

How would you handle an unarmed or striker attack from a large creature?

Edit.
Thank you for the time and effort as well.
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Old 08-20-2010, 11:17 PM   #4
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Default Re: Weapon Parries based on damage to objects.

Would weapon quality step the MoS down a notch or two?
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Old 08-21-2010, 07:58 AM   #5
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Default Re: Weapon Parries based on damage to objects.

Quote:
Originally Posted by benz72 View Post
Would weapon quality step the MoS down a notch or two?
It wouldn't affect it all.

Instead, weapon quality adds DR and HT to the weapon, so that it is less harmful when the weapon suffers damage.
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Old 08-21-2010, 07:58 AM   #6
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Default Re: Weapon Parries based on damage to objects.

Quote:
Originally Posted by zylosan View Post
How would you handle an unarmed or striker attack from a large creature?

Edit.
Thank you for the time and effort as well.
Count it as a weapon weighting BL/20 instead of ST/10.
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