Is picking things up from the ground in one turn possible?
 

Re: Is picking things up from the ground in one turn possible?
 

I would bend my knees, but seriously doubt that it would take a full second to do so. I've certainly grabbed things from the ground at a trot or a run without pausing, and seen others do the same, although this probably calls for a DX roll not to fumble the object.

I'd probably allow it, with a DX roll *and* some penalty to combat actions in the same turn. Not sure what would be fair, but no more than -4 to attacks (which could be countered with AoA for a wash) and -2 to defenses.

Re: Is picking things up from the ground in one turn possible?
 

I would allow a character to pick up an item from the ground if they were crouching. Thus move to the item and stop. Crouch and pick it up. Continue moving.

Re: Is picking things up from the ground in one turn possible?
 

I'm sure we've all seen people do this literally on the run. How would you handle that?

Re: Is picking things up from the ground in one turn possible?
 

I guess I would look at this in two scenarios:

1. Is it possible, out of combat, to dextrously nab an object on the ground in one second? Sure. You can focus all your concentration on it, ensure you have the right stance and grip, etc.

I think the "don't bend your knees" thing is also a red herring. Sure, I can nearly do a full pike while standing up (diving and currently martial arts). But it's not a terribly balanced position, and probably less fast than a kneeling or crouching pickup.

But in game terms, I'd allow an Acrobatics or DX roll to make a transition from standing to close-to-ground back to standing in one move, and a separate (probably penalized) DX roll to grab it.

2. Is it possible, IN COMBAT, to dextrously nab an object on the ground in one second? Possibly, but probably not without getting beaned in the head while doing so. Or at least beaned somewhere. I'd probably say that the concentration required to keep your situational awareness on the people who are actively trying to do you in while simultaneously making a very precise whole-body movement followed by a very precise manual dexterity action would be more than most can handle. I'd probably allow the attempt at some ridiculously high penalty, like -10. The moment you have to look down and readjust your hand/body to get the right grip on the object is the moment you're effectively not defending.

I wonder if the right way to handle this would be to allow the parts of the maneuver to take up attack actions instead of full-turn actions. So if you want to crouch and grab an item, and then stand, you can do it in two turns while retaining defenses, or one with an "AoA" equivalent.

Re: Is picking things up from the ground in one turn possible?
 

Here's my take having tried to pick stuff up off the ground in and out of combat situations*.

1) If you're NOT in combat a simple dex to keep from fumbling is acceptable (As expressed by Vitruvian.) And, IF (and only IF) you want to run a cinematic campaign the you would CERTIANLY want to allow a Dex roll for PC"s and key NPC enemies.

2) Combat dexterity (at least mine) is hampered by adrenaline, nervousness, etc. In a realistic campaign I would encourage you to NOT change the GIVE** rules.


* Please understand that I have NEVER been involved in real combat where my life was on the line. My experience has been solely limited to real martial combat training, and assorted simulations.

** GIVE: GUPRS IVth Edition. Because its a kewl acronym for a kewl game.

Re: Is picking things up from the ground in one turn possible?
 

Having re-read this post, I'd endorse and accept these options as well, especially in a cinematic campaign.

Re: Is picking things up from the ground in one turn possible?
 

I like the AoA idea, too.

An aside, a friend I game with always takes the "Fast-Draw (<weapon> from Ground)" skill. Fast-Draw (Sword from Ground), Fast-Draw (Spear from Ground), whatever his prefered weapon may be. Somewhat generous of the GM to allow it, but it is amusing. I think he started taking this skill after one too many "Drop weapon" critical failure results.

Re: Is picking things up from the ground in one turn possible?
 

GURPS Martial Arts will have a rule for this.

It's a little cinematic to be able to pick something up off the floor in one second, especially if you ready it for combat. It's even more cinematic to do it by kicking something up off the floor. But both are handled by the rule. I'd been using a very similar house rule for this for years, and submitted it to Sean for update and balancing with 4e. It fit well in the book, since people are always grabbing weapons on the fly off the floor in kung fu movies and using them instantly to defend and attack.

Realistically, it's a bit hard to do this fast and be able to defend yourself normally. Allowing someone to All-Out-Attack (change position and Ready) is a bit of a change to the rules but certainly not crazy. I just had too many DX 15-16 fighters to not give them a penalty to roll against for doing it faster than normal.

Re: Is picking things up from the ground in one turn possible?
 

I'm sure Martial Arts will have details on rolling on the ground to grab a weapon.

I thought that touching your toes, or picking up an item for that matter, w/o bending your knees was physiologically impossible w/o abnormally long arms.

However I do believe that you could also slide at the object you wish to pick up (since dropping prone is a free move). Since you have some speed going for you you could just drop down a few yrds away, and grab it.

...wait. Now I just brought up another question. How'd you stat the distance of a slide (normal surface)? I mean you aren't under your own power, and are just letting the speed you've built up just scrub off. How far would you slide? I'm sure that your Move could justify it to some degree, but it's kinda of like getting an extra few feet out of a moving manuever.

I hope I didn't miss this next to the jumping section of the BS.