Hi guys!
Coming back to GURPS after trying out some other (particularly good) roleplaying games, and even attempting to design my own system, I decided to read again GURPS rules very accurately.
Inevitably that careful reading raises some questions – and especially some issues I already found in GURPS system (as far as I understand it). Then, I wondered: why not asking those questions to the community? Do not worry, I will not bother you without having previously made a lot of research, both in the books I own and in the FAQ. And I will do it only in one thread, to avoid multiplying them.
Primarily, comes the Retreat option. It bothers me because it gives someone unskilled a lot of chance to dodge an experienced fighter’s attack. Which makes some combats quite long to play.
Imagine… A trained guy with Karate 14 is punching an unexperimented thug with DX 10 and Dodge 8. With Retreat, the thug has Dodge 8 + 3 = 11, that is 62.5% chance of avoiding the attack.
Of course, the karateka can use Deceptive attack. But with 14, he won’t go very far. The thug will have a -1, or a -2 to his dodge (and the attack will become quite random).
So, here is my question:
does the Retreat option requires to use the step allowed by most combat maneuvers?
Rules are not truly clear about that (
Basic Set, Campaigns, page 377):
"To exercise this option, you must move away from your attacker: at least one yard, but not more than 1/10 your Move – exactly as for a step (see Step, p. 368)."
Does "exactly as for a step" means that it is a step, the only step you are allowed to do during your turn, or that it is an additional free step?
If it requires to use the step part of your maneuver, things sound fair: the thug can retreat but not step forward to attack the karateka immediately after that. Or, if he already stepped forward to try to hit him, he cannot anymore step back while dodging. Thus, if the thug wants to hit the karateka, he will have to drop the Retreat option.
If the Retreat option gives an additional free step, the thug can retreat every turn, despite of his untrained level. And here is where combats become to be long to play. The karateka will only succeed to punch the thug one time in three (and Deceptive attack won’t really improve those odds because of the penalty).