Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - The Raid: Redemption, a Technical Grappling Analysis

EskrimadorNC · 12-04-2020, 11:42 AM

Timestamp: 0:45
7th and 8th BG (blue shirt) Attack with machetes
WS does AoA Double, BS does AoA Determined/Strong
Rama parries all 3 attacks
Hits WS in stomach (vitals?) with tonfa
BS does AoA
Rama ducks (dodges) and stabs BS in the stomach (vitals?) and hits him in the head with the Tonfa

[The TA Tonfa swing/Head shows up again, as does the TA Tonfa swing/vitals. Rama always makes sure he hits something vital. This principle shows up many times throughout not just this fight, but the whole movie. Some of the maneuver/tactical choices he makes are sub-optimal from a GURPS mechanics standpoint, but all fit well with the ebb and flow of fights they are used in. In a real fight, people rarely make optimal choices for every attack/defense.]

Timestamp: 0:48
WS does machete AoA double, low (at legs?) then high
Rama dodges the low shot then parries with the knife <karate?>
Rama then uses the knife to attack WS's torso and weapon arm, then follows up with a Tonfa <karate?> strike to the neck.

[Again, we see Rama use his knife arm, but not the knife blade, to parry. Because the 3 following attacks happen very quickly, and the fact that even with Extra Attack 1, Rama would need to rapid strike with the knife to get all the hits in, I’m going say that these three are Telegraphic Attacks. The two knife attacks don’t look particularly telegraphic, but you can tell that Rama chambers the tonfa for the throat punch well in advance of throwing it. That also removes the need of giving Rama astronomically high skills, and Telegraphic Attacks would indeed be commonplace in GURPS for players to use against foes that AoA. So we have TG Rapid Strike Knife/Torso (-2), TG Rapid Strike Knife/Arm (-4), and Extra Attack TG Tonfa(Karate) thrust to the neck (-1). A Knife skill of 16 will give Rama a 74% chance of hitting the arm on a telegraphic rapid strike, so that seems to be in the acceptable range. The Tonfa in reverse grip does Thr cr damage +bonus for high Karate skill, x1.5 for hitting the neck is likely enough to cause a MW and force a KD/Stun roll, which the bad guy obviously fails.]

Timestamp: 0:54
9th BG does an AoA thrust w/machete
Rama parries w/tonfa
Rama follows w/knife to face and kick to the knee

[We see a couple of Rama’s favorite moves again here. The Knife cut to the face and Kick to the knee show up a few items, and he lands them accurately enough to make a case for improved TA techniques for both. In a normal GURPS game, these would be thrown as Telegraphic Attacks since the foe cannot defend, and that would mitigate most of the penalties for targeting the face/knee (-5 for both). However, the attacks themselves do not look Telegraphic, so I have a hard time assigning them as such. 8 points spent on TA Knife/Face and TA Kick/Knee would put Rama at a -2, and keep the attacks inside a believable range for success.]

Timestamp: 0:57
10th BG comes around the corner and does AoA w/machete
Rama parries w/knife<karate>
Rama hits BG #10 in the face w/tonfa
Rama then moves in and performs a grapple
BG is stunned so must DO NOTHING
Rama throws a knee to the Torso (Grab N Smash) and then does Kiss the Wall targeting the BG’s Face

[Rama’s Tonfa strikes to the face are a common way for him to force a HT roll vs stunning. 6+ dmg will likely be common, so that means -5 on HT checks to avoid stun/prone on 10HP foes. It’s apparent that these hits consistently stun their targets. The grapple can be considered an armed grapple because Rama is armed, though as a GM, I would allow a Judo grapple if performed the way Rama performs it. Either way (Armed or Judo), it’s an easy (torso) grapple vs. a foe that cannot defend. In Martial Arts, it’s pretty explicit that Kiss the Wall is done with Wrestling, Sumo Wrestling, or DX, but not Judo. I would be reticent to give Rama points in Wrestling or Sumo Wrestling, though he does do Kiss the Wall more than once. As a GM, I would allow a perk where Kiss the Wall can be performed with Judo. Also, I would expect that much of the CP accumulated on the Grapple is spent to lower the hit location penalties for ramming the bad guy’s face into the wall.]

Timestamp: 1:01
11th BG does AoA to Rama's head
Rama ducks (dodges)
Rama hits BG twice in the torso with Tonfa (swing)
BG is stunned so must DO NOTHING
Rama then hits him in the leg (joint?) with the knife
Rama finishes by hitting BG #11 in the face w/tonfa (butt jab)

[The first two Tonfa hits are not aimed at the Vitals, but they do enough damage to force a HT check and stunning. It’s possible that neither of those two hits are major wounds, but the combined damage is enough to put the BG into negative HP and force a HT because of that. Then we have the knife to the knee (2nd time this fight) and Tonfa to the face. Those are some favorites of Rama, and again a good indication that Rama has improved TA for those strikes.]

12-04-2020, 11:42 AM	#4
EskrimadorNC Join Date: Jul 2015	Re: The Raid: Redemption, a Technical Grappling Analysis Timestamp: 0:45 7th and 8th BG (blue shirt) Attack with machetes WS does AoA Double, BS does AoA Determined/Strong Rama parries all 3 attacks Hits WS in stomach (vitals?) with tonfa BS does AoA Rama ducks (dodges) and stabs BS in the stomach (vitals?) and hits him in the head with the Tonfa [The TA Tonfa swing/Head shows up again, as does the TA Tonfa swing/vitals. Rama always makes sure he hits something vital. This principle shows up many times throughout not just this fight, but the whole movie. Some of the maneuver/tactical choices he makes are sub-optimal from a GURPS mechanics standpoint, but all fit well with the ebb and flow of fights they are used in. In a real fight, people rarely make optimal choices for every attack/defense.] Timestamp: 0:48 WS does machete AoA double, low (at legs?) then high Rama dodges the low shot then parries with the knife <karate?> Rama then uses the knife to attack WS's torso and weapon arm, then follows up with a Tonfa <karate?> strike to the neck. [Again, we see Rama use his knife arm, but not the knife blade, to parry. Because the 3 following attacks happen very quickly, and the fact that even with Extra Attack 1, Rama would need to rapid strike with the knife to get all the hits in, I’m going say that these three are Telegraphic Attacks. The two knife attacks don’t look particularly telegraphic, but you can tell that Rama chambers the tonfa for the throat punch well in advance of throwing it. That also removes the need of giving Rama astronomically high skills, and Telegraphic Attacks would indeed be commonplace in GURPS for players to use against foes that AoA. So we have TG Rapid Strike Knife/Torso (-2), TG Rapid Strike Knife/Arm (-4), and Extra Attack TG Tonfa(Karate) thrust to the neck (-1). A Knife skill of 16 will give Rama a 74% chance of hitting the arm on a telegraphic rapid strike, so that seems to be in the acceptable range. The Tonfa in reverse grip does Thr cr damage +bonus for high Karate skill, x1.5 for hitting the neck is likely enough to cause a MW and force a KD/Stun roll, which the bad guy obviously fails.] Timestamp: 0:54 9th BG does an AoA thrust w/machete Rama parries w/tonfa Rama follows w/knife to face and kick to the knee [We see a couple of Rama’s favorite moves again here. The Knife cut to the face and Kick to the knee show up a few items, and he lands them accurately enough to make a case for improved TA techniques for both. In a normal GURPS game, these would be thrown as Telegraphic Attacks since the foe cannot defend, and that would mitigate most of the penalties for targeting the face/knee (-5 for both). However, the attacks themselves do not look Telegraphic, so I have a hard time assigning them as such. 8 points spent on TA Knife/Face and TA Kick/Knee would put Rama at a -2, and keep the attacks inside a believable range for success.] Timestamp: 0:57 10th BG comes around the corner and does AoA w/machete Rama parries w/knife<karate> Rama hits BG #10 in the face w/tonfa Rama then moves in and performs a grapple BG is stunned so must DO NOTHING Rama throws a knee to the Torso (Grab N Smash) and then does Kiss the Wall targeting the BG’s Face [Rama’s Tonfa strikes to the face are a common way for him to force a HT roll vs stunning. 6+ dmg will likely be common, so that means -5 on HT checks to avoid stun/prone on 10HP foes. It’s apparent that these hits consistently stun their targets. The grapple can be considered an armed grapple because Rama is armed, though as a GM, I would allow a Judo grapple if performed the way Rama performs it. Either way (Armed or Judo), it’s an easy (torso) grapple vs. a foe that cannot defend. In Martial Arts, it’s pretty explicit that Kiss the Wall is done with Wrestling, Sumo Wrestling, or DX, but not Judo. I would be reticent to give Rama points in Wrestling or Sumo Wrestling, though he does do Kiss the Wall more than once. As a GM, I would allow a perk where Kiss the Wall can be performed with Judo. Also, I would expect that much of the CP accumulated on the Grapple is spent to lower the hit location penalties for ramming the bad guy’s face into the wall.] Timestamp: 1:01 11th BG does AoA to Rama's head Rama ducks (dodges) Rama hits BG twice in the torso with Tonfa (swing) BG is stunned so must DO NOTHING Rama then hits him in the leg (joint?) with the knife Rama finishes by hitting BG #11 in the face w/tonfa (butt jab) [The first two Tonfa hits are not aimed at the Vitals, but they do enough damage to force a HT check and stunning. It’s possible that neither of those two hits are major wounds, but the combined damage is enough to put the BG into negative HP and force a HT because of that. Then we have the knife to the knee (2nd time this fight) and Tonfa to the face. Those are some favorites of Rama, and again a good indication that Rama has improved TA for those strikes.]