Question about the maths behind attack roll and defense rolls

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Mailanka

The problem isn't "long," it's "boring," and those two aren't necessarily the same, provided the rules of the game are sufficiently interesting. GURPS generally is.

True enough. Part of the problem is that players who come from games where the only results are "did damage" and "didn't do damage" get bored if nobody loses HP. Ironically, reducing fights to "Whose HP get depleted first?" is the most boring of all combat models. GURPS is nifty in that even during prolonged exchanges where nobody loses HP, there are thrills and chills when the fighters' choices lead to near things (like making that Parry roll of 9 exactly when somebody swings an axe for your neck), and plenty of nondamaging effects: feints, FP spent on extra effort, falls (esp. during kicks), dropped or broken weapons, ground lost to someone whose attacks demand retreats and who always steps after attacking, etc. Also, there are lots of choices; you don't just roll to hit over and over, but can pick targets and techniques, select what defenses you use, etc.

I think the easily bored HP-counters might be more engaged if they had tracks to show not just personal HP, but weapon and shield HP, FP lost to extra effort or chokes, current defense penalty vs. each foe thanks to footing and enemy feints, current defense penalty of each foe thanks to the same in the other direction, current movement point cost due to footing and posture, etc. Making one's enemies' tracks worse and/or one's own values better would be meaningful even if it wasn't just the HP track all the time. Lots of gamers seem not to appreciate the value of "he's kneeling, with -2 to attack and defend, and triple movement cost" or "he's against the wall and can no longer retreat for +3 to Dodge," and rarely seek alternative victories like pressing the foe so hard that he uses up all his FP on Feverish Defense and falls over, or just disarming him and using Intimidation.