Parrying unarmed attacks

[Gollum]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

This is notably missing any motivation for any player not to use the more-aggressive version, once they figure out what wordings you reward.

It all depends on their intent... Does their character really want to dismember his foe? It can be just a silent warning: surrender or it will hurt again!

But my purpose was also to show that full swing damage while parying is not completely stupid. There are some situations where it sounds very realistic.

Another example that happened in one of my games:

I (GM): The wolf jump on you to bite your throat.
Player: I impale it on my sword!

I used the parry rules as they are written for this situation (parry - the wolf was attacking -, attack roll and, then, normal damage - but thrusting/impaling one, this time).

[The Benj]

Originally Posted by Gollum

It all depends on their intent... Does their character really want to dismember his foe? It can be just a silent warning: surrender or it will hurt again!

That's better handled by giving people the option of pulling their blows if they don't want to hurt the person much.

But my purpose was also to show that full swing damage while parying is not completely stupid. There are some situations where it sounds very realistic.

Another example that happened in one of my games:

I (GM): The wolf jump on you to bite your throat.
Player: I impale it on my sword!

I used the parry rules as they are written for this situation (parry - the wolf was attacking -, attack roll and, then, normal damage - but thrusting/impaling one, this time).

I'd call this situation a Stop Thrust or a simple special effect of attacking when it comes round to your turn.

[Gollum]

Originally Posted by The Benj

That's better handled by giving people the option of pulling their blows if they don't want to hurt the person much.

Yes, that is another solution.

Originally Posted by The Benj

I'd call this situation a Stop Thrust or a simple special effect of attacking when it comes round to your turn.

Not in this precise case. It was the turn of the wolf. And this one succeeded its attack!

But my cousin (the player) didn't say: "I dodge it" or "I parry it." He did just say: "I impale it on my sword!". Which, indeed, is a possibility in such a situation. Many movies show that: the foe throws himself on the hero and this one kill him thanks to a sword or a knife (Willow, The never ending story...). So I was very happy to find a coherent rule which allow that in GURPS:

• the parry roll to know if the character is fast enough to do it before being hurt by the attack;
• the attack roll to know if the weapon is used efficiently enough to injure the attacker;
• and the damage roll to know how much harm it does to the attacker.

[Lord Azagthoth]

Originally Posted by Gollum

Yes, that is another solution.

Not in this precise case. It was the turn of the wolf. And this one succeeded its attack!

But my cousin (the player) didn't say: "I dodge it" or "I parry it." He did just say: "I impale it on my sword!". Which, indeed, is a possibility in such a situation. Many movies show that: the foe throws himself on the hero and this one kill him thanks to a sword or a knife (Willow, The never ending story...). So I was very happy to find a coherent rule which allow that in GURPS:

• the parry roll to know if the character is fast enough to do it before being hurt by the attack;
• the attack roll to know if the weapon is used efficiently enough to injure the attacker;
• and the damage roll to know how much harm it does to the attacker.

Sounds more like a Counter Attack roll because it is all hapening in the Wolf's turn.

[The Benj]

Originally Posted by Lord Azagthoth

Sounds more like a Counter Attack roll because it is all hapening in the Wolf's turn.

Counter Attack doesn't happen out of turn. It's a Stop Thrust.

[Gollum]

Originally Posted by Lord Azagthoth

Sounds more like a Counter Attack roll because it is all hapening in the Wolf's turn.

A counterattack is an attack "as soon as possible after defending" (Martial Arts, page 70). Here, it was instead of the defense. My cousin's character didn't try to dodge or parry before impaling the wolf. He just thought - which sounds quite realistic - that impaling it during its jump would avoid its attack.

Originally Posted by The Benj

Counter Attack doesn't happen out of turn. It's a Stop Thrust.

The Stop thrust, like any stop hit, requires a Wait maneuver (Martial Art, page 108). My cousin's character didn't take this Wait maneuver. It was not a planned action. It was a reaction.

__________


All these reasons make me choose the defense against unarmed attack rather than any other rule.

I perfectly do agree with the fact that other solutions are possible. Lord Azagthoth could have told my cousin: "Make a dodge roll and, then, a counter attack roll." The Benj could have told him: "Too late! You wasn't prepared to do that: you didn't take the prerequisite wait maneuver... Just try to defend you normally."

To my point of view, the defense against an unarmed attack rule was a very simple and coherent way to run this specific situation.

• Is the character fast enough to do it before beeing bitten? - Parry roll.
• Does he wound the wolf? - Attack roll.
• How much? - Damage roll.

And, in this precise case, halving the damage (or reducing them) would not be fair. Even if my cousin's character didn't really have the time to make a good attack, the wolf was jumping on him. So, it's speed most probably offset the lack of strength of the sword blow.

[The Benj]

Exactly. You don't HAVE time to do such things reactively, it has to be a Wait.

[Gollum]

Originally Posted by The Benj

Exactly. You don't HAVE time to do such things reactively, it has to be a Wait.

It is a point of view...

In my humble opinion, putting a sword between you and a jumping wolf doesn't require much more time than putting it between you and a swung sword.

There are two different die rolls but only one move.