Community opinion of Martial Arts?

Gef · 11-17-2010, 12:10 PM

I ran a fantasy campaign where all the PCs were gladiators, designed styles for the fantasy world, and featured detailed combat. Some impressions:

1a. In an "all fighters" campaign, the mechanics for styles help both to differentiate warriors with different backgrounds AND to differentiate individual warriors with similar backgrounds.

1b. However, the bonus of +2 per die with Weapon Master overwhelms the differences between weapons when base damage is 2d or more, so I recommend fixing the bonus at a flat +2 instead of scaling.

2a. I'm impressed overall with GURPS tactical combat mechanics, especially as enhanced with rules from this book like Committed, Defensive, and Telegraphic Attack. Running this campaign really helped me get an understanding of reach, runaround attacks (and why Peripheral Vision is worth 15 points), in short all the things you can do to put an opponent at a disadvantage.

2b. Regardless of a character's combat skills, the player's skill at using these options is a big differentiator, and I had a range of interest levels and aptitude for developing that player skill, from "this is so cool" to "this does nothing for the story". The player who took the most interest in the tactical options was effective out of proportion to his stats, the player who took the least was far weaker than his stats and grew bored of playing the unconscious character. One player had an ogre, inherently tough and strong with a reach bonus, and he didn't have as great a need to utilize tactical options effectively.

Net reselt, my group acquired a better understanding of the combat rules which I think will be a boon to future games, and that was the main point of the exercise. But this particular campaign fell apart, because some players just weren't into the level of detail that GURPS Martial Arts provides. [EDIT: And the ones who are into that level of detail love to debate about it.]

11-17-2010, 12:10 PM	#24
Gef Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Yucca Valley, CA	Re: Community opinion of Martial Arts? I ran a fantasy campaign where all the PCs were gladiators, designed styles for the fantasy world, and featured detailed combat. Some impressions: 1a. In an "all fighters" campaign, the mechanics for styles help both to differentiate warriors with different backgrounds AND to differentiate individual warriors with similar backgrounds. 1b. However, the bonus of +2 per die with Weapon Master overwhelms the differences between weapons when base damage is 2d or more, so I recommend fixing the bonus at a flat +2 instead of scaling. 2a. I'm impressed overall with GURPS tactical combat mechanics, especially as enhanced with rules from this book like Committed, Defensive, and Telegraphic Attack. Running this campaign really helped me get an understanding of reach, runaround attacks (and why Peripheral Vision is worth 15 points), in short all the things you can do to put an opponent at a disadvantage. 2b. Regardless of a character's combat skills, the player's skill at using these options is a big differentiator, and I had a range of interest levels and aptitude for developing that player skill, from "this is so cool" to "this does nothing for the story". The player who took the most interest in the tactical options was effective out of proportion to his stats, the player who took the least was far weaker than his stats and grew bored of playing the unconscious character. One player had an ogre, inherently tough and strong with a reach bonus, and he didn't have as great a need to utilize tactical options effectively. Net reselt, my group acquired a better understanding of the combat rules which I think will be a boon to future games, and that was the main point of the exercise. But this particular campaign fell apart, because some players just weren't into the level of detail that GURPS Martial Arts provides. [EDIT: And the ones who are into that level of detail love to debate about it.]