Combat: Player versus Player

[Polydamas]

Originally Posted by Onkl

Hi guys

I like the way GURPS does combat very much and so I would like to play "Player vs Player" GURPS combat. We've tried to do this but failed miserably.

There are two main problems that come with this idea:

Visibility of the opposing forces
Maneuvers the OpFor should not know about (Aim, Wait...)

As far as I know, the only GURPS manoeuver which is supposed to be kept secret is Feint. Even though Evaluate, AoD, and Wait may look exactly the same, the rules assume that each fighter can tell the difference when their opponent does one. Two good ways of handling feints are to play online, with rolls hidden from the other player (so you declare "Attack (thrust to Bob's vitals), I miss" and send a note to the GM saying "I actually feinted, success by 3 on the Quick Contest") or to declare the Feint but roll for effect when you attack on a later turn.

Anything more complicated, like the awareness rules in GURPS tactical shooting, really requires a GM or a computer.

Here are some GM-less gladiator rules for GURPS 3e.