Hitting Targets of Opportunity in Combat

GodBeastX · 10-07-2016, 01:07 PM

I never understood why torso targeting is a 0 modifier.

Look at SM table. Do people have a Torso around 6 feet?

A torso should be -1 or -2 as well to target directly. Otherwise it SHOULD be a random hit location since the entire body is the 0 modifier, not just the torso. Otherwise the SM table is off.

sir_pudding · 10-07-2016, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GodBeastX

I never understood why torso targeting is a 0 modifier.

Look at SM table. Do people have a Torso around 6 feet?

A torso should be -1 or -2 as well to target directly. Otherwise it SHOULD be a random hit location since the entire body is the 0 modifier, not just the torso. Otherwise the SM table is off.

Because aiming at center of mass is the default attack with many weapons and GURPS tries to avoid modifiers on the core use of a skill.

Kalzazz · 10-07-2016, 01:22 PM

Thrusts are allowed but my favorite shot isn't a thrust . . . and it has a fair amount of velocity behind it, so people could usually feel it

The counter is quite simple, just drop your sword down on the shoulder before the swing connects, or dodge back and strike before the person recovers

sir_pudding · 10-07-2016, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

Thrusts are allowed but my favorite shot isn't a thrust . . . and it has a fair amount of velocity behind it, so people could usually feel it

Even if your LARP allows you to hit as hard as you would with a real weapon, in a real fight, and most don't, a one-handed slash to the shin is pretty unlikely to do much, there's little there to injure and low cuts lack the mechanical advantage of cuts in the midline (at least without significantly exposing yourself by dropping your center of gravity).

Since LARPs count all touches equally (as long as they fit some broad parameters in how the rules define attacks) there's actually no incentive to hit hard, and since most LARPers complain when you do, there's a huge incentive not to, IME.

Quote:

The counter is quite simple, just drop your sword down on the shoulder before the swing connects, or dodge back and strike before the person recovers

LARP boffers recover very quickly, because they are usually permitted to balance the hilt with weights but not have anything denser than foam and fiberglass in the blade. The difference between them and even well balanced steel is significant.

Agent · 10-07-2016, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GodBeastX

I never understood why torso targeting is a 0 modifier.

Look at SM table. Do people have a Torso around 6 feet?

A torso should be -1 or -2 as well to target directly. Otherwise it SHOULD be a random hit location since the entire body is the 0 modifier, not just the torso. Otherwise the SM table is off.

And with Low-Tech's separation of the abdomen, the -0 is basically just the chest area, 9-10.

Making that -1 and the random roll the only -0 (and perhaps the abdomen -2, dunno) seems reasonable.

Kalzazz · 10-07-2016, 04:33 PM

My LARP noodle sword is a good chunk heavier than my issue baton was back when I carried one, and I can slash with it hard enough people can realize it connected even through catchers pads. However 'realize I've been hit' is not 'actually take damage'

I don't think I would exactly cripple anyone if I hit them in the shin with the baton either though

Noodle swords also lack a cutting edge, I am not sure whether I could hit someone in the shin with the actual edge of a sword. I definitely don't think my kenjutsu classes taught a shot to the shin

Celti · 10-07-2016, 05:19 PM

Here in the SCA Barony of Atenveldt (that is, Phoenix, Arizona) at our weekly fighter practice, while the heavy combat guys were off on one end of the park bashing each other to bits, there'd be those of us who still wanted to join in but couldn't afford good armour and weapons yet — or else just were wanting a more light-hearted affair. So we called ourselves Rogue's Field and we would make war with boffers and shinai, with all the enthusiasm and none of the protective gear of the heavy fighters.

Shin hits were a great tactic against the novices, who rarely had learned to defend their legs; though we threw in a wrinkle in that a hit on a limb just meant you couldn't use that limb — you needed a torso or head blow to send them back to the lines. If you didn't learn to defend against those you spent a lot of time on your knees, so most of us learned to pay attention to where our legs and feet were — at which point you didn't really worry about leg hits unless you were flanked or up against a spearman.

10-07-2016, 01:07 PM	#1
GodBeastX Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Behind You	Re: Hitting Targets of Opportunity in Combat I never understood why torso targeting is a 0 modifier. Look at SM table. Do people have a Torso around 6 feet? A torso should be -1 or -2 as well to target directly. Otherwise it SHOULD be a random hit location since the entire body is the 0 modifier, not just the torso. Otherwise the SM table is off. __________________ RPG Jutsu.com - Ninjas Play GURPS

10-07-2016, 01:22 PM	#3
Kalzazz Join Date: Feb 2009	Re: Hitting Targets of Opportunity in Combat Thrusts are allowed but my favorite shot isn't a thrust . . . and it has a fair amount of velocity behind it, so people could usually feel it The counter is quite simple, just drop your sword down on the shoulder before the swing connects, or dodge back and strike before the person recovers

10-07-2016, 04:33 PM	#6
Kalzazz Join Date: Feb 2009	Re: Hitting Targets of Opportunity in Combat My LARP noodle sword is a good chunk heavier than my issue baton was back when I carried one, and I can slash with it hard enough people can realize it connected even through catchers pads. However 'realize I've been hit' is not 'actually take damage' I don't think I would exactly cripple anyone if I hit them in the shin with the baton either though Noodle swords also lack a cutting edge, I am not sure whether I could hit someone in the shin with the actual edge of a sword. I definitely don't think my kenjutsu classes taught a shot to the shin

10-07-2016, 05:19 PM	#7
Celti Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: USA, Arizona, Mesa	Re: Hitting Targets of Opportunity in Combat Here in the SCA Barony of Atenveldt (that is, Phoenix, Arizona) at our weekly fighter practice, while the heavy combat guys were off on one end of the park bashing each other to bits, there'd be those of us who still wanted to join in but couldn't afford good armour and weapons yet — or else just were wanting a more light-hearted affair. So we called ourselves Rogue's Field and we would make war with boffers and shinai, with all the enthusiasm and none of the protective gear of the heavy fighters. Shin hits were a great tactic against the novices, who rarely had learned to defend their legs; though we threw in a wrinkle in that a hit on a limb just meant you couldn't use that limb — you needed a torso or head blow to send them back to the lines. If you didn't learn to defend against those you spent a lot of time on your knees, so most of us learned to pay attention to where our legs and feet were — at which point you didn't really worry about leg hits unless you were flanked or up against a spearman.