Ideas for Higher-Resolution Combat - Feedback Requested

[Varyon]

Something that’s been bouncing around in the back of my head for a bit, and that a recent thread made me think more on, are some options for higher resolution combat. Now, this isn’t nearly as intense as things like my Initiative and Combat Posture Overhauls - I’m thinking of doing things a bit more simplistically.

First off, Dual/Multi-Weapon Attacks - or, more specifically, not taking full advantage of them. I’m thinking it might be appropriate to designate one or more limbs as “defensive” when you declare your maneuver. Said limb cannot be used to attack, work a lever, etc during that round, and if used for such next round is at -1 to skill. During a round in which it’s designated as defensive, however, it is at +1 to defend (maybe even +1.5, to give characters with odd skill levels a boost). If you designate one leg as defensive, they both must be, and you lose the option to Step or Move outside of a Retreat (an exception for characters with Extra Legs - you can still Step or Move so long as you designate no more legs than you could lose without falling, and while so designated your movement rate is reduced as though they’d been crippled). Designating both of your legs (or all of them, if you have Extra Legs) as defensive also gives a +1 to Dodge. Note it might be more realistic for limbs used to attack to suffer a defense penalty, but I’m more inclined to offer carrots than sticks.

Next up, opportunistic attacks. Something that can happen in real fight or fictional fights - but doesn’t in GURPS - is that you’ll find yourself in a position where an otherwise-suboptimal attack (pommel strike, stabbing with the dagger in your offhand, etc) has a better chance of connecting than your preferred attack. Rather than wasting time rolling each round to see what is the best attack for the round, I think it would be best to allow the player to actually declare an opening has presented itself, but only every so often. Basically, the player declares there has been an opening for a specific attack and rolls 1d - the result is the bonus such an attack enjoys, but attempting any other attack instead is at an equal penalty. There are a few caveats. First off, the declared attack must be specific - not just “hit him with my knife,” but “stab him in the Vitals with my knife.” Secondly, if used in conjunction with Rapid Strike or similar, you designate which attack in the sequence is taking advantage of this, and only that attack is affected (so for a 3-attack maneuver, if you designate the second attack and stabbing in the Vitals with the knife, the first and third attacks are unconstrained and suffer neither an additional penalty nor bonus). Finally, if the GM disagrees the attack is suboptimal (such as if it’s actually being done with the weapon that deals the most damage, or that you have the highest skill in), he can ask the player to reconsider. If the player opts to declare anyway, the bonus (but not penalty) is reduced by 3, to a minimum of +0. The GM may make an exception here if it’s actually the character using their best weapon in a suboptimal way. For example, in a high-altitude aerial battle against a foe with Flight (Winged), aiming at the wings is often by far your best bet (since wings tend to be unarmored, and what would be a Major Wound on the torso will basically instakill your target by crippling his wing and leaving him to plummet to his death), so he might allow for a swing to the neck or stab to the torso to take full advantage of this, even if it’s with your best weapon. Opportunistic Attack has a “cool down” of 2 seconds, and the GM may decide you either can’t use the same striking surface more than once in a battle, or it has a longer cool down of 9 seconds (so you could declare for an opportunistic knife thrust to Vitals, act normally the next 2 rounds, then declare for an opportunistic pommel bash to the skull, but trying to use an opportunistic attack with the knife isn’t an option until 9 rounds since the first have passed).

Finally, and related to the above, are unexpected attacks. When making an Opportunistic Attack that imposes at least a -1 for Deceptive, you may also claim it to be an unexpected attack. This is dependent upon the GM’s agreement, and must truly count as unexpected. Examples include dropping your sword and then punching your foe in the face, striking with a hidden weapon, missing with a thrusting attack and following up with a draw cut, etc. If making an Unexpected Attack, the player can either have that attack benefit from a free Feint attempt, or can make the Deceptive Attack give a -2 to defense for every -3 to attack. Typically only usable once in a given battle, although the GM may allow for the same trick to work on multiple foes, or different tricks to work on the same foe.

So, in summary:
Defensive Limb: Declare a limb as only usable for defense that round, get a +1 to defense with it but suffer -1 to attack if you use it for an attack next round.
Opportunistic Attack: Declare a suboptimal attack as opportunistic to enjoy a +1d bonus to hit with it (but changing your mind means an equal penalty with the attack you do use). Usable generally once every 3 seconds, or once every 10 seconds for a given striker.
Unexpected Attack: A Deceptive Opportunistic Attack involving trickery. Grants either a free Feint or a better exchange rate for Deceptive Attack (-3/-2 instead of -2/-1). Usable once per combat.


What does the hivemind think?