Combat related stuff

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by FeiLin

1) IIrc, it’s possible to use the default of any technique (save those that “default to defaults”); does that also mean I can create a “temporary” combat technique based on an attack/action, and say modify it by just subtracting 2 (or 1 per die, whichever is worse), as per MA90 (unless said attack/action already includes something similar, of course)?

Are you talking about being able to basically create new Techniques on the fly, using them at their default? For example, you're up against a foe with no armor and few HP, but who has a phenomenal Parry, so you take -1/die to damage in exchange for inflicting a -2 to his Parry? I think there's an optional rule somewhere in Martial Arts (although I can't find it), intended primarily for cinematic campaigns, that lets you do just that. It does suggest that you require the player to come up with a name for it on the spot, with his character shouting it out as he/she performs it (I did say cinematic, right?). You can see an example of it in action in the opening blurb to the "Techniques" chapter.

Do keep in mind that you aren't allowed to get net attack bonus; any bonus from things like reduced damage needs to be "spent" on other benefits (like reduced enemy defenses in my example above) or it's lost.

Originally Posted by FeiLin

2) If I’m opting for techniques that are mostly hard and I choose two, the first level is the same cost as raising the skill they’re based on (assuming they’re the same), and even though further levels cost less, I still feel there’s a very low threshold for how many techniques worth it (no more than three based on the same skill). What’s your view of multiple techniques based on the same skill; are they worth it or is it a trade off a character makes (CP-wise) to allow the player (or Gm) to just feel good by having {awesome technique} fleshed out explicitly?

From the perspective of invested points, it's quite rarely worth it to invest in more than 2 Techniques, and often just picking one is a good idea. Exceptions can be made for Techniques that can stack, of course - investing in all of Counterattack, Kick, and Targeted Attack (Kick/Neck), can be worth it, for example (defend when the enemy attacks, then leverage the defense penalty from Counterattack on your turn to kick the foe in the neck). Keep in mind that defensive Techniques sort of count as half Techniques in this analysis (every +1 to a defensive Technique would require +2 to skill to match).

Originally Posted by FeiLin

3) Is there a Fast-Draw penalty for weapon size (such as bulk or reach)?

Fast-Draw seems to very much be a binary "You can or your can't" type of situation, with the GM making the call. I could see cause to penalize it for larger weapons, but I'd argue this would be more for allowing Fast-Draw of things you usually can't Fast-Draw, rather than making things you normally can harder, and would be cinematic in nature.

Originally Posted by FeiLin

4) A bit more philosophical: how come defence (such as Shield) is half skill +3 (or equivalent); is defence so powerful that it needs higher CP cost?

Defense is indeed very powerful, particularly because in GURPS it's extremely easy for a single hit to knock a character out of commission. Additionally, if your probability to Block/Parry was the same as your probability to hit, GURPS combat would take an excessively long time. As it stands, with two skill 12 combatants, there's a roughly 46% probability for each attack to land a hit (74% chance of a success on attack, 62.5% chance of a failure on parry). If full skill were used for Parry, that would plummet to 19%.