Mages and CQC (close quarters combat)?

[khorboth]

Originally Posted by rerednaw

That is a question a few players had for me. In a situation where folks start at close range they felt that a mage (Magery 3 limit, no innate attack) would have trouble vs. a weapon master. Or even a turtled tank with stacked armor.

A mage will not have the same amount of points available to put into physical stats that a non-mage would. As this determines Speed, it means the mage has to survive until his turn. This could mean 4 attacks from a dual-wielding weapon master.

And of course there is the fatigue issue...the warrior could be slashing long after the mage has used up his fatigue....

How would one go about making a mage that could fare well in such situations? (We’d be using GURPS Magic and the main rules.)
Thanks!

There are too many variables here. The first is total point value. At 75 points, I'd expect the mage to do ok. The fighter is only a bit more physically capable and the wizard will probably get off a spell to level things out. At 1500 points, if the wizard had no time to prepare, I'd expect the fighter to go through the wizard in a single round like a buzzsaw.

Second, how specialized are they? Is the wizard totally glass cannon vulnerable or has he spent some points hedging against this eventuality? A few points in weapon skills is a good idea, but not required. Old-world Dragonlance, for instance, would prohibit this. Is the fighter pure dumb brute, or is his will above an 8?

Finally, How much preparation time did they have? For a wizard, a few seconds to cast protective spells could be a life-saver. For a fighter, gearing up could be the thing.

Overall, though, I agree with Varyon. You're setting it up as "if things are tipped in favor of the fighter, will the fighter win?" the answer is probably "yah." On the other hand, if the wizard is not totally built to ignore defense they can probably hold out for a few rounds while calling for help. This seems pretty much in-genre to me. Don't let the orcs get to the wizard. If they do, rescue him quickly.