Berserk Barroom Brawl

[Anders]

Bob, who has Berserk is drinking in a somewhat-crowded tavern. And when a Jim sort-of-accidentally spills his drink on Bob, Bob takes a swing and goes into full berserk mode. Hilarity ensues.

1) Does Bob have to kill Jim, even if he doesn't have Bloodlust advantage?

2) If Bob has a knife, does he have to escalate? Does he have to pull the knife on Jim, even if Jim is unarmed?

3) Does he have to attack the three patrons who try to stop him from jumping up and down on Jim's head?

4) Can this end well?

[Mathulhu]

Bob can try to snap outof it once Jim is down. I see no reason Bob has to escalate in fact readying a weapon is not listed as an acceptable action also I would only allow it if he had quick draw and someone else had drawn a weapon.

1 no
2 no
3 maybe, he can try to resist if the player wants to stop
4 yes, from a gaming point of view

[Dalillama]

1)No, but since he won't stop hitting him until he snaps out he might anyway.
2)No.
3)Yes, unless he makes a self-control check to snap out of it.
4)Not for Jim, and not for Bob either unless he's got a decent self-control roll. The most likely outcome is that Bob will still be there fighting all comers until whoever enforces the law locally arrives to beat him to a jelly with big, big clubs.

[Langy]

Originally Posted by Anders

Bob, who has Berserk is drinking in a somewhat-crowded tavern. And when a Jim sort-of-accidentally spills his drink on Bob, Bob takes a swing and goes into full berserk mode. Hilarity ensues.

This is only really possible if Bob has both Bad Temper and Berserk (Battle Rage); just getting a drink spilled isn't one of the normal triggering conditions for Berserk, and Berserk doesn't make you more likely to start a fight.

[gilbertocarlos]

He would only get Berserk if the drink did damage, with is kinda rare unless is ultra hot.

[Anthony]

Unless Bob suffers HP/4 of damage in one round he doesn't even go berserk, so this situation is unlikely to start with. Assuming he does go berserk:
1) Bob attacks until Jim goes down, at which point he either snaps out of it or switches to the next target. This might result in Jim being dead, but at the default lethality of GURPS combat it's fairly unlikely.
2) I see no indication that drawing a weapon is required.
3) If he fails a self-control roll, 'Treat any friend who attempts to restrain you as a foe'. However, he does get a self-control roll. Note that this only (RAW) triggers when Jim is down; what happens when a foe becomes unreachable is not addressed.
4) Berserk is classed as a disadvantage for a reason.

[Culture20]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Unless Bob suffers HP/4 of damage in one round he doesn't even go berserk, so this situation is unlikely to start with. Assuming he does go berserk:

If he has Battle Rage (+50%) Enhancement on Berserk and interprets the drink spilling as an attack (if it was an obvious intentional "throwing a drink in the face") or Bad Temper, he might go berserk.

2) I see no indication that drawing a weapon is required.

"You cannot reload unless your weapon - and your Fast-Draw skill - lets you reload 'without thought' ... Once your gun is empty, you must either draw another gun or charge into melee combat." It seems like there is a little choice of weapon still available for a berserker. My guess is they will choose the skill they are best trained in.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Anders

Bob, who has Berserk is drinking in a somewhat-crowded tavern. And when a Jim sort-of-accidentally spills his drink on Bob, Bob takes a swing and goes into full berserk mode. Hilarity ensues.

1) Does Bob have to kill Jim, even if he doesn't have Bloodlust advantage?

2) If Bob has a knife, does he have to escalate? Does he have to pull the knife on Jim, even if Jim is unarmed?

3) Does he have to attack the three patrons who try to stop him from jumping up and down on Jim's head?

4) Can this end well?

1. As soon as Jim falls down and plays dead, there's no reason Bob has to play any attention to him at all. While Bob might start kicking until he comes out of the Berserk, any moving target will take priority.

2. He doesn't have to.

3. Yes. Yes he does.

[Anders]

Thank you all. The important things were really questions 1) and 2), but now that I've got that cleared out... thank you.