Gaming Ballistic - GURPS Content Posts

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I'll note this convention isn't necessary here - if you watch the guy she does the takedown on, you can actually see him roll over from supine to prone and starting to stand while she's charging the second guy, and when the camera cuts over to get a better view of her body-slamming the second guy, you can further see him finish standing up, after which he and a third guy (who is unarmed, while the first one still has his sword) attempt to gang up on and fight her.

Which is pretty cool in a way, as of course GURPS models this well already, as the guy takes several deliberate one-at-a-time moves to get to his feet, and the entire darn exchange is about five seconds long.

The second guy is certainly either Stunned or KO'd (in DnD terms, he'd probably be unconscious from having taken Subdual damage in excess of his HP) after that body slam, as he drops his sword and doesn't appear to be moving much, if at all. So probably some damage done there (using whatever CP she had left after the pickup... or maybe after the pickup she did another AoA (Double) to gain some CP and then immediately turned that into damage for the body slam), although I forget if TG/FDG maintains Judo Throw's Stunning effect from Basic and Martial Arts (a successful Judo Throw requires the target to roll against HT or be stunned from the impact, even if no damage is involved), which could potentially be in play... although the Barbarian is more likely using Wrestling than Judo.

The stunning Judo Throw has been retained...but given that in my limited experience it's rare for a nonspecialized grappler to seek out grappling, "I stun you by wrestling you hard in the hit points by converting CP to HP" seems to work out pretty well. :-)

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

Which is pretty cool in a way, as of course GURPS models this well already, as the guy takes several deliberate one-at-a-time moves to get to his feet, and the entire darn exchange is about five seconds long.

Yeah, this really feels like a sequence that GURPS would do better justice to than DnD. Going back to the beginning of the fight, she (probably with some assistance from the Bard) uses Acting or similar to conceal the fact she's actually taking Readies to work a stone loose (as well as pretend to be giving up), then probably takes All Out Defense (Improved Block/Parry) to block the would-be executioner's undoubtedly-Telegraphic attack with the stone (probably using Brawling for the improvised weapon). She then uses Rapid Strike to strike his Foot followed by his Face (the GM ruled that the hit to his foot caused him to double over, making the Face an available target despite her being in a Kneeling posture). She then takes a Change Posture to stand and Dodges the attack of a guard, following this up with a Rapid Strike to Beat his sword away and then strike him in the Face. She appears to use something akin to a Stop Hit on the next one, Dodging his strike and once again bricking him in the Face. I can't quite make out exactly what happens with the next one, but it looks like maybe she steps into Close Combat but misses, and with her foe not being willing to step back, he instead uses the pommel of his sword to strike her in the Face. High Pain Tolerance helps her avoid Stunning and also means she ignores Shock, and Peripheral Vision lets her notice the guy trying to come up behind her; she Steps toward him and uses her favorite Targeted Attack (Brawling Brick/Face). She turns back to the guy who pommeled her (which admittedly may be too much facing change for one round; maybe her apparent stumbling back from the pommeling was actually her using a Retreat and turning to face the guy behind her, and then on her turn she flips back around after bricking him?). She Blocks/Parries the next sword strike and either uses Rapid Strike or a variant of Grabbing Parry to initiate a Weapon Bind, preventing him from using his sword to Parry her later Push Kick. The GM lets her split her knockback between her foe and herself to allow her to do an incidental Slam to the foe behind her (or maybe they just fluff it as her using the momentum from the kick, and it was actually something like a Rapid Strike with Committed Attack), and further allows this to function as something like a Tackle, albeit at a penalty given she's just grappling with her core and not her arms or legs (and with her back to boot) when they push up against the wall. The guard fails to break free on his turn, and she uses Rapid Strike to bash him in the face twice with her stone (while the first looks like a Back Attack, I'd suggest just treating that as fluff, given she turns around during the second attack). She then turns around just as a previous foe manages to climb to his feet and possibly being too far for a Step, opts to throw her brick at him. She succeeds, but he manages to Dodge... and the GM uses Hitting the Wrong Target to determine her brick instead hits the guard behind her initial target. After this we come to the grappling bit you already handled (although I'll note she may have combined the movement of her Committed Attack with a Slip during her Dodge to get into the target's Side Hex, making it impossible for him to Parry her Grapple with his sword and more difficult to avoid besides). After the body slam, she looks to Parry the first (armed) guard's attack, then Steps into the second (unarmed) guard's hex and tries to punch him - but as he didn't get an attack when his buddy did (lacked Reach to attack, and his single Step didn't get him into Close Combat), he instead opted for All Out Defense (Improved Parry) and Parries her strike; what happens after is uncertain, as it cuts to the bard trying to wear down his bindings on the step, but when we cut back to the barbarian, the unarmed guard has managed to grapple her arm (possibly from a Parry) and uses the CP he's established for Kiss the Wall, slamming her into an adjacent wall and knocking her down. He reestablishes the grapple before she manages to stand up (perhaps she failed her attempt at Acrobatic Stand this time, or she rolled a 17 when avoiding Stun), and humorously drags her offscreen just as the clip ends. Aside from the cuts to the bard trying to free himself, the fight seems to actually progress at an appropriate pace for GURPS combat (my above analysis has 10 rounds pass between her blocking the axe and the grappling sequence, and the timestamps have 12 seconds passing in this time), although the foes appear to be restricted by Melee Etiquette (engaging the barbarian more-or-less one at a time, although this doesn't seem blatantly obvious) to some degree.

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

The stunning Judo Throw has been retained...but given that in my limited experience it's rare for a nonspecialized grappler to seek out grappling, "I stun you by wrestling you hard in the hit points by converting CP to HP" seems to work out pretty well. :-)

She kind of seems like someone who has invested in being skilled at grappling, perhaps for bar fights and the like. In DnD terms, at least for 3e/3.5e (which is what I'm familiar with), she might have the Improved Grapple Feat. In GURPS terms, given how useful that "free" stun is, she may have taken Technique Adaptation (Judo Throw is usable with Wrestling)*, which I'll note is a much easier investment (Improved Grapple requires you to burn two Feats for it - one for Improved Unarmed Strike, one for Improved Grapple - while Technique Adaptation is simply a Perk). Or not - a strong barbarian burning CP on a gravity-assisted Kiss the Wall isn't exactly going to tickle.

*EDIT: I decided to make an Upgrade Module in the form of those in Delvers to Grow for this, and it's a bit of a doozy. Arguably it should have a [1] for Unique Technique, but Combinations kinda of already have a similar surcharge, so I disregarded that.


Body Slammer

You have specifically trained to pick up and slam grappled foes to the ground in a single action, typically burning all Control Points for improved damage on the throw. Your throws are particularly disorienting, requiring the foe to roll against HT to avoid being physically Stunned, even if not damage made it past their DR. Note the pickup can also disorient (as normal), as well as increases damage thanks to the gravity assist*.

Prerequisite: Strong Delver

Attributes: +2 Lifting ST [6]

Advantages: Body Slam [8]**; Signature Move (Body Slam) [1]; Technique Adaptation (Judo Throw uses Wrestling) [1]; Power Grappling [1]

Skills: Spend eight more points on Wrestling

Optional: For a Wrestler (or other character with Wrestling Master), Body Slam as-written only has a cost of [5] ([2] for a two-attack combination, -3 for Rapid Strike with Wrestling Master). Such a character could opt to pick up another level of Lifting ST for [3] (net [9]), or give up the Signature Move to instead learn Improved Body Slam***.


*I'm not sure what the rule is for this... do you basically just add the damage of a fall from your nominal height (2 yards for SM+0 - a Move 7 collision - 3 yards for SM+1 - a Move 8 collision - etc), or something else?

**Body Slam is built as Combination +0/+0 (Wrestling/Pick Up + Wrestling/Judo Throw+Kiss The Floor) [8], the cost being [2] for a two-attack Combination and [6] to buy off the penalty. Note that, with Signature Move, this is actually +1/+1.

***Improved Body Slam is instead built as Combination +0/+0/+0 (Wrestling/Establish Grapple + Wrestling/Pick Up + Wrestling/Judo Throw+Kiss The Floor) [12]. This can allow the character to establish a grapple, pick up, and slam down, all in one go - or if a grapple is already established, the first attack simply serves to build up more Control Points to further improve the damage.

[DouglasCole]

Ballistic’s Report – June 24, 2023

Two weeks absolutely packed with stuff.

At this time two weeks ago, Artifacts of Legend had just funded, and concluded on June 10. Since then, I have finished up most of the layout, put most of the artwork in place, and launched the Isle of Sedra Kickstarter for The Fantasy Trip. Oh, also fulfillment for Best Supporting Actors should be truly on its way to finalization by next week. Two big things happened in the home life zone, but they shall remain private for now.

• Best Supporting Actors Australia fulfillment should begin early next week, as the eight orders that go to Oz land Down Under on Monday. Somehow, I wound up short two copies of Till Death Do Us Part (OSE) in the UK, but those arrived this week and the last to UK-Hub orders should dispatch next week also.
• The Isle of Sedra campaign launched yesterday and hit 50% funding in about 24 hours. The campaign runs until July 15, so plenty of time to fund, over-fund, and beyond.
• A whole lot of folks are jumping on the Books and Cards pledge, far more than I anticipated. This is excellent.
• Artifacts of Legend late pledges are open on Backerkit. This underperformed in the Kickstarter, but it's shaping up to be a gorgeous book.
• Peter and I did a final submission of our project outline.
• Vast improvements in range of motion on my frozen shoulder. That has led to both more sleep and better sleep.
• I get to play my new knight for maybe five hours tomorrow, then I have the “50-round challenge” at Asfolk. 50 matches, 90 seconds continuous fighting each, 30s break in between.

[Farmer]

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

[SIZE="5"].[*]Vast improvements in range of motion on my frozen shoulder. That has led to both more sleep and better sleep.

Frozen shoulder is horrible. I had both frozen for a while, overlapping for a few months :(

The worst was reflexively spinning around and throwing my hand out to catch something that was falling behind me - the pain was unbelievable, literally I sank out of my chair and curled up on the floor for a while.

I hope you continue with the recovery, unfortunately it just takes time.

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by Farmer

Frozen shoulder is horrible. I had both frozen for a while, overlapping for a few months :(

The worst was reflexively spinning around and throwing my hand out to catch something that was falling behind me - the pain was unbelievable, literally I sank out of my chair and curled up on the floor for a while.

I hope you continue with the recovery, unfortunately it just takes time.

Because of my martial arts and grappling background, I know the difference between "this is painful but not injurious" and "don't go there." So my self-inflicted and facilitated PT has been VERY effective.

[DouglasCole]

Happy Unruly Colonists Day!

Here in MN, it's raining like crazy and the prognosticators expect this to continue off and on all day, with maximum chance of maximum thunderstorms right around the time we're supposed to set off explosives and stuff. Dang it.

Artifacts of Legend Pushed!
However, as a consolation prize for me, I pushed Artifacts of Legend u20230704 to Backerkit.

If you've completed your survey, you will find an email from Backerkit allowing you to navigate to and download the file.

You have completed the survey, right? (Ahem: for 40 folks the answer is "not yet, but I'm going to get right on that!")

This is a "penultimate" file, in that there are still hyperlinks to hyperlink but I always do that as the very, very last step, because it's tedious and manual and I don't want to do it twice.

Also, there's a chance that the proofers, playtesters, and I have missed a few typos or something, or that there's some mistake that needs fixing.

If you find something, please submit it on the Gaming Ballistic Errata page. Choose the correct file, and use the form to let me know there's an issue. It really is the best way for me to ensure that such matters are addressed properly.

Artifacts of Saga Thursday
I also have a complete version of Artifacts of Saga, but I want to wait until Thursday to push that one, as I would like a day or two to give it the same degree of final editing pass that Legends got. But definitely expect the book by the end of the week. There's one art tweak I'd like to make, and I'll make it if the artist gets back to me by then; it "should" be an easy fix, but Life Happens.

It's Not Too Late

Late pledges are still being accepted on Backerkit, at the same price and with the same options as the main campaign. They will remain open until it's time to place the manufacturing order ... so probably another 10 days or so.

[mirtexxan]

Hi, if you are interested I've looked under the hood of some of the Gaming Ballistic content, rebuilding it with Powers in order to use it in GURPS... check this thread

[DouglasCole]

BALLISTIC’S REPORT – AUG 18, 2023
Three weeks this time. A lot of under the waterline activity, and a bit of fun vacation for the first time this summer.

• Artifacts of Legend is fulfilled and closed. My Australian counterpart should have put the remaining 6-7 parcels into the post. I have canceled and refunded the four backers with incomplete surveys. And the Pre-order/late pledges are closed. I’ll put the books up for sale on my website, and the PDFs on DriveThru, this weekend.
• Isle of Sedra is currently at 93% survey completion. I’ve got two of the three books basically all done except for some pending art, and about 1/3 of the Decks of Destiny cards are formatted. Still waiting for the Sedra Sourcebook proper from the author.
• Late pledges are still open for The Isle of Sedra. This is going to be a very robust adventure setting, and if you’re interested in ready-to-play material, you’ll like this.
• All the covers are done for the books.
• Played Felltower again. Too many turns wasted thanks to repeated improbable critical fails. Otherwise, a good time.

[binn05]

Hello Doug,
I don't know where to send you a typo I found in the Bugstiary u20221216 e u20221218 special cover.
Page 48 Bjöllufólk
~ Attribute Modifiers: ST +1 [1];
I think it should be [10] at the cost.

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by binn05

Hello Doug,
I don't know where to send you a typo I found in the Bugstiary u20221216 e u20221218 special cover.
Page 48 Bjöllufólk
~ Attribute Modifiers: ST +1 [1];
I think it should be [10] at the cost.

Probably should be [10]. You can always send errata to

https://gamingballistic.com/errata and find the book in the drop-down menu, fill in the questions so I know where to find the error, etc.

That's the way guaranteed to get me to respond to the mistake.