[Basic] Skill of the week: Light Walk

[johndallman]

Light Walk is an esoteric DX/Hard martial-arts skill, with prerequisites of Trained by a Master and both Acrobatics and Stealth of 14+. It has no default, and no skills default to it. It first appeared in Martial Arts for 3rd edition.

The basic effect of Light Walk is to reduce the pressure you exert on the ground when walking. Like several other esoteric martial arts skills, this breaks the laws of physics, gently but definitely. On a successful roll, you leave no visible traces and cannot be tracked by sight; tracking by scent is not affected. This also assists the use of Stealth to move quietly, with a bonus of half the margin of success on Light Walk, rounded down, minimum +1. Finally, you can attempt to move over a fragile surface without falling through, with a Move of, at most, a third of your normal move. Thin ice would allow an unmodified Light Walk roll; rice paper would be a roll at -8. The skill could be rationalised as the use of chi, magic or psionics to support most of your weight, but this is optional.

Naturally, Light Walk only appears on templates for cinematic martial artists. Action 3 provides several kinds of ninjas, plus traceurs, who can use it; Action 4 packages the traits differently. Occasional Sparrials may know the skill as may Banestorm monks. DF martial artists and ninjas can use it, plus the odd thief who manages to blag the training, and Icky Goo has monsters which you need the skill (or flying) to sneak past. Several Gun-Fu styles include it, and Fantasy assassins can learn it. As usual, being good at this skill costs more points than most templates supply, but Martial Arts has cinematic lenses who can get there, plus additional feats for the skill in chambara campaigns where combining it with Flying Leap and Lizard Climb is invaluable, and plenty of styles that include it. Yrth Fighting Styles provides Light Walk in halfling, elven and werewolf styles. Power-Ups volumes 3 and 7 provide example Talents and a Wildcard skill that include Light Walk. Powers allows Flight to enhance Light Walk and Thaumatology: Chinese Elemental Powers has more specialised abilities that can do the same.

Adjudicating the interaction of Light Walk with other skills that change normal ideas about force could be interesting. What happens if you use Immovable Stance while standing on rice-paper?

[CoyoteGestalt]

When GURPS Magic: Plant Spells came out, I liked the "Trained by an Archdruid" Unusual Background, but I remember being surprised that it enabled Invisibility Art but not Light Walk, which seems like it would suit a lot of classic forest-dweller characters.

[whswhs]

Note that CEP also allows using LW as a prerequisite for Flying Leap, in place of Power Blow, and with some modifications to how Flying Leap works.

[whswhs]

Tolkienian elves unmistakably have Light Walk. See Legolas walking on the snow of Caradhras.

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Tolkienian elves unmistakably have Light Walk. See Legolas walking on the snow of Caradhras.

Not to mention the more ostentatious use of it running up collapsing stairs in the 3rd Hobbit movie.

[simply Nathan]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Tolkienian elves unmistakably have Light Walk. See Legolas walking on the snow of Caradhras.

Not "unmistakably". There are other abilities, including Terrain Adaptation, that can have arguments in their favor.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by simply Nathan

Not "unmistakably". There are other abilities, including Terrain Adaptation, that can have arguments in their favor.

I don't think any form of terrain adaptation gives you the ability to walk over fresh fallen snow without crushing it. It would be like claiming that terrain adaptation let you walk on water.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Not to mention the more ostentatious use of it running up collapsing stairs in the 3rd Hobbit movie.

I'm ignoring Peter Jackson's version of Legolas. He was way too much of a superhero.

[RogerBW]

As with Enthrallment, I don't see that this really has a place in the core skill listing. I'd rather see this sort of cinematic martial arts ability treated more like Psionic Powers: off in a supplement, with a power that gives the cinematic ability and a skill to control it.

But this may well be because I've actually wanted to use this material approximately never, and someone in a more martial-arty game would probably find more use for it.

[Varyon]

GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 16: Wilderness Adventures allows Light Walk at -8 to stay up in forest's treetop canopy. One could also allow for a heavily-penalized use of the skill to stand in for Walk on Liquid, at least while moving quickly enough (running over water is a common ninja trick, although DF12 has them do it using gadgets - inflatable tabi shoes - rather than skill). I'd go with Light Walk -10, rolling each round, and a minimum of either 5 yards per second or 80% of unencumbered Move. While I don't think it's in any official books, Light Walk allowing you to walk freely on spikes/caltrops, or over pressure plates without triggering them, might also be appropriate; I'd eyeball it as being comparable to staying up in a canopy, for Light Walk at -8 each turn you do so.

Originally Posted by RogerBW

As with Enthrallment, I don't see that this really has a place in the core skill listing. I'd rather see this sort of cinematic martial arts ability treated more like Psionic Powers: off in a supplement, with a power that gives the cinematic ability and a skill to control it.

But this may well be because I've actually wanted to use this material approximately never, and someone in a more martial-arty game would probably find more use for it.

Many of the esoteric skills might be more appropriate as Powers than as Skills, honestly. Pyramid #3/44 had an article by Kromm allowing you to convert skills to powers, although it requires the skill be limited (which you might be able to bypass by applying some level of Cosmic). In the case of a Light Walk Advantage, allowing rolls against Stealth instead of DX may be appropriate.