What exactly determines combat initiative in GURPS?

[Aneirin]

I have always liked game systems where individuals write their moves in secret and they are all done at once, and higher initiative gives you bonuses to change your movement in case someone did something that will interferere with what you would do.

Rolemaster uses this system. Anyway that GURPS could use it?

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Aneirin

I have always liked game systems where individuals write their moves in secret and they are all done at once, and higher initiative gives you bonuses to change your movement in case someone did something that will interferere with what you would do.

Rolemaster uses this system. Anyway that GURPS could use it?

Not in regular combat, no. GURPS relies heavily on combat turn being cyclic. OTOH, this is basically how Netrunning seems to be done, minus the changing of actions (at least the way I understand it).

[Sunrunners_Fire]

Originally Posted by Aneirin

I have always liked game systems where individuals write their moves in secret and they are all done at once, and higher initiative gives you bonuses to change your movement in case someone did something that will interferere with what you would do.

Rolemaster uses this system. Anyway that GURPS could use it?

If you re-write the entire combat system from scratch? Sure can!

Using the rules in the books? Only if you don't care about keeping your characters past that fight. Redoing chargen for the entire table every in-game five-second-duration fight would be tiresome. (aka - I wouldn't suggest it)

[lexington]

Originally Posted by Aneirin

I have always liked game systems where individuals write their moves in secret and they are all done at once, and higher initiative gives you bonuses to change your movement in case someone did something that will interferere with what you would do.

Rolemaster uses this system. Anyway that GURPS could use it?

Well you could but you'd be pretty much on your own since the game doesn't have any kind support for it.

[cmdicely]

Originally Posted by Aneirin

I have always liked game systems where individuals write their moves in secret and they are all done at once, and higher initiative gives you bonuses to change your movement in case someone did something that will interferere with what you would do.

Rolemaster uses this system. Anyway that GURPS could use it?

Depending on how detailed the declarations are this would be likely to be very slow in play, but it is relatively easy to see how it could be done in GURPS in outline. (Just do exactly what you say -- if you want to change your action after declarations are made, roll against 2×Basic Speed to switch in time, and if you need to beat someone else's action when switching, roll a Quick Contest of 2×Basic Speed.)

The devil would be in the details though -- for instance, do you support Waits, and, if so, how? How do you handle movement when actions are being resolved simultaneously, and actions may depend on relative position (and thus, the order in which movement is applied)?

Its probably easier (both less cumbersome in play, and requiring less reworkof the GURPS rules), if you want to use a "global turn" system, to use a global turn with simultaneous secret declaration of maneuver only, with resolution in order of lowest to highest initiative except that a higher initiative character can interrupt at any point (if two higher-initiative characters want to interrupt at the same point, the interrupts are in order of highest to lowest initiative.)

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Aneirin

I have always liked game systems where individuals write their moves in secret and they are all done at once, and higher initiative gives you bonuses to change your movement in case someone did something that will interferere with what you would do.

Rolemaster uses this system. Anyway that GURPS could use it?

As others have pointed out its not really very practical for a lot of reasons.
However you can get the feel of this by using Wait maneuvers.
Your limited to a subset of actions but you still get to respond to others.
And if you have ATR you can do an action and use your last maneuver as a Wait.
But remember GURPS turns are just 1 second each, that is way faster then most other RPGs and really does not give you much time to react.
Places where the re-rolling initive work best are longer turns.

[Evil Roy Slade]

Originally Posted by Witchking

The ability to say "I don't know" is the beginning of all wisdom. A GM who "knows everything" is usually enough to get me scrabling away from the table like someone had just slapped a limpet mine to it!!

Good Luck and enjoy...ole GM tip...prior to any run where you expect a combat prep a Turn sheet listing (in decending order) all PC's, NPCs/neutrals and Bad Guys. Then its just unroll the map, place the figures and Turn 1 Speed 6.XX...and read on down.

Or you could do what I did.

[Ego Archive]

Originally Posted by Aneirin

I have always liked game systems where individuals write their moves in secret and they are all done at once, and higher initiative gives you bonuses to change your movement in case someone did something that will interferere with what you would do.

Rolemaster uses this system. Anyway that GURPS could use it?

If you were going to do something like this, it seems like it would make more sense to print off the "GURPS Fourth Edition Combat Cards", for each player, and just have them pick one, and place it face down in front of them. Then they could utilize that maneuver however works when it gets to their turn. Of course there are lots of situations that seem like it would be problematic to me. Maybe if you allowed people to swap out in the same color type, in certain situations. I think if I was going to do something like that, I would have the player make an IQ roll to swap, or something.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Ego Archive

If you were going to do something like this, it seems like it would make more sense to print off the "GURPS Fourth Edition Combat Cards", for each player, and just have them pick one, and place it face down in front of them.

Those are incomplete. Try these instead.

[OldSam]

Originally Posted by Evil Roy Slade

Or you could do what I did.

Hey, that's really a great idea! :)
I'll definitely try it in my own game.