Examples of 4e Combat

[Witchking]

Originally Posted by The Bearded One

Cr@p on a stick! Somehow I missed that last paragraph. I'll have to redo the magic part of the example completely since I treated 1 second spells as if they took 2 seconds each. No wonder that mage seemed incompetant.

-- The Bearded One

Also keep in mind that as long as the mage is not directly engaged in combat prep time of 1-2 seconds per spell is a minimal liability, IME...

[The Bearded One]

Originally Posted by Witchking

Also keep in mind that as long as the mage is not directly engaged in combat prep time of 1-2 seconds per spell is a minimal liability, IME...

No, taking 2 seconds to cast a one-second spell is devastatingly slow in combat. Remember, this is one fighter and one mage versus two zombies. The first time through, the humans got their asses thoroughly kicked by turn five or so. I'll redo everything with the spell casting corrected and see if that makes any difference

Probably the humans will just figure out that they're in over their heads and flee.

-- The Bearded One

[mook]

Hiya The Bearded One -

Haven't looked at the example you emailed (since you're redoing it anyway), but it would save me some time if you could arrange the numbers so one side or the other is defeated (either unconscious or dead) like the other examples.

In an actual game a smart character will run away, but that doesn't help the examples much. :)

[The Bearded One]

<gasp!> Do you mean for me to fudge die rolls? But that is strictly against the GM code! <wink wink>

-- The Bearded One

[mook]

I won't tell if you won't. : )

[mook]

I have completed PDFs for all 11 current examples - they can be downloaded individually from each example's page, or downloaded together in a single .zip file here:

http://www.themook.net/rpg/examples-download

Please let me know if you notice any glaring problems with the PDFs, I'll do my best to correct.

[Smirg]

In the new ranged combat example, when Zach gets hit the second time, you wrote that his Dodge goes down to 5 as it is Basic Move + 3. This isn't correct, it's actually Basic Speed (rounded down) +3 (otherwise it would be too cheap to buy up). So Basic Move changes don't affect it.

On the other hand, as Zach is below 1/3 HP, his Dodge is halved (to 4) and his Move is halved too (so down to 1).

Can't give the page reference to these, however, I'm at work now. But the first is in the dark red section at the beginning of Characters where attributes are listed (under secondary attributes, obviously) and the latter is in the light green injury section in Campaigns (under the heading "effects of injury" iirc). Don't know whether it appears in the shortened combat descriptions at the end of Characters too.


Edit: When Zach dodges next, his Dodge should therefore be down to 3. 4 for being below 1/3 HP, +2 for Feverish Defense, -3 for prone.
I believe that means that without Feverish Defense, he couldn't dodge at all (effective skill < 3), but there might be exceptions for combat (I think you can always defend on a 3), so better look that up. Should be either under defenses or at the summary of critical successes.

[Mercator]

In Ranged Four, Turn Four: When Zach is hit, his HP fall from 10 to 3. This is a Major Wound, so he should roll for Knockdown and Stunning. Also, he drops below 1/3 HP, so his Move and Dodge are halved.

Cheers,
M.

[Hai-Etlik]

Not all combat ends in death/incapacitation. Having at least a few examples reflect this is probably a good idea.

[Amedeo]

Hi all,
this is my first post here. I recently bought a few GURPS manuals after I resolved to abandon the d20 system for my RPG sessions. I am still trying to become familiar (sort of...) with the basic rules, so these Combat Examples are most welcome!

I have a question regarding Ranged Example Four (turn 5). Is it correct (according to the RAW) to allow the target of an unspotted sniper to use his/her dodge ability against such an attack?