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Old 06-15-2009, 07:21 AM   #1
Johnny Angel
 
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Certain unarmed fighting skills (such as boxing) give a bonus to your damage if you are trained to a certain level in that skills.

If I am trained in two skills which provide such a bonus, do I get the bonus damage from both?*




Likewise, if I were trained in wrestling and sumo wrestling, do I get the grapple bonuses from both skills? (I've asked this one before, but I'm asking again to help provide some context for the damage question.)






*If yes, I can't seem to tell if GCA factors it all in.
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Old 06-15-2009, 07:27 AM   #2
Dragondog
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Default Re: stacking

I don't have my books with me, but I’m fairly certain the answer to both your questions are no.
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Old 06-15-2009, 07:29 AM   #3
Figleaf23
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Default Re: stacking

You can only use one skill at a time, therefore your attacks only benefit from one skill's bonuses.
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Old 06-15-2009, 07:32 AM   #4
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Default Re: stacking

Definitely not. When you punch or grapple someone, you chose which skill you're using, you only get the benefits for that skill.
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Old 06-15-2009, 07:33 AM   #5
Johnny Angel
 
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Default Re: stacking

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragondog View Post
I don't have my books with me, but I’m fairly certain the answer to both your questions are no.
I've gotten a few yes answers as well as no answers to the wrestling one, so now I'm not sure.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Figleaf23 View Post
You can only use one skill at a time, therefore your attacks only benefit from one skill's bonuses.
I thought perhaps this was the case after seeing how the GCA calculates everything. In a lot of cases I guess it makes sense from a game balance perspective, but in a few cases it seems strange that you wouldn't be able to blend multiple fighting styles together into something better (i.e. the manner in which MMA has evolved via UFC fights.)
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Old 06-15-2009, 07:37 AM   #6
Dragondog
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Default Re: stacking

Blending fighting styles has nothing to do with that. Karate, Wrestling, and the other GURPS skills are not fighting styles at all. They are skills that could be part of several fighting styles. And you can still only do one thing at a time.
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Old 06-15-2009, 07:44 AM   #7
Johnny Angel
 
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Default Re: stacking

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragondog View Post
Blending fighting styles has nothing to do with that. Karate, Wrestling, and the other GURPS skills are not fighting styles at all. They are skills that could be part of several fighting styles. And you can still only do one thing at a time.
thanks for the responses


I was fairly certain that the answer was no, but I wasn't 100% sure. A few of the skills say something vague along the lines of "...do extra damage with unarmed thrust." I wasn't quite sure if they'd all stack in a similar manner to how things such as Charisma and Good Reputation do stack when interacting with NPCs.


What are some other instances in GURPS when bonuses don't stack?
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Old 06-15-2009, 07:49 AM   #8
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Default Re: stacking

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Angel View Post
In a lot of cases I guess it makes sense from a game balance perspective, but in a few cases it seems strange that you wouldn't be able to blend multiple fighting styles together into something better (i.e. the manner in which MMA has evolved via UFC fights.)
If you look at Martial Arts, you see that Styles often involve multiple Skills. BJJ, for instance teaches both Judo and Wrestling, so you can use you Judo skill for throws and one handed parries, or your Wrestling skill for grappling techniques that receive wrestling's ST bonus. It's not the most efficient way to spend points, but it simulates MMA very well. You may use 3 or 4 combat skills in a single fight, but you only use one for each roll.

Another MMA scenario for which I wrote a house rule is this: a Boxer who trains in another striking art can fold his Boxing skill into his Karate skill.

(E.g. Joe the boxer has Boxing at DX +2 (8 points), and he wants to fight in the UFC. He joins a gym and studies Muy Thai, since Joe is already an expert at throwing punches, judging ranges, parrying blows, etc... his learning curve is really quick. Once he has earned 4 points he erases Boxing from his character sheet and replaces it with Karate DX +2 (12), all his boxing techniques now default to Karate. He KEEPS style familiarity and any style perks.)
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Old 06-15-2009, 07:49 AM   #9
Maz
 
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Default Re: stacking

The answer is no, as you only get those benefits if you use that skill to attack. And since you can't attack using two skills at once, you only get one of them.

[Edit] Whops that'll teach me to refresh a thread before I post.

Last edited by Maz; 06-15-2009 at 08:03 AM.
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Old 06-15-2009, 01:19 PM   #10
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Default Re: stacking

The reasoning is already well posted here. GURPS 4E specifically says no to the bonuses in the skill writeup for each.
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