Combo Suggestions for point starved Witch wanting to be effective in melee?

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

The generous Move and Attack treatment of ranged weapons makes pistols extremely tactically effective compared to melee weapons for close combat.

This isn't entirely unrealistic - effectively using a muscle-powered hand weapon is highly reliant on the legs, so doing it while running is really tough, while using a firearm while running (provided it has light enough recoil you don't need to brace) just means you can't properly aim and don't have as stable of a firing platform. Part of me is tempted to have Move and Attack only be at -2 (maybe higher for large swinging weapons) without a cap but suffer a damage penalty (comparable to Defensive Attack). That's probably a tangent suited to another thread, however.

Originally Posted by Tymathee

Certainly, why waste time swinging a staff when you can just put a bullet in their head?

There are other advantages to the staff, of course. First and foremost is that +2 Parry, which is indispensable if you find yourself stuck in melee (particularly against armed foes). Next up, I think there are more monsters who are resilient against piercing damage than against crushing damage* - in some cases, you may well have a monster who is resilient against piercing and particularly vulnerable to crushing (skeletons come to mind, as they're likely to have both Injury Tolerance: Unliving and Fragile: Brittle, if not outright Vulnerability to Crushing). Granted, many of those bullet-resistant monsters are still vulnerable to headshots (zombies certainly come to mind), but you need to be a pretty serious shootist to pull that off reliably.

All that said, however, a pistol is probably a better option in most cases.

*Humorously, unless they have a good deal of natural DR, I think the GURPS stats result in rubber bullets being more effective against the undead than metal ones. I'd have to check the stats again, however.
EDIT: Having checked, I was incorrect. I thought baton/rubber rounds did normal (or perhaps slightly reduced) damage that was crushing and had a poor armor divisor. Turns out they do 1/5th normal damage, as crushing and with a poor (0.5) armor divisor, so normal bullets are still better than rubber ones against zombies. There may be some edge cases where they perform better against skeletons, however, depending on caliber and what traits the skeleton has.

[Tymathee]

Originally Posted by Varyon

There are other advantages to the staff, of course. First and foremost is that +2 Parry, which is indispensable if you find yourself stuck in melee (particularly against armed foes). Next up, I think there are more monsters who are resilient against piercing damage than against crushing damage* - in some cases, you may well have a monster who is resilient against piercing and particularly vulnerable to crushing (skeletons come to mind, as they're likely to have both Injury Tolerance: Unliving and Fragile: Brittle, if not outright Vulnerability to Crushing). Granted, many of those bullet-resistant monsters are still vulnerable to headshots (zombies certainly come to mind), but you need to be a pretty serious shootist to pull that off reliably.

All that said, however, a pistol is probably a better option in most cases.

*Humorously, unless they have a good deal of natural DR, I think the GURPS stats result in rubber bullets being more effective against the undead than metal ones. I'd have to check the stats again, however.

Of course I'm aware of these things, and I'm aware of the potential highly variable factors that could be in play, but I'm just applying some real-life common sense (or what I perceive to be, my logic is not infallible).

Most foes, unless they're utterly fearless and/or so highly capable/highly powered that they can withstand bullet fire, are going to hesitate when confronted with a gun being pointed at them.

Ideally, I'd imagine it'd be most desirable to perform headshots against zombies as a lot of fiction says that enough damage to the undead brain will take them out. You could just take more easier shots if you lack the skill, enough damage could make their rotting bodies collapse... or just blow them apart in close range with a shot gun.

Of course, I don't know MH well, and I know GURPS's guns mechanics even less, but I'm simply speaking from experience with playing survival horror games. Particularly Resident Evil 4, my favorite. I played that game to completion on the Gamecube and now I'm playing it again on the Switch. RE peaked with 4, and it is arguably the most iconic survival horror game to date. Makes me want to play a GURPS RE game. :)

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Tymathee

Most foes, unless they're utterly fearless and/or so highly capable/highly powered that they can withstand bullet fire, are going to hesitate when confronted with a gun being pointed at them.

A campaign where even the noncombatant PC's are routinely outnumbered but are expected to fight their way through (such as the one OP appears to be in) is unlikely to adhere to this sort of realism. In a high-realism campaign, of course, a firearm may well prevent combat from ever starting, as potential foes decide you aren't worth the risk. This can happen to a certain extent with any weapon (depending on setting, some weapons are better than others - in modern US, an axe or large knife may make people keep their distance for fear you're a bit unhinged, while in a medieval-inspired setting a sword may be more effective, as carrying such marks you as someone who actually knows how to fight), of course.

Originally Posted by Tymathee

Ideally, I'd imagine it'd be most desirable to perform headshots against zombies as a lot of fiction says that enough damage to the undead brain will take them out. You could just take more easier shots if you lack the skill, enough damage could make their rotting bodies collapse... or just blow them apart in close range with a shot gun.

Depending on what rules you're using, arguably the most bang for your buck against a zombie would be a shot to the Abdomen or Pelvis. The first is -1 and has a chance to hit the second, which is at -3. A hit to the Pelvis can cripple both legs simultaneously, giving you more time to either get away or line up that headshot (plus, with the zombie crawling prone, you can shoot at the Skull at only -5 for targeting from behind).

Originally Posted by Tymathee

Of course, I don't know MH well, and I know GURPS's guns mechanics even less, but I'm simply speaking from experience with playing survival horror games. Particularly Resident Evil 4, my favorite.

I've only played Resident Evil 3 (and that on the original Playstation release), and only some of that (not really my genre of game, honestly) but an important aspect there was that you had fairly limited ammunition and headshots were pretty easy to do (it was third person with a more-or-less fixed camera, so you just aim "up" and wait for the zombie to get close enough that the gun will hit them, and it counts as a headshot), so if you had to shoot (rather than just get around the shambling hordes), a headshot was your best bet. I think MH tends to be markedly more generous with ammo (at least mundane ammo, as you can just buy more at a sporting goods store) so just shooting at a zombie's torso until it runs out of HP and collapses is probably an acceptable strategy for a secondary combatant like a witch.

[Malleable]

Thanks for all the additional suggestions guys.
Concept-wise I had the image of a Japanese guy using a katana, and having spells to improve his abilities. Since the only magic in the game is rituals, many of the better ones take a ton of mana, so you can't do them on the fly. We have created as many charms as we can (46 total), and split them up across the party. Ghost Shirts and something else I can't recall.
I can definitely hold back a few more charms for myself. Flak jackets are not readily available yet (set in the 80s before they became decent or readily available).
I do have a pistol and silver/wooden bullets, but hit or miss I won't kill something (or haven't yet) with one shot. Then they are in melee range and DR6 and dodge isn't enough. Parry seems better and easier to raise.
For Precognitive Parry I figure I will want to raise some of the prereqs anyways. Get a combat skill to 18 and Danger Sense are the costliest. Total is only 40pts.
AND my character, as the parties attorney might not want to carry a gun around all the time - and the cane to staff would be street legal. :)
I will look into the shoot and move tactics for guns.

Thanks again guys,
Mal

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Malleable

We have created as many charms as we can (46 total), and split them up across the party. Ghost Shirts and something else I can't recall.

The others ought to be Succor or at least cast that in advance with enough duration to lst through probable encounters. not only does it speed up healing by a factor of 6x it ensures that all crippling injuries are temporary.