Spike's combo kick

[Ragitsu]

Check out this video. In particular, pay attention to 3:12.

Is there a way to handle this kind of attack besides piling on the Extra Attack (Multi-Strike) Advantage?

[Sam Baughn]

I'd go with an All-Out-Attack (Double) and a Rapid Strike, probably with a telegraphic attack and maybe trained up as a combo. He only uses it once his target is reeling about, probably Stunned and unable to defend or hit back.

[Ragitsu]

Originally Posted by Perfect Organism

I'd go with an All-Out-Attack (Double) and a Rapid Strike, probably with a telegraphic attack and maybe trained up as a combo. He only uses it once his target is reeling about, probably Stunned and unable to defend or hit back.

Hey there Perfect Organism.

That's got to incur some kind of penalty. What figures are we talking about here, and what do you mean by "trained up as a combo"?

[thulben]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

Hey there Perfect Organism.

That's got to incur some kind of penalty. What figures are we talking about here, and what do you mean by "trained up as a combo"?

MA:80. Essentially, you pre-determine which attacks and their targets and you can eliminate the Rapid Strike penalty

[SuedodeuS]

6 kicks in two seconds (which is what he manages starting at 3:12) can be represented with AoA: Double plus Rapid Strike, or two Rapid Strikes, with this maneuver taken twice in a row. Neither is too terrible when you consider Spike probably has Trained By A Master.

[Ragitsu]

Originally Posted by SuedodeuS

6 kicks in two seconds (which is what he manages starting at 3:12) can be represented with AoA: Double plus Rapid Strike, or two Rapid Strikes, with this maneuver taken twice in a row. Neither is too terrible when you consider Spike probably has Trained By A Master.

Thanks for the verification, SuedodeuS. Would you happen to know the penalties for each attack?

[Maz]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

Thanks for the verification, SuedodeuS. Would you happen to know the penalties for each attack?

Well AoA:double with 3 raid strikes would be 2x -12/-12/-12
They are ofcourse to the face so thats -5 on top of that. But it can be bought down with a Combination Technique as others have mentioned. He most likely also have Targeted attack Kick/Face. And finally he have TBM.
In addition I'm pretty sure cowboy Bebop runs on cinematic rules and so Spike should be able to halve the RS penalty by spending 1 FP (not that he need it if he have all of the above).

So he could have the penalty reduced from 2x -17/-17/-17 to as low as 2x -2/-2/-2. If they are done Telegraphic its 2x +2/+2/+2!

[Edit] Just if you wanted to know how much this would cost Spike:
TBM: 30 pts.
Karate: 16 [?] (not really sure how much DX he has, but he certainly have Karate at DX+2 or higher)
Technique: Kicking +0 [3 pts]
Technique: Targeted attack kick/face [4 pts]
Combination: 3x Targeted attack kick/face [8 pts]
= 45+ pts.

Now lets assume Spike just have ST:10 (he looks pretty skinny, even if he is i ngood shape it's not muscles). Thrust 1d-2 (+2 from Skill)
Thats 6d damage in 1 sec!

[edit2]
An alternative would be a 6x Rapid Strike. That would be 6x -30. But thanks to TBM thats halved to -15 and for 6 FP that halved again for -7. -5 more for Face. Assuming he spend the same points as above he is down to 6x -6. If Telegraphic, thats 6x -2... but then he havn't used an AoA !! He could instead spend the AoA on Strong for 6d+12 damage! Or retain his defense.

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by Maz

Well AoA:double with 3 raid strikes would be 2x -12/-12/-12

Note that you can only turn one attack in a round into a Rapid Strike. If you take an All-Out Attack (Double), one of the attacks can be broken down into Rapid Strikes, but the other one is only one attack (at no penalty, though, which is nice).

However, I think Sudodeus was talking about making two All-Out Attack (Double)s on subsequent turns, turning one attack in each into a Rapid Strike. In which case, the attacks would be at -0/-6/-6, and then the same on the next turn. Of course, if Spike is Trained By a Master, the Rapid Strike Penalties are halved, so the attacks would be -0/-3/-3. And if he spent FP for each attack, it drops even further, to -0/-1/-1. That burns 4 FP and leaves you defenseless, of course, but can certainly be worth it, since it can seriously wear down the opponent. In fact, the scene in question is an excellent example of when to do this, since Vincent has been backed against a pole, and can't use a Retreat to increase his defenses at all. With any luck, one of the attacks on the first round will land, very likely stunning him (since stunning rolls are at -5 for face attacks), and thus preventing him from exploiting the opening Spike leaves by All-Out Attacking.

[chris1982]

To be specific, this is not really a series of full kicks. He character doesn't take the full swing for a kick, just the bend of the knee for damage really.

This kind of kick is usually used for showoff but doesn't cause a lot of damage.

I'd design it as a technique either as a "melee rapid shot" or 3 kicks at extra -2 each, but with -2 damage each as well...

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by chris1982

To be specific, this is not really a series of full kicks. He character doesn't take the full swing for a kick, just the bend of the knee for damage really.

I'd disagree here. Martial Arts states that a standard Kick in GURPS can represent "crescent, rising, side, and snap kicks", and it certainly looks like "snap kicks" would describe what Spike is doing there.

Originally Posted by chris1982

I'd design it as a technique either as a "melee rapid shot" or 3 kicks at extra -2 each, but with -2 damage each as well...

No need for a new technique. This could simply be Defensive Attacks, which works if you assume that Spike is not taking All-Out Attacks, but instead doing triple Rapid Strikes, using Trained By A Master and FP to get the penalty down to something reasonable.