GURPS 4e - Combat Examples

Armor: Leather Armor (DR 2 torso, groin, 10 lbs.), Heavy Leather Sleeves (DR 2 arms, 2 lbs.), Heavy Leather Leggings (DR 2 legs, 4 lbs.), Boots* (DR 2 feet, 3 lbs.) [* flexible]
Thrusting Broadsword: 1d+3 cut/1d+1 imp; Reach: 1; Parry: 0, ST: 10 (3 lbs.)
Large Knife: 1d cut/1d-1 imp; Reach: C, 1; Parry: -1, ST: 6 (1 lbs.)

Skills: Broadsword - 16 (DX+6)
Knife - 16 (DX+6)

Ads/Disads:

Zach Red

ST:	14	HP:	14	Size Modifier: 0
DX:	14	Will:	10	Encumbrance: 0 (4 lbs.)
IQ:	10	Per:	10	Basic Speed: 6
HT:	10	FP:	10	Basic Move: 6

Thrust: 1d

Swing: 2d

Dodge: 10*

Parry: 13*

Block: -

(* includes a +1 bonus for Combat Reflexes)

Armor: Normal Clothing* (DR 0 arms, legs, torso, groin, 2 lbs.), Shoes* (DR 1 feet, 2 lbs.) [* flexible]
Punch: 1d+1 cr., Reach: C (Karate)
Kick: 1d+2 cr., Reach: C,1 (Karate)

Skills: Karate - 18 (DX+4)

Ads/Disads: Combat Reflexes

The combatants in this example are identical to those in Close Combat Example Three, but the results are very different due to different dice rolls and different maneuvers chosen.

The opponents still face one another in a gladiatorial arena, one unarmed and unarmored, the other armed with a thrusting broadsword and wearing leather armor. They start the contest one yard apart.

Zach has the higher Basic Speed, so he goes first.

TURN ONE

Zach Red HP: 14
Maneuver: All-Out Attack (Double), Hit Location: Face, Kick (Arthur)

Uses his Step to move forward 1 hex, rolls 3d6 twice against his effective Karate skill of 11 (-5 for Hit Location: Face, -2 for Kick) and gets 11 and 8 - two possible hits.

Arthur Green HP: 12
Opts to Dodge and Retreat (B377), and moves back 1 hex. He rolls 3d6 twice against his effective Dodge of 11 (+3 for Retreat) and gets 8 and 10 - he Dodges both attacks.

Arthur Green HP: 12
Maneuver: Ready (broadsword)

TURN TWO

Zach Red HP: 14
Maneuver: Attack, Disarm (B401), Kick (Arthur)

Rolls 3d6 against his effective Karate skill of 10 (-4 to hit a weapon of reach 1, -2 for Disarm, -2 for Kick) and gets 7 - a possible hit. (Note that Zach does not need to move forward for this attempt, as Arthur's Reach 1 weapon is considered to be "in the user's hex, and in the hex directly in front of him", B400.)

Arthur Green HP: 12
Rolls 3d6 against his Parry of 11 and gets 11 - he Parries. As this was a successful Parry against an unarmed attack (B376), Arthur immediately rolls 3d6 against his effective Broadsword skill of 12 (-4 for his foe using Karate) and gets 10 - a hit (Zach may not defend against this).

Arthur rolls 1d+3 for damage and gets a total of 7. (As Zach didn't specify which leg he was attacking with, he rolls randomly as one would for a hand or foot: 1-3 is right, 4-6 is left. He rolls a 2, so this is a hit to the Right Leg).

Zach Red HP: 6, Shock: -4, Parry: 10
7 points of cutting basic damage to the Right Leg - 0 DR leaves 7 points of penetrating damage. 7 points x the 1.5 wounding modifier for cutting damage = 10.5, rounded down to 10. The leg is crippled, though damage over 8 is ignored (the minimum amount needed to cripple, HP/2, B399). Zach's HP are reduced to 6 and he has a shock penalty of -4.

Zach's Right Leg is now Crippled - he falls down Prone, and temporarily has the Lame (Missing Legs) disadvantage (B141), giving -6 to any skill that requires the use of his legs and reducing his Basic Move to 2. Note that this does not affect his Dodge, which is Basic Speed +3 (not Basic Move - B17). It does affect his Parry though - his new Karate skill is 18 - 6 = 12; Parry is half skill +3, so 9 in this case, +1 for Combat Reflexes. Zach's new unarmed Parry is 10.

As "any crippling injury is also a major wound", Zach must check for Knockdown and Stunning. He rolls 3d6 against his HT of 10 and gets 10 - he suffers no further penalty beyond ordinary shock.

Arthur Green HP: 12
Maneuver: All-Out Attack (Strong), Hit Location: Vitals (imp, Zach)

Uses his Step to move forward 1 hex, rolls 3d6 against his effective Broadsword skill of 13 (-3 for Hit Location: Vitals) and gets 11 - a possible hit.

Zach Red HP: 6, FP: 9, Shock: -4, Parry: 10
Opts to Parry and Retreat (by rolling, B377), as well as spend 1 FP to choose Feverish Defense (optional, B357). Rolls 3d6 against his effective Parry of 12 (-3 for being Prone, +3 for Retreat, +2 for Feverish Defense) and gets 11 - he Parries.

TURN THREE

Zach Red HP: 6, FP: 9, Shock: -4, Parry: 10
Maneuver: Change Posture (Prone to Kneeling)

Arthur Green HP: 12, FP: 11
Maneuver: Attack, Mighty Blows (optional, B357) (cut, Zach)

Opts to spend 1 FP to choose Mighty Blows. Uses his Step to move forward 1 hex and change facing (B386), then rolls 3d6 against his Broadsword skill of 16 and gets 10 - a possible hit.

Zach Red HP: 6, FP: 8, Parry: 10
Opts to spend 1 FP to choose Feverish Defense. Rolls 3d6 against his effective Parry of 13 (-2 for Kneeling, +2 for Feverish Defense) and gets 15 - he fails to Parry.

Arthur Green HP: 12
Since he didn't specify a Hit Location, the attack defaults to the Torso (B369), though note that since Zach failed an unarmed parry against a weapon, Arthur could choose to hit either his original target or the arm Zach attempted to parry with (B377). Arthur chooses to hit the torso, and rolls 1d+5 (includes +2 bonus for Mighty Blows) for damage and gets a total of 8.

Zach Red HP: -6, FP: 8, Shock: -4, Parry: 10
8 points of cutting basic damage to the Torso - 0 DR leaves 8 points of penetrating damage. 8 points x the 1.5 wounding modifier for cutting damage = 12. Zach's HP are reduced to -6 and he again has a shock penalty of -4.

As this is a Major Wound (more than 1/2 HP injury from a single blow), Zach must check for Knockdown and Stunning. He rolls 3d6 against his HT of 10 and gets 11 - he falls down prone and suffers Stun.

He also has less than 1/3 his HP, so his Move and Dodge are halved.

TURN FOUR

Zach Red HP: -6, FP: 8, Shock: -4, Parry: 10
Maneuver: n/a

As he is below 0 HP, Zach rolls 3d6 against his HT of 10 to avoid falling unconscious and fails with a 12 - he immediately collapses into unconsciousness.

At this point 'combat time' has ended, as Zach is unable to defend himself - he can roll against his HT in one hour to see if he awakens (B423).

Since the combat did not last longer than 10 seconds, Arthur does not lose any Fatigue Points (B426).

Thrusting Broadsword/Leather Armor VS. Karate/Normal Clothing

Thrusting Broadsword/Leather Armor VS.
Karate/Normal Clothing