GURPS is a point-buy system first developed in the 1980s, and is a followup of sorts to The Fantasy Trip. The basic mechanic is roll 3d6 under a given skill or stat. It can be very simple, or extremely complex, depending on the rules that you add.
For this exercise, we will be using the 'Combat Lite' options in the Basic Set (4th Edition, p. 324).
Once again, we have Bob the Bowman:
Name: Bob the Bowman (150)
Attributes: ST 12 [20]; DX 14 [80]; IQ 10 [0]; HT 10 [0]
Secondary Characteristics: Dmg 1d-1/1d+2; BL 29 lb; HP 12 [0]; Will 10 [0];
Per 12 [5]; FP 10 [0]; Basic Speed 6 [0]; Basic Move 6 [0]
Advantages: Combat Reflexes [15]; Increased Perception 1 [5];
Perks:
Disadvantages:
Quirks:
Skills: Climbing DX-1 [1]-13; Bow DX+1 [4]-15; Escape DX-2 [1]-12;
Fast-Draw (Arrow) DX+2 [2]-16; Geography/TL3 (Regional) IQ-1 [2]-9;
Hiking HT-1 [1]-9; Survival (Plains) Per+1 [4]-13; Survival (Mountain) Per+0 [2]-12;
Swimming HT+0 [1]-10; Jumping DX+0 [1]-14; Knife DX+1 [3]-15; Stealth DX+0 [3]-14;
Equipment: 1 Longbow (ST12) [$220; 3 lb]; 6 Arrow, Bodkin [$2; 0.1 lb]; 6 Arrow [$2
; 0.1 lb]; 1 Leather Armor [$100; 10 lb]; 1 Leather Cap [$32; 0 lb];
The skill format is just (Skill Name Base_Attribute +/- Modifier [Points Spent] - Effective_Skill)
Steve the Swordsman is also back. He now has an Alcoholism disadvantage, but is ready for a rematch.
Name: Steve the Swordsman (150)
Attributes: ST 15[50]; DX 12 [40]; IQ 9 [-20]; HT 15 [50]
Secondary Characteristics: Dmg 1d/2d-1; BL 34 lb; HP 17 [4]; Will 9 [0];
Per 9 [0]; FP 12 [0]; Basic Speed 6 [0]; Basic Move 6 [0]
Advantages: Combat Reflexes [15];
Perks:
Disadvantages: Alcoholism [-15];
Quirks:
Skills: Shield (Shield) DX+2 [6]-14; Broadsword DX+2 [8]-14; Knife DX+0 [1]-12;
Tactics IQ-1 [2]-8; Animal Handling (Equines) IQ-1 [1]-8; Axe/Mace DX-1 [1]-11;
Carousing HT+0 [1]-12; Crossbow DX+0 [1]-12; Climbing DX-1 [1]-9;
Riding (Equine) DX-1 [1]-11; Fast-Draw (Sword) DX+1 [1]-13; Feint (Broadsword) +1 [2]-15;
Equipment: 1 Mail Leggings [$110; 15 lb]; 1 Mail Sleeves [$70; 9 lb]; 1 Mail Coif [$55; 4 lb];
1 Mail Hauberk [$230; 25 lb]; 1 Large Shield [$90; 25 lb]; 1 Broadsword [$500; 3 lb];
Before we begin, we note that Steve is Lightly encumbered, so his base Move is 4 and Dodge is 11.
Bob is not encumbered, so his effective Move is 6 and Dodge is 10.
GURPS combat is broken down into 1 second intervals, so there will be quite a few turns here as they start at 100 yards again.
1st second.
Bob readies his bow, then Steve readies his shield.
2nd second
Bob readies an arrow. Steve readies his sword.
3rd second
Bob finishes readying the arrow. Steve moves 4 yards.
4th second
Bob aims. Steve moves 4 yards
5th second. Steve 92 yards away.
Bob aims more. Steve moves 4 yard
6th second. Steve 88 yards away.
Bob looses his arrow. Range on a longbow is a multiplier of his strength x15 for full damage, x20 for half. Bob's strength is 12, so he is within range. There is a table for range penalties, and Steve's range inflicts a -10 on the shot. His aim is +3 from the base bow aim bonus and +1 for aiming another second. His penalty is -6 , so his Bow skill is effectively 9. He rolls 3d6:
3 + 1 + 4 = 8
This is a potential hit.
Steve attempts to Block with his large shield. His sield gives a +3 bonus to attacks from the front or side, and his Block skill is 3 + half his Shield skill, so 7. He has an effective block skill of 10.
3 + 4 + 3 = 10
The arrow sticks in his shield, and he moves forward 4 yards.
7th second. Steve is 84 yards away.
Bob spends a Ready action loading an arrow. Steve moves forward 4 yards.
8th second. Steve is 80 yards away.
Bob spends a Ready action to finish loading. Steve moves forward 4 yards.
9th second. Steve is 76 yards away.
Bob aims. Steve moves forward 4 yards.
10th second. Steve is 72 yards away.
Bob aims. Steve moves forward 4 yards.
11th second. Steve is 68 yards away.
Bob looses the arrow. Range gives him a -9, his aiming offsets 4 of that. He has an effective skill of 11.
4 + 1 + 6 = 11
Another potential hit.
Steve tries to Block again.
6 + 3 + 2 = 11
He fails to position the shield correctly, so the arrow hits. His Bow does 1d6+1 impaling damage, he rolls 1d6 and gets a d5, so this is 6 impaling damage. Steve's chain hauberk has a DR of 4, so 2 point get through. Since this is impaling, damage is doubled that gets through armor, so Steve take 4 HP damage, bringing him down to 13 HP... Steve is a bit of a monster. Steve will also suffer a Shock penalty equal to the HP loss for the next turn, which is unlikely to matter.
Now with an arrow in the shield and one in him, Steve moves forward 4 yards.
12th second. Steve is at 64 yards.
Bob Readies an arrow. Steve moves 4 yards.
13th second. Steve is at 60 yards.
Bob finishes Readying the arrow. Steve moves 4 yards.
14th second. Steve is at 56 yards.
Bob aims his longbow. Steve moves 4 yards.
15th second. Steve is at 52 yards.
Bob aims some more... Steve moves 4 yards.
16th second. Steve is 48 yards.
Bob aims one last time... Steve moves 4 yards.
17th second. Steve is at 44 yards.
Bob looses his arrow. He now has a +5 from Aiming, and a -8 for range. His effective skill is 12.
5 + 1 + 1 = 7
A potential hit, and Steve narrowly misses blocking it.
Bob rolls a 6 for damage, so 7 potential damage, 4 of which the hauberk absorbs, 3 get through, doubled to 6 due to it being impaling damage. Steve is now down to 7 HP, and also suffers a -6 Shock penalty on checks for the next round.
Steve stumbles forward.
18th second. Steve is at 40 yards.
Bob Readies an arrow. Steve moves.
19th second. Steve is at 36 yards.
Bob finishes readying the arrow. Steve moves.
20th second. Steve is at 32 yards.
Bob Aims. Steve moves.
21st second. Steve is at 28 yards.
Bob Aims Steve moves.
22nd second. Steve is at 24 yards.
Bob Aims.. Steve move
23rd second. Steve is at 20 yards.
Bob looses the arrow. He is +5 from aim, -6 for distance, so effective skill of 14.
Bob hits, and Steve misses Blocking by 1. but the arrow's impact is absorbed by his Hauberk.
24th second. Steve is at 16 yards and Bob is worried
Bob rolls fast-draw arrow to cut his reload time, and succeeds. Steve moves closer
25th second. Steve is at 14 yards.
Bob aims Steve moves
26th second. Steve is at 10 yards.
Bob has an Aim bonus of 3 and a -4 for range. Effective skill is 14.
He rolls a 4, which is considered a critical success! This means that his weapon will do full damage, and no active defense is possible.
This results in 3 points getting through the hauberk, doubling to 6, which drops Steve to 1 HP. His move and Dodge are halved...
27th second. Steve is at 8 yards.
Bob quick loads an arrow and succeeds.
Steve moves forward.
28th second. Steve is at 6 yards.
Bob fires. He is at an effective skill of 13, and the arrow would hit, but Steve blocks with his shield.
29th second. Steve is at 4 yards.
Bob moves back 6. Steve oves forward 2.
30th second. Steve is at 8 yards.
Bob speed loads an arrow. Steve moves forward 2.
31st second. Steve is at 6 yards.
Bob makes a Determined attack, hits, Steve fails to Block and damage is 5.
1 point gets through, doubled to 2, which puts Steve at negative HP. He must roll versus HT every turn to retain consciousness.
32nd second. Steve is at 4 yards.
Bob is just going to walk away from Steve until Steve finally fails his HT check and collapse from his injuries...
Thoughts: This is just including Basic options. No fatigue to worry about, no hit locations, and Bob didn't use the bodkin arrows that would have guaranteed penetration of ammo at the cost of actual damage. Bob wasted alot of time aiming given his skill, and should have probably put as many arrows down range as possible fast loading arrows from the get go.
The GURPS bell curve for skills guaranteed that skilled characters succeeded alot, and the small time chunks made for some interesting differentiation between faster and slower weapons.
If Steve did not have a shield he would have died earlier, and if he was wearing no armor, it would have been over after the second hit.
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