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

In this example, two combatants 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 10 - two possible hits.

Arthur Green HP: 12
Rolls 3d6 twice against his Dodge of 8 (cannot Parry as his weapon is not yet ready) and gets 9 and 14 - he fails both defenses.

Zach Red HP: 14
Rolls 1d+2 for damage twice and gets totals of 3 and 5.

Arthur Green HP: 4, Shock: -4
3 points of crushing basic damage to the Face - 0 DR leaves 3 points of penetrating damage. Arthur's HP are reduced to 9 and he has a shock penalty of -3.

As this was a hit to the Face sufficient to cause a Shock penalty, Arthur must check for Knockdown and Stunning (B420). He rolls 3d6 against his HT of 10 and gets 9 - he suffers no penalty beyond ordinary Shock.

5 points of crushing basic damage to the Face - 0 DR leaves 5 points of penetrating damage. Arthur's HP are further reduced to 4, and his Shock penalty is increased to the maximum of -4.

As this was a hit to the Face sufficient to cause a Shock penalty, Arthur must check for Knockdown and Stunning. He rolls 3d6 against his HT of 10 and gets 10 - he suffers no penalty beyond ordinary Shock.

Arthur Green HP: 4, Shock: -4
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 10 - a possible hit. (Note that it is legal to attempt a disarm immediately following a Ready maneuver.)

Arthur Green HP: 4, Shock: -4
Rolls 3d6 against his Parry of 11 and gets 12 - he fails to Parry. (It is legal to Parry with a weapon immediately following a Ready maneuver for the same reasons as above.)

Zach Red HP: 14
Disarm requires a Quick Contest of weapon skills, using either the standard DX-based value or ST-based (if it would be better). Zach rolls 3d6 against his Karate skill of 18 and gets 11, a success by 7.

Arthur Green HP: 4, Shock: -4
As Arthur's ST is 12 and his DX is only 10, he chooses to use his ST-based value instead - his Broadsword skill is at "DX+6", substituting ST for DX yields an effective value of 18. He rolls 3d6 against his ST-based Broadsword skill of 18 and gets 13, a success by 5.

Arthur loses the Quick Contest - the GM rolls 1d6 to determine the direction his weapon flies (B414) and gets 5, then places the disarmed weapon on the map.

Arthur Green HP: 4
Maneuver: Ready (knife)

TURN THREE

Zach Red HP: 14
Maneuver: All-Out Attack (Strong), Hit Location: Vitals, Lethal Strike (B404), Punch (Arthur)

Uses his Step to move forward 1 hex into Arthur's hex, rolls 3d6 against his effective Karate skill of 13 (-3 for Hit Location: Vitals, -2 for Lethal Strike) and gets 12 - a possible hit.

Arthur Green HP: 4
Opts to Parry and Retreat (B377), and moves out of Close Combat. Rolls 3d6 against his effective Parry of 11 (-1 for using a knife, +1 for Retreat) and gets 14 - he fails to Parry.

Zach Red HP: 14
Rolls 1d+2 for damage (-1 for Lethal Strike, +2 for All-Out Attack (Strong)) and gets a total of 5.

Arthur Green HP: -5, Shock: -4
5 points of piercing (from Lethal Strike) basic damage to the Vitals - 2 DR leaves 3 points of penetrating damage. 3 points x the 3 wounding modifier for Hit Location: Vitals = 9. Arthur's HP are reduced to -5 and he has a shock penalty of -4.

As this is a Major Wound (more than 1/2 HP injury from a single blow), Arthur must check for Knockdown and Stunning (B420). He rolls 3d6 against his effective HT of 7 (-5 for Hit Location: Vitals) and gets 10 - he falls down prone and suffers Stun.

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

Zach Red HP: 13, Shock: -1
Due to using a Lethal Strike, Zach take 1 point of damage for every full 5 points of basic damage he inflicts unarmed (B379). He suffers 1 HP of injury to his right hand, and a shock penalty of -1.

Arthur Green HP: -5, Shock: -4
Maneuver: n/a

As he is below 0 HP, Arthur rolls 3d6 against his HT of 12 to avoid falling unconscious and fails with a 13 - he immediately collapses into unconsciousness.

At this point 'combat time' has ended, as Arthur 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, Zach does not lose any Fatigue Points (B426).

Thrusting Broadsword/Leather Armor VS. Karate/Normal Clothing

Thrusting Broadsword/Leather Armor VS.
Karate/Normal Clothing