Roleplayer #27, February, 1992
Concentrated Defense
Protecting Your Vital Interests
by Charles Wheatley
One of the best features of GURPS
is its realism, including the deadly combat. However, in settings
such as the swashbuckling era, which have minimal armor and no magic or
psionic healing, it is hard for the GM to present the PCs with challenging
combat that doesn't leave them injured so badly that they miss the adventure.
A solution appears in old swashbuckling movies, like the 1974 version of
The Three Musketeers. Major characters in this film never suffered
worse than an injured arm or shoulder . . . removing them from the current
fight, only to reappear at some other inopportune time. These injuries also
aided character development by setting up rivalries and feuds ("Next
time I'll kill that one-eyed man").
In a real combat, a fighter can protect one part of his body at the expense
of other parts. For example, when fencing with the foil, a leg and arm are
forward to protect the torso, which is the only valid target. When the whole
body is fair game, as with the epee, the fencer must move the leg back to
prevent it from being hit, making the torso an easier target. A shield can
also be used to guard one particular body part while exposing the others.
The following optional rule simulates this capability.
Optional Rule: Concentrated Defense
Before an attack is initiated, you may decide to more heavily defend a certain
portion of your body. Unknown to your attacker, write down or communicate
to the GM where you are concentrating your defense. You gain a +1 bonus
to the defense of this one area for every -1 penalty which you accept to
all others, up to a maximum of +5 bonus or a minimum effective defense of
4 after the penalty. For simplicity, the 11 body parts are divided into
four areas:
1) Head (Brain, head, eyes)
2) Torso (including the vitals)
3) Arms (both hands and arms)
4) Legs (both feet and legs)
A defense of the vitals only may be made for a +2 bonus for each -1 penalty
to all other body parts, up to a maximum +6 -- e.g., if you take a full
+6 bonus to guard your vitals, your defense of the rest of your body will
be at -3.
After a concentrated defense is chosen, the attack proceeds as usual. If
the attack hits and the location is the one chosen for concentrated defense,
then you may add your bonus to your defense; otherwise you subtract your
penalty.
A skilled opponent will notice a concentrated defense. For an attacker to
realize his opponent is favoring a certain body location, the GM rolls versus
his highest weapon skill plus the concentrated defense bonus his
opponent is taking. Roll once before each attack, with a successful
roll noting the concentrated defense and a critical failure misinterpreting
it. (An observer not in the combat would have the same chance of noticing
a concentrated defense, as long as he's close enough to see both fighters'
moves.)
Example: A parry of 8 could be increased by 4 to a 12 for attacks
to one body part . . . in exchange for a parry reduced to 4 elsewhere. A
+5 bonus is not possible in this example since the -5 penalty would reduce
the parry for the neglected body parts below 4. However, a parry bonus of
+6 for the vitals in exchange for a -3 elsewhere is valid. An attacker
with a weapon skill of 11 would need to roll a 15 or less to realize that
his foe is taking a +4 bonus.
Effects on Play
Letting fighters decide where they are willing to get hit will have several
effects on play. GMs should be aware of these before allowing this optional
rule to be used.
Combat is more complex. Modifications to the defense by location
must be tracked and an additional roll must be made to notice the use of
concentrated defense.
Combat is less deadly. Highly skilled fighters who can hit the
vitals often have only two types of opponents: the unhurt and the dead.
When combatants can protect their torso with concentrated defense, the quickest
way to remove a foe from the battle is to cripple an arm or leg rather than
deliver a mortal blow to the body. The wounded can then choose to flee rather
than be killed. Can't-Kill Pacifists will especially appreciate fights which
result in less wholesale slaughter.
High fighting skill becomes more important. A high fighting skill
allows a fighter to almost immediately recognize an opponent's concentrated
defense and hit his exposed body locations. A low-skill fighter is less
likely to recognize a concentrated defense and much less able to hit an
exposed body location.
Knowing your opponent is an advantage. Smart fighters can investigate
their opponent's fighting style in order to anticipate and defend against
it ("Remember lad, he'll go straight for your heart").
Unarmored fighters can compensate. Fighters without sufficient
armor due to lack of money or technology can favor the unarmored or vital
portions of their anatomy ("One day I'll be able to afford a helmet").
Fighters have more depth. Players can customize their fighters'
style by choosing to always use a certain amount of concentrated
defense on one body location. The reason behind this behavior can be a major
part of a character's story, and can even count as a Quirk for someone who
is in combat a great deal ("He's protected his head ever since an axe
took off his ear").
PCs don't miss the adventure. Few things frustrate a player more
than having his character on the sidelines due to a serious wound. If the
PCs take mainly arm and leg wounds, the HT/2 damage limit per limb reduces
the chance of them dying while still humbling and removing them from the
fight. If the optional healing rules
in Roleplayer #16
are used, separate wounds to the limbs can heal simultaneously, speeding
recovery.
With Concentrated Defense, PCs have more variety
in combat and spend less time recovering on the sidelines.
(Back to Roleplayer
#27 Table of Contents)