From: cms@mse.cmu.edu (Curtis M Scott)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: GURPS combat time.
Date: 13 Apr 92 19:03:15 GMT
 <1992Apr9.172109.4094@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> <1992Apr10.180658.18872@cs.cmu.edu> <1992Apr13.161028.26683@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Organization: CMU/SEI Master of Software Engineering Program

In article <1992Apr13.161028.26683@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>, jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim) writes:
|> In article <1992Apr10.180658.18872@cs.cmu.edu> cms@mse.cmu.edu (Curtis M Scott) writes:
|> >John H Kim writes (regarding SCA combat example):
|> |> 	I feel a bit like an armchair critic - but aren't these blows 
|> |> with wooden padded weapons which do very little damage? 
|> |> 	Do you think this actually reflects swinging a real steel sword 
|> |> which sinks into the flesh of the enemy and pulling it out again? 
|> >
|> >Well, first of all I would say that those padded weapons are if anything a
|> >little more unweildly than their steel counterparts, assuming they're not
|> >embedded in flesh.
|> >
|> >As far as "sinking into the flesh of the enemy," in any real combat almost
|> >any combatant is out of the fight when you've done enough damage to cause
|> >your sword to get stuck. (Of course, that doesn't slow down his friend.)
|> 
|> 	Several people have posted that getting your weapon stuck doesn't 
|> matter because the enemy is too heavily wounded. In combats I have played, 
|> double-teaming and crippling blows are common. Also, in Fantasy games there 
|> are many opponents who will not go down under this sort of blow. 
|> 

Good point. I was thinking about human vs. human combat, but of course
human vs. dragon doesn't at all imply the "if your sword is stuck then
the opponent is probably dead" rule.

|> >However, I think the 1 blow/second rate for weapons (SCA or otherwise) is
|> >probably realistic. I don't think any SCA fighter could land 3-4 blows/second.
|> >The fastest fighter I ever knew or heard of was Sir Francois of the Kingdom
|> >of Meridies, and high-speed film showed him striking 3 times in 2 seconds
|> >(that's total blows with two swords). I think Francois is the reason that
|> >SJ put the one blow/second rule in based on that experience.
|> 
|> 	Trouble is - in GURPS - 2 blows per second is common, even with 
|> two handed swords. (Those who use 2H swords often go for all-out attack, 
|> since they do not have shields.) 
|> 	Your statement says that 1.5 blows per second is the maximum 
|> with two swords which I assume are relatively light. 

Hmm. I think I started commenting on this about the time someone was arguing
for 3-4 blows/second, to indicate that that was too fast. My 1.5 blows/second
number seems reasonable to me (and based on more experimentation than most
of these numbers I've seen). I don't think SJ was thinking about all-out
attacks every round (of course, I haven't asked him directly). Francois was
not attacking berserkly (all-out), as he was in combat with someone else who
was also swinging at him.

I've never much liked the all-out attacks = 2 attacks system anyway. I guess
I'd just have to say that it certainly should be no FASTER than 2/second,
and possibly somewhat slower.

Curtis
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp