From: jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim)
Subject: Re: GURPS: Combat Skills Reduction
Reply-To: jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 19:41:27 GMT

urban@stout.atd.ucar.edu (Art Urban (PROFS)) writes:
>Has anybody considered reducing the number of combat skills?

	Yes, definitely. With all the supplements and worldbooks, the number 
of combat skills is truly enormous at this point. 

>
>I noticed that there was only one gun skill; you simply took into account
>familiarity, and applied the appropriate modifier.
>
>I was thinking of doing the same to all the various swords...
>
>	Swordsman: All varieties of swords are now treated as a simple
>	   familiarity. Perhaps this skill would need to made Physical Hard.

	Actually, I was thinking along less extreme lines. There are many 
skills which represent different techniques using very similar weapons. 
Fencing/Katana/Broadsword, Main-Gauche/Knife, Boxing/Brawling/Karate, etc. 
I was thinking of representing these by using extensions of the GURPS 
Martial Arts rules. People train in fighting *styles* more than in individual 
weapons: fencing, sword-and-shield, boxing, etc. 
	The styles are represented by primary and secondary skills, skill 
enhancers (see below), and maneuvers. 

	Skill Enhancers are things like Off-Hand Weapon Training in Martial 
Arts. They represent techniques of the style to be more effective in 
specialized ways (bought once per Style). Some things which I was thinking 
of representing as Skill Enhancers would be: 

Blind-fighting
   3pts per +1, at most halves penalties due to darkness
Enhanced Damage (currently in Karate, Boxing, Brawling, and Weapon Master)
   3pts per +1, max (Skill/5)
Enhanced Parry (currently in Fencing, Staff, Katana, and others)
   3pts per +1, max (Skill/6), subtract Encumbrance Level from bonus
Ground Fighting (currently called a 'maneuver')
   1pt per +1, max +3
Hit Location (currently called a 'maneuver')
   2pts per +1, max +3, cancels penalties for hit location
Off-hand Parry (currently in Main-Gauche)
   2pts per +1, max = +2
Off-hand Strike
   2pts per +1, max = +4

	I think this makes for a much more open and flexible system. I was 
rather annoyed when I first read the rules to find that a style specific 
to a limited period on Earth (Fencing) was continually noted as a special 
case to the combat system. In this way, Fencing would be described like a 
style, like this: 

FENCING

Primary Skills: Broadsword
Secondary Skills: Buckler, Cloak, Knife
Skill Enhancers: Enhanced Parry, Hit Location, Off-hand Parry
Maneuvers: Disarm, Feint, Lock Blades
-----

	In this system, Sai would just be Shortsword skill with points in 
Disarm. Unarmed skills should probably be broken up into Brawling(P/E), 
Kicking(P/H), and Wrestling(P/E), IMO - as these break up the unarmed 
maneuvers fairly evenly and sensibly, IMO. 

	Certainly this can also be combined with condensing the weapons 
list further - this is supposed to be handled by close defaults. Shortsword, 
for example, defaults to Broadsword-2, I think. However, this can be a little 
annoying if you are training them both up to the same level. Training them 
both up to DX+1 would cost 8pts without that default, and still 7pts with it. 

	I think I would leave the details of Styles and weapon skill divisions 
and defaults to people who know more about fighting. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Kim                    | "ALERT: /Earth is 75% full - please delete 
jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu | all extraneous people."
Columbia University         | 
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