Tip Slash

Described on GURPS Martial Arts 113 or Low-Tech 62.
Gives a cut option to an impale attack. Still uses thrust column for basic damage but counts as swing for defensive purposes.
While this is largely useful in giving a cutting-option to impale-only weapons (or a swing option to thrust-only weapons) such as dagger/stake/lance/rapier/spear, it would also serve a purpose of allowing a cut/swing attack at a greater DISTANCE if there was a weapon which had a thrust/impale reach greater than it's swing/cut reach.
No example of such a weapon is known, however. The closest is probably the Bastard Sword or Greatsword which have Reach 1,2 swing Reach 2 thrust. Since they can freely switch between reach 1 and reach 2, it would only be useful to Tip Slash if they had an impaling reach of 3 they wanted to cut with.
Applying a house rule of +1 to reach with all thrusting attacks would fix this for those swords. While it would not introduce it to the Katana / Large Knife / Small Knife, it would at least fix the strange oddity of them having cutting reaches greater than their thrusting reaches.
==Crushing house rule options==
There should be no problem in allowing this for thrust-crushing attacks, keeping thrust-crushing damage but taking the damage penalty. Most crushing weapons already have a superior swing option, this would just emulate stuff like windmill punches or crescent kicks roundhouse kicks being harder to guard against, as some HTH skills suffer penalties to parry swung attacks
Tip Smack might work as a similar name, with 'slash' changed to indicate it's not cutting.
Category:Melee Attack Options