Hurting Yourself

B379
:For every 5 points of basic damage you roll, you take one point of crushing damage,
:up to a maximum equal to the DR of the target you hit
Exploits 40 makes this a broader category:
*Getting parried
*Striking armor
*Parrying weapons
==Exceptions==
"This rule does not apply if the target’s DR has the Tough Skin limitation" interestingly means it would still apply if the DR of the target was Flexible.
==Hit Location==
B379 also says:
:Apply this damage to the body part you used to attack, if you are using hit locations.
Although punches and kicks usually hit with extremities (hand and foot) in the case of doing an Elbow Strike (even using the 'punching' rules, to the front) or a Knee Strike (even using the kicking rules) this presumably over-rides the usual policy so that the damage would apply to the Arm or Leg instead.
In Low-Tech terms this can become even more specific since limbs can be partially armored by further sub-locations: the forearm or elbow or upper arm or shoulder for the arm, the shin or knee or thigh for the leg.
Elbows/Knees are Joints, and actually striking with joints would make them more prone to getting injured than the rest of the limb (about on the same level as striking with an extremity).
That said, there is not necessarily a need to be super-literal about this:
*"elbowing" often colloquially describes hitting with the upper arm or sometimes the forearm (though these might also be turmed "clothes-lining" or "forearming") rather than the literal tip of the elbow itself
*"kneeing" often colloquially describes hitting with the thigh or sometimes the shin (though these might also be termed 'thighing' or 'shin kick') rather than the literal (just the tip of the) knee.
==limbs instead of extremities==
Punches and kicks can be delivered with limbs instead of extremities.
Elbow Strike makes a note of that for punches, and Shin Kick makes a note of that for kicks.
Kromm affirmed in 2009 that the kicking skill to deliver knee strikes with the usual drawbacks of kicking (chance to fall down) to explain how non-Brawling non-Karate people could deliver knee attacks using DX.
*Except possibly "Hurting Yourself" since it wouldn't make sense to apply that to the foot... but then kicks didn't really need to be made with the foot to begin with, as 'shin kick' shows.
==HYS for weapons==
Breaking Weapons on an Attack on page 22 of Weapons and Warriors is basically the version of this for weapons. It similarly only applies when striking non-flexible DR of 3+, though perhaps Striking Bone means it ought to apply to shins/skulls too?
Conditions for this are when used at ST stat or beyond. Base 0 in 6 odds modified by weapon Quality.
==FAQ==
updated June 2012 http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/faq/FAQ4-3.html#SS3.4.1.1 original 2006
:Punching armor is painful. Any time you strike an opponent with DR 3 or better with your hands or feet, you must roll vs. HT or take 1d-2 damage to the body part you are striking with (p. B51).
This may refer to an earlier edition, maybe 3e.
Category:Rules