GURPS General /GURPSGEN/

One thing that changes is that the armor can't absorb the entire blow at all with this system, but that seems like a neglible thing to consider.

>eight feet tall
>(SM +2)
I thought that would be SM 1 wouldn't it?

>100 point GURPS character
>56 points into Parry Missile Weapons skill to give me 22 in it
>40 points into Shortsword gives me a 20 in it.
>can parry arrows with a 91% chance of success, crossbow bolts with 74% chance of success. Parry of 13 in melee so I parry 84% of melee attacks against me.
>buy a few disadvantages to pay for some peripheral skills at low levels
>don't need HT cause I basically can't get hit
>get fucked GM.

True; if the attack can breech the armor at all, it's assured to deal some damage. However, I think the author made a blog post about how he really liked someone else's rules for grazing shots (basically, if you hit exactly or the target barely fails to defend, it's a grazing blow and, among other effects, DR is doubled). I'll probably be using that as well; occasionally, people will get lucky and their armor will catch a shot it really shouldn't have. Beyond that, maybe chinks in armor will finally get some love!

From p. BS19.
>Box-, sphere-, or blob-shaped characters add +2 to SM; elongated boxes, like most ground vehicles, add +1.
I'd assume the combat walker is a hefty boy, a lot stockier than a human scaled up to 8' would be. He gets +1 for being 8' tall and another +1 for being probably around 5' wide and/or deep.

What if you are attacked by an Affliction?

>only a 74% chance to parry crossbow bolts

Say hello to my little friend.

On that note, bonus SM from shape is how you can justify SM+4 mechs not having to be 30' tall; a 12' tall mech that's very wide and stocky is still SM+4. Take pic related, for example. It looks to be only a hair over twice the pilot's height; if we assume the pilot to be roughly 6' tall (and the two models to be roughly to scale), that puts the mech as 12-15', or only SM+2, but once we factor in its bulky dimensions, it should fall safely in the SM+4 category.

>ambushed
>no points in anything that makes it harder for people to get the drop on you
>shot in the back by an easily-parried arrow that you didn't see coming

Or-
>lost in the wilderness
>only have "some peripheral skills at low levels"
>hopefully those include survival skills
>if not...

Or-
>used as a patsy for a local noble's plot
>too many guards to fight at once, and/or apprehended when not fit for combat (unarmed, drinking, asleep, etc.)
>no skills to defend against political intrigue

Or-
>get sick because life sucks
>low health, fail roll to recover, crippled for life

A good campaign is tailored to the characters. You'll always be hit with something you aren't made to deal with, and you'll have to find a way to struggle through. But an over-optimized character is rigid and inflexible - the first time you run into a scenario your skillset isn't optimized for, you'll be knocked flat on your ass.

Or just, you know...

>26% chance to not parry a crossbow bolt
>shot at for the fourth time in a campaign
>fail parry
>solid shot to the center of mass, bleeding profusely, trying to defend self with -4 shock penalties...

I have a better one.
80p on guns.

Is there a canon way to make "wildcard" perks? I've thought of pricing them at 5 points each, since Off Hand Weapon Training! is just Ambidexterity [5]. This seems fine for cases like Grip Mastery! or Akimbo!, but not for Efficient! or No Nuisance Rolls!.