New Maneuvers
Instant Shot (Hard)
Default: Bow-8 for most archers, Bow-5 if you have either Heroic Archer or a version of Weapon Master that includes bows, or Bow-3 if you have both. Cannot exceed Bow.
Prerequisite: Bow-16+ and Fast-Draw (Arrow)-16+. You draw, nock, and fire an arrow all in one smooth motion as a single attack (one maneuver instead of three). This replaces the three rolls normally required for quick-shooting bows (GURPS Martial Arts, p. 119). (This technique buys off the normal Bow penalty, plus another -1 for "Only one Bow roll required instead of two" and -1 for "No Fast-Draw roll required." The minimum skills make this fair; in effect, you're simply avoiding nuisance rolls.) Backstab (Hard)
Default: Prerequisite skill-2; cannot exceed prerequisite skill.
Prerequisite: Any impaling or piercing melee weapon skill. You may use this technique when making an impaling or piercing attack from behind. It may be delivered as a normal attack or a special form of All-Out Attack. Either way, you may take a step (before or after) if you wish. If the victim is aware of your presence, he defends at +2 (or +3 if you've backstabbed him before or he's otherwise expecting you to) -- enough to cancel the usual penalty against a runaround attack. If made as a normal attack, success means you hit his vitals, for +2 damage (or +1/die, if better) in addition to the usual wounding multiplier. If done as an All-Out Attack, you are at an extra +1 to skill! If successful, you do +4 damage (or +2/die) to his vitals before the wounding multiplier. But successful or not, you have no defenses until your next turn! This is thus best used against foes weak enough to be killed in one shot. (Built as either Attack or All-Out Attack (Strong) delivered as a Telegraphic Targeted Attack to the Vitals. Added effects: Does +2 damage or +1/die extra (-4) and Restricted target (vitals only from behind) (+1). The All-Out Attack version adds Can only Step instead of taking half Move (+1).) Balanced Swing (Hard)
Default: Prerequisite skill-3; cannot exceed prerequisite skill.
Prerequisite: Any melee weapon skill. When using an unbalanced weapon (one with "U" in the Parry), you may attack with Balanced Swing to return your weapon to the guard position immediately after your strike. This lets you parry with it normally afterward, effectively ignoring the "U." In Martial Arts terms, this is a special type of Defensive Attack without the damage penalty; it thus cannot be used with Committed Attack or All-Out Attack, both of which prevent parries anyway, or with any of the other options for Defensive Attack. (Built as +2 damage (-4) but only to cancel out the -2 damage when doing a Defensive Attack to keep an unbalanced weapon ready (+1).) Lying (Hard)
Default: IQ or Acting; cannot exceed IQ+4 or Acting+4. You have trained specifically in the art of telling falsehoods without any "tells" (e.g., furtive eye movements, changes in breathing patterns). Use your Lying level in Quick Contests against Detect Lies (or Body Langauge being used as Detect Lies), to feed false information to a foe using Interrogation, or to deceive a polygraph used with Electronics Operation (Medical). Lying does not help you fake emotions, impersonate other people, play dead in combat, etc. -- only for the specific situations above. If you buy this technique based on IQ, and later improve Acting to IQ+1 or greater, you may transfer the points spent on Lying (IQ) over to Lying (Acting). (Done as a Hard technique due to serious potential consequences for failure, and because this makes up a significant part of what Acting skill is good for.)
Default: Bow-8 for most archers, Bow-5 if you have either Heroic Archer or a version of Weapon Master that includes bows, or Bow-3 if you have both. Cannot exceed Bow.
Prerequisite: Bow-16+ and Fast-Draw (Arrow)-16+. You draw, nock, and fire an arrow all in one smooth motion as a single attack (one maneuver instead of three). This replaces the three rolls normally required for quick-shooting bows (GURPS Martial Arts, p. 119). (This technique buys off the normal Bow penalty, plus another -1 for "Only one Bow roll required instead of two" and -1 for "No Fast-Draw roll required." The minimum skills make this fair; in effect, you're simply avoiding nuisance rolls.) Backstab (Hard)
Default: Prerequisite skill-2; cannot exceed prerequisite skill.
Prerequisite: Any impaling or piercing melee weapon skill. You may use this technique when making an impaling or piercing attack from behind. It may be delivered as a normal attack or a special form of All-Out Attack. Either way, you may take a step (before or after) if you wish. If the victim is aware of your presence, he defends at +2 (or +3 if you've backstabbed him before or he's otherwise expecting you to) -- enough to cancel the usual penalty against a runaround attack. If made as a normal attack, success means you hit his vitals, for +2 damage (or +1/die, if better) in addition to the usual wounding multiplier. If done as an All-Out Attack, you are at an extra +1 to skill! If successful, you do +4 damage (or +2/die) to his vitals before the wounding multiplier. But successful or not, you have no defenses until your next turn! This is thus best used against foes weak enough to be killed in one shot. (Built as either Attack or All-Out Attack (Strong) delivered as a Telegraphic Targeted Attack to the Vitals. Added effects: Does +2 damage or +1/die extra (-4) and Restricted target (vitals only from behind) (+1). The All-Out Attack version adds Can only Step instead of taking half Move (+1).) Balanced Swing (Hard)
Default: Prerequisite skill-3; cannot exceed prerequisite skill.
Prerequisite: Any melee weapon skill. When using an unbalanced weapon (one with "U" in the Parry), you may attack with Balanced Swing to return your weapon to the guard position immediately after your strike. This lets you parry with it normally afterward, effectively ignoring the "U." In Martial Arts terms, this is a special type of Defensive Attack without the damage penalty; it thus cannot be used with Committed Attack or All-Out Attack, both of which prevent parries anyway, or with any of the other options for Defensive Attack. (Built as +2 damage (-4) but only to cancel out the -2 damage when doing a Defensive Attack to keep an unbalanced weapon ready (+1).) Lying (Hard)
Default: IQ or Acting; cannot exceed IQ+4 or Acting+4. You have trained specifically in the art of telling falsehoods without any "tells" (e.g., furtive eye movements, changes in breathing patterns). Use your Lying level in Quick Contests against Detect Lies (or Body Langauge being used as Detect Lies), to feed false information to a foe using Interrogation, or to deceive a polygraph used with Electronics Operation (Medical). Lying does not help you fake emotions, impersonate other people, play dead in combat, etc. -- only for the specific situations above. If you buy this technique based on IQ, and later improve Acting to IQ+1 or greater, you may transfer the points spent on Lying (IQ) over to Lying (Acting). (Done as a Hard technique due to serious potential consequences for failure, and because this makes up a significant part of what Acting skill is good for.)
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