GURPS - Compendium 1..

Just Watch This One!
(Continued)
Multiple acrobats increase the difficulty of a
trick: -2 for two acrobats working together, -3
for three people, and so on. (Alternately, the
GM may make the acrobats roll against two
maneuvers at no penalties: Team
Acrobatics and Aerial Acrobatics.) This modifier
(or additional roll) is applied to each
acrobat involved in the stunt, but can dramatically
increase reach. Figure that a person
hanging from a trapeze by his knees has a
reach equal to his height. Each additional person
can add up to eight feet in reach, and three
yards in length for leaping purposes.
Nine out of ten aerial accidents in circuses
occur because the rigging failed, not
the performer. See pp. B212-213 for
weight-bearing capacity of rope. Grapnels
and S hooks make lousy trapeze attachments
- swing the tiniest bit out of rhythm,
and off they come . . . and off you go!
Tightrope Walking (Hard)
Defaults to Acrobatics-2
Tightrope walking can be very useful to
an adventurer - if he can get a rope in the
right place to begin with. Using a balancing
pole adds +5 for a very long and limber
pole, down to +1 for something rigid and
short like a spear or umbrella. You have a
penalty to your roll equal to your encumbrance
level. The GM may assess other
penalties based on factors like a slick or
frayed rope, the distance of the walk, wind
or other distractions.
Slack-Rope Walking is at Tightrope
Walking-3, and may be learned as a separate
maneuver if the GM is willing - starting
at Acrobatics-5! (This is an example of a
"double default.")
Characters with the Perfect Balance
advantage (see p. 63) have no reason to
learn this maneuver.
Gymnastics (Hard) Defaults
to Acrobatics
It is very unfair to lump so many different
and beautiful maneuvers under one
heading. This "maneuver" includes the
showy cartwheels, flip-flops, walkovers,
handsprings, somersaults, tinsikas, splits,
balancing positions, etc., that wouldn't be
used in many game situations, but might
be useful in a performance. The GM may
make any one of these types of skills into
its own maneuver, if desired. Certain
types, such as the various somersaults,
might have a penalty to the default for difficulty.
The maneuver difficulty in general
is listed as Hard, above, because it is
assumed that for a performance, the acrobat
will be using only his best tricks. The GM
should usually require two skill rolls for
Gymnastics: one against this maneuver for
flawless execution of the skill, and one
against Performance skill to rate the showmanship
quality.
Jump Kick (Hard) Defaults to Karate-4 or Kicking-2
Prerequisite: Karate; cannot
exceed Karate skill level
A classic maneuver in fiction, although most martial arts teachers discourage
its use in real-life situations. This kick increases the attack's reach to 2 hexes;
damage is thrust+2 (plus Karate bonuses), and the attack is at -2 to parry. If you
miss, roll vs. DX-4 or Acrobatics-2 to avoid falling.
Kicking (Hard) Defaults to Karate-2 or Brawling-2
Prerequisite: Karate or Brawling;
cannot exceed prerequisite skill level
This maneuver allows kicking to be improved separately. Other types of
kick can default to either Kicking or Karate; use whichever default is higher.
The skill level with the Kicking maneuver does not affect damage; use the
unmodified Karate skill for this. If a kick misses, roll vs. Kicking skill or DX to
avoid falling. Damage from a regular kick is thrust/crushing, plus 1/5 (round
down) of Karate skill or 1/10 (round down) of Brawling skill.
Knee Strike (Average)
Defaults to Karate-1
or Brawling-1
Prerequisite: Karate or Brawling;
cannot exceed prerequisite skill+2
This attack does thrust-1 damage, plus Karate or Brawling bonuses. If the
target has been grappled successfully, he defends at -2. If the target has been
grappled from the front, the natural target of a Knee Strike is the groin, and
there is no hit location penalty to attack the groin! Unlike most Karate attacks.
which have Reach C. 1, this attack is Reach C only.
Neck Snap (Hard)
Defaults to ST-4
Prerequisite: None; cannot exceed ST+3
This brute-force attack consists of grabbing and suddenly twisting the vic -
tim's head, hoping to snap the neck. A very strong man can kill instantly with it.
First, the attacker must grapple the victim by the head with both hands. On
the following round, the attacker rolls a Quick Contest, his Neck Snap maneuver
versus the victim's ST or HT (whichever is greater), plus Toughness, if any. If the
attacker wins the contest, he does swing/crushing damage, which is multiplied by 1.5
against the neck. On a tie, or if the victim wins, no damage is inflicted.
Neck damage, even if not lethal, can be crippling. If the victim survives, he
must roll vs. HT, as for a crippling injury (p. B129); a lasting injury will keep
him in a neck brace for the allotted period, and all crushing damage done to his
neck during that time will be doubled (representing the chance that the injury
will aggravate itself).
Off-Hand Weapon Training (Hard) Defaults to
any Combat/Weapon Skill-4
Prerequisite: Any Combat/Weapon Skill;
must specialize; cannot exceed prerequisite skill level
Anyone who has learned to use a weapon with the master hand can learn to
use the same weapon with the off hand. This maneuver allows one to eliminate
the -4 off-hand penalty, but only for that particular weapon. This maneuver is
very useful when using paired weapons (see also Dual-Weapon Attack, p. 167).
Off-hand training can also be applied to other skills, and to train the off-hand
skill up if the master hand is lost or crippled.
Note: This maneuver appeared as a skill in earlier GURPS supplements.
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