TM

TM

Written by SEAN PUNCH

Illustrated by LASLO LUDROVAN

GURPS System Design z STEVE JACKSON Chief Executive Officer z PHILIP REED
GURPS Line Editor z SEAN PUNCH Chief Creative Officer z SAM MITSCHKE
GURPS Project Manager z STEVEN MARSH Chief Operating Officer z SUSAN BUENO
Production Artist z NIKOLA VRTIS Director of Sales z ROSS JEPSON
GURPS FAQ Maintainer z Page Design z PHIL REED and JUSTIN DE WITT
VICKY “MOLOKH” KOLENKO ­­­Art Direction and Prepress Checker z NIKOLA VRTIS

Reviewer: Steven Marsh

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STEVE JACKSON GAMES

Stock #37-0368 Version 1.0 – July 2021 ®
 Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Recommended Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The Art of Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Why Fight? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
About GURPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
And in This Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Why Not Points? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
What About Another Rating? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Matchmaker, Matchmaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Negations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Battlefield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lay of the Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Footing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Obstacles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Relative Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Combat is a fundamental part
of most RPGs, challenging and
thrilling players.
– How to Be a GURPS GM
Introduction
How to Be a GURPS GM discusses setting up and running
combat encounters, but this complex subject benefits from
deeper study – one miscalculation could end a PC’s career!
While numerous GURPS supplements cover combat, most
add rules when what many GMs seek is advice. That’s what
How to Be a GURPS GM: Combat Encounters provides.
This work walks the GM through choosing a fight’s time
and place, its difficulty, and how it fits into the campaign’s
events. Although its advice is occasionally “crunchy” – a
modifier here, a dice roll there – the emphasis is on plan-
ning encounters, adjusting them as they unfold, and making
them fun.
Recommended Books
Much of the advice in How to Be a GURPS GM: Combat
Encounters is applicable to combat in any roleplaying game.
Its examples are from GURPS, however – primarily the
Contents
To Map or Not to Map? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
  Theatre of the Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
  Tactical Combat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Mounts and Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Everything Else . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4
4 Before-Action Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5 Surprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6 Ambush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6 Deliberate Ambush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
But I’d Be Doing This! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
“Wandering Monsters” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6
Hasty Ambush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6
What Were You Doing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6
Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
7
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
7
Posture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
7
Maneuver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
7
Fight! Fight! Fight! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Adjusting the Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Meta-Violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Cheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Aftermath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
It’s All Over but the Shouting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Black Box Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Looting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Time to Rest? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Advanced Conflict Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
GURPS Basic Set. For a detailed look at individual combat
traits and mechanics, How to Be a GURPS GM (especially
Chapter 6) is strongly recommended.
About the Author
Sean Punch set out to become a particle physicist in 1985
and ended up as GURPS Line Editor in 1995. In that capacity,
he has written, edited, or contributed to hundreds of GURPS
releases, revised the game into its fourth edition (2004),
and been a regular contributor to Pyramid magazine. From
2008, he has served as lead creator of the GURPS Action and
GURPS Dungeon Fantasy series; work on the latter led to his
design of the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game, released
in 2017. Sean has been a gamer since 1979, but devotes most
of his spare time to Argentine tango. He lives in Montréal,
Québec with son amour, Geneviève.
and Introduction 2
 The Art of
Violence
A fun and memorable combat encounter is a work of art: The and execute it with flair. A senseless beatdown with the risk of
GM must pick suitable subject matter, stage it interestingly, losing beloved characters isn’t enjoyable for anyone.

Why Fight?
Before committing to a violent encounter, ask if the wandering monsters (p. 10). If the GM isn’t sure what to do
fight – with all the hard work to set it up – is necessary. The next, it’s time to invoke Chandler’s Law: “When in doubt, have
greater the number of the following situations that apply, the a man come through a door with a gun in his hand.” (This is
more justifiable the battle: often restated with ninjas.)
Establishing a conflict. An attack
on the PCs or on NPCs they’re pro-
tecting – Allies, Dependents, or a
Patron, or “just” someone who paid About GURPS
or begged for help (like the classic Steve Jackson Games is committed to full support of GURPS players. We can
merchant caravan or besieged vil- be reached by email: info@sjgames.com. Our address is SJ Games, P.O. Box
lage) – is a tried-and-true way to 18957, Austin, TX 78760. Resources include:
introduce “bad guys” at any stage New supplements and adventures. GURPS continues to grow – see what’s new
of an adventure. The opponents at gurps.sjgames.com.
might be malicious, misguided, Warehouse 23. Our online store offers GURPS print items, plus PDFs of our
misunderstood, or misinformed, books, supplements, adventures, play aids, and support . . . including exclusive
or simply muscle paid or begged to material available only on Warehouse 23! Just head over to warehouse23.com.
support a rival. Pyramid (pyramid.sjgames.com). For 10 years, our PDF magazine Pyramid
Raising the stakes. Once a violent included new rules and articles for GURPS, plus systemless locations, adven-
adventure is afoot, the heroes usu- tures, and more. The entire 122-issue library is available at Warehouse 23!
ally face mounting opposition on Internet. To discuss GURPS with our staff and your fellow gamers, visit our
their quest to resolve the conflict. forums at forums.sjgames.com. You can also join us at facebook.com/sjgames
This isn’t only dramatic but also or twitter.com/sjgames. Share your brief campaign teasers with #GURPShook
good for pacing, as it keeps the plot on Twitter. Or explore that hashtag for ideas to add to your own game! The
from advancing too quickly. The PCs web page for How to Be a GURPS GM: Combat Encounters can be found at
starting and ending their adventure gurps.sjgames.com/howtobeagurpsgmce.
by winning a single fight is anticli- Store Finder (storefinder.sjgames.com): Discover nearby places to buy
mactic. Dominating initial low-level GURPS items and other Steve Jackson Games products. Local shops are great
battles, getting the enemy’s attention places to play our games and meet fellow gamers!
and drawing out progressively scar- Bibliographies. Bibliographies are a great resource for finding more of what
ier foes, and eventually taking on a you love! We’ve added them to many GURPS book web pages with links to help
boss – that’s a story! you find the next perfect element for your game.
Sparking action. A plot can also Errata. Everyone makes mistakes, including us – but we do our best to fix our
advance too slowly or stagnate. When errors. Errata pages for GURPS releases are available at sjgames.com/errata/
that’s because the players don’t take gurps.
the initiative due to being uncer-
tain, distracted, or overcautious, an Rules and statistics in this book are specifically for the GURPS Basic Set,
attack can galvanize them to act; Fourth Edition. Page references that begin with B refer to that book, not this one.
that’s a traditional justification for

The Art of Violence 3

 Resolving a conflict. All fighting is about settling a beef, but
here we mean resolving a conflict within the plot: Once the
stakes have risen as high as the GM desires, there’s a finale
or showdown, maybe a “boss fight.” Most players expect at
least some differences of opinion – from whose ’hood this is
to whether Good or Evil prevails – to be settled on the field
of battle. Even in a mostly nonviolent campaign, duels might
advance the story; such contests are still combat, however rit-
ualized and nonlethal.
Granting agency. Not every battle is initiated by the GM in
service to the plot. If the PCs are assassins, bandits, raiders,
or other violent types, the players might have their alter-egos
attack someone – and the target may fight back. While this
could be integrated into the adventure, that isn’t required.
Some players like to cut loose after lots of plotting, planning,
and sneaking, and a side job as an enforcer, mercenary, or
hitman can earn the cash needed to continue the real story.
And in This Corner . . .
If a combat encounter makes sense, you need to choose
who the PCs are fighting. Not only dramatically – answering
Why Fight? (pp. 3-4) implies you’ve already picked suitable
foes in that sense – but also mechanically, in terms of abilities
and equipment. You want these to present the desired chal-
lenge, be that “pushover,” “close match,” or “fatal error.”
There’s no way to sugarcoat it: This is the hardest part.
A 25-point thug is more than a match for
a 100-point intellectual in a fight.
– GURPS Basic Set
Why Not Points?
Character points aren’t useful for “combat matchmaking.”
Many combatants – e.g., monsters (particularly those with
abilities that aren’t defined in terms of standard traits), hasty
or “theatre of the mind” NPCs, and non-characters like illu-
sions, animated objects, and traps treated as fighters – rarely
even have point totals!
Participants who do have point totals may sink many
points into traits that can’t affect combat. The world’s fore-
most investment banker is probably wealthy, skilled, and
worth heaps of points – and useless in a scrap. Similarly, low-
points characters can possess disadvantages that don’t matter
in a fight but generate many points to spend on combat abil-
ities. An ugly social outcast with high weapon skills might be
worth few points yet be a deadly fighter.
Even if you consider just points in combat abilities, quan-
tity has a quality all its own. The side with more fighters
can outflank their opponents and try more attacks, hoping
for critical hits. Combatants with enough points can afford
game-changers that practically guarantee victory over those
who lack them. Thus, eight thugs with 50 points apiece in
combat capabilities don’t equal four PCs with 100 points each
in such traits, nor a boss with 400 points there.
The Art of
Matching risk to reward. The previous point taken to its
extreme lays the foundation of the “dungeon crawl”: Defeat
enemies and reap the spoils. Obtaining anything worth having
involves facing danger – sometimes traps or environmental
hazards, but mostly the booty’s guardians or current owners.
In a fight-loot-repeat campaign, combat is always justifiable;
stringing battles into a “plot” is entirely optional.
If none of these motivations suit the campaign’s cur-
rent state – there are enough conflicts, the plot is advancing
smoothly and nonviolently, the players aren’t itching to fight,
a random scrap would present no meaningful gain, and it’s
too soon for a finale – do something else! Planning, travel,
investigation, skullduggery, social manipulation, technical
tasks, and more are all part of a good adventure. Shoehorning
violence into a story that doesn’t need it is a recipe for a bad
combat encounter.
Finally, points rarely account for equipment. Anyone might
beg, borrow, steal, find, or be issued gear that costs no points
as Signature Gear, Wealth, gadgets, etc. A punk with a cheap
gun, a stolen car, and mediocre stats can murder many master
martial artists in a drive-by shooting; a magic sword pulled
from a stone can turn a novice hero into a warrior-king.
What About Another Rating?
GURPS has no official “challenge rating” to
compensate for this. The closest thing is It’s a
Threat! (Pyramid #3/77: Combat, pp. 29-35). While
useful, be aware of its limitations.
First, it involves considerable math. This is
easily done between sessions but impractical in
encounters where the GM can’t guess before-
hand which foes will appear or which PCs will fight them.
Calculating every possible match in advance is significant
work – and all it takes is for the heroes to find or lose allies
or gear unexpectedly to force recalculation that could kill
dramatic momentum. This is particularly troublesome with
wizards who can conjure pets and objects, gadgeteers who
can kit-bash robots and weapons, and similar characters.
Indeed, it doesn’t entirely account for gear. It has difficulty
accounting for specific strengths vs. specific weaknesses, too.
These things involve more math – and once again, there’s the
risk of somebody changing the balance right before the fight
(“Critical success against Hidden Lore! Guys, the demons
are weak to silver, and Leslie Wolf-Slayer here has 12 silver
knives!”). It has similar issues with all-or-nothing attacks (“If
they manage to toss their nuclear hand grenade, they win. If
not, they’re doomed.”).
Most important, it’s incapable of predicting the rela-
tive effectiveness of tactics; e.g., outflanking. Veteran play-
ers frequently use their wits to beat enemies who outclass
their characters, while new players lose easy fights with bad
choices. In this vein, it has trouble with headcount; while it
offers advice, it mostly adds up challenges with little regard
for the prospect of many weak fighters swarming and defeat-
ing a few strong ones.
Violence 4
Matchmaker, Matchmaker and Fit aids HT rolls, so they’re already in the mix), like High
Pain Threshold, Regeneration (Very Fast), and especially Luck.
It’s often more effective to start by imagining a “fair” fight • Has ranged weapons while their foes don’t.
where the NPC opponents are the PCs’ equals in certain key • Has superiority in abilities or gear that grant extra
areas that matter in nearly every battle: attacks – be that Extra Attack, sufficient skill to do a Dual-
Weapon Attack or Rapid Strike every turn, or full-automatic
• Headcount.
weapons that can be sprayed everywhere.
• Movement speed.
• Is favored by the battlefield (pp. 6-8) – say, they have the
• Skill with primary attacks.
high ground or are better-adapted to the footing. Count multi-
• Damage with primary attacks.
ple effects separately, but never double-count.
• Best useful active defenses (e.g., don’t count Block in a
• Is played by gamers with less tactical experience (very
gunfight).
important!).
• DR.
• HP. If any of these apply to a side, treat it as an extra superiority
• Roll to resist being taken out (normally HT – but factor for them. This can make up for inferiority in key areas, even
in Fit, Hard to Subdue, etc.). provide a net advantage.
In effect, visualize pitting the PCs
against themselves. Don’t calcu-
late mathematical averages for each
side – that’s a lot of work, and no more
meaningful than an educated guess.
Do consider gear: Weapons affect
damage, shield DB improves active
defenses, armor adds to DR, and so on.
Now, decide how tough the fight is
supposed to be.
For an easy fight, use NPCs who are
inferior in more key areas than they’re
superior – the more areas of inferi-
ority, the easier the battle. Usually,
having lower skill and active defenses
will suffice, if they’re otherwise well
matched (e.g., equal numbers of believ-
able human troops with comparable
gear). If they’re inferior in every area
but headcount, they can be numer-
ous – though be warned that even 2:1
numerical odds can end badly for the
heroes if the battlefield (pp. 6-8) makes
flanking likely.
A fairly even match doesn’t mean
the NPCs are the PCs’ equals in every
respect. They can be superior in roughly
as many areas as they’re inferior. A common choice in melee Next, consider game-changers, such as when one side . . .
combat is foes who are less numerous, less skilled, and
poorer on the defensive, but with beefed-up ST and HT giv- • Achieves surprise (p. 9).
ing better damage, more HP, and superior rolls to stay stand- • Has mobility that makes attacks from behind or a posi-
ing. Another is enemies who are more numerous, faster, and tion of impunity a certainty – a common result of unmatched
tricky to hit due to high Dodge, but who do pitiful damage Flight or Warp.
and have mediocre DR and HP. • Has overwhelming “off screen” support, like artillery.
For a tough fight, the NPCs should be superior in more • Has superhuman capabilities (magic, powers, implants,
areas than they’re inferior. Classic examples are “brutes” with etc.) that boost most or all of the key areas.
big damage, DR, HP, and HT, their only flaws being lower • Has superhuman capabilities that can take out foes in
skill and defenses. The more areas of superiority, the harder one fell swoop; e.g., by turning them to stone or controlling
the encounter – true bosses, especially lone ones, can be better their minds.
across the board. • Has superhuman capabilities that dictate outcomes (like
But that isn’t the whole story! First, there are special areas Super Luck).
that come up in only some battles. One side . . . • Isn’t merely favored by the battlefield but is handed a
near-absolute advantage by it; e.g., total darkness if they have
• Has a huge edge in a key area. Dark Vision but their rivals don’t, or underwater if they have
• Has more combat-relevant advantages that haven’t been Doesn’t Breathe and Amphibious while their enemies are sink-
counted in another way (e.g., Combat Reflexes boosts defenses ing in heavy armor.

The Art of Violence 5

 Count game-changers for each side. If one side has more,
the battle is slanted in their favor regardless of everything
else! If the encounter is meant to be even-to-hard for that
side or easy-to-even for their opponents, the side with fewer
game-changers should have most every other superiority.
Gear
Equipment might affect anything above, handing one side
superiority or supplying a game-changer (like the nuclear
hand grenade alluded to earlier). If it does, count it! The
correct order is “choose the NPCs’ equipment and then bal-
ance the encounter” – never the other way around.
Negations
Don’t count superiority or a game-changer if the other
side possesses a surefire way to nullify it. High DR and
Regeneration (Very Fast) could give monsters superiority in
two areas against heroes who lack comparable traits – but if
those abilities don’t work against silver and the PCs have many
silver weapons, that blunts both edges. Such cancellations can
be enough to make a tough fight even, or an even one easy.

Most combats do not take place on an infinite smooth plain – there are usually all manner
of terrain and obstacles on the battlefield.
– How to Be a GURPS GM

The Battlefield
An encounter’s setting is as important and memorable as the long- or short-range game their moment in the spotlight,
the opposition. Answering Why Fight? (pp. 3-4) addresses the and means that players who gamble on always being at their
dramatic facet of this: the Big Boss’s mansion, a glass-littered preferred range never lose their bet, artificially inflating their
alleyway, a dungeon chamber, or wherever. It’s also crucial alter-egos’ effectiveness.
to weigh tactical and game-mechanical considerations. Where
these favor one side, they confer superiority or perhaps a Boundaries
game-changer, as explained in Matchmaker, Matchmaker
Determining scale implies defining the battlefield’s bound-
(pp. 5-6) – but even if they’re equally good or bad for all, they
aries. Indoors, this usually means a room’s walls, ceiling, and
can influence the fight’s atmosphere and stakes.
floor. Outdoors, the edges of the combat environment (below)
For rules for interesting battlefield features, GURPS Action
may set the boundaries; e.g., a water battle might be unable
5: Dictionary of Danger is highly recommended!
to move on shore. In either case, obstacles (p. 7) can also be
boundaries.
Scale If the battle is likely to rage to the boundaries, decide in
advance what happens there: Are the walls destructible? If so,
The battlefield’s physical extent is crucial yet often over-
they’ll need DR and HP. Can fighters drag themselves out of
looked. A vast combat area privileges ranged attacks and
the water and onto the shore? Then it’s important to define the
high Move – superiority in either matters. It means that the
line where “aquatic environment” gives way to “bad footing.”
“primary attacks” to compare are ranged, and that the “use-
Are the obstacles harmful? Assign the damage they do.
ful active defense” to weigh is Dodge. If the field lets a small
group to fall back almost indefinitely to string out a larger
one, and such tactics are likely, the GM might ignore numer-
ical superiority.
Environment
Equally important is what environment the battle (mostly)
Conversely, on a compact battlefield where nobody can
takes place in. Most fights happen on the ground, but water
travel even their full Move, the GM would be within their rights
and air combat are common in many genres, futuristic set-
not to count superiority for movement speed, ranged weap-
tings might have space conflicts, and there are weirder options,
ons, or defenses that rely on retreating – and to treat area-
like clashes on planes of existence with strange natural laws.
effect attacks that blanket the entire map as “game-changers.”
When both sides are capable of mobility in that environment,
Headcount is either crucial, as the more numerous side can
nobody enjoys superiority.
exploit flanking and mob tactics, or irrelevant, because there’s
However, if one side can exploit the environment to its
a funnel where all the action happens. If the area is cramped,
fullest while the other cannot, that’s grounds for superiority.
with barely enough space to step, the GM may compare only
It becomes a game-changer when the advantaged side can
attacks or defenses useful in close combat, or treat close-com-
fly over, swim under, or pop up behind their rivals, attack-
bat ability as its own category of superiority.
ing from a position that lets them circumvent defenses while
Many battlefields fall between these extremes: Large
avoiding significant retaliation. Be wary of this – even more
enough to allow a few seconds of running, but small enough
than most game-changers, this one can make the encounter
not to support unlimited retreating or carefully aimed
lopsided! That said, lots of ranged weapons, or special abili-
ranged attacks. These require no special considerations, but
ties that negate enemy movement, can sometimes negate this
shouldn’t be all battlefields – that denies PCs who are good at
game-changer.

The Art of Violence 6

 Regardless, this influences the clash’s character. If
nothing else, the GM needs a way to record additional
dimensions: altitude for flyers, depth for swimmers,
maybe even a separate map of another plane of existence.
Lay of the Land
For ground battles – including encounters in buildings
and on the decks of vehicles – what that ground looks like
is important.
Footing
Complications such as knee-deep water, mud, or a rock-
ing ship penalize movement (p. B387), attack (pp. B547,
B548), and defense (p. B549). If only one side can avoid
this, they get superiority for being favored by the battle-
field. If they accomplish this by flying or otherwise not
being on the ground, don’t also count this as superiority
for being able to exploit the environment (pp. 6-7) unless
their rivals are at an extra disadvantage for being bogged
down; e.g., being on foot against airborne foes is bad, but
being stuck in mud against those opponents is worse.
Obstacles
Interesting battlefields boast scenery such as rocks or
furniture to clamber onto, walls blocking movement in
certain directions, and localized dangers like fires, spikes,
chasms, and the edges of platforms. If these restrict only
one side, the fighters who can ignore them – say, they
can fly and don’t care about falling – have superiority for
being favored by the battlefield. If these affect both sides
equally, they can still matter, for two reasons:
1. If harmful, they raise the stakes. Even the victors
might end up in worse shape for the next fight.
2. They can limit effective scale by establishing bound-
aries (p. 6), because while the battlefield might ostensibly
be extensive, nobody can bypass the obstacles surround-
ing them – at least, not in combat time. This gives rise to
an important warning:
Beware the Infinite Featureless Plane™. Failure to think
about the battlefield’s scale and the nature of its boundar-
ies hands combatants capable of exploiting constant step-
ping (p. B368) and retreating (p. B377) – and those who
ignore close-range fighting ability – an artificial supe-
riority. They can keep backing up, circling, and otherwise
eluding their rivals without consequences. When this isn’t part
of the GM’s dramatic plans, it renders the encounter unsatis-
fying. Most arenas should include places where combatants
can’t or don’t want to step, meaning that with clever tactics,
fighters can be cornered or get their back to something.
Relative Height
If both sides are on the ground, the higher party benefits
in both melee (p. B402) and ranged combat (p. B551), and
may be able to attack from above (p. B402). Collectively,
these effects are one more way that being favored by the bat-
tlefield can give superiority. This is already a benefit of being
able to fly when your rivals cannot – if it was counted under
Environment (pp. 6-7), don’t count it again.
The Art of
To Map or Not to Map?
There are two basic approaches to RPG combat. Choos-
ing one and meeting its requirements is essential to prepar-
ing a combat encounter.
Theatre of the Mind
The battlefield is described and updated verbally, often
abstractly. Positional considerations such as facing and
posture might be ignored unless crucial; e.g., behind some-
one or knocked down. Distances are often qualitative (“You
need a Move maneuver to reach them.”). At most, the GM
tracks these data on scratch paper.
Pros: No need to have a map beyond a sketch, or figures,
accelerating setup. Avoiding Chapter 12 and big swaths of
Chapter 13 of the Basic Set, simplifying the rules.
Cons: Everyone requires an excellent mind’s eye. The
locations of fighters, footing, obstacles, hazards, etc. can
cause doubts and arguments, and even if individually plau-
sible, may collectively suggest a geometry that strains sus-
pension of disbelief. Player tactical skill is rewarded less.
Some character abilities (like Move) are less valuable.
Tactical Combat
The battlefield is mapped. Its features – footing, obsta-
cles, elevation, hazards, etc. – are laid out for everyone to
see. Counters show each combatant’s location, facing, and
posture. Distances are measured.
Pros: Objectivity minimizes disputes. Moving figures
around rewards player tactical skill. Once players get com-
fortable with the rules, play is fast because there’s no need
to negotiate each action verbally.
Cons: Each fight requires a prepared map and figures.
More rules to learn and use. Temptation to act on knowl-
edge that’s visible to the players but wouldn’t be to their
characters. False precision; tactical combat is still some-
what abstract, but some gamers interpret everything as
firm (e.g., a retreat is simply a once-per-turn extra-good
defense, but some may claim it’s literally moving back
a yard).
Visibility
Factors such as concealment, darkness, fog, and smoke limit
visibility. Differences in the ability to detect the enemy – e.g.,
one side has Night Vision while the other doesn’t – are, at a
minimum, a case of being favored by the battlefield and enjoy-
ing superiority. That’s because one side’s attacks and defenses
suffer penalties like those under Visibility (p. B394).
A complete inability to locate the enemy – say, due to invisi-
bility or total darkness – goes beyond superiority and becomes
a game-changer when it applies only to one side. This can
amplify the weakest foes into formidable ones, so handle with
care! Unless the goal is a total slaughter, grant further advan-
tages to the favored side only if they’re so feeble that even free
hits for full damage are unlikely to do much.
Violence 7
 Mounts and Vehicles
Mounts and vehicles often give superiority in move-
ment speed if fast, damage if strong or armed, DR if
armored, HP if massive, and so forth. Some can ignore
footing (p. 7) or obstacles (p. 7), operate in favorable
environments (pp. 6-7), or better exploit scale (p. 6) – or
be limited by scale due to being too big to operate effec-
tively in a tight space. Vehicles might be accessorized with
equipment that negates poor visibility (pp. 7-8), hazards
(p. 8), etc. Balance the encounter based on the transpor-
tation’s capabilities, where superior to those of the riders
(who still provide skill and possibly active defenses).
This is true whether one or both sides are mounted
or in vehicles. When both sides are but one side’s rides
are faster, better-armed or -armored, equipped with night
If both sides are equally penalized, though, this lowers
the encounter’s stakes, because successful attacks will be
few and far between, and fleeing without being pursued or
shot is often possible. This can be unsatisfying – bordering
on silly – if gamed out as endless misses until somebody gets
lucky. Save it for brief, unexpected clashes intended to intro-
duce foes and show off abilities, heightening tension without
producing a victor.
Everything Else
Every factor that could matter on the battlefield would fill
an encyclopedia, but here are a few more ways to make a fight
memorable.
Weather
Fog reduces visibility (pp. 7-8), snow and ice worsen foot-
ing (p. 7), and so on. If this affects one side more than the
other, that’s another case of superiority for being favored by
the battlefield.
Weather that gives no superiority can still negate it if it
denies one side an edge they were counting on. For example,
a hurricane (see GURPS Disasters: Hurricane) can ground
aircraft and blow ranged attacks off target, while a deluge can
douse matchlock weapons. If only one side has the affected
capabilities, they lose their advantage.
Hazards
Fire, radiation, extreme temperatures, atmospheric pres-
sure or composition, vacuum, and countless other things can
do harm unrelated to anybody’s attacks; see pp. B428-437.
This can affect encounters:
Both sides are adapted/native. The consideration is largely
aesthetic. It can still matter if an otherwise superior side is
forced to send its one champion into the fight while the oth-
ers hang back in safety. For instance, two fire-resistant supers
might duke it out in a volcano where neither’s allies can
venture, which makes the relative strengths of the sides less
important than those of the fighters. This is an excellent way
to make neglected abilities matter.
The Art of
vision, or whatever, that still awards net superiority in
the relevant areas. Even if both groups have comparable
transportation, be aware that the stakes are higher in such
fights – being trampled by elephants, struck by a lance,
blown up in a tank, or shot out of the sky in a plane is
bloodier than being wounded by a sword or rifle.
If only one side has such transportation, that side typ-
ically enjoys additional superiorities or game-changers as
a result of the above. Even if there’s no clear advantage
(say, a tough super vs. a tank), the GM may count “has
mounts” or “has vehicles” as an extra superiority: The ride
allows its rider to attack while it handles movement.
See Mounted Combat (pp. B396-398) and Basic Vehicle
Combat (pp. B467-470) for important rules.
One side is adapted/native. That side can ignore the bad-
ness. The other side can’t, and either suffers its bad effects or
must lug around environmental protection – parkas, diving
gear, spacesuits, or similar – that limits or penalizes DX (see
Environment Suit, p. B192), counts as encumbrance, and/or
inflicts penalties for being layered with armor (p. B286).
Whichever is the case, the first side gets superiority for
being favored by the battlefield.
Neither side is adapted/native. If neither side has ways to
offset the danger, there’s no superiority but the stakes are
likely to be higher – be careful! If the hazard is bad enough
to cost FP or HP, or to force HT rolls to avoid afflictions, on
a combat timescale, then a side with environmental protec-
tion has superiority over one that doesn’t even if that gear is
clunky and heavy. But if it’s possible to survive briefly without
ill effects, then doing without such equipment when it encum-
bers the other side bestows superiority – although the GM
should assess some bad effects, to keep people honest.
Besides the ordinary combat
risks of swords, guns, and spells,
adventurers commonly face other
hazards.
– GURPS Basic Set
Gravity
Being better-adapted to local gravity – having G-Experience
(p. B57) for that gravity when the other side lacks it, or hav-
ing Improved G-Tolerance (p. B60) or higher Free Fall skill
(p. B197) – grants superiority for being favored by the battle-
field. A side that’s in their native gravity always has superiority
over one that isn’t, regardless of such traits. If neither side is at
home there, stakes are likely to be lower . . . especially in zero
gravity when nobody bought Free Fall.
See Different Gravity (p. B350) for rules. This can make a
fair fight more interesting simply because it’s different.
Violence 8
 Before-Action Actions
A combat encounter’s temporal context can also make it
interesting, and significantly affect its outcome. This is less
about when it happens than about what’s going on when it
happens.
Surprise
Surprise Attacks and Initiative (p. B393) is somewhat vague
on when surprise occurs. The GM might want to supplement
it with these guidelines:
• If the two sides meet in an area with clear sightlines and
no hiding spots, and neither enjoys persistent concealment
(e.g., invisibility), nobody has surprise.
• If the two sides are separated by something that blocks
sightlines and neither is being sneaky, the GM should secretly
make each side’s best Sense roll capable of detecting the other.
Success lets that group opt to try to achieve surprise. This can
be both sides!
• If either side is already being sneaky in circumstances
where that makes sense, they may try to achieve surprise. This
can be both sides, too!
• If one side is undetectable by the other, they may try to
achieve surprise.
If either group tries for surprise, roll a Quick Contest:
• If one side tries, they must win a Contest of their worst
Stealth vs. the other side’s best Hearing or Vision – or their
rivals’ Observation, if sentries are posted – to achieve surprise.
If they were “undetectable” above, their victims’ roll should
be penalized.
• If both sides try, use the worst Per-based Stealth on each
side. The winner achieves surprise. On a tie, both sides are
surprised!
When scouts ahead of a main party achieve surprise, they
may optionally return to alert their associates. Success at a
simple Tactics roll allows the whole group to set a deliberate
ambush (below), while failure or not trying leads to a hasty
ambush (p. 10). Only critical failure at Tactics forfeits sur-
prise, though.
Under adventuring conditions, surprise is almost always
partial: fleeting mental stun (p. B420), with progressively bet-
ter IQ rolls to recover, starting at once. This is still a game-
changer. Total surprise (1d seconds of stun, followed by
unmodified IQ rolls to recover) is best used sparingly if you
want a combat encounter rather than a plot device.
Ambush
A combat encounter that starts with somebody being
jumped is an ambush. There are two types of ambushes, both
closely related to surprise (above).
Deliberate Ambush
This involves knowing the opposition’s movements in
advance and lying in wait. For NPCs, it’s usually a question
of encounter design; e.g., goblins hidden behind a false wall
The Art of
in the dungeon, or sharks lurking out of sight in the deep. The
GM shouldn’t be too mean, but unless a player asks to use an
ability that could detect the enemy – or a hero’s Danger Sense
goes off – the ambush will happen. For PCs, it’s a reward for
taking the risk of scouting ahead, bribing informants, or oth-
erwise gathering intelligence, or for a great Tactics roll.
The side setting the ambush can prepare to gain various
forms of superiority:
• Choose a battlefield whose scale favors their primary
attacks (e.g., long lines of sight for snipers, or vegetation right
on top of a trail for melee fighters) or best active defenses,
that offers their preferred environment (like that shark in the
deep), or where they enjoy such edges as relative height (p. 7)
or asymmetric visibility (say, due to camouflage).
• Alter the battlefield so their victims are unable to use
their best attacks, defenses, or mobility, or are in bad footing
(p. 7), on the bad side of obstacles (p. 7), or exposed to haz-
ards (p. 8).
• Rally their forces, perhaps calling for backup or super-
naturally summoning help, to obtain numerical superiority.
• Prepare ranged weapons.
They might also be able to secure or deploy game-changers;
e.g., a position in which they cannot be counterattacked, with-
ering fire support, deadly traps (like landmines), or powerful
superhuman abilities that take too long to use in battle.
Most important, they achieve surprise, which is always a
game-changer.
But I’d
Be Doing This!
To avoid surprise and ambush – or to start all fights
at an advantage – some players will claim that their
PCs are always armed, armored, standing, and taking
a Wait maneuver somewhere strategic. However, unless
they can plausibly arrange that, and do, they’re doing
whatever makes sense in the scene; e.g., at a classy
restaurant, they’re seated, unarmed, eating dinner.
Those who insist on higher states of preparedness
must accept tradeoffs. For instance, the ‑1 to ‑4 to
reaction rolls that Reaction Penalty (p. B286) assesses
for being armored can be expanded to being armed
and lurking in corners; such penalties are cumulative.
Being on maximum alert requires a Will roll every
10 minutes to avoid losing 1 FP (GURPS Tactical
Shooting, p. 33).
The GM should be open to exceptions for specific
traits. For disadvantages, there should still be penal-
ties; e.g., someone with Paranoia might have their back
to a wall, but they also have ‑2 to reaction rolls. Being
better-prepared without drawbacks requires one Stan-
dard Operating Procedure perk (GURPS Power-Ups 2:
Perks, p. 15) per specific preparation.
Violence 9

“Wandering Monsters”
Some adventures include the possibility of battle with
enemies “in the area” but not in specific locations where
they can be attacked preemptively. These show up due to
dice rolls made on a schedule, or in response to specific
actions. In modern-day warfare, for instance, tracking
every possible enemy patrol would be a nightmare, so the
GM might establish hourly odds of encountering one. The
“wandering monsters” of hack ’n’ slash fantasy are iconic,
so we’ll use that term.
Wandering monsters have an interesting relationship
with many concepts in this supplement. First, they nar-
row down the answers to Why Fight? (pp. 3-4). In dra-
matic terms, they’re closer to scenery than to antagonists
tied to the central conflict – and they’re not hanging
around for players to assert agency upon. They exist to
“spark action” when things slow down, and to place addi-
tional risk in the path of reward.
Thus, they aren’t necessarily hand-picked, as And
in This Corner . . . (pp. 4-6) tacitly assumes. They can
be – guards or enemy troops might be adjusted to provide
a specific kind of fight. However, classic wandering mon-
sters don’t only show up at random but are also chosen
at random, by a roll on a table; the threat they pose can
range from “trivial” to “grave.”
Toughness can vary even for well-matched foes,
though, because they might randomly appear where
The Battlefield (pp. 6-8) favors them (or not!) – or when
the heroes’ Before-Action Actions (pp. 9-11) result in an
unforeseeable (dis)advantage. For instance, if the PCs
stop in the forest to treat their wounded, and the dice
summon stealthy woodland hunters, these enemies
would be far deadlier than if they’d challenged healthy
adventurers on open ground.
Such variability isn’t necessarily bad. It can serve to
keep answers to What Were You Doing? (below) sensible:
If the PCs take too many rests (say, to regain FP), make
excessive noise (tapping on walls for secret doors, drag-
ging artillery pieces around, squabbling, etc.), or com-
promise their alertness (e.g., driving at high speeds with
no headlights), they may attract attackers, making them
rethink questionable choices.
Wandering monsters also have a special relation-
ship with Surprise (p. 9) and Ambush (pp. 9-10): If they
can’t be anticipated, they can’t be ambushed. But as they
weren’t there to be found, the GM shouldn’t have them
set ambushes, either; save those for set-piece encoun-
ters. Wandering monsters can and often do inflict sur-
prise, though – especially if the GM made an extra
check for them due to PCs resting, being noisy, or not
paying attention.
Don’t overdo it! Too many random encounters makes
But I’d Be Doing This! (p. 9) a bigger problem. Like
any fight, one with wandering monsters should be nec-
essary – it’s just that the necessity isn’t to tell a specific
part of the story but to remind the players that they’re on
an adventure.
The Art
Hasty Ambush
This is what happens when two sides clash suddenly,
but one side has enough time to anticipate the other and
try for surprise. The GM can use the rules under Partial
Surprise (p. B393) to determine which side. Here, the side
that ambushes cannot prepare – surprise is the whole of the
ambush, though it’s still a game-changer! However, those
who enjoy it might gamble on a turn or two of unanswered
action permitting them to use higher-skill or -damage
attacks, or special abilities, that would normally be risky;
e.g., someone who knows they won’t face attacks for a turn
might cast a spell or risk an All-Out Attack.
What Were You Doing?
Whether or not a violent encounter involves surprise or
ambush, it’s crucial to know each combatant’s physical and
mental state when combat time begins. There are several
facets to this. The GM determines these for NPCs, but to
assess them for PCs, get into the habit of asking the players
what they’re doing at the beginning of each scene – espe-
cially when they enter a new area. Those decisions stick if
hostilities break out. Players who don’t answer are leaving
all details to the GM, who needn’t be charitable!
Location
Who’s where? This is sometimes self-evident; e.g., a
moving vehicle’s pilot is at the controls. For travelers,
“marching order” matters – who’s in front of whom, how
many abreast, and whether there are scouts. Attackers
should specify their formation. Parties who haven’t both-
ered to clarify such things are randomly scattered through-
out the area, though it’s fairest to assume that PCs who are
exploring a dangerous area or expecting combat are in a
group, not separated.
Equipment
Who’s holding what? Soldiers, thugs, dungeon explorers,
and other violent types are normally brandishing weapons.
Anyone engaged in time-consuming activities requiring
tools is employing that equipment. Those resting or chat-
ting are unlikely to be wielding anything. Whether people
are wearing armor, night-vision goggles, enchanted rings,
etc. should be a function of whether those items make sense
in the scene, and to what extent the players have estab-
lished that their alter-egos usually wear such gear.
Posture
Sentries, patrols, and travelers on foot are typically
standing. Characters at vehicle controls, desks, worksta-
tions, etc. are sitting. Anyone resting (to recover FP) can
choose to be sitting or lying down. Treat sleeping people as
lying down regardless of actual posture – they need a cou-
ple of turns to get upright.
Maneuver
Anyone surprised (p. 9) or sleeping is deemed to be tak-
ing a Do Nothing maneuver with the penalties of mental
stun (p. B420).
of Violence 10
 Anyone ambushing (pp. 9-10) can open the fight with any
maneuver they like – usually Attack. In a deliberate ambush,
give the maximum bonus for Aim to ranged attacks, for Eval-
uate to melee ones. In a hasty ambush, a fighter can open with
Aim or Evaluate, but they gain neither benefit automatically.
Everyone else is assumed to be taking Do Nothing – per
p. B364 – without mental stun. The GM who wants extra detail
might rule that travelers are taking Move; people performing
IQ‑, Will‑, or Per-based activities are taking Concentrate; and
anyone doing a ST‑, DX‑, or HT‑based task is taking Ready.
Optionally, someone actively scouting or standing watch can
state in advance that they’re maintaining Wait, but that’s tir-
ing: Roll vs. Will every 10 minutes to avoid losing 1 FP.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

After justifying the encounter, choosing suitable opposi- superiorities or game-changers, or decreasing or taking away
tion (if only by rolling for a wandering monster), assessing the PCs’, to make the fight harder for the heroes – or doing the
the physical and temporal circumstances, and fine-tuning opposite to make it easier. Ways to accomplish this include:
the resulting superiorities and game-changers to achieve the
Reinforcements. If the PCs are winning too easily, more
desired difficulty, it’s time to run the battle. There’s no short-
foes might hear the noise and come running – or the enemy
age of published material on this! The Basic Set contains three
boss may send backup, or intervene personally. If the protag-
chapters on combat, How to Be a GURPS GM has a chapter
onists are getting creamed, perhaps their backers or superiors
explaining these, and many supplements add further detail in
provide aid, or a common enemy of their rivals turns up. This
specific contexts: GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 16: Wilderness
makes sense in all but extremely isolated encounters – which
Adventures for outdoor engagements, GURPS Martial Arts
are rare in settings with security cameras, tactical radios, psy-
for muscle-powered combat, GURPS Tactical Shooting for
chic remote viewing, crystal balls, paratroopers, teleportation,
gunfights, and so on.
or anything similar. Not all reinforcements show up in person;
Despite all your reading and planning, however, the fight
“off map” support could be plausible, too, in forms such as
might not go the way that tells the best story – it’s too easy
archers, snipers, or artillery, or long-range magic, or just a
or too hard. This is typically due to the GM misjudging dif-
hacker manipulating the lights.
ficulty (it happens to the best of us); the players doing some-
Change of tactics. If the NPCs are winning more easily
thing surprisingly clever, foolish, or bizarre; or the dice being
than the GM wants, they can get cocky and start using riskier
uncooperative. Don’t despair! There are ways to deal with
tactics. They might chance more All-Out Attacks, leave cover,
this on the fly.
or forgo shooting to pistol-whip someone. Some players have
PCs do such things, after all – and NPCs are individuals,
Adjusting the Challenge too! In the opposite situation, the NPCs might start making
a better effort to exploit cover, flank, or select maneuvers or
The fairest, least “meta-game” way to tweak difficulty is
options that keep them alive . . . or just shoot out the lights
with plausible changes to the elements discussed up to this
to escape.
point. That generally means adding or increasing NPCs’

The Art of Violence 11

 Variable gear. Unless the PCs have X-ray vision or excellent
intelligence reports, they have no way of knowing for sure
what the bad guys are carrying. There’s nothing wrong with
an NPC whipping out a grenade, potion, concealed weapon,
or whatever – or with some of the remaining enemies running
out of ammo, or not having trauma plates in their vests (if they
haven’t been shot there yet). Remember that if the heroes win,
they’re going to expect to find the equipment they faced on
any prisoners or corpses; so, if you alter loadouts, take notes.
Variable abilities. An NPC can benefit or suffer from a trait
that wouldn’t have shown up earlier, such as Luck that would
only be used once anyway, or possessing lower skill if they
haven’t already demonstrated that they’re much better.
Hidden danger. Much as NPCs’ gear and abilities could vary
believably because the players have no way to know those in
advance, the battlefield itself might hold surprises. Unless the
PCs investigated it, they could stumble upon traps or haz-
ards – or the NPCs could be aware of hidden features. This
can be as simple as somebody knowing about a secret switch!
Be sure the deus ex machina fits the context, and give PCs the
usual rolls to avoid it, or it’s just cheating (below).
Meta-Violence
The GM can also give players the means to make “adjust-
ments.” These work best as ways to keep PCs alive when things
are going badly.
Luck (p. B66). Making this a required advantage for all
PCs – as in GURPS Action – allows the GM to err on the
side of toughness, because the heroes have a bailout in
their pocket. Luck has the advantage of being time-limited,
which keeps it from becoming too influential, but be warned
that some players will hold up the game by dawdling to let
it “recharge.” While it can be used for NPCs, “Luckily, he
dodges!” or “Reroll your critical hit.” steals players’ victories,
so don’t overdo it.
Buying Success (p. B347). Letting players spend points to
stay in the fight by turning failed defense, resistance, and
Aftermath
Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end of the fight.
Perhaps some of the fighters did, too. Now what?
It’s All Over
but the Shouting
If the encounter was remotely meaningful, it can be inter-
esting – and important to the story – to remember its high-
lights. Who killed whom? What heroic (or infamous) deeds
did bystanders witness? Were any important artifacts or scen-
ery destroyed?
Some outcomes are obvious: crippling, incapacitation,
or death of fighters – or harm to bystanders, or destruction
of objects or scenery, due to deliberate attacks or stray
shots the GM tracked. When the results matter – a boss’s
demise, the loss of a master fencer’s blade (or arm), fire in the
cathedral, etc. – immediately jot down who did it and how.
The Art of
HT rolls into successes is another kind of bailout. In this
case, the control is unspent points, which can’t be “gamed.”
As that rule suggests, don’t permit buying critical successes
in combat.
Flesh Wounds and TV Action Violence (p. B417). Offer
benefits similar to Buying Success in a more limited context.
Flesh Wounds is especially useful in settings where there
are ways to get hurt that can’t easily be avoided – explosives,
nerve gas, divine curses, etc.
Some GMs forbid these measures – especially anything
involving unspent character points – as too unrealistic. Before
doing that, consider this: Combat is complex. The most real-
istic rules only approximate reality, and endless things below
their resolution can go right or wrong in small ways that have
inordinate outcomes. Meta-game options offer ways to han-
dle “everything else”; e.g., the bullet was blown off-target by
a freak breeze, skipped off a buckle, or passed clean through
without hitting anything vital.
For gamers who love this stuff, GURPS Power-Ups 5:
Impulse Buys is indispensable.
Cheating
When all else fails, the GM can adjust the encounter’s diffi-
culty by fudging dice rolls for attacks, defenses, damage, HT,
etc. Be careful with this! Players who don’t catch on might
develop a false impression of how their characters stack up
against the opposition, which can lead to future out-of-whack
fights; this is a special risk with new players who haven’t yet
acquired intuition for GURPS combat. Players who do catch
on are liable to be annoyed – and some players will never for-
give it!
Another way to cheat is to do any of the things under
Adjusting the Challenge (pp. 11-12) when they’d be implausible.
While this might still annoy certain players, at least there’s an
in-world reason for the change: ninjas show up out of nowhere,
the peasant spearman has a fireball wand, the remaining bad
guy miraculously has HT 20, rocks fall, whatever.
Should there be doubt about whether somebody saw this,
the person responsible knows unless it was due to a stray
shot, in which case they must make a Vision roll; the victim
knows, unless they were struck from behind, concealment,
or similar; anybody else in the skirmish may roll at ‑4 (for
the distraction of fighting a battle!); and passive onlookers
receive an unpenalized roll.
Although it’s recommended to use Scatter (p. B414) for
rockets, Explosive Fireballs, grenades, etc., and to bother
with Hitting the Wrong Target (p. B389) and Overshooting
and Stray Shots (p. B390) if there are innocent bystanders,
leave other outcomes vague – it’s tedious to track every stray
shot, or to work out the precise effects of an explosion on
everything nearby. Instead, if potentially indiscriminate
attacks like ranged weapons, fire, or explosives weren’t com-
pletely absorbed by their targets (or were purposely tossed
around at random!), roll 3d for each vulnerable object on the
battlefield whose loss would affect the story meaningfully.
Violence 12
On 6 or less – or 9 or less, when area or explosive attacks are If gear changed on the fly due to Adjusting the Challenge
involved – roll vs. object HT (p. B483). Any success means (pp. 11-12) or Cheating (p. 12) – or if Gizmos (p. B57), Player
it’s scratched, scarred, or whatever, which leaves evidence; Guidance (p. B347), or similar cinematic rules were used
regular failure means it’s aflame or needs repairs, but sav- to whip out items during the clash – be sure to note this at
able; critical failure indicates utter destruction. Don’t roll for once so goods that appeared in the action are still around
anything that couldn’t believably be harmed by the heaviest afterward.
weapons deployed.
If glass was smashed, flammables caught fire, the ground
was cratered, etc., and the action will remain in or return Time to Rest?
to the area, the battlefield may need new assessments of A crucial decision the GM must make after a combat
Footing (p. 7), Obstacles (p. 7), and Hazards (p. 8) – and pos- encounter is when the next one will happen. If there’s no time
sibly Visibility (pp. 7-8), due to smoke – before the next battle. to reload, heal wounds, let limited-use abilities recharge,
This can make multiple encounters in the same place feel recover FP, etc. – and the warriors are missing FP for Fighting
very different from one another. If using a tactical map (p. 7) a Battle (p. B426) – then fresh rivals enjoy a special kind of
and the battlefield state is important for future encounters, superiority. Thus, an easy fight can become more even, while
the GM can use a cellphone camera to easily record it (sur- an even one grow difficult. If skirmishes are chained one
reptitiously, if need be). after the other, count this repeatedly; even trivial foes can
wear down heroes with enough waves. This is another way to
Black Box Review make a series of battles in the same place feel different from
one another.
A word of advice: Don’t sweat the specific dice rolls that led
In some settings, the sounds of battle may bring wander-
to an outcome. A failed attack roll, successful defense roll, or
ing monsters (p. 10), ensuring that there will be a next fight.
damage roll too low to penetrate DR could all be “a miss,”
However, this needn’t occur at once. Roaming foes might need
“they flinched at the right moment,” “a harmless graze,” etc. If
time to rally, arm themselves, and locate the opposition. They
someone ends up below 0 HP and unconscious, it isn’t import-
may be under orders to report anything they hear, or to attack
ant whether they failed their knockdown roll by 5+ or their
only when commanded to. These forces could be demoralized,
HT roll to stay conscious. Two swordsmen who traded many
lazy, low-quality, or underpaid – or afraid, if the PCs slaugh-
attacks and defenses had an “exchange”; don’t worry about
tered the last bunch!
how many times each one rolled. And so on.
Look back on combat as a “black
box.” Worry about how the status of
each combatant changed between the
start and the end of the battle – never A C
dvanced onflict esolution R
about the “moving parts” that led This supplement implicitly assumes you’re gaming out individual combat
there. It suffices to know who’s respon- using the Basic Set, but there are alternatives:
sible, as explained above.
The only exception is when there’s GURPS Action 2: Exploits offers chase rules that use bigger units of action
something like deadly poison in play. and more abstract distances. It is pure theatre of the mind (p. 7), but has
Then, yes, it matters whether someone strong built-in support for interesting battlefields and Meta-Violence (p. 12).
was really grazed. Fortunately, rolling GURPS Spaceships provides vehicular combat rules that can be tweaked
attack, defense, damage, and resistance to work with craft other than spaceships.
rolls in combat settles this at once. In GURPS Mass Combat is more abstract with time, distance, and even peo-
such cases – only – specifics matter. ple, bundling multiple fighters into “elements.” It’s less abstract in other ways,
though, providing concrete rules for surprise, terrain (encompassing footing,
obstacles, visibility, etc.), numerical advantage, and specialized force supe-
L ooting riorities – and perhaps most important, a Troop Strength that rates combat
capability. Thus, it can cover a lot of interesting battles objectively, if the
In some genres, it’s traditional
for the victors to loot the losers’ bod- players are willing to see the PCs’ individual abilities count for less.
ies. Even when that isn’t the case, it GURPS Realm Management allows nations or empires to go to war.
can be important to search the fallen: While individual clashes use Mass Combat, grand-scale strategy and total
detectives look for evidence, soldiers war that account for mobilization, economics, civilian resources and infra-
for intelligence, medical personnel for structure, etc. are possible.
information on blood type, etc. The GM still needs to dream up a meaningful conflict (Why Fight?,
What PCs are carrying is generally pp. 3-4); pick opponents and weigh relative strengths and weaknesses
recorded – rare is the player without an (And in This Corner . . ., pp. 4-6); describe an interesting battlefield (The
equipment list! For NPCs, if after-battle Battlefield, pp. 6-8); determine whether anybody is surprised (Before-Action
rummaging is remotely likely, be sure to Actions, pp. 9-11); make real-time adjustments if the action drifts in an
have notes on what each one is carrying. unsatisfying direction (Fight! Fight! Fight!, pp. 11-12); and fit the conse-
Make a list of kit that can affect combat quences into the campaign (Aftermath, pp. 12-13). If the alternative system
or the plot. A random table is fine for covers one of these tasks, follow its advice. Otherwise, use this supple-
incidental treasures like coins and jew- ment’s guidelines.
elry, or minor pocket contents.

The Art of Violence 13

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