Partial DR for Low Tech Armor in GURPS

Hit locations in GURPS (face, chest, abdomen, hand, leg, etc) strike a nice balance between complexity and playability.  Back in high school, I played a lot of Aftermath, which used 30 hit locations and was overly detailed.  GURPS' 13 locations* is a lot more manageable.

Still, we sometimes want to model real-world armor that doesn't nicely fit the 13 hit locations.  For example, one might have greaves that cover the shin and knee, but not the thigh, or a Viking helmet with a nasal guard that is otherwise open-faced.

One way to do this is to randomly determine if the partial armor is in the way, which is the approach used by Low-Tech.  If you have partial armor, like cheekguards for the Face location, then there is an X in 6 chance to have the armor count against a particular hit. While this models the armor coverage well, it's also a bit cumbersome in play, and GURPS combat resolution is already slower than I would like.

A different approach, that I've used successfully in a TL3/4 campaign, is to assign fractional DR values to the partial coverage.  So, a DR 6 nasal on a helmet that would apply to Face DR 1/6 of the time just becomes DR 1 for the Face.  DR 2 leather bracers that only cover half the arm (the forearms) end up being DR 1 for the Arms as a whole.

This makes a lot of historical and fantasy armor much easier to use in play.  DR 2 tall boots that come up to the knee?  They give DR 2 to the Foot and DR 1 to the Leg.  A mail hauberk with enough length to cover the thighs?  Just apply half the mail's DR to the legs.

What about layering armor?  If the pieces don't actually overlap, it can be done with no penalty, so tall boots that cover the calf work well with a long hauberk that protects the thigh, each providing the Leg location some protection. 

If this approach seems a bit abstract, and not exacting enough, it's worth keeping in mind that armor values already represent an average for the location.  No armor is without variation over its area of coverage; there are always a few gaps, differences in thickness, and potential angles of weakness.  To my mind, one of the things a damage roll represents is "shot placement" - how well the attack lines up, not only to cause injury, but also to penetrate any barriers to injury.  With this in mind, a "partial DR" approach seems like a nice balance, allowing for interesting (and historical) armor choices while retaining fast resolution at the table.

A small sample of armors that provide partial DR, using Low-Tech armor values:

Coifs and Helmets
Armor	Location	DR	Cost	Weight	Notes
Soldier's Helm	Skull (3-4 only) and partial Face	4 (Face 2)	$185	4 lbs	Standard Byzantine infantry helmet; Cheap skullcap with nasal and hinged cheekguards
Northman Helm	Skull (3-4 only) and partial Face	6 (Face 1)	$525	4 lbs	Conical skullcap with nasal; Cheap version is $250, 5 lbs
Open helmet, Light	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear) and partial Face	4 (Face 2)	$430	3.5 lbs	Open bascinet with nasal and earless cheekguards; Cheap is $230, 4.5 lbs
Open helmet, Med.	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear) and partial Face	8 (Face 4)	$1005	8 lbs	Open bascinet with nasal and earless cheekguards; Cheap is $460, 9 lbs
Open helmet, Heavy	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear) and partial Face	12 (Face 6)	$1580	12.5 lbs	Open bascinet with nasal and earless cheekguards; Cheap is $690, 14 lbs
Barbute, Light	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear) and partial Face	5 (Face 3)	$575	4.5 lbs	Bascinet with rigid cheekguards and nasal; -4 Hearing; Cheap is $290, 6 lbs
Barbute, Med.	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear) and partial Face	8 (Face 5)	$1005	8 lbs	Bascinet with rigid cheekguards and nasal; -4 Hearing; Cheap is $460, 9 lbs
Barbute, Heavy	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear) and partial Face	11 (Face 7)	$1440	11.5 lbs	Bascinet with rigid cheekguards and nasal; -4 Hearing; Cheap is $635, 12.5 lbs
Barbute, X-Heavy	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear) and partial Face	14 (Face 9)	$1870	15 lbs	Bascinet with rigid cheekguards and nasal; -4 Hearing; Single-piece is $18,700, 11 lbs
Spectacle Helm	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear), Eyes, and partial Face	6 (Face 5)	$750	6 lbs	Bascinet with cheekguards, nasal, and eye protection; -4 Hearing; No Peripheral Vision
Spectacle Helm, Heavy	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear), Eyes, and partial Face	10 (Face 8)	$1350	11 lbs	Bascinet with full cheekguards, nasal, and eye protection; -4 Hearing; No Peripheral Vision
Dwarven Helm	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear) and partial Face	6 (Face 1)	$2500	4 lbs	Open-faced with ear coverage; Hardened; -4 Hearing; Single-piece is $25K, 3 lbs
Dwarven Helm, Heavy	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear) and partial Face	9 (Face 1)	$4375	7 lbs	Open-faced with ear coverage; Hardened; -4 Hearing; Single-piece is $44K, 5 lbs
Dwarven Helm, X-Heavy	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear) and partial Face	12 (Face 2)	$6250	10 lbs	Open-faced with ear coverage; Hardened; -4 Hearing; Single-piece is $62,500, 7.5 lbs
Dwarven War Mask	Eyes and Face	4	$500	0.8 lbs	No Peripheral Vision; Hardened; -1 add'l Fatigue after fights due to restricted breathing
w/heavier plate	-	per +1 up to 15	+$250	+0.4 lbs
Visored Bascinet w/Visor up	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear) and partial Face	6 (Face 1)	$780	6.5 lbs	Open-faced bascinet with ear coverage, with flip-up Visor; -4 Hearing; Single-piece is $7800, 4.5 lbs
w/Visor down	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear), Eyes, and Face	6	-	-	Ready action to flip up/down; No Peripheral Vision when down; -1 add'l Fatigue after fights due to restricted breathing
Visored Bascinet, Heavy, w/Visor up	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear) and partial Face	9 (Face 1)	$1250	10 lbs	Open-faced bascinet with ear coverage, with flip-up Visor; -4 Hearing; Single-piece is $12,500, 7.5 lbs
w/Visor down	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear), Eyes, and Face	9	-	-	Ready action to flip up/down; No Peripheral Vision when down; -1 add'l Fatigue after fights due to restricted breathing
Visored Bascinet, X-Heavy, w/Visor up	Skull (3-4 & 5 rear) and partial Face	12 (Face 2)	$1720	14 lbs	Open-faced bascinet with ear coverage, with flip-up Visor; -4 Hearing; Single-piece is $17,200, 10.5 lbs

Long hauberks (Full torso and groin coverage, plus sleeves and thigh coverage)
Armor	Location	DR	Cost	Weight	Notes
Bezainted long hauberk	Chest and Abdomen (9-11), Arms, partial Legs	2 (3 vs cut)	$300	38 lbs	Layered leather reinforced with iron discs; half DR on legs
Light mail long hauberk	Chest and Abdomen (9-11), Arms, partial Legs	3 (1 vs cr)	$1000	24 lbs	Concealable (Holdout-1); half DR on legs; Dwarven option: Hardened, +1 DR, Cost x5
Fine mail long hauberk	Chest and Abdomen (9-11), Arms, partial Legs	4 (2 vs cr)	$1800	30 lbs	Half DR on legs; Dwarven option: Hardened, +1 DR, Cost x5
Heavy mail long hauberk	Chest and Abdomen (9-11), Arms, partial Legs	5 (3 vs cr)	$2400	36 lbs	Half DR on legs; Dwarven option: Hardened, +1 DR, Cost x5

Bracers (Partial arm coverage)
Armor	Location	DR	Cost	Weight	Notes
Sea Leather bracers	Partial arms	1	$50	4 lbs	Alchemically treated cuirbouilli, does not count towards swimming encumbrance
Light plate bracers	Partial arms	2	$375	3 lbs	Cheap is $200, 4 lbs
Medium plate bracers	Partial arms	3	$625	5 lbs	Cheap is $300, 6 lbs
Medium plate bracers	Partial arms	4	$875	7 lbs	Cheap is $400, 8 lbs
Heavy plate bracers	Partial arms	5	$1125	9 lbs	Cheap is $500, 10 lbs
Extra-heavy bracers	Partial arms	6	$1375	11 lbs	Cheap is $600, 12 lbs
Extra-heavy bracers	Partial arms	7	$1625	13 lbs	(no Cheap version)

Greaves (shin and knee coverage, front only, can combine with thigh armor)
Armor	Location	DR	Cost	Weight	Notes
Sea Leather greaves	Partial legs, front only	+1	$50	4 lbs	Alchemically treated cuirbouilli, does not count towards swimming encumbrance
Light plate greaves	Partial legs, front only	+1.5	$250	2 lbs	Cheap is $150, 3 lbs
Light plate greaves	Partial legs, front only	+2	$375	3 lbs	Cheap is $200, 4 lbs
Light plate greaves	Partial legs, front only	+2.5	$500	4 lbs	Cheap is $250, 5 lbs
Medium plate greaves	Partial legs, front only	+3	$625	5 lbs	Cheap is $300, 6 lbs
Medium plate greaves	Partial legs, front only	+3.5	$750	6 lbs	Cheap is $350, 7 lbs
Medium plate greaves	Partial legs, front only	+4	$875	7 lbs	Cheap is $400, 8 lbs
Heavy plate greaves	Partial legs, front only	+4.5	$1000	8 lbs	Cheap is $450, 9 lbs
Heavy plate greaves	Partial legs, front only	+5	$1125	9 lbs	Cheap is $500, 10 lbs
Heavy plate greaves	Partial legs, front only	+5.5	$1250	10 lbs	Cheap is $550, 11 lbs
Extra-heavy greaves	Partial legs, front only	+6	$1375	11 lbs	Cheap is $600, 12 lbs
Extra-heavy greaves	Partial legs, front only	+6.5	$1500	12 lbs	Cheap is $650, 13 lbs
Extra-heavy greaves	Partial legs, front only	+7	$1625	13 lbs	(no Cheap version)

Footwear
Armor	Location	DR	Cost	Weight	Notes
High Boots	Feet, partial Legs	2	$80	3 lbs	Half DR on Legs
Soft High Boots	Feet, partial Legs	1 vs cut only	$60	2 lb	+1 to Stealth, half DR on Legs

* 13 lines on the location chart, 11 entries in the random hit table, or 16 locations if you count the left and right eye/hand/foot separately.

GURPS DFRPG changes to Slam damage

So the PDFs for the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game box dropped ahead of time, which is exciting.  My very, very superficial readthrough so far suggests it's mostly a consolidation of the Dungeon Fantasy line, with armor significantly tweaked, and the addition of a dedicated compendium for Spells, hand-picked and modified for DF usage.  I didn't see as much simplification from GURPS DF as I was (frankly) expecting.

It's early days yet, so the fans will be finding more changes, but one that jumps out is a new formula for Slam damage.  I've always found the base 4e formula unsatisfying due to its breakpoints, and some awkward phrasing that begged to be replaced by a little lookup table, so this is a very welcome change.  Let's see how the new formula adds up!

Old (B371): 
HP x Velocity = Damage
        01-25 = 1d-3
        26-50 = 1d-2
        51-99 = 1d-1
      100-149 = 1d
      150-249 = 2d
      250-349 = 3d, etc

New (DFRPG Exploits p.40):
thr-2, modified /per die/ by velocity off the Speed/Range table
     1 yard = -2 per die
     2 yards = flat
     3-4 yards = +1 per die
     5-6 yards = +2 per die
     7-9 yards = +3 per die, etc

All a bit abstract, you say?  Let's do some examples, and compare Old vs New.

ST 7 Goblin at 5 yards
   Old: 1d-2  /  New: 1d-3.  Pretty similar.

ST 7 Quickling at 15 yards
   Old: 1d  /  New: 1d.  OK, didn't expect those to equal out.

ST 10 Spearman at 5 yards
   Old: 1d-2  /  New: 1d-2.  No change.

ST 10 Wolf (B458) at 9 yards
   Old: 1d-1  /  New: 1d-1.  No change.

ST 12 Man At Arms at 4 yards
   Old: 1d-2  /  New: 1d-2.  Seriously?  Identical again?

ST 12 Super Speedster at 40 yards
   Old: 5d  /  New: 1d+4.  Wow, here's a big difference. Using the Speed/Range table means pure speed no longer multiplies your damage, because logarithms.

ST 15 Slow Brute at 3 yards
   Old: 1d-2  /  New: 1d.  Significant for DF purposes. A slow Slam by a big guy is more viable than before. 

ST 15 Fast Brute at 7 yards 
   Old: 1d  /  New: 1d+2.  Still holding true at faster speeds. Big, strong Slammers will have a stronger advantage than before, at fast or slow speeds.

ST 20 Minotaur at 6 yards
   Old: 1d  /  New: 2d+1.  Wow, average damage more than doubled.

ST 24 Heavy Warhorse (B460) at 8 yards (Medium encumbrance)
   Old: 2d  /  New: 2d+5.  Not as dramatic as the minotaur, but enough damage to reliably injure even a man in heavy plate. 

ST 45 Elephant (B460) at 8 yards
   Old: 4d  /  New: 5d+13.  Average damage more than doubles.

OK, the results are in, and Velocity is dethroned as the king of Slam damage under these rules.  Now, it's all about muscle.  I'm quite surprised how little damage itself changes for ST 7-12 at normal speeds, but the increase for high ST is dramatic.  I'm especially happy to get rid of the old breakpoint where a small difference turned a 1d Slam into a 2d Slam.  Go GURPS!

Houserules for Apollo's Bones (GURPS)

A selection of GURPS houserules for the megadungeon campaign, with commentary following each entry. I fully expect to revisit these once the Dungeon Fantasy box set is released -- it sounds like that will include a lot of rules simplifications suitable for dungeon crawling.

All-Out Attack (ranged) - If performed at melee distance with a crossbow (quarrel pressed against the target), you may take the +4 for an All-Out Attack (Determined) instead of +1. Of course, the target can defend as against a melee attack too (but any Retreat must be a Sideslip or Slip (MA 124), or Dodge and Drop). This was originally a houserule for guns, but it's a nice option for crossbows.

Ambidexterity costs 10, not 5. I think reducing the cost of Ambidexterity in GURPS 4e to 5 pts was a mistake -- it made the Off-Hand Weapon Training technique senseless, and we ended up with single skill ambidexterity as a 1 pt perk, which doesn't fit my sensibilities at all.

Armed Interdiction - see here, basically allows a Parry-2 roll, out of turn, to perform a half-damage strike as an interrupt on someone running by. Uses up a Parry. What a great idea - this helps skilled combatants control the space around them better, which is often lost in the GURPS single second turn structure, with combatants who have a perfect tactical picture of their surroundings.

Armor uses the Edge Protection rules from Low-Tech p.102, making it more difficult for cutting damage to penetrate heavy armor. (Cutting damage must overcome 2x DR to get the cutting multiplier, otherwise damage is crushing only.) Swing damage needs to be nerfed a bit in fantasy games, or else a broadsword and ST 15 turns into a freakin' lightsaber.

Armor Layering - As per LT103, layering armor reduces DX by 1 for that location. This almost always affects combat skills. Houserule perk: Armor Layering (X & Y) allows you to pick two broad armor types (Ex: mail and plate, scale and cloth) and suffer no DX penalty for that combination. This is a Style perk (MA 49), requiring 20 pts in combat skills as a prerequisite. It's tough to get high DR values at TL3, this should help players who want to tank up while ensuring they're paying an opportunity cost for doing so.

Attacks targeting the Torso that succeed by 3 or more hit the Vitals instead. Impaling, piercing, and tight-beam burning attacks only. This has worked well in previous campaigns - it doesn't make sense that a well-aimed torso hit would never strike the vitals, and I disliked the extra roll and randomness of just making 1/6 of torso hits into vitals hits.

Characters may have a single skill at 0.5 point at any time. Skill level is -1 from the 1-pt level of the skill. I like the extra granularity of being able to give out half-points for experience, and this is a way to spend it.

Character death: New PCs' base points will be the average of 150 and the current lowest-value PC. Lower-point PCs will have faster advancement due to lower treasure thresholds for bonus XPs. We've found that brand new PCs built up to the same point level as the experienced PCs play and feel pretty different. The ability to focus those extra points on an attack technique or power set makes them a little unbalanced alongside a PC who has been putting a point here and there into utility skills.

Clerics will use the Divine Favor rules. I'll loan interested parties my hardcopy. I adore having completely different magic systems for priests versus mages, and Divine Favor really feels like it comes from an outside power source.

Combat Talents - The following combat-focused Talents are available:

• Hitter [7/level] - all unarmed combat skills 
• Man-At-Arms [10/level] - all armed melee combat skills 
• Skirmisher [10/level] - all ranged combat skills (thrown, projectile, etc) 

These seem balanced between the cost of DX and the cost of skills. I think that the taboo against combat talents (already broken by Pickaxe Penchant) should mainly prevent player-designed and abusive custom Talents.

Crit results: 9-11 on the crit table treats damage just like All-Out-Attack (Strong): +1 damage per die, or a flat +2, whichever is better. It always felt disappointing to roll a crit and get nothing -- sure, your attack hits with no defense, but you knew that before you rolled the crit dice. This is just more fun.

Enchantments to be priced differently, probably no Quick & Dirty, but enchanters can invest Magery power pts per day. Enchantment is sooo slow, this is an attempt to make it more viable for talented enchanters. Even if they're NPCs.

Evaluate in addition to the standard +1 per turn to skill on your next attack, you also get +1 to defend against that opponent (max +1, not cumulative) and an Observation roll to notice something interesting about him/her/it. Spicing up Evaluate a little, to make it more attractive and encourage combat lulls, especially in duels.

Extra Attack: Multistrike not permitted - I want to encourage a more freewheeling, swashbuckly feel with secondary attacks (butt/pommel strikes, kicks, etc). This has worked well to encourage melee fighters to develop secondary attacks and not just spam the Broadsword attack.

Extra Effort: Heroic Charge still eliminates the skill cap of 9, but retains the normal skill penalty of -4. Just toning this one down a little, it's still a game changer in a fight.

Grappling will use a stripped down version of Technical Grappling, details TBD. The core idea of Technical Grappling is fantastic, but the developed version is far too complex for my tastes - needs a Lite version.

Heroic Archer, Trained By A Master, and Weapon Master provide some special benefits:

• They open up certain esoteric skills and techniques. 
• Only characters with at least one of these advantages may use Extra Effort in combat or Deceptive Attack with ranged weapons. 

Extra Effort is a huge advantage in combat, and I don't want any old goblin from using it - this creates a barrier for entry and makes these character builds that much more impressive.

Knockdown and Stunning: Failing this roll only stuns you. Failing by 3 or more also knocks you down. It seems like it should be possible to be stunned by an injury without falling down. It seemed odd for hand injuries in particular (my players aim for the hands a lot).

Language Talent halves the cost of languages (half-points may be spent in this case). The version in Basic always played a little funny (no languages at Broken, ever?). Also, another use for half-points!

Luck: Occasional Luck [10] usable once per session. It's OK to buy Luck several times, perhaps with different modifiers. The entry level version of Luck, still worth it.

Parrying Unarmed Attacks As (B376) but damage to the unarmed limb/extremity is just the unarmed attack's own damage, modified to imp/cut/cr as appropriate. We houseruled this as half normal weapon damage for a while, which worked well enough. This is an experiment to see how animal/monster attacks fare with the critter's ST and mass taken more into account.

Shield: Strapped and buckler shields use the same skill, there is no -2 familiarity penalty between them. This always seemed a bit nitpicky, let's just have one Shield skill please. Ditto for shotguns, rifles, and muskets, but I digress...

Shortswords: In Close Combat, shortswords are at -2 instead of -4, but only for thrusting attacks. Speaking of nitpicky, I always felt like shortswords should be handier in Close Combat - it seems like the gladius et al were designed to be useful in a clinch. This gives them a little love.

Skill Assistance: When applicable (not always), two characters may assist each other on a skill roll. The character who succeeds best has their result modified as follows:

• Helper critically fails: Critical failure affects both characters. 
• Helper fails: Margin reduced by 1. 
• Helper succeeds by 0 to 4: Margin improved by 1. 
• Helper succeeds by 5 to 9: Margin improved by 2. 
• Helper succeeds by 10+ or critically: Margin improved by 3. 

These are rather more generous than the assistance rules in various GURPS publications. I'm of the theory that an extra roll which only grants a +1 advantage to the main roll isn't worth the table time.

Slam Momentum: When starting from a standstill, Slam velocity can be no more than 2x distance moved this turn. This is still "committed velocity" and you may be required to move the velocity amount on an opponent's Dodge, as normal. Momentum on the one second tactical scale is tricky to model.

Strength Damage will use the modified progression here, which reduces swing damage at higher ST levels for both PCs and monsters, with the intent of making mundane armor useful at high levels of human-capable strength.

Telegraphic Attack is allowed (+4 to skill in exchange for +2 for the defender to defend), but those who have made an All-Out Attack may try to defend at -4! Telegraphic Attack just seemed too automatic against the All-Out Attackers. I think I got this idea from the forums.

Weapon Defaults: Instead of defaulting a melee weapon skill from DX, you may default it from your best melee skill at the same penalty as DX. I feel like some fundamentals of footwork and body mechanics probably bleed over between melee weapon skills, in a way that isn't reflected by pure DX. In other words, I wouldn't feel comfortable handing a hatchet to a broadsword master and saying his training is totally inapplicable to wielding it effectively.

Alternate Strength Damage for GURPS

One of the holdovers from GURPS' early days is its peculiar Strength Damage Table.  It's a pure table lookup, with odd breakpoints and some effects that inform the game in unfortunate ways.  It's also one of the most-discussed systems for houserules, with many heavy hitters like tbone and even the GURPS Line Editor Sean Punch suggesting new ways to figure damage.

This is my own rewrite of the Damage Table, using a different progression for thrust and swing damage. Past ST 7, thrust damage increases by 1 step every 3 ST, and swing damage increases by 2 steps every 3 ST. A bonus is that there are no 'dead zones' in this progression, unlike RAW 7-8 or 27-28 or 31-32, where damage doesn't increase at all, giving you limited value for your 10 points.

Why bother?  By the book, swing damage increases too quickly, turning modestly strong characters into human guillotines who can ignore most low-tech armor as if it wasn't there.  Using Edge Protection rules (aka "Blunt Trauma and Edged Weapons" from Low-Tech p.102) helps with the armor problem a bit, but even so, swung edged weapons have so much power that they remain the go-to against targets in heavy armor, which is the exact opposite of what history shows us.

Additionally, at the high end of the RAW progression, swing damage tops out at 2d more than thrust damage, which doesn't make sense to me.  If the swung object is supposed to be a lever, it should multiply the effect of your ST, instead of adding a flat +2d whether you're Spider-Man or the Hulk.

Speaking of Supers, there's a lot more to be said about how to handle super levels of ST in GURPS (yes, another thoroughly discussed subject that I will nonetheless weigh in on).  I'll do that in another post.

RAW progression			modified progression
thr	sw	ST	thr	sw
1d-6	1d-5	1	1d-6	1d-5
1d-6	1d-5	2	1d-5	1d-5
1d-5	1d-4	3	1d-5	1d-4
1d-5	1d-4	4	1d-4	1d-4
1d-4	1d-3	5	1d-4	1d-3
1d-4	1d-3	6	1d-3	1d-3
1d-3	1d-2	7	1d-3	1d-2
1d-3	1d-2	8	1d-2	1d-2
1d-2	1d-1	9	1d-2	1d-1
1d-2	1d	10	1d-2	1d
1d-1	1d+1	11	1d-1	1d
1d-1	1d+2	12	1d-1	1d+1
1d	2d-1	13	1d-1	1d+2
1d	2d	14	1d	1d+2
1d+1	2d+1	15	1d	2d-1
1d+1	2d+2	16	1d	2d
1d+2	3d-1	17	1d+1	2d
1d+2	3d	18	1d+1	2d+1
2d-1	3d+1	19	1d+1	2d+2
2d-1	3d+2	20	1d+2	2d+2
2d	4d-1	21	1d+2	3d-1
2d	4d	22	1d+2	3d
2d+1	4d+1	23	2d-1	3d
2d+1	4d+2	24	2d-1	3d+1
2d+2	5d-1	25	2d-1	3d+2
2d+2	5d	26	2d	3d+2
3d-1	5d+1	27	2d	4d-1
3d-1	5d+1	28	2d	4d
3d	5d+2	29	2d+1	4d
3d	5d+2	30	2d+1	4d+1
3d+1	6d-1	31	2d+1	4d+2
3d+1	6d-1	32	2d+2	4d+2

RAW=Rules As Written

Ogrish Weapons for GURPS

A selection of weapons for larger (SM+1) combatants.  As my friend Greg says, "The bigger they are, the harder they hit."

The commentary below the table is specific to a campaign in which the Ogres of Loren'dil (see GURPS Banestorm) were brought to an alternate Earth, although these ogres are rather more intelligent and civilized than the exemplars from Yrth. 

Ogre Weapons

Melee Weapons
Weapon (Skill)	Damage	Reach	Parry	Cost	Weight	ST	Notes
Ball-and-Chain (Flail)	sw+5 cr	1,2	0U	$160	12 lbs	18	-4/-2 to be Parried/Blocked no Fencing parry
Fighting Knife (Knife)	sw-1 cut	C,1	-1	$80	2 lbs	9
	thr+1 imp	C,1	-1	-	-	-
Great Flail (Two-H Flail)	sw+6 cr	2,3*	0U	$200	16 lbs	20	-4/-2 to be Parried/Blocked no Fencing parry
Mancleaver (Broadsword)	sw+2 cut	1,2	0	$650	7 lbs	15	Cheap, includes DR 4 cup hilt
	thr+2 cr	C,1	0	-	-	-	Hilt Punch (uses Brawling or perk)
Ogre Spear (Spear)	thr+3 imp	1,2*	0	$80	8 lbs	15	Fine spear $240 for +1 damage
w/two hands	thr+5 imp	1-3*	0	-	-	14
Ogre Staff (Staff)	sw+3 cr	1-3	+2	$20	8 lbs	11
	thr+3 cr	1-3	+2	-	-	-
Polearm/Spear Butt Strike	sw+3 cr	1,2	0U	-	-	-	Uses Staff or perk
	thr+3 cr	1,2	0	-	-	-	Uses Staff or perk
Shield bash	thr cr	1	No	-	-	-
Spiked Axe (Axe/Mace)	sw+3 cut	1	0U	$240	10 lbs	18
	sw+2 imp	1	0U	-	-	-	Backspike, may get stuck (B405)
	thr+2 imp	1,2	0	-	-	-	Topspike
Throwing Mace (Axe/Mace)	sw+5 cr	1	0U	$40	10 lbs	18	Cheap
Throwing Mace, Small (Axe/Mace)	sw+3 cr	1	0U	$30	6 lbs	15	Cheap
Warglaive (Polearm)	sw+3 cut	2,3*	0U	$160	12 lbs	14
	thr+4 imp	1-3*	0	-	-	-

Missile Weapons
Weapon (Skill)	Damage	Acc	Range	Cost	Weight	ST	Bulk	Notes
Throwing Mace (Thrown Axe/Mace)	sw+5 cr	1	x0.33/x0.5	$40	10 lbs	18	-7	Cheap
Throwing Mace, Small (Thrown Axe/Mace)	sw+3 cr	1	x0.5/x1	$30	6 lbs	15	-5	Cheap

Ball-and-Chain - A favored weapon of stronger ogre warriors due to its devastating damage and difficulty to parry, often paired with a shield for defense.

Fighting Knife - Handy enough to serve in Close Combat, the great strength of an ogre can make even this modest implement a fight-ender.

Great Flail - With limited defensive options, this is a weapon for the well-armored, the experienced, or the foolish.  Its Reach of 3 can be a terrifying surprise for those unprepared for it, however.

Mancleaver - Human smiths are sometimes surprised how specific an ogre's request for an upsized broadsword with an enclosed hilt can get, not understanding that the çybyklamakynsan is a weapon with a considerable pedigree on Loren'dil.  A properly proportioned mancleaver of even Good quality ($1625) would make a fine presentation gift to an important ogre. 

Ogre Spear - Not every ogre has ST 18. This is an inexpensive weapon that can still do 1d+5 impaling damage at Reach 3 when wielded by a ST 14 ogre.

Polearm/Spear Butt Strike - The perk 'Weapon Adaptation (Butt Strike to Polearm/Spear)' comes in handy for this, especially if the campaign permits Extra Attack, but not the Multistrike enhancement (as I typically run).

Spiked Axe - A one-handed axe possessing both a backspike and a topspike, this weapon is often pointed to as an example of ogrish savagery.  However, in the hand of a skilled user it's surprisingly versatile, akin to a one-handed halberd, with the topspike used for thrusting at range or when in a defensive posture, and the backspike reserved for defeating armor or Hooking techniques.

Throwing Mace - An inexpensive mace or hammer, typically hurled at Range 2-3 just before closing to melee.

Warglaive - Formations of ogres are typically equipped with this, as its reach and power in ogrish hands make it difficult to counter.  Expert practitioners with Staff training and the Form Mastery perk (Martial Arts p.50) can be terrifying.

Feats for simple d20 play (TAFFT system)

There's A Feat For That (TAFFT) is a d20 variant, where Feats, gained every level, define both character abilities and many of the game mechanics.  I'm still struggling with exactly how to handle the idea of skills (inc. Rogue abilities and Notice checks), so this will probably see some revision.

Feats (v0.3)

General Feats

Action Dice: Twice per session, you can add a d6 to any hit, damage, or skill roll.

Expertise: You may opt to roll 2d10 instead of d20 for a single weapon or skill.

Finesse: Use your DEX bonus instead of STR for Melee attacks with Light weapons.

Improved Initiative: +4 Initiative.

Lucky: Once per session, reroll any hit, damage, or skill roll, and take the better roll. May be used on any of your rolls, or an enemy's attack or damage roll, but not enemy saving throws.

Quick: +5 ft Move (may exceed racial limit).

Rapid Reload: Reload times for crossbows reduced by one round.

Resistant: +3 divided among Saves as you like.

Self-Improvement: +1 to one Stat.

Skilled: Pick one from Arcana, Acrobatics, Athletics, Bluff, Diplomacy, History, Insight, Intimidation, Locks & Traps, Medicine, Nature, Notice, Religion, Stealth, Survival, or any Background.  You have +3 on any skill checks.

Veteran: +1 AC.

Cleric Feats

Armored Saint: Your temple provides you with plate armor and the training to use it.

Devout: Once per day, cast an additional spell.

Prophet: Wear no armor, Twice per day, cast an additional spell.

Fighter Feats

Armor Mastery: Armor penalties reduced by 5 ft Move, skill penalties halved.

Cleave: If you drop a foe, get a free attack on another within range.

Combat Reflexes: If an adjacent foe uses a missile weapon, casts a spell, or readies anything that isn't a weapon, you may take a free attack

Flanker: You and an ally both get +2 to hit when you stand on opposite sides of your target.

Heir: Start play with plate armor and a masterwork longsword (+1 damage).

Melee Aggro: +1 Melee Attack.

Missile Aggro: +1 Missile Attack.

Pole Fighter: +1 AC and damage with glaives, halberds, spears, or staffs when used two-handed.

Rage: Once/day, +4 STR, +4 hp, -2 AC for one encounter.

Rapid Shot: Two missile attacks per round at -3, no movement allowed. No crossbows.

Two-Weapon Fighting: Requires a light weapon in your off-hand. You get +1 to hit, even 'to hit' rolls hit w/the primary weapon, odds hit w/the off-hand weapon.

Weapon Specialist: +1 to hit and damage with your chosen weapon.

Mage Feats

Air Affinity: Attack target with blast of air. Target must make Fort save or Small creatures knocked prone, Medium creatures unable to approach.

Arcane Conduit: Cast touch spells to 10 ft with your staff.

Battlefield Adept: May use shortbows or light crossbows.

Cold Affinity: Shoot ray of cold for 1d3 damage at d20 + level + INT bonus at will.

Diviner: Detect Magic at will, active use only.

Earth Affinity: Invest 3 pebbles with elemental potency, +1 to hit, 1d6+1 damage.

Familiar: A small creature is your eyes and ears.

Fiat Lux: Flare or Light at will, only one Light active at a time.

Fire Affinity: Shoot fiery darts for 1d3 damage at d20 + level + INT bonus at will.

Ghost Hand: 5-pound telekinesis.

Illusionist: Dancing Lights, Ghost Sound, or Ventriloquism at will.

Versatile: one extra spell in your spell list.

Water Affinity: Breathe water for 1 x level hours/day.

Rogue Feats

Roll With Blow: Once per encounter, take half damage from any physical attack, and move d6+1 squares directly away from the enemy.

Tumble: On a turn when you move but do not attack, any successful attacks on you must reroll to confirm the hit.

There's A Feat For That (TAFFT) - an approach for d20 fantasy games

When I first heard that 3rd edition D&D was a thing, and that Feats would be one of the major features, I thought it was a brilliant idea.  Rangers, Cavaliers, and Barbarians could all just be Fighters who had chosen particular Feats to express their flavor of martial prowess, making it easier to shade between character classes and play the characters we want to play.  Alas, instead we retained all the class creep, and got new Classes and Prestige Classes as the defining feature of any given character.  Splatbooks reigned supreme.

I took my notion back to my lair like an old bone, and gnawed on it until I came up with the TAFFT system.  There are existing d20 systems that take a similar approach, True20 notably, and I probably need to take a look at ACKS (Adventurer Conqueror King System), but here's the basic idea:

Design Principles

1) This is D&D. Character classes, leveling up, polyhedral dice, fireball spells, etc. The goal is to have a very simple d20 system at its core, pulling in rules and complexity only when desired. A whole group of people should be able to create new 1st level characters in 30 minutes or less, and just start playing.

2) Four character classes only: Cleric, Fighter, Mage, Rogue.  All character concepts should be doable with those, in combination with what Feats you choose.  Multiclassing is allowed and encouraged.

3) There's A Feat For That - Do you want to be a barbarian who rages, an archery expert, a wizard who specializes in necromancy?  There's a feat for that.  By using Feats, you can customize your character to get just the character you want to play.  Feats are also where game mechanics lie dormant until needed. How does Flanking work?  It doesn't exist in the game until you take the Flanker feat - now you get a +2 bonus under certain conditions, and nobody else has to worry about it.  If you personally like Action Points (where you get to add some bonus dice to a roll that needs a bump), or a Luck mechanic for re-rolls, you can take that as a Feat and play that way.  The rules stay simple except when they come into play for your character's special abilities and your own favored style of play. Because feats provide so much definition for characters and game play, you get a Feat every time you level up.

4) Use the SRD, but sparingly.  For things like magic and equipment, it's useful to rely on the phenomenal resource that is the d20 SRD, but only as necessary.

Character Creation (v.0.2)

Roll for stats in order, best 3 out of 4d6 for each.

Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma

Swap any two stats to help play the class you want.

Choose race

Human: bonus feat

Dwarf: -1 Dex +1 Con

     Blindfighting

     Low-Light Vision

     Toughness

Elf: -1 Str +1 Dex

     Bow +1 to hit

     Hearing +2

     Speak w/Forest Creatures

Goblin: -2 Str +1 Dex +1 Con

     Missile Attacks +1

     Sneaky

Trollblooded: +1 Str -1 Wis +1 Con -2 Cha

     Low-Light Vision

     Magic Resistance

     Passes for human

     Smell +2

     Sunblind

Choose class

Cleric - Armor: Any but plate. Weapons: Any simple. Hit Dice: 1d8.
     Access to Divine magic.  Saves: +1 Fortitude, +1 Will.

Fighter - Armor: Any. Weapons: Any. Hit Dice: 1d10.
     +1 to all Attacks, Expanded feat selection for combat.  Saves: +1 Fortitude, +1 Reflex.

Mage - Armor: Cloth. Weapons: Dagger or staff. Hit Dice: 1d6.
     Access to Arcane magic.  Saves: +2 Will.

Rogue - Armor: Leather. Weapons: Sword, bow, and any simple. Hit Dice: 1d8.
     Thief skills and backstab ability.  Saves: +2 Reflex.

Calculate stat bonuses:

3: -4

4-5: -3

6-7: -2

8-9: -1

10-11: 0

12-13: +1

14-15: +2

16-17: +3

18: +4

Examples:  A 13 Strength gives a Strength bonus of +1, and 9 Charisma provides a Charisma bonus of -1.

Calculate secondary attributes:

Melee attack: Str bonus

Missile attack: Dex bonus

Hit Points: Roll class hit die three times, take best roll and add your Con bonus

AC: 10 + equipment bonuses + Dex bonus

Move: 30 ft, or as dictated by armor.

Dwarves max 20 ft, Goblins max 25 ft.

Saves:

     Fortitude: 10 + better of Str bonus or Con bonus

     Reflex: 10 + better of Int bonus or Dex bonus

     Will: 10 + better of Wis bonus or Cha bonus

Apply race/class bonuses

All classes apply modifiers to Saves. 

Race and class may affect attack bonuses as well.

Background/Profession

Pick 2 from the following list:

Alchemist, Blacksmith, Brewer, Carpenter, City, Cook, Desert, Farmer, Fisherman, Forest, Healer, Herbalist, Herder, Hunter, Jeweler, Magic, Mason, Merchant, Military, Miner, Mountains, Musician, Nobility, Nomad, Potter, Sailor, Scholar, Scout, Scribe, Sea, Servant, Squire, Steppes, Swamp, Temple, Underground, Weaver.

Notes: Dwarf must take Underground.

Elf must take Forest.

Cleric must take Temple.

Mage must take Magic.

Coming soon: Feats!

Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!

"But a small dark figure that none had observed sprang out of the shadows and gave a hoarse shout: Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu! An axe swung and swept back. Two Orcs fell headless. The rest fled." (Tolkien, The Two Towers)

A small selection of common dwarven melee weapons is presented below for your hewing pleasure. (These assume dwarves are SM 0, short for a human but broadly built, and serious melee combatants.  I can't bring myself to make dwarves SM -1, I think it makes them a little too comical.)

Dwarven Weapons

Melee Weapons
Weapon (Skill)	Damage	Reach	Parry	Cost	Weight	ST	Notes
Bearded Axe (Axe/Mace)	sw+2 cut	1	0	$250	4 lbs	11	Dwarven
Crow's Beak (Axe/Mace)	sw+3 cr	1	0	$700	6 lbs	13	Fine, Dwarven
	sw+2 imp	1	0	-	-	-	May get stuck (B405)
Dwarven Greataxe (Two-H Axe/Mace)	sw+4 cut	1,2*	0	$500	8 lbs	13	Dwarven
Dwarven Warhammer (Two-H Axe/Mace)	sw+4 cr	1,2*	0	$875	8 lbs	13	Fine, Dwarven
	sw+5 imp	1,2*	0	-	-	-	May get stuck (B405)
Tunnel Spear (Spear)	thr+3 imp	2,3*	0U	$420	5 lbs	11	Fine, Balanced (+1 to skill)
w/two hands	thr+4 imp	2,3*	0	-	-	10

For the Dwarven modifier, see GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 1, p.26.

Bearded Axe - The head of this axe extends down towards the haft somewhat, making it especially suitable for the Hook technique (Martial Arts, p.74).  May also be used two-handed for +1 damage.

Crow's Beak - A one-handed hammer with a backspike, may be used two-handed for +1 damage.

Dwarven Warhammer - Built using Low-Tech Companion 2 rules as a Warhammer with a Hammer Head (p.14).

Tunnel Spear - Dwarves are experts in holding tactical chokepoints against hordes of foes.  Even a small settlement may have a rack of these placed near gates and bridges, to ensure an advancing intruder pays for every foot in blood.  Its lower Min ST requirement than the typical warrior axe also means that those too young or old for the front line can usefully contribute to defense, often All-Out Attacking from the third rank.

Crossbows in GURPS (Low-Tech)

For a recent TL4 game, I wanted an array of crossbows available for purchase, broken down by ST and performance, with commensurate weight, cost, etc.  Thrust damage has breakpoints at odd-numbered ST values, so I skipped the even numbers.

Crossbows

Crossbows
Weapon	Damage	Acc	Range	Weight	Min ST	Eff ST	Draw ST	Bulk	Cost	Notes
Crossbow ST 9	1d+2 imp	3	180/225	5 lbs	7	9	9	-5	$125
Crossbow ST 11	2d-1 imp	3	220/275	6 lbs	7	11	11	-6	$150
Crossbow ST 13	2d imp	3	260/325	8 lbs	8	13	13	-7	$175
Crossbow ST 15	2d+1 imp	3	300/375	11 lbs	9	15	15	-8	$200
Composite Crossbow ST 15	2d+2 imp	4	375/450	9 lbs	8	15	15	-6	$1000	Includes Goat's Foot
Steel Crossbow ST 15	2d+2 imp	4	375/450	15 lbs	11	15	30	-7	$750
Steel Crossbow ST 17	3d-1 imp	4	425/510	19 lbs	12	17	34	-8	$850
Steel Crossbow ST 19	3d imp	4	475/570	25 lbs	13	19	38	-9	$950
Steel Crossbow ST 21	3d+1 imp	4	525/630	33 lbs	14	21	42	-10	$1050

Min ST - Lifting ST required to simply wield the crossbow's mass in combat, independent of its draw strength.

Eff ST - Strength of the crossbow for range and damage purposes.

Draw ST - Lifting ST required to draw the crossbow. Use one of the drawing mechanisms from Low-Tech p.79 to increase your effective Lifting ST.

---

Crossbow - A simple crossbow, with a wooden prod of ash, hazel, or yew.

Composite Crossbow - Has a nomad-style prod of laminated horn and sinew construction. This example includes a Goat's Foot drawing aid (Low-Tech p.79), allowing a man with Lifting ST 11+ to draw the crossbow while in the saddle.

Steel Crossbow - A steel prod can be much stronger, permitting higher tension and striking power, but cannot be drawn as far. This requires additional mechanical advantage to cock the crossbow.