GURPSよろず

Spinning (Attack)
Hard
Defaults: prerequisite skill-2, or -3 for a kick.
Prerequisite: Karate or any Melee Weapon skill; cannot exceed prerequisite skill.

This technique involves turning in a circle before attacking. You must specialize. Spinning Punch defaults to Karate- 2, and covers all forms of spinning hand and arm strikes. Spinning Kick defaults to Karate-3. Spinning Strike defaults to Melee Weapon-2, and you must specify the skill; e.g., Spinning Strike (Knife). All of these are special options for All-Out Attack or Committed Attack (pp. 99-100) – use the rules below instead of the normal ones for those maneuvers.
The goal behind spinning before attacking is to deceive your opponent. This might work on a less-skilled adversary, but a skilled fighter is likely to detect your ploy and defend more easily. To simulate this, roll a Quick Contest of Spinning Attack against your opponent’s best melee combat skill before you make your attack roll. If you win, you may subtract your margin of victory from your victim’s defense roll against the blow. If you lose, you “telegraph” your intentions and your foe may add his margin of victory to his defense! Thus, this move is risky . . . but it’s still common in tournaments and sport martial arts.
Next, make an attack roll against Spinning Attack. Your target may use any active defense, adjusted by the modifier determined in the Contest. This does add to the penalty for a feint, Deceptive Attack, etc. – a well-executed Spinning Attack can increase the defense penalty while a bad one can cancel it out (or worse). However, if you wish to try a Deceptive Attack, you must apply the penalty for that option to both your roll in the Contest and your attack roll.
As a Committed Attack, a Spinning Attack does normal damage for your punch, kick, or weapon. It leaves you at -3 on all defense rolls and unable to retreat. If you struck with a hand or a weapon, you can’t use it to parry. If you kicked, you can’t dodge at all. These penalties last until your next turn.
As an All-Out Attack, a Spinning Attack involves putting your full weight behind the blow, using an exaggerated spin (360° or more!), and/or a making a wide, looping attack. You’re at -2 to skill for both the Contest and your attack roll. However, your damage is at +2 or +1 per die, whichever is better. You have no defenses.
In either case, if you throw a Spinning Kick, balancing during the spin is especially difficult. If your kick misses or your foe successfully defends, the roll to avoid falling is against DX-2.
You can combine Spinning Punch with Elbow Strike (p. 71), Exotic Hand Strike (p. 71), Hammer Fist (p. 73), or Lethal Strike (p. 85). Likewise, you can mix Spinning Kick with Lethal Kick (p. 85). The GM may permit other techniques, and may allow armed techniques to work with Spinning Strike. See Using Techniques Together (p. 64) to find effective skill level.