COMBAT PERKS p.4-5
These are minor advantages for veteran warriors. Regardless of the campaign’s limit on perks, it’s recommended that the GM limit fighters to one combat perk per 20 points in combat, military, and/or police skills, and then allow one extra perk per 10 points spent on the skills and techniques of a combative character template, fighting style, or similar abilities package that offers combat perks. Combat-effective perks from other categories ―― notably Shticks (pp. 14-15), Skill Perks (pp. 15-17), and Unusual Background Perks (pp. 20-21) ―― count as combat perks for this purpose.
For further details, see GURPS High-Tech (which discusses firearms-related perks) and GURPS Martial Arts (which defines “fighting styles”).
Acrobatic Feints p.5
You’ve practiced using gymnastics to catch enemies offguard.
You may use your Acrobatics skill to feint and may improve the Feint (Acrobatics) technique. The GM may allow similar perks for other noncombat skills: Dancing Feints for Dancing, Sexy Feints for Sex Appeal, and so on.
Acrobatic Kicks p.5
You’ve learned to kick as a natural extension of flips, jumps, and spins. Roll against Acrobatics-2 to hit with a kick. Kicking techniques can likewise default to Acrobatics. Acrobatic kicks don’t receive Brawling or Karate damage bonuses, however.
As with Acrobatic Feints, above, other skills may have related perks; e.g., Dancing Kicks for Dancing.
Akimbo*† p.5
You’re not restricted by having two hands full of weapons.
You can open doors, reload, and so forth without putting anything down. This doesn’t help you fight using a weapon in either hand ―― take Ambidexterity (p. B39), Dual-Weapon Attack (p. B230), and/or Off-Hand Weapon Training (pp. 16- 17) for that. You must specialize by one-handed weapon skill.
Armor Familiarity†‡ p.5
You’re accustomed to fighting in armor. This perk comes in levels. Each level lets you ignore -1 in encumbrance penalties to attack or parry with Judo, Karate, or a fencing skill. For instance, two levels mean you have no penalty up to Medium encumbrance, -1 at Heavy, and -2 at Extra-Heavy. You must specialize by skill: Armor Familiarity (Judo), Armor Familiarity (Rapier), etc.
Armorer’s Gift† p.5
You’ve practiced assembly and disassembly drills on a firearm until you can do it in your sleep. Roll against the relevant Armoury, Beam Weapons, Gunner, Guns, or Liquid Projector specialty to accomplish this in record time: 10 seconds for a handgun, 30 for a long arm (e.g., rifle), or 60 for a support weapon (e.g., rocket launcher). Conditions are unimportant ―― you can do this upside down, blindfolded, underwater, etc. You also get +2 on rolls to clear malfunctions (p. B407).
You must specialize by weapon skill.
Biting Mastery p.5
You’ve learned a highly developed body of effective bites for close-quarters use. You may roll against Karate to attack with a bite and add its damage bonus to biting damage.
Clinch† p.5
You’ve integrated limited grappling moves into your Boxing, Brawling, or Karate skill ―― choose one. Whenever you grapple a standing opponent’s head, neck, or torso (only), use your striking skill for the attack roll. This is rarely worth the point if you already know a grappling skill!
Combat Vaulting*† p.5
You can use a pole weapon to aid balance and make impressive vaults in combat. To benefit from this perk, you must first take a Ready maneuver to grip your weapon properly. After that, you may either add (Reach - 1) to combat uses of Acrobatics and Jumping, or add Reach to vertical or horizontal Jumping distance ―― choose each turn. Returning to a fighting grip requires another Ready; learn Form Mastery (below) to make this a free action after a stunt. You must specialize by Reach 2+ pole weapon: Combat Vaulting (Halberd), Combat Vaulting (Long Spear), Combat Vaulting (Quarterstaff), etc.
Cotton Stomach* p.5
You’ve learned to catch attackers’ hands and feet using your abdominal muscles (or rolls of fat!). Once per turn, you can attempt a standard unarmed parry against a punch or a kick to your torso, but using your body instead of a limb. Success lets you use a follow-up technique capable of trapping an attacker ―― e.g., Arm Lock ―― “hands-free.” This is a cinematic combat version of Hands-Free (p. 16).
Dirty Fighting p.5
You’re talented at fighting dishonestly. You get +1 on success rolls for Dirty Tricks (p. B405) and similar improvised combat deceptions. The GM may extend this bonus to any feint or attack made before combat begins, or the first illegal blow you make under formal tournament conditions, if he feels that it represents a real “sucker punch” rather than a free combat bonus.
Drunken Fighting* p.5
You’ve mastered the mythical art of fighting while intoxicated (see pp. B439-440). When you’re tipsy or drunk (p. B428), treat the -1 or -2 to DX as a +1 or +2 bonus in a fight.
Penalties to IQ and self-control rolls apply normally!
Dual Ready† p.5
You can use a single Ready maneuver to draw a weapon with either hand. Specialize by weapon combination in left hand/right hand order; e.g., Dual Ready (Axe/Pick) lets you ready an axe in your left hand and a pick in your right. This is mostly redundant if you can Fast-Draw those weapons ―― but not every weapon allows Fast-Draw.
Exotic Weapon Training† p.5
Certain weapons have a built-in skill penalty due to their unusual balance relative to other weapons used with the same skill. You’ve trained enough with such a weapon that you no longer suffer this penalty. You must specialize by weapon; e.g., Exotic Weapon Training (Three-Part Staff) to avoid -1 to Two- Handed Flail skill for the three-part staff (see GURPS Martial Arts).
This is a combat form of Exotic Equipment Training (p. 9).
Focused Fury* p.5
Unlike most fighters, you can combine Mighty Blows (p. B357) with All-Out Attack (Strong), improving its damage bonus to the higher of +2 per die or a flat +3. You can also do this with the Committed Attack (Strong) maneuver from GURPS Martial Arts, raising its damage bonus to the better of +1 per die or a flat +2. Either use costs 1 FP per attack.
Form Mastery† p.5
When using a weapon that works with multiple skills, you must normally specify the skill you’re using once, at the start of your turn. You’ve practiced fluid shifts between forms and can change skills repeatedly, during your turn. For instance, you could start your turn using a spear with the Staff skill, switch to the Spear skill to attack, and then return to Staff for parrying. You must specialize by weapon: Form Mastery (Naginata), Form Mastery (Spear), etc.
Grip Mastery† p.6
Switching between one- and two-handed grips, or a regular grip and the Defensive Grip in GURPS Martial Arts, usually takes a Ready maneuver. You’ve practiced until this has become second nature. You can do either grip change (or both) as a free action once on your turn, before or after your maneuver.
For instance, you could make a one-handed katana cut and end your turn in a two-handed Defensive Grip. Next turn, you could shift to a regular two-handed grip and attack. You must specialize by weapon; e.g., Grip Mastery (Katana).
Ground Guard p.6
You know a body of tactics for use when you’re lying faceup, lying face-down, or crawling and your opponent is also in any of those postures. In that situation only, you get +1 in all grappling Contests ―― pins, chokes, attempts to break free, etc. If your foe knows Ground Guard, too, your bonuses cancel out.
Huge Weapons†‡ p.6
You can use weapons that would normally be too large for your SM or ST. There are two specialties:
● Huge Weapons (SM): Add +1 to effective SM for the sole purpose of determining what weapons are “oversized” for you.
● Huge Weapons (ST): Add +1 to ST for the sole purpose of avoiding penalties for insufficient ST to use weapons. This never affects damage!
You may take either or both twice, for double the benefit.
“Big hands” is as likely an explanation as training; thus, this perk isn’t specialized by skill or weapon.
Improvised Weapons† p.6
You’ve practiced fighting with everyday items. These weapons might be improvised for others but they’re familiar to you. Ignore skill penalties (only) when wielding them. You must specialize by combat skill. You can learn Improvised Weapons (Brawling) or Improvised Weapons (Karate) to use improvised fist loads effectively.
Iron Body Parts*† p.6
You’ve toughened a body part through exotic exercises. This provides resistance to injury ―― either a bonus to resist harm from breaks and locks, or DR against strikes ―― and the right to buy optional abilities. Details depend on the body part, each of which is its own specialty:
● Iron Arms:
You have +3 to ST and HT rolls to resist injury from Arm Lock, Wrench Arm, and the like. You may optionally purchase DR 1 or 2 (Partial, Arms, -20%; Tough Skin, -40%) [2 or 4] or Striker (Crushing; Limb, Arm, -20%) [4].
● Iron Hands‡:
You have DR 1 (Partial, Hands, -40%; Tough Skin, -40%) [1]. Once you’ve acquired this perk, you may elect to buy a second level of DR [1] and/or Blunt Claws [3].
● Iron Legs:
You have +3 to ST and HT rolls to resist injury from Leg Lock, Wrench Leg, and similar techniques, and may optionally acquire DR 1 or 2 (Partial, Legs, -20%; Tough Skin, -40%) [2 or 4].
● Iron Neck:
You have +3 to ST and HT rolls to resist injury from chokes, strangles, and Neck Snaps, and may optionally buy DR 1 or 2 (Partial, Neck, -50%; Tough Skin, -40%) [1 or 2].
Naval Training p.6
You’ve trained at fighting on a rocking ship or boat. You may ignore the -2 to attack and -1 to defend for bad footing under those circumstances.
Neck Control† p.6
You’re adept at striking from the clinch. You must specialize by unarmed striking skill. Whenever you’ve grappled a standing opponent’s head, neck, or torso (only), you get +1 to hit when you strike that foe with your skill.
One-Armed Bandit*† p.6
You can operate a lever- or pump-action long arm onehanded and without changing your grip. The gun’s RoF becomes 1. Roll against the appropriate Guns specialty before each shot. Failure wastes your turn; treat it as a Do Nothing maneuver. Critical failure means an immediate roll on the Critical Miss Table (p. B556)! You must specialize by Guns skill.
Pants-Positive Safety* p.6
You can carry a loaded, cocked firearm shoved through your waistband without any risk of accidental discharge ―― even if you leave the safety off!
Peg-Leg Fighting* p.6
□Prerequisite: Lame.
You’ve developed fighting moves that exploit the lurching gait caused by your Lame disadvantage (p. B141). You suffer the usual effects of Crippled Legs or Missing Legs, but you may sideslip as an alternative to retreating, moving a yard to either side instead of away ―― for you, staggering off to the side is as effective as retreating! Moreover, your All-Out Attacks are wildly unpredictable and give opponents -1 to defend.
Pistol-Fist*† p.6
You can roll against Beam Weapons (Pistol) or Guns (Pistol) ―― you must specialize ―― to pistol-whip people, and can parry melee attacks at (firearms skill/2) + 3.
Power Grappling p.7
You’re adept at applying force precisely when wrestling.
Except when rolling to hit or for an active defense, you may opt to shift normally DX-based grappling rolls to ST. Moreover, whenever you make a ST roll that usually enjoys a ST bonus from Sumo Wrestling or Wrestling ―― e.g., the roll to break free ―― you may waive your bonus and attempt a ST-based Judo, Sumo Wrestling, or Wrestling roll instead.
Quick-Sheathe† p.7
You’ve practiced holstering or sheathing your weapon quickly. A successful Fast-Draw roll shaves one second off the time needed to stow your weapon, reducing it from two seconds to one in most cases. Specialties match those for Fast- Draw (p. B194): Quick-Sheathe (Knife), Quick-Sheathe (Pistol), etc.
Quick-Swap† p.7
You’ve perfected the art of juggling a one-handed weapon between hands. Shifting a weapon to an empty receiving hand normally demands a Ready maneuver, but becomes a free action with this perk. Swapping two weapons between full hands normally takes two Ready maneuvers, but requires just one with Quick-Swap. You can use this perk once per turn, on your turn.
You must specialize by one-handed weapon skill: Quick- Swap (Pistol), Quick-Swap (Rapier), etc. If two different weapons are involved, you need this perk for both skills.
Rapid Retraction† p.7
You punch or kick so quickly that it’s difficult for opponents to trap your limb. You get +1 on all rolls to avoid such techniques as Arm Lock and Leg Grapple when they follow an enemy parry. You must specialize in Rapid Retraction (Punches) or Rapid Retraction (Kicks). The GM may allow Rapid Retraction (Bites) for nonhumans.
Razor Kicks p.7
You can hold a shuriken, straight razor, or tiny knife between your toes while kicking barefoot, enabling your kick to inflict thrust-1 cutting damage, plus bonuses for unarmed combat skill. A special variant is available if you have High- Heeled Heroine (p. 14):
High-Heeled Hurt*: You can kick with high-heeled footwear, dealing thrust-1 large piercing damage, plus unarmed skill bonuses.
Reach Mastery† p.7
Changing Reach with certain long weapons covered by the Kusari, Polearm, Spear, Two-Handed Axe/Mace, Two-Handed Flail, or Whip skill requires a Ready maneuver. You’ve practiced until this has become second nature. You can change Reach as a free action once on your turn, before or after your maneuver. You must specialize by weapon; e.g., Reach Mastery (Glaive).
Sacrificial Parry† p.7
You’re adept at protecting less-capable or exposed allies.
You can sacrifice a parry defense to parry an attack on an ally standing beside you within your weapon’s Reach. You must specialize by melee combat skill.
Secret Styles*‡ p.7
You can make your fighting moves more effective by shouting out their names before executing them: “Dragon’s Claw,” “Eagle’s Beak,” etc. Doing so before an attack gives your foe -1 to defend against it, while doing this before an active defense gives you +1 to defend. If attacker and defender both do this, the modifiers cancel out. You may use each Secret Style perk just once per battle.
Shield-Wall Training p.7
You’ve drilled extensively at fighting from behind a shield wall. You can sacrifice your block defense to block an attack on an ally standing beside you. Furthermore, you may ignore the -2 to attack when holding a large shield (p. B547).
Shoves and Tackles† p.7
You’ve trained at using a melee weapon to press and overbear the enemy. Whenever you make an armed shove or slam ―― whether a shield rush (p. B372) or one of the long-weapon options in GURPS Martial Arts ―― add a damage bonus similar that which Sumo Wrestling gives unarmed shoves and slams: +1 per die at skill DX+1, or +2 per die at DX+2 or better. You must specialize by Melee Weapon skill.
Special Setup† p.7
Certain techniques require a specific “setup” before execution.
You’ve learned an alternative setup. Your specialty must name one technique and spell out the change. For instance, if you can use Arm Lock after a Karate parry instead of after a Judo parry, you have Special Setup (Karate Parry > Arm Lock).
Strongbow p.7
You’ve learned how best to draw a heavy bow. If you know Bow at DX+1, you can shoot a bow of your ST+1 instead of your ST. Bow at DX+2 or better lets you use a bow of your ST+2. You need a strong bow to see range and damage improvements; there’s no effect when shooting a bow of your ST or less.
Similar perks may exist for weapons that require a minimum ST to cock rather than to draw or shoot. For instance:
● Crossbow Finesse:
You’ve learned to optimize leverage when cocking a crossbow. If you know Crossbow at DX+1, add +1 to ST for the sole purpose of cocking crossbows. If you have it at DX+2 or better, add +2.
Style Familiarity† p.7-8
Style Familiarity means you’ve studied and/or practiced a fighting style; for the full ramifications, see GURPS Martial Arts. Paying a point to be familiar with a style gives the following benefits:
● You can acquire the style’s combat perks, learn its cinematic skills (provided that you have Trained by a Master or Weapon Master), improve its techniques whenever you have the points, and in some cases buy “optional traits” that are generally off-limits to PCs. For that one style, Style Familiarity serves as a global Unusual Background perk (p. 20) for all of these things.
● You’re familiar with the style’s culture and don’t suffer the -3 for lack of Cultural Familiarity when using such skills as Connoisseur (Weapons), Games, Savoir-Faire (Dojo), or Teaching to interact with co-stylists.
● In most settings, you have the equivalent of a 1-point Claim to Hospitality (p. B41) with a school or an instructor.
● If your opponent has studied one or more styles and you have Style Familiarity with them all, you may reduce the defense penalty from his feints and Deceptive Attacks by -1.
You’re aware of his styles’ tricks and tactics!
Sure-Footed† p.8
Y ou’ve studied low, stable stances for fighting on unfavorable ground. This lets you ignore the -2 to attack and -1 to defend for a specific type of bad footing:
●Sure-Footed (Ice):
Frozen puddles, lakes, etc. ―― and waxed floors!
●Sure-Footed (Sand):
Beach or desert.
●Sure-Footed (Slippery):
Mud, oil, and blood (but not grappling a slippery opponent).
●Sure-Footed (Snow):
Snow, loose or packed.
●Sure-Footed (Uneven):
Rocks, corpse piles, etc.
●Sure-Footed (Water):
Water no more than waist-deep.
The GM may allow others. See, for example, High-Heeled Heroine (p. 14) and Naval Training (p. 6).
Sure-Footed doesn’t aid DX in general, or Move. For that, buy Terrain Adaptation (p. B93).
Teamwork† p.8
You’ve practiced fighting in a team. To use Teamwork, everyone in the squad must take a Ready maneuver to “form up.” After that, the entire group acts at the same point in the combat sequence as its slowest member. On the team’s collective turn, each member may choose his actions freely. The sole requirement is that after everyone in the original formation has taken his turn, they’re all still adjacent to one another (in adjoining hexes). If anyone gets separated, the team must form up again ―― with or without the straggler.
A fighter who’s formed-up may:
● Brace a teammate in front of him and within a yard, adding 1/5 (round down) of his ST or HP, as applicable, to his ally’s score when his friend resists a slam (p. B371), executes a shove (p. B372), or suffers knockback (p. B378). This is a free action.
● Feint and transfer the benefits to another teammate who can reach the same foe.
● Ignore the -2 to attack enemies in close combat with teammates (p. B392).
●Sacrifice a parry or a block to defend a teammate behind him from a long weapon or missile that passes within a yard (through his hex).
You must specialize in working with a particular small group (e.g., an adventuring party). Only those with the same specialty can form up and enjoy these benefits.
Trademark Move† p.8
A Trademark Move is a prescription for a full turn’s worth of combat actions. Write down every detail when you buy it; e.g., “All-Out Attack (Strong) using Broadsword, for 2d+3 cutting, thrown as a Rapid Strike with a chop to the neck, at skill 13, followed by a Deceptive slash at the torso giving -2 defenses, at skill 14.” Damage and attack rolls can improve with ST, DX, and skill, but all weapons, maneuvers, combat options, and hit locations remain fixed. In return for committing a point to such a specific move, you’re at +1 on all skill rolls made to execute it exactly as written ―― no substitutions.
A Trademark Move must be distinctive ―― no “Attack with Broadsword to torso.” The GM is free to forbid one that isn’t!
Unarmed Parry† p.8
You’ve adapted armed parrying motions to the empty hand.
This lets you use a Melee Weapon parry ―― unmodified by a weapon’s Parry stat ―― as your unarmed parry. You’re at -3 against non-thrusting weapons and risk hand injury if you fail; see Parrying Unarmed (p. B376). You must specialize by Melee Weapon skill; Unarmed Parry (Rapier) is most common, and used while wearing a mail glove. If you also want to strike, learn Boxing, Brawling, or Karate instead.
Weapon Adaptation† p.8
You’ve adapted the moves used with one group of melee weapons to another class of weapons. This lets you wield the weapons covered by one weapon skill using a different skill and its techniques, with all of the benefits and drawbacks of that skill, provided the replacement skill defaults to the usual one at no worse than -4 and uses the same number of hands.
Each adaptation is a separate perk; e.g., Weapon Adaptation (Shortsword to Smallsword) lets you use the Smallsword skill to fight when equipped with a Shortsword weapon ―― complete with fencing parries, superior retreats, and encumbrance penalties.
In a cinematic campaign, the GM may permit any adaptation, even Knife to Halberd. He might also allow adaptation of Reach C weapons to unarmed skills ―― e.g., Knife to Karate ―― complete with unarmed damage bonuses.