Low ST struggles, or how do I halfling?

Low ST struggles, or how do I halfling?

Several months ago, I hosted a fantasy game where the PCs were goblins. While in D&D a -2 racial penalty to Strength might not be that significant, SM-2 people in GURPS are expected to start at around ST 5, and that's very significantly changes how you should approach combat. That game's purpose was exactly that - explore the combat capabilities of low-ST low-SM characters.

Ever had a player coming from a D&D background decide to play a halfling in GURPS and be surprised at how inept the character is in combat? I have. To be fair, making the most out of your small size in combat does require some system mastery. I will describe some of my observations from that goblin game and add some other thoughts.

First, just a reminder: ST 5 gives us thrust damage of 1d-4 and swing damage of 1d-3. KYOS turns that into 1d-7 and 1d-5, respectively, absolutely screwing you over. I would not use KYOS with small characters.

Let's see what melee weapons will give us the highest damage bonuses for both swing and thrust.

One-handed swing weapons: mace and morningstar, both doing sw+2 crushing damage at SM-2, but requiring ST 6. There is no damage difference between ST 5 and ST 6, so a swing with such a weapon will deal 1d-1 crushing damage. That is an average of 2.5 damage, which is a major wound for an HP 5 opponent. Of course, you could take a cutting or impaling weapon, such as an axe or a pick that deal sw+1. The average of 1.5 damage translates into 2.25 injury for cutting and 3 injury for impaling. In my opinion, this is a situation where every point of extra damage matters, so maces that often look underwhelming for normal character, can definitely work here. Also, remember that SM-2 weapons are four times cheaper! So, a mace only costs $13, and a morningstar costs $80. An SM-2 pick costs $18, and the Fine modifier is only +2 CF for impaling-only melee weapons. A fine pick will cost only $54 and deal sw+2 impaling, and that's very good in your situation. However, picks tend to get stuck, and with your ST it will be difficult to pull it out. A fine SM-2 axe costs $130 and deals sw+2 cutting damage. Also, if you are expecting to fight unarmored foes and not parry often, consider obsidian weapons (p. B275) - cutting and impaling weapons get a +1 damage bonus, but the cost actually decreases (if you're above TL1, of course).

One-handed thrust weapons: the highest you can get is thrust+2 impaling with a trident or a pata. That is equivalent to an SM-2 pick described above, but is much more expensive. If you are using a short blade, consider using Reversed Grip (p. MA111) for a +1 to damage.

Two-handed swing weapons: the highest you can get from a two-handed axe/mace is swing+3 crushing (maul - ST 7/$20; gada - ST 8/$20; tetsubo - ST 7/$20), swing+2 cutting (axe - ST 5/$13; great axe - ST 6/$20; many others), and swing+2 impaling (warhammer - ST 6/$20). And many of them become unready after attacking - that's not cool. The most expensive sword (thrusting greatsword, sw+2 cut) costs only $225. That's still expensive. But wait - I am forgetting a large weapon category - the polearms! If you're looking for sheer damage potential, take a look at the halberd - swing+3 cutting, swing+2 impaling, and thrust+2 impaling, with Reach 1-2*, Unbalanced parry, unready on a swinging attack, ST 7, and only $38. A fine polearm would cost $380, but an obsidian polearm is likely to be only $15, improving damage by 1. ST 7 gives us swing 1d-2, so a normal-quality halberd will deal 1d+1 cutting damage. Average of 4.5 damage/6.75 injury. A fine/obsidian one will deal on average 5.5 damage/8.25 injury. If you do not like the weapon becoming unready, consider the dueling halberd or pollaxe. They deal 1 less damage and have only Reach 1 though.

Two-handed thrust weapons: most of these deal thr+1 or thr+2 impaling damage - from the polearms to simple spears. The spear only requires ST 5 and costs $10, so a fine spear that deals thr+3 costs only $30 - that's a steal! That's 1d-1 impaling damage, which is okay, I guess. I should also note that a SM-2 pike deals thrust+2 impaling at Reach 2-3*, requires ST 6, and costs only $20.

Now that we covered some melee weapons, let's remember some special combat rules regarding such size differences.

1. When you fight larger foes, you add a bonus to your melee attack rolls equal to your size difference, up to the maximum of +4. That means the if you're a SM-2 halfling fighting a SM+0 human, you attack at +2, and that's nothing to sneeze at. This almost nullifies the vitals hit location penalty, something you should target often! Also, you are more difficult to hit.

2. When fighting humans and other upright SM+0 beings, rules for Combat at Different Levels (p. B402) come into effect, since you are three feet apart in height. The human has -2 to hit the feet or legs, and +1 to hit the head (skull, face, or eyes) or neck. You, on the other hand, have +2 to hit the feet or legs, and -2 to hit the head. These modifiers are in addition to normal hit location penalties. Also, you are at -1 to any active defense, while the upper fighter is at +1 to his active defenses. If you are using a Reach 2 weapon, the enemy does not get a +1 to his active defenses.

    This means that attacking the head is difficult for you. Neck is not part of the head though. It is also easier for you to target legs and feet - locations that usually are not as heavily armored as torso and head.

3. When fighting SM+0 enemies, you really should not parry. Your weapons are four times lighter than your enemy's - parrying is way too risky. Consider dodging.

4. Slams are bad for you. If you get knocked down when an SM+0 human slams you, he gets to trample you for free. However, the extra bonus damage from Stop Thrusts (p. B366) might be massive for you.

5. Do you have FP that you do not know how to use? Use them on the Mighty Blows extra effort option. A +2 bonus to damage is huge (some would say abnormally huge for such damage values) in your situation. And even a +1 bonus from a Committed Attack can make a big difference. All-Out Attack (Strong) sometimes might be good as well.

6. If you're using Accumulated Wounds, you are much better off, since you do not need to make one powerful attack to cripple an opponent's limb.

7. It's easier for you to hit the larger figher's legs and feet, so why not attack Joints and Arteries (p. MA137)? It will be much easier to cripple a limb or extremity that way and bring down your foe for a finishing strike.

8. Crushing weapons usually have a larger damage bonus, so if your GM allows you to target vitals with them (p. MA137), you should consider that option.

9. Don't get grappled. If you get grappled, you're screwed. If you feel that you will get grappled, have a backup non-crushing Reach C weapon to at least somehow damage the opponent instead of being completely useless.

10. Use grappling yourself! However, it is important to remember that per p. B370, if the enemy's ST is more than twice that of someone grappling it, its puny attacker merely counts as extra encumbrance. Such an insignificant opponent can’t prevent it from moving away, and may not even impose any penalties!

11. Striking ST is your friend. As far as I recall, it's not even unrealistic for an SM-2 character to have ~4 levels of Striking ST. Remember that it not only lets you deal more damage, but it also allows you to wield heavier weapons. If you take the Giant Weapons perk, you might even use big boy weapons for some extra damage and Reach.

12. Armor is cheap for you. Get yourself some DR. Some people say that low-SM armor giving the same DR is unrealistic, and there are multiple armor scaling rulesets in GURPS. As far as I know, scaling armor down decreases its DR in DF, but not in LTC2.

13. Have friends. If you have another SM-2 friend who grapples your foe, preventing him from moving, and you hack away at him in close combat, you're doing a good job.

14. Ranged weapons are good. Crossbows, woomeras, atlatls, incendiary blowpipes - those can do a great deal of damage.

15. Magic/psionic/other powers. But that's very game-dependant, so I really shouldn't talk about that. In my goblin game, the druid PC was casting a large area Rain of Stones that crippled both enemies and friends alike. That was fun.

Conclusion

If you are playing a small, weak character, do not expect to be a combat powerhouse - you get what you paid for. But there are still some things you can do to mitigate your weaknesses. Size differences create many interesting combat situations that are fun to explore in-game, often requiring players to think and play carefully.