GURPS is an elegant system that models most things well, but one place I find it lacking regards the mechanic for fatigue points. Let me explain.
If you watch a boxing match, the fighters don’t remain engaged for the entire match. They engage; throw punches; back off; circle around; re-engage; clinch, etc. You get the point. And even with all that dallying, by the time they return to their corners between rounds, trainers must wipe the sweat off and re-hydrate. Real people cannot maintain elevated levels of physical confrontation for lengthy periods of time without succumbing to exhaustion.
To simulate this in my games, I employ a house rule according to which combat maneuvers cost fatigue points, extra effort maneuvers cost extra fatigue points, and Evaluate and Do Nothing maneuvers replenish fatigue points. I outline the system below.
Maneuver Costs
Melee FP Cost | Ranged FP Cost | ||
Attack | -1 FP | Attack | -0 FP |
All-Out-Attack | -2 FP | All-Out-Attack | -0 FP |
Grapple | -1 FP | N/A | N/A |
Move | -1 FP | Move | -1 FP |
Move and Attack | -2 FP | Move and Attack | -1 FP |
Sprint | -2 FP | Sprint | -2 FP |
Change Posture | -1/level | Change Posture | -1/level |
Fast-Draw | -1 FP | Quick-Readying | -1 FP |
Active Defense | -1 FP | Active Defense | -1 FP |
Free Maneuvers
Melee Maneuvers | FP Cost | Ranged Maneuvers | FP Cost |
Aim | N/A | *Aim | -0 FP |
Ready | -0 FP | *Ready | -0 FP |
Step | -0 FP | Step | -0 FP |
All-Out-Defense | -0 if untriggered; otherwise, each active defense costs -1 FP. | All-Out-Defense | -0 if untriggered; otherwise, each active defense costs -1 FP. |
Concentrate | -0 FP | Concentrate | -0 FP |
Critical Success | Any maneuver on which you score a critical success costs 0 FPs | Critical Success | Any maneuver on which you score a critical success costs 0 FPs |
*Some muscle-powered ranged attacks (e.g., bows) cost FP to ready and to maintain. If so, -1 FP per round of aim.
Recovering Fatigue In-Battle
To better simulate the ebb and flow of a real battle, where participants will break off to catch their breath, players should roll HT at the end of any round where their character took a Do Nothing, Evaluate, or Wait (untriggered) maneuver and did not execute an active defense. On a success, the character recovers his margin of success in fatigue points (minimum 1). Characters with the Fit advantage enjoy a +1 to their HT rolls; players with the Very Fit advantage enjoy +2 to their HT rolls.