Editing GURPS (section)

===Combat===
Combat in ''GURPS'' is organized in personal turns: i.e., every character gets a turn each [[second]], and during a character's turn he or she may take an action, such as attack or move. After all characters have taken their action, one second has elapsed. Free actions are simple actions that can be done at any time. Characters in a party have a set initiative that is entirely based upon their Basic Speed characteristic.<ref name="rpgnet3">{{Cite web |last=Chu-Carroll |first=Mark |date=2004-11-17 |title=GURPS Fourth Edition Characters Review |url=http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10646.phtml |access-date=2008-12-08 |website=website |publisher=RPGNet.com |type=review}}</ref>

There are two kinds of attacks: Melee (possibly with hand-to-hand weapons, or unarmed combat) and Ranged (bows, guns, thrown weapons, some Innate Attacks, etc.). Attacks made by a character are checked against their skill with the particular weapon they carry. For instance, if a character is using a pistol, as with any other skill, it is beneficial to have a high level in the [[Gun]]s skill. Like any other skill check, a player must roll equal to or less than the level of the skill to succeed. Failure means a miss, success scores a hit. Similarly, critical hits mean that the blow might inflict significantly more damage to its target; critical misses may lead to a rather unpleasant and unexpected event (such as dropping the weapon or hitting the wrong target). Attack modifiers are set by the GM when factoring in things like distance, speed and cover that make a successful strike more difficult.

After a successful attack, except in the case of a critical hit, the defender usually gets a chance to avoid the blow. This is called an Active Defense, and takes the form of a Dodge (deliberate movement out of the perceived path of the attack), Parry (attempt to deflect or intercept the attack with a limb or weapon), or Block (effort to interpose a shield or similar object between the attack and the defender's body). Unlike many RPG systems, an Active Defense is an unopposed check, meaning that in most cases, the success of an attack has no effect on the difficulty of the defense. Dodge is based on the Basic Speed characteristic, while Parry and Block are each based on individual combat skills, such as Fencing, Karate, or Staff for Parry, and Shield or Cloak for Block. A common criticism is that characters can achieve a relatively high Active Defense value, drawing out fights considerably. The only mechanic within the system to address this is the Feint action, which if successful will place the adversary in an unfavorable position, reducing their active defense against that character only, on the subsequent turn.

Skills, advantages, and equipment, can be combined to great effect. For example, a gunslinger from the Old West is facing a foe: 
* the Combat Reflexes advantage gives a +1 on Fast-Draw attempts and prevents the gunslinger from being stunned into inaction during a surprise attack; 
* a successful Fast-Draw(Pistol) skill roll grants the results of the Ready maneuver instantly; 
* the Gunslinger advantage grants the character the benefits of the Aim maneuver instantly; 
* the Dual-Weapon Attack(Pistol) technique allows the gunslinger to fire both his guns at once without the -4 penalties.
* the Ambidextrous advantage or the Off-Hand Weapon Training Technique eliminates the -4 penalty for the weapon in the "off" hand.
If the gunslinger lacked these advantages, skills, and techniques, then readying, aiming, firing, aiming again, and firing again would take at least 5 seconds. If the gunslinger lacked these traits and tried to shoot two pistols at once:
* it would take 1 second to ready the pistols
* the right hand pistol would be fired with a -4 penalty
* the "off" hand pistol would be fired with a -8 penalty
* both attacks would lack the accuracy bonus from the aiming maneuver.