"I'm gonna be doing this [starts revolving arms] and if you get hit, it's your own fault!" -- Bart Simpson, The Simpsons, season 6 episode 8.
All-Out Attack is a maneuver that sacrifices Defenses to make a more accurate or more powerful attack. Strong Attack or Determined Attack or Double or Long bonus. It gets just as much move as All-Out Defense, except it has to be forward.
This is assumed to be melee, see All-Out Attack (Ranged) for non-melee equivalent.
Quick Reference[]
- Movement: You may move up to half your Move, but you can only move forward.
- Active Defense: You may make no active defenses at all from the point you take this maneuver until your next turn. If someone attacks you after you make an All-Out attack, all you can do is hope he misses – you can’t dodge, parry, or block.
the Not Vice Versa rule[]
This has been present since ClassicB105:
- You must move first and then attack - not vice versa.
4eB385 does reprint that, but the intro to the maneuver at B365 does not highlight it, so it is VERY easy to overlook.
the Round Up and Whichever Is More rules[]
Classic's Advanced Combat had a benefit lacking in Basic Combat:
- move up to two hexes (or half your movement, whichever is more) forward.
- You may ignore bodies on the ground and bad footing!
B107 reiterated that on the right Costs for Movement part which introduced movement points. "Use the following costs only when you choose the Move maneuver. For other maneuvers, "cost" does not matter."
Tactical Combat in 4e changed this so that costs COULD matter
- If you choose to move forward, you may move up to two hexes or expend movement points equal to half your Move (round up), whichever is more.
Here bodies/footing still would not matter if using "two hexes", only if exploring the potential for "movement points" to move 3 or more.
B365 does not highlight these details as B385 does, so those whose impression relies solely on the former would not know which direction to round "half move" (for example: rounding the usual move 5 from 2.5 up to 3 and not down to 2) and also about the 2-yard minimum which applies.
The WIM rule also appears to over-ride B367 which states "He can move up to half his Move if he chose an All-Out Attack or All Out Defense", which doesn't highlight the faster-movement benefit AOA has over AOD in many situations.
The WIM minimum is especially relevant for creatures with Move 2 (an All-Out Attack has the same distance as Move or Move and Attack) and even moreso for creatures with Move 1, where AOA actually has SUPERIOR distance to ANY OTHER MANEUVER.
The "two hexes" minimum is not mentioned for any other maneuver: "Move" and "Move and Attack" are simply afforded Movement Points, as is All-Out Defence (although B385 does helpfully note that it too, rounds up)
The "two hexes" minimum is a HUGE advantage which can make AOA faster for forward movement than Move/M+A even in situations of Move 3 creatures, due to how Movement Points work. Move 2 is tied with AOA (two hexes) only using the basic "Forward: 1 movement point per hex." cost.
When taking into account other penalties however is when WIM really shines. Certain situations increase Movement Point costs which can limit the number of hexes moved, since more MP must be spent on the first hex. For example:
- +1 treacherous ground
- +1 stairs
- +1 shallow water
- +1 minor obstruction
- +2 due to posture (crawling/kneeling)
- +1/2 due to posture (crouching)
By not utilizing the MP system and using the minimum of 2 hexes, this results in ignoring all the problems these MP fees incur!
Or situations which use ALL movement points:
- deep water
- lying down
In those cases, no matter how fast someone is, since ALL the MP must be used to move ONE hex, the "WIM" rule of 2 hexes is the ONLY way in Basic Set to move 2 hexes while in a lying posture or swimming
- Committed Attack is another way, as it gives an option for taking a 2nd step, the only way a 2nd step can possibly be done
If this is considered too extreme, one alternative approach GMs might house rule is that instead of "minimum 2 hexes" that AOA just grant "minimum 2 movement points" (as if Move 2) but this would make it impossible to move while crawling or kneeling, or even walk forward in the case of 2 "+1" situations coexisting.
The downside two "two hexes" however is that it makes it impossible to change facing before or during the movement. "may not change facing at the end" applies in either case (differing from Move/M+A/AOD which do allow it at the end), but using MP allows facing changes to be done before/during the forward movement by paying 1 hex per facing.
One obscure situation is if sitting would prevent the 2 hex movement. "Cannot move" is listed for sitting in the context of 'movement point costs'.
Slam exception[]
MA98 introduced Slams as All-Out Attacks under Expanded Combat Maneuvers.
It is a "special relationship" where full move is kept, while All-Out Attack (Long) is an off-limits option, only Determined/Feint/Strong as normal options while keeping full move.
The "double" option prohibits slamming twice, but a different melee attack can be launched BEFORE the slam. Using the "double" option means losing the full move benefit though.
All-Out Attack (Jet)[]
All-Out Attack (Jet) was introduced in GURPS High-Tech p 178 and under it each target must be rolled separately to be hit with damage and burn duration divided by the width of the area (rounded down).
Options[]
- Determined: +4 to hit on a single attack
- Double: Make two attacks against the same foe, if you have two ready weapons or one weapon that does not have to be readied after use
- Feint: Feint applies to this attack instead of one you make on your next turn.
- Strong: Make a single attack, at normal skill. If you hit, you get +2 to damage – or +1 damage per die, if that would be better.
Classic vs 4e[]
The Classic version had no move component (which was addressed with All-Out Charge). The 4e version allows up to half the normal Move.
pyramid[]
In 2002 Peter V. Dell'Orto wrote http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=2836 and mentioned that AOAs do not suffer penalties for bad footing.
Kromm quotes[]
2009 http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=723125&postcount=9 also mentions a Jet-on-Target variant which is halfway between Strong and Determined:
- If you stand there and carefully hold the flame on target for a full second instead of dodging enemy attacks, you'll almost certainly do more damage with a flamethrower. It really makes no less sense than AOA (Determined) giving +1 to hit and thus letting you put more pellets or bullets on target.
2013 https://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?p=1594475#post1594475
- That isn't a bad option at all. Simply change the effect of Telegraphic Attack on the defender from "all active defenses against a Telegraphic Attack are at +2" to "all active defenses against a Telegraphic Attack are at +2, and even those who've made an All-Out Attack may try a defense at -4." In effect, it's so obvious that even someone who's defenseless might flinch and defend.
See also[]
Links[]
https://gamingballistic.com/2016/02/11/alternate-defenses-for-all-out-attack/