Steve Jackson Games GURPS – Generic Universal RolePlaying System

ERRATA – GURPS Japan (Second Edition) – Updated March 17, 2003

Copyright © by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated.

P. [1]. Add Greg Fortman to the list of playtesters for the second edition.

P. 63. The Tsukumogami (Artifact Spirit) template should cost 48 points, not 78.

Pp. 77-83. The new maneuvers for Bujutsu were omitted. They are:

Back Strike (Hard) Defaults to any Weapon skill-4
Prerequisite: Any Weapon skill; must specialize
Cannot exceed prerequisite skill level

The maneuver lets an armed fighter make an attack to a back or side hex without changing facing. The fighter must be armed with a weapon with a 1-hex reach and must know the target is behind him. After making a Back Strike, the fighter's Active Defenses are at -2 for that round.

Direct Mount (Hard) Defaults to Riding-3
Prerequisite: Riding
Cannot exceed prerequisite skill level

In battle, a warhorse or similar mount will attack anyone who approaches; if multiple figures are present, the GM would determine which is attacked. Successful use of this maneuver will allow the rider to direct the mount's attacks toward a particular opponent. This is a free action, leaving the rider free to make an attack of his own. On a critical failure, the rider loses his next action and must make a Riding roll to avoid spooking the horse (p. B136).

Fighting in Water (Hard) Defaults to any Combat/Weapon skill-2*
Prerequisite: Any Combat/Weapon skill, Swimming 12+; must specialize
Cannot exceed prerequisite Combat/Weapon skill level

* -1 for Close weapons or unarmed combat techniques, -4 for hand weapons with a 2-hex reach, -6 for hand weapons with a 3-hex reach.
Fighting in water has a penalty of -2 per hex of reach, or -1 for Close weapons (see p. B91). Combatants can use their Fighting in Water maneuver at no penalty when in water, as long as they are not under the water. They must also make a Swimming roll every five turns; the amount of any failure is subtracted from their attacks until their next successful Swimming check, in addition to the normal effects (p. B91).

Fighting While Mounted (Hard) Defaults to any hand weapon skill-2
Prerequisite: Any hand weapon skill, Riding 12+; must specialize
Cannot exceed prerequisite weapon skill level

A rider may use this maneuver when attacking on a turn the mount also attacks (see p. B137). The rider may also use this maneuver when making a swinging attack at +2 to damage while the mount is moving at 6+, but this attack may not exceed his Riding skill (see p. B136).

Fighting Underwater (Hard) Defaults to any Combat/Weapon skill-4 or Fighting in Water (type)-2*
Prerequisite: Any Combat/Weapon skill, Swimming 12+; must specialize
Cannot exceed prerequisite Combat/Weapon skill level

* -2/-1 for Close weapons or unarmed combat techniques, -8/-4 for hand weapons with a 2-hex reach, -12/-6 for hand weapons with a 3-hex reach.
Fighting underwater is like fighting in water (above), but the penalties are doubled. Swimming rolls must be made every two turns.

Horse Archery p. CI169
Rather than using a short composite bow, in Japan the uma-yumi (horse archers) use daikyu= (longbows) – the rider holds the eight-foot-long bow with about two-thirds of its length above his grip.

Lunge p. MA52
The Japanese training with polearms and spears also included this full-extension thrust; default is Polearm-2 or Spear-2.

Return Strike (Hard) Defaults to Kusari-5
Prerequisite: Kusari
Cannot exceed prerequisite skill level

This maneuver uses careful handling of the kusari to strike an opponent from behind while facing him. A fighter who has never seen this use of the chain in combat may be completely unaware of the coming strike (no Active Defense), and one who does expect it still defends at -2 for a side attack.

Spinning Strike (Hard) Defaults to Polearm-3, Spear-3 or Staff-3
Prerequisite: Skill listed above; must specialize
Cannot exceed prerequisite skill level

This is the weapon equivalent to the Spin Kick (p. CI171), using one end of the weapon to Feint with and the other to deliver the blow. The mechanics are the same, but damage is equal to normal thrusting damage for the weapon. The attacker can Feint with the blade of a Spear or Polearm and finish with the haft (converting damage to crushing) at no penalty; Feinting with the haft of a bladed weapon incurs an additional -3 penalty to the attacker's roll in the Quick Contest - opponents are less likely to worry about the unsharpened parts of these weapons!

Stop Hit p. MA55
Iaijutsu practitioners also studied simultaneous kaeshi-tsuki (counterattacks); the default is Katana-4. If the combatants are gauging each other with the Body Language skill, use the amount of success on the Body Language roll as a bonus to the Quick Contest. A critical success on the Body Language roll will allow that fighter to defend normally (with a Dodge or Block, or with a Parry from the off hand) while making his attack – the defense is not automatic, however.

Sweep (Hard) Defaults to Karate-3, Kicking-1, Pole-Arm-3, Staff-3, Spear-3 or Sumo Wrestling-3
Prerequisite: Skill listed above; must specialize
Cannot exceed prerequisite skill level

This is an extended version of the Sweeping Kick maneuver (p. CI172). Many weapons perform well as levers for this attempt, and rikishi use it as well The sumo term for it is ketaguri.

Tip Slash (Average) Defaults to Weapon skill-2
Prerequisite: Any Weapon skill; must specialize
Cannot exceed prerequisite skill level

This attack uses an impaling blade to slash an opponent. Damage is converted to sw-3 cutting, modified by whatever bonus (or penalty) the weapon normally has for the wielder's thrusting damage. For instance, a spear (thrust+2) would do swing-1 (swing-3 +2) cutting damage with the strike. Note that most thrusting blades are not designed to be used like this and are likely to dull or break very easily.

P. 90. Under Clothing, the winter kimono is $20 ($30 for woman's, $2 for cotton for either sex) and weighs 3 lbs.

P. 94. In the Armor sidebar, under Clothing, note the following corrected values:

Item PD DR Cost Wt.
Kimono, summer 0 0 10 2
Hakama 0 0 10 1