How do you balance GURPS combat enconter

[jpreem]

Are there any system to working out how dangerous a creature is to your players?
I can guess that roughly when a creature has the same amount of combat related skills - then it vs. a player should have a roughly 50/50 chance at each other. (still even then the differences in hp,fp, size and equipment will mess this up)
It should be kind of important to get the hang of it so not to kill all my party ( character generation is a long process also), I guess that i could start just realllly small and then pimp up my monsters as i go until i can see that they are not capable of handling them.

[DukeofDellot]

... 50/50 chance at each other.

Not true, nor should it ever be true.

From my experience tactical choices can override points. I had a player build a 150 point character and spend every last point in combat ability. Every. Single. Point. I told him he couldn't play the character so he wined. For. Seven. Hours. So I let him put his character in the game if he didn't just attack the other players. So he attacked the other players. I had a player who had spent approximately three points in combat ability.

She won the fight through tactical decision.

Things to say. Remember the rule of thumb, that 12 is the level of a professional skill, so a non-heroic, non-major villian character that is actually competent with a weapon should probably have a 12 in skill (nameless soldiers, thugs, ect) and follow the cannon fodder optional rule. A single enemy with DR 2 (from armor) skill 12 with a spear (parry 10). Will likely survive around one to three seconds before he takes his 1 point of effective damage and can deal around four to six damage on average per attack. After he takes that point of damage he gives up (or dies/get's knocked out).

A character with HP 12, weapon skill 15 (Parry 11), DR 2 in one of my games took down twelve of such characters and had a single HP at the end of that... well, actually it was twelve unarmed guys like that, so I'd assume four if they had spears.

Anyways I'll go on to mention one of my ways... I've tested this extensively and am very happy with the results. There are four levels of opponents.
Mooks-Follow cannon fodder rules, typically have a decent DR (around 2-5) and typically have a weapon skill of either 10 or 12+combat reflexes. Mooks don't make any sort of special attacks, they just swing blindly and hope to hit.
Minions-Are defeated when HP reaches 0, typically do not have DR over 2. They have similar combat skill levels. Minions will try to position themselves so they they can get an advantage, possibly attempting back attacks on occasion.
Worthies-Can stay standing with successful HT rolls until -1xHP (die at this point). They typically have weapon skills at around the same level as the PCs and decent DR. Alone, a worthy can fight using all the tactics available to the players, but can be taken by surprise a bit more easily (They don't always react immediately to a change of plans like players often want to).
Villain-Follow normal rules as if they were PCs. Often have better stats in combat than PCs in all respects if fighting alone, or Worthy stats if aided by anything more than a couple of Mooks. Villains use all your tactical ability and should be approached with caution, I only bring out the Villain level oppents when I want to maim or kill a PC.

Players around 150 to 200 points, in a TL 2 to 4 game, that have about half their points sinked into combat can typically handle four mooks, two minions, or a single Worthy. It takes multiple PCs to handle a single Villain.

Something to remember. If the players realize the importance of the HT stat, then they will often raise it to at least 12. If so, then it's actually a lot more likely that a defeated PC will faint than die in battle since you never Roll HT vs Death from HP loss at a penalty, and you have to loose at least double your HP before you even roll it. That is, in a melee heavy TL1-4 game.

[dariathalon]

I remembered running across this site (http://sites.google.com/site/nymdoksgurpsaddons/Home/gurps-and-game-balance) awhile back when I was considering running a GURPS campaign. I never did, so I didn't get around to using it. I have no idea if it works out as well as the man claims, because as DukeofDellot points out tactics have a lot to do with it too. Still it gives some mathematical advice of the sort you are looking for.

[Cyrion]

A good place to start is to look at damage output vs. DR. Then look at the likelihood that a player's active and passive defenses will fail on a given round. If both of these are in the player's favor, then the opponent won't be much of a threat in a straight-up-bludgeon-each-other-into-submission fight. If the damage output is significantly higher than DR, but defenses are reliable, then the fight will probably go in favor of the PC, but you'll have the possibility of things going sour without warning; one good hit and it's over. If damage output is low, but defenses are unreliable, then you've got a fight that will probably whittle away at the PC.

You can change the danger level to suit your needs by changing the damage output of your opponent, changing its tactics, or changing the situation to favor one combatant.

[Zuljita]

what TL are we talking? Guns can make even mooks pretty dangerous. One good shot and a bad defense roll will get ya put down. Heck, I had a player crit fail and (charts determining all the results i promise) shoot himself in the left leg with an assault rifle, putting him out of the fight. Said player did it again the next session same leg and everything. It made me cry a little.

[Knaight]

Are there any system to working out how dangerous a creature is to your players?

You'll get the hang of it eventually. However, you can just ignore it entirely, and have what seems sensible where it would make sense existing. A 12 is pretty typical, a 15 highly talented, an 18 downright masterful. Above 18 is pretty much legendary.

So, if the PCs get in a scrap with some guards, the guards all have 11-13 skills, maybe high pain tolerance, whatever makes sense. In most areas there wouldn't be that many of them, maybe 3-5 on the higher end. Whatever the PCs stats are, this is about the same. They might be able to take the guards down nigh instantaneously, they might have to talk their way out of it, they might have to run, whatever. Just don't make sure the combat is balanced and both sides have a chance to win.

[fusilier]

I found that it took a little bit of practice until I could create NPCs that were properly balanced against the players. Until then, I was willing to "pull my punches" if I felt that the NPCs were overpowered.

I had an encounter once where the PC's went up against 4 guards. These guards were actually pretty good (with skill levels 14-15 typically in their primary weapon). The players defeated all of them except the last one, the worst one, who happened to armed with a halberd -- he somehow took them all out! (Badly wounded one, knocked out two others, and the fourth player ran) From now on, if I want to encourage my players to run away, all I have to do is send someone with a halberd after them!

[Kaldrin]

This is one is one of the tougher ones to explain and one of the easier ones to learn. I take the average skill levels of my PCs and try to give them a fair contest based on that. There are a lot of variables to consider too. Even today I still adjust encounters on the fly. Toughen them up a bit or take them down a notch as I see how effective they are vs. the PCs. Once you've GMed a couple of sessions you'll get a feel for what a half dozen orcs with skill 12 in broadsword and the PCs can do.

I also never write up a full character sheet. I know what powers or skills I want them to have, what level they have them at and roll with it.