GM note, a bit of combat detail for the GURPS-inexperienced.
A typical sword swing is likely to do around five points of damage as a base. Any DR on the target (Damage Resistance from armour etc) is subtracted from this base damage.
However, that damage can be enhanced by hit location and damage type. For example, a cutting attack does 1.5x damage after penetrating armour in most places, and 2x damage to the neck. Impaling, OTOH, does 2x damage to the torso and 3x damage to the vitals, but only 1x damage on the limbs (and impaling attacks tend to have lower base damage to start with).
You’ve all got about 8-15 hit points. Going to zero hit points is not instant death, however.
The way it works is that once you get to zero HP you need to make a HT roll every second to avoid falling unconscious (before that, at 1/3 HP you start taking major skill and movement penalties; you’re staggering and beaten up by that point).
When your HP reaches the negative of their original value (i.e., -11 if your initial HP total was 11) you have to pass another HT check to avoid death (just one check, not one per second this time)…
Each multiple of your HP total below zero requires another death check with increasing penalties. At -5xHP, you’re automatically dead.
So, as with reality, the typical finish of a GURPS fight is that the loser takes a big hit, staggers around for a few seconds before passing out, and then slowly bleeds to death over the next few minutes.
Overall message: a fighter can be knocked out with just one or two hits, but may get in a few revenge swings before they drop, and is likely to survive the fight so long as the healers get to them before they bleed out.
