Custom Martial Art Skills

[Ninja-Bear]

Hello All,
Here is some custom skills to use in a martial arts game that I never ran. I think though that they can be useful to flesh out characters in the right game. So enjoy!

PS (PRE): Kata (forms)--This skill is can be used for two things. The first is for characters in a martial arts tournament, they can compete in the forms division. I based it on Presence bacause in my experience, the competitor is trying to "sell" the "fight" to the judges. For fancier, and flashier forms, Dexterity makes a wonderful complimentry skill roll. Second, the is the idea that forms contain "hidden" techniques, or at least techniques not normaly associated with the art, or it teaches the practitioner the use to use different weapons than openly taught. The first way with "hidden" techniques, with the GM approved level, you can use this skill to justify buying mauevers outside your chosen art. This is nice if your GM is being strict with what manuevers the style can buy. For example, lets say your PC has shotokan karate. Shotokan is not known for its joint-locks. With this skill say 13-, you can buy the joint-lock manuever. "That crossing block is really a joint-lock". As for weapons, lets take Shotokan again. Shotokan is traditionally an empty-hand system. Again with the skill you can say this form is also teaches me to use the staff. (I got this idea from Ninja and Superspies RPG.)

KS (INT): Tournament Rules--I got this idea from Ninja Hero 5th. First the skill allows you to identify what the specific rules (or lack thereof) are. And more importantly, what techniques you can and can't use. For example, kickboxing has (well at least many years ago) a rule that you had to throw x amount of kicks in a round or get penalized. The UFC has always had some limits, such as eyegouge, and fish hooks. A botched roll would indicated that the character thought that illeagl technique were considered ok. This skill is useful for writing up referees. They don't have to be martial artists but they know what is legal and what isn't. Another use (and this is where I got the idea from Ninja Hero) would be to but combat skill levels with a RSR (Tournament Rules), or the variation (Specific Tournament). I bought this for a character of mine to represent that in a tournament fight is really good, (a champion) but out in the street, he's not as good.

PS (STR) Breaking: This skill lets you know what materials to break and how to set them up. For each success, you can add +1 body to roll for breaking purposes. And just remember, if said target doesn't break, that energy goes somewhere, and if your body is in a poor position, it hurts!

Defense from Chokehold: LS: Need not breathe (10pts) Non-persistant (-1/4), Req. Gestures through out (-1/2), And only vs Chokehold (-2) Act 10 pts Real cost 3 pts.

With this technique, if someone chokes you, you manuever your neck/head and use your arms to allievate the pressure to breathe. The downside is that you can't use your arms to attack, or escape and still breathe.

Glad to hear comments, and if anyone uses it.

[Lucius]

Defense from Chokehold: LS: Need not breathe (10pts) Non-persistant (-1/4), Req. Gestures through out (-1/2), And only vs Chokehold (-2) Act 10 pts Real cost 3 pts.

With this technique, if someone chokes you, you manuever your neck/head and use your arms to allievate the pressure to breathe. The downside is that you can't use your arms to attack, or escape and still breathe.

Glad to hear comments, and if anyone uses it.

I especially like this

Lucius Alexander

No Normal Palindromedary

[Ninja-Bear]

Thank you and your Plaindromedary too!

[Christopher]

Defense from Chokehold: LS: Need not breathe (10pts) Non-persistant (-1/4), Req. Gestures through out (-1/2), And only vs Chokehold (-2) Act 10 pts Real cost 3 pts.

I thought a lot about NND's and how difficulty/expensive the defense is. My oberservation is:
If it has some other use, 1.5 Character Points Cost is enough (example: 1 point Resistant Defense)
If it only works against this specific NND, it's 1 CP (example: Poision and Disease Immunity)
If there is a group of similar things, 5 point buys immunity to all of it (immunity to all Poision/Diseases)

So I would put it at 1 Point for LS: Immunity to beign Chocked. I could see it part of a 5 point group called "Immunity to all Martial Arts based NND's".

[Ninja-Bear]

My friend suggested about buying res. def. Two reasons I didn't. First, since the NND specififcally called for no need to breathe, thats why I looked at it. And second the price for three points is within the range of 'normal' martial manuevuers. The only thing though, at 5 pts defense against all ma NND might be too cheap. Now your protected from at least 4 NND (I think Ninja Hero 5th has more?) moves. (To be honest, the chokehold is the most common NND).

[Ninja-Bear]

Strong Joints; +4 BODY (8pts), Only vs unarmed killing (joint) tecniques (-2) real cost 3 pts.

This doesn't fully stop a joint break, and doesn't provide additional protection from a joint NND, but if the technique has the diasble element, this can add some protecion to the character.

[Christopher]

My friend suggested about buying res. def. Two reasons I didn't. First, since the NND specififcally called for no need to breathe, thats why I looked at it. And second the price for three points is within the range of 'normal' martial manuevuers. The only thing though, at 5 pts defense against all ma NND might be too cheap. Now your protected from at least 4 NND (I think Ninja Hero 5th has more?) moves. (To be honest, the chokehold is the most common NND).

HSMA 6E 247 lists seven NND "Types" common Martial Arts for maneuveurs and what defenses would work against them.

Regarding the Price:
For 5 points you get protection for a dozen+ Poision attack, or a dozen+ Diseases. So 5 points for 7 different NND's sounds reseonable for me.

[Ninja-Bear]

Since you brought up LS: poison and diesease, I looked into it. For consideration, are you aware that life support will protect you from any enviromental damage and any change enviroment, but doesn't protect you from any attacks that are defined as the special effect? (This actually started to hurt the brain.) They give the example of having immuninty from Intense heat for an example. So my understanding as applied to Poisons would be Scorpia's Dart wouldn't affect you if you had LS: Poison, because the Defense is defined as having LS: poison. However, Black Mamba posion would affect you cause its bought as a straight drain vs Con (well as of 4th ed which I'm going by). Now I can see that it is a moot point because you are applying it to NND. And depending on the campaign, I could see its cost. But 5pts to be protected from 7 NND (martial) attacks in a martial arts heavy game? I think its unbalancing. But I remember one piece of advice from one supplement, if everyone wants to buy a power then its probally to powerful, or cheap.

[Christopher]

Since you brought up LS: poison and diesease, I looked into it. For consideration, are you aware that life support will protect you from any enviromental damage and any change enviroment, but doesn't protect you from any attacks that are defined as the special effect? (This actually started to hurt the brain.) They give the example of having immuninty from Intense heat for an example. So my understanding as applied to Poisons would be Scorpia's Dart wouldn't affect you if you had LS: Poison, because the Defense is defined as having LS: poison. However, Black Mamba posion would affect you cause its bought as a straight drain vs Con (well as of 4th ed which I'm going by).

Unless there is also NND put on it: Yes, Immunity to all Poisions would not stop this Black Mamba poision writeup.

But this could be the Black Mamba writeup for a heroic game, as I was once told Heroic games let Posions go against Power Defense (by using drains), so a more "granular" defense than all or nothing can be used.

Now I can see that it is a moot point because you are applying it to NND. And depending on the campaign, I could see its cost. But 5pts to be protected from 7 NND (martial) attacks in a martial arts heavy game? I think its unbalancing. But I remember one piece of advice from one supplement, if everyone wants to buy a power then its probally to powerful, or cheap.

For a robot, shapeshifter or alien there could easily be no way to use any of the NND's. But then agains, such characters won't be like in a Martial Arts campaign.

[torchwolf]

But I remember one piece of advice from one supplement, if everyone wants to buy a power then its probally to powerful, or cheap.

IIRC that was Aaron Allston's Strike Force. And yes, that was a discussion about dealing with "everyone's buying special defenses just to be on the safe side", which I think boiled down to this:

Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander.
GM keeps an eye on character sheet updates for "overall invulnerability" tendencies, talks to players, and explains that if PCs do it, the opposition will, and interesting elements will be lost to the game - so don't.
If each PC has one unique special defense, fine, but if everyone has them all, everyone is less unique.

EDIT: Hm, I guess that may not be what you referred to. Sorry if I derailed this.

[Ninja-Bear]

IIRC that was Aaron Allston's Strike Force. And yes, that was a discussion about dealing with "everyone's buying special defenses just to be on the safe side", which I think boiled down to this:

Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander.
GM keeps an eye on character sheet updates for "overall invulnerability" tendencies, talks to players, and explains that if PCs do it, the opposition will, and interesting elements will be lost to the game - so don't.
If each PC has one unique special defense, fine, but if everyone has them all, everyone is less unique.

EDIT: Hm, I guess that may not be what you referred to. Sorry if I derailed this.

No derail, yet a side trip! ; ) I was going to mention that Allston in Ninja Hero warned about people in a heroic game and butying 2 pts KS: Poisions and killing everyone left and right. Torchwolf it is actually relevent, (and I enjoy) the discussion with Christopher. How do you price something in a game, or even introduce something in the game without unbalancing, or at least knowing what the issues could be with it?

[Christopher]

How do you price something in a game, or even introduce something in the game without unbalancing, or at least knowing what the issues could be with it?

Of coruse there is always the chance to unbalance the game. There is this chance even with the Rules as written in at least a dozen points

If the value of a defense is balanced always depends on how common the attack is. There are games where LS: Imortality, Heat and Cold are free and other where the price has to be increased.
And ouf course there is always the option to remodel most NND's (like the weather effects, poisions and even Martial Arts NND's) to use AVAD (Power Defense) instead of NND (Specific Life Support).

[Ninja-Bear]

Fwiw Christopher, in the Ultimate Martial Artist, Steve Long explains why there are 7 NNDs (and in fact hint that you could have more). The quick of it is that traditonaly, there was 2 NNDs but the some of the Defense for those two in a Superheroic game would be too common, and the person with NND would be cheated of points. So by having a varied and more specific Defense. Example instead of just Resistant Defense stopping NND(2)-Choke, Resistant Defense on location 3-5 (Head) is called for.

Torchwolf, it was in the back of Fifth rev under changing the system that I ran across the advice of stuff costing too cheap, or too good.

[steriaca]

Humm...any ideals on how to do "Combat Cramming", where a martial artest spends a few hours and gains a Weapion Familiry and a Use Art With..., only to forget them in a day after he needs it? (In other words, the way Ranma usaly operates...if he needs to know how to so something martialy, he crams it then after that, never uses it again)

[IndianaJoe3]

Cramming can be used for any 1-pt skill, including WFs and Weapon Elements. If it was only usable for those it would be a Limitation... probably -1, IMHO.