Sicktabou Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 Hi guys, I am running a Fantasy Hero campaign and I would like to create some combat style to differentiate between melee characters (heavy fighters, light fighters, two-weapon style, weapon and shield, etc). It seems logical to use the Martial Art system to incorporate such new combat styles in my game, but strangely, there are no discussion in either the basic Hero book or the fantasy hero on how to put a value to a specific martial art manoeuver. I assume that it’s all well explained in the ‘Ultimate Martial Artist’, but I really don’t want to purchase a new book (another $30) just for something that should have been incorporated in the basic book to start with (or at least in Fantasy hero, to describe how to create weapon style for different type of characters). Is it possible to get a quick guideline on how to create new Martial Manoeuvers so that my new creation be balanced with everything else in my setting? I tried to copy existing martial art manoeuvers with the ‘power system’ and my success was...less that acceptable. Thanks a lot and I really appreciate your help/suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 Re: Martial Art Manoeuver Creation This isn't a rules question, so I've moved it to Discussion; that way anyone who likes can chime in. Having published Martial Maneuver creation rules, from which publication we derive part of the money that helps us stay in business and keep producing books, we're not going to give that information away free, even in summary form. I'm sorry you don't want to spend another $25 (U.S.), but those rules are exactly where they belong -- in UMA, not 5E or FH -- and if you want that information, that's the place to get it. Even if we wanted to give those rules away, I'm afraid I can't give any "quick guidelines." They take up roughly 7-8 published pages, and that's not quickly or easily summarized. If you prefer, the Martial Maneuver creation rules are a part of version 2 of Hero Designer, so you could bypass purchasing the book by buying the program (though it's more expensive, and doesn't provide any of the material explaining the Maneuver Elements and Bases and whatnot). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etherio Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 Re: Martial Art Manoeuver Creation I posted to this thread under another title...thought it seemed a bit crass in the HERO Discussion forum. I'm dumbfounded that, apparently, this guy posted the same question to Steve Long as rules question. Shmokin' de ganja before posting is not a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Cross Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 Re: Martial Art Manoeuver Creation Actually,having purchased both 4th Edition & 5th Edition versions of The Ultimate Martial Artist,I think that it's well worth the money just for the numerous martial art styles therein.(I've also purchased both versions of Ninja Hero as well,though the 4th Edition version (by the legendary Aaron Allston) would have been better named Martial Arts Hero). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmlessTigerMan Posted May 21, 2004 Report Share Posted May 21, 2004 Re: Martial Art Manoeuver Creation I assume that it’s all well explained in the ‘Ultimate Martial Artist’' date=' but I really don’t want to purchase a new book (another $30) just for something that should have been incorporated in the basic book to start with (or at least in Fantasy hero, to describe how to create weapon style for different type of characters).[/quote'] I used to feel that way also. The rules to create martial art maneuvers are not 'genre specific', they seem to be basic building blocks, and would fit perfectly with all the other building blocks, in 5E. Pulp Heroes, Super Heroes, Western Heroes, Star Heroes, and also Fantasy Heroes could all have reason to buy martial arts. Spreading the rules out all over different books will recreate the problem that the Hero System used to have back in the day, when it was a bunch of games for each genre (Champions, Justice Inc, etc...) with many points of similarity, but they were treated as different systems. One irritating example that comes to mind: Lightning Reflexes was originally published in Dark Champions. Characteres in other genres could benefit from this skill, it shouldn't have been hiding out in a genre book. Anyhow, I buckled down, bought Ultimate Martial Artist, and it was well worth the price of purchase. If the maneuver and style building rules had been included in 5E, they would have had to included sample maneuvers and styles, and 5E is already chock full as it is. And yes, there would have been less meat for the UMA sandwich. So buy it. It's worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Raven Posted May 21, 2004 Report Share Posted May 21, 2004 Re: Martial Art Manoeuver Creation UMA is definately worth the money. It not only has the rules for creating your own maneuver/styles, it lists over 100 real world styles, plus a few fictional styles, giving examples on how to adapt the rules to suit specific genres. It also expands the list of maneuvers immensely. What's more, based on what you want these rules for, UMA has done half your work for you by providing custom maneuvers/styles for differing types of melee fighters (including fencers and samurai). As far as "spreading" the rules around, I don't look at the Ultimate series that way. The Ultimate series are extras that aren't necessary to run the game, but lots of people still want. Many people will say that martial arts maneuver creation and the full list of maneuver should be standard rules. Well, you'll also find lots of people say that gadget creation rules should be too. Same thing with magic and numerous other things. That's why there's the Ulitmate series, to provide those extras to those who'd use them. If all of that was included in the core book we'd booking at a volume in excess of 600-800 pages that costs $75-$100. It's bad enough that adding 50+ pages of errata and FAQ is adding $10 bucks to the core book, the rest would make it unsellable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnuncheon Posted May 21, 2004 Report Share Posted May 21, 2004 Re: Martial Art Manoeuver Creation Personally I'd like to see martial arts maneuver creation rules that come from (and balance with) the main power system. It always bugged me that you could do blasters, magic spells, superpowers, vehicles, and everything else with the same metasystem, but as soon as you get to booting people in the head, it becomes a whole different ball game. Maybe for 6e... J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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