Herolover Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 How common do you think martial arts should be in fantasy? I am not talking eastern style martial arts, but weapon martial arts such as schools of fencing, sword play, and other weapon arts. Should the average warrior have martial arts maneuvers or do they have CSL’s with their weapons or do they have both? Right now, I am considering this question and really do not know what to think. Of course, it depends upon the campaign, but I am talking the average D&D fantasy campaign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lupus Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 Check out this page: http://www.devermore.net/surbrook/herosource/medievalma.html I agree with the premise here. Basically, they are as follows: historically, it's totally unclear how medieval swordsmen fought, and how well they were trained. But for a game, you can apply martial arts just like you do in any other genre. If someone's received top-notch training, give 'em a few maneuvers. The page also includes a few sample martial packages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 If you don't mind lumping five-hundred years of history into one semi-congealed mass; Historical Knights trained daily, competed regularly, tested their skills in deadly combat, were tutored in swordsmanship from early childhood by profesional sword-masters, and generally devoted their early life to weapons and battle. They should absolutely have weapons based martial arts. On the other hand, peasant armies were often just grabbed off the farm and sent into combat with whatever tools they had, or tossed a spear and told "congratulations, you're a soldier." They shouldn't have any sorts of martial arts. Profesional mercenaries (far less common in some times and places than others) learned from each-other. They might be more likely to have combat skill levels than any formal martial art. All of that aside, what flavor are you going for in your campaign? If you like the idea of Inigo Montoya facing the Man in Black with Rianaldi's Defense and a touch of Figarillo, then include martial arts. If you'd rather just have Grognard the Mighty rely on his massive muscles to win the day, that's good too. It's an issue of flavor more than anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 IMO martial arts should be reserved for fighting styles with two qualifications: they must be codified fighting systems taught by specific schools or masters, and they should be identifiable by other martial artists and look 'weird' to anyone else. So the barbarian pit fighter, despite his experience and capability, would not have martial arts because he never had any formal combat education, while the fencer who was taught Agrippa by his angry uncle would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 It's a matter of balance at times. A few good martial maneuvers can help a swordsman hold his own in a world with monsters, magic and amrored knights. Swashbucklers who attended fencing schools definitely are martial artists. Knights who have trained for battle from child hood are martial artists. The best mercenaries (not the rabble) are martial artists. And peasant classes might well develop unarmed martial styles, not just to settle disputes violently among each other but in case the armed nobility gets WAY out of line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damon_Dusk Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 Well, another thing to consider is how historically accurate you want your fantasy game to be. If it's historically accurate, then the suggestions above are certainly the best way to go. But if it's completely fantasy, there's no reason not to say that this world developed martial arts styles and disciplines. In my world, there are many origins of different martial arts styles. Some developed like that of the asian martial arts, unarmored and focusing on unarmed combat. Others are very representative of the mentality of the practitioner. Heavily armored warriors focus on using their armor to push, ram, and bully their opponent, relying on their armor for defense, rather than agility. In another style, developed by assassins, their abilities are focused on surprise and the attempt at an "instant kill". In a pure fantasy world, there really isn't anything to stop you from saying that structuralized combat didn't develop for one reason or another. I'm all for martial arts in fantasy. It adds color and more variations for the standard warrior and can differentiate one fighter type character from the next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 Originally posted by Damon_Dusk Well, another thing to consider is how historically accurate you want your fantasy game to be. If it's historically accurate, then the suggestions above are certainly the best way to go. But if it's completely fantasy, there's no reason not to say that this world developed martial arts styles and disciplines. In my world, there are many origins of different martial arts styles. Some developed like that of the asian martial arts, unarmored and focusing on unarmed combat. Others are very representative of the mentality of the practitioner. Heavily armored warriors focus on using their armor to push, ram, and bully their opponent, relying on their armor for defense, rather than agility. In another style, developed by assassins, their abilities are focused on surprise and the attempt at an "instant kill". In a pure fantasy world, there really isn't anything to stop you from saying that structuralized combat didn't develop for one reason or another. I'm all for martial arts in fantasy. It adds color and more variations for the standard warrior and can differentiate one fighter type character from the next. Not to mention distinguishing two or three fighters among a party of PCs! If each of the fighters in yoru party trained in a different style, then you get a lot of added flexibility, and a lot of roleplaying possibilities on the side as well (martial artists can always be counted on to dispute the superiority of their particular styles.) Now I wouldn;t dream of starting a FH campaign without also hacing a copy of UMA to give me ideas. Make a few changes and you can get Eli\vish Archery as a martial art conmplete with manuevers, or a set of manuevers for knights in armor, swashbucklers who manuever a longsword with the deftness of a rapier, eschewing armor in favor of deft dodging and an uncanny ability to parry incoming blows (including arrows!).... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 Originally posted by Michael Hopcroft Now I wouldn;t dream of starting a FH campaign without also hacing a copy of UMA to give me ideas. Make a few changes and you can get Eli\vish Archery as a martial art conmplete with manuevers, or a set of manuevers for knights in armor, swashbucklers who manuever a longsword with the deftness of a rapier, eschewing armor in favor of deft dodging and an uncanny ability to parry incoming blows (including arrows!).... Don't forget Ninja Hero!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.