Roll With The Punch: Martial Arts?

[pinecone]

Re: Roll With The Punch: Martial Arts?

 

No, RwtP is an optional maneuver. Anyone can't use it unless the GM says "this is available to anyone in my game." I'm saying, "Hey, how about I make it a martial arts maneuver that you have to pay for."

 

I'm trying for a low powered modern game, and rolling with the punch sounded like something you'd have to actually be trained to do. Untrained folks just get slugged hard and have to take it.

 

So assuming that you can't get it without paying for it, what's it worth? I realize I'm quibbling over one point giver or take, but I thought I'd just ask as the discussion is sometimes interesting.

 

I'd probibly set it at 3 points....Martial Throw, and the like are 3 points...I think anyway......

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Roll With The Punch: Martial Arts?

 

The whole point is to not make it a power. The set up I put together isn't any more a power then say, Offensive Strike, being +X amount of d6 Hand Attack. A lot of times folks run straight for powers when they don't have to though I do understand that's a lot of fun for some folks and of course, quite legal as well.

 

Rolling with a punch is something you do when you do not, or fail to block or dodge though. In order to do it correctly, there's actually some resistance involved with it as well, otherwise, enhancing whiplash is counter productive to staying concious. As for the ending of a phase, I still have it set up as a half phase action rule as well, so if they guy moved he's screwed, and it being usable at all is one of the resons I have it cost 5 points and build in an abort element.

 

If I were to build it as a power I would build it as an activated by some roll form of Damage Negation, since that fits the physics of it a bit more, but again, that being said I like my Martial Arts heroes to have as few "power builds" as possible. That gives me the difference of someone like Karnak the Shatterer, smashing open a fault line in a mountain so they can launch the city to the moon, and Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu, who has not a single bit of Super Human at all, yet, still demolishes a Doom Bot with his bare hands (albeit, at a price)....

 

Hence, house ruled it. Either way even with just using the basic Roll with the Punch optional maneuver, it helps keep the squishy folk alive.

 

~Rex

 

I only suggested a Power build approach as that is the only RAW legal way to allow the ability to work after a failed Block or Dodge attempt in the same phase.

I'm pretty sure the real cost could even be brought down to the 3-5 point level as well.

[Xavier Onassiss]

Re: Roll With The Punch: Martial Arts?

 

I'd have to say Roll With the Punch would be worth 3pts if optional maneuvers were only available on that basis. But I think that depends on the average DC's in the campaign: in a high-powered game, rolling with a punch could prevent a lot more damage.

 

In my experience I've found it to be useful much more often than some others on this thread -- maybe my characters are getting smacked around too much!

[Escafarc]

Re: Roll With The Punch: Martial Arts?

 

I'd have to say Roll With the Punch would be worth 3pts if optional maneuvers were only available on that basis. But I think that depends on the average DC's in the campaign: in a high-powered game, rolling with a punch could prevent a lot more damage.

 

In my experience I've found it to be useful much more often than some others on this thread -- maybe my characters are getting smacked around too much!

 

You need a better safe word

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Roll With The Punch: Martial Arts?

 

There are a lot of points being made about Roll with the Punch not being available after a dodge or block.

 

It is rattling about my head but why not allow a character to abort and try a block AND a roll with the punch at the same time. Appropriate penalties like with Multiple attack, so the character is less likely to block but if he does not he has a chance of reducing the damage taken...

 

Doc

 

Here's the main reason,

 

from 6e2 page 73:

 

MULTIPLE ATTACKS

BASIC RULES

Multiple Attack requires a Full Phase to use (the Rapid Attack Skill, 6E1 87, reduces this to a Half Phase). Using it reduces the character to ½ DCV. The character’s OCV is affected by the number of targets, the types of attacks used, and other factors (see below).

A character using Multiple Attack has to make a separate Attack Roll for each attack in the sequence. If he misses any of his Attack Rolls, all remaining attacks in that Multiple Attack sequence automatically miss also.

 

Since both Block and Roll with a Punch use attack rolls, a failure on the Block attempt means the Roll attempt automatically fails (even swapping the order doesn't really make a difference).