FISTICUFFS AND OTHER FUN THINGS
Not all combat is done with swords and other weapons. People using their own bodies as weapons,
wielding their arms and legs to inflict injury deal quite a bit. With the right training, any character can become
deadly, a living weapon able to perform fantastic maneuvers that no one using an artificial weapon could dream
of.
There are three distinct styles of hand to hand fighting that can be found in this game. The
most common is known as Brawling. This skill
can be learned without a character having to be taught by another. It is simple and straightforward. It offers
only a very few basic abilities.
The second combat skill is known as Unarmed
Combat. This is a more disciplined skill, which requires the use of 2 skill slots in
1 letter code to learn. Another person must initially teach this skill to the character. However, after a certain
point, the character can increase this skill on his own, without the need of an instructor.
Finally, there is the skill called Martial Arts. This is the most costly, and deadly, of the three hand to hand fighting skills. It is only available
to the Ninja, Winju, and any character that can spend 3 "A", 3 "B", or 3 "C" skills.
Obviously, the three skill slots must read something along the lines of "3 (or more) Combat skills of choice"
or "3 skills of the player’s choice." However, to acquire this skill can lead to trouble, for the student
is duty-bound to carry out the orders of the teacher. Failure to do so usually results in the death of the student.
This skill cannot be learned during the course of the game.
Each of the three skills allows the character to perform different abilities at different levels
of skill. The charts below list the skill percents, and the special abilities that come with them. While most of
the abilities granted by the three styles of hand to hand combat are grounded in realism, higher levels begin to
gain abilities that are less so. In a world of enchantments such as Selan, the focus of a lifetime of dedication
and training can allow such maneuvers.
BRAWLING
UNARMED COMBAT
MARTIAL ARTS
The descriptions of the skills/abilities/powers are:
- Back Flip Evasion: With a dramatic
back flip, the character can move up to 10 feet away from where he or she is. This grants a bonus of +10% to his
or her Defensive Tactics.
- Body Throw: This skill will allow a
martial artist to grab a person, and throw him or her to the ground. A successful skill roll is required, and the
person thrown will take 1D10 injury regardless of armor. He or she must also spend 1 action to stand.
- Break-Fall: With this ability, the character
will automatically take ½ injury from any fall. With a successful skill roll, this injury is halved. On
a critical success, the injury taken is 1/10.
- Break Weapon: When an attacker fails
to hit a martial artist with this ability, the martial artist may attempt to catch and break the weapon. A DEX
roll is required, with a penalty of -20%. Then a STR roll is needed, with a penalty of -25%. If both rolls are
successful, then the weapon is broken. This ability can also be used against arms and legs.
- Choke: This requires a skill roll at –25%,
or a sneak attack upon an unsuspecting victim. The attacker puts his or her hands around the throat of the victim
and begins to squeeze. The victim must roll under ¼ AGL or STR to break free. The victim may attempt to
break free once every round. This attack will inflict 1D10+1/10 the attacker’s STR directly to the victim’s HEA
attribute per round. When the victim reaches 0 HEA, he or she will be unconscious for the next 5D10 rounds. Should
the victim reach –20 HEA, then he or she is dead. HEA points will recover at a rate of 10 per round (assuming that
the victim hasn’t died).
- Combination Hold / Attack:
While the aggressor has a victim held and is resisting their attempts to escape they may also attempt a strike
without penalty to the victim, or another in range.
- Combination Strike / Defend: With this ability, the character may use his or her full Defensive Tactics skill, and still make 1 attack.
- Concentrated Defense: This
ability allows the character to defend him or herself better than normal. Whenever the character chooses to use
his or her Defensive Tactics skill, he or she will receive a bonus of +20%.
- Crush: In this maneuver, the attacker grabs
the target in a bear hug, and starts to squeeze. This requires a successful skill roll with a penalty of –15%.
If successful, then the target’s arms are pinned, and he or she cannot attack or cast spells (but neither can the
attacker, unless he or she lets go). The target will suffer injury equal to 1/10 the attacker’s STR per round.
The person being crushed may attempt to get out of the hold by rolling under ¼ his or her AGL, STR, or Gymnastics
skill.
- Death Blow: This ability is one of the
most feared of the martial arts abilities. The character must make a skill roll with a penalty of -85%. If successful,
the victim’s Injury Points will fall to 1D10 BELOW 0. If the
victim does not receive medical attention immediately, he or she will die. If the skill roll was unsuccessful,
then normal injury was inflicted. This ability can only be attempted once per round, and uses all of the character’s
actions.
- Disarm: A combatant may attempt to knock an
opponent’s weapon out of his or her hand. This is done so with a successful strike roll with a penalty of –30%.
If the strike is successful, then the opponent must make a DEX or STR roll with a penalty of –25% to hold onto
the weapon. Whether successful or not, he or she will suffer ½ the injury rolled.
- Fast Strike: On a successful skill
roll, the martial artist may make 1 additional attack. After that attack, he or she may make additional rolls for
additional attacks. However, each additional roll will incur a cumulative penalty of -15%.
- Feint: With a successful skill roll, the martial
artist makes an aggressive move, then suddenly changes direction when the defender attempts to defend him or her
self. This will give the defender a penalty of -25% to his or her Defensive Tactics skill for 1 attack from the
martial artist. To actually strike the target, the martial artist must make a normal strike roll.
- First Strike: This skill is used
at the beginning of a combat round. With a successful skill roll, the martial artist may make all of his or her
attacks before any other person, regardless of initiative. Once all of his or her attacks have been used, the character
may only use ¼ of his or her Defensive Tactics skill, or attempt to use the Fast Strike ability, but only
after all other combatants have finished all of their actions.
- Grab / Hold: This ability allows
the attacker to attempt to grab and hold onto an opponent. The grab attack is made with a penalty of –10%. This
penalty only applies to the initial strike. If successful the opponent is pinned to the aggressor and cannot move
or attempt any actions except kick strikes and escape attempts. An escape attempt can be made once every action
and can rely on a martial arts skill, gymnastics skill, ¼ strength, or ¼ agility. The aggressor may
attempt to stop the escape using any of the same methods.
- Hard Parry: This ability can only be
used when the martial artist is using his or her Defensive Tactics skill. On a successful roll, an attacker that
has missed the martial artist will suffer injury from a normal punch from the defender.
- Hard Strike: This is a lesser form
of the Death Blow. With a successful strike, the martial artist will automatically inflict maximum injury (including
bonuses from STR and skill), plus a normal injury roll, with all of the normal bonuses. This strike may only be
attempted once per round, although other actions may be attempted.
- Instant Stand: If the martial artist
has fallen, then he or she may instantly come to his or her feet without using an action. No skill or attribute
roll is necessary to accomplish this.
- Jump Kick: The martial artist leaps into
the air, and kicks a target. The target is knocked back 5 feet, and must make an AGL roll to avoid falling to the
ground. There must be at least 5 feet between the martial artist and the target, and the martial artist will land
in the 5-foot area that the target was in. This procedure requires a skill roll with a penalty of -10%.
- Knock Out: To knock a person out requires
a successful skill roll with a penalty of –25%, whether or not the victim knows that it is coming or not. If successful,
then the victim is knocked unconscious for the next 5D10 rounds. However, whether or not the attacker was successful,
the victim still suffers full injury.
- Nerve Strike: With a sharp blow (and
a successful skill roll with a penalty of -20%) to the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, or knee, the martial artist
will make the limb totally useless for the next 2D10 rounds. The target will suffer injury, but only ½ of
the injury rolled.
- Parry Arrows: On a successful skill
roll with a penalty of -20%, the martial artist can knock aside all arrows and bolts that are fired at him or her.
With an additional penalty of -10%, the martial artist may catch 1 arrow.
- Sweep Kick: This is a low kick, meant
to make an opponent fall to the ground. It is with a skill roll with a penalty of –20%. If successful, then the
defender will be knocked to the ground, and must spend his or her next action getting up (unless he or she has
the Instant Stand ability). The defender will suffer ½ the normal injury rolled.
- Tackle: This maneuver requires an AGL roll,
a Gymnastics skill roll, an Unarmed Combat roll, or a Martial Arts roll. Whichever skill is used, there will be
a penalty equal to the target’s Defensive Tactics skill (assuming that the person knows that he or she is about
to be tackled). If the defender is aware of the attempt, then he or she may make a STR roll with a penalty of –20%
to stay on his or her feet. If not, then he or she is knocked down, and back 5 feet, with the tackler on top of
him or her. The target will suffer 1D10 injury.
For your ease in referencing hand to hand combat, the injury tables have been reprinted here.
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Weapon
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
| Head Butt |
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
| Kick |
1
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
5
|
5
|
6
|
| Punch |
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
4
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5
|
5
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© 1999 J.K. Wykowski & T. Coonrod