Martial Arts: Additional Combat Options

A Matter of Inches

These rules address minute differences between melee weapons. They're highly optional. Use them only if you want subtle distinctions influencing your battles!

Swing vs. Thrust

Swung weapons enjoy superior damage because they take extra time to apply ST through a long arc, increasing momentum. This makes swings slower than thrusts. When using Who Draws First? and Cascading Waits, combatants must declare in advance whether they plan to thrust or swing. Those who intend to swing get -1 in these Quick Contests. When using Stop Hits, fighters making swings subtract 1 from their margin of success to see who gets the defense penalty.

Weapon Weight

A weapon's weight and balance affect reaction time in two ways.

Relative Weapon Weight: How heavy the weapon feels. When using Who Draws First?, Cascading Waits, or Stop Hits, each fighter has a modifier for his weapon:

User's ST under weapon’s ST statistic: -1 per point of difference

Bare hands: +2 (or +0; see below)

User's ST at least 1.5 times weapon's ST statistic: +1

User's ST at least twice weapon's ST statistic: +2

User's ST three or more times weapon's ST statistic: +3

Unbalanced weapon ("U" in its Parry statistic): -1

Apply this to the Quick Contest or margin of success just like the swing penalty in Swing vs. Thrust. It replaces the -1 for having the heavier weapon in Who Draws First? This modifier affects two other situations. Bare hands get +0, not +2, in these cases.

• Add it to skill when making or resisting a feint. It's easier to flip a relatively light weapon to a new attack or defense position.
• Adjust the -4 penalty per parry after the first in a turn by this amount – a bonus offsets it, a penalty worsens it. Trained by a Master or Weapon Master halves the total penalty (round against the defender). Use this rule instead of halving the penalty for fencing weapons.

Absolute Weapon Weight: How heavy the weapon actually is. A heavy weapon or an unbalanced one with its weight concentrated in the head is beneficial here. Use these modifiers:

Bare hands: +0

Balanced weapon weighing 1.5 lbs. or less: -2

Balanced weapon weighing more than 1.5 lbs., less than 3 lbs.: -1

Balanced weapon weighing 3 lbs. or more: +0

Unbalanced weapon: +1

This adjustment plays two roles:

• Add it to skill when making or resisting a Beat.
• Add twice this modifier to parries against flails, cumulative with the basic -4. Use this rule instead of forbidding fencing weapons to parry flails outright.

Weapon Length

A weapon's Reach statistic is an approximation. "C" describes anything under 1 yard long, "1" covers lengths between 1 yard and just under 2 yards, and so on. Two weapons with identical Reach could differ in length by 1 or 2 feet! It’s possible to categorize weapons relative to other weapons with the same Reach:

Extremely Long: Bill, dueling polearms (all), eku, glaive, halberd, heavy spear, horse-cutter (any), long spear, long staff, naginata, pollaxe, quarterstaff, rope dart, spear, trident.

Very Long: Chain whip, flail, great axe, greatsword, javelin, kusari, kusarigama, kusarijutte, lajatang, maul, monk's spade, scythe, short spear, sodegarami, tetsubo, three-part staff, urumi, warhammer, whip.

Long: Bastard sword, estoc, gada, katana, longsword, rapier (any).

Medium: Axe, backsword, bokken, broadsword, cavalry saber, dao, jian, jo, large falchion, late katana, light club, mace, mensurschläger, morningstar, pick.

Short: Baton, bola perdida, bolas, cutlass, dusack, falchion, hatchet, hook sword, jutte, kick, knobbed club, kukri, life-preserver, long knife, nunchaku, qian kun ri yue dao, saber, sai, shortsword, sickle, small axe, small falchion, small mace, smallsword (any), tonfa, weighted scarf.

Very Short: Balisong, bite, dagger (any), deer antlers, elbow, katar (any), knee, knife, knife-wheel, main-gauche, punch, shield bash, short baton, slashing wheel, stiletto, straight razor.

For instance, a greatsword and a rapier both have Reach 2, but a greatsword is longer.

When using Who Draws First? in a standoff between fighters with weapons of identical Reach, the -1 for the longer weapon goes to the individual who has the longer weapon on this progression. It takes longer to draw a greatsword than a rapier!

When weapons are already out, length is an advantage. In a Cascading Waits or Stop Hits situation, ties go to whoever has the longest Reach. If Reach is tied, they go to the longest weapon on the scale above. A rapier is at a disadvantage to beat a greatsword to a hit.

If length doesn't break the tie, thrusts come before swings. If that doesn't break the tie, the lightest weapon goes first. If that, too, is a tie, the fighters really do act simultaneously.

Untrained Fighters

Untrained fighters are a danger to themselves...and often to their allies, too! These optional rules simultaneously make such combatants less predictable and limit their choices. They're realistic but add extra complexity.

Fear

Combat is frightening to the unprepared. At the start of hostilities – when "slow" time starts and combatants start acting turn-by-turn (see Time During Adventures) – those with neither combat skills nor Combat Reflexes must make a Fright Check. Apply the usual +5 for the "heat of battle" and any bonus for a successful Leadership roll by the group's leader. The GM may rule that those who fail simply drop their weapons and flee instead of rolling on the Fright Check Table.

"Coin Toss" Option

If someone with neither combat skills nor Combat Reflexes passes his Fright Check, he may elect to back off (a series of Move maneuvers) instead of turning his back to the foe and fleeing. If he chooses to fight, though, roll 1d at the start of his turn:

1-3 – He attacks the nearest foe that poses a danger – to him, a Dependent, an Ally, an adventuring companion, or a bystander, in that order. To offset his lack of skill, he makes an All-Out Attack (Determined) without realizing it!

4-6 – He decides to protect himself. He uses All-Out Defense (Increased Dodge) to move away from the nearest foe. If he has a ready weapon or shield, he may select Increased Parry or Increased Block instead.

Roll again each turn!

Limited Maneuver Selection

Untrained fighters have a narrower tactical palette than skilled martial artists. Only combatants with at least DX level in a melee combat skill (1 point if Easy, 2 points if Average, or 4 points if Hard) can choose a Committed Attack, Defensive Attack, or Feint maneuver, or exercise combat options such as Deceptive Attack, Defensive Grip, and Rapid Strike.

Exception: Anyone can attempt a Telegraphic Attack. Unskilled fighters are more likely to choose this option!

Combat Art or Sport Fighters

Those who know only Combat Art or Sport skills might count as "untrained." Actual combat skills default to their Art/Sport analogs at -3, so a fighter who has only an Art/Sport skill needs DX+3 level (8 points if Easy, 12 points if Average, or 16 points if Hard) to choose the maneuvers and options above.

A "combat option" is a tactic that a fighter can use in conjunction with more than one maneuver (e.g., Deceptive Attack) or active defense (e.g., Retreat). It doesn't necessarily have any connection to specific techniques; then again, it might form the basis of a technique or be available only when performing certain techniques. The GM chooses the options allowed in his campaign. They can spice up combat by giving warriors more choices...but the modifiers and conditions they add can also slow down combat, which is a steep price to pay in a cinematic game.

Melee Attack Options

A "combat option” is a tactic that a fighter can use in conjunction with more than one maneuver (e.g., Deceptive Attack) or active defense (e.g., Retreat). It doesn't necessarily have any connection to specific techniques; then again, it might form the basis of a technique or be available only when performing certain techniques. The GM chooses the options allowed in his campaign. They can spice up combat by giving warriors more choices...but the modifiers and conditions they add can also slow down combat, which is a steep price to pay in a cinematic game.

Combinations

Martial artists can learn a class of multiple-attack techniques called "Combinations". These constitute a special case of Rapid Strike, which makes them compatible with All-Out Attack, Attack, Committed Attack, and Defensive Attack, but not with Move and Attack. The chosen maneuver modifies all applicable elements of the Combination: All-Out Attack (Strong) gives +2 damage with all strikes, Committed Attack (Determined) gives +2 to hit with all attacks, and so on.

Regardless of skill or speed, a fighter can use only one Combination per maneuver. If he does, he can't execute a Rapid Strike or Dual-Weapon Attack as part of the same maneuver. For more on the interaction between rules that let a warrior use a single maneuver to attack more than once, see Multiple Attacks.

A feint at the end of the maneuver immediately previous to the one that delivers the Combination lowers the target's defenses against the whole thing. The same is true for the feint portion of All-Out Attack (Feint) when the ensuing attack is a Combination. If using Riposte, a Combination counts as a single attack. The target's defense reduction applies against all parts of it, but note that only one active defense suffers the full penalty and it generally takes more than one defense to stop a Combination.

Any or all parts of a Combination can be Deceptive Attacks or Telegraphic Attacks. These options modify the attack and defense rolls to resolve the affected portion(s) of the technique only. A fighter can mix and match; for instance, he could start a three-attack Combination with a Deceptive Attack, follow with an unmodified attack, and then finish with a Telegraphic Attack.

The viability of each attack after the first in a Combination depends on how well the preceding attacks do. If the attacker misses with one of these – or if his foe makes a successful active defense against it – his target gets +3 on rolls to avoid the remainder of the Combination. This bonus applies equally to active defenses and to rolls against ST, DX, or skill for attacks that use Quick Contests.

If a later attack requires a successful earlier attack to proceed, the "setup" must work for the fighter to attempt the "follow-up"! If it doesn't – for whatever reason – the rest of the Combination is forfeit. Common situations include:

• Attacks with limited reach. If a Combination involves an attack with fixed reach, that attack can only work if the preceding ones leave the target in range. In particular, if a close-combat strike like a punch or a Knee Strike follows an attack that hurls the victim one or more yards away – most often a shove, throw, or strike that inflicts knockback – the Combination ends if the attacker can't step to deliver the short-ranged attack.
• Holds, locks, throws, and disarms using grappling skills. Combinations that include such attacks require a successful grab or grapple, and cannot proceed without it.
• Strikes that require a prone target. A Combination that directs a Knee Drop, Stamp Kick, or similar attack against the target's upper body can only proceed if an earlier attack puts the victim on the ground. It might specifically set up such a move using a throw, takedown, or Sweep...but many realistic Combinations end with a strike like this on the off chance that an earlier blow knocks down the target by pushing him off-balance (see Knockback) or injuring him (see Knockdown and Stunning).

A Combination doesn't preclude movement by the attacker. He may make full use of any movement his maneuver permits. He can intersperse this between the elements of his Combination however he sees fit, although some maneuvers limit his options (e.g., All-Out Attack allows only forward movement). He needn't specify this when he learns his technique, as realistic Combinations take into account that some movement is inevitable in combat. This freedom doesn't extend to the order of attacks, which is always fixed.

The target may retreat after any element of the Combination, gaining a bonus to his active defenses against that attack and all that follow. This is gradual movement – not a sudden lurch, like knockback – and doesn't take him out of reach of the remaining attacks. Treat the distance between attacker and defender as constant unless the attacker steps or the defender suffers knockback, a throw, etc. If using tactical combat, move a retreating defender back a hex only after resolving the effects of the entire Combination.

Defensive Grip

A fighter with at least two hands and a one- or two-handed melee weapon can use a "strong" two-handed grip that sacrifices side-to-side movement for frontal defense. To assume or relinquish a Defensive Grip requires a Ready maneuver (see Ready).

A warrior using a Defensive Grip has his weapon firmly in front of him in two hands. He holds a two-handed weapon, like a staff, across his body. For any weapon, this grip gives +1 to parry attacks from the front but an extra -1 to parry attacks from the side (for a net -3; see Defending Against Attacks from the Side).

If using a one-handed weapon, Defensive Grip involves placing a second hand on the weapon. This hand must be empty. The extra hand makes it awkward to use normal one-handed strikes but adds power: -2 to attack rolls, +1 to damage. Treat the weapon as two-handed for all purposes. When using this grip with a fencing weapon (a weapon with "F" in its Parry statistic), it becomes possible to parry flails at the usual penalties.

If using a two-handed weapon, Defensive Grip involves moving one hand forward to "choke" the weapon or grip it by the ricasso. This effectively reinforces the weapon, giving -1 to odds of breakage. It also greatly narrows the possible arc of a swing, giving -2 to hit with a Wild Swing (for a net -7; see Wild Swings) and less power with swinging attacks: -2 damage or -1 damage per die, whichever is worse.

Treat a weapon that can be used one- or two-handed – such as a bastard sword or a spear – as two-handed for this purpose.

A warrior with a sword of any kind can instead opt to place a hand just behind the tip, as part of his Ready to a Defensive Grip or using a later Ready. The rules above apply for everything except reach and damage: regardless of the sword, reach drops to C ("close combat only") and damage becomes thrust impaling – or thrust crushing, if blunt. Swung attacks are impossible. This allows superior point control, removing -2 from the penalty to target chinks in armor, cumulative with any similar benefit the weapon grants.

A fighter using a Defensive Grip can select any maneuver – even All-Out Attack (but not the Long option) or Committed Attack. Deceptive Attack, Rapid Strike, Telegraphic Attack, and Tip Slash likewise remain viable.

Pummeling

You can strike with the pommel or hilt of any fencing weapon or sword, or with the butt of a reach C or 1 melee weapon. Roll against DX-1, Brawling-1, or Karate-1 to hit. You may substitute Hammer Fist with a one-handed weapon or Two-Handed Punch with a two-handed one, if better. Use full DX, Boxing, Brawling, or Karate skill to punch with a tonfa or with a sword that sports a knuckle guard (backsword, cutlass, etc.). Reach is always C. In all cases, damage is [thr]]ust crushing (like brass knuckles) plus skill bonuses, +1 if using two hands.

Reversed Grip

A fighter with a reach C, 1, or 2 thrusting weapon (typically a knife, spear, or sword) can invert his weapon and use an "ice-pick grip," the weapon extending along his arm rather than as an extension from it. Switching into or out of this Reversed Grip normally calls for a Ready maneuver; see Ready. This has several combat effects.

Most weapons have less reach when reversed. A reach C weapon remains reach C. A reach 1 weapon is still reach 1 when striking to the rear, but can only attack at reach C to the front or sides (although this allows it to function as a close-combat weapon). A reach 2 weapon functions as reach 1 for all purposes – half its length is in front of the wielder, the other half is behind him. Longer weapons are too awkward to reverse.

This grip favors stabbing, but its reduced reach and overall awkwardness make swung attacks and parries less effective. Thrusting attacks get +1 damage. Swinging attacks are at -2 damage or -1 damage per die, whichever is worse. Parries with the weapon are at -2.

Brawling and Karate parries are possible when wielding a reach C or 1 weapon this way. The defender parries with the weapon resting along his forearm. A failed parry lets the attacker choose to hit his original target or the weapon (the arm would be struck if it weren't for the weapon; see Parrying Unarmed). This special parry is at only -1 – or at no penalty if using a tonfa, which is designed for it.

When striking to the front or sides, a reversed weapon can make its usual thrusting or swinging attacks, subject to the damage modifiers above. Since the attacker's body partly conceals the weapon, Deceptive Attacks and feints are more effective: if either succeeds, add an extra -1 to the target's defense penalty.

The user can also strike with the butt of his weapon. If its effective reach is C, treat this as Pummeling (p. 111). If effective reach is 1, this is an attack using weapon skill. The butt of a crushing weapon (e.g., a staff) inflicts its full thrusting damage. Other weapons do their usual thrusting damage at -1, converted to crushing. Butt strikes don't enjoy the bonus thrusting damage or improved Deceptive Attacks and feints noted above.

When striking to the rear, a reversed weapon can only make thrusting attacks with its tip, but still at +1 to damage for Reversed Grip. These attacks otherwise obey the usual rules for a Wild Swing or a Back Strike. This grip is most useful for knives, which are neither long-ranged nor ideal for cutting and parrying in the first place. Many knife fighters prefer this grip. It's also effective with a tonfa. Swordsmen rarely use this grip except to strike enemies in close combat.

Shin Kicks

Kicking with a shin instead of with a foot is an option for Jam, Kicking, and Spinning Kick – but not for other kicks, or against someone who's behind you or lying down. Skill and damage don't change. You get +1 damage for rigid leg armor, not for boots. Hurting Yourself applies if you strike any DR. If your opponent parries such a kick and inflicts damage, it affects your leg, not your foot. This move is most effective if you have the advantage Striker (Crushing; Limb, Shin, -20%). Damage is then at +1 per die and you only hurt yourself if you kick DR 3+. See Striker.

Shoves with Weapons

You can use a shield or any rigid weapon with reach 1+ (not a kusari, whip, etc.) to shove a foe. Resolve this as explained for Shove, but roll against weapon skill to hit. "Damage" is thrust crushing, at -1 per die if using a one-handed weapon or shield, plus the weapon's highest Reach or shield's Defense Bonus. As usual, double this to find knockback.

With a long weapon, you can simultaneously shove two nearby foes; see Slams with Long Weapons for allowed weapons and targets. Both attacks are at -4 to hit. Roll knockback-only damage as above but apply the basic roll to each target instead of twice that amount to just one of them.

Slams with Long Weapons

A pole held across the body is useful for knocking people over in a slam. This move – called "cross-checking" in ice hockey – is a variation on the shield rush for long weapons. Only reach 2+ weapons can do this, and only when ready in a two-handed grip. This usually limits it to Polearm, Spear, Staff, Two-Handed Axe/Mace, and Two-Handed Flail weapons, but Two-Handed Sword weapons can also slam when held in a Defensive Grip. To charge and strike with the end of a weapon, see Move and Attack.

Resolve this attack as explained under Slam, but roll against weapon skill to hit. (This represents keeping the weapon on target as you rush – a historically accurate part of training with long weapons!) If you hit, add your weapon's highest Reach to your regular slam damage. Your weapon takes damage instead of you, but you still fall down if your opponent rolls twice your damage or more.

Using a long pole makes two options available that aren't possible with ordinary slams and shield rushes. First, you can target the neck, at the standard -5 to hit. This has no special effect on the slam but gives you the favorable modifiers for crushing damage to the neck.

Second, you can run between two opponents who are no further apart than the reach of your weapon (adjacent if reach 2, with up to a yard of empty space between them if reach 3) and slam them both. Roll separately at -4 to hit each foe; this is a variation on Dual-Weapon Attack. Determine damage normally, adding Reach as above, but make a single damage roll and divide it by two. This is the damage to each foe – even if you hit just one. Work out who knocks down whom separately for each attack. You have two chances to fall. Only a big, fast fighter with a heavy weapon is likely to knock down two men!

Striking at Shields

You can attack a shield, cloak, or buckler much as you would a weapon. Use Striking at Weapons with the following modifications.

If the shield is strapped to your adversary's arm, you can only strike to damage it; you can't knock it from his grasp. The penalty to hit is the usual -4 to attack a reach 1 melee weapon, but add a bonus equal to the shield or cloak's Defense Bonus (DB). This gives -3 to hit a light or small shield, or a light cloak; -2 to hit a medium shield or a heavy cloak; or -1 to hit a large shield.

If your opponent is using a cloak or hand-held buckler – that is, anything that uses the Cloak or Shield (Buckler) skill – you can strike to disarm, if you prefer. Use the penalty above, but all weapons (even fencing weapons) suffer an extra -2 to hit.

Your victim may dodge or block (but not parry) your attack. Retreating gives its usual bonus. His DB doesn't add to his defense roll, however. A shield or cloak's DB rates its tendency to get in the way, and he's trying to get it out of the way or turn it so that the blow slides off.

Resolve damage to shields and cloaks according to Damage to Shields; see Shields for DR and HP. In a disarm attempt against a cloak or buckler, roll the usual Quick Contest. Neither fighter receives any modifier for weapon type.

Grabbing Shields

You can also attempt to grab a shield or cloak. This requires at least one empty hand. Roll against DX or a grappling skill to hit – but instead of the usual -4 to grab a weapon hand (see Grabbing), roll at -4 plus the shield or cloak's DB. Your opponent can use any active defense; he can parry your hand with a weapon.

A successful attack means you've grabbed the shield or cloak. Until your victim breaks free or you let him go, he cannot block or add his DB to his defenses. He may attempt to break free on his turn; see Break Free. If so, you're at the usual +5 if you used both hands. He gets +4 if his shield is strapped to his arm.

Telegraphic Attack

You can carefully line up an attack in combat much as you would during a stress-free practice session, gaining the +4 for routine skill use discussed at Base Skill vs. Effective Skill. Such an attack is often termed "telegraphic" because it transmits your intentions to your foe. This makes it easy to avoid: all active defenses against a Telegraphic Attack are at +2!

A Telegraphic Attack is the opposite of a Deceptive Attack and you cannot combine the two. Likewise, you cannot use a Telegraphic Attack as a Riposte and it gains no benefit from an earlier feint. The +4 to hit doesn’t "stack" with the bonus for Evaluate, either. You can combine it with all other combat options.

There's also a restriction on the results of a Telegraphic Attack: the +4 to hit doesn't affect your chance of a critical hit. Use your skill before the bonus to determine this. For instance, if you had skill 11 and the +4 made it 15, you would roll a critical hit on 3-4, not on 3-5; if you had skill 15 and the +4 gave you 19, you would score a critical hit on a roll of 3-5, not 3-6.

Use this option when you must attack at a penalty but All-Out Attack (Determined) or Committed Attack (Determined) would be too risky. Fighters most often use Telegraphic Attack to offset the -3 for Combat Art or Sport skills in combat (athletes often have good accuracy but little subtlety), shock penalties, and penalties for attacks that are at the edge of their skill level (e.g., for specific hit locations)...and to strike from behind!

Tip Slash

If your weapon can thrust for impaling damage, you can instead swing it so that the tip pierces and rips across your target laterally. This is called a Tip Slash. Treat it as a cutting attack for all purposes: wounding modifiers, Injury Tolerance, etc. It can be useful when impaling damage doesn’t affect your target much!

A Tip Slash is an attack at full skill, distinct from other attacks listed on the weapon table. For the purpose of Targeted Attacks and Combinations, it's a different basic attack from "Thrust" or "Swing." Cutting damage equals the weapon's impaling damage, at -2. Weapon quality affects this normally. Where the rules distinguish between thrusts and swings (e.g., parrying unarmed), a Tip Slash is a swing, despite using thrust damage.

A Tip Slash uses the weapon's current maximum reach. If holding the weapon in a grip that permits two or more different attacks, use the longest reach. Parry and ST are unaffected.

Examples: A Tip Slash using a dagger (thrust-1 impaling) inflicts thrust-3 cutting at reach C. A Tip Slash with a fine-quality rapier (thrust+2 impaling) does thrust cutting at reach 2. A Tip Slash with a long spear held in two hands (thrust+3 impaling) delivers thrust+1 cutting at reach 2 or 3, depending on how you hold it.

Close-Combat Options

Teeth

A toothy mouth lets you bite in close combat. Roll against DX or Brawling to hit. You can either nip and let go or hold on and grapple your victim in addition to injuring him. Either is an attack that takes full hit location penalties – not halved for grappling – and inflicts thrust-1 crushing damage. Brawling improves damage. The Teeth advantage can change damage type.

Allowed hit locations for a bite and the effects of grappling with teeth depend on relative Size Modifier. These rules draw heavily on concepts explained in New Hit Locations. Read that first!

Your SM is no greater than your victim's. You can't bite his skull, spine, veins/arteries, or vitals. You can bite his face, neck, torso, or limbs, but you'll merely nab a fold of flesh. This can only cripple a limb on critical hit results 7, 8, 13, or 14. You can target a tendon within a limb at an extra -3. Handle this like an attack on a joint – it can cripple. You can also target and cripple an ear, nose, or extremity (or, at another -3, the tendons inside an extremity). In all cases, a bite counts as a one-handed grapple for the purpose of strangling, breaking free, techniques, etc.

On subsequent turns, you can worry. This counts as an attack but it always hits – simply roll biting damage each turn. Injury can't exceed HP/4 to a nose, an ear, or the tendons in an extremity, or HP/3 to an extremity or the tendons in a limb. Keep rolling damage, though! Further attacks inflict full shock. Should total injury reach twice that needed to cripple a nose or an ear, you bite it off. Twice the amount to cripple a hand removes a finger (see Missing Digit). You can't remove an entire extremity or limb.

Your SM exceeds your victim's by +1 or +2. You can target any hit location susceptible to your bite's damage type, and can cripple or sever limbs. Treat grapples using your teeth as two-handed for the purpose of strangling, breaking free, Neck Snap, and Wrench Limb, but as one-handed for all other purposes. Otherwise, use the rules above.

Your SM exceeds your victim's by +3 or more. Your maw can engulf his entire head or torso. This allows you to attack, worry at, and cripple any body part. If you bite and grapple the torso, you can attempt a pin on a standing foe. Success means he's trapped helplessly in your jaws!

Born Biters: Some creatures have elongated jaws built for biting – a zero-cost racial feature. They get +1 to +3 to effective SM only to determine how they bite. Apply the same bonus to rolls to hit their jaw or nose. A SM 0 reptile man with +3 SM for biting would bite as if he had SM +3, but enemies would target his jaw at only -3, his nose at -4. Those with any level of this feature suffer a nose hit on a roll of 1-2 on 1d when struck in the face.

Biting Techniques: Targeted Attacks with teeth take the form "TA (Brawling Bite/Hit Location)." Neck Snap (Teeth) and Wrench Limb (Teeth) are distinct from the standard versions, and must be learned separately.

The Sound of One Hand Grappling

Most grappling techniques in Chapter 3 "require" two hands. In reality, there are one-handed variants of Arm Lock, Choke Hold, Head Lock, Leg Lock, Neck Snap, and Wrench Limb (but not Backbreaker, Piledriver, or Wrench Spine).

DX-based rolls to initiate such moves are at -2, or at -4 if using the crook of one arm because the hand isn't free. This is cumulative with any penalties in the technique description (e.g., the -1 to use Choke Hold from in front). DX-based rolls to inflict damage, including throws from locks (pp. 118-119), are at -4.

ST-based effects use half ST, rounded down. This affects defaults (e.g., for Neck Snap), Quick Contests, and thrust and swing damage. When strangling, halve ST instead of applying the -5 on p. B370. Should a technique give a ST bonus – intrinsic or for using a weapon – add it after halving. If a technique offers a choice of rolls, always use the most favorable.

If your victim tries to break free, you obviously can't claim the +5 for using two hands when you're using just one; see p. B371. Moreover, you don't benefit from the technique's innate bonuses to keep him from breaking free (e.g., +4 for Arm Lock) and he doesn't suffer its special penalties (e.g., -1 per repeated attempt for Arm Lock).

Grab and Smash!

Grapples can set up vicious strikes. These tactics are realistic but complex. It's the GM's call whether to allow them.

All-Out Grapple and Strike

Martial artists and brawlers often grab opponents and pull them into thrusting attacks. Such strikes are powerful and hard to avoid. Examples include yanking a head into a Knee Strike (famous in Bando and Muay Thai), throwing an Uppercut in a clinch (illegal but common in Boxing), and pulling someone onto a knife. The perks Clinch and Neck Control are handy here!

This is an All-Out Attack (Double). Use the first attack to grapple your rival. If it works, he'll suffer the standard defense penalties against the ensuing strike; see Defense While Grappling.

Your second attack can be a strike with anything except the arm(s) used to grapple. This is a close-combat ttack. If you use a weapon longer than reach C, see Long Weapons in Close Combat.

If the grapple works and you hit the grappled location with a thrusting attack, your strike gets the damage bonus for All-Out Attack (Strong). This also applies to blows to the groin, spine, or vitals if grappling the torso; the eye, jaw, or nose if grappling the head; or an artery or joint if grappling a location containing such a target. You may retain your grapple after striking or relinquish it immediately.

Use these rules only on the turn when you initiate your grapple. You must All-Out Attack to grapple and receive bonus damage. To brutalize an adversary you grappled on an earlier turn, use All-Out Attack (Strong).

Kiss the Wall (Carpet, Car Door, ...)

If you've used two hands to grapple a foe and you're standing or kneeling, you can ram him into a wall or other massive object within a yard – or the ground, if he's lying down. This isn't a Judo Throw, but an attempt to hold onto your victim and propel him using your own momentum.

This is an attack rolled against DX, Brawling, Sumo Wrestling, or Wrestling. You can target any hit location but the feet, at full penalties. If your victim is lying down, you can only target his face or skull. Your opponent may either dodge or parry with a free hand, subject to Defense While Grappling.

A successful attack inflicts thrust crushing damage, +1 for a hard surface, plus your skill bonus. Treat the ST bonus for Sumo Wrestling or Wrestling as a damage bonus. A critical miss means you slip, take this damage to your face, and lose your grapple!

Twofers

You can knock two foes together! Use the rules above, with these changes:

All-Out Grapple and Strike: As your initial grapple, make a Dual-Weapon Attack (-4) against adjacent foes in close combat. Both defend normally. If you grapple only one, your grapple counts but you can't strike. If you grapple both, make a DX, Brawling, Sumo Wrestling, or Wrestling roll to ram them together. They may defend as usual. If both fail, you inflict thrust-1 crushing damage to the grappled location on each. The only damage bonus is +1 if you grapple two skulls and knock them together.

Kiss the Wall: You may ram your grappled adversary into any hit location on an enemy within a yard. Use the worst hit location penalty; e.g., bashing a face (-5) into a leg (-2) gives -5. Your second opponent defends normally, although the incoming body counts as a weapon with weight equal to the first victim's ST (see Parrying Heavy Weapons). If either foe defends, nobody is hurt. If both fail, each takes thrust crushing damage, plus skill bonuses. The +1 for a hard surface applies only when ramming skulls together.

These expanded rules apply mainly in close combat – that is, for melee combat at ranges under a yard (reach C). For more information, see Close Combat.

All-Out and Committed Attacks When Grappling

All-Out and Committed Attacks compromise your defenses against grapples as well as against strikes. They also make it easier for an opponent to follow up his grapple with a takedown, pin, or other close-combat move.

If you make an All-Out Attack, you're truly defenseless. You automatically lose any Contest to avoid a close-combat attack following a grapple. This includes all takedowns, pins, throws from locks, and grappling techniques that "attack" using a Quick Contest (e.g., Handcuffing). You still get a ST or HT roll to resist injury from strangling, Arm Lock, Neck Snap, Wrench Limb, etc.

If you make a Committed Attack, the -2 to active defenses also applies to your rolls to avoid takedowns, pins, etc. Otherwise, you function normally against actions that follow a grapple.

Neither All-Out Attack nor Committed Attack prevents you from rolling to keep someone you've grappled from breaking free, though, or gives a penalty to such a roll. That isn't a defense roll!

Your actions after grappling or being grappled – including your own attempts to break free – require you to choose an Attack, All-Out Attack, or Committed Attack maneuver. They aren't compatible with Defensive Attack and aren't free actions. If you make an All-Out Attack (AOA) or Committed Attack (CA), you're subject to the effects above and use the following special rules:

Determined: You may use this option to get +2 (CA) or +4 (AOA) to a DX-based roll (DX or a DX-based skill or technique) for the purpose of a takedown, lock, or hold. You cannot apply this bonus to a ST-based roll – but see the Strong option, below.

Double: You may use AOA (Double) to try two grappling moves, subject to the restrictions under Grappling and Multiple Attacks.

Feint: You may use AOA (Feint) to make a feint or a Beat against a grappled foe before trying Arm Lock, Judo Throw, or another grappling attack that allows an active defense. You can also use AOA (Feint) on the turn after you parry to make a feint or a Beat and then attempt such an attack, if it's one that can follow a parry. AOA (Feint) is pointless if no active defense is involved; e.g., with break free, strangle, or pin.

Long: AOA (Long) isn't an option in close combat.

Strong: You may use this option to get +1 (CA) or +2 (AOA) to a ST-based roll (ST or a ST-based technique) for a takedown or pin, to strangle or otherwise injure a foe, or to break free. For techniques that base injury on thrust or swing damage as opposed to on a margin of victory, apply the bonus directly to damage.

See Actions After a Grapple and Actions After Being Grappled for further details.

Close Combat and Body Morphology

The combat rules in the Basic Set, while generic, occasionally assume an upright humanoid with two arms, hands, legs, and feet (or equivalent body parts). Traits that alter your body away from this norm change how certain rules work – especially for grapples, pins, and close-combat techniques!

Below are notes on the combat effects of selected physiological traits. Anything not mentioned here either has no appreciable effect or uses the rules for the traits it includes (e.g., Quadriplegic combines Lame and No Fine Manipulators). In general, if a body part is missing, you can't use techniques that require it and are immune to enemy techniques that target it.

Extra Arms

If you can bring more than two arms to bear on a foe, each arm after the second gives +2 to hit with a grapple (but not with follow-up techniques), to prevent your victim from breaking free (of grapples, pins, locks, etc.), and to break free yourself. Each hand after the first two gives +2 ST to choke or strangle, too. If you have more arms than your opponent – the exact number is irrelevant – you get +3 to pin him or resist his pin attempts. You only receive these bonuses for arms of regular length or better.

Special modifiers can give additional effects:

Extra-Flexible: Such arms are immune to injury from Arm Lock (which only counts as an ordinary grapple) but not Wrench Arm. They also get +2 on the DX roll required to ready a weapon in close combat.

Foot Manipulators: You can use these limbs to meet the requirements of any rule that calls for arms or legs – but you can never use a limb as both an arm and a leg at the same time. Decide how you're using it at the start of your turn.

No Physical Attack: In addition to being unable to strike, these arms cannot grapple, pin, choke, etc., and don't give the close-combat bonuses above. They're still valid targets for enemy techniques that target arms!

Short: These arms never give the close-combat bonuses above. If you use only Short arms for a close-combat task, all rolls are at -2 regardless of how many arms you have.

Weapon Mount: As No Physical Attack, except that Arm Lock is ineffective against the limb – it only counts as an ordinary grapple. Wrench Armworks normally.

Extra Legs

The number of legs a foe must grapple to keep you from walking, kicking, etc., equals the number of crippled legs needed to make you fall. If he restrains fewer legs and you have more than twice his ST, you can walk – just lower Move by the usual amount for a small number of crippled legs.

Example: If you had six legs, a weak enemy grappling one leg would merely reduce your Move by 20% – he'd have to grapple four legs to immobilize you!

In addition, each leg past two gives +1 to resist enemy attempts to knock you over (e.g., takedown or Sweep) and to the roll to avoid falling after a missed kick. When you grapple using legs (see Using Your Legs), each pair of legs after the first gives the bonuses specified under Extra Arms, above, per arm past the first two. If you have more legs than your foe has free hands, you get +3 to pin him by sitting on him (see Shifting Grapples and Freeing Hands). Finally, having four or more legs lets you attempt a pounce.

Extra Mouth

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Horizontal

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Injury Tolerance

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Lame

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No Fine Manipulators

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No Legs

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One Arms and One Hand

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Spines

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Striker

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Long Weapons in Close Combat

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More Actions After a Grapple

These rules expand on Actions After a Grapple.

Bear Hugs

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Shifting Grapples and Freeing Hands

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Shoving People Around

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Throws from Locks

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Pain in Close Combat

Much of what occurs in close combat is about pain as much as injury. These optional rules let you simulate excruciating, joint-grinding action.

Inflicting Pain with Locks

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Pain and Breaking Free

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Sprawling

When an attacker tries a takedown or a technique based on a takedown, you may opt to fall willingly in an attempt to achieve superior ground position. This is known as "sprawling."” It's risky, but it's useful against someone you know is less adept than you are at Ground Fighting.

If you sprawl, you fall down – that is, your enemy's takedown works automatically – but the Quick Contest still occurs and you roll at +3. If your rival wins, you simply fall. If he loses or ties, though, he falls, too – in tactical combat, you end up lying atop him in the same two hexes – and he loses any grapple he had on you.

Ranged Attack Options

These rules significantly enhance the "firepower" of muscle-powered ranged weapons. They describe feats that might be possible for extremely skilled realistic warriors, but the GM is free to reserve them for Weapon Masters.

Quick-Shooting Bows

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Rapid Strike with Thrown Weapons

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Rapid Fire with Thrown Weapons

A classic tactic of ninja and gadgeteers is to toss many tiny throwing weapons (caltrops, ball bearings, shuriken, etc.) at once, with the goal of hitting somebody with something. This is far less precise than Rapid Strike with Thrown Weapons (see above). Use the following special rules instead.

The weapons used must be ready for throwing. It takes a turn to ready a fistful of tiny weapons from a handy container, or to ready the container itself. You can toss up to BL/50 lbs. of small, sharp items or BL/20 lbs. of small, blunt ones with one hand (use BL/20 lbs. for all weapons in a cinematic campaign!), or launch up to BL/2 lbs. of projectiles from a container – box, pouch, hollow staff, etc. This is a limit on the number of items you can throw for useful effect, not a measure of how many you can lift.

Treat the entire collection of thrown weapons as a missile weapon with Acc 0, RoF and Shots equal to the number of items hurled, and Rcl 2. For four shots or less, Damage is at -1 per die relative to a single weapon of that kind, and Range is 2/3 usual. For more than four shots, Damage is at -2 per die and range is 1/3 usual. Bulk is -2 for a fistful of weapons, -6 for any kind of container.

Handle the throw as a rapid-fire missile attack; see Rapid Fire. Roll against Throwing to hit, regardless of what you're throwing. You can throw all the weapons at one target for a bonus to hit or use Spraying Fire to attack multiple foes. All-Out Attack (Suppression Fire) isn't an option – that assumes a steady stream of fire, not a single burst of projectiles.

If you know Throwing Art, you can roll against that skill to hit, and receive its usual bonuses to range and damage!

Example: A comic-book ninja with ST 13 and Throwing-14 hurls a handful of shuriken at a foe 2 yards away. His BL is 34, so he could normally toss 34/50 = 0.68 lb. of sharp objects with one hand...but this is a cinematic game, so he can toss a full 34/20 = 1.7 lbs. of shuriken. Since a shuriken weighs 0.1 lb., his "fistful" consists of 17 stars! For a ST 13 man, a shuriken normally has Damage 1d-1 cut, Range 6/13. Since there are more than four, this becomes Damage 1d-3 cut, Range 2/4. The attack has Acc 0, RoF 17, and Rcl 2. The bonus for RoF 17 is +4 and the range modifier for 2 yards is 0, so the ninja needs 14 + 4 = 18 to hit. He rolls a 10, succeeding by 8. That’s four multiples of Rcl 2, so he hits with one star plus four extras, for a total of five.

Tricky Shooting

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Active Defense Options

What Is...a Parry?

Martial artists usually use the term "parry" to describe a defense that redirects or deflects an attack without absorbing much of its energy. Intercepting an attack and safely dissipating its energy is called a "block." In GURPS, these terms have different meanings. "Parry" refers to either kind of defense made with a weapon or a limb. "Block"” describes either type of defense executed with a shield.

Not every parry involves contact. A parry against an attack on your weapon or your hand represents yanking the target out of harm's way, and Parrying Heavy Weapons doesn't apply to the attempt.

Not all parries involve limbs, either. If you parry a grappling technique (e.g., Judo Throw or Piledriver) using Boxing, Brawling, Judo, Karate, Sumo Wrestling, or Wrestling, you can opt to "counter" – twist or sprawl so that your adversary's technique fails – rather than slap away your enemy's hands. This doesn't require a free hand. It resembles a dodge, but it's a parry in game terms.

Neither of the above parries can set up an Arm Lock, Judo Throw, or other grappling technique on your turn. You must use a hand and make contact to do that. When using a combat skill at its DX default or parrying unarmed at DX/2 + 3, your parry is a frantic, brute-force attempt to slap aside the attack, and always involves some contact.

Harsh Realism for Unarmed Fighters

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Except as noted, these expanded rules apply during any maneuver that permits an active defense. Parry options require a ready melee weapon – or, for an unarmed parry, a hand that isn't holding onto someone or something. Anything involving a retreat is only possible if you're standing or lying down, and aren't stunned.

Cross Parry

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Defense While Grappling

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Fencing Parries

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Limiting Dodges

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Multiple Blocks

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Parries with Legs and Feet

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Parrying with Two-Handed Weapons

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Retreat Options

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Riposte

A gambit popular with martial artists is a parry that carries the attacker's weapon out of line or otherwise compromises his defenses, "setting up" a counterattack – or riposte – that exploits the opening. Executed correctly, the riposte is difficult to avoid. However, it often requires the defender to begin his attacking motion early and give up some of his own ability to defend. Thus, it can backfire spectacularly!

To set up a Riposte, declare that you wish to do so before you parry. Choose a penalty to your Parry score – the larger the penalty, the greater your focus on the counterattack. This cannot reduce your Parry, before all other modifiers except Enhanced Parry, below 8.

Then add the remaining modifiers and try to parry the attack. You can retreat – but if your foe steps back after attacking, you might end up too far away for a Riposte.

Success means you parry and set up a Riposte. If your first attack next turn uses your parrying weapon against the foe you parried, one of his active defenses against it suffers the penalty you accepted on your parry. If you parried his hand or weapon, reduce his Parry with that hand (with either hand, if his attack used two hands). If you parried his shield, lower his Block. If you parried an unarmed attack other than a hand strike (bite, kick, slam, etc.), reduce his Dodge. Apply half this penalty (drop fractions) to any other defense he attempts against your attack – including rolls to resist grappling moves that use Quick Contests instead of active defenses (e.g., takedowns).

Failure means you're hit, as for any failed parry. Your attempt gives you no special benefits – although you can still attack your foe on your next turn, if his attack leaves you in any shape to do so.

Example: Harry the Good and Black Odo are dueling with broadswords and medium shields. Harry has Broadsword-16 and Enhanced Parry 1, for a Parry of 12. Odo attacks Harry with his sword and Harry decides to attempt a Riposte. Odo being his mortal enemy, Harry goes for broke and takes the maximum penalty: -4, which drops his Parry to 8. With +1 for Combat Reflexes and +2 for his shield's DB, his final Parry is 11. He succeeds, warding off Odo’s attack. This allows him to Riposte with his sword (not a shield bash, kick, etc.) on his turn. He does so and succeeds! If Odo tries to parry with his sword, he has the same penalty Harry did, or -4. If he attempts a dodge or block, he has half this penalty, or -2.

A Riposte is most effective when you're more skilled than your foe, when you have many defensive bonuses (Combat Reflexes, shield, weapon with a Parry bonus, etc.), or when your target is already compromised – e.g., kneeling or on bad footing.

The active defense penalties from Riposte and from feinting are cumulative. If on your turn you successfully feint a foe, and on his turn he attacks and you parry at a penalty, then you can Riposte on your next turn, forcing him to defend with penalties for both the feint and the Riposte. This takes two turns and offers many opportunities for failure...but when it works, it's devastating!

You cannot combine Deceptive Attack and Riposte, though. A Riposte is a Deceptive Attack – just one where you're taking a defensive risk instead of an offensive one.

Unbalanced Parries

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