Special Unarmed Combat Techniques
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Special Unarmed Combat Techniques
Here are some additional options for unarmed fighters who are not content merely to punch, kick, and grapple. Most require Brawling, Judo, Karate, or Wrestling skill. You can improve your ability with some of these techniques – see Sample Combat Techniques.
Arm Lock
An arm lock is an attempt to restrain or cripple an opponent by twisting his arm. It uses Judo or Wrestling skill. To perform an arm lock, you must have two hands free and make a successful barehanded parry with Judo or Wrestling against your opponent's melee attack.
On your first turn following the parry, you may attempt to capture your attacker's arm if he is still within one yard. This is an attack: step into close combat and roll against Judo or Wrestling to hit. Your foe may use any active defense – he can parry your hand with a weapon! If his defense fails, you trap his arm in a lock.
Your foe may attempt to break free (see Actions After Being Grappled, p. 371) on his next turn, but you are at +4 in the Quick Contest. If he loses, he has a cumulative -1 on future attempts to break free.
On your next turn – and on each turn thereafter, until your foe breaks free – you may try to damage the trapped arm. Roll a Quick Contest: the highest of your Judo, Wrestling, or ST vs. the higher of your victim’s ST or HT. If you win, you inflict crushing damage equal to your margin of victo- ry. The target’s natural DR (unless it has the Tough Skin limitation) and the DR of his rigid armor protect normal- ly. Flexible armor has no effect!
If you cripple your victim’s arm, he drops anything in that hand. You can inflict no further damage on a crip- pled limb, but you can continue to roll the Contest each turn. If you win, your target suffers shock and stunning just as if you had inflicted damage.
The rolls to inflict damage are completely passive and do not count as attacks! You can simultaneously make close combat attacks on your opponent, who defends at -4 in addi- tion to any other penalties due to the damage caused by the lock itself.
You can also use this ability offen- sively. Instead of waiting to parry an attack, grapple your foe normally with Judo or Wrestling skill. If he fails to break free on his next turn, you may attempt an arm lock on your next turn, just as if you had parried his attack.
Choke Hold
This Judo and Wrestling technique involves locking one forearm around the target’s neck and applying pres- sure to the windpipe. The more the victim struggles, the tighter the choke becomes. This can quickly subdue an opponent.
To apply a choke hold, you must grapple your victim from behind using both hands. Treat this as a normal grapple (see Grappling, p. 370), but roll against your Judo at -2 or Wrestling at -3 to hit. A victim who is aware of you may attempt any legal defense, but suffers the usual penalties for an attack from behind.
On your foe’s next turn and on sub- sequent turns, he may attempt to break free. You are at +5 in the Quick Contest. But note that you control your victim’s neck and head – not his arms and legs. He can attack you with a Wild Swing (p. 388), Back Kick (p. 230), etc., at the usual -4 for being grappled.
On your next turn – and on each turn thereafter, until your foe breaks free – your victim loses 1 FP, per Suffocation (p. 436). If you wish, you may choke him for crushing damage at the same time (see Actions After a Grapple, p. 370), and get +3 to ST for this purpose.
Elbow Strike
You can attack an enemy behind you in close combat by jabbing back- ward with your elbow. Roll against Brawling-2 or Karate-2 to hit. There is no modifier for not facing the enemy, but apply an extra -1 to hit if you tar- get a specific hit location. On a hit, roll your usual punching damage. Treat an elbow strike at a foe in front of you as a normal punch.
Knee Strike
This is a vicious, snapping blow with the knee. Unlike a kick, it only has reach C. Roll against Brawling-1 or Karate-1 to hit. If you have grap- pled your target, he defends at -2 . . . and if you grappled from the front, you may attack his groin at no penal- ty! On a hit, roll your usual kicking damage.
Lethal Strike
This is a blow that focuses all of your strength onto a single narrow point: a toe, a few stiffened fingers, etc. It is an option for any punch or kick with Karate. Roll against Karate to hit, but at -2 over and above any other penalties. You get -1 to damage, but your blow is piercing instead of crushing. This lets you target the vitals or eyes! There is a down side: the Hurting Yourself rule (p. 379) applies if your target has DR 1+ (as opposed to DR 3+).
Neck Snap or Wrench Limb
This brute-force technique consists of grabbing and suddenly twisting the victim’s head to break the neck, or a limb to dislocate or break it.
You must first grapple your oppo- nent by the neck or desired limb using both hands; see Grappling (p. 370). Your victim may attempt to break free on his turn. If he fails, then on your next turn, roll a Quick Contest: your ST-4 vs. the higher of your victim’s ST or HT. If you win, you inflict swing/crushing damage on the neck or limb. Damage to the neck has the usual ¥1.5 wounding modifier for hit location. The target’s natural DR (unless it has the Tough Skin limita- tion) and the DR of his rigid armor protect normally. Flexible armor has no effect!
You may make repeated attempts on successive turns, but your oppo- nent may attack you or attempt to break free, subject to the usual limita- tions of being grappled.
Trampling
You can trample a victim if your Size Modifier exceeds his by 2 or more – or by only 1, if he's lying prone and you're not.
Trampling is a melee attack: roll vs. the higher of DX or Brawling to hit. The victim's only legal defense is a dodge. If you hit, you inflict thrust/crushing damage based on your ST; if you have Hooves, add +1 per die of damage.
If you knock down a foe in a collision or slam and keep on moving, you automatically overrun and trample your opponent. Do not make any attack or defense rolls – roll damage immediately, based on half your ST, rounded down.
In all cases, if your SM exceeds your victim's by 3 or more, don't worry about hit location – your attack counts as a large-area injury (see Large-Area Injury).