Martial Arts: Cinematic Combat

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Cinematic Combat

Faster Combat

You can run extremely detailed fights using Martial Arts and the Basic Set, but most gamers find quicker combats more fun! Below are tips on how to speed up battle. They’re advice, not rules – the GM should use only the suggestions that suit his gaming group.

  • Limit options. Let the players choose only those options that suit the kind of game you're running: realistic or cinematic, emphasizing unarmed martial arts or weapon styles, etc. Politely but firmly forbid the rest.
  • Encourage options that lower defenses. Deceptive Attacks, feints, Ripostes, and Stop Hits add complexity...but reduced defenses increase the odds that a blow will land and end the fight. This keeps battles from taking forever because nobody ever fails a defense roll.
  • Make a "cheat sheet." List modifiers and page numbers for all the optional rules you intend to use. An index card is ideal for this – and doubles as a handy bookmark for a page of frequently used rules.
  • Work out everything in advance. Somewhere on the character sheet of each PC or important NPC, note such things as allowed movement, modified skill, and damage with attacks; jumping distance; slam damage at full Move; and crippling thresholds (damage over HP/2 and HP/3).
  • Require speedy decisions. Tell each player to have his actions ready when his turn comes. If he doesn't, he must take some "default" action agreed upon in advance: All-Out Defense, Do Nothing, repeat his previous action, etc. "My PC is a kung fu master! He'd know what to do!" doesn't hold water. A second is still a second, even for a kung fu master. There's plenty of time to weigh options while others are taking their turns.
  • Encourage "trademark moves." Have each player work out a few "standard operating procedures" in the form of an entire turn's worth of actions calculated in advance; e.g., "Committed Attack (Strong) and Rapid Strike: thrust to the vitals at skill 13, then a Deceptive swing to the torso for -2 defenses at skill 12." These are good "default" actions for the player who can't make up his mind!
  • Hold players responsible for remembering options. If you let the players use a specialized rule, make it their job to remember its details and location. If they can’t remember the rule, their characters decide not to use the tactic.
  • Have major wounds end fights. An NPC should flee or surrender if he takes a major wound (or crippling wound), unless he has a serious mental problem like Berserk. Don't keep going until everyone on one side is unconscious or dead. It takes forever and isn't especially realistic or cinematic.

What Is...A Rapid Strike?

A Rapid Strike is normally two distinct attacks – one after the other – but it doesn't have to be. It might instead be a single motion that connects more than once: a punch with an elbow behind it, a sword cut calculated to hit two legs at once, a knee to the groin that ends with a stamp to the foot, and so on. Since the two blows don't hit the same location at the same time, this is just a "“special effect." The target may defend normally against each attack, and has his full DR against both.

Other Rapid Strikes consist of a blow with a vicious follow-up. The target still gets normal defenses and DR against this. For instance, a knife thrust followed by a cut could represent stabbing and then tearing. The victim might twist so that the knife slides out (dodge), use his shield to shove you away (block), or restrain your wrist (parry). His armor DR would affect the second attack – despite the knife being inside his armor – because you have to rip through him and his armor. Similar logic applies to a stamp-and-grind with the heel, chop-and-draw with a sword, a grapple that nabs one arm and pulls it across the body to trap the other, and so on.

The GM should permit anything that applies on a per-attack basis – poison or magical flame on a blade, Innate Attack with Aura, and so on – to work once per attack, not just once per Rapid Strike. Simply assume that the target is exposed for longer or over a greater proportion of his body.

Because such interpretations have no game effects, you may take dramatic license when describing a Rapid Strike. This is good roleplaying!

Other Multiple Actions

The Multiple Attacks rules apply only to the All-Out Attack, Attack, Committed Attack, Defensive Attack, and Move and Attack maneuvers. A fighter can "trade" attacks for feints, but he can't sacrifice attacks to perform tasks covered by other maneuvers. He cannot make multiple posture changes with Change Posture (but see Acrobatic Stand), hastily Ready an unready weapon (but he can draw several weapons; see Multiple Fast-Draw), count his turn as more than one second of Concentrate, or Aim or Evaluate on a turn when he attacks. Exception: Individuals with Altered Time Rate can do all of these things by taking suitable maneuvers on their turn!

Mind Games

An important part of martial-arts mythology, especially in cinematic settings, is that "martial artist" is as much a mindset as it is a skill set. These optional rules address this philosophy.

The Contest of Wills

In martial-arts films and samurai legends, entire battles are fought in the mind. The warriors lock eyes, and then one suddenly breaks eye contact and walks away, beaten...or charges, knowing that he’s doomed.

To initiate a Contest of Wills, the challenger must Concentrate and lock eyes with his opponent. If his foe accepts the challenge, he must take a Concentrate maneuver as well. If he rejects it, he must make a Will roll to avoid being drawn in anyway. Success means he can take his turn normally and cannot be challenged again this combat.

Once the Contest begins, roll a Regular Contest of Will each turn. Either fighter may substitute Intimidation or Mental Strength for Will, if better.

Modifiers: Fearlessness; +5 each for Indomitable and Unfazeable; the better fighter gets +1 per three levels by which his best combat skill exceeds his opponent's. Reputation can go either way. For instance, -2 for being a ruthless killer would give +2, but +2 for being merciful might give -2. In some settings, Status and other reaction modifiers apply.

Roll once per turn until somebody wins. Find the winner's margin of victory as if this were a Quick Contest and make a reaction roll for the loser, applying the margin as a bonus. Use the "potential combat situation” results on the Reaction Table. If this drives the loser to attack, he has the winner's margin of victory as a penalty to his attack rolls!

This rule is for PCs and major NPCs. See Fear and Martial Artists for a way to demoralize thugs.

Concentration and the Martial Arts

Losing your cool can mean losing the fight! If a martial artist fails his self-control roll for a mental disadvantage that would distract him (GM's opinion), he fights at -2 to DX. This includes submitting to Bad Temper in any fight, Lecherousness when facing a sexy foe, etc., but not things like Berserk and Bloodlust.

Fear and Martial Artists

Fear can be a killer, too. A failed Fright Check is likely to stun the victim and make him easy prey. The GM may require Fright Checks from combatants who suffer dismemberment or lose an eye to an Eye-Pluck, a nose or an ear to Pressure Secrets, or any body part to a bite (see Teeth). While most Fright Checks in combat are at +5 for the heat of battle, those for gruesome injuries are not!

Heroic PCs can use Intimidation on minor NPCs. The GM may want to quantify the +1 to +4 for displays of strength as +1 per five of their number the NPCs know the heroes have defeated, to a maximum of +4. This doesn’t have to be in the same fight! It affects soldiers who hear tales from buddies who survived the last battle, thugs who see the heroes emerge unscathed from a room guarded by a dozen of their comrades, etc. Reputation is another important modifier; see The Contest of Wills. Enough bonuses make even default skill (Will-5) effective!

Faking It

To convincingly fake martial-arts skill based on what you’ve seen in demos and movies, make a DX-based Performance roll. Success means your audience believes you! This lets you attempt Intimidation using the rules for specious intimidation. Critical success means you pass yourself off as a master, which may have minor social benefits.

To portray the martial arts on stage or screen, roll against Stage Combat. This defaults to Combat Art/Sport skills at -2, and to combat skills and Performance at -3. For scenes involving multiple performers, roll against the lowest of the worst performer's skill and the choreographer's Fight Choreography skill.

Such tricks provide no combat benefits and are unlikely to fool real martial artists! Against a trained fighter, treat these rolls as Quick Contests. He gets an IQ-based roll against his best combat, Combat Art, or Combat Sport skill. You must win to convince him you're the real thing.

Fiction usually depicts combat dramatically, as either a heroic contest or a violent ballet. Often the bias is subtle, with the storyteller extending the benefit of the doubt to barely possible feats but otherwise hewing to reality. This is typical of the gossip of real-world martial artists when they relate tales of how their style pushes the limits! At the other end of the spectrum are epics that pit the superhuman techniques and unlikely weapons of the heroes against those of the villains, with little regard for physical laws.

Termed "cinematic" because it's most familiar to us from the movies, this dramatic approach isn't unique to the silver screen. This is the world of heroes from earliest myth and legend, battling armies, monsters, and gods; swashbucklers from romantic novels, dueling all comers to certain victory; comic-book ninja and commandos, using sheer skill to make up for small numbers; and masked wrestlers on television, taking hard hits from the top rope and still walking away from the bout.

In campaigns in this vein, the GM should consider using most or all of the optional rules in this chapter that aren't strictly unrealistic but that are possibly optimistic. These fall into two main categories:

None of these options is absolutely cinematic. Used conservatively, they might even be realistic. Nevertheless, a campaign that features a large proportion of these rules will feel cinematic, while one that omits most of them won't – regardless of the GM's intent!

Some optional rules offer additional detail that doesn't suit a fast-and-loose cinematic game, the worst offenders being Postures, Hit Locations, and Techniques, Fast-Draw from Odd Positions, A Matter of Inches, Close Combat and Body Morphology, More Actions After a Grapple, and Fencing Parries. Harsh Realism for Unarmed Fighters and Limiting Dodges are meant for realistic characters, and would ruin the fun of cinematic warriors. Finally, Untrained Fighters doesn't suit PCs (even untrained ones) in a cinematic campaign – although it's a good option for "cannon fodder" NPCs!

Below are additional rules that can help build a cinematic feel. Except for Multiple Attacks, which appears here because it refers to several superhuman advantages, most of these are strictly cinematic. Use them in a realistic campaign at your peril!

Multiple Attacks

Multiple attacks by the same fighter in a single turn almost define cinematic combat, although they can occur even in realistic campaigns. These guidelines help explain how the many options for multiple attacks interact. They apply to all attacks, but focus on melee combat; see Ranged Attack Options for additional rules for rapid ranged attacks.

Each combatant – however numerous his limbs and whatever his weaponry – starts with one attack per All-Out Attack, Attack, Committed Attack, Defensive Attack, or Move and Attack maneuver, and many normally select only one of those maneuvers per turn. Three situations modify these basic assumptions:

Altered Time Rate: Each level of the Altered Time Rate advantage bestows one additional maneuver per turn – not just an extra attack! The remaining rules in this section apply separately to each All-Out Attack, Attack, Committed Attack, Defensive Attack, or [[Move and Attack maneuver chosen.

Extra Attack: Each level of the Extra Attack advantage gives one additional attack per All-Out Attack, Attack, Committed Attack, Defensive Attack, or Move and Attack maneuver. Extra Attack benefits only those maneuvers. For instance, someone with Extra Attack 2 could use Attack to make three attacks instead of one; if he also had Altered Time Rate 1, he could choose two Attack maneuvers and make three attacks with each.

All-Out Attack: Selecting All-Out Attack (Double) lets a warrior add one attack to his usual number, with that maneuver only. If he has Extra Attacks, he still adds one attack – he doesn't double his attacks! All-Out Attack (Determined), (Long), and (Strong) give no extra attacks, but their benefits apply to all attacks with that maneuver. For those with Altered Time Rate, the effects of All-Out Attack don't carry over to later maneuvers; for instance, a super who chooses All-Out Attack (Double) and then Attack would get one extra attack with his All-Out Attack but only the usual number of attacks with his Attack.

Attacks can involve any combination of unrestrained body parts (hands, feet, Strikers, etc.) and ready weapons. Weapons that become unready after an attack can strike only once. Kicks are at -2 unless improved via a technique. Attacks with the "off" hand are at -4 for those without Ambidexterity or Off-Hand Weapon Training.

Once per All-Out Attack, Attack, Committed Attack, Defensive Attack, or Move and Attack maneuver, a fighter who desires more attacks may trade one (and only one) of his attacks for one of these special options:

Rapid Strike: Unless he took Move and Attack, a warrior can split one of his melee attacks into two attacks with the same weapon or two unarmed attacks, at an extra -6. Those with Trained by a Master or Weapon Master take half the penalty, and may be able to attempt three or more attacks; see Rapid Strike (below).

Combination: A martial artist who has studied a Combination can substitute it for an ordinary Rapid Strike. Otherwise, treat this as a Rapid Strike.

Dual-Weapon Attack: A fighter with two ready weapons in different hands can use one of his attacks to attack with both weapons at once. These two attacks are at an extra -4, but the Dual-Weapon Attack technique lets cinematic martial artists reduce this penalty. This option is allowed for two unarmed attacks with different hands.

Rapid Strike

In a cinematic campaign – especially a chambara or wuxia one – the GM may wish to allow more than two attacks with a Rapid Strike. If so, the penalty becomes -6 per extra attack: -6 for two attacks, -12 for three, -18 for four, and so on. This applies to all the attacks; it doesn't accumulate gradually. For instance, three attacks would all be at -12.

Individuals with Trained by a Master or Weapon Master may halve this penalty; e.g., a Weapon Master could make four attacks at -9. In addition, the GM may rule that only those who have these advantages can attempt three or more attacks with a Rapid Strike.

The GM is free to cap the maximum number of attacks possible with a Rapid Strike. However, this rule is fairly self-limiting: a hero could attempt 10 attacks...but even with Weapon Master, he would be at -27! To ensure that only skilled warriors can make large numbers of attacks, simply limit adjusted skill to 12.

Feints and Multiple Attacks

A fighter can trade melee attacks for feints (see Feint) on a one-for-one basis. Modifiers for maneuvers and attack options do affect skill for this purpose; e.g., a feint during a Rapid Strike is at -6. A warrior can use Move and Attack to "Move and Feint," but at -4 and with a skill limit of 9, it's self-defeating.

A feint that precedes attacks on the same subject during the same maneuver affects the victim's defenses against those attacks; thus, All-Out Attack (Feint) is no different from using All-Out Attack (Double) to feint and attack the same target. If the attacker uses the last attack of a maneuver to feint a foe, its benefits apply to attacks against that opponent during his next maneuver. This maneuver will nearly always occur on his next turn – but after one turn, the feint is no longer effective.

It's "legal" but not terribly effective to attempt multiple feints against the same enemy in the space of a single maneuver. Only the most recent feint applies, even if it wasn't the best one. It's possible to "undo" a good feint with a lousy one!

A feint never unreadies a weapon, even if an attack would.

Multiple Targets

fighter who has two or more melee attacks with a given maneuver can use them to attack or feint multiple foes. He can alternate between opponents in any order he wishes – but each full yard (hex, on a battle map) he skips between targets "wastes" one attack. Thus, it's most efficient to attack adjacent adversaries from right to left or left to right, striking ach enemy in succession.

Example 1: An attacker with two attacks can only attack adjacent targets (in adjoining hexes, on a map). If he tried to attack two opponents with a gap between them, he'd lose an attack...and be back to just one attack.

Example 2: Someone who has three attacks and two adjacent opponents could make two attacks on one foe and one on the other, in any order. If his enemies were one full yard apart, he could only attack each of them once – skipping a yard would use up an attack. If he had a third adversary adjacent to the first two, he could opt to attack each of them once, moving from left to right or right to left. Skipping the one in the middle would be like fighting two people a yard apart, and cost him one attack.

When executing a technique specifically designed to engage multiple opponents, its special rules always supersede this general rule. For examples, see Grand Disarm and Whirlwind Attack.

Grappling and Multiple Attacks

Any grappling move that counts as an attack is permitted as part of a multiple attack sequence during a maneuver. You must usually attempt different actions (takedown and pin, kick and break free, break free and grapple, etc.). You can't make repeated attempts at a takedown, pin, or lock; try to injure an opponent repeatedly through strangling or an Arm Lock, Neck Snap, etc.; or take multiple shots at breaking free. However, you can try the same move against different body parts or opponents, grapple and attempt an instant follow-up, or – if making an attack that must follow a parry, such as Arm Lock – insert attacks between the parry and the follow-up. For instance, if you parried using Judo and then made two attacks, you could feint and then use Arm Lock.

Chambara Fighting

Japanese chambara movies and Hong Kong wuxia films use wires and camera angles to create the illusion of warriors catapulting through the air, battling while balanced on bamboo canes or telephone wires, leaping from rooftop to treetop, and generally ignoring gravity. Traditionally, fighters in these tales aren't comic-book superheroes, capable of flight and telekinesis. They're just so skilled at the martial arts that they can perform the most fantastic feats from martial-arts legend.

The rules below make it possible to simulate this kind of action. They make no effort to be realistic! Only use them in highly cinematic campaigns – and only for combatants who have either Trained by a Master or Weapon Master. Even in the most over-the-top movies, only true masters can perform these stunts.

Chambara Movement

Mighty leaps and acrobatic flips almost define the genre. In a chambara campaign, a fighter with Trained by a Master or Weapon Master and both Acrobatics and Jumping at DX level or better may leap his full jumping distance in combat, contrary to Jumping During Combat. Work out high- and broad-jump distance – for standing and running jumps – and record it on the character sheet to avoid having to figure it out in play. This greatly benefits Flying Attacks and evading by jumping (see Evading).

The GM should allow Acrobatic Stand and Acrobatic Movement, and halve all penalties for these stunts (rounding in the negative direction). For instance, the penalty for Acrobatic Stand becomes -3. In the case of multiple, cumulative penalties, find the final penalty and halve the total.

Chambara Attacks

A trademark of chambara fighting is attacking on the move, striking foes on all sides. In a chambara campaign, the GM should use the expanded rules for Rapid Strike to let martial artists attack as often as their skill allows.

A chambara fighter with more than one melee attack thanks to Extra Attack or All-Out Attack (Double) can "trade" some of these for extra steps on a one-for-one basis. He can insert steps anywhere in his attack sequence – even in the middle of a Combination, Dual-Weapon Attack, or Rapid Strike (none of which can be traded for steps).

Example: Serena has Extra Attack 1, giving her two basic attacks. Taking an Attack maneuver, she converts one into a Rapid Strike for three attacks at -6 apiece (-12, halved for Trained by a Master). She trades the other for a step. With the basic step allowed on an Attack, she gets two steps. She elects to attack, step, attack, step, and attack again!

Naturally, chambara fighters can use both Flying Attack and Acrobatic Attack. When making an Acrobatic Attack, add the -2 to Acrobatics to any penalty for a specific stunt and then halve it as usual. Also halve the -2 to attack, making it -1, just like a Flying Attack. The GM should invent suitable techniques to capitalize on this. There are three main varieties:

  • Acrobatic attacks that let the hero buy off the -4 to hit for a Move and Attack and -1 for an Acrobatic Attack, and ignore the skill limit of 9 when doing so. These have a basic default of -6.
  • Flying attacks that permit the fighter to eliminate the -4 to hit for a Move and Attack and -1 for a Flying Attack, and bypass the skill limit of 9. These also have a default of -6.
  • Spinning attacks that allow the martial artist to reduce the -5 to hit for a Wild Swing and avoid the usual skill cap of 9. These, too, default at -6.

See Creating New Techniques for details. The benefits of these techniques are not "free" to everybody with Trained by a Master or Weapon Master. However, warriors with one of these advantages, Acrobatics and Jumping at DX, and at least a point in an offensive technique may attempt an "acrobatic," "flying," or "spinning" version of their technique at default (-6), with benefits as described above.

Chambara Defenses

Retreating great distances by flipping and leaping is the definitive chambara defense! In chambara campaigns, those with Trained by a Master or Weapon Master should have access to the expanded rules under Retreat Options, even if other fighters do not, and all of the following options:

  • They get +3 to all active defenses when they retreat – including blocks and parries that would normally get only +1.
  • They may retreat more than once, and more than a yard at a time, up to a distance equal to their Move each turn. These retreats get the usual +3, but there's a cumulative -1 per retreat after the first. Any retreat that exceeds one step is at an extra -1 per yard. For instance, a Move 7 fighter could retreat 3 yards at +0 (+3 for retreating, -3 for 3 yards), 1 yard two times at +2 and +1 (the basic +3, -1 and -2 for the second and third retreat), and finally 2 yards at -2 (+3, -2 for 2 yards, -3 for the fourth retreat).
  • They can use Acrobatics to enhance any defense, not just Dodge. Treat this just like Acrobatic Dodge, except that it also works with Block and Parry. Any number of defenses can be acrobatic, at a cumulative -1 to Acrobatics per defense after the first.

Another feature of chambara movies is that attacks from behind don't surprise veteran warriors! A fighter with Combat Reflexes and Trained by a Master or Weapon Master can sense such an attack. It counts as coming from the side – not the rear – exactly like a "runaround" attack, giving the defender -2 to active defenses. Practitioners of any style can learn the Timed Defense technique to buy off even this penalty.

Lastly, the GM should permit all options that enable or enhance multiple blocks and parries – notably Multiple Blocks and the two special rules under Parrying with Two-Handed Weapons. All chambara fighters should be allowed to learn Dual-Weapon Defense, too, regardless of their style.

Special Feats for Cinematic Skills

Three cinematic skills are essential in chambara campaigns: Flying Leap, Light Walk, and Lizard Climb. These have all their usual functions, plus a few additional ones.

Flying Leap

A triple-powered leap is sometimes overkill in combat. A jump that merely doubles jumping distance – and ST, for a Drop Kick, Flying Jump Kick, etc. – is at +5 to skill.

Wuxia movies simulate flying leaps by suspending actors from wires, giving such jumps a lazy, floating appearance instead of an aggressive, ballistic one. Within the story, the explanation is often "lightening the body." If you leap like this, you still have double or triple your jumping distance – but use only your normal jumping distance to work out your Move in a slam, and your unmodified ST for a Drop Kick, Flying Jump Kick, etc. This kind of jump is at +5 to skill.

These modifiers only cancel out penalties for hasty use of the skill – they never give a net bonus. You can combine the two options for +10 to skill. This negates the -10 to use the skill instantly and permits a jump for double distance with no bonuses to ST or slam damage, which is still very useful when evading or making a Flying Attack.

Flying Leap costs the usual 1 FP per use with these options, but since they're both less exhausting than full-powered use, success by 5+ means there's no FP cost at all!

Light Walk

You can use Light Walk to move across almost any fragile or flimsy surface without falling through, including a glass skylight (no modifier), tent (-2), hanging laundry (-4), dense hedge (-6), or canopy of leaves at treetop height (-8). Roll once per turn. This is a free action. Success lets you take your turn normally. Failure means you start to fall. You can still act, but you should probably use your turn to grab something!

Light Walk also allows feats of balance. This is much easier than walking on thin ice or treetops, because it's actually possible in real life! All such attempts are at +8, plus the Size Modifier for the thickness of whatever you're trying to stand on (see Size and Speed/Range Table). For instance, a 1” rail (-11 for thickness) would require a roll at -3. Once again, roll every turn.

You can even try to leap up and land on an enemy's weapon! This requires an Attack maneuver and is all you can do that turn. Roll against Light Walk to hit, at the standard penalty for weapon size. Treat failure as a missed kick. Success means you hit. Your foe can try any active defense – he may injure your foot if he parries (see Parrying Unarmed Attacks) – but if he fails, you're standing on his weapon! He cannot use it to attack or parry. He can take a Ready maneuver to dump you off (roll vs. Light Walk to land; failure indicates a fall), but this unreadies his weapon. If he chooses to fight with another weapon, kick, etc., he's at -4 to hit.

In all cases, if you're knocked back (see Knockback), apply the penalty for the surface you're balancing on to your roll to stay standing. You may use the highest of DX, Acrobatics, Judo, or Light Walk. Perfect Balance gives its usual +4. If you fail, you fall through or off the surface!

Lizard Climb

You can use this skill for movement in combat. Each yard of movement along a wall costs +1 movement point; see Movement Point Costs. You can grab walls and let go multiple times in the space of a turn, but you must make a new skill roll each time you cling to a wall, with failure meaning a fall that ends your turn.

You can end a jump stuck to a wall that's within reach of your leap. To do so, make a Lizard Climb roll when you land.

If you're against a flat surface, with enough room to climb at least half your height, you can try a Lizard Climb roll to retreat upward as part of an active defense. Apply the usual skill modifiers; for instance, if you leave hands free to parry or block, you'll have -2 per extremity less than four dedicated to the climb. Success gives a further +1 to your retreat bonus, making it +4; critical success means your defense succeeds automatically! Failure or critical failure means the defense fails or critically fails.

Some common stunts seen in wuxia movies combine Lizard Climb with Light Walk. For instance, running up a bent bamboo cane, about 3" across, would require a Lizard Climb roll (at +2 for bark, +2 for a slope, but -4 for both hands free) and a Light Walk roll (at +8 for a feat of balance but -8 for a 3" cane), with failure on either indicating a fall.

Extra Effort in Combat

The GM may regard Extra Effort in Combat as a natural fit to a cinematic Martial Arts game. And it is! The decision as to who may use those rules will influence the campaign's overall flavor, though.

If only individuals with Trained by a Master or Weapon Master can employ extra effort, and if the PCs have those advantages while "cannon fodder" NPCs do not, then combat will move quickly. The masters can spend FP to buy a decisive edge over their adversaries and defeat several times their number. This suits games in the action-movie spirit: the heroes emerge from battle tired but victorious after defeating vast hordes of inferior foes!

If both sides have special advantages and can use extra effort, then battles may last a long time. Skill being equal, if one side uses extra effort, then the other must do the same to compete...and a Feverish Defense standoff between expert fighters results in few fight-stopping hits. This is in keeping with showdowns between masters in martial-arts fiction. While fine for dramatic finales, it's a little boring as standard fare.

If anyone – even the man on the street – can draw on extra effort, then masters may conserve their energy. They can make multiple accurate attacks without extra effort, and have abilities that enhance defense and damage. They'll force mundane foes to use extra effort to keep up, thereby wearing down their enemies to the point where they're easy prey. This supports the myth that true masters make fighting look effortless. It's also a fair way to prevent PCs with special advantages from outclassing those without, keeping combat fun and interesting for everyone.

Existing Options

The extra-effort options generally work as written with the rules in this chapter, but a few notes are in order:

Feverish Defense: This is incompatible with Committed Attack as well as with All-Out Attack. The +2 to one defense roll "stacks" with the +1 for Defensive Attack or +2 for All-Out Defense (Increased Defense). All of these bonuses are cumulative with the +1 to parry frontal attacks with Defensive Grip.

By using all of these options and retreating, a fighter can buy a lot of time. This can slow down combat. To keep things dramatic, the GM may rule that only combatants in the throes of mental disadvantages can go to such extremes. For instance, a hero with Sense of Duty could sacrifice himself in a retreating battle down a narrow corridor as his allies escape, or a villain with Cowardice could clutch his rapier in both hands and be beaten back to the wall, to collapse in exhaustion rather than shed blood.

Flurry of Blows: This is "legal" for any number of attacks made with a Rapid Strike during an All-Out Attack, Attack, Committed Attack, or Defensive Attack. The attacker can buy this benefit for some or all of his blows. The cost is 1 FP per attack. Those with Trained by a Master or Weapon Master halve the penalty again (drop all fractions). For instance, a Weapon Master making a Rapid Strike for four attacks would have a basic -18, halved to -9 for his advantage. He could use Flurry of Blows to be at only -4 for one, two, three, or all four attacks. This would cost him 1-4 FP.

Mighty Blows: This is exclusively an option for Attack; it doesn't work with All-Out Attack, Committed Attack, Defensive Attack, or Move and Attack – or with techniques based on these maneuvers. It is compatible with techniques that allow bonus damage on a regular Attack. A fighter with multiple attacks thanks to Extra Attack, Dual-Weapon Attack, Rapid Strike, or a Combination may apply this to more than one attack, but the cost is 1 FP per attack.

New Options

These options obey the ground rules given on extra-effort options. You must declare that you're using extra effort – and spend FP – before you roll the dice. Critical failure causes 1 HP of injury in addition to any other results.

Giant Step: If you take an Attack or Defensive Attack maneuver, you can spend 1 FP for one extra step. You're buying mobility similar to All-Out Attack, Committed Attack, or Move and Attack without the drawbacks, and cannot combine this option with those maneuvers. You may take your extra step before or after you attack; you can step, attack, and step again. When using Chambara Attacks, this extra step work identically to steps gained from sacrificing attacks, and you can combine the two. Critical failure on the attack causes 1 HP of injury to the leg (not the weapon arm), as if dodging.

Great Lunge: If you make an Attack, Committed Attack, or Move and Attack in melee combat, you can spend 1 FP to get the effects of an All-Out Attack (Long) without sacrificing your defenses. These include +1 reach, -2 damage or -1 damage per die with swinging attacks, and the option to drop into a crouch. This is incompatible with Defensive Grip, and with the All-Out Attack and Defensive Attack maneuvers.

Heroic Charge: If you make a Move and Attack, you can spend 1 FP to ignore both its skill penalty and its effective skill cap in melee combat. If you do a Flying Attack or Acrobatic Attack, the extra -1 or -2 to hit still applies. Likewise, you're still subject to defensive penalties (no parry or retreat). Chambara fighters may spend 1 FP to ignore the -6 default penalty for attempting the "acrobatic" or "flying" version of a technique.

Rapid Recovery: If you attack with an unbalanced weapon (one with "U" in its Parry statistic) during an Attack maneuver or with any weapon using Move and Attack, and a foe later attacks you, you can spend 1 FP to parry with that weapon. You must spend the FP before you try your first parry – but unless this parry critically fails, the weapon can continue to parry afterward, at the usual penalties. In effect, you've returned the weapon to its guard position. This is one of the benefits of Defensive Attack; there's no point in taking this option with that maneuver.

You may use no more than one offensive option (Flurry of Blows, Giant Step, Great Lunge, Heroic Charge, or Mighty Blows) and one defensive option (Feverish Defense or Rapid Recovery) per turn.

More Cinematic Combat Rules

The unrealistic Cinematic Combat Rules – particularly Cannon Fodder, Flesh Wounds, Melee Etiquette, and TV Action Violence – are extremely appropriate for a chambara-style or Hollywood action-movie game. Some gamers might find them too silly for a serious campaign, though – even one that uses many other cinematic options. Below are further thoughts in this vein. Not all are rules! A few are advice to the GM on how to roleplay NPC adversaries.

Unarmed Etiquette

Weapons and shields can't parry or block unarmed attacks. This applies to PCs and NPCs alike. Against an unarmed foe, it may be necessary to discard weapons to survive – a weapon in each hand leaves only dodges against unarmed strikes! This reflects how swordfights work in some movies: fighters never use a blade to stop an unarmed attack painfully. Unarmed defenses that injure – Aggressive Parry and Jam – aren't affected.

Gun Control Law

If the PCs don't have firearms of their own, ordinary thugs won't use guns except to threaten them. When the thugs attack, they'll use bare hands or melee weapons as well. "Name" adversaries (a crack sniper hired to kill the PCs, the boss' right-hand man, etc.) may use firearms, but won't defend against attacks intended to disarm them.

Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy

If the Gun Control Law is broken, the bad guys won't hit with the first shot (or shots, if using rapid fire). This always lands close enough that the PCs know they're under fire, but never does any damage. The GM may extend this protection for multiple turns if the PCs are using Acrobatic Movement to get away instead of fighting!

Shaking It Off

A PC can undo the effects of a failed HT roll to avoid knockdown or unconsciousness by spending 1 FP immediately after he fails the roll. He feels woozy (the lost FP), but he shakes it off and stays standing. This is useful against knockdown by a 1-HP blow to the head or vitals that Flesh Wounds cannot affect (it always lets 1 HP through, which might still cause knockdown), and to weather attacks that TV Action Violence won't avert (such as unarmed blows to the torso and explosions that allow no defense roll).

Shout It Out!

In some comedic martial-arts films, fighters loudly name each move from a hidden style before they execute it. Attackers don't merely use "Death Palm," "Dragon's Claw," or "Eagle's Beak"...they shout it out. These attacks are supposedly unstoppable except by potent defenses – but merely knowing a counter isn't enough. The defender must shout out his move, too!

To simulate this, the GM may let players make up style names and buy Style Familiarity with these fictitious styles at the standard point cost. Each perk represents an entire body of hidden moves. The person who named the style must describe the general "flavor" of its moves; e.g., "Monkey King style is inspired by the monkey's agility and cunning."

A fighter can exploit such a Style Familiarity in two ways. He can shout out the name of an attack before launching it, giving the target -1 to defend against it, or he can call out the name of a defense, gaining +1 to his defense roll. If the attacker announces his attack ("Cobra Fist!") and the defender names his defense ("Snake Charmer!"), the modifiers cancel out.

These attacks and defenses aren't actual techniques but names the player makes up on the spot in keeping with the spirit of his fictional style. For instance, the Monkey King fighter might defeat a "Crane Style" defense with a "Monkey Snatches Fish from Bird" strike. The actual moves can be standard techniques – even ordinary attacks and parries. The martial artist uses his secret training to enhance them, naming them aloud to channel his chi.

A warrior can shout out only one technique – offensive or defensive – per style per battle. Once he has used a move from a secret style, it won’t catch his foes off-guard again. If he has several special Style Familiarities, each represents a different body of hidden teachings that he can use in the same battle. Opponents might not be surprised by another Monkey King attack – but they won’t expect a Righteous Southern Fire move! Reset the count in the next fight, even against the same adversaries. In the movies, old rivals always bring new tricks to a rematch.

The GM might wish to limit martial artists to one such Style Familiarity per full 50 character points they have, to ensure that experienced masters know more secrets than young Turks. He can also introduce special moves that have only one specific counter...in which case the PCs must develop it on their own or find an instructor who can teach it (an excellent time for The Training Sequence).

Proxy Fighting

A staple of humorous martial-arts movies is the martial artist who fights indirectly using items found around the battlefield. He doesn't wield these objects as improvised weapons – he uses them as "proxies" through which he can deliver his usual techniques! For instance, he might deliver a Jump Kick by leaping up and kicking a typewriter at a foe, grapple another enemy by slamming a door on him, and parry an attack by spinning an office chair into his assailant's path.

A fighter can only use an object this way if nobody else is holding onto it, its weight doesn't exceed his Basic Lift (use 1/10 the weight of a suspended or rolling item, such as a dooror a cart), and it can move to reach the desired target or block the incoming blow. If all these conditions are true, the martial artist can use any of his normal techniques at -4. When punching or kicking an object at someone out of reach, add the usual range penalty. Rather than bog down combat with math, assume that maximum range is ST/2 (round up).

A skilled martial artist can also use people this way – traditionally, young disciples, hapless sidekicks, or adversaries.

For this to work, the master's best melee combat skill (armed or unarmed) must exceed his victim's. He can either knock his proxy's body into other people or grab his unwitting ally and manipulate him like a giant puppet. In either case, if the proxy is armed, the controller can use the weapon (at default, if he lacks the necessary skill).

If the master merely wishes to slap another person into his foe, his proxy must be within his reach and his intended target must be within his proxy's reach. The proxy's facing is unimportant. The controller may attack his proxy with any strike (not a grapple) at an extra -4 plus the penalty to hit the "borrowed" body part: -2 for an arm or a leg, -5 for the head. If he hits and his proxy fails to defend, the proxy is unharmed but the commandeered body part strikes the desired target exactly as if the master had landed his technique directly.

To use someone else as a puppet requires a successful grapple with both hands from behind. The martial artist puts his hands on his proxy's arms, positions his legs behind the other person's legs, and so on. This takes a full turn.

On each later turn, determine whether the grappled proxy is willing or unwilling. A willing proxy must be conscious and take a Do Nothing maneuver on his turn (he can still shout and make big eyes). An unwilling proxy is anyone able to protest being used this way, most often an enemy. An unwilling proxy may try to break free as usual on his turn. Someone who is stunned – e.g., a wounded foe or a mentally stunned passerby – counts as willing!

The master cannot use a grappled proxy to perform any maneuver that requires more than a step or any technique that requires a jump. In a chambara game, he cannot use the special mobility rules. Otherwise, he can use all of his usual attacks and defenses. For a willing proxy, all rolls are at -4; for an unwilling one, the penalty equals the proxy's ST/2 (round up) but is always at least -4.

When attacking, damage is unchanged in all cases. There's no bonus for working through a heavy object or a strong person, and no penalty for using a light object or a weak person. (Unrealistic? Yes, but this is a silly rule!) If the target parries an attack in a way that would damage the attacker, any damage is to the proxy.

When defending, success stops the incoming blow as usual. Objects simply get in the way, although the GM may rule that the attack destroys a fragile object. People "parry" blows with their limbs or weapons, or "dodge" by being pulled aside. Failure means the proxy is hit, not his controller.

For obvious reasons, it's best not to use your Dependent this way! However, a skilled-but-frail master might fight through his clumsy-but-hardy student – and any fighter might find it handy to use one of his nemesis' henchmen as a human shield.

Bullet Time

At the GM's option, a player may spend 3 bonus character points to stop time for his PC in combat. He can do this at any time – even between an enemy's attack roll with a gun and the targets' dodge rolls or bullets' damage rolls, hence the name of the rule. The one thing this can't interrupt is death. If a failed HT roll means the PC is dead, he's dead; the player can't stop time to get a dying action.

Entering Bullet Time gives the hero one turn to do anything that he could do with a normal turn. After that, ordinary time resumes and the GM assesses the outcome of the fighter's actions. The player cannot spend more points to buy multiple, consecutive turns of stopped time.

Possible effects include:

  • All-Out Attack, Attack, Committed Attack, Defensive Attack, and Move and Attack let him attack one or more foes, as his abilities allow. He rolls to hit normally. His targets are defenseless. The GM determines damage effects (knockback, knockdown, etc.) and applies them immediately when time returns to normal, before anything else occurs.
  • Attack maneuvers also let him pluck arrows, bullets, etc., out of the air. The player may specify how close he lets them come before he stops time. It takes a DX roll and an attack to grab each projectile. Snatched weapons have no momentum upon returning to normal time, and cannot injure anyone.
  • Concentrate lets him activate or deactivate a special ability, operate controls, etc., so that the ability or machine will be "on" (or "off") when normal time resumes.
  • Move or Change Posture means that when time speeds back up, he'll be in his new location or posture.
  • Ready allows him to draw an item, open a door, etc. When normal time resumes, the item is ready in his hand, the door is open, and so on.

In all cases, if he moves so much as a step during Bullet Time, all "paused" melee or missile attacks on him automatically miss when time starts again. If he moves between a weapon and its intended victim, the attack hits him when normal time resumes, although he may defend normally. If his actions move another person into the path of a suspended attack, it hits that person instead – but the victim may defend himself.

During Bullet Time, everything but the PC who initiated the change freezes...from his perspective. He sees everyone else paused in mid-step, bullets and arrows hanging in air, hand grenades trapped between ticks of the clock, and so on. He and any items he's carrying are the only things that move. Everyone else sees him move in a blur.

Bullet Time is similar to Player Guidance in that it lets players use unspent points to purchase game-world effects, but the effects are more dramatic. It's designed to simulate video games and "sci-fi wuxia" movies. It's inappropriate for campaigns based on traditional chambara or wuxia films, or quasi-realistic action movies. Even in games where it is suitable, the GM should limit it to combatants with Enhanced Time Sense, Trained by a Master, or Weapon Master.

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