Martial Arts: All-Out Attack
Expanded Combat Maneuvers: All-Out Attack
The GM should permit the four "basic" All-Out Attack options (Determined, Double, Feint, and Strong) and the new Long option below with any melee attack that doesn't specifically forbid them. In particular, a grappler can use All-Out Attack to travel up to half his Move into close combat and grab or grapple at +4, grapple two body parts, or feint and then grapple. He can even use All-Out Attack (Long) to grab his foe from a yard away – although it's unwise to give an armed enemy room to use his weapon!
The GM should be generous about substituting feints for attacks, too. All-Out Attack (Feint) is just an All-Out Attack (Double) that trades the first attack for a feint, so there's no reason why a fighter couldn't reverse the order: attack first and then feint to benefit a later attack. Other alternatives include using All-Out Attack (Determined) to feint at +4 and All-Out Attack (Long) to feint a distant foe.
All-Out Attack is perfect for simulating cinematic actions. All-Out Attack (Double) might be a chop followed by a spinning draw cut...or a single, deadly "throat-slitting" attack, the two attack rolls reflecting the difficulty of the feat, the chance that the victim could escape mid-cut, and the potential for twice the damage. All-Out Attack (Strong) could represent a stab followed by a twist of the blade, a big roundhouse punch, or grabbing someone and pulling him into a blow. All-Out Attack (Long) might involve throwing a weapon at the enemy and catching it as it bounces off!
Combat options take things a step further. A warrior could choose All-Out Attack (Double) and make a Rapid Strike or Dual-Weapon Attack with one of his two attacks, giving him three attacks (see Multiple Attacks). Or he could use All-Out Attack (Feint) to feint and then make a Deceptive Attack, striking an "unstoppable blow."
A little imagination lets players avoid long lists of techniques, provided the GM is flexible and the PCs are willing to take the risk of an All-Out Attack.
All-Out Attack (Long)
This is a fifth All-Out Attack option for melee combat. It represents a full-extension jump or lunge. It gives the fighter an extra yard of reach; e.g., he could use a shortsword, which normally has a reach of 1 yard, to strike somebody 2 yards away.
All-Out Attack (Long) has no effect on the attack roll. For thrusting attacks, there's no effect on damage, either. Swinging attacks are more awkward, and at -2 damage or -1 damage per die, whichever is worse.
As usual for All-Out Attack, the attacker may move up to half his Move forward before attacking. This makes it possible to simulate balestras and similar gap-closing moves. Even without movement, this maneuver can be useful for leaning over or under a barrier, or over a fighter who's kneeling, sitting, or lying down. However, the extra reach can't be used to attack past a crouching or standing fighter – through his hex, in tactical combat – as his body would get in the way of the extended arm and foot.
The attacker may opt to end this maneuver in a crouch, which represents a sprawling lunge with a hand on the floor for support (often termed a "floor lunge"). He cannot support himself with a hand that's holding the weapon used to attack; thus, two-armed beings with two-handed weapons can't drop to a crouch. The supporting hand need not be empty – it can hold a shield, second weapon, etc. This crouch calls for a DX roll. Failure means the fighter ends up kneeling instead; critical failure means he falls down.
All-Out Attack (Long) is incompatible with Defensive Grip, which involves holding the weapon closer than usual, and mutually exclusive with other All-Out Attack options (Determined, Double, Feint, and Strong). It's compatible with most other attack options: Deceptive Attack, Rapid Strike, Telegraphic Attack, Tip Slash, etc.
Slams as All-Out Attacks
A real-life slam is usually an All-Out Attack at a full run. To reflect this, slams (including flying tackles, pounces, and shield rushes) enjoy a special relationship with All-Out Attack: the attacker can travel up to full Move! He may choose the Determined, Feint, or Strong option, but not Long – for extra reach, do a flying tackle.
The Double option is a special case. The attacker can't slam twice but he can launch another melee attack before he slams. This first attack can be on the slam's target (the slam representing bodily follow-through on a charging attack) or on somebody passed along the way. Doing either allows only half Move, as usual for All-Out Attack.