Wildcard Skills for Styles

In a silly or highly cinematic game, the GM may want to introduce wildcard skills that encompass entire fighting styles. A "Style!" skill replaces all the skills of a single style – including optional skills that the GM believes every student should know. If the martial artist has Trained by a Master or Weapon Master, this includes the style's cinematic skills. Style! skills are DX-based, but allow IQ-, HT-, Per-, and Will-based rolls for skills controlled by those scores.

A Style! skill removes the need to learn individual techniques. The stylist may roll against the maximum level allowed for any technique his style offers, using his Style! skill as the underlying skill. If the technique has no maximum, use skill+3. Techniques that aren't part of the style but that default to the style's core skills default to Style! at the usual penalties. To improve such techniques above default, learn a new Style! skill that covers them.

Even DX-3 level in a Style! skill grants Style Familiarity with that style. Don't buy it separately. The stylist may purchase his style's Style Perks for a point apiece without regard for total points in the style. If a perk requires specialization by skill, the Style! skill is a valid specialty and the perk works with all applicable skills of the style.

Example: Escrima requires students to learn Karate, Main-Gauche, and Smallsword. It has many optional skills – the GM might rule that all but Bow, Shield, and Tactics suit modern-day fighters. Escrima! would replace all of these skills. With Trained by a Master or Weapon Master, it would replace Mental Strength, Power Blow, and Pressure Points, too. A stylist with Escrima! could use any of his style's techniques at its maximum level; for instance, he could try Dual-Weapon Attack at Escrima! or Feint at Escrima!+4 when using Escrima weapons.

A martial artist with Escrima! gains the benefits of Style Familiarity (Escrima) without having to buy it. He may ignore limits on points in style when he takes Style Perks, buying as many as he wants for a point apiece. If he selects the Off-Hand Weapon Training perk, it's for Escrima! and lets him ignore the off-hand penalty whenever he uses that skill.