A rewrite by Kansas Jim
version 1.0
Part One
A rewrite by Kansas Jim
version 1.0
Part One
OnCore Earth the true martial arts have their roots in the tenth century teachings and theories of Cho En Li, a Shaolin monk. Li's theories about the nature of the human spirit led to the philosophy of Ki and the techniques that would allow a person to tap his Ki and redirect it into the material world. Over the course of the next several centuries these techniques evolved into the philosophies and beliefs behind the true martial arts. The common forms of martial arts are watered down versions of the techniques that do not actually allow a person to tap into his Ki but are useful in their own right.
In the fifteenth century, a philosophical war between two factions of martial artists (based on the teachings of two of Li's students) ended with an accord that formed an informal organization known as the Sons of the Wind. One of the primary tenets of this accord was secrecy and nearly all knowledge of the true martial arts was locked away in hidden monasteries for five hundred years. All that remained ouside the monasteries were stories and the common styles taught to those who did not possess sufficient Ki to learn true martial arts. Over time, those styles grew into what the world considers martial arts and until the coming of the Possibility Raiders brought the Sons of the Wind out of their seclusion the true martial arts were relegated to the realms of myth and folklore. (For more information, see the Nippon Tech sourcebook.)
In other cosms the development and use of martial arts is of course quite different from Core Earth and depends greatly on the cosm itself. Marketplace is perhaps the closest to Core Earth in terms of development but the lesser emphasis on spiritual matters in that cosm (reflected by its slightly lower Spirit axoim) has left them slightly behind Core Earth in some areas but ahead in others - almost everyone in Marketplace knows a common martial arts style and the ratio of Possibilty-rated people who know true martial arts is higher than it is for Core Earth, but their true styles are a little less developed than the ones from Core Earth.
Terra (and by extension the Nile Empire) has a history of development that mirrors much of Core Earth but the effect of that cosm's World Laws has led their martial arts to develop in slightly different directions; some of the possible ways in which Ki may be used are restricted based on a person's Inclination and martial artists from Terra tend to know much more dramatic and flashier styles than their Core Earth counterparts with more emphasis on the physical instead of the philosophical.
Gaea developed true martial arts before the arrival of the Gaunt Man in that cosm but there are very few people remaining in that cosm who know any form of martial arts and they are even more secretive about it than the Sons of the Wind (think of Gaean martial artists as a very small secret society.) The Swamis are an example of one of the few remaining groups of martial artists of Gaea.
Tharkold's Race has over time developed the basics of martial arts but the harsh nature of the cosm has prevented any real advancement in anything but the physical and combative aspects. As a result they know only basic techniques for tapping their Ki, with most people not finding it worth the extra effort and settling for the normal combat skills of Unarmed Combat and Melee Weapons. As a result there are probably only a few dozen true martial artists in Tharkold and maybe only a few hundred who know any common styles of martial arts. The Tharkoldu have been unable or perhaps unwilling to develop anything resembling even common martial arts.
Magna Verita at one time did have true martial arts but the Avignon conquest of the Orient in their 18th-19th centuries destroyed the necessary belief systems and there are no martial arts of any kind to be found in that cosm anymore.
In Aysle, the only culture to have developed the necessary philosophies for martial arts is the Elvish race and then only among one religious sect, the Elven Path of True Knowledge. All of these elvish monks are trained in their martial arts but they are forbidden to teach it to anyone outside their sect, even other elvish worshippers of Elmiir, so there are not very many martial artists in Aysle, generally no more than the 50 or so followers of the Path and most of them do not possess the Ki necessary (ie, most are Ords) to know the true style. (NOTE: Elvish martial arts replaces the special abilities given to elvish monks in the Aysle sourcebook.)
The Star Sphere, in particular the Akashans, has a long history of martial arts development but the number of practitioners is smaller than might be expected. While every Akashan is probably familiar with some style of martial arts or the philosophy behind a style very few actually go to the effort of learning a style. Most Coar people, even the Possibility-rated ones, prefer to go for the more common forms of martial arts as it usually matches up better with their beliefs and the ways they prefer to act (ie, primarily devoted towards combat or physical activity without the contemplative aspects of philosophy getting in the way.) Zinatts strive to maintain a balance between the philosophical and physical natures of martial arts and are probably the closest in form and function to Core Earth martial artists. Akites are perhaps the most accomplished martial artists due to their introspective natures and tendency for self-reliance but these traits also tend to limit their ability to spread their knowledge - there are several hundred Akite styles of martial arts but each style typically has just one practitioner and the style will disappear when that person dies.
Among the other races of the Star Sphere only the Draygaak have developed the basic foundations of martial arts, but it is in an early stage of development and is still more a scholarly devotion than anything else. The one practical application they have developed is a calming technique that enables them to better control their Frenzy ability but only a handful of Draygaaks have actually learned the style .
The primary difference between common and true martial arts is that the true arts are much more than a physical discipline. They combine philosophical and religious beliefs with physical motions to produce a joining of body, mind and spirit that allows the person to use his Ki for certain effects. Common martial arts on the other hand may contain elements of the beliefs and the motions but do not allow the person to manipulate his Ki power.
In game terms the difference is that common martial arts are just a variant of the Unarmed Combat and occasionally Melee Weapons skills while true martial arts are an entirely separate skill (Martial Arts). Common martial arts are not as powerful or as versatile as true martial arts but they are easier to learn and do not have as many restrictions and requirements.
The first add of Martial Arts costs three times the normal amount (3 skill points during character creation or 15 Possibilities during play) and cannot be learned without a sensei. Also, the character may not have a contrary Faith skill that would preclude following the necessary ideas and concepts necessary for true martial arts. Basically, a religion must emphasize either internal power or a connection with the power of the universe to not prohibit the character from learning true martial arts. Atheists (as defined in TORG) cannot learn Martial Arts since they deny the existence of any form of spiritual power. Agnostics may learn Martial Arts because they have no strongly held beliefs that would prevent them from doing so. If a character with Martial Arts converts to a religion that does not support the necessary concepts, his Martial Arts are converted into an appropriate common martial arts style and he loses all the special abilities of the true style.
The following religions in TORG do not prevent a character from learning Martial Arts: Elvish Path of True Knowledge (Aysle), Findaru, Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto and several other Eastern belief systems (Core Earth, Terra, Gaea), Holoku (Land Below, but note that the axioms of the Land Below will not support Martial Arts), Palanism and Kindaijin (Marketplace), Aka, Coar and Zinatt (Star Sphere), Way of the Race (Tharkold).
Additionally, some styles of martial arts will have other requirements that must also be met before the character may learn the first add, usually a combination of skills or some kind of vow or oath must be taken before the sensei will accept the student.
The common styles of martial arts are kind of like different versions of the Unarmed Combat and Melee Weapons skills. Just as characters can have several different Scholar or Science skills they can now have several different Unarmed Combat and/or Melee Weapons skills, representing the different common martial arts. These are not the same thing as specializations, they must be bought as unique skills rather than as add-ons to the 'vanilla' Unarmed Combat or Melee Weapons skills. Common styles of martial arts require an instructor and cost double for the first add but have no other restrictions or requirements.
Both the common and true forms of martial arts are different from the basic combat skills in that they have special maneuvers that represent the greater control and ability of the martial artist gained from his enhanced training. The difference between the two forms is that common martial arts have only one maneuver while true martial arts styles have several maneuvers, which are called Disciplines, and those maneuvers can be very powerful, bordering on the supernatural in some cases.
Generally a common form of martial arts will either have a Minor Discipline (see Nippon Tech sourcebook) as it's sole maneuver or it may have one of the other functions of Martial Arts as its maneuver. For example, a person may be able to substitute his martial arts for another combat skill, such as Dodge against Missle Weapons.
To learn the special maneuver of a common martial arts style the character must generate a skill total of 12. Only one attempt is allowed per add and if a character fails he must wait until he purchases another add to attempt to learn the maneuver again. During character creation the character will get a number of attempts equal to the number of skill points put into the skill (maximum of three of course.) Possibility-rated characters may not spend a Possibility on this skill check unless it occurs during a game session and cards may only be used if it occurs during game play (ie, if it happens between scenes cards may not be used.)
Some of the common forms of martial arts are not going to be combat skills because they have no practical applications in combat situations. For example, there are some version of Karate and Tai Chi that are nothing more than exercise programs. If a character wishes to know a form of martial arts like this the GM can consider it either as a Scholar skill, if there is some practical use of the knowledge, or it can just be something the character knows without actually having to buy a skill to represent that knowledge. Needless to say, these forms of martial arts do not possess special maneuvers.
True martial arts follow the rules established in the Nippon Tech sourcebook with a few additions such as the aforementioned Faith restrictions as well as new axiom requirements and two new rules governing how new Disciplines are gained:
The Difficulty Number of each test for learning a new Discipline is increased by the order number of the Discipline being learned (for example, the sixth Discipline of a style has +6 added to the DN of the test specified for that Discipline.)
During character creation the character still gets six attempts to learn Disciplines before play begins but the character may not learn a number of Discipline slots greater than the number of adds he put into his Martial Arts skill and a character may never know more Discipline slots than he has adds in Martial Arts.
Some of the disciplines out of the Nippon Tech sourcebook and the Tokyo Citybook have been rewritten. If a discipline is not mentioned in this section then it functions exactly as written in the sourcebooks. Most of the rewrites still rely on information in the published descriptions to some extent. New disciplines are detailed elsewhere .
Minor Disciplines
("TC" indicates a discipline from the Tokyo Citybook)
Crushing Block - If the martial artist performs an Active Defense, his generated bonus is added to the damage value of the block.
Drop Kick - The martial artist automatically gains initiative when he uses this maneuver and if successful the target is thrown the appropriate distance and suffers an automatic Knockdown. If an extra Knockdown result is caused by the damage of the attack, treat the second Knockdown as a 'K' result. If the target knows the Instant Up Discipline and takes two Knockdown results, only one Knockdown is negated and the second Knockdown result takes effect. The martial artist will need to spend an action to stand back up unless he knows the Instant Up Discipline.
Entangle - The martial artist is Unskilled the round after using this maneuver due to its complexity. The target takes an automatic Knockdown result and damage as if Thrown one meter. See Drop Kick for results of scoring two Knockdown results against a target. The Knockdown suffered from this Discipline is severe enough that it takes the target two rounds to recover, one round if the target knows the Instant Up Discipline.
Felling the Oak - Target suffers a Stymie result from the pain of this blow in addition to the damage.
Heart Punch - The martial artist does not have to specifically target the heart of his opponent; this attack is a strong, swift jab to the torso and has a damage value of STR+2. If the martial artist does not specify a Vital Blow then he also causes the target to suffer a Stymie result. If the martial artist does specify a Vital Blow then he causes the target to suffer a Setback in addition to the damage caused by the attack (STR+6 with the Vital Blow.)
Hip Toss (TC) - Target suffers an automatic Knockdown result. See Drop Kick for results of scoring two Knockdown results against a target.
Ki Punch - The martial artist takes five points of Shock damage instead of being unable to attack for three rounds.
Kick Disarm - Instead of rolling a die to determine the distance the weapon travels use the result points above the minimum Good result necessary to disarm to determine the distance (1 meter per result point.)
Lightning Fist - If both attacks are to be used against the same target, only one attack roll is made but the damage result is applied twice to the victim OR the attacker may add +2 to the damage value but damage is only applied once. This allows the character to "fine tune" the amount of damage done.
Missle Dodge - Adds +2 to Dexterity or Dodge against all Missle Weapons and Fire Combat, active or passive defense.
Palm Strike (TC) - This Discipline replaces the Strike Discipline from the Nippon Tech sourcebook. It has a damage value of STR+3.
Sacrifice Kick - This is automatically an All-Out Attack and is an extreme version of the Leaping Kick maneuver. The damage value is STR+5 (counting the All Out Attack modifier) and causes an automatic Knockdown result for both the attacker and the target (negated by Instant Up of course.) Because it is an All-Out Attack, the attacker is +3 on his acting value but any attacks on the martial artist in the round he uses this Discipline are +3 to acting and damage values as per the All-Out rules. See Drop Kick for results of scoring two Knockdown results against a target.
Serpent's Coils - Adds +4 to Dexterity or Dodge on an active defense against Missle Weapons or Fire Combat.
Shoulder Throw (TC) - Target suffers an automatic Knockdown result. See Drop Kick for results of scoring two Knockdown results against a target.
Shout of Warning - Result points are read on the Intimidation column of the Interaction table.
Spinning Kick (TC) - See Lightning Fist for how to resolve two attacks against one target.
Stop Thrust - Does normal damage as well as Unskilling the target.
Strike - Replaced by the Palm Strike Discipline.
Sweeping Kick - Scores an automatic Knockdown result against the target and does normal damage. See Drop Kick for results of scoring two Knockdown results against a target.
Weakness Probe - The attacker may allocate a bonus of +4 to his acting value and his damage value as he sees fit instead of the published +1/+3 distribution. Weakness Probe may be used against inanimate objects as well as living targets. The difficulty number for probing an inanimate object is up to the GM based on the material of the object plus it's size and thickness. The damage of the attack is compared to the object's Toughness and on a Good result or better the martial artist will succeed in breaking the object or putting a fist/foot-sized hole through it.
Weapon Break - The Discipline is not used with Dodge as the writeup indicates since you cannot use Dodge against a Melee Weapons attack. Instead the martial artist uses his normal defensive skill (usually his Martial Arts skill) and if the attacker misses his weapon may be broken; the martial artist compares his base damage value (usually the normal STR+2 DV though some martial arts weapons are designed to break other weapons in which case he uses the weapon's damage value) tothe attacking weapon's Toughness (see below); if the martial artist gets a Good result or better the attacker's weapon is broken. If the martial artist performs an Active Defense then his generated bonus number is added to his damage value when determining success of the maneuver.
Weapon Toughness Values
Major Disciplines
Bow Master (TC) - Dropped, use Weapon Master
Healing - The martial artist uses his Ki to accelerate the healing of his own body. By meditating for four hours the martial artist may remove one Wound level at the end of that period. The martial artist will then be Fatigued for the next four hours and will suffer a -1 penalty on all actions during that time. The martial artist may not use this ability on others nor may he use it more than once a day and he cannot Meditate to heal an extra wound until after the entire eight hour period has passed.
Missle Master (TC) - Dropped, use Weapon Master
Nerve Punch (TC) - This Discipline requires striking certain nerve junctions on the target's body and may require a Vital Blow to get past thick or hard armor. Because this Discipline requires striking specific locations on the target's body the martial artist suffers a -4 on his acting value. Damage value is STR+4. Even if no damage is inflicted, successfully striking the target will numb an arm or leg for a number of rounds equal to the success level of the attack. Numb limbs are useless and impose a cumulative -2 penalty on all DEX actions. If both legs are made numb the target will be unable to remain standing.
Resist Damage (TC) - Add 2 to the Difficulty Values given in the Tokyo Citybook and the martial artist may do nothing else that requires a skill check while using this Discipline, which takes two rounds to activate and must be started within three rounds of taking the damage to be resisted. Damage is not eliminated, it is merely ignored for up to an hour. If the GM is not using the optional action penalties for wound levels (see Infiniverse Update #1) this Discipline is only useful in avoiding unconsciousness through accumulation of shock points or KO results and in avoiding death from a Mortal Wound. A martial artist who has resisted a Mortal Wound will still accrue shock damage every round but will not immediately die when his shock equals his Toughness. Instead, he will live until he either takes one more wound, five more shock, is knocked unconscious by a KO result or after one minute (six rounds), whichever comes first. The martial artist may ignore a combination of damage equal to what may be negated by one Possibility. Note that the martial artist must be conscious to resist damage, he cannot go unconscious and then attempt to resist that damage!
Sword Master (TC) - Dropped, use Weapon Master .
Weapon Master - The martial artist gets a +3 bonus to his acting value instead of +2. The damage value is not modified.
Whirling Attack - Fatigues the character.
Master Disciplines
Cyclone Attack - The martial artist may attack any number of opponents within a 5 meter radius without suffering a multi-action penalty. He receives a +4 bonus on his acting value and a +2 damage bonus (STR+4 with unarmed attacks or weapon damage +2 for armed attacks.) Only one bonus number is generated for all the attacks.
Death Touch - The martial artist uses his own Ki power to disrupt the Ki of another living creature in an attempt to cause its death. This requires the martial artist to touch the bare skin of the target (possibly requiring a Vital Blow.) The victim must generate a Spirit total against the generated skill value of the martial artist (if a Vital Blow was required, the Spirit total is against the skill value before the Vital Blow modifier is applied) with negative result points being read as Spiritual damage. The martial artist is in danger of taking damage as well; he must add his generated bonus to his Spirit and compare that to his base Martial Arts skill value, with any negative result points being read as Spiritual Stun Damage (ie, reduce wound level by one.) The victim takes the damage immediately but the martial artist will not suffer his damage until the round after using this Discipline.
Distance Strike - See Fist of Palan .
Eye of the Hawk (TC) - Martial Arts skill value is used in place of Find or Perception.
Fist of Palan (Clerics' Sourcebook) - This Discipline is given a more generic name, Distance Strike, and the damage value done is equal to the martial artist's Faith skill value instead of adding the Faith adds to the normal damage value. It also costs two Possibilities instead of one Possibility.
Judge (TC) - If the target knows martial arts, common or true, each success level beyond Minimal will reveal a Discipline known by the target (an Average result will reveal the special maneuver of a common style.) While a maximum of four Disciplines will be revealed this way, if the target knows more than four the martial artist will know this but will not know what they are.
Long Life - To determine the approximate life span of the character, multiply his Martial Arts skill value by 10, not 20, at the time he learns this Discipline. Later increases in his Martial Arts skill will not increase his life span.
Thunder Kick - The martial artist gains the initiative for the round, does STR+6 damage and will score an auto-matic Knockdown result. See Drop Kick for results of scoring two Knockdown results on a target.
True Invisibility - Cannot be combined with the Invisibility Discipline.
Martial arts is primarily affected by the Social axiom, which governs the complexity of the ideas and concepts used to create the various disciplines that go into creating martial arts. True martial arts are also affected by the Spirit axiom; a Spirit axiom of 5 is required for true martial arts to function at all and the ability to use the Master level Disciplines is affected by the Spirit axiom as well.
Both true and common martial arts are first possible at a Social axiom of 13 but for the most part they do not become truly effective until Social 15 when the Minor Disciplines first become possible. Prior to that the only benefits gained by martial arts over a normal combat skill is that the skill can be substituted for other combat skills and that true martial artists gain an unarmed combat damage value of STR+2 and their training gives them a +1 bonus to their acting value against people not trained in true martial arts.
The skills that true martial arts substitutes for are Melee Weapons, Missle Weapons, Unarmed Combat and Dodge (against Missle Weapons). Common martial arts may substitute for one other combat skill, not all of them.
At Social 15 true martial arts styles may begin incorporating the Minor Disciplines. Common martial arts styles may choose to incorporate one Minor Discipline in place of the combat skill substitution ability. Weakness Probe is the only Minor Discipline that may not be incorporated into a common style of martial arts.
For the most part, this is as far as common martial arts developed in Core Earth as the ancient styles that formed common martial arts were based off of true martial arts developed at this Social level. In other cosms, such as Marketplace, there are common styles that are based off of more advanced true styles and those common styles may choose a Major Discipline, though no common style may have Healing, Flashback, Iron Fist, Knife Hand, Poison Immunity, Resist Damage, Self Instruction or Spirit Shout.
Major Disciplines are first available at Social 18 (common forms may choose a Major Discipline in place of the combat skill substitution ability, within the limitations mentioned above) and the Master Disciplines become available at Social 21. The Master Disciplines require great amounts of Ki to function, more than Ords may ever normally possess, so regardless of the Social or Spirit axiom a common style of martial arts may never incorporate a Master Discipline.
The Social axiom has one more effect on martial arts styles, namely the number of Discipline Slots that a true martial arts style may develop.
Axiom: Minor/Major/Master Slots
The Spirit axiom affects the ability of characters to tap their Ki for Master Disciplines. Basically, the higher the Spirit axiom the easier it is for a character to tap into his Ki because his reality is more attuned towards such activities. Master Disciplines require a minumum Spirit axiom of 7 and at this level a martial artist using a Master Discipline must spend at least one round channelling his Ki before he can produce the desired effect. Channelling Ki in this manner requires a Martial Arts skill total and the expenditure of several Possibilities (both dependant on the Discipline being used - the Possibility costs are listed in the Nippon Tech sourcebook and Tokyo Citybook, the DNs can be found later in this document.) The Possibilities are spent before the skill check is made and they are gone even if the skill check fails and the Discipline cannot be used. (NOTE: This changes the way Master Disciplines work for Marketplace/Nippon Tech characters, who are now required to make a skill check to use a Master Discipline.)
At a Spirit axiom of 9, the skill check is no longer required but the character must still spend Possibilities to use the Discipline.
At a Spirit axiom of 11, the Possibility cost of the Master Disciplines is reduced by half (round down) and at a Spirit axiom of 13 the cost is halved again. At Spirit 15, none of the Master Disciplines cost Possibilities to use.
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page modified slightly 8/21/2002