37698486 Ultimate Art Marcial

7/28/2019 37698486 Ultimate Art Marcial

1/253

FOREWORD

1

The Ultimate Martial Artist is Hero Games trademark for its superhero roleplaying game using the Hero system.

Champions and Champions, The Super Roleplaying Game are Hero Games trademarks for its superhero roleplaying game using the Hero System.

Hero System is Hero Games trademark for its roleplaying system. The Ultimate Martial Artist 1994 Hero Games. All rights reserved.

Champions Copyright 1981, 1984, 1989 Hero Games. All rights reserved. Hero System Copyright 1984, 1989 Hero Games. All rights reserved.

Other trademarks are property of their respective holders.Published by Hero Plus, a division of Hero Games.

Hero PlusHero Plus is an electronic publishing company, using the latest technology to bring products to customers more efficiently, more rapidly,

and at competitive prices. Hero Plus can be reached at [email protected]. Let us know what you think! Send us your mailing address (email

and snail mail) and well make sure youre informed of our latest products.

ISBN 1-55806-215-7

Editor/Developer: Bruce Harlick

Cover Illustration: Storn Cook

Cover Art Colors & Graphics: Heroic Age Colors

Interior Illustration: Storn Cook, Greg Smith, Pat Zircher,Dan Smith

Weapon Illustrations: Bryce Nakagawa, Steve Peterson

Project-Specific Contributions:Pagemaking & Layout: Blackhawk Typesetting

Art Direction: Jessica Ney-Grimm

Graphic Design: Karl Wu, Kurt Fischer

Project Ombudsman & System Conversions:Steve Peterson

Editorial Contributions: George MacDonald, Ray Greer,Steve Peterson, Coleman Charlton, Maggi Perkins,Dean Shomshak, Aaron Allston

Proof Reading: Maggi Perkins

Paste-up & Layout: Nick Morawitz, Ed Mawyer, DerekCarbonneau, Kathryn Beggerly

ICE Staff Sales Manager: Deane Begiebing;Managing Editor: Coleman Charlton;President: Peter Fenlon; CEO: Bruce Neidlinger;Editing, Development, & Production Staff:

John Curtis, Bruce Harlick, Nick Morawitz, JessicaM. Ney-Grimm;Sales, Customer Service, & Operations Staff:

Heike Kubasch, David Platnick;Shipping Staff: David Morris, Daniel Williams

Note: Some of the text in this book originally appeared inNinja Heroby Aaron Allston. This text has been revisedand expanded. Most of the material in Ninja Herodoes not

appear in this volume.

Special Thanks To: To Bruce, Steve, George, and Ray, forgiving me this book to work on; to Aaron, for his graciousassistance and willingness to answer questions; and to all theHERO System players and GMs whose interest in gamingmartial arts made this book not only desirable, but necessary.

Dedication: I would like to dedicate this book to Andy GhostEye Mathews, master of gaming martial arts, creator ofCouch Potato Kung Fu, selector of really bad martial artsmovies, and true friend.

Additional Contributions: I owe a great deal of thanks to thefollowing people, who answered my questions about martialarts styles, provided me with information or research mate-rial, gave me ideas for things that needed to go in this book,debated with me about the best way to do various things in theHERO System, allowed me to create my own versions ofsomething they first thought up, or helped with play testing:Aaron Allston, Chris Avellone, Scott Bennie, Tim Binford,Garrett Charnaw, Cliff Christiansen, the commentators from

the Red October BBS and America Online, Earl Cooley III,Storn Cook, John Cooper, Kim Cooper, Amy Crittenden,Mike Dean, Sean Fannon, Morgan Flo, Thom Foster, JohnGrigni, Scott Classic Animes Jamison, Greg Kerner, EricLivengood, John Losey, Andy Mathews, Dave Mattingly,Riley McLaughlin, Rob Underworld Animes Miles, GregMorero, Bryce Nakagawa, James Pinkerton, Marcus Pritchett,Bob Quinlan, Scott Sigler, Greg Smith, Geoff Speare, SteveStone, David West, Eric Wylie, Doug Young, and, mostespecially, Greg Devils Advocate Lloyd and Jeff I have alicense from Japan Mueller.

THE ULTIMATE

MARTIAL ARTISTby Steven S. Long

Version 1.0

Visit our web page at:Http://www.herogames.com


2/253

FOREWORD

2

Introduction ......................................................... 5

Chapter One:Martial Arts Styles And Maneuvers

The Way of the Hero ...........................................8Style Descriptions ............................................8Maneuvers Decriptions...................................8Maneuvers And Weapons .............................11

Modifying And Building Styles .................... 12Learning Martial Arts .................................... 12Learning New And Multiple Styles .............. 14Belts And Ranks ............................................16

Real-World Styles ..............................................17Jutsu vs. Do; Internal vs. External ................17Aikido .............................................................17An Chi ........................................................... 18Arnis / Kali / Escrima .................................... 19Bando (Thaing) .............................................22Bersilat ........................................................... 23Bojutsu / Jojutsu ............................................ 24Boxing, Ancient .............................................24

Boxing, Modern ............................................25Capoeira .........................................................26Commando Training .................................... 27Dirty Infighting / Fisticuffs

/ Cinematic Brawling ...............................27Fencing ........................................................... 28Hapkido .........................................................30Hisardut .........................................................31Hsing-I ........................................................... 31Hwarang-Do .................................................. 33Jailhouse Rock ...............................................34Jeet Kune Do.................................................. 34Jujutsu ............................................................ 35Kalaripayit...................................................... 37

Karate .............................................................38Kenjutsu .........................................................41Kuk Sool Won ...............................................42Kung Fu (Wu Shu)........................................ 43Kuntao ........................................................... 49Kyujutsu .........................................................49Lua ..................................................................50Naginatajutsu / Sojutsu ................................ 52Ninjutsu .........................................................52Pakua ..............................................................55Pankration ..................................................... 56Pentjak-Silat ................................................... 57Qwan Ki Do ...................................................62

Re-Efi Areh-Ehsee .........................................62Saijutsu ........................................................... 63Savate .............................................................64Shurikenjutsu ................................................ 64Sumo Wrestling .............................................65Tae Kwon Do .................................................66Tai Chi Chuan .............................................66Tang Soo Do .................................................. 68Thai Kick-Boxing .......................................... 69Than Vo Dao .................................................70Vovinam Viet Vo Dao .................................. 70Wrestling ........................................................71

Wrestling, Professional ................................. 72Yu-Sool .......................................................... 73Addendum: Other Styles .............................. 74

Fictional Styles ...................................................75Bronze Serpent Swordfighting .....................75Dancing Spider ..............................................76Drunken Clown Kung Fu .............................77Ghost Eye Techniques ................................... 78

Ghost Palm Techniques ................................78Glorious Lotus Kung Fu ...............................78Golden Demon Kung Fu ..............................79Golden Serpent Kung Fu ..............................80The Paths of the Seven Ghost Sisters ...........80Resplendent Dragon Kung Fu ......................81Sapphire Phoenix ..........................................83Silken Blade Kung Fu .................................... 84Shining Jade Kung Fu ................................... 85Splendid Fist .................................................. 85Takijutsu ........................................................86Thunder Dragon Kung Fu ............................86The Way of the Servants of

the Emperor Chin ...................................87The Way of the Silver Shield ........................ 88The Way Of The Two Brothers .................... 88Zen Riflery ..................................................... 89Advanced Ninjutsu ....................................... 90

Variant Styles Of Taijutsu........................ 92Korogi Taijutsu ................................... 92Mist Viper Taijutsu .............................92Silent Path Taijutsu .............................93The Way Of The Night Dragon ......... 93

Ninja Special Abilities ..............................94Ninja Magic ..............................................95Ninja Gadgets And Equipment ...............97Ninja From Other Lands ......................... 99

Martial Arts & Other Genres ..........................100Cyberpunk / Near Future Martial Arts ......100Fantasy Martial Arts .................................... 100Horror Martial Arts ....................................101Pulp Era Martial Arts ..................................102Science Fiction / Far Future Martial Arts ..102Superhero Martial Arts ...............................104Wild West Martial Arts ...............................104

Designing New Styles ...................................... 105Style Conception ......................................... 105Choosing Maneuvers ..................................106Mongoose Style ...........................................117Ranged Martial Arts ....................................118

Mixing Hand-To-Hand AndRanged Maneuvers .................................120

Maneuvers And Hit Locations ...................120Designing Martial Arts Styles .....................121The Complete Mongoose Style .................. 123Extra DC ......................................................124Weapons ......................................................127Other Ways To Build Martial Arts ............. 127The One-Maneuver Martial Art................. 128Power Advantages For Martial Arts

Maneuvers ..............................................128

Table of Contents


3/253

FOREWORD

3

Chapter Two:Character Creation

Character Archetypes ...................................... 132The Alien Martial Artist .........................132The American From The Orient ...........132The Avenger ............................................132The Brick Martial Artist.........................132The Fulfiller Of Prophecy ......................132

The Honorable Ninja .............................133The Irritable Student ..............................133The Kickboxing Champion ...................133The Kickboxing Cop ..............................133The Kid ................................................... 133The Knight-Errant ................................. 133The Master ..............................................133The Modern-Day Samurai / Ninja ........ 134The Naive Hero/Heroine .......................134The Philosopher ..................................... 134The Ronin ...............................................134The Samurai ...........................................134The Serious Student ...............................134

The Sidekick ...........................................134The Super-Soldier ..................................134The Unwilling Fighter ............................135The Vigilante Martial Artist .................. 135The Warrior-Monk ................................135Last Note On The Stereotypes...............135

Specialties ..................................................... 135The Career Path Of The Martial Artist ......136

Building Characters .........................................136Skills .............................................................136

The Career Path In Other Genres .........136Acrobatics ...............................................137Acting ......................................................138

Breakfall ..................................................138Combat Skill Levels ................................138Knowledge Skill: Analyze Style ..............140Knowledge Skill: Chinese Healing ........ 141Knowledge Skill: Indian Healing...........141Knowledge Skill: Korean Healing .........141Knowledge Skill: The Martial World ....141Knowledge Skill: Mon ............................141Knowledge Skill: Specific Martial Art ... 142Language: Ninja Clan Codes & Symbols

143Professional Skill: Instructor .................143Science: Specific Martial Art.................. 143Sleight Of Hand ...................................... 143Weapon Familiarity ...............................143Weapon Familiarity: Off Hand ............. 143

Perquisites .................................................... 144Contact .................................................... 144Favors ......................................................144Followers .................................................144Fringe Benefits ........................................144

Talents .......................................................... 145Ambidexterity .........................................145Combat Sense .........................................145Danger Sense ..........................................145Defense Maneuver ..................................145Fast Draw ................................................145

Find Weakness ........................................146Lightsleep ................................................146Lightning Reflexes ..................................146Luck ......................................................... 146Simulate Death .......................................146

Powers ..........................................................146Aid ...........................................................146Armor ......................................................149

Clinging...................................................149Damage Reduction .................................150Damage Resistance .................................150Desolidification ...................................... 151Dispel ......................................................151Drain .......................................................151END Reserve ...........................................153Energy Blast ............................................153Enhanced Senses ..................................... 153Extra Limbs .............................................155Force Wall ...............................................155Feints .......................................................155Gliding .................................................... 155Hand-To-Hand Attack (HA) ................156Killing Attack, Ranged ...........................156Knockback Resistance ............................156Lack Of Weakness ..................................156Mental Defense .......................................156Missile Deflection And Reflection ........ 156Power Defense ........................................157Stances ..................................................... 157Superleap ................................................ 158Telekinesis ...............................................158Transfer ................................................... 158Transform ...............................................158Tunneling................................................ 158

Power Advantages .......................................159

Power Advantages AndHand-To-Hand Attacks ....................159

Area Of Effect .........................................159Autofire ................................................... 160Damage Shield ........................................160Indirect .................................................... 161Invisible Power Effects ...........................161Trigger ..................................................... 161Variable Advantage ................................161

Limitations...................................................161Activation Roll ........................................161Extra Time ..............................................161Gestures ..................................................162

Reduced Penetration ..............................162Requires A Skill Roll ..............................162

Power Frameworks ...................................... 162Disadvantages ..............................................163

Age ...........................................................163Dependent NPC ..................................... 164Distinctive Features: Style Disadvantage

164Hunted .................................................... 165Obligation ...............................................166Psychological Limitation ....................... 166Public Identity ........................................167Reputation ..............................................167

Table of Contents


4/253

FOREWORD

4

Rivalry ..................................................... 167Vulnerability ...........................................167

Chapter Three:Combat

Roleplaying Combat ........................................170Combat Maneuvers .........................................171

Bind .........................................................171

Block........................................................171Choke Hold ............................................172Covered ................................................... 172Disarm..................................................... 172Flying Kick ..............................................173Grab.........................................................173Grab Weapon .........................................176Haymaker ...............................................176Joint Locks And Related Maneuvers .....176Killing Throw .........................................177Martial Escape ........................................177Move By/Move Through .......................177Nerve Strike ............................................178

Partial Maneuvers ..................................179Pulling A Punch ..................................... 180Root .........................................................180Shove .......................................................180Standard Maneuvers ..............................180Sweep ......................................................181Takeaway ................................................181Throw ......................................................182

Special Cases & Options ..................................185Blinded Characters And Martial Arts ........ 185Bound Characters And Martial Arts ..........185Casual STR Versus Barriers ........................186Concealed Weapons And Gadgets ............. 186Coup De Grace ............................................186

Critical Hits .................................................187Disabling Attacks.........................................187

Standard Impairing And Disabling Rules187

The Disable Element ..............................187Disabling Rules For Normal and NND

Attacks ................................................ 188Disabling Nerve Strike ...........................189

Disguising Damage ..................................... 189Healing .........................................................189Hindering Circumstances And Martial Arts

190Hit Locations ...............................................192

Reducing Damage ..................................192Increasing Damage .................................192Attacks On Disadvantaged Characters .193

Ignoring Opponents....................................193Interposing...................................................193Knockback And Martial Arts......................194

Increasing Knockback ............................194Decreasing Knockback ...........................194Pushback .................................................194

Mystery Damage..........................................195Sequence Attacks .........................................195STR Minima On Weapons .........................197Weapon Lengths..........................................197

Weapon Ranges ......................................197OCV Penalties ........................................197Shields And Longer Weapons ...............198Weapon Lengths And Enclosed Space ..198

Wounds ........................................................199Targeting Injured Areas .........................199Twisting The Blade.................................199

Zero-Gravity And Martial Arts .................. 200

Martial Art Weapons .......................................201Notes And Key .............................................207Master List Of Weapons .............................208Weapon Familiarity Chart ..........................224Concealed And Inobvious Weapons .........225Armor ...........................................................226

Full-Contact Karate Armor ...................226Kendo Armor .........................................226Leather Hand-Wrappings ......................226Rawhide Hand-Wrappings ....................226Samurai Armor .......................................227

Creating Weapons And Armor .................. 227Powers Used In Weapon And Armor

Creation .............................................227OCV Bonuses And Penalties .................227STR Minima (Heroic Campaigns) ........ 228The Independent Limitation ............. 228Hand-To-Hand Versus Killing Damage

228Armor Creation ...................................... 228New Limitations ..................................... 229The Focus Limitation .............................231Poisons In Heroic Campaigns ...............231Yengtao Martial Arts Weapons ............. 231

Chapter Four:Sourcebook

Secret Societies .................................................234Characteristics Of Secret Societies ............. 234

Goals And Motivations ..........................234Secretiveness ...........................................235Atmosphere ............................................235Ritual Practices .......................................235

Sample Secret Societies ...............................235The Brotherhood Of The Dragons Fang

235The Cult Of The Red Banner ................235The Dai Nippon Tetsukaminari Society236The Green Fists .......................................236The Masters Of Death ............................237

The Masters Of The Jade Palace OfHeaven ...............................................237

The Ones Who Pass Through TheDragons Flame Unharmed ..............237

Yengtao Temple ...............................................238The History Of Yengtao Temple ...........238Yengtao Abilities: General Notes ..........239Shared Yengtao Techniques .................. 239Unique Yengtao Techniques ................. 241Using Yengtao Temple

In Your Campaign ............................243Bibliography .....................................................244

Appendices:Conversions For Other Game Systems

Table of Contents


5/253

FOREWORD

5

Introduction

Welcome to The Ultimate Martial Artist, orUMA for short, the first book in Hero GamessUltimate line of books exploring different comic-book archetypes.

Unlike the other books in the Ultimate series,UMAhas a prior history (of sorts) upon which tobuild: Aaron Allstons genre bookNinja Hero, theHERO System book on martial arts-oriented cam-paigns. While the two books have much in com-mon, as the reader shall soon see, their focus isslightly different: Ninja Heroconcentrated prima-rily on straight martial arts campaigns, whereasUMAlooks mainly at creating martial arts in genresother than just martial arts.

How To Use This BookThe Ultimate Martial Artist is a complete guide

to creating and using martial artists in any genre ofroleplaying campaign, using the HERO Systemrules. Youll find over 100 different martial artsstyles and variations, new rules for martial arts

combat, rules for creating martial arts styles, over100 martial arts weapons and much more.

Players should use this book as a reference forcreating martial arts characters. Reading throughthe entire book is recommended, because youllfind lots of great ideas for characters in here. Anyreal-world style of martial arts you have heard ofis probably listed in this book somewhere.


6/253

FOREWORD

6

Gamemasters should also read all the way throughthis book, particularly to look at all of the new com-bat rules. Its important for the GM to decide whichrules options will be used in his campaign, and (evenmore important) to tell the players about thosechoices. The section on Designing Martial Arts ishighly recommended for creating new martial artsdesigned to fit your campaign.

The astute reader will quickly note that much of

the most important material from Ninja Herohasbeen reprinted in this book. In some cases thatmaterial has been altered or supplemented, but inmany cases it has not been. Thus, GMs and playersneed to decide for themselves what they wish to usefrom this book and what they would rather ignore.You may prefer the Ninja Heroway of doing some-thing that is done differently in UMA; if so, go rightahead using whatever you like bestor even makeup your own rules.

As you read this book, remember that some of therules alterations, suggestions for GMs options,and similar material is made with superheroic char-

acters in mind. Such material may not be appropriatefor other types of campaigns; GMs are urged toexamine the rules in this book carefully before allow-ing them to be used in their campaigns.

Authors NoteWhen this project was first announced, it was

greeted in some circles with cries of trepidationand even outrage. Ninja Herois widely acknowl-edged as one of the best, if not thebest, supplementthat Hero Games has ever published, and rightly

so. ManyHERO System gamers were disturbed bythe thought of it being redone or altered in anyway.

I, frankly, was one of those people. I was bothflattered and honored when Hero Games offeredthis project to me, but the enormity of the under-taking was a little daunting. At times during thewriting of the book, I felt a little like St. Jerome, asI tried to ensure that everything that I wanted topreserve came into this book intact and that everychange that needed to be made or new rule that Ineeded to create was still within the spirit not onlyof the HERO System but ofNinja Heroas well.

As you will soon see, most of the changes Iworked upon the material taken from Ninja Heroare rather slight. Many of the martial arts styleshave been altered or added to; some new martial

arts design elements have been created; and a fewmaneuvers, such as Grab and Throw, have under-gone major changes, but thats about it. I hope thatthe doomsayers will now be saying that their worstfears have notcome to pass; if yours have, just keepon doing things the way you have been and ignorewhat Ive written here.

Many of the changes herein are the result of thebooks focus on creating martial arts-using char-

acters for any genre. Based on my experience andthe stories Ive heard from gamers all over thecountry, Ninja Herois primarily used as a supple-ment for Championsand other HERO Systemgenres, not as a stand-alone campaign book. Thisis not to say that there arent gamers out thererunning martial arts campaignsthere are plentyof them, and its a good thingbut with manypeople interested in martial arts for superheroesand other genres, it was important to providesource material and ideas for them to use, even ifit meant making a few changes to what is otherwisesacred text.

The Ultimate Martial Artist is by no means arepudiation or rejection ofNinja Herofar fromit. Instead, I think you will agree with me that it isin fact a tribute to a great roleplaying supplementthat has provided so many of us with so manyhours of gaming fun. After all, how many otherHero Games books have inspired this sort of ex-tension and revision?

On that note, let me echo something that I saidearlierI owe Aaron Allston a great deal of thanksfor his assistance with this project, which mainlyconsisted of stepping aside and letting me do thework as I preferred. I doubt I could have been as

sanguine had our positions been reversed. Hisgracious assistance, clever ideas freely expressedand willingness to answer my seemingly endlessstream of questions is deeply appreciated. Thanks,Aaron! I hope I wasnt toomuch of a ConsarnedWhippersnapper.

I also owe a debt of thanks to the many consult-ants who helped me with this project; their namesare listed in the Additional Contributions sec-tion on the dedication page. Their input on howdifferent martial arts styles and maneuvers workand on what rules needed to be changed or addedto the game system was invaluable. All mistakes

are, however, entirely my own.


7/253

FOREWORD

7

Chapter One:

Martial Arts StylesAnd Maneuvers

This chapter presents a wealth of information on different martial arts styles and

maneuvers. The first part covers the way the HERO System translates martial arts into gamemechanics. The second part describes approximately fifty real-world styles (and manyvariants of those styles) from all over the globe. The third section includes approximatelytwenty fictional styles, of the sort often seen in comic books and martial arts movies. Thefourth section discusses how martial arts are applied in various genres. The last sectionprovides revised rules for designing new martial arts styles, including rules for applyingPower Advantages to martial arts maneuvers.


8/253

CHAPTERONE

8

The Way of the Hero

This section ofThe Ultimate Martial Artistde-fines the terms and methods used by the HEROSystem to translate different styles into game me-chanics. Players who are interested in doing theirown research about their characters style shouldrefer to the Bibliography at the end of this book.

Style DescriptionsThe terms used to define the different styles are:

Maneuvers: The maneuvers and techniques thatmake up the style. A list of the maneuvers usedis provided below; players can also make uptheir own maneuvers using the rules provided.

Skills:Skills that are commonly associated with thestyle. Those marked with an asterisk (*) arerequired: the character cannot practice the stylewithout buying them. Standard HERO Systemabbreviations, such as KS for Knowledge Skilland WF for Weapon Familiarity, are used.

Elements: Elements are additions to the style. Theyinclude Extra Damage Classes (which are neverre-quired for a style, and so are not listed in a stylesdescription) and the Weapons that the style teaches.Refer to the Maneuvers And Weapons section,below, and the Designing Martial Arts Maneuvers

section found later on in this book for more infor-mation on using weapons with martial arts maneu-vers.

Style Disadvantage: The optional Style Disadvan-tage is discussed in the Character Creationsection of this book (under Distinctive Fea-tures). Most styles can qualify for this Disad-vantage.

Optional Rules: This section includes the optionalHit Locations for maneuvers in the style thatwould use them.

Special Abilities: This last section showcases someof the amazing (and even mystical) abilities thatare attributed to martial artists of the style.Most of them are described in general termsonly, with suggested ways to create them usingthe HERO System rules; players and GMs arefree to simulate these abilities in game terms asthey prefer.

Maneuvers DecriptionsBelow is the long list of maneuvers, both Hand-To-

Hand and Ranged, from which the following sectionsmartial arts are constructed.

In the chart, the Maneuver column gives themaneuvers generic name (though mostare renamed when placed in specific mar-tial art styles).

The next column, Phs, indicates whatpart of a Phase the maneuver takes toperform. Most are half-Phase maneuvers;some, like a Haymaker, are full-Phase plus

one Segment and land at the end of theSegment after the maneuver is launched.The next column, Pts, gives the

maneuvers cost.The next two columns, OCVandDCV,

show the Combat Value modifiers of themaneuver.

In the Ranged Martial Arts Maneuverslist, the next column, Rng, indicates thebonus or penalty added by the maneuverto the standard Range Modifier.


9/253

CHAPTERONE

9

Hand-To-Hand Martial Arts Maneuvers

Maneuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Damage/Effect

Ballestra 5 +2 -2 STR +4d6; Half Move Required

Basic Strike 3 +1 +0 STR +2d6 Strike

Breaking Throw 5 -2 -2 Grab One Limb;d6 HKA (2DC), Disable; Target Falls

Choke Hold 4 -2 +0 Grab One Limb; 2d6 NND(2)

Counterstrike 4 +2 +2 STR +2d6 Strike, Must Follow

Successful BlockCrush 4 +0 +0 STR +4d6 Crush, Must Follow

Successful Grab

Defensive Block 5 +1 +3 Block, Abort

Defensive Strike 5 +1 +3 STR Strike

Defensive Throw 3 +1 +1 Block, Target Falls

Takeaway Throw 5 -1 -2 Grab Weapon, +15 STR to takeweapon away; Target Falls

Eye Gouge 4 -1 -1 2d6 Sight Group Flash

Fast Strike 4 +2 +0 STR +2d6 Strike

Flying Dodge 5 +4 Dodge All Attacks, Abort;FMove

Flying Tackle 3 +0 -1 STR +v/5 Strike; You Fall,Target Falls; FMove

Grappling Throw 3 +0 +2 STR +2d6 Strike; Target Falls;Must Follow Grab

Joint Break 5 -1 -2 Grab One Limb;d6 HKA(2 DC), Disable

Joint Lock/Throw 4 +1 +0 Grab One Limb; 1d6 NND(3);Target Falls

Killing Strike 4 -2 +0 d6 HKA (2 DC)

Killing Throw 5 -2 +0 d6 HKA (2 DC); Target Falls

Legsweep 3 +2 -1 STR +1d6 Strike; Target Falls

Martial Block 4 +2 +2 Block, Abort

Martial Disarm 4 -1 +1 Disarm; +10 STR to Disarm roll

Martial Dodge 4 +5 Dodge, Affects All Attacks,Abort

Martial Escape var. 4 +0 +0 +15 STR vs. Grabs

Martial Grab 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, +10 to STR forholding on

Martial Strike 4 +0 +2 STR +2d6 Strike

Martial Throw 3 +0 +1 STR +v/5; Target Falls

Nerve Strike 4 -1 +1 2d6 NND(1)

Offensive Strike 5 -2 +1 STR +4d6 Strike

Passing Strike 5 +1 +0 STR +v/5; FMove

Reversal var. 4 -1 -2 STR +15 to Escape; Grab TwoLimbs

Root 4 +0 +0 STR +15 to resist Shove; Block,Abort

Sacrifice Disarm 4 +2 -2 Disarm, +10 STR to Disarm roll

Sacrifice Lunge 4 +2 -2 STR +v/5; FMove

Sacrifice Strike 5 +1 -2 STR +4d6 Strike

Sacrifice Throw 3 +2 +1 STR Strike; You Fall, TargetFalls

Shove 4 +0 +0 +15 STR to Shove

Takeaway 5 +0 +0 Grab Weapon, +10 STR to Takeweapon away

Takedown 3 +1 +1 STR Strike; Target Falls

Weapon Bind 4 +1 +0 Bind, +10 STR


10/253

CHAPTERONE

10

Ranged Martial Arts Maneuvers

Maneuver Phs Cost OCV DCV Rng Damage/Effect

Defensive Shot 3 -1 +2 +0 Strike

Distance Shot 1+1 5 +0 -2 +6 Strike; +1 Segment

Far Shot 5 +1 -1 +4 Strike

Offensive Shot 4 -1 -1 +0 Strike, +4d6

Quick Shot 4 +1 +0 +0 Strike, +2d6

Ranged Disarm 3 -1 +0 +0 Disarm, +10 STR

Trained Shot 4 +0 +0 +2 Strike, +2d6

Trip 3 -1 +0 +2 Target Falls*

*The GM may chose to assign extra damage to the target from the fall and the targets velocity.

The last column,Damage/Effect, describes (in shortform) what the maneuver does when used success-fully.

Brief explanations of the terms used to build thesemaneuvers follows; for further information, refer tothe Designing Martial Arts Maneuvers and Com-

bat Maneuvers sections of this book.Abort: The character can abort his next Phase to

perform this maneuver on a segment not nor-mally his Phase. (See Aborting an Action, HEROSystem Rulesbook.)

Bind: This maneuver element can only be used againsta weapon. A successful Bind will lock up theopponents weapon and keep him from attacking;it will also allow the character to shove his oppo-nent around the field.

Block: This prevents the opponents attack fromhitting the target, and sets up the defender tostrike first on the next Phase (assuming they bothact in the same Phase). (Refer to Block in theHERO System Rulesbookfor further details.)

Disable: This maneuver is intended to disable a limb,thereby making it useless. Refer to the DesigningMartial Arts Maneuvers section of this book fordetails.

Disarm: A character who successfully performs aDisarm can try to knock a one-handed weapon orother hand-held device from his opponents grasp.Both characters make STR rolls, counting onlyBODY. If the defender rolls more BODY, he holdsonto his weapon. If the attacker rolls more BODY

or the rolls are tied, the weapon goes flying

d6hexes in the direction of the strike (which is theattackers choice, subject to GM approval). (SeeDisarm in the HERO System Rulesbook.) Dis-arm cannot be used on objects held in two hands.

Extra Segment: This maneuver does not land untilthe bottom of the next segment (just like aHaymaker). A character may perform a half-moveand then launch a maneuver which requires anExtra Segment.

FMove: This maneuver may be performed at the endof a full move instead of just a half-move. Thisdoes not mean it is a 0-Phase maneuver. If per-formed after a half-move or no move at all, it stillcounts as a combat action and ends the charactersphase.

Grab: With a successful Grab, the character has got-ten a hold on an opponent; the basic Grab holdstwo of the targets limbs. He may now apply STRdamage to his opponent or may throw his oppo-nent to the ground. This element is also known asGrab Opponent.

Grab Weapon: With a successful Grab Weapon ma-neuver, the character has managed to grab hisopponents weapon (in such a manner that thegrabber will not be hurt by the weapon). Theynow execute a STR vs. STR contest. (This takes 0time for both of them and is performed each timethe Grab Weapon maneuver is successfully per-

formed.) If the Grabber wins, he wrests the weaponaway and can use it. If the target wins, he wreststhe weapon away and can use it. If the roll is a tie,both hold on to the weapon and neither can use it.

Must Follow: This maneuver must follow some otherspecific successful maneuver. If the first maneu-ver is performed successfully, on the next Phase,and not before, the attacker can perform the Fol-lowing maneuver. The attacker can also performthe Following maneuver after itself. For example,Crush can Follow a Grab or a previous Crush. Amaneuver listed with must follow must make ato-hit roll each phase; even if the target is Grabbed

and at reduced DCV, no hit is automatic.NND(1): This is a No Normal Defense attack (see the

No Normal Defense Power Advantage in theHERO System Rulesbook). The defense for thisattack is wearing rigid solid armor or having Lackof Weakness (refer to the discussion of NerveStrikes in the Combat Maneuvers section ofChapter Three of this book for more informa-tion).


11/253

CHAPTERONE

11

NND(2): This is a No Normal Defense attack (seethe No Normal Defense Power Advantage inthe HERO System Rulesbook). The defense forthis attack is having solid armor on the neck, ornot having to breathe (refer to the discussion ofNerve Strikes in the Combat Maneuvers sec-tion of Chapter Three of this book for moreinformation).

NND(3): This is a No Normal Defense attack (seethe No Normal Defense Power Advantage inthe HERO System Rulesbook). The defense forthis attack is having solid armor on the jointthat is being bent, having Resistance, or in someother way being immune to the pain caused bya joint-lock (i.e., having Stretching powers, suf-ficient STR to prevent the torquing of the jointand so forth) (refer to the discussion of NerveStrikes in the Combat Maneuvers section ofChapter Three of this book for more informa-tion).

Note: NND Maneuvers are NOT increased by acharacters STR. If the maneuver descriptionsays the maneuver does 2d6 NND, thats what itdoes, regardless of the characters STR. ExtraDC, on the other hand, DOES increase NNDmaneuver damage.

Take Full DMG: The attacker takes damage fromthe maneuver. The attacker takes normal dam-age equal in DC to the damage done by theattack: Therefore a 2d6 Killing Attack, 6d6Normal Attack, and 3d6 No Normal DefenseAttack (all of which are 6 DC attacks) would do6d6 Normal Damage to the character.

Target Falls: Successful use of this maneuver throws

the target to the ground. This isnt necessarily abrute-force maneuver; it could be, but couldalso be a joint-lock bearing the target to theground. The fact that most maneuvers with thisingredient are Strikes does not mean that in themaneuver the attacker necessarily punches orkicks the target; that just indicates that themaneuver does the attackers STR damage tothe target, usually from hitting the ground.

v/5: The maneuver gets a damage bonus based onthe relative velocity of the two combatants. Themaneuver does +v/5 in d6 normal damage.

Var.: The Escape maneuver normally takes a half-

move to perform. However, when a character isfirst grabbed, he can perform a Casual StrengthSTR roll to escape, using half his STR (plus halfhis bonus for the Escape maneuver); this takesno time. Escape doesnt constitute an attack; ifa character Escapes a hold and has a half-moveleft, he can then attack.

You Fall: The attacker automatically falls down, inthe hex where he performed the attack, regard-less of whether or not the attack is successful.

Maneuvers And WeaponsAs was mentioned above, some martial arts can be

used with weapons. But not all weapons can be used

with all maneuvers; a kick cant be used with a ma-chete, and a dodge isnt improved by a spear.

The following list is a general guideline for whichsorts of weapons can be used with which maneuvers.The GM should use common sense when dealingwith a weapon not found on this list; compare it toweapons on this list and decide which weapons itmost closely corresponds to. That will serve as a rule-of-thumb guide as to which maneuvers a charactercan use with the weapon.


12/253

CHAPTERONE

12

When youre using normal, non-martial maneu-vers from the HERO System Rulesbook, compare thenon-martial maneuver to the maneuvers in the chartabove. You can use a non-martial Block with the sortsof weapons used with the Defensive and MartialBlocks; you can use a non-martial Disarm with thesorts of weapons used with Martial and SacrificeDisarms; and so on.

Ranged Martial Arts andWeapons Types

A character trained in a Ranged Martial Arts styleis trained with a specific type of weapon, and cannotuse his maneuvers with other weapons unless he hasbeen trained to do so. Additional weapons types canbe added at a cost of 1 pt. each; see Weapons Ele-ments. Realistically, a GM should not allow a charac-ter trained in Shurikenjutsu to learn his ranged ma-neuvers with bows or rifles without some kind ofadvanced training or a real good story. The GMshould keep a careful eye on Ranged Martial Arts.

Modifying And BuildingStyles

Those of you who are practitioners and/or fansof the martial arts will doubtless have objections tothe way some styles or maneuvers are built. Evenmore will ask, Wheres my favorite martial art? if itis not represented in the next section. An effort hasbeen made to make this list as comprehensive aspossible, but undoubtedly there are styles that were

overlooked or which the author could not locatesufficient research material on to do a full descrip-tion.

For you, we offer a solution: you can build yourown martial arts maneuvers and styles. If you dontlike the way one of the styles above is constructed, orwant to see a martial arts style not presented in thissection, you can always build one from scratch andsubmit it to your GM for approval. To learn how,move on to the Designing Martial Arts Maneuverssection. Another possible solution is to simply re-work a particular art or rename its maneuvers to suityourself.

Learning Martial ArtsMost characters defined as martial artists will be

created with at least ten points worth of martial artsmaneuvers from one style, an 8- roll in the Knowl-edge Skill of that style, and the 10-point Style Disad-vantage. Thats the arrangement for a basic martialartist character, and theres nothing complicatedabout it.

Things get a little more complicated as existingcharacters use their experience to improve their mar-

tial arts or buy new martial arts abilities.

Maneuver Type Can Be Used With TheseWeapons:

Basic Strike * (See below)

Choke Hold Staves, Weapon Shafts,Garrotes, Chain & RopeWeapons, Nunchaku,Three-Section Staff,Shinobi-Zue

Counterstrike * (See below)Crush None

Defensive Block * (See below)

Defensive Strike * (See below)

Defensive Throw None

Disarming Throw None

Fast Strike * (See below)

Flying Dodge None

Flying Tackle None

Grappling Block None

Grappling Throw Chain & Rope Weapons

Head-Butt Helmet Spikes, OtherHead-Worn Weapons

Joint Break None

Joint Lock/Throw Chain & Rope Weapons

Kick Ashiko

Killing Strike * (See below)

Killing Throw None

Legsweep Staves, Tetsubo, ShinobiZue, Polearm Shafts, Nets

Martial Block All Melee Weapons, Shields

Martial Disarm * (See below)

Martial Dodge None

Martial Escape None

Martial Grab Nets, Whips, Chain & Rope

Weapons, Shinobi-ZueMartial Strike * (See below)

Martial Throw Chain & Rope Weapons

Nerve Strike * (See below), but only nor-mal-damage weapons

Offensive Strike * (See below)

Passing Strike * (See below)

Punch All Melee Weapons

Reversal None

Root None

Sacrifice Disarm * (See below)

Sacrifice Lunge * (See below)

Sacrifice Strike * (See below)Sacrifice Throw None

Shove All Large (L) MeleeWeapons, Shields

Takeaway All Melee Weapons

Takedown Staves, Polearm Shafts,Nets, Whips, Chain & RopeWeapons

Weapon Bind All Melee Weapons, Shields

*: If defined as Punch, see Punch; if defined asKick, see Kick; if defined as Head-Butt, seeHead-Butt


13/253

CHAPTERONE

13

Learning Martial Arts FromScratch

It could happen that an already-existing characterwants to learn a martial arts style from the ground up.Finding a teacher is all plot-related, something forthe player and GM to work out between them. Here,were going to talk about the way the character buys

the style.Knowledge Skill

The character should first spend one point for an8- Knowledge Skill with his style. Characters dontlearn any maneuvers before taking that KS.

ElementsIf the style requires an Element (such as Weapons

Element), the character must buy that Element next.

Required SkillsA few styles require that the character purchase

specific Skills. Such Skills, in the listings of martialarts styles, are always marked with an asterisk (*). Forexample, Aikido and Jujutsu cannot be learned with-out Breakfall; Kenjutsu cannot be learned withoutWF: Swords.

The martial artist character must buy all requiredSkills before buying any maneuvers. He need onlyspend 1 point on each Knowledge Skill, for an 8-roll.He must spend at least 3 points for any General orCharacteristic-based Skill.

ManeuversThe character then can learn one maneuver after

another until he has bought at least ten CharacterPoints worth of them.

Style DisadvantageUltimately, the character can take the 10-point

Style Disadvantage for his style, which helps offsetthe cost of the Martial Arts style. This can only betaken with GM approval, though. If the character haslearned the martial art style after being created, hisGM may not wish him to receive new CharacterPoints for the new Disadvantage.

These are the different ways GMs may approachthis question in their own campaigns:

Allow the Character to Take the Style DisadvantageThe GM allows the character to add the Style

Disadvantage to his list of Disadvantage and add thevalue of it to his Character Points. However, the StyleDisadvantage still cannot exceed the Disadvantagepoint limits already set for the campaign. For in-stance, if the campaign has a 75-point cap on Disad-vantage points, and the character already has 70points of Disadvantages, if he adds the 10-point StyleDisadvantage he only gets 5 points worth of value.Likewise, if the campaign has a 25-point cap onDisadvantage points from any one category of Disad-vantage, and the character already has 25 points

worth of Distinctive Features, then the additionalStyle Disadvantage will bring him 0 points.

Allow the Character to Trade the Style DisadvantageFor Another Disadvantage

The GM allows the character to trade in anotherDisadvantage which the player had already been try-ing to buy down or buy off, and take the Style Disad-vantage in its place. For example, recently the charac-

ter has beaten his 10-point Hunted in a climacticfashion, and its an appropriate time to get rid of thatHunted. The character erases the Hunted and substi-tutes the Style Disadvantage for it. Note: this can onlybe done when there already exists a logical, plot-driven reason for the Disadvantage to be changed.Reasons such as Im tired of it and I like the StyleDisadvantage better are not sufficient.

Disallow the Style DisadvantageThe GM doesnt allow the character to take a new

Disadvantage. The GM feels that since a characterdoesnt receive points from new Hunteds every timehe makes a new enemy, or points from new Rivalrieswhen he finds himself in competition with a newcharacter, he shouldnt receive points from a newDisadvantage, either.

Require the Style Disadvantage But Worth 0Points:

The GM insists that the character take the StyleDisadvantage, but its worth 0 points to him. Thisreflects the fact that the characters style will beobvious, but also reflects the GMs philosophy thatnew Disadvantages dont bring new points to thecharacter.

Of these four approaches, the second choice, Allow

the Character to Trade the Style Disadvantage ForAnother Disadvantage, is the recommended one. Thisapproach has the advantages that it gives a point-costincentive to learn martial arts maneuvers and yetdoesnt bring the character a lot of new points out ofnowhere.

Rate Of LearningHow fast should characters learn new martial arts?

In the real world, the normal practitioner can earn ablack belt in an average of four years. In the HEROSystem, that corresponds to an expenditure of onlythree or four Character Points per year on MartialArts maneuvers and skills, far too slow for mostadventure genre purposes.

However, also in the real world, some legitimatemartial arts champions have earned their black beltsin much less time; one famed heavyweight full-con-tact karate champion earned his in only seven months,which is more like spending two Character Points permonth on Martial Arts maneuvers and Skills.

PCs who begin play with a black belts worth ofmaneuvers, Skills and Elements, therefore, can bepresumed to have taken anywhere from half a year tofour years to earn their belts.


14/253

CHAPTERONE

14

But when PCs are learning new maneuvers andarts, after theyve already begun play, it is recom-mended that you follow one of these approaches:

One CP Every AdventureThe character can spend one Experience Point on

Martial Arts maneuvers, Skills, and Elements everyadventure. This presumes that hes receiving regulartraining in the campaign setting. This means it willtake quite a while (ten to fifteen game sessions) toearn a black belts worth of maneuvers and Skills.This is a good approach for more realistic heroiccampaigns.

Two or Three CP Every AdventureThe character can spend two or three Experience

Points (the GM decides which) on Martial Arts ma-neuvers, Skills and Elements every adventure. Thispresumes that hes receiving regular, and extraordi-narily intensive, training in the campaign setting.With this approach, it will only take four to sevenadventures before a character has acquired a com-petitive level of prowess in his martial arts style. Thisis a good approach for heroic martial arts campaignsand for superheroic campaigns.

Spend Many CP During Training BreaksIf the campaign skips a lot of time, the character,

with GM permission, can splurge quite a lot of Expe-

rience Points into his martial arts. In other words, ifthe campaign skips six game-months between ad-ventures, the character could conceivably drop quitea few points into his martial arts. Again, the charactermust be receiving regular training within the cam-paign setting. A realistic expenditure rate would be 2CP every game month; an acceptable expenditure forheroic martial arts campaigns, and presuming veryintensive training, would be 4 CP every game month;

and in superheroic campaigns, 6-8 CP every gamemonths are feasible.

Learning New AndMultiple Styles

Some characters will want to learn new martial artsstyles in addition to their basic style, and some willjust wish to purchase individual maneuvers from anumber of styles to supplement their basic style. Thisis fine, logical and realistic; we encourage it. But there

are a few rules that pertain to it.

Buying Maneuvers OutsideYour Style

It is perfectly all right for a character to learn amaneuver from a style different than his own, or (ifthe GM allows) to create a new maneuver from theoptional maneuver design rules. A character shouldknow at least three maneuvers in his original stylebefore he buys an outside maneuver; once thatrequirement is met, he can buy anything the GM willallow him.

The player must have an acceptable rationale forhis character knowing this outside maneuverhemust know a PC or NPC who could have taught him,for instance. If he buys the maneuver after he beginsplay, he is subject to the time constraints chosen bythe GM (see above under Rate Of Learning), andmust have a logical means to learn the maneuver (i.e.,access to a teacher and time to learn it).

If character wishes to learn only one or two ma-neuvers outside his style, he doesnt have to buy a KSin that style. Naturally, once hes spent at least 10points on maneuvers from that style, buys his 11- KSin that style and buys his 1 pt. Fringe Benefit, he

qualifies as a black belt (or equivalent) in that style.

Outside Maneuvers AndThe Weapons Element

If your basic style includes the Weapons Elementfor a particular weapon, and you buy a maneuverfrom a second style, you still can use the new maneu-ver with the weapons permitted for your style.

For example, if you know Karate and have boughtthe Weapons Elements for Karate Weapons and Staff,then buy the Fencing Takeaway, you can use theFencing Takeaway with both Karate Weapons and

Staff.


15/253

CHAPTERONE

15

This is possible because the martial artist adaptshis new maneuvers to his old style. However, thereare some restrictions on it.

First, the maneuver still has to be appropriate forthe weapon. A Fencer who learns the Side/SpinningKick cant use the kick with a blade. See the chartunder Martial Arts Maneuvers And Weapons ear-lier in this section to remind you which types ofmaneuvers go with which types of weapons.

Second, a character with at least ten points ofmaneuvers in one style can buy an outside maneuverand use that maneuver with his styles weapons.However, he cant use all his original styles maneu-vers with the Weapons Element from the single out-side maneuver.

Example: Mutsu Sodan knows Karate; he knowsten points worth of maneuvers and has bought theWeapons Elements Karate Weapons and Staff forhis Karate. He now learns the Kung Fu Punchmaneuver and the Kung Fu Weapons Elements ofClubs and Swords from a Kung Fu teacher. He canuse the Punch with his Karate Weapons and Staff.

However, he cannot use his Karate maneuvers withClubs and Swords.

However, if the practitioner knows two completestyles, he can use maneuvers from either art with theWeapons Elements hes purchased for either art.

Example: Years later, Mutsu Sodan has learnedboth Karate and Kung Fu (he has at least ten pointsof maneuvers in each). He has bought the KarateWeapons and Staff Weapons Elements for his Ka-rate, and the Clubs and Swords Weapons Elements

for his Kung Fu. Now, he can use his Karatemaneuvers and his Kung Fu maneuvers with Ka-rate Weapons, Staff, Clubs, and Swords.

Knowledge Skills AndNew Styles

If a character already knows a particular martialart (including having a KS in that art), and then buysa KS in a second art, any maneuvers that he haspurchased that overlap both styles may be used in thefashion of either style. This can be a good way for acharacter to vary his fighting style to confuse anopponent or avoid the effects of a successful KS:Analyze Style roll. Remember, though, that just pur-

chasing a KS in a style does not give a character accessto any maneuvers that he has not paid points for.

Example:Hitoshi knows Karate. He has purchasedall of that styles maneuvers and has an 11- Knowl-edge Skill of it. After a trip to Thailand, he becomesinterested in Thai Kick-Boxing and begins study-ing it. After a couple of months of hard work, heknows enough to buy KS: Thai Kick-Boxing at 11

or less.Karate and Thai Kick-Boxing have several ma-

neuvers in common: Killing Strike (calledKnifehand Strike (Chop) in Karate and Elbow/Knee Killing Strike in Thai Kick-Boxing); MartialBlock (called Block in both styles); Martial Strike(called Punch/Snap Kick in Karate and Low Kickin Thai Kick-Boxing); and Offensive Strike (calledSide/Spin Kick in Karate and Roundhouse Kick/

Knee Strike in Thai Kick-Boxing). Since Hitoshihas a KS in both styles, he may use either version ofthose maneuvers when he is fighting, without hav-ing to pay for each maneuver twice.

Hitoshi soon has the misfortune to get into afight with Seiki, another Karate practitioner. Aftera few seconds of fighting, Hitoshi realizes that Seikihas studied Hitoshis maneuvers and knows enoughabout Hitoshis fighting style to defeat him (ingame terms, Seiki made a KS: Analyze Style rolland used his Aid: Analyze Style power to gain extraDEX when fighting Hitoshi, and Hitoshi made aPER Roll to realize that Seiki had the drop on

him).So, Hitoshi switches to using Muay Thai ma-

neuvers whenever possible. Seiki is unable to suc-cessfully analyze these new maneuvers (i.e., he failsto make another KS: Analyze Style roll), so hecannot use his Aided DEX to increase his OCV andDCV whenever Hitoshi use a Thai Kick-Boxingattack. Hitoshi can use his Killing Strike, MartialBlock, Martial Strike, and Offensive Strike as MuayThai maneuvers and Seiki will be limited to hisown DEX (without the benefit of the Aid) whenattacking or defending against those maneuvers.However, if Hitoshi uses one of those maneuvers as

a Karate maneuver, or if he uses any other Karatemaneuver, Seiki still gains the benefit of his AidedDEX. Furthermore, Hitoshis KS: Thai Kick-Box-ing does not allow him to use that styles Fast Strikeor Shove maneuvers, since he has never purchasedeither of them.

Building New ManeuversAnd Styles

A character can (with his GMs permission) createall-new maneuvers or even entire styles with the rulesfrom the Designing Martial Arts Maneuvers sec-

tion.Note that a character who designs his own martial

art, if it turns out to be an efficient and competitivestyle, will eventually find himself the object of stu-dents who wish him to teach themand of gun-fighter-mentality martial artists who wish to chal-lenge him to prove that their own style is better.

The character who designs an all-new style andfinds himself in demand as a teacher should buy PS:Teacher and set up his own dojo(school). The cam-paign can revolve many plots around the herosschool, especially plots concerning the activities ofenemy schools.


16/253

CHAPTERONE

16

Black Belt Status InThe HERO System

Many gamers have asked what being a black beltmeans in the HERO System. There are several waysfor players to simulate various levels of martial artsability in the HERO System.

Remember that not all fighting styles rank their

practitioners with belts or some other system, al-though many of them do. Details of some rankingsystems are given above, or in the style descriptionslater on in this section. Black belt in the sense thatit is used here refers to an expert fighter of a particularstyle. This definition is not, perhaps, the same as theone that applies in the real world, but its certainlysufficient for gaming purposes.

The standard approach to determining what ittakes to qualify as a black belt requires that a charac-ter spend 10 points on maneuvers, have at least an 11-Knowledge Skill in the style, purchase all of the stylesrequired Skills and maneuvers (those marked with a* in the styles description), and buy a 1 pt. Fringe

Benefit, Black Belt. By satisfying those basic re-quirements, the character qualifies for a 1st DanBlack Belt. A character may be entitled for a higher-ranked belt. Every additional maneuver in his stylewill raise the characters belt by one rank, as will eachtwo combat levels that are usable with his martial art.The GM may wish to impose additional require-ments beyond those listed for characters who wish togain a Black Belt above the rank of 6th Dan. Requir-ing a higher Knowledge Skill roll, for example, maybe required for characters ranked above 6th Dan.

The advantage to this rule is that it is simple,straightforward and easy to qualify for. Many charac-

ters in the comic books, even those for whom martialarts is not a primary ability, seem to display extraor-dinary levels of proficiency with their particular fight-ing style(s). The drawback is that the required amountof maneuvers (10 points worth) is the same as theminimum purchase allowed by the rules (HEROSystem Rulesbook). Thus, under this approach, prettymuch every character that buys martial arts is, or caneasily become, a black belt.

Belts And RanksJapanese, Okinawan and Korean martial arts, as

they are practiced today, use a system of ranks indi-cated by the color of the belt worn by the practitioner.This belt-rank system is a 20th-century invention, atool used to motivate students (especially Westernstudents) to learn. In America, instructors of someChinese martial arts have adopted the belt system torank their students.

Belt ranks come in two categories: kyu(grade) anddan (degree). The following chart shows the beltarrangement for karate; variations on it are used inthe other Japanese arts. In lowest order to highest,these ranks are:

Kyu (Grades) Grade

Belt Initiate: White or Red Belt8th Kyu: White Belt7th Kyu: Yellow Belt6th Kyu: Orange Belt5th Kyu: Green Belt4th Kyu: Purple Belt3rd Kyu: Brown Belt2nd Kyu: Brown Belt1st Kyu: Brown Belt

Dan (Degrees): All are Black BeltsDegree Name (Japanese)

1st Dan Shodan2nd Dan Nidan3rd Dan Sandan4th Dan Yodan5th Dan Godan

6th Dan Rokudan7th Dan Shichidan8th Dan Hachidan9th Dan Kudan10th Dan Judan11th Dan Juichidan (Judo Only)12th Dan Junidan (Judo Only)


17/253

CHAPTER ONE

17

Real-World Styles

Following are descriptions of numerous real-worldmartial arts styles in HERO System terms. These artsare not confined to the latter part of the 20th century;many date back into the first millennium BC, orperhaps further back than that.

Jutsu vs. Do;

Internal vs. ExternalTwo important ways of thinking about martial

arts styles and how they work need to be defined inadvance.

The first is the distinction between jutsu and do,two terms used in Japanese martial arts.Jutsumeans,roughly, technique or art; it signifies a martial artmeant for actual fighting use. Do, meaning way,signifies just the oppositea philosophically-orientedapproach which stresses the moral, intellectual, sport-ing, and/or therapeutic benefits of studying a particu-lar fighting style. Doforms are not generally meant

for actual combat, though they can be used that way.Over time, most of thejutsuforms have transformedinto doforms. Thus, Aikijutsu becomes Aikido, Jujutsubecomes Judo, Kenjutsu becomes Kendo, and soforth. The real-world styles described in this book arealmost alljutsuforms, since they will be used for gamecombat by game fighters.

The internal versus external dichotomy (alsoknown as soft versus hard) is described in moredetail in the Chinese styles, but it is present in otherarts as well. Styles described as internal concentrateon the development of ones internal power, knownas chi (China), ki (Japan), mana (Hawaii), prana

(India) or by many other names. Chiis often thoughtto reside in the tantien(or tanden, meaning cinna-bar field), a point just a few inches below the navel,and internal stylists try to keep it centered there sothat it will flow throughout their body in the correctfashion and energize them. Internal styles generallyconcentrate on circular motion, yielding in the faceof attack, and using an enemys force against him. TaiChi Chuan, Hsing-I, Pakua and Aikido all qualify asinternal styles. Internal stylists are often able tomanipulate their chito perform astounding feats; ina gaming campaign, these abilities can become evenmore spectacular and impressive!

External or hard styles, on the other hand, con-centrate on the development of the body and itsphysical capabilities. They generally rely on powerful,linear attacks to overpower the foe. The Shaolin KungFu styles, Karate, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Muay Thaiand similar fighting arts are considered external styles.

AikidoThis is a Japanese art founded in 1942 by Morihei

Ueshiba and derived from the earlier Aikijutsu. Itstresses discipline and a nonviolent attitude. The art,as practiced in combat, concentrates on balance,rhythm and use of an opponents force against him. Itlargely involves redirecting an opponents energies,especially in throws and takedown maneuvers.


18/253

CHAPTERONE

18

Aikidoka(practitioners of aikido) traditionally weara uniform known as an aikidogi. Students wear auniform similar to a karate gi(see Karate, below).Masters wear a pair of wide pants, almost like a splitskirt, called a hakama and a jacket similar to thekarate gi, except that the sleeves are not as full. Thecolor of the hakamaand jacket sometimes indicatesthe fighters level of proficiency.

Since Ueshibas death, his followers have estab-

lished their own forms of Aikido. Some of these, suchas Tomiki Aikido, are more philosophically- or sports-oriented; others, such as Yoshin Aikido, stress com-bat realism and are more similar to Aikijutsu.

Aikido

ManeuverPhs Pts OCV DCV Damage/Effect

Dodge 4 +5 Dodge All

Attacks, AbortEscape

var. 4 +0 +0 +15 STR vs. GrabsExtend Ki

4 +0 +0 STR +15 to resistShove; Block,Abort

Hold 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs,

+10 STR forholding on

Joint Break 5 -1 -2 Grab One Limb;

d6 HKA (2 DC),Disable

Joint Lock/Throw 4 +1 +0 Grab One Limb;

1d6 NND(1);Target Falls

Redirect 5 +1 +3 Block, Abort

Strike 5 +1 +3 STR Strike

Takedown 3 +1 +1 STR Strike;

Target FallsThrow

3 +0 +1 STR +v/5; TargetFalls

Skills

Breakfall *KS: AikidoEnhanced Perception (Vision)

Elements

Weapons +1 Use Art with Blades+1 Use Art with Staff +1 Use Art with Polearms

Style Disadvantage -10

The Strike maneuver is not from Aikido as it isnormally taught today, but rather from the artsancestor, Aikijutsu.

Some teachers of Aikido teach the relationship ofthe arts maneuvers to the use of blades, the staff andhalberd-like weapons such as the naginata.

Optional Rules: The Strike may be either a punchor a kick, and this choice can be made before eachattack with the maneuver. If a punch, it takes alocation roll of 2d6+1; if a kick, it takes a location rollof 2d6+7; if it is not specified, it takes a location rollof 3d6. None of the other maneuvers require locationrolls; those which do damage do generalized damage.

Special Abilities:Many different abilities and pow-ers have been attributed to Morihei Ueshiba and, to

a lesser extent, some of his followers. Some of theseabilities include:

1) The ability to fight against many opponents with-out being harmed, or even touched (DefenseManeuver, DCV Levels).

2) The ability to sense an attackers actions before heeven moved (Telepathy, Danger Sense or Precog-nition).

3) The ability to move long distances in an instantand virtually without being seen. For example, itis said that Ueshiba could stand dozens of feetaway from a man with his hand on a gun, then

reach him and grab hold of his wrist before hecould draw the gun out of the holster! This is bestsimulated in HERO System terms as a form ofTeleport with the Limitation, Must Pass ThroughIntervening Space (-).

4) The ability to paralyze opponents with but a touch(a form of Entangle, Transparent to Damage).

An ChiThis style might best be referred to as Chinese

ninjutsu. Like Ninjutsu, it concentrates on the use of

deception, guerrilla warfare, tricks and traps, and thelike. Practitioners of An Chi usually carry manyhidden weapons, and are masters with thrown weap-onsthey can even use common objects as lethalmissiles! Some of its main masters were the lin kuei, orforest demons, the Chinese equivalent of the Japa-nese ninja (and said to be the ninjas predecessors).

The weapon used with the Ranged maneuversshould be chosen by the character when this style ispurchased. Small, hand-held throwing weapons suchas throwing knives, darts and shuriken are the mostappropriate. At the GMs option, the weapon inquestion could be the characters throwing master

ability, described below.Optional Rules: The Strike may be either a punch

or a kick, and this choice can be made before eachattack with the maneuver. If a punch, it takes alocation roll of 2d6+1; if a kick, it takes a location rollof 2d6+7; if it is not specified, it takes a location rollof 3d6. The Nerve Strike does not require a locationroll; it does generalized damage.

Special Abilities: The lin kueiare said to be mastersof many different special abilities. Some of these aresimply highly-refined physical skills, but others aremystical in nature and are said to derive from de-based Taoist magical teachings. They include:


19/253

CHAPTER ONE

19

Arnis / Kali / Escrima

Arnis, Kali and Escrima are related Philippinemartial arts. They are very much weapons-orientedarts, but they include barehanded techniques taughtto more advanced students.

Malays settling the Philippines from the 2nd cen-tury BC onward were experts in knife-fighting tech-niques. Chinese fleeing their native land in the 9thcentury AD brought their martial arts to the area, andKali emerged from the synthesis of the two combatstyles.

Arnis, or arnis de mano, the modern form of theart, utilizes 30" sticks in place of the knife or sword-and-knife techniques of the earlier Kali. It is usually

fought with two sticks (muton), a single stick (solobaston) or one stick and one knife (espada y daga).The art has been adapted to other weapons styles aswell, especially nunchaku, other karate weapons andchain weapons. However, there are still plenty oftraditional Kali practitioners to be found, experts inthe use of their art with bladed weapons. The stylesother name, escrima, comes from the Spanish termfor to fight; the term arnis is a corruption of theSpanish word for harness.

The style below comprises both the traditional andmodern-day elements of the art. For Arnis, the art isoriginally bought usable with Clubs (the sticks); thats

An Chi

ManeuversPhs Pts OCV DCV Damage/Effect

Block 4 +2 +2 Block, Abort

Dodge 4 +5 Dodge All

Attacks, AbortNerve Strike

4 -1 +1 2d6 NND(1)Strike

4 +0 +2 STR +2d6 Strike

ManeuversPhs Pts OCV DCV Rng Notes

Trained Shot 4 +0 +0 +2 Weapon +2d6

Defensive Shot 3 -1 +2 +0 Weapon

Quick Shot 4 +1 +0 +0 Weapon +2d6

Skills

Combat Skill Levels with Ranged Attacks

ContortionistMimicrySurvivalTrackingKS: An ChiWF: Common Martial Arts Melee Weapons *WF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Common Missile Weapons *WF: Off-HandSS: Pharmacology/ToxicologyFast DrawSee the Advanced Ninjutsu section and the charactertemplates there for other possible skills and abilities foran An Chi master.

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades

+1 Use Art with Polearms+1 Use Art with Staff


1) The ability to turn any small, throwable object intoa lethal missile weapon. This ability is so commonamong the lin kueithat the GM should considermaking it a required purchase. It can be bought asa Multipower, one slot of which is an Energy Blastand one an RKA, each with the Limitations OAF(available throwing objects of opportunity; -)

and Range Based On STR (-

). Note that theOAF Limitation only gets half of the normal Limi-tation Bonus due to the nonspecific nature of theobjects used. Refer to the Character Creationsection of this book and Dark Champions, page 33,for more information.

2) The ability to become invisible (Invisibility).

3) The ability to hypnotize people (a limited form ofMind Control; refer to Dark Champions).


20/253

CHAPTERONE

20

the default version presented below. For Kali, the artis bought usable with Blades. Students can later addunarmed combat and Karate Weapons via theBarehanded and Weapons elements. Some ex-ponents of these styles are also taught to use manyunusual objects, such as items of clothing, yo-yos andropes, as weapons. Characters can simulate special-ties in a particular type of weapon by buying a 2-pointCombat Skill Level with that weapon.

A practitioner of this style is known as a bastoneroor estocador. Male ranks are known as lakan; ranks forfemale fighters are dayang. Ranks are indicated bybelts with colored edges.

In any of its forms, this is a fast, efficient, brutalstyle of combat.

Arnis/Kali/Escrima

Maneuver

Phs Pts OCV DCV Damage/Effect

Body Shift 4 +5 Dodge, all

Attacks, Abort

De Cadena 4 +2 +2 Block, Abort

Disarm 4 -1 +1 Disarm, +10 STR

to Disarm rollNerve Strike

4 -1 +1 2d6 NND(1)Pattern Strike

4 +2 +2 STR +2d6 Strike,Must FollowSuccessful Block

Redonda/Punch 4 +0 +2 STR +2d6 Strike

Sinawali/Kick 4 +0 +2 STR +2d6 Strike

Takeaway 5 +0 +0 Grab Weapon,

+10 STR to takeweapon away

Takedown 3 +1 +1 STR Strike;

Target FallsWeapon Bind

4 +1 +0 Bind, +10 STR

Skills

KS: Arnis (and/or Kali and/or Escrima)WF: Chain & Rope WeaponsWF: Karate WeaponsWF: Off Hand

WF: SwordsPS: Moro-moro Dancing

Elements

Weapons +1 Use Art with Blades+1 Use Art with Chain &

Rope Weapons+1 Use Art with Karate

WeaponsBarehanded +1 Use Art Barehanded


Used with Clubs Weapon Group; Clubs Weapon Elementis Free

The Kick, also known as a Sipat, may be learnedonly after the character has bought the Barehandedelement to use the art with unarmed combat. ThePattern Strike, Sinawaliand Redondaare stick-fight-ing patterns.

Remember, characters have Weapon Familiaritywith the Clubs Group at no point cost. Thats whyWF: Clubs is not listed among the Skills for thispackage.

Optional Rules: The Punch and the Kick take a2d6+1 location roll. The Nerve Strike takes a 2d6+1location roll unless the character has learned to usethe art with unarmed combat, at which time it takesa 3d6 location roll (since his legs and feet are now alsoemployed in that maneuver). The Pattern Strike,Redondaand Sinawalitake a 3d6 location roll. Theother maneuvers do not require location rolls.

Special Abilities: Many practitioners of this stylecan strike so rapidly that they can land many blows inthe space of a second. This can be bought as anAutofire Energy Blast with No Range, as an AutofireAdvantage for one of the arts strikes, or as a form of

Two Weapon Fighting.Another interesting ability that many Arnis/Kali/

Escrima practitioners possess is that they are trainedto blink as little as possible, since an attacker couldland a blow in the space of a blink. This can be boughtas a bonus to the characters Sight PER Roll thatOnly Works In Combat (-1) or as a 1-point Talent,Controlled Blinking. (At the GMs option, thisTalent might grant +1 DCV that only works againstother practitioners of this style.)

Finally, some Arnis/Kali/Escrima masters are ableto access a power called anting-anting, which is simi-lar to chior prana. It allows them to increase their

STR to superhuman levels (STR Aid, Self Only [-

])and to become immune to harm from weapons (Dam-age Resistance). However, for religious and mysticalreasons, this power will not work on Thursdays (a - Limitation).

SUBSTYLES OF ARNIS/KALI/ESCRIMAHundreds of different substyles of these arts (par-

ticularly Kali) are practiced throughout the Philip-pines. Some of the more interesting ones include:

Doces ParesDoces Pares is a very flashy style of Kali. Its strikes

are delivered florete style, meaning that each strikeis usually accompanied by a second strike to the samespot on the targets body that circles from the attackerswrist. This system is very stick oriented.

To be counted a practitioner of Doces Pares, acharacter should buy any two of the styles Strikemaneuvers, and should know WF: Off Hand as well.OCV Combat Skill Levels with the style are alsorecommended.


21/253

CHAPTER ONE

21

LacosteNamed after its founder, Jon Lacoste, this substyle

is a hybrid of many forms and skills including, butnot limited to, Moro-Moro, two forms of Cebu andOccidental Negro. Lacoste is also renowned for itsextremely deceptive footwork patterns.

To be counted a practitioner of Lacoste, a charac-ter should buy the Body Shift, De Cadenaand Disarmmaneuvers, and should also buy the Blades and Chain

& Rope Weapons Elements.

Largo ManoLarge Hand style is a long-range system which

stresses attacks to the hands and arms. (Many Arnis/Kali/Escrima substyles do likewisean attack to amans head is regarded as an attempt to kill him;damaging his hands merely defangs him.) Fighterstry to maintain distance between one another andfight defensively.

To be counted a practitioner of Largo Mano, char-acters should buy at least three of the followingmaneuvers: Body Shift, De Cadena, Disarm, Redonda/

Punch, Takeaway, Weapon Bind. Levels with DCVare also recommended.

Pekiti TersiaSometimes known as Kali-Karate because of its

emphasis on patterns and its methods of instruction,this substyle is nonetheless an effective fighting art.Its techniques include a variety of maneuvers for theknife.

To be counted a practitioner of Pekiti Tersia,characters should buy at least three of the followingmaneuvers: Body Shift, Disarm, Pattern Strike,Redonda/Punch, Sinawali/Kick. The Blades WeaponElement is also required.

RepeticionThis substyles philosophy is a constant, forward-

moving offensive. To overwhelm ones opponentwith the sheer volume of ones strikes is the Repeticionfighters tactic.

To be counted a practitioner of Repeticion, char-acters should buy at least three of the followingmaneuvers: Disarm, Pattern Strike, Redonda/Punch,Sinawali/Kick. WF: Off Hand and Skill Levels withOCV are also recommended.

SeradaSerada is a close-quarters fighting system (it con-

centrates on thepunyorange, a term derived from theinch of stick that protrudes from the bottom of theexponents fist). It mainly uses the espada y dagaform, with the knife being held in the left hand. Thetechniques concentrate on using the stick to lock anopponents weapon so that a successful attack can bemade with the knife.

To be counted a practitioner of Serada, a charactershould buy the De Cadena, Takeaway and WeaponBind maneuvers, and should also buy the BladesWeapon Element.

ToledoToledo stylists use extra-thick sticks for training

and for combat. They are considered the hardesthitters of all Kali practitioners.

To be counted a practitioner of Toledo, a charactershould buy any two of the styles Strike maneuvers,with at least +2 Extra DC.

VillabrilleNamed after its founder, a four-time full-contact

stick fighting champion in the 1930s, this substyleemphasizes the use of barehanded maneuvers. Manyfighters get so used to being attacked with the stickthat they forget that the hands and feet alone can alsobe powerful weapons, and the Villabrille stylist triesto exploit this weakness.

To be counted a practitioner of Villabrille, a char-acter should buy any one of the styles Strike maneu-vers, and must buy the Barehanded Element as well.Levels with Hand-To-Hand Combat are also recom-mended.


22/253

CHAPTERONE

22

(nerve-point attacks); Tiger (clawing) and Viper (at-tacking lower-body vital points).

Another Burmese fighting art, Lethwei, is consid-ered even harder than Bando. It is often referred toas a form of boxing, but it is much more similar toThai Kick-Boxing than Western boxing. Characterswho want to practice Lethwei can use the Thai Kick-Boxing package, described below.

BandoManeuver

Phs Pts OCV DCV Damage/Effect


Escapevar. 4 +0 +0 +15 STR vs. Grabs

Kick/Knee Strike 5 +1 -2 STR +4d6 Strike

Panther Claw/Tiger Claw 4 -2 +0 d6 HKA (2 DC)

Punch/Elbow Strike/Eagle Strike/Boar Headbutt 4 +0 +2 STR +2d6 Strike

Python Choke 4 -2 +0 Grab One Limb;

2d6 NND(2)Python Crush

4 +0 +0 STR +4d6 Crush,Must Follow Grab

Python Grab 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs,

+10 STR forholding on

Scorpion Strike/Cobra Strike/Viper Strike 4 -1 +1 2d6 NND(1)

Tackle 3 +0 -1 STR +v/5 Strike;

You Fall, TargetFalls; FMove

Throw

3 +0 +1 STR +v/5; Trgt Falls

Skills

BreakfallKS: BandoWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Staff

Elements

Weapons +1 Use Art with Blades+1 Use Art with Clubs+1 Use Art with Spear+1 Use Art with Staff


Optional Rules: The Punch (and its varioussubforms), Panther Claw/Tiger Claw and Cobra Striketake a location roll of 2d6+1; the Kick/Knee Strikeand the Viper Strike take a 2d6+7 roll. The ScorpionStrike takes a roll of 3d6. The Boar Headbutt andPython Choke automatically target the head/neck,and therefore get neither bonuses nor penalties forthe location. The other offensive maneuvers do nottake location rolls since they do generalized damage.

Special Abilities: Bando practitioners are oftenfast runners and strong leapers; extra inches of Run-ning or Superleap would be appropriate for them.

Bando (Thaing)Bando is a fighting art from Burma. (According to

some scholars, the proper name of the art, strictlyspeaking, is Thaing; Bando is the unarmed branch ofthe art and Banshay the armed branch.) The wordbando is generally interpreted to mean art ofcombat or systems of defense. Bando is thought tohave developed under various influences, includingThai, Chinese, Tibetan and Indian; each Burmeseethnic subgroup has its own form of the art. TheBritish banned the art in 1885, but it continued to betaught in secret; after World War II Bando was orga-nized and taught more openly than in the past.

Bando includes both armed and unarmed maneu-vers. It is a fairly brutal style, similar in many ways toMuay Thai (Thai kickboxing). It stresses a with-drawal at first, then attacks to the body from outsidethe opponents reach; a grab may follow these strikes.The head, shoulder and hips are used in addition tothe hands/fists, feet, elbows and knees. There are

twelve primary offensive forms or strategies, eachnamed after an animal: Boar (rushes, knee and elbowstrikes, headbutts and other close-contact techniques);Bull (charges, tackles, power strikes); Cobra (attack-ing upper-body vital points); Deer (alertness); Eagle(double-handed blocks and strikes); Monkey (agil-ity); Paddy Bird (rapid movement); Panther (leaping,tearing); Python (gripping, strangling); Scorpion


23/253

CHAPTER ONE

23

Bersilat is an acrobatic fighting style whose practi-tioners use a lot of kicks; it also features punches,throws and holds (some styles are, in fact, quitesimilar to various styles of wrestling). It teaches theuse of weapons such as blades, staffs and sticks. Eachstate or region in the country has its own distinctivesubstyle.

Bersilat fighters wear a black uniform made up ofbaggy trousers, a short-sleeved shirt, a headband, anda colored belt (bengkong) denoting rank: from lowestto highest rank, the colors are white, green, red,yellow, and black.

Optional Rules: The Punch, Finger Strike andFlying Kick take locations of 2d6+1; the Sepak Terajangtakes a 2d6+7 location roll.

Special Abilities: Bersilat fighters are often knownfor their acrobatic leaping ability; extra inches of

Superleap, particularly with the Limitation RequiresAn Acrobatics Roll (-), would be appropriate forthem.

BersilatBersilat is a martial art from Malaysia. Its name

means, roughly, to do fighting. Its origins date tothe 1400s. According to Malayan legend, its founderwas Huang Tuah of Malaca; some other legendsattribute the art to a Menangkabau woman ofSumatra. As its name suggests, Bersilat is very similarto the Indonesian art Pentjak-Silat (q.v.) (in fact,some scholars believe that Bersilat is derived fromPentjak-Silat). It consists of both combative maneu-vers, called silat buah, and graceful dance-like move-ments known as silat pulotwhich are performed forentertainment.

Bersilat

ManeuverPhs Pts OCV DCV Damage/Effect


Elak Me

37698486 Ultimate Art Marcial

Documents

Transcript of 37698486 Ultimate Art Marcial