Martial Arts Abilities
ART OF ACUPUNCTURE
ART OF AWARENESS
ART OF THE BREAK
ART OF CLOUDING
ART OF CONCENTRATION
ART OF CONTROL
ART OF COVERTNESS
ART OF DEATH
ART OF DEFLECTION
ART OF EVASION
ART OF FALLING
ART OF THE FLYING FIST
ART OF HYPNOTISM
ART OF INTIMIDATION
ART OF THE LEAP
ART OF PARRY
ART OF PRESSURE
ART OF RESISTANCE
ART OF THE ROCK
ART OF THE STANCE
ART OF THROWING
ART OF WALKING
ART OF YELLING
All Martial Art abilities cost 10 points each and are to be used exclusively with a cinematic or an anime style martial arts campaign; not in a realistic game. Before buying any abilities though the character must already have chosen a martial art form as one of his skills.
| ART OF ACUPUNCTURE |
| Includes a thorough study of the art of acupuncture (healing by inserting needles into the body). The result is the ability to resuscitate a character by touch alone. This can be used to instantly snap a character out of a Knock-Out, Stun, Paralyze or any other form of temporary shock. It only takes one melee round attack/action to perform this. |
| ART OF AWARENESS |
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With this ability the martial artist’s mind floats above the body, calmly sensing all activity around it. A threat, no matter how slight, will disturb that calm. This ability is one of readiness and awareness. Training involves being constantly on the alert, even while sleeping or when in the bathroom. The character gains +6 to initiative, +2 to parry, +1 to evade, and can not be surprised from attacks from behind. When fighting an invisible foe (or character with superhuman speed) these bonuses do not apply, but neither does he suffer the normal penalties. The awareness zone extends for an area of 1 metre per 2 WIS radius around the character, +1 metre per level. |
| ART OF THE BREAK |
| This ability allows the user to mystically find the weakest spot in any object after D4 turns of concentration (minimum 1). On a successful roll, he can break the object if he inflicts over its hit points. In combat, this ability can be used to find the weakest spots of any armour. For each additional attack, another Breaking Blow roll is required. On a failed roll, the attack is carried out normally. No damage is taken to the character's hand or foot. Against a living thing this does damage as if it were a critical blow. |
| ART OF CLOUDING |
| A user of this ability can stand in plain sight without being noticed; it is said that true masters can walk through a crowd unobserved. To use this ability, the character must take a turn of concentration after announcing this action. If he is standing perfectly still he gets a +2 on all his rolls. He must then win a contest of abilities (Invisibility Art vs. Will roll) against each and every person that can see him. Each win for the user means that one subject is unable to see him. If the viewer is concentrating on something else, or is otherwise distracted, the resistance roll is made at -5. Once a person notices the user of Invisibility Art, that person will continue to be able to see him until the "invisible" person can get out of sight somehow. (In a darkened area, this can be as easy as stepping into a shadow). |
| ART OF CONCENTRATION |
| This ability allows the character to focus entirely on the result of a single shot. It can be used with any weapon, ancient or modern with the result being a Critical hit. The character starts by concentrating for one full melee on the one target. By the beginning of the next melee the character will have a +1 to their Thac0. Each melee of concentration will add another +1 to their Thac0. Any other actions, whether a hand to hand attack or a defence, even simply talking to another character, will disrupt the bonus, negating it completely. |
| ART OF CONTROL |
| This ability allows the user to control and affect involuntary biological functions like heart rate, blood flow and digestion. A character with this ability can enter into a deathlike trance. A doctor must make an INT roll at -4 to realize that the character is alive, and no one else will have a chance of determining otherwise. This ability can also be used to flush poisons out of the system. First, a successful poisons roll (or venom) must be made to recognize the type of poison. This roll cannot be attempted, of course, until the first symptoms show, unless the victim knows beforehand that he has been poisoned. A roll will flush the poison, in D6 hours, without further damage. The character can maintain this for CON x1 minute, +1 minute per level. |
| ART OF COVERTNESS |
| This character is a master of stealth, able to move silently and out of sight of observers. The character learns to become “One” with another object, remaining motionless, and moving imperceptibly when necessary. There is usually no chance that the character will be detected while hiding. This ability works only as long as the character stays motionless and has something to hide behind or among. The character can stay motionless for hours, and even days, using this technique. The character can not hide/vanish while in clear view and being watched. So long as the character is in the dark and unsuspected, this is done automatically, without needing to roll the dice. If the character’s area is subjected to inspection (for example, a guard tower turns a spotlight on the character) then the chance to remain undetected is his WIS roll +1 per level. The character also learns the art of melting into the water. This gives one the ability to silently move out of, into, or through water. |
| ART OF DEATH |
| In martial arts circles, legends abound about a secret technique that can kill a man, no matter how strong, with only a touch. Theories about this power are numerous: some say it is a mystic ability by which the victim's very soul is destroyed, while others hypothesize that the touch sets off vibrations that slowly destroy internal organs. Rumours claim that some of the world's top martial artists have been murdered by dark masters with this ability. A master of this ability can somehow cause the gradual deterioration of a victim's nervous system simply by touching him. The touch can be delivered in combat, or even casually; a victim with martial arts training can roll against INT -3, to know that he has been attacked. No effects are immediately apparent. One hour after the Hand is applied, and every 3 hours thereafter, the victim loses 1 HP. This goes on until the victim is cured or he dies. Western doctors will be baffled; no Medical ability will help or explain this HT loss. Only Yin/Yang Healing will work. Also, the person who inflicted the Hand of Death can remove its effect if he is persuaded to do so. Some magics may be able to remove the Hand. |
| ART OF DEFLECTION |
| This super parry enables the character to knock away or to deflect a variety of airborne attacks, from every possible direction. The character goes through a “windmill” sort of movement, and all hand propelled projectiles, including arrows, thrown spears, darts and rocks, are automatically deflected. The deflected objects can, if desired, also be grabbed after they are deflected. This is also effective against hand to hand and melee attacks. |
| ART OF EVASION |
| The character is able to hide behind somebody, turning as they turn, constantly trying to stay out of view. This works automatically if the enemy is unaware of the character’s presence. If the enemy knows or suspects that someone is behind him then the character must roll to avoid being seen. This does not work if the victim has a friend handy who can yell, “look out,” or if the victim backs up against a wall. If the character using evasion is ever sighted by his opponent then there’s no chance of returning to the evasion, unless one can vanish as well (see next ability). |
| ART OF FALLING |
| The character learns the fine art of falling. Not just from a few metres, but from dozens, and then from hundreds. The character also learns to always land properly, automatically bouncing back to a two foot, one foot, or cross-legged stance. At safe distances of 1 metre per DEX or less, the character takes no damage. At minimal damage distances (18 to about 108 metres) the character takes one point of damage for every 15 metres of the fall. Even at very great distances, of up to 350 metres the character takes only one point for every 6 metres of distance fallen. |
| ART OF THE FLYING FIST |
| This is the mythical ability that allows martial artists to strike enemies from a distance. No established martial art teaches it; to learn the ability, qualified students must search for a teacher that knows it. Only a handful of masters in any given game world know the secret of the Flying Fists - if it exists at all. The attacker must be able to see the target and concentrate for D6 turns, -1 turn per level (minimum 1). At the end of the round, he can make a Flying Fists roll against the target. If the roll is successful, the attacker can then make a punch or kick in the air, and the target will take damage as if he had been hit. No defence roll is possible as he cannot see the attack coming. It has a maximum range of 1 metre per WIS, +1 metre per level. |
| ART OF HYPNOTISM |
| The character makes hypnotic motions with his hands, lulling the enemy into a trance-like state. To use the ability, the target must be able to see the character. The martial artist then must spend at least 1 turn performing the hand motions; during that time he can not make any attacks, and all Defences are at -2. At the end of this period, the martial artists projects his Chi at the (hopefully) now suggestible victim. A Quick Contest between Hypnotic Hands and Will is rolled; if the victim wins, he is unaffected. The victim is at -1 for every turn above 1 that the attacker spent making the motions - if performed long enough, the technique will wear down the strongest-willed character. If the victim loses the contest, he is stunned for 1 turn per WIS of the character. During that period, the victim will also be vulnerable to hypnotic suggestions: all Hypnotism rolls made against the victim for that period are resisted at -5 to Will. |
| ART OF INTIMIDATION |
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The idea here is to win without fighting by psyching out the opponent. The character has the choice of moving forward resolutely, or standing his ground defiantly. In either case, the enemy will perceive a relentless and indomitable opponent, fearsome in every respect. Any opponent must save vs Will or become unnerved. An unnerved opponent will either back down, run off, or fight with a penalty of —4 to all rolls. |
| ART OF THE LEAP |
| This ability allows martial artists to make incredible leaps, for the following round covering 1 metre per WIS in a single bound. +1 metre per level. |
| ART OF PARRY |
| This allows martial artists to parry attacks they could not possibly defend against, like arrows, bullets and beam weapons. This is done by sensing where the incoming attack will arrive, and intercepting it with one's limb or weapon before the attack gets there. To use this ability, one must be aware that he is about to be attacked (a gunman aiming at him, for instance). A roll against Precognitive Parry is then made. On a success, the character can make a Parry roll normally. This doesn't mean the character can swat bullets away with impunity, however. All the martial artist is doing is interposing a weapon (or maybe a limb) between himself and the bullet or beam. The attack will do damage normally against the weapon unless the character makes his Parry roll by 5 or more, or scores a critical success. |
| ART OF PRESSURE |
| This is the application of pressure point techniques in combat. The attacker seeks to strike pressure points in the body that allow him to paralyse, and even kill, an opponent. In game terms, the character must make a successful attack roll. If the attacker succeeds the body part is paralyzed; otherwise, nothing happens other than normal damage. Arms or legs struck this way are considered crippled for 1 turn per WIS. A hit to a torso pressure point will diminish, or even totally arrest, the victim's breathing. He starts suffocating and must make a CON roll every second to recover. A hit to the head will stun the victim; he must roll versus INT to recover. An attack to the head blinds the target temporarily. This attack does no damage, but the victim is blinded for 2D6 seconds. During that time, all rolls will be at -10. The character can also, at will, dislocate the joints of any opponent. |
| ART OF RESISTANCE |
| The character has learned to focus his Chi to resist mental attacks and attempts at mind control or possession. This ability replaces INT in any resistance roll against spells and psionic abilities, as well as Hypnotism, Hypnotic Hands and Invisibility Art. This ability does not replace most normal Will rolls. |
| ART OF THE ROCK |
| So long as the character can see the attack coming no blade, arrow or bullet (or other sharp objects) will pierce his skin. Explosives will only do half damage. AC drops to 0. |
| ART OF THE STANCE |
| This ability allows the user to anchor himself to the ground in such a way that it may take many strong men to move him. It works as a combination of expert balance and the channeling of one's Chi in the proper way. A character with this ability can resist slam and push attacks with it. The character can also resist Judo throws and knockback with this ability. |
| ART OF THROWING |
| This ability transcends mere throwing and turns almost any object into a deadly weapon. Forks, kitchen knives, and other long sharp objects can be thrown as daggers; any blunt object can do damage; pencils, playing cards, etc. |
| ART OF WALKING |
| This ability allows a character to walk without leaving visible traces. The training involves walking on the edge of a large jar without tipping it over; the jar is at first filled with water, but at the end of the training the character will be able to walk over an empty jar without moving it. More intensive training follows, and eventually the student will be able to walk over snow or mud leaving no trace. Experts were rumoured to be able to walk over thin paper without breaking it. On a successful Light Walk roll, the user will leave no visible tracks; no Tracking rolls will succeed unless they rely on something more than sight. Thus, a human tracker would be baffled, but bloodhounds would suffer no penalty at all. A character with Light Walk can also attempt to walk over thin ice or flimsy surfaces. His move during these circumstances is 1/3 normal, modified as the GM sees fit. |
| ART OF YELLING |
| The martial artist channels his Chi outward, giving a mighty shout that freezes lesser foes. Once every turn the character can attempt the Kiai on a victim; this counts as an attack. Roll a Quick Contest (Kiai ability vs. Will). If the target loses, he is mentally stunned for 1 melee per WIS. The victim resists at +1 if he is Hard of Hearing, at +2 if Deaf. If bought again this allows the character to send an enemy flying backwards 1 metre per WIS (treat as knockback). |
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