Undercity Brawling

History

Undercity life is tough, not only is it difficult to scrounge up a living, you could get jumped at any moment if you even smell like you could have a few coins in your pocket.

A rough and dirty upbringing breeds a rough and dirty fighting style, not founded in technique or heritage, but in survival and wits. Striking is brutal and efficient, the weapons are compact and commonplace, and the results are disabling.

Fighting Style

Undercity Brawling is a very close range fighting style, favoring "dirty boxing" striking and knifework. Expect fighters to tuck and push into their opponent and make use of short jabs, body uppercuts, and offhand knife thrusts.

Ground fighting is fairly minimal, focusing more on a finish than extended fighting. Takedowns are usually through tackles or throws from a dazing strike. Once on the ground, fighters aim to enter full mount or some form of arm control, and engage with ground and pound punching and/or stabs at vital points on the neck and eyes.

Weapon combat is usually integrated into the main striking component, mixing stabs and slices into the usually dirty boxing and grounded fighting. Chains are typically used at arm's length, whipped around to discourage the opponent from closing distance, and up close the chains are used to amplify striking or as a choking implement.

Weapons

Everyone carries a fixed blade knife in the Undercity, and as such every fighter has at least one on them and will make use of them. Some will opt to carry a curved blade or karambit, usually the more skilled fighters that are able to take advantage of the curved blade's ability to grapple.

Chains are commonplace in the Undercity, many will carry discarded lengths of chain to use for wrist protection, striking, whipping, and choking.

Common Techniques

Shoulder step-in thrust

The fighter steps in recessive hand first with their head and shoulder tucked, stepping in on the opponent and landing a knife thrust/body uppercut to the liver or diaphram. More experienced fighters who wear padded armor or shoulder padding tend to adopt this technique.

Arm Control Body Shots

The dominant hand takes hold of the forearm or wrist of the the opponent, while the recessive hand strikes the body or thrusts with a knife. A favored technique of Enforcers.

The Sovereign Smile

The single more horrifying cut one can perform, off of a dazing strike, the fighter forces their opponent to turn their back and locks in a standing choke with the recessive arm. The dominant hand then cuts through the opponent's stomach from one side to the other. Alternatively can be performed with the opponent pressed against a wall facing the fighter, but not as easily.

Notable Practitioners

Sybol Downs

Sybol uses a combination of knifeplay and Illusion magic to disorient his opponents before landing vital strikes with his blade. While slightly more technical than the usual, the foundation of his style retains the brutal efficiency of a Brawler.