martial arts

The game mechanics
behind
Martial Arts skill usage

This is a Specialization of the brawling skill ... but it is also so much more!

Adapted from pages 116-118 of Rules of Engagement: The Rebel SpecForce Handbook by Timothy S. O'Brien, for every 1d (that's 3 pips!) by which a Character improves their martial arts skill, they learn one of the hand-to-hand techniques described below.

The Great Exceptions

All adventurers have two default "techniques" which are not included in any calculations of "techniques learned" or "techniques available to learn": Punch and Kick. Unless natural weapons (such as claws or horns) are involved, a character who uses the brawling skill has a damage code equal to their dice in the Strength Attribute. This is true even if the character is defaulting their skill to the attribute!

A character who knows brawling: martial arts will roll one additional die of damage, equating to {Strength + 1D}, for either a simple Punch or a simple Kick.

Applied Restriction

A character must declare which had-to-hand technique they intend to use prior to making the required skill roll.

Martial Arts Techniques in WEG

All information listed below is taken directly from pages 116 and 117 of Rules of Engagement: The Rebel SpecForce Handbook, written by Timothy S. O'Brien, published by West End Games in 1997. Since it is out of print, it is reproduced here for use with the WEG tabletop roleplaying system.

No infringement is intended or implied.

As published, the Descriptions and Effects presume female pronouns for the character using the martial arts technique (citing a character named Nareel Dre'lara) and male pronouns for the target or opponent. In practice, gender of participants will not matter so long as everyone understands who is rolling which dice.

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Technique	Description	Difficulty	Effect
Blind- fighting	The character is trained to use senses other than sight to locate a target	Very Difficult	If the character makes the required skill roll and is within striking distance of the target, she may ignore the effects of blindness. She cannot see, but can hear or smell a target well enough to strike. This may be used as a reaction skill.
Disarm	The character is trained to force an opponent to drop a weapon or object.	Moderate	If the character's attack is successful (and is not parried or dodged) and if the skill roll meets the required difficulty number, the target character is disarmed.
Elbow Smash	The character is trained to deliver a powerful blow with her elbow.	Very Easy	The character can add +1d to her damage roll if the skill roll is successful.
Flip	The character can throw a target who has grappled her from behind.	Moderate	A successful skill check indicates that the target is hurled to the ground (provided the attack is not parried or dodged). The target suffers 3D damage. This technique may be used as a reaction skill.
Flying Kick	The character is trained to leap to deliver a crushing kick.	Difficult	The character can add +2d to her damage roll if her skill roll exceeds the difficulty number. Failure to beat the difficulty number indicates the character is off-balance, and her opponent may make an additional attack this round with no multiple action penalty.
Foot Sweep	The character trips an opponent.	Moderate	A successful attempt indicates the target is tripped, falling to the ground. The targeted character must remain prone for the remainder of the round.
Headbutt	The character can use her head to strike a target, even if she is held, pinned, or bound.	Easy	If the character's skill roll meets the difficulty number, she may use her head to strike the target (inflicting Str+1d damage can be used if the character is bound or held; can be used as a reaction skill.
Hold / Grapple	The character is trained to grapple and hold a target immobile.	Moderate plus an opposed Strength roll	The character attempting to grapple with a target must make a Moderate martial arts roll to hold her opponent. For every round the target is held, the character must make an opposed Strength roll. If the target beats her Strength roll, he breaks free of the hold.
Instant Knockdown	The character knows how to maximize impact, knocking the target to the floor.	Moderate	If the character's attack is successful (and is not parried or dodged) and if the skill roll meets the required difficulty number, the target is knocked to the ground. The fallen character must either wait one round to stand or suffer multiple action penalties.
Instant Stand	The character is trained to negate the effects of a fall and return to a standing, combat-ready position.	Moderate	If a character is tripped or knocked down, she may use this technique to return to a standing position. Successful use of this technique indicates that the character can stand without suffering a multiple-action penalty.
Instant Stun	The character is trained to strike at critical pressure points that affect breathing or the nervous system, stunning the target.	Moderate	If the character's attack is successful (and is not parried or dodged) and if the skill roll meets the required difficulty number, the target is stunned for one round
Instant Wound	The character knows how to strike to maximum effect, inflicting severe damage on the target.	Difficult	If the character's attack is successful (and is not parried or dodged) and if the skill roll meets the required difficulty number, the target character suffers a wound. (Effects of the wound are cumulative.)
Multiple Strikes	The character can deliver multiple blows.	Moderate	The character can make a second attack with no multiple action penalties; the second attack inflicts 3d damage.
Nerve Punch	The character knows the location of nerve clusters, striking in such a way as to render a target's limb numb.	Very Difficult	If successful, the character's attack renders an opponent's limb (arm or leg, specified prior to making the attempt) unusable for 3d rounds. Any items held in the affected hand are dropped. If the character beats the difficulty number by 15 or more, the target character is rendered unconscious.
Power Block	The character is trained to parry attacks in a manner which inflicts damage.	Moderate	A successful parry inflicts STR+1d on the target. This technique can be used as a reaction skill.
Reversal	The character is trained to turn the tables on an opponent who is attempting to grapple.	Opposed Strength or brawling: martial arts roll (whichever is higher)	The character can employ this technique only when she is held. If she breaks the opponent's grip, she may in turn hold the target immobile or employ another technique. This technique may be used as a reaction skill.
Silent Strike	Provided the character can successfully sneak up on a target, she can instantly kill him or render him unconscious.	Difficult	The character must be within arm's reach of the target. The character must declare if this is a killing or stunning attack prior to making the attempt. A successful skill roll indicates the target is neutralized.
Spinning Kick	The character is trained to perform a powerful kick.	Moderate	The character can add +1d to her damage roll if her skill roll exceeds the difficulty number. Failure to beat the difficulty number indicates the character is off-balance, and her opponent may make an additional attack this round with no multiple action penalty.
Shoulder Throw	The character can throw a target.	Moderate	A successful skill check indicates that the target is hruled to the ground (provided the attack is not parried or dodged), suffering 3d damage.
Weapon-block	The character is trained to parry melee attacks, even when she does not possess a melee weapon.	Opposed martial arts versus melee combat roll	If the character makes the required difficulty roll, she successfully blocks a melee attack.

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Combat is Dangerous!

Once the violence ensues, each participant will look for means to increase their own effectiveness before the opposing parties can do the same. Since martial arts happen in melee combat, protective gear is of limited use; concealment is even less helpful.

Remember the following important guidelines!

1. Give the GM a good story. A Player who narrates a clever, entertaining, or mood-matching quick action is likely to receive hidden boosts to their martial arts roll as the gamemaster resolves the results.

   I roll a Disarm to get the vibroknife out of the enemy's hand.

   — Leroy Jenkins bores the GM, has to roll a Moderate success on brawling: martial arts, and then the opponent still gets to parry or dodge

   I snatch the toffee pie off the buffet table and hold it up vertically like a shield. The pie is in a disposable pan so the enemy's vibroknife will go right through it like it isn't there -- but I'm twisting the rim of the pan at the very instant that I smell burnt toffee! Twist in both directions at once, and spin away while I do it, so the pan will wrap around the hilt of the knife as I pull it away! Disarm technique.

   — Jackie Chan made the GM laugh, getting a difficulty number at the bottom of the Moderate range, and the GM might even make the opponent's dodge attempt suffer a penalty from "unexpected toffee in the ocular region"



2. Context matters. Surprised combatants may use an ineffective or inappropriate reaction skill, if they react in time at all. Martial art techniques that work with the physical traits of the environment are more successful -- Foot Sweep and Instant Knockdown are great on slick or cluttered surfaces.


3. Injured combatants are less capable combatants. Stunned characters can swiftly become incapacitated characters. Support your team and disrupt the other side.


4. Character Points can not be used to increase dice on any given martial arts skill roll.


5. Force Points can be used to increase dice on any and all rolls in a single combat phase, including any and all martial arts skill rolls.



6. Dark Side points absolutely can be used to increase dice on any martial arts skill roll. Consider the Instant Wound technique!

   — Matres Merglin



7. Game mechanics are a framework, not a mold! If your character has not learned one of these techniques, it means that your character cannot use the game mechanics associated. It does not -- at all! -- mean that your character cannot attempt such a technique! If you describe a move using the elbow and knee on one side of your body as if pounding a giant mortar, but you don't have the Elbow Smash technique on your character sheet, you still get to roll a martial arts attack! You simply won't get the higher damage or other extra benefit listed for this technique -- mostly the game mechanics will be treated as an interesting Punch or Kick.
8. Listed Techniques are an action. A roll to use a listed technique (such as Multiple Strikes or Instant Stand) absolutely counts as being itself an action that requires withholding a die from all actions taken in a single round. This is because a roll to use a listed technique is something a character is doing to someone or something. Which is why it counts.

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Technique Learning Restriction

(with supporting math!)

To have all 20 of the martial arts techniques, a character would have to also have one pip plus 20 whole dice more in their martial arts Specialized skill than they had in the brawling skill at the start of their training -- which in turn should hypothetically have been trained up to at least one pip above the Strength Attribute.

Referring to Personal Growth as a general guide and remembering that no one skill may increase more than one pip at a time between adventures: At the absolutely cheapest starting point, a Strength of 1D+1, this would require a total expenditure of more than 360 character points and decades of in-game work

Limited Learning on Martial Arts Techniques

On the martial arts skill description, twenty different hand-to-hand techniques are listed. The published rule says that a technique can only be learned when the brawling: martial arts skill has been raised a full die code (meaning, increased three times -- since skill increases are done one pip at a time, and each die code consists of three pips). No single character could reasonably master the entire list, nor even most of it.

Here is the underlying math:

NOTE: To have all 20 of the martial arts techniques, a character would have to also have one pip plus 20 whole dice more in their martial arts Specialized skill than they had in the brawling skill at the start of their training -- which in turn should hypothetically have been trained up to at least one pip above the Strength Attribute.

Referring to Personal Growth as a general guide and remembering that no one skill may increase more than one pip at a time between adventures: At the absolutely cheapest starting point, a Strength of 1D+1, this would require a total expenditure of more than

• 1 character point for 1 pip to acquire brawling 1d+2


• 1 character point for 1 pip to add brawling: martial arts 2d+0


Total so far: 2 CP. No techniques learned.


The Specialization Advancement Cost rule of
"number before the 'D', divided in half, round fractions upward"
now applies.


• 1 CP per +1 costs 3 character points for 3 additional pips. brawling: martial arts 3d+0 plus 1 technique


Total so far: 5 CP. 1 technique learned.
This character has experienced at least 3 adventures since they began to learn martial arts.




• 2 CP per +1 costs 12 character points for 6 additional pips.
  
  Result: brawling: martial arts 5d+0 plus 2 techniques


Total so far: 17 CP. 3 techniques learned.
This character has experienced at least 9 adventures since they began to learn martial arts.




• 3 CP per +1 costs 18 character points for 6 additional pips.
  
  Result: brawling: martial arts 7d+0 plus 2 techniques


Total so far: 35 CP. 5 techniques learned.
This character has experienced at least 15 adventures since they began to learn martial arts.




• 4 CP per +1 costs 24 character points for 6 additional pips.
  
  Result: brawling: martial arts 9d+0 plus 2 techniques


Total so far: 59 CP. 7 techniques learned.
This character has experienced at least 21 adventures since they began to learn martial arts.


Since this character is one of the best martial artists for the nearest several star systems, it is incredibly difficult to find a sufficiently skilled instructor. Skill advancement probably proceeds at the self-taught pace.




• 5 CP per +1 costs 30 character points for 6 additional pips.
  
  Result: brawling: martial arts 11d+0 plus 2 techniques


Total so far: 90 CP. 9 techniques learned.
This character has experienced at least 27 adventures since they began to learn martial arts.
They are one of the best martial artists in their galactic sector.




• 6 CP per +1 costs 36 character points for 6 additional pips.
  
  Result: brawling: martial arts 13d+0 plus 2 techniques


Total so far: 126 CP. 11 techniques learned.
This character has experienced at least 33 adventures since they began to learn martial arts.
They are considered one of the most skilled martial arts practitioners in this region of space.




• 7 CP per +1 costs 42 character points for 6 additional pips.
  
  Result: brawling: martial arts 15d+0 plus 2 techniques


Total so far: 168 CP. 13 techniques learned.
This character has experienced at least 39 adventures since they began to learn martial arts.
They have surpassed the skill level of being "among the best in the Galaxy" at hand-to-hand combat.




• 8 CP per +1 costs 48 character points for 6 additional pips.
  
  Result: brawling: martial arts 17d+0 plus 2 techniques


Total so far: 216 CP. 15 techniques learned.
This character has experienced at least 45 adventures since they began to learn martial arts.




• 9 CP per +1 costs 54 character points for 6 additional pips.
  
  Result: brawling: martial arts 19d+0 plus 2 techniques


Total so far: 270 CP. 17 techniques learned.
This character has experienced at least 51 adventures since they began to learn martial arts.




• 10 CP per +1 costs 60 character points for 6 additional pips.
  
  Result: brawling: martial arts 21d+0 plus 2 techniques


Total so far: 330 CP. 19 techniques learned.
This character has experienced at least 57 adventures since they began to learn martial arts.




• 11 CP per +1 costs 33 character points for 3 additional pips.
  
  Result: brawling: martial arts 22d+0 plus 1 technique


Total spent and acquired: 363 character points spent. 20 techniques learned.
This character has certainly been on more than 60 adventures unless they did nothing but work on their martial arts skill for their entire adventuring career!

It is not reasonable for PCs ... nor for NPCs. As mentioned on page 118 of the sourcebook, even an extremely advanced martial artist would only master thirteen to fifteen of the hand-to-hand techniques over the course of their entire lifetime.

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⁺⁺ Counterattack: Flip, Headbutt, Reversal, and so much more!

counterattack game mechanics definition

counterattack

In Melee Combat -- untrained, brawling, martial arts, various melee-range combat skills using tools or weapons, any Fighting Style focused on melee range conflicts -- a counterattack goes like this:

1) Opponent attempts a Melee Attack on Viewpoint Character.

2) Viewpoint Character attempts to defend via Reaction Skill and, unless a Special Exception is noted in the Reaction Skill being used, succeeds. This defense may be accomplished by dodge, parry, block, or any other relevant Reaction Skill according to the GM's ruling, so long as Viewpoint Character had a Dice Action available to them in that round.

3) Viewpoint Character may attempt one immediate counterattack on the Opponent without having held out an extra die from Actions within that round.

4) Opponent may attempt to defend via Reaction Skill if they had held a Dice Action in reserve for defense this initiative round.

Whether the counterattack succeeds or fails, the initiative round continues on to next participant at this point. The Opponent does not under any circumstance have an option to counterattack an attempted counterattack.

"Passive defenses" such as concealment or the innate defensive properties of armor do not create an opportunity for a counterattack. Only Reaction Skills qualify!