Advanced Martial Arts - Optional (CNH)

These rules are adapted from guidelines originally presented in *Oriental Adventures*. The DM is not required to allow the use of these rules, but they can expand character options and make for more colorful campaigns.

## Prerequisites to Learning Martial Arts

Learning an advanced martial art is like learning any other proficiency, with some important exceptions.

Martial arts styles are powerful abilities that require the expenditure of many proficiency slots to learn well. It takes only one slot to learn a specific art at its basic level, but it can take a character's entire stock of slots to learn an art at a very advanced level.

A character can learn any element of an advanced martial art by expending either a weapon proficiency slot or a nonweapon proficiency slot on it. A character learning a lot of martial arts elements could end up spending many weapon proficiencies and nonweapon proficiencies on it.

A character wishing to learn advanced martial arts must first know basic martial arts. Characters originating in an Oriental culture are assumed to have proficiency in basic martial arts, but foreigners must spend a proficiency slot to learn basic martial arts before entering advanced study.

Once that condition is met, the character must find a master to study under. A ninja receives training from childhood in the clan's special maneuvers and weapons but must seek out a master on his own if he desires to go beyond his clan's specialties. A Lone Wolf ninja who desires further training must also find a master to study with.

## Finding a Master

Finding a master is not necessarily an easy task. Many masters regard their skills as valuable secrets to be taught to only a select few. Many a style has disappeared because the master refused to reveal his art. Most masters do not advertise or even display their skill. They feel that to do so would be proud and boastful, characteristics that are undesirable in a master (and, incidentally, may incur the wrath of the gods). For many, the ultimate goal of training is to avoid having to use one's skills. Others feel that their art can be learned only in the most tranquil and secluded surroundings, deep in mountain forests and the like. Such men seldom appear in civilized lands.

Politics are another reason masters can be hard to find. Conquered peoples may be forbidden to practice their arts lest they become troublesome and rebellious. Powerful temples (often the center of such training) may be destroyed by nervous emperors, warlords, or daimyos. The master and his students are forced to scatter with the winds and many disappear without a trace. In such cases, they may join or form secret societies, clandestinely meeting on rare occasions to train.

Not all masters are such recluses, or the skills of martial arts would long since have died away. A large town or city may have a school run by a master. If his skill is well known, potential students will travel great distances to study under him. As characters adventure in the campaign, they will undoubtedly hear of these schools or may even learn the whereabouts of one of the more secretive masters of the martial arts.

## Training Under the Master

After a character has been accepted by a master, the DM should determine the depth of the master's knowledge of his style.

**Basics:** A master automatically knows the basics of his style (which provide the Armor Class and other basic elements).

**Maneuvers:** The DM determines how many special maneuvers are available in the style (see Table 16) and rolls the smallest die that is equal to or greater than this number. The result is the number of maneuvers the master is proficient in. Masters are under the same restriction as characters for the order in which they learn special maneuvers, as discussed later.

**Weapons:** The DM determines how many weapons (if any) are used by the style, then rolls the smallest die that is equal to or greater than this number. (If the style uses five weapons, the DM rolls 1d6.) The number rolled is the number of style weapons the master is proficient in (and can teach).

Once these facts are determined, the master's abilities are known, and these are the only things the master can teach. The master never increases in knowledge unless the DM rules that special circumstances dictate otherwise.

### Learning the Style

Once the character has been accepted by a master, he must remain and study under him for at least one month.

At the end of this time, the character spends one proficiency slot and gains the basics of the style (Armor Class, number of attacks, and basic damage). He does not gain any of the special maneuvers or weapons that may be taught by the style.

After the initial month's training, the character does not need to remain with the master constantly; he is free to travel and adventure. However, he must practice his style for at least one hour a day and must spend an average of six hours per week working with his master. There can be some variance in his schedule, so long as the character spends 24 hours of study with his master per month. Characters who do not fulfill this obligation cannot add special maneuvers and weapons.

To learn the special maneuvers and weapons of a particular style, the character must spend additional proficiency slots. For each proficiency slot expended, the character can add one special maneuver or weapon proficiency from the style. This does not mean the character instantly knows how to perform the maneuver or use the weapon, but assumes that he has been practicing prior to gaining the maneuver or weapon proficiency.

No more than two proficiency slots can be expended on a single martial arts style per experience level.

Special maneuvers must be learned in order of difficulty. All difficulty 1 maneuvers (see Table 19) must be learned before the character can progress to difficulty 2 maneuvers, and so forth.

When a character has learned all the knowledge the master possesses, there is no point in continuing to study under this master. The character can now go off in search of another master— one who knows more about the style or one who teaches a different style.

### Pre-Campaign Learning

The DM can allow the character to have learned some advanced martial arts before entering play in the campaign.

In such a case, the DM allows the player to purchase those elements of the martial art he will allow at the start of play. However, whatever the character buys is the limit of what his master could teach him. Once the character enters play, he will have to find a new master if he wants to further his martial arts training.

## Multiple Styles

Player characters can learn more than one style of martial arts at a time. This requires the character to find more than one master, have sufficient available proficiency slots, and possess great dedication.

When fighting, the character with multiple styles can change his style from round to round. When using one style, he gains all the abilities he possesses of that style, but no abilities of any other style he knows. He can use only the special maneuvers of the style he is currently using (unless they are special bonuses that are constantly in effect).

### Style Characteristics

Under these rules, the martial arts are classified by six different characteristics. Items 1-4 are called the *basics*.

1. Number of Attacks
2. Damage
3. Armor Class
4. Principal Attack Form
5. Special Maneuvers
6. Allowed Weapons

A combination of these six characteristics is called a *style*. There can be as many styles as there are possible combinations of these elements. Each style is different and must be learned separately.

Styles are often given descriptive or poetic names, based on how the style works, its appearance when used, or the source of its inspiration. There are animal names (Snake Style, Monkey Style, Tiger Style, etc.), poetic names (Eight Drunken Fairies), and descriptive names (Empty Hand, Springing Legs, Nine Fists, etc.).

In addition, styles are identified by the way they are used. Some are highly defensive, relying on the inner power of the user to overcome the opponent. Others are aggressive, stressing form and channeled power in hard and sudden attacks.

Table 17 lists some common styles and their characteristics.

### Explanation of the Chart

**#AT:** Add this bonus to the character's number of attacks per round when using this martial arts style—but only unarmed. If the character uses the style with a weapon, he receives only his normal number of attacks per round.

**Dmg:** This is the base damage done when using the style unarmed.

**AC Mod:** Add this bonus to the character's Armor Class when using the style. The bonus applies whether or not the character wears armor. It represents his ability to dodge and block attacks that someone with lesser training cannot counter. In some circumstances, however, the AC bonus doesn't help; see "Unarmed vs. Armor" later this chapter.

**Principal Attack:** This is the usual attack form of the style. When the Principal Attack of the style is "foot," a majority of attacks made with the style will be kicks. However, the style may include any other sort of attack.

**Special Maneuvers:** These special maneuvers, described later, are associated with the style. Each special maneuver costs one weapon proficiency slot to learn.

**Weapons Allowed:** The listed weapons may be used in combination with the special maneuvers of the style. For example, if a karate practitioner knows the iron fist maneuver and has knowledge of kama use, he can perform the iron fist maneuver with his kama. It costs one weapon proficiency slot to learn to use one entire tight group of allowed weapons with the special maneuvers of a martial arts style.

### Explanation of the Styles

All the styles listed in Table 17 are real-world martial arts.

**Aikijutsu:** This Japanese style dates back several centuries; it is one of the foundations of modern aikido. Though it includes more aggressive blows and techniques than aikido, it is still more a defensive than offensive style, principally concerned with throws and evasion. In some schools, sword and staff techniques are taught.

**Atemi:** This art was derived from the much older Chinese *ch'uan-fa* arts by the warrior caste of Japan. A technique for attacking vital points of the opponent, its usefulness faded as the Japanese sword arts developed. To the modern martial arts student, *"atemi"* is a generic term for certain types of blows.

**Jujutsu:** This art was systemized from earlier fighting styles in the sixteenth century. Though the modern form, judo, is principally thought of as a wrestling art, older jujutsu forms included more strikes, chokes, and even weapon techniques. It was a fall-back art for the warrior temporarily separated from his principal weapons.

**Karate:** This style, under the name of *te* ("hand"), was developed in Okinawa over a period of many centuries. This process was accelerated after the 17th-century conquest of Okinawa by Japan and subsequent laws banning weapons and martial arts. Te's development incorporated use of ordinary farming implements, such as the threshing nunchaku and scythelike kama, which were not banned. *Karate* ("empty hand") was not popularized in Japan until the 20th century, but it is not too much of a stretch to assume that a Japan-like fantasy culture will have a style like karate.

**Kung fu:** Systemized study of the fighting arts dates back into the mists of history in China, but legend attributes much of the origin of Chinese martial arts to Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk from India. In the sixth century of the common era, it is said, he came to Shao-lin temple in China and taught his Indian style of boxing, which became the basis for many of the kung fu styles.

**Ninjutsu:** The martial art style of the ninja developed gradually in parallel to the ninja's espionage art. It is a deceptive style with hard and soft elements, a style in which it is as important to be able to throw down an opponent and run away as it is to damage him. A character proficient in Style Analysis can make a nonweapon proficiency check to determine that a ninja is using ninjutsu. It is therefore useful for a practitioner of ninjutsu also to know some other style, such as karate, at least at a basic level. That way, if forced into unarmed combat when in the presence of friends who are not ninja, the ninja character is less likely to give himself away.

**Sumo:** One of the most ancient forms of Japanese combat, sumo wrestling's origins vanish into Japanese mythology. Legend attributes the first sumo match to a fight between a mortal hero and a demigod. A more historical account describes a type of sumo match taking place in the first century of the common era. Though the goal of modern sumo calls for the opponents to try to push one another out of a ring, older forms included hand strikes, kicks, and head butts. The modern form still includes a painful and distracting slapping technique.

**Tae Kwon Do:** This Korean martial art was originally derived from Chinese techniques and systemized in the seventh century of the modern era. It is a hard style, emphasizing punching and kicking.

Naturally, it is a gross oversimplification to lump all styles of kung fu, or karate, or most of the other styles described here under one set of maneuvers. A DM who knows enough about a martial arts style to object to the way it has been presented here is free to develop his own set of guidelines for it, using the rules presented next.