hero system - the ultimate martial artist

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HERO PLUS EDITION

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Author: Steven S. Long

Editor/Developer: Darren Watts

Cover Art: Storn Cook

Interior Illustration: Andrew Bates, Peter Bergting, Storn Cook, Andrew Cremeans,

David Fooden, Jeff Hebert, Kraig Horigan, Steve Lawton, Bryce Nakagawa, Eric Rademaker,

David Schrader, Greg Smith, Manny Vega, Pat Zircher

Layout a nd Design: Andy Mathews

Special Thanks: All all the HERO System players and GMswhose interest in gaming martial arts made this book notonly desirable, but necessary.

Dedication: As before, so again: I would like to dedicate thisbook to Andy “Ghost Eye” Mathews, master of gaming mar-tial arts, creator of Couch Potato Kung Fu, selecter of reallybad martial arts movies, and true friend.

ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONSI owe a great deal of thanks to the following people, who

answered my questions about martial arts styles, provided me

with information or research material, gave me ideas for thingsthat needed to go in this book, debated with me about the bestway to do various things in the HERO System, allowed me tocreate my own versions of something they first thought up, orhelped with playtesting: Aaron Allston, Chris Avellone, ScottBennie, im Binford, Garrett Charnaw, Cliff Christiansen, EarlCooley III, Storn Cook, John Cooper, Kim Cooper, Amy Crit-tenden, John “Case of Swords” Cunningham, Mike Dean, SeanFannon, Morgan Flo, Tom Foster, John Grigni, Scott Jamison,Greg Kerner, Eric Livengood, John Losey, Andy Mathews, DaveMattingly, Riley McLaughlin, Rob Miles, Greg Morero, BryceNakagawa, James Pinkerton, Marcus Pritchett, Bob Quinlan,Scott Sigler, Greg Smith, Geoff Speare, Steve Stone, MichaelSurbrook, Jason Walters, David West, Eric Wylie, Doug Young,

various online commentators, and, most especially, Greg“Devil’s Advocate” Lloyd and Jeff “I have a license from Japan”Mueller.

The Ultimate Martial Artist Copyright © 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games.All rights reserved.HERO SystemTM ® is DOJ, Inc.’s trademark for its rolepl aying system .HERO System Copyright © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. Allrights reserved.Champions Copyright © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. Allrights reserved.Justice Inc., Danger International, Dark Champions, Fantasy Hero, and StarHero Copyright © 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/ a Hero Games. All rights reser ved.

No part of this book m ay be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying (except CharacterSheets for personal use only), recording, or computerization, or by any informa-tion storage and retrieval system, without permission in w riting from the Pub-lisher: DOJ, Inc., #1 Haight Street Suite A, San Francisco, California 94102.Printed in the U.S.A. First printing March 2002.Produced and dist ributed by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games.Stock Number: DOJHERO101ISBN Number: 1-58366-001-1



TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction

How to use this book .......................6Author’s note ................................... 6

Chapter One

The Way of the Hero ........................ 8Style Descriptions ............................8Style Disadvantages ......................8

Martial Arts Maneuvers .................... 8Hand to Hand Maneuvers .................... 9

Ranged Martial M aneuvers ..................9

Maneuvers and Weapons ...............1 0Ranged Martial Arts and

Weapon Types ..........................10Learning Martial Arts ......................1 0

Learning Martial Arts from Scratch .. 10Maneuvers and Weapons ..................10

SIDEBAR: Modifying and BuildingStyles ...............................................1 0

Rate of Learning ..........................1 1Learning New and Multiple

Styles ....................................... 12Building New Maneuvers

and Styles ................................ 13Belts and Ranks ............................1 3

SIDEBAR: Belts and Ranks ................1 3

Real World M artial Art s ..................1 5Jutsu vs. Do ..................................1 5

Aikido .........................................1 5Aikido Maneuvers .............................1 5

An Ch’i ....................................... 16An Ch’i Maneuvers ............................1 6

Arnis/Kali/Escrima ....................... 17Arnis/Kali/Escrima Maneuvers ...........17

Arte dell’Abbracciare ...................1 8Arte dell’Abbracciare Maneuvers..... . . .19

Bando .........................................1 9Bando M aneuvers .............................1 9

Bersilat ....................................... 19Bersilat M aneuvers ...........................2 0

Bojutsu/Jojutsu ........................... 20Bojutsu/Jojutsu M aneuvers ................2 1

Boxing, Ancient ........................... 21Boxing, Ancient Maneuvers ................2 1

Boxing, Modern ...........................2 1Boxing, Modern Maneuvers ...............21

Capoeira ..................................... 22Capoeira M aneuvers .........................2 2

Comm ando Training .....................2 3Commando Training M aneuvers .........2 3

Dirty Infighting/Fisticuffs/Cinematic Brawling ................... 23

Dirty Infighting/Fisticuffs/Cinematic

Brawling Maneuvers .......................... 23

Fencing ...................................... 24Fencing M aneuvers ...........................2 4

Gatka .........................................2 6Gatka M aneuvers ..............................2 6

Generic Martial Arts ..................... 27Generic M artial Arts M aneuvers .........2 7

Hapkido ...................................... 27Hapkido Maneuvers ..........................2 7

Hisardut ...................................... 27Hisardut Maneuvers ..........................2 8

Hsing-I ........................................ 28Hsing-I M aneuvers ............................2 8

Hwarang-Do................................29Hwarang-Do M aneuvers .................... 29

Jailhouse Rock ............................2 9Jailhouse Rock M aneuvers ................2 9

Jeet Kune Do .............................. 30Jeet Kune Do Maneuvers ...................30

Jujutsu ....................................... 30Jujutsu Maneuvers ............................3 1

Jukenjutsu .................................. 32Jukenjutsu Maneuvers ......................32

Kalaripayit ...................................32Kalaripayit M aneuvers .......................3 2

Kampfringen ............................... 33Kampfringen Maneuvers .................... 33

Karate ........................................ 33Karate M aneuvers .............................3 3

Kenjutsu ..................................... 35Kenjutsu M aneuvers ..........................3 5

Krav Maga .................................. 37Krav Maga Maneuvers.......................37

Kuk Sool Won ..............................3 7Kuk Sool Won Maneuvers .................. 38

Kung Fu ......................................3 8Kung Fu M aneuvers ..........................3 9

Kuntao ........................................ 43Kuntao Maneuvers ............................4 3

Kyujutsu ..................................... 43Kyujutsu M aneuvers ..........................4 3

Lua ............................................. 44Lua M aneuvers .................................4 4

Naginatajutsu/Sojutsu .................. 45Naginatajutsu/Sojutsu Man euvers ...... 45

Ninjutsu ...................................... 45Ninjutsu (Taijutsu) Maneuvers ............ 46

Pakua .........................................4 7Pakua Maneuvers .............................4 8

Pankration ..................................4 8Pankration M aneuvers ....................... 48

Pentjak-Silat ...............................4 9Penjak-Silat Maneuvers ..................... 50

Qwan Ki Do .................................5 2Qwan Ki Do Maneuvers .....................5 2

Re-Efi Areh-Ehsee .......................5 3Re-Efi Areh-Ehsee Maneuvers ...........5 3

Saijutsu ...................................... 53Saijutsu Maneuvers ........................... 53

Savate ........................................ 53Savate Man euvers ............................5 3

Sevillian Knifefighting ...................54Sevillian Knifefighting M aneuvers .......5 4

Shurikenjutsu ..............................5 4Shurikenjutsu Maneuvers ..................54

Simgom do .................................. 55Simgomdo Maneuvers ....................... 55

Sumo Wrestling ........................... 55Sumo M aneuvers ..............................5 5

Tae Kwon Do ...............................55Tae Kwon Do Maneu vers ................... 56

Tai Ch’i Ch’uan ............................56Tai Ch’i Ch’u an M aneuvers ................5 6

Tang Soo Do ...............................57Tang Soo Do Maneuvers .................... 57

Thai Kick-boxing..........................58Thai Kick-boxing M aneuvers ..............5 8

Thang-Ta .................................... 58Thang-Ta Maneuvers ........................5 8

Than Vo Dao ...............................59Than Vo Dao M aneuvers .................... 59

Vovinam Viet Vo Dao ............. ....... 59Vovinam Viet Vo Dao Maneuvers ........ 59

Weapons Combat ........................5 9Weapons Combat Maneuvers ............60

Whipfighting ................................6 0Whipfighting M aneuvers .................... 61

Wrestling .................................... 61Wrestling Maneuvers ........................61

Wrestling, Professional ................62Wrestling, Professional M aneuvers .....6 2

Yu-Sool ....................................... 62Yu-Sool Maneuvers ...........................6 2

Zipota .........................................6 3Zipota Maneuvers .............................6 3

Other Styles ................................63

Fictional Martial Arts .....................64Brick Tricks .................................64Brick Tricks M aneuvers ...................... 64

Dancing Spider............................64Dancing Spider Man euvers ................6 5



Drunken Clown Kung Fu ..............6 5Drunken Clown Kung Fu M aneuvers ... 66

Ghost Eye Techniques ............. ..... 66Ghost Palm Techniques .............. .. 66Golden Demon Kung Fu ............... 67Golden Demon Kung Fu Maneuvers ...67

The Paths of the SevenGhost Sisters ............................67

The Paths of the Seven Ghost

Sisters Maneuvers ............................6 8

Resplendent Dragon Kung Fu .......68Resplendent Dragon Kung

Fu Maneuvers ...................................6 9

Silken Blade Kung Fu ............ ....... 70Silken Blade Kung Fu Maneuvers ....... 70

Speedster M artial Arts ................. 71Speedster Martial Arts M aneuvers ......7 1

Splendid Fist ...............................71Splendid Fist Maneuvers ...................7 1

Takijutsu .....................................72

Takijutsu M aneuvers ......................... 73 Thunder Dragon Kung Fu ............. 73Thunder Dragon Kung Fu Maneuvers ...73

Zen Riflery .................................. 73Zen Riflery Maneuvers ....................... 74

Advanced Ninjutsu .........................75Ninja Package Deal ........................75

Ninja Package Deal ...........................7 5

Variant Styles of Taijutsu ............ ..... 76Korogi Taijutsu ............ ............ ..... 76Korogi Taijutsu M aneuvers .................7 6

Mist Viper Taijutsu .......................76

Mist Viper Taijutsu Maneuvers ............7 6 Silent Path Taijutsu ......................77Silent Path Taijutsu Man euvers ..........7 7

The Way of the Night Dragon ........ 77Night Dragon Taijutsu Maneuvers ....... 78

Ninja Special Abilities .....................78Mundane Ninja Abilities ................ 78Mystic Ninja Abilities ....................79

Ninja Gear and Equipment ..............82Climbing Equipment .................... 82Infiltration Equipment ................... 82Water Equipment .........................8 2Miscellaneous Equipment ............8 3

Ninja from other Lands ...................8 3

Martial Arts in Other Genres ..........84Cyberpunk/Near Future

Martial Arts ................................. 84Razor Dancing .............................84Razor Dancing Maneuvers .................8 4

Fantasy M artial Arts ....................... 84Poluraathkaa ...............................8 5Poluraathkaa Maneuvers ...................8 5

Horror Martial Arts .........................8 5

Pulp Era Martial Arts ......................85Science Fiction/Far Future

Martial Arts .................................8 6Maashira .................................... 86Maashira Maneuvers ......................... 86

Zero Gravity Combat ....................87Zero Gravity Combat Maneuvers ........8 7

Superhero Martial Arts ...................8 7Wild West Martial Arts ....................8 7

Designing New Martial Arts ...........88Designing Martial Arts Styles ..........88

Style Conception .........................88Style Building Blocks ......................88Designing M artial Arts Maneuvers ... 89

SIDEBAR: Redundant Maneuvers ......89

Maneuvers Basis ..............................9 0

Element Descriptions ...................91Helpful Elements ...............................9 1

Restrictive Elements .......................... 92

Mongoose Style .............................9 7

Ranged Mart ial Arts .......................99Designing Ranged Martial

Maneuvers .................................. 99Maneuver Basis ................................9 9

Helpful Elements ...............................9 9

Restrictive Elements .......................... 99

Element Descriptions ................. 10 0SIDEBAR: Mixing HTH and

Ranged Maneuvers ......................... 10 0

The Complete M ongoose Style ..... 10 1Moongoose Style Maneuvers ...........101

Additional Notes on M artial ArtsStyles and Elements ..................1 01Extra Damage Classes ...............101SIDEBAR: Maneuvers and

Hit Locations...................................101

Weapons .................................. 10 2Other Ways to Build Martial Arts ...1 03

Pow er Advantages f orMart ial Art s ................................10 4

Point Value of Bases ..................104Point Value of Bases ........................ 10 4

Modifi er Value of OtherElements ................................1 04

Extra Damage Classes ...............104Martial Arts Maneuver

Element Value ................................. 10 5



Endurance and MartialAdvantages .............................1 05

Examples .................................. 10 5SIDEBAR: Determining Maneuver’s

Point Value: Steps ........................... 10 5

Chapter Tw o

Martial Arts Archetypes ............... 107

Alien Martial Artist Archetype. . . . . .107American from Orient Archetype ...107Avenger Archetype .................... 10 7Brick Martial Artist Archetype ..... 10 7SIDEBAR: Mixing and Matching

Archetypes .....................................1 07

Fulfiller of Prophecy Archetype ...108Honorable Ninja Archetype .........108Irritable Student Archetype .........1 08Kickboxing Champion Archetype ... 10 8Kickboxing Cop Archetype ..........1 08The Kid Archetype ..................... 10 8

Knight-Errant Archetype ............. 10 9Master Archetype ...................... 10 9Modern Day Samurai Archetype .... 10 9Naive Hero/Heroine Archetype .... 10 9The Philosopher Archetype ......... 10 9Ronin Archetype ........................ 10 9Samurai Archetype .................... 10 9Serious Student Archetype ......... 11 0Sidekick Archetype .................... 11 0Super-Soldier Archetype ............ 11 0Unwilling Fighter Archetype ........110Vigilante Martial Artist Archetype ... 11 0Warrior-Monk Archetype ............ 11 0

The Career Path of theMartial Artist ............................. 11 0SIDEBAR: Glossary of Martial

Arts Terms ...................................... 11 0

Skills ............................................112Aanlyze Style Table .......................... 11 3

SIDEBAR: Non-Weapon

Combat Effects ............................... 11 4

Perquisites ................................... 117

Talents .........................................11 8

Powers .........................................11 9SIDEBAR: Clinging Examples ...........1 21

SIDEBAR: Damage Reduction

Examples .......................................1 22

SIDEBAR: Damage Resistance

Examples .......................................1 22

Power Advantages ....................... 13 1Limitations ..................................1 33Power Frameworks ...................... 13 3

Martial Arts Multipower ...................133

Kiai Powers .................................... 13 4

Ch’i Powers ....................................1 34

Disadvantages ............................. 13 5

Chapter Three

Combat Manuever s ...................... 142Bind .........................................1 42Block ........................................1 42Choke Hold ............................... 14 2

Cover ........................................1 42Disarm......................................142SIDEBAR: Binds in Fantasy HERO .... 14 2

Flying Kick ................................ 14 3Grab .........................................1 43SIDEBAR: Redefining Block .............1 43

SIDEBAR: Roleplaying Combat ........ 14 4

SIDEBAR: Grabbing and Combat

Values ............................................1 45

Grab Weapon ............................1 46Joint Locks and

Related Maneuvers ................. 14 7

Killing Throw .............................1 47Martial Escape .......................... 14 7Move By/Move Through ............. 14 7Nerve Strike .............................. 14 8SIDEBAR: Vital Points Around the

World .............................................1 48

SIDEBAR: AVLDs ............................ 14 8

Partial Maneuvers......................149Root .........................................1 49Shove ....................................... 14 9Standard M aneuvers ................. 150Sweep ...................................... 15 0Takeaway .................................. 15 2Throw ....................................... 15 2Throw M odifiers Table .....................1 52

Special Cases and Optional Rules ..154Blinded Characters and Martial Arts . 15 4Bound Characters and Martial Arts ... 15 4Casual STR Versus Barriers .......... 15 5Concealed Weapons and Gadgets ...15 5Critical Hits ..................................1 56Disabling Attacks ......................... 15 6

Disabling Results Table .................... 15 7

Nerve Strike Imparing/ Disabling Time ................................1 57

Disguising Damage ......................1 57Healing ....................................... 15 8Hindering Circumstances and

Martial Arts ............................... 15 8Hit Locations ............................... 16 0Ignoring Opponents ..................... 16 0Interposing .................................. 16 0

SIDEBAR: Interposing Example ........1 60

Knockback and Martial Arts ..........1 61Increasing Knockback ................ 16 1

Decreasing Knockback .............. 16 1Pushback .................................. 16 1

Mystery Damage ......................... 16 2Sequence Attacks ........................1 63

SIDEBAR: Unstructured Sequence

Attack Example ............................... 16 3

Weapon Lengths..........................164Weapon Ranges .......................... 16 4OCV Penalties .............................164

SIDEBAR: Structured Sequence

Attack Example ............................... 16 4

Weapon Lengths andEnclosed Space .........................1 65Enclosed Space and Weapon Length .. 16 5

Wounds ...................................... 16 5Targeting Injured Areas ..............165Twisting the Blade ..................... 16 5SIDEBAR: Weapon Length Example ...1 65

SIDEBAR: Targeting Wounds

Example .........................................1 65

Zero Gravity and Martial Arts ........166Mart ial Arts Weapons ...................16 7

Ranged Weapons Table ...................16 8

Melee Weapons Table..... . . . . . . . . . .169-172

Notes and Key .............................1 73Notes ........................................1 73Key ...........................................1 73

Master List of Weapons ................ 17 4SIDEBAR: Concealed and Inobvious

Weapons ........................................1 74

Armor .........................................1 86Full-Contact Karate Armor ............1 86

Full-Contact Karate Armor ...............1 86 Kendo Armor ............................. 18 6Kendo Armor ..................................186

Leather Hand-Wrappings ...........1 86Leather Hand-Wrappings .................18 6

Rawhide Hand-Wrappings ..........1 86Samurai Armor .......................... 18 7Samurai Armor ...............................187

Creating Weapons ....................... 18 7Powers Used in Weapon

Creation .................................... 18 7Hand-to-Hand Versus

Killing Damage ..........................1 87New Limitations ........................... 18 7

Bibliogr aphy .................................18 9

Index ............................................190



6 The Ultim ate Mart ial Artist

This is the Second Edition of Te Ultimate Martial Artist , or UMA for short. Te HEROSystem has changed a lot since this bookwas first published in 1994. Tere’s a 5th Edi-

tion now, and it incorporated many of the new rulesintroduced in the first UMA. Tat meant a couple ofchanges for UMA. First, I had to revise all the powerwrite-ups to make them compatible with the 5th Edi-tion. Second, since the deletions and changes freed upsome space, I had room to add some new material,thus improving the book’s value for those who ownthe first version. Whether you’ve got an earlier editionof UMA or not, I think you’ll find plenty of new andenjoyable material in this volume.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOKUnlike most other books in the “Ultimate” series,

UMA has a prior history (of sorts) upon which tobuild: the Ninja Hero genre book, the HERO System book on martial arts-oriented campaigns. Whilethe two books have much in common, their focus isslightly different: Ninja Hero concentrated primarilyon straight martial arts campaigns, whereas UMA looks at the use of martial arts in any genre, timeperiod, or setting. Nevertheless, much of the mate-rial in Ninja Hero was perfect for this book, and that

material is reprinted here (though updated for 5th

Edi-tion, of course).

As you read this book, remember that it looksat martial arts for all genres, not just straightforwardmartial arts campaigns. Tus, many of the rulesalterations, suggestions for “GMs’ options,” and simi-lar material are made with Superheroic characters orother genres in mind. Everything herein may not beappropriate for every type of campaign; GMs shouldexamine the rules in this book carefully before allow-ing their use.

AUTHOR’S NOTEWhen Te Ultimate Martial Artist was first

announced about ten years ago, it was greeted inmany circles with cries of trepidation and even out-rage. Ninja Hero is widely acknowledged as one ofthe best supplements Hero Games ever published,and rightly so. Many HERO System gamers were dis-turbed by the thought of it being redone or alteredin any way. I shared their concern, and worked hardnot only to create new and exciting rules and sourcematerial for Hero gamers, but to preserve the spiritand best parts of Ninja Hero as well.

Now, with several years’ perspective under mybelt and a new edition of the core rules to work with,

I think I did the job well. However, there’s alwayssomething to add — I seem to pick up new martialarts references frequently — and even more impor-tantly, it was necessary to revise the abilities in thebook to bring them into line with the rules of theHERO System 5th Edition.

I started revising the text of UMA in June, 1999with the goal of making the book compatible with theHERO System 5th Edition and of updating and revis-ing the material. Tis meant not only deleting parts ofthe book which the 5th Edition incorporated into thecore rules of the system, but reviewing the entire textwith an eye towards improving the general qualityof the writing. Since I wrote UMA, I’ve improved my

writing skills, and I think you’ll see the results in themore polished text in this book.

In addition to its revised, 5th Edition compatible,material, UMA has plenty of new information. I’vemade every effort to include enough new and inter-esting material so those of you who own the first ver-sion of this book will find you’ve gotten your money’sworth from buying this one.

As before, I owe thanks to Aaron Allston and allof the “consultants” listed in the front of this book.Teir advice and suggestions, even when (for what-ever reason) I didn’t take them, were invaluable. Butall mistakes are still my own.

Steven S. LongJanuary, 2002

INTRODUCTION



This chapter provides extensive inormation on di-erent martial arts styles and maneuvers, in ourparts.

Te first part describes over 150 real-worldstyles and variants rom all over the globe and throughout

history.Te second section includes approximately two dozen

fictional styles o the sort ofen seen in comic books and mar-tial arts movies.

Te third section deals with those ubiquitous villains, theninja.

Te ourth section discusses martial arts in variousgenres, such as antasy and science fiction, and includes somesample styles appropriate to such genres.

‘When warriors are in great danger, then they have no fear.’— Sun Tzu, The Art of War

‘Know your enemy and know yourself and in athousand battles you will never know defeat.’

— Sun Tzu, The Art of War



8 The Ultim ate Martial Artist

This section discusses the rules and otherterms used to describe martial arts stylesand related matters in the HERO System.Gamers interested in doing their own

research on these subjects should consult the Bibli-ography at the end o this book.

STYLE DESCRIPTIONSTe basic terms used to define the different

styles are:

Maneuvers: Te maneuvers and techniques which

comprise the style. Te accompanying table containsa master list o the maneuvers used. You can alsomake up your own maneuvers using the rules onpages 88-101.

Skills: Skills commonly associated with the style.Tose marked with an asterisk (“*”) are required: acharacter cannot practice the style without buyingthem.

Elements: Elements are additions to the style. Teyinclude Extra Damage Classes (which are never required or a style, and so are listed separately) andany Weapons the style teaches. Reer to the Maneu-vers And Weapons section, below, and the Designing

Martial Arts Maneuvers section on pages 88-101, ormore inormation on using weapons with martialarts maneuvers.

Optional Rules: Tis section includes the optionalHit Locations or appropriate maneuvers in thestyle.

Special Abilities: Tis last section showcases someo the amazing (and even mystical) abilities attrib-uted to martial artists who practice the style. Mostare described in general terms only, with suggestedways to create them using the HERO System 5th Edi-tion rules; you may simulate these abilities in otherways, i you preer.

Style DisadvantageMost styles betray something about a charac-

ter’s fighting abilities to a trained observer. In HEROSystem terms, a type o Distinctive Features Dis-advantage called Style simulates this. See page 135o this book and page 333 o the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised or more inormation. Not all stylesqualiy or this Disadvantage, but most do.

MARTIAL ARTSMANEUVERS

Te maneuvers (both Hand-o-Hand and

Ranged) in the accompanying list include most othe ones used to construct the martial arts packagesin this chapter.

In the list, the Maneuver column gives themaneuver’s generic name. ypically, a name spe-cific to the art replaces the generic name when themaneuver appears in a style. For example, MartialStrike becomes a “Punch” in one style, and an“Elbow Strike” in another.

Te next column, Phs, indicates how long ittakes to perorm the maneuver. Most are Hal PhaseActions; some, like Haymaker, require a Full Phaseplus one Segment and land at the end o the Seg-ment afer they’re begun.

Te next column, Pts, gives the maneuver’s cost.Te next two columns, OCV and DCV , show

the Combat Value modifiers o the maneuver.In the Ranged Martial Arts Maneuvers list,

the next column, Rng , indicates the bonus or pen-alty added by the maneuver to the standard RangeModifier.

Te last column, Damage/Effect , describes (inshort orm) what the maneuver does when usedsuccessully. For explanations o the terms under“Damage/Effect,” reer to the “Designing MartialArts Manuevers” and “Combat Maneuvers” sectionso this book.

THE WAY OFTHE HERO



Hero Games

Ma neuver Phase Cost OCV DCV EffectsBasic Strike ½ 3 +1 +0 SR +2d6 StrikeCharge ½ 4 +0 -2 SR +2d6 +v/5 Strike, FMoveChoke Hold ½ 4 -2 +0 Grab One Limb; 2d6 NND(2)Counterstrike ½ 4 +2 +2 SR +2d6 Strike, Must Follow Block Crush ½ 4 +0 +0 SR +4d6 Crush, Must Follow Grab

Deensive Block ½ 5 +1 +3 Block, AbortDeensive Strike ½ 5 +1 +3 SR StrikeDeensive Trow ½ 3 +1 +1 Block, arget FallsDisarming Trow ½ 5 +0 +0 Grab Weapon, +5 SR to take weapon away; arget FallsFast Strike ½ 4 +2 +0 SR +2d6 StrikeFlying Dodge ½ 5 — +4 Dodge All Attacks, Abort; FMoveFlying Grab ½ 5 -2 -1 Grab wo Limbs, +10 SR or holding on; FMoveFlying ackle ½ 3 +0 -1 SR +v/5 Strike; You Fall, arget Falls; FMoveGrappling Block ½ 5 +1 +1 Grab One Limb, Block Grappling Trow ½ 3 +0 +2 SR +2d6 Strike; arget Falls; Must Follow GrabJoint Break ½ 5 -1 -2 Grab One Limb; HKA ½d6 (2 DC), DisableJoint Lock/Trow ½ 4 +1 +0 Grab One Limb; 1d6 NND(7); arget FallsKilling Strike ½ 4 -2 +0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Killing Trow ½ 5 -2 +0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC); arget FallsLegsweep ½ 3 +2 -1 SR +1d6 Strike; arget Falls

Martial Block ½ 4 +2 +2 Block, AbortMartial Disarm ½ 4 -1 +1 Disarm; +10 SR to Disarm rollMartial Dodge ½ 4 — +5 Dodge, Affects All Attacks, AbortMartial Escape ½ 4 +0 +0 +15 SR vs. GrabsMartial Flash ½ 4 -1 -1 Flash 4d6 (choose Sense Group)Martial Grab ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab wo Limbs, +10 to SR or holding onMartial Strike ½ 4 +0 +2 SR +2d6 StrikeMartial Trow ½ 3 +0 +1 SR +v/5; arget FallsNerve Strike ½ 4 -1 +1 2d6 NND(1)Offensive Strike ½ 5 -2 +1 SR +4d6 StrikePassing Disarm ½ 5 -1 -1 Disarm, +10 SR to Disarm roll; FMovePassing Strike ½ 5 +1 +0 SR +v/5; FMovePassing Trow ½ 5 +0 +0 SR +v/5; arget Falls; FMoveReversal var 4 -1 -2 SR +15 to Escape; Grab wo LimbsRoot ½ 4 +0 +0 SR +15 to resist Shove; Block, Abort

Sacrifice Disarm ½ 4 +2 -2 Disarm, +10 SR to Disarm rollSacrifice Lunge ½ 4 +2 -2 SR +v/5; FMoveSacrifice Strike ½ 5 +1 -2 SR +4d6 StrikeSacrifice Trow ½ 3 +2 +1 SR Strike; You Fall, arget FallsShove ½ 4 +0 +0 +15 SR to Shoveakeaway ½ 5 +0 +0 Grab Weapon, +10 SR to take weapon away akedown ½ 3 +1 +1 SR Strike; arget FallsWeapon Bind ½ 4 +1 +0 Bind, +10 SR

HAND-TO-HAND MARTIAL MANEUVERS

Ma neuver Phase Cost OCV DCV Rng Dama ge/ Effect

Basic Shot ½ 4 +0 +0 +2 Strike, +2 DC

Deensive Shot ½ 3 -1 +2 +0 StrikeDistance Shot 1+1 5 +0 -2 +6 Strike; +1 SegmentFar Shot ½ 5 +1 -1 +4 StrikeOffensive Ranged Disarm ½ 5 +1 -1 +2 Disarm, +10 SR Offensive Shot ½ 4 -1 -1 +0 Strike, +4 DCOffensive rip ½ 5 +1 -1 +0 Strike, +v/5; arget FallsQuick Shot ½ 4 +1 +0 +0 Strike, +2 DCRanged Disarm ½ 4 +0 +0 +0 Disarm, +15 SR rip ½ 4 -1 -1 +2 v/5, arget Falls

RANGED MARTIAL MANEUVERS




MANEUVERSAND WEAPONS

Characters can use some martial arts withweapons. But not all maneuvers apply to all weap-ons; a kick can’t work with a machete, and holdinga spear doesn’t improve a dodge.

Te accompanying list provides general guide-lines or which sorts o weapons work with whichmaneuvers. Te GM should use common sensewhen dealing with a weapon not ound on this list— simply compare it to weapons on this list anddecide which one it most closely corresponds to.

When you’re using non-martial CombatManeuvers rom page 384 o the HERO System5th Edition, Revised , compare the non-martialmaneuver to the maneuvers in the chart above. Youcan perorm a non-martial Block with the sortso weapons used with the Deensive and MartialBlocks; you can perorm a non-martial Disarmwith the sorts o weapons used with Martial andSacrifice Disarms; and so on.

Ranged M artial Arts AndWeapon Types

A character with a Ranged Martial Art styleis trained in the use o a specific type o weapon,and cannot use his Ranged Martial Maneuverswith other weapons unless he has received theproper training (i.e., purchased the appropriateWeapon Element). In short, a character who knowsShurikenjutsu cannot use his Ranged MartialManeuvers with a bow or rifle unless he purchasesWE: Bows or WE: Pistols.

LEARNING MARTIAL ARTSBuilding a martial artist at the start o a cam-

paign usually poses ew problems — the characterneeds, typically, at least ten points’ worth o martialarts maneuvers rom one style, an 8- roll in theKnowledge Skill o that style, and the Style Dis-tinctive Feature. But things get a little more com-plicated when characters want to use ExperiencePoints to improve their martial arts or buy newmartial arts abilities.

Learning MartialArts From Scratch

Sometimes an existing character wants tolearn a martial arts style rom the ground up. Find-ing a teacher depends on plot and storytelling,things or the player and GM to work out. But theactual acquisition o the abilities requires the char-acter to spend Experience Points, and that requiresrules.

First, the character should spend at least onepoint or a Knowledge Skill with his style. Charac-ters shouldn’t learn any maneuvers beore takingthe KS.

Second, i the style requires an Element (suchas Weapons Element), the character must buy itnext.

Tird, a ew styles require practitioners topurchase specific Skills (the ones marked with an

MANEUVERS AND WEAPONS Can Be Used WithMa neuver Type These Weapons:

Basic Strike *Charge *Choke Hold Staves, Weapon Shafs,

Garrotes, Chain & RopeWeapons, Nunchaku, Tree-Section Staff, Shinobi-Zue

Counterstrike *Crush Staves, Weapon Shafs, Chain

& Rope Weapons, Tree-Section Staff, Shinobi-Zue

Deensive Block *Deensive Strike *Deensive Trow NoneDisarming Trow NoneFast Strike *

Flying Dodge NoneFlying ackle NoneGrappling Block NoneGrappling Trow Chain & Rope WeaponsHead-Butt Helmet Spikes, Other

Head-Worn WeaponsJoint Break NoneJoint Lock/Trow Chain & Rope WeaponsKick AshikoKilling Strike *Killing Trow NoneLegsweep Staves, etsubo, Shinobi Zue,

Polearm Shafs, NetsMartial Block All Melee Weapons, ShieldsMartial Disarm *

Martial Dodge NoneMartial Escape NoneMartial Flash NoneMartial Grab Nets, Whips, Chain & Rope

Weapons,Shinobi-Zue

Martial Strike *Martial Trow Chain & Rope WeaponsNerve Strike *, but only normal-damage

weaponsOffensive Strike *Passing Strike *Passing Trow Chain & Rope WeaponsPunch All Melee WeaponsReversal NoneRoot NoneSacrifice Disarm *Sacrifice Lunge *Sacrifice Strike *Sacrifice Trow NoneShove All Large (L) Melee

Weapons, Shieldsakeaway All Melee Weaponsakedown Staves, Polearm Shafs, Nets,

Whips, Chain & RopeWeapons

Weapon Bind All Melee Weapons, Shields

*: I defined as Punch, see Punch; i defined as Kick,see Kick; i defined as Head-Butt, see Head-Butt

MODIFYING ANDBUILDING STYLES

Readers who practicethe martial arts mayhave objections to theway some o the stylesin this book are definedin HERO System terms.Hero Games has madeevery effort to make this

book as comprehensiveas possible, but limita-tions imposed by thenature o research andspace in the book itselmake it impossible todepict every maneuverassociated with everystyle.

o resolve this dilemma,you can build your ownmartial arts maneuversand styles, creating romscratch (or modiyingan existing maneuver orstyle) to suit your own

opinions and tastes.o learn how, reer tothe Designing MartialArts Maneuvers sectionbeginning on page 88.



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asterisk [*] in the style write-ups). For example,characters cannot learn Aikido and Jujutsu withoutknowing Breakall, or Kenjutsu without knowingWF: Blades. Te character must buy all requiredSkills beore buying any maneuvers.

A character can only start buying maneuversafer he’s satisfied all o these prerequisites. At thatpoint, he can learn one maneuver afer anotheruntil he’s bought at least ten Character Points’

worth o them. Te GM may let him start usingeach maneuver as it’s learned, or require the char-acter to wait until he’s acquired ten points’ worth othem beore he can start using them.

Te Style Distinctive FeatureUltimately, the character can take the Style

Distinctive Feature or his style, which helps offsetthe cost o the Martial Arts style. He can only takethis Disadvantage with the GM’s approval, though.Te GM may not want to let him receive new Char-acter Points or the new Disadvantage.

Tese are the different ways GMs mayapproach this question in their own campaigns:

Allow the Character to ake the Style DistinctiveFeature: Te character can add the Style Distinc-tive Feature to his list o Disadvantage and add the value o it to his Character Points. However, theStyle Distinctive Feature still cannot exceed theDisadvantage point limits already set or the cam-paign. For instance, i the campaign has a 75-pointcap on Disadvantage points, and the characteralready has 70 points o Disadvantages, i he addsthe 10-point Style Distinctive Feature he only gets5 points’ worth o value. Likewise, i the campaignhas a 25-point cap on Disadvantage points romany one category o Disadvantage, and the charac-ter already has 25 points’ worth o Distinctive Fea-

tures, then the additional Style Distinctive Featuregives him 0 points.

Allow the Character to rade the Style DistinctiveFeature For Another Disadvantage: Te charac-ter can trade in another Disadvantage the playerhas already been trying to buy down or buy off,and take the Style Distinctive Feature in its place.For example, recently the character has beaten his10-point Hunted in a climactic ashion, and it’san appropriate time to get rid o that Hunted. Techaracter erases the Hunted and substitutes theStyle Distinctive Feature or it. Note: GMs shouldonly allow this when a logical, plot-driven reasonalready exists to change the Disadvantage. Reasons

such as “I’m tired o it” and “I like the Style Distinc-tive Feature better” aren’t suffi cient.

Disallow the Style Distinctive Feature: Techaracter cannot take a new Disadvantage. Since acharacter doesn’t receive points or a new Huntedwhen he makes a new enemy, or points rom newRivalries when he finds himsel competing with anew character, he shouldn’t receive points rom anew Distinctive Feature, either.

Require the Style Distinctive Feature... But WorthZero Points: Te character must take the Style Distinctive Feature Disadvantage, but it’s worth nopoints. Tis reflects both the act that the character’s

style is obvious, and the philosophy that new Disad- vantages don’t bring new points to the character.

O these our approaches, the second choice, Allow the Character to rade the Style DistinctiveFeature For Another Disadvantage, usually worksbest. It has the advantages o giving a point-costincentive to learn martial arts maneuvers withoutproviding the character a lot o new points out o

nowhere.

Rate Of LearningHow ast should characters learn new martial

arts?In the real world, a normal practitioner can

earn a black belt in an average o our years. In theHERO System, that corresponds to an expenditureo only three or our Character Points per year onMartial Arts maneuvers and skills, ar too slow ormost adventure genre purposes.

However, also in the real world, some legiti-mate martial arts champions have attained black

belt rank in much less time. One amed heavy-weight ull-contact karate champion earned hisin only seven months — more like spendingtwo Character Points per month on Martial Artsmaneuvers and Skills.

Tereore, or game purposes, presume PCshave taken anywhere rom hal a year to our yearsto earn their belts. But when PCs learn new maneuvers and arts afer they’ve begun play, you shouldollow one o these approaches:

One CP Every Adventure: Te character can spendone Experience Point on Martial Arts maneuvers,Skills, and Elements every adventure. Tis presumeshe’s receiving regular training in the campaignsetting. As a result, it takes quite a while (ten to fi-teen game sessions) to earn a black belt’s worth omaneuvers and Skills. Tis approach works well orHeroic campaigns not oriented around martial arts,or or any campaign stressing “realism.”

wo or Tree CP Every Adventure: Te charactercan spend two or three Experience Points (the GMdecides which) on Martial Arts maneuvers, Skills,and Elements every adventure. Tis presumeshe’s receiving regular, and extraordinarily inten-sive, training in the campaign setting. With thisapproach, it takes our to seven adventures or acharacter to acquire a competitive level o prowess

in his style. Tis approach works well or Heroicmartial arts-oriented campaigns and any Superhe-roic campaign.

Spend Many CP During raining Breaks: I thecampaign skips a lot o time, the character, with GMpermission, can spend any amount o ExperiencePoints on martial arts. In other words, i the cam-paign skips six game-months between adventures,the character could conceivably drop quite a ewpoints into his fighting skills. Again, the charactermust receive regular training within the campaignsetting. A realistic expenditure rate equals 2 Experi-ence Points every game month; an acceptable expen-diture or Heroic campaigns, presuming very inten-




sive training, would be 4 Experience Points everygame month; in Superheroic campaigns, spending6-8 Experience Points every game month is easible.

Learning NewAnd Multiple Styles

Some characters want to learn new martialarts styles in addition to their basic style, and some just wish to purchase individual maneuvers rom anumber o styles to supplement their basic style. Tisis fine, logical, and realistic, but you need a ew rulesto govern this practice.

BUYING MANEUVERS OUSIDE YOURSYLE

A character can learn a maneuver rom a styleother than his own, or (i the GM allows) create anew maneuver using the maneuver design rules. Acharacter should know at least three maneuvers inhis original style beore he buys an “outside” maneuver.

Te player must have an acceptable rationale orhis character to learn this outside maneuver, such aslearning rom a PC or established NPC. I he buysthe maneuver afer play begins, he’s subject to thetime constraints chosen by the GM (see above), andmust have a logical way to learn the maneuver (i.e., access to a teacher and time to learn).

I a character wishes to learn only one or twomaneuvers outside his style, he doesn’t have to buy aKS in that style.

OUSIDE MANEUVERS ANDHE WEAPONS ELEMEN

I your basic style includes the Weapons Ele-ment or a particular weapon, and you buy a maneu-

ver rom a second style, you still can use the newmaneuver with the weapons permitted or your style.For example, i you know Karate and have boughtthe Weapons Elements or Karate Weapons and Staff,then buy the Fencing akeaway, you can use theFencing akeaway with both Karate Weapons andStaff.

Tis is possible because the martial artist adaptshis new maneuvers to his old style. However, somerestrictions exist.

First, the maneuver must be appropriate or theweapon. A Fencer who learns the Side/Spinning Kickcan’t use the kick with a blade. See the chart under Martial Arts Maneuvers And Weapons, page 10 todetermine which types o maneuvers work withwhich types o weapons.

Second, a character with at least ten points omaneuvers in one style can buy an outside maneuver and use that maneuver with his style’s weapons.However, he can’t use all his original style’s maneuvers with the Weapons Element rom the single out-side maneuver.

Example: Okamura Masao knows Karate; heknows ten points’ worth o maneuvers and hasbought the Weapons Elements Karate Weapons

and Staff or his Karate. He now learns the KungFu Punch maneuver and the Kung Fu WeaponsElements o Clubs and Blades rom a Kung Futeacher. He can use the Punch with his KarateWeapons and Staff. However, he cannot use hisKarate maneuvers with Clubs and Swords.

However, i the practitioner knows two com-plete styles, he can use maneuvers rom either artwith the Weapons Elements he’s purchased or either

art.

Example: Years later, Okamura Masao haslearned both Karate and Kung Fu (he has atleast ten points o maneuvers in each). He hasbought the Karate Weapons and Staff WeaponsElements or his Karate, and the Clubs andBlades Weapons Elements or his Kung Fu.Now, he can use his Karate maneuvers andhis Kung Fu maneuvers with Karate Weapons,Staff, Clubs, and Swords.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS AND NEW SYLES

I a character already knows a particular mar-

tial art (including having a KS in that art), and thenbuys a KS in a second art, he may use any maneuvershe has purchased which overlap both styles in theashion o either style. Tis can be a good way ora character to vary his fighting style to conuse anopponent or avoid the effects o a successul AnalyzeStyle roll. But remember, just purchasing a KS in astyle does not give a character access to any maneuvers he has not paid points or.

Example: Hitoshi knows Karate. He has pur-chased all o that style’s maneuvers and has KS:Karate 11-. Afer a trip to Tailand, he becomesinterested in Tai Kick-Boxing and begins study-

ing it. Afer a couple o months o hard work, heknows enough to buy KS: Tai Kick-Boxing 11-.

Karate and Tai Kick-Boxing have severalmaneuvers in common: Killing Strike (calledKniehand Strike (“Chop”) in Karate and Elbow/ Knee Killing Strike in Tai Kick-Boxing); Mar-tial Block (called Block in both styles); MartialStrike (called Punch/Snap Kick in Karate andLow Kick in Tai Kick-Boxing); and OffensiveStrike (called Side/Spin Kick in Karate andRoundhouse Kick/Knee Strike in Tai Kick-Boxing). Since Hitoshi has a KS in both styles, hemay use either version o those maneuvers whenhe is fighting, without having to pay or eachmaneuver twice.

Hitoshi soon has the misortune to get into a fight with Seiki, another Karate practitioner. Afer a ew seconds o fighting, Hitoshi realizesSeiki has studied Hitoshi’s maneuvers and knowsenough about Hitoshi’s fighting style to deeathim (in game terms, Seiki made an AnalyzeStyle roll and used his Aid: Analyze Style powerto gain extra DEX when fighting Hitoshi, andHitoshi made a PER Roll to realize Seiki “hadthe drop on him”).



Hero Games

So, Hitoshi switches to using Muay Tai maneu-vers whenever possible. Seiki cannot analyzethese new maneuvers ( i.e., he ails to makeanother Analyze Style roll), so he cannot usehis Aided DEX to increase his OCV and DCVwhenever Hitoshi uses a Tai Kick-Boxingattack. Hitoshi can use his Killing Strike, Mar-tial Block, Martial Strike, and Offensive Strikeas Muay Tai maneuvers and limit Seiki to

his regular DEX (without the benefit o the Aid) when attacking or deending against thosemaneuvers. However, i Hitoshi uses one o thosemaneuvers as a Karate manuever, or i he usesany other Karate maneuver, Seiki still gains thebenefit o his Aided DEX. Furthermore, Hitoshi’sKS: Tai Kick-Boxing does not allow him to usethat style’s Fast Strike or Shove maneuvers, sincehe has never purchased either o them.

Building NewManeuvers And Styles

A character can (with his GM’s permission)create all-new maneuvers or even entire styles withthe rules rom the Designing Martial Arts Maneuvers section (see page 88).

A character who designs his own martial art, iit turns out to be an effi cient and competitive style,should eventually find himsel pursued by studentswho wish him to teach them — and o gunfighter-mentality martial artists who want to challenge himto prove the superiority o their own style.

Te character who designs an all-new style andfinds himsel in demand as a teacher should buyPS: eacher and set up his own dojo (school). Tecampaign may involve many plots about the hero’s

school, especially plots concerning the activities oenemy schools.

BELTS AND RANKSMany martial arts, as practiced today, use a

system o ranks indicated by the color o the beltworn by the practitioner. Tis belt-rank system is atwentieth century invention, a tool used to motivatestudents (especially Western students) to learn.

For Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean martialarts, belt ranks typically come in two categories: kyu (grade) and dan (degree). Te accompanying sidebar

shows the belt arrangement or Karate; other Japa-nese arts use variations on it (in act, belt colors may vary rom school to school).

BLACK BEL SAUS IN HE HERO SYSTEM

Te term “black belt” carries a certain mystiqueor some (particularly Westerners), who think itsignifies a person with superhuman fighting skills.It doesn’t, really; it simply indicates a practitionerwho’s trained long enough and hard enough, andwho possesses suffi cient knowledge o and skill witha particular fighting style, or others to consider himan expert at it. Tis definition is not, perhaps, thesame as the one applicable in the “real world,” but it

suffi ces or gaming purposes.Remember, not all fighting styles rank practitio-

ners with “belts” or other systems, although many do.Details o some ranking systems are given above, orin the style descriptions later on in this section.

For gaming purposes, there are several ways orplayers to simulate various levels o martial arts abil-ity in the HERO System.

Te Basic Approach

Te basic way to determine i a character quali-fies as a black belt is the one outlined in the HEROSystem, 5th Edition, Revised, page 401: “Characterswho spend at least 15 Character Points on the style’sMartial Maneuvers, have a Knowledge Skill o thestyle on at least an 11- roll, and have bought at leastone 3-point Combat Skill Level with the style canbe considered “black belts.” rue mastery involvesbuying all Maneuvers and related Skills as well asseveral [Combat Skill Levels] with the style.”

Since UMA provides the opportunity to takea more in-depth look at martial arts, this definitionneeds a little amending. In addition to those require-ments, to be considered a “black belt,” a character

must know all o the style’s required Skills andmaneuvers (those marked with a “*” in the style’sdescription).

Tis guideline is simple, straightorward, andeasy to qualiy or. It allows characters who aren’tprimarily martial artists to still achieve a highdegree o proficiency at martial combat.

Alternate ApproachesI the basic approach doesn’t satisy you, try

one o these options instead. Feel ree to alter themto suit your personal preerences or campaign.

Perk-based: Require a character who wants to bea black belt to purchase a 1-point Fringe Benefit,

BELTS & RANKSKyu (Grades) Gra

Belt Initiate: WhiteRed B

8th Kyu: White B

7th Kyu: Yellow B

6th Kyu: Orange B

5th Kyu: Green B

4th Kyu: Purple B

3rd Kyu: Brown B

2nd Kyu: Brown B

1st Kyu: Brown B

Dan (Degrees):All are Black Belts

Degree Name(Japanese)

1st Dan Shod

2nd Dan Nid

3rd Dan Sand

4th Dan Yod

5th Dan God6th Dan Rokud

7th Dan Shichid

8th Dan Hachid

9th Dan Kud

10th Dan Jud

11th Dan Juichid(Judo On

12th Dan Junid(Judo On




Black Belt . Tis indicates he’s recognized as a blackbelt by a governing body o his style (or somesimilar organization) and has the right to reer tohimsel as an expert in that style. A character withthis Perk can ofen rely on members o the MartialWorld or work (i.e., teaching martial arts), shelter,and the like.

Te advantages to this approach are that it’ssimple and cheap. Te drawback is that characters

with wildly different levels o proficiency withmartial arts can end up being “black belts,” makingthe rank seem worthless. Gamemasters may wishto establish minimum requirements (such as thoseoutlined above) beore allowing characters to pur-chase this Perk.

Maneuver-based: Increase the amount o pointsworth o maneuvers (including, at the GM’s option,Combat Skill Levels with the style) a character hasto purchase beore being considered a black belt.wenty to thirty points should suffi ce or moststyles.

Te advantage to this approach is that itmore clearly differentiates the beginner with his

10 minimum points o maneuvers rom a higher-level practitioner. Te drawback is that it placesundue emphasis on acquiring lots o differentmaneuvers. Remember that special effects are animportant element o the HERO System. Whena martial artist buys, say, a “Kick” maneuver, thisgenerally doesn’t mean he knows just one type o

kick. Tat one maneuver is “gaming shorthand,” iyou will, or what may be a dozen or more differ-ent kinds o kicks. In a fight, a good martial artistplayer describes the different types o kicks he’susing, depending upon how his opponent fights,even though he’s using just one maneuver, “Kick.”Tus, it’s not unreasonable or a character to havespent just 10 or so points to buy a small number omaneuvers, yet still be considered to know dozens

o different kicks, strikes, and deensive techniques.Skill-based: Increase the amount and/or level oSkills a character has to buy beore he’s considereda black belt. For example, a GM might decide that,regardless o the raw number o points a characterhas spent on maneuvers and Extra DC, he cannotbe considered a black belt until he has at least a 14-roll in his Knowledge Skill o his style. ProessionalSkill: Instructor would allow the character to teachhis style properly; a Science Skill in his style wouldgive him knowledge o the mechanical aspects ohis fighting maneuvers. Either Skill might includesome appropriate “sports medicine” techniques orcommon dojo injuries. GMs could also require a

character to purchase a certain number o 3-pointCombat Skill Levels with his style beore he quali-fies or black belt status.



Hero Games

W hen most Hero gamers think o theircharacters learning “martial arts,” theyhave some style rom the real world,like Kung Fu or Aikido, in mind. o

help you build such characters, this section includesdescriptions o numerous real-world martial artsstyles in HERO System terms. Tese arts are notconfined to the latter part o the twentieth century;many date back into the first millennium BC, orperhaps urther back than that. You can find fictionalmartial arts styles in the next section.

JUTSU VS. DO;INTERNAL VS. EXTERNALMartial artists have two ways o thinking

about their styles and how they work that you needto know about in advance.

Te first is the distinction between jutsu anddo, two terms used in Japanese martial arts. Jutsu means, roughly, “technique” or “art”; it signifies amartial art meant or actual fighting use. Do, mean-ing “way,” signifies just the opposite — a philo-sophically-oriented approach stressing the moral,intellectual, sporting, and/or therapeutic benefitso studying a particular “fighting” style. Do orms

are not generally meant or actual combat, thoughcharacters can use them that way. Over time, mosto the jutsu orms have transormed into do orms.Tus, Aikijutsu becomes Aikido, Jujutsu becomesJudo, Kenjutsu becomes Kendo, and so orth. Tereal-world styles described in this book are almostall jutsu orms, since game characters intend to usethem or combat.

Te “internal” versus “external” dichotomy(also known as “sof” versus “hard”) is described inmore detail in the Chinese styles, but exists in otherarts as well. Styles identified as “internal” concen-trate on the development o one’s internal power,known as ch’i (China), ki (Japan), mana (Hawaii),

prana or ting (India), or by many other names. Ch’i is ofen thought to reside in the tantien (or tanden,meaning “cinnabar field”), a point just a ew inchesbelow the navel. Internal stylists try to keep it cen-tered there so it flows throughout their body in thecorrect ashion and energizes them. Internal stylesgenerally concentrate on circular motion, yieldingin the ace o attack, and using an enemy’s orceagainst him. ai Ch’i Ch’uan, Hsing-I, Pakua, andAikido all qualiy as “internal” styles. Internal styl-ists can sometimes manipulate their ch’i to perormastounding eats; in a gaming campaign, theseabilities can become even more spectacular andimpressive!

External or “hard” styles, on the other hand,concentrate on the development o the body and itsphysical capabilities. Tey generally rely on power-ul, linear attacks to overcome the oe. Te ShaolinKung Fu styles, Karate, Wing Chun Kung Fu, MuayTai, and similar fighting arts are considered exter-nal styles.

AikidoTis is a Japanese art ounded in 1942 by

Morihei Ueshiba and derived rom the earlierAikijutsu. It stresses discipline and a nonviolent

attitude. Te art, as practiced in combat, concen-trates on balance, rhythm, and use o an opponent’sorce against him. It largely involves redirecting anopponent’s energies, especially in throws and take-down maneuvers.

Aikidoka (practitioners o aikido) tradition-ally wear a uniorm known as an aikidogi. Studentswear a uniorm similar to a karate gi (see “Karate,”below). Masters wear a pair o wide pants (almostlike a split skirt) called a hakama and a jacket simi-lar to the karate gi, except that the sleeves are lessull. Te color o the hakama and jacket sometimes

REAL WORLDMARTIAL ARTS

AIKIDOMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectDodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortEscape var 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR vs. GrabsExtend Ki ½ 4 + 0 + 0 STR + 15 to resist

Shove; Block, AbortHold ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for holding onJoint Break ½ 5 -1 -2 Grab One Limb; HKA

½d6 (2 DC), DisableJointLock/Throw ½ 4 + 1 + 0 Grab One Limb; 1d6

NND(7); Target FallsRedirect ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Block, Abort

Strike ½ 5 + 1 + 3 STR StrikeTakedown ½ 3 + 1 + 1 STR Strike; Target

FallsThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

SkillsBreakall*KS: AikidoEnhanced Perception (Sight Group)

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

‘Theteache

is as a needle,the disciple is thread.’

—MiyamoMusashi, Go Rin

Sho (“A BookFive Ring

MARTIAL ARTSAROUND THE WORI you’re looking or martial arts style apppriate or a characterrom a particular nat

or region, here’s whethe real-world artsdescribed in this boocome rom:

Africa: Re-efi Areh-ehsee

Te Americas: Capoeira (Brazil); Jaihouse Rock; Jeet KunDo; Lua (Hawaii); Pressional Wrestling

China: An Ch’i; HsiI; Kung Fu; Pakua; Ch’i Ch’uan

Europe: Artedell’Abbracciare; Fening; Kampringen; Pkration; Savate; SevilKniefighting; WeapoCombat; Zipota

India: Gatka; Kalar-ipayit; Tang-a

Indonesia: Kuntao;Pentjak-Silat

Israel: Hisardut; KraMaga

Continued on next




indicates the fighter’s level o proficiency.Since Ueshiba’s death, his ollowers have

established their own orms o Aikido. Some othese, such as omiki Aikido, are more philosophi-cally- or sports-oriented; others, such as YoshinAikido, stress combat realism and are more similarto Aikijutsu.

AIKIDO NOES

Te Strike maneuver is not rom Aikido as itis normally taught today, but rather rom the art’sancestor, Aikijutsu.

Some teachers o Aikido teach the relationshipo the art’s maneuvers to the use o blades, the staff,and halberd-like weapons such as the naginata.

Optional Rules: Te Strike may be either a punchor a kick; the character can make this choice beoreeach attack with the maneuver. I a punch, it takesa location roll o 2d6+1; i a kick, it takes a locationroll o 2d6+7; i it is not specified, it takes a locationroll o 3d6. None o the other maneuvers requirelocation rolls; those which do damage do general-ized damage.

Special Abilities: Various sources attribute manydifferent abilities and “powers” to Morihei Ueshibaand, to a lesser extent, some o his ollowers. Someo these abilities include:

1) Te ability to fight against many opponentswithout being harmed, or even touched (DeenseManeuver, Combat Skill Levels or DCV).

2) Te ability to sense an attacker’s actions beorehe even moved (elepathy, Danger Sense, or Pre-cognitive Clairsentience).

3) Te ability to move long distances in an instantand virtually without being seen. For example, it’ssaid Ueshiba could stand dozens o eet away roma man with his hand on a gun, then reach him andgrab his wrist beore he could draw the gun out othe holster! Tis is best simulated in HERO System terms as a orm o eleportation with the Limita-tion Must Pass Trough Intervening Space (-¼).

4) Te ability to paralyze opponents with but atouch (a orm o Entangle, akes No Damage FromAttacks).

An Ch’iTis style might best be reerred to as “Chinese

ninjutsu.” Like Ninjutsu, it concentrates on the use

o deception, guerrilla warare, tricks and traps, andthe like. Practitioners o An Ch’i usually carry manyhidden weapons, and are masters with thrownweapons — they can even use common objectsas lethal missiles! Te lin kuei, or “orest demons,”China’s equivalent o the Japanese ninja (and saidby some to be the ninja’s predecessors), were mas-ters o An Ch’i.

AN CHI’ NOES

Te character should choose which weaponhe uses with the Ranged maneuvers when hepurchases this style. Small, hand-held throwingweapons like throwing knives, darts, and shuriken

are the most appropriate. At the GM’s option, the“weapon” in question could be the character’s“throwing master” ability, described below.

Optional Rules: Te Strike may be either a punch

or a kick; the character can make this choice beoreeach attack with the maneuver. I a punch, it takesa location roll o 2d6+1; i a kick, it takes a locationroll o 2d6+7; i it is not specified, it takes a loca-tion roll o 3d6. Te Nerve Strike does not require alocation roll; it does generalized damage.

Special Abilities: Te lin kuei are said to be mas-ters o many different special abilities. Some othese are simply highly-refined physical skills,but others are mystical in nature and supposedlyderive rom debased aoist magical teachings. Teyinclude:

1) Te ability to turn any small, throwable object

into a lethal missile weapon. Tis ability is socommon among the lin kuei that the GM shouldconsider making it a required purchase. It canbe bought as a two-slot Multipower, one slot anEnergy Blast and one an RKA, each with the Limi-tations OIF (available throwing objects o opportu-nity; -½) and Range Based On SR (-¼).

2) Te ability to become invisible (Invisibility).

3) Te ability to hypnotize people (a limited ormo Mind Control; see page 204 o the HERO System5th Edition, Revised ).

AN CH’IHTHMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortNerve Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Strike ½ 4 + 0 +2 STR + 2d6 Strike

RangedMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Rng Damage/ EffectBasic Shot ½ 4 +0 +0 + 2 Weapon +2 DCDefensiveShot ½ 3 -1 +2 + 0 WeaponMoving Shot ½ 5 -1 + 0 + 0 Weapon; FMoveQuick Shot ½ 4 + 1 + 0 + 0 Weapon + 2 DC

SkillsCombat Skill Levels with Ranged AttacksContortionistFast Draw KS: An Ch’iMimicry SS: Pharmacology/oxicology Survival

rackingWF: Common Martial Arts Melee Weapons*WF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Common Missile Weapons*WF: Off-Hand

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

Japan: Aikido; Bojutsu/Jojutsu; Jujutsu; Juken-jutsu; Kenjutsu; Kyu-jutsu; Naginatajutsu/Sojutsu; Ninjutsu;Saijutsu; Shurikenjutsu;Sumo Wrestling

Korea: Hapkido; Hwa-rang-Do; Kuk SoolWon; Simgomdo; aeKwan Do; ang Soo Do;Yu-Sool

Okinawa: Karate

Philippines: Arnis/Kali/Escrima

Tailand, Burma,Malaysia: Bando; Ber-silat; Tai Kick-Boxing

Vietnam: Qwan Ki Do;Tan Vo Dao; VovinamViet Vo Dao

Various/Universal:Boxing (Ancientand Modern); Com-mando raining; DirtyInfighting/Fisticuffs/Cinematic Brawling;Generic Martial Arts;Whipfighting; Wrestling

Continued from last page



Hero Games

Arnis/Kali/EscrimaArnis, Kali, and Escrima are related Philippine

martial arts. Tey are very much weapons-orientedarts, but they include barehanded techniques taughtto more advanced students.

Malays settling the Philippines rom thesecond century BC onward were experts in knie-fighting techniques. Chinese fleeing their native

land in the ninth century AD brought their martialarts to the area, and Kali emerged rom the synthe-sis o the two combat styles.

Arnis, or arnis de mano, the modern ormo the art, utilizes 30” sticks in place o the knieor sword-and-knie techniques o the earlierKali. It is usually ought with two sticks (muton),a single stick (solo baston), or one stick and oneknie (espada y daga). Practitioners have adaptedthe art to other weapons styles as well, especiallynunchaku, other karate weapons, and chain weap-ons. However, one can still find plenty o traditionalKali practitioners who are experts at using theirart with bladed weapons. Te style’s other name,

“escrima,” comes rom the Spanish term or “tofight”; the term “arnis” is a corruption o the Span-ish word or “harness.”

Te style below includes both the traditionaland modern-day elements o the art. For Arnis orEscrima, buy the art usable with Clubs (the sticks);that’s the deault version presented below. For Kali,

buy the art usable with Blades. Students can lateradd unarmed combat and Karate Weapons via the“Barehanded” and “Weapons” ele-ments. Some prac-titioners o thesestyles learn to usemany unusualobjects, such asitems o clothing,

yo-yos, and ropes,as weapons. Char-acters can simu-late specialities ina particular typeo weapon bybuying 2-pointCombat SkillLevels with theweapon.

A prac-titioner o thisstyle is knownas a bastonero

or estocador .Male ranksare known aslakan; ranks oremale fightersare dayang . Beltswith colored edges indicaterank.

In any o its orms, this is a ast, effi cient, brutalstyle o combat.

ARNIS/KALI/ESCRIMA NOES

Te Kick, also known as a Sipat , may belearned only afer the character has bought the

Barehanded element to use the art with unarmedcombat. Te Pattern Strike, Sinawali, and Redonda are stick-fighting patterns.

Te WF: Clubs Skill is not listed among theSkills or this package because characters haveWeapon Familiarity with the Clubs Group at nopoint cost.

Optional Rules: Te Punch takes a 2d6+1 locationroll. Te Kick takes a 2d6+1 location roll. Te NerveStrike takes a 2d6+1 location roll unless the charac-ter has learned to use the art with unarmed combat,at which time it takes a 3d6 location roll (since hislegs and eet are now also employed in that maneuver). Te Pattern Strike,Redonda, and Sinawali take

a 3d6 location roll. Te other maneuvers do notrequire location rolls.

Special Abilities: Many practitioners o this stylestrike so rapidly they can land many blows in thespace o a second. Characters can buy this as anAutofire Energy Blast with No Range, as an Autofire Advantage or one o the art’s strikes (see page 104),or as a orm o wo-Weapon Fighting.

Many Arnis/Kali/Escrima practitioners blink aslittle as possible, since an attacker could land a blowin the space o a blink. Characters can buy this as abonus to the character’s Sight PER Roll which OnlyWorks In Combat (-1), as a Combat Skill Level with

ARNIS/KALI/ESCRIMA Art usable with Clubs Weapon Group; Clubs WeaponGroup is ree.

Mane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dam age/ EffectBody Shift ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortDe Cadena ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDisarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm rollNerve Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Pattern Strike ½ 4 + 2 + 2 STR + 2d6 Strike,

Must Follow BlockRedonda /Punch ½ 4 + 2 + 0 STR + 2d6 StrikeSinawali /Ki ck ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 Str ikeTakeaway ½ 5 + 0 + 0 Grab Weapon, + 10

STR to take w eaponaway

Takedow n ½ 3 + 1 + 1 STR Strike; TargetFalls

Weapon Bind ½ 4 + 1 + 0 Bind, + 10 STR

SkillsKS: Arnis (and/or Kali and/or Escrima)PS: Moro-moro DancingWF: BladesWF: Karate WeaponsWF: Chain & Rope WeaponsWF: Off Hand

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades

+1 Use Art with Karate Weapons+1 Use Art with Chain & Rope

WeaponsBarehanded +1 Use Art Barehanded




De Cadena (the character keeps his eyes on theenemy constantly, the better to anticipate and blockblows), or as one DCV Combat Skill Level.

Finally, some Arnis/Kali/Escrima masters canaccess a power called anting-anting , similar to ch’i or prana. It makes them superhumanly strong (AidSR, Sel Only [-½]) and resistant to harm romweapons (Damage Resistance). However, or reli-gious and mystical reasons, anting-anting doesn’t

work on Tursdays (a -¼ Limitation).

SUBSYLES OF ARNIS/KALI/ESCRIMA

Hundreds o different substyles o these arts(particularly Kali) are practiced throughout thePhilippines. Some o the more interesting onesinclude:

Doces ParesDoces Pares is a very flashy, stick-oriented

style o Kali. Te practitioner delivers strikes “flo-rete” style, meaning that he usually accompanieseach strike with a second strike to the spot on thetarget’s body that circles rom the attacker’s wrist.

o practice Doces Pares, a character shouldbuy any two o the style’s Strike maneuvers, andshould know WF: Off Hand as well. OCV CombatSkill Levels with the style also help.

LacosteNamed afer its ounder, Jon Lacoste, this sub-

style melds many orms and skills including, butnot limited to, Moro-Moro, two orms o Cebu, andOccidental Negro. Lacoste is also renowned or itsextremely deceptive ootwork patterns.

o practice Lacoste, a character should buythe Body Shif, De Cadena, and Disarm maneuvers,and should also buy the Blades and Chain & RopeWeapons Elements.

Largo Mano“Large Hand” style, a long-range system,

stresses attacks to the hands and arms. (ManyArnis/Kali/Escrima substyles do likewise — prac-titioners regard an attack to a man’s head as anattempt to kill him; damaging his hands merely“deangs” him.) Fighters try to maintain distancebetween one another and fight deensively.

o practice Largo Mano, characters shouldbuy at least three o the ollowing maneuvers:Body Shif, De Cadena, Disarm, Redonda/Punch,akeaway, Weapon Bind. Levels with DCV are alsorecommended.

Pekiti ersiaSometimes known as Kali-Karate because

o its emphasis on patterns and its methods oinstruction, this substyle includes a variety omaneuvers or the knie.

o practice Pekiti ersia, characters shouldbuy at least three o these maneuvers — Body Shif,Disarm, Pattern Strike, Redonda/Punch, Sinawali/Kick — and the Blades Weapon Element.

RepeticionTis substyle’s philosophy is a constant, or-

ward-moving offensive. o overwhelm one’s oppo-nent with the sheer volume o one’s strikes is the

Repeticion fighter’s tactic.o practice Repeticion, characters should buy

at least three o the ollowing maneuvers: Disarm,Pattern Strike, Redonda/Punch, Sinawali/Kick. WF:Off Hand and Skill Levels with OCV are also rec-ommended.

SeradaSerada is a close-quarters fighting system (it

concentrates on the punyo range, a term derived

rom the inch o stick that protrudes rom thebottom o the exponent’s fist). It mainly uses theespada y daga orm, with the knie held in the lefhand. Te techniques concentrate on using the stickto lock an opponent’s weapon so the practitionercan stab with the knie.

o practice Serada, a character should buy theDe Cadena, akeaway, and Weapon Bind maneuvers, and should also buy the Blades Weapon Ele-ment.

oledooledo stylists, considered the hardest hitters

o all Kali practitioners, use extra-thick sticks or

training and or combat.o practice oledo, a character should buy anytwo o the style’s Strike maneuvers, with at least +2Extra DC.

VillabrilleNamed afer its ounder, a our-time ull-con-

tact stickfighting champion in the 1930s, this sub-style emphasizes the use o barehanded maneuvers.Many fighters get so used to being attacked withthe stick that they orget the hands and eet are alsopowerul weapons, and the Villabrille stylist tries toexploit this weakness.

o practice Villabrille, a character should buyany one o the style’s Strike maneuvers, and mustbuy the Barehanded Element as well. Levels withHand-o-Hand Combat are also recommended.

Arte dell’Abbracciare Arte dell’Abbracciare (“art o the embrace”) is a

close-combat system developed in medieval Italy. Iteatures grappling, joint-locks and -breaks, tripping,striking, pressure-point attacks, and control tech-niques ocused on the opponent’s neck and head.Most attacks have several variations, each used inresponse to specific maneuvers employed by theopponent.

Arte dell’Abbracciare seems to have ofenbeen learned or practiced together with arte delladaga, a kniefighting art. Characters may learnthat art by buying a Weapon Element or Artedell’Abbracciare, or by buying maneuvers rom theSevillian Kniefighting style (see below).

ARE DELL’ABBRACCIARE NOES

Optional Rules: Te Strike and Pressure PointStrike take 3d6 location rolls. None o the othermaneuvers take location rolls.

Special Abilities: None.



Hero Games

BandoBando is a fighting art rom Burma. (Accord-

ing to some scholars, the proper name o the art,strictly speaking, is Taing ; Bando is the unarmedbranch o the art [or one o its schools] and Ban-shay the armed branch.) Te word “bando” isgenerally interpreted to mean “art o combat” or“systems o deense.” Bando is thought to havedeveloped under various influences, including Tai,Chinese, ibetan, and Indian; each Burmese ethnicsubgroup has its own orm o the art. Te Britishbanned the art in 1885, but practitioners continued

to teach it in secret; afer World War II Bando wasorganized and taught more openly than in the past.

Bando includes both armed and unarmedmaneuvers. A airly brutal style, similar in manyways to Muay Tai (Tai kickboxing), it stresses awithdrawal at first, then attacks to the body romoutside the opponent’s reach; a grab may ollowthese strikes. Te head, shoulder, and hips are usedin addition to the hands/fists, eet, elbows, andknees. Tere are twelve primary offensive ormsor strategies, each named afer an animal: Boar(rushes, knee and elbow strikes, headbutts andother close-contact techniques); Bull (charges,tackles, power strikes); Cobra (attacking upper-

body vital points); Deer (alertness); Eagle (double-handed blocks and strikes); Monkey (agility);Paddy Bird (rapid movement); Panther (leaping,tearing); Python (gripping, strangling); Scorpion(nerve-point attacks); iger (clawing); and Viper(attacking lower-body vital points).

Another Burmese fighting art, Lethwei, isconsidered even “harder” than Bando. It is ofenreerred to as a orm o “boxing,” but is much moresimilar to Tai Kick-Boxing than Western boxing.Characters who want to practice Lethwei can usethe Tai Kick-Boxing package, described below.

BANDO NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch (and its various sub-orms), Panther Claw/iger Claw, and Cobra Striketake a location roll o 2d6+1; the Kick/Knee Strikeand the Viper Strike take a 2d6+7 roll. Te Scor-pion Strike takes a roll o 3d6. Te Boar Headbuttand Python Choke automatically target the head/neck, and thereore get neither bonuses nor penal-ties or the location. Te other offensive maneuvers

do not take location rolls since they do generalizeddamage.

Special Abilities: Bando practitioners are ofenast runners and strong leapers; extra inches oRunning or Leaping would be appropriate or them.

Bersilat

Bersilat is a martial art rom Malaysia. Itsname means, roughly, “to do fighting.” Its originsdate to the 1400s. According to Malayan legend, itsounder was Huang uah o Malaca; some otherlegends attribute the art to a Menangkabau womano Sumatra. As its name suggests, Bersilat is verysimilar to the Indonesian art Pentjak-Silat (q.v.) (inact, some scholars believe Bersilat derives romPentjak-Silat). It consists o both combative maneuvers, called silat buah, and graceul dancelike move-ments (silat pulot ) perormed or entertainmentpurposes.

Bersilat is an acrobatic fighting style whosepractitioners use a lot o kicks; it also eatures

ARTE DELL’ABBRACCIAREMane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortEscape var 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR vs. GrabsGrapple ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10


½d6 (2 DC), Disable

Joint Lock ½ 3 + 0 -1 Grab One Limb, + 10to STR for holding onJoint Lock/Throw ½ 4 + 1 +0 Grab One Limb; 1d6

NND(7); Target FallsLegsweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsPressurePoint Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Strike ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR +2d6 StrikeTakedown ½ 3 + 1 + 1 STR Strike; Target

Falls

SkillsBreakall*KS: Arte dell’Abbracciare

BANDOMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortEscape var 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR vs. GrabsKick/KneeStrike ½ 5 + 1 -2 STR + 4d6 StrikePanther Claw/

Tiger Claw ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Punch/Elbow Strike/Eagle Strike/BoarHeadbutt ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikePython Choke ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb; 2d6

NND(2)Python Crush ½ 4 + 0 + 0 STR + 4d6 Crush,

Must Follow GrabPython Grab ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for holding onScorpion Strike/Cobra Strike/Viper Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d 6 NND(1)Tackle ½ 3 + 0 -1 STR + v/5 Strike; You

Fall, Target Falls;FMove

Throw ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

FallsSkillsBreakallKS: BandoWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Staff

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




punches, throws, and holds (some styles are, inact, quite similar to various styles o wrestling). Itteaches the use o weapons such as blades, staffs,and sticks. Each state or region in the country hasits own distinctive substyle.

Bersilat fighters wear a black uniorm made upo baggy trousers, a short-sleeved shirt, a headband,and a colored belt (bengkong ) denoting rank: romlowest to highest rank, the colors are white, green,red, yellow, and black.

BERSILA NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch, Finger Strike, andFlying Kick take locations o 2d6+1;

the Sepak erajang takes a2d6+7 location roll.

Special Abilities: Bersilatfighters are ofen known

or their acrobatic

leaping ability; extra inches o Leaping, particularlywith the Limitation Requires An Acrobatics Roll (-½),would be appropriate or them.

SUBSYLES OF BERSILA

Like many martial arts, Bersilat has a numbero distinctive schools or substyles. Tey include theones described below, plus Langka Silat, Lintan, andMedan.

Chekak Chekak Bersilat emphasizes open hand strike

techniques and downplays kicks. o practice Chekak,a character must know the Block, Finger Strike, andPunch (“Open Hand Strike”) maneuvers.

KelantanKelantan Bersilat ocuses on locking and grap-

pling techniques instead o strikes. o practice Kelan-tan, a character must know the Block, Elak Mengelak, Escape, and Hold maneuvers.

erelak erelak Bersilat concentrates on muscular

strength and powerul attacks. o practice it, a char-

acter must known the Escape, Flying Kick, and Punchmaneuvers.

Bojutsu/JojutsuTe maneuvers listed below describe two differ-

ent, yet similar, styles: Bojutsu (the art o the staff)and Jojutsu (the art o stick-fighting).

Bojutsu, the art o the staff, uses the bo staff (alsoknown as a rokushakubo, “six-oot staff”). Te fighterholds his staff two-handed. Staff-fighting was ofenused to help train warriors to use other weapons,since warriors can practice the staff without causingatal injuries.

Jojutsu, the art o the stick, uses the jo, a shortstaff or stick about our eet long. According tolegend, the art was developed around 1500 by MusoGonnosuke. Muso, a samurai, was taking the part oa mushashugyo (a samurai who travels the country,testing his martial skills) to improve his Bojutsutechniques, and was proving himsel a superior war-

rior. Because o his reputation, anotherundeeated warrior, the great swordsmanMiyamoto Musashi, sought him out and

challenged him, using only a bokken (woodensword). Miyamoto deeated Muso easily, butspared his lie. Muso, humiliated, continued his

wanderings. Eventually he dreamed o an angelicbeing who told him to create a new, shorter staff,and instructed him in the techniques o its use. Musowent into seclusion and perected the twelve tech-niques o Jojutsu. Ten he sought out Miyamoto,challenged him, and beat him — the only deeat

Miyamoto ever suffered. A practitioner o Jojutsuis known as a shijo; he wears a hakama and a

type o jacket called a haori.You can also use Bojutsu to represent

medieval quarterstaff fighting and staff-based arts rom many other cultures, andJojutsu or many other stickfighting arts.

BERSILATMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortElak Mengelak (Dodge) ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortEscape ½ 4 + 0 + 0 +15 STR vs. GrabsFinger Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)

Flying Kick ½ 5 + 1 -2 STR + 4d6 StrikeHold ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10to STR for holding on

Sepak Terajang (Kick) ½ 5 -2 +1 STR + 4d6 StrikePunch ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

SkillsAcrobaticsBreakallKS: BersilatPS: Silat Pulot DancingWF: BladesWF: Staff

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Staff



Hero Games

BOJUSU/JOJUSU NOES

Optional Rules: Te Atemi Strike takes a 2d6+1Hit Location; the Smash and Strike maneuvers take

3d6 rolls. Te Legsweep automatically targets thelegs, o course, but does not suffer any Attack Rollor damage penalties because o this.

Special Abilities:

1) Rapid-fire attacks: A practitioner o Bojutsu andJojutsu can sometimes make several attacks in rapidsuccession beore his opponent can react. You canbuy this as a No Range Autofire EB, as an Autofire Advantage or the Strike maneuver (see page 104), oras a orm o wo-Weapon Fighting.

2) Swordbreaking: Shijo are said to be trained tobreak an enemy’s weapon with their short staffs(HKA, Only Works Against Weapons [-1]).

Boxing, AncientTis is a martial arts style practiced by many

cultures in the ancient world (reaching into theBronze Age and prehistory), especially the Greeksand (Asian) Indians. A orm o boxing called ch’uan p’o was known in China as early as 700 BC. AncientBoxing is simpler than modern boxing, nowhere nearas scientific or punishing in application.

In the Greek orm o the art, fighting stance con-sists o the pugilist keeping his blocking (usually lef)arm outstretched beore him, with the hand usually

open, and keeping his striking hand cocked back orblows.

ANCIEN BOXING NOES

Te Jab and Punch maneuvers may be used with thecestus; see the Weapons section o this book or inor-mation on this weapon.

Optional Rules: Te Jab and Punch both take loca-tion rolls o 2d6+1; the Block doesn’t take a locationroll. Alternatively, i you wish to better simulate theway boxing took place in classical Greece, you can say

that the Jab and Punch are automatically head shotsbut do no extra damage or striking the head (nomultiples o SUN or BODY), since ancient Greekboxing blows were only directed at the head.

Special Abilities: Because they are accustomed tothe brutality o this style, some boxers may have theability to sustain incredible injuries without alling(Damage Reduction).

Boxing, ModernModern Boxing evolved gradually rom Ancient

Boxing. According to legend, some effort at system-

izing boxing as a sport took place 700 years ago, whenSt. Bernard taught it to youths to keep them romknifing one another. In England, the practice o prize-fights began some 200 years ago, with contests oughtwith bare fists, though this sport was illegal and re-quently raided.

In 1865, the Marquis o Queensberry drafedhis amous rules or the sport; his rules called or theuse o boxing gloves and timed rounds in boxingmatches. It is around that time that this martial artsstyle becomes available to player characters; beorethe middle o the nineteenth century, charactersshould buy Ancient Boxingi they want to box.

Nobody todayteaches boxingwith thecestus. How-ever,

BOJUTSU/JOJUTSUUsed with Staff or Clubs Weapons Group; that WeaponElement is free.

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectAtemi Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Bind ½ 4 +1 + 0 Bind, + 10 STRBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDisarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm rollJab ½ 5 + 1 + 3 WeaponLegsweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 Weapon + 1 DC

Strik e, Target FallsShove ½ 4 + 0 +0 + 15 STR to ShoveStrike ½ 4 + 0 +2 Weapon + 2 DC StrikeSmash ½ 5 -2 + 1 Weapon + 4 DC Strike

SkillsKS: Bojutsu (or Jojutsu, as appropriate)WF: Staff (* or Bojutsu)

BOXING, ANCIENTMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortJab ½ 3 + 2 + 1 STR StrikePunch ½ 3 + 1 + 0 STR + 2d6 Strike

SkillsKS: Ancient Boxing

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Cestus

BOXING, MODERNMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortClinch ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

to STR for holding onCross ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeHook ½ 5 - 2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeJab ½ 3 + 2 + 1 STR Strike

SkillsKS: BoxingParamedic





the maneuvers work with a cestus, should someonebe mad enough to train with one. Tereore, theWeapons Element remains in place in the ModernBoxing package, though ew boxers purchase it.

Players might consider replacing the Cross(a Martial Strike) with a Fast Strike instead. Manymodern boxers concentrate on power and speedand are willing to take a ew blows i they can landa ew. Te Fast Strike, with its OCV bonus, better

represents this strategy.MODERN BOXING NOES

Optional Rules: Te Jab, Cross, and Hook takelocation rolls o 2d6+1; the other maneuvers takeno specific location rolls. Te Clinch will alwaysGrab the arms or head, never the legs.

Special Abilities: As Ancient Boxing.

CapoeiraCapoeira is the national martial art o Brazil.

Its origins lie in Angola, where its ancestor was atype o ritual dance. Te martial art’s developmentbegan afer 1530, when the first Angolan slaveswere brought into Brazil; many o them escaped tolive in ree communities. Capoeira was the fightingstyle they developed to resist attacks by governmentorces. It was banned in 1707, and “went under-ground” when its practitioners converted it into adance orm, disguising its combat effectiveness.

Capoeira relies primarily upon kicks, take-downs, and dodges (to block attacks is rare). Amongthe art’s unusual eatures are its dance-like ootworkand the acrobatic prowess o the practitioners. Formany maneuvers, practitioners (called capoeiras orcapoeiristas) stand on their hands and attack with

powerul kicks. Tis ea-ture o the art arosein

part because it allowed capoeiristas to fight withmanacled hands; thereore, the art requires its practi-tioners to take the Acrobatics Skill. Another exampleo this acrobatic skill is the use o the au, or cart-wheel, to move across the field o combat.

Capoeiristas also added razor-fighting tech-niques to their repertoire, so the art includes aWeapon Familiarity with razors. None o the listedmaneuvers add CV or damage bonuses to razorattacks, however, so this is considered just an addi-tional skill, not a Weapons Element.

Capoeira is practiced to the accompanimento musical instruments, including the musicalbow, drums, bells, and tambourines, so skill with

those instruments is included among the Skillsor the style.

CAPOEIRA NOES

Te Armado da costa maneuver can also be calledthe Martelo (roundhouse kick) or, when perormedin acrobatic mode (with the capoeirista standing onone or both hands) as the Meia lua.

Optional Rules: Te Bencao, Armado da costa, andmeia lue de rente/queixada kicks have a standardlocation roll o 3d6, unless the practitioner suc-cessully uses his Acrobatics Skill to stand on hishands, in which case the location roll is 2d6+1. Te Asfixiante and vôo-do-morcego both have a 2d6+1location roll. Te Cabeçada head-butt is backwards:its normal roll is 2d6+1, and goes to a 2d6+7 i theattacker stands on his hands. (I both attacker andtarget are upside-down, the location rolls revert tonormal.)

Special Abilities: Many capoeiristas buy DCVCombat Skill Levels which Require An Acrobatics

CAPOEIRAMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/ EffectArmado da Costa Spin Kick)/Parafuso (JumpingSpinning Kick) ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeBencao (Front Thrust Kick)/Asfixiante (Punch) ½ 4 + 0 +2 STR + 2d6 StrikeBlock ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Block, AbortCabeçada

(Head-Butt) ½ 3 + 1 + 0 STR + 2d6 StrikeCocorinha/Esquiva/Quedade Quatro ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortDedeira (Eye Gouge) ½ 4 -1 -1 Sight Group Flash 4d6Meia lua de Frente/Queixada (CrescentKick) ½ 4 +2 + 0 STR + 2d6 StrikeRasteira/Banda/Tesoura/Arrastão (Legsweep/Takedown) ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsVôo-do-morcego (Flying Kick) ½ 5 + 1 -2 STR + 4d6 Strike

SkillsAcrobatics*

BreakallKS: Brazilian MusicPS: DancingPS: Play InstrumentWF: Straight Razor



Hero Games

Roll (-½) to show off their acrobatic prowess. Acro-batics also allows them to fight without penalty itheir hands are bound (they use kicks instead opunches).

Commando TrainingCommando training is the quick-and-dirty

art o elimination o the enemy. Its origins are with

the armed orces; many a Marine in World War IIwas taught the principles o Commando rain-ing. oday, systemized commando styles such asCombato are taught like any other martial art, andpolice departments, rape prevention activists, andthe like teach Commando raining maneuvers assel-deense combat styles.

COMMANDO RAINING NOES

Characters can use the Karate “Chop”, Judo Disarm,and Kung Fu Block with Clubs and Knives (i thepractitioner buys those Weapons Elements).

Optional Rules: Te Boxing Cross and Karate“Chop” take location rolls o 2d6+1; the Chokeautomatically targets the head, but gets neitherbonuses nor penalties or doing so; the Trow,

Disarm, Hold, Escape, and Block take no locationrolls.

Special Abilities: None

Dirty Infi ghting/Fisticuffs/Cinematic Braw ling

Tis is not a martial art, but rather a set omaneuvers skilled streetfighters can learn. It’s alsotaught to women as a series o rape-preventionmaneuvers (especially the Disarm, Low Blow, andTrow). Since it’s not a ormal martial art, practitio-ners cannot take a Style Distinctive Feature or it.

For characters who are not the sort o peoplethat would learn a “dirty” way to fight, you cancharacterize this style in two other ways. One is asFisticuffs, the general fighting skill o the strong- jawed hero so ofeneatured in pulp talesand comics. A characterwith Fisticuffs is simplya good, all-American

fighter; he doesn’t haveany ormal trainingand doesn’t fightdirty. Alternately,some characters maywant to know Cin-ematic Brawling, theree-wheeling sort ocombat ofen seen in movies and ontelevision. Like Dirty Infighting, Fisticuffsand Cinematic Brawling cannot take theStyle Distinctive Feature; they aren’t “styl-ized” enough.

Not all streetfighting characters need to

know Dirty Infighting — it represents a characterwith a lot o rough and dirty fighting experience.You can simulate many characters’ simple fightingskills as a orm o “Brawling” by buying HA +1-2d6,perhaps with one or two Combat Skill Levels to

reflect a crude “technique.”

DIRY INFIGHING/FISICUFFS/CINEMAIC BRAWLING NOES

Te “clubs” most ofen used with Dirty Infightinginclude bottles, pool cues, and other weapons oopportunity.

Te Block/Chin Block, Hoist ‘n’ Heave, and wo-

COM M ANDO TRAININGMane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectAikido Throw ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

FallsBoxing Cross ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 Strike

Choke ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb; 2d6NND(2)

Escape var 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR vs. GrabsHold ½ 4 -1 - 1 Grab Three Limbs,

+ 10 STR for holdingon

Judo Disarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR toDisarm roll

Karate“ Chop” ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Kung FuBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, Abort

SkillsBreakallWF: Small Arms

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Knives

DIRTY INFIGHTING/FISTICUFFS/CINEMATIC BRAWLING

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock/ChinBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDisarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm rollEye Gouge ½ 4 -1 -1 Sight Group Flash

4d6Hoist ‘n’Heave ½ 5 -2 -2 Grab Two Limbs, + 20

STR to ThrowKidney Blow ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Low Blow ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(3)Punch/Backhand ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeRoundhouse/Two-FistedSmash ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeTackle ½ 3 + 0 - 1 STR + v/5 Strike; You

Fall, Target FallsThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

Skills

StreetwiseWF: Common Melee Weapons

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Clubs




Fisted Smash are obviously ound only in Fisticuffs/Cinematic Brawling, since they’re ar too color-ul to have a place in a vicious street brawl. TeBlock/Chin Block can either be a standard blockwith the orearm, or it can consist o the character“blocking” the blow by taking it square on the chinand “shrugging off” the effects — “Go ahead, mate,take yer best shot!” Te Hoist ‘n’ Heave is the classic“grab him by the shirt-ront and toss him out the

window” maneuver; it “Grabs” two limbs becausecharacters thrown in this ashion never seem ableto use their arms to keep rom being thrown. Tehighly unrealistic wo-Fisted Smash consists olacing your fingers together and striking the enemy;the Cinematic Brawler’s ability to do this withoutsuffering intense pain is perhaps his only “specialability.”

Optional Rules: Te Punch/Backhand, Round-house/wo-Fisted Smash, and Kidney Blow takelocation rolls o 2d6+1. Te Disarm takes nospecific location. Te Low Blow is automatically aVitals shot, but receives no extra damage (no SUNmultiples) or hitting the Vitals area. Te Eye Gouge

automatically hits the eyes, but receives no extradamage or Attack Roll penalties or doing so. Teackle does generalized damage.


FencingFencing is a European sword-fighting tech-

nique which developed during the Renaissance (c.fifeenth century AD), though some maneuvers (orat least the basis or them) may predate that time. Itmade use o long, light blades (especially rapier andsabre) and knives (including daggers, stilettos, and

main gauches). In combat situations, encers ofenought “in the round” (i.e., not confining themselvesto the imaginary straight line utilized by modernencers).

Modern-day encing makes use o muchlighter, springier weapons with capped tips (to keepthem comparatively sae); these include oil andepee. Fencing weapons are divided into thrustingweapons (oils, epees, rapiers, and smallswords) andslashing weapons (sabers and the like). In HEROSystem terms generally you don’t have to reflectthe differences with different maneuvers, but GMsdesiring greater realism or detail may rename cer-tain maneuvers depending upon the class o weapon

a character uses, or may restrict certain maneuversto certain types o weapons. You could also use twodifferent Weapon Elements.

As a martial art, Fencing is automaticallydesigned or use with the Blades weapons group. (It’sintended or use with lighter encing weapons suchas the rapier, sabre, oil, and epee, but in swashbuck-ling campaigns characters can use it with heaviercutlasses, broadswords, and so orth i the GMallows.) Characters may not buy Fencing maneuversor other classes o weapons (no polearms, no axes,and so on), or or use in unarmed combat. Fenc-ers ofen do use other weapons — especially suchthings as cloaks and bucklers — but those weapons

do not utilize the Fencing weapon maneuvers.

Optional Rules: Te Ballestra, Cut, Double aDouble, Fleche, Lunge, Riposte, Slash, and Trusttake location rolls o 3d6 when used with amedium or long blade, or 2d6+1 when used witha short blade (like a dagger or short sword). TePasata Soto takes a 2d6+7 location roll. Te othermaneuvers do not take location rolls.

Special Abilities:

1) Flurry: A highly-skilled encer can attack soswifly he strikes his opponent several times in thespace o a second. You can buy this as a No RangeAutofire EB, or as an Autofire Advantage or aavored Strike maneuver (see page 104).

2) Fighting Florentine: Skilled encers may fightwith a weapon in each hand (“fighting Florentine”or with a “case o swords”). In HERO System terms,this is a orm o Sweep, but characters can buy thewo-Weapon Fighting Skill and/or WF: Off Handto simulate their skill with such maneuvers. One o

FENCINGUsable wit h Blades Weapon Group; Blades WeaponElement is free

Mane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBallestra ½ 5 + 2 -2 Weapon + 4 DC

Strike; Half MoveRequired

Cut ½ 3 + 2 + 1 Weapon

Ceduto var 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR to escapeBind

Double aDouble ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Weapon + 2 DC

Strike, Must FollowPredefi ned M aneuver

Fleche ½ 4 + 2 -2 Weapon + v/5; FMoveFroissement ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm rollGrypes ½ 3 -1 -2 Grab One Limb, + 10

STR disarmLunge ½ 5 + 1 -2 Weapon + 4 DCParry ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortPasata Soto ½ 3 + 2 + 2 Weapon + foe’s

v/5 Strik e, You Fall,

Response to Balles- tra, Fleche, LungePrise de Fer ½ 4 + 1 + 0 Bind, + 10 STRRiposte ½ 4 + 2 +2 Weapon + 2 DC

Strike, Must FollowBlock

Slash ½ 5 -2 + 1 Weapon + 4 DC StrikeTakeaway ½ 5 + 0 + 0 Grab Weapon, + 10

STR to Take WeaponAway

Thrust ½ 5 + 1 + 3 WeaponTrip ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike,

target fallsVoid ½ 4 — +5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, Abort

SkillsKS: FencingSleight O Handwo-Weapon FightingWF: Blades*WF: Off Hand



Hero Games

the many maneuvers characters can perorm withthis ability is the scannatura, in which the encerbinds the oe’s weapon with his off-hand blade andstrikes with his primary blade.

3) False Disengage: Some encers can perorm alse“disengages” to trick their opponents into react-ing improperly. You can simulate this with the useo the Sleight O Hand Skill versus the opposingencer’s PER Roll in a Skill Versus Skill Contest. I

the encer attempting the trick wins the Contest, hegains +1 OCV or his next Fencing maneuver per-ormed that Phase or in his next Phase.

4) Colpo d’ Arresto: A colpo d’ Arresto is a encer’sway o living up to the old saying, “the best deenseis a good offense.” In response to an attack, theencer makes a rapid attack to hit the opponentbeore the opponent completes his own attack. Itrequires good judgment and split-second timing.In HERO System terms, this is the use o a HeldAction, but the encer can buy Combat Skill Levelsto reflect his skill at this very impressive maneuver.

FENCING MANEUVERS

Fencing has many maneuvers, but ew enc-ers buy them all. Tis results in a wide variancebetween the styles o individual encers.

Ballestra: A rapid step or hop orward, ollowedimmediately by a lunge to take advantage o themomentum.

Cut: Using wrist action, the encer delivers a swifcut using the oremost edge and tip o his blade.Fencers usually aim a Cut at the wrist or ace.

Ceduto: A disengage movement in which theencer flips the blade up or down while steppingback or away.

Double a Double: Tis is a flexible pattern maneuver similar to a Riposte, except that instead o ol-lowing a Block, it ollows a particular predefinedmaneuver. At the beginning o a encing match, theencer must speciy which maneuver his Double aDouble ollows (he can change this maneuver romfight to fight, but not during a particular fight). Tissimulates the encer setting up his oe or a devas-tating blow.

Fleche: Te encer runs or leaps at his oe withblade extended. It requires a Full Move, and themomentum allows the encer to inflict extradamage.

Froissement: A disarming maneuver designed toknock the weapon rom a oe’s hand. It ranges roma quick, strong “slap” at the base o the opponent’sweapon to complicated bind maneuvers in whichthe encer locks up his opponent’s blade and then“yanks” it out o his hand.

Grypes: Tis grab/disarm maneuver is peculiar tothe English school (see below). Te encer grabshis oe’s weapon arm and applies a lock/hold toorce the weapon rom the oe’s hand. O course,this requires a ree hand, so a encer using a maingauche or buckler can’t employ it unless he dropsthat object.

Lunge: A deep, powerul lunging step at the oewith blade extended, most commonly used withsmaller weapons such as smallswords.

Parry: Te encer blocks his oe’s blade with one ohis own.

Pasata Soto: Te encer must execute this compli-cated maneuver in response to a Ballestra, Fleche, or Lunge. He drops to the ground underneath theincoming weapon, and, supporting himsel with

his off-hand, perorms a rapid thrust at the oe upand under the oe’s guard. Although athleticallydemanding, and prone to leaving a encer opento other attacks i he cannot get back on his eetquickly, it is an impressive and ofen deadly maneuver.

Prise de Fer: Te encer presseshis blade against his oe’s insuch a way as to prevent theoe rom using his weapon toattack. Tis is sometimesreerred to as “lockingup” the opponent’s

blade.Riposte: Te encerblocks one o his oppo-nent’s blows, then ollows upwith a rapid counterstrikebeore the opponent canrecover his guard.

Slash: A basic encingattack in which theencer swings hisblade at his oeusing his wholearm to power

the blow.akeaway: Te encer disarms his oe.Tis may involve literally grabbing some saepart o the weapon (such as its ricasso) and yankingit out o his hand, or a bind-like maneuver in whichhe locks up his oe’s blade and then ollows throughto orce the blade out o his hand.

Trust: A rapid jab at the oe using the point o theblade and without significant orward motion onthe part o the encer.

rip: aught primarily in the English encingschool, this maneuver is a swif kick or trippingmovement aimed at the oe in an attempt to knock

him down.Void: Te encer steps to one side, or shifs hisbody out o the way o an attack. Unlike the othermaneuvers in the Fencing package, a encer can usethis one when he does not have a blade in his hand(in short, at any time).

SUBSYLES

Across Europe, dozens o different encingschools have taught students ways to use the blade.Some o the best known schools include:

English SchoolAn Englishman named George Silver devel-




oped this style o encing as a homegrown responseto Italian styles. Silver preerred heavy blades, suchas the broadsword, and a buckler to the “flashy” Ital-ian rapier-fighting. Te English school emphasizessteady, deliberate movements, strong stances, solidblocks and parries, and cuts and slashes. It evenincorporates some Wrestling maneuvers (boughtrom that package i desired). o belong to theEnglish school, a character must buy at least three

o the ollowing maneuvers: Cut, Grypes, Lunge,Parry, Riposte, Slash, akeaway, Trust, rip, Void.

French SchoolTe French school concentrates on maintain-

ing a distance between the two fighters, parrying,and then counterattacking. French stylists shouldkeep most o their Combat Skill Levels (i any) inDCV. o belong to the French school, a charactermust buy at least three o the ollowing maneuvers:Ballestra, Cut, Fleche, Froissement, Lunge, Parry,Prise de Fer, Riposte, Slash, akeaway, Trust, Void.

Italian SchoolItalian style encing is known or its ast,

aggressive approach. Fencers typically concentrateon attacks, ofen using a second weapon, such as amain gauche, spiked buckler, or o (a cloak with aweighted hem). Many variants, such as the schoolso Vincentio Saviolo and Giacomo di Grassi,existed. o belong to the Italian school, a charactermust buy at least three o the ollowing maneuvers:Ballestra, Cut, Ceduto, Double a Double, Lunge,Parry, Pasata Soto, Riposte, Slash, akeaway, Trust,Void. Italian encers usually put most o theirCombat Skill Levels (i any) into OCV.

Schlaeger Swordfighting (Heidelberg School)Tis late nineteenth century style, popularized

by students o the German university at Heidelberg,is very physical. It involves holding the schlaeger sword at “high prime” (hand slightly above thehead, tip o the blade at mouth level). Duellistsofen wear goggles to protect the eyes, and metalcaps on the head. Te goal is not to kill or seriouslyinjure the opponent, but to cut the opponent on hishead or ace. In time the goal ofen became to earn a duelling-scar one’s sel, as ellow duellists con-sidered the scar a badge o honor. o belong to the“Heidelberg school,” a character must buy at leastthree o the ollowing maneuvers: Ballestra, Cut,Parry, Riposte, Slash, akeaway, Trust, Void.

Spanish School

Te Spanish school emphasizes ootworkand movement based upon an imaginary “MysticCircle” circle encompassing the encer and his oe.Teoretically, by knowing where an opponent is inrelation to himsel in the circle, the encer can moveat precise angles to his oe to gain a deadly advan-tage. Spanish encers move with steadiness andgrace, almost as i dancing. o belong to the Span-ish school, a character must buy at least three o theollowing maneuvers: Ballestra, Cut, Ceduto, Fleche,Froissement, Lunge, Parry, Riposte, Slash, akeaway,Trust, Void.

GatkaA martial art originating in the Punjab region

o northern India in, depending on which sourcesyou believe, the fifeenth, seventeenth, or eighteenthcenturies, Gatka was developed by the Sikhs todeend against Mongol invaders and other enemies.It is a weapons-based art, ocusing on the sword, aone- to three-meter long stick, and flexible weapons

(such as chains, ropes, and whips). Practitionersalso know how to use the chakram (a bladed throw-ing ring) and the unusual chakar (a weapon likea wagon wheel with a weight at the end o eachspoke, spun around to cause impact damage). Leg-ends tell o many battles in which a small numbero Sikhs used their Gatka skills to end off muchlarger orces.

Gatka practitioners begin training sessionswith meditation, ofen accompanied by music. Teyfirst learn to use sticks, then progress to the swordand flexible weapons.

GAKA NOES

Optional Rules: Te Strike and Power Strike use3d6 Hit Location rolls. Te other maneuvers do notrequire Hit Location rolls.

Special Abilities: According to legend, many Gatkamasters can fight equally well with either hand, orsometimes with a sword in both hands. You cansimulate this by buying Ambidexterity and/or wo-Weapon Fighting.

GATKAUsed with Club Weapon Group; Club Weapon Elementis free

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBind ½ 4 +1 + 0 Bind, + 10 STRBlock ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Block, AbortDodge ½ 4 + 0 + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortPower Strike ½ 5 + 1 -2 Weapon + 4 DC StrikeStrike ½ 4 + 2 +0 Weapon + 2 DC Strike

SkillsKS: GatkaWF: Common Melee Weapons*WF: Chain and Rope WeaponsWF: Chakar

WF: ChakramWF: Staff WF: Whip

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Chain and Rope

Weapons +1 Use Art with Chakar

‘Act without doing,work without effort.’

— Tao Te Ching



Hero Games

Generic Martial ArtsTis is a set o maneuvers or characters who

want to have martial arts but don’t want to botherwith inormation on or comparisons between mar-tial arts styles. It’s also a good way to represent thefighting skills learned by characters who train witha number o tutors espousing different styles.

Since it is not a ormalized style, it receives no

Style Distinctive Feature.

GENERIC MARIAL ARS NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch takes a location roll o2d6+1; the kick takes a location roll o 2d6+7; theBlock, Trow, and Dodge don’t utilize locations rolls.


HapkidoHapkido (roughly, “the way o coordinated

power”) is a Korean martial art a synthesiz-ing several other styles, including Hwarang-Do, Aikido/Aikijutsu, Jujutsu, ae KwonDo, and others. It was developed byChoi Yong Suhl, a Korean martial artistwho emigrated to Japan ollowing theJapanese occupation o his homelandin the first decade o the twentieth cen-tury. In Japan he studied Japanese martialarts (particularly Daito-ryu Aikijutsu) andintegrated some o their techniques with hisKorean maneuvers. When he returned to Koreaafer World War II, he opened the first Hapkidoschool so he could teach his new style to others.

Hapkido is an art designed with fight-

ing, not sport or artistry, in mind. It attemptsto combine the best o the “hard” and “sof”fighting styles to orm a versatile, well-rounded combat art. Like mostKorean styles, it emphasizes kick-ing over hand techniques. It gradesstudents on a simple belt system:rom lowest to highest, the ranksare white, blue, red, and black.

HAPKIDO NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch andNerve Strike take a 2d6+1 location roll, the Kick a3d6 roll. Te other maneuvers either do not require

Hit Location rolls or target specific locations.

Special Abilities: Some Hapkido masters reputedlycan sense attackers and objects anywhere aroundthem, an ability known as “mind like the moon.”Characters can buy this as a orm o Spatial Aware-

ness.

HisardutHisardut is a fighting art

developed in Israel. It was oundedby Dennis Hanover, who adaptedtechniques rom several martial artsto orm a practical fighting style

suited or modern-day combat.Intended as a practical fightingand survival art, it has ew sport-ing applications.

HISARDU NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch/

Elbow Strike takes a 2d6+1location roll, the Kick a 3d6 roll,and the Knee Strike a 2d6+7 roll.Te Headbutt and Choke Holdautomatically strike the head, with-out penalty or bonus. Te othermaneuvers do not require HitLocation rolls.


GENERIC MARTIAL ARTSMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortKick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikePunch ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

SkillsBreakall

WF: Common Melee Weapons

HAPKIDOMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortBreakingThrow ½ 5 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC), Dis-

able; Target FallsDisarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm rollDodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortEscape var 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR vs. GrabsJoint Break ½ 5 -1 -2 Grab One Limb; HKA

½d6 (2 DC), DisableJoint Lock ½ 3 + 0 -1 Grab One Limb, + 10

STR for holding onKick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeNerve Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Punch ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeSweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

SkillsBreakall

KS: HapkidoWF: Common Melee Weapons

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with ClubsWeapons




HSING-IMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDefensiveBlock ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Block, AbortEagle Claw ½ 4 + 1 -1 Grab One Limb, + 10

STR for holding onGrapplingBlock ½ 5 + 1 +1 Grab One Limb, BlockHand Strike/Low Kick ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeMonkey Slap ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeNerve Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Tiger Push ½ 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR to ShoveTakedown ½ 3 + 1 + 1 STR Strike; Target


Falls

SkillsKS: Hsing-IKS: Chinese HealingKS: Chinese Philosophy WF: Common Melee Weapons

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Polearms +1 Use Art with Spear

Hsing-IHsing-I (or Xingyi), usually translated as

“heart and mind” or “shape o mind,” is one o thethree main “internal” styles o Chinese martial arts

(the other two are Pakua and ai Ch’i Ch’uan). Likethe practitioners o other internal styles, Hsing-Ipractitioners strive to unite the mind and the bodyso the mind can reely command the body’s ch’i,allowing the practitioner to perorm amazing eats.

According to legend, the ounder o Hsing-Iwas a Sung Dynasty general named Yueh Fei, wholived rom 1103-1141. He was supposedlytaught the basics o Hsing-I by a aoistnamed Chou on. His success in wararewas so phenomenal that jealousrivals had him imprisoned andkilled; he wrote the first bookabout Hsing-I in prison.

Hsing-I has two basicsets o movements ormaneuvers. Te first set ismade up o block-strikepatterns based on the fiveelements: Metal (Pi Ch’uan),Water (suan Ch’uan), Wood (PengCh’uan), Fire (Pao Ch’uan), and Earth(Heng Ch’uan). Each element hasoffensive and deensive aspects; inaccord with ancient Chinese philoso-phies, an attack based on one element(say, Fire) is subject to a deense based on theelement it’s vulnerable to (in this example, Water).

Te second set o maneuvers is based around twelveanimal orms: Dragon, iger, Monkey, Horse, urtle,Chicken, Phoenix (’ai Bird), Sparrow Hawk, Swal-low, Snake, Eagle, and Bear (some masters use otheranimal orms as well).

Hsing-I practitioners combine these basic setso maneuvers into attack patterns that typicallyinvolve blocking an incoming attack, grabbing theattacking limb, and then striking the attacker, usu-ally with the hand. Hsing-I tends to be much more“linear” than the other internal styles, so it’s ofen thefirst internal style a student studies (then he moveson to Pakua and ai Ch’i Ch’uan).

Some scholars divide Hsing-I into three

“schools”: Honan; Hopei (the most common andleast internal); and Shansi (the least common). Somemasters o these schools teach weapons such asswords, staffs, and spears, but this is relatively rare.

HSINGI NOES

Optional Rules: Te Hand Strike, MonkeySlap, and Nerve Strike all take 2d6+1 Hit

Location rolls; the Low Kick takesa 2d6+7 roll. None o the othermaneuvers requires a location roll.

Special Abilities: Te internal stylist’sability to project his ch’i to generate powerulattacks and spectacular eats is legendary. You canfind general inormation on these abilities belowunder “ai Ch’i Ch’uan.” Some o the powersattributed to Hsing-I masters include the powerto project ch’i through their blows to badly injure

or kill an enemy (reflected in the power o theMonkey Slap maneuver), the ability to survivedevastating blows unharmed, the ability to

run ast enough to keep up with horses, miraculous

healing capabilities, and the like.

HISARDUTMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectChoke Hold ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb, 2d6

NND(2)Block ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortEscape var 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR vs. GrabsGrab ½ 3 + 0 -1 Grab One Limb, + 10

STR for holding on

Kick/Knee Strike ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikePunch/Elbow Strike/Headbutt ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

SkillsKS: HisardutWF: Small Arms

‘When you understand onething through and through,

you understand everything.’— Shunryn Suzuki



Hero Games

Hwarang-DoTis ancient Korean martial art, which also

incorporates much healing knowledge, dates backsome 1,800 years. According to tradition it wasdeveloped by a Buddhist monk named Won KwangBopsa. He taught his technique to many youngnobles o his day, who were called hwarang . Tehwarang were a combination o knights, statesmen,

and military generals. Legend has it they lived bya five-point code: loyal service to the king (or, inmodern terms, to one’s nation); filial piety; trust (inone’s peers) and trustworthiness; courageousnessand valor; and justice and discrimination in the useo orce, especially lethal orce.

Hwarang-Do has our main “branches” ostudy: external power (wae gong ), internal power(nae gong ), weapons use (moo gi gong ), and mentalpower (shin gong ) (see below). Its barehanded tech-niques, the “external power,” include punches andkicks, blocks, joint locks and joint breaking, nervestrikes, chokes, and many other techniques. Teinternal disciplines were similar to those taught in

some Chinese styles.Hwarang-Do practitioners wear uniormssimilar to Karate or Judo uniorms.

HWARANGDO NOES

As with other unarmed combat styles which allowweapons use, the Hwarang-Do practitioner canlearn to use his art with no weapons, with only one,or with several, as he sees fit.

Optional Rules: Te Hand Strike and Elbow Striketake a location roll o 2d6+1. Te Kick and FingerStrike take a location roll o 3d6. Te Snap Kick

takes a 2d6+7 roll. Te Choke automatically targetsa head location, but receives no extra damage orbeing a head location. Te Block, Joint Break, andJoint Lock do not use location rolls.

Special Abilities: Te shin gong , or mental powers,o Hwarang-Do masters are said to be ormidable.Teir abilities include:

1) elepathy

2) Clairvoyance3) A “sixth sense” (Danger Sense)

4) Ch’oemyonsul: Te ability to put another personto sleep (a orm o EB, NND)

5) Unsinbbop: Te ability to “conceal one’s sel inront o others” (Invisibility)

6) Jusul: Disease healing chants (Healing withthe Extra ime and Incantations Limitations) andchants which cause disease (various orms o Drainor Killing Attack)

Jailhouse RockAccording to John Soet’s book Martial Arts

Around Te World , Jailhouse Rock is “the stylized,organized fighting art o the Black American, devel-oped in prison.” As its supposed origins indicate, itis designed or effective use in close quarters andagainst multiple attackers or ambushes.

JAILHOUSE ROCK NOES

Te sort o weapons used with Jailhouse Rock arethose commonly available in prisons: “shanks” and“shivs” (homemade knives), various kinds o crudeclub-like weapons, and so orth.

Optional Rules: Te Elbow Strike takes a 2d6+1location roll, the Knee Strike a 2d6+7 roll. TeGroin Blow automatically targets the Vitals, but getsneither penalties nor bonuses or this.


HWARANG-DOMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortChoke ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb; 2d6

NND(2)Finger Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Hand Strike/Elbow Strike/Snap Kick ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeJoint Break ½ 5 -1 -2 Grab One Limb; HKA

½d6 (2 DC), Disable

Joint Lock ½ 3 + 0 -1 Grab One Limb, + 10STR for holding on

Kick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeThrow ½ 5 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC);

Target Falls

SkillsBreakallKS: Hwarang-DoKS: Korean HealingParamedicStealthWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Staff alent: Deense Maneuver

Elements

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

JAILHOUSE ROCKMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortElbow Strike ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeEscape var 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR vs. Grabs

Groin Blow ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(3)Knee Strike ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeTakedown ½ 3 + 1 + 1 STR Strike; Target

Falls

SkillsKS: Jailhouse Rock WF: Prison Weapons

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Knives




Jeet Kune DoJeet Kune Do (“the way o the intercepting

fist”), or JKD as it is commonly known, is an eclec-tic martial arts style developed by the late BruceLee. He created it afer studying many differentmartial arts styles and deciding all o them weretoo limiting because o their reliance on a body opredefined techniques. Tus, JKD depends on the

principles o simplification, versatility, practical-ity, and useulness. Lee himsel described it as atight, versatile art, without patterns, orms, or rules,which relies on “broken rhythm” to obtain theadvantage o unpredictability. (Note that “Jeet KuneDo” is actually the name or the governing conceptso the art; the fighting style itsel is more accuratelyreerred to as Jun Fan Kung Fu.)

Since Lee’s untimely death, the students towhom he taught JKD and the students they havetaught have continuously debated what JKD meansand stands or, what qualifies as JKD, and who isa true student o JKD. Anyone interested in thisongoing discussion can easily ollow it in the pages

o dozens o books and magazines.JEE KUNE DO NOES

o simulate the adaptability and unpredictability oJKD, practitioners should consider buying severalCombat Skill Levels with the style. Inmost situations they assign these to

DCV, but theycan shif them around

as necessary to surprise an

opponent.Bruce Lee’s own work onJKD, Te ao o Jeet Kune

Do, does not discuss the useo weapons at all. However, he

was skilled in many different weapons styles,including Filipino stick-fighting and Chineseweapons styles, and according to his own tenets ounpredictability and adaptability, practitioners maysometimes need to use weapons. Tereore JKDinstructors ofen teach various weapons; the Clubselement is especially popular.

Optional Rules: Te Punch/Elbow Strike and

Nerve Strike take Hit Location rolls o 2d6+1. TeKick/Knee Strike takes a roll o 2d6+7, since JKDkicks are usually low and quick. Te Legsweep andChoke Hold have set targets (the legs and head/neck, respectively) and so do not require a locationroll. None o the other maneuvers needs a locationroll.

Special Abilities: Some JKD practitioners can per-orm “battlefield punches” in which they hit theiropponent as many as eight times in the space o asecond. Characters can simulate this by applyingthe Autofire Advantage to their Punch maneuver(see page 104), or as an HA with Autofire.

JujutsuTis Japanese art (and its more philosophical

counterpart, Judo) grew out o the integration o theweapons techniques o katori shinto ryu and grap-pling techniques during the fifeenth century. Teroots o the art lie even earlier, in the Heian period

(about 794-1185 A.D.), but until the fifeenth cen-tury warriors usually considered empty-hand tech-niques an aspect o whatever major weapon orm(s)they supported, not as a separate jutsu. Te name jujutsu (or jiu-jitsu) was first used in the late sev-enteenth century. Knowledge o Jujutsu was spreadworld-wide by travelling Japanese practitioners inthe early years o the twentieth century; today oneo the most popular styles is rom Brazil.

Te usual Jujutsu technique involves bearing anopponent to the ground and then pinning him thereor rendering him unconscious. Te art utilizes hipthrows, sweeping throws, shoulder and neck locks,and a sacrifice body drop. In the past, Jujutsu was

more o a ully-integrated fighting art — it includeda variety o punches, kicks, nerve strikes, and weap-ons techniques. Some schools or substyles still teachstrike-based maneuvers.

Judoka (and some jujutsuka) wear a gi like thatworn by karateka, but made o heavier cloth andwithout many seams (Judo is harder on the clothesthan many other martial arts).

JUJUSU NOES

Only Jujutsu, not Judo, teaches the danger-ous Joint Break maneuver. Te Strike and Atemi Strike maneuvers, which represent several typeso punches and kicks, are rom the older style o

JEET KUNE DO(JUN FAN KUNG FU)

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortChoke Hold ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb; 2d6

NND(2)Dodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortGrab/Joint Lock ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for holding onKick/Knee Strike ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeLegsweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsNerve Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Punch/ElbowStrike ½ 4 + 0 +2 STR + 2d6 StrikeThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

SkillsCombat Skill Levels

KS: Jeet Kune DoElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Polearms +1 Use Art with Staff

‘Having noway is

the way. Havingno limitation isyour limitation.’

—Bruce Lee



Hero Games

Jujutsu; only certain schools teach them.

Students o the older, more warlike orm o Jujutsucould also learn the ollowing Weapons Elements:Blades, Chain & Rope Weapons, Clubs, Polearms,Staffs. Some substyles are also designed or use byarmored warriors (optionally, take a +1 point Ele-ment, “Use Art in Armor”; reer to the discussion o“Hindering Circumstances” in Chapter Tree ordetails).

Optional Rules: Te Shime automatically targetsthe head, but receives no extra damage or this.Te Strike and Atemi Strike take 3d6 location rolls.None o the other maneuvers take location rolls.


SUBSYLES OF JUJUSU

Historically, scholars have recorded more than700 substyles o Jujutsu, ranging rom very broad

fighting systems to styles concentrating on just aew maneuvers or techniques. Many substyles areso closely related to Aikijutsu, Sumo Wrestling, or various weapon-based fighting orms that separat-ing them or gaming purposes is diffi cult, and inmany cases pointless. A well-rounded medievalJapanese warrior would probably know not onlyone or more styles o Jujutsu, but many weaponorms (Kenjutsu, Naginatajutsu, Bojutsu, and soorth), various styles o wrestling and/or Aikijutsu,and many other combat-oriented skills.

Some o the more important and/or interest-ing Jujutsu substyles include:

Hakko-RyuFounded in 1941, Hakko-Ryu ocuses on

neutralizing and discouraging attacks by attackingpressure points and locking joints. Te style’s grabsand holds emphasize the use o the little finger, andare perormed by bending the joints in a naturaldirection, but so that the target suffers great pain.Hakko-Ryu’s kicks are low (2d6+7 Hit Locationroll), and its hand attacks are usually made with the

open hand, not a fist. (Characters who study thissubstyle may buy the Kniehand maneuver romKarate.)

o practice Hakko-Ryu, a character must knowat least three o the ollowing maneuvers: Atemi Strike, Joint Lock, Joint Lock/Trow, Strike, ake-down.

Kito-RyuSupposedly ounded by a Chinese exile,

Gempin, in the seventeenth century, this substyleincorporates many different elements and philoso-phies to create a fighting technique described as“fluid” and “supple.” o practice Kito-Ryu, a charac-ter need only know any three Jujutsu maneuvers.

Sosuishitsu-RyuSupposedly derived rom the akenouchi-

Ryu by a samurai, Fugatami Hannosuke, in 1650,this school takes its name rom the “pure flowingwaters” o the Yoshino River. o practice this style,a character must know the Escape, Joint Lock, andJoint Lock/Trow maneuvers.

akenouchi-RyuTis substyle was ounded in the sixteenth

century by the samurai akenouchi Hisamori(also known as oichiro akeuchi). Legend has itakenouchi learned several secret techniques oimmobilization and weapons use rom a ghostly yamabushi, or mountain hermit, who stressed theadvantages o short weapons over longer ones.akenouchi used these techniques as a basis andthen added to them maneuvers rom such fightingarts as Sumo Wrestling, an older orm o wrestlingcalled sumai, and kumi-uchi fighting (designed oruse by armored warriors). Tus he developed astyle which stresses various techniques o immobi-lizing one’s opponent; it also teaches combat withshort swords (kogusoku) and daggers.

o practice akenouchi-Ryu, a character mustknow the Joint Lock, Joint Lock/Trow, and Shime maneuvers.

enjin-Shinyo-RyuAlso called enshinshinyo-Ryu, this substyle

is known or its holds, chokes, and atemi strikes. Itdoes not teach any weapons. It was ounded by IsoMataemon (also known as Yanagi Masatari).

o practice enjin-Shinyo-Ryu, a charactermust know at least three o the ollowing maneuvers: Atemi Strike, Joint Lock, Joint Lock/Trow,Shime.

Yoshin-RyuTis is the amous “willow school” o Jujutsu,

so called because its ounder, the seventeenthcentury physician Akiyama Shirobei Yoshitoki o

JUJUTSUMane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectAtemi Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Block ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Block, AbortBreakingThrow ½ 5 -2 -2 Grab One Limb; HKA

½d6 (2 DC), Disable;

Target FallsDisarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm rollEscape ½ 4 + 0 + 0 +15 STR vs. GrabsJoint Lock ½ 3 + 0 -1 Grab One Limb, + 10

to STR for holding onJoint Lock/Throw ½ 4 + 1 +0 Grab One Limb; 1d6

NND(7); Target FallsLegsweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsSacrifi ceThrow ½ 3 + 2 + 1 STR Strike; You Fall,

Target FallsShime ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb; 2d6

NND(2)Slam ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; TargetFalls

Strike ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR +2d6 StrikeTakedown ½ 3 + 1 + 1 STR Strike; Target

Falls

SkillsBreakall*KS: Jujutsu




Nagasaki, used the image o a willow as an exampleor his students: it bends beore orce, but springsback unharmed, whereas the sturdy oak is knockedover.

o practice Yoshin-Ryu, a character must knowat least three o the ollowing maneuvers: Atemi Strike, Block, Dodge, Joint Lock, Strike.

JukenjutsuJukenjutsu is the art o the bayonet. It was

developed afer the introduction o the rifle inJapan. Its primary technique is the thrust, but prac-titioners also learn more complicated blocking,trapping, and slashing maneuvers.

JUKENJUSU NOES

Optional Rules: Te Slash and Trust take loca-tion rolls o 3d6. Te Block and rap do not requirelocation rolls.


KalaripayitKalaripayit (also known as kalari, kalaripayat,

and kalaripiyat) is a martial art developed inancient times in southern India. Te name means“battlefield practices.” Tere is evidence o its exis-tence as early as the sixth and seventh centuriesA.D. Some experts trace its roots to vajra-musti,a style o boxing/wrestling used by the Brahmincaste.

raining in Kalaripayit encompasses our

stages: unarmed fighting (verumkai), which is thebasis or all other techniques; stick-fighting tech-niques (silambam or kolthari); training with otherweapons, such as daggers (angathari); and, at itsmost esoteric level, training in knowledge o the108 secret vital points o the body (marma-adi) andhow to exploit them in battle. (Practitioners canalso study the vital points o the elephant.)

Masters o Kalaripayit, known as gurus or gurukkal, are not only skilled in the fighting aspectso the art, but are usually accomplished healersas well, trained in the Ayurvedic system o nativemedicine (which relates closely to many o Kalar-ipayit’s fighting techniques). Masters ofen maintain

special training compounds which double as placeso healing. raining in these compounds usuallytakes place early in the morning and again rightafer dusk, and is ofen shrouded in secrecy. Tereis some religious significance to these places; thereare many ritual practices and devotions surround-

ing Kalaripayit. Te goddess Kali, in her aspect asthe goddess o war, is the patroness o Kalaripayitfighters.

Kalaripayit is mainly practiced in the arsouthern region o India, around the state o Keralaand amilnadu. Tere are two “variants”— the“northern” style, centered on the city o Calicut; andthe “southern” style, centered on the cities o Nager-coil and Madras. Although the maneuvers usedin each variant are the same, the northern styleinvolves a lot o high jumps and kicks, low, crouch-ing stances, and long strides; whereas the cruder-looking southern style involves more circularmotion, more solid, higher stances, and use o thearms and torso. Linguistic and cultural differencesalso separate the two substyles. However, both stylesrequire suppleness and agility and involve a lot oleaping and crouching. Fighters o both styles ofencover their bodies with oil beore fighting (this adds+1 to their Contortionist rolls to escape Grabs).

KALARIPAYI NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch/Elbow Strike, FlyingKick, Kniehand Strike, and Marman Strike all takelocation rolls o 2d6+1. Te Straight Kick/Round-house Kick takes a 3d6 roll. Te other maneuversdo not require Hit Location rolls.

JUKENJUTSUUsed wit h Pole Arms Weapon Group; Pole Arms WeaponElement is free

Mane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/Effec tBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortSlash ½ 4 + 0 + 2 Weapon + 2 DC

StrikeThrust ½ 5 -2 + 1 Weapon + 4 DC StrikeTrap ½ 4 +1 + 0 Bind, + 10 STR

SkillsKS: JukenjutsuWF: Pole Arms*

KALARIPAYITMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Block, AbortDodge ½ 4 + 0 + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortFlying Kick ½ 5 + 1 -2 STR + 4d6Joint Lock(Kattaram) ½ 3 + 0 -1 Grab One Limb, + 10

STR for holding onKnifehandStrike ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Marman Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Punch/Elbow Strike ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeStraight Kick/ RoundhouseKick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

SkillsBreakallContortionistKS: Indian Healing

KS: KalaripayitKS: YogaWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Urumi


+1 Use Art with Clubs+1 Use Art with Urumi



Hero Games

Special Abilities: Characters can simulate gurus’healing abilities with the Healing Power or the KS:Indian Healing Skill.

KampfringenKampringen is a medieval German combat

and grappling art. Like Arte dell’Abbracciare, itinvolves a wide range o grapples, joint locks (and

breaks), and strikes (primarily short punches,knees to the groin, headbutts, and the like). It alsoincorporates pain compliance techniques and a hipthrow. It includes deensive techniques designed toprotect the fighter against Dolchechten, or knie-fighting techniques.

Some sources present a more intriguing originor Kampringen, claiming it was developed bymedieval Jews as a orm o sel-deense. Accordingto this theory, the art has some basis in kabbalisticmeditation techniques and philosophies.

KAMPFRINGEN NOES

Optional Rules: Te Strike and Pressure PointStrike take 3d6 location rolls. None o the othermaneuvers take location rolls.


Karate Karate arose rom the same ancient tradi-

tions which led to the development o Kung Fu.

By the fifh century AD, on the Okinawa Islands,a weaponless combat system called te (“hand”)had developed. Later, when the teachings o theShaolin emple in China were carried to Okinawa,some o the Shaolin techniques were inused withthe te art.

During the fifeenth century, the Japanesewho occupied Okinawa orbade the natives tocarry arms and te began to flourish; at the time,it went by several names, including te and karate (a term which originally meant “China hand,” butwhich in the twentieth century was redefined tomean “empty hand”).

In 1905, an Okinawan instructor named

Gichin Funakoshi introduced Okinawa-te toJapan, teaching it in public schools. At that time,its name was ormalized as Karate. Afer WorldWar II, American servicemen stationed in Japanlearned the art, which helped to spread it world-wide.

HERO System characters can buy Karate inone o two ways. As Karate, it is an unarmed fight-ing style. As Kobujutsu, it is an armed Okinawanfighting style, using these weapons: bo (6’ staff)and several shorter staffs, sai, nunchaku, tona

KAMPFRINGEN

Mane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectArm Bar ½ 4 + 1 + 0 Grab One Limb; 1d6NND(7); Target Falls

Block ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortEscape var 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR vs. GrabsGrapple ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for holding onHip Throw ½ 3 + 1 + 1 STR Strike; Target

FallsJoint Break ½ 5 -1 -2 Grab One Limb; HKA


to STR for holding onStrike ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR +2d6 Strike

Skills

BreakallKS: Kampringen

KARATEMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectAtemi Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Block ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDisarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to


Attacks, Abort

Knifehand Strike(“Chop” ) ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Legsweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsPunch/Snap Kick ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeSide/Spin Kick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 Strike

SkillsKS: KarateWF: Common Martial Arts Melee WeaponsWF: Off Hand

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Karate Weapons +1 Use Art with Staff




(threshing handles), kama (sickles), eiku (or chizi-kunbo or sunakakebo) (boat oar), timbe and rochin (tortoiseshell shield and hand-spear), suruchin (ashort, weighted rope), kue (hoe), and tekko (metalknuckle-dusters).

Karateka (Karate practitioners) can buy theWeapons Element to learn Kobujutsu techniques,and Kobujutsu practitioners can buy the Bare-handed element to learn empty-hand techniques

or their art. For game purposes, the two styles areunctionally identical.Te traditional Karate uniorm is the gi; it is

also used by many other martial arts practitioners.Te gi consists o the uwagi, or long-sleeved jacket,and zubon, or trousers. Te obi, or belt, is colored;the color indicates the wearer’s rank. Originally thestandard gi was beige; today it is white. ProessionalKarate fighters wear gloves, oot-and-shin armor,and loose pants rather like warm-ups. Tey alsowear athletic cups. Male Karate proessionals gobare-chested.

VARIAN FORM: KOBUJUSU

Used With Karate Weapons Group; KarateWeapons Element is ree

Maneuvers: Same as above; practitioner canonly buy the Kick i he knows the Barehanded ele-ment, below.

Skills:Same as Above; WF is Required (*)

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Staff Barehanded +1 Use Art Barehanded

Te Kniehand Strike maneuver above may alsobe interpreted as the Spearhand Strike, a thrustingmaneuver. Te Kniehand Strike was or decadespopularly known in America as the “karate chop.”

Te Side Kick and Spinning Kick are presented hereas one maneuver.

Optional Rules: Te Punch/Snap Kick, NerveStrike, and Kniehand Strike take location rolls o2d6+1. Te Side Kick and Spin Kick take locationrolls o 3d6. Te Block, Disarm, Dodge, and Leg-sweep do not take location rolls.

Special Abilities: Karate is not surroundedby mysticism the way much o Kung Fu is, butmaster karateka can still perorm amazing eats.For example, a technique sometimes developedby Karate masters is a rapid-fire punching abilitywhich characters can buy as an Autofire HA attack

or by applying the Autofire Advantage to a martialmaneuver (see page 104). Lastly, some karatekasupposedly possess genshin, the ability to detect anattack a split-second in advance and beat the enemyto the punch (you can buy this as a limited orm oPrecognition or Danger Sense, with Linked Light-ning Reflexes or Combat Skill Levels).

Kobujutsu masters may have their own specialabilities. For example, they might be able to per-orm “weapons flourishes” which act as DamageShields (see page 131). Another clever trick withthe eiku, or boat oar, is to use the paddle end o itto flick sand or dirt into an opponent’s eyes (a Flashwith some Limitations).

KARAE SUBSYLES

Karate has developed several distinctive sub-styles, although not nearly as many as Kung Fu orPentjak-Silat. Most o these styles are not strikinglydifferent; none o them require the character to buyparticular maneuvers beore he can call himsel apractitioner o that particular substyle. Te mostprominent Karate substyles include:

Goju-RyuTis style, which has both Japanese and Oki-

nawan elements, relies primarily on hand tech-niques and low kicks. It was created by KanryoHigashionna in the late nineteenth century. As thename goju (“hard-sof”) indicates, practitionersattempt to maintain a balance o “hard” and “sof”in their fighting styles, which gives this substyle agreater “internal” element than most Karate sub-styles. Many o Goju-ryu’s techniques are circular(unlike most Karate styles, which tend to empha-size linear motion).

Isshin-RyuTis Okinawan style, created by atsuo Shima-

baku in 1954, stresses practicality and combateffectiveness. It eliminates flowery techniques andconcentrates on short, natural stances and maneuvers. Its attacks are evenly divided between handand oot strikes, but emphasize circular, flowingtechniques.

KajukenboKajukenbo is an eclectic martial art which

takes its name rom the our styles which it com-bines elements o: Karate, Judo, Kenpo, and Bo (thelatter is a orm o Chinese boxing, i.e., Kung Fu).It was developed in Hawaii afer World War II andis taught strictly as a combat art. Characters who

want to practice this style can buy maneuvers romKarate, Jujutsu (Judo), and Kung Fu.

KenpoKenpo was developed by American Ed

Parker beginning in the 1950s as a modern ormo Shorinji Kempo (see “Kung Fu,” below). Parkermethodically studied combat maneuvers and thenbroke them down into a system or logical, progres-sive instruction. Kenpo is an effective fighting stylesuited to close combat; it uses rapid hand move-ments, low kicks, and body checks.

KickboxingKickboxing is a orm o modern American

sport karate. It combines karate-like kicks and othermaneuvers with boxing punches. Characters whowant to know this style should buy both Karate andBoxing maneuvers.

KyokushinkaiTis aggressive Japanese substyle uses close

body contact to overcome ear o combat. rain-ing concentrates on powerul, rapid attacks andphysical toughness. It also emphasizes tameshiwara,breaking exercises.

Shito-RyuFounded in 1930 by Kenwa Mabuni, this major

Japanese substyle emphasizes “hard” aspects over



Hero Games

“sof,” though it does contain some sof techniques.Attacks are equally divided between hand- andoot-based maneuvers.

Shorei-RyuUnlike almost all other Karate substyles, this

well-rounded Okinawan substyle makes use othrows, takedowns, grabs, and joint-lock maneuvers(characters may buy appropriate maneuvers romthe Jujutsu package). It also emphasizes the study o

karate weapons.

Shorin-RyuOne o the earliest and most influential o the

Okinawan substyles. It has strong roots in the Shao-lin styles o Kung Fu. It has three main branches,the “small orest” school, “young orest” school, and“pine orest” school (each name reers to the orestwhere the Shaolin emple is said to have beenlocated). With the GM’s permission, characters whostudy this substyle can also buy maneuvers romthe Kung Fu package.

ShotokanTis Japanese styles was ounded by Gichin

Funakoshi, the Okinawan who introduced Karateto Japan. It concentrates on developing skill with asmall number o useul, effi cient techniques; it alsoemphasizes balance and muscle control. Its strikes(mainly kicks) are primarily linear; they rely onbody momentum, such as shifing the hips, to addpower to a blow.

Uechi-RyuAn Okinawan style, Uechi-ryu was ounded

around the turn o the century by Kanbun Uechi,who had studied Kung Fu in addition to Karate. Itselements bear some similarity to the Dragon, iger,and Crane styles o Kung Fu. Its primary attacks

include a single-knuckle punch (Punch or Atemi Strike), the spear-hand strike (Kniehand Strike),pointed kicks (Snap Kick or Side Kick), and circularblocks (Block). Kicks are generally delivered low, andshould take 2d6+7 location rolls.

Wado-RyuTis Japanese style, whose name means “way o

harmony,” stresses inner preparation and strengtho character instead o simply concentrating onphysical techniques. Its techniques include bodyshifing (Dodge) and some joint-twisting maneuvers (use the Joint Lock rom Hapkido).

Kenjutsu Kenjutsu is the samurai’s sword art. It requires

the use o blades (especially Japanese blades such asthe katana, wakizashi, and no-daichi); you cannot buya Weapons Element to allow use o Kenjutsu maneuvers with other weapon groups or with unarmedcombat (except as noted below).

Te elements o the art originated some 1,500

years ago. By the ninth century AD (when Kenjutsumaneuvers first become available to PCs), Kenjutsuschools flourished in Japan. Practitioners dividetechniques into kamae (postures), kiri (cuts), tsuki (thrusts), and blocks and evasive maneuvers; eachschool avors its own particular types and combina-tions o maneuvers.

One o Kenjutsu’s most amous practitioners andteachers was the samurai Miyamoto Musashi, authoro A Book o Five Rings, a psychological guide tostrategy and competition. Musashi lived, ought, andtaught his amous two-sword (Nito-Ryu) techniqueduring the early seventeenth century.

In many ways, Kenjutsu and Iaijutsu (the art

o drawing the sword) intertwine. While Iaijutsu(the Skill Fast Draw, in HERO System terms) is notrequired or Kenjutsu practitioners, most shouldknow it.

Kenjutsu is known as kum do in Korea. A sport-ing version o the art, kendo, has been taught world-wide since World War II.

KENJUTSUUsed with Blades Weapon Group; Blades WeaponElement is free

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBind ½ 4 +1 + 0 Bind, + 10 STR

Block ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDisarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR toDisarm roll

Evade ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects AllAttacks, Abort

LightningStroke ½ 4 + 2 +0 Weapon + 2 DC StrikeRunningStroke ½ 5 + 1 + 0 Weapon + v/5; FMoveSacrifi ceStroke ½ 5 + 1 - 2 Weapon + 4 DC StrikeSlashingStroke ½ 5 -2 + 1 Weapon + 4 DC StrikeTakeaway ½ 5 + 0 + 0 Grab Weapon, + 10

STR to Take WeaponAway

SkillsBreakallFast Draw (Iaijutsu)Deense ManeuverKS: KenjutsuSleight O Handwo-Weapon FightingWF: Blades*WF: Off HandWF: Trown Sword

ElementsBarehanded +1 Use Art Barehanded (Bind, Block,

Disarm, Evade, akeaway maneuversonly)

‘When you do battle, even if you are winning, if you con-

tinue for a long time it will dull yourforces and blunt your edge.’

—Sun Tzu, The Art of War




KENJUSUNOES

Optional Rules: Te Lightning Stroke,Sacrifice Stroke, andSlashing Stroke take loca-tion rolls o 3d6; the Run-ning Stroke takes a loca-tion roll o 2d6+1. TeBind, Block and akeaway

do not take location rolls.Special Abilities:

Characters can buy Kenjutsu sword flourishesas a orm o DamageShield (see page131). Also, given the mysti-cal powers ofen associated with Japanese swords, awhole host o powers based around magic swords ispossible, i the campaign permits.

KENJUSU SUBSYLES

Kenjutsu, throughout Japanese history, wasusually taught by various schools or masters, eacho whom avored different kamae and swordsman-

ship techniques; some o these schools continuetoday. I a swordsman character wants to belongto one o these schools, he can buy maneuverswhich pertain especially to that school.

A Kenjutsu practitioner does not have tobelong to any school, or can be built with manymaneuvers and rightully claim to have studiedseveral styles.

Itto RyuCreated by the amed wandering swords-

man Ito Ittosai, the Itto Ryu school teachespractitioners to concentrate not on victory, buton “not losing.” Te idea is to use proper timing

and skill to gain an advantage over an opponent.Te school’s main technique is the kiri-otoshi, amaneuver which deflects the opponent’s attackand makes a counterattack in one smooth motion.In game terms, practitioners o Itto Ryu may buythis as a Deensive Strike (even though Kenjutsunormally does not use that maneuver). Tey mustalso learn Block and one other Strike maneuver.

Jigen-RyuDeveloped in the 1500s by ogo Shigekura

Bizen no Kami, this style concentrates on rapidattacks and offensive maneuvers. It was avored by,among others, the Satsuma clan.

A Jigen-Ryu stylist must know the Lightning

Stroke and Slashing Stroke maneuvers.

Kage Ryuhis style, whose name means “shadow,” was

developed by Aizu Iko (1452-1538). It ocuses onreading an opponent’s acial expression and bodylanguage to determine how he intends to attack,then counteracting or beating his attack. In gameterms, a practitioner o this school must buy oneor more Combat Skill Levels with the Requires A

Skill Roll Limitation (the Skill in question beingeither Analyze Style or a PER Roll).

A Kage Ryu stylist must know Blockand one Stroke maneuver.

Kashima StylePracticed (and perhaps ounded) by the

legendary swordsman sukahara Bokuden(1490-1571), Kashima style concentrates on theconcept o hitotsutachi—“one cut.” he swords-man waits until the very last second, then coun-ters an opponent’s attack (ideally, the opponent’sattack misses the practitioner by an inch or less).Furthermore, the masters o the style maintain

that the last one-third o a blade does the mostdamage, and the innermost one-third the least;thus, by stepping into a blow a ighter can

reduce, or even eliminate, injury.A Kashima ighter must buy Light-

ning Relexes with his Kenjutsu (toensure he acts beore his opponent), then

Hold his Action. When his opponent attacks,he uses his Held Action to try to interrupt theattack. He may buy Skill Levels with his DEXRoll to ensure he beats out his opponent eachtime i he so desires.

A Kashima stylist must know the Block,Evade, and one Stroke maneuvers.

Mijin StyleMijin style emphasizes power and speed; it

concentrates on leaping and running attacks. hemost amous Mijin maneuver is the Soaring Larkstroke, a leaping ground-to-sky attack.

A Mijin stylist must know the RunningStroke, which is the Soaring Lark stroke. Extrainches o Running or Leaping are recommended.

Muto StyleMuto is a style o ighting without the sword.

A Muto specialist buys the Barehanded elementor his art; this allows him to use the Bind, Block,Disarm, Evade, and akeaway maneuvers when

unarmed. It does not allow the character to usethe Stroke maneuvers unarmed. With this tactic,an unarmed swordsman can take his attacker’sblade away and then use it on his attacker. hisis considered an advanced technique, one taughtonly to the best students.

he Muto stylist must know the Block,Evade, and one Stroke maneuver, and buy theBarehanded element or his art. He oten alsobuys WF: hrown Sword.

he GM can orbid any player to take theBarehanded element; it’s supposed to be a secrettechnique, and the GM has inal say as to whichcharacters it may have been taught to.



Hero Games

Nito StyleTe popularity o this two-swords style (also

known as juji dome) is attributed to Musashi Miya-moto, Japan’s most amous swordsman. Miyamotowas a swordsman early in the okugawa shogunatein the first hal o the seventeenth century.

Te Nito stylist trains to deal with multipleattackers. He can use his sword in either hand, orcan fight with two swords, one in each hand.

Te Nito swordsman must know the Bind,Block, and any one Stroke maneuver, and must havethe WF: Off Hand Skill. Te best Nito experts havethe Ambidexterity alent and wo-Weapon Fight-ing Skill as well, but these are recommended, notrequired.

Suio StyleTe Suio (“water”) style has been popular-

ized in an acclaimed series o Japanese movies andmanga (comic books). All-out offense, speed, power,and risk-taking characterize it.

Required maneuvers are the Lightning Stroke,the Running Stroke, and the Sacrifice Stroke; thecharacter should take, but is not required to take,

Breakall.A special Suio technique is to stand knee-deep

in water with the blade beneath the water’s surace.Te swordsman will strike rom this watery posi-tion, using Sleight O Hand to conuse his enemy asto his intent. In the game, the character must havethe Sleight O Hand Skill to perorm this technique,and the GM can assign OCV bonuses to suchattacks based on the success o the Skill Roll andthe overall situation.

Yagyu Shinkage SchoolDuring the okugawa era (early seventeenth

to mid-nineteenth centuries), the single most influ-

ential school or Japanese encing was the Shinkageschool, which produced many excellent swordsmenrom the Yagyu amily.

Te Shinkage style is cautious, compared tomany Kenjutsu styles, and emphasizes disarmingtechniques.

Required maneuvers are Block, Disarm, andany one Stroke.

Krav MagaDeveloped approximately 40 years ago or

use by the Israeli Deense Forces, and later taughtto Israeli police and Mossad agents as well, Krav

Maga is designed or combat effectiveness (andor quick, easy learning). It borrows techniquesand ideas rom many different styles, but teachesno katas, stances, or other predefined movementorms; instead, a Krav Maga fighter learns to fightrom any position and adapt his skills to any situa-tion. Te emphasis is on quick attacks and deensesdesigned to win fights, not to look impressive. KravMaga has been repeatedly studied and analyzed(sometimes using computers) to make it as effi -cient and powerul a fighting style as possible. Itsdeenses against weapons are considered especiallyeffective.

Because o Krav Maga’s emphasis on combat

practicality, Krav Maga practitioners do not learnmaneuvers or tournament fighting. However, itdoes have a belt ranking system established by theKrav Maga Association in Israel: rom lowest tohighest rank, the belts are white, yellow, orange,green, blue, brown, and black.

KRAV MAGA NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch takes a 2d6+1 HitLocation roll; the Kick takes a 3d6 roll. Te Low

Kick/Knee Strike takes a 2d6+7 roll.Special Abilities: None.

Kuk Sool WonKuk Sool Won (“Korean national martial arts

association”) is a Korean fighting style ounded byIn Hyuk Suh in the late 1950s. It is a synthesis omaneuvers rom three traditional Korean martialarts: Sado Mu Sool (tribal martial arts); Buldo MuSool (Buddhist temple martial arts; see “Kung Fu,”below); and Koong Joong Mu Sool (royal courtmartial arts).

Kuk Sool Won practitioners wear uniormspatterned afer the traditional uniorms o Koreangenerals. A master o the style is known as a sah-bumnim.

KUK SOOL WON NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch and Nerve Strike takea 2d6+1 Hit Location roll; the Kick takes a 3d6 roll.Te Legsweep automatically targets the legs andeet, o course, and receives neither bonuses norpenalties or so doing.

Special Abilities: Kuk Sool Won practitionersofen buy extra inches o Running or Leaping tomake their maneuvers more spectacular.

KRAV MAGAMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortChoke Hold ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb; 2d6

NND(2)Disarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to


Attacks, AbortEscape var 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR vs. GrabsGrab ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

to STR for holding onKick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeLow Kick/Knee Strike/Punch ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 Strike

Throw ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; TargetFalls

SkillsBreakallKS: Krav MagaWF: Common Melee Weapons

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Clubs




Kung Fu (Wu Shu)Kung Fu, in Chinese, simply means “hard

work” or “skill.” Te name Wu-Shu (meaning “warart”) is the style’s offi cial name in China. Untilabout 1928, it was also known as kuo-shu.

Te origins o Kung Fu might date back as aras the Shang Dynasty (sixteenth century BC), butmost scholars conclude that it began to developsometime in the fifh century BC. A swordsman’sart which became prominent during the ChouDynasty (770 BC-221 BC) may have contributedto Kung Fu; so might have pankration (see below),rom times when Alexander the Great took pan-kratiasts with him on his conquests (including his journey to India). Te first emperor o China, Ch’inShih Huang-i, banned the practice o unarmedmartial arts during his reign (in act, he banned andpersecuted any thought or activity he considered

too close to ree will or ree thinking), but openpractice resumed in 206 BC, afer his death.In the sixth century AD, an Indian Buddhist

priest named Bodhidharma (called P’u-’i-a-Moin China) came to the Shaolin Ssu (Young Forestemple), in China’s Honan province. Te Shaolintemple had been built in the late fifh century ADby Emperor Hsiao-Wen to honor another Indianmonk, Bodhiruchi.

Te Indian fighting style which Bodhidharmataught there, blended with combat techniquesalready known to the Shaolin priests, becameknown as wai-chia; it eventually evolved intoboth Kung Fu and Karate (see the entry above or

Karate). Kung Fu and unarmed combat were notconfined to the Shaolin monastery; the first martialarts schools in China also began teaching duringthe sixth century AD. Tis is the earliest periodwhen PCs can buy something resembling the KungFu style maneuvers; characters in the sixth centuryAD can buy the Block, Disarm, Dodge, Legsweep,Punch, and Trow maneuvers, with the Punchserving both as Punch and Kick.

A great deal o legend and mysticism sur-rounds the Shaolin temple. Supposedly its masterswere capable o a wide variety o amazing eats ocombat and magic. Its course o study lasted manyyears, and at the conclusion students had to passsaely through a trap-filled maze to “graduate.” Atthe end o the maze they had to pick up and carrya red-hot 500-pound cauldron which would brandtheir orearms with the symbols o the temple, adragon (on the lef arm) and a tiger (on the rightarm).

Te original Shaolin temple, which was locatedon the northern side o Shao-Shih Mountain, southo Sung San Mountain in Honan province, is said to

have been destroyed in 617 AD. Over the centuriesit (and its great library o martial arts material)was destroyed more than once, its surviving priestsscattering to the winds and teaching their art in allparts o the nation. Tus, uncountable variationson the style developed over the next millennium.On those occasions when the Shaolin temple wasrebuilt, inevitably some enemy would find it anddestroy it again. It was more or less destroyed orgood in the late seventeeth century by the EmperorK’ang Hsi. Only five monks, the so-called Vener-able Five, supposedly survived the massacre: NgMui, Pak Mee, Fung Do ak, Miao Hin, and GeeSin. Tey split up and hid themselves throughout

China, passing on their martial wisdom in secret.Kung Fu was brought to the U.S. during mas-sive Chinese immigration during the 1840s, thoughit was not popularly taught to non-Chinese stu-dents until the 1960s.

A very ragmented art, Kung Fu has innumer-able different styles and techniques, many o whichare described below. Te maneuvers and stylespresented here represent the “external” aspect oChinese martial arts; the main internal styles, suchas Pakua and ai Ch’i Ch’uan, are discussed sepa-rately even though technically they all under therubric o “Kung Fu.” Practitioners generally divideKung Fu substyles into “northern” styles, which

are kick/leg-oriented (because o the prevalence ohorse-riding in northern China), and “southern”styles, which are punch/hand-oriented (because othe prevalence o boat-rowing in southern China).

A Kung Fu teacher is known as a siu. Te hallwhere he teaches his students is usually called akwoon. Te traditional Kung Fu outfit is a silk cos-tume consisting o a long-sleeved tunic with whitecuffs, dang lung u (loose-fitting trousers gatheredin at the ankles), and colorul sashes worn at thewaist (these do not denote rank). Alternatively,fighters wear a vest or shirt resembling a -shirtinstead o the tunic.

KUK SOOL WONMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDisarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to


Attacks, Abort

Joint Lock ½ 3 + 0 -1 Grab One Limb, + 10

STR for holding onJonhwanbbop (Throws) ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

FallsKick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeLegsweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsNerve Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Punch ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 Strike

SkillsAcrobaticsBreakallKS: Kuk Sool WonWF: Common Melee Weapons

WF: Common Martial Arts Melee Weapons

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Chain & Rope

Weapons +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Polearms +1 Use Art with Staff +1 Use Art with War Fan



Hero Games

KUNG FU WU SHU NOES

Optional Rules: Te Knie Hand, Punch and ien-hsueh Strike take location rolls o 2d6+1. Te igerClaw takes a location roll o 2d6+1, constitutingthe location where the Grab landed; other Grabs donot need a location rolled or them. Te Kick andFlying Kick usually take a location roll o 3d6, butin some styles (see below) the Kick takes a 2d6+7location roll. Te other maneuvers take no locationrolls.

Special Abilities: Te powers and special abilitiesattributed to Kung Fu masters are almost innumer-

able; some relate to aoist magic. Some o thepowers more commonly mentioned include:

1) Dancing swords: Te ability towield a blade without holdingit, allowing it to attack “onits own” (RKA, Continu-ous).

2) Fire Con-trol: Te abil-

ity to manipulateflame.

3) Food Creation: Te ability to pro-duce ood.

4) HingKung: Teabilityto walkwithouttrace (see page 127).

5) Iron Palm: Te ability, alsocalled the “crushing hand,”allows a fighter to break objects withbut a casual slap o the hand. Characters buy this asa Penetrating Hand-o-Hand Killing Attack withthe -½ Limitation Bonuses Are Calculated FromEGO, Not SR — SR bonuses to the HKA deriverom the fighter’s EGO, not his SR. Characters canalso use Iron Palm or an attack with the Indirect Advantage, as described in Chapter wo. alesspeak o masters knocking charging bulls dead intheir tracks with a single Iron Palm blow.

6) Iron Skin: Te ability to resist attacks, evenKilling Attacks, without harm. Buy this as DamageResistance or the character’s PD. Also called Iron

Ox or Iron Shirt.7) Kongjin: “Empty orce,” i.e., the ability to strikesomeone without making contact. You can simu-late this as an Energy Blast o equal DC to thecharacter’s most powerul Strike maneuver, withthe Advantage Fully Invisible (+1); characters couldalso buy it as a limited orm o elekinesis with thatsame Advantage. Some fighters call kongjin “onefinger” or “well fist” rom the practice methods bywhich students supposedly learn it.

8) Poison Palm/Red Sand Palm: Tese are othernames or dim mak, the ability to kill someone withbut a touch (see page 123). Many styles, including

Eagle Claw and White Eyebrow, supposedly teachthis technique, which can cause pain, numbness,unconsciousness, illness, and/or death.

9) Summon Ancestral Spirits: Te ability tosummon and control undead spirits.

10) eleportation: According to some tales, KungFu masters can transport themselves instantly overhundreds o miles.

KUNG FU SUBSYLES

Hundreds o Kung Fu substyles exist; manyall into certain broad categories. Rather thantry to write every single one as a separate art, the

KUNG FU (WU SHU)Mane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDisarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to


Attacks, AbortEscape ½ 4 + 0 + 0 +15 STR vs. Grabs

Flying Kick ½ 5 + 1 -2 STR + 4d6 StrikeJoint Lock/Grab ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

to STR for holding onKick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeKnife Hand ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Legsweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsPunch ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

FallsTien-hsueh Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Tiger/Dragon Claw ½ 4 + 0 + 0 STR + 4d6 Crush,

Must Follow Grab

Uproot/Sand Palm ½ 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR to Shove

SkillsAcrobaticsBreakallContortionistKS: Chinese HealingKS: Chinese Philosophy KS: Kung FuPS: Lion DancingSleight O HandWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Common Martial Arts Melee WeaponsWF: Hook SwordWF: Tree-Section Staff WF: Wind And Fire WheelsWF: Off Hand

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Axes/Maces/Picks +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Chain Weapons +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Hook Sword +1 Use Art with Polearms +1 Use Art with Staff +1 Use Art with 3-Section Staff +1 Use Art with Whip +1 Use Art with Wind And Fire

Wheels




package above includes the maneuvers commonto most substyles. You can use the notes below tohelp determine the maneuvers a character needs toknow to practice a particular substyle. O course,a martial artist character doesn’t have to choose aKung Fu substyle. He can remain a generic KungFu practitioner and not worry about the plethorao specific substyles available to him. And even ihe does choose a specific Kung Fu substyle, he can

still buy maneuvers rom the rest o the main listo Kung Fu maneuvers.

Bear StyleTis style simulates the ast, overpowering

strike o the bear. Te practitioner uses the samehand or powerul open-palm strikes, blocks, andcounterstrikes, instead o striking with one handand blocking with the other.

o practice Bear Style, a character must knowthe Block and Punch maneuvers. A Bear practitio-ner ofen puts hal or more o his Skill Levels intoincreasing the damage o the Punch maneuver.

Chin Na Style

Tis style was developed in the early 1600s oruse by soldiers and policemen. It’s a good style orsubdual and restraint o prisoners. It depends lesson orce than on knowledge o human anatomy; itachieves its damage by attacking vulnerable pointsknown to medicine.

o practice Chin Na, a character must knowthe KS: Chinese Healing Skill, at least on an 8-.He must also have at least three o the ollowingmaneuvers: Block, Escape, Joint Lock/Grab, KnieHand, ien-hsueh Strike.

Choy Lee FutTis southern style was developed in the early

to mid-nineteenth century. It is still a popular style;its power makes it good or ull-contact fighting. Itofen makes use o Weapons Elements, includingPolearm, Whip (Chain Whip), Staff, and Swords,and even teaches practitioners to use some unusualobjects (such as small benches and smoking pipes)as weapons.

o practice Choy Lee Fut, the character mustknow any three o the ollowing maneuvers: Block,Kick, Punch, Trow.

Drunken StyleTis style is actually a variation on the other

styles; a character can fight with just DrunkenStyle (or example, the extremely diffi cult Eight

Drunken Fairies [s’ui Pa Hsien] style), or canlearn Drunken Monkey, Drunken Crane, and soorth.

Visually, the style involves drunken staggeringand swaying (requiring Acrobatics) and utilizesattacks which (because o the drunken stances andapproaches) are deceptive and hard to see coming(hence the higher OCV). I the character has SkillLevels, more must go into OCV than DCV; i pos-sible, the character must configure his Skill Levelsso that his OCV exceeds his DCV.

When perorming Drunken Style, a characterdoesn’t have to make an Acrobatics Skill roll everyPhase (he’s not always staggering that much), and

must observe all the other guidelines or the stylehe’s appending Drunken technique to.

o practice Drunken Style, a character mustknow the Acrobatics and Contortionist Skills andany three Kung Fu maneuvers.

Eagle ClawTis northern style, ounded 800 years ago by

General Ouk Fay, simulates the powerul talons othe eagle. It makes extensive uses o grabs, joint-

locks, and takedowns; even some o its kicks have a joint-locking unction!

o practice Eagle Claw Style, the charactershould buy at least three o these maneuvers:Escape, Joint Lock/Grab, Legsweep, Punch, ien-hsueh Strike, iger/Dragon Claw (called EagleClaw or this style).

Hung Gar StyleFighters developed this southern style or

use in close quarters such as narrow alleyways; itworks well or streetfighters. It uses low stancesand strikes which are relatively slow but powerul.Its primary weapons include the tiger ork, staff,

and butterfly swords.o practice Hung Gar, the character mustknow any three o the ollowing maneuvers: Block,Grab, Kick, Knie Hand, Punch, iger Claw (igerClaw requires Grab).

Long FistLong Fist (Chang Ch’uan) is a northern style

said to have been created during the Sung Dynasty,shortly beore the year 1000 AD. It is a very pictur-esque and “open” style incorporating long-reachingand sweeping fist and arm maneuvers, low stances,and high kicks.

o practice Long Fist Style, the character mustknow the Block, Dodge, Kick, and Punch maneuvers.

Monkey StyleTe Monkey Style (ai Sing ) was developed in

the mid-nineteenth century by a jailed fighter, KouSze. He continually watched the monkeys aroundthe jail (monkeys were ofen used at jails, becausethey screeched when prisoners escaped), and even-tually developed fighting maneuvers based aroundtheir actions.

Te practitioner fights rom a crouchingstance reminiscent o a monkey’s. umbling, roll-ing, tricky ootwork, and comical postures are alsohallmarks o the Monkey Style.

Tere are several “substyles” o this style,each based on a particular set o movements or aparticular body type, allowing any kind o fighterto use the art: Lost Monkey (in which the fightersimulates panic to trick the enemy into overcon-fidence); Drunken Monkey (described above);Stone Monkey (suited to fighters with large, strongbodies; involves less acrobatics than the othersubstyles); Standing Monkey (suited to tall fighterswith long arms); and Wooden Monkey (in whichthe fighter eigns retreat, luring his oe into pursuitso he can launch an aggressive surprise attack).A Monkey Style practitioner can use any o thesesubstyles.



Hero Games

o practice Monkey Style, the character musthave the Acrobatics, Breakall, and Sleight O HandSkills, and any three o the ollowing maneuvers:Block, Disarm (defined as a kicking disarm),Dodge, Kick, and Legsweep.

Each Phase the character utilizes MonkeyStyle, he must make both his Acrobatics and SleightO Hand rolls. I he succeeds in both, the GMhas the target make a Sight-based PER Roll (just

like a Skill Versus Skill Contest). I the Sleight OHand roll beats the PER Roll, the monkey stylistgets an OCV bonus to his maneuver. Te GM canapply this as a +1 to +3 bonus based on how cleverhe thinks the maneuver is (determined rom theplayer’s description o the attack), or he can givethe maneuver a bonus based on how much betterthe Sleight O Hand roll was than the PER Roll(with a maximum o +3 to OCV). As the opponentgets used to the character’s fighting style, the GMcan optionally decrease the OCV bonus providedby the style. Naturally, i the rolls tie, or the targetmade his PER Roll by more, or the attacker missedeither Acrobatics or Sleight O Hand, no bonus is

awarded.Monkey Style is also ought with the staff.

Praying Mantis StyleTis style, known as ’ang Lang in Chinese,

was derived rom a fighter’s observation o thepraying mantis in combat. It concentrates ongrasping, clawing, and punching maneuvers. It wasdeveloped 350 years ago; many different “substyles”(including the six harmonies, seven stars, and eightsteps variants) have arisen since then.

o practice Praying Mantis, the character mustknow the Block maneuver, and at least two o theollowing maneuvers: Disarm, Joint Lock/Grab,Kick, and Punch.

When fighting an opponent, the PrayingMantis stylist usually uses a Block against anincoming attack and ollows up (on his next Phase)with one o the other maneuvers. ypical sequencesinclude Block, Disarm; Block, Punch; and Block,Joint Lock/Grab, Punch. Alternatively, he delays,puts most or all his Skill Levels into DCV (withthe visual effect being that he blocks, rather thandodges, incoming attacks) and responds to attackswith any o the attack maneuvers.

Shaolin Crane StyleTis is an open, flowing style. Te practitioner

shapes his hands like crane’s beaks; the style adopts

many one-legged stances. Blocks are perormedwith the backs o wrists or with the open hand.

o practice Shaolin Crane ( pai-hao) style, thecharacter must know the Block, Punch, and ien-hsueh Strike maneuvers.

Shaolin Dragon StyleTis style simulates the coiling o the Chinese

dragon; the practitioner moves with his waist looseand supple, and the style makes use o circularwaist movements and hip-turning movements.

In this style, the attacker grabs his target,blocks attacks, and counterstrikes with astpunches. Te style also involves a Grab called the

Dragon Claw and joint-locking techniques.o practice Dragon style, the character must

know any three o the ollowing maneuvers: Block,Dragon Claw, Joint Lock/Grab, Kick, Punch.

o use Dragon Style, the character primarilyutilizes one o these two combinations: Block ol-lowed by the Grab, or Grab ollowed by Block ol-lowed by Punch. He also uses the Joint Lock/Grabmaneuver and Dragon Claw (which is mechanically

the same as the iger Claw).Shaolin Leopard Style

Leopard Style is a ast, rugged, up-closecombat style. It concentrates on powerul flattened-fist blows (representing the attacks o a leopard’spaws).

o practice Leopard Style, the character mustknow the Block, Dodge, and Punch maneuvers.

When perorming Leopard Style, i the char-acter has only one or two Skill Levels, he must putboth o them into OCV (during the Block andPunch maneuvers, not during the Dodge); i he hasmore than two, he must put at least two into OCV.

Shaolin Snake StyleTis is a sinuous, weaving combat style. Tehands, simulating the snake’s strike, are used orfingertip strikes to the target’s temples, eyes, throat,and other vital regions; the style also uses kicks.

o practice Snake Style, the character mustknow the Block, Dodge, Kick, Punch, and ie-hsueh Strike maneuvers.

Shaolin iger StyleTis style simulates the ripping action o a

tiger’s claws. Te practitioner uses a rigid open-hand technique with fingers curled like claws, andmakes use o palm-heel strikes and claw-handstrikes, both swung with downward arcs; he alsouses palm-heel blocks and orearm blocks. Tereare several “suborms” o this substyle, includingWhite iger, Red iger, and Black iger; their di-erences are not important or gaming purposes.

o practice iger Style, the character mustknow any three o the ollowing maneuvers: Block,Dodge, Grab, Punch, ien-hsueh Strike, and igerClaw. iger Style is also ought with the broadsword(Darn-Do).

Shorinji KempoShorinji kempo is the Japanese pronunciation

o Shaolin ch’uan-a, or Shaolin Kung Fu. Accordingto tradition, Chinese monks visited Japan beore it

became closed off to oreigners in the seventeenthcentury and taught their Kung Fu art to the Bud-dhist monks. oday, the art, adapted to the Japaneseway o lie and philosophies, still thrives. Its symbolis a counterclockwise-pointing swastika (thereverse o the kind used by Nazi Germany), whichin Buddhism signifies peace and unity.

In the HERO System, the Kung Fu style simu-lates Shorinji Kempo; a Kempo practitioner canbuy any or all Kung Fu maneuvers and reer tothem as Kempo. Purists will note that this is a grossoversimplification o the real-world relationshipbetween Kempo and Kung Fu, but it suffi ces orgame purposes.




White Crane StyleTis ibetan style, which simulates the moves o

both cranes and apes, involves three basic principles:evading attacks instead o blocking them (to increasecounterattack speed), conusing the target with manyarm sweeps, and moving in to the opponent or abetter angle o attack. It was first developed in ibetsome 500 years ago, and was introduced into middleand southern China some 140 years ago.

o practice White Crane, a character must knowany three o the ollowing maneuvers: Dodge, Kick,Punch, ien-hsueh Strike.

When a character uses White Crane, he mustapply any Skill Levels he has so that his DCV exceedshis OCV; the high DCV allows the character to avoidusing Dodges and continuously attack instead.

White Crane style is known as Bak Hok in Chi-nese.

White EyebrowTis southern style, called Bak Mei in Chinese

afer the traitorous white-eyebrowed priest whodeveloped it, uses both sof and hard techniques. Tearms and hands are kept “sof” and supple until they

reach the point o impact, when they “harden” todeliver powerul blows. Internal and external strengthare both important in this style.

White Eyebrow stylists always wait or theiropponent to attack first, then react to his attack andcounterattack using their “wit,” or cleverness andperceptiveness. In the game, White Eyebrow stylistsshould normally hold their actions, then Block orDodge beore attacking.

White Eyebrow style incorporates some attacksrom Fong Ngan, or “Phoenix Eye” style, which isdescribed briefly below.

o practice White Eyebrow, a character mustknow any three o the ollowing maneuvers: Block,

Dodge, Kick, Punch, ien-hsueh Strike.

Wing Chun StyleTis style (whose name means “radiant spring-

time” or “everlasting spring”) was developed in theeighteenth century by a fighting Buddhist nun namedNg Mui. According to some legends she was one othe Venerable Five who escaped the final destruc-tion o the Shaolin emple. Afer creating the art,she taught it to a young peasant woman named YimWing Chun, rom whom it takes its name. It wasdeveloped as an aggressive, practical style someonecould learn in a relatively short amount o time. Itinvolves up-close fighting techniques including short

punches, low kicks, and leg sweeps.Wing Chun is so popular it has several substyles;

however, their differences are inconsequential orgaming purposes.

o practice Wing Chun, the character mustknow any three o the ollowing maneuvers: Block,Kick, Legsweep, and Punch. Te Kick takes a 2d6+7location roll.

Other Kung Fu SubstylesTere are many other animal and non-animal

Kung Fu styles, ar too many to list extensivelyhere. However, in addition to the styles listed above,several others deserve a brie mention: Bul Mu Do

or Buldo Mu Sool (a Korean Buddhist temple style,supposedly derived rom Shaolin fighting arts);Ch’a Ch’uan (a style rom Mongolia, popular amongChinese Muslims and known or its acrobatics andflying kicks); Ch’o Chiao (a northern style eatur-ing high kicks); Choy Mok (a combination o twosouthern styles, Choy Gar and Mok Gar); E-maiShan Pai (a style supposedly created on the sacredmountain o the same name; known in Vietnam as

Nga Mi Phai); Fan zu (a simple northern style);Fong Ngan (the “Phoenix Eye” style, which reliesalmost entirely on hand attacks, including a dis-tinctive raised-middle-knuckle punch); Hop Gar(a practical fighting art derived rom ibet, alsoknown as Lama kung u); Hung-Chia (a southernstyle emphasizing powerul hand attacks deliv-ered rom low stances, supposedly created by oneo the Venerable Five); Hung Fut (a 300-year-oldsouthern style combining two other styles, HungGar and Fut Gar; practitioners always use their lefhands to strike and are trained to use their cloth-ing as a weapon); Kuo-Ch’uan (“dog boxing,” anunpopular northern style in which the practitioner

stays low to the ground, barking and growling likea dog, hoping to antagonize and distract his oppo-nent); Liang I (an internal northern style whichuses double-fist attacks); Li-Chia Ch’uan (“shorthand” boxing, a southern style involving slappingand poking attacks, close infighting, and almost nokicks; also known as Li Gar); Liu-Ho-Pa-Fa (“sixharmonies, eight steps,” a sof northern style); MienCh’uan (“cotton fist” style, a sof northern style); Misung-I (the “labyrinthine art,” which uses rapidturns, changes o direction, and attacks to conusethe enemy); Poc Khek (a Malaysian style); San-Hwang Pao-Ch’ui (“cannon fist” style, also knownas Hsing-Kung-Ch’uan); a-Cheng Ch’uan (“great

achievement,” an internal style derived in part romHsing-I); ’an ’ui (“Deep Legs” or “SpringingLegs” Kung Fu, which uses very low kicks and leg-sweeps); and ’i ’ang (a fighting style which trainsthe student to fight while on the ground).

As you can see, considerable overlap existsbetween the maneuvers required or the variousstyles. I a character wishes, he can consider him-sel a practitioner o multiple styles i he knowsthe minimum required maneuvers and Skills oreach; in combat, he can describe how and whenhe switches between styles. Tis will not, however,have an impact on an enemy’s Analyze Style roll; to

cancel the effects o such a roll, a character wouldhave to switch to another style in which he has aseparate Knowledge Skill.

For more inormation on the main “sof” Chi-nese styles, reer to the descriptions o Hsing-I,Pakua, and ai Ch’i Ch’uan.

‘Waiting is bad.’—Miyamoto Musashi, Go

Rin No Sho (“A Book of Five Rings”)



Hero Games

KuntaoKuntao (or kundao) is an Indonesian fighting

style. It was developed beore the birth o Christby Chinese immigrants who transplanted Kung Fuand mixed it with maneuvers rom Pentjak-Silatand Bersilat. Tere are many different substyles,some avoring northern Chinese styles, somesouthern styles. Even today it is normally taught in

secrecy, and only to those o Chinese ancestry. ra-ditionally, practitioners o Kuntao are rivals withpractitioners o Pentjak-Silat, which is one o thereasons that both arts have seen actual combat useright up to the present day.

KUNAO NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch and Nerve Strike take2d6+1 locations; the Kick takes a 3d6 location. Noneo the other maneuvers require location rolls.

Special Abilities: Kuntao masters’ special abilitiesare similar to those o Kung Fu masters, but are gen-erally less powerul.

KyujutsuKyujutsu is the Japanese art o the bow. In the

modern era, under the name kyudo, it has become ahighly philosophical orm o sport with strong ties toZen Buddhism, but in the past it was a deadly battle-field art. It changed rom a orm o warare to a sportollowing the introduction o guns to Japan in aboutthe sixteenth century.

In addition to learning standard archery, manywarriors were also trained in the art o archery romhorseback, known as kyuba, soieijutsu, or yabusame.

Kyujutsu practitioners use the yumi, the Japa-nese longbow, and the ya, or Japanese arrow (o

which there are more than a dozen varieties). SeeChapter Tree or inormation on these weapons.

Te Korean orm o Kyujutsu is known asKung-sool; its mounted counterpart is Ma-sool.

Kyujutsu cannot take the Style Distinctive Fea-ture.

KYUJUSU NOES

Optional Rules: All maneuvers take a 3d6 locationroll, except or the Ranged Disarm, which uses noroll.

Special Abilities: Japanese legend and mythologycontains many stories o archers whose accuracyallowed them to accomplish amazing eats. Kyujutsupractitioners can simulate this sort o antastic skillwith Combat Skill Levels and Range Penalty SkillLevels (subject, o course, to any campaign limits onCVs). Bows and arrows with magical properties arealso possible.

KUNTAOMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Block, AbortDodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortKick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeNerve Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Punch ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 Strike


SkillsAcrobaticsBreakallKS: KuntaoWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Common Martial Arts WeaponsWF: Chain & Rope WeaponsWF: Hook SwordsWF: Off Hand


Weapons +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Hook Swords +1 Use Art with Karate Weapons +1 Use Art with Polearms +1 Use Art with Staff

KYUJUTSUUsed wit h Bows Weapons Group; Bows Weapon Elementis free Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV RNG Dama ge/EffectBasic Shot ½ 4 + 0 + 0 +2 Weapon + 2 DC

Strike

DefensiveShot ½ 3 -1 + 2 + 0 Weapon StrikeDistanceShot 1+1 5 + 0 -2 +6 Weapon Strike;

+1 SegmentFar Shot ½ 5 + 1 -1 +4 Weapon StrikeQuick Shot ½ 4 + 1 + 0 +0 Weapon + 2 DC

StrikeRangedDisarm ½ 4 + 0 + 0 +0 Disarm, +15 STR

SkillsRidingKS: KyujutsuPS: BowyerWF: Bows*




LuaLua is a fighting style native to Hawaii. Its

name translates variously as “hard and sof,” “dis-location o joints,” “lie and death,” or the number2. It developed rom the lomilomi massages givento boat paddlers, which gradually grew into awrestling style that in turn grew into Lua. By thefifeenth century, twelve schools, each with its own

“specialty” attacks, had been established throughoutthe islands to teach the art. Some Lua practitio-ners were inclined to ambush innocent people totest out their joint-breaking and bone-breakingtechniques, giving the art a bad reputation as pilau (“savage”).

By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,Lua had virtually disappeared because o the lack

o written records, the strict secrecy in whichthe knowledge was kept (‘olohe-lua, masterteachers, generally taught their complete

repertoire o techniques only to their rela-tives), and, eventually, the influence oChristian missionaries (who banned

many native practices). Even theestablishment o several schools byKing Kamehameha (ruled 1790-1819)

did not succeed inreversing this trend.Te art was finallyrevived in the time

o King DavidKalakaua(ruled 1874-91), who saw

in it parallels toJapanese fight-ing styles.

Lua is adiverse style con-

centrating on attacks,including punches,hand and elbow

strikes, kicks, joint-locks and joint-breaking, and throws. Te ancientstudents o Lua were likewise students o anatomy;they were particularly skilled at dislocating andbreaking joints, and their modern-day counterpartsofen use the same tactics. Lua also involves the useo internal energy, or mana, which equates to ch’i or ki.

Te version o Lua presented below is primar-

ily the modernized version being studied by someHawaiians today. It uses a number o animal orms.Crab attacks involve the grabbing and pinching osof, vulnerable targets like the throat or vitals. Dol-phin techniques use the back o the hand and wrist,similar to Shaolin Crane Kung Fu. Eagle attacksrely on the hands and elbows to deliver powerulblows. Moray Eel attacks use the finger and openhand. Mountain Pig techniques include low kicks,stomps, some knee strikes, and a joint-breakingthrow. Ocelot (or “cat”) maneuvers include not onlypalm-strikes and “slaps” but legsweeps and take-downs. Octopus techniques include rapid, interwo- ven blocks and strikes and an attack in which the

fighter uses his fingers to “flick” or poke at the ene-my’s eyes. Shark techniques involve short, powerul jabs with the thumb or knuckles. Some mastersteach maneuvers based on other animals, such asthe iger, Hawk, and Owl. Te standard Lua attackpattern is to block an incoming blow and ollow upwith one or more appropriate attacks.

LUA NOES

Te Spear Kick is a non-traditional maneuver andcan only be learned by characters who received Luatraining afer 1965.

Optional Rules: Te Dolphin Nerve Strike/SharkStrike, Eagle Strike, Moray Eel Hand Strike/OcelotClaw, and Ocelot Palm Strike all take a 2d6+1 loca-

LUAMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectCrab Pinch ½ 4 -1 + 0 Grab One Location;

+2d6 to SqueezeCrab ThroatPinch ½ 5 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb; 2d6

NND(3)Dolphin Nerve Strike/

Shark Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Dolphin Block/Eagle Block/OctopusBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortEagle Grab ½ 3 + 0 -1 Grab One Limb, + 10

STR for holding onEagle Strike/OctopusStrike ½ 4 + 2 + 2 STR + 2d6 Strike,

Must Follow BlockJoint Break ½ 5 -1 -2 Grab One Limb; HKA

½d6 (2 DC), DisableMoray Eel Hand Strike/Ocelot Claw ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Mountain Pig Kick/ OcelotPalm Strike ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeMountain PigThrow ½ 5 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC),

Disable; Target FallsOcelotSweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsOctopusPoke ½ 4 + 0 + 0 3d6 Sight Group

FlashSpear Kick ½ 5 + 1 -2 STR + 4d6 Strike

SkillsBreakallContortionistKS: AnatomyKS: LuaPS: Hula DancingPS: MasseuseWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: GarotteWF: SlingWF: Staff


+1 Use Art with Cane+1 Use Art with Flail

+1 Use Art with Garotte (Crab Pinchand Crab Troat Pinch only)

+1 Use Art with Spear +1 Use Art with Staff/Oar



Hero Games

tion roll. Te Mountain Pig Kick takes a 2d6+7 roll.Te Spear Kick takes a 3d6 roll. Te other attacksall target specific locations and so do not requirerolls (the Crab Pinch targets the throat, abdomen,or vitals), but get no extra benefit or hitting suchlocations.

Special Abilities: Lua masters were said to com-mand a number o special abilities. Primary amongthese were telepathy and the power to hypnotize

people.

Naginatajutsu/SojutsuTe maneuvers listed below describe two differ-

ent, yet similar, weapon arts: Naginatajutsu (the art othe halberd) and Sojutsu (the art o the spear).

Naginatajutsu (also known as chotojutsu) is theart o using the naginata, or Japanese halberd (includ-ing its shorter version, the nagakami). From earliesttimes it was one o the weapons every warriorwas trained to use, and many warrior-monksavored it as well. Some o the schoolsor substyles which taught it were

the Anzawa-ryu, Gassan-ryu,Hoshin-ryu, Masaki-ryu, Seni-ryu, endo-ryu, ento-ryu, andoda-ryu.

During the Edo Period(1603-1867), the naginata ell intodisuse and eventually disappearedrom the battlefield, only to become themain weapon o the homeront: manywomen trained in naginatajutsu sothat they could deend theirhomes while their husbandswere away. Te naginatasoon came to be regardedas a “woman’s weapon.” Inmodern Japan many womenstill study the sport orm othe art, naginata-do.

Naginatajutsu con-tains only a ew techniques, but they areall effective. In pitched battles avorite targetsusually include enemy horses and inantrymen’slegs. In addition to the standard slashing and thrust-ing maneuvers, practitioners are trained to reversethe weapon and use the iron cap on its butt to strike atarget’s vital points.

Sojutsu (also known as Yarijutsu) is the art ousing the various types o Japanese spears, such asthe yari. A fighter could use the spear as a orm ostaff, plus its spearhead allowed or deadlier attacks.Spear-fighting was a particular avorite o the militantBuddhist sõ-hei (“warrior-priests”). It died out aferthe introduction o firearms to Japan, but ormed thebasis o a later art, Jukenjutsu (see page 32). Characterscan also use Sojutsu to simulate spearfighting skillsrom many other cultures.

NAGINAAJUSU/SOJUSU NOES

Characters cannot use the weapon’s shaf to striketargets unless they buy the Staff Weapon Element;this includes the Atemi Strike maneuver, perormed

with the butt end o the weapon’s shaf.

Optional Rules: Te Atemi Strike, Slash, andTrust all take 3d6 Hit Location rolls.


Ninjutsu

Ninjutsu is a stealth and espionage-oriented artwhich saw its greatest development in the thirteenthto early seventeenth centuries in Japan. Its practi-tioners, the ninja, were warrior-assassin-spies; mostbelonged to the Iga and Koga mountain clans. Teywere the supreme reconnaissance experts and sabo-teurs o their day.

In the seventeenth century, a ban and crack-down orced the ninja to become even more secre-tive about the practice o their art; the heyday o theninja was over, and most people believed the art andits practitioners were extinct. But in recent years,Ninjutsu has come down out o the mountainsagain and been practiced more openly; it has been

imported to and is taught in the United States andother countries. Additionally, several martial artists,especially in the United States, have set about rede-

veloping Ninjutsu; they claim no association withthe historical Ninjutsu style, but practice most o

the same tactics and skills.Te word “ninjutsu” reers to all the arts

and skills o the ninja; the combat fightingstyle is more correctly known as taijutsu. Itde-emphasizes the use o “orms” or otherregimented fighting methods, concen-trating instead on using whatever maneu-

vers or tactics work best in a situation. It is anextremely practical and utilitarian fighting art

(though like most traditional martial arts it also has aphilosophical side).

Te ninja night-suit, the costume worn by theninja during missions, consists o three principalparts: the igabakama (a long-sleeved tunic and thetrousers, with many pockets in the sleeves, legs, andthe body; also known as a shinobiuku); the shinobi-zukin (the ninja mask); and the tabi (the split-toedboots worn by the ninja or improved balance). Inancient times, the ninja night-suit was colored inearth tones (green and brown), or white in winterweather. oday, most ninja are represented as wear-ing black night-suits. It would be appropriate ora modern ninja to wear his night-suit in modern

NAGINATAJUTSUUsed wit h Polearms Weapons Group; Polearm WeaponElement is free

Mane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectAtemi Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Block ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortSlash ½ 5 -2 + 1 Weapon + 4 DC StrikeThrust ½ 4 + 0 +2 Weapon + 2 DC Strike

SkillsKS: Naginatajutsu (or Sojutsu, as appropriate)

ElementsWeapon +1 Use Art with Staff (or using

weapon’s shaf)




NINJUTSU (TAIJUTSU)

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectAtemi Punch ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Block ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortBreakingThrow ½ 5 -2 -2 Grab One Limb; HKA

½d6 (2 DC), Disable;Target Falls

Choke Hold ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb, 2d6NND(2)

Dodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects AllAttacks, Abort

Kick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeKnife Hand ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Punch ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeReversal var 4 -1 -2 STR + 15 to Escape;

Grab Two Lim bsSacrifi ceThrow ½ 3 + 2 + 1 STR Strike; You Fall;

Target Falls

Takeaway ½ 5 + 0 + 0 Grab Weapon, + 10STR to Take WeaponAway

Takedown ½ 3 + 1 + 1 STR Strike; TargetFalls


SkillsAcrobaticsBreakall

KS: NinjutsuWF: Common Martial Arts Melee Weapons*WF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Off HandSee the discussion o the ninja later on in this chapter.


Weapons +1 Use Art with Fist-Loads +1 Use Art with Karate Weapon +1 Use Art with Polearms +1 Use Art with Staff +1 Use Art with War-Fan

camouflage patterns (either the green/brown orestcamouflage or the mixed-gray urban camouflagepatterns). Movie-style ninja can wear night-suitso any color, including red and white; in thefilms, this has no effect on their stealth abilities.In ancient times a ninja did not ofen wear hisnight-suit; he usually went about in normal dress

or disguised as a common person — a armer,merchant, or the like.

NINJUSU AIJUSU NOES

Optional Rules: Te Kick maneuver takesa location roll o 3d6. Te Atemi Punch, Knie

Hand, and Punch take location rolls o 2d6+1. TeChoke Hold automatically targets the head, butreceives no extra damage or the head location. Teother maneuvers do not require location rolls.

Special Abilities: Reer to the section on the ninjaand their special powers and skills later on in thischapter.

SUBSYLES OF NINJUSU

Modern-day Ninjutsu synthesizes a number

o different “schools” or substyles o Ninjutsu. Teollowing descriptions allow characters to pick aschool to “specialize” in i they preer, but this is notrequired.

Gikan RyuTe Gikan Ryu was ounded by Sonyu Hangan

Gikanbo o Kawachi in the sixteenth century. Itis a relatively offensive style whose practitionersofen buy OCV Combat Skill Levels. o practicethis ryu, a character must know three o the ollow-ing maneuvers: Atemi Punch, Block, Dodge, Kick,Knie Hand, Punch, and akedown.

Gyokko Ryu

“Te school o the jewel tiger” was broughtto Japan rom China during the all o the ’angDynasty (around 900 AD) by a monk named ChoGyokko, making it the oldest o the Ninjutsu Ryu.Te style was ormally organized by Sakagami aroKunishige in 1532.

Te primary principle o Gyokko Ryu is tomove the body around a central point in spacedefined by one’s opponent. Te ninja should stayat the “distance o rustration,” barely out o theopponent’s reach, so his oe isn’t sure i he canhit the ninja or not. Gyokko Ryu concentrates onkoshijutsu (skin and muscle tearing techniques)and shitojutsu (thumb pressure techniques andfinger-strike techniques). Advanced students o thisschool are said to be able to knock a man downwith one finger.

o practice Gyokko Ryu, a character mustknow at least our o the ollowing meneuvers: Atemi Punch, Block, Choke Hold, Dodge, Reversal,akeaway, and akedown; practitioners should alsobe allowed to purchase the iger/Dragon Clawrom the Kung Fu package to simulate their koshi- jutsu techniques. Combat Skill Levels in DCV arealso appropriate or students o this ryu.



Hero Games

Gyokkushin RyuTe Gyokkushin Ryu was ounded by Sasaki

Okormon Akirari and is known or its superioruse o the nagenawa (lasso). Te Gyokkushin Ryuis derived rom the Gyokko Ryu, and has the samerequirements or characters who want to be stu-dents o it. Te lasso skill may be bought as a ormo Entangle, or as Limited Stretching.

Koto Ryu

Tis school (whose name means “knock-ing down the tiger”) is derived rom GyokkoRyu. According to kuden (oral transmission), itoriginated in China and was carried to Japan bythe monk Chan Busho rom what is now knownas Korea. From him it was passed down throughseveral generations until the techniques o this ryuwere reorganized in 1542 by Sakagami aro Kun-ishige.

Koto Ryu specializes in koppojutsu (bone-breaking techniques) and in atemi strikes. Char-acters rom this school should buy the Joint Breakmaneuver rom Hwarang-Do; OCV Combat SkillLevels are also appropriate or this ryu.

o practice Koto Ryu, a character must knowat least three o the ollowing maneuvers: Atemi Punch, Block, Kick, Knie Hand, Reversal, andakedown, and the Joint Break described above.

Kukushinden RyuTe Kukushinden Ryu was ounded by Izumo

Kanja Yoshiteru. Students o the KukushindenRyu style are known or their skill with weapons,including many unusual techniques. o practiceKukushinden Ryu, the character should buy at leasthal o the Weapon Familiarities and Weapons Ele-ments listed or Ninjutsu, and should know at leastthree o the ollowing maneuvers: Block, Breaking

Trow, Dodge, Kick, Reversal, akeaway, and ake-down. Combat Skill Levels or DCV are also appro-priate or this ryu.

Kumogakure RyuTe Kumogakure Ryu was ounded by Hein-

aizaemon Ienaga Iga. Tis ryu seems to be closelyrelated to the ogakure Ryu. It ocuses on theuse o shuriken, sword, bo, hanbo, kusari-undo,kusarigama, kyoketsu-shoge, spear, naginata, shi-nobi-zue, kamayari, shuko, and metsubishi. opractice this ryu, characters must know three othe ollowing maneuvers: Block, Breaking Trow,Dodge, Punch, Sacrifice Trow, akeaway, andTrow.

Shinden Fudo RyuTe Shinden Fudo Ryu was ounded by Izumo

Kanja Yoshiteru (the same one who ounded theKukishinden Ryu). Te Ryu was ormally organizedby Genachiro ameyoshi in the mid-12th century.

Shinden Fudo Ryu ninja are known or theiruse o, and skill with, swords. Tey also know Acro-batics, but do not know Breakall (they wear thedaisho, or paired swords, so learning Breakall isimpractical).

o practice the Shinden Fudo Ryu, charac-ters must know our o the ollowing maneuvers:Dodge, Punch, Reversal, Sacrifice Trow, ake-

down, and Trow. Tey may also buy the GrapplingBlock maneuver rom the Hsing-I package.

akagi Yoshin RyuTe akagi Yoshin Ryu, meaning “raise your

heart to the high trees,” was ounded by Soun Ryu.Its main principle is that o total body motion; italso teaches various elements o Bojutsu, Jujutsu,Shurikenjutsu, and Sojutsu. o practice this ryu,characters must know our o the ollowing maneu-

vers: Block, Breaking Trow, Dodge, Reversal,Trow, Sacrifice Trow, and akeaway. Tey mayalso buy the Grappling Block maneuver rom theHsing-I package.

ogakure RyuTe ogakure Ryu was established in 1185, at

the beginning o the Kamakura period. Its ninja areknown or their use o weapons, particularly theshuko, metsubishi, and tetsubishi.

o practice the ogakure Ryu, the charactermust know three o the ollowing maneuvers:Block, Dodge, Punch, Reversal, akeaway, Trow.

PakuaPakua (also spelled Pa-Kua, Paqua, and Bagwa,

meaning “eight diagrams”) is one o the three mainChinese “internal” fighting styles. It is said to havebeen learned by ung Hai-ch’uan rom an oldmountain aoist o Kiangsu Province in the late1700s or early 1800s, though its roots are centu-ries older. It was originally called Ch’uan Chang,or “rotating palm.” ung used Pakua to deeat therenowned Hsing-I master Kuo Yun-shen. Kuo triedor two days to deeat ung, but on the third dayung beat him easily. Tis resulted in a lie-longriendship between the two and a pact that stu-

dents o each style would learn the other style.Pakua is based around the theories o

the I Ching , a book o Chinese philoso-phy (and, some believe, prophecy andortunetelling). Te I Ching expresses abelie that the universe is in a state o“constant change.” In Pakua, changes— o direction, o the angle o thehand, o the placement o the oot— are all-important. Whereas Hsing-I is (relatively) direct and linear, Pakua iscircular, and ai Ch’i Ch’uan works bothways.

Pakua emphasizes motion and

ootwork. Te practitioner “walks thecircle,” an imaginary circle basedon the I Ching ’s eight-trigrampattern. He circles around hisopponent constantly, rotatinghis body, whirling and shif-ing direction unexpectedly,using subtle evasive tactics,and making attacks romunusual angles. Te pos-tures used while walkingthe circle includeseveral namedafer animals:




Bear, Dragon, Hawk, Lion, Monkey, Panther, Phoe-nix, Snake, Stork, Swallow, and Unicorn, amongothers. Although this motion may sound limiting,in act it is not; Pakua can be a very effective fight-ing style, with each step in the circle creating a di-erent angle o attack.

Pakua’s attack techniques are primarily palmstrikes and other hand attacks. Trough the projec-tion o ch’i and the shifing o the angle o the hand

(such as rom palm-up to palm-down, a techniquecalled tzan szjin, “reeling silk”), the fighter candeliver very powerul blows which look like littlemore than light shoves to the untrained eye. Teuse o the palm as opposed to the fist allows thepractitioner greater control over the ch’i he releases.Some o the palm strikes have extremely pictur-esque names, such as White Clouds Chasing theStars, Swallow Penetrates Trough the Forest, andScooping the Moon rom the Sea Bottom.

Some Pakua masters teach the use o weapons,such as swords, spear, and staff, and the unusualring needle. However, this is relatively rare; mostPakua practitioners use only barehanded tech-

niques.

PAKUA NOES

Te two attack maneuvers in this package do nottake the “Hal Move Required” restrictive element.However, Pakua practitioners are constantly inmotion, walking the circle one way or anotheraround their opponent. A Pakua character shouldalmost always make a Hal Move (consisting ostepping around their opponent, not moving back-wards and orwards) in any Phase in which he takesa combat action.

Optional Rules: Te Palm Strike takes a 2d6+1location roll. Te Kick takes a 2d6+7 roll. None othe other maneuvers require Hit Location rolls.

Special Abilities: In addition to some o the gen-eral special abilities attributed to internal stylemasters (see “ai Ch’i Ch’uan,” below), Pakua practi-tioners sometimes display these powers:

1) Rapid-fire Striking: Some Pakua masters canlaunch as many as ten blows in a single second! Tis

is bought as an Autofire Advantage or the charac-ter’s Palm Strike (see page 104), or as a separate HAwith Autofire.

2) Ch’i Control: Some masters have such greatcontrol over their ch’i that they can damage specificparts o a person or object, rather than the wholeobject. For example, a practitioner could Palm Strikehis enemy and inflict no outward injury while actu-ally causing terrible harm to, say, his enemy’s liver.With the GM’s permission, this is bought as an Indi-rect Advantage or the character’s Palm Strike, or asa separate HA with Indirect. It could also be boughtas a Penetrating attack.

PankrationPankration (“all-powerul”) is an ancient Greek

fighting style, one o the world’s earliest comprehen-sive martial arts. Tere is some speculation, becauseAlexander the Great took pankratiasts with him onhis conquests, and they gave demonstrations duringthose travels, that Pankration might have had someslight influence on Eastern martial arts styles.

Pankration was perormed in the OlympicGames first in the seventh century BC, though itcould well be much older than that. It is a brutalcontest involving grappling, punching, stomach-

kicking, legsweeping, joint-locking and joint-break-ing. Pankration matches were ought until one con-testant acknowledged deeat (or collapsed); therewere no timed rounds.

Pankration has been redeveloped in themodern world and is being taught today by somepractitioners.

PAKUAMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDefensiveBlock ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Block, AbortDodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortEscape ½ 4 + 0 + 0 +15 STR vs. GrabsJoint Lock ½ 3 + 0 -1 Grab One Limb, + 10

STR for holding onKick ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + 2d6 StrikePalm Strike ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeRoot ½ 4 + 0 + 0 STR + 15 to resist

Shove; Block, AbortSweep/Throw ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6; Target

Falls

SkillsBreakallKS: Analyze StyleKS: Chinese Philosophy KS: PakuaWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Staff WF: Off Hand

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Polearms

+1 Use Art with Ring Needle +1 Use Art with Staff

PANKRATIONMane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/Effec tBend Joint ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(7)Break Bone ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)

Crush ½ 4 + 0 + 0 STR + 4d6 Crush,Must Follow GrabEscape ½ 4 + 0 + 0 +15 STR vs. GrabsGrab ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

to STR for holding onKick/Punch ½ 3 + 1 + 0 STR + 2d6 StrikeLegsweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsSacrifi ceThrow ½ 3 + 2 + 1 STR Strike; You Fall,

Target Falls

SkillsKS: Pankration




Hero Games

PANKRAION NOES

Te maneuver listed as Kick or Punch is pre-cisely that; the pankratiast can choose each roundwhether he wishes to punch or kick. (Tis keeps thepractitioner rom having to buy redundant BasicStrike maneuvers, one or punch, one or kick.)

Pankratiasts ofen bought the Block rom AncientBoxing; many knew the Jab as well, and so were

equally proficient in Pankration and Boxing. Manyalso studied Wrestling.

Optional Rules: Te Punch takes a location roll o2d6+1. Te Kick takes a location roll o 2d6+7. TeBreak Bone takes a location roll o 2d6+1, or 3d6 ithe target is on the ground, not standing. For theBend Joint, you can make a location roll o 3d6,but you must ignore and re-roll any location o10-13; however, the location is or visual effectsonly, and has no effect on the damage done bythe maneuver. Te Crush, Escape, and Grabtake no location rolls.

Special Abilities: Similar to those or AncientBoxing.

Pentjak-SilatPentjak-Silat is the national fighting art o

Indonesia. Tere are 157 recognized substyles(and potentially hundreds more which are unrec-ognized), making this art second only to KungFu in its breadth and diversity. Te name usuallytranslates as something like “to do fighting or sel-deense” or “to fight using skilled body movements.”

Pentjak-Silat was first developed as a rela-tively crude fighting orm between 600 and 1000AD, probably beginning on the island o Riouw

and passing rom there into the Menangkabaukingdoms o Sumatra and out to all the islands. Bythe ourteenth century, it was suffi ciently devel-oped that the government saw fit to restrict it: bylaw, the Majapahit sultans o the islands and theircourt offi cials were the only ones allowed to learnPentjak-Silat. However, ongoing Hindu-Muslimconflicts in that time period and thereafer keptPentjak-Silat alive among the populace. It was usedto fight the native wars o independence against theDutch, and against the Japanese during World WarII. It has remained in use or intertribal (and inter-school) fighting right up until the present day.

Generally, experts can identiy the substyles

rom a particular geographic area by their tech-niques and/or the emphasis placed on particulartypes o maneuvers when fighting. Sumatran stylesuse primarily kicks and leg-based attacks; stylesrom Borneo and West Java use mainly punchesand hand-based attacks; Central and East Javaneseand Balinese styles mix hand and oot techniquesevenly; and East Javanese, Sumatran, and Balinesestyles also emphasize grappling techniques.

Some styles are extremely acrobatic andinvolve a great deal o jumping, others are ought very low to the ground (the latter tend to use twopostures called sempok and depok, in which thefighter virtually sits on the ground but can spring

instantly to theattack). Some styles use linear tech-

niques, some circular techniques. In short,the substyles o Pentjak-Silat vary tremendously.However, all fighters, regardless o style, are trainedto keep their eet on slippery or uneven ground

(simulate this with the Breakall Skill). Also, all Silatsystems teach weapons, including (but not limitedto) the kris, the Indonesian dagger.

A teacher or master o Pentjak-Silat is knownas a pandekar, guru, or maha guru. A silatist usuallywears ordinary street clothes, but due to the influ-ences o other martial arts styles may wear a blackgi-like uniorm or practicing or tournaments. Teuniorm’s samping , or waistcloth, has a colorul pat-tern ofen matching the pattern o the turban-liketengkokok worn on the head.

Related to this style is Pokulan (or Pukulan),which some authorities describe as a substyle oPentjak-Silat, and others term a separate indig-

enous Indonesian fighting art containing manytechniques similar to Pentjak-Silat. A character whowants to practice Pokulan can simply buy maneuvers rom the Pentjak-Silat package.

PENJAKSILA NOES

Optional Rules: Te Killing Strike, Punch/ElbowStrike, and Rahasia Strike take 2d6+1 Hit Locationrolls. Te Kick takes a 3d6 roll, although in somestyles (see below) it takes a 2d6+7 roll instead. TeChoke automatically targets the throat, and theLegsweep automatically targets the legs. Te othermaneuvers do not require location rolls.

Special Abilities: Te special abilities attributed toPentjak-Silat masters are almost limitless. Some amaster can do by himsel, some require a kris.

1) Self-contained abilities

a) Kerojok (“the fight o one against many”):the ability to deend one’s sel against severalopponents at once (Deense Maneuver).

b) elepathy.

c) Mystic healing powers (Healing).

d) Precognition (Precognitive Clairvoyance).

e) Te ability to hypnotize the enemy (a limitedorm o Mind Control)

‘The denconque

the diffuse; thefull conquer thvacuous; thebyways conqumain roads; theurgent conquethe slow; thenumerousconquer the fethe restedconquer theweary.’

—Sun PMilitary Metho




) Te ability to withstand blows rom weaponswithout harm (Damage Resistance).

g) Te ability to catch thrown weapons andthrow them back at the attacker (Missile Reflec-tion, thrown missiles).

h) Te ability to fight effectively in total darkness(Combat Sense).

i) Te ability to paralyze the enemy with buta touch (a orm o Entangle which akes No

Damage From Attacks (+½)).

j) Te ability to “kill at a distance” (Ranged Kill-ing Attack, Fully Invisible (+1)).

k) Te ability to destroy objects with a powerulshout (a orm o Ranged Killing Attack with theLimitations Concentration, Extra ime (5 Min-utes), and Incantations).

l) Te ability to disable opponents by touch (aNo Range Entangle which akes No DamageFrom Attacks (+½), or a EB NND, No Range).

m) Te ability to take on the characteristics ocertain animals.

2) Kris-based abilities: all o these abilities take theLimitation Focus (OAF; -1).

a) uju (“sorcery by pointing”): the ability tokill someone at range merely by pointing thekris at them (Ranged Killing Attack, Fully Invis-ible (+1)). A related ability allows a master to killsomeone by stabbing one o his ootprints (addthe Advantages Indirect, Increased MaximumRange, and No Range Modifier ).

b) Te kris warns its owner o danger by rattlingin its sheath (sarong ) (Danger Sense).

c) Te ability to make the kris “dance” (i.e., fighton its own) (Ranged Killing Attack, Continuous).

d) Te ability to draw fire rom one area toanother (ranser fire rom one area to another,Affects All Powers At Once (+2)).

e) Te ability to turn away wild animals (a ormo Mind Control).

) Te ability to draw water rom the kris’s blade(ransorm (air to water)).

g) Te ability to create a swarm o hornets and

send it afer an enemy (Summon swarm o hor-nets).

h) Te ability to extend the kris’s hantu (“guard-ian spirit”) over the owner, and over people otherthan the owner (Force Field, Usable Simultane-ously by one other at range (+1)).

i) Te ability to cure the common cold (bydrinking the oil used to polish the blade) (due tothe law o supply and demand, it is impossibleto determine the point cost or such a useul anduniversally sought-afer ability).

PENJAKSILA SUBSYLES

Tere are hundreds o substyles o Pentjak-Silat. As with Kung Fu, it would be pointless to comeup with a separate set o maneuvers or each oneo them. Instead, several o the major substyles aredescribed here, so a player can pick one or his char-acter i he wishes. A character need not have a sub-style; he can simply be a “general” Silat practitioner.

Baru SilatBaru Silat is a Sumatran style rom the Padang

area. It combines some o the techniques o SterlakSilat (see below) with maneuvers borrowed romJapanese styles like Jujutsu and Karate. It emphasizesevasiveness, blocking, and other deensive maneuvers.

o practice Baru Silat, a character must knowthe Block, Dodge, Grab, and Legsweep maneuvers.

Bhakti NegaraBhakti Negara, ounded in 1955, is a Balinese

style which synthesizes several Silat substyles andsome Japanese fighting arts. It relies on deceptivestances and actions to lure an opponent in close ora punch or kick. Attacks are usually directed to arectangular section o the body covering the throatto the vitals.

o practice Bhakti Negara, a character mustknow three o the ollowing maneuvers: Dodge,Escape, Grab, Kick, Punch.

PENTJAK-SILATMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortChoke ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb; 2d6

NND(2)Disarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm rollDodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortEscape ½ 4 + 0 + 0 +15 STR vs. GrabsGrab ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for holding onKick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeKilling Strike ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Legsweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsRahasia Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Punch/Elbow Strike ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

Skills

AcrobaticsBreakall*PS: DancingWF: Common Melee Weapons*WF: Common Martial Arts WeaponsWF: Pendjepit WF: Whip

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades* +1 Use Art with Chain & Rope

Weapons +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Fist-Loads +1 Use Art with Karate Weapons +1 Use Art with Pendjepit (Grab and

Killing Strike only) +1 Use Art with Polearms +1 Use Art with Staff +1 Use Art with Whip



Hero Games

DelimaTis modern East Javan style is named afer

a type o ruit. It concentrates on kicks and leg-sweeps; hand attacks are usually delivered open-handed, rather than with fists. A Delima silatistdodges and leaps around a great deal.

o practice Delima, a character must know theDodge, Legsweep, and Kick maneuvers.

Harimau Silat

Harimau, or “tiger,” Silat, a Sumatran style romthe Menangkabau area, is an unusual fighting style.Te combatants crouch very low to the ground, solow that they essentially crawl towards one another.Tis practice arose because o the stability thestance provides on wet and slippery ground. Oncethe opponents get within striking distance, they maystay on the ground, or they may leap at each otherand attack rom a more upright position. Silatistswho practice other styles sometimes learn Harimaustances because o the stability they provide.

o practice Harimau Silat, a character mustknow the Block, Legsweep, and Kick maneuvers.Te Kick is usually low, taking a 2d6+7 location,

but i two Harimau stylist fight each other on theground the Kick takes its usual 3d6 location.

Kendari SilatBased in the city o the same name in the

Celebes, this substyle is known or its unusual cross-legged stances, which are used to turn quickly andevade an attack. Very little orwards-backwardsmovement occurs in Kendari Silat; it’s suited or usein narrow or cramped quarters, such as alleys orships.

o practice Kendari Silat, a character mustknow the Block, Dodge, and Punch maneuvers.Kicks are almost never used; i they are, they take a

2d6+7 location roll.Kumango Silat

Kumango Silat is a Sumatran style rom theMenangkabau area. It emphasizes closing with theenemy to employ grabs, strikes, and chokes. Kicksare usually low (they take a 2d6+7 location roll).Fighters normally make attacks to the center line othe body.

o practice Kumango Silat, a character mustknow three o the ollowing maneuvers: Block,Choke, Grab, Legsweep, Kick, Punch, Trow.

PamurPamur is a Silat substyle rom the island o

Madura. It was ounded in 1951 by Hasan Hubudin.Its techniques are taken mainly rom several o theSumatran styles. Te style’s emblem is a shield witha kris, cotton plant, and rice plant overlaid.

o practice Pamur, a character must knowthree o the ollowing maneuvers: Block, Dodge,Grab, Kick, Killing Strike, Punch, Trow.

Patai SilatPatai Silat is a Menangkabau style which was

ounded sometime around 1900. Parrying, evasiveootwork, and grabbing techniques characterize it. Afighter jerks a grabbed opponent orward (to unbal-ance him), attacks him, and/or throws him to the

ground. Patai Silat practitioners wear a short jacketand very baggy trousers with a sash.

o practice Patai Silat, a character must knowthree o the ollowing maneuvers: Block, Dodge,Grab, Kick, Trow.

Pauh SilatTis is a Sumatran substyle rom the

Menangkabau area. It uses a distinctive ootworkpattern. Practitioners who are ready to fight indicate

their readiness by slapping their thighs and thenkeeping the hand in position to block attacks to thegroin. Te main attack employs a orm o locked-thumb fist similar to the “phoenix eye” fist used insome Kung Fu styles. Fighters typically direct theirattacks to points along the center line o the body.

o practice Pauh Silat, a character must knowthe Block, Punch, and Rahasia Strike maneuvers.

Perisai DiriPerisai Diri (“P.D.”) is a popular Central Javan

style whose name means “sel-shield.” Founded in1955, it currently orms the basis or the sel-deensetraining taught to most Indonesian military person-

nel. It synthesizes various Silat styles but does notincorporate maneuvers rom any other fightingsystems.

P.D. techniques are mainly linear and usuallydo not involve the sempok and depok stances used inmany other substyles. Many o its movements deriverom animals, including the swallow, eagle, tiger,otter, horse, dragon, and crane. Some movementsare named afer human archetypes, such as thepatriot, priest, and princess maneuvers. Attacks aredirected at an inverted triangular area with its apexat the enemy’s groin.

Perisai Diri uniorms consist o short-leggedpants and lapelless jackets whose sleeves end above

the wrist. Students wear black uniorms, their pan-dekars wear white.

o practice Perisai Diri, a character must knowthree o the ollowing maneuvers: Block, Dodge,Kick, Killing Strike, Punch, Trow.

Prisai SaktiAlso known as Perisai Sahkti, this substyle was

ounded in 1941. Its name signifies “holy shield.” Itcombines Javanese silat orms with maneuvers romsome Japanese fighting styles. Its philosophical andreligious roots tie it to Christianity and Indonesiannationalism.

Prisai Sakti emphasizes kicks and leg tech-niques, but it also uses some hand techniques and joint-locks.

o practice Prisai Sakti, a character must knowthe Block, Grab, and Kick maneuvers.

Sandang SilatSandang Silat is a Sumatran style designed to

counteract the powerul Sterlak style (see below).Even today it remains a very secretive style. Itemploys dodges and blocks to avoid and conuse aSterlak fighter.

o practice Sandang Silat, a character mustknow three o the ollowing maneuvers: Block,Dodge, Grab, Punch, Trow.




Setia HatiSetia Hati, meaning “aithul heart,” is a Cen-

tral Javan silat style. It uses the hands to block andstrike, and also employs a variety o kicks; SetiaHati practitioners are very dexterous.

o practice Setia Hati, a character must knowthree o the ollowing maneuvers: Block, Dodge,Legsweep, Kick, Punch.

Sterlak Silat

Sterlak Silat is a Sumatran style whose namesignifies “to attack with strength.” It was developedin part to counteract the Harimau Silat style, andemphasizes powerul attacks. Stories say skilledSterlak students can deeat tigers.

o practice Sterlak Silat, a character mustknow the ollowing maneuvers: Block, Kick, KillingStrike, Punch.

apak SutjiFounded in 1963 by Ian Badjam, this Central

Javanese substyle combines techniques rom severalother orms o silat. Its practitioners turn on theirown axis every ew seconds, so they’re constantly in

motion and diffi cult to hit.o practice apak Sutji, a character must knowthe ollowing maneuvers: Dodge, Legsweep, Kick,Killing Strike, Punch.

jampur SilatA Sumatran style, jampur (“combined”) Silat

synthesizes maneuvers rom both Pentjak-Silatand Kuntao. It concentrates on aggressive tactics(launched rom surprise, i possible) and closeinfighting. A jampur stylist is never supposed totake more than one step backwards during a fight.

Attacks are delivered to the center line o thebody, primarily with the elbows and knees. Becauseo the dangers involved in using this brutal style, itis usually only taught to students who have alreadystudied other silat styles and proven themselvesworthy o advanced training.

o practice jampur Silat, a character mustknow the ollowing maneuvers: Kick (which takesa 2d6+7 Hit Location roll and can also be definedas a Knee Strike), Killing Strike, Punch, and Rahasia Strike.

jimandeTis West Javan style relies primarily on the

use o the hands and arms, though it does havesome low kicks. Fighting takes place at close range.

o practice jimande, a character must know

the ollowing maneuvers: Block, Killing Strike,and Punch. Kicks in this substyle take a 2d6+7 HitLocation roll.

jingkrikAn acrobatic West Javan style, jingkrik

emphasizes evasiveness, open-hand attacks, and theuse o the depok and sempok “sitting” stances.

o practice jingkrik, a character must knowthree o the ollowing maneuvers: Block, Dodge,Punch, and Rahasia Strike.

ridharmaTis northern Balinese style, whose name

means “three honesty/peaceul,” is a well-rounded

fighting style with Sumatran influences. It uses bothhigh and low postures. Its hand movements tend tobe circular, but its kicks are linear.

o practice ridharma, a character must knowthree o the ollowing maneuvers: Block, Dodge,Legsweep, Kick, and Punch.

Qwan Ki Do

Qwan Ki Do is a Vietnamese martial arts stylewhose name means “way o the fist and the energy.”It was ounded afer World War II by Pham Xuanong. Qwan Ki Do resembles Karate in many ways,but is more acrobatic and flamboyant in nature.In addition to standard barehanded fighting tech-niques, the style teaches a number o weapons, suchblades, various polearms, and sticks and staffs.

QWAN KI DO NOES

Optional Rules: Te Cuoc Phap (kicks) takes a 3d6Hit Location roll. Te Tu Phap (hand techniques),Phuong Duc (elbow strike), and Nghanh Phap/Cuong Dao (killing strikes) all take a 2d6+1 loca-tion roll. Te ao Phong Cuoc (sweeps) automati-cally target the legs but receives neither a bonus nora penalty or this. Te rest o the maneuvers do notrequire Hit Location rolls.

Special Abilities: Similar to those displayed byKarate practitioners.

QWAN KI DOMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectCung Thu (blocks) ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortCuoc Phap

(kicks) ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeKhao Go (locks) ½ 3 + 0 -1 Grab One Limb, + 10

STR for holding onNghanh Phap/Cuong Dao (sword-hand) ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Tao Phong Cuoc (sweeps) ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6; Target

FallsThan Phap (evasion) ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortThu Phap (hand techniques)/Phuong Duc (elbow strike) ½ 4 + 2 + 0 STR + 2d6 StrikeVat (throws) ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

FallsSkillsAcrobaticsBreakall (Nhao Lan)KS: Qwan Ki DoWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Staff


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



Hero Games

Re-Efi Areh-EhseeAccording to Martial Arts Around the World ,

by John Soet, Re-efi Areh-ehsee is a martial artrom Eritrea, a nation o East Arica. Tis stylerelies on grabs, takedowns, and strikes with theelbow, head, and knee.

REEFI AREHEHSEE NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch/Elbow Strike takesa 2d6+1 Hit Location roll, the Knee Strike takes a2d6+7 Hit Location roll, and the Headbutt auto-matically targets the head and received no bonusesor penalties or doing so. Te other maneuverseither do general damage or do not require HitLocation rolls.


Saijutsu

Saijutsu is the art o the sai, a weapon resem-bling a metal rod with two upturned tines. Afighter can use a sai to interere with an opponent’sweapon, to strike, or to block. Characters can alsoperorm Saijutsu with the jutte (or jitte), which hasonly one tine, and the nunte, which has one tinereversed.

SAIJUSU NOES

Optional Rules: Te Strike takes a 2d6+1 HitLocation roll. Te other maneuvers do not requireHit Location rolls.


SavateSavate (known as boxe Francaise savate or la

boxe Francaise) is a French martial art; its develop-ment began in seventeenth-century Marseilles.Originally a type o kicking brawling style, early inthe eighteenth century it was synthesized with Eng-lish boxing maneuvers. oday it is a ull-eaturedand respected martial arts style.

Savate combines boxing-style punches with a variety o kicks. Te art also includes cane-fightingtechniques.

A savate fighter is called a savateur (em. sava-teuse) or tireur . An inch-wide colored band aroundthe wrist o the savate glove indicates the fighter’srank; ranks rom lowest to highest are purple, blue,green, red, white, yellow, bronze, silver, and gold.

SAVAE NOES

o simulate the older, pre-boxing orm o Savate,do not buy the Direct or Crochet maneuvers.

Te Coup de pied chasse maneuver can also becalled the Coup de pied ouette (round kick), Coup de pied en reverse lateraux (lateral

reverse kick), and Coup de pieden reverse rontaux (ront reversekick).

Only the Crochet , Disarm, andDirect maneuvers work with theWeapons allowed or Savate.

Optional Rules: Te Coup de pied bas has a location roll o 2d6+7,the Coup de pied chasse hasa location roll o 3d6, theDirect and Crochet havelocation rolls o 2d6+1.Damage rom the Foots-

RE-EFI AREH-EHSEEMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortEscape ½ 4 + 0 + 0 +15 STR vs. GrabsGrab ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for holding onPunch/Elbow Strike/Knee Strike/Headbutt ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeTakedown ½ 3 + 1 + 1 STR Strike; Target


Falls

SkillsBreakallKS: Re-Efi Areh-Ehsee

SAIJUTSUUsed with Sai; Karate Weapon Element i s free

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBind ½ 4 +1 + 0 Bind, + 10 STRBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, Abort

Disarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR toDisarm roll

Strike ½ 4 + 0 +2 Weapon + 2 DC Strike

SkillsKS: SaijutsuWF: Karate Weapons

SAVATEMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortCoup de pied bas

(low kick) ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeCoup de pied chasse (side kick) ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeCrochet (Hook) ½ 4 + 2 + 0 STR + 2d6 StrikeDisarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm rollDirect (Jab/Cross) ½ 5 + 1 + 3 STR StrikeFootsweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target Falls

SkillsKS: SavateWF: BladesWF: Cane


+1 Use Art with Clubs (Cane)




weep is general (no location), and the Block andDisarm don’t require location rolls.


Sevillian KnifefightingTis is a Spanish and southern European

knie-fighting art which employs weapons such asthe puñal (a short stabbing and thrusting olding

knie), the navaja (a longer, heavier olding knie),the cuchillo (a fixed-blade knie), and similar armasblancas (bladed weapons). Some schools also teachthe use o canes and sticks. While the people o theregion (like those everywhere else in the world) havealways ought each other with knives, and the navajaitsel was invented in the 1600s, the more system-atized maneuvers o this style were probably notdeveloped until the nineteenth century. Practitionersare ofen reerred to as navajeros.

Sevillian Kniefighting includes several “sub-styles.” Te first, baratero style, is a quick, straightor-ward style emphasizing sel-protection. Te second, gitano style, was developed by Spanish Gypsies. It

uses flashy, stylized knie manipulations and maneuvers to conuse the opponent and create an opening(see Sleight O Hand, page 116, or game rules onhow to do this). Lastly, there’s the sevillano style,the most highly developed and “sophisticated” othe three. Similar in some ways to Fencing, it usessmooth, fluid movements and swif attacks.

Characters cannot use this style Barehanded(except or the Dodge and Grab maneuvers). It’snot distinctive enough to qualiy or a Style Distinc-tive Feature. By changing the names o some o themaneuvers, characters can also use it to simulatemany other kniefighting arts — military bladeskills, the arte della daga o medieval Italy, the abili-

ties o streetfighters skilled with knives, Dolchech-ten (medieval German kniefighting), el cuchillo (Mexican kniefighting), and the like.

SEVILLIAN KNIFEFIGHING NOES

Optional Rules: Te Desjarretazo, Puñaladas, andajos all take 2d6+1 Hit Location rolls. So does theCambio (literally, “change”), which involves shifingthe knie rom one hand to the other so quickly that

the opponent misses it, leaving him open to attack.Te other maneuvers do not use Hit Locations.

Special Abilities: Skilled kniefighters may be ableto work knie-throwing techniques into their reper-toire; these attacks can be bought as Ranged Mar-tial Arts maneuvers or as separate “powers.”

ShurikenjutsuShurikenjutsu is the art o throwing the

shuriken, a type o bladed missile invented in Japan.Te principal users o shuriken were the ninja, butmany other warriors studied this art as well. Char-acters can also use Shurikenjutsu with other throw-ing blades, such as throwing knives. For more inor-mation on the different types o shuriken available,reer to Chapter Tree.

Shurikenjutsu cannot take the Style DistinctiveFeature.

SHURIKENJUSU NOES

Optional Rules: All Trows take a 3d6 Hit Loca-tion roll.

Special Abilities: Some skilled Shurikenjutsupractitioners are said to be able to catch shurikenthrown at them and throw them back at theirattackers (Missile Reflection, thrown missiles).Others can throw several shuriken in the blink oan eye (an Autofire RKA).

SEVILLIAN KNIFEFIGHTINGUsed wit h Blades Weapon Group; Blades Weapon Elementis free

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortCambio (Foist) ½ 4 + 2 +0 Weapon + 2 DC StrikeDesjarretazo (Stab) ½ 5 -2 + 1 Weapon + 4 DC StrikeDodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortGrab ½ 3 + 0 -1 Grab One Limb, + 10

to STR for holding onPuñaladas (Thrusts) ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Weapon StrikeTajos (Slashes) ½ 4 + 0 + 2 Weapon + 2 DC Strike

SkillsFast Draw KS: Sevillian KniefightingSleight O HandWF: Blades*WF: Off Handalent: Ambidexterity


SHURIKENJUTSUUsed with Throw n Knives/Axes Weapons Group; ThrownKnives/Axes Weapon Element is free Mane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV RNG Dama ge/EffectBasic Throw ½ 4 + 0 + 0 + 2 Weapon + 2 DC

Strike

DefensiveThrow ½ 3 -1 + 2 + 0 Weapon StrikeFar Throw ½ 5 + 1 -1 +4 Weapon StrikeQuick Throw ½ 4 + 1 + 0 + 0 Weapon + 2 DC

Strike

SkillsKS: Shurikenjutsu

‘Appear where they cannot go,head for where they least

expect you.’—Sun Tzu, The Art of War



Hero Games

SimgomdoSimgomdo (“Mind Sword Way”) is a Korean

swordfighting style developed in 1965 by Chang SikKim. According to the history o the art, Kim, whilemeditating in the Samgak Mountains, received a vision o hundreds o martial arts sword orms whichhe developed into Simgomdo.

Simgomdo practitioners use wooden swords

(like the Japanese bokken), though presumably thestyle’s maneuvers work just as well with an edgedmetal blade. Te training increases their strength,speed, and accuracy through both constant practiceand a spiritual regimen o breathing and meditativeexercises. While meditating, they visualize martialarts maneuvers or use in combat.

Simgomdo practitioners also learn certainunarmed combat techniques, which they call sinbbop.

SIMGOMDO NOES

Optional Rules: Te Rapid Strike, Sacrifice Strike,and Slash all take a 3d6 Hit Location roll.


Sumo WrestlingSumo Wrestling is a Japanese fighting orm

which developed in the century beore Christ. It istraditionally practiced by huge, heavy fighters whotrain or years to have the physique and enduranceo a sumo wrestler.

Te object o Sumo Wrestling is to push theopponent out o the ring or bear him down to theground inside the ring. Matches are usually veryshort, but are preceded by lengthy ceremonies.

SUMO WRESLING NOES

Optional Rules: Te Slap takes an automatic headlocation, but does no extra damage because o that.Te other maneuvers take no specific location.


Tae Kwon DoTis Korean martial art began systematic

development in the seventh century, when it wascalled t’ang-su (meaning “’ang hand,” namedafer the Chinese dynasty which was in powerwhen the Koreans adopted its principles). Laternames or this art as it developed were subak andkwonpup.

Afer the sixteenth century, the art continued

development under the new name o tae kwon (“oot and fist,” or “kicking and punching”). Teart was orced underground in the first decade othe twentieth century, when the Japanese occu-pied Korea. In 1953, well afer World War II, whenKorea was reed rom Japanese rule, it became taekwon do (“the way o kicking and punching”).

ae Kwon Do is regarded as a powerul,combat-intensive martial art, relying on orceulpunches and high circling kicks; it is also amousor its colorul flying side kick.

Schools teaching ae Kwon Do are known asdojangs. ae Kwon Do practitioners wear a gi-likeuniorm called a dobok.

SIMGOMDOUsed with Blades Weapon Group; Blades WeaponElement is free

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDisarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm rollEvade ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortRapid Strike ½ 4 + 2 + 0 Weapon + 2 DC StrikeSacrifi ceStrike ½ 5 + 1 - 2 Weapon + 4 DC StrikeSlash ½ 5 -2 + 1 Weapon + 4 DC Strike

SkillsFast Draw KS: SimgomdoWF: Blades*

Elements

Barehanded +1 Use Art Barehanded (doing SRdamage in place o weapons damage,as appropriate)

SUMOMane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectEscape ½ 4 + 0 + 0 +15 STR vs. GrabsGrab ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab, + 10 to STR for

holding onGrapplingThrow ½ 3 + 0 +2 STR + 2d6 Strike;

Target Falls; MustFollow Grab

Root ½ 4 + 0 + 0 STR + 15 to resistShove; Block, Abort

Shove ½ 4 + 0 +0 +15 STR to ShoveSlap ½ 4 + 2 + 0 STR + 2d6 Strike

SkillsKS: Sumo Wrestling




AE KWON DO NOES

Te WeaponsElements arenot part o the

traditional art, butmany ae Kwon

Do instructorsteach weapons use

anyway.Optional Rules: Te Front, Side

and Roundhouse Kicks take loca-tion rolls o 3d6. Te Flying Side Kick

takes a location roll o 2d6+1. Te Punchor Elbow Strike takes a location roll o2d6+1.


Tai Ch’i Ch’uanai Ch’i Ch’uan (also spelled aiji Quan, ’ai

Chi Chuan, and many other ways) is the most

advanced o the Chinese internal fighting styles.Although best known in the West as a yoga-liketype o exercise, it has martial applications as well,as its name (“supreme ultimate fist” or “yin-yangboxing”) indicates.

According to the most popular legend, aiCh’i Ch’uan was originally developed by a aoistpriest named Chang San-Feng who is said to havelived during either the Sung, Yuan, or Ming Dynas-ties. One day he observed a snake and a hawk (or acrane) fighting, and was struck by the effi ciency otheir movements — the act that they could be bothloose and supple, hard and ast at the same time.Based on his observations, he developed a series o

fighting maneuvers, to which he added maneuversderived rom other natural movements (such asthe swaying o trees, the flowing o water, and themovement o clouds). Te result is a fighting stylecombining sof, flowing movements with rapid,almost explosive attack orms. Due to the internalenergy (ch’i) employed by a skilled ai Ch’i Ch’uanfighter, the results achieved by an attack are ofenar greater than the amount o visible orce would

seem to indicate.Te basis o ai Ch’i is the Tirteen Postures,which include eight actions (such as Ward-off,Push, and Pull Down) and five directions (areastowards which one should look and/or move). Incombat, the fighter combines these into patternsin which he avoids an attack (usually by blockingit) and then uses an offensive maneuver (ofen agrab, ollowed by a strike or throw o some sort).Te maneuvers have beautiul, poetic names, suchas Lion Shakes His Head, Night Bird Returns oTe Forest, Celestial Horse Walks In Te Sky, Carryiger o Te Mountain, and Meteor Chasing TeMoon.

Tere are several substyles o ai Ch’i Ch’uan.Te first is the Chen style, supposedly developedat the end o the Ming Dynasty. It is said to be themost martial o the ai Ch’i styles. Yang style is amodified orm o Chen which is more flowing. Tetwo Wu styles are modified orms o Yang whichemphasize small circular motions and add throwsand grabs to the ai Ch’i arsenal. Lastly there isthe Sun style, which adds elements o Hsing-I andPakua to ai Ch’i maneuvers. Some o these styles

teach the use o weapons, primarily the sword.

TAE KWON DOMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectArm SweepBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortCrescentKick Block ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Block, AbortDisarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm roll

Flying SideKick ½ 5 + 1 -2 STR + 4d6 StrikeFront Kick ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeKnifehandSpearhand ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Punch/ElbowStrike ½ 4 + 2 +0 STR +2d6 StrikeSide or RoundhouseKick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeTakedown ½ 3 + 1 + 1 STR Strike; Target

Falls

SkillsBreakallKS: ae Kwon DoWF: Common Martial Arts Melee Weapons

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Clubs

+1 Use Art with Karate Weapons+1 Use Art with Staff

TAI CH’I CH’UANMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/Effect

Block ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDisarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR toDisarm roll

EscapingThrow ½ 5 + 0 +0 + 15 STR vs. Grabs;

Target FallsGrab ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10


½d6 (2 DC), DisablePalm Slap/Kick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeRoot ½ 4 + 0 + 0 STR + 15 to resist

Shove; Block, AbortShove ½ 4 + 0 +0 + 15 STR to ShoveStrike ½ 3 + 1 + 2 STR + 2d6 Strike,

Must Follow BlockSword Finger ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Throw ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

SkillsKS: ai Ch’i Ch’uanWF: BladesWF: Staff

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Staff



Hero Games

AI CH’I CH’UAN NOES

Optional Rules: Te Palm Slap and Sword Fingertake 2d6+1 Hit Location rolls; the Kick takes a 3d6roll. None o the other maneuvers require Hit Loca-tion rolls.

Special Abilities: ai Ch’i practitioners are ofencredited with many unique powers. Some o themoverlap those o Kung Fu

masters or masters o otherChinese internal styles.

1) Sword Finger: Some mastersreputedly canuse their SwordFinger maneuverto affect ghosts.Characters canbuy this as an Affects Deso-lidified Advan-tage or thatmaneuver (see page

104), or as a separateHA or No Range EBNND attack with thatAdvantage.

2) Push Hands: ai Ch’i Ch’uanpractice includesan exercise known as push hands(toy sao), in which two students make arm contactand engage in a kind o pushing-yielding exercise.Te object o this is to teach flexible movement andthe ability to yield correctly to orce. Over time, thestudent gradually becomes more sensitive to orceand to the movements o his opponent. Skilledpractitioners become so good at this they can effec-tively “stick” to an opponent and maintain contactwith him no matter what he does to shake themoff (even running, leaping, and acrobatics do nothelp to escape). Characters can buy this as Clinging(up to the maximum SR o the character’s Shovemaneuver) with the Limitations Only o Stick o An Opponent (-1) and Cannot Resist Knockback (-¼).

3) Immortality: Many internal masters are saidto have lived ar longer than the average personbecause o their control over their lie orce. (LieSupport: Longevity.)

4) Iron Shirt: As the Kung Fu ability o the samename. In addition to its deensive aspects, some aiCh’i masters have developed this power to such anextent that anyone who hits them gets hurt! Char-acters can buy this as a Damage Shield with theLimitation Deensive Use Only (-½) (in other words,i they Grab someone, that target doesn’t take theDamage Shield damage).

5) Dim Mak: As the Kung Fu ability o the samename.

6) Fa-ch’ing : Tis is a strike in which the practitio-ner discharges his internal energy into the target,causing great harm. At its lesser levels, you can sim-

ulate this ability with the attack maneuvers romthe martial arts package; at higher levels it shouldbe bought as an HKA or high-damage HA.

7) Kiai Powers: As described in Chapter wo,under Aid and Multipower.

8) Breath EB: Some ai Ch’i masters can expeltheir breath in such a way as to damage a oe andsend him flying. Buy this as an Energy Blast.

9) Kongjin: “Empty orce, “ i.e., the ability to strikewithout making contact. Reer to the Kung Fupackage, above, or details.

Tang Soo Doang Soo Do (“China hand

method”) is a Korean martial artcombining traditional Korean

kicks with some Japanese maneuvers. It was originally called SooBahk Do. Afer the Japanese occu-pation o Korea in the first decade

o the twentieth century, many Soo

Bahk Do masters fled their homeland;while they were in exile they studied

Chinese and Japanese fighting systems,including Aikido and Jujutsu, and added someo their techniques to the Soo Bahk Do reper-toire. In 1945 the style’s name was changed by its

Grandmaster, Hwang Kee.ang Soo Do uses many deceptive stances and

techniques. For example, the practitioner hides onehand behind the other so he can use it or a sur-prise attack, or he might launch any one o severalkicks rom the same basic stance, making it di-ficult to determine which one he’ll actually use. Teattack maneuvers emphasize kicks, including flying

kicks.raditionally, ang Soo Do does not teach

weapons use.

ANG SOO DO NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch, Chop, and Flying Kicktake a 2d6+1 location roll. Te Kick takes a 3d6 HitLocation roll. Te other maneuvers do not requirerolls.

Special Abilities: Similar to those or Karatemasters.

TANG SOO DOMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortChop ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Flying Kick ½ 5 + 1 -2 STR + 4d6 StrikeJoint Lock ½ 3 + 0 -1 Grab One Limbs, + 10

STR for holding onKick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikePunch ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

SkillsBreakallKS: ang Soo Do




Thai Kick- BoxingTis fighting style, called Muay Tai in Tai-

land, was developed sometime beore the end othe sixteenth century, but records o the art havebeen lost and so it is not known just how longago it began. Reugees rom the Yunnan provinceo China fled south and merged with the Khmerpeople; as the populations grew together, so did

their two orms o unarmed combat, which became Muay Tai. oday Tai Kick-Boxing is practiced inTailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia both orfighting and as a sport; it is also taught to the Taimilitary in a orm called ler dit .

Tis lean, economical, punishing, and verybrutal fighting style uses blocks, punches, elbow-strikes, knee-strikes, kicks, and oot pushes. It has

no throws. Some maneuvers, such as the kneestrikes, ofen involve jumping up

to add orce tothe blow andto allow the

fighter to strike

targets in the upper regiono the body. In times past,fighters sometimes wrapped

their hands in horsehair wrappingsstiffened with glue; or some fights

ground glass was mixed in with the glue.reat the latter sort o hand-wrapping as a

orm o cestus (see Chapter Tree or detailson cesti).

Muay Tai is a popular sport in Tailand.Beore each scheduled bout the fighters gothrough a ritual with components known as wai

kru (obeisance to the master) and ram muay (asort o dance). Knowledgeable fighters can ofen

learn something about an opponent’s fighting styleand prowess by observing how he perorms theritual; allow kickboxers with Analyze Style to makerolls afer observing their opponent’s ram muay ritual. During the ritual the fighter wears a cordcalled a mongkon around his head; afer the ritual thefighter’s master takes it off o him. Proessional Taifighters use special fighting names which includea boastul nickname and the name o the fighter’straining camp or school. In the ring, Tai kick-boxers wear gloves and shorts (with athletic cups);they go bareoot and wear no other armor.

Muay Tai fighters ofen learn a related orm oweapons combat, called Krabi-Krabong , involving the

use o swords, staffs, polearms, and clubs in variouscombinations. Rather than describing this as a sepa-rate style, it is suffi cient or HERO System purposesto simulate Krabi-Krabong as Weapons Elements orTai Kick-Boxing.

HAI KICKBOXING NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch and Elbow Strike take alocation roll o 2d6+1; the Low Kick takes a locationroll o 2d6+7; the Roundhouse Kick, Knee Strike,and Elbow/Knee Killing Strike take a location roll o3d6. Te other maneuvers require no location rolls.

Special Abilities: Tai kickboxers are well-knownor their ability to withstand tremendous amounts odamage. Characters can simulate this with a high PD

or a small amount o Damage Reduction with appro-priate Limitations (see Chapter wo).

Thang-TaTang-a (meaning “sword-spear”) is an

Indian martial art somewhat similar to Kalaripayit.In addition to teaching unarmed techniques likekicks and punches, it teaches weapons such asspear, dagger, sword, bow, and dart. Tang-a’sunarmed fighting techniques involve saritsarat — ootwork and evasion abilities designed not onlyto avoid damage, but to put an attacker off-balance.

One substyle o Tang-a, Muk’na, also incor-porates wrestling grabs and throws. Characters whowish to practice Muk’na may buy maneuvers romboth the Tang-a and Wrestling packages.

THAI KICK-BOXINGMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortElbow/KneeKilling Strike ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Foot Push ½ 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR to ShoveLow Kick ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikePunch/ElbowStrike ½ 4 + 2 + 0 STR + 2d6 Strike

Roundhouse Kick/Knee Strike ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 Strike

SkillsKS: Tai Kick-BoxingWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Staff

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Polearms +1 Use Art with Staff

THANG-TAMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Block, AbortDodge ½ 4 + 0 + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortKnifehandStrike ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Marman Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)

Punch ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeKick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 Strike

SkillsBreakallContortionistKS: Indian HealingKS: Tang-aKS: YogaWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Common Missile WeaponsWF: Urumi


+1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Polearms



Hero Games

HANGA NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch, Kniehand Strike, and Marman Strike all take location rolls o 2d6+1. TeKick takes a 3d6 roll. Te other maneuvers do notrequire Hit Location rolls.

Special Abilities: Characters can simulate gurus’healing powers with Healing.

Than Vo DaoTis Vietnamese style, whose name means

“spirit fist way,” is also known as Tan Quyen. Itsroots lie in Buddhism and aoism; it came to Viet-nam rom Mongolia through China, Tailand, andBurma.

Tan Vo Dao combines internal and exter-nal disciplines and uses circular energy. It has anumber o animal-based orms, including dragon,phoenix, tiger, crane, monkey, snake, and eagle. Italso teaches some weapons.

HAN VO DAO NOES

Optional Rules: Te Punch takes a 2d6+1 locationroll. Te Kick takes a 3d6 Hit Location roll. Teother maneuvers do not require rolls.

Special Abilities: Tan Vo Dao masters are saidto command at least two special abilities. Te firstis “iron body” (the same as the Iron Shirt power oKung Fu). Te second is “mind-fist,” the power to“place the mind on the fist” and detect an oppo-nent’s energy so as to anticipate his attack (boughtthe same as the genshin ability o Karate masters).

Vovinam Viet Vo DaoVovinam Viet Vo Dao is

a Vietnamese style developedin Hanoi in 1945 by NguyenLoc. It combines striking andwrestling maneuvers to orm awell-rounded combat style.

Vovinam Viet Vo Dao practitio-

ners wear a black uniorm (Vo Phuc).Beginners wear a white belt; higher-ranking students wear a black beltwith colored bands. A master o thisstyle is known as a Vo Sinh.

VOVINAM VIE VO DAO NOES

Optional Rules: Te Dam, Cho,Chem, and Flying Kick take a 2d6+1location roll. Te Da takes a 3d6 HitLocation roll. Te Goi takes a 2d6+7 HitLocation roll. Te other maneuvers donot require rolls.

Special Abilities: Similar to those

displayed by Karate practitioners.

Weapons Combathis generically-named art represents Euro-

pean and Middle Eastern heavy weapons ightingstyles rom antiquity to the Renaissance. It’s the

ighting art o the armored warrior, whether hebe an eleventh-century knight, a third-centuryRoman centurion, a hoplite rom Classical-eraGreece, an Achaean juggernaut rom the time othe rojan War, or some ighter Gilgamesh slew.O course, not all antasy ighters have this mar-tial art; it’s a skill possessed by very well-trainedand experienced warriors, not common troops orinexperienced ighters.

When buying Weapons Combat, the characterchooses one weapon type (rom the list o Weap-ons Elements provided below) with which he canuse the maneuvers. Tat choice is ree. AdditionalWeapons Elements, as usual, cost 1 point each.

THAN VO DAO

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortJoint Break ½ 5 -1 -2 Grab One Limb; HKA


STR for holding onKick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeLegsweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6; Target

FallsPunch ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

SkillsBreakallKS: Tan Vo Dao

WF: Common Martial Arts WeaponsWF: Common Melee Weapons

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Polearms

VOVINAM VIET VO DAOMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectChem (sword- hand) ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Da (kicks)/Goi (knee strikes) ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeDam (fist blows)/Cho (elbow strike) ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeDo (blocks) ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortFlying Kick ½ 5 + 1 -2 STR + 4d6 StrikeGrab ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for hol ding onSkillsKS: Vovinam Viet Vo Dao

WF: Common Melee Weapons

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Polearms

‘When people fall into danger,they are then able to strive

for victory.’

—Sun Tzu,The Art of War




WEAPONS COMBA MANEUVERS

Te maneuvers work as ollows:

All-Out: An all-offense attack which sacrificessome o the character’s DCV to get a blow in. Itdoes significantly more damage than a more rou-tine attack.

Attack: Astraight-orwardweapons

attack. Itis simply

an improve-

ment on a character’s normal, non-martial attackmaneuver.

Charge: Tis maneuver allows the character tomake an attack at the end o a Full Move; it’s espe-cially apt or spearmen.

Defend: Te standard Martial Block maneuver,useul or a wide variety o parries.

Probe: A maneuver used by a character who’s still

eeling out his opponent’s strengths and weak-nesses. It doesn’t allow the character to do as muchdamage as other maneuvers, but it gives him someadditional DCV, appropriate to a cautious fightingapproach.

Resist: With this maneuver, a character can blockincoming attacks; the maneuver has a standardAbort unction. It also allows a character to roothimsel in place and resist Shove attacks. It’s espe-cially appropriate or characters who play at beingone-man shield-walls.

Shove: With this maneuver, the character placeshis weapon up against his opponent and heaves hisopponent backwards. It requires a Medium or Longweapon; characters cannot perorm it with a Shortweapon.

Tere are no Bind, Disarm, or Dodge maneuvers in this art, since those maneuvers just don’tseem to belong to the heavy-weapons “eel” oWeapons Combat. Characters can always deaultto the basic Dodge and Disarm maneuver (and, inFantasy Hero games, to the basic Bind maneuversused in the antasy genre).

Fighters cannot use Flail weapons with theWeapons Elements. Weapons Combat is suitedmore or rigid weapons o all sorts.

Te GM should consider disallowing the useo the All-Out and Charge maneuvers in campaignswhich steer away rom high damage values (char-acters can still Push their Strength and use Move

Troughs, afer all).

OptionalRules:

When the char-acter uses Short weapons, attack

maneuvers take a 2d6+1 location roll. When thecharacter is using Medium or Long weapons,

attacks take a 3d6 location roll.

WhipfightingTis is a style or fighters

who use the whip in combat.Examples include several

whipfighting styles romIndonesia and other cul-

tures. Skilled whipfighterscan use their weapon with pinpointaccuracy, snapping weapons out o

hands and putting out eyes.Whipfighting cannot take

the Style Distinctive Feature.

WEAPONS COMBATUsable wit h one Weapon Group; th at WeaponElement is free

Mane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectAll-Out ½ 5 + 1 -2 Weapon + 4 DC StrikeAttack ½ 4 + 0 +2 Weapon + 2 DC StrikeCharge ½ 4 + 0 -2 Weapon + 2 DC Strike

+v/5, FMove

Defend ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortProbe ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Weapon StrikeResist ½ 4 + 0 +0 +15 STR to resist

Shove; Block, AbortShove ½ 4 + 0 +0 +15 STR to Shove

SkillsWF: Common Melee Weapons (the character must know how to use any weapons or which he has takenthe Weapons Element, below)WF: Staffs

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Axes/Maces/Picks +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Polearms

+1 Use Art with Shields +1 Use Art with Staffs



Hero Games

WHIPFIGHING NOES

Optional Rules: Te Slash and Snap both take 3d6Hit Location rolls; the Choke automatically targetsthe head/neck and the rip the legs/eet, but neithermaneuver receives bonuses or penalties because othat.

Special Abilities: You can simulate a whip master’sability to strike targets with pinpoint accuracy bybuying argeting Skill Levels.

WrestlingWrestling, as a martial art, dates back into

prehistory. In history, amous examples o wres-tling arts include the wrestling practiced in Greece,China, and India rom their earliest recorded histo-ries. Wrestling continues as a popular collegiate andproessional sport today.

Te package below includes several varieties

o Wrestling practiced today, including modern,Greco-Roman, and Russian sambo.

WRESLING NOES

Optional Rules: None o the Wrestling maneuverstakes a location roll except or the Choke, whichautomatically Grabs the head but gets no penaltiesor bonuses because o this.


SUBSYLES OF WRESLING

Many different cultures all over the world havetheir own different orms o wrestling. Some othem include:

AsuraA type o Indian wrestling in which striking

below the chest area is illegal, and the first fighter toall to the ground loses the match.

BûnoA Filipino wrestling orm.

CireumTis Korean orm o wrestling (also spelled

Ssi-reum) resembles Sumo Wrestling in some ways.

Dumog Filipino wrestling in which a wrestler grasps

his opponent’s belt and tries to throw him down.Te loser’s back has to squarely touch the ground.

GlimaeA orm o Icelandic wrestling which uses

movements called “tricks.” Opponents grasp each

others’ leather belts (climubelti) and try to throweach other to the ground. Te first wrestler whotouches the ground with any part o his body abovethe knees loses.

GulatIndonesian wrestling.

KoshtiA type o Iranian wrestling which takes place

in the Zour Xaneh (“house o strength”).

MallayuddhaA orm o Indian wrestling.

Naban

Burmese wrestling.

OkolAn Indonesian orm o wrestling rom the

island o Madura.

SamboRussian wrestling (also known as Sombo or

Cambo). Opponents wear a short epauletted jacket(kurtka) tied with a blue or red belt. Armlocks,throws, pins, and other maneuvers are assignedpoints; to win, one wrestler has to have scored atleast our more points than his opponent at the endo the match.

Shuai-chiaoChinese wrestling, which dates back to themillennia beore the birth o Christ.

egumiOkinawan wrestling.

YaghligureshA urkish orm o wrestling ought in a hall

called a kirpinar .

WHIPFIGHTINGUsable wi th Whip Weapons Group; Whip Weapon Elementis free

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectChoke ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb; 2d6

NND (2)Disarm ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm roll

Slash ½ 5 -2 + 1 Weapon + 4 DC StrikeSnap ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Weapon StrikeTrip ½ 3 + 0 + 1 Weapon Strike + v/5;

Target Falls

SkillsKS: WhipfightingWF: Whip*

WRESTLINGMane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectChoke ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb; 2d6

NND(2)Escape ½ 4 + 0 + 0 +15 STR vs. GrabsHold ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

to STR for holding onReversal var 4 -1 -2 STR + 15 to Escape;

GrabSlam ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

Take Down ½ 3 + 2 + 1 STR Strik e; You Fall,Target Falls

SkillsBreakallKS: Wrestling




Wrestling, ProfessionalProfessional Wrestling, though it has only recently

become a mania in the U.S., has been with us allthrough the twentieth century.

Te package below is for a pro wrestler who hasreal combat ability. Such a character would always pullhis punches or do zero damage with attacks in the ring,relying on his Acting to make it look damaging, but

could still use his art to good effect in situations outsidethe ring. At least one “style” of Professional Wrestling,Lucha Libre, which is popular in South and CentralAmerica, is performed full-contact, without any Acting.

One good way to give this art some “color” is tocreate your own unusual names for the maneuvers.For example, the Fist Smash becomes an “Atomic Pile-driver,” the Crush becomes the “Bulgarian Death-Lock,”and so forth. Players can elaborate on the maneuversslightly, adding or subtracting an Element here or there,to create “signature” maneuvers for their Pro Wrestlingcharacters.

PROFESSIONAL WRESLING NOES

Te “clubs” reerred to under the Weapons Elementusually includes stools, chairs, microphones, andother weapons o opportunity ound around thering.

Optional Rules: Te Fist Smash/Forearm Smash

takes a 2d6+1 location roll. Te Head-Bash isstruck with the head, against the target’s head; ittakes an automatic head location but does noextra damage because o the location. TeStomp takes an automatic Foot locationi the target is standing (damage is notreduced because o location); i thetarget is prone, it takes a 3d6 locationroll. None o the other maneuverstakes a location roll; they do general-ized damage.


Yu-SoolYu-Sool (“sof art”) is a Korean martial art

derived rom some Chinese systems. It was mostpopular rom the years 1000-1300 AD, and hassince declined, though it is still taught by somemasters. It concentrates on locks, throws, chokes,and other grappling techniques.

YUSOOL NOES

Optional Rules: Te Kuepso Chirigi and Striketake a 2d6+1 Hit Location rolls. Te Choke auto-matically targets the head but receives neitherbonuses nor penalties or this. None o the rest othe maneuvers requires Hit Location rolls.


PROFESSIONAL WRESTLINGMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBody Slam ½ 3 + 2 + 1 STR Strik e; You Fall,

Target FallsCrush ½ 4 + 0 + 0 STR + 4d6 Crush;

Must Follow GrabDuck ½ 4 -- + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortFist/ForearmSmash ½ 4 + 2 + 0 STR + 2d6 StrikeGrab ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

to STR for holding onHead-Bash ½ 4 + 2 + 0 STR + 2d6 StrikeStomp ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 Strike

Skills

AcrobaticsActingBreakall *

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Clubs (Fist/Forearm

Smash Only)

YU-SOOLMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectChoke ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb, 2d6

NND(2)Dodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortEscape ½ 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR vs. GrabsKuchigi (grabs) ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

to STR for holding onKuepso Chirigi (nerve strikes) ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND (1)Mechigi (throws) ½ 3 + 0 +1 STR + v/5; Target

FallsStrike ½ 4 +0 +2 STR + 2d6

SkillsBreakallKS: Yu Sool

‘To be theman, you

have to beat theman.’

—Ric Flair



Hero Games

ZipotaTis Basque fighting art (whose name means

“shoe”) resembles Savate in many respects. Its ori-gins are obscure, but likely date back at least as aras those o Savate. Like Savate, it employs manykicks and jabbing punches; unlike the French style,it also incorporates leaping kicks, throws, and otherenergetic maneuvers.

Zipota fighters ofen train in stickfighting aswell. Tey use the makila (or malika), a 1.5 meterlong stick with an iron cap on one end, used insheepherding. Te handle unscrews to reveal a long,sharp point.

ZIPOA NOES

Optional Rules: Te Leaping Kick has a2d6+1 Hit Location roll. Te Kick, Punch, and SideKick maneuvers all have 3d6 Hit Location rolls. Te

other maneuvers don’t require Hit Location rolls.Special Abilities: None.

Other StylesTe ollowing styles are ones the author came

across while researching this book, but or which helacked suffi cient inormation to create a completedescription. Players can do their own research or con-struct their own versions o these styles i they wish.

Bandesh: An Indian style whose object is to allow anunarmed man to lock up an armed man’s weapon andthen disarm him.

Binot: An Indian style designed to allow an unarmedman to deend himsel against an armed one orbeasts.

Cha-Yon Ryu: An eclectic modern art combiningaspects o Hapkido, Karate, and Kung Fu.

Cuong-Nhu: A Vietnamese style ounded in 1965.Te name means “hard-sof,” and the art blends “hardaspects taken rom Karate, Wing Chun, and Boxingwith “sof” elements rom Jujutsu, Aikido, and ai Ch’iCh’uan. It also incorporates elements rom VovinamViet Vo Dao.

Daletai: An ancient Chinese martial art combiningboxing and wrestling.

Koonomon ogip Baip: Tis is said to be a martialart or arts native to the Aborigines o Australia. Itsmaneuvers supposedly derive rom the movements onative animals (kite hawks, kangaroos, emus, wedge-tailed eagles, crocodiles, and the like), or rom move-ments used in fishing and other tasks.

Kuki-shin Ryu: A Ninjutsu-like “secret” fightingstyle said to have been practiced by ascetic Japanesemonks.

Kupigana Ngumi: A martial art developed in the late1960s or early 1970s that supposedly synthesizes tech-niques rom a number o Arican fighting traditions.

Moi-saree: A Malaysian fighting art.

Nabebutajutsu: Te art o fighting with a saucepanlid.

Pakchigi: A crude Korean style involving head-butt-ing.

Po Bok Sul: A Korean style using a rope to chokeor bind an opponent; used by Korean palace guardssince ancient times.

Russian martial arts: In addition to sambo (see

Wrestling ), Russian martial arts include Systema,Buza, Kulachnoi Boya, Samoz, Skobar, Spas, and manyothers.

Sebekkha: A martial art supposedly practiced inancient Egypt (the name is said to mean “CrocodileSpirit”).

a Merrian: A martial art rom Arica said to deriveits maneuvers rom totem animal movements andspirit dances.

egasajutsu: Te art o fighting with an umbrella.

Tanh Long: A Vietnamese style whose name means“School o the Green Dragon.”

Vietnamese schools: Te ollowing are mentionedin Louis Frederic’s Dictionary o the Martial Arts as“schools” o Vietnamese martial arts; they may bedistinct styles or substyles o other styles: Doc Nhan (“one-eyed” school); Hac Ho (“black tiger”school); Kime Ke (“yellow cockrel” school);Son Lam (“rom the mountain and romthe orest” school); ay-son Nhan (“moun-tain phoenix”school).

ZIPOTAMane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortKick ½ 4 +0 + 2 STR +2d6 StrikeLeaping Kick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikePunch ½ 5 + 1 + 3 STR StrikeSide Kick ½ 4 + 2 + 0 STR + 2d6 StrikeSweep ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

SkillsKS: ZipotaWF: Blades


+1 Use Art with Clubs




This section details several completelyfictional martial arts styles. Charactersin the movies, comics, and other sourcematerial ofen study styles bearing no

resemblance to “real-world” styles. Tey also displayspecial abilities exceeding those demonstrated byeven the most accomplished real-world martialarts masters. Te styles in this section allow HEROSystem gamers to simulate this sort o thing. Iyou don’t find any styles in this section suitablethe character you have in mind, use these styles as“models” to help you develop one o your own.

Brick TricksTis martial arts package represents a ew

combat moves commonly used by “bricks” (i.e., characters whose primary abilities involve greaterthan normal strength and resistance to damage).Te maneuvers rely on brawn and resilience, notfinesse and speed as with most styles.

BRICK RICKS NOES

Te “Bearhug II” simply involves grabbing thetarget around the middle (pinning his arms in the

process)and

squeezing him hard enough to keep him rombreathing, but not hard enough to permanentlyinjure him. Te deense is not needing to breathe,or somehow being “immune” to such squeezing (orexample, because the character is wearing heavyarmor).

Optional Rules: Te Punch takes a 2d6+1 HitLocation roll; the other maneuvers do not requirelocation rolls.


Dancing SpiderTe Dancing Spider style (Butõkumojutsu),developed centuries ago by certain Japanese tribes,is easily recognized — practitioners fight low to theground, usually on all ours. Its techniques include various sweeps, grabs, and blows which strike

upward into vulnerable points (such as handstand-kicks). Many fighters find it diffi cult to deendagainst this style, since they aren’t accustomed toassaults rom below.

Some scholars have theorized that theDancing Spider style was developed partly oruse in situations where the ooting was bad (i.e., on ships or muddy ground), and partly or use

by a short people whose enemies were taller andstronger. Some researchers have also made some

intriguing connections between the Dancing Spiderfighting art, Harimau Silat, and the worship o theMelanesian spider-god Marawa (who according tomyth was responsible or making humans mortal).

DANCING SPIDER NOES

Optional Rules: Te Dread Blow o suji Kenichiautomatically targets the vitals, but receives neitherbonuses nor penalties or this. Ikeda’s SurprisingKick, a blow delivered while the attacker standson his hands, takes a 2d6+1 Hit Location roll (or

FICTIONALM ARTIAL ARTS

BRICK TRICKSMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBearhug I ½ 4 + 0 + 0 STR + 4d6 Crush,

Must Follow GrabBearhug II ½ 5 -2 + 0 Grab Two Limbs, 2d6

NNDGrab ½ 4 + 0 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for holding onPunch ½ 4 + 2 + 0 STR + 2d6 StrikeSlam ½ 4 -1 -1 STR + 2d6 Strike;

Grab Tw o Limb s;Target Falls

Toughness ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, Abort



Hero Games

2d6+7 i fighting an opponent who isalso standing on his hands). Te SpinningFist echnique takes a 2d6+7 roll. None o theother maneuvers require Hit Location rolls, eitherbecause they target specific areas (the leg region) orbecause they do not involve Attack Rolls.

Special Abilities:

1) Leaping: All Dancing Spider stylists must buy

at least +3” o Leaping. Extra inches o Running arealso recommended.

2) Climbing: Some Dancing Spider masters aresuch skilled climbers that they can move up thesides o walls with astounding speed and ease.Characters can buy this as Clinging which Requires A Climbing Roll (-½).

3) Delightul Web techniques ( Yorokobashii Orim-ono Jutsu ): Tis term describes the special weap-ons techniques which Dancing Spider practitionershave developed or chain and rope weapons. Te

basic technique involves rapidly tying up the oppo-nent with skillul application o the chain or rope,then attacking him with the weapon attached to thechain (i any) or the fists.

Delightul Web echniques: Entangle 5d6, 5 DEF,akes No Damage From Attack (only applies tocharacter’s attacks; +¼) (62 Active Points); OIF(any chain or rope weapon o opportunity; -½),

Requires A DEX Roll (-½), No Range (-½). otalcost: 25 points.

Players can develop other Delightul Web maneuvers or their own use.

Drunken Clow n Kung FuDespite its comical name, this martial arts

style is a serious one — a act many overconfidentfighters have learned too late. raveling actors, per-ormers, and acrobats who needed a way to deendthemselves rom bandits developed it centuries agoby modiying their acrobatic skills into a orm o

fighting art.Te Drunken Clown style emphasizes acro-batic flips and many other unusual techniques,making its practitioners rustratingly unpredictableopponents. It also uses the general “Drunken Style”techniques o Kung Fu; reer to the description oKung Fu, above, or more details.

DRUNKEN CLOWN KUNG FU NOES

Te “Clubs” used with this style include a large vari-ety o acting and juggling props.

Optional Rules: Te Choke and Flying Chokeboth target the head/neck region automatically andreceive neither bonuses nor penalties or so doing.

Te Passing Strike and Deensive Fast Strike take a3d6 Hit Location roll. None o the other maneuversrequire Hit Location rolls.


DANCING SPIDERMane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectThe Dread Blow of Tsuji Kenichi ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR +4d6 StrikeThe Essential Maneuver Shiomi Emiko ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortIkeda’s Surprising Kick ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR +2d6 StrikeShinozaki’s Felling Blow ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsSnatching Spider Maneuver ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for holding on

Spinning Fist Technique ½ 5 + 1 + 3 STR StrikeTirayaki’s Human Web ½ 5 + 1 + 1 Grab Two Limbs;

STR Strike; You Fall,Target Falls

SkillsAcrobatics*Climbing*ContortionistKS: Dancing Spider StyleWF: Chain & Rope Weapons*

Elements

Weapons* +1Use Art with Chain & Rope Weapons

‘When an ordinary man attainsknowledge, he is a sage;

when a sage attains understanding,he is an ordinary man.’

— Zen Saying




Ghost Eye TechniquesTe Ghost Eye (Yõulíng Yãnjing ) is not a style per

se, with its own maneuvers and martial techniques,but a type o martial training emphasizing perceptionand observation. It derives rom two principles: first,how one strikes a target is not as important as whereone strikes; second, any attack one can sense, one canstop.

Students o the Ghost Eye usually develop thesealents and Powers:

Clairsentience (Sight Group, possibly including Pre-cognition)

Combat Sense

Danger Sense, out o combat, any attack, general area

Find Weakness

Flash Deense

Mental Deense; Only Protects Against Mental Illu-sions (-1½)

Power Deense; Only Protects Against Draining/Suppression O Perception Powers (-1½)

Spatial Awareness, 360 Degrees (a Zen-like awarenesso one’s surroundings)

I a character has all these abilities, it becomesalmost impossible to blind him. Beore a GM allowsa character to buy them, he should make sure theywon’t unbalance the game.

According to legend, the Ghost Eye is taught ata large monastery ar to the west o China (possiblyin ibet). Its practitioners can be recognized by theirunique hand-signal (holding the hands in ront o thechest with fingers steepled, to create a stylized “eye”).

Ghost Palm TechniquesTe Ghost Palm (Yõulíng Shão) techniques were

developed by the wizard Song Kuang. Song Kuangwas once an evil man, but afer the near-death ohis beloved daughter due to his own wickedness, hereormed and went into seclusion to meditate anddedicate himsel to the ways o truth and virtue. Aferyears o study, he learned a blow called the GhostPalm o Song Kuang, which allowed him to strikeghosts, demons, and other intangible monsters. Inlater years, he and his disciples developed an entireportolio o abilities to help them destroy evil Orien-

tal monsters o all sorts.Tus, like the Ghost Eye “school,” the Ghost

Palm is actually a collection o abilities and skills, nota fighting style. Tese abilities help the practitionerdestroy evil creatures such as devils, vampires, malev-olent spirits, and evil dragons. Te main Powers andSkills taught to Ghost Palm students include:

Te Ghost Palm o Song Kuang (an HA or HKAwhich Affects Desolidified)

Te Spirit Lock o Xian Lao Yu (Affects Desolidifiedor a Martial Grab; see page 104)

Healing: Ghost Palm practitioners can heal the victims o Oriental monsters by giving the victim

some o their own lie orce: Healing 4d6 (40 ActivePoints); Only Works On Others (-1), Only HealsDamage From Oriental Monsters’ Magical Attacks(-1½), Character akes 1 BODY Damage Per BODYHealed And 1 SUN Per 2 SUN Healed (-1). otalcost: 9 points

Detect Oriental Monsters, argeting Sense (can alsobe bought as a bonus to Danger Sense withthe -1Limitation Only Applies o Dangers From Oriental Monsters)

Find Weakness; Only Works On OrientalMonsters (-1)

Mental Deense (up to 10 points)

Power Deense (up to 10 points)

KS: Oriental Monsters

Over the centuries, as man has become moretechnologically oriented, the number o Orientalmonsters has decreased greatly, and consequently sohas the number o Ghost Palm practitioners. Tere areew (i any) masters o the Ghost Palm techniques lefalive; perhaps one o the PCs could “revive” this style.Ghost Palm stylists have a distinctive hand-signalwhich they use to identiy themselves: open handscrossed, palms together, in ront o the chest.

DRUNKEN CLOWN KUNG FUMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectChoke ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb; 2d6

NND(2)DefensiveFast Strike ½ 5 + 2 + 1 STR + 2d6 StrikeDefensiveDisarm ½ 5 -1 + 2 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm rollDefensiveGrab ½ 4 -1 + 0 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for holding onDodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortFlying Choke ½ 4 -2 -1 Grab One Limb; 1d6

NND(2); FMov eFlying Dodge ½ 5 — + 4 Dodge All Attacks,

Abort; FMoveFlying Grab ½ 4 -2 -2 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for holding on;FMove

GrapplingThrow ½ 3 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 Strike;

Target Falls, Must

Follow GrabPassingStrike ½ 5 + 1 + 0 STR + v/5; FMoveReversal var 4 -1 -2 STR + 15 to Escape;

Grab Two Lim bs

SkillsAcrobatics*Breakall*ContortionistPS: Clown (or Magician, Juggler, and so orth, asappropriate)

Sleight O Hand




Hero Games

Golden Demon Kung FuA quick, vicious style o Kung Fu, designed

to eliminate an opponent as swifly as possible,Golden Demon (Liújĩng Ch’uan) supposedly origi-nated deep in the Himalayas. Legends whisper o aGolden Demon emple where assassins and brutalfighters go to train (hence the art’s other name, Xiõngshŏu Ch’uan, “assassin’s fist”). Evil wizards

also ofen learn the Golden Demon style, becausethey can use the eared “Demon’s Claws,” enchanteditems o great power, with it.

GOLDEN DEMON KUNG FU NOES

“Demon’s Claws” (Zhão Jĩng ), a rare Orientalmagical item, are made rom the hands and clawso a demon. A pair o Claws’ level o power (i.e., its HKA DCs) depends on the sorcery invested inthem by their creator; some pairs are extremelydeadly even in the hands o the untrained.

Optional Rules: Te Gilded Hand o Lu Sing

Hao, the Demonic ouch o Ba Yixiao, and LoKung’s Demon Claw all take a 2d6+1 locationroll; the Diabolic Strike o Chang Kien takes a3d6 roll.

Special Abilities: Te same as those or theKung Fu package. Additionally, some masters othis style reputedly have the power to summondemons; they sell their souls to some patrondemon lord to gain this power. A ew masterspossess other demonic powers, such as the abilityto rapidly heal damage (Healing Regeneration), virtual immunity to damage rom fire (DamageReduction, Only Works Versus Fire (-½)), thepower to create illusions (Images), and the ability

to change their shape (Multiorm or Shape Shif).

The Paths of theSeven Ghost Sisters

Legend has it this style was taught to a groupo Buddhist nuns on a pilgrimage through themountains. One night, as they sat around theircampfire, the ghosts o seven sisters visited them.Te spirits claimed they and their amily were slainby a group o evil bandits. Te bandits still plaguedthe area, and would surely attack the nuns i theyound them. Te ghosts offered to teach the nuns

secret fighting techniques i the nuns would findthe outlaw band and destroy it.

Afer a long debate, the nuns agreed to thesisters’ proposal. Tey entered the spirit worldand began training under the tutelage o the sis-

ters. Tey returned to our world afer almosta year o study, only to find dawn barely

breaking afer the night they first met the sisters!o ulfill their promise, the nuns tracked

down the bandit gang and destroyed it, making thearea sae or years to come. Tey completed theirpilgrimage and then set out into the wilderness,where they ounded a temple. From time to timea student finds his (or her) way to this unnamed

temple and undertakes the study o the nuns’ secretfighting style, the Paths o the Seven Ghost Sis-ters. Still, it remains one o the rarest styles in theworld today; some scholars believe only two dozenpeople (at most) know this style.

HE PAHS OF HE SEVEN GHOSSISERS NOES

Optional Rules: Te Paths o Qing and Peihsiboth take a 2d6+1 Hit Location roll. Te Patho Jihong, a type o kick, takes a 3d6 Hit Loca-tion roll. Te other maneuvers do not require HitLocation rolls.

GOLDEN DEMON KUNG FUMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectThe Demonic Touch of Ba Yixiao ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)The Diabolic Strike of Chang Kien ½ 5 -2 +1 STR + 4d6 StrikeThe Gilded Hand of Lu Sing Hao ½ 4 +0 +2 STR + 2d6 StrikeLo Kung’s Demon Claw ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)

Shield of the Seven Demons ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

Abort

SkillsAs Kung Fu package

ElementsAs Kung Fu packageWeapons +1 Use Art with Demon’s Claws




Special Abilities: Each o the Ghost Sisters taughta different special ability to the nuns, who havein turn passed knowledge o those powers on todeserving students. Tey are:

1) Haixia: the Beneficent Vision o Sister Haixia,the ability to see spirits and ghosts (Detect Ghosts)

2) Hseuh: Sister Hseuh’s Warrior’s Eye, the abilityto detect danger o all sorts (Danger Sense, out ocombat, all attacks)

3) Jihong: the Devastating Kick o Sister Jihong(the Double Knockback Advantage (see page 104)or the Path o Jihong, or an HA with DoubleKnockback)

4) Min: the Curtain o Air, an advanced ability tododge attacks (Desolidification [affected by magicalattacks or any maneuver specifically designed toovercome this ability], Invisible Power Effects (FullyInvisible; +1) (80 Active Points); Only o ProtectAgainst Martial Arts Attacks (-1), Requires A DEXRoll (-½). otal cost: 32 points).

5) Peihsi: Sister Peihsi’s Lovely Song (Hear-ing Group Flash Attack 4d6 plus EB 2d6, NND(deense is being dea or having Hearing Group

Flash Deense; +1); Incantations (-¼)).

6) Qing: Sister Qing’s All-Seeing Fist, the ability tostrike beore your oe can attack (Fast Draw and/orLightning Reflexes).

7) Xiulan: Sister Xiulan’s Stance o Stone (Clinging(SR +20), Only o Resist Trows (-1)).

Resplendent Dragon Kung FuTe Recorder o Tings Strange has written:In the time o the Emperor Chen, an old man

dressed in the robes o a monk walked down out othe hills and came to the gates o the palace. Terehe spoke to the guards who stood watch at thegate: “I seek an audience with the Emperor,” he saidcalmly, as i he did not understand the enormity othe request.

“You?” the guards asked scornully. “Whyshould we admit such a decrepit old man as youto see the Emperor, who has all the cares o statebeore him?”

“Because I ask you to,” said the old man

politely. “I the Emperor is a truly wise ruler, he willsee me.”With that, the guards burst into laughter. “Be

off with you, old man!” they said angrily. Te oldman lef and returned to the hills.

And so it happened or many days. Each daythe old man approached the guards, and each dayhe was rudely rebuffed. Finally, afer two weeks,one o the guards brandished his halberd at the oldman, thinking to scare him off or good. At this, theold man made a gesture which seemed casual andslow — but beore anyone realized what was hap-pening, the guard lay unconscious on the ground!

As the old man threw the guard’s halberd to

the side, the other guard sounded the alarm. Soonmore than a dozen soldiers arrived to take on oneharmless-looking old man. But the captain o theguard was wiser than his men. He saw that the oldman was not a threat, so he called off the alarmand personally escorted the old man to a luxuriouswaiting room. Ten he inormed the Emperor owhat had taken place.

Now the Emperor Chen was, like his captain,a man o wisdom. He immediately granted the oldman the audience he had sought or so long. Teold man made obeisance beore the Emperor, andwhen his turn came to speak he said, “Your High-ness, I come to you bearing both a message and a

gif. Te message is this: the gods are well-pleasedwith your rulership and your treatment o thepeople, and they wish to reward you. Teir reward,and my gif, is my service to you and your amilyor as long as you shall require it.”

“And what are these services, SanctifiedGrandather?” the Emperor asked, recognizing theholiness o the man.

“Although I am not so oolish as to call myselwise, in my time I have experienced many things.I will teach what I know to you and your amily.However, in return or my services to you, the godsdemand three things. First, you must build a greattemple, greater than any in the land, here in your

THE PATHS OF THESEVEN GHOST SISTERS

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectThe Path of Haixia ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortThe Path of Hseuh ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

FallsThe Path of Jihong ½ 5 -1 + 0 STR + 4d6 StrikeThe Path of M in

½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,Abort

The Path of Peihsi ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)The Path of Qing ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeThe Path of Xiulan ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for holding on

SkillsAcrobaticsBreakallKS: BuddhismKS: Paths o the Seven Ghost SistersStealth

WF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Common Martial Arts WeaponsWF: Hook SwordWF: Off HandWF: Wind and Fire Wheels


Weapons +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Hook Sword +1 Use Art with Polearms +1 Use Art with Staff +1 Use Art with Wind and Fire

Wheels



Hero Games

capital. Second, you yoursel must make the firstoffering each morning at the temple. And third,you, your amily, and all o your retainers must atonce cease the sport o hunting the red deer thatrun in the orests o your kingdom.”

Now the Emperor Chen ancied himsel agood judge o character. He could sense no malicein this old holy man — and rom what the captaino the guard said, the old man had much to teach.

“Agreed!” the Emperor said, and immediatelyarranged quarters or the old man. Work on thetemple began the next day.

Te old man taught the Emperor and hisamily o the ways o the ao and many otherwondrous things. From him they learned a styleo boxing surpassing all other styles, which the oldman said was “a gif rom the resplendent dragonso the gods.” And so the Emperor’s amily began tocall it the Resplendent Dragon style.

Tis course o instruction continued or over ayear, and several o the Emperor’s sons and daughtersbecame proficient in the ways o the ResplendentDragon. However, the middle son, sen, chaed under

the restrictions his ather had imposed on the amilyat the request o the Sanctified Elder. sen was a greathunter who loved nothing more than the thrill o thechase. Te teachings and martial wisdom o the oldman were or him a poor substitute or the hunt.

Afer more than a year had passed, he couldbear it no longer. He convinced himsel the SanctifiedElder’s warnings were just the oolish prattlings o anold man gone senile. sen gathered his men and hishunting weapons and rode to the orest. His servantsglanced at him earully, and tried to dissuade him,but sen ignored their warnings, too. Beore hal aday was over, he had chased down and shot two othe red deer. He gathered his quarry and rode trium-

phantly back to his ather’s palace.When the Emperor saw the two dead deer, hecursed his son and

ran to find theold manand beghis

orgiveness. He looked everywhere, but the old man

was nowhere to be ound. Eventually one o thepalace guards reported seeing the old man leav-ing the city. Tat was the last time the Emperoror any o his servants ever saw the old man,or search the hills as they might, they neveround any trace o him. All that remained

o him was the knowledge he hadimparted. In years to come

the Emperor’s sons used theResplendent Dragon style

to win many victories andexpand the size o their ather’s king-dom, but they never met the old managain.

Although the Emperor’s amilywas ated never to find the SanctifiedElder, they were not the only ones who looked.

Over the course o centuries many young men,inspired by this story, went in search o the Elder andthe martial knowledge that he could bestow. Only themost worthy every ound their way through the hillsto the emple o the Dragon where the Elder dwells.Whether the Elder is but one man with a liespano millennia, or many men who in turn dole out theteachings o the Resplendent Dragon to the deserv-ing, no one can say.

Te powerul and graceul ResplendentDragon style o Kung Fu (Cànlànde Lóng Ch’uan) is

RESPLENDENT DRAGONKUNG FU

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectThe Dragon’s Claw

½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)Dragon’s Tail Brushes The Ground ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target Falls

The Fist of the Scarlet Dragon ½ 4 + 0 +2 STR + 2d6 StrikeThe Golden Dragon Strike ½ 5 + 1 + 3 STR StrikeHsu Pao’s Twisting Reversal ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

FallsThe Moon Dragon’s Shining Scales ½ 4 + 2 +2 Block, AbortThe Sublime Avoidance ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortSwooping Dragon Maneuver ½ 5 + 1 +0 STR + v/5; FMove

Skills

AcrobaticsBreakallKS: Resplendent Dragon Kung FuWF: Common Martial Arts WeaponsWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Dragon Staff

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Blades +1 Use Art with Dragon’s-Beard

Hook +1 Use Art with Dragon Staff +1 Use Art with Polearms +1 Use Art with Staff




thus an art rarely seen. It is taught in only one place,the mysterious emple o the Dragon, by onlyone man, the Sanctified Elder. Legends say onlyone who is truly brave and truly wise can find theemple and enter therein to train. Some scholarsclaim the temple Emperor Chen built, which stillstands in Beijing, contains clues to the location othe emple o the Dragon in it somewhere.

Te Resplendent Dragon style teaches one

unique weapon, the Dragon Staff. Tis is a normalstaff with a stylized dragon’s claw on either end. Tewielder can either use it as a normal staff, or can doHKA ½d6 with its claws. Extremely proficient war-riors can attack twice in one round with the staff,once with each end.

RESPLENDEN DRAGON KUNG FU NOES

Optional Rules: Te Fist o the Scarlet Dragon andthe Swooping Dragon Maneuver both take a loca-tion roll o 2d6+1; the Golden Dragon Strike (whichrepresents various kicks and punches) takes a 3d6location roll.

Special Abilities: In addition to any o the special

abilities that Kung Fu practitioners can take, masterso the Resplendent Dragon style sometimes displayone unique ability: the Dragon’s Flame.

Some Resplendent Dragon masters have discov-ered a way to ocus their ch’i and cause their fists toburst into mystic flame (huöshé lóng , “the Dragon’sFlame”). Tis flame allows them to strike opponentswith devastating orce. A ew masters believe otherDragon’s Flame powers are possible, and await thearrival o a truly gifed warrior to discover them.

Cost Power END22 Te Dragon’s Flame: Multipower, 67-

point reserve, Requires An EGO Roll

(-½), Increased Endurance Cost (x4END; -1½)

2u 1) HA +12d6; Hand-o-Hand Attack(-½), Requires An EGO Roll (-½),Increased Endurance Cost (x4 END; -1½) 24

2u 2) HKA 3d6 (plus SR), Penetrating (+½);Requires An EGO Roll (-½), IncreasedEndurance Cost (x4 END; -1½) 28

Silken Blade Kung FuTis northern orm o internal Kung Fu, o

uncertain origin, is well-known or its kicks, includ-

ing the spectacular Meteor Kick, and or its otherpowerul fighting maneuvers. Silken Blade possessesa combat orientation that seems out o place withthe internal disciplines at its heart. However, whenone considers that Silken Blade masters only teachstudents with at least two decades o experience inother internal styles, one realizes the fighting powerdisplayed by a Silken Blade practitioner simply rep-resents his total control over his own ch’i.

SILKEN BLADE KUNG FU NOES

Optional Rules: Te Meteor Kick, Pheasant Kick,Silken Hand Strike, and Master Peng’s Silken Fistall take 2d6+1 Hit Location rolls. Leopard Paws At

Te Ground automatically targets the leg region, butreceives neither bonuses nor penalties because othis. None o the other maneuvers require Hit Loca-tion rolls.

Special Abilities: In addition to those abilities dis-played by other Kung Fu masters (see above), SilkenBlade masters possess a unique ability, the one aferwhich their style is named. Using a simple piece ocloth as a ocus, they can project their ch’i and turn the

cloth into a deadly weapon! Silk seems to work bestor this ability, but any type o cloth will do. Te mostcommon types o clothing used are the ollowing:

Sash/Belt: HKA 1d6 (plus SR), Armor Pierc-ing (+½) (22 Active Points); OIF (any appropriate piece o cloth o opportunity; -½). otalcost: 15 points.

Robe: HKA 1d6 (plus SR) (15 Active Points);OIF (any appropriate robe o opportunity, -½)(total cost: 10 points) plus Armor (3 PD/3 ED)(9 Active Points); OIF (any appropriate piece ocloth o opportunity; -½) (total cost: 6 points).

otal cost: 16 points.

Glove: HA +4d6 (20 Active Points); Hand-o-Hand Attack (-½), OIF (any appropriate gloveo opportunity; -½). otal cost: 10 points.

SILKEN BLADE KUNG FUMane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/Effec tCelestial Dragon Reaches For The Moon ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for holding onClouds Cross The Sky ½ 4 +2 + 2 Block, Abort

Crane Defeats Serpent var 4 -1 -2 STR + 15 to Escape,Grab Two Limb s

Crystal Wave Breaks On The Shore ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortLeopard Paw s At The Ground ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsMaster Peng’s Silken Fist ½ 4 +0 + 2 STR +2d6 StrikeMeteor Kick ½ 5 +1 + 0 STR +v/5; FMoveMonkey Falls From Tree ½ 3 + 0 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

FallsPheasant Kick ½ 5 +1 -2 STR +4d6 StrikeSilken Hand Strike ½ 4 + 0 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC),

Must Follow Block

SkillsAcrobaticsBreakallContortionistKS: Chinese Philosophy KS: Silken Blade Kung FuWF: As Kung Fu package

ElementsAs Kung Fu package



Hero Games

Speedster M artial ArtsTis package o martial arts maneuvers repre-

sents combat abilities displayed by characters able tomove at high velocities — comic book “speedsters,”bird-men in antasy campaigns, and the like. Natu-rally, most o the maneuvers incorporate the Full Move Element.

Te Flying Grab maneuver allows the speedsterto run up to someone and grab him. Te FlyingTrow maneuver allows the speedster to grabsomeone and then throw him, using the speedster’sown velocity to increase the damage (visually, thespeedster may pick up the target, carry him at highspeed, and then let him go so he smashes into a walland takes damage, or he may run past him and hithim with a sort o takedown maneuver using thecharacter’s own velocity to augment the blow). TePassing Disarm involves running past the target andsnatching something out o his hand. Te PassingTrow maneuver allows the speedster to “intercept”

another moving character and trip or throw him,so that the target’s own velocity works against him.Te Rapid Punch involves hitting the target severaltimes in the space o a second (while this could bebought as an Autofire HA, it can also be simulatedwith one high-damage attack). With both the Flyingand Passing Trows, remember that the v/5 Elementrelies on relative velocity; see page 97.

SPEEDSER MARIAL ARS NOES

Optional Rules: Te Passing Strike and RapidPunch both take 2d6+1 Hit Location rolls. Teother maneuvers do not use Hit Location rolls.


Splendid FistTis style, known simply as Genkotsujutsu (“fist

art”) in Japanese, is a warrior’s style. Developedduring Japan’s eudal era by Shibata Eiji, a samurai osome renown, it’s a brutal and practical fighting style

SPEEDSTER MARTIAL ARTSMane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectFlying Dodge ½ 5 — + 4 Dodge All Attacks,

Abort; FMove

Flying Grab ½ 5 -2 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10STR for holding on;FMove

Flying Throw ½ 5 -1 -2 Grab Two Limb s; STR+ v/5; Target Falls;FMove

PassingDisarm ½ 5 -1 -1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm roll; FMovePassingStrike ½ 5 + 1 + 0 STR + v/5; FMovePassingThrow ½ 5 + 0 + 0 STR + v/5; Target

Falls; FMoveRapid Punch ½ 5 + 1 -2 STR + 4d6 Strike

SPLENDID FISTMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectThe Darting Fish Maneuver ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortThe First Fist of Shibata Eiji

½ 4 + 0 +2 STR + 2d6 StrikeThe Reliable Shield of Okano Akira ½ 4 + 2 +2 Block, AbortRoundhouse Kick ½ 5 + 1 -2 STR + 4d6 StrikeThe Second Fist of Shibata Eiji ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeSpearhand Technique ½ 4 -2 + 0 HKA ½d6 (2 DC)The Strike of Initial Defeat ½ 3 + 2 -1 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsThe Warrior’s Smile Technique ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm roll

SkillsKS: Splendid Fist StyleWF: Common Melee Weapons*WF: Common Martial Arts Weapons*WF: Common Missile Weapons*Weaponsmith


Weapons +1 Use Art with Clubs +1 Use Art with Fist-Loads +1 Use Art with Karate Weapons +1 Use Art with Polearms +1 Use Art with Staff




in which the practitioner’s only goal is to deeat hisoe by any honorable means possible. Even today it isa fierce and sometimes deadly combat art.

Te Splendid Fist style emphasizes hand andfist attacks over kicks. Masters claim hand attacksare quicker, more easily controlled, and easier to use.Students must also learn a wide variety o weaponstechniques.

SPLENDID FIS NOES

Optional Rules: Te First and Second Fists o Shi-bata Eiji and the Spearhand echnique take 2d6+1Hit Location rolls. Te Roundhouse Kick takes a

3d6 location roll. Te Strike o Initial Deeat auto-matically targets the leg region, and receives neitherbonuses nor penalties or so doing.

Special Abilities: Te greatest Splendid Fist prac-titioners possess a power called the Invincible Fist.By channelling their ki into their fists, Splendid Fistmasters can deliver blows o tremendous power.Legends say Shibata Eiji commanded an InvincibleFist so powerul he could smash down castle walls

with it. Whether this is true, it is a recorded actthat fighters who possess this ability are capable odelivering fist-strikes powerul enough to deeat thetoughest oe.

The Invincible Fist: HA +15d6 (75 ActivePoints); Hand-o-Hand Attack (-½), Concen-tration (½ DCV; -¼), Increased EnduranceCost (x4 END; -1½). otal cost: 23 points.

Takijutsuakijutsu (“waterall art”) is a Japanese fight-

ing style emphasizing “internal” disciplines andorms o combat. Some fighters reer to it as “Japa-nese ai Ch’i,” and this observation is not ar wrong.Te style’s name derives rom an ancient Orientalsaying about water, which yields beore all orce andyet wears away the hard, unyielding rocks.

akijutsu was developed in the nineteenthcentury by Morioka Kenichi, a Japanese diplomatwho served his emperor by working in China andtook the opportunity to study Chinese martial arts.Afer his retirement he returned to Japan wherehe studied Jujutsu and the newly-created Judo. Bycombining aspects o them with aspects o the Chi-nese internal arts he had studied, Morioka createda style which utilizes gentleness and non-resistancein the ace o aggression. Te akijutsu practitionerlets an attacker deeat himsel by taking aggressiveaction, thus putting him at a disadvantage, whichthe takijutsuka exploits to end the fight quickly andas painlessly as possible.

Most practitioners o akijutsu are Shintoists.

AKIJUSU NOES

Optional Rules: Te ouch o sukiyomi takes a2d6+1 Hit Location roll; none o the other maneuvers require Hit Location rolls.

Special Abilities: In addition to the special abilitiespossessed by ai Ch’i Ch’uan masters (see above),

akijutsu masters know a set o special abilities alltheir own. First, the most devout ofen can conversewith kami (spirits), and, in some cases, call on themor assistance in times o need. Second, many othem can call orth “divine light” (kamihikari), asort o glow that surrounds their person and blindsanyone who gets within hand-to-hand fightingrange (Sight Group Flash Attack Damage Shield).Tird, according to legend some masters have thepower to transorm themselves into water, but noliving master has substantiated this.



Hero Games

Thunder Dragon Kung FuTis fighting style originated in Bhutan, “land

o the thunder dragon,” hence its name. Legend hasit a Buddhist monk named Jigme developed it aferobserving a crane struggling to capture a large fish.He taught the art to his ellow monks, one o whomtook it to Tailand and China when he traveled thereas a missionary. He integrated elements o MuayTai and northern Kung Fu styles into the art tocreate a more well-rounded fighting style.

Tunder Dragon Kung Fu (Léilóng Ch’uan)relies on kicks as its principle attack orm, keep-ing the arms and hands in reserve to block or grab.Most o its movements are circular, in imitation othe sinuous body o the thunder dragon, giving itsstrikes great power. Tunder Dragon practitionersare also known or their ability to withstand blowsthat would knock other fighters unconscious.

HUNDER DRAGON KUNG FU NOES

Optional Rules: Te Roundhouse Kick and SnapKick take 3d6 Hit Location rolls. Te Punch/ElbowStrike and Axe Kick take 2d6+1 Hit Location rolls;the Knee Strike takes a 2d6+7 roll. Te other maneuvers do not require Hit Location rolls.

Special Abilities: In addition to the special abilitiesavailable to Kung Fu and Tai Kick-Boxing practi-

tioners, Tunder Dragon masters may also know theollowing powers:

1) Tunder-Kick: A kick accompanied by a loudburst o sound that deaens and stuns the target:

Thunder-Kick: Hearing Group Flash 4d6, rigger (when character uses Roundhouse Kick,takes no time, immediately automaticallyresets; +1) (24 Active Points); Linked (-1/2)(total cost: 16 points) plus Energy Blast 2d6,NND (deense is being dea or having Hear-ing Group Flash Deense; +1), rigger (whencharacter uses Roundhouse Kick, takes no time,immediately automatically resets; +1) (total

cost: 30 points). otal cost: 46 points.

2) Water-walking: By careully ocusing their ch’i,Tunder Dragon practitioners can walk upon water.Tey buy this as Flight 5” (10 Active Points); OnlyWorks In Contact With Water (-1½), Concentration(0 DCV; -½). otal cost: 3 points.

3) Weather control: Te ability to manipulate theweather. Characters buy this as a orm o ChangeEnvironment, and may also buy related powers (suchas an EB reflecting the power to call down lightningbolts to smite one’s oes).

Zen RifleryTis fighting style is best reerred to as “the arto the gun.” Its tongue-in-cheek name is a jokingreerence to Kyujutsu/Kyudo (“Zen archery”).Some practitioners call it Gun Fu or Woojutsu. It’sa modern-day refinement on several more or lessextinct Japanese arts, including Jukenjutsu (the arto the bayonet), Hojutsu (the art o the arquebus),and Kajutsu (the art o firearms and explosives, alsoknown as Kayakujutsu and eppojutsu).

Zen Riflery cannot take the Style DistinctiveFeature.

ZEN RIFLERY NOES

Te “Club” reerred to above is the gun itsel, used as ahand-to-hand weapon. In some cases this can damagethe gun. Practitioners can also learn special techniquesor using the bayonet on a rifle (they may also studytrue Jukenjutsu i they wish; see page 32).

Optional Rules: Te Smash/Trust takes a 2d6+1 HitLocation roll. All other offensive maneuvers take a 3d6Hit Location roll.

Special Abilities: Gun Fu practitioners have devel-oped a wide variety o abilities to simulate their skillwith firearms. Tey include:

1) Deadly Accuracy: Te character has such good aim

TAKIJUTSUMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectThe Fortress Hand of Sohda Hiroshi ½ 4 + 2 +2 Block, AbortThe Gentle Grasp of Master Shiokawa ½ 4 + 0 + 0 Grab One Limb, + 10

STR for holding onHayata Setsuko’s Hand of Passage

½ 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR to ShoveThe Response of the Stream ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortThe Touch of Tsukiyomi ½ 5 + 0 + 1 2d6 NND(1)The Waterfall Throw of Sakai Akemi ½ 4 + 1 + 1 STR + v/5; Target

Falls

SkillsAcrobaticsBreakallKS: ShintoismKS: akijutsu

THUNDER DRAGON KUNG FUMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortCrescentKick ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm rollGrab ½ 3 + 0 -1 Grab One Limb, + 10

STR for holding onKnee Strike ½ 5 + 2 + 1 STR + 2d6 StrikeLegsweep ½ 4 + 2 + 0 STR + 1d6 Strike;

Target FallsRoundhouse Kick/Axe Kick ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeSnap Kick/Punch/Elbow Strike ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 Strike

SkillsAs Kung Fu packageKS: Tunder Dragon Kung FuWF: As Kung Fu package

ElementsAs Kung Fu package

‘Do notseek

follow in thefootsteps of twise. Seek whathey sought.’

—Bas




that almost every shot is an instant kill. Te character’saccuracy is simulated not with extra OCV, but with extradamage, signiying his ability to hit vital areas with everyshot. RKA +2d6, adds to any firearm (30 Active Points);OIF (any firearm; -½), Does Not Work With Hit Loca-tion Chart Or argeting Skill Levels (-¼), No KB (-¼).otal cost: 15 points.

2) Mowing ‘Em Down: Te character is skilled withAutofire attacks, able to cut down numerous oes without

suffering CV penalties. Area o Effect (Radius, Selec-tive) or up to RKA 4d6, adds to any Autofire firearm(75 Active Points); OIF (any Autofire firearm; -½), MustUse Maximum Number O Autofire Shots, Can OnlyHit One arget Per Shot (-¼), Does Not Work With HitLocation Chart Or Anti-argeting Levels (-¼). otal cost:37 points.

3) Corridor o Death: Te character can use an Autofireattack to fill a hall, corridor, or similar confined spacewith a hail o lead. Area o Effect (Line, x2 length) orup to RKA 4d6, adds to any Autofire firearm (75 ActivePoints); OIF (any Autofire firearm; -½), Must Use Maxi-mum Number O Autofire Shots, Can Only Hit Onearget Per Shot (-¼), Does Not Work With Hit Loca-tion Chart Or argeting Skill Levels (-¼). otal cost: 37points.

4) Machine Gunner From Hell: Te character isextremely accurate when using Autofire attacks againsta single oe. +4 OCV with Autofire Firearms (20 ActivePoints); Only Apply When Uses Autofire Against ASingle arget (-¼), Must Use Maximum Number OAutofire Shots (-¼), Does Not Work With Hit Loca-tion Chart Or argeting Skill Levels (-¼). otal cost: 11points.

5) Quick Fire: Te character can attack in a manner likethe Rapid Fire maneuver, but he’s so nimble he suffersno DCV penalties when doing so. On the other hand,

he suffers the usual penalties associated with Autofirei he does not buy Skills such as Accurate Sprayfire andConcentrated Sprayfire. Autofire (up to 5 shots) or up toRKA 4d6 firearms (30 Active Points); OIF (any firearm;-½), Does Not Work With Hit Location Chart Or arget-ing Skill Levels (-¼). otal cost: 17 points.

ZEN RIFLERYUsed with Clubs Group; Weapon Element Clubs is free

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortSmash/Thrust ½ 4 + 0 +2 Weapon + 2 DC Strike

Takeway ½ 5 + 0 +0 Grab Weapon,+ 10 STR to takeweapon away

Used wit h Pistols Weapons Group; Pistols Weapon Ele- ment is free Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV RNG Dama ge/EffectAccurateShot ½ 4 + 2 -2 + 2 Weapon StrikeBasic Shot ½ 4 + 0 + 0 + 2 Weapon + 2 DC

StrikeDefensiveShot ½ 3 -1 + 2 + 0 Weapon StrikeDistance Shot ½ 5 + 0 -2 + 6 Weapon Strike,

+ 1 SegmentDiving Shot ½ 3 + 0 +2 + 1 Weapon Strike,

Half MoveRequired, You Fall

Far Shot ½ 5 + 1 -1 + 4 Weapon StrikeLeg Shot ½ 3 + 0 -1 +0 Weapon + 2 DC

Strike, ThrowOffensiveShot ½ 4 -1 -1 + 0 Weapon + 4 DC

StrikeQuick Shot ½ 4 + 1 + 0 + 0 Weapon + 2 DC

StrikeRangedDisarm ½ 4 + 0 + 0 + 0 Disarm, + 15 STR

to rollTrained Shot ½ 4 + 2 + 0 + 0 Weapon Strike

Skills

Combat Skill LevelsDemolitions*KS: Gun AccessoriesKS: Zen Riflery Missile Deflection (dodging bullets)PS: GunsmithPS: Create AmmunitionF: ParachutingWF: Pole Arms (or Bayonet)WF: Small Arms*WF: other modern weaponsWeaponsmith

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with BayonetBarehanded +1 Use akeaway maneuver



Hero Games

One o the most requently encoun-tered villains in just about any movie,comic book, or action novel thesedays is the ninja — the elusive assas-

sin-spy o eudal Japan. Ninja clans and individualninjas are particularly popular in martial arts-basedcomics, but they’re used as villains in many otherstories as well. Even characters who aren’t “true” or“pure” ninja have ofen received “ninja training” osome sort.

Most works o fiction portray ninja as seri-ous enemies with skills so advanced they presenta credible threat to the most skilled PCs. With the

addition o some unusual, or mystic, abilities, theycan even go head-to-head with superpoweredhumans. A ew authors have made un o this trendand shown that the ninja have humor value, too— sometimes Our Hero can’t even get near China-town without stepping on hordes o the damnedthings, and their fighting prowess is questionableat best.

Tis section o Te Ultimate Martial Artist takes a look at ninja — their fighting arts, specialabilities, tools, and equipment.

NINJA PACKAGE DEALIn eudal Japan, ninja were reconnaissance

experts, spies, and assassins. Te principles o ninjutsu began development as early as the seventhcentury AD and reached their height during theokugawa era (seventeenth to nineteenth centuriesAD). Te earliest name or ninja was shinobi, or“stealer-in” (one who sneaks in), and their arts werecollectively known as shinobijutsu.

Ninja belonged to extended ninja clans, mosto which were located in the Iga and Koga moun-tain areas. A clan was ofen associated with a spe-cific noble amily that utilized its services on anexclusive or near-exclusive basis.

Ninja ell into one o three ranks within theiramilies. Te low man was the genin, the agent-level ninja who perormed the dangers missions;in okugawa times, known genin were the lowestorm o lie in the Japanese social strata. Te middleman was the chunin, the unctionary o the ninjaclan, a subleader and planner. Te top rank was thato the jonin, the ninja group or amily leader whoprepared, accepted, or reused contracts.

Female ninja, called kunoichi, existed. Teylearned traditional ninja abilities but were espe-cially skilled at espionage through seduction andinfiltration.

Afer the end o the okugawa era, the ninja

amilies went into decline; their skills were not omuch use in a peaceul Japan. According to somehistorians, the last true ninja used their skills inWorld War II, and no one practices genuine ninjutsu today. But other sources say some ninja ami-lies retained and handed down their skills until themodern era, and their ninjutsu is still being taught,even by Americans who have learned the art.

ADVANCEDNINJUTSU

NINJA PACKAGE DEALSkills Cost

WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common

Martial Arts Melee Weapons, Common MissileWeapons, Garrote, Blowgun, Fukimi-bari 9

Ninjutsu or Karate maneuvers (character’schoice) 10

KS: Ninjutsu or Karate (character’schoice) 8- 1

Language: Ninja Clan Codes and Symbols(fluent conversation; literate) 3

Acrobatics 3

Breakall 3

Climbing 3

Concealment 3

Stealth 3Choose any two o the ollowing: 6Contortionist, Conversation, Demolitions,Disguise, Fast Draw, High Society, Lockpicking,Paramedics, PS: Dancing 12-, PS: Cartography 12-,PS: Healer (Doctor) 12-, PS: Singing 12-, Riding,Seduction, SS: Meteorology 12-, Security Systems,Sleight O Hand, Survival (3 points’ worth),racking, Weaponsmith (3 points’ worth)

otal Cost: 44

Optional Skil lsBugging 3Electronics 3Mechanics 3

WF: Small Arms 2Optional Disadvanta gesDistinctive Features: Style -10Distinctive Features: Ninja Night-Suit (EasilyConcealed; Noticed and Recognizable) -5(or eudal-era ninja, increase the Reaction to“Causes Extreme Reaction (ear and loathing),”and the value to -15)Hunted: own ninja clan (or organized crimegroup) 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching) -10(this Hunted is appropriate or a ninja who’sloyal to his clan [or or modern ninja, hisorganized crime group]; you can change its value by changing the requency)




VARIANT STYLESOF TAIJUTSU

For players who want to be a little different withtheir ninja characters, here are our fictional styleso aijutsu.

Kõrogi TaijutsuDeveloped by the elusive Mosoru ninja clan,

Kõrogi (“cricket”) aijutsu received its name ortwo reasons. Te first and more obvious reason isits visual element: K õrogi aijutsu involves a lot oleaping, flying kicks, and other maneuvers not com-monly used by ninja. Te second (but perhaps moreimportant) reason is that, like a cricket at night, youmay sense there’s a Mosoru ninja near, but you cannever find and catch him.

Te Mosoru have taught their art to severalWesterners they trust, but do not teach it openly.

KOROGI AIJUSU NOES

Te Cricket Escape allows the character to makea Full Move during the process o escaping rom a

hold o some sort. Te character must succeed withhis Escape (i.e., roll more BODY on his SR dicethan his attacker does) beore he gets to make theFull Move; i he remains held, he cannot make theFull Move.

Optional Rules: Te Cricket Kick, Punch, andSpear Hand all take 2d6+1 Hit Location rolls. Teakedown does generalized damage and requiresno roll. Te other maneuvers do not use Hit Loca-tion rolls.

Special Abilities: Te special skills o the Kõrogi practitioner include:

1) Leaping: Practitioners o this style can leap a

great distance. Tey should buy at least an extra 5”o Leaping. In some cases the extra Leaping mayRequire An Acrobatics Roll (-½).

2) Chūchū naku (“to chirp”): Te Kõrogi ninja’sability to attack his enemies by expelling his ki as ashout. It is equivalent to Kiaijutsu (see page 134).

3) Kõrogitobu (“Te cricket’s leap”): A powerulattack ability: Leaping +20” (20 Active Points); Onlyo Make Hal Moves In Combat (-1) (total cost: 10

points) plus HA +5d6 (25 Active Points); Hand-o-Hand Attack (-½), Linked (-½) (total cost: 12points) plus +1 OCV (total cost: 2 points). otalcost: 24 points.

Mist Viper TaijutsuMist Viper (Kiri no Mamushi) aijutsu is

everything the Silent Path (see below) is not: hard,brutal, combative. Mist Viper ninja, o the Saitoclan, are a secretive group known as lethal assassinsand top-flight combat agents. On the other hand,their infiltration skills are not nearly as well-devel-

oped as those o Silent Path practitioners. A greatrivalry exists between these two amilies; the Saitoalso despise practitioners o the Way o the NightDragon and work to eliminate them. Few i anyWesterners have ever learned this style.

MIS VIPER AIJUSU NOES

Optional Rules: Te Blood-Fist and Death-Fistboth take 2d6+1 Hit Location rolls. Saito Yuriko’sStrike o Revenge, a orm o kick, takes a 3d6 loca-tion roll. Te other maneuvers either do not userolls, do generalized damage to the target, or targeta specific location.

Special Abilities:

1) Kõdokuso: Immunity to many different kinds oserpent venoms (LS: Immunity).

KOROGI TAIJUTSUMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectAtemi Strike ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Cricket ChokeHold ½ 4 -2 -1 Grab One Limb; 1d6

NND(2); FMov eCricketDodge ½ 5 — + 4 Dodge All Attacks,

Abort, FMoveCricket Kick ½ 5 + 1 + 0 STR + v/5; FMoveCricketEscape ½ 4 + 0 -1 + 10 STR vs. Grabs;

FMovePunch ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeSpear Hand ½ 4 -2 + 0 ½d6 HKA (2 DC)Takedown ½ 3 + 1 + 1 STR Strike; Target

Falls

SkillsAcrobatics*Breakall*Contortionist*As Ninjutsu package

ElementsAs Ninjutsu package

M IST VIPER TAIJUTSUMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortBlood-Fist Of The Mist Viper ½ 4 + 2 +0 STR + 2d6 StrikeDeath-Fist Of The Mist Viper ½ 4 -2 + 0 ½d6 HKA (2 DC)The Neck-Throw Of Saito Junzo

½ 5 -2 + 0 ½d6 HKA (2 DC);Target Falls

Saito Masao’s Invincible Grip ½ 4 -2 + 0 Grab One Limb; 2d6

NND(2)Saito Yuriko’s Strike Of Revenge ½ 5 -2 + 1 STR + 4d6 StrikeThe Sting Of The Mist Viper ½ 3 + 1 + 1 STR Strike; Target

Falls

Skills

As Ninjutsu package





the person who grabbed him. Te character firstmakes his SR Roll to see i he escapes. I he suc-ceeds, he rolls in the normal ashion to see i theStrike part o the maneuver hits. I the escape ails,he must make an Attack Roll with the penalties andmodifiers described under Grab on page 386 o theHERO System 5th Edition, Revised.

Optional Rules: Te Sublime Fist O Te NightDragon, the Claw O Te Night Dragon, and Jein’s

Hand O Shadow all take 2d6+1 Hit Location rolls.Te Jaws O Te Night Dragon does generalizeddamage; all the other maneuvers do not require HitLocation rolls.

Special Abilities:

1) Te Veil O Te Night Dragon: Tis is the NightDragon ninja’s most eared power: the ability toavoid detection by those who can sense danger.(Invisibility to Danger Sense (20 Active Points);Requires A Stealth Roll (-½); total cost 13 points.)

2) Eyes O Te Night Dragon: Te ability to remaincompletely aware o one’s surroundings whileasleep (Lightsleep).

3) Will O Te Night Dragon: Equivalent to Saim-injutsu (see below).

NINJA SPECIAL ABILITIESTis section describes some examples o the

sort o special skills and abilities ninja characterscan purchase, including mystic or paranormal abili-ties.

Mundane Ninja Abilities

HE DANCE OF HE SIX SARSTis is a rapid-fire shuriken-throwing ability

used not only by true ninja, but by some practi-tioners o Shurikenjutsu as well. Te ninja hides anumber o shuriken on his person, anywhere romhis eet to his head. (Te usual number is nine,which has special significance or the ninja.) Ten,in an emergency, he can pull them out and beginthrowing them extremely quickly. o avoid present-ing a stationary target and to build up momentumor his throws, the ninja spins, moves, and ducks ashe draws and throws the shuriken. A highly-trainedpractitioner’s moves are so fluid they ofen seemlike a sort o “dance,” hence this manuever’s name.

The Dance Of The Six Stars: HKA ½d6 (plusSR), Ranged (+½), Autofire (up to nineshots; +1) (25 Active Points); IAF (concealedshuriken; -½), No KB (-¼), Requires A DEXRoll (-½). otal cost: 11 points.

Note: with GM permission, characters couldadd the rigger Advantage, with the riggerdefined as a “reflex action” or something simi-lar. A character with the riggered version othis ability should be limited to throwing nomore than three shuriken in a Phase.

NIGHT DRAGON TAIJUTSUMane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/Effec tThe Claw Of The Night Dragon ½ 4 -2 + 0 ½d6 HKA (2 DC)The Jaws Of The Night Dragon var 5 +0 + 1 + 10 STR vs. Grabs;

STR + 2d6 StrikeJein’s Dragon-Wing Fan

½ 4 +2 + 2 Block, AbortJein’s Hand Of Shadow ½ 4 -1 + 1 2d6 NND(1)Kinuko’s Puzzling Apprehension ½ 3 -1 -1 Grab Two Limbs, + 10

STR for holding onSaigo’s Body Of Shadow ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge All Attacks,

AbortThe Sublime Fist Of The Night Dragon ½ 4 +0 + 2 STR +2d6 Strike

SkillsAcrobaticsBreakallAs Ninjutsu package


‘One

defends when

his strength isinadequate; heattacks when itis abundant.’

—Sun Tzu,The Art of War



Hero Games

HE DRAGON’S CLAW

Te Dragon’s Claw (Ryu no sume) allows aninja to inflict rending and tearing damage upon anenemy. raining or it consists o strengthening thehands and wrists. In game terms, a ninja with thisability can buy the iger/Dragon Claw maneuverrom Kung Fu or his Ninjutsu package.

GENJUSU

Genjutsu (the art o illusion) is the ninja’s skillat creating images and illusions using props andother devices. For example, a ninja might set up alot o dummies and light some ake campfires tomake a besieging army look larger than it really is.Tese illusions are relatively crude and take a longtime to set up or change.

Genjutsu: Sight and Hearing Group Images, -2to PER Roll, 1” radius (19 Active Points); IIF(various props; -¼), Limited Effect (NormalSight and Normal Hearing only; -¼), Set EffectUntil Changed (-½), Extra ime (1 urn ormore to set up or change an image, dependingupon complexity; -1). otal cost: 6 points.

Modern-day ninja could take advantage ocurrent technology (and maybe even holography)to make their illusions more versatile and easy towork with. Additionally, in some campaigns Gen- jutsu could represent a mystical ability allowing aninja to create true Images or Mental Illusions toconuse his enemies.

HOJOJUSU/ORINAWAJUSU

Tis is the ninja’s knot-tying ability, with whichthey restrained prisoners. Knowledge o knot-tyingalso helped a ninja escape when someone tied himup. Characters buy Hojojutsu as a Proessional Skill:

Knot-ying. For every point a character makeshis PS: Knot-ying by, a character trying to escaperom or undo the knots using another Skill (suchas Contortionist) suffers a -1 penalty to his roll.Similarly, i a character with PS: Knot-ying is tiedup, his PS: Knot-ying acts as a ComplementarySkill to his Contortionist roll when he tries to untiehimsel.

HE MIRACULOUS SUNBURS

Tis skill teaches the ninja to use the reflec-tive surace o an object to temporarily blind anopponent. Although it’s usually done so the ninjacan make an escape, characters can also use it in

combat. A ninja who knows this skill usually carriesseveral reflective objects on his person (a silver waran, highly polished pieces o jewelry or shuriken,and so orth).

The Miraculous Sunburst: Sight Group Flash4d6 (20 Active Points); OIF (reflective object oopportunity; -½), Requires A Light Source oReflect (-¼), Requires A DEX Roll (-½). otalcost: 9 points.

NOROSHIJUSU

In ancient times, Noroshijutsu was the ninja’sskill o using signal-fires to communicate with his

allies. As such, characters can buy it as a ProessionalSkill. Modern-day ninja might expand Noroshijutsuto include all orms o communication and signalling(i.e., Systems Operation).

HE SLEEP OF ESCAPE

Tis ability allows the ninja to reduce his heart-beat and rate o respiration, making him appear dead.However, his senses remain active on some level, andhe “awakens” when he’s sae once more. Ninja ofenuse this ability to escape rom prison cells, hence itsname.

The Sleep Of Escape: Simulate Death (characterawakens when danger has passed or other specified condition is met): 3 points.

Mystic Ninja AbilitiesIn addition to their mundane skills, the ninja

were credited with a wide variety o mystical powers.Tis offers players plenty o opportunities to “custom-ize” their ninja characters and give them unique and

interesting powers, such as the ones described below.HE BLESSING OF HOMASUBI

By using this special power, a ninja can causehis hands to burst into flame (allowing him to createlight or cause damage in combat).

Cost Power END56 Te Blessing O Ho-Masubi: Multipower,

56-point reserve3u 1) HKA 1½d6, Damage Shield (covers

the hands only and so does not affectcharacters who Grab other parts o thecharacter’s body; +¼), Continuous (+1);

No SR Bonus (-½), No KB (-¼) 4

1u 2) Sight Group Images, Increased Size (8”radius; +¾); Only o Create Light (-1) 2

HE BRIDGE OF HE IDE DRAGON

While many ninja can use special devices toseemingly “walk on water,” a ew ninja can do sounaided! Tese ninja know how to extend their ki so it supports them on the surace o the water. Ocourse, this ability only works on relatively calmwater; ninja cannot use it in rapids or sur.

The Bridge Of The Tide Dragon: Flight 5” (10 Active Points); Only In Contact With Te Sur- ace O Relatively Calm Water (-1½). otal cost:

4 points.

CASLE WIHOU WALLS

One o the legendary powers o the ninja wasthe ability to walk through walls and other barriers,thereby gaining access to otherwise impenetrableortresses and strongholds.

Castle Without Walls: Desolidification (affectedby any type o attack) (40 Active Points); DoesNot Protect Against Damage (-1), Only o WalkTrough Walls (-1). otal cost: 13 points.




HE FOLDED BLADE

Tis “origami magic” allows a ninja to spendabout a minute olding a piece o specially-pre-pared paper into a unctional dagger or othersmall weapon. Origami weapons are as vulnerableto most physical orces as their metal or woodencounterparts, but disintegrate completely i theycontact water (but not blood).

Whispered tales speak o more advanced

orms o origami magic, in which the older cre-ates paper creatures which actually come to lie!However, i such magics exist, they are beyond thepurview o ninja wizardry.

Folded Dagger: HKA ½d6 (plus SR) (10 Active Points); OIF (piece o origami paper;-½), No KB (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), Extraime (takes 1 urn to old into shape beore itcan be used; -1¼), Requires A PS: Origami Rollo Create (-½), Susceptible o Water Damage(-¼). otal cost: 2 points.

Folded Shuriken: HKA ½d6 (plus SR),

Ranged (+½) (15 Active Points); OIF (piece oorigami paper; -½), No KB (-¼), Real Weapon(-¼), Extra ime (takes 1 urn to old intoshape beore it can be used; -1¼), Requires APS: Origami Roll o Create (-½), Susceptible oWater Damage (-¼). otal cost: 4 points.

HANDS OF HE SPIDER

Ninja climbing abilities sometimes exceed thescope o the Climbing Skill. In act, some ninja canactually stick to walls, ceilings, and similar suraces.Characters can buy this as Clinging, Cannot Resist

Knockback (-¼), or as “Perching” Clinging (see side-bar, page 143, HERO System 5th Edition, Revised ).

IRON BODY

Tis mystical power, similar to the Kung Fumaster’s power o like name, is the ability to with-stand blows rom edged weapons without injury. Aninja buys it as Damage Resistance or his PD.

KUJI KIRI

Kuji kiri (“nine ways cutting”) is a orm omystical meditation. A ninja learns nine differentways to interlace his fingers, each with its own sym-bolic significance. By meditating on this gesture, theninja evokes special abilities, strengths, and powers.

Te kuji kiri powers listed below are but oneset PCs could develop. Characters could also buyoff the Extra ime and Charges Limitations oncethey became proficient with this power.

Cost Power END14 Kuji Kiri: Multipower, 40-point reserve,

all slots Gestures (-¼), Extra ime (1urn; -1¼), and Requires A KS: Ninjutsu

Roll (-¼) (total -1¾)1u 1) Rin (“strength”): Aid SR 4d6;

Common Limitations (-1¾), SelOnly (-½) 4

1u 2) Kyo (“direction o energy”):elekinesis (20 SR); CommonLimitations (-1¾) 3

1u 3) oh (“harmony”): Aid EGO 4d6;Common Limitations (-1¾), SelOnly (-½) 4

1u 4) Sha (“healing”): Simplified Healing4d6; Common Limitations (-1¾), SelOnly (-½) 4

1u 5) Kai (“premonition”): +6 to Danger

Sense roll; Common Limitations (-1¾),1 Charge lasting 1 urn (-1½), CostsEND (-½) 1

1u 6) Jin (“knowing the thoughts oothers”): elepathy 6d6; CommonLimitations (-1¾) 3

1u 7) Retsu (“mastery o time and space”):eleportation 15”; CommonLimitations (-1¾) 3

1u 8) Zai (“control”): Aid PRE 4d6;Common Limitations (-1¾), SelOnly (-½) 4

1u 9) Zen (“enlightenment”): Aid IN 4d6;Common Limitations (-1¾), Sel

Only (-½) 4

NINJA INVISIBILIY POWERS

Te mystical power most commonly attributedto the ninja was the power to become invisible. “Invis-ibility” actually consists o several different abilities,some as much skills as magical powers.

The Mantle Of Night (the ability to become invis-ible in darkness or shadow): Invisibility to SightGroup, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (30 Active Points); Only Works In Darkness Or Shad-ows (-½), Requires A Stealth Roll (-½). otal cost:15 points.



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Ametori-no-jutsu (the art o silhouette distortion):eliminate the Fringe Effect or other types o Invis-ibility (10 Active Points); Requires A Stealth Roll(-½). otal cost: 7 points.

Hiding In Plain Sight (the power to create illusionsto camouflage the ninja): Images to Sight Group,

-3 to PER Roll, 1” radius (19 Active Points);Requires A Stealth Roll (-½), Set Effect (only tocamouflage the ninja; -½). otal cost: 9 points.

Mind Like A Pool (the ability to hide one’s mind rom mental detection): Invisibility to MentalSense Group (10 Active Points); Requires AStealth Roll (-½). otal cost: 7 points.

True Invisibility: Invisibility to Sight Group, NoFringe, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½): 45 points.

ONIBI NO JUTSU

“Te art o the demon’s fire” involves the use oan enchanted demon mask. By putting on the mask,a ninja gains the demonic power to breath flame. Temasks, products o blackest ninja magic, are extremelyrare; some people say anyone who touches or wearsone who does not belong to the owner’s clan becomescursed.

Onibi No Jutsu: RKA 2d6, Area O Effect (12”Line; +1) (60 Active Points); OIF (Demon Mask;-½), No Range (line must begin where characteris; -½). otal cost: 30 points.

PASS WIHOU RACE

Some o the most skilled ninja possess the powerto travel rom one point to a nearby point withoutpassing through the intervening space. Tey mostofen use this ability to escape pursuers or captors, butcan also use it to secretly enter a secured area.

Pass Without Trace: eleportation 15” (30 ActivePoints); Extra ime (Full Phase; -½), IncreasedEndurance Cost (x3 END; -1), Requires A KS:Ninjutsu Roll (-¼). otal cost: 11 points.

HE PAHS OF HE CA

Tis power is the counterpart to the ninja’s invis-

ibility powers: he uses his ki to make his movementabsolutely silent. Tis power is or the ninja’s normalground movement; characters can buy similar powersor swimming and other orms o movement.

The Paths Of The Cat: Invisible Power Effects(Hearing Group; +¼) or up to 10” Running: 5 points.

SAIMINJUSU

Saiminjutsu (“the way o the mind gate,” alsospelled Hsimenjutsu) is the ninja power o mindcontrol. Ninja can use this power to control theminds o others, both in and out o combat; toreverse the same sort o control which has beenimposed by another; and to cloud men’s minds,making him invisible to them.

Cost Power END23 Saiminjutsu: Multipower, 40-point

reserve, all slots Gestures (-¼) andRequires An EGO Roll (-½)

2u 1) Mind Control 8d6; No Range (-½),Common Limitations (-¾) 4

2u 2) Suppress Mind Control 8d6;Common Limitations (-¾) 4

2u 3) Invisibility to Sight Group, NoFringe; Common Limitations (-¾) 3

SOUL LEECHING

Tis is the darkest and most eared o the ninja’smagic abilities — the power to steal the lie orce oanother. In its lesser orm, the ninja simply drains the victim’s lie orce, injuring or killing him; in its greaterorm, the ninja actually steals the victim’s lie orceand uses it to make himsel stronger!

Soul Leeching (lesser form): Drain BODY 3d6,Ranged (+½), Delayed Return Rate (pointsreturn once per Hour; +1) (75 Active Points);Concentration (½ DCV; -¼), Requires A KS:Ninjutsu Roll (-¼). otal cost: 50 points.

Soul Leeching (greater form): ranser 5d6(target’s BODY hal to character’s SUN, halto character’s END), Ranged (+½), DelayedReturn Rate (points return once per Hour; +1)(187 Active Points); Concentration (½ DCV;-¼), Requires A KS: Ninjutsu Roll (-¼). otalcost: 125 points.




HE ULIMAE DISGUISE

Perhaps the rarest o the ninja’s mystical powersis the ability to assume the shape o animals or otherpeople (most commonly, that o the crow and thewol). Tis is bought as a Multiorm or Shape Shif.Consult the HERO System Bestiary or sample char-acter sheets or many animals.

NINJA GEAR ANDEQUIPMENTTe ninja used many different types o gear to

perorm their espionage and assassination missionssuccessully. Tis section showcases some o theirequipment. Modern-day ninja can use “traditional”gadgets o the sort described here, or develop modernequivalents (which tend to be lighter, stronger, andbetter). Te choice ofen depends on training: anAmerican ninja probably uses modern equipment; aninja trained by a secretive, tradition-bound clan inrural Japan, even in the present day, probably learnsto use “archaic” equipment.

Climbing EquipmentTe ninja ofen had to climb walls, trees, and

other large objects, so they created several devices toaid them. Collectively reerred to as noboriki or toki,these devices include: bashigo (collapsible ladders); various types o claw-like devices which also doubledas weapons, such as the shuko, ashiko, and nekote (reer to the Weapons section o Chapter Tree ordetails); kagiwara or kaginawa (rope and grapnel);kasugai (clamps a ninja could press into a wall toorm handholds or toeholds); katsushiya or kasha (a pulley-and-rope device allowing a ninja to sliderom one area to another; bought as a limited ormo Swinging or Gliding); kumade (a hollow bamboostaff with a rope running through the center; theninja pulls on the rope to stiffen the staff and make itclimbable); musubibashigo (a rope ladder with loopsor ootholds and a grapnel on one end); musubinawa (a horsehair rope, very strong and easy to hide);shinobikagi (a hollow staff containing a rope andhook which breaks down into a sort o rope ladder);shinobitsue (a hollow staff with a concealed hook andseveral rope toeholds); and tobibashigo (a bamboo-and-rope ladder with a grappling hook at the top).

Noboriki: +2 to Climbing roll (4 Active Points);

OAF (-1) or IAF (depending upon the obvious-ness and accessability o the device, -½). otalcost: 2 points (OAF); 3 points (IAF).

Infiltration EquipmentTe ninja employed a wide variety o devices to

aid them in picking locks and infiltrating areas.

Drilling devices: Ninja used these devices to drillor bore holes through doors and walls. Tey couldthrow them as crude shuriken (doing 1 pip RKA)i necessary. Tey include: the kunai (a trowel-like

blade or boring or digging); shikoro (a hand-saw, either large [oshikoro] or small [koshikoro]);tsubogiri (crescent-shaped borers); and the yajiri(another type o hand-saw).

Drilling devices: +1 to Lockpicking (2 ActivePoints); OAF (-1). otal cost: 1 point.

Door jammers: Many doors in eudal Japan wereopened and shut by sliding. Ninja would jam spe-

cially-shaped pieces o metal or wood called tojime,shimeki, or kasugai between the two sliding panels toprevent them rom being opened, thus delaying anypursuers.

Tojime/Shimeki/Kasugai: elekinesis (20 SR),Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½), Uncontrolled(removable by spending one Phase and makinga DEX Roll; +½) (60 Active Points); OAF (-1),Only o Hold Sliding Doors Shut (-2). otal cost:15 points.

Lockpicks: Te ninja’s lockpicks were known askurorokagi and oseku; they do not provide bonuses to

his Lockpicking Skill; instead, he must have them touse the Skill at all. I he doesn’t have his lockpicks, heeither cannot pick the lock, or must attempt to do soat a -5 penalty or lack o tools.

Water EquipmentA ninja ofen has to operate on or around water,

and employs a variety o gadgets to help him usewater to his advantage. Ninja water gadgets includeboats, swimming aids, and water-walking equipment.

Boats: raditional watercraf adapted to ninja pur-poses. Ninja could collapse them, or divide them intoseveral parts, or easy carrying. Examples include the

hasamibune (a collapsible floating platorm or car-rying equipment); the kyobako-une (a waterproochest which doubled as a type o boat); shinobibune (a boat which split into several sections or carryingor hiding); and the tsubigune or tsugibune (collapsibleboat). o use any o these craf properly, the charactermust know ransport Familiarity: Small Rowed Boats.

Swimming aids: Ninja sometimes used mizukaki or mizukakigeta, a “webbed sandal” which actedlike modern swim fins, allowing them to swimmore quickly than normal. I they had to hideunderwater or extended periods, they used a tak-ezutsu, or breathing tube (ofen disguised as a reed,

and also called a mizuzutsu).Mizukaki: Swimming +3” (3 Active Points); OIF(-½). otal cost: 2 points.

Takezutsu: LS: Expanded Breathing (ExpandedBreathing: Breathe Underwater) (5 ActivePoints); OAF (-1), Only Works Close o Te Sur- ace (-1). otal cost: 2 points.

Water-walking devices: Tese devices allowed theninja to “walk on water” so that he could cross rela-tively calm lakes and streams quickly and quietly. ouse them properly, a character must know ransport



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Familiarity: Ninja Water-Walking Devices. Examplesinclude: kama-ikada (a oldable one-man straw raf);kameikada (large tortoise shells attached to a bamboorame; the ninja placed his eet in the shells and poledhimsel across the water with a special collapsiblebamboo paddle called a shinobigai); the mizugumo (“water spider,” two groups o boards tied together ina circular pattern and placed under each oot); tarui-kada (similar to the kameikada, but using flotation

pots instead o tortoise shells); and the ukidaru (twotubs joined by a cord, used like the taruikada).

Water-walking devices: Flight 3” (6 ActivePoints); OAF (-1), Only In Contact With Te Sur- ace O Relatively Calm Water (-1½), Requires A DEX Roll (-½), Concentration (0 DCV; -½),Requires F: Ninja Water-Walking Devices (-0).otal cost: 1 point.

Miscellaneous Equipment

Disguised footprints: By attaching special soles tothe bottoms o his sandals, a ninja could disguise hisootprints (ashiaro) as those o an animal, a man walk-ing the other direction, or the like.

Disguised footprints: Cosmetic ransorm 1d6(recognizable ootprint into disguised ootprint;Standard Effect Rule applies) (5 Active Points);OIF (-½). otal cost: 3 points.

Hito Washi: A type o primitive hang-glider madeo cloth and bamboo which a ninja could use to glideover castle walls and other targets o observation.Sometimes ninja also used this device to drop smallbombs on the enemy. A similar device, more like alarge kite, was the yamidoko.

Hito Washi: Gliding 5” (5 Active Points); OAF (-1). otal cost: 2 points.

Kitõ-gan: a special type o pill which ninja used todelay thirst or up to five days.

Kitõ-gan: Lie Support: Diminished Eating (onlyhas to drink once per week) (1 point); OAF (-1), 1Charge (-2). otal cost: 1 point.

Lighting devices: Ninja devices or providing lightinclude: the gando, a type o searchlight made byplacing a candle inside a sort o metal tube; the mizu-taimatsu, a torch which continued burning even in the

rain; and the ninshokudai, an L- or S-shaped candle(and/or holder) which a ninja could wedge into orhang rom something to make others think he wasstanding somewhere he was not.

Lighting devices: Images to Sight Group, 1” radius(create light) (10 Active Points); OAF (-1), Onlyo Create Light (-1). otal cost: 3 points.

Uchidake: Te uchidake was a fire-starter made outo a bamboo tube.

Uchidake: Change Environment 1” radius(start fire) (5 Active Points); OAF (-1). otalcost: 2 points.

NINJA FROM OTHER LANDSJapan is not the only land in which stealth, espi-

onage, and assassination missions were conducted bycorps o elite warrior-spies. Several “alternate ninja”are described below. In most cases, these warriorsused tactics and fighting styles which are, or gamepurposes, the same as those used by the ninja.

LIN KUEI

Te lin kuei (“orest demons”) are the ninjao ancient China. Some scholars believe the ninjalearned most o their techniques rom the lin kuei,described by legends as aoists who turned their reli-gious martial training to the secular ends o decep-tion, assassination, and profit.

Te lin kuei used a style o martial arts knownas An Ch’i (see page 16). Tis style emphasizes theuse o hidden weapons and gadgets, and o smallthrowing weapons (similar to shuriken). Te linkuei were masters o the thrown weapon; char-acters who have received lin kuei training shouldbuy a “throwing master” ability (EB and/or RKA

with an OIF, “appropriate objects o opportunity”— thus allowing the character to turn any smallobject into a deadly missile).

SULSA

Te sulsa are the ninja o Korea. Tey rose toprominence during the Tree Kingdoms period oKorean history, in the first millenia AD. Tey prac-ticed the art o concealment (also known as sulsa),and in many ways could be considered the oppositeo the hwarang (young noble knights) just like theninja are the counterparts o the noble samurai.

RULKOR

Te trulkor is the ibetan equivalent o the ninja.His fighting and espionage arts depended heavily onthe principles o deception and illusion — the ideathat i a fighter could mask his intent rom the enemy,the enemy was helpless.

MODERN AMERICAN NINJA

Te term “modern American ninja” reers topresent-day Americans (and persons rom otherwestern nations) who have received ninjutsu training.Modern ninja rom Japan are ofen depicted as usingancient devices and weapons, perhaps because o the“flavor” this gives them. American ninja, on the otherhand, usually have no reluctance to use the technol-ogy o modern warare and espionage. ModernAmerican ninja are more likely than any other typeo ninja to use firearms, electronic devices, and simi-lar high-tech gadgetry.

OHER NAMES FOR NINJA

Other names that were sometimes given tothe ninja include kuro hagi (“black calves”), nozaru (“mountain monkeys”), rappa (“disheveled waves”),and suppa (“crystal waves”).




Fighting skills play an important role inmany genres, rom antasy, to sciencefiction, to the wild west. Tis sectionexplores some o the possibilities or

using martial arts in various genres.

CYBERPUNK/NEAR FUTUREMARTIAL ARTS

Most “cyberpunk” or near uture settings includethe increased influence o the Japanese, Chinese, andother Asian cultures as an element o the setting.

Wherever Asian influence becomes so strong, themartial arts prosper. Te act that cyberpunk worldstend to be extremely violent places where peopleneed to learn how to fight well doesn’t hurt, either.

One way to “customize” martial arts or cyber-

punk games is to give some o the styles new namesin the cyberpunk patois. For example, charactersmight reer to “Street Smarts” instead o DirtyInfighting; Kenjutsu becomes “Samurai Diplomacy.”Tis helps to blend martial arts into the campaign sothey seem like an actual part o the world around thecharacters, not just a tool or the PCs to use.

Here’s an examples o a cyberpunk martialarts style.

Razor DancingDeveloped by cyberware-augmented street

warriors to improve their odds o surviving inhand-to-hand combat, Razor Dancing ocuses onthe use o various types o blades or spurs thesefighters ofen possess (including small blades, or“hand razors,” that project rom beneath their fin-gernails, hence the style’s name). Fast, deadly, andgraceul, Razor Dancing gives a trained fighter anedge normal street brawlers lack.

RAZOR DANCING NOES

Optional Rules: Te Claw, Jab, and Slash all takeHit Location rolls o 3d6.


FANTASY MARTIAL ARTSMartial arts are both common and popular in

antasy games. In act, having a martial arts pack-age o some sort is ofen one o the things whichsets a PC apart rom his less talented brethren (i.e., most NPCs). Tree primary avenues or introduc-ing martial arts into a antasy campaign exist.

Te first, and most important, is the use oweapons. Muscle-powered weapons are a majorelement in any antasy campaign, and this provides

MARTIAL ARTS INOTHER GENRES

RAZOR DANCINGUsed wit h Hand Razors; Hand Razors Weapon Elementis free

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/Effect

Block ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortClaw ½ 5 -2 + 1 Weapon + 4 DC StrikeDodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortJab ½ 5 + 1 + 3 Weapon StrikeSlash ½ 4 + 2 +0 Weapon + 2 DC Strike

SkillsWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Hand Razors*



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plenty o opportunities or the creation o fight-ing styles. Some styles ocus on a single weapon;examples rom the “real-world” martial artsdescription include Bojutsu/Jojutsu, Fencing, Ken- jutsu, Kyujutsu, Naginatajutsu, Saijutsu, SevillianKniefighting, Shurikenjutsu, and Whipfighting.Te broad Weapons Combat style adapts to manytypes o weapons, and is perect or many antasycampaigns and characters. Fantasy characters can

create similar fighting styles or their own weapons(or example, “Dwarven Axefighting” or “ElvenFencing”). Some might even develop a martialarts style or use with a single weapon, such as aunique enchanted sword. For instance, i a charac-ter owned a soul-eating sword that drains the lierom someone with the merest scratch, he wouldn’tfind it effi cient to use standard swordfightingmaneuvers — he could develop a style o sword-play intended not to wound the enemy, but simplyto nick him.

You can also use martial arts in a antasy gameto represent the distinctive fighting maneuverso non-human races. Intelligent creatures such as

centaurs, gargoyles, mermen, and lizardmen woulddevelop fighting arts suited to their body struc-tures. Many o these martial arts would seem oddto humans, and in many cases they couldn’t evenlearn them. Poluraathkaa (see below) provides anexample o such a fighting style.

Te third way to work martial arts into yourantasy game is as an aspect o particular cultures,societies, or groups. Obviously, i your campaigntakes place in an Oriental setting, or even nearpsuedo-Oriental lands, martial arts will be rela-tively common. But even without such nations,certain societies or groups might develop martialarts styles. In some cases the style constitutes a

particular society’s definitive ability, the way skillwith horses is the trademark o the horse-ridingnomad clans who populate many antasy novels.Perhaps the best example o this is the Bloodguard,rom Stephen Donaldson’s novels about Te Land,but there are plenty o others.

Here’s an examples o a antasy martialarts style.

PoluraathkaaPoluraathkaa (pole-oo-RAHH-kah), a fight-

ing style developed many years ago by the WingedFolk, has been adapted by many other winged

races since, such as the gargoyles o the StonyWastes and the eared vulture-men. Designedby flyers or use against flying oes, it cannot beused by fighters on the ground. In addition to itsunarmed maneuvers, the style teaches how to fightwith several weapons, including chain and ropeweapons, which warriors use to entangle a target inflight and thus remove him rom the battle.

POLURAAHKAA NOES

Te Snare maneuver consists o grasping most othe target’s limbs, including his wings, so he cannotfly. Te attacker then dives straight or the ground

to release the target so close to the earth that hecan’t avoid hitting it (but o course must not get so

close that he himsel cannot pull out o his dive intime to avoid crashing). o execute this maneuversuccessully, the character must succeed with aDEX Roll at -1 per 5” o velocity. Failure may indi-cate that both fighters did not crash, that the targetdid not crash but the attacker did, or that both othem hit the ground.

Optional Rules: Te Strike and Flying Strike bothtake 3d6 Hit Location rolls.


HORROR MARTIAL ARTS

Martial arts are generally not a common ele-ment in the horror genre. Afer all, many horrorsare things characters can’t fight with fists or blades,so martial arts training isn’t o much use. How-ever, there are some opportunities to integrate thetwo without much strain. Te most natural wayis a horror story that takes place in Chinatown orthe Orient. Weird Oriental monsters may makean interesting counterpoint to the usual run oWestern haunts and nightmares. Te characters’unamiliarity with Oriental monsters and magicadds an element o ignorance and helplessnesswhich serves to increase the ear and desperationthey eel.

PULP ERA M ARTIAL ARTSMartial arts are an element o games set in the

‘20s and ‘30s, but are not as common as in someother genres. Many o the strong-jawed heroeso the era knew Boxing or Fisticuffs/CinematicBrawling, and quite a ew gangsters and othertoughs knew Dirty Infighting or orms o knie-fighting. Te only time ormal martial arts arelikely to crop up is with characters who havetrained in “the mysterious Orient” (such as TeShadow), or with “sophisticated” characters who

POLURAATHKAAMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectEscape ½ 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR vs. GrabsEvasiveStrike ½ 5 + 1 + 3 STR StrikeFlying Strike ½ 5 + 1 + 0 STR + v/5; FMoveSnare ½ 5 -1 - 1 Grab Four Limbs,+ 10

STR for holding on

Strike ½ 4 + 0 + 2 STR + 2d6 StrikeSkillsKS: PoluraathkaaWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Chain & Rope WeaponsWF: Nets


Weapons +1 Use Art with Nets




have studied Fencing (or example, Te Shadowor Te Spider). Occasionally you’ll also find the“explorer” type o character who has uncovered alost civilization and learned its fighting arts.

SCIENCE FICTION/FARFUTURE MARTIAL ARTSAs humanity expands out into the galaxy and

begins to encounter other intelligent species, theopportunity to learn new and intriguing martialarts styles increases dramatically. Afer all, a poten-tial student now has not just dozens o styles tochoose rom, but dozens o worlds’ worth o styles,with all the variation that implies.

O course, some types o aliens are so non-Human that mankind cannot learn their fightingstyles. But in most science fiction universes a sub-stantial portion o the alien species are humanoid, soHumans can probably study their martial arts withoutmuch problem. At the GM’s discretion, some maneuvers (such as Nerve Strikes) may only apply to a singlespecies (typically, the character’s own species) when

learned; characters have to buy a Science Skill in theanatomy o an alien species beore they can use suchattacks successully on members o that species.

One option or science fiction martial arts isto limit or abolish the Style Distinctive Feature. In agalaxy possibly eaturing thousands o martial artsorms, it’s extremely unlikely a particular fighter hasin-depth knowledge o more than a tiny raction othem. Tereore the odds are against the Style Dis-tinctive Feature actually being a Disadvantage mosto the time, particularly i the character travelsextensively. Tereore the GM should think aboutgiving ewer points or the Disadvantage, or evendisallowing its use entirely.

Alternately, a character’s Analyze Style Skillmight only apply to martial arts developed by hisown species; he would have to purchase the Skillor each species or region whose fighting styles hestudies (or example, Analyze Bandarian Styles,Analyze Fomalhauti Cluster Styles, and so orth).

Here are two examples o science fiction mar-tial arts:

MaashiraTe Du’karça, a quasi-reptilian species native

to the planet Khomura, have achieved an enviablereputation throughout their home galaxy or theirfighting skills. Du’karça mercenaries routinelycommand greater rates o pay than mercs romother species, and Du’karça assassins are likewiseconsidered the best o the best.

Much o the Du’karça reputation rests on theirspecies’s long tradition o hand-to-hand combat

arts. Te most widely known o the hundredso fighting styles they have developed is Maashira, a weapons-based art whose name

comes rom a poetic term meaning “shininghigh, yellow hot” (Du’karça blood is yellowish).

Maashira practitioners begin by learning the yinali, a weapon almost identical to a sword, but eatur-ing two distinctive sharpened prongs about onehandspan long projecting pointward rom the hilt.Some never go beyond the yinali, preerring it to allother weapons because o its versatility and simplebeauty. Others broaden their skills, learning how toapply Maashira to spears, other polearms, variousflexible weapons, and the staff.

MAASHIRA

Used wit h Blades Weapon Group; Blades Weapon Elementis free

Ma neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectAvoidance ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge, Affects All

Attacks, AbortDeprival ½ 4 -1 + 1 Disarm, + 10 STR to

Disarm rollFuriousCharge ½ 4 + 2 -2 Weapon + v/5; FMoveJab/Thrust ½ 5 + 1 + 3 WeaponLunge ½ 5 + 1 -2 Weapon + 4 DCParry ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortReprisal ½ 4 + 2 +2 Weapon + 2 DC

Strike, Must FollowBlock

Slash/Chop ½ 5 -2 + 1 Weapon + 4 DC StrikeSkillsKS: Maashirawo-Weapon FightingWF: Blades*WF: Chain & Rope WeaponsWF: Common Melee WeaponsWF: Off HandWF: Staff

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Chain & Rope

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



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MAASHIRA NOES

Optional Rules: Te Furious Charge, Jab/Trust,Lunge, and Slash/Chop all take location rolls o 3d6.Te other maneuvers do not take location rolls.

Special Abilities:

1. Storm O ears: Maashira practitioners o greatexperience and skill strike so swifly they can hitan opponent repeatedly beore he can react. You

can buy this as a No Range Autofire RKA, or as an Autofire Advantage or a avored Strike maneuver(see page 104).

2. Severing: Maashira fighters o some schoolstrain to disable and deeat their opponents by cut-ting off limbs and heads. Teir training ocuseson aiming and counterstrike techniques designedto hit these targets with ease. You can buy this asargeting Skill Levels (see page 66 o the HEROSystem 5th Edition, Revised ).

Zero Gravity Combat

Space Marines, space pirates, and other combat-ive olk who are likely to find themselves fighting ina zero-G environment rom time to time learn thismartial art. Because o the action/reaction effect olaunching attacks in zero-G, Zero Gravity Combatconcentrates on grapples, holds, and other attackswhich require relatively little linear motion.

A character can use Zero Gravity Combatmaneuvers in situations where gravity exists, but willsuffer -1 to his OCV and DCV unless he has boughtthe Element “Use Art in Gravity.”

For more inormation on fighting in zero-Genvironments, reer to Zero Gravity And Martial Arts on page 166.

ZERO GRAVIY COMBA NOES

Te Breakaway maneuver is a orm o push a fighteruses to “bleed off” the momentum he builds upwhen escaping rom certain kinds o holds. It movesthe target away rom the attacker, and also disorientshim suffi ciently that the attacker can ollow up withanother attack while the target regains his “balance”(this is simulated with the “arget Falls” element,since o course one cannot all in zero-G).

Optional Rules: Te Nerve Pinch takes a 3d6 HitLocation roll. None o the other maneuvers requiresHit Location rolls.

Special Abilities: Many people who deal with zero-G environments on a requent basis buy their legsas Extra Limbs (5 points), so they can perorm taskswith them, like manipulating ship controls, typing, orwhat have you. Such people can also use their legs inZero Gravity Combat, or example by perorming aChoke maneuver with them. Te two extra limbs area big advantage in a zero-G combat situation.

SUPERHERO MARTIAL ARTSMartial arts are just about as common in

superhero settings as they are in antasy games.Super-samurai, mystic-powered ninja, Chinese sor-cerers, and Westerners who have trained at ancienttemples in hidden Oriental valleys parade throughthe pages o thousands o comic books. Superherocharacters can learn any style described in thisbook, or make up their own — just about anything

flies in this genre. Many simply learn the GenericMartial Arts package (page 27) to simulate theirknowledge o basic fighting maneuvers.

WILD WEST MARTIAL ARTSAnyone who’s ever watched the television

show Kung Fu knows it’s possible or characters touse Asian martial arts in a Wild West setting. How-ever, olks like Kwai Chang Caine are relatively rare.Fighting styles like Boxing and Dirty Infighting/Fisticuffs/Cinematic Brawling are the only onesmost Western Hero PCs will ever see, though occa-

sionally a character might encounter someone whoknows Fencing.

ZERO GRAVITY COMBATMa neuver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBreakaway ½ 4 + 1 + 2 Strike, + 10 STR to

Shove target; TargetFalls; Must FollowEscape

Choke ½ 5 -1 + 0 Grab One Limb; 2d6NND(2)

Escape ½ 4 + 0 + 0 + 15 STR vs. GrabsGrab ½ 4 -1 -1 Grab Three Limb s,+ 10 STR for holdingon

Joint Break ½ 5 -1 -2 Grab One Limb; ½d6HKA (2 DC), Disable

Nerve Pinch ½ 4 + 1 + 1 2d6 NND(1); MustFollow Grab

Reversal ½ 4 -1 -2 + 15 STR to Escape;Grab

SkillsKS: Zero Gravity CombatKS: Zero Gravity Operations*Environmental Movement (no penalties in zero gravity)

Elements

Armor +1 Use Art in ArmorGravity +1 Use Art in Gravity

‘Aman with outward couragedares to die,

A man with inward courage daresto live.’

—Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching




I the dozens o martial arts styles presentedearlier don’t include one that’s quite what you’relooking or, you can design your own styles andmaneuvers using the rules and guidelines in

this section.

DESIGNING M ARTIALARTS STYLES

Designing a martial arts style is a three-stepprocess:

First: Come up with a style conception — theprinciples governing the martial art, what effectthose principles have on types o maneuvers thestyle includes, what those maneuvers look like,and so orth.

Second: Choose maneuvers corresponding to theprinciples in the style conception. In most casesyou should be able to pick maneuvers rom thestandard list on page 9; sometimes you’ll have touse the rules presented below to design all-newmaneuvers.

Tird: Now you design the style by taking themaneuvers, then adding special Style Elements,determining the Skills associated with the style,

deciding whether the style qualifies or a Style Dis-tinctive Feature, and so orth.

Style ConceptionTe first step in the design process is to

develop a style conception. Tis involves creat-ing a common philosophy, approach, or “theme”which relate all the style’s maneuvers to eachother. Style conceptions typically all into one othree categories: the Animal Kingdom; EnergyFlow; and Constraints.

HE ANIMAL KINGDOM

Animal or natural motis inspire manymartial arts. Such styles attempt to emulatethe animal’s movement, speed, and methods oattack. When designing new styles, you can takeyour inspiration rom more anciul animalswhich haven’t inspired styles in real lie — orperhaps which, like dragons and phoenixes, areentirely mythic.

Example: Andy particularly admires the waythe mongoose can fight and kill deadly snakes,such as cobras. Inspired by this, he decides tocreate a Mongoose Style martial art.

Te mongoose dances around in ront o itsenemy, eluding the snake’s lightning-swifstrikes, then darting in to bite the snakebehind the head so the snake cannot reach it.Eventually the mongoose’s continued bite killsthe snake.

Tereore, as Andy envisions it, MongooseStyle should concentrate on deensive maneu-vers, such as Block and Dodge. It needs atleast one, high DCV, attack to simulate themongoose’s ordinary bite, and another or thelethal damage the mongoose does when it getsits prey into a helpless position.

ENERGY FLOW

Fighters develop some styles around the con-cept o energy flow — the direction and redirectiono energy. Some styles concentrate on straight lineso orce, such as powerul, direct attacks; othersocus on circular motions and employ orce moreindirectly, such as through redirecting an attacker’senergy via throws and grabs. A ew esoteric stylesdepend upon the ebb and flow o the figher’s inter-nal energy, such as ch’i, ki, or prana.

CONSRAINS

Lastly, many martial arts arise to deal withconstraints — circumstances which ordinarily don’tallow or effective fighting. For example, Brazilianslaves created Capoeira. Because slaves are ofenmanacled, they designed Capoeira to allow fight-ing while in chains (it uses the eet instead o thehands in many instances). Tereore, capoeiristasdon’t suffer the same penalties most martial artistsdo when their hands are bound. Similarly, slaves areofen watched, so early capoeiristas learned to dis-guise their fighting as dancing and tumbling, thusooling their overseers. Tese restrictions requirecapoeiristas to learn such things as walking on theirhands, kicking and fighting while upside down, and

tumbling and flipping — which means they have toknow the Acrobatics Skill.

STYLE BUILDING BLOCKSWith your conception firmly in mind, you can

proceed to the second and third steps, which areto choose maneuvers (and i necessary, even buildthem rom scratch) and other style elements (Skills,Weapon Elements, and the like).

O course, the GM has the final say on whetherany maneuver or martial arts style is appropriateor his campaign. Once he approves a martial arts

DESIGNING NEWMARTIAL ARTS



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maneuver or style, he may later, afer suffi cientplaytesting, decide he needs to revise it or dropit entirely because it’s too effi cient or unbalanc-ing. How can you tell i a maneuver or style istoo effi cient or unbalancing? One good sign is ieverybody in the campaign wants to buy it all o asudden. Tis means it’s so combat-effi cient playersare more than happy to trade in their characters’individuality or an especially point-effi cient attack.

When this happens, re-evaluate the maneuver orstyle, determine what’s “too good,” and modiythings to reduce the style’s effi ciency slightly — butonly slightly. Ten, begin evaluating it again.

CHOOSING AND DESIGNING MARIALARS MANEUVERS

Once you’ve got your style conception inmind, you need to choose the appropriate MartialManeuvers or it. Pick as many as possible romthe list on page 9; it will save you a lot o time andeffort. Most styles should require no new maneuvers at all; you can find everything they need onthat page.

I you have a maneuver in mind which isn’tcovered by any o the ones listed, you can design itrom scratch (with the GM’s permission, o course).See Designing Martial Arts Maneuvers, below, orcomplete rules on designing maneuvers.

How Many Maneuvers?A Martial Arts style may not have less than

three maneuvers. Most should have at least fivemaneuvers, but a style can have as ew as three.(O the real-world martial arts styles presented inChapter One, the only ones with ewer than fivemaneuvers is Ancient Boxing, a primitive style, andNaginatajutsu and Saijutsu, airly simple weapons-based styles.) A style may theoretically have as

many maneuvers as its designers want, but you’llsoon reach a point o diminishing returns, whereeach new maneuver overlaps others to such adegree it’s airly worthless.

Remember, to purchase Martial Arts, a char-acter must spend at least 10 points on maneuvers,which means a minimum o two 5-point maneuvers.

SKILLS

Every martial art style described in ChapterOne includes a list o Skills. Tese are Skills a well-rounded practitioner o that particular style shouldhave. Most are not absolutely mandatory; a char-acter usually can learn a style’s maneuvers without

learning any o its associated Skills. However, acharacter must buy a Skill listed with an asterisk (*)when he buys the style (even i he doesn’t buy all oits maneuvers). For example, a character can’t learnFencing without WF: Blades, or Capoeira withoutAcrobatics.

Most dedicated martial artists should have aKnowledge Skill with their style(s) on at least an 8-.Some styles include specific Weapon Familiarities,Acrobatics and/or Breakall, and even such Skills asStealth, Climbing, or Streetwise, all depending onthe origins and special goals o that martial art.

SPECIAL ELEMENS

Tese are two special style elements whichaffect all maneuvers in a specific style.

Extra DC: +4 points or +1 DC with all normalmartial arts attacks (also counts as +½ DC with allK-Damage Martial Maneuvers and +5 SR withExert-based maneuvers).

Weapons: It costs +1 point or the ability to use

maneuvers in a style with one weapons group(weapons-based arts sometimes allow characters tobuy the “Barehanded” Weapon Element to use thestyle without weapons).

STYLE DISINCIVE FEAURE

A true martial arts style can, with the GM’spermission, include a Style Distinctive Feature(discussed on page 135). Te GM should only givehis approval i all the style’s maneuvers are builtaround a consistent concept and he doesn’t thinkthe style designer has created an unbalancing orabusive style.

DESIGNING MARTIAL ARTSMANEUVERS

I you’ve thought o a maneuver you can’tsimulate with one o the Martial Maneuvers listedon page 9, you can (with your GM’s permission)design your own maneuver.

HE BASIC MANEUVER

Most maneuvers derive rom the standardStrike maneuver (which all characters know — seepage 384 o the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised ).Tey take a Hal Phase to execute; grant +0 OCV

and +0 DCV; and do the character’s SR damage (orweapon damage, i he’s wielding one). As describedbelow, characters can also use the standard Blockand Dodge maneuvers as Maneuver Bases.

ADDING ELEMENS

Once you’ve got a base or the maneuver, youadd elements to it. For example, you can increase ordecrease the damage it does, or the OCV or DCVmodifiers it applies. You can change the type odamage it does, or Grab or Disarm an opponentinstead o injuring him. Each addition, deletion,or change is called a Maneuver Element. Elementswhich improve a maneuver are Helpul Elements;those which restrict or reduce its effectiveness areRestrictive Elements.

COS RESRICIONS

When creating maneuvers with this system,you should generally operate under one importantrestriction:

No Ma neuver Can Cost Less Than3 Points or More Than 5.

I your maneuver cost comes out to be lessthan 3, rewrite the maneuver or round the cost upto 3. I, or example, you wanted a maneuver thatwas +0 OCV, +0 DCV, and gave +2d6 damage, thiswould ordinarily cost only 2 points. But since the

REDUNDANTMANEUVERS

You shouldn’t createmartial arts style witredundant maneuveFor instance, i the shas a ast, damaging(but not too brutal)punch, you mightdefine that with the F

Strike maneuver. Anthe same style has a damaging kick that short o the raw damo a roundhouse kickyou might also wantto define that as a FaStrike.

But that’s putting thesame maneuver twicin the same martialarts style. A player isgoing to want to buythe same maneuvertwice, under two diffent names.

I a real-world stylehas two differentmoves which, in gammechanics terms, arethe same maneuver,put that maneuver inthe style once. I theGM approves, give thmaneuver both nam(or example, “PunchKick”). Also with GMapproval, assign a dierent optional locatroll to each name (oexample, the Punchtaking a 2d6+1 roll, t

kick taking a 2d6+7roll) (i you don’t wato deal with that complexity, just assign thmaneuver a 3d6 location roll instead).

Te temptation to puin redundant maneu vers occurs most ofwhen someone adapa real-world martial to the game. When aplayer designs his owart rom scratch, thisis much less likely tohappen.

Another orm o reddant maneuver to waout or is the maneuthat’s so similar toanother maneuver ththey effectively duplcate each other. Tebest example o this Martial Strike and FStrike. Te only di-erence between themaneuvers is wherethey place the CV

Continued on next




minimum maneuver cost is 3 points, you musteither improve the maneuver to cost 3, or justround the cost up to 3 without any improvement, asyou choose.

I your maneuver cost comes out to be morethan 5, tone the maneuver down until it costs5 points or less. For example, you could build amaneuver that gives +2 OCV, +3 DCV, and provided+4 Killing DC. However, this would cost 18 points,

and the listed maximum is 5. You’d have to tone themaneuver way down in effectiveness and bring itdown to 5 points or less.

Tis rule regarding the cost o maneuvers isa general one you should ollow in most circum-stances. However, there may be special occasionswhen martial artists, particularly Superheroic-levelones, might be allowed to design maneuvers which violate it. Such violations should be allowed onlyafer great consideration.

UNARMED VERSUS ARMED SYLES

Another thing to consider when creatinga martial art is whether the style is unarmed orarmed. Most are unarmed, but characters can onlyuse a ew o them with specific weapons.

Unarmed styles include what we traditionallythink o as martial arts: Karate, Kung Fu, Aikido,and other styles relying on empty-hand attacks, notweapons, to do damage. Characters cannot use mostunarmed styles with weapons (or they require spe-cial, additional, training i a character wants to usethem with weapons — represented by the WeaponStyle Element). For example, an Aikido practitionercan’t pick up an axe and use his Aikido maneuverswith it. Unless otherwise listed or described, all mar-tial arts styles are unarmed.

Armed martial arts — fighting styles reflect-

ing a character’s skill and training with a particularweapon or weapons — include Arnis/Kali/Escrima,Fencing, Kenjutsu, Kyujutsu, and Naginatajutsu.Characters may only use an armed style with weap-ons rom one or more 1-point Weapon Familiarityweapon groups, specified by the style’s designer orwhen they learn the style. Examples include theBlades Group, Karate Weapons, or Staff. Generally,a character cannot use an armed style without theappropriate weapon; a encer cannot make a Lungewith his fist. However, the Barehanded Weapon Ele-ment will allow characters to use some maneuversin some armed styles while weaponless.

Te cost o maneuvers remains the same,

whether a style is armed or unarmed. An OffensiveStrike is an Offensive Strike, regardless o how youperorm it. For inormation on how Martial Maneu- vers add to the damage done by weapons, see the“Adding Damage” section o the HERO System 5th

Edition, Revised.I you create an armed style, note which

weapon (or, rarely, weapons) are appropriate or it.When writing up the style, make sure to include theproper Weapon Familiarity under Skills and to putan asterisk beside it to make it mandatory or allpractitioners o the style. Te GM must approve anydecision to make a style usable with a weapon orclass o weapons.

MANEUVER BASIS

When designing a maneuver, the first thing toask yoursel is this: What is the purpose, or basis, othe maneuver?

Te HERO System martial arts design rules useten Maneuver Bases. Some are Exclusive, meaninga maneuver can only have one o them. Some areNon-Exclusive, meaning a maneuver can have justone or can have more than one o them. A Non-

Exclusive Basis can be the only Maneuver Base ina maneuver, or a maneuver can have both a Non-Exclusive Basis and an Exclusive Basis.

You’re amiliar with Bind rom the stylesdescribed earlier, and with Block, Disarm, Dodge,Strike, Grab, and Trow rom the HERO System 5th

Edition. Note that the Trow Basis, in and o itsel,does not do damage to a target; a Trow maneuver could be gentle enough to do no damage at allto a oe. Reer to Martial Trow on page 400 othe HERO System 5th Edition, Revised and in theCombat Maneuvers section o this book or moreinormation.

Te Exert Basis means the character can exert

his Strength (usually with a bonus rom the maneuver) on his target or one specific purpose, suchas to increase the chances o a successul Disarm,decrease the target’s chances to break out o a Grab,push the target backwards, or the like. Many Exertmaneuvers are listed in the maneuvers chart in onpage 9 o this book. Te extra SR rom the Exertdoes not cost extra END.

Te Flash Basis means the character has some-how temporarily “blinded” or disabled one o histarget’s senses. Common attacks o this sort includepoking someone in the eyes, clapping their ears totemporarily deaen them, and striking certain nerveclusters to numb the sense o touch.


bonus. In most (but notall) cases, it’s pointlessto have both maneuversin the same style, sincea character with a Mar-tial Strike can spend the4 points a Fast Strikewould cost him on twoCombat Skill Levels

with his Martial Strike(giving him +2 OCVand DCV or the sameamount o points).

M ANEUVERS BASISExclusiveBasis Purpose of Bases

Bind Locks up an opponent’sweapon

Block Blocks an incoming attack

Disarm Attempts to knock anopponent’s weapon out ohis grasp

Dodge Gives the character a DCVbonus against attacks

Flash Disrupts opponent’s senses

Grab Weapon Gives the attacker a hold onthe opponent’s weapon

Strike Does damage to theopponent

Non-ExclusiveBasis Purpose of Bases

Exert Uses non-damagingstrength on the opponent

Grab Opponent Gives the attacker a hold onthe opponent

Trow Puts the opponent on theground



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EXCLUSIVE VERSUS NONEXCLUSIVEBASES

You can only use one Exclusive Basis in amaneuver. You can’t, or instance, create a maneuver which perorms both a Block and a Strike. Amaneuver doesn’t have to have an Exclusive Basis;some use only Non-Exclusive Bases.

You can use none, one, or several Non-Exclu-sive Bases in a maneuver, and can create a maneu-

ver which has both Exclusive and Non-ExclusiveBases. For example, you could have a maneuverwhere you establish a hold on a target and makeit hard or him to escape (the Grab Basis with theExert Basis), one where you throw a target roughlyto the ground, doing him harm (the Strike Basiswith the Trow Basis), or one where you establisha hold on a target and hit him simultaneously (theStrike Basis with the Grab Basis).

Whatever you choose, this is all just the worko conceiving the maneuver — and understandingthe limitation o which bases you can combine tocreate a maneuver. o actually build the maneuver,to buy the appropriate bases, you have to start shell-

ing out Character Points or Maneuver Elements(see below).

YPES OF DAMAGE

Maneuver damage comes in three types: N-Damage (Normal Damage), K-Damage (KillingDamage), and NND (No Normal Deense Damage). A single maneuver may have only one o these threetypes o damage.

MANEUVER ELEMENS

Te accompanying table lists the ManeuverElements you can use to build your own MartialManeuvers.

In the first column is the name o the Element.In the second column is the brie descriptiono the Element and its cost.

In the third column is the maximum amounto the Element which may be added to a maneuver.

o build a maneuver, simply take your Maneu- ver Basis (or Bases) and add the Elements whichwill customize it (or them) to your satisaction.Ten make sure that the cost is between 3 and 5points, and you’ll have a complete maneuver.

“ake Once” means the Element can only betaken once in a maneuver. You cannot, or instance,take “Fall” three times or -3 points to the maneuvercost, and explain that you all down three times

during the maneuver execution. Tat’s not just silly,it’s rules abuse.

Element DescriptionsTese are the maneuver Elements:

AbortTe character can Abort his next Phase to

perorm this maneuver on a Segment not normallyhis Phase. (See Aborting An Action, page 361 o theHERO System 5th Edition, Revised ). Tis adds +1point to the cost o the maneuver.

Important Note: You can never Abort to any

maneuver which does damage or is in any wayaggressive, which includes any maneuver with theDisarm or Trow Elements. Tereore, you may only build Abort into Blocks, Dodges, and Escapes (anEscape is an Exert maneuver which uses the SRbonus only or getting out o an enemy’s Grab).

BindCharacters can only use this maneuver Ele-

ment against a weapon. I successul, it “binds” theweapon, pushing it away or locking it into position

somehow so its wielder cannot use it. Te characterusing the maneuver does not suffer any damagerom grabbing or touching the weapon (i that’show the maneuver is defined).

Bind is an Exclusive Basis, so a maneuver withBind may not also have any o the ollowing Ele-ments: Block, Disarm, Dodge, Flash, Grab Weapon,Strike.

Tis Element adds +1 point to the cost o themaneuver.

Block Tis maneuver is based on the normal Block.

It grants basic modifiers — +0 to OCV and +0 to

HELPFUL ELEMENTSElement Description Maximum

Abort +1 point i you can abort to maneuver ake Once

Bind +1 point to bind enemy weapon ake Once

Block +0 points i maneuver is based on Blockinstead o Strike (Abort is Free)

ake Once

DCV + +1 point per +1 DCV up to +2, +2 points or

additional +1 DCV up to +3

+3

Disable +0 points i maneuver is intended to disablea limb

ake Once

Disarm +2 points i maneuver disarms opponent ake Once

Dodge +0 points i maneuver is based on Dodgeinstead o Strike (Abort is Free)

ake Once

Flash +1 point per +1d6 Sense Group Flash up to+2d6, +2 points per additional +1d6 Flash; +1point per additional Sense Group

4d6

FMove +3 points i can attack afer Full Move ake Once

Grab Oppt +3 points i hit Grabs two o opponent’s limbs,+1 point per additional limb

ake Once

Grab Weap +3 points i hit Grabs target’s weapon ake OnceK-Damage +3 points per +1 DC (Killing) +4 DC/K

N-Damage +1 point per +1d6 normal DMG up to +2d6,+2 points per additional +1d6

+4d6

NND DMG +1 point per +½d6 NND up to +1d6, +2points per additional +½d6 NND

2d6

OCV + +1 point per +1 OCV up to +2 +2 OCV

SR + +1 point per +5 SR up to +10 SR, +2 pointsper additional +5 SR

+20

SR Strike +0 points i maneuver is based on Strike (+0OCV, +0 DCV, does SR damage)

ake Once

Trow +1 point to throw opponent to ground ake Once

v/3 +3 points to do +(v/3)d6 extra damage v/3

v/5 +1 point to do +(v/5)d6 extra damage v/5




DCV. As with the normal Block, it keeps attacksrom hitting the target, sets up the deender tostrike first on the next Phase (assuming they bothact in the same Phase), and comes with a ree Abortoption.

A Block requires the character doing theblocking to compare his OCV to the opponent’s

OCV, rather than to his DCV. Once a character hasdecided to Block, he can block multiple attacks ina single Phase. (See Block in the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised , page 383.) Te Block Element adds+0 points to the cost o the maneuver.

Block is an Exclusive Basis, so a maneuver withthe Block Element may not have any o the ollow-ing Elements: Bind, Disarm, Dodge, Flash, GrabWeapon, Strike.

DCV -Tis represents a penalty to the attacker’s DCV.

It’s used to build maneuvers which tend to exposethe attacker to counterattack. Te maximum pen-

alty you can take on a maneuver is -2 DCV. A char-acter may not have both DCV - penalties and DCV+ bonuses on the same maneuver.

DCV +Tis represents a bonus to the attacker’s DCV.

Use it to build maneuvers so ast, graceul, orunpredictable they make the attacker more diffi cultto counterattack. Te maximum bonus you cantake on a maneuver is +3 DCV. A character maynot have both DCV + bonuses and DCV - penaltieson the same maneuver.

DisableTis Element signifies a maneuver intended to

disable or cripple a particular limb, such as many joint-breaks. It adds +0 to the cost o the maneuver becauseit grants as many restrictions as it does benefits.

Like other maneuvers which target specificparts o the body, maneuvers with the Disable Ele-ment do not suffer Hit Location Attack Roll ordamage penalties or bonuses. For example, a KillingStrike defined as a knee-breaking low kick built withthis Element would not be at -6 OCV, and the victim

would take ull damage — not hal BODY and ax2 SUN Multiplier, as normally applies to the Legregion. Instead, the victim takes whatever BODY andSUN damage was rolled on the dice. Any possibil-ity o Impairing or Disabling effects, i the campaignuses those rules, could then be determined (reerto the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised , page 417,and the discussion o Disabling Attacks on page 156o this book, or more inormation on attacking toImpair or Disable a limb).

Te limb targeted by a Disable-based attackgenerally does not need to be chosen in advance.However, GMs should remember that attacks which“Disable” the Head do not affect the victim’s intelli-

gence or his ability to move the rest o his body, they just prevent him rom using his head as a weapon.Te drawback to using the Disable Element is

that a fighter can only use the attack on limbs. Hecan’t use it to do generalized damage, or againstnon-limb-like objects. At the GM’s discretion, acharacter can define a single specific non-limbtarget (say, the Chest) or use with the Disable Ele-ment i he can use the maneuver only against thatHit Location and no other. Also at the GM’s option,a character can use a Disable maneuver againstlimb-like objects, such as tree branches.

Reer to the discussion o Grab maneuvers onpage 386 o the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised and

page 144 o this book or more inormation on limbs.Disarm

A character who successully perorms a Disarmcan try to knock a weapon or other hand-held devicerom his opponent’s grasp. Both characters make SRRolls, counting only the Normal Damage BODY.I the deender rolls more BODY, he holds onto hisweapon. I the attacker rolls more BODY or the rollsare tied, the weapon goes flying ½d6 hexes in thedirection o the strike (which is the player’s choice,subject to GM approval). (See Disarm in the HEROSystem 5th Edition, Revised , page 386.) Tis Elementadds +2 points to the cost o the maneuver.

Additional damage bought or the Disarmgoes to increasing the character’s Disarm strength,not to doing damage to the target; a Disarm neverdamages the target.

Disarm is an Exclusive Basis, so a maneuverwith the Disarm Element may not have any othe other ollowing Elements: Bind, Block, Dodge,Flash, Grab Weapon, Strike.

DodgeTis means the maneuver is based on the

Dodge maneuver instead o the Strike maneuver.Te character starts out with no OCV (this maneuver can’t do damage), +3 DCV, and can Abort to themaneuver. Tis costs +0 points because it grants as

RESTRICTIVE ELEMENTSElement Description Maximum

DCV - -1 point per -1 DCV up to -2 DCV -2

Fall -1 point i you all ake Once

Follow -2 points i maneuver must ollow other spe-cific successul maneuver

ake Once

Hal Move

Required

-1 point i maneuver requires character to

make a Hal Move; see text

ake Once

LastingRestriction

-1 points i the maneuver’s penalties last or+1 Phase

ake Once

OCV - -1 point per -1 OCV up to -2 -2

One Limb -1 point i Grab only Grabs one limb -1

Response -3 points i the maneuver can only be usedollowing a specific maneuver used by one’sopponent

ake Once

SR - -1 point i maneuver is at hal SR, -2 points imaneuver uses no SR

No SR

ake FullDMG

-2 points i attacker takes ull damage ake Once

ake HalDMG

-1 point i attacker takes hal damage ake Once

ime + -1 point i attack takes extra segment (landingat end o next segment)

ake Once

Unbalancing -1 point i opponent automatically attacks firstin next Phase

ake Once



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many restrictions as advantages. Additional DCVbought with the Dodge starts out costing 2 pointsper +1 DCV. You may not buy a Dodge maneuverwith more than an additional +2 DCV (or a possibletotal o +5 DCV).

You cannot “buy down” the OCV o a Dodgemaneuver (in other words, you can’t take the OCV- Element on it to reduce its cost).

Dodge is an Exclusive Basis, so a maneuver

with the Dodge Element cannot have any o theother ollowing Elements: Bind, Block, Disarm,Flash, Grab Weapon, Strike.

FallYou automatically all down, in the hex

where you perormed the attack. Tis Elementsubtracts 1 point rom the cost o the maneuver.In maneuver listings, this Element is normallyindicated by use o the phrase “You Fall.”

FlashYou use this Exclusive Basis to build

maneuvers which disrupt and temporar-ily “blind” one or more o the target’s Sense

Groups. Te Flash Basis costs +1 point per1d6 o Flash up to 2d6, and +2 points per+1d6 thereafer, to a maximum o Flash 4d6.Te basic attack affects one Sense Group;the character can purchase additional SenseGroups or +1 point. However, the GM should bewary o Flash maneuvers affecting more than oneSense Group and allow them only when they are bal-anced. Each Extra DC adds +1d6 to the Flash attack.

In most cases, the appropriate orm o FlashDeense protects a character against a maneuverwith the Flash Basis. However, there may be someexceptions, adjudicated by the GM on a case-by-case basis. For example, a character whose Sight

Flash Deense derives rom his light-based powers(making him used to bright lights) won’t have muchdeense against a Martial Flash defined as pokinghim in the eyes.

Te GM should also remember that there aremany things which would prevent a maneuver withthe Flash Basis rom working, given its nature. Forexample, a helmeted character usually is protectedrom Sight and Hearing Group Flashes, since it’simpossible or the martial artist to reach his eyes andears to affect them.

In maneuver listings, this Basis is indicated byuse o the phrase, “[Sense] Group Flash —d6.”

Flash is an Exclusive Basis, so a maneuver with

the Flash Element cannot have any o the other ol-lowing Elements: Bind, Block, Disarm, Dodge, GrabWeapon, Strike.

FMoveA character can perorm a maneuver with this

Element during or at the end o a Full Move insteado just a Hal Move. (Tis does not mean it’s a Zero-Phase Action; i perormed afer a Hal Move or nomove at all, it counts as a Hal Phase Action.) Forexample, combining “FMove” with “Fall,” “Trow,”and “v/5” creates a flying tackle a character can per-orm at the end o a ull run. Tis Element adds +3points to the cost o the maneuver.

Attacks built with thisElement do not automaticallyhave to take place at the veryend o a character’s move. Forexample,an

attack defined as a Strike madewhile the character moves pastsomeone (a “Martial Move By,”i you will) could take place atany point during the character’s move. However, theGM should treat this aspect o the FMove Elementcareully and not allow players to abuse it; mostattacks with the FMove Element should still takeplace at or near the end o the attacker’s ull move. Iused indiscriminately, the FMove Element can makesome characters “un-attackable,” which unbalancesthe game.

Example: Nakada Shigeru knows Kenjutsu. He fights a duel with another samurai and wishesto use his Running Stroke maneuver (a PassingStrike). His opponent stands 5” away rom him;Nakada-san has 9” o Running. His FMove-based attack takes place 5” into his ull move o9”, so when the attack ends, he’s 4” beyond hisopponent.

I Nakada-san had been significantly closer to

his oe (say, 2-3” distance), the GM might con-sider orbidding the use o the Running Stroke,since it could unairly place Nakada-san out othe range o a counterattack ( i.e., the attack, iused repeatedly in such situations, could affect game balance, so the GM disallows it).

You cannot take this Element or a maneuverwhich already has the ime + Element.

Follow Tis means the maneuver must ollow some

other specific successul maneuver (defined whenyou create the maneuver). An example would be amaneuver which grants a bonus to Crushing SR;




a character can only perorm this maneuver on hisPhase ollowing a successul Grab. Both maneuversmay not occur on the same Phase; the requiredattack takes place on one Phase, and the ollowingmaneuver on the next. A Following maneuver mayalso Follow itsel; or example, a Crush may ollow aGrab or a previous Crush. For a Following maneuver to succeed, the character must have success-ully perormed (or maintained) at least one o the

maneuvers it Follows on his previous Phase.Since the Following maneuver does take placeuntil the next Phase, the character must makea new Attack Roll. Visualize this as the attackerhaving to change grips or angles o attack toaccomplish the maneuver. Tis applies even whenthe maneuver Follows itsel. With maneuvers ol-lowing Grabs, the victim is at ½ DCV. (At the GM’soption, the Following attack could occur withoutrequiring the character to make a new Attack Roll,but this should be rare.)

Example: Tunderhead, a SPD 3 pro wrestler,has a Crush maneuver, which must ollow aGrab. On Phase 4, he successully Grabs Joe Hall

“Te Wrecking Ball.” On Phase 8, he may usethe Crush maneuver, since it ollows Grab, buthe must roll to hit against Hall’s new, reducedDCV. I he misses, the Crush doesn’t work, buthe maintains the Grab on Hall. Whether he hitsor he misses, on Phase 12 he may use the Crushmaneuver again, since it can ollow itsel, butagain he must roll to hit.

Tis Element subtracts 2 points rom the costo the maneuver.

In maneuver listings, this Element is nor-mally indicated by use o the phrase “Must Follow[Name o Maneuver].”

Grab OpponentTis Element allows the character to get his

opponent in a hold. A character could define amaneuver which uses it as a simple hold placed onthe enemy, a bearhug, an elaborate joint-lock, oranything similar. Tis Element adds +3 points tothe cost o the maneuver.

Te basic Grab Element allows the characterto Grab two limbs. Each additional limb costs +1point. Most joint-lock maneuvers only Grab oneto two limbs; pins and ull body holds may inca-pacitate 4 or 5 limbs, thus preventing the characterrom moving or attacking at all. O course, charac-ters can use multiple Grabs on a single character tosuccessively pinion all o his limbs — it just takes aew Phases and several successul Attack Rolls.

Te Grabbing character may, in the samePhase as a successul Grab is executed, apply SRdamage to his opponent (crushing or stranglinghim) or may throw or bear his opponent to theground (or normal SR damage or no damage atall, as the player preers). See page 144 o this bookor urther options.

Characters may buy additional damage orthis maneuver as N-Damage (or crushing orstrangling), or as additional SR or holding on toa struggling target, or as both. A Grab maneuver

could have +2d6 damage, costing 2 points, and +10SR or holding on, costing 2 more points.

For more inormation on Grabbing and itseffects on combat, see page 386 o the HEROSystem 5th Edition, Revised .

Grab WeaponTis Element allows the character to establish

a hold on his enemy’s weapon (or other item car-ried in hand). Te Grabbing character may, in the

same Phase as a successul Grab is executed, makea SR Versus SR Contest against the target; i hewins, he wrests the held item away rom his oe.(I the target wins, the target wrests it out o thecharacter’s grasp, and i the roll is a tie, neither canpull it away rom the other.)

Tis Element adds +3 points to the cost o themaneuver.

You buy Extra DCs or this maneuver as addi-tional SR or wresting the weapon away.

Half Move RequiredTis Restrictive Element is taken or any

maneuver which by its nature requires the char-

acter to make a Hal Move, usually to “build upmomentum.” I the character cannot make a HalMove, he cannot use the maneuver (or, at theGM’s discretion, can only use it to greatly reducedeffect). Tis Element is similar to the Gestures Limitation, because a character can only use amaneuver with it i he can move reely and is notconfined or restrained. Flying kicks and similarmaneuvers may have this restriction.

Hal Move Required cannot be taken or anymaneuver which has the FMove Element. It canonly be taken once or any maneuver.

Te GM may, i he wishes, expand the defini-tion o what amounts to a “Hal Move” to cover

any sort o requirement that a character make aparticular movement or have a certain amount ospace available beore he can perorm a maneuver.For example, you can use Hal Move Requiredto simulate a maneuver which a character couldonly perorm i he had at least 1” o open spacearound him on all sides. Similarly, i the maneuver required a character to make some specificmotion, such as a cartwheel, beore he used themaneuver, you could also simulate this with HalMove Required.

K-DamageTis stands or Killing Damage. I the maneu-

ver does Killing Damage instead o NormalDamage, additional damage costs +3 points per +1DC, up to a maximum o +4 DC.

Te character’s SR also adds to the maneuver’s damage, at +1 DC per 5 points o SR, butthis added damage may not more than double thepurchased damage or the maneuver (purchaseddamage includes Extra DC). For example, i amaneuver does +2 DC o K-Damage, and the char-acter with the maneuver has SR 15, he could add+3 DC to the maneuver... except that this morethan doubles the purchased damage o the maneuver. He can only add +2 DC to the maneuver, or atotal o 4 DC, or 1d6+1 K.



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Important Note: You may not mix damage typesin a single maneuver. A maneuver may have onlyone o the ollowing three types o damage bonus:K-Damage, N-Damage, or NND DMG. A maneuver may have both K-Damage and v/5, where each5” o relative movement translates into +1 DCo added K-Damage (HERO System 5th Edition,Revised , page 406-07).

Lasting Restriction

A character can only take this Restrictive Ele-ment or a maneuver which has at least -1 worth openalties to OCV or DCV. It signifies that the CVpenalty lasts or one additional Phase beyond whenit would normally disappear. It does not matter orpurposes o this Element what maneuver is used inthat additional Phase, the penalty still remains.

Example: Chang wants to build a SacrificeStrike-like maneuver which simulates an all-out attack he has a diffi cult time recovering rom. He takes the Lasting Restriction Elementon his Sacrifice Strike maneuver, reducing itscosts to 4 points but subjecting himsel to the -2

DCV penalty or an extra Phase.Chang, SPD 6, gets into a fight with Jeung,SPD 5. Chang decides to try to finish Jeung offquickly and uses his Sacrifice Strike in Phase2. Unortunately, Chang misses. Jeung alsomisses in Phase 3. In Phase 4, Chang can actagain. Normally, the -2 DCV penalty rom theOffensive Strike would no longer apply, since itis a new Phase, but because he took the LastingRestriction Element on his maneuver, he willstart at a base -2 DCV in Phase 4, regardless owhat attack he uses.

Lasting Restriction penalties do not accumu-

late i maneuvers with the Element are used in suc-cession. Tus, in the example above, i Chang hadused his Sacrifice Strike again in Phase 4, he wouldbe at -4 DCV (-2 rom Phase 2, and another -2 orthe maneuver he uses in Phase 4). Ten, in Phase6, he would start off with a base -2 DCV penaltybecause he used a maneuver with a Lasting Restric-tion in Phase 4 — not a base -4 DCV.

Lasting Restriction subtracts one point romthe cost o the maneuver. It is most appropriate ormaneuvers with DCV penalties, but you can use itor maneuvers with OCV penalties as well.

N-Damage

Tis stands or Normal Damage, and addsdamage dice to the SR used with the maneuver.It costs +1 point per +1d6 normal damage up to+2d6, then costs +2 points per additional +1d6 upto the maximum o +4d6 (thereore +4d6 wouldcost 6 points).

Important Note: You may not mix damage types ina single maneuver. A maneuver may have only oneo the ollowing three types o damage bonus: K-Damage, N-Damage, or NND DMG. A maneuvermay have both N-Damage and v/5, where each 5”o relative movement translates into +1d6 addedN-Damage.

NND DMGTis stands or No Normal Deense Damage

(see page 265 o the HERO System 5th Edition,Revised ). Each +1 point spent gives the maneuver +½d6 NND, up to 1d6; each +½d6 thereafercosts +2 points, up to its maximum o 2d6 NND.Te character’s SR does not add damage to thismaneuver, so NND DMG maneuvers must take theSR - Element at the No SR level (or -2 points).

As with any separately-purchased No NormalDeense attack, this maneuver must have a rea-sonably common deense, such as Lie Support(Sel-Contained Breathing) or a choking attack orArmor or nerve strikes. See page 148 o this bookor a list o suggested deenses.

Important Note: You may not mix damage typesin a single maneuver. A maneuver may have onlyone o the ollowing three types o damage bonus:K-Damage, N-Damage, or NND DMG. A maneuver may have both NND DMG and v/5, whereeach 5” o relative movement translates into +½d6NND DMG. Te added damage cannot more thandouble the base damage; i the maneuver normally

does 2d6 NND, then extra damage rom a +v/5Element cannot boost the maneuver up to morethan 4d6 NND, no matter how ast the charactersare going.

OCV -Tis Element indicates a penalty to the

attacker’s OCV. It’s used to represent maneuverswhich are awkward and less accurate than ordinaryattacks. Te maximum penalty you can take on amaneuver is -2 OCV. It subtracts 1 point rom themaneuver per -1 OCV taken to the maneuver. Acharacter may not have both OCV - penalties andOCV + bonuses on the same maneuver.

OCV +Tis Element indicates a bonus to the attack-

er’s OCV. You use it to represent maneuvers so ast,powerul, or unpredictable a deender is less ableto anticipate them or deend against them. Temaximum bonus you can take on a maneuver is +2OCV. Tis Element costs +1 point to the maneuverper +1 OCV taken to the maneuver. A charactermay not have both OCV + bonuses and OCV -penalties on the same maneuver.

One LimbTis Restrictive Element applies to Grab

maneuvers which only immobilize one limb. Many

joint-locks, choke holds, and similar maneuverstake this restriction. Tis Element subtracts 1 pointrom the cost o a Grab.

ResponseTis Restrictive Element applies to maneuvers

which can only ollow a specific maneuver usedby one’s opponent. Te attacker’s maneuver can bedefined in airly general terms (such as “a punch,”“a kick,” or “a Nerve Strike”), but cannot simply bedefined as “an offensive maneuver.” Te GM hasfinal say-so over whether the attacker’s maneuverhas been defined properly; the more specific ordetailed a definition, the better.




Tis Element subtracts 3 points rom the costo a maneuver. In maneuver descriptions this Ele-ment is indicated by the words “Can Only Be UsedAfer X,” where X is the attacker’s maneuver.

SR -Te character using a maneuver with this Ele-

ment cannot use some or all o his SR with themaneuver. It subtracts 1 point i he can only usehal his SR with the maneuver, or 2 points i he

can use none o his SR with the maneuver. A char-acter may not have both SR - penalties and SR +bonuses on the same maneuver.

SR +Te character may add to his SR or this

maneuver. Tis Element costs 1 point per +5 SRup to +10 SR, then it costs +2 points per addi-tional +5 SR up to the maximum o +20 SR.

Important Note: Tis SR must be defined asbeing or one purpose only . For example, it may beOnly For Holding On With Grab, Only For Shov-ing, Only For Escaping Grab, Only o Resist Shove,and so orth.

A Grab maneuver may have both an N-Damage bonus and a SR + bonus; the N-Damagewould augment the SR damage done i the char-acter decides to apply SR to hurt the victim, whilethe SR + bonus would improve his chances tohold onto the victim. At the GM’s option, a charac-ter may also have an NND DMG bonus and a SR+ bonus, where the SR adds only to the Grab Ele-ment; ordinarily, this would not be allowed, sinceNND DMG maneuvers take the SR - Elementat the 0 SR level. I the GM allows a character topurchase such a maneuver, the character cannottake that Restrictive Element, but the maneuver’sSR + bonus still does not add to his NND DMG.

A character may not have both SR + bonusesand SR - penalties on the same maneuver.

StrikeTis maneuver does damage to the target. It

starts out with +0 OCV, +0 DCV, takes a Hal Phaseto use, and does the character’s normal SR damageto the target. Even i the maneuver is built in sucha way that it does no damage to its target, it countsas an attack (i.e., the character cannot ollow it withanother action in the same Phase).

It’s possible to add the SR - Element to themaneuver so that it does little or no damage, whichis especially appropriate with Trow maneuvers

which do no harm to the target.Te Strike Basis is an Exclusive Basis, so a

Strike maneuver may have none o the ollowingbases in it: Bind, Block, Disarm, Dodge, Flash, GrabWeapon.

ake Full DMGTe character takes ull damage rom the

maneuver. Tis is especially appropriate or colli-sion-based maneuvers. Tis Element subtracts 2points rom the cost o the maneuver.

For example, a SR 15 character perorming aSR+3d6 ackle with the ake Full DMG Elementon it would do 6d6 damage to his victim and would

also sustain 6d6 damage when he successully per-ormed the maneuver.

With NND DMG and K-Damage attacks,the character takes an equivalent DC o NormalDamage (Physical). For example, i the attack does2d6 K (6 DC), the character sustains 6d6 NormalDamage, and i the attack does 2d6 NND (4 DC),the character sustains 4d6 Normal Damage.

ake Half DMG

Tis Element is exactly like the akes FullDMG Element, except that the character perorm-ing the maneuver only takes hal damage, not ulldamage. It subtracts 1 point rom the cost o themaneuver.

TrowSuccessul use o a maneuver with this Non-

Exclusive Basis throws the opponent to the ground;in maneuver listings, this is indicated with use othe words “arget Falls,” “He Falls,” or “OpponentFalls,” instead o “Trow.” Trows are typicallybought as Strikes, so the target takes the attacker’sSR damage rom impacting the ground. Tis Ele-

ment adds +1 point to the cost o the maneuver.Trows have an additional effect — i bothcharacters have their next Phase in the same Seg-ment, they allow the character who makes theTrow to attack the Trown character first in theirnext Phase regardless o relative DEX, similar to aBlock. Tis represents the disadvantageous positiono the Trown character (either because he’s on theground, or because he has to do something to getback on his eet). At the GM’s option, the Trowncharacter can avoid this effect i he makes a Break-all roll by hal (a straight DEX Roll may be substi-tuted, i the GM preers).

Reer to page 152 o this book or more inor-

mation on Trows and their effects, including anexplanation o the relationship between Trowsand simultaneous attacks (note that Trows do notautomatically Block incoming attacks).

ime +A maneuver with this Element takes extra time

to perorm. A character cannot move in the Phasein which he prepares or perorms this attack. It sub-tracts 1 point rom the maneuver cost i the attackis not launched until the end o the next Segment.You cannot take this Element or a maneuver whichalready has the FMove or Hal Move Required Ele-ments.

Tis Element is especially appropriate ormaneuvers where the attacker must prepare himselor a second or two beore launching the attack. It’sbest used to simulate maneuvers where you have tostand in one place to summon a lot o power into astrike, and is sometimes taken with the DCV - Ele-ment. In maneuver listings, this Element is indi-cated in the Phase column o the chart, where “1+”is listed instead o “½.”

Unbalancingake this Restrictive Element or maneuvers

which tend to throw the user off-balance. Becauseo this, the user’s opponent gets to attack him firstin the first Segment in which they both have a



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Phase, regardless o relative DEX — sort o theopposite o the effect o a Block or Trow.

However, unlike a Block or a Trow, this effectstill applies even i the characters’ first Phase incommon is not their next Phase — i necessary, it“carries over” and applies on Segment 12, when allcharacters move. (I this were not so, characterscould take this Restrictive Element on maneuversand then use them only on Phases when they knew

the restriction wouldn’t affect them, because theirnext Phase would not coincide with their oppo-nents’.) Te effect does not “carry over” beyonda Phase which the characters normally have incommon, but which they do not have this urnbecause one o them Aborted that Phase.

Example: A SPD 3, DEX 14 character and aSPD 4, DEX 20 character are fighting eachother. In Phase 3, the SPD 4 character usesa maneuver with the Unbalancing Restric-tive Element. Since the two characters do nothave a Phase in common until Segment 12,the penalty rom the maneuver “carries over”until Phase 12, when the SPD 3 character gets

to attack first, even though his opponent has ahigher DEX. I the SPD 3 character Aborts hisPhase 12 (say, to Dodge the SPD 4 character’sPhase 9 attack), the maneuver penalty van-ishes, since the SPD 3 character voluntarily“skipped” his own Phase 12 by Aborting.

Tis Element subtracts one point rom the costo a maneuver.

v/3Tis Element is identical to the v/5 Element

(see below), but does more damage.

v/5

A maneuver with this Element gets a damagebonus based on the relative velocity o the twocombatants. Te maneuver does +(v/5)d6 normaldamage, where “v” is the relative velocity. Tis Ele-ment adds +1 point to the cost o a maneuver, andmay only be bought once.

“Relative” velocity means the relationshipbetween the velocities o the attacker and histarget — sometimes they add together, some-times they cancel each other out. Forexample, i two attackers rush togetherat 8” each, their relative velocity is 16”;the attack gets +3d6 normal damage. Ione runs toward the other at 6”, the relative

velocity is 6” and the attack gets +1d6 normaldamage. Even i a character only makes a HalMove, his velocity counts as i it’s his ullmovement speed, because characters canaccelerate to their ull running speed witha Hal Move. Tereore, i a character hasRunning 8” and makes a 4” Hal Move,count his velocity as 8”.

GMs may alter this rule i they eel itmakes the v/5 Element too powerul. For example,you could distinguish the effects o v/5 basedon the type o maneuver: i the maneuver usesthe attacker’s impact to injure the target (such asFlying ackle), velocities should add together; i the

maneuver involves using the target’s own momen-tum against him (such as Martial Trow), then onlythe target’s velocity matters.

Important Note: v/5 may also be added to NNDDMG and K-Damage attacks. It adds +1 DC (½d6NND or +1 DC killing damage) per 5” o veloc-ity to those maneuvers (HERO System 5th Edition,Revised , pages 406-07).

MONGOOSE STYLENow, as an example o use o these rules,

let’s put together the Mongoose Style maneuversdescribed earlier in this section.

We decided earlier that the Mongoose Stylewould have a Block, a Dodge, a high-DCV attack tosimulate the mongoose bite, a grab, and a maneuverto perorm damage on a held oe. We’ll add anothermaneuver: an Escape, appropriate or the high-DEX,wriggly mongoose. Now, let’s build these six maneuvers.

According to our earlier definition, most or all

o the Mongoose Style maneuvers will be high DCV.Mongoose Bite: Tis maneuver, a crushing tech-nique using the hands, is perormed afer theMongoose Grab: the attacker proceeds tocrush the deender’s skull and break bones.It’s a Killing Damage attack. OCV -2(-2 points), DCV -2 (-2 points), K-Damage +4 DC (12 points), FollowsGrab (-2 points), ime/Extra Seg-ment) -1 point). otal: 5 points. I you usethe optional location rules, the Mon-goose Bite takes a 2d6+1 location roll;this indicates where the Grab landed.

‘You canobserv

a lot just bywatchin’.’

— Yogi Be




Mongoose Block: Unlike the ordinary MartialBlock, this maneuver is high-DCV but nothingspecial or OCV, even though the Block is anOCV versus OCV attack. So, we take +0 OCV(0 points), +3 DCV (4 points), Block (0 point,includes Abort). otal: 4 points. I you use theoptional location rules, the Mongoose Blocktakes No Location.

Mongoose Dodge: his is the ordinary Martial

Dodge: OCV not relevant, DCV +5 (maneuver starts with +3 DCV; +2 more DCV costs4 points), Dodge (+0 point), Abort (+0 pointbecause it’s part o the Dodge element). otal: 4points. I you use the optional location rules, theMongoose Dodge takes No Location.

Mongoose Escape: his is similar to the ordi-nary Martial Escape, but has a slightly betterDCV. OCV +0 (0 points), DCV +1 (1 point), +15to SR versus Grabs (4 points). otal: 5 points.(he extra DCV doesn’t help during the Escape,but does help i the character is attacked in thesame Segment once he is ree.) I you use theoptional location rules, the Mongoose Escapetakes No Location.

Mongoose Grab: his is what enables the Mon-goose practitioner to get his hands on his oe. It’snot even as accurate as the normal Martial Grabbut still gives the martial artist a DCV bonus.OCV -2 (-2 points), DCV +2 (2 points), Grab (3points). otal: 3 points. I you use the optionallocation rules, the Mongoose Grab is normallycounted as taking No Location. I it’s ollowed bya Mongoose Bite, you check or the location o

the Grab and Bite with a 2d6+1 location roll.Mongoose Strike: his is a ast blow that doesonly the character’s normal SR damage. OCV+0 (0 points), DCV +3 (4 points). otal: 4 points.I you use the optional location rules, the Mon-goose Strike takes a 2d6+1 location roll.

hose are the basic maneuvers o the style.hey give the character what we describedoriginally: a ast, highly deensive style allow-ing the practitioner to stay loose, grab his target,and destroy the target with the earsome “bite.”See how to incorporate those maneuvers into aHERO System martial arts style on page 101.



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HELPFUL ELEMENTSElement Description Maximum

DCV + +2 points per +1 DCV +2

Disarm + +1 point per +5 SR up to +10 SR;+2 points per additional +5 SR

+20 SR

N-Damage +1 point per +1 DC up to +2 DC;+2 points per +1 DC per additional +1 DC

+4 DC

OCV + +2 point per +1 OCV +2 OCV

Rng + +1 point per +1 OCV vs. Range up to +4;+2 points per additional +1 OCV vs.Range

+8 OCV vs.Range

Strike +0 points i maneuver is based on Strike(+OCV, +0 DCV, does SR damage)

ake Once

Trow +2 points to throw opponent to ground ake Once

v/5 +2 points to do +v/5 extra damage v/5

Not all martial arts involve the use o onlyhand-to-hand weapons. Some, like Kyu- jutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and An Ch’i, ocus onranged weapons like the bow or throwing

knives. Tis section presents rules or creating MartialManeuvers which work at range. In almost all casessuch maneuvers involve a weapon o some sort. Asalways, these rules are optional; i the GM eels theyare inappropriate or unbalance his campaign, heshould change them enough to make them acceptable,or simply orbid them entirely.

DESIGNING RANGEDMARTIAL MANEUVERSYou create ranged martial arts using rules based

on the Designing Martial Arts Maneuvers section,above; readers should reer to that section or gen-eral inormation on this subject. Most o the rulesdescribed in that section, such as the one requiringmartial arts maneuvers to cost rom 3-5 points, applyto Ranged Martial Maneuvers as well.

MANEUVER BASES

Like hand-to-hand Martial Maneuvers, RangedMartial Maneuvers have Maneuver Bases. Tere are

Exclusive Bases, which a maneuver can have only oneo; and Non-Exclusive Bases, which a maneuver canhave more than one o. You can include one or moreNon-Exclusive Bases in a maneuver with an ExclusiveBasis. See above or urther inormation.

MANEUVER ELEMENS

Te accompanying table lists the Elements, orbuilding blocks, used to construct Ranged MartialManeuvers. Te various Bases are Elements, as arebonuses to CV and various other abilities which youuse to “customize” each maneuver.

Te list o Elements you can use to build ranged

martial arts maneuvers is shorter than the list ohand-to-hand maneuver Elements — there are ewerthings a character can do to an opponent at rangethan to one within hand-to-hand fighting distance. It’snot possible, or example, to grab someone standing ahundred eet away rom you.

Even though there are three types o damage acharacter can do using hand-to-hand martial arts,there is only one type at range: Normal Damage(N-Damage). Tis is because the ranged martial artsdesign system is intended primarily or building stylesinvolving missile weapons such as bows, guns, andshuriken. Te N-Damage bonuses simply add DCs tothe weapon, as explained on page 406 o the HEROSystem 5th Edition, Revised . I or some reason a playerwants to design a barehanded ranged martial artsstyle involving Killing Damage and NND DMG (andcan get GM permission to do so), he can import theK-Damage and NND DMG Elements rom the hand-to-hand Elements chart on page 91.

RANGEDM ARTIAL ARTS

M ANEUVERS BASISExclusiveBasis Purpose of Bases

Disarm + Attempts to knock anopponent’s weapon out ohis grasp

Strike Does damage to the

opponentNon-ExclusiveBasis Purpose of Bases

Trow Puts the opponent on theground

RESTRICTIVE ELEMENTSElement Description Maximum

DCV - -1 point per -1 DCV -2 DCV

Hal MoveRequired

-1 point i maneuver requires character tomake a Hal Move

ake Once

OCV - -1 point per -1 OCV -2 OCV

Rng - -1 point per -1 OCV vs. Range -2 OCV vs.Range

ime + -1 point i attack takes an extra Segmentto perorm (landing at the end o the nextSegment)

ake Once




Element DescriptionsElements not described here work exactly the

same as the corresponding hand-to-hand Element(see above).

DCV +DCV bonuses are a relatively rare Element

in ranged martial arts maneuvers. Tey indicatea maneuver which the character has practiced so

much and is so proficient with that he can movearound and avoid enemy attacks while still aimingaccurately at his target. DCV + costs 2 points per+1 DCV (with a maximum o +2 DCV). A charac-ter may not have both DCV + and DCV - Elementsin the same maneuver.

Disarm +A Disarm maneuver is used to knock a

weapon out o an opponent’s grasp. Determiningwhether a ranged attack knocks a weapon out osomeone’s grasp is a two-step process. First, convert the Damage Classes o the attacking weaponto SR (1 DC equals 5 SR); second, make a SR

Versus SR Contest in the standard method orthe Disarm maneuver. For example, a 1d6+1 RKAarrow has 4 DC, which equals 20 SR or Disarmpurposes. While a ranged “Disarm” o this sort doesnot take the usual -2 OCV or a standard Disarmmaneuver, the shooter suffers OCV penalties ortargeting the weapon (typically -6, as or targetingthe hand, but shooting at larger weapons such asrifles or greatswords may entail lesser penalties).

Te Disarm + Element adds SR to a rangedweapon’s disarm ability. Tis reflects the attacker’saccuracy with the maneuver and his general skillat disarming opponents with his ranged attack. Amaximum o +20 SR may be added; the first +10

SR costs 1 point per +5 SR; all SR thereafercosts 2 points per +5 SR.

A disarmed weapon usually ends up ½d6inches away rom its ormer holder in the directionthe disarming attack travels (disarming player’schoice, within reason). Te GM decides whetherthe disarmed weapon suffers damage; the Disarm +Element itsel does no damage to the weapon.

N-DamageTis stands or Normal Damage, which adds

DCs to the damage done by the missile weapon thecharacter uses. Remember, it takes two DCs to addone DC to a Killing Attack weapon. For this reason

characters usually buy N-Damage maneuverswith +2 DC or +4 DC, since odd numbers rounddown (or example, +3 DC rounds to +1 DC whenused to increase a Killing Attack). See page 406 othe HERO System 5th Edition, Revised or a moredetailed description o adding DCs to K-Damagemaneuvers and weapons. N-Damage costs 1 pointper +1 DC up to 2 DC, and +2 points or every +1DC thereafer, to a maximum o +4 DC. Tus, +4DC would cost 6 points.

OCV +OCV + is the same as the hand-to-hand ver-

sion, except that it costs 2 points per +1 OCVtaken, to a maximum o +2 OCV.

Rng -Tis Restrictive Element reflects the inherent

diffi culty or inaccuracy o a particular maneuverover distance. Rng - points add to the standard rangemodifiers imposed by the HERO System rules (reerto the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised , page 373,or inormation). For every 1 point o Rng -, there’san additional -1 OCV at Range or the maneuver.

Characters may take a maximum o two points

o Rng - or a maneuver, at a subtraction o -1point each rom the total cost o the maneuver. Amaneuver may not have both the Rng - and Rng +Elements.

Rng +Buy Rng + or maneuvers which are inherently

more accurate than normal over a distance. Rng +points add to OCV to counteract the standard pen-alties or ranged attacks.

Rng + costs +1 point per point or the firstour points, and +2 points per point or the nextour points, or a maximum o +8 OCV vs. Range.

A maneuver may not have both Rng + andRng - modifiers.

TrowCharacters use this Element or ranged attacks

designed to trip an opponent or knock his eet outrom under him.

With larger weapons (such as arrows, spears,and throwing axes), the Trow Element usuallymeans the weapon snags the opponent’s eet andtrips him or knocks him down. Tis orm o Trowdoes no damage to the opponent other than thedamage rom the all itsel, as with a Martial Trow.With smaller weapons (such as bullets, shuriken,and throwing knives), this maneuver involves hit-ting the opponent in the legs or eet, thereby “cut-

ting his eet out rom under him” or knocking himdown.

In the description o a maneuver, a Trowis indicated by the use o the word “Falls,” as in“arget Falls.”

Te Trow Element costs 2 points.

ime +Some ranged maneuvers take an extra Phase

to perorm, simulating the character’s need to care-ully aim the attack. Tis Restrictive Element sub-tracts 1 point rom the cost o the maneuver. In amaneuver’s description this Element is indicated bythe words “+1 Segment.”

v/5Te maneuver gets a damage bonus based on

the velocity o the target (not on the relative veloc-ity o the attacker and his target, like the hand-to-hand v/5 Element). “V” indicates the target’s veloc-ity. In most cases, ranged martial arts maneuversbuilt with this Element do only v/5 damage, not v/5plus the weapon’s damage or the character’s SR,since the effect is one o tripping somebody, noto knocking them down. Characters may take v/5once, at a cost o 2 points.

MIXING HTHAND RANGEDMANEUVERS

A character can, withGM permission, have amartial arts style withboth hand-to-handand ranged maneuvers.For example, a skilledkniefighter might want

to add a Ranged MartialManeuver to his Sevil-lian Kniefighting styleto reflect his skill withthrown knives. Someo the styles describedin Chapter One, suchas An Ch’i, have bothhand-to-hand andranged maneuvers.

Provided the GM doesnot think this unbal-ances the campaign,it’s perectly accept-able. However, just likeExtra DCs (see below),

3-point Combat SkillLevels with a hand-to-hand style do not affectranged maneuvers inthat style, and vice-versa. Five-point levelswith a particular style(not with Hand-o-Hand Fighting, witha specific style, suchas Karate) do affect toboth hand-to-hand andranged maneuvers inthat style.



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THE COMPLETEMONGOOSE STYLE

As an example o how to assemble a ullyfleshed out martial arts style, here once again is theMongoose Style.

You already know the maneuvers. Tat leavesSkills, Elements, special abilities, and some back-ground.

Skills: In addition to the basic KS: MongooseStyle, Acrobatics is appropriate to represent themongoose’s agility. Since mongooses have short butsharp claws and teeth, it would also be appropriateor practitioners to learn how to use short blades(including the shuko, page 182) with the art.

Elements: No style requires Extra DC, so thosearen’t listed. Using the art with the short bladesmentioned above is appropriate.

Special abilities: Mongoose practitioners are ast,both in terms o agility and general speed, so someextra Running is common among them.

So, the Mongoose Style looks like this:

MONGOOSE SYLE NOES

Optional Rules: Te Strike and Bite take 3d6 loca-tion rolls. None o the other maneuvers take loca-tion rolls.

Special Abilities: Many Mongoose practitionersbuy extra inches o Running to reflect their speedi-

ness.Mongoose Style developed in India sometime

during the ninth and tenth centuries AD, but wasknown only to a ew Buddhist monasteries. But inthe late seventeenth century, a Mongoose stylistturned away rom his aith and began worshippingKali; he joined an order o Tugs (Indian strangler-assassins) and taught them his fighting skills.

Mongoose Style was nearly wiped out duringthe British Empire’s crackdown on the Tugsduring the nineteenth century, but did surviveamong descendants o the Tugs. Some o them lefthe path o Tuggee and practiced the art solely orsel-deense and exercise.

oday, Mongoose Style remains a airlyobscure fighting art. One isolated Buddhist mon-astery still teaches a pure orm o the style, andrumors say that sects o Mongoose-stylist Tugssurvive in the dark and shadowy corners o India.But mostly the art is taught by Indian martial art-ists, especially in larger cities such as Calcutta andBombay. A ew instructors have migrated to theUnited States or Great Britain, and so some large

Western cities have Mongoose schools.

ADDITIONAL NOTES ONMARTIAL ARTS STYLES

AND ELEMENTS

Extra Damage Classes

You’re amiliar with Extra Damage Classes(DCs) rom the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised ,page 400. On the Martial Maneuvers able (page

384 o that book), it’s listed as +1 DC in the bottomo the chart. Te Adding Damage section o thatbook (page 405) discusses how Extra DC add toa maneuver’s damage with unarmed and armedattacks.

Tis section discusses Extra DC to summarizea ew acts and clariy some points.

ADDING EXRA DC O MANEUVERDAMAGE

Extra DCs add to damage rom martial artsmaneuvers. Tey add both to armed and unarmedmartial arts maneuvers. I the maneuver is a fistpunch, Extra DCs apply; i the maneuver is a Mar-

tial Strike requiring the use o a sword, Extra DCsapply.Tey do not add to any other sort o damage:

not to damage used with non-martial arts maneuvers, not to unarmed attacks bought with the HA orHKA Powers, and so orth.

Here is how Extra DCs add to maneuverdamage:

Each +1 DC from Extra DCs Adds:

1) Normal Damage: Each +1 DC rom Extra DCsadds +1d6 to Normal Damage maneuvers (armedor unarmed). Tis is true o both unarmed maneuvers and armed maneuvers or Normal Damage

weapons you can use with your martial art style(see “Weapons,” below).

2) NND Damage: Each +1 DC rom ExtraDCs adds +½d6 to NND maneuvers (armed orunarmed). Tis is true o both unarmed maneuversand armed maneuvers or NND Damage weaponsyou can use with your martial art style (see “Weap-ons,” below).

3) Flash effects: Each +1 DC rom Extra DCs adds+1d6 to Flash maneuvers (armed or unarmed).

4) SR bonuses: Each +1 DC rom Extra DCs adds+5 SR to the SR bonuses rom maneuvers builtwith the “Exert” Basis.

MANEUVERS ANHIT LOCATIONS

In the style write-upsearlier in this chapteryou saw that manymaneuvers utilize HiLocation rolls otherthan the standard 3droll. Your GM may or

may not adopt thisoptional rule. I thecampaign does notuse Hit Location rollthis rule automaticalldoes not apply. Even the campaign uses HLocation rolls, the GMdoes not have to permits use. I the campaiguses Hit Locations, athe GM permits its uyou should assign eamaneuver one o theollowing location ro2d6+1, 2d6+7, 3d6, N

Roll, and No LocatioI you’re using this rumaneuvers suffer noOCV penalty basedon the targeted loca-tion (even though, oexample, 2d6+1 and2d6+7 ordinarily suffa -2 OCV [see page 2o the HERO System Edition]).

2d6+1: Tis is a HighShot. Most fist strikes(punches), elbow striand head-butts shoulbe assigned this loca-

tion.2d6+7: Tis is a LowShot. It’s best suited tkicks which normallycenter around the stoach, groin, and legs.

3d6: Tis is the normall-around location rIt’s suitable or kickswhich can range romhead to oot (which acommon in martial astyles) and or attackrom long weapons(such as swords, whip

and staves).No Roll: Te maneuautomatically hits aspecific location — ually the head or vitalsHowever, the damageis not modified by thlocation, either. I theattack automatically hthe head (as a ChokeHold and some headbutts will), you do nomultiply the maneuvdamage because o th

Continued on next

MONGOOSE STYLEMane uver Phs Pts OCV DCV Dama ge/EffectBite 1+ 5 -2 -2 HKA 1d6+ 1, Follows

Grab, Extra Segm entBlock ½ 4 + 2 + 2 Block, AbortDodge ½ 4 — + 5 Dodge all attacks,

AbortEscape ½ 5 + 0 + 1 +15 STR vs. GrabsGrab ½ 3 -2 +2 Grab Two LimbsStrike ½ 4 + 0 + 3 STR Strike

Skills

AcrobaticsKS: Mongoose StyleWF: Blades

ElementsWeapons +1 Use Art with Small Blades +1 Use Art with Shuko




Each +2 DC from Extra DC Adds:

1) Killing Damage: Each +2 DC rom Extra DCsadds +1 DC to the damage o Killing Attack maneuvers (armed and unarmed). Tis is true o bothunarmed maneuvers and armed maneuvers or Kill-ing Damage weapons you can use with your martialart style (see “Weapons,” below).

LIMIED EXRA DCS

You cannot take Limitations on Extra DCs (orexample, to restrict them to only one or two maneuvers in a martial arts style). Allowing that wouldcreate significant game balance problems, so it’s or-bidden.

RANGED MARIAL ARS AND EXRA DCS

Characters may buy Extra DCs or ranged mar-tial arts styles. Tey cost 4 point apiece, just like hand-to-hand Extra DCs. However, Extra DCs or a rangedmartial arts style are relatively rare; ranged martialarts styles rely on accuracy rather than on power inmost instances. Sometimes, though, a ew Extra DCssimulate a character’s ability to hit particularly vul-

nerable locations on his target.I a character has both hand-to-hand andranged martial arts maneuvers, Extra DCs bought orhand-to-hand maneuvers do not add to the rangedmaneuvers, and vice-versa. Characters must purchaseExtra DCs or ranged martial arts separately.

PUSHING EXRA DC

Characters cannot Push Extra DC damage. Inappropriate situations (see page 427 o the HERO

System 5th Edition, Revised ), they can, o course, Pushtheir SR to do extra damage with a maneuver towhich Extra DCs apply.

EXRA DC IN MARIAL ARS SYLES

Extra DCs are never a required part o any mar-tial arts style — they’re options the GM may allow.Tereore, the Extra DC Element isn’t listed with anystyle.

EXRA DC AND OUSIDE MANEUVERSExtra DCs apply to all martial arts maneuvers

you have bought (excepting ones like Blocks andDodges, where it has no unction), whether or notthose maneuvers all belong to the same style. I acharacter knows maneuvers rom several styles, hisExtra DCs affect every one o them. It does not affectthe ordinary combat maneuvers every characterknows (i.e., normal Strike, normal Disarm, and soorth).

For instance, a Kung Fu practitioner who hasKung Fu maneuvers with Extra DCs, who then buysa Kenjutsu maneuver, can apply his Extra DCs to theKenjutsu maneuver.

WeaponsMartial arts styles are initially built or use

unarmed, or with one 1-point Weapon Familiar-ity category o weapons (see page 76 o the HEROSystem 5th Edition, Revised ). By spending +1 point ora Weapon Element, a character can use the appropri-ate maneuvers o his style with a specific 1-pointmelee weapons group. For arts which normallyrequire the character to use a weapon, the Bare-handed Weapon Element allows him to use appropri-ate maneuvers unarmed.

WEAPONS ELEMEN AND WEAPONFAMILIARIY

o buy a Weapons Element or a weapons group,you must already have bought Weapon Familiaritywith that group. A +1 point Weapon Element doesnot include a WF with that weapon group; the char-acter must still buy that separately. Once he has boththe WF and Weapons Element, he can use the appro-priate maneuvers rom his style with that weapongroup.

NO WOPOIN WEAPONS GROUPS

A character must purchase a separate +1 pointWeapon Element or each 1-point Weapon Familiar-ity weapons group. Unlike the WF Skill itsel, a char-acter cannot pay +2 points or the ability to use allCommon Melee Weapons with his martial art — hehas to spend +1 point or Clubs, +1 or Axes, Maces,and Picks, +1 or Blades, +1 or Pole Arms, and +1 orwo-Handed Weapons, or instance.

MARIAL MANEUVERS USED WIHWEAPONS

When perorming a Martial Arts maneuverwith a weapon, the character gets the maneuver’sOCV and DCV bonuses and penalties in additionto the weapon’s. He also adds any damage bonusrom the maneuver (see Adding Damage, page

location. I the attackautomatically goes to ahand (as some nerve-pinches could), do nothalve the maneuver’sdamage because o thelocation.

No Location: Temaneuver hits no loca-

tion at all — it doesn’tneed one. Either it doesno damage, so that nolocation roll is needed(or example, a Dodgeor Block), or it doesdamage in such a gener-alized ashion there’s nochance o the damagebeing affected by thelocations hit (as is thecase with many throwsand takedowns).

Generally, ranged mar-tial arts maneuvers usea standard 3d6 roll to

determine Hit Loca-tion. A ew o them,such as maneuvers withthe Disarm or Trow Elements, may “target”a specific location. Asusual, such maneuversdo not suffer Hit Loca-tion OCV or damagepenalties or bonuses.




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405 in the HEROSystem 5th Edi-

tion, Revised , ormore inormation).Naturally, a character

can use normal (non-martial arts) maneuvers withweapons or which he’s bought Weapon Familiar-ity; the martial arts Weapons Elements has nobearing on this.

OTHER WAYS TO BUILDM ARTIAL ARTS

Tere are a couple o other ways to buildMartial Arts-like abilities in the HERO System.

Remember, the special effect matters most in theHERO System, not how you define an ability ingame terms. Te Martial Arts Skill isn’t the onlyway or a character to simulate a high degree oproficiency at hand-to-hand fighting.

HE COMBA SKILL LEVELS“MARIAL AR”

One way to represent a somewhat limitedbut still very effective martial art is to structure itentirely with Skill Levels — not using any maneuvers. For example, a three-point Combat Skill Levelgives you a +1 CV with three maneuvers. Let’ssay you pay 24 points to buy eight o them, and

you speciy that they apply to the normal Strike,Dodge, and Grab maneuvers. You call this a martialarts style. Here’s what you can do with this “style.”

When using your normal Strike, you couldhave +8 OCV, or +8 DCV, or +4 OCV and +4 DCV,or any other combination adding up to +8. Youcould also use some or all o the levels to increaseyour damage, at +2 Skill Levels per +1 DC; i youput them all into damage, you’d have +0 OCV, +0DCV, and +4d6 normal damage (though the addeddamage can’t exceed the maneuver’s maximumdamage rom your SR; you’d have to have SR 20to use this effectively).

Whenusing the normalDodge, you wouldhave +11 DCV— enough o a bonus

to make most Super-heroic-level attackersblanch. When usingthe normal Grab,you could addparts o it intoOCV or DCVas beore, or again could be used to increase thedamage o the attack (the squeezing part o theGrab) by up to +4d6, or to an amount equal to thatdone by the character’s normal SR, whichever isless.

Tis is a perectly viable arrangement. Youcan’t do some things that Martial Maneuvers can,

but you can achieve much higher OCVs and DCVsor a similar expenditure o points.However, i your campaign limits characters

to a maximum OCV, the “Skill Levels martial art”still cannot exceed that maximum. I the campaignlimits characters to OCV 13, then a charactercannot buy eight +1 Skill Levels unless he has anormal OCV o 5 or less (or, i he buys that many,he cannot allocate them in such a way as to violatethe campaign’s ground rules).

Additionally — and this is an absolute restric-tion — you can’t buy a batch o Skill Levels, definethem as a martial arts style, and then take a Style Distinctive Feature or them. Characters can only

take Style or styles built with Martial Maneuvers.

POWERS AS MARIAL ARS

A character can construct “martial arts abili-ties” with Powers. Examples include extra SRwhich only works to Grab or Disarm; Hand-o-Hand Attacks bought with Advantages to simulatemystic attack powers; inches o Knockback Resis-tance to reflect the character’s acrobatic ability toavoid taking damage rom Knockback; and so orth.In many cases these abilities can be placed in PowerFrameworks to make them more affordable. Chap-ter wo, Character Creation, includes many ideasor “martial arts Powers” and Power Frameworks.




Some characters may want to apply PowerAdvantages to Martial Maneuvers toachieve certain effects or create certainpowers. Tis section contains rules or

doing so. Tese rules are strictly optional; the GMdoes not have to allow them in his campaign.

CAVEA

wo warnings are appropriate beore thereader explores this section ully.

First, adding an Advantage to a MartialManeuver is a way o giving a character a special,ofen unique, ability. It should not become common

in the campaign or characters to buy “martialAdvantages.”Furthermore, and this is an absolute restriction,

characters must purchase each martial Advantageseparately — a character cannot buy a +½ ArmorPiercing Advantage or his base SR and apply itto all o his Martial Maneuvers. Tat Advantageaffects the character’s basic Strike maneuver, butnot his Martial Maneuvers. He should purchasethe AP effect or each maneuver individually. Sincecharacters can’t put “naked” Power Advantagesin Power Frameworks without GM’s permission(HERO System 5th Edition, Revised , page 244), thisgets expensive.

Second, GMs should not allow characters touse the point figures in the accompanying tables toadd effects to their SR or other abilities. A charac-ter cannot gain the ability to Trow someone withevery punch simply by paying 15 points. He mustbuy a GM-approved martial arts package with anappropriate maneuver to gain that ability.

Point Value Of Baseso calculate the cost o an Advantage on a

Martial Maneuver, first you must determine theCharacter Point value o the Base or Bases in themaneuver. With some Bases (such as Strike or

Exert), this is relatively easy; with others (like Block,Dodge, or Trow), it’s a little more diffi cult. Tesolution is to assign standard “Active Point values”to such Bases. Te accompanying table sets out the value o the various Bases; GMs may adjust these values as appropriate or their campaigns.

Te minimum point value o a maneuverinvolving the application o SR (such as Bindor Disarm) is the character’s base SR. In otherwords, a SR 10 character can’t build a +5 SR Bindmaneuver and then use a point value o 5 (SR 10+ 5 - 10) to add an Advantage to it; his SR 10 is theminimum point value.

Te rationale or these values is relativelystraightorward. Maneuvers which add SR or acertain purpose have that amount o SR, modifiedby an appropriate “Limitation” reflecting the limitednature o the maneuver’s purpose, plus the charac-ter’s own SR as their base value. Te character’sown SR gets no “Limitation” value or this purpose,since it is not Limited in any way.

Grab Weapon is about the same as Disarm, butDisarm is less disadvantageous than Bind (becausein a Bind, the target maintains control over his

weapon); hence the values or their point subtrac-tions. Te values or Dodge and Block derive romthe cost o Combat Skill Levels with DCV (the +3DCV a basic Dodge maneuver provides), and Trowis considered roughly equivalent to them. Strikeis based on the cost o an equivalent Energy Blast,Flash on the cost o an equivalent Flash Attack.

I a maneuver has multiple Bases, add theirpoint values together to get the overall value o themaneuver beore applying Advantages.

Modifier Value

Of Other ElementsTe other elements used to build Martial

Maneuvers are simulated as either additions or sub-tractions to the total “Active Point value” o the Basesin the maneuver. Te accompanying table lists themodifier values or them.

Extra Damage ClassesExtra Damage Classes or a maneuver either

add to the damage or increase the SR usable witha maneuver, and should be figured in according tohow they increase the Bases used with the maneuver.

POWER ADVANTAGESFOR MARTIAL ARTS

POINT VALUE OF BASESBasis Point ValueBind Maneuver’s total SR -10Block 5 points per +1 OCV and +1

DCVDisarm Maneuver’s total SR -5Dodge 5 points per +1 DCVExert Maneuver’s total SR -5Flash Same as equivalent Flash

AttackGrab Opponent Maneuver’s total SR -5Grab Weapon Maneuver’s total SR -5

Strike Same as an equal number oDC o Energy Blast

Trow 25



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Endurance AndMartial Advantages

Although Martial Maneuvers themselves costno END, Advantages applied to them do cost END,at the standard rate. I the character wants theAdvantage to be 0 END, he must pay or ReducedEndurance on the cost o the Advantage.

ExamplesWith the inormation in these two charts, cal-

culating the cost o adding an Advantage to a Mar-tial Maneuver becomes a relatively simple matter.Calculate the cost o the maneuver without theAdvantage, then with the Advantage, and subtractthe first number rom the second to give you thepoint value o the Advantage itsel.

Example: Kickmaster wants to add the Advan-tage Armor Piercing to his Offensive Strike,which does 12d6 damage (4d6 rom his 20 SR, plus 4d6 rom the maneuver, +4 Extra DCs).

Tis Offensive Strike has a simulated cost o 55 points: a base o 60 points or his 12 DC Strikeattack, -10 or the -2 OCV, and +5 or the +1DCV. A 55-point Armor Piercing (+½) powercosts 82 points (55 x 1.5). 82 - 55 = 27 points,so that’s what the Advantage costs him. He uses3 END every time he uses this ability. o makethe Advantage cost 0 END would increase thecost to (27 x 1.5) = 40 points.

Example: Emiko wants to add a Damage Shieldto her Martial Escape maneuver, so she caninjure people who Grab her as she breaks away rom them. She has a SR o 15. Te maneuveradds +15 SR, and she has bought +4 ExtraDamage Classes, which add +20 SR, or atotal o +35 SR; however, given the nature othis Exert-based maneuver -5 is applied to the+35 SR, reducing its cost to 30. Tereore, the point value o the maneuver is 15 + 30 = 45 points. Forty-five points with a +½ Advantageequals 67 points, 67 - 45 = 22 points.

Example: Snake wants to make his Killing Strikean Autofire Double Knockback attack (Snake isa little disturbed). He has a SR o 15. He has +2Extra DCs or his Killing Strike, making it a 1d6HKA equivalent, worth 15 points. Tus, the total point value o the maneuver is 20 points (15SR. plus 15 points or a 1d6 HKA, -10 or thedecrease in OCV). 20 points multiplied by +1¼worth o Advantages becomes 45 points; 45 - 20= 25 points cost. It costs Snake 2 END or every punch he throws with this Advantage (that’s 2END per Autofire “shot,” not 2 END total).

Example: Snake also wants to make his Nerve

Strike an Indirect attack so his opponents can’tBlock it. He has a base 2d6 NND(1) attack, andwith his +2 Extra DCs, it becomes a 3d6 NND(1)attack. A 3d6 Nerve Strike is the equivalent oa EB 3d6 NND, which costs 30 points; +1 DCVadds 5 points, -1 OCV subtracts 5 points, or a final cost o 30 points or the maneuver. Sincethe SR - Restrictive Element means no SRadds to this maneuver, Snake’s base SR doesnot figure into this point value. o make a 30- point power Indirect costs 15 points (30 x 1.5= 45, 45 - 30 = 15). Tis special ability costsSnake 1 END every time he uses it.

Example: Henri Pétion, a encer, wants to adda rigger Advantage (takes no time; +½) to his Martial Disarm maneuver so it “goes off” the firsttime someone tries to Block his sword in a duel.He is SR 10, and the bonuses rom the maneu-ver and his Extra DCs add +40 SR to this, or atotal SR o 50. He applies the -5 subtraction oradded Disarm SR and derives a base value o45 points; the OCV/DCV modifiers cancel eachother out, or a final cost o 45 points. 45 x 1.5 =67 points, 67 - 45 = 22 points, which is what thisspecial ability will cost Henri.

MARTIAL ARTS MANEUVERELEMENTS VALUE

Element ValueAbort +10DCV + +5 points per +1 DCVDCV - -5 points per -1 DCVDisable +5Fall -5FMove +20Follow -10Hal-MoveRequired -5LastingRestriction -5K-Damage See below N-Damage +0NND DMG See below OCV + +5 points per +1 OCVOCV - -5 points per -1 OCVOne Limb -5Response -15SR + Same as SR added to

maneuver, with appropriate

subtraction (see above)SR - Same as SR in maneuver

(i SR is halved); SR is notused to calculate

Active Point value i it is notpart o a maneuver at all.

ake Full DMG -10ake Hal DMG -5ime + -5Unbalancing -5 v/5 +10

Flash maneuvers, Killing-Damage attacks, anNND DMG attacks are handled slightly differ-ently than other maneuvers. Calculate the costo the maneuver as equivalent to the cost o a

Flash o the appropriate Sense Group, an HKA(plus the character’s SR), or an NND EB,respectively. See below or some examples.

DETERMINING M ANEUVER’S PO

VALUE: STEPS

1) Calculate value oBase or Bases.

2) Calculate additionpoints rom other Elements.

a) Add any points roHelpul Elements androm Extra DC.

b) Subtract any poinor Restrictive Eleme

3) ake the final totarom Steps 1-2 and apthe Advantage(s) youwish to add.

4) Subtract the Step total rom the Step 3total. Tis is the cost the Advantage, romwhich you determine

how much END it co



This chapter explores various aspects creating martialartist characters (besides choosing their fightingstyles). It includes character archetypes and noteson various Skills, Powers, Disadvantages, and other

building blocks o the HERO System as they apply to martialartist PCs.

‘Perceive those things which cannot be seen.’— Miyamoto Musashi, Go Rin No Sho (“A Book of Five Rings”)

‘One committed to dying can be slain.

One committed to living can be captured.

One easily angered and hasty to act can beinsulted.

One obsessed with being scrupulous anduntainted can be shamed.

One who loves the people can be troubled.’

— Sun Tzu, The Art of War



Hero Games

Martial artists in movies, comics, andpopular literature ofen all into one ormore o several character “archetypes.”Working rom an archetype helps

many players get a handle on a character (particu-larly a beginning character) and establish a basicpersonality rom which to urther develop the PC.Some o these archetypes are described below. Notethat not all archetypes are necessarily appropriate orall genres; a realistic modern-day action campaignprobably won’t eature any Alien Martial Artists.

Tis martial artist is rom another planet. Hepractices an orm o martial arts rom his ownworld, one he typically considers superior to nativeEarth fighting styles. He usually has special abilitiesderiving rom his alien physiognomy or high tech-nology. Ofentimes, he’s come to Earth to test hismartial prowess against humanity’s best fighters.

Tis archetype is a Westerner who has spentextensive time in the Orient — so much time thathe’s an expert on Oriental culture and customs,including martial arts.

Usually the American From Te Orient actu-ally grew up in an Oriental country — his parentswere diplomats, international businessmen, militarypersonnel, or something similar. While they weretoo busy to pay much attention to him, he learned

martial arts rom a servant, wandered into a newsection o the city and was beriended by a martialarts master who taught him to fight, was seducedby an evil cult that taught him to be an assassinand rom whose clutches he later escaped, or thelike. Alternately, he might have traveled to Asia asa young adult, been taken in by the wonders o theOrient, and stayed there or years beore returningto the West.

In either event, the character’s liestyle andphilosophies are typically Eastern rather than West-ern: he urnishes his home in an Asian style; hecollects Oriental art and weapons; he lives by thetenets o Zen Buddhism, Conucianism, aoism, or

some other Easternreligion — and, o course, he practices Orientalfighting techniques. He may mix in a ew distinc-tive Americanisms, but it’s clear where most o hissympathies lie.

An interesting variant on this archetype is theAmerican From Chinatown, who has spent a greatdeal o time learning about Asian (usually Chinese)culture in his home city’s Chinatown. He’s ofen anexpert on Oriental organized crime, and acts as asort o “guardian o Chinatown.”

Tis character has been wronged in the pastand now his lie is a continuing quest or ven-geance. Ofen the campaign centers around clashesbetween this hero (and his riends) and the groupor clan who wronged him in the past, though this isnot a good approach to take i the other charactersdon’t want always to fight this one hero’s Hunted.

Any other character stereotype can becomeTe Avenger or a single storyline. All it takes is anasty or treacherous attacked aimed at someone the

PC loves....Te Avenger character tends to have martial

arts skills including brutal, devastating maneuvers.He may have many weapons-related abilities. Hemay have a Psychological Limitation such as Codeo Vengeance (see page 137).

A variation on the Avenger is the Maimed Avenger, who has a Physical Limitation (usually amissing limb or eye) or which he wishes to exact vengeance.

Tis character is a martial artist with comicbook-level Strength. He may have gained his super-strength afer learning a martial arts style, or ateammate may have taught him martial arts aferhe gained his powers so he could vary his usual“I smash puny enemy!” fighting style. Te mostcommon styles or Brick Martial Artists to use areBoxing and Wrestling, but other are not unheard o(such as “Brick ricks,” on page 64).

MARTIAL ARTSARCHETYPES

MIXING ANDMATCHING

ARCHETYPESNot every characterrepresents a “pure”archetype. In manygames, ew i any chaacters fit into an archtype perectly; most and match elements two or more archetypto create a unique PCA character could bemartial artist and gad

teer, or a Kid who’s aa Modern-Day SamuHow you create a chaacter like this dependon what you considehis primary ocus.

I the character’s martial arts abilities are hmain “schtick,” thenyou should design hifirst and oremost asmartial artist. Build hidentity around the syou choose or him,and spend a generouportion o his Chara

ter Points on MartialManeuvers and martarts-related Skills anabilities. Ten add onthe things you need tround out the rest opersonality and abilisuch as a bunch o Scence Skills and a smaVariable Power Pool your martial artist-ggeteer.

On the other hand, iyour character is onlsecondarily a martiaartist — and many su

characters exist — thde-emphasize his matial arts abilities. Buyother Skills and Powfirst, and then use thremaining points (orsmaller percentage ohis points) to buy hisMartial Maneuvers aother fighting skills.Unlike the primarymartial artist, who prably has several ComSkill Levels, the seconary martial artist mahave none at all.

The American From

The Orient‘My parents w ere missionaries.So I guess I’m Zen Baptist.’— Elwood Coggin, American

The Alien Ma rtial Artist‘I have come to test my skillsagainst your best.’— Tal Varntep, from Planet 10

The Brick Martial Artist‘I w ill crush you... now!’

— Yokozuna, Hero of Tokyo

The Avenger‘You should have killed mewhen you had the chance.’

— Bai In-Su, the Avenger




Tis character ulfills, or is the culmination o,some centuries-old prophecy. Te prophecy canbe a good one (“A great champion will be born toyour people...”) or a bad one (“Te seventh son o

your seventh son will be cursed to destroy all hetouches”), but in either event it’s a central part othe character’s being. Even i he tries to deny it, itinfluences his actions, his views on lie, and/or therole(s) he chooses or himsel. His special destinymay grant him mystical powers (particularly i he’sated to be the deender or savior o his people).

Tis character could have been born into aJapanese ninja clan, or adopted into one. He couldhave been an a gaijin (an outsider or oreigner)whom the clan agreed to train; or he could be apractitioner o a type o modern ninjutsu whichclaims no ties to historical ninjutsu, but whichworks to redevelop the art. Either way, the characteris a ninja... but one with an honorable soul, who’smore than a ruthless assassin and spy. Adventuresinvolving him should deal as much with espionageand stealthy assaults as with all-out martial artscombat, and should occasionally bring his honor-able nature and loyalty to his clan into conflict.

Although a promising physical specimen whoknows some martial arts and is eager to learn more,this character is saddled with a teacher who seldomteaches him anything directly related to fighting.Instead, the teacher makes him perorm excruciat-ing and meaningless exercises and chores, hardlyever showing him actual blows or moves, speaking

in meaningless aphorisms all the time. Naturally,the student becomes rustrated and irritable. (Ocourse, the master is using these exercises andchores to condition his body and instill reflexesimportant to his art, but the student is as yet inca-pable o realizing this.)

For a character to be the Irritable Student,the campaign must eature a prominent PC orNPC master who trains him (and perhaps otherPCs) throughout the course o the campaign. TeStudent himsel should be built with high physicalCharacteristics and a minimal amount o maneuvers (give him the minimum black belt equivalent:three maneuvers valued at 10 points or more total,

an 8- KS roll with his art, and the Style Disadvan-tage). He ofen has no other useul skills, and usu-ally has a Psychological Limitation such as Aggres-sively Impatient (Common, Strong; 15 points).

Te character is a proessional kickboxer(probably using ull-contact Karate, though anymartial art with a proessional sports version isappropriate). He may be an active contender, thecurrent champion in his weight division, or aretired fighter.

Many o his adventures revolve around himdiscovering that his pals or competitors on theproessional circuit have gone bad and begun usingtheir arts or crime. Sometimes the police may callon the character to act as a consultant in martialarts-related crimes.

Te Kickboxing Champion tends to have awell-rounded martial arts style, a ew Combat SkillLevels, and Skills related to the business: Streetwise,Gambling, and the like. He ofen has the Psycho-logical Limitation Overconfident.

Tis character is a policeman, ederal agent,or private investigator who just happens to know

a martial arts style. In most campaigns, he’s moreindependent than peace offi cers are supposed to be:he’s much less prone to report all the details o hisinvestigations, or the act that he’s just kicked threeminor hoodlums to pieces in the course o his case.(Tis helps streamline his reports and keeps hismartial arts riends out o trouble.)

Te Kickboxing Cop usually has a spare,stripped-to-the-bone martial arts style (three orour maneuvers and a ew Combat Skill Levels) andnumerous Skills and abilities related to his proes-sion: Deduction, Criminology, WF: Small Arms,Fringe Benefit: Police Powers, Contacts, Favors,Streetwise, Enhanced Perception, and so orth.

A brash youngster with an astounding affi nityor the martial arts, the Kid is usually in his earlyto mid-teens when he enters the story. He quicklybecomes known or his fighting skill, ofen annoy-ing personality, snide comebacks and rude remarks,and ability to combine Eastern disciplines andphilosophies with Western materialism and get the

Fulfiller Of Prophecy‘My destiny is written in thestars. Can you hope to stop me?’— John Wa, the Monkey King

The Honorable Ninja‘My m otives are as pristine asthe darkness of this night.’— Katso Sho, Ninja

The Kickboxing Champ‘My style is impetuous, my

defense impenetrable.’— Meow Yen, World Champion

The Irrita ble Student‘This is foolishness, you tea chme nothing!’— Van Harris, Student

The Kickboxing Cop‘When you walk these streets,you need an edge.’

— Detective Jessica Stinnett, HCPD

The Kid‘Get betw een me a nd that dressand I’ll put you into a wall.’

— Alice Ono, 10th grade student



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best o both worlds. Te Kid is ofen a Fulfiller oProphecy as well.

Tis martial artist is a classic adventurer: he

travels, seeking out trouble and setting it rightwherever he finds it. He tends to be a proessionaladventurer; he has good martial arts abilities, buthis choice o other Skills reflects the campaignsetting. In a modern campaign, he’ll probablyhave several travel-related skills (Combat Drivingor Piloting, F: Skiing), numerous Contacts andFavors, and Skills related to some adventuring pro-ession (private investigator, spy, or the like).

Tis character is a teacher o martial arts andthe philosophies o his style. He’s ofen built withmost or all maneuvers rom his style, and perhapsmaneuvers rom other styles, making him a very versatile fighter. Ofen he has somewhat lowerphysical Characteristics than the younger heroes heteaches, but lots o Combat Skill Levels to make upor the deficit.

He may have the Age Disadvantage (thoughhe doesn’t have to). He’s also likely to have the Psy-chological Limitation Inscrutable (Common; 10points); this makes him reluctant to explain why

he’s ordering his students to do the things they’redoing, which continually rustrates them.

A modern-day version o the eudal Japanesesamurai or ninja, this character lives by his rolemodels’ codes o conduct, practices their fightingarts, and tries to conduct himsel as they would.Some versions o this archetype combine ancient

training with modern technology and equipment,but just as ofen the character limits himsel to low-tech weapons and gear.

Tis character is a prime physical specimenwith a fine command o his martial art; his greatestproblem is his naivete. He may have been shelteredall his lie; he’s certainly never spent time on the

streets. He’s gullible and susceptible to the wiles oswindlers, con men, and spies.

Te Naive Hero/Heroine ofen has goodmartial arts abilities (numerous maneuvers andCombat Skill Levels) and some proession-relatedskill. Tis character should take the PsychologicalLimitation Naive (Common; 10 points) and role-play it to the hilt.

Tis archetype, relatively uncommon amongPCs, is a thinker rather than a doer. He preers nonviolent solutions to problems, even though his skillwith martial arts makes even seasoned fighters waryo him. His approach to lie is generally dictated bysome school o religious or philosophical thought,such as aoism or Buddhism, which he interprets ascalling or passive acceptance o most ates, nonvio-lent responses to violence, or what have you.

But the Philosopher’s not an ineffective milque-toast. When push comes to shove, as it usually doesin these stories, the Philosopher sheds his cloako nonviolence and uses his fighting skills to theirutmost. Although ofen trained in one o the internalChinese fighting styles, he can learn any style thatis not overtly aggressive (i.e., he shouldn’t take TaiKick-Boxing or some other brutal fighting styles, butmost orms o martial arts are acceptable).

An unemployed samurai, this character isofen orced to wander and undertake short-termassignments (many o them nasty, or which puthim in moral dilemmas) to make his living.

Tis character is normally a samurai in theemploy o a lord in eudal Japan; adventures involv-

ing this character generally involve him trying toachieve his personal goals (such as revenge) whilemeeting his obligations to and achieving the goalso his lord (which may directly or indirectly con-flict with his own goals).

The Knight-Errant‘My cause is just, my heart is

pure. I cannot be denied.’— K’yokt, questing knight

The M aster‘It is in ack nowledging our igno-rance that we gain wisdom.’— Zong Hop, Master

The Modern Day Samurai‘My soul was forged in the past.

My katana is state of the art.’— Tajiri, Robo-Samurai

The Naive Hero/Heroine‘I will not sit still while myhome is under attack.’— Nabo Rai, Heroine

The Philosopher‘How can you think andhit at the same time?’

— Yogi Barrett, Zen Master

The Samurai‘The reputation of 1,00 0 yearsmay be determined in one hour.’— Shin Toju, Samurai

The Ronin‘My ma ster has fallen; but mysword has blood yet to taste.’

— Torii Saru, Ronin

‘The Way of the warrior is res-olute acceptance of death.’

—Miyamoto Musashi,Go Rin No Sho (“A Book of Five Rings”)




Tis character, like the Irritable Student,appears in campaigns eaturing a teacher as animportant PC or NPC. Unlike the Irritable one, this

character is sober and studious (and, usually, moreboring than the Irritable Student). Te SeriousStudent is built much like the Irritable Student, butwithout Aggressively Impatient.

Tis character is a buddy o one o the othercharacters; i the campaign centers around a school,he’s another student at the school. A variation othe Sidekick is the Comic Sidekick, who’s a bit gooy,oolish or stupid.

Tis is a demanding role to play, because (bydefinition) the Sidekick is not as good a martialartist as the character who is his riend. He shouldhave a minimum number o martial arts maneuvers and ewer Skill Levels than his riends have. Ino player is willing to have distinctly less fighting versatility than the group’s standard, the Sidekickshould not be a PC — i he appears at all, he shouldbe an NPC (ofen either a DNPC or a Follower).On the other hand, he could have a variety o abili-ties which make him just as useul to the group asthe top-line fighter. He could have Streetwise anddozens o street contacts, scientific and technicalskills the group needs, or the like.

Tis character became the ultimate soldierafer treatments he received rom the government(or some private beneactor) made him quicker,stronger, or tougher than the average human. Hemay also have cybernetic implants, similar technol-ogy, or even magic to aid him.

In addition to the abilities he gains rom histreatments, the Super-Soldier is trained to fight, andfight well. He usually adopts a straightorward (andWestern) fighting style, like Commando rain-ing, Boxing, or Fisticuffs/Cinematic Brawling, buthe can learn any style the player can justiy to theGM. Te Super-Soldier’s combination o enhancedreflexes, superior senses, and superb combat train-ing make him a match or even highly-trained mar-tial arts masters.

Tis character, though he is a master o themartial arts, doesn’t want to fight. He has othergoals, such as the pursuit o philosophy or thedesire to be a humble gardener.

For some plot-driven reason, he becomes thetarget o the villains (perhaps he doesn’t let the vil-lains maim or kill his employers, which gives themfits). Finally, the villains’ actions against him andthose he protects drive him over the edge, and ora brie and bloody period o time he becomes TeAvenger (see above).

Te Unwilling Fighter is usually an excellentmartial artist, having many Skill Levels and at leastour or five maneuvers. But the martial arts are nothis proession; he must have Skills pertaining towhatever he does to make his living.

Te Vigilante Martial Artist uses his fightingskills to fight crime and clean up the streets. On hisown he ofen acts as the protector o a particulararea or neighborhood (such as Chinatown); asa member o a team he usually unctions as thegroup’s expert on gangs and Asian organized crime.In either case his fists and eet have made him aorce to be reckoned with on the streets o the city.

Tis character is the Buddhist priest withmartial arts training. Usually, the Warrior-Monkrole is combined with another role, such asMonk/Avenger, Monk/Knight-Errant, and Monk/Unwilling Fighter.

THE CAREER PATH OF THEM ARTIAL ARTISTTe creation and development o martial arts

characters ofen ollows a definite series o steps orstages. You can think o this process as the “careerpath” o the martial artist character.

Te first step on this path is one all players haveto take: the creation o the character and the selec-tion o an interesting martial arts style or the char-acter to use. Ofen the selection o the style dictatesother things about the character, such as his appear-ance, philosophy o lie, and goals. Unortunately,this is as ar as many character designers get — even

The Serious Student‘I am an empty vessel for my

master’s instruction.’— Ba Mingxing, Student

The Sidek ick‘Kid-Hostage? Bruce Leestarted as a sidekick!’

— Kid-Quick, Sidekick

The Unwilling Fighter‘You have started what

I must now finish.’— Aaron Bailey, ex-Delta Force

The Warrior-Monk‘Man at his best, like w ater,serves as he goes along.’— Brother San Jung-mo, Monk

The Super-Soldier‘God and Country!Right will prevail!’

— American Eagle, WWII Hero

Vigilante Martial Artist‘Can crime really pay thiswell?’ -- CRACK --— Nightwalker, Vigilante

A GLOSSARYOF MARTIALARTS TERMS

erms in this Glossaryare in Chinese (C), Japa-nese (D), and Korean(K).

ai (J) — harmony

aiki (J) — harmony o

effort, harmony o orcebu (J) — military, mar-tial

bushi (J) — warrior

chambara (J) — his-torical-period samuraifilms, usually quitebloody; name comesrom “chan-chan bara-bara,” the spoken soundeffect or swords clash-ing

ch’i (C) — spirit; breath;energy

ch’uan (C) — fist, boxing

-do (J, K) — the way o;when applied to the endo the name o a mar-tial arts style, it impliesphilosophical teachingsas well as martial artstraining (or example,karate-do means “theway o the empty hand”)

dojang (K) — traininghall, school

dojo (J) — training hall,school

a (C) — the way o;Ch’uan a means “theway o the fist”gaijin (J) — outsider,oreigner; ofen a derog-atory term

giri (J) — duty, obliga-tion

gup (K) — grade; ranksbelow black belt inKorean martial arts

hapki (K) — harmony

hwarang (K) — flower-ing youth; an ancientterm or a koreanknight-general caste

hyung (K) — orms,exercises, ormalizedtraining movements

ju (J) — compliance

-jutsu (J) — the art o;when applied to the endo the name o a martialarts style, it indicatesthat this is primarilya combat system (orexample, karate-jutsumeans “the art o theempty hand”)

Continued on next page



Hero Games

though there are several more stages o development.Te second step along the path can happen

when the character is first created, or it may takeplace sometime later, such as when the playerrewrites or redefines the character afer playing hima while. Tis is the establishment o a Hunted whichinvolves the character’s martial art in some signifi-cant way. For example, the Hunted might be opposedto the character’s martial arts order or school, a

practitioner o a corrupted or evil version o the PC’sstyle, or dedicated to some principle the PC opposesbecause o his style.

At this point, the character starts to developstrong ties to his martial art. It’s no longer a just ameans to an end (beating up bad guys). Instead, itbecomes a Way o Lie, something defining who he isoutside o the combat arena.

Te third step along the path takes place whenthe player (sometimes with the GM’s help) developsa very detailed view o the principles and aims ohis martial art. He now begins to expand its baseo maneuvers, maniest special powers associatedwith it, and so orth. Te GM now becomes more

involved with the character’s development as hethinks about the character’s role in the Martial Worldand begins to introduce more plotlines centeredaround the character, his style, his ellow practitio-ners, and his enemies.

Furthermore, the PC is now proficient enoughto begin teaching students in earnest — NPCs seekhim out or instruction, perhaps at the behest othe PC’s own siu or sensei, perhaps on their owninitiative (depending upon the character’s ame andreputation). Tese students may include ormerenemies whom the PC deeated, who now recognizehis wisdom and seek to learn rom him.

At step our, the character gradually develops

into the main deender o his martial art — thechampion his master sends or when the style or

order is threatened, the main enemy o his master’senemies, the renowned leader o the art recognizedanywhere in the Martial World, and so orth. He mayeven be the last living practitioner o his art. Tisaspect o the character may eventually crystallizeinto a major, large-scale plotline where somethingthreatens his style’s very existence, and only he cansave it by relying on its virtues and strengths.

Te fifh and final step along the martial artist’s

career path is when the PC becomes the master ohis art. Obviously, this won’t happen to all charactersor in all campaigns. It may happen when the PC’smaster dies, disappears, becomes One With Te Uni- verse, or otherwise becomes unavailable. Depend-ing upon the eelings o the player and/or the GM,reaching the fifh step may signal that it’s time toretire the character and have him devote himsel topreserving and promoting his art ull-time.

Te career path o the martial artist usually isn’tnearly as pronounced in other genres as it is in thecomic book superhero and martial arts genres. Othergenres generally lack the opportunities to ocus onthe martial artist and his world in the way superhero

and pure martial arts campaigns can. However, thisis not to say the career path is totally absent — itsimply detours a little, based on the strictures o thegenre in question. For example, in a antasy gamethe GM might have created a race or tribe with itsown martial art. As a result o long-standing oathsand customs, the best and brightest practitioners othis art go to the king o a nearby powerul nation toserve as his guards and protectors. In this situation,the martial artist PC’s career path might consist ogoing out into the world to gain enough experiencewith his tribe’s fighting style so he can return to thetribe, prove his worth, and become a member othe King’s Guard. Whether this requires him to be

removed rom play would depend on the GM andthe player.

-ka (J) — suffi x meaning “practitioner o ” example, judoka mea“judo practitioner”)

karate (J) — emptyhand (originally, Chihand)

kata (J) — orms, execises, ormalized trai

ing movementsken (J) — sword

ki (J) — spirit; breathenergy

kobu (J) — old-stylefighting

kuen (C) — orms, excises, ormalized traiing movements

kumite (J) — ree sparing training exercis

kung u (C) — hardwork, well done

kwon (K) — punchin

or handkwoon (C) — traininhall, school

kyu (J) — grade; rankbelow black belt inJapanese martial artsalso means archery(kyujutsu is the art oarchery)

obi (J) — belt

ryu (J) — school, stylor tradition (or example, Nito-Ryu meansNito Style)

sabom (K) — teachersensei (J) — teacher

siu (C) — teacher

tae (K) — kicking, oroot

ti (K) — belt denotinrank

wu shu (C) — militaarts

Continued from last




This section reviews some special applica-tions o Skills or martial arts characters.Many additional Skills, such as DeenseManeuver and Penalty Skill Levels, are

not mentioned here because they unction nor-mally or martial artists, but that doesn’t make themany less appropriate or this type o character orcampaign.

ACROBAICS

Acrobatics is a very appropriate skill or mar-tial artist characters. It has several uses.

Requires An Acrobatics Roll (-½)

In some martial arts campaigns, characters buythe Leaping Power with the Requires An AcrobaticsRoll Limitation. Characters can also use this Limi-tation or DCV Combat Skill Levels and similarabilities.

Acrobatics And Being TrownA character can use Acrobatics to resist being

thrown by any maneuver which is supposed tothrow him to the ground (including both MartialManeuvers and the good old Grab & Trow com-bination). With a successul Acrobatics roll at a-3 penalty, the character keeps his eet and is notthrown down.

However, this doesn’t keep him rom takingdamage rom the Trow maneuver. Some Trowsare fist-strikes hard enough to take a character offhis eet; others are leg-sweeps where the damagecomes rom the attacker’s blow to the backs o thecharacter’s legs; and the standard Grab & Trowstill slams a character hard onto the ground even ihe keeps his eet. Whether his roll succeeds or ails,he takes ull damage rom the Trow maneuver.

Acrobatics And Being ProneA character who is thrown or knocked down,

one who isn’t able to keep his eet, can use Acrobat-ics another way. I he makes a hal roll (e.g., i hisroll is a 13, he must roll a 7 or under), he immedi-ately gets his ull DCV, even though he’s prone. Ihe ails his hal roll, he suffers ordinary DCV modi-fiers or being prone. But on his next Phase, he cantry again.

Te character does not have to get to his eet tohave his ull DCV when using Acrobatics this way.He may preer to remain prone. For example, per-haps he’s been injured so that one leg isn’t workingright, thus keeping him rom standing up — he’llhave to stay down and use his Acrobatics to keephis DCV up. (O course, he may suffer a penalty ortrying to use Acrobatics with an injured leg; thisdepends on the GM.)

ACING

Martial artists can use Acting to simulate agreater injury than they have actually received.Tis may make their opponent overconfident andallow the character to make a Surprise Attack. ouse Acting this way, make a Skill Versus Skill Con-test against the target’s PER Roll. Te GM decides,based on how clever he eels the ploy is and howlikely the target is to believe it (the Overconfidence Psychological Limitation usually comes into playhere), how much o an OCV bonus to give thecharacter. I the ploy is not really clever, or thetarget knows the character does this all the time,

or the target makes his PER Roll by more than thecharacter makes his Acting roll, the character getsno bonus. (In act, the GM may give the target anOCV bonus, as the Acting character probably hasto reduce his mobility [and hence his DCV] tomake a ake injury look convincing.)

Characters can also use Acting to imitate someother character’s personal fighting style. Tis abilitydoesn’t necessarily have much use in combat, butmay crop up in other situations. For example, sup-pose a villain with Acting wants to rame a PC ora crime. He could Disguise himsel as the PC, thenperorm some heinous crime beore witnesses whoswear it was the hero — they didn’t just recognize

his ace, they recognized his moves. Tis requires aSkill Versus Skill Contest pitting the villain’s ActingSkill against the PER Rolls o onlookers amiliarwith the real person. o do this, the actor mustknow at least two Martial Maneuvers in the samestyle as the person he’s mimicking. I the actor is akarateka and he’s trying to imitate a jujutsuka, anddoes not have any Jujutsu maneuvers, he’s out oluck. A Knowledge Skill o the imitated character’sstyle can act as a Complementary Skill Roll.

ANALYZE SYLE

A martial artist can buy the Analyze Skill asAnalyze Style, which gives him the ability to assess

an enemy’s fighting skills. He may only use it whilewatching the enemy fight; he must observe histarget fighting or at least one ull urn.

Te inormation the character can gain roman Analyze Style roll depends on how well he suc-ceeds, as indicated in the accompanying table.

A character with Analyze Style gets a +2 to hisSkill Roll i his target possesses a Style DistinctiveFeature (see page 135). On the other hand, he hasa harder time analyzing fighters who have Lack oWeakness; each point o Lack o Weakness imposesa -1 on the roll.

Analyze Style is the required Skill or the Analyze Style Aid ability described under Aid on

SKILLS



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page 120. In this context, the character analyzes thefighting style o an opponent, then uses his ownabilities to exploit his opponent’s weaknesses or abrie time.

Analyze Style also allows a martial artistto take advantage o an opponent’s consistency.Some characters tend to avor one or two attackmaneuvers, usually because they offer high damagecapabilities or some advantageous combination o

CV bonuses. In this situation, a character can makean Analyze Style roll to prepare himsel or thisavored attack. I he succeeds with the roll, he gets+2 DCV against that maneuver in this particularfight. In later fights the character has to make a newAnalyze Style roll, perhaps at a small bonus becausehe made it beore. Characters can also use KS: Spe-cific Martial Art (see below) this way.

BREAKFALL

A character can use Breakall to reduce thedamage he takes rom any maneuver that throwshim to the ground. With a successul Breakall roll,he only takes hal damage or the attack. However,he suffers a -1 penalty to his roll or every 2d6

damage in that attack. For instance, i the Trow issupposed to do 6d6 damage, he suffers a -3 penaltyto his Breakall roll. I he makes it, he only takes3d6 damage. I he ails, he takes all 6d6. Te hard-ness and evenness o the surace modiy the roll(see page 152).

Tis works even i attacker defines the Trowattack as a strike strong enough to knock the char-acter down; some but not all o the damage comesrom the strike, and the successul use o Breakalleliminates the hal o the damage which comesrom hitting the ground.

At the GM’s option, a character can make aBreakall roll by hal to avoid the effect Trow has

on a character’s next action (see page 51 o theHERO System 5th Edition, Revised ). I the Trowncharacter makes a Breakall roll by hal, he avoidsthis effect, so the characters act on their regularDEXs, just like normal.

A character cannot perorm a Breakall rolland an Acrobatics roll in the same Phase both toresist being thrown and to reduce the damage rombeing thrown: he can only use one o them against

a given Trow attack. However, a character couldmake one Acrobatics or Breakall roll to avoidsome o the effects o the Trow, and then make aseparate Breakall roll to regain his eet instantly(without taking a Hal Phase). He could make anadditional Breakall roll in the same Phase to over-come the “first movement next Phase goes to theTrower” effect.

Breakall is known as ukemi in Japanese andnhao lan in Vietnamese.

COMBA SKILL LEVELS

Characters can do several unusual things withCombat Skill Levels.

Clarification: 3-Point Skill Levels With AMartial Art

I a character has bought 3-point CSLs with asingle martial art (say, Karate), and has purchased aWeapons Element or that art (or example, to useKarate Weapons with the Karate maneuvers), thecharacter can use those Skill Levels with weaponsused with his Martial Maneuvers. However, i he

ANALYZE STYLE TABLE

Ma kes Roll By Inform ation Gained

0 (Exactly) Whether the target is a poor,medium, good, or master-level

fighter.1 or 2 How the target compares

to the character in terms ofighting prowess: i.e., “I’m arsuperior to him,” “It would bea close thing but I think I’dwin,” “It’s anybody’s guess whowould win,” “He has the edgeover me,” or “I don’t stand achance.”

3 or 4 Certain Physical Limitationsand Vulnerabilities possessedby target (the GM decideswhat Limitations the Skill candetect; Lame would be, while

2 x BODY rom Poisons wouldnot be, or example).

Hal or Better Location o the target’s openGate (i target has the BreathControl power describedunder Damage Resistance onpage 122.)




buys maneuvers rom outside his art (say, a Ken- jutsu sword maneuver), he cannot use the 3-pointCSLs with his original art with the “outside” maneuvers.

In general, characters are better off buying5-point CSLs with Hand-o-Hand Combat, sincethese Levels apply to the Martial Maneuvers, othermaneuvers bought outside the character’s style,ordinary HERO System Combat Maneuvers, and

weapons not used within the character’s style.Combat Skill Levels with Non-Weapon Weapons

A character could buy 3-point CSLs with Non-Weapon Weapons. Here’s what it means and whatit does:

When a character picks up a piece o urnitureor other unusual item — a weapon o opportunity— and slugs a target with it, the GM usually justdetermines what sort o club the item correspondsto and assigns damage based on that. But i a char-acter buys 3-point CSLs with Non-Weapon Weap-ons, the GM should take a different approach. Heshould consider the item being picked up and thendecide which three maneuvers the character’s Skill

Levels apply to when he’s using this weapon. (Asyou know, 3-point CSLs normally only affect threemaneuvers.) He should make his decision basedon the look o the item and how he imagines thecharacter can use it in combat. Te accompanyingsidebar provides general guidelines or types onon-weapons and what combat effects they mighthave.

Alternately, a character could buy a 1-pointWeapon Element with specific objects (Use Artwith Bicycle, Use Art with Sawhorse, and so orth).Tat allows him to use the object normally with hisMartial Maneuvers.

COMBA SKILL LEVELS BOUGH ASPOWERS

Tough it’s not normally appropriate to buySkill Levels as Powers, sometimes it’s all right to doso to construct certain abilities or powers. Remem-ber that Combat Skill Levels bought with Limita-tions only affect OCV (or, very rarely, only affectDCV); see the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised ,page 53, or urther inormation.

Hand-o-Hand Skill Levels Which Cost ENDIn the movies especially, a character may go

out to fight, find his opponent was tougher than hethought, and begin really concentrating on the fight

— fighting “above himsel,” tiring himsel out aster,but fighting more effectively.o simulate this, characters can buy 5-point

CSLs or Hand-to-Hand Combat with the Limita-tions Costs Endurance (-½) and Increased Endur-ance Cost (x2 END; -½). Tis creates CSLs that eachcost 1 END per Phase to use.

Hand-o-Hand Levels Depending On Acrobatics,DCV Only

o simulate the incredible DCV acrobaticmartial artists have when using their Acrobat-ics Skill, you can purchase 5-point DCV CSLsor Hand-to-Hand Combat with the Limitation

Requires An Acrobatics Roll (-½). Remember, eachtwo Skill Levels (10 Active Points) result in a -1 tothe Acrobatics roll.

Hand-o-Hand Levels Versus A Specific StyleTese CSLs apply Only Against [Specific

Martial Arts Style] (-1). Tey simulate a charac-ter who has studied a particular style extensivelyand learned its weaknesses. Characters may alsotake the Limitation Requires A KS: [Specific Style]Roll or these Levels. Tis sort o CSL is especiallyappropriate or a martial arts villain. He can use hisLevels to easily deeat the PCs in an early encoun-

ter; later, afer the PCs have gotten additional train-ing or learned ways to mask the weaknesses the villain exploited, they can return and deeat him.

FAS DRAW

In Japan, this Skill is called iaijutsu; it’s thesamurai’s ability to unsheathe his sword instantlyand attack without hesitation. radition attributesthe creation o Iaijutsu to one Hõjõ Jinsuke, whodeveloped it as part o a quest to avenge his ather’smurder.

Warriors ofen regard Iaijutsu as a martialart in itsel, but it’s suffi cient or game purposes todescribe it as a “companion art” to Kenjutsu. It has

our basic techniques: nukitsuke (the sudden draw-ing o the blade); kiritsuke (the cut(s) used to injureor kill the opponent); chiburi (the shaking o bloodrom the sword-blade; this maneuver is sometimesused to blind an opponent by flicking blood intohis eyes); and noto (resheathing the sword). Othertechniques dealt with countering surprise attacks,attacks by multiple opponents, fighting in the dark,and so orth. (Tus, to truly simulate Iaijutsu, acharacter should purchase not only Fast Drawbut Combat Sense and Deense Maneuver as well;Lighting Reflexes is also recommended.) Knowl-edgeable characters can identiy different substyleso Iaijutsu by the grips they teach, the fighter’s

NON-WEAPONCOMBAT EFFECTS

Flexible, Lengthy: SkillLevels apply to Block,Choke Hold, Strike.

Rigid, Intricate, Bulky: Reduced OCV withdamaging attacks; SkillLevels apply to Disarm,Bind, Grab.

Rigid, Simple, Bulky: Reduced OCV withdamaging attacks; SkillLevels apply to Block,Disarm, Bind.

Example: A smallbookshel isn’t a goodweapon to hit peoplewith; someone usingit to Strike withshould suffer abouta -3 OCV penalty.But a character couldmaneuver an attackerinto stabbing at him

between the shelves,and then rotate thebookshel to Disarmthe weapon, Bind theweapon, or lock theattacker’s arm. Tere- ore the GM decidesthe character gets hisOCV/DCV bonuseswith Bind, Disarm,and Grab maneu-vers. Small bookcasesaren’t much good orhitting people, so theGM might give it 2d6Normal Damage.

Example: A sawhorsealso doesn’t look likemuch o a strikingweapon, though it’sbetter than a book-shel; give it a -1 OCV.Like the bookshel, itdoes have small areasthe character can useto trap an incominglimb or weapon, andits shape is suitedto blocking attacks.Tereore the GMdecides the character

can use his skill levelswith Bind, Block, andDisarm maneuvers.Sawhorses have rigidlegs with narrow points on them, sothe GM rules thatthe weapon does 3d6Normal Damage.

Example: A gardenhose would do neg-ligible damage, butit isn’t clumsy; it




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emphasis on certain techniques, and so orth.Fast Draw has another unction outside o

combat: a character can use it to snatch things outo someone’s hand beore he can close it — a trickofen perormed to impress someone. Te characterhas the other person hold something in his openpalm, and tells the ellow he can snatch the objectout o his hand beore the ellow can close his hand.With a successul Fast Draw roll in a Skill Versus

Skill Contest against the target’s Fast Draw or DEXRoll, he can do this. I the character succeeds andimmediately makes an appropriate Presence Attack,grant him +1d6 or every two points by which hebeat the target’s Fast Draw or DEX Roll.

A character can also use Sleight O Hand, ihe possesses it, to make a switch. With successulFast Draw and Sleight O Hand rolls (the targetcan make a PER Roll in a Skill Versus Skill Contestwith the Sleight O Hand), our hero can take theobject off the other ellow’s palm and drop anotherin its place... without the target realizing what’s hap-pened. Te target eels the object in his hand andthinks he won the contest.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLSTe ollowing Knowledge Skills are especially

appropriate or martial artist characters.

Knowledge Skill: Chinese Healing KS: Chinese Healing reflects a character’s

knowledge o ancient Chinese healing techniques.It corresponds, in game mechanics, to SS: Medicineand PS: Doctor.

Chinese Healing uses a combination o herbalmedicine and acupuncture. It works to put thebody’s internal systems back in balance to combatdisease or cope with traumatic injury. In gameterms, it works just like PS: Doctor (a character

with it must buy a 1-point License o Practice Medi-cine Fringe Benefit separately i he wishes to prac-tice medicine legally).

Characters can use Chinese Healing to undothe effects o dim mak attacks (see Drain on page123). A character with KS: Chinese Healing canmake a normal Skill Roll to detect that his patientis suffering rom dim mak techniques. o cure hispatient, he must succeed in a Skill Versus Skill Con-test against the Chinese Healing Skill o the charac-ter who perormed that dim mak attack. I he winsthe contest, he “turns off” the effects o the dim mak attack. Tis cure doesn’t instantly heal the victimback to health; it just stops the progressive effects o

the dim mak and allows the patient to begin healingnormally. I he ails the roll, he can do nothing toorestall the continuation o the dim mak effects.

Regional variations on this Skill include KS:Indian Healing and KS: Korean Healing, whichare appropriate or some martial arts rom thoseregions.

Knowledge Skill: Te Martial WorldIn modern-day campaigns, the Martial World

is a worldwide martial arts subculture; you find itin any nation or city where there are martial artsschools or traditions.

KS: Te Martial World is similar to the Street-

wise Skill, but deals only with the world o themartial arts. Streetwise doesn’t do much goodamong martial artists, because those who belongto the Martial World are rather insular and closed-mouthed about it when talking to outsiders.

A successul KS: Martial World roll allows ahero to use the Martial World grapevine to hearabout unusual events and happenings in the Mar-tial World, and to send messages to other people in

the Martial World. For example, i a hero hears thatan assassination was perormed using an interest-ing but little-known aijutsu technique, a successulKS: Martial World roll might let him figure out whocan reveal the culprit’s identity to him (or, simply,who the culprit is). Tis Skill also keeps the char-acter up to date about who’s on top in the sportingcompetition orms o the martial arts and othercurrent affairs in the significant martial arts schoolsaround the world.

Knowledge Skill: Mon Mon are symbols and designs used to repre-

sent Japanese amilies; every major Japanese amily,especially the more traditional ones, has a distinc-

tive mon design. Knowledge Skill o mon gives acharacter a good grounding in the recognition othese designs. He can recognize amous designsautomatically, and identiy others with a success-ul Skill Roll. Tis can be important in martial artscampaigns centered around Japan, where recogniz-ing a character’s amily by his mon can make all thedifference in determining who is riend and who isoe.

Knowledge Skill: Specific Martial ArtYou saw in Chapter One that every martial arts

style recommends purchase o a Knowledge Skill.Tis skill has several unctions in the campaign:

History: Te character has a grounding in the his-tory o his style. He knows the actors that led to itsdevelopment, the influences which affected the art,and the names o the persons who contributed sig-nificantly to its development. With a successul SkillRoll, he can answer more diffi cult questions aboutthe style’s history.

Philosophy: Te character has an understandingo the philosophical side o his style. Most Easternmartial arts have a very important philosophi-cal side to them, ofen grounded in Buddhism.Tis is seldom important in an action-adventuregame, though wise practitioners o the art are ofen

inclined to baffl e young adventurers with crypticriddles and metaphors, which a successul Knowl-edge Skill roll can help unravel.

Personalities: Te character knows major practitio-ners o the art, at least by name and reputation. Ithe art is practiced as a sport (or example, Karatehas a ull-contact sport as a sideline), he knows whothe current champions and contenders are with asuccessul Skill Roll. In modern-day campaigns, healso knows what they look like due to appearancesin magazines covering the style.

Schools: Te character can, with a successul roll,recognize the precise style o another practitioner

shouldn’t impose OCV penalty. A chaacter can also use itcatch incoming weaons (blunt weapoonly — sharp onwould cut rigthrough), to choke oe, or to swing tmetal cap at the enat the target. Ter ore the GM decidthe character cuse his skill levwith Block, ChoHold, and Strimaneuvers using thands (i.e., Punchnot Kicks). Gardhoses aren’t terribeffective weapons; tGM rules they do 1Normal Damage.

Non-Weapon Weapoare all considered Cl

or purposes o a chaacter’s skill with themand everyone auto-matically has WeapoFamiliarity with Club

Continued from last




o the same art. One karateka (Karate practitioner)observing another in combat can make his SkillRoll; with a successul roll, he will know (or atleast have a good idea) o which branch o thestyle the other character learned, and may (i hemakes his roll by 3 or better) know exactly whotrained this character.

Symbols: With a successul roll, the character canrecognize the distinctive symbols used by many

schools or branches o his style. Where appropri-ate, he can recognize variations in the weaponsused by different branches o his style. For exam-ple, different ninja clans were supposed to havedifferent-looking shuriken; a character with KS:Ninjutsu could, with a successul roll, determine ashuriken’s school or clan o origin (i any).

Other Styles: With a successul roll at -2, the char-acter can recognize a style not his own. He mightsee a fighter in combat, make his roll, and recog-nize that the other ellow was perorming Savatemaneuvers. Te GM can apply additional penaltiesbased on how unamiliar he believes the characterto be with the style he’s observing. Tis use o theSkill doesn’t allow the character to recognize spe-cific schools or styles o the other art.

Analyze Style: I the character has the Analyze Style Skill, and has a KS o the same style being used bythe character he’s analyzing, he can use his KS as aComplementary Skill to the Analyze Style Skill.

LANGUAGE: NINJA CLAN CODES ANDSYMBOLS

Only ninja who belong to ninja clans maylearn this Skill. It’s a series o special code-words,hand-signs, and commands that allow a ninja tocommunicate secretly and silently with one o

his own clan. Characters must buy it this way: 2points in a language (Ninja Clan Codes), and 1point or Literacy (Ninja

Clan Symbols). Buyingmore points in the

language doesn’tdo any good.

Each ninja clanhas its own set o

codes and symbols.Consider eachclan’s language

linguistically unre-lated to all other

clan languages (orany other language,or that matter) orpurposes o learningmore than one.

wo ninja othe same clan,sitting together,could hold an

ordinary conver-sation with normal

speech andexchange secret

inormation

through use o code-words and hand-signs casualobservers could not detect (or would not knowthe meaning o). A ninja in the field can give tacti-cal commands to his subordinates through spokenwords and hand-signs. A ninja can bury an impor-tant object at a particular site and leave a “mean-ingless scratch” on a wall or tree nearby; a ninja ohis own clan can interpret the scratches and findthe buried goods.

Consider this a complete language whichmay be perormed at any time either with voice,or with hand-signs, or both. But it’s not a sophis-ticated language, so the GM can assign IN Rollsand IN Roll penalties to ninja trying to com-municate complicated thoughts or stories whenusing it.

PROFESSIONAL SKILL: INSRUCOR

Characters who want to teach their martialart to others should buy this Skill. Anyone canteach, o course, but someone with PS: Instructoris more skilled at doing so, and better able to eval-uate the best methods or instructing a particularstudent or class, the progress o a student, and soorth. Tis Skill includes knowledge o some verybasic sports medicine techniques to help withcommon dojo injuries.

SCIENCE SKILL: SPECIFIC MARIAL AR

A Science Skill in a particular style gives acharacter knowledge o the mechanical aspectso his fighting maneuvers, including their kine-siology and the scientific principles which makethem work. At the GM’s option, this may includesome appropriate “sports medicine” techniquesor common dojo injuries and/or some verybasic knowledge o human anatomy. In appropri-ate circumstances, this SS and PS: Instructor areComplementary to one another, since ofentimesthe more one knows about an art, the better onecan teach that art to others.

SLEIGH OF HAND

At the GM’s option, characters can use thisSkill as a Hal Phase Action to perorm “eints”or “oists” in combat. Tis means the character’strying to “ake out” his opponent, creating anopening he can exploit. For every 2 points thecharacter makes his Sleight O Hand roll by, hegains +1 to his OCV, up to a maximum o +3.However, each time afer the first he tries thisagainst a particular opponent, he takes a cumula-tive -2 penalty to his Sleight O Hand roll. Tus,sooner or later a recurring enemy learns thecharacter’s tricks and how to avoid them. Othercharacters who have watched the character fight,or who make the character’s Reputation roll, mayalso know o his tricks, thus subjecting him to thesame penalty even i this is the first time he’s everought them.

I the character ails his Sleight O Hand roll,and his opponent makes a PER Roll at -2, theattacker suffer a -2 OCV penalty on his attack,since his target has seen through the “eint” andknows what to expect.



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Perquisites which are useul in martial artscampaigns include:

CONAC

Several types o Contacts ofen appear in mar-tial arts stories:

Te Ex-Master: Te martial arts expert who trainedthe character. I bought as a Contact, he won’tnormally come along with the hero on his adven-tures, but can ofen answer questions about thehero’s newest opponent or give the hero additionalbetween-adventures training.

Te Old Buddy: Tis character was in the armedorced with the hero, was a co-student with himback in the old days, or something o the sort.He’s ofen a lower-grade martial artist himsel;requently, he’s also wealthy, or a weaponsmith osome sort. He can make (normal) weapons or thehero, or protect the rescued NPC when the herodoesn’t need to be burdened with the presence o anon-fighter.

FOLLOWER

Te most common type o Follower or a mar-tial artist to have is a student. Many martial artistsattract non-fighters or beginning fighters who

wish to learn rom them. Te character can guidethe student’s development by deciding how muchto spend on his Follower Perk; when the Followerreaches an ample level o ability and it’s time or thecharacters to part, the PC can “turn in” his Followerand get his points back. He has to use those pointsto buy off Disadvantages related to the Follower, orto buy other Followers, Bases, Vehicles, and suchthings — he cannot spend them on Characteristics,Skills, or Powers.

FRINGE BENEFIS

Accredited Instructor (1 point)

Tis Perk indicates the character has receivedaccreditation as an expert and instructor in a spe-cific martial arts style by a recognized body whichregulates that style (or example, the “World KungFu Masters Federation” or a Kung Fu practitio-ner). Tis increases his profile in the Martial Worldand helps him attract students (should he wish toteach).

Since this Perk indicates someone who’s anexpert and a qualified instructor, the GM shouldordinarily require a character to be a black belt (seepage 13 or qualifications), or possess a similar levelo skill and learning, beore he can buy AccreditedInstructor.

“Black Belt” (1 point)Tis optional Perk indicates the character is

recognized as a “black belt,” or expert fighter, by agoverning body o his style (or some similar orga-nization) and has the right to reer to himsel assuch. A character with this Perk can sometimes relyon members o the Martial World or work (i.e., teaching martial arts), shelter, and the like.

Tis Perk is strictly an optional one; its avail-ability depends on the GM’s ruling regarding how acharacter qualifies to be a black belt. Reer to BlackBelt Status In Te HERO System, page 13, or details.

Kirisutogomen (10 points)Only characters in eudal-era Japanese cam-

paigns can take this Fringe Benefit. It represents asamurai’s right to kill anyone o a lower social class.In some periods, samurai all had this right, but di-erent samurai implemented it in different ways.More calm and philosophical samurai exercised itonly when deliberately offended; touchier samuraikilled anyone who accidentally stepped across theirblades, didn’t bow down quite ar enough, or oth-erwise inadvertently bothered them or any reason.However, characters should remember that daimyo (lords) tend to rown upon the indiscriminate kill-ing o their subjects, peasants or otherwise.

Right o Marry (1 point)Tis is a necessary Perk o Buddhist monk

characters.

Right Of Shelter (1 point)Tis is a necessary Perk o Buddhist monk

characters. It doesn’t mean the character has theright to barge into peoples’ homes and demandood and shelter, but rather that in predominantlyBuddhist countries or regions, someone (usuallya peasant or a monk rom the local monastery)will always offer him shelter (i he’s known to be amonk).

MONEY

Martial arts campaigns are not about money,and so a martial artist character should only takethe Money Perk as part o his background concep-tion. I he’s a multi-millionaire who’s also a martialartist, he should take Wealthy; i he has chosen aliestyle where he’s continually impoverished, heshould take Destitute.

REPUAION

Many martial artists have a Reputation reflect-ing their fighting skill. Tey should buy this as aPerk, since it causes others to back down ratherthan fight them, makes it easier to intimidate

PERQUISITES

‘The roots

educatio

are bitter, but the

fruit is sweet.’

— Aristo




punks, earns the character a measure o respect inappropriate circles, and so orth. Te Martial Worldcounts as a medium-sized group or purposes obuying Reputation.

VEHICLES AND BASES

Te most common sort o base ound in amartial arts campaign is the school. Only mastersand master villains have schools, so a character

with a base should also teach his “agents,” or stu-dents.

Point-purchased special vehicles are veryuncommon in martial arts campaigns.

Te GM may decide that martial arts char-acters in his campaigns do not get to buy bases or vehicles with their own points — they’re limited tothe sorts o bases and vehicles bought with money.

TALENTS

Many o the alents rom the HEROSystem are very useul when build-ing martial arts characters. Te mostimportant ones include:

COMBA SENSE

Many martial artists train to fight whenblindolded or blinded; you can represent thatability with Combat Sense. It can be a lie-saveror a martial artist when the lights go out, hisopponent blows some dust into his eyes, he’s beensuccessully Flashed, and so on. Blind martial art-ists also have this alent.

Combat Sense also proves useul i the char-acter has to fight an invis-

ible oe. A martialartist who makes a

Combat Sense roll

will not havehis OCV

reduced by hal (the typical effect o invisibilityon hand-to-hand and ranged combat) — he canfight the invisible character with his ull OCV. Techaracter can get bonuses to his roll i he figures

out clever ways to reduce the effects o the invis-ibility (making his opponent fight in an area witha lot o dust in the air or water on the floor, orexample).

Remember that standard Combat Sensestands on its own — it isn’t subject to the Simu-lated Sense Rule. Characters can link it to a SenseGroup i they wish. Tis greatly reduces its cost,but also makes it much more likely their CombatSense will be Flashed or otherwise “blocked.”

DANGER SENSE

Like Combat Sense, Danger Sense can alertthe martial artist to an attack even when there’s

no obvious sign o that attack coming. Tis is aalent o skilled masters, intuitive martial artists,and characters with animal-like senses. However,as with all stop-sign alents, it requires specialpermission rom the GM.

LIGHNING REFLEXES

In a martial arts battle, he who strikes firstofen triumphs. Tus, many martial artists buythis alent to reflect the almost supernaturalquickness they develop through their training. Insome cases, characters can apply the Limitation

Requires A Skill Roll (-½) to it; possible Skillsinclude Sense Ch’i (see below), Analyze

Style, KS: opponent’s martial arts style, ora DEX Roll.

SIMULAE DEAH

Tis is an unusual, but not unheardo, ability among martial artists. It’s mostofen learned by masters who have totalcontrol over their bodies.



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Characters can use many HERO System Powers to create interesting abilities,powers, and “super-skills” or martialarts characters. In Superheroic games,

they can even use Powers to create abilities deriv-ing rom ancient Chinese sorcery or many otherstrange sources.

AID

Tere are many uses or Aid or martial artscharacters, including the ones described below.

Battles are ofen unpredictable things, which is

why characters should build the abilities describedin this section with Aid — Aid’s effects are similarlyunpredictable. However, some players find thisunpredictability rustrating — they can never knowprecisely how much increase a Characteristic willreceive rom an Aid, making it diffi cult to plan oruse certain tactics. I you eel this way, apply theStandard Effect Rule to your Aid powers, or per-haps substitute Combat Skill Levels or Aid (char-acters can take many o the Limitations applicableto Aid, such as the need to remain close to yourpartners or an Array, on the CSLs).

ArraysAn Array is a fighting style where two or more

fighters have trained together so long and so wellthat the whole is greater than the sum o its parts.When fighting together, the partners in the Arrayare much more ormidable than when fightingalone or fighting alongside someone who is nottheir partner.

A character can buy an Array as an Aid DEXor himsel with these Advantages, Limitations andrestrictions:

(1) Array Aid powers should be limited to a maxi-mum o Aid DEX 6d6.

(2) Characters cannot increase the maximumnumber o Character Points they can add to a

Characteristic; i.e., i you have an Aid 6d6, youcannot add more than 36 Character Points to theaffected Characteristic (this translates into a limito +12 DEX).

(3) Te power must have the ollowing Advantage:Invisible Power Effects (Fully Invisible; +1).

(4) Te power must have the ollowing Limita-tions: Only For Increasing OCV And DCV (-¼), SelOnly (-½); Usable Only Within 5” O [Specific OtherPerson(s)] (-1½ to -½). Te “Specific Other Persons”Limitation is worth -1½ i all members o a specificteam must be present; -1 i only one specific otherperson (a permanent partner) must be present; or

-½ i one or moremembers o a specific team (the team may haveup to seven characters total) must be present. Te“OCV/DCV Only” Limitation means the charac-ter doesn’t change his place on the Combat OrderSheet; this helps to keep the power rom irritatingthe GM.

(5) Te character can apply the Delayed ReturnRate Advantage to decrease the loss rate or the Aid,up to wearing off at a rate o 5 Character Points perMinute (+¼).

I characters in an Array become separated in

combat beyond the 5” range, they cannot use theirAid bonus at that moment... but it does not wear offinstantly. I the characters get back within range oone another beore the Aid wears off, the Aid bonusis instantly restored.

Example: Jiro and Eiko are a brother-and-sister fighting Array. Each o them buys the ollowing power: Aid DEX 3d6, Invisible Power Effects(Fully Invisible; +1) (60 Active Points); SelOnly (-½), Usable Only Within 5” o Sibling (-1), Only Increases OCV And DCV (-¼). otalcost: 22 points.

I they later become part o a larger fightingteam, one with five members, they could eitherdecide the ability works only when all memberswere within 5”, or when any one other memberwas within 5”. Assuming they choose the latter,the ability becomes: Aid DEX 3d6, Fully Invis-ible (+1) (60 Active Points); Sel Only (-½),Usable Only Within 5” O Any Member OFive-Man eam (-½), Only Increases OCV And DCV (-¼). otal cost: 27 points.

Ch’i AidBecause martial arts characters ofen tap

into their inner strength, or ch’i, they can buy Aid

powers (with numerous Limitations) defined as“summoning one’s ch’i.” Te ollowing guidelinesapply to Ch’i Aid abilities:

(1) Ch’i Aid powers are limited to 2-4d6 CharacterPoints o Aid (see below).

(2) Characters cannot increase the maximumnumber o Character Points which they can add toa Characteristic; i.e., i you have Aid SR 3d6, youcannot add more than 18 Character Points to SR.

(3) All Ch’i Aid abilities must take the InvisiblePower Effects Advantage (Fully Invisible; +1).

(4) All Ch’i Aid abilities must take the Sel Only (-½) Limitation.

POWERS




(5) Te ollowing Limitations are recommended orappropriate, but not required unless the GM saysso: Activation Roll, Concentration, Extra ime,Gestures, Incantation, Increased Endurance Cost.

(6) Characters can buy Ch’i Aid to affect one ormore o the ollowing Characteristics: SR, CON,EGO, PRE, REC, END, and/or SUN at a maxi-mum o Aid 4d6; or BODY, PD, and/or ED at amaximum o Aid 2d6. Aid BODY powers must take

the Limitation Aid Can Only Raise Characteristicso Starting Values (-1). See Kiai Aid, below, oroptions or PRE Aid powers.

(7) Characters cannot buy Ch’i Aid to affect DEX,IN, COM, or SPD.

(8) Characters cannot take the Delayed ReturnRate Advantage or this Aid. Ch’i Aids must wearoff at the standard 5 Character Points per urn rate(though they could wear off sooner, i appropri-ately Limited).

(9) You can only put Ch’i Aid powers into PowerFrameworks with the GM’s permission (reer to thePower Frameworks section, below, or more inor-

mation).

Example: Aid SR 3d6, Invisible Power Effects(Fully Invisible; +1) (60 Active Points); SelOnly (-½), Activation Roll 14- (-½), IncreasedEndurance Cost (x5 END; -2). otal cost: 15 points.

At the GM’s discretion, some o the restric-tions described here may diminish or vanish incampaigns which are wilder, Superheroic, or moreoriented toward martial arts.

Kiai AidA kiai is a war-shout — a mighty shout which

surprises opponents, upsets their timing, some-times even stuns them. In HERO System terms,a kiai is best represented as an Aid PRE boughtaccording to the ollowing guidlines:

(1) Characters cannot buy a Kiai Aid PRE shoutwith more than 8d6.

(2) Characters cannot increase the maximumnumber o Character Points they can add to aCharacteristic; i.e., i you have Aid PRE 3d6, youcannot add more than 18 Character Points to PRE.

(3) All Kiai Aid abilities must take the InvisiblePower Effects Advantage (Fully Invisible; +1).

(4) All Kiai Aid abilities must take the Sel Only (-½) Limitation.

(5) he ollowing Limitations are recommendedor appropriate, but not required unless the GMsays so: Activation Roll, Charges, Only o MakeOensive Presence Attacks (-½), IncreasedEndurance Cost.

(6) Characters cannot take the Delayed Return Rate Advantage. Kiai Aids must wear off at the standard5 Character Points per urn rate (though theycould wear off sooner, i appropriately Limited).

(7) You can only put Ch’i Aid powers into PowerFrameworks with the GM’s permission (reer to

the Power Frameworks section, below, or moreinormation).

A sample o a Kiai Shout power might looklike this:

Example: Aid PRE 4d6, Invisible Power Effects(Fully Invisible; +1) (80 Active Points); SelOnly (-½), Only o Make Offensive Presence Attacks (-½), 4 Charges (-1), Costs END (-½),

Increased Endurance Cost (x4 END; -1½).otal cost: 16 points.

Tis represents the sort o Kiai Shout a char-acter might buy initially. As he gains experience,he’d doubtless buy off the Charges Limitation, buydown the Increased Endurance Cost, and perhapsincrease the dice o effect.

Aid With A Skill RollSometimes characters who make a successul

Skill Roll can gain combat advantages against theiropponent. In HERO System terms, you can simulatesuch bonuses by Aiding certain Characteristics.Sense Ch’i and Analyze Style are the most common

Skills used or this ability, and DEX is almostalways the Characteristic Aided. Te examplesgiven below assume Analyze Style is the Skill usedand DEX is Aided.

Here are the Limitations on the power:

(1) A Heroic-level character may only buy up toAid DEX 2d6 (which results in a maximum o 12Character Points o DEX, or 4 points o DEX). Hemay increase the amount o Character Points hisAid give him, up to 48 Character Points o DEX (or16 points o DEX). Superheroic characters may buyup to Aid DEX 4d6, and may increase the amounto Character Points the Aid gives him, up to 63

Character Points (or 21 points o DEX).(2) Characters must take the ollowing Limitationsor a Skill Roll Aid: Sel Only (-½), Requires AnAnalyze Style Roll (-½), Extra ime (Full Phase;-½), Must Watch arget Fighting Someone Else ForOne Full Phase Per Skill Roll (-½), Failed Skill RollOr Interruption Prevents Further Skill Rolls AtTis ime (-½), Concentration (½ DCV; -¼), OnlyFor Increasing OCV And DCV (-¼), Only VersusOne Observed Foe (-1). otal Limitation: -4.

(3) Characters may, i they wish, use DelayedReturn Rate to increase the time period over whichthe Aid’s effects wear off to as much as 5 Character

Points per 5 Minutes (a +½ advantage), but nohigher.

In play, what happens is this:A character with the power observes his

enemy ighting. (Oten, he asks one o his riendsor orders his student to conront the enemy so hecan observe.)

Each Phase the character watches his targetfighting, he may make his Analyze Style roll; witheach successul roll, he can activate his Aid power.

Each application o his Aid increases his DEX,but only to improve his own OCV and DCV, andonly against this one opponent. It doesn’t improve



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his SPD, his placement on the combat order list, hisAgility Skill Rolls, or anything o the sort. I he fightsa character other than his target, he doesn’t get theDEX bonus; however, i he finishes with the othercharacter and returns to his target beore his DEXAid wears off, then he’ll still benefit rom the power.

I he ails a Skill Roll, or something interruptshis concentration (e.g., someone attacks or distractshim), he can make no urther Analyze Style rolls

against this opponent during this fight. (Te exactlength o a “fight” varies, but it’s long enough or allhostilities to cease and or the character’s Aid bonusto wear completely off. Until both conditions aremet, consider the “fight” to remain in effect.)

Tis means once he misses a roll, or some-thing interrupts his observation, or he simply stopsmaking his roll or any reason, he’s gotten all thebenefit rom his power he can get; he should thenstart attacking his target (or running away, i that’swhat’s called or). He’ll fight his enemy with hisOCV and DCV substantially improved. Gradually,his Aid wears off; this corresponds to his opponentfiguring out how to compensate or the weak spots

in his own fighting style.Here’s an example o how this power is built:

Example: Aid DEX 2d6, can hold up to 48Character Points o DEX (equalling +16 DEX),Delayed Return Rate (points wears off at 5 per5 Minutes; +½) (72 Active Points); Sel Only (-½), Requires An Analyze Style Roll (-½), Extraime (Full Phase; -½), Must Watch argetFighting Someone Else For One Phase PerSkill Roll (-½), Failed Skill Roll/InterruptionPrevents Further Rolls (-½), Concentration(½ DCV; -¼), Only For OCV/DCV (-¼), OnlyVersus One Observed Foe (-1). otal cost: 14 points; -7 to Analyze Style roll.

ARMOR

Armor is inappropriate or most martial artscharacters or campaigns. I characters want Resis-tant Deenses, they can buy Damage Resistance (seebelow); limited orms o Damage Reduction alsowork well. Characters can, o course, buy Armor asequipment (see Chapter Tree o this book and theWeapons and Armor section o the HERO System5th Edition, Revised or details).

CLINGING

Superheroic martial artists can buy Clinging in

the usual ashion. So can characters in “wild” stylemartial arts campaigns, who sometimes display theability to run up walls and along narrow roofopseffortlessly.

For Heroic characters, the GM should considerimposing one or both o the ollowing Limitationson Clinging (perhaps in addition to Requires AClimbing Roll ):

Sideways Movement Is At ½ Ground MovementRate: -¼

No Ceiling Movement Or Angles O Less Tan80o: -¼

With the first Limitation shown above, a char-acter is about as slow going sideways as he is goingup. With the second Limitation, the character canscale shallow inclines, steep inclines, vertical (90o)inclines, and even overhangs up to 80o ... but notany steeper overhangs.

Heroic characters should not be allowed tobuy up the SR o their Clinging; their base SR isquite enough.

CLINGINGEXAMPLES

RAPID CLIM BINClinging (normal S(10 Active Points);Requires A ClimbingRoll (-½), SidewaysMove At ½ Ground R(-¼), No Ceiling OrAngles Less Tan 80(-¼). otal cost: 5points.

WIRE-FUWALL-SCALING

Clinging (normal S(10 Active Points);Requires An AcrobatRoll (-½). otal cost:points.



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Desolidified at the +¼ level in this instance to reflectthe act that the attack only affects a single, limitedorm o Desolidification). Another possibility is anymartial arts attack with the Indirect Advantage.

DISPEL

A character can buy a Dispel to give himselthe ability to use his martial arts to break smallgadgets and items o equipment. “Smallgadgets” are typically defined as those with20 or ewer Active Points in them and/orwhich take the Fragile Limitation.

Example: Hitoshi wants to be able to breakminor gadgets and similar items, since heconsiders it unair or someone to use weap-ons and equipment against him when he onlyuses his bare hands. He purchases the ollowingDispel ability:

Shattering: Dispel 5d6, any small gadget powerone at a time (+¼) (19 Active Points); No Range(-½). otal cost: 13 points.

Hitoshi encounters an attacker wearing a tinted

motorcycle helmet (defined as 5 points o SightGroup Flash Deense). Hitoshi, a generally non-violent person, would preer to end the fightquickly by using Martial Flash, but the motor-cycle helmet offers his opponent a ull deenseagainst that attack. Hitoshi decides to use his gadget-breaking power to smash the helmet.He successully hits his target and rolls 12 onhis Dispel dice. Tis exceeds the 5 Active Pointsin the gadget, so the helmet’s aceplate shatters.Hitoshi’s attacker’s eyes are now ully exposedto attack.

DRAIN

General UsesCharacters can use Drain to create a wide

variety o martial arts attacks which weaken, numb,or otherwise debilitate a target. Most such attacksbuy down the recovery time so the target does notrecover quickly. Limitations such as Only Works OnHumans (-½), Requires A SS: Anatomy Roll (-½), orRequires A Sense Ch’i Roll (-½) are appropriate ormost Drain-based martial attacks. Characters canalso use Drain to create “eint” maneuvers (reer toFeints, below, or details).

Drain: Dim Mak echniques

Dim Mak is the inamous “delayed death touch,”a nearly magical method o striking (or even merelytouching) an opponent, transerring ch’i energy intohim, and causing an imbalance in his body whicheventually kills him. Tis is a Chinese technique,and not widely known; the GM should restrict itspurchase so that only one or two PCs (at most) everlearn Dim Mak. (I several characters know it, itbecomes mundane and boring, not the dangerous,mysterious art it should be.)

In a Heroic campaign, characters buy Dim Mak this way:

(1) Dim Mak is bought as a Drain — mostly a DrainBODY, though characters can add other Drains to

simulate the effect o the victim’s body wasting away.

(2) Characters may not buy more than a Drain 10d6.I they Link non-BODY Drains to the BODY Drain,the Linked Drains cannot exceed 6d6.

(3) Characters must buy Dim Mak powers with theollowing Advantages: Invisible o Sight And Hear-ing Groups (+¾), ime Delay (+¼), Delayed ReturnRate (BODY returns at the rate o 5 Character Pointsper Week; +1½). (Tey can improve this last Advan-tage urther, to 5 CP per Month or per Season, i theywish to spend the points.)

(4) Characters must buy Dim Mak powers with the

Gradual Effect Limitation, at either the 1d6 o effectper 6 Hours (-1½) or 1d6 o effect per 1 Day (-1¾)level. Te damage o a Dim Mak attack doesn’t takeeffect all at once; the victim sickens beore dying.Apply 1d6 Drain at each time increment (i theDim Mak technique is built as several Drains — orinstance, a BODY, SR and CON Drain — apply 1d6o each Drain at each time increment).

(5) Characters must buy Dim Mak powers withthis special Limitation: Can Be Cured By ChineseHealing (-¼). A character with the Chinese Heal-ing Skill might be able to cure a Dim Mak attack.He can’t make his roll to cure the victim until theonset o the first 1d6 o damage. Since Dim Mak practitioners must also know Chinese Healing (seeitem #6 below), the GM should resolve this as a SkillVersus Skill Contest between the two characterswith Chinese Healing. (Also, i the victim is below 0BODY, the character trying to heal him suffers a -1penalty to his Skill Roll or every 2 BODY the victimis below 0 BODY.)

(6) Characters must buy Dim Mak powers with theollowing Limitation: Requires A Chinese HealingRoll (no Active Point penalty, but 16+ automaticallymisses; -¼).

(7) Te ollowing Advantage is appropriate or Dim Mak powers but may only be taken instead o (not




in addition to) ime Delay: rigger (rigger canchange each time power is used; +½). Usually, therigger is a certain number o steps taken by the victim: afer three steps, 100 steps, 1,000 steps, orwhatever, the target begins suffering the effects othe power.

(8) Tese Limitations are appropriate (but notrequired) or Dim Mak powers: Attacker Must MakeA Special Sequence O Blows Against arget (oneblow, -0; two blows, -¼; three blows, -½; our blows,-¾; five or six blows, -1); Attacker Must Make VeryAccurate Blows Against arget (each blow is at -3

OCV or placement, -½; each blow is at -8 OCV orplacement, -1); Special Sequence O Blows Does NoDamage (-½); iming Must Be Perect: Attacker MayNot Miss A Phase Or A Hit (-1). In other words, theattacker must hit his target in several places aroundthe body to set up the Dim Mak chain reaction. One(easy) way to buy it might be Five Blows (-1), no otherlimitation; this means the attacker must first hit histarget five times, and on the sixth may apply his Dim Mak attack. One (very diffi cult) way to buy it might beFive Blows, Each at -8, Do No Damage, iming Per-ect (total Limitation: -3 ½). Te attacker would haveto hit his target every Phase with a 0-damage strike(no damage is rolled, and there is no other combateffect), each blow at -8 OCV, not missing a singleattack (he cannot miss, he cannot be blocked, and soorth, or he will have to start over); only afer all thatis set up can he, on the sixth blow, apply the Dim Mak touch. Te player and GM should decide what thesepreparatory blows look like, what locations they musthit (with a -3 modifier, the character can be presumedto hit anywhere he wishes on the character’s torso;with a -8 modifier, the character can be presumed tohit any target on the body he wishes), and the like.

(9) Dim Mak powers are hand-to-hand and so maynot be bought with the Ranged Advantage.

A character struck by a Dim Mak attack whodrops below 0 BODY can be treated by a characterwith Proessional Skill: Doctor. A successul SkillRoll merely means the character doesn’t perishswifly (in other words, he won’t lose 1 BODY everyPost-Segment 12 rom being at 0 BODY or below);Skills such as Paramedic and Proessional Skill:Doctor cannot keep the Dim Mak effects rom con-tinuing, though.

GMs should allow characters to buy Dim Mak

attacks which ar exceed the campaign’s normalActive Point limits. Te Limitations on the powerkeep it rom being as lethal as its Active Point totalswould otherwise indicate.

Here’s one example o a Dim Mak attack as aPC might buy it:

Example: Dim Mak: Drain BODY 10d6 plus Drain SR 6d6, Invisible o Sight Group And Hearing Group (+¾), ime Delay (+¼),Delayed Return Rate (BODY returns at therate o 5 Character Points per Week (+1¾)(600 Active Points!); Gradual Effect (1d6BODY and SUN Drain per Day; -1¾); CanBe Cured By Chinese Healing (-¼); Requires AChinese Healing Roll (no Active Point penalty,but 16+ automatically misses; -¼); Attacker Must Make Sequence O Five Blows, Each At -3OCV, Blows Do No Damage, And iming MustBe Perect (-3); 2 Charges/Day (-1½); Activa-tion Roll 15- (-¼). otal cost: 75 points.

Obviously, Dim Mak techniques are verycostly, as the heavily-Limited example above shows.Tey’re most appropriate or really evil villains or very wise masters, but PCs can buy the technique(i the GM approves). Player characters mightpreer to buy non-lethal versions which make thetarget all asleep, paralyze him, or the like.



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ENERGY BLAS

Characters can use Energy Blast to createan unusual orm o martial arts attack: the NNDBreath Attack. Tis is an unusual power notentirely inappropriate or a martial arts campaign.Te owner o this attack lives on a special diet (aDependence Disadvantage is appropriate, but notrequired). When he wishes to, he may summon upa huge breath o noxious, horrible stench which

overpowers, sickens, or knocks out enemies. Tissort o attack comes as a great surprise. It’s veryappropriate or villain characters — it’s an attack ora weird lieutenant or master criminal to pull out ata dramatic moment.

It can be bought in this ashion:

Example: EB 6d6, No Normal Deense (deenseis Lie Support: Sel-Contained Breathing; +1), Area Effect (13” Cone; +1) (90 Active Points);4 Charges (-1), Extra ime (Full Phase; -½),Costs Endurance (-½), Increased EnduranceCost (x2 END; -½), No Range (-½). otal cost:22 points.

ENHANCED SENSES

Many Enhanced Senses are appropriate orHeroic characters in martial arts campaigns. Mostare bought with various Limitations. Te list oEnhanced Senses, and whether they are appropri-ate, ollows:

Active Sonar: It would be very unusual or a humancharacter to have Active Sonar, because o theneed or the character to emit some sort o sound.Human characters have to take the Limitation Vis-ible o Sound Group (worth a -0, since Visible, a -¼Limitation, requires that the power can be detectedby three whole Sense Groups). Basically, the char-

acter whistles or emits some other regular noisewhich acts as his “sonar wave.” Tis power is mostappropriate or “blind master” characters.

Analyze; Discriminatory: Tese is Sense Modifiersare appropriate or various Senses or charactersdefined as having a “higher awareness.” Blind char-acters ofen have Discriminatory ouch, or exam-ple. No special Limitations are required.

Enhanced Perception: Tis is appropriate or anyalert character, but the GM should establish andenorce limits on the amount o Enhanced Percep-tion a character can take. A total bonus o +3 to aSense is more than adequate or most campaigns.

Increased Arc O Perception: Characters can buythis Sense Modifier only or their Hearing Group ora special Spatial Awareness. It’s most effi cient whencombined with Spatial Awareness, or with ActiveSonar or argeting Hearing; this is common inmartial arts fiction and cinema.

Inrared Perception: A martial artist charactercould have this power, i bought with Limitationslike Costs Endurance (-½) and/or Extra ime (1urn; -1¼). Tis represents a martial artist’s abilityto adjust his eyes to the darkness much aster andbetter than ordinary people can; this ability mustresult rom some specialized training in his past.

Example: Inrared Perception (Sight Group) (5 Active Points); Costs END (-½), Extra ime (1urn to activate, but requires no extra time touse thereafer; -½). otal cost: 2 points.

Mental Awareness: Tis, too, is a power permissibleto characters who are supposed to have achievedsome sort o heightened awareness. However, theGM should limit things so that only one or (per-haps) two characters in a campaign have this power.

Spatial Awareness: Tis is appropriate or charac-ters in martial arts campaigns, especially or mas-ters who fight as well when blinded as not. Again,not all PCs in a campaign should have this power,but its cost is likely to discourage everyone rombuying it.

argeting Sense: Buying argeting Sense or Hear-ing is appropriate or a master fighter (see SpatialAwareness, above). argeting Smell and argetingaste are not as appropriate; don’t use them inHeroic campaigns.

elescopic: Inappropriate or Heroic human charac-

ters. A generous GM might allow a character to buya maximum o +2 to PER rolls with the Limitationsdescribed above or Inrared Perception.

racking: Tis is rare, and is perhaps more appro-priate or the “boy raised by wolves” sort o charac-

‘The Wayof the

warrior is tomaster the virtof his weapons

—MiyamoMusashi, Go Rin





ter... but there’s nothing that says such a charactercouldn’t be a martial artist.

Ultraviolet Perception: Can be purchased with thesame Limitations as Inrared Vision, above.

In Superheroic campaigns, these restrictionsbasically don’t exist. Superpowered martial artistscan take just about any sort o Enhanced Sense jus-tified by their character conception which the GMallows them to have.

ENHANCED SENSE: SENSE CH’I

Te concept o ch’i (or ki in Japanese) pervadesmany o the martial arts. Meaning literally “breath”or “air,”ch’i signifies a sort o lie orce or innerpower that flows throughout the body. Skilled mar-tial artists can make their ch’i flow correctly and usetheir command o it to enhance their abilities. Insome cases, such as the Monkey Slap o the Hsing-Istyle, one o a style’s Martial Maneuvers reflects thepractitioner’s ability to manipulate and/or projecthis ch’i; in other cases, it’s bought as a “special abil-ity” or power known to masters o that art. Most othe abilities listed in the “Special Abilities” section

o each style’s description could be considered “ch’i abilities,” even i the style does not use that particu-lar term or them.

Some martial artists can sense the flow och’i within others, which has all sorts o potentialbenefits or them. In HERO System terms, this is aorm o the Enhanced Sense Detect (ch’i counts asa 5-point Detect category, since it can havea significant effect on combat). A suc-cessul Sense Ch’i roll allowsa character to know whatch’i abilities his oppo-nent is currently using(and, i the roll is made

by enough, to know otherabilities that he possesses,even i they are notcurrently in use);will tell thecharacter

the location o his enemy’s open Gates (reer toDamage Resistance, above); and so orth. Ofen acharacter can Link other abilities, such as DangerSense, Lightning Reflexes, or Combat Skill Levels,to his Sense Ch’i ability or can use it as a RequiredSkill Roll.

At the GM’s option, i a character makes aSense Ch’i roll on himsel in a particularly crucialsituation (such as right beore a major test o his

martial abilities or an all-or-nothing attack onwhich great stakes depend), he may receive a bonusto whatever he attempts — an additional point oOCV, an extra DC or two, or the like.

Although Sense Ch’i is a orm o Detect, it’scalled Sense Ch’i and not Detect Ch’i or a reason— it’s almost always bought as a Sense (+2 points),not as a simple Detect. Detect requires a level oconcentration which a martial artist ofen cannotafford in the midst o combat, when the Sense Ch’i ability is most useul. Similarly, Sense Ch’i is almostalways bought so that it’s usable at Range (+5points).

I the situation allows, a character usually takes

extra time to gain bonuses to his Sense Ch’i roll. Atthe GM’s option, he may gain other bonuses rommeditating, making an EGO Roll as a Complemen-tary Skill Roll, and so orth. I he’s disturbed, emo-tionally upset, Enraged/Berserk, suffering rom a

Dependence, or subject to similar orms ostress (“My mind and my spirit are going northand south!”), he suffers a penalty to his Sense

Ch’i rolls, or maybe cannot makethem at all.

Example: Sense Ch’i:Detect Ch’i, Range,

Sense. otal cost: 12 points.



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EXRA LIMBS

Characters with Extra Limbs ofen have anadvantage in martial arts combat — afer all, it’s di-ficult to deend against a large number o attacksrom a single source, particularly i the character hasStretching and can launch some o them rom behindthe target! o simulate this advantage, characterswith Extra Limbs can buy Combat Skill Levels withHand-o-Hand Attacks.

FORCE WALL

A character can use this Power to create a nigh-impenetrable deensive “wall” around himsel, definedas his ability to block, deflect, or dodge any incomingattack. Tis sort o Force Wall should take the Limita-tions Sel Only (-½), since the character cannot use itat range or to protect others, just himsel.

FEINS

A Feint is a alse or deceptive move designedto trick an opponent into reacting the wrong way sohe exposes himsel to the attacker’s real attack. In theHERO System, characters can simulate Feints with a

Drain DEX or with Images (also reer to the discus-sion o Sleight O Hand eints, above).

Drain DEX FeintsCharacters can create a Drain DEX Feint with

the ollowing Advantages: Invisible Power Effects(Fully Invisible; +1) and rigger (character’s decisionto use the Drain DEX; +¼). Te Drain also takes theollowing Limitations: Only For Reducing Hand-o-Hand DCV (-1), DCV Reduction Only Works ForAttacker (-1), DCV Reduction Only Lasts For OnePhase (-½). Te GM may also require the AdvantageNo Normal Deense (deense is making a PER Roll,Danger Sense roll, or KS: Specific Style roll by 3 ormore; +½), since Power Deense should not normally

apply against this sort o Drain; however, this mayhave the effect o inflating the cost o this abilityunnecessarily.

What these Advantages and Limitations give theattacker is a Drain DEX that only affects the target’sDCV. Te reduction in DCV only works or thecharacter using the Drain (the target gets his normalDCV against anyone else who attacks him), and onlylasts or one Phase. Since characters usually have toreset riggers afer using them, the GM might rulethat a character can only use his Feint once per battle;he resets the rigger between battles.

Example: Drain DEX 6d6, Invisible Power

Effects (Fully Invisible; +1), rigger (+¼) (135 Active Points); Only For Reducing Hand-o-Hand DCV (-1), DCV Reduction Only WorksFor Attacker (-1), DCV Reduction Only LastsFor One Phase (-½). otal cost: 38 points.

Note: a character could construct a similar abil-ity using a Suppress which could not be “continued”(i.e., all points Suppressed would return afer onePhase).

Images FeintsAn Images Feint is bought with the Advantage

rigger (+¼) and the Limitations DCV ReductionOnly Works For Attacker (-1), DCV Reduction Only

Lasts For One Phase (-½), and Only For Martial ArtsFeints (-1). I the target misses his PER Roll he suffers-1 DCV or every two points he missed his roll by. Ihe makes the PER Roll, the attacker suffers a -1 OCVon the real attack which he makes that Phase (a -¼Side Effect). When making the target’s PER Roll, theGM should not let the player know the effect o theattempted Feint until afer he (the player) makes hisreal attack.

Example: Sight Group Images, -2 to PER Rolls,1” radius, rigger (+¼) (20 Active Points); NoRange (-½), DCV Reduction Only Works For Attacker (-1), DCV Reduction Only Lasts ForOne Phase (-½), Only For Martial Arts Feints(-1), Side Effects (i target makes PER Roll,attacker suffers -1 OCV on real attack; -¼).otal cost: 5 points.

Combat Maneuver FeintsAt the GM’s option, characters may not need

to pay or Feints at all — they may be a basic part othe campaign rules, like Combat Maneuvers. I theGM preers to take this route, he should come up

with an appropriate list o Feints or the charactersto use. A character would have to have a KS o aparticular Feint to use it; i the target has DangerSense or a KS in that Feint and makes his roll, herealizes what the other character is up to and avoidsthe effects o the Feint entirely. Each Feint shouldbe about 6d6 o Drain (enough to reduce the tar-get’s DCV by 2 on the average).

GLIDING

Characters in Heroic martial arts campaignscannot fly or glide (except with a boarding pass).However, they can purchase Gliding or one specialpurpose only: walking without leaving any tracks.

Tis technique is called hing kung in Chinese. Allthey have to do is buy Gliding with the GroundGliding Limitation (-¼) (see page 182 o the HEROSystem 5th Edition, Revised ). Tat way they canwalk over rice paper or nightingale floors withoutleaving a trace or alerting anyone. A character canalso buy hing kung as Invisible Power Effects (FullyInvisible; +1) or his Running.

HANDOHAND AACK HA

Characters can substitute HAs or MartialManeuvers in many instances. Tis allows thecharacter to put an Advantage on his attack (whichcan’t be done or a martial arts maneuver without

GM permission) and to put his martial arts attacksin a Power Framework. See page 408 o the HEROSystem 5th Edition, Revised or rules or purchasingAdvantages or HAs.

HEALING

In Superheroic campaigns, martial artistscould buy Healing to affect both themselves andothers. Tere are two rationales or this: kiai (the ki-based shout o martial arts warriors, saidto be able to heal as well as harm); and ChineseMedicine. Tereore, or a martial artist to buy thispower, he must take it one o these two ways:




Kiai Healing: Te character must take these PowerModifiers or his Healing:

(1) He can only buy a maximum o Healing BODYor SUN (or Simplified Healing) 4d6.

(2) All Kiai Healing powers must take Invisible toSight Group (+½), Ranged (+½).

(3) Kiai Healing powers may take the IncreasedEndurance Cost Limitation, but this is not required.

Example: Simplified Healing 4d6, Invisible toSight Group (+½), Ranged (+½) (80 ActivePoints); Increased Endurance Cost (x5 END;-2). otal cost: 27 points.

Chinese Medicine Healing: Characters must buyHealing based on the application o Chinese Medi-cine this way:

(1) Tey can buy a maximum o Healing BODY orSUN (or Simplified Healing) 8d6. Te GM may,i he wishes, also allow the character to buy up toHealing 4d6 to other Characteristics listed on page119 under Ch’i Aid.

(2) All Chinese Medicine Healing powers musttake Invisible Power Effects (Fully Invisible; +1).

(3) All Chinese Medicine Healing powers musttake these Limitations: Requires A KS: ChineseHealing Roll (-¼); Does Not Work Versus Dim Mak Unless Skill Versus Skill Contest Succeeds(-¼); Extra ime (at least 1 urn (-1); longer timesare acceptable); OIF (either herbs or acupunctureneedles, character’s choice; -1).

(4) Te ollowing Limitation is optional; the GMmight permit a character to take a Healing powerexceeding the recommended limit i it has thisLimitation: Healing Wears Off Instantly When

Acupuncture Needles Removed (-1). In otherwords, the acupuncturist can apply his techniquesto get a badly-wounded warrior back on his eet,but the recovery only lasts as long as the needlesremain in the body; a Grab or Disarm remov-ing a needle makes the Healing benefit disappearinstantly.

Example: Healing BODY 4d6, Invisible PowerEffects (Fully Invisible; +1) (80 Active Points),Requires A KS: Chinese Healing Roll (-¼), DoesNot Work Versus Dim Mak Unless Skill VersusSkill Contest Succeeds (-¼), Extra ime (5 Minutes; -2), OIF (Acupuncture Needles; -½).otal cost: 20 points.

KILLING AACK, RANGED

A character could buy a Ranged Killing Attack,up to the campaign’s limits, based on a ObviousInaccessible Focus defined as any weapon o oppor-tunity (any Focus which he happens to pick up, andwhich the GM agrees is suitable to be used or athrown Killing Attack). He can’t use the power withan olive, a oam rubber ball, or a pastry — but canuse it with practically anything harder or sharper(including silverware, pebbles, broken-off chairlegs, playing cards, bicycle spokes, and so orth).OIF, not OAF, applies to this power because it’s an

“object o opportunity” Focus, as discussed on page292 o the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised.

Example: RKA 2d6 (30 Active Points); OIF(appropriate objects o opportunity; -½), RangeBased On SR (-¼). otal cost: 17 points.

KNOCKBACK RESISANCE

A character can buy Knockback Resistance tosimulate his ability to avoid damage rom Knock-back and similar occurrences: as a orm o “super-Breakall” or “super-agility,” i you will. Tis meanshe uses his acrobatic talents to avoid the effects oKnockback, including the resulting damage. At theGM’s option, based on the nature o the attack usedagainst him, the character may actually be “knockedback” several inches, but he won’t take any damagerom this and automatically “bounces to his eet”without taking any time or having to make anyadditional rolls.

Example: Knockback Resistance -8” (16 points);Nonpersistent (-¼), Requires A DEX (or Break- all) Roll (-½). otal cost: 9 points.

LACK OF WEAKNESS

Tis Power is usually appropriate or martialartist characters. Heroic-level martial artists maybuy up to 5 points o Lack O Weakness, or justabout any deense they have; Superheroic ones maybuy as much as they wish and the GM allows.

LEAPING

In many martial arts films, masters o martialarts can leap prodigious distances, though thisseems to require acrobatic training. o simulatethis, buy Leaping with the Limitation Requires An Acrobatics Roll (-½). Heroic-level martial artists canonly buy enough Leaping to double their basic leap.

Example: A SR 20 character can normallyleap 4”. Tereore, in a Heroic martial artscampaign, he can buy no more than 4” o Leap-ing. Tis costs 4 points, with a -½ Limitation or Requires An Acrobatics Roll, resulting in a final cost o 3 points. Four Active Points doesnot result in a minus to the Acrobatics roll.

Superheroic-level martial artists have norestriction on the amount o Leaping they can buy,other than whatever limit the GM sets. In somemovies and comic books martial artists can leap to

the horizon; PCs should be allowed to have similarabilities i it suits the campaign.

LUCK

Luck is a good Power or simulating char-acters who are “blessed by the gods” or who haveachieved such a state o enlightenment that are “atone with the universe” and thereore things alwaysseem to go their way.

MENAL DEFENSE

Mental Deense is appropriate or martial art-ists, who ofen have extraordinary willpower andkeen senses which help them resist most MentalPowers. Heroic-level martial artists may buy any-



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where rom 5 points to a maximum o 10 points oMental Deense; Superheroic ones can buy as manypoints as they wish, up the the maximum allowedby the GM.

MISSILE DEFLECION AND REFLECION

A classic cinema martial artist trick is to bat awayincoming arrows, thrown knives, shuriken, and soorth — even to snatch them out o the air and throwthem back at the attacker. In HERO System terms, thisrequires Missile Deflection & Reflection.

Heroic-level martial artists can buy MissileDeflection up to the 10-point level, which letsthem deflect arrows, sling stones, and other non-gunpowder projectiles. Many martial artists justbuy this Power at the 5-point level (versus thrownobjects only). Superheroic martial artists can buyMissile Deflection to any level. Any character canbuy bonuses to his Missile Deflection roll, andDeflection to affect attacks not aimed directly atthem, normally. o buy the +1 Advantage to deflectattacks at range, the character will also have to havesome sort o Focus (i.e., he throws objects in thepath o incoming missile attacks to deflect them).

Martial artists can buy Reflection, but orHeroic characters it’s only usable against thrownweapons. I a Heroic character’s Deflection affectsattacks other than throw weapons, he must apply a-¼ Limitation, Only Works Against Trown Weap-ons, to the cost o Reflection.

Some characters preer to buy Deflection with aFocus; war-ans, swords, shields and other weaponsare especially appropriate or this. I a charactertakes the Focus Limitation with the explana-tion that he can use anything hepicks up to Deflect incomingattacks, he takes it as OIF since

it’s an “object o opportunity.”Te classic cinema-ninja trick ocatching an enemy’s thrown knie orshuriken and hurling it back at him wouldpreclude use o the OIF Limitation; iyou want that ability, buy the powerwithout a Focus Limitation.

A typical purchase o MissileDeflection & Reflection might looklike this:

Example: Missile Delection (non-gunpow-der projectiles); At Range (adjacent hexes;+½) (15 Active Points); OIF (objects o oppor-tunity; -½) (total cost: 10 points) plus Relec-

tion, Can Relect Attacks At Any arget (30 Active Points); Only Works Against hrownWeapons (-¼); OIF (objects o opportunity;-½) (total cost: 17 points). otal cost:27 points.

POWER DEFENSE

Martial arts charac-ters may purchase PowerDeense with the LimitationOnly Protects Against Drain-Based Martial Attacks (-1).

Tis will protect them against the sort o abilitiesdescribed under Drain, above, and ransorm, below. At the GM’s option this orm o PowerDeense might also offer protection against certainkinds o Oriental sorcery.

Power Deense would normally work againstDim Mak, since that ability is built with Drain.However, Dim Mak is supposed to be scary ; orthis reason, GMs should not let Heroic-level mar-

tial artists buy Power Deense to protect them-selves against it, and should require Superheroicmartial artists to take a -¼ (or -0, i the GM pre-ers) Limitation on the Power Deense because itoffers no protection against the death touch.

SANCES

Stances and ootwork are very important inmany martial arts styles. Characters can, i theywish, use minor applications o several Powers tosimulate stances and other body positioning. Atthe GM’s option, a character can group his stancestogether into a Power Framework.

Te examples given here are taken romstances requently used in Kung Fu, Karate, andother common martial arts. Players are encour-aged to research their character’s style and devisea set o stances appropriate specifically to it.

Cat Stance: A short stance in which one oot isdrawn up on its ball close to the other oot, so thatthe character is ready to attack quickly: +2 Light-ning Reflexes (3 Active Points); Costs END (-½).

otal cost: 2 points. (Alternately,Cat Stance could provide +1 toFast Draw rolls.)

Crab Stance: A high stance in which the char-acter stands with his knees turned inwardsand his fists on his hips: +1 OCV with

Punch and similar maneuvers (some Kill-ing Strikes, Nerve Strikes, and so orth) (3

Active Points); Costs END(-½). otal cost: 2 points.

Crane Stance: A high stancein which the character draws

one knee up (so that he stands onone leg) and keeps his hands in ront o hisace and upper chest: +1 OCV with Block

(2 Active Points); Requires A DEX Roll (-½),Costs END (-½). otal cost: 1 point.

Horse Stance: A low, solid stance in which thecharacter spreads his legs and squats down

(so that he appears to be riding an imaginaryhorse): Knockback Resistance-1” (2 Active Points); Costs

END (-½). otalcost: 1 point.

Phoenix Stance: A low stance in

which the characterbends his rear leg and

squats down on it whileextending the other legin ront o him: +1OCV with Block and




Legsweep (3 Active Points); Requires A DEX Roll(-½), Costs END (-½). otal cost: 1 point.

Snake Stance: A low stance in which the charactersquats sideways with his legs underneath him: +1OCV with Block and Dodge (3 Active Points);Costs END (-½). otal cost: 2 points.

iger Stance: In this stance the character leansorward and keeps his hands up in a claw shape,ready to take advantage o a momentary lapse in anopponent’s deense: +1 OCV with a Crush or Kill-ing Strike maneuver (depending upon the style) (2Active Points); Costs END (-½). otal cost: 1 point.

At the GM’s option, characters may not needto pay or Stances at all — they may be a basic parto the campaign rules, like Combat Maneuvers.I the GM preers to take this route, he shouldcome up with an appropriate list o Stances or thecharacters to use. Each Phase during a combat,characters declare what Stance they’re using; theymay change or “shif” Stances in the same manneras Combat Skill Levels.

ELEKINESIS

I the GM permits, a character could buy ele-kinesis, defining it as “martial arts usable at rangethrough the character’s extension o ch’i.” Suchelekinesis could not exceed the damage done

by the character’s normal martial arts attacks, andmust take the Advantage Invisible Power Effects (Sight Group; +½). Remember that, at the GM’soption, characters can use their Martial Maneuvers

and any other Combat Maneuver they’ve paidpoints or with their elekinesis (see page 230 othe HERO System 5th Edition, Revised ). Characterscan only perorm Nerve Strikes and other maneuvers requiring precise targeting with elekinesis ithey have the Fine Manipulation Adder.

RANSFER

Te GM might allow some accomplished mar-tial artists to use ranser to create abilities whichinvolve “stealing” an opponent’s ch’i and using it toaid themselves.

RANSFORM

You should use ransorm to create anyability which can permanently injure thetarget in some way — or example goug-ing an opponent’s eyes out, ransorminghim rom a “sighted human” to a “blindhuman.” Other examples include attacks

which permanently deaen, cripple,or weaken another character in someway.

UNNELING

A ew characters (including somefilm ninja) can escape capture by digging

into sof terrain and then covering themselveswith a thick coating o the earth. (Tey usually do

this when concealed by smoke rom a smoke gre-nade, by darkness, and the like.) o simulate this inHeroic campaigns, characters can buy a maximumo 1” o unneling, with the Limited Medium (soil;-½) and Maximum Distance 1” (-1) Limitations.Tis means the character can dig his way into theearth to conceal his entire body, but can’t keep dig-ging a tunnel through the earth. Characters cannotbuy the “dig through +1 DEF or +3 points” unc-tion; they can only dig through sof, 1 DEF mate-rial such as sand, resh-turned soil, mud, a bog, orthe like. Tey must buy the Fill In Adder, and mustalways use that unction.

o make the area he has dug into look natural(i.e., undisturbed), a character should use Conceal-ment Skill; the GM can assign severe minuses onterrain where it’s hard to conceal signs o digging(such as a neat grass lawn, where sod would betorn up and flung in all directions). Dusty andsandy terrain is much better or this purpose.(Another option is to buy the unneling withInvisible Power Effects.)

Example: unneling 1”; Fill In (15 ActivePoints); Limited Medium (soil; -½), MaximumDistance 1” (-1). otal cost: 6 points.



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POWER ADVANTAGESSee page 408 o the HERO System 5th Edition,

Revised or rules regarding the application o Advan-tages to HAs, and page 104 o this book or inorma-tion on placing Advantages on Martial Maneuvers.

AREA OF EFFEC

One Hex

Characters can use this Advantage to simulatean attack so swif and powerul the target cannotavoid it except by Diving For Cover. Abilitiesbought with this sort o Advantage should takethe Accurate (-0) Limitation (and, possibly Can BeBlocked [-¼]).

SelectiveOne way to build a “punch-several-guys-at-the-

same-time” ability is to buy an HA or HKA with theAdvantage Area O Effect (One Hex, Doubled, Selec-tive; +1). Tis way, the character could make oneattack each on every enemy in his hex and in sur-rounding hexes. Because it’s bought with Selective,

the character doesn’t have to hit everything in thosehexes ... just enemies he wishes to target. Remember,though, with Selective, he doesn’t hit every target asi it were DCV 3; he must attack against each target’snormal HH DCV.

Example: HKA 1d6, Area O Effect (One Hex,Doubled, Selective; +1). otal cost: 30 points.

AUOFIRE

Applying Autofire to an HA or HKA simulatesthe quick-handed martial artist who can punch hisoe so ast and so ofen he looks like a blur. Damageor the attack should not exceed the character’s usual

martial arts damage (and the GM may preer or it tobe one or two DCs less).

An example o such an attack might look likethe ollowing. Let’s say a character has a SR o 20and gets +6d6 rom his best maneuver (a MartialStrike). For the character to have a similar Autofireattack, he’d buy:

Example: HA +6d6, Autofire (5 shots; +½),Reduced Endurance (½ END; +½) (60 ActivePoints); Hand-o-Hand Attack (-½). otal cost:40 points (5 END per blow).

DAMAGE SHIELD

Damage Shield For PowersA character can purchase an HA or HKA with

the Damage Shield (+½) Advantage to simulate effec-tive counterpunch and counterstrike techniques, or aweapons flourish.

Some notes on the way to purchase this:

(1) I the ability is bought as an HA, the charactermust define it as a Physical attack.

(2) Te damage done by the Damage Shield maynot exceed the amount o damage the character doeswith the attack the power “substitutes or.” In otherwords, i the character has a 6d6 Punch attack, but

no Hand-o-Hand Killing Attack, and he’s defin-ing his Damage Shield as a counterpunch, then theDamage Shield should do 6d6 Normal Damage (orless) — not an HKA 2d6 or a HA +8d6.

(3) Remember that the Attack Power used or theDamage Shield must be Constant, or the charactermust purchase the Continuous Advantage or it. Ineither case, the character must take the LimitationPower Stops Working Instantly I Character Is Stunned

Or Knocked Out (-¼). Ordinarily, such powers keepunctioning until the end o the Phase; this oneceases to work as soon as the character is Stunnedor Knocked Out. Characters cannot buy counter-strike Damage Shields with the Persistent Advantage,though they may buy Reduced Endurance.

(4) Characters must take the Requires A Success- ul Attack Roll (-½) Limitation or this power.Counterpunch/counterstrike Damage Shields can’thit automatically — they depend on a successulAttack Roll, just like any other attack. (However, anadvantage to this power is that it doesn’t take a char-acter’s attack action; afer his Damage Shield coun-terstrike, or even several, he still has an action lef.)

(5) Characters may take the Limitation Not WhenGrabbed (-¼) or one o these Damage Shields, butare not required to. Tis represents the act that ithe character is restrained, he can’t lash out with hiscounterstrike or properly flourish his weapon.

(6) I the ability depends on a weapon (i.e., it’sdefined as a weapons flourish), then it shouldbe bought with the Limitation Cannot Do MoreDamage Tan Te Weapon Being Used Would Nor-mally Do (-¼). For example, let’s say a character whocan do HKA 2½d6 with his katana buys a DamageShield which he defines as a deadly weapons flour-ish. He’s limited (by note #2 above) to HKA 2½d6

damage with the Damage Shield, and he does thatdamage when using his katana. However, during afight, he loses his katana and must use his dagger,with which he can only do HKA 1d6+1. His DamageShield only does HKA 1d6+1 while he uses thedagger. Later, in the same fight, he switches to agreatsword with which he can do 3d6 damage.However, his Damage Shield is still limited to onlyHKA 2½d6 — that’s what he paid or, so that’s limito his power. (In other words, characters who wantto use a weapon flourish Damage Shield with anyweapon they find should buy this ability or use withthe highest-damage weapon commonly used in thecampaign.)

Example: Counterstrike: HA +6d6, DamageShield (+½), Continuous (+1), Reduced Endur-ance (½ END; +¼) (82 Active Points); Hand-o-Hand Attack (-½), Requires A Successul AttackRoll (-½), Not When Grabbed (-¼). otal cost:36 points.

Example: Blade Kata: HKA 2d6, Damage Shield(+½), Continuous (+1), Reduced Endurance (½END; +¼) (82 Active Points); OIF (any weapono opportunity; -½), Requires A Successul AttackRoll (-½), Cannot Do More Damage Tan TeWeapon Being Used Would Normally Do (-¼),



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POWER LIMITATIONS

ACIVAION ROLL

Tis Limitation is a good way to simulateattacks which require such precise targeting ortiming that they don’t always work. Te Attack Rollindicates the character hit his target, the Activa-tion Roll indicates he hit the target in the right way.

Other Limitations which characters can apply tothis sort o attack are Concentration and Extra ime.

GESURES

As a Limitation on some martial arts powers,Gestures indicates the character has to have hishands (and/or eet) ree to perorm the ability. Forexample, a Force Wall ability defined as the char-acter blocking all incoming attacks might take thisLimitation, since the character can’t do any block-ing i he’s restrained or Entangled. GMs should bewary o allowing characters to take this Limitationon offensive abilities, however, since some playersmay try to take it on any martial arts attack (claim-ing they have to use their hands to punch, strike, orwhatever). Tis leans towards abusiveness, so GMsshould almost always disallow it.

REDUCED PENERAION

A character can use this Limitation to create a“one-two punch” special ability. He simply buys alarge HA (or other hand-to-hand Attack Power) anduses Reduced Penetration to simulate a rapid-firetwo-punch sequence. Tis makes it easy to Stun aoe without injuring him severely. He can take theLimitation Separate Attack Rolls Required (-¼) onthis ability i he wishes, but it’s not required.

Example: Kagamite (“Mirrorhand”) possess

knowledge o a secret technique allowing himto instantly ollow a right-handed punch witha lef-handed punch, such that i the first punchconnects, the second surely will as well! He buysthis ability as ollows:

Kagamite Punch: HA +7d6 (Kagamite has SR25, so it is a 12d6 HA total) (35 Active Points);Hand-o-Hand Attack (-½), Reduced Penetra-tion (-¼). otal cost: 20 points.

With this ability, Kagamite has a good chanceo Stunning his oes (it’s a 12d6 HA or purposeso calculating Stunning), but relatively littlechance o severely injuring them (the two 6d6

attacks have their BODY applied to deensesseparately).

POWER FRAMEWORKSSuperheroic martial artists can put martial

arts abilities and attacks in an appropriate PowerFramework, such as a Multipower o HA attacks.Heroic-level martial artists cannot do this withoutthe GM’s permission.

Te GM should make sure all the powers in thePower Framework link together logically. Should

a GM allow a character to buy his Armor PiercingHKA (a fist blow), his NND Breath Attack, and hisHing Kung Gliding in the same Multipower? No.Tough they’re remotely linked by the buzzword“Martial Arts,” they are, in game terms, three wildlydifferent effects and should not be in the sameMultipower. Tey might, however, be allowed in anElemental Control, depending upon the campaignand the GM’s standards or such things.

Te GM should never allow questionable orpotentially unbalancing powers in a Power Frame-work. Tis includes some o the ones described inthis section (such as Skill Levels bought with Limi-tations). Tey don’t belong in Power Frameworks. Tey’re already on the verge o being abusive; put-ting them in a Framework definitely makes themabusive. Just Say No.

MULIPOWER

Below are some examples o Multipowersappropriate or most Superheroic martial artists.

Te Multipower Martial Art StyleTe ollowing Multipower is (approximately)

a Martial Art. Essentially, it’s a series o attacks thecharacter defines as a Martial Art. Tis Multipowerassumes a SR 20 character and a 10 DC cap oncampaign damage.

Tis sort o Multipower doesn’t count as a styleor purposes o the character acquiring a Style Dis-tinctive Feature. Characters may only take Style Dis-tinctive Features or martial arts styles built with therules rom the “Designing Martial Maneuvers” section.

Naturally, used with a SR 20, all the HAs go upto 10d6, and the HKA goes up to 3d6+1. O course,the character spends the END or his SR in addi-tion to any listed or the Multipower slot.

Tis set o abilities is too expensive or mostgames, but is not at all inappropriate or Superheroicgames... and it can be quite effective.

MARTIAL ARTS MULTIPOWER

Cost Pow ers END

75 Martial Arts Attacks: Multipower, 75 point reserve

4u 1) Slashing Fist:HA +6d6, Armor Piercing

(+½), Reduced Endurance (0END; +½); Hand-o-HandAttack (-½)

0

5u 2) Flashing Fist:HA +6d6, Autofire (5 shots;+½), Reduced Endurance (0END; +1); Hand-o-HandAttack (-½)

0

3u 3) Whirlwind Fist:

HA +6d6, Area O Effect(One Hex Doubled, +¾);Hand-o-Hand Attack (-½)

5

4u 4) Yama Fist: HKA 2d6, ReducedEndurance (0 END; +½)

0

‘Knowl-edge

studies othersWisdom isself-known;Muscle masterbrothers,Self-mastery ibone.’

—Lao TTao Te Ch




Te Kiai MultipowerKiai, the art o shouting and utilizing ki (ch’i)

energy, allows a character to do more than surprise(Presence Attack) an enemy. A trained kiaijutsuka can, according to tradition, knock an enemy out cold,promote healing, and even injure or kill an oppo-nent. A Multipower utilizing all o these abilitiesmight look like this:

Te Ch’i MultipowerAs discussed elsewhere in this book, characters

can use ch’i to improve one or more o their Charac-teristics or a brie period o time. A typical Multip-ower using the Aid Power looks like this:

A character with this Multipower can only useone o the first three slots at a time, but can have

both the ourth and fifh on at the same time. How-

CH’I POWERS

Cost Pow ers END

27 Ch’i Powers: Multipower, 80point reserve, all powers SelfOnly (-½), Extra Time (FullPhase; -½), Concentration (0DCV; -½), Increased Endur-ance Cost (x2 END; -½)

3u 1) Powerful Ch’i:Aid STR 4d6, Invisible PowerEffects (Fully Invisible; +1);Common Limitations (-2)

16

3u 2) Mind Ch’i:Aid EGO 4d6, Invisible PowerEffects (Fully Invisible; +1);Common Limitations (-2)

16

3u 3) Restoring Ch’i:Aid REC 4d6, Invisible PowerEffects (Fully Invisible; +1);Common Limitations (-2)

16

1u 4) Iron Ch’i:Aid PD 2d6, Invisible PowerEffects (Fully Invisible; +1);Common Limitations (-2)

8

1u 5) Iron Ch’i:Aid ED 2d6, Invisible PowerEffects (Fully Invisible; +1);Common Limitations (-2)

8

KIAI POWERSCost Pow ers END

40 Kiai Powers: Multipower,80 point reserve, all slotsIncreased Endurance Cost (x3END; -1)

3u 1) Healing Kiai:Healing 4d6 (SimplifiedOption) Invisible PowerEffects (Normal Sight; +¼),Ranged (+½); IncreasedEndurance Cost (x3 END; -1)

24

3u 2) Daunting Kiai:

Aid PRE 4d6, Invisible PowerEffects (Fully Invisible; +1),Self Only (-½); IncreasedEndurance Cost (x3 END; -1)

24

2u 3) Painful Kiai:EB 4d6, No Normal Defense(defense is ear coverings [suchas earmuffs] or making anEGO Roll at -3; +1); IncreasedEndurance Cost (x3 END; -1)

12

1u 4) Deadly Kiai:RKA 1d6+1, Invisible PowerEffects (Normal Sight; +¼), +1Increased STUN Multiplier(+¼); Increased Endurance

Cost (x3 END; -1)

9



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ever, since each use takes a Full Phase to activate,the character cannot turn them both on at the sametime; he could use one on one Phase, and the otheron a later Phase.

DISADVANTAGESMany o the HERO System Disadvantages are

especially appropriate to martial artist characters,

or have special unctions in a martial arts cam-paign. On the other hand, some o the Disadvan-tages are quite inappropriate.

AGE

Age is a very uncommon Disadvantage in mar-tial arts adventures. For example, despite his seemingage, the ancient Chinese kung u master who trainsthe hero is usually lithe, vigorous, and tough enoughto thrash the hero (at least, until the final stages otraining). For this reason, GMs should never requirecharacters in martial arts campaigns to take the AgeDisadvantage; they can be 90 years old and still havethe same Characteristic Maxima as younger charac-

ters. (Like younger characters, they have to pay doubleor any IN, EGO, or PRE above the campaign Char-acteristic Maxima.) Since Age doesn’t affect DEX andSPD, an aged character with Extra DC to make up orhis lack o physical strength can still be a very effectivemartial artist.

DEPENDEN NPC

DNPCs in martial arts adventures are more atrisk than in many other genres. Martial arts adven-tures are ofen revenge melodramas, so DNPCsare abused and killed a lot more requently than inother genres. Characters taking DNPCs should bearthis in mind.

Tat doesn’t make the DNPC less o a limitationthan in other genres, though. DNPCs get in trouble just as ofen, and the trouble is ofen worse. I anenemy kills a DNPC, you can be sure that the PC hasquite a ew other cousins, naive younger siblings, andlovers to act as the DNPC in the next adventure.

I the PC gets tired o this, he should buy offthe Disadvantage. I he doesn’t, and just starts let-ting his DNPCs get maimed or killed because it’sinconvenient to rescue them, or he gets bored withthe whole affair and decides not to avenge them,then he’ll certainly pick up a nasty Hunted toreplace the DNPC — the amily and riends o theDNPC, intent on killing the PC or his neglect o

his responsibilities and/or the insult to their clan.

DISINCIVE FEAURES

Distinctive Features: StyleTe martial arts Style Distinctive Feature

which accompanies most styles is bought as a con-ditional Distinctive Feature, built this way: NotConcealable (15 points), Always Noticed And Rec-ognizable (+0 points), Detectable By Large Group(-5 points). It has three unctions.

First , any martial arts practitioner observing thecharacter with the Style Distinctive Feature will,with a simple PER Roll, recognize the style (unless

it is some strange, secret art, in which case he rec-ognizes that act). I the character does not have aStyle Distinctive Feature, it takes a successul KSroll o the art being practiced, or with the GM’s per-mission an IN Roll at a -2, to recognize the style.

Second , since (in martial arts adventures) manymartial arts styles and schools are enemies or

competitors, the Style Distinctive Feature acts asa “Major Prejudice” actor to practitioners o theenemy style. (On the other hand, other practitio-ners o the same style may decide to help the char-acter against their mutual enemies.)

Tird , a character using the Analyze Style skill on atarget with a Style Distinctive Feature receives a bonusto his Skill Roll; see the description o that skill.

Other ypes Of Distinctive FeaturesOther Distinctive Features which requently

appear in martial arts adventures include:

Bearing: Te character has a distinctive attitude

which makes him easier to recognize. Te eudalsamurai has this Disadvantage. It becomes astrong habit o the character, a habit which is veryhard to break, so it is bought this way: Conceal-able (with major effort), Is Noticed And Recog-nizable: 10 points.

Ninja Night-Suit: Te ninja night-suit (also calledthe igabakama) is a common Distinctive Feature inmany martial arts campaigns. I the character usu-ally wears traditional ninja garb when perorminghis martial arts heroics, he should take this Disad- vantage. (Note that a ninja character doesn’t have towear a distinctive ninja outfit. Most players preeror their characters to do so, however.)




Igabakama Distinctive Feature (Modern):Ninja Night-Suit (Easily Concealable,Noticed And Recognizable): 5 points.

Igabakama Distinctive Feature (Feudal

Japan): Ninja Night-Suit (Easily Conceal-able, Causes Extreme Reaction [ear andloathing]): 15 points.

Scars: he character has acial scars, usuallyrom a previous martial arts ight with an oppo-nent who will appear in some later adventure.Bought as Concealable with Disguise Skill, IsNoticed And Recognizable: 10 points.

attoo: he character wears tattoos, eitherpurely decorative ones or ones which identiy hisclan, business, or martial arts school. Bought asEasily Concealable (under clothes), Is NoticedAnd Recognizable: 5 points. I the tattoo is o a

amous, hated order, it might instead be: EasilyConcealable (under clothes), Causes ExtremeReaction (hatred). I only martial artists recog-nize the tattoo, subtract 5 points because only aLarge Group sees the eature as distinctive.

Yakuza Mutilation: Some members o the Japa-nese yakuza (organized crime amilies) apologizeor grievous mistakes by cutting off parts o theirfingers and offering them to their lords (a practiceknown as yubitsume); i this token o apology isaccepted, he does not have to kill himsel or hismistake. Characters can buy this as Easily Conceal-able (wear gloves), Causes Major Prejudice.

HUNED

Hunted is a Disadvantage which is both verycommon and quite rare in martial arts adven-tures. his is because in the HERO System, Hunt-eds are ongoing Disadvantages. he charactersare oten Hunted by the same villain across yearso play-time.

In martial arts adventures, characters areHunted all the time... but it’s not usually the same

Hunter. At the end o one adventure, the charac-ters obliterate their enemy; at the beginning othe next, they make a new enemy who won’t restuntil the heroes are dead. Sometimes the newenemy has some connection to the last one (orexample, he’s the ormer Hunted’s brother); othertimes he’s brand new. hereore, in campaignsdedicated to martial arts adventures, characterscould take a Hunted Disadvantage which lookslike this:

Example: Hunted 11- (As Pow, NCI): 20 points.

he exact character(s) Hunting the heroes

change rom adventure to adventure as they’rekilled and replaced... but enemies constantlyHunt the PCs, so the PCs should get the Disad- vantage points or that.

PSYCHOLOGICAL LIMIAION

Several Psychological Limitations, mostlycodes o behavior, are appropriate in these cam-paigns. hey include:

Code Of The Buddhist Monk (Common,Strong: 15 points): his is the code o mostBuddhist monks. It mandates that the char-acter cannot initiate violence (though he candeend himsel); he must remain celibate;he cannot eat red meat. Historically, manymonks did not take this limitation; it’s notrequired o the Buddhist monk, merely rec-ommended.

Code Of The Bushi (Common, otal: 20 points): his is the code o the Japanese war-rior/retainer. Samurai had it; so did manyninja. he Bushido Code demands absoluteobedience to one’s lord, even i he orders thecharacter to kill himsel or destroy every-thing he loves. his means a samurai char-acter oten inds himsel in situations where

his own goals conlict with his lord’s, and hisPsychological Limitation demands he ollowhis lord’s dictates above his own desires.

A cruel thing to do to a samurai character isto insult or dishonor him, then have his lordorder him to leave the person who insultedhim alone. his places the character in a position where he either has to kill himsel orwait, suering rom the insult and resultingloss o ace, until his lord rescinds the order.



Hero Games

Code Of The Chinese Knight (Very Common,otal: 25 points): he Chinese knight’s codeo behavior demands he right any wrongs hesees, correct any social injustices, keep anyoaths o loyalty he takes, and meet all obligations he accepts. He must always honor good people and spend all his money on gooddeeds and good times.

Code Of The Chinese Master (Common,Strong: 15 points): he Chinese master’scode o behavior demands he never reusea challenge rom another ighter. He can, ihe chooses, answer a challenge by directingone o his students to meet the challenger; heusually does this to “screen” challengers so heonly has to ight the best opponents.

Code Of Vengeance: A character withthis Disadvantage is driven to acts ovengeance. How oten he eels the needto take revenge determines how muchthe Disadvantage is worth.

Must Avenge All Insults to Friends, Family,Protected Parties or Self (Very Common,otal: 25 points): he character must exactrevenge on anyone who insults his riendsor relatives, anyone under his protection(or whom he suddenly decides to protect),or himsel. Most insults require only thevengeance o a good beating. Maiming, anattempted assassination, or any other viciousinsult requires him to kill the insulter.

Must Avenge All Insults To Self (Common,otal: 20 points): his is like the one above,

but only applies to insults directed at the PC.his Disadvantage can also be deined as Must Avenge All Insults o Sel And Lord orthe same point value (a samurai would buythe Disadvantage that way).

Must Avenge Murder Of Any Friend, FamilyMember, Or Protected Party (Uncommon,otal: 15 points): he character must killthe murderer and anyone who collaboratedwith him or ordered the murder. his reallybecomes a limitation when the relative waskilled “properly” — he was a crook and waskilled by a cop or a hero, or instance.

Gunsl inger Mental i ty (Common, Strong: 15 points): A character with this PsychologicalLimitation must challenge any martial artistwhom he hears reerred to admiringly or whodemonstrates great skill in his presence. Hemust ind out who’s the better ighter, andwon’t rest until the other ellow fights him. (A particularly unscrupulous gunfighter-mental-ity villain will capture or kill a hero’s DNPCsand riends to orce him to fight.)

REPUAION

Many positive Reputations, such as being amaster or highly skilled fighter, should be boughtas Perks, since they benefit the character in manyways. Such a Reputation may also draw challeng-ers and the like to the character, but that doesn’tmake the Reputation a Disadvantage.

Some disadvantageous Reputations ormartial artists include:

‘When ytake u

a sword, you

must feel intenon cutting theenemy.’

—MiyamMusashi, Go Rin





“ Hands Registered as Lethal Weapons,” 8-,Extreme Reputation (10 points): Actually,

the character’s extremities aren’t registered asweapons — that’s a braggart’s conceit — butthe character is known to the police, whoconsider him a fighter and a trouble-maker.Police offi cers who check his name in theirrecords tend to be hostile to him and considerhim a suspect in any martial arts-relatedattacks where the identity o the perpetratoris not known.

Vicious Fighter, 11-, Extreme Reputation (15 points): Characters who are known or need-lessly killing or maiming opponents shouldtake this Reputation; they usually also have

several villainous Psychological Limitations.Tis isn’t a “Gosh, He’s a ough Dude” Disad-vantage or PCs (they should buy a Reputa-tion Perk i they want to be known or theirtoughness and skill); it’s a Disadvantage orthugs, brutes, and villains in need o a quicktrip to the cemetery.

RIVALRY

Ordinary Rivalries between two PCs areperectly acceptable. Martial artists can also take“Rivalry with another school” as a ProessionalRivalry. Tis means all characters who learned

their art rom this specific school have a (usu-ally not-too-fierce) rivalry with another specific

school. Rivals rom the other school should showup in numerous adventures, always challengingor interering with the PC. Tey’re not the villainso the adventures — they’re nuisances, sometimes very capable ones, who delay the hero, intrudeon him when he’s doing something much moreimportant, and so orth. I a Rivalry betweenschools is a bloody eud, characters should usu-ally buy it as a Hunted.

SOCIAL LIMIAION

Plenty o Social Limitations work well ormartial artists. Martial arts are ofen developedby oppressed or enslaved peoples who can’t

carry weapons, and Social Limitations reflectthat status. A well-known martial arts movie starmight have Famous or Public Identity. One whofights crime in a superheroes campaign may havea Secret Identity. A martial artist who belongs to astrict school run by a domineering master mightbe Subject o Orders.

VULNERABILIY

Attacks o One LocationSome martial artists take extra damage rom

blows to one specific body location (an Uncom-mon attack). Buy this Vulnerability as ollows:



Hero Games

Name, 1½ x SUN (or BODY), Attacks toOne Location (Uncommon): 5 points.

Name, 2 x SUN (or BODY), Attacks to OneLocation (Uncommon): 10 points.

A character can have one o these Vulner-abilities, or several. Some examples include:

Glass Jaw (2 x SUN, Location 5 — chin):10 points.

Old Internal Injuries (2 x SUN, 10 points,and 1½ x BODY, 5 points, Location 12— stomach): 15 points.

For each Vulnerability, the player defines aspecific body location which, i hit, activates theVulnerability. Each location should correspondto one number rom 3-18 on the Hit LocationsChart, just as the two examples above showed.When a Hit Location result actually indicates twobody parts (or example, there are two Locations6 — i.e., two hands), the character only has todefine one o them as receiving the Vulnerability(or example, Lef Hand).

I the campaign uses Hit Locations, thenany blow which rolls that location activates theVulnerability. Tis can be rom a random roll onthe Hit Location chart, or can be a Placed Shotagainst that precise body part. I the characterchooses a body part which normally modifiesdamage, use both the location damage modifierand the Vulnerability modifier. For example, acharacter takes 2 x SUN to his Lef Knee (Loca-tion 15). He’s hit in the lef knee with a 6 BODY

Killing Attack. With Location 15, this normallyresults in 3 BODY and 3 SUN. Tis character,who receives 2 x SUN to that knee, actuallytakes 3 BODY and 6 SUN.

With Normal Damage attacks, the characterfirst applies the multiplier or the Vulnerability,then subtracts his PD rom the attack, then modi-fies the damage or the location roll. For instance,a character takes 1½ x SUN to Stomach (Loca-

tion 12) blows. He has PD 8. He’s hit in thestomach with a Punch doing 25 SUN, 8 BODY.Because o his Vulnerability, he actually takes 37SUN and 8 BODY. Now he subtracts his PD, andso takes 29 SUN and 0 BODY. Ten he appliesthe modifications or the location; Stomach loca-tion does x1.5 to Normal SUN, x1 to BODY, sothe character has taken a grand total o 43 SUNrom the attack.

I the campaign doesn’t use the Hit Locationschart, then the GM has a choice. Either he canuse the Hit Locations chart, not using their usualdamage modifiers, or he can treat each Vulner-ability has having an 8- Activation Roll.

Many players will wish to take this Limita-tion on arms and legs, because in campaignsutilizing Hit Locations they start out with a x½multiplier (or location) on damage. Tat’s fine, iyou’re using the optional Hit Location rules romChapter Tree; these locations are hit more ofenby 2d6+1 and 2d6+7 Hit Location rolls than by3d6 Hit Location Rolls, and so they’ll be hit ofenenough to keep this Disadvantage balanced.

o Specific StylesLikewise, a character could take a Vulner-

ability to a specific martial arts style. Te com-




monness o that style in the campaign woulddetermine how much the disadvantage was worth.Obviously, major styles would be more commonthan rarer ones: Karate (all types) is going to bemore common than White Crane Kung Fu. Tis isa good Disadvantage or aged masters who teachplayer characters. It explains why they can’t goout and attack the bad guys themselves; they’reVulnerable to the bad guys’ style.

Style o StyleYou can take the concept o Vulnerability

to a style one step urther: some styles may beinherently Vulnerable to other styles. For exam-ple, i Style A is Vulnerable to Style B, this wouldsigniy that all users o Style A are at a significantdisadvantage when attacking or deending againstStyle B.

Vulnerability o Style A to Style B’s attacksmeans all o Style A’s deensive maneuvers areperormed at a minimum o -2 (to DCV orOCV, as appropriate) when used against Style B’sattacks. Additionally, Style B’s attacks may do 1-3extra DC o damage when they hit. Te value o

the Disadvantage depends upon how commonStyle B is.

Vulnerability o Style A to Style B’s deensesindicates that all o Style A’s offensive maneuversare perormed at a minimum o -2 OCV whenused against Style B’s deenses. Additionally, StyleA’s attacks may do 1-3 ewer DC o damage whenthey hit. Te value o the Disadvantage dependsupon how common Style B is.

At the GM’s option, Style Vulnerabilities mayalways cover both offensive and deensive maneuvers, or characters can buy the offensive anddeensive aspects o the Vulnerability separately(the same way characters can purchase SUN and

BODY Vulnerabilities separately).Te GM should normally declare Style Vul-

nerabilities at the beginning o the game so allplayers know about them when designing char-acters. Players cannot declare that their style isVulnerable to some other style without GM per-mission.

Some suggestions or possible Style Vulner-abilities: external styles may be Vulnerable tointernal styles (or vice-versa); linear styles may beVulnerable to circular styles (or vice-versa); stylesrom one nation or region may be Vulnerable tostyles rom another nation or region.

‘Today is victory over yourselfof yesterday; tomorrow is

your victory over lesser men.’—Miyamoto Musashi, Go Rin No Sho

(“A Book of Five Rings”)



This chapter presents revised and expanded inor-mation on Combat Maneuvers, optional rules orunusual combat situations or orms o attack, and anexpanded list o weapons or use by martial artists.

‘If the enemy opens the door, you must race in.’— Sun Tzu, The Art of War

A Zen master and one of his students werewalking in a field. They frightened apheasant, which flew away from them and hidin a thicket.

Seeing a chance to impress his master withhis powers of observation, the student pro-claimed, “Birds are so weak and defenseless!”

The master turned around and rapped thestudent sharply on the shins with his walkingstick. “Fly,” he ordered.

— Zen Koan




This text supplements the Combat Maneuvers section rom the HEROSystem 5th Edition, Revised, pages383-400. Tese rules apply to martial

arts-oriented campaigns, and in other types o cam-paigns at the GM’s discretion.

Bindo use Bind, a character perorms an OCV

versus OCV attack as with a Block; a successul hitbinds his opponent’s weapon, resulting in a tempo-rary deadlock. Te attack does no actual damage.

Normally, the attacker uses a weapon, and binds thetarget’s by pinning it up against the target’s body.However, characters can use this maneuver bare-handed, usually by pinning the target’s weapon armagainst his body, or pinning the target’s weaponunder the target’s own arm afer a wild swing.

I the character’s Attack Roll succeeds, thetarget’s weapon is momentarily bound; both fightersimmediately make SR Rolls. I the target possessesthe Escape maneuver or the Bind maneuver, he canuse its SR bonus in the SR Versus SR Rolls. I heknows both, he can only use the bonus rom one othem. I the attacker wins or the roll is a tie, the Bindstays in effect; i the deender wins, he breaks the

Bind and the fight can resume normally.

I the attackerwins another, immediate SR Roll (which takes notime but may only be attempted once per Phase),he may also elect to shove his opponent back 1”,maintaining the Bind, as long as there’s room or thedeender to move backwards; i the attacker ails ormerely ties this second SR Roll, he may not do this.

On each o the Bound character’s Phases, bothcharacters again roll the SR Versus SR Rolls, asbeore. Tis takes the Bound character a Hal Phase;resisting an attempt to escape the Bind is an actionwhich takes no time. Te Bound character can ollowhis attempt to escape with an attack or movement. (I

the weapon remains Bound, the character cannot useit in an attack.) Te deender can also break a Bindautomatically by moving 1” backward in one o hisPhases.

While the characters remain Bound together,they may still talk, attack with their ree hands (iany), and so orth. Tey are at their normal OCVand DCV against one another, but the Bound char-acter is at ½ DCV against attacks rom third parties,while the attacker is at ull DCV against attacks romthird parties.

Block

Don’t orget the visual element o the combatyou’re describing. A Block is a Block, but visually itcan be any number o things. A martial artist canBlock a punch or weapon by catching the incomingwrist on his own wrist or orearm; he can Block akick by using the orearm or a counterkick; he canBlock a sword attack by clapping the incoming bladebetween his two hands (a popular technique in themovies).

Blocking and Missile DeflectionIn martial arts-oriented campaigns, Blocks can

aid Missile Deflection in some ways. (Gamemastersmay apply these rules in other types o campaigns i

they wish.)■ I the GM permits, a character can use his MartialBlock maneuver with his Missile Deflection insteado his normal Block, thereby gaining the MartialBlock’s CV bonuses with his Missile Deflection.

■ I a character has Missile Reflection defined ascatching a weapon and immediately throwing it back,he can instead just catch the weapon. He may thenuse it himsel or throw it on a later Phase. Trowing iton a later Phase constitutes an Attack Action, not as acontinuation o his Missile Reflection.

■Weapons which have large striking suraces (likewar ans and shields) can add their OCV bonuses

COMBATMANEUVERS

BINDS INFANTASY HERO

In Fantasy Hero,Weapon Bind is a Stan-dard Combat Maneuverwhich any charactercan use. Tis is becauseweapons-based combat(particularly sword-play) is a much morecommon aspect o an-tasy games than o other

genres. You might con-sider making WeaponBind a ree maneuver inother sorts campaignseaturing requent useo weapons. Or, i youpreer more consistencyrom genre to genre, youcan remove WeaponBind rom the list oree maneuvers availableto Fantasy Hero charac-ters. Reer to ConvertingMartial Arts Maneuverso Standard Maneuversor more inormation.



Hero Games

to the Missile Deflection Block attempt.

Blocking For Someone ElseA character can Block or someone else — or

example, to try to deend an injured or deenselessperson rom an attacker. o do this, he must bein range o either the attacker or the target with ahand-to-hand weapon. I the weapon is Short orMedium, he must be in the same hex or an adjacenthex to either; i the weapon has a range o 1” or

more, he must be within that range. He perormsthe Block at a -2 OCV, as usual against the attacker’sOCV. I it succeeds, he Blocks the attack.

See also the rules or Interposing in theCombat Modifiers, Special Cases, And OptionalRules section o this chapter.

Blocks Combined With Other ElementsSome maneuvers, such as Deensive Trow

and Grappling Block, combine Block with a Non-Exclusive Basis such as Grab or Trow. Since thesemaneuvers have an offensive or aggressive aspect tothem, a character cannot Abort to them (even i hewants to use just the Block part o the maneuver).

Choke HoldChoke Hold’s Grab element Grabs one limb

— the head. Tus, a character in a Choke Hold can’tspeak or shout. Tis is why it’s a preerred tech-nique or taking out guards.

A character who renders a target unconsciouswith a Choke Hold can kill him by continuing toapply the maneuver. Once the target alls uncon-scious, a maintained Choke Hold inflicts 1 BODYper Phase (the only deense against this is notneeding to breathe). (See the Holding Breath andDrowning rules rom the HERO System 5th Edition,

Revised , page 424.)A character may make a Choke Hold one-

handed, using the usual rules or Grabbing withonly one hand (see below under Grab). Tis onlyaffects the SR o the Grab part o the maneuver; itstill does 2d6 NND(2).

For more inormation about martial artsNNDs, reer to Nerve Strike, below.

CoverIn martial arts movies, charac-

ters seem to be able to break out obeing Covered with considerableease; it doesn’t require a distractionor a momentary lapse on the Coveringcharacter’s part to effect this. Tereore,in martial arts campaigns (but not other sorts ocampaigns, unless the GM permits), a charactercan make an attack (usually a Disarm) while Cov-ered, without the Covering character going first,under the ollowing circumstances:

■ i he has Fast Draw and makes his roll bymore than the Covering character makeshis Sight Group PER Roll;

■ i he has Sleight O Hand and makeshis roll by more than the Covering character makes

his Sight Group PER Roll; or

■ i he makes a DEX Roll by more than the Cover-ing character makes his DEX Roll.

Beore attempting to break the Cover, the char-acter must decide which o the three methods touse. I he ails his roll, the character Covering himcan choose to attack him with the Covering attack.

DisarmRemember, Disarms aren’t automatically suc-

cessul when the Disarming character succeedswith his Attack Roll. As soon as he makes his roll tohit, he must make a SR Versus SR Roll with his victim. I the attacker rolls higher or the rolls tie,the Disarm succeeds; i the victim o the Disarmwins the contest, he keeps hold o the weapon.

wo optional rules may apply to Disarms ithe GM wishes. First, a character attacked with aDisarm while completely unaware o the attackonly gets his Casual SR (hal his normal SR) toresist the Disarm. Second, characters with Disarms

can use the maneuver’s SR bonus to resist beingDisarmed. Tis option prevents encers and similarcharacters rom constantly Disarming each other.

Disarming wo-Handed WeaponsIt’s a little more diffi cult to Disarm a two-

handed weapon than a weapon held in one hand. Acharacter trying this should take a -2 OCV penaltyon his Disarm. Alternately or in addition, the targetgets +5 SR in the SR Versus SR Roll to keephold o his weapon.

Disarming Incoming AttacksOfen a character delays his attack to Disarm

an incoming attack. Tis happens especially ofenwhen a character makes a Hal Move and then

Holds his Action, waiting or his attackerto reach him. But a Disarm versus an

incoming attack doesn’t automati-cally mean the character Disarms

REDEFINING BLO

Te basic Block man ver allows the characto avoid all damagerom a Hand-o-Hanattack and then go fiin the next Phase i bcombatants have the

next Phase in commI the GM preers, hecan redefine Blockslightly to allow diffeent combat dynamicTe ollowing are somsuggestions along thlines:

1) A Block deflects adamage rom an attabut does not let theBlocker go first in thnext Phase. Tis sorto Block is sometime

reerred to as an “actDodge.”

2) A Block deflects ho the damage rom attack, and allows thBlocker to go first innext Phase.

3) A Block deflects ho the damage rom attack, and does notallow the Blocker to first in the next Phas

4) A Block deflects ao the damage romone attack only, andprovides its DCVbonus against all othattacks that Phase. Inother words, charactcannot use Block toavoid successive attain the same Phase,

though they get DCV bonus r

the maneuv




his target beore the target hits him.o decide who goes first, have both parties

make a DEX Roll. I the Disarming character makesthe DEX Roll by more, he goes first. I he success-ully Disarms his opponent, the opponent doesn’tget his attack this Phase. I the Disarm misses ordoes not succeed, the opponent gets an attackthis Phase. I the attacker makes his DEX Roll bymore, he goes first and attacks beore the Disarm

attempt. I the Disarming character is not Stunnedor Knocked Out by the attack, he can then perormthe Disarm.

Trows are handled the same way: they don’tautomatically negate the incoming attack.

Flying KickSeveral styles, such as Kung Fu and ae

Kwon Do, have a flying kick o some sort asone o their maneuvers. In HERO System terms the flying kick is represented as aSacrifice Strike, not a Passing Strike, toachieve the necessary level o power (the

+v/5 element o the Passing Strike rarelyadds enough damage to equal the +4DC o the Sacrifice Strike). However, inSuperheroic games, where charactersofen have large amounts o movement,a Passing Strike might more accuratelyreflect this sort o attack.

Grab

CHANGES OGRAB

Te basic Grab

maneuver rom the HEROSystem 5th Edition, and MartialManeuvers built with the stan-dard Grab Opponent Element,only immobilize two o theGrabbed character’s limbs (o course,some targets have no limbs, so thisaspect o the maneuver is unimport-ant). Characters can buildmaneuvers that Grabsmore than two limbs,o course. I a character’sMartial Maneuver onlyGrabs one limb (like many joint-

locks), the basic Grab provides a distinct tacticaloption (the joint-lock probably has more SR orpurposes o Grabbing, but the Grab maneuverimmobilizes more limbs).

Available LimbsCharacters are considered to have five limbs:

two arms, two legs, and one head. Te head countsas a limb because a character can use it to attack(i.e., headbutt) an opponent close enough to Grabhim. Tus, to completely and totally immobilizesomeone adds 3 points to the cost o a MartialGrab-type maneuver. Joint-locks and similarattacks normally Grab one to two limbs, “pins” and

bearhug-type holds, such as those used in Wres-tling, may Grab three or more limbs. O course, acharacter can always choose to Grab ewer limbsthan the maximum allowed by his maneuver.

A character can Sweep a Grab maneuver toGrab more than the maneuver’s basic number olimbs. Each limb (or group thereo, i the maneuverimmobilizes two or more limbs at its basic level)counts as a separate attack.

Example: Okamura Hiromi is using her Jujutsu to fight a big, tough street thug wield-ing a pair o knives. She wants to capture him or interrogation. However, her Joint Lockmaneuver only immobilizes one limb (typi-

cally, one arm), leaving her vulnerable tobeing stabbed by the knie the thug is

carrying in his other hand. She also preers to prevent him rom kick-

ing her with his hobnail boots.

Since she has a 12 OCV and thethug only has a 5 DCV, Hiromidecides to try to Grab both o

his arms and one o his legs.Tis requires her to Sweep himwith her Joint Lock. Te JointLock immobilizes one limb, soeach additional limb counts asa separate target, imposing a -4 on each o her Attack Rolls.She rolls a 14, an 11, and a10, hitting all three times. Inthe space o but a second, shehas used her martial arts toalmost completely immobi-

lize the thug. Now shecan bear him to the

ground so he can’tstomp on her oot

with his ree leg.

Had Hiromi missed one oher rolls, no urther rollswould be allowed and allremaining target limbs

would have been reeto move.

Example: Suppose thethug in the above example

aces Strongarm, a low-level

“brick” superhero. Strongarmisn’t any more willing to be stabbed or stompedon by this miscreant than Hiromi was, eventhough he’s harder to hurt. Since a basic Grabimmobilizes two limbs, each additional twolimbs impose a cumulative -2 on each o his Attack Rolls. He decides to Sweep his Grab,so he can Grab the thug’s arms and legs. Tisimposes a -2 to both o his rolls, since the armscount as his first two limbs, and the legs as hissecond two limbs. He rolls a 7 and a 10, easilyhitting both times. Te thug is now trussed uplike a Tanksgiving turkey.

ROLEPLAYINGCOMBAT

As you read throughthis chapter, remembernot only the strategicaspects o the rules, butthe roleplaying aspectsas well. All too ofen

players and GMs lookat combat solely as anexercise in tactics, strat-egy, and power-gaming,but in act it has a lot orole-playing potential.

When using martialarts, you can best real-ize this potential i you“talk out” your battles asmuch as possible. Tissimply means describ-ing what your characterdoes in real-world terms

rather than just gameterms. “I hit him withmy Offensive Strike” isa lot less exciting than“I step to his side, pivot,and kick him hard inthe ribs!” Roleplayingcombat is un, adds animportant dimensionto the battle, and caneven result in sometactical bonuses — suchas when the GM likes amaneuver’s descriptionso much he awards aSurprise Move bonus tothe character.

When describing attacksthis way, you don’t haveto use Hit Locationpenalties. A player cansay, “Okay, I punch himin the head!” withouttaking a -8 OCV pen-alty. So long as the char-acter doesn’t receive thegame benefits o hittingsomeone in the Head(x2 BODY, x2 NSUN,and so orth), he doesn’t

suffer the penaltieseither. A “describedshot” to the Head doesordinary damage, it’sjust portrayed that wayto make the combatmore enjoyable. Ocourse, i the characterwants the extra damageor hitting his opponentin the Head, he can takethe -8 OCV penalty orhis attack in the usualway.



Hero Games

ACIONS WIH GRAB

In the HERO System 5th Edition, the Grabmaneuver allows you to do a couple o importantthings: Grab and Squeeze, or Grab and Trow.

We’re going to add to that list. Characters cannow perorm six possible actions with a Grab:

Grab and Block

Grab and Control

Grab and RedirectGrab and Shove

Grab and Squeeze

Grab and Trow A character can only perorm one o these

additional elements in a Phase. Having Grabbed atarget, the character cannot Block and Redirect inthe same Phase, or Squeeze and Trow, or any othercombination.

Grab And Block With this combination, a character Grabs

someone — and then, at any time while the Grab

is still in effect, Blocks an incoming attack with theGrabbed character’s body. o do this, he perormsthe Grab normally. I the Grabbed character doesnot immediately escape, the Grabber can perorma Block with his body. Roll the Block maneuver(or Martial Block maneuver) at a -2 to OCV. I itsucceeds, the Grabber has Blocked the attack; theGrabbed character takes the damage o the incom-ing attack. You can only Block this way once perPhase, unlike ordinary Blocks.

Tis is a very useul maneuver or PCs. But villains can also Grab and Block, and are ond odoing so with captured DNPCs and other inno-cents.

Grab And ControlWhen a character Grabs someone, he can also

attempt to Control that person, meaning turn the victim so he cannot attack the character as easily.o do this, he makes a SR Versus SR Roll withthe victim. (I this is immediately afer he Grabbedthe victim and the victim’s Phase hasn’t yet comeup, he does get a Casual SR roll.) I he rolls 2BODY more than the victim on the SR VersusSR Roll, he can turn the victim so the victimcannot strike him this Segment. o maintain con-trol, the character must make a similar roll on eacho his Phases.

Grab and Control is very good or subdu-ing someone a character wishes to speak to butnot hurt; it does the victim no harm and gives thecharacter a Phase or two to speak. A character canalso use Grab and Control to orce someone to theground without hurting him (to orce him to theground and do SR damage to him in the process,Grab and Trow them (see below).

Grab And RedirectRedirect ollows a Grab o someone’s weapon.

I a character Grabs a weapon, he may then makea SR Versus SR Roll to attack with it. I he suc-ceeds (i.e., he ties or betters the victim’s BODYtotal), he can attack the weapon’s wielder or a char-

acter in the same or an adjacent hex as the wielder.I his normal SR is enough to use the weapon,he doesn’t suffer an OCV penalty. However, heonly does the weapon’s base damage; because thewielder o the weapon resists him, the characterdoesn’t get to use any o his SR which exceeds theweapon’s SR Minimum to increase the damagedone by the weapon.

Grab And Shove

Once a character has Grabbed someone, hemay attempt to Shove the victim backwards. Hemakes a SR Versus SR Roll. I he succeeds, hemay shove the victim back a maximum o 1”. Hemoves with the victim and continues to hold on tohim as he does so.

A character may perorm this option evenafer he’s perormed a Hal Move and Grab/Shove.For example, a character with 7” o Running moves4” orward and Grabs his target successully. Hecan now elect to Shove his target back 1”, eventhough, at Phase’s end, he’s moved a total o 5”(more than his hal-move) and still perormed anattack.

Shoving does no damage to a target unless he’sshoved into a surace such as a wall; in that case,he takes the character’s SR damage. A SR 18character shoving a target into a wall will do 3½d6Normal Damage to that target. I the campaignuses Hit Locations, this is just generalized damage.

Anyone who Grabs can Shove. Tere’s alsoa special martial Shove maneuver which allows

GRABBING ANDCOMBAT VALUE

Perorming, or being victim o, a Grab affea character’s OCV anDCV. See page 256 othe HERO System 5th Edition or details.




characters to shove more effectively. Reer to Shove, below, or more details.

Grab And SqueezeGrab and Squeeze allows the character to do

his regular SR damage to the victim. I the cam-paign uses Hit Locations, a Grab maneuver hittingLocation 5 (the Head) both does extra damage(Head locations take 2x SUN and BODY romNormal Damage attacks) and cuts off the target’s

breath, making him unable to shout or talk (see therules above or Choke Holds). A Grab maneuverhitting Locations 3 and 4 does the extra damage,but doesn’t cut off the victim’s breath.

Grab And TrowGrab and Trow acts just as

described in the HERO System5th Edition. Te Grabber maychoose whether to main-tain the Grab afer theTrow (o course, i hethrows the victim a longdistance rather than simply

dashing him to the ground,he cannot maintain hishold). Reer to Trow, below,or more inormation onthrowing characters; the effectso a Grab and Trow usually matchthose o any other Trow in terms oeffect on placement in the combatorder in the next Phase, damagetaken, and so orth. However,because in many situations a Graband Trow has less “finesse” than aull-blown Martial Trow, theGM may rule that some o the

benefits o a Trow maneuver are not available whenusing Grab and Trow.

GRABBING ANDHI LOCAIONS

In theHERO System5th Edition, Grabimmobilizes the target’s arms and accessible Foci.Tat approach presumes the Grabbing charactereither specifies the arms as a target or does notspeciy any particular target.

Within the bounds o realism, characters canchoose which limbs to immobilize with a Grabmaneuver. With a standard Grab, the maneuveralmost always affects the two arms, but with a Mar-tial Grab just about any combination is possible.

Regardless o which limb the characterchooses as a target, Hit Location Attack Roll anddamage modifiers do not apply , just like with anymaneuver defined as specifically targeting a HitLocation. At the GM’s option, a character maysuffer penalties to a standard Grab maneuver i hetries to Grab anything other than the arms or thehead.

NUMBER OF HANDS REQUIREDO GRAB SOMEONE

Te basic Grab maneuver/element presumesthe character uses both hands. Grabs which onlyimmobilize one limb (i.e., which take the “OneLimb” restrictive element) only require one hand toperorm at ull SR.

I a character uses only one hand or a Grabrequiring two hands, he is at -5 SR, and can only

use hal o the SR bonus his Martial Maneuverprovides to Grab. But i he manages to hold on, hecan use his ree hand or other attacks.

Example: Ken the sumowrestler is SR

20. Heexecutes a

Sumo Grabon his

opponent ,but uses only

one hand, thebetter to pummel

his oe with the other. Kennormally uses his ull SR o

20 and gets a +10 SR rom theGrab maneuver. Butthis time, using onlyone hand, he getsonly SR 15 and+5 SR rom theGrab maneuver

(total o SR 20).

GRABBING AND WEAPONS

A Grabbed character finds itharder to use weapons. Depending

upon what limbs he has ree, hemay not be able to use any weapons

at all — i the Grabbed characteronly has a sword, and an attackerimmobilizes his sword-arm,he can’t use the sword (at least

not in that hand; i it’s possible to draw the swordwith his off-hand, he could try to use it with theusual off-hand penalties). Assuming weapons useis possible, a Grabbed character can use any Shortweapon at no additional penalty, any Mediumweapon at a -2 penalty to OCV, and any Longweapon at a -5 penalty to OCV.

Grab WeaponWhen one character Grabs another’s weapon

(whether with the Standard Grab Maneuver or aMartial Maneuver with the Grab Weapon element),this does not affect the DCV o either character.Te Grabbing character take no damage romtouching or grabbing hold o the weapon.

‘Existenceis infi-

nite, not to bedefined.’

—Lao Tzu,Tao Te Ching




Nerve Strike

DEFENSES FOR NERVE SRIKES

Te HERO System 5th Edition describes twobasic types o NND strikes and their possibledeenses: solid Armor (resistant PD) or a PDForce Field or Lack o Weakness or a Nerve Strike(“NND(1)”); solid Armor (resistant PD) on theneck or not having to breathe or a Choke Hold(“NND(2)”). Tese options are perectly accept-able or most campaigns, but can cause problemsin Superheroic campaigns or other games wherethose deenses are common (which makes themaneuvers useless).

I this problem exists in your campaign,there’s a twoold solution: first, define the deensesto a Nerve Strike better; second, offer more poten-tial deenses, so Nerve Strikes have some variety.As always, the GM has the final say on whatdeenses are acceptable. Here’s an expanded list opossible deenses, with explanations:

NND 1: Rigid resistant PD on vital areas or Lack

o WeaknessNND 2: Rigid resistant PD on the neck or nothaving to breathe

NND 3: Rigid resistant PD on a specific Hit Loca-tion

NND 4: Solid ear coverings

NND 5: Resistance

NND 6: PD Force Field or Power Deense

NND 7: Various deenses against joint-bending;see below

NND 1: Rigid resistant PD on vital areas or Lack

o Weakness: Te NND(1) deense requires thetarget to have solid, rigid resistant PD over his vital points. “Rigid” means a suffi ciently soliddeense to prevent the attacker rom being con-tacting the target’s vital points. Te stereotypical“bulletproo spandex” worn by many superheroesis not stiff enough or this purpose. Nor does thesuper-strong skin o most “brick” characters su-fice, since they still have nerve endings a trainedmartial artist can find and strike. A brick withtough “plates” in place o skin, or who transormsinto rock or metal, probably has “rigid” deenses,as does any brick who took Reduced Sense Oouch as a Physical Limitation because his super-

tough skin prevents him rom eeling thingsproperly. Suits o powered armor, kevlar backed byceramic or steel plates, PD Force Fields, and simi-lar types o resistant PD block this Nerve Strike, asdo most orms o Lack o Weakness (though not,or example, a Lack O Weakness defined as preventing the attacker rom seeing the weak points).

“Vital points” are particularly vulnerableplaces on the body. Tey include nerve clustersclose to the skin, places where an attack canquickly and easily cut off blood flow (such as theneck), places where vital organs are relatively closeto the skin, locations where an attack can easilyinterrupt the flow o ch’i throughout the body, and

so orth. In campaigns eaturing a wide variety ohumanoid species, such as some science fictionsettings, a martial artist may have to buy a Sci-ence Skill reflecting his knowledge o a particularspecies’s anatomy to use this type o Nerve Strikeagainst that species. An NND(1) may have noeffect, or reduced effect, on some species (particu-larly non-humanoid ones).

NND 2: Rigid resistant PD on the neck or not

having to breathe: Tis is the deense or ChokeHolds and other NND strikes which cut off thetarget’s ability to breathe. Te general commentsabout deenses appropriate or NND(1) apply hereas well.

NND 3: Rigid resistant PD on a specific Hit Loca-tion: NND(3) is the deense or a Nerve Strikewhich always targets a specific nerve cluster or vital point. Te character must define the targetpoint when he buys the Nerve Strike. As withother attacks targeting a particular Hit Location,such a strike should not receive any to-hit ordamage modifiers because o the location struck.

NND 4: Solid ear coverings: NND(4) is thedeense or a Nerve Strike defined as clappingone’s palms against the target’s ears, causing ter-rible pain (and sometimes disorientation). A “bul-letproo spandex” mask or super-strong skin offersno protection against this sort o attack; a helmet,earphone-like gadgets, or having no ears would.

NND 5: Resistance: NND(5) attacks cause somuch agony that only characters who can with-stand a high level o pain (i.e., who have boughtthe alent Resistance) have any deense againstthem. In some cases, unusual nervous systems andcertain other powers or abilities might also act asa deense against this NND.

NND 6: PD Force Field or Power Deense: NND(6) usually represents some sort o mystical,ch’i/ki-based ability to hurt a target by attack-ing his lie orce. Only a PD Force Field or PowerDeense offers enough protection to save someonerom this sort o attack.

NND 7: Deenses against joint-bending: Charac-ters use NND(7) to simulate the excruciating paincaused by maneuvers which bend or torque a jointin a way it’s not supposed to move. Te deensesagainst this include Resistance, having rigid armoron the joint in question which prevents improperbending, Powers with a similar effect (such as

Stretching), or SR (as a Characteristic or Exertmaneuver) double or more that o the SR usedto bend the joint. In some cases the alent Double- Jointed may have the same effect. Reer to thediscussion o joint-locks and similar maneuvers,above, or more inormation.

DISABLING NERVE SRIKES

Characters can use Nerve Strikes to tempo-rarily Impair or Disable a limb. Reer to the dis-cussion o Disabling Attacks in the Combat Modi- fiers, Special Cases, and Optional Rules section othis book.

VITAL POINTSAROUND

THE WORLD

Te body’s vital pointsare known in Japan askyusho (and an attackagainst those pointsis an atemi strike); in

China as tien-hsueh;in Korea as kuepso orkeupso; in Vietnam ashuyet ; in Indonesia asrahasia; and in India asmarman.

AVLDS

I you’re having troublemaking NND strikeseffective in your gamesafer using the othersuggestions offeredin this book, considerconverting the NNDdamage to AVLDdamage. Tis may havemajor effects on cam-paign balance, however,so treat such a changecareully and remainwilling to return to theold system i it becomes

too unbalancing or ine-ficient.



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WO OR MORE NERVE SRIKES

As described on page 265 o the HERO System5th Edition, Revised , characters should not normallyhave more than one NND attack (at least, not withoutGM permission). Gamemasters may want to considercareully whether a character should have more thanone Martial Maneuver with the NND DMG Element(including Choke Holds). In many cases, NND strikesare different enough that it doesn’t unbalance play or

a character to have more than one.

Partial ManeuversMany maneuvers have more than one Ele-

ment or “aspect.” In most cases it’s not necessaryor a character to use all aspects o a maneuver— he can use only those aspects he wants to. Forexample, a Reversal allows a character to Escapea Grab, and then Grab the person who Grabbedhim. A character with this maneuver does not haveto perorm the Grab i he doesn’t want to; he cansimply Escape, and then end his maneuver at thatpoint. Another good example is the Joint Lock/

Trow, which involves Grabbing the target’s limband bending it to orce the target to the ground. Acharacter doesn’t have to use either the “NND” orthe “Trow” aspects o this maneuver i he preersnot to. (O course, an attack or maneuver which“Must Follow” a particular maneuver or which isa “Response” to a maneuver cannot be used on itsown.)

However, sometimes one element acts as a“prerequisite” or another. An example here is theChoke Hold maneuver — a character cannot usethe “NND” element o this maneuver without firstusing the “Grab” element. Te GM is final arbi-ter over whether an element has to be used in a

maneuver.

RootCharacters use the Root maneuver to counter

the Shove maneuver (see below). Use the SR roma Root to calculate the total SR opposing a Shove.O course, i the character resists the Shove suc-cessully, he does not move at all, and the characterattempting the Shove is lef looking oolish.

Note, however, that Root also has the “Block”element. Tis is just another way o defining theresistance to being Shoved: i the character Blocks

the Shove, it has no effect on him at all. Te specialeffect in this case is “immovability,” not the typi-cal block associated with most martial arts — theShover has struck the Rooted character solidly, buthas not moved him! I the Block ails, the charactercan still use the extra SR rom the Root to resistShove. In most cases, the GM should not allowcharacters to use the Block element o the Rootmaneuver to Block attacks other than Shoves, butthis depends upon the situation.

Characters with the Root maneuver may addits SR to their own when they brace to resistKnockback (HERO System 5th Edition, Revised , page421).

ShoveTe discussion o “Grab And Shove,” above,

generally applies to the Shove maneuver as well.However, Shove offers several additional benefits.First, when using Shove, a character does not haveto Grab his opponent, which can be time-consum-ing and potentially dangerous.

Second, a character using Shove can propelhis target back more than 1”, and does not have

to move with him. For every 10 SR in the Shovemaneuver, a character can push a target back 1”;thus, at even its lowest level a Shove moves itstarget back 2”. A Shoved character can make a DEX,Breakall, or Acrobatics roll (his choice) at -1 orevery point by which the Shoving character madehis Attack Roll to all down at any point during his“move.” Tis eliminates any urther movement andhalves the damage the Shove would have caused.However, the allen character is at the same disadvantage as a Trown character — the Shoving char-acter gets to attack him first on their next Phase (ithey both have their next Phase in the same Seg-ment), regardless o relative DEX.




Te third advantage to Shove is that the extraSR o the maneuver not only adds to the distancea character can move his target, it adds to anydamage he does i he shoves the target into a solidobject. Te target cannot take more dice o damagethan the (DEF+BODY) o the object he hits (justlike Knockback).

Te ourth advantage to Shove is that a char-acter can use it on more than one target at a time,

in two ways. First, an attacker can Shove one targetinto another target, causing damage to both o them.Te attacker needs to make a separate Attack Rollto hit the second target; any OCV bonuses boughtwith the Shove maneuver do not apply to hitting thesecond target.

Second, in some instances a character can usehis Shove maneuver on several characters simul-taneously — or example, when he’s holding a staffand several thugs grab it and he Shoves all o themoff o him. In this sort o situation, the Shovingcharacter uses his base SR plus Shove maneuverbonus SR. o calculate the combined SR o thecharacters resisting the Shove, determine their lifing

capacity, based on the Strength able on page 34 othe HERO System 5th Edition, Revised . Add their lif-

ing capacities together, then use that figure and theStrength able to determine their combined SR orthe purpose o resisting a Shove.

Example: Tree thugs attack Cheng Fei, a prac-titioner o ai Ch’i Ch’uan. Cheng gets his ore-arm between himsel and the three thugs as theytry to knock him down, so he decides to pushthem away rom him, using his Shove maneuver;he has SR 40 or this purpose. Te thugs have

SRs o 10, 15, and 10. Teir lifing capacitiesare 100, 200, and 100 kilograms, respectively, ora total o 400 kg. Tis equals SR 20 or purposes o resisting Shove. Cheng rolls 9 BODYon his dice, the thugs roll 3 on theirs, so they’rethrown back 4” rom their intended target!

Standard M aneuversPlayers o martial artist characters sometimes

orget that their characters can still use the StandardManeuvers — the non-martial maneuvers describedon pages 383-98 o the HERO System 5th Edition,

Revised . Any player character who orgets or turnsup his nose at the Standard and Optional CombatManeuvers unnecessarily limits himsel. Mostbeginning martial artist characters won’t start thegame with Martial Maneuvers o every type... so amartial artist without Martial Grab should still usethe standard Grab, one without the Martial Disarmcan still use the standard Disarm, and one withoutthe Martial Dodge can still utilize the standardDodge. Tree-point Combat Skill Levels with a mar-tial arts style do not apply to Standard Maneuvers,but 5-point CSLs with Hand-o-Hand Combat do.

CONVERING MARIAL MANEUVERS O

SANDARD MANEUVERSIn some campaigns, the GM may wish to make

a Martial Maneuver (such as a kick or Bind) a Stan-dard Maneuver. Tere’s nothing wrong with this, i itdoesn’t unbalance the campaign and the GM keepstwo things in mind.

First, there should be some justification in real-ism or the genre or making a Martial ManeuverStandard. For instance, in Fantasy Hero WeaponBind is a Standard Maneuver, since weapons combatis such a prevalent part o that genre. Anotherexample is campaigns which allow any characterto perorm some sort o “kick” maneuver, on thegrounds that anyone can kick somebody else and do

more damage than a punch, it’s just not as easy aspunching them.

Second, Standard Maneuvers derived romMartial Maneuvers should never be as effective astheir martial counterparts, so characters who buyMartial Maneuvers still benefit rom doing so. Forexample, a standard “kick” maneuver should imposeCV penalties a standard Strike does not, and shouldnot add as much damage as a comparable martialarts “kick” maneuver. As a good rule o thumb, aStandard Maneuver should cost about 0-1 pointswhen built using the Martial Maneuver construc-tion rules.

Players should also remember that liberal



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application o special effects can “convert” a Stan-dard Maneuver into a Martial Maneuver. Forexample, you could define a Grab and Trow as a

“ootsweep” or “takedown” o some sort.

SweepTe Sweep maneuver is very useul in martial

arts combats. Characters can use it to simulate awide variety o unusual and colorul attacks againstmultiple oes.

Characters can perorm Sweeps with non-damaging maneuvers as well as damaging ones.Sweeps are especially effective (and flashy) whencombined with Martial Maneuvers like Legsweep,Martial Trow, Flying ackle, and Disarm.

A character can perorm a Sweep PassingStrike (or other maneuver with the “FMove” ele-ment), even i all the targets do not occupy hexesadjacent to him. However, all targets must occupyhexes adjacent to one another, and must be in somesort o relatively straight line so he can get a cleanshot at each o them.

A character can only perorm a SweepingChoke Hold, Crush, akeaway, or Bind on two tar-gets. Each attack requires a hand, and the martialartist only has two. (A martial artist with ExtraLimbs could Sweep these maneuvers on more thantwo opponents, at the GM’s discretion.) Grabbingthe heads o two opponents and banging them

together constitutes Sweeping a Grab and Crush.Generally, a character can only perorm a

Sweeping Martial Grab on two targets. Te excep-

tion is when the character tries to Grab more thanone o a single target’s limbs, as detailed aboveunder Grab. In that situation, a martial artist mayattempt to Sweep as many limbs as he wants; thisreflects his ability to tangle an enemy up so he can’tuse his limbs properly.

Sweep does not work with maneuvers suchas Root and Escape (which are not attacks), Crushor any other attack with the Follow Element (theSweep would have to be perormed with the origi-nal attack, such as the Grab part o a Crush), andShove (which a character can already use on severalpeople at once, reer to Shove, above).




TakeawayVisually, a akeaway can look as rough as

grabbing a weapon and yanking it out o the target’shand, or can be more elegant, resembling a Disarmin which the weapon flies out o the target’s handand into the attacker’s. In any event, the attackingcharacter takes no damage rom the weapon whenhe takes it away.

When a character perorms a akeaway, he canimmediately toss the weapon to someone or handit to a character in his hex or an adjacent hex as anAction which takes no time. ossing the weapon atsomeone to hurt or even distract him constitutes anattack, so he can’t do it until his next Phase.

Throw

DAMAGE FROM HROWS

Te damage a character takes rom a Trowdepends in part on the surace he lands on. Tesurace also modifies the Breakall roll the charac-

ter can make to only take hal damage (see accom-panying table). Tese penalties are cumulative; anextremely hard, uneven surace (say, a sidewalkwith a lot o broken bricks and trash lying around)adds +4d6 damage and imposes a -4 to the target’sBreakall roll.

Remember that the Breakall roll to halve thedamage taken rom a all also suffers a penalty o

-1 per 2d6 o damage the Trow does. Neither thatmodifier nor the ones described in this chart applyto a Breakall roll made simply to stand up withouttaking a Hal Phase.

HROWING DISANCE

Normally a Trown character lands in theattacker’s hex or an adjacent hex. However, a targetcan be thrown urther, depending upon the char-acter’s SR. Trowing a target urther away romyou does not add to the damage done by the Trowmaneuver. Consult the SR able and the Trow-ing able, on pages 34-35 o the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised , or urther inormation; a humanor other living creature is an unbalanced, non-aero-dynamic object.

Example: “Bull” Robinson is a SR 20 wrestlerwho wants to use his Slam maneuver to Trowhis opponent out o the ring. According to theSR able, it requires 10 SR to lif a man, leav-ing Bull 10 points o SR or throwing purposes.Based on the Trowing able, he can throw hisopponent 4”. I he wants to hit something withhis opponent (say, an obnoxious an), he suffersa -4 penalty to the Range Modifier.

A characters can also increase the distance heTrows a character by subtracting damage rom theTrow. For every -1d6 o damage, he can Trow thetarget +1”. Tis reflects the way he uses his skill andhis opponent’s momentum to increase the distanceo the Trow rather than the damage the Trowdoes.

THROW M ODIFIERS TABLE

Surface Damage Breakfall

Sof (water, a cushion

or mat, extremely sofearth)

— -0 - +1

Average (carpeted floor,average earth or sand)

+1d6 -1

Hard (wooden or tilefloor, packed earth)

+2d6 -2

Extremely Hard (cementor asphalt, metal)

+3d6 -3

Evenness

Smooth or even surace(floor, most sidewalks)

— -0

Sloped surace (hillside,ramp)

— -0 to -1

Bumpy, uneven surace;cluttered surace (stairs,trash-strewn alley, rockyground)

+1d6 -1



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HROWS AND INCOMING AACKS

When you delay to Trow an incomingattacker, your Trow does not automatically prevent his attack. See the rules or Disarm, above.

RESISING HROWS WIH SKILLS

AcrobaticsA character may attempt to resist being

Trown i he has the Acrobatics Skill (this applies

to both Grab and Trow, and maneuvers with the“arget Falls” Element). As described on page 112,i the Trown character makes his Acrobatics rollat a -3 penalty, he keeps his eet. (Visually, he mayhave been thrown and somersaulted instantlyback to his eet, or have jumped above the attack-ing Legsweep, and so orth.) However, he stilltakes ull damage rom the attack (including sur-ace modifiers, as detailed in the accompanyingtable).

BreakallAs explained on page 113, a character can

make a Breakall roll to halve the damage taken

rom a all (he can also use Breakall to stand upwithout taking a Hal Phase, but that requires aseparate roll). He suffers a penalty o -1 per 2d6to the roll; i he ails the roll he takes ull damagerom the Trow. Additional penalties or the typeo surace are described in the accompanyingtable. Tese penalties do not apply to a Break-all roll made to stand up without taking a HalPhase.

RESISING HROWS WIH POWERS

Many Powers enable a character to resistmaneuvers built with the arget Falls Element. Apower which allows the character to resist being

thrown sometimes also prevents him rom takingdamage rom the maneuver. Tis works as ollows.

I the maneuver is one where the attacker’s impactknocks the target to the ground (such as Flyingackle and some Killing Trows), the target whouses Powers to resist being Trown still takes ulldamage.

I the maneuver is one where the attacker knocksthe target’s eet rom under him (such as Leg-sweep and akedown), the target who usesPowers to resist being Trown takes only haldamage rom the maneuver.

I the maneuver is one where the attacker levers,

unbalances, or redirects the target into hittingthe ground, and all the damage comes rom theimpact with the ground (maneuvers such asGrappling Trow, Martial Trow, and SacrificeTrow), the target who uses Powers to resist beingTrown takes no damage rom the maneuver.

ClingingWhen a martial artist uses a maneuver with

the arget Falls Element on a character withClinging, he must also roll and win a SR VersusSR Roll: his SR versus the SR o the target’sClinging. I he ails, the target does not all down.I he ties or wins, the target does all.

Density Increase, Growth, And Heavy argetsI the attacker’s Pushed SR (whether he’s

currently Pushing it or not) is inadequate to pickup the target, then his attack cannot Trow thetarget down. Te rule keeps human-strength char-acters rom Martial Trowing 700-ton mecha,or instance, but it applies to all situations usingMartial Trow maneuvers, not just those involv-ing Density Increase or Growth. Te GM has final

authority over which characters/objects are tooheavy or a martial artist to pick up and/or throw.Note the phrase “...the attacker’s Pushed SR

(whether he’s currently Pushing it or not)...” Tismeans a character can Martial Trow anything hecould pick up with his ully-Pushed SR, regardlesso how much SR he’s currently using. For instance,a SR 5 character in a Superheroic campaign couldPush his SR to 15 and pick up 200 kg; thereore,a SR 5 character could Martial Trow any targetweighing up to 200 kg. A SR 10 (i.e., normal)character could Martial Trow something weighingin at 400 kg — 880 pounds!

A character can build a Martial Trow-type

maneuver with a SR bonus rom the Exert basis,with the SR bonus applying not to increase thedamage done by the Trow but to add to the char-acter’s Trowing strength. Extra DC bought withthe martial art with such a maneuver would eitheradd to SR damage or to the Exert bonus, not toboth (the character must choose which aspect othe maneuver the Extra DC increase when he buysthem; he does not get to switch them around on anattack-by-attack basis).

Te GM can adjudicate the effects o theseTrowing rules as he sees fit; some campaign stylesmay call or characters to be able to Trow heavyobjects; some may not.

FlightCharacters can use Flight to resist Trows. I

the character is not currently flying, has his Flightpower available to him, and knows the attackis coming, he can use his Flight to resist beingTrown; he will not be Trown down. However, ihe’s already flying, he can’t do this; the attacker isalready using his Flight against him with the Trowmaneuver.

Knockback ResistanceI a character has any Knockback Resistance

and is prepared to use it (i.e., is not attacked romSurprise), he does not all when struck by Trow

maneuvers where the attacker’s impact knocks thetarget to the ground (such as Flying ackle andsome Killing Trows). However, all other Trowmaneuvers work normally on him.

Stretching; Shape ShifTrows may not work on characters with mal-

leable bodies — a character with Stretching, andsome orms o Shape Shif, simply manipulates or“moves” his body so the attacker cannot get lever-age to throw him. GMs should adjudicate this effecton a case-by-case basis.




This section includes some rules orcombat in unusual situations, as well assome new types o Combat Modifiers.In some cases, these rules supplement

the rules or environmental conditions on page 379o the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised . Te GMdecides whether to use these rules in his campaign.

BLINDED CHARACTERSAND M ARTIAL ARTS

As you know, when blinded, a character is at ½

DCV, ½ OCV in Hand-o-Hand Combat, and 0 OCVwith Ranged Combat; i he can make a PER Roll witha Nontargeting Sense, then he is only -1 DCV, ½ OCVin Hand-o-Hand, and ½ OCV at range.

However, when a character Grabs anothercharacter, he gets a bonus in hand-to-hand combat.Grabbing and holding onto another character auto-matically gives the attacker a successul PER Rollwith a Nontargeting Sense (ouch) against that oe.However, he’s still at ½ DCV against the person hehas Grabbed.

In other words, i a blinded character canGrab his oe, he’ll be only at -1 OCV and ½ DCVwhen fighting his opponent. He’s at 0 OCV againstanyone he’s not Grabbing, and is at 0 DCV at range.

BOUND CHARACTERSAND M ARTIAL ARTSWhen a martial artist is bound, he suffers OCV

and DCV penalties.

Hands Bound in Front: Te character is at -1 DCV,and is at -1 OCV or all Hand-o-Hand attacks andCombat Maneuvers (including Martial Maneuvers).Te GM may rule that he cannot use certain weap-ons (such as bows).

Hands Bound in Back: Te character is at -1 DCV,and is at ½ OCV or all Hand-o-Hand attacks andCombat Maneuvers (including Martial Maneuvers).

Te GM may rule that he cannot use any handweapons or punching maneuvers.

Feet Bound Apart: Te character is at -1 DCV,and his running speed is cut in hal. He is at -1OCV because he cannot move in on his oe as astas normal. (Tis OCV minus is eliminated i heis Grabbing his opponent; see Grab, above.) FeetBound Apart means they are shackled togetherwith chains which allow the character a very short,hobbled stride (usually one to two eet). Te GMmay rule that the character cannot use any kickingmaneuvers (except through use o Acrobatics, orwhen kicking rom a prone position).

Feet Bound ogether: Te character is at ½ DCV, andhis running (hopping) speed is reduced to 1” perPhase. He is at ½ OCV because he moves in on hisoe so slowly. (Tis OCV minus is eliminated i he isGrabbing his opponent; see Grab, above.) Te GMmay rule that the character cannot use any Kickingmaneuvers (except through use o Acrobatics, orwhen kicking rom a prone position).

Combinations: Tese modifiers are cumulative. wo-1 modifiers means a ½ multiplier to the CV, andtwo ½ multipliers or a ½ and a -1 mean a 0 CV.

For example, a character with his hands boundin ront and his eet bound apart is at ½ OCV, ½DCV, and hal running speed. A character with his

SPECIAL CASES ANDOPTIONAL RULES



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hands bound in back and his eet bound together isat 0 OCV, 0 DCV, and cannot run (though i he isable to get up, he can hop at 1” per Phase; the GMshould require a DEX roll at -3 or an ordinary Acro-batics roll to stand up unassisted, and one DEX orAcrobatics roll per Phase o hopping).

Acrobatics Skill: A character with Acrobatics cannegate the effects o being bound or each Phase hesuccessully makes his Skill Roll. I the character’s

hands are bound in ront, he receives a -1 to Acro-batics; i his hands are bound in back, he receives a-3; i his eet are bound apart, he receives a -2; i hiseet are bound together, he receives a -5; and com-binations o the above are cumulative (i.e., handsbound in back and eet bound together mean a -8).Each Phase the character makes his Acrobatics roll atthe listed penalties; i he succeeds, he can ignore theOCV and DCV penalties o his bound state duringthat Phase.

Contortionist Skill: Contortionist, o course, allows acharacter to slip out o bonds. Also, i the characterhas missed his Contortionist roll to slip his bonds,but the situation warrants (i.e., the GM says it’s pos-sible), the character with Contortionist can change“hands bound in back” to “hands bound in ront” bycontorting his bound wrists over his legs.

CASUAL STRENGTHVERSUS BARRIERSIn martial arts films, characters ofen punch or

thrust through a door, wall, or even roo to stab theassassin on the other side. Tis can already be donein the HERO System, but it’s not as effective as inthe martial arts films, because the DEF and BODY

o the intervening surace reduce the damage doneby the attack.You can use this optional rule: i the charac-

ter’s Casual Strength attack (hal the character’sStrike damage or hal his weapon damage, modifiedby hal his SR) does enough to penetrate a barrier,the barrier does not reduce the damage his attackcauses.

Example: David Li knows his opponent is onthe other side o the door. He cannot see his oeand so attacks at ½ OCV; however, his oe istrying to be still and stealthy, and does not seethe attack coming, so he is at 0 DCV. David’s Attack Roll succeeds. His SR is 15, and his

Offensive Strike (kick) adds 4d6, or a total o7d6; thereore hal o that is 3½d6. Te GMrules the door has 2 DEF, 2 BODY. Davidrolls his 3½d6, coming up with 4 BODY, justenough to get through. David can do his ullKick damage to his unseen oe.

CONCEALED WEAPONSAND GADGETS

Te Concealment rules rom the HEROSystem presume you’re concealing Obvious,Accessible Foci, and require a PER Roll versus

Concealment roll (with various modifiers) to detectthe object. But many o the weapons built or mar-tial artist characters (the “Concealed” versions othe weapons in the Weapons section o this book)are built as Inobvious Accessible Foci. Toughthey’re in “plain sight” most o the time, they’reeither artully built into another object, or cleverdecoration or construction cleverly disguise theirtrue purpose.

Te Inobvious part o the Focus Limitationcorresponds to a Concealment “Skill” o 13- (11-base roll, +2 or the act that the weapon is builtinto an object); extremely well made concealedweapons may merit higher Concealment “Skills.”Tereore, when someone tries to spot an Inobvi-ous (or concealed) object, that person makes a PERRoll against the object’s Concealment roll in a SkillVersus Skill Contest. A successul roll only reveals




that there’s something unusual in the constructiono the item; the perceiving character has to perorma hands-on search with another PER Roll versusConcealment Roll contest to open the weapon upor determine what it does.

Naturally, once the Inobvious weapon isused as such, it’s no longer Inobvious. When youpull your ninja-to out o its sheath disguised as a vacuum cleaner, the other ellow doesn’t have tomake a PER Roll to realize what it is; its unction isnow obvious.

CRITICAL HITSWarning: These critic al hits rules, if added to acampaign, make combat more dangerous andunbalancing. The GM should only add them tohis campaign if he wants unpredictable andlethal combats.

A “critical hit” is a blow so accurate it does alot o extra damage. One occurs when a character’sroll to hit is less than hal o what he needed to hitthe target.

Example: An OCV 6 character strikes at aDCV 5 character. He needs a 12 or less to hit.o critical, he needs less than a (12/2) 6 to hit— i.e., he must roll a 5 or below.

Example: An OCV 7 character strikes at aDCV 5 character. He needs a 13 or less to hit.o critical, he needs less than a (13/2) 6.5 to hit— he must roll a 6 or less.

I a character makes a critical hit, he does max-imum damage or the attack. Tereore, a KillingAttack 2d6 does 12 BODY. An 8d6 Normal Damage

attack does 48 SUN, 16 BODY. A 2d6 NND attackdoes 12 SUN.I the campaign uses the Hit Location rules, a

Killing Attack does the normal SUN Multiplieror the location; 12 BODY to the Vitals correspondsto 48 SUN, or instance. I those rules are not inuse, a Killing Attack does the maximum possibleSUN; i the SUN Multiplier is 1d6-1, as withmost Killing Attacks, then 12 BODY corresponds to60 SUN.

Characters may only do critical hits to livingtargets. Critical hit results against targets like doors,walls and cars are ignored (it would be ar too easyto get a critical hit on a DCV-0 door, or instance).

DISABLING ATTACKSSometimes a character benefits most in

combat not by doing raw SUN to an opponent

but by disabling or weakening him so he fights lesseffectively, making it easier to deeat him. In theHERO System, there are our ways to attack to dis-able. Also reer to the rules on breaking limbs onpage 412 o the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised .

SANDARD IMPAIRING AND DISABLINGRULES

Te first is to do enough damage to a limbto Impair or Disable it, as described in the HEROSystem 5th Edition, Revised , pages 416-17. Tis ormo Disabling usually results rom an attack which,though not specifically intended to disable, doesenough damage to Impair/Disable the area anyway.

Attacks o this sort suffer the standard Attack Rolland damage modifiers or the location struck (buto course, the damage modifier does not matter orpurposes o determining whether a limb has beenImpaired or Disabled).

Te advantage to using this orm o disablingattack is that it’s likely to result in long-termImpairment or Disablement. Te drawbacks are theAttack Roll and damage modifiers, and the possibil-ity o severely injuring the target.

HE DISABLE ELEMEN

Te second way is to buy a Martial Maneuverwith the Disable Element. Maneuvers o this sort

are specifically intended to target limbs, and do notsuffer either to-hit or damage penalties or the loca-tion targeted.

A Disable-based attack makes it easy to Impairor Disable a limb, or even to break or destroy one.On the other hand, characters can normally onlyuse an attack with the Disable Element or that onepurpose, and it may be too severe in some situ-ations. Characters should consider Pulling theirPunch or using ewer dice in situations where too



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much damage to a limb will have inappropriate orundramatic consequences.

DISABLING NERVE SRIKE

Te third way to disable a limb is to use aNerve Strike to temporarily Impair or Disable it.o Impair a location, the SUN done by the blowmust equal or exceed the target’s BODY score,either beore or afer modifiers or the Hit Location.I a character has 12 BODY, the Nerve Strike mustinflict 12 SUN. o Disable a location, the SUNdone by the blow must equal or exceed 2x thetarget’s BODY score, either beore or afer modifiersor the Hit Location. I a character has 10 BODY,the Nerve Strike must inflict 20 SUN.

Nerve Strike disabling attacks suffer the stan-dard Attack Roll penalties or the area they areaimed at.

Te precise effects o the Impairing or Dis-abling blow are listed on the accompanying table.O course, a character can make no attacks with adisabled limb.

Impairing and Disabling results rom a NerveStrike do not last very long. o determine how longthey do last, roll 1d6 and consult the Nerve StrikeImpairing/Disabling ime able.

Te advantage o using a disabling NerveStrike are that the opponent suffers no permanentinjury. Te drawback is the temporary nature o theImpairment/Disability.

DECLARED DISABLING AACKS

Te ourth and final way to disable a limb isthe Declared Disabling Attack (DDA). Tis attack,in effect a new Combat Maneuver, is entirely

optional and is subject to GM approval — it’s a“caution sign” ability.

A DDA allows a character to declare that aparticular hand-to-hand attack will be a disablingattack (at the GM’s option, this might require aDEX roll or other Skill Roll). Te attack suffersthe usual Attack Roll modifiers or that particulartarget. I the attack hits, convert the BODY damagerolled on the dice into Phases o Impairment: onePhase or each BODY rolled. Te target takes theSUN rolled as normal, with the standard modifi-ers or Hit Location. Tus, a DDA doesn’t cause anyreal injuries, but does hamper a character signifi-cantly or a short but crucial period o time.

At the GM’s option, an especially high DDABODY roll may Impair the limb or a longer time:the entire combat, the rest o the day, or whateverseems appropriate and dramatic. Alternately, itmight do some actual BODY to the limb.

Example: Jean-Claude, a savateur, realizes heneeds to weaken his opponent Francois beorehe can get in a really telling blow. He decidesto use his coup de pied bas (low kick) to targetFrancois’s right knee with a DDA. His normal10 OCV will suffer a -6 penalty or targeting theLegs. I he hits he will do normal SUN damageto his target, with the x½ modifier, and the

BODY he does will become Phases o Impair-ment. He rolls a 5 and hits! He does 8 BODYand 29 SUN. Francois has 10 PD; his right legbecomes numb and useless or 8 Phases, and healso takes 4 SUN ([29 x ½] - 10). Te GMrules Francois’s movement is reduced by hal,he’s at -2 DCV, and he cannot perorm severaltypes o kicks because o his Impairment.

DISGUISING DAMAGESometimes a character wants to “disguise” the

sort o damage he’s doing — usually to keep Kill-

ing Damage rom looking like Killing Damage, soonlookers won’t suspect the level o orce he’s usingon his opponent. Another possible use is to make aNerve Strike look like a Normal Damage attack, soobservers don’t know the pacifistic attacker is reluc-tant to use more damaging maneuvers.

o do this, the attacker must make his AttackRoll at -1 OCV or every 2 Damage Classes in theattack — thus, an HKA 2d6 would impose a -3penalty. I the Attack Roll succeeds, the target takesthe damage in the usual method or that type odamage, but to anyone else observing the attack, itlooks like a Normal Damage attack.

I the GM allows characters to buy Power

DISABLING RESULTS TABLEArea Effect Of Disabling Attack

Head arget is conscious, butunable to act, and at ½ DCV

Hands, Arms,Shoulders arget loses use o limb

rom that point down; any-thing in his grasp is dropped

Chest, Stomach Character cannot takeRecoveries and is at -2 OCVand -2 DCV

Vitals arget is conscious, butnearly paralyzed; he’s at hal

movement, ½ OCV, and ½DCV

Tighs, Legs, Feet arget loses use o limbrom that point down; he’s athal movement and ½ DCV

NERVE STRIKE IMPARING/

DISABLING TIME

1d6 Time Condition Lasts

1 1 Phase

2 2 Phases

3 1 urn

4 1 minute

5 5 minutes

6 1 hour or more (GM’s option)




Advantages or Martial Maneuvers (see page 104),you can also achieve this effect without the OCVpenalty by buying a +¼ Invisible Power Effects Advantage or the maneuver you want to disguise.Te character could take a Requires A DEX Roll (-½) Limitation on the Advantage i the GM desires.

HEALINGTis is an optional rule or campaigns in which

characters find themselves nicked to death beoreever reaching the story’s climax. I this is happeningand you don’t like it, use this rule:

In combat, characters should keep track not just o how much BODY they lose, but to whichattacks. Instead o just saying “I’ve lost 7 BODY,” aplayer needs to be able to say, “I took three blows,one doing 1 BODY, one doing 2 BODY, and onedoing 4 BODY.”

Characters with PS: Doctor or KS: ChineseHealing (or other ethnic healing KSs, but not Para-medics) can cure a little BODY damage rom eachwound. Te character rolls his PS: Doctor or KS:

Chinese Healing Skill once or each wound. Foreach successul roll he makes, the character regains1 BODY rom that wound. Each wound may onlybe treated once, and may not regain more than 1BODY rom this treatment.

Te treatment o each wound takes a minute or

two per wound and requires bandages o some sort;even a wound defined as a nasty bruise should betaped up and supported. Tus, the rule is not useulto characters during combat... only aferwards.

HINDERINGCIRCUM STANCES AND

MARTIAL ARTSNot every fight takes place when the characteris at his best on clear, level ground. Tis sectionoffers some guidelines on determining the effects o various hindering circumstances to supplement therules in Chapter wo o the HERO System 5th Edi-tion, Revised .

In many cases, a character can eliminate theeffects o hindering circumstances i he succeedswith a roll or a particular Skill. He must make suchSkill Rolls each Phase; i he ails a roll he’ll sufferwhatever penalties are involved or that Phase. Teappropriate Environmental Movement alent alsoeliminates some or all o the penalties associatedwith hindering circumstances.

ARMOR

Most martial arts styles aren’t designed or usewhile the fighter is wearing armor — armor ofenimpedes a fighter’s ability to move and to see, which

robs a martial artist o many othe benefits o his fighting style.I orced to use his martial artsin armor, a character may sufferthe standard DCV penalty orwearing armor (see the HEROSystem 5th Edition, Revised , pages379 and 487-88, or more inor-mation), and always suffers a -1to -3 penalty to OCV. Te extento this penalty depends on theamount and type o armor, andthe character’s fighting style(some styles, such as Wrestling,adapt more easily to armor thanothers). For example, ull platearmor would impose a -3 to justabout any style, whereas a chainmail shirt might only impose a-1 to -2 on most styles.

o eliminate this OCV pen-alty, characters need only buy a1-point Element or their martialarts style, Use Art in Armor . oeliminate the DCV penalties,characters can buy Penalty SkillLevels or CSLs with DCV.

Styles specially intended oruse by armored fighters (such asKenjutsu or Weapons Combat)do not require their practitionersto purchase this Element; it’s a“deault” Element o that style.

CLIMBING




WAER

Penalties or fighting underwater or in waterare described on page 379 o the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised . Te GM may restrict maneuverscharacters can use in such circumstances; kicks, orexample, are ofen harder or impossible.

HIT LOCATIONSSome HERO System GMs dislike Killing

Damage weapons in their campaigns because theydon’t put victims down with even the spotty regu-larity o real-world weapons.

Tat’s a air criticism. Te HERO System waswritten and developed to simulate heroic action.Tat means characters can take a lot o damage andkeep going. A GM can use the Disabling/Impairingrules to get around this, but those rules are a littlecomplicated.

But it’s easy to institute a simpler fix. I youwant Killing Damage weapons to do more damage,but don’t want to use the Disabling/Impairing rules,or (worse) have to change all the damage dice orweapons, try this simple tactic instead: double theBODYx Column o the Hit Location Chart or Kill-ing Damage attacks.

With this approach, the Head and Vital loca-tions have a BODYx multiple o x4, instead o x2,with Killing Damage only (Normal Damage wouldstill use x2). Hands, Arms, Legs and Feet would bex1 instead o x½, and Shoulders, Chest, Stomach,and Tighs would be x2 instead o x1. Tis makesKilling Damage weapons much more earsome, butyou don’t have to fiddle with the damages listed orweapons in all Hero Games rulebooks and supple-ments.

Tis approach is not recommended or martialarts-oriented campaigns, but it is appropriate or

gritty, “realistic” campaigns in which martial artssometimes appear.

IGNORING OPPONENTSIn the HERO System, it’s possible to run right

past and ignore an opponent standing in yourway, even i he’s delaying to hit you, and you won’tsuffer any sort o penalty. But that’s inappropriateor many martial arts campaigns. Te ollowingoptional rule corrects this problem:

I one character moves right past (i.e., throughthe same or an adjacent hex) a oe using a HeldAction to strike at him, the moving character has

only ½ his DCV against the attack.I the character moves right up to the ellow

waiting to attack him and stops there, or movespast in a Move Trough and attacks him, he keepshis normal DCV. Afer moving up to that hex andperorming a maneuver (Strike, Block, Dodge,anything) the character can continue on during hisnext Phase and suffers no DCV penalty... but hemust spend at least one Phase in conflict with hisenemy or he suffers the penalty.

INTERPOSING In the HERO System, it’s very diffi cult to deend

someone else. You can attack whomever is attack-ing him. Using the Block rules on page 142, you caneven Block some attacks made against him. You canDive or Cover in ront o damage coming at him,but that’s a desperation move: you’ll automaticallytake the damage he would have taken.

I you want to have a more aggressive (butdangerous) way to deend someone, you can use thisoptional rule (or Hand-o-Hand Combat only).Tese rules are complicated and not particularlyintuitive, so only GMs who have elt a particular

need or more “deend-someone-else” optionsshould introduce them into their campaigns.

o Interpose himsel into a fight, a charactermoves in between the attacker and the person hewants to deend. Ten he tells the GM what sort oa DCV penalty he wants to take. Every -1 he takesto his DCV is a +1 to his OCV i the attacker againattacks the person he’s deending. Te attackerknows this; he can tell what the character’s doingand the potential consequences. Te DCV pen-alty and OCV bonus apply only against that oneattacker; against all others, the character has hisusual OCV and DCV.

A character who doesn’t want to be deended

can cancel the Interpose attempt by moving 1” inthe direction o his attacker or otherwise declaringthat he chooses not to be deended. I the Interpos-ing character is aware o the decision, the Interpos-ing effects go away; he gets his ull DCV back. I theInterposing character is not aware o the decision,his DCV stays reduced... but he does not get anOCV bonus i the other ellow attacks the personthe character thinks he’s deending.

A character can Interpose to protect a doorwayor window, to keep someone rom getting throughit. I the attacking character tries to get past him, theinterposing character gets his OCV bonus.

INTERPOSINGEXAMPLE

Lt. Harry Cho triesto deend his injured partner, Mace, romthe attacks o anassassin. He movesbetween Mace andthe assassin, Interpos-ing himsel. He putshis Skill Levels intoDCV and has a baseDCV o 10; he optsto reduce it by 5, to5. Tis tells the assas-sin he’s going to haveto expose himselto Cho’s attack i heattacks Mace — Cho gets a +5 OCV onattacks against theassassin (which hecould use or a Blockor an offensive attack).His base OCV is 7; it’s12 versus the assassin

only, and only i theassassin attacks Maceinstead o him.



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KNOCKBACK ANDMARTIAL ARTS

Increasing KnockbackIn some source material, such as Japanese

animation, martial arts attacks ofen do tremen-

dous amounts o Knockback — much more thancharacters normally do with the regular HEROSystem rules, which restrict the amount o Knock-back rom martial arts attacks. I you want moreree-wheeling combat in your campaign, with lotso Knockback rom martial arts attack,you have several options. First, you canhave characters roll the standard 2d6,rather than the 3d6 dictated by theregular rules, to determine Knockbackrom Martial Maneuvers (or even 1d6).Second, you can encourage charactersto add the Double Knockback Advan-tage to their Martial Maneuvers (see

page 104) (perhaps even allowing char-acters to purchase Double Knockbackon their SR and apply it to all o theirMartial Maneuvers).

Lastly, you can work with a playerto decide that a particular maneuveralways does a set amount o Knockback(no roll necessary). Tis “ree Knock-back” usually shouldn’t exceed 3-5”, butit’s up to each GM to determine what’sappropriate and balanced or his cam-paign.

DecreasingKnockbackConversely, sometimes a character

wants to make sure he doesn’t do anyKnockback — such as when he’s usinga sequence attack (see below), or whenhe doesn’t want to risk knocking hisenemy off o a bridge and into the river,where he can escape.

As an optional rule, characters inthis situation can “pull” their Knock-back, similar to Pulling A Punch. Techaracter takes a flat -2 penalty to his

OCV, and i his attack hits, it does noKnockback at all.

PushbackPushback is a character’s ability

to shove an opponent away rom him.In some cases he does this to put somespace between himsel and his oe,but sometimes it has other advantages(such as slamming an opponent into awall or knocking him off a roo).

o use Pushback, a player tradesdamage or the possibility o doing

additional Knockback. Te player declares hisdesire to have his character make a Pushback attackinstead o a regular attack. I the attack hits, theplayer decides how much damage to trade off. Forevery 1 DC sacrificed, the attack does +2 BODYsolely or purposes o calculating Knockback. Visu-ally, the character may use an attack to “throw” anopponent away rom him, or project ch’i into anenemy to orce him away.

Example: wo karateka, Maeda and Egami, are fighting on a bridge over a deep gorge. MaedaTrows Egami, injuring him and putting himnear the edge o the bridge. Egami decides to ake




a serious injury rather than get to his eet andrisk being knocked off o the bridge by Maeda’snext attack. He makes his Acting roll by 3; Maedamisses his PER Roll and alls into Egami’s trap. Maeda leaps at Egami, planning to knock himoff the edge. Egami tries a Pushback attack tomove Maeda ar enough away rom him that hecan get up and move away rom the edge beore Maeda’s next attack. He uses his 10d6 side kick

and decides to sacrifice 5 DC or +10 BODY orKnockback purposes. He hits Maeda and rolls5d6 or damage: 17 SUN and 5 BODY. For purposes o Knockback, this means 15 BODY.Te Knockback roll comes up 9, and Maeda goes flying back 6”. Te GM explains that Egami gothis oot in the pit o Maeda’s stomach and shovedhim away. Unortunately or Maeda, the bridgeis only 4” wide....

GMs should only adopt this rule i it’s appropri-ate and useul in the campaign. In some games it mayhave the effect o making the Shove maneuver andthe Double Knockback Advantage effectively useless.

MYSTERY DAMAGETis is an option which only works or GMs who

are willing to keep track o more details in combat. Itis not recommended or any GM unless he likes beingthe one to keep track o character damage, or has aspecial reason in a one-shot game to keep his playersoff-balance.

In real lie, a person cannot take an injury andknow “Ah-ha, I’ve taken 4 BODY, it hurts but I’m notin any danger yet.” He just knows he’s hurt; he mayhave some vague idea o the wound’s severity, butcan have no confidence in his ability to shrug off the

injury.I you want to simulate this in the game, the GMhimsel must keep track o all BODY damage doneby Killing Attacks; he can let the players keep track otheir own SUN damage rom Killing Attacks, ando SUN and BODY damage rom Normal Damageattacks. He’ll have to know how much BODY thecharacters start with, and their Resistant Deenses(and what parts o the body they protect). He mustmake sure the players tell him about any BODY theircharacters take rom Normal Damage attacks, andmust record that BODY with the Killing Damagethey’re taking.

MYSERY DAMAGE WIHOU HILOCAIONS

Whenever an NPC hits a PC with a KillingAttack, the GM rolls the damage, rolls the SUNMultiplier, and announces something like this: “Ed,he’s stabbed you in the chest, right below the ribs. Ithurts a lot: take 12 SUN.”

Now, Ed knows only that it “hurts a lot” rom theSUN total he took; he doesn’t know how bad theinjury is. He doesn’t know i the GM rolled 3 BODYand a 4x SUN Multiplier; perhaps it was 6 BODYand a 2x SUN Multiplier; maybe it was 2 BODYand a 6x SUN Multiplier (rom the Increased SUN Multiplier Advantage) or even 12 BODY and a 1x

SUN Multiplier.o get an idea o how bad the wound is, he must

use a Hal Phase Action to look at it. At that point,the GM should say nothing more than: “It looks shal-low,” or “It looks deep but you’ve had worse,” or “It’sdeep and nasty-looking.” Tus, characters won’t knowwhen they’re mortally wounded, though the GM cantell them how they’re bleeding like stuck pigs andswifly growing weaker and weaker.

MYSERY DAMAGE WIH HI LOCAIONSWhen you use Hit Locations in your game,

mystery damage becomes a bit more complicated. Acharacter who’s stabbed in the stomach and takes 12SUN automatically knows he took 3 BODY. Tere-ore, in campaigns using Hit Locations, you have todo things a little differently.

In this sort o campaign, you don’t just use theSUNx column rom the Hit Location chart. You usethat column, but also make two quick rolls. Te 1d6roll is or subtract/add: a 1-3 means subtract, and a 4-6 means add. Te 2d6 roll is how much SUN to addor subtract to the SUN done by the attack.

Example: Sonoda oshio is hit in the Chest or 8BODY. Tat 8 BODY to the Chest normally does24 SUN. Te GM now rolls 1d6 and gets a 1:Subtract. He rolls 2d6 and rolls a 7. He takes the 24SUN, subtracts 7, and gets 17. He tells the player,“You’ve been hit in the chest; take 17 SUN.” Te player has no way o knowing how that amountwas reached; it isn’t possible or him to calculatehow much damage he took.

Alternately, the GM can simply keep track o the SUNo the attack, along with the BODY.

SEQUENCE ATTACKSA sequence attack (also known as a pattern

attack) is an attack built up over several Phases togain an advantage over an opponent in the end.Visually, a sequence attack usually requiresthe attacker to make several eints or attacks whosemain purpose is to orce the target into a disadvanta-geous position or the final blow — setting the enemyup or the kill, in other words.

Characters can use two types o sequenceattacks: unstructured and structured. Te GMshould decide which o these two types o sequenceattacks to allow in his campaign, i any. Althoughsequence attacks are intended primarily or Hand-

o-Hand Combat, in some situations it might bepossible to use them with Ranged Combat (orexample, deliberately missing someone with threeshots to orce him into an open area where he has nocover to hide behind).

UNSRUCURED SEQUENCE AACKS

In an unstructured sequence attack, the attackerdoes not have to speciy in advance which maneuvers he’ll use against his target — in act, maneuversaren’t really used at all. o begin an unstructuredsequence attack, the character declares the length (inPhases) o the sequence he intends to attempt. Anunstructured sequence attack can be o any length,



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but tends to have a practical limit o three to fivePhases.

o execute the sequence, the character makesan attack against his target in each Phase o thesequence. He makes this attack against the target’sbase DCV (DCV as derived rom DEX, without anymaneuver modifiers or Combat Skill Levels). Teattacker may use any Combat Skill Levels he haswith Hand-o-Hand Combat or with a martial arts

style; he may not use Levels which only apply to oneor two specific maneuvers. A hit does no damage— it doesn’t actually contact the target at all, it simplyindicates the target was moved into position or thenext part o the sequence.

For the unstructured sequence attack to suc-ceed, the character has to “hit” his target during eachPhase o the sequence. I he stops the sequence atany time, i he misses even one o the attacks, or ihe takes Knockback/Knockdown, is Stunned, or isKnocked Out, the sequence is disrupted and ruined.(However, i he takes damage without being knockedback, Stunned, or Knocked Out, the sequence is notdisrupted — sometimes a fighter deliberately sub-

jects himsel to punishment to deliver a truly tellingblow against his enemy.)Te character realizes the benefits o making a

sequence attack in the first Phase afer the sequenceends. Tat benefit is: or every Phase o thesequence, the attacker may add +1 to his OCV or +1DC to the damage he does to the target. Te attackermust pick one option or the other; he cannot, orexample, use hal o his Phases or an OCV bonusand hal or a damage bonus. Tus, a sequence attackoffers the attacker the chance to set a superior fighterup or a devastating blow.

SRUCURED SEQUENCE AACKS

Structured sequence attacks are similar tounstructured sequence attacks, with a ew importantdifferences.

First, the attacker must speciy in advance whichmaneuvers he will use in each o the Phases o hisattack. Each maneuver must be offensive in nature,whether it’s a Strike, Trow, Disarm, Bind, or whathave you — no Dodges, Blocks, or other primarilydeensive maneuvers allowed. All normal modifiersapply, and the attack is made against the target’s DCVas modified by maneuvers, levels, and the like.

Second, i the attacks made during a structuredsequence attack hit, the target does take damage, butonly hal damage.

Tird, afer the attacker successully completesthe sequence, he gains a bonus o +1 OCV or +1DC damage per Phase o the sequence, and he maydivide his bonuses between OCV and damage as hepleases.

DEECING AND DEFENDING AGAINSSEQUENCE AACKS

One o the reasons sequence attacks are so di-ficult is that they’re relatively easy to detect and avoid.

o detect a sequence attack (o either type),the target can make a roll against any o the ollow-ing Skills: actics, KS: Analyze Style, KS: [attacker’sspecific martial arts style]. I the target does not have

any o these Skills, the GM may at his option allowthe character to make a PER Roll at -4. Regardless owhich Skill the target usea, the attacker may attemptan Acting or Sleight O Hand roll to make hissequence attack harder to detect; or every 2 pointshe makes the roll by, he imposes a -1 to the target’sroll.

A character can avoid a sequence attack inmany ways. Te first is to not get hit — i the target

can block or dodge even one o the sequence’s blows,the whole sequence alls apart. Second, he can Stun,Knock Out, or do Knockback to his attacker, or hithim with a maneuver that ruins the sequence (suchas a Martial Grab). Tird, he can simply move arenough away rom his attacker to orce him to makea ull move to catch up — this is enough to breakup the sequence, since the attacker has to orego anattack to ollow his quarry. Fourth, the GM mightrule that some Surprise Moves (HERO System 5th Edition, Revised , page 381) disrupt the sequencebecause they startle the attacker.

SEQUENCE AACKS BEWEEN PLAYERCHARACERS

It’s even more diffi cult or a PC to use asequence attack on another PC, because it’s virtuallyimpossible to hide the act that the character is usinga sequence attack. Once the other player realizeswhat’s going on, he can easily have his character dis-rupt the sequence.

Te only way or a PC to use a sequence attackon another PC without giving himsel away is toenlist the help o the GM. Usually this is done inadvance, but it can also be done by passing the GMa note or speaking with him privately. Te playershould inorm the GM o what he wants to do, andthe GM helps him by maintaining a deceptive ront.

Tis requires a high level o player and GM coopera-tion, and may require the player to give alse read-ings o his die rolls in some cases (or example, in anunstructured sequence attack,telling the other player thatan attack made againsthis character justmissed, while secretlysignalling theGM that theattack hit orpurposes omaintaining thesequence).

UNSTRUCTURESEQUENCE ATTAC

EXAMPLE

Inohara Mitsuo anSotomura akuji, twkarateka, fight oanother or the hano the beautiul Pricess Miyoko. Inohar

the younger and leexperienced fighteis DEX 20, SPD Sotomura is DEX 2SPD 4, and does aaverage o 2 DC modamage per maneuvthan Inohara. Afthe first two Phaso combat, Inohaknows his chances deeat Sotomura instraightorward batare slim. Desperate win the hand o th

Princess, he decides risk all on an unstrutured sequence atta4 Phases long.

Te sequence begiin Phase 6. Sotomuattacks and does 2SUN, 6 BODY Inohara, no Knocback. Te young warior (PD 12, CO19, SUN 38) shruoff the pain anbegins his sequen

attack. He puts all his Levels into OC giving him a totOCV o 10. Sotomra’s base DCV is 8, Inohara needs a 1to hit him. He rolls a11, and his first eisucceeds. (Note thSotomura takes ndamage.)

In Phase 9, Sotomuattempts a KniehanStrike and misseInohara counte

with a Spin Kick. Hkeeps his levels OCV and rolls a 1barely succeeding an orcing Sotomura uther into position. Phase 12, Sotomu punches Inohara andoes 27 SUN, BODY, no KnockbacInohara is still staning, but the wear antear are beginning

Continued on next




WEAPON LENGTHSTis optional rule is or use in Heroic games;

Superheroic campaigns don’t need to worry aboutit. Gamemasters o Heroic campaigns do not needto include it i they find it inconvenient. All weap-ons in the Martial Arts Weapons section are listedas Short, Medium, and Long orconvenient reerence when you

use this rule.

Weapon RangesA Short or Medium weapon

(including unarmed combat) can striketargets in the character’s own hex orin adjacent hexes.

Long weapons haveranges o 1” or 2”. A weaponwith a 1” range can strikecharacters in adjacent hexesor 1” urther than that. A

weapon with a 2” range canstrike characters in adjacent hexes orup to 2” urther than that.

OCV PenaltiesUnarmed combatants and wielders

o Short weapons are at a disadvantagewhen fighting opponents with Longweapons. When a character with aShort weapon (including unarmedcharacters) fights a target with aMedium weapon, the character is at -1 OCV. When he fights a target with

a Long weapon, he is at -2 OCV.When a character with a Mediumweapon fights a target with a Longweapon, the character is at -1 OCV.Te character with the longer weapondoesn’t get a bonus to OCV.

Now, this OCV penalty only lastsas long as it takes the character with theshorter weapon to hit the target withthe longer weapon. As soon as he’s hitthe target, it means he’s gotten inside histarget’s range, and the situation reverses. Te targetwith the longer weapon now has an OCV penaltyidentical to the penalty the character previously

had. o get rid o the penalty, he has to back up 1”to get his range back, or has to hit his oe in spiteo the OCV penalty (that means he has once againthrown his oe back to his preerred fighting range).

Now, when a character has a weapon thesame length as his oe’s (or example, i both havepolearm Long Weapons), but decides to make anunarmed attack (or instance, kicking his oppo-nent), he does not suffer the OCV penalty; becausehe has a weapon o length similar to his oe’s, hefights at no range disadvantage.

Shields And Longer WeaponsA shield constitutes a Short weapon when used

to attack a target (i.e., a shield-bash attack). Tere-ore, a character trying to shield-bash a target hold-ing a spear suffers a -2 OCV.

However, the shield does not suffer an OCVpenalty when its bearer chooses a Block maneuver, regardless o the length o the weapon being

Blocked. A shield blocks a dagger, a sword, a battleaxe, and a pike with the same OCV.

Weapon LengthsAnd Enclosed Space

Long weapons aren’t much goodwhen you’re fighting in a space the size

o a telephone booth, and this optionalrule simulates that act. Te accompanying

table lists a variety o different fightingenvironments and their effects on di-erent types o weapons.

WOUNDS

TargetingInjured Areas

Sometimes a char-acter wants to targetan opponent’s existing

injuries or infirmitiesas a way o weakening,disabling, or torturing

him. Tis isn’t always very heroic, o course

— but thenagain, not allcharacters are

heroes.For purposes o

these rules, an injuryor wound is defined as

any point on the bodywhere a character has

taken BODY damage,regardless o the

type o attackused to inflict

that damageor whether the

area is visiblyinjured. Cuts and

stab wounds romswords and knives, claw

wounds rom animals,bullet wounds, and the like are all “injuries.”

argeting an existing injury can be easy ordiffi cult, depending on the size o the wound. Alarge wound (or example, a long cut rom a sword)imposes a -4 to -5 OCV modifier. A medium-sized


take their toll. He perorms the third parto his sequence androlls a 7, easily draw-ing Sotomura urtherinto his trap.

In Phase 3 o the nexturn, Sotomura once

again tries his knie-hand attack, andagain misses. Inohara eints at him again,rolls a 10, and suc-cessully completeshis sequence attack.In Phase 6, Soto-mura connects withhis Kniehand Strike,doing 8 BODY, 24SUN, no Knock-back. Inohara is onthe ropes, but now hehas Sotomura right

where he wants him.He chooses to add+4d6 to his normal6d6 attack, puts allo his Levels intoOCV, and launches aside kick. Sotomura’sDCV is currently 10,Inohara’s OCV is 8.He rolls an 8 andconnects! He rolls 43SUN, 11 BODY, and2” Knockback, Stun-ning Sotomura andknocking him out othe ring. Te Princess

is his at last!

STRUCTUREDSEQUENCE ATTACK

EXAMPLE

In the example givenabove, suppose thatInohara had declareda structured sequenceattack using these

maneuvers: Punch,Punch, KniehandStrike, and Spin Kick.His attacks are madeagainst Sotomura’sregular DCV (hisbase o 8, plus anylevels or maneuvermodifiers available).Each hit damagesSotomura, but he onlytakes hal damage. Atthe end, afer eachattack hits, Inohara gets a bonus o +4,which he may split



Hero Games

wound (or example, claw wounds rom a tiger)imposes a -5 to -7 OCV modifier. A small wound (orexample, a stab wound or a bullet wound) imposesa -7 to -12 OCV modifier. Tese modifiers take theplace o the Hit Location modifiers normally used orPlaced Shots (in effect the wound becomes a separatetarget).

Hitting a wound or injured area has severalpainul effects. Te first hit to an existing wound is so

painul that negative damage modifiers (such as x½)or SUN and BODY or the location o the woundare ignored. Te victim takes ull damage, calculatedwith any positive modifiers (such as x1½ or x2).

Te second hit to an existing injury has the sameeffect as the first hit, plus it Impairs the area (the GMshould roll the Impairment ime normally). Tethird and any subsequent hits to an existing injuryhave the same effect as the second hit, plus the BODYdamage done by the attack is Penetrating. (At theGM’s option, the attack may instead automatically beDisabling.)

Tw isting The BladeA avorite trick o many villains (and a ew

vengeul heroes) is to stick a weapon into an enemyand then twist the blade, causing intense pain and aworse wound. o do this in HERO System combat,the attacking character must declare his intention totwist the blade beore he makes the initial attack; ur-thermore, characters can only perorm this maneuverwith Short or Medium length weapons. Te attack isat -3 OCV (to reflect both the diffi culty o impalingsomeone this way and certain game balance consid-erations), and must do BODY damage to the target.I the target takes Knockback, the attempt automati-cally ails. I the attack succeeds, does BODY, and

does no Knockback, and the target cannot escape (seebelow), then in his next Phase the attacker may twistthe blade in the wound, doing hal o the weapon’sbase damage (i.e., damage without SR or Damage

Classes added to it), against which the target gets nodeenses at all. wisting the blade in this way is a HalPhase Action (but may only be perormed once perPhase), so the character can make another attack, ipossible.

Example: Isamu (CV 7) and akeshi (CV 6), two

kenjutsuka, hate each other bitterly. Tey beginto duel with katanas. Isamu decides he will tryto hit akeshi and then twist the blade, to makeakeshi suffer. Isamu uses a Lightning Stroke; hisOCV is 7 (base o 7, +2 or the maneuver, +1 orthe weapon, -3 or the attempt to impale). Herolls a 9 and hits. Te weapon does a base 1½d6HKA, and Isamu is SR 10, so the attack does2d6+1 HKA total. He rolls 8 or damage, pene-trating akeshi’s 4 PD Armor and doing 4 BODY.Te Hit Location Roll says akeshi was struckin the stomach, so he takes 32 SUN against hisdeenses. Isamu’s katana is now stuck in akeshi’sbody.

akeshi decides he’d better get off o Isamu’skatana beore he’s hurt worse. He decides to trya DEX Roll at -4 (-1 per BODY taken), and ailsmiserably. Because o his ailure, he takes halo the weapon’s base damage, with no deense.Isamu rolls ½d6+1 or damage, or a total o 3BODY and 12 SUN, which akeshi takes allo (he gets no deense). In Isamu’s next Phase,he twists the blade, doing 3 more BODY and 12SUN. akeshi is unconscious and bleeding todeath.

Te victim o this sort o attack can escape

having the blade twisted in several ways. First,he can Knock Out, Stun, or kill his attackerwith an attack o his own. Because the attackerhas to get extremely close to the target to tryan attack o this sort, he is at -2 DCV againstattacks the target makes against him. Second,he can use a Full Phase Action to try to moveoff o the weapon without injuring himsel.

Tis requires the target to step away rom hisattacker and make a DEX Roll at -1 per BODY

taken rom the initial attack. I the DEX Rollsucceeds, the target extracts the blade withoutsustaining urther injury. I the roll ails, the targettakes damage just as i the attacker had twisted

WEAPON LENGTEXAMPLE

Harry Cho fighNakagawa Shiro. Chis unarmed (corr

sponding to a Showeapon); Nakagawis using the kwadao, a polearm Long Weapon). Chis at a -2 OCV pealty to hit NakagawOn his first Phase combat, he ails to hNakagawa; he’s keback at the range the kwan dao. On tsecond Phase, he hNakagawa, even withe -2 OCV penalTis means he’s gottinside the weaponreach. On the thiPhase, Nakagawnow has the -2 OC penalty, while Chisn’t penalized. Naagawa suffers the OCV until he bacup 1” or hits Cho evewith the penalty.

TARGETINGWOUNDS EXAMP

Te tongs hire XKwan, the lin kuassassin, to kill prominent shokeeper who reused pay them protectimoney. Te killing supposed to be painto set an example. Xambushes his targduring the worki

ENCLOSED SPACE AND WEAPON LENGTH

Setting UnarmedShort

WeaponMediumWeapon

LongWeapon

Coffi n -2 -3 n/p n/p

Phone Booth -1 -2 -3 n/p

Narrow Hallway (3’ wide) — — -1 -2

Room Crowded w/Fur-niture — -1 -2 -3

Doorway (3’ wide) — -1 -2 -3

Room w/ Low Ceiling (6’) — — — -1

—: Combat abilities are unaffected.

n/p: Use o this weapon is not possible.

Continued on next




the blade. I the target cannot move away rom hisattacker (or example, i he’s been backed against awall), then he cannot remove the blade rom him-sel in this ashion.

ZERO GRAVITYAND MARTIAL ARTS

It’s not likely to come up very ofen, but amartial artist could find himsel in Zero-G (nogravity). Tis could occur in a diving plane or in aspace station adventure.

Te effects o Zero-G on Hand-o-HandCombat all into our categories: OCV Penalties,DCV Penalties, Damage Penalties, and Action/Reaction. Tese penalties all apply when the char-acter is in ree all in Zero-G. I he’s braced againsta surace (or instance, i he wears magnetic shoesand stands on a steel surace), they do not apply.

OCV/DCV PENALIES

All side kicks, spinning kicks, and other

attacks requiring the character to have his eet onthe ground take a -3 OCV when perormed in reeall. In some situations the GM may rule that char-acters cannot use these maneuvers at all. Martialarts characters are at ½ DCV when in ree all.

DAMAGE PENALIES

All martial arts Strikes take a -1 DC damagepenalty when perormed in ree all, as they nor-mally benefit rom the character’s secure contactwith the earth or momentum arising rom a leaprom the earth.

ACION/REACION

Combat in ree all should always use theKnockback rules, even i the campaign normallyonly uses Knockdown rules.

You always roll Knockback in ree all with1d6 less than normal, as i the characters areflying — which they are. You roll 2d6, not 3d6, tocalculate Knockback rom martial arts or KillingDamage attacks in Zero-G combat; you roll 1d6,not 2d6, to calculate Knockback rom NormalDamage attacks in Zero-G.

However, instead o applying Knockback justto the target, divide it between attacker and target.I an attack does 4” Knockback, then the targetdoesn’t sail back 4” — both attacker and target sailaway rom one another 2”.

Te amount o Knockback rolled is not thetotal Knockback. It’s the rate at which the charac-ters move every Segment (just like alling). A char-acter who takes 2” o Knockback sails back 2” thatSegment, 2” the next Segment, 2” the Segment aferthat, and so on until he runs into something.

GRAPPLING

Grabbing someone negates OCV penaltiesor strikes and the Action/Reaction effect (whenyou’ve Grabbed someone and hit him, doingKnockback, neither o you goes anywhere).

PROFESSIONAL SKILL: ZEROG OPERAIONS

I a character wants to cancel Zero-G penal-ties, he should buy the PS: Zero-G Operations. Tisis a 3-point, DEX-based Proessional Skill (+1 tothe roll or +1 point). A character with this Skillcan perorm all ordinary tasks in Zero-G withnone o the penalties listed above; when the task isespecially diffi cult or complicated, he must make

his PS: Zero-G Operations roll. Failure merelymeans he suffers the usual penalties, not that hecan’t perorm the tasks.

day where severalcustomers and othermerchants can seehim. First he throwsa volley o shuriken,doing 2 BODY to thevictim’s Right Leg, 1BODY to his Chest,and 1 BODY to his

Lef Arm. Ten hemoves in to make hisvictim suffer. Te GMrules the leg wound issmall and imposes a-8 OCV modifier on Xiu. With all o hislevels in OCV, Xiutargets the leg woundand hits it, causing ull SUN (no x½modifier is applied).Ten, to make surethe shopkeeper won’trun away, Xiu hits

the leg wound again,causing ull SUNand Impairing the leg or 1 hour (GM rolls4 on the Impairmentime able). I he hitsit a third time, theBODY damage doneis Penetrating.




Hero Games

This section describes weapons (andother gear) appropriate or martialarts characters and campaigns. Costsor each weapon are given, so you can

use them in Superheroic campaigns; or Heroiccampaigns, characters don’t have to pay points orthese weapons, but are subject to the listed SRMinimum (see below).

OCV: Tis is applied as a bonus or penalty againstall attacks made with the weapon. OCV bonusesare bought as 5-point Combat Skill Levels with theOAF, Required Hands, and Real Weapon Limita-tions. OCV bonuses that apply only to a tight groupo maneuvers (normally, the Bind, Disarm, andakeaway maneuvers) are bought with a -½ Limita-tion. OCV bonuses that apply only to one type omaneuver (normally Block) are bought with a -1Limitation. OCV penalties are a minor Side Effect(automatically occurs; -½) or the weapon.

RMod: Tis represents a modifier to the weapon’saccuracy at Range. Positive values (bought as 3-point Penalty Skill Levels versus the Range Groupwith the Focus and Required Hands Limitations)help to offset the standard Range Modifier; nega-tive values (a minor Side Effect (automatically

occurs; -½)) add to it. RMod can never raise acharacter’s base OCV, it can only negate penalties.

Damage: Te damage done by the weapon.Weapon damage appearing without parentheses— or instance, 1d6+1 — reers to Killing Damage(built using HKA or RKA), while weapon damageappearing in parentheses — or instance, (4d6)— reers to Normal Damage (built using EBor HA). Trowable melee weapons have theAdvanted Range Based On SR (+¼).

STUNx: Tis is the SUN Multiplier or KillingDamage weapons (a 0 means “no modification”;use the standard 1d6-1 SUN Multiplier). Apply

the SUNx modifier to the SUN Multiplier roll(or to the SUNx or the Hit Location struck,i the campaign uses Hit Location rules). Forexample, i a character with a War Flail (SUNx+1) hit an opponent in the Head, the total SUNxwould be 6.

STRMin: SR Minimum. See pages 478-79 othe HERO System 5 Edition, Revised or rules.Remember to apply the rules in Adding Damage,pages 405-09, when using SR to increase thedamage o a weapon bought with Advantages.

BODY: Te weapon’s BODY.

DEF: Te weapon’s DEF.

Mass: Te weight o the weapon in kilograms.

Shots: Te number o Charges a ranged weaponhas (usually Recoverable Charges [RC]).

Max Range: Te weapon’s maximum Range ingame inches (hexes). O course, its effective range— the range over which it’s likely to hit a target— is much less, thanks to the Range Modifier.

A/N/C Cost: Te Active Point cost and Real Pointcost o the weapon or Normal (OAF, -1) andConcealed (IAF, -½) versions.

Cultr: Te culture or nation which created theweapon. Te entries in the “Master List” o weap-ons descriptions ofen contain inormation aboutequivalent weapons rom other cultures.

Length: Te weapon’s length — Short, Medium,or Long. See page 480 o the HERO System 5

Edition, Revised or inormation on how theseare bought, and see page 186 o Fantasy Hero andpage 164 o this book or more inormation onweapons lengths generally.

Notes: his catch-all category includes anyinormation not listed elsewhere; reer to theNotes And Key section ater the chart or moreinormation.

Ultimat e Mart ial Artist PDF Note: he weaponstables in this PDF have been redone to ormatthem like the weapons tables in Fantasy Hero,and revised to take into account new rules andprocedures in the HERO System 5 Edition,

Revised rulebook and Fantasy Hero. hereorethey may dier in some respects rom the tablesin the printed Ultimate Martial Artist book; inthat case, the inormation in this PDF supersedesthe inormation in the printed book.

M ARTIAL ARTSWEAPONS



Hero Games

HAND- TO- HAND WEAPONS TABLEWeap on OCV Da ma ge STUNx STR M in BODY DEF M ass A/N/ C Cost Length Cultr Not esAxes and MacesAxe, Chinese 0 1d6 0 11 6 4 1.4 26/9/11 M China TrCopper Hammer 0 1d6+1 0 10 5 4 1.3 30/11/13 M ChinaHand Mace 0 1d6 0 11 5 5 1.6 22/8/10 M ChinaSof Hammer 0 1 ½d6 0 15 4 4 1.5 46/15/18 M China

Blades

Arit 0 1d6 0 11 3 4 0.4 22/8/10 M IndonBokken 0 (5d6) — 10 3 3 0.9 44/13/15 M Japan Tr, 1½HBundi 0 1d6 0 10 3 4 0.7 27/9/12 M India +1 OCV w/ Block Butterfly Sword 0 1d6+1 0 10 3 5 0.8 30/11/13 M ChinaCutlass 5 5 1.1 40/14/17 M Euro +6 DEF on Hand; 1

Blade 0 1d6 0 10Hilt 0 (3d6) — 10

Cymbal 0 1d6 0 10 2 5 0.6 26/9/11 S China TrDarn Do 0 1d6+1 0 12 5 5 1.1 30/11/13 M ChinaEpee 0 (2d6) — 7 3 5 0.7 15/5/5 M EuroFoil 0 (1d6) — 5 3 5 0.5 7/2/3 M EuroHook Sword 0 1d6+1 0 13 5 5 1.2 58/19/21 M China +2 OCV w/Bind, Block,

Disarm, akeaway; +6 Don Hand on Act 11-; 2

Jien 0 1d6 0 10 5 5 1.2 22/8/10 M ChinaKatana +1 1 ½d6 0 12 5 5 1.5 49/17/21 M Japan Tr, 1½HKnuck-Knie 0 ½d6 0 7 3 5 1.0 33/9/11 S USA +6 DEF on Hand on Act

11-; 2Ko-Gatana 0 ½d6 0 4 2 5 0.3 17/7/8 S Japan TrKrisKnie 0 ½d6 0 7 3 5 0.8 15/5/7 S IndonNormal 0 1d6 0 11 4 5 1.0 22/8/10 M IndonSword 0 1d6+1 0 15 5 5 1.6 30/10/12 M IndonKukri 0 1d6 0 10 3 5 0.8 26/9/11 S India TrMain-Gauche 3 5 0.8 46/16/20 S Euro +6 DEF on Hand; 1

Using Blade 0 1d6-1 0 7Using Hilt 0 (2d6) — 7




HAND- TO- HAND WEAPONS TABLEWeap on OCV Da ma ge STUNx STR M in BODY DEF M ass A/N/ C Cost Length Cultr Note sNavaja 0 ½d6 0 5 2 4 0.4 15/6/7 S EuroNine-Ring Sword 0 1d6+1 0 12 5 5 1.1 35/13/16 M China +1 OCV with Disarm,

akeaway Ninja-o 0 1 ½d6 0 15 5 5 1.6 44/28/36 M Japan Tr, 1½H; Ninja Weapon,

see textNo-Daichi 0 2d6 0 17 7 5 3.5 52/15/17 L Japan 2H

Parang 0 1d6+1 0 10 5 5 1.1 35/13/15 M Indon TrPedang 0 1d6 0 10 5 5 1.2 26/9/11 M Indon TrPuňal 0 1 point 0 5 2 4 0.4 7/3/3 S EuroRapier +1 1d6 0 10 5 5 1.0 27/10/12 M EuroRazor, Straight

Large 0 1d6 -1 7 2 4 0.2 22/7/8 S Var RPSmall 0 ½d6 -1 5 1 4 0.1 15/5/6 S Var RP

Sabre 0 1d6 0 10 5 5 1.1 22/8/10 M EuroSchlaeger 0 1d6 0 10 5 5 1.1 22/8/10 M EuroShinai 0 (2d6) — 5 3 4 0.8 15/5/6 M Japan 1½HSpread-Te-Water Knie 0 1d6 0 10 4 4 1.2 22/8/10 M Chinaanto 0 1d6-1 0 6 3 5 0.8 21/8/9 S Japan Tretsu-o 0 2 ½d6 0 20 8 5 4.0 60/17/20 M Japan 1½H

jaluk 0 ½d6 0 8 3 5 0.9 15/5/7 S IndonUrumi 0 1d6 0 12 4 5 1.4 See text M India May be up AF (4 shots)Wakizashi 0 1d6 0 8 3 5 1.1 26/9/11 M Japan TrYoroi-oshi 0 1d6-1 AP 0 6 3 5 0.8 24/9/11 S Japan

Chain and Rope WeaponsKusari 0 (4d6) — 9 3 5 1.0 50/18/23 L2 Japan Tr, 2HKusarigama orKyogetsu Shoge 4 5 1.3 See text L2 Japan Tr, 2H, Ninja Weapon; see

Kama, KusariManriki-Gusarior Kusari-undo 0 (3d6) — 8 3 5 1.0 26/7/8 M Japan Tr, 2H, Ninja WeaponRante 4 5 1.4 29/13/15 L Indon

Chain 0 (3d6) — 5

Blade 0 ½d6 0 5



Hero Games

HAND- TO- HAND WEAPONS TABLEWeap on OCV Da ma ge STUNx STR M in BODY DEF M ass A/N/ C Cost Length Cultr Not esClubs (Do Not Require Weapon Familiar ity)Chakar 0 (6d6) 20 6 3 3.9 45/11/12 M India 2HGada 0 (5d6) — 13 5 3 1.8 37/10/11 M India 2HHanbo 0 (3d6) — 7 4 3 1.1 22/7/8 M JapanJo 0 (3d6) — 9 4 3 1.2 22/7/8 M JapanMakila 3 3 1.0 22/10/12 M Euro

Stick 0 (3d6) 8Spike 0 1d6 8

Fist-Loads (Do Not Require Weapon Familiarit y)Ashiko 0 ½d6 0 5 3 4 1.0 17/7/8 S Japan +1 Climbing, Ninja

Weapon; 3Brass Knuckles 0 (2d6) — 3 3 5 1.0 33/10/11 S Var +6 DEF on Hand on Act

11-; 2Cestus 0 +1 point 0 — 3 3 0.8 19/10/13 S Greek Adds 1-point KA to Pun

+4 DEF on HandFist-Load 0 (2d6) — 3 1 3 0.2 15/5/6 S VarNekote 0 1 point 0 3 2 5 0.2 7/3/3 S Japan Ninja WeaponRing Needle 0 ½d6 0 5 1 4 0.2 17/7/8 S China TrShuko 0 1d6-1 0 5 3 4 1.0 20/8/10 S Japan +1 Climbing, Ninja

Weapon; 3

PolearmsArbir 0 1d6 0 10 4 4 1.6 22/7/8 M Indon 2HChai-Dao 5 4 2.1 37/15/17 L China 2H

Blade 0 1d6+1 0 12Shaf 0 (3d6) — 12

Chiang 5 4 2.0 37/15/17 L China 2HBlade 0 1d6+1 0 12Shaf 0 (3d6) — 12

Ghi 5 4 2.1 47/19/22 L China 2H, +2 OCV w/Bind, BloDisarm

Blade 0 1d6+1 0 13Shaf 0 (4d6) — 13

Naginata 5 4 2.1 44/16/19 L Japan 2H

Blade 0 1 ½d6 0 15Shaf 0 (4d6) — 15Nine-Dragon rident 5 5 2.3 47/19/22 L China 2H, +2 OCV w/Bind, Blo

DisarmBlade 0 1d6+1 0 13Shaf 0 (4d6) — 13

ai-Dao/Kwan Dao 5 4 2.1 44/16/19 L China 2HBlade 0 1 ½d6 0 18Shaf 0 (4d6) — 18

iger Fork 5 5 2.2 44/16/19 L China 2HBlade 0 1 ½d6 0 15Shaf 0 (4d6) — 15

Wol ’s eeth Staff 4 4 1.8 44/16/19 L China 2HBlade 0 1 ½d6 0 15

Shaf 0 (4d6) — 15Yari 5 4 2.0 44/17/20 L Japan 2H

Blade 0 1 ½d6 0 14Shaf 0 (4d6) — 14

Yari (Kamayari) 5 4 2.0 44/20/23 L Japan 2H, Tr, +2 OCV w/BindBlock, Disarm, akeaway

Blade 0 1 ½d6 0 17Shaf 0 (4d6) — 17




HAND- TO- HAND WEAPONS TABLEWeap on OCV Da ma ge STUNx STR M in BODY DEF M ass A/N/ C Cost Length Cultr Note sMiscellaneous WeaponsBo (Staff) +1 (4d6) — 8 4 3 1.0 42/13/16 L Japan 2H, Karate WeaponBunot-Page 0 1 pip — 8 2 2 0.5 7/2/3 S Phil Poisoned (see text)Chain Sword 0 1d6 0 10 3 5 1.1 22/8/10 M ChinaChain Whip 0 1d6 0 8 3 5 1.1 29/10/12 L ChinaFang 3 5 1.3 15/7/9 S China

Blade/Point 0 ½d6 0 8Rod — (2d6) — 8

Flying Claw 0 1d6 0 10 3 4 1.0 37/15/19 L2 ChinaFlying Guillotine -1 1d6 0 10 3 4 1.0 37/12/15 L2 China 2H, aimed at extremitiesFo 0 (2d6) 0 5 2 3 0.4 15/5/6 M EuroGarrotte

Strangling 0 (3d6) — 5 1 1 0.1 30/7/7 S Var 2H, see textWire 0 ½d6 0 5 1 2 0.2 20/5/5 S Var 2H, see text

Lajatang 0 1d6+1 0 12 3 4 0.6 30/11/13 M IndonKama 0 1d6 0 11 3 4 0.5 26/9/11 M Japan Tr, Karate WeaponKanzashi 0 ½d6 -1 5 2 3 0.2 15/5/7 S Japan Ninja WeaponKiseru 0 (2d6) — 5 2 5 0.6 15/6/7 S ChinaMourn Staff 0 1 ½d6 0 14 3 4 1.1 37/13/16 M ChinaNunchaku 0 (3d6) — 8 3 3 1.0 22/8/10 M Japan Karate Weapon

Pendjepit 0 ½d6 0 10 2 4 0.7 20/7/9 S Indon +1 with Grab, GrabWeapon, akeaway

Petjat 0 1d6 0 10 2 1 0.4 22/8/10 L IndonRings 0 (3d6) — 8 2 4 0.5 26/9/11 S China TrRope Dart 0 ½d6 0 8 2 2 0.6 30/12/16 L2 China

Sai — Karate Weapon Cinematic 0 ½d6 0 8 3 5 1.1 27/10/11 S Japan Tr, +2 OCV w/Bind, Block,

Disarm, akeaway Normal 0 (3d6) — 8 3 5 1.1 36/13/15 S Japan Tr, +2 OCV w/Bind, Block,

Disarm, akeaway Shinobi-Zue 0 (4d6) — 10 4 3 1.2 50/18/22 L2 Japan 2H, Ninja WeaponSword-Spear 0 1d6 0 12 3 3 0.9 26/9/11 M China Tretsubo +1 (6d6) — 15 6 4 2.4 57/17/19 L Japan 2HTree-Section Staff 0 (4d6) — 10 5 3 1.5 47/15/17 Var China 2H, +2 OCV w/Bind, Block,

Disarm, akeawayimbe 0 ½d6 0 10 2 3 0.6 17/6/7 S Japan Trona +1 (3d6) — 7 3 3 0.8 27/10/13 S Japan Karate WeaponUmebi 0 1 ½d6 0 — 2 2 1.0 44/—/12 S Japan AE1, rigger (stepped on)War Fan, Basic 0 (3d6) — 6 2 3 0.7 32/11/14 S Japan +2 OCV w/Block War Fan, Edged 2 3 0.7 32/13/16 S Japan +2 OCV w/Block

Blunt Attack 0 (3d6) — 6Razor Attack 0 ½d6 0 6

Wind/Fire Wheels Saw-Blade 0 ½d6 0 8 3 5 0.8 27/10/11 S China Tr, +2 OCV w/Bind, Block,

Disarm, akeawayraditional 0 (3d6) — 8 3 5 0.8 36/13/15 S China Tr, +2 OCV w/Bind, Block,

Disarm, akeaway



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NOTES AND KEY

NotesAll the weapons above are built as ollows:

1. his weapon has an additional Power: Armor(6 PD/6 ED) (18 Active Points); Only ProtectsLocation 6 (i.e., the hand holding the weapon)(-2), OAF (-1) or normal orm or IAF (-½) orconcealed orm. Cost: 4 points (normal orm) or5 points (concealed orm). his cost is added tothe weapon cost.

2. Tis weapon has an additional Power: Armor (6PD/6 ED) (18 Active Points); Only Protects Loca-tion 6 (i.e., the hand holding the weapon) (-2),Activation Roll 11- (-1), OAF (-1) or normal ormor IAF (-½) or concealed orm. Cost: 4 points(normal or concealed orm). Tis cost is added tothe weapon cost.

3. Tis weapon is built with an additional Power:+1 to Climbing Rolls (2 Active Points); OAF (-1)

or IAF (-½). Cost: 1 point (either orm). Tis cost isadded to the cost o the weapon.

See page 478 o the HERO System 5 Edition,Revised or more inormation on building weapons.

Key

†: SR Minimum Doesn’t Add Damage (a -½Limitation)

1½H: One-and-a-hal-handed weapon (a -¼ Limi-tation)

2H: wo-handed weapon (a -½ Limitation)

Act: Activation Roll

AE1: Area O Effect (One Hex)

AF5: Autofire (5 shots; +½)

AP: Armor Piercing

Conc: Concentration (½ DCV “throughout” theloading and/or firing process; -½)

Dkns: Darkness to Sight Group

Ent: Entangle

Euro: Europe

Flash: Sight Group Flash

Indon: IndonesiaL: Long-length weapon (see pages 164, 167)

L2: A Long-length weapon that’s 2” long

M: Medium-length weapon

NWF: No Weapon Familiarity required

RBS: Range Based On SR

RC: Recoverable Charges

RP: Reduced Penetration

S: Short-length weapon

Tr: Weapon can be thrown (i.e., it has the RangeBased On SR (+¼) Advantage)

MASTER LISTOF WEAPONS

o see which weapons require which WeaponFamiliarities, reer to the Weapon Familiarityable on page 76 o the HERO System 5th Edition,Revised.

Arare: “Hailstones,” a Japanese missile

weapon in the orm o a spiked ball.It came in three sizes: joarare (large,thrown one at a time); chuarare

(medium, thrown like shuriken, couldbe used as tetsubishi as well [see below]);

and koarare (similar to chuarare, but smaller).

Cost Power16 Chuarare: Multipower, 36-point reserve, 9

Recoverable Charges (+¼) or entire Multip-ower; all OAF (-1), SR Minimum (10; -½),Real Weapon (-¼)

1u 1) Trown: RKA 1d6-1, Autofire (5 shots;+½); OAF (-1), Range Based On SR (-¼)

1u 2) Dropped : RKA 1d6-1, Area O Effect

(One Hex; +½), Continuous (+1), Uncon-trolled (removable by spending a Full Phaseto sweep them aside; +½); OAF (-1), Activa-tion Roll 14- (-½), SR Minimum (10; -½),Real Weapon (-¼), Only Affects CharactersMoving On Te Ground (-¼), DEX RollCancels Effect (-¼), Automatically argetsHit Location 18 (-0)

otal cost: 18 points (or 22 points or IAF (-½) version)

Koarare: total cost 13 points (or 15 or IAF (-½) version)

Joarare: Change to just RKA 1d6+1 (20 Active Points); OAF (-1), SR Minimum (10;-½), Real Weapon (-¼), Range Based On SR(-¼), 1 Recoverable Charge (-1¼). otal cost: 5 points (or 5 points or IAF (-½) version)

Arbir: A polearm used in some styles o Pentjak-Silat. It is a 5’-long weapon consisting o a shaf, aconvex chopping blade at one end, and a sharpenedmetal spike on the other end. It’s used two-handedto slash and stab; the pole is not generally used asa staff.

Arit: Te Indonesian sickle, adapted or combat.Its blade is much rounder than that o the kama. Asimilar weapon is the tjelurit .

Arrows: Te Japanese created many unusual typeso arrowheads or their arrows (ya). Several othe more interesting ones are listed in the RangedWeapons able; they add damage to, or otherwisechange the effect o, the damage caused by a stan-dard arrow (their exact cost depends on the typeo bow used; i necessary recalculate the bow’s costwith the enhanced damage). Each o these arrows ismore expensive and rarer than the average arrow.




Te Dragon’s ongue arrow is finely-crafed, with a slightly rounded pointthat penetrates armor easily.

Te Frog Crotch arrow is shapedroughly like a V, with a sharpenedinner edge; it’s especially useul or

cutting cords and similar objects.

Te Hikime is an arrow with a wooden ball, notan arrowhead, on the tip. It is used to stun, not

kill, an opponent.

Te Skinsplitter is an extremelywide, heavy arrowhead. GMs should

consider adding +1 to the SR Min o the Bowwhenever a character uses this arrowhead.

Te Willow Lea is a long, straightarrowhead which can slip easily between armorplates and the like.

Tese are just a ew o the many different types oOriental arrowheads available; with a little researchyou can uncover many others.

Te yazuka, or standard length, o an arrow (with-

out arrowhead) is rom the top o the archer’s ster-num to the tip o his middle finger. Tis allows himto achieve extra power, since he has to draw thebow back as ar as he possibly can to shoot.

Ashiko: Tese are climbing claws strapped onto aninja’s eet; they are the companions to the shuko.Tey can become weapons when the wearer usesa kick attack. Tey provide a +1 to the wearer’sClimbing roll i he has the Climbing skill. Te char-acter must wear both ashiko to get the +1 to hisClimbing roll.

Axe, Chinese: Tis weapon has a medium-lengthhandle and a single broad blade; it’s chiefly used bysouthern Chinese kung u fighters.

Bo: A 5’-6’ hardwood staff, also known as arokushakubo (“six-oot staff”). Use these gamestatistics or the Chinese staff (kuen), the Indone-sian staff (toya), the Korean staff ( jang bong ), theTai staff ( plong ), and the Okinawan oar (eiku; alsoknown as a chizikunbo or sunakakebo).

Te bo is one o the principal weapons oKarate (the others are kama, nunchaku, sai, eiku,tekko, timbe and rochin, and tona).

Te kuen is one o the most amous weapono Kung Fu; these statistics can also be used or twoother Chinese weapons, the Long Rod ( gunn) andWater & Fire Rod (shui or gunn).

Bokken: Tis is a wooden practice sword shapedlike a katana. It does Normal, not Killing, damage.It’s no toy or mere practice blade, though; it’s madeo heavy, tough wood, unlike the shinai. Many duelsin eudal Japan were ought with bokken; it is pos-sible to kill an opponent with one.

Brass Knuckles: Tis classic street weapon is a ridgedbrass knuckle-protector which protects the strikinghand, allowing the character to strike harder. BrassKnuckles also provide 6 DEF (physical and energy,on an 11- Activation Roll) to the hand wearing them.Te Japanese tetsu and tekko and the Indonesian rotikalong all use these statistics.

Bundi: Also known as a katar or apunch-dagger, the bundi is a broad,

double-edged knie-blade set into arame/handle grasped in the fist (thus,the wielder’s arm appears to have ablade on the end rather than a hand).wo panels o the rame/handle extenddown the sides o the arms or about aoot, helping the user block an enemy’sattacks. Use the bundi’s statistics (minusthe +1 OCV or Blocks) or any sort omodern punch-dagger or -knie.

Bunot-Page: Tis weapon is simply the tail o a sting-ray, cut rom the animal and used to strike an oppo-nent. Some Arnis/Kali/Escrima exponents fight withit. Te stingray spine itsel does relatively little damage— but the poison in it can kill. Usually enough poisonremains in the tail or about two good hits. Te effectso the poison are not included in the cost listed in thetable, since it varies in amount and potency; the aver-age poison would work roughly as ollows:

Stingray Poison: RKA 1d6, NND (deense isLie Support [appropriate Immunity]; +1),Does BODY (+1) (45 Active Points); Linked (toHKA; -¼), Spine HKA Must Do BODY (-½),No Range (-½), 2 Charges (-1 ½). otal cost:12 points.

Butterfly Sword: Tis short sword has

a heavy, flat cleaver-like blade with onecutting edge. It is used by ninja and byKung Fu practitioners, ofen in pairs.Te Willow Lea Knie, the Korean dansang gum (twin short swords), and the to oKuntao are all very similar in appearance tothe butterfly sword and share the same statis-tics. Don’t conuse the Butterfly Sword withthe balisong , a switchblade-like Filipino kniesometimes called a “butterfly knie.”

Cestus: Tis weapon is a glove with spikes or jagged protrusions along its knuckles and back. Techaracter using it does his normal Punch damage,and also does 1 point o Killing Damage (he cannotadd to this with his SR; it always does only 1 pointo Killing damage). Te Cestus provides 4 DEF(physical and energy) to the hand wearing it.

Cost Power2 Cestus Spikes : HKA 1 point, Reduced

Endurance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points);OIF (-½), Linked (to wearer’s Punch; -½), NoSR Bonus (-½), Real Weapon (-¼)

3 Cestus Wrappings: Armor (4 PD/4 ED) (12Active Points); OIF (-½), Only Protects HandWearing It (-2)

otal cost: 5 points (or 7 points or IIF (-¼)

version).

CONCEALEDAND INOBVIOUS

WEAPONS

Almost every weapondescribed in this sec-tion can be carried asa normal weapon or asa concealed weapon. It’s

a tradition in martial-arts films — especiallyninja movies — thatcharacters can disguisemany unusual weaponsas ordinary objects.Following are someexamples o weaponsand ways characterscould disguise them:

Blowgun: As a flute,or a walking stick; itcan be combined witha jo or a used as asword scabbard.

Bokken, Katana, Jien,Ninja-to, No-daichi,Wakizashi: Con-cealed within a bostaff that acted as itssheath; about a ootand a hal o the staffwould actually be thehilt o the blade.

Brass Knuckles: Tisweapon could be ash-ioned as the lining oa pair o gloves or as

the handle o a suit-case.

Cestus: Tis couldbe an ordinary-look-ing pair o gloves. Anobserver would notnotice that the innerlining is Kevlar andthat the first heavyblow with these makeshort spikes pokethrough the outerlining.

Chain Whip, Kusari,

Manriki-gusari: Easilyworn as a belt.

Climb line, Kusari,M a n r i k i - g u s a r i ,Marbles, Tetsubishi: Ofen carried insidethe hollow hilt oanother weapon.

Fist-Load: A fist-loadcan look like practi-cally anything: a




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Chai-Dao: Tis Chinese polearm is also called the“Bandit’s Encampment Broadsword.” It is usuallyabout 5’3” tall, with 2’6” o that length a wickedcurved blade; the rest is haf. raditionally, it wasused in camp deense, ofen to chop at the legs ohorses riding through.

Cost Power11 Chai-Dao: Multipower, 30-point reserve;all OAF (-1), SR Minimum (12; -½), RealWeapon (-¼)

1u 1) Blade: HKA 1d6+1 (plus SR), ReducedEndurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), SRMinimum (12; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)

1u 2) Shaf : HA +3d6, Reduced Endurance(0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-o-HandAttack (-½), SR Minimum (12; -½), RealWeapon (-¼)

2 Long Weapon: Stretching 1”, Reduced Endur-ance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points); OAF (-1) [or IAF (-½) or concealed orm], Always

Direct (-¼), No Noncombat Stretching (-¼),Only o Cause Damage (-½), No VelocityDamage (-¼) (total cost or IAF(-½) version: 2 points)

otal cost: 15 points (or 17 points or IAF (-½) version).

Chain Sword: Tis weapon, called lien tzu jen inChinese, consisted o two sword-like blades aboutas long as a human orearm connected by 1-2’ ochain. Sometimes the blades can be detached orthrowing (this would be bought by turning theweapon into a Multipower: one slot or the con-nected blades, one with two Recoverable Charges

o RKA).Chain Whip: Tis Chinese weapon (bian) is likea whip, but its length consists o metal plates con-nected by chain links; it has a slashing blade at thetip. It shares a Weapon Familiarity with the normalbullwhip, but does not have that weapon’s range.Tis weapon’s statistics also apply to the bian tzuchiang , or Whip Spear, a 6’-plus length o chainwhip with a spearhead attached at both ends.

Chakar: his unusual weapon, used by Gatkapractitioners, resembles a wagon wheel with aheavy weight at the end o each spoke. o use it,the wielder spins it, building up momentum andpower, and then strikes with it to cause seriouscrushing injuries.

Chiang: Te Chinese spear, which comes in dozenso unusual styles (use the write-up o the Chai-Dao,above, or its game statistics). Ofen the spear has ared tassel tied behind its head, partly or decorationand partly to keep blood rom running back downthe shaf and ouling the spearman’s grip. Use thesestatistics or the ollowing weapons in addition tothe standard spear: mao chiang (“snake spear,” awavy-bladed spear); the Eyebrow Spear (a spear

with a crescent-shaped head); ba (“rake,” a combatrake with sharp tines); ba tou (a hoe converted tocombat uses); chan (“shovel,” a term or severaltypes o polearms with heads shaped like largecoins, crescent moons, shovels, and other objects);chang (Korean spear); sodegarami (a -shapedJapanese spear with barbs all around the end toentangle an enemy’s sleeve); tombak and tjio (twoo dozens o different types o Indonesian spears);kuntham (Indian spear); kue (an Okinawan hoeused as a weapon by some Kobujutsu practitioners);thuan (Tai spear).

Chu-ko-nu: Tis is the amous Chinese repeatingcrossbow. It resembles an ordinary crossbow, except

that it has a box on top o it holding ten bolts. Teshooter works a lever to reload the crossbow bycocking it and dropping one o the quarrels intoplace. Te chu-ko-nu is heavier and has a shorterrange than a standard crossbow, but can be firedmuch more quickly: the SR Min listed is the mini-mum to carry and hold the weapon, not to reload it,and a character can load the weapon in a hal Phaseand fire the weapon in a hal Phase.

Comet Star Hammer: Tis missile weapon, calledlieu shen chuai in Chinese and also known as aShooting Star Hammer or Wol ’s eeth Hammer,consisted o a chain linking two spiked metal balls.It was typically thrown at the legs o horses or sol-diers to snare and injure them. Some versions o thisweapon had only one spiked ball; the damage andother effects are the same.

Cost Power9 Comet Star Hamm er: Multipower, 37-point

reserve; 1 Recoverable Charge (-1 ¼) orentire reserve, all OAF (-1), SR Minimum(10; -½), Real Weapon (-¼), Range Based OnSR (-¼)

1u 1) Deadly Hammer : RKA 1d6+1; OAF (-1),SR Minimum (10; -½), Real Weapon (-¼),Range Based On SR (-¼)

1u 2) Snaring Hammer : Entangle 3d6, 3 DEF,Entangle And Character Both ake Damage(+¼); OAF (-1), No Deense (-1½), CannotForm Barriers (-¼), SR Minimum (10; -½),Real Weapon (-¼), Range Based On SR (-¼)


Continued from last p

statuette, a strangeheavy telephoreceiver, and so ort

Garrotte: Tis weapcan be an ordinarlooking (though rei orced) scar or bewire garrotes can built into the lining clothes or into decortive hair-ribbons.

Grenades, Flash aSmoke: Disguis flash and smoke grnades can look licuffl inks, marbl pebbles, resh ru juggling balls, or anthing small, roundisand inconspicuous.

Hanbo: A bo cou

break down into twhanbo.

Kusarigama: A kam(sickle) with a chain its hollow hilt coube instantly convertinto a kusarigama.

Nunchaku: A hanboan innocuous-lookiwalking cane cou pull apart or unscreinto nunchaku; bo staff could bre

down into two pa Any normal-lookilength o stout marial, such as a te pole, a flag staff, orchair leg could coceal nunchaku....

Sai: One interesti prospect is that o thigh-tech sai, an ordnary-looking stiwhich (at the press a button) pops out textra tines.

Shuriken: Small stshuriken can be d guised as buttoloose change, the gltering baubles sewonto the skirt o aexotic dancer, or tdangling elemeno a mobile. Tand bo shuriken calso be hidden in thollow hilt o anothweapon.

Continued on next




Copper Hammer: A short-hafed hammer witha large ball o copper on the striking end. You canalso use this weapon’s statistics or other types oChinese hammers (chuai), and or the ton zen (atype o mace in the shape o a 2-3’ tall solid brassstatue o a man, somewhat similar in appearanceto the “Oscar” statuette given to Academy Awardwinners).

Cutlass: Tis is a European weapon, a short slash-

ing blade with a heavy guard to protect the hand;encers use it. Te hand-guard provides 6 DEF tothe hand holding it; the character can attack withthe blade or punch with the hand-guard. Te Viet-namese counterpart to this weapon is the song dao.

Cost Power8 Cutlass: Multipower, 22-point reserve, all

OAF (-1), SR Minimum (10; -½), RealWeapon (-¼)

1u 1) Blade: HKA 1d6 (plus SR), ReducedEndurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), SRMinimum (10; -½), Real Weapon (-¼) 0

1u 2) Hilt : HA +3d6, Reduced Endurance(0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-o-HandAttack (-½), SR Minimum (10; -½),Real Weapon (-¼) 0

4 Protective Hilt: Armor (6 PD/6 ED); OAF(-1), Only Protects Hand Used o Hold It(-2) (or 5 points or the IAF (-½) version)

otal cost: 14 points (or 17 or the IAF (-½) version)

Cymbal: Tis weapon is a small, hand-held cymbalwith sharpened edges. Warriors can use it as apunching/slashing weapon, or throw it. Tis weap-on’s statistics also apply to the ooth Saber, a sorto hal-cymbal that comes in two varieties: the Sun

ooth Saber, with sharp teeth along its cutting edge;and the Moon ooth Saber, which is smooth-edged.ooth Sabers cannot be thrown.

Darn Do: Te Chinese sabre, a long, heavy, single-edged sword with a curved blade. It is also knownas a dau. Te Vietnamese equivalent is the ma dao.

Dropped Marbles: Characters can drop thesewhere they think targets will run. Marbles do notrequire a Weapon Familiarity.

Dropped marbles can be bought one o threeways. Te first is as a orm o elekinesis:

Dropped Marbles: elekinesis (20 SR), AreaO Effect (One Hex; +½), Continuous (+1),Uncontrolled (removable by spending a FullPhase to sweep them aside; +½) (90 ActivePoints); OAF (-1), Activation Roll 14- (-½),Cannot Be Used o Cause Damage (-1), Onlyo Trow arget o Ground (-2), Only AffectsCharacters Moving On Te Ground (-¼), DEXRoll Cancels Effect (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 2Recoverable Charges (-1). otal cost: 12 points(or 13 points or IAF (-½) version).

Te drawbacks to this orm o Dropped Mar-bles are that they cover only a small area (1” radius)and do no damage to the target when he alls. At

the GM’s option, a character can buy the One Hexup to a ull Area o Effect (Radius) and can buy offthe Cannot Be Used o Cause Damage Limitation.

Te second orm uses Change Environment tomake it harder to remain standing in the area cov-ered by the marbles:

Dropped Marbles: Change Environment 2”radius, -5 to DEX Rolls to move through, Uncon-trolled (removable by spending a Full Phase tosweep them aside; +½) (33 Active Points); OAF(-1), Only Affects Characters Moving On TeGround (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 2 RecoverableCharges (-1). otal cost: 9 points (or 11 points

or IAF (-½) version).his version has the advantage o being

easier to understand and adjudicate in mostgame situations.

Te third orm o Dropped Marbles utilizesthe “Power Advantages For Martial Arts Maneu- vers” rules on page 104.

Dropped Marbles: Te ollowing Advantages or Martial Trow: Area O Effect (One Hex; +½),Continuous (+1), Uncontrolled (removable byspending a Full Phase to sweep them aside;+½) (75 Active Points); OAF (-1), ActivationRoll 14- (-½), Only Affects Characters Moving

On Te Ground (-¼), DEX Roll Cancels Effect(-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 2 Recoverable Charges(-1). otal cost: 18 points (or 20 points or IAF(-½) version).

Te advantage to this orm o Dropped Mar-bles is that it damages the target, and includes thetarget’s velocity when calculating damage, causinga ast-moving enemy to really hurt himsel whenhe hits a patch o marbles. Te drawback is that thecharacter has to have the Martial Trow maneuverto use this weapon (unless the GM permits you toinclude the cost or Martial Trow with the cost othe weapon itsel).


Three-section Staff: Perhaps a charactercould have a piece olawn urniture breakdown into a pair othree-section staves.

Tonfa: As any normalcane or baton, with the perpendicular handlea locking swing-outmechanism.

War Fan: Te best disguise or this weaponis to make it look likea normal an, carriedby some ashionablelady martial artist,and used or thenormal purposes okeeping cool and flirt-ing... until it’s time orcombat to begin.

Wind and Fire Wheels: Worn as the brim oa hat.



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Dropped marbles are ofen bought as IAFsbecause they’re supposed to be inconspicuous whendropped. Depending on the situation, this might notbe the case.

Endokuken: A type o shuriken that doesn’t justimpale the target with a blade. It also emits a 1”radius cloud o poisonous smoke when it contactsits target:

RKA 1d6, NND (deense is Lie Support [Sel-Contained Breathing or appropriate Immu-nity]; +1), Does BODY (+1), Area O Effect(One Hex; +½) (52 Active Points); OAF (-1),SR Minimum (10; -½), Linked (to shuriken’sRKA; -¼), Range Based On SR (-¼), RealWeapon (-¼), 9 Charges (-¼). otal cost: 15 points (or 17 points or the IAF (-½) version)(in addition to the cost or the blade o theshuriken itsel).

Epee: A light steel practice sword used by encers.Modelled afer the rapier, it has a light, flexible bladeending in a blunt steel tip (which is itsel covered bya plastic cap), and is used only or thrusting.

Fang: Te ang, a Chinese weapon developed roman Indian elephant goad, is a heavy iron rod about 2’long with a point at one end. About one-third o theway rom the top a curved blade projects to one side,similar to the blade o a kama (see below). Te fightercan use the blunt portion o the rod to stun his oes, orthe point or blade to injure and kill them.

Cost Power5 Fang: Multipower, 15-point reserve, all


1u 1) Blade/Point : HKA ½d6 (plus SR),Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1),

SR Minimum (8; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)1u 2) Rod : HA +2d6, Reduced Endurance

(0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-o-HandAttack (-½), SR Minimum (8; -½), RealWeapon (-¼)


Fist-Load: Tis is a small, heavy rod held in in thecharacter’s fist. A thong or ring protruding romthe center o the rod goes around one or two o thewearer’s fingers to hold it in place. A fist-load is alsoknown as a yawara.

Flying Claw: Similar to the Rope Dart (see below), thisweapon is a large, clawed metal hand on the end o anup to 25’ long rope. Te user whirls the hand aroundand slashes people with it; sometimes the claws arepoisoned. Te Chinese call it a ei chua. You can also usethis weapon’s statistics or: the Dragon’s Beard Hook(don shu gao), which resembles a U with a serrated,barbed outer edge; the Iron Lotus (tai lien ar ), whichresembles a bladed lotus flower; and the Rope Hook( gin tao sou), a large, barbed hook.

Flying Guillotine: Tis peculiar ibetan weaponconsists o a metal hoop with a very sharp inneredge; the hoop attaches to a rope. It’s an effectiveambush weapon; i the attacker can get above an

unsuspecting target, he can drop the Guillotineover the target’s head and yank. It’s somewhat lesseffective in active combat; the weapon only doesdamage i it hits an extremity (head, hand, arm, leg,or oot). Te attacker can roll Hit Locations normally(with attacks to Locations 9-14 simply ailing to dodamage); or he can choose to aim or specific loca-tions, taking the OCV penalties or aiming.

In game terms, the requirement to hit an

extremity is a -½ limitation. In campaigns thatdon’t use Hit Locations, the attacker always suffers a-6 OCV penalty.

Fo: A weighted cloak hem, used as a weapon bysome encers. At the appropriate moment, the encerflicks his cloak at his opponent, causing the weightsewn into the hem to strike him.

Foil: Tis weapon is much like the epee, but evenlighter and more flexible. You can also use its sta-tistics or the daab, a Tai sword used in Krabi-Krabong.

Fukimi-bari: iny darts a character hides in hishand (to throw at an enemy) or in his mouth (to

blow into an enemy’s ace). Tey’re always boughtas IAFs because it’s so easy to conceal them. Teattack has No Range (-½), since the character canonly throw/blow the darts a ew eet at most. (Tisweapon doesn’t grant an automatic head shot, butmost users who place ukimi-bari in their mouthstry to achieve a surprise result and take a Placed Shotat the head). Tis is a ninja weapon. You can also usethis weapon’s statistics or the Chinese mei ar chen(Plum Flower Needles).

Fukiya: Te classic blowgun, a weapon consistingo a long, hollow tube and numerous light darts tofire through it. Te darts themselves do very littledamage, but are usually tipped with some sort o

poison. Te darts are nearly invisible and are firedsilently, but can certainly be elt upon impact. Acharacter who wants darts so light they can’t be eltwill have to buy an Invisible Power Effects (FullyInvisible; +½ [because the source o the powerremains visible]) blowgun with his own CharacterPoints. Use this weapon’s statistics or the Filipinoblowgun, or sumpit .

Gada: Te gada is a heavy wooden club used byKalaripayit exponents. It has a relatively thin shafand a large, bulbous head, making it look somethinglike a large wooden mace. It requires great strengthto wield effectively.

Garotte: Tis is a strangling cord or wire. It comesin two varieties: the Strangling garotte, which maybe any strong rope, scar, or cord; and the Wiregarotte, a piece o strong, sharp wire with a handletied to either end. Te attacker loops either kindaround the victim’s neck and applies pressure; there-ore the garotte is usually used rom surprise — it’san assassin’s weapon.

Te Strangling garotte chokes the victim todeath, and is no good against any Hit Locationexcept the Head. Te Wire garotte can slice throughflesh, and can thereore cut a throat or cut a headentirely off; it harms any body part the attacker canloop it around.




Any chain weapon described in this sectioncan be used as a Strangling Garotte; the manriki- gusari is especially appropriate.

Cost Power7 Strangling Garrotte: Energy Blast 2d6, NND

(deense is having rigid armor on the neck,a PD Force Field, or Lie Support [Sel-Con-tained Breathing]), Continuous (+1) (30Active Points); OAF (-1), SR Minimum

(5; -¼), Real Weapon (-¼), wo-Handed(-½), Must Follow A Successul Grab Maneu- ver (-¼), Must Be Aimed At Te Head Loca-tion (-¾), No Range (-½) (total cost or IAF(-½ version: 7 points)

5 Wire Garrotte: RKA ½d6, Continuous (+1)(20 Active Points); OAF (-1), SR Minimum(5; -¼), Real Weapon (-¼), wo-Handed(-½), Must Follow A Successul Grab Maneu- ver (-¼), Must Be Aimed At A arget It CanLoop Around (Head or Arm, typically; -½),No Range (-½) (total cost or IAF (-½ ver-sion: 5 points)

Ghi: Te Chinese halberd, which consists o a spearwith one or two crescent moon-shaped blades set justbelow the spearhead. Te Vietnamese equivalent is thedai dao; the Tai equivalent is the ngow.

Cost Power11 Ghi: Multipower, 30-point reserve; all OAF (-

1), SR Minimum (13; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)1u 1) Blade: HKA 1d6+1 (plus SR), Reduced

Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), SRMinimum (13; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)


2 Long Weapon: Stretching 1”, Reduced Endur-ance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points); OAF(-1) [or IAF (-½) or concealed orm], AlwaysDirect (-¼), No Noncombat Stretching (-¼),Only o Cause Damage (-½), No VelocityDamage (-¼) (total cost or IAF (-½) version:2 points)

4 Skillfu l Weapon: +2 OCV with Block, Bind,and Disarm; OAF (-1), Only Applies o TeTree Listed Maneuvers (-½)


Grenades, Smoke: Some warriors (especiallyninja) use these grenades to blind and conound anopponent, or to cloak their next action — such ashiding or preparing a new attack. Smoke grenadesdo not require a Weapon Familiarity.

Smoke Grenades: Darkness to Sight Group 1”radius (10 Active Points); OAF (-1), Limited Effect(Normal Sight only; -¼), Range Based On SR(-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 8 Continuing Chargeslasting 1 Extra Phase each (-¼). otal cost: 3 points (or 4 points or the IAF (-½) version).

Hanbo: Tis is a fighting-stick weapon, rom2’ to 3’ in length. Use these statistics also orthe scabbard o a short sword (any blade witha base damage o 1d6) when used as a weapon,or the pentjong (a knobbed club used inBhakti Negara Pentjak-Silat), and or the ol-lowing weapons rom India: kettukari (cane),lathi (heavy cane), muchan (a tapered 2’ longstaff), and the otta (curved heavy sticks).

Hand Mace: Tis term reers to a number omace-like Chinese weapons in the shape o hands,fists, or claws. Some o the hands hold objects,such as pens or brushes, or have one or two fin-gers upraised, which helps the mace pierce armor.Examples o this sort o weapon include the ch’uanbi (“fist pen”), chua (long-handled claw), and u sou(“Buddha hand”).

Hankyu: Tis is a short, comparatively weak, easily-carried bow avored by ninja. One variant, the tabiumi,was collapsible and hence easily hidden when neces-sary; hidden arrows could be carried as the ribs o astraw hat or in many other ways.

Hook Sword: Tis is a Chinese sword popular insome Kung Fu styles. It includes a straight, double-edged blade, a orward-curving hook at the endo that blade, a bladed crescent-shaped guard orthe hand (providing 6 DEF to the hand on an11- Activation Roll), and a butt-spike protrudingrom the hilt. Tis weapon has a +0 OCV bonusor most maneuvers, but because o its unusual

configuration gets a +2 OCV or maneuvers includ-ing the Bind, Block, Disarm, and akeaway (i.e.,Grab Weapon) maneuver elements. Te Fire Wingsword, Elephant runk sword, and the sang kauw oKuntao use the same statistics.

Iron Mandarin Duck: A throwing weapon made outo iron and shaped like a mandarin duck. Tanks tothe duck’s weight and sharp points (eathers, wings,beak, and so orth), it’s a lethal weapon.

Jien: Te Chinese broadsword, ofen used in KungFu styles. Te weapon’s blade is straight, light, anddouble-edged; it’s a thrusting weapon, and nor-mally only the our inches at the tip o the blade

are used in combat. Sometimes it comes in unusualconfigurations, such as: the sher ther jien, or snake-tongued sword, which has a orked tip; the giau tzu jen, which has tiny serrations along both edges; andthe wu grou jen, or Centipede Hook, which has ahook protruding rom one side. Te Vietnameseequivalent to the jien was the kiem.

Jo: Tis is a single stick around 4’ in length. Usethese statistics also or these weapons: the scab-bard o a long sword (any sword with a damage o1d6+1 or better) when used as a weapon; the sticksused in the escrima martial art; the tieh tzu (“ironruler,” a flat iron bar used as a weapon); the chuu, aweapon derived rom the Chinese grain pestle; or



Hero Games

the Indonesian sticks, tongkat and tekken (the latterresembles a small walking cane); the Korean sticks,dan bong and joong bong ; and the Vietnamese stick,tien bong .

Kama: Tis is the Okinawan sickle, which consistso a short handle topped by a short curved sickleblade. It is one o the principal weapons o Karate(the others are bo, eiku, nunchaku, sai, tekko, timbeand rochin, and tona), and is ofen used in pairs.

You can also use the statistics or the kama or theChinese sickle (lian).

Kanzashi: Te kanzashi is a wooden or metal hairneedle, about 12-20 cm long, with two tines run-ning parallel. It could be used as a weapon, and wasa avorite o the kunoichi, or emale ninja.

Kapak: A small throwing hatchet used by theBatak people o Indonesia. You can also use this orany number o small, hatchet-like throwing weap-ons used by many different cultures.

Katana: Tis is the traditional samurai sword; itis the larger o the daisho, the pair o blades wornby the samurai. Te odachi is an older-style bladeusing the same game statistics. Te katana is wornin the belt, edge upwards. Te tachi, another longJapanese blade, has identical game statistics to thekatana, but is slightly more curved than the katana;the tachi is either worn in the belt (with the edgedown) or worn over shoulder instead o in belt.

Use the katana’s statistics or the traditionalKorean sword ( gum), the Vietnamese sword( guom), or the Chinese Seagull Sword (a double-bladed sword with a bulbous tip), and or the to

sangto, a orm o twin swords used in Kuntao.Kiseru: Tis weapon is a metal smoking pipe about1’ long. It is easily concealed and can actually beused or smoking.

Knuck-Knie: Tis is a normal olding, lock-backblade... except that its handle is a set o brass knuckles.

Ko-Gatana: A small knie attached to one side othe scabbard o a wakizashi (q.v.).

Kris: Tis weapon is the Malaysian double-edged,wavy-bladed sword/dagger. It is mainly a thrustingweapon, and the waves in the blade make wounds very, very painul and more likely to bleed pro-usely. Kris blades vary in length rom 5 inches toover 30 inches. Te Kris Knie stats shown are or ablade in the 5-10 inch range, the Normal Kris statsare or a blade in the 10-20 inch range, and the KrisSword stats are or a blade in the 20-30 inch range.

Te kris has the same significance orIndonesians that the katana has or theJapanese. Every part o the weapon has itsown designation and lore. A large numbero magical abilities, or tasawwa , are attrib-uted to it (see page 50); they are allegedlyimplanted in the blade by the pande, ormaster smith, who crafs it. Every maleis supposed to possess a kris, and it is a

ather’s duty to see that his son is urnishedwith one. Kris rom different areas o theIndonesian archipelago can be told by their distinc-tive styles or orms.

Kukri: An Indian knie which is also requentlyused by Bando practitioners and by the Gurkas oNepal. It has a recurved blade and a slightly oval orrounded point. It can be thrown. You can also usethe kukri’s statistics or the badik, a type o Indone-sian dagger, which is not normally thrown.

Kusari: A flexible weapon consisting o a chainabout 12’ long with a weight on one end and ametal ring on the other. It can be thrown at a targetto do him harm or to grab him (e.g., grab his legsto trip him, or wrap around his arms to bind him).For this reason, the kusari’s Stretching is not boughtwith the Only o Do Damage Limitation, though itdoesn’t provide ull manipulation at range.

Kusarigama: Tis is a kusari with a kama (sickle)on one end. Te wielder o the kusarigama holdsthe kama by the hilt and swings the chain to strikeor grab a oe; once he snares the target, he ollowsup with the sickle end.

Several variants o the kusarigama deservemention. Te first is the bakuhatsugama, akusarigama with a nagedeppo (explosive grenade,see below) or metsubishi (flash grenade, see below)

attached to the weighted end o the chain. Tesecond is the mamukigama, a kusarigama witha live poisonous serpent loosely attached to thechain! In theory, the snake will bite an enemywrapped in the chain. Last is the oh-gama, anextremely large (4’+) battlefield version o thekusarigama; it does double the damage o thekusarigama but has a correspondingly larger SRMinimum in Heroic campaigns.

Kyogetsu Shoge: Tis weapon is much like thekusarigama, but has a bladed grappling hook on theend instead o a kama. It is also carried as a grap-pling hook, its chain acting as its climb-line.

Lajatang: A weapon used in the Indonesian fight-ing style o Kuntao, consisting o a short woodenstaff with a crescent moon-shaped blade set per-pendicular to it at each end.




Main-Gauche: A European encing dagger. It hasa heavy hand-guard (6 DEF on the hand holdingit) and extra-long quillions. It is especially good at,and so receives an extra +2 OCV or, maneuverswith the Bind, Block, Disarm, and akeaway (GrabWeapon) maneuver elements.

Cost Power6 Main Gauche: Multipower, 18-point reserve;

all OAF (-1), SR Minimum (7; -½), Real

Weapon (-¼)1u 1) Blade: HKA 1d6-1 (plus SR), Reduced

Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), SRMinimum (7; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)

1u 2) Hilt : HA +2d6 , Reduced Endurance(0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-o-HandAttack (-½), SR Minimum (7; -½), RealWeapon (-¼)

4 Protective Hilt: Armor (6 PD/6 ED); OAF(-1), Only Protects Te Hand Used oGrasp It (-2)

4 Skillful Weapon: +2 OCV with Block, Bind,Disarm, and akeaway; OAF (-1), OnlyApplies o Te Four Listed Maneuvers (-½)


Makila: Used by Zipota practitioners, this is a 1.5meter-long stick traditionally used as a shepherd’stool. One end has an iron cap, and the handleunscrews to reveal a long, sharp needle-like thrust-ing weapon.

Cost Power8 Makila: Multipower, 22-point reserve, all


1u 1) Stick: HA +3d6, Reduced Endurance

(0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-o-HandAttack (-½), SR Minimum (8; -½), RealWeapon (-¼)

1u 2) Spike: HKA 1d6 (plus SR), ReducedEndurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), SRMinimum (8; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)


Manriki-gusari: Also called a manriki or a kusari- undo, this is a 3’ chain with weights at both ends. Itcan be swung to strike a oe or thrown to ensnarehim, just like the kusari. You can also use thisweapon’s statistics or the ollowing weapons: thesuruchin, a weighted rope used by some Kobujutsupractitioners; the kabit , a chain weapon used inArnis; the panu, a scar or handkerchie weightedwith coins used by some Arnis exponents; and thesarong, a type o waistcloth worn in the Philippinesand Indonesia which is used like the panu, but ismuch heavier — there are reports o skilled prac-titioners “flicking” the sarong at thick boards andsnapping them in two!

Metsubishi: Small grenades which can momen-tarily blind an opponent. Grenades do not require aWeapon Familiarity. Alternatively, a “flash grenade”could be one use’s worth o eye-irritating dust,either thrown at a oe or blown through an open-

ended sword sheath, a small pillbox, or a similardevice. Tis type o metsubishi has No Range, sinceit can only be used effectively within a ew eet.

Metsubishi (thrown): Sight Group Flash 2d6, Area O Effect Nonselective (One Hex; +¼)(12 Active Points); OAF (-1), Range Based OnSR (-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 8 Charges (-½).otal cost: 4 points (or 5 points or IAF (-½)version).

Metsubishi (blown powder): Sight Group Flash2d6 (10 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Range(-½), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Charge (-2). otal cost:2 points (or 2 points or IAF (-½) version).

Chinese du sar , “poison sand,” uses the samestatistics as the blown metsubishi.

Mourn Staff: Known as a Torn Staff or, in Chinese,as a san men barn, this weapon actually resembles asword more than it does a staff. It consists o a 3-4’wooden or metal shaf, with three-quarters o itslength studded with metal “teeth.”

Nagedeppo: A type o primitive explosive grenade.Its explosion covers a One Hex radius. In eudal Japa-nese campaigns, the bang and flash rom this grenadeare as disorienting as its damaging effects, since suchweapons were extremely uncommon in that period.

Naginata: Tis Japanese weapon consists o a 2-3’edged blade on long staff; the weapon is usually 7-8’long. It is traditionally a very popular weapon withemale Japanese fighters. Warriors use it as both abladed weapon and as a staff; it is very versatile. Youcan also use this weapon’s statistics or the nagemaki

or nagakami, which has a somewhat longer andheavier blade but a shorter handle.

Cost Power12 Naginata: Multipower, 37-point reserve;

all OAF (-1), SR Minimum (15; -¾), RealWeapon (-¼)

1u 1) Blade: HKA 1½d6 (plus SR), ReducedEndurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), SRMinimum (15; -¾), Real Weapon (-¼)

1u 2) Shaf : HA +4d6, Reduced Endurance(0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-o-HandAttack (-½), SR Minimum (15; -¾), RealWeapon (-¼)

2 Long Weapon: Stretching 1”, Reduced Endur-ance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points); OAF (-1) [or IAF (-½) or concealed orm], AlwaysDirect (-¼), No NoncombatStretching (-¼), Only o Cause Damage(-½), No Velocity Damage (-¼) (total costor IAF (-½) version: 2 points)


Navaja: A large olding knie used by European knie-fighters, with a very slight curve toward the tip o thethree to six inch-long blade.



Hero Games

Nekote: Nekote, or “cat’s claws,” are a set o five metalclaws fitting on the fingertips. By themselves they dorelatively little damage, but they are ofen poisoned.Use this weapon’s statistics or Chinese fingernailrazors (small blades that fit underneath the finger-nails) and the Japanese kakute, or “horn finger” ring.Tis ring has a small spike on one side that is nor-mally poisoned, making even the lightest punch atal.

Net: See oami.

Nine-Dragon rident: Tis Chinese polearmconsists o a 6’ shaf with a trident on top, plustwo cross-bars urther down (turned at 90o toone another) which bear an indescribable arrayo flanges and protrusions. It grants a +2 OCV tomaneuvers including the Bind, Block, Disarm, andakeaway (Grab Weapon) Bases. In Chinese, it iscalled the gao loon cha.

For the Nine-Dragon rident’s game statistics,use the Ghi, above.

Nine-Ring Sword: A single-edged, sabre-like weaponwith nine rings set into its back edge. Te rings helpto catch an enemy’s weapon and disarm him. Anothername or this weapon is Ghost Hat Sword.

Ninja-to:Tis weapon, also called the shinobi- gatama, shinobigatana, and ninja-ken, is the tra-

ditional ninja sword. It has a blade about 24” longand is about 40” long overall. It looks somethinglike other Japanese swords such as the katana, butthe blade is straight and the handguard (tsuba) issquare instead o round.

Te ninja-to is a tool as much as a weapon —to use a modern comic book analogy, it is a sort o“utility belt” or the ninja. It can be used or climb-ing and or digging holes in the earth as well, anindignity the owner o a katana would never subject his blade to. Its scabbard, or saya, is longer thanthe sword itsel and can be used to carry concealed

powder weapons or bo shuriken. Te scabbard cord,or sageo, has a variety o uses. Tese additional usesare bought as part o a Multipower.

Ninja only use a ninja-to on stealth missions;when disguised as ordinary people, they use what-ever weapons are appropriate to those olk. Ninjaalso ofen use the katana.

Cost Power

22Ninja-to And Saya:

Multipower, 44-pointreserve, all OAF (-1)1u 1) Blade: HKA 1 ½d6 (plus SR), Range

Based On SR (+¼), Reduced Endurance(0 END; +½); OAF (-1), SR Minimum (15;-¾), Real Weapon (-¼), One-And-A-Hal-Handed (-¼)

1u 2) Hilt/Saya As Club: HA +2d6, ReducedEndurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-o-Hand Attack (-½), SR Minimum (15;-¾), Real Weapon (-¼), One-And-A-Hal-Handed (-¼)

1u 3) Saya And Sageo As A Climbing Platorm :+1 to Climbing Roll; OAF (-1)

1u 4) Blinding Powder In Saya: As Metsubishi,Blown, above1u 5) Sageo As Strangling Garrotte: reer to

“Garrotte,” above, or details on that weapon1u 6) Saya As Breathing ube (akezutsu): Lie

Support (Breathe Underwater); OAF (-1),Only Works Close o Te Surace (-1)


No-daichi: Tis is a Japanese two-handed sword.

Nunchaku: Tis weapon, one o the principalweapons o Karate (the others are bo, eiku, kama,sai, tekko, timbe and rochin, and tona), is an Oki-

nawan wooden flail. It consists o two pieces owood (each 12” to 14” long) connected by shortchain or cord (itsel 1” to 5” long). Nunchaku areofen used in pairs.

Parang: A cleaver-like Indonesian blade, about 10inches to three eet in length. You can also use itsstatistics or other Indonesian weapons, includingthe golok (which has a more convex cutting edgeand a sharper point than the parang).

Pedang: A straight or curved Indonesian shortsword (10-35” long). It is used one-handed. OtherIndonesian blades using similar statistics includethe kělewang (a single-edged sword with a pro-

nounced notch near the tip on the blunt side).Pendjepit: A weapon used in Prisai Sakti Pentjak-Silat. It is a metal pincher with sharp, tiny teeth inthe ends which are used to tear at the flesh grabbed.

Petjat: A 4-6’ whip used in some parts o Indo-nesia. You can also use this weapon’s statistics orthe chemeti, another type o Indonesian whip witha 1-2’ wooden handle, and a 2-3’ buffalo-hide orhuman hair whip.

Puñal: A olding knie similar to the navaja, butsomewhat smaller and more streamlined, without theslight curve at the tip.




Rante: A chain weapon rom Indonesia. Te chaincan be used in typical ashion, to whip and snare,but many rante also have some sort o blade or barbattached to one end, making the weapon more lethalthan it otherwise would be.

Cost Power9 Rante: Multipower, 22-point reserve, all OAF

(-1), SR Minimum (5; -¼), Real Weapon (-¼)1u 1) Chain: HA +3d6, Reduced Endurance

(0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-o-HandAttack (-½), SR Minimum (5; -¼), RealWeapon (-¼)

1u 2) Blade: HKA ½d6 (plus SR), ReducedEndurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), SRMinimum (5; -¼), Real Weapon (-¼)

2 Long Weapon: Stretching 1”, Reduced Endur-ance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points); OAF (-1) [or IAF (-½) or concealed orm], AlwaysDirect (-¼), No Noncombat Stretching (-¼),Only o Cause Damage (-½), No VelocityDamage (-¼) (total cost or IAF (-½) version:2 points)


Rapier: A long, narrow stabbing sword, a Europeanencing weapon.

Razor, Straight: Tis is the normal shaving imple-ment; the large variety is larger than the types nor-mally used to shave. It is ineffective against Armor(it has the “Reduced Penetration” Limitation) anddoesn’t do as much SUN as cleaving or stabbingweapons. It is the preerred weapon o capoeiristas.wo types o Straight Razors are shown on the chart,one o ordinary length and one extra-long.

You can also use the statistics or the smaller

Straight Razor or the Justice Pen (bi), a Chinesestabbing weapon which resembled a large metalbrush or pen.

Ring Needle: Also known as an er mei tzu, or “sting,”this weapon consists o a ring attached to a thin,sharpened metal rod. It was originally designed orunderwater fighting. Pakua practitioners use it to stabor thrust, and can throw it.

Rings: Steel rings about 8’ in diameter, used as blud-geoning weapons or missiles.

Rope Dart: A small blade on the end o an up to25’ long rope. Te weapon was used by whirling thedart around and slashing people with it. Te Indo-

nesian equivalent or this weapon is the suk piao,used in Kuntao.

Sabre: Tis is the European encing sabre, a sharp,curved weapon used principally or slashing. Youcan also use the sabre’s statistics or the krabi, asabre-like sword used in Krabi-Krabong.

Sai: Tis Japanese weapon, known as gen or cha inChina and as a tjabang or titjio in Indonesia, is oneo the principal weapons o Karate (the others are bo,eiku, kama, nunchaku, tekko, timbe and rochin, andtona). It is is trident-shaped truncheon, some 15-20”long, made o metal. Te point is blunted; it is not astabbing implement. Due to its trident shape, the Sai

receives an additional +2 OCV whenperorming maneuvers which includethe Bind, Block, Disarm, and akeaway(Grab Weapon) Bases (thus receiving atotal o +3 OCV with these maneuvers).

Tese statistics are also used orthe jutte and nunte weapons. Te jutte(or jitte) looks like the sai but with onetine missing; this makes it easier to

conceal, and thus popular among ninja.Te nunte looks like the sai but withone tine bent backwards. Te sai, jutte and nuntecan be thrown; the three weapons share an identicalWeapon Familiarity.

Sai, Cinema: Tough historical sai appear never tohave been sharpened, sai in movies are sometimesstabbing weapons. Te statistics or this weapon canalso be used or the Chinese char , or trident dagger,and or the siangkam, a Kuntao weapon resembling ametal arrow about 1-2’ long.

Schlaeger: A duelling sword avored by Germanstudents, particularly during the latter hal othe 1800s. It has a straight, double-edged blade, alarge basket hilt (to allow the wrist a ull range omotion), and a dull point (it was used or slashing,not stabbing).

Shinai: Tis is a bamboo practice sword shapedlike a katana and used in the sport o kendo.

Shinobi-zue: Tis ninja weapon is a bamboo staff.One end is loaded with lead or a harder impactwhen it hits. Te other is capped with a metal plug;when removed, this releases a concealed 6’ chain. Testaff is used as a bo; the chain is used like a kusaribut cannot be thrown. Tis weapon is also knownas a shikomi-zue. You can also use the shinobi-zue’sstatistics or the chigiriki, a staff or spear with a 3-10’-

long chain with a weighted end attached to it (use theyari’s statistics or the spearhead).

Shuko: Tese are the ninja climbing claws worn onthe hands, usable in hand-to-hand combat to slasha target. Tey provide a +1 bonus to Climbing rolls(when wearing both the shuko and the ashiko, or oot-claws, the ninja gets a total bonus o +2 to Climbingrolls). A character cannot carry a weapon in a handwhich has a shuko in it. And the characer must wearboth shuko, one on each hand, to get the +1 to hisClimbing rolls. Shuko are also known as tekkokagi.

Shuriken: Commonly called throwing stars andthrowing spikes, these are ranged weapons used byninja and by modern martial artist heroes and vil-lains. Tey come in three basic types:

Bo Shuriken are sharply-pointed metal spikes aew inches long. One to five bo shuriken may bethrown at a time.

Large (Star) Shuriken are star-shaped metal disksseveral inches across, about hal an inch thick,and possessing three to eight sharp points.



Hero Games

Small (Star) Shuriken are shaped the same asLarge Star Shuriken, but are only about aneighth o an inch thick and a couple o inchesacross. One to five small star shuriken may bethrown at a time.

Star shuriken are called hira shuriken in Japa-nese. Te our-pointed star, the most popular type,is called a senban shuriken. Shuriken made out oflat metal bars with sharpened ends are itaken.

Te Chinese have a weapon called a SleeveDart (shouu gen, darts easily concealed in a sleeveor in various spring-loaded tubes hidden inone’s clothes) which has the same statistics as boshuriken. Te Chinese also created razor-edgedcoins (lo han chain [Japanese, nasare en]) andoddly-shaped Dart Knives (biau dau) which havethe same statistics as small star shuriken, as doesthe piau, an Indonesian throwing blade vaguelyshaped like a hatchet-head. Te Indian chakram orcher-khi, a razor-edged throwing ring also calleda quoit , uses the statistics or a large shuriken. Te paku, a sort o sharpened throwing stick weaponused in Indonesia, uses the bo shuriken’s statistics.

Many dart weapons, including specially-thrownnails or the narrow darts sometimes slipped intowar ans, correspond to bo shuriken.

Te Ranged Weapons Chart shows a load o 9 to12 shuriken. Ninja traditionally carried nine, becausethat number has special significance to them.

Sling Bow: Tis missile weapon is a bow designedto fire small iron balls — sort o a cross betweena bow and a slingshot. In Chinese it is known as adan kurn.

Sof Hammer: Tis Chinese weapon (nuan chuai)is the same as the European morningstar: a metalball (spiked or not) connected to a wooden shaf by

a short length o chain.Spread-Te-Water Knie: A bladed weaponshaped like a thin D, with the curved edge beingthe blade and the straight bar being a wooden shaf.Te straight bar averaged about 2-3’ long.

Steel Olive: An olive-shaped throwing weapon.Te ends taper down to sharp points, giving theweapon an eye-shaped profile.

Steel oad: A throwing weapon in the shape o atoad! Te toad’s head tapers to slightly more o apoint that a normal toad’s does, so the weapon cando more damage than it would i it were blunt.

Sword-Spear: A type o short (3-4’) Chinese spear,

known as a jen chian. Also use these statistics ora Double Hook Arrow (shunn gou shih), a type olarge arrow with two hooks which curve away romthe arrow head.

ai-Dao: Tis Chinese polearm is two meters longand topped with a heavy, curved blade. (Use theNaginata’s write-up or its game statistics.) It wasused both rom oot and horseback. Te kwan dao(also spelled quan tao, meaning “General Kwan’sKnie”), da dau (a long-handled broadsword-likeweapon), bisento (a Japanese weapon), and thechun jung whule-do (“heavenly dragon moonknie,” a Korean weapon) use the same statistics as

this weapon, as do the kwanto and sjang sutai, twoweapons used in Kuntao.

anto: A Japanese dagger, sturdily constructed,with a curved, single-edged, chisel-pointed blade. Itis 9” or so long and has no hand-guard.

Use these statistics or two other Japaneseblades, the aikuchi and hamidashi, and or severalshort Chinese bladed weapons, including the shaoudau (“scrape saber,” a small version o the Chinesesaber) and shou li jen (“sleeve sword,” a sword aboutthe size o a dagger with a concealed spring thatallowed to to expand to twice its length). Te tanto’sstatistics also apply to a number o Indonesian dag-gers, including the pisau.

etsubishi: Tese are caltrops — our-pointedspikes which, when dropped on the ground, alwaysland with one spike pointed up. When the char-acter throws his tetsubishi onto the ground, herolls versus DCV 3 to hit his target hex. When atarget walks into the hex where tetsubishi havebeen thrown, the attacking player (or GM) rolls the14- Activation Roll; i it succeeds, the target takesdamage. In campaigns which use Hit Locations,this damage is always to the character’s eet (loca-tion 18). A character who sees the caltrops aheado time may move through the hex without step-ping on them. etsubishi do not require a WeaponFamiliarity.

Characters ofen buy tetsubishi at IAFsbecause they’re generally inconspicuous whendropped — though depending on the circum-stances, this may not be the case. In a pinch, a char-acter can use his tetsubishi as an improvised missileweapon, doing 1d6 to all targets in a 1” radius.

You can also use the tetsubishi write-up origadama (spiked iron balls similar to arare), hishi(dried water chestnuts with spiky shells), anddokubari (spiked balls o plant matter).

Cost Power15 Tetsubishi: Multipower, 45-point reserve;

all OAF (-1), 2 Recoverable Charges (-1) or

entire Multipower1u 1) Dropped : RKA 1d6, Area O Effect (One

Hex; +½), Continuous (+1), Uncontrolled(removable by spending a Full Phase to




sweep them aside; +½); OAF (-1), Activa-tion Roll 14- (-½), Only Affects CharactersMoving On Te Ground (-¼), DEX RollCancels Effect (-¼), Automatically argetsHit Location 18 (-0)

1u 2) Trown: RKA 1d6, Area O Effect (OneHex; +½); OAF (-1), Range Based On SR(-¼), Inaccurate (user is at hal OCV, andRange Modifier increment drops to 3”; -¼)


etsubo: A Japanese hardwood war-staff 6’ longand covered with studded iron plates at the end;the plated area o the shaf is octagonal rather thanround. You can also use the tetsubo’s statistics orthe konsaibo, a hardwood staff reinorced withmetal strips and iron studs, and or the kanabo, aniron club.

etsu-o: A heavy iron sword, curved in the Japa-nese ashion, used by samurai and ninja alike as astrength-training weapon. It is too heavy or mostpeople to use effectively in combat (see the weap-

on’s SR Min).Tree-Section Staff: A Kung Fu weapon, knownas shan gieh kun in Chinese. It consists o threewooden rods connected by rings; each rod is 18”-20” long. Fighters use it like a flail or long strikes,or like a jo or close-in attacks.It’s very useul ormaneuvers containing the Bind, Block, Disarm,and akeaway (Grab Weapon) Bases: it grants a+2 OCV with them. I you’re using the WeaponLengths rules (page 164), the Tree-Section staffis a special weapon: other weapons attack againstthe Tree-Section Staff as i the staff were a Longweapon, but the wielder o the Staff is never at anOCV penalty when the attacker gets inside his

guard and strikes him.Te Indonesian equivalent o the Tree-Sec-

tion Staff, used in Kuntao, is the sa tjat koen.You can also use these statistics or the

“Sweeper,” or shao-tzu, a weapon consisting o ashort staff with an even shorter length o woodattached to one end by a chain (a two-section staff,i you will). Te Sweeper was most ofen used toattack a horse’s legs.

iger Fork: Te iger Fork, or hu cha, is a large,trident-like weapon with broadly-spread tines.(Use the Naginata’s write-up or its game statistics.)You should also use these or various types o Chi-

nese tridents, such as the shan char , and the Koreantrident, or dang pah.

imbe: A 1-2’ shaf with a small spearhead on oneend. It is used in combination with a tortoiseshellshield called a rochin and is one o the principalweapons o Kobujutsu.

jaluk: A blade weapon used in Setia Hati Pentjak-Silat. It consists o a hilt (with a curved metal hand-guard) rom which a sickle-like curved blade about1’ long emerges. Te sharp edge o the weapon isthe reverse, or outside, edge — so parrying it canbe a risky proposition. It is best used in surprise orassassination attacks, not in open combat.

oami: A net. Its statistics depend upon its size:

Small Toami: Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, Entangle And Character Both ake Damage (+¼) (50 Active Points); OAF (-1), Range Based On SR(-¼), Real Weapon (-¼), 1 Recoverable Charge(-1 ¼). otal cost: 13 points (or 15 points orIAF (-½) version).

Normal Toami: Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, Entan-

gle And Character Both ake Damage (+¼), Area O Eect (One Hex; +½) (70 ActivePoints); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), RangeBased On SR (-¼), 1 Recoverable Charge(-1 ¼). otal cost: 19 points (or 21 points orIAF (-½) version).

Large Toami: Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, Entangle And Character Both ake Damage (+¼), Area o Eect (5” Radius; +1) (90 ActivePoints); OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-¼), RangeBased On SR (-¼), 1 Recoverable Charge(-1 ¼). otal cost: 24 points (or 28 points orIAF (-½) version).

ona: Tis is one o the traditional weapons oKarate (the others are the bo, eiku, kama, nunchaku,sai, tekko, and timbe and rochin). It consists o a trun-cheon with handle protruding at 90 degrees near oneend. It is ofen used in pairs. Unlike clubs, it requiresa Weapon Familiarity (it’s part o the WF or KarateWeapons). However, ordinary people can pick up atona and use it as ordinary club, keeping the normalweapon damage but losing the OCV bonus.

Te Indonesian counterparts to the tona arethe segu, which is used in apak Sutji Pentjak-Silat,and the kwai, which is used in Kuntao.

subute: A “blunt shuriken,” used to knock anenemy unconscious. Te same statistics apply toblunt Chinese throwing coins, shouu chuan, or theSleeve Ring (a blunt metal ring hidden in the sleeveand thrown at an enemy’s ace).

Umebi: A orm o primitive land mine used by theninja:

Umebi: RKA 1 ½d6, Area O Eect (OneHex; +½), rigger (when stepped on, takes 1

urn to reset; +¼) (44 Active Points); IAF (-½), 1 Charge (-2), Real Weapon (-¼). otalcost: 12 points.

Urumi: Te urumi, or spring-sword, is a flexiblesword rom India. It consists o a hilt with 1-4blades o metal (sharpened on both edges) project-ing rom it. Te blades are thin and flexible, allow-ing them to be whipped through the air and into anenemy. When not in use the urumi can be carriedaround the waist like a belt.

Cost Power8 Urumi (Single-Bladed): HKA 1d6 (plus SR),

Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½) (22 Active



Hero Games

Points); OAF (-1), SR Minimum (12; -½), RealWeapon (-¼) (total cost with IAF (-½): 10)

13 Urumi (Multi-Bladed): HKA 1d6 (plus SR),Autofire (up to 4 shots, depending on numbero blades and wielder’s desire; +½), ReducedEndurance (0 END; +1) (37 Active Points);OAF (-1), SR Minimum (12; -½), RealWeapon (-¼) (total cost with IAF (-½): 16)

Wakizashi: Tis is the companion sword o the

katana; it is the smaller o the daisho pair o samu-rai blades. Te kodachi is the older orm o thesame blade.

War Fan: Tis weapon, known in Japanese as atessen or gunsen and in Chinese as a san, lookslike a normal hand-an, but is larger than purelydecorative ans and is made o hardier materials. Itis used two ways: closed, it is a punching weapon;open, it is effective at blocking attacks (+2 OCVwith Block maneuvers). Special War Fans comewith an additional blade option. Te blade may be arazor edge on the vanes o the an, used in a slicingmotion when the an is open, or it may be a spike

at the base o the an, used when the an is closed.Both types are shown on the Melee Weapons able.War Fans are sometimes made with small dartshidden in the vanes; i a character uses them, treatthese darts identically to Bo Shuriken.

Cost Power8 War Fan, Edged: Multipower, 22-point

reserve; all OAF (-1), SR Minimum (6; -½),Real Weapon (-¼)

1u 1) Folded Fan Attack: HA +3d6, ReducedEndurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), Hand-o-Hand Attack (-½), SR Minimum (6; -½),Real Weapon (-¼)

1u 2) Spread Fan Attack: HKA ½d6 (plus SR),

Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1),SR Minimum (6; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)

3 Skillful Weapon: +2 OCV with Block (10Active Points); OAF (-1), Only Applies oBlock (-1), Real Weapon (-¼)


Wind and Fire Wheels: Tese are Chinese weap-ons. Tey consist o broad metal hoops a oot ortwo in diameter. Some eature protruding spikesand handles; other are plain hoops. Fighters usethem to punch and slash, and receive a +2 OCVbonus when used with maneuvers with the Bind,Block, Disarm, and akeaway (Grab Weapon)Bases. Te statistics or this weapon also apply tothe lun, which is similar in unction but shapedmore like a coin, and the yue, which is eye-shaped.

Wishul Steel Ball: A small steel ball similar to amodern ball-bearing, used as a weapon by flickingit at high speed at the target.

Wol ’s eeth Staff: Tis weapon, called lan yarbarn in Chinese, consists o a staff approximately 6’long. About 1’ o one end o it is covered with smallmetal spikes. Use the Naginata’s write-up or itsgame statistics.

Yari: Tis is the Japanese spear. It comes in twobasic versions. Te normal version works just likeany other spear. Another version, the Kamayari,comes with a back-hook (a backward-point-

ing spike mounted at the head), which gives theweapon a +2 OCV bonus when used with maneuvers with the Bind, Block, Disarm, and akeaway(Grab Weapon) Bases. Tere are several other vari-eties with different spearhead and combinations ohooks and and other projections. Te Vietnamesecounterpart to this weapon is the thuong .

Cost Power13 Yari: Multipower, 37-point reserve; all


1u 1) Blade: HKA 1½d6 (plus SR), ReducedEndurance (0 END; +½); OAF (-1), SRMinimum (14; -½), Real Weapon (-¼)


2 Long Weapon: Stretching 1”, ReducedEndurance (0 END; +½) (7 Active Points);OAF (-1) [or IAF (-½) or concealed orm],Always Direct (-¼), No Noncombat Stretch-ing (-¼), Only o Cause Damage (-½), NoVelocity Damage (-¼) (total cost or IAF(-½) version: 2 points)

4 Kamayari: +2 OCV with Bind, Block, Disarm,and akeaway; OAF (-1), Only Applies o

Te Four Listed Maneuvers (-½)

-1 Kamayari: Increase SR Min to 17

otal cost (Yari): 17 points (or 20 points or IAF(-½) version).

otal cost (Kamayari): 20 points (or 23 points orIAF (-½) version).

Yoroi-toshi: Tis weapon, the same approximatesize and shape as the tanto, is a dagger designed topierce armor. It is very heavy and very sharp, anddoes armor-piercing damage.

Yumi: Tis is the Japanese bow, also known as adaikyu. It can be anywhere rom five to eight eet

long, and, unlike Western bows, is not held in themiddle; the handle is about one-third o the wayrom the bottom. Tereore it is easily used byhorsemen. Te “One-Man, wo-Man, Tree-Man”designations indicate how many men it theoreti-cally takes to string the bow; or HERO Systempurposes, the SR Min o the weapon is also theSR Min it takes to string the bow.




ARMORTough body armor isn’t very common in

martial-arts adventures, a ew types do showup with some regularity : samurai armor, kendoarmor, and body armor or ull-contact karatesparring, or example.

Superheroic characters generally createarmor which provides consistent deense over

all the body locations, which does not have anencumbrance rating, and so orth. In superherocampaigns, such armor is usually built withhigher DEF ratings than real-world armor, andsimply looks identical to the real-world armorsdescribed below, which are designed or Heroic-level campaigns.

Full-Contact Kara te ArmorTis is a set o vinyl or leather-covered pad-

ding designed to minimize risk o injury whilecharacters are sparring or training. It includesthe ollowing pieces (not all o which have to be

worn):

Te two columns listed under “Deense” areR or Resistant and N or Non-Resistant. Resis-tant Deenses are bought as Armor (PD and ED);Normal Deenses are bought as Physical Deenseand Energy Deense.

Te Weight column is included or thoseHeroic campaigns using the HERO System encumbrance rules (see the HERO System 5th Edi-tion, Revised, page 379). I your campaign doesn’tuse those rules, don’t worry about the Weightcolumn except to determine whether a charactercan lif the equipment at all. Weights are given intenths o a kilogram.

You cannot “stack” armor; a character cannotwear a Face Guard and a Full Face Guard and getthe benefits o both. He only gets the benefit othe greater o the two.

Kendo ArmorTe armor used by kendoka (practitioners o

Kendo, the modern sport orm o Kenjutsu) in theirpractices consists o several items.

Te men, or helmet, has a wire-rame maskand padded armor which covers the top and backo the head and the throat. Accompanying this area heavy chest-plate and gloves which cover the

orearms, both made o resilient padded material; apadded apron; and a lighter protective jacket.In HERO System terms, it looks like this:

Te Men has an additional Limita-tion: it acts as Armor 0 versus Guns.

Te Kote and Do have a similarLimitation: Hal-Value versusGuns. In other words, bul-

lets automatically bypass thearmor o the helmet, and areautomatically Armor-Piercingattacks against the Kote and Do.

Leather Hand-Wrappings

Practitioners o ancientboxing (see Boxing, Ancient in

the Martial Arts section) pro-tected their hands by wrap-ping them in leather strips;this was the sort o protec-tion that ultimately evolvedinto the boxing glove. Acharacter who wraps hishands in this ashion has a

piece o equipment thatlooks like this:

Rawhide Hand-WrappingsRawhide hand-wrappings are just like leather

hand-wrappings, with one exception. Rather likethe cestus (see above in the melee weapons listing),rawhide wrappings can cause a little extra KillingDamage to the target.

FULL-CONTACT KARATE ARMOR

Name Hit Defense Weightof Armor Locations R/N (kg)

Face Guard 4-5 2/6 .1

Full Face Guard 3-5 2/6 .2

Gloves (2) 6 2/6 .2

ForearmGuards (2) 7 2/6 .1

orso Guard 9-11 2/6 .8

Chest Guard 10-11 2/6 .7

Rib Guard 12 2/6 .4Athletic Cup 13 2/6 .2

Shin Guards,Sm (2) 16 2/6 .1

Shin Guards,Lg (2) 16-17 2/6 .2

Leg Guard (2) 15-17 2/6 .3

KENDO ARM OR


Men (Helmet) 3-5, 9 6/0 1.8

Kote (Sleeevs) 6-7 4/2 .5

Do (Breastplate) 10-11 4/2 1.1

Keikogi (Jacket) 8-11 1/1 .6

are (Apron) 12-13 2/2 .6

LEATHER HAND-WRAPPINGS


Hand-Wrapping (2) 6 4/0 .2



Hero Games

With each punch that successully hits atarget, the character with rawhide hand-wrappingsshould make a 3d6 roll. On an 8-, the rawhide do 1point o Killing Damage in addition to the regulardamage o the attack. I the character has rawhidewrappings but uses some sort o NND DMG or K-damage attack, the rawhide adds nothing.

Samurai ArmorTis armor is arranged much like the Kendo

armor described above, except that it is designedto provide protection in real warare. It is made ometal and hardened leather plates, usually brightlyornamented with decorative enamels.

CREATING WEAPONS

Powers Used InWeapon Creation

Te HERO System Powers usedto create most weapons and armor

described in this section include: Armor (either or armor suits or toprovide a weapon with protection orthe hand holding it);

Entangle (or nets);

Flash (or metsubishi and other blindingweapons);

Hand-o-Hand Attack;

Hand-o-Hand Killing Attack (some-times with “Ranged” Advantage, some-times with +1 Increased SUN Multi-plier);

Ranged Killing Attack (sometimesbought with Autofire, such as with smallshuriken); and

Stretching (to give extra range to somelong melee weapons).

elekinesis and Change Environment (ordropped marbles).

Hand-To-Hand VersusKilling Damage

Many weapons are built as Normal Damage

attacks instead o Killing Damage attacks. In thechart above, Normal Damage weapons are builtwith the Hand-o-Hand Attack Power, while KillingDamage weapons are built with the Hand-o-Hand Attack Power. Trown weapons take the Ranged Advantage (+½). Ranged-only Killing-damage weap-ons are built with the Ranged Killing Attack Power.

See page 405 o the HERO System 5th Edition,Revised or rules on adding damage to weapons.

New LimitationsTe new Limitations that have been intro-

duced in this section are all examples o the “Lim-

ited Use” Limitation. Tey include:

Value Description-¼ Weapon Does Less Damage From Added SR:

Te weapon receives +1 DC or every 10SR above SR Min. Tis is a Limitation orweapons in Heroic campaigns. It simulatesweapons deliberately designed to do lessdamage than they could otherwise.

-1 Cannot Be Used o Cause Damage: TisLimitation or elekinesis indicates a orm oK that does no damage at all. (It’s still pos-sible to harm someone by shoving him over acliff, though.)

SAMURAI ARMOR

Name Hit Resistant Weightof Armor Locations Defense (kg)

Hachi/Shikoro(Helm/Shoulders) 4-5 6 1

Happuri (Facemask) 3 6 .5

Kote (Sleeves) 6-7 4 1O-Sode (Shoulers) 9 6 2

ateage(Breastplate) 10-13 6 9.5

Haidate (Apron) 14-15 6 2.5

Sune-ate (Greaves) 16-17 4 .75

Tis armor has a Limitation: it is Hal ValueVersus Guns (-¼). For instance, the Hachi andShikoro, DEF 6 versus most attacks, is only DEF 3 versus bullets.




-2 Only o Trow arget o Ground : Tis Limi-tation to elekinesis means the power cannotbe used to carry people or objects around, tocatch someone who is alling, and so orth. Itis distinct rom “Cannot Be Used o CauseDamage,” and the two Limitations can betaken together on a K power.

-¼ Only Affects Characters On Te Ground: TisLimitation on an Attack Power means it

does no harm to characters not touching theground. You can use it to simulate an electricalattack that requires the character be grounded,or to build attacks where the character muststep on some object to receive the damage.

-½ Only o Grab: Tis Limitation on Stretchingmeans the character cannot use it to Strike histarget, only Grab and manipulate him.

-2 Only Protects One Location (or wo Locations):Tis is a Limitation or Deense Powers incampaigns using the Hit Locations chart. Tebuilder o the power defines which one loca-tion is protected, or which two are protected.Each location covered must be one o the

number locations on the Hit Locations chart;a character cannot say “Tis armor covers twoo my locations, Head and Shoulders” becauseHead is already three locations (3-5) andShoulders is another (9), making that a totalo our locations. Tis Limitation roughly cor-responds to an 8- Activation Roll.

varies Must Be Aimed At Specific Location Or Has NoEffect : Tis Limitation on any Attack Powermeans the power does not work i it strikesthe wrong location. Tis Limitation onlyapplies in campaigns using the Hit Locationschart. Te value or the Limitation depends onhow hard the location usually is to hit. I theHit Location modifier is usually a -1 to a -3,there is no Limitation. I it is usually a -4 to a

-5, there is a -¼ Limitation. I it is usually a -6to a -7, there is a -½ Limitation. I it is usually-8 or worse, there is a -¾ Limitation. Te usero this power can increase his chance to hit bystriking rom ambush, which usually reducesthe Hit Location penalties or aiming at spe-cific hit locations.

-¼ Must Follow A Successul Grab Maneuver : TisLimitation or any Attack Power means thecharacter cannot use the power unless he hasGrabbed his target. I the target is not in hisgrasp, he cannot use the power.

-¼ Hal Value Versus Guns: Tis Limitation toResistant Deense Powers means bullets and

other super-high-speed projectile attackshave an automatic Armor Piercing Advan-tage against this type o armor. (I the bulletis already Armor Piercing, then only one-ourth o the deense is applied to the weapondamage.)



Hero Games

Amberger, J. Christoph. Te Secret History o theSword

Anglo, Sydney. Te Martial Arts o RenaissanceEurope

Balin, Michael. ’ai Chi Ch’uan: Te Martial Side

Birch, Cyril. Chinese Myths and Fantasies

Carella, C.J. GURPS Martial Arts

Capoeira, Nestor. Te Little Capoeira Book

Chow, David, and Richard Spangler. Kung Fu: His-tory, Philosophy, and echnique

Clements, John. Medieval Swordsmanship

—Renaissance Swordsmanship

Corcoran, John. Te Martial Arts Companion

—Te Martial Arts Sourcebook

Corcoran, John, and Emil Farkas. Te Original Martial Arts Encyclopedia: radition, History,Pioneers (ormerly Martial Arts: raditions, History,People)

Cowie, A.P., and A. Evison. Te Concise English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary

Craig, Darrell. Japan’s Ultimate Martial Art: JujitsuBeore 1882

Crompton, Paul. Te Complete Martial ArtsCrompton, Paul, trans. A Dictionary o the Martial Arts, by Louis Frederic

Daniel, Charles. Kenjutsu: Te Art o JapaneseSwordsmanship

Draeger, Donn. Te Weapons and Fighting Arts oIndonesia

Draeger, Donn, and Robert Smith. Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts

Evangelista, Nick. Te Encyclopedia o the Sword

Finn, Michael. Martial Arts: A Complete IllustratedHistory

Gygax, Gary. Oriental Adventures

Hallander, Jane. Te Complete Guide to Kung FuFighting Styles

Hatsumi, Masaaki. Ninjutsu: History and radition

Hayes, Stephen. Te Mystic Arts o the Ninja

Hsieh, Douglas. Ancient Chinese Hidden Weapons

In Hyuk Suh and Jane Hallander. Te FightingWeapons O Korean Martial Arts

Kai, Hyõjun. All-Romanized English-Japanese Dic-tionary

Kim, Ashida. Ninja Mind Control

—Ninja Secrets o Invisibility

—Secrets o the Ninja

Lawler, Jennier. Te Martial Arts Encyclopedia

Lee, Bruce. Te ao o Jeet Kune Do

Loriega, James. Sevillian Steel: Te raditionalKnie-Fighting Arts O Spain

Malizewski, Michael. Spiritual Dimensions o the Martial Arts

Marinas, Amante Sr. Pananandata

McCubbin, Chris, C.J. Carella, and StephenDedman. GURPS Martial Arts Adventures

McNeil, James. Hsing-I

Park, Bok Nam, and Dan Miller. Te Fundamentalso Pa Kua Chang

Piggott, Juliet. Japanese Mythology

Ratti, Oscar and Adele Westbrook. Secrets o theSamurai

Reid, Howard, and Michael Croucher. Te Way othe Warrior

Soet, John. Martial Arts Around the World

Spear, Robert. Hapkido: Te Integrated Fighting Art

Stockmann, Hardy. Muay-Tai: Te Art o SiameseUn-armed Combat

alhoffer, Hans. Medieval Combat

Walters, Derek. Chinese Mythology: An Encyclope-dia o Myth and Legend

Warner, Gordon and Donn Draeger. JapaneseSwordsmanship: echnique and Practice

Wujcik, Erick. Ninjas and Superspies

Yang, Dr. Jwing-Ming. Introduction to Ancient Chi-nese Weapons

Yates, Keith. Warrior Secrets: A Handbook o the Martial Arts

Zoran, Rebac. Tai Boxing Dynamite: Te Explo-sive Art o Muay Tai

Various martial arts magazines, including BlackBelt , Inside Kung Fu and its progeny, Karate/KungFu Illustrated , and ae Kwon Do imes.

Various sites on the World Wide Web

BIBLIOGRAPHY




Tis Appendix contains some additionalinormation about, and rules or, various MartialManeuvers and other game elements requentlyused by martial artist characters.

PAGE 99 RANGED MARIAL ARS

A character can buy Ranged Martial Artsor innate Ranged attacks, like his Energy Blast— the rules don’t require that a Ranged Martial Artinvolve a weapon. So, a character could develop aRanged Martial Art or his Energy Blast or otherinnate/natural ranged attacks, assuming the GMdidn’t object. Te GM might, to keep things bal-anced, let the character take one Energy Blast as aree “Weapon Element,” then require the characterto buy any other Ranged attack (even a similarEnergy Blast with an Advantage) as a separate“Weapon Element.”

Characters cannot buy Ranged Martial Artsor use with Mental Powers.

Ranged Martial Arts DCV bonuses only applyagainst Ranged attacks. Te GM may waive this inthe interest o simplicity i preerred.

I a character wants to apply Advantages orLimitations to a Ranged Martial Arts maneuver,every +1 bonus costs +3 Character Points, ever -1penalty -3 Character Points.

PAGE 101 EXRA DAMAGE CLASSES

A character cannot take a Limitation on ExtraDCs. However, i he wants to simulate a specialorm o attack, he could buy some Extra DCs at ullprice, then voluntarily restrict them to only certainManeuvers or no point savings.

PAGE 102 WEAPON ELEMENS

In a Superheroic game, where a character paysCharacter Points or his weapons, he does not haveto buy the appropriate WF to use his weapons withhis Martial Maneuvers. However, he does have tobuy the appropriate Weapon Elements.

I a character has natural weapons — claws,angs, or the like — he cannot automatically use hisMartial Maneuvers to enhance the damage they do.He must buy a Weapon Element, Use Art with Nat-ural Weaponry. Alternately, he could buy MartialArts defined as working with his natural weaponryby deault (like the Red In ooth And Claw style inthe HERO System Bestiary ).

Weapon Elements And Using Martial Maneuverso Add Damage

When a character buys Martial Arts, his Mar-tial Maneuvers work with one orm o attack as a“deault.” In most cases, that attack is “barehandedSR damage.” A ew styles, such as Fencing, Kyu-

jutsu, or Saijutsu, are defined as working with aparticular type o weapon as a deault, which meansthey only work with that weapon — the charactercannot use them barehanded.

I a character wants to expand the scope oattacks he can apply his Martial Maneuvers to,he needs to buy Weapon Elements. It may helpconceptually i you think o the term “Weapon Ele-ment” as meaning “Game Element Characters Buyo Let Tem Add Martial Maneuver Damage oAn Attack.”

For example, i a character has a weapon andwants to add Martial Maneuver damage and modi-

fiers to its use, he must buy an appropriate WeaponElement. I a character has claws and wants to addMartial Maneuver damage and modifiers when heuses them, he must buy Weapon Element: Claws.O course, in either case the character could definehis Martial Maneuvers as working by deault withhis weapon or his claws; then he wouldn’t needa Weapon Element or that use, but would needWeapon Element: Barehanded to use the MartialManeuvers with just his SR. (Te same rationaleapplies to Ranged Martial Arts and Ranged attackslike thrown weapons or Energy Blast.)

One exception: characters can add Hand-o-Hand Attack damage to Martial Arts normally, as

stated on page 185 o the HERO System 5th

Edi-tion, Revised. Tis only applies to HA bought asan innate power, though — i a character uses HAto create a weapon like a club or a staff, he needs aWeapon Element to use that weapon with his Mar-tial Maneuvers.

A ew Weapon Elements (e.g., Use Art In ZeroGravity, Use Art In Armor) work a little differently— they unction sort o as Limited orms o Envi-ronmental Movement, allowing characters to usetheir Martial Arts in situations where they wouldotherwise be unable to use them or suffer penalties.

PAGE 112 ANALYZE SYLE

Te Analyze Style Skill in UMA lists certainbenefits that are different rom the ones describedin the HERO System 5th Edition, Revised rulebook.Tese are in addition to the benefits describe inthe rulebook, and the character gets all the benefitswith a single roll.

PAGE 142 MARIAL MANEUVERS

Page 425 o the HERO System 5th Edition,Revised rulebook notes that Martial Maneuversdon’t cost END. However, unless the GM rules oth-erwise, a character perorming one must still paythe ull normal END cost or his SR. Tis applieseven i the maneuver is one that doesn’t benefit

APPENDIX



Hero Games

rom adding SR damage or capacity, such as aNerve Strike.

I a character has a Martial Maneuver with twobases, such as Block-Grab or Block Trow, theremay be some circumstances under which the GMwould allow him to use one “part” o the maneuverwithout using the other. It depends on how themaneuver’s defined. Most Trow-based maneuvers,or example, do their damage in whole or in part by

slamming the target to the ground, so not using thearget Falls element makes the maneuver mean-ingless. Some maneuvers have the “Must Follow”element, which obviously indicates that one part othe maneuver must ollow another. So, you have tolook at the maneuver rom the perspective o spe-cial effects, common sense, and dramatic sense. Inlight o that, the GM could allow a character to useonly part o a maneuver i he wanted — but even inthat case, that should be the exception, not the rule.Maneuvers with multiple elements are packagedtogether specifically because they’re meant to beused together; a character who doesn’t want to dothose things together should purchase two maneu-

vers that each do one o the things the “combo”maneuver does all at once. A character cannot Link two or more

Martial Maneuvers together.

Adding DamageMartial Maneuvers that don’t add dice

o damage — such as Killing Damage strikes,NND Strikes, Exert-based maneuvers, and so on— cannot be used to add damage to weapons orother attacks. I the Maneuver doesn’t add DCs toan attack — i it allows the character to do a di-erent type o damage than Normal (e.g., Killing orNND) — it’s not going to add to weapon damageat all. Its unction isn’t to add, but to differentiate.

Tat’s why weapons-based styles — Arnis, Fencing,Gatka, Kenjutsu, and the like — don’t have KillingDamage-based maneuvers, and why their NNDmaneuvers (like the Atemi Strike in Naginatajutsu)are expressed as straight damage, not a bonus to theweapon like the other Maneuvers.

PAGE 142 BLOCK

Generally, a character cannot Block anattack he cannot perceive. hat means the GMhas to decide on a case-by-case basis whether acharacter can “perceive” an attack. I the attackis Fully Invisible (including the source o thepower), then a character probably has no chance

to Block it. On the other hand, i the charactercan’t perceive the attack but can perceive hisattacker gesturing at him or initiating the attack,perhaps the GM would simply apply the penal-ties or ighting an invisible attacker, or perhaps aSurprised bonus, to the Block attempt.

PAGE 143 CHOKE HOLD

A Choke Hold prevents the use o headbutts.A Choke Hold does not cut off the victim’s senses,but might interere with them (i.e., cause PER Rollpenalties, as determined by the GM). It might cutoff, or diminish the effectiveness o some powers(such as a sonic scream), but that’s up to the GM,

who should make the call in light o game balanceconsiderations, common sense, and dramatic sense.Te GM should not let a PC turn a 4-point MartialManeuver into a requently-used Drain All PowersEmanating From Te Head/Skull.

I a character has Martial Grab, or some othermaneuver that adds SR to Grab, he does not getthe benefits o that extra SR when using ChokeHold. Choke Hold and Martial Grab are completely

separate Martial Maneuvers.PAGE 143 CRUSH

Te Crush Martial Maneuver uses the Follow element. As indicated on pages 93-94, the Follow element means the attack takes place on the Phaseollowing the indicated maneuver/event. o useCrush, a character Grabs his target in a Phase (hecould then Squeeze the target, i desired, per theusual rules or Grab). In his next Phase, providedthe target hasn’t escaped, the character can attackwith his Crush. Tis requires an Attack Roll (modi-fied by the maneuver’s OCV modifier, the target’sDCV penalty or being Grabbed, and so orth). I acharacter wants to repeatedly Crush someone, hehas to make an Attack Roll each Phase he uses themaneuver.

PAGE 144 DODGE

A character could create a Martial Maneuverthat combines Dodge with a Non-Exclusive Ele-ment such as arget Falls, thus allowing him to (orexample) “trip” people who attack him. However,you must apply common sense when using such aManeuver. For example, the arget Falls part o themaneuver would only affect HH attackers, notpersons who attack the character at range.

PAGE 144 FLYING DODGE

I a character has a Held Hal Action, he mayuse it to use Flying Dodge. In that situation, he getsa Hal Move and the +4 DCV bonus.

I a character Aborts to a Flying Dodge, he getsthe Full Move worth o movement normally associ-ated with the maneuver.

I a character with Flying Dodge moves outo the way o an area-affecting attack, compare theinches moved to where the attack hits (typically thehex the character was ormerly standing in) andthe attack’s size — it’s possible that, as with a DiveFor Cover, the character’s movement didn’t carryhim ar enough to get out o the way. I the FlyingDodge’s movement carries him beyond the areacovered by the Area O Effect/Explosion, then theattack doesn’t affect him.

I a character uses Flying Dodge to try toavoid a ranged non-area-affecting attack, he stillgets to move and still gets a DCV bonus rom themaneuver, but he’s not automatically missed — theattacker still gets a roll to hit (unlike with Dive ForCover, where the attack would automatically miss).I it’s a HH attack, the Attack Roll is irrelevant,since the character won’t be in HH combat rangeany longer.

I a character perorms a Flying Dodge to,or example, move around a corner so his attacker




cannot see him, that does not mean his attacker’sattack automatically misses. Te HERO System combat rules model a highly dynamic situation— two or more characters acting in the midst obattle — with a relatively rigid set o timed andcontrolled actions. It’s not as i one character moves

while everyone else does nothing, then the nextperson acts, and so on — all the actions in a combatSegment are occurring more or less “at once,” butare resolved in a certain order to manage the game.Te attacker’s attack might hit just as the characterstarts his Flying Dodge or the like. Te act thathe declares that he’s moving around an obstacledoesn’t ensure he’ll get there in time — all themaneuver provides is a DCV bonus.

I a character Aborts to a Flying Dodgeagainst a Ranged attack, the Range Modifier thatapplies to the attacker derives rom the distancebetween the attacker and where the character is atthe end o his movement. For example, i a charac-

ter begins a Flying Dodge 4” away rom his attacker(-0 Range Modifier) and ends it 12” rom hisattacker (-4 Range Modifier), the attacker suffers a-4 Range Modifier penalty.

PAGE 144 FULL MOVE

I a character has a Martial Maneuver withthe FMove element, he can perorm a Hal PhaseAction beore using it? However, that means he canonly make a Hal Move when using a MovementPower with his Martial Maneuver.

Characters cannot use Martial Arts maneuverswith the FMove element in the same manner as aMultiple Move-By.

PAGE 144 GRAB

I a character has Combat Skill Levels withGrab, he cannot apply them to the OCV o, ordamage caused with, the Redirect or Block o aGrab-and-Redirect or Grab-and-Block combina-tion. Nor can he apply Extra DCs to increase the

damage o those maneuvers.Characters can use Grab-and-Redirect with

Ranged attacks, assuming appropriate specialeffects (such a maneuver might work very well witha gun, less well or not at all with a bow or throwingknie). Characters cannot apply Range Skill Levelswith a Redirect, though.

Page 146 — One-Handed GrabsI a character Grabs another character with

just one hand, that means both characters have atleast one ree hand. Tey can use their ree handsto attack each other i they want to. Standard Grabmodifiers (which include OCV penalties or the

Grabbed character to attack the Grabber) apply.echnically the Grabber could squeeze the Grabbedcharacter, but the GM might want to restrict thatdepending on the exact arrangement (e.g., i theGrabber has only Grabbed the victim by the arm,inflicting damage by squeezing probably doesn’tmake much sense).

I a character perorms a Grab with only onehand, he’s still at ½ DCV



Hero Games

PAGE 147 GRAPPLING BLOCK

Grappling Block allows a character to Block aHH attack, and at the same time Grab the personmaking the Block. I the character just wants toBlock, without Grabbing, he can Abort. Te charac-ter cannot Abort to Grappling Block it i he wantsto use the Grab part o the maneuver.

PAGE 149 RESPONSE

I a character has a Martial Maneuver withthe Response Element deined that it only worksater his opponent perorms some maneuveror action, the opponent has to complete themaneuver/action — just starting it isn’t enough.However, the opponent doesn’t have to completeit successully; or example, a maneuver that’s aResponse to an attack doesn’t require that theattack hit or hurt the character. However, i amaneuver Must Follow Block, the character mustsuccessully Block an attack with it; i the Blockails, he can’t use the maneuver to “respond.”

A Response-based maneuver can only beused against the character who “triggers” it. For

example, i an attack Must Follow Block, a char-acter can only use its attack against the person he just successully Blocked; he can’t make an attackagainst some third party.

I a character has a Martial Maneuver withResponse that specifies an attack as the precondi-tion or the maneuver, that means any type o thatattack. For example, a maneuver with “Must FollowGrab” works with any type o Grab — i.e., a stan-dard Grab Combat Maneuver, or any Maneuverwith the “Grab Opponent” Element (Martial Grab,Grappling Block, Joint Lock, or the like).

PAGE 149 SHOVE

Shove only works on opponents that can fightback; characters cannot ordinarily use it againstinanimate objects. However, a character could builda similar Exert-based maneuver that worked onobjects, i the GM allowed.

Te GM can apply the rules and guidelines orresisting Trows with Powers (page 153) to effortsto resist Shove, i appropriate and desired. However,in general, Knockback Resistance should not haveany effect — Shoving is not Knockback, and doesn’treally depend on “impact” the way some Trows do.For Clinging, use the standard “SR versus Cling-ing” rules on page 143 o the HERO System 5th Edi-tion, Revised.

At the GM’s option, any character can shoveanother character the same distance he couldthrow him with a Prone hrow; this is a standardcombat action involving SR and doesn’t requirethe character to purchase any maneuver. he GMmay, i he wishes, allow a character with only 0Extra SR to still shove someone ½”. he generalrules or Shove on pages 149-50 apply to thistype o shoving.

PAGE 152 AKEAWAY

I a character has a akeaway maneuver, atthe GM’s option he can use it to deend againstakeaway maneuvers used by persons attackinghim, using the same optional rule as or Disarms(page 143).

PAGE 152 HROWS

Te weight limit or normal Trows (the char-

acter’s Pushed SR) also applies to Ranged MartialManeuvers with the Trow element.I a character applies the Area O Effect Advan-

tage to a Trow maneuver, the weight limit orTrows applies per target, not over the entire area.

With the GM’s permission, a character canuse a Trow-based maneuver to Trow a targetinto another target. He uses only his base OCV(OCV rom DEX, without any positive modi-fiers) to roll to hit the second target. I he hits, hedoes the maneuver’s damage to both targets. Asa deault rule, the “missile” (the character beingTrown) can’t do anything to interere with orstop this attack — the assumption is that the mis-

sile isn’t suffi ciently in control to prevent beingthrown. However, at the GM’s discretion, maybethe missile’s flailing around imposes a small OCVpenalty on the thrower’s Attack Roll, or perhaps themissile would try to “cushion” the impact and takeoff a DC or two o damage by making a DEX Rollat a -1 penalty or each point by which the throwermade his Attack Roll. Since the “missile” is a Rangedattack, he can be Missile Deflected, but not Blocked.

A character cannot use a Trow-based maneuver to Trow a target who’s already prone.

Te rules indicate that a character can’t Trowsomeone he can’t lif with his Pushed SR. Whenusing a Trow-based maneuver, a character must

use a minimum o enough SR to lif the target. Hedoesn’t have to use his ull SR i he doesn’t wantto. Furthermore, he may, with the GM’s permis-sion, use his SR only to “lif,” not to cause damage(though he still has to pay END or the SR whendoing this, o course).

I the target o a Trow is standing still, his velocity is 0” and adds no damage to the attack. Ihe’s moving, use his relative velocity, as discussedon page 97. I he’s Trown in a Segment in whichhe doesn’t have a Phase but the GM judges that heis “moving” (e.g., he’s in mid-air or mid-run in asituation when he moved last Phase and is obvi-ously going to keep moving in his next Phase),

the GM can assign him whatever velocity seemsappropriate. As always, apply common sense anddramatic sense.

PAGE 159 GROUNDFIGHING

Te OCV penalty or groundfighting does notapply to Ranged attacks, unless the GM rules oth-erwise.



Hero GamesLee, Bruce ..................................................... 30

Leopard Style (substyle o Kung Fu) .........41

Lightning Reflexes .....................................118

Limitations ................................................. 133

Limitations, or weapons creation ...........187

Lin Kuei .................................................. 16, 83

Long Fist (substyle o Kung Fu) ................40

Lua 44

Luck ............................................................. 128

Maashira ....................................................... 86

Main-Gauche (weapon) ....................169, 179

Makila (weapon) ................................ 171, 179

Mallayuddha (substyle o Wrestling) ........ 61

Mana ............................................................. 15

Maneuvers and Weapons ............................ 10

Maneuvers Basis .......................................... 90

Manriki-Gusari (weapon) ................ 170, 179

Martial arts

Archetypes ..........................................107

Designing new ones/styles ......... 88-103

Fictional .......................................... 64-74

In other genres .....................................84

Maneuvers, designing .........................89

Other ways to build .......................... 103

Power Advantages or .......................104

Real world .............................................15

Weapons ....................................... 167-86

Martial Escape ...........................................147

Martial Maneuvers

Generally ................................................8

Using weapons with ............................ 10

Master (character archetype) ...................109

Melee Weapons able ........................ 169-172

Optional Rules and Special Cases ..... 154-66

Other Styles .................................................. 63

Pakua ............................................................. 47

Pamur (substyle o Pentjak-Silat) ..............51

Pankration .................................................... 48

Parang (weapon) ................................170, 181

Partial Maneuvers ...................................... 149

Patai Silat (substyle o Pentjak-Silat) ........51

Paths o the Seven Ghost Sisters ................ 67

Pauh Silat (substyle o Pentjak-Silat) ........ 51

Pedang (weapon) ............................... 170, 181

Pekiti ersia (substyle o Arnis/Kali/

Escrima) ................................................ 18

Pendjepit (weapon) ........................... 171, 181

Pentjak-Silat ................................................. 49

Perisai Diri (substyle o Pentjak-Silat) ...... 51

Perquisites...................................................117

Petjat (weapon) ..................................171, 181

Philosopher (character archetype) .......... 109

Poluraathkaa ................................................ 85

Power Advantages

Generally ............................................131

For Martial Maneuvers .....................104

Power Deense ........................................... 129

Power Frameworks .................................... 133

Power Limitations ..................................... 133

Powers

Generally ............................................119

Resisting Trow with ........................153

Used in Weapon Creation ................ 187

Prana ............................................................. 15

Praying Mantis Style (substyle o

Kung Fu) ............................................... 41

Serada (substyle o Arnis/Kali/Escrima) ..18

Serious Student (character archetype) ....110

Setia Hati (substyle o Pentjak-Silat).........52

Sevillian Kniefighting ................................ 54

Shaolin Animal styles (substyles o

Kung Fu) ............................................... 41

Shinai (weapon) .................................170, 182

Shinden Fudo Ryu (substyle o

Ninjutsu) ............................................... 47

Shinobi-Zue (weapon) ......................171, 182

Shinobiuku .................................................. 45

Shinobijutsu ................................................. 75

Shinobizukin ................................................ 45

Shito-Ryu (substyle o Karate) ...................34

Shorei-Ryu (substyle o Karate) ................. 35

Shorin-Ryu (substyle o Karate) ................35

Shorinji Kempo (substyle o Kung Fu) .....41

Shotokan (substyle o Karate) .................... 35

Shove ........................................................... 149

Shuai-chiao (substyle o Wrestling) ..........61

Shuko (weapon) ................................. 171, 182

Shuriken (weapon) ............................168, 182

Shurikenjutsu ............................................... 54

Sidekick (character archetype) ................ 110

Silent Path aijutsu ...................................... 77

Silken Blade Kung Fu .................................. 70

Simgomdo .................................................... 55

Simulate Death ........................................... 118

Skills ............................................................ 112

Skinsplitter Arrow (weapon) ............168, 174

Sleight O Hand .........................................116

Sling Bow (weapon) ..........................168, 182

Snake Style (substyle o Kung Fu) ............. 41

etsubo (weapon) ..............................171, 183

Tai Kick-boxing ......................................... 58

Tan Vo Dao ................................................ 59

Tang-a ....................................................... 58

Tree-Section Staff (weapon) ..........171, 183

Trow .................................................... 152-53

Tunder Dragon Kung Fu .......................... 73

iger Fork (weapon) .........................171, 183

iger Style (substyle o Kung Fu) ..............41

imbe (weapon) ................................171, 184

jaluk (weapon).................................170, 184

jampur Silat (substyle o

Pentjak-Silat) ........................................ 52

jimande (substyle o Pentjak-Silat) ......... 52

jingkrik (substyle o Pentjak-Silat) .........52

oami (Net) (weapon) ...................... 168, 184

ogakure Ryu (substyle o Ninjutsu) ........47

oledo (substyle o Arnis/Kali/Escrima) .. 18

ona (weapon) ..................................171, 184

ranser ....................................................... 130

ransorm ................................................... 130

ridharma (substyle o Pentjak-Silat) .......52

rigger ......................................................... 132

rulkor .......................................................... 83

subute (weapon) ..............................168, 184

uju 50

unneling .................................................... 130

wisting the Blade ..................................... 165

Uechi-ryu (substyle o Karate) ..................35

Ueshiba, Morihei ......................................... 15

Umebi (weapon) ................................171, 184

Unsinbbop (Hwarang-Do special

ability) ................................................... 29

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