[d20 Modern] Modular Martial Artist

[comrade raoul]

Although I think the d20 modern SRD is, in general, really neat, I was disappointed with the martial artist advanced class. I'd like a class that can represent a whole range of martial arts styles and approaches; that is, something that takes care of more defensive, contemplative, or weapon-based martial artists as well as other characters. So here's a version that, rather than providing a set advancement, offers a list of available martial arts abilities. Note that this martial artist gets a bit more than the standard version, but I don't think that pushes it over the top. Note that the class's requirements, hit die, and skills remain unchanged.

[font=courier][color=white][size=1]	Base
Class	Attack Fort	Ref	Will			Defense		Reputation
Level	Bonus	Save	Save	Save	Special		Bonus		Bonus
 1st	+1	+0	+2	+0	Martial arts,	+1		+0
					exotic weapons
 2nd	+2	+0	+3	+0	Martial arts	+2		+0
 3rd	+3	+1	+3	+1	Bonus feat	+2		+0
 4th	+4	+1	+4	+1	Martial arts	+3		+0
 5th	+5	+1	+4	+1	Ki power	+4		+1 
 6th	+6	+2	+5	+2	Bonus feat	+4		+1
 7th	+7	+2	+5	+2	Martial arts	+5		+1
 8th	+8	+2	+6	+2	Martial arts 	+6		+1
 9th	+9	+3	+6	+3	Bonus feat	+6		+2
10th	+10	+3	+7	+3	Ki power	+7		+2
					(improved)[/font][/size][/color]

Class Features
The following features pertain to the Martial Artist advanced class.

Exotic Weapons
A martial artist receives the Exotic Melee Weapon Proficiency feats with the kama and nunchaku for free upon taking one level in the class.

Martial Arts
At 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, and 8th levels, a martial artist chooses a martial arts ability from the following list.

• Deflect Arrows: Once per round, when the martial artist would normally be hit with a ranged weapon, he or she may make a Reflex saving throw against a DC of 20. If he or she succeeds, the martial artist deflects the weapon. The character must be aware of the attack and not flat-footed. Attempting to deflect a ranged weapon doesn’t count as an action. Normally, bullets or other modern ranged weapons can’t be deflected. The martial artist must be unarmored to use this ability. Prerequisite: Third Eye
• Eagle Claw: The martial artist ignores half of an object's hardness when making unarmed attacks against it. Prerequisite: Living Weapon
• Flurry of Blows: The martial artist gains the ability to strike with a flurry of blows at the expense of accuracy. With a flurry of blows, the martial artist may make one extra attack in a round at his or her highest base attack bonus. This attack and each other attack made in the round take a –2 penalty. In order to use this ability, the martial artist must be unarmored to use this ability, and she must make unarmed strikes unless she has the Martial Arts Weapon Specialization ability, in which case she can attack with the weapon she applied that ability to. Using this ability is a full-round action. Prerequisite: 7th level
• Flying Kick: A martial artist can use a charge to deliver a devastating flying kick to an opponent. At the end of this charge, the martial artist adds his or her class level as a bonus to the damage he or she deals with an unarmed strike. Prerequisite: Leap of the Clouds, Living Weapon
• Ki Master: The martial artist may harness his or her inner vital energies by meditating for a full round and making a Concentration skill check at DC 15. If she succeeds, she gains a temporary Action Point. If she does not use that Action Point in the next minute, she loses it. Multiple uses of this ability are cumulative, but the number of temporary action points the martial artist has at a given time can't exceed his or her Wisdom modifier (minimum 1). Prerequisite: Still Mind
• Living Weapon: The martial artist attacks with either fist interchangeably, or even with elbows, knees, and feet. This means that the Martial Artist may even make unarmed strikes when his or her hands are full, and there is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a Martial Artist striking unarmed.
  The martial artist also deals more damage with unarmed strikes: normally, she deals 1d6 points of damage with an unarmed strike. If she has the Brawl feat, she deals 1d8 points of damage with an unarmed strike; if she has the Improved Brawl feat, she deals 1d10. She can choose whether she wants to deal lethal or non-lethal damage.
• Martial Arts Weapon Specialization: A martial artist picks one of the following melee weapons: chain, kama, katana, nunchaku, shuriken, tonfa, three-section staff. She gains a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon. The martial artist can choose this feat more than once, choosing a different weapon each time. This bonus does not stack with the soldier's Weapon Specialization ability. Prerequisite: Weapon Focus in the appropriate weapon.
• Quivering Palm: The martial artist gains the ability to use the dreaded quivering palm attack. She can use the quivering palm attack once a week, and the martial artist must announce his or her intent before making her attack roll. Creatures immune to critical hits cannot be affected. The martial artist must be of higher level than the target (or have more levels than the target's number of Hit Dice). If the martial artist strikes successfully and the target takes damage from the blow, the quivering palm attack succeeds. Thereafter the martial artist can choose to try to slay the victim at any later time within a week. The martial artist merely wills the target to die (a free action), and unless the target makes a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + one-half the martial artist's level + Wisdom modifier), it dies. If the saving throw is successful, the target is no longer in danger from that particular quivering palm attack (but may be affected by another one at a later time). Prerequisite: Still Mind, Ki Master, Stunning Fist, 8th level.
• Sixth Sense: The martial artist adds her Wisdom bonus to her Initiative rolls.
• Slow Fall: The martial artist takes damage from a fall as if it were 20 feet shorter than it actually is. Prerequisite: Tumble 4 ranks
• Stunning Fist: The martial artist can use this ability once per round, but no more times per 24 hour period than the martial artist's level. The martial artist must declare that he or she is using a stun attack before making the attack roll (thus, a missed attack roll ruins the attempt). A foe struck by the martial artist is forced to make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + one-half the martial artist's level + Wisdom modifier). In addition to receiving normal damage, if the saving throw fails, the opponent is stunned for 1 round.
• Third Eye: The martial artist adds her Wisdom bonus to her Defense when unarmored. This represents a preternatural awareness of danger, and a martial artist does not lose either even in situations when he or she loses her Dexterity modifier due to being unprepared, ambushed, stunned, and so on. (The martial artist does lose these bonuses when immobilized.)

Bonus Feats
At 3rd, 6th, and 9th level, the Martial Artist gets a bonus feat. The bonus feat must be selected from the following list, and the Martial Artist must meet all the prerequisites of the feat to select it.
Acrobatic, Advanced Combat Martial Arts, Archaic Weapons Proficiency, Combat Reflexes, Combat Throw, Elusive Target, Exotic Melee Weapon Proficiency, Improved Combat Throw, Unbalance Opponent.

Ki Power
At 5th level, the martial artist can choose one special ability that allows him or her to draw upon the power of her ki, or inner vital energy. This ability improves at 10th level.

• Deflect Bullets: The martial artist may spend 1 action point in order to use the Deflect Arrows ability to deflect one attack made from a firearm or other exceptional ranged weapon. At 10th level, she may also attempt to deflect all subsequent ranged attacks (including bullets) for the remainder of the round (overriding the normal limit of one use of Deflect Arrows per round). Prerequisite: Third Eye, Deflect Arrows
• Iron Fist: The martial artist may to spend 1 action point to increase the damage he or she deals to a single opponent with a single unarmed strike. The martial artist declares the use of the action point after making a successful unarmed strike. The result of the action point roll is added to the damage roll for that attack. At 10th level, the martial artist adds the result of the action point roll to all successful attacks he or she makes in a round. Prerequisite: Living Weapon
• Maximized Attacks: The martial artist may to spend 1 action point to cause maximum possible damage when attacking with the weapon he or she has applied Martial Arts Weapon Specialization to. The martial artist declares the use of the action point after making a successful melee attack. Determine the highest possible damage according to the weapon's normal dice (for example, 6 points for a nunchaku), and add all normal damage bonuses. At 10th level, the martial artist deals maximum damage with all successful attacks he or she makes in a round. Prerequisite: Martial Arts Weapon Specialization
• Wholeness of Body: The martial artist may spend 1 action point to cure his or her own wounds. The martial artist can cure 2d6 points of damage. He or she adds her Wisdom bonus to each die: thus, a martial artist with a Wisdom of 14 heals 2d6+4 points of damage. Using this ability takes a full round and can only be done once per 24 hour period. At 10th level, the martial artist can cure 3d6 points of damage (again adding her Wisdom bonus to each die) and can also use this ability as a free action.

 

[Plane Sailing]

QQQ

Don't you think a 4th level character with Quivering Palm a little over the top?

I like the idea that you're going for, maybe it would be worth sorting out a couple of "chains" for the martial arts class features?

I think what I might personally be tempted to do is to work up different martial arts advanced classes for, say, Kung Fu, Karate and Tai-Chi (to pick a nice selection at random. Perhaps throwing in Savate or Escrima as well).

Cheers

 

[comrade raoul]

Note that martial arts abilities often have prerequisites, and Quivering Palm has very steep ones: you need to have Stunning Fist and Ki Master, and be an 8th level martial artist. So you can't get it before 11th level, at the earliest, which seems reasonable (and keep in mind that the save DCs will be lower than a D&D monk's). So abilities do take the form of chains; at least a little bit.

The hope is that with enough abilities, you could mimic a wide range of martial arts, including weapon-based ones like kenjitsu.

 

[digitaldark]

I think PrC's are a good way to go with developing the individual styles of martial arts...

 

[EarthsShadow]

Re: QQQ

I like the idea that you're going for, maybe it would be worth sorting out a couple of "chains" for the martial arts class features?

I would also agree with this. Coming up with different Talent chains for various abilities would greatly diversify this advanced class.

You could probably add in many talen chains for all the advanced classes if you wanted to, but that would be a lot of work.

 

[Ranger REG]

Ehh ... I don't know. I tend to think of martial artist in the broadest sense. Doesn't matter if you're a kung fu expert or an experienced boxer. A master in Judo or an olympic-level Greco-Roman wrestler.

Personally, there should be such martial arts talent trees.

 

[comrade raoul]

New and modified martial arts abilities

• Advanced Feint: The martial artist may feint in combat (see the Bluff skill description) as a move action.
• Body Hardening: Whenever the martial artist suffers non-lethal damage, she ignores the first 3 points. This is like damage reduction, but only applies to non-lethal damage.
• Iron Skin: The martial artist gains a +1 natural armor bonus to his Defense. Prerequisite: Body Hardening.
• Leap of the Clouds: The martial artist gains a +15 bonus on Jump checks, and doubles her height for purposes of determining her maximum jumping ability.
• Martial Arts Weapon Mastery: The critical threat range of the weapon that the martial artist has applied Martial Arts Weapon Specialization to is increased by one, and the martial artist gains the ability to automatically confirm a critical hit when attacking with that weapon, eliminating the need to roll to confirm a critical hit. This ability doesn't stack with the Soldier's Improved Critical or Critical Strike abilities. Prerequisite: Martial Arts Weapon Specialization, Weapon Focus
• Peaceful Stance: The martial artist adds her class level to her Defense when taking the full defense action in combat. The martial artist must be unarmored to use this ability. Prerequisite: Third Eye
• Still Mind: The martial artist gains a +2 bonus to Concentration checks, a +1 bonus to Will saves and an additional +2 bonus saves against harmful, mind-affecting drugs, magical spells, or psionic powers.
• Strike Without Thought: If the martial artist begins her turn next to an opponent who is denied his Dexterity bonus to Defense for any reason, she receives a free attack action against him. She only receives one attack in this way, regardless of the number of opponents who are denied their Dexterity bonus. Prerequisite: Sixth Sense

These bring the total up to 20 martial arts abilities. I think this makes my version of the class very adaptable (but still, hopefully, balanced), to the point that it can represent any number of real-world martial arts. Here are five archetypical styles replicated with this class (I don't have extensive knowledge, so feel free to correct any perceived inaccuracies or misinterpretations):

Aikido: Third Eye, Stunning Fist, Peaceful Stance, Vital Points, Still Mind, Ki Master
Boxing: Advanced Feint, Body Hardening, Stunning Fist, Iron Fist, Flurry of Blows, Iron Skin
Karate: Living Weapon, Leap of the Clouds, Flying Kick, Iron Fist, Flurry of Blows, Eagle Claw
Kung Fu: Living Weapon, Stunning Fist, Still Mind, Iron Fist, Ki Master, Quivering Palm
Kenjitsu: Martial Arts Weapon Specialization (katana), Sixth Sense, Strike Without Thought, Maximized Attacks, Flurry of Blows, Martial Arts Weapon Mastery (katana)

[edit]: It's also worth noting how martial artists with different styles can play quite differently. Aikido, for instance, is a largely defensive style that aims to subdue through grappling (in that practicioners will take a number of grapple feats) and vital strikes. Boxing aims for physical training and skill at delivering non-lethal damage (here, represented by taking Brawl feats). Karate is closest to the original martial artist -- it's fast, powerful, and acrobatic. A Kung Fu practicioner resembles the D&D monk -- pretty good unarmed combat, with more mystical mental training and vital strikes. And the sword art Kenjitsu is built around delivering fast, powerful katana strikes, aiming to end a fight before it begins. The point here, again, is that these martial arts abilities make the class so adaptable (combined with other feats and talents) that it can represent the whole range of real-world (or at least cinematic) martial artists.

[edit]: And one new ki power:

• Vital Points: The martial artist may spend 1 action point to make his attacks against vital points (Stunning Fist or Quivering Palm) more effective. The martial artist declares the use of the action point after making a successful attack roll. The result of the action point roll is added to the DC of the Stunning Fist attack, or the DC of the Quivering Palm attack is increased by +1. At 10th level, the victim of such an attack suffers 1d2 points of Strength damage (if struck by a Stunning Fist) or 1d6 points of Constitution damage (if struck by a Quivering Palm), even if his saving throw is successful. Prerequisite:Stunning Fist

 

[Ranger REG]

Much better. Keep working on it. Too bad the Martial Arts Mastery rules in OA is not OGC (yet).

One more thing, do you have this in a PDF file?

 

[Jeph]

Wow . . . the Kenjitsu chain that you specified was exactly what I was thinking. Good job!

However, Iron Body seems a bir . . . uberpowerful. It's the equivalent of 3 Tough Hero tallents. I'd make it, 'The Martial Artist chooses one damage type (Bludgoening, Slashing, Piercing, or Ballisticks). Every time that they take damage of that type, they ignore the first 2 points of damage. This ability stacks with Damage Reduction.'

 

[comrade raoul]

Body Hardening isn't as powerful as you think. The Tough hero provides general DR; Body Hardening only applies to non-lethal damage. It's of no use against bullets, melee weapons, or unarmed attacks that can cause lethal damage.

I'll turn this into a .pdf soon, with some revisions (some martial arts abilities have been added, changed, or eliminated). Anyone know where such a .pdf can be hosted?