More on martial arts in d20 Modern

[Radiating Gnome]

Vigilance-

I've been looking closely at some things -- making sure I understand stuff. I started going over the NPCs in the Hanmei chapter, and I think there are some errors. John Lee seems to have an extra feat, Terry McMannis is clearly a fast hero even though she's labeled a strong hero, etc.

-rg

 

[Vigilance]

Heya Gnome

Any editing errors like that that you find- send them to my home email (which you can find in my profile and/or at my website) please so I can have them in one place and get them fixed

Thanks man

Chuck

 

[JPL]

Will you be able to make changes before the dead tree edition goes to press?

Just statted out a Strong 1 / Smart 4 / Jeet Kune Do Master 1. He's a professor of Asian studies and a scholar of the martial arts who uses Combat Expertise for a few rounds while he studies his opponent, then uses Find Weakness to take him out. He's not really min/maxed, but still an interesting opponent.

I'm sorely tempted to make up a Strong 2 / Charismatic 3 / Karate Master 1 --- an Elvis impersonator from Vegas who took up kenpo to be like the King. I'll need to work up a Comeback Special stance...

Also looking at a Strong / Tough / Barroom Brawler specializing in the Boar style. He was a rowdy young man with a terrible temper, so his father sent him to study under under a bando master, hoping the boy would achieve inner peace. Didn't quite work out...the boy is now a man, with formidable fighting skills and an even worse temper.

 

[Vigilance]

Sure can JPL

One thing I like about working for RPGObjects is that they always release PDF first, then take in customer feedback and issue a revised PDF, which is the version we print.

I'd love to see any NPCs you make, post em man, post em!

Chuck

 

[JPL]

Here's a modern warrior-scholar for your next trip to Chinatown...

Michael Tsu, Ph.D.
Strong Hero 1 / Smart Hero 4 / Jeet Kune Do Master 1
S: 10 +0 HP: 38 [10 + 4d6 + 1d8 + 6]
D: 14 +2 Defense: 15 [flatfooted = 13]
C: 13 +1 Fort: +4
I: 15 +2 Ref: +5
W: 12 +1 Wil: +3
C: 10 +0 Rep: +2
Occupation: Academic [K: history, Gather Information, Speak Mandarin]

Talents: Melee Smash +1, Linguist, Exploit Weakness

Mastery: Hard Kick +1

Feats: Combat Martial Arts, Jeet Kune Do, Combat Expertise, Snap Kick, Improved Trip, No Holds Barred

Skills: Balance +11, Jump +9 ranks, Tumble +11, K: Philosophy/Theology +10, K: History +10, Concentration +4, Gather Information +7, Research +4, Sense Motive +3, Speak English [native], Read/English [native], Speak Mandarin, Read/Write Mandarin, Speak Burmese, Speak Tibetan, Read/Write Tibetan, Speak Japanese, Read/Write Japanese

Background: Mike Tsu grew up in the diverse community of San Francisco. His natural athletic ability and talent for languages led him to dabble in numerous Asian martial arts before settling on Jeet Kune Do. He recently earned a Ph.D. in Asian Studies, and supplements his meager teaching stipend by giving martial arts lessons. Whenever he can get the money together, he travels to Asia to continue his studies.

Mike is a soft-spoken, unassuming young man with an encyclopedic knowledge of martial arts styles. In combat, he is a graceful, no-nonsense fighter who uses a broad variety of techniques --- including a few nasty Brazilian jujitsu moves and some savate kicks.

Despite his own eclectic style, Mike has a deep respect for traditionalists and is eager to learn from serious fighters of all backgrounds, from bouncers to Tibetan monks.

 

[Vigilance]

Nice!

I really liked the mix of the smart hero, and the No Holds Barred feat- an unexpected combination

Chuck

 

[JPL]

Nice!

I really liked the mix of the smart hero, and the No Holds Barred feat- an unexpected combination

Chuck

The really smart guys all fight dirty...or at least know how to.

 

[Vigilance]

JPL- I was wondering if you'd have a problem with me laying out Mike Tsu and putting him on the RPGobjects website?

 

[JPL]

It would be an honor.

I have a few more I'm working on too. I'll be in touch.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

A little more weirdness

I had a thought -- I'm thinking about starting an Urban Arcana campaign here in the next couple of weeks, and one of the things I wanted for it was a set of Martial Arts systems that are keyed towards the Shadowed Races in that campaign.

I know you can't offer them officially -- UA is not shared content -- but we could present them as house rule stuff in the forums.

For example, I'm looking at a variant on Fencing for Elves. Here's a sketch of what I'm thinking for that -- it's very rough right now:
An Internal style, so attacks are based on wisdom. New class skills would be Pressure points and Zen Mastery. No AoO on Disarm attempts. The style would apply to the use of a small selection of Elven weapons -- rapiers, A long baton, etc.

Another thing that would make an interesting house rule -- I dug out my Oriental Adventures, which I bought ages ago and put on a shelf. One of the class abilities that is available to most of the martial artist classes there is an ability they call acrobatics, which provides a +10 skill bonus to tumble, jump, balance, etc. That is usually followed shortly by Leap of Clouds, which removes limits on jump height. And the book includes some advanced tumble, for very high rolls.

The addition of those feats/class abilities to the material in Blood and Fists would make for a very diverse kung-fu/matrix/crouching Tiger kind of action -- not particularly realistic, but it might be fun.

Just noodling around.
-rg