What does a Martial Artist do?

[Dustin DePenning]

Back when I used to run d20 modern, this rulebook was fun for martial arts:

http://www.rpgobjects.com/index.php?page=pro&product_id=21

It's pretty crunchy, and damage focused. But there are fun maneuvers, like getting extra damage against enemies who are prone with an "elbow drop."

Anyway, I think getting extra bonuses against unarmed people who AREN'T trained could be fun. Some other random bonuses:

• Extra armor against adjacent enemies while you fight unarmed (think defensive rolls, etc.)
• Extra damage vs objects (stereotypical karate chop power)
• Bonuses to stun or throw enemies
• improvised weapons (grab objects for extra damage, but use your unarmed attack skill)

 

[Mishihari Lord]

What comes to mind for me

The no-brainer: improved unarmed attack with damage between normal unarmed attack and a weapon attack

Improved reaction speed, e.g. bonus to initiative and surprise

Minor acrobatics, e.g. kip up after being knocked prone with no action penalty, backflip to disengage from an opponent without penalty

I'm unfamiliar with that particular game, but I'd be very tempted to go the 5E battlemaster approach: you have this resource which can be spent to power these abilities. Choose this many abilities out of this large smorgasbord to represent the ones you know.

 

[Herobizkit]

Stealing liberally from D&D 5e's "Tavern Brawler" feat might offer some guidance as well.

 

[GMMichael]

[MENTION=6791549]Dustin DePenning[/MENTION]: "improvised weapons" really calls to me. The current ruleset says that improvised weapons do d4 damage or more "based on size." Maybe martial artists have a better time using non-weapons as weapons (i.e. dealing more damage)?
[MENTION=128]Mishihari Lord[/MENTION]: good ideas. The no-brainer is high on my list, only because we're working with the basic rules. I'd love to get flashy, but that would probably be out of context with the rest of the book.
[MENTION=36150]Herobizkit[/MENTION]: I haven't picked up my 5e PH yet. Care to elaborate?

 

[Herobizkit]

@DMMike

It gives you a d4 unarmed attack and proficiency in improvised weapons.
Also, you can start a grapple as a bonus action if you hit.

Improvised weapons do the same damage as a weapon that could best represent it in-game. A broken glass could be a 'dagger', while a mop could be a 'staff', or a chair could be a 'greatclub'.

 

[System Ufera]

I had an idea for unarmed combatants for a previous model of my own game, which unfortunately didn't get a chance to be tested before I ended up scrapping and re-designing most of the game. The idea was that the options designed for unarmed combatants would be pretty powerful compared to the options designed for other characters, but the trade-off was that, while the options for other characters were easy to stack, the vast majority of the unarmed combat options would be much harder to stack.

This was because unarmed combat relied heavily on "stances" that each focused on a particular theme -the Channeling Needle stance focused on precise attacks against vital targets to inflict debuffs; the Crushing Fist stance focused on dealing lots of damage per strike, in addition to absolutely devastating crits and even the ability to break bones; the One Hundred Wasps stance focused on making lots and lots of attacks, as well as giving a bonus to blocking; and so on. Many of the unarmed options were tied specifically to one stance, and you could normally be in only one stance at a time (there was an option that allowed you to combine stances, but it was expensive and it required a massive investment in a stat that wouldn't otherwise do much for a martial artist). For example, if your character was in the Crushing Fist stance, options from the One Hundred Wasps stance would not apply.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Martial Artist. What's the first idea that pops into your head?

'Style'

Martial artists fight unarmed or with weapons (even with guns), they may even wear armor. The David Caradine in Kung Fu in the 70s is just one visions of a marital artist.

The thing that's unique is that they learn a formalized tradition of combat. A style.

The perk could be different for each style, kicking in when you use the weapons & armor associated with it.

Or, you could take very broad groupings of styles. In one game - I forget which, might even have been a D&D supplement - styles were divided by two dichotomies. Hard/Soft, and Internal/External. IIRC, more practical less philosophical styles were external, so Boxing or Karate are Hard/External. Fencing might be soft/external. Aikido is soft/internal.

A 'Soft Style Martial Art' perk could let you 'throw' an enemy who attacks you under certain conditions, for instance.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

That was 2Ed, as I recall.

 

[Herobizkit]

Also 1ed Oriental Adventures handbook, [MENTION=19675]Dannyalcatraz[/MENTION]. It was and still is one of my most cherished possessions.

 

[GMMichael]

Awesome answers. You guys nailed it. I have more than enough to decide what my new and improved Martial Artist perk should do. Thanks!