idea for a new Active Skill: Style Integration. this skill basically allows a character with multiple melee styles to cross feats over from style to style. to use it, the character first chooses which manuever he wants to use with which style. he then takes a Complex Action, and rolls Style Integration against a TN equal to 10 minus the lowest-rated style involved. the character can then use the chosen maneuver with the chosen style for one turn per success generated.

for instance, let's say that Connor wants to use Whirling--from his Carromeleg style--with his cyberspurs. he's got Carromeleg 6, and Cyber-Implant Weaponry 3 (Cyberspurs 6). having blown some karma, he's got Style Integration at 5. he rolls his 5 dice against TN 4 (10 - Carromeleg 6), and gets 3 successes. he can therefore use the Whirling maneuver while attacking with his cyberspurs, for the next three turns.

Style Integration is a Melee skill, and defaults to Intelligence.

Hmmm.

Personally, I'd just average the two skills required and let the character use the maneuver.

Carro 6, Spurs 3 -- that gives him an average skill of 4 with the maneuver.

Easier to handle and reasonably believable, in my humble opinion.

-Siege

not a bad idea.

Or just allow Maneuvers to be purchased for any Melee skill in the same manner as they are with Martial Arts.

Agreed. That's exactly what we do.

We abolished "Martial Arts" skills and instead kept Unarmed Combat. You can specialize in a particular style of attack or action (Kick, Punch, Counterattack, Offensive, etc.) and can choose any maneuvers you like at the standard costs. Likewise, you can buy maneuvers for any other Melee Skill at the same cost without having to buy it for Unarmed Combat if you don't wish to. We leave it up to the individual player to design his character's abilities based upon whatever type of martial training he's received. If he's a dedicated swordsman who's only focused on Fencing, he doesn't need to learn Pentjak-Silat just to be able to use Multi-Attack (let alone having to pay for it twice).

We haven't had a single problem with it since we adopted it, and it opens up all kinds of flavorable combinations and styles.

eh. i'm looking for something that can be integrated into the current rules, without actually changing them. we're busy enough adjusting our sheets after the recent M&M errata.

Eh? Not sure how that makes it less integrated. The only thing it does is elimiante the more complex part of an optional rule (Martial Arts) while keeping the other part (Maneuvers). But oh well.

Doc Funk's solution is simple enough -- allow any character with a weapon skill (arguably, this can also be applied to firearms as well) to buy MA techniques.

Granted, there would be a little tweaking required on the character sheet but it's as reasonable a solution as mine assuming you accept that other weapon styles will acquire or learn similar techniques used in still other styles.

Which is not so hard to believe given the more open-minded nature of martial artists today and the willingness to exchange information and learn from each other.

-Siege