The reason there is a 2 point flaw is because of the difficulties in finding tuition and learning the style. There's no reason why the style should be any better or worse than another, OR have unique maneuvres or options, just because it has a flaw attached. Its a roleplaying choice not a roll-playing choice. Its just a secret style, and therefore there are consequences - or more likely responsibility - in being able to learn it.

You can apply maneuvres to various weapons including cyber implant (guess the ninjas are keeping up with the tech levels then... scary). The maneuvres themselves are very in keeping with the style - Evasion and Disorient, ground & blind fighting.. basically ensuring they can fight and react in just about any physical situation, or ensuring the enemy is wrong footed and can be taken advantage of. No there is nothing unique about the style, but I think the maneuvres in question all work scarily well together, more so than many of the other styles available.

Just because there is a flaw doesn't mean there should be a corresponding uber-bonus. The uber-bonus is in managing to get your foot in the door of a ninja clan and therefore potential access to all their resources and intelligence information. If you choose to take the hunted flaw instead of the day job one, then there's no-one to blame but you. Once you're in the clan, you never leave. Its just one of the rules of the ninja clans, to keep their methods and identities secret.

And if I'm coming across like a patronising subtle asshole, I couldn't give a frag. I've tried not to, but as Solstice seems to draw that definition from terms I'm not familiar with, who would be able to tell? (ok, NOW I'm being patronising...)

I'll agree with that.

I agree with solstice on this one, i'm looking at the same thing, as i've also been working on edged weapons martial arts, such as Kenjutsu. There is a maneuver in Kenjutsu where you hit with the back of the blade to stun or knock the opponent unconcious (handy for taking prisoners in big battles way back when). I can't remember the name of the maneuver off the top of my head but it exists, so changing Vicious blow to something like Stunning Blow, is feasible.

Unfortunately, many Kenjutsu schools are similar, generally only differing slightly in certain styles and doctrine. The major part of the Kenjutsu fighting style is the same. Of course i could be wrong about that, however the only majorly differing school I know of is Nito Ichi Ryu (literally: One School, Two Swords). So calling the Marial Art Kenjutsu is justified i think.

Speaking of Nito Ichi Ryu, i've recently been pouring over a copy of Go Rin No Sho (A Book Of Five Rings) By Miyamoto Musashi to see if i could convert Nito Ichi Ryu to an SR Martial Art. However i fear it could be a little overpowered:

Well ladies and gents, ideas? Is it ok or have i just made a munchkins wet dream?

The major difficulty was trying to merge the rules for two weapon melee combat with the martial arts rules, but i think i may have done that ok.

Opinions?

Dunno about wet dream, but I'm sure the munchkins will be pretty excited. Definitely get rid of that "negates opponent's Friends in Melee bonus", maybe replace it with something that allows a practitioner of this martial art to combine the Whirling maneuver (which should then be available) with some other maneuvers in one Init Pass.

I will still be really powerful, because characters with high skills and high CP (ie all the people whose power levels you should be worried about in the first place) have got one heck of an advantage with this MA.

try making a manuver using iaido. Maybe have it be something like:

Blinding Strike
Make a Quickness (9) test to quick draw your sword and attack in the same fluid, blinding motion. Your victim may attempt to see your subtle positioning of sword and hands and the set of our eys as you center your focus. The victim must make a perception test using the attackers quickness as the target number. If the attacker has more successess, then the victim is suprised.
This can be done from a sitting (depending) or standing position.

Just describe the "Whirling" differently. If you wish, you might even rename the maneuver into something else.

If you give the MA a permanent "Whirling" bonus, then you should get rid of the bonus CP use ability.

my character concept originally used two swords also. I was just trying to provide ideas.

I forgot the report function.

Thanks.

Why would you want to? look at the rules on pg7 of the CC and again on pg 10. As i said earlier one of the most pointless Manevours.

Now you change the use of the word "club" to "hit" and the sentence wouldn't change it would just be a bit clearer.

But my main beef i suppose is the fact you have learn a new skill so yu can be less precise with you sword usage. seems strange but then i only know movie-fu (lvl 3)

You don't. You default to edged weapons from clubs, giving yourself a +2 modifier. The +2 is indicative of the fact that youre using the weapon in a way contrary to its design. If you already have the clubs skill, you can ignore that modifer. Seems to work out fine as far as I'm concerned, while also making the idea of an armed martial arts maneuver "Stunning Blow" a reasonable one.

As a thought, it seems to me, if youre going to create armed martial arts styles with access to maneuvers, that you should also allow access to maneuvers for your base skills (clubs, edged weapons, polearms, etc.) as they do with "brawling". Which maneuvers should be available without formal MA training? Does this unfairly negate the usefulness of unarmed MA's that present the option of combining their maneuvers with weapons skills?

DAMN YOUR SIG!! heh jk.


Um what you said I'm trying to make sense of it.

So your saying that if you want to use say multistrike (unarmed) but you already have the multistrike (edged weapon) manuver u just take +2 TN to default?

That would work if that's what u mean.

Because then they're just a guy with a sword, like that SCA thug down the street, not a leet samurai ninja martial artist that can cut through mountains.

That's one way of doing it.

The problem we currently face with many of the Martial Arts is the good old trinity of:

Realism Vs. Game Mechanics Vs. Gameplay

The major problem is that the SR3 combat system is pretty labourious in the first place and adding more to that system is going to slow it down further. But to incorporate more realism means more game mechanics which, in effect, reduces gameplay.

What we need here is a balance between the three so that we can get as much realism for the least amount of added mechanics to get the most gameplay.

I think a reduced defaulting modifier for unarmed combat (defaulting to Kenjutsu) would be allowed, but only when the opponent of the Kenjutsu practitioner is using a sword. Or a dice bonus for disarming an opponent when using unarmed attacks. (does that make sense?) So a practitioner of Kenjutsu when unarmed facing an opponent with a sword gains maybe, what? one maybe two dice extra for disarming attacks?

What do people think?

Incidentally, i think we're actually onto something here.

yes but it's not that same as in other skills where the emphasis is on UNARMED combat. This MA has the emphasis on armed combat and only ONE or maybe TWO aspects of unarmed combat, comprende?

what are you talking about? this is how MA works

you have an unarmed skill and you can choose a MA as that unarmed skill

so your skill is

Karate: 6

you choose 3 manuvers you can do in melee based on that MA.

like multistrike, full offense, herding

they don't have points they are just manuvers. So I don't get what your saying.

I think the most feasible process would be: If your using a kenjutsu manuver without a sword you default at a +2 TN. No buying manuvers seperately since a) the kenjutsu training does involve unarmed techniques, b) however most training focuses on sword fighting.

That was my original plan, i was just looking into other stuff to see what other options were available.

good idea.

Don't forget the mandatory Distinctive Style flaw.

Evil thought: said troll being in cahoots with a mage who sells applications of Alter Memory

"No matter how hard I try to forget...it's still there when I close my eye!"