As many know, martial arts in Shadowrun are over costed and it's rarely worth taking multiple arts. This doesn't make a huge amount of sense... in reality, being good in three or four martial arts is a lot better than being great in just one. As such, I came up with these house rules on martial arts. The basic concept was that most martial arts should provide an extra benefit at every even rank (since that's when they cost more, due to needing a new maneuver). Also, they should give benefits even when not using that art directly. Anyway, I'd love to hear thoughts, advice, commentary, or suggestions for other arts.

The basic rules applying here are as follows. You are considered to be using a specific martial art in any round in which you use its advantages or use it as the source of your dice (such as rolling four dice because you are using your Ninjutsu 4 skill), and are still using it until the beginning of your next action. During this time, all the advantages and disadvantages of the art apply. For example, if you're sneaking along using the bonus of Ninjutsu added to your stealth skill and you get attacked, you have a -1 dice penalty because your opponent isn't surprised. If you stop using Ninjutsu's bonus, then at the start of the next turn you no longer have that penalty (assuming you fight with something else). Okay, so here goes:

Aikido

Advantages: Gain an extra +1 die per two ranks in Aikido for counterattack tests in melee or when using the Full Defense option. Additionally, the TN penalty for using the throw manuever is reduced by half your Aikido ranks, to a minimum 0.

Disadvantages: -1 die when attacking an opponent in melee.

Arnis De Mano (Escrima, Kali)

Advantages: You may substitute your ranks in the Arnis De Mano skill for any offhand melee combat skill ranks you have. As such, a practitioner with Arnis De Mano 4 and Clubs 6 using a pair of batons would roll a base 8 dice. Additionally, you may use any manuever learned via Arnis De Mano when wielding one handed clubs or edged weapons.

Disadvantages: You may not substitude Arnis De Mano ranks for Offhand skills when using the charging option.

Brawling (Self Defense)

Advantages: You do not need to learn any manuevers as you advance in Brawling (though you may chose to do so)

Disadvantages: None

Capoiera

Advantages: Treat your Capoera skill as a complimentary skill to all Athletics tests. Additionally, you may subtract half your Capoiera ranks from all balance target numbers.

Disadvantages: -2 dice when in tightly enclosed spaces or any area where full movement is restricted.

Jujitsu (Judo, Sambo)

Advantages: When using Subduing Combat, the penalty is reduced by 1 per every two ranks in the skill, to a minimum of 0. If you grab your opponent during Subduing Combat, the minimum modifier becomes -2. If you have 6 or more ranks in Jujitsu your opponent's modifier for attacking you while you are prone is reduced to -1, and if you have 8 or more ranks that modifier is ignored entirely. Additionally, he may roll one additional die for every two ranks in the skill when making the Open Test to find the TN for an opponent attempting to break free.

Disadvantages: -2 die when not using Subduing Combat.

Krav Maga (Wildcat)

Advantages: When using the Vicious Blow manuever, you take no penalty on your target number if you have at least two ranks in Krav Maga. Additionally, the number of successes required to stage up the damage level when using the Vicious Blow manuever is equal to 5 - half your Krav Maga skill, to a minimum 1. Also, for every 2 ranks you have in Krav Maga you may chose any one manuever you know. You may now combine Viscious Blow with that manuever.

Disadvantages: -3 dice when using Subduing Combat.

Kung Fu (Wushu)

Advantages: You may use any manuever learned via Kung Fun with Pole Arms or Edged Weapons.

Disadvantages: -1 Die when using Subduing Combat or Full Defense

Muay Thai

Advantages: +1 dice when using Kick Attacks for every two ranks in the Muay Thai skill.

Disadvantages: -2 die when in tightly enclosed spaces or any area where full movement is restricted. Your opponent's modifier for attacking you while you are prone is decreased by 1.

Ninjutsu

Advantages: Treat your Ninjutsu skill as a complimentary skill to all Stealth tests and Athletics tests. Additionally, you may use any manuever learned via Ninjutsu when wielding one handed edged weapons or cyber implant weapons. You may use the Full Offense manuever with any other manuever.

Disadvantages: -1 dice when your opponent has no penalties to vision and is not surprised.

Pentjak-Silat

Advantages: The penalty for a called shot in melee is reduced by one for every two ranks you have in Pentjak Silat. This cannot reduce the penalty below 0. Additionally, you may use any manuever learned via Pentjak Silat when wielding one handed edged weapons or cyber implant weapons.

Disadvantages: -3 dice when using Subduing Combat

Tae Kwon Do, Kickboxking, Savate

Advantages: you may use any manuever learned via Tae Kwon Do when wielding foot mounted cyber implant weapons, and you may use the Tae Kwon Do skill in place of your Cyber Implant Weapons skill when using such weapons. You may use the Kick Attack manuever along with a the called shot, charging, disarming, or knockdown options if you have any ranks in Tae Kwon Do. If you have at least two ranks in this skill, you may chose to have the bonus for using Kick Attacks increase to +2 reach, but suffer double the normal penalty afterwords. If you have at least 4 ranks in the skill Kick Attacks always provides a +2 bonus, but the penalty is standard (-1). If you have 6 ranks in the skill, you may combine Kick Attacks with any one other manuever except for Close Combat.

Disadvantages: -2 die when your opponent uses the Close Combat manuever against you. -1 die when in tightly enclosed spaces or any area where full movement is restricted.

Tai Chi

Advantages: Add half your Tai Chi skill to all Willpower tests to resist spells. You may also add half your Tai Chi skill to your Willpower when engaging in a contest of wills.

Disadvantages: -2 dice when using the charging option.

I wouldn't do that. But nice writeup.

I would do it another way: Just give out a flat "combat experience" for all Skillpoints in Martial arts /factor. Maybe /6 or something and add them to the combat pool WHEN in melee. Simulates the characters ability and experience.

I was hoping to also accurately represent which martial arts are good for what actions. Hence Ninjutsu being useful for a stealthy character or Thai Chi being useful for spiritual growth. That requires some specific rules.

JaronK

Do the disadvantages stack? If so, what happens if you learn both Jujitsu and Krav Maga? You get WORSE at all forms of combat?

Realistically, the combat (not sport) forms of grappling styles (Sambo, Judo, Jujitso) aren't really subduing combat. If you slam somebody to the ground and then apply a fast, full force arm bar, they are gonna have a concussion and torn arm ligaments (at least). That's not subduing them, that's giving them stun or even physical damage.

I'd expect Muay Tai works fine in confined spaces. You might not be able to make kicking attacks (loosing its advantage) but elbow smashes and knee strikes are MADE for close fighting.

The disadvantages only apply when using the martial art's advantages or dice. If you had Jujitsu 4 and Krav Maga 5, you'd take a penalty if you tried to use Subduing Combat with 5 dice (because you're using Krav Maga) or if you used the improved Vicious Blow. If you used 4 dice (Jujitsu Skill) to use Subduing Combat you'd have no penalty. Realistically, if you had both you'd just use Jujitsu when using Subduing combat and Krav Maga when not, and never have a penalty.



True, but those martial arts make it REALLY hard to get out of subduing combat, and you take no penalty if you subdue them and then start hurting them, which actually makes sense.



Yeah, but I wasn't really sure what other penalty to give it. It's a very mobile art though, so it's not that it's weak against close fighting (that's Tae Kwon do) but rather that you need to be able to move around a bit. For what it's worth, my friend who's actually a Muay Thai fighter thought the disadvantage is realistic (and of course he also trains Jujitsu... all the MMA fighters do these days). Certainly a lot of the moves he does in a clinch require some mobility (throwing an opponent off balance before delivering a knee).