One of my new players is going to do a martial arts with his char (a very cool amnesia char that's got an ornate backstory hashed out between me and him), and since I hadn't really done martial arts in SR yet (keeping things simple to start my GM career) I decided to open up the whole can of worms.

Now it looks fun, and probably will spice things up. But I need to know about a few of the advanced maneuvers and things that will probably crop up. It does say that you can only do a particular maneuver once per combat phase.

1) Focus Strength - you can pump up your strength, and it lasts till your next combat phase. Can you do this repeatedly before you enter into combat? I.E. spend a couple passes pumping up and then attack with a mother of all attacks?

2) Focus Will - same as 1. Both of these are simple actions rather than complex in Tai Chi, and I know at least two characters (both mages) who will JUMP at Tai Chi if pumping up is kosher. They'll jump at it anyways (+2 Will ain't something to sneeze at against spirits in a will battle), but I need ta know.

3) Sweep - is it possible to sweep multiple targets in a single move? I know technically it should be possible, and is demonstrated in many a martial arts show.

Also - anyone ever heard of the martial art called Chambara? It's a weapons fighting art I actually trained in briefly before I had to move, but I'm curious if anyone ever created a custom martial art based on it, and what the ads/disads/maneuvers are in it.

Focus Strength lasts until the +1 power is used. It ends when the +1 power is used. So even if you do it repeatedly, it only adds 1 power ever.

Focus Will, Same wording, only ever get +2 on your next melee engagement whether attacking or defending. It ends once the +2 is used.

Another way to wordsmith it is that only 1 maneuver may be used per combat phase. These maneuvers don't end until you use their bonus, and as such, you can't use any other maneuvers until the phase after which you used them.

As far as sweep goes, use the maneuver, and attack multiple targets all at once with +2 for each after the first. Hope you're in range, and otherwise, you're good for sweeping all of them at once.

*blink* That's a good way of explaining things, thanks.

Now for Chambara - it teaches some of kempo (art of sword), some fencing, some iado (art of drawing sword)...I believe it was originally thai or brazilian. While I was learning, we learned all variants of weapons from polearms to two short swords to katanas. Supposedly there was nunchaku as well, but we didn't get that far. It's primarily polearm, katana, short sword w/ shield, two short swords.

Is this balanced?

Chambara
Advantage: Instead of choosing a Chambara maneuver, the character may choose to apply a previously learned maneuver to an edged weapon or polearm/staff skill. Due to the armed nature and discipline of redirecting opponent's weapons, there is +1 die for disarming and called shot options.
Disadvantage: There is -2 dice when the character does not have a weapon.
Maneuvers: Close Combat, Evasion, Focus Strength, Full Offense, Herding, Multi-strike, Vicious Blow, Whirling, Zoning

Just throwing it out there...nobody will probably use it, but I know this martial art exists and it's kinda neat - the only pure weapon art outside Japan that I know of. (I may be wrong there, but I DID say "that I know of")

Kendo is the art of sword. Kenpo (Kempo) is empty hand.

As far as that art goes... Considering its 2 maneuvers for whatever you want to use a weapon with, it rather sucks quite a bit. Considering that, its fine by me.

asking for clarification:

i thought you couldn't combine a martial art maneuver with a combat option unless it specifically says so under the description. for example. under the tae kwan do description it says you can combine the disarm combat option with the kick attack. it doesn't say that with capoeira. so i wouldn't allow it as a gm. please tell me if i understood the rules wrong. i don't want to be handicapping my players.

thanks.

Yeah, it's kendo, my bad. And they aren't maneuvers, they're combat options...I got the inspiration from Pentjak-Silat...so does that make it any better?

[edit] erk, I meant to say if it's not in the maneuver description (which in this case it isn't) and the char doesn't have tae kwon do then you can't disarm with a kick attack.

zen, you're correct that you can't disarm with a kick attack unless it says you are allowed to. Attacking multiple targets at once is not a combat option however, and you can do so with the usual penalties with a maneuver. (If it was an option, then the multi-strike maneuver would have to explicitly allow you to use it with the attack multiple people, which it doesn't, so you can attack 5 people in one attack with sweep on all of them).

Heh...I'm just terrified that my group may not like the added complexity. Any of you GMs out there use Martial Arts in your games? If so how did it work out?

COOL...thanks, tarantula for clearing that up!!!

ive been using the martial arts rules since the cannon companion came out and, so far, i haven't had any problems with it. most players just pick up brawling without buying any maneuvers. the adept has tae kwan do with a bunch of manuvers and the elven face has that elven martial art that i can never learn to spell. basically, martial arts in my games are used as background and flair.

Toturi, as I said, it specifically states, only 1 aneuver may be used per combat phase. So, you use focus strength, you're done for this combat phase. Its still going until you use that +1, so until you are attacked/attack you can't use any other manuver. After you use the +1, you must wait until the next combat phase to use another maneuver.

Yes, but if you do not use that +1 until you attack or are attacked. So if you Focus Strength and sit tight and was never attacked, you never used that Focus Strength and it would be still around the next combat phase. The next combat phase you do it again. Unless you rule that the bonus to Strength ends when a new maneuver begins, the previous Focus Strength is still in force and there is a new Focus Strength this combat phase. Also the PC can Focus Strength in his combat phase, delay his second Simple Action if he is using Tai Chi and Focus Strength again in his opponent's Combat Phase.

By the way, a Focus Strength/Will is a Complex Action normally. So unless you are attacked, you will never use that bonus because you have no Actions left in the combat phase.

Whoah, whoah, whoah, what is going on here? Chambara is not a martial art. It's a genre of epic samurai movies.

Gah! When book ninjas attack!

This is why we need to write an annotated SR for toturi to enjoy so he can't wriggle around...

So toturi you view Tai Chi and the Force maneuvers as excuses to pull Street Fighter "hadukens" in every battle? Kinda makes me wonder if Martial Artists should be the ones to die after the mages do...they're powering up.

toturi, it says "This maneuver ends when the +1 power is used." Until the maneuver ends, its in use. Thus, until you use it, you have no option to use any other maneuvers, due to the 1 manuever a combat phase.

Ah, I did a web search and I see what you mean. Here's a link to what I learned -

http://www.warrior-priest.com/generic26.html

Tis kinda confusing...I'm wondering what the heck I learned then, whether it was actually an offshoot of kendo.

[edit] the description of the Chambara Academy is exactly what I attended.
[2nd edit] Here's another link which helps my cause.
http://www.iama-karate.com/class_special.html

Training in chambara would essentially be equivalent to training in stage fighting. I haven't seen your dojo, but from the description, it sounds distinctly McDojo-esque. There certainly is no school of real combat called chambara, and my guess would be you learned an amalgam of popular stuff (ie not far removed from what most Americans/Westerners call karate).

well, realistically speaking, Tai chi training isnt really a combative style, it's ment to relax and things like that. So thats kind of understandable.

Sped up however it can work, but i dont know how those rules are currently written to do anything with them.

Okay, I try to stay out of martial arts talks here, too many egos and too many know-it-alls who've never really traded punches. But I gotta say it.
Stage fighting CAN be dangerous.
Had my nose busted a few seconds into the hero/villain duel in the last act by an umbrella wielding guy a foot shorter than me. Embarassing as hell, but I finished the fight. The audience didn't realize the blood was real until curtain call.

And since I've already opened my mouth: I don't like the martial arts rules in Shadowrun, 'cause they don't jive with what I know and they restrict the storyfication of fight scenes.

It's an oblique way of saying that none of us know what we are talking about, and he could easily take any of us with one hand tied behind his back, cuz he's an uber-fighting dude.

Is this Dog, the bounty hunter?

I think his assessment is correct, if a bit vague. My definition of "too many egos" and and "too many know-it-alls" is one or more.

don't presume too much, guys.

I have done both marshal arts (judo at brown belt) and stage combat, apart from breakfalling they are both very different forms of fighting! Saying that my main experience of stage combat is reenactments which was sord play and cavalry
(which was great!! until you have to jump off ).

You can't comment about people not actually trading punches, in my experience most marshal arts don't unless at competition and some people just do it for the fun and not as a combatant. I would never use what I have lernt in judo in a real fight.... (well if I realy had to, I might but not as a rule).

Some people are also very tuned in about certain forms of marshal arts without even takeing part in them, my instructor had never been in a compitition or grading but could kick our asses!

So the moral is, you can have an oppinion without practicing what you preach!


torz x

Okay, fine, here we go....

I am former student and instructor of combat Jiu-Jitsu. I have served on a private police force in a remote part of Northern Canada where alcoholism is rampant and in many cases I was the only white guy in a uniform to be seen. I work with addicts and street people and see violence at my workplace almost every day. I have had the shit kicked out of me more than once, but generally I win. This I owe to the skill of my instructors, the fact that I'm about 225 lbs and lift weights, and the fact that most of my opponents were intoxicated. I have fought in competitions and done poorly, mainly because I could not find the motivation to hurt someone in a contrived fight for a trophy. I do not presume that I can beat anyone that I haven't met. That would be stupid.

Hopefully now, I have the credibility to venture an opinion on the matter. I am absolutely certain that there are people on this board more qualified to comment than I, but I expect they have more wisdom than me and are staying quiet.

However, I refer to the last few posts as evidence supporting my comment about egos. It seems that just saying there are egos in the martial arts community pisses people off. And I know way more people who talk about it than do it.

You're right though. There's no reason to believe my word over anyone else's.

yeah. that really is rule one of teh intarwebs: if you claim you can do something, no one will ever believe you. if you subtlely intimate that you can do something, no one will ever believe you++.

Best advice I've gotten here, thanks.

But how come if somebody says they were a marine around here, some people gush all over them?

Uhh.... thanks?

Look, it boils down to this:

Nice how I say "too many" and everyone thinks I mean them. I didn't realize this was a members only club.

Really though, thanks for the constructive responses. I feel welcome.

Dog, the point is, how could you possibly know? You're speaking with an heir of omniscience, which you do not possess. Speak from your experience. Never assume anything about people that you do not know.

hahnsoo: It was sarcasm, go get a coffee.

CJ: I must insist that I believe I am speaking from experience.

And this is EXACTLY why I qualified my original post saying I hate commenting on this stuff. Because people tend to assume you don't know what you're talking about. If I said I knew Chinese cooking, there wouldn't be a half-dozen guys trying to shoot me down. I comment a lot in here about improv acting, but nobody replies "Oh, yeah, this guy thinks he's a bad ass actor who can act rings around me." It's only the martial arts topics that end up like this. Wierd, huh?

Well, it didn't sound like you were talking about your own personal experience when you said this: