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CHOOSING A STYLE
Every would-be student asks, “Which style should I
study?” The answer depends in part on that to a more fundamental
question: “What do I want to do?” Possibilities
include getting in shape, competing, fending off muggers,
fighting crime, and killing enemy soldiers. It’s tempting to
select a style whose history and reputation seem compatible
with your objectives, but it’s crucial to realize that the goals
of the school you choose, and of its teachers, are far more
important than the style itself. The police academy and
YWCA anti-rape program might both teach “karate” – and
even share instructors – but you can be sure that the two
courses are very different!
The short answer, then, is that nearly any style will do –
if your instructor puts the right “spin” on it. Pick a style
that’s common in your game world . . . or one you’ve heard
of in real life . . . or simply one that sounds interesting. It
really doesn’t matter, as long as your choice isn’t too outlandish
(e.g., Yabusame – horse archery – isn’t practical for
self-defense!). Then modify the style’s training with the
“lens” below that best matches your goals. All of these style
variations, being practical, automatically exclude cinematic
skills and techniques.
In some game worlds, Style vs. Style (p. 143) is hokum.
There is an “ultimate” style (or styles – some settings have
several), and it’s the wellspring of all other martial arts.
Other styles are merely aspects of the True Way. The ultimate
style is the True Way.
Trained by a Master is always a prerequisite for learning
an ultimate style. By definition, anyone who knows
the ultimate source of the martial arts is a master!
Weapon Master is suitable for an armed ultimate style –
although most ultimate styles profess that “a true master
needs no weapons” and provide the ability to back up the
claim. Those trained in an ultimate style are familiar with
every style derived from it and must purchase a 20-point
Unusual Background that counts as Style Familiarity
with all styles.
An ultimate style contains all techniques and all of the
skills from which they default, as well as all cinematic
skills. It may also contain a few “invincible” or “unstoppable”
moves with ludicrously steep default penalties;
design these using Creating New Techniques (p. 89-95). It
sometimes contains Combat Art and Sport versions of its
combat skills, but a master can usually get by on defaults
from his extraordinarily high combat skills. The GM
might even consider using Wildcard Skills for Styles
(p. 60).
Fictional ultimate styles include Sumito (from Steven
Perry’s “Matador Series”) and Sinanju (from Warren
Murphy and Richard Sapir’s Destroyer books). Some people
claim that certain real-world styles are ultimate styles.
T’ai Chi Chuan (pp. 200-201), Shaolin Kung Fu (p. 194),
Ultimate Styles
144 STYLES
Military: Start with any non-military style and spend an
extra point on each of Knife and Spear. If the style includes
Combat Art/Sport, Games, or Savoir-Faire (Dojo), make
these skills optional – although services that encourage
competition might teach Combat Sport or Games. Add
Retain Weapon for Knife, Pistol, and Rifle to the style’s techniques.
Remove any “fancy” technique that would be difficult
to teach usefully in a few weeks of training; this
includes any Average technique with a default penalty of -5
or worse and any Hard technique with a default of -4 or
worse. The result is a no-nonsense variation on the local
fighting style. In affluent nations, recruits might learn a dedicated
military style instead; see Styles for Soldiers (p. 145).
Police: Start with any style and spend two extra points:
one on Judo or Wrestling, one on Shortsword or Tonfa.
Combat Art/Sport, Games, and Savoir-Faire (Dojo) become
optional skills – officers may learn them on their own time.
Some instructors integrate Guns (Pistol), Guns (Shotgun),
and Liquid Projector (Sprayer) into the training. Add
Handcuffing and Retain Weapon (with any weapon your
department issues) to the style’s techniques. Omit Average
techniques with a default penalty of -5 or worse and Hard
Ninjutsu (see Ninja and Ninjutsu, p. 202), and Te (pp. 169-
170) would all work as the basis for an ultimate style. So
would Pankration (pp. 188-189), which some speculate
came to India with Alexander the Great and went on to
China. In all cases, use the details below and ignore the
entry for the style’s realistic version (which might still
exist for use by lesser martial artists).
Ultimate Combat
9 points
Skills: Acrobatics; Breath Control; Judo; Jumping;
Karate; Parry Missile Weapons; Sumo Wrestling;
Wrestling.
Techniques: All.
Cinematic Skills: Blind Fighting; Body Control;
Breaking Blow; Flying Leap; Hypnotic Hands;
Immovable Stance; Invisibility Art; Kiai; Light Walk;
Lizard Climb; Mental Strength; Power Blow; Precognitive
Parry; Pressure Points; Pressure Secrets; Push;
Sensitivity; Throwing Art; Zen Archery.
Cinematic Techniques: All.
Perks: Skill Adaptation (Brawling techniques default
to Karate); Style Adaptation (All); any cinematic Style
Perk; any Style Perk from a style descended from the ultimate
style (GM chooses).
Optional Traits: Altered Time Rate; Ambidexterity;
Combat Reflexes; Enhanced Time Sense; Extra Attack;
Weapon Master.