GURPS Martial Arts - Home

Some styles were born “stripped down” for use on the
street: Krav Maga (p. 183) is a streetfighting system and Jeet
Kune Do (pp. 164-165) is – in the words of Bruce Lee, its creator
– “scientific streetfighting.” However, nearly every modern
style claims some degree of street utility. The more
combat-oriented the style, the less modification it needs for
this to be true. Omitting forms, kata, belts, and similar
formalities is widely regarded as being a necessary step.
Buying a style is a simple matter of purchasing its individual
elements at their usual point costs, subject to the
rules under Components of a Style (pp. 141-143). Since a
style’s basic components are typically taught together, and
are prerequisites for its advanced abilities, it’s useful to
know their minimum cost. This is the “style cost,” which
appears at the start of each style entry.
Style cost is a point for Style Familiarity plus an additional
point per basic, mundane skill. It always equals the
number of skills in the style, plus one. Cinematic and
optional skills only increase style cost if the GM deems them
“required training” in his campaign. No other traits ever
influence style cost.
For game purposes, a martial artist doesn’t “know” a
style until he buys all of its basic components by spending
points equal to style cost. He can always spend more; style
cost is the minimum investment to unlock the style’s
advanced abilities. The next few sections discuss different
ways of making this investment.
BUYING A STYLE
This chapter presents many historical styles and a few
non-historical ones. It doesn’t have space for every historical
style, though – and fictional worlds need original
styles. These are good reasons to design new styles.
GM-Developed Styles
The GM has free rein to develop new styles. The only
hard-and-fast rule is that a style needs a unifying philosophy
– even if it’s only “defeat all foes in total combat” – or
it will feel like a haphazard group of skills and techniques,
tossed together on a whim. In particular, look out for
techniques and skills that don’t mix well. For instance, the
aesthetics of Karate Art are at odds with the pragmatism
of Head Butt, and Breath Control and Combat Art/Sport
would seem impractical next to Melee Weapon skills in a
style intended for soldiers.
A useful method of generating new styles is simply to
rename existing ones – perhaps Martian Kung Fu is just
Wushu with a different name. Another option is to modify
a style with one of the lenses under Choosing a Style
(pp. 144-146) or a GM-created lens. Yet another is to
modify an existing style to suit the peculiarities of a
Creating New Styles
146 STYLES
A student of even the most artistic style can become a streetfighter
– it just requires extreme dedication and training.
Streetfighting styles also include ad hoc “prison” or
“prison yard” styles. These have a relatively small body of
techniques; they only retain what works. Weapons, if any,
are improvised. Emphasis is on quickly eliminating the
opponent before the guards see who did what to whom.
STYLES BOUGHT DURING
CHARACTER CREATION
A newly created martial artist who’s supposed to “know”
a style should possess all of the traits included in its style
cost. If he has these things, he can enter play with points in
the style’s techniques, cinematic skills (as long as he meets
their other prerequisites), and Style Perks (one per 10 points
in the style’s skills and techniques). He may also purchase
any optional abilities that the GM has set aside for the style’s
advanced students.
LEARNING NEW STYLES
DURING PLAY
A PC can learn a new style during the course of the game.
As a rule, he must have a teacher; therefore, his first task is
to find an instructor. Depending on the campaign and the
nonhuman race; e.g., Dwarven Ogre-Slayers learn Sumo
but add Brawling to its skills and Head Butt and TA (Head
Butt/Groin) to its techniques.
Player-Developed Styles
A player might want his PC to develop a custom style
in play – whether a “self-defense” version of an existing
style for quickly training NPCs or fellow PCs, or a whole
new style that will cement his place in history. That’s fine!
There’s no harm in letting a player select combat skills,
techniques, and perks that his PC knows, call them a
style, and formalize it by spending a point on Style
Familiarity. Multiple PCs can even pool abilities by teaching
each other. Anyone who wants credit as a cofounder
must know all of the style’s abilities, though; “the guy who
taught Judo to the founder” doesn’t count.
A player might also wish to create styles out of play, for
his PC to learn or to add color to the game world. This is
riskier. The GM must ensure that the player isn’t trying to
design an “ultimate style” or “the style with every technique
I want an excuse to learn.” Such styles should also
be in tune with the setting’s history and flavor.