GURPS Martial Arts - Home

Notes:
[1] A crossbow bolt costs $2.
[2] Requires a Ready maneuver on
the turn immediately before each
attack, to work the lever. If using
Malfunction (p. B279), Malf. is 14.
[3] Not balanced for melee combat!
Treat a small throwing knife as a small
knife, a hungamunga or a large throwing
knife as a large knife, and a large
hungamunga as an axe, but with -2 to
skill and therefore -1 to Parry (for
knives, this adds to the usual -1 to
Parry).
[4] Plumbatae (or pila, p. 221) striking
a nonmetallic shield – deliberately
(see Striking at Shields, p. 112) or on a
block – stick and deform, penalizing
Shield skill: -1 for any at all, -2 if total
projectile weight is at least half shield
weight, -4 if total weight equals or
exceeds shield weight. Removing each
dart requires a Ready and a ST roll at
a penalty equal to its damage roll.
Special Arrows
Practitioners of Kyujutsu (pp. 179-180) – and many other archers – will be
familiar with these special arrowheads as well as with regular and bodkin
points (p. B277):
Barbed: Yanking out a barbed arrow inflicts half the injury it delivered
going in. No effect on cost or weight (most war arrows are barbed by default).
Blunt: Converts damage to crushing. Used for training or for hunting fowl.
Half cost, normal weight.
Bowel Raker: Converts damage to cutting. Gives -1 to Acc and subtracts 5
from both Range multipliers; e.g., ¥15/¥20 becomes ¥10/¥15. Yanking it out
inflicts half the injury it delivered going in. No effect on cost or weight.
Frog Crotch: Has a C-, U-, or Y-shaped head sharpened on the inside of the
curve. Used against limbs, and to cut ropes or (in heroic stories) bowstrings.
Converts damage to cutting. No effect on other statistics.
Humming Bulb: Has a hollow, fluted tip that whistles in flight. Used to signal
or to flush game. Some of these heads can carry a tiny payload – often an
oil-soaked rag. Gives -1 to Acc and subtracts 5 from both range multipliers.
Damage becomes crushing with an armor divisor of (0.5). No effect on cost or
weight.
Willow Leaf: Converts damage to cutting. No effect on other statistics.
TRAINING EQUIPMENT
For some people, “martial-arts school” conjures up
images of wooden dummies and makiwara, racks of
weapons, and walls covered in yin-yang symbols and pictures
of the founder. Others imagine a dimly lit gym with
battered heavy bags, weight benches, and dangling speed
bags arranged around a ring or a cage. A martial-arts school
might look like that . . . or an ordinary hardwood gym
strewn with wrestling mats . . . or a shallow dirt pit . . . or a
clearing in the woods!
A properly designed training environment with good
equipment helps students hone their skills. It makes more
challenging exercises possible and minimizes the likelihood
of unpleasant consequences. The wrong environment can
make practice impossible (try doing acrobatic kung fu
moves in a tiny room) or painful (like a hardwood floor
you’re going to hit a hundred times while perfecting a technique).
Equally important is how the school trains. Some
schools frown upon sparring but let students use bags and
mitts to practice strikes. Others go further and emphasize
kata and choreographed partner drills over throwing fullpowered
blows. Still others encourage students to pound on
each other in minimal gear – “Only bleeding in training lets
you avoid bleeding in combat.” Most artistic styles avoid
contact and sparring, while combat styles employ such
methods extensively or exclusively; either way, the equipment
must support the training.
Training Equipment Quality
A flimsy heavy bag or fragile muk yang jong will soon
break, while rusty swords and snapped-off broom handles
232 WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT
are unsafe practice weapons at best. High-quality gear costs
more but is better in every way. In particular, good equipment
– or a good variety of it – gives a bonus to success rolls
for teaching and learning the martial arts, including those
for The Training Sequence (p. 147).
The bonuses for training equipment correspond to those
under Equipment Modifiers (p. B345), but individual item
quality (e.g., a fine-quality heavy bag) isn’t usually what’s
important. Instead, look at the gear’s total cost – whether
that buys a few high-quality pieces of equipment, an eclectic
collection of oddball paraphernalia, or a whole lot of
nearly expendable items. The bigger the cash outlay, the better
the bonus.
Below are some guidelines. The GM should be flexible in
allowing substitutions; not all styles train alike. This is especially
true in historical and cinematic games. Generally, an
improvised weapon can substitute for a real one in training,
and unarmed martial artists should never suffer penalties
for poor or missing equipment – the human body and a
source of martial knowledge are all they need!
Basic Equipment (+0): At least $500 for a modest open
space (e.g., a bedroom with the furniture pushed out of the
way) with a mat or other smooth surface; a heavy bag, makiwara,
or dummy; wraps and gloves – or a practice weapon
and protective gear, for weapon arts; a man-sized mirror;
and appropriate clothing.
Good Equipment (+1): At least $2,500 on better “basic”
items – e.g., a larger space; wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling mirrors;
or extra bags, makiwara, or dummies – and any of the
specific items on pp. 233-234.