Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
shiny armor, and never die from an infected wound, but<br />
it’s all thanks to destiny, valor, or divine favor – not strange<br />
martial-arts abilities.<br />
Strengths: At the combat realism level of Larger-than-Life<br />
(p. 239), this type of game shares the strengths of Borderline<br />
Realism (p. 237-238); in fact, many roleplayers are willing to<br />
accept the realism level of Epic (p. 239) as long as the characters<br />
are believable. This approach is handy for cinematic<br />
games where martial arts exist but aren’t supposed to be in<br />
the spotlight.<br />
Weaknesses: Devotees of historical fiction will find the lack<br />
of festering wounds and bad breath disappointing. Cinema<br />
enthusiasts might not see the point of allowing flashy forms of<br />
Move and Attack without cinematic techniques to remove the<br />
penalties, large numbers of Rapid Strikes without Trained by a<br />
Master to offset those penalties, and so on. Thus, rubber realism<br />
can further split a divided group if the GM isn’t diplomatic.<br />
CAMPAIGN SETTING<br />
After determining the realism level of his <strong>Martial</strong> <strong>Arts</strong><br />
campaign – including its power level – the GM must choose<br />
its setting. This decision influences the types of martial<br />
artists suitable as PCs, the styles they can learn, and the<br />
kinds of adventures they’ll have.<br />
Tech Level<br />
Tech level (see pp. B511-514) is a crucial parameter in<br />
any setting but particularly important in a <strong>Martial</strong> <strong>Arts</strong> campaign.<br />
Technology – guns in particular – can diminish the<br />
importance of martial-arts skills or render them completely<br />
irrelevant!<br />
When you get into a fight,<br />
everybody reacts differently.<br />
– Bruce Lee<br />
At TL0-3, portable firearms are nonexistent – or so weak<br />
as to be no more threatening than muscle-powered<br />
weapons. Melee weapons and low-tech missile weapons<br />
decide battles, making martial-arts skills vital for warriors.<br />
Cinematic abilities can make their wielders supreme!<br />
Metallic armor, especially in TL3, makes unarmed combat<br />
difficult . . . but armed styles take into account both wearing<br />
and defeating such armor.<br />
At TL4, guns begin to dominate the battlefield. <strong>Martial</strong><br />
artists become less relevant; warfare is about massed firepower<br />
more than individual skills. Armor remains heavy but<br />
grows less common as firearms advance, and is rare off the<br />
battlefield. <strong>Martial</strong>-arts skills remain important when the<br />
powder runs out, for missions where guns aren’t ideal (taking<br />
prisoners, stealthy operations, etc.), and in civilian<br />
affrays.<br />
At TL5-8, increasingly efficient repeating firearms<br />
appear. Armor is rare, so unarmed fighters and melee<br />
weapons can in theory be effective . . . but guns are many<br />
times as lethal. To be relevant, martial artists need to pour<br />
far more points into their skills than do their gun-armed<br />
friends and foes. By TL6, even potent cinematic abilities<br />
are less useful than an automatic weapon and a point or<br />
two in Guns.<br />
At TL9+, realistic ultra-tech renders martial arts little<br />
more than a specialized niche. The trend might reverse in a<br />
space-opera universe, though. For instance, fighters might<br />
wear personal force screens that can stop bullets and beams<br />
from small arms, but which have little effect on relatively<br />
slow melee attacks. Or they might wield force swords and be<br />
able to parry incoming fire with impunity!<br />
Other Fantastic Abilities<br />
There’s no need to limit superhuman abilities to chi powers<br />
and cinematic skills and techniques in a <strong>Martial</strong> <strong>Arts</strong><br />
game. Gamers expect magic in fantasy and psionics in space<br />
opera. Regardless of genre, such elements are an excellent<br />
match for the myths associated with some styles. The GM<br />
should also consider the role of nonhumans and supernatural<br />
events. These might be the campaign’s focus or inexplicable<br />
elements on its fringes, but both feature prominently in<br />
martial-arts legend. For details about the folklore and<br />
remarkable claims surrounding particular arts, see Chapter 5.<br />
Time and Place<br />
A campaign’s location and period largely determine the<br />
available martial arts. A style doesn’t exist until it’s founded<br />
. . . and often disappears after its heyday. For instance,<br />
heroes can’t learn Jeet Kune Do (pp. 164-165) in<br />
19th-century China and will have difficulty finding training<br />
in Knightly Mounted Combat (pp. 175-177) in 20th-century<br />
America. These considerations needn’t be rigid, though – a<br />
globetrotting game can include styles from all over, a<br />
time-travel campaign can feature the arts of any period, and<br />
the Infinite Worlds setting knows no limits!<br />
CLASSICAL GREECE<br />
AND ROME<br />
Classical Greece was home to some of the world’s oldest<br />
verifiable fighting arts. Those described in <strong>Martial</strong> <strong>Arts</strong><br />
include Ancient Greek Boxing (p. 153), Pankration (pp. 188-<br />
189), and Wrestling (pp. 204-206). Treat Greek wrestling as<br />
Submission Wrestling (p. 205) – the styles are very similar.<br />
The most important martial arts of ancient Rome were<br />
Armatura (p. 150) and Armatura Equestris (p. 150), developed<br />
for the legions. Rome had relatively few native<br />
unarmed arts. Gladiators and dedicated legionaries tended<br />
to adopt Greek styles of barehanded fighting.<br />
CAMPAIGNS 241
Change language