GURPS Martial Arts - Home

A Learning Experience
The PCs might be students. They might practice at a dojo,
kwoon, salle, or boxing gym . . . or belong to a gladiator
school . . . or train under a wizened old master in his remote
hideout (or suburban home). Or perhaps they are the
instructors. Whatever the situation, the campaign focuses
primarily on the students’ training and advancement.
This type of game works well in settings where inter- or
intra-school competition can turn violent, or where martialarts
academies are centers of political intrigue. Even in a
modern-day campaign, street fights between schools can
occur. Realistic rivalries are mostly friendly; rivals might
compete and then go out together after the tournament to
celebrate. But cinematic (and many historical) settings feature
more violent relationships.
The Shaolin Temple is the most famous martial-arts
school of all time. Scores if not hundreds of movies have featured
students training there. Historically, the Temple was a
refuge for rebels and wanderers, and was ultimately
destroyed by a besieging army. This catapulted its surviving
students into a life on the run – a desperate situation, but an
ideal premise for an adventure-filled campaign.
This theme often segues into others. If the school teaches
fighters for competition, the campaign can cross over with
The Contender (p. 250) theme. If events force the academy
underground, the game will take on elements of Wanted! (see
below).
The Karate Kid illustrates this theme well: a bullied teen
in a new town pairs up with a wise old master. The Paladin,
by C.J. Cherryh, is another example. It later adds elements
of War is Hell (p. 248) and The Quest (p. 247), all in the same
story!
Vigilante Justice
The PCs are rogue crimefighters – not merely maverick
lawmen. They might be in cahoots with the police, tolerated
by them, or actively hunted by criminal and cop alike. If
the vigilantes are wanted by the authorities, then a secret
identity is a must.
Suitable characters and martial-arts styles depend on the
campaign’s location, time period, and realism level. In a
realistic, modern-day game, guns are more useful than martial
arts. In cinematic settings, though, vigilantes tend to be
as good with their fists as they are with firearms, and use
Jeet Kune Do (pp. 164-165), Taijutsu (pp. 202-203), etc., to
defeat crooks. Templates such as Crimefighter (pp. 32-34),
Assassin (pp. 31-32), and Spy (p. 38) suit fictional heroes
well. While implausible in real life, even Movie Star (pp. 36-
38) or Stuntman (p. 40) could work, for a vigilante with a
secret identity.
Without investigation or some other form of activity, this
kind of campaign quickly degenerates into a series of fights
against the Bad Guy of the Week. To keep the game fresh,
the GM might want to combine this theme with another. The
Quest (p. 247) works well if the heroes are hunting a longterm
foe or criminal mastermind, while stepping too far
over the line can lead to a Wanted! (see right) campaign.
This theme is extremely popular in martial-arts fiction.
The Green Hornet television series is a perfect example, with
secretly police-sanctioned vigilantes and a nod and wink to
reality. Kung Fu features a Shaolin monk wandering the
American West, dispensing fortune-cookie wisdom and
hard kicks to bad guys. Other sources include Yojimbo, with
a feudal Japanese ronin playing both sides of a conflict to
further his personal sense of justice, and most Jackie Chan
and Bruce Lee movies. In fact, all of Lee’s movies except
Enter the Dragon feature him as a private citizen bent on justice
– in that movie, he’s a sanctioned agent!
Wanted!
A powerful enemy such as a rival school, the mob, or a
ninja clan hunts the PCs. Or perhaps the authorities seek
them, in which case they could be heroic rebels, vigilantes
who went too far, or loyal spies who happen to work for the
wrong side. Of course, they might simply be common criminals
– assassins, thieves, etc.
The protagonists must either keep moving or operate out
of a hideout that their enemies can’t easily locate or penetrate.
Regardless, they can’t let down their guard because
their hunters could be anywhere . . . or have gotten to anyone.
To give them more to do than flee or hide, the GM
should consider adding elements of The Quest (p. 247).
Perhaps the fugitives seek the piece of information that can
prove their innocence, the secret style that will let them turn
the tables on their opponents, or the one person who can
help them escape to freedom.
The GM can run any Martial Arts game with a small
group or a single player, but this theme works especially well
under such circumstances. A small group is less prone to
squabbles that risk compromising everyone. A single PC,
however powerful, will often need to deal with NPCs to get
by – exposing himself to adventure and possible betrayal.
The Lone Wolf and Cub series is about a ronin-turnedassassin
hunted by a powerful, government-connected ninja
clan. It’s also a quest, because the hero seeks revenge – on a
huge scale. Robin Hood and his Merry Men (a showcase for
Heroic Archer, p. 45, and Quarterstaff, pp. 192-193) constitute
another excellent example.
Warriors of the Night
The PCs might be ninja or sulsa . . . or members of a
secret society such as a tong or a Triad . . . or guerrillas using
their martial-arts skills to wreak havoc after an invasion.
Alternatively, they might be on the other side, tracking down
and destroying such a group. Or they might be on neither
side, and caught in the middle.
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