new fighting style

#1

ok. I have not been on in a while, so hi to everyone.

I am in the process of submitting a character with a unique figthing style, but I am kinda stuck in the details.

Its all about making the body more dangerous than before by adding weapons to the limbs. Depending on the fighters preference, short spikes or triangular blades are attached to plates of metal or leather, which in turn are strapped to the shins and forearms. The largest blade is a ramming blade affixed to a helmet.

Just from what I have told you, many combinations of attacks can be made.The question is, what are they?

Help me out, guys!

New fighting style

#2

I had thought early on in the creation of this idea that the style would just be ordinary kicks and punches. What I had not crossed my mind was how the dynamics of a blade itself changed everything.

Take for instance, the long spikes on the knuckles. If the spikes had no blood greaves or edges, then fighter would be limited to jabs and straights, as a cross would nullify the stabbing power of the spike. one would have to shorten spikes to enable the figher full use of the human fist.

I had the super hero wolverine in my mind when i came up with this idea. Edged blades would work just as well.

Another problem was the exact location of the weapons themselves. I knew i wanted blades just behind the knuckles, but where else?

I decided to place them on the joints of the body- elbows, knees, and heels.The heel blade would be different in that it curves into a sickle shape, much like a raptor. This shape is perfect for slashing the throat of your oponent or disemboweling him. Spikes would placed on the knees for guttting and spikes or edged blades could be attached to the elbows for slashing and stabbing.

For lack of words, i shal call it (ahem, cliche ahead) blade dancing, for that is what it is. There are two main styles determined by the type of blade (edged or smooth) and there are more subcategories of those styles deternmined by the length and shape of the blade.

The serpent style consists of sharp sudden stabs from a neutral position.
Because all attention is focused on your opponent , it is highly effective in one-on-one combat. The aim of the serpent style is to aim for an opponents weak spots and disable them in a short period of time.

By contrast, The cat-dragon style is meant to cause great damage via repeated strikes. Ulike the serpent, the cat-dragon is always moving, keeping their foes off balance by striking from any angle. the cat-dragon style is best suited for many foes at once.

new fighting style

#3

if you have seen blade the film's then the spike's on the toe's of the person's shoes are rather effective they can be used for back attacks or front attacks one of my favorite's could be a flying kick as the toe's of the shoe are forward it would go straight to the height that you jump the only default is that it could be easily avoided so that way you must catch the attacker unawares.

new fighting style

#4

Might I suggest you check out with some real martial artists? There are a couple of MA communities on the web. Find a couple that look likely and find out what they think. Then report back.

PS: Tell them that you are an author and was wondering about a fictional martial arts style. They will hash it out amongst themselves.

http://www.strolen.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=29863#29863
http://www.strolen.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=23350#23350

You also need to better define the weapons appropriate to this style. So we have gloves with arm blades, shin guards with the same, what other weapons would be applicable?

new fighting style

#5

Also, having the blades all over the body would make falling or being knocked over kinda bad for your health. Like if you were hit in the stomach hard, like with a mace or the like, you would probably go to at least one knee. So that fancy blade on your ankle would cut up the back of your thigh. Tumbling without extensive training would also be hard because of all the spikes too.

Re: new fighting style

#6

There's a concept of 14 fists in Chinese martial arts that may help you. Feet, Knees, Hips, Elbows, Hands, shoulders, head and body comprise the 14 fists. It's a concept from Hsing-I. Any way, blades or spikes could be applied to each of these 14 locations. Rather than blades you might want to augment the locations such as hips and knees with metal studs. Spikes can augment shoulders and elbows and blades can be on the feet and hands. As far as the head. a helmet with studs or spikes could be used to headbutt the opponent. The body component of the 14 fists is the torso and can make use of blows from the back and chest at close quarters.

Good luck

Re: new fighting style

#7

Before we get ahead of ourselves, we need to concentrate on the weapons and the effects of weapons. Lets start with basics.

When you stab a person, you must pull out the blade before you can continue to fight. This is a drastic change to standard martial arts where a punch can be followed up with several other attacks in rapid succession. So we have to think about wether or not the design of a blade would completely hinder movement after an attack.

Also, joint constriction is often a problem. Say that you strap a blade to your wrist so that it sticks out in front and allows you to stab somebody, well you have to make sure that the blade does not go too far back or else you will lose mobility with your wrist. And further, without a wrist brace, you have to have a very sturdy glove in order to handle the structural strains put on it by the blade in action. That means a heavier glove and more weight

Also, the blade cannot be too long. If it is longer than your fingers, then you lose the ability you have to grab and hold objects.

Also, you canâ€™t go stabbing yourself with your own weapons, so, like Pariah noted, you either need to remove blades that will stab you, or put on armor that would protect you from those probable mishaps.

Here is what I would recommend as a fighting style. I would recommend that you attach thin, light, piercing blades on different areaâ€™s of the body, that are designed to come off without much force. You can put them on areaâ€™s that might wound you if you fall, like your kneeâ€™s, and heels. Then when you stab a person with a particular blade, a small twist or pull ensures that the blade stays in the enemy you are fighting. You use up all of your blades as fast as possible on as many people as possible and then fight with standard martial arts to finish things. Or, you could simply run. Most stab wounds were deadly. Opponents who did not bleed to death almost always died from infection.

-Nobody

Re: new fighting style

#8

Nobody's idea is quite good, actually. However, of some quick note to it is that due to the way the style works with the detachable blades, you'd want to first aim for the most vital areas to stab. Either that, or areas that would seriously hinder your opponent's movement when fighting you afterwards.

Re: new fighting style

#9

Some quick rules for knife fighting in general.

1. Don't do it.
2. If you have to do it, do it quick and then run.
3. There are no rules in a fight, play dirty.

And some expanations

1. You have a piece of shapened metal about 3 inches long. And if you can get ahold of one of those what is going to stop the guy you're fighting from getting one too? And, unless if the guy has absolutly no clue as to what he's doing (or is extremely cocky, or both), you're not going to be able to block but, maybe, 1 outta every 10 cuts. If you had armor on that'd be a different story, but if you have armor, why use a knife? A sword does the same job with a lot less rick to your health.

2. Now, seeing as you're both playing with shapened pieces of metal, get what you have to get done quick. Dn't draw it out, when the evil villian does stuff like that you kill him, right? Don't go carving you name into his neck, give him a good couple of cuts and then run like hell. The longer you draw he fight out, the more likly that he's going to get a good hit on you.

3. Sand in the face, knee in the groin. Do whatever it takes to get out of there with most of your hide intact. Anywhere above the shoulders is good, either a major vien/artery or you hit their scalp, which bleed A LOT when it gets cut. Don't stab them directly in the heart, you'll hit a rib, go in up under the rib cage. Or better yet, don't go for the heart. Stab into their gut and leave the knife here. If they can chase you down with a knife cutting up their intestines then they deserve to kill you.

Re: new fighting style

#10

What Pariah said is not entirely true. The truth is, most people have no idea how to knife fight. Knife fighting like they show you in the movies is very difficult, however, not impossible. However, the marines also teach knife fighting. The technique is rather simple. You push your opponent with your free hand to knock them off balance, then you slash twice across the chest with your knife, then push them again, then slash twice, then push again, then slash twice, always aiming for the chest.

The method is quite effective against people who don't know what they are doing, and that happens to be most of them. You would of course take some cuts, but only to your arms. Probably a good idea to wear a sturdy leather gloves.

Also, I have a friend who has been in a few knife fights. He wears thick gloves and is actually able to simply grab the knife out of his opponents hand when they try to cut him. He has done it numerous times, although he had to keep buying new gloves afterwards.

Still, these are surprise tactics. Nobody expects you to just grab the knife, and nobody expects you to push them off balance. Remember that tactics change with your opponents.

However, that is knife fighting, and you are talking about something else entirely.

-Nobody

Re: new fighting style

#11

Nobody's right, as always. Most people have NO clue as to what to do in any personal conflict. An example, I have seen high school friends who haven't taken a day's worth of martial arts (either eastern or western) training in their life get taken down by a wrestler 2 yrs younger and half their size. Usually in about 30 second, too. By the 1 outta 10 I meant that someone who had a clue was't as likely to swing wildly, making blows harder to block. If you can afford to buy armor then you can afford a sword, and shouldn't pull a knife out except as a last resort.

I didn't say my second point well. Don't be theatrical. Get it done and leave, the quicker the better. I think I just said it better there, I think.

Oh, and I need to point out, most scalp wounds aren't fatal, all this would do would be hinder their vision. Leather gloves are a great idea. Never thought of those myself, I probably should have though.

I need to stop posting stuff at 1 in the morning. I can't think straight at that hour.

Re: new fighting style

#12

8) :wink:

The idea is great. I think that you are looking at a martial arts style in the AD&D vein though. There is a set of skills in the styles that use weapons in martial arts. I don't know what system you are using, but I have a little something to add. I AM NOT TRYING TO JACK THE THREAD, I am just offering up how I offered a class statistically. The class is knife fighters:

THE KNIFE FIGHTER
By Mike Johnson
Matan Thunder
4/1/06 My Version

This class has been done by others on the internet, so I will not claim it is a novel idea. I created my version in 82-86 somewhere. It is a weapons specialist fighter and I hope that some of you will find it a novel PC Class.

The knife fighter is a sub-class of fighter that is highly specialized in the use of all daggers and knives. To be a knife fighter they must have a STR14, INT & WIS 12, & a DEX of 16. This reflects the needed high hand eye co-ordination need for the class and a necessary overall common sense that is needed to succeed in the class. The class is useful for scouting in silence and removing sentries in combat. Most knife fighters are scarred grim faced and ill humored, although some crazed ones appear to be laughing maniacs.

The knife fighter is extremely weak for major melee because they are limited to leather armor and only a dagger (or rarely a staff) for melee. This is made up for somewhat because of the high weapon speed of the dagger and the fact that many take the two weapon proficiency skill so as to use two weapons at once. They are also useful in a bar fight in any case. They attack as Fighters and Save as Thieves. They start with 1d6+1 hit points at level one (plus racial modifier). They gain proficiencies like a fighter and are allowed to use both fighter and thief based proficiencies. They can be of any alignment except L/G as the brutal nature of their skill prevents that alignment. They gain +10% experience for DEX of 17+.

The knife fighter can wield any type of knife or dagger that is suitable for their size. They wield it like an extension of their arm.. They prefer daggers of up to 18” in length. They also prefer full hilt guards to prevent hand damage. Those that use the full basket hilt can opt to strike to stun/pummel a foe in combat for 1-4 real damage (1-8 submission + STR bonus). It also adds 10% to the stunning potential of the blow (based on STR).

They excel at knife throwing games and when not employed they are often found in the local taverns looking for a pigeon. The often take advantage of the local thieves arrogance. Besides using the dagger as a hand held weapon the knife fighter is very adept in hurling daggers at still and moving targets at ranges of up to 6” (60’) double the normal range. At ranges of 30-40’ there is a -1 penalty, at 41-60’ the penalty is -2 to hit.

The knife fighter gains a +1 at creation with a +1 to hit for every 5 levels of experience thereafter. Their great skill grants them an innate skill, which is to place a dagger exactly where they want it to land at a 3% rating per level. This is added to a 5% bonus for every point of DEX above 16 and that is their total Aim Success Ability number.

Their dexterity and use of the dagger grants them extra attacks. They gain a number of attacks as do fighters, but in addition they gain +1 attack with a DEX of 15-16, and +2 attacks for a DEX of 18+. This is added to a class ability that allows the knife fighter to gain +1 attack at lvl 6-12th and +2 attacks at 13-18th level.

The knife fighter has the other following techniques for combat. These are mostly defensive techniques that help avoid taking damage.
a) Catch Knife: All knife fighters learn to catch and re-release daggers, knives, and similar hand thrown weapons that are within 10’ of their location. There is a base chance of 15% + 5% per level gained past the first level. They can grab weapons with a grip and weigh approximately the weight of a dagger.
b) Block Blow: They also learn to block heavier and longer weapons with great efficiency. With a base 20% chance of success +3% per level above the first level. They must have two daggers to be able to block two handed weapons. This may be attempted at the rate of sacrificing one attack for one block attempts. This allows a higher level knife fighter to block a number of attacks while launching the remainder of his attacks at a foe. (i.e. An 8th level knife fighter with a DEX of 16 may attack or block up to 4 actions per round).
c) Dodge Missile: This is similar to the monk ability to dodge where it is used against any one missile attack. The knife fighter gets a save vs Death Ray to avoid the attack. (That is if they don’t want to catch the missile). A failed save means that the normal attack roll is used vs. the knife fighter. The knife fighter will intuitively know which missiles may strike him in any given round and must choose the “ONE” that they want to avoid.

The final major power of a knife fighter is to gain a number of skills that are available to the thief normally. The knife fighter that uses the skill below properly gains a thief-like backstab ability at +4 and doing multiple damage at the 1-4th (2x dmg), 5-8th (3x dmg), 9-12th (4x dmg) maximum.

Their thief skills are:

Move Silently in city or outdoors.
Hide in Shadow in city or outdoors.
Hear Noises within a 100’ radius from shifting feet to coughing.

LEVEL EXP PTS. HIT DICE LEVEL TITLE HIDE IN SHADOW MOVE SILENTLY HEAR NOISE
1st 0-2250 1d6+1 Stinger 30% 33% 30%
2nd 2251-4500 2d6+2 Jabber 35% 40% 35%
3rd 4501-8500 3d6+3 Knifer 39% 44% 40%
4th 8501-19000 4d6+4 Slasher 43% 48% 45%
5th 19001-36500 5d6+5 Stabber 47% 52% 50%
6th 36501-75000 6d6+6 Snowman 51% 56% 55%
7th 75001-150000 7d6+7 Iceman 55% 60% 60%
8th 150001-300000 8d6+8 Impaler 59% 64% 65%
9th 300001-600000 9d6+9 Impaler Lord 63% 68% 70%
10th+ +300,000 Exp per level +2 HP per level Impaler Lord +2% per level +2% per level 5% per level (100%max)

Sorry if this table doesn’t come out very good. I have set it up as a table, and I don’t think it will post this good, but listing vertically is just not sensible.

I had always intended that the class be used with a martial arts skill. The skills are in the Oriental Adventures handbook.

Is you skills set fighter based or martial arts???

Don't know if this is useful, but it may be a basis for a statistical class or fighter skill set.

:what: :wink:

Have everyone roll their dice before the adventure and tick them off one by one, it helps speed up the game and allows the DM more time to think on his feet.

Turn them all into rainbow mushrooms and drop them 300’ to the music of the Anvil Chorus!!!!

Re: new fighting style

#13

Matan Thunder He was looking for a martial arts school approach, rather than mechanics. As a general rule, we are system non specific.. and the class stats are useless to most of us here anyways. If your class write up had a bit more substance than stats, it might be more useful here.

Re: new fighting style

#14

A few things...

Having studied martial arts for years (12) and one focus of that was Kobuto, an Okinawan form of weapons training. It uses simple original farm tools for fighting. One not commonly known was the Tako (sp?) which was a horse sturrip. This was used as an extention of the martial art not a weapon. Kata's, fighting, all were the same using a tako as you normally would. It was used to break bones, bo staves, etc... Very fun weapon to learn.

The reason why I mention all of this is because there is a lot of information out there about weapon martial arts.

First rule of thumb in a knife fight. You will get cut yourself so just live with it.

If this can be described as an art form as well as a martial form it may be more convincing, like you said blade dancing. More forms of early Japanese martial arts were in the form of dancing, stretching, or general health and well being as it was against the law to practice martial arts.

I know this really doesn't hit on what you were asking but I felt it may help.