Special Abilities:
Chi Attack (X MP): A Martial artist has a "Chi Pool" of MP separate from their normal MP. The amount in this chi pool is equal to X, and it refreshes fully when they get a full night's sleep, or recharges by the character's level in Martial Artist for every hour spent meditating or by a special way determined by their style, described below.
Restrictions: The only restrictions to martial arts "spells" a martial artist may use are those imposed by whatever school of martial arts they study under. Even then, that's more a case of their master not knowing the spells in question. Martial artists may not, however, summon.
Casting Cost: Martial artist "spells" do not cost anything.
Spell Alterations: Martial artist "spells" are not altered through their casting, save for the fact that they draw from the Martial Artist's chi pool rather than their MP. Though their power comes from a more specific source than most spells (the martial artist's personal chi), they still act generally the same as a normal spell. Spells are given additional effects based on the Martial Artist's style, as shown below.
Casting Actions/Stat/Skill: Martial Artist spells cost four or more Chi Attack actions to perform. How a Martial Artist acquires Chi Attack actions varies depending on their style, as described below. After using all these actions, they cast the spell using their Martial Arts skill with a state determined by their style.
Learning spells: The martial artist learns spells, or chi attacks, from a master, who usually charges the cost of the spell to teach it to them, taking a minute for each MP the spell costs. They may also learn attacks from scrolls, which usually cost ten times the spell’s cost. A martial artist may learn any spell as a chi attack, regardless of MP cost, even if they do not have a chi pool large enough to cast the spell. A martial artist usually follows a specific martial art, which the GM may define as only being able to use specific spells, specific elements, or any other restrictions appropriate for the art. For a martial artist to learn a chi attack that is not covered by his discipline may cost extra cash and takes five times as long to learn. In this case, the martial artist may have to find another master to learn the spell from, as his usual master may not even know the spell.
A martial artist may teach their chi attacks to another martial artist, in effect acting as a teacher. To do this, however, the martial artist must use the chi attack at triple the MP to cast, as they must use the move in a way that demonstrates it to the student. A martial artist teaching the move to a group of students must pay the move’s cost times a factor of two plus the number of students. For example, a martial artist attempting to teach a 10 MP move to 4 students must use 60 MP from their chi pool, 20 for the move and 10 each for 4 students. The time to teach the move to a group of students using the same school of martial arts as your character is equal to the spell’s MP cost in minutes, while if any of the students are from another discipline, the time required to teach the group is multiplied by 3.
Martial artists have no natural way of temporarily learning chi attacks, though from time to time the GM may declare in times of duress and extreme physical exertion that the character may improvise a chi attack. In this case, the GM assigns a spell to be that chi attack, adjusts it as necessary, and gives the character access to that spell. Spells that are created as improvised chi attacks are instantly memorized and count as an attack of that style. Also, in these cases, the spell is usually cast for free the first time, so a martial artist may improvise a chi attack that they will not be able to put into regular use until they’ve gained a few more levels.
Bare-Handed +X: Though the use of the Martial Arts skill affords the martial artist the use of a large selection of weapons, a true martial artist’s calling lies within the use of their own fists; as a martial artist gains levels, they gain increasing abilities when using his bare hands. The player may spend this bonus to make their bare fists act as though they had Superior Quality Enhancements, applying the bonuses to each fist, but once this is chosen, it cannot be changed until the martial artists either gains another level in Martial Artist, when they may reassign the points as they wish, or they spend 20 minus their Intelligence in hours retraining, with a minimum of 1 hour. These enhancements stack with any weapon that adds to the fists' damage rather than superseding it.
Kick Master +X: Martial Artists are highly skilled at making kick attacks, and with this ability they gain access to up to two different types of kicks, Rapid Kicks and Power Kicks. Rapid Kicks must use the Agility stat to attack and are always considered to be in Fast attacks, while Power Kicks must use the Strength stat, and are always considered to be Strong attacks. A Power Kick costs a minimum of 2 move actions and deals 1dStr in damage +1 for every additional move action spent past the minimum. A Power Kick, like a regular kick, must use all of your remaining movement. A single Rapid Kick costs 3 move actions and deals 1dAgi damage, but do not take any additional movement. You may perform multiple Rapid Kicks in a single turn. You must choose to allocate your bonus when you gain it on either Power Kicks or Rapid Kicks, and you must have a +1 or higher bonus in one of these kicks to use it. The allocated bonus is applied to the attack roll and damage for each kick.
Special: Martial Arts Style: When a Martial Artist first gains the ability to use Chi Attacks, they must choose from one of the six styles below. The Martial Artist's style determines their spellcasting stat, how they gain Chi Attack actions, and how their Chi Attack spells are enhanced. A Martial Artist may store up to 6 Chi Attack actions, though advantages may allow for more.
Tiger
Stat: Strength
Actions: A martial artist who uses this style gains a single Chi Attack action by spending a hand action, and gains 2 Chi Attack actions when they successfully land a strong critical hit.
Enhance: Spell damage is raised by the caster's Martial Artist level, plus an additional bonus of the caster's Martial Artist level for every additional Chi Attack action past the required 4 they spend when casting the spell.
Recovery: Whenever a foe is defeated and the Martial Artist contributed towards its HP damage (not soak), the Martial Artist regains a number of Chi Pool Points equal to that foe's threat level.
Turtle
Stat: Defense
Actions: A martial artist who uses this style gains a single Chi Attack action by spending a hand action, and gains 1 Chi Attack action whenever they successfully actively or passively block an attack directed at them.
Enhancement: The Martial Artist gains a bonus to their next soak roll made this encounter equal to the caster's Martial Artist level. For every additional Chi Attack action spent past the required 4 for the spell, they may grant this same bonus to another person the spell affected, no more than once per person per spell.
Recovery: Whenever the Martial Artist makes a soak roll, they may subtract any amount of that soak roll and add half that amount to their Chi Pool, rounded down.
Snake
Stat: Agility
Actions: A martial artist who uses this style gains a single Chi Attack action by spending 4 move actions, and gains 1 Chi Attack action whenever they successfully dodge an attack directed at them.
Enhancement: The Martial Artist gains a bonus to their passive dodge score for the remainder of the round equal to the amount by which the target failed their oppose check if the target is a foe. Only one such bonus can be applied at any time, and the duration of this bonus can be increased by one round for each additional Chi Attack action spent on the spell.
Recovery: Whenever the martial artist successfully makes an active or spot dodge, they regain an amount of Chi Pool points equal to the amount by which they beat the attack roll.
Fox
Stat: Intelligence
Actions: A martial artist who uses this style gains a single Chi Attack action by spending a hand action, and gains a single Chi Attack action every time an enemy targets them with an attack or spell and they make an Intelligence/Martial Arts roll equal to or higher than the enemy's threat level. If this roll critically succeeds, they get 2 Chi Attack actions instead.
Enhancement: Spells with a duration have their duration doubled. The Martial Artist may spend two additional Chi Attack actions to cause a spell they have cast to affect an additional target within range.
Recovery: Whenever the Martial Artist regains MP, they regain an equal amount of Chi Pool points.
Eagle
Stat: Accuracy
Actions: A martial artist who uses this style gains a single Chi Attack action by spending a hand action, and gains 2 Chi Attack actions when they successfully land a precise critical hit.
Enhancement: Spell range is increased by 50%, and spells that deal damage deal an amount of additional damage equal to the amount by which the target failed their oppose roll, and an additional similar amount for every Chi Attack Action spent past the 4 the spell normally costs.
Recovery: The Martial Artist regains a number of Chi Points equal to half their Martial Artist level rounded down whenever they gain a partial action through high initiative.
Dragon
Stat: Personality
Actions: A martial artist who uses this style gains a single Chi Attack action by spending a speak action, and gains 2 Chi Attack actions when they successfully distract an enemy that has attempted to attack them this encounter.
Enhancement: The Martial Artist may choose a single die of the spell's damage, duration, or a die rolled by its effect and re-roll that die. They may do this once per spell plus an additional time for every Chi Attack action they spend past the 4 the spell normally costs.
Recovery: The Martial Artist regains a chi pool point every time they or an ally spend a speak action.