Martial Arts Techniques

A cyberlimb uses actuators made of titanium, plasteel, or similarly durable substances. A martial artist may use this technique to unlock an option unavailable to grapplers with organic tendons: simply powering through a joint lock

Category: 

• Grappling

Requirement:

• At least 1 full cyberlimb

Action:

• This technique lets the user avoid the -4 dice penalty for attacks made while being grappled or to resist being restrained.

Lunge forward with a long step toward your opponent.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• Bladed or Clubbed Weapon

Action:

• With the use of a Minor Action, the character lunges forward and gains +2 Meters of Reach to their current attack at the cost of a -1 Dice Pool Penalty to Defense until the end of the character's next turn.

Implanted firearms were never a reality for the ancient sifus and senseis. But in the Sixth World, martial arts such as krav maga, Systema, and Wildcat were the first to recognize and adopt them.

Category: 

• Ranged

Requirement:

• Implanted Firearm

Action:

• Barrel strike is a deadly technique that allows the practitioner to make a melee attack with an implanted cybergun in either the SS, SA, or BF firing modes. 

• Roll Close Combat (Unarmed) instead of the weapon’s usual skill. The attack has the weapon’s usual DV, modified by ammo and firing mode.

In the hands of a trained fighter, sticks of various lengths can be used as grappling aids.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• Blunt Weapon

Action:

• May use any technique from the Grappling category as though you were unarmed.

• May replace damage during a grapple with the weapon's damage in place of your base unarmed damage.

Become like a reed of grass in the wind; malleable and really annoying.

Category: 

• Mobility

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Gain a bonus Dice Reroll when using the Dodge Minor Action against melee or ranged attacks. Choose which category when learning this technique.

• This may be taken up to twice in order to gain both melee and ranged Dodge bonus.

Whether it's gouging directly or bloodletting so that claret impedes vision, a quick way to gain an edge is to disrupt an opponent's ability to see.

Category: 

• Mobility, Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• If the character gains enough net hits on an attack higher than the opponent's Agility, they suffer the Blinded III status.

• Duration of the inflicted status is equal to the net hits on the attack.

You live by the axiom of 'no problem worth solving couldn't be solved by a shoulder check.' You throw yourself, body and soul, into the attack hoping to bring both the pain and some staggering power.

Category: 

• Mobility

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Requires the use of a Move Minor Action and an Attack Major Action.

• After moving at least 5 meters, you make an Attack against your opponent. Net hits on the test allow weapon damage to be transferred to movement: for each point of damage transferred, damage dealt to the opponent is reduced by one and the opponent is moved backwards by one meter.

• The attacker can transfer damage in an amount equal to or less than their Body rating.

• If the target's distance moved is greater than 4 Meters, they must make a Body + Agility (4) test or they are knocked Prone.

When using a light pistol, heavy pistol, holdout pistol, machine pistol, or taser in melee combat, that firearm can be used as a club for the purposes of martial arts techniques.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• Handgun

Action:

• Handguns count as Clubs for the sake of martial arts techniques.

• Un-reinforced weapons may damage or break.

When using a rifle, shotgun, or sub-machine gun in melee combat, that firearm may count as a club for the purposes of martial arts techniques.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• Longarm

Action:

• A rifle, shotgun, or SMG counts as a Club for the sake of martial arts techniques.

• Un-reinforced weapons may damage or break.

Where others are taken down, you've actually trained for this scenario.

Category: 

• Mobility

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• May roll Athletics + Agility as though they were escaping from restraints rather than the normal grapple escape tests.

Disabling, rather than killing, is a choice of many martial artists.

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• By making a Called Shot to a specific limb, on a successful attack you may choose to inflict the Disabled status on the selected limb instead of inflicting damage. Every two net hits increase the Disabled status by 1.

You've been trained to move and attack in unpredictable ways, which can be both a benefit and a drawback.

Category: 

• Mobility

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• The number of 1s you need to Glitch on any Unarmed attack is reduced by 1 due to the sloppy execution, but your target loses 2 dice from their Defense test against those attacks thanks to their difficulty in anticipating your movements.

When you block, make sure you're practically impenetrable during a fistfight by keeping your form locked tight.

Category: 

• Mobility

Requirement:

• Unarmed

Action:

• When using the Block Minor Action without a weapon, gain a +1 Dice Reroll.

When using a throwing weapon, choose to exploit the enemy's weakness at range and 'end them rightly' by throwing it.

Category: 

• Ranged, Weapon

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• When using a melee weapon, you may use the bonus granted by the Feint maneuver to attack with a throwing weapon instead of a melee weapon.

• If the throwing weapon is fitted to the melee weapon as a weapon attachment, you may detach it and throw it without the use of a Ready Weapon Minor Action.

Use a weapon that can wrap to bind up an opponent and prevent them from acting or moving.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• Exotic Weapon

Action:

• When using an exotic weapon such as a whip, chain, bolo, or flail, roll Exotic Weapon + Agility vs Agility + Reaction.

• If successful, the opponent is restrained and with a Minor Action your weapon may be foregone to restrain the opponent.

• If net hits exceed opponent's Agility, the opponent gains the Hobbled status effect for a number of combat rounds equal to Net Hits.

Your strategy in this attack is not to kill or maim but to distract, putting your opponent off balance or giving them the false feeling of success that puts them at a disadvantage when they take the bait.

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Roll an attack against the opponent. Instead of doing damage, hits on a successful attack test lower the opponent's Defense Rating for the next combat round on a one-to-one basis.

• This new Defense Rating is used by any attack targeting the individual.

With a feint, the character can draw their opponent to make a bad move in their attack.

Category: 

• General

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Using a Minor Action in conjunction with a successful Attack Major Action allows the character to forego damage on their attack entirely and instead reduce the opponent's next Defense test dice against the character by an amount equal to the Net Hits on the attack test.

Kicking is more than jumping in place. With some momentum, you can close the distance during a strike.

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• Kick Attack

Action:

• By spending an extra Minor Action and succeeding at an Athletics + Agility (3) test, you may extend your Close range bracket by 0.5 meters per hit  and increase your Damage Value by 2 (stacking with the bonus from Kick Attack for +3).

• A Glitch on either the Athletics test to launch yourself or the Close Combat test for the attack roll results in the Off-Balance status until your next Combat Turn.

• A Critical Glitch on either roll makes you take a tumble, inflicting both the Prone and Disabled II status on one of your legs.

You're used to fights ending up as a mass of tangled limbs rolling around on the nearest flat surface.

Category: 

• Grappling

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Suffer no penalties for attacking or defending while you have the Prone status.

• Penalty to Defense tests while restrained is reduced by half (rounded down).

A long weapon can be unwieldy in too close quarters with an opponent.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• Sword

Action:

• Increase the damage of the weapon by 2 when making Half-Sword attacks, but reduce the weapon's range 2 meters.

This technique covers any attack aimed at the leg with the express purpose of slowing down and opponent.

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• With any melee attack roll, if the hits on the test exceed the agility of the opponent, the opponent gains the Hobbled status with a duration of Combat Rounds equal to the number of Net Hits.

Like the samurai of old, the character can draw any properly stored melee weapon in a flash.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Character may use the Quick Draw Minor Action with any one-handed weapon.

• The character must still use the Quick Draw action together with an Attack Major Action.

Imposing Stone allows the character not only to intercept the opponent, but to prevent them from moving past them.

Category: 

• Grappling

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Requires the use of the Intercept Minor Action and an Attack Major Action.

• Each success reduces the opponent's movement by 1 Meter.

• If the attack exceeds the opponent's Agility, then the opponent stops next to the character.

Whether through knowing where to hit or simply knowing how to hit, you do more damage.

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Add +1 Damage Value to your base unarmed damage.

This probably wasn't what your parents meant when they told you to "use your head," but it works, doesn't it? Headbutt your opponent.

Category: 

• Grappling

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• May use a headbutt to make an unarmed attack, even while grappling or being grappled.

• +1 Damage Value to headbutt attacks (does not stack with Iron Limbs or Ti Khao)

• When grappled, may attempt to damage opponent as if you were the attacker.

Draw your opponent's limb into a compromising position and put the pain upon them.

Category: 

• Grappling

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• When executing a grapple, the character may use the "Inflict Damage" option to inflict the Disabled status on the grappled arm or leg, with every 2 Net Hits increasing the level of Disabled by 1.

You've been trained to use all sorts of kicks effectively in combat, whether they're front kicks, side kicks, or even standing jump kicks.

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• When attacking with Kick Attack, add +1 to your unarmed Damage Value and 2 meters to your attack's range.

• Rolling a Glitch on a Kick Attack inflicts the Off-Balance status on you, and rolling a Critical Glitch inflicts the Prone status.

As the name suggests, the attack is designed to neutralize the opponent's effectiveness in combat or hamper their ability to escape.

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• By spending a Minor Action in conjunction with an Attack Major Action, the character may target a specific limb (left leg, right arm, etc.) and temporarily disable that limb at the cost of a -4 Dice Pool Penalty.

• If the attack is successful, that limb takes on the Disabled status effect.

• If Net Hits exceed the Body of the opponent, the limb takes on the Disabled II status effect.

• The status lasts for a number of Combat Rounds equal to Net Hits.

• This attack can be repeated on the same limb to increase the Disabled status level up to Disabled III and with every attack the duration is cumulative.

Through a series of gymnastic maneuvers, the character takes advantage of the surrounding terrain, doing things like moving to give a smaller or obscured profile to attack, sliding through railings, flipping over benches, getting hang time off a room corner, or whatever other creative movement that can come up with.

Category: 

• Mobility

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• While sprinting, the character can remove successes from a Sprint action and use them as cover, up to a status of Cover IV which lasts for 1 Combat Round.

• A Wall Running adept automatically has Cover I when using this action.

Autotomy is the technical term for self-amputation and describes the behavior that some critters employ as a survival tactic. Just as many lizards can detach their tail to escape from a predator, a martial artist with a cyberlimb can sacrifice the metal to preserve their meat.

Category: 

• General

Requirement:

• At least 1 intact cyberlimb

Action:

• When suffering damage from an attack or indirect combat spell, this technique allows the user to forfeit the damage resistance test to ignore all damage entirely by intercepting the hit with their cyberlimb. 

• The limb becomes nonfunctional and must be repaired using the Biotech (Cybertechnology) skill before it can be used again. Increase the Build/Repair Threshold by the number of damage boxes averted. 

• If the incoming damage is 12 or more boxes, then only a full replacement limb can be used for limb dropping. 

• If a cyberleg was sacrificed, the user gains the Hobbled status until the leg is replaced or repaired.

You use your advantages to truly bring the hurt on an opponent with raw physical strength.

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• On a Close Combat Attack test, take a -2 Dice Pool Penalty to deal your standard Damage Value as well as knock the opponent Prone.

• If your inflicted damage of any type is greater than the target's Willpower, the target is Dazed. This status lasts until they pass a Natural Healing (Physical) test.

By combining Awakened talents with their martial arts expertise, adept practitioners of hapsum-do may disrupt the flow of mana in their opponent's bodies.

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• Killing Hands

Action:

• Adepts making an unarmed attack against an Awakened opponent may choose to reduce the dice pool for their target's next Magic-linked test by 1 per Net Hit instead of inflicting damage with Killing Hands.

When in a target rich environment, the character is able to remain focused and - sometimes - excels.

Category: 

• Mobility

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• When using the Multiple Attacks Minor Action to attack multiple targets, add 1 die to your attack test for every 2 targets you attack.

• For the purposes of this technique, attacking multiple locations on the same target counts as the same target.

Being attacked repeatedly sometimes is something you've actually trained and prepared for.

Category: 

• Mobility

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• When you're attacked by multiple attackers in the same Combat Round, gain a +2 Dice Pool Bonus to your Defense tests on all attacks after the first. This effect is not cumulative.

You might not be Awakened, but you've learned to channel your qi (or ki, prana, ruach, pneuma, "spirit energy," or sheer attitude) into a strike that reaches across the boundaries between material and immaterial.

Category: 

• General

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• The character may make unarmed attacks against astral entities as though they were Awakened.

• Damage Value of (WILL/2 + net hits).

• This technique does not give you the ability to perceive astrally or bond weapon foci.

Stick your feet into the ground, square your shoulders, bend your knees and refuse to fall over no matter what.

Category: 

• Mobility

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Gain a bonus Dice Reroll when resisting attempts to knock you prone in melee combat.

Since the dawn of time, not being hit was accomplished by putting something between you and your opponent's weapon.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Gain a bonus dice reroll when using the Block Minor Action with a weapon.

Sometimes it's better to tell an opponent to sit down and relax with a very sharp weapon and violent insistence.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• Sharp Weapon

Action:

• With this attack, if the number of hits exceed the Edge attribute of a target - regardless if whether the attack inflicted any actual damage or not - then the opponent has been pinned to the wall or floor, giving them the Immobilized status.

• The opponent must spend a Pick Up/Put Down Object action to remove the Immobilized status.

Many traditional martial arts have techniques to toughen the body against strikes. Plasteel shirt is an update to these ancient secrets, employing cybernetics’ components as a protective shell and conduit to harmlessly redirect impact energies. 

Category: 

• General

Requirement:

• At least 2.0 Essence spent on cyberlimbs and bodyware cyberware or a cybertorso.

Action:

• When rolling Body to resist damage from attacks or indirect combat spells, gain a +2 Dice Pool Modifier.

Thanks to extensive training with your chosen weapon, you've learned how to inflict more damage with them.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Add (STR/3, rounded up) to the damage value of your attacks when using weapons from the specified category.

• This technique may be taken multiple times, applying to a different category of weapon (Blades, Clubs, Exotic) each time it's taken.

This is a freestyle technique of sparring by using any means necessary, AKA dirty fighting. Variations of it are incorporated into martial arts like Judo and Aikido.

Category: 

• Grappling

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Reduce the penalty of Called Shot - Vitals by 1.

Using one's claws, spurs, or dermal deposits can often be as effective as a monofilament blade in the right hands.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• Natural Weapon / Implanted Weapon

Action:

• Increase the Damage Value of all cyber-implanted or natural edged weapons by 1 (in addition to natural claw, bite, and tail attacks, and cyber implant weapons like spurs and cyberjaws, this bonus applies to worn, but not wielded, melee weapons such as forearm snap blades and hand talons, but not to swords, knives, axes, etc.).

Their weapon can easily become your weapon if they're foolish enough to attack you - and you're fast enough to defend against it.

Category: 

• Grappling, Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Roll Close Combat + Agility, with the attacker's Strength as the threshold. If you equal the threshold, you knock the weapon out of their hands and it falls to the ground.

• If you get more hits, you take the weapon from them. If you get fewer hits, the attacker retains the weapon.

Many see a parry or block simply as an action of pure defense but with a riposte, a trained artist can exploit the momentary weakness of the attacker.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• Melee Weapon

Action:

• The use of this martial art decreases the Damage Value of the enemy's attack by 2P when a Block Minor Action is used.

• If the martial artist's defense test is successful, the attacker is hit with damage equal to the Net Hits on the Defense test.

You've trained how to fall with style, panache, and the ability to roll upon impact so that your knees don't explode like water balloons.

Category: 

• Mobility

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• With a successful Athletics + Agility test, each success extends the number of meters that you can fall without suffering damage.

"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!" may not be the most subtle martial art technique in the world, but it's worked since the dawn of metahumanity.

Category: 

• Grappling

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• If an attacker manages to knock you prone, you may immediately spend a Minor Action (if you have one) to attempt to knock them down as though you were tackling them.

Martial arts masters are fast, even without the benefit of chipped reflexes. With the benefit of augmentations, they become faster still.

Category: 

• Mobility

Requirement:

• Must have at least a +1 Reaction bonus from augmentations.

• Must know one or both versions of Bending of the Reed.

Action:

• After rolling to resist damage following the use of either version of bending of the reed convert a number of unsoaked Physical damage boxes to Stun damage, equal to the amount of bonus Reaction from augmentations the user has.

When attacking with a blade, your advantage turns into a targeted strike.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• Bladed Weapon

Action:

• Reduce Called Shot penalties by 2 when performed with a weapon in the Close Combat (Blades) skill.

Many martial arts incorporate breaking objects into their training. Tameshiwari involves strengthening one’s body, but cyberware offers a bypass on that kind of conditioning. Soul Breaking involves leveraging the artificially strong structure of one’s bones into this training to literally hammer the target. 

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• Tameshiwari

• Bone Lacing, Bone Density Augmentation, or at least 1 full cyberlimb.

Action:

• This technique must involve a perfect form maintained throughout the user’s whole body, rendering it incompatible with other martial arts techniques or adept powers that modify DV. 

• When you subject a victim to this kind of unarmed attack, they subtract 2 dice from their damage resistance test. 

Most cyberlimb actuators are manufactured to be used in either right or left limbs. As such, they can usually perform a full 360-degree range of articulation. Traditional martial arts techniques are not equipped to capitalize on the capacity to spin a fist like a drill or an elbow like a windmill, but steel typhoon is a Sixth World technique invented to exploit such possibilities.

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• At least 1 full cyberlimb

Action:

• To reflect the difficulty in defending against blows that exceed standard biomechanical range of motion, the opponent’s required hits while defending against your melee attacks is increased by 1.

Fighting blind is actually something you're quite good at and have trained for, making you far more threatening than most.

Category: 

• General

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• When in melee combat in low-light conditions, you gain +1 Dice Reroll on melee attack and defense tests.

This is all about playing outside Queensbury rules, unleashing a sucker punch to get that first in before the opponent is ready, or some other form of dirty fighting that is particularly favored by Druken Boxing advocates.

Category: 

• Mobility, Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• With the attack roll of an unarmed Close Combat attack, if hits exceed the Willpower of the opponent then they gain the Fatigued III status with a duration of Combat Rounds equal to Net Hits.

• No damage occurs from this attack.

Instead of using force to counter force, you attempt to leverage the force and momentum of the attacker and knock them off balance.

Category: 

• Grappling, Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• When performing a Trip Minor Action while unarmed, you receive a free dice reroll.

With trained athleticism you drop to avoid incoming ranged fire that allows you to make an attack as you do so.

Category: 

• Ranged, Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• With a successful Dodge Minor Action, you drop to avoid incoming fire with an agile roll that helps you make an attack as you do so.

• You do not suffer the Dice Pool Penalty that comes with the Prone status or the Hit the Dirt Minor Action.

• For the next Combat Round, you do not take the -2 Dice Pool Penalty from Close or Near attacks that come with the Prone status.

Boards might not hit back but you never know when it will be useful to break through a solid surface with your hands, feet, head, or other part of your body.

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• When attacking a barrier - including magical barriers - with an unarmed attack, treat the barrier as if the Structure Rating were 4 lower for the purposes of determining damage.

• At the gamemaster's discretion, a Glitch or Critical Glitch may result in the attacker breaking their own hand/foot/head on the offending object.

The fast-spinning whirl of a staff, the flash of a half-meter of shiny metal, even the sound of a massive object moving through the air, knowing that it can easily crush bones, can be psychologically intimidating for those who can see and hear it.

Category: 

• General

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• With the use of a Block Minor Action, the martial artist includes a weapon performance as part of combat, giving opponents something to think about.

• For the duration of the encounter, while wielding the melee weapon, gain a Dice Pool Bonus equal to 1/4th of the Damage Value of the weapon (rounded up).

A good strike when you just want your opponent to shut the hell up with the descriptive expletives and just fight.

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• With a successful Close Combat attack the character may choose to forego doing damage and instead inflict the Muted status upon the opponent.

• Duration of the status is equal to the number of net hits in Combat Rounds.

Once an opponent has been grappled, the attacker may pick up the opponent and hurl them with practiced ease.

Category: 

• Grappling

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• The attacker makes a Close Combat + Strength vs. Strength + Reaction test. If the attacker is successful, the attacker inflicts their unarmed combat damage.

• The character can remove successes from the combat damage and use them for distance thrown, up to (Strength/2) meters.

• After the throw, the opponent is out of the grapple and gains the Prone status.

A quick strike to the ears and the opponent will be left unable to hear that awesome, smug one-liner you just came up with! 

Category: 

• Striking

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• With a successful Close combat attack, the character may choose to forego damage and instead attempt to inflict the Deafened status.

• If your hits exceed the Willpower of the opponent, the target is Deafened III for a number of Combat Rounds equal to Net Hits.

You've been trained to use your knees to attack an opponent while grappling, whether by kneeling on them to choke them out or striking them for a bit of extra oomph.

Category: 

• Grappling

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Add +1 Damage Value to damage you inflict while grappling.

Flashy spinning kicks, twirling staves, and shooting the cigarette out of an opponent's mouth might not be practical but if done right they can impress your friends and scare your enemies.

Category: 

• General

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• Whenever you make a Teamwork test to help an ally intimidate a target, you may roll [Weapon Skill] + Agility in place of your Influence + Charisma.

If you're already going down from some attack, you might as well hit the ground on your own terms.

Category: 

• Mobility

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• As you are being knocked Prone by any means, you may move up to 2 meters from the original location from where you were going to be lying.

• You are still Prone, and the Prone status still applies.

Whether it's shooting a bunch of bullets at multiple people, throwing a shuriken at a marauding group, or using a sword in each hand, there may be times you want to attack more than one opponent simultaneously.

Category: 

• Weapon

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• When using the Multiple Attacks Minor Action with more than one weapon, gain an additional 2 dice to split between your attacks.

Boards might not hit back but you never know when it will be useful to break through a solid surface with your hands, feet, head, or other part of your body.

Category: 

• General, Grappling

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• When using Called Shot - Disarm, reduce the Dice Pool Penalty by 1.

• When using Called Shot - Break Weapon, reduce the Dice Pool Penalty by 1.

Instead of using force to counter force, you attempt to leverage the force and momentum of the attacker and knock them off balance.

Category: 

• Mobility

Requirement:

• -

Action:

• With the use of a Dodge Minor Action, instead of blocking the attack the defender bends out of the way, hoping to throw their opponent off-balance.

• The character rolls Athletics + Agility as a defense test against the attack. If the Net Hits exceed the Agility of the opponent, then the defender takes no damage and the opponent receives the Prone status.