If you haven't seen Spwack's Finders Keepers, go have a look. The character generator is absolutely glorious.
Anyway, I've recently seen such wonderful films as the Invincible Armour or the Five Deadly Venoms, and they got me thinking that Finders Keepers lacks some nice, dirt simple martial arts. Thus the list below. As it was envisioned for an Into the Odd adjacent rule set, it assumes hp as stamina - very low and easy to recover after a fight, plus you only start taking real injuries once you are at 0 hp. But it wouldn't be an OSR if you couldn't tweak the table to fit into your own wuxia game.
Instead of a weapon, you can start proficient in a martial arts style. You can use one style at a time and it takes an action to switch between styles you know. No weapon-based martial art styles were included, so you can only use martial arts while unarmed and unarmoured. If one of your party members knows a different style than you, you can train with them and gain that style once you level up / spend enough XP.
Each martial art comes with a trick, many of which do something with no save / no roll, or grant some immunity. When two martial artists fight, a perfect defense always beats a perfect offense. Thus if a Jiu-Jitsu user tried to knock prone a master of the Jade Mountain Stance, they would fail. Otherwise, you can use the tricks at will.
Optional Rule: Odd Stunts
If you describe your attack in a cool way that incorporates your surroundings (kicking a table at your foe, running up a wall for a backflip kick), the GM may enhance your damage roll.
Demon Flips the Cart style From Kill Six Billion Demons. |
Anyway, I've recently seen such wonderful films as the Invincible Armour or the Five Deadly Venoms, and they got me thinking that Finders Keepers lacks some nice, dirt simple martial arts. Thus the list below. As it was envisioned for an Into the Odd adjacent rule set, it assumes hp as stamina - very low and easy to recover after a fight, plus you only start taking real injuries once you are at 0 hp. But it wouldn't be an OSR if you couldn't tweak the table to fit into your own wuxia game.
From Exalted. |
Instead of a weapon, you can start proficient in a martial arts style. You can use one style at a time and it takes an action to switch between styles you know. No weapon-based martial art styles were included, so you can only use martial arts while unarmed and unarmoured. If one of your party members knows a different style than you, you can train with them and gain that style once you level up / spend enough XP.
Each martial art comes with a trick, many of which do something with no save / no roll, or grant some immunity. When two martial artists fight, a perfect defense always beats a perfect offense. Thus if a Jiu-Jitsu user tried to knock prone a master of the Jade Mountain Stance, they would fail. Otherwise, you can use the tricks at will.
Optional Rule: Odd Stunts
If you describe your attack in a cool way that incorporates your surroundings (kicking a table at your foe, running up a wall for a backflip kick), the GM may enhance your damage roll.
Elemental Bending: Fire style From here. |
d60 | Style Name | Dmg | Trick |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Aikido | d6 | When you successfully dodge an attack, you redirect it back at the attacker. |
2 | Capoeira | d6 | When reduced to 0 hp, immediately gain an extra turn. You may drop to 0 hp at will. |
3 | Celestial Monkey King style | d8 | Once per enemy, you may disarm, trip or pickpocket them with no save. |
4 | Charcoal March of Spiders style | d8 | When you roll max damage, you may remove one of your foe's magical or combat abilities until they rest. |
5 | Demon Flips the Cart style | d8 | You can automatically succeed on a STR check by dropping to 0 hp. |
6 | Dreaming Pearl Courtesan style | d6 | Step up damage if you're prim and proper, and again if your foe could be sexually attracted to you. |
7 | Elemental Bending: Air style | d6 | You can push air to project your strikes at range. You can double jump. |
8 | Elemental Bending: Fire style | d6 | Your strikes can deal fire damage. You take half damage from fire and heat. |
9 | Elemental Bending: Metal style | d10 | Metal weapons shatter when they strike you. Still take the damage normally. |
10 | Elemental Bending: Water style | d8 | Breathe and move freely underwater. |
11 | Elemental Bending: Wood style | d8 | Plants never harm, snare or slow you down. You can climb trees and move between treetops at full running speed. |
12 | Falling Cherry Blossom style | d6 | You fall as a feather and can jump or glide long distances. |
13 | Fierce Horse Soul style | d8 | You run as fast as a horse and can run forever without tiring. |
14 | Five Deadly Venoms: C | d8 | You may decide to impair your damage, but attack everyone in reach. |
15 | Five Deadly Venoms: Lizard style | d6 | You can run on walls and ceiling until you stop moving. |
16 | Five Deadly Venoms: Scorpion style | d8 | Your strikes can deal either bludgeoning or piercing damage. Roll damage with advantage against unsuspecting foes. |
17 | Five Deadly Venoms: Snake style | d8 | Your strikes are fast nobody can even see you move. No counters, dodging or defensive actions are possible. |
18 | Five Deadly Venoms: Toad style | d6 | Take 1 less damage from all sources. |
19 | Five Dragons As One style | d6 | For each ally in the fight that also knows this style, gain +1 damage, to a maximum of +4. |
20 | Head of John style | d6 | Your head is completely invulnerable, both to physical and mental effects. |
21 | Hungry Ghost style | d6 | Ignore all special defenses (like intangibility or invulnerability). |
22 | Jade Mountain Stance style | d6 | You cannot be moved, tripped, etc. Gain a free attack against anyone who would try. |
23 | Jiu-Jitsu | d6 | You can knock prone anyone, no save, as long as you also fall with them. You deal full damage in a grapple. |
24 | Judo | d6 | When you roll higher than your foe, you may decide to deal no damage and instead reposition them with no save. |
25 | Karate | d8 | If you have enough time to properly concentrate, you can punch through any inanimate obstacle short of adamant. |
26 | Ki Rata | d12 | Whenever you roll 10+ on a damage die, add another die. If you roll 3+ dice in a single attack, all the bones in your arm shatter from the strain. |
27 | Kickbox | d8 | While at full hp, reroll all 1s. |
28 | Krav Maga | d10 | When you roll higher than your foe, you may decide to deal no damage and instead disarm a weapon-wielding attacker. |
29 | Krayu Mat | d8 | You can spend a round focusing your ki to fire a beam of pure energy on your next turn, dealing your unarmed damage to everyone in a line. |
30 | Kung-Fu: Crane style | d8 | Your attacks have reach as a spear. You never need to roll for balance. |
31 | Kung-Fu: Dragon style | d10 | Murder one low-level mook per round, no questions asked. Must be indistinguishable from all other mooks. |
32 | Kung-Fu: Mantis style | d8 | When you roll max damage, you may maim your opponent. |
33 | Kung-Fu: Panda style | d8 | Advantage on STR saves with your hands pressed together. |
34 | Kung-Fu: Tiger style | d8 | Your strikes can deal either bludgeoning or slashing damage. Roll damage with advantage when you can run and pounce at your foe. |
35 | Laughing Wounds style | d10 | If you die in combat, you may continue fighting for 5 more rounds while laughing madly. |
36 | Leisure Kicks style | d6 | When you roll max damage, you may reroll the damage and send the target flying. |
37 | MMA | d8 | Once ever, when you fight another martial artist, you may decide that you know the trick of their style. |
38 | Muay Thai | d10 | Make a free attack when an enemy retreats or moves past you. |
39 | Ninjutsu | d6 | You can climb nearly anything without a roll. Only impossible climbs require (and always allow) a roll. |
40 | Old-school Fisticuffs | d8 | When you drop a foe to 0 hp, make an extra attack. |
41 | Pankration | d8 | Take no penalties from tight squeezes, being prone, grappled, engulfed, or tied up. |
42 | Pattram Sword Hand style | d10 | When you deal max damage, cut off a limb of the victim's choice. This style is considered evil and its adherents often persecuted. |
43 | Peasant's Path | d6 | You can teach this style to anyone within a week at no XP cost. |
44 | Porcelain Fist style | d8 | You may deal max damage by taking half that yourself. |
45 | Pressure Point style | d8 | When you reduce a foe to 0 hp, they are completely paralysed until they can regain hp. |
46 | Prismatic Arrangement of Creation style | d6 | Choose one damage type other than bludgeoning. While at full hp, you are completely immune to it. |
47 | Senjutsu | d8 | You are never surprised and always act first in an encounter. You can sense nearby danger. |
48 | Soul Reaper style | d6 | Once you strike a foe, you can freely teleport behind their back as a move until the end of the encounter. |
49 | Straw Stops Sleet style | d6 | Immune to ranged attacks if aware of them. Your choice of dodging, deflecting or catching them. |
50 | Taekwondo | d6 | When you attack, deal the higher of your damage roll and your opponent's roll. |
51 | Tai Chi | d6 | You can walk on top of snow, or twigs and leaves. You can run water surface. You leave no footprints. |
52 | Tenfold Ebon Shadow style | d6 | The first attack you ever make against each individual enemy deals 1d20 damage, but only if you know their name. |
53 | Void Lotus style | d6 | Specify a duration to lock yourself out of time, becoming inviolable. If you have an immovable rod, you also become locked in place. |
54 | Vulcan Nerve Pinch style | d6 | You can forgo doing damage to instead stun the enemy for half the rolled number of rounds. |
55 | Way of the Masters | d8 | You can teach this style to any animal, and talk with any animal that knows this style. |
56 | White Hand style | d6 | Your hand counts as a shield. "Sundering" doesn't destroy your hand, but you will have to meditate to recover. |
57 | Wrestling | d6 | A flashy finisher can instakill anyone at 0 hp with no save and force their allies to roll Morale. |
58 | Zui Quan | d6 | When drunk, you automatically counter-attack against all enemies that strike at you. |
59 | 25 Purities Path | d6 | As long as you lead an ascetic life, you are immune to poisons, diseases and ageing. You also need only half rations. |
60 | 49 Empty Palms style | d8 | Your attacks count as blessed if you ask for forgiveness before attacking. |
From Doctor Strange. |
As a side note, this is quite useful.