Aberrant Fighting Styles

Ultimate Aberrant Fighting Styles and Whatnot:

Fighting Styles

Characters who have Martial Arts should convert their Martial Arts score and specialties to Brawl. Characters with both will be refunded the XP of the lesser score.

Martial Artist (1 or 2 points)
The character is heavily trained in hand to hand combat, allowing him or her to attack with skill and agility instead of unfocused fury. The character may use Strength or Dexterity for Brawl and Melee attacks, depending on how he or she chooses to fight. Most characters with this merit have further study in at least one martial art. The one-point version allows the use of Dexterity or Strength to attack with Brawl or Melee, while the 2 point version allows a character to use both.

FIGHTING STYLES: Fighting styles are a collection of specialized moves that enhance various attack types, from melee to hand to hand to firearms. Fighting styles are 1 to 5 point "backgrounds" in general, with each point of background giving a new maneuver. Note that some of these abilities can be redundant to a Nova-a Nova without formal combat training can still be an extremely powerful combatant.

Unarmed Fighting Styles

Boxing

Requirements: Strength 3+, Stamina 2+, Brawl 2+, Martial Artist
The art of facepunching, codified. Normally used in competitions, nevertheless a trained boxer is still no slouch in a fight.

Rank 1: Body Blow-the character can deliver powerful blows which can easily stun opponents. The character may reduce the opponent's Stamina by half his or her Brawl (round Brawl down) for the purposes of resisting dazing.

Rank 2: Duck and Weave-the character has trained to avoid an opponent's blows without difficulty. When dodging or parrying melee attacks the character may substitute Wits for Dexterity in the roll.

Rank 3: Combination Blows-the character's training and experience allows him or her to devastate an opponent with a flurry of blows. The character reduces the multiple action penalty for brawl attacks by 1.

Rank 4: Haymaker-the character is capable of knocking an enemy unconscious with a single punch. The character may, when making a Brawl attack, reduce the opponent's Stamina by half his or her Brawl (round Brawl down) for the purposes of resisting both dazing and unconsciousness. The character cannot take any other actions when attempting this maneuver.

Rank 5: Brutal Blow-The character can kill with a well-aimed blow. The character may spend 1 willpower to deal lethal damage with a brawl attack. This willpower expenditure does not give any other bonuses (no bonus dice or successes).

Kung Fu

Requirements: All physical attributes 2+, Brawl 2+, Martial Artist
Kung Fu is a catch-all name in the West for a variety of Chinese martial arts emphasizing hand to hand combat.

Rank 1: Focused Attack-the character has trained him or herself to deliver accurate blows to weakpoints on the body. The difficulty penalty for making called shots with hand to hand attacks is reduced by 1. Furthermore, if the target has armor that provides bashing soak, the armor's bashing soak is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 0).

Rank 2: Iron Skin-the character has inured his body to physical impact and trauma, increasing his bashing soak by 1.

Rank 3: Defensive Attack-by attacking to keep enemies away, instead of to harm, the character can reduce his chances of being hit. The character may add +1 to the difficulty of hitting him with a melee attack, but takes a -2 accuracy penalty to all attacks for that turn.

Rank 4: Whirlwind Strike-the character can unleash a storm of blows on an opponent. The character may make a "full attack" against an enemy, making a number of Brawl attacks equal to the maximum amount of actions he or she can take, taking a cumulative penalty of -1 on each attack made after the first (so -1 for the second attack, -2 for the third attack, etc.). This is used in place of the standard multiple action calculations. However, most notably, the character cannot defend himself or herself while attempting this.

Rank 5: Lethal Strike-by focusing, the character can kill with a well-aimed blow. The character may spend 1 willpower to deal lethal damage with a brawl attack. This willpower expenditure does not give any other bonuses (no bonus dice or successes).

Modern Army Combatives

Requirements: Strength 2+, Dexterity 2+, Stamina 2+, Brawl 2+, Melee 2+, Martial Artist (Both)
The character is trained in military hand to hand combat, a martial arts style that blends various hand to hand and weaponry-based martial arts into an all-round means of defense in close combat.

Rank 1: Tactician's Sense-the character can gauge the body language of combatants in his proximity. The character may make a reflexive Wits + Awareness roll to determine the base initiative of all combatants before a fight starts.

Rank 2: Atemi Attack-the human body has a number of pressure points, all of which can cause a target great pain. When striking with a Brawl or Melee attack, the character may ignore up to 1 level of soak for each dot in this fighting style. Targets with dispersed organs I/II take reduced or no effect, halving (round penalty up) or negating the soak penalty entirely.

Rank 3: Forearm Choke-the character applies pressure to the carotid artery to attempt to render an opponent unconscious. The character must first grapple the target, and may apply the chokehold on the following turn. The enemy may attempt to free himself with an opposed Strength + Brawl roll, with a cumulative penalty of +1 difficulty every two turns. Once the choke hold has been sustained for a number of turns equal to the target's Stamina (Mega-Stamina counts as 2 normal stamina), the target passes out. Targets which do not need to breathe or have dispersed organs are immune.

Rank 4: Bullring-the character is trained in fighting off multiple opponents simultaneously. The character does not suffer a penalty from being outnumbered in close combat.

Rank 5: Lethal Strike-the character's hands are deadly weapons. The character may spend 1 willpower to deal lethal damage with a brawl attack. This willpower expenditure does not give any other bonuses (no bonus dice or successes).

Qinna

Prerequisites: Dexterity 3+, Brawl 2+, Martial Artist (Brawl)
The character is trained in a martial art that emphasizes chokes, holds, and joint locks, like Qinna or some forms of wrestling. These maneuvers are designed to exploit weaknesses in human anatomy and may not work on Novas or machines. Novas with Adaptability are immune to Sealing The Breath and Novas with Dispersed Organs are immune to Disrupting The Veins. Novas with two levels of Dispersed Organs are immune to Misplacing The Bones as well.

Rank 1: Standing Control-the character gains a new clinch maneuver, called Standing Control. If he has control of the clinch the character may force the victim to accompany him wherever he may wish to go. A character may only move at walking pace while using this, and cannot automatically throw her enemy over a cliff or into a fire without a separate attack. However, the victim can be used as a human shield against gunfire. The victim generally counts as Good cover (+2 difficulty) and an attack which misses by less than 2 successes hits the victim.

Rank 2: Misplacing the Bones-the character's holds can fracture bones and do damage to connective tissue. If the character ever inflicts more damage in a clinch than the victim's Stamina, the character breaks one of the victim's limbs unless the victim immediately falls prone. The damage deals an automatic level of lethal damage and renders the limb useless. If the limb is an arm, the defender must drop anything held in it and cannot use the arm. If the limb is a leg, the character is at +1 difficulty to dodge and can only limp at walking speed.

Rank 3: Grabbing The Muscles-the character's holds put muscles out of place and put the defender in a position where strength cannot be used to force her way out of an attack. The defender is at +2 difficulty at any Strength + Brawl rolls to take over the clinch or inflict damage.

Rank 4: Stealing The Breath-the character can use chokeholds and strikes to interfere with a character's breathing. If he succeeds at inflicting at least one level of damage in a clinch attempt, he inflicts a -1 wound penalty on the opponent in addition to dealing damage. This penalty lasts for the scene and is cumulative but can be negated by pain tolerance or Mega-Stamina.

Rank 5: Disrupting The Veins-The character's grappling maneuvers expertly attack anatomical weaknesses. The character may deal lethal damage in a Clinch and may deal an automatic level of lethal damage in addition to any damage or effects with a successful use of any Qinna maneuver. For dealing damage in a clinch this ability can be triggered as long as the clinch deals at least one level of damage. This ability costs 1 willpower per use.

Grappling

Preqrequisites: Strength 2+, Dexterity 3+, Stamina 3+, Brawl 2+, Martial Artist (Brawl)
The character is trained in good old fashioned no holds barred wrestling. Examples are Russian Sambo or Brazilian Jiujitsu.

Rank 1: Sprawl-the character knows how to sink his weight to prevent being overpowered in a clinch. The character adds +1 difficulty to any opponent's attempts to overpower him in a clinch.

Rank 2: Takedown-the character knows how to close with an enemy and throw him to the ground. With a successful clinch attack the character may instead force the opponent prone. Furthermore the character may attack the opponent with standard strike attacks as if he was immobilized instead of dealing a flat Strength + 2 damage per round. Mixed Martial Arts fighters often take a crouching position above the target and deliver a savage beating with their hands-this technique is termed "ground and pound".

Rank 3: Chokehold-the character can efficiently choke enemies by cutting off blood flow to their brains. If the character controls a clinch he may start the choke. The choke inflicts a cumulative -1 penalty to all actions by the opponent for every turn the hold is maintained. The victim falls unconscious from lack of oxygen after a number of turns equal to his or her Stamina (each dot of Mega-Stamina counts as 2 Stamina for these purposes). Continually choking a unconscious opponent inflicts 1 level of automatic, unsoakable bashing damage per turn from oxygen starvation. This technique doesn't work on any character who doesn't need to breathe.

Rank 4: Submission Hold-opponents caught in your joint locks can't escape without injury. If the character scores more net successes than the opponent's Dexterity in an immobilization attempt the victim can't attempt any actions without taking an automatic, unsoakable level of lethal damage. Furthermore when dealing damage in a clinch the first level of damage dealt can be made lethal. Subsequent points are bashing or lethal as normal. Submission holds do not work on characters without bones or with flexible bones.

Melee Weapon Fighting Styles

Spetsnaz Knife Fighting

(* to ****)
Prerequisites: Dexterity 3+, Melee 2+, Martial Artist (Melee)
The character is trained in effective use of a knife. This particular style is normally taught to special forces operatives around the world, although it is taught to civilians or the public in certain schools. Spetsnaz knife fighting uses a single-edged knife in a downwards (reverse) grip. Maneuvers are quick, fluid movements followed-up with slashes or stabs to vitals.

Rank 1: Anticipate Attack-the character has learned to move fast before and in response to incoming attacks. The character may substitute his Melee score for his Wits for initiative when using a knife.

Rank 2: Advantageous Angle-the character knows how to make a feinted attack from the side and then stage an attack from a different angle. Any dodge or parry attempts against the knife-wielder's attack is at a +1 difficulty. This maneuver can only be used once every other turn.

Rank 3: Vital Attack-the character is an expert in targeting vital organs and vulnerabilities. Attacks made with a knife reduce the enemy's soak by 1 and the character also reduces any penalties to make a called shot with a knife by 1.

Rank 4: Slash and Stab-the character's deftness with a knife allows him to make two attacks against one target in a single action. The first attack is made as normal, but the second attack is +1 difficulty. This can only be used once per turn and also penalize any defensive maneuvers by +1 difficulty.

Langschert (Heavy Sword)

Requirements: Strength 3+, Melee 3+, Martial Artist (Melee)
The character is skilled in the German two-handed long sword style, or any other style specialized in two-handed swords or long sticks. Longswords do a base of +5L damage.

Rank 1: Ward-the character is skilled in using the weapon to threaten away and deflect incoming attacks. When wielding a compatible weapon the character gains +1 dice to his blocks.

Rank 2: Fool's Guard-the character learns how to hold his sword low, seemingly open for an attack, but can raise his blade quickly to counter. The character may counter an attack with Str + Melee + 1d instead of a normal block or dodge. If this block is successful, the character may counterattack, using the number of successes over the opponent's roll as the attack's accuracy. (if the character rolls 5 successes to block the opponent's attack which rolls 2 successes, the character can attempt to hit the opponent, rolling 3 dice to hit). This maneuver prevents any further defensive maneuvers from being taken-the character may only defend once.

Rank 3: Half Sword-the character may make a more powerful attack by grabbing the midpoint of his weapon and thrusting as if it was a short spear. The character may add +2L to his attack damage at a cost of -1 accuracy, and cannot use the Ward maneuver on the same turn he or she attempts this.

Rank 4: Doubling Cut-the character may make two quick attacks in succession. The character may attack twice with his sword as if it was one attack-they take the same multiple action penalties (none if all the character does is attack twice) and counts both attacks as one action. The character may not take any other offensive actions when using this maneuver, and other rolled actions are penalized normally. If a character, for example, used Doubling Cut and dodged, the penalties would be -2/-2/-3 (two attacks then dodge) or -2/-3/-3 (dodge then two attacks)

Rank 5: Wrathful Cut-the character can step in with a powerful attack that overwhelms enemy defenses. If the character's sole action in a turn is to attack, the character can gain a bonus to accuracy and damage equal to his Melee score.

Fencing

Prerequisites: Dexterity 3+, Melee 3+, Martial Artist
The character has trained in fencing, probably for sport. The character may make the following special combat maneuvers with any fencing sword, rapier, or sword cane.

Rank 1: Thrust-the character has learned to power a thrusting attack with his sword using his legs, increasing its velocity and force. Attacks made with a proper blade gain +1 accuracy and damage.

Rank 2: Feint-the character understands how to make an attack intended only to throw off an opponent. The character makes a normal attack with his blade which the opponent may evade as normal. However, if the attack scores even a single net success, the opponent is left off-balance and may not attempt to defend against the next attack made against him or her, whether it comes from the fencer or someone else.

Rank 3: Riposte-the character is an expert at the counterattack. If the character successfully dodges or parries a melee attack, he may make an immediate counterattack at a +1 difficulty penalty. However, the character may not attempt to dodge any other attacks for the rest of the turn.

Rank 4: Moulinet-if a character succeeds in an attack he or she may make a quick spiral cut with the weapon's tip. This attack deals a character's Dexterity in damage and requires no additional roll. To use this maneuver the character must spend a willpower point before he makes the initial attack roll which gives no other bonus. If the roll fails the willpower point is wasted.

Sojutsu/Jukendo

(aka Spear and Bayonet Fighting)
Requirements: Strength 3+, Dexterity 2+, Melee 3+, Martial Artist
The character has trained in the use of a spear in close combat. These skills also apply to the use of a rifle with an attached bayonet.

Rank 1: Warding Stance-the character has trained in taking maximum advantage from her weapon's length. Whenever an opponent with a smaller melee weapon attacks from the front, the opponent must delay his attack until after the character's initiative.

Rank 2: Thrust-the character knows how to deliver precise, powerful blows with a spear. The character increases the damage of his spear or bayonet by +2L.

Rank 3: Block and Strike-the character has learned to deflect blows with the haft or stock of the weapon then immediately strike back. If used, an opponent attempting to strike the character in melee suffers a +1 difficulty penalty but the character also suffers a +1 difficulty penalty for any attacks she makes.

Rank 4: Great Thrust-the character can put the force of her entire body behind a thrust, causing grievous injury. If the character makes a single melee attack, she may add a number of bonus dice to both accuracy and damage equal to the lower of her Strength or Melee. However, if the attack inflicts more than 5 levels of lethal damage the spear or bayonet lodges deep in the opponent's body and must be dislodged with a Strength + Melee (difficulty 1) roll. Dislodging a weapon inflicts another automatic level of lethal damage.

Firearms Fighting Styles

Combat Marksmanship

Requirements: Strength and Dexterity 2+, Composure 3+, Firearms 2+
Most cops and soldiers are drilled in the rudiments of marksmanship under fire. Elite soldiers, SWAT officers, and special forces take it further, training to be deadly with a weapon much like a martial artist trains to be deadly with his fists and feet. But unlike hands and feet, firearms are already powerful weapons.

Rank 1: Shoot First-the character's trained reflexes give him or her an edge in a gunfight. The character gains a bonus to his or her Initiative equal to his Firearms skill in the first round of any combat as long as the character has a drawn weapon.

Rank 2: Tactical Reload-the character can reload his weapons via muscle memory alone. The character may, once per turn, reload as a reflexive action.

Rank 3: Double Tap-the character's trigger finger is fast enough that he may fire bursts from weapons normally incapable of doing so, as long as the weapon's RoF is sufficient to allow a burst. A character must have Mega-Dexterity to fire Long or Sustained bursts from semi-auto weapons.

Rank 4: Bayonet Range-the character has mastered firearms to the point that he can stay in control even at close range. An opponent may not attempt to block firearms attacks even in hand to hand range (without Mega Dexterity 4 anyways), and furthermore the character doubles the bonus for point-blank shots to +4 instead of +2.

Rank 5: Rapid Fire-the character's skill with firearms is such that he can lay down a withering fusillade of gunfire. The character may make a "full attack" against an enemy, making a number of Firearms attacks equal to the maximum amount of actions he or she can take, taking a cumulative penalty of -1 on each attack made after the first (so -1 for the second attack, -2 for the third attack, etc.). This is used in place of the standard multiple action calculations. However, most notably, the character may not take any other actions when attempting this. All attacks made must be single shots.

Sniper

Requirements: Dexterity 3+, Resolve 3+, Firearms 3+, Stealth 2+
The sniper knows that each of his shots will change lives or more, possibly changing the fates of entire nations. A single gunshot at the right place at the right time can change everything. Those who have trained for years to become one are steely-eyed professionals, patient and skilled enough to spend hours staring through a scope to make one shot that may change the fate of the world. This combat style requires a rifle.

Rank 1: On Scope-the character has spent years training to discern tiny details through a telescopic sight, and has a enclyclopedic knowledge of long-range ballistics. The character's maximum aiming bonus is increased by +2 (to Composure +2).

Rank 2: Battlesight Zero-the character can wring unparalleled performance from a rifle he or she is familiar with. The character gains +1 accuracy with his rifle for medium range and long-range attacks, and increases its Range by 5 meters times his or her Wits.

Rank 3: Focused Shot-the sniper can lurk in ambush for days, ignoring injuries, depriviation, and distractions all in the name of the one golden shot. When making an aimed shot, the character can subtract his Resolve from any internal penalties (wounds, lack of sleep or food, distractions) for the purposes of that shot.

Rank 4: Tactical Intervention-Nerves of steel and trained reflexes allow the sniper to take advantage of the shortest opportunities for accurate shots. The difficulty penalties for shooting into close combat or against enemies in cover are halved, rounded down.

Rank 5: One Shot, One Kill-When your character gets his or her hands on a rifle, people fall down. When making aimed shots with a rifle, the rifle's damage is increased by a number of automatic successes equal to your Firearms skill. A character firing a 12.7mm rifle (6L [4] damage) with Firearms 4 deals 6L [8] damage instead. To use this the character must spend 1 willpower.

Miscellaneous Styles

Parkour

(* to *****)
Prerequisites: Dexterity 3+, Athletics 2+
The character has learned the sport of freerunning, allowing her to move quickly through an obstacle-laden environment, flowing seamlessly from one obstacle to the next.

Rank 1: Flow-the character has learned some of the basics of parkour, allowing instinctive action to jumps and obstacles. The character may negate penalties from difficult terrain in a chase equal to half his dots in the parkour merit (round up).

Rank 2: Cat Leap-the character has mastered some of the twisting leaps, landing rolls, and wall taps used by traceurs. The character gains an automatic success on any Dexterity + Athletics roll to mitigate falling damage. Furthermore the character may mitigate additional levels of falling damage equal to his rating in this merit.

Rank 3: Wallrun-the character has mastered the quick wall-run and leaping climb techniques of parkour. When climbing the character gains bonus dice to all climbing attempts equal to her rating in Parkour and furthermore can climb heights of 3 meters or less as a reflexive action.

Rank 4: Expert Traceur-the character finds athletic movement and the maneuvers of parkour instinctive to him, so much so that he may reroll any failed athletics rolls based on movement as long as he takes no other action.

Rank 5: Freeflow-the character has become a master traceur and can react to obstacles without thinking. Any athletics action based on running, jumping, or climbing with less than difficulty (Dexterity + M-Dexterity + 1) is automatically successful as long as the character has been in continuous movement for at least one minute. Any use of this ability before that point requires a willpower expenditure.