So I want to use Fighting Arts in a campaign I’m about to run. I’m sort of half-pre-generating some PCs, so I’m doing a lot of the “replace Weapon skills with Fighting Arts” the Anthology warns of. Here’s a whack at replacing Peasant Hunter’s Bow skill. It felt a little weird, since the hunter isn’t a combatant, per se. I committed the sin of putting a melee weapon in with a ranged Art in order to link it to spear hunting boar. How bad a decision was that?
Lowland Hunter
Root: Agility and Power
Forms
Exponent
Forms (Weapons)
2
Hunting Bow or Javelin
3
The other of Hunting Bow or Javelin
5
Spear
Default Fight Actions
Aim
Nock
Draw
Release
Throw
Strike
Avoid
Techniques
Fast Nock
Instruction Ob 3, Agility Ob 4, Lowland Hunter 4
Nock takes one fewer action (2 instead of 3)
Dead Eye
Instruction Ob 4, Perception Ob 4, Lowland Hunter Ob 4
Aiming grants an additional +1D (+2D for the first Aim action, +1D for every Aim thereafter)
Let It Come
Instruction Ob 4, Power Ob 4, Lowland Hunter Ob 4
Grants access to the Counterstrike Fight Action
It takes a brave hunter to stand and set their spear while a boar charges them
My understanding us that boar-hunting, especially with a spear, was a sport of the upper class. A peasant hunter wasn’t getting himself gutted spear hunting boar when they could feed themselves on pheasant and coneys. With that and the melee-ranged-seperation paradigm, I’d probably cut the spear stuff out.
I might do a technique related to Range and Cover. Maybe they get to take a free shot on a successful Sneak In or Hold?
@silverwizard Fast Nock and Dead Eye both come from the Military Archery Art included in the Anthology, so they were sort of lazy includes for me. I’m not a hunter, but I was imagining snap reactive shots when the hart jumps out of the brush or something like that. I like your three ideas, I’ll turn them over a bit and see what I come up with.
@Gnosego, yeah, I could see that re: boar hunting. It’s definitely a prestige thing. And I have a huge blind spot with Range and Cover. I have literally never run it or played in one. A free shot on a Sneak In does sound good, though! Also, maybe something about setting up a blind? Arts don’t give skills, but figuring out some way to tie into an ambush might be neat.
My take on the equivalent of Danish Vikings in my coming game. I quite liked the Hamaskar (New Fighting Art for Berserkers), but I think I’ll keep some of the overtly supernatural stuff for an advanced Fighting Art.
Skerrylander Fighting Art
Root: Agility and Power
Forms
Exponent
Forms (Weapons)
2
Spear, dirk
3
Hatchet
4
Small Hammer or Light Axe
5
Great Hammer or Footman’s Axe
Initial Fight Actions
Avoid
Charge/Tackle
Counterstrike
Great Strike
Push
Strike
Techniques
Name
Description
Test #1
Test #2
Test #3
Armor training
Skerrylanders fight in light armor
Instruction Ob 1
Soldiering Ob 1
TKNAMETK Ob 1
Shield training
Grants Block action as well as training
Instruction Ob 2
Power Ob 2
TKNAMETK Ob 2
Skirmish training
Skerrylanders’ primary mode of combat is the raid
Instruction Ob 3
Soldiering Ob 2
TKNAMETK Ob 2
Battle training
Rarely, they must fight in a tight formation
Instruction Ob 4
Soldiering Ob 3
TKNAMETK Ob 3
Battle roar
When you are in defensive stance, Intimidate is -1 action
Instruction Ob 4
Intimidate Ob 3
TKNAMETK Ob 3
Furious blow
Taking an aggressive stance can count as the first action of Great Strike (replacing Intimidate)
This looks really cool. If you want to create mechanical limits for the types of armor available to Skerryland fighters, you could rename the first Technique something specific to their culture and have it “Grant Armor Training for Leather gambeson and mail”. But this is assuming you want players to constrain their armor choices to those types.
I was considering that! I need to think about the tech level of the world as a whole-- there might not be much other armor available! But even limiting it to certain pieces, or giving a bonus to mixed kit somehow… there are definitely things I can refine here. I appreciate you taking a look!
Here’s one meant for young courtiers throwing elbows in hallways. I’d especially appreciate thoughts on Goad. Too powerful?
Courtyard Scrapping
The young courtiers of Kobaz are expected to due their duties and attend scheduled training. Beyond that, they are given free reign of the fortress. As may be expected, this leads to more than a few scuffles.
References
Root: Agility and Power
Forms
Exponent
Forms (Weapons)
2
Bare fist
3
Found weapons
Initial Fight Actions
Avoid
Push
Strike
Charge/tackle
Techniques
Name
Description
Test #1
Test #2
Test #3
Block
Instruction Ob. 1
Power Ob. 1
Courtyard Scrapping Ob. 1
Lock
Instruction Ob. 1
Power Ob. 2
Courtyard Scrapping Ob. 2
Counterstrike
Instruction Ob. 2
Agility Ob. 2
Courtyard Scrapping Ob. 2
Name drop
Use Etiquette as Intimidate
Instruction Ob. 2
Court-wise Ob. 2
Courtyard Scrapping Ob. 2
Throw Person
Instruction Ob. 3
Power Ob. 4
Courtyard Scrapping Ob. 4
Intimidate -1ac
Instruction Ob. 4
Will Ob. 3
Courtyard Scrapping Ob. 4
Goad
Test as Incite. Forces Steel test. Hesitation after the first action may be replaced with Strikes at targets discretion.
I assume it uses the skills from Incite? What’s the Ob?
Instruction 4 seems high for a technique that seems obviously passed from one page to another.
I love it as a concept, and the tradeoff of allowing “Hit them” as a Hesitation option gives good tradeoffs! “Whaaat I didn’t do anything and he hit me!”
