[MA] Player Created Styles
 

Hey all,

I had a thought a moment ago, and I figured I'd share it with the community. How long do you think it should take a Player Character to create a Martial Arts style? In the same manner than Bruce Lee created Jeet Kune Do, just how many hours would it take to truly invent a style, such as that you could reap the benefits of it in play?

I almost always create "builders" of some kind when I play a character, be they musicians, architects, or weapons designers, and the idea of creating a martial art seems particularly interesting.

I would imagine at least 400 hours per Style Skill, Technique, and Perk (+400 more for Style Familiarity), representing the 200 hours per Character Point at half speed due to Self-Teaching (after all, you are trailblazing). Is this too little? Should mastery of each Skill, Technique, and Perk be required for the creation of a style that utilizes it?

Miyamoto Musashi supposedly disappeared into the wilderness for several years during his youth to develop Niten Ichi-Ryu, or "Two Heavens As One School," his famous dual-sword style.

What are your opinions on this? Just how long should it take to create a legitimate style?

Jinumon

Re: [MA] Player Created Styles
 

You could probably get some mileage out of the Invention rules, perhaps with the extra rules for Social Gadgeteering in Infinite Worlds.

Re: [MA] Player Created Styles
 

Considering he limited benefits of knowing a style that no one else does (until you start teaching it to others) I think that 1 cp's worth for the Style Familiarity was enough.

Since you can't claim it as a Style Perk until after you invent the style I requires 20pts of Skills as a prereq. Making those 20 pts be in the Style's primary Skills and Maneuvers would be logical.

Add in other Styles to train in first and acquire your base Skills plus cp to count as prereqs for desired Perks (definitely including Style Adaptation) and no one who isn't an accomplished Martial Artist is going to be starting their own Style.

Re: [MA] Player Created Styles
 

Perhaps also some minimum level of skill in existing martial arts that collectively encompass all the traits to be associated with the new style.

Re: [MA] Player Created Styles
 

I would amend legitimate style. Lots of quacks who repackage a Combat Art or Sport (in GURPS' terms-of-art) and sell it to the unsuspecting. Those might qualify for a Perk of some kind, even when the underlying style is not practical for MA combat.

Re: [MA] Player Created Styles
 

I'd assume that the large skill penalties involved in standard inventing would necessitate high skill levels, without having a hard minimum. This is me talking without checking the books though, so maybe the penalties aren't sufficiently steep.

Re: [MA] Player Created Styles
 

200 hours per point. Just because you develop something doesn't mean you've fully thought it through, on the other hand, if you're asking how long it takes to develop something and be good at it, it's still 200 hours per point but you should buy up say... Attribute+5 in all skills and techniques you can (about 24 points per skill without counting Techniques).

People don't always trailblaze alone. Like Sikes-Fairburne, or the people who created Krav Maga. If they are, yeah, use 400 hours per point.