Steve Jackson Games Forums - [MA] [Styles] Rough and Tumble: Possibly the most brutal unarmed martial art ever.

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[MA] [Styles] Rough and Tumble: Possibly the most brutal unarmed martial art ever.

This was a real thing, so I wrote it up as a GURPS style.

Special thanks to my friend Jeff Shanks, whose paper on the topic can be heard here.

Rough and Tumble 3

This form of no-holds-barred fighting was common in the American south and the frontier west in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It was practiced primarily by the lower classes as a way to settle matters of honor, before it was replaced for this purpose by the bowie knife and then the revolver. The upper classes relied on the traditional duel (usually with pistols). Two southerners with irreconcilable differences might say, “do you want to fight fair (meaning according to the London Prize Fight Rules for Bare-Knuckle Boxing) or rough and tumble.”

Rough and Tumble fighting is remarkably light on rules, even by the standards of no-holds-barred. It was extremely common for fighters to gouge out eyes and bite off ears. An experienced rough and tumble fighter without some mutilations would be fairly rare (and probably very good.)

Common tactics involve forcing your opponent to the ground and trying to immobilize them so that you can gouge or bite. Some rough and tumble fighters grew their thumbnails long and hardened them in a fire. The purpose of these "gouger's thumbs" was to improve their ability to gouge out eyes. Some fighters also filed their teeth to points in order to bite more effectively.

There are few legends surrounding rough and tumble fighting, most accounts focus on its savage viciousness. It does however feature in humorous folklore and tall-tales from the region, including many of the stories featured in the Davy Crooker Almanac and some of the Brekenridge Elkins stories by Robert E. Howard. Some over-the-top abilities are suggested by these stories, as well as the “ring-tailed roarer” stock character who is not only a vicious fighter but a boisterous braggart.

Skills: Brawling, Wrestling.
Techniques: Eye Gouging (Brawling or Wrestling), Ground Fighting (Brawling or Wrestling), Knee Drop, Knee Strike (Brawling), Targeted Attack (Brawling Bite/Ear), Wrench Limb.
Cinematic Skills: Power Blow.
Cinematic Techniques: Back-Breaker, Lethal Strike, Pile-Driver
Perks: Dirty Fighting, Drunken Fighting, Gouger's Thumb*, Ground Guard, Neck Control, Power Grappling, Unusual Training (Sharp Teeth).

Optional Traits:
Advantages: Fearlessness, High Pain Threshold.
Disadvantages: Appearance, Distinctive Feature (One ear, missing nose, prominent scars, etc...), Odious Personal Habit (Bragging), One Eye, Reputation, Sadism.
Skills: Intimidation

*Gouger's Thumb:
You've grown out your thumbnail, sharpened it and hardened it with fire. This isn't sharp enough or strong enough to be used as a claw, but it's VERY useful when using Eye-Gouging. It grants +1 to both skill and damage when using that technique. Moreover, it makes it much easier to physically remove the eyeball—your opponent rolls at -2 to determine if a crippling injury to the eye is permanent—if it is, you have completely removed his eye from his socket.

You can have a Gouger's Thumb on one hand or both (the price is the same), but the nail will interfere with some tasks (-1 to all skills that receive a bonus from Manual Dexterity), and will be obvious—likely resulting in a negative reputation.

In a cinematic game, a gouger's thumb can be seen as justification for Lethal Strike, or even Sharp Claws or Talons.