Redux: [MA] Skills vs. Techniques
 

[TL;DR = Background]
This redux thread is in lieu of reviving one of the zombie threads where we've kicked around ideas on redefining combat skills into things like Strike, Grapple, Lock, or Punching, Kicking, Wrestling, etc.

We've discussed many times how choosing form skills like Brawling, Boxing, Judo, Karate and Wrestling don't often fit what we want to model with unarmed combat in GURPS.
We've also gone on at lengths about how important footwork is and how it carries over into many different skills.
We've discussed skill defaults and how they don't work well to model how well people carry over certain base skills.
We've discusses how the pricing of skills, at the 4 point per level, limits the usefulness of multiple Techniques, making Techniques a bad investment in any style.
[/TL;DR]

Instead of doing skills like Striking, Grappling, Locking to replace Boxing, Judo and Karate, how about we just do away with skills altogether and go with just Techniques full speed.

We'd model each style with a Style Perk, which allows 4 Techniques per point, (a "No Style" Perk would allow 3 Techniques per point).
Base Technique defaults set at current levels but all references to skill substituted by DX, all references to cannot exceed skill would read cannot exceed DX + (#Perks*3).

Add in Average Techniques with DX-1 defaults for Hand Strike and Hand Grapple.


As an example, Praying Mantis Kung Fu would read as follows:


Praying Mantis Kung Fu

4 points

Techniques: Arm Lock; Counterattack; Ear Clap;
Exotic Hand Strike; Eye-Poke; Hammer Fist;
Hand Grapple; Hand Strike; Kicking; Knee Strike;
Targeted Attack (Hand Grapple/Arm).
Perks: Chi Resistance (Hypnotic Hands); Iron Hands;
Special Setup (Parry > Arm Lock); Style Adaptation
(Varies).


So someone spending the 4 points in Praying Mantis would have all the listed Techniques at default.

Using Kicking as an example, base would be DX-2 for 0 points spent on the technique, for an additional 2 points Kicking would be DX-1, for 3 points Kicking would be DX, for 4 points Kicking would be DX+1, etc.

This would then allow someone with 4 Style Perks to take up to 12 or 16 Techniques in order to model different style concentrations, and allow those Techniques to be raised to a max of DX+12.


We'd also have to address the damage bonus which goes away by eliminating skills like Karate, I'd say a simple straight up -1 to T* for +1 dmg, and -3 to T for +2 per die dmg, along with the existing Committed Attack, would work fine.

*(Using "T" as the abbreviation for "Technique" since "tech" might be confusing due to "technology level"-> "tech level".)

Re: Redux: [MA] Skills vs. Techniques
 

For the bonus damage, how about if the tech is at DX+2 you get +1 to damage when using it. at DX+4 you get +2.

OR

DX+2 you get +1 per 2 dice

DX+4 you get +1 per dice

maybe?

Re: Redux: [MA] Skills vs. Techniques
 

That'd be a pretty high T* level before the extra damage kicks in...

Brawling is a +1 die at DX+2 for DX skill.
Boxing is a +1 per die at DX+1 and +2 at DX+2 for DX-1 skill.
Karate is at +1 per die at DX and +2 at DX+1 for DX-2 skill.

So the base is a sacrifice of -1 to skill gets you the +1 per die dmg earlier, but since we wouldn't want an additional separate T for the extra damage, I'm thinking the negative to T roll is a good simplification, but if it isn't clear, then I'm open to a better approach.

Due to the availability of Committed Attack I'm not sure the +2 dmg is still valid, if it is, then we could say +2 per die dmg for -3 to T, or +1 per die dmg for -1 to T.



*(Using "T" as the abbreviation for "Technique" since "tech" might be confusing due to "technology level"-> "tech level".)

Re: Redux: [MA] Skills vs. Techniques
 

the bonus was there because you spent enough time that your techniques you used let you deal greater damage (I am sleepy). so for any technique that would qualify (since you wouldn't let it for all T), If said T was at DX+1 you got the +1dmg, at DX+3 you got +2dmg.

reason being is that to get a brawling to DX+2 would be 4pts, karate was 12pts.

but since all T are 1pt increases then that would need to change, so keeping the DX+1 as the first increase and then either DX+3 or DX+4 as the second (since the difference is 2pts or 3pts).

does any of that makes sense? probably not since I am half asleep. will come back in 8 hours or so...

Re: Redux: [MA] Skills vs. Techniques
 

Interesting. Very interesting actually. Still it puts much emphasize on styles, which sounds very cinematographic to me. I really feel styles should remain at best cosmetics, or a kind of quirk like "Obvious fighting style" or "Overly telephoned fighting habits" or even worse with skill related disadvantages (some sports emphasize so much point earning that actual defense is nope).
I tend to think styles just make fighting moves readable. It could enable defensive bonuses to those "reading" it (like in MA68 for TA or MA80 for Combos).

Re: Redux: [MA] Skills vs. Techniques
 

Well, that really depends on the styles ;)
In general I think that it makes sense to practice in a rounded style because the given techniques (strikes, kicks, throws, locks, weapon-usage, ...) match the footwork, posture and tactics, that is an elemental idea of a system (style) in comparison to a random set of techniques...
Of course there are also a lot of styles who put emphasis on long series of complicated movement forms with not much respect to actual combat and/or which are sometimes unusual for the human body... that's true, but this is a matter of these styles ;)
...also one should take a look at the philosophy of a given style, because there is the aim to teach values and mental fightings strengths (IRL many fighting styles are not about physical fighting only), which is a very different thinking in comparison to sports fighting for instance.

Re: Redux: [MA] Skills vs. Techniques
 

Sorry. My point is not that I feel all the styles are cinematographic stuff. I just feel like styles are overspecializations of the same core competencies. In a sense, Ze's proposal relies on this logics: a same core corpus, but learnt through styles. It's the "learnt through styles" part I am not comfortable with.

Re: Redux: [MA] Skills vs. Techniques
 

Styles do basically come with the Quirk that someone can identify what your standard Ts are likely going to be if they can identify your Style.

Hmm, well you could do Ts without Style Perks, but if you're capable of using Ts without someone being able to identify and take advantage of your Style, then perhaps instead of getting 4 Ts per Perk, you'd get only 3 Ts per "No Style" Perk.