Fantasy Martial Arts Starting Abilities

[zoncxs]

Hello all,

So far, for my martial arts world book, I got everything I needed written down. What I am focusing on now is: what should be the initial list of abilities, that are available to the players, be?

So far I have, broken down by internal chi abilities and external chi abilities:

Internal:

A way to recover/heal faster.
A way to hide your chi to reduce the chance of being spotted.
A way to use your chi to increase strength.
A way to use your chi to increase speed.
A way to use your chi to increase mental resilience.
A way to use your chi to increase physical resistances (poison, diseases, etc.).

External:

A way to use your chi to protect yourself.
A way to use your chi to intimidate others (Killing intent in most sources).
A way to use your chi to sense chi in your surroundings.
A way to use your chi to attack others (this one is with imbuements).

Elemental abilities are not really open at the start, unless the campaign calls for the players to make such characters, then I would work with them to make unique stuff.

Want I am trying to see is if I am missing any "basic" chi abilities that you would normally see in fantasy martial art settings like Xianxia novels.



EDIT:: Here is some crunch for the curious ones.

The framework for abilities is a mesh of Psionics and Chinese Elemental Powers.

Sense Chi

Prerequisite:
Skill: Sense Chi (Per/Hard)
Statistics: Detect Chi (Chi, -10%; Vague, -50%) [8] replace Vague with Cannot Analyze [+8] then add Reflexive [+8]

You can detect the flow of chi within living bodies and through the natural environment. You are especially sensitive to intense flows of chi created by the use of cinematic skills or chi-based powers. You can only sense the presence or absence of chi at level 1. Level 2 tells you the intensity and the direction. Level 3 makes it a passive sense, though you can still actively use it.

Techniques:
Exclusion (H)
Default: Sense Chi-2; cannot exceed Sense Chi.
You may omit any known sources from your search, and/or limit your search to a certain type of chi.

Increased Range (H)
Default: Sense Chi-5; cannot exceed Sense Chi.
Your Sense Chi uses long-distance modifiers instead of range penalties.

Analyze (H)
Default: Sense Chi-1; cannot exceed Sense Chi.
You can analyze what you have sensed.

Precise (H)
Default: Sense Chi-10; cannot exceed Sense Chi.
On a successful roll, you know the exact distance of what you sensed.

Max Range (H)
Default: Sense Chi-10; cannot exceed Sense Chi.
On a successful roll, all sense rolls succeed automatically for the next minute for anything within range that does not lower your effective skill below 3.

[Varyon]

I think it would largely depend on how advanced your characters are at the start. I think boosting recovery/healing rate, strength, speed, and physical resistances would be amongst the first skills an aspiring martial artist would learn, probably with the vague "level 1" chi sense learned in the process. Next would probably be boosting that chi sense to level 2, alongside gaining the ability to conceal one's own chi as well as to increase mental resilience. Focusing your killing intent to intimidate/debilitate foes would probably be next up, then finally the more obvert uses like chi "force fields" (which I assume is what you are talking about with using it to protect yourself, as you define that as external) and chi attacks, alongside upgrading the chi sense to the reflexive "level 3." Of course, different characters will learn some things early and some things late - a sneaky character is probably going to prioritize (consciously or otherwise) both concealing their chi and detecting that of others (unless that latter part won't help in locating most sentries they'd need to sneak past), while an in-your-face fighter is going to be going for the obvert external offense and defense (imbuements and force fields).

[zoncxs]

Sense Chi "level 1" is always the first thing to learn. You have to be able to sense the chi around and in you before you can manipulate it.

After that would all the "basic" chi manipulating abilities. I did have more than what I listed before, like flight was their and what was called "golden body" too (Injury Tolerance, Damage Reduction), But those felt too "advance" for players who just started to feel chi to have access to.

Even the imbuement skills were limited to only a select few to start off with. Mind you, this does not mean the other skills don't exist! In fact, there are MANY chi abilities, each unique and capable of crazy feats.

What I am trying to create is a list of starter abilities that a teacher or school would teach students in their first or second year.

[monstrous engineer]

Originally Posted by zoncxs

What I am trying to create is a list of starter abilities that a teacher or school would teach students in their first or second year.

Based on my own experience with learning various physical skills, the first year would probably be "sense chi" and "hide chi". The second year would add mental resilience, and increased speed/strength. Third year would be physical resistance and self defense. Offense and intimidation would be last.

At the same time students are learning the Chi skills they'd be learning the physical martial arts skills. The first year would be basic physical and mental training like kata and meditation. Second year would introduce sparring and perhaps 1 fantasy attack like a particular punch or kick that requires Chi, but doesn't do anything too crazy. Year 3 introduces a similar defense. Years beyond that teach at most 1 fantasy attack and 1 fantasy defense technique. Complete mastery of the physical aspects should take around 10 years of study, and total mastery of Chi powers should take 50+ years.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by zoncxs

What I am trying to create is a list of starter abilities that a teacher or school would teach students in their first or second year.

You've established Sense Chi as the first. After that, I'd say Recovery/Healing, alongside building up a larger reserve of chi (if that's something one can do via training), as those will allow more practice for later steps (as you don't need to rest as long between sessions if you boost recovery, and can practice for longer at a time with a larger reserve). After that, I'd go with my prior suggestion - strength/speed/physical resistance, then improving Sense Chi and gaining increased mental resilience alongside the ability to suppress/conceal one's chi, then gaining the ability to actively use chi to intimidate and similar (although I could see that being learned around the same time as suppress/conceal, as they seem like they may be similar actions but aimed in different directions), and then start learning some of the more overt stuff, depending on the student's talents (and probably the school's philosophy/quirks - in Dragon Ball the ability to use chi for flight was largely a Crane School thing, while the Turtle School favored strength building).

Of course, there may be other factors involved. If chi practitioners are frequently targeted for attacks (by a fearful government, rival schools, etc), chi concealment might need to be learned rather early to avoid getting crushed as a newbie. If building up a reserve and/or learning how to recover faster is sufficiently boring that an unacceptable number of students are likely to quit if just learning that, obvious improvements like strength boosts and even force-fields and imbuements might be learned much earlier. If medicine is sufficiently advanced that sickness is rarely a serious concern, increasing physical resistance may be delayed - although if boosted resistances lets you more safely make use of certain power-boosting elixirs (historically, a lot of "elixirs" contained dangerous components, and I know in some "cultivator" stuff I've seen/read many of the high-end elixirs are dangerous to weak practitioners), then you might want to learn that trick ASAP.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by zoncxs

Want I am trying to see is if I am missing any "basic" chi abilities that you would normally see in fantasy martial art settings like Xianxia novels.


i

Looking at Naruto you may have overlooked "Using Chi to enhance your own movement".

Any Genin seems to be able to use his chi (chakra in the show) to boost his leaping ability and before he reaches Chunin level he can do it on a sustained basis for long distance movement by leaping from tree limb to tree limb.

Shortly there after they learn wallwalking (Clinging in Gurps) and then waterwalking.

Running at blinding speed may actually be more advanced or at least left to specialists like Lee though any Jonin seems to be able to move to intervene in Genin level disputes so fast you start to wonder about teleportation (which it probably isn't as that appears to have been a Hokage level jutsu).

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Looking at Naruto you may have overlooked "Using Chi to enhance your own movement".

Naruto is really more "Ninja Supers" than "Martial Artists using chi." I'm assuming OP is going for something more akin to what's seen in martial arts media, or maybe even earlier episodes of Dragon Ball (which is also closer to the Supers side of things, albeit perhaps not quite as extreme as Naruto with the exception of Goku's superhuman resilience). I assume skills like Lizard Climb, Flying Leap, Light Walk (which I'd probably let work for walking on water, albeit at a penalty considering thin ice is at +0), etc, are still available (or maybe even their Advantage equivalents with the Chi modifier and possibly Costs FP), but would be advanced skills.

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Running at blinding speed may actually be more advanced or at least left to specialists like Lee though any Jonin seems to be able to move to intervene in Genin level disputes so fast you start to wonder about teleportation (which it probably isn't as that appears to have been a Hokage level jutsu).

The Jounin "teleport" is probably meant to be something akin to Flash Step, which shows up all over the place in shounen media; it's meant to be a sudden, extremely-fast movement that the eye cannot track (although some characters can track it), but is explicitly not teleportation, as it can only allow the user to reach places they normally could (so no going through walls). As much as I dislike it as a base, that would nonetheless be built as a modified version of Warp (I know there's a Limitation for only being able to go places you could normally reach, I believe in Horror for the Ghostly Movement power, that you'd want to include here). It would be up to OP if one can do that via chi manipulation in this setting, of course.

[zoncxs]

Originally Posted by monstrous engineer

...

Pretty much my thoughts, was also looking to see if anyone else might think of some other abilities that would count as "basic" that I might have missed.

Originally Posted by Varyon

You've established Sense Chi as the first. After that, I'd say Recovery/Healing, alongside building up a larger reserve of chi (if that's something one can do via training), as those will allow more practice for later steps (as you don't need to rest as long between sessions if you boost recovery, and can practice for longer at a time with a larger reserve).

I do have something like that for the game world, where they can gather chi to increase their reserves. As well as stages:

Qi Sensing
You begin to learn how to sense the life force around you.

Qi Gathering
You learn how to take in the natural Qi around you into your body for nourishment.

Qi Refining
You take the Qi that you are absorbing and purify it.

Core Shaping/Foundation Stage
You take your purified Qi and mold it, giving it shape.

Core Crystallization
The density of your Qi solidifies.

Golden Core
Your Qi has now become a liquid core of pure energy to allow you to survive without need of food and water.

Spirit Tempering
You begin to temper your core with your soul.

Nascent Soul
Your Golden Core hatches a second soul for you. You now have 2 souls.

Soul Formation
You can now form more souls, each one granting you an extra life should you perish.

Enlightenment
After you have successfully split your soul several times, they condense back into one, making your soul more powerful.

Ascension
You begin to shed yourself.

Immortal
You ascend to the next layer of the universe.

Originally Posted by Varyon

...start learning some of the more overt stuff, depending on the student's talents (and probably the school's philosophy/quirks - in Dragon Ball the ability to use chi for flight was largely a Crane School thing, while the Turtle School favored strength building).

This was my though as well, but flight was too cheap with how it was and didn't feel right for a new student to be able to pick up within the first year. Keeping the price I got I might just make it something masters hide since they wouldn't want everyone flying around.

Originally Posted by Varyon

Of course, there may be other factors involved. If chi practitioners are frequently targeted for attacks (by a fearful government, rival schools, etc), chi concealment might need to be learned rather early to avoid getting crushed as a newbie.

Actually, for my game world at least, the martial world governs themselves and stays clear of the "mortal" world. Their is a group of powerful martial artist that are known as the Martial Judges who eliminate any evil martial artists they find out about to keep the peace. If you claim to be a martial arts and try to establish a school, they will come to with a challenge. If you manage to beat their representative (who will be as close to equal in power to you) without killing them, then you have the right to form your school. Otherwise, they kill you.

Originally Posted by Varyon

If building up a reserve and/or learning how to recover faster is sufficiently boring that an unacceptable number of students are likely to quit if just learning that, obvious improvements like strength boosts and even force-fields and imbuements might be learned much earlier.

The culture of the world makes becoming a Martial Artist the pinnacle of your life. It becomes easy to make money, and raise your families status. So people are willing to spend the entire families life savings to get an elixir that MAY allow their most talented child get a chance to join a school.

Originally Posted by Varyon

If medicine is sufficiently advanced that sickness is rarely a serious concern, increasing physical resistance may be delayed - although if boosted resistances lets you more safely make use of certain power-boosting elixirs (historically, a lot of "elixirs" contained dangerous components, and I know in some "cultivator" stuff I've seen/read many of the high-end elixirs are dangerous to weak practitioners), then you might want to learn that trick ASAP.

Though chi based medicine is advance enough to heal a lot of things, its expensive. The world would also have a lot of chi based sicknesses as well to balance that out. Everything you said would apply too.

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Looking at Naruto you may have overlooked "Using Chi to enhance your own movement".

So far, the basic thing I have is to enhance movement speed. It does have a technique that you can learn to dodge better.

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Any Genin seems to be able to use his chi (chakra in the show) to boost his leaping ability and before he reaches Chunin level he can do it on a sustained basis for long distance movement by leaping from tree limb to tree limb.

I will add this, but not as a starting ability. It would require some levels in the enhanced speed and strength.

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Shortly there after they learn wallwalking (Clinging in Gurps) and then waterwalking.

These would be more advance as well for my list. Requiring at least Sense Chi at level 2 or 3.

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Running at blinding speed may actually be more advanced or at least left to specialists like Lee though any Jonin seems to be able to move to intervene in Genin level disputes so fast you start to wonder about teleportation (which it probably isn't as that appears to have been a Hokage level jutsu).

I will implement prerequisites for all abilities. So to get really high enhanced speed would require higher levels of Sense Chi, being at higher cultivation stages, and a certain minimum chi reserve.

Originally Posted by Varyon

Naruto is really more "Ninja Supers" than "Martial Artists using chi." I'm assuming OP is going for something more akin to what's seen in martial arts media, or maybe even earlier episodes of Dragon Ball (which is also closer to the Supers side of things, albeit perhaps not quite as extreme as Naruto with the exception of Goku's superhuman resilience).

Actually, its a little of both, plus more! With what I have, I can run a Street Fighters type game all the way to Dragon Ball and Late Naruto.

Originally Posted by Varyon

I assume skills like Lizard Climb, Flying Leap, Light Walk (which I'd probably let work for walking on water, albeit at a penalty considering thin ice is at +0), etc, are still available (or maybe even their Advantage equivalents with the Chi modifier and possibly Costs FP), but would be advanced skills.

Advantage equivalents, and correct for them being advance skills.

Originally Posted by Varyon

The Jounin "teleport" is probably meant to be something akin to Flash Step, which shows up all over the place in shounen media; it's meant to be a sudden, extremely-fast movement that the eye cannot track (although some characters can track it), but is explicitly not teleportation, as it can only allow the user to reach places they normally could (so no going through walls). As much as I dislike it as a base, that would nonetheless be built as a modified version of Warp (I know there's a Limitation for only being able to go places you could normally reach, I believe in Horror for the Ghostly Movement power, that you'd want to include here). It would be up to OP if one can do that via chi manipulation in this setting, of course.

I actually have a means for this from pyramid 3/89, a modded ability:

Basic Move +10 (Accessibility, Only for determining step length, -60%; Chi, -10%) [15/level]

Which is a little costly, but this is then taken as a technique under enhanced speed:

Flash Step (H)
Default: Inner Speed-8; cannot exceed Inner Speed.
Using this technique adds an additional +1 to your step distance for every level of Inner Speed you have.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by zoncxs

I actually have a means for this from pyramid 3/89, a modded ability:

Basic Move +10 (Accessibility, Only for determining step length, -60%; Chi, -10%) [15/level]

Which is a little costly, but this is then taken as a technique under enhanced speed:

Flash Step (H)
Default: Inner Speed-8; cannot exceed Inner Speed.
Using this technique adds an additional +1 to your step distance for every level of Inner Speed you have.

A useful ability but it'd e more about engaging multiple foes in one Turn. Flash Step as it is used in Bleach is more about suddenly appearing in melee range.

[Ughbash]

Looking at what you are doing, appears you want to create a Wuxia or Xianxia world.

You may want to consider instead of using external/Internal as the divider for abilities Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth. With wood or water being healing, earth being defense, fire and metal being attack based (sharpness for Metal, DR and injury tolerance for earth).

I'd start it around 300 points but especially if you use 10 levels per each stage will SOON get into multiple 1000's of points.