Some advice on how to play my martial artist more effectively?

[InfinitePudding]

So I am in a DF game and we just did our fourth session last week. I am kind of familiar with how GURPS work even though it's my favorite system I haven't played it as much as other games. So I went for a weapons based martial artist with a higher chi talent and I stupidly only picked one chi talent. Dragon Skin. I didn't take the unarmed striking advantage and I'm regretting it because my other GM friend tells me that's a Martial Artists bread and butter.

Being able to do multiple unarmed hits because of trained by a master. As it is I am the weakest fighter in the party and I need to figure out how to be more efficient. Could anyone give me tips? I could post my GCS sheet if that helps though I don't know how...

[Anthony]

You can do multiple armed attacks with TBaM as well. You just don't get the damage bonus weapon master gives, and you've spent a bunch of points on unarmed skills which you aren't using.

[Kromm]

There's no need to go unarmed. Trained by a Master gives its main combat-system benefit – halving Rapid Strike and repeated parry penalties – with all melee combat skills! Nothing about it restricts this benefit to unarmed skills.

On top of that, Trained by a Master unlocks chi skills. Most of these either have no direct connection to combat (Autohypnosis, Body Control, Breath Control, Esoteric Medicine, Light Walk, Mental Strength, and Mind Block), or help you in combat whether you're armed or unarmed (Blind Fighting, Immovable Stance, Kiai, Parry Missile Weapons, and Power Blow). Only Breaking Blow, Pressure Points, and Push are strictly unarmed . . . and Throwing Art actually requires you to be armed. Also, Push is deceptive, because it's the skill you use to hit, meaning even when you're armed, you can use a free hand or foot to shove foes without worrying about your Karate level.

Chi abilities are a little more biased toward unarmed fighting, owing to the popular Seven Secret Kicks and Unarmed Master – but actually, those are equalizers to bring unarmed martial artists into line with armed ones. An armed fighter can most definitely get a lot of value out of Mantis Strike and Uninterrupted Flurry.

I'd argue that the deadliest martial artist is one who uses a swung weapon (especially a quarterstaff, which is inexpensive and effective) with Mantis Strike for extra ST and Uninterrupted Flurry for extra maneuvers. High Power Blow skill is seriously nasty then, because swing damage accrues faster than thrust damage. And the extra maneuvers of Uninterrupted Flurry can make it much faster to use Power Blow: someone who would normally use one turn for Attack to make an instant Power Blow at -10 could use one turn for Concentrate and Attack, and use the skill at just -5. Plus with weapons, you don't need to worry about getting Unarmed Master to avoid hurting yourself, and if you have 25 points for that, then you can afford the 20 points for Weapon Master (Staff), which gives you a better damage bonus in the end.

[InfinitePudding]

Thanks Kromm, I talked to my GM and he let me make a new character. He suggested that because Martial Artist is a little hard for a novice to GURPS to play well I guess. But I'll keep this advice in mind for when i'm learning to GM and one of my players wants to be a MA. :)

[Stone Dog]

Are Mantis Strike and Uninterrupted Flurry in the G:DF line or just the DFRPG?

[Kromm]

Mantis Strike is rebranded Striking ST 2 as part of the Chi Mastery power. Uninterrupted Flurry is in DF 11.

[Colarmel]

Can you use the "unarmed" chi skills while wielding a tonfa in punch-grip?

[corwyn]

Originally Posted by Colarmel

Can you use the "unarmed" chi skills while wielding a tonfa in punch-grip?

I would expect so; Tonfa is listed under the unarmed skills in the weapons table.

[Kromm]

Fist loads still count as "unarmed." This lets karateka benefit from heavy boots and gauntlets, brass knuckles, cesti, butt jabs with tonfas, etc. without violating Vows or giving up their Karate damage bonus (which is specifically protected by footnote [4]). If it says "Karate" above something on the Melee Weapons Table, you're okay.

[DouglasCole]

For what it's worth, Tonfa is one of those weapons that I think should be handled differently:

Using a tonfa as a baton, with the protruding handle either close to the hand or far away, would be shortsword skill, or a generic skill for 1H balanced weapons.

Using a tonfa griping by the handle would use the unarmed combat skill.

In either case, the special effects are relatively straight-forward from a GURPS sense: used with a 1H extended grip, you get a swung attack, and can use armed grappling (Skill-2) to capture with the protruding handle. The extra leverage and reach are benefits in and of themselves, but require learning a weapon skill to use properly.

The "use with martial arts skill" gives the ability to parry weapons at no penalty or risk of damage to the limb (it basically turns the limb into a striker), as well as treating punching attacks with the same bonus you get from brass knuckles, since you get that nice punching hard surface.

If you want to use a tonfa as a grappling aid based on Wrestling or Judo skill, that's cool too. Give a ST bonus or something to account for leverage. In TG you get a +2 per die control point bonus, but that's neither here nor there.

The key bit for Dungeon Fantasy RPG is to not require an extra skill; this is an enhancement to skills you already have. That keeps it simple while still providing nifty abilities, and not diluting the skills list.