Opinions on cinematic martial arts skills?

[Tyneras]

Originally Posted by Arcanjo7Sagi

The problem for me with this line of argument is that it would turn GURPS into something like D&D 4E: everyone does the same things, just change the fluff. Nothing is really unique.

But I understand the complaint: you need to have both DX and high IQ for certain character types to work (like ninjas). You can try Talents, yes, but for some, the problem will remain. Not to mention the part that is a very different mechanic from the normal rest of the system.

I must disagree, this is like saying all houses are the same because they all use concrete in their foundation. Skills and advantages operate very differently and combining them gives a tremendous range of flexibility in both effect and feel, thanks to being able to control how they interact.

As it is, the various martial arts skills are very costly, the average wuxia fight run purely off these skills would be over in seconds as everyone starts hitting zero FP. Having the controlling attributes spread out doesn't bother me, but the choices seem very random. My guess is these were very setting specific and don't translate well into generic kit.

Personally I love the Fifth Attribute (Pyramid #3/120) and would use Quintessence as the base for all these martial arts skills.

A quick off-the-cuff Flying Leap build that I have not tried to optimize:

Flying Leap
18 +9 per level
Skill: Flying Leap (Will/H)

You can jump twice as far as normal at no cost. For a cost of 1 FP you can double this again. Each extra level doubles both of these values.

Statistics: Super Jump 1 (Chi -10%)[9] plus Super Jump 1 (Costs 1 FP, -5%; Chi -10%) [9]

Technique: Direction Change
Default: Flying Leap -2, cannot exceed Flying Leap.
You can change your direction, but not total jump distance, mid-air. Each direction change after the first requires another roll at an additional -1. Failure sends you wildly off course at the GMs discretion.