Hand 2 Hand (Revised)
In melee combat, there are always distinct points of advantage in a fight. These states of advantage are far from static, though, and it is not uncommon to see advantage in combat swing from one opponent to the other with incredible swiftness. To capture the feel of this struggle for the upper hand, and the benefits gained from attaining the leg up on your opponent, I have taken the original Hand 2 Hand engine and begun work on another more streamlined version.
Ad and Dis-Ad
While I had originally created a system to be point-based, it has become clear that point pools created several unwanted side-effects: a feeling of over-complexity, inconsistencies when new combatants joined a fight, and other things that I'll probably talk about later.
In the place of Blocking Points (which were used in the last iteration), I've created an Ad and Dis-Ad system... like some brutal form of tennis. When a player uses a combination of moves to get the upper hand, he gains a certain degree of Ad over the opponent (bringing the opponent into Dis-Ad). Depending on how strong his advantage is, he can unleash more and more powerful moves.
For instance, a boxer will jab at his opponent a few times to wear him down before bringing in a haymaker to do some real damage. A specialist in far eastern martial arts will similarly use lighter punches and kicks before unleashing a bone-shattering spin-kick. This will all be accounted for by Ad and Dis-Ad (which are technically just two sides of the same coin).
Gaining the advantage:Getting Ad in combat can be difficult at times. It requires patience and tactical thinking, and combat training certainly helps, but it is possible for any character to gain Ad.
How exactly do you gain the advantage? By using weaker moves that leave you less vulnerable to counter attack. A jab, while considerably weaker than a full-force punch, will serve to wear your opponent down without creating an opening in your defenses. Wear your opponent down far enough and you can start wreaking havoc on him with more powerful techniques.
There are only six levels of ad: -1, 0, +1, +2, +3, and +4. While some weaker moves will increase Ad, most medium to high-powered moves will cost it. Some incredibly powerful moves may even land you in Dis-Ad after devastating your opponent.
Why it sucks to be on the disadvantage:Not only is your opponent throwing more and more powerful moves at you, the difference in class becomes even clearer when he starts to dodge your attacks. If you are on the disadvantage and attempt to strike your opponent back, he can automatically dodge you by simply giving up a level of Ad. Similarly if you use an attack that will bring you into disadvantage, your opponent may choose to automatically dodge you by giving up a level of Ad.
When in dis-ad, you can't gain Ad until you have brought your opponent back down to Deuce (at which point, your ad level becomes Deuce as well)
There may be moves that require you to be in dis-ad later. First I want to get a basic system up and running.
Making Multiple AttacksAfter you attack once, if you have at least two levels of ad left, you may spend two to initiate another attack.
You may make one additional attack with your off-hand (or off-foot as the case my be), but this causes a -4 penalty penalty to all of your attacks that round (including the off-hand).
Basic Attacks
All of this is probably a pain to understand without examples, right? Well, here we are, finally, at the attacks list. The following attacks can be used by any humanoid regardless of training.
Characters trained in close-combat fighting styles gain access to stronger attacks.
Attacks will be in the following format:
Move - The name of the move.
Ad Effect: - What type of effect it has on Ad. Usually a self-gain/diminish opponent's ad or an ad-loss for more powerful attacks.
Special Effect: - Effects that make this move unique.
Damage: - The damage this move will do.
Basic JabAd Effect: Gain one Ad level or diminish opponent's by one as applicable.
Special Effect: +4 to attack roll.
Damage: 1d2+strength mod, non-lethal damage.
Basic PunchAd Effect: None
Special Effect: Sacrifice one level of combat advantage to deal lethal damage. (Cannot be done at Dis-Ad)
Damage: 1d4+strength mod, non-lethal damage.
Basic KickAd Effect: Lose one level of Ad.
Special Effect: Sacrifice one additional level of combat advantage to deal lethal damage. (Cannot be done at Dis-Ad)
Damage: 1d8+strength mod, non-lethal damage.
Basic TripAd Effect: Lose one level of Ad.
Special Effect: Full-round Action, Touch Attack, make a second attack roll verses target's dexterity or strength roll (his choice). If he loses, he is rendered prone and loses two levels of Ad. If you lose, your trip attempt fails and your attack is wasted.
Damage: None.
Basic Weapon attacks
Hilt BashAd Effect: Gain one level of add or diminish opponent's by one as applicable.
Special: Deals bludgeoning damage no matter what the normal damage type of the weapon.
Damage 1d2+strength mod (light)/1d4+strength mod (one-handed)/1d6+2Xstrength mod (two-handed).
Basic Cross-StrikeAd Effect: N/A
Special Effect: None
Damage: Normal for weapon.
Heavy Cross-StrikeAd Effect: Lose one level of ad.
Special: N/A
Damage: Normal damage +1/2 damage die.
Basic LungeAd Effect: Lose one level of ad
Special: You may move up to five feet before or after the strike. This does not count as a move action.
Damage: Normal for weapon.
Like before, I intend to develop moves for other martial arts using this system, but for right now I'd like to know you guys think of it.
Thanks for reading and hopefully replying!
