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Thread 96803571

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Anonymous No.96803571 [Report] >>96803605 >>96804158 >>96804161 >>96804196 >>96804914 >>96806103 >>96807860 >>96809770 >>96809881 >>96811294 >>96812671 >>96816782 >>96817911 >>96818168 >>96818209 >>96818511 >>96818545 >>96822200 >>96825413 >>96826093 >>96826754 >>96827251 >>96833257 >>96833587 >>96840193 >>96853406
Unarmed combat
I love unarmed melee fighter concepts.
What traditional game has your favorite unarmed combat? Ever played a memorable fist fighter character?
Anonymous No.96803605 [Report]
>>96803571 (OP)
AD&D 1E
Anonymous No.96804150 [Report] >>96804872 >>96810894 >>96811294 >>96818511 >>96832152
For the love of all the gods, stop it with this dumb idea that if you want to play a competent unarmed fighter, you MUST be a kung-fu wizard with magical ki-powers.
Anonymous No.96804158 [Report]
>>96803571 (OP)
1d4 damage that's all you get but don't worry flavour is free with some exceptions
Anonymous No.96804161 [Report] >>96804208 >>96809050 >>96818116
>>96803571 (OP)
A grappling expert is surprisingly feasible in Honor+Intrigue and genuinely dangerous, though they have to be aware of their enemy's buddies, of course.
Anonymous No.96804196 [Report] >>96804878 >>96814653 >>96818511 >>96853113
>>96803571 (OP)
you options basically boil down to
a) storygames where method of attack is just flavor (Maid, Broken Worlds)
b) heroic fantasy magic punching man (DnD from 3rd onwards)
c) hyperautistic games that do combat second-by-second and let you choose between 10 stanced and 20 way to throw a punch that will have varying efficiency depending environment, type of opponent, weather, and position of the celestial bodies (GURPS)
Anonymous No.96804208 [Report] >>96810761
>>96804161
Oh, and by the way, this is without any gay ass Hong Kong phooey needed.
Anonymous No.96804778 [Report]
only tangentially related but this thread gave me a sudden idea:
in what games might it be viable to take the Fiorepill, and make a build that turns swordfighting into grappling?
Anonymous No.96804872 [Report] >>96814598
>>96804150
Who are you talking to?
Anonymous No.96804878 [Report] >>96809894
>>96804196
Or good games, where method of attack is rules, and unarmed combat is balanced and viable relative to every other option.
Anonymous No.96804914 [Report] >>96818116
>>96803571 (OP)
Song of Swords.
Anonymous No.96806103 [Report] >>96818116
>>96803571 (OP)
Prowlers and Paragons.
Anonymous No.96807860 [Report] >>96852903
>>96803571 (OP)
I'm not too experienced with it yet but I like the way Cyberpunk2020 does it, I think it's pretty solid.
Anonymous No.96808466 [Report] >>96808632 >>96809933 >>96810093 >>96810182 >>96814704 >>96815877 >>96817488 >>96853153 >>96854827 >>96864837
which systems have the best rules for Improvised Weapons? They always seem to be drastically underpowered compared to other options, usually because there is no 'high quality' or 'magical' version of them like there is for other equipment, and that's if you can even use them without eating some kind of huge penalty
Anonymous No.96808632 [Report]
>>96808466
The best I've ever seen was Legend. Normal weapons had three properties while improvised weapons had two or three while lacking item bonuses to attack from magical items, so they didn't scale inherently...

But the combat maneuver specialist track assigned extra properties from a pool you picked, letting you be really flexible with them as is, and unlocked a feat that caught the number of properties up to regular weapons, applied any item bonus to attack you had on your natural weapons to any improvised weapon you were wielding, let you grab a new one for free once per round, and let you break them on an enemy for a sizable bonus to combat maneuvers.
Anonymous No.96809050 [Report]
>>96804161
Same in original Barbarians of Lemuria if the character goes all in with strength and right boons.
Anonymous No.96809770 [Report] >>96856474
>>96803571 (OP)
Realistic unarmed combat in GURPS really fucking sucks when going against armed combatants, but that's a feature not a flaw.
Cinematic unarmed combat when combined with Fantastic Dungeon Grappling, Imbuement Skills, and Natural Weapons is fucking awesome and nothing in any other game I've ever played has ever compared.
Anonymous No.96809881 [Report] >>96827759
>>96803571 (OP)
I'll tell you a little example of something that happened last time I played an unarmed fighter in my current preferred system.
>Sneaking in ventilation ducts
>see two guards with shotguns
>drop from duct on one guard, using legs to grapple him, then use hands to disarm him, taking shotgun
>shoot other guard with shotgun
>smack the first guard hard enough with butt of shotgun to knock him out.
>jump out before he falls and end up standing
This wasn't planned or me adding "fluff", it was all resolved mechanically, no improvisation required, no need to make up rules on the spot.

another example from a different game
>goblin charging at my character
>parry his strike with my hand, grabbing his arm
>pull him into the ground, and deliver an axe-kick to the back of his head as he is down, killing him.
This took 30 seconds to resolve, and it was 4 rolls (+damage roll)
The system?
GURPS
Anonymous No.96809894 [Report] >>96810083
>>96804878
I noticed you responded to a post that gave concrete game examples but you didn't actual mention a game in your own post.
Why is that?
Anonymous No.96809933 [Report]
>>96808466
Realistically, a real weapon is just going to be better than improvised weapon.
I've played a game that added some ninja power bullshit that gave the ninja bonus damage for the first time he used any weapon in a fight, and there was a perk that allowed ninjas to "Improvise" weapons with the same stats as real weapons (so a broom handle would do the same damage as a real sword, a rope would work like a kusari chain, etc).

I had some fun just picking random shit from the battlefield and using it. I liked grabbing chopsticks and throwing them like knives, or using rope to grapple the enemy before smacking them with random branches.
The game?
It was GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Ninja
Anonymous No.96810083 [Report] >>96810132
>>96809894
Why would I bother? You're not here to learn anything and you certainly aren't going to run or play any games.
Anonymous No.96810093 [Report]
>>96808466
Anonymous No.96810132 [Report] >>96810157
>>96810083
What a strange non-sequitur.
Usually, when you reply to a post that means you want to make some sort of point or engage in conversation, assuming you're not here to troll. If you believe nothing good can come from replying to this thread, why are you here?
Anonymous No.96810157 [Report]
>>96810132
It isn't a non-sequitur, it is completely correct and it bothers you that I so easily read your true intentions, which is you replied almost immediately. Your next reply to me will be seen through just as easily.
Anonymous No.96810182 [Report]
>>96808466
For non-scenery improvised weapons, I would just treat them as either a club or a sword (same weapon bonus either way), depending on what it is and how it's being used. Equally as effective as using a real weapon, but of course you don't get the benefits of Custom Gear.
Anonymous No.96810188 [Report]
>pls reply to me
nah

Anyway, besides GURPS, what other games are in the category of
>hyperautistic games that do combat second-by-second and let you choose between 10 stanced and 20 way to throw a punch
?
Anonymous No.96810232 [Report] >>96814688
You lose.
Anonymous No.96810761 [Report] >>96812522 >>96832229
>>96804208
It really says something when the general idea and meme in everyones mind is that unarmed combat is inextricably tied to asian martial arts or that even western shit doesn't have its own weeb shit moments even if they don't have specific named abilities and a million layers of cultivation
Anonymous No.96810821 [Report]
western media is TRASH
Anonymous No.96810894 [Report] >>96811294
>>96804150
I mean if you don't have some kind of special reason or advantage to not having a weapon then you're literally just a swordguy without his sword.

Like why would not bringing a weapon have any advantages otherwise? You're unarmed.
Anonymous No.96811294 [Report] >>96811353
>>96810894
>>96803571 (OP)
>>96804150
I'm more thinking about the Fighter Style of 1d8 unarmed. I could build a whole class around that easy, probably fun too.
If I was gonna be a hand to hand dude though, I'd probably have some other gimmick going for me, like a trap master or little grenades. Fighters are decent at that too, maybe with a dip in Artificer?
Anonymous No.96811353 [Report]
>>96811294
Christ, imagine needing to jump through all these hoops to do something so simple
Anonymous No.96812522 [Report] >>96814567 >>96832175
>>96810761
Westerners aren't still pretending magic bullshit from their past is real.
Anonymous No.96812671 [Report]
>>96803571 (OP)
Played a monk in 5e with another guy also playing a monk. We each requested a mask that allowed for unlimited casts of at will prestidigitation and minor illusion.
We were luchadors that used those masks to generate speed line effects, big "BAM!" "POW!" and other effects while just flavoring our unarmed strikes, flurry of blows, as different wrestling moves.

It was fun as hell. Unfortunately we made such a spectacle doing that shit we became legit pro-wrestlers that did tours fighting all comers and adventuring just didn't seem interesting anymore so we had to roll new characters.
Anonymous No.96814567 [Report] >>96814621 >>96816063 >>96832257
>>96812522
Unsurprisingly, the entire younger generation of americans all watch media about samurai now because japan is still willing to make their history look cool.

They watch american media and get lectures about how america has nothing to be proud of and then they watch an anime and a samurai kills a demon and so they pick the strong horse.
Anonymous No.96814598 [Report] >>96814778
>>96804872
You sound triggered, almost as if he hit the nerve
Anonymous No.96814621 [Report]
>>96814567
Whenever American cinematograpy tries to make history look cool there's very little history left in the movie.
Anonymous No.96814653 [Report] >>96814686 >>96815980
>>96804196
d) your GM adjudicates based on what you tell him you do
foreign concept I know
Anonymous No.96814686 [Report] >>96814765 >>96814769
>>96814653
that's just a) phrased in different words
Anonymous No.96814688 [Report]
>>96810232
Nah, I'd win
Anonymous No.96814704 [Report] >>96814787
>>96808466
Rulings not rules. Just use common sense. What is the improvised weapon? What is it made of? Is it functionally similar to another weapon? Does it pose any risk to the user or surrounding people?
You don't need to create a whole new ruleset or bunch of stats. Chances are you can easily rely on another weapon for stats and use common sense for the rest.
If this breaks the combat system, it probably isn't very good for RPGs.
Anonymous No.96814765 [Report]
>>96814686
It isn't. Like I said, foreign concept to most.
Anonymous No.96814769 [Report]
>>96814686
No it isn't.
Anonymous No.96814778 [Report]
>>96814598
What do you mean?
Anonymous No.96814787 [Report]
>>96814704
Rules not rulings.
Anonymous No.96814964 [Report] >>96815972
>a string of of "nuh-uh" troll replies posted a minute apart
Anonymous No.96815877 [Report]
>>96808466
I've gotten improvised weapons to be surprisingly effective in GURPS when the GM allowed Extra Effort with Equipment. Extra Effort lets you temporarily add extra power or enhancements to your equipment, but causes damage to it that is costly and time-consuming to repair. But that doesn't matter if your gear is expendable.
Anonymous No.96815972 [Report]
>>96814964
lol mad
Anonymous No.96815980 [Report] >>96816533
>>96814653
Translation
>The gm has to make up a new system inside the system you're already playing
Anonymous No.96816063 [Report]
>>96814567
We should have drawn from the Japanese example in dealing with subversives.
Anonymous No.96816533 [Report] >>96817772
>>96815980
I don't play systems that need rules for everything or you can't do it. That's stupid.
Anonymous No.96816782 [Report] >>96857746
>>96803571 (OP)
Never dedicated, but I used my barbarian to barehanded brutalize some shady servants in a shady manor.
I described using a serving-maid's head like a yo-yo, by yanking her hair backwards into my fist.

It was a child endangerment situation, and I do not need uncooperative servants raising the alarm.
But also, I didn't want them dead either, because they were stupid unarmed civilians.
Anonymous No.96817488 [Report]
>>96808466
L5R 5e had improvised weapon rules that made them better than most wargear (i.e. military weapons). Using an umbrella as a spear was more effective than using a spear.
Anonymous No.96817772 [Report] >>96817959
>>96816533
you're stupid
Anonymous No.96817911 [Report] >>96817965 >>96818126
>>96803571 (OP)
What I find weird is why there are so many layers to allow you to use unarmed skills.

In 3.5 you needed at two versions of unarmed strike of 5 other feats to cast a hadoken weaker than most cantrips and somehow the idea of allowing you to do slashing and peircing damage with your hands is some kind of insane concept
Anonymous No.96817959 [Report]
>>96817772
Insults aren't in your feats right now, you can't do them.
Anonymous No.96817965 [Report] >>96823745 >>96827194 >>96830393 >>96852903
>>96817911
Anonymous No.96818116 [Report] >>96818639
>>96804161
>>96804914
>>96806103
Never heard of any of these.
Anonymous No.96818125 [Report]
No surprise there.
Anonymous No.96818126 [Report] >>96818169
>>96817911
The 3.X devs vocally masturbated about killing sacred cows, but if you look into it the only ones they actually killed were those that limited the capabilities of casters. The 3.X monk is basically the Kwai Chang Caine expy it was in it's 1e appearance even though Street Fighter II and Dragon Ball Z were prevalent enough to redefine the archetype in pop culture. Combine that with Fighters/Martials never getting anything actually good and you end up with a situation where looks good but ends up costing to much to be viable happens.
Anonymous No.96818168 [Report]
>>96803571 (OP)
Exalted. Accept no substitutes. Especially in 3e where playing a Solar and speccing in Brawl lets you buy the real powerful stuff early.
Anonymous No.96818169 [Report] >>96818710
>>96818126
Which is funny when you consider the Fighter could take the same sort of feats the monk could but nothing is ever made of it.
Anonymous No.96818202 [Report]
Wouldn't matter, the only good feats require caster levels.
Anonymous No.96818209 [Report] >>96818280
>>96803571 (OP)
Prowlers and Paragons. Accept no substitutes. Everything is available from the start of the game.
Anonymous No.96818280 [Report] >>96818329
>>96818209
Even the really game-breaking shit? Because Essence 3 Charms and above are a nightmare for the GM in Exalted.
Anonymous No.96818329 [Report] >>96818365
>>96818280
Did you mean to reply to someone else?
Anonymous No.96818365 [Report] >>96818431
>>96818329
No.
Anonymous No.96818431 [Report]
>>96818365
Why did you ask me about a system I didn't mention?
Anonymous No.96818456 [Report] >>96846766
GURPS, but the campaign needs to accommodate it. Punching dragons isn't gonna cut it. But a campaign that's basically a Jackie Chan movie totally kicks ass and feels awesome.
Anonymous No.96818511 [Report] >>96818536 >>96818671 >>96818710
>>96804150
>>96803571 (OP)
unarmed is just dumb on its face because like
>>96804196
said
>you options basically boil down to
>a) storygames where method of attack is just flavor (Maid, Broken Worlds)

In any other context it's just stupid. It's a stupid idea whose execution requires a very high level of suspending your disbelief that even goes beyond suspending your belief in magic.

Even chimps in nature will try to use branches to strike each other. It is simple physics and logic that it's better to strike an opponent with an inanimate object especially one made for fighting, than it is to strike an opponent with a part of your own body (fist, foot, etc). Unarmed combat should at best be something that is only ever a factor when fighting against another unarmed opponent.

Everyone I have ever met who was into unarmed combat in games was either a weeb or a try-hard.
Anonymous No.96818536 [Report] >>96818581
>>96818511
No.
Anonymous No.96818545 [Report]
>>96803571 (OP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUbcrNnSR0I
Anonymous No.96818581 [Report] >>96818612 >>96818710
>>96818536
That is the appropriate response to the question
>Can I play an unarmed melee fighter character?
Anonymous No.96818593 [Report]
lol seething
Anonymous No.96818612 [Report]
>>96818581
No, you can.
Anonymous No.96818639 [Report]
>>96818116
Well, H+I is pretty niche. It's a swashbuckler elaboration on Barbarians of Lemuria, with considerably more complexity to its melee combat than that system. BoL of course is already a relatively niche system.
Anonymous No.96818671 [Report] >>96818684 >>96818713 >>96856295
>>96818511
I'm sure that goes over well in your accurate recreation of 16th century europe where only the most exacting level of realism is employed to not sully the experience while using D&D as the system of choice.

Because, as we all know, fireball casting wizards are a must but a fighter beating someone or a monster to death with their fist a bridge too far
Anonymous No.96818684 [Report]
>>96818671
Yeah, it is. If you want to matter, pick a real class. Faggot.
Anonymous No.96818710 [Report] >>96823848
>>96818169
The Fighter, Paladin, Ranger and Monk were all victims of Feat creep. Every time they wanted to give one of those classes a new martial capability they created a new feat that often ended up as part of a feat tree. At the end of it's lifespan

>>96818511
Much of that is due to unarmed and unarmored combat being treated as a negative state rather than the baseline with gear being an advantage. If you strip a Fighter naked they should still be a semi-effective Fighter even if they need to pummel everything to death with their fists.

>>96818581
Only in badly balanced games like 3.X D&D.
Anonymous No.96818713 [Report]
>>96818671
You've gotten many suggestions in this thread. Choose one of those, and don't engage the D&D faggots.
Anonymous No.96818831 [Report] >>96819473
Now I'm not a mindless D&D hater, but I will say that one of the great things about just leaving it behind and playing other systems is doing the esoteric feat of "grabbing someone and throwing him on the ground" is something you can just do, instead of requiring a special build.
>examples
>genesys: you just need to get ^^
>gurps: Anyone can do it (grappling defaults to your dexterity score), but having a few points in wrestling helps.
Anonymous No.96819473 [Report] >>96821153
>>96818831
This is why I hate movies that let people slap a goon and suddenly he's dead or knocked out for hours. If my player sets up the perfect sucker punch on anyone but the BBEG, I usually let them do some silly shit on top.
Anonymous No.96821153 [Report] >>96822019
>>96819473
Head trauma can have incredibly inconsistent results, someone can take several hits and will just feel little dizzy, someone drops dead after just one. And you'll never know which one it is until you've tried.
Anonymous No.96822019 [Report]
>>96821153
Some people are just built different.
My entire childhood is best described as a sequence of head injuries.
All it did was make me pathologically angry.

I just assume that anybody without a solid skull would have died in childhood, after receiving a paternal backhand across the room, given that I play games based around ultraviolence and general societal barbarism.
Anonymous No.96822200 [Report]
>>96803571 (OP)
>What traditional game has your favorite unarmed combat?
HERO system, goddamn playing a martial artist in HERO is fun.
Anonymous No.96823745 [Report]
>>96817965
/thread.
Anonymous No.96823848 [Report] >>96825025
>>96818710
Unarmed fighting prowess should ideally bolster armed combat skills anyway. Being able to grapple, use proper footwork for evasion, and being effective even if disarmed are all in the domain of unarmed combat skill.
Anonymous No.96825025 [Report] >>96825115
>>96823848
Right, which is why it does, as I showed when I solved the thread previously.
Anonymous No.96825115 [Report] >>96825265
>>96825025
It doesn't really solve the thread when the vast majority of games don't function that way despite having other good system parts.
Anonymous No.96825265 [Report]
>>96825115
One is sufficient, of course, and it does solve the thread.
Anonymous No.96825413 [Report] >>96825939 >>96826155 >>96826367 >>96826636
>>96803571 (OP)
Why would anyone want to play an unarmed character in a world where magic weapons exuat, and anyone can be arned to the teeth. And don't get me started in Shaolin monks, they were highly skilled in a wide array if weapons, also in wuxia magic weapons also exist, fights are fought mainly with weapons, unarmed fighting is a last resort. Tipically in a fantasy world the worlds inner logic can't even explain why there are people who wanna go up against armed knights in a robe, and empty handed.
Anonymous No.96825939 [Report]
>>96825413
Because you're playing The Warriors as a hex crawl. And sure, you can use bottles and chains and baseball bats - but only when you find them.
Can you dig it?
Anonymous No.96826093 [Report]
>>96803571 (OP)
Unarmed is the most powerful style in WFRP4e. I once tried an unarmed elf and was completely invulnerable to harm.
Anonymous No.96826155 [Report]
>>96825413
Because it's a fun concept.
Anonymous No.96826188 [Report] >>96856498
Martial arts is the best type of Combat in Cyberpunk RED, It has the exact same rules as melee (ignores half of an enemies Damage threshold), but unlike melee it can do 4d6 damage twice a turn, leading it to be the best DPS in the game. Armor maxes out at 19 RAW. So with the best armor in the game enemies only have a DT of 9 against Martial arts attacks.


And armor above the Light armor jack (The best light armor in the game) gives penalty to all forms of movement, leading to any enemy wearing any heavy armor to be pummeled, (And regular enemy's dodge isn't high enough to even matter.)
Anonymous No.96826367 [Report]
>>96825413
Because I want to, you dull faggot.
Anonymous No.96826636 [Report]
>>96825413
You never wanted to put a dragon in a camel clutch?
Anonymous No.96826754 [Report]
>>96803571 (OP)
Anima: Beyond Fantasy
Anonymous No.96827194 [Report]
>>96817965
/thread.
Anonymous No.96827251 [Report]
>>96803571 (OP)
I hijacked a local DnD group, where people were overwhelmed by the stats. Used Savage Worlds, with some modifications taken from other systems.

In a system using "poise" as a second HP bar, making knocking down an opponent very important, unarmed fighting was engineered to be lower damage, but better at knocking an opponent off balance.

I have not adapted .//hack into a TTRPG, but the "Rengeki" concept of "multiple consecutive attacks give a buff for getting in a flow state" is interesting.

Some homebrew for 3.5 allows for grappling or moving the opponent (kind of like the crummy class add-ons for drunken master or ki-point BS in 5e), where a good unarmed strike makes you feel like Ezio in Assassin's Creed, disarming a spearman, then slapping him with his own weapon
Anonymous No.96827325 [Report] >>96827608
I fucking love making normalfag boxing characters. Definitely my preference for unarmed combat.
Anonymous No.96827373 [Report] >>96827608 >>96827890 >>96830652
always wanted to play a judo/aikido guy. throwing my enemies around like nothing sounds fucking awesome.
Anonymous No.96827608 [Report]
>>96827325
>>96827373
GURPS
Anonymous No.96827759 [Report] >>96827830
>>96809881
and how long did it take you to resolve these actions?
how many pages did you need to look up for the obscure and hyper specific rules to do all that?
Anonymous No.96827830 [Report]
>>96827759
30 seconds. Did you not read the post?
Anonymous No.96827890 [Report]
>>96827373
Anonymous No.96828312 [Report]
Unarmed fags are not beating the tryhard weeabo allegations
Anonymous No.96828351 [Report]
yeah they are
Anonymous No.96830393 [Report]
>>96817965
/thread.
Anonymous No.96830652 [Report]
>>96827373
Most games (even D&D) have rules for knocking foes to the ground or grappling takedowns. But if you want special rules for Judo throws, then there are only a handful I know of and have played: Cyberpunk 2020/RED, Shadowrun 5E, and GURPS. GURPS is probably the most accurate, since it allows a throw after either a grapple or a successful Judo parry, the latter implying that you're using your foe's momentum against him to bring him down. Judo throws are also more powerful than normal takedowns, since they can cause damage and stunning. Both Shadowrun and GURPS also include rules for Sacrificial Throws, which allow you to add your body weight to the throw, sacrificing your superior posture to improve its efficacy.
Anonymous No.96832152 [Report]
>>96804150
>unarmed users can totally compete with melee weapon wielders without a literal magical boon, bro
>trust me
Anonymous No.96832175 [Report]
>>96812522
Westerners are just stupid materialists, yes.
Anonymous No.96832229 [Report] >>96832235 >>96832641 >>96833445
>>96810761
>It really says something when the general idea and meme in everyones mind is that unarmed combat is inextricably tied to asian martial arts
Even in ancient western mythos with superhuman heroes, going around wrestling giant monsters was typically done as a form of ego trip, or to bypass some conditional invulnerability to weapons. In kung-fu stories by contrast, unarmed combat is literally the highest possible expression of martial prowess you can achieve as a warrior.
Anonymous No.96832235 [Report] >>96832641
>>96832229
*mastering unarmed combat
Anonymous No.96832257 [Report]
>>96814567
>so they pick the strong horse.
Osama go home, you're dead.
Anonymous No.96832331 [Report]
expecting to be the strongest combatant when you're walking around with your bare hands is narcissistic.
Anonymous No.96832352 [Report] >>96832589
Anonymous No.96832442 [Report]
This thread and all the retarded D&D-addled brains here have inspired me to plan a campaign inspired by Jackie Chan movies. The players will be small-time fighters invited to the International Martial Arts Friendship Tournament in Hong Kong. All of the tournament's proceeds will be donated to support children orphaned after a recent natural disaster. But someone steals the money and frames the PCs! They need to avoid the cops, clear their names, and stop the bad guys.
Rooftop and market chases, over the top stunts, lots of improvised weapons, and only the bad guys use guns.
Anonymous No.96832589 [Report]
>>96832352
Fag Emblem is a joke.
Anonymous No.96832641 [Report] >>96833115
>>96832229
>>96832235
>In kung-fu stories by contrast, mastering unarmed combat is literally the highest possible expression of martial prowess you can achieve as a warrior.

Not really. In Wuxia and Murim fiction, defeating an armed opponent while unarmed is one of the best demonstrations of skill in martial arts, but it does not make unarmed fighting superior to armed fighting. There is a rule of thumb in eastern martial arts that someone armed with a sword needs to be 3 ranks higher than someone armed with a spear to overcome them and that an unarmed combatant needs to be 3 ranks higher than someone armed with a sword to overcome them. This means that an unarmed combatant with no other advantages overcoming someone armed with a spear is 6 ranks higher than the spear user. Between combatants of similar rank the one better armed is usually considered at an advantage unless the lesser armed individual can find a way to turn things around.
Anonymous No.96833115 [Report] >>96833295
>>96832641
t. never tapped into mushin
Anonymous No.96833166 [Report]
Punchsissies are just masochists with an inferiority complex towards weaponchads
Anonymous No.96833221 [Report] >>96833386
Another aspect of this is that unarmed combat is completely ignored when it comes to non-human PCs. You'd think animal headed humanoids would have some wicked biting abilities nevermind using claws or non-humans with tails allowing them to use them in combat or effect combat in unique ways (Standing up on your tail to put both heels in someone's face)
Anonymous No.96833257 [Report]
>>96803571 (OP)
GURPS has fun stuff thanks to it's granularity. You can make your own maneuvers, and probably, within 2-3 turns Squeeze someone's balls so tight they fall in shock and then gouge their eyes out with your thumbs

alas no one wants to GM gurps.
Anonymous No.96833295 [Report] >>96833332
>>96833115
>t. never tapped into mushin

Entering/achieving a state of mushin/no-mind and similar transformations are usually treated as a form of jumping up the skill ranks.
Anonymous No.96833332 [Report] >>96833583
>>96833295
No-mind is, in practical terms, treating everything in your immediate surroundings as merely provisional. Not necessarily rejecting weapons, but never solely relying on them. That's the way of the empty hand.
Anonymous No.96833386 [Report]
>>96833221
This is all stuff that they do in games already
Anonymous No.96833445 [Report] >>96833540 >>96834242
>>96832229
>unarmed combat is literally the highest possible expression of martial prowess you can achieve as a warrior
No? Mastery is being able to turn anything into a weapon.
Anonymous No.96833540 [Report] >>96833593
>>96833445
No
Anonymous No.96833583 [Report]
>>96833332
That is a state of no-mind, but is not the only form that no-mind takes. The concept applies to all forms of combat not just unarmed.
Anonymous No.96833587 [Report] >>96833609
>>96803571 (OP)
> Pathfinder
> Unarmed Fighter (fighter archtype)
> Spend starting GP on elaborate wrestling mask
> Chaotic Good luchador bro
> OLE to adventure
> Wrasslin' every medium-sized to large creature we meet
> Druid buffs me with Nat AC spells while Cleric smacks his shield like a gong at every initiative
> Every mage I grapple with I roll to pin or put my fingers in their mouths (no more somatic/verbal spellcasting)
> Literally bully the micro-boss to tears during our fight
Anonymous No.96833593 [Report] >>96834200 >>96834242
>>96833540
Yes.
Anonymous No.96833609 [Report]
>>96833587
wow, what a waste of a character slot.
Anonymous No.96834200 [Report]
>>96833593
No
Anonymous No.96834242 [Report]
>>96833445
>>96833593
>tfw some random vagabond blows your friend's head up with A FUCKING STICK
Anonymous No.96840193 [Report] >>96841873
>>96803571 (OP)
https://alchemistnocturne.blogspot.com/2023/04/bx-monk.html

I made an OSR monk. Never used it but im sure is better than all the crappy ones i saw
Anonymous No.96841873 [Report]
>>96840193
>I made
You misspelled "They," retard. On something you published.
Anonymous No.96843605 [Report]
Anonymous No.96846766 [Report]
>>96818456
Punching dragons is obviously fine, of course.
Anonymous No.96848354 [Report]
bump
Anonymous No.96852903 [Report] >>96853023
>>96817965
Which game is this?
>>96807860
+1 for Cyberpunk 2020. Like everything combat related, it's relatively simple but straightforward and grounded.
Anonymous No.96853023 [Report]
>>96852903
Prowlers and Paragons.
Anonymous No.96853113 [Report]
>>96804196
Cyberpunk RED does unarmed attacks in a fun way

Martial Arts matter a lot more when you're cyber'd up to the gills and with multiple martial arts available you can have interesting combinations like full grappling. or combining boxing with drunken fist to break someone's jaw then jam a pen in their eye
Anonymous No.96853153 [Report]
>>96808466
Not exactly what you answered but in a game of mine. one of the players was a regular old girl that had to fight with a mop against monsters and as she grew in level and equipment. all I did was give her fancier and fancier mops until by the end of it she had a magical +3 mop that behaved pretty much like a mace. and left NPCs befuddled as to why she just wouldn't buy an actual weapon.

I also made a rogue who's knives were broken swords. and everytime she upgraded her weapons, fate would conspire to break her new swords so she was stuck using them as knives again
Anonymous No.96853406 [Report]
>>96803571 (OP)
I like exalted unarmed combat you can do a lot of very cool stuff as a brawlchad.
Anonymous No.96854827 [Report]
>>96808466
Just buy one or more of Strike, Martial Arts, or Blast with Item and flavor it as using random stuff in the environment.
Anonymous No.96856110 [Report] >>96856124 >>96856125
Don't get me wrong, Pathfinder 1e is dogshit for doing anything that isn't casting spells or wielding the 3 statistically greatest melee weapons in the game, but holy fuck do I love tetori monk so goddamn much.

The whole gimmick is grappling, and eventually being able to get people pinned in a single turn, among other things like grabbing two people at the same time, mix that with the throat slicer feat, and you can get a coup de grace off in 2 turns, provided they can't escape out of it. Makes me feel like a baki character, concaving some monsters skull.
Anonymous No.96856124 [Report] >>96856431
>>96856110
Grappling is underused in martial art movies.

Your character sounds cool but how does that work big big creatures like dinosaurs, giants, and dragons?
Anonymous No.96856125 [Report] >>96856431
>>96856110
So why don't you play a game where you can't be made completely irrelevant by a single casting of force cage?
Anonymous No.96856295 [Report]
>>96818671
I've read the Tough series, the kung fu in there is literally magic.
Oton deflects bullets with his heart.
Anonymous No.96856431 [Report] >>96857397
>>96856124
Generally it works by me staring sadly at my GM until he lands the flying fucker. For an actual answer, pathfinder lets you optimize pretty much anything to retarded lengths, at level 10 I had a +31 to grappling and could make multiple attempts per turn, not including just using a scroll of true strike or having some buff from our cleric. Using a T-Rex as an example, I gotta roll an 8 or higher to successfully grab him. This of course doesn't stop him from just biting half my health off, but all the same.

>>96856125
I'm not playing 5e though, force cage can be beaten with a reflex save. Similarly it only blocks ethereal creatures, as early as a level 2 spell, or the inbuilt abundant step of a level 12 monk gets you straight out of it.

As I reminisce I realize Tetori is supposed to be a sumo wrestler or japanese inspired thing, my dumbass was playing a Not!mesoamerican luchador.
Anonymous No.96856474 [Report] >>96857404
>>96809770
>Realistic unarmed combat in GURPS really fucking sucks when going against armed combatants, but that's a feature not a flaw.
In my experience the thing you need most to be an effective unarmed combatant in semi-realistic GURPS is for your character to be a full on balls to the wall crazy motherfucker who puts keeping up momentum in a fight over everything else. You are pretty fragile but if you strike first and make sure it is the last strike of a fight it works, and you just don't stop. For all that unarmed guys have trouble with weapons most of your opponents are also pretty fragile - a strike to a head, knee, groin and so on would put them down.

Slap some gauntlets and metal shod boots and it's gonna be painful for everyone involved. Even heavily armored guys have a true advantage only until grab their weapon hand.
Anonymous No.96856498 [Report]
>>96826188
Well, it was pretty good in Cyberpunk 2020 too. You could kill a man with a single punch or in case of borgs you could learn Panzerfaust and blow up tanks by jump kicking them.
Anonymous No.96857397 [Report]
>>96856431
Of course, if you fail the save, there is nothing you can do to interact with the effect. lol
Anonymous No.96857404 [Report]
>>96856474
So do you need to end fights in one hit or do you need to maintain momentum?
Anonymous No.96857746 [Report]
>>96816782
Why were you trying to endanger a child?
Anonymous No.96864837 [Report]
>>96808466
Cosmere RPG just lets you substitute in whatever statblock fits what you're using, but applies the Fragile trait. That means you can effectively use any non-magical weapon type with the right substitution, but shit has a risk of breaking and leaving you unarmed again. What's wild is that Improvised Weapon Expertise counts as having Expertise in ANY weapon which's statblock you end up getting, so you're just ridiculously versatile. Sharp rick? That's a dagger. Mop? That's a staff. Heavy beer mug? That's a club. Stool? You got yourself a shield. And aside from being at risk of breaking, they're all just as good as regular store-bought weapons.

Improvised Weapon rules also apply when using an actual weapon in a non-standard way, like clobbering someone with a crossbow. Critically this means you can also imitate unorthodox grips like mordhau for a club statline, ice pick gripping a spear for the dagger statline, force-wielding a greatsword like a longsword so you have a free hand for magic, etc.

Speaking of magic, one type lets you shape cloth into improvised weapons without the Fragile trait, so you just become the master of "Don't Want No Trouble".