Quite some time back, I introduced you to a project that I had begun work on several years ago before it was lost in the hustle and bustle of life and other projects coming along. Well, superheroes have been on my mind quite a bit recently, given the fact that “Gamers, Assemble!” was announced as the theme for Gamer Nation Con 6. I’ve also recently been drawn back towards the AGE system with the release of the Fantasy AGE Companion from Green Ronin Publishing. Naturally, this project is where my mind gravitated towards while reading through some
The big thing I’ve been focusing on lately is the basic talent and focus lists as well as basic things like character equipment. In the last post I had talked about doing away with specific weapon types in favor of broad categories so that it didn’t matter so much what your hero chose to wield (if they chose to wield a weapon at all), they can simply describe what they want to wield. There is little mechanical difference between Deadpool’s katana and Mjolnir (at least in terms of how much damage they do – they are both “Heavy Melee” weapons that deal 2d6+3 damage. The nine “weapon groups” are: Unarmed, Light Improvised, Light Melee, Light Thrown, Heavy Improvised, Heavy Melee, Heavy Thrown, Light Ranged, and Heavy Ranged
Given that, there had to be a slight change tothe combat style talents. The ten distinct combat styles have turned to seven, three of them being different variations of unarmed fighting, which will be explored below.
Archery Style, Firearm Style, and Thrown Weapon Style all get combined into Ranged Combat Style that broadly affect how characters operate at a range no matter what they are using. Dual Weapon Style becomes Two Weapon Style. Since there are no minimum Strength requirements for weapons, the only caveat is that one weapon must be a Light Melee weapon. Polearm Style and Mounted Combat Style both disappear. Two-Hander Style becomes Heavy Weapon Style and Single Weapon Style stays the same. Finally, Unarmed Combat Style is split into three different kinds of unarmed combat styles that I created whole cloth to cover a few different styles of combat and give them some distinct flavor – a defense and knockout focused Boxing style, a fast and threatening Martial Arts style, and a sneaky and dirty Street Fighting style.
Boxing
Classes: Acrobat and Bruiser
Requirement: Strength 2 or higher
You are trained in the “sweet science” of boxing and are an effective hand to hand fighter when facing a single opponent.
Novice: You are capable of dishing out serious damage with your fists. You deal +1 damage with your unarmed strikes.
Journeyman: You are skilled at using your gloves and your arms to protect your body from attacks. You may perform the Defensive Stance stunt for 1 stunt point instead of 2 when fighting unarmed.
Master: You know how to go for the knockout. You can perform the Lethal Blow stunt for 4 stunt points instead of 5 when fighting unarmed.
Martial Arts
Classes: Acrobat and Bruiser
Requirement: Dexterity 2 or higher
You are trained in one or more types of martial art such as karate or kung fu.
Novice: Your hands and feet are weapons in their own right. Whenever you are fighting unarmed, you deal 1d6 damage instead of 1d3.
Journeyman: Your strikes are fast as lightning, and it is in fact more than a little bit frightening. You can perform the Threaten stunt for 1 stunt point instead of 2 when fighting unarmed.
Master: Speaking of those lightning quick strikes, you can launch a veritable flurry of blows against an opponent. When you use the Lightning Attack stunt while fighting unarmed, you can pay 4 stunt points instead of 3 and make two extra attacks against the same enemy or a different one within range and sight.
Street Fighting
Classes: Acrobat and Bruiser
Requirement: Accuracy 2 or higher
You learned how to fight on the street, doing whatever it takes to win.
Novice: There is advantage in numbers, and you have learned to fight as a part of a small gang or team. You can perform the Set Up stunt for 2 stunt points instead of 3.
Journeyman: You are always looking to capitalize on mistakes your opponent has made. You can perform the Seize the Initiative stunt for 3 stunt points instead of 4.
Master: You know just where to strike to cause the most damage. When you perform the Pierce Armor stunt with any type of light weapon, your damage is penetrating. (That stunt normally halves your opponent’s armor rating, but penetrating damage allows you to ignore it altogether).
Ben Erickson
