Lisa's Dojo
Lisa's Dojo contains Lisa Chan's collected martial arts wisdom.
Offense
1. An effective skill roll greater than 16 is generally unnecessary and wasteful.
A skill of 16 nets the highest possible critical hit chance of 9.26%. Since you cannot score a critical hit on a 7 or higher, having an effective skill of 17 or 18 does not improve this. A skill of 16 also reduces critical failure chance to 0.46%, down from 1.85% for an effective skill of 7-15 since, for an effective skill of 16+, a 17 becomes a normal failure and only an 18 results in a critical failure.
2. Always make a deceptive attack if your skill is 20 or higher and you cannot think of any other special attack to use.
As a consequence of Rule 1, rolling an ordinary attack against an effective skill of 20 is never better than attempting a deceptive attack at an effective skill of 16. This assumes a static -4 penalty to hit for a penalty of -2 imposed on your opponent's defense.
3. Choose only one or two techniques to specialize in, or at most three in special circumstances, assuming they aren't all hard techniques. Otherwise, it is better to improve your overall skill.
It is pointless to spend points in many different techniques. Raising four average techniques one level each has the same result and costs the same number of points as raising the base skill. Think about what technique(s) you would like to specialize in and build around that.
4. A kick does more damage than a punch, but is riskier to use.
A punch starts at thrust-1; a kick starts at thrust. Bonuses for skilled fighters add to that. Kicking defaults to skill-2, so is generally harder to land. But, even assuming the same effective skill with Kicking and punching, a kick carries the additional risk of the possibility of falling when you miss or the opponent dodges. Even with an effective skill of 16, the chance to fall down on a miss is 1.85%.
5. Knee Strikes, Uppercuts, and Exotic Hand Strikes do the same damage as kicks.
These three techniques all strike as hard as kicks, but also lack the reach of a kick. If reach is not a concern, however, any of these can deal the same damage as a kick without the risk of falling down on a missed attack. Exotic Hand Strikes carry additional risks against armored opponents. All three of these skills also have a higher default than Kicking.
6. Targeted attacks are almost mandatory against armored foes and in high TL scenarios.
Unarmed strikes can be highly ineffective against heavily armored opponents. In such cases, it is mandatory to strike at any area that is unarmored, or try to target chinks in armor or weapons to disarm opponents. Targeted attacks are also effective at bringing down an effective skill to 16 in the case of a highly skilled fighter. Strikes to the joints (-5 for arm or leg joint; -7 for hand or foot joint) are good for ending fights fast by crippling an opponent in one shot.
7. Do not target the skull unless you are prepared to kill your opponent.
A skull shot always has the potential to kill. A critical hit to the skull can potentially kill even an armored opponent.
8. Try not to get parried by weapons.
Being parried by a weapon can be debilitating, because the opponent has the potential to inflict full swing damage to your hand or arm. Deceptive attacks and Counterattacks can make it difficult for an opponent to successfully parry. Against a less-skilled opponent, make liberal use of Feints.
9. Counterattack is among the most valuable techniques to train.
Counterattack is, without training, an inferior option to Deceptive Attacks. At default level, a Counterattack trades a -5 to hit for a -2 to the opponent's defenses. It can be used in conjunction with a Deceptive Attack but, it should never be used in place of one unless you have trained the technique up to at least default+2. It is worth training Counterattack all the way up and using it with every strike. If an opponent has a defense of 12, he will normally successfully parry 74.07% of the time. A Deceptive Attack drops this to 50%. A Deceptive Attack in conjunction with a Counterattack drops this to 25.93%. Even with this degree of difficulty for your opponent, it is still a risky proposition to attack him if he is armed.
10. Defensive Feints can cause your opponent to critically miss with high frequency.
The best way to defeat an armed opponent can be to allow him to defeat himself. If you make use of Defensive Feints, you can theoretically reduce his effective skill to the point that he critically misses on a roll of 13+, a 16.2% proposition. This is especially effective against a less skilled opponent who is using a weapon you do not want to be parried by. A series of Defensive Feints until he critically misses could leave him disarmed or otherwise hampered, providing you with an opening to launch an attack.
11. Feel free to use Committed Attacks if you have a high defense and are not facing multiple opponents.
If you defend at 14+ without retreating, the loss of the retreat option and the -2 penalty to your defense from making a Committed Attack can be worth it, especially if it lets you get into range with a double step and attack when you normally could not, or take the +2 to hit in order to stack on Counterattack and Deceptive Attack bonuses, or Rapid Strikes with Feints, or any other tactic that makes sense in the context of the encounter. If you defend at 18+ and are not planning to make use of Aggressive Parries, you should make a Committed Attack every time.
12. Never grapple when faced with multiple opponents.
This should be obvious, but, in case it isn't, grappling is generally not a great idea when facing more than one opponent. The reason is that you will often be forced to release your grapple to dodge and retreat or parry, meaning you wasted your time establishing the grapple in the first place. An exception would be if you could use a grapple against a leader to get other attackers to stand down, or if you have almost no way to injure your opponents because they have too much armor, but the armor is flexible and grappling locks could still inflict damage.
13. When faced with multiple opponents, try to knock one prone or cripple a leg.
Sweeps, Trips, and other methods of knocking opponents down are worthwhile tactics when faced with more than one opponent. This can buy you time to face off against one for a moment while the other spends time getting to his feet. Similarly, an attack at the leg or feet joints can quickly render an opponent ineffective. You can step away and then fight the other alone.
14. Use Ear Claps and Eye Rakes to buy time.
An Ear Clap or Eye Rake can quickly render an opponent ineffective. This is another way to even the odds against multiple attackers, or to quickly pacify someone you don't want to seriously injure. For characters with low ST and/or high skill, Ear Clap is far more likely to work.
15. Protect your limbs.
Expanding on Rule 8, it is imperative to protect your limbs in general. Your hands, feet, arms, and legs are your weapons. When they are injured or disabled, your ability to effectively take on opponents is diminished or eliminated. In high TL worlds, buying light, flexible limb armor is a must. Getting parried by a weapon is a lot less painful if you have a substantial amount of DR from your armor (though still not advised!). In low TL games, where armor conducive to martial arts is in short supply, the Trained by a Master advantage gains extra value by way of opening the door to Iron Arms, Hands, Legs, and Feet. Even a single point of DR can give meaningful protection in instances where you hit someone who has DR, and can turn a debilitating parry against your unarmed strike into merely an injurious and painful one. For this reason, shoes and boots, as well as making use of elbow and shin strikes also help preserve limb functionality.
16. Use Hammer Fist for extra safety.
Following from Rules 8 and 15, Hammer Fist is another good way to prevent injury to yourself. If you're not sure about your opponent's armor and believe you might get hurt, open with a Hammer Fist or two to test the waters. If you know you're up against armor and are strong enough that the DR you have won't protect in the case of striking enemy DR, use a Hammer Fist to soften the damage to yourself.
17. If you rely on mobility, learn Acrobatic Stand
It is an expensive proposition to get the Acrobatic Stand technique to a usable level, but it is important for any mobility-based fighters to be able to regain their feet fast. This is especially the case in worlds where ranged weapons are common. The higher the TL, the more deadly the weapons, so the greater the imperative to dodge and drop instead of just dodge against ranged attacks. Thus, the value of Acrobatic Stand increases as TL increases. Being good at Acrobatic Stand also implies being good at Acrobatics as well, which carries further benefits for mobility-based fighters, such as acrobatic dodges, evasion, and attacks.
18. When given an opening, be aggressive.
When you receive an opening, such as from an opponent losing his weapon, being stunned, or falling prone, do not fail to take full advantage. This will often mean choosing an All-Out Attack and making a Rapid Strike. Make use of Telegraphed Attacks in order to offset any penalties you accrue from Rapid Strikes or targeting specific hit locations. In the case of disarmed or prone opponents, consider Committed Attacks to achieve the same, but leave yourself able to defend in case they get a lucky shot from the ground or with a punch after losing their weapon. Remember, a stunned opponent has no way to attack you on his next turn, barring him having exceptional powers such as Altered Time Rate. At best, he will no longer be stunned if he shakes it off. At worst, he remains stunned and you can continue the barrage. If you have even a second to attack aggressively, your goal should be to end the fight on the spot, either by disabling your opponent, disarming him entirely, restraining him, or rendering him unconscious.
19. Do not underestimate surprise.
If you have an opportunity to surprise a foe, do not pass it up lightly. Surprise is a form of opening and, much as with the scenarios described in Rule 18, surprise should be optimized. Do not fight half-heartedly against an opponent who is momentarily surprised. If you do not defeat him immediately, you will have to face his counterattack in the upcoming seconds. In the case of total surprise, there is no excuse for letting the fight linger beyond your opening salvo. In the case of partial surprise, even against veteran combatants, you will get at least one second of unanswered attacks, again barring your opponents possessing extraordinary powers. Much of the Art of War is spent discussing the value of surprise, and little about this has changed in the intervening millennia.
20. Do not get fancy in conditions of darkness.
Darkness affects your ability to attack and defend. Starlight carries a -7 penalty to your skill, which could lower your defenses by -3 if your skill is an odd number or -4 if it is even. Candlelight or moonlight carries a penalty of -5, resulting in a defense penalty of -3 or -2, and torchlight carries a penalty of -3 to skill, resulting in a -2 or -1 penalty to defend. If your base skill is 16 and you have (wisely) trained your Combat Reflexes, this means your parry is normally 12. Your parry and retreat is 15. These have success percentages of 74.07% and 95.37%, respectively. However, if you are hit with a -4 penalty to defense from fighting under conditions of starlight intensity, your parry drops to 8, and your parry and retreat drops to 11, giving you success chances of 25.93% and 62.50%, respectively. Even though you will want to improve your attack chances when faced with low chances of landing hits, it is important to remember that, with your defenses being impaired, it is prudent to retain the retreat option (so be sparing with Committed Attacks) and it is wise to consider Defensive Attacks. Defensive Feints become especially powerful if your opponent is also hampered by darkness, as they can make the possibility of him rolling a critical miss higher. Taking this approach may lengthen fights, but if you are properly conditioned with a lot of energy, you can hold your opponent off until an opportunity presents itself.
21. Darkness doesn't impair you from twisting someone's arm.
If you are a grappler, conditions of darkness present an opportunity to make better use of your grappling techniques relative to your striking techniques. While it is harder to successfully land a grapple, once you have, the darkness does not impair you from initiating a lock or applying pressure once a lock is in place. You can enjoy your full level of ability, while your opponent's attempts at flailing around and hitting you with a lucky shot will be impaired by the darkness, as well as the pain you are inflicting on him. He can attempt to break out as easily as before but, if you're better trained, or if he is primarily a striker or armed fighter, your advantages will mount up.
Defense
1. Never forget to retreat.
This is self-explanatory. If you use a mobility-based style, such as Karate, Judo, or Boxing, your retreat bonus to parry is one of your greatest defensive assets. Unless you have some reason that you cannot give ground, always retreat unless you already defend at an effective skill of 16+.
2. Make use of Sideslips and Slips if you use a mobility-based martial art.
If you do not need the full retreat bonus or would be better tactically served by moving to the side instead of away, use a sideslip. If you want to close the gap between you and your opponent because he has a reach 1+ weapon, slip in. The penalties you accrue from these may be prohibitive for people using Brawling or Wrestling, but they should always be considered in the case of people using Karate, Judo, or Boxing.
3. If your skill is good enough, always use aggressive parries.
If you can get an effective defense over 16 in a given situation without retreating, there is no reason not to use an aggressive parry. Even with a lower parry skill, it is sometimes a good idea to gamble and make an aggressive parry.
4. Against multiple attackers, it is better to spread bonuses around.
If you are up against multiple opponents and can use retreats, extra effort, and/or All-Out Defense for a +3, +2, and +2 in the same turn, expend your best bonus against the first hit that lands, but don't stack them all up, unless you have reason to believe one or more of your opponents is unlikely to hit, or in the case that one opponent's attack is far more damaging than the other two. For instance, if your base defense is 11, it is better to defend at 14, 13, and 13 than at 16, 13, and 11 against relatively equal foes, each who has a decent chance to hit. Against opponents who are 50% or less likely to hit, it is better to stack two bonuses against the first hit. In the case that the first attack misses and the second hits, expend the retreat and All-Out Defense bonuses against it, leaving open the possibility of not expending a fatigue point for extra effort in case the final attack misses.