Unarmed Combat

Sometimes you have to fight with-out weapons, or with improvised weapons. This is unarmed combat.

Anyone can engage in unarmed combat, but certain skills make you a more effective unarmed fighter. For this purpose:

• Striking skills are Boxing, Brawling, and Karate.

• Grappling skills are Judo, Sumo Wrestling, and Wrestling.

Striking

See the Melee Weapon Table for the reach, damage, etc., of punches, kicks, bites, and other unarmed strikes. 

For additional options, see Sample Combat Techniques and Special Unarmed Combat Techniques. And see Hurting Yourself for the effects of striking an armored target barehanded.

Hurting Yourself

Any time you strike unarmed (with bare hands, feet, fangs, etc.) and hit a target with DR 3+, you may hurt your-self! 

For every 5 points of basic damage you roll, you take one point of crushing damage, up to a maximum equal to the DR of the target you hit. Apply this damage to the body part you used to attack, if you are using hit locations. 

Your own DR protects against this damage. 

Exception: This rule does not apply to any portion of the target’s DR that has the Tough Skin limitation.

Grabbing

You can grab something a foe is holding, like a weapon. 

To do so, you must have an empty hand (but some weapons, such as whips, can also grab). 

Make an attack using DX or a grappling skill, with the usual penalty to hit the hand (-4). Your opponent defends normally. If you hit, you’ve grabbed hold of your foe’s weapon. On subsequent turns, you may try to wrest it from him. 

Each attempt is a full-turn maneuver. Roll a Regular Contest of ST:

If you win, you take his weapon away. 

If you lose, you lose your grip on his weapon. 

Slam

You can deliberately collide with an opponent. This requires an Attack, All-Out Attack, or Move and Attack maneuver. Roll against DX, Brawling, or Sumo Wrestling to hit. 

Note that the -4 to hit and effective skill cap of 9 for a Move and Attack do not apply to slams.

Your foe may block, dodge, or parry. 

If your foe dodges, you must move at least two yards past him if you have enough movement, which may result in you hitting someone else. 

If you hit, you and your foe each inflict dice of crushing damage on the other equal to (HP x velocity)/100. 

“Velocity” is usually just the number of yards you moved this turn – but in a head-on collision, add the distance your foe moved toward you on his last turn (that is, use relative velocity). 

If damage is less than 1d:

• fractions up to 0.25 as 1d-3, 

• fractions up to 0.5 as 1d-2, 

• fractions up to 0.75 as 1d-1. 

• And larger fractions as a full die. 

You can use All-Out Attack (Strong) to increase your damage! 

If your damage roll equals or exceeds that of your foe, he must make a DX roll or fall down. 

You knock him down automatically if you roll twice his damage or more. 

If he rolls twice your damage or more, though, you fall down instead! 

If your opponent dodged and you went past him and hit a solid obstacle, apply your damage roll to yourself (and to the obstacle, if it matters).

You can also slam with a vehicle or mount. Roll against your vehicle-operation skill to hit with a vehicle, or Riding skill to hit with a mount. Figure damage based on the HP of your vehicle or mount. 

For additional rules and special cases, see Collisions and Falls (p. 430). 

Flying Tackle

As slam, but you must have at least two legs and one arm free – most animals and vehicles can’t do this! A flying tackle gives you +4 to hit and an extra yard of reach, and you may opt to roll against Jumping skill to hit. However, whether you succeed or fail, you end up lying down (in the same hex as your foe, if you are using a combat map). 

Pounce

As flying tackle, but you must have four or more legs. After you attack, make a DX, Acrobatics, or Jumping roll. On a success, you stay on your feet! This is how some animals attack, especially cats: they knock down their foe and then claw or bite. If a mount tries this, the rider must roll vs. Riding-4 or fall off! 

Shield Rush

As slam, but you must have a shield. Roll against Shield skill to hit, and add your shield’s Defense Bonus to your damage roll. Your shield takes damage instead of you, but you still fall down if your opponent rolls twice your basic damage or more.

Shove

You can shove a foe with one or both arms. Roll against DX or Sumo Wrestling to hit. Your foe may block, dodge, or parry. If you hit, roll thrust/crushing damage – at -1 per die, if you used only one hand – and double it. This inflicts knockback (see Knockback, p. 378), but never actual physical injury.

Special Unarmed Combat Techniques

Here are some additional options for unarmed fighters who are not content merely to punch, kick, and grapple. Most require Brawling, Judo, Karate, or Wrestling skill. 

You can improve your ability with some of these techniques – see Sample Combat Techniques.

• Elbow Strike

You can attack an enemy behind you in close combat by jabbing backward with your elbow. Roll against Brawling-2 or Karate-2 to hit. There is no modifier for not facing the enemy, but apply an extra -1 to hit if you target a specific hit location. On a hit, roll your usual punching damage. Treat an elbow strike at a foe in front of you as a normal punch.

• Knee Strike

This is a vicious, snapping blow with the knee. Unlike a kick, it only has reach C. Roll against Brawling-1 or Karate-1 to hit. If you have grappled your target, he defends at -2, and if you grappled from the front, you may attack his groin with no penalty! On a hit, roll your usual kicking damage.

• Lethal Strike

This is a blow that focuses all of your strength onto a single narrow point: a toe, a few stiffened fingers, etc. It is an option for any punch or kick with Karate. Roll against Karate to hit, but at -2 over and above any other penalties. You get -1 to damage, but your blow is piercing instead of crushing. This lets you target the vitals or eyes! There is a down side: the Hurting Yourself rule (p. 379) applies if your target has DR 1+ (as opposed to DR 3+). 

• Trampling

You can trample a victim if your Size Modifier exceeds his by 2 or more – or by only 1, if he’s lying prone and you’re not. Trampling is a melee attack: roll vs. the higher of DX or Brawling to hit. The victim’s only legal defense is a dodge. If you hit, you inflict thrust/crushing damage based on your ST; if you have Hooves, add +1 per die of damage. If you knock down a foe in a collision or slam and keep on moving, you automatically overrun and trample your opponent. Do not make any attack or defense rolls – roll damage immediately, based on half your ST, rounded down. In all cases, if your SM exceeds your victim’s by 3 or more, don’t worry about hit location – your attack counts as a large-area injury.