We Gots The Skills

[Sambot]

A Big Book of Skills would be cool. There are already books focused on magic, so unless they do a Magic Unlimited with magic more geared towards Heroes Unlimited, not really interested in that.

That's what I mean. Besides that there's probably enough magic for another book it could include conversions to and from other games.

[Sambot]

Lots of nice skills in the Black Vault. Is it okay to ask questions and make suggestions?

In regards to the Massage Skill. I don't understand the 1d4 PE. I would have thought it'd restore SDC. Or MDC if an MDC Character.

May I suggest;
As a secondary skill they practitioner can give a nice massage but they don't know all the details listed in the skill such as anatomy. A professional should get a bonus to reflect their training. They'd know anatomy, when not to give a massage as well as regulations and laws covering their practice. I would also remove the chiropractor part. There is some overlap chiropractic medicine requires a lot more training. The professional would also be trained in a few different techniques but not necessarily everything. I'd pick one as main focus and a couple secondary ones with a reduced bonus. If they want to learn other types they can select the skill again.

May I also suggest that the effects to the client be tied to the practitioner's skill percentage? Like 1 hour for ever 5% the practitioner has on a successful roll?

May I also suggest that Chiropractic Medicine be a separate skill? Here's a couple wiki pages on them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massage
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic


Dancing
I don't know why but I would think that regular dancing should give a +1 to PP and +1 to PE. I would also think that it would not only be a cultural skill but a physical one as well.

Body Art
The knowledge of various ways to decorate the body. Each type is a different skill. I would put the skill percentage at 25%-40% +5% per level depending on the type of art.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_art
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_modification

[drewkitty ~..~]

Dancing.....
In the Go Mental R19 article Dancing only gives a temp +1 MA with a successful roll, a temp +2 if the roll was 01-10% . And a temp -1 on a nat 100% roll.

Ballet and Marathon Dancing are their own skills with this article. With some physical skills like bonuses.

[taalismn]

Lots of nice skills in the Black Vault. Is it okay to ask questions and make suggestions?

In regards to the Massage Skill. I don't understand the 1d4 PE. I would have thought it'd restore SDC. Or MDC if an MDC Character.

I regard PE points like a bank of endurance. Though it's not spelled out in RUE how long a person can go doing strenuous activity, except for running, I believe it used to be in the original edition that they indicated how long somebody could go without rest/engage in strenuous activity..
In my games, I had players, if they were doing things like running a marathon or pulling all-nighter-round-the-clockers, keep track of their P.E. points versus how much Time/distance they'd spent running/burning muscle(so hauling ass at top speed for a mile would eat up 6 P.E. points), and then how long it would take them to recover (note that this temporary drawing down of P.E. would not affect SDC/Hit Points or save bonuses, just how soon they could get back into the grind.

Sloppy, yes, and well into house rules territory, in retrospect, but I was trying to work around fatigue rates.
For that reason I don't see Massage as restoring SDC/MDC, since it's not regenerating damaged tissues, it's simply relaxing tension and taking the edge off fatigue, allowing a PC to go a little longer before they need proper rest to recharge their batteries. .

I did like the Anatomy bonus though, having heard enough horror stories about chiropractors accidentally doing damage to a patient..

[Sambot]

Dancing.....
In the Go Mental R19 article Dancing only gives a temp +1 MA with a successful roll, a temp +2 if the roll was 01-10% . And a temp -1 on a nat 100% roll.

Ballet and Marathon Dancing are their own skills with this article. With some physical skills like bonuses.

Thanks. I just looked at them and I don't understand the MA bonus.

The other Dancing skills make sense but I would still think that Dancing would still give some bonuses. Not as much as those but some.

[Sambot]

Lots of nice skills in the Black Vault. Is it okay to ask questions and make suggestions?

In regards to the Massage Skill. I don't understand the 1d4 PE. I would have thought it'd restore SDC. Or MDC if an MDC Character.

I regard PE points like a bank of endurance. Though it's not spelled out in RUE how long a person can go doing strenuous activity, except for running, I believe it used to be in the original edition that they indicated how long somebody could go without rest/engage in strenuous activity..
In my games, I had players, if they were doing things like running a marathon or pulling all-nighter-round-the-clockers, keep track of their P.E. points versus how much Time/distance they'd spent running/burning muscle(so hauling ass at top speed for a mile would eat up 6 P.E. points), and then how long it would take them to recover (note that this temporary drawing down of P.E. would not affect SDC/Hit Points or save bonuses, just how soon they could get back into the grind.

Sloppy, yes, and well into house rules territory, in retrospect, but I was trying to work around fatigue rates.
For that reason I don't see Massage as restoring SDC/MDC, since it's not regenerating damaged tissues, it's simply relaxing tension and taking the edge off fatigue, allowing a PC to go a little longer before they need proper rest to recharge their batteries. .

It's been a while but PE is endurance. How long one can do something depends on their PE. SDC/Hit Points/MDC is injury. If a character pushes their PE, PS or PP, they risk injury. That injury is reflected in decreased SDC/Hit Points/MDC. The injury could result in a lower PE, PS or PP. For example a person sprains their ankle. They suffer 6 SDC for it and lower PE, PS, and PP because they can't put their full weight on it.

Also Massage is more than just relaxation and tension relief. That's more like the secondary skill where someone's just giving a back rub. A real massage will aid in healing and even help prevent injury. Done badly though can actually cause injury or make the injury worse. That's why you have to take classes for it.

I did like the Anatomy bonus though, having heard enough horror stories about chiropractors accidentally doing damage to a patient..

Anatomy bonus? I've heard some horror stories too. I've also seen some videos and there's no way I'd ever let someone do that to me. I do know though that Anatomy is a requirement for Massage. At least it was when I was taking classes. We'd learn one section of the body and then how to and how not to massage that part of the body. We didn't learn how to pop joints. If it happened it happened but learning to do that wasn't in any massage class I had.

[taalismn]

[quote="SambotIt's been a while but PE is endurance. How long one can do something depends on their PE. SDC/Hit Points/MDC is injury. If a character pushes their PE, PS or PP, they risk injury. That injury is reflected in decreased SDC/Hit Points/MDC. The injury could result in a lower PE, PS or PP. For example a person sprains their ankle. They suffer 6 SDC for it and lower PE, PS, and PP because they can't put their full weight on it. quote]


That holds true for gross physical injury, but I've never seen it laid out that exertion/fatigue burns SDC.
And while a sprained ankle may reduce your SDC and Speed, it doesn't necessarily affect your P.E.; you would still have your muscle tone* and endurance that you might apply to rigorous use of your arms.
Now if you were laid up for weeks or months in bed, you might suffer muscle atrophy and fall out of same, losing P.S. and P.E. , but that doesn't factor much in Palladium RPGs(aside from coma cases). Generally SDC/Hit Points are used for figuring how many shots a character can take before going down.

*Though the case could be made that if you didn't distribute your exercise, you might have horse-like muscular legs..... and tyrannosaur wimpy arms incapable of doing much. Aside from Body Hardening exercises in Ninjas & Superspies, however, Palladium doesn't make such distinctions.

But I sense that we're straying away from 'useful skills' and into 'spotty game mechanics' territory here.

[drewkitty ~..~]

Dancing.....
In the Go Mental R19 article Dancing only gives a temp +1 MA with a successful roll, a temp +2 if the roll was 01-10% . And a temp -1 on a nat 100% roll.

Ballet and Marathon Dancing are their own skills with this article. With some physical skills like bonuses.

Thanks. I just looked at them and I don't understand the MA bonus.

The other Dancing skills make sense but I would still think that Dancing would still give some bonuses. Not as much as those but some.

If you are dancing well then people will think you are more personable, way to thought.
or to say it a different way...

If I do something cool then they will like me.

[taalismn]

[
If you are dancing well then people will think you are more personable, way to thought.
or to say it a different way...

If I do something cool then they will like me.

I dunno....you can be technically proficient at dancing, but still come off as unlikable.
"Yes, Emperor Palpatine, you executed the Alderaan Waltz perfectly...but the fact that you did it around the cooling body of the Alderaanian coosul doesn't earn you any points."


It's just that you don't come off making a total buffoon of yourself, or wind up in a possible position of injury("The samba is not supposed to end with your leg tugged up under your armpit, and your other leg wrapped around your neck. Though it is impressive that you managed not to take your ear off with your shoe heel.")

Still, I'd grant a low M.A. bonus(+1, no more)

[drewkitty ~..~]

*shrugs* This is just how I read the subtext of the reasons why they got a temp. attribute rise.

[taalismn]

*shrugs* This is just how I read the subtext of the reasons why they got a temp. attribute rise.

Fair enough, though I'm very likely baised against, because I can't dance and don't particularly like dancing(in person. I rather liked Dancing with the Stars). Or maybe because I've seen too much interpretive dance, leading me to conclude that the definition of dance is largely subjective.

[Sambot]

That holds true for gross physical injury, but I've never seen it laid out that exertion/fatigue burns SDC.
And while a sprained ankle may reduce your SDC and Speed, it doesn't necessarily affect your P.E.; you would still have your muscle tone* and endurance that you might apply to rigorous use of your arms.

It doesn't. The injury did burns the SDC as the SDC/Hit Points represent the body. An injury to it reduces the SDC. Because of the ankle injury you wouldn't be as fast or as agile thus the reduction in PP and PS. It would also effect PE as all your weight is on one leg tiring it out faster.

Of course you could ignore the attribute penalties and push through the pain and move faster but you'd also be causing the injury to worsen burning more SDC and increasing the recovery time.

Now if you were laid up for weeks or months in bed, you might suffer muscle atrophy and fall out of same, losing P.S. and P.E. , but that doesn't factor much in Palladium RPGs(aside from coma cases). Generally SDC/Hit Points are used for figuring how many shots a character can take before going down.

That would be a more extreme example.

*Though the case could be made that if you didn't distribute your exercise, you might have horse-like muscular legs..... and tyrannosaur wimpy arms incapable of doing much. Aside from Body Hardening exercises in Ninjas & Superspies, however, Palladium doesn't make such distinctions.

Maybe if you were a tyrannosaur? Or GM allowed. But I think you're right.

But I sense that we're straying away from 'useful skills' and into 'spotty game mechanics' territory here.

I sense that you are right.

Dancing.....
In the Go Mental R19 article Dancing only gives a temp +1 MA with a successful roll, a temp +2 if the roll was 01-10% . And a temp -1 on a nat 100% roll.

Ballet and Marathon Dancing are their own skills with this article. With some physical skills like bonuses.

Thanks. I just looked at them and I don't understand the MA bonus.

The other Dancing skills make sense but I would still think that Dancing would still give some bonuses. Not as much as those but some.

If you are dancing well then people will think you are more personable, way to thought.
or to say it a different way...

If I do something cool then they will like me.

That could be.

*shrugs* This is just how I read the subtext of the reasons why they got a temp. attribute rise.

Fair enough, though I'm very likely baised against, because I can't dance and don't particularly like dancing(in person. I rather liked Dancing with the Stars). Or maybe because I've seen too much interpretive dance, leading me to conclude that the definition of dance is largely subjective.

[/quote]

There's dance and there's choreography. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-cXP1uDFpA

[drewkitty ~..~]

Question: In the PB games is there an Acting skill? if so where?
Background: I was looking in the Go Mental Rifter article and it mentions an optional bonus for the sorting skill. But I don't remember off hand where it would be.

I know about the impersonation skill.

[Stone Gargoyle]

Lots of nice skills in the Black Vault.

Thanks.

Dancing
I don't know why but I would think that regular dancing should give a +1 to PP and +1 to PE. I would also think that it would not only be a cultural skill but a physical one as well.

Depending on the type of dancing, yes. The Dancing skill as written is too general and doesn't give many bonuses.
But this thread is not meant for all this discussion of game mechanics. Please take it elsewhere. Thanks.

.

[Sambot]

Lots of nice skills in the Black Vault.

Thanks.

Thanks for compiling them.

Dancing
I don't know why but I would think that regular dancing should give a +1 to PP and +1 to PE. I would also think that it would not only be a cultural skill but a physical one as well.

Depending on the type of dancing, yes. The Dancing skill as written is too general and doesn't give many bonuses.
But this thread is not meant for all this discussion of game mechanics. Please take it elsewhere. Thanks.

That's true and why I think it should. Skills are supposed to be things you spend time doing, especially at the professional level. It's like the running skill. People can run, that doesn't mean they go running every day to get a benefit from it.
No problem. Sorry about that.

[Sambot]

Could someone explain the skydiving skill to me. Thanks.

[Stone Gargoyle]

Could someone explain the skydiving skill to me. Thanks.

The skill is basically training in the ability to fall from the sky to minimize injury. It can be taken along with parachuting or by itself for characters who have flight of some kind already. It includes estimating the distance to the ground and positioning one's body to avoid injury.

[Sambot]

Could someone explain the skydiving skill to me. Thanks.

The skill is basically training in the ability to fall from the sky to minimize injury. It can be taken along with parachuting or by itself for characters who have flight of some kind already. It includes estimating the distance to the ground and positioning one's body to avoid injury.

But how's it any different from parachuting? And why would characters who can fly need it?

[Stone Gargoyle]

Could someone explain the skydiving skill to me. Thanks.

The skill is basically training in the ability to fall from the sky to minimize injury. It can be taken along with parachuting or by itself for characters who have flight of some kind already. It includes estimating the distance to the ground and positioning one's body to avoid injury.

But how's it any different from parachuting? And why would characters who can fly need it?

Parachuing doesn't allow you you to ride wind currents. It's simple drop and deploy. As for flying characters needing it, what happens if a character flying with wings gets shot in the wing? Or a character with a exosuit that flies has the Jets fail?

[drewkitty ~..~]

So which skill lets a char to use a wing suit (squirrel suit) to fly into a landing w/o a parachute?

[taalismn]

So which skill lets a char to use a wing suit (squirrel suit) to fly into a landing w/o a parachute?

Modified Skydiving skill maybe? You don't have the same range of motion as a Hang-glider, especially with regards tp coaching thermals and other updrafts.

I'd use the same skill proficiency, except the emphasis is less on not dying at altitude or sudden stop at the end and more on NOT HITTING THAT CLIFF. Landing without a chute(full or drogue) though would constitute a second skil roll at a penalty, depending on local wind conditions and how much velocity the wingsuiter has to bleed off before landing.

But I'm beginning to favor a new skill in this case, though Skydiving would be a prerequisite.

And put it under Physical rather than Pilot.


Good catch there, Drewkitty.

[Stone Gargoyle]

So which skill lets a char to use a wing suit (squirrel suit) to fly into a landing w/o a parachute?

Skydiving and parachuting used in combination maybe. That seems like a complex stunt. T may be right when he says another skill is needed

[Sambot]

Parachuing doesn't allow you you to ride wind currents. It's simple drop and deploy. As for flying characters needing it, what happens if a character flying with wings gets shot in the wing? Or a character with a exosuit that flies has the Jets fail?

If they loose a wing or jet they fall. What does that have to do with using a chute to slow your fall to safe speeds? I'm sorry. I don't understand.

I looked up skydiving in wiki. I got parachuting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachuting

Parachuting is a method of transiting from a high point to Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. It may involve more or less free-falling (the skydiving segment) which is a period when the parachute has not yet been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal velocity.

I suspect you're thinking either paragliding, which is kind of like hang gliding, or wingsuit flying which is done before deploying the chute and is under parachuting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragliding
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingsuit_flying

If I may suggest have the skydiving skill be an add on to parachuting with training in of the styles under competition events and other skydiving disciplines? Kind of like a Doctor specializing in a type of medicine. That way a character can select Parachuting as the prerequisite and then the select Skydiving: Canopy piloting as a specialty.

[Stone Gargoyle]

Parachuing doesn't allow you you to ride wind currents. It's simple drop and deploy. As for flying characters needing it, what happens if a character flying with wings gets shot in the wing? Or a character with a exosuit that flies has the Jets fail?

If they loose a wing or jet they fall. What does that have to do with using a chute to slow your fall to safe speeds? I'm sorry. I don't understand.

I looked up skydiving in wiki. I got parachuting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachuting

Parachuting is a method of transiting from a high point to Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. It may involve more or less free-falling (the skydiving segment) which is a period when the parachute has not yet been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal velocity.

I suspect you're thinking either paragliding, which is kind of like hang gliding, or wingsuit flying which is done before deploying the chute and is under parachuting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragliding
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingsuit_flying

If I may suggest have the skydiving skill be an add on to parachuting with training in of the styles under competition events and other skydiving disciplines? Kind of like a Doctor specializing in a type of medicine. That way a character can select Parachuting as the prerequisite and then the select Skydiving: Canopy piloting as a specialty.

I did the Skydiving skill by request of someone who saw them as being different. If you don't think it is useful, don't use it. I'm not going to spend a lot of board space arguing about it.

[taalismn]

Tractor Beam Operations(Technical)
Expertise in the use and application of space-based directed magnetic or gravitic beams to push or pull masses. Though normally largely computer-directed, manual operation input is still needed to properly direct a tractored mass on a heading or position it as desired. Roll twice; once to achieve lock-on, and the second to achieve the desired effect. A failed lock-on means the tractor beam has missed and the target mass is continuing on unimpeded, while a failed roll after lock-on means the target is out of position, movng too fast/slowly, is tumbling, or is suffering structural damage(typically 1d4x100 SDC/1d4 MD per melee) as a result of the botched lock-on. However, this depends on the sophistication of the system employed(GM’s perogative).
Tractor beams tend to be slower on acquisition and delivering effect to a target, compared to other energy projection systems(weapons), so they make poor weapons, especially with an inexperienced operator. They also tend to be energy-expensive, so few polities try to weaponize them.
Base Skill: 50%+5% per level of experience.
+10% if the Architecture: Zero Gravity skill is also possessed.

[drewkitty ~..~]

Tractor Beam Operations(Technical)
...snip...
Base Skill: 50%+5% per level of experience.
+10% if the Architecture: Zero Gravity skill is also possessed.

Architecture: Zero Gravity....Which is where?

[taalismn]

Tractor Beam Operations(Technical)
...snip...
Base Skill: 50%+5% per level of experience.
+10% if the Architecture: Zero Gravity skill is also possessed.

Architecture: Zero Gravity....Which is where?

http://wiki.thedeificnmi.com/index.php?title=Architecture:_Zero_Gravity

[Stone Gargoyle]

Tractor Beam Operations(Technical)

more like this please. All ship operations need skills.

[drewkitty ~..~]

I don't see any strike bonus within the TB Op skill. Or are you presuming that the Starship Artillery WP covers striking the intended target ship of the TB?

[taalismn]

I don't see any strike bonus within the TB Op skill. Or are you presuming that the Starship Artillery WP covers striking the intended target ship of the TB?

I'm assuming no bonuses for striking, unless the specific system has assisted targeting.
If a tractor beam/towing system is fast/advanced enough to be weaponized, it would use Weapons Systems or Starship Artillery.
Otherwise, it's the same as the systems described in AU Galaxy Guide and Manhunter, which do not have strike bonuses.
The meat of the skill is being able to establish a solid and enduring lock and being able to manipulate both the beam and the tractor mass to put it where you want it.

[abe]

Plastic surgery:a subset of surgery,thusly surgery is a perquisite. %27+5 per level.
Useful skill no?

[13eowulf]

Plastic surgery:a subset of surgery,thusly surgery is a perquisite. %27+5 per level.
Useful skill no?

No.
BUT it is an already existing skill in the books.
N&SS to be precise. But I guess not considered useful enough to be included in any other setting, being covered by other medical skills.

[abe]

From jumanji:dance fighting! It allows you to fight while dancing to music. It can be any form of fighting but it must be done to music and while dancing. Bonuses:+2 to pd,+12% to dancing skill & +2 to strike while dancing. What do you think?

[Stone Gargoyle]

From jumanji:dance fighting! It allows you to fight while dancing to music. It can be any form of fighting but it must be done to music and while dancing. Bonuses:+2 to pd,+12% to dancing skill & +2 to strike while dancing. What do you think?

What is PD? also, you would get a bonus if you have dancing not the other way around. It would be best written up as a Hand To Hand skill, not the way it is written here.

[abe]

From jumanji:dance fighting! It allows you to fight while dancing to music. It can be any form of fighting but it must be done to music and while dancing. Bonuses:+2 to pd,+12% to dancing skill & +2 to strike while dancing. What do you think?

What is PD? also, you would get a bonus if you have dancing not the other way around. It would be best written up as a Hand To Hand skill, not the way it is written here.

I don’t know how to write up a hand-to-hand skill.

[Stone Gargoyle]

From jumanji:dance fighting! It allows you to fight while dancing to music. It can be any form of fighting but it must be done to music and while dancing. Bonuses:+2 to pd,+12% to dancing skill & +2 to strike while dancing. What do you think?

What is PD? also, you would get a bonus if you have dancing not the other way around. It would be best written up as a Hand To Hand skill, not the way it is written here.

I don’t know how to write up a hand-to-hand skill.

It doesn't appear you really know how to write up any skills. Maybe you should spend time actually researching skills rather than just posting the first thing that pops into your head.

[taalismn]

From jumanji:dance fighting! It allows you to fight while dancing to music. It can be any form of fighting but it must be done to music and while dancing. Bonuses:+2 to pd,+12% to dancing skill & +2 to strike while dancing. What do you think?

I think any good martial artist or stuntman would be able to do this already if they wanted, but frankly, if you're trying to fight in time to music, regardless of what you see in the movies and anime, you're going to get your ass kicked by somebody who is concentrating solely on beating the hell out of you(the 'magical musical martial arts sequence battle' is a choreographed schtick). Also, many, if not most, HTH styles do not fit well with music....I have yet to see anybody convincingly fight command samba or greco-roman wrestling style to ballet music.

The only outright festive(and dance-related) HTH style I can immediately think of is caporeia, because of its roots as a secret slave rebellion combat style.

If you were trying for a useful comedic style of melee combat, then it works better if you were to actually devise appropriate martial arts for various specific dance styles, like 'Combat Ballroom Dancing' or 'Battlin' Boogie-Woogie', with combat moves based on the dance moves, rather than trying to affix a 'one-size fits all' tack-on skill that somehow magically transforms jutjitsu into ballet or back alley eye-gouging into square-dancing.

But this cultural digression is a moot point, given that you don't define what 'pd' in your post is.

I'm also with Stone Gargoyle on this: if you're going to write skills of any sort, do familiarize yourself with the game system you're writing for and the topic you're writing about, and think, write, review, revise, and spellcheck, BEFORE trying to post, instead of posting scattershot numbers and words off the top of your head, on topics you don't seem to care enough about to present in more complete terms.

[abe]

Pd is physical dexterity, sorry about the confusion.

[taalismn]

Pd is physical dexterity, sorry about the confusion.

The Palladium term is P.P., that's Physical Prowess.
Please use it henceforth.

[abe]

Goofy walk take 2:you gain +2 to armor via flipping, bending backwards or forwards or such, you gain +2 to ma vs children (by way of looking silly) & you gain 1d4 to pp by having loose joints.
Now some might call this a VERY minor superpower, but with proper training anyone can learn it I figure.
Any thoughts on how to improve upon it?

[Stone Gargoyle]

Goofy walk take 2:you gain +2 to armor via flipping, bending backwards or forwards or such, you gain +2 to ma vs children (by way of looking silly) & you gain 1d4 to pp by having loose joints.
Now some might call this a VERY minor superpower, but with proper training anyone can learn it I figure.
Any thoughts on how to improve upon it?

I can see a person learning to walk funny as part of another skill but I fail to understand how this would be a skill by itself.

[taalismn]

There are words that lose meaning the more they are (ab)used....In this case, 'goofy' loses meaning in its overuse.

And 'gain +2 to armor'? What does that mean?
Because it's very possible that the poster doesn't understand how the Palladium system works, let me reiterate; with regards to 'armor', there are four terms one should know:
-HP(Hit Points)---These are the vital points that can be considered essential to most lifeforms. One's 'core' if you will. Inanimate objects/materials do not have Hit Points, though certain undead creatures(like vampires) DO.

-SDC(Structural Damage Capability)--This is the raw ability to soak up damage in most commonplace and mundane materials and creatures. In beings with HP and SDC, damage comes off SDC first, THEN Hit Points. Certain attacks, such as pathogens and poisons, bypass SDC altogether and go for the HP. SDC can be built up by skills such Body Hardening Exercises.

-Armor Rating(A.R.)---This is a quality of SDC structures, though it doesn't come into practice much except in SDC-based games. It's the initial resistance of a material to being penetrated and blown through to get to the other side. It's how a kevlar bullet-proof vest can absorb a 'dum-dum' bullet round, but can be punched through by a teflon armor-piercer without completely unraveling in the process. Normal beings normally don't have A.R., but SDC beings with carapaces or leathery skin often have Armor Ratings.

-Megadamage(MDC)---This is your big WHAM class of damage that started out as anime-style quickkill/superarmor. MDC weapons make mulch and mist of SDC stuff because they ignore SDC, AR, and HP and just blow $#!* up. Megadamage beings rarely have anything like Hit Points listed because they're so cosmically awesome/hard to kill, as long as they have 1 MDC left, they're likely still moving.

So, returning to the critique...use the appropriate terms when describing a skill.

And frankly I think 'Tumbling', and to a lesser extent Gymnastics, Acrobatics, and Performance cover the same ground already and offer more abilities. And I can get kids to laugh if I take a pie to my face; I don't need training to look silly specifically for kids(or adults).

So ' Goofy walk take 2' falls flat as the first take, whether it meant to or not.
(The Redundancy Hound, dressed as 'Sparky the Wonderdog' from the Siskel & Ebert movie review program, enters the thread and begins hauling away the 'goofy' remains off camera)

[abe]

There are words that lose meaning the more they are (ab)used....In this case, 'goofy' loses meaning in its overuse.

And 'gain +2 to armor'? What does that mean?
Because it's very possible that the poster doesn't understand how the Palladium system works, let me reiterate; with regards to 'armor', there are four terms one should know:
-HP(Hit Points)---These are the vital points that can be considered essential to most lifeforms. One's 'core' if you will. Inanimate objects/materials do not have Hit Points, though certain undead creatures(like vampires) DO.

-SDC(Structural Damage Capability)--This is the raw ability to soak up damage in most commonplace and mundane materials and creatures. In beings with HP and SDC, damage comes off SDC first, THEN Hit Points. Certain attacks, such as pathogens and poisons, bypass SDC altogether and go for the HP. SDC can be built up by skills such Body Hardening Exercises.

-Armor Rating(A.R.)---This is a quality of SDC structures, though it doesn't come into practice much except in SDC-based games. It's the initial resistance of a material to being penetrated and blown through to get to the other side. It's how a kevlar bullet-proof vest can absorb a 'dum-dum' bullet round, but can be punched through by a teflon armor-piercer without completely unraveling in the process. Normal beings normally don't have A.R., but SDC beings with carapaces or leathery skin often have Armor Ratings.

-Megadamage(MDC)---This is your big WHAM class of damage that started out as anime-style quickkill/superarmor. MDC weapons make mulch and mist of SDC stuff because they ignore SDC, AR, and HP and just blow $#!* up. Megadamage beings rarely have anything like Hit Points listed because they're so cosmically awesome/hard to kill, as long as they have 1 MDC left, they're likely still moving.

So, returning to the critique...use the appropriate terms when describing a skill.

And frankly I think 'Tumbling', and to a lesser extent Gymnastics, Acrobatics, and Performance cover the same ground already and offer more abilities. And I can get kids to laugh if I take a pie to my face; I don't need training to look silly specifically for kids(or adults).

So ' Goofy walk take 2' falls flat as the first take, whether it meant to or not.

Sorry, I meant armor rating specifically.

[taalismn]

Sorry, I meant armor rating specifically.

Then it makes even LESS sense; if you're deliberately and specifically exercising to loosen up to be limber and flexible like an eel, your Armor Rating would go DOWN. You're not toughening up, you're loosening up.

[Stone Gargoyle]

Sorry, I meant armor rating specifically.

Then it makes even LESS sense; if you're deliberately and specifically exercising to loosen up to be limber and flexible like an eel, your Armor Rating would go DOWN. You're not toughening up, you're loosening up.

I think what is intended is the absorption and avoidance of damage due to being flexible. The character would be limbering up to be able to take a punch without being damaged. There should be a bonus to Roll With P/F/I in that case, not necessarily armor. It would make an interesting skill if written that way. I don't think it should have been called Goofy Walk 2 because the goofy walk should only be a subability of the skill. I like the idea of limbering as a skill but the skill Goofy Walk 2 as written doesn't explain it very well at all.

[taalismn]

I think what is intended is the absorption and avoidance of damage due to being flexible. The character would be limbering up to be able to take a punch without being damaged. There should be a bonus to Roll With P/F/I in that case, not necessarily armor. It would make an interesting skill if written that way. .

Which would make it an entirely different beast...and something similar to my Screaming Squirrel martial art that trains the person to go limp and be able to sponge hits(up to a point) by meat-cushioning the impact energies.

[Stone Gargoyle]

I think what is intended is the absorption and avoidance of damage due to being flexible. The character would be limbering up to be able to take a punch without being damaged. There should be a bonus to Roll With P/F/I in that case, not necessarily armor. It would make an interesting skill if written that way. .

Which would make it an entirely different beast...and something similar to my Screaming Squirrel martial art that trains the person to go limp and be able to sponge hits(up to a point) by meat-cushioning the impact energies.

Have you posted that here? Screaming Squirrel sounds interesting.

[taalismn]

Have you posted that here? Screaming Squirrel sounds interesting.

It's in the Ninjas & Superspies threads...It was my first attempt at a martial arts, and because I knew I couldn't create a serious hardcore MA, I decided to go full gonzo and write an UNmartial Art of Fleeing....

(Edit: the proper name is Screaming RODENT...sorry, my bad)

[taalismn]

(okay, for convenience's sake, I'm going to repost Screaming Rodent Martial Arts here)

Screaming Rodent Martial Arts
“I’m not running away...I’m repositioning myself to a more secure point of perspective from which to better survey the situation and develop more options...NOW GET OUTTA THE WAY!!!”

Screaming Rodent is an art form centered on survival, rather than doling out massive amounts of damage to other people. It’s for people who are expecting massive amounts of damage to be done to them, and by practicing this art, hope to reduce their chances of being rendered into permanently inanimate red paste.
Screaming Rodent emphasizes running away, and actual damaging combat moves are few and far between; mainly concerned with removing obstacles from your way(like doors) as you run for your life! If you actually manage to hurt someone with Screaming Rodent, it’s most likely because they didn’t get out of your escape route fast enough, rather than any deliberate intent on your part.
Practitioners of Screaming Rodent seem foolhardy, even suicidal; regularly practicing by playing in high speed traffic, running through avalanche zones, tightrope walking on power lines, jumping under machine presses, playing human cannonball, and other stunts that would earn them regular status on ‘Jack@$$’. Practice isn’t always deliberate or planned; there’s usually a bloodthirsty mob, raging angry ex, rabid animal, brakeless careening garbage truck, or Mafia debt enforcer involved. Falling exercises are key to the art. And, true to its name, blood-curdling and heartrending screams are also featured strongly in both practice and combat.
Screaming Rodent is competing with Drunken-style martial arts as the advanced martial arts of ‘serious’ Ludicrous-Mage Warrior-Assassins, though only when they are retreating.
Country of Origin: Canada
Style: (Non-Exclusive) True Fear knows no exclusivity.
Entrance Requirements: None. Novice practitioners often meet their teachers while running away from danger. Provided the novice isn’t tripped or otherwise sacrificed to distract any pursuers, and can keep up with the master, the junior is accepted as a student.
Skill Cost: 6 years(4 years if taken as a Secondary Martial Art Form)
Costume: Anything...as long as it doesn’t trip you up while you’re running for your life.
Stance: Legs set apart, knees slightly bent, hands held up and crooked in front of the chest, shoulders slightly hunched forward, mouth open in a rictus of terror or surprise, and eyes wide open. Ideally, one’s back, the heels of one’s feet showing, is to danger at all times.
Character Bonuses: +1d4 P.E., +1 P.P., +2d4 Spd.
Combat Skills:
Attacks per Melee: Not ATTACKS per say, more like defensive actions. Starts with 4 per melee.
Escape Moves: Roll With Punch/Fall/Impact, Leap, Backflip, Maintain Balance, Somersault
Basic Defensive Moves: Dodge, Parry
Advanced Defenses: Automatic Dodge, Multiple Dodge, Breakfall
Hand Attacks: None
Basic Foot Attacks: Kick, Back Kick
Jumping Foot Attacks: Jump Attack
Special Attacks:
*Heart-Rending Cry of Despair---Similar to the vocal techniques of Kaijutsu, this scream conveys such fear, pain, and suffering that opponents may pause in shock...or savoring appreciation. This may allow the practitioner another few seconds grace to make good on their getaway. Delivered during a long fall, it may also convince pursuers that the fugitive is really dead, and thus call off the pursuit. In game terms, anybody caught in a 40 ft radius of the screamer must save versus M.E. or pause for 1d4 melees, and can only defend themselves from attack, not attack.

Weapons Katas: None

Modifiers to Attacks: Pull Punch, Critical Strike(Kick)

Special Katas:
*Splatfall---This is a meditational skill that allows one to attain a state of apparent relaxed bonelessness. In this state the SRodent practitioner can survive normally fatal falls and impacts, and crushing confinement without ill effect----it still hurts like hell, but the practitioner is less likely to limp away with broken bones and serious internal injuries. A practitioner can survive falls from as far up as 25 ft + 10 ft per level of experience, without taking any damage. Unlike other falling skills, the SRodent practitioner doesn’t immediately jump back on his feet or land lightly, but takes 1d4 melees pulling himself up out of the ground/peeling himself off the concrete.

*Hang Time---It’s like falling, only slower...Whether it’s latent telekinetic levitation or fear-amplified senses telescoping time, the SRodent practitioner takes twice as long to fall from a given height. While this gives the practitioner extended time in which to appreciate their predicament, it can also give them more time to look around, maybe adjust their posture for a better landing, or even make a grab at a nearby ledge, tree, or line. Usually, though, all it does is allow the faller to update their will and pop an Advil.

*Vertical Leap---SRodent students learn to make instant standing straight-up vertical leaps, of up to 1 ft per every 2 pts of physical strength(P.S). Practice is usually done by concealing a sharp pin in the chair the student is sitting down in, shooting flames through a grill or releasing poisonous snakes at their feet, or rolling large stone barrels at them while they’re standing around.

*Death Trance---The SRodent practitioner becomes remarkably adept at imitating death, and can assume a limp, lifeless, broken appearance almost instantaneously upon being slammed to the ground, thrown through a window, or wacked into a wall. Only close inspection(and a good hard poke with a sharp instrument) will reveal that the person is still alive.

*Flee Instinct---When faced with such things as a Horror Factor, the SRodent’s survival instincts are so finely honed that there is NO chance of them simply standing there paralyzed; they will instantly flee, as fast as possible. This works best when in a group where others, paralyzed with shock, may provide a distraction to the monster while the SRodent practitioner escapes, but may backfire if the monster is attracted to movement.

*Emergency Boost(‘Arse on Fire Technique’)----Similar to the psionic ability Summon Inner Strength, the practitioner can dredge up a second wind, effectively DOUBLING their speed for 1d6 melees. They can perform this stunt as many times as (their P.E. divided by 3) times per day. As the name suggests, this technique is most often taught by setting the student’s pants on fire or beating their buttocks with a spiked weapon.

Skills Included in Training:
Identify Plants and Fruits(+10%)
Wilderness Survival (+5%)
First Aid(+10%, +15% when applied to self)
The following skills, if taken, get a bonus of +5%; Paramedic, Field Surgery

Martial Arts Powers:
*Art of Invisibility: Art of Evasion(Hsing Tsia)---Many a ninja clan would like to know how the heck the School of the Screaming Rodent learned ninja stealth techniques, because it clearly stole them. Needless to say, SRodent practitioners have studiously remained one, ideally many, steps ahead of any ninja wanting to question them.

Language:
Does “AAAAIIIEEEEEEEEEE!!!!” count as a language?

Cultural Skills:
*Begging/Pleading---Begging for your life dovetails nicely with begging for alms or food.

Physical:
*Running
*Climbing(+5%)

Philosophical Training:
* “Every Man for Himself!”

If this is your Primary Martial Arts Form, then you’re not interested in learning another martial arts, you craven coward. This is one of the few martial arts forms that bottoms out in its philosophy.

Level Advancement Bonuses:
1st----- +2 to Dodge, +2 Roll With Punch/Fall/Impact
2nd-----+1 Maintain Balance, +1 to Backflip/Somersault
3rd-----+2 ft to Leap distance, +2 Breakfall
4th----- +1 to Dodge, +2 Save Vs Pain, +1 Parry
5th-----+1 APM, +2d4 to Speed, +1 Maintain Balance
6th-----Automatic Dodge, +2 Breakfall
7th-----+1d4 to Physical Endurance, +2 Roll With Punch/Fall/Impact, +1 Parry
8th-----+1 APM, +2 Save Vs Pain, +1 to Backflip/Somersault
9th----- +2 ft to Leap distance, +2 to Dodge, +1 Maintain Balance
10th-----Martial Arts Powers: Choice of either Kick Practice(Chagi) or combined Kangeiko/Shochu Geiko Body Hardening, OR one of the following Arts of Invisibility: Art of Hiding(Inpo), Art of Escape(Inton Justu), or Art of Vanishing(Sun Shih K’an Chien Chih).
11th-----+2 Automatic Dodge
*Control Bleeding---This mental discipline allows the practitioner to WILL a wound to close within one melee, not regenerating damage but curtailing further blood loss.
12th-----+2 Save Vs Pain, +2 to Dodge, +2 Breakfall, +1 Parry
13th-----+1 APM, +2 ft to Leap distance, +1 to Backflip/Somersault
14th-----+2 Automatic Dodge
*Double effective radius of the Cry of Despair
15th-----Critical Kick Damage on an Unmodified 18-20, +2 Roll With Punch/Fall/Impact, +1 to Backflip/Somersault.



Why Study Screaming Rodent?
Because you’re a craven pessimistic masochist who knows it’s only a matter of time before the Universe gets you square in its sights, and you’re going to make sure you make it WORK for that hit. It’s one of the few schools that teaches Arts of Invisibility(often practiced by studiously avoiding the schools that regard those arts as theirs). Plus it has a good selection of body toughening exercises and wilderness survival skills. If you ever anticipate having to do open abdominal surgery on yourself in the field, Screaming Rodent will prepare you for it.
On the minus side, it’s almost completely devoid of offensive moves. Hitting back only invites further trouble, and bigger beatings, in the experience of Screaming Rodent practitioners.

[Stone Gargoyle]

Thanks for sharing that, T. I needed a good laugh.