--------------------------------------------------------------------- B I S H O U D O --------------------------------------------------------------------- © 1983, 1987, 1988, 1990 Kevin Siembieda; © 1995 Palladium Books, All rights reserved world wide. No part of this work may be reproduced in part or whole, in any form or by any means, without permission from the publisher. All incidents, situations, institutions, governments and people are fictional and any similarity to characters or persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. Ninjas & Superspies™, Mystic China™, and S.D.C.™ are trademarks owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books, Inc. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bishoudo is the creation of a master who lives in New York City. He began teaching students how to defend themselves with a minimum of weapons. This led to the development of a martial art that focuses on knives and kicks. Instruction is available only in NYC from the master. The knives, which have 6 inch blades, are often kept strapped to the individual's forearms and then allowed to slide into the hand when needed. Because of their extensive training, practitioners of this art can perform locks and holds even with knives in their hands. Entrance Requirements: None Skill Cost: 5 years Costume: Street clothes, preferrably with loose sleeves Stance: Weight balanced on the balls of the feet, front foot at 45 degree angle forward, back foot perpendicular. The forward arm's elbow is at a 90 degree angle with the hand roughly level with the shoulder, holding a knife in a reverse grip (blade towards the forearm), ready to slash, parry, or strike with the pommel. The back hand is drawn across the body, about chest level, with the other knife held in a normal grip, ready to thrust or stab. Character Bonuses: +2 to PP +1 to ME +4 to Spd +10 to S.D.C. Combat Skills: Attacks Per Melee: 3 Escape Moves: Roll with Impact, Backflip, Maintain Balance Basic Defenseive Moves: Dodge, Parry, Automatic Parry Advanced Defenses: Disarm Hand Attacks: Strike, Palm Strike Basic Foot Attacks: Kick Attack, Spinning Hook (Special! A kick that involves bringing the back leg fully around the body, spinning on the front leg, and delivering a kick to the head with the heel of the foot. Does 2D6 damage to hit points on a strike of 15 or higher (not including bonuses), and has a 20% chance of knocking the target out for 1D6 melees. 1D8 to SDC if a the strike roll is lower than 15 or if done to a target other than the head. Almost always done after a punch or crescent kick.), Tripping / Leg hook, Drop kick, Crescent Kick. Jumping Foot Attacks: None Special Attacks: None Holds/Locks: Wrist Lock, Elbow Lock, Automatic Wrist Lock, Automatic Elbow Lock Weapon Katas: W.P. Knives - Paired (Special, see below) Modifiers to Attacks: Pull Punch, Critical Strike Special Knife Attacks: Pommel Strike: A strike using the pommel of the knife as the weapon. Does 1D4 damage. Slash: A strike using the length of the blade to make a long wound. Does 1D6 damage. Thrust: A simple thrust with the knife, putting a lot of muscle into it. Because of this wind up it is easier to avoid (+1 to opponent's parry or dodge roll). Does 1D6+2 damage. Stab: A quick thrust, not quite as powerful. Does 1D6 damage. Skills Included in Training Martial Art Powers: Select two powers from either Martial Art Techniques or Arts of Invisibility. In addition, the character gets the Zanshin technique. If desired, any number of powers other than Zanshin can be traded, one-for-one, for any basic skill program (excluding physical). Languages: None Skills: None Philosophical Training: None, other than it being stressed that a person should only defend themselves and not seek out combat. If this is your primary martial art form than the following other forms can be learned in a shorter time: Jujutsu (4 years), Moo Gi Gong (4 years), Yu-Sool (5 years). Level Advancement Bonuses 1st Critical strike from behind, +3 to roll with impact, +2 to pull punch 2nd +2 to damage with knives, +1 to strike 3rd +1 attack per melee, +2 to parry & dodge 4th +3 to lock & hold, +1 to maintain balance 5th +2 to damage with knives, Knockout on natural 20 6th +1 attack per melee, +2 to disarm 7th Knife & Kick Pairing: the character can parry with either one or two knives and attack with a kick, simultaneously. See below for an example, +1 to maintain balance 8th +1 to parry & dodge, select one additional martial art power from Arts of Invisibility or Martial Art Techniques 9th +2 to strike, critical strike on natural 18, 19, or 20 10th +2 to damage with knives, select one body hardening exercise, can use spinning hook with Knife & Kick Pairing. 11th +2 to roll with impact, +1 attack per melee 12th Death blow on natural 20, +2 to damage with knives 13th +2 to maintain balance, Knockout on natural 19 or 20. 14th +1 attack per melee, +2 to hold & lock 15th Gains the Shift Internal Organs power from Mystic China, +1 to dodge & parry Example of Knife & Kick Pairing: When attacked, the character can parry the attack with a knife and simultaneously counterstrike, using any of the following kicks: kick attack, crescent kick, tripping / leg hook. Or the character can parry two attacks (as per normal paired weapons) and kick. IE: Your opponent does a twin strike at you with his two sai. You do a double parry and a kick attack to the chest, all in one action. At 10th level, a spinning hook can be used in addition to the other types of kicks. Why Study Bishoudo? Because knives are fun. Where else are you told to run with a knife in your hand? Or your teeth. It's quite useful because you can't carry a larger weapon most places and is good against multiple attackers who are in hand to hand range. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Created by Gabriel http://thegarden.neonexus.com/