GURPS 4th edition. ranshuman Space: Martial Arts 2100

38 Pages·2011·2.562 MB·English

by  Phil Masters

TM
Written by PHIL MASTERS
Edited by NIKOLA VRTIS
Editorial Assistance by JASON “PK” LEVINE
Illustrated by RICHARD MATHER, ROD REIS, and DAN SMITH
An e23 Sourcebook for GURPS®
STEVE JACKSON GAMES
®
Stock#37-6713 Version1.0–October2011
C
ONTENTS
INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . 3 2. MARTIAL ARTISTS. . . . 10 CountermechTraining.........24
UsingThisBook...............3 ADVANTAGES,DISADVANTAGES, IlBallodiSalute..............25
PublicationHistory ............3 ANDSKILLS ..............10 Freefighting..................26
AbouttheAuthor..............3 Hishôjutsu(“FlightArt”).......26
Advantages ..................10
MargaretianKarate...........26
Perks .......................11
1. MARTIAL ARTS IN DerivedStyles ................27
CinematicElements ...........12
THE 21ST CENTURY. . . 4 Disadvantages................13 MartianSwordplay ...........28
MilitaryZero-G...............28
THEEARLY21STCENTURY ......4 Skills .......................14
RemoteSniping..............29
TheFitnessArts...............4 Retreatingin3D ..............14
Sact ........................30
Self-Defense ..................5 TECHNIQUES ................15 ShanChuan
Full-ContactSports ............5
NewTechniques..............15
(KillerFistKungFu) .......30
THECOMINGOF NONHUMANPHYSIOLOGY.......15 Zhua........................31
THEVIRTUALARTS .........5 Rival“Martian”Styles..........31
MilitaryTrainingRegimes.......5 3. NEW AND CHANGED
FastPrototypingintheDojo.....6 STYLES. . . . . . . . . . . 18 4. NEW WEAPONS
TheQuestfor STYLECHOICESIN2100 .......18 AND EQUIPMENT . . . . 32
theUltimateStyle............6
LegalConcerns...............19 WEAPONS ..................32
THESTATEOFPLAYIN2100 .....7 OffEarth....................20 MartialArtsand
Fitness,Self-Defense, NEWLENSES ................20 GURPSUltra-Tech.........33
andShow..................7
FindingaTeacher .............21 ARMORANDTRAININGGEAR ....34
CombatSports................7
DerivedFictionalArts...........8 NEWSTYLES ................22 SOFTWARE ..................35
ARC-P ......................22 RecreatingLostStyles..........36
PoliceandMilitaryDoctrines....8
BantuBoxing(Bantujutsu).....22
FamousMastersin2100 ........9
BattledressTraining...........23 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
TheImportanceofMars........9
Cocerdelmi ..................24
About GURPS
Steve Jackson Games is committed to full support of Internet. Visit us on the World Wide Web at
GURPS players. Our address is SJ Games, P.O. Box www.sjgames.com for errata, updates, Q&A, and much
18957,Austin,TX78760.Pleaseincludeaself-addressed, more. To discuss GURPS with our staff and your fellow
stamped envelope (SASE) any time you write us! gamers,visitourforumsatforums.sjgames.com.Theweb
We can also be reached by e-mail: [email protected]. page for Transhuman Space:Martial Arts 2100 can be
Resourcesinclude: foundattranshuman.sjgames.com/martialarts2100.
Bibliographies.Manyofourbookshaveextensivebib-
Newsupplementsandadventures.GURPScontinuesto
liographies,andwe’reputtingthemonline–withlinksto
grow–seewhat’snewatgurps.sjgames.com.
let you buy the resources that interest you! Go to each
e23. Our e-publishing division offers GURPS adven-
book’swebpageandlookforthe“Bibliography”link.
tures, play aids, and support in PDF form . . . digital
Errata. Everyone makes mistakes, including us – but
copiesofourbooks,plusexclusivematerialavailableonly
wedoourbesttofixourerrors.Up-to-dateerratapages
one23!Justheadovertoe23.sjgames.com.
forallGURPSreleases,includingthisbook,areavailable
Pyramid (pyramid.sjgames.com). Our monthly PDF
onourwebsite–seeabove.
magazineincludesnewrulesandarticlesforGURPS,sys-
temless locations, adventures, and much more. Look for Rulesandstatisticsinthisbookarespecificallyforthe
eachthemedissuefrome23! GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition. Page references that
beginwithBrefertothatbook,notthisone.
GURPSSystemDesign(cid:2)STEVEJACKSON ManagingEditor(cid:2)PHILIPREED MarketingDirector(cid:2)PAULCHAPMAN
GURPSLineEditor(cid:2)SEANPUNCH ArtDirector(cid:2)SAMUELMITSCHKE DirectorofSales(cid:2)ROSSJEPSON
TranshumanSpaceLineEditor(cid:2)PHILMASTERS PageDesign(cid:2)PHILREEDandJUSTINDEWITT GURPSFAQMaintainer(cid:2)–––––––
e23Manager(cid:2)STEVENMARSH ProductionArtist&Indexer(cid:2)NIKOLAVRTIS VICKY“MOLOKH”KOLENKO
PrepressChecker(cid:2)MONICASTEPHENS
C 2
ONTENTS
I
NTRODUCTION
Martialartsmightseemlikeanirrelevanceintheworldof Edition.ThetextalsomakesreferencetootherTranshuman
Transhuman Space. Why spend years training to throw Spacesupplements,althoughnoneofthesearemandatory.
slightlymorepowerfulpuncheswhenadozendifferenthigh- In addition, a couple of the “gun arts” in this supplement
tech weapons are available to do much more damage? Why usetechniquesandperksthatcanbefoundineitherGURPS
disciplineyourbodyandmindwhenbiomodsareavailableto High-Tech for Fourth Edition, GURPS Gun Fu, or GURPS
enhance the former and nanodrugs can adjust the latter any TacticalShooting,soaccesstooneofthoseisrequiredtouse
way you want? Why burrow into the subcultures of ancient those styles. A few perks that first appeared in Gun Fu are
combatformswhenyoucanfindathousandexoticandsatis- reprintedinChapter2ofthissupplementfortheconvenience
fyingmemeplexesontheglobalWeb? of readers who only have access to High-Tech. In any case,
Yet, the martial arts survive for several very good reasons. Gun Fu is highly recommended to anyone who wants to
Advanced training provides proven, often satisfying routes to includewildercinematicgunartsintheirTranshumanSpace
discipline and physical fitness, without the expense of other campaigns, while Tactical Shooting would be very useful to
methods,theproblemoffindingareputableclinicordoctor,or anyonelookingtofocusonmorerealisticgunplay.
theriskstothesenseofselfthatcomewithquickhigh-techself-
modification.Martial-artstrainingcanteachfocusedaggression
and efficient crisis response. High-tech spacecraft, domed off-
Youwereprizefighting.“MistySteele,”
Earthcommunities,andunderwaterbasesstilldependonreli-
able sealing and somewhat fragile technologies to keep their augmentedfeatherweight.Eightfights,I
occupants alive; even governments with a tolerant attitude
madebookonfiveof’em.Bloodmatches,
toward weaponry tend to restrict the possession of powerful
sidearmsinsuchplaces.Moreover,theyhavethefullsupportof sweetmeat.Illegal.
the inhabitants, and can enforce the ban with advanced tech-
–WilliamGibson,
nologies.Unarmedcombatthusmaybetheonlylegaloravail-
Mona Lisa Overdrive
ablewayofsettlingviolentpersonalconflictssuchlocations.
Furthermore, not all martial arts are concerned with
unarmed combat, especially as the term is used in GURPS
FourthEdition.Manyteachhowtousethetechnologiesofcom-
bataspreciselyandefficientlyaspossible,sothatthedevelop- PUBLICATION HISTORY
mentofnewtechnologiesinspiresthecreationofnewarts.
Finally, the martial arts remain popular in the entertain- Several of the styles detailed here, and some parts of the
mentbusinessin2100,asheroeswhowinthroughsuperior backgroundnotes,originallyappearedinThirdEditionformin
skilllookbetterthanthosewhodependentirelyontechnol- the2004Pyramidarticle“TranshumanMartialArts,”byPeterV.
ogy do. This has created countless job openings for stunt- Dell’OrtoandWernerH.Hartmann.It’sbeenapleasuretobring
men, fight arrangers, and motion-capture models. These them into line with the new edition. In addition, a number of
jobsareeminentlysuitableforcertainPCs,whomayneeda thingsinthissupplement–especiallystyledescriptionsandcon-
sourceofhonestincomeandanexcusetowandertheworld cepts – previously appeared in Third Edition Transhuman
betweenadventures. Spacesupplements;thesearereferencedwhereappropriate.
USING THIS BOOK ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Thissupplementisconcernedwithmartialartsintheworld Phil Masters is the Transhuman Space line editor and
ofTranshumanSpaceinFourthEditionterms.Usingitthere- authorofChanging Times andothermaterialfortheline.In
forerequiresthecurrenteditionofGURPS Martial Arts, the addition to a lot of GURPS material dating back to Arabian
BasicSet,andtheTranshumanSpacemainbook,andprefer- Nights,hehaswrittenanumberofe23products,includinga
ably Transhuman Space: Changing Times for general guid- couple of books for the Dungeon Fantasy series. He lives in
ance on running Transhuman Space games under Fourth Britainwithhiswifeandtheusualcoupleofcomputers,which
knowbetterthantotalkbacktohim.
AdditionalMaterial:PeterDell’Orto,S.A.Fisher,WernerH.Hartmann,DavidPulver,SeanPunch,andHans-ChristianVortisch
Playtesters:FrederickBrackin,RogerBurtonWest,PeterDell’Orto,ShawnFisher,LeonardoHolschuh,andWilliamStoddard
GURPS,Warehouse23,andtheall-seeingpyramidareregisteredtrademarksofSteveJacksonGamesIncorporated.TranshumanSpace,MartialArts2100,Pyramid,e23,andthe
namesofallproductspublishedbySteveJacksonGamesIncorporatedareregisteredtrademarksortrademarksofSteveJacksonGamesIncorporated,orusedunderlicense.
TranshumanSpace:MartialArts2100iscopyright©2011bySteveJacksonGamesIncorporated.Allrightsreserved.
Thescanning,uploading,anddistributionofthismaterialviatheInternetorviaanyothermeanswithoutthepermissionofthepublisherisillegal,
andpunishablebylaw.Pleasepurchaseonlyauthorizedelectroniceditions,anddonotparticipateinorencourage
theelectronicpiracyofcopyrightedmaterials.Yoursupportoftheauthor’srightsisappreciated.
I 3
NTRODUCTION
C O
HAPTER NE
M A
ARTIAL RTS
21
IN THE ST
C
ENTURY
“He’scatchingup!”Ithought,“Whenwillthecopsgethere?” hand with glowing red lines, which ran up his arm so that his
“ETAforthenearestpatrolteamisfourminutes,”Yarrow,my wristwascentered.
wearable,respondedtomyaccidentalsubvocalization.Itwasn’t “Target,balance,and–kick!”Yarrowcommanded,brisklybut
informationIreallywanted.I’dcometothisunstableThirdWave calmly,andmymusclememorycutin.IguessIhadtheadvan-
holepreparedfortroublefrominterviewees,andI’dfactoredall tage of surprise, because the stick went flying. The thug looked
thatintomynegotiationsandpreparations.ThenI’dgonefora shocked,andtheredlinessnappedout.Thenthethugreachedfor
walkatduskwithoutthinkingaboutrandomlocalstreethooli- me,andIscrabbledbackward,avoidingthehold.Anorangecir-
gansorlousypoliceresponsetimes.Thelocalcopswouldproba- cleappearedinmyvisionoverhisgut,andIkickedforthat,con-
bly react quite appropriately when they found a rich visitor necting again. He gasped, and the target marker flickered,
beatenupordead–assumingthattheembassychosetomakea triggeringaninstinctivesecondkick.
fuss,which they would, even thoughthey didn’tlike me much. “Nowrun!”Yarrowinstructed,andIdidn’tneedtellingtwice.
Butthatwouldn’tdomemuchgoodrightnow,andmypursuer “He’s wearing a box, so forget the groin if he does catch up,”
lookedtobetoohoppedupondubiousnanodrugstocareabout YarrowstatedasIran,“tryfortheeyes.”ButeitherI’dwindedthe
thefuture. thugenough,orhedecidedtogofindeasiermeat,becauseImade
“You can handle this,” said Yarrow. “Remember your it to the street where my hotel was located without seeing him
training.” again. The cops showed up as I reached the door, accepted the
“Training?Itooksomedanceclasses!” imagesthatYarrowsentthem,andthentookoff,probablytofind
“Classesthatwechosequitecarefully.AndtheVRfollow-up abarsomewhere.Istaggeredbacktomyroom,whileYarrowtold
course was designed for this sort of situation. Now, turn and themini-bartopourmeadrink.
focus.”
Martial arts weave through the histories of conflict and
The willful thing had borrowed my VR sensei’s voice, so I
recreation, adapting and being adapted as the world turns.
respondedautomatically.Itscannedmypursuerasheapproached,
Thishasbeenastrueinthehundredyearsleadingupto2100
andhelpfullyoutlinedtheheavystickhewasheftinginhisright
asinanyearlierperiod.
T E 21 C
HE ARLY ST ENTURY
In the first decades of the third millennium, martial arts actualcombatvalueofsomeone’schosenstyle.Arelatedsetof
developedinthreedistinctdirections. “arts” were in fact primarily meditative disciplines, teaching
mentalfocusandself-control;thesecouldbegenuinelyuseful
T F A atbest,emotionallysatisfyingattheminimum.
HE ITNESS RTS
Thisallledtotheappearanceofaplethoraofwhatappeared
The largest, and commercially most successful, of these tobenewartsandstyles,althoughmostoftheseweresimply
three branches was the amalgamation of various martial-art trademarked names for perfectly serviceable but not particu-
techniques and styles with moves from aerobic and dance larlycoherentorintegratedfitnesstrainingcurricula.Fashions
classes. This resulted in the creation of what would later in such things came and went, and on occasion, some more
become known as “fitness arts.” Practitioners of these styles dedicatedstudentsprogressedtomoreseriouscombatarts,or
were (and are) primarily interested in the workout effects of at least seriously competitive sports. Mostly, however, the fit-
their training, wasting little to no thought on self-defense – nessartsseparatedcompletelyfromanythingrecognizableas
thoughthereweresometragiccasesofdelusionalbeliefinthe martialarts.
M A 21 C 4
ARTIAL RTS IN THE ST ENTURY
S -D courses, but new styles of any significance were not devel-
ELF EFENSE
opedinthisenvironment.
The second major branch of martial-arts evolution was
somewhat classical: self-defense. Especially in areas with a F -C S
ULL ONTACT PORTS
strong tradition of strict gun control, many citizens felt the
needtolearnsomewaystoprotectthemselvesagainstphysi- Inventionandcreativityofasort,however,couldbefound
cal violence. As in the latter half of the 20th century, most inthethirdimportantareaofmartial-artsdevelopmentinthe
dojos drew paying customers by offering a variety of quick early 21st century: full-contact blood sports. Born out of the
anddirty(oroftenjustquick)self-defensecourses.Thesein Muay Thai and mixed martial arts bouts of the 1990s, such
turn were derived from certain techniques of the dojo’s “meatfights”becamepopularallovertheglobeupto2020and
“main”martialarts(oftensomeformofKarate,Jujutsu,Tae intheearlyyearsofthesubsequentdecade–eveniftheywere
KwonDo,Hapkido,Escrima,MuayThai,orWingChun,with still illegal in many areas. Since many fighters in those days
the Self-Defense lens from GURPS Martial Arts, p. 145). came from a criminal and/or streetfighting background, the
Serious practitioners of traditional martial arts still existed, “creativity” shown in their fights was of a rather primal and
and often made their living by teaching those self-defense brutalsort,thuskeepingthelessonsfromthosetournaments
outofany“real”dojofordecadestocome.
Someofthosetechniquescamefullcircleduringthe2020s,
2030s,and2040s,whencivilunrestandwarsinvariousparts
People used to ask me how
oftheworld–butespeciallyinCentralAfrica–sawtherein-
troductionofthosebrutalfightingmaneuverstotheurbanbat-
I became a combat artist and
tlefields of the 21st century. Close combat skills were still
largely irrelevant in real warfare, but in unstable insurgency
why I’m called the Artificial
situations, undisciplined street fights, and the personal
entourages of thuggish warlords, a willingness and ability to
Kid. People stopped asking
batter opponents to a pulp with bare hands could be a real
advantage.Meanwhile,evenwhenglobalpoliticsgrewalittle
such prying questions after
more stable and law enforcement grew more experienced at
I ruthlessly beat them up. suppressing illegal contests, the meatfights survived, right up
to 2100, with skill still serving some purpose alongside raw
toughnessandappropriatebiomods.
– Bruce Sterling,
Lessbrutalnoncontactandminimal-contactcombatsports
The Artificial Kid were still around at this time, and some were quite popular.
However,theymostlyhadn’tchangedordevelopedmuchsince
the20thcentury.Theywouldlaterfadeawayalmostentirely;
seeCombatSports(pp.7-8).
T C
HE OMING OF
V A
THE IRTUAL RTS
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, more sophisticated manyofthesenewstyleswerebornoutofsocialandpoliti-
military organizations were beginning to make their own calunrest,mainlyonMarsandbeyond.TheAresconspiracy,
contributionstothedevelopmentofmartialartsinabroader theappearanceoftheDuncanites,andthebloodyhistoryof
sense. In wealthy, advanced countries, armies increasingly theMartianTriadsarethemostwidelyknownofthesepoints
sought to substitute high technology and advanced training ofconflict.
fornumbersandrawfirepower.Inextremecases,thesesys-
tems of training went beyond simple skill instruction to a M
ILITARY
structured formality comparable to almost any martial art.
Behind this lay an even more fundamental development, T R
RAINING EGIMES
again emerging from new technologies; refinements in AI
andvirtualrealitynowpermittedwholenewwaysofdevelop- Perfectlylogically,thefirstpeopletoapplynewtechnologies
ing,teaching,andadaptingsystemsofskill. totheartsofviolencewerethemilitary,whohadboththeneed
Then, between 2040 and 2080, dozens of new styles andthebudget.Intensiveanalysisbystaffofficerswithaccessto
seemed to appear all across the solar system, though only a hoursofrecordingsofcombatsituationsandcomputermodel-
handfulofthemwerereallysuccessful.Theobvioustriggers ingoftacticalproblemsproducedspecificandcomplex–often
for this were radical, often technologically driven develop- too specific and complex – proposals for systems of training.
ments in society, especially manned space travel, the colo- Withvirtualrealitynowthenorminmilitarytraining,thesepro-
nization of deadly environments with nonstandard posalscouldbeimplementedandrefinedwithinweeksoreven
gravitation, and life in small, pressurized habitats. Indeed, days – and modified just as quickly if they proved imperfect.
M A 21 C 5
ARTIAL RTS IN THE ST ENTURY
The stress for some troops could sometimes be considerable, beingtestedinaction,andAIaidescouldtalkthetester-stylists
butthebest-trained“virtualveterans”becameexpertsinastar- throughtheprocessoflearninganddeployingthenewideas.
tlingrangeofproblem-solvingmethods. Traditionalist martial-arts masters might disdain this “hasty
andfantastical”approach–manyofthesystemsdevelopedthis
F P wayprovedtobeineffective,inefficient,orjustunremarkable
AST ROTOTYPING
– but over time, some genuinely new and interesting ideas
D cameoutoftheVRdojos.
IN THE OJO
Hence,althoughmanyofthestylesdevelopedtodealwith
Thecivilianworldwasn’ttoofarbehindthemilitary–and newextraterrestrialenvironmentswerecreatedbypeoplewho
themostcommittedteachersandcombatscholarsbroughta wereonthespot,workingthroughold-fashioned,painfultrial
greatdealofingenuitytothetopic.Notonlycouldvirtualreal- anderror,otherscamefromeitherkeenarmytrainingspecial-
itymodelallmannerofcombatsituationsandfacilitatetrain- ists or interested martial-arts masters working with VR pro-
ing,modernsomaticmodelingsoftwarecouldactuallyanalyze grammers and biomechanics experts. Furthermore, the
skillusedownatthelevelofindividualmusclesandjoints. analysis software made cross-fertilization between new styles
In short, martial arts moved into the realm of computer- and ideas significantly simpler to manage. For a while, the
aided design. Specialist software allowed whole martial-arts solarsystemseemedtobeexperiencingagoldenageofmar-
styles to be designed and redesigned in virtual space before tial-artsdevelopment.
The Quest for the Ultimate Style
TheculminationoftheVRanalysistrend,aroundthe developed, only to be abandoned by most protagonists
2080s,wasaseriousandsystematicattempttoformulate whorecognizedthatitwouldneverend.
the “perfect style.” Actually, there were several separate That brought up the simple question of what these
attempts, but they all had a lot in common. The pattern styles were for. They were too hard and expensive for
wastoapplythebestcomputersandsoftwareavailableto casual students seeking simple self-defense skills and
the largest possible set of recordings of real combat – cheap fitness training, and too brutal for many sporting
thousands of hours at minimum. This equipment ana- contests; students found it difficult to break the habits
lyzed what worked and what didn’t, mapped that onto hammered into them by training when contest rules
actualtacticsviaphysiologyandweapon-expertsystems, treatedthemasfouls.Militaryforcesmightseesomeuse
and fine-tuned the resulting style using simulated VR forthem,butarmiesweremostlyinthebusinessofusing
combat. It ultimately exploited teaching technology high-tech weapons, and the best martial-arts styles still
(including mnemotropic drugs, VR, and the young sci- offered little protection against a bullet fired from a
ence of memetics) to generate a maximally effective cheaphandgunbyasemi-trainedshooter.
teachingregime. Nonetheless,elementsofthevarious“ultimate”styles
Thisapproachwasbynomeansatotalfailure;itpro- developed during this period survive to 2100, and there
ducedsomeusefulsyntheticstylesandsomeformidable remains a tantalizing and not entirely crazy possibility –
martialartists.However,itdidn’tactuallyrenderallpre- atleastintheeyesofmartial-artsfans–thatatrueulti-
vious martial-arts study redundant, despite the hopes of mate style exists somewhere, presumably known only to
its proponents. For a start, the styles it generated were afewreclusiveexperts.“UltimateCombat,”asdetailedin
often difficult, occasionally verging on being impossible Martial Arts (p. 144), would be a valid basis for this. In
tolearnproperly.Tobecomeaseffectiveastheexperts,a the fairly realistic setting of a Transhuman Space cam-
student had to master a significant set of techniques paign, the style probably would not include cinematic
(though not too many – inefficient moves were deliber- skillsandperks(ortheneedforTrainedbyaMaster),but
ately eliminated, after all). He had to internalize them, it might permit some Unusual Training perks to give
instinctively triggering the optimum response to any access to some of those. However, many of the styles
given move by an opponent. The high-tech training developedinthe2080sincludedsomeweaponstraining–
regimes were supposed to resolve this problem; instead, computeranalysisconfirmedthat,yes,weaponsaredead-
theymadelearningthestylesexpensiveandstressful. lier than bare hands – so this hypothetical style might
Furthermore, soon after most of these “ultimate” includesomeweaponsskills,too.
styles were developed, rival trainers began developing At a lower level of intensity, some dojos have incorpo-
counterstothem,designedtoexploitthegapsleftbytheir ratedideasfromthisperiodintotheirowntrainingregimes,
single-minded devotion to efficiency and to trigger particularly for military and unlimited combat-sports use.
responses that left the fighter open to specific follow-up Stylesthatmayhaveaddedsomenewideasinthisperiod
attacks. This was nicknamed the “rock-paper-scissors” (which could mean dropping combat art or sports skills)
problem: A given approach could often be defeated by a includeJeetKuneDoandTaeKwonDo.Onenewstylethat
specificcounter-patternthatinturncouldbedefeatedby owessomethingtotheprocessisCocerdelmi(p.24),which
otherstylesthatweren’tbetter,justdifferent.Anarmsrace wasoptimizedforuseagainstopponentsinbodyarmor.
M A 21 C 6
ARTIAL RTS IN THE ST ENTURY
T S P 2100
HE TATE OF LAY IN
That golden age didn’t last very long. The scope for new areasofEarth.Martialartsarestillsomethingthattheaverage
inventionsprovedfinite,althoughthetoolsremainedavailable civilianhasseendemonstratedandmaybeconsideredstudying.
andeffective.Still,atthedawnofthe22ndcentury,themartial
arts are evolving almost as rapidly and confusingly as most C S
OMBAT PORTS
otherfieldsofhumanendeavor.Someoldformsandapplica-
tionshavegoneoutofdate,tobepreservedonlybyahandful Classical martial-arts tournaments in styles like boxing or
oftraditionalistsandhistorians–butVRandslinkrecording kickboxing went the same way as almost all other spectator
technologiesallowsuchskillstobepreservedmuchmorereli- sports when confronted with upgraded, uplifted, or biomodi-
ablyandmeticulouslythanoncewasthecase.Meanwhile,new fiedcontenders.Itwasjusttoohardtomaintaintheillusionof
forms, meeting the needs of new technologies and new envi- fairnessorabalancedsetofrulesandrestrictions,letalonean
ronments (or just new fash- ethos of sporting amateurism.
ions), do continue to appear, Meanwhile, contests of combat
sometimesdevelopingthrough that allow for and incorporate
fast prototyping, spreading such modifications are widely
throughasubculture,andfad- prevalent.Theyoftencombinethe
ingintoobscurityormutating conventionsofasportingtourna-
beyond recognition, all in the ment with the atmosphere of a
space of a couple of years. trade show, as the creators and
Styles that take advantage of vendors of different biomods and
new biomods, or the unique bioroid designs compete with
abilitiesofsomebioroids,and each other to demonstrate the
even cybershells, are also superiority of their current mod-
developing. One or two styles els. At the least reputable – and
have even been designed for least legal – end of the scale are
uplifted animals; see Canine the deadly bloodsport fights that
PoliceCombatinTranshuman canbefoundalmostanywherein
Mysteries. The fact that some the solar system – if you know
styles persist largely who to ask and don’t look like a
unchangedisatributetotheir cop.Eventhesehavesomeofthe
memeticstrength–ortotheir trade-show aspect, though, as
timelessusefulness. black clinics want to make sales,
In addition, many styles too. These various contests pro-
created in the 20th century videtheentertainmentdemanded
have evolved in new and sur- bymostarmchairfightfans,who
prising ways in the 21st. For can convince themselves that
example, a handful of instruc- modern medicine (or the use of
torsstayingtruetoBruceLee’sconceptofJeetKuneDo(see bioroids) make the injuries involved impermanent and thus
MartialArts,pp.164-165)areturningitintoaratherdiffer- morallyacceptable.
entstyletoaccommodatebiomodsandvariablegravity. Quitehowimmoralsomesuchcontestsreallyareisinfacta
divisiveissuein2100,reflectinglargerethicalquestions.Insoci-
F , S -D , etieswherebioroidsareregardedasproperty–orasabomina-
ITNESS ELF EFENSE
tions – the idea of matching them in no-holds-barred combat
AND SHOW may hardly look problematic, especially if they have been
designedandtrainedforthepurpose,perhapsseemingeagerfor
In2100,thefitnessartshavealmostcompletelyvanished. thefight.Inplaceswheretheyareseenasfullysapientbeings
Thanks to modern biomods, citizens of Fourth and Fifth withalltherightsthatimplies,theideaof“brainwashing”them
Wave nations no longer have any great desire for them, and for combat is seen as appalling, and bioroid meatfights are
those living in poorer areas of the world usually have more despised as the morally corrupting pathology of debased soci-
urgentneeds.Anyoneold-schoolorpoorenoughtomaintain eties. In other places, beings with full citizenship voluntarily
their fitness the antiquated way can usually find a well- engageinalmost-lethalcombat,trustingmodernmedicineand
designedtrainingregime,perhapswithextensiveAIsupport, advanced biomods to keep them alive and intact in the end.
without having to piggyback on the forms and traditions of Sometimes,thisislegal;sometimes,itisbannedasanaffrontto
thecombatarts. human dignity and a misuse of medical ingenuity. In banned
Martial arts as arts, like many forms of T’ai Chi and kata locations, it is widely considered as mere barbaric pit-fighting
demonstrations in karate, however, are alive and kicking. withalayeroffeebleexcuses,itsparticipantsclearlyinneedof
Likewise,dojosthatteachmartialartsforself-defensestillexist, psychologicaltherapy.Ofcourse,wheresuchthingsarebanned,
although they are more common on Mars and in Third and somepeoplewatchillicitbroadcastsandrecordings,ortakehol-
FourthWavenationsthaninthesecureandwealthyFifthWave idaystoplaceswherethelawsaremorerelaxed.
M A 21 C 7
ARTIAL RTS IN THE ST ENTURY
It’spossibletoholdcombatcontestsentirelyinvirtualreality, Theydoattractalotofenthusiasmfromtheorganicchauvin-
of course, and some such contests have their fans – but they ist end of the market, which likes to see AI-controlled shells
aren’taswidespreadasmightbeexpected.Tostartwith,there’s beingsmashedup.
thesimplefeelingthatVRjustisn’tthesameasreality,andthat Tofurtheraddtothedifficulties,somerecordingsorslink
VRcombatissomehow“cheating”orlacksan“edge.”Certainly, experiences are actually carefully constructed dramas – “no
thefeedbackthroughaVRsuitdoesn’tconveysomeofthedetail organicbeingswereharmedduringthemakingofthisInVid.”
of real combat, and even interface implants and the best soft- Violenceinthemediaremainsaliveissuein2100,withaccess
warehavetroublewiththecomplexitiesofbalance,actionand controlsinmorerestrictivesocietiesandparentalcensorware
reaction,andphysicalpain.Suitscapableoftransmittingdam- locked in unending struggle with the ingenuity of those who
aging levels of impact force, or implants capable of inducing wanttheirfixofviolententertainmentorarewillingtosupply
serious pain, are generally unpopular and carry unavoidable it.Ingeneral,“genuinelyfake”materialishardtoban,atleast
risks.Theyareactivelyillegalinsomeplaces,butwithoutthem, when it refrains from tipping into what society in general
virtualcombatisn’ttrulyrealistic.Evenwhenundergroundvir- regardsasoutrightviolence-porn(mostlydepictionsofuncon-
tual arenas use such technologies (which are also sometimes trolledviolenceagainstdefenselessvictimswithahighsubjec-
relied on for quick-and-dirty military training), audiences are tivity level). Even so, responsible parents, guardians, and
oftencynicalaboutthewholesubject.Peoplewhowanttosee personalAIstrytomonitorforunhealthylevelsofenthusiasm
bloodsports tend to insist on real blood – and sometimes on forsuchstuff–definitionsof“unhealthy”alsobeingdebated,
slinkyrecordstoprovethattheloserwasreallyhurt.Thisadds of course. Meanwhile, ingeniously sleazy vendors employ
tothesleazyimageofthewholebusiness. memeticists to spread the belief that some recordings aren’t
Somecombatsportsemploycybershellcombatants–some- actuallyfake,whateverthetagsmaysay,givingthemtheadded
times humanoid shells, but more often specially designed thrillofthesecretlyillicit.
shells that tend to look like bad cartoons of military RATS
designs with garish embellishments. It’s hard to ban these – P M
OLICE AND ILITARY
sapient beings are never harmed in these contests, after all –
butsomefreeSAIsregardthemasbeinginextremebadtaste. D
OCTRINES
Virtuallyallprofessionallaw-enforcementperson-
nel–betheyonEarthorbeyond–canbeexpectedto
Derived Fictional Arts havesomeformofhand-to-handcombattraining,if
only a simple art with the Police lens (Martial Arts,
The software aides available to martial-arts students in 2100 pp.144-145).InFourthandFifthWaveareas,theeffi-
open up many possibilities, not all of them very sensible. Some ciency of VR-based training has shifted such skills
suchprogramscananalyzerecordingsoffightersinaction,usu- from being an option to being the norm, for serious
allytodeducewhatstylesandformstheymayhavestudied.Suf- professionals – while cops in troubled Third Wave
ficiently detailed analysis of a large enough body of recordings regionsaremorelikelytoneedtobeeffectivestreet-
can reverse engineer an entire style and help work out how to fighters,eveniftheirschoolingislessformal.Training
recreateitfromscratch.Appliedtohistoricalrecordings,thishas oftenintegratesclosecombatwiththeuseofassorted
enabled teachers to recreate “lost” styles from the 20th century, “sublethal” ranged weapons, to the point that the
andtoexplainthesecretsofdeceasedcombatexperts.Appliedto Police lens might very well add assorted Beam
otherrecordings,theresultsareplainbizarre. WeaponsorGunsskillsorLiquidProjector(Sprayer),
Specifically, some fans of various popular media properties and possibly the associated Fast-Draw skills and
that happen to include a lot of combat have fed their favorite RetainWeapontechniques.Shieldskillisalsoappro-
recordings to martial-arts analysis programs, forcing them to priate for some cops with riot control training, and
“recreate” the styles used by fictional characters. As the actors Shortsword works with both old-fashioned batons
were usually following the guidance of professional fight andstunwands(seep.33).Theuseofarm-mounted
arrangers, whose objective was to make the scenes look good weapon pods and the need to deal with cybershells
rather than to show genuinely effective combat skills (which withintegralweaponshasreducedtheattentionpaid
would,afterall,oftenhavebeendangeroustootheractors),these to disarming techniques, especially as recognition
“derivedstyles”areinvariablyprettyuseless,beingmuchheavier padsinweaponhandgripsmakeitimpossibletouse
onArtversionsofskillsthanonreallyusefultraining.Nonethe- anopponent’sgunaftertakingitoffhim.Inturn,this
less, dedicated fans will go to the trouble of learning them, and hasledtoslightlylessemphasisonweaponretention.
aresometimestragicallydeludedenoughtotryusingtheminreal Traditional martial arts are less commonplace in
life-and-deathsituations. militaryorganizations–exceptforthosethatalsoper-
In a few cases, dedicated but not totally delusional students form some kind of police function. Although most
haverecognizedthelimitationsofsuchstyles,andsoughttocon- forces teach advanced melee techniques to a few
vertthemintosomethingmoreuseful,switchingtheArtskillsto units, many Fifth Wave armies have largely aban-
functionalcombatversions.Thiscanworkinprinciple,buttends doned the idea of human special-operations or infil-
to produce something that annoys serious fans of the source tration/recon units in favor of cybershell and
materialbybeinglessfaithfulandmorebrutal–andstillnotthat microbotsolutionstothoserequirements.Inaddition,
usefulinarealfight. duringdowntime,mostunitsengageinextensiveVR-
Seep.27forsomeexamplesofderivedstyles. based training in multiple skills, which may include
basic or even quite advanced unarmed combat.
M A 21 C 8
ARTIAL RTS IN THE ST ENTURY
Famous Masters in 2100
MartinBallantine:ThecreatorofARC-P(p.22)retired SylviaVigil:ThefounderofMargaretStation’sDancing
from the US Army decades ago. Following a moderately CraneStudios(seeHighFrontier,p.103)doesn’tclaimto
successfulciviliancareerinvariousbranchesofVRdevel- be a martial-arts mistress (she’d certainly wince at “mas-
opmentandsomerejuvenationtreatments,heislivingin ter”). She likewise has played no part in recent develop-
anEloicommunityinCalifornia,takingoccasionalconsul- ments in the martial arts on the station, such as the
tancyworkinVRdesignovertheWeb.Periodically,dedi- creation of Margaretian Karate (pp. 26-28). Despite her
catedstudentsofthestyleheformulatedtrackhimdown current health problems, she retains much from her
andapproachhiminsearchofadvancedtraining,despite decades of experience; she could be expected to perform
hisownrepeatedcommentsthathewasaVRdesigner,not respectablyinasportingcontest,andcouldlookafterher-
a warrior. He was originally amused by this, but is now self in a street fight. Still, anyone approaching her in
merely irritated. Two of these people are the subjects of search of “combat secrets” will be briskly directed to the
restrainingordersfromthelocalcourt. Studios’numerousfull-timeteachers.
Anthony Proudhomme: The official inheritor of the Master Xiao-Yue Zhang: While there are inevitably
mantleofleadershipintheBantujutsucommunity(pp.22- many arguments about who is the best martial artist in
23) is still active and still giving lessons – for high fees. anyregion,mostknowledgeableinsidersgivethetitleon
Evenasidefromhisunpopularitywithsomeofhisuncle’s MarstoMaster(never“Mistress”)Zhang(seeIntheWell,
more obsessive followers, he isn’t universally highly rated p.61).DeportedfromEarthinthe2080sasasubversive
in the martial-arts community; his competition record is element,Zhangisafiercefeministinastillrathertradi-
skimpyatbest,afterall.Nevertheless,it’snotalwayswise tionalist, sexist milieu; most of her students are female,
todiscussthisinpublic;someofhisfollowersaretouchy although her prejudices aren’t absolute. She’s hard to
andcapable,andBantujutsuisn’tagentlestyle. locate and harder to impress. Despite being over 50
PaulSayama:ThecreatorofHishôjutsu(p.26)retired (whichshowsinhergrayhair),sheisstillinformidable
some years ago to a moderately substantial estate near condition. Even experts in the field are uncertain of her
LakeCandor,onMars,wherehelivesonroyaltiesfromhis full capabilities. She must know (and probably helped
pastwritingsandoccasionallycontributestonewinstruc- invent) Zhua (p. 31). She presumably knows at least
tionalInVidstokeephishandin.Heisnotarecluse,but enoughaboutHishôjutsutobeabletocounterit.Shealso
heguardshisprivacy.HisstaffAIsinsistfirmlythatheno is believed to have studied more than one traditional
longertakespupils,butrumorsaboundinthemartial-arts kung fu style before she came to Mars. It’s possible that
world about youngsters who’ve impressed him enough. sheisoneofthetruemastersofJeetKuneDo,adapting
Theseareprobablyjustfanfictions. ittonewconditions.
Likewise,armieswithhumanorbioroidtroopsinseriouscom- T I M
HE MPORTANCE OF ARS
bat roles still need to teach aggression and cheap, low-tech
methods to maintain fitness. Thus, basic martial-arts classes ThehumancoloniesonMarsarewidelyandquiteaccurately
arestillfound,withorwithouttheuseofVR. perceivedasbeingimportanttomartial-artsstudyanddevelop-
TheMilitarylens(MartialArts,p.144)maybeappropriate, mentin2100,asexplainedinIntheWell(p.61).Tightweapons
but knife-fighting is seen as rather archaic at best, and the controlindomedcommunities,thestrongChinesetraditionof
near-total disappearance of the bayonet makes Spear skill martial-arts study (including very practical forms among the
superfluous.Theamountofbodyarmoravailableonallsides, Triads who have expanded so enthusiastically to Rust China),
andlessfastidiousnessaboutkillingthanamongpolice,means andtheoptionsopenedupbylowergravityhavecombinedto
thatseriousmilitarycombattrainingislargelyabouthigh-tech produce something of a renaissance in combat arts on Mars.
weapons. Most or all of the shooting styles described in Themediaintherestofthesystemhavelatchedontothis,tak-
GURPS Tactical Shooting survive somewhere on Earth in ingthetraditionalChineseideaofthemartial-artsheroandsug-
2100, although the number of armies who still choose to gestingthatmostsuchpeoplearefoundontheRedPlanetthese
deploy mostly human front-line forces and can afford to days.Foronce,themediaisn’ttoofaroffthetruthhere;it’sbeen
employsophisticatedtrainingregimesissteadilyshrinking. estimatedthatbetween10%and25%oftheadultpopulationof
Infact,someweapon-trainingregimeshavebecomerefined Marshassomekindofformalmartial-artstraining–although
and formalized to the point where they resemble old-school notmanyofthemareobsessiveadeptsorenigmaticexperts.
martial arts in flavor – although once again, in the most Furthermore, Mars has helped keep traditional unarmed
advanced armies, even light weapons handling is becoming andlow-techcombatartsdynamicandinnovative.Ithasgiven
primarilytheprovinceofcybershells.(Controllingthoseshells themediaahookonwhichtohangperiodicmartial-artsfash-
can be something of an art in itself, though; see Remote ions.Ithasalsoprovidedanewenvironmentinwhichmartial-
Sniping,p.29.)Theextenttowhichhigh-endmilitaryAIswith artsteachershavebeenobligedtoadaptandrefinetheirskills
fulldecision-makingcapabilityhavetobetrainedratherthan ratherthanjustparrotingtradition.Statistically,withitsmuch
programmed to use their weapons complicates things; some larger population, Earth still has many more skilled martial
military systemsare actuallyexperts in somethingnot unlike artiststhanMars–butMarsarguablyhasthemostinteresting
martial-artsstyles. martial-artsscene.
M A 21 C 9
ARTIAL RTS IN THE ST ENTURY
C T
HAPTER WO
M
ARTIAL
A
RTISTS
Thefirstroundofthecontestwasbasedonarandomdraw, Lam’rie entered the ring, and for a moment, Carlotta won-
conductedfiveminutesbeforethefirstfight;theorganizersreck- deredifhe’dsomehowspoofedtheweight-classcheck.Hewould
oned that this added excitement. The big display screen on the certainlyhavebeenmuchtallerthanher,standinguprightunder
endwallofthestation’smainchambershowedanabstractwhirl gravity.Butwhenshelookedagain,sherealizedhowthinhewas.
ofcolor–pureshow,ofcourse–andthendisplayedalist.Atthe Tweakedmuscles,shethought.
top,itread:CARLOTTASTEINEvs.GERARDLAM’RIE. Hedroppedintoafreefighter’slaunchposeathisstartpoint,
“New one on me – what’ve I got here?” Carlotta asked her andshemirroredthemotionandpushedherselfintofocus.Shan
trainer.Hedefocused,andasplashoftextplayedacrosshisglasses. Chuanfighterstookaprideintheirlackofsubtlety,butitwasa
“Yeah,he’sprettynewtothegame.He’sfromOttawa,”heread. smartkindofunsubtlety–andtheyfoughthard.Evenwinning
“Unofficial word is that he worked protection for the Macbride afightagainstonecouldleaveyouwithaheftymedicalbilland
familyupthere...” afewboringweeksintherapy,ifyouweren’tcareful.
“Ishehuman?”Carlottainterrupted. The bell sounded, and both fighters launched themselves at
Her trainer paused, reading more. “Mostly. Far as anyone eachother.
knows.Andtherefsarestraightinthisplace.”
Themartial-artsstylesdiscussedinthissupplementprima-
“Thenhedidn’tbodyguardfortheMacbrides,”Carlottastated
rilyusethestandardGURPSruleswiththeadditionalfeatures
flatly.“Theyuseanall-’roidteam.Theycan’ttrustrealhumans.”
anddetailsgiveninGURPSMartialArts.However,thischap-
“Whatever you say. But he’s definitely had Shan Chuan
tercoversafewadditionalconcerns.
training.Useditinbothhisrecordedfightssofar.Twowins,by
theway.”
“Inzero-G?”
“That’swhatthesoftwaresays.”
“If they must make war,” these
Carlottagrinned.“Lessonsinleveragecomingrightup.”
The “ring” was roughly spherical, of course, with as large a young men thought, “why in thunder
diameteraspermittedbytheconfigurationofthesoda-canstation
don’t they do it like sensible men?”
– rented by the organizers through an innocuous-looking blind
trust,flaggedasbeingforunspecified“industrial”use.Thesphere – H.G. Wells,
wasdefinedbyacoupleofdozenposts,hastilygluedatthebest
pointstheset-upteamcouldfindandlinkedbyalatticeofcarbon “The Land Ironclads”
nanotubewebbing,stretchedtautbutstillcapableofprovidinga
littlebounce.
A ,
DVANTAGES
D , S
ISADVANTAGES AND KILLS
SeeChangingTimesforfurthernotesoncharactercreation rather easier to acquire some advantages without cinematic
inthissetting. levelsoftrainingorbizarrespecialexercises.
A Claws
DVANTAGES
seep.B42
Manytraitscangiveamartialartistapotentedge,ifused
rightintherightsetting.SeeMartialArts(pp.42-49)formore AssuggestedinMartialArts(p.57),Karateskillcangiveits
damagebonustoclawsaswellastoordinarypunchesandkicks.
generalguidance,butnotethatadvancedtechnologymakesit
M A 10
ARTIAL RTISTS