Punching and wrestling are described in the Player's Handbook, pages 97-98. We'll elaborate a little on those rules here, and introduce rules for basic Oriental-style martial arts maneuvers.
Specializing With Punching and Wrestling[]
Though everyone has a certain knowledge of punching and wrestling, so that everyone can be considered to have a "weapon proficiency" you can now Specialize in either of the two techniques.
To Specialize, you must devote a weapon proficiency slot to the technique. Any character of any class can Specialize in Punching or Wrestling (or Martial Arts, described later)... but except for the Fighting-Monk (described in The Complete Priest's Handbook, no character other than a single-class Warrior can ever specialize in more than one of these techniques. A single-class Warrior can end up specializing in both, but may begin play specializing in only one of them.
Specialization does not count as a Weapon Specialization. A first-level fighter could specialize in both Long Sword and Punching if he wished to. A Rogue, who cannot take any Weapon Specialization, can still take one unarmed fighting style specialization.
Fighting style specializations (i.e., Single-Weapon, Two-Hander, etc.) do not grant any bonuses to Punching, Wrestling, or Martial Arts combat. They're of use only to combat with melee weapons.
Normal Punching Attacks[]
Review the Punch rules from the Player's Handbook, page 98. Remember that a normal punch does 1–2 damage (plus Strength bonus), and a punch with a metal gauntlet does 1–3 (plus Strength bonus), and that 75% of all punching damage is temporary, and wears off within minutes after the combat is included.
A character can pull his punch, so that he does no damage, or only his punch damage (without his Strength bonus).
Punching Specialization[]
If a character spends one Weapon Proficiency on Punching, thus taking specialization with Punching, he gains the following benefits:
He gains a +1 bonus to all his attack rolls when punching;
He gains a +1 bonus to all damage when punching;
He gains a +1 chart bonus with all punching attacks;
He gains one additional punching attack per combat round (both hands must be free, holding nothing, for the character to gain this benefit); and
If the character wishes, when he pulls his punch, he can also refuse to do the +2 damage that specialization gives him.
The chart bonus is a reflection of the character's superior accuracy with punching. As you already know, when the character successfully hits, the roll itself determines which maneuver was made; you use the chart on page 97in the Player's Handbook, and the attack roll also determines the maneuver used.
But on a successful hit, the punching specialist can modify that result. If he has a chart bonus of +1, he can choose the maneuver one higher or one lower on the chart.
Example: Sir Amstard punches a troll. (He's recklessly brave, after all.) He rolls a 12 to attack rolls, and this turns out to be a successful hit. On the "Punching and Wrestling Results" chart, we see that this is a Kidney Punch, doing 1 point of damage, with a 5% chance for knockout. But Amstard is a Punching Specialist with a chart bonus of +1. He can choose instead for the result to be an 11-Hook (doing 2 points of damage and with a 9% chance for knockout), or a 13-Hook (doing 2 points of damage and with a 10% chance for a knockout). He changes the maneuver from a Kidney Punch to a 13-Hook. Only if a character specializes in punching and thus has a chart bonus can he affect his punch results in this manner.
A character using a Cestus does get to add the bonuses to attack rolls and damage from Punching Specialization to his Cestus damage. If he has specialized in Cestus too, he can decide from round to round which of his bonuses he will apply this round. Additionally, you may use the Cestus attack's attack roll to determine which Punching maneuver was used with the attack; you still use the damage for the Cestus instead of the maneuver, but now also have the possibility of a knockout. This can make combats with cesti a little more complicated, so the DM may disallow this rule if he chooses.
It is possible for a Warrior to continue to improve his Punching abilities: See "Continuing Specialization," below.
Normal Wrestling Attacks[]
Review the Wrestling rules from the Player's Handbook,page 98. Each successful wrestling move does 1 point of damage (plus Strength bonus, if the attacker desires); a continued hold causes cumulatively 1 more point of damage each round than the round before.
In Wrestling combat, when two characters are wrestling, each rolls to attack rolls the other—using normal attack rolls against the opponent's AC, and utilizing the "Armor Modifiers For Wrestling" table on page 97 of the Player's Handbook for modifiers to attack rolls.
In a single combat round, a character can perform Wrestling on the other character, with the normal results from the Punching and Wrestling Results table from that same page. On Wrestle results from that table which are marked with an asterisk (*), the attacker, if successful, can maintain that hold until it's broken; use the Strength-roll rules described above for the "Grab" maneuver to determine when holds are broken.
A character can pull wrestling damage; he can do no damage, or the 1 point associated with each successful maneuver, or the 1 point plus Strength bonus allowed to him, whichever he chooses.
As with punching damage, wrestling damage is also temporary.
Wrestling Specialization[]
If a character spends one Weapon Proficiency Slot on Wrestling, and thus specializes with Wrestling, he gains the following benefits:
He gains a +1 bonus to all his attack rolls with Wrestling;
He gains a +1 bonus to all damage with Wrestling (that is, all his maneuvers will do 2 points of damage plus his Strength bonus, and continued holds cause cumulatively 1 more point of damage for each round they are held);
He gains a +1 chart bonus with all Wrestling attacks;
He gains a +2 to Strength, only for maintaining a wrestling hold (i.e., a Strength 15 character rolls against Strength 17 when maintaining a wrestling hold, but only for that purpose); and
When he chooses to pull wrestling damage, the character may also pull the +2 to damage granted by specialization.
So if, for instance, he has a +1 chart bonus, and rolls a 16 on his attack (Elbow Smash), he can instead choose a Trip or an Arm Lock. He'll decide based on his current situation: If it's in his best interest to put his opponent on the ground, he'll choose a Trip, and if it's better for him to have a maneuver that allows him to hold onto his opponent from round to round, he'll choose an Arm Lock.
It is possible for a Warrior to continue to improve his Wrestling abilities: See "Continuing Specialization," below.
Martial Arts[]
As you saw in the Player's Handbook, everybody knows how to punch and wrestle.
Martial Arts, however, are another matter. Not every character in a normal medieval-style campaign will know how to utilize oriental-style Martial Arts.
The Martial Arts described in this section aren't any real-world fighting style; they're a combination of "generic" martial-arts maneuvers in the tradition of martial-arts movies.
These Martial Arts are only available in a campaign if the DM decides that the art is available for characters to learn. He must first decide if he wants characters to be able to use these maneuvers in his campaign, which will tend to give the campaign a more oriental flavor; then, if he wishes to use them, he needs to establish a history for these combat abilities. Customarily, they've been developed by some distant civilization, and recent trade with that culture has brought some practitioners and teachers of the art to the player-characters' society.
To learn Martial Arts at its basic level, the character spends one Weapon Proficiency slot on Martial Arts. Once he has spent that slot, he can use Martial Arts in the same way that other people use Punching and Wrestling, as we'll describe immediately below.
Martial Arts Results[]
At its basic level, Martial Arts skill is used just like Punching and Wrestling. Martial Arts combat occurs when a character attacks with his bare hands, feet, and even head. No weapons are used. (A character can hold a weapon in one hand and nothing in the other, attacking with his weapon one round and with his Martial Arts skill in the next.)
As with Punching, damage from Martial Arts is handled in a slightly different fashion. The damage from any bare-handed Martial Arts attack is broken into two parts: 25% of the damage from the attack is normal damage, while the remaining 75% is "temporary" damage. The Player's Handbook page 98, discusses this temporary damage, as does this chapter, in the section on "Recovery," below.
When attacking with Martial Arts skill, the character makes a normal attack roll against the normal Armor Class of the target. (If the attacking character has armor on, he does suffer the modifiers for wrestling from the "Armor Modifiers for Wrestling" from [[../PHB/DD01705|Table 57]]on page 97 in the Player's Handbook.) If he hits, he does the damage listed from the maneuver plus any bonus from his Strength score.
If the attack roll is successful, the attacker consults the table below for the result of the attack. If, for instance, the character rolls a 13 on his attack roll, the result is a Body-Punch, doing 1 point of damage (plus the attacker's Strength bonus for damage).
| Attack Roll |
Martial Arts Maneuver |
Dmg | % KO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20+ | Head Punch | 3 | 15 |
| 19 | High Kick | 2 | 10 |
| 18 | Vitals-Kick | 2 | 8 |
| 17 | Vitals-Punch | 2 | 5 |
| 16 | Head Bash | 2 | 5 |
| 15 | Side Kick | 1 | 3 |
| 14 | Elbow Shot | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Body-Punch | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | Low Kick | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | Graze | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Body-Punch | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Low Kick | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Body-Punch | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | Knee-Shot | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Side Kick | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Head Bash | 2 | 10 |
| 4 | Vitals-Punch | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Vitals-Kick | 2 | 15 |
| 2 | High Kick | 2 | 20 |
| 1* | Head Punch | 3 | 30 |
- * Or less
Descriptions of the Maneuvers[]
Body-Punch: This is a straightforward punch into the target's stomach or chest.
Elbow Shot: With this maneuver, the attacker plants his elbow into the target's chest, side, or stomach.
Graze: This could have started out as any sort of maneuver, but it merely grazed the target; it wasn't landed firmly.
Low Kick: The attacker kicks the target in the leg or thigh.
Head Bash: The attacker slams his forehead into the target's face, which is a stout maneuver.
Head Punch: This is a good, strong blow with the fist to the enemy's head, particularly his jaw.
High Kick: The attacker kicks the target in the upper body somewhere: Stomach, chest, back, or shoulder.
Knee-Shot: The attacker brings his knee up into the target's stomach or thigh.
Side Kick: With this maneuver, the attacker has time to prepare and launch a very powerful sideways kick (which may be at the end of a cinematic leap).
Vitals-Kick: The attacker kicks his target at some vulnerable point: Groin, kidney, neck, solar plexus, etc.
Vitals-Punch: The attacker puts his fist into one of the vulnerable points mentioned immediately above.
Specializing in Martial Arts[]
The same Specializing rules apply to Martial Arts: Once the character has Proficiency in Martial Arts (by spending one Weapon Proficiency slot), he can Specialize in it (by spending another).
When the character becomes a Martial Arts Specialist, he gains the following benefits:
He gains a +1 bonus to all his attack rolls with Martial Arts;
He gains a +1 bonus to all damage with Martial Arts;
He gains a +1 chart bonus with all Martial Arts attacks;
He gains one additional Martial Arts attack per combat round (both hands must be free, holding nothing, for the character to gain this benefit); and
He may pull his attack just as Punching and Wrestling characters do, and when he pulls his attack, he can also refuse to do the +1 damage that Specialization gives him.
So if he rolls a 15 to attack, and the attack hits, he has performed a Side Kick. If he uses his +1 chart bonus, he can change that into an Elbow Shot or a Head Bash. He'll probably choose to change it to a Head Bash for the improved damage and improved chance of knockout.
It is possible for a Warrior to continue to improve his Martial Arts abilities: See "Continuing Specialization," below.
More Than One Style[]
Any character can specialize in one of the three types of unarmed combat (Punching, Wrestling, and Martial Arts).
A single-class Warrior can only specialize in one of the three unarmed combat styles when he is first created. After first level, however, he may specialize in the other two. He can take specialization in only one style each time he receives a new Weapon Proficiency, so he could not possibly be a specialist in all three until he reaches sixth experience level... and ninth level is more likely.
Usually, the character, if he wants to specialize in more than one style, will take either Martial Arts or Punching, not both, because their usefulness overlaps a great deal; and then he'll take Wrestling, because Wrestling is useful when the character is being grappled.
Continuing Specialization[]
This is an option that is only available to single-class Warriors (and to Fighting-Monks from The Complete Priest's Handbook).
If the warrior continues to devote Weapon Proficiency slots to an unarmed combat style after he is already specializing in it, he gets the following benefits. Note: The character may not take more than basic Specialization in any of the arts at first experience level; thus, at first level, he may devote one slot to Punching, or one slot to Wrestling, or two slots to Martial Arts, but not more than that to any of them. At third level, when he receives another slot, he may devote it then to improve his Specialization.
For each additional slot devoted to his art:
He gains a +1 bonus to all his attack rolls with his combat style;
He gains a +1 bonus to all damage with his combat style; and
He gains a +1 chart bonus with all attacks in that combat style. With chart bonuses of +2 or more, the character can choose any maneuver within the range of maneuvers covered by his chart bonus (see the example below).
Example: Cassius the Gladiator is a Punching Specialist. He Specialized in Punching at first level, put another Weapon Proficiency slot into it at third level, another at sixth, and still another at ninth.
At ninth level, he has a +3 bonus to attack rolls with Punching, a +3 to damage rolls with Punching, and a +3 chart bonus.
Let's say he rolls a 16 to hit someone, and that the attack does hit. This would normally be a Glancing Blow. But he has a +3 chart bonus. He can choose for the maneuver, instead of just being a rolled result of 16, to be anywhere from 19 to 13. He can choose for the maneuver to be a Wild Swing, a Rabbit Punch, a Kidney Punch, a Glancing Blow (as rolled), a Jab, an Uppercut, or a Hook.
Of these seven maneuvers, Jab and Hook do the most damage, and Hook has a slightly higher chance of knockout success, so he chooses it. With his punch, he will do a basic 2 points for the maneuver, +3 points from the damage bonus he gets for specializing, and any bonus his Strength gives him.
The Complete Martial Artist[]
If you wish to create a character who is principally a Martial Artist, you ought to take other Weapon and Nonweapon Proficiencies which are appropriate to the classic martial-arts hero.
Almost all Weapon Proficiencies are appropriate for the character, including all swords, bows, and polearms, and especially proficiencies with the Samurai weapons from the Equipment chapter of this book.
Nonweapon Proficiencies which are especially appropriate include: (General) Dancing, Direction Sense, (Warrior) Blind-fighting, Endurance, Running, (Rogue, double slots) Jumping, Tightrope Walking, and Tumbling.
In campaigns with more classical and oriental elements to the martial artists, Nonweapon Proficiencies such as (General) Artistic Ability, (Priest, double slots unless Paladin) Ancient History, Astrology, Healing, Herbalism, Local History, Musical Instrument, Reading/Writing, Religion, (Wizard, double slots unless Ranger) Ancient History, Astrology, Herbalism, Reading/Writing, Religion.
Fighting Style Specializations, from this chapter, are also very appropriate for the character.
Naturally, you won't be able to afford all these things for your Martial Artist character, even if your DM does allow you the Intelligence bonus for extra Proficiencies mentioned earlier in this chapter. Think not about having all these abilities, but about taking specific abilities to make the character unique, different from all the other PCs—even if they, too, are principally Martial Artists.
For instance, one character could be a Paladin/Swashbuckler who takes Weapon Proficiency with all Fencing Blades (two slots), Specialization with the Sabre (one slot), and Specialization with Punching (one slot). Another character could be a Ranger/Beast-Rider who takes Weapon Proficiency with all Bows (two slots) and Proficiency and Specialization with Martial Arts (two slots). This way, no two Martial Artists are likely to be even remotely alike.
In Oriental Campaigns[]
If your campaign is based in an oriental setting, you need to make an easy change. Instead of normal proficiency with Punching and Wrestling being free, and proficiency with Martial Arts costing one slot, normal proficiency with Martial Arts is free, while proficiency with Punching and Wrestling cost one slot each.
Barehanded Maneuvers[]
It's possible to use most of the maneuvers described above under ``Melee Maneuvers when fighting barehanded, either Punching, Wrestling, or Martial Arts.
When a character wishes to perform a maneuver that's not one of the standard maneuvers for the barehanded fighting style in question, he makes that announcement at the appropriate time in the combat sequence (that is, if it's a Called Shot of some sort, he announces before initiative; otherwise, he makes the announcement when he's called on for the description of his action for the round).
When his turn comes up, he rolls an attack roll. If he's specialized in a barehanded fighting style, he still gets the attack bonus for his Specialization. If he hits, he doesn't do one of the maneuvers from his fighting style; he performs the specific maneuver he elected. However, if he's a Specialist, he does get the damage bonus from his fighting style.
Here are examples of how this works with the specific Melee Maneuvers:
Called Shots: Punching and Martial Arts[]
A Puncher or Martial Artist can perform Called Shots, but none will do any extra damage. They can be very effective in combat in very specific situations if the character is trying to perform one of the standard Called Shots: Striking a Specific Body Part (as mentioned earlier, to damage a beholder's special eye, for example), Smashing Something Being Held (though the attacker risks having the contents of whatever he's smashing spilled on him), and Bypassing Armor (again, this only works on monsters where the DM has designed a specific weakness into the monster).
A Puncher or Martial Artist can also perform a Called Shot to attack a specific Hit Location. See the text on "Hit Locations," below. This is the sort of attack the character wants to use if he's trying to hit an enemy in the jaw to knock him out, pound him in the solar plexus to double him over, and so on; all normal rules for Hit Locations are used.
Called Shots: Wrestling[]
A Wrestler can take a Called Shot in order to choose the specific Wrestle maneuver result he wants. If he succeeds, he does not randomly roll the wrestle maneuver which takes place; he chooses it. This is of special usefulness when he's trying to achieve a hold result. Example: A wrestler decides to take a Called Shot. Before initiative is rolled, he announces that he's taking a Called Shot to achieve the result of Arm Lock. He suffers the usual +1 to initiative; when his turn comes up, he suffers a –4 to attack rolls. If he hits, the maneuver result is Arm Lock, regardless of the roll. Also, when a fighter is wrestling another character, he might find it to his advantage to make a Called Shot to pull the enemy's helmet down over his enemy's eyes, blinding him for a combat round or two.
But, obviously, such successes depend heavily on the good-will of the DM. If he thinks such maneuvers are more bother than color, don't try to perform them.
Disarm[]
It's possible for a barehanded fighter to disarm an armed opponent, but it's dangerous. When so trying, the barehanded fighter's AC suffers a penalty of 2 (for example, a 5 becomes a 7; he's having to expose himself to attack briefly), and his Disarm attempt is at an additional –4 to attack rolls. But if it hits, it's just as successful as any other Disarm.
Grab[]
As described above, the Grab is designed for barehanded use, and so suffers no penalty when the attacker is barehanded.
Parry[]
A barehanded fighter trying to parry a barehanded attack does so at normal odds.
As with Disarm, it's possible, but dangerous, for a barehanded fighter to parry an attack from a melee weapon. The Parrying character must suffer an AC penalty of 2 (for the same reasons described under Disarm, immediately above), and his AC stays disadvantaged until his next attack comes up. Then, when performing the Parry (which usually consists of getting so close to the enemy that the Parrying character can get his own hand under the descending weapon-hand), the Parrying character suffers an additional –2 to attack rolls.
Pin[]
A barehanded character can't use the Pin maneuver to pin someone else's bare hand. Use the Wrestling rules for such an attempt.
A barehanded character can try to use Pin to pin someone's weapon; use the modifiers described immediately above for Parry.
Pull/Trip[]
A barehanded character can try to Pull/Trip another character with no additional penalty. Barehanded, the character can only Trip characters who are adjacent to him, and cannot Trip any Large creature or monster.
Sap[]
A barehanded Sapping attack (basically, a punch to the jaw) is a classic combat maneuver. It can be performed with Punching and Martial Arts, but not with Wrestling. As with the regular Sap, the barehanded fighter makes his Called Shot at an additional –4; if he hits, he does normal damage for his attack, and has the normal Knockout chance of 5% per point of damage done.
Between the Sap maneuver and the Called Shot for the Head Hit Location, the character has two attacks that can hit an enemy's head. They are very different, however, and so they are not redundant.
The Sap provides a chance for knockout; the Called Shot to the Head doesn't.
The Called Shot to the Head has several unusual possible results (Blindness, Knockdown, etc.); the Sap doesn't. And the Called Shot to the Head can only be used if the DM allows Hit Locations in his campaign. If he doesn't, the Sap is all you're left with.
Shield-Punch[]
Since a Shield-Punch requires the use of a shield, a barehanded character obviously cannot perform this maneuver.
Shield-Rush[]
Since a Shield-Rush also requires the use of a shield, a barehanded character cannot perform this maneuver.
Strike/Thrust[]
When a barehanded character tries the Strike/Thrust maneuver, we call it a "Punch" and use the normal Punching rules.