Fight Round 2

7/21/2019 Fight Round 2

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Jackson order 4646727



Christopher Peter

Divine Madness Press

Worcester, Massachusetts



Writing and Design: Christopher Peter

Additional Development: Wayne Deitrick, Alejo G. Marello

Layout: Paul Dinsdale

Cover Art: Danrey Borja

Cover Design: Bob Noberini, Jennefer Noberini, Danrey Borja

Interior Art: Melissa Wang, Bob Noberini, Imperia Studios, Catalina Silva

Editing: Wayne Deitrick

Playtesting: Wayne Deitrick, Christine Dinsdale, Alejo G. Marello, David Gearhart, Nicholas

Aronow, Alex Thompson, Josh Medin, Duan Bailey, Matthew McDonnell

Special thanks again to the members of the Fight! Group. Your interest in the game always

renews my Fighting Spirit! Thanks for continuing to be awesome!

Special thanks also to all the players of the Lastborn pbp on rpg.net.

As always, this book is possible because of the love of my wife and my two awesome boys.

Thank you so much for your continuous support and enthusiasm!

Copyright 2011 Christopher Peter. This book was published by Divine Madness Press in

Worcester, Massachusetts.

For more information about Fight!, please visit http://divinemadnesspress.wordpress.com.

Join in the discussion at http://groups.google.com/group/fightrpg.

All artwork copyright 2010 original artists.

No part of this book may be reproduced, in part or in whole, without permission from the

publisher (except for brief quotes used in reviews). All content is fictional, and any similarity,

real or imagined, to persons living or dead, is coincidental.




Introduction

1. Basic Qualities, Qualities, and Techniques..................................................................1

Basic Qualities.........................................................................................................................7Modifying the Speed Basic Quality............................................................................................7Ki as a Basic Quality.................................................................................................................8New Qualities, Weaknesses, and Quirks...................................................................................10New Quality...........................................................................................................................10New Weaknesses....................................................................................................................11New Quirk.............................................................................................................................12Techniques............................................................................................................................12New Techniques.....................................................................................................................12Campaign Based Techniques...................................................................................................15

2. Basic Moves.........................................................................................................18

Modifying Basic Moves...........................................................................................................18Modifying Jumps....................................................................................................................20Modifying Basic Throws..........................................................................................................22Advanced Grappling...............................................................................................................22Modifying Basic Taunts...........................................................................................................24Command Moves...................................................................................................................24

3. Special Moves.......................................................................................................30

Special Considerations for Moves that do No Damage...............................................................30New Special Move Liabilities ..................................................................................................30New Special Move Elements...................................................................................................32

Buffs.....................................................................................................................................46Adding Liabilities to Attack Strings..........................................................................................48

4. Super Moves.........................................................................................................49

Rates of Super Energy Gain.....................................................................................................49Variants on Using Super Moves...............................................................................................50New Super Moves...................................................................................................................52Finishers................................................................................................................................59Creating and Using Finishers ..................................................................................................60Types of Finishers...................................................................................................................61Special Killer Combo Finishers.................................................................................................63Custom Combos.....................................................................................................................64

5. Combat...............................................................................................................66

Beginning of the Turn and End of the Turn................................................................................67Berserk Attacks......................................................................................................................67Modifying the Time Count.......................................................................................................68Fighter Positioning.................................................................................................................69Combos.................................................................................................................................69Damage.................................................................................................................................72Stunning...............................................................................................................................73



Defenseless Situations............................................................................................................75Defense Options....................................................................................................................75Blocking: Using the Defense Skill.............................................................................................75Dodging: Using the Evasion Skill.............................................................................................76Counterattacks: Using the Tactics Skill.....................................................................................77Other Defensive Options.........................................................................................................79Weapons...............................................................................................................................79

Team Combat........................................................................................................................81Tag Team Combat...................................................................................................................83Tag Team Supers....................................................................................................................85Three-Person Teams...............................................................................................................86Helper Characters...................................................................................................................87Companions..........................................................................................................................87Optional Rules for the End of the Turn or the End of the Round..................................................88Environmental Hazards..........................................................................................................89Walls.....................................................................................................................................90Other Environmental Hazards.................................................................................................90Zone Barriers.........................................................................................................................92Aerial Combat........................................................................................................................92

6. Systems and Settings............................................................................................95

Building Thugs.......................................................................................................................95Building Characters as Thugs...................................................................................................96Social Combat........................................................................................................................98Alternate Campaign Styles....................................................................................................100Traditional Fantasy Gaming in Fight!......................................................................................101Mecha Gaming in Fight!.........................................................................................................103Supers Gaming in Fight!........................................................................................................105

Frequently Asked Questions.................................................................................................108

Appendix...........................................................................................................................123




Welcome to Round 2 of Fight! The Fighting Game RPG! In this book, you will find hundredsof new options to expand and modify your game to emulate any fighting video game, orany combination of fighting video games, that you have ever played.

This endless potential is made possible through the robust flexibility of the core rules ofFight! In fact, the two central design principles of this book were to be able to emulate asmany fighting video games as possible and to demonstrate how much the core rulesystems could be stretched without breaking. In addition to all the options contained

herein, these design principles should also encourage you to modify the system evenfurther to create the perfect rule set for your campaign.

With all the options in this book, you can increase the granularity of your game as much asyou’d like, even approaching the complexity of an actual fighting game engine if sodesired. Of course, the increase in so many options at once might make combat requirekeeping track of even more details. If you forget about certain modifiers or unusual casesduring play, don’t worry about it! Some of the most complicated video games haveexceptions within exceptions, and even these player errors at the table can becomeabstractions for such complicated minutiae.

The format of this book roughly follows the pattern of the core rules. Chapter 1 describesnew ways to modify character generation apart from Special Moves. Chapter 2 provides anumber of ways of increasing the flexibility or complexity of Basic Moves. Chapters 3 and 4contain lots of ways to make new Special and Super Moves. Chapter 5 provides ways tomodify the combat rules in order to create the play style you want for your game. Finally,Chapter 6 presents some alternate rules and brand new campaign styles using the Fight!rules set.

No matter what kind of campaign you are running, no matter what particular fighting

video game you are trying to emulate, Round 2 will give you new and exciting ways to dothings!

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Chapter 1: Basic Qualities, Qualities, and Techniques

Many of the components that make up a Fighter have direct effects on his ability incombat. However, a Fighter’s Qualities and Weaknesses also serve to define the characterbeyond his martial prowess. This chapter expands on Basic Qualities as well as Qualitiesand Weaknesses. These new options expand the possibilities of character concept anddesign.

Among all the Qualities in the game, one stands apart from the rest. Most Qualitiesdescribe aspects of the Fighter that are not directly related to combat, but the TechniqueQuality specifically provides special rules that apply uniquely to the Fighter who possessesit. However, defining exactly how much the rules can be modified with a Technique issometimes difficult to do. This chapter also provides a more comprehensive presentationof the Technique Quality, including a number of new examples to add to your games.

Basic Qualities

Modifying the Speed Basic Quality

According to the core rules, a Fighter with a positive Speed always divides his bonus toInitiative and Control so as to be at least average or good in each category. Likewise, aFighter with a Speed –1 always has to divide Initiative and Control between an averagecategory and a poor category. Finally, a Fighter with a Speed 0 does not modify Initiativeor Control at all.

This does not have to be the case. Regardless of a character’s Speed, if the Directorpermits, a Fighter might choose to have both positive and negative characteristics to hisInitiative and Control.

This means then that a Speed of 0 or 1 could be unequally divided. For a Speed 0, insteadof 1d6 Initiative and 1d6 Control, one of them could be raised to 1d8, while the other isreduced to 1d4. For a Speed 1, a similar division could be made, allowing one characteristic

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to be 1d10, while the other is reduced to1d4. This creates several new options forBasic Qualities, thereby increasing thenumber of “types” with which to buildFighters.

These rules may be subject to abuse,however. For example, in a campaign with

low Combo skills, a lower Control roll israrely a liability. Furthermore, a charactercan choose to advance his Control Bonus tocompensate for a low Control roll whileconsistently enjoying a high Initiative. TheDirector should keep in mind the “feel” ofhis campaign, the Fighters in it, and thegeneral approaches of his players beforeallowing these modifications to Speed.

Ki as a Basic QualityIn the core rules, the three Basic Qualities ofStrength, Speed, and Stamina are primarilyderived from the nature of the Fighterhimself. On the other hand, the CombatSkills are partially based on the metagameperspective of the player playing the videogame. The ability to block, dodge, orcounter attacks is more or less the same formost characters in a fighting video game,

but the player’s skill in doing so varies. Yet,Ki is included among the Combat Skills. Acharacter with a higher Ki Skill does more

damage with Ranged Special Moves, butthis does not actually emulate anythingfrom the source material. Instead, whethera Fighter is especially competent with theuse of Ki should be represented by apermanent quality, i.e., a Basic Qualityrather than a Combat Skill.

The following rules allow you to remove Kifrom the list of Combat Skills and insteadadd it as a fourth Basic Quality possessed byall characters, whether or not they useRanged Special Moves. This has the effectof making Ki-focused characters morepowerful at lower Power Levels, but usuallynot as dangerous at higher Power Levelswhen compared to Fighters designed withthe core rules.

When making a Fighter, instead of choosingbetween 1, 1, 0 or 2, 0, -1 to allocate to thethree Basic Qualities, an additional 0 isadded to the choices: 1, 1, 0, 0 or 2, 0, 0, -1.These numbers are then applied to the fourBasic Qualities of Strength, Speed, Stamina,and Ki.

Note that this does create the distinctpossibility that characters without RangedSpecial Moves gain a legitimate “dumpstat,” a Basic Quality they have no intentionof using, allowing them to apply the –1 to Kiwithout otherwise having any specificliabilities. If this is the case, it would not be

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1Power Level thereafter. For somecharacter concepts, this willnecessitate spending more MovePoints to increase the Combo Skill toachieve the same levels of that Skill asin the core rules. Also, characters atPower Level 1 will be even morelimited in their defensive options.

As a Basic Quality, Ki is no longerconsidered to be a normal Skill.Should an occasion arise in which theDirector wishes to roll Ki as a Skill, itwould be treated as a Basic Quality,i.e., it is rolled like any other Skill, butgenerally with a lower DL.

For the Magic, Psychic, and

Gadgeteering Qualities, i.e., thoseQualities with prerequisite Skills, Kican simply be removed from the listsof required Skills. However, theDirector may rule that a character

must have a Ki Basic Quality of at least 0(perhaps even Ki 1) in order to acquireany of these Qualities.

There are two Special Move Elementsthat need to be modified. The Ki andStrength Element simply applies bothStrength and Ki (with the same effects asStrength) to the base damage of themove. A Special Move with the Ranged

inappropriate for the Director to specificallychallenge such a character with opponentswho use Ranged attacks.

There are several changes that need to bemade throughout the rules to account forthis new Basic Quality.

Fighters receive a different number ofpoints to spend on Combat Skills. Insteadof five points at Power Level 1 and threeeach Power Level thereafter, Fightersreceive four at Power Level 1 and two each




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Element would have a base damage of 1d6like all Special Moves, modified by theFighter’s Ki instead of Strength.

The Ranged Defensive Response needs tobe adjusted more significantly. Instead ofusing the Ki Skill to determine DefenseTotal, this Defensive Response uses the

Tactics Skill as usual. However, theFighter’s Ki Basic Quality would act as abonus (or penalty, as applicable) to hiseffective Tactics Skill.

Finally, there are four changes that need tobe made to the rules for Dramatic Combat.

For one Action Point, the Fighter can addhis Ki Basic Quality to his Defense Skill, but

not on a turn in which he also used orwishes to use a Special Move with theRanged Element.

Damage for Property Damage is stillcalculated using the Fighter’s PropertyDamage Skill according to the core rules forRanged Special Move damage, even thoughKi is no longer used in this way.

The Ki Face Off Action is largely unchanged.When damage is determined, it is still aminimum equal to the character’s Ki BasicQuality, which will likely be much lower

than a character’s Ki Skill in the core rules.If the combatants in a Ki Face Off areattacked by a third party, their respectiveDefense Skills are increased by their KiBasic Quality.

Successfully Ki Yelling will temporarily increasea Fighter’s Ki Basic Quality by two for one turn.

All of these changes make a Fighter’smastery of Ki force more of a constitutiveaspect of his concept, rather than a skill tobe developed. It also tends to balance theeffect of Ranged Special Moves across allPower Levels.

New Qualities, Weaknesses,and Quirks

The following section describes newoptions available to all Fighters.

New Quality

Stage: The character has a specific localethat they usually fight in. It can be justabout anything: a dojo, stadium, a series ofcaves, etc. Regardless of its nature, fighting

on his Stage gives the Fighter anadvantage: he regains one Fighting Spiritevery 5-count in combat. Accessing thisbenefit costs a Story Point, and it must benarratively appropriate for the fight to occur

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1on the character’s Stage. If the Directorpermits, the character can spend a StoryPoint to allow a benefit in a similarenvironment to the character’s normalStage (e.g., a different seedy bar ratherthan the particular seedy bar the characteractually owns), but in this case, the Fighteronly regains one Fighting Spirit every 10-

count, rather than every 5-count. This is ametagame Quality, and thus requires theDirector’s permission.

New Weaknesses

Deficiency: For whatever reason, theFighter lacks a capability possessed by therest of the Fighters in the campaign. Thiscan be handled in one of two ways. The

most common way is when the Director hasestablished one or more optional rules asTechniques available to all characters (e.g.,Double Jumps, Taunts, Pursuit Attacks); inthis case, the Fighter with this Weaknessdoes not have the ability to use one of theserules. This Weakness could even be takenmultiple times if several optional rules werein effect for the campaign (though thiscould easily be subject to abuse if the

optional rules in question are unlikely tocome up much in play anyway). The otherway this Weakness could be applied is todeny the Fighter access to an ability that isnormally available to all charactersaccording to the core rules, such as Power

Up, though this is much less common in thesource material.

Hidden Abilities: For some reason, thecharacter cannot always use his SpecialMoves and Super Moves, though BasicMoves are always available. A commonexample of this would be a suit of armor, a

weapon, or an artifact that is not alwaysaccessible or which may not be sociallyconvenient to have around (e.g., walkingaround the streets in a suit of poweredarmor). It may also represent a characterwho must transform into some other formin order to fight. The Director should putthe character into situations in which theloss of access to his fighting abilities is aninconvenience. The player can earn a Story

Point by willingly depriving himself of hisabilities in a situation in which the Directorwould normally allow them. The Directormay also allow the player to spend a StoryPoint to access his abilities in a situation inwhich they would normally be denied, butin this case, the rationale should be suitablydramatic. In Chapter 6, there is a moresignificant version of this Weaknessavailable instead as a campaign optionwhere the characters have two forms: anormal Fighter form and a “non-powered”form who fights as a Thug.




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1New Quirk

Sexually Ambiguous: The Fighter’s truegender is unclear. This differs from theBishounen and Tomboy Qualities, in which thecharacter is still usually discernible as male orfemale (respectively), though if desired, acharacter with this Quirk can also take the

appropriate Quality as well. The character canearn a Story Point whenever his sexualambiguity becomes a difficulty for him(/her).

Techniques

The Technique Quality in the core rules allows aFighter to choose an ability to aid him in combatthat is not available to other Fighters in thecampaign. In effect, the character receives a“house rule” that applies only to him. Examplesof this were in short supply in the core rules,though options such as Dash, Back Dash, Taunt,Breakfall, and Tech Rolls are all good candidatesfor the Technique Quality.

Round 2 is filled with dozens and dozens ofoptional rules for just about every aspect ofcombat, many of which would make excellentTechniques. However, there is no attempt in this

book to necessarily balance the different optionalrules with each other; therefore, the Director stillhas to decide if a specific option is right for hiscampaign.

New Techniques

Here are some additional rules that aresuitable as Techniques. Some of these arealso especially useful for the TemporaryTechnique Element.

Delayed Wake Up Technique: This

Technique is sometimes possessed by trickyFighters or those with unusual fightingstyles. While the rules normally require thata Fighter must use their next action to standup after being Knocked Down, a Fighterwith this Technique can instead choose toremain on the ground. This means that heremains immune to all attacks other thanPursuit Moves. The Fighter cannot doanything if he chooses to stay on the

ground; he cannot Re-Focus, AwaitOpening, or Power Up. When he againchooses to act, the Fighter must stand up,but unlike the normal rules for standing up,he may also act normally on the same turn(i.e., move and/or attack, or perform someother action). If he delays more than oneturn in standing up, his Special Moves withthe Reversal Element have no particulareffect. At the Director’s discretion, this

Technique may cost the Fighter a point ofSuper Energy, give a point of Super Energyto the opponent, or both. There is anadditional Technique that can furthermodify this Technique:



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1Floor Roll Technique: While on the ground,the Fighter can also use the Evasion Skill toavoid attacks. This includes being able tomove (by rolling) two Ranges for 1 FS with asuccessful Evasion.

Fury Mode Technique: A Fighter with thisTechnique becomes more powerful the

more he is damaged. When he reaches 10%or less of his full Life Bar, all of his attacksdo +2 damage as long as the Fighterremains at 10% of Life Bar (or less).Combos add +2 damage to the wholeCombo, not to each individual attack. If theFighter manages to heal his Life Bar abovethis threshold, he loses the bonus todamage. There is also a variant form of thisTechnique.

Variable Fury Mode Technique: This isa more complicated and individualizedversion of the Fury Mode Technique. Itis essentially the same as the FuryMode, but with more options. First, theFighter can choose a damage bonusbased on the percentage of Life Barremaining. The default 10% describedabove gives a +2 damage bonus. 20%

of Life Bar instead gives a +1 damagebonus (thus, the character will receivethe bonus more often, but with lessereffect). In turn, if the Fighter choosesto set his Fury Mode at only 5% of his

Life Bar, he receives a +3 damagebonus. Second, the Fighter can chooseto have the effect based on thebeginning of his Life Bar, the end of hisLife Bar (the default option), orbeginning right when the Fighterreaches exactly half Life Bar. Third, theDirector can decide whether this option

needs to be specifically defined whenthe character is first created and thennever changes or if it can be changed atthe beginning of each combat.

For example, the Director has decidedthat all the Fighters in his campaign willuse the Variable Fury Mode. Each candefine their version of it when thecharacter is created. The overconfident

kick boxer Jaxon Tran gains a bonus aslong as he believes he has an edge;thus, he sets his Fury Mode at 20% ofhis Life Bar effective at the beginning ofhis Life Bar. At PL 2, he has Life Bar 40.20% of 40 is 8; so, as long as Jaxon’sLife Bar is between 40 and 32, hereceives a +1 bonus to damage. Assoon as he drops to 31 Life Bar, he loseshis bonus.

His nemesis, the shadow assassin Hideogains power at the apex of his killingfocus. Therefore, he sets his Fury Modeat only 5%, beginning at half Life Bar.




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1At PL 2, he has 40 Life Bar. 5% of 40 is 2;thus, when Hideo’s Life Bar drops to 20,his +3 damage bonus begins, but it endsas soon as his Life Bar drops below 18.

Pre-Set Combo: The rules of Fight!discourage “pre-set” Combos. In olderfighting video games, however, players had

to discover formalized combos that eachcharacter could perform. While this is stillsomewhat true in contemporary fightinggames, newer games have dozens ofcombos available for each character. Thus,in Fight!, it is easier to use the present rulesof endless variations of combos made up onthe spot to emulate this.

Still, if a character wishes to have a “pre-

set” Combo, it can be acquired as aTechnique. The specific combination ofdesignated Special Move(s) and BasicMoves is counted only as a single SpecialMove for the purposes of determining theAccuracy of the Combo and the number ofmoves that can go into a single Combo.This pre-set Combo must follow all thenormal restrictions for Combos (e.g., norepeated Special Moves). The Control costto use the Combo is the same as normal, soan exceptionally long pre-set Combo or onemade with difficult moves may provide noreal benefit. A short one, however, may

allow a Fighter to maximize Control andCombos to string even more movestogether with this Technique.

Super Armor Technique: The Fighter isunusually resistant to attacks. ThisTechnique is often possessed by BigFighters. The Fighter takes one less

damage from each attack that hits(minimum one). Furthermore, Hit Stun onlysubtracts two Control rather than four (orhalved, whichever is lower, as usual).Fighters moving after Hit Stun still need tospend 1 FS to move. Opponents attacking acharacter with Super Armor receive a +1bonus to Accuracy if the character uses theEvasion Skill. Jumping or moving with theMobile Element costs 2 FS instead of 1. If

the Fighter also has the Big Quality, thiscost increases to 3 FS. This Technique isvery powerful; it is usually a TemporaryTechnique and should only be allowed as aTechnique Quality with special permission.There is a more powerful version of thisTechnique available also.

Hyper Armor Technique: The Fighter ispractically invulnerable. Often possessedby Big Fighters, this Technique mayrepresent a character’s super form, armoredform, or “rage form.” A Fighter with thisTechnique takes two less damage fromeach attack that hits (minimum one), neversuffers Hit Stun, can never be Stunned or



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1Knocked Down, and takes no extra damagefrom the Bounce, Juggle, or LauncherElements. In turn, the character cannot usethe Mobile Element or any other Elementthat increases the ability to move on anySpecial Move. The Teleportation Element isallowed, but it costs one extra Element toacquire if it can be used with Hyper Armor.

Furthermore, even normal movement costs1 FS to move one Range and attack or tomove two Ranges without attacking. Nospecial forms of Jumps (e.g., Double Jump,Super Jump) may be used. Finally,characters with Hyper Armor move slowerand lose the ability to block attacks, so theDefense Skill can never be used andDefense Totals with the Evasion Skill arereduced by one. A successful Evasion only

allows one Range of movement for 1 FS,not two. Dash and Back Dash each cost oneextra FS to use. Even more powerful thanSuper Armor, this Technique shouldgenerally not be permitted except as aTemporary Technique. In no way can thisTechnique be combined with Super Armor.

Campaign Based Techniques

As a campaign option, every character mayhave a unique Technique that does not countagainst the normal number of Qualitiesallotted to a character. Because everyFighter has one, these Techniques might bemore unusual and more powerful than other

Techniques. Examples might include theoption of adding a unique Element to theFighter’s Special Moves. These specialElements would allow different ways ofmanipulating the normal rules. A Fighter’sunique Technique could reflect interestingaspects of the character’s concept,appropriate powers that might be hard to

emulate in the rules otherwise, or asmanifestations of the character’s inner drive.

Here are some examples of these specialkinds of Techniques.

Curse Technique: This Technique can beinvoked as an L2 attack that does nodamage if it hits, but the opponent isconsidered Cursed. The Curse effect then

lasts for a five-count or at least one full turn.If an opponent has been Cursed, all of theCursing Fighter’s attacks gain the Rangedand Hard to Evade Elements against thatopponent for the duration.

Gravity Technique: This Technique can beinvoked at the same time as any otherattack, provided two extra Control are used.The attack does not need to hit in order to

produce the effect. This Technique can onlybe used three times per fight, but can berenewed for another three uses by taking anaction to do so. By using this Technique,




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1the Fighter manipulates the flow of gravityor perhaps the wind, allowing him to movemore quickly and to knock opponentsaround more easily. When this Technique isused at the beginning of a Combo, it can beused to either provide the benefit of theMobile Element (move 2 Ranges beforeattack for 1 FS), or a successful attack can

instead receive the benefits of the JuggleElement. If applied to a move that alreadyhas the Juggle Element, the move insteadbecomes a Launcher. If used on a movethat is already a Launcher, the attack doesan additional +2 damage.

Partner Technique: This unusual Techniquerepresents a Fighter who has some sort ofpermanent partner that fights in

conjunction with him. This may be anactual person, but is more often some sortof robot or automaton. To bring the partnerinto combat simply requires an action in lieuof an attack. The partner acts as if anothercharacter had joined the fight. This newcharacter appears at the same Range as theFighter, but on each turn, the Fighter canchoose to move himself normally, move hisPartner one Range, or move both himselfand his Partner one Range at a cost of oneFS. The Partner can attack in place of theFighter, and the Fighter can create SpecialMoves for the Partner to use. The Partner

uses the same Basic Qualities as the Fighter(if the Fighter’s Basic Qualities increasebecause of a Buff Special Move, thePartner’s Basic Qualities do not increase).Any Special Moves belonging to the Partnerrequire no special Element, but they canonly be used by the Partner. If the Fighterand the Partner alternate attacks (including

Combos) on alternate turns, they receive a+1 bonus to Accuracy starting on the 3rdturn. The Partner has no defensive optionsand has a Life Bar equal to 20% of theFighter’s full Life Bar. When the Partner isdefeated, it cannot be used again for a full20-count of combat, at which point its LifeBar is restored to full. Use of this Techniqueturns even a one-on-one fight into a fightwith multiple combatants; the Director

should keep this additional complexity inmind before allowing it.

Tag Technique: This Technique enables aFighter to mark his opponent in such a waythat they are chained (visibly or invisibly),keeping the opponent in close proximity. Itmay be because of the chains the Fighteruses as a weapon or because the Fightermanipulates magnetism around theopponent. This Technique can be invoked atthe same time as any other attack, providedtwo extra Control are used. The attack doesnot need to hit in order to create the Tageffect. The Tag effect then lasts for a five-count or at least one full turn. Any Special



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1Move can also be given the Tag Element. If an opponent has been Tagged, and then is hitby a Special Move with the Tag Element, the opponent automatically moves two Rangescloser to the Tagging Fighter before the attack begins (this cannot bring an opponentbeyond Range 0, i.e., an opponent at Range 1 will not pass “through” the Fighter to Range1 on his other side). The Fighter also gets a +1 bonus to Accuracy if the Tagged opponentattempts to Evade the attack. Special Moves with the Tag Element have no additionaleffect if used in the middle or end of a Combo; the effect only applies if it is used as the firstmove in a Combo.




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2Chapter 2: Basic Moves

In the core rules of Fight!, Basic Moves are just that: basic. They represent the endlessvariety of punches and kicks that, whilevisually distinctive for each Fighter, serve asthe “default” forms of attack for allcharacters. In addition to Basic Moves,

there are also several other actionsavailable to all characters, such as theability to jump in order to Evade attacks,the ability to Power Up to gain SuperEnergy, or the ability to Taunt. All of theseactions can be further modified to bettersuit a particular campaign style.

In addition to all of these modifications, theDirector could also introduce any number of

Command Moves to his game, specialforms of attack that are more useful thanBasic Moves or which have specificapplications in combat, but which lack thepower and uniqueness of Special Moves.

With the material in this chapter, thedistinctive flavor of a campaign can beenhanced by customizing or increasing thebasic actions and attacks available to all

characters. This can make a campaignfeaturing high-flying aerial combat feeldifferent than a gritty campaign ofunderground street brawling.

Modifying Basic Moves

The following rules options provide ways inwhich the Director can increase theflexibility of Basic Moves. As individualoptions, these rules also make excellentexamples of Techniques.

Adding Elements to Basic Moves: TheDirector can allow Special Move Elementsto be added to Basic Moves. He maychoose certain specific options amongthose listed here, or he may permit all ofthem in order to vastly increase theflexibility of Basic Moves, at the cost ofundermining the power of some SpecialMoves.

Adding an Element to a Basic Moveincreases the Control cost of the move.Only one Element can ever be added to aBasic Move. The additional Element mustbe declared when the Fighter announces hisattack and before the attack roll is made.

The following Elements increase thenecessary Control from 1 to 2: Anti-Air, Hardto Evade, Hits Low, Increased Knockback,

Juggle, Position Shift, and Reach.

The following Elements increase thenecessary Control from 1 to 3: Knocks Downand Juggle. Since the Juggle Elementnormally requires the Knocks Down



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2Element as a prerequisite, this latter optionis more powerful. Therefore, theDirector may disallow it.

The following Element increasesthe necessary Control from 1 to 4:Launcher. Again, the Director maywish to allow only Juggle for a

Control cost of 4 ratherthan Launcher.

In general, it is notrecommended thatall of theseElements bepermitted in as i n g l ec a m p a i g n .

Doing sounnecessarilycomplicatescharacterchoice incombata n dm a k e sm a n ycommon Special Moves

redundant. However, choosing a few ofthese options can add flavor to the feel ofthe campaign world. For example, acampaign in which every Fighter has accessto a Launcher suggests a world whereFighters battle it out in the air as much as

on the ground, while a campaign in whichevery Fighter has access to an Anti-Air

move discourages leaping attacks.

Differing Strengths for BasicMoves: Most fighting video gamesmake a distinction betweendifferent kinds of Basic Moves. The

default rules presume thatdiffering Initiative rolls,

attack rolls, anddamage rolls

are sufficientt o

distinguishb e t w e e nlight Basic

Moves and

heavy BasicMoves. If anattack doeslittle damage,

it was a lightmove; if it was

a heavydamage hitwith a lowInitiative, it

was a heavy move.

However, if the Director wishes to highlightthe differences, certain Elements and




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2Liabilities can be added to account fordifferent Basic Moves. Medium BasicMoves use all of the existing rules for BasicMoves. Light Basic Moves have DecreasedDamage, and are thus a base damage ofonly one point. However, they are alsoconsidered to have the Fast RecoveryElement. On the other hand, Heavy Basic

Moves cost two Control to use rather thanone, but their damage is increased one fulldie size (base damage is thus 1d6, just like aSpecial Move). If a Heavy Basic is used asthe 2nd or later move in a Combo, it countsas a Special Move (i.e., it costs 2 Control,does half damage, and reduces Accuracy).

If these rules are being used with theoptional rules for Chain Combos (see the

section on Combos in Chapter 5), a ChainCombo must be composed of a series ofLight, Medium, and Heavy Basics inascending order. Each series of three hitscosts 2 Control to include in a Combo. Thebase damage for this Combo is one point,modified by Strength and Stamina as usual,plus three points for each series of threehits. For example, for Control 4, a Fightercould do a Combo consisting of six Basic

Attacks (Light, Medium, Heavy, Light,Medium Heavy). This Combo would have abase damage of one, plus six damage.

Modifying Jumps

“Jumping” is not technically an action in therules. Any time a Fighter moves twoRanges and attacks with a Basic, or threeRanges without attacking, or successfullyEvades and moves two Ranges, the defaultpresumption is that the character is

Jumping. In many games, that is all thedetail that Jumping needs. However, manyfighting games include additional ways inwhich a Fighter can move around thebattlefield, so the following rules optionsare presented. Again, many of these alsomake excellent examples of Techniques.

Easier Jumps: If the Director wants toincrease the flexibility of Jumping, eliminate

the FS cost for moving two Ranges beforeattacking with a Basic Move. With this rule,a Fighter with the Light Quality receives a +1 bonus to Accuracy when attacking with a

jumping Basic Move.

The following paragraphs present severalnew ways to modify Jumping in combat. Inevery case, the modifications on Jumpingprovided by the Light Quality do not apply

to any of these rules.

Double Jumps: These are Jumps that occurafter a first Jump, as if the second (or eventhird or fourth) Jump was made off of asolid invisible platform suspended in the air.



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2Double Jumps cost 1 FS (a Triple Jump orQuadruple Jump would cost this sameamount again, i.e., 2 or 3 FS). Outside ofcombat, a Director might allow the creativeuse of the Double Jump “physics” to allow acharacter to reach a height normallyinaccessible (even beyond the extraordinaryleaping abilities normally on display in

shounen anime). If a Double Jump is used inconjunction with an Evasion, the combatantspends the necessary FS and then gains a +2 (or +4 or +6 respectively for a Triple orQuadruple Jump) to his Defense Total. Ifthe Evasion is successful, the combatantmust move 2 Ranges, which still costs 1 FSto do. Double Jumps only provide a bonusto Evasion; they cannot be used as anattack. As an optional rule for all

combatants, this ability is usually restrictedto Double Jumps. As a Technique, however,some fighters might be able to do triple orquadruple jumps, or even do a double ortriple jump above a Super Jump (therebyincreasing the bonus to Evade if they aretargeted during the Super Jump; seebelow). Each additional “level” of jumpingbeyond the established campaign limitwould count as a separate Technique.

Super Jump: This jump sends the Fightersuper high into the air (often “off thescreen” in a video game). Normally, acombatant can jump forward 2 Ranges andattack or 3 Ranges forward or backward

without attacking, either at a cost of 1 FS. ASuper Jump instead allows a combatant to

jump forward 3 Ranges and attack or 4Ranges without attacking, still at a cost ofonly 1 FS. However, while the combatantmust declare his intended destination (aspecific Range from his present location),he does not actually land until the start of

his action on the following turn. Until thattime, the character can only be targeted bya Special Move or Super Move with theRanged, Aerial, or Hard to Evade Element.If attacked before next getting to act, thecombatant can only use Evasion to defend(unless Aerial Blocks are also permitted),though the character does receive a +2bonus to his Defense Total. If the Evasion issuccessful, the character neither moves nor

gets a bonus to Accuracy (as wouldnormally be the case with a successfulEvasion). If the Evasion is unsuccessful andthe jumping combatant is hit, he isconsidered to be at the point where he wasgoing to land for purposes of determiningKnock Back and final placement. A SuperJump can also be used to launch a BasicAttack (or even start a Combo). The attackdoes not take place until the following turn,

but receives a +2 bonus to Accuracy. ASuper Jump cannot be used as a Cross-Up.However, if the combatant uses a SuperJump to begin an attack and then fails to




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gain Initiative on the following turn, anopponent that moves forward or backwardseven 1 Range will automatically avoid a

jumping attack from a Super Jump. In thiscase, the jumping Fighter lands and cantake no further action on his turn.

Hover: This is sort of a “lasting jump.” The

character leaps up in the air and, while nottechnically hovering, he descends slowly tothe ground. A Hover Jump is declared whenthe Fighter attempts to use the EvasionSkill, adding a +1 bonus to his DefenseTotal. However, if he is successful, thecombatant must choose to move 2 Rangesfor 1 FS.

Wall Springs: Many Fighters have the

ability to jump back against a wall and thenspring forward towards or over anopponent. If the character leaps back awayat least 1 Range from an opponent and ifthis movement also places him against awall (i.e., Distance 1 or 0 away from theWall), the combatant may then leap 3Ranges forward (for a net gain of 2 Ranges)and still attack. This gives the attacker anadditional +1 bonus to Accuracy (and this

may also be combined with a Cross-Up ifappropriate). A Wall Spring can also beused defensively if the character is in theright position (i.e., no more than 1 Distance

away from a wall). In this case, thecharacter receives a +1 bonus to DefenseTotal while using Evasion. If successful, thecharacter must move forward 2 Ranges for1 FS. Whether an actual “Wall” (i.e., anEnvironmental Hazard defined as such) isnecessary is up to the Director. In thesource material, the “wall” is usually

nothing more than the artificial border ofthe stage. In this case, a fighter can “wallspring” back and off of Range 4 and forwardto attack.

Modifying Basic Throws

The following two options, while very differentfrom one another, both add new modifiers tothe idea of Basic Throws for all Fighters.

Mega Throws: In addition to any other L2Basic Throws allowed to all characters, theDirector might also allow each Fighter tohave a Mega Throw. This is an L6 BasicThrow: a free L6 Special Move (not a SuperMove) that must have the Throw Element.It is built in all other ways like a normalSpecial Move.

Advanced Grappling

This is a sub-set of optional rules to addmore detail to grappling for campaigns thatwish to encourage this or to increase the

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options available when grappling. All of thefollowing modifiers should be usedtogether.

Special Moves with the Throw Element donot receive a +1 bonus to Accuracy as usual.

After successfully hitting with a Throw

Special Move, but before doing damageand ending the move as usual, an attackercan defer doing damage and instead movethe opponent. Both charactersautomatically move 1 Distance towards anEnvironmental Hazard. The held characteris unable to act until he escapes the hold.At the beginning of the next and anysubsequent turn, the attacker can choose tomove the opponent again or do damage. In

the former case, another attack roll must bemade against the opponent’s Defense Skill(this roll can be modified by both Fighterswith FS as usual). If the attack roll fails, theopponent is freed. In this case, the Throwends, the defender is not Knocked Down,and the turn sequence returns to normal. Ifthe attacker simply wishes to do damage,no attack roll is necessary and the Throw isresolved as normal. Holding an opponent

cannot be continued for longer than a 10-count or the opponent will be releasedautomatically with no damage done.

Like a Sustained Hold, in a multiplecombatant fight, characters involved in an

advanced grapple are immune to attacksfrom other combatants.

There are 3 additional Command Movesavailable after a Throw (see CommandMoves below). Any one of these can beused after the Throw move has hit. In eachcase, they replace the damage and any

other effects of Elements possessed by theoriginal Throw Special Move.

Quick Combo: The grappler lets go andattacks with a few quick punches. Thisreplaces all of the Throw’s normal effectswith damage equal to the Throw’s originaldamage plus one die size.

Knee Kick: The grappler holds the

opponent and kicks them several times inthe knees. This replaces all of the Throw’snormal effects with damage equal to theThrow’s original damage plus the IncreasedStun Element. This effect does do Stundamage, unlike normal Throws.

Push Back: This move does no damage andsimply pushes back the opponent 1 Range(and also automatically 1 Distance towards

an Environmental Hazard if desired) andforces them to lose three die sizes onInitiative on the following turn.

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Modifying Basic Taunts

Chapter 4 contains a number of new kinds ofSuper Moves and options for using SuperEnergy. With all of these new possibilities,Taunts in fighting games often serveadditional purposes beyond providing easyGlory. At the Director’s discretion, in addition

to providing Glory, Taunts can either add 1 tothe opponent’s Power Energy or Rage Bar orsubtract 1-3 from the opponent’s SuperEnergy. In a more flexible game, perhapsboth of these options could apply. However,too many modifiers to Super Energy or toomany additional kinds of Energy cancomplicate combat too much.

Command Moves

In a fighting video game, a Command Move isa term used for a minor Special Move thatrequires a single direction press with a buttonpress. Thus, Command Moves are functionallyL2 moves. Different games have a widevariety of special effects that every Fighter inthe game possesses. Any of the followingCommand Moves might be possessed by allFighters in a campaign or may be acquired as

Techniques, at the Director’s discretion.

Command Moves require Control 2 to useunless otherwise noted below. Several are

described as “non-attack actions.” Thismeans they can be used regardless ofControl rolled, but they replace theFighter’s normal ability to attack during theturn. Command Moves are worth no Gloryand cannot be used in Combos unlessotherwise noted below. Even though manyof them are modified versions of Basic

Moves, a combatant cannot move 2 Rangesbefore attacking with a Command Moveunless otherwise noted below. They alsocannot be used as Cross-Ups. Unlessotherwise noted, they cannot be used with

jumps (i.e., a Fighter can only move oneRange before attacking).

Air Dash: The character leaps up and moveshorizontally forward while still in the air. If

used as a form of Evasion, it adds +1 to thecharacter’s Defense Total, though he mustchoose to move 2 Ranges for 1 FS if theattack misses. If used as movement, itallows 2 Ranges of movement with no FScost but, unlike a Jump, it cannot becombined with a Basic Move as an attack.However, if the Fighter is interrupted whiledoing an Air Dash, he gets a +2 bonus to hisdefense total with the Evasion Skill. This isan alternate form of movement and doesnot require any specific Control to use.

Alternate Power Up 1: This non-attackaction has effects that last for one full turn(after the turn of the Power Up) or a 5-

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count, whichever is longer. While active,any attacks that are successfully blockedwith the Defense Skill still do 1 Life Bardamage. This action does not allow anymovement.

Alternate Power-Up 2: This non-attackaction has effects that last for one full turn

(after the turn of the Power Up) or a 5-count, whichever is longer. While active, allattacks (or Combos) do +2 damage. Thisaction does not allow any movement.

Alternate Power-Up 3: This non-attackaction is a variant of Alternate Power-Up 2.The next attack that hits does +2 damage,without a time limit restriction. The effectends after one successful hit. This action

does not allow any movement.

Alternate Power-Up 4: This non-attackaction has effects that last for one full turn(after the turn of the Power Up) or a 5-count, whichever is longer. While active,another specific Special Move gains anElement (this cannot be an Element thatcounts as two or more Elements). ThisElement must be decided at the time of the

affected Special Move’s creation. Thisaction does not allow any movement.

Alternate Power-Up 5: This non-attackaction has effects that last for one full turn(after the turn of the Power Up) or a 5-

count, whichever is longer. While active, allattacks do +2 damage. However, theFighter cannot use the Defense Skill duringthis time and if he is hit, attacks against himalso do +2 damage.

Ankle Kick: This is similar to the RecoveryCommand Move, as it is done when

Knocked Down (see below). It differs fromthe Recovery Move in two respects: a) theFighter must still use another action on thefollowing turn to stand after this attackoccurs, and b) there is no penalty toAccuracy with the Ankle Kick rather than a –2 penalty. The attack is considered astandard Basic Move otherwise. Whetherthe attack hits or misses, the Fighter is notconsidered to be standing and must use his

next action to stand. Ankle Kicks should notbe allowed in campaigns in whichcharacters cannot be attacked whileKnocked Down.

Beating: This Command Move can only beused on a Knocked Down opponent whowas hit by the Tackle Command Move (seebelow) on the previous turn and who hasnot yet stood up. If the attacker wins

Initiative, he can move forward 1 Range andattack the Knocked Down opponent with +1Accuracy. Unlike a Pursuit Attack, however,this move can begin a Combo of Basic

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Moves as the Fighter delivers a viciousbeating on his opponent. No Special Moveor Super Move can go into this Combo. ThisCombo is worth +2 Glory.

Bonebreaker: The attacker steps forwardand grabs the opponent’s limb and twists itinto an impossible position. This adds the

Increased Stun Element to a Basic Move,but the Bonebreaker cannot be used in aCombo. This attack is worth 1 Glory.

Burst Assault: This Command Move alsorequires the Fighter to keep track of a newgauge called Burst Energy. Each Fighteraccumulates Burst Energy at the same ratethat they gain Super Energy. When BurstEnergy reaches 10, the Fighter can perform

the Burst Response as a DefensiveResponse (see Chapter 5) or the BurstAssault as an L2 attack. If the Burst Assaulthits, it does no damage, but the opponent isKnocked Back two Ranges and is KnockedDown, while the attacker immediately gainsmaximum Super Energy. Burst Energydrops to zero regardless of whether theBurst Assault hit or not.

Close Combat: This attack can only be usedat Range 0. If it hits, on the following turn,each combatant only rolls Control (FS canbe spent as usual). The one who rolls higher

Control does damage equal to the rolledControl. No other actions (includingmovement) occur on that turn.

Dive: This modified Basic Move has theMobile Element, allowing 2 Ranges ofmovement for 1 FS without beingvulnerable to the Anti-Air Defensive

Response. It also possesses the KnockbackAdvance Element. However, the attackermust move at least 1 Range before thisattack can be used.

Fury Strike: This is a modified Basic Movethat has either the Knocks Down Elementor a combination of one Increased DamageElement and the Increased Stun Element(decided by the Director for his campaign or

by the player if it is a Technique). This moveuses 10 Super Energy, and as such is onlyusable in a campaign with Super Moves andonly after a character has reached PowerLevel 3.

Power Strike: This is a modified Basic Movethat has both the Increased Knockback andKnocks Down Elements (but still onlyrequires Control 2 to use). Furthermore, the

Director may also allow this Command Moveto be used with a Jump (i.e., move 2 Rangesfor 1 FS) as an additional option. This is apowerful Command Move and shouldnormally not be allowed as a Technique.

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Pursuit Attack: This is a Basic Move used tohit an opponent while he is Knocked Down.It usually takes the form of a leaping attackor stomp on the prone opponent. It canonly be used on Knocked Down opponentsand it can also be included in a Combo aftera move that Knocks Down (contrary to thenormal rules). However, a Pursuit Attack

cannot begin a Combo (i.e., it is the onlyattack that can hit the Knocked Downopponent). This move is worth 1 Glory. Thedefender can only use the Defense Skill orthe Tactics Skill with the Reversal DefenseResponse.

In addition to Pursuit attacks, the Directormight permit all moves to have a chance ofhitting a Knocked Down opponent before he

stands up. Such attacks have a –4 Accuracypenalty, unless they have the Hits LowElement, in which case the penalty is only –2,or Aerial, in which case they cannot hit aKnocked Down opponent. A Fighter canconstruct a Combo that continues after amove that Knocks Down the opponent, but inthis case, the entire Combo suffers the worstpenalty to Accuracy based on all the moves init (i.e., likely –4, but possibly only –2). If theCombo misses, all the hits miss, including theones before the Knock Down attack.

Recovery: This is a Basic Move with theReversal Element attached to it. It was notincluded in the section on adding Elements

to Basic Moves, as this particular CommandMove is commonplace enough in fightingvideo games to warrant particular mentionas a Command Move.

Run: A Fighter can move 2 Ranges andattack with a Basic Move or move 3 Rangeswithout attacking for a cost of 1 FS.

However, this does not allow an opponentto use the Anti-Air Defensive Response, asthe opponent is running along the groundrather than jumping through the air. Thisonly requires Control 1 to use and can begina Combo.

Sidestep: This is an additional option foruse after a successful Evasion. Instead ofmoving 2 Ranges at a cost of 1 FS after a

successful Evasion, a combatant mayinstead choose to move the attacker 1Distance towards an environmental hazardwithout a Tactics skill check and still receivea +2 bonus to Accuracy on the followingturn (as a normal Evasion).

Sliding Dash: This is a variant form ofTackle (see below). It possesses the Self-Prone Liability.

Tackle: This Command Move is resolved asa Basic Move. If it hits, it Knocks Down theopponent without the possibility of aBreakfall or Tech Roll and the attacker gains

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a one die size bonus toInitiative on the followingturn. The Tackle mustoccur at Range 0, andthe attacker must move atleast 2 Ranges (at a costof 1 FS) before attacking,

just like a jumping Basic

Move. If the attackerdoes nothing but move atleast 1 additional Rangeon the prior turn (i.e., fora total movement of 3Ranges or more beforethe Tackle), this attackalso gains the UnblockableElement.

Trample: This is a modifiedversion of a Pursuit Attack. Itfunctions the same, except it alsohas the benefit of the MobileElement. Thus, it can be used beforethe opponent stands up on thefollowing turn and allows twoRanges of movement for 1 FS.In order to use a Trample, theattacker must movethrough the opponent

(i.e., move from Range 1to Range 0 back to Range 1on the other side of theopponent).

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Throw Downed Opponent: This Command Move is only available in campaigns using BasicThrows. The attacker must be able to move to Range 0 of an unconscious (or dead)character. As a special Basic Move, the combatant can pick up and throw the body up to 2Ranges at another opponent. Damage is calculated as normal (even though this is a sort ofRanged attack). The attack is worth 4 Glory for its brazen audacity. It can also be used inthe Thug Thrashing sub-system as well with downed Thugs.

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Chapter 3: Special Moves

The heart of Fight!’s combat system isfound in the unique Special Moves everyFighter brings into battle. The Elementsand Liabilities contained in the core rulesprovide hundreds of combinations suitablefor creating almost any Special Move seenin the source material. That being said,some unusual moves cannot be adequatelyemulated with the present rules. Thus, thischapter provides dozens of new Elementsand Liabilities to vastly expand thepossibilities for creative Special Movedesign. Of particular note in this chapterare rules for creating Buff Special Moves,moves that change the capabilities of aFighter, sometimes in drastic ways.

Special Considerations forMoves that do No Damage

Any Special Move that does not do damage,either because the Element specifically sayssuch a move always does no damage orbecause the No Damage Liability has beenadded to the Special Move, often have

more Elements available to them than arepractically usable, which creates thetemptation to add unnecessary “dump”

Elements such as high levels of IncreasedGlory to use up the available Elementsrather than waste them. Thus, if a SpecialMove does no damage, each unusedElement can be used to decrease themove’s Move Point cost by one to aminimum of one point.

Furthermore, Super Moves are normallyrequired to spend half of their availableElements on Increased Accuracy, IncreasedDamage, Invincibility, and Breakthrough.However, if a Super Move does no damage,this restriction does not apply. Super Movescan also make use of the Move Point costbreak described above.

New Special Move Liabilities

Cheap Liability: This Liability is a specialcase, as it is a metagame Special MoveLiability, and thus requires the Director’spermission. On the other hand, theDirector could instead require this Liabilityto be used in conjunction with certain moveElements that he wished to restrict in thegame. For example, if the Director wantedto restrict the appeal of popular Elements

like Easy to Combo and Fast Recovery, hecould require that Special Moves with theseElements also have this Liability. Thisactually makes the move slightly morepowerful, while at the same time restrictinghow frequently it can be used. A Special



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3Move with this Liability is considered“cheesy” and unbalanced by the game’s fanbase. As such, the move earns no Glorywhen it is first used, and if used more thanonce in the same combat, the Fighter loses1d4 Glory. Special Moves with theUnblockable, Subtle, and Knocks DownElements are also common candidates for

this Liability, in addition to the twomentioned above.

No Defense Liability: This Liability countsas two Liabilities. This Liability can only beapplied to moves that are part of a Stylebelonging to a Fighter with multiple Stylesor to a Special Move with the Buff Element.In the former case, all moves in the Stylemust have this Liability. In the latter case,

this effect lasts for the duration of the Buff.While in the designated Style or while theBuff is in effect, the character cannot usethe Defense Skill.

No Movement Liability: This Liability canonly be applied to moves that are part of aStyle belonging to a Fighter with multipleStyles or to a Special Move with the BuffElement. In this case, all moves in the Stylemust have this Liability. While the Fighteruses this particular style, he cannot move inany way. He may still be Knocked Back.

Requires Environmental Hazard Liability:In order for this move to be used, the

opponent must also be at Distance 0 from aparticular Environmental Hazarddesignated when the move is designed. Forexample, this Liability could apply to awrestling move that requires the target tobe against the ropes or the wall of a ring. Inmost traditional Fight! campaigns, thiscounts as two Liabilities. In campaigns in

which the Environmental Hazard inquestion is commonplace, it counts as one.

Sidestep Setup Liability: This move mustoccur on a turn immediately after thecharacter successfully Evaded withoutmoving. This may be on the same turn ifthe Evading Fighter has not yet acted, orelse he must win Initiative against his targeton the following turn. This Liability is only

available in campaigns that allow theSidestep Command Move. The attack stillreceives a +2 bonus to Accuracy for thesuccessful Sidestep.

Slow Startup Liability: This Special Movehas a lengthy animation before the attackactually occurs. This move requires +2Control to use. Furthermore, if the Fighterwishing to use this move has Initiative, butthe difference between his initiative totaland his target is two points or less, he isunable to use this move.




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Specific Range Liability: This fairlycommon Liability is applied to a SpecialMove that can only hit an opponent at aspecific Range. It may be an extremelyshort-range move, it may launch an attackpast an opponent who is standing too close,or the Fighter may bounce over anopponent who is standing too close. The

specific Range at which the attack can beused is defined when the Special Move isdesigned. Used at any other Range, theattack automatically misses. This Rangemust be defined as Range 0, Range 1, orRange 2, unless the Special Move also hasthe Reach or Ranged Elements.

Vulnerability Liability: This Special Moveleaves the Fighter temporarily vulnerable.

If the character is interrupted whileperforming this move and gets hit, theinterrupting character’s attack does oneadditional die size of damage. There is onemodifier Liability for this Liability as well.

Increased Duration Liability: TheFighter suffers additional damage if themove is interrupted and also for a fullfive-count (or at least one full turn)

starting on the turn after the move isused.

New Special Move Elements

Many of the following new additions aremodifier Elements for Elements containedin the core rules. They are listed belowaccording to the name of the primaryElement that they modify.

Bomb Element: The Bomb Element aspresented in the core rules creates a timedexplosive on the battlefield. AdditionalElements can increase the flexibility of thisElement to allow it to represent other formsof attack, such as defense drones that shootenergy beams or missiles at the opponent.It can also just be increased in flexibilitywith additional modifier Elements.

Assault Bomb Element: Two turns afterthe Bomb is first placed, it launches asingle Ranged attack at an opponent.This attack is Hard to Evade and, ifdesired, uses the FS of the Fighter whoplaced the Bomb. It does normalSpecial Move damage (based on theFighter’s Ki). During this turn, theFighter who placed the Bomb may stillact normally. After the turn is over, the

Assault Bomb disappears without effect.The bomb may also explode as normalbefore the Ranged attack takes effect.Additional Elements can be spent toincrease the damage of this attack atthe normal cost.



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3Controlled Detonation Element: TheBomb does not automatically explode;instead, the Fighter must use an actionon his turn to detonate the bombinstead of an attack. It can remainundetonated for only a five count; thenit disappears without effect.

Multiple Bombs Element: The Fightercan place additional bombs whileunexploded bombs remain in the combat.Up to four bombs total may be placed. Ifa fifth is placed, the oldest unexplodedbomb disappears with no effect.

No Detonation Liability: This “Bomb”does not actually explode. It can be usedto create Assault Bombs that are solely

used for the Ranged attacks they provide.

Breaker Element: This Special Move isunaffected by the Temporary InvulnerabilityElement. If the opponent is gaining thebenefits of the Temporary InvulnerabilityElement, this move still does damage,Knock Back, Knock Down (if appropriate),Hit Stun, and Stunning.

Cancel Throw Element: If a Special Movewith this Element hits an opponent atRange 1, the attacking Fighter can roll aTactics skill check with a DL of 8 beforedetermining any effects of the hit. Ifsuccessful, the Fighter can choose to use

any Special Move with the Throw Elementthat he has enough Control for instead of theoriginal Special Move.

Counter Element: The following two optionsare not new modifier Elements. Rather, theyare optional rules that can be used by theDirector as campaign options or as

Techniques by Fighters who have SpecialMoves with the Counter Element.

Counter Juggles: With this optional rule,a Special Move with the Counter Elementand the Juggle Element can add thebonus damage from the Juggle Elementto the Counter Defensive Response.

Reversing Counters: With this rule, if a

move with the Counter Element succeedswith a Counter Defensive Response, theoriginal attacker may choose to defendwith 1/2 Defense or 1/2 Tactics Skill. Ifthe defensive response misses, theoriginal attacker may then use anyapplicable defensive response. This canresult in a further Counter, and so on.The cost of the Counter Element isbalanced by this Liability, and “Counter

Only” now counts as a normal Liability.

Create Environmental Hazard Element:This Element is used to create Special Moves




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that temporarily add effects to the fightingenvironment. This is most commonly usedto create temporary Walls, but if theDirector permits, it could also permit Pits orother damaging Environmental Hazards.When the move is used, the Fighter createsthe Hazard at Distance 1 from himself and aDistance equal to the Range away from his

opponents. For example, if his opponentwas at Range 3, the Hazard would beDistance 3 away. The creating Fighter iscompletely unaffected by the Hazard. TheHazard stays in existence for a five-count orat least one full turn. If an opponent movesor is Knocked Back to Distance 0 from theEnvironmental Hazard, he suffers thenormal effects of the Hazard automatically.However, if the Create Environmental

Hazard move is used at Range 0 (thuscreating the Hazard automatically atDistance 0 of the opponent), a normalattack roll is needed to use this move;otherwise, the Hazard is not created.Whether or not this move does damagedepends on the Environmental Hazardcreated. If the Hazard normally does not dodamage, this Special Move does no damageand cannot take the No Damage Liability. If

the Hazard normally does do damage (e.g.,a spinning blade in mid-air), it does damagelike a normal Special Move. There areseveral modifier Elements for this Element.

Damage Element: This Element allowsan Environmental Hazard that normallydoes not do damage (e.g., Walls) to dodamage equal to a normal Special Move.

Extended Duration Element: TheHazard exists for a 10-count beforevanishing.

Multiple Hazard Element: This Elementcosts two Elements. With this Element,the Fighter can create a Hazard, thenmove as normal, then create anotherHazard, all on the same turn.

Reflection Element: This only applies toWall Environmental Hazards. If theopponent uses a Ranged Special Move

that would reach the Distance away ofthe Environmental Hazard, it isautomatically reflected back at theopponent. This is resolved according tothe normal rules for the ReflectionElement. If the Fighter who created theHazard has moved away from theHazard and closer to his opponent sinceit was created, he must successfullyEvade (i.e., he must jump over the

Ranged attack) in order to produce theReflection effect.

Does No Knockback Element: ThisElement costs two Elements. When this



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3Special Move hits and does damage, theopponent is not Knocked Back one Range.

End Buff Element: This Special Movecan be used to end a specific activeBuff (see below), defined when this

Special Move is created. There is anadditional Liability that can be

applied to this Element.

End Only Liability:This Special Move

can only be usedif there is an

active Buff ineffect; it cannot

be usedotherwise.

Evades RangedElement: The following is a

modifier Element for thisElement.

Move Before Attack Element: If a movewith this Element succeeds in using theEvades Ranged Defensive Response, thedefender can move normally beforeattacking. This usually means one Range ofmovement, but if the Special Move with theEvades Ranged Element also has the Mobile

Element (for example), the Fightercould move two Ranges for 1 FS.




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Hits Super Jump Element: A Special Movewith this Element can be used against anopponent using a Super Jump and receivesa +1 bonus to Accuracy when doing so.

Knocks Down Element: The following aretwo additional modifier Elements for theKnocks Down Element.

No Breakfall Element: This modifierElement prevents the opponent fromusing Breakfall. This Element can alsobe applied to Special Moves with theThrow Element.

No Tech Roll Element: This modifierElement prevents the opponent fromusing Tech Rolls. This Element can also

be applied to Special Moves with theThrow Element.

Mobile Element: This is a new option forthe Mobile Element. The move can be usedas a Wall Spring (see Command Moves inChapter 2). This is basically the same asallowing 2 Ranges of movement, but only inthe right circumstances and with a +1 bonusto Accuracy. This Element can only be used

to move 2 Ranges of movement, not one.This Element can only be taken if thecampaign allows Wall Springs or if the

Fighter has the Wall Spring Technique. Itdoes not otherwise give the character theability to do Wall Springs.

The following are new modifier Elementsfor the version of the Mobile Element thatallows two Ranges of forward movementfor 1 FS.

Full Screen Element: This modifierElement allows three Ranges of forwardmovement for 1 FS, but the Fightermust always move at least one Rangeforward when using this move. ThisElement cannot be combined with theLimited Movement Liability thatrequires one Range of movement beforeattacking. If the Fighter moves a full

three Ranges of movement beforeattacking, the defender receives a +1bonus to his Defense Total. ThisElement also has a modifier Element ofits own.

Fast Full Screen Element: This modifierElement to the Full Screen Elementeliminates the defensive bonus for theopponent when the Fighter moves a fullthree Ranges before attacking.

Modified Defense Element: This Elementcan only be applied to moves that are partof a Style belonging to a Fighter withmultiple Styles or to a Special Move with



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3the Buff Element. ThisElement must be applied toevery Special Move in aparticular style. When theFighter uses this style, hisability to block attackscan be temporarilydecreased, but in exchange

his ability to evade orcounter attacks isincreased. For eachElement spent onthis Element, theFighter’s DefenseTotal with theDefense Skill isreduced by one.However, his

D e f e n s eTotals withthe Evasion orTactics Skillsare increased byone (defined whenthe move is designed).

Multi Hit Element:This Element

represents aSpecial Movethat hits ano p p o n e n tmultiple times in theanimation. If the




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move successfully hits, it does a minimumof two points of damage. This minimumcan be increased by one for each additionalElement spent. The minimum damage cannever exceed the maximum possibledamage of the attack. This “minimumdamage” can still be reduced by effectssuch as the Big Quality. For example,

Hernandez has the Big Quality, and he is hitwith a move that has the Multi Hit Element.The attack would normally do a minimumof two points of damage. His opponentrolls one point of damage. This wouldnormally be increased to two, but asHernandez has the Big Quality, theminimum damage is reduced to one. Onlyone point of damage is done. This Elementis not necessary to emulate a move from

the source material that hits multiple times(of which there are many examples); theseeffects can easily be represented by theIncreased Damage Element and/or theIncreased Glory Element, or even justdescribed as part of the move’s descriptionwithout mechanical distinction at all.

Power Dash Element: A Special Move withthis Element receives a die size increase todamage when used immediately after aDash. This effect applies to only to the 1 FSversion of Dash, as the 2 FS version can onlybe used with Basic Moves.

Power Enhancer Element: The followingare modifier Elements for this Element.

Element Addition Element: Instead ofadding additional damage, a PowerEnhancer may instead add a specificElement to a designated Special Move.This additional Element must be defined

when the move is created. The cost toadd the Element is equal to the numberof Elements it would normally cost plusone. For example, adding a PowerEnhancer that adds the Knocks DownElement to another Special Move wouldcost four Elements: one for the PowerEnhancer Element itself, plus threemore Elements to add the Knocks DownElement (which normally costs two).

The affected Special Move gains thebenefit of the added Element the nexttime that it is used. The Delayed OnsetElement can be added to this effect also.

Power Up Element: The following threemodifier Elements add significant newpossibilities to the Power Up Element.

Extra Elements Element: This is a

modifier Element that can only beapplied to the version of the Power UpElement that allows extra Control to beconverted into extra damage. When themove is designed, extra Control addedto the move can instead be used to add



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3new Elements to the move at a cost ofone Control per Element cost. Thespecific Elements that can be addedmust be defined specifically when themove is first created. Liabilities can alsobe added to the move that apply onlywhen the move is Powered Up. TheseLiabilities serve to reduce the cost of

adding an Element that normally costsmore than one (rather than requiringmore Control). However, each newElement requires at least one extraControl to acquire. There is onemodifier Element for this Element.

Enhanced Power Up Element: This is amodifier Element that can only beapplied to the version of the Power Up

Element that allows extra Control to beconverted to extra damage. ThisElement allows Control equal to up totwice the move’s Level to be added forthe purposes of adding new Elements tothe move. For example, an L3 movecould use nine Control to add up to sixnew Elements to the move. For anadditional Element, up to three timesthe move’s Level can be added to theControl cost for extra Elements. Thelimit on extra damage for a Power Upremains the move’s Level; no additionaldamage can be added as a result of theEnhanced Power Up Element.

Example: A player is designing an L2move with both the Enhanced Power Upand Extra Elements Elements. Hespends two Elements on EnhancedPower Up. This means the Fighter canadd up to six Control to the move forextra damage or extra Elements. Theplayer decides that +1 or +2 Control

does +1 damage, +3 Control adds theKnocks Down Element, +4 Control addsanother +1 damage (+2 total), +5Control adds the Increased StunElement, and finally, +6 Control addsthe Unblockable Element. For eightControl, this L2 Special Move does +2damage and is Unblockable. Though +1Control did +1 damage and +3 Controladded the Knocks Down Element, there

was no specific effect for +2 Controlbecause that point of Control wasneeded to account for the two Elementcost of the Knocks Down Element. Theplayer could have chosen to add aLiability to reduce the cost of theKnocks Down Element.

Variable Power Up: This is not aseparate Element, but rather an optionthat can be chosen instead of thenormal rules for the Power Up Element.Instead of increasing the damage by onefor each extra Control, the move’s




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damage is increased by one die size to amaximum of 1d12.

Pursuit Element: A Special Move with thisElement can be used immediately after anattack Knocks Down an opponent. This canbe on the following turn as a separateattack or on the same turn as part of a

Combo. If a Special Move with this Elementis used, then a Special Move with theKnocks Down Element can be used in aCombo without being the last move of theCombo, provided it is followed immediatelyand solely by a single attack with thePursuit Element. The Pursuit move is stilllimited by the normal rules for movement,so the attacker can only move one Rangetowards the opponent before attacking

with the Pursuit Move, unless the move alsohas the Mobile Element. An opponentattacked by a Pursuit move may only usethe Defense Skill or the Tactics Skill with theReversal Defensive Response. A SpecialMove with this Element cannot also havethe Knocks Down Element. If the Directorallows Elements to be added to AttackStrings, this Element is eligible. The cost ofthis Element is balanced by a Liability if theSpecial Move can only be used as a Pursuitattack, but not as a regular attack. Thereare also two modifier Elements that can beadded to this.

Knock Down Pursuit: Normally moveswith the Knocks Down Element cannotalso have the Pursuit Element. ThisElement allows the Pursuit Element tobe added to Super Moves and SpecialMoves with the Throw Element, but notother Special Moves with the KnocksDown Element. However, the opponent

is not Knocked Down “again,” by theKnock Down Pursuit move; he may standnormally. This Element can be used toemulate a grappling move that picks upan opponent who has been knocked tothe ground to throw them again.

Pursuit Bounce Element: This counts astwo Elements. It is used when theSpecial Move with this Element is part of

a Combo. Normally, the Pursuit attackmust be the last move of the Combo.However, if the Fighter using the PursuitBounce Element succeeds at a DL 8Tactics skill check, he can continue theCombo after the Pursuit attack. Theentire Combo (including the portion afterthe Pursuit Bounce) must be declaredbefore the attack roll, and the entireCombo is used to calculate the Accuracypenalty on the attack. If the attack hitsbut the Tactics skill check subsequentlyfails, the remainder of the Combo isignored and damage is calculated basedon the part that hits.



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3Ranged Element: The following aremodifier Elements for the Ranged Element.

Optional Draw In Element: This is amodifier Element for the Draws CloserElement. The Fighter can optionallychoose to draw the opponent closer or tokeep them at the same range. In this

latter case, there is still one Range ofKnockback instead.

Move Closer Element: This is a modifierElement for the Draws Closer Element.The Fighter can pull himself closer to theopponent instead of pulling theopponent closer to him. This has noeffect in a one-on-one fight with noEnvironmental Hazards, but may affect

Distances to Hazards or positioning in amultiple combatant battle.

Wall Bounce Element: The move canbounce off walls before hitting. If theattacker is within 1 Distance of a Wall,and the defender is within 3 Distances ofthe same Wall, the attack receives a +1bonus to Accuracy. If the attacker iswithin 1 Distance of a Corner, and the

defender is within 3 Distances of thesame Corner, the bonus increases to +2.

Set Up Element: When this Special Move isperformed it initially does no damage.When the same Special Move is performed

later in the same combat, the attack occurswith a +2 bonus to Accuracy. The move maynot be used on consecutive turns (i.e., theremust be at least one turn in between uses ofthe Special Move). This could represent atrap set during the battle, a weapon placedin the ground that then flies towards orthrough the enemy, or a move that needs to

be charged up before using. Glory is earnedonly if the move hits the second time it isused. This pattern can be repeated multipletimes during the same combat. There aretwo modifier Elements for this Element.

Powerless Liability: After this SpecialMove is used once, the Fighter losesaccess to his other Special Moves untilthis move is used again. However, in

this case, this Special Move also does anadditional +2 damage. After it is used asecond time, the character re-gainsaccess to his other Special Moves.

Powerless Exception Element: ThisElement can be applied to any SpecialMove. If the Fighter has the PowerlessLiability, the Special Move with thePowerless Exception Element can stillbe used after the move with the Set UpElement has been used. The cost of thisElement is balanced by a Liability if itcan only be used after the move withthe Set Up Element has been used.




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Sidestep Counter Element: A SpecialMove with this Element can be used as aspecial Defensive Response. If the defendersuccessfully avoids an attack using theEvasion Skill, he can interrupt the normalInitiative order with a Special Move that hasthe Sidestep Counter Element. The currentorder is interrupted, and the defender

temporarily becomes the attacker until theSidestep Counter attack is resolved.Initiative then returns to normal. TheSidestep still moves the original attacker 1Distance towards an Environmental Hazard,though there is no +2 bonus to Accuracy.Unlike the rest of the Defensive Responses,the Sidestep Counter Response is based onthe Evasion Skill, while almost all of the restof the Defensive Responses are based on

the Tactics Skill. However, any game effectthat prevents a character from using Tacticsas a defensive option also prevents the useof the Sidestep Counter Response. If themove can only be used as a SidestepCounter, this is a Liability countering thecost of the move Element.

Skips Knock Down Element: A move withthis Element represents some sort of quick

catch of the opponent to keep them fromfalling. This Element can be used to skip theKnock Down effect of another move in

order to continue a Combo. The move withthis Element does no damage and cannotbenefit from the No Damage Liability. In aCombo, if this move is used immediatelyafter a move with the Knocks DownElement, the Knock Down effect is ignoredand the Combo can continue. A SpecialMove with this Element can also be

combined with the Pursuit Element in orderto set up a special 2-hit Combo while anopponent is Knocked Down. The first movedoes no damage but stands the opponentup, while the second move does damagenormally. Additional moves cannot beadded to this special Combo situation. Ifthe opponent on the ground uses theReversal Defensive Response against thisspecial Combo, he receives a +2 bonus to

his Defense Total.

Summon Element: This Element allows theFighter to summon some form of ally thatstays near the Fighter and assists incombat. This may be an animal, spirit, orliving shadow. A move with this Elementdoes no damage and may not take the NoDamage Liability. The summoned allyappears one Range “in front” of thesummoning Fighter (i.e., between thesummoning Fighter and his opponent).When the Fighter moves forward orbackward one Range, the summoned allymoves two Ranges in the same direction(i.e., it is faster than the character). If the



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3Fighter moves more than one Range, thesummoned ally moves an equal number ofRanges. The summoned ally cannot betargeted by attacks. Additional Elementsspent on the Summon Special Move areused to add additional Elements to BasicMoves launched by the summoned ally.Any number of Elements can be added to

Basic Moves, but only one can be used withany specific attack. All possible Elementsmust be defined when the Summon SpecialMove is designed. During combat while asummoned ally is present, the Fighterlaunches a Basic Move at the same time asthe ally launches a Basic Move (with orwithout additional Elements), and bothattacks target the same opponent on thesame turn if both are within Range. Each is

defended against separately, but the sameSkill must be used for each. If Tactics isused, the same Defensive Response mustbe able to affect both attacks. Thesummoned ally is considered to have thesame Strength and/or Ki Skill of the Fighterfor the purposes of determining damage,though summoned allies are not affectedby any Buff Special Move used by theFighter. The summoned ally only remainsactive for a time count of five or for one fullturn. If the summoning Fighter is struckbefore then, the summoned ally disappears.After the summoned ally disappears, theremust be another full time count of fivebefore it can be summoned again.

Super Counter Element: This Elementcounts as two Elements. This Special Moveincorporates several other Elements andLiabilities. It is a Counter Only move (i.e., itcannot be used normally). It costs 10 SuperEnergy to use. A Super Counter also KnocksDown and the opponent cannot useBreakfall or Tech Roll.

Super Energy Element: If this attack hits,the Fighter gains three Super Energy,instead of one. If the attack misses, it stillgenerates one point of Super Energy asusual.

Suppression Element: The effects of thisElement can be further enhanced. Theeffects below are all cumulative; they

cannot be acquired as separate effects.

Two Elements: Opponent cannot useSpecial Moves for a 5-count (or one fullturn).

Three Elements: Super Moves are alsosuppressed for a 5-count (or one full turn).

Four Elements: All Techniques and

combat modifiers from Qualities (such asBig or Mobility) are also suppressed for a5-count or until the opponent is again hitby an attack.




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Five Elements: Basic Moves are alsosuppressed for a 5-count or until theopponent is again hit by an attack.

Six Elements: Defense Skill and TacticsSkill are also suppressed. Furthermore,the character cannot take any othernon-attack action such as Power Up or

Await Opening. This effect lasts for a 5-count or until the opponent is again hitby an attack.

The suppression of movement can beadded to a Suppression move thatsuppresses Special Moves for an additionalthree Elements (though it only costs oneElement on its own).

When the Suppression effect ends, all partsof the effect end at the same time. Eacheffect is not on its own timer. For the effectat four Elements and beyond, if theopponent is hit with another attack, alleffects of the suppression immediately end.

The six-Element version of this Elementdescribed above can be used to emulate amove that transforms the opponent into

some helpless form (often a small animal ortiny version of themselves).

If a Fighter suffering from a Suppressioneffect is hit by another Suppression move,all Suppression effects immediately end. Acharacter cannot suffer multipleSuppression effects at once or have aSuppression timer continually reset bybeing hit with the same attack. Likewise,only an attack that does damage to the

Fighter will end a Suppression effect.

Tag Counter Element: This move can beused as a Tag Counter. See the rules for TagCounters in Chapter Five.

Team Combo Element: This Element canonly be applied to Super Moves. A movewith this Element can be used as a TeamCombo Move. See Tag Team Supers in

Chapter Five.

Throw Element: The following is a newmodifier Element for the Throw Element.

Does Stun Element: This Element coststwo Elements. This Special Move doesStun damage as normal. This can also beused as a default rule for all SpecialMoves with the Throw Element as a

campaign option if the Director wishes.

Triggered Interrupt Element: This Elementcosts two Elements. It also requires theInterrupt Element as a prerequisite. ASpecial Move with this Element usually



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3creates some sort of creature, hazard, trap,or weapon in place near the Fighter to catchopponents unaware. A Special Move withthis Element cannot have the Interrupt OnlyLiability. The first time this move is used toset up the Triggered Interrupt, it is counts asan attack action, though there is noimmediate effect. However, after it has

been used, the move can be used as aDefensive Response regardless of theFighter’s Control roll for the turn and inaddition to another defensive choice by theFighter at the same time (using Defense,Evasion, or Tactics). Thus, the Fighter mayget two chances to avoid an attack, as theattacker must successfully hit the charactertwice if the Triggered Interrupt is used.Once used, whether successful or not, the

Triggered Interrupt goes away. TheTriggered Interrupt also goes away after a10-count if not used. There is one modifierElement to this:

Multiple Instances Element: ThisElement costs two Elements. Multipleinstances of the Triggered Interrupt canexist simultaneously (each requiring a useof the Triggered Interrupt Special Move toestablish). When the move is used tointerrupt an attack, the Fighter can chooseto expend one or more existing instances.Regardless of how many are expended,the Fighter only gets one additionalchance to defend against the attack.

However, if more than one instance isused, the attack receives a +2 bonus todamage for each instance after the first.

Weapon Break Element: This Element canonly be applied to Super Moves and canonly be used in campaigns in which allcharacters use weapons. It is intended to

complement other optional rules involvingweapons, such as weapon clashes. If thisSuper Move hits, the defender’s weapon isalso destroyed. While without a weapon, allBasic Moves lose one die size of damageand all Special and Super Moves are lostuntil the weapon is recovered. After a 10-count, a new weapon appears at Distance 1from the Fighter, which requires an actionto pick up.

Wind Up Element: When a Special Movewith this Element is used, the Fighter hasthe choice of either having the move occurimmediately as usual or delaying the moveuntil a later turn. If the move is delayed, theTime Count for the beginning of the turn onwhich the Wind Up Special Move is used isnoted for later use. While the move isdelayed, all other moves (including BasicMoves) require +2 Control to use. On a laterturn, the delayed move can be used for 1Control. This move can also be the start of aCombo but cannot be included in the




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middle or end of a Combo. The Wind UpSpecial Move does an additional +1 damagefor each full 3 Time Count that have passedsince the move was first used. Themaximum bonus is +15 damage.

Buffs

An increasingly common kind of SpecialMove found in contemporary fighting videogames is the Buff: a move that oftenradically changes the nature of a Fighter,making him stronger, or faster, or changingthe way his Special Moves work for alimited amount of time. These movesprovide loads of new opportunities forexpanding a particular character’s fightingstyle. The Buff Element fundamentally

works the same as any other Element.However, it is much more complicated thanother Elements and has a large number ofmodifier Elements and Liabilities, and assuch, warrants its own section.

Buff Element: This is a variable costElement. It costs one Element, and theneach benefit it provides costs additionalElements. This high cost makes this

Element better suited to Super Moves, butit can be applied to regular Special Moves aswell. A Special Move with this Elementdoes no damage, but cannot gain the

benefit of the No Damage Liability. ThisSpecial Move changes the character for theduration of a 10-count. The followingoptions are available, and any or all of themcan be contained in the same Buff. Alladditions and changes must be made tospecific existing Special Moves and must bedefined when the Buff is designed.

Any of the character’s Special Moves can begiven additional Elements at a cost of oneElement per two additional Elements’worth of additions. However, the BuffElement itself can never be added to amove as a result of a Buff or any otherElement that adds Elements to an existingSpecial Move.

Existing moves can have Elements switchedout in favor of different Elements (forexample, removing an existing Charge BackElement and adding Increased Damageinstead). This costs nothing beyond the oneElement cost for the Buff Element itself.

The character’s Basic Qualities can be modified.This effect costs three Elements. One of theFighter’s Basic Qualities is increased by one. Thiscan even raise a Basic Quality temporarily to athree (but not above three). If Speed is chosen,the bonus must be applied to either Initiative orControl. For each additional three Elements,another point can be added to a Basic Quality.



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3The character’s ability to block attacks canbe temporarily decreased, but in exchangehis ability to evade or counter attacks isincreased. For each Element spent on thisElement, the Fighter’s Defense Total withthe Defense Skill is reduced by one.However, his Defense Totals with theEvasion or Tactics Skills are increased by the

amount that the Defense Skill was reduced(added to either one or the other Skill orsplit between both, defined when the moveis designed). Defense Skill cannot bereduced below zero with this Element.

There are many modifier Elements andLiabilities that can be applied to a Buff.

Early Ending Element: The Buff can be

ended earlier, but only if a Special Movewith the End Buff Element is used. Thisends the Buff at the end of the turn inwhich the End Buff Special Move is used.

Increased Duration Element: For threeadditional Elements, the effects of theBuff last for the remainder of the fight.A Buff that lasts for the remainder of thefight also costs the Fighter 1 FS per turnto use. When the Fighter runs out of FS,however, the Buff still remains in effect.

Repeatable Element: This Elementcounts as two Elements. A Buff thatonly increases a Fighter’s Basic Qualities

(i.e., it does not modify the character’sSpecial Moves in any way) can becumulatively repeated up to three times(as three separate attacks or actions).This can still not bring a Basic Qualityabove three. If there is also a LoweredBasic Quality Liability on the move, theeffects of this are cumulative also. This

cannot bring a Basic Quality below -2; ifa Basic Quality reaches -2, this SpecialMove cannot be repeated again. Eachuse of a Repeatable Buff costs 1 FS.

Super Energy Duration Element:Instead of a 10-count, the Buff lasts for a2-count per point of Super Energyremaining at the time of use. SuperEnergy is reduced to zero when the Buff

ends and no Super Energy is gainedduring the Buff. This cannot becombined with either DecreasedDuration or Increased Duration.

Buff Gauge Liability: This Liabilityrequires the Fighter to keep track of anew gauge called Buff Gauge. TheFighter gains Buff Gauge in the sameway as Super Energy. When a BuffSpecial Move is used, the effect lasts fora time count equal to the Buff Gauge.The maximum Buff Gauge is 10.




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Decreased Duration Liability: As aLiability, the duration of the Buff isreduced to a 5-count.

Defense Liability: While a Buff is ineffect, the Fighter loses four points fromany Defense Total using the Defense Skill.

Life Bar Drain Liability: Each turn whilethe Buff is in effect, the Fighter loses LifeBar equal to his Power Level.

Lowered Basic Quality Liability: EachLiability taken reduces one or moreBasic Qualities by one. This can eventemporarily bring a Basic Quality to a -2.If Speed is chosen, the penalty can beapplied to either Initiative or Control. No

Basic Quality can be reduced to lowerthan -2.

Movement Only Liability: Until the Buffends, the Fighter cannot perform anyactions other than movement. The onlyexception to this is if the Buff also hasthe Early Ending Element. In this case,Special Moves with the End BuffElement can also be used.

No Movement Liability: Until the Buffends, the Fighter cannot move. He maystill be Knocked Back.

Stun Liability: This counts as two Liabilities.The Fighter is immediately Stunnedbeginning on the turn after the Buff ends.This Liability cannot be taken on a Buff withthe Increased Duration Element.

Adding Liabilities to Attack Strings

In the same manner that Elements can be addedto Attack Strings as an optional rule, Liabilitiescan be added to compensate for these additionalElements. However, because these Liabilitiesonly apply to a specific attack, and they can bechosen as to when they actually come into play,they are worth less than normal Liabilities. Themost important limitation for this rule is this: theadded Liability must have a deleterious effect onthe Fighter on either the turn the Liability is

added or the following turn. If the Liability doesnot directly affect the Fighter immediately, itcannot be added. Adding a Liability allows asingle Element to be added to an Attack String.Additional Liabilities can be added to add moreElements or more costly Elements to the AttackString.

The following three Liabilities are eligible for thisoptional rule: Negative Positioning, Self-Prone,

and Slow Recovery. Other Liabilities might beeligible at the Director’s discretion.



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4Chapter 4: Super Moves

In many fighting video games, Super Movesare more than just high-powered SpecialMoves. Lots of variants exist regardingwhen characters can use Super Moves, howSuper Moves are used, or what uniqueeffects Super Moves produce. These

variants can be emulated with the rules inthis chapter.

There are also a couple especially distinctivekinds of Special Moves contained in thischapter. The first one does not just damagean opponent, but outright kills him.Bringing this kind of move into a gamerequires careful attention on the part of theDirector but can significantly flavor a

particular campaign setting. The secondone changes the way Combos work in thegame, increasing their length and thefrequency of their occurrence.

Rates of Super Energy Gain

The core rules present a fairly simplesystem for gaining Super Energy thatcorresponds with most fighting games.However, there is a lot of variety in the waysthat Super Energy can be acquired. TheDirector might choose to use any of thefollowing methods instead of or in additionto the normal methods.

Decreased Rate: For multi-tier Super Movesystems, after 10 Super Energy is reached,additional Super Energy accumulates onepoint slower per level each turn and noSuper Energy is gained from performingSpecial Moves of any kind.

Desperation Boost: When at 20% of full

Life Bar or under, the Fighter’s SuperEnergy immediately increases to itsmaximum level and never drops until theFighter is defeated.

Fluctuating Super Energy: Instead ofgaining Super Energy by losing Life Bar, thecharacter loses one Super Energy for eachoccasion in which Life Bar is lost. If this lossbrings a Fighter’s Super Energy below half

of the maximum set for the campaign, theninstead an additional point is gained eachturn until Super Energy is at least half of themaximum set for the campaign. This optionfavors an aggressive fighting style.

Increased Max Super Energy: A Fighter’smaximum Super Energy increases by 10points after each full round (not turn) ofcombat.

Increased Rate: After each full round (notturn) of combat, the rate of Super Energyaccumulation per turn increases by one.




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Interrupt Super Energy Boost: If a Fighteris successfully interrupted and hit by aDefensive Response from an opponent usingTactics, each Fighter gains 10 Super Energy.

Life Bar Loss Boost: When a Fighter isat 20% or less of his starting Life Bar, hegains an additional point of Super

Energy each turn.

No Super Energy Cost: A campaignmight allow Super Moves without any costin Super Energy to use. In this case, it isrecommended that all Super Moves be L7or greater in order to properly limit them.

Starting Super Energy: In order to bringSuper Moves into combat more quickly, the

Director can allow each character to start acombat with 5 or 10 Super Energy.

Some additional optional methods includeearning one point of Super Energy when theopponent Taunts or one point when theopponent successfully uses the Defense Skillagainst an attack. In a Team Combat, acharacter could earn a full 10 Super Energywhen his teammate is defeated. Finally, as an

option, in a Team Combat, the Director canrestrict the normal Power Up action to onlywhen a Fighter’s partner has been defeated.

Variants on Using Super Moves

This section contains a variety of differentways in which Super Moves are acquired,built, or used in a campaign. Some of themare conditional on other options also beingin effect in the campaign.



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4First Strike Bonus: Scoring the first hitduring a combat automatically fills theFighter’s Super Energy to half full. This is inaddition to the FS bonus normally earned.

Honorable Defeat: At the end of a turn, acharacter may choose to suffer anHonorable Defeat. This can only be allowed

with Director’s permission; it must beappropriately role-played and should fit intothe larger context of the story. If theDirector allows it, at the beginning of thenext round of a tournament fight or at thebeginning of the next combat sceneotherwise, the character choosingHonorable Defeat begins with max SuperEnergy.

Lower Level Super Moves: The Directormay decrease the minimum level for SuperMoves and allow L4 or even L3 Supers.However, despite their lower level, suchSuper Moves still costs five Move Points.

One-Hit Kill Parry: With a successful ParryDefensive Response (see Chapter 5), thedefender can interrupt with a One-Hit Kill (ifhe has one – see below). However, in this

case, the attacker’s defenses are not halved.

Super Defense: On the turn after acharacter goes up a full level of SuperEnergy (i.e., 10 Super Energy or a multipleof 10 Super Energy in a multi-tier Super

Move system), he gains the benefits ofbeing on Full Defense while still being ableto perform another action on the sameturn. Furthermore, if an opponent is atRange 0 at the beginning of the turn, theopponent suffers damage equal to thefighter’s Ki skill plus his Power Level.

Super Disarm: In a campaign in which everyFighter uses a weapon, the successful use ofa Super Move makes the opponent drop hisweapon. The dropped weapon is placedone Distance away from the Fighter. Whenat Distance 0, the Fighter can spend anaction to pick up the weapon. When acharacter loses his weapon, all Basic Moveslose one die size of damage and all Specialand Super Moves are lost until the weapon

is recovered.

Super Protection: After Super Energy is atmaximum, it can be used to absorb damagefrom a successful hit at the rate of 2 SuperEnergy per 1 Life Bar. This can only be doneif the defending Fighter was using theDefense Skill against the attack. Once acharacter’s Super Energy has reached itsmaximum, this ability can be used freely

until Super Energy again reaches 0, eventhough it may continue to increasenormally each turn.




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4Super Rage: Super Energy can also be usedas a Rage Bar. The Energy can be used forSuper Moves as usual or 10 Super Energycan be spent to get the timed effects of aRage Bar (see below).

New Super Moves

The following are different ways to buildSuper Moves; many of them are also used incombat differently than normal SuperMoves. Some of these are appropriate asTechniques at the Director’s discretion, butmost of them are intended as campaignoptions open to all Fighters in a campaignbeginning at PL 3.

Climax Mode: This move is not an actual

attack but a temporary transformation ofthe character. It costs 30 Super Energy todo. Climax Mode lasts for a 10-count.During this time, all attacks do +2 damageand the character can perform Super Movesat no cost in Super Energy. After ClimaxMode ends, no Super Energy is gained for a15-count.

Desperate Attack: This move is built as a

Super Move; however, it does not requireSuper Energy to use. Some DesperateAttacks are super versions of regular SpecialMoves, while others are unique (often

appearing as sizeable combos). ADesperate Attack can only be used whenthe Fighter is at 10% of his starting Life Baror less. If used, it cannot be used againunless the fighter suffers at least one moreLife Bar of damage again (provided he is notreduced to 0 Life Bar, of course).

Energy Move: The Energy Move is a specialSuper Move that is only L2. It differs fromtraditional Super Moves in several respects.It requires no Super Energy to use and isalways available to use. However, it canonly be used a limited number of times perround (decided by the Director; usually 1-3).When building the move, it is acceptable totake the Limited Use Liability. However theattack is described, such moves are always

visually impressive. It earns 4 Glory, but itonly requires the Control 2 of an L2 move.Energy Moves cannot be multi-level likeSuper Moves. Energy Moves must haveeither or both the Explosive and RangedElements.

Extra Special Move: This is a unique SpecialMove Element that, if used, all characters inthe campaign should use with at least onemove (often several). It replaces the SuperEnergy Liability. The difference is that thisadded effect is optional. Thus, each ExtraSpecial Move will have two versions: theregular Special Move and a “Super” versionthat has two extra Elements. With the



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4Director’s permission, the Extra Specialversion of the move can also haveadditional Liabilities beyond the normalversion of the move. Otherwise, thesemoves are treated as Special Moves.

Finishing Strike: This Super Move must beat least L6. It does not do normal damage,

so it does not need the Increased DamageElement and cannot take the ReducedDamage Liability. It also cannot not havethe Breakthrough Element. This Move canonly be used when the attacker is at 20% orlower of his starting Life Bar and also atmax Super Energy. It costs all Super Energyto perform. If the Finishing Strike hits, theopponent is automatically defeated,regardless of Life Bar.

Guard Breaker: This is a unique kind of L2Super Move. It costs 10 Super Energy touse. It costs three Move Points and is builtwith four Elements, which must be used forthe Unblockable Element. Though only L2,it is worth four Glory when used.

Killer Combos: This variant is not actually aSuper Move, but it is an effect that is aspowerful as a Super Move, so it is presentedhere. This special variant of normal Combosshould only be allowed if all characters canuse it; it is too unbalanced to be acquired asa Technique. The ability to do Killer Combosis automatic at Power Level 3, but they

cannot be used before then. One or moreof the Fighter’s Special Moves aredesignated as “Openers.” An “Opener”Special Move must take the OpenerElement. This move cannot also have theKnocks Down Element. Super Movescannot be Openers and they cannot beincluded in Killer Combos. If the Opener

Special Move is used (either as a singleattack or as the beginning of a Combo), andit hits, then on the following turn, theattacker’s Initiative and Control are bothincreased by two die sizes. The attackermust continue to use Combos as long as histarget does not get a chance to act (e.g.,because of Hit Stun). These subsequentCombos have a –1 penalty to Accuracy forevery four moves in the Combo, rather than

for every three moves as usual.Furthermore, there is an additional damagebonus equal to half the die sized used to rollControl for the turn, regardless of the actuallength of the Combo (i.e., if the Control diewas a d8, the Killer Combo would do +4damage). These combos are also worth +2Glory, for the “animation” of the Combo willshow many more hits than are actually usedin the construction of the Combo. On theturn after the Opener is used, if thecombatant fails to get Initiative, the KillerCombo cannot be used. If this campaignoption is being used, every character shouldalso have their Stun Threshold doubled.




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4There are two additional Elements that areavailable to characters if Killer Combos arebeing used in the campaign.

Killer Combo Breaker Element: This is anElement that can be attached to any SpecialMove. A defender can use Tactics with a +2bonus to the Defense Total in order to

defend against a Killer Combo after it hasbegun (i.e., beginning on the turn after theOpener is used). If the attacker misses, thedefender temporarily becomes the attackeruntil the Killer Combo Breaker Attack isresolved. Initiative then returns to normal,and the Killer Combo automatically ends.

Super Linker Element: A Super Move canbe given the Super Linker Element. This

allows the use of the Super Move in a KillerCombo. A Super Move can still not be anOpener, however.

Mystic Force: This is a special kind of L2Super Move. It costs 10 Super Energy touse. It costs the same as an L2 move but,because of the special nature of this power,it is not built with any Elements. It earnsfour Glory when used. It is used just likeother Super Moves, though it has noInvincibility Element. As long as the Fighteris not interrupted and successfully struck,the Mystic Force will occur; no attack roll is

necessary. Mystic Forces summon thecharacter and his opponent to some otherrealm where the attacker’s powers improve.The way this is described in the narrative ofthe combat depends on the characters andthe campaign. This “alternate realm” couldbe actual temporary dimensional shifting,engagement on the astral plane, psychic

combat, or simply the manifestation oractivation of the fighter’s hidden potential.Mystic Forces, when activated, last for aduration of an 8-count. Each charactermust work with the Director to come upwith the effects of their own Mystic Force.Most of these should not be hugemechanical effects; it is more about thevisuals of the move than the actual effect.However, if the Director thinks a particular

character is a little weaker overall thanother characters in the campaign, or if theplayer has a great idea, more powerfulversions can be created. It should also benoted that, despite the name “MysticForce,” these effects could also betechnological rather than supernatural inorigins and effects. Some examples ofMystic Forces are on the following page.

One-Hit Kill: This ultra-powerful techniqueis more like a Finisher than a Super Move(see Finishers below). It differs fromFinishers in that it can be done in the middleof combat. Such moves must include theRange 0 and Limited Accuracy Liabilities (at



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4

out, the move cannot be used and the

Fighter no longer gains Super Energy forthe remainder of the round. If the One-HitKill attack hits, no damage is rolled.Instead, the attacker earns 10 Glory and the

least –1 Accuracy). The move costs at least

10 Super Energy to use. To prepare to use aOne-Hit Kill, the Fighter uses an action tospend Super Energy. The amount of spentSuper Energy becomes a timer on thecombat’s Time Count of when the One-HitKill move must be used. If the timer runs

• The character cannot be Stunned, regardless of attacks used on him.

• The character’s Basic Attacks gain the Ranged Element, though they still only require one

Control to use.

• The character’s Basic Attacks gain the Throw and Hurl Elements. While such attacks are

restricted in range and movement by the Throw Element, they still only require one Control

to use.

• The character takes -1 damage, -1 Range of Knock Back, and is immune to Hit Stun for the

duration.

• The character gains two die sizes on damage on all attacks for the duration.

• All of the character’s Basic and Special Moves gain the Flight Element for the duration. This

means the Fighter can no longer attack but gains a +4 bonus to all attempts to Evade.

• The character splits into two separate beings. Each being is capable of actingautonomously, but is linked to the proximity of the other. Outside of combat, the Director

might allow this ability to be used for many purposes. In combat, the two beingscoordinate their attacks with one another, giving the Fighter a +2 bonus to Accuracy with

all attacks for the duration.

• The character produces a mirror image of himself or simply attacks faster. The effect is to

add +1 Accuracy and +1 Glory to all attacks, due to the extra hits being scored.




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4opponent is destroyed. The meaning of“destroyed” is up to the Director. Itdefinitely means the opponent can nolonger fight. It should probably involvesome form of incapacitation and may befatal. See the story notes regardingFinishers for more on how to handle such apower. If the One-Hit Kill misses, the

attacker does not gain any more SuperEnergy for the remainder of the round. Aparticular danger in using this move occurs ifthe attacker has Simultaneous Initiative withhis opponent. In this case, the opponent canalso use a One-Hit Kill move (if he also hasone), regardless of Super Energy or whetheror not he has spent an action to activate hisown One-Hit Kill (he must still have enoughControl, however). This supersedes the

normal rules for Super Moves andSimultaneous Initiative. If two One-Hit Killsare launched simultaneously and both hit,they are both considered to have no effect.

Power Move: The Power Move is a specialkind of L2 Super Move. It differs in severalrespects. First, it builds energy like a SuperMove in a separate gauge. This gauge doesnot gain Energy every turn automaticallylike Super Energy, although all other meansof gaining Super Energy still apply to it.When 10 Power Energy is built up, the move

becomes available. At this point, the gaugebecomes active and begins to lose twoPower Energy per turn instead of gainingany. Once active, the Power Move does notneed 10 Power Energy to use, but if thegauge drops to 0, the gauge must be builtback up to 10 before it will be availableagain. Though only L2, the move is built

with four Elements like a Super Move. Itcan have Invincibility and Breakthrough,has a base damage of 1d8, automaticallyKnocks Down, and does no Stun damage.This move should be an appropriatelyimpressive attack. It earns four Glory, but itonly requires the Control 2 of an L2 move.Power Moves cannot be multi-level likeregular Super Moves.

Power Special Move: This is actually aspecial form of a Special Move, but it sharescharacteristics with Super Moves. A PowerSpecial is a Special Move with threepossible levels of effect. They do not useSuper Energy, but they are charged up bythe Power Up action. The number of PowerPoints gained in the Power Up actiondetermines what level the move is: 0-3 isLevel 1, 4-6 is Level 2, 7 or more is Level 3.

The Power Up action can be used onsubsequent turns to increase the Level ofthe Power Special, but all of the points aredepleted once the move is used. The Level1 version of the move is built as normal. TheLevel 2 version is built with two additional



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4Elements, and the Level 3 version is builtwith two additional Elements beyond theLevel 2 version (i.e., a total of four extraElements).

Rage Bar: This is not really a variant SuperMove, but rather a different campaignoption that uses a similar game mechanic.

A Rage Bar is available at PL 1. The Directorcan set the criteria in which the Bar will fill,but usually this is as simple as one per turnand one per occasion when damage isreceived. Optionally, one could be addedeach time the opponent successfully usesDefense against the attacker. When theRage Bar reaches 10, the character isEnraged for a 5-count, starting on thefollowing turn and lasting at least one full

turn. During this time, the characterreceives a +1 bonus to Accuracy and anadditional die size of damage on all attacks.When the Rage ends, the Bar drops backdown to 0. As an alternate rule, when aFighter is Enraged, he also receives a +2bonus to Accuracy against the Defense Skillonly (instead of the normal +1).

Rage Bar Super Move Variant: Instead ofspending Super Energy to use Super Moves,when the Super Bar is filled, the charactermay use Super Moves freely (with no cost inSuper Energy, but still costing one FS eachif available) for a 10-count. This variantcould be combined with a Rage Bar or be

tallied as a separate total. At the end of thistime, the bar drops back to zero.

Rage Explosion: This combines aspects ofSuper Moves and Rage Bars. In this system,for 10 Super Energy, the character mayperform a single Super Move or insteadperform a Rage Explosion. If the character

chooses the latter, he gains the effects of aRage Bar and, during its duration, thecharacter can use Super Moves freely (withno cost in Super Energy, but still costing oneFS each if available). The penalty for thisoccurs either in the next tournament roundor in the next combat that the character isin: the character does not gain any SuperEnergy. This penalty lasts for one full round(not turn) of combat. Rage Explosions also

permit two additional moves.

Rage Combo: By shortening the Rageduration by a count of two, for one attackthe character gains a +3 bonus to Accuracyonly to offset the Accuracy penalty accruedby the length of a Combo.

Rage Strike: This uses all of the remainingRage duration, regardless of whether or notit hits. It is an L2 Special Move with a –2penalty to Accuracy and no other Elements.The damage is special. It does damageequal to half the number of Life Bar pointsthe attacker has lost so far (round down).




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4Revenge Move: ThisSuper Moveaccumulates energy ina separate gaugecalled RevengeEnergy. It goes up byone each time theFighter takes damage

or when damage isentirely absorbed byany means (e.g., bythe TemporaryI n v u l n e r a b i l i t yElement). A RevengeSuper costs 5 RevengeEnergy to use, but upto 10 Revenge Energycan be stored. Each

point above fivestored when theattack is used addsone to the damage ofa successful hit.

Super Mode: Thismove is not an actualattack but at e m p o r a r ytransformation of thecharacter. It costs 30Super Energy to do.Super Mode lasts for



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4an 8-count. During thistime, all attacks do +1damage, all damageagainst the character isreduced by one die size, thecharacter has +2 StunThreshold, the characterhas -1 Range of Knock Back

against him, and he isimmune to Hit Stun. AfterSuper Mode ends, no SuperEnergy is gained for a 15-count.

Finishers

One particular video gamefranchise has consistently

distinguished itself throughmultiple iterations with thepossibility of brutally killingone’s opponent after theyhave been defeated.Because of the enduringpopularity of this, otherfighting games havefollowed suit with their ownversions of finishing moves.

This section describesFinishers, a new kind ofSuper Move used in veryspecific circumstances.




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4When successful, a Finisher usually (but notalways) kills the opponent. As this goesdirectly against the core rules that state nocombatant ever dies unless it is appropriateto the story, the use of Finishers in acampaign strongly conveys certain ideasabout the game’s premises.

Creating and Using Finishers

Finishers are an optional form of Super Move. Ifallowed in the campaign, any character mayacquire them starting at Power Level 3.

Generally, all lethal Finishers must be atleast L5, but the Director may allow L3 or L4lethal Finishers. All other kinds of Finishersare usually L4, but may be higher. A Brutal

Finisher must be L10 (see below).

Finishers are usually unique moves, but it ispossible to make one an extraordinarilypowerful and lethal version of a normalSpecial Move. They do not require theUnique Super Element.

A Finisher is built like any other SpecialMove, though they have no Elements or

Liabilities beyond modifiers to Accuracy andDamage (excepting the special Liabilitylisted below, which the Director may deemmandatory, and possibly the Ranged

Element). The Finisher must still hit thedefeated opponent, though the opponent isconsidered to be Defense 0 (and thereforealmost impossible to miss). Finishers canalso use the increased number of allowedElements for Increased Accuracy andIncreased Damage found in the rules forSuper Moves. The Specific Range Liability

may be added to a Finisher; it is common inthe source material. A Finisher may havethe Ranged Element.

Finishers can only be used at the end of afight when an opponent is defeated, andonly on the last round of a combat (whetherthat is the first round, or the last round of a2-out-of-3 set, etc.). In terms of thenarrative, this can be explained in various

ways: perhaps it is due to the extra effortneeded to summon the power to do aFinisher, or as a restriction of honor (abidedby even the foulest of villains) to let anopponent attempt to finish a tournamentfight. In a multiple combatant fight, aFinisher may be used if the fight is the lastround of combat, even if there are othercombatants still fighting.

On the turn after an opponent is defeated(winning by a Ring Out on the opponent willnot permit a Finisher), the defeatedcombatant rolls Initiative for one more turn.The character uses Stamina in place ofSpeed to determine the die size for this roll.



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4Nothing else can modify this roll. If theattacker wins Initiative and rolls sufficientControl, the Finisher goes off; otherwise, itfails and the opponent is simply defeated asnormal.

Damage is still rolled for a Finisher. Theresult is irrelevant for narrative purposes; it

is likely that the opponent has been killed.However, in addition to the level of themove, Glory is earned equal to twice thedamage rolled.

Types of Finishers

There are many different kinds of Finishers.Each of the different types must beacquired separately.

Finishers: The successful use of a Finisherkills the opponent, usually in a horrific andgruesome manner. Finishers like this pose aunique problem in a role-playing situation.The most obvious problem is the highlikelihood of a Player Character being killed.The other problem occurs when the playersmanage to kill every Fighter that they fight,thus eliminating all the NPC Fighters that

could possibly challenge the PCs again laterin the campaign. This can be moderated bythe Director, but at the same time, heshould strive to remain faithful to thenature of these attacks if he has decided toinclude them in his campaign. In general,

player characters should not die this wayunless the story gains tremendous benefitfrom it (and ideally if the player is also onboard with the direction of the story).Otherwise, the PC should be left for dead,out of action long enough for things to gobad for him, and usually be permanentlyaffected in some way. NPCs can be killed if

the campaign can handle it, or else they canlikewise be left out of the action for anextended period of time. Killed NPCs mayor may not return in a “sequel” campaign,depending on whether or not they get agood story to justify it. This is really notdifficult to do in the worlds of Fight!

Ally: This variant Finisher actually changesthe way the fight ends. Instead of

defeating, killing, or humiliating theopponent, this Finisher extends a hand offriendship toward the opponent. It can onlybe done if a sincere attempt to ally hasoccurred during the fight. This mustactually be role-played during the fight, butmust also be demonstrated by the attackerconsciously choosing to not use Defenseduring the final round of the fight, thoughhe can use other defensive options. He may

also use Defense if no other option ispermitted. This is obviously very difficult todo for most Fighters. This move can bedefined however the character wishes,




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4though it should remain consistent eachtime it is used. Examples of this Finisher inthe video game source material aregenerally very silly. This move does notearn the double Glory of other Finishers;instead, it causes a loss of Glory to theattacker equal to the Damage rolled.Furthermore, the attacker only earns half

Glory for the fight that just ended.However, both combatants gain StoryPoints equal to one-third (round up) of thedamage rolled. The most important catchto using this move is that the characterusing it must actually have a desire to allyand/or befriend the opponent. If this is nothandled appropriately (according to theDirector), the Director should freelypenalize Glory until the character changes

his behavior accordingly.

Arena Finisher: In a campaign allowingFinishers, the Director may decide that anyarena may have a lethal Finisher built intoit. Unlike other Environmental Hazards,Distance is irrelevant for this attack. To usethe Arena Finisher, the attacker must be atRange 0, but can otherwise use the moveattributes of any other Finisher move he

has. In all other respects, these specialArena Finishers have the effects of a lethalFinisher, except sometimes they are evenbloodier in resolution and thus earn Glory

equal to three times the damage rolled.

Brutal Finisher: This Finisher must be L10.The attacker rolls one damage roll for eachpoint that the attacker’s Initiative exceedsthe defender’s final Initiative roll. Instead ofearning normal Glory for a Finisher, theattacker earns Glory equal to all the damage

combined (plus Glory for the move asusual). Thus, it may earn more or less Glorythan a normal Finisher. The descriptiveeffect is the same for every character: aBrutal Finisher is a long combo of BasicMoves that culminates in the defender’sbody collapsing in a dead heap of brokenbones and blood.

Humiliation: This variant form of Finisher

does not kill the opponent, but insteadrepresents a brutal humiliation (eitherphysical or verbal) that should be consistentwith the attacker’s concept. It may also befun to role-play out a verbal humiliation, atleast in part and within reason!Furthermore, the character should be fairlyconsistent with the nature of theHumiliation each time he uses this Finisher.This Finisher can only be used when it has

been truly earned; therefore, the attackercannot have consciously chosen to useDefense during the final round of the fight,though he can use other defensive options.He may also use Defense if no other optionis permitted. The Humiliation is resolved



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4like a normal Finisher. When it occurs, theopponent is not killed. However, theamount of Glory earned by the attacker isalso the amount of Glory lost by the loser.Furthermore, the loser earns absolutely noGlory for the fight that just ended. Shouldthis push a fighter’s Glory below theminimum for his Power Level, he drops a

Power Level. This only drops thecharacter’s Life Bar and FS, but not Skills,Special Moves, or combat bonuses.

Mercy: Any character with any Finisher canuse a Mercy; it is not a separate move, butrather a special option available incampaigns that use Finishers. It uses theattributes of any other Finisher. It can onlybe used in a tournament setting or an

appropriate non-tournament circumstance(Director’s discretion). If it succeeds,another whole round of combat is fought.The whole series is subsequently decided onthis round. However, the characterreceiving Mercy only gets 1/2 his Life Barand Fighting Spirit. The fighter performingthis Finisher earns Glory only equal to thedamage rolled (i.e., not doubled, as with anormal Finisher).

Savage Finisher: This special kind of lethalFinisher should only be allowed if thecharacter in question has developed thisability through some particular characterconcept or gained it while playing through

some special story path. It can take one ofthree forms, as best fits the character’sstory and the campaign theme as a whole.The most common form is that the Fightertakes the shape of an animal or monsterand kills the opponent. The second formhas the Fighter adopting only the spirit ofthe animal or monster and killing the

opponent with his bare hands in a brutalfashion. The third form of this attack hasthe Fighter summoning an animal ormonster (or group of them) from out ofnowhere to attack and kill the opponent.Again, the animal and the method shouldremain consistent with the particularFighter each time this move is used. Thisattack can only be done in the “bonusround” after the attacker has already shown

Mercy to his opponent (see above). Thus,Savage Finishers are quite difficult toexecute. The effect is the same as a normallethal Finisher, except it earns Glory equalto three times the damage rolled.

Special Killer Combo Finishers

If the rules for Killer Combos are being used,here are three additional kinds of Finishers.

One still needs to be PL 3 to acquire theseFinishers.

Final Killer Combo: This move isconstructed according to the normal rules




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4for Finishers. It is used on the turn after theturn in which a Killer Combo defeated theopponent (and also at the end of the lastround of a multi-round series, if applicable).If it hits, damage is rolled as normal todetermine additional Glory earned, but themove is lethal like a normal Finisher. Thedescriptive effect will be the same as one of

the character’s other lethal Finishers; acharacter must possess another lethalFinisher to acquire a Final Killer Combomove.

Special Killer Combo: Any character with aSuper Killer Combo (see below) can also usea Special Killer Combo on the turn aftertheir opponent is defeated, even if it is notthe last round of a series. The procedure is

exactly the same, except that the Glorybonus is rolled on only 1d6. This representsabout five more impressive hits.

Super Killer Combo: This move must beexecuted on the turn after a Killer Combohas defeated the opponent (and at the endof the last round of a multi-round series, ifapplicable). The move has a completelyunique structure: it has no characteristics,

but is acquired as an L3 move. If theattacker rolls enough Control to launch thisL3 move, the Super Killer Combo goes off.Roll 1d12 for the Glory bonus earned for the

15 or more additional hits scored in thisFinisher. This Finisher is usually not lethal,but should be severely debilitating and hitwith such force as to knock the opponentfar from the original scene of combat. Thisshould affect the story in a significant way.

Custom Combos

This is another campaign option that usesSuper Energy and resembles a Killer Comboin some respects. A character can choose todo a Custom Combo whenever he launchesa Combo and is willing to spend all of theSuper Energy he has accumulated. Thiscreates a timer equal to half the SuperEnergy expended (round down). For thetime count duration of this timer, all of the

Fighter’s moves are considered to have theEasy to Combo Element. A move thatalready possesses this Element has itseffective level reduced by two rather thanone (minimum one). Basic Moves onlycount as 1/2 Level for inclusion in Combos(round up). However, the Fighter using theCustom Combo must move forwardcontinuously until he is in Range to attackhis opponent and subsequently remains in

Range. On the first turn of the CustomCombo, the opponent receives a +2 bonusto his Defense Total if he chooses to useEvasion. If successful, the defender mustspend 1 FS to jump two Ranges over hisopponent. If the Director desires, a variant



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4form of Custom Combos eliminates therequirement to move forward and thus alsothe bonus to Evasion noted above.




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5



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5Chapter 5: Combat

Because of the many different componentsthat make up the combat system in Fight!(e.g., Initiative, Control, damage, Stunning,Team Combat, Environmental Hazards,etc.), there are also many ways that thegame can be modified to suit the desired

style of your gaming group. The material inthis chapter is presented in the order ofcombat as described in the core rules.

Beginning of the Turn andEnd of the Turn

Here are a couple of options that apply tothe beginning or the end of each turn in

combat.

Cowardice Gauge: This option requires allFighters to keep track of another gauge likeSuper Energy. At the end of each turn inwhich a Fighter moves away from theopponent without attacking or being hit byan attack, the Cowardice Gauge increases byone. Once the gauge reaches two, all attacksagainst the Fighter receive a +2 bonus to

damage. For each two turns in a row that theCowardice Gauge doesn’t increase, itdecreases by one. However, if it ever reachesfive, the damage bonus against the Fighterremains in effect for the rest of the round, nomatter what actions the Fighter takes.

Spark: If two Fighters roll bothSimultaneous Initiative and simultaneousControl and are also at Range 1, bothFighters simply lose their action for the turnas a spark of ki energy flashes betweenthem.

Berserk Attacks

When a Fighter chooses to go on FullOffense during a turn, this means that he isattacking without concern for defense,counting on a strong assault to overwhelmhis opponent. This method is carelesslyaggressive, but it always presumes that theFighter is in control enough to know whento immediately switch tactics to a moreprudent fighting style.

Even beyond Full Offense, however, afighter can choose to attack withoutconcern for defense or style, insteadconcentrating solely on launching as manyattacks as possible in a short span of time.This is going berserk. The metagamepractice of going berserk is equivalent tothe video game player “Button-Mashing,”more or less randomly hitting as many

buttons as possible in the hopes thatsomething effective or cool will occur. Todo this in Fight!, the character declares thathe is going berserk before rolling for




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5Initiative. Once berserk, a number ofspecial rules apply to him.

The character may not spend FS on eitherInitiative or Control.

The character only rolls 1d4 for Control,regardless of whatever die is normally

rolled, but he also receives a one die sizeincrease for Initiative. If he rolls a 4 forControl, he may use the 4 Control or he mayinstead choose to roll 1d6 for Control.Should this new roll be a 6, he may keep itor instead choose to roll 1d8. As long as herolls the highest possible Control for his diesize, he can choose to escalate Control tothe next die size through 1d12. If he rolls 12Control at that point, his Control is 12.

While berserk, the character uses a d12 forhis attack rolls. If the opponent goes on FullDefense, he may double his normal FullDefense bonus when calculating his defensetotal.

Characters going berserk must spend oneextra Control for each move in a Combo.

The attacker may not use the Evasion orTactics Skills, and his Defense skill isconsidered to be 0.

The character cannot Hold or AwaitOpening.

Staying berserk costs as many FS as thecharacter’s PL each turn. When FS runs out,the character can remain Berserk, but allattacks are rolled on 1d10 instead of 1d12.

Finally, in most fights where the charactergoes berserk, even for a single turn, noGlory is earned at all. If the fighter beginsand ends the fight berserk, he also loses 10Glory. However, in a one-on-one fight, ifthe berserk character wins, he earns 1/2Glory and if his opponent never wentberserk also and loses to the berserkcharacter, he actually loses 10 Glory!

Modifying the Time Count

The default limit of a standard fight is atime count of 99. However, the Directormay choose a different length. In fightswith a 60-count limit, all attacks do +2damage. In fights with a 40- or 50-countlimit, all attacks do +4 damage. Fights witha maximum 30-count or less receive a +6bonus to damage on all attacks. In each of

these cases, all characters’ Stun Thresholdsshould also be increased by a like amount.As an alternative, the Director can alsoeliminate time limits altogether.



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5Fighter Positioning

The vast majority of fighting video gamespay little attention to facing, as charactersgenerally turn to face their opponentsautomatically (though there is sometimes aslight delay, which allows situations likeCross-Ups to occur). However, if the

Director wishes to impose facing on thecharacters, the following rules apply. If aFighter successfully attacks his opponentfrom behind (such as by moving past him or

jumping over him before attacking), hisattack receives a +1 bonus to damage. Thedefender is considered to automaticallyturn to face his opponent after the attack.This could provide an interestingcomplication to multiple opponent fights.

Combos

Combos are a very important part of almostall fighting games and they also play asignificant role in the Fight! combat systemas well. Combos allow Fighters to do a lotmore damage than most single attacks aswell as increase the rate at which they gainboth Glory and Super Energy. The core

rules present a general way of doingCombos that is straightforward and worksto emulate many fighting games. Somegames, however, add variations. Thissection provides several of these forinclusion in your campaigns.

Burst Combo: When a Fighter attacks witha Combo, after the Combo is resolved, hecan attempt a Tactics skill check at DL 8. Ifhe succeeds, he can spend 5 Super Energyand re-roll his normal Control die (FS can bespent on this as usual). The Fighter maythen launch another Combo immediatelywith this new Control total. This can be

done even if the first Combo missed as aresult of the Defense Skill, but not as aresult of the Evasion or Tactics Skills. Thenew Combo counts as a new attack, with aseparate chance to defend and a separatedamage roll. If the Fighter has enoughSuper Energy, this can be done repeatedly.

Chain Combos: Chain Combos are verycommon in fighting games. This is a

specific Combo pattern often consisting of alight Basic Move followed by a mediumBasic followed by a heavy Basic Move. Toemulate this, if a Combo is composed solelyof Basic Moves, the Control cost for thewhole Combo is reduced by two.

Circle Combos: A Circle Combo is a Combopattern in which a series of moves mustfollow one another. In Fight!, they can be

built as a modified form of the Multi-PartMove Liability, simply called Circle ComboLiability. Moves built with the Circle Combo




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5Liability can only be used in a Comboaccording to a specific pattern. A CircleCombo is usually 5-8 moves long and set ina “circle” pattern when the moves aredesigned. One move is designated theCombo Starter. After that, the moves canfollow in a circle pattern repeatedly,eventually returning to the Combo Starter

and starting over again (if it’s a really longcombo). In this last case, this is also anexception to the normal rule againstrepeating Special Moves in Combos. Themoves in such combos often get stronger asthey go, but this is not required. Anotherset of moves can be built as Combo Enders.A Combo Ender gets two Liabilities but canonly be performed after (at least) theStarter and one other move in the Circle

Combo. Using a Combo Enderautomatically ends the Combo. Becausecharacters in Fight! gain their Special Movesover time, it is appropriate to begin buildinga Circle Combo pattern with fewer moves(Director’s discretion) and then addadditional moves to the Circle as thecharacter advances in power. It is a littleunusual, but Circle Combos can be aTechnique for a specific Fighter, providing a

way to get more powerful moves at the costof some flexibility in using them.

Combo Knock Back: Different fightinggames handle Knock Back within Combosdifferently. Fighters in 2-D fighting gamestend to remain basically stationary whilebeing hit with a Combo, while 3-D fightinggames often permit Ring Outs and thusinclude more Knock Back. If the Directorwishes, individual attacks in a Combo do

Knock Back. This means that one Controlmust be used in-between each attack tomove the attacking Fighter forward oneRange to cover the distance. Each instanceof Knock Back and follow-up movement canbe used to Maneuver the opponentstowards Environmental Hazards. This rulewill drastically shorten Combos anddrastically increase the number ofManeuvers in combat, but this may be a

desired effect in campaigns in whichEnvironmental Hazards play a prominentpart.

Combo Stun: If the Fighter attempting aCombo misses his attack roll by more thantwo, he is automatically Stunned. Thiscreates a more cautious environment forusing Combos.

Dash Combo: If a Fighter does a Dash(forward or backward) followed by a Combo,he can spend 10 Super Energy to roll hisControl die again (and he may spend FS asusual) and add the result to his presentControl before determining his Combo.



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5

Duplicated Special Moves: The core rulesstate that the same Special Movecannot be used more thanonce in a single Combo. Ifthe Director desires,this limitation cansimply beremoved.

Easy Combos: Some fighting games havefairly simple combo systems which allowany player to score a Combo by simplytiming their button presses correctly, butwith few or no patterns to memorize. If the

Director wishes to simulatethis, simply allow any

character to Combo without limit to thenumber of moves that can make up theCombo, subject only to the Fighter’sControl roll. In such a game, the ComboSkill serves no purpose.

Infrequent Combos: Some fighting gamesdo not rely as heavily on Combos. Suchgames often have more damaging Special




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5Moves to compensate. To emulate this,change the cost of the Combo Skill. It coststwo Combat Skill Points to acquire onepoint of Combo Skill, and it costs five MovePoints to add a point of Combo Skill.However, as compensation, all attacks andCombos (including Basic, Special, and SuperMoves) do double damage. Damage is

rolled twice and added together. Allcharacters’ Stun Thresholds should bedoubled as well.

Move Buffering: If a Fighter launches a 2-hit Combo that begins with a Basic Moveand is followed by a Special Move, and thecombatant has at least one more Controlthan necessary to use the Combo, theFighter can use Move Buffering to hide the

opening of the Special Move. This providesa +2 bonus to Accuracy, instead of thenormal +1 bonus to Accuracy for having atleast one more Control than necessary foran attack. This bonus is only obtained withthe specific 2-hit Combo model describedhere.

Really Easy Combos: For really Combo-crazy games, the Control roll receives a

bonus equal to the Fighter’s Combo Skill,but only for the purpose of determining thelength of the Combo and what moves cango into it. There is no actual limit to the

number of moves in Combo beyond theControl roll. The Combo Skill becomes veryimportant in this type of game, and almostevery turn will see fairly dangerous Combos.The Director may consider increasingFighters’ Stun Thresholds to account forthis.

Simplified Attack Strings: Many 3-Dfighting games have basic combo stringsthat automatically Knock Down. If theDirector wants to capture this feel withoutactually using the rules for Attack Strings,he can simply decide how many BasicMoves need to occur in a Combo in order foran automatic Knocks Down result to alsooccur. This should usually be 3-6 BasicMoves.

Damage

As noted on p. 140 of the core rules, therules for damage in Fight! are intended as asimplification of many small but significantaspects of fighting video games such ascounter hits, block damage, and incidentalbasic attacks that hit while trying toconnect with Special Moves. However,

these rules can be modified if desired.

If the Director wishes to eliminate randomdamage rolls, the following system can beused. Each time an attack misses becauseof the Defense Skill, the defender takes one



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5point of damage. This does not cause HitStun, however. If an attack hits, it doesdamage based on its normal base damage,unmodified by Strength or Stamina. 1d4damage becomes 1 damage, 1d6 damagebecomes 3 damage, 1d8 becomes 5damage, 1d10 becomes 7 damage, and 1d12becomes 9 damage. Any normal bonuses

to damage apply as normal. For example, ifa Special Move normally does 1d6+1damage, it would do 4 damage with thissystem. The attacker’s Strength BasicQuality is added to the damage and thedefender’s Stamina Basic Quality issubtracted from damage (minimum 1). Thissystem speeds up combat resolution, butadds a level of predictability to combat andemphasizes high damage attacks.

On the other hand, the Director maycontinue to use random damage butinstead change the progression at the highend of the dice scale. After 1d12, additionalsteps only add one point of damage.Presented here are three alternative dicesequences for damage steps beyond 1d12.These steps replace the steps of 1d12+1,etc. All of these new sequences encourageSpecial Moves with high base damage.They also involve rolling more than one diefor damage, which differs from the rest ofthe rules, which only use a single die for anyroll.

÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷

÷

÷ ÷ ÷ ÷

÷

÷

÷ ÷ ÷

÷ ÷ ÷

1d12 2d6 2d8 2d10 2d12 3d8 3d103d12

1d12 1d6+1d8 2d8 1d8+1d10 2d101d10 + 1d12 2d12.

1d12 1d12+1 1d12+1d4 1d12+1d4+11d12+1d6 1d12+1d6+1 1d12+1d8

1d12+1d8+1.

Stunning

The core rules for Stunning arestraightforward, easy to use, and occurregularly in combat. They also representthe basic system in place in many fightingvideo games. Some games, however, havemuch different takes on Stunning, including

3-D fighting games, which rarely have thefull “dizzy” effect seen in most 2-D fightinggames. The following options providedifferent ways to calculate and applyStunning in combat.

Accumulated Stun Damage Version 1: Allcharacters have double the normal StunThreshold. An attack does Stun damagebased on die size: 1d4 (or 1d4+1) does 1, 1d6

(or 1d6+1) does 2, 1d8 (or 1d8+1) does 3,1d10 (or 1d10+1) does 4, and 1d12 (or more)does 5. Attacks with the Increased StunElement add 1 to this total. All attacks in a




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5Combo are calculated separately and inaddition, a Combo always does anadditional +1 Stun damage. This damage isaccumulated for every attack and the totalis maintained from turn to turn. A characterrecovers 2 Stun points at the end of eachturn. If the Stun damage from a particularattack ever exceeds the opponent’s Stun

Threshold, the character is Stunned and allaccumulated Stun Damage is erased.

Accumulated Stun Damage Version 2: Allcharacters have double the normal StunThreshold. An attack does Stun damageequal to half the damage rolled (rounddown), +1 if the damage die roll was an evennumber, and +1 if the damage rolled wasthe maximum possible. Attacks with the

Increased Stun Element add 1 to this total.This damage is accumulated for everyattack and the total is maintained from turnto turn. A character recovers 1 Stun point atthe end of each turn. If the Stun damagefrom a particular attack ever exceeds theopponent’s Stun Threshold, the character isStunned and all accumulated Stun Damageis erased.

Staggering: This rule works in conjunctionwith the normal Stunning rules. However, inaddition to those rules, any time a character

is hit with an attack that does at least 1d8damage, their maximum Initiative on thefollowing turn is lowered. This also limitsthe maximum die size that can be attainedthrough the use of Fighting Spirit as well. Ifa character is hit by an attack that does 1d8(or 1d8+1) damage, his maximum Initiativedie on the following turn is 1d10. If a

character is hit by an attack that does 1d10(or 1d10+1) damage, his maximum Initiativedie on the following turn is 1d8. If acharacter is hit by an attack that does 1d12(or more) damage, his maximum Initiativedie on the following turn is only 1d6. Thisrepresents a staggering effect that is lessthan a full Stun effect, but which still limitsthe time a Fighter has to react. Staggeringis seen in many 3-D fighting games.

Stamina Check: This variant makes thepossibility of Stunning random for eachattack. When a combatant takes damage,he must succeed at a Stamina skill checkwith a DL of 2. The DL is increased by onefor each point of damage suffered duringthe turn and by two for attacks with theIncreased Stun Element. The skill roll, inturn, is increased by one for each point ofDefense Bonus. If the Fighter fails this skillcheck, he is Stunned.

Super Energy Reserve: With this system, aFighter loses one Super Energy each timehe is struck instead of gaining one.



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5Furthermore, each hit in a Combo countsseparately for determining the loss of SuperEnergy. Using a Super Move, however, willonly reduce Super Energy down to two,never lower. If damage brings Super Energydown to 0, the character is Stunned. Afterrecovering from being Stunned, SuperEnergy returns at two points per turn

(instead of one) until the Fighter is at halfmaximum Super Energy.

Defenseless Situations

With some of the new Elements andoptions contained in this supplement, thecase may arise where a Fighter has noaccess to the Defense Skill, yet a situationonly allows the Defense Skill as a response.

In these cases, the character is consideredto have half his Defense Skill (round down)and no FS can be added to his DefenseTotal.

Defense Options

Blocking: Using the Defense Skill

Not surprisingly, the Defense Skill is themost important defensive skill every Fighterpossesses. Simply put, no Fighter canaspire to greatness unless he knows how toblock an incoming attack. That being said,

many video games put complications ontoblocking in order to encourage moreaggressive play. Other games combineblocking with other aspects of a Fighter’scombat ability. Any of the following optionsmight be used to alter the fighting style of aparticular campaign.

Block Bar Variant 1: Each Fighter maintainsan additional pool of points called a BlockBar. The Block Bar begins with 10 points atthe start of combat. Use of the DefenseSkill costs points from the Block Bar. Itcosts one point if one chooses to use theDefense Skill against an attack and threepoints if circumstances force the Fighter touse the Defense Skill (i.e., no other Skilloption is available, such as during

Simultaneous Initiative). However, afterevery full 5-count, each fighter alsoautomatically regains one point of BlockBar. On the turn after the Block Bar reaches0, a Guard Crush occurs and the Fighterloses a die size for Initiative and the BlockBar immediately returns to 10. This is afairly common option in many modernfighting video games.

Block Bar Variant 2: Each Fighter maintainsan additional pool of points called a BlockBar. The Block Bar can have a maximum of10 points. At the beginning of the fight, the




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5Block Bar begins with five points. Use ofthe Defense Skill adds points to the BlockBar. The Block Bar increases by one point ifthe Fighter chooses to use the Defense Skillagainst an attack and three points ifcircumstances force the Fighter to use theDefense Skill (i.e., no other Skill option isavailable, such as during Simultaneous

Initiative). However, each time thecharacter takes any damage, the Block Bardrops by one, or by two if hit by a Combo. Ifthe Block Bar ever rises above five, allattacks against the character do +1damage. If the Block Bar reaches 10, allattacks do +2 damage. On the other hand,when the Block Bar reaches zero, thecharacter takes one die size less damagefrom all attacks until the Block Bar rises to

one. This is a more complicated system, butit rewards aggressive behavior andultimately speeds up combat.

Fatigue: This option modifies other optionsthat may be in use in the campaign. Ifeither variant of the Block Bar or the BurstEnergy Options (see Command Moves inChapter 2) are being used, when eithergauge reaches zero, the Fighter suffers +2

damage against him from all attacks untilthe gauge is once again above zero.

Imbalance: If a character chooses to spend1 FS after a successful use of the DefenseSkill, the blocking character can choose topush his opponent 1 Range further away.Furthermore, the attacker suffers a die sizepenalty to Initiative on the following turn.The attacker must be within Range 0 to 2 inorder to do this.

Push and Pull: If a character chooses tospend 1 FS after a successful use of theDefense Skill, the blocking character canchoose to pull his opponent 1 Range closeror push him 1 Range further away. Theattacker must be within Range 0 to 2 inorder to do this. This option is mostappropriate for campaigns where allcombatants use weapons.

Super Air Block: If the campaign does notallow Air Blocks (i.e., the option to movetwo Ranges with a successful use of Defenseand Evasion combined), this campaignoption allows a Fighter to perform an AirBlock, but it costs 5 Super Energy.

Dodging: Using the Evasion Skill

Some modifiers to the ability to jump have alreadybeen included in Chapter 2 above. This section

provides new limitations on jumping as well as

some modifications to crouching (usually defined

as a successful use of the Evasion Skill where the

defending Fighter chooses not to move).



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5Crouching Movement: Characters maymove while crouching. In this case, aFighter who only moves one Range anddoesn’t attack receives a +2 bonus toEvasion (instead of the normal +1 toDefense Total, regardless of what Skill isused). If Evasion is successful, the charactercannot choose to move 2 Ranges for 1 FS.

Limited Jump Rules: In some fightinggames, especially 3-D fighting games,

jumping around is not nearly as effective asin other fighting games. If the Directorwishes to simulate this, movement after asuccessful Evasion is only one Range, but itstill costs 1 FS to do.

Low Crouch: A character can do a Low

Crouch. This is even lower than a normalcrouch. This gives a +2 bonus to DefenseTotal while using Evasion, but it costs 1 FSto do. If the Evasion is successful, thecharacter cannot choose to move 2 Rangesfor 1 FS.

Counterattacks: Using the TacticsSkill

A Fighter with the right Special Moves and agood Tactics Skill can use his abilities toflaunt the normal rules of Initiative, attacktwice consistently during a turn, and hitmore accurately by catching his opponentoff guard. The following options provide

new Defensive Responses to add to yourrepertoire.

Anger Response: This is a new DefensiveResponse. A defender can choose Tactics todetermine his Defense Total. If the attackermisses, the defender can spend 10 SuperEnergy and then attack with a Basic Move,

like the normal Basic Response. In addition,if the attack hits, the attacker is KnockedDown and suffers a one die size penalty onInitiative on the following turn.

Burst Response: This option requires eachFighter to keep track of a new gauge likeSuper Energy. Each Fighter accumulatesBurst Energy at the same rate that theygain Super Energy. When Burst Energy

reaches 10, the Fighter can perform theBurst Response as a Defensive Response. Ifit succeeds, the character drops to fiveBurst Energy and the opponent is KnockedBack two Ranges and is Knocked Down. Noattack roll is needed to generate this effect.This option can be combined with the BurstAssault Command Move in Chapter 2.

Parrying: This is a new Defensive Response.A defender can choose Tactics to determinehis Defense Total. If the attacker misses,the attacker suffers a two die size penaltyon Initiative on the following turn. Even




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5though the Parry is not an attack, if thedefender has not yet gone on the currentturn, the Parry attempt counts as his attackfor the turn. This has become a fairlycommon option in contemporary fightingvideo games.

Parry Power Up: If a campaign uses both

Parrying and Super Moves, asuccessful Parry immediately earns3 Super Energy.

Reaction: This option can beused to emulate a fightinggame in which allcharacters haveCounters availableat all times and in

which all movescan becountered with the

right command. All Basic Moves can beused as Counters (in addition to Interrupts,as presently allowed in the core rules withthe Basic Response). Thus, any successfuluse of the Defense Skill automaticallyallows the defender to respond with aBasic Move. However, to prevent abuse ofthe Defense Skill, these Counters cost 1FS to use. This Counter cannot beused if the defender was also usingFull Defense.



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5Other Defensive Options

The following options provide ways tominimize the effects of being KnockedDown or to improve the defensive uses ofthe Back Dash rule.

Air Escape: Similar to a Breakfall, an Air

Escape prevents a fighter from being juggled forever. When hit by a Juggle orLauncher Combo, the Fighter can spend 2FS to negate the extra damage from thoseElements. For an additional 1 FS, theFighter also lands on his feet, negating theKnock Down.

Automatic Tech Rolls: This rule is a variantof Breakfalls and Tech Rolls. In this variant,

neither of those options is available.Instead, any character standing up after aKnock Down can choose to stand upnormally or to tumble forward or backwardone Range (at no FS cost). This movementcan also be used as a Maneuver towards oraway from an Environmental Hazard. Thissimplifies the rules for Tech Rolls and makesstanding up from a Knock Down anopportunity to get better positioning. It is

very common in 3-D games and makesgames with more Environmental Hazardsmore interesting.

Back Dash Invincibility: When doing a BackDash, the Fighter receives a +2 bonus to

Defense Total automatically (rather thanspending 1 FS as per the core rules) or canspend 1 FS to instead receive a +4 bonus toDefense Total. This only applies when usingthe Evasion Skill, not the Jinking DefensiveResponse.

Weapons

There are no distinctive rules for weapons inthe core rules of Fight! This is an accurateemulation of the vast majority of fightingvideo games, especially ones that featureunarmed Fighters on equal footing witharmed Fighters. However, in games inwhich every Fighter wields a weapon, thereare often additional aspects to the games’fighting systems that take into account

specific elements of weapon combat thatwould be inappropriate in unarmed combat.The following rules offer new possibilitiesfor campaigns in which all Fighters useweapons.

Also included in this section is a rule forarmor. Much like weapons, in most fightingvideo games, it matters little whether acharacter is fighting in heavy armor or

practically naked. However, a few gameshave put emphasis on armor, its defensivebenefits, and how it can be broken. Thisrule is provided for campaigns that wish toinclude this level of detail.




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5Armor: In campaigns in which all characterswear armor, all attacks against a Fighter areautomatically reduced by one die size indamage. However, if an attack doesenough damage to Stun the Fighter, thearmor is broken (and now useless), thoughthe Fighter is not Stunned by the attackthat broke the armor. If a character wearing

broken armor is Stunned again, he isStunned normally. Because the Fighter hasalready been Stunned once (i.e., with theattack that broke the armor), his StunThreshold is increased by two (as per thecore rules). A character can also add theArmor Breaker Element to a Special Move.This functions similarly to the IncreasedStun Element, but it adds four to thedamage for determining whether or not the

Armor is broken. Once broken, a SpecialMove with this Element does not do anyadditional Stun damage. The IncreasedStun Element has no effect on Armorbreaking, though a Special Move may haveboth Elements.

Armor Locations: Armor may be dividedinto layers or upper and lower body Armor.In this case, damage is reduced by one diesize for each part, and each part must bebroken separately. More than two layers orparts are not recommended, as it will

otherwise be extremely difficult to everbreak the armor.

Optional Weapons: Unlike the otherweapon options in this section that areintended for campaigns in which all Fightersuse weapons, this is an option forcampaigns that do not want to ignore

weapons entirely, but do not want them tobe commonplace either. In this campaignstyle, every character has a weapon(defined by the player). However, theseweapons are not normally available. Inorder to use the weapon, the Fighter mustuse an action to draw it. After this is done,as long as they hold the weapon, all BasicMoves do one extra die size of damage. Ifthe character is ever Knocked Down or

Stunned while his weapon is drawn, hedrops the weapon Distance 1 away fromboth combatants. A character can pick uphis own or another’s weapon by spendingan action to pick it up. Regardless of whoholds a weapon at the end of a combat,unless the story requires it, a character ispresumed to get his weapon back beforethe next fight.

Weapon Clashes: If two Fighters rollSimultaneous Initiative and also roll thesame Control, instead of using the normalrules for resolving Simultaneous Initiative, aWeapon Clash occurs instead. This replacesboth characters’ normal turns. Each



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5character rolls 1d10, and may add one foreach point of FS spent. The higher totalkeeps his weapon, while the lower totaldrops his. The loser’s weapon is placed oneDistance away from the Fighter. When atDistance 0, the Fighter can spend an actionto pick up the weapon. When a characterloses his weapon, all Basic Moves lose one

die size of damage and all Special and SuperMoves are lost until the weapon isrecovered.

Weapon Damage: For this variant, allSpecial and Super Moves have twodamage ratings. The first applies to theattack as usual. The second applies only toweapon damage. Increased DamageElements must be applied to either normal

damage or weapon damage. EachElement applied to weapon damagecounts as two Elements (i.e., each Elementincreases damage by a whole die size).Whenever an attack misses because of theDefense Skill, the defender’s weaponsuffers damage equal to the move’sweapon damage. Basic Moves do nodamage to weapons, unless they are partof a Combo that includes Special or SuperMoves. A weapon has a Life Bar of 30.When a weapon is “defeated,” thecombatant is disarmed and all Basic Moveslose one die size of damage. Special andSuper Moves are lost.

Weapon Power: As a variant of SuperEnergy, in campaigns in which all Fightersuse weapons and which is using the WeaponDamage option, a Fighter can spend 10points of the weapon’s Life Bar to power aSuper Move.

Team Combat

Fight scenes in role-playing games ideallyinvolve as many PCs as possible at once.This can sometimes be difficult in a gamelike Fight! While mass melees with multiplecombatants on each side can involve everyPC in every combat scene, sometimes theconventions of the genre suggest adifferent approach. The different variationsof team combat are useful in a traditional

role-playing setting, as they allow moreplayers to be actively involved in a combat,while still maintaining some of thetraditional patterns of the source material.This section offers several new variants forteam combat.

Here are four more basic team formations forteam tournament combat. The rules for Helpersand Companions can be found on page 87.

Two-Person Tag Teams with Helpers:These are run as standard Tag Teams withthe addition of the Helper rules.




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5



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5Three-Person Tag Teams with Helpers:These are run as standard Tag Teams withthe addition of the Helper rules. The normalrules for Tag Teams apply, but whensomeone tags out of the fight, he canchoose which of his two teammatesreplaces him in the combat.

Three-Person Teams with Helpers: Theseare run as standard Three-Person Teams,but with the addition of the Helper rules (apartial fourth team member). The sameHelper is used for all three characters.

Fighters with Companions: This involvesnormal combat where each fighter is alsopermanently assisted by a Companion ofsome sort (a robot, spirit, animal, or young

protégé, for instance). This does notactually involve more than one Fighter on ateam; the Companion is treated as more ofan extension of the Fighter’s normalabilities.

Tag Team Combat

These are additional optional rules that canalso be included in Tag Team combat, such as

Tag Counters, Team Supers, and variations onSuper Energy for teammates. All theseoptional rules should only be used in a gameusing Super Moves, as most use Super Energy.

Assist Attack: Instead of tagging in, theinactive partner can jump in for an AssistAttack to assist the active Tag Team partner.This is done exactly like a normal tag, butthe inactive partner does not stay in afterthe Assist Attack is resolved. If the inactivecharacter jumping in to assist fails to getInitiative, the opponent can choose to

attack either character. The assist attackcan be any Special Move for which theassisting character has rolled Control,provided any other conditions necessary touse the move are also in place.

Sustained Hold Assist: This is a variation ofthe Assist Attack option above. The AssistAttack can also be used if the activecharacter is held by a Sustained Hold and

wins Initiative on the 2nd turn of theSustained Hold (the Assist Attack occurs inaddition to ending the Sustained Hold) or ifthe active character is Stunned (in whichcase, the Stunned character must still winInitiative, even if he is still recovering frombeing Stunned). The Director may chooseto restrict this ability to teams in which theFighters have good relationships with oneanother.

Tag Attack: When a teammate tags out of afight, in addition to switching positions, thenew teammate automatically launches a




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5Tag Attack as he enters. If the Tag is part ofa Combo, this Tag Attack is included for freeas part of the L2 Tag move. The Tag Attackis equivalent to a Basic Move with theIncreased Knockback Element. Thedefender can use any Skill to defend, but hisskill level is reduced to 1/2 (round down).Normally, the incoming Fighter should not

be able to begin a Combo off of the TagAttack, unless the Director wishes toinclude that as an additional option.

Tag Throw Element: This is a modifierElement for both the Throw and HurlElements and requires both Elements asprerequisites. The active Fighter uses theTag Throw and hurls his opponent twoRanges. This is the new location at which

the partner tags in. The partner then staysin, while the previously active fighter is nowout. The new active partner can thenCombo the thrown opponent if he succeedsat DL 8 Tactics check. The opponent isKnocked Down either after the Tag Throwor the Combo, whichever is applicable. Thechange in Range brought about by theinitial Hurl only matters in fights withmultiple combatants (which usually do not

involve Tag Teams) or in fights withEnvironmental Hazards. There is onemodifier Element for this Element.

Tag Throw Combo Element: ThisElement can be applied to a SpecialMove used immediately after ateammate uses a Special Move with theTag Throw Element. It may be used onthe same turn as the Tag Throw SpecialMove, provided the incoming partnerhas rolled enough Control. Otherwise, it

can be used on the following turn if thetagged combatant gains Initiative.Despite the Element name, this newmove is not technically a “Combo,” butrather a special coordinated movebetween the two characters. Becausesuch moves involve actions by bothteam members and are usually visuallyimpressive (and should be described assuch), this Special Move is worth two

points of Glory for both members of theTag Team. However, there is animportant qualifier for this Element: itmay only be used if both members ofthe Tag Team have a strong relationshipwith one another (whether they qualifyin this way or not is up to the discretionof the Director).

Teammate Recovery: While out of combat,

a teammate gains back one Life Bar perturn. This can be extended to recoveringFighting Spirit as well if so desired.



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5Tag Team Supers

All of the following options require SuperEnergy to use. With all of these options,however, even though each partner hastheir own Life Bar and Fighting Spirit, SuperEnergy is collected and used as a team. Tomake the best use of these options, the

maximum Super Energy for the campaignshould be high.

Drive Back: For 10 Super Energy, a Fightercan perform the Drive Back CommandMove. This is the equivalent of an L2 moveand does damage equal to a Basic Move. Inaddition, if the attack hits, it knocks theopponent out of combat and forcibly tagsthe opponent’s partner in, as well as

automatically doing additional damageequal to the attacking character’s PowerLevel to the partner forced into combat.

Super Move Sequence: With this option, aninactive partner’s Super Move can followthe active character’s Super Move in aCombo. The inactive character uses theactive character’s Control in this case. Thetwo partners can trade off doing Super

Moves in the same Combo, but each SuperMove costs the normal amount of SuperEnergy. The last character to execute aSuper Move in the Combo then remainsactive.

Super Team Combo: For even more TagTeam action, Super Team Combos can beallowed. This functions exactly the same asthe Team Combo (see below) except that itcosts 30 Super Energy. The difference issignificant: if the initial attack hits, for a 10-count beginning on the following turn, bothcharacters stay in (the inactive partner

appears at the same Range as the activepartner) and each can attack as normal and/or launch Super Moves without concern forSuper Energy. Directors should note thepotential craziness of this Move; its power istempting enough to expect that it will occuralmost every time 30 Super Energy isavailable.

Tag Counter Element: Instead of using the

Super Counter Element, characters canmake a move with the Tag CounterElement. If the active partner successfullyuses the Defense Skill to avoid an attack,and the inactive partner has a Tag Countermove, for 10 Super Energy the inactivepartner can perform the Tag Counter like anormal Counter Defensive Response andautomatically switch places with the activepartner. If the Counter Defensive Responsemisses, however, the switch does not occur.

Team Combo: A Team Combo costs 20Super Energy. It costs the active Fighter 2FS to use. The active fighter uses a Super




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5Move and spends 20 Super Energy (ratherthan 10). If the Super Move hits, theinactive partner jumps in and also performsa Super Move using the same Control roll asthe active Fighter. The inactive partner’sSuper Move must also be usable (i.e., basedon the present Range and any other factorsthat may apply to the specific Super Move

in question). Then the inactive partnerstays in while the other fighter leaves. Asan additional option, with three-person TagTeams and 30 Super Energy, a 3-personTeam Combo is possible. All other normalrules apply and all three Super Moves occuron the same turn.

Team Up Moves: Team Up Moves areanother kind of Team Super. These are only

applicable for two-person team fightswhere the combatants can only switchteam members between rounds (i.e., not aTag Team fight). The Team Up Moveinvolves the inactive team membertemporarily joining the fray, usually (but notalways) to perform a specific move with theactive team member. Team Up Moves arebuilt as a special kind of L2 Super: they cost3 Move Points, require only 2 Control to use,

but are built with eight Elements (ratherthan four) and are worth eight Glory whenused successfully. The Team Up Move costs20 Super Energy to use. Most Team Up

Moves are impressive multi-hit attacks,with both team members attacking orcombining their efforts in impressivegrappling moves, but other ones heal LifeBar. They are almost always unique movesbut they do not require the Unique SuperMove Element. There is also one particularMove Element that can be used for creating

Team Up Moves.

Super Energy Team Up Element: Thisversion of a Team Up Move does nodamage, but may not take the No DamageLiability. It allows the inactive teammember coming in to aid the activemember, often by some sort of friendly orromantic gesture. As a result, the activeteam member gains Super Energy. The

Element costs one Element, plus oneElement for each 10 Super Energy given tothe active character when the move is used.As the move itself costs 20 Super Energy,this Element costs at least four Elements tohave any effect.

Three-Person Teams

As an additional option for traditional

three-person team combat, if the characterfollowing a defeated character has anexceptionally good relationship with thedefeated character (Director’s discretion),the new fighter immediately gains 10 SuperEnergy. If the opposite is true and the next



87

5fighter has a bad relationship with thedefeated teammate, he starts the fight with10 less Super Energy (but not less than 0).

Helper Characters

Using this option presumes that the third(or fourth) teammate, the Helper Character,

never actually fights directly, but onlyassists with his Helper Attack. Calling theHelper Character is resolved exactly liketagging in a Tag Team combat. The HelperAttack can even be a part of a Combo, withthe call beginning the Combo as an L2move, followed by the Helper Attack, andthen the rest of the active character’sCombo. A Helper Attack is built like an L2Super Move (i.e., costs 3 Move Points, has 4

Elements, requires 2 Control, and earns 2Glory). A Helper Attack can only be usedonce per full round of combat, though eachElement spent on the Calls Element permitsan additional two uses for the round. If theHelper Attack is the last or only attack usedby the active character during the turn andhits, the active character also receives a diesize increase for both Initiative and Controlon the following turn. The only limit to the

allowed number of Helper Attack moves isthe Director’s discretion.

In game effects, the Helper Attack is simplyan unusual form of Super Move. In storyterms, they actually represent other

fighters suddenly appearing at the scene orwho are already present and suddenly jumpinto the fray. One way to work this into thestory is to require each Player Character tohave Helper Attacks based on every otherPlayer Character on the same team. Inmost cases, it is easy to justify in storyterms that another PC has jumped in to

help, even if that character is engaged in afight himself (after all, Fighters are aparticularly agile lot).

Increased Support: This campaign optioncan be used with Helper Characters andregular three-person teams (i.e., not TagTeams). Each time a team member isdefeated, the available uses of the otherFighters’ Helper Attack moves are increased

by one.

Companions

These rules allow for each Fighter to alwayshave a Companion at their side that activelyparticipates in combat. Such an effect canalso simply be done by a Special Move’sdescription, but these rules are for a moredetailed involvement of the Companion. As

mentioned above, Companions might beanimals, robots, friendly spirits, monsters,or even (though this is more of a narrativestretch) young fighters or sidekicks.




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5Calling the Companion into active combat isan action. At this point, the Companion(who has a Life Bar equal to one-third of thecharacter’s full Life Bar) will take equaldamage done to the Fighter, including anadditional one damage even from asuccessful use of the Defense Skill. In turn,

the Fighter does +1 damage on all attacks,has the Reach Element added to all BasicMoves (to represent the Companion) and,at the Director’s discretion, may give accessto one or two Techniques only accessiblewhen the Companion is active (such asDouble Jump). Any Special or Super Movemay take the Limitation “Limited Move:Companion Must Be Active.” TheCompanion can be taken out of active

status on the end of any turn for no cost.Once out of active status, the Companion’sLife Bar automatically recovers Life Barequal to the Fighter’s Power Level eachturn. If the Companion is ever “defeated,” itimmediately leaves active status and is fullyrecovered after a 5-count has passed.However, the Fighter himself is Stunned ifthis happens. If defeated, the Companioncannot be brought back into active statusuntil it is fully recovered.

Tandem Attack: In order to use this move,the Companion must not be recovering

from being defeated. It costs 10 SuperEnergy to use and counts as the Fighter’saction for the turn. The Fighter rolls aControl roll, which can be modified byControl Bonuses and FS. The result isrecorded. On the following turn, theFighter may act as normal, and may alsolaunch a Combo using the Control roll

generated on the previous turn. Bothattacks must be defended againstseparately, but the same Skill must be usedfor each attack.

Optional Rules for the End ofthe Turn or the End of the Round

The following options change how fights

are structured or how they end. Some ofthese options are especially useful forcampaign settings based on an actualtournament.

Double Life Bars: This option can be usedin a multiple round combat. Eachcharacter’s Life Bar is doubled, but none ofit is recovered between rounds for thewinning character (rather than starting eachround at full Life Bar, as is the default rule).The losing character begins the next roundwith full Life Bar once again, as usual. If thisoption is being used, all attacks should do+2 damage.



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5Insert Coin Continue: This is a strongmetagame option and will definitely not beappropriate for all campaigns. It can also bedisruptive of the narrative and take toomuch time to resolve at the game table.However, it is undoubtedly a strongconvention of the genre for those who wishto include it. After a combat ends in which

only a single player character was involved,the player can give up 25 Glory and re-dothe fight. All effects of the previous combatare assumed to never have happened andno Glory is earned. The Glory that had beenpotentially earned in the fight to be re-donecannot be used to pay the 25 Glory cost; theGlory must be available before the fightbegan. Total Glory can never be reduced tothe point where the character would drop in

Power Level.

Judgment: When time runs out during around, instead of giving the win to theFighter with the greater percentage of LifeBar remaining, a panel of three judgesdecides the winner. The judges’ criteria areup to the Director; one suggestion might bea decision based on the number ofsuccessful attacks made rather thandamage done.

Life Bar Recovery: To make fights last longer,

the Director may allow characters to

automatically heal 1 Life Bar each turn. This also

encourages more aggressive styles of combat.

Environmental Hazards

The rules for Environmental Hazards cancreate a tremendous amount of variety forfighting arenas. The rules also convenientlyallow a Fighter to interact with them asmuch or as little as he and his opponentdesires. When introducing Environmental

Hazards, the Director should observe thetactics of the players. If the Fightersvigorously utilize the hazards, or even buildSpecial Moves to aid in utilizing thehazards, then this is a sign that their useshould be maintained or even increased.On the other hand, if interesting scenerydoesn’t encourage them to makeManeuvers to move near them, thenperhaps the Director should simply describe

them as part of the setting. The Directormight be able to suggest the value ofEnvironmental Hazards by utilizingopponents who are not afraid to do so orwho may even excel at bringing opponentscloser to them.

This section contains a number of variationson the existing Environmental Hazard rules,as well as several new options to include in

new arenas.




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5Walls

Wall Stun: If the Director wishes to simulatea wall, for example, covered with small itemssuch as books or plants, or one that crumblesupon being struck, or that is charged withelectricity for example, the following simplerule can be added. If a Fighter is Knocked

Back to Distance 0 against such a wall, he isautomatically Stunned.

Wall Counters: If a Fighter is Knocked Backto Distance 0 against a wall, he may roll aTactics skill check at DL 8. If he succeeds,he may jump back (there is also no KnockDown, if that option is in effect) toward hisopponent 2 Ranges and 2 Distance awayfrom the Wall. If the roll succeeds at DL 12,

a Wall Counter occurs and the Fighter canalso use a Basic Move against an opponentwithin Range immediately. If it hits, this isworth 1 Glory.

Other Environmental Hazards

Some fighting video games, in an attemptto make them increasingly interactive, haveadded more fighting levels and more

obstacles. This section adds new rules forusing weapons of opportunity in the arena,destroying environmental objects, andenvironmental “power-ups.”

Destructible Walls: These rules follow allthe normal rules for Walls. However, if anopponent is Knocked Back into aDestructible Wall Environmental Hazard, onthe following turn, both combatants rollControl only (FS can be spent as usual). Ifthe attacker wins, the defender suffersdamage equal to 1d6+ PL and is Knocked

Down. If the defender wins, there is noadditional effect.

Environmental “Power-Ups”: This situationis rare in traditional fighting games,although very common in “beat’em-up”video games. If the Director wishes,destroyed environmental objects such ascrates (see below) can contain useful items,such as Life Bar or Fighting Spirit recoveries

of 1d10 x [1/2 Power Level (round up)],mystical objects that grant +1d10 damage onall Basic Moves for a 5- or 10-count, orweapons of various kinds (usually meant tobe thrown, allowing Basic Moves with theRanged Element). The Director can choosethese items ahead of time or he canconstruct a random chart.

Freefall Fighting: If an opponent is

Knocked Back off a Major Elevation ChangeEnvironmental Hazard, the Fighter canautomatically follow and engage in FreefallFighting. Each combatant rolls Control (FScan be spent on this roll as normal). If the



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5combatant who rolls higher Control alsogets at least Control 8, he does 1d10 + PLdamage to his opponent through a specialattack (defined specifically for thecharacter) just before they land. The losingcharacter is automatically Knocked Down.

Random Hazard: This is a modifier to the

normal rules for Danger Zones. Rather thantaking damage from being Knocked Down,an additional 1d6 roll is made at the end ofeach turn in which a Fighter is in the DangerZone. If the roll is less than the Time Roll forthe turn, a Hazard appears. This could be arandom monster attack, a passing car, or agout of flames shooting up from theground. This attack rolls a normalunmodified roll to hit (1d6) against the

opponent’s Tactics. If the Hazard hits, itdoes normal damage for an EnvironmentalHazard. If more than one Fighter is in theDanger Zone, determine the targetrandomly. Once the Random Hazardoccurs, it will automatically not occur on thefollowing turn, and then afterwards shouldbe checked each turn someone is in theDanger Zone as usual.

Ropes: Some fighting arenas have ropesaround them, as would be found in atraditional boxing or wrestling ring. Forsimplicity, these can be treated as Walls,though this does not capture the feel ofsome styles of combat. For example,

wrestling games (a particular sub-genre offighting video games) often have SpecialMoves that make use of the ropes, and theropes provide an important environmentaleffect of their own. In order to emulate this,a Fighter can use additional Control whenhe begins a turn at Distance 0 from theRopes. For one additional Control, he can

add the Mobile Element (Move 2 Ranges) orAerial Element to any Basic or SpecialMove, or he can add one Element ofIncreased Damage. These effects cannot becombined with additional points of Control.

Using and Destroying EnvironmentalObjects: A Fighter can spend an action atDistance 0 from an environmental objectsuch as a crate to climb on top of it to get

the advantage of a Height Difference asdescribed in the core rules. Such objectscan also be destroyed. Objects such ascrates can be shoved as weapons asdescribed below under Weapons ofOpportunity. The Director may decide thata shoved crate will shatter on impact.Another way to destroy a crate withoutmoving it is to use any move on it thatpossesses the Throw Element.

Weapons of Opportunity: If an arena hasrocks, crates, corpses(!), or the like that canbe used as thrown or shoved weapons of




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5opportunity, a character may use his actionto pick up or ready them. The Fighter maythen use the item as a special Ranged BasicMove. The damage for this move iscalculated like a Ranged move, but theProperty Damage Skill is used instead of theKi Skill. The Director might decide thatsuch an item is too heavy to throw (such as

a heavy crate, for example). In this case,the item can still be shoved. Treat this asthe Short Range Liability. Using theseweapons may or may not destroy them, atthe Director’s discretion. For example,rocks would not break; crates probablywould. If they do not break, they remain anumber of Distances from the attackerequal to the Ranges thrown, and atDistance 0 from the defender.

Zone Barriers

In a battle using the rules for EnvironmentalHazards, a particular area (usually a Wall,but perhaps also an area of floor like aDanger Zone) can be designated a ZoneBarrier. When a Fighter is Knocked Back toDistance 0 against a Zone Barrier (but notwhen they move to Distance 0 on his own),

he breaks through the Zone Barrier into adifferent arena, a new Zone, with differentEnvironmental Hazards. In this case, theopposing Fighter is presumed to follow the

opponent into the new Zone. In a fight withmultiple combatants, each combatant canchoose to enter the new Zone or stay in thecurrent Zone. If a combatant ends up alone,he must either use an action to enter a newZone or he can escape the combat.

The Director can make particular use of

Zone Barriers by preparing a whole gridmap of related Zones in advance, preparinginteresting and distinctive EnvironmentalHazards for each Zone, and then makingthe Zone Barriers between them at lowDistances (to encourage Fighters to actuallyhit them). Thus, Fighters might travelthrough several Zones in a much larger,more complicated, more dynamic arena.

Aerial Combat

As a much different form of 3-D combat, aDirector may want to have the defaultversion of combat include Fighters flyingthrough the air, as seen in some prominentshounen anime and manga series.

This basically adds an additional level ofdetail to the normal Range system used in

combat. In addition to the normal Rangesfrom 0-5, each Fighter also occupies anAltitude from 0-3 (0 representing a Fighterstanding on the ground). Altitude can betracked in the same way as Range, andfights with multiple combatants simply



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5require a grid rather than a chart with justbands: one set of lines notes the bandsoccupied by the Fighters, while the otherintersecting set of lines determines theAltitudes of the Fighters.

Using Altitudes, most rules for combatrequire no changes. Movement is the same,

except that now Fighters can move straightup, straight down, and diagonally up anddown in addition to moving towards andaway from their opponents. They can hoverat any Altitude. Diagonal movement andupward movement are no more costly thanregular movement. Counting Range to anopponent should be done by the mostdirect route, which may need to takediagonal calculation into account. Drawing

a grid on a piece of paper can be helpful forcalculating Range.

Example: Ariadne is flying at Altitude 3.Her opponent Black Dragon is at Range 2,Altitude 1. Despite the difference inAltitude, the Range remains two because itcan be counted diagonally downwards fromAriadne to Black Dragon.

Certain Special Move Elements needmodification when using this system. TheFlight Element should be eliminated; it hasno purpose or effect with this rules variant.Likewise, the modifier Element forTeleportation that allows mid-air

teleportation should also be eliminated.Fighting video games that feature combatsuch as this often rely much more heavilyon Ranged attacks, so the Ranged Elementshould only cost one Element rather thantwo.

Two other changes must be noted. When a

Fighter suffers Knock Back, his movementoccurs away from the attacking opponent,which may be both further back in Rangeand possibly up or down in Altitude,depending on the Altitude of the attacker.

Example: Continuing with the aboveexample, if Ariadne hits Black Dragon, hewill be Knocked Back to both Range 3 andalso down to Altitude 0, as she was

diagonally above him at the time of attack.

This same consideration also applies toManeuvers when utilizing EnvironmentalHazards. Environmental Hazards couldpotentially be placed at any Altitude, andany Special Move effect that moves aFighter in relation to a Hazard may alsopotentially move them up or down inAltitude. However, unlike normal combat, a

Fighter may not exist at two differentAltitudes (one in relation to other Fighters,and one in relation to EnvironmentalHazards). An Environmental Hazard only




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5has effect if the Fighter is both at Distance 0and at the same Altitude as the Hazard.



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6Chapter 6: Systems andSettings

This chapter is a little different than theones that have come before in that itpresents fewer options to modify existingrules for a traditional fighting game

campaign. Instead, this chapter considersnew ways of using the core Fight! rules toeither expand the default play experience orto use the rules for brand new experiencesin entirely different genres. With thematerial in this chapter, you can expand thevariety of non-Fighter opponents to useagainst the characters, or play high-action,combat-centered games set in the fantasy,mecha, or supers genres of gaming.

Building Thugs

The core rules for Thug Thrashing combat relyon standardized levels of Thugs, with alimited degree of customization. These rulesare sufficient for most encounters in Fight!,but in games that use either frequent fightswith Thugs or truly unusual kinds of “Thugs,”such as giant robots or vehicles, the default

system can become somewhat limited. Thefollowing rules present ways to create brandnew Thugs entirely from scratch.

In this system, Thugs are built with a certainnumber of points rather than by using pre-

constructed Thugs that are then modified.The Director chooses all of the Thugs’individual attributes from the charts below,and then adds up the final point cost for theThugs.

Initiative:1d4: 2

1d6: 41d8: 61d10: 8

Accuracy:-2: -4

-1: -2+1: 2+2: 4+3: 6+4: 8

Damage:1: 1

1d4: 21d6: 31d8: 41d10: 51d12: 6

Defense and Life Save: 1 for 1 cost. Defensemay not exceed 5. Life Save may not exceed10.

Qualities: 1 each.Weaknesses: -1 each.

Thug Type: Each level of Thug Type costs 1.“Normal” costs zero. The only function of ThugType in this system is for the Thug Events chart.Higher-level Thugs are more likely to scoredangerous results on that chart.

To compare, the costs for the default attributesof each Thug type in the core rules are asfollows:

Normal: 4Thug 1: 10Thug 2: 19

Thug 3: 24Thug 4: 35Thug 5: 44




In the default rules, all Thug Thrashing combatis worth one-third of the normal Glory earned.However, this is not always representative ofthe actual difficulty of the fight, as Fighterswith high Thug Thrashing Skill can wadethrough dozens of Thug 1 opponents, while afew properly built Thug 5 opponents can provedifficult even for high PL Fighters. Therefore,

in this new system, the Glory earned forfighting Thugs is dependent on the point costof the lowest value Thug group in the combat.It is easiest to determine this at the beginningof the combat and maintain it throughout, butthe Director could re-calculate the Gloryawards during the fight as lower levelopponents are defeated.

Points Used to Build Thug Type:1-10: Glory earned divided by 1011-20: Glory earned divided by 521-35: Glory earned divided by 436-45: Glory earned divided by 346-50: Glory earned divided by 2

Thugs should not be built on more than 50points. The Dangerous Quality andReduced Attribute Weakness are no longeravailable in this system.

Building Characters as Thugs

There may be certain kinds of alternatecampaign styles in which the Player

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6Characters are not necessarily as powerfulas a Fighter in the core rules, yet who couldstill access the power of a Fighter undercertain circumstances. The followingsystem can be used for games where thecharacter either transforms into a Fighter(e.g., some sort of “super form”), or wherethe Fighters are actually giant mecha and

the characters are the pilots, or even agame in which the Fighters exist asseparate characters only in an alternatereality. This last scenario might even takethe metagame so seriously that the PlayerCharacters are actually the players of afictional fighting video game, and theFighters are their preferred characters.

Rather than making Player Characters

merely weaker versions of Fighters, thissystem essentially makes PCs theequivalent of Thugs in combat. In general,characters are built exactly the same.However, the Thug Thrashing Skill onlyapplies to the “Fighter” form (whatever thatmay be), and all the character’s SpecialMoves and combat abilities only apply tothat form as well.

Instead, how well the character fights in his“non-Fighter” form depends on thecampaign. In some campaigns, a charactermay need a Quality called “CombatTraining” in order to fight well. In othercampaigns, every character (or every



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6character of a certain type, such as soldiersor mecha pilots) may be assumed to havethis Quality for free.

Combat outside of the “Fighter” form isresolved using the Thug Thrashing rules,though as an exception to those rules, eachcharacter makes up a “Thug group” of only

one. This means that combat is very fastand dangerous, as any hit could take outany character. As in normal combat, themeaning of being Defeated in combatdepends on the circumstances and thecampaign.

A character without the Combat TrainingQuality is the equivalent of a Normal. Acharacter with the Combat Training Quality

is the equivalent of a Thug 1. Such acharacter also has access to a Non-CombatSkill called Combat Training. As a characteradvances in this Skill, his effective Thuglevel also increases. A character withCombat Training 1-3 is a Thug 2; CombatTraining 4-6 is equivalent to Thug 3; CombatTraining 7-9 is equivalent to Thug 4; andCombat Training 10 is equivalent to Thug 5.

A character may modify his Thug attributesas normal, but these modifications arepermanent. If he advances in Thug level, hisattributes increase by the amount listed onthe chart, taking into account anymodifications made previously. A character

may take new Reduced Attributes when headvances in Thug level, provided nothing isreduced lower than its present level (i.e.,one can choose not to increase an attributeto increase another attribute instead).

If the optional point system for Thugs isbeing used, the equivalent Thug levels from

Combat Training are replaced with thefollowing point totals. These points arelower than the Thug level equivalents notedabove, but the variant system allows formuch greater flexibility. The Director mayrestrict any combination of attributesderived from this optional system.

No Combat Training: 5Base Combat Training: 10

CT 1-3: 15CT 4-6: 20CT 7-9: 30CT 10: 35

As an alternative to creating a new Skill,Combat Training could simply be a newQuality that characters could take multipletimes. Possessing the Quality makes onethe equivalent to a Thug 1. Each

subsequent time the Quality is acquired, thecharacter’s effective Thug level increases byone.




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6Social Combat

Fight! is not a game that generally lendsitself to stories of intense social drama.Most disagreements between charactersare resolved with physical violence, and thisfits the genre well. However, some playersmay want mechanical guidelines for social

conflict as well. For games that want moresocial intrigue and even social conflict,some major modifications can be made tothe rules.

Life Bar: At each Power Level, a characterreceives 50% more Life Bar than what islisted on the Power Level chart. However,that Life Bar then must be divided betweenLife Bar (for physical combat) and

Composure (for social combat). At least 5points each Power Level must be applied toeach category.

Move Points: Likewise, each characterreceives 15 Move Points per level, but thesemust be divided between standard MovePoints and Social Move Points. A charactermust acquire at least one move in eachcategory each Power Level.

Combat Skills: Two separate versions of theCombo Skill must be acquired, one for eachkind of combat. Extra Move Points in each

category can spent on their respectiveCombo Skill. As for the remaining fourCombat Skills in Social Combat, they arereplaced by Non-Combat Skills. Whenthese Non-Combat Skills are used in SocialCombat, the character may use whicheveris the higher of the two (or three), but withthe Skill level divided by two (round down).

The exception to this is the tworeplacements for the Ki Skill; they are notdivided by two.

Ki: Presence or IntimidationDefense: Grim Determination orSmooth TalkingEvasion: Call Forth Wisdom or HighSociety or Street Society (depending onthe context of the specific Social

Combat)Tactics: Deduction or Receive Wisdom

Combat Bonuses: A character receives anextra Combat Bonus each level, but thereare now also four bonuses correspondingsolely to Social Combat. Available bonusesmust be split between all eight bonuses,and the maximum bonus for any singlecategory based on Power Level is still ineffect.

Social Moves are created just like SpecialMoves (and yes, one can create Social SuperMoves also). The difference is in describingthe effects. The arena of combat is not



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6physical and there is no physical Rangebetween combatants. Instead, Rangerepresents the conversational intimacy andvulnerability between the participants.

Strength does not modify damage forSocial Moves. All moves do base damageunless extra Elements are used to increase

damage.

All the normal rules for combat applyequally to Social Combat, except for astrong change in narrative focus.Characters are not actually harming oneanother, nor are they knocking each otherback or down. These effects represent theloss of composure and control over thediscourse. The Director and the players will

have to work to make sure that thedescription of the action is buttressed bysome appropriate role-playing as theconflict goes on.

Characters also automatically gain StoryPoints equal to their Power Level at thebeginning of a Social Combat. Fighting Spiritfunctions the same as usual in all respects.Initiative and Control are 1d6 each for allcharacters, though characters with Qualitiesthat affect intelligence can spend a StoryPoint to apply their bonus to either Initiativeor Control. Story Points can also be spent toreduce an opponent’s rolls if the opponentpossesses Weaknesses related to intelligence.

Use of Story Points and Qualities inCombat: On any turn, a character mayspend a Story Point to activate one or moreQualities that offer a bonus on interactionSkills, gaining an Accuracy bonus equal tothe normal Skill bonus. If multiple Qualitiesnormally combine to create a largerinteraction skill bonus, all of them can be

activated with a single Story Point. Acharacter may also use a Story Point toactivate an opponent’s interaction Skillpenalty (e.g., for being Ugly) to force apenalty on his opponent’s Accuracy. Eitherof these must be done before the attack isrolled. A character can also spend a StoryPoint after the opponent has declared hischoice of defense Skill but before the attackis rolled to force the opponent to use the

lower of their two Non-Combat Skillscorresponding to that defensive option.

Glory awards can be calculated normally(which would result in very fastadvancement) or instead halved for bothkinds of combat. The Time Roll can beretained or omitted as appropriate to thescene (i.e., whether or not a time limitaffects the outcome of the conversation),

but even if it is used, the time spent shouldbe abstracted – rarely will a Social Combatuse a time count where one count equalsabout one second of time as in normalcombat.




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6Environmental Hazards could be used torepresent “conversational landmines,”subjects of discourse that are dangerous tobring up in discussion. Team Combat,especially Tag Teams, may be appropriatefor debates.

These rules should not be used with Thug

Thrashing or Dramatic Combat.

The Social Combat rules should only beused when something major is at stake.They are far too complicated to use forsimple social interactions best resolved withSkill rolls. They are appropriate for majordiplomatic meetings, seduction orpersuasion attempts where the lives ofmany are on the line, or serious

philosophical arguments with gods.Depending on the nature of the campaignsetting, it may be just as important for aFighter to be able to best his opponents inSocial Combat as it is in physical combat.

If an even greater degree of abstraction istolerated, these rules can also be used withmultiple combatants to representcompeting campaigns of persuasion where

the combatants are not even physicallypresent to one another. For example, fourwarlords are trying to win over the heartsand minds of the people. This is resolved as

a Social Combat on a single grid, with allfour combatants “fighting” one another.However, the narrative doesn’t have themarguing in one place like a debate. Instead,their attacks are abstracted to represent awhole campaign against their enemiesthrough the power of words. Each turnmight represent hours or even days. This

can be an interesting and dynamic way toresolve serious plot threads, but it requiressome imagination, creativity, and buy-infrom the players involved.

These rules can easily be abused to createcharacters that are incredibly competent inone form of combat (more so than anequivalent Power Level in the default rules)yet terrible in the other. The expectation of

these rules is that almost all characters aresomewhat balanced between the two, asshould be appropriate for the kind ofcampaign that would use these rules. But inthe case of an unbalanced character, effortsshould be made by the Director to highlighthis weakness as much as his strengththroughout the course of the campaign.

Alternate Campaign Styles

Even with the focus on high-poweredmartial arts combat, the defaultpresumptions of Fight! still permit a lot ofvariety in campaign styles. Urban crimedrama, historical fantasy, space opera, and



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6super spies all work just fine with the corerules. However, the flexibility of the Fight!rules can be used for other genres ofgaming that rely on lots of action andcombat, even if they are not traditionallyabout martial arts. This section will giveguidelines for using Fight! in fantasy,mecha, and supers gaming. It is also

worthwhile to note that fighting videogames have been made for each of thesegenres, so the precedent is already presentin the source material.

Traditional Fantasy Gaming in Fight!

Fantasy Fighters work just fine with the defaultrules. These characters can be used in storiesof epic adventure, where a lone hero or a small

band of mighty warriors face off against acataclysm threatening the whole world.

But what if you wanted a campaign thatmore closely resembled traditional“dungeon fantasy”? A game where a partyof adventurers brings specialized roles toachieving their goals, and where everycharacter is not adept at melee combat?With some modifications, this vision can be

realized in Fight! as well. Use the followingchanges to the rules to create your ownintrepid band of explorers.

To begin with, use the guidelines in the sidebaron p. 25 of the core rules for creating

characters. Warriors would be the “Hero,” whileoffensive spellcasters, defensive spellcasters,and skill experts would all be considered“supporting characters.”

However, in this sub-system, all charactersshould receive fewer Combat Skill Points andmore Non-Combat Skill Points. Use these

totals instead of what is described on p. 25.




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6Warrior:Combat Skills: 5 at PL 1, 3 per PLafterwards.Non-Combat Skills: 15 at PL 1, 10 perPL afterwards.

Non-Warrior:Combat Skills: 3 at PL 1, 2 per PL

afterwards.Non-Combat Skills: 20 at PL 1, 15 perPL afterwards.

If using the rules for Ki as a Basic

Quality contained in this supplement,the totals should instead be:

Warrior:Combat Skills: 4 at PL 1, 2 per PLafterwards.Non-Combat Skills: 15 at PL 1, 10 per

PL afterwards.

Non-Warrior:Combat Skills: 2 at PL 1, 2 per evenPL and 1 per odd PL afterwards.Non-Combat Skills: 20 at PL 1, 15 perPL afterwards.

Many fantasy settings provide flavor

through the inclusion of various races tochoose from when making PlayerCharacters. Given the flexibility ofcharacter generation in Fight!, this can be

easily accomplished with the existing rulesand a lot of flavor description to distinguishthe unique characteristics of one race fromanother. For example, an elf warrior and adwarf warrior may both have a RangedSpecial Move, but the first describes hisattack as “Elven Precision” with his bow,while the second describes his as “Mountain

Dwarf Throwing Technique” with a magicaxe that returns when he throws it.

However, if the group wishes to codify thestandard differences between races, theDirector could create a series of newQualities that define certain bonuses (andperhaps penalties) of a particular race. If aplayer wanted to make a character of aspecific race, he would need to spend one of

his Qualities (at PL 1, obviously) to definehis character as being of that race.

Spellcasters will obviously have the MagicQuality for their utility spells, but theircombat magic can be created with thenormal rules for Special Moves, as can awarrior’s special combat tricks.

In order to increase the efficiency of a wholeparty, defensive spellcasters can make useof this new Element:

Buff Others: This is a modifier Element forthe Buff Element. This Element allows adefensive spellcaster to use the aid of the



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6gods or magic to bless and/or protect hiscompanions. With this Element, any BuffSpecial Move can be applied to any othercharacter in Range (normally Range 0-2,unless the move also has the Reach orRanged Elements). With the Area Effect orExplosive Elements, the Buff can affect agroup of allies, including the Fighter using

this move. However, if the IncreasedDuration Element is included on the Buff,the move costs 2 FS per turn rather thanone. A Buff with this Element cannot affectother Special Moves in any way. Liabilitiesthat apply to the Buff apply to all thoseaffected, including the one using this move.There is one modifier Liability that can beadded to this Element.

Only Others Liability: The Buff cannotaffect the Fighter using this move. ThisLiability does allow the Buff Special Moveto acquire additional Liabilities that areunique to the Buff Element (e.g., Life BarDrain, Movement Only) that instead affectthe Fighter using the Buff Special Moveonly, the ones receiving the benefits of theBuff only, or both. If the Liabilities affectonly the one using the Special Move or

only the ones receiving the Buff, it is worthone less Liability (minimum one). In thisway, moves can be designed that hinderthe support character while aiding hiscompanions or vice versa.

All the rules for combat can be usednormally, though combat will be resolvedwith Thug Thrashing and/or DramaticCombat far more often than the standardcombat system. Thug Thrashing can beused to deal with hordes of skeletons andgoblins, while Dramatic Combat can bereserved for more impressive monsters like

dragons. The standard combat system, onthe other hand, would be rarely used,except perhaps for special fights againstnotable NPCs.

The point-build Thug system described aboveis well suited for this campaign concept, as itprovides more variety in opponents. BecauseThug Thrashing will likely be occurring sooften, however, the cost of the Thug

Thrashing Skill should be increased. Insteadof a straight one-for-one cost, each level ofThug Thrashing costs 3 per level for Warriorsand 5 per level for Non-Warriors.

The Director could also come up with newDramatic Combat options (and possiblyremove existing ones) to better capture thefeel of the setting.

Mecha Gaming in Fight!

The mecha genre shares some commonground with the fighting game genre. Both




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6have had strong representation in mangaand anime, and several fighting videogames have been based around giantmecha. Some of these games have beenexcellent; some have been terrible. Somehave used fairly traditional fighting gamemechanics, while others could only looselybe called fighting games. Still, these

frequent crossovers in the source materialmake mecha gaming with the Fight! rules areal possibility.

In order to represent this genre properly,appropriate distinctions must be madebetween the mecha themselves and thepilots. It is easiest to presume that aspecific pilot will be connected with aspecific mecha, and that that mecha will be

distinctive in at least a few important waysfrom other mecha. It would certainly bepossible to have a group of pilots flyingidentical mecha, but the game experience,especially in combat, would be weaker forit.

So in order to create a mecha/pilot team,the player should create a single Fighter.The Fighter’s Basic Qualities couldrepresent the pilot, the mecha, or evenboth. If it is representative of the pilot,there would need to be some reason givenas to why the mecha shares the same

characteristics. Alternatively, the Fightercould possess two sets of Basic Qualities,one for the pilot and one for the mecha.The pilot’s Basic Qualities would not comeup nearly as often in play, however.

The pilot’s abilities are primarily defined byhis Qualities and his Non-Combat Skills.

Everything else is basically a function of themecha. Some Non-Combat Skills such asThug Thrashing would be applicable in bothcases. The pilot’s personal combat abilityshould be determined with the rules forbuilding characters as Thugs contained inthis chapter. A character can choose tohave Qualities that relate solely to the pilotor the mecha or both, at the Director’sdiscretion. For example, it is unlikely that a

mecha would need the Attractive Quality,but either a pilot or mecha could have theMobility Quality. The mecha’s weaponssystems would be created as Special Moves.The pilot should not have access to SpecialMoves, unless the Director allows it.

With this distinction in combat abilities, theDirector can write stories with action scenescentered on the pilots and on their mecha,as the situation warrants. As noted above,care must be taken with fight scenesinvolving the pilots alone, as suchcharacters are generally fairly fragile (as aretheir typical opponents). In theory, acombat scene could even involve pilots



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6outside of their mecha in the same fightscene with mecha, though that would likelybe very dangerous for the pilots!

If your group wishes to increase the non-combat abilities of the mecha, there are acouple ways to do it. One way would be touse the Power Quality to represent certain

systems such as flight, enhanced sensorarrays, or stealth modules (though this lastexample could also be built as a SpecialMove). Alternatively, the Director couldintroduce new Non-Combat Skills, such asSensor Array or Environmental Protection,and use these Skills as functions of themecha. Essentially, this is using the rulesfor the Power Quality without actuallyrequiring the Quality first, because all

mecha are assumed to have such functions.

Which combat rules to use depends on thenature of the fight scene. Combat outsideof mecha uses the rules for Thug Thrashing.Mecha combat can be handled in a coupledifferent ways. If mecha battles are oftenduels between two unique mecha, then thenormal combat system is appropriate. Theonly change that is necessary is one ofscale: the understanding of “Range” has totake into account the size of the mecha(though this has no actual effect on thecombat rules). Likewise, EnvironmentalHazards are still appropriate, though theytoo must be modified for scale. For

example, instead of Walls, a fight scenecould have Buildings or Cliff Faces, with thesame mechanical effects.

In order to capture more of the flavor ofmecha anime, however, the DramaticCombat sub-system is more appropriate.Many of the options work just fine as they

are, albeit with slight modifications to theirnarrative meaning to account for pilots ingiant mecha. Even though both fightinganime and mecha anime share a set ofcommon assumptions, mecha anime iscertainly a distinct sub-genre of its own.Fans of the sub-genre could easily create ahost of new Dramatic Combat options toreplicate their favorite scenes from thesource material.

Supers Gaming in Fight!

There is actually a strong precedent forsuperheroes and supervillains in a fightinggame. Several prominent fighting videogames have been based on major comicproperties, and some of the most lovedfighting video games of all time have beencrossover events featuring traditionalfighting game characters facing off againstcomic book characters.

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6traditional superheroes in the Fight! rules.Comic book characters are designed likeany other Fighter, with their powersrepresented by their Special Moves.

But if one wanted to run a much moretraditional superhero campaign using theFight! rules, some additional thought

should be given to how to adjudicate superpowers outside of a combat situation.

In particular would be the superpowersthemselves. The Power Quality can cover alot of ground, but the Director needs todecide whether or not to increase thenumber of Qualities characters receive overthe course of the campaign. The PowerQuality can be used for powers as broad as

“Weather Control” to as focused as“Summon Fog.” The difference, as noted inthe core rules, is the DL of Power skillchecks used to generate effects: morespecific powers should have lower DLs,while broader powers, applicable in moresituations, use higher DLs.

To increase the number of availablesuperpowers, the Director could increase

the starting number of Qualities to six, andthen add one each Power Level. He couldalso require that a certain number ofQualities must be acquired as Powers. This,

combined with the use of other Qualities,Non-Combat Skills, and Special Moves,should provide adequate power sets forsuperheroes. The Magic, Psychic, andGadgeteering Qualities can remainunchanged. The use of Techniques such asSuper Armor can account for combat-related abilities that are not specifically

Special Moves.

The increase in Power Qualities will meanthat more Non-Combat Skill points willneed to be spent on Power Skills,decreasing the points available for otherSkills. For most traditional superherosettings, this will not be an issue. If theDirector wishes, however, he can increasestarting skill points to 20 and the amount

gained each Power Level to 15.

Note that this superpower system isdeliberately loose and will requiresignificant Director adjudication and sharednarrative responsibility among the playersto use effectively. In all cases, the Directorshould err on the side of lower DLs andmore effective power use. Also keep inmind that all strictly non-offensive powers

should be acquired with the Power Quality,while all offensive abilities (and even somespecific defensive abilities) are created asSpecial Moves.

Supervillain opponents can be created as



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6Fighters, while criminal minions, vehicles, and other lesser opponents can use the Thuggeneration rules from this book.

The combat system remains largely unchanged, though in most cases, the DramaticCombat sub-system should be favored over the normal combat system. There are anumber of reasons for this. Its level of abstraction better suits the fast-moving nature andbig environments of superhero combat, the use of Non-Combat Skills increases theflexibility of characters, and the removal of many standard fighting video game

characteristics such as Combos feels more like traditional combat in other styles of role-playing game. Groups could even come up with brand new Dramatic Combat options tobetter capture the feel of comic book combat. It may even be appropriate to create wholenew options specifically based on individual characters’ Power Qualities.




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Frequently Asked Questions

This section contains a number ofFrequently Asked Questions about the corerules of Fight! This compilation is up to dateas of March 2011.

Typos and Errors

P. 14: Top of the page: “unusal” should be“unusual.”

P. 27: Bottom of first column: “ntil” shouldbe “until.”

P. 28: “consitently” should be “consistently.”

P. 98: As Wayne’s move has the Juggle

Element, it also requires the Knocks DownElement.

P. 159: Chart: “Accurancy” should be“Accuracy.”

Character Generation

Q: Can a Basic Quality ever go higher thantwo?

A: Nope, a Basic Quality can never bepermanently higher than two. However,there are a couple ways to have an effective

Basic Quality above two, such as with aTransformation or a Buff Special Move.Furthermore, if you have Stamina 2 and theBig Quality, you get an additional -1damage against you, in addition to the twodie size adjustments for Stamina.

Q: On p. 19, it says that you can exchange

an unused Quality for three Non-CombatSkill points, two points of Fighting Spirit, orone Combat Skill point. Can this trade-offbe done whenever a Fighter gains a newQuality by advancing in Power Level?A: Yes.

Q: Is there a limit to the number ofWeaknesses a Fighter can take?A: The only limit is imposed by the Director,

but more than 2-3 is probably excessive formost games.

Skills

Q: Does Property Damage cover liftinggreat weights?A: It is not intended to do so by the rules.Normally, if it seemed necessary todetermine whether or not a Fighter could

lift a heavy weight, a skill check usingStrength as a Skill would be mostappropriate. However, many Skilldescriptions are left deliberately open-ended to allow freedom of adjudication andinterpretation for your game.

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Qualities, Weaknesses, and Quirks

Q: Many Qualities affect interaction skillchecks when dealing with “the oppositesex.” What if I have an interaction skillbonus that applies to members of theopposite sex, but my target is homosexual?A: These bonuses also apply to skill checks

against a person of the same sex if thatperson would normally be attracted to thecharacter possessing the Quality inquestion.

Q: Why are there 10 different Qualitiesrelated solely to appearance?A: Positive appearance Qualities could havebeen ultimately simplified to “Attractive: +1” and “Very Attractive: +2.” However, that

would have failed to accomplish theparticular aspect of genre emulationintended by all these different Qualities.Each of these Qualities is not only a smallmechanical modifier for interaction skillchecks, but also, perhaps even moreimportantly, a specific descriptor of anestablished “type” in fighting video gamecharacter design. By choosing one or moreof these Qualities, one is establishing a

character into a standardized niche in theworld of fighting games. These Qualitiesare not intended to be limiting or in any waya reflection of the real world. Differentgroups should remove or re-vamp thesedescriptions to better fit their own games.

Q: There are two Fighters. The first Fighterhas Ki 1 and a Special Move with theRanged and Power Up (Extra Control)Elements. The second Fighter has the BigQuality and a Stamina of one. The firstFighter uses his Special Move against thesecond, and has one extra Control to putinto damage. The move should have a

damage of 1d4+1. Now, the bruiser’sStamina reduces this damage to 1+1. Doesthe Big Quality reduce that down to 1?A: Yes, that is correct.

Q: If a Big Fighter is hit by a Combo, doeshe subtract one damage from each hit inthe Combo?A: No. A Combo is considered to be a singleattack, so the Big Quality removes one

point of damage from the total damage ofthe Combo. However, it is important tonote that a Fighter’s Stamina does reducethe damage of each attack in a Combo, butnever below one point per attack. Thus,strings of Basic Moves are an especiallyeffective tactic against high Staminaopponents.

Q: Why are there three separate Qualitiesfor Magic, Psychic, and Gadgeteering whenthey are basically the same effect?A: Despite the similarities in text in theirdescriptions, they are not the same effect.

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First, they are different special effects, andthe Director should enforce this fact.Therefore, a character with Psychic couldnot re-program the movement of a killersatellite in orbit, but a character withGadgeteering could. Conversely, theGadgeteering character could not readminds. The Psychic character could try to

justify manipulating the satellite throughsome sort of long-range telekinesis or“empathic machine control,” but it is up tothe Director to determine if that fits withinthe setting’s understanding of whatconstitutes “psychic powers.” He maydisallow it or he may allow it but set the DLvery high. Or he might decide that the

justification is really cool and reward theplayer’s creativity by allowing it.

Second, there is definitely an intendedhierarchy between these three Qualitiesand what they should be reasonablyallowed to do in the game. Gadgeteering isintended as the most limited of the three,while characters with Magic should be ableto justify almost any effect desired, subjectonly to the Director’s establishment of DLsfor the skill checks.

Third, the secondary skills required for eachQuality give some indication of the kinds ofeffects each should allow. Magic is the only

one to require Draw Ki, Danger Sense, andSpirituality, highlighting the mysticalpowers drawn from the forces of theuniverse and an intuitive sense ofunderstanding them. Psychic requires ZenState, a form of preternatural andunconscious awareness of the world aroundthe character. Gadgeteering requires Thug

Thrashing, Endure Great Hardship,Awareness and Perception, suggesting theforms of offensive, defensive, and sensoryapparatuses found in modern military andespionage units.

Q: Does the Light Quality affect SpecialMoves with the Mobility Element (2 rangesbefore attack or 3 ranges without attacking)or only Basic Moves?

A: The Quality only affects Basic Moves. Asa house rule, I don’t think it breaks toomuch to apply it to Mobile Special Moves,but this does make it a much more usefulQuality and thus potentially subject toabuse.

Q: If I take the Mobility Quality and theMobile Element for a Special Move, can Imove two Ranges for no FS cost and noAccuracy loss?A: No. Having the Mobility Quality onlyallows you to move two Ranges by takingan Accuracy penalty rather than spendingFighting Spirit. It does not in itself allow acharacter to ever move two Ranges in any

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circumstance other than those in which anyother character would also be allowed tomove two Ranges. In other words, the onlyways for any character to move two Rangesand attack is to use a Jumping Basic or amove with the appropriate Mobile Element.The Mobility Quality allows a Fighter to usesuch a move to move two Ranges by

accepting an Accuracy penalty instead ofspending FS.

Basic Moves, Special Moves, andSuper Moves

Q: Damage calculation seems a bitconfusing. For example, what is thedamage for a character who has Strength 1,using a Special Move with three Increased

Damage Elements, and which is alsopowered up through the Power Up Elementby two extra points of Control?A: The base damage for a Special Move is1d6. This is increased by three steps for theIncreased Damage Elements to 1d8+1. Thisis the move’s base damage before beingmodified by Strength. The Fighter’sStrength increases it to 1d10+1. The PowerUp Element adds two more points of

damage in this example, for a final total of1d10+3.

Q: Are Move Elements stackable?A: Not unless it is explicitly stated that theyare (such as Hard to Evade). One could not,

for example, take Increased Stun twice toadd four to the effective damage of anattack when compared to an opponent’sStun Threshold.

Q: Since a Cross-Up can only be done with aJumping Basic Move (p. 127), how does theCross-Up Liability work?

A: This is a rule that was not modified as therest of the rules changed during playtesting.Originally, any move could potentially beused in a Cross-Up. This is no longer thecase in the final rules. However, theLiability can still be used. If a Special Movehas this Liability, it must be capable ofmoving two Ranges (i.e., it must have theMobile Element also), the Fighter mustmove two Ranges before attacking (i.e., not

one), the attack must occur at Range 0 (andit cannot also have the Range 0 Liability),and it costs 1 FS (in addition to the 1 FS formoving two Ranges before attacking). If allthose conditions are in place, the attack canoccur and receives a +2 Accuracy instead ofthe normal +1 Accuracy for attacking atRange 0.

Q: What would be an example of a SpecialMove with the Negative PositioningLiability?A: The most common use of this Liability inthe source material is a Special Move that

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turns the Fighter away from his opponentafter the move occurs, often making itharder to defend or respond.

Q: What advantage does the Anti-AirElement have over the Interrupt Element? Itseems like Interrupt is useful in almost everysituation, while Anti-Air is fairly specific.

Am I missing something?A: If you interrupt a Special Move with theAerial Element using the Interrupt Element,the defender can use his full Evasion Skill toavoid your attack. If you interrupt the sameattack using a move with the Anti-AirElement or the Juggle Element, thedefender can only use half of his DefenseSkill to avoid the attack. You can have bothElements on the same move and use them

depending on the attack.

Q: Can the Bounce Element and the JuggleElement be put on the same Special Move?A: Yes.

Q: The Evade Ranged Response seems tobe the only defensive option that allowsmovement if the attack misses. Is thiscorrect? Are there other defensive optionsthat allow movement if the attack misses?A: The Evade Ranged Response does notallow movement. The Jinking Responseallows movement, as does Evasion. The

movement of the Special Move in aDefensive Response does not matter. Witha successful Defensive Response, all you getto do is use the move as an attack. Thedefender does not get a full action to moveand attack without the modifier Elementcontained in this book.

Q: In the description of the InterruptElement, there is a modifier Element forInvincible Interrupts. Page 92 refers to “theTactics roll” receiving a +2 bonus. What isthe Tactics roll?A: It’s one of several references to olderincarnations of the combat system that wasnot caught in final edits. There is no roll. Itis intended to say that the Fighter canchoose to gain a +2 bonus to his Defense

Total based on Tactics, but this means thatif the attacker’s attack misses, thedefender’s only available DefensiveResponse is the move that possesses theInvincible Interrupt.

Q: In the options for the Mobile Element (p.93), the first says that it allows “full normalmovement after attacking,” but theattacker cannot move before attacking.

The second option says that it only allowsone Range of movement, but it can occurbefore or after attacking. What is theadvantage of the first option?A: As written, there is no advantage to thefirst option. The first option should also



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allow two Ranges of movement for a cost ofone FS, just like the third option. However,this movement can only occur after anattack. A Fighter could also retreat oneRange after attacking for no FS cost withthis option.

Q: It is clearly explained in the combat rules

how movement before attacking works.But there are some Elements that allowmovement after the attack is resolved, andthese are not explicitly explained in therules. Consider the following Elements andrules:1. Mobile Element: Move two Rangesbefore attacking.2. Mobile Element: Move two Ranges afterattacking.

3. Knockback Advance Element: Move twoRanges when following a Special Move withthe Increased Knockback Element.4. The rule that states that one can moveone Range freely after one Knocks Down hisopponent.If one has a Special Move with (1), (3),Knocks Down and Increased Knockback,can a Fighter move two Ranges beforeattacking and then two more Rangesadvancing with the Knock Back, plus onemore Range from (4) above, for a total offive Ranges?A: Yes, that is correct, though the net effectis still only three Ranges. For example, ifthe combatants begin at Range 3, the

attacker uses Mobile to advance to Range 1.He attacks, hits, and Knocks Back hisopponent to Range 3. He uses theKnockback Advance Element to close thatback to Range 1, and then finally headvances one more Range as a result of theKnockdown to Range 0. He has moved fiveRanges, but the effect is only three.

However, this could make a difference in anarena with Walls, Ring-Outs, orEnvironmental Hazards.

Q: Using the same Elements from above,let’s take the example of a Fighter with aSpecial Move with (1) and another SpecialMove with (2), (3), Knocks Down andIncreased Knockback. The Fighter performsa Combo using the Mobile move and then

the second move. Does the Fighter movetwo Ranges before attacking, and then twomore Ranges advancing with the KnockBack, plus one more Range from (4) above,plus two more Ranges backwards from (3),for a total of seven Ranges?A: No, this wouldn’t work. See page 134. Themove that starts the Combo is the only onethat matters as far as movement is concerned.So instead, the Fighter would move forward

two Ranges, advance two more Ranges afterKnock Back, and then one more as a result ofKnock Down. The movement after attack onthe second move would not apply.

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FAQ

Q: Again using the same Elements fromabove, if one has a Special Move with (1),and another Special Move with (2), can aFighter Combo these moves in order toadvance two Ranges, attack, and thenreturn two Ranges to his starting position?A: No, for the reason mentioned above.

Q: Regarding the Pass Through Element,what happens if you are at less than Range2? Do you still attack and then pass throughto the other side? If the defender is hit,does he still suffer Knock Back? Does thatmean that if you Pass Through at Range 1and hit, you should be at Range 0 in theend?A: This Element can’t be used at Range 3 orgreater. At Range 2, it brings you to Range

0. At Range 1, it brings you to Range 1 onthe other side of the opponent. At Range 0,it brings you to Range 2 on the other side ofthe opponent. This strange movement onlyhas a specific effect in a couplecircumstances. In a fight with multiplecombatants, using a line grid for Ranges,what “side” you are in relation to youropponent matters. Likewise, in a fight withWalls and Ring-Outs, this Element can be

especially effective. As far as Knock Backgoes, the attack occurs after you havepassed through the opponent. Thus, Knock

Back would be back in the direction fromwhich the attacker came. Again, in a one-on-one fight in a standard arena, this meansnothing, but it matters in the abovecircumstances.

Q: If a Fighter uses a Ranged Response witha move that includes the No Ranged

Response Element (meaning that itdestroys the projectile from the opponent),does this mean that not only is the attackblocked, but that the defending Rangedattack also hits the opponent?A: By the rules, no. That would make sense,but in game terms, as the defender is usingthe Ranged Response, the projectile he ishitting is not using a Ranged Response. It ismaking, if you will, a Ranged attack, not

Response. The rules as written allow anattacker to eat a defender’s projectile andthen hit them, but they don’t allow adefender to eat an attacker’s projectile andhit them at the same time.

Q: How does the modifier Element on theTeleportation Element actually work indefense?

A: If a Fighter has a move with this Element,

an\d he chooses to Evade as a defense, he cantake a +2 to his Defense Total, but if the attackmisses, the Fighter must choose the “Move 2Ranges for 1 FS” option rather than the optionto take a +2 Accuracy on his next attack.



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Q: If a Fighter uses a move with theTemporary Invulnerability Element, it is notclear whether or not the Fighter can reallybe interrupted by an attack or not. Thedescription states that the Fighter cannotsuffer damage, Stun damage, Knock Back,Knockdown or Hit Stun, but can thecharacter continue with his Combo if the

first hit has this Element and the charactermissed because of a Defensive Responsethat relies on hitting him?A: A Fighter can be interrupted while usingTemporary Invulnerability but it won’t doanything except maybe earn Glory for theinterrupting Fighter. As for the second partof the question, the Combo would still end.While the character using TemporaryInvulnerability suffers no effects from theattack in the Defensive Response, theCombo attack is still considered to have“missed.”

Q: Temporary Invulnerability and Priorityseems to be an exceptionally powerfulcombination. Should these be allowedtogether in the same Special Move?A: No, they should not. This is alegitimately broken combination. Thus,consider this a rule change: a Special Movecannot have both of these Elements.

Q: Can a Throw Special Move have both theHurl and Sustained Hold Elements? If so,when do you resolve the Hurl effect in

relation to the Sustained Hold effect? Whatif there was also another Element like AreaEffect added on that could potentiallyaffect other combatants?A: Both the Hurl and Area Effect effectswould be resolved on the 2nd turn of theSustained Hold, and (as applicable) wouldonly occur if the 2nd turn of the Sustained

Hold was actually successful. If the Fighterfailed to get Initiative on the following turn,the other effects would not occur.

Q: Can the Reach Element be applied toThrows?A: Technically, no. However, such a movecan be constructed out of other Elements,such as: Knocks Down (2) +1 Accuracy (3)Interrupt (1) Limited: Can’t be used at

Range 2 (-1) Limited: Movement costs 1 FS(-1)

Q: Is it possible to have a Special Move withboth the Throw and Mobile Elements? TheThrow Element specifies that you can onlymove one Range at a cost of 1 FS, while thethird option of the Mobile Element allowstwo Ranges of movement for 1 FS. Can Imove two Ranges and then perform aThrow?A: There has been quite a vigorousdiscussion about the possibilities of MobileThrows. However, you cannot add the




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Mobile Element (or any other Element thatspecifically modifies movement or Range inany way) to a Throw. However, it is possibleto “de-construct” the Throw Element intoits essential components, and then build itas a separate move that could legallyinclude the Mobile Element.

For example: Run and Grab (L4)Knocks Down (2) Mobile (1)+1 Accuracy (3) Interrupt (1) Range 0 (-1)Limited Move: No Stun Damage (-1)

This creates a Mobile Throw. It cost twoElements more than combining Mobile andThrow alone, but it is a more powerful,more versatile move. While not technicallylegal, it would not be unreasonable to then

allow a player to add the Hurled orSustained Hold Elements to this SpecialMove.

Q: What is the use of the default AbsorbsAttack Element? It says that it requires theInterrupt Element as a prerequisite, and touse it, you have to successfully perform anInterrupt Defensive Response, in which casethe attack is absorbed and does no damage.

However, in order to succeed with theDefensive Response, the attack has to miss,which would mean that the attack would dono damage anyway.

A: This is another case of an editing processwhere a couple ideas were combined andnot completely smoothed out. The basiceffect should be ignored. Instead, themodifier Element “Absorb and Use Ranged”should be considered the default effect, fora cost of one Element. The modifierElement “Absorb All Attacks” instead allows

a single use of any attack it absorbs, just asdescribed under the Absorb and UseRanged Element. The final modifierElement, “Transform Energy Element,”remains unchanged.

Q: The Entangle Element describes whathappens if the opponent has not yet actedthis turn when he is Entangled. What is theeffect of the Entangle Element if he has

already acted this turn?A: The Entangled Fighter loses his action onthe following turn.

Q: Can an Entangled opponent use any typeof defensive option?A: Yes. This is not always realistic, but theElement was not intended to be game-breaking. Consider that a lot of old fightinggames allowed the player to shake the stick

to undo these kinds of effects faster.

Q: How do Special Moves with the HealingElement work, especially if they still causedamage themselves?A: If the Healing move also does damage,

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then it does damage and heals at the sametime, with the same damage roll. That is,the same damage roll is used both fordamaging one’s opponent and healingoneself. Furthermore, as noted in thegeneral rules for Exotic Special Moves (p.99), the healing effect of such a movewould occur regardless of whether or not

the attack hit.

Q: If a Healing Special Move can be used onothers, how does this work? Can it also bean attack?A: As noted on p. 103, moves that healothers are not traditionally part of thesource material. In order for a Special Moveto be able to heal others, it cannot also bean attack; however, it cannot gain the

benefit of the No Damage Liability. Such amove can only affect an ally at Range 2 orless, unless the Special Move also has theRanged Element.

Q: When using the Invisibility Element in afight with multiple participants, is the effectapplied to all enemies or does the characterchoose one who suffers the effect of thedice reduction?A: The penalty would apply to allopponents. Yes, this does make theElement more powerful, but it is unlikelythat these circumstances would come upoften enough for it to be a problem. Asalways, the Director could modify this as

necessary if his campaign consists offrequent brawls involving multipleparticipants.

Q: Do Special Moves with the PowerEnhancer Element or the Taunt Element stilldo normal damage if they are not boughtwith the No Damage Liability?

A: A Special Move with the Power EnhancerElement does not do damage, and cannottake the No Damage Liability. Taunts mayor may not do damage. Traditionally infighting games, they do not.

Q: Is the formula for the Style ChangeElement correct? As written, if I have onlyone Style Change Special Move, and theStyle Change Move is L2, L3, or L4, I get no

benefit on the moves in that Style. Instead,I’ve created moves that are just harder toaccess in combat, which seems more like aLiability.A: The Style Change Element has raised afew questions. The first is in regard to theformula for how many Liabilities each movereceives (found in the 1st paragraph of theElement’s description on p. 105). The end ofthe formula reads “(Total number of StyleChange Special Moves-2).” That wasintended to read, “(Total number of styles-2)” or “(Total number of Style ChangeSpecial Moves-1).” The formula was

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constructed before the language of“default” style entered into the explanationof the Element. Thus, all Special Movesbuilt in other styles should have anadditional Liability added to them beyondwhat the formula in the rules provides.

Q: Can a Power Level 1 Fighter have Style

Change Special Moves? It’s unclear becausethe rules say that a Power Level 1 charactercannot have any moves in a “default” style.A: The second problem with this Element isa result of an extremely unclear sentence.On the top of the 2nd column on p. 105, theend of the paragraph reads, “A characterbuilt with Style Change Special Moves atPower Level 1 may not have any moves in a“default” style.” The clearest reading of

that sentence is that a PL 1 character withany Style Change moves has no defaultstyle and cannot have a default style. This isnot the intention of the sentence. Rather,the sentence was merely intended toindicate that it is possible that a PowerLevel 1 character might have three SpecialMoves: two Style Change Special Movesand one Special Move in one of those twostyles, while the other style remains

“empty” until the character acquires moreMove Points at Power Level 2. Thus, such acharacter would have no default style. This

is a possibility, an option; it is more likelythat a Power Level 1 character would have asingle Style Change Special Move, oneSpecial Move in that style, and then onemore move in the “default” style. Hopefullythat clears things up.

Q: If a Fighter has several styles, does he

need to “pass through” the default style toget to the others? That is, if I am in MantisStyle, and I want to switch to Panda Style,do I need to spend an action to switch todefault style and then another action toswitch to Panda Style? Or can I switch fromMantis to Panda directly?A: Again, the rules were not as clear as theyshould have been. Once a Fighter has morethan one style, the “default” style itself

should just be considered one of his styles.He can switch directly from one style toanother as he chooses, without returning todefault style. The only reason to return todefault style is to use the moves solelycontained in that style.

Q: Can a Fighter use a Style Change moveto begin a Combo? For example, can aFighter use Style Change Move in style

Style Change Move in another style? Ifso, how do you determine the Accuracy ofthe Combo, since the first move is not anattack?A: Yes. There would be no Accuracymodifier for the Combo based on the first

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move in the Combo. Each Style ChangeSpecial Move would still count as a move fordetermining the Accuracy penalty forCombo length. Therefore, in the exampleabove, the Combo would have a –2Accuracy (i.e., four moves: -1, SpecialMoves included in the Combo: -1).

Q: The Taunt Element includes the modifierElement “Element Addition.” Thedescription says that when a Special Movewith this Element is used, it adds anotherElement to a move the character uses onthe following turn. What if the Element-adding Taunt is used in a Combo? Does itenhance the next move in the Combo ormust the enhanced move be used nextturn?

A: The Taunt enhances the next SpecialMove (not Basic Move) used. If this is in thesame Combo, then the Element Additionoccurs immediately.

Q: Does a Special Move with the TauntElement add another potential use of Tauntto the total allowed per fight? In otherwords, the Basic Taunt can be used to gain1d4 Glory once per fight. If a Fighter has a

move with the Taunt Element, can he gainanother 1d4 Glory by using this SpecialMove as a Taunt also?A:The extra 1d4 Glory for a Taunt is earnedonce for each Taunt the Fighter uses. Thus,he can earn 1d4 Glory for a Basic Taunt, and

then another 1d4 extra Glory once for eachSpecial Move built with the Taunt Element.

Q: Do Super Moves that are visually just abarrage of attacks or an automatic Comboneed the Unique Super Element?A: Generally, yes, unless the character inquestion has such a flurry as a Special Move

already.

Q: Super Moves automatically have theKnocks Down Element, and they don’t doStun damage. Does this mean that theUnblockable Element only costs oneElement to add to a Super Move?A: No. This would be far too powerful.Despite the inherent effects of all SuperMoves, the Unblockable Element should

cost four Elements to add to a Super Move.

Combat

Q: What level of information is available tothe player during combat? When attacked,do they get to know the Accuracy, damage,or any additional effects of the attack(especially if it missed)? What about theopponent’s current Life Bar and Fighting

Spirit?A: All of these are up to the Director and thepreferences of the gaming group. Myintention was that Life Bar and Fighting

FAQ




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FAQ

Spirit were always publicly known by allcombatants (after all, they can just look atthe top of the screen!), but other groupsmay wish to handle this differently.

Q: Does your Power Level cap the amountof Fighting Spirit you can spend per turn orper roll?

A: Actually, neither. Your Power Level capsthe amount of FS you can use per “use”during a turn. For instance, you could spendone FS to “turtle” (i.e., add 1/2 Evasion toDefense) as well as spend FS equal to yourfull Power Level to add to your DefenseTotal, even though both of theseexpenditures apply to the same “roll.”

Q: The section on Die Sizes notes that

beyond 1d12, a single point is added foreach die size increase. Can a Fighter spendFS to increase Initiative and/or Controlabove 1d12, to 1d12+1 or beyond?A: No. Initiative and Control can drop downto 1 with die size penalties, but nocircumstance can increase either onebeyond 1d12. This is not the case with amove’s damage, which still cannot bereduced below 1, but which can be increased

any number of die sizes beyond 1d12.

Q: How do you handle declarations ofactions when two Fighters have both

simultaneous Initiative and simultaneousControl?A: Really, in this situation, use whateverworks. I would suggest that the lowestSpeed declares first. If that too was a tie,

just roll a die.

Q: Are the Combat Bonuses for Control and

Damage added to the roll or are theyincreases in die size?A: They are added to the roll directly. Theyare not increases in die size.

Q: If one moves two Ranges and attackswith a Basic Move, is this alwaysa Jumping Basic? If not (that is, if you can

just spend one FS and walktwo Ranges and attack), is there an

advantage to a Jumping Basic over a”walking Basic”?A: It is assumed by the rules to always be aJumping Basic. It doesn’t have to bedescribed as such, but it is assumed that thecharacter is still vulnerable to an Anti-AirDefensive Response.

Q: Can Basic Moves be used at Range 2 withthe -1 Accuracy penalty?A: Yes.

Q: If you open a Combo by moving toRange 2 while using a Special Move that hasno Accuracy penalty at that range (or even abonus), and then follow it up with moves



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FAQ

that do have a penalty at that range, doesyour overall Accuracy with the Combo havean Accuracy penalty for the range?A: In a Combo, the only Accuracy bonus orpenalty that matters is from the openingmove. Likewise, the only movement thatmatters is from the opening move, whilethe only Knock Back that matters is from

the last move. However, it is necessary thatall moves in the Combo can hit at the Rangeat which the Combo begins. This meansthat if you want to use a Throw in themiddle or end of the Combo, you must startthe Combo at Range 0.

Q: If a Combo includes a move that has Fastor Slow Recovery along with others that donot, does that effect apply?

A: The effects of Fast Recovery or SlowRecovery only apply if all the moves in theCombo have this Element or Liability.Otherwise, the effect is ignored.

Q: Can you use Full Defense in conjunctionwith combining Evasion and Defense?A: Yes.

Q: If a character jumps into Range 2 or less

without attacking against a character withan Anti-Air/Juggle Special Move, does theFighter with the Anti-Air move still needTactics to use the Defensive Response? Howwould you resolve this since there is noattack to defend against?

A: Under normal circumstances (i.e., inresponse to an attack), all you have to do isdeclare that you are using Tactics indefense. If the attack misses, you are thenfree to choose whatever DefensiveResponse you are eligible to use in thatsituation. In this case, since there is noattack to defend against, the Anti-Air/

Juggle Defensive Response cannot beutilized.

Thus, if Character A jumps in withoutattacking, and then Character B wants touse an Anti-Air Special Move on him, you’dresolve it as follows: A jumps in. His actionends. B attacks with Anti-Air attack. Whiletechnically Character A has already“landed,” if Character B hits, the narrative

can describe the Anti-Air Special Move ashitting the first character while still in theair. Q: Does the two FS version of Back Dash adda bonus to Jinking against a Ranged movewhich would still hit an opponent who movedback one Range? According to the descriptionof the Jinking Defensive Response, it cannotbe used against Ranged moves, unless moving

one Range back would take the Fighter out ofrange (for example, if the move had the ShortRange Liability).A: No, it does not provide a bonus against








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Defense

Aerial Blocks (Core 136)Air EscapeAnger ResponseAutomatic Tech RollsBack Dash InvincibilityBack Dashes (Core 139)

Block Bar Variant 1Block Bar Variant 2Breakfalls (Core 143)Burst ResponseCounter JugglesCrouching MovementFatigueImbalanceLimited Jump RulesLow Crouch

Parry Power UpParryingPush and PullReactionReversing CountersSuper Air BlockTech Rolls (Core 143)

Miscellaneous Combat Options

Berserk AttacksCowardice GaugeDamage Progression

Dashes (Core 139)Double Life BarsFighter PositioningInsert Coin ContinueJudgmentLife Bar RecoveryModifying the Time CountMore Dangerous Guns (Core 171)

Non-Random DamageSimplifying Hit Stun (Core 141)Slower Recovery (Core 152)SparkThug Events (Core 168)

Modifiers to Basic Moves

Adding Elements to Basic MovesAdvanced Grappling

Basic Taunts (Core 79)Basic Throws (Core 78)Blockable Throws (Core 97)Differing Strengths for Basic MovesDouble JumpsEasier JumpsHoverMega ThrowsModifying Basic TauntsSuper Jump

Wall Springs

Stunning

Accumulated Stun Damage Version 1Accumulated Stun Damage Version 2



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StaggeringStamina CheckSuper Energy Reserve

Super Moves

AllyArena Finisher

Brutal FinisherClimax ModeCustom CombosDecreased RateDefense Super EnergyDesperate AttackDesperation BoostEnergy MoveExtra Special MoveFinal Killer Combo

FinishersFinishing StrikeFirst Strike BonusFluctuating Super EnergyGuard BreakerHonorable DefeatHumiliationIncreased Max Super EnergyIncreased RateInterrupt Super Energy BoostKiller Combo Breaker ElementKiller CombosLife Bar Loss BoostLower Level Super MovesMercyMystic Force

No Super Energy CostOne-Hit KillOne-Hit Kill ParryPower MovePower Special MoveRage BarRage Bar Super Move VariantRage Combo

Rage ExplosionRage StrikeRevenge MoveSavage FinisherSpecial Killer ComboStarting Super EnergySuper DefenseSuper DisarmSuper Killer ComboSuper Linker Element

Super ModeSuper ProtectionSuper RageTaunt Super EnergyTeammate Defeat Super EnergyTeammate Power Up RestrictionThree-Tier Super System (Core 116)

Techniques

Curse TechniqueDelayed Wake Up TechniqueFloor Roll TechniqueFury Mode Technique




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Gravity TechniqueHyper Armor TechniquePartner TechniquePre-Set ComboSuper Armor TechniqueTag TechniqueVariable Fury Mode Technique

Weapons and Armor

ArmorArmor LocationsOptional WeaponsWeapon ClashesWeapon DamageWeapon Power

Team Combat

Assist AttackDrive BackFighters with CompanionsIncreased SupportSuper Energy Team Up ElementSuper Move SequenceSuper Team ComboSustained Hold AssistTag AttackTag Counter ElementTag Team Combat (Core 153)Team ComboTeam Up Moves

Teammate RecoveryThree-Person Tag Teams with HelpersThree-Person Teams Relationship ModifierThree-Person Teams with HelpersTwo-Person Tag Teams with Helpers

Environmental Hazards

Aerial CombatDestructible WallsEnvironmental “Power-Ups”Freefall FightingRandom HazardRopesUsing and Destroying EnvironmentalObjectsWall CountersWall Stun

Weapons of OpportunityZone Barriers

Campaign Options

Building Characters as ThugsBuilding ThugsCritical Successes, Mixed Successes, andFumbles (Core 32)Hero and His Supporting Characters (Core

25)Social CombatTransformations (Core 117)



Documents

Fight Round 2