You grab onto an opponent, with the intent to not let go! It’s not a preferred method of fighting among ninja, but it does have some limited popularity amongst certain taijutsu fighters.
Effects: You are grappling your opponent. This is not inherently a huge advantage, but leads in to multiple other possibilities for attack. When grappled, the following effects apply to both participants:
Certain situations within a grapple may call for a ‘grapple check’. This varies depending on whether you are the attacker or defender: The Attacker rolls 1d20 + PDB + DEX/15, while the Defender rolls 1d20 + PDB + AGI/15, with both people rounding down their Damage Bonus to the nearest whole number (7.2 and a 7.9 both round down to 7).
The person who initiated the grapple is considered the ‘attacker’, and may end it at will, at any time; the person who was grabbed is the ‘defender’, and may not. Unless specified otherwise, all Grapple Jutsu may only be used by the attacker. However, the defender has two options (beyond normal actions and attacks) available to them:
(Speed 5, Stamina 5)
The attacker and defender both roll grapple checks; if the defender exceeds the attacker’s roll, they are the new attacker in the grapple. When this is done, the attacker must make a Stamina 5 fatigue roll.
(Speed 4)
The attacker and defender both roll grapple checks; if the defender matches or exceeds the attacker’s roll, the grapple ends immediately. When this is done, the attacker must make a Stamina 5 fatigue roll, or choose to simply let go.
Being held in place by one person and then punched into submission by all their friends is a pretty exceptionally undignified way for a ninja to go down. Accordingly, ninja are usually taught the basics of how to writhe their way out of all manner of holds.
Effects: Roll a grapple check against your opponent. The “X” in this jutsu’s cost and speed is the amount you fail your grapple check by. Thus, if you rolled a 12 against your opponent’s 16, Escape Grapple would be a Stamina 8 check and have a Speed of 8. On the other hand, if you passed your check by 36 points, it would be only Stamina 4 and Speed 4. This ends all grapples you’re currently in. This technique cannot be Aborted, despite its Delay.
You use your head to hit someone else’s head. Really, honestly, it’s a highly technical process. You just don’t understand because you’re not a ninja.
Effects: This attack may be used by either the attacker or the defender in the grapple, but only against the other person, and can be used regardless of whether your hands are free. It automatically hits. If it causes a wound, that wound is automatically a head wound.
Although the attacker does not take damage from doing this, compare the damage dealt after all of the target’s reductions: if the final damage dealt would be enough for them to have wounded themselves, they will suffer that wound. For example, if you have 500 Vitality and Headbutt someone for 60 damage (after all reductions), you would take 0 damage and suffer a minor wound (for taking more than 10% of your Vitality in one hit). The attacker’s own reductions (from Resilient, or DR) do not affect whether they are wounded this way, nor do any of the attacker’s own changes to wound severity (both percentage and severity changes) affect the wound they inflict on themselves.
You use leverage, brute force, or a combination of the two to physically throw an enemy, either by flipping them over you, hurling them into a nearby object, slamming them to the ground, or something similar.
Effects: This immediately ends the grapple, and Stuns the enemy, severity 4 + (damage taken after reductions)/50, along with a ‘knockback’ (as they are thrown) of up to (STR/20) yards; you can not throw someone into someone else this way, no matter how cool it might be. This can also be declared as part of (and linked to) a Grab attack, in which case it increases the total Speed by 4, and deals damage as a Speed 16 action. It cannot be blocked when used this way, and you add 8 to Grab’s Stamina cost when using Throw to link to it.
You use one of your hands or arms to pin an opponent’s in a position where they can’t use it effectively. It’s a bit harder than it sounds, just because of the logistics of grappling people effectively.
Effects: You and your opponent both lose the ability to use one of your arms. This puts your opponent at a -1 immobilization penalty, applies a -2 penalty to their grapple rolls, and doubles the Seal Speed of any jutsu they try to use (if used when your opponent is mid-seals, it doubles the remaining speed). Using this jutsu a second time doubles the penalties and makes it impossible for the victim to use handseals at all. If you lose control of the grapple, these effects end. A person with the Single-Handed Seals unique is able to perform handseals one-handed unhindered by these effects.
You hook one of your legs around an opponent’s, restricting their mobility at the price of your own.
Effects: You and your opponent both lose the ability to use one of your legs. This gives your opponent a -2 penalty both to immobilization and to their grapple checks, as well as further halving the speed at which you and they can move in the grapple. With both their legs locked, the penalties double and neither you nor they can move at all. If you lose control of the grapple, these effects end.
You get behind an opponent and put an arm around their neck. For what’s a fairly simple-seeming maneuver, this is actually highly effective: to avoid breaking their own neck, they have to limit their mobility.
Effects: You lose the ability to use one of your arms, and your opponent suffers a -4 immobilization penalty, as well as a -2 penalty to all their grapple rolls. For the duration of the headlock, the victim’s Stamina rolls have a -4 penalty. Additionally, any jutsu or effects that require them to aim with their mouth (such as breathing fire or spitting out needles) have a -5 Accuracy penalty. If you lose control of the grapple, these effects end.
You grab your opponent’s neck and cut off either the flow of blood to their brain, or of oxygen to their lungs. Either way, it’s a nasty thing to be affected by… though as far as combat between ninjas go, it’s one of the more effective and less violent ones.
Effects: You lose the ability to use one of your arms while maintaining this hold. Every use of this technique applies a stacking -1 Suffocation penalty to your opponent. So long as this hold is maintained (meaning you don’t use the arm holding them for anything else, and remain in control of the grapple) the suffocation effect does not end.
Effects: This can interrupt the use of any grapple move other than Headbutt or Pressure Point while you’re the defender, as long as you know that jutsu yourself. Make a grapple roll against the attacker; if you succeed you gain control of the grapple and automatically use the move they were going to; the ‘X’ in Reversal’s Stamina cost is that move’s Stamina. Reversal’s Speed is 3 if it fails, and for the purpose of determining what it can interrupt. If it succeeds, you also add half the Speed of the move you reversed.
You throw an enemy who’s grabbing you off, freeing yourself from them and injuring them in the process.
Effects: This ends a grapple when used, but may only be used by the defender. The attacker is Thrown (as per the D-rank Throw move, including the stun). Counter Throw always deals damage as if it was Speed 10, regardless of the actual speed. When you declare use of Counter Throw, make an opposed Grapple check. The amount you fail by is the “X” in this move’s Stamina cost and Speed. If you pass, it’s Stamina 12 / Speed 4 / Delay 0. This technique cannot be Aborted, despite its Delay.
You grab your opponent in such a way that you can put continual strain on one of their limbs or joints. Though typically non-lethal, an expert grappler can be brutal with these techniques.
Effects: To use this technique you must have your opponent in an arm or leg lock; if you have multiple limbs locked, declare which one you are targeting. Any wounds dealt by the joint lock are applied to that limb. Although the damage is dealt normally, it is considered cumulatively 25% higher each time you use the technique after the first, so long as the lock is maintained. For example, the first Joint Lock you apply does unarmed damage; the next, unarmed damage +25%; the third +50%, and so forth, and so on. If you lose the lock, or the grapple ends, then the cumulative bonus is reset. Joint Lock does benefit from Unarmed Focus and Power Focus, if you have those abilities, though its Stamina cost is increased appropriately (up to 18 for four ranks of Power Attack).
You find, grab, and press down on an opponent’s pressure point, temporarily immobilizing them; these are painful while maintained, but more to the point (ahaha, get it, because they’re… never mind) it prevents the nerves you’re isolating from working properly while the pressure is maintained.
Effects: This may be used to Interrupt any grapple move used by the defender, other than Headbutt or Break Grapple checks (Shift Grapple and Escape Grapple are fair game), regardless of their Speed. You quickly find a pressure point on their body and immobilize it, preventing them from completing whatever they were attempting. This requires an arm free; you may release a lock, if necessary, as part of this interrupt, to free up your hand.
Roll an opposed grapple check, applying no penalties from holds or locks. If you are sucessful, they are prevented from taking their action.
Against Escape Grapple or Counter Throw (or any techniques with similar variable effects), the “X” value the user pays for their failed technique is half the amount you beat their roll by. For Pressure Point’s cost, X is the number of times you’ve used Pressure Point in that battle–making it 10 the first time, 14 the second, and so on.
A less brutal alternative to joint locking (which has this nasty tendency to tear people apart), a compression hold is still exceptionally painful–that’s the point. You twist the victim’s body in such a way that their own joints are being used to hurt them–forcing their elbow to press against their sternum is a popular one.
Effects: This requires the opponent already be in one of the three D-rank locks. Each time you use this technique applies a -1 penalty to their grapple checks, so long as that lock is maintained. This penalty remains until that lock is ended.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suplex Just… read that, okay? That’s what you do to them.
Effects: This ends the grapple. If Suplex inflicts a wound, it is dealt to the opponent’s head.
A devastating move, developed by a shinobi who claimed he had gained inspiration for it by watching the fighting tactics of wild bears. The user wraps their arms around their opponent and squeezes with incredible strength. Users of this move have been known to crack arm bones and break ribs. It was later pointed out that real bears do not actually hug people, to death or otherwise. The original inventor of the move refused to comment, and the name was in wide use by that point anyway.
Effects: Your Physical Damage Bonus is doubled for this technique. If this technique causes a wound, that wound is applied to the torso and both arms automatically. Kurokumaken requires the use of both arms, which will end any existing Arm lock or Head lock under normal circumstances in order to free up your arms to perform it.
Adapted–in purpose, method, and name–from a ‘normal’ style of martial arts, the Dragon Takedown is a more aggressive method of initiating a grapple, often throwing an opponent to the ground in the process.
Effects: This may be used outside of a grapple; in fact, it may only be used outside of a grapple. If you hit, you deal damage and initiate a grapple with your opponent, and may immediately apply any of the D-rank locks or knock them prone automatically. Additionally, make an opposed Athletics roll: If you beat your target’s roll, they must immediately make a Stamina 10 + X roll, with X being how much you beat their Athletics roll by, to a maximum of Stamina 25.
You flip your opponent over you and hurl them to the ground (or otherwise maneuver them unpleasantly if you’re both already on the ground) and slam an elbow, knee, or other body part into them, using gravity to assist your momentum. Nobody really knows what this has to do with tigers.
Effects: When you use this technique, make an opposed grapple check. If the opponent fails, they take a Stun 10 + X, with X being how much you beat their roll by. You take a Stun 4. This technique ends the grapple.
A special technique passed down through generations, the true origin of the Full Nelson is unknown, but its efficiency is dreaded; many a shinobi has thought victory assured, only to be trapped by a well-timed Full Nelson.
Effects: You must use both your arms to keep your opponent in this hold. So long as you do so, they have a -8 immobilization penalty and a -8 penalty to their grapple rolls. This ends if you lose control of the grapple.
This technique is, at a glance, not all that different from a regular flip-your-opponent-over-a-shoulder throw. What makes it different, and what makes it take arduous practice to perfect, is the precise way the user manipulates their opponent and strains their muscles. The Crashing Garuda is a study in kinesiology–the user lifts the opponent overhead and swings them down, bringing themselves crashing along with the foe in a way that multiplies the force brought to bear by both muscles and gravity. Too long? Didn’t read? The short version: You don’t want to have this used against you.
Effects: Make an opposed grapple roll. The amount you succeed by is added to this technique’s Speed for the purpose of determining its damage, and adds a Stun equal to half that amount to your opponent. If you succeed, the grapple ends. If you fail, you still pay the Stamina cost and your Speed advances normally, but the attack fails.
This move was supposedly developed by a martial arts master who was tackled and mauled by a lion. He somehow survived, though horribly maimed; it’s said that because nobody could recognize him after the attack, he became known as the “Faceless Master.” He devised this technique based on what he learned from being tackled and mauled by a lion, to imitate the effects of the victim being tackled and mauled by a lion.
Effects: Shishi Keishi is performed from outside of a grapple. If this technique misses, the “X” value is not paid. When performing Shishi Keishi, declare any grapple move of B rank or below which can be used during a grapple; if it hits, you initiate a grapple and then immediately perform that move. “X” is the cost and speed of the move you are using with Shishi Keishi.
The pinnacle of ways to brutally maim your opponents when you already have them at your mercy in battle, Washitsume is yet another move named after animals for no clear reason other than martial artists (and ninjas) seeming to think that’s cool. The principle is simple: You hyperextend a limb or joint while twisting it in whatever way will put the most excessive amount of strain on the bones, muscles, and tendons. It’s quite possible for this to cause irreparable damage, and it has seen some use as an improvised torture method.
Effects: You must have your opponent in a joint lock for the limb you are attacking. You do apply Unarmed Focus (and can choose to use Power Attack) for determining your damage with this technique. After reductions are applied, this attack’s actual damage is halved. However, for the purpose of causing wounds its original damage is multiplied by X, up to a maximum of 6. The X * 2 is not included when calculating your damage bonus from Speed.