Wise Turtle Publishing

Me and friend are working on characters and there are certain rules that seem rather vague to us. The first one would be companion. The rule states that the companion that has abilities and weakness equal to the number ranks. So if I had companion 2 does that mean that the companion only has two skills? When comparing it to the pre builds with similar ranks they have several skills. So then I thought that this is the max amount of ranks a companion can have in a single skill. Then another pre build prove me wrong again, so if anyone could give me a baseline on how the skill should work that, I would highly appreciate that. Also can having ranks in a knowledge like "kickboxing" lower your endurance usage involving that skill in combat or is just useful for defense or other instances involving kickboxing?

Companion allows you to create a character with a “total” equal to your Level in Companion. What this means is when you combine the companion’s Abilities and Weaknesses (by subtracting Weaknesses from Abilities), the end number should be the same as your Companion Level.

So if you have Companion +2, this would make a character with Strong +3, Tough +1, and Dense -2 a legal character. (3 + 1 - 2 = 2). A character with Quick +4 and Weak -1 would not follow the rules, because the total would be 3 (4 - 1).

Likewise, it’s theoretically possible to have 40 points of Abilities and 38 points of Weaknesses and still be “correct” by the book’s standards...but I think that’s sort of abusing the spirit of the game.

As for your other question, a Knowledge in Kickboxing would only add to the dice you roll when Kickboxing. If you want to decrease the endurance cost, you should probably take a high level in Attack, then use a batch of Ineffectives to give you more Endurance to spend on other Perks.

While you could argue Kickboxing adds to Defense Rolls, you should probably use Quick or Evasive for that, since Attack and Defense are split in almost every other instance of the game. A single Ability (one that costs half no less) that improves both is a little unbalanced.

Personally, I’d stick to using Combat Expert, since it allows you to be a little more creative in combat (say, picking up a mop and kicking butt with it or throwing sand in your opponent’s eyes...neither of which are technically “kickboxing” techniques.)

Thanks for the input

Clay wrote:Personally, I’d stick to using Combat Expert, since it allows you to be a little more creative in combat (say, picking up a mop and kicking butt with it or throwing sand in your opponent’s eyes...neither of which are technically “kickboxing” techniques.)

I would like to point out that 'X combat' Knowledge skill is very typical 80's and 90's anime, though. Where you see the main protagonists typically have only one main or only combat skill that they use every time. Simply because it's easier to animate, and it becomes their 'superhero' costume. Rurouni Kenshin being the example that comes to mind. Yes, Kenshin himself has unarmed combat skills, but for the most part all the characters, if they fight, stick to one style/weapon for the entire run.

Combat Expert is less about characters using different styles every episode and more about being versatile enough to handle themselves in one-off scenes where the rules change.

I’m not familiar with Rurouni Kenshin beyond a few episodes, but often enough in shows like it, the protagonist does lose access to his cherished weapon at some point. In most RPGs, such a character would be up the creek without a paddle because they have points in “sword fighting” or what have you.

But that’s not happens in anime, is it? Characters improvise with nearby objects, make do with their fists, stomp loose floor boards, swing from chandeliers and dive feet-first into their foes. What changes is not so much the character’s ability to fight but their damage capacity. (Using Kenshin as an example again, even though he’s equally skilled without his sword, he’s losing out on his Attack Ability, or at the very least, some useful perks. This makes not having his sword disadvantageous for reasons other than rolling fewer dice to fight.)

...or that’s my take. The Knowledge option is there for a reason.

Clay wrote:Combat Expert is less about characters using different styles every episode and more about being versatile enough to handle themselves in one-off scenes where the rules change.

I’m not familiar with Rurouni Kenshin beyond a few episodes, but often enough in shows like it, the protagonist does lose access to his cherished weapon at some point. In most RPGs, such a character would be up the creek without a paddle because they have points in “sword fighting” or what have you.

Kenshin is known for his sword play, and that's until the Shi-Shi-O arc, all he ever uses. And the fist fight was a one move, one off that surprises his foe for that episode.

Clay wrote:But that’s not happens in anime, is it? Characters improvise with nearby objects, make do with their fists, stomp loose floor boards, swing from chandeliers and dive feet-first into their foes. What changes is not so much the character’s ability to fight but their damage capacity. (Using Kenshin as an example again, even though he’s equally skilled without his sword, he’s losing out on his Attack Ability, or at the very least, some useful perks. This makes not having his sword disadvantageous for reasons other than rolling fewer dice to fight.)

...or that’s my take. The Knowledge option is there for a reason.

It happens all the time, actually. The Japanese believe in mastering an art, almost to the exclusion of all else. Most Anime from the 90's had that.