This page will contain notes on the martial arts styles I plan to initially include in Rising Forces. These notes may include links to external resources regarding the martial arts in question. The aim is to crystalize what makes each of these styles unique, their approach, notable maneuvers, etc. From these I'd like to reach some nice descriptions of the styles and eventually a list of Special Maneuvers for each. I'll start by pasting below the relevent section of the main document I'm working on, then go from there.
In Rising Forces the player characters are martial artists, either formally or informally, they know how to handle themselves in a scrap. During character creation a player can decide that their character is a practitioner of a particular style, or they can elect to remain a general martial artist. If a player chooses a particular martial art for their character, that character is eligible to purchase Special Maneuvers in their style list for a discount of 2, but the trade-off is that any maneuvers not listed in their style list cost 1 more for them to obtain. In addition to the Special Maneuver cost adjustments, characters with a particular style can be treated as if that style is a Background for purposes of knowing about the culture and society surrounding that particular style. Characters that are Rising Forces PCs but have not chosen a martial art purchase Special Maneuvers at their listed cost.
[Character Creation: Either choose to have no style and purchase Special Maneuvers at their listed cost, or choose a Style to unlock the right to purchase the Style's Maneuvers at a 2 point discount, while paying 1 point more for Special Maneuvers outside the Style's Maneuver List.]
This section is a little premature. I haven't settled on this particular set of martial arts. I would like to cover all of the main bases without listing every possible style. For example, I've decided to merge Judo with Jiu-Jitsu, and should I chose Wu Shu to be a style instead of, say "Tricking" or something that would also capture the vibes of Parkour, etc. Beyond this, I'll need to get the Special Maneuvers well underway before I'll be able to actually flesh out these styles with their maneuver lists and so on... Regardless, the intent is not realism, but instead a kind of mythic/kind of true, but mostly cinematic impression of the styles listed. As for the change from SF, to have the ability to be a general martial artist or choose a style, that comes from a desire to satisfy two separate desires I've seen expressed. On one hand, I've seen people unhappy with styles because they feel like styles lock them out of Special Maneuvers they need to put together their character concept, and its kind of arbitrary. Also, choosing a particular style can clash with some people's conception of a character that studies multiple disciplines. On the other hand, rival schools and "Who has the strongest style?!?!" is such a key part of so many martial arts stories that it feels like it'd be a shame to remove the idea from the rules of the game. The 2 point discounts combined with the extra cost for non-style maneuvers seems like a way to give a feeling or shape to the style, enough to mechanically support the idea that practioners may really think their style is best. Also, this game will have a lot of Special Maneuvers. New players choosing a style gives them a way to trim down their choices into something more manageable.