What happens if you crit or special using Martial Arts?

[KPhan2121]

A player character took European-style Sword Techniques as a Martial arts skill. In a combat, he rolled a normal success and got a special in his Martial Arts check. After a few seconds checking the rulebook I went with what was written, changed the attack result to a special. Am I missing something? It feels like I'm doing something wrong. What would do you guys do?

[Baragei]

It seems that you roll for attack normally and another, separate roll for the MA-skill?

You only roll once - and compare the result to both skills. In your example above the attack would have been a normal success, regardless of the martial arts-skill.

If the roll was within the MA-special range, it wouldn't do anything extra apart from the double damage (which is hairy enough). Special- and critical effects are dependant on the weapon- and weapon skill used, not the MA-skill.

Does that make sense?  

 

 

edit: reading comprehension

[tooley1chris]

This is a house rule I've incorporated but I'll throw it up for your viewing (dis)pleasure.

When using martial arts UNARMED, a success on Brawl AND martial arts skills allows double damage as normal.

When using a Weapon and Martial Arts the weapon still does normal damage, regardless. However:

A sucessful attack roll can be modified by the martial arts skill roll, if the martial arts roll is a critical, by 1 degree.

If the weapon or unarmed roll is a success and Martial arts roll is a critical , the weapon becomes a special success.

If the weapon or unarmed roll is a special success and the Martial arts skill is a critical, then the weapon roll becomes a critical.

I personally think doubling a weapons damage from a normal success is OP. This method seems to make my group happy.

It increases the characters skill and possible damage by increased chances for special and critical success, without making martial arts godlike.

[Zit]

Baragei is right: there is only one single die roll compared to both the skill rating and the MA. There are no need for specials for the MA, since when you rolled a special for MA, it would be a special for the skill as well. This is the basic rule, but you can imagine other effects than doubling damage: this would be however a house rule.

[Baragei]

There could of course be the case of the kung-fu practitioner "who has been purposefully trained wrong as a joke" - with a martial arts-skill in the 80's, but only base-chance brawling. 

[KPhan2121]

It seems that you roll for attack normally and another, separate roll for the MA-skill?

You only roll once - and compare the result to both skills. In your example above the attack would have been a normal success, regardless of the martial arts-skill.

If the roll was within the MA-special range, it wouldn't do anything extra apart from the double damage (which is hairy enough). Special- and critical effects are dependant on the weapon- and weapon skill used, not the MA-skill.

Does that make sense?  

 

 

edit: reading comprehension

 

 

Yeah, I misread the part where it said "used in conjunction with Unarmed, Grapple and Melee Weapons Skills" as you roll the skill dice on top of the attack roll instead of rolling a sucess or better under the martial arts skill with the attack roll.