GRIT Combat Guide Reference Sheet V4.0 Written by: Blade (kumonryuu@hotmail.com) Much thanks to: Aaron Peori Jason Heavensrun Steven Scougall Scott Schimmel FAQ I) Why a new reference guide? -Well, upon some discussion with certain personages, it came to my attention that not everybody really seemed to understand the mechanics of the GRIT combat guide form. Thus, I thought revising and clarifying the detailed explanation Aaron gave would be in order, and hopefully clear up any lingering confusion. II) What is the purpose of the combat guide? -The GRIT combat guide serves three major purposes: i) First, the combat guide serves as a method of judging the RELATIVE power level of one character as compared to another. In other words, it's a quick way to judge whether two characters are a fairly even match or if one overpowers another. ii) Second, the guide is meant to provide a brief and informative description of a character's MAJOR strengths and weaknesses, and how they fight. iii) Finally, it is a useful reference for looking up the special techniques a given character will use, which prevents such things as ever having to write "" in the middle of a fight scene. III) How do I write a combat guide entry? -Well, that's what this is supposed to help you do. ^^; IV) How often should the guide be updated? -This is a matter of personal preference, but as a rule of thumb, I'd suggest looking at your guide (combat OR character) every so often and asking yourself: "Is this really an accurate representation of my character anymore?" For instance, if your character once used a whole bunch of moves but has since dropped them in favour of pursuing a new style, it is a good idea to change your guide to reflect this. Without further ado, here is the Combat Guide itself. ******** ----- INFO -This section is a rather small and simple one. It contains the character's screen name, full name, their RL(s) and said RLs e-mail address and other contact information such as AIM user name. ----- RANK & TRAITS -This is, without a doubt, the most essential section of the guide. It delineates what your character is capable of and where they stand in the GRIT hierarchy. Please, pay attention to this section and think carefully about what you put here! RANK -This single number is your character's most important "stat". In a nutshell, this says who your character can probably beat, and who can probably beat them. It is important to note that power levels increase EXPONENTIALLY from Rank to Rank, not linearally. In short, each Rank is as much more powerful than the Rank below it as the Rank numbers multiplied by each other. So, a Rank 9 is nine times more powerful than a Rank 8, a Rank 5 character is approximately twenty times as powerful as a Rank 3 (5*4), and a Rank 8 character is approximately 336 times as powerful as a rank 5 (8*7*6). -How powerful is each rank? Well: (All Ranma characters mentioned are from the MANGA, not their GRIT incarnations, which are frequently more powerful.) RANK 0: This is an untrained, normal human with only the vaguest idea of how to fight. You're probably a Rank 0. Kyoko Otonashi from Maison Ikkoku is too, as well as, say, Kasumi from Ranma 1/2. Basically, if you're at Rank 0, you're a -noncombatant- and probably don't need a combat guide entry at all. RANK 1: This is a human martial artist or athlete; someone in better shape or with more fighting skill than the norm. A random gang member is probably Rank 1, as are most professional athletes. In GRIT, -anybody- who lives in Nerima for any length of time becomes a Rank 1 due to constant exposure to powerful energies. RANK 2: This is where we reach the limit of human fighting potential; this is where REALLY good human fighters go. Miyamoto Musashi, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chuck Norris and the like are all Rank 2s. RANK 3: At this point, a character has surpassed "real world" human abilities. But not as yet by much, and Rank 3s are pretty low level GRIT characters. You can start to do stuff like punch through stone walls at this rank, but you might hurt yourself in so doing. Akane Tendo is a Rank 3, as is Tatewaki Kunou; so is Jury Arisugawa of Revolutionary Girl Utena and Rurouni Kenshin. Also, a normal human with a gun (presuming they know how to use it) is considered Rank 3. RANK 4: Now you're a real superhuman. A strong Rank 4 might be able to lift a car with effort; a fast one could catch crossbow bolts with their bare hands. A fighter of this rank could defeat several Roman legions with some difficulty. Shampoo, Mousse and Ukyou are all Rank 4; so is Shadow Lady from the series of the same name, and Ryu from Street Fighter: the Animated Movie. RANK 5: This is where many of the mid-level GRIT fighters fall. A Rank 5 can do fairly astounding feats like moving much faster than sound or travelling across entire continents on foot. A Rank 5 -very- specialised in strength might be able to lift over a hundred tons. The average Rank 5 fighter could defeat an entire -modern- army. Ryouga and Ranma are Rank 5. The more powerful characters in Street Fighter, like M.Bison and Akuma, are also Rank 5. RANK 6: At this point you're starting to play in the big leagues. Rank 6s can cause MAJOR property damage when they fight, to the tune of buildings, entire city blocks or large chunks of the countryside getting destroyed. Herb of the Musk Dynasty is a Rank 6, as is Pantyhose Tarou's cursed form. Inuyasha from the series of the same name is a Rank 6 when he can't use the Cutting Wind. -A beginning character in GRIT should probably be Rank 6 as an absolute MAXIMUM. These are no lightweights: this is where the -powerful- Ranma characters were. RANK 7: In the manga, this is where the very heavy hitters like Cologne and Happousai go; in GRIT, it is still very, very powerful. At this level, with effort your character can probably totally destroy a mountain. You are powerful enough to take on most of the armed forces in the real world and win (not counting nuclear weapons). At this level, punching through battleship armour, tossing cars as projectile weapons or catching bullets in your hands are all -casual- feats. Final Fantasy's Sephiroth is a Rank 7, as is Inuyasha's Sesshoumaru. RANK 8: At the moment, this is the upper limit of a Neriman's power level, and it is likely to stay that way for a good long time. There are less than a dozen Rank 8s in GRIT, and that should also stay that way for the moment. At this point in power level a nuclear strike won't kill you; it may not even BEAT you. The God-King Saffron was Rank 8; as a idea of what kind of power level this is, he could regenerate from having his own limbs ripped off and fire blasts powerful enough to vaporise mountain ranges. NO starting character should be Rank 8, under ANY circumstances. Every Rank 8 got there after a long time of development, and they are nearly all extremely pivotal characters like Jo Heavensrun, Mist, and Tarou. RANK 9: The only characters currently at Rank 9 in GRIT are Incense and P-word; no non-villainous character should reach this Rank for a good long time. A Rank 9 unleashing their full powers (whatever they might be) could probably wipe out all life on the planet or blow up the moon (albeit not easily). One specialising in speed could break the light barrier easily; one specialising in strength could punch the ground and create a mountain range, etc. These are Very Powerful People. Even if you're an experienced GRITer, even if it's a villain, it is highly recommended you talk with other people before introducing or raising anyone to Rank 9 status. RANK 10+: Nobody more than peripherally involved with GRIT is at this Rank, and for a good reason: these beings are currently invincible. All of GRIT put together wouldn't beat a Rank 10 in a million years, much less someone higher. These are basically cosmic deity-level beings, and the same warnings as for a Rank 9 go with triple exclamation points and asterisks. -That should hopefully make things clearer. If your characters have a Jyusenkyou curse or other transformation that changes their power level, this be noted. Careful, however. At high ranks, there is more and more room for leeway within the rank. Thus GRIT Tarou, even though he has a powerful cursed form, is the same Rank in both forms because there isn't enough difference to warrant a full Rank increase. ATTRIBUTES -Okay, a few people seem to have problems with this, because how to do Attributes was not defined per se. Well, that's the point. Warriors in GRIT are so different, and so many new types pop up, that trying to make a list won't really cover it. So the idea is that -you-, yourself, decide what your character is good at. And "good at" is the operative word, here. After you decide your character's Rank, go up and look at the above. Consider what the average member of your Rank can -do-. Say you figure your character could lift up and toss a car at most. If they're Rank 3, they should have "strong". If they're Rank 5, that's perfectly normal. If they're Rank 7, that's "weak"! In other words, only put down attributes if you have a -significant- break from the norm. Even worse is a "+" after the attribute. This has been heavily misused in combat guides. Let me explain the difference by using two GRIT Rank 7s (at the time of this writing): -Ryouga Hibiki has the attribute "strong"; this means he can overpower anyone else in his Rank without a similar attribute and do even more impressive feats than the average for his Rank, such as knocking down a skyscraper with a punch. -Akemi Meskiro has the attribute "strong+"; this means she is so strong that she can do feats that would BLOW AWAY anyone of her own Rank without that enhancement, including people with "strong". Akemi can do things like lift up MOUNTAINS. You see the difference? A "+" doesn't mean you're just better than anyone with the normal attribute...it means you're EXPONENTIALLY better. Looking at it another way, the attribute "strong" means you've got the strength of an average fighter two ranks higher (one rank higher when you get to Rank 7 or above); "strong+" means you have the strength of a fighter FOUR ranks higher (two when you get to Rank 7 or above). It's a very, very major departure from the norm, and if you have more than one "+" attribute, you should either have a very debilitating weakness or three or just advance your character a Rank. This goes triple for mental attributes. The thing to realise is that "average" does not equate to "idiot". Ranma, Akane, Ukyou, Ryouga; none of them have "intelligence" as an attribute, yet all of them have come up with clever plans or strategies at times. Of course, they've also commited some major boners. That is standard for ANY Rank: someone with no mental attributes will either be average all the time, or occasionally be quite clever, but occasionally make big mistakes too. If your characters have "intelligence", "strategy", "improvisation" or the like, it means you are not just good at them...you're -brilliant- at them. Ranma has "improvisation", because he does things like come up with completely new variants of moves at the drop of a hat, and he does it FREQUENTLY. Not many GRITers deserve to be classed with him. Be very careful when giving your characters exceptional mental attributes; there are characters that deserve them, yes, but not THAT many characters. Consider also that a character might be intelligent, but not COMBAT intelligent. Nabiki is smarter than the average Ranma character, but she wouldn't have a clue what to do in a fight. And, while it might be being blunt, I sincerely doubt ANYONE currently in GRIT deserves a "+" on any of their mental attributes. That kind of mental power is in the area of coming up with entire new martial arts styles in mid-combat, using a twig to stop an avalanche, and so forth. Machiavellian geniuses of this level would, if IC, be basically impossible to write with in GRIT, because the RL would basically have to know everything everyone else planned to do ahead of time, as the character could tell from someone's first punch exactly how they would react to -anything-. In other words, it's really unplayable. SKILLS -Skills are much like attributes in that they are basically left up to the player to define. What are they? In a nutshell, they are any skill your character has that is directly relevant to COMBAT. So, for nearly all characters, "Martial Arts" should be there right away. "Magic", "Chi Powers", and so forth are also relevant. Basically, if your character knows how to do something, and they're likely to use it in a fight, put it here. Like attributes, be very careful in using the "+" symbol. A Rank 5 martial artist can, quite normally, do martial arts moves that would cause Bruce Lee's eyes to pop out. You're dealing with superhumans here; always keep that in mind. If you DO have an attribute with a "+", it means you rely on it. There's no ifs, ands or buts here. You do NOT get or keep a skill so profound as that from anything other than constant use. In fact, MOST characters that legitimately have a "+" in a skill have let their other skills atrophy. Blade and Incense have "chi powers+"; but neither of them can fight hand to hand at anywhere near their Rank level. Tarou has "martial arts+", but he has no chi powers at ALL. Essentially, a highly developed skill such as this -usually- means that this skill is what your character nearly always uses exclusively in combat. Consider this when writing your skill list. To clarify a common misconception, having a "+" in a skill does NOT mean you have more destructive power than your Rank. If you did, you would be a higher Rank, now wouldn't you? It simply means that that skill is -very- important to how your character fights. If your character uses, say, martial arts and magic about equally, neither should have a "+". If they use magic extremely heavily and only supplement it a bit with martial arts (or vice versa), that's when you use a "+". A final consideration on this section is the "-" symbol. When this is next to a skill, it doesn't mean you DON'T have the skill (in that case, you just wouldn't write the skill), but that it is at a -lower- level than your current Rank. For instance, Link has "martial arts-" because, while she will certainly TRY to fight with martial arts, at her skill level she basically flails around wildly in imitation of a half-remembered Jackie Chan movie; she's Rank 2. Blade, a Rank 8, has "martial arts-"; in his case, he can fight well in martial arts, but only at a lower Rank level. Especially if your character has an skill with a "+" symbol, you should consider what skills they might not have at par. ----- ATTITUDE -The last section determined what your character can do; this one determines HOW they do it. As such, it's essential for anyone trying to write your character doing anything in a fight, so take care to make your descriptions clear and concise. STYLE -This section is your character's martial arts style; what they have been trained in. Give the name of the style if it is a defined RL or Ranmaverse one; make up a name if it's not, or just call it a mix of styles or even plain old brawling if that is appropriate. After that, give a SHORT description of how a -typical- practitioner of this style would fight; ie: "Aikido - a fluid graceful style that is better at defence than offense. Uses momentum and leverage to turn an opponents attack against them, as well as incorporating a variety of pressure point attacks, throws and locks." Or, more fictionally... "Tennis-fu - This is a fighting style based on tennis strokes and hitting tennis balls at high speed towards the opponent, and can also be used to hit physical objects back at the opponent. It is very weak at short range." METHODS -This section is how your character INTERPRETS their style, and their general attitudes. Few GRIT characters fight strictly according to the tenets of their "official" martial arts style. Again, keep this section BRIEF. The point is to give someone reading your combat description a quick idea of how to play your character, NOT to write a book on how they react to every situation. If you're too lengthy, you will bore people and they'll either write your character wrong or try to leave them out altogether. Remember, other people are unlikely to write your character doing anything terribly unusual: the point is to tell them how they -usually- fight. In some cases, the character's style will be very close to their methods. If so, all the better, as you can make the sections even shorter and easier to understand. ^_^ ----- SPECIALS -This is the final and most detailed category, covering more esoteric things than the other categories, and expanding on things brought up before. ADVANTAGES -This is where you list any advantages the character has that hasn't been covered before. This is, for the most part, things that are INTERGRAL to the character, not things they have to think about. For instance, being superhumanly invulnerable is a good one, wheras the ability to teleport is generally a conscious act and should just be under the "skills" section. Many of the things listed here-great strength, or whatnot-will also be in the earlier sections; this is your chance to explain exactly how strong or fast the character is (pay attention to Rank!). However, don't go out and detail EVERY combat advantage they have. Stick to the important or outstanding ones. For nearly every GRITer, the first entry here should be "Standard Martial Arts Abilities". In the Ranmaverse, this basically means being able to do casually superhuman feats of balance and agility like leaping to rooftops or fighting on top of a fence without losing your balance. If your character is a martial artist above Rank 3, they should have this unless there's a special reason why not. DISADVANTAGES -Essentially the opposite of the above, this is your character's weak spots, what they are vulnerable to in combat; be it holes in their style, psychological problems, or severe allergies to holy water and garlic, it goes here. As a rule of thumb, if you find yourself being a lot less detailed here than you are with your character's advantages, lop off a few strengths and add some more here. Not even the greatest GRIT fighters are perfect. In fact, the more powerful they get, the more specialised and neurotic they also tend to be. TECHNIQUES -In this section, you list all the character's unusual techniques or powers that they are likely to use in battle. If they don't have a name, just call them "chi blast" or "teleport" or something similar. Your technique description should say how the technique works, what it does, how powerful it is and how much it drains the character doing it. Nothing else. The point of this guide is not to give your character's backstory, but to give another GRITer a quick way to figure out how to write your character. I can't stress this enough. On the same note, do not feel obligated to list every technique your character might possibly do, especially if they have oodles of them. In fact, feel obligated -not- to, unless your character has few techniques. List only the most important or frequently used ones. There should be no more than a dozen or so at the most. -Do- be careful, however, to list any techniques that are wildly more powerful or extremely different than other things your characters can do. Other GRITers are likely to accuse you of powerplaying -and with good reason- if your character constantly pulls new techniques like the ability to teleport out of their nether orifice. -And that's...IT! If you find something in this reference unclear, or want to get your Combat Guide checked before you post it (I highly recommend this), you can send it to me at tarou@pei.sympatico.ca, or Sanjian at sanjian@widowmaker.com . Enjoy! It's really not so bad, once you get the hang of it. Unless you have twenty-odd characters like me, that is. ^^;;; Blade, 30/09/00