Quilone/ComplexMMA

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Complex MMA

At this level, MMA gain a huge focus. While remaining below the level of XMA, each style still has its own level and individual sets of abilities. In the Complex system, having a Martial Arts score is utterly inseperable from having knowledge of MMA styles - there is absolutely no 'generic' Martial Arts. This is the level for STs and players with imaginations, to create whole schools of martial arts and to pit them one against each other, to make Face important and meaningful, and to allow each martial artist to be incredibly unique - through hard work and experience. Martial Arts become even more versatile than they are at present; however, advancement is difficult and should be the focus of stories about practitioners defending the honour of their schools, negotiating rivals and enemy martial artists, and finding sifus to train them in their neverending quest for power. Even stories set at the lowest level of human potential become possible. It is comparable to the expansion of Occult seen in Thaumaturgy - the information in the Player's Guide is by no means exhaustive, and neither will this be.

Styles in the Complex level of integration have minimum MA requirements, but they also scale in power within themselves. Each style has a rating, much like an Art. They have multiple, optional effects which may have prerequisites, either abilities or other effects (in a vague sense - they have 'levels' appropriate to the required level of the style, but do not have trees like Charms). The differences between tiers of styles become even more pronounced, and true masters become frighteningly diverse. MMA at the Complex level are an experience point sink. While Exalts may learn and excel at many Mortal styles (especially due to their longevity), their fundamental understanding of Essence flows allows them to use the transcendental Supernatural Martial Arts which far outstrip anything a mortal master may know. The Experience background from the Player's Guide is highly recommended for games involving Mortals at this level of integration.

Experience and bonus point costs need to be worked out. For the moment, treat them as Sciences, with each power being equivalent to a Formula.

Powers

At the basic level, there is a clean slate. It is impossible for anyone to make any sort of attack using Martial Arts without knowledge of a style. (It may be possible to have a Martial Arts score but no knowledge of a school, in which case the character is a scholar of the Martial Arts but does not practice them. Pansy.)

Because of this, each style may have entirely customised stats for its attacks. Consider the difference in how two styles might treat a throw. In one case, the focus might be on making the opponent fly as far as possible; in another, it might be to get the opponent to the ground, and in a hold. A practitioner of one style might use his fists to hit hard but occasionally. One from another style might use a flurry of weak jabs. It is in this mentality that styles should be constructed.
Furthermore, it is possible to assign different stats to different special moves within a style. The same style might allow a character to perform damaging offensive moves (with high +damage) and effective defensive ones (high +defense). Rather than list 'punch' and 'kick', each move might have a different stat line. It may also be possible to obtain effects which begin to look like Charms, such as counterattacks or moves that inflict extra wound penalties, etc. Consider such moves as similar to stunts - they allow the otherwise impossible, but they aren't automatic like Charms. They will be difficult to pull off, and it will require experience to get to the level of being able to do so without actual stunts.

Complex Mortal Martial Arts aren't incompatible with Exalts. See Quilone/MMAvsXMA for thoughts on integrating the systems.

For an early example of what a MMA style might look like in the Complex system, see Quilone/LuMaoSchool