Unisystem Combat

Between the Cinematic Unisystem, The Mystery Codex, Enter The Zombie, and Zombie Smackdown!, Unisystem gamers have four almost-but-not-quite-compatible combat systems to choose from.  This article is meant to bridge them all together, to help you choose one you like, and to use any Combat Maneuver in any of the systems.  It’s meant to be sort of a Rosetta Stone for Unisystem Martial Arts.  To do that, we have to first highlight the differences and similarities between the different systems, so everyone is clear on what we’re dealing with, then we can discuss the adjustments that have to be made to make Moves or Maneuvers work outside the system they were created in.

Once that’s done, we’re going to take a look at some new Styles, new Moves, and new Maneuvers that you can use in any of the different systems.

Cinematic Unisystem—  Definitely the most flexible and (true to its name) cinematic of all the combat systems.  Maneuvers are handled very simply here: everyone, more or less, has the ability to try all of these Maneuvers.  Note that this doesn’t necessarily guarantee success every time.  In fact, the more damage a Maneuver is likely to inflict, the harder it will be to succeed at it.  Also, some Maneuvers do actually have minimum requirements, such as Toss, which requires you to be strong enough to pick up your opponent (Strength 4).  Rather than spending Character Points to buy separate Maneuvers based on your fighting skills, each Maneuver has a difficulty Modifier to be applied to the Task, which is usually the Cast Member’s Dexterity + the cinematic Kung Fu or Getting Medieval skill.

CJ Carella’s Witchcraft/Armageddon— Introduced in the Mystery Codex supplement, this Martial Arts system reflects the more realistic nature of these Classic Unisystem games.  In these games, Martial Arts is classified as a Special Skill, one of those that’s more challenging to learn.  Special Skills costs twice as much as regular skills in character creation—2 points per level until level five, and five points per level thereafter (to soften this blow, Martial Arts also grants a +1 damage per level to all unarmed attacks made with this skill).  Once a character has the Martial Arts Skill, they choose a Style for their Character.  Each Style has two or three Basic Moves, and any number of Special Moves.  Each Move is, for all intents and purposes, a separate Skill.  Basic Moves are automatically learned at the same level as the Martial Arts Skill.  Each Martial Arts level also gives your Character three points to spend on Special Moves.  When your Martial Arts Skill increases through Experience, the Basic Moves increase with it, and you earn more points to spend on Special Moves.  Combat Tests are (usually) resolved using Dexterity + Move Rating.  For example, if the character has Dexterity 4 and Martial Arts 3 with Boxing as a Style, they would resolve a Roundhouse Move using Dexterity (4) + Roundhouse (3) for a total bonus of +7.

Enter the Zombie—  A supplement designed to bring together the action of Hong Kong cinema with the zombie action of All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Enter the Zombie provides rules for the wire-fu action and two-fisted shooting of your favorite Hong Kong action films.  It also contains rules for making Zombie Cast Members, complete with a list of horrific new Zombie Aspects for Zombie Martial Artists.  Like most AFMBE supplements, the rules presented in Enter the Zombie could apply to many different settings, especially as Hong Kong cinema continues to exert its artistic influence on Western entertainment. 

Its Martial Arts system was designed to be more cinematic than that presented in the Mystery Codex, but it’s still not quite as open-ended as the one in Cinematic Unisystem. 

The difference between Martial Arts in Mystery Codex and Enter the Zombie is that in EtZ, there are no Styles to choose from, just a list of Moves.  At Character Creation, the player chooses which three moves are his Core Moves, those that automatically increase with his Martial Arts Skill.  Special Moves are then purchased in the same way as they are in Mystery Codex, but without the restriction on Style. 

Enter the Zombie also includes Special Chi Techniques, which allow Martial Artists to channel Essence into superhuman feats of agility, power, and sharp-shooting. 

Zombie Smackdown!—  Another All Flesh Must Be Eaten supplement, Zombie Smackdown!  offers the opportunity to mix zombies with the world of Professional Wrestling.  Continuing the similar-but-different theme, its Martial Arts system takes the system that was tweaked in Enter the Zombie! and tweaks it just a little bit more. The system of Core Moves and Special Moves remains, and the Styles remain absent, but a character created with Zombie Smackdown! will have noticeably more Moves in his repertoire.  This system allows the player to choose Core Moves and Special Moves based on not only their Martial Arts Skill, but also on their Acrobatics and Brawling Skills.

A Character with Acrobatics 2, Brawling 4 and Martial Arts 3 would look very different depending on which Martial Arts system was being used, as evidenced by the chart below:

The trade-off for the greater number of moves available to Pro Wrestlers is that (and we apologize if we’re bursting anyone’s bubble here) Pro Wrestling is not real combat.  It’s what they call Sports Entertainment.  The outcome of those matches is determined in advance, so the Moves that make up Pro Wrestling are meant to look impressive without actually putting anyone in the hospital.  In most games, combat is a means to an end, which is beating up your opponent.  In Zombie Smackdown!, it’s all about the fight itself.  Even when they’re playing for keeps, most of the wrestling Moves don’t do any more damage than your basic Punch Move, and this ensures that the fight isn’t over in two standard combat rounds. 

Bringing Them All Together 

Maybe you run a Cinematic Unisystem game, but you’d really like to use the Moves from Classic Unisystem as Maneuvers.  Counterpunches, Jabs, Rolling with Blows… these things could all add a little extra depth to a Cinematic Unisystem combat scene.  Or maybe you just want your Army of Darkness character to Clothesline the hell out of that Deadite or see your Slayer take out that vampire with a nice Moonsault.  It could be you find the Mystery Codex Martial Arts rules to be the perfect fit for your game, but you really would love to see more Styles made available, or more Moves for the Styles that already exist.  The rules for Zombie Smackdown! suggest one might want to add moves from Enter the Zombie, but you may be having trouble deciding if the Jump Kick should be classified under Acrobatics or Martial Arts.  These questions and more are what we intend to answer in this article. 

Each system presents its own challenges when combining it with another system, so the next few paragraphs will break them down one system at a time, with each explaining how to mesh it with the other three systems. 

Cinematic Unisystem

This is the system that stands out from the others the most, and will require the most finagling to export to or import from other games.    

Mystery Codex

To bring moves in from Mystery Codex, first some decisions need to be made.  The system can be brought in as a whole, which should be done before the start of a game because it will change certain aspects of character generation.  Each character would have to choose a style, using their points in Kung Fu as a basis.  Then, the existing Cinematic Combat Maneuvers which have no correlation in the Mystery Codex system need to be classified by style.

1.  Determine if the Move already exists as a Maneuver.  Some, like Punch, Kick, and Disarm already exist in the Cinematic Unisystem. 

2. Figure out the Damage.  This one isn’t hard, since all the Classic Unisystem books include the optional flat-damage number in parentheses.  E.g., d4(2) x Strength is the same as 2 x Strength.

3. Determine which Style(s) the move should belong to. 

Enter the Zombie and Zombie Smackdown!

Bringing these combat systems over to Cinematic Unisystem is almost identical to bringing in the system from Mystery Codex, except it is made slightly easier by the absence of Styles.  You can use the process described above, ignoring step three altogether.

Another option is simply to translate the unique Moves from Classic Unisystem Games into Cinematic Maneuvers without worrying about Styles, Core Moves and Special Moves.  One of the advantages of this is that it requires no changes to the character generation process, and the need to classify Maneuvers into Styles is eliminated.  On the other hand, step three is somewhat trickier. 

1.  Determine if the Move already exists as a Maneuver.  Some, like Punch, Kick, and Disarm already exist in the Cinematic Unisystem. 

2. Figure out the Damage.  This one isn’t hard, since all the Classic Unisystem books include the optional flat-damage number in parentheses.  E.g., d4(2) x Strength is the same as 2 x Strength.

3. Since each Maneuver does not have a separate Skill rating in this system, the Moves that are being imported need to have modifiers assigned to them.  This is tricky and can be a subject of debate.  Generally speaking, Maneuvers that do more damage are harder to pull off, which is fair. The following system for generating Difficulty Modifiers for moves was based on the simplest, most basic Maneuver: Punch.  Punch does Strength x 2 damage, and the bonus applied to the roll is equal to Dexterity + Kung Fu. 

Using that as a basis, the Difficulty Modifier can be adjusted based on how much damage the Maneuver is intended to inflict.  For example, a Kick does more damage ( 2 x (Strength + 1)), but there is a corresponding rise in Difficulty (Dexterity + Kung Fu -1).  A Head Butt does the same damage as a Punch (2 x Strength) but is a little easier to pull off (Dexterity + Kung Fu +1).  This is balanced by the inherent risk factor in a Head Butt Maneuver… if you fail, you take the damage instead of your opponent.  Directors importing Moves from any of the Classic Unisystem products should strive to find this balance in every new Maneuver.  Breaking down how the maneuvers add up is the best way to work this problem out. The basic formulae for Maneuvers is comprised of the following:

Attack Roll

[Attribute] + [Skill] + [Difficulty Modifier] = X

The lower “X” is, the harder the Maneuver is to perform.

Damage Result

[Attribute] + [Modifier] + [Mulitplier x 2] = Y

The higher “Y” is, the more damage the maneuver does. (The Multiplier has to be doubled before adding it up, because Multipliers carry more weight in determining damage than the Modifier does.)

X + Y = Z

The “Z” result from a newly created or imported maneuver can be compared to the Z result from pre-existing (and therefore presumably balanced) maneuvers to gauge its game balance. 

EXAMPLE

Since it’s easier to deal with small, even numbers, we will assume for purposes of calculation Attributes and Skills equal to 2 each.  Slot the appropriate numbers from the Maneuver into the parentheses, then add them up, ignoring the operators in the Maneuver formula.  A punch, for example, would add up like so:

Attack Roll

[Dexterity] + [Kung Fu] + [No Difficulty Modifier]

[2] + [2] + [0] =  4

Damage Result

[Strength] + [No Modifier][ x 2]

[2] + [0] + [2*2] =  6

The total value for a Punch maneuver is 10.  Punch being the most basic Maneuver in Cinematic Unisystem Combat, this is a useful basis for determining the balance of new Maneuvers.  For example, a kick adds up like this:

Attack Roll

Dexterity + [Kung Fu] [-1]

[2] + [2] + [-1] = 3

Damage Result

[Strength]  [+ 1] [x 2]

[2] + [1] + [2*2] = 7

3 + 7 = 10

The total value for the Kick Maneuver is also 10.  Comparing the values of the gamut of Unisystem Maneuvers with these average Attributes and Skills (also with the aid of a spreadsheet), this “Z” result always comes out somewhere very close to 10. 

This is an excellent general base to work from.  Want to create a new Maneuver?  Go ahead.  If the number adds up to 10 with the control Attributes and Skills plugged in, then it should work alright in game.  If the number does not equal 10, it may need some adjusting.  Generally, if the “Z” result is higher than 10, the Maneuver is too easy for the amount of damage it does.  Either it needs to be more difficult or it needs to do less damage.  If the “Z” result is lower than 10, then the Maneuver is too difficult to pull off compared to its payoff in damage.  Either make it easier, or make the damage higher.  Simple enough, right?  But of course, it’s not always that simple.

Other Considerations

Looking at some other Maneuvers, you can see the numbers don’t always work out perfectly.  Sometimes this is just because deviation from the 10-point “Z” value is acceptable within certain limits… if your “Z” value comes out to 9 or 11, you can comfortably let it slide.  More often, though it is because there are considerations not taken into account by pure numbers, like risking damage to oneself, offering a chance of knocking your opponent prone or requiring an additional roll to complete the maneuver.  Let’s look at some examples:

Head Butt

Attack Roll

Dexterity + Kung Fu + 1

[2] + [2] + [1] = 5

Damage Result

Strength x 2

[2] + [2*2]  = 6

The total there adds up to 11.   By the standard logic, this maneuver is a little too easy.  It does the same damage as a punch, but with a +1 bonus to hit.  This is balanced by an inherent risk; if you fail your roll on a Head Butt Maneuver, you take the damage rather than your opponent. There are a number of these types of variables in the Cinematic Unisystem Combat Maneuvers.  In order to be as helpful as possible, we went through the list and reverse-engineered modifiers for all these things so you can use them to create custom Combat Maneuvers.  The numbers below are the ones that worked when making sure all the pre-existing Combat Maneuvers fit the formula; one might argue that not allowing any other actions ought to be worth more than requiring a Grapple, for example.  However, these numbers work with the formula above to make the Maneuvers balance against each other, ergo they will also serve to make sure your new Maneuvers are consistent with the old ones.  

Too Easy?  Add these to make it more interesting.

Too Hard?  Add these to make it worth doing.