The Jackrealms Game System

Martial Disciplines

The following martial disciplines grant your character an edge in combat and exploration by making them more confident with their weapons and more proficient at handling certain situations. Each entry details actions your character may take which will benefit from your gambits, some actions made safer when you are performing them, and offers a selection of equipment used to practice them.

When you add a martial discipline to your playbook, also add one of the items listed in its equipment section to your playbook. These are the weapons commonly associated with the practice of your martial discipline Instead of a listed piece of equipment, you may select a weapon typically carried by civilians which is appropriate for your setting. Some examples follow, based on a sample of real-world developmental periods.

Code Duello: The Code of Duels could be seen as much a set of etiquette guideines as it is a combat style. The code details the methods, weapons, and rules related to one-on-one duels for honor, sport, and the settlement of affairs. The code generally assumes matches will be fought until first blood, but the weapons outlined in its pages are very much lethal.

Kunst der Fechten: The Art of Fighting is the earliest manual to detail the full art of fencing. It covers a wide range of weapons, though the extensive core of the manual revolves around the longsword. It is based on even older "sword songs" which were taught as poetry to help with memorization. Where other manuals may focus on certain situations and weapons, Kunst der Fechten is one of the first examples of a universal self-defense manual.

Lucha: Showmanship wrestling is a relatively modern development, but the principles of expressive combat are older than even the coliseum of Rome. Lucha focuses on acrobatic attacks and dodges, both to confound foes and to hype up a crowd of onlookers. Like many similar traditions, the performative aspect of Lucha means that one versed in its tactics will also be quite familiar with the backstage politicking and on-stage heirarchies involved in combat sports. Additionally, these traditions incorporate elements of the styles of their most prolific practitioners, and one trained in Lucha will be familiar with many of these personalities.

The Military Garden: This early pike-and-shot manual details fighting in massed, mixed-unit formations. It was written late enough that the tactics therein have been refined on the battlefield since the first professional soldiers formed a shield wall against an oncoming horde. It is lighter on its training information for specific weapons than it is on battlefield tactics, but said tactics are detailed both for both the needs of the soldier and the officer. In addition to combat, it also details many important facets of leading a small force, such as rationing, marching over long distances, and training conscripts to supplement a fighting force. The Military Garden and other similar manuals have extensive descriptions of historical battles, as well as the factors that led to one side achieving victory over the other.

Ninjutsu: The tactics of assassins throughout all of history focus on the same core principles: infiltration, misdirection, and delivering a single lethal strike. Ninjutsu is the combined skill of fighting without the opponent understanding the fight they are engaging. Ninja supplement other fighters from the flank, where their ability to conceal their movement can position them to unquestionably deliver their strike. While armor would usually encumber their own skilled movements, ninja are at least knowledgeable enough about common patterns of armor that they can strike a target in its gaps.

Pankration: Boxing and wrestling for sport and self-defense is probably as old as humanity itself. The first men put each other in joint locks and chokeholds to get a point across long before they had words to exchange. In a more civilized era, boxing is often seen as a form of functional exercise: even if it never needs to be employed it is a way to socialize with others and keep one's body fit. Practitioners of pankration often train within a certain weight class, which can provide an edge against an equally-skilled opponent who is much smaller than them. Though most unarmed combat styles definitionally do not train with weapons, their defensive tactics are equally valid while armed, even with an unfamiliar weapon.

The Ranger Handbook: The US Army's Ranger Handbook is a modern refinement of centuries worth of guerilla and small-unit combat tactics. It deals heavily in asymmetric warfare: either tactically striking a large target with a small force or overwhelming a small force with superior firepower. Soldiers trained in its doctrines rely on steath, initiative, and unit cohesion to accomplish their objectives. When leading other forces, the ranger's role is to take the lead and clear a point for their unit to hold.