RPG Talk: A Different Approach to Martial Arts

In the last two years, my huge diet of Kung Fu films has naturally made me think of some kind of role-playing venture in the genre. However, and I don't know if that's also been your experience, I just don't think what makes martial arts cool translates to tabletop role-playing games. Seems to me, martial arts in RPGs fall into (or combine) one of three categories:
1. A simple bonus to hand-to-hand fighting
2. A small or vast collection of moves, each with its own effect
3. Encouragement to describe the actions in as cool a way as possible in hopes of drawing a bonus from the GameMaster

And I've found none of these truly captures the excitement of a martial arts picture. Option 1 is boring at best. Option 2 often slows down the action and kills the sense of improvisational fighting you get from a good Shaw Brothers movie. As for Option 3, it can't possibly model the move and counter-move nature of martial arts fights. At best (and that best can be highly entertaining), it allows players to describe badass moves that don't take an opponent's prowess into account. As a GM, you're often loathe to make a described action fail because 1) you're meant to encourage them, and 2) it would by definition be "cool" in the game. At the worst of times, players are completely uninspired by the abstract nature of tabletop fighting or else go way too far into badassery and the GM is forced to dial them back. In any case, though encouraged, such descriptions tend to go out the window because of time pressures, especially in games where not everyone has a "cool description" skill. One guy takes all the time in the world while you can only pull a trigger.
A new approach
Here's an idea for structuring Option 3 in such a way as to make it more genre-accurate, more dynamic and more structured, while plugging in more or less seamlessly into whatever system you're already using. Warning: It will force you to stand up from the table.

First, rate your martial artists: In all probability, he or she already has a skill rating (or ratings, since various weapons likely have a different one). All PCs should be Masters, but NPCs should be divided into Masters and Henchmen (see Fighting multiple foes, below). To properly emulate the genre, it would also be useful to determine what style or styles the character is trained in. This is is mostly for inspiration's sake and to give the game more color, but it can have game applications (see Modifiers, below). Examples include: Southern style (mostly fists); Northern style (mostly kicks); animal styles like Mantis, Monkey, Snake or Eagle; Drunken style; certain weapon types like swords, spears or staffs; Throwing (as oppose to hitting); Iron styles (Iron Hand, Iron Skin, etc.;) Shadow styles (Shadow kick, etc.); or if you know a modern martial art fairly well, it can be something like Tae Kwon Do, Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, etc.

Before your characters get into a fight, they will need to roll dice or draw a card, according to your wishes. Which dice or cards used will depend on the pace you want to establish (see Adjusting pace, below). Whatever you choose, the following calculation should be possible:
Top rated martial artist's rating - lower rated martial artist's rating = X
Running combat: The two opponents stand up (usually, the player and the GM, but two players may of course duel). Now each player in turn mimes the move he wants to accomplish (in order of normal initiative, according to the system used). Each move is made slowly and may include a description to include tricks the player cannot actually accomplish, explain the use of a weapon not present, or make use of the gaming environment. The opponent will countermove, showing how he dodges or deflects and counter-attacks the first player. Then back to that first player's dodge, parry, countermove, and so on until one of them runs out of Moves. The number of Moves is equal to the dice rolled/drawn ±modifiers. At a certain point, one character will run out of Moves and be unable to counter. That character suffers damage as is normal for your game. If the neither character is downed, both may continue fighting in the next round (or run away, change partners, etc.). The GM's role, aside from playing the antagonists, is to keep the element of surprise alive by not giving away his NPCs' number of Moves. A player would be told that he had, for example, 7 moves, but he would not know if this will be enough to exceed his opponent's number. In the case of a PC duel, each might be told secretly, from a passed note or whisper.

Modifiers: Though most modifiers can be judged from the start of the combat, it is possible to add Moves in the middle of the encounter (inform the player to add immediately to his total).
-The top martial artist adds X (as calculated above).
-A style has been specifically designed to counter an opponent's style: +1 or +2
-Punches vs. kicks: +0
-Weapon vs. unarmed: +1
-Weapon has longer reach than opponent's (including unarmed): +1
-Iron styles may be considered thus: Iron Hand is a weapon, while Iron Skin takes away the Weapon vs. unarmed bonus.
-Group of Henchmen attacks single opponent: -1 to opponent if less than 8, -2 if more than 8
-Group of Masters attacks a single Master: -1 to opponent per Master against him or her (limit: 3)
-Move or countermove includes a trick the GM judges makes a difference (for example, throwing sand in Van Damme's eyes, grabbing a bench to use as a makeshift weapon, etc.): -1 to opponent
-Disabled limb or sense: -1 or -2
-Not trained in particular weapon type: -1
-First combat round in which a particular weapon is used against martial artist: -1
-Move is not distinctly unrepresentative of style: +1 to opponent

Adjusting pace: The pace of combat depends a great deal on how martial artists are rated in your game and what dice you make them roll in any given fight. For example, a game that rates martial artists on a scale of 3-18 might feature a greater "X", and either make the dice roll extend combat to unmanageable size or else make the roll a small factor in deciding the match. A game that instead rates martial artists on a scale of 1-5 would find randomness a much greater factor in who wins, though each round might be mercifully short. It's up to you to find the right balance for your game (perhaps turning those 3-18 into manageable chunks of 3, i.e. 1-6). The dice chosen will then gage how long a combat round will run and how important randomness is. For example, if the average X is 2, rolling 1d6 wouldn't make combat long at all and the possible range (1-6 vs. 3-8) doesn't seem particularly unbalanced. You may also scale pace up or down according to the combat's importance, with higher dice thrown in the big finale than in the opening skirmishes, to model how kung fu films are structured.
Fighting multiple foes: Sometimes, people gang up on a single character, but the GM only has two arms. Well, just like the GM doesn't really have a three-section staff, he or she has to use descriptions as a tool. Mechanically, the group making the attack only counts as a single opponent with a rating equal to the lowest among them (though group members are likely to all have the same rating anyway). Take your cue from classic kung fu cinema here. Heroes and villains alike (Masters) show enough honor and/or hubris that they never or rarely make a group attack on a single opponent. Henchmen - which might be armies of goons or allied students from your school - have only one real function: To show was badasses the Masters are. When you watch those movies, Henchmen usually get severely beaten up, though they might score a hit or kill other Henchmen, or else stand around and watch Masters at work without interfering. When fighting Henchmen, each Move made against them may result in the death or ass-kicking of one or more of them. The Master wins the combat when they are all down, so play damage as reducing the number of opponents rather than the any given character's hit points (for smaller groups, they might each have 2-3 wounds to give up before being trounced). If a Master fights a Master, Henchmen will steer well clear (though they are part of the usable environment). When Masters fight each other in uneven numbers, they might gang up on one another. This is easily handled by allowing each Master his or her normal run of Moves, with the Group of Masters modifier in play.

Relevant skills: A character should of course be allowed to his or her basic bag of tricks. Martial arts and martial art weapons skills could be supplemented, with leveling or training, by new styles and abilities. Again, it's up to you to decide what works within your particular campaign. Magical "chi" tricks are not, for example, appropriate for all games. The following are mechanically derived from this system:
-Sense martial arts rating: This ability would allow a player character to know the basic rating of an opponent. Many Masters are keen judges of their opponents.
-Action points: It is recommended that Masters have access to some kind of Action/Cinematic/Story points/Bennies, allowing them to show off during combat. Most fights on film do not feature one incredible trick after another, but rather a build-up to such a trick after a series of more subtle moves and countermoves. Action points are spent any time a player wants to make a grandiose, game-changing move (like turning a destroyed table into a pair of fighting stilts or use acupuncture tricks). Depending on how you parcel them out, and how many you allow in any single turn, combat will grow crazier or more down to earth. Of course, not using Action points at all can lead to the craziest of all.

Now before you ask, NO, you really don't have to get up from the table to use this system. It can be done all in description (ye olde Option 3, except more structured), but doing so will lead to more dynamic combat that retains the idea of stance and simple moves and parries and reduce any given player's reliance on tricks (and the consequent thinking time between moves that usually come with them).

Countermove?