Experiences with Martial Arts

[haren]

How have people felt about Martial Arts in 3rd? For my part, I'm kinda regretting making my first Martial Arts character because it just feels 100% subpar. I don't want a lot, but it tends to feel like my job is to just wait around and hope everyone else handles it. I'm really wondering what people see in it at all.

Do other people feel this way?

[Senara]

Well. We might need more context. What style did you pick? How's the rest of the group set up re: combat? What have you been fighting?

I have a Single Point style character and she honestly feels like she might be -too- strong, if anything. Mind, she backs it up with Awakening Eye and some defensive Melee charms, but even without using those I wreck fights.

[Totentanz]

Well. We might need more context. What style did you pick? How's the rest of the group set up re: combat? What have you been fighting?

I have a Single Point style character and she honestly feels like she might be -too- strong, if anything. Mind, she backs it up with Awakening Eye and some defensive Melee charms, but even without using those I wreck fights.

Agreed. I can't say my experience with the Martial Arts matches the OP's, but I need more information to respond helpfully.

From the work I've done with it, Single Point and Snake are mildly terrifying.

[Ryoki]

I can second Senara. Having played two Martial Arts characters in 3rd so far, I can say, that they feel strong. Single Point does huge amounts of damage with 2 attacks per round and strong decisive boosters (also range extender). Also you can combo with Steel Devil Style for stronger withering options. I once had an 46 dice decisive alpha strike in a battle with a good Join Battle. The character was a Dawn with supernal MA, so I got most of the charm tree at chargen. It was a combat heavy character and he did what he was supposed to do. Slice stuff up.

Currently I'm playing a Silver Voiced Nightingale. Though Ess1 with charms up to the form she is nothing to sneeze at. With the form and the first charm she has light artifact throwing weapons with a +5 raw damage boster for withering attacks. We have a Dawn with Supernal Brawl and a Zenith with Supernal Survival and my Nightingale has by far the best withering game and battlefield control. She does not huge amounts damage and does not trick the system like Brawl does, but with just 4 fighting charms I feel more than relevant on the battlefield.
Though I wish the style would combo more with the other styles in the book.

[haren]

My character has Ebon Shadow and my ST made up a style since there was no agressive soft styles in the core, we've been fighting... let's see, gods, a second circle demon, ummm a sorcerer, some Dragon Blooded. My character is the only hand style user (except for one who has a single Brawl charm). My character has more attack charms than anyone but the Dawn, and just under more than half of everyone but the firewand wielding Eclipse (6 characters total). We have 2 who use Thrown, 2 who use Melee, Righteous Devil Eclipse, and me.

[Senara]

How's your Stealth? Ebon Shadow -really- needs that stealthy backup and to be constantly re-stealthing through a fight.

Also, that's a big group! I suspect your fights end somewhat quickly, particularly with two thrown users given that ability's fondness for early decisive, while ES does take some setup in my experience.

Obviously I can't speak to your custom style, but seven points of weakness strike is a monstrous attack.

[haren]

My character has Stealth 4, but that's it. Not really a Night who uses Stealth to hide. Oh, and used Seven Points of Weakness, but it was just weak. Did nothing really.

[HK-87]

My character has Stealth 4, but that's it. Not really a Night who uses Stealth to hide. Oh, and used Seven Points of Weakness, but it was just weak. Did nothing really.

Well there's your problem. Ebon Shadow is the "fight like a ninja" style. If you're not using stealth in combat then you're doing it wrong.

That's the weakness of martial arts: any given style is really good at what it does best, but has limited utility beyond what it specializes in. Many of Tiger Style's charms, for instance, only work to their best effect when the target is trying to disengage from you, so a Tiger Stylist should be prioritizing enemies who want to stay out of melee like your archers and sorcerers and so on. Crane Style is almost 100% defense and gets most of its offensive power from counterattacks. And so on.

[haren]

Well, the ST was like "No no, this is PERFECT for your character" so... the only style that I like in the core is Nightengale.

[Senara]

Pretty much what HK said. You want to be abusing it's stealth synergies. And SPoW is essentially 4 extra withering damage for someone with mastery- 5 if you bump your Stealth. That's far from nothing, and it has hilarious synergies with, say, snake style.

Also you might want to talk to that ST, because apparently it's pretty distant from perfect for your purposes.

[Robert Vance]

Ebon Shadow style is best friends with Blinding Battle Feint and Stalking Wolf Attitude, which can be grabbed with your Stealth 4.

[haren]

Ebon Shadow style is best friends with Blinding Battle Feint and Stalking Wolf Attitude, which can be grabbed with your Stealth 4.

Except I only have one Stealth charm right now, and it's starting to sound like Ebon Shadow is just a terrible style for my character.

[Blackwell]

Yeah, it kind of sounds like your complaint is that your MAist is weak even though he has lots of MA charms, but MA charms don't exist in a vacuum; they need some setup, because they're somewhat situational.

[haren]

Setup is something I don't really have time for, because every time I try setup, the fight is already over.

Edit: The more I read this, the more it sounds like "Unless you have one of these two styles, MA will be weaksauce." Maybe it's that way by design.

[HK-87]

Setup is something I don't really have time for, because every time I try setup, the fight is already over.

What's your character concept?