Rough-Housing
By Mephisto
Entrance Requirements: None
Skill Cost: 8 Years (6 Years as a Secondary; half the time for Trolls and Ogres)

This martial art serves to utilize the natural strength of orcs and to better control their fury and violent tendencies. Ogres, realizing that with training the orc masses could become a serious fighting force, began developing this fighting art. In fact, there are some rumors that tens of thousands of orcs in the Old Kingdom are training daily in this fighting style for the rumored invasion of the Western Empire. This martial art is also common in the Orcish Empire.

In combat, the practitioner of Rough-Housing will attempt to grab onto the opponent and either crush him where he stands or throw him to the ground then pick him up and throw him to the ground again. Not a lot of subtlety is involved; the idea is to outmuscle the person into oblivion. With a patient teacher, most orcs can latch onto the art in time and become surprisingly efficient and proficient with the fighting skills.

The training isn't purely physical either. Ogres are smart enough to know that orc's can be easily tricked and manipulated by magic-wielding foes. So a conditioning program is also in place so that the orcs don't buckle under pressure especially when facing terrible odds. This will come to a surprise to many foes of orcs who are used to seeing them turn tail and run when the tables are turned.

O.C.C. Note: An orc can learn this form by first upgrading to Hand to Hand: Martial Arts then exchanging one O.C.C. related skill to get Rough-Housing. The same applies to ogres. Trolls require exchanging two O.C.C. related skills. Other giants generally do not learn Rough-Housing. Note however that this martial art is limited to men of arms O.C.C.s and the Monk.
Stance: Legs wide and knees bent waiting for the person to commit an attack which the orc can grab onto to. Then they will rush in and attempt a grapple or a throw attack. Hands are usually kept high and near the head but always ready to commit to the grab attempt.
Costume: None
Character Bonuses
+2 to M.E.
+4 to P.S.
+3 to P.E.
+15 to S.D.C.
Combat Skills
Attacks Per Melee: 2
Escape Moves: Roll With Punch/Fall/Impact
Basic Defenses: Dodge, Parry, Auto Parry
Advanced Defenses: Power Block/Parry, Combination Parry/Grab (Special! After a successful parry, the combatant will attempt to grab the opponent and maintain hold. The victim can try to dodge the grab but requires giving up a melee action. On a successful grab the attacker can do a throw or a hold or attack with the other hand. The defender can still parry hand strikes but can't parry the Body Flip/Throw or a Crush/Squeeze).
Hand Attacks: Strike (Punch), Power Punch, Claw Hand
Foot Attacks: Kick Attack, Snap Kick
Special Attacks: Critical Body Flip/Throw, Auto Body Flip/Throw, Crush/Squeeze, Knee, Elbow
Holds/Locks: Automatic Body Hold, Automatic Arm Hold, Leg Hold
Weapon Skills: None
Special Katas: None
Modifiers to Attack: KO/Stun, Death Blow
Skills Included in Training
Martial Art Powers: Select Two from among Body Hardening and Martial Art Techniques
Physical Skills: Wrestling and one of choice, except not Acrobatics or Gymnastics
Training Skills: None.
Languages: None
Level Advancement Bonuses
1st Critical Strike Natural 20 or from behind, +2 to Body Flip/Throw
2nd +1 to damage, +2 Holds
3rd +2 to Parry and Dodge
4th +1 attack, +1 Body Flip/Throw, Select One Additional Martial Art Power
5th +1 strike, +1 Holds
6th +3 to Roll, +1 initiative
7th Critical Strike Natural 19 or 20, +1 Holds
8th +1 Attack, Select One Additional Martial Art Power
9th +2 Strike, +1 Body Flip/Throw
10th +2 to Parry and Dodge
11th +2 to Strike, +1 to Damage
12th Select One Additional Martial Art Power
13th +1 Attack, Critical Strike Natural 18-20, +2 Holds
14th +2 Body Flip/Throw, +1 Strike
15th Death Blow Natural 20
Why study Rough-Housing?
A martial art designed to inflict punishment with grappling and holding techniques. A good mix of martial art skills and combat techniques makes it a deadly fighting form in the right hands.