Martial Arts II

Martial Arts II adds four advanced techniques to the foundation of Martial Arts I, which must come first. The knife hand turns the open hand into a weapon that can punch through even plate: armored foes are treated as unarmored, and magical armor protects only to the extent of its plus. It can harm creatures immune to non-magical weapons, but unlike ordinary hand strikes it is used only once per attack, does 1-6 points, and can aim for an incapacitating injury under the specific hit rule. It needs a full minute of concentration first, so it is almost never usable in melee, and the Game Judge may require several blows to open a human-sized hole in a door or wooden wall.

Dodging missiles lets the martial artist avoid even arrows and bolts fired from devices with a save vs Dexterity. The jump kick strikes targets up to 5 ft off the ground, plus 1/2 ft per level, with the damage and frequency of a normal kick. Breaking lets a hand strike, kick or headbutt smash through a wooden door or plank up to 2 inches thick, improving by up to 2 inches for every 3 levels.

Metal armor of any kind rules out all martial arts techniques. The skill costs 1,000 XP and takes 1-3 months to learn, with a qualified instructor needed outside the professions that teach it.