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[Anu Necunoscut]

I dearly love the art/engraving system (as silly as it sometimes is) because it personalizes a fortress and provides some flavor to the most valuable objects.  I'd like to see that sort of personality added to military disciplines.  How would it work?

Say Urist McSwordsdwarf becomes a champion in fortress mode.  He's now available for selection by the fey mood mechanic, and if it strikes him he goes out to the wilderness to spar with animals.  After a certain duration, he'll create a fighting style entitled and modeled after the animal he studied, just as "praying mantis" or "tiger" styles are loosely modeled after the characteristics and attacks of their animals.  Following this, Urist can teach the style to any dwarf sparring with him.  Use of the style could provide some reasonable bonus to combat ability and/or speed up training.

The nature of DF and the variety of animals would make for many hilarious kung fu movie type scenes of nature contemplation, and styles like "Elephant Tusk" or "Drunken Macaque" could spread throughout the fortress military.  Obviously you don't want your soldiers fighting like groundhogs, so it needn't be -exactly- modeled on the animal, but it would give great soldiers more interesting things to do and add some more variety.

Too silly, or just DF-silly?  :-P

[penguinofhonor]

That would be interesting. Give them a bonus during combat somehow depending on the animal. Elephants would give a strength or toughness bonus, macaques would give an agility bonus, etc. Some of them could give small bonuses in multiple stats or give a big bonus in one stat and a small penalty in another one.

[Anu Necunoscut]

That would be interesting. Give them a bonus during combat somehow depending on the animal. Elephants would give a strength or toughness bonus, macaques would give an agility bonus, etc. Some of them could give small bonuses in multiple stats or give a big bonus in one stat and a small penalty in another one.

I like the idea of providing a small stat bonus to agility, toughness or strength based on the animal.  This idea is probably too trivial and/or silly to warrant consideration, though.  :-P

[Jetman123]

Doesn't even have to be animalistic. Some of the fighting styles that were invented by great folks were based on experience as well.

Say your dwarf's been wounded - he'll want a defensive style that focuses on protecting the limbs. Say your dwarf is pacifistic and doesn't like to unneccessarily kill others (once captives and the like are in in more detail) - he'll champion a style that focuses on blending with the force of an attack and knocking the opponent unconcious rather than killing them. Say your dwarf isn't very strong but very agile - he'll make a style that doesn't rely on strength but speed or balance.

Morihei Ueshiba made the Aikido Japanese martial art, which focuses on throws, joint-locks, and blending with the force of an attack to subdue an opponent without hurting him, after he defeated a Japanese military officer in a duel without hurting him by simply evading his attacks until he dropped unconcious from sheer exhaustion. The inventor of Judo - I can't remember his name - couldn't effectively do Jujitsu because he didn't have the strength for it, so he made a less strength-intensive martial art, Judo. And those are just off the top of my head!

[Neonivek]

A lot of martial arts contain a TON of moves specifically intent just for show. (Heck every animal "based" martial art is 50% just for show moves).

However in truth most martial arts that are animal based just use the animal as well... a base... but contain a lot of trial and error (outside of once again their show moves) for example I believe both Monkey and Dragon Martial arts are capable of being performed while your hands are tied.

Another factor that is lost today is the fact that a lot of Martial arts are SO OLD! that they were intended to used with or against other weaponry.

Anyhow where Dwarf Fortress takes martial arts or formulated fighting forms should all depend on if they want it to be entirely realistic, in which it is buff or shifting attribute based, or dramatic, in which you have moves with specific effects.

Id always prefer dramatic...

Whoa I am dizzy, I need some sleep. Ill continue this later.

[Jetman123]

Maybe, but you have to consider that every F-18 and other modern fighters use what is essentially a souped up gattling gun - something from the days of the Wild West. Don't discount things just because they're old ideas. ^_^

[Zwergner]

Speaking of Wild West, this reminds me of a scene in Wild Wild West...

Loveless Hentchman: [Doing Karate moves] I learned that from a China man
Capt. James West: [Kickes up a shovel and hits him in the face] I just made that up

I like the personal preference related ideas, not so much the animal studying ones.  But I don't know if it would make enough difference to really be worth all the overhead.

[Porpoisepower]

"Dad, I don't want to do hamster-style anymore"

Sorry, I had to quote one of my favorite movies.  Guess which one?

[Gnomechomsky]

I don't care how this is implemented in terms of combat effects--it's a FANTASTIC idea in terms of flavor.

[Anu Necunoscut]

I don't care how this is implemented in terms of combat effects--it's a FANTASTIC idea in terms of flavor.

Thanks!  I'm actually fairly indifferent as to the actual combat effect myself.  I'd just like to see soldiers get more personality in some DF-ish way, as if you have four to six Mengs in the militia they start to become pretty faceless.  :-D

[Tahin]

I'd love to see my fighters develop a carp style. It would be awesome.

Oh, and this would work nicely if integrated into legends and adventure mode, as well. Then there could be several styles already created by various champions throughout history, and your adventurer could learn them or develop new ones.

[Torak]

I'd love to see my fighters develop a carp style. It would be awesome.

If a sorcerer could use a fighting style, it'd be carp.


Because they'd be a master of Magicarp.


Gunthor, Mage splash attacks you in the head.




Firefox spellcheck insists that Mage is not a word, odd.

[Draco18s]

That's ok, "dwarves" isn't either.

[Nexii Malthus]

Heh, cool ideas, but I think the fighting styles should have a stronger link to their cultural/civ spheres. It should be a dwarven fighting style but still unique. There are also many factors to take into account such as the weapon they use, the style might be even a rather passive one, such as being able to fire bolts faster with less precision or being able to cut off the head with a sword more than usually.

[ChJees]

Gimme the break-all-bones-in-the-body-style and i am happy . (What? I like to do that in adventure mode >:3)