Animalistic Combat

[Shadyn]

I have noticed after forming a Kelvic character and a Dhani WIP that it makes sense for many character types to use a combat style that is distinctly animalistic. IRL there are several styles that find their basis in the animal based combat forms of various ancient groups. My list of animalistic combat would be divided into four groups based upon these real life styles (A good chunk of this knowledge is derived from several ancient history books by Dr. Josef Ifras):

Berserker – this famous style is derived from the Norse. It found its basis in wild bears, focusing highly on a furious rampage of brute force that frightened and overpowered anyone who stood in their way. Using many layers of heavy furs, leather, and basic metal armor, they were not particularly focused on defense, instead attempting to just “absorb” the damage in a meat-shield manner, constantly pressing their attack forward. Beserker style is perhaps the most straightforward of these animalistic styles…perhaps because the mind is not highly emphasized here.

Lupisarian – this style is derived from the Celts, particularly the Picts (later known as Scots) and the Scotti (later known as Irish). Lupisarian is the Latin translation made by the Romans of an immensely complex and cumbersome Gaelic word which would be unpronounceable by most people today (hence why I do not have it either here or in my vocabulary). The basis of this style was the wolf. The Lupisarian warriors were actually considered to be nearly supernatural – they were a specialist division of the Druid wise-men/priests. The Druid education system – while possessing a great deal of superstitions – was primarily focused upon a deep understanding of all things in the natural world, the entire Celtic religion being centered around the notion of supreme wisdom. This wisdom (which covered topics such as biology, herbalism, poisons, astronomy, botany, etc….though not strictly in the modern sense of the words) was what formed the basis of the Lupisarian style, just like a wolf’s intelligence was the foundation of its combat. The overall style was focused highly on endurance, speed, and the unexpected. The mind was used to strategize on the fly, while endurance and speed were used to minimize the damage suffered while maximizing the damage given. Equipment varies, usually kept to styles that allowed maximum efficiency while not compromising on protection.

Avian – this style is derived from Oriental and American Indian groups. It is based upon the combat styles of birds, particularly raptors but even including some aggressive blackbirds, though to a much lesser extent. Though the specifics of this style varies greatly according to what species the warrior chose to follow, for Lore’s sake it could be divided into several sub-groups such as follows: Hawk/Eagle, Owl, Falcon, and Raven. Hawk/Eagle style is highly focused upon intimidation and quick maneuvers, alternating powerful quick strikes with wrestling-like close combat. Owl style is one of stealth, emphasizing powerful demobilizing strikes to critical locations, but also placing a healthy emphasis on retreat if you believe that you are in danger. Falcon style is primarily a fury of lightning fast blows designed to wear down and weary the opponent. Raven style involves a strange combination of wise and careful maneuvers with resourceful brawling, also emphasizing the benefit of having others to aid you. Equipment is kept to an absolute minimum, often having none at all to allow focus to remain entirely upon the use of the body, especially the hands and feet. (Note: Avian styles have the most emphasis upon the use of feet of all of the animalistic styles).

Serpentine – this style is derived from Oriental and American Indian groups. It is based upon the combat styles of snakes. Within this category it would make sense to divide Serpentine into two categories – Standard Serpentine, and Dhani Serpentine. Standard Serpentine would be the style that all Kelvics, Humans, etc. use to fight. It would be a style focused upon using speed and cunning to deal any and every blow available, often including “pot-shots” and unorthodox blows such as back-stabbing. The one and only point of this style is to remain fluid, always ready to lash out when opportunity presents itself. Dhani Serpentine would be further divided to match the Dhani sub-groups: Constrictor, Rattlesnake, and Viper. While they would all have the same general basis as Standard Serpentine, these Dhani styles would each be tailored to the specific superhuman advantages of each sub-race of Dhani: Constrictor styles would have vastly more emphasis on strength; Rattlesnake style would be highly balanced style that combines excellent speed with superior strength; Viper style would be designed to hone their mind-blowing speed to perfection and maximum lethality. Said Dhani styles would be Human-form versions…a guideline would be given for Dhani versions, but due to variation by species the specifics of Dhani form combat would be up to the individual players WITHIN said guidelines.



All of these styles would be written up for Human/humanoid form. Body types that fall outside of this by a large portion of their anatomy will be given guidelines for integrating these styles into their combat. (Dhani and Zith are the first ones that come to mind, although all unusual races will be taken into consideration in the actual write up.) The Lore article would contain an appendix for each style regarding the integration of personal magics into these combat forms. Additionally, each combat style would have a list of “suggested” skills that would allow one to use it better (i.e. Berserker would benefit from bodybuilding more than Avian would, Serpentine would benefit from acrobatics more than Lupisarian would, Lupisarian would benefit from Anatomy/biology more than…etc.).

This above suggestion is for Unarmed Combat. These styles, however would also affect how one chooses to use their weapons as well. Additionally, my other lore suggestion topic regarding Combat Styles would potentially be closely tied to this topic.

[Colt]

From what I gather, it seems that most of what you're talking about would just fall under the category of "Unarmed Combat." Unarmed combat, at its lower levels, is fairly straightforward, since kicks, punches and blocks are pretty much the same across the board when you first learn to defend yourself. A person's "style" is something that they develop on a personal level as they get higher in skill points, based on how the person in question prefers to do things. This is what happens in all skills; an expert sculptor is probably well into developing personal flourishes that make their art recognizable, a master fletcher's work will probably have a specific thing in all of their arrows so one can recognize who made them, and a master parrot-breeder will likely have bred a specific trait into their parrots. Likewise, a master in unarmed combat will have figured out their own strengths and weaknesses to the point that their combat preferences will be recognizable.

While a combatant might observe animals and try to mimic them, it's pretty much impossible for someone to "fight like a bird," unless one is an actual bird Kelvic. You can watch what a wolf does, but a human can't really fight like a wolf since a human doesn't have four legs, fur or a long set of fangs. If someone wants to fight "animalistically," then they would watch animals and incorporate whatever they want into their style–––just like they could watch another human fighter, look at their skills and try to learn some of their moves. Again, this entire thing seemed more suited for a specific person's inner development. Bob the PC could look at a snake fighting a hawk, think that's pretty cool, and spend the next few days trying to incorporate the snake's movements into his unarmed combat. But learning from a snake's movements does not make Bob skilled in "Snake Style Fighting," it just evolves and refines "Bob Style Fighting" to include elements of what he's seen. There isn't any real difference between Lupisarian style and just regular ol' unarmed combat when a person reaches high enough levels to begin refining their abilities into an individual style.

Edit: Also, might want to check your research. Beserkers, for instance, weren't really a thing.