Technique: "Sneaky Broom Neck Attack"

They call me hadouken, because I
wobble from downwards all the way
forward.

So, one section of Martial Arts I feel I neglect a bit is the techniques customization section, so I think I'm gonna putz with creating a technique for my quarterstaff using player that might work well. Let's see how that goes.

So, in Martial Arts you have a bit of a section, starting p.89 that describes how to make new techniques from scratch. First off, a technique that lowers the enemy's active defense by 1 (-2), described on p.91. Let's combine it with the option for lowered maximum reach to go from a reach of 2 to 1 (+1), and the extra movement option on p.90 (-2). Finally, this attack will incorporate a Targeted attack (p.68) of a swing against a neck (-5). Combining these, we get a total penalty of -9, with an option of improving it to -2.

Techniques!

According to the guidance for difficulty levels this is a hard technique. Putting it all together, we have:

"Sneaky Broom Neck Attack" (Hard)

Default: Quarterstaff-11, cannot exceed Quarterstaff -2.

This attack is a mesmerizing sweeping action while taking a step forward from range 2 (or retreating from close range) which distracts the opponent giving them a -1 to their active defenses. If the attack hits successfully, this does crushing damage against the neck. This still hits the torso if the attack missed by 1. The extra step is in addition to a normal step.

Other Thoughts

Techniques kinda have this meta that they cost too much, or they aren't that useful. I like them because it makes a character kinda unique. Sure, spending all your points on DX is the most efficient, but does it help you today? Is it cool? I dunno, having a really long list of skills and special moves sounds way cooler to me.