Countup vs. Maneuver Speed Announcement

Instead of everyone (including the GM) announcing the speeds of their maneuvers at the top of each round, the GM instead slowly counts upwards from the lowest speed possible (can be as low as -4 if you happen to have a dex 1 guy with a possible Widowmaker who was just knocked down).  As the numbers move up, players can announce their maneuvers on the speed they wish to go on; other players announce interrupts, aborts, etc.  Characters using poses/stunts go first; Zen No-Mind goes last.  Players still use combat cards, turning them up when their maneuver goes off.

The advantages to using a countup vs. speed announcement are as follows:

Keeps players from guessing what everyone is doing, so they know to avoid the blockers, whom to target, and the like;

Doesn't require characters using Zen No-Mind and the like to give away their play every round, inviting swift gangbanging.

The only disadvantage to the countup is that addle-brained players who miss their maneuver speed have to forfeit or do something stupid like abort to Block when it's unnecessary.  This can also be viewed as a plus, since it forces characters to pay attention instead of relying on the beleagured GM to keep track of everything that goes on.

Example of a simple countup:  Player characters Doofus and Goofus are having a match.  Selected maneuvers are:

Doofus:  Fierce Punch (speed 2)
Goofus:  Lightning Leg (speed 4)

GM:  Ready?  0, 1, 2...

Doofus:  Fierce Punch on 2.

Goofus:  I TAKE IT!  (Goofus wants to eat the shot to get a chance at the Lightning Leg.  Doofus rolls damage.)

GM:  3, 4...

Goofus:  Lightning Leg on 4.  Muahahaha...

Rocky:  Backflip Kick (speed 4)
Bullwinkle:  Roundhouse Kick (speed 3)
Natasha:  Rekka Ken Jab (speed 10)
Tom:  Buffalo Punch (speed 1)
Huck:  Dragon Punch (speed 5)
Becky:  Zen No-Mind (card choices are Monkey Grab Punch, Hair Throw, and Double Dread Kick)

GM:  Ready?  0, 1...

Tom:  Buffalo Punch Rocky on 1.

GM:  Rocky interrupts with a Backflip Kick on 4.

Tom:  Abort to Block...

Huck:  Wait!  Step and interrupt on 5 with Dragon Punch on Rocky!

GM:  Okay... Rocky sees all this crap coming and will abort to Jump on 7 to escape the double teaming.  (Rocky spends 1 willpower for the abort.)

Huck:  Can I Dragon Punch Bullwinkle instead?

GM:  Sigh... no.  Target was announced.  You don't have to blow the willpower since you didn't actually connect, but you can either abort or just not execute.

Huck:  I'll whiff.

Tom:  Abort to Block.  (Player 1 spends 1 willpower.)

GM:  Okay... Player 1 is blocking, Player 2 doesn't connect, Rocky has jumped away.  2, 3... on 3 Bullwinkle runs up and Roundhouses Huck.

Huck:  Uh...

GM:  I'm feeling generous... you can abort since you didn't execute your maneuver, which would have happened on 5.

Huck:  Abort to Kick Defense on 9.  (Huck spends 1 willpower.)

GM:  Natasha interrupts on 10...

All Players:  Groan...

GM:  ... with Rekka Ken Jab.  (GM rolls damage for Natasha vs. Huck; even if Huck could Block at speed 10+, he already announced his abort.  GM then rolls damage for Bullwinkle vs Huck with Kick Defense.)  Okay, Becky is the only one left.

Becky:  (turns up Zen No-Mind and her choices.)  Double Dread Kick on Rocky.  (Becky spends 1 willpower for the Zen No-Mind and 1 for the Double Dread Kick and rolls damage on Rocky.)

There's a cryptic line in the rulebook about a limit of one willpower expenditure per combat round.  This is plainly stupid if you read it as "1 willpower," as it would invalidate basic things like Whirlwind Kick (2 willpower per use).  What it should say is that you can expend willpower once per round, but you can expend as much willpower as you need to.  This means that if you want to Whirlwind Kick with a +3 move from Light Feet and try for extra damage on the first contest, go ahead... sure it will cost you 4 willpower, but that's that.  If you elect to, say, Hurricaine Kick someone and, noticing they're not doing too badly after the first 2 hits, want to spend willpower on hit 3 for extra damage, too bad.

Movement Modifiers

Certain abilities like Light Feet, Musical Accompaniment, and Speed of the Mongoose can act as a movement modifier, increasing the Move rating of other attacks.  The problem with this is applying it to maneuvers which have a fixed movement value, such as Block (Move zero), most grabs (Move one), etc.  Movement modifiers should not apply to these fixed-Move maneuvers, as this opens a huge can of worms.  For instance, a guy with Muscial Accompaniment can decide to use his modifier for +1 Move, and Block his way across the ring.  He is now able to get into position, continually Block, and get out of the hex in case someone tries to Grab him at +4 speed.  It also allows insane stuff like executing a Hair Throw on someone 4 hexes away from you... sure it's funny, but it's also stupid and leads to long-term abuse by the players or against them.

Even seemingly benign applications like +1 Move to Buffalo Punch can be heinously unbalancing.  Maneuvers with a fixed Move rating have inflexible ranges for good, mechanical reasons, and increasing their ranges removes the ability of fighters to use strategic positioning to foil enemies who are known for these techniques.  If you really have to close to tag the guy shooting fireballs from a distance, you could just as easily apply your +1 Move to a Strong punch or a Spinning Backfist.

Definition of an Abortable Maneuver

The basic rulebook should have included this in one place to avoid confusion.  According to the basic rulesbook pages 124, 137, and 139, the only mentioned abort actions are Jump (played alone, not with a basic maneuver) and Block.  However, on 116 the descriptions for Punch Defense and Kick Defense start with, "This operates as a standard Block maneuver..."  Therefore, it stands to reason that Block, Jump, Punch Defense and Kick Defense are abortable.  But if special purpose blocks like Missile/Energy Reflection, Deflecting Punch, and San He are not abortable, then they become nigh-useless.  Furthermore, on 119 Grappling Defense starts with, "... works similarly to a Block..."  What to do?

First of all, rule out Missile Reflection and its evolution, Energy Reflection.  The description on 116 includes, "... the fighter poises herself to intercept any objects thrown or fired at her."  This indicates a premeditated strategy, not a panic reflex action when someone fires a gun at you.  Missile and Energy Reflection are not aborts.

San He can be ruled out as well.  It uses Chi, indicating concentration before execution.  Furthermore, its description on 116 includes, "This rigid, immovable stance is part of the San He form of Kung Fu."  A stance is very different from a reflexive evasion or guard technique.

Deflecting Punch is a little trickier.  In its description on 115, it is analogued to Wing Chun countering techniques, which are traditionally trained to be reflexive and very fast.  If it were not abortable, it would extremely risky to execute, as you would have to predict that (1) your opponent was going to punch, and (2) you would be able to beat him with +2 speed.  Since the description is hazy, and the consequences of not having it abortable are significant, I would allow Deflecting Punch as an abort.

As for Grappling Defense, forget it.  It's a +4 speed maneuver with a move of -1.  Allowing this as an abort would make it a nigh-unbeatable defense against almost anything except projectile attacks.  Dragon Punch coming your way?  Just use Grappling Defense and get out of the way!  The description of Grappling Defense as being similar to a Block, I believe, was only to illustrate to the thick-witted that it was a way to increase your Soak in a hold.

This leaves the following as legal abort maneuvers:

• Block
• Jump
• Punch Defense
• Kick Defense

Deflecting Punch

I thought I was pretty damn smart when I figured out the "Mister Jab" technique to defeat grappling freaks.  Keep choosing a relatively fast striking maneuver with movement, and when the slow guy enters your hex to grab you, just interrupt, step out of the hex, and land your attack.  The grappler will be unable to execute his grab, and will most likely be forced to abort to a Block... and the +2 speed next turn still won't get him inside your Jab.  You can do this all day.

Taken a step further, it's obvious that any fighter with a significantly high margin of Dexterity will always beat a slow grappler, barring things like Block combos and such.  Chun Li will never be hit by Zangief if she doesn't want to.  All she has to do is pick Short over and over, keep pegging him in the head when the tries to clinch, and simply use the movement to get out of range if Zangief tries something like a Fierce.

The "Mister Jab" rule is a necessity, though... if it were impossible to slip out of a grab and counter, fighting a wrestler becomes literally impossible unless you have a Move to Backflip Kick combo and use it all night.  However, the poor wrestler is doomed in a non-team fight, as a smart boxer can evade him forever.  What to do?

Apparently, Steve Karstensen has an idea on this (this is secondhand though).  If a fighter steps out of a grab and botches, he gets put back into the hex.  He slipped, his swing went high and wide, whatever, and now the wrestler has his shot to get inside the reach.  Assuming that Mister Jab is indeed using low damage high speed moves like the Jab, a botch is going to be more likely than usual... grapplers tend to have a lot of Stamina, and rolling 1 or 2 dice all night can be asking for trouble.

This rule's advantage also becomes clear on "move after attack" maneuvers like the Backflip Kick and Rolling Attack.  You botch a damage roll, you're stuck there, eating the Widowmaker.

The "Mister Elbow Smash" Solution for Slow Grapplers

Of course, the question now becomes, "What about Mister Elbow Smash?"  Elbow Smash is one of those troublesome maneuvers like the Buffalo Punch... everyone can get it, and it's really really good.  +2/+2/One good.  Botching on a dice pool of 6 is much harder than botching on a dice pool of 1.

An alternate solution here is one which is logical, but requires a lot of GM discretion:  You cannot move away from your target and do damage with a maneuver that relies on torque and momentum.  These maneuvers tend to be things like the Elbow Smash, Roundhouse, Fierce, Foot Sweep, etc.  If the GM wants to be obviously vindictive, he can just say it only applies to the Elbow Smash.  Think of how the Elbow Smash is delivered.  It makes sense... you don't retreat and throw the elbow to block your retreat like you would a Jab or a paqua palm strike.  An elbow strike is a powerful maneuver that (in the SFSTG context, at least) relies on a planted foot to deliver full-body torque through the hips.  Go ahead and interrupt with the elbow if you want; you better just hope it dizzies the enemy before he ties you up.

Interrupting a Multiple-Hit Pushing Maneuver

This was a cool trick I got away with in my old play group:  when someone comes in with a multiple-hit maneuver which pushes you back each hit (e.g. original Cartwheel Kick, Spinning Clothesline, Whirlwind Kick, Tumbling Attack, etc.), let them get the first hit in, then interrupt with something stupid like an Elbow Strike, using the movement to step to the side of the attack or behind the enemy, rendering the rest of his attacks useless.  The advantage of this is that the enemy has executed his maneuver and gotten a damage test, so he can't abort to a Block or something.  And he's spent willpower!  This is legal, but expect smart NPC's to do this too.  If the GM sees abuse with this, he can require a roll to see if the character can pull off an interrupt in the middle of an enemy maneuver (something like Wits vs. Dex).  You cannot do this vs. a maneuver which is multiple hit but stationary, like Double Hit Kick or Hyper Fist.

This rule is sorta pointless if you subscribe to the Steve Karstensen idea about when you expend willpower, as with all of these maneuvers the guy will have blown his willpower at the beginning of the move and will not be able to abort out anyway, so you could just stand to the side and jab if you planned for that.  The problem with this hardline approach is that no one would ever use a low speed maneuver that costs willpower on execution, as it would never connect.

General Notes on Team Combat Strategies

As a GM, you will have to know as much as possible about the dynamics of team combat in order to present your players with an interesting fight.  Smart teams will come up with tactics geared specifically to aid them, and will use them to the detriment of your player team (who hopefully will also learn some of these ideas).  A dumb team will not act in a coordinated fashion and will just do whatever seems right to them as individuals.  Dumb teams lose a lot.  However, mix up the smart teams with the dumb teams, leaning toward the latter early in the players' career; everyone else is learning too.

Some popular team strategies to become familiar with:

The Block Opening:  Assuming your teams start a considerable distance apart, the team may choose to all open with Block for the +2 speed bonus next turn, and to see what the enemy is doing.  If one of them gets targeted with a long-distance block defeater like a Flying Tackle, they can always abort to Jump, leaving their attacker stuck in the middle of his teammates.

The Long-Distance Opening:  Another idea which works well in team fights is to open with maeuvers which close the distance and have considerable effect, like Flying Tackle, Double Dread Kick, Spinning Knuckle, Spinning Backfist, etc.  The idea here is the same as with the "Slow Attack" idea below:  you force an enemy to react somehow, which then hopefully leaves him open for your other teammates.  This is especially good for countering a group of known Block Openers, as you can force one to abort to Jump with a Flying Tackle, and then let him get clobbered with a Cannon Drill.  Dedicated team fighters will have combos based off a long distance opening maneuver (Double Dread Kick to Dragon Punch is evil).

The Moving Opening:  A very common opening in team fights where the arena is big.  Everyone Moves, or Drunken Monkey Rolls, or Wall Springs, into range.  Some wacky teams will have it worked out that they will all Move up close, then abort to Block, or else some of them may have a combo off Move.  Move and aborting to Block is good at many phases of the fight for certain people, like grapplers and people who bought cheesy Block to Flying Thrust Kick combos.

The Slow Attack:  In singles matches, speed usually rules.  In team fights, power rules.    This is because (using the countup system) the slower fighter usually dictates when the faster fighter executes, not the other way around.  Say you have 4 fighters who choose the maneuvers Buffalo Punch, Throw, Widowmaker, and Roundhouse.  The slowest one of these will attack the fastest-looking enemy, who will then react, then get pummeled to death by the other slowpokes who can hopefully weather the storm of light jabs and short kicks from the remaining enemies.

The Damage Sponge:  This is a corollary to the Slow Attack.  The guy doing the Slow Attack to draw out interrupts is generally the huge 20 health Sanbo stylist with Stamina 6 and Toughskin.  Send him out with something sick like a Turbo Spinning Clothesline and watch everyone attack him, then send in the cavalry.  You want the guy who eats the hits to be the guy who can take the hits.  Keep your Wu Shu artists alive.

The Decoy:  This is related to the Damage Sponge.  Say you have an attack which you feel you really need to succeed, like a powerful hold or strike.  The problem is, this maneuver is slow, and will probably be interrupted by the target.  Send in a damage sponge as a decoy using some maneuver which will force the target to react, then let the real attacker hit.  A typical example of this is sending in a guy to Buffalo Punch; the target Blocks, and then gets hosed by the teammate who runs in with a Rising Storm Crow.  The decoy in these cases should be ready to abort himself in case the interrupt happens to be a Flaming Dragon Punch or the like.  If necessary, he could also execute his decoy maneuver slower than he has to, just to insure that he goes before the real attacker.

The Guarded Artillery:  If a team has a member who specializes in distance attacks (generally Focus based unless it's a Duelist match), it usually behooves them to run interference for their partner, tying up the enemy with f lank attacks and such, while the Focus guy sits out of range and Acid Breathes away.  Focus guys have generally spent less time developing their stand-up techniques than their teammates, so this protection is a good policy.  The same protection idea could be applied to the team member who is using Zen No-Mind that turn:  protect him at all costs.  If he's not standing by the end of the round, he can't choose between his assortment of insanely high-damage slow maneuvers to unleash at that time.