Most of these Elements count as a single Element towards the total allowed Elements of a Special Move. However, some of these Elements count as two or even three Elements.
Some Elements are modifiers for other Elements and can only be taken if the move has the base Element in question. On the other hand, some modifier Elements are actually Liabilities and instead earn an extra Element with which to build
the move.
Aerial Element: This move involves the Fighter leaping high into the air before attacking or as part of the attack. It is often combined with the version of the Mobile Element that allows 2 Ranges of movement before attacking, though this is not a prerequisite. If a move with this Element is used and the attacker is interrupted by an opponent who had held their Initiative, the attacker receives a +2 bonus on his Defense Total if he chooses to use the Evasion Skill to avoid the attack.
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Special rules apply if a move with this Element is used and the defender chooses to use any Defensive Response other than the Anti-Air/Juggle Response.
If the attacker using the Special Move with the Aerial Element misses, he can use his full Evasion Skill against the defender’s attack, rather than half his Defense Skill as normal.
Always Does Damage Element: Even if this move misses, the defender loses 3 FS. If the defender is unable or unwilling to lose a full 3 FS, he loses 1 LB instead. This is an uncommon Element in the source material, but it can be used to create a Special Move that is so strong that it crashes through an
opponent’s defenses.
Anti-Air Element: This move is intended to specifically counter attack as a combatant jumps toward the attacker. The move allows the Anti-Air Response Defensive Response.
Area Effect Element: This Element counts as two Elements. This move affects all opponents immediately surrounding the attacker. All characters (friend or foe) standing at Range 0 or 1 (but not Range 2) from the attacker are attacked by this attack simultaneously. Separate attack rolls are made against each target and FS must be spent to modify each individually as desired. Each target can choose their own defensive option against the attack, and the user of the attack can be subject to multiple Defensive Responses. In this case, all effects of these Responses (e.g., Knock Back, Knock Down) are put into effect after all attack rolls have been made. Damage from this move is –1 against other Fighter-level opponents (minimum 1), but it has full effect on Thugs. If
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the Special Move also has the Ranged Element, this Element counts as four Elements.
Bounce Element: This move forces the opponent to the ground with such ferocity that he bounces back into the air, giving the attacker an opportunity to juggle the opponent in the air for more damage.
Taking this Element also requires the Knock Down Element. If the attack hits, the attacker must make a Tactics skill check against DL 8. If he succeeds, he juggles the opponent for +3 damage and +2 Glory.
This move can be put into a Combo, even though Special Moves with the Knocks Down Element normally can only be put at the end of a Combo.
However, if the Tactics skill check fails, the Combo automatically misses.
Charge Back Element: This move is prepared by doing a “charge back” or “charge down” movement.
Many fighting games have characters whose Special Moves are dependent on first holding the joystick away from the opponent or down for a few seconds before attacking. The result in these games is to have a more defensive character who often retreats and blocks more frequently. If the combatant has Initiative and wants to use a Special Move with this Element, he must do one of the following: 1) Retreat 1 Range before attacking; 2) The combatant must have successfully defended against the last attack made against him using his combined Defense and Evasion Skills; or 3) Roll Control 2 points higher than normally necessary for the Special Move.
The advantage of the Charge Back Element is that if the character Holds his Initiative, he is considered to be on Full Defense (using the Defense Skill, not the Evasion Skill), even though he may attack later in the same turn. If the Fighter fails to obtain Initiative, the character can choose to be on Full
Defense and, if the opponent’s attack misses, the defending character can then attack with a Special Move that has this Element. In either of these cases, however, the character does not get an Initiative or Control bonus, as is usually the case with Full Defense. The Director may require that a character must have most or all of his Special Moves with the Charge Back Element, or else none may be. This would be consistent with the source material.
Counter Element: This move is specially designed to block an opponent’s attack while launching an immediate counterattack. This move allows the defender to use the Counter Response Defensive Response, though the move can also be used normally. There is one optional Liability and one optional Element that can modify this Element.
The cost of this Element is balanced by a Liability if the move can only be used as a Defensive Response and not as a regular attack. For the cost of two additional Elements, a Special Move with the Counter Element can be made into an Invincible Counter. In this case, the Defense Total for the Counter receives the Fighter’s Total Defense bonus, and if the Counter attack hits, it receives the benefit of the Increased Knockback Element.
Critical Hit Element: This move occasionally hits opponents in such a way to create a brief opening to press the offensive. If the damage rolled is an even number, the attacker receives a two die size increase to either Initiative or Control next turn, determined before they are rolled. Unlike the typical use of the term in other role-playing games, there is no other mechanical definition of a “critical hit” for this Element.
Easy to Combo Element: This move is well suited for use in Combos. When this Special Move is included in a Combo, the Control cost of the Combo
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is reduced by one. This effect is cumulative if multiple moves with this Element are put into the same Combo.
Evade Ranged Element: This move is particularly effective against attacks with the Ranged Element.
For example, the move may pass through the attack or it may slide under it. This move can be used for the Evade Ranged Defense Response.
Explosive Element: This fairly uncommon Element counts as three Elements. This move affects all opponents within a short distance from the attacker.
All characters (friend or foe) standing at Range 0-3 from the attacker are attacked by this attack simultaneously. Separate attack rolls are made against each opponent and FS must be spent to modify each individually. Damage from this move is –2 against other Fighter-level opponents (minimum 1), but it has full effect on Thugs. As a Liability (reducing the cost for the Explosive Element to two Elements), the damage from this attack can be further reduced by 1 for each Range step away from the target (e.g., a target at Range 3 would suffer –3 damage, or –5 if the target was a Fighter). If the Special Move also has the Ranged Element, this Element counts as five Elements.
Fast Recovery Element: This move is easy to recover from or can be cancelled out of, making it easier to progress into the next attack, or the move improves the position of the attacker in relation to his opponents. If this move hits, the attacker gets a one die size increase on the following turn that can be applied to either Initiative or Control.
Hard to Evade Element: This move has some characteristic that makes it difficult to Evade. For a normal Special Move, it may be a mid-striking or overhead move that hits crouching opponents more easily, a move that hits an opponent both high and
low simultaneously, or an attack that swings in a wide arc vertically or horizontally. For a Special Move with the Ranged Element, it may strike from an unusual angle, such as diagonally up, straight up from the ground, straight down from the sky, as a wide beam, or some combination of these. Perhaps the Ranged attack can even be re-directed once it is launched.
Regardless of how the move is defined, the effect is to give a +1 Accuracy against an Evading opponent.
Two Elements can be spent on this Element to make it a +2 Accuracy for particularly difficult to Evade attacks. In the case of Special Moves with the Ranged Element, this could apply to arcing beam attacks, prolonged beam attacks, or homing attacks that are incredibly difficult to avoid.
Harry Element: This move harries or confuses the opponent in some way, such as hitting him and turning him away from the attacker with the force of the blow. The defender suffers a one die size penalty on his next Initiative or Control roll (this is the defender’s choice, made before the rolls on the following turn).
Hits Low Element: This move hits the opponent low, requiring a crouching block to successfully defend or else a jump to leap over the attack. This attack receives a +1 Accuracy when the opponent defends with the Defense Skill, but a -1 Accuracy when the opponent uses the Evasion Skill. It has no effect against the Tactics Skill. If the defender combines Defense and Evasion, there is no modifier to Accuracy.
Increased Glory Element
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This move is either especially flashy or, more commonly in the source material, this move hits multiple times but countsas4
a single move. For example, some Special Moves may hit a dozen times, but only do damage once.
This is actually a common Element in the source material. Each Element spent on this Element increases the move’s Glory award by 2.
Increased Knockback Element: If this move hits, it knocks the defender back 2 Ranges, rather than just one.
Increased Stun Element: This move hits with such force that its effective damage for the purposes of application against an opponent’s Stun Threshold is increased by 2. Thus, an attack that does 4 Life Bar damage would count as 6 points of damage when compared against the opponent’s Stun Threshold to determine whether or not the opponent is Stunned.
Interrupt Element: This move can be used to Interrupt another combatant’s attacks with the Interrupt Defensive Response. Such moves are usually designed as counter attacks, but with a different tactical requirement than the Counter Element. This Element can also be used to represent a static field of some sort that will damage any opponent who accidentally or deliberately touches it. Examples of this would be a burning ki field or a twirling weapon. The character sets it off as an opponent approaches. However, this Element does not need to specifically “represent” anything – it may be applied to any Special Move that the character has learned to use as a fast response to an opponent’s attack.
The cost of this Element is balanced out by a Liability if the move can only be used as a Defensive Response and not as a regular attack. For the cost of an additional Element, this Special Move can be made into an Invincible Interrupt. In this case, the
Tactics roll for the Interrupt receives a +2 bonus.
Juggle Element: This move knocks the opponent high into the air, thus increasing the possibility of stringing together a longer Combo against the opponent before he hits the ground. If this move begins a Combo, it does +2 damage and the Combo is worth +1 Glory. Taking this Element requires the Knock Down Element as a prerequisite; however, this Element is an exception to the normal rule that a move that Knocks Down cannot begin a Combo;
instead, the Knock Down effect is delayed until the end of the Combo. If a Combo begins with a move with the Juggle Element, another move with this Element can be placed later in the same Combo and still receive the damage bonus. The Juggle Element can also be further modified by either of the following modifier Elements.
Launcher Element: This Element launches the opponent even higher into the air, allowing even more hits, changing the +2 damage of the Juggle Element to +4 damage instead. However, Launchers cannot be used too quickly in succession. A DL 10 Tactics skill check is necessary in order to use two Launchers in the same Combo. Failing this roll means the Combo automatically misses.
Spinning Juggle Element: This Element can only be applied to a move with the Launcher Element. Because this attack also spins the opponent around uncontrollably while they are juggled in the air, no Breakfall is possible, if those optional rules are in use in the campaign.
Ki and Strength Element: This move uses Ki effects in conjunction with normal physical moves, such as a powerful punch that also involves the attacker’s fist bursting into flames. Many times, this is merely the special effect of the move and does not require this
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Element. If it is mechanically relevant to how this move is used in the character’s repertoire of moves, then this Element can be applied. The base damage is calculated from the character’s Ki score (see Ranged Element) and then Strength modifies damage as usual.
Knock Down Element: This extremely common move Element counts as two Elements. If this move hits, the opponent also suffers a Knock Down in addition to Knock Back, damage, and Stun Damage.
If the move only causes Knock Down when it is the last move of a Combo, this is a Liability, reducing the Element cost to one.
Knockback Advance Element: This move allows the attacker to optionally advance after Knock Back, moving forward up to the same number of Ranges as the opponent was Knocked Back, if so desired. If the opponent was Knocked Back towards an Environmental Hazard, the attacker must also move towards the Hazard if he chooses to use this Element.
Mobile Element: This Element covers a number of options that apply to movement that occurs during the execution of a Special Move. The specific effects of this Element must be defined when the move is designed and cannot be changed later. One of the following options can be chosen: 1) The move allows full normal movement after attacking; however, the attacker cannot move before attacking; 2) The move allows only 1 Range of movement before attacking (as usual), but this movement can be used before or after the attack takes place; 3) The move travels quickly, either because of fast ground-based movement or because it is a special form of jumping or aerial attack (also see the Aerial Element). This Special Move allows 2 Ranges of movement before attacking for a cost of 1 FS, just like a jumping Basic
Move. Optionally, this move can allow 3 Ranges of movement without attacking, but not if this movement would bring the Range to 0. This third option is a very common Element in fighting video games.
The cost of the first option is balanced out by a Liability if the character must move after attacking.
The cost of the third option is balanced out by a Liability if the move allows 2 Ranges of movement before attacking (or 3 Ranges without attacking), but which cannot move only 1 Range. There is also one modifier Element for this third option.
Moves Low Element: The movement forward occurs at crouching height, making it possible that attacks will pass over the attacker’s head. If the attacker is interrupted by a character who has held their Initiative or the attacker needs to defend himself against a Defensive Response, he receives a +2 bonus to Defense Total if using Evasion or a +1 bonus to Defense Total if defending against a Defensive Response.
Pass Through Element: This move allows 2 Ranges of movement without any cost in FS, but it can only be used if that movement would bring the Range to exactly 0 or pass through the opponent to Range 1 or 2 on the other side.
Position Shift Element: This move allows the attacker to shift to one side as he attacks, to shift the defender to one side if the attack hits, or to cause the combatants to switch positions. While this does not change the Range between the combatants, the attacker can move the defender 1 Distance towards an Environmental Hazard if the attack hits. This effect is in addition to normal Knock Back.
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Power Up Element: This move does more damage when first powered up. There are two versions of this Element; the specific option must be chosen when the Special Move is designed and cannot be changed later. Regardless of which option is being used, all the decisions about the use of the Power Up Element must be made before an attack roll is made.
The first option for this Element allows a Special Move to do +1 damage per +1 Control required by the move. For example, a Fighter wants to use his L3 Special Move with the Power Up Element. On this turn, he has rolled Control 5. Thus, he could choose to use the move with no modifier and get a + 1 Accuracy bonus for having more Control than needed for his chosen move (see the Combat chapter) or he could treat this move as requiring 2 more Control and thus do +2 damage. He could also treat it as requiring one more Control, gaining both +1 damage for the Power Up Element and +1 Accuracy for still using a move requiring less Control than the amount rolled for the turn. The maximum Control allowed for extra damage is equal to twice the move’s normal level. Thus, an L3 move could do up to +3 damage for 6 Control.
The second option for this Element allows the move to require one Control more than usual, but it then does +1 damage per 1 Life Bar spent. The maximum Life Bar that can be spent for extra damage is equal to the character’s Power Level. For example, a PL 4 combatant could spend 4 Life Bar to gain +4 damage on the attack.
Priority Element: This move is executed quickly and connects first even in near-simultaneous attack situations. This move breaks ties in the case of simultaneous Initiative. It can also be used for the Priority Defense Response.
Ranged Element: This move can be used at significant range from an opponent. This Element counts as two Elements when applied to a Special Move. The classic stereotype of a Special Move with the Ranged Element is the ki blast or fireball, though this might also be an energy beam, a thrown knife or
Ranged Element: This move can be used at significant range from an opponent. This Element counts as two Elements when applied to a Special Move. The classic stereotype of a Special Move with the Ranged Element is the ki blast or fireball, though this might also be an energy beam, a thrown knife or