Cyberpunk RED skill
Martial Arts
Martial Arts is a skill in Cyberpunk RED: Trained unarmed fighting: throws, holds, disarms, and strikes that land where you aim.
Last reviewed
Key facts
- Stat
- DEX
- Category
- fighting
Overview
Martial Arts is formal unarmed training rather than the improvised violence Brawling represents. It covers the disciplines a character studied, and in Night City that ranges from a corporate security curriculum to a gym in the Combat Zone that has been teaching the same forms for thirty years. At the table it makes an unarmed character a genuine threat instead of an inconvenience. Where Brawling swings, Martial Arts controls: throws that put an opponent on the floor, holds that keep them there, disarms that take a gun out of a scene without firing one. That precision is the point, because most jobs go better when the target is alive, the noise is low, and nothing traceable was used.
How it works
Linked Stat: DEX Category: Fighting Resolution: 1d10 plus DEX plus skill level, opposed by the defender's Evasion or their own fighting skill. A natural 10 lets you roll again and add, a natural 1 subtracts a further roll. Relationship to Brawling: Martial Arts can stand in for Brawling in unarmed combat and adds trained options such as throws, holds, and disarms that untrained fighting does not offer. As with Brawling, physical damage scales with BODY, so training and mass reinforce each other.
Tips and playstyle
Best for: Characters who need to take people alive, work quietly, or fight where a drawn weapon would be a disaster. Character concepts: A corporate close-protection specialist, a Combat Zone gym fighter, a Lawman trained in restraint techniques, a bodyguard who cannot be seen carrying. Synergies: Evasion and Athletics round out the physical package. Concentration keeps you functional under fire, Human Perception reads the moment someone commits, and Wardrobe and Style lets you walk into places a visibly armed person cannot.
Frequently asked questions
Should I take Martial Arts or Brawling?
Martial Arts if the character trained formally and you want throws, holds, and disarms. Brawling if they learned in bars and alleys. Martial Arts covers unarmed fighting on its own, so buying both is rarely efficient.
Can Martial Arts disarm an armed opponent?
That is one of its signature uses. Taking a weapon out of someone's hands at close range is exactly what the trained options exist for, and it is often more useful than damage in a scene you need to keep quiet.
Does high BODY still matter?
Yes. Unarmed damage scales with BODY regardless of training, so a trained fighter with low BODY lands accurately but softly. Pair the skill with a decent BODY if you want the hits to count.