The Sumotori
E d i t o r ' s i n t r o d u c t i o n
Believe it or not, we?ve received a number of requests for information
on sumo
wrestlers in the AD&D® 1st Edition Oriental
Adventures campaign. And we also
received two articles on this class, both of
which were well written and enjoyable.
We had the option of using the "centaur solution"
(named for the two articles on
centaurs that we turned into one article in
DRAGON® issue #103) or the "harpy
solution" (for the two separate versions of
"The Ecology of the Harpy" that appeared
in issue #115). We chose the latter, allowing the readers to pick the
version of this
wrestler that they liked the best. We hope
you enjoy the shobu!
| Where There Is One Sumotori... | - | - | - | ...There's Bound to be Another! |
| Dragon | - | Classes | - | Dragon #157 |
Where There Is One Sumotori...
.
by Stewart Wieck
| Sumitori characters | Shobu ceremony | Special bonuses and abilities | Class divisions | The shobu |
| - | - | Sumitori | - | - |
| Dragon | - | Classes | - | Dragon #157 |
The smaller of the two sumotori reached
around his opponent's waist until he
gained a grip on the mawashi, the only
clothing that the opponent wore. Arching
his back, the smaller wrestler struggled to
lift his opponent off the floor. His effort
proved successful; the larger man fell to
the mat heavily. It had been a long
match?nearly 15 seconds in length. As the
two huge men left the dohyo, they patted
one another on the back and went to
drink water in peaceful camaraderie.
Such is the scene of a sumo wrestling
match, or shobu. This article presents the
sumo wrestler as an AD&D game
character for use in an Oriental
Adventures
game campaign. Before the character class
itself is presented, a little background on
sumo wrestling is called for.
In essence, sumo wrestling is a very
simple sport. The contestants, called sumotori,
may grab any part of an opponent's
upper body or his mawashi (the stiff silk
loincloth which is the sumotori's only
clothing). The shobuis won if either opponent
is forced out of the ring or touches
any part of his body other than the soles
of his feet to the ground. However, there
are infinite subtleties involved in sumo
wrestling. Each throw and hold is carefully
defined and structured, with 48 of
these classical throws documented.
The ring (dohyo) in which the shobu
takes place is 15? wide and is covered by a
roof. In ancient times, this roof was held
aloft by pillars which surrounded the
dohyo, but in modern Japan, the roof is
suspended from the-ceiling. This roof is
intended to make the dohyo resemble a
shrine (sumo wrestling?s origins are built
upon the Shinto religion). Spectators are
seated in rush-matted boxes which are
placed on all sides of the dohyo. These
spectators usually keep teapots or bottles
of sake close by, for many shobu take
place during a tournament.
Most shobu are very brief, lasting less
than 10 seconds in most cases, although
some matches have been known to go on
for as long as five minutes (these matches
are usually stopped and restarted if they
are not resolved within the first minute or
two). Sumotori have no right of protest;
the decision of the judges is final. The
option remains, however, to redo a shobu
if the outcome is too close to accurately
determine the winner.
Certain restrictions apply in regard to
victory conditions in a shobu; as in any
competition, some actions are considered
illegal. A few examples of legal and the
illegal actions follow:
Forbidden actions: punching with a
closed, fist, hitting below the belt, bending
back the fingers, clapping both ears at
once, pulling hair, breaking bones, gouging
eyes, and choking.
Legal actions: punching with the heel of
the hand, butting, grabbing the upper
body, tripping, slapping, straight-arming,
pushing against the jaw, and grabbing the
mawashi.
Each shobu has two contestants; one
referee, and up to five judges. The smaller
the tournament (basho), the fewer the
number of judges used. Today, there are
six large (15-day) tournaments, but this
number is certainly excessive for an Oriental Adventure?s
campaign world. Consequently, it is suggested that only two such
basho take place each year.
The first recorded shobu took place in
the year 30 B.C. At that time, women were
allowed to participate. Today, however,
this is no longer the case.
In the end, it is not physical superiority
that alone produces a champion sumotori.
Ultimately, it is the psychological awareness the wrestler possesses
that determines his success or failure. It is this
awareness which allows the sumotori to
out-think his opponent by forcing him into
a moment of relaxation.
S u m o t o r i c h a r a c t e r s
The sumotori is a subclass of bushi (see
Table 1) and thus attacks and makes saving
throws on the fighter?s tables. Sumotori
use neither armor, shields, weapons, oil,
nor poison; they fight only with their
hands and bodies. Only lawful male humans may become sumotori, and
few of
them dare commit an evil act within the
dohyo during a shobu, as this till risk the
loss of the match. Sumotori must have the
following minimum ability scores: strength
16, dexterity 12, constitution 14, and wisdom 13. Each sumotori starts
with four
proficiency slots. At 1st level, one slot
must be for the shobu ceremony, and one
must be for cooking. (The shubo ceremony requires one slot and has
a base
chance of success of 13; without this proficiency, a sumotori cannot
take part in any
shobu.) A new slot is gained every four
levels that the sumotori acquires. The
number of proficiencies may seem a bit
low, but as sumotori progress, they automatically develop a style of
martial arts
that is gained without expenditure of
additional proficiency slots. Sumotori
avoid using magical items in the dohyo, as
the use of such items is strictly forbidden
in actual competition. No henchmen or
hirelings may be gained by a sumotori,
and no bonus is given to earned experience for high ability scores.
Sumotori gain experience from the
shobu in which they take part. A sumotori
who wins a shobu gains experience points
in the amount of 10 times the hit points of
his opponent; if he loses, the experience
points merely equal the opponent?s hitpoint total. Player-character
sumotori may
gain experience in the usual way, butgiven their restrictions?this
is certain to
be difficult. Sumotori might be given permission to use magical rings
or bracers
that benefit armor class and saving
throws, but they still cannot use weapons,
armors, etc., which limits the nature of
their prospective quests.
To a sumotori, wrestling is everything.
He must remain totally dedicated to his
pursuit if he is to become a grand champion (yokozuna).
For this reason, it is
suggested that sumo wrestlers be only
NPCs. If a player fervently wishes to play a
sumo wrestler, however, the DM should
consider the request. In this case, the DM
should impose training requirements upon
the character similar to the training requirements imposed on a kensai
(see Oriental Adventures, page 17).
Sumotori must train both physically and
spiritually. Physically, the sumotori works
hard to build his body. For this reason,
most successful sumotori come from the
high mountains or train in the mountains,
for life there promotes physical health.
Sumotori build their hip muscles by wading through deep snow, and they
pound
their arms against wooden poles (teppo) to
harden their skin. Spiritually, the Shinto
religion governs sumo wrestling. As a.
result, much emphasis is placed on ritual
and moral standards. Generally speaking,
sumotori do not have elaborate philosophical beliefs, but rather believe
that the gods
(kami) inhabit all things in nature.
S h o b u c e r e m o n y
As determined by tradition, a sumotori
must go through a certain ceremony before each shobu. This ceremony
is Shinto
based and is required of all sumotori. If
this proficiency is not taken for some
reason, the sumotori may not participate
in any shobu. The shobu ceremony requires one slot for acquisition
and has a
base chance of success of 13.
The following steps must be carefully
observed by a sumotori, for failure to
successfully complete the ceremony may
bring shame to the sumotori in question,
Before entering the dohyo, the sumotori
must wash his mouth out with water and
throw salt into the dohyo. These actions
purify the sumotori and the dohyo, respectively. He then enters the
dohyo,
squats, and claps his hands together
soundly. This calls the attention of the
gods to the sumotori. The sumotori must
then extend his arms slowly toward his
opponent and rotate his palms so as to
show the opponent that no weapons are
being carried. He then stamps the ground
to drive away any evil spirits which
thought to affect the outcome of the
shobu. After this, the sumotori then tries
to psyche out his opponent. He will sometimes glower with open belligerence
while
at other times he may not so much as
honor his opponent with a glance. The
sumotori then move about while slapping
at his body, preparing for the conflict.
S p e c i a l b o n u s e s
a n d a b i l i t i e s
Sumotori, like other Oriental
Adventures
characters, have many special abilities. Several of them relate to
the training which
they receive, while others are dependent
upon their innate energy, called ki.
S u m o t o r i r e c e i v e a
+ 3 b o n u s t o t h e i r
psychic-duel rolls because of the technique
of mental domination that they develop as
a part of their training for the shobu.
Sumotori train to be strong and tough. As
a result, when rolling the 12-sided die to
determine their hit points, the result
should never be less than twice their
constitution bonus for hit points. As an
example, a sumotori NPC has just been
created at 1st level. The DM determined
that his constitution should be 17, so the
DM rolls a 12-sided die to determine the
hit points of the sumotori. The result is a
4, but because two times the constitution
bonus of 17 is six (2 × 3 = 6), the sumotori
can have no less than 6 hp and is awarded
that many.
As the sumotori advances, he is taught
all of the aspects of the sumo technique of
martial arts. He also receives bonuses to
his armor class and initiative. Table 2
shows the statistics on this new technique.
Likewise, Table 3 lists the sumotori?s special abilities by level.
Sumotori also gain the benefit of two
special ki powers. Beginning at 1st level,
the sumotori is less affected by blunt
weaponry. At this level, a successful save
vs. petrification results in only one-half
damage being sustained. At 9th level, this
ability increases in benefit. A successful
save means that no damage is taken, and
only one-half damage is sustained without
the save, The ability affects only the base
damage of the weapon; magical and
strength bonuses are not affected. For
example, a 10th-level sumotori is hit by a
p e r s o n w i e l d i n g a tetsubo
+2. This tetsubo normally causes 1d8 + 2 hp damage.
But the sumotori successfully makes his
save vs. petrification; this save only affects
the 1d8 hp base damage, not the magical
bonus, so the sumotori still sustains 2 hp
damage.
The other ki ability is gained at 2nd level
and may be used only once per day. It
allows the sumotori to increase his
strength through force of will. The bonus
may be determined by using the following
formula: Add the number of rounds that
the bonus is in effect to the number of
points by which the sumotori?s strength
increases; this value must equal the level
of the sumotori. For strengths that will
exceed 18, the strength categories of
18/01-18/50, 18/51-18/75, 18/76-18/90,
18/91-18/99, and 18/00 each count as one
point of strength. It is possible to gain a 19
strength at best, but this counts as a twolevel increase beyond an
18/00 strength; if
only one level beyond 18/00 is taken, 18/00
is the strength gained. For example, a 5thlevel sumotori with a strength
of 18/54 has
just begun a shobu and wishes to increase
his strength to better his chance at victory.
He wants the increase for only one round,
so he may add up to four levels of
strength points. Four levels is but one level
past 18/00, so he receives an 18/00
strength. Had he been 6th level, he could
have received a 19 strength for that one
round.
Honor is as important to the sumotori
as
it is to any other Oriental Adventures
character. It is particularly important to
the sumotori, because his success in his
profession is greatly determined by his
mode of conduct. Table 4 gives the sumotori?s honor points and awards.
C l a s s d i v i s i o n s
There are three divisions of sumotori
considered for purposes of the character
class. These three?ozeki, maku-uchi, and
yokozuna? all have certain requirements
that must be met if they are to be reached.
A sumotori becomes an ozeki after winning a basho of any size,
even if it is only a
local one with four participants. The sumotori becomes a maku-uchi
once he has
consistently proven himself to be a proficient wrestler (victories
in 10 or more
smaller basho is a good figure for this).
Once this division is reached, the sumotori
is allowed to tie up his hair in the familiar
top-knot style. His hair is then not cut until
he is ready to retire (when retirement
does finally take place, usually before age
30, a ceremony called danpatsu-shiki takes
place, and a lock of the sumotori?s hair is
cut off). Finally, a sumotori may reach the
yokozuna division. This is a spot very few
attain, for one must win a grand championship in order to gain it.
(It has already
been mentioned that perhaps only two
basho of such size take place each year.)
Winning against such quality competition
is truly worthy of note. There is an unwritten code which all yokozuna
must
follow, however: Each is expected to voluntarily retire after losing
eight consecutive shobu.
The existence of the shobu has been
taken for granted so far in this article.
What follows are guidelines for recreating
the shobu in AD&D game terms.
The
shobu begins by having each of the two
opponents make a shobu ceremony proficiency roll. Failure here means
a possible
loss of honor, but it also means the sumotori in question does not
receive his + 3
bonus to psychic dueling.
Next is the psychic duel, the stage during the shobu when each sumotori
tries to
intimidate his opponent. The result of the
duel gives a bonus to the victor in the
actual shobu.
A sumotori?s skill for purposes of a
shobu is determined by the sumo martialarts forms he knows, his strength,
and the
result of the psychic duel. Appropriate
numbers of these results are totaled for
each sumotori to create a Sumo Number;
use the following figures:
| Item | Bonus |
| Iron Fist | +2 |
| Locking Block | +2 |
| Immovability | +3 |
| Hurl | +2 |
| Great Throw | +4 |
| Ironskin | +1 |
| Strength | +1 per four points of
strength, counting each level of strength above 18 as one point |
| Psychic duel | +2 to the victor |
The Sumo Number is then gauged for
each sumotori against a 1d20 roll, which
signals the start of the actual wrestling.
Each sumotori must roll less than or equal
to his Sumo Number to avoid losing the
shobu; if both roll over their respective
numbers, they fail to make effective contact for 1d10 seconds, and
the shobu
continues. To win the shobu, a sumotori
either must pass his Sumo Number check
while his opponent fails his, or?if both
sumbtori make their checks?must roll a
number higher than that rolled by his
opponent. The length of time taken by
each 1d20 roll is determined by multiplying the difference of the rolls
by two,
which gives the number of seconds that
the shobu lasts. It is possible that both
sumotori will pass their Sumo Number
checks, but that they will have a tie roll; in
this case, the wrestler with the higher
Sumo Number wins (the shobu in this case
lasts for 20 + 1d20 seconds). If the sumo
t o r i f i g h t i n g h a v e
b o t h a t i e r o l l
a n d t h e
s a m e S u m o N u m b e r , t
h e m a t c h l a s t s f o r
5 0
s e c o n d s p l u s w h a t e v e r
t i m e i s d e t e r m i n e d
i n f u r t h e r r o l l s , w
h i c h c o n t i n u e u n t i l o
n e
m i n u t e h a s p a s s e d o
r u n t i l t h e r e i s
n o t i e .
I f t h e l e n g t h o f
s h o b u e x c e e d s o n e m i n
u t e ,
i t i s r e s t a r t e d a n d
a n y r o l l s t h a t h a d
d e t e r m i n e d a w i n n e r a
r e i g n o r e d . N e w p r o f i
c i e n c y a n d p s y c h i c d u
e l r o l l s m u s t b e
m a d e i n t h i s c a s e .
F o r e x a m p l e , S h i r o
a n d K a n k a a r e t w o
s u m o t o r i w h o a r e f a
c i n g o n e a n o t h e r .
S h i r o i s 3 r d l e v e l
a n d h a s a s t r e n g t h
o f 1 5 ;
K a n k a i s 6 t h l e v e l
a n d h a s a s t r e n g t h
o f 1 8 /
3 0 . B o t h a r e s u r e
t h a t t h e s h o b u w i l l
n o t
l a s t f o r m o r e t h a n
o n e m i n u t e , s o t h e y
e a c h e x p e n d t h e i r d
a i l y k i i n o r d e r
t o
i n c r e a s e t h e i r s t r e n g t h s
. T h e i r S u m o N u m b e r
t o t a l s a r e a s f o l l o w s
:
Shiro: 2 (Iron
Fist) +2
(Locking Block) +4
(strength of 15, increased to 17 through ki)
= 8
Kanka: 2 (Iron
Fist) +2
(Locking Block) +3
(Immovability) +2
(Hurl) +6
(strength of 18/30, increased to 19 through ki)
= 14
Each sumotori rolls his shobu proficiency. Only Shiro is successful;
Kanka
obviously forgot to wash his mouth out
with water. This means that Kanka does
not receive his +3 bonus to his psychic
duel roll.
Next is the psychic duel. Shiro makes
motions toward his mouth, to remind
Kanka of his blunder, while Kanka merely
tries to impress upon Shiro that Shiro is
the less experienced of the pair. Kanka,
however, loses the psychic duel, so Shiro
gains an extra +2 to his skill number,
making it 10.
Suddenly, it is time to wrestle. The two
gargantuans spring at each other, and the
players roll their respective 1d20s. Both
sumotori roll 19s. Because both rolled over
their Sumo Numbers, the match lasts (a
1d20 is rolled) 11 seconds, and another set
of rolls is made. This time, Kanka rolls a
13 and Shiro rolls a 1. The difference
between these two numbers is 12, which
means that an additional 24 seconds pass.
Kanka wins the match. Had he and Shiro
had identical Sumo Numbers, and had
they tied on the second roll, the shobu
would have gone over 60 seconds
(11 + 50 = 61 seconds minimum), and the
referee would have stepped in to restart
the match. New rolls for shobu proficiency
and psychic dueling would then be made.
If Kanka fails his proficiency roll again, he
loses one point of honor. Also, neither
sumotori gains as great a bonus for
strength now because each has expended
his ki reserves. It is important to note that
in large basho, a sumotori may fight more
than one shobu each day, so ki cannot be
used to increase strength each time!
| Experience points | Experience level | 12-sided dice for accumulated hit points |
| 0 - 3,000 | 1 | 1 |
| 3,001 - 6,000 | 2 | 2 |
| 6,001 - 12,000 | 3 | 3 |
| 12,001 - 20,000 | 4 | 4 |
| 20,001 - 40,000 | 5 | 5 |
| 40,001 - 80,000 | 6 | 6 |
| 80,001 - 160,000 | 7 | 7 |
| 160,001 - 320,000 | 8 | 8 |
| 320,001 - 500,000 | 9 | 9 |
| 500,001 - 800,000 | 10 | 9 + special * |
| 8,00,001 - 1,100,000 | 11 | 9 + special * |
| 1,100,001 - 1,400,000 | 12 | 9 + special * |
+ 300,000 per level after the 12th.
* Starting at 10th level, the sumotori gains twice his constitution
bonus in extra hit
points for every level.
Table 2
Sumo Martial-Arts Style Statistics
| Technique | Principal method | AC modifier | #AT modifier | modifier<?> | Body |
| Sumo Hard/soft | Throw | 3 | 2 | 5 | Body |
<
Correct this table
Here are the fields, in order, from OA.101.
Name
# of At.
Damage
AC
Principal Attack
Special Maneuvers
All martial arts should use a standard 'stat block'
>
| Level | Ability gained |
| 1 | Strike 1: Ability gained |
| 2 | +1 armor class |
| 3 | Lock 2: Locking Block |
| 4 | Movement 3: Immovability |
| 5 | +1 initiative |
| 6 | Throw 3: Hurl |
| 7 | +1 armor class |
| 8 | Throw 4: Great Throw |
| 9 | +1 armor class |
| 10 | Mental 5: Ironskin |
| Sumitori base honor | 5 |
| Winning a shobu against an opponent of higher/same/lower level | +2 / +1 / 0 |
| Losing a shobu against an opponent of higher/same/lower level | -1 / -2 / -3 |
| Inability to properly perform the shobu ceremony twice in a row | -1 |
| Rude or evil behavior toward an opponent | <-1?> |
| Reaching ozeki division | +3 |
| Reaching maku-uchi division | +5 |
| Each grand championship won (after first) | +6 |
| Retirement ceremony | +2, division gained |
| Using magic as an aid in a shobu | -3 |
1. SUBCLASS = n/a
2. SOCIAL CLASS MINIMUM =
3. ABILITY SCORE MINIMUMS
STRENGTH =
INTELLIGENCE =
WISDOM =
DEXTERITY =
CONSTITUTION =
CHARISMA =
COMELINESS =
4. POSSIBLE RACES & MAX. LEVEL ATTAINABLE =
5. MULTI-CLASS POSSIBILITIES =
6. HIT DIE TYPE =
7. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF HIT DICE =
8. SPELL ABILITY =
9. ARMOR PERMITTED =
10. SHIELD PERMITTED =
11. WEAPONS PERMITTED =
12. OIL PERMITTED =
13. POISON PERMITTED =
14. ALIGNMENT =
15. STARTING MONEY =
16. WEAPON PROFICIENCIES =
17. NON-PROFICIENCY PENALTY =
18. NON-WEAPON PROFICIENCIES =
19. STARTING AGE =
20. COMBAT =
21. SAVING THROWS =
22. MAGIC ITEMS =
. . . There's
Bound To Be Another!
A n a l t e r n a t e v i e w
o f t h e s u m o w r e s t l e r
N P C
b y L e n C a r p e n t e r
| The Sumo Match | - | - | - | Sumotori |
| Dragon | - | Classes | - | Dragon #157 |
The Sumotori, or sumo wrestler, is an
NPC class commonly encountered in the
AD&D 1st Edition Oriental
Adventures
campaign world. The sumotori is rarely an
adventuring character (since the character's
abilities are so limited), though he is
very powerful in a narrow area of expertise.
The only thing a sumotori can do very
well is wrestle.
A sumotori makes his living by wrestling
in noble courts or popular exhibitions. A
sumotori is often part of a court entourage
and is paid to wrestle for the entertainment
and glory of his daimyo. A sumo
wrestler is considered a great status symbol
for a samurai lord, much like owning a
champion race horse. To produce a fine
sumotori, a daimyo must invest a great
many resources to train and feed the
wrestler. A court sumotori who becomes
renowned for his skill brings honor and
fame to his daimyo as well as himself.
Some sumotori become wandering entertainers. These wrestlers travel
from
town to town, challenging the local champions to wrestle in open-air
matches. It is a
hard life for a wandering wrestler, trying
to earn enough money to feed his great
appetite.
An out-of-work sumotori will occasionally hire himself out as muscle
for a yamust be lawful in alignment, though they
kuza clan or minor official. The wrestler
may work as a bouncer, bodyguard, loan
can be good, neutral, or evil.
collector, or enforcer of his employer?s
criminal aims.
Only rarely will a sumotori become an
adventurer. Although sumotori are a subclass of the bushi
class, their warrior skills
are poor. Sumotori cannot wear armor or
use shields. Each can become proficient
with only one weapon regardless of level,
but he may choose any weapon with
which to become proficient, except for the
ninja and martial-arts weapons that require long study. The mace, club,
hammer,
maul, and tetsubo are typical weapons for
sumotori to wield. Sumotori suffer a nonproficiency weapon penalty
of ? 3. They
never use oil or poison in combat.
Sumotori use the cleric's combat table,
since they are not as adept at fighting as
bushi are. Sumotori use 10-sided dice to
determine hit points and may advance to a
maximum of 8th level. Sumo wrestlers
must be lawful in alignment, though they
can be good, neutral, or evil.
In all other ways, sumotori are treated
as a fighter subclass. Sumotori use the
fighter?s saving-throw table and may use
the magical items allowed to fighters,
abiding by the weapon and armor restrictions previously noted.
Sumotori must be strong and hardy;
they must also be good pupils in order to
learn the art of sumo. The sumotori must
have minimum scores of 16 in strength
and constitution, and 11 in intelligence
and dexterity. The sumotori has no prime
requisite bonus for high ability scores. As
sumotori advance in level, their strength
and constitution scores improve in a manner
similar to those of the Unearthed
Arcana cavalier. Sumotori begin with an
initial percentile score following their
strength and constitution scores. Upon
gaining a new level, a sumotori rolls 2d10
and adds that roll to his percentile score.
When the percentile score reaches or
exceeds 100, the sumotori's ability score
improves by one, just as with a cavalier.
The sumotori rolls 2d10 at each new level
until the maximum experience level of 8th
is attained (see Table 1).
The sumotori's main source of experience
points comes through wrestling. A
sumotori gains the full-experience point
award for a victory in a wrestling match
or wrestling combat. Any prizes won or
treasure gained through a wrestling victory
also carry the full experience-point
awards. If experience points are gained in
any other way, the point award is halved.
For instance, if a sumotori defeats an ogre
by using his wrestling art, he gains the full
experience-point award; but if he clubs
the ogre to death with a tetsubo, the point
award is halved.
Sumotori begin the campaign with an
initial base honor score of 20. They gain or
lose honor points in wrestling matches
with the same honor-point awards given
for winning or losing contests (Oriental
Adventures, page 36).
Upon attaining 8th level, a sumotori may
open his own sumo school. The school will
attract 10d4 zero-level students, each of
whom must spend 5-8 months in rigorous
training to become 1st-level sumotori. A
sumo school usually requires the support
of an important patron, such as a powerful daimyo, wealthy yakuza,
or
social-climbing merchant. Supporting a
respected and prestigious sumo school
earns the patron +1 honor point.
Sumotori improve their martial-arts
capabilities as they advance in level in a
manner somewhat similar to monks. Sumotori martial-arts capabilities
are listed in
Table 2. Unlike monks, sumotori may
study only the martial art of sumai. Sumotori cannot study any other
style or mix
other special maneuvers into their sumai
style. Sumotori must rigidly abide by the
training of sumai and cannot develop any
new styles (as monks may dol. See Tables 3
and 4 for details on sumotori martial arts.
The sumotori?s one unique martial-arts
ability is the use of his great body mass as
an important part of the wrestling art. The
sumotori begins his career with a weight
of 240 + 1d6 pounds at 1st level and adds
to his weight with each new level attained.
The sumotori?s great weight benefits him
in many ways. It makes the character
harder to be moved, provides an advantage in overbearing combat, and
makes
him so imposing that he may instill fear in
lesser folk. At 7th or 8th level, the sumotori becomes monstrously
large-larger
than even real-world sumo wrestlers. This
enormous size makes the character a fair
match for any ogre or common oni in a
battle of mass and muscle.
Certain special abilities and ki powers of
the sumotori require that the character
maintains a minimum weight of 250 lbs. If
his weight should ever fall below this
minimum, he loses some of the abilities
described herein.
To maintain his great weight and fighting shape, the sumotori must spend
200 gp
(or 400 tael) per level of experience per
month in living expenses, most of which
goes for food. If the character?s weight
should ever fall below the 250 lbs. minimum because of famine, disease,
imprisonment, or any other reason, the sumotori
must spend 300 gp or 600 tael per experience level for a period of
one month to eat
his way back up to his original weight. A
sumotori cannot advance in level until his
weight is brought back up to normal. As
the sumotori is recommended as an NPC
class only, the DM is the sole judge of the
character?s current weight or health.
As sumotori attain higher levels, they
acquire the special maneuvers in the order
detailed in the special maneuvers list that
follows. At 1st level, the sumotori can
perform the Choke Hold maneuver, and
can deliver a powerful slap equal in effect
to an Iron Fist blow. At 2nd level, the
sumotori can perform a head slap that has
the effect of a Stunning Touch maneuver.
The remaining special maneuvers of the
sumai art are learned at 3rd through 7th
levels.
At 8th level, the sumotori gains a special
lock maneuver not described in Oriental
Adventures ?Crushing Hug. The Crushing
Hug is a powerful bear-hug hold that,
when applied on a successful to-hit roll,
inflicts 3-30 hp damage per round until the
victim dies or breaks free. The held character may break the hug by
making a
successful bend bars/lift gates roll. An
unsuccessful Crushing Hug results in a - 4
penalty to a sumotori?s next attack roll.
The sumotori must have a minimum
weight of 250 lbs. to attempt the Crushing
Hug maneuver.
As mentioned earlier, a sumotori?s great
body mass confers special advantages. The
sumotori?s great weight reduces the distance the character may be pushed,
thrown, or otherwise moved. The sumotori?s weight may also provide
a bonus to
the character?s save vs. paralyzation roll
when employing the Immovability maneuver. Moreover, this same bonus
may be
applied to a saving throw to avoid being
stunned by a physical attack, since the
character?s body mass affords greater
protection from such martial-arts blows.
Table 5 lists the effects of great weight for
sumotori characters.
Whenever a Push or Throw maneuver is
successfully employed against a sumotori,
the sumotori?s weight reduces the distance
he is moved by the appropriate modifier in
Table 5. (The sumotori must have a minimum weight of 250 lbs., of course.)
If the
modified distance moved is zero feet or
less, the sumotori is unmoved?that is, a
Concentrated Push or One Finger maneuver has no effect. If the sumotori
is hurled
or thrown and the modified distance is
zero or less, the sumotori is still thrown,
but he lands at the thrower?s feet. A Hurl
maneuver then does only normal damage,
and a Great Throw does only double damage, since the thrower cannot
manage the
full effect of the throw. The reduced
distance modifier is always in-effect, even
if the sumotori fails his Immovability save.
A massive sumotori also gains the abovementioned stun bonus to a saving
throw.
when trying to avoid being stunned or
incapacitated by a martial artist who rolls
an unmodified 20 for his to-hit roll, or
who employs a Stunning Touch or Stunning Slap maneuver.
Just as do other Oriental characters,
sumotori gain certain ki powers. These ki
powers can only be used when the sumotori?s weight is above the 250-lb.
minimum.
In addition, sumotori have a + 1 bonus in
any psychic duel with a character who is
not a sumotori, samurai, or kensai. Against
another sumotori or a samurai, only the
sumotori?s level is considered in the duel.
Kensai always retain their + 2 bonus in a
psychic duel with a sumotori. Furthermore, a sumotori can push his
strength up
to 18/00 for a number of times per day
equal to his level, just as can samurai.
At 7th level, a sumotori can inspire fear
in a foe of 1 HD or less, similar to a samurai?s fear power.
The opponent is allowed
a +2 bonus to the save vs. breath weapon,
as a sumotori?s fear power is not as effective as the samurai?s
ki power.
At 8th level, a sumotori can push his
strength up to 19 for a maximum of two
times per day, independent of the number
of times the character may push his
strength up to 18/00.
Since sumotori are such excellent wrestlers, they gain special advantages
in wrestling combat. Sumotori gain a +2 to hit in
any grappling or overbearing attack on a
nonsumotori. Nonsumotori are -2 to hit
with either sort of attack on a sumotori. A
sumotori may break a grappling hold by
making a successful to-hit roll instead of
trying to make a successful bend bars/lift
gates strength roll
A sumotori?s great strength helps him to
resist an overbearing attack. A sumotori
may use his to-hit bonus for high strength
as an armor class bonus to avoid being
overborne. For example, a sumotori with
AC 7 and 18/60 strength gets a +2
strength bonus and so is treated as AC 5
when trying to resist being overborne.
When a sumotori?s weight exceeds 400
lbs., the sumotori is considered a large-size
opponent in overbearing combat for purposes of determining his armor
class adjustment for size, regardless of whether
the sumotori is the attacker or defender.
The sumotori is still man-size when calculating the number of attackers
who may
overbear on the sumotori. (See the weaponless combat rules on page
106-8 of Unearthed Arcana for details.)
T h e s u m o m a
t c h
A clear distinction must be made between sumai and sumo wrestling.
Sumai is
a very old wrestling art in Japan that
reputedly dates back to a match held in 22
B.C. In sumai, the goal is to slay the opponent in a no-holds-barred
combat that
employs deadly locks and blows. By the
8th century, the most dangerous locks and
holds were forbidden, and the more civilized and stylized art of sumo
wrestling
gradually evolved. In feudal Japan, female
sumo wrestlers were rare but not totally
unknown, although modern sumo is
strictly a male pursuit.
The traditional sumo match takes place
in a circular ring 15? in diameter. A wrestler is defeated if he touches
the ground
with any part of his body other than his
feet, or if he is forced out of the ring. The
intent of the match is not to inflict grievous damage to the foe, but
to prove one?s
superiority in mind and body in a highly
regulated, disciplined match. A sumo bout
is fast and furious, and often ends within
seconds. The key to victory is to gain the
initiative in each round, so winning the
psychic duel that begins the match is
crucial.
Before every contest, each wrestler
performs a traditional ceremony of ritualistic movements and gestures?an
art form
in itself?designed to incur divine favor
and entertain the truly cultured sumo
enthusiasts. The two wrestlers then face
off within the ring, assume formal stances,
and try to intimidate each other in a form
of psychic duel. The loser of the duel does
not surrender, but does suffer a -1 penalty to initiative, saving throw,
and to-hit
rolls. The psychic duel
is performed as per
the rules on pages 100-101 of Oriental
Adventures.
After the battle of wills is over, the sumo
match begins. Certain special maneuvers
are not used in a formal match, either
because they are too dangerous or because they do not contribute to
a quick
victory. Conventional martial arts attacks
or the Strong Slap maneuver are not used
since it may take many blows to finally fell
an opponent. Only the Stunning Slap,
H u r l , I m m o v a b i l i t y , a n d
I m m o b i l i z i n g
m a n e u v e r s a r e p e r m i t t e d
i n a c i v i l i z e d
m a t c h .
N o v i c e s u m o t o r i w h o
d o n o t y e t k n o w
h o w t o e m p l o y t h e
m o r e a d v a n c e d s p e c i a l
m a n e u v e r s m u s t r e s o r t
t o s i m p l e o v e r b e a r i n g
o r g r a p p l i n g a t t a c k s
t o d e f e a t a n
o p p o n e n t . A n o v e r b e a r i n g
a t t a c h m a y b e
u s e d t o f o r c e t h e
o p p o n e n t t o t h e g r o u n
d .
T h e d e f e n d e r m a y a d
d h i s s t r e n g t h t o - h i t
b o n u s t o h i s e f f e c t
i v e a r m o r c l a s s t o
r e s i s t
t h e o v e r b e a r i n g a t t a c k ,
a s d e s c r i b e d e a r l i e r ,
o r h e m a y a v o i d
b e i n g o v e r b o r n e b y
u s i n g t h e I m m o v a b i l i t y
m a n e u v e r .
A n a t t a c k e r m a y u s e
a g r a p p l i n g h o l d t o
g r a b t h e o p p o n e n t a
n d t h e n t r y t o f
o r c e
h i m o u t o f t h e
r i n g . O n c e a g r a p p l i n
g h o l d
i s a c c o m p l i s h e d , t h e
a t t a c k e r m a y u s e h i s
n e x t m e l e e a t t a c k t
o m o v e t h e d e f e n d e r
t o
t h e e d g e o f t h e
r i n g a n d a t t e m p t t o
p u s h ,
p u l l , o r l i f t t h e
d e f e n d e r o u t o f t h e
r i n g . A
s u c c e s s f u l t o - h i t r o l l
i s r e q u i r e d t o f o r c e
the defender out. The defender may use
h i s s t r e n g t h b o n u s
t o h i t a s a n e f f
e c t i v e
a r m o r c l a s s t o a v o i
d b e i n g f o r c e d o u t ,
j u s t
a s i f t h e d e f e n d e r
w e r e t r y i n g t o r e s i s t
b e i n g o v e r b o r n e . O f
c o u r s e , I m m o v a b i l i t y
m a y b e u s e d t o
t r y t o r e m a i n i n
t h e r i n g .
T h e a t t a c k e r m a y c o
n t i n u e m a k i n g t o - h i t
r o l l s t o t r y t o
f o r c e t h e d e f e n d e r o u
t o f t h e
r i n g , u n t i l t h e d e f
e n d e r i s f i n a l l y f o r c
e d
o u t o r b r e a k s t h e
g r a p p l i n g h o l d .
A s t h e s u m o t o r i a d v
a n c e s i n l e v e l , t h e
s p e c i a l m a n e u v e r s a r e
g r a d u a l l y i n t r o d u c e d i n t o
m a t c h e s . T h e S t u n n i n g
S l a p
m a y b e e m p l o y e d t o
s t u n a f o e b e f o r e
a n
o v e r b e a r i n g o r g r a p p l i n g
a t t a c k i s t r i e d .
T h e H u r l i s t h e
m o s t c o m m o n l y u s e d
a t t a c k m a n e u v e r , s i n c e
i t a v o i d s t h e
strength bonus used by the defender to
r e s i s t o v e r b e a r i n g o r
g r a p p l i n g a t t a c k s .
I m m o v a b i l i t y i s u s e d
i n t h e o b v i o u s w a y s .
A n I m m o b i l i z i n g l o c k
i s o f t e n u s e d i n
t h e
s a m e m a n n e r a s a n
o r d i n a r y g r a p p l i n g
h o l d , b u t t h e a t t a c
k e r i s + 4 t o h i t
i n h i s
a t t e m p t t o f o r c e t h
e d e f e n d e r o u t o f
t h e
r i n g b e c a u s e o f t h e
e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f t h e
h o l d .
N o w , l e t ? s t a k e a
l o o k a t a n e x a m p l e
o f a
s u m o b o u t b e t w e e n K
u r u d o a n d Y o r i .
Kurudo: AC 6; MV 12?; Sumo 7; hp 64;
THAC0 6 - (+2) = 14; #AT 5/2; Dmg
2d6+2; S 18/56, D 12, C 17/04; Weight 470
lbs.; Reduced distance -5?; Immovability/
Stun save 10 - ( +4) = 6; AL LN.
Yori: XC 7; MV 12?; Sumo 6; hp 51;
THAC0 18 -( + 1) = 17; #AT 5/2; Dmg
2d6 + 1; S 17/32, D 15, C 16/93; Weight 440
lbs.; Reduced damage -4?; Immovability/
Stun save 11 - ( + 3) = 8; AL LG.
After the wrestlers perform the obligatory ceremonies, the psychic duel
begins.
Yori wins the duel with a roll of 17 to
Kurudo?s 8, and so Kurudo suffers the
previously-mentioned penalties. Yori will
need every advantage he can get against
the bigger, stronger, and more experienced Kurudo.
Yori wins the initiative in the first round
of the match, rolling a 4 to Kurudo?s 2
(3 - 1 = 2). Yori goes for a quick victory by
trying the Hurl maneuver. He needs to roll
an 11 to hit Kurudo?s AC 6. Yori succeeds
with a roll of 14, but Kurudo is entitled to
an Immovability save to avoid being
thrown to the ground. Kurudo rolls
13 - 1 = 12 and saves easily.
Kurudo responds by trapping Yori in an
Immobilizing Lock after rolling 19 - 1 = 18
for his to-hit roll. Kurudo may spend his
next attack in moving Yori to the edge of
the ring and trying to force him out at +4
to Korudo?s attack roll. Yori would, of
course, be entitled to attempt an Immovability save to avoid being
forced out, but
first he uses his melee attack to try to
break free. Yori pushes his strength up to
18/00 and makes an attack roll. Yori?s + 3
strength bonus enables him to break the
hold with a roll of 15 + 3 - 6 = 12 (an attempt to break an Immobilizing
Lock is
m a d e a t - 6 o n
t h e r o l l ) .
Kurudo retaliates by performing a Hurl
maneuver, but misses with a roll of
5 - 1 = 4. Kurudo automatically loses initiative for the next round
(see Oriental Adventures, page 104).
Yori?s first attack of the second round is
the Stunning Slap maneuver. Yori rolls a 16
and scores a solid head blow. Kurudo is
allowed a saving throw to avoid being
stunned, but fails with a roll of 6 - 1 = 5.
Had Kurudo not lost the psychic duel, he
would not have suffered the -1 penalty
that made him miss the save. Kurudo is
stunned and helpless, and Yori pushes him
out of the ring with ease. Yori earns one
honor point for his victory, while Kurudo
loses two honor points in his loss to an
inferior opponent.
The sumotori is not presented as yet
another character class for the use (or
misuse) of novelty-seeking players, but is
intended as a highly specialized NPC that
may add a bit of color to an Oriental campaign world. Sumotori suffer
too many
limitations to be used as a general-purpose
dungeon explorer and monster slayer, but
may act as an ally or hired muscle for a
special mission. And encountered as a
warlords bodyguard, yakuza enforcer, or
Imperial court wrestler, the sumotori may
provide a new challenge for Oriental Adventures.
| Experience poiunts | Experience level | 10-sided dice for accumulated hit points |
| 0 - 4,500 | 1 | 1 |
| 4,501 - 9,000 | 2 | 2 |
| 9,001 - 18,000 | 3 | 3 |
| 18,001 - 40,000 | 4 | 4 |
| 40,001 - 100,000 | 5 | 5 |
| 100,001 - 250,000 | 6 | 6 |
| 250,001 - 600,000 | 7 | 7 |
| 600,001 + | 8 | 8 |
| Experience level | Armor class | Additional martial-arts attacks | Additional martial-arts damage | Weight gain |
| 1 | 10 | - | - | - |
| 2 | 10 | - | - | +25 lbs. |
| 3 | 9 | - | +1 | +50 lbs. |
| 4 | 9 | 1/4 | +2 | +75 lbs. |
| 5 | 8 | 1/4 | +1D | +100 lbs. |
| 6 | 7 | 1/2 | +1D+1 | +150 lbs. |
| 7 | 6 | 1/2 | +1D+2 | +200 lbs. |
| 8 | 5 | 1/1 | +2D | +250 lbs. |
Table 3
Sumai Martial-Arts Statistics
| No. of attacks | Damage | AC | Attack | Principle weapons |
| 211 <2/1?> | 1-6 | 8 | Hand | None |
| Level | Ability Gained |
| 1 | Lock 1: Choke Hold |
| 2 | Strike 1: Strong Slap1 |
| 3 | Vital area 1: Stunning Slap1 |
| 4 | Throw 3: Hurl |
| 5 | Lock 3: Incapacitator |
| 6 | Movement 3: Immovability |
| 7 | Lock 4: Immobilizing |
| 8 | Special 5: Crushing Hug2 |
1 This maneuver is slightly altered for sumo wrestlers
2 This maneuver is unique to the sumotori NPC class.
| Sumitori weight (lbs.) | Reduced distance moved (feet) | Stun or Immovability save bonus |
| 250 - 300 | -1' | 0 |
| 301 - 350 | -2' | +1 |
| 351 - 400 | -3' | +2 |
| 401 - 450 | -4' | +3 |
| 451 - 450 | -5' | +4 |
| 501+ | -6' | +5 |
1. SUBCLASS = n/a
2. SOCIAL CLASS MINIMUM =
3. ABILITY SCORE MINIMUMS
STRENGTH =
INTELLIGENCE =
WISDOM =
DEXTERITY =
CONSTITUTION =
CHARISMA =
COMELINESS =
4. POSSIBLE RACES & MAX. LEVEL ATTAINABLE =
5. MULTI-CLASS POSSIBILITIES =
6. HIT DIE TYPE =
7. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF HIT DICE =
8. SPELL ABILITY =
9. ARMOR PERMITTED =
10. SHIELD PERMITTED =
11. WEAPONS PERMITTED =
12. OIL PERMITTED =
13. POISON PERMITTED =
14. ALIGNMENT =
15. STARTING MONEY =
16. WEAPON PROFICIENCIES =
17. NON-PROFICIENCY PENALTY =
18. NON-WEAPON PROFICIENCIES =
19. STARTING AGE =
20. COMBAT =
21. SAVING THROWS =
22. MAGIC ITEMS =