Come one, come all! These aren't in any particular order.
Combat System TweakGenerally, the idea behind this is to make combat feel more tactical, like Dungeons and Dragons or GERP, but with Kung Fu. Towards this end, I suggest adding a line of varied Physical attacks. This starts with this:
Seperate "Attack" into two different verbs: Jab, Kick
Jab would be a touch weaker than "Attack", but a little more certain to hit. Kick would be a touch stronger than "Attack", and a little less sure to hit.
Now, at this point, we can add to this concept with more attacks. They could be unlocked from increasing your OFF/DEF past certain hallmarks, or be tied to a race or rank! Some examples( With attack descriptions borrowed from wikipedia martial arts articles):
Roundhouse Kick: Unlocked with sufficient OFF. To execute, the attacker swings their leg sideways in a circular motion, kicking the opponent's side with the front of the leg, usually with the instep, ball of the foot, toe, or shin. The attack could pretty stronger than a normal Kick without being slower, but have the added disadvantage of leaving the user more open to being hit immediately after.
Axe Kick: This highly aggressive attack is taught exclusively by adherents of the River school of Earth martial arts. It begins with one foot rising upward as in a crescent kick. The upward arc motion is stopped, and then the attacking foot is lowered so as to strike the target from above. The arc can be performed in either an inward (counter-clockwise) or outward (clockwise) fashion. The strike would be a crushingly powerful blow to the head of its victim but would very easy to dodge, as the motion of the attack is hard not to telegraph, and would leave the user unable to square up to enemy counter attacks, leaving them more vulnerable to damage for a short time.
Tail Strike: A move usable by Shimo Henko and other creatures with a sizeable tail, it would be a strike -which would be no different than a standard kick, with the exception of it being much more difficult for non-tailed martial artists to block, as these fighters would only have experiencing guarding from 4 limbs, rather than 5.
I could come up with a lot of these, and I'm sure you guys could too. Ultimately the goal would be two fold: To make the game feel more strategic, making combat seem like less of the back-and-forth statgrind it often is, and also to make the game feel more Kung Fu action, like Journey to the West, and like Shonen Jump anime, like Dragonball.
Now, my next idea is tied closely to this one
Targeted Strikes/Limb DamageSo basically, different attacks could target different parts of the body, and would be either A) More effective targeting certain spots on the body or B) More likely to hit on others. Strikes to the jaw were more likely to do heavy damage, for example, but are more likely to be blocked because most fighters protect their head heavily. A strike aimed at a fighters leg might slip through their guard easier but wont be liable to do a much damage.
Of course, a fighter with a damaged leg might not be able to throw as effective kicks - and so on, and so on. Limbs could eventually become crippled, forcing you to stop using certain attacks, and making other attacks - like Ki waves - harder to use. Crippling the Torso or Head would be more difficult, but someone with a Crippled Torso or Head would eventually bleed out and die. The bleed out would be disabled with RP fight on so they'd basically just be un-regening during the space between turns.
Another tied in idea!
Improved Grapple SystemThe grapple system could be expounded upon, allowing numerous types of grapples. Some could be used to put the person in a clinch, allowing you to open parts of their body up for vicious strikes. Others could put people in various submission-type moves, which could slowly deal damage to certain parts of the body.
The clinch would basically work like grapple does now, except both fighters could -also- hit eachother inside the clinch. Neither could target anyone else, however, or the clinch would break. The person who was in control of the clinch would get a bonus to damage from his strikes, while the other person would take a cut to the damage of their strikes. Neither person would be able to block. If the person in control took significant damage, the clinch would break. Otherwise, a standard "Struggle" to leave a grapple could get the victim away. Otherwise, the Victim could also try to transition to a better position in the clinch, putting his OFF and his STR skill against his aggressor.
The submission would be like an attack to the certain limb, but would just be one persons STR stat against the others. ( THink like, Yamcha getting torture wracked by that mummy.)
Thats all I got for today. Bye!