Speed in Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game

Fast Attacks in Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game

This is a simple comparative analysis of fast attacks, by which I mean all attacks with a Speed modifier of +1 or higher, in Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game. This comparison limits itself only to the special maneuver listed in the core book, in their original forms.

Here they are in summary format:

Name	Cost	Spd	Dmg	Mv	Effects
Punch
Jab	-	+2	-1	+0
Hyper Fist	w	+1	+0 x3	One
Rekka Ken	w	+3	-	-	Add 3 to SPD of punch, up to 3 rounds, Combo to dizzy
Turbo Spin Clothesline	w	+1	+0	-1	Hit all adjacent, KB, 1 hit /Mv
Kick
Short Kick		+1	+0	+0
Flying Knee Thrust	w	+1	+2	+1	Air, Dodge
Block
Block	-	+4	No	No	Abort, add Block Tech to Soak
Deflecting Punch	-	+2	+0	No	Block, then hit
Kick Defense	-	+4	No	No	Block +4 vs Kick, -2 vs other
Punch Defense	-	+4	No	No	Block +4 vs Punch, -2 vs other
San He	-	+2	No	No	Block x2, No KD, No KB, no Spd bonus next turn
Missile Reflection	-	+3	No	-1	Roll Dex to catch and reflect missile attacks
Energy Reflection	C	+1	No	No	Roll Wits to reflect Energy
Grab
Air Throw	w	+2	+5	+0	vs. Air, KD, Mv-Hit-Mv
Grappling Defense	-	+4	No	-1	Add Grab to soak vs Grabs
Head Bite	-	+1	+3	One	Hold
Iron Claw	w 1st	+1	+4	One	Hold
Athletics
Cannon Drill	w	+2	+2	+2
Drunken Monkey Roll	-	+3	No	+2	Crouch, Dodge
Jump	-	+3	No	+0	Dodge, use w/ basic, Abort
Movement	-	+3	No	+3
Wall Spring	-	+2	No	+0/+2	Air, Dodge, use w/ basic
Focus
Ghost Form	2c +	+1	No	+0	1 c/ turn to extend, insubstantial
Stunning Shout	c	+2	No	-2	Will vs. Will to cancel current or reduce speed next turn
Yoga Teleport	2 c	+3	No	*	Move Int + Focus

In the core rules, no attacks have higher than a +2 speed. Higher speeds are reserved for movement and defensive maneuvers, exclusively. The highest speed core moves are Jab, Cannon Drill, Air Throw, and Stunning Shout. Air Throw is limited by the requirement that the opponent also be aerial for it to work, and Stunning Shout deals no actual damage—it just causes some degree of stun that will, hopefully, cancel the opponent’s attack or give the opponent a penalty next round. Its usefulness in a one-on-one fight is limited if used to interrupt—it amounts to spending a Chi to stop an opponent’s attack. If the opponent has chosen a heavy-hitting move, this could be fairly useful. If the opponent is doing something simple, however, it’s best to take the hit and then use the Stunning Shout in the hopes of setting something up next round.

Now, let’s look at the maneuvers from Secrets of the Shadoloo, and the Storyteller’s Screen.

Name	Cost	Spd	Dmg	Mv	Effects
Punch
Elbow Smash (SotS)	-	+2	+2	One
Knife Hand Strike (scrn)	-	+1	-1	-1	Vs ½ Sta (round down)
Kick
Tiger Knee (SotS)	2 w	+3	+2	+0	KD, Air, Dodge
Forward Backflip Kick (Storyteller’s Screen)	w	+2	+1 x2	two	vs Air, KDA
Athletics
Backflip	w	+3	No	+2	Straight, Away, cannot be hit

Secrets of the Shadoloo introduces Tiger Knee as the fastest attack in the game. In the right combo (especially a Block combo), it can beat most fighters’ Block speeds. It makes for a good “backup plan” type maneuver. In a Block combo, it could be aborted to and used to do some serious damage and cause knock down. Elbow Smash is also a powerful addition—with its Speed and Damage, it is like a cheap Cannon Drill in some ways. The extra movement of Cannon Drill would often not be worth the Willpower cost, since unlike the video game, the maneuver doesn’t cause knock down in the RPG. Elbow Smash is also great just about anywhere in a combo.  

Diving Attacks in Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game

Diving Attacks in Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game

This is a short comparative analysis of diving attacks, such as the Flying Body Spear, Diving Hawk, etc., in Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game. This comparison begins with only to the special maneuver listed in the core book, in their original forms.

Here they are in summary format:

Name	Cost	Spd	Dmg	Mv	Effects
Athletics
Air Smash	-	-1	+4	-1	Air, in-hex, straight
Beast Roll	W	+0	+3	-2/+2	Air, in-hex, away-hit-to-hit
Diving Hawk	W	+0	+5	+2	Air, in-hex
Flying Body Spear	W	+0	+3	+1	Air, straight
Flying Heel Stomp	W	+0	+1	+2	Air, Move-Hit-Move

The main rules are inconsistent here about straight line maneuvers—some of these are, others aren’t, and the only possible game balance issue that might be related is the difference between maneuvers that must be executed in the opponent’s hex. Even this is suspect, though, as most of these maneuvers have high enough movement that it shouldn’t matter. It is conceptually odd that T. Hawk can weave all over with Diving Hawk, not worrying about moving in straight lines at all while poor Dhalsim has to move in a straight line and hope you don’t step out of the way.

Flying Heel Stomp is a nice maneuver that makes it possible to hit your opponent but stay out of their reach. Beast Roll is weird, but could be useful in a group battle because it moves away at -2, hits anything there, then moves forward at +2, hitting anything there.

Added to this is the single new diving attack from Secrets of the Shadoloo.

Name	Cost	Spd	Dmg	Mv	Effects
Athletics
Flying Punch	W	-2	+2	+5	Dive, move 2 past then return to attack, vs. ½ Stamina (round down), -1 Honor

Overall, these special Athletics maneuvers rival Focus maneuvers for “weird effects.” They aren’t all easily summarized with a few “effects” descriptors, and they often include very specific instructions about how they move. Flying Punch continues this tradition. It has a fantastic movement, one of the highest in the game, offset by the fact that the fighter must move past the opponent and then return in order to execute the attack.