Choke Hold

Hard

Defaults: Judo-2, Wrestling-3, or appropriate weapon
skill-3.
Prerequisite: Judo, Wrestling, or appropriate weapon
skill; cannot exceed prerequisite skill.
This close-combat attack involves locking the target’s
neck and applying pressure. It requires two hands. Roll
against Choke Hold to hit. If you come from in front of your
victim, you’re at -1.
Your victim may try any legal defense. If he
fails, you apply the hold, which counts as a grap-
ple. If you struck from behind, he can only
defend if he knew you were coming (see
p. B391). Otherwise, all he can do is attempt to
tuck his chin to counter your hold. This is a
parry at -2 with a grappling skill. He can’t
retreat. If he succeeds, you grapple him but get
no hold; critical success means he completely
ducks your attack.
On your foe’s next turn and on subsequent
turns, he may try to break free. You’re at +5 in
the Quick Contest for using two hands. You con-
trol only his neck and head, not his arms and
legs. He can attack you at the usual -4 for being
grappled. If you came from behind, he may only
try the strikes detailed under Pain and Breaking
Free (p. 119) or attempt to grapple your arm,
which allows the usual follow-up techniques on
later turns.
On your next turn – and on each turn thereafter, until your
prey breaks free – you may apply pressure to your victim’s
carotid arteries to subdue him or to his trachea to choke him.
This counts as an attack. Roll the Quick Contest described in
Choke or Strangle (p. B370). Your hold gives you +3 ST. A
carotid (“blood”) choke inflicts fatigue damage. A tracheal
(“air”) choke delivers crushing damage.
You can apply this hold using a weapon. Default and pre-
requisite skills become a weapon skill. The lever gives a fur-
ther ST bonus to restrain or injure your victim: +1 if reach C,
+2 if longer. You can choke with the flat or the edge of a
sword; if using the edge, you may only choke for cutting dam-
age. You must grasp a sword with one hand on the handle,
one on the blade. Make a DX roll when you roll to inflict
injury. Failure does thrust cutting damage to your off hand
(DR protects normally).