Ear Clap

Average

Defaults: Boxing-3, Brawling-3, or Karate-3.
Prerequisite: Boxing, Brawling, or Karate; cannot exceed
prerequisite skill-1.
This is an attack on your foe’s ear using a cupped or open
hand. The goal is to pop his eardrum, stunning and deafen-
ing him. You must be in close combat and have at least one
free, empty hand.
Roll against Ear Clap to hit. Your opponent may use any
active defense. If the attack succeeds, it does thrust-3 crush-
ing damage plus skill bonuses. In addition, roll a Quick
Contest: Ear Clap vs. the victim’s HT. If you win, your target
is physically stunned (p. B420); he’s also at -1 DX and deaf in
one ear (treat as Hard of Hearing) for 1d seconds. On a crit-
ical failure on the HT roll or critical success on Ear Clap, the
victim must roll as if for a crippling injury to see how long
he’s partially deaf; see p. B422. Permanent harm is possible!
Ear Clap works best if you box both ears simultaneously.
To do a double Ear Clap, you must have two free, empty
hands and use All-Out Attack (Double) or another form of
multiple attacks. Dual-Weapon Attack with the appropriate
unarmed combat skill is one option; add the penalties for
that technique to Ear Clap to determine effective skill. If only
one hand hits, resolve it as above. If both hit, roll one Quick
Contest. If you win, your victim is deaf in both ears (treat as
Deafness) for 2d seconds. Once again, a critical failure on HT
or critical success on Ear Clap indicates a crippling injury
that could become permanent.