Head Butt

Hard

Defaults: Brawling-1 or Karate-1.†
Prerequisite: Brawling or Karate; cannot exceed prerequi-
site skill.†
This is a close-combat strike using the forehead. Natural
targets are the face (-5) and skull (-7) of a standing adversary,
but you can attack anything! However, while the skull is hard,
it has poor reach and leverage for striking.
Roll against Head Butt to hit. Damage is thrust-1 crush-
ing. Your victim may defend normally; if he parries, any dam-
age this causes affects your face. Self-inflicted injury for a tar-
get with DR 3+ applies to the skull; however, your skull’s DR
2 protects normally. If you have rigid head protection – e.g., a
metal helm – add +1 to damage and apply your armor’s DR
against self-inflicted injury.
† Head Butt requires practice to be effective; fighters with-
out Brawling or Karate strike at DX-2 and do only thrust-2
damage. This move is sometimes used while grappling and
(illegally) in boxing matches, but it doesn’t benefit from
Boxing, Judo, Sumo Wrestling, or Wrestling. Races with
Strikers (p. B88) on their head don’t need Head Butt – they
attack at full skill and do superior damage.