Wrestlers and Rikishi

Three things are true:

  1. Last March, I watched the NHK-World English broadcast of the Osaka Grand Sumo and became obsessed. Two giants trying to move each other! Five-second matches are common. Although it often comes down to a charge, trickery and skill win as often as size.
  2. I’ve been playing Midnight Suns, a surprisingly deep tactical game featuring spooky Marvel B-listers. Pushing, pulling, and teleporting characters around and into the battlefield’s various traps, AoEs, and objectives is key.
  3. I’ve been playing Shadowdark, which features 3d6 down-the-line character creation. In those games, we had some characters with very good Constitution but terrible Strength and bad Dexterity – bad Warrior material.

This makes me want to write up a Constitution-forward, space-control/tank class: a Wrestler! I’ve often seen people reach for this fantasy niche at tables, with varying success depending on the system — often little.

So, let’s explore what a Wrestler class might look like in a few different games.

What Makes a Wrestler?

So, what games are we talking about?

For today, let’s start with 5e, Shadowdark, and more traditional OSR games (with an eye on LotFP), discussing the broad strokes of how we might design a class for each system. Stick around till the end; I’ve included two Troika classes! For 5e, we’ll discuss this as a Monk subclass. For the other games, we’ll be talking about them as regular classes.

Things we’ll need:

Big HD Energy, maybe with a side of Unarmoured Defense
Unarmed Strikes, Grappling, and Throws
Charges

Things I’ll need:

Slapdowns/Henka

Other Thoughts:

Attacks of Opportunity
Cultural Significance

HD and AC

HD? Big. Huge.

5e – Can a subclass change a class’s Hit Dice? WHO AMONG YOU WILL STOP ME?? Buffing the Monk to a d10 (or even a d12) could send a huge message about how this subclass changes the class’s utility.

Shadowdark – Fighter or bigger. d8 or d10.

OSR – Dwarf-sized. A d10 for most games.

In games that define armour options by class, Wrestlers should have an unarmoured defense option. 10 + Con + Dex and bar them from armour and shields; that should give them an AC that’s livable but still tempting for monsters. For 5e, allow the Wrestler to substitute Constitution for either Dexterity or Wisdom in their Monk unarmoured Defense.

LotFP classes don’t generally have armour restrictions, so I wouldn’t impose one on the Wrestler. The idea of a massive Wrestler in full plate has a very Lamentations vibe. That being said, simply allowing a character to use their Constitution as AC could work very well for a game like that.

Unarmed Strikes, Grappling, and Throws

Are a Wrestler’s fists lethal weapons? Maybe, but that’s not the main attraction. For 5e, normal Monk progression should be fine. I might even be tempted to count them as a die lower than a regular monk of their level. For Shadowdark and LotFP, a d4 seems sufficient. After all, damage isn’t the point.

Then there’s grappling.

In Shadowdark, I’d represent this with Advantage on Grappling checks. This is in line with abilities like Grit or Thievery.

5e should offer Expertise in the Athletics skill. It never sat right with me that Bards make better wrestlers than Barbarians (although it’s fun for wrestlers based on the American and Mexican traditions).

In OSR games, add the Wrestler’s level to Grappling rolls. Their advantage in grappling should rival a fighter’s ability to land a blow.

And finally, Throws!

The ability to move a character about 10 to 15 feet is essential. Let Wrestlers move their opponents, dealing unarmed damage and flinging folk around. For 5e, call it a Ki-point-fuelled Bonus Action. In Shadowdark and Lamentations, trigger a 10ft throw whenever the Rikishi rolls max damage on their unarmed d4.

Tachi-Ai

For 5e, LotFP, and Shadowdark alike, a good designer respects the Sumo charge! Rikishi who land charges on opponents (smaller or same size) should push them back 10ft (Strength save/Save vs Breath for half). Easy!

Slap Down

I’m a newcomer to Sumo, but so far, my favourite technique is Hatakikomi: the Slap Down. In a contest mostly about moving forward, the Slap Down does the opposite; the Sumo leaps backwards and to the side, slamming his hands down on his opponent’s back, hoping to knock him to the floor.

It looks pretty damn cool when it works.

Anyway, if I’m playing a Wrestler, I’m going to need there to be slapdowns.

Sumo Note: Hatakikomi is similar to Henka, a cheeky evasive gambit that tends to end matches as they begin. In sumo culture, this is considered a dick move.

In Lamentations, charges deal double damage. Given the generally low HP, these early blows can decide a fight. Spears and their cousins can be set to receive a charge; I learned early in our LotFP campaign to make sure at least the front line of any 1HD mob was carrying spears.

Wrestlers (as least ones loosely based on Rikishi) should be able to receive charges as if they wielded spears, with the following differences:

  1. The strike is unarmed (d4). It does not deal double damage, as a spear would.
  2. The Wrestler and the Charger move a further 5ft in the direction of the charge.
  3. If the Wrestler hits, the Charger is knocked prone. If the Wrestler misses, the Charger attacks. If the Charger hits, the Wrestler is knocked prone.
  4. Attacks on prone characters are the same as attacks from behind (no dex or shield bonus to AC, +2 for the attacker)

For 5e, give Wrestlers a reaction whenever someone closes into melee. Similar idea: they attack, dealing a little damage and knocking prone, at the risk of falling themselves. The element of risk should avoid the need to attach a ki point cost.

Attacks of Opportunity

Neither Shadowdark nor LotFP has Attacks of Opportunity. Honestly, this is a big selling point for me; allowing characters to run without giving monsters bonus attacks encourages players to flee and GMs to employ truly dangerous monsters. That being said, giving a similar ability to the Wrestler could help give it more control of space. In Sumo, shoving someone from behind is called Okuridashi; I think some sort of ability here to punish retreaters could be interesting. A d4+knockdown threat endangers enemy mobility nicely. However, the lack of a reaction mechanic makes me pause on the implementation.

For Shadowdark, I think I’ll have fleeing foes make a DEX check (DC = the Wrestler’s DEX or CON?) or be knocked prone.

Wider Cultural Stuff

A truly fleshed-out Wrestler class should pay homage to professional wrestlers’ larger-than-life presence. Sumo has a deep religious significance; it wasn’t until the 1600s that it began to shift from a temple ritual to a spectator sport. Rikishi can be seen ritually spreading salt before matches, performing the ‘three chops’ to honour the gods of creation while receiving prize money, and ladelling sacred water to help their stablemates maintain ritual purity. Offering select cleric spells (sanctuary, protection from evil, cure, restoration, etc) at every third or fourth level could give the class an interesting twist.

On the other side of the world, a little closer to my home, American and Mexican wrestlers are as indebted to their Charisma as they are to their Constitution. A 5e subclass might consider giving the Bard’s Cutting Words ability to the Wrestler. Shadowdark could consider allowing access to some bard-style Charisma spells as a rare Wrestler talent. We could also consider swapping some pushing/charging abilities with something pin-based to reflect the difference in style.

Although all fantasy starts in real-world roots, this seems like a great opportunity for you, as a DM, to world-build. Do Dwarven Wrestlers cast Protection From Evil before matches? Do Halfling Wrestlers brag and swagger their way through the world, equal parts grappler and actor? Adding one or two spell-like abilities to a class’s abilities can tie it into a magical world in a way nothing else will.

Troika

Troika, on the other hand, is a bit simpler. Here are two finished classes.

WRESTLER (RIKISHI)

450lbs of explosively fast I’m-Going-That-Way.

Possessions

Mawashi
Hair Gel
Salt
Ladle

Skills

3 Wrestling
3 Strength
2 Gastronomy
2 Fame
1 Etiquette

Special: If a creature grappled by you draws their Initiative token, they Test Skill (or Luck) or else take damage as a Maul.

WRESTLER (WRASSLER)

Weighing in at 6″7 and 295lbs, this wild warrior is ready to defend their title ANYTIME, ANYWHERE.

Possessions

Choice of Mask (+1 Mystery) or Belt (+1 Fame)
Towel

Skills

3 Strength
3 Wrestling
2 Acrobatics
2 Perform
1 Fame

Special: Successfully Test Perform to goad the enemies into attacking you on their next d6 initiative tokens. Test Acrobatics to swap places with a willing adjacent creature whenever such a creature is attacked.

Which Way?

Thanks for sticking with me till the end. Forgive us these sketches! I hope this gives you an idea of how we consider the systems we build for when we make our content. Hopefully, we’ll put out a polished version of this idea for a class sometime soon. We’ve been talking for a long time about making some more player-facing content; let us know if there’s any demand!

The only question left is, what system? Does one of these work better than the others? Do you only play one of these games? Should we just put out a single class for three or four systems in a bundle? Let us know!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.