This character class has been culled from a back issue of Dragon(tm) Magazine and details a character classes for use in a 1st Edition AD&D game.

Sumotori

The two huge men stamped their feet one last time to bring the Shinto ceremony to a close. Suddenly, by some unspoken agreement, both sprang to their full heights. For such large men, the speed in which this maneuver was executed was astounding. They rushed one another, each from one side of the dohyo, meeting in the center of the ring. The collision pitted an overpowering force against an immovable object. A win could only be achieved by outmaneuvering or outwitting the opponent.

The smaller of the two sumotori reached around his opponent's waist until he gained a grip on the mawashi, the only clothing that the opponent wore. Arching his back, the smaller wrestler struggled to lift his opponent off the floor. His effort proved successful; the larger man fell to the mat heavily. It had been a long match-nearly 15 seconds in length. As the two huge men left the dohyo, they patted one another on the back and went to drink water in peaceful camaraderie.

Such is the scene of a sumo wrestling match, or shobu. This article presents the sumo wrestler as an AD&D game character for use in an Oriental Adventures game campaign. Before the character class itself is presented, a little background on sumo wrestling is called for.

In essence, sumo wrestling is a very simple sport. The contestants, called sumotori, may grab any part of an opponent's upper body or his mawashi (the stiff silk loincloth which is the sumotori's only clothing). The shobu is won if either opponent is forced out of the ring or touches any part of his body other than the soles of his feet to the ground. However, there are infinite subtletles involved in sumo wrestling. Each throw and hold is carefully defined and structured, with 48 of these classical throws documented.

The ring (dohyo) in which the shobu takes place is 15' wide and is covered by a roof. In ancient times, this roof was held aloft by pillars which surrounded the dohyo, but in modern Japan, the roof is suspended from the ceiling. This roof is intended to make the dohyo resemble a shrine (sumo wrestling's origins are built upon the Shinto religion). Spectators are seated in rush-matted boxes which are placed on all sides of the dohyo. These spectators usually keep teapots or bottles of sake close by, for many shobu take place during a tournament.

Most shobu are very brief, lasting less than 10 seconds in most cases, although some matches have been known to go on for as long as five minutes (these matches are usually stopped and restarted if they are not resolved within the first minute or two). Sumotori have no right of protest; the decision of the judges is final. The option remains, however, to redo a shobu if the outcome is too close to accurately determine the winner.

Certain restrictions apply in regard to victory conditions in a shobu; as in any competition, some actions are considered illegal. A few examples of legal and the illegal actions follow:
Forbidden actions: punching with a closed fist, hitting below the belt, bending back the fingers, clapping both ears at once, pulling hair, breaking bones, gouging eyes, and choking.
Legal actions: punching with the heel of the hand, butting, grabbing the upper body, tripping, slapping, straight-arming, pushing against the jaw, and grabbing the mawashi.

Each shobu has two contestants, one referee, and up to five judges. The smaller the tournament (basho), the fewer the number of judges used. Today, there are six large (15-day) tournaments, hut this number is certainly excessive for an Oriental Adventure's campaign world. Consequently, it is suggested that only two such basho take place each year. The first recorded shobu took place in the year 30 B.C. At that time, women were allowed to participate. Today, however, this is no longer the case.

Sumotori are almost always over 6' tall, and the very lightest weigh more than 200 lbs. (the wrestlers frequently weigh twice that much). The sumotori achieve this size by dedicating themselves to the sport at an early age. Their diet consists of stew made of cabbage, carrots, onions, and bean curd flavored with soy sauce and sugar. Fish is added for further enrichment. This wrestler's stew is called chanko-nabe. Sumotori eat twice a day and supplement each meal with vast quantities of rice. Apprentice sumotori cook for the elder wrestlers.

In the end, it is not physical superiority that alone produces a champion sumotori. Ultimately, it is the psychological awareness the wrestler possesses that determines his success or failure. It is this awareness which allows the sumotori to out-think his opponent by forcing him into a moment of relaxation.

Sumotori characters

The sumotori is a subclass of bushi (see Table 1) and thus attacks and makes saving throws on the fighter's tables. Sumotori use neither armor, shields, weapons, oil, nor poison; they fight only with their hands and bodies. Only lawful male humans may become sumotori, and few of them dare commit an evil act within the dohyo during a shobu, as this will risk the loss of the match. Sumotori must have the following minimum ability scores: strength 16, dexterity 12, constitution 14, and wisdom 13. Each sumotori starts with four proficiency slots. At 1st level, one slot must be for the shobu ceremony, and one must be for cooking. (The shubo ceremony requires one slot and has a base chance of success of 13; without this proficiency, a sumotori cannot take part in any shobu.) A new slot is gained every four levels that the sumotori acquires. The number of proficiencies may seem a bit low, but as sumotori progress, they automatically develop a style of martial arts that is gained without expenditure of additional proficiency slots. Sumotori avoid using magical items in the dohyo, as the use of such items is strictly forbidden in actual competition. No henchmen or hirelings may be gained by a sumotori, and no bonus is given to earned experience for high ability scores.

Sumotori gain experience from the shobu in which they take part. A sumotori who wins a shobu gains experience points in the amount of 10 times the hit points of his opponent; if he loses, the experience points merely equal the opponent's hit-point total. Player-character sumotori may gain experience in the usual way, but - given their restrictions - this is certain to be difficult. Sumotori might be given permission to use magical rings or bracers that benefit armor class and saving throws, but they still cannot use weapons, armors, etc., which limits the nature of their prospective quests.

To a sumotori, wrestling is everything. He must remain totally dedicated to his pursuit if he is to become a grand champion (yokozuna). For this reason, it is suggested that sumo wrestlers be only NPCs. If a player fervently wishes to play a sumo wrestler, however, the DM should consider the request. In this case, the DM should impose training requirements upon the character similar to the training requirements imposed on a kensai (see Oriental Adventures, page 17).

Sumotori must train both physically and spiritually. Physically, the sumotori works hard to build his body. For this reason, most successful sumotori come from the high mountains or train in the mountains, for life there promotes physical health. Sumotori build their hip muscles by wading through deep snow, and they pound their arms against wooden poles (teppo) to harden their skin. Spiritually, the Shinto religion governs sumo wrestling. As a result, much emphasis is placed on ritual and moral standards. Generally speaking, sumotori do not have elaborate philosophical beliefs, but rather believe that the gods (kami) inhabit all things in nature.

Shobu ceremony

As determined by tradition, a sumotori must go through a certain ceremony before each shobu. This ceremony is Shinto based and is required of all sumotori. If this proficiency is not taken for some reason, the sumotori may not participate in any shobu. The shobu ceremony requires one slot for acquisition and has a base chance of success of 13.

The following steps must be carefully observed by a sumotori, for failure to successfully complete the ceremony may bring shame to the sumotori in question. Before entering the dohyo, the sumotori must wash his mouth out with water and throw salt into the dohyo. These actions purify the sumotori and the dohyo, respectively. He then enters the dohyo, squats, and claps his hands together soundly. This calls the attention of the gods to the sumotori. The sumotori must then extend his arms slowly toward his opponent and rotate his palms so as to show the opponent that no weapons are being carried. He then stamps the ground to drive away any evil spirits which thought to affect the outcome of the shobu. After this, the sumotori then tries to psyche out his opponent. He will sometimes glower with open belligerence while at other times he may not so much as honor his opponent with a glance. The sumotori then move about while slapping at his body, preparing for the conflict.

Special bonuses and abilities

Sumotori, like other Oriental Adventures characters, have many special abilities. Several of them relate to the training which they receive, while others are dependent upon their innate energy, called ki. Sumotori receive a +3 bonus to their psychic-duel rolls because of the technique of mental domination that they develop as a part of their training for the shobu. Sumotori train to be strong and tough. As a result, when rolling the 12-sided die to determine their hit points, the result should never be less than twice their constitution bonus for hit points. As an example, a sumotori NPC has just been created at 1st level. The DM determined that his constitution should be 17, so the DM rolls a 12-sided die to determine the hit points of the sumotori. The result is a 4, but because two times the constitution bonus of 17 is six (2 X 3 = 6), the sumotori can have no less than 6 hp and is awarded that many. As the sumotori advances, he is taught all of the aspects of the sumo technique of martial arts. He also receives bonuses to his armor class and initiative. Table 2 shows the statistics on this new technique. Likewise, Table 3 lists the sumotori's special abilities by level.

Sumotori also gain the benefit of two special ki powers. Beginning at 1st level, the sumotori is less affected by blunt weaponry. At this level, a successful save vs. petrification results in only one-half damage being sustained. At 9th level, this ability increases in benefit. A successful save means that no damage is taken, and only one-half damage is sustained without the save. The ability affects only the base damage of the weapon; magical and strength bonuses are not affected. For example, a 10th-level sumotori is hit by a person wielding a tetsubo +2. This tetsubo normally causes 1d8 + 2 hp damage. But the sumotori successfully makes his save vs. petrification; this save only affects the 1d8 hp base damage, not the magical bonus, so the sumotori still sustains 2 hp damage.

The other ki ability is gained at 2nd level and may be used only once per day. It allows the sumotori to increase his strength through force of will. The bonus may be determined by using the following formula: Add the number of rounds that the bonus is in effect to the number of points by which the sumotori's strength increases; this value must equal the level of the sumotori. For strengths that will exceed 18, the strength categories of 18/01-18/50, 18/51-18/75, 18/76-18/90, 18/91-18/99, and 18/00 each count as one point of strength. It is possible to gain a 19 strength at best, but this counts as a two-level increase beyond an 18/00 strength; if only one level beyond 18/00 is taken, 18/00 is the strength gained. For example, a 5th-level sumotori with a strength of 18/54 has just begun a shobu and wishes to increase his strength to better his chance at victory. He wants the increase for only one round, so he may add up to four levels of strength points. Four levels is but one level past 18/00, so he receives an 18/00 strength. Had he been 6th level, he could have received a 19 strength for that one round.

Honor is as important to the sumotori as it is to any other Oriental Adventures character. It is particularly important to the sumotori, because his success in his profession is greatly determined by his mode of conduct. Table 4 gives the sumotori's honor points and awards.

Class divisions

There are three divisions of sumotori considered for purposes of the character class. These three - ozeki, maku-uchi, and yokozuna - all have certain requirements that must be met if they are to be reached. A sumotori becomes an ozeki after winning a basho of any size, even if it is only a local one with four participants. The sumotori becomes a maku-uchi once he has consistently proven himself to be a proficient wrestler (victories in 10 or more smaller basho is a good figure for this). Once this division is reached, the sumotori is allowed to tie up his hair in the familiar top-knot style. His hair is then not cut until he is ready to retire (when retirement does finally take place, usually before age 30, a ceremony called danpatsu-shiki takes place, and a lock of the sumotori's hair is cut off). Finally, a sumotori may reach the yokozuna division. This is a spot very few attain, for one must win a grand championship in order to gain it. (It has already been mentioned that perhaps only two basho of such size take place each year.) Winning against such quality competition is truly worthy of note. There is an unwritten code which all yokozuna must follow, however: Each is expected to voluntarily retire after losing eight consecutive shobu.

The shobu

The existence of the shobu has been taken for granted so far in this article. What follows are guidelines for recreating the shobu in AD&D game terms. The shobu begins by having each of the two opponents make a shobu ceremony proficiency roll. Failure here means a possible loss of honor, but it also means the sumotori in question does not receive his + 3 bonus to psychic dueling.

Next is the psychic duel, the stage during the shobu when each sumotori tries to intimidate his opponent. The result of the duel gives a bonus to the victor in the actual shobu. A sumotori's skill for purposes of a shobu is determined by the sumo martial-arts forms he knows, his strength, and the result of the psychic duel. Appropriate numbers of these results are totaled for each sumotori to create a Sumo Number; use the following figures:

The Sumo Number is then gauged for each sumotori against a 1d20 roll, which signals the start of the actual wrestling. Each sumotori must roll less than or equal to his Sumo Number to avoid losing the shobu; if both roll over their respective numbers, they fail to make effective contact for 1d6 seconds, and the shobu continues. To win the shobu, a sumotori either must pass his Sumo Number check while his opponent fails his, or - if both sumotori make their checks - must roll a number higher than that rolled by his opponent. The length of time taken by each 1d20 roll is determined by multiplying the difference of the rolls by two, which gives the number of seconds that the shobu lasts. It is possible that both sumotori will pass their Sumo Number checks, but that they will have a tie roll; in this case, the wrestler with the higher Sumo Number wins (the shobu in this case lasts for 20 + 1d20 seconds). If the sumotori fighting have both a tie roll and the same Sumo Number, the match lasts for 50 seconds plus whatever time is determined in further rolls, which continue until one minute has passed or until there is no tie. If the length of shobu exceeds one minute, it is restarted and any rolls that had determined a winner are ignored. New proficiency and psychic duel rolls must be made in this case.

For example, Shiro and Kanka are two sumotori who are facing one another. Shiro is 3rd level and has a strength of 15; Kanka is 6th level and has a strength of 18/30. Both are sure that the shobu will not last for more than one minute, so they each expend their daily ki in order to increase their strengths. Their Sumo Number totals are as follows:

Shiro: 2 (Iron Fist) + 2 (Locking Block) + 4 (strength of 15, increased to 17 through ki) = 8 Kanka: 2 (Iron Fist) + 2 (Locking Block) + 3 (Immovability) + 2 (Hurl) + 6 (strength of 18/30, increased to 19 through ki) = 14.

Each sumotori rolls his shobu proficiency. Only Shiro is successful; Kanka obviously forgot to wash his mouth out with water. This means that Kanka does not receive his +3 bonus to his psychic duel roll. Next is the psychic duel. Shiro makes motions toward his mouth, to remind Kanka of his blunder, while Kanka merely tries to impress upon Shiro that Shiro is the less experienced of the pair. Kanka, however, loses the psychic duel, so Shiro gains an extra + 2 to his skill number, making it 10.

Suddenly, it is time to wrestle. The two gargantuans spring at each other, and the players roll their respective 1d20s. Both sumotori roll 19s. Because both rolled over their Sumo Numbers, the match lasts (a 1d20 is rolled) 11 seconds, and another set of rolls is made. This time, Kanka rolls a 13 and Shiro rolls a 1. The difference between these two numbers is 12, which means that an additional 24 seconds pass. Kanka wins the match. Had he and Shiro had identical Sumo Numbers, and had they tied on the second roll, the shobu would have gone over 60 seconds (11+50 = 61 seconds minimum), and the referee would have stepped in to restart the match. New rolls for shobu proficiency and psychic dueling would then be made. If Kanka fails his proficiency roll again, he loses one point of honor. Also, neither sumotori gains as great a bonus for strength now because each has expended his ki reserves. It is important to note that in large basho, a sumotori may fight more than one shobu each day, so ki cannot be used to increase strength each time!