TEXT: Zen and the Art of Mayhem
  Light Hearted 
  Combat Rules
  Some less serious more lighthearted or whacky games 
  donʼt need complicated gritty combat rules, which will only 
  take away from the fun. Combat is meant to be fun and fast with 
  characters smacking each other around without risk of serious 
  damage or death. Often these interactions are between the 
  characters where they are not really trying to hurt the other, well 
  not permanently at least. 
  Damage
  Damage is handled a little differently with light hearted 
  combat rules. Instead of wounds that slow down and affect the 
  character, they are more short term annoyances. Damage is less 
  permanent and the character will be able to brush off attacks 
  much easier then a more gritty combat. Treat all damage as 
  stun, basically doubling to see if the character loses an action 
  or is knocked out, but when applying damage to hit points it is 
  halved.
  Damage Effects
  Damage should have effects on the character, not 
  cuts and bleeding, but more like scorch marks, messed up hair, 
  and lumps. If characters are hit and loses an action they show 
  outward signs, eyes all swirls, or large lumps on their head, little 
  animated birds above their heads, etc…  
  Swords and knives do not cut fl esh, they are used to 
  cut clothing, or ropes, or objects around the opponent. When a 
  sword hits, clothing will often show signs of damage, but the 
  fl esh will remain mostly unharmed, maybe a small cut will be 
  present. Weapons are much more effective when used for fl ashy 
  moves. 
  Guns hardly ever hit people, but fi ring a barrage of 
  bullets can have the same effect as hitting someone, causing 
  the person to lose their action. Typically the fi rst shot will graze 
  a living target instead of imbedding itself into said target, the 
  damage is the same. Or the shot can be used to knock a weapon 
  or object out of some ones hands, cut a rope, etc…
  Knockback
  Knockback is much greater in light hearted combat. 
  If the damage in hit points is greater then twice the characters 
  DAN, they have a chance of taking knockback. The character 
  will have to make a coordination check, if the roll fails a 
  character is knocked back 1 meter for every 5 points of damage. 
  If the damage taken is more than four times the characters DAN 
  then they most make a 1/2 coordination check, if they fail they 
  are knocked back 1 meter for every 2 point of damage. If the 
  damage is more then a characters hit points they are knocked 
  back with no coordination check, 1 meter for every 1 points of 
  damage.
  Healing
  Wounds are never that permanent in light hearted 
  games, once combat is over the character will often be 
  bandaged up covering the wounds caused by the fi ght. Typically 
  while bandaged the character will get back 1/2 their DAN an 
  hour in hit points, but will receive a -4 to all physical actions 
  while bandaged up. If the character needs to, they can shed all 
  the bandages, and will no longer receive any negatives, but 
  will not be gaining hit points back either. During the night a 
  character is able to heal up 5x DAN. 
  Free Hits
  If a character loses an action they are set up for a free 
  hit. Basically they will automatically fail their defense roll. Take 
  the characters natural defense with no modifi ers or dice rolls. 
  If for some reason other then a fumble the opponent fails to hit 
  then the damage will only be the damage roll, no other bonuses.
  Special Attack Types
  Light hearted combat has its own set of special moves 
  and attacks, these are attacks that can be used in different 
  situations. Not all special attacks are appropriate for all 
  situations and should not be used every single action. How 
  much and how often will depend on the game type and the 
  attitudes of the players and Architect.  
  All Knockback: This attack is not meant to actually harm the 
  opponent, but to send them fl ying. The attack is done normally 
  however the damage is doubled and is applied all to knockback, 
  sending the opponent 1 meter away for every 1 point of damage. 
  Typically the character will travel away in a gentle arc, passing 
  right through any obstacle in their path, leaving a nice hole in 
  a wall or ceiling, getting leaves and branches caught on them 
  as they travel through the tree line, etc… In some situations 
  the character will not be able to pass thorough an obstacle and 
  instead hit it, leave a small impact creator, and then slide down. 
  Being Stopped By Words: A harsh statement, a pun, pointing 
  out ones fl aws, etc… All these actions can cause a opponent 
  or character to be spotted dead in their tracks losing an action. 
  They typically only work once and are a great way to defend 
  against an attack. 
  Dramatic Pose: A character can take a dramatic pose thus 
  causing a spotlight on their character or group. This gives a 
  bonus in dramatic situation. Like entrances, the character poses 
  when they bust open the door, there is a chance everyone in the 
  room will pause what they are doing and stop and look. Or the 
  character can do a combat pose or set of moves before they start 
  a battle which can intimidate or give pause to an opponent. 
  
  Zen and the Art of Mayhem
  Flashy Moves: Instead of actually hitting an opponent a 
  character can perform a fl ashy move that will leave a opponent 
  in shock and awe, thus losing an action. The attack is usually 
  some type of fancy move with a weapon or skill often doing 
  damage to an object near the opponent. Roll attack as normal, 
  if the defender wins then the move wasnʼt that impressive. 
  However if the attacker wins, treat as x4 damage, no damage is 
  actually taken by the opponent, instead it is all to losing actions. 
  Flashy moves can be used against more then one opponent at 
  once, everyone viewing could be affected, great way to stop 
  a charge of minions. Even allies have a chance to be effected 
  depending on the type of fl ashy move, if they have seen it 
  before, and how successful it was.   
  Mass Hammers: A special weapon people can pull out and use 
  on anyone who gets too silly. If a character announces he is 
  using a mass hammer, the Architect will have to decide what 
  tonnage it will be. The tonnage will go up due to how silly the 
  person they want to hit has become, usually they are between 
  50 and 1000. The Mass Hammer doesnʼt automatically hit, but 
  treated it as if the character has a 10 skill and rolls with their 
  coordination. The damage is losing actions for as long as the 
  Architect thinks is appropriate. The average is 1 action per 100 
  tons.
  Now Iʼm Really Angry: With this action you get +2 to all 
  physical stats for 1d10 turns. To activate Now Iʼm Really 
  Angry, something has to happen that gets the character furious, 
  It could be a comrade going down in battle. Losing a battle 
  where your life hangs in the balance. When you recover from a 
  heavy blow that almost caused you to lose, etc... The Architect 
  has to approve whether or not you are angry enough or not to 
  activate this ability.
  You Deserve That: When a character says something down right 
  mean, gets too cocky, etc.. they can get hit automatically by the 
  person they insulted, and will lose 1d6 actions, or as long as the 
  Architect feels they deserves it.
  SD Mode
  SD stands for Super Deformed, it is when the character 
  appears to be much smaller, typically the size of a child, with a 
  squat body and normal sized head. What causes SD mode is up 
  to the players and Architect. 
  Typically SD mode is caused by a reaction to 
  something else happening in the game. It could be the result 
  of a comment, the character goes SD and make an additional 
  comment like it being false, or bragging, etc… Or it could be 
  the result of getting mad or angry at another, the SD character 
  can rant and rave, run around, etc... More then one character can 
  go into SD mode at a time, and others can be drawn into the SD 
  environment, even if it is only to yell at the SD characters. 
  Things that happen while the character is in SD mode 
  is happening outside the normal game. It is kind of like Vegas, 
  things that happen in SD mode stays in SD mode. It is kind 
  of like seeing what is going on in the characters head at the 
  moment. Any fi ghts or attacks done in SD donʼt do anything as 
  soon as the SD moment is over.  
  Moving Back and Forth from Light Hearted 
  ayhem
  Moving Back and Forth from Light Hearted 
  ayhem
  Combat to more Serious Combat
  Some games may want to approach each combat 
  situation differently. Sometimes being light hearted and silly, 
  other times much more serious and dangerous. Interactions 
  between PCs and sometimes friendly NPCs will be treated with 
  the light hearted combat rules. Or as the characters encounter 
  minions and other types of minor threats, the light hearted rules 
  will apply. 
  However when the character encounters a rival, villain, 
  or other major baddy the rules may revert back to the core rules, 
  or other alternate set. It is important for the Architect to let the 
  players know which combat rules they are using for a battle. If 
  the combat switches from one set of rules or another the players 
  should be fully aware. Like if the character just smacked his 
  friend and sent him sailing over the tree line, but a stranger 
  steps out of the shadows and draws a sword with a steely eyed 
  look at the character. At this time the Architect should inform 
  the players that this guy means business and that the light 
  hearted rules no longer apply.
  Eye for an Eye
  Typically the world should match how the characters 
  want to play. If they are having fun with the light hearted 
  combat rules and get in the spirit of it, then everything should 
  be fi ne. However if the characters abuse the light hearted rules 
  and want to snap the neck of an opponent every time they 
  knock someone out, then they taking a more gritty approach, 
  and the world should become more gritty to match them. If the 
  characters only resort to drastic measures every now and then, 
  and it make sense to the style of game they are in, then there is 
  nothing to worry about. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Zen & the Art of Mayhem System/Zen & the Art of Mayhem Light Hearted Combat Rules.pdf