From: Abe Dashiell <adashiel@copper.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: BJZ: (Potpourri) Martial Swords skill by Landon C. Darkwood
To: adashiel_potpourri@majordomo.ucs.indiana.edu,
        adashiel_bjzwod@majordomo.ucs.indiana.edu
Date: Fri, 8 May 1998 14:15:38 -0400
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                Martial Sword Skill for the World of Darkness

By Landon C. Darkwood (darkwood@bellsouth.net), inspired by Kindred of the
East

Martial Swords Skill

     Martial Swords is a Skill that replaces Melee, much as the Martial Arts
     Skill replaces Brawl. It exists as a separate skill unto itself because
     of the emphasis in Japanese culture placed on arts that concentrate on
     wielding the sword alone (examples of which include Batto-Jutsu and
     Iaijutsu, offshoot of the all-encompassing Kenjutsu). It is the
     representation of a lifelong study and discipline. Like the Martial
     Arts skill, it costs 2 Ability Points per dot to purchase during
     character creation, 3 Freebie Points, and 150% normal Experience cost
     to raise.

      *     Novice: Beginner
      **    Practiced: Student
      ***   Competent: Swordsman
      ****  Expert: Ranking Dan
      ***** Master: Miyamoto Musashi, one would hope...

Basic Maneuvers

     The following maneuvers are extrapolated and in some cases modified
     from the Klaive Dueling rules in the Werewolf Player's Guide. The
     Martial Arts Skill differentiates between 'hard' and 'soft' styles of
     combat, but there is no such basic division with Martial Swords.
     Instead, the divisions between styles are seen in the special maneuvers
     available.

     For these purposes, the basic maneuvers are as follows (all rolls Dex +
     Martial Swords unless stated otherwise):

     Strike: Weapon Difficulty

     Parry: Diff. 6

     Great Blow: Weap. Diff. +2, Damage x2, cannot be parried, +2 to all
     Parry difficulties next round, must spend an action recovering, even if
     attack fails. Disarm: opposed Dex + MS (or Melee) rolls, three
     successes over opponent required to disarm.

Special Maneuvers

     The special maneuvers for Martial Swords can be taken at one per dot
     after the first.

     Draw-Strike: Practitioners of Iaijutsu place a great emphasis on
     slaying an opponent with one sword stroke immediately after unsheathing
     it, then returning it to its scabbard. It was designed as a method of
     countering surprise attacks. When the swordsman declares a draw-strike,
     roll his Wits + Martial Swords against the opponent's Wits + Alertness,
     both Difficulty 4 (in essence, a modified Initiative roll). If the
     swordsman rolls more successes, the margin of victory is added to an
     immediately rolled attack, representing the surprise that the swordsman
     gains from using the draw-strike, and makes such attacks more
     difficult, but not impossible, to parry. Losing the opposed roll allows
     the opponent to act first and subtracts the margin of loss from the
     swordsman's Parry dice pool, reflecting the need to recover, draw, and
     ready the sword to parry from a badly timed attack.

     Example: Katsuo declares a draw-strike on Hama. He rolls his Wits +
     Martial Swords and gains three successes. On the opposed roll, Hama
     comes up with four successes. Katsuo mistimes his draw, giving himself
     away to Hama, who flies in with an attack of his own. Katsuo, should he
     fumble to parry, would do so at a one-dice penalty.

     Target Blow: Extremely precise strikes at sensitive areas of the body
     is a hallmark of martial swordsmanship. Roll Perception + Martial
     Swords at a difficulty of the opponent's Dexterity + Dodge. The number
     of successes on the attack after dodge or parry add to the number of
     damage dice delivered by the sword.

     Draw-Parry: Like the draw-strike, the draw-parry counters a sudden
     attack from nowhere with a near-simultaneous unsheathe and deflecting
     motion. Roll the modified opposed Initiative above, as for draw-strike.
     If the swordsman wins, the successes are added to his Parry dice pool.
     If he loses, the successes left are added to the attacker's attack dice
     pool, who capitalizes on the swordsman's awkward position.

     Counterstrike: The swordsman uses the attacker's own strength and
     momentum against him, combining defense and attack into one maneuver.
     Roll Dexterity + Martial Swords against the opponent's Dexterity +
     Melee or Martial Swords. If the swordsman scores three more successes
     than his opponent, he deflects the incoming attack and also inflicts
     damage equal to the weapon modifier in dice to his opponent (i.e., if a
     katana does Str+5 damage, he would roll five dice damage).

     Deflecting Parry: The swordsman not only seeks to keep his opponent
     from causing harm, but he also seeks to jar his opponent's weapon and
     put him off balance. Roll a standard Parry. If the swordsman rolls more
     successes than the opponent, the margin of victory subtracts from the
     opponent's Initiative dice pool next turn, due to the moments he must
     spend bringing his weapon back to bear.

     Feint: Roll Manipulation + MS at the weapon's difficulty +3. This
     fake-out attack cannot be parried, only dodged.

     Riposte: A counterattack only usable after a successful Parry. Roll
     Strength + MS at the weapon's difficulty +1. This maneuver's advantage
     is that if an opponent has any dice or actions left in a turn, he can
     declare a Riposte at any time after Parrying.

     Blade Grapple: The swordsman attempts to trap an opponent's blade and
     keep him from using it. Treat this as a Grapple maneuver, replacing the
     attack roll with Dex + MS at Weapon Difficulty. The winner of the
     Strength contest can immobilize the other's sword, preventing him from
     any action with it. Of course, this does occupy your own blade as well,
     but it's a great move if you're in a pinch.


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