Martial Sword Skill for the World of Darkness

By Landon C. Darkwood ([email protected]), 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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