Thunderstrike Swagger Style
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By Gayo

I never did get around to writing a fluff block for this but it's a stick-fighting style based around the principle of being a magnificent bastard, relying in equal measure on psychological tricks and incrementally beating people into submission with a stick.

Style Weapons: Thunderstrike Swagger Style uses unarmed attacks and the club and staff, as well as improvised weapons of similar size and shape, lashing out with sudden strikes and using the weapon as a lever to wrench muscles and snap bones. Practitioners train to fight with crowbars, and thus treat them as conventional style weapons rather than improvised weapons (use the traits of a club). The style also has elements of boxing, and fighters rely on jabs, headbutts, and knee strikes when unarmed.

Armor: Thunderstyle Swagger Style is compatible with light armor.

Complementary Abilities: (I never wrote up this bit, but Presence is the standout, followed by Athletics or Resistance.)


Lightning Flash Jab

Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-only, Terrestrial
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None

The fighter introduces himself with a lightning-fast blow that offers no reprieve from assault. Lightning Flash Jab is a damaging decisive attack with that has double 9s on the attack roll and adds two dice to the damage roll.

The speed of the attack defies response, and its target cannot reply with a Counterattack or Clash charm unless she pays two points of Initiative, which the martial artist gains. If she is crashed, she cannot reply at all. However, the jab trades power for speed and cannot inflict more than three levels of damage. Any excess damage successes are instead added to the fighter's Initiative after it resets. When used in combination with an effect that prevents Initiative from resetting, the excess successes are lost.

Terrestrial: A Dragon-Blood may double only a single 9 on the attack roll.


Refuge in Audacity

Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Mastery, Uniform
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None

In this woe-wracked age, no god or prince rides to rescue his believers. Yet a Thunderstrike Swagger stylist strides confidently through killing fields: even if there are no gods worth believing in, he believes in himself. Surging through adversity with a mad bravado, he ignores (Charisma/2, rounded up) points of penalties to his Parry. Against an enemy he rushed or attacked on his last turn, his Parry is also increased by +1. So long as he is actively engaged in combat, both benefits also apply to the fighter's Resolve.

Mastery: Successfully parrying an attack using this Charm cumulatively lowers its cost by one mote until the martial artist's next turn.


Thunderstrike Swagger Form

Cost: 6m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Form, Mastery
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Lightning Flash Jab, Refuge in Audacity

The martial artist presses his mortality from mind, stoking the fears of those unable to do the same. He stares down his enemies over raised fists, strutting with the easy authority of a drill sergeant. Rather than gaining an automatic point of Initiative from a successful withering attack, he rolls a single die of Hardness-ignoring bashing damage against his opponent. Foes hesitate in the face of his invincible confidence, subtracting up to 5 points of penalties due to wounds, crippling or fear from the post-soak damage of their withering attacks against him. This can reduce post-soak damage to a minimum of one die. Battle groups instead subtract (lower of Essence or 4) dice if they have Poor Drill or have suffered a demoralizing setback such as ambush or loss of Size.

Additionally, the fighter can wield improvised style weapons at no Initiative cost, and can grapple with style weapons, locking his stick around enemies' joints or neck. Performing a throw/slam with a style weapon merely knocks the target prone at close range, inflicting no damage.

Special activation rules: Whenever the fighter's attacks increase a close-range enemy's wound penalties, he may reflexively activate Thunderstrike Swagger Form.

Mastery: If an enemy's attack inflicts automatic levels of withering damage, these are reduced first, with any points left over subtracted from post-soak damage.


Prelude to Pain

Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Counterattack, Decisive-only, Mastery
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Thunderstrike Swagger Form

Leaning into an enemy's futile blows, the Thunderstrike Swagger stylist turns her momentum against her, seizing the advantage. He may use Prelude to Pain after successfully parrying a withering or decisive attack to counterattack with a gambit, adding one automatic success to the attack roll and converting up to (target's wound penalty) extra successes to bonus dice on the Initiative roll. In addition to standard gambits and any others deemed appropriate, he may apply the following techniques:

  • Knock Down (difficulty 1): The target is knocked prone. She must pay 1 Initiative, which the martial artist receives, if she wishes to rise on or before her next turn.
  • Dazing Strike (difficulty 2): The fighter lands a concussing blow upside the target's head. Until after her next turn, her wound penalties are increased by one and she does not embattle nearby foes.
  • Forceful Autograph (difficulty 4): Aiming a blow squarely at a prior wound, the martial artist injects a frisson of searing Essence. The Forceful Autograph converts up to two damaged -0 or -1 health levels to aggravated damage, starting from the top. Over the next hour these break out into spectacular bruises and bumps, which linger until the damage is fully healed. The gambit has no effect unless the target has at least one -0 or -1 health level filled with bashing or lethal damage.

Mastery: Regardless of the choice of gambit, succeeding on the Initiative roll with at least four successes always cancels any additional attacks the enemy could have made in the same tick using powers such as Iron Whirlwind Attack.


Grandiose Flourish

Cost: 1m, 1i; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Dual, Perilous, Mastery
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Thunderstrike Swagger Form

The martial artist grandstands with elaborate flourishes or affected nonchalance, flaunting his superiority. When he attacks a threatening foe he may voluntarily accept a penalty of up to -(his Charisma), which cannot be negated by any means. If the attack hits and scores at least one damage success, he is awarded Initiative equal to the penalty assumed, up to a maximum of the Defense value it was rolled against (or the size of the opponent's attack pool, in a clash). If the attack is decisive and resets his Initiative, the bonus Initiative is awarded after the reset.

Mastery: In a clash, the Initiative gained is stripped from the victim.


Bell-Ringer's Reproof

Cost: 3m, 1wp (+3a); Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Decisive-only, Mastery
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Grandiose Flourish

The peal of bells calls worshipers to kneel. The martial artist ricochets from one foe to another in a clamor of stinging blows, like a bell-ringer putting clapper to bronze. After succeeding at a gambit or dealing damage with a decisive attack, he may use the Bell-Ringer's Reproof to launch up to (lower of Dexterity and Wits) decisive attacks against foes in close range. These must be damaging strikes rather than gambits, and each resets his Initiative normally, but they ignore Hardness. No two of these follow-up attacks can target the same individual, but battle groups may be attacked repeatedly. A miss ends the chain but carries no Initiative penalty. The chain also ends immediately if the fighter is crashed, such as by a withering counterattack.

When his anima is at the bonfire level, the martial artist may cast it outward in a fulminating torrent when he uses this Charm, extending his attacks as far as medium range and allowing him to continue attacking even after a miss. This resets his anima to dim.

Mastery: The fighter may enhance his follow-up attacks with Grandiose Flourish at no cost.


+++Open Heart, Closed Fist

Cost: 3m, 1wp (+3a); Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Thunderstrike Swagger Form

There are no secrets between crossed blades. When the fighter assumes the Thunderstrike Swagger Form, he may offer his enemies a short, honest explanation of what he hopes to gain from violence, calling out any who would stand in his way. If he entered the form with a Simple activation, this is treated as a reflexive threaten action that ignores the penalty for targeting multiple characters.

The martial artist renounces doubt and deceit, fixing his Guile and Manipulation at 0 while in the form. He must drop the form to withdraw, go to ground, or use stealth or trickery. In exchange, it provides several additional benefits:

  • The martial artist's stated goal manifests as a Major Intimacy, and he gains a point of Initiative every time this Intimacy helps him to resist social influence or an effect that inspires awe or fear.
  • When he spends Willpower to add an automatic success to a combat action or to raise Defense, he may forgo the success to add a number of non-Charm dice equal to the value of a relevant Intimacy. If enhancing Defense, he may instead roll that many dice and add a non-Charm bonus of +1 per success.
  • His unflinching resolve raises his soak by (Essence) and grants him Hardness equal to his temporary Willpower.
  • If he achieves the stated goal in a way that settles the outcome of the battle, he may drop the form in order to recoup its Essence cost and gain a point of Willpower.

Undefeated Gamecock Glare

Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 5; Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Terrestrial
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Thunderstrike Swagger Form

The martial artist moves in the secret language of war, and lesser fighters recognize their better. Foes with a Tie of fear toward the fighter, and those he has successfully threatened in the past day (even if they spent Willpower to resist), suffer a -1 fear penalty to all combat pools opposing him. This rises to -3 when they disengage, contest his rushes, or attack him from medium range or further. He gains a point of Initiative whenever an enemy pays Willpower to resist his intimidation, and may threaten with body language at no penalty, provided the threat is of a vicious beating. If an opponent has never before seen his Undefeated Gamecock Glare, it always counts as sufficient escalation to retry a failed threaten action.

Even death may flinch. If injured while this Charm is active, the fighter may pay 1wp, 4i after damage is rolled to use the technique known as Staring Down Saturn. An aura of menace congeals around him, and the world's heartbeat skips. He rolls a Charisma + Presence threaten action with no target, at a difficulty equal to the attack's final damage. Effects that enhance intimidation may be applied. If successful, he takes only a single level of aggravated damage and gains Hardness equal to his successes until his next turn, even if crashed. If he made no attempt to avoid being hurt (for instance, if he didn't apply his Defense against an attack), he also gains Initiative equal to the amount prevented. He may attempt Staring Down Saturn even if crashed or if doing so would crash him, but only once per scene unless reset by parrying three decisive attacks from opponents with 15+ Initiative.

Terrestrial: For Dragon-Blooded, Staring Down Saturn has the Perilous keyword and cannot be used if it would crash them. A Dragon-Blood may only use Staring Down Saturn when he didn't attempt to avoid the damage, and gains no Initiative from doing so.


Gathering Storm Stance

Cost: 7m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5; Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Terrestrial
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Prelude to Pain

The fighter's expression darkens with vicious intent, his flashing eyes promising a thunderous reprisal to those who test him. After successfully blocking an attack, he regains any motes spent on Instant effects that enhanced his Parry. These motes can only be spent on Thunderstrike Swagger Charms (including the Excellency) to retaliate against foes whose strikes he blocked, and dissipate after his next turn or when he is struck by an attack, whichever comes first. Up to (Charisma + Essence) motes can be gained this way in a single turn.

If the fighter is in the Thunderstrike Swagger Form and using a Defend Other action, he also regains motes spent on failed parries made to shield allies from attack.

Terrestrial: Dragon-Blooded cannot recover more than three motes from a single parry.


Hard Rain Ruin

Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5; Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Mastery, Withering-only
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Open Heart, Closed Fist, Gathering Storm Stance, Bell-Ringer's Reproof, Undefeated Gamecock Glare

Years of training contract into a frozen moment and spill forth in a hurricane of chained strikes. The Thunderstrike Swagger stylist delivers a withering attack, probing for a fatal vulnerability. If the attack is withering, it gains +(Essence) to its Overwhelming value and reduces the target's soak from armor by her wound penalty.

If the fighter fails to hit or rolls no successes on his damage roll, the shadow of death passes over his opponent and is gone, but with even a single success, he pries wide the opening and pours a devastating flurry of blows through his opponent's guard. He rerolls two non-1 failed damage dice, plus two more for every unhealed level of damage he has previously dealt to his opponent. If there aren't enough dice, he rolls as many as possible, then continues rerolling using those results, repeating the process until he runs out of rerolls or every die is a 1 or a success.

If this attack generates an Initiative Break bonus, it is immediately rolled as Hardness-ignoring dice of bashing damage with double 10s, rather than adding to the fighter's Initiative. In Thunderstrike Swagger form, the one automatic die of damage for succeeding at a withering attack also doubles 10s.

Hard Rain Ruin can be used once per scene, but is reset by parrying an 18+ Initiative decisive attack while crashed.

Mastery: The dice of bashing damage rolled after this attack double 9s.

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