Prerequisites: Resolve •••, Dexterity •••, Athletics ••, Brawl ••
Effect: Your character is trained in one or more formal martial arts styles. This may have come from a personal mentor, a dojo, or a self-defense class. It may have been for exercise, protection, show, or tradition. These maneuvers may only be used unarmed, or with weapons capable of using the Brawl Skill, such as a punch dagger, or a weapon using the Shiv Merit (see below).
Focused Attack (•): Your character has trained extensively in striking specific parts of an opponent’s body. Reduce penalties for hitting specific targets by one. Additionally, you may ignore one point of armor on any opponent.
Defensive Strike (••): Your character excels in defend- ing herself while finding the best time to strike. You can add 1 or 2 points to your character’s Defense. For each Defense point you take, subtract a die from any attacks you make. This can only be used in a turn in which your character intends to attack. It cannot be used with a Dodge.
Whirlwind Strike (•••): When engaged, your character becomes a storm of threatening kicks and punches; nothing close is safe. As long as your character has her Defense available to her, and is not Dodging, any character coming into arm’s reach takes one bashing damage. This dam age continues once per turn as long as the enemy stays within range, and occurs on the enemy’s turn. If you spend a point of Willpower, this damage becomes two bashing until your next turn.
The Hand As Weapon (••••): With this degree of training, your character’s limbs are hardened to cause massive trauma. Her unarmed strikes cause lethal damage.
The Touch of Death (•••••): Your
character’s mastery has brought with
it the daunting power of causing lethal
injury with a touch. If she chooses, her
unarmed strikes count as weapons with two
damage rating.