These three Fighting Styles are supposed to be read together (especially the first two) as three styles that define the culture that use them.
Spears Triumphant
The Fighting Style taught to the specialist fighting units of The People. This is a style designed for fighting each other, surviving the dangerous dunes, and arriving ready for a fight.
Cultural Trait: Know Their Place, Welcoming.
| Exponent | Forms | Starting Techniques |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Spear | Block, Strike, Great Strike, Push |
| 3 | Fists | |
| 5 | Sword |
| Technique | Learning | Ob | stacles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battle Training | Instruction Ob 1 | Soldiering Ob 1 | MA Ob 1 |
| Shield Rush | Instruction Ob 2 | Power Ob 3 | MA Ob 2 |
| Long March | Instruction Ob 2 | Will Ob 3 | MA Ob 4 |
| Ringbearers | Instruction Ob 3 | Forte Ob 4 | MA Ob 3 |
| Anticipate! | Instruction Ob 4 | Agility Ob 3 | MA Ob 3 |
| Take Orders | Instruction Ob 5 | Will Ob 6 | MA Ob 5 |
| Form Up | Instruction Ob 4 | Soldiering Ob 3 | MA Ob 5 |
- Battle Training
- As Formation Fighting
- Shield Rush
- Unlocks the Charge Technique
- Long March
- Grants +1D Forte to defend against the effects of exhaustion or dehydration, as well as extreme heat, at all times.
*Ringbearers
*Armour Training (for Light Mail)
- Grants +1D Forte to defend against the effects of exhaustion or dehydration, as well as extreme heat, at all times.
- Anticipate
- Unlocks the Counterstrike Technique
- Take Orders
- Reduces the Obstacle to be Commanded by 1 at all times, even outside of combat.
- Form Up
- As Skirmish Training.
Flames Ascendant
The techniques of the nobility of The People. This is the power of the leaders of the people, who strike hard and swiftly with blazing flames upon their spears. It is a dancing art of bringing a foe to their knees and hurting them deeply. It is a skill to claim power and dominance.
Cultural Trait: Unforgiving.
Starred Techniques are available for use only to those who are Fire Channelers, although others could learn their basics in order to teach them. In character creation, they may be ignored by non Fire-Channelers.
Fire-Taming is a Fire Channeler skill that works a lot like Fire-Building but can also be used to extinguish fires. It is not for use in-combat and its rules are elsewhere, it’s kinda like Sorcery.
| Exponent | Forms | Starting Techniques |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Fists | Avoid, Strike, Counterstrike, Push |
| 3 | Sword | |
| 5 | Spear |
| Technique | Learning | Ob | stacles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blazing Strikes* | Instruction Ob 1 | Fire-Taming Ob 2 | MA Ob 2 |
| Strike Fear | Instruction Ob 2 | Will Ob 3 | MA Ob 1 |
| Defy Anticipation | Instruction Ob 2 | Perception Ob 4 | MA Ob 3 |
| Swim Around Spears | Instruction Ob 3 | Agility Ob 4 | MA Ob 3 |
| Bulwark | Instruction Ob 3 | Forte Ob 3 | MA Ob 3 |
| Down Foe | Instruction Ob 3 | Will Ob 4 | MA Ob 2 |
| Arise! | Instruction Ob 3 | Speed Ob 3 | MA Ob 4 |
| Throw Flame* | Instruction Ob 4 | Fire-Taming Ob 4 | MA Ob 2 |
| Carve As Butter | Instruction Ob 5 | Agility Ob 5 | MA Ob 5 |
| Become Flame* | Instruction Ob 5 | Will Ob 6 | MA Ob 6 |
- Blazing Strikes*:
- +1 WS with all Forms; Fists can harm creatures of a Spirit Nature.
- Strike Fear:
- Replace Intimidation with MA Skill in Combat
- Defy Anticipation
- Unlocks the “Feint” Skill.
- Swim Around Spears
- You may use your Skill in place of Speed when positioning. When positioning against foes using a Spear, they suffer a +1 Obstacle penalty (which is not double by Stat Vs Skill, as normal)
- Bulwark
- As Armour Training.
- Down Foe
- When striking someone on the Floor, you gain +1 Power, +1 VA.
*Arise! - -1 Action for Get Up.
- When striking someone on the Floor, you gain +1 Power, +1 VA.
- Throw Flame* You swiftly summon Fire into your hand and unleash it upon your foe, scorching them with the brief but stinging heat.
- New Scripting Option: 3 Actions; Test MA as the Throw Action. Weapon DoF as Throwing Knife. Mark damage = Will. VA 1. Cannot be used in RnC reliably; it’s a tiny flame that lashes quickly.
- Probably forces Steel checks if they’ve never seen someone throw fire before.
- Requires a free hand. Positions at Missile Length.
- Carve As Butter:
- Counterstrike gains +1 Ob to its defend portion against you.
- Become Flame*
- Unlocks the ability to change into this stance. This stance ends when any stance would. The action to change into this Stance is the first half of the Intimidation action.
- You gain +1 VA and any damage you do whilst in this stance may harm creatures of a Spirit Nature. Your weapons are especially potent against spirits, gaining a further +1VA as well as +1 Pow against them.
- All engaged foes gain +1 Obstacle to all tests to position and to all tests to Lock, Push, Charge/Tackle, or otherwise place hands upon you as the blazing heat forces them back. If your foes outnumber you, they gain a further +1 Ob to position as they attempt to place their friends between them and the heat.
- Burning Drive: at the end of each exchange you and all engaged foes & allies must test Forte at Ob 2; increased by 1 for each previous time they have tested against this Obstacle in this Conflict . Anyone who fails takes a wound at your Flames Ascendant Shade and Exponent, including you.
Phoenix’s Pinions
The relatively rare members of the Fire Channeling people who use ranged weapons are highly prized: their crossbows tend to be family heirlooms, and they are allowed use of armour despite their ignoble status.
| Exponent | Forms | Starting Techniques |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Light Crossbow | Reload, Aim, Release Bolt |
| 4 | Scorpion | |
| 5 | Heavy Crossbow |
| Technique | Learning | Ob | stacles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron-Clad | Instruction Ob 2 | Forte Ob 3 | MA Ob 1 |
| Battle Training | Instruction Ob 2 | Soldiering Ob 2 | MA Ob 2 |
| Last Resort | Instruction Ob 3 | Power Ob 4 | MA Ob 4 |
| Scorpion’s Claws | Instruction Ob 3 | Power Ob 3 | MA Ob 2 |
| Skirmish Training | Instruction Ob 3 | Soldiering Ob 4 | MA Ob 3 |
| Red Feathers | Instruction Ob 4 | Agility Ob 5 | MA Ob 5 |
| Firm Stance | Instruction Ob 5 | Soldiering Ob 5 | MA Ob 5 |
- Iron-Clad
- Armour Training for Light Mail only.
- Battle Training
- Formation Fighting
- Last Resort
- Strike with Crossbow.
- Scorpion’s Claws
- Reduces the time required to reload a Scorpion by 30 actions
- Skirmish Training
- Skirmish Tactics
- Red Feathers
- -1 Act Reload for Crossbow and Heavy Crossbow.
- Firm Stance
- +1D to Hold in Range & Cover
A Scorpion is a “Catapulta”, a somewhat portable field device that uses torsion on layered ropes to store kinetic energy before firing bolts at high speed. It looks a little like a crossbow (and may get called a “Roman Ballista”, although Ballistae fired both rocks and bolts).
Scorpions require 3 people to properly reload, taking 114 actions for a team to reload.
Aiming requires 2 actions with a Scorpion, and firing takes 4 Actions.
Each individual with the correct technique reduces the time to reload by 30 actions, meaning a fully trained team can reload, aim once, and fire in 30 actions instead of every 120. In RnC, a Scorpion cannot be utilised again until fully reloaded, which takes 4 Volleys, minus 1 per operator with the Scorpion’s Claws technique.
Scorpions:
B7 B11 B15
DoF:1-3, 4-5, 6
VA 5.
NB, the Complication consequence should be liberally used by PCs shot by Scorpions: destruction of shields, devastation of equipment and nearby allies, or Fleeing instead of facing certain death, and swooning until the fight is long over are all decent building blocks for Complications.