Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Karish 09-06-07, 09:57 PM	Okay, I've seen some things among my monk PC friends who always seem to be from X monastery where they learn Y style from Master Z. Great character fluff, if you ask me, to have a way your combat style looks and flows come from your backstory. But my friends who do fighters or other martial classes? I never hear it out of them. However, we all know different schools, teachers, or self-taught practicioners are all going to have their own flare which they use in battle. And every weapon has someone who likes to use it somewhere in the world, so there's mprobably a few schools out there that emphasize using a certain weapon or set of weapons. These would likely be mechanically valued for planning your feat trees and your selection of classes and subclasses. Not to mention, saying "I'm a greatsword fighter" isn't quite as interesting to say as "I'm a fighter of the Ruby Arc style", if you ask me. And so, in the spirit of trying to get this going, here's my entry: 1. The Twin Crescent Style A style of dual-weapon combat, this is typically used with daggers, punching daggers, or kukri, but some have used shortswords for this art. Originally made by elven assassins, its symbolism is that one makes several arcing, graceful motions with paired weapons to attack from two angles simultaneously to confuse an opponent. The practicioners of the Twin Crescent typically wear black and midnight blue, and use bright metal weapons and leather studded with polished steel. Recommended Feats: TWF Feats, Weapon Finesse, Damage and Accurace Enhancing Feats (Focus, Specialization, etc.)
Terjon of the Blue Rose 09-06-07, 11:42 PM	2. The Stalwart Blade Style - A method of using the greatsword that involves many thrust manuevers. Enemy blades are parried by planting your own blade in the ground at an angle which allows you to intersect and then counter while you withdraw. 3. Turtle-Wolf Style - Using a large shield and small weapon you hide from enemy blows until spotting an opening and then dart in for a quick slashing blow. 4. 100 Blades Style - Mastering many forms of slashing and piercing blades you learn to switch between them quickly catching many foes off guard. 5. Hammer Avalanche - Every blow in this style is an overhead swing with a hammer. You attempt to bash through an opponents defenses any time you are given enough time to swing rather than finessing your way through. Something like that? I think really that ToB has pretty much covered most of these concepts quite nicely though. On top of that book in FR there are the barbarian lodges of Rashemen which each have a unique fighting style.
Karish 09-07-07, 09:02 AM	2. The Stalwart Blade Style - A method of using the greatsword that involves many thrust manuevers. Enemy blades are parried by planting your own blade in the ground at an angle which allows you to intersect and then counter while you withdraw. 3. Turtle-Wolf Style - Using a large shield and small weapon you hide from enemy blows until spotting an opening and then dart in for a quick slashing blow. 4. 100 Blades Style - Mastering many forms of slashing and piercing blades you learn to switch between them quickly catching many foes off guard. 5. Hammer Avalanche - Every blow in this style is an overhead swing with a hammer. You attempt to bash through an opponents defenses any time you are given enough time to swing rather than finessing your way through. Something like that? I think really that ToB has pretty much covered most of these concepts quite nicely though. On top of that book in FR there are the barbarian lodges of Rashemen which each have a unique fighting style. Yeah, stuff like that. I don't own ToB myself, which is likely why I didn't know this.
Cuaglar 09-07-07, 01:00 PM	6: Winged Blue Viper Combat (Elethri Varon Maeder in Elven) A style used by elf fighters, alternates swiftly between precise and rapid longbow attacks at a distance, then when the distance closes the fighter swiftly changes to a rapier and a dagger, where fluid, but lightning-sudden, strokes and thrusts remind one of striking poisonous snakes.
Kraikken 09-07-07, 03:51 PM	Falling Tree Discipline- When a tree falls within the forest, with nobody to hear it, does it make a sound? This conudrum is not a problem for practitioners of the Falling Tree, who's sole purpose is to make slow, devestating blows against there opponent that surely will be heard. Often a method used by creatures of great size and strength the Falling Tree is a bane for any opponent armoured or not for it's ability to crush armor, bone and body on weapons as elegant as a nobles heavy great sword to a simple wood club honed from the trunk of a mighty tree. Shepards Cane style- Practitioners of this particular style generaly hail from the peasentry stock of people who's weapons are limited to what tools of their trade are readily available. Within this style the user typically wields a long hafted weapon such as a walking stick, a shepards cane, or in some cases the broken haft of a long farm tool. Their are many advantages to adabting to this particular form, as it allows difficult to predict attacks from two ends, where as most opponents are accustomed to watching for a single ended weapon. It's ease of transporation and general inconspicious nature are also assets to users of the form. However what it gains in versitilty of use it looses to it's rather weak ability to damage an armored opponent. However not even this has prevented simple farmers from disarming and even defeating battle hardened and armed veterans of war with a simple sweep to the legs and thrust to the exposed throat. Kraikken "I fear no King with a thousand men, and all the riches of the world! I fear but a single man, with a sharp blade, and nothing left to loose."
Mr_Seth 09-07-07, 10:15 PM	9 - Nine Drunken Dragons Style Not truly one style, but a hybrid of nine "mini-forms" that escalate in difficulty of execution, the Nine Drunken Dragons style relies on bobbing, weaving movements with irregular tempo - like the staggering of a drunk - to throw opponents off. Beginners in the style are clownish acrobats at best; masters are nearly untouchable, especially in an urban setting with detrius surrounding to use as improvised weaponry. Few are the disciples of this form that do not consider drinking gourds, barstools, ladders and spitoons to be the best weaponry you can find. It is worth noting that Nine Drunken Dragons students do drink... but they learn their limits quickly, and are forbidden from becoming truly inebriated. 99.9% of the "drunkenness" is an act. 10 - Iron Dragonfly Style A hard form that emphasizes speed and precision above all, Iron Dragonfly disciples believe that no armor is perfect, no defense unbreachable. Their blows tend to "hover" - blades repeatedly lashing out at the exact same level, striking the same spot over and over with unerring precision until the defense yields and damage is dealt. Then, the warrior backs away, darting out of range of a counterattack before choosing another spot to attack. Not surprisingly, Iron Dragonfly students tend to be chaotic in allignment, choosing those that hide behind both physical walls - strongholds and keeps - and metaphoric ones - laws and dogma - as their eventual targets. Practitioners of this style favor longswords, rapiers, kukri, and (occasionally) scimitars. 11 - Hansheath's Fist A dwarven style named for their god of brewing and funerals, Hansheath's Fist is a form of street boxing, one that seems brutal and artless to the unlearned. In truth, Hansheath's Fist disciples see no sense in "prettying up" their attacks. They say that all that matters is who ends up standing at the end of the battle - why waste time looking good? Each punch is intended to knock the opponent out, nothing less. Most of a student of this style's time is spent building up upper body strength and performing painful "body hardening" exercises... and drinking. After all, alcohol loosens up the muscles and dulls pain, quite a useful beverage. While Hansheath's Fist is usually an unarmed style, it has been adapted for use with spiked gauntlets, punching daggers, and even twin light hammers. 12 - Crimson Rain Style Lots of stories surround the Crimson Rain style, most of them false. It is a school that began with the hobgoblins, and still remains with them for the most part. Tales circulate of unstoppable whirlwinds of blades and chains, billowing out of strongholds and slaying everything in their path. This is patently false. The Crimson Rain style, created by a rare grouping of good hobgoblin monks, is not designed to be lethal. Rather, it relies on inflicting as much pain as possible without crippling or killing an opponent. In their philosophy, pain is an illusion; inflicting it in battle is no evil act. Pain passes; death does not. And if you inflict enough of it, no foe will want to stand against you. The whirling motions described in battlefield reports are more or less accurate; as is the description of "blades and chains" - spiked chains and falchions are the most common weapons used in this school. 13 - Face Puncher Style A predominant orcish style, Face Puncher is... ...oh, who am I kidding? Face Puncher Style is what some orc barbarians call the absolute lack of style they fight with while enraged, the designation created to intimidate more esoteric fighters when asked what form they practice. The only thing that they have in common is that all blows are directly aimed at an opponent's face.
Roguemagus 09-08-07, 06:36 PM	14–Gin Flambé Style A good style for beginning sorcerers, wizards, and pyromaniacs. It effectively involves lighting small barrels of gin on fire and flinging them at your opponent with a sling or similar long-range weapon.
Mr_Seth 09-10-07, 11:02 PM	15: Gray Wolf-sword School The "wolf-sword" is the goblin term for a serrated longsword; the Gray Wolf-sword School is one of the two remaining traditional schools for the use of the weapon. Gray Wolf-sword style is pensive; the student of this school is more about the counterattack than the attack. Rapid ripostes are coupled with long slashes that rend flesh with the serrated blade, sweeping attacks that disable their foes' sword arms and cut their ankles to slow their retreats. 16: Red Wolf-sword School The mate to Gray Wolf-sword School, Red Wolves are more aggressive. Their style relies first on disarming or disabling a foe's weapon, using the notches in their blade to catch the other's. After an opponent is harmless, the foe is dispatched with a single well-placed cut to the throat or gut. Red Wolf-sword students are less populous than Gray Wolf-swords, for no other reason than it takes a greater amount of control to properly execute Red Wolf-sword strikes. 17: Skip-skull A halfling skipstone. Not exactly a formidable weapon... just a smooth, polished stone, good for skipping across streams - or anything else, really. But in the hands of a Skip-skull master, that rock is a ricocheting death-bullet. Using far stronger throws and extreme precision, a Skip-skull disciple can skip a stone five... seven... sometimes even ten times in a single throw. Impressive, when one considers that usually means ten cracked skulls, wrists, or backsides.
Karish 09-11-07, 01:33 PM	18. Ghost of the Mist Originally formed by a half-fae who was inspired by the war dances of several mist spirits. This style uses a one handed piercing and/or slashing weapon and no armor or shield, which is why many duelists and dervishes use the style. The weilder makes themselves become in a constant state of rhythmic swaying, weaving and bobbing, stepping slowly and keeping their limbs fluid and limp when not in use. However, when it is time to strike, the body becomes suddenly rigid and lashes out at breakneck speed, often striking the eyes, hands, and knees before delivering the killing blow.
meto30 09-13-07, 08:10 AM	19. Unyielding Staff Originally created by a wizard adventurer who was tired of having to depend on others to protect him. Using a long metal quaterstaff, this school utilizes the entire lenght of the rod as a weapon. The fighter holds it like a spear, thrusting the blunt end into the opponent, and swinging the staff in large arcs that end in powerful blows into the opponent's body. Monks in a nearby monastery has advanced this school, seeing that the quaterstaff is in basis a defensive weapon, and has no blades or other obvious marks of battle gear. The weight of the rod of metal is a challenge, but once one is trained the school allows a wide variety of attacks to choose from, for the quaterstaff has no front and can be used in any angle and be grasped in any point. (inspired by Chinese Martial Arts) the following reminds me of the Roman Imperial Legionnaries. 3. Turtle-Wolf Style - Using a large shield and small weapon you hide from enemy blows until spotting an opening and then dart in for a quick slashing blow.
Paradox_of_Life 09-13-07, 03:15 PM	20. Irish Fighting To pull this maneuver off, one must have the ability to either frenzy or rage. One must also have the class feature Drink Like a Demon, or something to that effect. The goal is to down as much alcohal, that you slur, confusing your enemies as they try to puzzle out what you're saying. Then, you frenzy/berserk and blam, someone's dead.
Mr_Seth 09-13-07, 07:24 PM	A few inspired by real-life styles... a cookie to whoever guesses their real-life counterparts accurately. 21 - Sticking Fists School A high-energy hand-to-hand discipline, the Sticking Fists style uses an odd pidgeon-toed stance that often elicits giggles... until the purpose for the stance becomes obvious. By turning both feet in, the fighter can pivot the leading foot either way, to add power to strikes in either direction. The Sticking Fist style emphasizes speed in the extreme and the ability to strike without winding up first. Disciples of this school are renowned for their ability to fight multiple foes as easily as they would fight one. 22 - Raging Tide A former student of the Sticking Fists school who also studied dozens of other styles sat down one day to meditate, and found his thoughts wandering to the problems inherent in all martial arts. For four days, he sat in thought, his mind reworking all he knew, and more importantly all he understood about fighting. When it was done, he had created in his mind the Raging Tide style - a freeform style focused on flexibility, economy of motion, and simplicity of form. Students use the Raging Tide name until they become masters; then, they discard it, calling the fighting style they have created of their experience what they will. 23 - Breaking Fist There is no defense - there is only offense. Such is the philosophy of the Breaking Fist style. It was created by Pai Zhao, an exiled monk with a head for earthly matters and a distaste for the arcane and esoteric. He reasoned that the easiest way to stop attackers was to stop them from attacking. If they favor kicks, break the leg. If they strike with swords, shatter them at the hilt. If they fill the sky with arrows, snap their bowstrings." Breaking Fist Practitioners never block incoming attacks, rather they strike the incoming limb - or weapon. Disarming an opponent is priority one, and an opponent is never truly disabled unless they are on the ground with all four limbs broken.
ZapRowsdower 09-13-07, 10:19 PM	Everyone should have their own special fighting style. --- [A number] [Adjective] [Weapon or Attack]s Style 2 Silver Blades Style 32 Holy Slashes Style 1,000,000 Burning Cuts Style etc. or.... [Adjective] [Animal/Monster/Body Part] Fighting Style Storm Kobold Fighting Style Original Fist Fighting Style Invisible Mongoose Fighting Style
ArgulFraster 09-16-07, 12:21 PM	22) Shrieking Explosion Style Developed by a Felinian sorcerer with more spell components than sense, the Shrieking Explosion consists of tanking up behind several burly defenders before drawing the enemy's attention away with a shriek followed by a fireball The resultant style has become quite popular, seeing as even the best-trained armies can't defend against being hacked, shrieked, and fireballed at at the same time. Some spellcasters have modified it by using constructs of various varieties to both shriek and explode, though this is disdained as a waste of valuable tanking materials by the true practitioners.
Mr_Seth 09-28-07, 10:17 AM	24 - Gray Shepherd Shepherds rarely strike their sheep with their rod - they use the crook of it to pull the stubborn creatures out of harm's way, steering them towards safety. The Gray Shepherd style, similarly, uses a shepherd's rod to deflect incoming attackers, pulling them off balance with broad circular motions. The better-trained members of this school - rare, as there is no one place that actually teaches this style, it truly was made by a handful of wandering shepherds - can throw a man a good 40 feet with a quick twist of the shoulders.
Mr_Seth 12-04-07, 08:32 PM	Thread Necromancy! 25 - Ten Bloody Rings Despite the obvious imagery that the title brings up, the titular Ten Bloody Rings are not worn on the fingers, but are attached to the fighter's arms. Heavy iron circlets, they are used as weights, which add momentum and power to the whirling arm-blows that are the hallmark of the style. As the student learns, he reports back to his home practice-hall every year, his mettle tested by his master. And as he advances, the weights on his arms are gradually increased. When a student is declared a master, the rings are removed for the last time, and he is given a loose-fitting set that he can don or remove at will. Weapons are rare in the Ten Bloody Rings style (other than the rings themselves); a few masters favor the use of a pair of fighting sticks, but this is more for show than anything else. 26 - The Noble's Palm The goal of a fight is not always to kill, to defeat, or to harm at all. Such is the philosophy of the Noble's Palm - a style that is not merely non-lethal, but designed to be utterly harmless in the hands of a master. Blows, which are always made with the palm, sting a tiny bit, but cause no bruising and break no bones. They are to push the opponent off-balance and force him away, nothing more. Trips and throws are actively directed to deposit an opponent in such a way that they will have a hard time getting up, but will suffer no ill effect. Noble's Palm practitioners are contemplatives and philosophers, who use the art as a last resort to defend themselves - and as a friendly sport. In "The Noble's Ring", the object is to remove the opponent from a circular ring as quickly as possible, using no excessive force and causing no harm.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 12-06-07, 01:16 AM	27 - The Third Hand A tradition based of exotic weapons such as the gyrspike and lynxpaw in which one weilds only one end of the weapon at a time. Rather than attempting to fight actively with both ends the weilder treats one end as a double handed weapon switching the the chain for specific manuevers such as trips and disarms.
Mr_Seth 12-07-07, 09:49 PM	28 - Zaanthotos In an old dialect of Elven used by Wood Elves, Zaanthotos translates to "The Gale that Cleaves Through [the] Horses". That describes perfectly the brutal style, designed to even the odds between infantry and calvary. Practitioners favor fullblades, falchions, greatswords, and other two-handed chopping implements. The sharper the better. The style is highly mobile, and uses a combination of spinning aerials, coordinated whole-body contractions, and good old fashioned arm strength to build up power for blows that can cleave a horse - and, sometimes, it's rider - in two. After a rider is unseated, the standard Zaanthotos method prescribes a quick execution followed by a dash into the nearest cover to select the next target. The style has been elaborated on since its inception, and the trademark violent body spasms, blades chopping at speeds that seem impossible for steel that size, and emphasis on maneuverability is now practical in most combat situations. A recent substyle, Zaanthradros (The Gale that Cleaves Through Dragons) claims that its practitioners can build up enough force to slice through the neck of a full-grown green dragon. No conclusive evidence has been shown of this, though... 29 - Eight Piercing Fingers While the style originated with humans, Eight Piercing Fingers is now practiced almost exclusively among the people that perfected it - the gnomes. The style is highly introspective and contemplative. Beginners, especially hotheaded ones, may spend hundreds of hours in meditation before they even learn to throw a proper punch. While the abbreviated, precise motions of the Eight Piercing Fingers style seem simple, many have been able to mimic the motions perfectly with none of the effect. This is because the style truly centers around Ki manipulation. The fingers of a disciple of this style act as iron nails, puncturing anything in their way. Armor matters not. A few dwarves practice an offshoot style called Eight Breaking Fingers. It acts much the same way, but rather than focusing their Ki into a single point in front of each finger, they use it to turn their fists into battering rams that shatter whatever they strike. Despite their scarce number, flamboyant stone-breaking demonstrations from Eight Breaking Finger practitioners are becoming well known in many parts of the world. 30 - Shattered Mirror The only formal fighting style known to have definitely been created by a doppleganger, the Shattered Mirror school is a meta-style, a form of fighting theory that allows a fighter to assume the style of another after watching them for scant minutes. Students are drilled endlessly with the true goals that underlie each fighting style - impress, break, pierce, disarm, push, throw, smash, kill, cripple, stun, knock out, and several others. They learn to do so in a myriad of ways; the standard Shattered Mirror lesson begins with drills, and ends with the students mimicking a form performed by their master - from a completely different style. In this way, they become accustomed to how many other forms move, how they strike, and how they think. A Shattered Mirror fighter may never learn the deeper secrets of a particular style's brand of Ki manipulation, or have the benefit of obscure body hardening methods or other esoteric forms of body strengthening - but that doesn't matter to them. They are unafraid of facing opponents on their own terms, secure in the fact that their superior technical understanding will propel them to victory. 31 - Crushing Palm School An obscure style taught at a single halfling practice hall, students of the Crushing Palm are believed to have unbelievably strong hands; there are dozens of stories among hobgoblin war-chiefs of halfling warriors who could shatter the arms of their best warriors with just a squeeze. This is mostly untrue; while those events did occur, it was leverage that did the work. Crushing Palm is a soft form, almost entirely grapple based. Its disciples gain a masterful knowledge of anatomy and kinesiology, and use it to exploit every weak spot on a foe's body. A Crushing Palm student knows that the body of a humanoid is a wonderful thing, but it is fragile, and it takes little to expose one's weaknesses. A master knows every one of these weaknesses, not only how to use a foe's against him, but how to cover each and every one of his own. The most feared technique of the Crushing Palm School is the Skull Shattering Grasp - a pinky presses in to the side of one temple, a thumb at the other, both gouging inwards. The opponent screams as his head seems to dissolve into a white ball of pain, and a minute later, the top of his head bursts apart. Incidentally, the flamboyant end only works on a few goblinoids, whom have the requisite veins in the right places, but the required tender points to cause the screaming pain are present on almost all humanoids.
Nightmare_Scenario 12-07-07, 11:06 PM	Read complete warrior's combat style feats. Then you have fluff and useful mechanics. Kinda.
Meshakhad 12-10-07, 09:25 PM	32. Lightning Strike Style: Emphasizing speed and damage, the Lightning Attack style teaches that the best way to defeat someone is to do it quickly. By the time your opponent is able to react, you should already have landed a blow or two on him. Big weapons and fast movement are the hallmarks of the Lightning Strike style. Paladins of Hieroneius frequently use this style while mounted. 33. Dishonor: Developed by devotees of Olidammara, the Dishonor style employs underhanded methods to defeat the enemy. The first maneuver a student of the Dishonor style is taught is the groin shot. The second is the "Hey, is that a chest of gold over there?" *stab* maneuver.
Mad_Jack 12-11-07, 07:50 AM	34. My spiked-chain swordsage/swashbuckler learned to fight at the Infinite Link school, which teaches the philosophy of "Be everywhere." Practitioners tumble wildly through combat, striking opponents all over the battlefield seemingly at random with the reach of the spiked chain, but always where a well-placed blow will have the greatest effect. Instead of striking the wizard in front of you, damage the hobgoblin in front of the fighter so that he can cleave it with his blow and strike another, and then strike the wizard on the backswing while he's distracted with the casting of a spell. One should always take advantage of attacks of opportunity and/or sneak attacks, and manufacture them when possible. (Think Jackie Chan, without the comedy.) 35. In the mountains of the world live a race known as the Vett (pronounced fet) who teach the use of the bastard sword to their people, young and old, warrior and wizard alike, through the tradition of the War Dance. Though only slightly taller than elves, the Vett wield blades nearly as long as themselves in a whirling, dancing two-handed style that emphasizes constant motion and complete eerie silence. Arcing swings and circular blocks pay homage to the cycle of life, the turning of the seasons, and the round face of the Moon - the father of their people and their god. The pairing of heavy blades with grace and mobility contribute greatly to the "myth" of the rarely-seen Vett, for although they are rarely seen by those who mean them no harm, those who would oppose them only ever see a brief glimpse of them through closing eyes as their life bleeds out into the grass.
Melpomene 12-11-07, 02:48 PM	The Reaping Mantis Style A form of combat designed to cause severe damage in the form of massive, rending cuts. The practicioners of this style strap massive blades to thier fore-arms to immitate the reaping talons of the praying mantis. They then rush into combat, attempting to snare foes, slice open stomaches, or sever heads with the giant blades. The style relies on both strength and speed, defeating the opponant in one or two hits, and therefore has a low reliance on defense. Feat Recomendations/Requirements: Ambidexterity, Two-Weapon Fighting, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Dire Pick), Improved Critical (Dire Pick) Recommended/Required Gear: Two Dire Picks, Locking Gauntlets. Picks often enchanted with Keen, Wounding, and Burst enchantments.
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi 12-11-07, 09:27 PM	The Porcupine-Weasle style: (better name pending) An offshoot of the Turtle-Wolf style, this style focuses on using a (spiked) shield and no other weapon, and is known for more deceitful tactics, especially disarming. (Check the Shield Snare feat from Dragon 309). This style is particularly favored by warrior-mages, and is rumored to have been developed by a hexblade. Of course, other warriors who prefer tricky combat styles have also been drawn to this school.
Mr_Seth 12-11-07, 11:23 PM	38 - Six Choking Fists A style practiced by some Hextorian monks, Six Choking Fists is all about control. The style sees a fight as a contest, where one must keep one's core balanced and one's vital points protected, while keeping the opponent off-balance and vulnerable. Grapples are common; many a foe has died of asphyxiation at the hands of a master of the Six Fists. There are few strikes, less than a quarter of which are kicks. Mastery of the spiked gauntlets and chain are mandatory; those that fail in such exercises are usually found dead, covered in slashes and puncture wounds, propped up at the monastery gates. Adherents to the style speak of its grim efficiency, its methodical, emotionless response to attacks, and its great potential for fatalities. Its critics speak of its predictable, staid nature, its lack of versatility, and its over-reliance on ritual and symbolism in actual training, something that seems counterproductive in a style that prides itself on pragmatism. The style has eight ranks - one "non-rank" (Unlearned, equivalent to a white belt in other styles), six proper ranks (Initiate, Learned Brother, Enlightened Destroyer, Lucid Horror, and Terrible Master) and one honorary rank, bestowed only on a council of the six greatest masters of the Six Choking Fists discipline (Ascendant Champion of Unyielding Order).
Mystero 12-17-07, 01:57 AM	6: Winged Blue Viper Combat (Elethri Varon Maeder in Elven) A style used by elf fighters, alternates swiftly between precise and rapid longbow attacks at a distance, then when the distance closes the fighter swiftly changes to a rapier and a dagger, where fluid, but lightning-sudden, strokes and thrusts remind one of striking poisonous snakes. just wondering, what test wwas that??
coston89 12-21-07, 02:41 AM	Bandit's Way - Founded by a small band of catfolk bandits in a mountainous forest, this style was the result of several foes that destroyed their armory. Unwilling to be defeated, the bandits grabbed anything that they could and beat back the intruders without losing a single man. Now that their forge was gone they had to improvise with what they had: a few hunting spears, firewood hatchets, nets, and stones. Over several years, they trained and added more and more weapons to the style, even things that wasn't intented for battle like the style's favored shovel. Now that this technique has spread, it's students are ones to be feared for they are never unarmed.
Ian0311 12-24-07, 01:01 PM	40. The Blunt Sharp Style Perfected by only a few who are willing to train themselves for speed and grace, the Blunt Sharp Style is named for the blades that were used by the man who made it famous (his name was lost to time). Only those who are truly confident in the style or foolishly brave will actually keep one of those blades blunt. The off hand's blade is used to distract and help in guarding against attacks, while the main hand's attacks when the guard is lowered. Very few people use both blades. 41. The Screaming Blade Many opponents relish the opportunity to fight at range and to avoid being hurt. Anyone who endeavors to get in close with a short sword or other small, bladed weapon can be called a practitioner of this style, though the true creators of this form were fey creatures who could not reach their foes easily. Pushed into close quarters fighting by necessity, desperation, or a lack of ranged weaponry, several of them would dance frantically into close quarters to avoid being cut down on the way there. Some would scream to unnerve their opponents (or out of fear), though the true name of the style was the sound of tiny blades making contact with larger ones. While some had success with it, most of the original users of this style died or were crippled from injuries in battle. Nowadays, it's practiced by people far larger than those fey and, mostly, has no true name or official moves. Perhaps a traveler in the realm of the tinier fey may come upon it if they raise arms against them...
Mr_Seth 12-24-07, 07:53 PM	42 - The Journeyman's Thumb Designed as a pragmatist's martial art, the Journeyman's Thumb is not designed to cripple, kill, inflict major amounts of pain, or knock aside with minimal amounts of force. It is a martial art designed to hurt and distract your foe just enough to let you run away as fast as your legs can carry you. Advanced students learn, through meditation, how to effectively befuddle the minds of others, turning logic into a convoluted weapon of suggestion. And the few masters of this style that exist learn the secrets of the most versatile, amazingly useful, nondescript, unthinkable weapon in existence; the towel. 43 - Fat Man's Sack As only Saint Nicholas the Gift-Giver has ever practiced this style effectively, it lacks a proper name. One of the gnomes under his employ has given this name to the style, in which he takes his Sack of Holding and uses it to bludgeon anyone persistent, vile, and generally nasty enough to attempt repeatedly to harm the old fellow. As Nicholas is actually very strong, and his sack can be used as a +5 Merciful Heavy Sack of Whomping, it's actually extremely effective. (NOTE: Okay, obvious reference with the first; the second was just for those of you that have players idiotic enough to try to take on Saint Nicky in your holiday sessions. For the Whomping special quality, define it to your players as "it does 1dhandful extra damage to you. Be thankful it's not lethal.")
Dravda 12-31-07, 01:43 AM	44. Wall of Pain These fighters emphasize dual shield wielding, forgoing traditional weapons in the name of increased defense. Students are trained in using two shields efficiently and lethally, protecting themselves even as they lay their enemies low. [To actually use this, you'll have to get the DM to houserule that the shield bonuses from two shields will stack] -Count Dravda
Mr_Seth 01-04-08, 11:00 PM	45 - Golden Wasp To the monks of the Fifth Shining Peak monastery, wasps (and bees and hornets of all sort) are considered to be inherently divine, the sole remaining belief of an otherwise entirely forgotten archaic religion that was practiced when the now-Pelorian monastery was founded. They claim that the wasps hold light in their stings, and it is this that scours the veins of those afflicted with their stings. That a truly good individual does not need to fear a sting from any insect. And that in studying the wasp, martial perfection can be achieved. The Golden Wasp style is a hard form that relies on bobbing, whirling footwork, rapid light blows, and pressure points to mimic the effects of a swarm of attacking bees. Students are always proficient with the punching dagger; some also favor the similar katar. It is common for Golden Wasp students to multiclass as clerics, almost always with the Sun domain.