TALISLANTA MARTIAL ARTS

The aerial races of Talislanta (especially the Gryphs, Blue Aeriad, and Stryx) have developed the ability to fight while airborne into an effective martial art. Practitioners of aerial combat make use of charging and diving attacks, allowing them to increase the power of their attacks with the momentum of their flight. Dodging while airborne is particularly impressive.

The Aeriad have adapted the use of the Crescent Knife, a curved, dual-bladed dagger, into Aerial Combat. Other practitioners of the art use spears and other polearms in their martial arts techniques.

Hit Locations: The Charging Attack, Diving Attack, and Strike use 3d6 Hit Location rolls. None of the other maneuvers use Hit Location rolls.

Special Abilities: None.

Maneuver	Points	OCV	DCV	Damage/Effect
Charging Attack	5	+1	+0	STR +v/10 Strike; FMove
Diving Attack	5	+0	+3	STR +2d6 +v/6 Strike; FMove
Enwrap		5	-2	-1	Grab Four Limbs; FMove
Evade		4	--	+5	Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort
Strike		4	+0	+2	STR +2d6 Strike

Skills
	KS: Aerial Combat
	WF: Crescent Knife
	WF: Polearms and Spears

Elements
	+1	Use Art with Crescent Knife
	+1	Use Art with Polearms

Typical Arimites are wiry and quick, not strong, so they prefer not to fight hand-to-hand with their enemies. Instead, they wield razor-sharp knives which can be flicked through the air. Knife-Fighters dart about, rolling, leaping, and casting knives with snaps of the wrist. In combat, Arimites prefer to aim for vital locations rather than making wild attacks.

The most vicious maneuver practiced by Knife-Fighters is the Throat-Slitting maneuver; performed on an victim from behind, it is the assassin’s favorite.

Hit Locations: Throat-Slitting automatically targets the head/neck, and therefore gets neither bonuses nor penalties for the location. All other offensive maneuvers use a 3d6 Hit Location roll if they are ranged maneuvers, or 2d6+1 if they are hand-to-hand.

Special Abilities: Master of the Blade, Speed Of The Swordsman (Speed Of The Archer variant), Wu Shu Training.

Maneuver	Points	OCV	DCV	Damage/Effect
Evade		4	--	+5	Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort
Stab		4	+2	+0	Weapon +2 DC
Takeaway	5	+1	+3	Grab Weapon
Throat-Slitting	5	+2	-2	Weapon +4 DC, Disable; Requires Condition (From Behind)

Elements
	Usable with Blades Weapons Group; Blades Weapon Element is Free
	+1	Use Art Barehanded (Evade, Takeaway maneuvers only)

Maneuver	Points	OCV	DCV	Rng	Damage/Effect
Disarming Throw	4	+0	+0	+0	Disarm, +15 STR
Knife-Throwing	4	+0	+0	+2	Weapon +2 DC
Rolling Throw	5	-2	+2	+2	Weapon +2 DC; Half Move Required
Tripping Throw	4	-1	-1	+2	v/10, Target Falls
Vital Throw	4	-1	-1	+0	Weapon +4 DC

Elements
	Usable with Thrown Weapons Group; Thrown Weapon Element is Free

Skills
	Acrobatics
	Fast Draw
	KS: Arimite Knife-Fighting
	Two-Weapon Fighting
	WF: Blades*
	WF: Thrown Knives, Axes, and Darts*

The Kang of the Quan Empire have developed a vicious style of weaponless combat. Taught from an early age that warriors sneer at personal risk and safety, Kanquan emphasizes overwhelming offense at the cost of defense. Most maneuvers leave the practitioner open to counterattack; as a result, Kanquan matches are usually bloody and short.

Advanced students of the art learn to take on multiple opponents for even greater glory. The signature maneuvers of the masters of this style are the Double Jump Kick, and the Skullcracker (performed in this case by grabbing two opponents by the head and smashing them together).

Hit Locations: The Claw Strike, Hand Thrust, and Jump Kick use 2d6+1 Hit Location rolls. All other maneuvers use 3d6 Hit Location rolls.

Special Abilities: Catching the Blade, Enduring, Necksnapper, Speed of the Swordsman, Tough In A Fight, Way of the Warrior, Warrior’s Spirit.

Maneuver	Points	OCV	DCV	Damage/Effect
Bone Breaker	4	+0	-2	HKA ½d6, Disable
Claw Strike	4	+1	-2	HKA ½d6, Target Falls, Lasting (DCV)
Furious Kick	4	+0	-2	STR +4d6 Strike
Hand Thrust	3	+2	-1	STR +v/6 Strike, Target Falls
Head-Butt	3	+2	-1	STR Strike, +10 STR vs. Grabs
Jump Kick	5	-1	-2	STR +4d6 Strike; FMove, Lasting (DCV)
Side Kick	4	+2	-1	STR +2d6 Strike, Target Falls
Skullcracker	5	+0	-2	Grab One Limb, STR +4d6 Strike, Disable, Lasting (DCV)
Snap Kick	4	+0	-2	STR +4d6 Strike
Weapon Grab	5	+1	-1	Grab Weapon, +10 STR to take weapon away

Skills
	KS: Kanquan   

The Mandalans of the Quan Empire have a culture that emphasizes passive resistance. Despite this, they have developed an effective martial art that allows the practitioner to avoid harm by using an intricate series of maneuvers to dodge or elude attacks. The primary principle is to turn an opponent’s offensive energy back on him.

Many maneuvers make use of pressure points. Night’s Touch, made in response to an opponent’s strike, allows the practitioner to reach a vital spot through any openings of the opponent. The Elude maneuver allows the Mandaquan disciple to strike at a facial pressure point with his head while stunning the opponent, aiding the disciple’s escape. The Phantom Strike uses pressure points to daze opponents temporarily.

The Lotus Hand maneuver redirects the force of an opponent’s blow to hurl him to the ground on a vital area, therefore using his own aggression to damage him – non-lethally.

Mandalan society, while passive on the outside, has a tradition called the mystic warrior – people who don concealing garments and go out at night to sabotage the works of those who oppress the Mandalan people.

Hit Locations: The Elude maneuver automatically targets the head/neck, and therefore gets neither bonuses nor penalties for the location. Similarly, the Lotus Hand automatically targets the vitals, and therefore gets neither bonuses nor penalties for the location. The Night’s Touch, and Phantom Strike use 2d6+1 Hit Location rolls. None of the other maneuvers use Hit Location rolls.

Special Abilities: Battlefield Agility, Blocking Strike, Hing Kung, Night’s Blessing, One Against Many, Sleeper Hold, Unpredictable Tactics, Warrior’s Spirit, Wisdom of the Warrior, Yadomejutsu.

Maneuver  Points  OCV DCV Damage/Effect


Skills

This swashbuckling form of Fencing was first made popular by the ancient Phaedrans, and later adopted by the Zandir and Gao. This art places a premium on flamboyant attacks, flourishes, and acrobatic maneuvers, utilizing paired weapons such as a saber and dagger for maximum theatricality.

The apparent recklessness of the disciples of Swordsmanship hides a crafty approach to defense – the practitioners of this art attempt to remain completely unpredictable, so that an opponent is never sure of exactly the right place to strike.

As a substyle of Fencing, practitioners may learn any of the Fencing maneuvers (HSMA 29-31), in addition to the special Swordsmanship maneuvers which are the signature of the style. Most Swordsmen learn the Riposte maneuver from Fencing to take full advantage of their Weapon Block.

Hit Locations: The Feint maneuver uses a 2d6+1 Hit Location roll. All other maneuvers use 3d6 Hit Location rolls.

Special Abilities: Blade Flare, Charging Slash (master version), Demonstration Of Skill, Ducking And Weaving, Feint, Five Ways Cutting (master version), Master Of The Blade, Nito Style (complete option), Speed Of The Swordsman, Weapon Flourish (master version), Weapon Riposte.

Maneuver	Points	OCV	DCV	Damage/Effect
Disarm		3	+1	+2	Block, Disarm
Feint		4	+2	+3	Weapon Strike; Must Follow Block
Furious Attack	5	-1	-2	Weapon +4 DC; FMove, Lasting (DCV)
Furious Parry	5	+1	+1	Block, Abort; FMove
Running Attack	4	-2	+2	Weapon +v/10; FMove
Weapon Block	5	+1	+3	Block, Abort

Skills
	Acrobatics
	Fast Draw
	KS: Fencing (Swordsmanship)
	Sleight Of Hand
	Two Weapon Fighting
	WF: Blades*
	Talent: Off-Hand Defense
	
	* Required

Elements
	Usable with Blades Weapons Group; Blades Weapon Element is Free

This martial art represents proficiency in the Thrall art of hand-to-hand combat, a complex mixture of fighting styles utilizing the garde (a type of parry/attack armor that extends from shoulder to wrist). The art teaches the utilization of the disciple’s whole body to injure or incapacitate opponents – this includes parries, attacks, and grappling, as well as the feared Body Slam.

Each Thrall is born with an instinctive knowledge of the tactics of both individual combatants and military groups. Tazian Combat expands upon this instinct with teachings that emphasize foreknowledge of the battlefield, understanding opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, and appreciating the full potential of the disciple’s own body.

Hit Locations: The Body Slam, Shoulder-Smash, and Thrust/Garde-Thrust maneuvers use 2d6+1 Hit Location rolls. None of the other maneuvers use Hit Location rolls.

Special Abilities: Active Defense, Array (especially with other Thralls trained in Tazian Combat), Battlefield Mobility, False Disengage, Fighting Skill, Garde Defense (see sidebar below), I’ve Taken Your Measure, One Against Many, Riposte Strike, The Spirit Of Bruce Lee Lives On, Tough In A Fight, Warrior’s Instincts, Warrior’s Renown, Warrior’s Spirit, Way Of The Warrior, Wisdom Of The Warrior.

Maneuver		Points	OCV	DCV	Damage/Effect
Body Slam		5	-1	-1	STR +4d6 +v/6 Strike; Take Half Damage, Lasting (OCV)
Grapple			5	-1	-1	Grab Two Limbs, +10 STR for holding on
Parry/Garde Parry	5	+1	+2	Block, Disarm
Shoulder-Smash		4	+0	-1	STR +4d6 Strike, Unbalancing
Thrust/Garde-Thrust	5	+2	+1	STR +2d6 Strike

Skills
	KS: Tazian Combat
	WF: Garde
	
Elements
	Usable with Blades Weapons Group; Blades Weapon Element is Free
	+1	Use Art with Garde