Warrior
Warrior
Though combat requires much action, success starts in the mind. Victory requires not only aggression, but endurance and adaptability; a Warrior trains in all three until their instincts are sharper than their opponent’s blade.
Starting Skill: Athletics. If you choose Warrior as your starting path, gain a free skill rank in Athletics.
Vigilant Stance (Warrior Talent)
Prerequisite: None.
Activation: 1 Action
You study special fighting styles to face various foes and strategies. The most basic of these postures emphasizes alertness and quick responses to oncoming threats.
When you acquire this talent, you learn to use stances.
You begin with Vigilant Stance, which you can enter as 1 Action:
Vigilant Stance. While in this stance, reduce the focus cost of your Dodge and Reactive Strike reactions by 1. Additionally, you can enter another stance
you know as a Free Action.
You can enter a stance you know by using that talent’s stated number of actions. Your stance ends if you either end it as a Free Action, enter another stance, or end the scene. While in a stance, you temporarily gain any actions, bonuses, and other effects it grants; these effects end when the stance does.
By default, you can only use stances during combat, not during other scenes.
Brawler
Baleful
Prerequisite: Grappler’s Stance
Activation: Always Active
With a severe stare, you crack the resolve of all but the most
composed adversaries.
To resist your influence, a character must spend additional focus equal to your tier.
Leads to: Bruiser's Stance, Pulse of Battle
Battle-Hardened
Prerequisite: Athletics 3+; Bruiser's Stance
Activation: Special Activation
You’ve spilled blood—both yours and your foes—across many arenas, and you’ve survived through ferocity, grit, and hard-earned instincts.
Once per round, you can reroll one of the following dice when its result is lower than your ranks in Athletics: a recovery die, a damage die for an unarmed attack or improvised weapon, or an injury roll’s d20.
Bruiser’s Stance
Prerequisite: Intimidation 2+; Baleful
Activation: 1 Action
You shift your weight and position to fend off multiple foes, staying alert to threats from all directions.
When you acquire this talent, you learn a new stance, which you can enter as 1 Action:
Bruiser’s Stance. While in this stance, increase your Physical defense by 1 for each enemy within your reach (maximum of +5). Additionally, when an enemy triggers a Reactive Strike, you can make that Reactive Strike without spending a Reaction. When you do, you must spend focus as usual, and you must attack them with an unarmed strike or improvised weapon. You can only attack each enemy in this way once per round.
Leads to: Battle-Hardened
Grappler’s Stance
Prerequisite: Intimidation 1+; Vigilant Stance key talent
Activation: 1 Action
You position yourself to seize and toss your foes, ready to spring in close or push aside the barrel of a gun as fast as your enemy can draw it.
When you acquire this talent, you learn a new stance, which you can enter as 1 Action:
Grappler’s Stance. While in this stance, you gain an advantage on non-attack Athletics tests, and you can Grapple or Shove as 1 Action (instead of 2 Actions). Additionally, an enemy within your reach must spend an additional when they draw a weapon or use an action to attack with a ranged weapon. (If multiple characters in Grappler’s Stance can reach that enemy, this effect doesn’t stack.)
Leads to: Baleful
Pulse of Battle
Prerequisite: Baleful
Activation: Special Activation
When you get into the flow of the fight, time seems to slow. You instinctively deflect glancing blows and sense when to lean in for a counterattack.
Before you’re grazed by an attack, you can choose one of the following effects (no action needed):
- Increase your deflect value against that attack by 1, and recover 1 focus.
- Spend 2 focus to gain an additional Reaction.
Leads to: Wallop
Roll With the Punches
Prerequisite: Athletics 2+; Surefooted
Activation: Free Action
You use your enemy’s ferocity to your advantage, moving nimbly through the gaps created by their strikes.
After you’re hit or grazed by an attack, you can use this Reaction to move up to half your movement rate without triggering Reactive Strikes.
Surefooted
Prerequisite: Vigilant Stance key talent or Ironstance
Activation: Always Active
You move through treacherous terrain with confidence and speed.
When you acquire this talent, increase your movement rate by 10.
Additionally, before you take damage from dangerous terrain or falling, reduce that damage by 2 × your tier.
Leads to: Roll With the Punches
Wallop
Prerequisite: Intimidation 3+; Pulse of Battle
Activation: Reaction
You slide past an attack to deliver a devastating counterpunch that disorients your foe, disarms them, or even knocks them off their feet.
After an enemy within 10 feet of you misses or grazes you with an attack, you can use this reaction and spend 2 focus to move up to half your movement rate, then make an unarmed attack against the Spiritual defense of your attacker. When you roll damage for this attack, add an extra 2d6 damage. This attack ignores your target’s deflect value.
You can spend Opportunities from this attack to apply one of the following effects:
- Bellringer. The target becomes Disoriented until the end of your next turn.
- Disarm. The target must succeed on an Agility test (DC equals your attack test result) or drop one weapon they’re holding. You can either pick up that weapon or push it up to 10 feet away (no action needed).
- Knockdown. The target is knocked Prone.
Your Wallop becomes more powerful as your tier increases: at tier 3, you can target an enemy within 15 feet and you roll an extra 4d6 damage (instead of 2d6); at tier 4, you can target an enemy within 20 feet and you roll an extra 6d6 damage; and at tier 5, you can target an enemy within 25 feet and you roll an extra 8d6 damage.
Duelist
Feinting Strike
Prerequisite: Intimidation 2+; Flamestance
Activation: 1 Action
You intimidatingly press your opponent’s defenses—and their nerves—hoping to expose a fatal gap.
Spend 2 focus to make a melee weapon attack against a target’s Cognitive defense. On a hit, your target also loses 1 Reaction and loses focus equal to your ranks in Intimidation. On a graze, they lose half as much focus (rounded up) and doesn't lose the Reaction.
You can spend an Opportunity from this test to gain 2 Actions, which you can use only to Strike or activate a stance.
Leads to: Vinestance, Wit's End
Flamestance
Prerequisite: Intimidation 1+; Vigilant Stance key talent
Activation: 1 Action
You enter an aggressive, squared stance that favors swift flurries of decisive blows.
When you acquire this talent, you learn a new stance, which you can enter as 1 Action:
Flamestance. While in this stance, you gain an advantage on Intimidation tests. Additionally, while there is exactly one enemy within your reach and none of your allies are within the reach of that enemy or you, you can use a Free Action to gain 1 Action, which you can spend only to Gain Advantage or use an action that includes an attack test targeting that enemy.
Leads to: Signature Weapon, Feinting Strike
Ironstance
Prerequisite: Athletics 2+; Practiced Kata
Activation: 1 Action
You hold your weapon high, prepared to deliver a crushing blow downward when your opponent shows weakness.
When you acquire this talent, you learn a new stance, which you can enter as 1 Action:
Ironstance. While in this stance, you gain an advantage on Insight tests. Additionally, when a character within your reach misses you or grazes you with an attack, you can use Reactive Strike against them as if they had voluntarily left your reach.
Leads to: Surefooted
Practiced Kata
Prerequisite: Vigilant Stance key talent
Activation: Special Activation
Your study of martial kata and other forms has taught you that your stance in conversation is as important as in battle. With practiced poise, you project the exact attitude you want through body language and positioning.
When you acquire this talent, you can use fighting stances in conversation and endeavor scenes, in addition to combat. Activating or changing a stance during a conversation or endeavor costs 1 focus and counts as your contribution for the round.
Additionally, if you aren’t Surprised when a combat, conversation, or endeavor scene begins, you can enter Vigilant Stance at the beginning of that scene (no action required).
Leads to: Ironstance
Signature Weapon
Prerequisite: Flamestance
Activation: Always Active
You have trained extensively with a particular weapon and can exploit all the advantages it offers.
When you acquire this talent, gain one weapon expertise. Then choose one weapon type in which you have an expertise and denote it in parentheses after this talent’s name on your character sheet; for example, “Signature Weapon (Longspear).”
Your Opportunity range for tests using this weapon type expands by 1. When you reach tier 3, this Opportunity range instead expands by 2.
Surefooted
Prerequisite: Ironstance
Activation: Always Active
You move through treacherous terrain with confidence and speed.
When you acquire this talent, increase your movement rate by 10.
Additionally, before you take damage from dangerous terrain or falling, reduce that damage by 2 × your tier.
Leads to: Roll With the Punches
Vinestance
Prerequisite: Athletics 3+; Feinting Strike
Activation: 1 Action
You assume a flexible stance, allowing you to quickly switch between inexorable advances and rapid reactions to wear down your foe.
When you acquire this talent, you learn a new stance, which you can enter as 1 Action:
Vinestance. Your Physical and Cognitive defenses increase by 1. Additionally, after you’re hit or grazed by a melee attack, you can use to make an Athletics test against your attacker’s Cognitive defense. On a success, your target loses 1d4 focus, and you can push them horizontally up to 5 feet × your ranks in Athletics.
Wit’s End
Prerequisite: Intimidation 3+; Feinting Strike
Activation: 2 Actions
Battles are won and lost in moments of brief inattention or exhaustion. You create and exploit these opportunities, patiently waiting to vanquish your foe in a single stroke.
Spend 1 focus to move up to half your movement rate, then make a melee weapon attack against the Cognitive defense of a target who has 0 focus. This attack ignores your target’s deflect value and deals an extra 4d6 damage on a hit. It can’t graze, only miss or hit.
This talent becomes more powerful as your tier increases: at tier 3, you roll an extra 6d6 damage (instead of 4d6); at tier 4, you instead roll an extra 8d6 damage; and at tier 5, you instead roll an extra 10d6 damage.