Atouts

Your character is a skilled practitioner of aikido, or another martial art that emphasizes throwing the opponent. She knows how to blend with the force of an attack and amplify it to send her enemy sprawling.

Dots purchased in this Merit provide access to special combat maneuvers. Each maneuver is a prerequisite for the next. Aikido maneuvers are based on the Brawl Skill and work in conjunction with unarmed combat. (Some aspects of traditional aikido involve a weapon, but they are beyond the specific purview of this Merit).

Ukemi (“Receiving;” •): Your character knows how to fall properly and get up quickly. He may stand up from a prone position (but not both) once per turn as a reflexive action, and is considered to have one point of armor against bashing damage caused by falls – but not other sources.

Aiki (“Harmonious Energy;” ••): Your character is skilled enough to defend with a throw by avoiding the attack and seizing his opponent’s balance. If he forgoes his standard Defense, roll Dexterity + Brawl; if the result exceeds the opponent’s damage roll the character suffers no damage and immediately applies a grappling hold or (once he attains the third maneuver) shihonage. He may employ this maneuver against Brawl, Weaponry or close-range Firearms attacks.
Drawback: This maneuver constitutes your character’s action for the turn.

Shihonage (“Four Directions Throw;” •••): The character can throw an opponent quickly and forcefully, without getting tangled up in a clinch. Treat a shihonage throw like a standard Brawl strike attack, except that it also knocks the opponent prone up to as many feet away as your Size + Brawl successes in any direction the character prefers.

Renzoku-waza (“Combination Techniques;” ••••): The character can attempt multiple grappling or shihonage attacks per turn, or he can defend with multiple throws using the Aiki maneuver. He may make one additional grapple or shihonage for each point of Dexterity that he has above 2. Each extra action is rolled at a cumulative –1 modifier. Thus, he can attempt two grapples or shihonage at Dexterity 3 (with the second at a –1 modifier), three at Dexterity 4 (at a 0, –1 then –2 modifier to dice rolls) and four at Dexterity 5 (at 0, –1, –2 and –3 to each dice roll, in turn).
Drawback: If the character’s first action is anything but a grapple or shihonage attempt he cannot use this benefit.

Kokyu-ho (“Breath Power;” •••••): Your character’s throws are so strong that he can either throw someone double the usual distance with his shihonage, or inflict lethal damage with it.
Drawback: Spend one Willpower point per attack. Note that this Willpower expenditure does not add three dice to the attack.

The character supplements his chosen style or Skill with his own maddened fury. Berserk characters work themselves into a violent rage, sometimes aided through the use of drugs, which have the usual effect on their physiology (see p. 176, World of Darkness Rulebook). Working oneself into this fury requires an intense exercise of will, costing the character one Willpower point and an instant action. Once the character has entered the berserkergang, she may use any of the maneuvers listed below. These benefits can be combined with one another or with an associated Fighting Style Merit during the same turn, so long as the drawbacks or necessary expenditures do not contradict (for example, a character cannot benefit from Strength in the Fury when using a Fighting Style maneuver that otherwise costs the character her Defense).

A character in a berserker haze occasionally has difficulty telling friend from foe, and must make a reflexive Resolve + Composure roll to avoid assaulting allies during any turn in which those allies present a more tempting target than an enemy. Characters who are already prone to a form of supernatural rage (such as vampires and werewolves) must roll Resolve + Composure during every turn in which they take advantage of this style. If they fail, they fall into their maddened state (frenzy, Kuruth, etc.) and lose the benefits of being berserk.

The character remains in a berserk state until she either spends a second Willpower to calm herself, she is rendered unconscious, or the combat comes to an end.

Characters who fight in a berserk haze often purchase Iron Stamina to represent their ability to ignore pain.

The Brawl and Weaponry Skills are equally appropriate for use with this style, as are the Two-Weapon (usually axes), Shield, Knife, Stick and Staff Fighting Styles. Styles that require careful precision such as Evasive Striking or Light Sword are not appropriate. Defensive styles are explicitly incompatible with the aggressiveness required of berserkers.

Dots purchased in this Merit provide access to special combat maneuvers. Each maneuver is a prerequisite for the next.

Strength in the Fury (•): A berserker goes all-out, all the time, and her body rewards her heedless actions with increased power and speed. The berserker gains an additional die (for a total of three) when taking all-out attacks (page 157, World of Darkness Rulebook).

Adrenaline Rush (••): The berserker ignores pain and her foes’ attacks only drive her madness, pushing her to brutally defeat them. The character gains a point of armor against bashing and lethal attacks as she casually shrugs off weak attacks.

Inhuman Alacrity (•••): A berserker’s opponents are shocked and frightened by the speed and ferocity that manifests in her actions, making her far more difficult to hit. The character gains an additional 2 points (for a total of four) when using Willpower to avoid suffering an attack.

Ignorant in the Face of Death (••••): The berserker’s rage overrides her physical limitations, pushing her to greater feats even when others would fall in pain. In a mad, violently fit, the character can ignore some or all wound penalties for a turn.
Drawback: The character sacrifices part of her Defense in any turn during which she ignores wound penalties on a one-for-one basis (for example, by ignoring two dice of wound penalties, she suffers a –2 to her Defense trait). If she has already applied her full Defense against an incoming attack during the turn, she may not use this maneuver. The character may still use Willpower to enhance her attack or Defense, if she so chooses, but may not utilize any other maneuver or supernatural ability that necessitates the loss of Defense (such as an all-out attack).

Bloody-Handed Bastard (•••••): The berserker gouges at eyes, bites at ears, and tears at genitals. Her behavior is so violent that she inflicts lasting damage on her foes, regardless of weapon. The character’s attacks inflict lethal damage.
Drawback: The character sacrifices her Defense during a turn in which she uses this maneuver. If she has already applied her Defense against an incoming attack during the turn, she may not use this maneuver.

The character supplements her chosen style or Skill with a carefully-trained showmanship. Her movements are graceful yet expedient, her blades or fists flashing through the air as she steps lightly upon the balls of her feet. Combat artists often learn their skills in professions that are not traditionally associated with violence, namely the theatre and film, but many also train to showcase their own skills during martial arts demos or non-combative martial arts competitions. These maneuvers represent those who value style over substance.

As such, this supplemental style may be purchased for the Expression Skill, representing those whose combat training is wholly theatrical. If used to supplement Expression, the style cannot be used effectively in combat, and the fourth tier of the Merit cannot be purchased.

Disarm, Fast Reflexes, Fighting Finesse, Quick Draw and Student of the Blade are all popular Merits for those whose primary combat training is primarily for show. Those combat artists who reside in Hollywood often possess the Stunt Driver Merit, as well. Trick shooters and show marksmen often possess Gunslinger. The Expression and Weaponry Skills are equally appropriate for use with this style, though Athletics, Brawl and Firearms versions are widely learned, as well. Fighting Styles typically supplemented by Combat Art include Aggressive and Evasive Striking, Control, Knives, Light Sword, Throwing and Two-Weapon, while Combat Marksmanship, Sniping and even Archery find occasional crossover with this style. The combination of Combat Art with the Flexible Weapons Fighting Style can be stunning in martial arts competitions.

Combat Art is rarely combined with the teaching of those schools that teachings are overwhelmingly pragmatic, such as Krav Maga. Exceptions do exist, however; Krav Maga’s popularity in entertainment demands stunt persons capable of convincingly performing the vicious style, for example. Particularly traditional schools may frown upon Combat Art, as well, though many perform careful rituals and katas that can be considered powerful performance in its own right.

Dots purchased in this Merit provide access to special combat maneuvers. Each maneuver is a prerequisite for the next.

Flourish (•): The character performs an example of her style in order to threaten rather than entertain (though audiences often experience a thrill when witnessing such a feat) as an instant action. She gains a bonus to Intimidation rolls equal to her rating in the supplemented Skill or Fighting Style. This bonus lasts until the end of the scene or the character suffers a successful attack from an opponent (whichever comes first). Characters who enter the scene after the flourish is performed are not affected by it. Drawback: The flourishing character’s bonus is penalized by others who know her supplemented Skill or Fighting Style, as they might see through the emptiness of her action. For each dot the target of the character’s intimidation possesses in the same Skill or Fighting Style as that being supplemented, subtract one die from the flourishing character’s roll. Against sufficiently skilled opponents, this can completely cancel the bonus granted by the maneuver and even remove dice from the base Intimidation pool. A master sees through such petty posturing and thinks less of the student as a result.

Staged Combat (••): The character has trained to make perfectly safe and choreographed combat seem exceedingly real. The character gains a bonus to Expression or Subterfuge rolls to falsify combat equal to her rating in the supplemented Skill or Fighting Style.
Drawback: This maneuver can only be used with another individual who is working to fake the fight (and typically functions as a teamwork action).

Dancing for Mars (•••): The character gains a bonus equal to her rating in her supplemented Skill or Fighting Style to Expression rolls when utilizing her combat prowess as a performance piece (those using Combat Art to supplement Expression may double their Expression rating). This may be used to win competitions, secure a job teaching martial arts, or even intimidate one’s enemies. The bonus does not, however, ever apply to attacks made with the Skill, and use of this maneuver usually constitutes an extended action.

Function Follows Form (••••): The character has learned how to marry life and art, and her extensive training allows her to utilize the grace she exemplifies on the stage or gym mat to out-maneuver her enemies on the mean streets of the World of Darkness. The character gains one half of her rating in the supplemented Skill or Fighting Style, rounded up, as bonus dice to her attack roll and as a bonus to her Defense (which is not doubled in the case of a Dodge maneuver).
Drawback: The character must spend one Willpower point during any turn in which she benefits from this maneuver.

Langschwert groups that emphasize historical techniques learn to fight in full armor. They know how to move and conserve energy in heavy chain mail or even full plate. These skills aren’t exclusive to European martial artists. They’re also found in Japanese koryu and modern military combatives.

Your character knows how to fight in heavy armor. Every two dots in this Merit (at •• or ••••) reduce her Brawl, Melee Defense and Speed penalties for heavy armor by 1.

Your character either has training in how to handle himself in a fight, or has been in enough crisis situations that he doesn’t lose his head when people start getting hurt. A number of combat hacks involving the effects of pain and stress do not apply to this character. These hacks are: Freezing Under Fire, Lethal Stun and Unable to Attack.

Your character knows how to use a blunt weapon to enhance her holds and locks. She presses the weapon against joints and muscle groups, or forces compliance with a few short blows. If she has a blunt weapon in hand, add the weapon’s Size to her Strength + Brawl pool whenever she attempts overpowering maneuvers.

Drawbacks: This benefit doesn’t apply to initial attempts to establish a grapple. It only works with weapons that have a maximum Size of 3.

This general striking style emphasizes speed, agility and defense. Practitioners block, bob, weave and pick their shots whenever they see their opponent’s defense falter. The core rulebook’s Kung Fu style is a specialized version of this Merit.

It uses the following maneuver progression:

Focused Attack (•): Physical conditioning and accuracy allow your character to deliver blows at vulnerable spots on targets. Penalties to hit specific targets are reduced by one. See “Specified Targets,” p. 165. Even when a specific part of an opponent is not targeted, armor penalties to your character’s Brawl attacks are reduced by one.

Duck and Weave (••): Your character is trained to instinctively duck and evade an opponent’s blows. Use the higher of your character’s Dexterity or Wits to determine his Defense when dealing with Brawl-based attacks only (not against Weaponry attacks). If a combination of Brawl- and Weaponry-based attacks is focused on your character in the same turn, use his normal Defense against both.

Defensive Attack (•••): Your character has mastered the ability to fight defensively. When using this maneuver, your character gains +2 to his Defense for the turn, but any attack he makes suffers a -2 penalty. He can move no more than his Speed while performing a Defense Attack maneuver in a turn.

Whirlwind Strike (••••): Your character can unleash a storm of blows against an opponent. He can make a number of extra Brawl attacks for each point of Dexterity that he has above 2 in a single action. Each extra at-tack is made at a cumulative -1 modifier. Thus, he can perform a total of two attacks at Dexterity 3 (the second of which is at -1), three attacks at Dexterity 4 (the third of which is at -2), and four at Dexterity 5 (the fourth of which is at -3). All attacks must be on the same target.
Drawback: Your character cannot use his Defense against any attack in the same turn in which he intends to use this maneuver. If he uses Defense against attacks that occur earlier in the Initiative roster, before he can perform this maneuver, he cannot perform the maneuver this turn. He is too busy bobbing and weaving out of the way of attacks.

Destroy Defense (•••••): Your character uses clever combinations, feints, sidesteps and perhaps furtive grabbing (called “sticking” or “trapping” in some martial arts) to progressively destroy your opponent’s ability to defend himself. Whenever he successfully hits an unarmed target with a Brawl attack, he reduces her Defense by 1 against his next attack. This is cumulative across multiple, successive attacks, up to a maximum Defense penalty equal to the lower of the attacker’s Wits or Dexterity. After that, the target recovers her full Defense, and the character must try to impose this penalty once again.
Your character can use Destroy Defense across multiple rounds as long as he does nothing except deliver successful Brawl attacks. If he misses or performs any other action, the running penalty imposed by the Merit automatically “resets” to 0.
The target retains her full Defense against other attackers; she’s only extraordinarily vulnerable to the maneuver user’s Brawl attacks. This maneuver does combine with Combination Blows or Whirlwind Strike. Destroy Defense’s penalty is cumulative with the normal Defense penalty against multiple attacks, if it applies.

Schools: Common Evasive Striking arts include Bruce Lee’s Jun Fan Kung Fu (or “Original Jeet Kune Do”), American or Hawaiian Kenpo, rapid-fire kung fu styles like wing chun and Filipino panantukan boxing. Remember that specific styles may have specialized maneuvers (see p. 106 ).

Your character knows how to keep a hold of his gun when someone tries to take it, even while it’s holstered. If an opponent attempts to disarm her with an overpower maneuver, an attempt to target her holster with a grab (see the World of Darkness rulebook, p. 138) or use a similar tactic learned from a Fighting Style, he must subtract your character’s Brawl dots from his dice pool. This benefit also applies to attempts to steal the weapon from your character’s holster.
Drawback: This benefit doesn’t apply against attempts to take a weapon by stealth.

This Striking sub-style concentrates on offense and raw toughness. Practitioners develop the conditioning to absorb blows and the specific strength needed to dish out serious damage. The core rulebook’s Boxing style is a specialized version of this Merit.

It uses the following maneuver progression:

Body Blow (•): Your character can deliver powerful blows that leave opponents reeling and gasping for air. If successes inflicted in a single Brawl attack equal or exceed a target’s Size, the victim loses his next action.

Iron Skin (••): Your character has hardened his body to physical blows, allowing him to withstand repeated hits with minimal effect. He has an effective armor trait of 1 against bashing attacks only.

Combination Blows (•••): Your character’s training and experience allow him to devastate opponents with a flurry of rapid blows. He can make two Brawl attacks against the same target in a single action. The second attack suffers a -1 penalty.
Drawback: Your character cannot use his Defense against any attack in the same turn in which he intends to use this maneuver. If he uses Defense against attacks that occur earlier in the Initiative roster, before he can perform this maneuver, he cannot perform the maneuver in the turn. He is too busy bobbing and weaving out of the way of attacks.

Haymaker (••••): Your character can deliver powerful, accurate blows capable of knocking an opponent unconscious with a single punch. A single Brawl attack that equals or exceeds the target’s Size in damage might knock him unconscious. A Stamina roll is made for the victim. If it succeeds, he is conscious but he still loses his next action due to the Body Blow (see above). If it fails, he is unconscious for a number of turns equal to the damage done.
Drawback: Your character cannot use his Defense against any attack in the same turn in which he intends to use this maneuver. If he uses Defense against attacks that occur earlier in the Initiative roster, before he can perform this maneuver, he cannot perform the maneuver in the turn. He is too busy bobbing and weaving out of the way of attacks.

Lethal Strike (•••••): By focusing his might and concentration, your character can kill or maim an opponent with a well-placed strike. A strike inflicts lethal instead of bashing damage.
Drawback: Spend one Willpower point per attack. Note that this Willpower expenditure does not add three dice to the attack.

Schools: Common Aggressive Striking Arts include “hard” karate styles such as Shotokan and Uechi-ryu, Hung Gar kung fu and old school bareknuckle boxing. Remember that specific styles may have specialized maneuvers (see p. 106 ).

Your character has trained to grapple using old school, no holds barred catch wrestling (Olympic style wrestlers learn the first two maneuvers), Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Russian sombo. He uses leverage and positioning to out-grapple opponents.

Sprawl (•): Your character knows how to “sprawl” and sink his weight to avoid being overpowered in a grapple. Subtract the higher of Strength +1 or Dexterity +1 from dice pools to overpower him in a grapple. This doesn’t apply to the initial hold, but subsequent attacks from the grip.

Takedown/Throw (••): Your character knows how to rapidly close with your enemy and take him to the ground. In lieu of securing a grappling hold, he can immediately render the opponent prone (see The World of Darkness, p. 157 and 164). Furthermore, if he takes an opponent down this way, he can choose whether or not to go prone with the target. Mixed martial arts fighters take a crouching (but still standing) position from her and deliver vicious beatings with their hands – a technique called “ground and pound.”

Chokehold (•••): Your character can efficiently choke enemies by cutting off blood flow to their brains. If he overpowers an opponent in a grapple, he can start the choke. The choke inflicts a cumulative –1 die penalty to the opponent’s actions for each turn it’s maintained. The victim falls unconscious if he endures a choking attack for a number of consecutive turns equal to his Stamina. Your character can continue choking an unconscious victim. This inflicts lethal damage equal to the attacker’s Strength + Brawl successes every turn.
Chokeholds don’t work on opponents who don’t need to breathe.

Submission Hold (••••): Opponents caught in your joint locks can’t escape without injuring themselves. If your character scores more successes than his opponent’s Size in an immobilization attempt, the victim can’t attempt any physical action – including breaking free – without suffering a point of lethal damage. This penalty lasts from the moment of immobilization to end of the next turn.
Furthermore, your character can always choose to inflict one point of lethal damage whenever he damages an opponent with an overpowering roll. The character’s first Strength + Brawl success inflicts a point of lethal damage; subsequent successes inflict bashing damage.
Submission holds don’t work on creatures that don’t have bones.

Schools: As the core description mentions, the most common versions of this style are used by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu stylists and mixed martial artists. Olympic style wrestlers don’t learn the listed higher dots, but might have specialized maneuvers to replace them. Some pro-wrestling schools teach real catch as catch can wrestling along with ring showmanship. In the wrestling world, “legit” grapplers enjoy a certain amount of prestige – and bring the real pain to anyone to tries to mess with them.

Remember that specific styles may have specialized maneuvers (see p. 106).

Prerequisites: Combination Blows Fighting Style Maneuver (Boxing or Aggressive Striking •••), Takedown/Throw Fighting Style Maneuver (Grappling ••)

Your character may use Combination Blows (World of Darkness core, pp. 110–111) to perform Takedown/Throw Maneuver followed by an unarmed strike. If she succeeds with the first maneuver, her dice pool doesn’t suffer the usual –1 penalty for the second attack in the Combination Blows series. Instead, the character gains a +2 bonus to strike her prone opponent.

Your character has a strong upper body, tough knuckles and enough raw aggression to punch harder than most people. Her strikes inflict +1 damage. This even applies when she’s wearing knuckledusters or other blunt fist loads.
Drawback: The benefit does not apply to biting, grappling attacks or sharp weapons (including blades or spiked fist loads) – just standard unarmed strikes.

Your character has studied the art of iaido, focusing her awareness of her surroundings and her ability to respond to a threat to the razor’s edge. She has learned to draw a blade at a moment’s notice, and has internalized kata focused on swiping the blade across her opponent’s vitals.

Practitioners of iaido often cultivate the Wits Attribute, as speed of thought and awareness of one’s surroundings are valued by adherents of the style.

Dots purchased in this Merit provide access to special combat maneuvers. Each maneuver is a prerequisite for the next. Iaido maneuvers are based on the Weaponry Skill and are used with a curved sword, most commonly the katana.

Tsuki Kage (“Draw and Cut;” •): The character sharpens his already capable ability to quickly enter combat. If the character begins combat with his weapon sheathed, he adds his rating in the Weaponry Skill to his Initiative modifier. If the Storyteller utilizes the optional initiative rule from page 151 of the World of Darkness Rulebook, this bonus applies on any turn in which the character’s weapon begins the turn sheathed.
Drawback: The character must commit to an attack against an opponent during the first turn of combat to gain the advantage of this maneuver.

Zanshin (“Awareness;” ••): While honing the speed of one’s reactions can save one’s life, better still to be constantly vigilant. The character strives to remain ever aware of his surroundings, that he may never be taken by surprise. The character gains a bonus of two dice to all rolls to avoid an impending ambush. This Merit duplicates the effect of the Danger Sense Merit, and a character with both Merits gains a total +4 on rolls to avoid being surprised. Such characters are paragons of self-awareness.

Tachi-Sabaki (“Movement of the Sword;” •••): The character has mastered defensive kata designed to intercept incoming attacks and deflect them with the blade of the weapon. The character relies as much on the quality of his sword as he does his own speed of thought and motion. The character adds his weapon bonus (the weapon’s damage rating) to his Dodge value when taking a fully defensive action. A character may benefit from this Merit while utilizing the Weaponry Dodge Merit (though not the Brawling Dodge Merit).
Drawback: The character only benefits from this Merit when taking a full Dodge action.

Kan Ken No Metsuke (“Seeing with Eyes and Mind;” ••••): The character’s speed gives him a small but potentially important edge over other combatants. If the character’s initiative roll results in a tie with another character involved in combat, the character automatically acts before his opponents and allies. Initiative Modifiers are not compared and initiative is never determined by a roll-off (though if multiple characters aside from the iaido practitioner rolled the same initiative, their initiative ratings are resolved as normal). If two characters possess this maneuver, they act at the same time, each resolving their action as if the other had not yet acted. This can result in two characters killing each other in the same heated moment.

Uke Nagashi (“Catch and Slide Off;” •••••): The character’s ability to move defensively and counter an attack with one of his own has been perfected. If the character’s weapon is sheathed, he can declare a Dodge action at any point during a turn, assuming she has not yet acted. His Defense is doubled as usual, though he may not utilize Weaponry Dodge or Tachi-Sabaki against attacks. However, the character can choose any opponent who is making an attack against him to perform a counter attack against. In a single swift motion, the character draws his blade, parries his enemy’s blow, and attacks his opponent. The character’s Weaponry Dodge (if he possesses it) and Tachi-Sabaki maneuver apply against the opponent’s attack (and only against this opponent). The character makes an immediate reflexive attack against the opponent at a one die penalty. After making his counter-attack, the character’s Defense applies as normal to further attacks made against him during the turn (i.e., his Defense is not doubled). Defense penalties for being attacked multiple times during a single turn are not affected by this maneuver in any way.
Drawback: The character spends one Willpower point per turn using this maneuver.

Honmon Enshin Ryu’s Iai Kenpo
A modern school of iaido, Enshin Ryu teaches jujutsu and suemonogiri (the practice of cutting), but possesses a strong focus on being attacked from behind. Students of this style may purchase the following specialized maneuver instead of Kan Ken No Metsuke, above.

Muso-Ken (“No-thought Sword;” ••••): The character draws, turns, and thrusts his blade at a potential enemy in a single motion. A character with this Merit may make a reflexive counter-attack when successfully attacked at point-blank range by an opponent by surprise.
Drawback: This maneuver requires the user to expend a Willpower point. It constitutes the character’s action for the turn, though if used before initiative is rolled, the character may act on his initiative as usual.

Judo is an Olympic sport. People all over the world study this martial art. The quintessence of modern gendai budo, it retains a strong sense of tradition while adopting cutting edge training methods.

Dots purchased in this Merit provide access to special combat maneuvers. Each maneuver is a prerequisite for the next. Judo maneuvers are based on the Brawl Skill and work in conjunction with unarmed combat and athletics.

Ukemi (“Receiving;” •): Your character knows how to fall properly and get up quickly. He may stand up from a prone position (but not both) once per turn as a reflexive action, and is considered to have one point of armor against bashing damage caused by falls – but not other sources.

Nage-waza (“Throwing Techniques;” ••): Your character may use a grappling overpower to render an opponent prone without falling prone herself – but if she chooses to fall prone, she may simultaneously damage her opponent while rendering her prone. Furthermore, she excels at gripping clothing. If the opponent wears anything heavier than a t-shirt on his upper body she gains a +1 equipment bonus to perform each of the above maneuvers. If the opponent wears a gi (a karate or judo-style uniform), this increases to +2.

Sutemi-waza (“Sacrifice Techniques;” •••): Your character uses her own bodyweight to drive her opponent to the ground, falling prone along with him. If she uses an all-out attack (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p.157) you may add her Athletics skill to a roll instead of the usual +2 to render her opponent prone while using the nage-waza option that allows her to simultaneously damage an opponent and render her prone, while falling prone herself.

Renzoku-waza (“Combination Techniques;” ••••): The character can attempt multiple grappling or shihonage attacks per turn, or he can defend with multiple throws using the Aiki maneuver. He may make one additional grapple or shihonage for each point of Dexterity that he has above 2. Each extra action is rolled at a cumulative –1 modifier. Thus, he can attempt two grapples or shihonage at Dexterity 3 (with the second at a –1 modifier), three at Dexterity 4 (at a 0, –1 then –2 modifier to dice rolls) and four at Dexterity 5 (at 0, –1, –2 and –3 to each dice roll, in turn).
Drawback: If the character’s first action is anything but a grapple or shihonage attempt he cannot use this benefit.

Tokui-waza (“Favorite Technique;” •••••): Through constant practice and competition, your character had made one throw into a specialty. It’s not easy to apply it every time, but when the opportunity appears, few people can resist her technique. If her opponent scores zero successes to establish a hold, escape one or use an overpowering maneuver and the character secures a hold herself, she creates an opening for the technique.

If you score even one success on one of the nage-waza based overpowering actions (render an opponent prone while standing, or render both combatants prone while inflicting damage), add the character’s Athletics Skill as extra successes.

Your character practices Krav Maga, and has become competent in an unarmed variant of Defensive Striking. Dots purchased in this Merit provide access to special combat maneuvers. Each maneuver is a prerequisite for the next. Krav Maga maneuvers are based on the Brawl Skill unless otherwise noted and are used unarmed.

Immediate Defense (•): The character has learned to act quickly to neutralize a threat and make a fast escape. She gains a bonus to her Initiative equal to her Brawl Skill when fighting armed opponents.

Disarming Defense (••): The character twists her torso out of danger while grabbing her opponent’s wrist and pulling him forward, using her own torso for leverage as she tears his weapon from his hand. This acts as the Disarm Merit save that it utilizes the Brawl Skill. Rather than knocking the weapon away, the character takes the weapon from her opponent, and may use it the following turn.

Impenetrable Defense (•••): The character knows that offense and defense are one in the same. The character may add his rating in his Brawl Skill to his Defense or Dodge against a single incoming attack. The bonus from this maneuver combines with that from Brawling Dodge.
Drawback: The character must expend a Willpower point to perform this maneuver. This maneuver is reflexive, and a character may use it and perform an instant action (such as attacking) so long as she did not use the Dodge action.

The First Moment (••••): The character has trained her reaction time to a tenth of a second, acting more by instinct than thought. If the character’s initiative roll results in a tie with another character involved in combat, the character automatically acts before his opponents and allies. Initiative Modifiers are not compared and initiative is never determined by a roll-off (though if multiple characters aside from the Krav Maga practitioner rolled the same initiative, their initiative ratings are resolved as normal). If two characters possess this maneuver, they act at the same time, each resolving their action as if the other had not yet acted. This can result in two characters killing each other in the same heated moment.

Finishing the Fight (•••••): The character moves defensively, but knows when to lash out at an enemy to bring him crashing to the ground. The character declares and benefits from a Dodge action (including Brawling Dodge, if she possesses it). She may abort that action to make an immediate, reflexive counter-attack against an opponent whose attack fails to overcome her Dodge trait.
Drawback: This maneuver costs the character one Willpower point to enact. After making her counter-attack, the character loses her Defense for the remainder of the turn.

Your character is skilled in the German two-handed long sword style, or another martial art that specializes in using a long two-handed sword or stick. Dots purchased in this Merit provide access to special combat maneuvers. Each maneuver is a prerequisite for the next. Langschwert maneuvers are based on the Weaponry Skill and work in conjunction with a Size 3 or 4 blade or staff.

Wards (•): Your character knows how to use his weapon to deflect and threaten away attacks. Add 1 to his Defense when he wields a weapon compatible with this Fighting Style.

Fool’s Guard (••): Your character knows how to hold his weapon low to seemingly invite attack, but when the opponent strikes, he can quickly raise it to counter. Instead of offering a normal Defense, roll Strength + Weaponry + 1 die against the opponent’s attack. This is an instant action. Each success reduces the attack’s damage by 1, and if the characters successes exceed the attacker’s, the difference is inflicted upon the attacker as damage from the character’s weapon
Drawback: The character cannot employ his Defense in any turn where he uses the Fool’s Guard.

Half Sword (•••): Your character grabs the midpoint of his weapon to rain more powerful thrusts and blows at a shorter range, almost as if he was using the blade as a small spear. If his attack succeeds, add 2 to the weapon’s damage (do not add this as the weapon’s equipment bonus, but after rolling).
Drawback: The weapon’s reduced range nullifies the Wards maneuver, so the character loses its Defense bonus. It also reduces the character’s Weaponry-based dice pool by one.

Doubling Cut (••••): Your character strikes the enemy with two quick cuts. He can make two Weaponry attacks against an opponent in the same turn.
Drawback: Your character cannot employ his Defense or the Fool’s Guard in the same turn as he uses this maneuver.

Wrathful Cut (•••••): Your character steps in with a powerful blow, capable of overwhelming his enemy’s defenses. When he makes an All-Out Attack (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 157), add his Weaponry dots instead of the normal +2 bonus.
Drawback: Your character cannot employ his Defense or the Fool’s Guard in the same turn as he uses this maneuver.

Your character is trained in the art of boxing, able to deliver swift, powerful kicks and punchs, and to duck and weave away from opponents’ attacks. He might have participated in the sport in high school or college, or made a go of it professionally. Or he might have taken some classes at the local school as a form of exercise. Dots purchased in this Merit allow access to special combat maneuvers. Each maneuver is a prerequisite for the next. So, your character can’t have “Duck and Weave” until he has “Body Blow.” The maneuvers and their effects are described below, most of which are based on the Brawl Skill.

Cut Kick (•): Your character knows how to deliver powerful round kicks to her opponent’s legs. When you choose this option your character inflicts one less point of damage than usual, counted after rolling to see if the attack succeeds. (For example, an attack that scores one success would still be a successful cut kick, but inflicts no Health damage). However, each kick reduces the opponent’s Speed by one, down to a minimum of one. If you roll as many successes as the opponent’s Size, he falls prone because he’s been swept by a kick or can’t use his legs out of sheer pain. Opponents can get back up whenever they have the chance, but their Speed only recovers at the end of the combat scene.

Duck and Weave (••): Your character is trained to instinctively duck and evade an opponent’s blows. Use the higher of your character’s Dexterity or Wits to determine his Defense when dealing with Brawl-based attacks only (not against Weaponry attacks). If a combination of Brawl- and Weaponry-based attacks is focused on your character in the same turn, use his normal Defense against both.

Combination Blows (•••): Your character’s training and experience allow him to devastate opponents with a flurry of rapid blows. He can make two Brawl attacks against the same target in a single action. The second attack suffers a -1 penalty.
Drawback: Your character cannot use his Defense against any attack in the same turn in which he intends to use this maneuver. If he uses Defense against attacks that occur earlier in the Initiative roster, before he can perform this maneuver, he cannot perform the maneuver in the turn. He is too busy bobbing and weaving out of the way of attacks.

Thai Clinch (••••): Your character grabs an enemy around the head and pulls him into a vicious elbow or knee strike. If you are establishing a grappling hold as the first part of using the Combination Blows maneuver to inflict damage as the second move, add your Dexterity to your dice pool to attack.
Drawback: The usual –1 penalty for Combination Blows applies to the first grappling attempt, not to the following attack. This benefit does not apply if your character has already established a hold, or during future attempts to damage an opponent from the same hold, but she can always abandon her current hold and try a new grapple to use the Thai Clinch.

Brutal Blow (•••••): Your character’s accuracy and power are such that his fists are lethal weapons, able to injure or kill opponents. A brutal blow inflicts lethal instead of bashing damage.
Drawback: Spend one Willpower point per attack. Note that this Willpower expenditure does not add three dice to the attack.

Your character is skilled in a Chinese martial arts style that emphasizes qinna, or another martial art that specializes in standing joint locks, holds and chokes.

Dots purchased in this Merit provide access to special combat maneuvers. Each maneuver is a prerequisite for the next. Qinna maneuvers are based on the Brawl Skill and work in conjunction with unarmed combat.

Qinna maneuvers are designed to exploit weaknesses in the human anatomy. Targets who do not feel pain, possess the need to breathe or have skeletons will not be affected by certain maneuvers. Of the commonly played supernatural beings, this renders vampires immune to the effects of Sealing the Breath or Disrupting the Veins.

Standing Control (•): Your character gains an additional overpowering maneuver, called Standing Control. If she overpowers her opponent she may force him to accompany him wherever he goes.
Drawback: The character can only move himself and his opponent half as far as his Speed would normally allow. The character cannot have moved earlier in the turn, and cannot automatically dump his enemy over a cliff or into a fire or other dangerous environment without performing a separate attack. [Can you use the target as cover?]

Misplacing the Bones (••): The character’s holds can snap bones and tear connective tissue. If his player inflicts more damage in an overpowering maneuver than the victim’s Size, he breaks a limb unless the defender opts to immediately fall prone. The fracture (or tissue separation) inflicts a point of lethal damage instead of the standard bashing damage, and renders the limb useless. It does not recover until the victim heals that damage. If the limb is an arm, reduce the defender’s Defense by 1 and note that he’s dropped anything held in it. If it’s a leg, the defender cannot walk upright.
Drawback: Unless the character opts for a specified target (see World of Darkness, p. 165), the defender’s player (or Storyteller) chooses which limb’s been damaged.

Grabbing the Muscles (•••): Your character’s grappling holds twist muscles out of place or puts the defender in a position where she can’t use strength to force her way out of the attack. Treat the defender as if her Strength was two dots lower for the purpose of resisting overpower maneuvers.

Sealing the Breath (••••): Your character can use chokeholds and strikes to pressure points around the lungs to interfere with a target’s breathing. If he succeeds with a Brawl-based strike or damaging overpower rolled at a voluntary –1 die penalty, he inflicts a –1 die penalty to the opponent’s actions in addition to inflicting standard damage. This penalty is cumulative throughout the combat scene, but vanishes afterwards.

Disrupting the Veins (•••••): Your character’s grappling maneuvers expertly attack anatomical weaknesses. When he damages a victim with an overpower maneuver you can choose to inflict lethal damage, and when he uses any other maneuver he can choose to inflict a point of lethal damage in addition to other effects.
Drawback: Spend a point of Willpower per attack. This does not add three dice to your roll.

Your character knows how to throw edged weapons with particular skill. Dots purchased in this Merit provide access to special combat maneuvers. Each maneuver is a prerequisite for the next.

Your character may use Fighting Style: Shuriken-jutsu with any edged weapon that’s been designed for throwing. She may also use it with any other Size 1 object as if she had one dot less in this Merit, or any Size 2 weapon as if she had 2 dots less (Size 3 or greater weapons are not compatible with the Merit). The advantages of this Merit apply to the character’s attempts to throw a qualified weapon, not use it in close range combat.

Ma-ai (“Distance;” •): Your character learns to properly gauge a target’s distance and modify her technique to match it. Double her short, medium and long range throwing ranges.

Kakushi Buki (“Hidden Weapons;” ••): The character knows how to rapidly retrieve a throwing weapon from a sleeve, holster or other prepared spot on her body. She never needs to use an action to draw a throwing weapon from a prepared spot.

Choku Da-Ho (“Direct Hit Method;” •••): Your character can throw using the power of her entire body. Add her Strength dots to the dice pool for throwing the weapon.
Drawback: The character is considered a still target and may not employ her Defense during the turn in which she uses this maneuver. She may not use this maneuver in conjunction with Ikki Gokken.

Ikki Gokken (“Five Blades in One Breath;” ••••): Your character can throw multiple weapons in rapid succession during a single turn, provided she either holds them in one hand or can draw them instantly using Kakushi Buki. She may make a one additional throw for each point of Dexterity that she has above 2. Each extra action is rolled at a cumulative –1 modifier. Thus, she can throw twice at Dexterity 3 (with the second at a –1 modifier), three times at Dexterity 4 (at a 0, –1 then –2 modifier to dice rolls) and four time at Dexterity 5 (at 0, –1, –2 and –3 to each dice roll, in turn).
Drawback: The character is considered a still target and may not employ her Defense during the turn in which she uses this maneuver. She may not use this maneuver in conjunction with Choku-Do-Ho.

Your character knows how to use a spear in close combat. Sojutsu (often incorrectly called yarijutsu) is the Japanese form of the style. These skills also apply to using a rifle with a fixed bayonet (called jukendo in Japan). Thus, characters might learn it in a modern military force or a martial arts school. Martial artists often learn this fighting style alongside Fighting Style: Staff Fighting (see World of Darkness: Armory, pp. 213–214).

A character using this fighting style must use his weapon with both hands to take advantage of its maneuvers.

Warding Stance (•): The basic advantage of a spear or fixed bayonet is its length. Trained fighters learn to keep the tip of the weapon pointed forward, constantly threatening incoming attackers. Thus, this maneuver lets a practitioner attack first whenever an opponent using a smaller-Size melee weapon attacks from the front.

Thrust (••): The character knows how to deliver precise, powerful thrusting blows. His spear or bayonet gains the 9 again quality. If the spear or fixed bayonet already has this quality, he gains no further benefit.

Block and Strike (•••): Your character can deflect incoming attacks with the haft or stock of his weapon and swiftly strike back. When using this maneuver, your character gains +2 to his Defense for the turn, but any attack he makes suffers a –2 penalty. Unlike similar maneuvers (such as Two-Weapon Fighting’s Deflect and Thrust maneuver), the character can move freely while using the technique.

Great Thrust (••••): The character lunges forward, putting his entire body behind a powerful thrust. If he employs an All Out Attack (see The World of Darkness, p. 157), he adds a number of dice equal to his lower of his Strength or Weaponry skill instead of the standard 2 dice. Drawback: If the attack inflicts at least as much lethal damage as the opponent’s Size, the character lodges the weapon deep in his target’s body. Dislodging it requires an additional Strength + Weaponry roll, but automatically inflicts a point of lethal damage.

Schools: Numerous Chinese, African and European styles teach spear fighting, and fixed-bayonet training is taught to soldiers forces around the world. A skilled fighter can transfer expertise from one to the other. To make the best use of a spear’s length, a practitioner should also learn Fighting Style: Staff Fighting.
Aside from the spear, this Fighting Style applies to glaives, halberds and poleaxes. Specific styles may have specialized maneuvers (see p. 106) to represent everything from Chinese arts that bounce the spear off the ground to the formation fighting skills of ancient phalanxes or Swiss pikemen.

Your character trains with a wide variety of light swords and sticks, allowing her to flow from one method to the next. She never suffers a penalty for being unfamiliar with a weapon outside her original Fighting Style.

She has learned to utilize the shield’s strengths, redirecting it towards incoming threats while overcoming some of the clumsiness involved in making attacks from behind a shield’s protective cover.

Dots purchased in this Merit provide access to special combat maneuvers. Each maneuver is a prerequisite for the next. Sword and Shield maneuvers are based on the Weaponry Skill and function only when a character possesses a shield.

Cloak and Dagger (•): Your character’s extensive training with shields allows her to utilize improvised shields more effectively. This maneuver is named for the practice of using one’s cloak to buffet incoming attacks away. A character with this maneuver doubles the effective Structure of an improvised shield (usually an improvised shield can only deflect a number of attacks equal to its structure before being destroyed) and suffers a –2 penalty to attack rather than the standard –3. This penalty can be further decreased by the maneuver The Shielded Strike below, but improvised shields cannot be used to perform the Shield Bash, Shield Charge, or Stand Strong maneuvers.

Shield Bash (••): Your character has learned how to use the shield defensively and offensively. Attempts to strike another combatant with the character’s shield still suffer a –1 penalty, but gain a Weapon bonus equal to the shield’s Defense rating. Damage remains bashing.
Drawback: A character using a shield to knock an enemy back is not using it for defense. A character does not benefit from a shield’s Defense rating on a turn in which she uses this maneuver. If she has already used the full Defense rating against an incoming attack during the turn, she may not use the maneuver.

The Shielded Strike (•••): The character’s use of her shield integrates seamlessly with that of her weapon. She may rest the blade across the top or side of a rectangular shield, pushing the weapon forward as if playing billiards. Perhaps she has developed a careful rhythm in which she lowers the shield for the bare instant necessary to deliver a fatal attack. Either way, when the character uses this maneuver to make an attack, she no longer suffers a penalty for using a weapon while benefiting from her shield, and her shield adds +1 to its Defense rating against the target of the attack.
Drawback: The character’s concentration on coordinating her shield and weapon leaves her open to attacks from the flanks and rear. She loses her Defense against attacks made by any opponent save the one she is attacking. If she has already used her Defense against an incoming attack from another opponent during the turn, she may not use the maneuver.

Shield Charge (••••): The character charges forward, shield lowered before her, and crashes into the enemy line. The character makes a shield bash attack (see above) at a –2. The attack inflicts bashing damage, but if even a single success is scored on the attack, the character may send her enemy flying. An opponent who suffers the effects of this attack makes a reflexive Dexterity + Athletics roll; if he rolls fewer successes than the shield-user, he suffers knockdown (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 168). At Storyteller’s discretion, this maneuver may be used against multiple opponents, provided that they are standing close enough together. Each additional opponent targeted levies an additional –1 to the attack roll, and the damage rolled is distributed evenly among those hit. Those who suffer no damage do not check for knockdown, even if their companions do.
Drawback: Use of this maneuver necessitates a charge action (World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 164), which means, among other things, she loses her Defense. If she has already used her Defense against an incoming attack from another opponent during the turn, she may not use the maneuver.

Stand Strong (•••••): The character digs in her feet, raises her shield, and stands as a human wall against an onslaught of attacks. She benefits from her full Dodge trait and shield defense bonus against attacks made from a single direction (Weaponry Dodge can be applied). Additionally, attacks from that direction do not decrease her Defense against later attacks in the round. For the purpose of this maneuver, a direction is approximately one third of the circumference of a circle drawn about the character (typically claiming defense against attacks from the left, front, or right is sufficient). Attacks made against the character from other directions suffer a penalty equal to Defense only, which suffers penalties from multiple attacks as usual. Note that while a single enemy might be able to move around the character’s defenses, no more than three characters can assault the character from a direction that she can’t fully defend against through this maneuver.
Drawback: Using this maneuver requires an incredible exercise of will. A character must spend one Willpower point to gain the benefits of this Merit for one turn.

Shields: The Short Version
A character utilizing a shield for protection gains a bonus to her Defense equal to the shield’s Defense rating but at the cost of 2 dice from attack rolls made while holding the shield (characters with the Ambidexterity Merit suffer only a –2 penalty). A character who concentrates on Defense (and hence doesn’t take an attack that turn) may gain an additional +1 to her Defense. Most shields have a Defense rating of 2, though improvised shields only grant a rating of 1.

More detailed rules for shield use can be found on page 178 of Armory.

Krav Maga teaches its adherents that efficacy trumps style in every case. Exposed to purposefully harsh conditions, mentors train their pupils to quickly recognize and obtain the most useful improvised implement of destruction in her immediate surroundings, whether it be a bottle of gin, a pool cue or even a stapler. The results can be brutal.

A character with this Merit may roll Wits + Weaponry as a reflexive action to ascertain what nearby object is both useful and available for use as a deadly weapon. On a success, the Storyteller relates to her the nearest and most efficacious improvised weapon, which she may then take up as an instant action (or as a reflexive action if she possesses the appropriate Quick Draw Merit). On a dramatic success, the character finds a weapon so perfect that it does not suffer the usual –1 penalty for being improvised.

Storytellers are encouraged to be creative with this Merit. Rarely does a character find herself in a situation in which absolutely nothing can be used as a weapon.

Your character trains in a martial art that teaches common principles for weapons and unarmed combat. Her skills transfer from one to the other. This gives her the ability to use certain armed Fighting Styles without a weapon. Of the styles discussed in this book, she may use Two Weapons, Filipino Martial Arts (Stick Fighting) or Spetsnaz (and other forms of) Knife Fighting.

You must purchase this maneuver separately for each Fighting Style.Your character uses Brawl instead of Weaponry for all maneuver-related attacks and dice pools, and inflicts damage as an unarmed combatant.