THE THOUSAND SANCTIONED BEASTS

Rand Brittain CREDITS SPECIAL THANKS • Writing and Layout: Rand Brittain • To the creators of the 13th Age roleplaying • Illustrations: Kirsten Moody game, and particularly the 13th Age Bestiary, for • Old Realm Translation: Richard Javier demonstrating the objectively correct way to do “Blaque” Stephenson & Stephen Lea Sheppard bestiaries in crunchy games. • To Jenna Moran, for not stopping me.

sanction [san(k)-shən] • to permit • to penalize • a convenient word which means its own opposite

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Martial Artists Everything that lives, and has not yet become extinct, three separate abilities, for followers of the first, has demonstrated the value of its survival strate- second, and third tiers. The Quick NPC writeups gy. Martial artists study the rhythms of the natural will indicate how many abilities to add to the write- world, the classical forms, and the mysterious truths up, and from how many schools. of the cosmos. By emulating these patterns, they The first three stat blocks in this chapter be- make their bodies windows into enlightenment. long to the initiate, the adept, and the master mar- In this sorrowful age, many students of the mar- tial artists, who serve as three grades of generic tial arts care only for their effectiveness as tools of vi- mooks. The master might be a reasonable challenge olence, and are indifferent to their spiritual develop- for Exalts who aren’t terribly combat-invested, but ment. Their martial arts remain exactly as effective as a general rule, these three are here to fill out the as anybody else’s — just as any student of the natural ranks in a battle with a more powerful enemy and world would have predicted. her minions. The left-handed master, conversely, represents a mortal warrior who has tapped into Creation is absolutely lousy with martial arts tradi- some deadly forbidden secret and achieved her pin- tions. From the perspective of the players, the most nacle of power. She’s meant to serve as the leader of important thing about martial arts is the Charms a larger group of enemies, in which she’ll function they teach to the Exalted. However, the vast major- as the tank. For simplicity and consistency, you’ll ity of martial artists are mortals, who still practice often set up these groups of enemies using the same the same techniques without elevating them to the style all around, but that isn’t actually required. supernatural. Of course, even though my first intention in When writing this section, I wanted to create writing this section was to make mortal martial statistics for mortal warriors of different martial artists into a fun combat encounter, it would be traditions, so that Storytellers would have a wider downright irresponsible to leave out the two forms variety of opponents to throw against their players of Exalted who are famous for their martial arts. who were not actually Exalted or other supernatu- As a result, this section also includes two much ral threats. As a result, the Quick NPCs in this chap- more difficult opponents in the starry-eyed master ter each possess a base stat block which the ST will and the yin-yang master. In my experience, both of customize by adding the abilities of one or more these are potential killers, so calibrate them care- schools of martial arts. The details of these schools fully to your circle’s level of combat prowess. can be found at the end of this section. Each has INITIATE ADEPT These students are familiar with the arts of war… These martial artists have been in a battle or two, at least in theory. and since they’re still here, I guess they must have won. Now it’s time for battle three. Initiates are the base-level martial arts enemy. They are deadly foes to training dummies every- Martial arts adepts, in groups, make pleasingly where and can fill out the minion ranks in battle adequate foes against Exalted who have made against mortal heroes, or Exalts who are complete only moderate investment in combat skills, but noncombatants. a hero with any real martial focus will have no problem dealing with them. If your group has INITIATE extremely low combat ability, use one of these Essence: 1; Willpower: 4; Join Battle: 6 guys as the main opponent. Otherwise, they’re more likely to be tagging along behind a master Health Levels: -0 / -1 x 2 / -2 x 2 / -4 / Incap. or left-handed master. Actions: Senses 4, Threaten 4 ADEPT Appearance 3, Resolve 3, Guile 1 COMBAT Essence: 1; Willpower: 4; Join Battle: 10 Attack (unarmed): 7 (Damage 10) Health Levels: -0 / -1 x 2 / -2 x 2 / -4 / Incap. Attack (form weapon): 5 (Damage 14) Actions: Read Intentions 6, Senses 9, Threaten 6 Combat Movement: 5 Appearance 3, Resolve 4, Guile 1 Evasion 3, Parry 2 COMBAT Soak/Hardness: 3/0 (padded martial arts Attack (unarmed): 11 (Damage 12) gear) Attack (form weapon): 9 (Damage 12, SPECIAL ABILITIES minimum 2) Martial Arts Student: The initiate has the Combat Movement: 8 first-level ability of her chosen school. Evasion 5, Parry 3 Soak/Hardness: 5/0 (painted gi) PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER SPECIAL ABILITIES So, how do you turn these sets of stats into a com- Worthy Martial Arts: The adept has the first and bat encounter? Since a single enemy against a second abilities of her school. circle will be a smackdown for nearly any enemy, you’ll want a group fight. Choose a stat block tough THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER enough to keep the most fighty member of the circle occupied, and then give them enough backup from Why do all of these martial artists have such a high a group of lesser martial artists to even the numbers Appearance score? It’s probably a matter of pride. out. Each tradition’s students put a lot of work into being instantly recognizable as followers of an ancient If you suspect the Dawn is going to clear house school, whether that means wearing the crystal- with an alpha strike, Bespoken Blade stops that from and-gold ornaments of the Salamander School or erasing the encounter. Bear, Monkey, Mouse, and the bare-arms emulation of the Handsome Monkey Peacock are teamwork schools. Monkey, Bear, and King. Practicing a style is all about personal style. Hedgehog are primarily defensive. Salamander fo- cuses on stealth and distraction, while Swallow is …I sense that you do not believe me. all about mobility and attack power. Look, I am allowed to have a type, okay? MASTER They’ve learned to treat every day as a test of their abilities. But it’s not every day that they face you.

A warrior who can be called a master has gone far down the road of comprehending her own Es- sence. This has benefits such as inner peace, long life, and more combat power than most mortals will ever possess. That said, mortal masters are still mortal. Martial artists of this caliber are the Imperial-tier mooks of the martial arts world. They’re a potentially scary threat to Exalted who have only modest combat prowess… but Dawn Castes will still eat them for breakfast. Even so, show some respect! What kind of martial artist doesn’t show veneration for an in- vididual who has devoted her life to the same arts they practice themselves? MASTER Essence: 1; Willpower: 5; Join Battle: 10 Health Levels: -0 / -1 x 2 / -2 x 2 / -4 / Incap. Actions: Leadership 8, Senses 9, Threaten 7, Read Intentions 7 Appearance 4, Resolve 5, Guile 3 COMBAT Attack (unarmed): 11 (Damage 12) Attack (form weapon): 10 (Damage 13, mini- mum 4) Attack (ranged weapon): 10, short range (Damage 11) Combat Movement: 10 Evasion 5, Parry 4 Soak/Hardness: 7/0 SPECIAL ABILITIES Martial Arts Mastery: The master has all the abilities of her chosen school. School Solidarity: The master may reflexively interpose herself in front of a decisive attack that would strike an ally within short range before dam- age is rolled, taking the damage herself. (If the ally is more powerful than the master, only one master can do this in a scene.) LEFT-HANDED MASTER LEFT-HANDED MASTER This warrior has been reading from the scrolls that Essence: 1; Willpower: 6; Join Battle: 10 Sifu told her not to open, and now she’s drunk with Health Levels: -0 x 2 / -1 x 3 / -2 x 3 / -4 x 2 power and come to challenge the master for control / Incap. of the school. Actions: Leadership 8, Senses 9, Threaten 7, Read Intentions 7 The left-handed master is a tank-type enemy, potentially capable of standing up to a strong Ex- Appearance 5, Resolve 5, Guile 4 alted warrior for a while. Field her alongside a COMBAT group of martial arts adepts, and you should have a moderately challenging fight for a group of Ex- Sorrowful Touch (unarmed): 12 (damage 15) alted. The banner of challenge ability lets her keep Attack (medium form weapon): 12 (damage the attention of the most powerful warrior in the 15, minimum 3) group while her underlings to their best to take Attack (heavy form weapon): 12 (damage 18, out the rest of the party. minimum 5) STARRY-EYED MASTER Attack (ranged weapon): 10, close range (Damage 11) It is written in the stars that you must die. She con- veys this message with a glance, and raises her blade. Combat Movement: 10 Evasion 6, Parry 5 This mysterious martial artist is intended to be a Soak/Hardness: 7/4 (enchanted robes) serious threat. Send her out with a group of adepts if the non-Dawn members of the party are fairly SPECIAL ABILITIES weak on the battlefield, or with a set of masters Sorrowful Touch: If the left-handed master hits if they’re all reasonably powerful. Her capricious with sorrowful touch, all her allies (but not herself) suffering ability lets her transfer the onslaught add the master’s current wound penalty (minimum penalty from the player she’s targeting to another 1) to their Defense against the target’s attacks on (presumably weaker) player, to give her minions his next turn. an opening. Most martial arts battles tend to fetishize the Bleak Exultation: When all of the left-handed “fair” fight that’s a genuine test of each party’s re- master’s allies are dead or incapacitated, she im- spective skill as a warrior. The starry-eyed mas- mediately heals all her wound levels and rolls Join ter doesn’t play that game. Have her target the Battle, keeping the result if it would be better. most vulnerable members of the circle, so that Banner of Challenge: At the beginning of her keeping her away from the softer members of the turn, the left-handed master may designate a single group is a real trial. Fate doesn’t play fair. foe as her destined opponent. Whenever her des- HATE FATE? IRATE? tined opponent launches an attack against a target other than herself, he must spend 1 Initiative to do The Arcane Fate ability is essentially a running gag- so, and she and each of her allies gain 3 Initiative. where the ST throws the book at players who use (If multiple enemies possess similar marking abili- their meta knowledge of what a Sidereal is. Who ties, a player may attack any one of her destined is this mysterious stranger? It is impossible to know, foes without triggering this ability.) and Arcane Fate is a prank on players who don’t Supreme Martial Arts Mastery: The left-hand- play along. If this kind of thing makes you want to ed master has all the abilities of two different schools track down the authors of The Thousand Sanctioned of your choice. Beasts and exact revenge, please consider just pre- tending it isn’t there. STARRY-EYED MASTER

Essence: 4; Willpower: 8; Join Battle: 11 Saturn’s Terrible Smile: If the starry-eyed Personal Motes: 17; Peripheral Motes: 30 master rolls four 10s on her withering attack roll, she can make another attack immediately after Health Levels: -0 /-1 x 5 / -2 x 2/ -4 / Incap. the first. Actions: Read Intentions 9, Avoid Consequenc- es 9, Senses 9, Stealth 11, Tracking 9 DEFENSIVE CHARMS Appearance 4, Resolve 5, Guile 2 Duck Fate: (10m, Reflexive): The starry-eyed master declines to live in a world where she suf- COMBAT fers. She names an undesirable attack, effect, or Saturn’s Touch (unarmed): 12 (+4 for 4 motes), consequence (construe this incredibly broadly) (Damage 10, minimum 5) and ignores it henceforth. (This includes ensuing Claven Signifer (starmetal daiklaive): 14 (+4 consequences, so dodging a fiery explosion in a for 4m), (Damage 14, minimum 3) wooden house also protects against subsequent smoke inhalation.) This Charm can be used once Moth-Breaking Moon (starmetal chakram): per scene, unless reset by dodging a decisive at- 14, short range (+4 for 4m), (Damage 13, tack without the use of magic. minimum 3) MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS Combat Movement: 11 (+4 for 4m) Evasion 6, Parry 6 (+2 for 4m) Shadow Finger Puppeteer: (5m; Reflexive) If an ally’s roll shows at least one 1, the master may Soak/Hardness: 12/7 (starmetal armor) use this Charm in order to remake his roll. She SPECIAL ABILITIES may repeatedly use this Charm to reroll rerolls as Adding Dice: The starry-eyed master may add long as each roll shows at least one 1. up to 4 dice to her rolls by paying one mote per Ominous Prognostics: (8m, 1wp; Simple; die. She may also raise a static value by up to 2 One scene) The starry-eyed master picks a num- by paying two motes per point. She may lower ber between one and ten. Whenever an oppo- any roll’s target number to 6 for one mote. Rolls nent’s die shows that unlucky number, he loses with a pool higher than eleven dice may be low- 2 Initiative. The starry-eyed master can use omi- ered to target number 5 by paying 2m, 1wp; or nous prognostics reflexively before battle begins to target number 4 by paying 3m, 1wp. if nobody interrupts her prophecy of doom by Inevitable Martial Arts Mastery: The star- saying “Join Battle!”. ry-eyed master has all the abilities of two sepa- Auspicious Prospects: (8m, 1wp; Simple; rate schools of martial arts. One scene) The starry-eyed master picks a num- Arcane Fate: The starry-eyed master gains 1 ber between one and ten. Each time one of her Initiative every time a player (not a player char- dice shows that lucky number, she and each of acter) says “Sidereal” in her presence. her allies gain 1 Initiative. OFFENSIVE CHARMS DANGEROUS OPTION Capricious Suffering: (3m; Reflexive) After Misfortune’s Banquet: Each 1 rolled on an dealing damage with Saturn’s touch, the star- attack against the starry-eyed master subtracts a ry-eyed master may choose to inflict the usual success from the roll. She gains 1 Initiative each onslaught penalty on an enemy other than the time this happens. one she actually hit. YIN-YANG MASTER Upon every life a little rain must fall. Today, for in- stance, she realized she’s lost her favorite earring. You, on the other hand, are about to die horribly. Truly, the universe is tough but fair.

The yin-yang master is intended to act as a boss fight for an entire circle. Herbalance of opposi- tion ability allows her to act as though she were a group of foes and go up against multiple oppo- nents without being overwhelmed. She can move dice around between rolls, allowing her to steal successes from her enemies, or to support her devilish dice tricks. If she knows a style that uses a weapon, throw an artifact weapon on top of her existing stats. This boss fight is intended to represent one of the mysterious Getimian Exalted, which meant a certain amount of improvisation on my part. I like to think of Getimians as being the xianxia to the Sidereals’ wuxia, if that makes any sense. If it doesn’t, a friend once described xianxia as be- ing “martial-arts-wizards, as opposed to wuxia, which is martial-arts-martial-artists.” You don’t need to add any minions to this battle. Your play- ers will have enough problems as it is. This particular master attacks with flame she tamed with her sorcery, but you could easily reskin her to use a different element, including unortho- dox ones like metal, flowers, animals, or darkness. The yin-yang master can steal dice that show 1 or 10 and save them for use in her Charms, or just to add to her rolls. Magic that protects your 1s from enemy magic, such as Excellent Strike, will come in very handy for your players.

DANGEROUS OPTION Misfortune’s Silver Hammer: Spice up the bat- tle a bit by giving the yin-yang master Selector of the Quick, a starmetal grand goremaul (12 dice, 19 damage, minimum 5) in addition to her nor- mal attacks. On top of that, she can use your time will come with this weapon as well, animating the weapon to attack on its own. Unlike with the normal version of your time will come, she can add dice to repeat attacks with Selector of the Quick. YIN-YANG MASTER Essence: 4; Willpower: 6; Join Battle: 11 OFFENSIVE CHARMS Personal Motes: 17; Peripheral Motes: 44 Your Time Will Come (Reflexive, Wither- Health Levels: -0 /-1 x 5 / -2 x 2/ -4 / Incap. ing-only, 5m): After missing with magician’s flame, the yin-yang master may activate this Actions: Read Intentions 12, Evade Notice 12, Charm to transform her fire into a wicked dragon Senses 8, Tracking 9, Implications 10 that pursues her opponent. On the yin-yang mas- Appearance 4, Resolve 5, Guile 4 ter’s next turn, she may reflexively attack that op- COMBAT ponent with magician’s flameagain, but cannot Magician’s Flame: 14, short range, (Damage alter the roll with Charms. Her flames will con- 14, minimum 4, tags: Lethal, Thrown [short]) tinue to attack the opponent each turn until they successfully hit or until someone extinguishes the Combat Movement: 12 dragon with an attack (Evasion 6). The yin-yang Evasion 6, Parry 4 master may animate multiple flames at once, but Soak/Hardness: 10/10 (starmetal armor) only one per opponent. SPECIAL ABILITIES Death-Inviting Stroke: Whenever an enemy Adding Dice: The yin-yang master may add up rolls four 1s on an attack roll, the yin-yang master to 4 dice to her rolls for one mote per die. She may reflexively make a decisive attack against may also raise a static value by up to 2 for two them, which counts as a clash if the enemy was motes per point. She may lower any roll’s target attacking them. This attack uses the enemy’s own number to 6 for one mote, to 5 by paying 2m, Initiative pool and does not cause the yin-yang 1wp; or to target number 4 by paying 3m, 1wp. master’s Initiative to reset. Flight: The master can move freely through the DEFENSIVE CHARMS air up to two range bands from the ground. Dark Hours Locked Away (Refexive, 1m/ Heterodox Martial Arts Mastery: The yin- die): The yin-yang master shunts damage she yang master knows all the abilities of one school. would have received into her reservoir, evad- ing it, filling up one slot for each level of decisive Balance of Opposition: In each round, the damage or every three levels of withering dam- yin-yang master can act on her own turn in the age. This damage blocks the use of those spac- Initiative ranking, and can also act an addition- es, and the yin-yang master cannot remove the al time after each significant opponent finishes damage herself. However, her opponents may his action. These additional actions never cause reflexively remove levels of damage from the res- clashes. ervoir in order to add non-Charm successes to Knots in the Flow (Reflexive, 2m/die): The yin- any of their rolls after making them, on a one-for- yang master may activate this Charm after any one basis, or to raise static values, on a two-for- roll by any character, plucking dice that show one basis. either 1 or 10 out of the roll and placing them Saturn’s Eyes Clouded (Reflexive, 8m, 1wp): in her reservoir, or removing them from the res- The yin-yang master activates this Charm in re- ervoir to add them to the result of any roll. These sponse to a decisive attack against her, evading dice retain their character as 1s or 10s within the it perfectly as the attacker realizes he actually de- reservoir. The reservoir may hold up to eight dice. stroyed a carefully-disguised effigy. This Charm Dice added to or removed from a roll are treated may only be activated if the attacker rolled at as though they had always, or never, been there, least a single 1. respectively. Martial Schools BESPOKEN BLADE STYLE Bespoken Blade is a traditional sword art, popu- BEAR STYLE lar across a wide variety of cultures. Its techniques The Bear style of martial arts may be one of the reference five-element theory in order to commu- oldest and most common styles in the East. It is nicate martial wisdom, but only a few Southern practiced by rich and poor alike, but has always schools incorporate Immaculate doctrine in any been more common among the poor. significant way. Bear martial arts involve powerful blows, Bespoken Blade training focuses on balance, sudden lunges, and the ability to tolerate a whole bread-and-butter techniques honed until no weak- lot of pain. Bear warriors cultivate large, power- nesses remain, and a religious (or even romantic) ful bodies, thick skins, and deep meditative focus. devotion to the sword. The stereotypical Bespoken Their ability to go for long periods without food Blade warrior is rock-solid, faithful, and reliable, is matched only by their incredible appetite when but has a tendency to bicker with her own weapon. food is available. (If you pay attention to these conversations, the context tends to imply that the blade is the master Even in places that supposedly had no martial and its nominal owner merely a humble servant.) arts traditions at all, Bear schools will sometimes “wake up,” so that dozens of local yokels suddenly Enemies using Bespoken Blade have very turn out to have been fully-trained martial artists high Join Battle pools and can reliably parry at- all along. It’s not clear if Bear schools habitually tacks even under exigent circumstances. Powerful go into hiding or hibernation, or if they just nat- Bespoken Blade users have the capacity to block urally sprout when bears are needed. There’s a group attacks aimed at their whole party, making rumor that it’s actually possible to teach someone them useful if your strongest warrior is fond of Bear Style in their sleep, hardening their muscles, starting off with an alpha strike. It may be a better teaching them powerful defensive katas, and pre- style for “leader”-type enemies, since its powerful sumably, imparting an intense craving for honey. defensive abilities could make things drag on if there are a lot of Bespoken Blade users. Warriors using Bear Style have higher soak than other martial artists of their tier, and grow Bespoken Blade’s only form weapon is the more dangerous as their allies are injured. The straight sword. It is compatible with light and me- form weapons for Bear Style are the staff, the club, dium armor. Bespoken Blade enemies wear me- the tetsubo, and the tiger claw. It is compatible dium armor and have +5 soak. with light armor. BESPOKEN BLADE STYLE BEAR STYLE The bespoken blade warrior rolls 13 dice for her The bear warrior has 6 natural soak. As long as one Join Battle pool and has a Parry of 5. Whenever an of her allies is crashed, this rises to eight and her ally parries an attack, she gains 1 Initiative. unarmed attacks have Damage 12 (minimum 5). BURNT BLADE STYLE GRANDFATHER BEAR STYLE The burnt blade warrior has a Parry of 6. By spend- The grandfather bear gains 5 Initiative whenever ing a point of Willpower, she can turn all of her one of her allies enters Initiative Crash. If this brings wound and onslaught penalties into equivalent bo- her Initiative rating above the person whose turn it nuses until her next turn. is, she can act again if she has already acted this round. WEDDED BLADE STYLE The wedded blade warrior has a Parry of 7. By GRANDMOTHER BEAR STYLE spending 2 Willpower, she can set her Parry to 10 The grandmother bear has 8 natural soak (10 while against a single attack. If this is sufficient to block an an ally is crashed) and Hardness 5. She ignores all attack against herself, she also successfully defends wound penalties greater than -1. all allies who were also targeted by it. HEDGEHOG STYLE MONKEY STYLE This highly-adaptable school, born in the East, Monkey Style is an acrobatic martial art most might show up anywhere. The hedgehog is an un- common in the East, involving flips, cartwheels, assuming creature, and students of this style usu- and an endless series of potentially-lethal distrac- ally adopt at least a pretense of humility, blending tions. The monkey warrior soars through the air, into crowds and playing the ignorant rustic. How- dancing, flirting, and taunting her foes. She takes ever, in battle, they fly into a dizzying blur of mo- advantage of the environment to constantly move tion, turning a single knife or spear into the impen- through the air and out of her opponent’s reach, etrable wall of spikes that gives the style its name: setting up deadly strikes — until things turn against if you prick them, you will bleed. her. When the battle starts to go wrong, the mon- The most impressive aspect of the Hedge- key warrior’s discipline collapses into a flailing, hog school’s technique is their ability to achieve panicked struggle — which somehow makes her the same results with nearly any weapon. Knives, even more infuriating than before. swords, or spears are common enough, but when Monkey Style lore attributes the style to an pressed, a Hedgehog stylist will do nearly as well ancient figure called the Handsome Monkey King. with a rusty hatchet or a broken board. They are The Immaculate Order has their suspicions about prepared to thrive in almost any exigency, and then this figure, but although Monkey warriors revere wander off into the crowd looking for dumplings. their legendary teacher, no Lunar has ever rallied Enemies using Hedgehog Style can automati- the school to his banner. Instead, as they say, “ev- cally counterattack when they parry, getting exact- ery student turns himself into an ape.” It’s almost ly as many successes as were rolled against them. literal. You don’t have to be a conceited pretty-boy Of course, being able to steal a roll that wasn’t who thinks people should thank him for kicking good enough to hit in the first place won’t set the their ass to learn Monkey Style, but it helps. world on fire, but players whose Defense has been Monkey Style uses unarmed strikes, the whip, lowered by onslaught penalties or the like should and the throwing knife, but most particularly the beware the Hedgehog. staff. A single Monkey is just one evasive war- Hedgehog Style is compatible with all light rior, but groups of enemies using Monkey Style and medium weapons, including improvised will harry the PCs in groups, wearing down their weapons, but not unarmed attacks. It is compati- Defense with persistent onslaught penalties that ble with light and medium armor. Hedgehog Style leave them highly vulnerable. Crashing them just enemies wear medium armor and have +5 soak. makes their Evasion even higher — they’re ex- tremely irritating warriors! HEDGEHOG STYLE The hedgehog warrior has Parry 4. When she suc- MONKEY STYLE cessfully parries an attack, she may reflexively If the monkey warrior successfully applies an on- counterattack. Her attack roll is withering or deci- slaught penalty to an enemy, his onslaught penalty sive according to the original attack, and has the doesn’t reset on his next turn. Her base Evasion be- exact same number of successes as that attack did. comes 6 while crashed. THOUSAND SPEARS STYLE HANDSOME MONKEY STYLE The thousand spears warrior has Parry 5. Her au- Each time the handsome monkey dodges an attack, tomatic counter attacks have as many successes as she gains 1 Initiative. Her base Evasion becomes 7 the parried attack, plus one. while crashed. DIVINE PORCUPINE STYLE CELESTIAL MONKEY STYLE The divine porcupine has Parry 6. When she makes When the warrior crashes an enemy, all allied a successful counterattack, her attack inflicts an ad- Monkey stylists gain her Initiative Break bonus as ditional point of onslaught penalty. well. Her base Evasion becomes 8 while crashed. MOUSE STYLE PEACOCK STYLE The Mouse school is probably the least illustrious This flamboyant spear art enjoys sporadic promi- in all of Creation, which is just the way they like nence in the Hundred Kingdoms. Martial arts tra- it. However, Mouse teachers can be found every- ditionalists, as well as moralists generally, decry where that farmers have tried and failed to keep Peacock Style as a monument to masculine lust, pests out of the granary. Mouse stylists practice intemperance, and vanity. Peacock warriors say, acrobatic footwork, awkward-looking feints, and that’s the whole point. This mannerly yet disrepu- confusing tactical retreats, all in order to appear table school is built on magnetism, deception, and harmless until the time is right. An attacker facing innuendo, and proud of it. a group of mouse warriors is often too befuddled Adherents of Peacock Style dress in bright to go on the offensive — when each opponent ap- colors and ostentatious adornments in the very pears less threatening than the one before, it’s im- latest fashion. They wouldn’t dream of attending a possible to choose an approach. duel, or even fighting in a bloody war, unless their For this reason, Mouse schools are common clothing and cosmetics were unimpeachable. This in regions where open practice of the martial arts is the heart of the style. When the Peacock warrior or ownership of weapons is discouraged or forbid- commands attention, he controls what his oppo- den. Many peasant uprisings have begun with or nents perceive. They dodge in and out of the path been supported by farmers trained in Mouse tech- of his spear, letting him set the pace, but are unable niques. Oppressive rulers really ought to know by to predict the appearance of his dagger — even if now that the clumsy, cowardly mice are a genuine they knew it was coming. threat… but it’s just so hard to take them seriously! Warriors who have fought against a Peacock Mouse Style warriors encourage their oppo- stylist compare it to trying to engage in the act of nents to focus elsewhere, then punish their foes love during a battle — no matter how great your for ignoring them. They work best when fighting efforts, inevitably you feel as thoughboth aspects in a group, ideally with allies of a more intimidat- of your performance are lacking. If multiple Pea- ing mien — while the cat looks away, the mice will cocks are involved, the metaphors become even play, building up Initiative until they’re in a posi- more turgid as it becomes increasingly impossible tion for a sudden strike. A Mouse will always be to know what’s going on. the target of least priority in a group of foes, but Peacock Style is compatible with the spear, leaving them to their own devices can be deadly. the greatsword, the dagger, and improvised weap- Mouse Style uses unarmed strikes, sickles, spears, ons. It permits the use of light armor. and little knives you only just realized they were carrying. PEACOCK STYLE

MOUSE STYLE The peacock warrior adds 1 to her Defense against the attacks of anybody other than the person she The mouse warrior gains 1 Initiative at the end of most recently attacked. any turn where she makes no successful attacks. GLORIOUS PEACOCK STYLE She adds 2 to her Defense against attacks if she has not attacked the attacker since his last turn. When the glorious peacock is the beneficiary of a distract gambit, she adds automatic successes to HUMBLE MOUSE STYLE her attack roll equal to the target’s highest current The humble mouse gains 1 Initiative whenever an penalty. ally fails a roll, or 2 Initiative if she fails herself. PEACOCK ANGEL STYLE HARVEST MOUSE STYLE The peacock angel treats all opponents rolled into The harvest mouse may grant the Initative gained battle as having an onslaught penalty equal to the from humble mouse style to an ally instead. If she highest onslaught penalty currently aplied to any gives it away, the reward increases to 3 Initiative. participant. SALAMANDER STYLE SWALLOW STYLE The Salamander stylist is common enough in the Swallow Style is a highly-mobile school of swords- South. Rather than traditional martial gear, she manship most popular in the North and some- wears a cabbage-patch of clothing covered in times the West. The school’s signature technique gaudy ornaments. A stranger (being no fool) will is the strike-on-the-run, which has seen a surpris- correctly assume that these ornaments have some ing amount of use in ship-to-ship combat, but also murderous purpose. They are tools of concealment works equally well on land. A few settled schools and distraction, for casting light off a gold medal- exist, but most students learn from the many wan- lion or a blade into an opponent’s eyes, or creating dering masters who travel across Creation, most of patterns of light and dust that appear to be incom- whom are probably all the same woman. ing attacks. If there’s no light, a few firecrackers For unknown reasons, this art is absolute- thrown into the mix will keep things interesting. ly forbidden in the country of Vaneha, on pain of Salamanders use distraction, misdirection, death — fortunately, Swallow warriors are hard to and explosives to keep their enemies off-balance. catch. When fighting in groups, they use the distract Swallow stylists like to keep their distance gambit, and try to re-establish surprise whenever when not attacking if possible. They’ll use the possible. They have permanent cover and can take schools adept ability to attack and then move away full cover even while standing in the open, which again, keeping out of their opponent’s reach while makes them potentially difficult to deal with if slowly cutting them to pieces. Swallow Style uses players can’t devise a way to see through the glare. the knife, the short spear, the short sword, the Salamander Style uses unarmed attacks, the knife, straight sword, and the spear. It is compatible with the short sword, the straight sword, the khatar, and light armor. Swallow Style enemies wear light the firewand, but is not compatible with armor. armor and add +3 to their soak. SWALLOW STYLE SALAMANDER STYLE The swallow warrior’s dice pool for combat move- The salamander warrior has a Stealth pool of ten ment is 12 dice. Their opponent subtracts 1s from dice. She always benefits from light cover, even their successes on a rush attempt. when no cover should be available, except in total darkness. Similarly, she can roll to take cover in any SWALLOW-ON-THE-WING STYLE circumstance, and on a successful roll, can bene- If the swallow-on-the-wing takes a move action, fit from full cover even when standing in the open. then successfully strikes an opponent with her at- Players may be able to defeat this tactic with the tack, she may reflexively take a second move ac- right stunts or magic. tion. CRACKLING SALAMANDER STYLE DIVING SWALLOW STYLE The crackling salamander has a Stealth pool of The diving swallow adds all her successes on a rush twelve dice. She always benefits from heavy cover, roll to her damage rolls with all attacks for the re- similar to the initiate ability. She may reflexively at- mainder of her turn. tempt to re-establish surprise whenever she crashes an enemy. She ignores non-magical environmental SECRET SALAMANDER SOCIETY hazards related to fire and smoke. Salamander martial artists rarely attack from am- SMOKING SALAMANDER STYLE bush, because then you’d die without knowing how The smoking salamander may reflexively attempt to fly they look today. re-establish surprise whenever anyone crashes or That doesn’t mean the Salamanders you can see incapacitates an enemy, and on a success, grant are the only ones who are actually there, though. that surprise attack to an ally instead. here there’s smoke, there’s always more fire. Martial Lore MARTIAL ARTS PLOT HOOKS • In their travels, a player character encoun- OTHER MARTIAL ARTS SCHOOLS ters a school teaching the same fighting style • Grass Blade Style, whose inconspicuous they practice and establishes friendly relations. practitioners are famous for their ability to turn When events in the A-plot result in the death of anything into an improvised weapon. The style the school’s masters, there’s nobody to take over is commonly associated with insurgent groups, except the PC, and the school is doomed (for and Lunar Exalted who favor formal combat arts whatever reason) unless the PC becomes the often teach this style to those they send to fight new master. This may cause more problems for against the Realm. the school than it solves, but can they really let the secrets of their style die? • Dolphin Style, a spear art which was pop- ularized in the West but works, against expecta- • The city in which the players base themselves tions, everywhere. Dolphin stylists roll under and is governed by various mercantile interests and around attacks before spearing their foe at the guilds, as mediated by the martial arts societies end of a great breaching leap. they all bankroll, who settle all business disputes via window-shattering wuxia battles. For some • Glass Sword Style, an eclectic school that time, the city has maintained a precarious stabil- uses a multitude of concealed and improvised ity, until a group of player characters settle in the weapons, which are constantly abandoned and weaver’s district, easily fight off the Many Col- replaced with new ones. By constantly changing ors Style warriors sent by the dyer’s guild, and her tactics in the middle of battle, the glass sword threaten to send the price of fine cloth skyrock- warrior overwhelms her enemy with an unpre- eting. Can the players establish a new normal, dictable assault. or will every teacup in the city be broken in a • Night’s Canopy Style, a Southern sword massive free-for-all? school in which the warrior uses her heavy cape • A fractious Realm satrapy has instituted a both as a defense and as part of a series of crackdown on all forms of martial arts instruction feints and distractions. The most famous Night’s not strictly controlled by the Immaculate Order, Canopy school tests its graduates every year by hoping to prevent an insurrection. Depending engineering a stampede of rockskulls down the on their political stances, players might wind up town’s main street. Those who kill at least one liz- tracking down the secret monasteries of the illic- ard and survive are considered full members of it masters, or helping the local dojos keep their the school. lights burning underneath a bushel (or, starting • Rat Fist Style, an aggressive bare-handed new schools of their own!). art passed down in the East by a school of rowdy, • The big names in the local martial arts scene loose-living masters. Not far from their dojo is the organize a tournament, just the thing for a mar- home of the supreme master of Summer Frost tially-inclined PC. Unfortunately, their name is Style, a soft grappling art with a much better mud as a result of their dishonorable/unruly/ reputation. This master sends his students to chal- awful behavior. Naturally, this would never stop lenge the Rat Fist dojo, but in winning, he gener- a true martial artist from competing, but they’ll ally loses — many of the “winners” are corrupted need to find a way to disguise not just themselves, by Rat Fist ways and abandon his teachings to but their technique. This means a new style that live “the bang-up life.” Rat Fist involves a light- will not only hide their identity, but also allow ning-fast series of punches, often followed up by them to defeat their rivals soundly! And just who is an impossible leap over your head while you’re Magister X, anyways? still seeing stars to deliver the coup de grace.