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New Skills

Combat Skills

Garrote

Physical/Easy
DX-5
This is the skill used to strangle a victim with rope or wire. It can only be used on an unaware or help- less victim. The first attack is made from behind (a number fo Stealth rolls may be required to reach the intended victim), at -5 (reduced to -1 since the victim is unaware, thus giving the attacker a +4 bonus to skill). The victim (if he is not stunned) may attempt to parry at -3. On a success he manages to put his hand (or any one-handed weapon) between his throat and the garrote. The hand takes no damage unless a wire garrote is being used.

On the turn of the attack and every turn thereafter, the attacker does thrust damage to the throat (this damage is multipled by 1.5 if it is crushing or by two if it is cutting). A rope garrote does crushing dam- age, a thin wire one does cutting damage; with either, the target also starts to suffocate (B122, sidebar). The victim can try to break free by winning a Quick Contest (ST-5 or Judo-3 against attacker's Garrote skill).

If an improvised Garrote is used (almost any bit of rope will do), the skill is at -2. A wire garrote must have wooden or plastic handles on both ends or the attacker will take thrust/cut damage to each hand. Note that a genuine garrote is an illegal weapon almost anywhere.

Jitte/Sai

Physical/Average
DX-5, Shortsword-3
This skill is a variation of the shortsword skill. The jitte, or sai, is hilted like a sword, but the blade is tined like a huge fork. It may be blunt, or have a harp point, but it has no edge. It can be used as a baton or stabbing weapon or to disarm by twisting the sword from an opponents hands.

A jitte wielder can initiate the disarm by striking at the opponent's weapon with the declared intention to disarm (see B111). If he hits, roll a quick contest of weapon skills; the Jitte is at +2. If the Jitte wielder wins, the foe drops the weapon; if he loses there si no effect. If the jitte wielder loses by 5 or more, he loses the jitte.

On any successful parry, by either opponent, the jitte wielder can immediately try to disarm his opponent by twisting the blade from his hand. Rolls a quick contest of skills, as above. A weapon held in two hands is at +2 to resist the disarm attempt.

Katana

Physcal/Average
DX-5, Broadsword-2
This is the skill of using the Japanese longsword, the katana. This weapon can be used either one-handed or two-handed. Style and stance are totally different from Western techniques. Swinging damage is increased by 1 even when swinging the sword two-handrd. Parry when used one-handed is 1/2 skill. Used two- handed and carrying no more than Light Encumberance, parry is 2/3 skill.

Main-Gauche

Physical/Average
DX-5
This is the skill of using a knife in the off-hand, offensively and defensively, in conjunction with a weapon in the other hand. In inlcudes the Knife skill, but not knife throwing. (That is, Knife defaults to Main- Gauche.) The advantages of this skill over just having knife skill are:

Attacking with the knife in the off-hand is at -4 for being in the off-hand, unless the user is ambidextrous.

This skill is primarily used with a rapier, but may be used with other fencing weapons or other light hand weapons. The main-gauche user may parry one attack per turn using the knife at 2/3 skill. A different attack in the same turn may be parried with the other weapon, at its normal parry.

This skill can be used with any sort of knife or dagger, or even with a jitte. Note that a light weapon may break on a parry.

Magical Skills

Theoretical Magic

Mental/Hard
No Default
This is the fundamental skill for properly-trained magicians of all sorts. Theoretical Magic necessarily includes theories of how the physical world works, how humans think and interact, and how magic works, and thus has elements of philosophy, physics, psychology, sociology, and so forth. However, its prime thrust is a description of how mages work magic. Magery is not a prerequisite, and Magery is not added to skill level.

This description typically becomes the central tenet of a school of magic. Each school has a different Theo- retical Magic Skill. You may know more than one ThM skill.

The chief effects of the skill are a) to add a bit of color, used as the basis for the creation of several compet- ing schools of magic, and spell research is dependant upon Theoretical Magery. The following effects are also produced:

If you see a spell being cast, in your school, you can identify it if you make a successful ThM roll.

Spell research is based on Theoretical Magic skill, not on "Research".

Theoretical Magic is required for teaching. Without ThM you may not learn spells from a book, you must have a teacher.

Spells may be learned only from mages and books that share the same Theoretical Magic skill/special- ization.

Theoretical Magic is not a prerequisite, but without points in it, mages learn spells more slowly (this simulates the scattered approach taken by someone without a good fundamental understanding of what they are doing). You may specify one school as being the "natural" school for this character. ThM is not required to cast in your Natural school. However, in any other school, you are at a -1 for each point your ThM score in that school is below your IQ.

Mages without ThM for a school do not get any of the bonuses listed for that school.

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