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A use of a defensive technique is a use of the active
defense to which it defaults for all purposes. It’s only possible
if the fighter could attempt the underlying defense – that
is, never after an All-Out Attack or against a surprise attack,
and only against an attack that the defense could affect. It
takes the same modifiers as that defense; e.g., Combat
Reflexes gives +1 and retreating provides +1 or +3. Where
the rules limit the number of defenses possible or give
penalties for multiple defenses, techniques that default to
Block or Parry count as blocks or parries, respectively.
Most defensive techniques offer a way to “buy off” penalties
to defenses. These have a default
penalty equal to the situational penalty
in question. Some examples:
-1 to defend against a Dual-
Weapon Attack (p. B417).
-1 to parry using a knife.
-2 to block a flail.
-2 to defend against an attack from
the side (p. B390) or above (p. B402),
or a “runaround” attack (p. B391).
-2 to parry a kick if using Boxing
or Sumo Wrestling.
-2 to parry using a whip.
-3 to parry weapons using
unarmed skills other than Judo and
Karate.
-4 to parry a flail.
The GM may permit other effects –
either instead of or in addition to the above – each of which
modifies the default. Examples include:
Opponent’s Defenses: The defender can use his defense to
“set up” his next attack. For each -1 to the default, the
attacker is at -1 to parry the defender’s attack, on the next
turn only, if that parry involves the weapon that the defender
warded off using this technique.
Own Attack Roll: Another kind of “setup.” For each -1 to
the default, the defender gets +1 to his attack roll, on the
next turn only, against the attacker he warded off using this
technique.
Own Defenses: -1 to default per +1 to one other active
defense after defending with this technique, or +1 to default
per -1 to all other active defenses after using this defense.
The latter modifier can only offset penalties; it cannot result
in a net bonus.
Special Benefits: Each built-in exemption from the standard
rules – e.g., being able to drop to the ground or sidestep
as a retreat against a melee attack – gives -1 to the
default penalty. A few potent benefits might give -2; e.g.,
being able to retreat two steps or step directly toward your
enemy and count it as a “retreat,” either of which is cinematic
if you can improve it!
Special Drawbacks: Each additional restriction on the
defense adds +1 to its default penalty. This cannot give a net
bonus. Some examples:
• An additional success roll required before attempting
the technique. Failure means the defense fails!
• Attacker may opt to hit a more vulnerable target than
his intended one if the defense fails. A common example is
Deer Antlers
92 TECHNIQUES
a weapon parry that involves risky hand placement on the
parrying weapon, giving the attacker the option to strike a
hand should the parry fail.
• Falling down on an ordinary failure.
• Inability to defend against a broad category of attacks:
armed attacks, close-combat attacks, swings, thrusts, etc.
• Increased injury from the incoming attack if the
defense fails. This is worth +1 to the default for +1 to the
attacker’s damage – or +2 if the attacker gets the better of +2
damage or +1 damage per die.
Example: A fighter wishes to use his
Brawling parry to ward off swung
weapons by stepping inside his
attacker’s guard and parrying the
weapon arm instead of the weapon.
Brawling has -3 to parry weapons.
The ability to step forward as a
“retreat” is a special benefit that adds
a further -2. The total penalty is -5.
However, there’s a major drawback:
failure means stepping into the
attack for +2 damage! This gives +2,
making the final default penalty -3.
Utility Techniques
The GM may allow a technique
that “buys off” a specific situational
skill penalty for all uses of a skill, if a
fighter could logically study a body of
moves that would be useful in that
situation. However, no technique can eliminate a general
category of penalties, such as “all posture penalties.” For
instance, Ground Fighting (p. 73) defaults to skill-4 and permits
a fighter to buy off the -4 to attack when lying down,
while Low Fighting (p. 77) defaults to skill-2 and does the
same for the -2 when sitting or kneeling . . . but a single technique
couldn’t encompass both.
Utility techniques need not be based on combat skills to
be useful in a fight. Warriors might be able to improve their
odds with special uses of Acrobatics, Jumping, and other
athletic skills in combat; see Acrobatic Stand (p. 98) and
Breakfall (pp. 68-69) for examples.
Specialties
If a custom-built technique defaults to multiple skills, list
those skills. Individuals who learn the technique must specify
which version they know and note the skill name as the
technique’s “specialty” on their character sheet; e.g., Elbow
Strike (Brawling) or Elbow Strike (Karate). There’s no
default between such specialties – even if the parent skills do
default to one another.
Techniques that default to other techniques automatically
“inherit” the specialty of the parent technique. For
instance, if a student learns Finger Lock from his default to
Arm Lock (Judo), he automatically has Finger Lock (Judo).
All of this applies equally to defensive techniques. The
fighter must specify both the defense (Block, Dodge, or
Parry) and the skill that enables it (unnecessary for Dodge);
e.g., Dual-Weapon Defense (Shield Block) or Dual-Weapon
Defense (Staff Parry).