| The prime skill for all warrior guilds is Knighthood, which is where they learn basic fighting styles and maneuvers. The beginning skills here immediately and dramatically improve using a weapon, which increases as the skill in knighthood increases. Although the general skill of Combat will also improve the ability to hit and damage with weapons, it is more a defensive skill and accordingly improves defense more than offense. Knighthood, on the other hand, will strongly improve offensive and most warriors choose to master Knighthood before the general skill of Combat. After mastering the basics of Knighthood, the warrior moves on to a weapon specialization. Also, increasing your ability in Knighthood will provide a moderate boost to your abilities in the general skill of Combat. |
| Swing | Inept | Improved ability to swing weapons. |
| Jab | Inept +33% | Improved ability to jab weapons. |
| Raze | Inept +66% | Attack the defences that would keep your weapons out. |
| WeaponMaster | Novice | Improved competency in all weapons. |
| TrueShield | Novice +25% | Protect your body better with shields. |
| Slashing | Novice +50% | Alter your blade swinging with slashing maneuvers. |
| Defensive | Novice +75% | Change your fighting style to be more defensive. |
| Aggressive | Apprentice | An inaccurate but powerful fighting style. |
| ShieldParry | Apprentice +33% | Use shields to parry. |
| Bashing | Apprentice +66% | Alter your bludgeon swinging with bashing maneuvers. |
| Concentrated | Capable | A soft but accurate fighting style. |
| Gripping | Capable +25% | Grip your wielded items in a deathlock. |
| Assay | Capable +50% | Analyze the fighting techniques of your foe. |
| WeaponParry | Capable +75% | Use weapons to parry. |
| Lightning | Adept | A reckless but swift fighting style. |
| Engage | Adept +33% | Strike out at a cowardly opponent. |
| Targetting | Adept +66% | Aim your jabs at specific body parts. |
| Master | Master | Move on to a master specialization. |
Swing
| Syntax: |
| SWING <target> |
Wild swings will strike an opponent in a random location. Your skill has increased to the point where your swings are now more effective. You may use any weapon to swing.
Jab
| Syntax: |
| JAB <target> |
Wild jabs will strike an opponent in a random location. Your skill has increased to that point where your jabs are now more effective. You may use any weapon to jab.
Raze
| Syntax: |
| RAZE <target> RAZE <target> LEFT HAND |
With raze, your weapon will shear away the defences of your enemies that serve to keep your weapons out. You can optionally select which hand to swing with.
| Additional Notes: |
| Raze strips rebounding, circle, pentagram, reflections, and quicksilver. |
WeaponMaster
Your skill with weapons is so great, you can handle any weapon with equal ease.
TrueShield
While any dunce can hold a shield and protect an arm, by practice and training you are able to position your shield by second nature, allowing further protection to your arm wielding the shield as well as your head, chest and gut. Note that while it is physically possible to wield two shields, doing so is so cumbersome that you will lose all benefit from both shields.
Note: If you also have the common combat skill of trueshield, your skill with a shield will be even greater.
Slashing
HACK DOWN
_'''''_
/ \
@ @
SLICE \_ _/ SLICE
RIGHT | | LEFT
_____/___\_____
/ \
SWIPE | | | | SWIPE
RIGHT ( ) ( ) LEFT
| | | |
\___|_______|___/
R | | | L
SLASH | | | SLASH
RIGHT ( | ) LEFT
| | |
_| | |_
(_____|_____)
HACK UP
| Syntax: |
| HACK UP <target> - Hits gut and legs HACK DOWN <target> - Hits head and chest |
Slashing is a series of advanced swinging maneuvers for cutting weapons (swords, etc.). Each maneuver has a chance of hitting the body parts they target, the first one listed having the greater chance of being hit than the others. Note that left and right always refers to your opponent's left or right side. These count as a swing. You may also optionally add LEFT HAND or RIGHT HAND at the end of any maneuver's syntax to choose which hand's weapon you will strike with.
As a warning, these techniques will not work on denizens or creatures of the Basin.
Defensive
| Syntax: |
| COMBATSTYLE DEFENSIVE |
Choosing a defensive fighting style will increase the effectiveness of your combat stance while decreasing the effectiveness of your attacks.
Aggressive
| Syntax: |
| COMBATSTYLE AGGRESSIVE |
Choosing an aggressive fighting style will increase the damage from your attacks while lessening the wounding.
ShieldParry
| Syntax: |
| PARRY <body part> <numeric weight> PARRY ALL |
Possessing shield parry in both Knighthood and Combat will improve your parry accuracy with shields.
Bashing
SMITE DOWN
_'''''_
/ \
@ @
BASH \_ _/ BASH
RIGHT | | LEFT
_____/___\_____
/ \
POUND | | | | POUND
RIGHT ( ) ( ) LEFT
| | | |
\___|_______|___/
R | | | L
SMASH | | | SMASH
RIGHT ( | ) LEFT
| | |
_| | |_
(_____|_____)
SMITE UP
| Syntax: |
| SMITE UP <target> - Hits the gut and legs SMITE DOWN <target> - Hits the head and chest |
Bashing is a series of advanced swinging maneuvers for bludgeoning weapons (clubs, maces, etc.). Each maneuver has a chance of hitting the body parts they target, the first one listed having the greater chance of being hit than the others. Note that left and right always refers to your opponent's left or right side. These count as a swing. You may also optionally add LEFT HAND or RIGHT HAND at the end of any maneuver's syntax to choose which hand's weapon you will strike with.
Concentrated
| Syntax: |
| COMBATSTYLE CONCENTRATED |
Choosing a concentrated fighting style will increase your chance to wound an opponent, while decreasing the amount of damage of your attacks.
Gripping
| Syntax: |
| GRIP RELAX GRIP |
While using this ability, you will prevent items from being knocked out of your grip. Relax when you want to unwield.
Assay
| Syntax: |
| ASSAY <target> [STANCE|UPPER|MIDDLE|LOWER|<bodypart>] |
Quickly assaying the movements of an opponent will allow you to get some idea of his or her fighting style, and parrying.
WeaponParry
| Syntax: |
| PARRY <body part> <numeric weight> PARRY |
Possessing weapon parry in both Knighthood and Combat will improve your parry accuracy with weapons.
Lightning
| Syntax: |
| COMBATSTYLE LIGHTNING |
Choosing a lightning fighting style will increase the speed of your attacks, while decreasing the amount of damage of your attacks.
Engage
| Syntax: |
| ENGAGE <player> DISENGAGE <player> |
There is nothing more despicable and dishonourable than a coward, and this ability will allow you to punish cowards, as is their due. Once you have engaged a player, if he or she tries to leave the room, you will get in an extra strike at them, regardless of whether you have equilibrium and balance or not. There is a small chance you will also prevent your foe from departing.
Targetting
| Syntax: |
| STRIKE <target> <body part> |
You can target the specific body part of an opponent. This counts as a jab. You may also optionally add LEFT HAND or RIGHT HAND at the end of the syntax to choose which hand's weapon you will strike with.
Master
At this point in your training of Knighthood, you have progressed where you must specialize in an aspect of this skill to continue learning. If you have not yet selected a specialization, see SKILLCHOICE LIST to see what is available. There may be a choice between two or more specializations.