Karma Ritual

Rank

This talent allows characters to replenish their store of Karma Points. Each time characters perform the ritual, they can purchase a number of Karma Points equal to their rank in Karma Ritual. Each ritual must be performed at dawn, takes 30 minutes to complete and can only be performed once per day.

Restore KARMA Points

Self

Permanent

YES

NO

NO

ALL

--

Sword Attack

DEX + Rank

A Swordmaster uses the Sword Attack talent to hit a target using a hand-held sword. The character makes a Sword Attack Test against the Physical Defense of the target. A successful test means the attack hits the target.

Melee ATTACK

Self

1 Round

YES

NO

NO

Swordmaster

Swordmaster

Riposte

DEX + Rank

The Riposte talent allows a character to turn an attack back on her attacker. The character makes a Riposte Test against the result of the Attack Test made by a single opponent. If the Riposte result is higher than the Attack Test Result, the attacked character avoids the blow, then immediately attacks using the Riposte Test result as an Attack Test. If the Riposte test result is higher than the opponent's Physical Defense Rating, the Riposte hits the opponent. The riposting character then makes a normal Damage Test. Riposte Tests cannot result in Armor-Defeating hits because the reactive nature of a Riposte does not allow the Swordmaster an opportunity to place her blow so that it hits a chink in his opponent's armor. A character may only use Riposte once per round, regardless of how many attacks she suffers in that round. Furthermore, a character can only use the Riposte talent against attacks made with melee or close combat weapons.

(+) # of ATTACKS / Round & Ignore Physical ATTACKS

Self

1 Round

NO

NO

2

Swordmaster

--

Taunt

CHA + Rank

Taunt allows a Swordmaster to enrage an opponent using words and/or gestures, thereby distracting him. For a Taunt to be effective the target must be a living, sentient creature able to speak a language; though the character does not have to be able to speak that language herself. If the target can be affected, the character makes a Taunt Test vs. the target's Social Defense. The target has all test steps reduced by 1 for each success level for the duration of the talent. Only one Taunt can affect a target at any time.

(-) Opponent's TEST Effectiveness

LOS

(Rank) Rounds

YES

NO

2

Swordmaster

--

Durability

Rank

This talent increases the Death and Unconcsciousness Ratings of a character. For each rank in Durability which characters achieve, their Death Ratings are increased by an amount equal to their Toughness step at the time. The character's Unconsciousness Rating is also increased by an amount equal to its Toughness step - 1. If the character's Toughness step later increases, it will not change the Death Rating or Unconsciousness Rating increases which the character has already received; only those increases to come.

(+) DEATH & UNCON Rating

Touch

Permanent

NO

NO

NO

ALL

--

Winning Smile

CHA + Rank

The Winning Smile talent causes a character to appear more attractive to others of his species. The character makes a Winning Smile Test against the Social Defense of the target. A successful result means the target finds the character's appearance very pleasing, and for the next 24 hours the character using the talent receives a step bonus equal to his rank in Winning Smile for tests against the target's Social Defense. A character may not attempt to use Winning Smile on the same target more than once per day.

(+) CHA Test Effectiveness

Self

(Rank) Hours

YES

NO

NO

Swordmaster

--

Manuever

DEX + Rank

When using the Maneuver talent, the character sacrifices her attack in an attempt to avoid attacks made against her. The character must direct the Maneuver talent against one opponent. The character makes a Maneuver Action Test instead of an Attack Test, using the result of the test as her Physical Defense for the round even if the result is lower the her normal Physical Defense. If the character avoids taking damage during the round in which she Maneuvers, in the next round she adds her rank in Maneuver to the result of the next attack she makes against the opponent she out-Maneuvered. If this attack hits, the character also adds an amount of damage equal to her talent rank to the result of her Damage Test.

(+) Physical DEFENSE & (+) ATTACK Test & (+) DAMAGE

Self

1 Round

NO

NO

NO

Swordmaster

Swordmaster

Heartening Laugh

CHA + Rank

A Heartening Laugh allows the Swordmaster to support friendly characters against fear. The Swordmaster directs a booming, mocking laugh at one opponent. The character makes a Heartening Laugh Test against the highest Social Defense among all of his opponents, + 1 for each additional opponent present. If the test is successful, all friendly characters who hear the character's laugh receive a step bonus equal to the character's Heartening Laugh Rank to all Willpower Tests to resist fear attacks made against them by opponents.

Resist FEAR

Self

1 Round

NO

NO

1

Swordmaster

--

Threadweaving

PER + Rank

Characters use Thread Weaving talent to create and weave magical threads. Characters can only have a number of threads active equal to their Thread Weaving Rank. The process of weaving a thread is described in the Earthdawn Companion. This talent also gives characters a limited version of the Astral Sense talent. The astral sight provided by Thread Weaving allows characters only enough vision to see threads and patterns.

Manipulate THREADS

Varies

Varies

YES

NO

NO

ALL

--

Sword Scream

WIL + Rank

This talent causes the Swordmaster's blade to scream with an eerie, shrieking wail whenever it makes a successful attack against an opponent. All foes within range of this scream must make a Willpower test vs. the adept's Sword Scream step. Failure means the foes must run directly away from the Swordmaster for 1 round at the fastest rate possible. The foe may take no other action that round. Thereafter, the foe may take any action desired, but may not attack the Swordmaster during a round in which her sword is Screaming. This talent does not affect undead, Horror constructs, Horrors, Nethermancers or Horror Stalkers. A target may not be affected by more then one Sword Scream in a round.

Induce FEAR

(Rank) Hexes

Varies

NO

NO

2

Swordmaster

--

Disarm

DEX + Rank

A Swordmaster uses a combination of flashy swordplay and instinctive levitation to knock a weapon out of an opponent's hand. After first declaring that she intends to Disarm her opponent, the Swordmaster makes her Attack Test using her Disarm step. A successful result sends the weapon flying in a direction of the Swordmaster's choosing. Make a Damage Test for the number of feet the weapon flies (9 feet per Hex, round up). The Disarm talent does not affect any weapon that is part of the defender, such as an animal's claws.

(-) Opponent's DAMAGE

Self

1 Round

YES

NO

1

Swordmaster

Swordmaster

Lip Reading

PER + Rank

Because Swordmasters are naturally vain and self-centered, they are equally inclined to develop the ability to watch other's lips to determine whether or not anyone is talking about them behind their back. To Lip Read, the character must be in a position to see the speaker's lips and understand his language. The character makes a Lip Reading Test vs. the speaker's Social Defense. If the test is successful, the Swordmaster can understand the speakers words.

INFORMATION

(Rank) x 2 Hexes

(Rank) Minutes

YES

NO

1

Swordmaster

--

Wound Balance

STR + Rank

The Wound Balance talent improves a Swordmaster's ability to resist knockdown. The character uses the Wound Balance step in place of the her Strength step when making a Knockdown Test after taking a Wound.

(+) KNOCKDOWN Resistance

Self

(Rank) Minutes

NO

NO

1

Swordmaster

--

Engaging Banter

CHA + Rank

The Engaging Banter talent enables a Swordmaster to use her charming style and a touch of magical suggestion to distract an opponent. The target must be able to understand what the character is saying in order for the talent to work. Engaging Banter may be used in combat. The character makes an Engaging Banter Test against the target's Social Defense. If the test is successful, the target and the character become engaged in witty, idle chatter for the duration of the talent. During this time, the target is distracted, suffering a -1 step to all tests and reducing all combat ratings (Physical Defense, etc.) by -2. The talent can be used against targets under attack, but a successful attack that causes a Wound negates the effect of Engaging Banter, making the target immune to the effects of more Engaging Banter for the next 24 hours. A Swordmaster can only Banter with one opponent at a time.

(-) Opponent's TEST Effectiveness

& (-) Opponent's DEFENSE Ratings

(Rank) Hexes

(Rank) Rounds

NO

NO

1

Swordmaster

--

Quickblade

Rank

The Quickblade talent allows the character to gain the "jump" on an opponent by using a "one/two" combination of blows to maneuver the foe out of position. Once the Swordmaster announces she is using the Quickblade talent against a specific opponent, she makes a Sword Attack against that foe in the same round. If this attack is successful, the Swordmaster may then add her Quickblade step to her normal Initiative Step in the next round. This talent may not be combined with the Manuever talent.

(+) INITIATIVE

Self

1 Round

NO

NO

1

Swordmaster

--

Sense Truth

PER + Rank

A Swordmaster uses her sense of the rightness of things to determine when truth is being spoken within range of the talent. The Swordmaster makes a Sense Truth Test and compares it to the Social Defense of any figure speaking within range of the talent while the talent is active. If the test result is higher than the target's Social Defense the character senses when any words which the target speaks are true. However, the talent does not enable the Swordmaster to know what the real truth may be if the target is telling lies. The Swordmaster need not understand the target's language to discern whether or not the target is speaking the truth.

INFORMATION

(Rank) Hexes

(Rank) Minutes

NO

YES

NO

Swordmaster

--

Pin

DEX + Rank

The Pin talent allows a Swordmaster to corner an opponent by making a rapid series of whirling attacks with a sword, thus restricting the opponent's movement. The character makes a Pin Test vs. the target's Physical Defense. If a character wishes to use the Pin talent against more than one target, she makes the test vs. the highest Physical Defense of the target group +1 for each additional defender. A success means the character pinned the target, who cannot move away from the pinning character. A pinned target(s) may attack only the Swordmaster, and suffers a step penalty to all attack test equal to the attacking character's Pin rank. The effects of Pin last for only 1 round, or until the pinning character next acts, whichever comes first. A Pin attack does no damage.

HALT Opponents & (-) Opponent's ATTACK TEST Effectiveness

Adjacent Hexes

1 Round

YES

NO

1

Swordmaster

Swordmaster

Shield Beater

DEX +Rank

This talent allows the Swordmaster to make a Melee Weapon Attack that bypasses an opponent's shield. When using this talent, the character uses her Shield Beater step rather than her Melee Weapon step for the Attack Test. A successful attack automatically bypasses the opponent's shield. The Shield Beater talent also helps the character defeat her opponent's armor. Reduce the level of success needed for an Armor-Defeating Hit by one level when the Swordmaster uses this talent.

(+) DAMAGE & (+) Armor Defeating Effectiveness

Self

1 Round

YES

NO

1

Swordmaster

Swordmaster

Impale

Rank

With this talent a Swordmaster can choose to study her foe to find just the right opening in an opponent's defense and then use this knowledge to make a devastatingly effective attack. When making an Impaling strike the character may choose to add a number of steps to her sword's normal Damage Test step equal to her Impale rank. However, for every 2 steps (round up) which she adds to her normal Damage Test step, she must subtract an equal number of steps from her Attack Test step in return. This reduction in the Swordmaster's Attack Test effectiveness reflects the difficulty of finding just the right opening in the target's defense.

(+) DAMAGE

Self

1 Round

NO

NO

1

Swordmaster

--

Vitality

TOU + Rank

Vitality allows a character to recover damage more effectively. Each day, Vitality may be used a number of times equal to his base daily allowance of Recovery Tests (i.e., the number of Recovery Tests allotted to each character based upon their Toughness Step). Each use of Vitality counts as an additional Recovery Test above and beyond the number of Recovery Tests he may normally make in one day. These Recovery Tests may be used to recover damage or as payment for talents which require the sacrifice of a recovery test. If the talent is used as payment, a Karma Point is spent, but no dice are rolled.

(+) # RECOVERY TESTS per day

Self

Permanent

YES

YES

NO

Pattern Knight

Purifier

Sky Raider

Swordmaster

Warrior

--

Multi-Strike

DEX + Rank

A character uses Multi-Strike to make more than one melee attack in a round. Multi-Strike is used instead of Melee Weapons, Close Combat or Unarmed Combat to make the attack(s). A character may make a number of attacks equal to his Dexterity Step - 3. Each Multi-Strike attack costs one point of Strain. A character may make all of her available Multi-Strike attacks in a round even if one or more of them misses.

(+) # of ATTACKS / Round

Self

1 Round

YES

NO

Varies

Guard

Pathfinder

Pattern Knight

Purifier

Sky Raider

Swordmaster

Warrior

--

Ethereal Sword

DEX + Rank

The Ethereal Sword talent allows a character to make her sword become incorporeal. The incorporeal sword passes through physical obstacles, including armor, becoming solid as soon as it strikes an animate target. The character makes an Ethereal Sword Test for his Attack Test. If successful, the character makes a Damage Test as normal, ignoring the Physical Armor Rating of the target. Ethereal Sword can only be used against targets with physical bodies.

(+) Armor Defeating Hit Effectiveness

Self

1 Round

YES

NO

2

Liberator

Swordmaster

Swordmaster

Spirit Strike

WIL + Rank

This talent allows a character in Physical Space to strike an opponent in Astral Space. The character must first be able to detect the presence of his Astral opponent with Astral Sight or Threadweaving talent. The character makes a Spirit Strike Attack Test vs. the opponent's Spell Defense. If successful, the weapon hits the target and does normal damage. The opponent's Physical Armor Rating protects. Defensive talents like Avoid Blow and Riposte cannot be used against Spirit Strike.

Attack ASTRAL Opponent

Self

1 Round

YES

NO

1

Archer

Beastmaster

Guard

Liberator

Lancer

Pathfinder

Pattern Knight

Purifier

Ranger

Sky Raider

Swordmaster

Warrior

Weaponsmith

--