Fencing
While any hero with Fighting can thrust, slash, parry
and feint to a competent degree (covered by Fighting), true
mastery of the blade requires knowledge of fencing styles.
Fencing styles are similar to skill specializations, but
there are important differences. These are given below.
Note that fencing styles are only ever specializations
of Fighting, and not every school actually uses melee
weapons. Such schools have no associated fighting style.
Fencing in All for One essentially covers specialized fighting
techniques, and is not intended to mimic historical
fencing in any way.
* Each of France’s many fencing schools is treated as a
unique specialization. The schools are detailed beginning
on page 25. You don’t need an Edge to learn the basics of
a given style—all taking the specialization does is teach
the style’s basic moves, not its signature move. If you want
to be a master of the style, then you need to take the Fencing
School Edge as well.
* It takes years to learn even the basic fencing moves of
any given school. Learning a new style counts as raising a
skill above its linked attribute. Characters are assumed to
be continually practicing and attending classes between
adventures, so no actual in-game time requirements are
imposed.
* You cannot use styles you don’t know. Either you
know a style or you don’t.
* You may learn a maximum of one fencing style for
each die step in your Fighting. For instance, a character
with Fighting d6 can learn two styles, while one with
Fighting d12 may learn five unique styles, the maximum
he is allowed.
* You don’t ever have to pick a specialization, nor do
you have to use one you know (though there are advantages).
Any character can just hack away at his opponents.
Benefits
When using Fighting, you get to decide which of your
styles you are employing. You pick one style at the start
of your turn, and cannot change it until the start of your
next turn. When facing opponents who don’t have a skill
specialization in your chosen style, you get a +1 bonus
to Fighting rolls. Your opponents don’t need to be using
that style; they just have to know the basic moves
in order to negate them. Of course, the same applies to
enemies who know a style you don’t.
Characters with no fencing style specialization never
get a style bonus. Every thug, soldier, and swordsman
knows how to wield a blade, and everyone knows how
to cope with them.
Example: Henri, a Musketeer, has locked blades with
Louis, a Cardinal’s Guardsman. Henri knows both Dardi
and Danse, while Henri knows Danse and Renoir. Both
secretly declare Danse as their chosen style. Because they
know each other’s style, neither gains any bonus. In the
first round, Henri declares he is switching to Dardi. Louis
is flummoxed, as he has no knowledge of the style, giving
Henri a +1 bonus to Fighting. On his turn, Louis takes
a chance and switches to Renoir, hoping his opponent
has not learned the style. Now it’s Henri’s turn to look
bemused. So long as neither switches back to Danse, each
gains a +1 Fighting bonus against the other.
Social Dueling
Social dueling involves using barbed comments, overt
insults, witty slander, and backhanded compliments rather
than swords and fists. These rules are designed for social
occasions, such as balls and dances, and should never be
used during standard combat. Insulting someone properly
takes time, requires a crowd of onlookers, and cannot
be achieved while dodging bullets and parrying blows.
Be warned, though, before you open your mouth
and insult someone. Trying to smear someone with a
bad reputation could easily get turned on you, and you
should not go after famous or popular people unless
you're pretty sure you can win.
Social dueling works much like the Social Conflict
rules, except Taunt is used in place of Persuasion. For
this purpose only, Charisma modifiers apply—the cutting
quips of a nobleman or famous hero are more likely
to wound than those of a common soldier or peasant
and an attractive lady is likely to win more applause than
some wrinkled hag.
Cooperative rolls are permitted, but any character
who aids a comrade suffers the same penalties as the
main hero if the duel is lost.
Note that not every NPC has Taunt. For the purpose
of social dueling only, every NPC should be considered
to have Taunt d4 unless he has a higher die listed—even
the crudest peasant knows how to deliver a witty double
entendre, throw an insult, or just deliver a slanderous
statement in social situations.
Social Dueling Results
This replaces the Social Conflict Results table in the
core rules. Charisma penalties are removed at the rate
of one point per week. Word spreads quickly around
France. Any character with an impugned reputation will
receive knowing smiles at best, and be mocked by all
and sundry at worst. Alternately, the loser can demand a
duel of blades or pistols. Should he win, the reputation
is restored and all penalties removed.
While the character is suffering a Charisma penalty, he
will not be the target of social duels—a damaged reputation
cannot be further harmed until it is repaired. He
may, if he so chooses, instigate social duels, though.
Margin Result
Tie There is no clear winner. Both parties have
slandered each other, but the insults have
not damaged their reputations. Neither feels
the need to pursue the matter further, at
least not until their next meeting.
1-2 The loser’s honor and reputation are
besmirched, but only temporarily. He suffers
a –1 Charisma penalty.
3-4 A stinging remark has left a deep wound
on the loser’s reputation. He suffers a –2
Charisma penalty.
5+ The target’s honor is not only tarnished, it
is hemorrhaging! He suffers a –4 Charisma
penalty.
Unstable Platform
The Unstable Platform penalty also applies to Fighting
and Throwing rolls—it isn’t easy beating your opponent
around the head or lobbing grenades if your horse
is continually moving around. The Steady Hands Edge
offsets the penalties to these skills.
This section looks at the major fencing schools, salons,
and academies in France. Regardless of the actual
name, the term “fencing school” covers them all. The
entries are more than just a list of game mechanics. Each
school has a full background, allowing the players to get
a better feel for the way their characters fight, and giving
the GM opportunities to make the schools more than
just background fluff.
Style: The name of the school’s particular fencing
style. This is the name used when choosing a Fighting
skill specialization. Fencing schools teach a variety
of weapons, and there are no specific weapon lists.
Although every Musketeer begins with a rapier, he can
use his chosen style with any weapon. There are a few
notable exceptions to this rule.
Signature: Bonuses gained by characters who take
the appropriate Fencing School Edge. These only apply
if the character is using that skill specialization in a
round.
Special: Any special restrictions, requirements, or
notes that apply to using the style or joining the school.
Accademia degli Sporchi
Trucchi
Style: Del Rio
Signature Move: +1 to perform Tricks.
The Accademia degli Sporchi Trucchi (the “Academy
of Dirty Tricks,” or simply “Del Rio”, after the school’s
founding master) teaches students that victory is the only
thing that matters. Gentlemanly conduct in a duel with
a noble opponent may woo a lady, but it will not win
against a band of cutthroats or the Cardinal’s Guard.
Students are taught that anything goes in a fight. They
learn all manner of tricks designed to confuse, humiliate,
and throw foes off their guard before delivering the
killing blow. While students love having ample maneuver
room and handy objects about, they are just as skilled at
fighting in a narrow, deserted alley: with a smooth motion,
the swordsman may run up a wall, vault over your
head (stealing your hat in the process), and then deliver
a blow to your exposed back.
Younger students often like to show off their skill by
toying with opponents, performing trick after trick. They
are quickly taught a lesson by a master, who performs
one trick and then places his sword at the throat of his
befuddled opponent. As Del Rio himself once said, “the
cat that plays with its food too long may find the mouse
bites back.”
A truly skilled master can defeat his opponent seemingly
without revealing his swordsman’s prowess. When
the killing blow comes, it does so from a seemingly innocuous
or lucky move that resulted in the victim simply
being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Once an opponent realizes he is fighting someone
trained in the Del Rio style, he may become cagey, refusing
to be drawn by feints, sweeping away scenery his foe
could possibly use to trick him with. But Del Rio students
are not just skilled at physical tricks—a verbal bluff
or quip can be enough to create a momentary opening
the fencer can exploit with deadly efficiency. Many opponents
expect their Del Rio foes to try and trick them
at some point, little realizing that winning is all that matters.
Tricks are a valuable part of their arsenal, but they
are not compelled to employ them as a matter of course.
A Del Rio student may simply trick his opponent by not
playing any tricks, toying with him for a while to build up
a sense of paranoia and expectation.
Visits to the academy can be extremely annoying,
especially for outsiders. Pranks, japes, and jokes are the
nature of the day. Unwary guests may find the snuff they
have just inhaled contains pepper, their wine has been
spiked with vinegar (or worse), and the chair they sit
upon has had its legs partially sawn through. But there
can be a darker side to this japery: members taking a dislike
to a comrade or visitor often use pranks as a means
of provoking a fight.
Dardi School
Style: Dardi
Signature Move: When carrying a cloak in his offhand,
the character gains the benefits of Light Cover.
Founded in Bologna, Italy in the 16th century, the
Dardi School has opened a private salon in Paris. Dardi,
who was never seen without a cloak draped over his arm,
believed that a gentleman should avoid getting blood on
his garments whenever possible. As such, he focused
his style on defensive moves using that most common
of gentleman’s apparel—his cloak. Of course, the school
has one major weakness—a gentleman without a cloak
loses his advantage (and cloaks held in the hand can be
Disarmed).
While Dardi mythology claims the founder, Umberto
Dardi, designed his style around the cloak to prevent
blood from staining his fine clothes, the truth is more
prosaic: Dardi realized that the cloak could be used defensively,
buying him opportunity to flee an unfair fight.
A man with many enemies, his newfound fencing style
saved his life more than once.
Regardless of their actual social class, Dardi considers
its members to be gentlemen and expects them to dress
and behave accordingly—or at least while in the academy.
Members must wear clothing appropriate to the gentry,
and always with a cloak, of course. IN addition, courtesy
to each other and to guests is de rigueur, as well as the
showing of refined speech and manners. While poorer
members are loaned suitable clothing from the school’s
extensive wardrobe, it can do little about the rest. As a
result, there is a certain amount of snobbery between the
rich and poor students.
While the school charter says every member is equal
in status and should be accorded due respect as a brother,
those without rank, status, or money are known as
Aspirants by the snobbish gentry members (because they
aspire to be better than their true social status).
Members in general have a tendency to consider their
art the most refined for a gentleman, often mocking
those who favor more militant styles. In return, they are
often mocked for having bad vices—a cloak hides many
sins. The charter also forbids guests from wearing cloaks
in certain areas unless they are full members. Only the
King and Cardinal Richelieu are exempt from this.
The Dardi school’s strength and weakness, not to
mention its signature item, is the cloak. Even without
a weapon, they can ward off sword blows by wrapping
the cloak around their arm to cushion impacts, entangle
axes and daggers, ensnare arrows, conceal their outline
to foil musketeers, and disarm and trip foes. They might
not be able to strike back efficiently, but that is true of
any swordsman caught unarmed.
Without their cloaks, however, the true proponents
of the art are robbed of their greatest asset, leaving them
unable to employ their special techniques. In game
terms, a student of Dardi without a cloak in his hand
loses his +1 bonus to Feint and Parry.
In some ways the student of Dardi is a modern counterpart
to the ancient Roman retiarius, a gladiator armed
with the trident and net. Much of the school’s training
and fighting style is actually based on written records of
gladiatorial fights and mosaics from Roman ruins.
Deutsche Fechtschule
Style: German
Signature Move: When using a great sword, you ignore
the –1 Parry modifier, and gain +1 to Fighting rolls
to make Disarm and Grapple attacks.
Special: The German style can only be used when
wielding a great sword.
The Deutsche Fechtschule (“German school of fencing”)
was taught in the Holy Roman Empire during the
Medieval and Renaissance periods. As Italian fencing
developed, so the German style fell out of practice. Originally
teaching several varied styles, such as polearms,
grappling, the quarterstaff, and even mounted combat,
its primary focus was on the great sword, known as
the Zweihänder (two hander). Considered archaic and
ungainly compared to the modern, elegant styles developed
by the French, Italian, and Spanish, it is nevertheless
making something of a comeback.
Ritter Heinrich Bothe, a retired German mercenary
captain, minor nobleman, and refuge from the war ravaging
the Holy Roman Empire, recently opened a salon in
Paris. Few gentlemen have been attracted to the school,
and as a result its students have a reputation for being
lower class thugs, a not altogether undeserved one.
While many of the basic moves can be utilized with
other weapons, the modern style focuses on the great
sword at the exclusion of all other weapons. While its
reliance on a single weapon is a great strength, it is
also its primary weakness, for disarmed, the fencer can
utilize none of his school’s special techniques. The style
is built around three basic attacking moves (known as
“hews”), five master hews, and four defensive guards.
Combined, these produce an array of fighting moves.
Added to these are three special moves, known as the
“great secrets.”
While every fencing style teaches one how to kill, the
German style also focuses on grappling and trips, again
using relying on great sword. Movement of the legs is
restricted in order to retain balance while wielding the
cumbersome great sword, with triangular steps taught
over sudden lunges or long strides.
English Style
Style: English
Signature Move: You may attack with the buckler
as if you had Ambidextrous and Two-Fisted. Damage is
Str+d4.
Special: English style can only be used with a long
sword and buckler in combination.
Popular in England until the turn of the century, when
it was replaced by continental fencing styles and weapons,
the English style is regarded as rather uncouth and
rustic. As far as many European nobles are concerned, it
neatly sums up the backward nature of the English. The
only salon in France is found in Calais. Its master, Salvation
Jacobs, a Catholic, left England in 1604 in protest of
the King James’ crackdown on the Catholic faith.
Although mocked by his French counterparts, Jacobs
has persisted in teaching the antiquated style. Many of
his students are English exiles or ex-patriots. Some seek
instruction simply to keep alive the memories of olden
times, others to show their contempt for the European
fencing styles that now dominate, and some because the
basic style is relatively easy to master. Jacobs cares little
for his pupils’ motives, so long as their money is good.
Jacobs is a known critic of King Charles I. The king’s
spies report him a harmless crank, an old man living in the
past, but Jacobs is more dangerous than they realize. He
seeks to place a Catholic monarch on the English throne,
and actively sponsors those who seek to overthrow the
king. A small a cadre of fanatical Catholics within the
school is secretly being trained to assassinate the king.
Richelieu’s agents have approached him in a bid to recruit
him as a spy, but his hatred of King Charles doesn’t
run quite deep enough to openly support France.
The school, which operates out of a disused tavern,
focuses entirely on wielding the long sword and buckler
in combination. Students begin with just a long sword,
getting them used to basic fencing moves. Only when
they have proven their competency is the buckler introduced.
As well as learning how to use the small shield to
deflect blows, students are taught how to use the buckler
as an effective weapon. Rather than academic subjects,
the school’s curriculum covers more practical skills—
Athletics, Intimidation, and Warfare.
Jacobs is currently looking for a student capable of
running a Parisian branch of the school. Such a candidate
would need to have learned the all school’s Fencing
School Edges, have Fighting d8+, possess the social
abilities required to attract students and patrons, and
ideally be French. In return for running the school, the
instructor would retain 50% of the income as his salary.
L’Académie de Cavalerie
Style: Cavalerie
Signature Move: When mounted, you use the highest
of your Fighting or Riding, rather than the lowest as
normal.
Founded in the 15th century, the Academy of Cavalry
initially trained knights in the lance and in general horsemanship.
Times have moved on, and cavalry charges are
less prevalent on the modern battlefield than they were
two centuries ago. In keeping with its noble origins, the
Academy only accepted cavalry officers until a few years
ago, when King Louis insisted his Musketeers be granted
access.
The Academy of Cavalry is a prestigious school with a
fine pedigree. Many of its masters feel its reputation has
been irrevocably tarnished by allowing musketeers to
join. A great rivalry exists both inside and outside of the
school between the old guard, formed of cavalry officers
and noblemen, and the new guard, which comprises the
musketeers. That female musketeers are now permitted
to join has raised the animosity to a new level. Competition
between the two factions is intense, and more than
one “accidental” injury has occurred.
While it is acceptable to harm another student
(though only by accident, of course) during sparring
matches, harming a horse during training bouts is an
offense punishable by automatic banishment for a set
period of time.
Members must possess their own horse. Extensive
stables are available free to full members, while general
students of the style may stable mounts at the school for
a small monthly fee so long as they left in good standing.
Both the Musketeers and Cardinal’s Guard have their
main stables at the school.
The basic style provides adequate training in mounted
combat, but there is far more to the style. Advanced
students are taught to use their mount as an extension
of their own body, to avoid injury by staying low in the
saddle or leaning heavily to one side or letting the mount
take the blow, and how to push their mount to greater
speeds. Full members have access to specialist training.
L’Académie de l'Anatomie
Style: Anatomie
Signature Move: You may use your Healing die in
place of your Strength when rolling for damage. You may
always elect to inflict nonlethal damage when using the
signature move, ignoring the usual –1 penalty.
When one thinks of anatomy, one generally associates
the subject with healers rather than swordsmen.
The founder of this unusual school was both a fencer
and a doctor of medicine. While he advocated peace and
good will to all men, he also insisted that if you had to
fight, you might as well know how to end it quickly. His
teachings favor precision over power, and a working
knowledge of the human body is considered essential in
knowing where best to deliver hits.
Although the Academy of Medicine was founded as
a fencing school, it has since gone on to become one
of the most famous medical teaching schools in Paris,
especially regarding the study of anatomy. While not all
medical students must study fencing, all fencing students
must study medicine.
Training medical students has brought greater wealth
to the academy than training swordsmen. As a result, the
academy is now run as a university. Lessons are ordered
and set down according to a timetable, students must
obey the rules of the academy, and there is clear distinction
between masters (called deans) and students.
Since it caters to both fencers and non-swordsmen,
the faculty and student body is divided into two factions.
While they mix in lessons, they have separate dormitories
and recreational facilities—a new practice, introduced
when Jesuit scholars applied to join the faculty. This
ensures that clerics sent to the academy for training as
healers are not tainted by excessively fraternizing with
those who trained to take lives.
Students of the basic art, even if not current members,
may attend the university to continue their medical
training. Only those who are full members are given
advanced fencing instruction, however.
Many students who learn both fencing and medicine
go on to serve with the army, if only to gain actual experience
of both combat and healing. Some see it as a fast
track to promotion, though this is rarely the case.
Students learn how to defend themselves, since the
ethos of the school is not to train wanton killers, but
instead to instruct men of peace who can seek other
ways to end violence—while keeping foes at bay by delivering
precision strikes. Slashing attacks are frowned
upon, since they inflict more damage than is considered
necessary to down a foe. Full members are given special
instruction on how to inflict pain while minimizing
physical injury, and how to target specific areas of the
human body so as to inflict quick, clean kills.
When students must fight, they seek to end the conflict
as quickly and humanely as possible, stabbing at vital
organs rather than splitting foes from stomach to chin.
Advanced students are capable of inflicting painful yet
nonlethal injuries, giving their opponents chance to surrender,
or the swordsman the opportunity to run away.
If pushed, they are quite capable of killing.
L’Académie de Pugilism
Style: Pugilism
Signature Move: You gain the Brawler Edge, ignoring
all requirements.
When the Academy of Pugilism opened its doors, the
fencing masters of Paris went into an uproar. Their art,
they claimed, was one of finesse, an ancient combat form
dating back to the days of knights in shining armor. The
master of the Academy, Gaston du Beck, laid down a
challenge. If any fencing master in Paris could beat him
in a fight, he would close his Academy without regret.
Seven masters tried and seven masters failed.
Although not popular with the upper crust of the
French nobility, many young rakes are taking to the art of
pugilism. Unlike the other schools, this one also accept
lower class students (so long as they can pay), something
the nobility finds not only disgusting, but also dangerous.
A peasant who knows how to fight is, after all, only
one step away from rebelling.
The Academy of Pugilism has an unsavory reputation
in Paris thanks to the machinations of the nobility. While
they know that peasants, driven by their base motives,
are prone to brawling in the streets, the Academy turns
brawlers into very effective combatants. That the peasantry
might one day rise up in arms and assault the nobility
worried the upper class enough for them to petition
the King to close the school. The King passed the matter
to Cardinal Richelieu, who has so far ignored it, claiming
that the peasants are no threat.
Perversely, Richelieu has also intimated that men of
the cloth, who are forbidden from wielding arms, should
study here so as to learn how to defend themselves from
bandits, Spanish invaders, heretics, and devil worshippers.
While no edict has been issued, some clerics have
taken his advice to heart and signed up.
The academy is located in a rundown building in a
poor suburb of Paris. Although it does teach pugilism
to lower class citizens, there is a two-tier system. Basic
instruction in pugilism costs very little, though most students
walk away with nothing more than a rudimentary
knowledge of where to punch someone and a broken
nose for their livres. Advanced training costs more,
which prohibits most peasants from joining.
Many of the poorer full members are in fact thugs, the
sort of people who hire their fists out when a nonlethal
message needs to be sent, or members of criminal gangs
who need to dispatch agents of the King without being
seen to draw a weapon. While murder is a capital crime,
it is far easier to say the victim of an innocuous punch
died from natural causes or suffered fatal injuries as a result
of hitting his head as he fell, something which might,
in the words of a smooth-talking lawyer, be attributed as
an accident.
Basic training consists simply of learning to punch
harder than your opponent and block his blows. Rather
than been provided any real instruction, students are
paired up and made to brawl until one passes out.
This brutality hides the true art of pugilism, which is
restricted to fully paid members, who are taught how
to break bone with holds and locks, to rupture organs
with a punch, as well as a secret technique which causes
damage to manifest only after several minutes.
The style lacks the finesse of the swordsman schools.
Fancy footwork, elegant displays of precision, and elaborate
moves are replaced with a no-holds-barred style
comprising hard-hitting punches, elbow strikes, kicks,
and head butts. While some students do learn how to
block sword blows, most prefer to simply down their opponents
quickly as possible.
L’Académie de Vénus
Style: Venus
Signature Move: The fencer has +1 Parry, but only
against male opponents with an interest in their gender.
Special: Only women with Charisma 2+ may learn
the style.
Arguably one of the most exclusive fencing school in
Paris, the Academy of Venus caters only to women of acceptable
social standing. Rather then teaching fishwives
how to fence, its clientele are noblewomen, the daughters
of the rich and famous, and the Queen’s Musketeers.
Regardless of their social status, the thought of women
bearing arms is anathema to most men. The notion of actually
training them to fence borders on blasphemous.
Political attempts to have the academy closed have
been thwarted by Cardinal Richelieu, whose decree
allowing the formation of the Queen’s Musketeers has
given the salon tacit approval. Indeed, he has labelled it
as one the two school’s the Musketeers should consider
attending (the other is the Musketeers’ Academy). Rumors
abound that the queen herself trains here, though
these are completely unproven. Undeterred, its critics
have taken to slandering the school in a bid to sully its
reputation, accusing the master, Mme. Marguerite Pelletier,
of running a brothel. That the school only accepts
attractive women and those with forceful personalities
has not gone unnoticed by its detractors and women
who fail to meet the entry requirements, either.
In order to combat these claims, the school’s rules
concerning men are very strict. A student may have only
male guest at a time, he is forbidden from visiting between
dusk and dawn, and the student and her guest
may never be alone together. The school has developed
a following among young men of good social standing.
Filled with romantic (or at least lustful) intentions, they
loiter outside the academy in the hope of glimpsing the
attractive students. More than a few have dared to scale
the garden walls in a bid to get closer to the women.
This inevitably ends in a sound thrashing and physical
expulsion onto the streets.
Rather than teaching academic pursuits, good manners,
courtly etiquette, courtly dancing and musicianship,
literature and poetry, and a working knowledge of
socially acceptable foreign languages are a much a part
of the curriculum as fencing moves. The school’s martial
style focuses heavily on distraction, students being taught
to use their looks and bodies to beguile weak-willed men
in a bid to lower their defenses. Unsurprisingly, students
make great use of tear-away skirts (see Richelieu’s Guide
to Wondrous Devices).
Mme. Pelletier, a former student of the School of
Dance, founded the Academy of Venus a month after
Richelieu ordered the formation of the Queen’s Musketeers,
sensing a profitable business opportunity. With
the two schools competing for the same client based
and offering similar social instruction, a fierce rivalry
has quickly developed. Mme. Pelletier is a stunningly
beautiful woman. Despite having a string of suitors, she
remains unmarried. She has an on-of relationship with El
Toro of the Spanish Style school for several years.
Although the school has a very public face as an institute
for ladies of good social standing, it has a more
sinister side. Mme. Pelletier is actually a high-ranking
member of the Daughters of Medea. Her academy serves
as both a recruiting ground and training center for the
organization.
L’Académie des Mousquetaires
Style: Musketeers
Signature Move: When using a pistol in close combat,
the character rolls to hit TN 4 as normal, not his
target’s Parry.
Special: The Fencing School Edge requirements
when joining this school replace Fighting for Shooting.
Due to their prestige, members of the King and Queen’s
Musketeers receive the Connection benefit of membership
even if not full members. This special favor grants
no other benefits.
Despite its name and the implications it carries, the
Musketeers’ Academy has no official relationship with the
King’s Musketeers, though many Musketeers do elect to
study at the school. M. de Tréville has repeatedly asked
King Louis to order the name changed to avoid any confusion,
but Cardinal Richelieu has continually blocked
this motion, claiming that the Musketeers do not have
exclusive rights to the word “musketeer.”
As well as catering to the King and Queen’s Musketeers,
who are especially welcome since their patronage
boosts the salon’s reputation, the school accepts
students from the Cardinal’s Guard, regular army musketeers,
marines, and the nobility. It has yet to open its
doors to the general public, the master, M. Armos Noir
(a pseudonym), fearing this would lead to an influx of
ruffians, highwaymen, and ne’er-do-wells seeking to improve
their aim.
The school focuses exclusively in firearms, with equal
bias toward pistols and muskets. Before they load a
single ball, yet alone fire a weapon, students first learn
how to clean and maintain the weapons. Next comes the
basic drill of how to load the powder and ball.
Only when these tasks are second nature does actual
marksmanship training commence. Students begin firing
at targets placed at close range, the range being slowly
extending as their competency improves. Because of the
length of firing range required, the academy operates on
the very outskirts of Paris, where open ground abounds.
Critics of the salon (typically snobs from actual fencing
schools) claim that shooting a man dead at 20 paces
lacks both finesse and good manners. Some go so far as
to claim the students are cowards, lacking the stomach
to stare a man in the face while killing him. Students
retort by mocking their antiquated view of war, for
musketeers are now a vital component of any army, and
casually pointing out that a sword is only of use if one
can close with one’s opponent. Countering that it takes
greater skill to kill a moving man at 20 paces than one
standing at arm’s length rarely goes down well.
Although dueling is illegal in France, instructors turn
a blind eye to students and “guests” who wish to settle
disputes with firearms on the academy’s grounds. Any
deaths or injuries are reported as accidental misfires or
the result of exceptional poor marksmanship.
L’Académie du Tarrasque
Style: Tarrasque
Signature Move: The character treats his Strength as
one die higher (max. d12+3) for the purposes of inflicting
damage.
The school and style takes its name from the tarrasque,
a legendary dragon-like creature that haunted the French
countryside long ago. Its sole salon is in Marseilles (in
Provence), near to the region haunted by its namesake.
The school’s founder and master is François Brémond,
a bull of a man and former soldier. Among his pupils
and admirers he is affectionately known as Le fils du tarrasque
(“the son of the tarrasque”), or simply Le dragon
for short. Stoic and laconic most of the time, Brémond
is a true monster worthy of his nickname when demonstrating
his style. Except when discussing fencing (any
style), he communicates through a mixture of grunts and
facial expressions.
Students begin their instruction by building up their
strength and resilience through rigorous exercise. The
school’s methods for toughening pupils’ bodies are
considered barbaric by many—students are expected to
stand in the center of the salon while their peers punch,
beat, and beat them with sticks. Like the dragon, fencers
are expected to be able to shrug off blows in combat.
Only when their bodies are properly developed do they
pick up a weapon.
Although it has many similarities with Spanish Style,
Tarrasque students don’t believe in expending energy
unleashing a rain of frantic blows. Better, they say, to
hit once and make it count. The school’s fighting style
is glacial. Slow, methodical steps and single, powerful
blows are taught in preference to nimble movement and
lighting-fast strikes. Once a student enters a fight, he is
expected to be an unstoppable force of nature, crushing
all in his path while relentlessly moving forward. Secret
techniques allow students to beat aside opponents’
blades and shove them back with minimal effort.
Unusually, fencers are also expected to be able to
deal punishing blows with their hands and feet as well
as weapons. Training begins with thin wooden boards,
and ends with punching through brick and stone walls.
Bruised, bloody, and broken knuckles are a trademark
sign one is learning Tarrasque. Jokes abound that Le
dragon must have been attacked by a tree, but few laugh
when one of his students batters down the door they are
hiding behind.
L’École de Danse
Style: Danse
Special: Gamemasters who wish to make this school
more exclusive may impose the additional requirements
of the Noble, Rank, or Rich Edge.
Signature Move: When making a Wild Attack, your
Parry penalty is only –1.
The Dance School was founded by a renowned Parisian
socialite. Some say he created his unique style to
spite his competitors and their traditional attitudes. Others
insist the socialite was forever getting into trouble
with women’s husbands and invented his fighting style
to play on his strengths.
The most pretentious fencing school in Paris, the
School of Dance is the exclusive domain of the rich and
famous. Annual fees are high, and all members are carefully
vetted to ensure their suitability. The school has
never discriminated by gender, though until Richelieu’s
sweeping reforms over the last few years, their training
was limited to purely defensive maneuvers.
As well as being a fencing school, the institute is a
club for the social elite of Paris. The facility boasts a
grand ballroom, a small theater, and several salons—the
latter are available for private hire. Quarters for paid-up
members are equal to those of the great noble chateaus
in size and elegance. Marble statues and busts adorn the
corridors and galleries, paintings by the master artists
hang on the walls, and ornate drapes cover the large
windows.
Within these opulent surroundings, members can
enjoy refined company, gourmet dining, and first-class
entertainment, while engaging in gossip, politics, backroom
dealings, and intrigue. Some, however, come here
merely to dance and escape their daily routine, or the
backstabbing prevalent at the royal court.
Those who wish to avoid social interaction beyond
dancing or enjoy a degree of anonymity are required to
don a mask. The school’s rules prohibit masked individuals
from being spoken to, except by the staff or masters,
though they may speak if they so desire. In order
to receive a verbal reply though, they must first remove
their mask. Most often the conversation is restricted to
an invitation to dance or spar, which is answered by a
simple nod or shake of the head.
Regardless of why people come to the school, there
is always a certain amount of rivalry. No blood is permitted
to be shed on the plush carpets (perpetrators are
expelled). This has resulted in verbal dueling becoming
the norm; reputations have been made, tarnished, and
broken solely upon the exchange of words within the
walls of the School of Dance.
Most students, both casual and paid-up, are nobles,
courtiers, or military officers—the style does not cover
peasant dances. While few Musketeers can afford the
high membership fees, such is the company’s prestige
that wealthy patrons are often eager to cover a candidate’s
expenses and vouch for his suitability just to be
seen in their company. It is rumored the King himself has
trained at the school on occasion, though naturally he
remained masked at all times so his courtiers would not
stand on formalities, or pull their blows to avoid injuring
his royal person.
The style is truly beautiful to watch, being a deadly
combination of elaborate footwork and sweeping arms
combined with slashing strikes and wide, flourishing
parries. Unlike dances, which follow carefully choreographed
patterns, the Danse style teaches only basic
steps—students are expected to develop these into
a unique combat style. Thus, while most schools have
set moves a swordsman can recognize and counter, the
School of Dance has none.
L’École de Position de Fer
Style: Position de Fer
Signature Move: +2 to resist Push maneuvers.
While the School of Iron Stance has a good reputation,
many swordsmen are not comfortable with its fighting
mentality. The natural instinct of a swordsman is to
give ground when necessary and force an opponent back
when possible. Students of the School of Iron Stance
learn to control the battlefield not by forcing their enemy
to yield ground, but by denying him the chance to gain
ground. True masters of the style are virtually immovable,
capable of more effective parries when stationary.
They are, in their own words, the immovable cliff upon
which the sea futilely pounds.
While stories about the wooden boots used to train
students are legendary, those who wish to master the art
must first learn the art of balance. The fighting style can
be quite vigorous, yet all movement is done from the hip
upward. A thrust too far or an energetic slash can easily
cause the fencer to lose his balance.
During their early tutoring, students are made to stand
in a pair of special boots nailed to the salon’s wooden
floor, thus preventing them from moving. Within a few
weeks, most students learn how to defend themselves
without having to move their feet. Those who fail to grasp
the art end up with the scars to show their ineptitude.
Once the student has proven he has a sense of balance,
he next learns how to defend himself while stationary.
This is when he is introduced to the wooden boots.
During the earliest days of training students often fall,
for it is natural to try and move one’s feet to secure a
better position or correct an overbalance. After receiving
enough bruises students either learn to use their nonsword
arm to help maintain their balance, or they quit.
Basic moves involve parrying and short, sharp thrusts.
Slashes, while a valid tactic, are given secondary consideration—
a skilled opponent can quickly turn one’s
momentum against the swordsman. Feints require too
much movement to be fundamental to the style.
There is a common misconception that practitioners
of the style root themselves to the spot once combat
begins, refusing to budge until it is over. Many stories of
Iron Stance swordsmen refusing to move even to help a
comrade are commonplace, but most are fictitious or fail
to tell the whole story.
Tactical choice of terrain is important to a student.
After all, only an idiot, a desperate man, or a confident
master chooses to stand in an empty field where he can
be attacked from multiple sides. Proponents are similarly
taught that remaining stationary when someone opens
fire with a musket is a sure way to invite death.
So long as they are not engaged in melee with a foe,
swordsmen are quite willing to move, either to a more
advantageous position or to assist friends. But once a foe
closes on them, they adopt the stance. Despite rumors
that students remain static until they are hewn down,
never yielding an inch, only those with a death wish refuse
to flee when outnumbered or wounded—there is
no honor in a pointless death.
L’École de la Pensée
Style: Geometria
Signature Move: The character may swap his Smarts
die for his Strength die when inflicting damage.
Special: A character who takes the Fencing School
(Geometria) Edge may link his Fighting to Smarts instead
of Agility. Regardless, when taking Quick, he may swap
the Agility d8+ requirement for a Smarts d8+. The hero
may also take Level Headed at Novice.
The School of Thought was founded 165 years ago
in Bologna, Italy. Originally a center of learning specializing
in mathematics, its transition to a fencing salon
began in response to a student refuting a dean’s claim
that all fencing could be reduced to geometrical patterns.
Although the school continues to teach geometry
as part of its curriculum, its primary focus now is training
fencers.
The school’s moves are entirely based on geometry.
Within the salon are four training rooms. In the first,
two equilateral triangles are carved into the floor,
overlaid so the tip of one touches the center of the
other’s base, and vice versa. The second room has
a square divided diagonally into four quarters. The
third room has a circle divided into eight equal segments.
The final room combines all three shapes into
one beautiful pattern. Each intersection in the pattern
is given a unique number. Students work their way
through the rooms, mastering the various geometrical
steps available at each level before finally learning to
combine them into an unlimited array of options that
defy prediction.
All movement is based on following the lines of the
fencing diagrams, with one’s feet ending exactly at the
intersection of lines. Students perform their training
moves by rote, the master calling out the numbers of an
intersection and which leg to move. While novices are
limited to three simple points of reference, a weakness
that makes them relatively easy to defeat once an opponent
deduces their fighting style, a true master’s moves
range from short and long steps, to sudden changes of
angle, to graceful arcs. Speed is also important. As a student
progresses in ability, so the regimes become faster
and more complex.
Before advancing to the next level, a student must
complete a series of intensive and difficult practical exams
while blindfolded. Because the odds of finding the
pattern conveniently carved onto a battlefield are virtually
nil, the complex lines and intersections in which a
student should follow must be thoroughly ingrained in
the student’s mind’s eye.
Note that although students initially learn to fight
within the boundary of a static geometrical shape, they
are not expected to confine themselves in actual combat.
Thus, they must have the intelligence to mentally
visualize and rotate the position of the grand pattern in
an instant as they move to and fro across the battlefield.
Throughout their training they must be able to demonstrate
this ability by responding to attacks and feints from
a sparring partner.
Although based on geometry, the style is neither dull
to watch nor rigid in form. What matters is where the student
places his feet, not how he gets there. Thus, while
some pupils perform functional steps, others are more
akin to dancers, whirling gracefully and with uncanny
precision. However, its reliance on geometry makes it
unappealing to many swordsmen.
Renoir’s Academy
Style: Renoir
Signature Move: Opponents subtract 1 from any
“gang up” bonuses they would get against the character.
This stacks with Florentine.
Special: A character with Fencing Academy (Renoir)
may take Improved First Strike at Veteran, Improved
Frenzy at Seasoned, and Improved Sweep at Seasoned.
Claude Renoir, a former captain in the French army,
looked at the existing fencing schools and realized
they all shared the same flaw. While a few schools
taught parrying of multiple blades, none truly catered
to soldiers, who in battle might be faced with multiple
foes they wished to kill simultaneously. Yes, Florentine
could enable a fighter to take down two foes, but
what if he was surrounded by three, four, or five antagonists?
To that end, Renoir devised a new style, one
which involved lightning fast jabs and circular sweeps
of the blade.
Renoir’s Academy is one of the newest in Paris, but
it has proven hugely popular due to its focus on fighting
multiple opponents. Some swordsmen disdain the
school, not because its style lacks finesse or is easy—far
from it in fact—but because it is not a true dueling style.
Those who must enter combat on a regular basis care
little for the school’s pedigree if what they learn will
keep them alive.
The style focuses on solid defense and sweeping
slashes designed to drive foes back and inflict maximum
damage. When outnumbered, the last thing one has is
time to toy with opponents—“kill them quickly and reduce
the odds” is one of the school’s mantras.
Students are not given instruction in one-on-one
fighting. From the moment they enter the school they
fight first against two opponents, slowly building up to
greater numbers are they develop mastery of the techniques.
Claude Renoir, son of the founder and the current
head of the school, once fought seven opponents
simultaneously during a battle against the Spanish and
emerged with only minor cuts… or so the story goes.
The premise of the school involves fighting multiple
opponents when you must, not when you can—only a
fool or a madmen craves being outnumbered by his enemies.
Masters make it clear that the longer a swordsman
is surrounded, the greater the chance one of their attacks
will strike home. As such, movement is a key part of any
battle, especially if it reduces the number of foes who
can attack you afterward.
Claude Renoir has actively been courting the Musketeers,
offering them reduced membership fees. Part of his
reasoning is to give the Musketeers, a unit which often
faces overwhelming odds, the best training possible. The
other part is that having Musketeers train under him will
undoubtedly boost the reputation of his school, perhaps
attracting nobility to the salon.
Renoir also hopes to find an influential patron who
can arrange for a demonstration of his style in front of
the King. A royal patronage would boost his reputation
even further.
Scarlotti’s Academy
Style: Scarlotti
Signature Move: If one of your attacks leaves an
opponent Shaken, you may immediately move 2” away
from him as a free action. This applies even if you have
moved your full Pace in the round already.
Named after its late founder, Paolo Scarlotti, this
privately run Italian fencing institute has recently
opened a salon in Paris. Scarlotti, widely accepted as
a rogue by his contemporaries, often found himself
in compromising situations. Unwilling to risk life and
limb, he developed a style that gave him the opportunity
to keep his foes at bay while making good his
escape.
The academy is not unusual in that it teaches a
solid defense over any form of attack, but its reliance
solely on parrying has resulted in the nickname, “The
Yellow Academy.”
Scarlotti’s Academy is not one for dashing heroes,
but certainly ideal for scoundrels and ne’er-do-wells,
and those possessed of craven heart. The hardest part
in becoming a member of Scarlotti’s Academy is even
finding it in the first place. Many of its members have
enemies, and in order to keep them away from the
school, the master changes continually changes its location.
The authorities have long considered Scarlotti’s
to be a den of thieves. Some suspect the master is actually
the head of a thieves’ guild. There is no evidence
to substantiate these claims, and while considered a
scoundrel, the master has friends in high places.
The school’s lengthy official motto is proudly displayed
on a plaque: “If you cannot run, hide. If you
cannot hide, fight. But always look for a chance to
run.” The shorter version is “Run when you can.”
The first thing students are taught is to put aside all
notions of honor and glory. There is no glory in dying
or being maimed, no matter how noble the cause, and
no honor in being captured. Thus, the core tenet is
survival at any cost, even ignominy.
While many of its students are the sort of gentlemen
who must flee enraged husbands, debt collectors,
or the authorities on a regular basis, the Academy has
a number of members with legitimate occupations,
such as messengers, envoys, and spies. Many thieves
find the school of use in their nefarious occupation,
especially the parts involving stealth and running fast.
The style’s core focus is on getting out of trouble
with minimum risk. Knowing how to parry is essential.
Specific training is given to disarming, as an opponent
without a weapon is less inclined to chase an armed
man, even one trying to avoid a fight. Ironically, the
style is well-suited to those who must give chase to
someone, for it teaches stealth and athletics as part
of its core curriculum. Sadly, it doesn’t teach students
what to do when they catch their quarry.
Spanish Style
Style: Spanish
Signature Move: You may elect to take a further
+1 bonus to Fighting and damage rolls when making
a Wild Attack, but suffer an equal additional penalty
to your Parry.
The Spanish have always favored overpowering
and vigorous slashing attacks over finesse or defense.
Although Spain is an enemy of France in the present
era, there are many students who favor the Spanish
style, believing that aggression is the best form of attack.
Many older fencers claim the school lacks style,
but as members of the school are taught, fencing isn’t
about looking good, it’s about killing quickly and effectively
and this style does just that.
Although the ongoing war with Spain has caused
some to shy away from the school for fear of being
branded unpatriotic—or worse, a sympathizer or enemy
agent—the Spanish style of fencing nevertheless
remains popular.
The Paris branch of the school is run by a Spaniard,
Don Juan-Eduardo de Montoya, known to his friends
and lovers as El Toro (“the Bull”). A self-proclaimed
rogue and ladies’ man, he cares little about politics.
He claims to have taken up the style not out of patriotism
or a desire to kill, but because it enables his to
slay his enemies quickly so he can return to being a
great lover of women. A carouser and gambler to the
core, he frequents many of the lesser taverns, drinking
dens and clubs of Paris, mixing equally well with
both high and low society with equal measure.
The salon, a large townhouse on the north bank
of the Seine, is garishly decorated in a mix of Spanish
and French styles, its furnisher displaying a near total
lack of any understanding of design aesthetics. Any
practitioner of the style is welcome to carouse there
day or night, though only full members may call on
favors from other members or request lodging. This
rule is sometimes bent for ladies, to whom El Toro is
of course very partial.
Its critics call it uncouth, its students call it effective.
The style favors bold, powerful attacks over
defense, the theory being that a dead opponent is
one you no longer have to worry about. Students
who dally with their opponents or try flashy moves
in the training room are punished with a wrap across
the knuckles from the master’s blade. While in ages
past the school favored slashing attacks with sabers,
it is less fussy these days.
Swordsmen schooled in the Spanish style can be
single-minded in combat, seeking only a quick victory.
They are powerful, brutal, and efficient, if a bit
lacking in grace and poise.