Path of the Dancing Waves

Trickery, fluid motion and irresistible waves of attacks, these are the secrets of this path.

All references to a rope in the schtick descriptions also applies to all types of flexible objects, such as pieces of cloth, sheets, whips, scarves, or even very long hair. If you lack any type of rope, you can use your clothes this way, but they will be ruined.

Water Stance

Fu: 1, Shot: 1

You make your body soft and sinuous to overcome any obstruction penalties when lying prone, bound, in water or otherwise unable to move. Quicksand and insecure footing can also be mastered. Ignore such penalties or impairments until the end of the Sequence. You cannot ignore wound penalties. If you cannot move your limbs to use weapons, you can still tackle for Strength +0 damage as long as you have any freedom of movement at all.

Examples of penalties you can ignore: Characters that cannot move freely have their Move ratings halved and normally pay an additional shot for all actions. The penalty when bound is a one-point impairment for each bound limb.

Water Stance allows you to use your Martial Arts instead of Strength or Agility to escape holds, glutinous goo, Silk Bonds, Beak of the Crane and similar entanglements. While held, you can still make the aforementioned body tackles for Strength damage, and you can start up Water Stance after being held.

Steel Cloth

Fu: 1, Shot: 3

A rope in your hands becomes as rigid as steel during this strike. This is a Martial Arts attack that does Strength +4 damage.

Silk Bonds

Fu: 2, Shot: 3

Use a rope to tie up an opponent in combat. A simple success entangles your opponent. Your target loses a number of shots equal to the Outcome. Now you stick together, and only the stronger of you can move, and only at half rate. Any further attacks or appropriate stunts you make against an entangled target get a special +3 bonus, and this is cumulative for several uses of Silk Bonds. If the Outcome of Silk Bonds matches the target's Agility, he is tied up and cannot move.

Severing the rope (any hit will do) frees your victim. He does not regain lost shots, but all other penalties from Silk Bonds cease. As long as you keep hold of the rope, you can use your Martial Arts as the Dodge rating of the rope; you can make a separate Active Defence to protect you and the rope, but there is no shot cost penalty. Shooters lacking Clean Shot and blunt attacks that could not readily cut a rope suffer a -5 penalty when trying to cur the rope.

Wave Mastery

Fu: 1, Shot: 0

Exercise perfect control over a rope, extending your reach out to your Fu in meters. This works as if you had longer arms, you can punch and do martial arts attacks with Wave Mastery instead of your fists. You cannot wield weapons, nor can you use Fu schticks that can only be used unarmed. You can grapple, snatch objects, tie the rope and many other stunts. You can also try to hinder people from moving or actively defend anywhere in the area you can reach, just as if you were standing within arm's reach. You must pay the Fu cost for Wave Mastery for each such stunt you wish to make, in addition to the normal Fu and Shot cost of the action.

Maelstrom

Fu: 5, Shot: 3

Spin and twist around with a rope, forming a whirling zone of death. The maelstrom billows out, forming a rough circle in a 3 meter diameter around you. It does your Strength in damage, and attacks all who you move by during this action. Those who are hit are thrown out of the way and lose three shots while regaining their bearings.