Difference between revisions of "Weapon Master (FiD)"

Latest revision as of 15:30, 25 November 2025

As a weapon master you focus on a single weapon, turning its use into an art form. Full mastery of a weapon is both a physical and a spiritual journey. You hone your mind and body, in the end finding unity with your weapon and becoming a weapon in yourself.

Also known as a kensai or sword saint. The Mystic Touch ability can turn this into an unarmed fighter.

Touchstones: Kyūzō (Seven Samurai 1954), Connor MacLeod (Highlander 1986), Jen Yu (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2000), Zatoichi (Zatoichi 2003).

Special Abilities

Bulwark (Serene Swirl)

When using your Focus Weapon, reduce your Effect. If you achieve at least Limited Effect, you control an Area defined by your tier (p. 211). Human-sized foes you can see directly in this Area cannot move away from you, but may still move up to you or those in between.

Dauntless (Centered Will)

Push Skirmish using your Focus Weapon and add one of these to a successful roll: strike a hidden or pinpoint-precise target — fight a gang at scale (p 211) without penalty — deliver a single decisive strike, treating partial success as full success.

Flowing Step (Rushing Current)

When you Push Skirmish, you may move unhindered as part of the action. You may reappear at any point within your Area (p. 211) that you could reach along the ground, ignoring intervening obstacles but not solid floors, walls, or vertical surfaces.

Focused (Courageous Arc)

Gain +1d when resisting a consequence when wielding your Focus Weapon in combat.

Mystic Touch (Echoing Strike)

Gain improved Position against Powers and supernatural foes when using your Focus Weapon or your unarmed attacks. Your unarmed attacks become potent hand weapons and can benefit from Bulwark, Dauntless, Focused, and Reflexes.

Reflexes (Flash of Clarity)

When there's a question about who acts first while you are using your Focus Weapon, the answer is you. (Two characters with Reflexes act simultaneously.)

Sixth Sense (Wind’s Whisper)

You automatically notice when someone is hostile to you or your companions, and can immediate roll Survey roll to locate them. You can use Survey to gather information about people just by looking at them.

Untouchable (Immovable Stream)

Reduce Harm from any source that lacks Potency by one level as long as you don’t wear armor. Ignore penalties from the first instance of Harm for one minute; this can even keep you active with a mortal wound.

Additional Playbook

Select another playbook. You gain immediate access to its Inventory and XP conditions. From now on, you can choose its Special Abilities. You can take this special ability multiple times, each time selecting a new playbook. Prerequisite: To select a playbook, you need an action rating of one in each of its starting actions.

Encounters on the Path

˄ ˅ Ashen, a weaponsmith.

˄ ˅ Caldrin, a fabulist.

˄ ˅ Fenric, a sage.

˄ ˅ Rynar, an informer.

˄ ˅ Sorin, a teacher.

Inventory

☑ Binding Cloth.

☐ or ☐☐ Focus Weapon.

☑ Heraldry.

☐ Light Camping Gear.

☑ Touchstone.

☐ Whetstone.

Binding Cloth ☑: A sturdy length of cloth (about 5 meters) that can serve as a rope or be worn as a belt.
Focus Weapon ☐ or ☐☐: Your signature, masterwork weapon. It is Potent grants improved effect for you, but is only a Fine weapon for anyone else. Typically a sword, it can be a hand weapon (☐) or a great weapon (☐☐). Once chosen, your Focus Weapon remains the same, but can be upgraded. Playbook.
Heraldry ☑: A recognizable symbol of your identity — a painted banner, an embroidered sash. You are displaying your heraldry until it breaks, which is represented by using it. Breaking the heraldry allows you to make a resistance roll with no stress cost. Consumable, Playbook
Light Camping Gear ☐: Bedroll, cooking pot, tarpaulin, fishing line, snares, all personalized and chosen to be lightweight. Roughing it out with this gear allows a single downtime action to remove stress. Lacking this does not allow any effective rest.
Touchstone ☑: A small personal item reminding you of your goals and motivation. With a minute of meditation this reduces stress by one once per score. Playbook.
Whetstone ☐: A fine-grit sharpening stone. Used to maintain your Focus Weapon. Can also be used as a makeshift tool for scraping or starting fires. Before a score you can work over blade weapon carried by your crew, rendering it temporarily fine. Playbook.

XP

Every time you roll a desperate action, mark xp in that action's attribute.

At the end of each session, for each item below, mark 1 xp (in your playbook or an attribute) or 2 xp if that item occurred multiple times.

You addressed a challenge using violence or observation.
You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background.
You struggled with issues from your vice or traumas during the session.

Starting Actions

Skirmish 2

Survey 1

4 points by choice, no higher than 2 in any one

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{wip}}{{FiD}}
+{{FiD}}{{tocright}}
+As a weapon master you focus on a single weapon, turning its use into an art form.
+Full mastery of a weapon is both a physical and a spiritual journey. You hone your mind and body, in the end finding unity with your weapon and becoming a weapon in yourself.
+Also known as a kensai or sword saint. The Mystic Touch ability can turn this into an unarmed fighter.
+'''Touchstones:'''
+Kyūzō (''Seven Samurai'' 1954),
+Connor MacLeod (''Highlander'' 1986),
+Jen Yu (''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' 2000),
+Zatoichi (''Zatoichi'' 2003).
+=== Special Abilities ===
-As a weapon master you focus on a single weapon, turning its use into an art form.
+==== Bulwark (Serene Swirl) ====
+When using your Focus Weapon, reduce your Effect.
+If you achieve at least Limited Effect, you control an Area defined by your tier (p. 211).
+Human-sized foes you can see directly in this Area cannot move away from you, but may still move up to you or those in between.
+==== Dauntless (Centered Will) ====
+Push Skirmish using your Focus Weapon and add one of these to a successful roll: ''strike a hidden or pinpoint-precise target — fight a gang at scale (p 211) without penalty — deliver a single decisive strike, treating partial success as full success.''
+==== Flowing Step (Rushing Current) ====
+When you Push Skirmish, you may move unhindered as part of the action.
+You may reappear at any point within your Area (p. 211) that you could reach along the ground, ignoring intervening obstacles but not solid floors, walls, or vertical surfaces.
+==== Focused (Courageous Arc) ====
+Gain +1d when resisting a consequence when wielding your Focus Weapon in combat.
+==== Mystic Touch (Echoing Strike) ====
+Gain improved Position against Powers and supernatural foes when using your Focus Weapon or your unarmed attacks.
+Your unarmed attacks become potent hand weapons and can benefit from Bulwark, Dauntless, Focused, and Reflexes.
+==== Reflexes (Flash of Clarity) ====
+When there's a question about who acts first while you are using your Focus Weapon, the answer is you.
+(Two characters with Reflexes act simultaneously.)
-'''Touchstones
+==== Sixth Sense (Wind’s Whisper) ====
-The hero who develops the use of a single weapon to heroic proportions.
+You automatically notice when someone is hostile to you or your companions, and can immediate roll Survey roll to locate them. You can use Survey to gather information about people just by looking at them.
-A recurring trope in Japan, it can represent the later renaissance sword masters of Europe that focused on the use of one weapon.
-Also known as a kensai or sword saint.
-Kill Bill Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 (2003-2004),
+==== Untouchable (Immovable Stream) ====
-Zatoichi (2003),
+Reduce Harm from any source that lacks Potency by one level as long as you don’t wear armor.
-Highlander (1986).
+Ignore penalties from the first instance of Harm for one minute; this can even keep you active with a mortal wound.
-=== Special Abilities ===
+==== Additional Playbook ====
-# '''Blademaster:''' You may expend your Special Armor to resist harm or to push yourself when striking with your Focus Weapon.
+Select another playbook. You gain immediate access to its Inventory and XP conditions.
-# '''Dauntless:''' When you push Skirmish, choose one: perform a near-superhuman feat; engage a larger force ignoring scale (p.211); or deliver one flawless strike, treating a partial success in an opposed roll as a full success for that single blow.
+From now on, you can choose its Special Abilities.
-# '''Focused:''' Gain +1d when resisting a consequence when wielding your Focus Weapon in combat.
+You can take this special ability multiple times, each time selecting a new playbook.
-# '''Mystic Touch:''' Your unarmed attacks are potent. Improve position against Power effects and supernatural enemies. If you have the Blademaster, Focused, or Tenacious special abilities, you can benefit from them even when fighting without your Focus Weapon.
+''Prerequisite'': To select a playbook, you need an action rating of one in each of its starting actions.''
-# '''Reflexes:''' When there's a question about who acts first, the answer is you (two characters with Reflexes act simultaneously).
-# '''Sixth Sense:''' You automatically notice when someone is about to attack you or your companions, and can make an immediate Survey roll to locate the attacker. You can use Survey to gather information about people just by looking at them.
-# '''Tenacious:''' While wielding your Focus Weapon, ignore the penalties from the first instance of level 1 or level 2 harm you suffer in a conflict. If you take additional harm of those levels, their penalties apply as normal.
-# '''Untouchable:''' Reduce  harm from attacks that lack potency by one level. You cannot use regular armor, but you may still use Special Armor.
 === Encounters on the Path ===
@@ Line 31: / Line 57: @@
 === Inventory ===
-: ◯ Binding Cloth.
+: ☑ Binding Cloth.
 : ☐ or ☐☐ Focus Weapon.
-: ◯ Heraldry.
+: ☑ Heraldry.
 : ☐ Light Camping Gear.
-: ◯ Touchstone.
+: ☑ Touchstone.
 : ☐ Whetstone.
-* '''Binding Cloth''' ◯: A cloth belt or wrap useable as a 3 meter rope or as bandages. +1d on rolls for these things.
+* '''Binding Cloth''' ☑: A sturdy length of cloth (about 5 meters) that can serve as a rope or be worn as a belt.
-* '''Focus Weapon''' ☐ or ☐☐: This is the weapon you are focusing your training on and remains the same weapon each time. It is a masterwork weapon, improving its effect. Your spiritual focus also makes it potent against supernatural threats. To others it is a fine weapon. This can be a hand weapon or great weapon, usually a sword. '''Playbook.'''
+* '''Focus Weapon''' ☐ or ☐☐: Your signature, masterwork weapon. It is Potent grants improved effect for you, but is only a Fine weapon for anyone else. Typically a sword, it can be a hand weapon (☐) or a great weapon (☐☐). Once chosen, your Focus Weapon remains the same, but can be upgraded. '''Playbook.'''
-* '''Heraldry''' ◯: Some badge of identity and pride that identifies you to everyone and negates the cost of a resistance roll you just made, once per score. '''Playbook'''
+* '''Heraldry''' ☑: A recognizable symbol of your identity — ''a painted banner, an embroidered sash''. You are displaying your heraldry until it breaks, which is represented by using it. Breaking the heraldry allows you to make a resistance roll with no stress cost. '''Consumable, Playbook'''
 * '''Light Camping Gear''' ☐: Bedroll, cooking pot, tarpaulin, fishing line, snares, all personalized and chosen to be lightweight. Roughing it out with this gear allows a single downtime action to remove stress. Lacking this does not allow any effective rest.
-* '''Touchstone''' ◯: A small personal item reminding you of your goals and motivation. With a minute of meditation this reduces stress by one once per score. '''Playbook'''.
+* '''Touchstone''' ☑: A small personal item reminding you of your goals and motivation. With a minute of meditation this reduces stress by one once per score. '''Playbook'''.
-* '''Whetstone''' ☐: A fine-grit sharpening stone. Used to maintain your Focus Weapon. Can also be used as a makeshift tool for scraping or starting fires. Before a score you can work over one ally's bladed weapon, rendering it temporarily fine. '''Playbook'''.
+* '''Whetstone''' ☐: A fine-grit sharpening stone. Used to maintain your Focus Weapon. Can also be used as a makeshift tool for scraping or starting fires. Before a score you can work over blade weapon carried by your crew, rendering it temporarily fine. '''Playbook'''.
 === XP ===