Techniques and Manouvers

Over time a character can learn from his combat experiences, realising that there are certain ways a person can stand, react or even just look that can give them an edge in battle. This knowledge not only applies to a single character, but also a way in which a group can move.

Special combat abilities come in two groups, techniques and manouvers. Techniques are special combat abilities that a character has learnt to use in order to vanquish their foes. Manouvers represent tactics that a commander has learnt in order to make the most of different sitiuations.

A character may start with these abilities if the take Officer Training as a starting specialty resource. If a character does not take this at character creation they may develop their skills later in the game.
For a character to develop a new technique he must invest experience points into it, just like the use of a skill. If you wish to learn a technique simply write it in the techniques section of the character sheet by an empty XP bar. A character may invest in a technique as he would any other skill, but techniques require twenty five experience points to learn.
Manouvers develop differently. Every time you level up your leadership skill, you may invest an xp point (free) into a manouver. Manouvers only require five xp to be learnt.

Techniques.

Disarm.
Description: Rather than attacking to deal damage, you attack directly at an opponents weapon or weapon hand, in order to attempt to force them to drop the weapon.
It costs an extra two points of energy to make a disarm attack and the defender gains +2 to any parry attempt against it, you must use a melee weapon. Should your attack hit it deals only one point of damage, on an overwhelming success deals two points and breaks the opponents hand. You then make an oppossed stats check. If a character is using a heavy weapon or a polearm they roll strength, if a character is using a light weapon they roll agility. If your roll beats theirs then you have successfully disarmed them.

Eagle Stance.
Description: A character in this stance holds their blade or axe two handed above their head, legs apart, knees and elbows bent. The stance allows them to quickly bring down their weapon in a defensive parry.
It costs one energy point to move into this stance. Once in the character can only make parry actions, should a character in this stance move, they lose its benifits.
The benifits of the stance are that parrying requires one less energy than normal and characters gain a +2 bonus to their weapon skill (for purposes of parrying.)

Riposte.
Description: A character parries with their saber and then twists their blade past their enemies defences into an attack.
Before you make a defensive parry roll you must declare that you are making a Riposte attempt. This attempt adds 1 energy cost to the parry and -1 to your roll. Should the parry succeed, however, you may make an automatic (free) attack against your opponent. They may only make a dodge defence (unless they are fighting with two weapons at which point they may defend with the weapon they did not use to attack) at suffer a -2 penalty to their defensive roll. Ripostes are only light attacks, using purely skill and not force, and thus do not gain your melee damage bonus.

Whirlwind strike.
Description: It is sometimes difficult to make offensive manouvers when fighting against multiple opponents. Most of your energy would be involved in defending and to effectivly attack all opponents you would have to begin taking fatigue damage. With this technique you attack all opponents immediatly surrounding you by spinning yourself quickly in a full circle. This attack requires the normal amount of energy for your attack +1 for every two people you will be striking. Your attack is made at -4 to hit but you do full damage.

Manouvers

Wedge.
Description: Calling a wedge bands characters together, combining their strength and being able to drive through lines of enemies.
To attempt to make a wedge you require at least six character all of which are the same size. All characters must then move together in a wedge formation (if a character does not follow the formation in their turn they lose their bonuses, if this brings the wedge to less than six members it breaks.) Although this means some characters may have to move more slowly, the benifits clearly outweigh this. Each character in the wedge gains an effective +1 strength for every other member in the group (so in a six person wedge each member would have a +5 bonus) and gain +1 to all defensive and aggresive rolls (except dodge which they actually get a -4 penalty.)
To call a wedge a character must make a leadership roll. The difficulty is D20 +4 + the number of characters in the formation. The leading character must be at the front of the wedge.

Shield Wall.
Description: Units walk forward with their sheilds raised, covering themselves at the person beside them.
To call a sheild wall you must have at least three participating characters. These characters must march side by side and all be equiped with Footman shields (or a sheild of equivalent size.) Each character in the shield wall (except the two outside characters) gain a +5 bonus to their block rolls. The negative to this is that their fighting arms are restrained and the have -3 to all attacks (except with spears which are at -1.)
To call a shield wall a character must make a leadership roll. The difficulty is D20 +7 + the number of characters in the formation. The leading character must form part of the wall.

Turtle.
(requires the shield wall manouver to be learned first.)
Description: Units wall forwards slowly with towe shields at the front. Flank units carry their shield to their outside flank, back units behind them and all middle units above their heads.
To call a Turtle you must have at least nine participating characters, all equipped with tower shields (or shields of equivilant size) These characters must then march together in a square (in the manner described above.) So long as all these characters keep formation they gain +10 bonus to their melee defence and +5 to block against ranged weapons. They may not, however, make any form of attack, without breaking the formation, except for barging with their sheilds. If one unit makes an attack all units on that side lose the bonus immeadiatly at the rest lose it at the start of their turn (unless the leading character can call a new front wall to be made, should their be enough participating characters (12) in a 3X4 formation.
The calling of a turtle requires a leadership roll against D20 +5 + the number of participating characters.