[HOE] Templar fighting abilities....

["Jeff Shoffner" <shoffner@esper.com>]

I'm in the process of making a DL character that fights with a sword (yeah,
kind of strange in the 1870s, but hey, cavalry used sabres.....) & I was
looking at the Templar book for sword techniques.  Two things jumped out at
me.

First, it gives a list of sword maneuvers, but it doesn't say if a swordsman
starts with all of them, purchases them with bounty points, gets so many
with whatever his fighting; sword skill starts out, etc.  So, every Templar
knows the maneuvers right off the bat?  Just wondering.

Second, wow, I can't believe someone hasn't brought this one up.  (Or rather
I should say, I didn't see it in the books or the accumulated rulings &
don't recall anyone bringing it up recently.)  You mean no one thought to
include the basic Parry-Riposte move?  Wow.  How about i throw something out
& see if you guys like it.....

Parry-Riposte: Obviously a sword is as much a defensive item as it is a
weapon, otherwise it wouldn't have a defensive bonus.  When deflecting an
incoming attack, the wielder blocks the attacker with his own sword--hence
the defensive bonus.  However, one trick that any first year fencer knows is
the parry-riposte; a move that allows the opponent to attack first so that
the initial move, the parry, draws the attacker into a weak position so that
the second move, the riposte finishes him off.  First, this maneuver is
considered a vamoosing action; you have to draw your attacker to attack
first.  Any successful attack (which would not include the defensive bonus
of the sword, or the defender's fighting: sword skill--remember, you WANT
him to succeed!) is opposed with a vamoose fighting: sword roll.  If the
defensive roll is just successful, the attack is parried, but the riposte
does not succeed; instead, the attacker is penalized -2 on his next attack
for being brought into a compromising position.  However, if the attack is
parried successfully with at least one raise, the riposte does hit, causing
standard damage.  In gameplay, the advantage is that the defender is allowed
an attack on his vamoose action, provided that he rolls high.  The downside
is you are actively "weakening" your defenses in an effort to draw the
attacker into favorable position--if he's fast enough, you're toast.  Also
please note that the attacker does have the option to perform his own
parry-riposte on your successful riposte.  Should make for an interesting
(not to mention very fast) combat between two swordsmen.