April 18, 2008

Savate (New Swordmans School)(Optional)

Introduction
About a year ago, I was looking to create a new swordsmans school based off the real-world French Fighting Style of Savate. Then a friend of mine found Poisoned Shadow's version. Well, I really liked it, but it added a bunch of new Knacks, some that seemed like old knacks with a little twist. Personally I not a big fan of new knacks, especially went it could be cover by an already existing knack. So with that in mind, I created my own Savate School. Here it is. Enjoy.

Savate
Country of Origin: Montaigne

Founded: 166? No one knows for sure, but started gaining popularity in 1667

Description: With the social divide ever growing, Montaigne has become a more and more harsh place to live. Especially among the commoner class. This has caused a new breed of street fighter to emerge. It is believes to have started with the sailors and dock workers of Paix, but has spread quickly to every port in Montaigne. It is now making its way to other ports around Theah. Freiburg for one has embraced this new style. There is no formal schooling, it's students learn from the school of hard knocks in alleyways, pubs, warehouses and basements from other Savateurs. No one knows who the first savate fighter was, but many believe there was more then one creator and is believed that it has adapted many of its techniques from the Crescent Empire and Cathay fighting styles. It's main focus is using; kick, punch or whatever you have at your disposal until the fight is over. It tends to focus more on kicks because a well placed kick can do more damage then a punch, and a kick can be delivered to move places more easily then punches can, like knees and ankles. Most recently Savateurs have started using a staff or cane as part of their fighting style. The stick is used to steady a fighter during one of it's many kicks. Or it can be used as an improvised weapon.

The most obvious weakness of Savate is that its attacks are extremely aggressive, requiring a great deal of energy to deliver. A Savateur may tire quickly, and cagey opponents will use this to their advantage. Furthermore, the primary weapons of Savate—a variety of kicks—are always delivered with the leading foot (that is, the one closest to the opponent). This requires the Savateur to shift his weight to his back leg before striking, a telltale cue that an attack is forthcoming.[1]

Basic Curriculum: Dirty Fighting, Pugilism
Kick is consider a Basic knack at Hero Creation, Free rank to any Swordsman's knack (No membership to Swordsman Guild),

Swordsman Knacks: Corps-a-corps*, Beat**, Kick***, Exploit Weakness (Savate)

*Coup de pied bas - ("low kick", a front or sweep kick to the shin making contact with the inner edge of the shoe, performed with a characteristic backwards lean) low only

**Fouetté (literally "whip", roundhouse kick making contact with the instep), high, medium or low

***Typically the "Revers" kick (frontal or lateral "reverse" or hooking kick making contact with the sole of the shoe), high, medium, or low) but does not have to be, can be any type of kick.

Apprentice: Savate students start by learning how to kick faster, more accurately and harder. Your leg is strong then your arms, but can make you unbalance if your not careful. By practicing kicks they learn how to deliver kicks without sacrificing their balance.
Kick Attacks are made without calling two raises.

Journeyman: Savateurs have learned that just because you have knocked your opponent to the ground, doesn't mean the fight is over. They learn how to deliver a quick kick to the person laying on the ground to "encourage that they stay there".
When you succeed at a corps-a-corps attempt, you can immediately make a kick attack with a -10 penalty.
You gain one rank of Kick. This can raise your rank to 6. If it does not, you can later raise your rank to 6 by spending 25 XP.


Master: Chassé (side or front piston-action kick), high, medium or low. The Chassé kick as it is called, is a series of quick kicks delivered one right after the other.
You can do a series of kick attacks on one action. The first attack is at –5. If you hit their Passive Defense (even if they succeed in their Active Defense), then you can attack again at –10 to hit. Repeat with an additional –5 each time to hit until you miss their Passive Defense or decide to quit. Each hit does damage separately.

Reference
1. Taken from the Poison Shadow description of Savate's weakness.