Poisoned Shadows - Swordsman Schools

Country of Origin: Castille (A member of the Order of Muleta may purchase this school for 25 HP regardless of nationality, though virtually all members of the Order are Castillian. In the unlikely event that a nonmember is learning the school (perhaps by purchasing an appropriate Connection as an Advantage and with the GM’s permission), the cost is increased by 5 HP: 30 HP for Castillians, 40 HP for non-Castillians.)

Description: The Order of Muleta is a group of Castillian bullfighters who continue to practice their art in its original, barbaric glory. They are the only remaining matadors who practice the tercio final, which requires those who would seek glory in the arena to kill the bull with their ritual rapiers or, presumably, be killed themselves by the enraged beasts. The earliest and most successful Muleta refined their techniques and combined them into one comprehensive fighting style, which has been passed down through four generations of bullfighters and shares its name with the Order itself, its members, and the weapon used to slay the bulls.

The masters of the Order are careful to select only the most talented among their number for instruction in the secret technique. This helps guarantee that the style will thrive, passed on from the greatest Muleta of previous years to the finest athletes of the current generation, who are the most likely to survive to pass it on themselves. Furthermore, discretion is almost as important as talent in the selection process. Muleta must learn to hide the secrets of their success, and may be required to disguise their skill by feigning defeat in more public contests. To that end, they receive instruction in the courtier’s arts so that they may attribute their athletic grace to dance lessons, and lie convincingly about the extent of their abilities and the secret journeys they periodically make to engage in competition among his fellow Muleta.

One might suspect that an order dedicated to the extermination of bulls for sport held the animals in contempt. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Muleta believe that a mature bull, with its powerful muscles and ferocious fighting ability, has achieved perfection of form. Indeed, the Muleta fighting style emulates the attack of a charging bull: defensive circling while one sizes up an opponent, followed by a relentless straight-ahead assault with little thought given to one’s own defense. A fighter trained in Muleta makes limited use of a cloak to offer some vestige of twirling defense (particularly in the early stages of a fight, reminiscent of the First Third common to the bullfighting tradition), but his primary emphasis is on attacking—generally with one vicious thrust, designed to incapacitate an opponent who has been worn out by the Muleta’s earlier athleticism. It is not uncommon for a Muleta to breed and raise his own animals, pampering them like spoiled children until the day he must end their lives in the arena. A matador never feels remorse when he must put down one of his own animals; to do so would dishonor the valiant creature and its noble death.

On the other hand, the Muleta have nothing but disdain for bullfighters outside the Order and the bastardized version of the “sport of kings” which they practice. To tease and annoy such a magnificent creature, then drive it into a pen to be humiliated again another day is simply scandalous. It denies the bull the chance to die with honor, and exposes the bullfighter as a weak-willed and petty fighter, unwilling (or unable) to practice the Final Third, and unworthy of sharing the ring with his adversary. This contempt has boiled into outright, visceral hatred for the Torres family and those who study at their academies. It’s bad enough that they use their talents to engage in a mockery of what bullfighting is meant to be, but teaching their techniques to mere Swordsmen who have never set foot in a bullfighting ring is unforgivable. Many Muleta—particularly those who have studied the secret style—take great delight in hunting down Torres Swordsmen and ending their lives. Most will happily resort to a knife in the back, but no Muleta worth his montera would turn down the opportunity for a duel. If it is a private affair, the Muleta will gleefully demonstrate his secret technique in an effort to prove its dominance over the “soft” Torres school.

Fortunately, Muleta’s arrogance and predictability provide glaring weaknesses a cagey opponent can exploit. A Muleta will almost always begin a combat by circling his opponent (and almost always circling to the left), using his cloak for defense and attempting only the most rudimentary attacks. Eventually, the Muleta will shift from a defensive posture to one designed for offense, and then he will attack ferociously and without mercy. However, the change in stance is quite noticeable, and these attacks suffer from an appalling lack of subtlety. A crafty opponent will be able to brace himself for the charge and strike while the Muleta is completely exposed.

Basic Curriculum: Cloak, Fencing

Swordsman Knacks: Beat (Fencing), Exploit Weakness (Muleta), Lunge (Fencing), Sidestep

New Swordsman Knack: Sidestep. Whenever you use an Active Defense successfully, you may lower your next upcoming Action die by your Rank in this Knack. You may not make the Action die lower than the current Phase. This Knack is the same as the Side-step Knack found in the Athlete Skill in the Player’s Guide, but it is considered a Basic Knack for students of the Muleta style.

Apprentice: The first lesson of this style is the “single strike” technique that allows a Muleta to dispatch his opponents (bovine and otherwise) with ruthless—some would say reckless—efficiency. This takes the form of a particularly aggressive strike, commonly called a floor lunge, that provides greater range and extra power but leaves the Muleta in a vulnerable position. The attack is resolved like a normal lunge, but rather than reducing the Muleta’s TN to be hit for one phase, it leaves him prone until he spends an Action to retake his feet. In exchange, the attack adds two kept dice (+2k2) to the damage roll rather than two Unkept dice. Attempting a floor lunge is at the Muleta’s discretion; if he wishes, he can perform an ordinary Lunge instead. In addition, an Apprentice of Muleta suffers no penalty for the off-hand use of a cloak.

Students of Muleta do not receive membership in the Swordsman’s Guild for free. Instead, they receive an extra Swordsman Knack: Exploit Weakness (Bull), which functions like the Exploit Weakness (Monster) Knacks of the Gelingen school. This Knack starts with a Rank of 1, and may be increased like any other Advanced Knack. Muleta do not need to advance this Knack to increase their Mastery Level in Muleta.

Journeyman: By Journeyman level, a Muleta has begun to study the techniques of the hated Torres school, not to emulate their style, but so that he may more effectively dispatch them. A Journeyman receives a free Rank in the Exploit Weakness (Torres) Knack. This may raise the Knack to 6. If it doesn’t, the Knack may be raised from 5 to 6 at a later date at a cost of 25 XP. In addition, the Muleta continues to refine his single strike technique. Before an attack roll is made, a Muleta may choose to sacrifice any number of Action dice to inflict extra damage if the blow lands. Each Action die sacrificed adds one kept die to the damage roll. If the attack roll fails, the Action dice are wasted. This technique may be used with a regular attack, one of the Muleta’s Swordsman Knacks, or a floor lunge.

Master: By the time a Muleta has reached the level of Master, he has dispatched a number of bulls (and, in all probability, a number of rival Swordsmen). He knows how to use his speed and power to take advantage of an opponent’s exhaustion and previous wounds, defending himself during the tercio final until the moment of estoque. The Master increases his TN to be hit by 3 for every Dramatic Wound an opponent has suffered. Should a Muleta ever achieve Grandmastery in this style, his TN to be hit increases by 4 for each of his opponent’s Dramatic Wounds. This bonus applies even when the Muleta attempts a Lunge, or when he is prone after a floor lunge.