House Rules

Iron Fist

Prerequisites: Grip 5, Muscle 5, Unmodified WithIn 8, Brawling 8
AP Cost to Purchase Mystery: 3
AP Cost of Use: 1

Description: Monks and other warriors who aspire to learn the Iron Fist Mystery must first of all meet the requisite skill minimums. Secondly, they must find someone to teach them and convince the teacher to instruct them. Third, they must be able to spend the required purchase-price AP.

Paralyzing Grip may only be used on living creatures. It does not function on creatures that are undead, elemental in nature, or that are entirely magical constructs. Creatures of a quasi-living nature are subject to a potential Paralyzing Grip.

Additionally, any attacks made by the character with hands/fists during the round in which this Mystery is used are considered to be made with a heavy iron mace for the purposes of determining structural damage done to doors, walls, magical constructs, and any other entity or object. If 2 AP are expended, consider these attacks to be made with a maul for the purpose of determining any structural damage inflicted. And if the maximum of 3 AP are expended, consider the effect to be equivalent to that which might be achieved by an ogre wielding a maul.

When a player declares the use of Iron Fist, he must immediately forfeit one Advancement Point. Any unarmed attacks he makes that round with his hands/fists receive the following benefits:

• +4 Strike or Brawling bonus
• imposes a -2 Withstand Injury Penalty
• imposes a -2 Armor Penalty
• hands are protected from spines, sharp edges, temperature extremes encountered, and acidity for that round

Optional: the user can choose to expend 2 AP to use this ability, and the WIP and Armor Penalty imposed increase to -3, or expend 3 AP to maximize this Mystery's WIP at -4 and Armor Penalty at -4. These penalties apply against targets for each such attack, but are not cumulative, i.e., two attacks don't stack to provide a +8 Strike bonus, etc.

The Advancement Point(s) for Cost of Use must be expended when the use of the Mystery is declared, and are forfeit whether or not the attacks actually succeed.

Example: Lucian is fighting a Stone Giant, a creature with quite a high Withstand Injury stat and whose stone body serves as effectively as plate and mail armor. Lucian is already weakened and hurting from a fight with two hill giants only minutes earlier. He elects to use Iron Fist in the hopes of making quicker work of this enemy.

Fell Footed

Prerequisites: Timing 7, Movement 7, Dodge 8, Brawling 8
AP Cost to Purchase Mystery: 3
AP Cost of Use: 1

Description: Monks and other warriors who aspire to learn the Fell Footed Mystery must first of all meet the requisite skill minimums. Secondly, they must find someone to teach them and convince the teacher to instruct them. Third, they must be able to spend the required purchase-price AP.

When a player declares the use of Fell Footed, his character must immediately forfeit one Advancement Point. For the remainder of the round, the character receives the following benefits:

• +2 Movement enhancement
• Injury Penalties to Combat Skills are reduced by -2
• any kicks delivered with the Brawling skill that round have Minimum Damage 2 rather than 1
• +2 to Dodge for the remainder of the round
• any skill predominantly requiring balance (walking a tightrope, scaling a wall, etc.) receives a +2 bonus

The Advancement Point(s) for Cost of Use must be expended when the use of the Mystery is declared.

Paralyzing Grip

Prerequisites: Grip 7, Muscle 7, Iron Fist
AP Cost to Purchase Mystery: 3
AP Cost of Use: 1

Description: Monks and other warriors who aspire to learn the Paralyzing Grip Mystery must first of all meet the requisite skill minimums. Secondly, they must find someone to teach them and convince the teacher to instruct them. Third, they must be able to spend the required purchase-price AP.

When a player declares the use of Paralyzing Grip, his character must immediately forfeit one Advancement Point. For the remainder of the round, if the character makes a successful Brawling attack with either or both hands, then he grips the opponent and the opponent must wriggle free with a successful Withstand Injury roll at a penalty equal to the attacker's Grip stat, or else:

• is incapable of performing any Defensive Combat Skills (or Defensive Beast Skills) the rest of the round
• suffers a penalty to all Offensive Combat (or Beast) Skills equal to the attacker's Grip stat

Each round that an opponent is held in a Paralyzing Grip, the opponent may attempt another Withstand Injury roll, at a penalty equal to the attacker's Grip stat, to wriggle free. The victim of Paralyzing Grip can still cast spells or use Priestcraft skills that do not require freedom of movement.

The Advancement Point(s) for Cost of Use must be expended when the use of the Mystery is declared. No additional AP are required unless an existing Paralyzing Grip is broken and the character wishes to again attempt to establish a Paralyzing Grip. Note that the AP cost of use must be paid at the time the use of the Mystery is declared, before rolling any actual attacks. Even if the attack fails, the AP is still expended.

Ki Push

Prerequisites: Timing 7, Channel 7, Withstand Injury 7
AP Cost to Purchase Mystery: 3
AP Cost of Use: 1

Description: This Mystery draws from both the monk or fighter's physical energy, i.e. his ki energy, and also from his spiritual fortitude. Interestingly, monks or fighters who are atheistic cannot master Ki Push. The Church of the Light explains that this should come as no surprise: all abilities and powers are either bestowed by the Creator or else made possible by Him.

When a character declares a Ki Push, he must burn one Advancement Point. He then uses his physical and spiritual energy to create an invisible force that pushes against all objects in the direction desired by the character. The range of the push is equal to a number of yards equal to the sum of the character's Timing and Channel stats. The area effected by the push is up to a number of square feet equal to the character's Channel stat. The force of the push is a number of pounds equal to ten times the sum of the character's Timing and Channel stats.

The character can choose whether the push is gradual (for instance, for pushing open a heavy door), or all-at-once (for example, to snuff out a torch, or to attempt to knock someone over the edge of a cliff).

This force affects only physical objects and substances. For example, it could be used to push away a poisonous cloud of vapor, but it would not effect a magical cage conjured by Ama'ayikoo's magic. It might affect a gaseous creature, but not a purely spiritual entity.

A Ki Push is largely ineffective at deflecting missile weapons. It works best against fragile objects or objects or entities providing a relatively large surface area (i.e., combatants, containers, structures).

If the character chooses to use Ki Push in an all-at-once rather than a gradual fashion, this ability can serve as an attack than can be Dodged (but only at a -4 Penalty, since the force behind Ki Push cannot be seen). Likewise, a character using a Shield may attempt to Block, but at the following penalties (0 for Great Shields, -2 for Targets, and -4 for Bucklers). A Ki Push used in this manner inflicts 1d12-4 points of Injury (minimum of 1), and is then subject to the opponent's Withstand Injury roll. If used as a Disarm attempt, the opponent is allowed the usual opposed Grip roll.

A Ki Push is draining to use. Lower the character's Injury stat by one point after a Ki Push. Character's whose Injury stat is negative cannot use Ki Push.

Whirlwind

Prerequisites: Timing 8, Brawling 8, Movement 6, Ki Push, Iron Fist
AP Cost to Purchase Mystery: 3
AP Cost of Use: 1

Description: Whirlwind is a more advanced Mystery, requiring as prerequisites three fairly high skills and two other Mysteries. It draws upon ki energy and mystical forces to allow the character to unleash a whirlwind attack of kicks, punches, and/or melee weapon attacks with any blunt weapon.

Only a single Whirlwind may be declared per round, and a Whirlwind must be used in lieu of any other physical attacks the character might otherwise have chosen for the round. For example, a character couldn't fire his crossbow, then execute a Whirlwind. But he could Heal, cast a spell, or use some other non-combat skill and still use Whirlwind.

It allows the monk to execute a number of melee attacks equal to his Timing score (no die roll required). The monk can choose to divide these attacks up in whatever manner he chooses. These Strikes automatically strike their intended targets unless the targets' Defense Penalties imposed by Block, Dodge, or Parry are equal to or greater in magnitude than the monk's Timing, Brawling or Movement skill (whichever is worst), in which case they miss. Each attack deals three points of damage to the victim's Injury stat. Certain magical defenses against attack may also be beneficial to opponents, such as the Stoneskin spell. And as usual, opponents are allowed a Withstand Injury roll that may decrease the amount of injury inflicted.

Using Whirlwind is very physically taxing. At the end of any round in which a character has used Whirlwind, reduce the character's Injury stat by one point. Unlike with Ki Push, a character whose Injury stat is negative can declare a Whirlwind.

When the Whirlwind is declared, the character must expend the AP Cost.

Example:

Timing score of 10

Grandmaster Dobrian once traveled from St. Lewin's to the Corellon monastery and was set upon by a scouting band of eight goblins. He used his Whirlwind ability during the first round of combat, and directed five attacks apiece against two of the goblins, slaying them. When he Dodged all attacks against him the following round and slew another goblin, the scouting leader called off the attack and the surviving five goblins fled for their lives.

Great Throw

Prerequisites: Timing 8, Muscle 8, Brawling 8, Dodge 8
AP Cost to Purchase Mystery: 3
AP Cost of Use: 1

Description: The Great Throw Mystery may only be used when the character has a better Timing roll result than the opponent against whom he wishes to employ the Mystery. When this condition is met, the character waits for the opponent to attack and then makes a Dodge roll. This roll is to determine if the Great Throw succeeds, and is not for the purpose of creating a Dodge defensive penalty to the opponent's attack. This does not preclude the character from using a separate Dodge roll in the hopes of creating such a Defensive Penalty (neither Block nor Parry can be used, however, because the monk must have both hands free).

If the Great Throw's Dodge roll succeeds, the opponent is thrown. It cannot be evaded.

Great Throw can only function against humanoid opponents. The monk can successfully employ it even against opponents considerably larger in size (ogres, giants, etc.)

If the Dodge roll is successful, the character successfully launches the opponent a number of yards equal to the character's Muscle stat. If the character's Dodge roll fails, the Great Throw fails, but the AP is still expended. If there is insufficient room for the opponent to be thrown the specified range, the Great Throw fails. Thus, it is usually used outdoors, though it could be used in large dungeon areas.

When the opponent lands, he takes a number of points of Injury equal to the monk's Dodge skill. He may roll Withstand Injury as normal, but only the opponent's raw Withstand Injury stat applies (unmodified by any armor). Additionally, the WithIn roll is subject to a -3 penalty.

If the opponent is charging the monk, then the monk makes his Dodge roll with a +3 bonus, and if the Great Throw succeeds, then both the distance in yards that the Great Throw tosses the opponent, and the damage inflicted, is equal to the sum of the monk's Muscle and Dodge stats. The WithIn penalty suffered by the opponent is equal to the monk's Dodge skill.

Clearly, the Great Throw is particularly effective when an opponent charges.

A Great Throw may also be used to launch an ally into combat with a +4 Strike bonus, or hurl an ally across a ravine whose rope-bridge has collapsed. It could also be used to break an ally's fall: if the Great Throw succeeds, the ally and the monk sustain only a single point of Injury, otherwise the damage inflicted by the fall is split between the two, with the monk taking any odd damage.

Only a single Great Throw is possible per round of combat. If the character suffers a negative Injury stat at the time that a Great Throw is attempted, that stat serves as a Penalty to the Dodge roll that initiates the Great Throw.

Although a Great Throw does involve some use of ki energy, it is more dependent upon Timing and Muscle, and therefore not as draining as a Ki Push or Whirlwind. It does not result in a one-point decrease to the character's Injury stat.

Death Touch

Prerequisites: Timing 9, Brawling 9, Ki Push, Paralyzing Grip
AP Cost to Purchase Mystery: 3
AP Cost of Use: 3

Description: Like Whirlwind, the Death Touch is an advanced Mystery. By making a successful unarmed attack using his Brawling skill, the monk delivers a focused ki energy touch to the opponent. The touch itself does no damage, but the touched opponent must make a Withstand Injury roll or die at the end of the following round.

Use: Declare your intention to attempt Death Touch. The AP Cost must be paid at the time of this declaration, and is forfeit even if the Brawling roll to deliver the Death Touch fails.

The intended victim of the Death Touch makes a Withstand Injury roll. Armor does help protect against this attack. Succeeding in the Withstand Injury roll means the opponent takes damage equal to the monk's Timing skill stat, possibly reduced by a second Withstand Injury roll by the opponent.

Failing the WithIn roll, the victim will die at the end of the following round. If the victim of Death Touch fails his Withstand Injury roll, then he immediately suffers 3 points of Injury and a concomitant penalty of -2 to all actions (on top of any pre-existing penalties). The next round, blood froths from the victim's lips, any action suffers a -4 penalty (on top of any pre-existing penalties, but doesn't stack with the previous round's -2 penalty), and dies at the end of the round. Note, therefore, that a successful Death Touch does not preclude the possibility of the victim uttering a dying curse, casting a spell as he dies, etc.

Death Touch requires great concentration. The character using it cannot take any other Offensive Combat actions during that combat round, but may still employ Defensive Combat skills or other skills.

After employing Death Touch, the monk is drained, suffering a one-point decrease to his Injury stat. Death Touch can only be attempted once daily.