The discipline of falling spears

3 points

The Discipline of Falling Spears is the art of employing aerial superiority against land-bound opponents. Practitioners often master the art of utilizing every advantage given to them, and are almost never above using dirty tricks or cheating, to the discontent of most other stylists, who consider the style as one of the most dishonorable that exists.
The origin of the Discipline is unknown, but from the relative popularity of this discipline among Gargoyles, at least those capable enough to devote the time to study it, the style was either developed by that race or modified to its current form from some forgotten Discipline by them.
Indeed almost all practitioners of this art can trace their teachers to one Gargoyle or another.

The Style focuses mostly on one thing- being as far away from the reach of the opponent while inflicting the maximum amount of damage. To that end most stylists use long weapons and stay as far up from their opponents as possible utilizing distance to their advantage; see Combat at different level(p.B402).
With greater maneuverability, combat usually starts by the stylists flying to within a step of his weapon's reach, flying almost horizontally above his opponent, followed by a series of normal attacks stepping before and after the attack to force the opponent to use a move and attack if at all (most stylists of a move speed of 11 or greater).
In a similar manner the style emphasizes attack to the head, and utilizing surprise to best advantage.
The Discipline is hardly an aggressive one, and defensive maneuvers, especially against opponents with ranged weapons, where the practitioner would often defend until his opponent needs to ready his weapon.
When faced with flying opponents students of the Discipline are urged to flee and find an advantageous position where their opponents are forced to ground, usually a cave or other enclosed space, and where they can use the length of their weapons to keep opponents at bay.

Complementary to the style's emphasis on aerial attacks and maneuverability, practitioners usually only wear armor on their lower extremities, both because in most situation it is the only location reachable and because full body armor is usually impossible to fly in.
This strange custom is often a point of ridicule among the more fashionably conscious individuals, and many practitioners attempt to wear loose garments to hide the armor, to varying success.


Skills: Aerobotics, Spear.
Techniques: Attack from above, Breakfall, Diving lunge(Spear), Targeted attack (Spear thrust/Skull), Retain weapon(Spear).
Cinematic skills: Parry missile weapons, Power blow.
Perks: Dirty fighting, Engulfing wings, Improvised weapons(Spear), Shoves and Tackles (Spear) [if using the option], Weapon adaptation (Staff to Spear)

Optional traits:
Secondary characteristics: Improved DX, Improved HT.
Advantages: Combat reflexes, Enhanced dodge [only while flying-30%, only from melee attacks from below -20%] 8/level (max 3), extra move (air).
Disadvantages: Reputation (always aims for the head/always attacks from above).
Skills: Bow, Brawling, Flight, Polearm, Staff, Stealth, Tactics
Techniques: Counterattack, Targeted attack (Spear thrust/eyes), Wing hug.

Engulfing wings
By encasing your wings around your opponent, you can pin a standing foe, assuming your wings are free.
You can pin a foe even if you aren't grappling his torso, this counts as shifting grip maneuver (MA117) and the foe can defend normally.
You cannot fly using your wings while pinning a foe as such.

Wing hug
Default: Brawling–3, Sumo wresting-3.
Prerequisite: Wings, ST 12+, Engulfing wings.

When pinning a foe using your wings (via engulfing wings), you may opt to squeeze the breath out of your foe.
Roll a quick contest of your Wing hug vs. the higher of your foe's ST or HT, if you win your foe takes fatigue damage equal to the margin of victory.

Diving lunge
Default: prerequisite skill-5, Karate-8
Prerequisite: Karate or any thrusting Melee Weapon
skill,flight advantage, aerobatics.

A “dive” attack is a devastating blow that gets extra power from a diving down into the enemy. Diving lunge can either default to Karate-7 and ends in a kick or default to Melee Weapon-4 for any thrusting weapon, and involves hurling yourself weapon-first at the foe.
Either diving attack is a special option for Move and Attack (p. B365). Use the rules below instead of the normal ones for that maneuver. If you use this technique, it’s all you can do that turn, no matter how fast or skilled you are.
To launch a Diving lunge, you must be above your opponent and dive to within the reach of your weapon.
You must move at least four yards downwards before you hit your foe, and cannot move up during that time (though you can do so after the attack has been made), you may move up to your full fly move.
Make an aerobatic roll with a penalty equal to the amount of yards you moved. If successful, then at the end of your lunge, roll against your level with this technique to hit.
Your victim parries at -2. If you hit, you inflict your usual damage at +2 – or at +1 per die, if better.
Afterward, you may move freely up to your remaining move.
You cannot dodge if you kicked or parry if you used a weapon. All of your remaining active defenses are at -2. These effects last until your next turn.
This technique is dangerous! If you fail your Aerobatics roll or your attack – or if your target successfully defends – you fall unless you can make a DX-8 or Aerobatics-4 roll.
On a fall, you are subject to falling damage based on your move +10, and are lying face down prone (you can apply the breakfall technique as normal for falling damage).