Master of the Art "They say everyone has a calling. This is mine."

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This Artifact grants you a mastery of swords.
Used by Tam Starling, Created by Polymorph.

Tam is a master of her art. Even when wielding the blades telekinetically, her hands - or do the gloves themselves - make the appropriate gestures.


You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact and you are engaged in combat with swords.

+2 dice to all rolls with swords. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using swords.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Assassin: If your attack Injures your target, they cannot make a sound, even incidentally, for a single Round. Even the sound of their body and equipment dropping to the ground is silenced.
  • Point Control: Called Shots that you attempt only require a Contested Outcome of 2 for small targets and 4 for tiny targets.
  • Finesse: You may limit the Severity of any Injury you inflict or determine a maximum Wound Level to inflict on the target, including Incapacitated. You may also choose to make this Injury properly or improperly stabilized, or to keep it unstabilized.
  • Two Swords are better than One: If you are wielding more than one melee weapon, your Weapon Damage is the highest of all of them, plus 1 for each weapon after the first. You also receive an additional +2 dice to any Clash.

  • Reminder: Bonus Damage stacks with Weapon Damage, but does not stack with any other Bonus Damage. Instead, the highest Bonus Damage is used.

Community Melee Mastery Gifts

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with Swords and Knifes.

+2 dice to all rolls with Swords and Knifes. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using Swords and Knifes.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Assassin: If your attack Injures your target, they cannot make a sound, even incidentally, for a single Round. Even the sound of their body and equipment dropping to the ground is silenced.
  • Two Swords are better than One: If you are wielding more than one melee weapon, you may Attack with all using the highest Weapon Damage, plus 1 for each additional weapon. If you reserve a weapon, any Clash or Defend roll you make is -1 Difficulty, and mob penalties are ingored.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with huge, oversized knives (using one-handed sword stats).

+2 dice to all rolls with huge, oversized knives (using one-handed sword stats). You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using huge, oversized knives (using one-handed sword stats).

You also gain the following effects:

  • Assassin: If your attack Injures your target, they cannot make a sound, even incidentally, for a single Round. Even the sound of their body and equipment dropping to the ground is silenced.
  • Point Control: Called Shots that you attempt only require a Contested Outcome of 2 for small targets and 4 for tiny targets.
  • Two Swords are better than One: If you are wielding more than one melee weapon, you may Attack with all using the highest Weapon Damage, plus 1 for each additional weapon. If you reserve a weapon, any Clash or Defend roll you make is -1 Difficulty, and mob penalties are ignored. Maximum +5 Damage from bonus weapons.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with swords.

+2 dice to all rolls with swords. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using swords.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Point Control: Called Shots that you attempt only require a Contested Outcome of 2 for small targets and 4 for tiny targets.
  • Dismember: If one of your attacks causes a Battle Scar, you may choose for it to be some form of dismemberment, depending on the Severity of the Injury you caused.
  • Quick Draw: You may draw and equip yourself with any melee weapon on your person or within arm’s reach as a Free Action, as long as it is not being wielded by someone else.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with Japanese Long Arms.

+2 dice to all rolls with Japanese Long Arms. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using Japanese Long Arms.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Point Control: Called Shots that you attempt only require a Contested Outcome of 2 for small targets and 4 for tiny targets.
  • Whirlwind: You may Exert your Mind to apply your next attack to any number of targets who are within melee range.

Hector has started relying more and more on the cybernetic arms fused to his spine so much so that he must make incisions with the arms as well.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with mechanical arms weapons.

+2 dice to all rolls with mechanical arms weapons. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using mechanical arms weapons.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Dismember: If one of your attacks causes a Battle Scar, you may choose for it to be some form of dismemberment, depending on the Severity of the Injury you caused.
  • Finesse: You may limit the Severity of any Injury you inflict or determine a maximum Wound Level to inflict on the target, including Incapacitated. You may also choose to make this Injury properly or improperly stabilized, or to keep it unstabilized.
  • Two Swords are better than One: If you are wielding more than one melee weapon, you may Attack with all using the highest Weapon Damage, plus 1 for each additional weapon. If you reserve a weapon, any Clash or Defend roll you make is -1 Difficulty, and mob penalties are ingored.

Stock Melee Mastery Gifts

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with melee ninja weapons.

+2 dice to all rolls with melee ninja weapons. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using melee ninja weapons.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Assassin: If your attack Injures your target, they cannot make a sound, even incidentally, for a single Round. Even the sound of their body and equipment dropping to the ground is silenced.
  • Falling Crane Strike: If you move and then make a successful attack against a target closer than the full distance you could have moved, you may choose to travel the excess movement in a straight line beyond the target.