Duma's Blessing The swordsmanship of heroes of tale. Not as pompous, though.

1
You possess a mastery of melee weapons.
Used by Julio Ramos, Created by OmegaDeimos.

A prosthetic finger made out of pure metal. Looks way too ancient to even move, impossibly so. The application seems to have been painful, as the skin hugs around the metallic prosthetic.

Alexandre Duma's works not only are revolutionary for their period, but they stand the test of time nowadays. Julio used to imagine, during multiple daydreaming sessions, that he could one day be a knight, too, and protect his loved one with his might alone.


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

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

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: A prosthetic, metallic finger that looks burnt into the skin.

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.
  • 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.


Community Melee Mastery Gifts

On weapon usage:
People have guns (even in Canada, they're just quieter about it), but Zephyren legally cannot own one, and traveling with those can be such a pain for those with licenses anyway. He very much prefers a quieter option too. Also, blades are far more versatile (he wants to toss a bunch of vegetables in the air one day and try to slice them all). Never bring a knife to a gun fight? Think again.

On blade proficiency:
Fighting isn't the only thing Zephyren uses blades for. If anything he's rarely had to fight outside contracts; he mostly uses knives in the kitchen, and since he has been cooking from a very young age, there's no surprise that this is what he's the most comfortable with. In any video games, he predominantly uses a knife or sword. Don't ask how he's gotten through Resident Evil; let's just say he had to face a lot of corpses up close.

On bird talons:
Thankfully Zephyren has never been attacked by a bird, but from what he's read, talons can be really sharp. They have to grip onto things after all, even if it means they'd puncture their target.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with knives and daggers.

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

You also gain the following effects:

  • 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.
  • Finesse: When Attacking a single being, you may limit the Severity of any Injury you inflict or determine a maximum Wound Level, 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 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.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action to trap a region of any shape that contains your current location and fits entirely within 20 feet. This trap lasts one hour or until triggered or disarmed. You must use up sticky notes in order to activate this Effect. At the end of your investigation, roll Intellect + Thievery at Difficulty 6.

The trap looks like appears to be a eye marking drawed in a piece of paper. Only those who have seen this trap before can identify it as a trap. Anyone who is aware of the trap may intuitively avoid, trigger, or destroy it.

Any Sapient target or a Creature that enters the chosen region will trigger the trap.

You learn all the following information about your target:

  • You determine any medical or physiological issues they have, as well as their species and a general overview of their biology.
  • You learn the target's name, nicknames, screen names, and aliases.

The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.

  • Anyone who witnesses you place the trap learns about this type of trap and can avoid it at will.
  • Multiple traps cannot be placed in the exact same location or be triggered by the same single Action. Nor can one trap triggering cause another to trigger.
  • Trap can only be spotted by someone who has witnessed this particular trap before, has been informed, or possesses relevant supernatural abilities. They must achieve an Outcome of 4 or higher on a Perception + Alertness roll to do so.
  • The area you choose where the trap can be triggered may be just a single location, similar to a tripwire or a pressure plate, or it can be a proximity trigger which hits anyone who comes within the specified range of the trap. This is defined by you when you place the trap and cannot be changed once the trap is placed.

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

Your attacks with Arm sword deal +3 Bonus Damage. Armor is fully effective against this damage.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Fancy Footwork: You may move your full Dash distance and attack with your Melee weapon in the same Round without penalty. You may also split your movement before and after your attack.

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

You gain the following benefits as long as The weapon is spliced with rifle and you are engaged in combat with swords.

Your attacks with swords deal +3 Bonus Damage. Armor is reduced to 1/2, rounded up against this damage.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Bullet Parry: You may React to and Defend against firearms and other projectiles with swords.

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

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.