Hand to Hand: Dragon Sword

In the Age of Purification the world needed heroes more than ever. Much of the chaos the Elves and Dwarves unleashed during their conflict still ravaged the world. Elves and Dwarves obsessed on destroying all forms of magic to prevent a repeat of their mistakes, but taking no consideration that not everyone shared their vision or who might suffer as a result of the purification. Humans still struggled to rise from barbarism. The world had no one to turn to for help, until the Dragon Palladin.

Little is known about the origins and identity of the Dragon Palladin, but he served as a beacon of light and hope in a time when there seemed nothing else to believe in. The Dragon Palladin helped people in need whenever possible regardless of race, wealth, position of power, or personal risk. He followed a code of conduct that emphasized concepts such as fair play and honor. His code of conduct demanded he never take advantage of an opponent using an unfair advantage, such as using draconic strength and powers on a mortal.

This meant even when fighting a mortal he fought on even terms. He'd fight mortals using mortal weapons and techniques, accepting defeat if he suffered a wound that would kill a mortal but only a scratch for him. His weapon of choice was a sword, with a method of fighting centered on skill and fair play. The Dragon Sword is the fighting style he used, taught to others who chose to follow in his example. This is more than just a fighting style, but a philosophy and way of life. To follow the Code of the Dragon Palladin means never using an unfair advantage against an opponent who doesn't possess an equivalent edge.

Students of the art focus on both physical development and spiritual. On the physical side, sword techniques and fighting methods are honed. Even though the Dragon Palladin is known for his fair play, heroic deeds, and trying to do the right thing he understood that a sword is a tool to kill. Though he encouraged avoiding combat when possible, once a sword is drawn the wielder should be prepared to slay an opponent.

A strong body can kill, but lacks the heart to show compassion and pass judgment. This is why a strong spirit is also required. Training includes learning when to fight and when not to fight, how to avoid unnecessary conflict, and how to raise spiritual energies for specialized techniques. Increase in spiritual energies (P.P.E.) comes in particularly handy for Palladins, increasing their ability to perform their Demon Death Blow (also for Cyber-Knights in Rifts, with their ability to use Techno-Wizard items).

While the style is designed for use by powerful beings such as Dragons, Creatures of Magic, and Supernatural Beings, few beings of such power are willing to give up their natural advantages. Most practitioners are instead mortals, often Palladins who follow similar codes already. Both Rurga the Warrior Goddess and Azure Sky, the Chiang-Ku dragon who assisted Lord Coake in the development of the Cyber-Knight training, are rumored to have mastered every aspect of the style. Some dimensional travelers familiar with both legends even suspect that Azure Sky is the Dragon Palladin of legend by another name.

Availability: Open.

Requirements: Must be an Honorable Alignment, have a minimum P.P. 11 and Spd. 8 (high I.Q. and M.E. recommended, but not required), and have W.P. Sword (Fencing is also recommended, but not required).

Limitations: The bonuses below only apply when using the sword and/or shield; dodge bonuses are the exception. When using a different weapon, or even unarmed combat, there are no bonuses other than possible Weapon Proficiency bonuses.

Skill Cost: Martial Arts, plus two O.C.C. Related Skills. Palladins (or Cyber-Knights on Rifts) can select this style for the cost of only one O.C.C. Related Skill.

Basic Combat Moves: Punch, Elbow, Kick, Knee, Disarm, Dodge, Entangle, Body Block/Tackle, Roll with Punch/Fall/Impact, Power Punch (but not a Power Kick), and Pull Punch.

1: Starts with four attacks per melee round; +2 to Strike, +1 to Dodge, and +1 to Roll with Punch/Fall/Impact.

2: +1D6 to Damage with any type of Sword.

3: +2D6 P.P.E., and +1 on initiative.

4: One additional attack per melee round, and +1 to parry.

5: Sword Fairy.

6: Critical Strike on a Natural 18, 19, or 20.

7: +1 to Strike, +1 to Parry, +1 to Dodge, and +1 to Roll with Punch/Fall/Impact.

8: One additional attack per melee round.

9: +1 on initiative, +1 to strike, and +2 to parry.

10: Death Blow on a roll of Natural 20

11: One additional attack per melee round.

12: +2D6 P.P.E.

13: +1D6 to Damage with any type of Sword.

14: One additional attack per melee round.

15: +1 on initiative and +2 to Dodge.

Sword Fairy: A blend of spiritual and physical, the warrior channels P.P.E. through the hands and into the blade of a sword. This fills the sword with a portion of the wielder's P.P.E. reserves. The process causes the sword to glow with a visible aura of mystic energy. Some who have seen the technique in action say that it looks like transparent fairy wings extend from the sword's crosspiece. Mixed with the glowing aura, the technique has become known as the Sword Fairy. There are those who will refer to the whole martial art style as the "Sword Fairy," either out of ignorance or as an insult to the wielder.

Half the character's P.P.E., rounding down, is put into the weapon. So a character with 7 P.P.E. would channel 3 P.P.E. into the sword. Attempting to do anything else with the P.P.E., such as cast a spell if a wizard or use a Techno-Wizard device in Rifts, the new focus of P.P.E. withdraws the P.P.E. from the sword and ends the Sword Fairy technique. The only exception to this rule is with a palladin using the Demon Death Blow through the sword. As the Demon Death Blow further charges the sword, bonuses from both the Sword Fairy and the Demon Death Blow are combined for the attack. After the attack, the P.P.E. is instinctively withdrawn and the palladin must spend an action to empower the Sword Fairy once again, if so desired.

The character can't lose the P.P.E. being concentrated into the sword, nor does the technique cause any P.P.E. to be expended. If the character stops the technique, or drops the sword, then the borrowed P.P.E. instantly returns to the character. Because the technique requires half the character's P.P.E., if the character falls below 2 P.P.E., either having lost it (by an Energy Vampire or other means) or spent it (by Demon Death Blow or other means), then the character cannot use the Sword Fairy.

Masters of the Dragon Sword focus on the sword, and in their training grow a preference towards one sword in particular. This sword is the character's main weapon and typically named by the character. While using this named sword, the character and sword are one. As a result the Sword Fairy is natural to use and only costs one melee action to activate. If using another sword, must be a sword, other than the character's main sword the technique costs one full melee round of concentration to empower.

The main named sword extends beyond mere usefulness and game mechanics. This doesn't have to be the sword with the best bonuses or the most damage, but the sword that feels right in the character's hands, a weapon with history and a personal attachment. If ever lost, the character shouldn't be so willing to simply give up on the weapon and try to get it back. Should the sword become hopelessly lost or destroyed, it is possible to gain a new main sword. This new sword should be given a new and unique name, and will take 6 months of being the character's main sword before the character has become one with the weapon.

Using the Sword Fairy, the sword wielder can perform any of the following three actions (but only one at a time):

1. Sword Fairy Awareness: Concentrating through the sword, the user can sense creatures with a larger than average P.P.E. (more than 20 P.P.E.) within the immediate area, less than 10 feet (3.0 m). Individuals can be sensed in total darkness, through opaque objects (curtains, bamboo screens, etc.), or even against invisible opponents. The Sword Fairy guides the user like a compass pointing north, allowing the character to strike at the character with no penalty.

2. Sword Fairy Damage: Supernatural evil opponents, such as demons, can be hurt by the sword's mystic energy. Supernatural beings, and even creatures of magic, suffer double damage from attacks by the Sword Fairy technique.

3. Sword Fairy Defense: Demons and other supernatural beings tend to have natural magical abilities. The Sword Fairy helps act as a mystical lightning rod, attracting spells that create energies that attack the target (call lightning, fireball, etc.). This allows the character to parry these types of magical attacks without penalty. Note: This does not provide any bonuses to save vs. magic, nor does it allow the character to parry arrows, thrown spears, bullets, or any other projectile weapons.