Despite its position as a well-heritaged animal style, there has always been something slightly rakish — even disreputable — about Cat Style. If other martial arts schools are to be trusted, there is one unifying characteristic of its practitioners and that is their bad attitude. The Cat stylists of course disagree; it is right and proper to be skilled with the blade, and that those who complain about their manners should just get good. Such is their nature: to wield their long one-handed blades with insolent ease, scoring insulting pokes into soft tissue while their sharp tongue lashes out, only to finish with a murderous lunge that severs the spine. Ironically enough, despite their poor attitude many have found Cat practitioners to be excellent companions in a brawl, for in their pride they invite all attacks on themselves and fiercely punish those who would dare harm one they have selected as a friend.
Cat Weapon Tags: Piercing, Disarming, Defensive (Off-hand Only). Cat martial artists primarily use one-handed swords made for the thrust such as the rapier, jian, or estoc, with some carrying an off-hand parrying dagger or buckler to aid in the fight. Cat Style primarily teaches blocks and unarmed disarming techniques for the case when a wielder is left without her blade, and grants her unarmed attacks the Disarming tag. If a Cat Style practitioner is unarmed and successfully disarms an opponent of a weapon that may be used with Cat Style, she may reflexively equip it.
Cat Style Armour: Cat Style is compatible with light armour.
Complementary Abilities: Cat Style requires some combination of Presence and Physique.
Prerequisites: Close Combat 3, Complementary Ability Total 3
With a cocky grin, the duellist salutes her foe with her blade and waits for them to make a mistake.
Commit 1 mote on Step 1 for the scene. The Exalt gains an extra point of Defence against all opponents with a negative Intimacy towards her, or who have taken a hard bargain or rejected her social influence in this current scene. Once per round, when the Exalt inflicts damage with a decisive attack, successfully Instils an Intimacy in an opponent, or an opponent rejects or takes a hard bargain against her social influence, she gains a point of Claw. When she inflicts damage with a decisive attack against a character she may additionally in Step 7 reduce the levels of damage she inflicts by 1, to a minimum of 1, to gain an additional point of Claw. She may have up to (Close Combat) points of Claw.
The Exalt may spend Claw to increase her Soak against a single attack by 1 per level spent. Alternatively, Claw can be spent in place of motes to activate Cat Style charms.
Terrestrial: An attacker with less Power than the practitioner treats her as having Concealment, as her overwhelming confidence leads him to misjudge angles and distances.
Celestial: The slow-witted are to be mocked or run through; it is much of a likeness. When in Cat Form and resolving an attack or a social influence action, the practitioner may choose to set the target's base Defence equal to his Resolve, or his base Resolve equal to his Defence, if it would benefit her.
Prerequisites: Cat Form, Close Combat 3, Complementary Ability Total 4
Hissing jibes, the duellist demands the attention of her foes - and takes a price in pain if passed over.
The martial artist commits 1 Mote for the scene. When an assailant makes a Close Combat attack against a third party in the same range band as the martial artist, she may spend 1 Power and 1 Mote to make a Close Combat counterattack against the assailant during Step 8 of his attack resolution. These counterattacks do not count against the action limit. If the third party has a positive intimacy towards the martial artist and she is in Cat Form, she gains one Claw.
Terrestrial: Once per turn, the practitioner may resolve her counterattack as a Clash against the assailant's attack. Should the assailant win the clash, he may choose whether to resolve his attack against the original target or the Cat Stylist, unless he has a negative intimacy towards her in which case he must take a hard bargain to resolve the attack against the original target.
Celestial: Once per turn, the practitioner may spend an additional mote to use Yowling Prince Stance to counterattack against a Ranged attack. Doing so moves her into the same range band as the assailant with a blindingly fast riposte.
Prerequisites: Cat Form, Close Combat 3, Complementary Ability Total 5, Essence 2
Her blade dances across her foe's face; his allies recoil from her masterful work. He'll live, but know not to mess with her again.
When making a social attack during combat to Persuade her target to attack her, or Dissuade him from attacking an ally of hers, she may choose to treat any Intimacy that would oppose this influence at being one rank lower.
Additionally, she may spend 1 mote on Step 7 when attacking a Significant target. If her attack reduces him to Incapacitated or he accepts a dramatic injury, he gains a Major Tie of "Abject Humiliation" toward her, which is inviolate until the injury recovers. He must take a hard bargain to oppose her or compete with her in any field while the Tie is in place. Additionally, any non-significant ally of the target who witnesses the duelist's masterful maiming of their friend must take a hard bargain or retreat from combat, and even if they take the bargain suffer a -2 penalty to attack her directly.
Prerequisites: Yowling Prince Stance, Tattered Ear Witticism, Close Combat 4, Complementary Ability Total 6
When the duelist tires of toying with her foe, then she ends them with a single thrust.
Spend 2 motes on Step 1 of a decisive attack to halve the target's Soak and Hardness, rounding down. If in Cat Form, she adds automatic successes equal to her Claw to the attack roll. If the target has a negative intimacy towards her, additionally each two additional points of power wagered adds an automatic success to the damage roll. This charm may only be used during a Clash, or as part of a counterattack.
