| I saw the young lady walk into
the bar where I was to meet her. I knew it was her just from
the description: tall, grey hair, nondescript looks, but fast.
Fast and fluid. Graceful. She walked over to me.
'Hail, traveler. I got a note saying that someone wanted
to meet me here. Was it you?'
'It was if you are Jewel Arcarius?'
'Yes, I am. What can I do for you?' She seemed very elegant,
but aloof also. As she sat down at the table she set her bone
helm and gloves in front of her. I noticed the shadow armor
and touches of emerald green that she wore everywhere else.
Definitely ready for combat.
'I am writing an article for Stratics about being a fencer.
A close friend said that you were good with a blade. Could
I ask you a few questions?' I motioned to the tavern keeper
for wine for us both.
'Yes,' she absentmindedly reached down to touch her kryss.
I noticed that the edge seemed to be corroded with some substance.
I certainly couldn't identify the poison, but I knew for certain
that that is what it was. With a wry grin she said, 'I've
been accused of being good with my kryss. What would you like
to know about the profession?'
'Well, miss. What do you consider the best reason to choose
fencing over any other weapon skill?'
'Ha, that's simple. Speed. Pure speed. There are many skills
in Britannia that hone the reflexes to an unusually high degree.
If you happen to have chosen one of these then a weapon skill
that compliments, rather than fights, this tendency is only
natural. Although many people spend a lot of time trying to
train away this extra dexterity, I don't see the sense in
this.'
'Oh? What skill was it that originally gave you this extra
speed?'
She looked sharply at me, 'We are here to talk about fencing,
aren't we?'
'Umm… ok. You mentioned speed. Does the light damage that
a fencing weapon deals out ever cause you problems?'
'Of course it does. That can be a problem anytime, anywhere.
A good fencer can always resort to chemical means of balancing
this out. If you get my drift. A fencer can also team up with
skilled fighters or mages.
But you really have to understand the role of a fencer in
Sosaria today. That's where this profession differs from almost
any other. There are some wonderful guides out there for starting
every other combat profession so I won't go into what starting
skills to choose or simple things like that. Read any of them
and the same basic rules apply. The real twist to fencing
is understanding your role in combat.
You aren't there to kill things, fencers will never deal
out the raw damage that an armsman or swordsman will. The
weapons just aren't designed for it. So if your role is not
to injure the opponent then what is it?
Swing or spell interruption. (Here Jewel gave me a very
chilling grin. She almost seemed to relish this part of her
tale)
Look at it like this… A kryss is one of the fastest weapons
in this world. Fencing is the fastest combat skill. A fencer
should be one of the fastest characters around. Put a grandmaster
fencer on horseback and only a very few creatures or characters
should be able to outrun her. Then her job becomes one of
interrupting whatever offense or escape the victim is trying
to mount!
"Corp Por's" are hard to recite when my kryss is poking
you in the ribs. "In Vas OUCH Mani" just doesn't work as well.
And it's very hard to remember the words to a Recall if I'm
tagging you every second or two. Same with other weapons.
You just can't swing as well if you're busy ducking from my
blade, or trying to staunch the bleeding from a dozen small
nicks.
My guild sometimes does battle with other guilds. When we
mount a sortie my job is not to actually deliver any death
blows, though I occasionally manage to do this. My job is
to concentrate on spell casters and anyone who is trying to
leave the scene of the battle. I'm there to delay their departure
long enough so that my guild mates with the heavy weapons
can get there to finish the job.
While none of the monsters are smart enough to recall, I
can certainly use the same techniques to get in close and
stop a swing or a spell from one of their kind, too. Anytime
that any creature is flinching from one of my hits, they are
not doing damage to me or mine. It's really that simple.'
'Very interesting. You mentioned chemical equalizers?'
'Yes. Poisons are the only way to get a fencing weapon to
deal out high levels of damage. If you are not adverse to
this kind of thing then it is a huge equalizer. And this is
an interesting point here… when fighting other characters
your weapon doesn't have to be poisoned by a grandmaster.
While it certainly helps, when a character gets poisoned by
anything it really gets their attention. It's always nice
to have their actions diverted away from you for the few seconds
it takes to pull off a shield and swallow a potion.'
One thing to remember about poisoning fencing weapons is
that the stronger the poison that was used the treat the blade,
the fewer number of hits you have before the potion wears
off. Given the usual speed of these weapons you can clean
off a blade on your opponents very quickly. Any hit, regardless
of if you administer the poison to the target or not wears
off a little of the venom. So you need to be able to re-dose
the blade often.
Again, these are not for everyone. But if you use them then
you can cause some serious pain.'
I glanced again at that worn and etched blade she had stretched
across the bench next to her. 'So I can imagine. Any tricks
of the trade to share?'
'Well, since you did buy me the wine good sir…' She reached
under her cloak and produced a simple dagger from some hidden
recess. Even this short movement was done swiftly and gracefully.
'This dagger has been with me all of my life. In my earliest
memories I can see it, and it somehow even manages to be there
at my side when my speed fails me and I must walk the land
in death shrouds.'
I looked it over carefully with out touching it. It looked
normal enough, there were no properties that I could see that
made it such a potent weapon and yet Jewel treated it with
almost the same honor and respect that a master warrior would
treated a favored relic-sword. 'So what is it?' I asked.
'Heh, just a simple new-born's dagger, it stays with me
through death, but I've had one of the finest chemists in
the land treat it with the darkest of venoms. So the end result
is that less than one second after a wandering healer has
restored me to the thinnest thread of life I can pose a threat
to almost anything out there. Many times it has saved me when
I am running back in a robe to gather my belongings.'
'Ahh! I see now. Most cunning.' Note to self: Stay out of
the wilderness, there are dangerous creatures out there.
I took a sip of wine while reviewing my notes. Jewel certainly
seemed to be enthusiastic about her profession. 'Well, Miss
Arcarius, that about does it. Any last minute thoughts?'
'Merely this: Go with your strong suit. You cannot be a
fencer and not have a high dexterity. When you are looking
for other skills to round out your character you may as well
choose skills that compliment the speed.'
With this she drained the last of her wine and gathered
her gloves and helm from the table. Rising she gracefully
saluted me and said 'Luck, sir.'
'And to you, miss.' Though I suspect that she may not rely
on it overly much. |
Stratics Central
