This technique bestows upon the user supernatural speed and efficiency with the bow, allowing him to fire repeatedly in a short period of time. So long as he hits his targets, he may continue to attack as long as targets present themselves to him. This Feat ends when he misses, when he runs out of ammunition, or when every target within range has been hit. He may only attack a given target once with this Feat, and it is limited in use to arrows, crossbow bolts, slingstone, and other launched projectiles.

instantaneous

Scything Razor Technique variant: As above, except that it applies to thrown weapons rather than launched projectiles.

A Bloodthirsty Arrow has been imbued with magical resonance by its archer. The exact nature of this resonance varies from archer to archer, typically drawing from his own emotional state - granting the projectile an insensate version of bloodlust, joy in battle, or some other aggressive impulse. The projectile does not strike any more accurately, but it does tend to inflict more harm by gravitating toward vital areas and sinking more deeply into its target's flesh.

continuous

Arrow of Lead variant: Rather than imbuing the projectile with bloodlust, the user of this Feat sinks a feeling of exhaustion and physical weakness into his shot. If it hits, the victim abruptly takes on fatigue as if he had just activated a Feat of his own (the effect is cumulative with multiple hits, but the exhaustion remains only as long as the arrows remain in the victim's body).

In a moment of perfect concentration, the user of this Feat bends reality just about as far as it will go (one of a handful of Feats that begin to edge across the line dividing Feats and Sorcery). He launches a single arrow, which shatters from the force of the shot, seeming to continue to fragment and multiply in flight. By the time it reaches its target, the single arrow has turned into a storm of splinters and fragments of arrowhead.

This covers a small area, rendering the attack impossible to dodge (it is a perfect attack vs dodging) and perhaps even affecting more than one enemy if they are very closely grouped. It may still be blocked (though doing so is certainly quite difficult) and it is possible to duck behind any available cover to good result. It inflicts no additional damage, since the force of the shot is ablated over an area.

instantaneous

Razor Torrent Assault combo: Combo with Sledgehammer Blow Technique and Bloodthirsty Arrow to make a perfect attack that deals a large amount of additional damage. Like Cascading Razor Assault, this is an area attack (small area), and its imparted force tends to completely clear away anything weaker than a few feet of stone or metal.

A brief moment of focus allows an archer to simplify the world considerably - his entire awareness narrows to himself, his target, and his tools. He instinctively compensates for any environmental factors, and he can pick out his target in anything short of total darkness, loosing his arrow in a shot that is nothing short of perfect. Only a totally impenetrable (that is, perfect) defense can protect against this attack, and even such a defense will be so sorely tested that it will fail immediately after allowing its user to block, dodge, or ignore this attack.

instantaneous

Flawless Flurry Technique combo: Combo with Arrow Flurry Technique and Bloodthirsty Arrow to make a single, perfect attack upon everyone within range. Everyone with a perfect defense active will go unscathed, but their perfect defenses will break instead. Anyone without a perfect defense active will take quite a bit of damage, thanks to Bloodthirsty Arrow. Only use when enough ammunition is available.

The user of this Feat may never run out of ammunition, depending on how much raw material there is in his vicinity. He may pick up objects from his surroundings and use them as fully effective ammunition for his weapon of choice, so long as they are of roughly the appropriate dimensions. An archer may use twigs or reeds in place of arrows, and a slingsman might launch anything from convenient pebbles to coinage.

continuous

Iron Falcon's Flight variation: A variation more suitable for users of thrown weapons. In an expression of fantastic expertise, the user hurtles his implements in such a way that they will (if undamaged and not otherwise interfered with) swoop about return to his hand after striking their targets. Additionally, the user may throw weapons that are not typically suited to hurling without a problem.

The Windless Flight Discipline permits its user to simply ignore all environmental penalties to his archery. Poor visibility still affects his aim, but any other factor from wind to extreme range to poor ammunition will have no impact on his accuracy.

continuous

Limitless Flight Discipline variant: The user of this variant is not limited by his weapon's range - he can strike any enemy within line of sight as easily as an enemy at point blank range.

A Wise Arrow has been blessed with an innate attraction to its target, compensating on its own for any flaws in its archer's aim. This Feat is not a perfect attack, but it does distinctly improve the user's aim. Anyone of Human Warfare is unlikely to be able to dodge, though it is still possible that extreme environmental effects would save such a target from harm.

continuous

Precise Impact Method variant: This variant allows the archer to strike precise targets more easily. Whereas Wise Arrow helps in hitting targets in general, the Precise Impact Method allows the archer to automatically hit an exact target if he would be able to get within a foot or so anyway. This is primarily useful for stunts such as cutting a rope with an arrow. It may also be used to target vital areas, though it is less effective at causing damage than Bloodthirsty Arrow.

This technique grants its user absolutely perfect balance - no force on earth can take her feet from under her. Likewise, no matter how short the drop, she will somehow twist to land on her feet after a fall. This is even true in combat. If thrown or if knocked flying by a powerful blow, she will land on her feet and likely negate much of the damage. A secondary effect is that she can fall long distances (several stories, at least) without harm - she simply lands on her feet and walks away.

continuous

Thunderous Retort Defense combo: Combo with Retributive Strike Stance and the damage buff of your choice when an enemy would knock you down or send you flying - instead you instantly regain your feet and return the favor with a hefty attack. While this isn't a perfect attack per se, your enemy is at a great disadvantage to defense, both because you are striking while he is extended and because he doesn't expect to see you coming back so soon.

A master of this athletic discipline can always find footing, whatever the surface. Her step is so swift and light that she can pass over anything from snow to the tops of stalks of bamboo to even the surface of a body of water. Over solid surfaces (a length of twine, or a blanket of snow), she can walk or run without the surface bending, breaking, or showing a trace of her passage. Liquid surfaces are less forgiving, so she must stay in constant, rapid motion (this Feat depends on setting down a foot and bringing it back up before water tension breaks). This act may only be performed on relatively still water.

continuous

Smoke on the Wind variant: An instantaneous Feat, this variation allows its user to very briefly find footing on even the air itself. For one quick stunt, she may run, climb, and tumble in mid-air.

By pushing as much as possible out of her leg muscles, the user of this Feat may gather herself and leap vastly extended distances (multiplying her vertical and horizontal jumps tenfold). This applies equally well to standing jumps and to running jumps. The character is still obeying the laws of ballistic motion - that is, she is affected by gravity and may not generally change direction in mid-leap (unless she has access to Smoke on the Wind, of course).

continuous

Cloud-Walking Method variant: The user of this instantaneous variant may leap a much longer distance, once. She may jump to anywhere within line of sight - even so far as the horizon. If she wishes to leap to a location within the circle of the horizon (but blocked from sight), she may attempt it at her own risk. It is likely that she will land badly, being unable to pick her exact destination (the Autumn Leaf Imitation is of great help here).

A character with this Feat may climb all but the most difficult of surfaces. While she does not literally stick to surfaces, she is so skilled that she can quickly free climb any surface with at least some purchase, of any slope (even on an overhang or the underside of a roof). A totally flat surface (a single, polished sheet of stone, for instance) will defeat her.

continuous

Spider's Leap Method variant: This variant Feat allows a character to run up a surface, no matter how steep (up to a ninety degree angle) or sheer. She must get a running start to go up any surface higher than twice her height, and cannot climb more than fifty feet in this manner without some kind of buff to her speed. With the Stroke of Lightning Exertion simultaneously activated, she can climb any surface, no matter how high, without a running start. This is an instantaneous Feat.

The Stroke of Lightning Exertion allows its user to vastly increase her speed for a few moments. She may pick a destination within line of sight and within the distance she could run in ten seconds, and can cross the intervening distance so quickly that it might as well be instantaneous.

Other characters see her pass through, but may not act upon her except in unusual circumstances (the character is using the Hundred Razor Circle Stance, for instance). Also, she approaches her destination so quickly that, should she make an attack upon arriving, it is a perfect attack against dodges and blocks. She may also use this Feat to interrupt the actions of other characters, doing anything from stopping an enemy sorcerer from casting a spontaneous spell to attempting to block an attack aimed at an ally.

instantaneous

Speed of Lightning Technique variant: The user of this variant Feat (maintenance duration) multiplies her speed tenfold, but may not attack or engage in any other precise or delicate task while doing so. It could also be purchased as a continuous Feat that multiplies speed threefold, without penalty.

The user's keen mind allows him to dissect speech and writings to uncover falsehoods. He will not know what the truth of the matter is, but he can pick out the inconsistencies and telltales that indicate a lie. This is perfect against all mundane falsehoods, and allows a Will vs. Will check to penetrate the lies of anyone with supernatural skill at deception. Note that the Judge's Ear Meditation is only proof against intentional falsehood. Someone can withhold information or twist the facts to a certain extent, and a falsehood spoken by someone convinced of its truth will, indeed, ring true.

continuous

Sin-Sensing Meditation variation: By this variation, the user studies a person and divines what her flaws are, primarily focusing on those things which may be used to leverage desired behavior. It makes the target much easier to bribe (since the user knows exactly what she is susceptible to), and - with a little additional investigation - it can prove to be a goldmine for blackmail material.

While this Feat does nothing for the user's actual state of mind, it allows him to maintain a perfectly stoic facade, revealing no worry, stress, surprise, etc. It is a perfect defense against any Presence manipulation, spell, or Feat that causes the user to embarrass himself, and permits the user to telegraph nothing beyond what he is willing to show. If confronted with a Feat or spell capable of detecting emotions, lies, or similar (Judge's Ear Meditation, for instance), the user's effective Will is higher for the purposes of resisting such a thing.

continuous

Integrity-Protecting Prana variant: This variant internalizes the user's composure, strengthening his mind against external influence - giving him a higher effective Will for the purposes of resisting mind-control magic, mundane manipulation by high-Presence character, and Feats from the 'dominance,' 'inspiration,' and 'manipulation' clusters. It does require some concentration, somewhat reducing all other checks the user might need to make so long as the Feat is active. As such, this Feat has a maintenance duration.

By this feat, the user may learn a language which he is currently being exposed to. It takes a little while (less than an hour) to process the language sufficiently, at which point the character may gain basic fluency by activating this charm. Activating the charm again after a day or so of exposure lets him gain total fluency, with no accent.

instantaneous

Speaking Without Tongues variation: This variation allows the user to bypass spoken language and communicate through gestures and body language. Highly abstract concepts will be difficult to convey, but a surprisingly sophisticated message can be conveyed through this means. It is not only used to bypass language barriers - it can also be used to negate the need for speech when stealth is at issue or when unkind ears may be listening in.

This Feat grants a keen awareness of the social subtext surrounding the user. He immediately understands the network of relationships among the people he can see, and he can also discern their attitudes and motivations. This is superficial information, and may not hint at the full truth - an extreme example is that someone could be in disguise, impersonating another person. If her impersonation is good enough, she will read to the user as the person she impersonates. However, any flaw in her performance will be jarringly obvious (if, for instance, she fails to recognize a supposed friend). A secondary benefit is that it is virtually impossible for the user to make a faux pas - he easily recognizes the expected protocol in even the most unfamiliar of situations.

continuous

Cutting Blade of Rumor variation: The user of this Feat plays the strings of a social setting, dropping well-timed phrases to create and reinforce a rumor to the point where it becomes accepted as fact. This can be used to attack someone, but that is not the only application - this can come in handy any time a character might want to quickly insert an idea into the minds of those around him. This is an instantaneous Feat, but the effects can linger and it may need to be used more than once before the rumor is firmly set in the minds of body of targets.

Any broken object, even one of magical power, may be stitched back together through the use of this Feat. The degree of effort needed to do this, however, can vary wildly. A simple, nonmagical object may require very little time to repair, with a particularly fine piece of work needing additional time to restore perfectly. However, magical items may take much longer, ranging from days to months to years (for relatively powerful objects). If enough time and effort is put to the task, however, success is generally guaranteed.

instantaneous

Wholeness-Shattering Grasp variation: Great experience with the strengths and weaknesses of the crafted world can be used for destruction just as easily as repair and creation. This variation allows the user to tear apart pretty much anything, given enough time. Most smaller or weaker object require only moments to completely destroy, while very large and tough things might take more time (it is possible to tear down a small fortified structure within a day or so, using just bare hands). This is a continuous Feat.

By this Feat a craftsman may consistently create works that would be considered masterpieces if made by a lesser craftsman. Any works she creates will be of astonishing quality, and they will be able to stand apart as works of art - things of beauty even ignoring what functional uses they may have. It is still possible for her to attempt to create a masterpiece by putting additional time and effort into the task. If she does so, the product will be truly exemplary - probably beyond the ability of a character without this Feat.

She must already have experience in the field (a weaponsmith will not be able to create masterpiece suits of armor, for instance), but a single purchase of this Feat covers all fields of expertise the craftsman is familiar with. If she learns a new craft, this Feat will cover it as soon as she begins to move beyond the fundamentals, letting her take a truly phenomenal learning curve.

instantaneous

Enchanting Craft Method variation: The user of this variation may create minor magical items, applying her will to creating an object in which magic will naturally pool. These will always be 'better mousetraps,' since major magical objects generally require powerful Sorcery to imbue. The enchanted object must be of high quality (something created with the Flawless Manufacture Method is preferable), and the user of the Feat only guides the expression of the magic - it will often take on a form slightly different from that which she intended.

Primarily intended for the appraisal and valuing of goods, this Feat allows its user to accurately identify an object, as well as make a thorough assessment of its flaws. She may also accurately guess its value for any market that she already has a working knowledge of.

continuous

Mountain-Shattering Hand combo: Combo with Wholeness-Shattering Grasp. By identifying the target's special weaknesses and striking appropriately, the user may destroy anything up to a certain scale in a single blow. The title of this combo is a bit of an exaggeration, but the combo is quite capable of leveling good-sized buildings and bringing down large sections of city walls.

With an imposing stance and a terrible glare, the user brings the full weight of his Presence to bear on a selected target, actually doing her harm with the force of his wrath. This is treated as a normal attack, where damage is resolved in a Presence versus Will check, rather than the typical Warfare versus Warfare. It is even possible to kill with this attack, though it may not be used in conjunction with any combat Feat. It may, however, be put into a combo with a combat Feat, translating the effects of the combat Feat(s) as well as possible to the Heart-Stopping Glance attack.

instantaneous

Guilt-Inducing Presence Technique variation: A more kind variation of the Heart-Stopping Glance, this Feat forces the target to make a Will check against the user's Presence. If she fails, she abruptly repents of any thoughts she might have had about attacking the user (and is struck by guilt for any attacks she may already have made). This causes her to completely cease attacking the user, though it provides no protection to the user's allies.

If the user attacks a victim of this Feat (or blatantly exhorts a third party to attack her), the effects are broken. It may be possible for the target to resist with her commander's Presence, exactly as with the Moral-Shattering Mien.

The Horrific Tyrant Stance is a perfect defense. The user takes a firm, imperious stance and glares around at all approaching enemies. The sheer force of his fury causing them to carefully avoid causing him harm, since they automatically assume that any attack they might make will be met with such apocalyptic fury that they wouldn't stand the slightest chance. So long as the user holds firm, he can stand off an entire army with this Feat.

If the user attacks for any reason, the spell is broken - the reality of his attack invariably falls short of what his enemies had envisioned. Also, an enemy who is not specifically aware of his presence goes unaffected (this Feat is not a totally perfect defense, since it provides no protection against indirect attack, such as a blind barrage of arrows or a wad of burning pitch launched over a city's walls).

maintenance

Wrath-Stemming Radiance variation: This is only superficially a variation from the Horrific Tyrant Stance. It works exactly the same, except the effect stems from the user's enemies simply refusing to attack him - while they do not bend to his will, they are sufficiently enchanted with him that they can't imagine harming him. However, if he attacks, they realize that they were operating under a false perception of innocence, and the spell is broken.

The user simply enhances his ability to terrify for a time, gaining an advantage to any checks related to intimidation. However, while this Feat is active, it is virtually impossible for the user to interact normally with others - he is immediately noticed in any crowd, small children burst into tears before his glance, and nobody around him is willing to trust him to do anything (except, perhaps, to inflict physical harm upon them).

maintenance

Terrible Whirlwind Style variant: This variant is a continuous Feat, directly applying the user's intimidation to combat. It simply functions as a defensive buff to Warfare, causing enemies to flinch away from any truly effective attack.

The user of this Feat draws about himself an aura of fear - taking his normal Presence and forging it into a tool of intimidation and terrorism. All opponents who view the user must make a Will check against his Presence or lose faith in their ability to prevail against him. They may continue to fight, but their Warfare checks will be penalized and they will be much more likely to surrender or go into a rout if the circumstances arise. This effect extends to non-combat situations, but it is somewhat less effective.

If the user's opponents are led by a person with a higher Presence than their Wills, they may check against the user's Presence using their leader's Will, instead. However, the leader must rely on her Will (unless she, in turn, has a strong leader), and if her moral breaks, she cannot support her followers in this manner.

continuous

Mount-Spooking Gesture variant: Sometimes the best way to disable a group of enemies is to go for their mounts. This variation targets no humans, but it will affect any domestic animals (defined as non-sentient, living creatures) held by the user's opponents. Animals held by the user and his allies are not adversely affected, though the Gesture will usually make them uncomfortable. This in an instantaneous Feat.

The creatures must check their Wills against the user's Presence (keeping in mind that very few animals have Will ratings above Common). If they fail the check, they immediately spook - usually throwing riders, wildly running for perceived safety, and responding similarly. Using the Gesture when an animal is backed into a corner may provoke the 'fight' side of the creature's flight-or-fight response, causing it to desperately attack the user.

Taking on a horrific mien, the user of this Feat strikes out at an enemy. If the attack connects and inflicts some measure of damage, he may then activate Soul-Searing Blow to drive fear into his opponent's heart - convincing his victim that she has little to no hope of resisting his continued assault. This may be applied either to weaken the victim's ability to continue the battle (reducing effective Endurance exactly as if she had used a Feat) or to strike directly at her Will (similarly reducing her Will). It is possible to render an enemy unable to use Feats by crippling his Will, and it is possible to force her to retire from the battle by exhausting her Endurance.

instantaneous

Withering Conversation Method variant: This variant produces a similar effect, but applies it through normal conversation. This can be anything from an interrogation, to a discussion in a bar, to pillow-talk - whatever the case, the mechanics are the same. Rather than weakening Endurance or Will, this Feat damages the victim's resolve (Will) or confidence in her abilities (Warfare or Presence), depending on how the conversation is steered. It can be a subtle effect, since the user guides the victim into questioning herself, but it also takes time, requiring extended conversation to apply.

By means of a strong meditative focus, this Feat causes the unification of flesh with Will, permitting the user to absorb damage as if her Endurance were somewhat higher (Heroic Endurance might work as if it were Legendary, and a Ranked Endurance might slide up a couple ranks for these purposes).

continuous

Unassailable Mountain Defense variant: This variation is a maintenance Feat. The user takes the resilience granted by the Bronze Skin Meditation to extremes, devoting her entire attention towards reinforcing this mind-over-body technique. While this means that the user can perform no actions beyond maintaining her focus, it forms a perfect defense for as long as she continues the meditation.

Long experience and training allows the user of this Feat to ignore many of the hardships others must contend with. She will almost never suffer more than discomfort from environmental conditions ranging from desert heat to arctic cold, she can go for long periods of time without food or water, and she may neglect sleep much more easily than others. These talents are ideal for surviving in harsh conditions, allowing the user to find herself dropped in the middle of a desert (or similar environment), yet make her way out with relatively little fear.

continuous

Element-Resisting Discipline variant: Focusing on resisting environmental conditions to the exclusion of the other aspects of the Enduring Mendicant's Prana, this variant its user to adapt to almost any natural environmental effect, no matter how harsh. The user may walk through flame, stop herself from drowning, and otherwise deal with a broad cross-section of threats.

The restriction is that this Discipline has a few seconds lag time before it will become useful. For instance, while the user might theoretically be able to adapt to being immersed in a lava floe, she would have to somehow survive those first few seconds. This Discipline is also useless against sudden attacks. Even if she is standing in the middle of a bonfire, a bolt of flame loosed by an enemy sorcerer will still harm her as usual.

Even the greatest of heroes may be brought low by disease and poison. This Feat allows its user to resist such malign influences, protecting her body against everything from arsenic to typhoid to cancer. While it is active, she will not contract any disease, and any poison will remain inert in her body. This can apply even to diseases and poisons of a supernatural variety, though some such toxins may prove resistant to the Meditation.

If she has already contracted a disease, its symptoms will be suppressed for the duration of the Feat, but will return to the fore when the Feat lapses. The same is true of poisons, whether she was exposed to them before or after activating the Feat. It is worth noting that a character with a high Endurance will naturally deal with all toxins in her body, so maintaining the Meditation long enough will allow her body to eliminate an inert poison or disease without suffering the normal symptoms.

continuous

Purged Body Meditation combo: Combo with Body-Mending Meditation to purge all toxins from the user's system over the course of moments, minutes, or hours (depending on the toxins in question). This can totally eliminate any toxin, up to and including magical diseases and poisons.

A character with sufficient discipline may use this Feat to inure herself to the travails of travel and labor - giving her almost totally indefatigable stamina. For the purposes of resisting exhaustion from forced marches, wearing armor, or hard work (construction, digging fortifications, farming), she will never grow tired. She requires sleep, as usual, but will be no more exhausted than she would be if she had spent the day engaged in some form of light exertion.

continuous

Battle Fury Focus variant: This variant is an extremely useful tool in prolonged battles, allowing the user to fight unceasing until either the battle concludes or she is brought low. Endurance is no longer a limitation on how long she can battle, and she can even ignore limitations on how many Feats a character of her Endurance can use in a row. Note, however, the caveat that activating a stunt or combo immediately ends the durations of all continuous and maintenance Feats the character is using.

An understanding of a patient's ills is vital in the healing profession. This Feat provides such understanding, allowing the user to spot everything that is wrong with a given person, accurately perform triage, and otherwise gain whatever knowledge he might need to treat his subject. Curses, magical diseases, and similar unnatural maladies may or may not be as easily divined, depending on the malady in question.

instantaneous

Weakness-Appraising Eye variant: A more sinister use of the same principles lets the user study a person and determine her weaknesses - old injuries that could be exploited in battle, for instance. This grants a long-term damage buff against that particular target (a target's weaknesses will change over time, but usually not in a very short period).

It is rarely possible for a particularly gifted healer to treat all those around him on his own - the physical stress of using Feats insures that. By the use of this Feat, a healer may impart the knowledge of whatever curative Feats he knows onto a single ally in his vicinity. She gains no inherent ability to use Feats (Endurance and Will must be high enough to make this practical), but she may use these Feats as if she herself were familiar with the healing arts.

The user of this Feat may use it multiple times to teach multiple assistants, but this is the only action that he can perform while they work - he supervises their actions, and that takes up all of his time and attention (he may not even personally work as a healer). For the purposes of this Feat, 'curative Feats' include Flawless Diagnosis Technique, Wound-Healing Cure, and any Feats that operate in a similar vein.

maintenence

Self-Reliance Inspiring Method variant: This variant allows its user to use regenerative Feats (Wound-Staunching Focus and Body-Mending Meditation being examples) and/or Feats from the 'endurance' cluster on another character - most such Feats are reflexive in nature (may only be used on the user).

This Feat allows its user to tend to speed another character's healing processes. This requires that the healer tend to his patient more-or-less constantly, and it multiplies her healing rates tenfold.

maintenence

Black Palm Maneuver variant: Another twisted version of a healing Feat, this variant allows its user to impede a character's healing. It requires physical contact (either casual or with an unarmed attack), passing poisoned magical energies into the user's victim. From then until the energies are purged from her system, the victim does not heal and is incapable of fighting of diseases and poisons in her system (though she does not contract disease any more easily).

The toxic magic can be cleansed by any magic capable of eliminating poisons or by the victim's own body - she will eliminate the toxic magic in approximately the time it would take her to pass a strong poison from her body.

Not uncommonly learnt by warriors, Wound-Staunching Focus allows its user to minimize physical trauma, staunching bleeding, preventing hemorrhaging, and similarly protecting himself from dying of his wounds. It does not heal him, per se, but it will prevent his condition from worsening. In addition, it dulls pain, effectively increasing the user's Endurance for the purposes of ignoring his wounds. This later effect lasts a short time - usually vanishing as soon as the character's rush of adrenalin wears off.

instantaneous

Body-Mending Meditation variant: This Feat allows its user to multiply his healing rates tenfold, so long as he devoted himself entirely to meditation (this is a maintenance Feat).

An unfamiliar horse can be a trial to ride - particularly considering the plethora of tricks that an unscrupulous horse-trader can (and often will) apply toward disguising the flaws of his stock. This Feat allows its user to see under the skin, so to speak, and get a feel for the true worth of a steed. She knows all of its injuries, diseases, and physical weaknesses, she can accurately guess its age, she can read its temperament at a glance, and she can determine if it has been drugged, enchanted, or otherwise meddled with to disguise any of the above. After examining a steed with this Feat, she will have an intuitive edge in breaking it in (if necessary) and riding it afterwards.

instantaneous

Hand of Hot Blood variant: This variant allows its user to instantly tame any horse or any creature closely related to horses (be it mundane or magical). She must only come into physical contact with it - as soon as she lays a hand on it, it will become instantly docile to her (but not necessarily anyone else). Some supernatural steeds may be able to make a Will check against the user's Presence.

Hearts of Sun and Sand create a powerful, if temporary, bond between horse and rider - turning each into an extension of the other. As long as the rider stays mounted, they are almost unstoppable, each reinforcing the other so that they may overcome great hardships. The horse is able to run much faster (magnifying its speed threefold), and their union lets them move in as one, improving maneuverability and agility. This even extends to combat, granting a significant defensive buff against all attack of which one or the other is aware.

The horse is capable of moving without hesitation regardless of exhaustion or wounds - it is still harmed by such things, but it can keep going until the moment that it drops dead from stress or trauma. The rider, for her part, can remain conscious for as long as the horse is able to keep moving, guiding her steed flawlessly no matter how badly injured she might be. She may, however, be useless for anything else, if the trauma is sufficient.

Even if she would normally die of exhaustion or trauma, she may tap into her steed's life force to continue riding so long as they have a specific destination in mind. Once they reach their destination (or the horse dies, whichever comes first), she will feel the full effects of her wounds, perhaps dying within moments if not met by healers.

maintenance

Strength of Stone variant: A more specific and less intense variant of Hearts of Sun and Sand, this allows the user to share with her mount all Feats from the 'endurance' cluster that she might have active on herself. This effect lasts as long as she remains mounted.

Passing magical vitality on to her steed, the user of this Feat can spur her animal on to supernatural speeds - multiplying its speed tenfold. However, this effect only lasts so long as they stay in constant motion.

maintenance

Sand on the Wind variant: This variant lets the user's steed run in perfect silence, eliminating all sounds caused by motion (whether they originate in the horse itself or in its tack).

A master horseman need not guess at the motivations of her steed, nor need she use any but the simplest means to communicate her desire to the animal. This Feat allows a character to communicate perfectly with one or more horses, limited only by the intelligences of the steeds in question. Neither horse nor rider actually speaks the other's language, but they become so adept at reading each other's body language and vocalizations that they can communicate just as well as if they did share a common language.

continuous

Tongue of the [Species] variant: It is, of course, possible to develop a Feat to speak with almost any other reasonably intelligent animal. Domestic animals are more typical (Tongue of the Dog being the second most common, after Tongue of the Asil), but it is still possible to speak with a wild species (or with wild versions of the domestic animal a character normally speaks with).

Speaking in a supernaturally commanding voice, the user briefly takes over the actions of those around him - forcing them to obey whatever order he barks out. Everyone to whom the order is addressed must make a Will check against the user's Presence, with failure forcing them to respond to the order exactly as if it had come from a legitimate authority.

This must be a simple, quick action, since this Feat works on knee-jerk obedience, relying on the victims to respond to the order without thinking. As such, it is most effective against trained soldiers - civilians usually don't have as much of an ingrained response to work upon.

instantaneous

Respect Commanding Attitude variant: This variant allows the user to quickly garner respect. Upon entering a room, beginning a speech, or otherwise introducing himself to one or more people, he can force everybody to make a Will check against his Presence. If they fail, they instantly adopt the best first impression that he could have achieved over the next minutes or hours. It may be used upon people the user has previously met, but only if some time has passed since their last meeting. Doing so is usually at reduced effectiveness, also.

The trust of a charismatic person can be exalting, inspiring one to reach greater heights and withstand greater suffering. The user of this Feat may designate one person to exhort, effectively increasing the subject's Luck for the duration of the Feat's effect. The user may designate more than one subject at a time, but this Feat must be activated separately for each subject. While using this Feat, the user cannot let up his exhortations - he can move around, but any other action will end the effects of the Feat.

maintenance

Elegance Encouraging Touch variant: By encouraging an ally or follower and instructing her in the proper techniques, the user of this variant may grant his subject a stronger Presence. The subject may use the user's Presence instead of her own (though she may opt to use her own if her Presence specialty is more suited to the situation at hand). This is a continuous Feat.

With a sudden shout, the user of this Feat calls courage into the hearts of his allies. Every ally who can hear his shout have all fear banished from their minds - they do not suddenly become stupid, but fear no longer clouds their judgments. This will end a mundane rout, and it may stem the effects of supernatural fear (in some cases, the user may have to make a Presence check against either the Presence or the Will of the person or being who originated the supernatural fear). If a sustained supernatural effect would reinforce the fear after the user uses this Feat, he stands a chance of ending the effect while doing so.

instantaneous

Perfect Phalanx Education variant: The user of this variant is able to train men and women to be better soldiers, accelerating the rate at which his soldiers develop their skill - turning, for instance, a group of inexperience peasants into a reasonably effective group of foot soldiers. This process also builds upon the soldiers' loyalty to the user and generally improves their state of discipline. This is a continuous Feat.

By providing an example of stalwart resistance to his allies, the user can help them overcome a faltering Will. As long as this Feat is active, any ally who can see the user standing firm may choose use his Presence instead of her Will. This only lasts so long as the user does not act, though - it takes much focus for him to exert his Presence in this way, so he can do nothing more than move about while using this Feat.

maintenance

Steed-Sustaining Method variant: By means of this Feat, the user may spread his Presence to all animals who recognize him as an ally or friend. This renders them proof against fear and confusion, and allows them to use his Presence to resist any attempt to spook them or otherwise affect their behavior to the user's detriment. This is a continuous Feat.

Sometimes, discretion is truly the better part of valor. This Feat lets its user craft a perfect disguise, rendering her totally unrecognizable. The user must still create the disguise, but the end result is impenetrable. Aside from rendering herself unrecognizable, the user may alter her apparent sex, change her height slightly, and disguise her race with equal facility.

continuous

Theft of Mien variant: This variant makes the user an expert in imitation - allowing her to disguise herself as another person almost absolutely. There is a chance of a discrepancy being noticed, but she manages to imitate her subject right down to intuitively guessing mannerisms and speech patterns, making it very difficult for even a close friend or a family member to work out what's going on.

Great skill, awareness, and dexterity allow the user of this Feat to open any non-magical lock with ease. She need only manipulate the locked object for a few seconds to crack the seal, and even magical locks may be circumvented with this Feat (though doing so does not hold a guaranteed success).

instantaneous

Flawless Theft Technique variant: Light fingers let the user of this variant to perform any act of picking pockets or of slight of hand automatically, barring supernatural perceptions possessed by those present. Even then, the user gets a strong edge against any senses they might bring to bear.

Heart-Compelling Method impregnates the user's actions and words with greater intensity, empowering his performances. The Feat may be used to enhance any performance (music, oration, etc), causing the audience (which can be of any size, from a single person on up) to become gripped in whatever emotion the performance attempts to instill. Each audience member may check Will against the user's Presence, with the degree of their immersion in the emotional content varying by how thoroughly the user defeats the check. It is possible for a high-Presence character to attempt to diffuse the Method's effects by interrupting the performance - this allows those inclined to pay attention to her a check against the user's Presence using the interrupting character's Presence instead of their Will ratings.

The emotions are instilled in the audience, and they will remain for as long as would normally be appropriate. For instance, a crowd incited to anger at its ruler will hold onto that anger longer if its ruler is unjust. Milder emotions will often last longer than intense emotions, and if the performance instills an emotion that the audience is already inclined toward, this too will prolong the effects. The Feat itself is instantaneous - the 'duration' is purely dependent on how the audience would normally handle its emotional state if it had arrived at that state through natural means.

instantaneous

Unbreakable Fascination Method variant: This variant creates a captive audience - forcing all audience members who fail a Will check against the user's Presence to simply sit spellbound, so long as they are not placed in direct danger. This is a continuous Feat, lasting as long as the user keeps up his performance.

Usable by men and women alike, this Feat quickly charms the heart of a chosen subject. The user adopts all the traits that the subject might find magnetic, producing an instantaneous attractive chemistry. The chemistry may or may not be sexual, depending on the subject, but the result is that the subject is (for the moment) hopelessly in love with the user. The effect is more like a crush than true love, though, and the Feat does nothing to reinforce the emotion after that first, literally magical moment.

This effect is useable regardless of sex, gender, or sexual preference. It may be resisted with a Will check against the user's Presence (though it should be noted that the effect isn't totally enchantment - the user gains a real insight into the subject's personality, focusing on what she finds attractive). If the subject does not effectively resist, the time her attentions remain focused on the user is both dependent on her personality and on how closely the user continues to cleave to what the subject finds interesting. The effect could vanish quickly, dismissed as a passing infatuation, or it could be nurtured into something deeper and more permanent.

instantaneous

Incomprable Courtesan's Aura combo: Combo with Unbreakable Fascination Method to both charm large groups of people and to sink deeper, more permanent hooks into the subjects. This could result in a range of results, ranging from the spontaneous creation of a devoted cult to a sudden riot, depending on both the user and the audience. Combo in Heart-Compelling Method as well to even further intensify the emotions invoked in the audience.

The user's webs of deception allow him to adopt an air-tight persona - utterly convincing anyone who encounters him that he is who and what he claims to be. He need only succeed at a Presence check against the Wills of those he interacts with. This is such an effective deception that the user may usually do this even in the total absence of physical props, tricking those around him by cleverness and force of personality alone.

Master of Dissimulation is generally limited by physical appearance (one cannot claim to be a woman when one is a man), but that can be circumvented by disguise or even simple lies (he could, for instance, claim that his sex was changed by a sorcerous curse and be believed). The illusion may also be pierced if he shows himself to not have the skills his assumed identity should have - if, for instance, he adopt the persona of a healer, but is backed into a situation in which he must actually treat somebody's wounds.

continuous

Irresistible Salesman's Dissimulation variant: Rather than misrepresent himself, the user of this variant deceives those around him into paying far more for something that it is worth. Indeed, if the victim fails a Will check against the user's Presence, she will accept any price for any product. She might sell her livelihood for a handful of beans, her home for a single copper coin, or her soul for a kiss - the terms are totally up to the user of the Feat. This is a one-off effect, though, and (if she was cheated) the subject will later react poorly when she regains her senses. This is an instantaneous Feat, used during the bargaining process.

By speaking a few well-chosen words, the user of this Feat undermines respect and trust, causing distrust and suspicion to grow in his victim's heart. He may target one or more people, organization, etc to invoke distrust in, and he must defeat his victim in a check of his Presence against his victim's Will. Even when successful, this is often a temporary effect (unless the user provides his victim with a legitimate reason for suspicion). The victim typically is caught up in irrational distrust for a time, eventually seeing reason as the passion of the moment wears off.

instantaneous

Authority-Eroding Whisper variant: Rather than targeting a specific victim, this variant spins distrust throughout an entire social group, cutting a certain person's authority away within that group. The target's authority is not actively reviled, but her authority vanishes overnight, forcing her to rebuild from scratch, if possible. The target may resist the Feat with an opposed Presence check.

Each use of this Feat forces a subject to answer one question truthfully and thoroughly - holding nothing back and distorting the truth not at all. It may be resisted with a Will check against the user's Presence, and the user will not necessarily know whether or not the Feat succeeded.

instantaneous

Undeniable Truth Divination combo: Combo with Sin-Sensing Meditation to cut to the heart of the matter - asking the one question that the subject most hopes the user will not ask, then forcing the subject to fully and truthfully answer that question. This will not necessarily generate information that the user is interested in, though, since the subject may not be concerned with the same matters as the user. It is a good idea to guide the discussion in a useful direction before activating this combo.

Often used by unarmed martial artists to reduce the advantage held by more heavily armed and armored opponents, this form allows its user to effectively ignore all mundane armor. The user strikes with precisely directed force, channeling power to amplify weaknesses in her target's armor, allowing her to punch through even solid plate. This can even apply to the natural armor possessed by some creatures, and it may be used in conjunction with weapons. While this is not a perfect attack, it functions as a perfect attack for the purposes of disrupting perfect defenses based upon increased resilience (Unassailable Mountain Defense, for instance).

continuous

Armor-Crushing Hand combo: Combo with Wholeness-Shattering Grasp to do more than simply punch through armor. This could be applied to completely sunder the armor, tearing it from its wearer's body (with potentially traumatic results for creatures with natural armor) to breaking and twisting the armor, burying fragments of it into its wearer's wounds.

This Feat and its several minor variants (Precise Pressure-Point Strike might be an example) all increase the long-term effects of a blow, causing precisely directed or particularly traumatic injuries which slow down the target more than would be otherwise expected. This blow reduces the target's effective Endurance for the purpose of ignoring wounds (with respect to wounds caused by this attack only). Thus, an opponent normally able to continue fighting with the most horrific of wounds could yet be hindered by an attack enhanced by Bone-Shattering Blow.

instantaneous

Unending Crimson Stream variant: This variant reapplies the lessons used in Bone-Shattering Blow, launching a precisely adjusted attack which tends to cause excessive bleeding. The user checks her Warfare against her target's Endurance - if successful, the wounds she inflicts continue to bleed and/or hemorrhage for a long time, ranging from an hour to a full day, depending on how much she overmatched her opponent's Endurance. Wounds caused by this Feat may be closed with Wound-Staunching Focus, but the user of that Feat must first defeat the wielder of Unending Crimson Stream in a Will vs. Will contest.

An act of superhuman strength, this technique allows its user to create shock waves - clapping hands together, striking the ground with her fist, or giving a great shout. Regardless of the method, a sudden shock ripples outward through the air or earth in an area attack, knocking opponents (and allies) off their feet. It is handled as a typical Warfare vs. Warfare contest between the wielder of this Feat and everyone within range, with success on the part of the wielder knocking her opponents prone. Range is determined by the wielder's Warfare rating, with Legendary Warfare generating a shock wave with a range of between five and ten paces.

instantaneous

Falling Thunderbolt Technique combo: Combo with Pouncing Tiger Technique or Cloud-Walking Method to leap a long distance and fall amongst your enemies, executing an enhanced version of the Clap of Thunder Technique upon arrival (the force of your landing increasing your effective Warfare for the purposes of determining area and checking against your opponents' Warfare ratings). Cloud-Walking Method creates a more powerful Falling Thunderbolt Technique than Pouncing Tiger Technique.

Having many minor variations, Excellent Strike is the basic perfect close combat attack - it will automatically hit any opponent within reach who is not protected by a perfect defense, and it will sunder a perfect defense (though the perfect defense will still ward off the Excellent Strike before collapsing).

instantaneous

Soul-Cleaving Blade Concentration variant: The wielder of this continuous-duration variant focuses supernatural energy into his weapons and body, rendering her attacks capable of striking even that which is normally not subject to physical attacks. This is most often used in battle against hungry ghosts, air elementals, and other insubstantial beings, but the most powerful wielders (Ranked Warfare) may even use this variant to strike at spells as if they were physical objects. Successfully doing so requires that the wielder pit her Warfare against the Will of the sorcerer who cast the spell (as well as having some means of locating the spell, which would typically be imperceptible).

Gathering an aura of power about herself, the wielder of this Feat reinforces her weapons and armor, rendering both invulnerable to conventional damage. Opponents who wield Feats or Sorcery designed to sunder her arms may attempt to use such magic, but they must first defeat her in a Will vs. Will contest.

continuous

Iron Palm Meditation variant: This variant charges the user with energy, allowing her to focus power behind her blows and unarmed parry attempts. This has two major benefits. The first is that she may block and parry her opponents' weapons barehanded without the disadvantage such an action normally entailed - her limbs are hardened to the point that she need not worry about hurting herself under such circumstances. The second benefit is that her unarmed attacks inflict a moderate amount of additional damage and that the damage that she inflicts while unarmed may not be considered bludgeoning for the purposes of ignoring damage with a strong Endurance.

This Feat is suitable for those with a penchant for grappling - once the wielder lays a hand on her opponent, she may activate Inescapable Iron Grip to insure that the target cannot escape her. This grip may only be broken by a perfect dodge, though the wielder can choose to release her grip at any time.

maintenance

Vengeful Iron Grip combo: Combo with Retributive Strike Stance to automatically (as both a perfect attack and a perfect block) intercept an attacking enemy. This both blocks the attack and allows the wielder to use Inescapable Iron Grip, latching onto the enemy as normal for that Feat.

Typically used to apply pressure to formidable opponents, Iron Flurry Attack lets a warrior chain an indefinite number of close-combat strikes against a specific opponent. This attack can last for any length of time, ranging from seconds to minutes (or longer, but there is rarely much advantage in pressing the attack much further). The blows are lightning fast, seamlessly falling, one after the other.

The attack ends automatically if the user inflicts appreciable damage or if she herself is appreciably damaged. The attack has no fixed duration, but the user can abort the chain at any point. This usually becomes relevant if the target has a perfect defense active (rendering the many attacks irrelevant) or if the user is herself threatened. The user must devote herself to her target, and is unable to defend herself from anyone else. She may, however, defend herself from her target, so long as she does not compromise her designated means of attack (if she is attacking with a two-handed weapon, for instance, she can probably only defend herself by dodging, since her hands are occupied with the Iron Flurry.)

maintenance

Peony Blossom Attack variant: In a sudden release of pent-up energy, the user attacks every target within reach once. This attack is executed in mere moments, and the blur of movement described by the user's strikes is usually flower-like in appearance, giving birth to the attack's name.

This technique allows its wielder to make explosively powerful attacks, inflicting no additional damage, but blowing through her opponents' defenses and sending them reeling with the force of her blows' impacts. These attacks function as perfect attacks against blocking and parrying, and the target will be staggered by the impact. If the wielder significantly overmatches her opponent in their Warfare vs. Warfare contest, she will knock her opponent prone.

instantaneous

Ox-Stunning Blow Technique variant: This variant behaves quite similarly to Sledgehammer Blow, though it does not function as a perfect attack under any circumstances. Rather than staggering or knocking prone and opponent, however, this variant briefly stuns him, rendering him unable to effectively attack or defend for a few moments. The exact duration is dependent on the results of the Warfare contest, and if he is greatly overmatched, the wielder will be able to knock him unconscious.

This Feat alters the way the user perceives the world around him, giving him enhanced pattern recognition skills and the ability to more precisely differentiate between sensations. This allows the user to examine his surroundings and extract large volumes of information from that examination, immediately noticing anything out of place and (given some time) mentally reconstructing past events by analysis of physical evidence. The volume of sensory input, however, is such that he cannot effectively perform complex tasks - he is unable to do anything except move about while the Feat is active.

maintenance

Threat-Recognition Discipline variant: By allowing sensory input generated by the Analytical Observation Method to become subliminal, the user of this variant can act normally, allowing his subconscious to keep an eye on the stream of information. This isn't as broadly useful, but the user's subconscious will alert him to any immediate danger thus uncovered. This can be used to spot the minor cues a person telegraphs before attacking somebody, notice tell-tales of an impending ambush, or simply recognize that a floor is unstable and unlikely to support much weight.

This Feat only alerts the user to discernible conditions - the clues must be perceptible, even if the user wouldn't normally pick up on them. It does, however, detect more than just threats to the user. If anyone the user can perceive is in danger, he will notice. This is a continuous-duration Feat.

By blending his normal senses with magical power, it becomes possible for the user of this Feat to boost his perceptions, sharpening all five senses to an often-superhuman degree. It is possible to heighten only specific senses, and it should be noted that the user is somewhat vulnerable to sensory overload while the Feat is in effect - sudden, intense sensations may briefly overwhelm him.

maintenance

Sight Without Eyes variant: Rather than boost existing senses, this variant allows its user to replace a lost or ineffective sense with his remaining senses. This could allow the user to 'hear' after being temporarily deafened, 'see' in total darkness, and otherwise compensate for sensory deprivation. This is of continuous duration.

Refining his perceptions to best suit his purposes, the user of this feat becomes far better at tracking, be his prey animal, human, or something else entirely. Unless the prey has some form of supernatural effect at work resisting tracking (the Trackless Passage feat, for instance), the user of this Feat will automatically notice any and all traces left by his prey. Even if a supernatural effect [i]is[/i] opposing the user, he may attempt a Will check against the Will of whomever generated the effect to overrule that effect and allow Unshakable Bloodhound Technique to function normally.

continuous

Trackless Region Navigation variant: Adapting the same enhanced perceptions to a more utilitarian purpose, this Feat allows its user to - with minimal effort - navigate perfectly, find necessary food and shelter, and (if he travels slightly more slowly) even sustain a number of other people. If remaining in one place, he can provide food, water, and shelter enough for a small town (though it may be a little tight).

Magically heightening the user's skill at stealth, this Feat makes it easier for her to walk silently, blend into shadows, and otherwise evade notice - her normal skills become backed up by an instinctive knack for concealment and stealth movement. Any checks needed to remain unnoticed gain a significant bonus. This can even enhance checks related to pitting other, more specific stealth Feats against observers.

continuous

Sound and Scent Banishing Exertion variant: This variant is very subtle, but at the same time it is one of those Feats that most pushes the line between Feats and Sorcery. As long as it is maintained, the user is totally silent, except for any intentional sounds she might make. She is also totally scentless, rendering any attempts to track her or detect her presence by means of scent impossible. This Feat is less effective against magical means of detection, since such means permit whomever is attempting to hear or smell the user to make a Will vs. Will check to overcome the effects of the Exertion.

By matching her behavior to her surroundings, the user of this Feat is able to hide in plain sight. She may check her Will (or Presence, whichever is higher) against the Will of anyone observing her. If she doesn't radically stand out from her surroundings (for instance: an adult in the midst of small children) and isn't actively drawing attention to herself (for instance: by interacting with the observer), she will not be picked out as unusual by anyone who fails the Will contest, even if they are specifically looking for her.

continuous

Forgettable Presence variant: While this variant is of no use while dealing with someone, anyone the user encounters while the Feat is active must check with their Will ratings against the user's Will (or Presence, whichever is higher). If the user thoroughly overmatches her observers (Legendary Attribute against a Common Will, for instance), they will totally forgot that they encountered her. If the match is more even, but the user still wins the contest, the observers will forget details - remembering that they met someone, but not exactly what was said or exactly what the person looked like. The more the user overmatches her observers, the less is remembered.

For a single, fleeting moment the user is totally undetectable to normal senses. Magically enhanced senses stand a chance of allowing their owner to perceive the user, but he must first defeat her in a Will vs. Will contest. This is not true invisibility. Instead, it relies upon staying out of lines of sight, stepping into blind spots, concealing movement in the movements of others, and otherwise evading notice ... it simply takes these actions to an incredible extreme.

instantaneous

Ghostly Lightning Step combo: Combo with Stroke of Lightning Exertion and any other necessary movement Feats (Mist over Water, Spider's Leap Method, Pouncing Tiger Technique, and Smoke on the Wind all being possible examples) to travel a fairly long distance almost instantly and without being observed, evading any obstacles in the way.

By means of this Feat, the user may travel leaving any traces discernible to a mundane tracker. She still leaves scent traces, and a supernatural tracker may engage the user in a Will vs. Will contest to override the effects of Trackless Passage. The effects of this Feat may be extended to other people, but doing so slows movement (as the user is forced to cover up after the others) and is not quite as reliable - highly skilled mundane trackers may be able to follow the group, albeit with some difficulty.

continuous

Eye-Deceiving Camouflage variant: This variant allows the user to camouflage herself perfectly, rendering her totally imperceptible to all but magically enhanced observers (who may engage her in a Will vs. Will check to overcome the effects of the Feat). She may not move while thus disguised, and she must be able to make some effort to camouflage herself - the Feat can't make something from nothing.

Sometimes, victory goes to he who strikes first, or most often. Advantage-Seizing Focus dramatically enhances its wielder's reaction time, increasing his effective Warfare rating for the purposes of determining how quickly he reacts and how fast he can recover from his attacks (and strike again).

continuous

Retributive Strike Focus variant: Reapplying Advantage-Seizing Focus' enhanced reaction time, the wielder of this variant holds his strikes until his enemy attacks. Whether he is hit or not, the wielder may then reflexively counterattack, responding to any and all attacks made upon his person while the Focus is active. This is a maintenance duration Feat, and the wielder may not do anything except defend (and make his reflexive attacks) while it is engaged.

By totally abandoning himself to action-reaction, the wielder of this feat can form a perfect defense (perfect dodge). He does nothing but respond to his enemies' assault ... moving, side-stepping, ducking, and dodging on a near-instinctive level, so that he will automatically evade any attack of which he is aware. This requires total dedication, however, and any action but evasion is out of the question so long as the Feat is sustained.

maintenance

Elegant Avoidance Technique variant: A lesser version of Be Like Water, this continuous-duration variant is not so immersive as to deny the wielder the ability to perform deliberate action. He may act normally, and his heightened state improves his effective Warfare rating for the purposes of dodging his opponents' attacks.

The user of this stance abandons himself in a manner similar to that involved in wielding Be Like Water - he attains a state of non-thought which allows him to simply react to his opponents' blows, blocking all such perfectly. This forms a perfect defense (perfect block/parry), and is subject to the normal rules regarding 'non-conventional' attacks (so it may be broken if forced to defend against, say, a siege weapon). This works even if unarmed, and he can act with such instinctive precision as to deflect naked blades with his bare hands. As with Be Like Water, this state requires that the wielder totally abandon himself to the process - surrendering all conscious control of his actions until he allows the Feat to lapse.

maintenance

Dipping Swallow Stance variant: A lesser version of the Dragon's Shield Stance, this variation allows the wielder to increase his effective Warfare rating for the purposes of blocking and parrying enemy blows. (He may otherwise act normally.) This is a continuous Feat.

At times, even the greatest warrior can be overwhelmed by large numbers of lesser opponents. This Feat goes a way toward negating that possibility, allowing its wielder to take advantage of his opponents and of the ground he is fighting on to limit the number of enemies he has to deal with at any given time. This is even doable when standing on perfectly flat, open ground - the wielder manages the situation so that his enemies get in each others' ways, allowing him to pick and choose his opponents. The wielder is able to choose which of his opponents he will fight at any given time, perhaps even using weaker foes to keep more formidable foes at a distance.

Using a character with a Legendary Warfare as an example, he should be able to halve the number of opponents he has to fight if they are all likewise of Legendary Warfare. If his opponents are of Heroic Warfare, he should be able to deal with them one at a time, no matter how many they be. If his opponents have only Common Warfare ratings, he is actually able to completely avoid combat, should he choose to do so. This Feat is of limited use against opponents possessing a higher Warfare rating than the wielder.

This Feat is considered a perfect defense (perfect dodge). An opponent using a perfect attack may disrupt this Feat even if 'excluded' from engaging the wielder by the Feat's effects.

continuous

Perfection-Denying Defense variant: This variant (with a maintenance duration) allows it's wielder to make use of his opponents and his ground to make it impossible to get an absolutely clean attack off on him. This Feat renders perfect attacks perpetrated upon the wielder normal attacks - any other Feats used in conjunction with the perfect attack still function normally, but the perfect attack itself is completely negated. Note that the attack must still be defended against, since it is not actually blocked (just rendered imperfect).

In a manner similar to what happens when a perfect attack strikes a perfect defense, this Feat collapses as soon as it successfully degrades a perfect attack. Also, since this Feat requires an extremely careful manipulation of the wielder's stances and movements, it cannot be used in conjunction with any other defensive Feat.

This Feat allows its wielder to attain a degree of clarity in the midst of battle, mentally distancing himself from the fight. He approaches the engagement more calmly and analytically, striking at his opponents carefully and cleanly - increasing his effective Warfare rating for the purposes of determining accuracy and ability to penetrate his opponents' defenses. There is no immediate trade-off for this technique, but it is generally incompatible with the use of Feats that deal in increasing the force of the wielder's blows (such Feats tend to sacrifice precision for power, which runs counter to this Feat's operation).

maintenance

Forceful Destroyer Meditation variant: Almost the exact opposite of its source, this variant embraces the tunnel vision and hysterical strength common to the chaos of battle. It takes those factors and turns them into a weapon, allowing the user to enter into a kind of directed frenzy, putting more power behind his blows. This is generally incompatible with Feats that deal in precision and accuracy (with the explicit exception of Excellent Strike), but a skilled warrior might well switch between precision and force as necessary, responding to the shifting tides of battle.

Moving with utter assurance, the user of this Feat may reflexively parry any and all projectiles that pass within range of his reach. This is a perfect defense (perfect block/parry), with the ability to extend protection to others (if the wielder is able to interpose himself between his charge and the source of the missiles). This maneuver otherwise acts as a normal perfect defense, and it requires the wielder's full concentration to execute. No other actions (aside from movement) may be performed while maintaining the Feat.

maintenance

Hundred Razor Circle Stance variant: This variant (also a maintenance Feat) is not a perfect defense, but it does improve the wielder's effective Warfare rating for the purposes of deflecting any projectiles passing within the wielder's reach. The trade-off is that Hundred Razor Circle Stance also allows its wielder to reflexively strike every opponent to pass within his reach. This is true even when the wielder of this Feat would normally be incapable of reacting quickly enough to do so (for instance, if the opponent is using Stroke of Lightning Exertion). The wielder may do nothing but maintain this Feat while it is active - he cannot even move from where he struck the stance.