Combat/Fighting Style merits

Your character is a trained and proficient free-runner. Free-running is
the art of moving fluidly through urban environments with complex leaps,
bounds, running tricks, and vaulting. This is the type of sport popularized in
modern action films, where characters are unhindered by fences, walls,
construction equipment, cars, or anything else the city puts in their ways.

Flow (•):

Your
character reacts instinctively to any obstacles with leaps, jumps, and scaling
techniques. When in a foot chase, subtract your Parkour from the successes
needed to pursue or evade. Ignore environmental penalties to Athletics rolls
equal to your Parkour rating.

Cat Leap (••):

Your
character falls with outstanding grace. When using a Dexterity + Athletics roll
to mitigate damage from falling your character gains one automatic success.
Additionally, add your Parkour rating to the threshold of damage that can be
removed through this roll. Parkour will not mitigate damage from a terminal
velocity fall.

Wall Run (•••):

When
climbing, your character can run upward for some distance before having to
traditionally climb. Without rolling, your character scaled 10 feet + five feet
per dot of Athletics as an instant action, rather than the normal 10 feet.

Expert Traceur (••••):

Parkour
has become second nature for your character. By spending a Willpower point, you
may designate one Athletics roll to run, jump, or climb as a rote action (make
an initial draw, with successes providing a bonus to the action). On any turn
you use this ability, you may not apply your character’s Defense to oncoming
attacks.

Free-flow (•••••):

Your
character’s Parkour is now muscle memory. She can move without thinking in a
zen-like state. The character must successfully meditate in order to establish
Free-flow. Once established, your character is capable of taking Athletics
actions reflexively once per turn. By spending a point of Willpower on an
Athletics roll in a foot chase, gain three successes instead of three dice.

The bonus only applies to one speci? c weapon, and it must be one he’s
used in combat while upholding the Vigil. If the weapon is lost or destroyed,
or you want to switch the effect to a different weapon, you must purchase the
Merit again to gain its bene? ts (and it necessitates carrying the subsequent
Favored Weapon for at least one story before the Merit kicks in). A character
can only have one Favored Weapon at a time.

You’re able to use a weapon to stop people who are trying to kill you.
Often deployed by police officers using riot shields or ASP batons, it’s just
as effective with a chair leg.

Cover the Angles (•):

Whenever
you take a Dodge action, reduce the Defense penalties for multiple attackers by
1. You can apply your full Defense against the first two attacks, suffer a –1
penalty against the third, and so on.

Weak Spot (••):

You
swing against your opponent’s arm rather than his own weapon. Use this ability
when defending against an armed attacker. If your Defense reduces his attack
pool to 0, he’s disarmed. If you Dodge, you disarm your opponent if your
Defense roll reduces his attack successes to 0.

Aggressive Defense (•••):

Anyone
dumb enough to come near you is liable to get hurt. When you take a Dodge
action, if you score more successes than any attacker, you deal one point of
lethal damage to the attacker per extra success. Your weapon bonus doesn’t
apply to this extra damage.

Drawback:
You must spend a point of Willpower and declare that you are using Aggressive
Defense at the start of the turn. You cannot combine this maneuver with Press
the Advantage or Weak Spot.

Iron Guard (••••):

You
and your weapon are one. At the start of each turn, you can choose to reduce
your weapon bonus (down to a minimum of 0) to increase your Defense by a like
amount. If you take a Dodge action, add your full weapon bonus to your Defense
after doubling your pool.

Press the Advantage (•••••):

You
create an opening with a block and lash out with a fist or foot. When you’re
taking a Dodge action, if your Defense roll reduces the attacker’s successes to
0, you can make an unarmed attack against that opponent at a -2 penalty. Your
opponent applies Defense as normal. Drawback: Spend a point of Willpower to
make the attack. You can only make one attack per turn in this way.

You know that hitting someone in the face is an easy way to break the
little bones in your hand. To that end, you’ve perfected the art of using the
environment to hurt people.

Firing Lines (•):

In
some situations, your best option is a tactical retreat — especially if you’ve
inadvertently brought a knife to a gunfight. You can run for cover as a
reaction to a ranged attack instead of dropping prone. You give up your action
for the turn but can get to any cover that’s within twice your Speed.

Hard Surfaces (••):

Bouncing
someone’s head off a urinal, computer monitor, or a brick wall is a handy way
to increase the amount of hurt inflicted while not breaking the aforementioned
hand bones. When you’re grappling someone, you can bounce them off a hard
surface with a Damage move. You deal lethal damage and immediately end the
grapple.

Armored Coffin (•••):

The
problem with protection is simple: the very things that protect you can be
turned against you. That holds true for body armor just as much as anything else.
Sure, it blocks bullets and knives, but get in a clinch and you might as well
be wearing a straightjacket. When you grapple an opponent, add their general
armor rating to your dice pool. When you use a Damage move, ignore your
opponent’s armor. This technique can’t be used in conjunction with Hard
Surfaces.

Prep Work (••••):

If
you’ve got a second to look around, you could catch someone by surprise almost
anywhere. When launching a surprise attack, your Dexterity + Stealth roll
becomes a rote action. Drawback: You can’t use this Merit to set up sniper
attacks — your ambush must use Brawl or Weaponry.

Turnabout (•••••):

If
you’re caught short in a fight, your opponent’s weapon suits you just fine.
When you attempt to Disarm your opponent, step the results up one level — on a
failure, your opponent drops the weapon. On a success, you take possession of
your opponent’s weapon. On an exceptional success, you’ve got the weapon and
your opponent takes two points of bashing damage.

### Defensive Combat (•)

Prerequisite: Brawl • or Weaponry •; choose one when this
Merit is selected

Effect: You are training in avoiding damage in combat. Use your Brawl
or Weaponry to calculate Defense rather than Athletics. You can learn both
versions of this Merit, allowing you to use any of the three Skills to
calculate Defense. However, you cannot use Weaponry to calculate Defense unless
you actually have a weapon in hand.

### Fighting Finesse (••)

Prerequisites: Dexterity •••, a Specialty in Weaponry or
Brawl

Effect: Choose a Specialty in Weaponry or Brawl when you purchase this
Merit. Your character’s extensive training in that particular weapon or style
has allowed them to benefit more from their alacrity and agility than their
strength. You may substitute your character’s Dexterity for her Strength when
making rolls with that Specialty. This Merit may be purchased multiple times to
gain its benefit with multiple Specialties.

### Firefight (Style, • to •••)

Prerequisites: Composure •••, Dexterity •••, Athletics ••,
Firearms ••

Effect: Your character is comfortable with a gun. She’s been trained in
stressful situations and knows how to keep herself from being shot while
shooting at her opponents. This Style is about moving, strafing, and taking
shots when you get them. It’s not a series of precision techniques; it’s using
a gun practically in a real-world situation.

Shoot First (•):

In
a firefight, the person who gets shot first is usually the loser. Your
character has trained herself to fire first in an altercation. If her gun is
drawn, add her Firearms score to her Initiative. If she has Quick Draw, she can
use Shoot First to draw and fire with increased Initiative in the first turn of
combat.

Suppressive Fire (••):

Sometimes,
the purpose of a shot is to distract, not necessarily to hit. Your character is
trained to fire off a handful of rounds with the intent to startle opponents and
force impulse reactions. When using the Covering Fire maneuver (p. 200), her
opponents cannot benefit from aiming against her. She can apply her Defense
against incoming Firearms attacks in addition to any cover bonuses. As well,
her training allows her to use Covering Fire with a semi-automatic weapon.

Secondary Target (•••):

Sometimes
shooting an opponent behind cover is all but impossible. A bullet can knock
objects off balance, however, or cause ricochets. By using Secondary Target,
your character opts to not hit her target but instead strike them with any
collateral objects that might be nearby. She causes bashing damage instead of
lethal, but ignores all cover penalties to the roll. The weapon’s damage rating
does not add to the damage in this case.

### Grappling (Style, • to •••)

Prerequisites: Stamina •••, Strength ••, Athletics ••,
Brawl ••

Effect: Your character has trained in wrestling or one of
many grappling martial arts.

Sprawl (•):

Your
character can adjust her weight to defend herself in a grapple. Add two to her
Strength for the purposes of resisting overpowering maneuvers.

Takedown (••):

Your
character can take an opponent to the ground rapidly. With a normal roll, you
may choose to render an opponent prone instead of establishing a grapple. You
may also choose to cause bashing damage equal to the successes rolled.

Joint Lock (•••):

Once
in a grapple, your character can administer joint locks and other immobilizing
tactics. Any attempt to overpower your character causes the other character a
point of bashing damage. In addition, any successful overpowering maneuvers
your character uses cause 1L damage in addition to their normal effects.

### Heavy Weapons (Style, • to •••••)

Prerequisites: Stamina •••, Strength •••, Athletics ••, Weaponry
••

Effect: Your character is trained with heavy weapons that require
strength, wide range, and follow-through more than direct speed and accuracy.
This Style may be used with two-handed weapons such as a claymore, a chainsaw,
a pike, or an uprooted street sign.

Sure Strike (•):

 Your character doesn’t always hit the hardest
or the most frequently, but you guarantee a deadly strike when you do hit. You
can reflexively remove three dice from any attack dice pool (to a minimum of
zero) to add one to your character’s weapon damage rating for the turn. These
dice must be removed after calculating any penalties from the environment or
the opponent’s Defense.

Threat Range (••):

Your
character’s weapon is immense and keeps opponents at bay. If you opt not to
move or Dodge during your turn, any character moving into your character’s
proximity suffers 1L damage and a penalty to their Defense equal to your
character’s weapon damage rating. This penalty only lasts for one turn. This
cannot be used in a turn the character is Dodging.

Bring the Pain (•••):

Your
character’s strikes stun and incapacitate as well as causing massive trauma to
the body. Sacrifice your character’s Defense to use Bring the Pain. Make a
standard attack roll. Any damage you score with Bring the Pain counts as a
penalty to all actions the victim takes during their next turn. So, if you
cause 4L damage, the opponent is at –4 on their next attack.

Warding Stance (••••):

Your
character holds her weapon in such a way as to make attacks much harder. If her
weapon’s drawn, spend a point of Willpower reflexively to add her weapon’s
damage rating as armor for the turn. This will not protect against firearms.

Rending (•••••):

Your
character’s cuts leave crippling, permanent wounds. By spending a Willpower
point before making an attack roll, her successful attacks cause one point of
aggravated damage in addition to her weapon’s damage rating. This Willpower
point does not add to the attack roll.

### Improvised Weaponry  (• to •••; Style)

Prerequisites: Wits •••, Weaponry •

Most people don’t walk around armed. While someone pulling a knife or a
gun can cool a hostile situation down, it can also cause things to boil over —
an argument that wouldn’t be more than harsh words suddenly ends up with three
people in the morgue. If you’re on the receiving end of someone pulling a
knife, it helps to have something in your own hand. You’re good at making do
with what you’ve got. Sometimes, you’re lucky — if you’re in a bar, you’ve got
a lot of glass bottles, maybe a pool cue to play with. But you’ve got something
almost like a sixth sense for weaponry and can find one almost anywhere.

Always Armed (•):

You
can always get your hands on something dangerous, and you’ve an instinctive
understanding of how to put it to good — and deadly — use. At the start of your
turn, make a reflexive Wits + Weaponry roll to grab an object suitable for use
as a weapon in pretty much any environment.

(The
player is encouraged to work with the Storyteller to determine an appropriate
item — a large, jagged rock in the wilderness, for example, or a heavy glass
ashtray with one sharp, broken edge in a dive bar.) Regardless of what you pick
up, the weapon has a +0 weapon modifier,
-1 initiative penalty, Size 1, Durability 2, and Structure 4. On an
exceptional success, increase the weapon modifier and Size by 1, but the
initiative penalty increases to -2. Whatever you grab doesn’t suffer the normal
-1 penalty for wielding an improvised weapon

In Harm’s Way (••):

You’ve
got a knack for putting your weapon in the way of an oncoming attack, no matter
how small or inappropriate for blocking it might be. While wielding an
improvised weapon acquired with Always Armed, you can treat the Structure of
your weapon as general armor against a single Brawl or Weaponry attack.

Any
damage you take inflicts an equal amount of damage to the improvised weapon,
bypassing Durability. You can use the weapon to attack later in the same turn,
but can only use this ability when applying your Defense to an attack.

Breaking Point (•••):

 One sure way to win a fight is to hit the
other guy so hard that he doesn’t get back up, even if that means losing a
weapon in the process. When making an all-out attack with an improvised weapon
acquired with Always Armed, you can reduce the weapon’s Structure by any amount
down to zero. Every two points of Structure spent in this way adds +1 to the
weapon modifier for that one single attack. Declare any Structure loss before
making the attack; this Structure is reduced even if the attack does no damage.

If
the weapon is reduced to zero Structure, it is automatically destroyed after
the attack. You can use this technique in conjunction with In Harm’s Way,
allowing you to parry an attack made on a higher Initiative and then go on the
offensive, provided that the weapon wasn’t destroyed.

### Light Weapons (Style, • to •••••)

Prerequisites: Wits ••• or Fighting Finesse, Dexterity •••,
Athletics ••, Weaponry ••

Effect: Your character is trained with small hand-to-hand weapons that
favor finesse over raw power. These maneuvers may only be used with one-handed
weapons that have a damage rating of 2 or less.

Rapidity (•):

Your
character moves with swiftness to find just the right spot to strike. You can
sacrifice your character’s weapon damage rating to add her Weaponry score to
her Initiative for the turn. The weapon becomes a 0 damage weapon for the
turn.

Thrust (••):

Your
character knows when to defend herself and when to move in for the kill. At any
time, you can sacrifice points of Defense one-for-one to add to attack pools.
This cannot happen if you’ve already used Defense in the same turn. If you use
this maneuver, you may not sacrifice your full Defense for any other reason.
For example, you cannot use Thrust with an all-out attack.

Feint (•••):

With
a flourish in one direction, your character can distract an opponent for a
cleaner, more effective follow-up strike. For example, if you Feint with a 2
damage weapon with three successes, the attack causes no damage. However, your
next attack ignores five points of Defense, and causes three extra points of
damage.

Flurry (••••):

Your
character moves quickly enough to stab opponents with numerous pricks and
swipes in the blink of an eye. As long as your character has her Defense
available to her (it’s not been sacrificed for another maneuver or denied from
surprise, for example), any character coming into her immediate proximity takes
one point of lethal damage. This damage continues once per turn as long as the
enemy stays within range and occurs on the enemy’s turn. This can affect
multiple opponents but cannot be used in a turn where the character is Dodging.

Vital Shot (•••••):

Your
character can use her smaller weapon to get past an opponent’s defenses and hit
where it hurts most. Sacrifice your character’s Defense for the turn to use
this maneuver. If the attack roll succeeds, the attack causes one point of
aggravated damage in addition to the damage rating of the weapon.

### Marksmanship (Style, • to ••••)

prerequisites: Composure •••, Resolve •••, Firearms ••

Effect: When prepared and aimed, a gun is an ideal killing machine.
Your character has trained to take advantage of the greatest features of any
gun. This Style is often used with rifles, but it can be used with any type of
firearm. Because of the discipline and patience required for Marksmanship, your
character cannot use her Defense in any turn in which she uses one of these
maneuvers. These maneuvers may only be used after aiming for at least one turn.

Through the Crosshairs (•):

Your
character is a competent sniper, able to sit in position and steel her wits. Usually,
the maximum bonus from aiming is three dice. With Through the Crosshairs, it’s
equal to her Composure + Firearms.

Precision Shot (••):

With
this level of training, your character knows how to effectively disable a
victim instead of focusing on the kill. When attacking a specified target, you
may reduce your weapon’s damage rating one-for-one to ignore penalties for
shooting a specified target. For example, if you’re using a sniper rifle (4
damage weapon), and attacking an arm (–2 to hit), you could choose to use 3
damage reduce that to –1, or 2 damage to eliminate the penalty entirely.

A Shot Rings Out (•••):

A
master sniper, your character has no worries or lack of confidence. She can
fire into a crowd and strike a specific target without penalty. If she misses,
it’s because her shot goes wide. She will never hit an unintended target.

Ghost (••••):

Your
character has trained to shoot unseen and vanish without a trace. Her Firearms
score acts as a penalty on any roll to notice her vantage point, or any
Investigation or Perception roll to investigate the area from which she shot.

### Martial Arts (Style, • to •••••)

Prerequisites: Resolve •••, Dexterity •••, Athletics ••,
Brawl ••

Effect: Your character is trained in one or more formal martial arts
styles. This may have come from a personal mentor, a dojo, or a self-defense
class. It may have been for exercise, protection, show, or tradition. These
maneuvers may only be used unarmed, or with weapons capable of using the Brawl
Skill, such as a punch dagger, or a weapon using the Shiv Merit.

Focused Attack (•):

Your
character has trained extensively in striking specific parts of an opponent’s
body. Reduce penalties for hitting specific targets by one. Additionally, you
may ignore one point of armor on any opponent.

Defensive Strike (••):

 Your character excels in defending herself
while finding the best time to strike. You can add one or two points to your
character’s Defense. For each Defense point you take, subtract a die from any
attacks you make. This can only be used in a turn in which your character
intends to attack. It cannot be used with a Dodge.

 Whirlwind Strike
(•••):

When
engaged, your character becomes a storm of threatening kicks and punches;
nothing close is safe. As long as your character has her Defense available to
her and is not Dodging, any character coming into arm’s reach takes 1B damage.
This damage continues once per turn as long as the enemy stays within range and
occurs on the enemy’s turn. If you spend a point of Willpower, this damage
becomes 2B until your next turn.

The Hand as Weapon (••••):

With this degree of
training, your character’s limbs are hardened to cause massive trauma. Her
unarmed strikes cause lethal damage.

Touch of Death (•••••):

Your
character’s mastery has brought with it the daunting power of causing lethal
injury with a touch. If she chooses, her unarmed strikes count as weapons with
2 damage rating.

### Police Tactics (Style, • to •••)

Prerequisites: Brawl ••, Weaponry •

Effect: Your character is trained in restraint techniques often used by
law enforcement officers. This may reflect formal training or lessons from a
skilled practitioner.

Compliance Hold (•):

Gain
a +2 bonus to overpowering rolls to disarm or immobilize an opponent.

Weapon Retention (••):

      Opponents attempting to disarm your
character or turn her weapon against her must exceed your character’s Weaponry
score in successes.

Speed Cuff (•••):

Against
an immobilized opponent, your character may apply handcuffs, cable ties, or
similar restraints as a reflexive action.

### Street Fighting (Style, • to •••••)

 Prerequisites:
Stamina •••, Composure •••, Brawl ••, Streetwise ••

Effect: Your character learned to fight on the mean streets. She may
have had some degree of formal training, but the methodology came from the real
world in dangerous circumstances. Street Fighting isn’t about form and grace.
It’s about staying alive. These maneuvers may only be used unarmed, with
weapons capable of using the Brawl Skill (such as punch daggers), or weapons
concealed with the Shiv Merit (above).

Duck and Weave (•):

Your
character has been beaten all to hell more than a few times. Now she dodges on
instinct, not on skill. You can reflexively take a one-die penalty to any
actions this turn in order to use the higher of her Wits and Dexterity to
calculate Defense. If you’ve already made a roll without penalty this turn, you
cannot use Duck and Weave.

Knocking the Wind Out (••):

Shots
to the center mass can shake an opponent, and your character knows this well.
When your character makes a successful unarmed attack, the opponent suffers a
–1 to his next roll.

Kick ‘Em While They’re Down (•••):

The
best enemy is one on the ground. Your character topples opponents and keeps
them down. Any time your successes on an attack roll exceed an opponent’s
Stamina, you may choose to apply the Knocked Down Tilt (p. 211). Additionally,
any time your character is close enough to strike when an opponent attempts to
get up from a prone position, she can reflexively cause 2B damage.

One-Two Punch (••••):

Your
character hits fast and follows through with every hit. Whenever she makes a
successful attack, you can spend a point of Willpower to cause two extra points
of bashing damage.

Last Ditch Effort (•••••):

In
a street fight, every second could be the one that kills you. A proficient
street fighter is a remarkable survivalist. She bites, headbutts, trips:
whatever it takes to prevent that last hit.

Any
time a character with this level of Street Fighting is about to take a hit or
an overpowering maneuver when she’s already suffering wound penalties, she can
reflexively spend a Willpower point and sacrifice her Defense for the turn to
make an attack against her would-be assailant. This can occur even if she’s already
acted in a turn, so long as she’s not already spent Willpower. Resolve this
attack before the opponent’s action.

### Unarmed Defense  (• to •••••; Style)

Prerequisites: Dexterity •••, Brawl ••, Defensive Combat:
Brawl

You’re better at stopping people from hurting you than you are at
hurting other people. Maybe you practice a martial art that redirects an
opponent’s blows, or else you’re just very good at not being where your
opponent wants you to be.

Like a Book (•):

You
can read your opponents and know where they’re likely to strike. When facing an
unarmed opponent and not Dodging, increase your Defense by half your Brawl
(round down).

Studied Style (••):

You
focus on reading one opponent, avoiding his attacks, and frustrating him.
Attacks from that opponent do not reduce your Defense. If your Defense reduces
his attack pool to 0, his further attacks against you lose the 10-again
quality.

Redirect (•••):

When
you’re being attacked by multiple opponents, you can direct their blows against
one another. When you Dodge, if your Defense roll reduces an attack’s successes
to 0, your attacker rolls the same attack against another attacker of your
choice. Drawback: You may only redirect one attack in a turn. You cannot redirect
an attack against the same attacker.

Joint Strike (••••):

You
wait until the last possible second then lash out at your opponent’s elbow or
wrist as he attacks, hoping to cripple his limbs. When Dodging, roll Strength + Brawl instead
of Defense. If you score more successes than your attacker, you deal one point
of bashing damage per extra success, and inflict either the Arm Wrack or Leg
Wrack Tilt (your choice). Drawback: Spend a point of Willpower to use this
maneuver.

Like the Breeze (•••••):

You
step to one side as your opponent attacks and give her enough of a push to send
her flying past you. When dodging, if your Defense roll reduces an opponent’s
attack successes to 0, you can inflict the Knocked Down Tilt. Drawback: You
must declare that you’re using this maneuver at the start of the turn before
taking any other attacks.