Country of Origin: Avalon (any member of the Heralds may learn Grigora for 25 HP regardless of nationality)
Salon: Wandesborow (Tiny)
Founded: 1632

Description: When the super-secretive organization known as the Heralds began sending its members out into Théah to search out lost lore and solve ancient mysteries, its leaders knew that they needed to prepare their agents to defend themselves against attack. For nearly two centuries, the Society’s martially-inclined members were trained in the Ischiros Swordsman School; however, as fighting techniques across Théah came to rely on the rapier, the School’s weakness against faster-moving opponents became more pronounced. This, combined with the oddity of carrying an antiquated longsword in “modern” Théah, led the Society’s leaders to turn once again to their store of knowledge and develop Grigora to compensate.

Grigora is a twin knife fighting style designed to wear down an opponent’s defenses with constant motion and a relentless barrage of attacks, setting him up for the coup de grâce. Grigora fighters dash, slide, and tumble around their opponents, dizzying them with their movements and raining a flurry of blows down upon them until they find a chink in their defenses. Once they do, they strike without mercy.

Unlike Ischiros, which focuses on strong attacks that inflict massive damage, Grigora relies on “death by a thousand cuts,” inflicting many small wounds that a stalwart opponent can easily withstand. By holding his position despite a number of small cuts, an opponent forces the Grigora fighter to close with him and attempt to step inside the opponent’s guard. With a shorter weapon than many opponents, this can spell death for a Grigora fighter.

Basic Curriculum: Acrobat, Knife
Knacks: Double Attack (Knife/Knife), Exploit Weakness (Grigora), Flurry (Knife), Sidestep, Whirl (Knife/Knife)

New Swordsman Knack: Flurry. When attacking an enemy, you can declare a Flurry. You roll Resolve + Flurry, and must roll a number of Raises equal to your enemy’s Resolve in order for your Flurry to be successful. If you are successful, he cannot avoid the attack using any Active Defense. The Raises taken on this roll add Unkept Dice to your damage roll as usual.

Apprentice: Students of Grigora are trained two use two long-bladed daggers (treat them as if they had the Blade Heavy modification) simultaneously, and to compensate for their unusual balance by developing their forearm strength. The off-hand penalty is negated when wielding two of these daggers, as is the typical penalty for wielding a Blade Heavy weapon.

As a secret knife style of the Heralds, Grigora will not be submitted to the Swordsman’s Guild for sanction. As a result, students of Grigora receive a free Rank in one of their Swordsman Knacks in lieu of Guild membership.

Journeyman: A storm of attacks is so integral to Grigora that its fighters train in the technique extensively, becoming better at it than any other fighters in Théah. The Journeyman gains a Free Rank in his Flurry (Knife) Knack. This may increase the Knack from a Rank of five to a six. If it doesn’t, a Grigora Fighter may increase his Rank in the Knack from a five to a six later by spending twenty-five Experience Points.

Master: As a Master, the Grigora fighter has learned a secret attack called a wraparound: if he misses with one strike, he deliberately overextends his weapon, then draws it back swiftly, slashing at the opponent’s back. If a Master fails to beat a target’s Passive Defense on a normal attack (with no Raises called), he may immediately spend a Current, Held, or Interrupt Action to make a wraparound attack. For this attack, the Master uses his Attack (Knife) Knack and the TN to hit the opponent is reduced to 5, but the Master’s Brawn does not add to his Damage Roll (typically 2k2) in any way. Raises may be taken on this roll to add Unkept Dice (+1k0) to the Damage Roll as usual.