Country of Origin: Vodacce
Salon: Numa (Large)
Founded: 1660
Sanctioned: 1664

Description: When the Numanaius School made its resurgence in 1659, a number of Vodacce Swordsmen felt that resurrecting the archaic fighting style was an affront to “modern” sensibilities. They believed that swordplay had evolved beyond single-weapon techniques, and that there was nothing a relic of a School like Numanaius had to offer. The most vocal of these opponents was a man named Giordano Riccati; for whatever reason, he took such great offense that he created a rival style, relying on the modern practice of fighting with a rapier and knife in combination.

The Riccati School often attracts Swordsmen with tendencies towards elitism. They insist on carrying the finest quality weapons, often overseeing their construction to ensure that no flaw will later impinge on their combat abilities. Duels between Riccati and Numanaius Swordsmen are common and particularly violent, while combats pitting one Riccati Swordsman against another are usually conducted with a great deal of respect.

Opponents learn to fear the flashing rapier and ever-present dagger that mark this School, but recognize that attacking the off-hand side directly tends to take the dagger out of play and undermine the Riccati Swordsman’s efforts.

Basic Curriculum: Fencing, Knife
Knacks: Disarm (Fencing), Exploit Weakness (Riccati), Feint (Fencing), Lunge (Fencing), Whirl (Fencing/Knife)

Revised Swordsman Knack: Feint. When attacking an enemy, you can declare a Feint. You roll Wits + Feint, and must roll a number of Raises equal to your enemy’s Wits in order for your Feint 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: As an Apprentice, students of Riccati learn to block with their off-hand knife rather than their rapier, leaving their primary weapon available to attack. The Apprentice suffers no penalty when wielding a knife of any sort in his off hand. In addition, so long as the Apprentice is using Parry (Knife) as his Defense Knack, he may add his Mastery Level in Riccati to his TN to be hit (even after a Lunge). If he chooses to attack with his dagger at any point, he loses this benefit for the rest of the Round.

Journeyman: Riccati Journeymen have learned a secret technique that allows them to strike at one part of an opponent’s body, only to reverse direction at the last minute to strike somewhere else with great force. The Journeyman may combine his Feint and Lunge Knacks into a single attack; he must take a number of Raises equal to his opponent’s Wits, as usual for a Feint, but he makes the attack using his Lunge Knack. If successful, the Journeyman gains the bonus associated with both Knacks on his Damage Roll, and the opponent may not Actively Defend against the attack. Furthermore, while the Journeyman’s TN to be hit is reduced as usual for a Lunge, he may still make Active Defenses using Parry (Knife) while he is vulnerable.

Master: Masters of Riccati have learned to take advantage of the slightest error made by their opponents, striking them down with a rain of blows whenever they become distracted. Whenever the Master successfully hits with a rapier attack, he may immediately make a follow-up attack with his dagger. When using this technique, the opponent does not make a Wound Check until after the follow-up attack is resolved.