Country of Origin: Madeira
Salon: Barcino (Average)
Founded: 1671

Description: When Don Victor Torres led the secession of Ranchos Torres and Zepeda from Castille, he tried mightily to lure the Soldano family (and specifically the Maestro of the Soldano Swordsman School) to his cause, promising them vast tracts of land in what would become the Duchy of Torres. His efforts rebuffed, the newly-minted King of Madeira commissioned one of his lieutenants, Benedita Trovão (a Master of Soldano), to develop her own, exclusively Madeiran, dual-rapier style to counter the Soldano School.

Lieutenant Trovão was only too pleased to resign her commission in the army, spending long hours in solitude developing a School based on the speed inherent in the rapier. Trovão involves twirling both rapiers in a figure-eight pattern, sending them snapping outward at predetermined points along the pattern to strike, either singly or in tandem. The key is to keep the rapiers moving rapidly in order to cut as many times, with as much force and aggression, as possible. Most often, the cuts are aimed at the upper body, though Trovão allows for occasional low strikes intended to trip an opponent up and possibly send him crashing to the ground. The twirling of the blades also forms a web of steel that protect the Swordsman from a variety of attacks.

The main weakness of the Trovão School lies in its attack pattern. A seasoned opponent will quickly deduce the variation of the figure-eight being used against him, preparing to defend against strikes he knows will be coming and counterattacking when the Trovão Swordsman is most vulnerable based on the positioning of his weapons.

Basic Curriculum: Athlete, Fencing
Knacks: Corps-á-Corps, Double Attack (Fencing/Fencing), Exploit Weakness (Trovão), Lunge (Fencing), Wall of Steel (Fencing/Fencing)

Revised Swordsman Knack: Wall of Steel. Your weapon is an ever-present blocking device, and you use it like a tortoise uses its shell. If you have not attacked yet this Round, then each Rank of this Knack increases your TN to be hit by two. You cannot use your Parry Knack with the relevant weapon for Active Defenses in any Phase where you benefit from this Knack.

Apprentice: Students of Trovão are trained to fight with a rapier in each hand and to defend themselves at all times. The off-hand penalty is negated when fighting with a second rapier, and the Swordsman receives a free Raise to any Active Defenses he attempts using the Parry (Fencing) Knack.

The Trovão School is a recent creation, and its Maestra has not yet had the opportunity to submit it to the Swordsman’s Guild for sanction. Until that happens, Apprentices receive a free Rank in one of their Swordsman Knacks in lieu of Membership in the Guild.

Journeyman: A Trovão Journeyman learns to strike low with a series of attacks that sends an opponent backpedaling and sometimes tripping over his own feet. Thus, a Corps-á-Corps attack is made with flashing blades rather than a body-to-body press. When a Trovão Swordsman successfully executes a Corps-á-Corps attack, the damage inflicted (in addition to being knocked prone) is 2k2 instead of 0k1. This Damage Rating is not increased by the Swordsman’s Brawn, but he may call Raises on the attack roll to add Unkept Dice (+1k0) to his Damage Roll as usual.

Master: When the Master of Trovão executes a Lunge, he has learned to strike with both of his rapiers: one cuts high, and one cuts low. When attempting a Lunge, the Master may choose to take two Raises on his attack roll. If the roll is successful, the Raises add two Kept Dice (+2k2) to the Damage Roll. This is in addition to the two Unkept Dice (+2k0) added to the Damage Roll for executing the Lunge. The Master may take additional Raises to increase his Damage Roll, but only the first two add Kept Dice; any other Raises add Unkept Dice (+1k0) as usual.

For example, Maestra Benedita Trovão, with a Brawn of 3, attempts a Lunge against Juan Francisco Soldano. If she declares two Raises, and her attack succeeds, her total Damage Roll would be 9k4. If she had called for a third Raise and been successful on her Attack Roll, the Damage Roll would have been 10k4 instead.