Country of Origin: Vendel
Salon: Kirk (Average)
Founded: 1662
Sanctioned: 1671

Description: In 1660, Jan Petersen’s brother-in-law Erik Kellman was killed in a duel with an Ambrogia Swordsman. Though he was a gifted Swordsman himself, Erik was ill-equipped to deal with the dirty tactics and double weapons his opponent used in the battle. Erik’s daughter Diana came to live with Jan as his ward, and Jan (himself a seasoned Swordsman) began to train her in the art of fencing, while simultaneously wondering why the supposedly superior and forward-thinking Swordsmen of Vendel had not followed suit with the continental dual-weapon styles. Jan resolved to address this issue himself, and he (along with his niece) developed this eponymous School.

Petersen relies on the use of a rapier in the dominant hand, with a main gauche in the other. It is known for its unique attack angles; where most Swordsmen find a line and attack along it, or (if they have a scholarly disposition), calculate an angle and attack along one side of it, Petersen Swordsmen are known to shift the directions of their attacks at the very last second, slicing through seemingly impossible angles with devastating feints. They are trained to use their daggers to intercept incoming attacks and to tie up their opponents’ weapons, taking away the ability to parry a Petersen Swordsman’s masterful strokes. The training regimen of this School often involves sparring against multiple opponents so that its students are prepared for anything.

The primary issue with this School is that its odd attack angles often leave an opening under the attacker’s sword arm which can be exploited by seasoned opponents. (This is why Petersen Swordsmen are trained to bind their opponents’ weapons with their daggers before attacking.)

Basic Curriculum: Fencing, Knife
Knacks: Bind (Knife), Exploit Weakness (Petersen), Feint (Fencing), Riposte (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: Students of Petersen are trained to use a rapier and main gauche simultaneously, and never suffer an off-hand penalty while using the two weapons in tandem. In addition, they receive a free Raise whenever they use Parry (Knife) as an Active Defense Knack.

Journeyman: While fancy tricks and deceptive bladework are a critical part of the Petersen Swordsman School, Journeymen have learned to abandon a Feint when it becomes apparent that an opponent is wise to the ploy. After making an Attack Roll using his Feint (Fencing) Knack, and before adding Drama Dice to the roll after the fact, the Journeyman may choose to abandon the Feint, turning it into an ordinary attack. Raises taken for the execution of the Feint (i.e., Raises equal to the opponent’s Wits) are discarded without effect, but any Raises taken solely for extra damage still apply. If the Attack Roll meets or exceeds the revised TN, the attack is successful.

Master: Masters of Petersen have perfected the art of the Feint, and are capable of changing the angle of an attack at the last possible moment, catching an opponent completely off guard and leaving him vulnerable to a devastating attack. The Master may choose to roll Wits + Attack (Fencing) instead of Finesse + Attack (Fencing) whenever he likes. Once he has made his Attack Roll, he may declare Raises after the fact to turn the attack into a Feint. After declaring a number of Raises equal to his opponent’s Wits, he may apply any extra Raises to further increase his Damage Roll. Drama Dice may not be added after the Attack Roll has been made, but any Drama Dice added before the Attack Roll function normally.

For example, a Petersen Master is attacking an opponent with a Passive Defense score of 20 and a Rank of 3 in Wits. He adds two Drama Dice prior to making a roll of Wits + Attack (Fencing), and rolls a 46: twenty-six higher than his Target Number, equivalent to five Raises. Three of them are used to turn the attack into a Feint, and two are used to add extra Unkept Dice to his Damage Roll, for a total of five Unkept Dice (+5k0, including three from the Feint per the revised rule above). This turns the Master’s 6k2 Damage Roll into 10k3, and the target cannot attempt an Active Defense against the attack.

Once the Master has used this trick, an opponent becomes more aware of the Master’s abilities and watches more closely going forward (at least until the Master lulls him back into a false sense of security). The Master may use this Technique only once per Round against any given opponent.