Country of Origin: Avalon
Salon: Luthon (Average)
Founded: 1555
Sanctioned (Swordsman’s Guild): 1655

Description: In 1549, Geoffrey Donovan wrote A Treatise on Proper Defense. It was part fencing manual, part defense of the smallsword-and-buckler School he and his Master Jacob Edwards had developed, and part indictment of the modern rapier styles favored by mainland Swordsmen. It was the latter part to which Ida Lovelace, descended from proud Montaigne bloodlines, took offense. A gifted duelist, though untrained at a formal salon, Ida began developing her own Swordsman School with the intent to challenge Donovan to a duel…and defeat him soundly. Unfortunately, Geoffrey Donovan retired before Ida could perfect her own School, and as a woman in a field dominated by men (at least at the time), she found it difficult to drum up students and create a legacy capable of rivaling Donovan’s. Nevertheless, her daughters kept her dream alive, passing the School down to their children, and their children after them. After several generations, the School came to the attention of Veronica Ambrogia who, recognizing that Ida Lovelace had been a pioneer in the study of fencing, arranged for the School to petition for (and receive) Guild sanction to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding.

Conceived as a defensive School, Lovelace operates primarily through subterfuge, deception, and knowledge of one’s opponents. Lovelace students acknowledge that a skilled Swordsman relies increasingly on his weapon skills, sometimes even to the detriment of his natural talent. By removing that foundation, a practitioner of this style renders his foe vulnerable and learns to avoid the same pitfall himself.

As a defensive School, Lovelace is also a reactive School, which responds poorly to those who do not follow a rigorous fending methodology. By changing one’s stance and attack line frequently, even if it means abandoning one’s Swordsman training, an opponent can outwit (and possibly outmatch) a Lovelace Swordsman.

Basic Curriculum: Athlete, Fencing
Knacks: Disarm (Fencing), Exploit Weakness (Lovelace), Feint (Fencing), Riposte (Fencing), Sidestep

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: A Lovelace student knows that every Swordsman School teaches its students to look at their surroundings in a particular way. By observing where an opponent focuses his attention, you can stay in his “blind spot.” After successfully executing a Feint against an opponent, the student’s TN to be hit by that opponent is increased by twice his Mastery Level in Lovelace until the end of the Round. This Technique may only be used against any given opponent once per Round, though the Swordsman may benefit from this Technique against more than one opponent at a time.

Journeyman: Journeyman of Lovelace have learned to focus their skill at both feinting and countering feints to the point of flawless execution. When attempting a Feint, or when a Feint is being attempted against him, the Journeyman’s Rank in Wits is considered one higher than his actual Rank.

Master: Masters of Lovelace have learned to turn their opponents’ skills against them: the stronger their stance, the weaker they become. The Master receives a bonus to all Attack Rolls (including the use of his Swordsman Knacks), Damage Rolls, and Active Defense rolls equal to twice an opponent’s Mastery Level in whatever Swordsman School or Fighting Style he is using against the Master. These bonuses are cumulative with any bonuses granted by the Master’s Rank in Exploit Weakness Knacks corresponding to the opponent’s School or Fighting Style.