Country of Origin: Castille
Salon: Malaca (Small)
Founded: 1665

Description: Juliana Medrano was a mediocre Swordswoman: a Gallegos-trained Journeyman who was expelled from the salon (but not the Guild) when she ended a lengthy duel against a superior training partner with a desperate knee to the groin. Infuriated, Juliana began developing her own School of fencing…one which embraced “alternate tactics” as a suitable means to an end.

On its surface, Medrano seems like a proper fencing style with a strong defensive stance, a reliance on classical fencing technique, and a veneer of respectability. That image falls apart as soon as combat begins, however, as it is only a matter of time before an opponent who is expecting a civilized contest of arms falls prey to a head butt, an eye rake, or a low kick. These commonly illegal maneuvers typically come out of nowhere: just as an opponent is preparing to defend against a strike to his chest, the Swordsman may shift position and bash him in the nose with his basket-hilted rapier.

While these sudden, dirty tactics make Medrano a very successful School, those who have studied it or encountered it before have learned to expect these tactics and are seldom surprised by them. Taking away that element weakens the offensive potential of the School while simultaneously providing hints when an attack is forthcoming and the Swordsman’s defensive stance is going to be abandoned.

Basic Curriculum: Dirty Fighting, Fencing
Knacks: Disarm (Fencing), Exploit Weakness (Medrano), Feint (Fencing), Pommel Strike (Fencing), Riposte (Fencing)

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 Medrano learn to fight in a defensive stance, with their side towards the opponent and the tip of their sword circling slowly, ready to intercept any attack. The Apprentice may add his Mastery Level in Medrano to his TN to be hit whenever he is using his Parry (Fencing) Knack to determine his Passive Defense. In addition, he never suffers an off-hand (or off-foot) penalty for using any Knack in the Dirty Fighting Skill while fighting with a rapier in his main hand.

For several years, the Swordsman’s Guild refused to sanction Medrano because it was seen as a dirty, “street fighting” School (primarily by Linnae Knute). With Knute removed from power in the Guild, it may or may not be a matter of time before Maestra Medrano is invited to resubmit her School for consideration. Until then, her students receive a free Rank in one of their Swordsman Knacks in lieu of Guild Membership.

Journeyman: Once a Medrano Journeyman has successfully executed a Feint, he leaves his opponent overextended and vulnerable to a nasty low kick. After successfully completing an attack using his Feint Knack, the Journeyman may spend an Action (even if it is not legal) to attempt a Kick against his opponent. For this Kick attack only, the opponent’s TN to be hit is reduced to five. The Journeyman may only attempt this Technique against any given opponent once per Round.

Master: Masters of Medrano have learned to stun their opponents with a head butt before following up with a rapier thrust that is all but guaranteed to finish him off. If the Master successfully hits an opponent with a Head Butt (remember that being Grappled is no longer a prerequisite for using the Head Butt Knack), Raises for damage called on the next rapier attack he makes in the same Phase add Kept Dice (+1k1) instead of Unkept Dice to the Damage Roll if the attack is successful. The Master may use this Technique in conjunction with his Swordsman Knacks, if he wishes.