Country of Origin: Cathay
Dojo: Pei Lin (Average)
Founded: 553 AUC

Description: Kuaisiu Daopian combines a variety of sword attacks for offense with soft martial arts moves for defense. The sword used by this School is the jian, a straight double-edged weapon of great flexibility, associated with nobles and scholars. Students practice their moves in slow motion, observing their positions carefully to weed out imperfections in their technique.

In fact, the only full-speed experience many practitioners get in using their style comes during actual combat, so some have trouble adjusting to the quickened tempo.

Basic Curriculum: Fencing, Soft Martial Arts
Knacks: Disarm (Fencing), Exploit Weakness (Kuaisiu Daopian), Feint (Fencing), Lunge (Fencing), Tagging (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: The Apprentice learns a series of thirteen different stances, all designed to flow effortlessly into one another and protect him from harm. He receives a Free Raise to Active Defense rolls when using Footwork as his Defense Knack. In addition, he learns the Bu Shu or Catching the Mouse technique, where he slips inside an opponent’s guard and relies on grappling techniques and leverage to strip his weapon. He may make use of his Disarm Knack even if his own weapon is sheathed or lost.

The Apprentice gains a free Rank in one of his Swordsman Knacks in lieu of free Membership in the Swordsman’s Guild.

Journeyman: A Journeyman has perfected a new technique: the Mi Jian or Secret Sword Hand, in which he extends his free hand to hide the point of his blade. When attempting a Feint, he receives a number of Free Raises equal to his Mastery Level in this School.

Master: Masters have perfected the She Yan Shi (Shooting Wild Geese) stance, in which the Swordsman holds the jian at a specific position and angle reminiscent of an arrow being aimed at flying birds. This allows him to lunge and place his entire body’s weight behind the blade. When he makes a Lunge, he keeps the two extra dice of damage, increasing the damage bonus for a Lunge from +2k0 to +2k2.