Country of Origin: Madeira (the School may be learned for twenty HP if the character already knows Zepeda)
Salon: San Augustin (Average)
Founded: 1671
Sanctioned: 1672

Description: When Ranchos Zepeda and Torres (now the Duchies of Zepeda and Torres) seceded from Castille, King Victor I claimed the Schools of Torres and Zepeda as Madeiran ideals. Not content with two Schools to his nation’s credit when the remaining Ranchos of Castille had so many, the king ordered the refinement of Zepeda into a Swordsman School worthy of Guild sanction. Látigo was the result.

Látigo shares many of the characteristics of its parent style: the use of the whip as a tool of intimidation and defense, and the prevalence of special tricks using the rawhide weapon. However, Látigo has overcome the main weakness of Zepeda by shifting the whip to the off hand and wielding a rapier at the same time, allowing an aggressive defense should an opponent move within close range. Several of the School’s techniques combine the two weapons into a whirlwind of leather and steel.

A Látigo Swordsman avoids the weaknesses of Zepeda through the addition of a rapier, but the whip is still essential to the School’s many tricks. While the whip is not easy to ignore, it can be disarmed or, for that matter, cut. A cagey opponent will attack the whip rather than the sword, while constantly pressing forward to reduce the rawhide’s efficacy

Basic Curriculum: Fencing, Whip
Knacks: Corps-á-Corps, Disarm (Whip), Entangle (Whip), Exploit Weakness (Látigo), Tagging (Whip)

New Swordsman Knack: Entangle. This attack is designed to bind and confuse your opponent temporarily. In order to use it, you declare that you are using Entangle, then roll using this Knack to attack. If the attack is successful, it inflicts no damage, but forces your target to increase his next Action Die by one, plus one for every Raise you made. If this increases that Action Die beyond ten, the die is discarded. This is the same as the Entangle Knack found in the Whip Skill, but it is considered a Basic Knack for students of Látigo.

Apprentice: Apprentices of Látigo learn to fight with a rapier in their main hand, and a rawhide whip in their off hand. Despite this setup, the Apprentice strikes primarily with the whip and uses the sword for defense. The off-hand penalty is negated while wielding a rapier and whip in combination, and the Apprentice receives a free Raise on Active Defenses using Parry (Fencing) as his Defense Knack.

Journeyman: While disarming an opponent using a whip is relatively simple for any experienced fighter, Journeymen of the Látigo School have learned to follow up immediately with a rapier strike while their opponent is defenseless. After successfully disarming an opponent, the Journeyman may immediately make a normal rapier attack without spending an Action Die.

Master: While whips on their own do not cause a great deal of damage, they can prove to be deadly weapons in the right hands. A Master may Roll and Keep one extra Damage Die (+1k1) when attacking with his whip, making it a 1k2 weapon. In addition, Masters have learned how to maneuver around an entangled enemy to make their rapier attacks more precise. After successfully using his Entangle Knack against an opponent, any rapier attacks a Master makes against that opponent before the end of the Round receive a free Raise on the attack roll. If an opponent is Entangled more than once, these Raises are cumulative.