Country of Origin: Castille
Salon: Altamira (Average)
Founded: 1639
Sanctioned (Swordsman’s Guild): 1645

Description: Arturo Nieto was a Master of the Gallegos School and a gifted Swordsman who participated in almost fifty duels and was never defeated. Many people attributed this feat to the superior training provided by Gallegos, but those who observed the duels could see that Arturo was using more than just the Techniques taught at that salon. Arturo had quietly created his own style of fencing and combined it with his Gallegos training; the result was devastating to his opponents Once word of the combined Techniques got out and the “secret” style was no longer a secret, Arturo submitted it for sanction to the fledgeling Swordsman’s Guild and it was unanimously approved.

Once he had Guild sanction, Arturo began criticizing the Gallegos School as being “too flashy” and lacking in techniques for controlling a battlefield (or an opponent). After a very successful tenure operating his salon in Altamira, Arturo passed away early in 1669 and leadership of this School passed on to his daughter, Sofia (who takes a much less aggressive and more tolerant view of Gallegos).

Nieto represents the pinnacle of elegant (and precise) swordplay. Its practitioners move with unmatched grace, parrying blows and counterattacking with swift thrusts of their rapiers. While useful in an all-out brawl, Nieto truly shines in one-on-one combat, where the Swordsman’s skill with his blade allows him to make sudden attacks against less-nimble foes and to severely wound opponents with particularly well-placed thrusts of his weapon.

Studying Nierto instills a certain arrogance in in its students: this is the School that thought Gallegos was “too flashy,” after all. Even an Apprentice of Nierto believes he is in complete control of any combat. A dirty trick, unexpected maneuver, or sudden Feint or Flourish can throw a Nierto Swordsman off his game and leave him open to attack.

Basic Curriculum: Athlete, Fencing
Knacks: Charge (Fencing), Exploit Weakness (Nieto), Feint (Fencing), Razor (Fencing), Riposte (Fencing)

New Swordsman Knack: Razor. You have studied basic anatomy, and mastered the art of blade control to take full advantage of your studies. As a result, when you strike with a weapon, you inflict precise, extremely painful wounds. For every Rank you have in this Knack, you may add one to your Damage Rolls with an appropriate weapon.

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 Nieto have begun to perfect their footwork, and they learn to maneuver themselves into position for a quick attack every chance they get. The Apprentice may benefit from his Charge Knack at the beginning of every Round of combat, not just the first.

Journeyman: At this level of Mastery, the student of Nieto has learned to present a canny, even elaborate, defense at all times. The Journeyman may add five to his TN to be hit regardless of the Knack used to determine Passive Defense.

Master: A Nieto Master has such precise control of his blade that he may effectively chose where to strike, and how much damage to inflict. Anytime the Master would inflict one or more Dramatic Wounds on an opponent, he may elect not to inflict that Wound or Wounds and choose to inflict one of the following effects instead:

1. The Master may strike a vital part of the opponent’s arm, reducing the opponent’s Brawn by one (to a minimum of one) until the end of the Scene, or
2. the Master may strike a vital part of the opponent’s leg (Nieto Swordsmen are tremendous fans of the Coup de Jarnac), reducing the opponent’s Finesse by one (to a minimum of one), or
3. the Master may open a bleeding wound somewhere on the opponent’s body; every time the opponent takes an Action (or every minute out of combat), he sustains three Flesh Wounds.

Each of the above conditions lasts until the opponent receives assistance from someone with the Surgery Knack (against a TN of 20). First Aid will not be enough to remedy any of these conditions. Once the Master has chosen which condition to inflict, the opponent’s Flesh Wound total resets to zero.