Country of Origin: Vodacce
Salon: Dionna (Average)
Founded: 1612

Description: In the wake of the deadly earthquake that hit Dionna in 1609, crime grew rampant, and many innocent (well, as innocent as one can be in Dionna) lives were lost to particularly aggressive looters. The medical school at Dionna University was hit particularly hard, as dedicated medical students, attempting to save as many lives as possible and preserve as much of their valuable equipment and supplies as they could, were cut down by desperate addicts looking for their next fix of ethera, or by simple ruffians searching for something they could sell for am easy handful of senators.

As the University was rebuilt, the heads of the medical school vowed that such a waste of life would never occur again. They commissioned one of their more advanced students (a young noble who had survived the carnage by virtue of his training in Ambrogia) to develop a fighting style that could be used by any medical student armed with a scalpel to defend himself in an emergency. Another particularly enterprising (and ruthless) student realized that a stiletto would also work with this fighting style, so there are usually one or two “faux” students who coerce, bribe, or defraud their way into every graduating class at the University, dropping out when they have learned all they can about the Ramazzini style.

Ramazzini is entirely about blade control: there is very little room for error when fighting with a weapon as small as a scalpel, so movements are kept simple and most attacks are made with surgical (if one will pardon the pun) precision. A style of last resort, Ramazzini also incorporates the occasional wild lunge designed to disable an attacker who has been nicked to death by the scalpel.

With its small, thin blade, a scalpel (or, for that matter, a stiletto) offers little in the way of defense. It is notoriously hard to parry with such a small weapon, and the style’s lack of movement can make a Ramazzini fighter a sitting duck against a wise opponent.

Basic Curriculum: Doctor, Knife
Knacks: Disarm (Knife), Exploit Weakness (Ramazzini), Lunge (Knife), Razor (Knife), Tagging (Knife)

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.

Apprentice: Students of Ramazzini learn that their strength lies in the skill with which their weapons are used, not in how much power is put behind them. A Ramazzini fighter adds Unkept Dice equal to his Finesse, rather than his Brawn, to his weapon’s Damage Rolls. In addition, he may add his Rank in Surgery to all Attack Rolls, but only while using a scalpel.

Because Ramazzini is not sanctioned by the Swordsman’s Guild, its students receive a free Rank in the Surgery Knack of the Doctor Skill in lieu of Guild membership.

Journeyman: Journeymen of Ramazzini learn to disarm an opponent not by striking at his weapon, but at his hand or wrist. Whenever he successfully uses Disarm (Knife) against an opponent, he deals one Kept Die (1k1) damage to that opponent, plus one additional Unkept Die (+1k0) for every five full points by which he exceeded his opponent’s TN to be hit. Thus, if his Disarm roll was eleven higher than his opponent’s TN to be hit, he would inflict 3k1 damage on his opponent. This Damage Roll is not increased by any of the Ramazzini fighter’s Traits.

Master: A Master of Ramazzini has learned to strike at muscle groups or nerve centers that cause immense pain for the target (at least until he can shake off the effects). Whenever the Master inflicts a a Dramatic Wound on an opponent, the opponent suffers a penalty of two Unkept Dice (-2k0) on all rolls (except Damage Rolls and Wound Checks) until the end of the Round. No opponent may be affected by this technique more than once per Round, no matter how many Dramatic Wounds he sustains.