Cruel Mercy - To the Pain

[Traskus]

Cruel Mercy – Alternate to Tiger Claw

Defeating an opponent doesn’t always mean killing them. At least, not right away. The Cruel Mercy discipline teaches that killing your opponent on the field is meaningless. The best way to defeat your opponent is to first best them, then take them away for a public execution later.

The key skill of Cruel Mercy is Performer, making a show of your victory and ensuring your opponent knows they have lost. Actual kills are performed in arenas before massive crowds that cheer for you. Chain weapons are the most commonly used weapons in the school of Cruel Mercy, demanding excellent control over the weapon to non-fatally hurt them. Cruel Mercy is an unpopular school, its goals and methods wholly at odds with one another.


Lv 1: Apprentice
Weapon (Chain): Use chain weapons with your martial maneuvers.
Action (All-Out Attack): Use All-Out Attack actions in martial maneuvers.


Lv 2: Initiate
(-2) Sheathed Claw: This attack must be performed with a weapon with the Tearing property. That weapon loses the Tearing property for this attack.
(1) Heavy Paw: This attack gains the Benign property.


3: Journeyman
(-1) Skill (Performer): As part of this attack, make a Performer test against the static defense of the target. If it fails, the attack fails.
(1) Cruel Mercy: If the target is suffering from a status condition (blood loss, fire, etc.), you may end it as part of this attack.


Lv 4: Master
Mastery (Lightning Smack): Upon entering melee with an opponent, you may attempt to disarm them as a free action in the first round.
(3) Tearing Suture: If this attack hits, it deals an extra wound after damage calculation.


Lv 5: Grandmaster
(3) Subduing the Honored Foe: Anything that is reduced to 5 critical damage by this attack is killed unless they burn a Hero point, even if they would normally not be in danger of death (for example, using R damage on a vampire).