Weaponmaster

In the distant past, warriors learned that the act of conflict would generate an energy called d'qiarsea, a form of Damaskian power that would allow them, their weapons, and their armies to grow stronger, faster, and more capable of warcraft. Though the energy has been applied to conflicts of many kinds throughout the Ages, it remains at its heart an energy of war. It takes no sides in war - right or wrong, oppressor or oppressed, just or unjust - but forms when two blades lock, when bullet hits flesh, when shield deflects arrow, when bomb destroys wall, when fist meets bone. In training exercises, it was found in the early days that even sparring or other forms of practice combat would generate the energy as well, and soon, it was discovered that turning these into special rituals allowed the warriors to tap into the energy to improve themselves. Thus were founded the first weaponmasters, as they honed their abilities with their specific weapons to become supernaturally excellent with them.

Weapon of Choice

Every weaponmaster has a specific weapon they focus on. While use of a specific kind of sword can translate into many other kinds of swords, after their first year of training, a weaponmaster will always be better at their specific variety chosen. For instance, they learn to use broadswords rather than just swords, or ngaos instead of polearms, or recurved bows instead of bows, etc. So while a khopesh-user might share similar skillsets with a tulwar-user, the prowess substat for a khopesh-master will be higher than their skill for using any other slashing blade. They will still have a higher skill in the tulwar or falchion than the rapier or longsword, however.

Weapon Types

Weapons exist in two broad categories: melee and missile. Up-close, hand-held vs. projectiles. They further split between these two by methods and forms, but there also exists categories across each of these for the types of damage done. All of this factor into the rituals and arts of a weaponmaster. Below are some (but not all) examples:

Damage Types

• Slashing: chopping, heavy-edged weapons that usually leave large wounds. Edged swords and kinives (khopeshes and machetes), axes, claws, etc.
• Slicing: fine-edged weapons that cut deeper but can leave smaller wounds. Sharper. Katanas, cutting whips, razors, etc.
• Piercing: pointed weapons. Can penetrate deeply if well targeted, better delivery of poisons or other chemicals. Arrows, spears, darts, needles, pointed bullets, etc.
• Ripping/tearing: weapons that take hold or otherwise cause extra damage that pulls out more than the entry wound implies. Fangs, claws, serrated weaponry, some spiked weaponry, barbed weapons, etc. Shrapnel sometimes fits here, sometimes one of the above. Hollow point bullets, spinning blades, etc. also apply here.
• Bashing: blunt instruments. Concussive damage. Thud, bang, slap. Clubs, hammers, concussion bombs, punches, stones. Cannonballs are technically this, but at such velocity that they cause bodily destruction not unlike slashing. Rounded bullets as well.
• Grappling: more stun than wound. Whips, chains, lassos that bind but cause fewer wounds.
• Fire: heat damage. Torches, bombs, fire breath, etc.
• Electrical: shocking damage. Tasers are the commonest mundane form, but esoteric lightning attacks are common.
• Poison: considered by most weaponmasters to be a coward's weapon, but more broadly applies to any weapon that hit the internal systems of a target.
• Acid: burning fluids. Rarely used, but requires a separate skillset.
• Multi: many weapons' damage varies by how a weapon is used. A broadsword can slash or pierce. A mace may bash, but if it has spikes, it may pierce if quickly applied or rip/tear if raked. Whips obviously can be slicing or grappling, or if they are adorned, they can rip/tear. An electrified sword will do slashing, piercing, and/or electrical damage. And so on.

Many other categories exist, especially as esoteric effects are taken into account (frost, infernal, celestial, soul damage, mental attacks, petrifying, etc.).

A weaponmaster who specializes in the longbow and arrows will find their skills translate well to short bows, but less to crossbows, and even less to firearms. But there is still some crossover. A short bow user might find longbows translate less well due to the stronger pull, but still somewhat. A machete and an axe have a little crossover, but the weight of a battle axe will likely negate some of the bonuses for a machete-user. And so on. These variations are worked out between GM and player on a case-by-case basis.

Ritual Conflict

The rituals of conflict that generate and wield the d'qiarsea used by weaponmasters vary by weapon type, but they all contain the following:

• A defined space for the conflict. Usually, a circle, ring, field, or contest arena (i.e., archery butts or shooting targets).
• Initial spilling of one's own blood as a show of respect to one's opponent (even if said opponent is inanimate).
• A weapons display. If the conflict is a contest (i.e., two archers competing for best results rather than shooting one another), the conflict itself may be the display, but usually it's a sword or spear dance, gun spinning, etc.
• A battle cry, roar, or other loud (or clearly perceptible) display at the start of the first attack. Some kind of a display of ferocity.
• First strike is always a pulled-shot to be parried, dodged, or an intentional miss as a means of giving one's opponent a chance, proving the weaponmaster is no coward.
• True combat follows after all opponents have had their pulled-shot. During this, no blows may be pulled save for a killing blow, and then only if agreed to before hand. It is assumed to be a fight to the death unless otherwise stated, though it is almost always stated to be otherwise.
• If a group conflict is taking place with multiple people on each side, it is expected that weaponmasters will work very hard to protect, support, or avenge their side if one is injured, killed, stunned, knocked down, or disqualified.
• An official call of an end to the battle, as agreed upon beforehand. Most are simply timed by an observer. Some are to the death, to first blood, or to a number of points as determined by rules or a moderator. Or even for style.
• After the call is made to end, the surviving and conscious warriors must again spill blood to show respect. If they have open wounds, they may simply let them flow a moment. If doing this would cause the death of the warrior, they may simply bow.

At this time, if their combat met the criteria needed, the d'qiarsea is captured within the defined space. All participating (and surviving) warriors may then re-enter the space, touch the spilled blood, and absorb the power. However, in many such contests, it is agreed before hand that only the winner(s) will do this. When a warrior absorbs the power from the spilled blood, the blood vanished. In order to use the power, the warrior must be thinking of what they wish to improve about themself while doing it (adding to strength, speed, etc.). If they wish to improve a weapon (or armor or tool), they must touch the weapon (or armor or tool) to the blood. If the power is not absorbed within seven hours or before another ritual takes place there, it will dissipate.

Diversity

Sometimes, warriors may choose to include animals, plants, fungi, or other living things in the ritual combat with the intention of improving them afterward. The most common are steeds, messenger birds, or war dogs, but dryad or myconian warriors may include their antecedent organisms somehow. In order for this to work, the living thing must be active in the ritual conflict, not leave the space, obey the rules as best as possible, and give blood or flesh or leaf or pulp or similar as sacrifice before and after.

Warrior's Code

These rituals invoke the seven qualities of a great warrior:

1. Sharpness - skill with one's weapon (initial weapon display / true combat)
2. Ferocity - the strength of a bull (war cry / true combat)
3. Bravery - unflinching from conflict (initial pulled-shot / true combat)
4. Speed - the speed of a charging bull (true combat)
5. Wits - tactical thinking (true combat)
6. Fraternity - comraderie with one's fellow warriors (support for allies during the fight)
7. Respect - respect for one's enemies (spilling of one's own blood at start and end)

Typically, it is these areas warriors choose to improve after a ritual.

If these are all met during the ritual, the d'qiarsea will make the spilled blood glow a bright, burning red. Some actions can generate more d'qiarsea if done in certain ways: the better the display of weapon skill, the more intimidating the war cry, taking a handicap as a sign of bravery, using speed or wit more effectively, etc. The safer a ritual is, the less d'qiarsea it will produce; the fewer actions taken, the less it will produce. These two sometimes run counter to one another - a dangerous battle may end swiftly if the more danerous opponent proves how dangerous they are.

D'qiarsea Points

In game mechanics terms, every conflict action (hit/parry, hit/dodge, etc.) taken during the fight counts as a point of d'qiarsea to be absorbed afterward. If a warrior makes a special parry, dodge, or hit, an extra +1, and +2 for exceptional. If a warrior's weapon or armor are damaged, the extent of damage adds +1 per grade of damage (minor/tie, moderate/normal, significant/special, unrepairable/exceptional).

For the display of weapon skills, a quality roll is made - an extra point of d'qiarsea is produced per level above base (1-2 above gives +0, 3-5 above is +2, 6-10 above is +3) per warrior performance.

Similarly, if a warrior's war cry succeeds in intimidating their opponent (intimidation vs. WIL), the level of success provides further bonuses, but so does failure. If a war cry is laughed at or makes the enemy more confident, points of d'qiarsea are lost: exceptional failure (confidence +1 PRO bonus to enemy for one action) is -3; special failure (mockery -1 PRO penalty to warrior for one action) is -2; normal failure (no effect) is -1; tie (no effect) is +0; normal success (LNA to enemy) is +1; special success (LNA and -1 PRO for first action) is +2; and exceptional success (Lose Two Actions and -2 PRO for first two actions) is +3. Because warriors are almost always both performing war cries, they are often rolled against one another instead of against WIL.

The difference in skill, strength, and speed between warriors also affects the number of d'qiarsea points. A gap of +6 or more will add +1 to every conflict between those stats. For example, a warrior with PRO 13 vs. a warrior with ATH 9 will mean that every time the warrior with ATH 7 tries to dodge, there is a +1 to the points created by that action. This is somtimes exploited by warriors who take a handicap by fighting with a blunted or old or otherwise defective weapon or armor, tying hands behind their back, going in blindfolded, always doing called shots, allowing themselves to be wounded, drawing a deep wound on their initial sacrifice of blood, etc. Anything to expand the gap while prolonging the fight. (Adding to the gap by becoming much better than the opponent too often leads to battles ending quickly or failing because of too many pulled shots, though wearing or using better armor does sometimes help prolong things.)

If a warrior fails to help their fellow warriors when they could do so during a ritual conflict, they will lose points equal to the degree of hit, wound, or stun experienced by the fellow warrior (whichever is highest) - tie is no modifier; normal wound/stun/hit is -1; special is -2; exceptional is -3.

Yes, this is a lot of math, but the end results could be enormous gains for a warrior. The best matches tend to do things the old-fashioned way: equally skilled warriors engaging in a prolonged fight due to neither having an advantage. Counterattacks add up.

Limitations and Growth

When a weaponmaster absorbs the d'qiarsea from a ritual conflict and apply it to a stat, skill, ability, power, diversity, or object, the stat increases based on how much beyond the species/national base for that stat the warrior already is. For instance, an average human has an 8 PRO. If someone with this PRO participates in a ritual conflict successfully and takes up the d'qiarsea afterward, they will gain more than a human with 19 PRO. The scale is thus:

Modifier to Base	Increase Per D'Q Point
-7	+3
-6	+2
-5	+1
-4	+.5
-3	+1/3
-2	+1/4
-1	+1/6
0	+1/7
1	+1/14
2	+1/21
3	+1/28
4	+1/35
5	+1/42
6	+1/49
7	+1/56

And so on. The amount of d'qiarsea generated by skilled warriors becomes much more important, as they will gain very slowly if they do not generated enough in the ritual. Therefore, they make tweaks to the ritual as they become more skilled to increase danger, prolong the match, etc.

Most mortals cannot go above a 42 base, and very few can handle greater than 25.

Frequency

Weaponmasters in training have regular ritual matches in order to build their skills, but due to the physical damage done to them, they often have to take long breaks because magical healing will negate the effects of the d'qiarsea.

Materials

If some materials which inherently have d'qiarsea in them are used in these rituals, it can add to the amount produced. This varies greatly by material and object and how it is used. Examples include zuinande, Hynofian yew, samayagliheya, jarabjarg, ulaantsus, sainjeyanja, ged scales, turul feathers, 'Kanian lion fangs or claws or fur, giant bull leather or horns, etc.

Other Powers

Weaponmasters almost always improve themselves with the d'qiarsea, but the same rituals can be used to provide a war mage with power, for instance. War mages build up the d'qiarsea within themselves to unleash as fire, lightning, magical arrows, magical shields, etc. A weaponmaster may choose to do this as well, in rare cases, though this is rare and often only resorted to in times of dire need for some kind of more esoteric defense/attack.

Bloodfire

If a weaponmaster completes the ritual spilling of blood, war cry, and pulled shot before an actual combat rather than a ritual one, they can still produce some d'qiarsea. Once 6 points have been generated, if they can do so, they can touch their weapon or armor to the spilled blood and coat it with bloodfire, which is effectively just d'qiarsea in fire form, adding fire damage bonuses or esoteric defense bonuses and making the weapon or armor unbreakable.

Retrieval

A powerful weaponmaster may store some d'qiarsea to be able to call up their weapon, armor, steed, or other connected object when needed from any distance. This takes 6 d'qiarsea points, no matter how far it is teleported from.

Inventory

A weaponmaster becomes attuned to their own personal equipment through these rituals, giving them an edge when using them rather than someone else's or new ones.

Personal Weapon

Every weaponmaster eventually settles not just on a specific weapon type, but an individual weapon that they prefer. It is not uncommon for them to name their weapons. Weapons that do not have a repeated use (bombs, grenades, projectiles that cannot be recovered) are obviously not so personalized, though sometimes they hold one in reserve or as a "lucky charm" to represent the bond.

Weaponless

Some weaponmasters choose their fists, feet, body in general, or special powers such as breath weapon to master. In these cases, powers such as retrieval may actually be used to restore or heal the part or power in question.

Weapon Care

A weaponmaster's primary personal weapon must be cared for meticulously. Due to the added power of d'qiarsea, if the weapon is not well tended or given esoteric protections, it will fall apart faster, as it hits much harder or sees more use. Furthermore, a poorly maintained weapon can mean the weaponmaster fails to meet the standards necessary for ritual or maintaining d'qiarsea.

Armor

There are many individual and cultural variations in how weaponmasters approach armor. Some believe wearing nothing, not even clothes, makes them better weaponmasters. Others adhere to cultural armors or clothing such as samurai, knight, or minon. Others wear war paint, woad, oils, or just loincloths. Whatever their decisions is, a smart weaponmaster uses some of the d'qiarsea they gain from rituals to improve their defenses, even if it is just to toughen their skin or add esoteric properties to woad or shields.

Steed

Some weaponmasters require a steed for their chosen weapon or style. Horsebows and lances are examples. Others involve vehicles, such as chariots, or specialize in a style, such as aerial use of javelins. Sometimes, an animal or other being is the weapon, such as war dogs, though this is rare, as the connection needed is complicated and easier to do with other energies, such as nzwara murazvo or ethereal essence.

Variants

The term "weaponmaster" is a generic one. Most use terminology based on their weapon of choice (rapier-master, longbow-master, pike-master, etc.), usually in the local language. There are some places where specific kinds of weaponmasters have their own monasteries, clubs, or orders. But in terms of mechanics of how things work, the only variables are that some include use of mijjit or mansam or other bodily energies in order to improve other parts of themselves to become better warriors, though this is rare, as it takes the focus off the weapons. Some major cultural variations include

• Aixafador: a warhammer-master of Danuo, a special order of knights known for their incredible strength.
• Arbalist: crossbow-masters are found in many places, but in the Westlands of Jesenya, they are a much-sought after elite corps of mercenaries.
• Asizãla: a western Taggaran martial aritst who uses their hands, feet, and other body parts as their specialty.
• Bellona: in Gyrah, this group of all-female weaponmasters worship a feminine version of Kerknungr whom they call "Bellona", which is where they take the name for themselves. They have multiple orders, each focused on a different weapon or style: sword, spear, shield, torch, whip, and chariot.
• Broyer: a western Jesenyan morningstar-wielding weaponmaster who is often connected to a religious order.
• Cháng Bì: a Wuordonese master of the guan dao, a polearm, that is often made with one of the nine great metals.
• Csukakatona: an Idangarian weaponmaster who specializes in pikes and trains pikemen in the military.
• Ḍhālabiśēṣajña: a subcontinental Dabusenese master of shields and heavy armor.
• Easanghaliz': a weaponmaster in Mahad who uses a naboot or other heavy staves.
• Ēḍu Pan̄jālu: a master of the bagh nakha claw weapons in subcontinental Dabusen.
• Guerreiro Machado: one of the great masters of axes in western and central Jesenya.
• Icaliatl: central Palhuric weaponmaster who wields a machuahuitl club and generally is considered equal in society to the ocelotls in terms of respect as warriors.
• Jeonjaengnongbu: the Uruoese farmers who became weaponmasters in secret, learning to fight with their sickles and scythes, which became a tradition among them after the revolution.
• K̄hx Xỳāng Rwdrĕw: a master of the elephant goad from Nandja known for their elaborate initiations.
• Matador: in Danuo, bullfighters train via the same ritual conflict as weaponmasters, but they practice their fights with bulls.
• Piùluntanu: a Jesenyan weaponmaster who uses a partisan polearm and is one of the defenders of their island.
• S̄ār pheìm khwām yāw: northeastern Dabusenese wielders of ngao polearms who can make their weapons lengthen or shorten.
• Scáinteoir: a shillelagh-wielding weaponmaster from Lyrilla, often fey, who is known for their wandering adventures.
• Şeberatqış: a western Dabusenese siege-master.
• Skliróchéri: a master of the cestus in southern Ranu.
• Sunjk'akanjyanjka: in southern Palhur, the Oyate people hae several among their tribes who practice weaponmastery. The sunjk'akanjyanjka use horses as their weapons.
• Tetsunami: a master of the iron war fans of Tenzanai.

Skills

Some common skills include

• Smithing
• Fletching
• Armoring
• Animal Care
• Tactics
• Meditation
• First Aid/Medicine
• Nutrition
• Exercise
• History

Stats

Modifiers from the base of one's species/nation:

PRO +3 Weapon Type +5 Specific Weapon +7 Personal Weapon +8
ATH +5
STR +6
AWA +4
WIL +4
STH +/-2
PRS -2

Some weapons may require slight adjustments. A rapier-master will have more speed than strength. An archer more speed and perception. And so on.