Mariner Combat (sage ability)

Mariner Combat is an authority-status sage ability in the study of Physical Balance, providing the ability to move more efficiently and fight more effectively when partly submerged in water. Even a little water depth can significantly affect a combatant’s mobility, altering the speed of movement, the stability of a stance, and the force behind each strike. The deeper a person wades, the more resistance they face, slowing footwork, making sudden direction changes difficult, and reducing the force of blows. At knee-depth, movement is hindered but manageable; at waist-depth, progress slows considerably, while chest-deep water forces a fighter into nearly half-speed movement. In neck-high water, footing is all but lost, and fighting is reduced to awkward lunges and grapples, often requiring active effort just to stay afloat.

Characters with this ability have learned to shift their weight subtly, using the water’s buoyancy to aid movement rather than hinder it. Instead of forcing through the resistance, they angle their legs and arms to slip through more efficiently, keeping a low center of gravity when possible or adopting a looser, more fluid stance when forced into deeper water. In combat, their strikes are shorter and more controlled, wasting no motion against the drag of the surrounding liquid.

Movement Action Point Cost in Water Depths

Water Depth	AP Cost per Hex
ankle-deep	2
knee-deep	3
waist-deep	4
chest-deep	5
neck deep	7

Through a combination of practiced footwork, awareness of water’s force, and finely tuned balance, those who possess this ability move through flooded terrain, rivers, and shorelines with less delay than their untrained counterparts. While still affected by the depth, they suffer less from its penalties, maintaining greater mobility and control where others would falter.

See also,
Underwater Combat (sage ability)