Physical Balance (sage study)

Sometimes, combatants have to sustain their attacks under unusual circumstances.

Physical balance describes the practice of conserving equilibrium and maintaining a stable, upright position. In fighting, characters gain a superior ability to maintain their defense, keeping their knees flexed and their feet about shoulder-width apart. Characters also learn how to recognize faults in the enemy's balance, so they know how to move in order to exploit those weaknesses.

Training includes making the most of the character's strength, flexibility, intuition and overall fitness, in order to build courage, confidence and self-discipline. In part, the study grants exemptions to certain combat rules, enabling the character to move and shift on a battlefield in a manner that's different from other combatants.

Amateur

• Balance Load: decreases the penalty of encumbrance against the character.
• Defense I: the character's natural armour class is improved by 2 pts., to AC 8, when the character wears no armour at all.
• Flexibility: provides multiple benefits from the character's overall balance in fighting.
• Stand Ground: when overbearing or being overbeared, the character's weight is counted as 50% higher than it actually is.

Authority

• Defense II: improves the character's armour class overall.
• Dropping Weight: when attacking an enemy that has been stunned the round before, the character is able to use his body mass to increase the momentum of the next strike, causing an additional 2 hit points of damage if the hit is made.
• Leap: enables the character to jump a distance of two hexes while in combat (1 AP); a backwards leap cannot be made.
• Safe Position: when fighting three or more combatants simultaneously, the character is able to take a position within the hex where one of his enemies will be unable to attack. The same ability also gives a +2 armour class bonus against enemies using weapons shorter than 4 ft. long.

Expert

• Bob & Weave: so long as it's not done upon two consecutive rounds, the character may forego the movement penalty for moving out of a melee hex.
• Bound: enables the character to jump a profound distance of three hexes while in combat (2 AP); a backwards leap of two hexes can be made (1 AP).
• Like a Rock: when overbearing or being overbeared, the character's weight is counted as double what it actually is.

Sage

• Float Vault: enables the character to spring forward five hexes through the air, so long as some surface is touched mid-journey — such as the head or shoulder of an enemy, for example (3 AP).

See Also,
Assassin Sage Abilities
Fighter Sage Abilities
Paladin Sage Abilities
Ranger Sage Abilities