Ascetic
A wandering ascetic of the old discipline, body and breath trained as one: quick, enduring, inward-turned.
| Role | Difficulty | Key stats | Hit points | Mana | Spells given |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fighter, bare hands | Normal | Dexterity, Willpower | 5 | 4 | none |
Plays like: Fights unarmed and unarmoured, quick on their feet, spending ki on extra blows and stuns.
Starts with: a quarterstaff (wielded, with Staff Fighter); a pair of leather gloves (being worn, with Brawler); a wool cloak (being worn); a frock (being worn); a pair of sandals (being worn); 3 apples; 7 copper coins (see Starting kit).
See also: Ki.
How to play
You fight with bare hands and kicks, in light clothes. Martial arts makes your bare blows roll 1d6 and gives you ki, and Flurry spends a point of it on a second blow with every attack. Ki comes back by itself, a point every 18 seconds. Keep your hands empty, and wear no body armour or shield: much of what your levels bring works only so. You are hard to pin down but not hard to hurt, so do not let a crowd surround you.
Levels
A bonus talent at levels 10, 20, 30, 45, 55, from Vigour or Finesse.
| Level | Ability | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martial arts | blows with nothing in hand and kicks roll 1d6; you hold Ki from now on |
| 1 | Flurry | free blow: a melee attack with nothing in hand strikes twice, the second blow at −2 to hit; each second blow of the flurry spends 1 ki; with less, there is none |
| 6 | Step of the wind | steps cost −10 % while in no body armour and with no shield; active, taking no time: a degree of Light-footed, so the next action, whatever it is, costs half its time; refused while you are Light-footed already; costs 1 ki |
| 12 | Stunning strike | active (the time of a melee attack), in a direction, nothing in hand: a bare-handed blow; a hit that does damage leaves 1 degrees of Stunned; costs 1 ki |
| 18 | Patient defence | active (the time of a wait): you are Poised until your next action; a melee blow you dodge (it misses by your Dexterity or Dodge) or parry meanwhile is answered with your blow at once (a riposte, a free blow); costs 1 ki |
| 25 | Still mind | every Willpower check +2; no status lowers your Intelligence; no status lowers your Willpower; active (Stillness), taking no time: whichever of Held, Engulfed, Swallowed, Latched, Pinned, Staggered, Stunned, Surprised, Transfixed, Frightened, Drowsy, Webbed, Stiffening you suffer ends at once; refused with none of them to end; costs 2 ki |
| 32 | Purity of body | you never catch a disease |
| 40 | Diamond soul | Deflection +2; a shot or throw (a trap’s too) that would hit you while you hold no weapon and no shield spends 1 ki by itself and misses, the missile falling at your feet; with less, it hits |
| 50 | Quivering palm | active (the time of a melee attack), in a direction, nothing in hand: a bare-handed blow; a hit that does damage leaves 3 degrees of Bleeding; costs 5 ki |
| 60 | Perfect self | blows with nothing in hand and kicks roll 1d8; threat range +1, critical multiplier +1 (at most ×5) with unarmed fighting; ki regeneration pace +100 % |
Abilities
The ascetic’s flurry, stunning strike, and quivering palm run on ki.
Martial arts gives you ki at level 1, full. You have 5 with Willpower 12, and more as your Willpower and your level grow.
Flurry (level 1) spends it. Every attack with nothing in your hands strikes a second blow, at −2 to hit, for a point of ki. With no ki left, the attack is a single blow.
Step of the wind (level 6) makes your steps 10 % quicker while you wear no body armour and carry no shield. For a point of ki, taking no time at all, it also leaves you light-footed: your next action, whatever it is (a step, a blow, a shot), takes half its time. It cannot be stacked. While you are light-footed already it is refused and costs nothing.
Stunning strike (level 12) costs 1 ki. It is a blow of your bare hand that leaves a foe it wounds stunned: caught flat-footed and slow to act. It cannot be used with a weapon in hand.
Patient defence (level 18) costs a point of ki and the time of a wait. It leaves you poised until your next action, whatever it is. While poised you have +4 Dodge, and you answer at once with a blow of your own, a riposte, every melee blow you dodge (it misses by your Dexterity or Dodge) or parry. Used again while poised, it holds for one action more. It works with any grip, a staff too.
Stillness (level 25, with still mind):
- Cost: 2 ki, and no time at all. Any grip will do.
- Effect: it ends at once whichever of these you suffer, so you act this very turn: held, pinned, staggered, stunned, surprised, transfixed, frightened, drowsy, and webbed.
- Refused: with none of them on you, for no ki.
Diamond soul (level 40) adds +2 Deflection. While you hold no weapon and no shield, it also lets you pluck from the air a shot or a throw that would hit you, a trap’s arrow too, for a point of ki, spent by itself. The hit becomes a miss, and the missile falls at your feet. With no ki left, or a weapon or shield in hand, it hits. Spells and blasts are never caught.
Quivering palm (level 50) costs 5 ki and has no other wait. It cannot be used with a weapon in hand.