Anticipate Blow
rating: 0+x

By jhubertjhubert

[19/level]
Skill: Anticipate Blow (Per/H)

By focusing on a single opponent, you can see their blows coming and find weaknesses in their own defense. When you are attacked, you may expend 1 FP and roll a Quick Contest between your skill and your opponent's weapon skill. If you succeed, you gain +1 per level of Anticipate Blow to all your active defenses against that opponent for the rest of your turn, as well as +1 per level to your next attack roll on your next turn, as long as that attack is directed against the same opponent that attacked you.

You can buy up to three levels of Anticipate Blow as a Novice, four as a Journeyman, five as a Warden, and six as a Master.

Statistics: Defense Bonus (Accessibility (only versus a single attacker), -20%; Discipline Ability, -10%; Costs Fatigue (1/second), -10%; Requires Per versus Weapon Skill Roll, -20%) [15/level], DX +1 (Accessibility: Only to give a bonus to the next attack, -80%; Discipline Ability, -10%) [4/level]

Techniques

Size 'em Up (Hard)
Default: Anticipate Blow-1; cannot exceed Anticipate Blow.

By studying your opponent closely, you do not need to wait until they attack you before you get a bonus to your attack roll - simply spend 1 FP, win the Quick Contest between your skill and the opponent's weapon skill, and you get a bonus to your next attack roll equal to your Anticipate Blow level.

Payback (Hard)
Default: Anticipate Blow-5; cannot exceed Anticipate Blow.

You do not need to use the bonus to your next attack roll immediately - instead, you can exploit the flaw in your opponent's defenses at a later time of your choosing. The GM may veto this if the target has changed their fighting style sufficiently in the meantime (through training or combat practice). Only one bonus can be "saved" like this against a particular target at a time.


Earthdawn is a registered trademark of FASA Corporation. This material is not official and is not endorsed by FASA.