Defiant Discipline

 

Sometimes called Willpower training, this Skill Discipline is focused on the steeling of your will against that which would hinder you. Invest in this Discipline if

  • You want to play an iron willed character that shrugs off pain

  • You want to improve your use of Concentration skills

  • You want to be resistant to fear, horror, and traumatic injury.

Relevant Rules: Control effects are special afflictions that cause a loss of “control” for your character. This may mean that one of your limbs becomes temporarily disabled, or you become unable to use any Active Skills.

Control Durations: Strike → Wound → Blight → Ongoing/Affliction

  • Strike effects last for 30 seconds except for Knockback and Pull, which last for 10 steps If followed by a number, the Strike lasts for that many seconds or steps. For example, a Rot 20 lasts for only 20 seconds.

  • Wound effects last until they are removed by an effect that Cures Wounds.

  • Blight effects last until they are removed by an effect that Cures Blight. Because Blight represents poisons or magical effects, Cure Blight effects are harder to find.

  • Ongoing effects last until the Disease or Curse or similar condition that causes them expires or is Cured.

 DISCIPLINE OVERVIEW

BASIC SKILLS

Grim Defiance: "Defiance" can cure all Wound and Strike effects from yourself.

Iron Defiance: Spend Focus to cure yourself of a Strike or a Pain-Wound

Steady Concentration: You can walk while Concentrating or Targeting.

COMPLEX SKILLS

Mental Shield: Negate inquiries and psychic attacks upon your thoughts

Resist Fear: Protect yourself against Fear effects

Sudden Defiance: Instantly use "Defiance" instead of waiting 5 seconds first.

Zealous Defiance: Grant yourself Resolve after using "Defiance"

ERUDITE SKILLS

Bloodied but Unbowed: Hurt yourself to "Defiance" without using Focus.

Grim Recovery: Concentrate to remove all Wounds and Strike effects from yourself.

Iron Concentration: Damage does not disrupt your Concentration or Targeting..

Resist Warp: Protect yourself against Warp attacks

Supreme Defiance (1/P): Give yourself a second wind through willpower alone

BASIC SKILLS

GRIM DEFIANCE

(Basic Defiant; Defense-Aug)

Requires: Iron Defiance

You can push through wounds, acting as if they were nothing.

  • Step 1: Be suffering from any Strike effect and/or any Wound effect

  • Step 2: After 5+ seconds, expend 1 Focus

  • Step 3: Augment Defiance and invoke it as “Grim Defiance”,

    • Skills cannot have more than 1 Augment when used and invoked.

  • Step 4: This cures you of all Strike effects and all Wound effects

Powering through your wounds exacts a price. At the end of 10 minutes or when you are no longer in battle (whichever happens last, aka end of scene), you receive a “Self-Inflict 2”. Subtract 2 damage from your HP total. This damage cannot be reduced, negated, or redirected.

IRON DEFIANCE 

(Basic Defiant; Active-Focus, Cure)

You have trained your will to be strong enough to persist through pain and other effects.

  • Step 1: Be suffering from a Strike effect or a Pain Wound

  • Step 2: After 5+ seconds, expend 1 Focus

  • Step 3: Invoke “Defiance”

  • Step 4: This cures you of all Strike effects and of any Pain Wound effect.

STEADY CONCENTRATION 

(Basic; Conc-Aug)

Through training, you are able to maintain your concentration or aim while walking.

When you perform a Concentration or Targeting count, you can augment and prefix each count with “Steady” (e.g. “Steady concentration 1, Steady concentration 2, etc”)

While thusly Augmented, you can move at a slow walk while Concentrating or Targeting, to a maximum of 2 paces per count

COMPLEX SKILLS

MENTAL SHIELD

(Complex Defiant; Active-Defense)

Requires: Any two Basic Defiant skills including Iron Defiance

You can shrug off mental attacks and prying minds with sheer willpower.

  • Step 1: Receive an Inquiry effect or an attack that inflicts “Psychic” or “Shadow” damage

  • Step 2: As a response, expend 1 Focus

  • Step 3: Augment Defiance and invoke it as “Mental Defiance”,

  • Step 4: This negates the Inquiry effect or Psychic/Shadow damage you received.

Additional Effect: After you use this -- you may invoke “No effect” against Inquiry effects for the next 10 minutes.

Take note: Unlike the normal use of Defiance, you do not need to wait 5 seconds after receiving the effect to negate it.

RESIST FEAR

(Complex Channeler/Defiant; Active-Focus/Resolve , Fear-Defense, Resist)

Requires: Any two Basic Channeler/Defiant skills

You have hardened your mind to fear. This skill has the following subfunctions:

Resist Fear (Resolve)

  • Step 1: Have Resolve 1 or more and receive a “Fear”attack (e.g. Fear Aura, Fear)

  • Step 2: As a Reaction, invoke “Resist Fear”

  • Step 3: You negate this attack.

  • Step 4: For the next minute approximately, you can negate such attacks by taking 2 steps away after being struck.

** Creatures using the Fear Aura ability inflict Psychic damage to anyone that hits them in melee. Resist Fear allows you to engage such foes with less danger.

Withstand Fear (-Focus): Use this if you do not have Resolve to use Resist Fear

  • Step 1: Receive a Fear attack

  • Step 2: As a Reaction, expend 1 Focus

  • Step 3: invoke “Withstand Fear”

  • Step 4: This negates the attack and imbues you with “Resolve 3”

  • Step 5: Mentally take note of your Resolve total

Endure Psychic (-Focus): You can make yourself resistant to Psychic damage.

  • Step 1: Receive an attack that inflicts Psychic-type damage. You cannot use Endure Psychic if you were struck with non-Psychic damage within the last second.

  • Step 2: As a Reaction, expend 1 Focus

  • Step 3: invoke “Endure Psychic”

  • Step 4: This negates the attack

  • Step 5: This endurance persists for the next 10 seconds You can invoke “Negate” against the next 3 Psychic attacks you receive, nullifying said attack.

Relevant Rules - Resolve is a special resource pool that persists until depleted, until 10 minutes pass, or until the current combat ends. Receiving any damage depletes Resolve before it depletes HP. Some effects can increase this amount. Receiving Resolve always overlaps with and never adds to your current Resolve total.

SUDDEN DEFIANCE 

(Complex Defiant; Aug-Defiance)

Requires: Any two Basic Defiant skills including Iron Defiance

Your mind can quickly shrug off pain and similar hurts.

When you use Iron Defiance, augment it and invoke it as “Sudden Defiance”. This allows for the following benefits:

  • Immediately use it instead of suffering the effect for 5 seconds first

  • Reduce the damage of an attack to 2 points. It keeps its damage type but you can use this on Ambush attacks.

 

ZEALOUS DEFIANCE 

(Complex Defiant; Defense-Aftereffect, Resolve, +HP, Bond)

Requires: Any two Basic Defiant skills including Iron Defiance

Faith in your allies or in your order reinforces your resolve.

Zealous Health: Increase your maximum HP by 1 if you fulfill either of the following requirements. This may not exceed 10 points (aka the HP cap)

  • You have the Blood-bound, Oath-bound, or Liege-bound attunement.

  • Your Archfaction Loyalty is Tier 2 (Operative) or higher

Zealous Resolve (Aftereffect): While fulfilling either of the above requirements, you can follow the use of “Defiance” with an Aftereffect: invoke “Resolve 3” to gain said benefit.

ERUDITE SKILLS

BLOODIED BUT UNBOWED 

(Erudite Defiant; Defense-Aug, Self-inflict, Cure-Strike/Wound)

Requires: Any two Complex Defiant skills and any two Basic Defiant skills including Iron Defiance

You may exhaust yourself to resist effects that would render you insensate. This skill is used as below:

  • Step 1: You are suffering from a Strike effect and/or a Wound effect

  • Step 2: After 5+ seconds, augment Defiance, invoking it as “Bloody Defiance”

  • Step 3: This waives the Focus cost and cures your Strikes and Wounds

  • Step 4: Immediately, receive Self-inflict Pain and Self-inflict 2*

-- As usual, Self-inflict effects cannot be negated, reduced, or redirected but they can be cured or healed.

-- If this damage brings you to 0 HP, you are brought to your Critical Death Count and will die in 30 seconds if unassisted.

IRON CONCENTRATION 

(Erudite Defiant/Slinger; Conc-Aug)

Requires: Any two Complex Defiant/Slinger skills and any two Basic Defiant/Slinger skills

Your trained mind allows you to maintain concentration even through injury.

When you perform a Concentration or Targeting count, you can augment and prefix each count with “Iron” (e.g. “Iron concentration 1, Iron concentration 2, etc”) You may not have more than one augment on your Concentration or Targeting at a time.

While thusly augmented, attacks that inflict damage no longer interrupt your Concentration or Targeting count, unless that type of damage is Bane to you. You cannot use this augment while you are at 0 HP or on First Aid. Take note that you are still affected by the damage even if it does not interrupt your count.

Note: If using Iron Concentration while “interlinked” with a target, your Concentration is only disrupted if your target receives Bane damage (to you) or a Control effect.

GRIM RECOVERY

(Erudite Defiant/Scrapper; Active-Conc, Cure Wound)

Requires: Any two Complex Scrapper/Defiance skills and any two Basic Scrapper/Defiance skills

You can power through hurts and wounds even without using Focus.

  • Step 1: Be suffering from a Strike and/or a Wound

  • Step 2: Receive a “Self-inflict 2 damage”*

  • Step 3: Perform Conc-30

    • This is augmented by and prefixed with “Painful” (e.g. Painful concentration 1, etc)

    • Unlike normal concentration, this can be performed while affected by a Control effect (except for Dominate and Frenzy)

  • Step 4: Upon completion, invoke “Grim Recovery”

  • Step 5: You are Cured of Wounds and Strikes.

*If this damage brings you to 0 HP, you are brought to your Critical Death Count and will die in 30 seconds if unassisted.

RESIST WARP

(Erudite Channeler/Defiant; Active-Resolve, Aura/Warp-Defense, Resist)

Requires: Any two Complex Defiant/Channeler skills and any two Basic Defiant/Channeler skills

Through rite or willpower, you can resist deathly and maddening energies. This skill has the following subfunctions::

Resist Warp (Resolve): This works exactly as Resist Fear except that it functions against “Warp” attacks.

Withstand Warp (-Focus): Use this if you do not have Resolve to use Resist Warp. This is otherwise as per Withstand Fear, except against “Warp” attacks.

Endure Shadow (-Focus): You can make yourself resistant to Shadow damage. This is as per Endure Psychic, except against Shadow.

Some creatures are not meant to be in this world and their very existence is a blight upon physics and reality. Fighting them is difficult and dangerous for most – but not for those who have honed their will and mind to a fine edge.  

— Resist Warp: While you have at least 1 Resolve, you may respond with “Resist Warp” when you are subject to an attack with the word “Warp” in it, such as “Warp Aura” or “Warp Talon” -- negating their harmful effects and requiring two steps away from them. Warp attacks typically come from fearsome or mind-rending monstrosities that inflict Shadow damage or Blind effects. 

  • Without this Skill, using melee attacks to strike a creature using “Fear Aura” is perilous: doing so inflicts Psychic damage to the melee attacker = the amount the creature just invoked. Using ranged attacks does not have the same detriment.

— Withstand Warp (1 Focus): If you do not have Resolve, you may expend 1 Focus to augment this skill and invoke it as “Withstand Warp” as a response to a Warp attack. This negates the attack and grants you “Resolve 3”

— Endure Shadow (1 Focus): Invoke “Resist Shadow” to negate all (non-Master) Shadow damage that just hit you within the last second. You are not able to use this if you have also been struck by a non-Shadow attack within that time frame. Take two steps away from the source of the attack. 

SUPREME DEFIANCE 

(Erudite Defiant; Active-Periodic, Aftereffect)

Requires: Any two Complex Defiant skills and any two Basic Defiant skills

Through willpower you can defy adversity to incredible levels and give yourself a second wind.

Once per Period, choose one of the options below to use this Skill. As a Periodic Skill, it cannot be used again until the next Period and after you have completed a 10 minute Rest.

-- Option 1: Second Wind --

  • Step 1: Be suffering from a Control effect of Strike, Wound, or Blight duration

  • Step 2: invoke “Supreme Defiance”

  • Step 3: Cure all Strike, Wound, and Blight effects upon you

  • Step 4: As an Aftereffect, invoke “Resolve 5” to gain that effect. .This bypasses any limitation on granting Resolve that you may have except for the Resolve Cap of 5.

-- Option 2: Sickness Begone --

  • Step 1: Be suffering from a Disease or Curse of Basic or Greater level.

  • Step 2: Approach Game Staff

  • Step 3: Inform them that you are using “Supreme Defiance”

  • Step 4: You cure all Diseases and Curses of Basic or Greater-level. Have Game Staff sign off on its cure. On your Character Sheet’s back, note down this Skill and what period it was used.

-- As per usual, curing a Disease or Curse does not return that Attunement slot for use until the next Event. Furthermore, this does not cure Anathemic, Incurable, or Pyrrhic Afflictions.