Fighting Style: Multi-Limbed Combat (* to ****)
While possessing more than two arms would certainly seem to have obvious benefits in battle, for individuals untrained in hand-to-hand-to-hand combat extra limbs can prove as much a distraction as an advantage. Untrained individuals tend to focus on one offense or defense at a time, negating the possible benefits of their plentiful limbs.
To counteract this tendency, combat-minded Centimani have, over the centuries, developed their own fighting form that uses multiple limbs to full advantage. While not all Centimani learn this fighting style, it is frequently taught when one of the Hundred Handed meets up with another of like mind and build. A character may also teach herself this ability, although it is much more difficult and time consuming to do so.
Prerequisites: More than two prehensile limbs, Brawl ** or Weaponry **, Dexterity ***, Athletics ***
Effect: While not all of the Centimani are adept at combat, enough emphasis has been put on turning their unique phsyical qualities to martial use for a specialized fighting form to have developed. For the purposes of this Merit, limbs are limited in definition to those that end in hands. Tentacles only apply if specifically designated.
Dots purchased in this Merit allow access to special combat maneuvers. Each maneuver is a pre-requisite for the next. So, a character can’t have “Manhandle” until he has “Outnumbered”.
The maneuvers and their effects, most which are based on either Brawl or Weaponry Skill, are listed below. All bonuses given are in addition to the bonuses granted by the Transmutations “Hundred Hands” or “Tentacles”.
Outnumbered (*): Most combatants are unaccustomed to encountering opponents with more than two possible avenues of attack. Defending against three or more limbs is simply outside of the realm of experience of most foes, allowing the well-trained Centimanus to cut through an opponent’s defenses by attacking from unexpected angles. For every limb or tentacle over two, the opponent’s Defense is reduced by one.
Manhandle (**): By virtue of having more than a normal quantity of grappling extremities, the character’s ability to take other actions while wrestling is drastically increased. While in a grapple, for each limb or tentacle above two, the character may make an overpower maneuver that does not immobilize the target. This is an instant action. Tentacles may be used to grapple or for non-immobilizing overpower maneuvers, with the exception of draw weapon, attack with drawn weapon or turn a drawn weapon (see p. 157 of the World of Darkness Rulebook). Weapons disarmed by tentacles are considered to be dropped.
Protected Attack (***): One benefit of extra limbs is the increased ability to avoid leaving oneself vulnerable even when pressing an attack strongly, and characters with Protected Attack have perfected the ability to deliver an attack without leaving themselves defenseless. This Merit allows the character to Dodge and attack in the same turn. Drawback: A single attack while not dropping one’s guard is complicated enough — multiple attacks are impossible. Protected Attack cannot be stacked with Bountiful Blows.
Bountiful Blows (****): The character’s limbs rain attacks down upon his foes. For every prehensile limb above two, he can make an additional attack per turn upon a single target. Each extra attack is made at a cumulative -1 modifier, thus characters with three prehensile limbs may make two attacks (the second of which is at -1), characters with four may make three attacks (the third of which is at -2), five may make four (the fourth of which is at -3) and so on. In the case of characters wielding weapons that require more than one hand, maxium additional attacks are limited to one per weapon wielded. This maneuver does not give Centimani the ability to wield a shotgun or two-handed sword single-handedly or to attack more than once per turn with any weapon. Drawback: The character cannot use his Defense against any attack in the same turn in which he intends to use this maneuver. If he uses Defense against attacks that occur earlier in the Initiative roster, before he can perform this maneuver, he cannot perform this maneuver this turn. He is considered to have used his extra limbs to aid in his Defense.
(The Merit - Fighting Style: Multi-Limbed Combat was written by Jess Hartley, and published on pages 50-51 of Pandora’s Book, a Promethean: The Created supplement. Copyright White Wolf Games, printed with permission.)
