Initial Carving

Hard

Default: prerequisite skill-4.
Prerequisite: Any fencing weapon skill; cannot exceed
prerequisite skill.
A cinematic swashbuckler can try to carve an initial
using his blade. Determine where he’ll carve the initial and
the number of strokes he’ll need to carve it – for instance, a
Z takes three. The first stroke is at no penalty beyond that
for hit location; it’s at -0 on the torso, -5 on the face, and so
on. If the stroke inflicts at least a point of cutting damage, it
will mark anything but metal or similarly hard materials,
ripping cloth (but not armor), scarring skin, and delivering
any poison vile enough to need only a scratch. An impaling
weapon can make a Tip Slash (p. 113) to do cutting damage.
It’s more difficult to align the remaining strokes of the
initial relative to the first. The attack roll is at -4 (in addi-
tion to hit location modifiers) for an initial roughly 4”¥4”.
If a subsequent stroke fails by 4 or less, it makes a slash but
it isn’t properly connected to the earlier lines – there’s a gap
or an overlap (roll a die). This can be bad form; it might
even change the initial to another letter! It’s possible to con-
nect lines that are too far apart; try again at the same mod-
ifier. The victim might object to the erasing process,
however, as this involves at least half a dozen crisscross
lines. Initial Carving is generally the realm of the incredibly
skilled . . . or those named Inigo, Ignatz, or Irene.
You must learn a separate technique for each letter. It
lets you buy off the -4 for the second and later strokes. To
remove the penalties for carving in a specific hit location,
buy a Targeted Attack (p. 68).
Example: Don Lorenzo Estrada wishes to leave the ini-
tials L.E. on the skin of several (unwilling) acquaintances,
so he practices long and hard. He spends 4 points on the L
and 5 on the E (which takes four strokes, so he wants to get
it right the first time). His Rapier skill is 14; he’ll make the
first stroke of each letter on a 14 or less. The next part of
the L is at default+3, giving a net -1 to skill – he needs a 13.
The E is at default+4; he has no penalty to carve it at all.