Fencing Weapons

The “ready” position of a fighter
using Main-Gauche, Rapier, Saber, or
Smallsword skill keeps his weapon
pointed toward his foe at all times. As
well, the “fencing weapons” used with
these skills are light and maneuver-
able. These factors make it easy for a
fencer to recover from a parry or fall
back in the face of an attack.
With a fencing weapon, you get +3
to Parry instead of the usual +1 when
you retreat (see Retreat, p. 377). You
also suffer only half the usual penalty
for multiple parries (see Parrying,
p. 376). However, your Parry has a
penalty equal to your encumbrance
level, and you cannot parry flails at all.