FightingSchools/BloodyBranch

The Bloody Branch School

By AlecAustin

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The Bloody Branch School was founded just after the end of the Contagion, making it the oldest of the Five Great Schools, and yet it is respected less than the others. This seeming paradox can be understood once one realizes that the Bloody Branch School began not as a fighting school or dojo, but as a band of deserters led by a former officer of the Shogunate, whose only agenda was survival.

History

The Founder of the Bloody Branch School, Megist Elakar was an officer in the Third Legion of the Shogunate before it was broken by the forces of the Fair Folk. Seeing his commander annihilated by a wave of pure chaos, Megist and his unit broke and ran, fleeing the ruins of the city they had occupied. Even after the Scarlet Empress drove back the Fair Folk, Megist and his men found themselves starving in a countryside without law. Like many other former Shogunate units, they became bandits. Unlike the leaders of other such bands, however, Megist was a scholar, and formalized the brutal code by which they comported themselves:

• There is no honor in battle.
• Those who would harm you must be kept from doing so.
• Victory is worthy any price.

By cleaving to these principles, Megist's former unit prospered in the chaos that followed the Contagion, surviving long enough that by the time the Empress defeated the Seven Tigers and established the Realm, the Bloody Branch (as they called themselves) were feared throughout the Southeast. Megist, like many former Shogunate officers, bent the knee to the Empress, and was made an officer once more, but he and the Bloody Branch were regarded with distaste and horror by many of those around them, who whispered of infants being used to bait traps and other, greater atrocities they had committed. Though Megist was eventually allowed to retire with distinction, the dark reputation of the fighting school he had founded resulted in the informal condemnation of the Immaculate Order. Angered by the righteous prating of the priests, Megist continued teaching his brutal methods to disciples, adding two more elements to the code:

• All is circumstance; nothing is absolute.
• Only those who have endured what you have can judge you.

Though it has long since splintered into dozens of sects, the Bloody Branch's influence is still felt, and the many schools that were founded by Megist's students are still collectively known as the Bloody Branch School.

Practice

Each offshoot of the Bloody Branch School teaches its students differently, but all of them share three things in common: A focus on 'dirty' fighting, a contempt for the idea that any tactics are off limits, and the code of the Bloody Branch.

New students are often thrown into practice bouts without any formal training, to demonstrate to them that life is not fair and that what is most important is victory, not style or technique. After those points have been driven home, the students practice against one another and occasionally their instructors, learning from experience what kinds of unpleasant surprises can be sprung on them. Many dojos encourage students to attack one another at any time, so that they will always be on guard, and attentive to when their peers let down their defenses. Others define certain places and circumstances as 'safe' from such assaults, and then spring surprises on the students once they have learned to lower their guard at meals or when they are sleeping.

Once students have proven their mastery of basic skills to their masters, they are elevated and their true lessons begin. Locks, nerve-strikes, concealed weapons, and many other means of gaining advantage over opponents are discussed and demonstrated. The central conceit of any Bloody Branch School is that how one wins is unimportant. Survival is all, while style and grace are discounted.

To become a master of the Bloody Branch, a character must successfully ambush or assault their master in a way that would have resulted in the master's death if the attack had been sincere. Given that the reflex of most masters is to kill first and ask questions later, such an undertaking is fraught with peril, but those who succeed are welcomed into the upper ranks of the most ruthless of the Five Great Schools.

Requirements

The Bloody Branch Schools ignore the lessons in decorum that many other schools teach, focusing primarily on combat and survival skills.

Attribute Minimums: Manipulation 3, Perception 3, Wits 3

Ability Requirements: Athletics 1, Awareness 3, Brawl 3 (Specialty: Fighting Dirty), Larceny 1, Melee 2, Performance 2, Stealth 2, Survival 1, Thrown 2

Background Requirements: Connections (Bloody Branch School) 1

Virtue Minimums: Conviction 3

(The following requirement is waived for mortals.)

Charm Requirements: One Brawl or Martial Arts Charm and One Melee or Thrown Charm.

Benefits

A master of a Bloody Branch School gains the background Reputation 1 (Bloody Branch Master) for free, which can be useful when trying to intimidate others. This background can only be lost if the character repudiates their connection to their school.

Secrets

In the Realm, "Chasing the Secrets of the Bloody Branch" means pursuing a dream or a fable. It is widely believed that this school has no inner secrets. Those who believe this are fools.

In truth, each School of the Bloody Branch has its own secret techniques, its own quietly developed charms or combos that may or may not be passed on from Master to student. After all, such techniques are meant to be private advantages, secret moves whose value would be reduced if others knew of their existence. As such, the Bloody Branch School encourages the belief that it has no secrets. The most dangerous weapon is the one your foe does not know about.