Leafblades are the creme de la creme of elven
warriors, or so they like to believe. Masters of the sword
and the bow, these elves have spent many years
learning the elven martial art style known as Leafblade.
Some say that these are the best foot soldiers and
archers in the world, not to mention some of the most
graceful elves to enter the field.
     Leafblade is the elven style of martial arts, which
is, in every way more beautiful and flowing than the
martial arts of any other race. Those who train in it learn
to use the longbow, shortbow, longsword and
shortsword, to the exclusion of nearly all other
weapons. Many of these elves become so skilled that
they are quite deadly, even using a bow in melee
combat, and learn to perform swift maneuvers which
allow them to defend themselves while attacking.
     Despite their tremendous fighting ability,
Leafblades, almost without exception abhor violence.
They will go out of their way to avoid drawing their
swords, but also will not allow innocents to be injured.
Leafblades feel that life is a precious gift, and so will
never take it away lightly. Even Leafblades of an evil
alignment have tremendous problems with sacrifices
and meaningless slaughters, and may work to prevent
such things.
     There are rumors that the Nolder, Drow, and
the Mordhel have their own schools, which teach a cold
and merciless version of the style, called nightshade. It 
should be noted that even that style teaches great discipline
and control to it's practitioners and that 
even they prefer to avoid taking lives, but will show no
hesitancy to strike to first blow should the need arise.

     Role: Leafblades are defenders and warriors of 
the elven view of justice, both at home and abroad.
Many of them travel the world seeking to unite various
elven factions, some even go so far as trying to unite the
"good" members of all races. Others merely stay at
home, defending their families and friends with their lives.
     Requirements: A Leafblade must have a
minimum Dexterity/Balance of 15, and a
Wisdom/Willpower of 12. Only warriors and rogues
may be Leafblades. Leafblade is generally only taught to
elves, though half-elves have been known to learn it.
Teaching the style to other races is a taboo few
Leafblades would ever break.
     Recommended Weapon Proficiencies:
Longsword, Longbow (Ranged), Shortsword, Shortbow
(Ranged), Longbow (Melee) Shortbow (Melee)
     Recommended Nonweapon Proficiencies:
Ancient History, Blind Fighting, Bowyer/Fletcher,
Dancing, Ancient History, Etiquette, Heraldry, Juggling,
Jumping, Reading/Writing, Religion, Tightrope Walking,
and Tumbling.
     Recommended Traits: Alertness, Ambidexterity

     Special Benefits: Leafblades can devote additional
slots to the weapon Proficiencies of longsword,
shortsword, longbow (ranged), longbow (melee),
shortbow (ranged), and shortbow (melee). These
additional slots are refereed to as skill levels. Skill Levels
cost a number of weapon proficiency slots for the
weapon equal to the present level of skill. Thus the first
skill level costs one weapon proficiency slot, the second
costs two weapon Proficiencies, the third costs three,
etc. Only one skill level may be purchased per level per
weapon. For each skill level a Leafblade has in a weapon
(s)he is using, a plus one bonus may be added to either
the hit roll, the damage roll, or the character's AC if the
weapon is being used in melee combat, for that round.
     At the beginning of each round a break down of these
bonuses must be announced, (a DM who trusts his/her
players might allow them to keep track of such things.). If
the character gets multiple attacks for any reason (firing
a bow, under the effects of a haste spell, etc.), the
distribution of bonuses may be refigured at that time.
These bonuses do not allow a character to hit creatures
only hit by magical weapons. 
     Also note that this bonus does not eliminate the normal 
racial bonuses in these weapons, and offers a bonus +1 to hit 
with long and short bows in melee combat to elves.
     If the Leafblade is using a longsword in one hand
and a shortsword in the other hand (s)he does not suffer
any penalty, but does gain the skill bonus for both
weapons. This does not hold true for other weapon
combinations, even if the character is a ranger.
     Due to their abhorrence of killing, Leafblades
have developed several abilities to allow them to subdue
opponents. To use these abilities, the Leafblade
must have at least one level of skill bonus in the weapon
being used. The practitioners of Nightshade do not have
subdual abilities, though they do get the defensive
adjustments, like standard Leafblades.

     First, when fighting with a sword, the
character may opt to do stunning damage, as per
unarmed combat. If this option is used a knockout is
possible. Chance of knockout equals one half the
damage inflicted percent. A successful knockout prevents
the victim from performing any actions for 1d6 rounds.
     Leafblade have developed a series of maneuvers
which can be used to capture and incapacitate
opponents without hurting them. These techniques use
the bow in melee. Due to the complex nature of these
moves, a description of them will be given (don't try this
at home.):

     Disarm: Leafblades have developed many
methods of disarming opponents, varying dependent on
the opponent's weapon. Below are a few examples
Through special twists of the bow string, the weapon is
released at the move's completion, whether or not the
maneuver was successful.

          Sword Disarm: The Leafblade parries an
oncoming attacker with his/her bow. With a quick twist
of the wrist the bow's string lines up with the handle
behind the hilt. With a few more twists, the cross bar is
entangled. Now with a final jerk, the weapon goes flying
into the air leaving the opponent disarmed.

          Staff Disarm: Taking a step back, the
Leafblade grabs the tip of the staff and does a double
twist on it using the bowstring. Now having a firm grip
on it,  the Leafblade jerks the weapon from the user's
hands. Similar versions have been modified for
polearms, spears, maces, etc.

          Bow Disarm: The Leafblade grabs the
bow at one end towards the joining of the string and the
wood. Flipping it over his/her opponent's bow (s)he
follows this up with a sawing motion with the string over
his/her opponents thumb, ending this motion with a
strong tug at the end to force to release of the bow.

          Game Mechanics: The Leafblade rolls to
attack at -4, (dexterity missile adjustment can reduce
this.) On a successful roll to hit the opponent and the
Leafblade make compared Strength/Muscles checks with
any bonuses to damage that the Leafblade added to
damage moving his/her Strength/Muscles up on a one to
one exchange. If the weapon is two handed, two checks
must be made with half the bonus applied to each. Bows
count as one handed for this purpose, but crossbows
count as two, provided they are being held in two
hands. 

          If the move fails, there is a one in six chance that
the bow string will be severed if the targeted weapon is
bladed. If the victim of the disarm is trained in any form
of martial arts, (s)he gains a bonus to his/her strength
check equal to his/her bonus in that weapon.

     Entangle: The Leafblade holds the bow firmly
with the string facing out. Quickly lunging at the intended
target (s)he twists the bow string, firmly locking his/her
arm at the wrist.

     Game Mechanics: The Leafblade rolls to attack
at -4, (dexterity missile adjustment can reduce this.) On
a successful roll to hit, the opponent's arm becomes
entangled and useless. This maneuver can not be done
on an armed opponent. If the Leafblade lets go of the
bow, the target is released.

     Double Entangle: Having entangled one arm
already, the Leafblade swings behind the target and
grabs the other arm in a similar manner. Once entangled
a simple flip of the bow locks it between the opponent's
arms and back.

     Game Mechanics: The Leafblade must entangle
one arm and succeed in a dancing nonweapon
proficiency check. The Leafblade rolls to attack at -8,
(dexterity missile adjustment can reduce this.) On a
successful roll to hit, the opponent has two arms
entangled and the bow lock prevents the entangle from
being undone. Once locked only way out of the entangle
is free arms, (yours or someone else's,) a successful
find/remove traps, by breaking the bow string (requires
a successful bend bars/lift gates roll, halved for elven bow
strings, with a failed roll doing 1d6 points of damage to
the entangled individual,) or by breaking the bow. Due
to the positioning of the bow any damage inflicted on the
bow is also inflicted on the entangled victim. No more
then two arms can be entangled by one bow, and these
arms must be on opposite sides of the body. If the
opponent has more then two arms, the process may be
repeated.

     Subdual: Once all arms have been entangled the
Leafblade trips the victim to the ground face first.

     Game Mechanics: There is no roll required, but
this maneuver does take a full round. Once tripped, the
victim must make a Dexterity/Balance check at -12 to
get up from the ground. (Ones are always successes.)

     Leafblades are, obviously, quite familiar with the
Leafblade style of martial arts. For that reason, any time
a Leafblade tries one of the bow based maneuvers on
another Leafblade, the second  Leafblade's bow skill
level is added to his armor class.

     Drawbacks: Leafblades have many drawbacks
due to the intensive nature of their training and their
ingrained philosophical beliefs. The depth of their training
makes it  extremely narrow.

     Leafblades will not allow harm to befall an
innocent, but at the same time will take all possible steps
to avoid violence. It is largely up to the character to
interpret the term innocent, but it will always include
those caught in any situation through no fault of their
own. Leafblades will never draw his/her swords first, nor
strike first, and will always request discussion instead of
violence. A teacher who finds out about a student who
breaks either of these restrictions will cast them from the
school and never teach them again. Once a student has
been thrown out of one school no other school will
accept him or her. Additionally, Leafblades who are
overly violent will be incapable of using Leafblade and
their skills bonuses will slowly degrade if they continue 
such behavior for an extended period of time.

     The initial Leafblade training (approximately the
first century) is very specific and ritualized. Each school
has different requirements for their students, but all
students learn to use longswords, shortswords, longbows
and shortbows from range and in melee, and all
Leafblade characters must purchase these weapon
Proficiencies before they begin their adventuring career.

     Due to the specialized nature of Leafblade,
weapon specialization is not possible. Moreover, anyone
learning Leafblade who is specialized can not use
specialization while using his/her Leafblade skill bonuses.
Further more, any weapon which the Leafblade is not
proficient in is at a -4 penalty. Additionally, Leafblade
bonuses can only be developed in longsword,
shortsword, longbow (ranged), longbow (melee),
shortbow (ranged), shortbow (melee). The Leafblade
can choose a weapon of choice and expertise if desired.

     Due to the amount of training and concentrated
practices of Leafblade, Leafblade characters cannot gain
proficiency in tight or broad weapon groups, nor may
they pick up specialization in a style. Leafblade is an
intense style which takes all of the character's time to
develop, learning other styles is a  mere distraction to
a Leafblade warrior, especially since the two cannot be used
together. For example, a character who gained Leafblade
after a two weapon specialization can fight with any
two weapons, or even two long or short swords, but
will gain no bonuses while doing so.

     Finally, Leafblade can only be used without
armor, or in organic armor, or elven chain. Other armors are
simply too heavy to allow for the graceful movements
involved in Leafblade. Leafblades can wear other armor,
but lose their bonuses in Leafblade. Leafblades are also
never taught how to effectively use a shield. These
penalties do not result in any bonus character points.

     Equipment: All Leafblades start with a set of
ceremonial clothing and must buy a longsword,
shortsword, and longbow. Aside from that, they buy
equipment normally.


Leafblade Weapons

     Leafblades have, over the centuries, developed
several weapons and had some weapons developed for
them. Below are some samples of such weapon. The
reasons for the rarity of  most of these weapons 
outside the Leafblade warriors should be self-evident.

     Leafsword: These swords can be of any type,
but are normally constructed in matched sets of long and
short. The edges of these weapons have been dulled,
and are normally designed to look like long thin leaves.
These weapons are heavier then normal weapons of
their type and are only usable as standard weapons due
to their balance. When used by a Leafblade to stun they
add the Leafblades strength/muscle to the knockout
percentage. However, due to their dullness, they inflict
the same damage to large creatures that they do to
medium and small creatures. The cost of such a sword,
after mild ornamentation and sculpting, is between three
and five time that of a normal weapon of its type. 
However, a no frills version only costs double.

     Sparring Swords: A handle of the appropriate
type with a blade made of bamboo shafts instead of
metal. These weapons were never intended for fighting,
only sparring and practice. They inflict half the normal
damage for a sword of their type and cost as much as a
normal sword.

     War Bow: These bow are built to be extra
durable so that they can be used more effectively in
melee. Such weapons can take 50 damage points and
inflicts 1d6/1d3 damage. War bows also make wonderful
strength bows, but can not be made into elf bows. The
price of such weapons is double the normal going rate.

     Metal Bows: The makers of these weapons are
few due to the intense amount of precision metal working
required to give the bow the ability to bend without 
robbing it of its all important tension. Production of 
these bows require an expert hand in the arts of bowyery, 
weapon smithing, and blacksmithing.create. Such bows will not
break from parrying or being bashed, and they inflict 1d6/1d4
damage when used in melee. On the down side, due to the unusual
nature of these bows and their construction, the benefits of
strength and elven bows cannot be built in. The asking
price for such a weapon varies from maker to
maker, but five to ten time normal is usual. Some of
these bows have blades attached which inflict 1d6/1d8
damage in melee combat, such attachments double or triple
the final price of the bow.

     Padded Arrows: These arrows are normal flight
arrows except that they have cloth heads. They do a
mere 1d4 worth of punching damage (1/4 is real) and
have the range of sheaf arrows due to their heavier
head. On the up side, they only cost 3 GP per dozen
and don't require an arrow head.

     Ceremonial Garb: Ceremonial garb is a silk or
elvenweave suit consisting of breeches, a sleeveless tunic
with an attached short cape, soft riding boots, and a
string head band. This garb is normally only worn at
rituals and celebration and is NEVER worn with any
form of armor. Schools with ranking systems (only used
in the newer ones) may use patches, colored sashes, or
the color of the outfit itself to denote rank. Students are
given one suit of ceremonial garb when they are judged
worthy and are only given replacements when their
instructor sees fit. These suits are NEVER sold

     Travelers Garb: Travelers garb is made to look
just like ceremonial garb, except that it's made of less
expensive cloth: cotton, homespun, or gauze.
This is the usual dress of a Leafblade, worn to prevent their
ceremonial garb from being cut or bloodied. The cost
of travelers garb is equal to the price of half a bolt of the
fabric. Boots must be purchased separately.

     Battlegarb: Battlegarb is armor often worn by
young elves who dislike leather but can't afford elven
chain. This armor is light weight, cheep, and usually
worn under travelers garb. There are many ways to
make such armor, but generally it's  made from
canvas, silk, or some other durable cloth coated with
multiple layers of lacquer. There are three 
strengths to battlegarb, light, medium, and heavy:

Light Battlegarb: This armor consists of light bunches of
cloth protecting the chest, abdomen, back, and skirt to
protect the groin. This armor provides the protection of
AC 8 and cost the same as a third of a bolt of fabric plus
an additional 10 GP. This armor weighs 8 lbs and has a
bulk point reduction of 0.

Medium Battlegarb: A little thicker then light battlegarb
with some additional bunches around the shoulders,
flanks, knees, and elbows. This armor provides
protection of AC 7 and costs the same as two-thirds of
a bolt of fabric plus an additional 20 GP. This armor
weighs 16 lbs and has a bulk reduction of 1.

Heavy Battlegarb: Even thicker then medium battlegarb
with some additional pads for the thighs, shins, forearms,
and upper arms. This armor provides protection of AC
6 and costs the same as a bolt of fabric plus an additional
30 GP. This armor weighs 24 lbs and has a bulk
reduction of 2.

Go to:

	back to "Character Classes"
	back to "Aphonion"