A Primer to Combat

	The Art of the Blade "One must not treat the sword like some silly staff or clumsy mace! No, it is a fine weapon with elegance and as such its master must be similarly graceful and full of poise. Hold the weapon at its hilt firmly, but let the wrist do the movement, not the hand. Enter into the serene ballet that is the fight by swinging gentle slices through the air, stabbing as if it were a spear, but withdrawing as one would string a bow. Then, thrust, thrust, parry and riposte!" -Pierre Dechaens, "Instructions on Proper Sword Use".

Combat

Combat in the world of Aelyria is a part of life for adventurers and citizens. The world is a dangerous place, filled with fearsome beasts and fantastic monsters. Though all inhabitants in Aelyria possess a rudimentary understanding of common fighting, it is little more than an undisciplined brawl sport the likes of which one would find on a crowded city plaza. True warriors unleash their inner fury by honing their skills and learning how to handle a weapon. Like other skills, combat must be taught and then put into practice on the field of battle.

Styles of Combat

Learning how to engage in combat requires proficiency with a specific weapon, called a style. Styles are grouped into similar classes, and can be broadly classified into six major categories: Blades, Bows, Spears and Staves, Thrown, Combat-at-Arms, and Unarmed Combat. Proficiency with one weapon allows the fighter similar natural proficiency with other weapons in its class, but at a single level lower proficiency. For example, when a swordsman has mastered the great sword at fourth level proficiency, he may wield other blades belonging to the long blade class as a veteran would at third level of proficiency without the need for special training. This is because all long blades share common techniques. All other styles of combat would be unfamiliar to the fighter, unless if he also specialized in a second specific weapon.

Category	Class	Styles
Blades	Short Blades (less than one arm length)	Daggers (one handed, piercing) Gladius Swords (one handed, slashing and piercing) Short Swords (one handed, slashing)
	Medium Blades (one to two arms length)	Long Swords (one handed, slashing and piercing) Light Swords (one handed, piercing)
	Long Blades (more than two arms length)	Great Swords (two handed, slashing) Claymore Swords (two handed, slashing and piercing)
Bows	Short Range (less than 100 yards)	Hand Crossbows (one handed, bolts) Short Bows (two handed, arrows)
	Medium Range (between 100 yards and 300 yards)	Light Crossbows (one handed, bolts) Composite Short Bows (two handed, arrows)
	Long Range (more than 300 yards)	Heavy Crossbows (two handed, bolts) Long Bows (two handed, arrows) Composite Long Bows (two handed, arrows, heavy impact) War Bows (two handed, arrows, siege impact)
Spears, Staves	Short Spears/Staves (less than one arm length)	Batons (One handed, impact) Sticks (One handed, impact)
	Medium Spears/Staves (one to two arms length)	Short Staves (one handed, impact) Short Spears (one handed, piercing)
	Long Spears/Staves (more than two arms length)	Long Staves (two handed, impact) Long Spears (two handed, piercing) Pikes (two handed, piercing) Glaives (two handed, slashing)
Thrown	Small (less than one hand length)	Darts (piercing, short range) Throwing Stars (piercing, short range)
	Big (hand to forearm length)	Knives (slashing and piercing, short range) Long Darts (piercing, medium range)
	Medium (one to two arms length)	Axes (impact and slashing, short range) Clubs (impact, short range)
	Long (more than two arms length)	Javelins (piercing, long range) Pilums (piercing, long range)
Combat-at-Arms	Short Combat-at-Arms (less than one arm length)	Maces (one handed, impact) Hand Hammers (one handed, impact) Single Flails (one handed, impact)
	Medium Combat-At-Arms (one to two arms length)	Double Axes (two handed, impact and slashing) War Flails (two handed, impact) War Hammers (two handed, impact)
	Long Combat-At-Arms (more than two arms length)	Pole Axes (two handed, impact and slashing) Pole Hammers (two handed, impact)
Unarmed Combat	Striking	Shaasskah Rhingorda Gicha Hehan
	Grappling	Ataa Zan Zu
	Combination	Laeon Tessared-Tohiba K’Tesh