Knives

Skill Overview

The fighting dirk, or dagger, is distinguished from the common knife in that it is larger- with a foot of a blade, typically, sharpened on both edges, and a sharp stabbing tip. It is usually made of bronze, though iron is more common than in swords due to the lesser amount required to make one. The handle is the same size as a gladius's, about six or seven inches counting the pommel. Fighting dirks also have quillions about three-quarters of an inch long. The handle is typically wrapped in rawhide strips for a better grip, and to keep the user's hand from smelling like metal for hours after use.

Most soldiers carry such a knife, using it both in fights where swords are not appropriate (very close quarters, quieter) and in the same way a common citizen uses his own, smaller blade- cutting off strips of roasted meat, spearing vegetables, paring his nails, and so on. In fact, if the typical soldier was forced to pick a single item to take with him, it would be the dirk much more often than the sword. Given a choice of a second item, he will probably pick a sharpening stone for the dirk.

Everybody knows how to kill someone with a dagger- stab them overhand, over and over, right? That's just the approach the untrained will take, making them pitifully easy to disarm or just run through. In fact, that is the least effective maneuver possible against anyone with training, a weapon or armor, but very good against unsuspecting, outnumbered old men in togas.

For guidance on using the skill set, see the Knives Guide.

If you have a solid understanding of knives, you may wish to explore the more advanced combat style of Cineran Knife Fighting.

>>	>>	>>	>>	>>	Skill Info	>>	>>	>>	>>	>>	Ranks Taught by Trainer
~ Skills/Actions	~ Difficulty	~ Hands	~ Range	~ Wound	~ Prerequisite	~ Vitrus	~ Dreggo	~ Fetidus	~ Gilven	~ Maerodus	~ Hatrin
Knives	-	-	-	-	= -	500	100	100	300	80	90
Knife Simple Stab	Average	1	Short	Pierce	= -	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Slash	Average	1	Short	Cut	= -	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Overhead Strike	Easy	1	Short	Pierce	= -	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Chop	Easy	1	Short	Cut	= -	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Step and Lunge	Difficult	1	Long	Pierce	= -	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Jab	Easy	1	Short	Pierce	= -	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Short Block	Average	1	-	-	= -	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Feint	Average	1	Short	-	= -	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Long Block	Difficult	1	-	-	= -	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Cross Block	Average	1	-	-	= -	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Stealthy Draw	Easy	1	-	-	= -	175	100	85	100	75	75
Knife Wrist Dancing	Average	1	-	-	= -	175	100	85	100	75	75
Knife Push Aside	Difficult	1	Short	-	= -	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Round Strike	Average	1	Short	Pierce	= -	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Underhand Stab	Average	1	Short	Pierce	= -	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Whirling Slash	Average	1	Short	= Cut Cut	20 Ranks in Knife Slash	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Stab and Slash	Average	1	Short	= Cut Cut	10 Ranks in Knife Simple Stab 10 Ranks in Knife Slash	500	100	85	300	75	75
Knife Flicking Feint	Average	1	Short	-	= -	500	100	-	-	75	-
Knives Grip	Impossible	-	-	-	= -	100	100	85	100	75	-
Knives Accuracy	Difficult	-	-	-	= -	100	100	85	100	75	-
>>	>>	>>	>>	>>	>>	>>	>>	>>	>>	>>	~ Unavailable Skills (Not taught by NPC trainers)
Knife Low Block	-	1	-	-	= -	= -	= -	-	= -	= -	= -

Directions to Gilven (Iridine): Walk to Bronze Lane, Ex2, NEx2, N, Ex5, Nx2, E
Directions to Dreggo (Blackvine): Walk to Blackvine, Ex4, Sx6
Directions to Fetidus (Blackvine): Walk to Blackvine, S, SE, Ex4, Sx5
Directions to Hatrin (Town of Rock Valley): Walk to Hospice, wait for drover to appear, follow drover, Ex10, Nx2, Wx3, Nx9, Ex2, Nx2, E, N, W
Directions to Vitrus (Franlius): Take the ship to Franlius
Directions to Maerodus (Monlon): Take the ferry to Monlon

Notes on Learning

• For guaranteed multiple-hits with Knife Whirling Slash, you will need 100 ranks in Knife Slash.
• For guaranteed multiple-hits with Knife Stab and Slash, you will need 50 Ranks in Knife Simple Stab & 50 Ranks in Knife Slash.
• Knives attacks receive a bonus from CKF Screnaca Coranadin Stance.

Skill Details

Knife Stab stab

Using the pointy end of the knife, you stab at the opponent.

When you see this in use you see:

Hatrin makes a quick stabbing motion at a thug with his dagger, but misses.

Knife Slash slash

You swing the blade horizontally at the opponent, in an attempt to cut them.

When you see this in use you see:

Maerodus slashes horizontally at a thug with the tip of his tin dagger, but misses.

Knife Overhead Strike strike

A lot like stab, but it is easier to hit with, and causes less damage.

When you see this in use you see:

Aiming for a thug's torso, Dreggo brings down his tin dagger to bear in a downward stabbing motion, but misses.

Knife Chop chop

Like gladius chop, except slightly weaker, you chop down at your opponent's head and shoulders. This attack is always aimed high

When you see this in use you see:

Maerodus brings down his dagger in a chopping motion aimed at a thug, but misses.

Knife Step and Lunge lunge

The wielder tries to approach the opponent and execute a stab in one step. If this attack is blocked, you will still find yourself too far away to make a close-range attack.

When you see this in use you see:

Gilven lunges forward a step, stabbing a thug with his knife! A thug suffers a faint wound to his waist.

Knife Jab jab

The same principle as gladius jab, you jab at the opponent with the pointy end of the knife. It is a simple attack.

When you see this in use you see:

Hatrin jabs at a thug with the point of his tin dagger, but misses.

Knife Short Block

Knife short and long block are strange. I've seen them both, Basically, as far as I can tell, they both block mid-high attacks, Long Block is just harder, and fancier.

When you see this in use you see:

Vitrus blocks a thug's dagger this the blade of his dagger.

Knife Feint feint

The wielder attempts to feint an attack with the blade in order to get his opponent to lower his guard. The difficulty for a feint to be used is dependent on the opponents overall fighting ability and combat posture, a less skilled or more defensive opponent will fall for a feint easier then a more skilled, berserking warrior.

When you see this in use you see:

Dreggo leans forward, feigning a strike at a thug with his dagger!

Knife Long Block

This block actually works against a variety of weapon strikes and disarms, such at knife pushaside and spears weaponstrike. It also blocks some of the same strikes as simple block.

When you see this in use you see:

Vitrus catches a thug's tin dagger on the quillions of his dagger.

Knife Cross Block

Blocks slashing attacks aimed at the midsection, but because of the small size of the blade, cannot block low slashing attacks.

When you see this in use you see:

With a sideways, crossing motion, Hatrin blocks a thug's tin dagger with the blade of his knife!

Knife Stealthy Draw draw

This technique allows one to pull out a small bladed weapon (dirk, dagger, or knife) and wield it without anyone noticing. Total success means it is not seen and is performed swiftly and silently. Failure means that it is seen, with a slight chance of bumbling the whole process and dropping the weapon. A total failure, that is a person clutching the wrong end of the dirk, dropping it, and cutting himself in the process, has never happened. At least, no one has ever admitted doing it. (If the draw fails or marginally succeeds then the chances of others seeing it depends on their individual perception attribute).

When you see this in use you see:

You detect a subtle hint of movement from a man in a hooded cloak, as if he was attempting to conceal a subtle shift of his hand. Gilven seems to be trying to slip some type of a blade into his hand, unnoticed. Clumsily attempting to draw his weapon, Gilven ends up dropping his weapon instead. Gilven cuts his hand in a horrible attempt at drawing a knife!

Knife Wrist-Dancing wristdance

The wielder flips the dagger around his (gloved, hopefully) hand, wrist, and fingers, the way a magician might spin a coin on his knuckles. If successful, this maneuver is a great way to impress children- or show potential adversaries that maybe they'd better leave you alone. Importantly, successful wrist-dancing means that the weapon is effectively wielded and ready no matter what it's doing at that second, making it much harder for an opponent to predict where the strike will come from when the wielder decides to attack. How effective the bonus is to the next attack, as well as how impressive the display, is dependent on how successful the wrist-dancing was. Failure means the wrist-dance is performed too slow or too clumsy to have been effective, or even the fumbling of the blade. Those not aware of the technique or not very adept in the use of knives also have the chance of cutting their own fingers in the process.

When you see this in use you see:

In a dazzling display, Vitrus flips and twirls a dirk around his hand so quickly it almost becomes a blur. Nimbly manipulating a dirk, Vitrus flips it between all of his fingers in rapid succession, back and forth. With incredible dexterity, Vitrus guides a dirk as it swiftly revolves around his hand repeatedly. Carefully guiding a dirk, Vitrus twirls it in his hand until it seems as if it was passing through his fingers. In a complex series of tosses and twists of the wrist, Vitrus juggles a dirk expertly about his hand. In several intricate motions, Vitrus spins a dirk in his hand and amidst his fingers. In a series of short twists, Vitrus has a dirk snake about his hand and wrist. In a slow but complex motion, Vitrus twists and twirls a dirk about his fingers. Vitrus attempts to spin a dagger but it comes out as clumsy and slow.

Knife Push Aside pushaside

This maneuver is an attempt to force the opponent's weapon out of line using the dirk's quillions. Successful performing of the maneuver means the opponent temporarily loses grip on their weapon and is disarmed. In extreme cases, and only if the wielder is particularly skilled, this technique may actually fling the opponent's weapon away from him. Of course, you can only use this skill if the target must be wielding a weapon.

When you see this in use you see:

Dreggo throws his weight towards a thug, ineffectually pushing upwards with the quillions of his dagger.

Knife Round Strike round

This attack, similar to other round strikes in principle, attempts to bypass a defender's block using a deft twirling motion of the dirk. Because the power of the thrust is less concentrated, it does less damage then a regular thrusting attack. If the opponent doesn't try a block, this is just a fancy-looking jab. The nimbleness of short blades makes the rounding strike technique easier then with other weapons.

• Ranks in both Knives and Round Strike count toward the chance to circumvent the target's defenses.

When you see this in use you see:

With an agile movement of the wrist, Maerodus whirls his dagger while lunging forward at a thug, but misses.

Knife Underhand Stab ustab

This strike is just like Overhead Strike,except that if it gets through the opponent's defenses, it is more likely to hit him in the guts or heart, and therefore more likely to kill him or put him out of commission. Stabbing someone in the head and shoulders just isn't as effective. This technique can be among the most damaging available, however it can only be directed towards the most vital areas of the chest and waist, and so is less useful against a heavily armored opponent.

• This attack bypasses a portion of the opponent's defense.

When you see this in use you see:

Tightly gripping his dagger, Dreggo makes a quick underhand stab aimed at you, but fails to hit.

Knife Whirling Slash whirlslash

The wielder whirls all the way around, then a little further, dragging the dirk's blade across the opponent's body on the way by. If the initial attack succeeds, a second check is made whether the wielder gets in another strike. If the second slash is successful, it inflicts about twice the damage as usual. The better the wielder is in basic slash, the easier it is to begin a whirling slash and the greater the chance of a second slash succeeding. Because of the nature of the attack, it can only be aimed at areas of the body, not specific parts.

When you see this in use you see:

Gilven takes a step back while gripping his blade tightly and begins a spinning motion, slashing at a thug, but misses.

Knife Stab and Slash doublecut

The wielder tries a standard Stab, but follows through, if it hits, with an automatic Slashing attack. The initial stab must succeed in order for the follow-up slash to take place and each stage is greatly affected by the wielder's proficiency in the corresponding skill.

When you see this in use you see:

Dreggo tightly grips his dagger. Stepping towards a thug, he then lunges a stab towards a thug and strikes. Dreggo then moves his rear foot forward and pivots on it, spinning his whole body, while his blade arcs viciously in a follow-up slash!

Knife Flicking Feint flick

A feinting maneuver where the attacker flicks their weapon at their target, bouncing it off them before catching it again. Not only does it put the target off guard, but it also effectively stuns them. If the feint isn't effective, the attacker will drop their weapon.

When you see this in use you see:

Vitrus flips forward his knife in an attempt to distract his target. He loses control of his knife and watches it bounce harmlessly off him! Vitrus flips forward his knife in an attempt to distract his target! His target is momentarily put off guard!

Knives Grip

With enough training in Grip, you are able to raise your dexterity in combat situations. A grandmaster in this skill will be equivalent to low-end great dexterity.

When you see this in use you see:

(This is a passive skill that improves your dexterity, making it significantly easier to hit targets.)

Knives Accuracy

With enough training in Accuracy, you are able to raise your perception in combat situations. A grandmaster in this skill will be equivalent to low-end great perception.

When you see this in use you see:

(This is a passive skill that improves your perception, making it easier to hit targets.)

Knife Low Block

When you see this in use you see:

Dropping a shoulder, Gilven blocks your tin dagger with his bronze dirk!