Class notes:
Classes are based on a concept, with powers diverting depending on how the person with the class develops. There are Armsmasters who don't have Cross-Skill but instead get bonuses for switching weapons every attack, and others who can learn the 'Third Version' of a weapon technique for each weapon they are sufficiently trained in.
Armsmaster 30 (Tier 4)
Requirements: Attain 10 in 15 different weapon skills and 15 in one weapon skill.
Corvayne's Abilities:
1: Cross train – Similar weapons get bonuses to learning if another weapon skill is higher level.
1: Retention – Weapon based training never fades.
5: Strength of Arms – When using a weapon skill, improves performance based on highest level of any weapon.
5: Pupil of Arms – Quickly learn other's active skills if they are better then the known ones or when the Armsmaster has sufficient skill.
10: Cross Execute – Improves the ability to use weapon skills with similar weapons, reducing any penalties. Armsmaster levels improve what skills can be crossed as well as improve effect when cross attacking.
15: Blade Dancer – Weapon skill of wielded weapon improves parrying and evasion.
20: Cross-Skill – Can use known weapon skills with impossible weapons. Armsmaster levels improve stamina cost and improve effects.
25: Quick Swap – Skill that allows user to switch weapons very fast, even mid-swing. Corvayne usually uses a 2 handed weapon, so he doesn't know he has this yet.
30: Monkey Grip – Can use double 2 handed weapons. Improves using a 2 handed weapons. When properly equipped makes the user much harder to disarm. This is something he just flat out doesn't notice.
What weapon skills does he actually know?
Some classes, Corvayne has seen both Advanced and Basic versions of skills. I've put the Advanced first then used a / for the basic version.
As you go further into the tree, skills become more and more personalized.
Spears Weapon Skills:
Spear Weapon skills are generally about mobility. A warrior using a spear is a skirmisher, striking important targets and backing off. Spears and Waves-Within both lean to styles that emulate water and channel her innate element, where Corvayne is focused on the martial advantage his reach gives him. Spears also leans into a style that uses air attacks to ambush and surprise enemies. Corvayne doesn't have a shield, which would be a third soldier type spear use that focuses on being a bulwark.
??? / Thrust (Fast attack, improved damage, minor stamina use): A quick Spear attack, carrying more force then should be possible. The version Corvayne uses moves him forward slightly, but usually has no other notable effects.
Juxtapose / Spear Slide (evade + move enemy, swapping position, minor stamina use): Spear Slide is the more physics friendly version that uses the haft of the warriors weapon to divert and get behind or to the side of their enemies, moving a little faster maybe then expected. Juxtapose is the extreme version, letting the user swap positions even when it doesn't make sense. To outside observers, there's often a bit of blurring.
??? / Leap Strike (extra damage from above. Mid stamina use. Extra damage vs Flying). Requires height to execute. The weight and accuracy increase that Corvayne felt the first time is part of the skill rather then just his gravity kicking in. The extra speed that the attacker falls can catch someone who doesn't know how the skill works off guard.
Flow Like Water/Charging thrust (attack and evade while moving forward. Water element: Turns into water, ignoring attacks. Mid stamina use. Extra damage vs Fire, Dust, Sand). Charging Thrust is an impressive set of six steps through enemies space, letting the user move and attack very efficiently. Despite the name implying that you are barreling at someone, it can be used to disengage. Flow Like Water is Waves-Within and Spears-Like-Water's signature take. Corvayne often looks like hes trailing mist or creates splashes when he uses this move, but the master of this move is Spears as seen in their one on one fight.
Storm Thrust/Full Thrust (high damage, extra range, peirces enemies. Thunder style: Knocks enemies down. Lightning style: Improves damage and range. High stamina use. Extra damage vs aquatic and water) Full Thrust creates a small shock wave when it fires which both increases the damage and knocks the target back, and when performed in the dark has a sort of orange glow to it. Storm Thrust is one of the few moves that Corvayne can call his own, and the very strong burst of wind means that it can be a less lethal way of knocking someone down without being close to them.
Shadow Thrust/??? (Moderate damage, extra range, extremely low stamina use, low mana use) Corvayne has an affinity for darkness, but has not tried this yet.
He may have skills he doesn't remember... Hmm.
Short blades:
Many of the Short Blade skills are designed for assassins, either to dispatch a single target unaware they are there, or to tag their enemies with a lethal blow. Brines uses knives a third way: mostly as tools for their special attacks, as he is not particularly stealthy. Growl-Whine on the other hand grows her own knives, but has mostly been killing things with her katana. Grunt is suprisingly skilled with them, but they don't match his preferred methodology like baseball bats do, nor do they let him enjoy recreational activities after washing blood off them.
Backstab/Sneak Attack (Extra damage when behind enemy. Users report a very pleasing sound that no enemies can hear. No stamina use): The go-to of rouges everywhere, these attacks seem to create a larger surface of 'penetration' to multiply damage. It would explain the large round holes it leaves in victims.
Phantom Knife/Knife Toss (ranged attack, weapon comes back, small stamina use. Extra damage on high armor) The basic version helps ensure that the blade of whatever 'Knife' or small sword thrown hits, as well as acting as a small force multiplier by leveraging the users skill in throwing. The phantom weapon leaves a translucent blue trail, but does not glow making it suitable for sniping. The biggest difference is that Phantom Knife allows the weapon to hit more then one object, and is much much much harder to disrupt by a pesky 'Catch' ability.
Blender (Multiple quick weak attacks. Spreads out damage on multiple targets. Mid stamina use). The user seems to blur a little and quickly jabs a bunch of targets. While useful as an assassin or using a weapon that has some sort of on-hit effect, it forces the user to be very close to a group of enemies. Corvayne knows this move, but usually has a better option. He suspects this is the basic version and that there's some difference with an Advanced version that would make it better.
Bleeder (next attack causes bleeding. Targets without blood will leak something based on animating force. low stamina use) The weapon leaves a trail of blood even before it strikes. Things that shouldn't bleed do, but it works best on soft targets because the 'bleed' is based on how big and deep the wound is. Corvayne should really be applying this with an arrow before any major fight, but I forgive him for leaving the bows to Mister I.
Shadow Stealer (moderate damage. Causes target to be exposed and reduces armor and shadow resistance. Shifts user into shade state, improves physical defense, reduces light resistance. Moderate Stamina) With his shadows doing much more damage it seems like a very Corvayne move, especially if he keeps putting energy into improving those shadows. The effect is targeted at the target's shadow, slicing off part of it. Author Note: (I don't think it couldn't be used in total darkness, but could be used on invisible foes if you hit where their shadow would be! This will never come up in the story, but please enjoy a battle where this turns the tide in your mind palace.)
Long blades:
The weapon of nobility, sword skills are built around dueling and hampering a single enemy. Hari and Undine favor swords, as they are usually skirmishing to pick off or distract an important target.
Light Cut/Fast Blade: (Damages regardless of phase. Deals lots of damage to insubstantial enemies. Deals half radiant damage. Low stamina. Combos with Soul reaper). Fast Blade simply makes the blade vanish, where light cut leaves a glowing white trail. These attacks simply enhance a sword strike, so one could do a 'Light Cut' where they jab instead.
Crescent Blade/Afterimage: (Next 3 attacks leave afterimage that damages for 3 seconds if touched. Mid stamina. Extra damage on electric, large and bigger targets). Afterimage only works on a single attack, vs the advanced version creating 3. Crescent Blade images are difficult to tell apart from the person in the heat of battle, but watching from afar they are pretty unconvincing. Most intelligent people learn after the first one, which makes it more suited for controlling a battlefield.
Sundering Strike/Blade breaker: (Deals extra damage to equipment or metal or stone monsters. Mid stamina. High combo chance on stone and metal and earth based enemy). See Sundering Blade. Blade Breaker is much worse as it can't target metal and stone monsters. The hit is very loud and creates temporary debris even if the mass removed from the target wouldn't merit it.
Pivot Thrust: (changes direction quickly and deals high damage to secondary target) Corvayne hasn't used this much, partially because it requires being engaged in melee with one target and having another approach. The effect makes the user's movement unnaturally smooth and is somewhat disturbing to watch. Perhaps the main reason for this skill is to ensure that your duel stays a duel?
Metal Arc: (high single damage attack, raises defense). Because Corvayne dodges, you won't see this one too often. Still, the effect makes the arm swinging the weapon look like living steel, so it's a neat cosmetic effect. I am amused to think of it being used when Corvayne is stomping on someones foot.
Double Handed Blades:
Big weapons designed to do high damage to everything around them. Lady Blood Claw and Diamonds-In-Passing are two notable users, though Lady Blood Claw really us using 'Heat Blades' which likely have their own quirks. Maybe she'll teach Corvayne a thing or two some day?
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Sundering Blade/???: (Deals extra damage to equipment, high chance of dismember if not blocked or evaded. High stamina use. High combo chance on constructs). See Sundering Strike. This version looks a little different and is more suited to a large weapon, but one of the 'Sundering' moves is probably a bastardization of the other that someone wanted to make work on a bigger/smaller weapon.
Giant swing/???: (Deals extreme damage and knocks back or knocks down. Very high stamina use.) Has a long forced windup, and because of the very high damage is hard to practice in a safe environment. Corvayne doesn't use it very much, but it makes a lovely woosh and can launch whatever it hits into the stratosphere.
Circle of Death/???: (360 attack, cuts through or knocks away enemies. High stamina use. Stops if sword hits immobile object. Higher skill makes it less likely for this to be an issue. High damage on small enemies.) You know it, you love it. Leaves a weird dark trail for most users, this attack sort of ignores matter between it and it's enemies: it does less damage if the natural path of the weapon would hit armor or walls. As Corvayne may have noticed, this skill is not as hard to 'aim' while spinning as it should be. It does not make you dizzy even if you do it over and over, though if someone is on your shoulders while you do this, they are not immune to throwing up all over, possibly in a wide arc.
Diamond Wedge/???: (Large damage, partially ice damage and partially ignores defense, defense ignored and ice damage percent increases with skill, high stamina use) Diamonds-In-Passing could create a cone of ice by slamming her blade into the ground, but Corvayne can't quite get the trick himself yet. I'm not bringing this up for any particular reason. Don't worry about it.
Hand Axe:
Axes are sort of 'manly' and want the user to stand their ground. Many of the attacks are used and developed by dwarves in heavy armor and lumberjacks killing trees. Mugs-Already-Empty is the axe user who beat these moves into Corvayne.
Chop: (Extra damage. Mid stamina use on first attack. No stamina use on successive uses if standing in the same spot. High damage on wood monsters.) This move is well paired with shield skills due to not needed stamina to repeat. Makes a nice solid thwack noise on contact.
Whirling Axe: (Ranged attack: Creates a wind blade that is thrown into an enemy. Throwing skill also improves skill. Small stamina use. High damage on earth monsters and fliers) One of Corvayne's favorites... this makes a green disk of windy death. At least, it is on low armor targets and small monsters.
Limbtaker: (high damage. Chance of dismember. Mid stamina use. High damage on humanoids): A very dangerous move, the sort of thing that people seeing or hearing it feel there's killing intent with it. Even a small cut might jump across a limb, so it's not something that can be practiced unless both warriors have a death wish.
Battle Axe:
All in big axe attacks for two handers. Mugs-Already-Empty was the main user. Corvayne doesn't use these moves much as they are sort of the opposite style he takes of avoiding attacks and quickly striking.
Cleave I: (High damage. Attacks again if a kill. Mid stamina use, restores some on kill) Like Juxtapose, it makes it look like the user just goes right through the enemy. Makes a mess. Highly recommended if you are trying to impress a twisted girl who likes gore.
Berserkers charge: (High damage charge skill. Knocks enemy up. High stamina use. High damage on defending) A battlefield skill or well suited for enemies in tunnels, this ability requires a certain time spent building up speed, but aids it's user. Targets sent flying tend to 'ragdoll' while in the air. Corvayne probably has shown off this one on milk crates, at least until they landed on another building's roof and he, Wick, and Grunt scattered back into the factory.
Execute: (High damage, high chance of crit on enemy that's movement is hampered. High stamina use) Actually very strong as a stealth move, this requires the enemy to be almost entirely unable to dodge or move. The user of this move glows deep red as does the weapon. It's scary!
Scythe:
Used by Sand-Like-Waves, who isn't really in this story much. I'm sure they are perfectly fine/horrible person. They are designed for crowd control and are associated with necromancers as it's great for tripping people and letting zombies get them, or perhaps blinding them with patches of dark.
Reap: (Mid damage. Low stamina use. Brings enemy closer or trips) Both the first scythe moves can be used to leave the trails of shadow that Corvayne's version has. Reap doesn't go through targets more then a giant scythe normally would, but has a little bit of 'draw in' to things that the blade misses. The usual combo is to use this skill before anything gets close then Thresh to knock a bunch of enemies over.
Thresh: (Low Aoe damage. Low stamina use. Trips enemies close). This is the one that goes through things, but the trip requires hitting something that counts as a leg. How Gruesome.
Soul Reaper: (very very low damage, steals mana, extreme damage on undead/spirits. Very slow attack. Low stamina use). As seen with Corvayne using this VERY SLOW attack to delay a nuke going off, this skill was meant to cleanse the dead. Necromancers do make mistakes sometimes after all, and there are harvest priests perhaps who might use a scythe and fixate on things like 'removing the wheat from the chaff' a little too much.
Katana:
Moon-Laughing-with-Stars and especially Growl-Whine enjoy using the long curved blades. The Katana is meant to be a sort of tactical combo weapon, using Draw and Sheath to open and close chains of attacks. A thinking warrior's weapon, as planning is required to be positioned to cap off chains and know which moves can flow into each other as part of the dance, as well as how to fight more then one enemy with the expensive attacks.
Draw: (Extreme damage. Requires sheathed weapon. Attack Pierces. Damage is delayed. Extreme stamina use.) The lightning draw that samurai are known for! In movies at least.
Shadow Step: (High damage charging attack. Moves very quickly past enemy. Extreme stamina use.) This move nearly knocked Corvayne out the few times he used it. Without the rest of the abilities, it's really more or less a slightly higher damage Flow-Like-Water, which is why he doesn't use it more.
Sheath the Life: (puts weapon away, hits all enemies struck in the last 3 seconds with high damage bleed. Recovers stamina on any kills. No stamina use.) Corvayne could probably do more with Draw/Sheath, but it requires the right kind of fight and weapon. His spear is a poor substitute for hanzo steel after all.
[Crecent Moon Drop], [Swaying With A Hunter's Touch], [A Breeze Through Open Trees]: More advanced Katana moves the Spider uses. Maybe if Corvayne could understand her, she'd tell him how to use the damn things!
Maces: Knocks-Off-Tables
Beatdown: (Attacks 3 times in succession. Mid stamina use. High damage on armored)
Grand Slam: (Extreme to incredible damage based on time winding up. Usually requires set up or large target to work. Mid stamina use)
One-Two: (Low damage attack that stuns, Low damage attack that knocks enemy off ground. Mid stamina use)
Drumming blow (Mid damage low accuracy chained attacks 5x times. Bound or slowed or knocked up enemies vastly improve accuracy)
Unarmed:
Fights-Like-a-Bull was the trainer. Like all good martial artists, he had spiky hair. Unarmed is also a sort of combo weapon, but with lots of tricks to use low stamina moves quickly. Corvayne uses them somewhat sparingly, as he spends a lot of time fighting monsters or bad people with a weapon. Of note is Springwind, which the mysterious Dust Man has been urging him to learn.
Rabbit Punches/Hummingbird Strikes: (Extremely fast extreme low damage attack. Can be chained, starts free then uses increasing stamina. Can be used with free offhand. Deals fire damage after 5th hit) Makes chirping noises until you attack so fast your hands start on fire.
Nerve Pinch/Jab: (no/low damage. Inflicts sleep/unconscious). Low stamina, requires much higher level then target to work. I go by Pokemon rules for non-lethal takedowns with 'JUDO CHOP'. I also showed incredible restraint not having Corvayne shout 'JUDO CHOP'.
Judo Throw/Throw: (Low damage and throws enemy. Judo throw: Extra damage based on enemy moving. Low stamina use. Requires 2 free hands.) Throw and the less physics friendly JUDO THROW use an enemies own momentum against them. Great on burly types trying to ram you.
???/Sweep: (Low damage and trips enemy. Works better on enemies standing still. Low stamina use. Can be used with both hands busy.) Corvayne sometimes will use this instead of Thresh as it is more suited to buying space and can be thrown out a little faster then Thresh or Reap.
???/One Inch Punch: (Deals damage scales with stamina recently used. Low stamina use. Requires one free hand.) The finisher for Unarmed skills, Corvayne might use it instead of Sheath to cap off a combo if he's not sure it's going to kill his target. Another reason monks should need lots of Con for stamina!
Springwind/???: Potential skill level 30 martial arts skill.
Guns and Bows:
Various ranged attacks. Bows also covers Crossbows and Guns Chases-Up-Trees was the archery trainer. She also helped raise Spears-Like-Water along with Waves-Within. Coming-In-Hot was the gun trainer, her name ironic given her cold demeanor. Bows are slightly better suited for groups, and Guns are best at taking out a single target at long range. Corvayne generally only uses these techniques when he has throwing knives, spare spears to throw, or a gun, because it's VERY expensive to try to shoot someone with your fingers.
Drill shot: (Medium Stamina, High armor penetration, Chance to break through shields) A bullet that leaves a spiral trail through the air and then grinds into whatever it hits. Corvayne does not use this very much because he's not had too many encounters with heavily armored enemies. Maybe if he fights a dragon that flies it will be more handy?
Ricochet: (Medium Stamina, Increased damage, bullet bounces several times depending on skill) The effect on this one leaves a small white line when the fired bullet hits a wall or impacts an enemy. Corvayne has reservations about using this skill, as it's very chaotic and he doesn't want to find out what happens when you hit someone with a spear using it.
Double shot: (Low Stamina, Fires two arrows in quick succession): The effect looks like the person draws, aims, and fires two arrows very quickly. High skill levels reduce the time between shots, eventually creating a 'twin' arrow. Because the second arrow actually homes in on the first, this ability is very effective for attacking a soft target with shields, provided the user has a bow able to trigger the high impact response in a section of shield the second is almost certainly going through.
Pinning shot (bow): (Medium Stamina, reduced damage x3, Fires a trio of arrows that pin a target to something behind them. Can be fired downwards to pin someone to the ground.) There is a pinning shot for Guns which Corvayne knows exists, but hasn't had time to determine how to use. With good aim and a target with baggy clothes, can pin something down without hurting it, but Corvayne will tell you that it's better to pin a monster to a rock with something it can't afford to lose getting free.
Throwing:
Any object, including knives and grenades. Corvayne as a habit does not like letting go of his spear, so he actually has a tougher time then one would expect with trying to master the simple javelin. Perhaps someone should get him a boomerang as a present? Oh, are they a separate weapon skill? Never mind...
Expert Toss: (Low Stamina, Greatly increases accuracy and somewhat increases range) The most basic throwing technique is simply throwing something better, if not harder. Great for landing a trick shot on someone or getting a grenade right in the middle of a clump of enemies. Great for Baseball.
Arcing toss: (Low Stamina, Increases range and accuracy while giving thrown object a particular arc) Overlaps a lot with expert toss, but lets the user find a way to throw things to hit both a certain mid point and endpoint. Great for basketball and horseshoes.
Heavy weapon:
Not used a lot (yet) as Corvayne has not manned the machine guns on the truck, which are the heavy weapons we've seen. All the skills are designed to compensate for dealing with an ammo hungry weapon then push them to be even more destructive.
Burst Fire (Extreme Stamina: Weapon fires three times or triples it's output for a short period of time) The effect causes the user to glow red and make a weird critical noise when it's fired. According to Coming-In-Hot you can aim things like missiles slightly off target to maximize spread rather then have the first blow the next two missiles up. The only weapon he might have a use for doing this with, so far, was his lava knife, and he ended up burning it (no pun intended) in the spur of the moment. The skill takes so much energy that it's really only viable as a Cross-Skill when he's trying to alpha strike a lone target.
Mow down (Extreme Stamina: Multiples shots up to five times on firing or for a short period of time, sending the extra attacks at different targets) Causes the projectile to split a little after being fired. Good against groups, but Corvayne would want a sufficiently lethal weapon to merit running a marathon to fire for five seconds.
Shield:
A weapon that's armor! A person with super human strength can lug around a physical shield that actually lets them just block a direct strike, though using the flimsy weapons he has to block is usually a measure of desperation. Still, one can use a shield to deflect attacks and Shield Wall is something he's used at times for zone denial.
Block and Counter: (High stamina, block and regular attack back faster then normal. Stamina cost reduced by many factors.) Basically requires a shield or a large weapon to deflect or just drains a lot of stamina for a slightly faster counter attack. Also requires timing. Makes a nice 'Ding' sound apparently when you block and counter with a perfect shield parry.
Hunker down: (Improves stamina regeneration as long as user doesn't move or attack. Low stamina to activate. ~5 seconds to break even) At the moment a very small cost for a very small increase in stamina. Corvayne, if he trained with Shields more, would likely be using this between battles when in the dungeons. One of those skills he might not recognize as a skill, to be quite honest: it's very close to what one does with a shield if they are holding a line anyway.
Shield Bash 1: (Mid stamina, low damage, Stuns, knocks back, knocks over): The weapon being used to bash turns gray for a moment. Blunt implements do better, but for Corvayne the flat of a blade is good enough, as is his spear's butt. While this tends to be a more soldierly way of fighting, Corvayne in a pinch would be happy to hold a hallway with a shield and bash and stab his way to victory.
Shield Wall: (High stamina, Creates an arc of shields. Shields block attacks, movement, and attack targets they touch at high skill): The shields are visibly 'semi real' as they track with the user's shield (or weapon in Corvayne's case) as the center. There's a few points early in the story where this was handy, but he needs a real shield and some more training to make it better at defending a point compared to just spraying it with a dagger. Still, a skill Corvayne likes a lot with his spear.
Aegis Reflector: (Extreme Stamina, Reflects 1 attack back. Stamina cost reduced to free if another attack was parried.) Again, Corvayne knows that a really good shield holder, such as his father Half-Claimed-Crown, can 'bounce' attacks with the right timing. A rare case where he doesn't think he can use this skill because it's just a pain in the ass to use right, and possibly requires a higher total stamina pool outside the 'if' clause.
Staff:
Corvayne's training with staff was mostly self-taught since coming to Cascadia. There was a staff trainer, Dreams-In-Gold, who used quarterstaves specifically, but he never got around to doing more then a few sessions learning to use a quarterstaff. One wonders if, given the right mindset, he wouldn't have trained Staff up while sparring with 'practice spears' that are pretty much just that. The weapon style that he saw Dreams use seemed to weave in oddball moves to surprise a single fighter, and wide warding motions to push multiple people back.
Knock: (low stamina, moderate damage. Reduces spell power temporarily.) With a satisfying THUNK this attack hits an enemy wherever it's brain is held and does a little extra damage, while also disrupting their spell power. With the possibility of a regular over-the-counter concussion too, it makes this weapon very good at shutting a mage down.
Crushing blow: (low stamina, puts into overhead stance for extra damage on reactive attack) More then simple physics, this attack is sort of zone denial but for one enemy, IE the first to get close enough. Because it's a special move and only takes energy when you first lift the weapon, it's also a way to carry something that is like a staff without your arms getting tired, as long as you are doing it in a place where you can hold it directly above your head.
Butchering:
Used by Corvayne alone so far, it seems with the amount of blood Butchery shoots out that this is a MEATY skill set! Perhaps another necromancer standard, along with the scythe? Or their undead minions.
Butchery: (high stamina, moderate damage. Ignores natural armor.) Very effective against living and dead targets. Both leaves a trail of blood and creates a sort of sharp meat packing sound when it connects. One of the better moves against things like the Dragons, with their very hard natural armor, and also why you won't see Corvayne use Drill Shot against a similar target any time soon.