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Strife of the Hundred Hands- throughout history, leaders and warlords have risen and fallen, each leading their followers with varying degrees of skill. The greatest could direct their troops with almost supernatural ability, using their troops as extensions of their own arms and legs, yet there is a level of command beyond even that that few obtain. A level where the leader takes on a symbiotic relationship with their fellows, moving in perfect coordination and harmony while remaining one of them. Practitioners of the Strife of the Hundred Hands are ones who strive for this standard of synchronization, cultivating their internal energies and psychic abilities to achieve a kind of hivemind with their comrades, allowing a practitioner to utilize the movements of a group as direct extensions of their will. This is not a Strife of grand armies and many moving parts, but of a single unit moving as one. It is a Strife of grizzled sergeants, gang bosses, cell leaders, and demagogues, only those with a strong will and desire to rule are able to master this style. Often taught at war colleges, it can only be learned on the field of battle, applying small unit tactics to large scale groups is one of the keys to the Strife of the Hundred Hands, along with a healthy dose of self-confidence and ego.

Strife of the Hundred Hands: Greater Strife- this strife allows the use of any weapons and armor with it Put Your Backs Into It- Enhance the weapons of your allies. The Adept chooses one allied mob of small size or larger and commits effort as an on turn action. The mob’s weapons or unarmed strikes now deal 1d10 damage and are considered magical. Only one such mob can benefit from this technique at a time, and the mob must remain within hearing distance. Double Time- Make your allies faster. Commit effort for the scene as an on turn action. Double the speed of an allied mob of small size or larger within hearing distance for the rest of the scene. A mob can only benefit from this gift once in a day You Wanna Live Forever?- protect your warriors from terror. Constant. The adept chooses one allied mob of small size or larger within 30 feet as an on turn action. The mob gains a morale of 12, and the adept may commit effort for the scene to defensively dispel fear or other unwanted emotional effects upon themselves or their allied mob. Only one such mob can benefit from this gift at a time Shield Wall- share defenses. Constant. The adept chooses one mob of small size or larger that they share the same space with as an on turn action. The mob’s armor class becomes that of the adept’s, or the adept’s becomes that of the mob, whichever is lower, though the Godbound cannot benefit from any magical bonuses the mob’s armor may have. In addition, whenever the adept would use one of their Words to defensively dispel, or uses a defensive gift or miracle, the allied mob is also included in this defense Demon’s Strength, Soldier’s Heart- grant your soldiers a special attack. The adept commits effort on turn and chooses one allied mob of small or larger size within 30 feet as an on turn action. As long as effort remains committed, the mob loses any Overwhelm or Blood Like Water ability that it has and instead gains the Coordinated Takedown ability. This ability allows the mob, once per turn as a free on turn action, to target a foe they are engaging and deal an automatic damage die equal to their attack damage to this foe. Show You How It’s Done- gain a free attack when your warriors strike a foe. The adept chooses one allied mob of small size or larger within sight a commit effort for the day as an action. During that mob’s turn, if they hit with an attack the adept may make a normal attack as an instant action against the foe who was struck if they could conceivably reach them with their attack. For the purposes of this technique, Overwhelm, Blood Like Water, or the Coordinated Takedown abilities do not trigger this technique, but an automatic hit triggered by a Gift or other ability still counts. An attack that was blocked by an invincible defense, but would otherwise have hit still counts for the purposes of this technique

Strife of the Hundred Hands: Lesser Strife Initiate- the initiate chooses one allied mob. That mob’s attacks now deal at least 1d8 damage with weapons or attacks, and the initiate can commit effort for the scene to increase one allied mob’s speed by 10 feet for the rest of the scene Disciple- the disciple can grant one allied mob a morale of 12 for a round as an action, and if the disciple occupies the same space as friendly mob, both the disciple and the mob may lower their AC by 1 to a minimum of 3 Master- once per scene, the Master can make an attack as an instant action on an enemy that has just been struck with an attack by an allied mob



Sample Master: Irina Krylova- For three hundred years, the automaton nobles of Nedohva have held the land and the lives of the peasants in their quite literal iron fisted grip. For the fleshy people of Nezdohva, if one is not learned or skilled in artifice, it is a hard life of back breaking labor or serving whatever mad whims stem from the robotic minds of their machine overlords. While many have resigned themselves to a life of servitude, having seen the might of the automaton nobility, there are still others who are not so cowed, and are willing to fight. Their reasons for rebellion are myriad, some for revenge, others for freedom, a few for peace of mind, but there are some who wage war upon the metallic masters to satisfy their own ambition. Irina Krylova is one such warrior.

Raised as a child in the house of a minor boyar, Irina experienced firsthand the casual cruelty and absolute power that the boyar wielded over its peasant serfs. Overtime, her hatred of this metal monster grew at the same rate as her lust for power. These automatons didn’t deserve the power they wielded, both personal and political, as it was simply handed to them on their creation. They had earned nothing. Power should be held by those who seized it by the force of their will alone. Secretly studying the works of the masters that the boyar left idly lying about, Irina soon realized that the strength of the boyars, while great, could still be overcome. Carefully watching her masters, she soon spotted weak point and holes in their defenses. Escaping into the villages, her impassioned words woke the ire of her fellow serfs, long tired of their automaton masters. Organizing her fellows and training them in secret, she soon had a surprisingly effective fighting force. Seeing her time to strike was nigh, she led her fellow serfs-turned-freedom-fighters in a surprise attack that quickly turned into a massacre of the nobility. None of them had expected that the humans would be able to mount such an effective offense, but Irina’s guidance and secret mastery of the Strife of the Hundred Hands, the machines fell before the might of human fury.

Plundering what they could, the rebels stole into the country side, ready to wage a guerilla war against the machines, led by Irina Krylova. For her part, Irina is more than happy to lead her fellows against the boyars, for she knows that once the last boyar has fallen and the Iron Tsar has been dethroned, the people will need someone to lead them, and who better than her?

Irina is a cunning and shrewd woman, and her years of training and study have given her access to the Words of Deception and War in addition to her Mastery of the true Strife of the Hundred Hands, also allowing her to commit effort to Auto-Save as a Godbound might. The Pantheon may find a cautious ally in her should they decide to move against the boyars, though she will not want to share the throne. Those who would ally with the automaton nobility will assuredly find an implacable and deadly foe in Irina Krylova

Irina Krylova- AC: 4 regalia armor Hit Dice: 25 Attack: +10×2 Damage: 1d8+2 hammer straight Move 30’ run Save: 5+ Morale: 10 Effort: 6. Can act 2 times per round