#6 New Horsemanship Schools (first creation)
Contents
The core's Horsemanship skill has no schools at all. This expansion creates 6 kinds for the first time. Leaving the basic effect of the core Horsemanship skill as it is, each of the 6 schools provides Mounted Unity (Licensed · newly created) · Mounted Charge (secret art · newly created).
⚠ Note on newly created skills: since the core Horsemanship has no schools, there is no "core basic maneuver." This expansion fills that place directly with maneuvers. The check/Energy structure of the core Horsemanship skill is preserved.
#§ Scent — The Hundred Branches of the Horse
The horse makes a swordsman twice as tall. And the speed of the battlefield four times as fast. On the plains the horse arrives before the weapon, in the mountains the horse becomes the feet, and in the desert the horse becomes the companion. This document records 6 kinds — Japanese warrior, Mongol, Joseon, Arab, Spanish, Cossack.
#§ Law — 6 Schools
#15-01. Mounted Warrior (騎馬武士) — Famous school · Japan
The traditional art of the Japanese warrior house. The Way of Bow and Horse (弓馬) — combining bow, spear, and sword on horseback. Includes both the yabusame (流鏑馬) ritual and actual military combat.
- Add-on: bow-and-horse synthesis — while mounted, choose +1 to the check of 1 of Archery/Spearmanship/Swordsmanship (decided at the start of combat).
- Restriction: all bonuses void while on foot.
| Stage | New Licensed | New secret art |
|---|---|---|
| Mounted Unity | [stance] Bow-and-Horse Stance: Energy 1. during the stance, while mounted, first attack +2 (the chosen skill). | — |
| Mounted Charge | — | [Kata] Yabusame Single Shot: Energy 4. triggers during mounted relocation. relocate 1 zone + attack +3 + Pierce 2. aim focus [Pierce] allowed (§aim focus). |
- Approach: Japanese warrior-house origin, or a yabusame-ritual Licensed.
- Play type: warrior Horsemanship, bow-and-horse synthesis
- Related: 12-pure Archery / 10-Swordsmanship / 11-Spearmanship
#15-02. Mongol Bodyguard Cavalry (蒙古親衛騎兵) — foreign style · nomadic
- Source: the Genghis Khan bodyguard Keshik (Keshik)
- Era: 13th century (founded in 1206)
- Cultural sphere: Mongol Empire
Cultural origin: the Genghis Khan bodyguard Keshik (Keshik). A whole life of activity on horseback. Combining short bow, curved blade, and lasso. The standard emblem of plains warfare.
- Add-on: plains warrior — all mounted checks +2 in plains terrain.
- Restriction: mountain/city -1 (a plains-limited esoterica).
| Stage | New Licensed | New secret art |
|---|---|---|
| Mounted Unity | [aptitude] Breath of the Plains: in plains terrain, mounted Energy -1 (minimum 1). | — |
| Mounted Charge | — | [Kata] Keshik Set: Energy 3. triggers only on the plains. relocate 3 zones + attack +4 · escape free after relocation. (this expansion's §5 relocation-maneuver balance — secret art + plains-limited + mounted-limited + 1 combat 1 time: satisfies the 4 balance conditions.) |
- Approach: nomadic-origin background, foreign Adaptation (nomadic), or a Genghis bodyguard-squad Licensed.
- Play type: plains Horsemanship, Swift Set
- Related: 12-03 Mongol mounted bow / 25-famous-squads Genghis bodyguard
#15-03. Joseon Mounted Archery (朝鮮騎射) — foreign style · Joseon
Cultural origin: an official event of the Joseon military examination. Gisa (騎射) — archery on horseback. Refined with the military camp at its center. Recorded in the Muyedobotongji.
- Add-on: still-shooting thought — when stationary on horseback, shooting check +2.
- Restriction: shooting during mounted relocation is basic (-0).
| Stage | New Licensed | New secret art |
|---|---|---|
| Mounted Unity | [stance] Still-Shooting Stance: Energy 1. during the stance, when stationary on horseback, shooting +2 · interval +1. | — |
| Mounted Charge | — | [Kata] Officer's Discipline: Energy 3. after mounted relocation, stop + 1 shot. when shooting, attack +4. |
- Approach: Joseon-origin background (02-03), foreign Adaptation (Joseon), or instruction under a Joseon military officer.
- Play type: Joseon military officer, still-shooting Horsemanship
- Related: 10-05 Joseon Sebeop / 12-02 Joseon Horn-Bow Archery
#15-04. Saracen Cavalry (Saracen Cavalry) — foreign style · Arab
Cultural origin: elite cavalry of the Islamic sphere of the 11th~13th century. A combination of curved blade (scimitar), composite bow, and light armor. Famed in the wars against the Crusaders. Adaptation to desert terrain.
- Add-on: desert Adaptation — all checks +1 in desert/tropical terrain · immune to exhaustion (fatigue).
- Restriction: cold zone (寒帶) / wetland -2.
| Stage | New Licensed | New secret art |
|---|---|---|
| Mounted Unity | [stance] Scimitar Stance: Energy 2. during the stance, mounted curved-blade attack +2 · post-relocation attack penalty void. | — |
| Mounted Charge | — | [Kata] Desert Whirl: Energy 4. mounted bypass relocation (3 zones, can pass through enemies) + attack +3 · on a Critical Hit, unhorse the enemy. |
- Approach: Arab-sphere-origin background, foreign Adaptation (Arab/Middle Eastern), or instruction under a sipahi/Mamluk.
- Play type: desert Horsemanship, whirling Surprise Attack
- Related: 12-08 Turkish composite bow (thought affinity)
#15-05. Spanish Jineta (Jineta) — foreign style · Europe
Cultural origin: light cavalry of Castile/Aragon influenced by the Moors. A combination of short stirrups (jinete), curved blade, and spear. Quick evasion and a whirling strike. Famed in the Moorish wars and the conquest of the New World.
- Add-on: evasion thought — mounted evasion check +2.
- Restriction: weak at head-on collision — bonuses void during a mounted head-on charge.
| Stage | New Licensed | New secret art |
|---|---|---|
| Mounted Unity | [aptitude] Short Stirrups: mounted evasion check +2 · relocation penalty void. | — |
| Mounted Charge | — | [Kata] Whirl of the Jineta: Energy 3. mounted left-right bypass relocation (2 zones) + flank attack +3 · counter free. |
- Approach: Nanban (Spanish)-origin background, foreign Adaptation (Nanban), or instruction under Castilian light cavalry.
- Play type: evasion Horsemanship, flank set
- Related: 10-09 Destreza (Spanish thought affinity)
#15-06. Cossack (Cossack) — foreign style · nomadic
Cultural origin: free mounted bands of the Ukrainian/Russian frontier of the 16th~17th century. A self-governing military community. Curved blade, short gun, lasso. A mix of settled farmers and nomadic-raiding cavalry.
- Add-on: free Horsemanship — mounted check -0 in any terrain (terrain penalty exempt).
- Restriction: difficult cooperation with regular armies — squad-coordination bonus with regular NPCs void.
| Stage | New Licensed | New secret art |
|---|---|---|
| Mounted Unity | [stance] Free Horsemanship: Energy 1. during the stance, exempt all terrain penalties. | — |
| Mounted Charge | — | [Kata] Kazaki Ring Set: Energy 4. mounted relocation + curved blade and short gun 1 time each (2 attacks total, both +2). |
- Approach: nomadic-origin background, foreign Adaptation (nomadic), or joining a Cossack Kazaki (community).
- Play type: free Horsemanship, frontier raiding
- Related: 25-famous-squads Cossack Kazaki squad / 14-Ninjutsu (affinity with the banditry aspect)
#§ Design Perspective
- Type distribution of the 6 schools: Famous schools 1 (15-01) + foreign style 5 (15-02·03·04·05·06). Satisfies this expansion's §4.4.0 recommended balance (foreign-style emphasis made explicit).
- Standardization of the newly created skill: since the core Horsemanship skill had no schools, this expansion introduces them for the first time. All 6 schools follow the same Licensed/secret-art maneuver-slot structure — consistent with the Licensed/secret-art slots of the core Swordsmanship, Spearmanship, Unarmed Combat, and the like.
- Crossing with bow, spear, and sword: operating diverse weapons on horseback such as bow (15-02·15-03·15-04), spear (15-01·15-04), and sword (15-01·15-05·15-06). Dual links with sections 12·11·10 recommended.
- Independent of the mounted-combat general technique: these schools are usable even without the "mounted combat" general technique. Holding the general technique grants additional bonuses (the effect of that general technique is as in the core).
- Preservation of the core skill: the check formula and Energy cost of the core Horsemanship skill itself are preserved. This expansion only adds maneuvers.
"Horsemanship is the breath of two souls. If person and horse do not breathe in a single beat, no school has any meaning."