Holtzer School

Famed blacksmith, engineer, sculptor and prize fighter, Igor Holtzer only taught three men the secrets to the creation of his specialized panzerhands. Even so, his two-fisted fighting style survived to this day, taught through the special Smiths' Guild that creates the Holtzer panzerhand.

The advantage of the Holtzer style is within it's fierce control. The two panzerhands are no longer weapons, but steel gloves around the fighter's hands, allowing him to fearlessly bat away at swords and give a lethal edge to normally less than fatal punches.

The nature of the panzerhand requires delicate placing of distance between a Holtzer fighter and his opponent. As such, he who controls the distance between them is the one who controls the fight. A carefully placed retreat followed by a tactical assault can prove the downfall of a Holtzer fighter.

Country of Origin: Eisen

Guild Sanctioned: No. Instead, students gain a free rank in any one of their Swordsman Knacks.

Basic Curriculum: Panzerhand, Pugilism

Swordsman Knacks: Corps-a-Corps, Disarm (Panzerhand), Riposte (Panzerhand), Exploit Weakness (Holtzer)

Apprentice: Holtzer fighters are taught even the intricate mechanics of the panzerhand, giving them complete control of the weapon. While armed with a panzerhand, they may make 0k2 bare handed attacks (including Corps-a-Corps and Pugilism attacks). Also, the off-hand penalty for a second panzerhand is negated.

Journeyman: A journeyman has learned to strike with both fists at once, delivering a powerful blow. Any bare-handed attack may have a second fist thrown in, granting two unkept dice of damage but reducing the journeyman's passive defense to 5 for this phase only. This includes Jab, Uppercut, and Corps-a-Corps. If used with Uppercut, the Passive defense is 5 for this phase and the next.

Master: Upon mastering the Holtzer style, a warrior can punch straight through any material. It is said that the Holtzer master Klaus Ritter would end a fight with an unworthy opponent by pulling out their heart. Whenever a master deals one or more Dramatic Wounds, he may spend an Action Die (in any phase) to deal an additional Dramatic Wound.

Holtzer Panzerhand

[2/4 pt. advantage; may be bought twice] To the common soldier, this is simply another panzerhand. If perceptive, they may notice the almost glove-like nature of it and the abnormal placement of spikes along the forearm. However, a student of the Holtzer school learns that each and every joint is carefully engineered, some with clockwork gears, to allow for the nimblest use in combat. Holtzer made two very different designs, a far less powerful one using steel, and another utilizing the mystic strength of the dracheneisen.

Holtzer panzerhands made of steel are far superior to the common variety in design, and thus are custom fit to act as a second skin of steel. Requiring minute craftsmanship and days of calculation to form, once a Holtzer panzerhand is made for a warrior, he almost never need take it off. No penalties are incurred for wearing a Holtzer panzerhand while performing actions requiring manual dexterity (including lockpicking and surgery).

In order to make a steel Holtzer Panzerhand, a Holtzer student must have obtained the rank of Journeyman, have a Drafting knack of 1 or greater, a Natural Philosophy knack or a Tinker knack of 3 or greater, a Mathematics knack of 4 or greater, and a Blacksmith knack of 5 or 6. The process requires an hour of measurements of the intended recipient's arms, five full days of calculation and drafting (this may be reduced by one day with a successful Natural Philosophy or Mathematics roll at TN 35, plus an additional day for every two raises made), and six full weeks of forging the components and putting them together (this may be reduced by one day with a successful Blacksmith roll at TN 30, plus an additional day for each raise made, or with a successful Tinker roll at TN 20, plus one additional day for each raise made).
[2 Hero Points each]

Made of Dracheneisen, Holtzer panzerhands become a particularly formidable and gruesome weapon. The gears in them have been augmented according to the nature of Dracheneisen, as mechanical stress that would usually reduce steel to filings never even causes Dracheneisen to squeak. The mechanics within the Dracheneisen design actually augment the wearer's strength, allowing for greater control of the hand. The wearer gains +1 unkept die to any Finesse or Brawn roll that is purely manual in nature, and does not use a tool. This includes all knacks taught by the Holtzer school, any Bear Hug, Break, Break Fall, Climbing, Grapple, Lifting, or Swinging rolls (others at GM discretion), and damage.
[4 additional Hero Points (costs 8 Dracheneisen points)]

Holtzer panzerhands made of Dracheneisen are available only to the Holtzer smiths themselves and nobility; not even a smith's firstborn may inherit Dracheneisen.

Last updated: April 1, 2004
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