This is only to fit into the model of other schools. 
Replace one school knack with Exploit Weakness. 
Chose a weapon type.  Fencing or HW.
Where does Tacto come from?  Why claim it as an advance knack?    It is only mentioned at the end of the write up.
I would rather have Scholar in the school skill than Athlete.  The Scholar skill would at least tie to the mastery abilities.
These are just my thoughts, looking over you school quickly.

(Message edited by Leather neck on 05/01/2008 14:18:53)

This is only to fit into the model of other schools. Replace one school knack with Exploit Weakness.

LVD  was more  like 7th Sea  strategy  schools than  the fencing schools.  It  was applied  martial science, not a martial art style.  That's why it had no set techniques that could be exploited.

Chose a weapon type.  Fencing or HW.

While the rapier was the preferred weapon of most practitioners, LVD was applied to different weapons.  Moreover, it was applied to French, German, and Italian methods.

Where does Tacto come from?  Why claim it as an advance knack?    It is only mentioned at the end of the write up.

Tacto comes from Caranza's texts.  It basically means that you read your opponent using your eyes and blade contact.  I rated it as an Advanced Knack because it's a gestalt skill requiring a foundation in the basics (regular Knacks) rather than actually  being something basic.

I would rather have Scholar in the school skill than Athlete.  The Scholar skill would at least tie to the mastery abilities.

LVD is very much built upon footwork, bladework, and scholarly achievment.  However,  masters did not learn mathematics and physics in LVD.  They learned to apply mathematics and physics  in LVD.  By contrast, they did learn the principles of footwork in LVD.  Thus,  it is much more correct for the School Skills to include Athlete as a School Skill.  It does make the school much more costly to use effectively, but I think that makes it more faithful to the genuine article.  A LVD swordsman must truly be a Renaissance man and not just another fencer or swashbuckler.

These are just my thoughts, looking over you school quickly.

Much appreciated.

i've got to say.  I don't love it. 

While I understand that you don't think that Verdadera Destreza fits as a swordsman school, that is precisely what you're creating.  As such, you'll need to squeeze/nip/tuck it until it fits the proper format or you're going to hear complaints about it.  For example, savate is far more than a couple of kicking tricks and that's about all you can really create with the swordsman school format.  but you can certainly create something with the proper flavor.  without that, you run into the problem of play balance.

Weapon : Any is too broad.  for play balance issues, you need to pick one.  If you want to be exceedingly broad, allow the swordsman to pick one when he takes the school, but he should be limited to just one flavor.  Personally, i think this should be specified as fencing weapon. 

Basic Curriculum : again, i think you should stick with just fencing weapon.  I believe you should use scholar rather than athlete.  yes, footwork is a requirement, but that's true of any swordsman school.  scholar is the one that you're actually using.  you may not teach mathematics, but if you're using mathematics, it is what should be part of the curriculum.

Knacks : Beat, Lunge, Riposte, Sidestep, Tacto. 
First, Tacto needs some more explanation.  is it an advanced knack of this school?  of fencing?  of scholar?  If it is not a part of the school, then others can use it.  if it is a part of the school, then for balance reasons, you should have fewer swordsman knacks. 
Second, exploit weakness should be added.  the only reason that it is not part of the martial strategy schools is because the selection of opposing maneauvers acts as exploit weakness.  for something with an individual style, facing someone else who knows it should remain a disadvantage.  for example, i'd suggest that if you knew someone was using this school, you could purposefully display a feigned weakness and when your opponent tried to take advantage of it, you could smite them.
Third, From the description you've got, i think that feint is probably better than beat.  I'd suggest taking Feint, Lunge and Tacto. 
Tacto : I think its too powerful.  First, it MUST have a limit.  If i purchase it up to rank 3 as an apprentice, I take a +7 to my tn for a free raise against that opponent.  So technically, I could spar with my opponent for a few hours.  let's say I succeed 6 times.  so, now I'm +6 raises for the rest of the STORY!?  That's incredibly powerful.  now look at the same case of the master.  in one round, I use the ability which only requires a +5 to my tn.  I now get 3 free raises and I still got to do my normal damage.  Then he counter attacks.  I decide to get ruthless and use riposte (assuming you kept it) and tacto to parry him, and then counterattack with tacto again.  assuming I succeed (with the help of those 3 free raises for both parry and attack), I'm not +9 free raises for the rest of the story!  eep!  IF you keep it, I think it probably needs to be changed to "Once per story, you can voluntarily raise the TN of any fencing (attack) roll or (fencing) parry by 5x your opponent's Wits, subtracting your rank in tacto x2 from the TN...This bonus lasts for the duration of the combat."  so for an apprentice fighting wits 2, you're probably talking +4  (that is +5*2 -3*2) to the tn for an extra free raise for the rest of the combat.  as a master fighting wits 4, you're looking at +10 to the tn for an extra three free raises.  Personally, I think this probably works better as the master level ability using the feint/beat knack (to get some added use out of that) instead of tacto.


Apprentice, Journeyman : I'm not a huge fan of any ability that provides a tiny bonus.  it just doesn't feel like it is enough to make the swordsman care.  "I'm not tn 15 to hit, I'm tn 17."  I know other schools provide such incremental bonsus, I just don't think they're a good idea. 
Also, while I understand what +1 to passive defense means, I'm not sure on the others.  Is +1 initiative per rank in mathematics mean +1k0 initiative dice?  or does it mean +1 to the initiative total.  I would hope it is the second.  Likewise, does +1 to active defense and attack rolls mean +1k0 or +1?  (i believe this is just +1, but an example here would clear up the confusion.)  Of course, at the high end this means +10 to active defense and +10 to attacks which is extremely potent.  it required a large investment, but is this guy really that much better than an Aldana swordsman?  I'd limit it to one knack.  (I'd also suggest that you not use calculus which is supposed to be incredibly rare.)

master : its been done before, so I can't really complain.  given the strong power of the journeyman class, I think this certainly doesn't need any additional bonuses.  (I think using the tacto ability as a master ability works better)

i've got to say.  I don't love it.  While I understand that you don't think that Verdadera Destreza fits as a swordsman school, that is precisely what you're creating.  As such, you'll need to squeeze/nip/tuck it until it fits the proper format or you're going to hear complaints about it.  For example, savate is far more than a couple of kicking tricks and that's about all you can really create with the swordsman school format.  but you can certainly create something with the proper flavor.  without that, you run into the problem of play balance.

The problem is this: what is a common weakness in a system that doesn't use fixed techniques?  Just about the only thing  in common  is that  a practitioner  has to keep his cool in order to use it.

Weapon : Any is too broad.  for play balance issues, you need to pick one.  If you want to be exceedingly broad, allow the swordsman to pick one when he takes the school, but he should be limited to just one flavor.  Personally, i think this should be specified as fencing weapon.

Historically, Destreza ran the full gamut of weapon combinations.  Players  generally don't have  enough points to  invest in many weapons and they can't carry every weapon, so I don't believe that  it's necessary to artificially  restrict choices.  For effective play, they'll limit themselves.

Basic Curriculum : again, i think you should stick with just fencing weapon.  I believe you should use scholar rather than athlete.  yes, footwork is a requirement, but that's true of any swordsman school.  scholar is the one that you're actually using.  you may not teach mathematics, but if you're using mathematics, it is what should be part of the curriculum.

The problem with that is you  would be able to  create a LVD master without  good footwork and that completely defies the nature of the system which requires very good footwork to execute it.  It's like a dance.  Sure, anyone can memorize  dance steps, but not everyone can perform them.

Knacks : Beat, Lunge, Riposte, Sidestep, Tacto.  First, Tacto needs some more explanation.  is it an advanced knack of this school?  of fencing?  of scholar?  If it is not a part of the school, then others can use it.  if it is a part of the school, then for balance reasons, you should have fewer swordsman knacks.

It's a limited, but not exclusive Knack.  Any  swordsman could use tacto, but it's not something that I've read in any treatise for any style  other than LVD.  It was not meant to be  a required Knack for LVD, but as something optional.

Second, exploit weakness should be added.  the only reason that it is not part of the martial strategy schools is because the selection of opposing maneauvers acts as exploit weakness.  for something with an individual style, facing someone else who knows it should remain a disadvantage.  for example, i'd suggest that if you knew someone was using this school, you could purposefully display a feigned weakness and when your opponent tried to take advantage of it, you could smite them.

If I was to make an Exploit Weakness, it would have to relate to getting the LVD practitioner  to lose his cool.  Perhaps a Contested Roll instead?

Third, From the description you've got, i think that feint is probably better than beat.  I'd suggest taking Feint, Lunge and Tacto.

I considered it, but the old treatises'  discussion of proper angulation and leverage when "beating" stuck firmly in my mind.  Thinking about it, I might replace Lunge with Feint, stressing LVD's more  intellectual approach.  Anyone can Lunge, but a LVD practitioner fights more thoughtfully.

Tacto : I think its too powerful.  First, it MUST have a limit.  [...]

Tacto, by its nature,  will not stack on itself.  How good of a feel you get for your opponent is dependent upon your mastery level, not additional rolls.  I  should have made  it clearer.

Apprentice, Journeyman : I'm not a huge fan of any ability that provides a tiny bonus.  it just doesn't feel like it is enough to make the swordsman care.  "I'm not tn 15 to hit, I'm tn 17."  I know other schools provide such incremental bonsus, I just don't think they're a good idea.

I personally  thought it was the best way to include the wide breadth of contributing  Civil Knacks so the swordsman could appreciate the investment.  Otherwise, what would be the point of putting so many points in  non-School  Knacks as opposed to  going for a straight swordsman School?  What about  tacto at Apprentice and moving the other bonuses upwards?    Would that  nerf  LVD too much?

Also, while I understand what +1 to passive defense means, I'm not sure on the others.  Is +1 initiative per rank in mathematics mean +1k0 initiative dice?  or does it mean +1 to the initiative total.  I would hope it is the second.  Likewise, does +1 to active defense and attack rolls mean +1k0 or +1?  (i believe this is just +1, but an example here would clear up the confusion.)  Of course, at the high end this means +10 to active defense and +10 to attacks which is extremely potent.  it required a large investment, but is this guy really that much better than an Aldana swordsman?  I'd limit it to one knack.  (I'd also suggest that you not use calculus which is supposed to be incredibly rare.)

Yes, it's just +1.  An Aldana swordsman  doesn't need to put  any points into  non-School Skills  and will still get 3k0(!) at Master level, whereas a Master LVD swordsman that only invests in just  one point  in each of  those  Civil Knacks won't benefit but for two points.  As mentioned before, I did this intentionally, since if some just wants the advantages, there are easier and cheaper ways to get them than as a Renaissance man or woman.  As for Calculus, if a practitioner is willing to put the effort in finding a teacher and putting points into it, I see no reason why they can't benefit from it.  It is also  an Advanced Knack, so it's a bigger investment.

master : its been done before, so I can't really complain.  given the strong power of the journeyman class, I think this certainly doesn't need any additional bonuses.  (I think using the tacto ability as a master ability works better)

Making tacto a Master ability  is a possibility, but  I'd have to tweak it.    Perhaps a Master "Knack" instead of ability?

You mentioned that it lacks a common weakness, but I think one is clear.  The swordsman is trained to seek the optimal solution for each problem (opponent).  It reads that the way to do this is through experimentation.  The swordsman tests his opponents, seeking reactions.  This probing style IS the weakness.  A fast opponent who goes for a blitz attack while the swordsman is still probing OR an opponent who drastically changes his style, such as switching to a different swordsman school during a duel, can both surprise and defeat the swordsman.  This would be something that exploit weakness would use.  And Exploit Weakness has a defined use, you shouldn't change the rule here to allow a contested roll.  It should fit the pattern.  more importantly, i think it MUST have it simply to fit the pattern. 
Here's another example, how would you feel about two hypothetical skills.  Bureaucrat grants etiquette, fashion and oratory as basic knacks (with cold read as an advanced knack).  Seductress grants etiquette, fashion, oratory and cold read as basic knacks.    Which would you take?  Do you think it fair?  Even if you wanted to argue that historically speaking, these are correct, I think this isn't fair because one is so superior to the other.  Likewise, if you're creating a swordsman school without Exploit Weakness when every other one does, that isn't fair.  If Goodfellow has to waste a knack on it, so should your school.  Otherwise, you're comparing apples to oranges.

Weapon: I understand that the school historically used other weapons.  But for simple play balance, it shouldn't.  no other swordsman school allows multiple weapon sets.  If a school was soley focused on allowing       multiple schools, that might be interesting, but that's not the focus of this school.  Historical accuracy must sometimes take a backseat to play balance.  (for example, if i intentionally took all the heroes weapons away and stranded them on an isolated island, they might be reduced to using staves and spears.  the other heroes (including swordmen) are all at a strong disadvantage, but THIS swordsman doesn't care because he's fully trained in using ANY weapon with this school).    This is really the same issue as above.  If you want to do this as a swordsman school, then you must follow the general outline or present good mechanical reasons for deviating.  the fact that they get bonuses from other knacks (which you had to buy) isn't sufficient.

Curriculum: you almost can't make ANY good swordsman with a good footwork.  (i actually have one, but i regretted the decision more than once.) lots of schools default to athlete as a skill because it grants footwork which is useful for any swordsman and in some cases it makes sense.  but for one with a strong focus on scholastics, it really doesn't.  that said, i don't think it matters.  it gives you a free skill, but you'll then need to buy scholar, so there's no real cost savings.

Knacks: I don't think a Beat in 7th Sea is actually a normal beat in fencing.  Feint is closer to a fencing beat, aka a minor tap designed to draw the opponent's blade out of line.  A 7th Sea Beat is closer to a fencing press where the blade is physically move aside. 

Tacto: Tacto needs definition.  Is it a fencing knack?  Only applicable to swordsmen?  Only applicable to members of the swordsmen guild?  It still needs defined limits (mastery level of raises and only for this combat).
Personally, I think it would work best as a master level ability using the feint knack for the roll. It is probably too powerful for apprentice level. 

You mentioned that it lacks a common weakness, but I think one is clear.  The swordsman is trained to seek the optimal solution for each problem (opponent).  It reads that the way to do this is through experimentation.  The swordsman tests his opponents, seeking reactions.

The LVD swordsman seeks the angle wherein the opponent cannot physically move quickly enough (natural defect) or creates an opening that the opponent simply cannot close fast enough (forced defect).

This probing style IS the weakness.  A fast opponent who goes for a blitz attack while the swordsman is still probing

...Will find himself impaled on the LVD's blade, which is always in the line of attack, pointed towards the enemy.  (In d20, this would be an automatic attack of opportunity.)  The "ready" stance, "defense" stance, and "attack" stance are all the same in Destreza, hence the "universal" stance.  By remaining in the 'medio propocional', you have the advantage in attack and defense.  Whether you do are successful is still dependent upon your own skill.

"From the italian stance the sword is at least three and a half feet far from the foe's body so I verify that from the spanish stance with the sword just moving four fingers and the same proportion the arm, we will be able to deflect his short cut; and if he does not retract his arm we can stab him from that position.

We see the spanish Master has a good defence with movements of four fingers long, and the italian needs three and a half feet to reach the objective; that is why the skilful spanish has advantage over the skilful italian.

This what the universal stance teaches us, in addition to the ‘medio proporcional'."
- Alvaro Guerra de la Vega, Comprehension of Destreza

OR an opponent who drastically changes his style, such as switching to a different swordsman school during a duel, can both surprise and defeat the swordsman.

Changing style doesn't affect how LVD defends, but it should delay the LVD practitioner's attacks as it changes where the optimum angles are.  However, what if the opponent has but one style?  Shouldn't that make him SOL?  Yet, the mechanics of Expose Weakness is that it applies even if the one using it doesn't have the ability needed.

"If our foe is showing us his profile, we must look for the ‘medio proporcional'.

If he is squared, we must always attack him from the ‘medio proporcional'.

The ‘medio proporcional' has to be considered by the positioning of the opponent's sword.

No matter the side you choose for the ‘medio proporcional', you must always be front towards your enemy."
- Alvaro Guerra de la Vega, Comprehension of Destreza

This would be something that exploit weakness would use.  And Exploit Weakness has a defined use, you shouldn't change the rule here to allow a contested roll.  It should fit the pattern.  more importantly, i think it MUST have it simply to fit the pattern. [...]

I agree, but what would be the common "weakness" amongst practitioners that share only one 'stance' with applied mathematics and philosophy?  LVD might be "perfect", but practitioners are not.  How about this: the common weakness is that most students lack the ability to maintain the concentration necessary to use La Verdadera Destreza effectively.  A successful diestro learns to frustrate his fellow diestros by constantly shifting the location of his 'medio propocional'.

"D. Will he be able to find a totally safe stance?  And what happens if his weapon is longer than ours and is out of range?

M. Our Science show us how to choose the right distance and to place our body and sword in the best way (this is known as to be placed in the ‘medio proporcional'; pay attention to this term, it is the key of our fighting style), and to fight with short and fast movements.

D. Then our foe has no chance to defeat us.

M. If everybody fought in the same way, you would be right; like the faces (every person has a different one), the same happens to every subject: it is almost impossible to find two persons equally skilled, and although they both have equal theoretical knowledges, their performings will be different because of subjective factors (attention, rage, confidence, patience,...)."
- Alvaro Guerra de la Vega, Comprehension of Destreza

"The Spaniard is now thought to be a better man with his rapier than is the Italian, Frenchman, high Almaine (German) or any other country man whatsoever, because they in their rapier fight stand upon so many intricate tricks that in all the course of a man's life it shall be hard to learn them, and if they miss in doing the least of them in their fight, they are in danger of death. But the Spaniard in his fight, both safely to defend himself, and to endanger his enemy, has but one lying, and two wards to learn, wherein a man with small practice in a very short time may become perfect.

This is the manner of the Spanish fight. They stand as brave as they can with their bodies straight upright, narrow spaced, with their feet continually moving, as if they were in a dance, holding forth their arms and rapiers very straight against the face or bodies of their enemies, and this is the only lying to accomplish that kind of fight. And this note, that as long as any man shall lie in that manner with his arm, and the point of his rapier straight, it shall be impossible for his adversary to hurt him, because in that straight holding forth of his arm, which way soever a blow shall be made against him, by reason that his rapier hilt lies so far before him, he has but a very little way to move, to make his ward perfect, in this manner. If a blow is made at the right side of the head, a very little moving of the hand with the knuckles upward defends that side of the head or body, and the point being still out straight, greatly endangers the striker. And so likewise, if a blow is made at the left side of the head, a very small turning of the wrist with the knuckles downward, defends that side of the head and body, and the point of rapier much endangers the hand, arm, face or body of the striker. And if any thrust is made, the wards, by reason of the indirections in moving the feet in (the) manner of dancing, as aforesaid, makes a perfect ward, and still withal the point greatly endangers the other. And thus is the Spanish fight perfect: so long as you can keep that order, and soon learned, and therefore to be accounted the best fight with the rapier of all other(s). But note how the Spanish fight is perfect, you shall see no longer than you keep your point straight against your adversary: as for example, I have heard the like jest:

There was a cunning Doctor at his first going to sea, being doubtful that he should be sea sick, an old woman perceiving the same, said unto him: "Sir, I pray, be of good comfort, I will teach you a trick to avoid that doubt. Here is a fine pebble stone, if you please to accept it, take it with you, and when you are on ship board, put it in your mouth, and as long you shall keep the same in your mouth, upon my credit you shall never vomit." The Doctor believed her, and took it thankfully at her hands, and when he was at sea, he began to be sick, whereupon he presently put the stone in his mouth, & there kept it so long as he possibly could, but through his extreme sickness the stone with vomit was cast out of his mouth. Then presently he remembered how the woman had mocked him, and yet her words were true.

Even so a Spaniard having his rapier point put by, may receive a blow on the head, or a cut over the face, hand or arm or a thrust in the body or face, and yet his Spanish fight perfect, so long as he can keep straight the point of his rapier against the face or body of his adversary, which is as easy in that manner of fight to be done, as it was for the Doctor in the extremity of his vomit to keep the stone in his mouth."
- George Silver, Paradoxes of Defense

Weapon: I understand that the school historically used other weapons.  But for simple play balance, it shouldn't.  no other swordsman school allows multiple weapon sets.  If a school was soley focused on allowing            multiple schools, that might be interesting, but that's not the focus of this school.  Historical accuracy must sometimes take a backseat to play balance.  (for example, if i intentionally took all the heroes weapons away and stranded them on an isolated island, they might be reduced to using staves and spears.  the other heroes (including swordmen) are all at a strong disadvantage, but THIS swordsman doesn't care because he's fully trained in using ANY weapon with this school).      This is really the same issue as above.  If you want to do this as a swordsman school, then you must follow the general outline or present good mechanical reasons for deviating.  the fact that they get bonuses from other knacks (which you had to buy) isn't sufficient.

That's not quite correct.  A LVD practitioner would still have to get the Staff Skill or the Spear Skill to use his School with it.  The other schools give away one to two Weapon Skills, be it Fencing Weapons with Knife, Cloak, Lantern, Panzerhand, Pugilism, or so forth.  Even if you ruled that he can choose two weapon to be proficient in LVD (he gets their Knacks for free, like the other schools), he would still have to buy the Skill for any other Weapon to use them with LVD.

Curriculum: you almost can't make ANY good swordsman with a good footwork.  (i actually have one, but i regretted the decision more than once.) lots of schools default to athlete as a skill because it grants footwork which is useful for any swordsman and in some cases it makes sense.  but for one with a strong focus on scholastics, it really doesn't.  that said, i don't think it matters.  it gives you a free skill, but you'll then need to buy scholar, so there's no real cost savings.

Most Swordsman Schools don't use Athlete as a School Skill.  You can count on two hands the Western blade schools that do: Andrews, Bonita, Gallegos, MacDonald, Soldano, Siggursdottir, and Urostifter.  The other 39 or so blade schools don't.  Anyways, cost savings wasn't my intention.  LVD is supposed to cost you more because you're trying to portray a "Renaissance man", a holistic, well-rounded individual.

Since the Athlete Skill (or at least Footwork and Sidestep Knacks) is necessary for reasons of faithfullness, I see no reason to give the player the Scholar Skill.  If he wants to play a character like Ramirez or some other LVD movie character, he has to pay for it.  You don't get the Ramirez-like ability without buying all of those Knacks that swordsmen don't normally buy.

Knacks: I don't think a Beat in 7th Sea is actually a normal beat in fencing.  Feint is closer to a fencing beat, aka a minor tap designed to draw the opponent's blade out of line.  A 7th Sea Beat is closer to a fencing press where the blade is physically move aside.

"Beat
        When attacking an enemy, you can declare a Beat.  You roll Finess + Beat, and must roll a number of Raises equal to your enemy's Brawn in order for your Beat to be successful.  If you are successful, he cannot avoid the attack using any Active Defense."
- The Swordsman's Guild

Beat is a bit crude in 7th Sea, but it's technically correct.  If your shoulder, elbow, and wrists are weak, a beat is more likely to be used successfully against you.

A Press Knack would be more like this:
"When attacking an enemy, you can declare a Press.  You make a Contested Roll of your Brawn + Press versus your opponent's Brawn + Parry.  If you win, the enemy cannot avoid the attack using any Active Defense."

"Feint
        When attacking the enemy, you can declare a Feint.  You roll Finess + Feint, but you must make a number of Raises equal to your enemy's Wits.  If you manage this, he cannot avoid the attack using any Active Defense."
- The Swordsman's Guild

Feint doesn't require any blade contact.  This more closely resembles a fencing feint where you briefly pose a position so your enemy changes his guard or stance.  Technically, it doesn't work against LVD, because there is only one stance in LVD.

"If he makes feints or tricky movements, let him do [so] because he is out of distance and should he [be] in that means he has already been stabbed."
- Alvaro Guerra de la Vega, Comprehension of Destreza

Tacto: Tacto needs definition.  Is it a fencing knack?  Only applicable to swordsmen?  Only applicable to members of the swordsmen guild?  It still needs defined limits (mastery level of raises and only for this combat).

As a combat Knack, it would simply be purchased as Tacto by anyone who found a teacher of it (probably LVD).  Logically, it could then be applied against any individual, Guild or not, LVD or not.  According to 7th Sea rules, "mastery level" refers to the level within a school, not Knack Rank.  Thus, Apprentice has a 1x bonus, Journeyman has a 2x bonus, and Master has a 3x bonus.  As for duration, I chose Story because using Scene didn't make sense.  Are the characters changing during the five to ten minute chase Scene between fight Scenes?  They don't, so requiring a new Tacto roll for every Scene seems silly.

Personally, I think it would work best as a master level ability using the feint knack for the roll. It is probably too powerful for apprentice level.

A new Apprentice will probably fail in his Tacto roll because his offensive/defensive Knacks and Traits are simply too low to overcome the required 10-point Raise.  Should the gamble pay off for him, he still only gets a 5-point Raise out of it and only against that opponent.  By contrast, a Master will already have at least Rank 5 in his other Knacks and reasonably good Traits.  That makes it a high-risk Knack with a low-payoff at Apprentice and low to moderate-risk Knack with a high-payoff at Master.  Thus, I think it works well as a separate Advanced Knack, rather than an innate mastery level ability.

Here's a new version:

La Verdadera Destreza

        The first revelation to a student of La Verdadera Destreza is that the school is not a style per se, but a systematic approach to combat.  Instead of learning fixed solutions (techniques) to be be applied to every problem (opponent), it stresses that the swordsman has to find his or her own particular solution for each situation.  What it provides is a methodical approach for analyzing the problem, an understanding of the mental and physical whys and wherefores of combat, the formulation of strategies, and execution of tactics.  The student learns proper movements, but tretas (techniques) are not set.  The specific path is up to the individual and thus there is no common technical weakness amongst practitioners, save that all require concentration to properly fight.

        In combat, the diestro (swordsman) stands erect for proper balance, back straight, and weapon(s) held in a direct line of threat, pointed towards his opponent(s).  He or she constantly moves, appraising and seeking optimal angles of attack, while appearing aloof and calm.  This bearing is often disconcerting or even unnerving to practitioners of other less reserved schools.  However, it is the system's effectiveness against all types of opponents that makes the greatest impression.  Offensive opponents suddenly find themselves impaled upon the diestro's weapon while defensive opponents are maneuvered into unavoidable traps.  All of this is done so fluidly and precisely that it appears to be an elegant, albeit deadly, dance.

        The weakness of La Verdadera Destreza is that most students lack the ability to maintain the concentration necessary to use it effectively.  A successful diestro learns to frustrate his fellow diestros by constantly shifting the location of his 'medio propocional'.

Country of Origin: Castille
Sanctioned: No
Weapons: Any two
Basic Curriculum: Athlete, Fencing or Heavy Weapon
Swordsman Knacks: Beat, Feint, Riposte, Expose Weakness (La Verdadera Destreza)

Apprentice: The apprentice learns the true meaning and application of the "Magic Circle", understanding the "Circle of Death" and the ways to move around and through it.  The practitioner gets +1 TN to Passive Defense per rank in Dance and +1 to Initiative per rank in Mathematics.

Journeyman: The journeyman knows how to effectively apply advanced mathematics and natural laws to attack and defend.  The practitioner adds 1 to Active Defense and Attack Rolls per rank in Calculus and Natural Philosophy.

Master:  Masters of La Verdadera Destreza have some of the sharpest minds in Theah.  They gain a rank in Wits for free and can thus achieve a rank of 6 or even 7 (with the Legendary Trait Advantage).

Advanced Combat Knack

Tacto
        You can take full measure of your enemy and sense his or her strengths and weaknesses.  Whenever you fight an opponent, you can voluntarily Raise the TN of any Attack Roll or Active Defense by 10, subtracting your rank in tacto from the TN.  If you succeed, you get one Free Raise per mastery level on all rolls in combat against that specific opponent.  This lasts for the entire length of the Story.