Masters of Teräs Käsi

 

History of the Teräs Käsi:

The order of the Teräs Käsi is a secret organization born from the belief that near infinite power, regardless of the intention behind it, should not go unregulated. The Teräs Käsi - bluntly, did not trust the Jedi to police themselves.
The Teräs Käsi was founded thousands of years ago, during the last of the great wars between the Light and the Dark. The final decisive battle between the two great forces occurred in the Pacanth Reach, devastating the planet of Palawa itself. The victory was attained, but at momentous cost to the civilian population. The Jedi Council, deeply saddened by the outcome of the events, nevertheless deemed it 'acceptable losses'. The battleground was not one of the Order's choosing, the evil had to be stopped, it was one planet against thousands - there was no choice.

The civilians that survived the battle saw it differently.

The meager handful of survivors relocated to the nearby world of Bunduki. The remaining Palawan concluded that so much force, so much power - in the hands of one people, regardless of how well intentioned and regulated. They vowed never to let happen to others what had happened to them. They began the study of the mind over the body, how to master self from without and within. They forged themselves to be a force capable of dealing with Jedi, should the need arise. It took generations to conceive and implement the plan, but the Teräs Käsi martial arts were born.

Since that time, the order has grown strong. During the heights of the Old Republic, the exact number of Teräs Käsi masters is unknown - but the number was estimated to be from several hundred up to slightly more than a thousand. Of course the number of Teräs Käsi practitioners are considerably less during the reign of Palpatine and his Empire. During the era of the New Republic, the order is growing again, but has yet to fully recover.

 

About the Teräs Käsi:

Although not they quite as all-powerful and versatile as the Jedi arts, the practitioners of Teräs Käsi are formidable in their own ways.

There is one basic fundamental difference between the two schools. Instead of drawing on the Force for power, Teräs Käsi users draw on the power from inside themselves. By using the power from within, they are able to have more control and fewer restraints. Since practitioners of Teräs Käsi draw from what is inside, they become what they are. Unlike the Jedi, since the Force surrounds and penetrates all life - which has good and evil, so there are light and dark sides of the Force.

A master of Teräs Käsi must be able to command their own bodies in addition to learning the external arts. As such they are able to ignore pain, control disease and poisons within themselves, focus on injured areas and accelerating their own healing, and summon great strength to release it in one blow. The Teräs Käsi are also exceptionally attuned to the ebb and flow of the Force - if not actually out and out Jedi material. This attuned nature of the Teräs Käsi not only allows them to be aware of Jedi and Force Users, but also makes them exceptionally resistant to uses of the Force.

Mastery of the teachings of Teräs Käsi also imparts one additional benefit - a long life span. Not immortality - no matter how long you live, how far you run, you can't escape the hand of death forever. However, a master of Teräs Käsi can live several hundred years - and many of the order often do so.

 

The Teräs Käsi and the Jedi:

Operating in secret, even beyond the notice most Jedi (it is unknown if the Jedi Council knew or suspected of the existence of the group) the Teräs Käsi have set up a network of temples and training facilities. These facilities are scattered throughout the galaxy, often hidden in plain site - small monasteries and temples are the order's natural appearance.

With this network, they watch the Jedi. Mostly they are unneeded, but when one-steps out of line, the Teräs Käsi are there.

Occasionally there are beings able to cross over between the two groups, masters both versed in the Jedi arts and the ways of Teräs Käsi. These individuals are extremely rare, however. Although it may seem a conflict of interests - the watcher in the very order they watch - but what better place to monitor and observe than from within.

 

The Teräs Käsi and Palpatine's New Order:

Then the purge came. The order, although not targeted by Palpatine, was also caught up in the madness of the destruction of the Jedi Order. However unlike the Jedi, who were in the public eye, the Teräs Käsi managed to avoid the near total extermination the Empire meted out. Unfortunately the very secretive nature of the Teräs Käsi that saved them from extermination left the few survivors adrift and without resources.
The destruction of the Teräs Käsi may not have complete, but it was crippling. Only a handful of Masters survived - more than the Jedi order, but not by many. The Teräs Käsi have survived adversity before - have had to deal with persecution and extermination before. As a precaution against the destruction of the order, the Teräs Käsi was segmented into cells, much like a guerrilla war might be fought. Eventually, one or two branches of the order would survive.
During this period, the most notable of the Teräs Käsi masters came to the spotlight - Arden Lynn. As one of the last remaining masters of Teräs Käsi, Arden was cornered by Vader and offered a chance at survival - provided that she assassinated key members of the Rebel Alliance. The plot failed, and presumably Arden Lynn was executed by Palpatine for her failure - although this is conjecture, since no records of her, her execution, or her current status existed when Coruscant was taken by the New Republic. Owing to the resourcefulness of the master turned mercenary, she very well may have successfully eluded the Empire after her failure.

 

The Teräs Käsi in the New Republic:

Thanks to Arden Lynn's attempt on his life, Luke Skywalker is fully aware of the existence of the Teräs Käsi order. He may not know all of the details, but he has put together enough to know that the Teräs Käsi could be invaluable on rebuilding the Jedi Knights. Their perspective on the original order of Jedi Knights, plus their unique insight to the ways of the Force could be very useful indeed. As such, Master Skywalker is actively seeking the order and it's members.
The Teräs Käsi, however are not eager for this contact. They realize that the Anakin/Vader paradigm had finally done more than tip the balance of power between light and dark. It had freed the Jedi Knights of the protocol, rituals and methods that had suffocated them and slowly rendered the order less and less effective. To impart the old knowledge and old ways upon the new order would be to unnecessarily shackle them. They must learn their own way - right or wrong.

 

Teräs Käsi Martial Arts:

Brawling - Teräs Käsi Martial Arts is a rare specialization.  A person must study full-time under a master of Teräs Käsi for six months to acquire the first pip in the specialization.  Improving the Teräs Käsi Martial Arts costs Character Points equal to the number before the "D"; the training time one day for every Character Point spent; the cost is doubled if the character does not have a teacher.  The training time may be reduced by one day for each extra Character Point spent.

An Example -

  Tiegan has a brawling skill of 4D He decides to study the Teräs Käsi Martial Arts under a master.  Six months later, he has completed his training.  It costs her four Character Points to get his first pip of Teräs Käsi - his brawling skill remains at 4D, but his brawling Teräs Käsi martial arts skill is now 4D+1. 
  If Tiegan wants to improve his Brawling: Teräs Käsi martial arts skill from 4D+ I to 4D+2 it costs four Character Points.  If he has a teacher, it takes him four days of training.
  To use Teräs Käsi in combat, the character may do nothing else in the round other than performing the Teräs Käsi attacks - the character may not even parry or dodge.  Before making the attack, the player splits the brawling Teräs Käsi skill dice into two groups: attack dice and damage bonus dice
 The character rolls to attack using only the attack dice.  If the character succeeds in the attack, add the damage bonus dice to the character's Strength roll when determining damage.  Characters may not allocate more than half of their brawling - Teräs Käsi dice to there damage bonus dice.
  Tiegan has progressed far and improved his brawling: Teräs Käsi martial arts skill to 6D.  When he attacks with brawling: Teräs Käsi, she decides to split his 6D into 3D attack dice and 3D damage bonus dice.  Tiegan rolls only 3D to hit his target.  If he hits, he now gets to add her 3D damage bonus dice to his normal Strength die code for damage (he has a Strength of 3D+ l, so he would roll 6D+ I damage).
  If a character wants to make multiple Teräs Käsi attacks in one round, multiple action penalties apply to both attack dice and damage bonus dice. 
  Tiegan again chooses to split her Brawling: Teräs Käsi martial arts skill of 6D into 3D attack dice and 3D damage bonus dice.  However, he chooses to attack two targets in the same round.  Since this is two actions in a round, he suffers a -1D penalty to both actions. 
  Therefore, he only rolls 2D for each attack, and he only rolls her Strength plus 2D, for a total of 5D+I damage for each damage roll.

Teräs Käsi Mysticism

  Different from the Teräs Käsi Martial Arts skill, Teräs Käsi Mysticism is what governs the more mystical Teräs Käsi abilities.  However, the training time and Character Point expenditure for advancement all remain the same.

Contort/Escape:
This ability is similar to the Jedi power of the same name.  Contort/Escape allows one to work there very free of bindings by twisting their bodies in often-unnatural ways. Often it is necessary to dislocate joints, or commit otherwise painful acts to escape bonds.
Difficulty: 5-30 depending on complexity of bonds; GM discretion

Blind Fighting:
Practitioners of Teräs Käsi have learned to use all of their senses in combat, and are thus at a great advantage in dark environments.  With a successful role, they can fight without penalty even when completely blinded.
Difficulty: 15
Modifiers: +5 difficulty for each other sense also impaired or confused.

Ignore Pain:
Teräs Käsi users must be able to master their own bodies, and as such, they have learned to set aside their pain and keep fighting.  This ability combines the Jedi powers remain conscious and reduce pain.  The primary difference is that the Jedi no longer feel the pain, the Teräs Käsi still feels it, they are just able to ignore it and keep going.  If successfully used the martial artist may keep fighting without penalty and they will not pass out, but keep in mind, the wounds are still present, so further damage can be devastating.
Difficulty:
Stun: five
Wound: 10
Incapacitation: 15
Mortal Wound: 25
Modifiers: Particularly gory wounds may be harder to ignore for psychological reasons.  Increase difficulty as appropriate, usually +5.  In addition, a crippling wound, such as a lost or completely pulped limb, may make it impossible to function normally, simply as a matter of logistics.

Sense Force Use:
Teräs Käsi sometimes find them opposed to Jedi or other Force users.  Their self-imposed duty, the hunting down of dangerous Force Users, has caused them to develop some affinity with the workings of the Force.  Thus, though they are not able to use it themselves, they have learned to detect its use.
With a successful role a Teräs Käsi can tell if The Force is being used nearby and the approximate strength of the power used.  If they beat their difficulty by 10, they can zero in on the location of the use.  This power is considered always on, like a passive sensor.  The GM may want to make this role secretly to them if they do not want the character to know what is happening.  The character may also concentrate on a specific person they feel may be using the Force.  This reduces the difficulty by five.
Different Force users also feel slightly different to a trained Teräs Käsi, almost as though they each have a different taste.  As one grows more familiar with a specific user, they can begin to recognize his exact flavor.  Just because a Teräs Käsi recognizes a particular Jedi's Force, does not mean they would be able to immediately pick that Jedi out of a crowd.  Until they see him, and feel him use the Force simultaneously, they may never actually associate the user and power together.  Masters of Teräs Käsi have followed specific Force users for years without ever knowing what they look like.  They simply follow the power use; unfortunately, by the time they arrive at the scene the Force user is long gone.  This power is often used together with detect Force user.  If you can tell that an individual is a Force user, and you know that a strong power was used in the area, it is likely, though by no means guaranteed, that is the individual who used it.
Difficulty:

Minor Powers involving rolls of 10 or less: 25

Moderate Powers, difficulties of 15: 20

Major Powers, difficulties over 20: 10

Heroic Powers, difficulties over 30: 5
Modifiers:
Line of Sight: 0

Within a mile: +5

Same City: +10

Same Continent: +15

Same Planet: +20

Same System: +30

Bonuses: If role is made by more then 5: Detect Light/Dark Affiliation
More then 10: Detect general school, or style of Force user
More then 15: Recognize specific Force users.

Concentrating on the Force User: -5
Excessive Force use in the area by other users can muddle a trail.  Increase difficulty as appropriate.
Rolls beaten by more then 10 allow the Teräs Käsi to zero in on the approximate area.  Some Masters are rumored to be able to sense Force use in other systems, this is not confirmed however.
Any powers that have difficulties of 50 or more are almost automatically detected by anybody in the vicinity with a skill of three or more.  This power may be kept up.

Detect Force User:
The Masters of Teräs Käsi have also developed the skill of noting the subtle differences that differentiate a Force user from others.  By applying this skill, it is often possible to tell, just by looking, whether an individual is a user of the Force, and their approximate power level.  The more advanced the target, the more clearly the signs show.  These can be just physical looks, as well as how they move.  A good deal of this ability, however, is just an unidentifiable instinct.  A skilled Teräs Käsi can sometimes even detect which path the Force User Follows.
Difficulty to detect-

A Rank Beginner: No Powers over 3D: 30

A Novice: At least one power over 3D: 25

A Journeyman: At least one power over 5D: 20

An Advanced: At least one power over 7D: 15

A Master: At least one power over 10D: 10

Detect Light/Dark Affiliation: +10
Detect Approximate Power Level of Force User: +5
Modifiers:
If the user is heavily clothed, and covered: +5
If user is completely covered (i.e.: in full armor): +10
to use this power the Force user must be visible.  They must also be live - looking at somebody on a monitor will not work.

Resist The Force:
This is one of the most difficult of the Teräs Käsi powers.  It is rarely used, but when needed, can be extremely handy.  The Masters of Teräs Käsi have managed to come up with a way to actually push the Force from them, effectively rendering themselves invisible, and untouchable, to the Force.  This can be useful in eluding detection or evading attacks.  Extremely powerful Teräs Käsi can also push the Force from those in contact with them, but only a master would normally attempt this.
Difficulty Base: 10

+5 difficulty for each 2D of Force nullified.
Ex: A Sith attacking with Force lightning rolls 8D Alter.  To nullify all 8D the difficulty would be 30.  10+[(8/2)*5], rounding odd numbers up.  +20 difficulty for each additional person.
It is possible to only nullify part of a power.  If a Teräs Käsi wanted to attempt to nullify four dice of the 8D attack, they could get away with a difficulty of 20.  They must declare initially how much they will nullify.  If they miss the role, it is an all or nothing failure.
Somebody trying to detect or use any Force power against a Force nullified Teräs must subtract the appropriate amount of dice before making the role.
No Force points can be used to activate this power, or while it is up.
Using this power can be a very draining and even dangerous thing.  Every three rounds of combat that the power is maintained the Teräs Käsi must make a stamina roll.  The roll starts out as a difficulty of 10, and goes up by five every time it is made.  If the roll is failed the Teräs Käsi has two choices: They may drop the power, thus incurring no farther penalty, though they must wait until they have a chance to rest before the power may be re-established.  Their second option is to attempt to keep the power up.  To do this the GM must make another stamina roll for the character, with the same difficulty, keeping the result's secret.  If they make the roll, they continue normally, making a higher roll again in three rounds.  If they fail the roll, they may continue for three more rounds, but at the end of that time they will pass out whether they attempt to keep using the power, or drop it.  Unfortunately, the character will not know which until it happens.
If not in combat, the effect is a little easier to maintain.  An endurance check need only be made every 5 minutes.  In addition, a double failed roll gives 5 minutes before they will pass out.
Stamina Difficulty:
Round 1: 10
Round 4 (5 minutes non combat): 15
Round 7 (10 minutes non combat): 20
Round 10 (15 minutes non combat): 25
Round 13 (20 minutes non combat): 30

Meditate:
Meditation is a skill taught to all Teräs Käsi students.  Before they can advance into the more complex arts, they must be able to enter a calm state, no matter what the circumstances.  One in a meditative trance gains the benefits of sleep, without loosing complete track of the surrounding world.  They may make normal perception rolls to detect events around them.  In addition, while in the trance they may make use of any other of the Teräs Käsi abilities at +2D.  This includes all sense, defense, and even escape skills.  These benefits are only reached however, when one is in full meditation.
Meditation does eliminate the need for sleep.  The dreams that come in a true deep sleep are still essential to allow the mind to sort itself out.  The need, however, can be greatly reduced, allowing one to get by on only an hour or two of true sleep daily, or even less for the truly skilled.
Difficulty: 5
Modifiers:
+5 Moderately busy environment: On board your ship with the rest of the crew working around you.
+10 Very Busy environment: A shopping mall or playground
+15 Extremely Busy Environment: A battle going on around you.
+5 for every wound level
+5 - 15 if in great discomfort, anything from sitting on a hard metal floor, up to being tortured, though not actually wounded.
At least one hour of meditation a day is necessary to lower sleep requirements.  A practitioner with a skill of eight or more may go for 2-3 days with only a few hours sleep.

Hibernation Trance:
Building on the meditation skill, hibernation trance goes one step further.  The character is no longer aware of their surroundings.  They become so relaxed, that their body becomes almost catatonic- only an intensive scrutiny will detect any life signs.  In this state, the body uses far less air, and requires far less food and water.  It is possible to go over a week before truly requiring water.  Unlike simple meditation, one in a hibernation trance is completely oblivious to what is going on around them.  Unless they take an actual wound it is unlikely they will wake up, even then it will take several minutes before full awareness is achieved.
When one goes into the trance, they decide how long they will stay under.  A missed roll can sometimes cause this internal clock to get off, and the Teräs Käsi can sleep for a longer or shorter period of time, decided randomly, or by the GM.
Difficulty: 15

Primal Strength:
Teräs Käsi practitioners have learned how to tap into the hysterical strength within the body.  This can give them a tremendous boost of power, but can also do great damage if over used.  To use Primal Strength, one is pulling energy from their bodies' reserves, and if completely drained the practitioner will be extremely weak, and may pass out.  There is also a small chance that constant use could be too much of a shock for the heart, and induce a heart attack.
To use the strength, one must make a mysticism difficulty roll.  They then must make a stamina role.  If both roles are successful, the character adds 4 to their strength, 2 to their movement, and 1 to their Dexterity for one round.  In order to keep the power up they must continue to make cumulatively more difficult stamina rolls every round.  If either roll fails nothing happens, unless the power has been used previously without proper rest time, in which case see below.
Mysticism Difficulty: 15
Stamina Difficulty: 10
2nd round: 15
3rd round: 20
4th round: 25
5th round: 30
Beyond 5 rounds the difficulty goes up by 10 per round.
If a stamina roll is failed, beyond the first roll, the character can suffer some consequences due to exhaustion.
Stamina roll failed by less then 5: Power drops
Stamina roll failed by less then 10: Power Drops & Strength -2 until character can rest.
Stamina roll failed by more than 10: Character passes out; upon waking they are at -3 Strength until they can eat & rest for at least 6 hours.
The Strength loss does not effect damage resistance.
If the character fails a stamina role, they must rest for at least 6 hours before they will be fully recovered.  This amount of time doubles for each use of the power.  Thus, if it is failed on the fourth attempt the character must rest for 48 hours before being fully recovered.  Even if the character makes all there stamina rolls they will still be physically wiped out after using the power, and though they are not suffering from penalties, will be tired until they can spend 6 hours or so recuperating.
If Primal Strength is used multiple times without, the full required rest time in between the stress can actually begin to damage the body.  For each additional use of Primal Strength the initial stamina roll is one level higher, and continuing stamina rolls continue up from the higher difficulty.  If the initial stamina roll is missed, the character may take damage.  Once the power is successfully put up, the Teräs Käsi does not need to worry about damaging themselves, they are past that strain, their only concern at that point is passing out.
Stamina Difficulty for 2nd use: 15 Initial, +5 per round/+10 beyond 30 difficulty
3rd use: 20 Initial, +5 per round/+10 beyond 30 difficulty
4th use: 25 Initial, +5 per round/+10 beyond 30
5th use: 30 Initial, +10 per round
6th use and beyond: Initial difficulty goes up by 10, and each additional round goes up an additional 10.
Example: Tiegan needs to get through a locked door and is about to attempt Primal Strength for the third time in 2 hours.  He has had no real rest during that period.  He must first make the initial Mysticism difficulty of 15.  He must then make a difficult Stamina roll (20), as this is his third usage (first use 10, second 15, third 20).  He makes this roll, passing the danger of hurting himself.  He bashes down the door and finds himself face to face with an angry Gamorrean.  He decides to attempt to maintain the strength and hit the alien.  He rolls his stamina to maintain the power, now needing to beat a very difficult roll of 25.  He rolls a 12, failing the roll by 13.  He does not damage himself, but unfortunately, he missed the roll by more than 10 and passes out.  The Gamorrean, a bit disappointed about missing a fight, takes out its frustrations on the helpless body.
If the initial Stamina roll is missed for the second use and beyond, the consequences are as follows:
Missed by five or less: Power does not go up, and character stunned as heart palpitates.
Missed by 10 or less: Wound taken due to heart problems.
Missed by 15: Character incapacitated due to heart attack & body shock.
Missed by 20: Character Mortally wounded due to massive heart attack and character has seizure.
If used more than once the character MUST rest within 12 hours or suffer -1 to all Strength and Dexterity roles due to exhaustion.  This grace period is lowered by two for each round the power was used beyond the first.  Thus if the power was used for five rounds, the character must rest in 4 hours.
If it was used for seven rounds, they must rest immediately.

Detect Weakness:
The Masters of Teräs Käsi have made a study of the bodies' weaknesses.  This allows them to zero in on sensitive areas, and exploit them.  For every five the character beats the difficulty roll they may lower the characters strength to resist damage by one pip, with a maximum of two dice.
Difficulty: 10

Modifiers:

(These modifiers are cumulative)

+5 - Heavy or concealing clothing

+5 - Light Armor (Blast Vest & Helmet)

+10 - Medium Armor (Full Body Suit)

+15 - Heavy Armor (Storm Trooper/Bounty Hunter Armor)

+20 - Extremely Potent Armor (Boba Fett’s Armor)

+5 - Different Species

+10 - Completely Unfamiliar Species

-5 Character has a minute to study target

-5 Character is familiar with target (fought with them more then once before)

-10 Character is very familiar with target.

If the character is intimately familiar with a species - i.e.: has studied the anatomy and physiology of the alien, they may treat it as if it were their own race.

Longevity:
Although not an actual Teräs Käsi power, this ability is a vital component of the Teräs Käsi training.  Unlike other the other Teräs Käsi game mechanics, no hard and fast rules govern this ability.  Simply put, the more dice the character has in the skill Teräs Käsi mysticism, the longer their overall life span.  Barring accidents and disease, roughly a decade beyond the species average will be added for every dice in Teräs Käsi Mysticism.  Thus, a human Teräs Käsi master with 12D in mysticism would live another 120 years beyond the normal human age range.
Difficulty: N/A

 

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