The majority of samurai thought the Tanuki were somewhere between lunatics and buffoons, pointing to their large consumption of alcohol and odd superstitions, such as never going outside without wearing a broad straw hat, or bowing to the tanuki effigies at the entrance of their home when coming in. A small minority thought their explorations were bearing fruit though, and found the Shinomen Forest to be a somewhat safer place in their presence. The Tanuki never seemed to care much for any opinion, preferring their forest expeditions to discover more about the spirits hiding there, and the parties they held after such trips. To protect themselves, they developed an odd fighting style, which didn’t attract much praise from other bushi Family. Still, the Clan thrived in a dangerous environment, so they must have done at least one thing correctly... or been extremely lucky.
Rank One: Dance of the Tanuki
The Tanuki’s movements may seem odd to an observer, but still have the same aim as any warrior’s: landing blows on the target. Once per day, after an attack roll (but before re-rolling any dice because of any emphasis), you may turn a single die which rolled a one into a ten, which doesn’t explode.
Rank Two: Sacred Beverage
A real Tanuki samurai is rarely seen without his trusty sake jug in hand, and seems to be constantly sipping from it, even before a fight. Yet this never seems to play against the Tanuki in combat. You suffer no penalty for inebriation in combat. Furthermore, if you’ve had at least one cup’s worth of sake in the thirty minutes preceding the fight, you may add +3 to your Armor TN.
Rank Three: Swing, Swing, Swing
Missing is not something which bothers a Tanuki samurai, he just keeps attacking, regardless of the circumstances. You may attack as a Simple Action when using a samurai weapon or a chain weapon.
Rank Four: More then One Shape
The Tanuki laugh when they see samurai practicing rigid kata, or speaking of specigic stance. For them, just because one stands and moves one way, doesn't mean the same thing will happen each time. If your Stance this turn is different from your Stance the previous turn, you may add +3k0 to any skill roll this turn. This technique cannot be used on the first turn of a fight.
Rank Five: Part of Both Worlds
At this rank, the Tanuki Bushi is fully aware that the mortal world is only part of reality, and even a simple human may slip out of it, if only for a moment. Once per day, after a successful attack against you but before damage is rolled, you may spend a Void point to activate this technique. You lose all your remaining Void points, but the attack is now considered to have missed, and you suffer no damage or effects from it. To outsiders, this looks like a last moment fluke, but the Tanuki believe they momentarily pass into the spirit world when this happens - up to the GM to decide whether this is true or not.