In the mystical world of Arelia, Vagabonds wield a skill that transcends mere combat prowess; it embodies at the same finesse and deadly precision. Through the use of this ability, they may unleash strikes that seek out the most delicate vulnerabilities in their foes' defenses, inflicting devastating damage without the need for brute force favored by some members of the Combatant macroclass. Through years of experience and honed observational skills, they masterfully discern the weakest points in their adversaries' armor, ensuring each strike lands with lethal accuracy, leaving a trail of defeated foes in their wake.

This ability are modified by the score that the Vagabond has in Observation as follows:

Lethal Strike

The Lethal Strike is a special combat technique commonly employed by various classes within the macroclass of Vagabonds. In essence, it involves a swift and stealthy assault aimed at a critical area of the opponent's body. The maneuver comprises two main components: the covert approach and the decisive blow. While typically executed together, there are instances where each aspect holds relevance independently. To perform the Lethal Strike, the Vagabond must wield a melee weapon, either bladed or pointed, of small to medium size, and must keep one hand free. This maneuver is declared at the onset of the attack and is treated akin to a special combat technique, thereby potentially precluding the simultaneous use of other such techniques within the same round.

Covert Attack

At the moment of the attack, the Vagabond must conceal from their opponent the lethal movement of their attack. To do this, they must succeed in a test in this skill. The following modifiers apply to each check:

- For each level of the target equal to or below the Vagabond's level: -2%
- For each level of the target above the Vagabond's level: -4%
- If the Vagabond uses a medium-sized weapon: -5%
- If the Vagabond attacks the victim by stealthily approaching from behind: +10%
- A penalty equal to the vision penalties applicable to the Vagabond. If the Vagabond is using "infravision" instead of normal light the applicable penalty will be -15%.
- Where Vagabonds incur potential penalties to their attack rate because of specific situations such as incapacity or fatigue, there is a penalty -5% to the test in this ability for each applicable penalty.

Note that the Vagabond cannot perform this maneuver in total darkness or if otherwise blinded.

If the test fails, the Vagabond will make a normal attack against the opponent, and the special maneuver will not be considered used. If it succeeds, the Vagabond will make a Lethal Blow against the opponent, and the special maneuver will be considered used.

Since this is a particularly complex attack that requires great timing, concentration, and expenditure of psycho-physical energies, once this special combat maneuver is used, regardless of the attack's outcome, the Vagabond cannot reuse it in the same combat situation. In practice, the Vagabond can use this maneuver multiple times a day but only once within the same combat scenario. The term "combat" should be interpreted, at the Dungeon Master's discretion, broadly, as any battle situation, regardless of its length and complexity. It should be noted that between one combat situation and another, there must be an interruption of combat whose duration is never less than ten rounds.

The covert nature of the  Lethal Strike makes it more difficult to avoid; therefore, the following bonuses will be applied to the attack:

- the bonus to armor class normally granted to the victim by agility will not be considered (the bonus granted by a shield, however, will be considered as usual),

- the victim cannot make any evade, parry, or deflect attempts against this attack.

Note that it will not be possible to carry out a Covert Attack against non-intelligent creatures that do not defend themselves rationally, those that do not use sight or normal senses to fight (such as creatures belonging to the category of Amorphs), and blinded creatures.

Lethal Blow

If the Covert Attack is successful, the Vagabond will also be able to strike the victim at a lethal point, causing deep wounds and producing additional damage as indicated in the following table. However, to produce lethal effects, the Lethal Blow must be struck solely against creatures ranging in size from Small to Large, which have an organic body of animal nature and whose vital parts are recognizable and accessible.

For this reason, the attack will have no lethal effects against creatures belonging to the following categories or those assimilated to them: Amorphs, Elementals, Undead, Constructs, and Plant-like Creatures. To have an effect on creatures belonging to the categories of Aberrations, Demons, and the Parasites of the subcategory of Worms, it will be necessary for the vagabond to pass a test respectively in the skills Aberration Lore, Demonology, or Vermin Lore at the moment the lethal blow is struck (considering it a non-action that will be performed before rolling for damage and which must be repeated for each successful lethal blow).

It's important to understand that while a Lethal Blow might not affect certain creatures, a successful Covert Attack could still be possible in some cases. For instance, it could work against an intelligent monster of Huge size. Conversely, a Lethal Blow might be effective against creatures that a Covert Attack cannot target, provided the above specified necessary test for this ability succeeds. An example of this could be a Lethal Blow performed against a non-intelligent giant insect.

Note that the damage is considered to have been caused by the same strike from the vagabond and of the same type of damage dealt by the weapon employed. It may be also considered as a form of critical damage, to which are not applied the limits commonly imposed on damage from weapon strikes. However, this extra damage won't cause additional damages to the armors possibly worn by the victims.