Exactly, this is for the weak/fast "float like a butterfly sting like a bee" instead of the "HULK SMASH" character.

An ironic analogy, considering that the person responsible for that phrase was a Heavyweight world champion, not a lightweight.
Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr

True, I know, but the description fits anyway.

Well, you use it instead, you don't necessarily get it instead. There's no reason you can't get it as an alternative attack. Perhaps your character isn't interested even in subduing the target, but with a large soak pool, you're not doing enough damage; or maybe, not enough fast enough. So you spend an attack, dropping his agility in order to increase the margin.

Does the Way of the Warrior reduce the cost of Nerve Strike?

Drop his Reaction, actually, since Agility does not factor into defense at all.

I was thinking parries. That's still weapon skill plus agility, right?

For defense, No... Defense is always Reaction.

What Tymeaus said. That is why it is so nice to go for reaction, especially with a finishing blow. The following attack will most of the time hit even harder that way. If they never get a chance to attack back, attacking agility is not very smart. Except for when you somehow know it is really low from the start

Hmm. Interestingly, I suppose you could use the subdual combat specialization instead martial arts with Nerve Strike. Combined with Wrestling, that's +2 dice over other unarmed combat specialists. If you allow bonuses from multiple martial arts to stack, you can get an additional 2 from Wildcat and Aikido.

Can you use multiple maneuvers in an action? For example, set up followed by a Kick+finishing move Nerve Strike?

And this might be unpleasant mixed with a sustained elemental aura (though, if you're going for damage, why are you using Nerve Strike?); the idea of a Mystic Adept shrouded in a smoke or sound aura is kinda snifty.

Finishing Move uses up your next available action, so you're not using multiple maneuvers in an action. Moreover, the Kick Attack maneuver isn't really a declared action - it's just +1 reach so long as the normal attack is made with the feet. So there's no reason you couldn't spend your action to Set Up your opponent, then use up your next action with Finishing Move to make a Nerve Strike attack using your feet.

As for the aura thing, while I typically shy away from sustained combat spells (especially melee ones!), I suddenly have the urge to have a Smoke aura on an infected grappler - instant L4D Smoker. Pity that Frog Tongue is almost entirely useless, though. It's the only thing I can think of that conceptually matches the smoker's "tongue" grappling.

~Umi

Proboscis?

Since nowhere it is stated that maneuvers are mutually exclusive, one could use "set-up", "disorient", "herding" and Nerve Strike in a single attack - all 4 state that no damage is inflicted.



Suddenly i feel like creating a martial arts warrior-way pixie adept ^^