This one is still very much in the early stages but the overall theme is pretty much set in stone:
Bring back the original Tail Dancer that was K'stulaami-exclusive (Earthdawn Journal), heavily focus on Hawk Hatchets as the main weapons and build a combat machine that will either kill everything in its wake or fall over half-dead from strain.
The very first issue was to figure out how to get Gliding in there without making it a mandatory Rank 1 Talent: Turns out it's pretty easy, give K'stulaami Gliding as a racial talent (similar to how windlings get Astral Sight) and break a basic rule of Knacks. Violá, you allow them learn Gliding Knacks, even though it's not a "real" talent, but these Knacks are entirely fueled by the Magic of their Path, so no Knacks for regular old K'stulaami (sorry).
The next thing was the talent options of the Path. I have taken some liberty here and replace two options: Tiger Spring gets replaced by Air Dance and Maneuver gets replaced by Great Leap.
Both have been removed for the same reason, they are things you use on the ground and heavily go against the K'stulaami's love for Gliding. While Air Dance doesn't really let you fly, it still fits much better and open up a bunch of cool knacks. Maneuver gets replaced by Great Leap because you have to get into the air somehow, and Jumping up seemed a lot more fitting than running around on the ground.
Lastly, Throwing Weapons was added for the free Option slot that every School gets. Why? Because Hawk Hatchets.
Momentum Attack gets added as a rank 5+ option, which is quite a bit earlier than other Paths get such a good talent. Main Reason for that is because I really wanted it in there, further enforcing the combat style I envisioned and because Fluid Movement had to fill the last slot (Rank 9+). One of the main things these guys will do is Swooping Attacks and Splitting their Movement. And Fluid Movement becomes pretty much mandatory when you to make the most of the Splitting Movement combat options. I also added a knack for that, but only when you're gliding and you still suffer the penalties from Splitting Movement. See it as more of a gap filler until you get the real thing.
Then there are the two school-specific talents: Their Dance and their "special move".
Here I have borrowed ideas from the other schools and made them my own, further playing on the idea that the K'stulaami Tail Dancer was the original school and that the other may have just been derived from it.
Their Dance is similar to the Skora or Edo one, but instead of using their Tail to defend themselves or knock enemies down, they use it to disturb their enemies and create openings for attacks. In short: They are spinning around madly, while lashing out with and throwing up to three Hawk Hatchets, to control the enemies around them. By doing so, they reduce their enemies' Physical Defense and make them a lot easier to hit. Again, and again.
The Special Move was a bit harder and I have settled for something that is currently maybe a bit too strong but also costs 3 Strain instead of 1. Using the Shivaovara Escalation as a template, instead of hitting more accurately, they spin faster and faster, building up momentum to increase their Damage step. Instead of requiring that the targets are affected by the dance, the prerequisite to split their movement.
I've also added a knack that allows them to first dash through a group of enemies, building up their bonus and to then unleash the momentum in the next round against a single enemy (Air Dance knack).
Link to the Document:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hiywkomc4xmm5 ... 1.pdf?dl=0