-- CAT'S PARRY - A SOLDIER's MOVE --
The Cat's Parry (page 204 of 2E Conan) is an excellent combat maneuver that allows a defender to attack while he is defending, and thereby attain a bonus attack during the combat round.
How it works is this: A defender must use the Parry Defense (instead of Dodge), and the defender must announce that he is attempting a Cat's Parry.
When the Cat's Parry is attempted, the defender's Parry AC is reduced by -4, but if the attack is unsuccessful, the defender gets an immediate Attack of Opportunity against his attacker.
Bottom line: You lose 4 points of AC, but if you're not hit, you get a free attack.
Note that the maneuver doesn't work if the defender is hit. This way, characters with tons of hit points cannot abuse the maneuver.
Now, here's the kicker. The Cat's Parry is usually an advanced move. Barbarians, Scholars, and Temptresses have to be 8th level to use the maneuver, while Borderers, Nobles, Nomads, Pirates, and Thieves have to be 6th level.
Like the Riposte, though, Soldiers are singled out, able to use this powerful combat maneuver at 4th level. Along with the Riposte (discussed earlier in the thread), this gives Soldier-classed characters a significant combat advantage, especially since no character class is granted more than a single attack per round before 6th level (barring, of course, two-weapon fighting).
Considering that a large shield provides a Soldier with a +4 Parry bonus, the penalty for using Cat's Parry is akin to fighting without the shield. The Soldier can, of course, decide each round whether the Cat's Parry will be attempted.
If you also consider that the Conan RPG is meant to be played at the lower levels (see post earlier in this thread), where most NPCs are 10th level or less, and the vast majority are 3rd level or less, then, indeed, the Soldier's use of the Cat's Parry at 4th level is a true, hidden class bonus for Soldiers.