DracoDei
2009-08-14, 01:53 PM
I was kinda disappointed by the ToB Master of Nine, since, mechanically, it is no such thing("Master of Six" would be more accurate). Fluff is exactly the same as for the ToB Master of Nine but with a stronger emphasis on multi-classing. Also, feel free to link me to it if someone else has tried something similar, either here(EDIT: Although a Google search for "True Master of Nine" came up empty) or on another board.
True Master of Nine
Prerequisites:
-One maneuver from at least 9 different martial disciplines.
-One stance each from 6 different martial disciplines.
-4 ranks in the associated skill for at least 3 disciplines you had at least one maneuver or stance from before taking your first level of this class. (Note that as in the case of Stone Dragon and Iron Heart, which both have Balance as their associated skill, one set of ranks can meet this requirement for more than one discipline).
- Same as above for another 3 disciplines but only 3 ranks are required.
- Same as above for yet another 3 disciplines but only 2 ranks are required.
((Since these are a bit weird, I will give the recommended entry here: Sword-Sage 2/Crusader 2/Warblade 1 with Martial Stance Feat))
HP: d10
Skills: 4+int
Class Skills: Climb, Concentration, Craft, Knowledge (History,Local, Religion), Martial Lore, Swim, plus the associated skill for each discipline you had at least one maneuver or stance from before taking taking the first level of this class.
Martial Paths: All that you had at least one maneuver or stance from before taking your first level of this class.
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances |Special Abilities
1| +1|+2|+2|+2|2| |1|Path of Balance, Jealous Path
2| +2|+3|+3|+3|2| | |Steps Along the Way
3| +3|+3|+3|+3|2| | |
4| +4|+4|+4|+4|2|1|1|
5| +5|+4|+4|+4|2| | |No Contradiction (1/day)
6| +6|+5|+5|+5|2|1| |
7| +7|+5|+5|+5|2| |1| No Contradiction (2/day)
8| +8|+6|+6|+6|2|1| |
9| +9|+6|+6|+6|2| | |No Contradiction (3/day)
10|+10|+7|+7|+7|2|1|1|Perfect Form, Master of All[/table]
Maneuvers: At every level of this class you gain two maneuvers known (but see restriction in "Path of Balance" below). At 4th level and every even numbered level after that (including epic levels of this class), you may ready another maneuver. At every even level of this class, you may choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. In effect, you lose the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. You can choose a new maneuver of any level you like as as long as you observe your restriction on the the highest level maneuvers you know; you need not replace the maneuver with a maneuver of the same level. The new maneuver must be from the same discipline as the one it replaces, or from a discipline that (prior to applying this operation) you had less maneuvers from than the discipline the maneuver you are losing belongs to.
Path of Balance(Ex): The dedication to walking all paths comes at a slight cost to progress along any one path. When selecting a new maneuver (including via a feat, or from another class after you complete this one), you must always take it from a discipline you have access to, but know the least number of maneuvers in (of those you know any maneuvers or stances from at all) OR from a discipline that you know no maneuvers from but have somehow gained access to (via paying the 1,000 XPs, or if gaining the maneuver via the Martial Study feat, or whatever). Do not count stances as maneuvers for purposes of the preceding balancing. A similar rule applies for stances, but balancing the count of stances rather than maneuvers.
Jealous Path(Ex): The dedication required to follow the path of the True Master of Nine requires unshakable devotion. You many not take any further levels of any other martial initiating class while you have any levels of this class until you complete it at 10th level.
Steps Along the Way(Ex): Because know that the ways of every martial initiating class are merely stages of your larger journey are able to you break down the barriers between them. Beginning at second level you combine all your maneuvers known and maneuvers readied into a single pool (even those from in this and other classes you gain after receiving this class ability and instance of Martial Study taken later). All your maneuvers readied are considered also considered "granted", regardless of how you learned them originally. You may use any recovery method for any class you had levels of before taking your first level of True Master of Nine except the ones that work like the Crusader's recovery method. In that last case it means that in the unlikely case you have no maneuvers readied at any given point recover all you maneuvers at the beginning of your next turn as a free action. Note that you can not choose to prepare fewer maneuvers than your maximum.
No Contradiction(Ex): From 4th level on once per day you when you use the full attack action you may treat two of the attacks as strikes that normally have standard action initiation actions. The strikes must be from different disciplines, you must have the strikes readied, and this usage expends them normally. At least one of the maneuvers must be of a level at least one less than the highest level maneuver your initiator level allows you to learn. If you use a strike that requires an alternate check in place of an attack roll on your part (such as replace an attack roll with a concentration check or some such) your check result is reduced by the same amount that that interative attack would be (so -5 if you use the second attack in a normal full attack to deliver the strike). If the strike involves a save on your opponents part(s) the DC is reduced by half this amount (so -3 for the second attack in a normal full attack, -5 for the third, or -8 for the fourth).
At 7th level you may use this ability twice per day, but no more than once per round.
At 9th level you may use this ability three times per day, but still no more than once per round.
Perfect Form(Ex): At 10th level, due to the broad based insight you have,the save DC (if any) of any maneuver you initiate increases by 1.
Master of All(Su): Also at 10th level you gain transcendent insight into martial disciplines. From this point forward, you may select your maneuvers and stances gained from any martial discipline that exists in your campaign multiverse, regardless of if you have ever even heard of it. This includes the 2 maneuvers and 1 stance gained at this level, as well as any you gain in the future from other martial initiating classes and feats(Martial Study, Martial Stance, plus any setting specific ones). If you have less than 2 maneuvers(including stances in this case) in a given discipline, you instead count as knowing 2 maneuvers from that discipline for purposes of meeting the prerequisites of maneuvers and stances. Note that since it is LEARNING them that is the supernatural ability, you are unlikely to have problems with Anti-magic Fields and the like.
In addition, you may select any 1 martial initiating base class to add as a favored class for purposes of avoiding multiclassing penalties.
NOTES:
EDIT History
Dec. 21 3:13 PM Eastern: Added "or stances" to the class skills area.
Oct. 18 9:43 PM Eastern: Corrected a spelling mistake, and put in Knowledge(Local), just for the sake of arguement.
Oct. 04 4:27 PM Eastern: Since it is now possible to get several of 9th level maneuvers by character level 20 if you plan carefully, I slightly nerfed "No Contradictions" by requiring that at least one of the maneuvers be at least one of level back.
Aug. 14, 4:30 PM Eastern: Modified Path of Balance to account for people purchasing additional disciplines beyond 9 or whatever.-
Aug. 14, 11:41 PM Eastern: Changed it to full IL progression.
Aug. 15, 2:09 AM Eastern: Removed the following clause:"The maneuver lost must be from the lowest level that you know any maneuvers of."
2:16 AM : Added Climb, Craft, and Swim to the class skills list.
12:47 PM : Finally figured out how to execute Thrice Dead Cat's suggestions on the skill-rank requirements, including making it so you aren't punished if you dump 5,000 XPs by 5th level so that you end up with 14 disciplines instead of 9.
4:34 PM :Started trying to figure out how in the world to actually build a sample character...
9:49 PM :Added extra favored class to capstone so you aren't hamstring trying to triple class if you don't happen to be human to avoid XP penalties after leaving the class.
Notes:
Prepared maneuvers progression.
Crusader: 1/10
Sword-Sage: 2/5
Warblade: 1/5
The "Sudden Quicken" effect of "No Contradictions" is balanced out by several factors:
-It requires a full attack.
-With their slightly nerfed maximum maneuver level this allows them to get the large number of maneuvers they can ready "out the door" a little faster, thus making up for the lower levels of the maneuvers.
-Unless Hasteed or duel-wielding you aren't going to get your full BAB with both strikes. Now granted, if it is something with a save DC... actually, let me fix that. There, now it affects the save DC so you can't just you Wyrms flame with the last attack of your full attack that wouldn't have been likely to hit anyway without any sort of penalty.
-Once per round limit says: "No Time Stands Still cheese for you Mr Epic initiator!"... Well, OK, so doing two 8th level strikes plus 6 other attacks, without even bringing Haste into the picture is pretty good, but still...
Random Idea: Require all 6 maneuvers used in "No Contradiction" in a day to be from separate disciplines.
Entry:
Sword-Sage 1
Feat: Martial Stance (no such thing as a second level stance, so we might as well get this out of the way)
Maneuvers: (Desert Wind), (Setting Sun), (Shadow Hand), (Diamond Mind[Probably]),(2 more. from Desert Wind Setting Sun, and Shadow Hand probably)
Stance: (2 of Desert Wind, Setting Sun, or Shadow Hand)
4 ranks each in Balance, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Sense Motive, Tumble
Sword-Sage 2 (to make it easier to get second level maneuvers from disciplines specific to other classes)
Stance: (Last of the trio)
Maneuvers:
Crusader 1(with the hope of grabbing 3 third level maneuvers with the Warblade level, although taking TWO levels of Warblade before starting on this would make the most of the lovely 5 maneuvers granted at first level, plus moving the Martial Stance feat to where you can get a 3rd level Stance with it.)
Feat: Power Attack?
Maneuvers:(2xDevoted Spirit), (1 Stone Dragon), (2xWhite Raven)
Stance: Devoted Spirit
Crusader 2
Stance: Stone Dragon or White Raven
Warblade 1
Stance: Absolute Steel Stance
Maneuvers: (Iron Heart), (Tiger Claw), (White Raven)
True Master of Nine 1
Feat: Adaptive Style (we are going to end up with a BUNCH of maneuvers, even compared to the number we can ready, so we will probably want this...).
Maneuvers: As dictated by Path of Balance, Probably Stone Dragon and one other.
True Master of Nine
Prerequisites:
-One maneuver from at least 9 different martial disciplines.
-One stance each from 6 different martial disciplines.
-4 ranks in the associated skill for at least 3 disciplines you had at least one maneuver or stance from before taking your first level of this class. (Note that as in the case of Stone Dragon and Iron Heart, which both have Balance as their associated skill, one set of ranks can meet this requirement for more than one discipline).
- Same as above for another 3 disciplines but only 3 ranks are required.
- Same as above for yet another 3 disciplines but only 2 ranks are required.
((Since these are a bit weird, I will give the recommended entry here: Sword-Sage 2/Crusader 2/Warblade 1 with Martial Stance Feat))
HP: d10
Skills: 4+int
Class Skills: Climb, Concentration, Craft, Knowledge (History,Local, Religion), Martial Lore, Swim, plus the associated skill for each discipline you had at least one maneuver or stance from before taking taking the first level of this class.
Martial Paths: All that you had at least one maneuver or stance from before taking your first level of this class.
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances |Special Abilities
1| +1|+2|+2|+2|2| |1|Path of Balance, Jealous Path
2| +2|+3|+3|+3|2| | |Steps Along the Way
3| +3|+3|+3|+3|2| | |
4| +4|+4|+4|+4|2|1|1|
5| +5|+4|+4|+4|2| | |No Contradiction (1/day)
6| +6|+5|+5|+5|2|1| |
7| +7|+5|+5|+5|2| |1| No Contradiction (2/day)
8| +8|+6|+6|+6|2|1| |
9| +9|+6|+6|+6|2| | |No Contradiction (3/day)
10|+10|+7|+7|+7|2|1|1|Perfect Form, Master of All[/table]
Maneuvers: At every level of this class you gain two maneuvers known (but see restriction in "Path of Balance" below). At 4th level and every even numbered level after that (including epic levels of this class), you may ready another maneuver. At every even level of this class, you may choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. In effect, you lose the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. You can choose a new maneuver of any level you like as as long as you observe your restriction on the the highest level maneuvers you know; you need not replace the maneuver with a maneuver of the same level. The new maneuver must be from the same discipline as the one it replaces, or from a discipline that (prior to applying this operation) you had less maneuvers from than the discipline the maneuver you are losing belongs to.
Path of Balance(Ex): The dedication to walking all paths comes at a slight cost to progress along any one path. When selecting a new maneuver (including via a feat, or from another class after you complete this one), you must always take it from a discipline you have access to, but know the least number of maneuvers in (of those you know any maneuvers or stances from at all) OR from a discipline that you know no maneuvers from but have somehow gained access to (via paying the 1,000 XPs, or if gaining the maneuver via the Martial Study feat, or whatever). Do not count stances as maneuvers for purposes of the preceding balancing. A similar rule applies for stances, but balancing the count of stances rather than maneuvers.
Jealous Path(Ex): The dedication required to follow the path of the True Master of Nine requires unshakable devotion. You many not take any further levels of any other martial initiating class while you have any levels of this class until you complete it at 10th level.
Steps Along the Way(Ex): Because know that the ways of every martial initiating class are merely stages of your larger journey are able to you break down the barriers between them. Beginning at second level you combine all your maneuvers known and maneuvers readied into a single pool (even those from in this and other classes you gain after receiving this class ability and instance of Martial Study taken later). All your maneuvers readied are considered also considered "granted", regardless of how you learned them originally. You may use any recovery method for any class you had levels of before taking your first level of True Master of Nine except the ones that work like the Crusader's recovery method. In that last case it means that in the unlikely case you have no maneuvers readied at any given point recover all you maneuvers at the beginning of your next turn as a free action. Note that you can not choose to prepare fewer maneuvers than your maximum.
No Contradiction(Ex): From 4th level on once per day you when you use the full attack action you may treat two of the attacks as strikes that normally have standard action initiation actions. The strikes must be from different disciplines, you must have the strikes readied, and this usage expends them normally. At least one of the maneuvers must be of a level at least one less than the highest level maneuver your initiator level allows you to learn. If you use a strike that requires an alternate check in place of an attack roll on your part (such as replace an attack roll with a concentration check or some such) your check result is reduced by the same amount that that interative attack would be (so -5 if you use the second attack in a normal full attack to deliver the strike). If the strike involves a save on your opponents part(s) the DC is reduced by half this amount (so -3 for the second attack in a normal full attack, -5 for the third, or -8 for the fourth).
At 7th level you may use this ability twice per day, but no more than once per round.
At 9th level you may use this ability three times per day, but still no more than once per round.
Perfect Form(Ex): At 10th level, due to the broad based insight you have,the save DC (if any) of any maneuver you initiate increases by 1.
Master of All(Su): Also at 10th level you gain transcendent insight into martial disciplines. From this point forward, you may select your maneuvers and stances gained from any martial discipline that exists in your campaign multiverse, regardless of if you have ever even heard of it. This includes the 2 maneuvers and 1 stance gained at this level, as well as any you gain in the future from other martial initiating classes and feats(Martial Study, Martial Stance, plus any setting specific ones). If you have less than 2 maneuvers(including stances in this case) in a given discipline, you instead count as knowing 2 maneuvers from that discipline for purposes of meeting the prerequisites of maneuvers and stances. Note that since it is LEARNING them that is the supernatural ability, you are unlikely to have problems with Anti-magic Fields and the like.
In addition, you may select any 1 martial initiating base class to add as a favored class for purposes of avoiding multiclassing penalties.
NOTES:
EDIT History
Dec. 21 3:13 PM Eastern: Added "or stances" to the class skills area.
Oct. 18 9:43 PM Eastern: Corrected a spelling mistake, and put in Knowledge(Local), just for the sake of arguement.
Oct. 04 4:27 PM Eastern: Since it is now possible to get several of 9th level maneuvers by character level 20 if you plan carefully, I slightly nerfed "No Contradictions" by requiring that at least one of the maneuvers be at least one of level back.
Aug. 14, 4:30 PM Eastern: Modified Path of Balance to account for people purchasing additional disciplines beyond 9 or whatever.-
Aug. 14, 11:41 PM Eastern: Changed it to full IL progression.
Aug. 15, 2:09 AM Eastern: Removed the following clause:"The maneuver lost must be from the lowest level that you know any maneuvers of."
2:16 AM : Added Climb, Craft, and Swim to the class skills list.
12:47 PM : Finally figured out how to execute Thrice Dead Cat's suggestions on the skill-rank requirements, including making it so you aren't punished if you dump 5,000 XPs by 5th level so that you end up with 14 disciplines instead of 9.
4:34 PM :Started trying to figure out how in the world to actually build a sample character...
9:49 PM :Added extra favored class to capstone so you aren't hamstring trying to triple class if you don't happen to be human to avoid XP penalties after leaving the class.
Notes:
Prepared maneuvers progression.
Crusader: 1/10
Sword-Sage: 2/5
Warblade: 1/5
The "Sudden Quicken" effect of "No Contradictions" is balanced out by several factors:
-It requires a full attack.
-With their slightly nerfed maximum maneuver level this allows them to get the large number of maneuvers they can ready "out the door" a little faster, thus making up for the lower levels of the maneuvers.
-Unless Hasteed or duel-wielding you aren't going to get your full BAB with both strikes. Now granted, if it is something with a save DC... actually, let me fix that. There, now it affects the save DC so you can't just you Wyrms flame with the last attack of your full attack that wouldn't have been likely to hit anyway without any sort of penalty.
-Once per round limit says: "No Time Stands Still cheese for you Mr Epic initiator!"... Well, OK, so doing two 8th level strikes plus 6 other attacks, without even bringing Haste into the picture is pretty good, but still...
Random Idea: Require all 6 maneuvers used in "No Contradiction" in a day to be from separate disciplines.
Entry:
Sword-Sage 1
Feat: Martial Stance (no such thing as a second level stance, so we might as well get this out of the way)
Maneuvers: (Desert Wind), (Setting Sun), (Shadow Hand), (Diamond Mind[Probably]),(2 more. from Desert Wind Setting Sun, and Shadow Hand probably)
Stance: (2 of Desert Wind, Setting Sun, or Shadow Hand)
4 ranks each in Balance, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Sense Motive, Tumble
Sword-Sage 2 (to make it easier to get second level maneuvers from disciplines specific to other classes)
Stance: (Last of the trio)
Maneuvers:
Crusader 1(with the hope of grabbing 3 third level maneuvers with the Warblade level, although taking TWO levels of Warblade before starting on this would make the most of the lovely 5 maneuvers granted at first level, plus moving the Martial Stance feat to where you can get a 3rd level Stance with it.)
Feat: Power Attack?
Maneuvers:(2xDevoted Spirit), (1 Stone Dragon), (2xWhite Raven)
Stance: Devoted Spirit
Crusader 2
Stance: Stone Dragon or White Raven
Warblade 1
Stance: Absolute Steel Stance
Maneuvers: (Iron Heart), (Tiger Claw), (White Raven)
True Master of Nine 1
Feat: Adaptive Style (we are going to end up with a BUNCH of maneuvers, even compared to the number we can ready, so we will probably want this...).
Maneuvers: As dictated by Path of Balance, Probably Stone Dragon and one other.