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View Full Version : Making the Fighter Tier 2 [PEACH]



Ziegander
2011-01-14, 02:14 AM
I don't think it's really possible to make the Fighter, or any mundane warrior class, Tier 1. The level of influential power needed to approach Tier 1 level, to me, feels impossible to write mundane explanations for. To compete with Tier 1 we'd have to come up with mundane abilities that rival spontaneously generating pocket universes and summoning hordes of powerful Outsiders. Seems difficult.

The Warblade was a vast and wonderful improvement to the Fighter. It brought melee capabilities into the vaunted realm of Tier 3. Hell, it almost invented Tier 3. But still, the Warblade's capabilities are very limited. It has extremely limited self-buffing, extremely limited enemy debuffing, moderate condition removal, but strong defenses and hit point damage capabilities. I believe a Fighter should be much more capable in those other areas, and maybe even capable in a wider range of abilities, and that is what I've sought to do.

While it seems impossible to match the power of a Tier 1 character without resorting to some seriously silly stuff, the versatility if not the power can be roughly matched, and some effects that are still genuinely very powerful can be created that feel fully mundane in nature. I've been doing a lot of work on this over the last few months. Here's some things I've come up with.

This is not a full system, this is merely a long list of abilities that a Tier 2 Fighter ought to be able to utilize. Please let me know what you think, and thanks for reading.

1st Level Strategies

Expert Instruction
Strategy 1
Action: 10 minutes
Target: One ally (not including yourself)
Range: 60ft
Duration: 24 hours
Effect: The targeted ally gains a +1 insight bonus to opposed checks, to Armor Class, and to Fortitude saving throws for 24 hours. No ally may benefit from Expert Instruction more than once per day.

Dirt Nap
Strategy 1
Action: Swift
Target: One tripped creature
Range: Melee
Effect: As your enemy falls to the ground you give him a final shove, slamming him into the dirt, and knocking him unconscious if he fails a Fort save (DC 10+1/2 Fighter level+Str modifier) as if by the Sleep spell. Dirt Nap has no effect effect on creatures whose HD equals or exceeds 3+1/2Fighter Level.

Distracting Boast
Strategy 1 (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting]
Action: Full Round
Range: Line of Sight
Duration: Concentration (see text)
Effect: Any creatures within the range that the Fighter designates, that are able to see the Fighter, and whose total HD does not exceed 5+Fighter level must make a Will save (DC 10+1/2 Fighter level+Cha modifier). Those that fail are Fascinated for the duration. In order to maintain this effect, each round the Fighter must make a Full Attack with a melee weapon. Any creature Fascinated in this way may instead attack the Fighter or target him with a harmful spell or ability, but such creatures do not get additional saving throws against Distracting Boast, nor is the fascinating effect automatically broken for such creatures in the face of obvious threats.

Fighter's Command
Strategy 1 (Fear) [Language Dependent, Mind Affecting]
Action: Standard
Target: One threatened creature
Range: Variable (see text)
Duration: 1 round
Effect: A creature you threaten makes a Will save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Cha modifier). If it's save fails it is effected as if by the Command spell. If it succeeds you may make a single attack against it. Fighter's Command has no effect if more creatures threaten you than threaten the target, or if the target's HD equals or exceeds 3+1/2Fighter Level.

Enlist Soldier I
Strategy 1
Action: 1 Round
Duration: 10 minutes/Fighter level + see text
Effect: Using your reputation as a champion warrior rather than money you are able to recruit a sword to your cause. After using this strategy a 1st level NPC Warrior or Expert appears, of any LA 0 race, with any feats and skills of your choice (that it could normally qualify for or are normally on its skill list), and with the following ability scores placed as you like - 17 16 14 13 10 8. After the duration expires, if the recruit is still alive, it will flee and return home if it is shaken, frightened, or panicked, or if it ever has less than 50% hp, but until such time it will continue to fight for you. This strategy may not be used while you are in a location that the recruit couldn't enter or exit, and the DM may rule that it can't be used while you are in a location where you couldn't normally hire the recruit with money.

True Focus
Strategy 1
Action: Standard
Target: Self
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 round
Effect: Choose a weapon with which you are proficient. Before the end of your next turn you may add a +20 insight bonus to an attack roll made with that weapon. If you do, your attack also ignores concealment less than total concealment.

Fan Service
Strategy 1 (Charm) [Language Dependent, Mind Affecting]
Action: Standard
Target: One humanoid creature
Range: Line of sight
Duration: Concentration (see text)
Effect: The target recognizes you from stories he's heard of your exploits. If it fails its Will save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Cha modifier) treat its attitude as friendly as long as you concentrate and engage it in conversation. This works as the Charm Person except that any time you ask the creature for a favor or attempt to give it an order it gets an additional saving throw to end this effect. A creature that has succeeded its save against Fan Service is immune to it for 1 month.

Tidal Strike
Strategy 1
Action: Full Turn
Area: 15ft cone
Range: Personal
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Make a single melee attack roll and compare it to the AC of each creature in the area. You may attack any creatures whose AC is lower than the attack roll, but those creatures get a Reflex save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Dex modifier) to halve the damage. After using this strategy you must move to any of the squares at the farthest reach of the area. This movement doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity.

Bellowing Strike
Strategy 1
Action: Standard
Target: One creature
Range: Weapon range
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Make an attack against the target that deals +5 extra damage/Fighter level (max +25).

Butchering Blows
Strategy 1
Action: Swift
Target: Self
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 minute/level (see text)
Effect: You enter a vicious stance and prepare to carve up your foes. While this strategy lasts your melee attacks deal 1 Strength damage in addition to their normal effects (Fort negates, DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Str modifier). This strategy ends after 1 minute/Fighter level or after you make a number of successful attacks like this equal to 3+1/2Fighter level.

Burst of Speed
Strategy 1
Action: Move
Target: Self
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 round/Fighter level (see text)
Effect: Move up to your speed +30ft. You may do this once during each of your turns for a number of rounds equal to your Fighter level; however, this effect ends at the end of your turn if you didn't move that turn.

Tiring Strike
Strategy 1
Action: Standard
Target: One creature
Range: Weapon range
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Make an attack against a creature within range. If the attack hits, the struck creature is Fatigued.

This is a Good Sword
Strategy 1
Action: Standard
Target: One weapon
Range: Touch
Duration: 24 hours
Effect: Testing the weight, balance, and overall effectiveness of a weapon you deem it "good" (whether you actually believe this or not). For the rest of the day the weapon gains a +1 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls and is considered a magical weapon. Any creature who wields the weapon may choose to make a Will disbelief save to negate the effect (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Cha modifier, harmless, only total jerks would do this).


2nd Level Strategies

Rout the Enemy!
Strategy 2 (Fear) [Mind Affecting]
Action: Full Turn
Area: 60ft cone effect
Duration: 1 round/Fighter level
Effect: Enemies within the area whose total HD doesn't exceed 6+2xFighter level are Frightened for the duration if they fail a Will save (DC 10+1/2 Fighter level+Cha modifier). Those that succeed are Shaken and halve the duration.

Brain Damage
Strategy 2
Action: Standard
Target: One creature
Range: Weapon range
Effect: Make an attack against a creature within range. If the attack hits the struck creature is dealt 1d6 Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma damage and is Confused for 1 round.

Dust Up
Strategy 2
Action: Swift
Range: Personal
Area: 10ft cone
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: You kick up a small cloud of dust coating everyone and everything in the area with it and vaguely outlining invisible things in it. In addition creatures in the area must succeed on a Reflex save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Dex modifier) or be blinded for 1 round. By spending a Full Round action a creature may shake off all the dust.

Enlist Soldier II
Strategy 2
As Enlist Soldier I, except that the Warrior or Expert is 3rd level, and has these abilities - 19, 17, 16, 15, 12, 10. Instead of a 3rd level NPC appearing you may choose a race and/or templates for the NPC to possess of up to LA +2, reducing the level of the NPC by the total level adjustment.

Dazing Blow
Strategy 2
Action: Standard
Target: One creature
Range: Weapon range
Effect: Make an attack against the target. If the attack hits and the target fails a Will save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Str modifier) it is dazed for 1d4+1 rounds. Dazing Blow has no effect on creatures whose HD equals or exceeds 5+1/2Fighter Level.

Marauder's Campaign
Strategy 2
Action: Full Turn
Target: Self
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 minute/level (see text)
Effect: You adopt a rampaging stance focusing on using your bulk to full effect. When you use this strategy, and each round of the duration, you may move up to twice your speed as a full round action. You may move through any occupied squares during this movement, even those occupied by enemies, though you provoke attacks of opportunity as normal. Creatures in squares you move through in this way are dealt 4d6+2xStr modifier bludgeoning damage as you crash through them (Reflex DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Str modifier halves). This strategy ends after 1 minute/Fighter level or after you crash through a number of creatures in this way equal to 5+1/2Fighter level.

Fade Into Obscurity
Strategy 2
Action: Swift
Target: Self
Range: Personal
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Make a single Hide check while being observed, without the need of cover or concealment, and with a +10 bonus.

Victorious Vigor
Strategy 2
Action: Standard
Target: Self
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 hour/Fighter level
Effect: You gain 5 temporary hit points per Fighter level. These temporary hit points don't stack with other temporary hit points you may have.

Grisly Blow
Strategy 2
Action: Standard
Target: One creature
Range: Weapon range
Duration: 1 round/Fighter level
Effect: Make an attack against the target. If the attack hits the target and all enemies able to see the target must make Fort saves (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Wis modifier). If the target fails it is nauseated for the duration. If any other creature fails it is sickened for the duration.


3rd Level Strategies

Witchhammer
Strategy 3
Action: Standard
Target: One creature
Range: Weapon range
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Make an attack against a creature within range. If the attack hits, for each spell effect currently effecting the target the controller of that spell effect must make a Concentration check to maintain the effect as if to cast the spell defensively. If the check fails to beat a DC of 10+damage dealt, the effect is dispelled as if through Dispel Magic.

Enlist Soldier III
Strategy 3
As Enlist Soldier I, except that the Warrior or Expert is 5th level, and has these abilities - 21, 18, 18, 17, 14, 10. A Warrior hired this way has the Dungeoncrasher ability. An Expert hired this way has the Trapfinding and Trap Sense abilities. Instead of a 5th level NPC appearing you may choose a race and/or templates for the NPC to possess of up to LA +4, reducing the level of the NPC by the total level adjustment.

Greater Dirt Nap
Strategy 3 [Mind Affecting]
As Dirt Nap, however this strategy can effect creatures with any number of HD and creatures that successfully save are Fatigued for 1 round.

Heroic Instruction
Strategy 3
Action: 10 minutes
Target: One creature
Range: 60ft
Duration: 24 hours
Effect: Teaching an ally what it means to fight you grant the target a +2 insight bonus to attack rolls, skill and ability checks, and to saving throws for the next 24 hours. No ally may benefit from Heroic Instruction more than once per day.

Backbreaker
Strategy 3
Action: Standard
Target: One humanoid creature
Range: Melee
Duration: 1 round/Fighter level
Effect: Make a melee attack against a humanoid creature. If the attack hits and the target fails a Fortitude save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Str modifier) it is Paralyzed for the duration. Regardless, the attack deals 4d6 extra damage.

Fighter's Suggestion
Strategy 3 (Fear) (Compulsion) [Language Dependent, Mind Affecting]
Action: Standard
Target: One threatened creature
Range: Variable (see text)
Duration: 1 hour/Fighter level or until completed
Effect: A creature you threaten makes a Will save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Cha modifier). If it's save fails it is effected as if by the Suggestion spell. If it succeeds you may make a single attack against it. Fighter's Command has no effect if more creatures threaten you than threaten the target, or if the target's HD equals or exceeds 7+1/2Fighter Level.

Lightning Charge
Strategy 3
Action: Full Turn
Area: Line effect, 5ft wide, length equal to 5 times your speed
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Move up to 5 times your speed in a straight line through any occupied squares, even those occupied by enemies, and without provoking attacks of opportunity. Make a single melee attack roll and compare it to the AC of creatures occupying any square you moved through. You may attack any creatures whose AC is lower than the attack roll, but those creatures get a Reflex save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Dex modifier) to halve the damage. These attacks deal 1d6 extra damage/Fighter level.

Exhaustive Strike
Strategy 3
Action: Standard
Target: One creature
Range: Weapon range
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Make an attack against within range. That attack deals an extra 10 damage and if it hits the target is Exhausted.

Vitalizing Strike
Strategy 3
Action: Standard
Target: One creature
Range: Weapon range
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Make an attack against a creature within range. That attack deals 5 extra damage per two Fighter levels. If the attack hits you regain hit points equal to the total damage dealt and the struck creature.

Quickening
Strategy 3
Action: Swift
Target: Self
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 minute/level
Effect: For the duration you are able to maintain a hastened stance doubling your speeds and granting you a +2 circumstance bonus to attack rolls, AC, and Reflex saves.

Shadow of Doubt
Strategy 3 [Mind-Affecting]
Action: Swift
Target: Self
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 minute/level
Effect: You adopt a stance enabling you to be so domineering that your foes are unable to take full advantage of their turns. For the duration, foes you threaten may only take either a move action or a standard action on their turns. They may not take both, nor may they take swift or full round actions.

This is an Excellent Sword
Strategy 3
Action: Standard
Target: One weapon
Range: Touch
Duration: 24 hours
Effect: Testing the weight, balance, and overall effectiveness of a weapon you deem it "excellent" (whether you actually believe this or not). For the rest of the day the weapon gains an enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls equal to +1 per four Fighter levels and is considered a magical weapon. Any creature who wields the weapon may choose to make a Will disbelief save to negate the effect (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Cha modifier, harmless, only total jerks would do this).


4th Level Strategies

Anchoring Grasp
Strategy 4
Action: Swift
Target: One creature
Range: Melee touch
Duration: See text
Effect: By spending a swift action, you render all creatures you are grappling unable to travel through dimensions, anchoring those creatures to the material realm. This effect blocks forms of movement including astral projection, blink, dimension door, ethereal jaunt, etherealness, gate, maze, plane shift, shadow walk, teleport, and similar spell-like or psionic abilities.

Unlike Dimensional Anchor, Anchoring Grasp does interfere with the movement of creatures already in ethereal or astral form when it is used. Like Dimensional Anchor it does not block extradimensional perception or attack forms, and does not prevent summoned creatures from disappearing at the end of a summoning spell.

Follow Through
Strategy 4
Action: Immediate
Range: Close
Target: One creature using dimensional movement
Duration: 1 round
Effect: When a foe attempts to escape the battlefield via teleportation or extradimensional travel you are able to follow them through sheer force of will. Until the end of your next turn if you are able to reach the point of your the target's travel you may pursue the target mimicking their dimensional travel effect as if you had used the same effect to travel to the same exact place. When you emerge, if the square is occupied, you are shunted to the nearest open square within Close range and dealt 5 damage per 5ft moved this way. If there is no open square within Close range your dimensional movement fails and you find yourself back where you started.

Granite Stance
Strategy 4
Action: Swift
Target: Self
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 minute/level (see text)
Effect: With a hardy breath you adopt a stance granting you exceptional resilience to attacks. For the duration of the effect you gain Damage Reduction 10/adamantine. You may maintain this stance up to the duration, or until the Damage Reduction has prevented 10 damage per level, whichever is first.

Foil Action
Strategy 4
Action: Immediate
Target: One creature
Range: Close
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Move up to Close range to maximum of your speed and attack a creature you are able. Your attack interrupts the creature's actions as if you had readied an action to do so. If the attack hits, the creature's actions fail (spells fizzle, movement is halted, potions are wasted, etc).

Fervent Denial
Strategy 4
Action: Immediate
Target: Self
Range: Personal
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Against a single 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level magical or supernatural effect you are not considered a legal target, nor are you considered to occupy your square for determining area effects.

Enlist Soldier IV
Strategy 4
As Enlist Soldier I, except that the Warrior or Expert is 7th level, and has these abilities - 24, 19, 17, 16, 15, 12. A Warrior hired this way has the Dungeoncrasher and Pounce abilities. An Expert hired this way has the Trapfinding, Trap Sense, and Distracting Attack abilities. Instead of a 7th level NPC appearing you may choose a race and/or templates for the NPC to possess of up to LA +6, reducing the level of the NPC by the total level adjustment.

Greater Fan Service
Strategy 4 (Charm) [Mind Affecting]
As Fan Service except that this is not a Language Dependent effect, and can effect non-humanoid creatures.

Apple of Discord
Strategy 4
Action: Swift
Target: See text
Range: See text
Duration: 1 minute/level (see text)
Effect: As Fade Into Obscurity, but the check receives a +20 bonus, and you remain hidden for up to 1 minute/level regardless of your actions, even while being observed, and without the need of cover, concealment, or extra checks. For the duration of this effect whenever you successfully hit a foe with an attack, that creature and all foes within 30ft of that creature must succeed on a Will save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Dex modifier) or become Confused for 1 round. Each time you successfully hit a foe the duration of this effect is reduced by 1 round. This is not a Mind-Affecting effect.

Iron Curtain
Strategy 4
Action: Immediate
Target: Self
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 minute/level (see text)
Effect: For the duration of the effect you adopt a defensive stance forcing foes to think twice and allowing you to take full advantage of your foes' poor tactical decisions. In this stance, foes you threaten suffer a -2 penalty to attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, and ability and skill checks. Furthermore, whenever a foe you threaten makes any movement, including forced movement or 5ft steps, they provoke attacks of opportunity from you. Finally, you deal extra damage with your attacks of opportunity equal to +5/two Fighter levels. You may activate this Strategy in response to a foe you threaten making any movement or provoking an attack of opportunity from you.

Willbreaker
Strategy 4
Action: Standard
Target: One creature
Range: Weapon range
Duration: 1 round/level
Effect: Make an attack against a creature within range. If the attack hits the struck creature is dealt 6 Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma damage. For the duration, it suffers an additional -4 penalty to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma and each time it takes an action that action has a 50% chance to fail.

Reaper's Strike
Strategy 4
Action: Standard
Target: One creature
Range: Weapon range
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Make an attack against a creature within range. If the attack hits, the struck creature gains 4 negative levels.


5th Level Strategies

Indomitable Indignation
Strategy 5
Action: Standard
Range: Personal
Area: 30ft
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: This Technique frees you from enchantments, transmutations, and curses, and can reverse even an instantaneous effect. For each such effect, make a level check (1d20+Fighter level) against a DC of 11 + caster level of the effect. Success means that you are free of the spell, curse, or effect. For a cursed magic item, the DC is 25.

After making these level checks, if you are free of any harmful spells, curses, or effects you let loose a booming shout of defiance. This shout deals creatures in the area 1d6 sonic damage per two levels, and deafens them if they fail a Fort save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Cha modifier).

Outsider's Bane
Strategy 5
Action: Standard
Target: One extraplanar creature
Range: Weapon range
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Make an attack against an extraplanar creature within range. If the attack hits, the controller of whatever effect propelled the creature from its native plane to your plane must make a Concentration check to maintain the effect as if to cast the spell defensively even if the effect was instantaneous, and even if the effect wasn't spell-like in nature. If the check fails to beat a DC of 10+damage dealt, the struck creature is whisked back to its native plane as if through Dismissal.

Enlist Soldier V
Strategy 5
As Enlist Soldier I, except that the Warrior or Expert is 9th level, and has these abilities - 23, 20, 18, 18, 16, 15. A Warrior hired this way has the Dungeoncrasher, Pounce, and Damage Reduction 10/-- abilities. An Expert hired this way has the Trapfinding, Trap Sense, Distracting Attack, and Freedom of Movement (constant effect) abilities. Instead of a 9th level NPC appearing you may choose a race and/or templates for the NPC to possess of up to LA +8, reducing the level of the NPC by the total level adjustment.

Terrorize
Strategy 5 (Fear) (Compulsion) [Language Dependent, Mind-Affecting]
Action: Standard
Target: One humanoid creature
Range: Melee
Duration: 1 round/Fighter level (see text)
Effect: Make a melee attack against a creature. If the attack hits, the struck creature must succeed at a Will save (DC 10+1/2 Fighter level+Charisma modifier) or be Dominated as the spell Dominate Person for 1 round per Fighter level. Furthermore for as long as you are able to your turn threatening the struck creature, if it failed the save, it is Dominated for an additional round. Terrorize has no effect on creatures whose HD equals or exceeds 11+1/2Fighter level.

Greater Witchhammer
Strategy 5
As Witchhammer, but your attack deals an extra 20 damage which increases the subsequent DC of the Concentration check. Additionally, you are able to strike at magical or supernatural effects in order to dispel them. From illusions, conjurations, and evocations to ongoing supernatural effects, such as interdimensionary portals or even mirages. For magical effects your attack must hit an AC equal to 10+the caster level of the effect's controller. You get a +20 bonus to your attack roll for this attack. For ongoing effects without particular controllers your attack must hit an AC of 40, though you get no bonus to your attack roll. This Strategy is able to permanently disenchant magical items, but has no effect on Artifacts.

Improved Backbreaker
Strategy 5
As Backbreaker except that the target of the Strategy and the related attack may be any creature rather than just a humanoid creature and the attack deals an extra 8d8 damage.

Crashing Wave
Strategy 5
Action: Full Turn
Area: 30ft cone
Range: Personal
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Make a single melee attack roll and compare it to the AC of each creature in the area. You may attack any creatures whose AC is lower than the attack roll, but those creatures get a Reflex save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Dex modifier) to halve the damage. These attacks deal an 1d6 extra damage per Fighter level (max +15d6), and any creature you hit suffers debilitating pains that last for 1 hour and inflict a -4 penalty to attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and opposed checks. After using this strategy you must move to any of the squares at the farthest reach of the area. This movement doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity.

Tremulous Steps
Strategy 5
Action: Swift
Area: 15ft emanation
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 minute/level
Effect: Your unshakable resolve and imperious presence saps the stamina of your foes. For the duration of the effect, all foes within the area of the effect lose 5 hit points per round and are Fatigued. This loss of hit points is not damage and therefore is not effected by any effect that would normally reduce or modify damage. This loss of hit points cannot reduce a creature to fewer than 0 hit points.


6th Level Strategies

Improved Fervent Denial
Strategy 6
Duration: 1 minute/level
As Fervent Denial but up to 6th level effects. Additionally, after using this Strategy you are immune to the effects of 1st through 6th level magical or supernatural effects for 1 minute per Fighter level.

Colossus Strike
Strategy 6
Action: Standard
Area: 30ft cone
Range: Personal
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Make a single melee attack roll and compare it to the AC of each creature in the area. You may attack any creatures whose AC is lower than the attack roll and your attack deals 30 extra damage. Additionally you Bull Rush each creature in the area even those not adjacent to you with a +14 bonus to your check. You may not move with creatures you Bull Rush in this way, but if your check is high enough your Bull Rush may move a creature more than 5ft as if you had moved with it. A successful Reflex save negates the Bull Rush effect of this Strategy, but has no effect on the damage of the attack.

Destroyer's Strike
Strategy 6
Action: Standard
Target: One creature, object, or conjured effect
Range: Melee
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: With a single, powerful blow you bring the object of your fury crashing down. Make a melee attack against a target within range. Your attack ignores hardness and damage reduction and deals an extra 10 damage per Fighter level, Fort halves (DC 10+1/2Fighter Level+Strength modifier). This attack can be used as a Sunder attempt if you wish. Creatures or objects reduced to 0 or fewer hit points by this attack are destroyed utterly, turned to a fine ash. An area up to 5 cubic feet of nonliving matter per two Fighter levels can be effected by this Strategy.

This attack may also target any non-object, or object-like magical or even supernatural effect, such as a Fog Cloud, Bigby's Interposing Hand, or Wall of Force. You make the attack roll as normal, however you need not make a damage roll. Your attack roll is opposed by the controller of the effect's caster level check, or level check. You get a +20 bonus to your attack roll in this case. If your attack roll beats the check the effect is destroyed, dispersed, or otherwise eliminated. If there is no controller of the effect you must roll against 1d20+30.

Aura of Terror
Strategy 6 (Fear) [Mind-Affecting]
Action: Swift
Area: 5ft radius/level emanation
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 round/level
Effect: With an aggressive stance and an dominant glare you challenge all foes around you. Any creature within or entering the area must attempt a Will save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Charisma modifier). Those that fail are unable to move toward you or attempt harm against you for the duration of the Strategy, but their actions are otherwise not inhibited.

Creatures whose saves succeeded, at your option, must make another Will save at the same DC. If those creatures fail this save they may move toward you and attack you normally, but are unable to move toward or attempt harm against any other creatures for the duration of the Strategy. Creatures that succeed on both saves are entirely unaffected.

Enlist Soldier VI
Strategy 6
As Enlist Soldier I, except that the Warrior or Expert is 11th level, and has these abilities - 26, 23, 21, 19, 18, 17. A Warrior hired this way has the Dungeoncrasher, Pounce, Damage Reduction 15/-- abilities and is immune to fear, charm, and compulsion effects, as well as stunning, fatigue, and sickening. An Expert hired this way has the Trapfinding, Trap Sense, Distracting Attack, Freedom of Movement (constant effect), and Overland Flight (constant effect) abilities. Instead of a 11th level NPC appearing you may choose a race and/or templates for the NPC to possess of up to LA +10, reducing the level of the NPC by the total level adjustment.

Sight Beyond Sight
Strategy 6
Action: Swift
Area: 5ft radius/level emanation
Range: Personal
Duration: 1 minute/level
Effect: For the duration of the effect you are able to see the true nature of things as the spell True Seeing.

Legendary Instruction
Strategy 6
Action: 10 minutes
Target: One creature
Range: 60ft
Duration: 24 hours
Effect: Your fighting prowess has become the thing of legends, and in a short time you are able to improve an ally's skill to the point that you grant the target a +4 insight bonus to attack rolls, skill and ability checks, and to saving throws, as well as immunity to fear and temporary hit points equal to twice your Fighter level for the next 24 hours. No ally may benefit from Legendary Instruction more than once per day.

Hostile Takeover
Strategy 6 (Fear) (Compulsion), [Language Dependent, Mind-Affecting]
Action: Standard
Target: One creature/level, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart
Range: Variable (see text)
Duration: 1 hour/Fighter level or until completed
Effect: A creature you threaten makes a Will save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Cha modifier). If it's save fails it is effected as if by the Suggestion spell. Also, make a melee attack against that threatened creature. If your attack hits and that creature failed its Will save any other legal targets up to one creature/level must make Will saves against the same DC. Any creatures whose saves fail are also effected as by the Suggestion spell. The same suggestion applies to all such creatures. Hostile Takeover may only effect a total number of HD worth of creatures less than or equal to six times your Fighter Level. Unlike Fighter's Suggestion Hostile Takeover is effective even if you are threatened by more creatures than the target.

Master Plan
Strategy 6
Action: 10 minutes
Target: Self
Range: Personal
Duration: 24 hours
Effect: Ready a number of actions up to your Intelligence modifier as outlined on PHB 160, but you may take these readied actions at any time during the day rather than before your next turn and you don't change your initiative order. As with normal readied actions, when readying actions in this way you must specify the action you will take and the circumstances under which you will take it. You need not automatically use an action readied in this way even if the circumstances come up if you decide you'd rather save the action for the next time that circumstance comes up. Any actions readied in this way are lost after 24 hours if not used.

Fighter's Glare
Strategy 6 (Fear)
Action: Swift
Range: Close
Target: One living creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: With a single decisive glare you scare a single foe literally to death. The target of your penetrating gaze suffers different effects dependent on the relationship between their HD and your Fighter level if it fails a Fortitude save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Charisma modifier, some effects may seem redundant unless the target has immunities).

HD is more than 9 greater than your Fighter level - Sickened for 1 hour.
HD is between 4 and 9 greater than your Fighter level - Sickened and Frightened for 1 hour.
HD is equal to or up to 3 greater than your Fighter level - Nauseated, Panicked, and Staggered for 1 hour.
HD is less than your Fighter level - Nauseated, Cowering, Staggered, Stunned for 1 hour, and unless the target is immune to Death effects it is Petrified (yes, turned to stone).


7th Level Strategies

Improved Foil Action
Strategy 7
Range: Medium
As Foil Action, except that if your attack hits the creature must make a Will save (DC 10+1/2Fighter level+Wis modifier) or be unable to repeat their failed action for 1 minute (if a spell fizzled the target can't cast spells, if their movement was halted the target can't move, if a potion was wasted the target can't drink potions, etc).

Turnabout Technique
Strategy 7
Action: Immediate
Range: Personal
Target: One incoming attack or effect
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: If you are targeted by an attack or magical or supernatural effect, or even within the area of a harmful effect, make a melee attack roll opposed by the originator's modified level check. You get a +10 bonus to your attack roll, but the originator adds its highest ability modifier. If your attack roll beats their check the attack or effect is rebounded against the originator leaving you unharmed and unaffected. In the case of an area effect your area is unaffected, but the rest of the area is effected normally.

Improved Follow Through
Strategy 7
Action: Immediate
Range: Long
Target: One creature using dimensional movement
Duration: 1 minute
Effect: As Follow Through except that you have one full minute to reach the point of your foe's travel, and when you emerge, if the square is occupied, you are shunted the nearest open square within Long range. You are not dealt damage for moving in this way. If there is no open square within Long range your dimensional movement fails normally.

Enlist Soldier VII
Strategy 7
As Enlist Soldier I, except that the Warrior or Expert is 13th level, and has these abilities - 29, 26, 23, 20, 19, 18. A Warrior hired this way has the Dungeoncrasher, Pounce, Damage Reduction 20/-- abilities and is immune to fear, charm, and compulsion effects, as well as dazing, stunning, fatigue, exhaustion, sickened, nausea, and paralysis. An Expert hired this way has the Trapfinding, Trap Sense, Distracting Attack, Freedom of Movement (constant effect), Greater Invisibility (constant effect), and Overland Flight (constant effect) abilities. Instead of a 13th level NPC appearing you may choose a race and/or templates for the NPC to possess of up to LA +12, reducing the level of the NPC by the total level adjustment.

Earthshaker
Strategy 7
Action: Standard
Area: 30ft radius emanation
Range: Personal
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: With a devastating blow you rattle the earth dealing foes, unattended objects, and structures within the area 50 points of bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage; staggering creatures for 1 round and knocking them prone. A successful Reflex save halves the damage and negates the prone effect (DC 12+1/2Fighter level+Strength modifier), but a creature is staggered regardless.

Versatile Stratagem
Strategy 7
Action: Standard
Range: See text
Target: See text
Duration: See text
Effect: Duplicate the effects of any 5th level or lower Strategy even if you do not know that Strategy and even if the action time of that Strategy is longer than a standard action. Versatile Stratagem's Range, Targets, and Duration are the same as the duplicated Strategy, and if the duplicated Strategy effects an Area, Versatile Stratagem has an Area that is the same.

Additionally, if you have 7 or more ranks in Spellcraft, or 13 or more ranks in Use Magic Device you may duplicate the effects of any 3rd level or lower spell. If you have the required ranks in both you may duplicate the effects of any 4th level or lower spell. If you have the required ranks in both and also have 13 or more ranks in Knowledge (Arcane) or (Religion) you may duplicate the effects of a 5th level or lower arcane or divine spell respectively.

Doomstrike
Strategy 7
Action: Standard
Range: Weapon range
Target: One living creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Make an attack against a target within range. Your attack gets a +10 bonus to hit, and if it does the target must make a Reflex save and a Fortitude save (DC 12+1/2Fighter level+the higher of your Strength or Dexterity modifier). If the target fails either of these saves it is immediately slain. If it succeeds on both saves your attack deals 10d6 extra damage.

Enfeebled Steps
Strategy 7
Area: 30ft emanation
As Tremulous Steps except that the hit point loss is 1 point per round per Fighter level and enemies are Exhausted. Like Tremulous Steps, this loss of hit points cannot reduce a creature to fewer than 0 hit points.


8th Level Strategies

Enlist Soldier VIII
Strategy 8
As Enlist Soldier I, except that the Warrior or Expert is 15th level, and has these abilities - 33, 30, 28, 25, 22, 19. A Warrior hired this way has the Dungeoncrasher, Pounce, Damage Reduction 25/-- abilities and is immune to all Mind-Affecting effects, negative levels, ability damage and drain, Death effects, as well as dazing, stunning, fatigue, exhaustion, immobilized, petrification, staggering, sickened, nausea, and paralysis. An Expert hired this way has the Trapfinding, Trap Sense, Distracting Attack, Freedom of Movement (constant effect), Greater Invisibility (constant effect), Spell Turning (constant effect up to 7th level), and Overland Flight (constant effect) abilities. Instead of a 15th level NPC appearing you may choose a race and/or templates for the NPC to possess of up to LA +14, reducing the level of the NPC by the total level adjustment.

[]


9th Level Strategies

Enlist Soldier IX
Strategy 9
As Enlist Soldier I, except that the Warrior or Expert is 17th level, and has these abilities - 38, 35, 35, 30, 30, 24. A Warrior hired this way has the Dungeoncrasher, Pounce, True Seeing, and Damage Reduction 40/-- abilities and is immune to all Mind-Affecting, Conjuration, Evocation, and Transmutation effects, negative levels, ability damage and drain, Death effects, as well as confusion, insanity, dazing, stunning, fatigue, exhaustion, immobilized, petrification, staggering, sickened, nausea, and paralysis. An Expert hired this way has the Trapfinding, Trap Sense, Distracting Attack, Freedom of Movement (constant effect), Greater Invisibility (constant effect), Spell Turning (constant effect up to 8th level), and Overland Flight (constant effect) abilities and is able to use [i]Limited Wish three times as the spell as an extraordinary ability. Instead of a 17th level NPC appearing you may choose a race and/or templates for the NPC to possess of up to LA +16, reducing the level of the NPC by the total level adjustment.

Fellquake
Strategy 9
Action: Standard
Area: 100ft radius emanation
Range: Personal
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: As Earthshaker, but the damage is increased to 100, the creatures are staggered for 2 rounds, and creatures that fall prone must succeed on a Fort save (DC 12+1/2Fighter level+Strength modifier) or be knocked unconscious as the Sleep spell. Furthermore, the area of the Strategy is unhinged becoming treated as difficult terrain with a rough and uneven surface, that is both severely obstructed and sloped or angled (see Balance and Climb skills, PHB).

Stratagem Omnis
Strategy 9
Action: Standard
Range: See text
Target: See text
Duration: See text
Effect: Duplicate the effects of any 7th level or lower Strategy even if you do not know that Strategy and even if the action time of that Strategy is longer than a standard action. Stratagem Omnis's Range, Targets, and Duration are the same as the duplicated Strategy, and if the duplicated Strategy effects an Area, Stratagem Omnis has an Area that is the same.

Additionally, if you have 10 or more ranks in Spellcraft, or 17 or more ranks in Use Magic Device you may duplicate the effects of any 5th level or lower spell. If you have the required ranks in both you may duplicate the effects of any 6th level or lower spell. If you have the required ranks in both and also have 17 or more ranks in Knowledge (Arcane) or (Religion) you may duplicate the effects of a 7th level or lower arcane or divine spell respectively.

Footsteps of Doom
Strategy 9
Area: 100ft emanation
As Tremulous Steps except that the hit point loss is 2 points per round per Fighter level and enemies are Exhausted and each of their actions have a 30% chance to fail. Unlike Tremulous Steps, this loss of hit points CAN reduce a creature to fewer than 0 hit points.

Saint GoH
2011-01-14, 02:43 AM
The question is, how often can the fighter Utilize these special abilities? Are they like manuevers, or spells that must be learnt?

I do happen to like the abilities though. One in particular "Stratagem Omnis" (Iseewhatyoudidthere) allows for up to 7th level spells be cast. Pretty cool if you ask me, along with "Enlist Soldier" line.

Welknair
2011-01-14, 10:03 AM
Have you read the Tome of Battle? It introduced four tier three melee classes as well as bumping the figther up to three (or at least four). They use "Maneuvers", which are a bit like your Stratagems.

Willfor
2011-01-14, 10:10 AM
Have you read the Tome of Battle? It introduced four tier three melee classes as well as bumping the figther up to three (or at least four). They use "Maneuvers", which are a bit like your Stratagems.


The Warblade was a vast and wonderful improvement to the Fighter. It brought melee capabilities into the vaunted realm of Tier 3. Hell, it almost invented Tier 3. But still, the Warblade's capabilities are very limited. It has extremely limited self-buffing, extremely limited enemy debuffing, moderate condition removal, but strong defenses and hit point damage capabilities. I believe a Fighter should be much more capable in those other areas, and maybe even capable in a wider range of abilities, and that is what I've sought to do.

It won't let me do a pure quote post, but I don't think I can improve upon this reply with anything I could say myself.

mrcarter11
2011-01-14, 10:22 AM
Have you read the Tome of Battle? It introduced four tier three melee classes as well as bumping the figther up to three (or at least four). They use "Maneuvers", which are a bit like your Stratagems.

Four? I only know of three.. We got the Warblade, Crusader, and Swordsage.. Which one do you know, that I don't?

Cidolfas
2011-01-14, 10:47 AM
As blasphemous as it may be to mention it in some circles, I think the Tome Fighter does an acceptable job of bringing the fighter up to snuff with a wizard (foiling the wizard's gate spell with an immediate action can do that).

Anyway, that's not the important part. I think these have promise, but in order to make them less wizard-like and more fighter-like it would probably be best to resort the categories that they fit into. I can see how such an ambiguous statement could be confusing, so allow me to clarify:

The effects and/or descriptors for some of these don't seem to fit; it seems as though you're trying to make it more like the wizard due to the wizard's well-known level of awesomeness. But it seems to me that in order to compensate for the fact that the wizard can do things the fighter cannot (affect an area more often and more variously, first and foremost).

As an example from level 1, Dirt Nap requires a successful trip and a save, and is also still considered a mind-affecting effect because it acts as the wizard spell sleep. I think it could definitely be made both more mechanically effective and more flavorfully fitting for the fighter if it legitimately rendered them unconscious (there are already rules for it, which vary from sleep since things as inconsequential as elves are immune to the latter). You could also get away with removing the HD limit, since you have to actually trip the creature (a difficult task in itself, if their HD and thereby their attack bonus exceeds yours), thus also limiting you to one target. As a result, I think you could sub out the sleep effect for regular unconsciousness and the mind-affecting tag should be removed (some things like undead are going to be immune to either one, but the mind blanked wizard who gets his face rubbed in the dirt should not be).

In a similar fashion, I think most of these could be changed to make them more like a fighter and less like an armored wizard with rehashed fighter flavor.

stainboy
2011-01-14, 02:09 PM
I do think this has a place alongside the ToB classes. Warblades are kung fu. This is mythic hero. It looks great in general, just have some concerns about the details.

I think some of the persistent strategies might be overpowered because they don't have the same counters as spells. There's no Strategy Resistance, Dispel Strategy, Anti-Strategy Field, or Protection from Evil Strategies to shut these things down. Are strategies transparent with magic, like psionics?

Also, for strategies that say "make an attack," does the attack deal weapon damage in addition to the effect of the strategy?


A few notes about specific powers:

Enlist Soldier: This might work better with a duration of 24 hours. There's 2e precedent for class-leveled NPCs running up to the fighter in the middle of the woods to fight for him and carry his stuff, that's not a problem. But giving it a short duration encourages fighters to blow it in the middle of a dungeon and push the limits of "it just works." You covered the unambiguous stuff, but as written players will want to know exactly how many lethal traps the soldier will navigate to reach the fighter.

Besides parity with Summon Monster, why do the higher level versions summon flying invisible experts and warriors with massive DR and immunities? Do those warriors know they're immune to things that would kill a normal human five times over? Do they object to being used as trap testers and human shields?

It needs a finite summon list too. If I can stat up experts as I need them, then the entire party can just leave their skills blank.


Fade Into Obscurity, Apple of Dischord: These step on a rogue's toes pretty hard, moreso than Invisibility which is at least best cast on the rogue.

Fervent Denial: Globe of Invulnerability is a lot more metagame-y for fighters than for wizards. You can assume a wizard knows enough about magic to mimic the player's knowledge of spell levels, Heighten Spell, the difference between spells and SLAs, etc, but not a fighter.

Ziegander
2011-01-14, 02:32 PM
The question is, how often can the fighter Utilize these special abilities? Are they like manuevers, or spells that must be learnt?

Well, that indeed is THE question. How are these abilities utilized by a Fighter? I don't have an answer yet. I'm merely putting them here for everyone to evaluate and critique. Maybe together we can put our heads together and come up with a working "Strategies System."


As blasphemous as it may be to mention it in some circles, I think the Tome Fighter does an acceptable job of bringing the fighter up to snuff with a wizard (foiling the wizard's gate spell with an immediate action can do that).

I am aware of the Tome Fighter and I've drawn inspiration from it many times over the years. I on the other hand do not believe Foil Action alone is enough to keep the Fighter in line with a Wizard, although I did include Foil Action and Improved Foil Action in the Strategies (4th and 7th level respectively).


As an example from level 1, Dirt Nap requires a successful trip and a save, and is also still considered a mind-affecting effect because it acts as the wizard spell sleep. I think it could definitely be made both more mechanically effective and more flavorfully fitting for the fighter if it legitimately rendered them unconscious (there are already rules for it, which vary from sleep since things as inconsequential as elves are immune to the latter). You could also get away with removing the HD limit, since you have to actually trip the creature (a difficult task in itself, if their HD and thereby their attack bonus exceeds yours), thus also limiting you to one target. As a result, I think you could sub out the sleep effect for regular unconsciousness and the mind-affecting tag should be removed (some things like undead are going to be immune to either one, but the mind blanked wizard who gets his face rubbed in the dirt should not be).

I threw the Mind-Afflicting tag on somewhat hastily for the express reason of allowing Undead and such things to be immune to it. I'm unaware of how the rules interact with Undead without the Mind-Afflicting tag. I agree that an Elf shouldn't be immune, nor should some mind blanked wizard, so I'd like to lose the tag. If I change the type of save to Fort Constructs and Undead will still be immune and I can alter how it works so as not to just lazily copy the Sleep spell.


In a similar fashion, I think most of these could be changed to make them more like a fighter and less like an armored wizard with rehashed fighter flavor.

I was trying to make them more like Fighter mechanics and less like an armored wizard, so if you have any other examples for me that would be lovely. In most cases if an effect feels wizard-y it's probably an example of me being lazy.


I think some of the persistent strategies might be overpowered because they don't have the same counters as spells. There's no Strategy Resistance, Dispel Strategy, Anti-Strategy Field, or Protection from Evil Strategies to shut these things down. Are strategies transparent with magic, like psionics?

Well, there are only a few persistent strategies anyway, and even fewer offensive ones. The offensive ones all have built in limitations like "as long as you threaten the target," which can only be maintained for so long realistically. I wasn't planning to offer any sort of magic transparency, no.


Also, for strategies that say "make an attack," does the attack deal weapon damage in addition to the effect of the strategy?

Yes, they deal weapon damage in addition to the normal effect. Thanks for pointing that out; I'll try to clarify.


Besides parity with Summon Monster, why do the higher level versions summon flying invisible experts and warriors with massive DR and immunities? Do those warriors know they're immune to things that would kill a normal human five times over? Do they object to being used as trap testers and human shields?

Do I need a better reason than parity with Summon Monster? Also, why wouldn't the warriors know that they're immune to those things? As far as objecting to being used like that, I suppose it would depend on the DM. The DM roleplays all NPCs afterall. But as written, as much as they might object, until the duration is up they will remain by the Fighter's side.


Fade Into Obscurity, Apple of Dischord: These step on a rogue's toes pretty hard, moreso than Invisibility which is at least best cast on the rogue.

Why are they any worse than Invisibility? They can fail in a way that Invisibility cannot by requiring a skill check. Or do you just mean that they step on the Rogue's toes because they cannot be "cast" on the Rogue?

*******

Thanks a lot for all the replies everyone!

I'm getting some ideas on how to implement these Strategies on a Fighter class, but it's all still fuzzy. I'll keep writing new Strategies and editing these ones until I can come up with something concrete.

My first ideas for the Fighter class is that it loses the Bonus Feat at 1st level, but it gets a much larger skill list and 6 skill points per level. It would have three 1st level Strategies known at Fighter 1 and would gain a bonus feat every even level. I'm not sure how the Strategies should progress in later levels, nor do I have any idea for how often the Strategies are able to be used or anything like that.

NichG
2011-01-14, 03:57 PM
I'd like to suggest an alternate take on it. Clearly versatility is the thing that is hardest to accomplish for a mundane fighting character (since you could just make their numbers unreasonably good to boost them up in raw power as a combatant). The key characteristic of a caster's versatility is that they have long lists of specific powers that just keep getting longer as new books come out, and they can for no permanent character resource gain access to these (unlike feats, which except in an E6 game are very finite).

We're not going to be able to keep things quite 'mundane', but...
As an alternative, perhaps one could make a high-tier fighter centered around stunting. Basically, rather than having a specific power list, their versatility is that they have a broad class of things they can do, and the player can use them in different ways, sort of like how True Sorcery or epic spellcasting work. For example, lets say there are a set of combat styles, and this putative fighter gets access to one at first level and an additional one every 4 levels (so 1,5,9,13,17). Additionally, at levels 4, 8, ..., the Scope of their combat styles is increased by 1 to a max of 6 at level 20 (I'll get to what this means). At levels 2,6,... they get bonus feats.

Scope: This is the type of thing they can extend their style to. The larger the scope, the more wuxia their feats become.
1-Small-sized objects, single other combatants, 5ft, +2 numerical bonuses
2-A pair of combatants, a medium object or several small objects, 10ft, +4 numerical bonuses
3-A Larged-sized object/several medium/tens of small, up to 4 other combatants, 20ft, +6 numerical bonuses. Small physically impossible feats, such as cutting fire, jumping on air.
4-A Huge-sized object/several large/tens of medium/hundreds of small, up to 8 other combatants, 40ft, +8 numerical bonuses. Medium physically impossible feats, such as moving so fast as to disappear, wuxia-style superjumps, cutting a spell
5-A Gargantuan-sized object/..., 80ft, +10 numerical bonuses, significant physically impossible feats such as cutting dimensional boundaries, pulling things through a wall
6-A Collossal-sized object/..., 160ft, +12 numerical bonuses, interacting physically with metaphor - cutting fate, punching out disease

The combat styles then say how you can interact with the world in special ways:

The Shattering Style
- You can break things and send out shockwaves that break things. You can break an opponent's weapon, hit the ground and break it into shards, strike a wall and have the 8th brick break, hit the ground and have a mountain crack in two (at a Scope of 6), etc. The range and size/hardness of objects you can effect scales with your scope. Shattering can give numerical penalties to AC, DR, and SR (at high scope).

The Planning Style
- You have a plan, even if the player doesn't. You can cause things to have been set up in advance to your advantage - for instance, there was a spot of slippery ground prepared there before just for when the villain tries to charge you, etc.

The Movement of Others Style
- You can move things and people really well, using your own force or their momentum. You can throw party members across chasms such that they take no injury, hurl enemies into eachother, etc. At high scope, you can redirect a falling meteor, bend a river, ...

The Movement of Self style
- You can move really fast, over very difficult obstacle courses. You can jump like crazy. At high scope you can move such as you appear to teleport, run on water, or even air.

The Perfect Step style
- You have a honed instinct for where things are going to be and when. At low scope you can ignore flanking, evade a fusillade of arrows, step between the swinging blades of a deathtrap, and navigate a crowd perfectly. You can throw a dagger to hit a rope holding up an anvil to fall right on the head of a fleeing enemy. At high scope you can walk between raindrops, and just be at the right place at the right time to stop something horrible from happening without even knowing why you're there.

The Redirection style
- You are an expert at making attacks go elsewhere. You can deflect melee, ranged, etc attacks into nearby targets. At higher scope you can deflect attention from yourself. At very high scope, you deceive huge masses of people, making entire armies attack a false target.

The Paragon style
- This style is all about appearances. You do flashy things to make others rally. You can pin morale bonuses to your actions that affect your allies. At high scope, you can rally the spirits of nature, the citizens of an empire, etc to your cause. Similarly, you can turn your showyness against your enemies and make them quake in fear. More subtly, you can use your control of appearances to give false appearances (making your party seem larger or smaller than it is, making someone else appear to be the hero, or someone else appear to be the villain).

The Mastery of Weakness style
- This style is about understanding your enemies defenses and then piercing them. You can crit uncrittable things, negate DR, SR, elemental resistances, etc. Anything that in principle has something strong about it and something weak about it, you can manipulate with sufficient scope.

The Force style
- You can cause things to carry your motion. You can strike water and have it lash up elsewhere at an opponent. You can strike air and blast things with pressure waves. You can strike fire and have it jet outwards.

The Pressure Point style
- You know the ebb and flows of internal energies to the point where you can strike to paralyze, kill, numb, etc. You can strike to fight a disease, or even remove supernatural effects at high scope.

stainboy
2011-01-14, 04:55 PM
Do I need a better reason than parity with Summon Monster? Also, why wouldn't the warriors know that they're immune to those things? As far as objecting to being used like that, I suppose it would depend on the DM. The DM roleplays all NPCs afterall. But as written, as much as they might object, until the duration is up they will remain by the Fighter's side.


It's weird for the wizard to know that anyone who comes to is aid has innate magical qualities far beyond a normal warrior or expert (or even any PC class). Are these people who were born with adamantine skin and negative energy immunity, or is the fighter conferring those abilities on them? And if the fighter can inspire people with flight, invisibility, and a full suite of immunities, why doesn't he "enlist" himself or the other PCs?

I get that LA0 humanoids normally scale with magic items and you can't give them magic items, but I think you're trying to do something that breaks too many of D&D's assumptions about the world. (And I'm saying this being fully on board with high level fighters shaking the ground when they walk.)



Why are they any worse than Invisibility? They can fail in a way that Invisibility cannot by requiring a skill check. Or do you just mean that they step on the Rogue's toes because they cannot be "cast" on the Rogue?


My concern is that this ability is cheaper and better than anything a rogue can do to get Hide in Plain Sight. I'm assuming this class would play alongside a PHB rogue though, which probably isn't your intent.

Megawizard
2011-01-14, 05:22 PM
It's weird for the wizard to know that anyone who comes to is aid has innate magical qualities far beyond a normal warrior or expert (or even any PC class). Are these people who were born with adamantine skin and negative energy immunity, or is the fighter conferring those abilities on them? And if the fighter can inspire people with flight, invisibility, and a full suite of immunities, why doesn't he "enlist" himself or the other PCs?

I believe you shouldn't consider the fighter is hiring a farm boy. I would say it's more precise he's hiring one of the elite guards of the 9 hells that has his skin toughned by centuries of fighting and experiments, or a ranger from celestia that has traveled countless planes and thus acumulated his fair share of blessings. Great people atract great followers, and a fighter high enough to use Enlist IX is probably near epic levels, so he can atract super-elite NPCs with super-elite abilities simplified in a standard package.



I get that LA0 humanoids normally scale with magic items and you can't give them magic items, but I think you're trying to do something that breaks too many of D&D's assumptions about the world. (And I'm saying this being fully on board with high level fighters shaking the ground when they walk.)

Well, ridiculously-powerful creatures showing up of nowhere it's one of D&D's base assumptions if I'm not mistaken.

It's also a balance problem, otherwise Enlist IX becomes a money machine, or you open the doors for min-maxing the hired warrior/expert's equipment. So standard buffs, that may or may not be unequipable, non-customizable equipment, or, as I already sugested, having been blessed by some god or special place.

Welknair
2011-01-14, 05:35 PM
Which one do you know, that I don't?

The hidden one? If you pry open the front cover with a butter knife... (My mistake, three)

Ziegander
2011-01-14, 05:48 PM
My concern is that this ability is cheaper and better than anything a rogue can do to get Hide in Plain Sight. I'm assuming this class would play alongside a PHB rogue though, which probably isn't your intent.

Well, when a PHB Rogue plays alongside a Wizard that uses Invisibility and Knock the Rogue gets the shaft just as badly. I'm hoping these Strategies would produce a Tier 2 Fighter, and, yes, compared to the Rogue, a Tier 4 character, that means the Fighter should be capable of doing things that make the Rogue feel pretty lame.

@Megawizard: Thank you very much. You've made the counter-argument for my Enlist Soldier series much better than I ever could. You've also reminded me that I meant to allow for higher LA races and/or templates in the higher level Enlist Soldier Strategies.

Keinnicht
2011-01-14, 06:28 PM
I like it. Are these going to function on a Tome of Battle type maneuver system, or a x-per-day spell-like system?

If you're not going to use the ToB system, I think a point-based system like the kind psionics uses makes sense. It makes sense a mythical warrior type could do either a few earth-shaking attacks a day (Burning points to use high-level strategies) or he could just constantly be doing flashy but not as destructive things (Constantly using low level strategies)

Ziegander
2011-01-14, 07:09 PM
I like it. Are these going to function on a Tome of Battle type maneuver system, or a x-per-day spell-like system?

If you're not going to use the ToB system, I think a point-based system like the kind psionics uses makes sense. It makes sense a mythical warrior type could do either a few earth-shaking attacks a day (Burning points to use high-level strategies) or he could just constantly be doing flashy but not as destructive things (Constantly using low level strategies)

Well, I really don't know how they would function. They would probably need to function in some sort of limbo between a maneuvers and x/day system. The ideas I had both revolved around something I read in the Heroes of Battle book, and I'm not sure I particularly like that approach anymore. In many ways it makes sense and seems fun, but its also needlessly complicated in other ways. Basically, the Fighter would be rewarded with points of some kind and amount for being tactically minded, doing things like Assisting Friendly Units, Seizing an Offensive Position, or Destroying Enemy Weapons, etc. Stuff like that anyway. The points rewarded in this way would then be spent to utilize the Strategies listed above. I dunno. Like I said, I'm not so crazy about the thought.

I'm hoping to get more ideas from the community. They definitely aren't things that should be used willy-nilly, at least not when they're first obtained, but, in my opinion, no Fighter should have a "Strategy Slots per Day" system either.

stainboy
2011-01-14, 07:13 PM
@Megawizard: Thank you very much. You've made the counter-argument for my Enlist Soldier series much better than I ever could. You've also reminded me that I meant to allow for higher LA races and/or templates in the higher level Enlist Soldier Strategies.

Oh ok, that makes way more sense. As written those things with DR 40 and undead/outsider immunities are unaugmented humans and dwarves and stuff. If you just meant that as a guideline until you could plug in a proper list of templates and LA races, that takes care of my concern.

Ziegander
2011-01-14, 07:28 PM
Oh ok, that makes way more sense. As written those things with DR 40 and undead/outsider immunities are unaugmented humans and dwarves and stuff. If you just meant that as a guideline until you could plug in a proper list of templates and LA races, that takes care of my concern.

Well, no, not exactly. See, as the Enlist Soldier increases in Strategy level the NPCs you're getting are actually supposed to be "augmented." Since they can't have actual wealth by level I'm giving them lists of thematic and level appropriate buffs so that they are actually useful to the Fighter to be able to "summon." When I'm less lazy I'll go through and try to do a reasonable job of making sure the buffs I hand out fall somewhere close to the expected NPC wealth guidelines.

Ziegander
2011-01-15, 09:05 AM
So, how would some kind of incarnum-like system sound to you guys? The Fighter would have a limited number of points that he could then distribute between his Strategies, investing them for as long as he chooses. For the 24 hour duration buffs they instead remain active as long as the Fighter has "essentia" invested in them, and as far as the others are concerned they are usable once per encounter, per "essentia" invested in them. Does that sound workable? For the duration of these once per encounter effects, they last for as long as normal, but only as long as "essentia" (maybe Prowess is a good term for these points) is invested in them.

stainboy
2011-01-15, 07:46 PM
Prowess is good. I always liked that system for its potential to keep low-level buffs from losing their cost at high levels.

How would a fighter choose what strategies he knows? Fixed number per level, fixed number plus in-game training ("spell research"), or does every fighter have access to the whole list?

Ziegander
2011-01-15, 09:08 PM
Prowess is good. I always liked that system for its potential to keep low-level buffs from losing their cost at high levels.

How would a fighter choose what strategies he knows? Fixed number per level, fixed number plus in-game training ("spell research"), or does every fighter have access to the whole list?

I'd say he'd learn a fixed number per level. No in game training, lol.