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playswithfire
2011-01-17, 04:56 PM
Updates:
Some revisions to the first chapter, mainly new and rearranged variants

OK, a long time ago, there was a thread about "what book do you wish they'd published?" and the consensus seemed to be that there should have been a sequel to Tome of Battle. This is the result of an on again-off again project I undertook to try to write one. Looking for comments and eventually playtesters.

Disclaimer: Yes, I am aware of Age of Warriors. This is a separate effort where I wanted to keep the scope a little smaller; 4 base classes, 8 disciplines and 8ish prestige classes instead of 53 disciplines and a large number of base and prestige classes. I do reference two disciplines included in that project: Iron Rain and Twin Spirit.


Tome of Tactics
The Sublime Way at War

Chapter 1: Character Classes
____Firebrand (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181043) - A martial adept with a bard or marshal feel
____Huntsman (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181050) - A wilderness-based martial adept with a ranger or barbarian feel
____Mercenary (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181068) - A skillful martial adept with a rogue of scout feel
____Soldier (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181086) - A customizable martial adept with a crafter variant
____New Character Options (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181095)
________Crusader
____________Cavalryman - gains a Special Mount
____________Exemplar - gains alignment-based abilities
____________Favored - trades indomitable soul for AC and Save bonus
________Swordsage
____________Soulsword - able to form a mind blade
____________Swordsaint - able to cast divine spells
________Warblade
____________Psychological Warblade - learns psion discipline powers
____________Warblade Academies - trades abilities for barbarian totems
________Other Character Classes
____________Avatar - more domain-centric cleric variant
____________Bushi - samurai gains lesser manuever progression
____________Call of the Wild - Wilderness/summoning based bard
____________Corsair - swashbuckler gains lesser manuever progression
____________Disciplined Mind - Wilder gains bonus feats
____________Mugger - spellthief gains lesser manuever progression and steals maneuvers
____________Practitioner - school of magic-centric wizard variant/neft
____________Psychic Smite - divine mind gains interesting smite variant
____________Scourge - hexblade trades spells for martial abilities
____________Shinobi - ninja gains lesser manuever progression
____________Sublime Shapeshifter - Druid learns maneuvers instead of spells
____________Totem Discipline - Barbarian leans a few maneuvers based on totem
Chapter 2: New and Updated Feats
____General and Psionic Feats (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181101)
____Tactical Feats (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181117)
Chapter 3: Maneuvers and Stances
____New Disciplines (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181128)
________Discipline Swapping
____Maneuver and Stance Lists (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181140)
____Circling Vulture (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181158) - Disarming and flying/fighting in the air
____Crashing Wave (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181173) - Bullrushing and fighting in or on water
____Giant's Grip (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181180) - Grappling and fighting unarmed
____Iron Rain by dspeyer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8103297&postcount=1) - Ranged Combat
____Life's Blood (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181187) - Skirmish damage and healing
____Master's Voice (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181197) - Buffing, debuffing and sonic damage
____Twin Spirit by The Demented One (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40991) - Mounted Combat
____Wandering Eye (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10181205) - Feinting and sneak attack
Chapter 4: Prestige Classes
____Blade Magician (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10459917#post10459917)
____Force of Nature (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10504536#post10504536)
____Hand-to-Hand Specialist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183826#post10285059)
____Master of Surprise (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10642050#post10642050)
____Rider of Legend (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10793156#post10793156)
____Trick Marksman (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10397958#post10397958)
____True Psychic Warrior (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10911776&postcount=64)
____War Leader (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10591773#post10591773)
Chapter 5: Equipment
____New Exotic Weapons (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192471) (WIP)
____Weapons of Legacy
________Marauder's Picks (Circling Vulture) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11240000&postcount=11)
________Tidebreaker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11346589#post11346589) (Crashing Wave)
________Arms of Gath-Gath Uthalai (Giant's Grip) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10941368&postcount=7)
________Hail of Arrows (Iron Rain) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11669161&postcount=30)
________Two-Faced Hammer (Life's Blood)
________Master's Voice (Master's Voice)
________Rochiraith (Twin Spirit)
________Fury (Wandering Eye)

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 04:58 PM
TABLE 1-1: THE FIREBRAND__________HIT DIE : d8

LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecialManeuvers KnownManeuvers ReadiedStances Known

1st+0
2
0
2Follow my Lead +1
4
4
1

2nd+1
3
0
3Cautious Stance
5
4
1

3rd+2
3
1
3Rousing Speech(Fervor) 1/day
6
4
1

4th+3
4
1
4
7
5
2

5th+3
4
1
4People Skills
8
5
2

6th+4
5
2
5Watch and learn(Stance)
9
6
2

7th+5
5
2
5
10
6
2

8th+6/+1
6
2
6Follow my Lead +2
11
6
3

9th+6/+1
6
3
6
12
7
3

10th+7/+2
7
3
7Rousing Speech(Rage) 2/day
13
7
3

11th+8/+3
7
3
7Watch and learn(Counter)
14
8
3

12th+9/+4
8
4
8
15
8
4

13th+9/+4
8
4
8Verbal Maneuvering
16
8
4

14th+10/+5
9
4
9Follow my Lead +3
17
9
4

15th+11/+6/+1
9
5
9
18
9
4

16th+12/+7/+2
10
5
10Watch and learn(Boost)
19
10
5

17th+12/+7/+2
10
5
10Rousing Speech(Fury) 3/day
20
10
5

18th+13/+8/+3
11
6
11Spontaneous Recovery
21
10
5

19th+14/+9/+4
11
6
11
22
11
5

20th+15/+10/+5
12
6
12Follow my Lead +4
23
11
5


Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, x4 at 1st level): Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Disguise, Gather Information, Intimidate, Listen, Martial Lore, Perform, Knowledge(local), Knowledge(history), Sense Motive, Spot, Tumble


FIREBRAND
Many will try to you tell that one man can not accomplish that much, but I found that it takes very few to lead the many to achieve great things.
-- Naidapyr, a firebrand

MAKING A FIREBRAND
A firebrand is a secondary melee combatant whose primary benefit to an encounter will more often be improving his allies' combat ability rather than dealing direct damage himself, though his martial maneuvers allow him to do that as well. While closer coordination is needed to gain the benefits of a firebrand's leadership than with a bard's, the firebrand's Follow My Lead ability functions even in an anti-magic field.
Abilities: Charisma is the most vital score for a firebrand, as it powers most of his abilities. Dexterity is important for defense and more often than not for his attacks via the Weapon Finesse feat. Intelligence provides him with a wide array of skills, though, with 4 ranks per level, he can get by with average intelligence. Constitution is an important to him as it is any other character; somewhat less so if he favors ranged combat. Strength is important for his attack and damage if he does not take the Weapon Finesse route. Wisdom is necessary of only to improve his Will saves.
Races: Most firebrands are gnomes and half-elves, the former exploiting the fact that their small size leaves them often underestimated and the latter their long lifespans which gain them many loyal allies. Every race has need of the skills of a firebrand from time to time, however. Elves and halflings who become firebrands favor the Master's Voice discipline, the latter also often making great use of Wandering Eye. Human firebrands tend more towards the White Raven and Desert Wind discipline, seeking to, literally when necessary, light a fire under their followers and lead them to victory. Dwarves and Half-Orcs, with their Charisma penalty, are unconvential choices to become firebrands, but their ability to wade safely into melee makes it easier for them to make use of their, admittedly less fully realized, leadership abilities.
Alignment: A firebrand may be of any alignment, as all causes need their champions. There is a slight tendency towards chaos over law and neutrality on either axis is less common than the other possibilities. The only truly rare alignment for a firebrand is True Neutral, but even this is only uncommon, not unallowed.
Starting Gold: 6d4x10 gp (150 gp)
Starting Age: As bard

CLASS FEATURES
Weapon and Armor Profiency: As a firebrand, you are proficient with all simple weapons as well as the halberd, longsword, rapier, scimitar, and short bow and light and medium armor, but not with shields.
Maneuvers: You begin your career with knowledge of four martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to you are Desert Wind, Master's Voice, Wandering Eye, and White Raven. Upon reaching 4th level and every even-numbered firebrand level thereafter, you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. You can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.
Maneuvers Readied: You can ready four of your four maneuvers known at 1st level, and as you advance in level and learn more maneuvers, you are able to ready more, but you must still choose which maneuvers to ready. You may recover a single maneuver as a standard action. Whenever you recover one or more maneuvers in either this way or through the Adaptive Style feat, each ally that can hear you may recover an expended maneuver as an immediate action, but may not initiate that maneuver during their next turn. You cannot initiate a maneuver or change your stance in the same round that you recover your maneuvers, but any active stance you had remains active.
Stances Known: You begin play with knowledge of one 1st-level stance from any discipline open to you. At 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th level, you can choose additional stances.
Follow My Lead (Ex): When you attack an enemy, allies within 60 ft. gain a +1 bonus on damage rolls when they attack that same enemy before the start of your next turn; they also gain a +1 bonus on Reflex saves when they are subjected to the same effect you are. These bonuses increases by 1 at 8th, 14th and 20th level. You gain the same bonus to damage rolls on subsequent attacks if you attack the same enemy more than once in a round and apply half the Reflex save bonus, rounded down, to all of your Reflex saves.
Cautious Stance (Ex): A firebrand soon learns that, if others rely on him for leadership, he owes it to them to keep himself safe as well. Beginning at 2nd level, while you have an active stance, you gain a bonus to Armor Class against all touch attacks equal to your Charisma bonus, to a maximum of your initiator level. However, your touch AC can never exceed your Armor Class against normal attacks.
Rousing Speech (Su): As a firebrand, much of your combat effectiveness relies on that of your allies and you thus learn to incite them to greater levels of violence. As a standard action, you grant each ally that can hear you the ability to enter a state similar to a barbarian's rage. The bonuses and penalties granted by this starte do not stack with those provided by a rage class feature the ally already has. You may use this ability once per day at 3rd level and you gain additional levels at 10th and 17th level.
Fervor: Beginning at third level, if you have at least six ranks in Perform(oratory), each ally who chooses to can, as an immediate action, gain a +2 bonus to Strength and Constitution and a +1 bonus on Will saves but suffer a -2 penalty to Armor Class for a number of rounds up to their newly-increased Constitution modifier, but they will be fatigued when the effect ends.
Rage: At tenth level, if you have at least 13 ranks in Perform(oratory), the bonuses to Strength and Constitution increase to +4 and that to Will saves increases to +2 while the armor class penalty remains -2. Additionally, the effect can last for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier if it is greater than the ally's new Constitution modifier.
Fury: At seventeenth level, if you have at least 20 ranks in Perform(oratory), the bonuses to Strength and Constitution increase to +6 and that to Will saves increases to +3 while the armor class penalty remains -2. Additionally, an ally can begin the effect as a free action instead of an immediate action.
People Skills: At fifth level, you gain a bonus feat from the following list: Brave Front, Negotiator, Persuasive, Skill Focus(any Charisma-based skill), or White Raven Defense. You must meet the prerequisites for the chosen feat as normal.
Watch and Learn (Ex): Your allies observe your technique and begin to copy you, gaining the ability to use some of your maneuvers and stances. When initiating a shared stance or maneuver, each ally uses their own initiator level, skill ranks and ability modifiers to determine its effects.
Stance: Beginning at 6th level, any ally who sees you initiate a stance may also initiate it as an immediate action. If they do not already know the stance, it automatically ends after a number of rounds equal to your Charisma bonus, minimum 1, and they are fatigued when the stance ends, even if it ends because they change their stance. The fatigue lasts for one round if the stance was a 1st or 3rd level stance, 2 rounds for a 5th or 6th level stance and 3 rounds for an 8th level stance.
Counter: Beginning at 11th level, you may expend a counter you know as an immediate action to give that ally the ability to initiate it. If the ally chooses not initiate the counter, it is still expended.
Boost: Beginning at 16th level, when you initiate a boost, you may choose to give knowledge of it to a number of allies equal to your Charisma bonus, minimum 1. Each of these allies may use the boost at any one time before your next action.
Verbal Maneuvering (Ex): Beginning at 13th level, when not engaged in combat, you may expend a Master's Voice or White Raven maneuver as a swift action to gain a bonus on a check with a Charisma-based skill equal to the level of the maneuver.
Spontaneous Recovery: Beginning at 18th level, you can recover a single maneuver as a free action and it can be used in the same round. This ability is usable a number of times per day equal to your Charisma modifier and can not be used in two consecutive rounds.

PLAYING A FIREBRAND
If there's a fight worth fighting, whether to conquer a kingdom or to "liberate" the riches of an uncaring nobility, a firebrand will have either started it or be drawn to it. This intensity can come across as hotheadedness in those firebrands who move from bar brawl to bar brawl, but appreciated as devotion in the larger number that choose worthier contests. While you study the ways of the sword and other weapon, what you know best is people and these are the weapons you use most effectively. You, along with your propertly trained and motivated allies can often achieve victory against dispirited enemies, even when the latter has better arms and equipment.
As a firebrand, you adventure because you feel that those already on the quest need, or, at least, could benefit from, your guidance and support. And, of course, you find the goal of their quest worthy; otherwise, you would set out to gather followers to help you thwart them. Where other adepts see combat as the only way to resolve disputes and end quests, you are willing to step in and mediate, if they will achieve the better outcome.

RELIGION
If you are good-aligned, you probably worship Heironeous. His code of honor to, in particular, defend the weak and triumph over evil, appeals to the way you live and lead others in battle. Evil firebrands are likely followers of Hextor or sometimes Vecna, seeking to rule rather than simply lead, either through force of arms or manipulation. Of course, a firebrand can champion any deity if that is his chosen cause or have no deity at all.

OTHER CLASSES
Because you yourself are not the hardiest of combatants, you are likely to surround yourself with those who have skills in that area, particularly fighters and paladins. Warblades, crusaders, bards, and other firebrands are often welcome companions, those many of these groups are often too accustomed to leading to work well with you. You respect the passion of the barbarian and the cleverness of the rogue and acknowledge that there is a time for each approach. You consider all spellcasters as useful support for your objectives, though they too often fall into the category of those who need to be protected in combat rather than those you can lead into battle.

COMBAT
Often as not, you will hang somewhat to the rear of a fight, at least in the opening stages, assisting your allies and guiding them to tactically advantageous positions. From there, you may either assist with your more supernatural maneuvers or wade into battle yourself, though your low hit dice do leave you vulnerable. Your many maneuvers, second only to the swordsage in their number and variety of discipline, do provide you with the means to fight back when forced to stand alone, but you truly shine when among your allies.

ADVANCEMENT
Your training, for lack of a better term, probably began the first time you managed to talk someone out of a fight or talked a powerful friend into aiding you in one of your own fights. Your less supernatural attacks would come next, more through necessity than formal training. Eventually, you would need to seek out another firebrands or martially minded spellcaster to learn the more arcane aspects of your abilities. Though some firebrands offer themselves as teachers at various military academies, the most likely way to find an instructor is by being drawn to the same fight.
As you attain higher levels, your choice of maneuvers will determine what sort of firebrand you will be, but that choice will be influenced by the type of allies you associate with and the types of enemies you face. A firebrand who fights on his own will likely focus on Desert Wind and Wandering Eye while one with a large number of allies will rely more on White Raven and Master's Voice.

HUMAN FIREBRAND STARTING PACKAGE
Armor: Chain shirt (+4 AC, armor check penalty -2, speed 30ft., 25lb.)
Buckler (+1 AC, armor check penalty -1, 5lb.)
Weapons: Longsword (1d8, crit 19-20/×2, 4 lb., one-handed slashing)
Skill Selection: Choose a number of skills equal to 4 + Int. modifier
Skill|Ranks|Ability|Armor Check Penalty

Bluff|
4|Cha|-

Intimidate|
4|Cha|-

Perform (oratory)|
4|Cha|-

Sense Motive|
4|Wis|-

Tumble|
4|Dex|
-3


Feat: Elemental Wind
Bonus Feat: Improved Initiative
Gear: scholar's outfit, tent, backpack
Gold: 2d4 gp.

FIREBRANDS IN THE WORLD
Coming soon

DAILY LIFE
Coming soon

NOTABLES
Coming soon

ORGANIZATIONS
Coming soon

NPC REACTIONS
Coming soon

FIREBRAND LORE
Coming soon

FIREBRANDS IN THE GAME
Firebrands can be found as criminal masterminds as often as they can captains of the guards of villages the PCs visit and anything in between, but usually as either some sort of leadership position or trusted aide to the leader. Large groups composed entirely of firebrands are rare, as their large personalities can lead to conflict as easily as they can collaboration. A firebrand character traveling by himself may be a deposed leader, malcontent, or simply a wandering do-gooder and can used to hire the PCs for a wide range of tasks. If traveling with the party, a firebrand with an opposing alignment will try to manipulate them and gain a leadership position while one of compatible alignment can be their most dependable ally.
When creating a firebrand character, consider what cause or organization he will champion. A firebrand's interactions with NPCs will likely be colored by their opinions of his cause, either finding him new allies or particularly intense rivals and enemies. A firebrand can be found almost anywhere as his skill points and leadership abilities make him equally suited to serving as a battlefield leader, court herald, or local politician. The most interesting opponent for a firebrand is another firebrand championing an opposing group and any followers he may have.

ADAPTATION
Some firebrands, already having access to most of the supernatural maneuvers and the ability to influence the hearts and minds of others, develop their own minds to the point of manifesting psionic power. To create a psionic firebrand, reduce the firebrand's hit dice to d6 and his Fort save to Poor and remove his proficiency with medium armor. His available disciplines are reduced to Master's Voice and a choice of one of his other normally available disciplines and he has one less maneuver readied. Whenever he would learn a new maneuver, he may instead learn a new power from either the kineticist discipline list or the psion/wilder power list of a level up to the maximum learnable by a psychic warrior of his initiator level. This power must be from the psychokinesis or telepathy disciplines. He uses his initiator level as his manifester level for all level-based effects when manifesting the power. DCs are Charisma-based. He gains power points equal to (CHA bonus * firebrand level)/2 which can be used to augment powers. Powers cost no power points to manifest, but are considered to cost their standard cost for a psion or wilder when determining to what extent the power can be augmented. He may also unlearn a known power when he would normally unlearn a known maneuver in order to learn a new maneuver or power. Powers are readied and refreshed as maneuvers, but a power can not be refreshed while its effect is active.

SAMPLE ENCOUNTER
Coming soon

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 04:59 PM
TABLE 1-2: THE HUNTSMAN__________HIT DIE : d8
LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecialManeuvers KnownManeuvers ReadiedStances Known

1st+1
2
2
0Muscle Memory +1, Animal Instinct
2
2
1

2nd+2
3
3
0Survival in the Wild
3
2
1

3rd+3
3
3
1Combat discipline(feat)
3
2
2

4th+4
4
4
1
4
3
2

5th+5
4
4
1Muscle Memory +2
4
3
2

6th+6/+1
5
5
2
5
3
3

7th+7/+2
5
5
2Hear Them Coming
5
3
3

8th+8/+3
6
6
2Combat discipline (weapons)
6
3
3

9th+9/+4
6
6
3
6
4
4

10th+10/+5
7
7
3Muscle Memory +3
7
4
4

11th+11/+6/+1
7
7
3Blindsense 15 ft.
7
4
4

12th+12/+7/+2
8
8
4
8
4
5

13th+13/+8/+3
8
8
4Combat discipline (tactics)
8
4
5

14th+14/+9/+4
9
9
4
9
5
5

15th+15/+10/+5
9
9
5Muscle Memory +4
9
5
6

16th+16/+11/+6/+1
10
10
5
10
5
6

17th+17/+12/+7/+2
10
10
5Blindsight 20 ft.
10
5
6

18th+18/+13/+8/+3
11
11
6Combat discipline (stance)
11
5
7

19th+19/+14/+9/+4
11
11
6
11
6
7

20th+20/+15/+10/+5
12
12
6Muscle Memory +5
12
6
7


Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level, x4 at 1st level): Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Martial Lore, Move Silently, Ride, Spot, Survival, Swim, Tumble


HUNTSMAN
I have shown many fools that the deadliest sound in the wild is not the roar of the lion or the rattle of the coiled snake, but the silence that comes before before my arrow spills their blood.
-- Kamli, a huntsman

MAKING A HUNTSMAN
A huntsman is alternately a front-line melee character or a secondary ranged combatant and many can fill both rolls if the need exists, aided by their wide array of stances. Though he cannot replace a cleric or other dedicated healer, the huntsman's Devoted Spirit and Life's Blood disciplines give him the ability to provided limited healing to himself and his allies. A huntsman's skills, martial arts, and animal companion make him a worthwhile addition to any encounter.
Abilities: A huntsman's main concerns with his ability scores are roughly the same as those for any other martial class. He gains some benefit from a high Wisdom score, in terms of both his Will save and his damage output with certain weapons, but he can still be effective without one. He has the choice of focusing on melee or ranged combat, which will determine whether Strength or Dexterity will be of primary importance, though archery-based huntsmen will often take the Weapon Finesse feat for when enemies get within their melee range. Intelligence gives a huntsman the skills he needs to survive alone in the wilderness and to get the most out his martial strikes, and Constitution is as important to him as it is to any character, moreso if he favors melee.
Races: Most huntsmen are humans and half-orcs, though whether that is due to necessity or those species' enjoyment of the hunt is often debated. Most other races are well-represented, however. Elves, half-elves, and halflings who prefer to leave near the wilds often become huntsmen, usually choosing Iron Rain over Tiger Claw to do their hunting from a distance. Dwarves prefer the more traditional martial classes, but the mountainsides and the Underdark have no less need of huntsmen than the darkest forest, and the dwarves that fill this need tend to focus on Devoted Spirit and Twin Spirit. Gnomes find the lifestyle unappealing, but they will occasionally study its Iron Rain and Life's Blood disciplines.
Alignment: A huntsman can be of any alignment, though the time they spend out in the wilderness makes chaotic and neutral huntsmen more common than lawful ones. As such, huntsmen of all alignments will generally feel greater solidarity with other huntsmen than they do with city-dwellers of their own alignment. In times of war, good and evil huntsmen will serve in armies of the same alignment, though, in times of peace, the former would prefer to hunt game rather than other sentient species. A neutral huntsman will likely either also hunt game or simply sell his deadly skills to whomever can offer the best price and many of them occasionally learn to regard everyone they meet as little more potential prey.
Starting Gold: 5d4x10 gp (125 gp).
Starting Age: As ranger.

CLASS FEATURES
Weapon and Armor Profiency: As a huntsman, you are proficient with simple and martial weapons and light and medium armor and shields (but not tower shields).
Maneuvers: You begin your career with knowledge of two martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to you are Devoted Spirit, Life's Blood, and Twin Spirit. You may also choose one of Iron Rain and Tiger Claw. Upon reaching 3rd level and every odd-numbered huntsman level thereafter, you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. You can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.
Maneuvers Readied: You can ready two of your two maneuvers known at 1st level, and as you advance in level and learn more maneuvers, you are able to ready more, but you must still choose which maneuvers to ready. You may recover all expended maneuvers as a move action or as a free action part of a move action taken to draw or sheathe a weapon, ready or lose a shield, or mount or dismount a steed, which must be followed by another move action, a melee attack, or a standard action to do nothing. You cannot initiate a maneuver or change your stance in the same round that you recover your maneuvers, but any active stance you had remains active.
Stances Known: You begin play with knowledge of one 1st-level stance from any discipline open to you. At 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th level, you can choose additional stances.
Of all martial adepts, huntsmen have the most stances available, which allows them to vary their posture to meet whatever challenges they encounter. Depending on which discipline he focuses on, a hunter can be a mounted charger, stealthy hunter or fierce melee warrior.
Muscle Memory (Ex): A skilled huntsman reflects on each battle, training his body to more effectively use those tactics which bring him victory. After each encounter, you may meditate for 1 minute to designate one creature type (if you choose humanoid or outsider, you must also choose a subtype) that you have made a successful attack roll against in that encounter and gain a +1 on attack rolls and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against the creatures of the same type (or subtype). These bonuses lasts until you sleep or meditate again to change the creature type. These bonus increases by 1 at 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th level.
Animal Instinct (Ex): This functions as Wild Empathy, but the huntsman adds his Wisdom bonus instead of his Charisma bonus to the check.
Survival in the Wild (Ex): The life of a huntsman is not an easy one and he must learn how to survive, either by becoming tougher himself or by enlisting the aid of a loyal beast. At 2nd level, a huntsman must choose one of these options. If he chooses the former, he gains DR 1/- and this value increases by 1 whenever his Muscle Memory increases. If he chooses the latter, he gains an animal companion as the druid ability of the same name, except as noted here. Treat your druid level as half your huntsman level for the purposes of determining your animal companion's bonus hit dice, natural armor adjustment, Str/Dex adjustment, and bonus tricks. Also, the animal companion does not gain the standard special abilities, but rather those listed below.
Share Boosts (Ex): At the huntsman's options, whenever he initiates a boost, he may have it also affect his animal companion if the animal companion is within 10 feet.
Share Stances (Ex): When within 5 feet of the huntsman, his animal companion may, as a move action, initiate any stance the huntsman knows that is of a level lower than his highest level stance. The stance automatically ends if the animal companion moves more than 20 feet from the huntsman.
{table=head]Druid Level|Special

1st |Link

2nd-4th |Share Boosts

5th-7th |Multiattack

8th-10th|Share Stances

[/table]
A huntsman may select from the alternative lists of animal companions just as a druid can, though again his effective druid level is half his huntsman level. Like a druid, a huntsman cannot select an alternative animal if the choice would reduce his effective druid level below 1st.
Combat Discipline (Ex): A huntsman gains several class features to help get the most benefit out of his choice of discipline (Tiger Claw or Iron Rain)
feat: At 3rd level, a huntsman gains either Stalking Tiger* or Rain of Pain*, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
weapons: At 8th level, he adds his Wisdom bonus, if positive, to his damage rolls when attacking with the associated weapons of his chosen discipline.
tactics: At 13th level, he gains either Reaping Talons or Adept Archer*, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
stance: At 18th level, a huntsman may have two stances active at the same time, but only if one and only one of them is from his chosen discipline.
Hear Them Coming (Ex): Often finding himself among deadly predators, both two-legged and four-legged, a huntsman doesn't live long if he relies solely on his eyes. Beginning at 7th level a huntsman gains a bonus on Listen checks equal to the level of stance his has active.
Blindsense (Su): Beginning at 11th level, a huntsman's perceptiveness increases and he gains blindsense out to 15 ft.
Blindsight (Su): Beginning at 17th level, a life lived in the wilderness has given the huntsman a singular ability for finding his foes and he gains blindsight out to 20 ft.

PLAYING A HUNTSMAN
Coming soon
RELIGION
Coming soon
OTHER CLASSES
Coming soon
COMBAT
Coming soon
ADVANCEMENT
Coming soon
HUMAN HUNTSMAN STARTING PACKAGE
Coming soon
HUNTSMEN IN THE WORLD
Coming soon
DAILY LIFE
Coming soon
NOTABLES
Coming soon
ORGANIZATIONS
Coming soon
NPC REACTIONS
Coming soon
HUNTSMAN LORE
Coming soon
HUNTSMEN IN THE GAME
Depending on their alignment and the manner in which they are first encountered, huntsmen can be aides, rivals or adversaries to a party, in the most extreme cases becoming guides or pursuers. Large huntsman organizations are rare but some will be found as large hunting lodges or a first line of defense for a smaller nation and may be willing to hire a party for specific missions. Evil huntsman organizations will often have turned to hunting humanoids rather than game animals and will likely appear as an assassin's guild. A member of such a guild or a huntsman with similar skills can make an interesting recurring villain as he stalks and lays in ambush for the party at every opportunity, perhaps creating other incidents to draw the party into a trap.
A huntsman character expects that he will be an asset to his party in any encounter in the wild and particularly in combat, but is aware that he could be a detriment in social encounters within the bounds of cities. As such, you should provide both encounters which have creatures the huntsman is the most familiar with as well as important NPCs who harbor inate distrust of those who choose to live their lives outside of "civilization."

ADAPTATION
Some huntsmen eschew formal training, relying on brute strength to achieve victory. To create a more barbarian-like huntsman, reduce the huntsman's Reflex save to poor, remove the Survival in the Wild and Combat Discipline class features, and he must choose Tiger Claw instead of Iron Rain. Increase his hit dice to d10 and add Illiteracy, Rage, and Greater Rage as the barbarian class features, except that Rage is usable 1/day at 3rd level and an additional time per day every 5 levels after and Greater Rage is available at 13th level.

SAMPLE ENCOUNTER
Coming soon

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 05:01 PM
TABLE 1-3: THE MERCENARY__________HIT DIE : d8
LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecialManeuvers KnownManeuvers ReadiedStances Known

1st+0
0
2
0Informed Aim, Weapon Finesse
5
4
1

2nd+1
0
3
0Trapfinding
6
4
1

3rd+2
1
3
1Tactics (+1d6, skilled)
7
5
1

4th+3
1
4
1Deep Pain (half)
8
5
2

5th+3
1
4
1Evasion, Weapon Savvy
8
6
2

6th+4
2
5
2
9
6
2

7th+5
2
5
2Tactics (+2d6, professional)
10
7
2

8th+6/+1
2
6
2
11
7
3

9th+6/+1
3
6
3Forewarned is Forearmed
11
8
3

10th+7/+2
3
7
3Martial Mind (strikes)
12
8
3

11th+8/+3
3
7
3Tactics (+3d6)
13
9
4

12th+9/+4
4
8
4
14
9
4

13th+9/+4
4
8
4Deep Pain (full)
14
10
4

14th+10/+5
4
9
4
15
10
4

15th+11/+6/+1
5
9
5Tactics (+4d6, expert)
16
11
5

16th+12/+7/+2
5
10
5
17
11
5

17th+12/+7/+2
5
10
5Improved Evasion
17
12
5

18th+13/+8/+3
6
11
6
18
12
6

19th+14/+9/+4
6
11
6Tactics (+5d6)
19
13
6

20th+15/+10/+5
6
12
6Martial Mind (readied)
20
13
6


Class Skills (8 + Int modifier per level, x4 at 1st level): All. A mercenary may need to call upon many skills.


MERCENARY
Men often have a desire to see a thing done that they themselves lack the skill to accomplish. Fortunately for me, many of them also have the gold to pay me to do it for them.
-- Majonac, a mercenary

MAKING A MERCENARY
A mercenary is a secondary melee combatant who exemplifies the concept of working smarter rather than harder, using his skills and precision damage to contribute offensively to an encounter. Defensively, his low hit dice and lack of heavy armor make him a relatively soft target, but are balanced with class features that help him resist other debilitating effects. His large number of skills also make him among the most effective martial adepts out of combat.
Abilities: The most important ability score for a mercenary is his Dexterity as it provides both his defense and, in almost all cases, his attack bonus. His next priority is Intelligence, which grants him various offensive bonuses and a large pool of skill points to take advantage of his unlimited skill list. Constitution is necessary for him as it is for all characters, moreso given his low hit dice. Strength is necessary only if he chooses to use wield non-finessable weapons which do not benefit from Informaed Aim and Weapon Finesse. Charisma and Wisdom mainly serve only to improve his skills based on those scores, with the latter also improving his Will save.
Races: All races can be mercenaries, but the most common are elves and gnomes, who often favor the Iron Rain and Life's Blood disciplines. Human and halfling mercenaries prefer the covert nature of the Shadow Hand discipline while dwarves are more likely to make use of Circling Vulture. Half-orc mercenaries are somewhat uncommon, as they temperamentally inclined towards chaos and away from following the orders of others, but those who take levels in the class are almost universally among the most effective.
Alignment: Any non-chaotic, as a mercenary who can not be relied upon to perform whatever task is assigned to him is all but useless. A mercenary who becomes chaotic retains all his mercenary abilities but can take no more mercenary levels. The most common alignment is Lawful Neutral; a mercenary who lives by their own code, unconcerned with the moral judgements of others, though the other five possible alignments are also well-represented.
Starting Gold: 7d4x10 gp (175 gp)
Starting Age: As rogue

CLASS FEATURES
Weapon and Armor Profiency: As a mercenary, you are proficient with all simple weapons, martial melee weapons, and one martial ranged weapon of your choice. and light and medium armor and with shields, but not tower shields.
Maneuvers: You begin your career with knowledge of five martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to you are Circling Vulture, Iron Rain, Life's Blood, Shadow Hand, and Wandering Eye. Upon reaching 3rd level and every odd-numbered mercenary level thereafter, you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. You can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.
Maneuvers Readied: You can ready four of your five maneuvers known at 1st level, and as you advance in level and learn more maneuvers, you are able to ready more, but you must still choose which maneuvers to ready. You may recover an expended maneuver as a move action which must be followed by a melee attack, a standard action to do nothing, or another move action to recover a maneuver. If you have total concealment or total cover from all enemies, you may instead recover three maneuvers as a full round action. You cannot initiate a maneuver or change your stance in the same round that you recover a maneuver, but any active stance you had remains active.
Stances Known: You begin play with knowledge of one 1st-level stance from any discipline open to you. At 4th, 8th, 11th, 15th, and 18th level, you can choose additional stances.
Informed Aim (Ex): A mercenary adds his Intelligence bonus to damage rolls made with finessable melee weapons as well as ranged and thrown weapons, up to a maximum of his initiator level. However, this is precision damage and so creatures immune to sneak attack or critical hits do not take this damage.
Weapon Finesse: While brute strength is sometimes called for, a mercenary often prefers more subtle and precise means. A mercenary gains Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat at first level, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
Trapfinding: Beginning at 2nd level, mercenaries, like rogues, can use the Search skill to locate traps when the task has a Difficulty Class higher than 20 and use the Disable Device skill to disarm magic traps. A mercenary who beats a trap’s DC by 10 or more with a Disable Device check can study a trap, figure out how it works, and bypass it (with his party) without disarming it.
Tactics (Ex): At 3rd level, a mercenary must choose one of two preferred styles of combat: stealth or speed. If he chose stealth, he gains 1d6 sneak attack damage, and if he chose speed, he gains 1d6 skirmish damage. This damage increases by 1d6 at 7th level and every fourth level thereafter (ignoring normal skirmish progression). This choice also affects other class features.
Skilled: At 3rd level, a mercenary who chose stealth adds his Intelligence modifier to his Bluff checks, and one who chose speed adds his Intelligence modifier to his Move Silently checks.
Professional: At 7th level, a mercenary who chose stealth also adds his Intelligence modifier to his Hide checks and can take 10 on both Bluff and Hide checks even if threatened or distracted, and one who chose speed gains Trackless Step (as the Druid ability) and his base land speed is increased by 10 ft.
Expert: At 15th level, a mercenary who chose stealth can Hide in Plain Sight (as the Ranger ability, except that the mercenary need not be in natural terrain) and one who chose speed can, whenever he would normally take a 5 ft step, instead move a number of feet equal to his Intelligence score, rounded down to the nearest 5 ft.
Deep pain (Ex): As he progresses through his career, a mercenary learns the weak spots even of creatures believed not to have any.
At 4th level, a mercenary still deals half his precision-based damage against creatures which are normally immune to it.
At 13th level, he deals his full precision-based damage to all creatures, even those normally immune.
Martial Mind (Ex): Your deeper understanding of the Sublime Way makes you a more cunning adversary.
Strikes: Beginning at 10th level, when you initiate a strike that allows a saving throw, you may make the DC based on Intelligence instead of on its normal attribute. If you initiate a strike that requires a skill check, you may use your Intelligence modifier instead of the standard ability modifier for the skill.
Readied: At 20th level, you may ready an additional number of maneuvers equal to your intelligence modifier.
Evasion (Ex): At 5th level or higher if a mercenary makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if a mercenary is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless mercenary does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Forewarned is Forearmed (Ex): Throughout his journeys, a mercenary will encounter, or at least hear tell of, most of the things that will attempt to assault his mind or body and mentally prepares to face them. Beginning at 9th level, as long as his is not flat-footed, he adds his Intelligence modifier to his Fortitude and Will saves.
Weapon Savvy: At 5th level, a mercenary gains Weapon Savvy as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
Improved Evasion (Ex): At 17th level, a mercenary’s evasion ability improves. He still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth he takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless mercenary does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.

PLAYING A MERCENARY
Coming soon
RELIGION
Coming soon
OTHER CLASSES
Coming soon
COMBAT
Coming soon
ADVANCEMENT
Coming soon
HUMAN MERCENARY STARTING PACKAGE
Coming soon
MERCENARIES IN THE WORLD
Coming soon
DAILY LIFE
Coming soon
NOTABLES
Coming soon
ORGANIZATIONS
Coming soon
NPC REACTIONS
Coming soon
MERCENARY LORE
Coming soon
MERCENARIES IN THE GAME
Mercenaries make their living in the game world by any number of means, the single unifying attribute being their extreme skill in their chosen profession. Most mercenaries that players encounter will likely be serving as muscle for hire or have been successful enough to now run their own private army. mercenaries who have retired or chosen a calmer life can also be found as skilled craftsmen, particularly of weapons and armor. As such, mercenaries can be found in all tiers of life in a city, from High Protector down to a fleet-footed pickpocket. Though the rewards for each's labors may differ, all mercenaries' primary goal is the perfection of his trade, with the second priority of proving to both himself and others that he has not lost his edge.
This drive to prove their excellence also serves as one of the two most common motivation for a mercenary to join an adventuring party, the other being financial compensation. Ideally, a mercenary will find himself in a party whose goal would be unattainable without his skills, while at the same time teaching him new techniques to improve his effectiveness. Those who accept an evil mercenary into their party must, of course, keep alert. Though even the most vile may hold to personal code that would prevent betrayal, the right combination of the act's difficulty and his promised compensation may entice him to it and mercenaries of all alignment may suffer from 'counting errors' when divying up treasure. A mercenary who takes up the life of an adventurer will continue it until either he dies, is defeated in such a way that he considers himself unfit to continue, or he has amassed enough treasure to comfortably retire.

ADAPTATION
Some mercenaries move beyond the mundane in expanding their range of tools for accomplishing whatever task they set themselves. To create a casting mercenary, reduce the mercenary's hit dice to d6 and his skill points to 6+INT per level, and remove his proficiency with medium armor. He loses access to two disciplines and has one less maneuver known and readied. In exchange, he can choose to learn arcane spells from the wizard/sorcerer spell list of one of the Abjuration, Divination, or Necromancy schools of magic. Whenever he would learn a new maneuver, he may instead learn a new spell of his chosen school of a level up to the maximum learnable by a bard of his initiator level. He uses his initiator level as his caster level for all level-based effects when casting the spell. DCs are Intelligence-based. He may also unlearn a known spell when he would normally unlearn a known maneuver in order to learn a new maneuver or spell. Spells are readied and refreshed as maneuvers, but a spell can not be refreshed while its effect is active. A casting mercenary also gains slightly different class features based on his chosen school of magic.
Detective: A mercenary who learns spells from the Divination school is called a detective and does not gain the the Informed Aim or Weapon Savvy class features. Instead, he gains a greater sense of intuition than the average character, making him more effective at both dealing and avoiding damage. At first level, he gains trap sense with the amount of the bonus equal to the level of his active stance. At fifth level, he gains an insight bonus to either Armor Class equal to half the number of divination spells he has readied. He can change which bonus he receives as a swift action. This is a supernatural ability.
Merchant of Death: A mercenary who learns spells from the Necromancy school is called a merchant of death and does not gain the Deep Pain or Forewarned is Forearmed class features. Instead, he gains a deeper understanding of the undead and the energies which sustain them. At fourth level, he can deal precision damage against undead, but he uses d4s instead of d6s and, at 13th level, he gains a d6 slam attack and the energy drain supenatural ability (DC 10+1/2 HD + Int).
Protector: A mercenary who learns spells from the Abjuration school is called a protector and does not gain Deep Pain or the standard Forewarned is Forearmed class features. Instead, he is better able to protect himself and his allies, At fourth level, he gains a version of Forewarned is Forearmed in which the bonus is capped at his mercenary level and, at 13th level, allies within 30 feet of the name gain that bonus as well. At 9th level, the mercenary and his allies gain a bonus to Armor Class against attacks of opportunity equal to the mercenary's Intelligence bonus.

SAMPLE ENCOUNTER
Coming soon

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 05:03 PM
TABLE 1-4: THE SOLDIER__________HIT DIE : d10
LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecialManeuvers KnownManeuvers ReadiedStances Known

1st+1
2
0
0Basic Training, Bonus feat
4
2
1

2nd+2
3
0
0Extended Boost(2 rounds)
4
2
2

3rd+3
3
1
1
5
3
2

4th+4
4
1
1Bonus feat
5
3
2

5th+5
4
1
1
6
3
3

6th+6/+1
5
2
2Focused Strike
6
4
3

7th+7/+2
5
2
2Strength in Numbers
7
4
3

8th+8/+3
6
2
2Bonus feat
7
4
3

9th+9/+4
6
3
3
8
5
3

10th+10/+5
7
3
3Counteroffensive
8
5
4

11th+11/+6/+1
7
3
3Bonus feat
9
5
4

12th+12/+7/+2
8
4
4
9
6
4

13th+13/+8/+3
8
4
4Extended Boost(stance)
10
6
4

14th+14/+9/+4
9
4
4Calm Under Pressure
10
6
4

15th+15/+10/+5
9
5
5Bonus feat
11
7
4

16th+16/+11/+6/+1
10
5
5
11
7
5

17th+17/+12/+7/+2
10
5
5Impenetrable Stance
12
7
5

18th+18/+13/+8/+3
11
6
6Bonus feat
12
8
5

19th+19/+14/+9/+4
11
6
6
13
8
5

20th+20/+15/+10/+5
12
6
6Double Strike
13
8
5

Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level, x4 at 1st level): Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Escape Artist, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Martial Lore, Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Spot, Survival, Swim, Tumble, Use Rope


SOLDIER
No conflict ever goes as expected, from the warfare between armies down to the tavern brawl between two drunks. Everyone you go up against will do something you didn't know they could. The only way to ensure victory is to prepare for everything you can. And get lucky.
-- Jondara, a soldier

MAKING A SOLDIER
A soldier is a front-line melee character who makes up for having the fewest maneuvers known by having the most readied among martial adepts with full base attack bonus. He also gets more benefit from each maneuver than the average adept through better action economy with his strikes and the ability to prolong his boosts. As such, a soldier is a desirable ally in any combat action.
Abilities: The only truly necessary ability scores for a soldier are Strength and Constitution, which allow him to damage his enemies and survive their counter-attacks. A good Dexterity score is helpful if he favors lighter armors or wishes to fight with two lighter weapons. Wisdom improves his Will save and Intelligence allows his to specialize in more skills rather than relying on basic training, but neither constitutes a priority. Charisma is only useful for its associated skills or to better roleplay the soldier as a leader of men.
Races: All races have soldiers, but the most well-represented are the Dwarves and Humans, both of whom favor the Crashing Wave and Giant's Grip disciplines. Gnome and Halfling soldiers make the most use of Setting Sun, leveraging their enemies' own strength against them. Orc and half-orcs with levels in the soldier class prefer the Iron Heart maneuvers while the rare half-elves and even rarer elves are best suited to the Diamond Mind discipline.
Alignment: A soldier can be of any alignment as every cause has a need of those who will fight for it. It is likely, however, that higher ranked soldiers in large armies tend more towards Law as they need to maintain discipline.
Starting Gold: 4d4x10 gp (100 gp)
Starting Age: As fighter

CLASS FEATURES
Weapon and Armor Profiency: As a soldier, you are proficient with all simple weapons, all martial melee weapons, and one exotic melee weapon of your choice and all armor (heavy, medium, and light) and shields (including tower shields).
Maneuvers: You begin your career with knowledge of four martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to you are four of Crashing Wave, Circling Vulture, Diamond Mind, Giant's Grip, Iron Heart, and Setting Sun. Upon reaching 4th level and every even-numbered soldier level thereafter, you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. You can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.
Maneuvers Readied: You can ready two of your four maneuvers known at 1st level, and as you advance in level and learn more maneuvers, you are able to ready more, but you must still choose which maneuvers to ready. You may recover all expended maneuvers by taking the total defense action, which can be done after, but not before, a move action. You may also change one of your readied maneuvers as part of readying them. You cannot initiate a maneuver or change your stance in the same round that you recover your maneuvers, but any active stance you had remains active.
Stances Known: You begin play with knowledge of one 1st-level stance from any discipline open to you. At 2nd, 5th, 10th, and 16th level, you can choose additional stances.
Basic Training (Ex): All soldiers go through a period of training to learn the skills they need to survive in battle and these lessons are so ingrained that, when making a skill check involving the skills granted by his chosen disciplines, a soldier can use 1/2 his soldier level (rounded up) in place of the number of ranks he has in that skill, if that would be higher.
You can’t take 10 on checks when using this ability and, if the skill doesn't allow untrained checks, you must have at least 1 actual rank to attempt the check. The skills associated with each discipline are as follows
Circling Vulture: Disable Device, Sleight of Hand
Crashing Wave: Climb, Ride, Swim
Diamond Mind: Autohypnosis, Concentration
Giant's Grip: Craft(any one), Escape Artist, Survival
Iron Heart: Balance, Jump, Tumble
Setting Sun: Listen, Sense Motive, Spot
Bonus Feats: At 1st, 4th, 8th, 11th, 15th, and 18th level, a soldier gains a bonus feat. This feat must either be a fighter bonus feat or a sublime feat. The soldier must meet all prerequisites for the feat as usual.
Extended Boost (Ex): Beginning at second level, when initiating a boost, a soldier may attempt a Fortitude save, DC 15+boost level. If he succeeds, the he can gain additional benefits from the boost. If the boost has a duration of "end of turn," it instead lasts until the end dof your his next turn; if it has a duration of "Instantaneous," he can initiate the same boost as a free action on his next turn even if it is not readied. If he fails the save, the boost does not work but is still expended. The soldier may not initiate another boost or recover expended maneuvers while under the effects of the boost or in the same round he uses the boost as a free action.
Beginning at 13th level, on a successful save, he may, instead choose to replace the effects of his current stance with that of the boost. Instead of only applying to the next round, the benefits of the extended boost last until the soldier changes his stance or initiates another boost, or after a number of rounds equal to his Constitution bonus. If he remains under the effect of the boost for longer than three rounds, he is fatigued when the stance ends. A soldier still may not recover maneuvers while under this longer version of the effect.
Focused Strike (Ex): A soldier of at least 6th level can initiate any standard action strike he knows as a full round action. If he does, the DC of the save allowed by the maneuver, if any, is increased by 2 and the damage dealt by this strike is increased by half. The strike's damage is defined as your base weapon damage, your Strength bonus and any non-precision-based bonus damage provided by the strike. Precision based damage is not multiplied, regardless of its source.
Strength in Numbers (Ex): All soldiers learn, at one time or another, that battles are rarely won by individuals, but rather by groups working together. Beginning at 7th level, a soldier gains a bonus on Will saves equal to the number of allies within 30 ft. He does not count as his only ally for the purposes of this ability.
Counteroffensive: Beginning at 10th level, a soldier learns to blend offense and defense into one continuous effor to defeat his enemies. Whenever he initiates a counter in response to an attack by an opponent within his melee range, the soldier gains a free attack against that opponent. This attack does not consume one of his attacks of opportunity .
Calm Under Pressure (Ex): soldiers are put through intense training to ensure they will be ready for anything in the heat of battle. Beginning at 14th level, a soldier can always take 10 on checks made with Strength- and Dexterity-based skills in which he has at least 5 ranks, even if distracted or threatened.
Impenetrable Stance (Ex): Beginning at 17th level, a soldier has become accustomed to battle and more solid in his stances. While he has a stance active, a soldier gains DR/- equal to his Constitution modifier, up to a maximum of the level of the stance. If the "stance" he has active is an Extended Boost, use the level of the boost as the maximum. This damage reduction stacks with other sources of DR/-.
Double Strike (Ex): At twentieth level, a soldier can initiate two standard action strikes as a full round action. Additionally, when using his Focused Strike ability, the DC is increased by 4 and the maneuver deals 2 times the damage rather than 1.5.

SIDEBAR: SUBLIME FEATS
A sublime feats are the Martial Study feat and all feat whose prerequisites include knowledge of one or more martial maneuvers or stances. This includes most feats from both Tome of Battle and this sequel.

PLAYING A SOLDIER
Coming soon
RELIGION
Coming soon
OTHER CLASSES
Coming soon
COMBAT
Coming soon
ADVANCEMENT
Coming soon
HUMAN SOLDIER STARTING PACKAGE
Coming soon
SOLDIERS IN THE WORLD
Coming soon
DAILY LIFE
Coming soon
NOTABLES
Coming soon
ORGANIZATIONS
Coming soon
NPC REACTIONS
Coming soon
SOLDIER LORE
Coming soon
SOLDIERS IN THE GAME
Soldiers cover a wide range of characters from mindless front-line grunts who know nothing but the headlong charge to the cagey tactician who plans out continent-spanning conflicts, the only unifying characteristic being a zeal for battle. As such, they can easily be inserted into a game world at almost any point, whether as town guards, bar room brawlers or a band of highwaymen harassing travelers. Evil soldiers can serve as recurring antagonists serving either an unfriendly nation or their own interests while those of good alignment can be hired as additional protection. soldiers may also serve as teachers of the sublime way for PCs who wish to multiclass, as this is one of the few professions where they can enjoy self-employment in a village.
That said, a soldier is most at home on the battlefield in whatever role his choice of feats and disciplines have best prepared him for. If they are not currently serving, it can be assumed that most soldiers will have served in large military organizations at some point in their history, even if they now serve only their own interests. The goals of that organization and the manner in which the soldier both joined and, if he did, left its service will form significant portions of the character's personality.

ADAPTATION
Some soldiers, rather than relying on the number of their allies, trust in themselves and the works of their own hands, becoming great smiths and craftsmen. Many of those who do attain reknown and are sought after to forge blades for kings and generals; the others labor in isolation, providing weapons only to those who can seek them out and prove themselves worthy.
To create a crafty soldier, reduce his base attack bonus to medium and his maneuvers known by one and remove the Basic Training, Strength in Numbers, and Calm Under Pressure class features. Instead, at first level and all following levels, you gain a Craft Reserve as an artificer of your soldier level. These points can only be used in the creation of warheart. and not magic, items and are lost if not used whenever you gain a new level.
Also, at first level, you gain Street Smarts as a bonus feat, even if you do not meet the prerequisites and gain a bonus on Craft and Profession checks equal to half your soldier level.
At seventh level, you can use identify as a spell-like ability a number of times a day equal to your Constitution modifier. Using this ability takes 10 minutes.
Also at seventh level, you gain the ability to extract the XP from a magical or warheart weapon, armor, or shield by spending a day focusing on the item. At the end of the day, the item is destroyed and you add the recovered XP to your craft reserve. These points are also lost if not used before you gain your next level.
At fourteenth level, when wearing only non-magical armor you made yourself, you add its full armor bonus to your touch AC.

SAMPLE ENCOUNTER
Coming soon

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 05:04 PM
NEW CHARACTER OPTIONS
The Tome of Battle created a new power class of melee combatatants, highlighting both the weaknesses of some existing martial characters and the sometimes overwhelming power of the caster classes. The options presented below attempt to elevate the former and control the latter while also providing new and interesting character concepts for the martial adept classes.

CRUSADER
Crusaders are, in many ways, the traditional knight in shining armor, acting as the enforcing arm of their sovereign or church authority. To date, however, they have lacked one of the most iconic facets of the character type, the trusty steed. Mounted combat of any kind was, in fact, completely absent in Tome of Battle, though it was of great historical value on the battlefield.

CAVALRYMAN
With the addition of the Twin Spirit discipline, it becomes possible to allow the martial adepts to do battle on horseback. Where the warblade would be more likely to view horses as another tool of war, one which must be kept fit and well-cared for, but ultimately still another tool to aid him in battle, a Crusader is more likely to form a bond with his steed. This option allows a crusader character to do so. While not required, characters who choose this option will almost certainly want to swap on of his existing disciplines for access to Twin Spirit.
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you have one less maneuver known, readied and granted and your Steely Resolve delayed damage pool can hold a number of points of damage equal to your crusader class level instead of the normal progression.
Benefit: You gain the services of a heavy war horse and, at 5th level, it gains the abilities of a Special Mount as the Paladin class feature, except that your mount does not gain Improved Evasion, Share Spells, or Command Creatures of its Kind and instead gains furious counterstrike and steely resolve with a damage pool that holds a number of points of damage equal to its HD.

EXEMPLAR
Rather than a particular organization or deity, some crusaders dedicate themselves to a more abstract cause, championing one of the four alignment components: good, evil, law, or chaos. Their devotion to this ideal grants them the ability to more effectively battle those that oppose them.
Level: 3rd
Special Requirement: specific alignment (see below)
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain zealous surge, Die Hard, mettle, or the standard smite ability.
Benefit: At 6th level, you gain the ability to smite creatures that oppose your required alignemnt, e.g. an exemplar of evil can smite any good creature, but if he attempts to smite a non-good creature, the smite has no effect, but the use is still expended for the day. You gain a second use of this ability at 18th level.
At 9th level, any weapon you wield becomes aligned for the purposes of attacking creatures with damage reduction., e.g. a weapon wielded by an exemplar of law can bypass DR/law and one wielded by an examplar of good can bypass DR/good.
An exemplar retains these abilities even if their alignment shifts from the one required, so long as they retain the non-neutral component of the required alignemnt, e.g. an exemplar of chaos would retain these abilities if his alignment changed from chaotic neutral to chaotic evil, but not if it changed to neutral evil. The other abilities, described below, are lost if the exemplar's alignemnt changes to anyhting other than the required alignment, but are restored if he returns to that alignment.

EXEMPLAR OF CHAOS (CHAOTIC NEUTRAL)
At third level, an exemplar of chaos gains the ability to rage, as the barbarian class feature, once per day.
At fifteenth level, an exemplar of chaos can forgo the effects of his current stance to gain the benefits of the Cloak of Chaos spell. He may remain under the effect for a number of rounds per day equal to his initiator level, though he can distribute them has he sees fit.

EXEMPLAR OF EVIL (NEUTRAL EVIL)
At third level, an exemplar of evil gains 1d6 sneak attack, and is trained in the use of poison and never risks accidentally poisoning himself when applying poison to a blade.
At fifteenth level, an exemplar of evil can forgo the effects of his current stance to gain the benefits of the Unholy Aura spell. He may remain under the effect for a number of rounds per day equal to his initiator level, though he can distribute them has he sees fit.

EXEMPLAR OF GOOD (NEUTRAL GOOD)
At third level, an exemplar of good can use lay on hands as a paladin of his crusader level.
At fifteenth level, an exemplar of good can forgo the effects of his current stance to gain the benefits of the Holy Aura spell. He may remain under the effect for a number of rounds per day equal to his initiator level, though he can distribute them has he sees fit.

EXEMPLAR OF LAW (LAWFUL NEUTRAL)
At third level, an exemplar of law can use the spell calm emotions once per day as spell-like ability. He uses his initiator level as his caster level and the DC is Charisma-based.
At fifteenth level, an exemplar of law can forgo the effects of his current stance to gain the benefits of the Shield of Law spell. He may remain under the effect for a number of rounds per day equal to his initiator level, though he can distribute them has he sees fit.

FAVORED
Where most crusaders gain a resiliency and ability to withstand attacks against their will from their own faith, others have it granted to them by their deity. This option will most commonly be chosen by those crusaders who began their careers as paladins or those who focus on their physical abilities to the detriment of their charisma.
Level: 2nd
Special Requirement: Must have a patron deity and have the same alignment as that deity
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain Indomitable Soul, Zealous Surge, or Die Hard
Benefit: At 2nd level, you choose a single aspect of alignment which you do not have (good, evil, law, or chaos) and gain a +2 deflection bonus to AC and a +2 resistance bonus on saves against attacks made or effects created by creatures of that alignment.
At 5th level, you gain the weapon focus feat for your deity's favored weapon; at 10th level, you gain weapon specialization with that weapon; and, at 15th level, you gain greater weapon focus with that weapon.

SWORDSAGE
The swordsage is among the most versatile of the martial adepts, given its wide range of disciplines to choose from and its ability to fight effectively even when unarmed. Some swordsages, however, forgo the full range of their available disciplines achieve independence from weaponry in a different way; by conjuring the weapons from their very minds.

SOULSWORD
This variant would likely represent a group of swordsages trained in a separate group of temples, which emphasize the simultaneous training of the body and mind for combat, turning the students into living weapons. Along with the True Psychic Warrior described later, this is a way to better integrate psionics into a Sublime Way-heavy campaign.
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you lose access to two martial disciplines, have two less maneuvers known and one less maneuver readied, you do not gain Sense Magic, and your Discipline Focus class feature does not manifest itself in any of the standard ways, instead granting the benefits described below.
Benefit: You gain the following class features.
Mind Blade: At 1st level, you gain a mind blade as the soul knife class feature of the same name.
Insightful Blade (Ex): Your mind blade becomes a more effective weapon over time.
Attack Rolls: At 1st level, he may add his Wisdom modifier to attack rolls with his mind blade instead of his Strength modifier.
Damage: At 8th level, he may add his Wisdom modifer as a bonus on damage rolls on all attacks with his mind blade.
Strike DC: At 16th level, the DC of any strike he initiates with his mind blade that allows a save is increased by his Wisdom modifier.
Discipline Focus: Your discipline focus manifests in the following ways
Shape Mind Blade (Su): At 4th level, you can shape your mind blade into any of the associated weapons of the chosen discipline as a full-round action. This functions like the soulknife class feature of the same name except that you can change the blade into any associated weapon of the chosen discipline instead of the longsword or bastard sword. If the discipline has light weapons associated with it, you may shape your mind blade into two identical instances of it, each with an enhancement bonus 1 lower than usual, instead of two identical shortswords. If he shapes it into a bow or other weapon that requires ammunition, he must still obtain that ammunition.
Martial Mind Blade (Su): Beginning at 12th level, your mind blade gains the martial discipline weapon enhancement for the chosen discipline in addition to those selected for Mind Blade Enhancement.
Mind Blade Enhancement: At 6th level, you gain Mind Blade Enhancement as the soulknife class feature
Blade Quick as Thought (Su): At 7th level, you can materialize your mind blade as a free action instead of a move action, but only once per round. You can also shape your mind blade as a move action instead of a full-round action.

SWORDSAINT
This variant represents swordsages who use their martial training to serve the goals of a diety or cause, much like a cleric or crusader. They would most likely be found as temple guardians or as the bodyguards traveling with higher-ranking religions figures.
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you lose access to three martial disciplines, have one less maneuver known and one less maneuver readied, your Reflex save is reduced to poor and you do not gain Quick to Act.
Benefit: Choose four cleric domains. You gain the domain-granted ability from one of them. Additionally, whenever you would learn a new maneuver, you may instead learn a new spell from your chosen domain of a level up to the maximum learnable by a bard of your initiator level (you may learn the first level spells at initiator level 1). You use your initiator level as your caster level for all level-based effects when casting the spell. DCs are Wisdom-based. You may also unlearn a known spell whenever you would unlearn a known maneuver. Spells are readied and recovered as maneuvers, but a spell can not be recovered while its effect is active.

WARBLADE
The warblade prepares for war, but war comes in many forms and on many scales, which requires many different types of men to fight them. These new class features allow a warblade character to have preparation for the battles consistent with the life he has led.

PSYCHOLOGICAL WARBLADE
All warfare is first fought in the mind; in the planning of great battles, in the gathering of intelligence, and in anticipation of the actions of one's enemies. As such, many warblades, already dependent on their Intelligence, develop psionic abilities which aid them in their chosen area of warfare.
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you lose access to two martial disciplines and do not gain a new maneuver known at second level.
Benefit: Choose one of the psion's disciplines. Whenever you would learn a new maneuver, you may instead learn a new power from your chosen discipline of a level up to the maximum learnable by a psion of half your initiator level. You use your initiator level as your manifester level for all level-based effects when manifesting the power. DCs are Intelligence-based. Powers cost no power points to manifest and you gain no power points from your Warblade levels. You may also unlearn a known power when you would normally unlearn a known maneuver in order to learn a new maneuver or power. Powers are readied and refreshed as maneuvers, but a power can not be refreshed while its effect is active.

WARBLADE ACADEMIES
While their bonus feats and five available disciplines allow for a good deal of customization, this new variant allows for giving a warblade a greater sense of identity, establishing him as coming from a specific region or being schooled in a particular brand of combat.
Level: Varies
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you lose one or more of Battle Clarity, Uncanny Dodge, Battle Ardor, Improved Uncanny Dodge and Battle Cunning.
Benefit: You gain the class features of one of the barbarian totems from Unearthed Arcana with the following modifications: You lose Battle clarity (Reflex saves) if the totem variant replaces fast movement, lose Battle Ardor(critical confirmation) if it replaces trap sense, and lose Battle Cunning(damage) if you would lose damage reduction. If the totem grant a class feature at 5th level, you gain that feature at 6th level, since warblades gain Improved Uncanny Dodge at a different level than barbarians. Finally, if the totem grants a bonus while raging, you instead choose a discipline and the bonus applies while you is in a stance from that discipline.

OTHER CHARACTER CLASSES
The following are alternative class features that can make some of the standard base classes fit better into a campaign with an emphasis on the Sublime Way.

AVATAR
A cleric's deity, or chosen cause, should be central to both their character and their abilities, but the current means by which clerics select their spells leaves the cleric's domains as having minimal impact on their daily prepared spells. This variant forces a cleric to more closely align their spell selection with those offered by their domains, though each avatar can choose an increasing number of levels which serve their own needs instead of their benefactor's personality.
Class: Cleric
Level: 1st
Replaces: An avatar cleric has the standard cleric features except as listed here
Hit Die: An avatar cleric uses a d6 for his Hit Die (and has hit points at 1st level equal to 6 + Con modifier).
Base Attack Bonus: An avatar cleric uses the poor base attack bonus.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Avatar clerics are proficient with simple weapons and with light armor. One with the War domain can choose either proficiency and Weapon Focus with their deity's weapon or Medium Armor Proficiency.
Deity, Domains, and Domain Spells: If you are an avatar cleric of a cause, choose two domains as usual. If you are an avatar of a deity, choose two of your deity's domains and an additional domain of your deity for each alignment component you have in common. If your deity has only three domains and your alignment is the same, add a domain associated with your common alignemnt (Good, Evil, Law, Chaos) instead.
Spontaneous Casting: An avatar cleric does not spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells, but, instead, each morning, chooses one of his domains and can spontaneously cast spells from that domain.
Spells: An avatar cleric can only prepare spells from his domains and an additional number of unique spells each day equal to half his caster level, rounded down, plus his Wisdom bonus. He can prepare any number of copies of these spells, with any number of different metamagic feats, but can not prepare more distinct spells not from one of his domains than this.

BUSHI
A bushi is a samurai who has more carefully studied the art of warfare. Where samurai would simply let out a mighty roar and change into a fight, a bushi assesses his opposition and adjusts his tactics to every battle.
Class: Samurai
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the Kiai smite, Iajutsu master, or Improved Initiative class features.
Benefit: You become a partial adept with access to the Iron Heart and Master's Voice disciplines and you can use an Intimidate check instead of a Perform(oratory) check whenever a Master's Voice maneuver or stance requires one. A bushi can recover all expended maneuvers whenever he demoralizes one or more opponents but can not initiate a maneuver in the same round that he does so.

SIDEBAR: PARTIAL ADEPT
With the advent of martial maneuvers, some of the earlier melee classes seem short on options. The concept of a partial adept, a modified version of an exising base class which trades some of its class features for a knowledge of the Sublime Way that exceeds normal characters, but is less than that of a martial adept, can help bridge the gap. All partial exchange a set of class features for access to maneuvers as described here.
Benefit: A partial adept gains an initiator level equal to his class level plus half his other class levels. He also gains a maneuver and stance progression, though the maneuvers and stances he learns are of lower level than a full adept of the same initiator level would learn, as shown in the table below.
Maneuvers: A partial adepts begins with the knowledge of two martial maneuvers and learns an additional maneuver at each odd class level. At fourth level and every even level thereafter, he can also learn a new maneuver is place of one he already knows. The disciplines available to a partial adept will vary from class to class.
Maneuvers Readied: A partial adept can ready both of his maneuvers at first level and can ready an additional maneuver at fourth, tenth, and sixteenth level.
Stances Known: A partial adept begins with knowledge of one first level martial stance and learns a new stance at seventh, thirteenth, and nineteenth level. The maximum level stance he can learn is the same as the maximum level maneuver he can learn.
{table=head]Initiator level|Maneuver level

1st - 3rd|1st

4th - 6th|2nd

7th - 9th|3rd

10th - 12th|4th

13th - 15th|5th

16th - 20th|6th

[/table]

CALL OF THE WILD
Occasionally, a bard is more proficient with birdsong than tavern ballads and finds their truest allies in the animal of the woods rather than fellow adventurers. Such bards have answered the call of the wild are among the greatest guides through the wilderness.
Class: Bard
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you lose proficiency with shields, do not gain Bardic Knowledge, Fascinate, Suggestion and Mass Suggestion, and your Inspire Courage bonus is halved, rounding up, for your allies (but see Benefit). Remove Diplomacy from your class skill list and the following from your class spell list: comprehend languages, detect secret doors, erase, glibness, illusory script,
Message, read message, seeming, sepia snake sigil, summon monster I-VI, tongues.
Benefit: You gain Wild Empathy and Animal Companion as the druid class features and your Inspire Courage bonus is doubled for you and any allies you have of the Animal type. Add Handle Animal and Survival to your class skills the spells of the Animal domain and summon nature's ally I-VI to your spell list and you cast your spells as divine spells instead of arcane spells.

CORSAIR
Unlike the standard swashbuckler, a corsair tends to face his enemies more directly, striking with the power of the sea, which has become his home, behind every blow.
Class: Swashbuckler
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the Dodge bonus, Improved flanking, Weakening critical, or Wounding critical class features.
Benefit: You become a partial adept with access to the Crashing Wave and Desert Wind disciplines, except that your Desert Wind maneuvers which normally deal fire damage deal cold damage instead, deal one less point of damage per die, and, if they normally allow a reflex save, instead allow a fortitude save. A corsair recovers all his expended maneuvers each time he successfully tumbles through a square threatened by an opponent without being hit, but can not initiate a maneuver in the same round he does so.

DISCIPLINED MIND
Although it is assuredly rare, some wilders develop the mental fortitude to restrain the volatility inherent in the use of their psionic abilities and are rewarded for doing so with a greater capacity for learning.
Class: Wilder
Level: 1st
Special Requirement: Martial Lore 1 rank
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain Volatile Mind.
Benefit: At fifth level and every 4 levels thereafter, you gain the Expanded Knowledge or Martial Study feat.

MUGGER
All spellthieves steal magical energies from their foes, but some take a more physical approach and branch out into stealing blade magic as well as arcane and divine spells. Although they are often looked down on by other spellthieves, these muggers know that their versatility makes them an asset.
Class: Spellthief
Level: 1st
Replaces: Remove Spellcraft and Use Magic Device from your class skill list and you do not gain detect magic, spell grace, or the ability to cast arcane spells.
Benefit: Add Intimidate, Martial Lore, and Sleight of Hand to your class skill list. You become a partial adept with access to the Circling Vulture and Devoted Spirit disciplines. Your stell spell ability can also steal a readied strike, boost, or counter instead of a spell. You can initiate a stolen maneuver even you do not meet the prerequisites. You can expend the energy of a stolen spell or maneuver as a swift or immediate action to recover a number of expended maneuvers equal to the level of the spell or maneuver.

PRACTITIONER
While wizards can specialize in a given school to differentiate themselves from others, the class's ability to prepare nearly any spell leads to both difficulty for DMs and a potential sameness of vastly different characters. This variant attempts to address the sameness issue in a way that also ensures that not every situation is solvable by every wizard given an hour to prepare
Class: Wizard
Level: 1st
Replaces: This replaces the standard way that school specialization works for wizards.
Benefit: At 1st level, choose one of the eight schools of magic to specialize in. He then gains the benefits of the three specialist wizard variants from Unearthed Arcana for their chosen specialist without paying the standard costs for those benefits. Instead, the wizard's spell list is limited to spells of his chosen school, the universal spells, and the spell read magic.A wizard can add more spells to his spell list, but this comes at a cost. For every two schools of magic the wizard adds to his spell list, he loses his choice of the specialist variant benefits and can prepare one less spell per spell level available. If this reduces the number of spells of a given level he can prepare below 0, he can not prepare spells of that level.

PSYCHIC SMITE
Rather than gaining the protection of your deity, you instead become a conduit for their fury, making use of your unique mental abilities to smite your enemies' minds rather than their bodies.
Class: Divine Mind
Level: 2nd
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the divine grace class feature
Benefit: Beginning at second level, when psionically focused, you can perform a psychic smite against a single opponent within the radius of your psychic aura. A psychic smite can be either a melee attack, if the opponent is within your melee range, or a ranged attack which provokes an attack of opportunity. In either case, add your Charisma modifier to the attack roll and it deals damage equal to your base weapon damage + your divine mind level + your Str modifier. If the attack hits, the opponent must make a will save (DC=damage dealt) or be unable to use supernatural abilities, including casting spells or manifesting powers, until your next action. When you make a psychic smite, you can expend a number of power points equal to the maximum power level you can manifest. Each power point you expend increases the DC by 1 and every two power points you expend increases the duration for which the opponent is effected on a failed save by one round. Psychic smite is a supernatural ability.

SCOURGE
The traditional hexblade employs a mix of martial and magical training, but, every so often, there arises a hexblade who rejects both his own arcane abilities and magic in general. Such a hexblade becomes a fearsome warrior, raining destruction on all of his enemies and particularly those who attempt to hide behind their magic.
Class: Hexblade
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the ability to summon a familar or to cast arcane spells.
Benefit: Your hexblade's curse is usable a number of times a day equal to half your hexblade level, rounded up, instead of the standard number, your bonus feat list is replaced with the fighter bonus feat list and all submlime feats, and you gain the following class features
Inescapable: At 1st level, you gain the Mage Slayer feat, even if you do not meet the prerequisites. At 9th level, you gain the benefits of the Pierce Magical Concealment feat, even if you do not meet the prerequisites and, at 17th level, you gain the benefits of the Pierce Magical Protection feat, even if you do not meet the prerequisites.
Relentless: Beginning at fifth level, you learn to wound your opponents in a way that lingers on. As a swift action, you can target a vital point on the opponent's body. A successful attack against an opponent you have targeted in this way loses one hit point per round for a number of rounds equal to your hexblade level or until the character succeeds on a Heal check (DC 10 + 1/2 your hexblade level + your Cha modifier) or is subjected to a healing spell. If the character is under your hexblade's curse, the bleeding lasts for the duration of the curse instead of the number of rounds. Beginning at 13th level, a bleeding opponent takes a penalty to AC equal to the number of rounds it has been bleeding.opponent.

SHINOBI
While other ninja rely on surprise and effective poisons to incapacitate their enemies, a shinobi gains a deeper understanding of the human body and the power of shadows.
Class: Ninja
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the poison use or improved poison use class features and your sudden strike damage increases by 1d6 every four ninja levels beyond first level instead of every two.
Benefit: You become a partial adept with access to the Shadow Hand and Life's Blood disciplines, except that you replace all references to skirmish damage in your Life's Blood maneuvers with sudden strike damage. You also add Heal to your class skill list and gain Improved Unarmed Strike at 3rd level. A shinobi can recover all expended maneuvers with a swift action that must be followed by an attack action or a standard action to do nothing.

SUBLIME SHAPESHIFTER
Where most druids feel a spiritual or divine connection to nature and the wilds, some become more wild themselves, studying the martial disciplines inspired by the combat tactics of animals.
Class: Druid
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain nature sense, resist nature's lure, venom immunity, a thousand faces, or the ability to cast divine spells.
Benefit: You gain maneuvers known and readied and stances known as a swordsage, except with one less maneuver known. The disciplines available to a you are Circling Vulture, Crashing Wave, Giant's Grip, Life's Blood, and Tiger Claw. You recover maneuvers as a swordsage except that all your maneuvers are also recovered whenever you Wild Shape. You also gain the following new class features
Natural Weapons: At first level you gain the Improved Unarmed Strike feat and your unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon. At fourth level, your natural weapons, including your unarmed strikes, become +1 weapons and, at thirteenth level, they become +1 discipline focus weapons. You may change the associated discipline each time you begin or end a Wild Shape.
Hybrid Wild Shape: Beginning at ninth level, you may use expend a daily use of Wild Shape as a full round action which does not provoke an attack of opportunity to assume a Hybrid Wild Shape, which lasts for a number of hours equal to your Constitution modifier instead of your druid level, in which you channel a portion of the beast's power without altering your form. Your body does not substantially change, though you may manifest superficial aspects of the chosen creature, such as the slitted eyes of a snake or sharper teeth of a lion and, as such, your gear is not absorbed into your new form and remains functional.
You also gain natural attacks based on those of the chosen form. If it has a bite attack, you gain one; if it has claw or tentacle attacks, you gain one for each arm you have; if it has a slam or gore attack, you gain a slam attack; and, if the form has hoof attacks, you gain one for each leg you have. These attacks do not actually alter your body, but allow you to use your body as if you had those attacks. Attacks gained this way deal damage as appropriate for your size.
{table=head]Size |Bite|Claw|Hoof, Slam, or Tentacle

Small |d4 |d3 |d3*

Medium|d6 |d4 |d4*

Large |d8 |d6 |d6*

[/table]
* If your unarmed strike damage is larger, use that value
At ninth level, while in a Hybrid Wild Shape, your natural armor bonus and physical ability scores become the average of your own and that of the chosen form. At seventeenth level, your physical ability scores and natural armor bonus become equal to those of the chosen form, but you still do not change shape.

TOTEM DISCIPLINE
Some barbarians choose to explore aspects of the Sublime Way rather than relying on pure physical strength.
Class: Barbarian
Level: 1st
Special Requirement: Martial Lore 1 rank
Replaces: If you select this class feature, your hit dice are reduced to d10 and you do not gain damage reduction.
Benefit: At 7th level and every three levels thereafter, you gain may learn a martial maneuver or stance from the Tiger Claw discipline that you meet rhe prerequisites for. If you have a barbarian totem other than Jaguar (the standard barbarian class features), you choose your maneuvers and stances from a different discipline as listed below. New totems are provided below so there is one for each discipline.
{table=head]Totem |Discipline |Totem |Discipline

Ape |Stone Dragon |Hyena* |White Raven

Bear |Giant's Grip |Lion |Devoted Spirit

Boar |Iron Heart |Moth* |Wandering Eye

Coyote* |Diamond Mind |Roadrunner*|Desert Wind

Dragon |Master's Voice|Serpent |Shadow Hand

Eagle |Iron Rain |Vulture* |Circling Vulture

Gorilla* |Life's Blood |Whale* |Crashing Wave

Horse |Twin Spirit |Wolf |Setting Sun

[/table]
* new totem dicussed below

COYOTE TOTEM
A barbarian dedicated to the coyote totem does not gain the standard fast movement, uncanny dodge, trap sense, and improved uncanny dodge barbarian class features, and instead gains the following abilities.
A 1st level coyote-totem adds Concentration to his class skill list and can make Concentration checks even while raging.
A 2nd level coyote-totem barbarian gains two power points.
A 3rd level coyote-totem barbarian gains Psionic Meditation as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites and gains psionic focus whenever he enters a rage.
A 5th level coyote-totem barbarian gains a psionic bonus feat of his choice. He must meet the prerequisites for the chose feat..

GORILLA TOTEM
A barbarian dedicated to the gorilla totem does not gain the standard fast movement, uncanny dodge, trap sense, and improved uncanny dodge barbarian class features, and instead gains the following abilities.
A 1st level gorilla-totem barbarian gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat.
A 3rd level gorilla-totem barbarian gains Superior Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat and can use improvised weapons without suffering the -4 penalty on attack rolls.
Beginning at 5th level, a gorilla-totem barbarian's unarmed strike damage increases by one size category when he is raging.

HYENA TOTEM
A barbarian dedicated to the hyena totem does not gain the standard uncanny dodge, trap sense, and improved uncanny dodge barbarian class features, and instead gains the following abilities.
A 2nd-level hyena-totem barbarian gets a +3 bonus on his attack rolls when flanking and this bonus increases to +4 at 6th level, to +5 at 12th level, and to +6 at 18th level.
A 5th-level hyena-totem barbarian gains the pounce ability and can turn once during a charge.

MOTH TOTEM
A barbarian dedicated to the moth totem does not gain the standard uncanny dodge, trap sense, and improved uncanny dodge barbarian class features, and instead gains the following abilities.
A 1st level moth-totem barbarian can adds Bluff to his class skill list and can make Bluff checks even while raging.
A 2nd-level moth-totem barbarian gains Improved Feint as a bonus feat, even if he doesn't meet the normal prerequisites.
A 5th-level moth-totem barbarian can use an Intimidate check instead of a Bluff check to feint and gains a +4 bonus on checks made to feint while raging.

ROADRUNNER TOTEM
A barbarian dedicated to the roadrunner totem does not gain the standard uncanny dodge, trap sense, and improved uncanny dodge barbarian class features, and instead gains the following abilities.
A 2nd level roadrunner-totem barbarian gains Acrobatic as a bonus feat.
At 3rd level and every three levels after that, a roadrunner-totem barbarian's fast movement increases by 5 ft, to a maximum of +40 ft at 18th level.
A 5th level coyote-totem barbarian deals extra fire damage on attacks made while raging equal to his Dexterity modifier.

VULTURE TOTEM
A barbarian dedicated to the vulture totem does not gain the standard uncanny dodge, trap sense, and improved uncanny dodge barbarian class features, and instead gains the following abilities.
A 2nd-level vulture-totem barbarian gains Improved Disarm as a bonus feat, even if he doesn't meet the normal prerequisites.
A 5th-level hyena-totem barbarian gains Dodge as a bonus feat, even if he doesn't meet the normal prerequisites..

WHALE TOTEM
A barbarian dedicated to the whale totem does not gain the standard fast movement, uncanny dodge, trap sense, and improved uncanny dodge barbarian class features, and instead gains the following abilities.
At 1st level whale-totem barbarian gains a swim speed equal to half his land speed.
A 2nd-level whale-totem barbarian gains Improved Bull Rush as a bonus feat, even if he doesn't meet the normal prerequisites.
A 5th-level whale-totem barbarian gains a +4 bonus on Strength checks made to bull rush an opponent while raging.

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 05:06 PM
{table=head]General Feats|Prerequisites|Benefits

Adept At Range|One martial maneuver|Perform melee strikes with ranged weapons

Brave Front|One Master's Voice maneuver|Add Cha mod to Endurance checks

Bushido Spirit|Daisho Proficiency, Steely Resolve, one Devoted Spirit maneuver|Demoralize foes for longer in a Devoted Spirit stance

Deep Wounds|One Life's Blood maneuver|Increase critical range of weapons you wield

Disciplined Hunter|Favored Enemy class feature, two martial maneuvers|Add favored enemy bonus to strike DCs

Elemental Wind|One Desert Wind maneuver, Knowledge(arcana) 3 ranks|Change type of damage done by Desert Wind maneuvers

Fan Dance|Exotic Weapon Proficiency(dagger-fan), Perform(dance) 3 ranks|Use Cha in place of Str when wielding dagger-fans

Faster Than the Eye|One Wandering Eye maneuver|Take 5 ft step when feinting

Goliath Wrestling|Improved Unarmed Strike, one Giant's Grip stance|Add Wis to grapple checks

Grasp the Situation|One Giant's Grip maneuver|Move less than 10 feet, +1 AC while grappling

Light-Fingered|One Circling Vulture stance|Avoid penalty for disarming with light weapons

Mind of Iron|One Iron Rain maneuver, Mind Blade class feature|Gain ability to throw mind blade

Precision Instruments|Dex 15, Weapon Finesse, 1d6 precision damage|Deal increased precision damage with discipline weapons

Rain of Pain|One Iron Rain maneuver|Add Dex to damage within 30 ft

Rushing Wave|One Crashing Wave maneuver|No attack of opportunity and gain bonus while bull-rushing

Stalking Tiger|One Tiger Claw maneuver|Sacrifice attacks to gain 5ft steps

Street Smarts|Int 13 or less|Gains skill points based on Wis

Targeted Healing|One Life's Blood maneuver, divine caster level 1st, Heal 3 ranks|Expend Life's Blood maneuvers to maximize healing spells

Weapon Flurry|Proficiency with selected weapon, Weapon Focus with selected weapon, fighter level 5th or initiator level 5th.|Gain flurry of blows with selected weapon

Weapon Savvy|Dex 15, Weapon Finesse, Informed Aim or Insightful Strike class feature|Trade bonus damage for increased attack bonus

[/table]


{table=head]Psionic Feats|Prerequisites|Benefits

Metaphysical Discpline|Psychic warrior level 1st, 1 martial stance|Improve your metaphysical weapons

Telekinetic Maneuverer|Able to manifest telekinetic maneuver, one martial strike|Execute strikes with your mind

Wild Strike|Wild Surge class feature, one martial maneuver|Deal increased damage at risk of dazing

[/table]


NEW AND UPDATED FEATS
Feats provide soldiers with the skills and tactics they need to achieve victory in battle. Most in this chapter allow them to gain fuller use of the new disciplines introduced in this book as well as those from Tome of Battle. Others provide general combat prowess.

UPDATED FEATS FROM TOME OF BATTLE
The following feats from Tome of Battle need to updated, mainly to take into account the new base classes.
Adapative Style: You may qualify for the Adaptive Style feat with one level in the firebrand, huntsman, mercenary, or soldier classes in addition to those from the Tome of Battle.
Extra Readied Maneuver: You may qualify for the Extra Readied Maneuver feat with one level of the mercenary class instead of one level in swordsage.
Song of the White Raven: You can choose to stack your bard levels with your firebrand levels instead of your crusader or warblade levels, as they also have access to the discipline

ADEPT AT RANGE
You have learned to use your maneuvers in ways Reshar never thought of.
Prerequisites: One martial maneuver
Benefit: Choose a martial discipline. You may use the maeuvers of that discipline with thrown or ranged weapons, changing the range to the weapon's range increment if it is usually a melee attack, unless the maneuver requires a type of attack (disarm, trip, etc) that you cannot make with the ranged weapon you wield.
Special: You may take this feat multiple times, each time choosing a different discipline.


BRAVE FRONT
You maintain the appearance of calm, even when under great strain.
Prerequisites: One Master's Voice maneuver
Benefit: While in a Master's Voice stance, you add your Charisma modifier to the follwing checks and saves: Constitution checks made to continue running, Constitution checks made to avoid nonlethal damage from a forced march, Constitution checks made to hold your breath, Constitution checks made to avoid nonlethal damage from starvation or thirst, Fortitude saves made to avoid nonlethal damage from hot or cold environments, and Fortitude saves made to resist damage from suffocation.
Special: Brave Front may be used in place of Endurance to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or special ability.


BUSHIDO SPIRIT
Your zealous devotion to the code of Bushido makes you a fearsome opponent whom few can stand before unafraid.
Prerequisites: Daisho Proficiency, Steely Resolve, one Devoted Spirit maneuver
Benefit: When you demoralize an opponent while in a Devoted Spirit stance, that enemy remains shaken for two rounds instead of one.
If you have levels in crusader and samurai, those levels stack for the purpose of determining the size of your steely resolve delayed damage pool.
Your crusader and samurai levels also stack for determining your ability to use Staredown, Mass Staredown and Improved Staredown.
Additonally, you may multiclass freely between the crusader and samurai classes, though you must remain lawful in order to maintain your samurai abilities as normal.


DEEP WOUNDS
Your attacks are more likely to draw blood.
Prerequisites: One Life's Blood maneuver
Benefit: While in a Life's Blood stance, the critical range of Life's Blood associated weapons you wield increases by 1. This benefit is applied after the effects of the Improved Critical feat or the keen weapon property.


DISCIPLINED HUNTER
You have learned to make your training in the Sublime Way even more effective when used against your most hated enemies.
Prerequisites: Favored Enemy class feature, two martial maneuvers
Benefit: Choose one martial adept class in which you have levels. Your levels in this class stack with your ranger levels to determine your number of favored enemies and the bonuses gained against them. Whenever you initiate a strike which allows a saving throw against one of your favored enemis, add your favored enemy bonus to the DC of that strike's saving throw.


ELEMENTAL WIND
You have learned to master the cold of the desert's night and the fury of its storms as well as its fiery heat.
Prerequisites: One Desert Wind maneuver, Knowledge(arcana) 3 ranks
Benefit: With ten minutes of meditation per maneuver or stance changed, you can change the type of damage done by a Desert Wind maneuver that normally deals fire damage to either cold damage or electricity damage. The maneuver deals this type of energy damage until you meditate for another 10 minutes to change it back. When dealing cold or electricity damage, reduce the damage done by 1 point per die and, when dealing cold damage, change any Reflex save to a Fortitude save. You may also change the resistance granted by the Flame's Blessing stance.


FAN DANCE
Your graceful movements and unconventional weapons allow you to strike unexpectedly and deal great damage.
Prerequisites: Exotic Weapon Proficiency(dagger-fan), Perform(dance) 3 ranks
Benefit: While wielding one or more dagger-fans, you add your Charisma modifier to your attack rolls with them instead of your Strength or Dexterity modifier. If you are in a Wandering Eye stance, add your Charisma modifier instead of your Strength modifier to damage rolls with them as well.


FASTER THAN THE EYE
Your training in the Wandering Eye discipline has taught you to remain mobile and strike from where you are least expected.
Prerequisites: One Wandering Eye maneuver
Benefit: While in a Wandering Eye stance, you may take a 5 ft. step as a free action whenever you succeed in feinting in combat. This is in addition to the normal 5 ft. step you may take in a round and can be taken even if you have already moved.


GOLIATH WRESTLING
Your training in the Giant's Grip discipline has taught you that raw power is useless if not applied correctly.
Prerequisites: Improved Unarmed Strike, one Giant's Grip stance
Benefit: While you are in a Giant's Grip stance, you can add your Wisdom modifier as a bonus on all grapple checks to a maximum of 1 + your swordsage class level plus levels in classes that advance your maneuvers known. You may add the same bonus to escape artist checks made to escape a grapple.
Special: Goliath Wrestling can be used in place of Clever Wrestling to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or other special ability. If the substitution gives you a new option to use while grappling, that option is only available to you while you are in a Giant's Grip stance.


GRASP THE SITUATION
The knowledge of the Giant's Grip discipline gives you unparalleled control over grapples you enter, even allowing you to respond to those who would seek to interrupt it.
Prerequisites: One Giant's Grip maneuver
Benefit: As long as you have moved less than 10 feet since the end of your last turn, you gain a +1 insight bonus to your AC against adjacent opponents you are not grappling while you are in a grapple.


LIGHT-FINGERED
You have learned to leverage more unlikely weapons when relieving opponents of theirs.
Prerequisites: One Circling Vulture stance
Benefit: While in a Circling Vulture stance, your disarm attempts do not provoke attacks of opportunity. Additionally, you ignore the -4 penalty for disarming with a light weapon and gain +1 bonus on disarm attempts made with a natural weapon or unarmed strike
Special: Light-Fingered can be used in place of Improved Disarm to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or other special ability.


METAPHYSICAL DISCPLINE [PSIONIC]
You use your training in psychic combat to imbue your knowledge of a martial discipline into the weapons you wield.
Prerequisites: Psychic warrior level 1st, 1 martial stance
Benefit: Choose a martial discipline. Whenever you manifest the metaphysical claw or metaphysical weapon power, you may grant the weapon the Martial Discpline weapon enhancement keyed to that discipline instead of granting it a +1 enhancement bonus. You may still increase its enhancement bonus by augmenting the power as usual, with the first augmentation now granting the weapon the +1 bonus.


MIND OF IRON
You have learned to improve your mind blade combat abilities through the Iron Rain discipline.
Prerequisites: One Iron Rain maneuver, Mind Blade class feature
Benefit: You gain Throw Mind Blade as the soulknife class feature if you do not already have it and can use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Dexterity modifier on attack rolls when throwing your mind blade.


PRECISION INSTRUMENTS
Your training has given you increased control over a family of weapons, which allows you to more effectively target your opponents' weaknesses.
Prerequisites: Dex 15, Weapon Finesse, 1d6 precision damage
Benefit: Choose a martial discipline. When using your sneak attack, skirmish, or sudden strike abilities, roll d8s for those dice instead of d6s when attacking with finessable or one-handed weapons associated with that discipline.
Special: A fighter may select Precision Instruments as one of his fighter bonus feats.


RAIN OF PAIN
Your training with the Iron Rain weapons has taught you where to place your shots for greater effect.
Prerequisites: One Iron Rain maneuver
Benefit: While in a Iron Rain stance, you may add your Dexterity modifier in place of your Strength modifier on damage rolls when attacking with Iron Rain weapons within 30 feet.
Special: Rain of Pain can be used in place of Point Blank Shot to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or other special ability. If this gives you a new option that would apply to all ranged and thrown weapons, it instead applies only to Iron Rain weapons.


RUSHING WAVE
Like a great wave, you barrel into your opponent, your training in the Crashing Wave discipline making your bull rushes more devestating.
Prerequisites: One Crashing Wave maneuver
Benefit: While in a Crashing Wave stance, you do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the target while bull-rushing and gain a bonus on the Strength check equal to the highest enhancement bonus among Crashing Wave weapons you are wielding. On a successful bull rush, you deal damage equal to the base damage of that weapon for every 10 feet you move the opponent.
Special: Rushing Wave can be used in place of Improved Bull Rush to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or other special ability


STALKING TIGER
You taunt an opponent with one blade while positioning to strike with another.
Prerequisites: One Tiger Claw maneuver
Benefit: While making a full attack with two Tiger Claw weapons, the enhancement bonuses of which differ by no more than one, you may, in place of an attack, flourish with your off-hand weapon by making an attack roll against AC 15 + half your character level, rounded down. If it succeeds, you may make a 5 ft step. Standard penalties for fighting with two weapons apply.


STREET SMARTS
While conventional "book" learning is often beyond you, your life experiences have made you capable of a great many things.
Prerequisites: Int 13 or less
Benefit: At each character level beyond first, you gain additional skill points equal to your Wisdom modifier and you gain four times that number at first level. However, all Knowledge skills are always considered cross-class skills for you, unless you take a feat or class feature, such as a cleric domain, that explicitly makes them class skills either for all classes or that particular class. Simply taking levels in a class that has the Knowledge skills as class skills does not remove this limitation.
Special: Can only be taken at first level.


TARGETED HEALING
Your knowledge of anatomy allow you to more effectively channel divine healing energies.
Prerequisites: One Life's Blood maneuver, divine caster level 1st, Heal 3 ranks
Benefit: Whenever you cast a spell from the healing subschool, you may expend a Life's Blood maneuver of the same level or higher as that spell as an immediate action to modify the effect of the spell as if affected by the maximize spell feat without modifying the casting time or spell level.


TELEKINETIC MANEUVERER [PSIONIC]
Your martial training is so deeply ingrained that your mind is capable of executing your maneuvers without the need for your body.
Prerequisites: Able to manifest telekinetic maneuver, one martial strike
Benefit: When using the telekinetic maneuver power, you may execute a martial strike that has an initiation time of one standard action or less and involves a bull rush, disarm, grapple or trip attack against the target of that power instead of the single attack.


WEAPON FLURRY
Choose one type of weapon for which you have already selected Weapon Focus. You can also choose unarmed strike or grapple as your weapon for purposes of this feat.
Prerequisites: Proficiency with selected weapon, Weapon Focus with selected weapon, fighter level 5th or initiator level 5th.
Benefit: You gain the ability to use flurry of blows with the chosen weapon as a monk of either your fighter level or initiator level, whichever is higher.
Special: You can gain Weapon Flurry multiple times. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new type of weapon.
A fighter may select Weapon Flurry as one of his fighter bonus feats.


WEAPON SAVVY
Where others swing wildly and trust to their strength to bring victory, should the blow actually land, you have learned to focus on precision.
Prerequisites: Dex 15, Weapon Finesse, Informed Aim or Insightful Strike class feature
Benefit: On your action, before making attack rolls for the round, you may choose to subtract a number from the bonus damage granted by your Informed Aim or Insightful strike to a minimum of 0 and add half that number (rounded down) to attack rolls made with the weapons that qualify for the damage. If you have both class features, you may not use this feat with both features in the same round. The penalty on damage and bonus on attacks apply until your next turn.


WILD STRIKE [PSIONIC]
You channel your psionic strength into your physical assaults, dealing great damage to your enemies if you can control it, or to yourself if you cannot.
Prerequisites: Wild Surge class feature, one martial maneuver
Benefit: Choose one martial adept class. Your levels in this class stack with your wilder levels to determine the extent to which you can use your Wild Surge ability. Additionally, whenever you initiate a martial strike, you may make choose to increase its damage dealt by a number of d6 up to the number of levels you can add through wild suge, but you must roll for psychic enervation as if you had used a wild surge. If you suffer psychic enervation, you lose power points equal to your combined levels in wilder and the chosen martial adept class rather than your wilder level. You may not use a wild strike if you do not have at least that many power points.

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 05:07 PM
{table=head]Tactical Feats|Prerequisites|Benefits

Adept Archer|See feat description|See feat description

Combat Scavenger|See feat description|See feat description

Everchanging Style|See feat description|See feat description

Horse and Rider|See feat description|See feat description

Life and Death|See feat description|See feat description

Master and Commander|See feat description|See feat description

Primal Instincts|See feat description|See feat description

Shock Trooper|See feat description|See feat description

Wanderer's Insight|See feat description|See feat description

[/table]

TACTICAL FEATS
The following tactical feats, while requiring more effort to keep track of the abilities that they grant, are a means for a character to gain combat advantage through the use of the feat in conjunction with their maneuvers. Most of the tactical feats presented here are keyed to a specific discipline. The exception is Everchanging Style, which is designed for a more generalist adept who uses a number of disciplines, rather than focusing on one of them.

ADEPT ARCHER [TACTICAL]
You have achieved a level of archery that few can even contemplate; if it moves within your field of vision, you can kill it and kill it quickly.
Prerequisites: BAB +6, Point Blank Shot, two Iron Rain maneuvers
Benefit: The Adept Archer feat allows for the use of three tactical options.
Painted Target: To use this option, you must hit and deal damage to an opponent with a Iron Rain strike. In the next round, you gain a bonus on attack rolls against that opponent equal to the level of the strike.
Parting Shot: To use this option, an opponent must miss you in melee and you must use a move action on your turn to move out of his melee range. If you do, you may make a single ranged attack as part of that movement.
Reveal the Hidden: To use this option, you must make a Spot check as a full-round action. Each opponent who attempted to hide from you provokes an attack of opportunity from you.


COMBAT SCAVENGER [TACTICAL]
You are aware at all times of the weapons arrayed against you and are able to quickly relieve opponents of them.
Prerequisites: Improved Disarm, BAB +6, two Circling Vulture maneuvers
Benefit: The Combat Scavenger feat enables the use of three tactical options
Through the Weapon: When you successfully disarm an opponent, you gain an immediate additional melee attack against the foe. The additional attack is with the same weapon and at the same attack bonus as your disarm attempt.
Ground-Caused Fumble: You may use this option whenever an opponent is rendered prone within your natural range. As an immediate action, you may make a disarm attempt to snatch a well secured item from that opponent even though you are not pinning the opponent.
Hand off: To use this option, you must disarm an opponent whom you are flanking with an ally. If you disarm the opponent with a weapon and your flanking ally has at least one empty hand, you may have that ally take possession of the weapon, rather than it land on the ground.


EVERCHANGING STYLE [TACTICAL]
You are never caught unprepared for battle, as you adjust your tactics to defeat your current opposition.
Prerequisites: Adaptive Style, Concentration 9 ranks, one maneuver from at least 3 different disciplines
Benefit: The Everchanging Style feat allows for the use of three tactical options
Adaptive Defense: To use this option, you must make use of the Adaptive Style feat while in combat and succeed on a Concentration check (DC 10 + your number of maneuvers known); add 2 to the DC for each enemy threatening you. If you succeed on the Conenctration check, you gain a dodge bonus to your Armor Class equal to the number of maneuvers you had readied and unexpended before using Adaptive Style. This bonus lasts until your next action.
Coordinated Movement: Whenver you successfully initiate a martial strike against an opponent that hits and deals damage, you may change your stance to any stance you know from the discipline of the strike as part of the strike.
Try Again: To make use of this option, you must initiate a martial strike against an opponent which requires an attack roll and miss. In the next round, you may expend another readied maneuver to initiate the strike that missed against the same opponent with a bonus on your attack roll equal to the level of the maneuver you expended. You may not use this option in two consecutive rounds.
Special: Everchanging Style can be used in place of any one feat to qualify for the Master of Nine prestige class.


HORSE AND RIDER [TACTICAL]
You have become the consummate horseman.
Prerequisites: Ride-By Attack, BAB +6, two Twin Spirit maneuvers
Benefit: The Horse and Rider feat allows for the use of three tactical maneuvers
Kick When They're Down: To use this maneuver, you must make a succesful Twin Spirit strike against an opponent. On your next turn, your mount may make a single attack against that opponent at any time it is within range.
Mounted Strike: When you make use of the Ride-By Attack feat, you may initiate a standard action strike instead of a single melee attack
Rear Up: When fighting defensively or using the Combat Expertise feat, you may make a Ride check as a full round action. Your mount may make a single melee attack against each opponent within its range whose AC your Ride check beats.


LIFE AND DEATH [TACTICAL]
You have mastered the skills necessary to survive according to the harsh rules of the wilderness; kill quickly quickly when you can and protect yourself and your friends in prolonged combat.
Prerequisites: BAB +6, Deep Wounds, two Life's Blood maneuvers
Benefit: The Life and Death feat allows for the use of three tactical options.
Drain Vitality: To use this option, you must move at least 20 feet and initiate a Life's Blood strike. If the strike deals damage, on your next turn, you may take the total defense action and gain hit points equal to half the damage dealt.
Protect the Fallen: To use this option, you must heal an ally and remain adjacent to them. On your next turn, you gain an attack of opportunity against each opponent who attacks that ally, as long as you remain adjacent to that ally.
Twist the Knife: To use this option, you must deal skirmish damage to an opponent. On your next turn, if you land a critical hit on that same opponent, you deal double your skirmish damage in addition to multiplying your base damage, regardless of your critical multiplier.


MASTER AND COMMANDER [TACTICAL]
You take control of the battle field and move yourself and your allies to victory, either distracting, intimidating or otherwise defeating all those in your path.
Prerequisites: BAB +6, Brave Front, two Master's Voice maneuvers
Benefit: The Master and Commander feat allows for the use of three tactical options
Dueler's Advance: To use this option, you must initiate a Master's Voice strike against an opponent that hits and does damage. At the start of the next round, you may initiate a Duel of Wills against that opponent if you have not done so in the last 24 hours and gain a bonus on the check equal to the level of the strike.
Merciless Taunting: To use this option, you must make a Perform (oratory) check as a full-round action against an enemy that can hear you (DC = that enemy's AC). If the check succeeds, in the next round, that enemy must attack you or take a -3 penalty on his attack rolls and spell DCs.
One for All: Whenever you and one or more allies that can hear you must make the same Fortitude save, you may reduce your own save by an amount up to your Charisma modifier to grant those allies the same amount as a bonus on theirs.


PRIMAL INSTINCTS [TACTICAL]
You show your contempt for manufactured weapons in favor of ripping opponents apart with your bare hands with simple, but brutally effective tactics.
Prerequisites: Goliath Wrestling, BAB +6, two Giant's Grip maneuvers
Benefit: The Primal Instincts feat allows the use of three tactical options
Flight response: To use this option, you must have taken damage from an opponent you are grappling. During the next round, you may choose to subtract a number from all melee attack rolls and add the same number to rolls made to resist or escape a grapple. This number may not exceed your base attack bonus. The penalty on attacks and bonus on grapple avoidance and escape rolls apply until your next turn.
Spurn metal: To use this option, an opponent must attack you with a manufactured weapon while you are grappling him and miss. If he does, you may immediately make a grapple check to knock the weapon from his hand. If you win the grapple check, he loses his next iterative attack. If you win by more than 5, he drops the weapon as if you had disarmed him. Using this maneuver consumes one of your attacks of opportunity in the current round.
Wounded Prey: To use this option, you must pin an opponent and prevent his escape for one round. During the next round, you get a +1 bonus on grapple checks and damage rolls made as part of the Damage Your Opponent option and an additional +1 for each successful use of that option.


SHOCK TROOPER [TACTICAL]
You charge into battle and your enemy's lines fall before you.
Prerequisites: BAB +6, Improved Bull Rush, two Crashing Wave maneuvers
Benefit: This feat allows for the use of the same tactical options as the one of the same name in Complete Warrior.


WANDERER'S INSIGHT [TACTICAL]
Your studies of both the Wandering Eye discipline and human nature allows you to find your opponents' vulnerabilities and exploit them.
Prerequisites: Faster Than the Eye, BAB +6, two Wandering Eye maneuvers
Benefit: The Wanderer's Insight feat allows for the use of three tactical options
Inspire Doubt: To use this option, you must make a Bluff check as a full round action opposed by the Sense Motive check of an enemy who attacked you and missed on his last turn. If you succeed, that enemy suffers a 20% miss chance on all attacks on his next turn.
Prolonged Distraction: To use this option, you must successfully feint against an opponent you are flanking. If you do, the opponent is also denied his Dexterity bonus against the first attack made by an ally you are flanking him with.
Weaken Defenses: To use this option, you must hit and and deal damage to an opponent with a Wandering Eye strike. In the next round, your attack against that opponent deal an additional d6 sneak attack damage if they qualify for it.

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 05:09 PM
NEW DISCIPLINES
Listed below are new disciplines which attempt to cover the combat options which received few or no manevuers to make them more effective in the original Tome of Battle.

DESCRIPTIONS
This provides a brief overview of the types of maneuvers in each discipline. Where possible, a brief account of the founder of the discipline is also provided.

CIRCLING VULTURE
Circling Vulture is occasionally derided by martial adepts who do not practice it as being the thief's combat style. given that one of its primary tactics is the taking of weapons and other items from one's enemies. As a speedy getaway is the usual follow-up, it is practiced most efficiently by the flying races, each of whom also attempt to lay claim to developing the Circling Vulture discipline. Most agree that the true founder of the discipline was a famous raptoran master thief, however.
The discipline's associated skill is Sleight of Hand and its weapons are the claw, nunchaku, sai, unarmed strike, and whip.

CRASHING WAVE
Nothing is softer than water, yet nothing can resist it. Adepts who specialize in the Crashing Wave discipline take this lessen to heart, though most choose to focus on the latter half. The maneuvers provide the means both to avoid or reduce the damage done by opponents and to barrel into opponents with devestating force. Both darfellans and aquatic orcs each point to a mythic figure of their race as the sole inventor of the discipline, while all the other races simply consider the version of Crashing Wave currently practiced as having been influenced by both groups.
The associated skill is Swim and its weapons are armor spikes, the spear, all shields, and the trident.

GIANT'S GRIP
Self-reliance, as demonstrated mainly through unarmed combat, is the focus of the Giant's Grip discipline. Though grappling is practiced in many cultures, the bulk of the current form of Giant's Grip is derived from the almost-ceremonial goliath wrestling style, which, in and of itself, has evolved through the goliath's contact with other races. Though some of its maneuvers are more generically applicable, the true power of the discipline is found when the practitioner is grappling or otherwise fighting unarmed.
Escape Artist is the associated skill for Giant's Grip and its associated weapons are the claw, grip gauntlet*, mancatcher, unarmed strike, and grapple.

IRON RAIN
(placeholder description pending approval by dspeyer)
The goal of the Iron Rain discipline is the defeat of a superior foe at a distance. Iron Rain maneuvers provide protection for their practitioners while granting them the speed to make large numbers of attacks. Where other archers would find themselves surrounded and outnumbered, a Iron Rain archer merely sees a target rich environment which will soon be littered with the fallen bodies of his enemies. Developed by a halfling general, Iron Rain tactics also allow for effective use of ranged weapons even when with an enemy's melee range.
The skill associated with Iron Rain is Spot, which helps an adept seek out his many targets and its associated weapons are all bows, the javelin, and the throwing knive.

LIFE'S BLOOD
A superior understanding of the workings of living things is the sign of a master of the Life's Blood discipline, which leverages that knowledge to achieve both painful strikes and non-magical healing. Creation of the Life's Blood discipline is credited to two hunters: one a half-orc, the other a half-elf, which many feel accounts for the dual nature of the discipline. Those at the highest levels of the Life's Blood discipline literally hold the power of life and death in their hands, able to inflict or stave off death with a single blow.
The key skill for Life's Blood maneuvers is Heal and its associated weapons are the kukri, light hammer, punching dagger, and unarmed strike.

MASTER'S VOICE
Master's Voice is the discipline of command, teaching its students both to inspire their allies and dishearten their foes. The origins of the discipline are unclear, though many believe it was developed by a group of swordsage followers of Bahamut who went on to become dragonborn. Before their rebirth, they taught themselves to emulate several of the powers of their dragon diety, including his mighty breath weapon.
The associated skill is Perform (oratory) and its weapons are blowgun, breath weapon, dragonsbreath*, longsword, and shortsword.

TWIN SPIRIT
(description by The Demented One as this is his discipline)
The Twin Spirit discipline is a newly emerged martial discipline, emphasizing mounted combat and tactics. It was created years after the fall of the Temple of Nine Swords by a paladin trained at the hands of Reshar himself, the legendary warrior who had united the original nine martial disciplines. After the death of Reshar and the collapse of the Temple, the paladin retreated into seclusion, where he trained both himself and his beloved mount in the ways of the martial adept. Eventually, he and his mount came to fight together perfectly as one, in what he would come to call the Twin Spirit discipline.
The key skill of the Twin Spirit discipline is Ride. The associated weapons of the discipline are the lance, longsword, and scimitar.

WANDERING EYE
All warfare is based on deception. Students of the Wandering Eye discipline take this to heart, as it emphasizes both strategy and guile. The maneuvers focus on feinting, making an opponent look the wrong way before the devestating blow lands. While it is conceptually similar to Shadow Hand, the gnome philosopher-general who developed it was disdainful of the supernatual. As such, he incorporated it sparingly, focusing on skillful misdirection rather than magical darkness.
The associated skill is Bluff and weapons are the dagger-fan*, hand crossbow, rapier, sap, and sword-fan*.

DISCIPLINE SWAPPING
With the additional of several new disciplines, some will wish to have the original martial adepts from Tome of Battle learn them, most likely in place of a discipline they would otherwise learn. Below are two ways to accomplish this.

DECIDING WHAT CAN BE SWAPPED
The table at the start of the next chapter has several entries with the value 'swap.' These disciplines are the ones that seemed most thematically appropriate to be learned by the listed martial adepts and it is recommended that these be the only possible swaps. By default, if you wish to allow swapping, a character playing one of the original martial adepts from Tome of Battle may swap any number of disciplines they would normally learn for those listed as swappable. If you would prefer to preserve the bulk of each adept's default disciplines, the Different Training trait described below provides a way to limit the number of swaps.

HOW SWAPPING WORKS
A character playing a martial adept chooses a discipline on their standard list and one which they are eligible to swap in based on the decision made in the previous section. If the new discipline's associated skill is not already on that adept's skill list, add it to the list and remove the associated skill of the existing discipline. If the adept's skill list already contains both skills, no changes are necessary. Add the swapped in discipline to the list of disciplines available for level in that martial adept class and remove the old discipline.

LIMITING DISCIPLINE SWAPPING
If the idea of allowing unlimited discipline swapping is unappealing, you can limit the number of swaps allowed by making discipline swapping a character trait, like those in Unearthed Arcana.
DIFFERENT TRAINING [TRAIT]
Your training in the Sublime Way differs from those who take a similar path.
Benefit: Select a martial discipline that you are eligible to swap in. You add this disciple to the list of those available to you and add its associated skill to your class skill list if not already present.
Drawback: You remove one martial discipline from the list of disciplines available to you and remove its associated skill from your class skill list if you added one as the result of this trait's benefit.
Special: This trait can only be selected if your first class level is a martial adept. This trait may be selected multiple times, each time selecting different disciplines to add and remove.

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 05:10 PM
{table=head]Discipline|Crusader|Firebrand|Huntsman|Mercenary|S oldier|Swordsage|Warblade

Circling Vulture|no|no|no|yes|choice|swap|no

Crashing Wave|no|no|no|no|choice|no|swap

Desert Wind|no|yes|no|no|no|yes|no

Devoted Spirit|yes|no|yes|no|no|no|no

Diamond Mind|no|no|no|no|choice|yes|yes

Giant's Grip|no|no|no|no|choice|swap|no

Iron Heart|no|no|no|no|choice|no|yes

Iron Rain|no|no|choice|yes|no|swap|swap

Life's Blood|no|no|yes|yes|no|swap|no

Master's Voice|swap|yes|no|no|no|no|no

Setting Sun|no|no|no|no|choice|yes|no

Shadow Hand|no|no|no|yes|no|yes|no

Stone Dragon|yes|no|no|no|no|yes|yes

Tiger Claw|no|no|choice|no|no|yes|yes

Twin Spirit|swap|no|yes|no|no|no|swap

Wandering Eye|no|yes|no|yes|no|swap|swap

White Raven|yes|yes|no|no|no|no|yes

[/table]


MANEUVER AND STANCE LIST

1ST LEVEL
Circle_Bare Talons: Boost--Quickly draw or sheath a weapon
_______Light on Your Feet: Stance--Gain fly speed and Jump bonuses.
_______Single Theft: Strike--Disarm an opponent, send the weapon flying.
Crash__Flowing Feet: Stance--Use Swim checks to Tumble
_______Ripple Force: Strike--bull rush an opponent with great force
_______Swim on Land: Boost--gain bonus based on Swim ranks or swim speed
_______Underwater Warrior: Stance--gain hold breath and swim speed
Giant__Bruising Grip: Boost--Grapples deal +1d6 damage +1/initiator level
_______Confounding Strike: Strike--Opponent cannot make attacks of opportunity.
_______Cranking the Rack: Stance--Expose your opponents to your allies' weapons.
_______Quick Escape: Boost--Free yourself as a swift action
Iron___Archer's Evasion: Boost--Avoid attacks of opportunity for movement.
_______Soft Targeting: Stance--Negate DR by Spot.
Life___Contusing Blade: Boost--deal extra precision damage
_______Frozen Leg: Strike--make target briefly unable to move
_______Head on Straight: Counter--heal 1d6 +1/initiator level, remove one condition
_______Killer Instinct: Stance--sense the health of those nearby
Master_Rattling Strike: Strike--use perform check to make enemy flat-footed
_______Strength in Numbers: Boost--allies grant you bonuses on attack
_______Talk Tough: Stance--gain DR based on Perform ranks
Twin___Forceful Charge: Strike--Deal an extra 1d6 damage on a charge.
_______Ride the Wind: Stance--Increase your steed’s land speed based on your ranks in the Ride skill.
_______Tactical Charge: Boost--Turn during a charge.
_______Trampling Strike: Strike--Both you and your mount attack a foe.
Wander_Confusing Strike: Strike--make foe you strike confused
_______Deceptive Flanker: Stance--gain higher flanking bonus based on rank in Bluff
_______Quick Trick: Boost--feint as swift action


2ND LEVEL
Circle_Talon Strike: Strike--Attack with three natural weapons
_______Weapon Lock: Counter--Relieve an opponent of a weapon he misses with.
Crash__Break on the Rocks: Counter--shield bash a charging enemy
_______Relentless Tide: Strike--move through enemies to strike your target
Giant__Weakening Strike: Strike--Attack deals 2 points of Strength damage
_______Wrist Lock: Strike--Grapple foe, apply pressure to a critical joint.
Iron___Dummy Shot: Counter--Make feint against opponent to gain temporary AC.
_______Flanking Shot: Strike--Cause target to be flanked.
_______Multiple Shot: Strike--Gain extra attack at BAB; take -2 penalty to BAB.
_______Opportunist's Shot: Counter--Take a ranged attack of opportunity.
Life___Intestinal Fortitude: Counter--Use Heal check in place of Fortitude save.
_______Knee Side Strike: Strike--Make Heal check, deal +2d6 and possibly precision damage
_______Rush to the Scene: Boost--increase base speed by half.
Master_Battle Cry: Strike--deal d6 + initiator level sonic damage
_______Distraction: Boost--enemies you strike are flanked
_______Timely Advice: Counter--ally re-rolls any save
Twin___Grounding Blow: Strike--Knock a foe prone.
_______Leap From the Saddle: Strike--Jump off your mount and attack.
_______Ride Unhindered: Stance--Charge and run over difficult terrain.
Wander_Double Bluff: Strike--feint applies to one attack per weapon
_______Knock Off-Kilter: Boost--cause opponents to be flanked with sneak attacks
_______Opportune Moment: Counter--feint when making an attack of opportunity


3RD LEVEL
Circle_Circling Charge: Strike--Turn while charging, deal +10 damage; double if flying
_______Painful Theft: Strike--Disarm an opponent, deal damage.
_______Sticky Fingers: Stance--Gain bonus to disarm
Crash__Cresting Power: Boost--deal bludgeoning damage as if you were one size larger
_______Geyser Force: Strike--use bull rush to lift opponent into the air
_______Weight Into It: Stance--Deal damage when bull rushing
Giant__Elbow Lock: Strike--Grapple foe, apply pressure to a critical joint.
_______Iron Fist: Stance--Unarmed strikes bypass some DR
_______Walk the Weapon: Counter--Move next to an opponent who attacks you in melee.
Iron___Caltrop Arrows: Counter--Impede an enemy's advance by putting arrowheads in front of his feat.
_______Ride the Storm: Stance--Avoid most negative effects of wind.
Life___Exacting Stance: Stance--Gain skirmish +2d6
_______Healing Palm: Counter--gain temporary hit points
_______Muscle Weakness: Strike--deal 2 points of physical ability damage
_______Surgical Strike: Strike--use Heal check in place of damage
Master_Fire Eater: Counter--Absorb and redirect energy attack
_______Pep Talk: Stance--grant allies attack and bonus
_______Reassuring Charge: Strike--charge an enemy; inspire others
_______Trash Talk: Stance--enemies take attack penalty
Twin___Measured Strike: Strike--Deal double damage.
_______Penetrating Charge: Strike--Deal an extra 4d6 damage on a charge and increase critical modifier.
_______Stand Together: Counter--Resist damage with a Ride check.
Wander_Rascal Blade: Boost--gain 2d6 + DEX sneak attack damage
_______Tag Team: Counter--flank and strike an opponent
_______When Strong, Appear Weak: Stance--take AC penalty to gain attack bonus


4TH LEVEL
Circle_Complete Theft: Strike--Disarm all weapons an opponent holds.
_______Talon Strike, Greater: Strike--Attack with all your natural weapons.
_______What it Takes to Survive: Boost--Defeat foe, heal 2d6 + 1/initiator level hit points
Crash__Gripping Water: Counter--use bull rush to avoid being tripped or grappled
_______Turbulent Charge: Strike--Charge an enemy; bull rush others with your wake
_______Water Splitting Stone: Strike--sunder, dealing bonus damage equal to initiator level
Giant__Crushing Grip: Boost--Grapples deal +2d6 damage +1/initiator level
_______Flying Fists: Strike--Attack with natural weapons and unarmed strikes at greater range
_______Lean Into It: Counter--Grab hold of an enemy that strikes you in melee
Iron___Alarming Alacrity: Boost--Make an additional attack.
_______Full Quiver: Stance--Never run out of arrows.
_______Trick Shot: Counter--Make immediate disarm attempt against attacker.
Life___Cleansing Blow: Counter--heal 2d6 +1/initiator level, remove sickness and poison
_______Lacerating Blade: Boost--deal extra precision damage
_______Philtrum Strike: Strike--Make Heal check, deal +3d6 and possibly precision. damage
Master_Bellowing Breath: Strike--deal 2d6 + initiator level sonic damage in a 15-ft line
_______Clear the Way: Counter--let two allies attack while you defend
_______Screeching Blows: Boost--deafen enemies with your attacks
Twin___Burst of Speed: Boost--Double your mount’s speed while charging.
_______Crushing Stampede: Stance--Ignore foe’s damage reduction while mounted.
_______Staggering Blow: Strike--Deal an extra 2d6 damage, limit opponent to single actions
Wander_Dirtied Blade Strike: Strike--blind an opponent and gain a second attack
_______Dramatic Death: Counter--drop prone and feign death


5TH LEVEL
Circle_Distracting Blade: Stance--Gain AC bonus based on weapon enhancement.
_______Stunning Theft: Strike--Disarm, possibly stun an enemy.
_______Weapon Trap: Counter--Replace your AC with a sleight of hand check, stop further attacks.
Crash__Softer Than Water: Stance--reduce damage done by critical hits
_______Swim Away: Counter--use Swim check in place of Reflex save; move away
_______Wave Force: Strike--bull rush multiple opponents
Giant__Adaptive Attack: Counter--Reroll an attack.
_______Shield of Muscle: Stance--Add half your Con bonus to your AC instead of Dex.
_______Shoulder Lock: Strike--Grapple foe, apply pressure to a critical joint.
Iron___Defense of the Swift Arrow: Stance--Provoke no attacks of opportunity for ranged attacks.
_______Quicker than the Eye: Strike--Attack ignores enemy's dexterity.
_______Strafe: Stance--Gain the ability to deal more damage when you move.
Life___Fleet Feet: Stance--skirmish after 5 ft instead of 10
_______Muscle Death: Strike--deal 4 points of physical ability damage
Master_Aura of Command: Stance--affect one creature as with control undead
_______Aura of Persuasion: Stance--affect one creature as with charm person
_______Frightful Beating: Strike--cause feat as part of full attack
_______Resonating Blow: Strike--deal double damage to sunder
Twin___Hurl Weapon: Strike--Throw a weapon, deal an extra 4d6 damage.
_______Mounted Assault: Stance--Gain Ride-By Attack as a bonus feat, make extra attacks.
_______Overwhelming Charge: Strike--Deal an extra 6d6 damage on a charge and knock out your opponent.
Wander_Bob and Weave: Stance--gain a miss chance
_______Fake Out: Strike--feint applies to all attacks with one weapon
_______Gut Punch: Strike--Successful attack leaves your enemy nauseated


6TH LEVEL
Circle_Scent of Blood: Boost--Locate enemies who are magically hiding
_______Vulture Dash: Strike--Gain bite attack, full attack on charge
Crash__Raging River: Strike--charge an enemy, moving through others
_______White Water Rapids: Boost--bull rush on successful attacks
Giant__Disciplined Force: Boost--Increase your Base Attack Bonus and strike DCs.
_______Full Nelson: Strike--Grapple foe, apply pressure to a critical joint.
_______Strong Arm Defense: Counter--Use grapple check to dodge attack.
Iron___Always Ready: Counter--Make a single ranged attack as an imediate action.
_______Covering Fire: Strike--Fill an area with arrows; automatically hit anyone that enters.
_______Hit the Crowd: Strike--Target a block of creatures as if they were one.
Life___Greater Surgical Strike: Strike--use double Heal check in place of damage
_______Revive Muscle: Counter--gain HP and heal physical ability damage
Master_Deafening Shout: Strike--deal sonic damage and deafen enemies in a 20 foot cone
_______Hazing: Counter--use peform check to daze enemy
_______Start a Revolution: Strike--charge; grant allies a free attack
Twin___Fight as One: Strike--Both you and mount may make a full attack at end of a charge.
_______Trampling Charge: Strike--Deal an extra 6d6 damage on a charge, mount may attack additional foes.
Wander_Bite of the Wasp: Strike--Attack opponents in a line without their notice
_______Scoundrel Blade: Boost--gain 3d6 + initiator level sneak attack


7TH LEVEL
Circle_Strong Arm Theft: Strike--Disarm and damage one or two opponents.
Crash__Shipwrecked Weapon: Counter--sunder an incoming weapon
_______Typhoon Force: Strike--bull rush many opponents towards or away from you
Giant__Avalanche of Blows: Strike--Make multiple attacks on a charge.
_______Pulverizing Grip: Boost--Grapples deal +3d6 damage +1/initiator level
Iron___Hail of Arrows: Strike--Make full attack; gain three extra attacks.
_______Intercepting Arrow Kata: Stance--Block incoming arrows by shooting them with your own.
Life___Floating Rib Strike: Strike--Make Heal check, deal +3d6 and possibly precision damage.
_______Perforating Blade: Boost--deal extra precision damage
Master_All For One: Strike--attack with two allies
_______Expose Weakness: Boost--allies gain bonuses against enemies you strike
Twin___Battering Charge: Strike--Deal an extra 10d6 damage on a charge and push back your foe.
_______Maiming Blow: Strike--Deal an extra 8d6 damage, 1d4 Str and Con damage.
Wander_Lie in Wait: Strike--enemy become flat-footed; deal additional damage
_______Seize the Opportunity: Counter--confirm a critical threat and deal strength damage


8TH LEVEL
Circle_Learning to Fly: Stance--Gain or increase fly speed.
_______Weapon Crush: Counter--Replace AC with Sleight of Hand, possibly disarm and sunder weapon.
Crash__Canyon Flood: Strike--charge, bull rush a line of enemies
_______Ebb and Flow: Stance--5ft step when enemy misses; movement bonuses
Giant__Choke Hold: Strike--Grapple foe, render him helpless.
_______Human Shield: Counter--Redirect attack to enemy you are grappling.
_______Touch the Untouchable: Stance--Grapple enemies despite mystical protection.
Iron___Storm of Arrows: Strike--Shoot arrows equal to DEX mod.
_______Supreme Efficiency: Stance--Reduce the penalty for iterative attacks to 3.
Life___Back From the Brink: Counter--avoid becoming disabled or dying
_______Fight and Flight: Stance--avoid attacks and respond with your own
Master_Banshee Wail: Strike--deal sonic damage and possibly stun in a 30 ft burst
_______Lead By Fear: Stance--gain frightful prescence
Twin___Flawless Horsemanship: Counter--Add ranks in Ride to saves as a competence bonus.
_______Shatter the Unbreakable: Strike--Deal extra damage based on enemy’s damage reduction.
Wander_Ambusher: Stance--use Hide skill when others can not
_______Sow Discord: Boost--confuse multiple enemies
_______Trickster's Gambit: Strike--deny one or more opponents DEX bonus to AC


9TH LEVEL
Circle_Massive Theft: Strike--Disarm multiple opponents.
Crash__Tsunami Force: Strike--Bull rush adjacent opponents up and away
Giant__Remove the Head: Strike--Grapple foe and kill him instantly.
Iron___Cyclone of Arrows: Strike--Shoot every enemy within one range increment.
Life___Death Strike: Strike--target vital nerve, killing creature instantly.
Master_Howling Charge: Strike--deal bonus sonic damage on charging full attack
Twin___Ride of the War God: Strike--Deal an extra 20d6 damage on a charge, charge again if you drop a foe.
Wander_Victory In 100 Battles: Strike--make full attack of touch attacks

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 05:12 PM
CIRCLING VULTURE
The Circling Vulture discipline is rumored to have been developed by one of the flying races and, as such, some of its maneuvers are best used by those capable of flight, In it's current form, the discipline emphasizes reducing an enemy's means of fighting back and then striking quickly and decisively. It has become common among both criminals and officers of the peace as both have the need to relieve others of things their weapons or, in the first case, property. The discipline's associated skill is Sleight of Hand and its weapons are the claw, nunchaku, sai, unarmed strike, and whip.

BARE TALONS
Circling Vulture (Boost)
Level: Soldier 1, Mercenary 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
Draw a hidden weapon as a swift action or make a sleight of hand check to hide a held weapon on your body as a swift action.

CIRCLING CHARGE
Circling Vulture (Strike)
Level: Soldier 3, Mercenary 3
Prerequisite: 1 Circling Vulture maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 full round action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a charge attack against an opponent. You may turn up to 90 degrees once during the charge. If the charge attack hits, you deal an additional 10 damage. If you initiate this maneuver while flying, the charge is considered a dive attack, even if it does not meet the normal movement requirements. and, as such, deals double damage.

COMPLETE THEFT
Circling Vulture (Strike)
Level: Soldier 4, Mercenary 4
Prerequisite: 1 Circling Vulture maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Disarm attack
Target: One creature
This maneuver functions like Single Theft except as noted here. You make a separate disarm attempt at your full base attack bonus at each weapon held by the enemy and you may have each weapon land in a different square within 10 feet. If disarming with an unarmed strike, you may retain posession of either weapon.

DISTRACTING BLADE
Circling Vulture (Stance)
Level: Soldier 5, Mercenary 5
Prerequisite: 2 Circling Vulture maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance, you gain a dodge bonus to your AC equal to the enhancement bonus of a weapon, but not a shield, you wield. If you have two weapons, use the higher of the two values.

LEARNING TO FLY
Circling Vulture (Stance)
Level: Soldier 8, Mercenary 8
Prerequisite: 3 Circling Vulture maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
If you do not already have a fly speed, you gain one equal to your base land speed. Your maneuverability is based on your Dexterity score as shown below. This aspect of the stance is a supernatural ability.
{table=head]Dexterity|Maneuverability

10 or less|poor

11 - 16|average

17 - 22|good

23 or more|perfect

[/table]
If you already have a fly speed, increase your fly speed by your average land speed and increase your maneuverability by two categories. This aspect is not supernatural.

LIGHT ON YOUR FEET
Circling Vulture (Stance)
Level: Soldier 1, Mercenary 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance, you gain a 10-ft enhancement bonus to your fly speed, if you have one, and a +5 bonus on all Jump checks.

MASSIVE THEFT
Circling Vulture (Strike)
Level: Soldier 9, Mercenary 9
Prerequisite: 4 Circling Vulture maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Disarm attack
Target: All creatures in range
This maneuver functions like Single Theft, except as noted here. You make a single disarm attempt at your full base attack bonus against each enemy within your weapon range. You may have each weapon you disarm in this way land anywhere within 10 feet of the oppoent that wielded it or. If disarming with an unarmed strike, you may instead maintain posession of any one weapon you disarmed.

PAINFUL THEFT
Circling Vulture (Strike)
Level: Soldier 3, Mercenary 3
Prerequisite: 1 Circling Vulture maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Disarm attack
Target: One creature
You strike both weapon and arm, the pain forcing your opponent's weapon to leap from his grasp. This maneuver functions like Single Theft, except as noted here. If you successfully disarm the opponent, they take 1d6 damage +1 point per initiator level and you may have the weapon land anywhere within 10 feet of the enemy instead of in an adjacent space.

SCENT OF BLOOD
Circling Vulture (Boost)
Level: Soldier 6, Mercenary 6
Prerequisite: 2 Circling Vulture maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
When you initiate this maneuver, you can see creatures through normal and magical darkness, see the exact locations of creatures or objects under blur or displacement effects, and see invisible creatures normally. This effect lasts until the end of your current turn.
This maneuver is a supernatural effect.

SINGLE THEFT
Circling Vulture (Strike)
Level: Soldier 1, Mercenary 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Disarm attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a disarm attempt against an opponent, but you do not provoke attacks of opportunity, and your opponent cannot try to disarm you if you lose the opposed check. You gain a +4 bonus on your attack roll to disarm the opponent. If you succeed in disarming your foe, you may have the weapon land in any space adjacent to the enemy. You may choose to have the weapon land in an adjacent space even if you are disarming them with an unarmed strike.

STICKY FINGERS
Circling Vulture (Stance)
Level: Soldier 3, Mercenary 3
Prerequisite: 1 Circling Vulture maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance, you gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls made to disarm an opponent and this bonus increases by half your initiator level, rounded down, when you are fighting defensively or using the Combat Expertise feat.

STRONG ARM THEFT
Circling Vulture (Strike)
Level: Soldier 7, Mercenary 7
Prerequisite: 3 Circling Vulture maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Disarm attack
Target: One or two creatures in range
This maneuver functions like Painful Theft except as noted here. You make separate disarm attempts at your full base attack bonus targeting two weapons within your range; either two weapons held by the same opponent or one weapon each held by two opponents. Each time you successfully disarm an opponent, he takes 6d6 damage and you may have the weapon land anywhere within 10 feet of that opponent, even if disarming with an unarmed strike.

STUNNING THEFT
Circling Vulture (Strike)
Level: Soldier 5, Mercenary 5
Prerequisite: 2 Circling Vulture maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Disarm attack
Target: One creature
You knock an opponent's weapon into his head as you relieve him of it. This maneuver functions like Painful Theft except, if the opponent is disarmed, the damage dealt is 3d6 +1 point per initiator level and he must succeed on a Fort save (DC = damage done) or be stunned for one round.

TALON STRIKE
Circling Vulture (Strike)
Level: Soldier 2, Mercenary 2
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Weapon range
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you attack with up to three of your natural weapons against one opponent. All attacks must be against the same opponent and you take a -2 penalty on all of the attack rolls. If the first or second strike reduces the opponent to -1 or fewer hit points, you may not make the remaining attacks. If you initiate this maneuver while flying, double the threat range of the natural weapons you use as if they had the keen weapon property.

TALON STRIKE, GREATER
Circling Vulture (Strike)
Level: Soldier 4, Mercenary 4
Prerequisite: 1 Circling Vulture maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Weapon range
Target: one creature
This maneuver functions like Talon Strike, except that you may attac with all your natural weapons and the penalty on attack rolls is reduced to -1.

VULTURE DASH
Circling Vulture (Strike)
Level: Soldier 6, Mercenary 6
Prerequisite: 2 Circling Vulture maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full round action
Range: Weapon range
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a charge attack against an opponent. Instead of making a single attack, you may make a full attack, including a bite attack (damage d8+STR). The bonus on attack rolls granted by the charge applies to all attacks. If you initiate this maneuver while flying, it is considered a dive attack even if it does not meet the movement requirements and, as such, all attacks deal double damage.

WEAPON CRUSH
Circling Vulture (Counter)
Level: Soldier 8, Mercenary 8
Prerequisite: 3 Circling Vulture maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
If your opponent strikes you on his turn, you can replace your AC with a Sleight of Hand check with a bonus equal to your Strength modifier as an immediate action. You must decide whether to initiate this maneuver before you know the result of your opponent's attack (but after the attack is declared). Your Sleight of Hand check applies to only one attack. You must not be flat footed and be aware of the attack to use this maneuver. If your opponent misses, the opponent is disarmed and you may attempt to sunder the weapon without provoking an attack of opportunity.

WEAPON LOCK
Circling Vulture (Counter)
Level: Soldier 2, Mercenary 2
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You may initiate this maneuver whenever an opponent misses you with a melee attack. As part of this maneuver, you may make a sleight of hand check (DC = the enemy's attack roll). If the check succeeds, the opponent is disarmed of this weapon and, if you have at least one free hand, you may hold it in that hand. Add 4 to the DC if the weapon in question is a two-handed weapon and another 4 for each size category the opponent is larger than you. If the weapon being disarmed is attached to a locked gauntlet, increase the DC of the check by 10.

WEAPON TRAP
Circling Vulture (Counter)
Level: Soldier 5, Mercenary 5
Prerequisite: 2 Circling Vulture maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You may initiate this maneuver whenever an opponent strikes you on his turn. As an immediate action, you may replace your AC with the result of a Sleight of Hand check. You must decide whether to initiate this maneuver before you know the result of your opponent's attack (but after the attack is declared). Your Sleight of Hand check applies to only one attack. You must not be flat footed and be aware of the attack to use this maneuver. If your opponent misses, he can make no more attacks with that weapon this round.

WHAT IT TAKES TO SURVIVE
Circling Vulture (Boost)
Level: Soldier 4, Mercenary 4
Prerequisite: 1 Circling Vulture maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
You may initiate this maneuver whenever you reduce a living opponent within your natural reach to -1 or lower hit points. You draw strength from their death and heal 2d6 points of damage and +1 point per initiator level (maximum +15).

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 05:14 PM
CRASHING WAVE
The Crashing Wave discipline was created by the warriors of various seafaring and aquatic races based on the movements of the tides and then adapted by the frontline soldiers of many other nations who realized the clear connection to the ebb and flow of the line of battle. The associated skill is Swim and its weapons are armor spikes, the spear, all shields, and the trident.

BREAK ON THE ROCKS
Crashing Wave (Counter)
Level: Soldier 2
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You may initiate this maneuver whenever a charing opponent enters a space you threaten with a shield you wield. You may make a single shield bash attack against that opponent. For every five points of damage it deals, that opponent takes a -1 penalty on attacks made against you this round.

CANYON FLOOD
Crashing Wave (Strike)
Level: Soldier 8
Prerequisite: 3 Crashing Wave maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: charge attack
Target: 60 ft line
As part of this maneuver, you charge in a 60 ft line and can bull rush each enemy you encounter. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity for your movement both before and while bull rushing. You gain a +2 bonu on all bull rushes for each opponent you are already pushing. At the end of the charge, each opponent takes damage equal to your initiator level plus 1d6 for each enemy bull-rushed and moves into an adjacent square.

CRESTING POWER
Crashing Wave (Boost)
Level: Soldier 3
Prerequisite: 1 Crashing Wave maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
For the remainder of your turn, attacks you make with bludgeoning weapons deal damage as if the weapon were one size category larger.

EBB AND FLOW
Crashing Wave (Stance)
Level: Soldier 8
Prerequisite: 3 Crashing Wave maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, whenever an enemy's attack misses you, you may take a 5ft step and an additional 5ft step if you succeed on a Tumble or Swim check (DC = enemy's attack roll). You may also tumble at full speed as if tumbling at half speed and move through enemies as if moving through allies.

FLOWING FEET
Crashing Wave (Stance)
Level: Soldier 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, whenever you would make a Tumble check, you may instead use the result of a Swim check to determine if your check succeeded.

GEYSER FORCE
Crashing Wave (Strike)
Level: Soldier 3
Prerequisite: 1 Crashing Wave maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: melee attack
Target: One creature
This maneuver functions like Ripple Force, except as noted here. You gain a +1 bonus on the strength check made to bull rush the opponent for every 5 feet you have moved this round and the enemy moves 5 ft into the air and an additional 5 ft for each 5 points by which your check result is greater than the defender’s check result instead of moving that many feet backwards. He must also succeed on a Reflex save (DC 13 + your CON modifier) or fall prone.

GRIPPING WATER
Crashing Wave (Counter)
Level: Soldier 4
Prerequisite: 1 Crashing Wave maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You may initiate this maneuver whenever an opponent declares a trip or grapple attempt against you but before the result is known. You make a bull rush attempt against that opponent and, if you win the check, their trip or grapple attempt fails.

RAGING RIVER
Crashing Wave (Strike)
Level: Soldier 6
Prerequisite: 2 Crashing Wave maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full round action
Range: charge attack
Target: One creature; see text
As part of this maneuver you make a charge attack against an opponent. While charging, you can turn up to 90 degrees a number of times equal to your Dexterity modifier and move through spaces occupied by both enemies and allies. You may make a single attack against each enemy you pass. You may tumble as part of this charge to avoid attacks of opportunity.

RELENTLESS TIDE
Crashing Wave (Strike)
Level: Soldier 2
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: charge attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you must charge an opponent. You may turn once up to 90 degrees and charge through spaces occupied by allies, but not by enemies, when making this attack.

RIPPLE FORCE
Crashing Wave (Strike)
Level: Soldier 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: melee attack
Target: One creature
As part of this manveuver, you make a bull rush attempt against an adjacent opponent. Resolve the bull rush as normal, except you do not provoke attacks of opportunity for your movement and do not have to move with the opponent if you move the opponent more than 5 ft. You may use your Dexterity modifier in place of your Strength modifier in the bull rush attempt and gain a +4 bonus on the check.

SHIPWRECKED WEAPON
Crashing Wave (Counter)
Level: Soldier 7
Prerequisite: 3 Crashing Wave maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
As an immediate action, you can make a sunder attempt against a weapon within your melee range that is attacking you. You gain a +2 bonus on the attack roll, deal extra damage equal to your initiator level, and do not provoke an attack of opportunity.
You can use this maneuver after the opponent declares his attack but before the result is known.

SOFTER THAN WATER
Crashing Wave (Stance)
Level: Soldier 5
Prerequisite: 2 Crashing Wave maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
You let otherwise devastating attacks fall off you like water off a duck's back.
Whenever an enemy hits you and threatens a critical hit, you may attempt a Swim check (DC = the enemy's attack roll) to reduce the critical multiplier of his damage roll by 1. You may not do this when the enemy has rolled a natural 20.

SWIM AWAY
Crashing Wave (Counter)
Level: Soldier 5
Prerequisite: 2 Crashing Wave maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You can use this maneuver whenever you would normally make a Reflex save. Make a Swim check instead and use that to determine if you succeeded. You must initiate this maneuver before attempting the Reflex save. You do not automatically fail if you roll a 1 on your Swim check. If your check succeeds and the Reflex save would normally result in half damage, you instead take no damage and can move a number of feet equal to the result of your check rounded down to the nearest 5 ft.

SWIM ON LAND
Crashing Wave (Boost)
Level: Soldier 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
For the rest of the round, your base land speed increases by either your swim speed or your Swim modifier, rounded down to the nearest five, whichever is higher.

TSUNAMI FORCE
Crashing Wave (Strike)
Level: Soldier 9
Prerequisite: 4 Crashing Wave maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One or more creatures
This maneuver functions like Ripple Force except as noted here. You may bull rush each adjacent opponent without moving and each opponent you bull rush is moved into the air a distance equal to double the distance you push them back. They each take 6d6 bludgeoning damage in addition to fall damage as usual.

TURBULENT CHARGE
Crashing Wave (Strike)
Level: Soldier 4
Prerequisite: 1 Crashing Wave maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: charge attack
Target: One creature; see text
As part of this maneuver, you make a charging bull rush attack against an enemy, gaining an additional +2 on the Strength checks. If you make this charge under or on the surface of a body of water, make a bull rush attempt against each enemy you pass without moving into their spaces, but they only move half of any additional distance beyond 5 ft and you continue moving if these bull rushes fail.

TYPHOON FORCE
Crashing Wave (Strike)
Level: Soldier 7
Prerequisite: 3 Crashing Wave maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full round action
Range: 30 ft burst
Target: One or more creatures
As part of this maneuver, you make a single Strength or Dexterity check. Each opponent within 30 ft must make an opposed Strength check and, if their check is less than yours, you may move them as if you had made a successful bull rush against them. If you are pushing them away, subtract a number of feet from the distance you move them equal to their distance from you to a minimum of 5 ft.
This maneuver is a supernatural effect.

UNDERWATER WARRIOR
Crashing Wave (Stance)
Level: Soldier 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance, you can hold your breath underwater for a number of minutes equal to your initiator level and gain a swim speed equal to 10 ft less than your base land speed.

WATER SPLITTING STONE
Crashing Wave (Strike)
Level: Soldier 4
Prerequisite: 1 Crashing Wave maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: sunder attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a single sunder attack, but do not provoke an attack of opportunity and gain a bonus on the damage roll equal to your initiator level.

WAVE FORCE
Crashing Wave (Strike)
Level: Soldier 5
Prerequisite: 2 Crashing Wave maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: bull rush attack
Target: Two creatures or 15 ft. cone; see text
This maneuver functions like Ripple Force, except as noted here. You bull rush one or two adjacent opponents (adjacent both to you and to each other). If you are on or below the surface of a body of water, apply the same bull rush check to all enemies within a 15ft cone in the direction of the original enemy or enemies.

WEIGHT INTO IT
Crashing Wave (Stance)
Level: Soldier 3
Prerequisite: 1 Crashing Wave maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, you deal 2d6 damage + 1.5 times your CON modifier whenever you win a bull rush check.

WHITE WATER RAPIDS
Crashing Wave (Boost)
Level: Soldier 6
Prerequisite: 2 Crashing Wave maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
For the rest of the turn, whenever you strike an opponent with a bludgeoning weapon, you may initiate a bull rush against that opponent as a free action without entering their space. If you move with the opponent, you do not provoke an attack of opportunity.

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 05:15 PM
GIANT'S GRIP
The broken joints and crushed bones of opponents are the signature of the Giant's Grip discipline. Its practitioners have learned that many so-called warriors become frightened children when shown just how many weaknesses their bodies possess. Though weapons have their uses, most Giant's Grip practitioners forgo them in favor of the more primitive and brutal combat to be found in a grapple. Escape Artist is the associated skill for Giant's Grip and its associated weapons are the claw, mancatcher, scorpion claws, unarmed strike, and grapple.

ADAPTIVE ATTACK
Giant's Grip (Counter)
Level: Soldier 5
Prerequisite: 2 Giant's Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
With quick reflexes, you correct a flaw in your attack before it fails.
Reroll any one attack roll or grapple, trip or disarm attempt with a +3 bonus.

AVALANCHE OF BLOWS
Giant's Grip (Strike)
Level: Soldier 7
Prerequisite: 3 Giant's Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
With a piercing whoop, you launch yourself at an enemy and deliver a lightning fast barrage of blows.
As part of initiating this maneuver, you make a charge attack. Instead of making a single attack at the end of your charge, you can make a three attacks at your full base attack bonus. You do not gain the standard bonus on your attack rolls for making a charge attack, but still take the penalty to your Armor Class.

BRUISING GRIP
Giant's Grip (Boost)
Level: Soldier 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
Your vice-like grip leaves your opponents black and blue.
For the rest of your turn, you deal an extra 1d6 points of damage +1 point per initiator level when Damaging Your Opponent in a grapple.

CHOKE HOLD
Giant's Grip (Strike)
Level: Soldier 8
Prerequisite: 3 Giant's Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Your arm slides around your opponent's neck and crushes the flow of air to its brain until he collapses.
This maneuver functions like Wrist Lock (2nd level strike) except as noted here.
If you win the grapple check, your opponent is pinned and helpless until the end of your next turn. A Fortitude save (DC 18 + your STR modifier) negates the helplessness but not the pin. For each 5 you beat the opposed grapple check by, the DC increases by 2. On its turn, the opponent gets another saving throw.

CONFOUNDING STRIKE
Giant's Grip (Strike)
Level: Soldier 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
You strike from an odd angle, leaving your opponent unsure what you'll do next.
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack against an opponent. If your attack hits, you deal normal melee damage and the opponent is unable to make attacks of opportunity against you until the end of your next turn. It can make attacks of opportunities against other characters as normal.

CRANKING THE RACK
Giant's Grip (Stance)
Level: Soldier 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
You twist your opponents spine, exposing his weaknesses to those who fight with you.
While you are in this stance and grappling an opponent, all allies increase the threat range of their weapons by 1 when attacking that opponent.

CRUSHING GRIP
Giant's Grip (Boost)
Level: Soldier 4
Prerequisite: 1 Giant's Grip maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
The blood of your opponent rings in your ears, then falls silent as you arrest its flow.
Your grip tightens and you feel your opponent's pulse slowing as you crush the artery against the bone. For the rest of your turn, you deal an extra 2d6 points of damage +1 point per initiator level when Damaging Your Opponent in a grapple.

DISCIPLINED FORCE
Giant's Grip (Boost)
Level: Soldier 6
Prerequisite: 2 Giant's Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
You study your opponent and determine where best to strike.
Your base attack bonus becomes equal to your initiator level if it is higher (which may give you additional attacks). Addtionally, the DC for the save of any strike you use this round is increased by 3.

ELBOW LOCK
Giant's Grip (Strike)
Level: Soldier 3
Prerequisite: 1 Giant's Grip maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
You bend your opponent's arm behind him and torque the elbow, causing pain which only increases as he struggles to break free.
This maneuver functions like Wrist Lock (2nd level strike) except as noted here.
If you win the grapple check, you deal an additional 3d6 damage and are considered to be pinning the targeted opponent. Additionally, that opponent takes d6 damage on each unsuccessful attempt to break the pin.

FLYING FISTS
Giant's Grip (Strike)
Level: Soldier 4
Prerequisite: 1 Giant's Grip maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: 20 feet
Target: One or more creatures
Catching opponents off guard, you strike at those who think they are at a safe distance.
As part of this maneuver, you make all of your unarmed strike and natural weapon attacks as if their natural reach were increased by 5 feet and can not make attacks with manufactured weapons. Your unarmed strikes and natural weapons count as one-handed weapons rather than light weapons for the purpose of disarm attempts. This maneuver is a supernatural effect.

FULL NELSON
Giant's Grip (Strike)
Level: Soldier 6
Prerequisite: 2 Giant's Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Your arms reach beneath your opponents' and yank them back when you apply pressure to it's spine.
This maneuver functions like Wrist Lock except as noted here.
If you win the grapple check, you deal an additional 2d6 damage and your opponent must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 16 + your STR modifier) or be stunned for 1 round. For each 5 you beat the opposed grapple check by, the DC increases by 2.

HUMAN SHIELD
Giant's Grip (Counter)
Level: Soldier 8
Prerequisite: 3 Giant's Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
Seeing a weapon move towards you, you instinctively throw an opponent in its path.
When an enemy attacks you on its turn, you can attempt to make him strike the opponent you are grappling instead. Make an opposed grapple check against an opponent you are grappling at a -4 penalty. Your opponent gets a bonus on the grapple check equal to the enhancement bonus of the weapon being used to attack you. If you win the check, resolve the attack against the opponent you are grappling. If you lose the check, you are attacked as normal.

IRON FIST
Giant's Grip (Stance)
Level: Soldier 3
Prerequisite: 1 Giant's Grip maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, your unarmed strikes are considerd magic and cold iron for the purpose of dealing damage to creatures with damage reduction. This also applies when using the Damage Your Opponent option while grappling.

LEAN INTO IT
Giant's Grip (Counter)
Level: Soldier 4
Prerequisite: 1 Giant's Grip maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You roll your shoulder to accept the incomng blow as it lands, grabbing your opponent as his body follows his weapon
Immediately before an opponent strikes you in melee, you may take a -4 penalty to your armor class. The first time you are struck by an opponent within your natural reach after taking this penalty, you may make a grapple attempt against that opponent as an immediate action. The armor class penalty lasts until your next turn.

PULVERIZING GRIP
Giant's Grip (Boost)
Level: Soldier 7
Prerequisite: 3 Giant's Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
Your opponent shudders in pain as nerves he did not even know he possessed cry out in protest under your expert pressure.
Each blow sends waves of pain through your opponent's body. For the rest of your turn, you deal an extra 3d6 points of damage +1 point per initiator level when Damaging Your Opponent in a grapple.

QUICK ESCAPE
Giant's Grip (Boost)
Level: Soldier 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
In a flash, you release yourself from the bindings or opponent that restrain you.
You make an escape artist check as a swift action. If escaping a grapple or bindings, the relevant opponent makes an opposed grapple or use rope check respectively as normal.

REMOVE THE HEAD
Giant's Grip (Strike)
Level: Soldier 9
Prerequisite: 4 Giant's Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
...and the body will die. With a sickening snap, you demonstrate this simple truth to your opponent.
This maneuver functions like Wrist Lock (2nd level strike) except as noted here.
If you win the grapple check, your opponent must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 19 + your STR modifier) or die. For each 5 you beat the opposed grapple check by, the DC increases by 2. On a successful save, you deal your normal Damage Your Opponent damage as well as an additional 20d6 damage.

SHIELD OF MUSCLE
Giant's Grip (Stance)
Level: Soldier 5
Prerequisite: 2 Giant's Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
You have trained your body to redirect rather than avoid attacks.
While you are in this stance, you may add half your Constitution modifier to your armor class in place of your Dexterity modifier, up to the Maximum Dexterity Bonus of the armor you are wearing. Additionally, entering a grapple now reduces your dexterity bonus to AC to +1 against opponents you are not grappling, rather than denying you it, as long as your Dexterity or Constitution modifier is positive.

SHOULDER LOCK
Giant's Grip (Strike)
Level: Soldier 5
Prerequisite: 2 Giant's Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
You pull your opponent's arm behind his back and turn until you hear a loud snap.
This maneuver functions like Wrist Lock (2nd level strike) except as noted here.
If you win the grapple check, you deal an additional 3d6 damage and limits your opponent's ability to use that arm. For 1d3 rounds he takes a -3 penalty on attack rolls with a one handed or light weapon held in that hand and a -2 penalty on attack rolls made with a weapon held in both hands. A fortitude save (DC 14 + your STR modifier) negates the penalty, but not the extra damage. For each 5 you beat the opposed grapple check by, the DC increases by 2.

STRONG ARM DEFENSE
Giant's Grip (Counter)
Level: Soldier 6
Prerequisite: 2 Giant's Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You knock away an attacking weapon, destabilizing your opponent.
If your opponent attacks you on his turn, you can replace your AC with the result of a grapple check as an immediate action. You must decide whether to initiate this maneuver before you know the result of your opponent's attack (but after the attack is declared). Your grapple check applies to only one attack. You must be aware of the attack to which you will apply the effect of this maneuver and not flat-footed.If using this maneuver causes your opponent to miss, he can not make more attacks with that weapon against you this turn.

TOUCH THE UNTOUCHABLE
Giant's Grip (Stance)
Level: Soldier 8
Prerequisite: 3 Giant's Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
You feel your way through the tendrils of magic energy that lesser grapplers find impossible to penetrate.
While you are in this stance, you can partially bypass the effects of a freedom of movement spell. Rather than causing all grapple checks made by the affected person to avoid or escape a grapple to automatically succeed, they instead get a +10 bonus on those checks. This stance is a supernatural effect.

WALK THE WEAPON
Giant's Grip (Counter)
Level: Soldier 3
Prerequisite: 1 Giant's Grip maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You travel along the path of your opponent's weapon, using his own arm as cover to close for your attack.
You instantly appear in a square adjacent to a creature that attacks you with a melee attack, after resolving the enemy's attack. You cannot move into a space that is occupied by a creature or object. You can move up to 50 feet in this manner. If you cannot move adjacent to the target, this maneuver fails to function but is still considered used.
This maneuver is a supernatural ability.

WEAKENING STRIKE
Giant's Grip (Strike)
Level: Soldier 2
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
You leave a visible dent in your opponent's flesh, rendering one of his limbs less able to fight you.
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack against an opponent. In addition to dealing normal melee damage with the attack, you deal 2 points of Strength damage.

WRIST LOCK
Giant's Grip (Strike)
Level: Soldier 2
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
You apply pressure to your opponent's wrist, often wrenching his hand open and forcing him to drop whatever he holds.
As part of this maneuver, you must succeed on a melee touch attack against your foe. Resolve the lock as a grapple attempt, but you do not provoke attacks of opportunity. You can use your Dexterity in place of your Strength modifier in the grapple check, whichever is higher. You gain a +4 bonus on the grapple check. If you are already grappling, you do not need to make a new touch attack, you simply use the Damage Your Opponent option with the above conditions as a standard.
If you win the grapple check, in addition to dealing your unarmed strike damage, you disarm your opponent of a light or one-handed weapon he is wielding. He retains hold of any two handed weapon he is wielding but takes a -4 penalty on attack rolls with it until he escapes the grapple or returns his hand to the weapon by winning an opposed grapple check.

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 05:16 PM
LIFE'S BLOOD
The Life's Blood discipline was developed out of necessity by warriors who made their living hunting game. With most beasts, they knew that a drawn out fight would bring the rest of its pack and a fight they couldn't always win. So, they learned how to target critical areas to bring their prey down quickly. Their knowledge of the workings of the body also aided in tending their own injuries, as these early practitioners often found themselves beyond the reach of a cleric's healing spells. The key skill for Life's Blood maneuvers is Heal and its associated weapons are the kukri, light hammer, punching dagger, and unarmed strike.

BACK FROM THE BRINK
Life's Blood (Counter)
Level: Huntsman 8, Mercenary 8
Prerequisite: 3 Life's Blood maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You may initiate this maneuver whenever you drop below 0 hp. As part of this maneuver, you make a Heal check (DC = negative hit point count). If your check is successful, you are alive and conscious with 1 hp. You may use this counter as a move action to confer its benefits upon an adjacent ally in the same round he drops below 0 hp. You must have at least one hand free to use this maneuver, but may drop a held weapon as part of initiating it.

CLEANSING BLOW
Life's Blood (Counter)
Level: Huntsman 4, Mercenary 4
Prerequisite: 1 Life's Blood maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
With a quick blow to the stomach or liver, you cure yourself of the conditions that weaken your body and regain your health.
You suffer no additional effects from any one poison currently effecting you, and any temporary effects it has are ended. Additionally, you immediately end the following conditions affecting you: diseased, nauseated, and sickened, and heal 2d6 points of damage + point per initiator level. You may use this counter as a move action to confer its benefits upon an adjacent ally. You may only use this maneuver when armed with a light weapon.

CONTUSING BLADE
Life's Blood (Boost)
Level: Huntsman 1, Mercenary 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
For the rest of of your turn, your attacks that qualify for skirmish damage deal an additional 1d6 skirmish damage and an additional d6 for every five initiator levels. If you attack with a finessable weapon, you may instead gain the same amount of sneak attack damage on all attacks you make that qualify for sneak attack damage.

DEATH STRIKE
Life's Blood (Strike)
Level: Huntsman 9, Mercenary 9
Prerequisite: 4 Life's Blood maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Melee attack or 15 ft
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, make a Heal check (DC = opponent's AC). If you succeed, make a single attack. If the attack hits and would do damage, the opponent must make a Fortitude save (DC = 19 + the higher of your Intelligence and Wisdom modifiers). If it fails the save, it drops to -10 HP. If it succeeds, it instead takes damage equal to double your skirmish damage, even if this attack would not normally qualify and if they are normally immune to skirmish damage.

EXACTING STANCE
Life's Blood (Stance)
Level: Huntsman 3, Mercenary 3
Prerequisite: 1 Life's Blood maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance, you gain the skirmish ability, if you do not already have it, which deals and extra 2d6 damage. If you already have skirmish, you deal an additional 2d6 when skirmishing.

FIGHT AND FLIGHT
Life's Blood (Stance)
Level: Huntsman 8, Mercenary 8
Prerequisite: 3 Life's Blood maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, you may move 10 feet each time an opponent misses you in melee. Moving in this manner consumes one of your attacks of opportunity in the currrent round. You cannot move in this manner if you have no attacks of opportunity remaining. You may also expend another attack of opportunity to attack the opponent that missed you anywhere during this movement. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

FLEET FEET
Life's Blood (Stance)
Level: Huntsman 5, Mercenary 5
Prerequisite: 2 Life's Blood maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance, you gain the bonuses from your skirmish class feature after you have moved 5 ft from where you ended your last turn, rather than 10 ft.

FLOATING RIB STRIKE
Life's Blood (Strike)
Level: Huntsman 7, Mercenary 7
Prerequisite: 3 Life's Blood maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Melee attack or 30 ft
Target: One creature
You carefully study your opponent and determine the best place to strike.
This maneuver functions like Knee Side Strike except you deal an additional 4d6 damage and may increase your skirmish by 2d6 and an additional d6 for every 5 points by which you beat the DC if the check succeeds.

FROZEN LEG
Life's Blood (Strike)
Level: Huntsman 1, Mercenary 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: weapon range
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a single attack against an opponent. If it hits, the opponent must succeed on a Reflex save (DC=damage dealt) or have his speed reduced to 0 for all modes of movement for one round.

GREATER SURGICAL STRIKE
Life's Blood (Strike)
Level: Huntsman 6, Mercenary 6
Prerequisite: 2 Life's Blood maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: weapon range
Target: One creature
As part of initiating this maneuver, you make a single attack against an opponent. If it hits, make a Heal check and deal damage equal to twice the result of your check.

HEAD ON STRAIGHT
Life's Blood (Counter)
Level: Huntsman 1, Mercenary 1
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
With a quick jab to the correct spot on the skull, your head is cleared and your ability to fight is restored.
Immediately end one of the following conditions affecting you: dazzled, deafened, or shaken and heal d6 points of damage + point per initiator level (maximum +10). You may use this counter as a move action to confer its benefits upon an adjacent ally. You may only use this maneuver when armed with a light weapon.

HEALING PALM
Life's Blood (Counter)
Level: Huntsman 3, Mercenary 3
Prerequisite: 1 Life's Blood maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You unleash stored energy within the body, granting renewed vitality.
As part of this maneuver, you make a heal check and gain temporary hit points equal to the result of that check plus your unarmed strike damage. These temporary hit points last for a number of rounds equal to the higher of your Intelligence and Wisdom modifiers. You may use this counter as a move action to confer its benefits upon an adjacent ally. You must have at least one hand free to use this maneuver, but may drop a held weapon as part of the maneuver.

INTESTINAL FORTITUDE
Life's Blood (Counter)
Level: Huntsman 2, Mercenary 2
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You can use this maneuver whenever you would normally make a Fortitude save. Make a Heal check instead and use that to determine if you succeeded. You must use this maneuver before attempting the Fortitude save. You do not automatically fail if you roll a 1 on your Heal check.

KILLER INSTINCT
Life's Blood (Stance)
Level: Huntsman 1, Mercenary 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance, you can determine, as described by the deathwatch spell, the status of adjacent creatures that you can see . This stance is a supernatural ability.

KNEE SIDE STRIKE
Life's Blood (Strike)
Level: Huntsman 2, Mercenary 2
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack or 30 ft
Target: One creature
You carefully study your opponent and determine the best place to strike.
As part of this maneuver, make a Heal check (DC = opponent's AC). If you succeed, make a single attack that deals an additional 2d6 damage increase your skirmish damage by 1d6 if this attack qualifies for skirmish damage. If you fail, you may still attack but do not deal extra damage or increase your skirmish damage and the maneuver is still expended.

LACERATING BLADE
Life's Blood (Boost)
Level: Huntsman 4, Mercenary 4
Prerequisite: 1 Life's Blood maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
This maneuver functions like Contusing Blade except the additional damage increases for every four initiator levels instead of every five.

MUSCLE DEATH
Life's Blood (Strike)
Level: Huntsman 5, Mercenary 5
Prerequisite: 2 Life's Blood maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: weapon range
Target: One creature
As a part of this maneuver, you make a single attack against an opponent. If it hits, in addition to taking the normal damage, the opponent takes 4 points of damage to the physical ability score (STR, DEX, or CON) of your choice. A successful Fortitude save (DC 16 + the higher of your Intelligence and Wisdom modifiers) reduces the ability score damage to 2 and does not negate the normal damage.

MUSCLE WEAKNESS
Life's Blood (Strike)
Level: Huntsman 3, Mercenary 3
Prerequisite: 1 Life's Blood maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: weapon range
Target: One creature
As a part of this maneuver, you make a single attack against an opponent. If it hits, in addition to taking the normal damage, the opponent takes 2 points of damage to the physical ability score (STR, DEX, or CON) of your choice. A successful Fortitude save (DC 13 + the higher of your Intelligence and Wisdom modifiers) negates the ability score damage but not the normal damage.

PERFORATING BLADE
Life's Blood (Boost)
Level: Huntsman 7, Mercenary 7
Prerequisite: 3 Life's Blood maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
This maneuver functions like Contusing Blade except the additional damage increases for every three initiator levels instead of every five.

PHILTRUM STRIKE
Life's Blood (Strike)
Level: Huntsman 4, Mercenary 4
Prerequisite: 1 Life's Blood maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack or 30 ft
Target: One creature
You carefully study your opponent and determine the best place to strike.
This maneuver functions like Knee Side Strike except you deal an additional 3d6 damage and may increase your skirmish damage by 2d6 if the check succeeds.

REVIVE MUSCLE
Life's Blood (Counter)
Level: Huntsman 6, Mercenary 6
Prerequisite: 2 Life's Blood maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
As a part of this maneuver, you make a Heal check as an immediate action. You gain a number of hit points equal to twice the result of that check. Or you may instead heal a number of points of damage tothe physical ability score (STR, DEX, or CON) of your choice by reducing the amount of healing done by 10 times the number of ability damage healed. You may use this counter as a move action to confer its benefits upon an adjacent ally. You must have at least one hand free to use this maneuver, but may drop a held weapon as part of the maneuver.

RUSH TO THE SCENE
Life's Blood (Boost)
Level: Huntsman 2, Mercenary 2
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
For the rest of your turn, your land speed is increased by 50%, rounded down to the nearest 5 ft.

SURGICAL STRIKE
Life's Blood (Strike)
Level: Huntsman 3, Mercenary 3
Prerequisite: 1 Life's Blood maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack or 30 ft
Target: One creature
As part of initiating this maneuver, you make a single attack against an opponent. If it hits, make a Heal check and deal damage equal to the result of your check.

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 05:17 PM
MASTER'S VOICE
Practitioners of the Master's Voice discipline have learned that actions do not always speak louder than words, harnessing the air in their lungs to both inspire allies and deal great damage on its own. Its maneuvers allow an adept to never be unable to fight back so long as he draws breath. The associated skill is Perform (oratory) and its weapons are blowgun, breath weapon, dragonsbreath*, longsword, and shortsword.

ALL FOR ONE
Master's Voice (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 7
Prerequisite: 3 Master's Voice maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full round action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
As part of initiating this maneuver, you and up to two adjacant allies each make a single melee attack against an opponent in range of all of you.

AURA OF COMMAND
Master's Voice (Stance)
Level: Firebrand 5
Prerequisite: 2 Master's Voice maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
When you initiate this stance, choose one undead within 30 feet. If that creature fails a will save (DC 15 + your Cha modifier), they behave as if under the effects of the command undead spell until you end the stance or the spell effect would be broken. You may not attempt to use this stance against the same undead twice in one day. This stance is a supernatural ability.

AURA OF PERSUASION
Master's Voice (Stance)
Level: Firebrand 5
Prerequisite: 2 Master's Voice maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
When you initiate this stance, choose one humanoidd or member of your subtype within 30 feet. If that creature fails a will save (DC 15 + your Cha modifier), they behave as if under the effects of the charm person spell until you end the stance or the spell effect would be broken. You may not attempt to use this stance against the same creature twice in one day. This stance is a supernatural ability.

BANSHEE WAIL
Master's Voice (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 8
Prerequisite: 3 Master's Voice maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: 30 ft burst
Target: One or more creatures
This maneuver functions like Battle Cry except as noted here. Each creature within a 30 ft burst takes 4d6 sonic damage +1 point per initiator level and must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 18 + your Cha modifier) or be stunned for 1 round.

BATTLE CRY
Master's Voice (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 2
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: 5 feet
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you unleash a great shout which deals 1d6 point of sonic damage +1 point per initiator level to one adjacent enemy.

BELLOWING BREATH
Master's Voice (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 4
Prerequisite: 1 Master's Voice maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: 15 ft line
Target: One or more creatures
This maneuver functions like Battle Cry except as noted here. Each creature along a 15 ft. line takes 2d6 sonic damage +1 point per initiator level. The closest creature along that line must succeed on a Reflex save (DC 14 + your Cha modifier) or be knocked prone by the shout.

CLEAR THE WAY
Master's Voice (Counter)
Level: Firebrand 4
Prerequisite: 1 Master's Voice maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You may initiate this maneuver during any turn in which you have taken no actions other than a 5ft step. When you initiate this maneuver, choose two adjacent allies. Those allies may act as if it were their turn, each making a full round's worth of actions. You may take no actions this round other than total defense a a full-round action.

DEAFENING SHOUT
Master's Voice (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 6
Prerequisite: 2 Master's Voice maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: 20 ft cone
Target: One or more creatures
This maneuver functions like Battle Cry except as noted here. Each creature within a 20 ft cone takes 3d6 sonic damage +1 point per initiator level and must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC = 16 + you Cha modifier) or be deafened for 1 round for every 10 points of sonic damage taken.

DISTRACTION
Master's Voice (Boost)
Level: Firebrand 2
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
Each enemy you attack during the rest of this round is considered flanked until your next action.

EXPOSE WEAKNESS
Master's Voice (Boost)
Level: Firebrand 7
Prerequisite: 3 Master's Voice maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
You must initiate this maneuver before you have made any attacks in the current round. Your allies gain a bonus on attack and damage rolls against enemies you strike equal to the number of successful attacks you make this round. If you attack multiple enemies, they gain the bonus against all of them. This bonus lasts until your next turn.

FIRE EATER
Master's Voice (Counter)
Level: Firebrand 3
Prerequisite: 1 Master's Voice maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You may initiate this maneuver whenever you are subjected to an effect that deals fire, cold, electricity, or sonic damage and allows a saving throw. You may make a Perform (oratory) check in place of the allowed save. If you succeed on the save, you may negate up to 2 points of damage per initiator level if you would take any and make a single ranged touch attack at an enemy with 30 ft that does damage of the same type and amount that you negated.

FRIGHTFUL BEATING
Master's Voice (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 5
Prerequisite: 2 Master's Voice maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Melee Attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a full attack against a single opponent and a Perform (oratory) check to demoralize that opponent, gaining a +2 bonus on the check for each successful attack. If your demoralize check succeeds by more than 10, the opponent is frightened for 1 round instead of shaken and is panicked for 1 round instead of shaken if the check succeeds by more than 20.

HAZING
Master's Voice (Counter)
Level: Firebrand 6
Prerequisite: 2 Master's Voice maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You may initiate this maneuver whenever an enemy that can hear you attacks you or an ally, but before the results of the attack are known. You make a Perform (oratory) check. If the result of your check is higher than the enemy's attack roll, the attack misses and the enemy is shaken until the start of your next turn.

HOWLING CHARGE
Master's Voice (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 9
Prerequisite: 4 Master's Voice maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Charge Attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a charge attack against an opponent. You may make a full attack rather than a single attack on this charge and each attack that hits and does damage deals an additional d4 sonic damage for each successful attack you made against him this round.

LEAD BY FEAR
Master's Voice (Stance)
Level: Firebrand 8
Prerequisite: 3 Master's Voice maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance, intelligent creatures with fewer HD than your initiator level that come within 30 feet of you must make a Will save (DC 10 + half you initiator level + your Cha modifier) or become frightened for one round and an additional round if they fail by more than 5. The same creature can not be affected more than once within 24 hours. You may also initiate a Duel of Wills at the beginning of each round rather than before initiative is rolled, though you still may not begin one against the same opponent twice in 24 hours. You may use Perform (oratory) in place of Intimidate in the Duel of Wills.

PEP TALK
Master's Voice (Stance)
Level: Firebrand 3
Prerequisite: 1 Master's Voice maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, allies that can hear you gain a morale bonus on attack rolls equal to your initiator level divided by 4, rounded down. When you enter this stance, if you have the bardic music ability, you may expend a use of it as a free action to double that bonus.

RATTLING STRIKE
Master's Voice (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a Perform (oratory) check (DC = enemy's AC) as well as an attack roll. If the check succeeds, the enemy is considered flat-footed against your attack.

REASSURING CHARGE
Master's Voice (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 3
Prerequisite: 1 Master's Voice maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Charge attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a charge attack against an opponent. Each ally you pass while charging gets a +4 morale bonus on Will saves for one round.

RESONATING BLOW
Master's Voice (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 5
Prerequisite: 2 Master's Voice maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Sunder Attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a Perform (oratory) check (DC = enemy's AC) as well as an attack roll to sunder a weapon which does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If the check succeeds, your damage roll to sunder deals double damage.

SCREECHING BLOWS
Master's Voice (Boost)
Level: Firebrand 4
Prerequisite: 1 Master's Voice maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
For the remainder of the round, each enemy you strike must succeed on a Will save (DC 14+ your Cha modifier) or be deafened for one round.

START A REVOLUTION
Master's Voice (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 6
Prerequisite: 2 Master's Voice maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Charge attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a charge attack against an opponent. Each ally you pass while charging may make a single melee attack. If they choose to make the attack, it consumes one of their attacks of opportunity in the current round.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Master's Voice (Boost)
Level: Firebrand 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
For the rest of the round, you gain a bonus on attack and damage rolls equal to the number of adjacent allies.

TALK TOUGH
Master's Voice (Stance)
Level: Firebrand 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance, you gain damage reduction based on your ranks in Perform (oratory) as show below. You may also use Perform(oratory) in place of Intimidate in a Duel of Wills.
{table=head]Perform ranks|Damage Reduction

3-7 |DR 1/-

8-12 |DR 2/-

13-17|DR 3/-

18+ |DR 4/-

[/table]

TIMELY ADVICE
Master's Voice (Counter)
Level: Firebrand 2
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You may initiate this maneuver whenever you or an ally who can hear you fail a saving throw but before any negative effects are applied. You or that ally may attempt another saving throw to avoid the negative effects of failing the save.

TRASH TALK
Master's Voice (Stance)
Level: Firebrand 3
Prerequisite: 1 Master's Voice maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, enemies that can hear you take a morale penalty on attack rolls equal to your initiator level divided by 4, rounded down. When you enter this stance, if you have the bardic music ability, you may expend one use of it as a free action to double that penalty.

playswithfire
2011-01-17, 05:18 PM
WANDERING EYE
The Wandering Eye discipline was developed by a warrior-philosopher who taught those who would listen the simple truth that an enemy has the most difficulty defending against an attack he does not see coming. His teachings were shouted down by those who saw these tactics as distasteful and preferred open declarations of hostility, but they were soon defeated by those who had listened. The associated skill is Bluff and weapons are the dagger-fan*, hand crossbow, rapier, sword-fan*, and sap.

AMBUSHER
Wandering Eye (Stance)
Level: Firebrand 8, Mercenary 8
Prerequisite: 3 Wandering Eye maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance and in any sort of natural terrain, you may use the Hide skill even if the terrain doesn’t grant cover or concealment and while being observed and gain a +1 bonus on your Hide checks for every 3 ranks you have in Bluff.

BITE OF THE WASP
Wandering Eye (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 6, Mercenary 6
Prerequisite: 2 Wandering Eye maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full round action
Range: Double your move speed
Target: One or more creatures
As part of this maneuver, you may move up to twice your speed and make your full attack at any point during this movement. If you attack an enemy with a light weapon, they suffer the effects of the attack at the beginning of their next turn and are unaware that you were the cause.

BOB AND WEAVE
Wandering Eye (Stance)
Level: Firebrand 5, Mercenary 5
Prerequisite: 2 Wandering Eye maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
You are in a constant state of motion, making it hard for enemies to strike you.
While you are in this stance, you gain a 15% concealment miss chance. This bonus increases to 20% for the duration of any round in which you move at least 5 ft.

CONFUSING STRIKE
Wandering Eye (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 1, Mercenary 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If the attack hits and deals damage, the enemey you struck must make a Will save (DC 11+your Intelligence modifier) or be confused for one round.
This maneuver is a supernatural ability.

DECEPTIVE FLANKER
Wandering Eye (Stance)
Level: Firebrand 1, Mercenary 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
You gain a higher bonus to your attack rolls when flanking an opponent while in this stance, as opposed to the normal +2. The bonus is determined by your ranks in Bluff as described below.
{table=head]Bluff Ranks|Flanking Bonus

6- 9|+3

10-13|+4

14-17|+5

18+ |+6

[/table]

DIRTIED BLADE STRIKE
Wandering Eye (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 4, Mercenary 4
Prerequisite: 1 Wandering Eye maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee range
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If the attack hits and deals damage, you may make a second attack with the same weapon at the same attack bonus and the opponent must make a Fortitude save (DC 14+your Intelligence modifier or be blinded for one round. A successful save negates the blinding, but not the second attack.

DOUBLE BLUFF
Wandering Eye (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 2, Mercenary 2
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Weapon range
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a feint check against a single opponent with a +4 bonus on the check as well as your normal full attack. If the check succeeds, that opponent is denied his Dexterity bonus against one attack made with each weapon you wield, maximum two weapons.

DRAMATIC DEATH
Wandering Eye (Counter)
Level: Firebrand 4, Mercenary 4
Prerequisite: 1 Wandering Eye maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You may initiate this maneuver whenever an opponent strikes you. You become prone and that opponent must make a Will save (DC = your bluff modifier as you would use to feint) or believe that you are dead. If they fail, you gain a bonus on attack rolls made against that opponent in the next round equal to your Charisma modifier.

FAKE OUT
Wandering Eye (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 5, Mercenary 5
Prerequisite: 2 Wandering Eye maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Weapon range
Target: One or more creatures
This maneuver functions like Double Bluff except as noted here. If the enemy loses the feint check, they are denied their Dexterity bonus against all attacks made with one weapon you wield or two attacks made with each weapon you wield, maximum two weapons.

GUT PUNCH
Wandering Eye (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 5, Mercenary 5
Prerequisite: 2 Wandering Eye maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If the attack hits and deals damage, the enemy must make a Fortitude save (DC = damage dealt) or be nauseated for one round. On a successful save, he is sickened for one round instead. If you make the attack unarmed, you deal an additional d4 damage.

KNOCK OFF-KILTER
Wandering Eye (Boost)
Level: Firebrand 2, Mercenary 2
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
For the rest of the round, each enemy you attack and deal sneak attack damage to is considered flanked until the start of your next turn.

LIE IN WAIT
Wandering Eye (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 7, Mercenary 7
Prerequisite: 3 Wandering Eye maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If you are prone, you may get to your feet without provoking an attack of opportunity before making the attack. The target of your attack is flat-footed against this attack. If you have not moved in the current round, your attack deals an additional 2d6 damage.

OPPORTUNE MOMENT
Wandering Eye (Counter)
Level: Firebrand 2, Mercenary 2
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You may initiate this maneuver whenever an opponent provokes an attack of opportunity from you. You may feint as an immediate action against that opponent. The benefits of winning the feint apply to your attack of opportunity.

QUICK TRICK
Wandering Eye (Boost)
Level: Firebrand 1, Mercenary 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
You may feint in combat as a swift action. You take a -1 penalty on the check for each enemy threatening you other than the one you are feinting against.

RASCAL BLADE
Wandering Eye (Boost)
Level: Firebrand 3, Mercenary 3
Prerequisite: 1 Wandering Eye maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
For the rest of of your turn, your attacks that qualify for sneak attack damage deal an additional 2d6 sneak damage and an additional amount of sneak attack damage equal to your Dexterity bonus.

SCOUNDREL BLADE
Wandering Eye (Boost)
Level: Firebrand 6, Mercenary 6
Prerequisite: 2 Wandering Eye maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
This maneuver functions like Rascal Blade except as noted here. For the rest of of your turn, your attacks that qualify for sneak attack damage deal an additional 3d6 sneak damage and an additional point of sneak attack damage per initiator level.

SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY
Wandering Eye (Counter)
Level: Firebrand 7, Mercenary 7
Prerequisite: 3 Wandering Eye maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
Having found your enemy's weakness, you drive your blade deeply into it.
You may initiate this maneuver whenever you make an attack that would deal sneak attack damage and threatens a critical hit. You automatically confirm the critical hit and deal additional damage eqaul to the amount of sneak attack damage you would already deal. You may reduce this additional sneak attack damage by up to 4d6 and instead deal one point of Strength damage for each d6.

SOW DISCORD
Wandering Eye (Boost)
Level: Firebrand 8, Mercenary 8
Prerequisite: 3 Wandering Eye maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
For the rest of the round, each enemy you strike must make a Will save (DC 18 + your Intelligence modifier) or be confused for one round. On a successful save, he is shaken instead.
This maneuver is a supernatural ability.

TAG TEAM
Wandering Eye (Counter)
Level: Firebrand 3, Mercenary 3
Prerequisite: 1 Wandering Eye maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
You may initiate this maneuver whenever an ally declares an attack against an enemy within 10 feet of you but before the attack is resolved. You may make two 5 ft. steps as an immediate action to move into a flanking position to aid that ally's attack. If that attack succeeds, you may also attack that enemy but this attack consumes one of your attack of opportuninty for the round.

TRICKSTER'S GAMBIT
Wandering Eye (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 8, Mercenary 8
Prerequisite: 3 Wandering Eye maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Weapon range
Target: One or more creatures
This maneuver functions like Double Bluff except as noted here. Your bluff check to feint is opposed by each enemy within your weapon range. You may either have each enemy that loses the check be denied his Dexterity bonus against all attacks you make with one weapon you wield or one enemy who fails be denied his Dexterity bonus against all attacks you make with all weapons you hold this round.

VICTORY IN 100 BATTLES
Wandering Eye (Strike)
Level: Firebrand 9, Mercenary 9
Prerequisite: 4 Wandering Eye maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Melee Attack
Target: One creature
As part of this maneuver, you take a full attack action and make your normal melee attacks against one opponent. All attacks you make against this opponent are touch attacks and you gain the use of the Power Attack feat even if you do not know it. You gain a bonus to your armor class for one round equal to the penalty you take on your attack rolls in this way.

WHEN STRONG, APPEAR WEAK
Wandering Eye (Stance)
Level: Firebrand 3, Mercenary 3
Prerequisite: 1 Wandering Eye maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance, you have a -2 penalty to your AC, but gain a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls against each opponent that attacks you.

playswithfire
2011-02-01, 08:38 PM
TABLE 4-3: THE HAND-TO-HAND SPECIALIST__________HIT DIE : d10
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known

1st|+0|
2|
0|
2|Unarmed damage, bonus feat|
1|
0|
0

2nd|+1|
3|
0|
3|Formlessness (Stance)|
0|
0|
1

3rd|+2|
3|
1|
3|Take On All Comers, Combat Scavenger|
1|
1|
0

4th|+3|
4|
1|
4|Formlessness (Strike)|
0|
0|
1

5th|+3|
4|
1|
4|Instinct|
1|
0|
0

[/table]
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level): Balance, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Martial Lore, Move Silently, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Tumble


HAND-TO-HAND SPECIALIST
The lance has its point and the axe its two blades, but the weapons of a so-called unarmed man are limited only by training.
-- Luc Ebree, a hand-to-hand specialist
A hand-to-hand specialist will not seem dangerous to the uninitiated, as he rarely carries a weapon and fairly often wears no armor, but those who look in his eyes become quickly aware that they face a dangerous opponent. He fights primarily with his bare hands, as the unarmed strike is the only weapon common to the three disciplines he focuses on. With his combination of Circling Vulture, Giant's Grip, and Setting Sun, he will focus on maneuvers that allow him to control the battle. Through grappling, tripping, and disarming, a hand-to-hand specialist can all but ensure victory so long as he can get his hands on his opponent.

BECOMING A HAND-TO-HAND SPECIALIST
This class favors those who fight prefer to fight their opponents up close in hand-to-hand combat. Most hand-to-hand specialists are swordsages or soldiers who specialize in the Circling Vulture, Giant's Grip, and Setting Sun disciplines. Monks, ninjas, and members any other class with an unarmed strike progresion can reap obvious benefits from the class if they can learn the prerequisite maneuvers. Less common, but equally effective are barbarians whose totems grant them one of the required feats.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Skills: Escape Artist 4 ranks, Sense Motive 8 ranks, Sleight of Hand 8 ranks
Feats: Improved Grapple and Improved Trip OR Improved Disarm
Martial Maneuvers: Must know one maneuver from each of Circling Vulture, Giant's Grip and Setting Sun, one of which must be at least 2nd level

CLASS FEATURES
As a hand-to-hand specialist, you learn to be an effective close-quarters combatant, closing inside an enemy's reach and defeating him, often with your bare hands. The greater degree of flexibility in attacking without manufactured weapons is reflected in the class's formlessness ability, which allows you to blend stances and strikes from the three disciplines into a seamless string of combat.
Maneuvers: At 1st, 3rd and 5th level, you gain a new maneuver known from the Circling Vulture, Giant's Grip, or Setting Sun disciplines. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisites to learn it. You add your full hand-to-hand specialist levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known. At third level, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.
Stances Known: At 2nd and 4th level, you learn a new martial stance from the Circling Vulture, Giant's Grip, or Setting Sun disciplines. You must meet a stance's prerequisites to learn it.
Unarmed Damage (Ex): A hand-to-hand specialist’s class levels stack with his monk levels for the purpose of determining his unarmed damage. If he has no monk levels, he gains the unarmed damage of a monk of his Empty Hand Master level.
Bonus Feat: At first level, you gain a feat from the following list that you do not currently have as a bonus feat even if you do not meet the prerequisites: Light-Fingered, Improved Disarm, or Improved Trip.
Formlessness (Ex): As a hand-to-hand specialist, you learn to free yourself from reliance on the concept of individual maneuvers and stances as you have already freed yourself from the need for specific weapons.
Stance: At second level, you choose one of Circling Vulture, Giant's Grip and Setting Sun. You gain all bonuses you receive from being in a stance of the chosen discipline when you are in a stance from either of the other two. For example, if you chose Giant's Grip, you can gain the benefit of the Goliath Wrestling feat while in a Circling Vulture or Setting Sun stance. If you gain the same benefit from both disciplines' stances, such as having Discipline Focus(defensive stance) for both Giant's Grip and Setting Sun disciplines, you do not gain the benefit twice. Additionally, once per round, you may switch to a stance from the Circling Vulture, Giant's Grip, or Setting Sun discipline as a free action
Strike: At fourth level, when you sucessfully trip or disarm an opponent as a standard action (whether as a standard action strike or standard action single attack), you may initiate a Giant's Grip maneuver with an initiation time of a standard action or less against that opponent. This maneuver replaces the extra attack granted by the Improved Trip and Combat Scavenger feats, respectively and can not be used in a round in which you have already taken a move action.
Take on all Comers (Ex): At third level, your training has shown you that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. You no longer automatically fail when you attempt to trip or grapple opponents two size categories larger than you. You gain an additional +2 bonus when grappling or tripping an opponent two size categories larger than you.
Combat Scavenger: At third level, you gain Combat Scavenger as a bonus feat, even if you do not meet the prerequisites.
Instinct (Ex): You gain the benefits of the Goliath Wrestling feat if you do not already have it and also gain a bonus equal to half your Wisdom modifier on Strength checks made to trip an opponent and on attack and damage rolls made with unarmed strikes. The attack and damage bonus do not stack with those provided by the Shiba Protector's No Thought class feature.

playswithfire
2011-02-17, 10:22 PM
TABLE 4-6: THE TRICK MARKSMAN__________HIT DIE : d8
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known

1st|+0|
0|
2|
2|Shoot from the Hip|
1|
0|
0

2nd|+1|
0|
3|
3|Adept Archer, Marksman's Reflex (counter)|
0|
1|
0

3rd|+2|
1|
3|
3|Ricochet Shot|
1|
0|
1

4th|+3|
1|
4|
4|Adept Archer, Marksman's Reflex (opportunity)|
0|
1|
0

5th|+3|
1|
4|
4|Ducks in a Row|
1|
0|
0

[/table]
Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level): Bluff, Concentration, Jump, Knowledge(local), Martial Lore, Perform, Profession, Spot, Sleight of Hand, Tumble, Use Rope


TRICK MARKSMAN
I've learned a few useful lessons from my bow. For instance, aim high and you go farther. Or, shoot low and you can really hurt somebody.
-- Oakan Nieley, a trick marksman
Trick marksmen are primarily peerless archers and knife throwers, executing great feats of skill either for the amusement of a crowd or to aid them in battle. As with most ranged combatants, they will attempt to maintain some distance between themselves and their enemies and can make use of their Marksman's Reflex and Ricochet Shot abilities to make that easier. But what distinguishes a trick marksman from other archery-centric classes is the sheer number of martial maneuvers they become able to use with their ranged weapons, through both the Iron Rain discipline and multiple takings of the Adept Archer feat.

BECOMING A TRICK MARKSMAN
Excluding melee-focused classes like barbarians and casters who need to spend their feats on augmenting their casting rather than combat, trick marksmen can be of almost any background. Of the martial adepts, mercenaries and swordsages are more likely to take the class than warblades and huntsmen, as the latter group often find trick marksmen to emphasize flash over effectiveness, though they do recognize the skill involved. As the maneuver and stance requirements can met with feats, fighters and variant rogues have the easiest time qualifying of the other base classes, though some bards will take levels in the class to enhance their performances.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
BAB: 7+
Skills: Spot 12 ranks
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Quick Draw
Martial Maneuvers: Must know one Iron Rain maneuver
Martial Stances: Must know one Iron Rain stance
Special: Must be a halfling or trained by another trick marksman

CLASS FEATURES
While the term marksman is likely to conjure images of hand crossbows, this class provides useful abilities for the wielders of any thrown or ranged weapon, from the longbow to throwing axe. The Marksman's Reflex class feature provides an effective defense, while the other class features allow those who wish to fight at range to have equal footing in a Sublime Way-heavy campaign.
Maneuvers: At 1st, 3rd and 5th level, you gain a new maneuver known from the Iron Rain discipline. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisites to learn it. You add your full trick marksman levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known. At second and fourth level, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.
Stances Known: At 3rd level, you learn a new martial stance from the Iron Rain discipline. You must meet a stance's prerequisites to learn it.
Shoot from the Hip (Ex): While anyone can draw a weapon quickly, as a trick marksman, you learn to attack with a newly-drawn weapon even more quickly than most. You gain the Rapid Reload feat as a bonus feat if you do not already have it. You may also make an additional attack with a single ranged or thrown weapon in the round in which it is drawn, but you take a -2 penalty on this and all other attack rolls you make in that round.
Adept Archer (Ex): At second and fourth level, you gain Adept Archer as a bonus feat
Marksman's Reflex (Ex): When a target comes within your field of vision, you react instinctively.
counter: At second level, when a creature enters a square within one range increment of a ranged or thrown weapon you wield, you may expend a counter you have readied as an immediate action to gain an attack of opportunity against that opponent with that weapon. This consumes one of your attacks of opportunity for the round and you provoke attacks of oppotunity against you as normal for attacking with a ranged or thrown weapon. You may not make a melee attack of opportunity against the same opponent for the same movement if you use this ability.
opportunity: Beginning at fourth level, you no longer need to expend a counter to make your Marksman's Reflex attack of opportunity against an opponent that comes within a range increment of you. You may also draw a ranged or thrown weapon as an immediate action.
Ricochet Shot (Ex): With the keen eyes and training that come with being a trick marksman, you have learned to bounce your weapons off walls and, thus, around obstacles, to strike enemies who think themselves safe. You may make an attack with a ranged or thrown weapon at an opponent within two range increments a ricochet shot by first attacking the spot on the wall (AC 20) such that your angle to that spot, which must be less than 45 degrees, is the same as the angle from that point to your target. If that attack succeeds, you may make an attack at the same attack bonus at the enemy originating from the point on the wall but with a -3 penalty in addition to any penalty for the distance from that point to the target. Ricochet shots are not eligible for sneak attack or other precision based damage.
Ducks in a Row (Ex): Your eyes see beyond the closest target to those beyond, allowing your attacks to shatter a line of bottles or wound a column of enemies. As a full round action, you may make a single attack with a thrown or ranged weapon at your highest base attack bonus that targets an opponent within one range increment. If the attack succeeds, apply the same attack and damage rolls to each opponent along a 30 ft. line extending from that opponent along your line of attack. If you are wielding two of the same light thrown or ranged weapons, you may instead make a single attack with each of those weapons targeting the same opponent, but both attacks take a -2 penalty.

Hawk7915
2011-02-18, 10:31 PM
Wow, this is an impressive amount of work. It's awfully daunting to try to comment on, actually, because it's just so huge...but reading through it is fantastic :smallbiggrin:. Some opening comments...

- I'm a bit disappointed that everyone seems to have a fairly similar recovery style. I liked how the first group of martial adepts had very distinctive "flows" in combat, and for a sequel I'd be hoping for something even more interesting. Perhaps the hunter instantly recovers a maneuver after each kill? The mercenary recovers a maneuver once per round when he feints/deals precision damage? The Firebrand recovers if an ally drops a foe? Just a thought. It'd help give each class a bit more personality.

- The Mercenary is probably my favorite of the bunch, but I have a few questions. First, his "precision damage" feels more like a PrC feature. I might just give him Sudden Strike dice and call it a day, or clarify things a bit better. Second, I'd really love to see some "Trapfinding" for him. It might also be nice to see a few more class features later in the class; other than the fact that Informed Aim is level-dependant this class seems to strongly encourage dipping into some combination of Rogue, Scout, Factotum, or Swashbuckler. Or is that intentional?

- Are you intending to add more maneuvers? The early levels of each of the new schools seems a bit light, and the "Sacred Blood" feat references healing maneuvers that don't appear to exist...

playswithfire
2011-02-19, 09:42 AM
Wow, this is an impressive amount of work. It's awfully daunting to try to comment on, actually, because it's just so huge...but reading through it is fantastic :smallbiggrin:. Some opening comments...

Thanks for the feedback


- I'm a bit disappointed that everyone seems to have a fairly similar recovery style. I liked how the first group of martial adepts had very distinctive "flows" in combat, and for a sequel I'd be hoping for something even more interesting. Perhaps the hunter instantly recovers a maneuver after each kill? The mercenary recovers a maneuver once per round when he feints/deals precision damage? The Firebrand recovers if an ally drops a foe? Just a thought. It'd help give each class a bit more personality.
That's a good point. I think I went the route of having purely numeric/time differences (move action instead of swift, etc), but you're right, it would be better if the recovery mechanism actually tied in to their combat style. Off the top of my head, I can only think of
Huntsman: recovers a maneuver when he changes stances. If he's in a natural setting, he recovers an additional maneuver from the discipline of the stance he just adopted.
I'll definitely have to give recovery mechanics some more thought. [/QUOTE]

- The Mercenary is probably my favorite of the bunch, but I have a few questions. First, his "precision damage" feels more like a PrC feature. I might just give him Sudden Strike dice and call it a day, or clarify things a bit better. Second, I'd really love to see some "Trapfinding" for him. It might also be nice to see a few more class features later in the class; other than the fact that Informed Aim is level-dependant this class seems to strongly encourage dipping into some combination of Rogue, Scout, Factotum, or Swashbuckler. Or is that intentional?
Yeah, precision damage is worded more like a prestige class feature, isn't it. I just wanted, since the mercenary has access to Wandering Eye (sneak attack) and Life's Blood (skirmish), I wanted to let them have a base source of both kinds of damage. But it could use a rewrite. Sudden strike is another good option.

I've gotten some other feedback that the mercenary doesn't feel quite sneaky enough and trapfinding would be an easy first step towards that. I don't think I necessarily intended for mercenaries to multiclass with the classes you mentioned, but I did think it somewhat likely. I could provide more incentives to stay in the class.


- Are you intending to add more maneuvers? The early levels of each of the new schools seems a bit light, and the "Sacred Blood" feat references healing maneuvers that don't appear to exist...

I hadn't planned on adding more, though I might. I roughly used the ToB disciplines as a template for the number of maneuvers at each level, but looking again, I may have picked ones that had fewer low level maneuvers.

As for Sacred Blood, yeah, that's what happens when I keep writing and rewriting things for several months. Life's Blood was supposed to have a chain of healing maneuvers to go along with back from the brink, healing palm, and revive muscle, so Life's Blood will probably get some new maneuvers (and maybe one or two cuts) which could make sacred blood work as written, but I'd probably just rename it Targeted Healing and switch it so that you can expend a Life's Blood maneuver (maybe of the same level), to affect any healing spell as if affected by the maximize spell feat without affecting casting time or spell level.

Thanks again for the feedback.

Havvy
2011-02-19, 10:25 AM
Doing a general overview of this...what is your balance point/tier? And why does the Huntsman class have so many truly dead levels (7, 11, 17 and 19)? You need abilities at those levels, or else people will multiclass out.

Overally, it looks good from my first pass though. I'll give it a more careful sweep at some point in the future.

Elfstone
2011-02-19, 10:32 AM
Just want to say, im playing a huntsman in an Epic level (17) All martial devotee campaign, and its a blast. Iron rain is a great discipline, and the 9th level manouvers rock. I mowed down about 17 mooks (should have had them all but I forgot the bards +12 to damage). So far its really fun, and the stances are quite nice as well. I would reccomend it to anyone. Thanks for making it, I only wish youd finished the weapon of legacy for it.

playswithfire
2011-02-19, 11:11 AM
Doing a general overview of this...what is your balance point/tier? And why does the Huntsman class have so many truly dead levels (7, 11, 17 and 19)? You need abilities at those levels, or else people will multiclass out.

Overally, it looks good from my first pass though. I'll give it a more careful sweep at some point in the future.

I wasn't thinking so much in terms of tiers, but having refamiliarized myself with the tier system, I guess I'm shooting for them to be solid tier 3s
For specific other classes that mine should be balanced against, I guess
Firebrand: on par with Bard (see arcane ACF)/Marshal and/or Swordsage
Huntsman: on par with Warblade and/or Ranger(Wildshape)
Mercenary: better than Rogue/Scout, on par with Swordsage
Soldier: on par with Psychic Warrior (hence the psionic variant) and/or Crusader

As for those dead levels, I have no good explanation other than that I tried to have roughly the same number of class features as the ToB base classes and they will at least get to replace a maneuver with a higher level one. I can try to shift things around or add something, though.

Thanks for the feedback.

Just want to say, im playing a huntsman in an Epic level (17) All martial devotee campaign, and its a blast. Iron rain is a great discipline, and the 9th level manouvers rock. I mowed down about 17 mooks (should have had them all but I forgot the bards +12 to damage). So far its really fun, and the stances are quite nice as well. I would reccomend it to anyone. Thanks for making it, I only wish youd finished the weapon of legacy for it.

Glad the huntsman's working out for you and I'll pass on your compliments on Iron Rain to dspeyer (and Fax and I_got_this_name whose disciplines he refactored into Iron Rain). I don't now if any of them are working on a Legacy Weapon for Iron Rain, but I do plan to get around to it; just doing prestige classes before Legacy Weapons.

playswithfire
2011-02-20, 03:37 PM
Updates:
Reworked Life's Blood's healing maneuvers with two new ones (Head on Straight on Cleansing Blow) and rewrote Healing Palm and Revive Muscle
Changed the Sacred Blood feat to Targeted Healing
New Mercenary class features (and better wording on precision damage)
All adepts have updated maneuver recovery mechanisms.

Still thinking on how to eliminate Huntsman dead levels.

Thanks again to everyone who's commented.

Havvy
2011-02-21, 08:28 PM
Bonus feats would help, I think. Even if you limited it to a small set of weak feats, it is still better than nothing. Truly dead levels are evil, but any level without class features can be seen as boring.

Amechra
2011-02-21, 08:36 PM
Looks interesting; I'll keep an eye on this.

Prime32
2011-02-21, 09:47 PM
Just skimmed this, interesting stuff.

One suggestion:

CAVALRYMAN
With the addition of the Twin Spirit discipline, it becomes possible to allow the martial adepts to do battle on horseback. Where the warblade would be more likely to view horses as another tool of war, one which must be kept fit and well-cared for, but ultimately still another tool to aid him in battle, a Crusader is more likely to form a bond with his steed. This option allows a crusader character to do so. While not required, characters who choose this option will almost certainly want to swap on of his existing disciplines for access to Twin Spirit.
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you have one less maneuver known, readied and granted at 1st level and your Steely Resolve delayed damage pool can hold a number of points of damage equal to your crusader class level instead of the normal progression.
Benefit: At 5th level, you gain a Special Mount as the Paladin class feature of the same name, except that your mount does not gain Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Share Saving Throws, or Command Creatures of its Kind and instead gains furious counterstrike and steely resolve with a damage pool that holds a number of points of damage equal to its HD.
Waiting 5 levels to get what you payed for kind of sucks. It would be nice to summon a weaker version of a paladin mount before then, or at least get Mounted Combat or something.

jguy
2011-02-22, 07:21 PM
I love this thread. Will be using these classes for sure in my next game.

playswithfire
2011-02-23, 10:48 PM
Bonus feats would help, I think. Even if you limited it to a small set of weak feats, it is still better than nothing. Truly dead levels are evil, but any level without class features can be seen as boring.

Huntsman now gets a boost to Listen, scaling up to blindsense and blindsight.


Just skimmed this, interesting stuff.

One suggestion:

Waiting 5 levels to get what you payed for kind of sucks. It would be nice to summon a weaker version of a paladin mount before then, or at least get Mounted Combat or something.

Good point; it now gets a standard heavy warhorse at level 1 that gains the Special Mount abilities starting at level 5.


I love this thread. Will be using these classes for sure in my next game.

Thanks. Let me know how they work out for you.

NineThePuma
2011-02-23, 11:25 PM
Good point; it now gets a standard heavy warhorse at level 1 that gains the Special Mount abilities starting at level 5.

What about something similar to the Wild Cohort feat? (I'd fetch a link but I'm feeling lazy)

playswithfire
2011-02-24, 10:06 PM
What about something similar to the Wild Cohort feat? (I'd fetch a link but I'm feeling lazy)

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'd rather keep it based on the paladin mount than the druid animal companion. I could reduce the extra HD and natural armor by 1 like they did for Wild Cohort, but I don't think it's necessary.


Anyone have any comments on the Soldier and the Firebrand? Just to have gone through each of the base classes?

Elfstone
2011-02-24, 10:10 PM
Same problems. Dead levels. cool abilities, but dead levels. Firebrand is better, but soldier dosnt really have an abilites... Make the Soldier awesome, cool and just totally kick ass.

For inspiration, read Frank and Ks tomes. It wont be the same as they did something different, but thats how cool it should be. You got a good bassi though.

Firbrand... Maybe a dose of bardic music once in awhile? Follow me is similar but different, I like it.

playswithfire
2011-02-26, 09:13 AM
Added some more abilities to the Soldier.


Firbrand... Maybe a dose of bardic music once in awhile? Follow me is similar but different, I like it.
I gave it another similar ability; he can now grant his allies the ability to rage to increasing degrees a number of times a day. It also gains a bonus feat and Charisma skill bonuses.

Elfstone
2011-02-26, 12:06 PM
Very nice. I like it. Seems well scaled, and great idea with the soldiers calm ability.
Seems like every class only has about 5-6 dead levels. If you can get rid of those I would say the classes should be complete. (If you want to add to huntsman thats fine =)

NineThePuma
2011-02-26, 02:28 PM
But... ToB had dead levels too. :P

playswithfire
2011-02-26, 02:32 PM
Very nice. I like it. Seems well scaled, and great idea with the soldiers calm ability.
Thanks.

Seems like every class only has about 5-6 dead levels. If you can get rid of those I would say the classes should be complete. (If you want to add to huntsman thats fine =)
The original Tome of Battle classes have around seven dead levels each and I tried to position mine so that you were getting a maneuver and either a stance or a readied maneuver when you didn't get a class feature, so I think I'm comfortable with the number that they have now.

Thanks again for your feedback.

Hiro Protagonest
2011-02-26, 03:06 PM
This looks interesting, I've only skimmed it, but I like the soldier (but that's probably because I like primary melee classes and the setting sun discipline).

Elfstone
2011-02-26, 04:15 PM
Right. But ideally nothing has dead levels. ;p
Glad to give it. Hope you finish with those PrCs soon enough for me to play one in my current game.
Once again, you accomplished something awesome here. Keep it up.

playswithfire
2011-02-26, 07:06 PM
Hope you finish with those PrCs soon enough for me to play one in my current game.

Anything in particular you're looking for? I'm working on Blade Magician now, but haven't given much thought to the order after that. I only have a vague sense of what each one's going to be at this point.

Blade Magician
10 levels, 3/4 BAB
use spells effectively in conjunction with maneuvers, gain an Su stance and some spell-like abilities
9/10 casting (arcane or divine; both can qualify, as can Warlocks)
disciplines: Desert Wind, Master's Voice, Iron Rain

Force of Nature
Probably 10 levels, 3/4 BAB
advances Wildshaping, benefits while Wild Shaped
disciplines: Crashing Wave, Circling Vulture and Tiger Claw

Inspirational Commander (probably needs a new name)
Probably 10 levels, full BAB
stacks with bard and adept levels for inspire courage, gives other bardic music boosts
disciplines: Master's Voice and White Raven; maybe Wandering Eye

Master of Surprise
probably 10 levels, 3/4 BAB
focuses on ambushes and precision damage
gnome racial or trained by another one
disciplines: Life's Blood and Wandering Eye

Rider of Legend
probably 5 levels, full BAB
pretty much what it sounds like, extra abilities while mounted and for your mount
discipline: Twin Spirit

True Psychic Warrior
Probably 10 levels, full BAB
8/10 psionic powers
at present, thinking sort of a psionic Master of the Empty Hand, psionically initiating maneuvers against opponents at a distance, but that might change
disciplines: Crashing Wave, Diamond Mind, Giant's Grip, Setting Sun


Though I'm considering doing a healing-centric one (disciplines: Life's Blood and Devoted Spirit) either instead of one of the above or just as a 9th prestige class.

playswithfire
2011-02-27, 05:32 PM
TABLE 4-1: THE BLADE MAGICIAN__________HIT DIE : d6
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known|Spellcasting

1st|+0|
0|
0|
2|Blade Magic(Nothing up my sleeve), Elemental Mastery|
0|
0|
0|--

2nd|+1|
0|
0|
3|-|
1|
0|
0|+1 level spellcasting class

3rd|+2|
1|
1|
3|Showmanship(Prestidigitation)|
0|
1|
0|+1 level spellcasting class

4th|+3|
1|
1|
4|-|
1|
0|
1|+1 level spellcasting class

5th|+3|
1|
1|
4|Blade Magic(Spotlight)|
0|
0|
0|+1 level spellcasting class

6th|+4|
2|
2|
5|Three-card Shuffle, Showmanship(Escapology)|
0|
1|
0|+1 level spellcasting class

7th|+5|
2|
2|
5|-|
1|
0|
0|+1 level spellcasting class

8th|+6|
2|
2|
6|Showmanship(Rope Trick)|
0|
0|
1|+1 level spellcasting class

9th|+6|
3|
3|
6|-|
1|
1|
0|+1 level spellcasting class

10th|+7|
3|
3|
7|Blade Magic(Flourish)|
0|
0|
0|+1 level spellcasting class

[/table]
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level): Bluff, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Knowledge(arcana), Martial Lore, Perform, Profession, Sleight of Hand, Spellcraft, Spot, Tumble, Use Rope


BLADE MAGICIAN
Fire has ever been and may remain, the most terrible of the elements. So, to master it, along with the others, is a terrifying but ultimately glorious achievement.
-- Nihy Dahourri, a blade magician
While some call all aspects of the Sumblime Way "blade magic," there are a number of adepts who more fully integrate their magical training with their martial prowess. As this ability transcends the different types of magic (both arcane and divine casters may enter the class), it is difficult to ascribe a single combat style to blade magicians as a whole save to say that they more truly wield their spells as weapons than other spellcasters.

BECOMING A BLADE MAGICIAN
The most common caster class to take levels in the blade magician class is the bard as they find the Showmanship abilities an asset to their performance, though all spellcasters, and even warlocks, can benefit from the class. Most of these will slightly sacrifice their spellcasting by taking levels in a martial adept class (usually crusader, firebrand, or swordsage) to meet the other requirements, notably the stance and ranks in Martial Lore, though some will do so through feats or alternate class features. Unlike the Jade Phoenix mage, one does not need to be born into this class; it is more of a profession than a destiny.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Skills: Knowledge(arcana) 8 ranks, Martial Lore 8 ranks
Feats: Elemental Wind OR Energy Substitution
Martial Maneuvers: Must know one martial maneuver
Martial Stances: Must know one martial stance
Special: Caster level 5th

CLASS FEATURES
The blade magician class features focus on cultivating two separate aspects of magic: its destructive power in combat and its spectacle when performed before a crowd. The latter skillset leads some to underestimate blade magicians on the battlefield, but their maneuvers and stances make them effective, even when denied their spells.
Spellcasting: At each blade magician level except first, the character gains new spells per day and known, if applicable, as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a blade magician, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.
Maneuvers: At 2st, 4th, 7th and 9th level, you gain a new maneuver known from the Desert Wind, Iron Rain, or Master's Voice disciplines. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisites to learn it. You add your full blade magician levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known. At third, sixth, and ninth level, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.
Stances Known: At 4th and 8th level, you learn a new martial stance from the Desert Wind, Iron Rain, or Master's Voice disciplines. You must meet a stance's prerequisites to learn it.
Blade Magic (Su): Having masters both magic and the sublime way, blade magicians learn to use one to enhance the other. Each Blade Magic ability allow you to either sacrifice a spell to gain a new means of attack or to use the spells as part of your attacks. The maximum level of spell you may use as part of your Blade Magic abilities is one fourth of your caster level, rounded down.
Nothing up my sleeve: One of the signature abilities of a blade magician, you can create blades of magical energy. As a free action, you may expend a spell or spell slot to create a number of spell shards equal to your caster level which last for 1 round, can be drawn as a free action, and function like daggers except that they deal d4 damage times the level of the spell sacrificed and you do not add your Strength modifier to the damage roll. You also gain a bonus on attack rolls with the spell shards equal to the spell level. Damage done by the shards is the same as the type of damage done by the spell, if any, or slashing damage if the spell does not cause damage. You may not use the Arcane Strike feat in the same round that you use this ability.
Spotlight: Beginning at fifth level, you may initiate any Iron Rain strike with an initiation time of one standard action as a full-round action, using a spell with the shape ray as your weapon instead of a physical ranged or thrown weapon.
Flourish: At tenth level, you can cast a touch spell as part of a full attack action and each enemy you make a successful melee attack against is affected by the spell. The duration of the touch spell is changed to 1 round when used in this way, if it has a longer duration.
Elemental Mastery: At first level, you gain either Elemental Wind or Energy Substitution as a bonus feat, whichever you don't already have, even if you don't meet the prerequisites. Additionally, you may use the Elemental Wind feat to change the damage type done by Desert Wind maneuvers to sonic damage instead of cold or electricity (check if damage or save changes) and to convert half the sonic damage done by a Master's Voice maneuver to cold, electricity, or fire.
Showmanship: In addition to big, flashy spells and feats of magic, a blade magician also becomes more comforatable with smaller scale magic, able to cast certain spells more easily than other casters and, on occasional, learn to replicate some of his magical abilities using only mundane skill.
Prestidigitation: You gain a bonus on Sleight of Hand checks equal to your blade magician level. You may also use prestidigitation as a spell-like ability a number of times per day equal to your casting stat modifier.
Escapology: You gain a bonus on Escape Artist checks equal to your blade magician level. You may also use animare rope as a spell-like ability a number of times per day equal to your casting stat modifier.
Rope Trick: You gain a bonus on Use Rope checks equal to your blade magician level. You may also use rope trick as a spell-like ability a number of times per day equal to your casting stat modifier.
Three-card Shuffle (Su): Beginning at sixth level, you may expend a spell of at least 2nd level and forgo the benefits our your current stace as a swift action to gain the benefits of this stance. Two identical images of you appear in your choice of two squares adjacent to you and remain adjacent to you, moving as you do. While this stance is active, you may, as a swift action, create a blur of motion as you "shuffle" yourself between the images, with the end result being that you switch places with one of the images. You may not take a 5 ft step in the same round that you perform this "shuffle". If an enemy attacks one of the images, the image disappears and the attacker takes damage equal to d6 times the level of spell expended to assume this stance.

WARLOCKS AS BLADE MAGICIANS
The blade magician prestige class is designed so that warlocks can qualify, but some of the class features need to be modified slightly to make sense in the context of an eldritch blast instead of spellcasting. When a warlock blade magician gains Elemental Mastery, he may reduce the damage done by his eldritch blast to change the damage type it does to any energy type. When using Blade Magic abilities, a warlock blade magician essentially uses an eldritch blast of half the damage he usually does instead of a spell of one quarter caster level. This is the damage done by his spell shards at first level, his eldritch blast used as a ray at fifth level and the amount he can channel through a full attack at tenth level. When he enters the Three-card Shuffle stance, a warlock blade magician reduces his eldritch blast by a number of d6 for the duration of the stance and an enemy that attacks one of the images takes damage equal to the amount by which he reduced it.

Elfstone
2011-02-27, 08:24 PM
Are you familiar with the swordmage homebrew class? If so, how would this tie in? If not, Ill find it for you. (Im looking for anything Archer related. Looks like only the WoL will help.)

playswithfire
2011-02-27, 10:27 PM
Are you familiar with the swordmage homebrew class? If so, how would this tie in? If not, Ill find it for you. (Im looking for anything Archer related. Looks like only the WoL will help.)

Not familiar with swordmage, so I would appreciate the link. The only ranged prestige class I was planning to include is Trick Marksman (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10397958#post10397958) and I did that one already.

Elfstone
2011-03-01, 08:23 PM
Linky (http://wiki.faxcelestis.net/index.php?title=Swordmage)
As requested. Late though, sorry.

Hazzardevil
2011-03-02, 11:37 AM
CIRCLING VULTURE[/b][/size]
Circling Vulture is occasionally derided by martial adepts who do not practice it as being the thief's combat style. given that one of its primary tactics is the taking of weapons and other items from one's enemies. As a speedy getaway is the usual follow-up, it is practiced most efficiently by the flying races, each of whom also attempt to lay claim to developing the Circling Vulture discipline. Most agree that the true founder of the discipline was a famous raptoran master thief, however.
The discipline's associated skill is Sleight of Hand and its weapons are the claw, nunchaku, sai, unarmed strike, and whip.


With the description above I don't understand why this can be on the crusader Discipline list.

playswithfire
2011-03-02, 08:38 PM
Linky (http://wiki.faxcelestis.net/index.php?title=Swordmage)
As requested. Late though, sorry.
Interesting class. I guess given the different math for caster level, etc, I'd let a swordmage substitute 3rd level incantations for caster level 5th when meeting the prerequisites and it would gain new incantations at 2nd-10th instead of new spells.


With the description above I don't understand why this can be on the crusader Discipline list.
This is another instance of me writing and rewriting and the end result not making sense. Circling Vulture used to be Defanged Cobra, which was focused on disarming and nonlethal damage instead of theft-flavored disarming and flying, and thus fit a bit better for the Crusader. I'll remove Circling Vulture from the Crusader swap list.

Hazzardevil
2011-03-03, 12:13 PM
Fair enough, it wasn't the nme that threw me off but the general style of the maneuvers.

playswithfire
2011-03-20, 09:36 AM
TABLE 4-8: THE WAR LEADER__________HIT DIE : d10
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known

1st|+1|
2|
0|
2|Rally the Troops 1/day, Rousing Speech|
1|
0|
0

2nd|+2|
3|
0|
3|Song of the War Leader|
0|
1|
0

3rd|+3|
3|
1|
3|-|
1|
0|
0

4th|+4|
4|
1|
4|Forged in my Image|
0|
0|
1

5th|+5|
4|
1|
4|Rally the Troops 2/day|
1|
0|
0

6th|+6|
5|
2|
5|Bolster Spirits|
0|
1|
0

7th|+7|
5|
2|
5|Rousing Speech (Run Them Ragged)|
1|
0|
0

8th|+8|
6|
2|
6|-|
0|
0|
1

9th|+9|
6|
3|
6|Rally the Troops 3/day|
1|
0|
0

10th|+10|
7|
3|
7|Forged in my Image (completely)|
0|
1|
0

[/table]
Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level): Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Perform, Sense Motive, Spot, Tumble


WAR LEADER
It is the foolish soldier, and the more foolish general, who believes that they brought victory on their own. Though one man may lead, he is only as good as those who follow him.
-- Zuntus, a war leader
War leaders will be found wherever there is conflict, whether as part of a declared war or leading a group of outlaws in a raid. While any martial adept with access to the White Raven discipline can be considered an effective commander, war leaders excel as few others can. A group of otherwise unimpressive warriors under the command of a war leader become a force to be reckoned with, as they become Forged in his Image and receive other boots to their combat abilities.

BECOMING A WAR LEADER
This class is for those who wish to lead others into battle while contributing greatly themselves. Most war leaders start of as bards, though some are harmonious knights of Milil or spellcasters with levels in the prestige bard class, as the ability to inspire courage is one of the requirements. From there, some will meet the martial requirements through feats, though, since the war leader class does not progress spellcasting, most take levels in the martial adept classes with access to White Raven instead. The crusader, firebrand, and warblade each offer that access and access to at least one of the other war leader disciplines.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Skills: Perform(oratory) 8 ranks, Bluff 4 ranks, Dimplomacy or Intimidate 4 ranks
Feats: Endurance
Martial Maneuvers: Must know one maneuver from the Master's Voice, Wandering Eye or White Raven discipline
Martial Stances: Must know one stance from the Master's Voice, Wandering Eye or White Raven discipline
Special: Able to use the inspire courage ability

CLASS FEATURES
A war leader, as the name implies, is primarily a leader of men and the class features reflect that, as they focus on improving the combat abilities of his allies. Apart from that, war leaders can have almost any combat style, the only unifying qualities being the martial disciplines they have access to and a tendency to stay within earshot of their allies.
Maneuvers: At each odd level, you gain a new maneuver known from the Master's Voice, Wandering Eye or White Raven disciplines. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisites to learn it. You add your full war leader levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known. At second, sixth, and tenth level, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.
Stances Known: At fourth and eighth level, you learn a new martial stance from the Master's Voice, Wandering Eye or White Raven disciplines. You must meet a stance's prerequisites to learn it.
Rally the Troops (Su): A war leader is only as good as the men who follow him, so it is in his interest to make them as effective as possible. At 1st, 5th and 9th level, a war leader gains an additional use of his inspire courage ability. war leader levels stack with bard levels for the purposes of determining the bonus it provides, but not for any other bardic music abilities.
Rousing Speech (Su): A war leader gains the ability to use Rousing Speech as a firebrand whose level is equal to his war leader level +2. If he already has levels in the firebrand class, those levels stack to determine his effective firebrand level. For example, a Bard 2/Firebrand 4/war leader 4 would be treated as a 10th level firebrand and able to use Rousing Speech twice a day and be able to use both the Fervor and Rage abilities as long he meets the minimum Perform ranks for the latter.
Run Them Ragged: Beginning at seventh level, you can expend a use of your bardic music ability as a standard action to begin a rousing speech. If you do, the effect lasts for as long as you sing instead of the standard number of round, but, if an ally is affected for longer than they would normally be capable, they are exhausted instead of fatigued when the effect ends.
Song of the War Leader: At second level, a war leader gains the Song of the White Raven feat. If he already has this feat, the bonus granted by his inspire courage bardic music ability instead increases by one. Additionally, he can use inspire courage as a swift action when in a Master's Voice or Wandering Eye stance in addition to when in a White Raven stance.
Forged in my Image (Ex): In time, a war leader's followers learn to fight as he does, to take their strength from him, and thus achieve victory. Beginning at fourth level, a war leader can forgo the benefits of his current stance to grant his allies a number of temporary hit points equal to twice his initiator level. The hit points expire when the war leader changes his stance.
Completely: At tenth level, when a war leader forgoes the benefits of his stance, his allies' base attack bonus become equal to the war leader's initiator level, if that is higher.
Bolster Spirits (Ex): A war leader must keep his followers motivated, even in the face of danger and their own fears. Beginning at sixth level, a war leader can grant an ally other than himself a bonus on a Will save equal to his Charisma modifier.

DracoDei
2011-03-21, 07:10 PM
Circling Vulture is an odd mix... I would consider "Snatching Eagle" or "Thieving Magpie" to convey this mix better. The 8th level stance should maybe only grant Poor maneuverability if your Dex is low enough... maybe 10 as the break-point?

In any case I will probably add a note to my Wing Dragons regarding it.... or maybe not, since it seems we can't edit threads that old any more.

playswithfire
2011-03-22, 08:18 PM
Circling Vulture is an odd mix... I would consider "Snatching Eagle" or "Thieving Magpie" to convey this mix better. The 8th level stance should maybe only grant Poor maneuverability if your Dex is low enough... maybe 10 as the break-point?

In any case I will probably add a note to my Wing Dragons regarding it.... or maybe not, since it seems we can't edit threads that old any more.

Yeah, Circling Vulture probably got rewritten more than any of the others. It used to be a disarming/unarmed damage discipline called Defanged Cobra, but I wanted a discipline that granted/enhanced flying so I could have land, sea and air disciplines for Force of Nature, so I refluffed the disarming as theft and adding the flying. I think that was when I added the natural attack one, too. I considered a couple different birds, but settled on Vulture probably based on the second definition here (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=vulture). though I may have to consider Snatching Eagle.

Tweaked the stance as you suggested; you're right, there should definitely be the possibility of poor maneuverability.

Thanks for the feedback.

playswithfire
2011-03-27, 09:43 AM
TABLE 4-4: THE MASTER OF SURPRISE__________HIT DIE : d8
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known

1st|+1|
0|
2|
2|Surprise(+1d6), Misdirection|
1|
0|
0

2nd|+2|
0|
3|
3|It's a Trap!|
0|
1|
0

3rd|+3|
1|
3|
3|-|
1|
0|
0

4th|+4|
1|
4|
4|Surprise(+2d6, versatile)|
0|
0|
1

5th|+5|
1|
4|
4|Misdirection(swift), Ambush|
1|
0|
0

6th|+6|
2|
5|
5|trapfinding|
0|
1|
0

7th|+7|
2|
5|
5|Surprise(+3d6)|
1|
0|
0

8th|+8|
2|
6|
6|-|
0|
0|
1

9th|+9|
3|
6|
6|Ambush (full round)|
1|
0|
0

10th|+10|
3|
7|
7|Surprise(+4d6,critical)|
0|
1|
0

[/table]
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level): Balance, Bluff, Craft, Disable Device, Heal, Hide, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Spot, Tumble


MASTER OF SURPRISE
When presented with an enemy, whether one man or an encampment, that others believe can not be attacked, I take it as a challenge to either find their weakness or create one.
-- Blanihan, a master of surprise
Some regard masters of surprise as nothing more than sneaks who lie in wait and attack without provocation and there are a few who live up to that reputation. Most of them, however, are master tacticians serving with honor in their respective militaries, working to ensure quick victories that risk as few of their comrades as possible. As such, masters of surprise can be found almost anywhere, from a battlefield to a dark alleyway to a city's constable office.

BECOMING A MASTER OF SURPRISE
As the concept of the surprise attack is a tactic that all martial classes can appreciate, the master of surprise class is appealing to many, though it favors those who use the Sublime Way to enhance their ability to deal precision damage. The majority of masters of surprise begin as mercenaries, as this class provides all of the prerequisites. The rest begin as rogues, scouts, or ninjas to gain the necessary bonus damage. From there, they either take the feats necessary to meet the martial requirements or take levels in another martial adept class; the huntsman, swordsage, and warblade are the most common choices.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Skills: Bluff 8 ranks, Heal 8 ranks, Hide 4 ranks, Move Silently 4 ranks
Martial Maneuvers: Must know one 2nd-level Life's Blood or Wandering Eye maneuver, one Life's Blood maneuver of any level, and one Wandering Eye maneuver of any level.
Special: Skirmish, sneak attack, or sudden strike 1d6
Special: Must be a gnome or trained by another master of surprise

CLASS FEATURES
As a master of surprise, you learn both the tactics that allow you to catch an enemy unaware and how to deal greater damage when you do so. The Misdirection and Ambush class features allow you to sculpt the battlefield into the shape that most benefits you. On the rare occasions when that fails, you can always regroup and relocate to a new battlefield which you have covered with traps of your own devising and try again.
Maneuvers: At each odd level, you gain a new maneuver known from the Life's Blood or Wandering Eye disciplines. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisites to learn it. You add your full master of surprise levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known. At second, sixth, and tenth level, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.
Stances Known: At fourth and eighth level, you learn a new martial stance from the Life's Blood or Wandering disciplines. You must meet a stance's prerequisites to learn it.
Surprise (Ex): A master of surprise learns how to strike when and where his opponents least expect it. At 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th level, a master of surprise gains an additional d6 of skirmish, sneak attack, or sudden strike. He may select a different type of damage each time and does not have to already have a source of that damage type to select it.
Versatile: Beginning at 4th level, a master of surprise can adjust the ratio of the different types of precision damage he deals, changing each d6 of skirmish, sneak attack, or sudden strike to any of the three, as a swfit action. The ratio remains the same until he changes it again.
Critical: At 10th level, when a master of surprise confirms a critical hit, he adds two points of damage for each d6 of precison damage he has in addition to the normal multiplied damage for a critical hit.
Misdirection (Ex): The simplest way to make an attack a surprise is to force the target look somewhere else. At 1st level, a master of surprise gains the Improved Feint feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
Swift: At 5th level, a master of surprise can feint as a swift action. Additionally, he may attempt to make the Bluff check apply to more than one attack by taking a penalty on the check equal to four times the number of extra attacks he wants it to apply to.
It's a Trap! (Ex): Suprise need not come in the form of an attack; a well=crafted and well-placed trap can serve just as well. A master of surprise learns both how to place them and how to avoid those set by others. Beginning at 2nd level, a master of surprise gains a bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps equal to half his master of surprise level. This is similar to and stacks with the Trap Sense ability. He gains a bonus of the same amount on Craft(trapmaking) and Disable Device checks.
Ambush (Ex): The ambush - the ability to emerge, strike, and move on - is one of the oldest and most effective forms of the surprise attack. At 5th level, a master of surprise gains Spring Attack as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites and and can initiate a strike with an initiation time of a standard action when making a spring attack, instead of a single attack.
Full round: At 9th level, you may initiate a strike with an initiation time of a full round as part your spring attack instead.
Trapfinding (Ex): Beginning at 6th level, a master of surprise can use the Search skill to locate traps when the task has a Difficulty Class higher than 20, as the rogue class feature of the same name. If he already has this ability, he instead gains a +5 bonus on Search checks made to find traps.

NineThePuma
2011-03-27, 09:46 AM
I would break the 'special' prerequisite in two.

playswithfire
2011-03-27, 09:57 AM
I would break the 'special' prerequisite in two.

You're right; that is much cleaner; not sure why I didn't do that initially unless I was thinking there could only be one 'special' line, which isn't true. Thanks.

jguy
2011-03-31, 11:20 PM
For the Master of Surprise, under skills, you have the "x4 at first level" under skills. Just a heads up

YouLostMe
2011-04-01, 01:55 AM
Just letting you know, I kind of went on a spree and printed off every discipline (with associated maneuvers) and class in this book. They look fantastic, and I'm certainly going to use them lots in the future. I'll cite you whenever I use it. Thank you very much.

DracoDei
2011-04-01, 09:18 AM
Do you need two maneuvers minimum, or three?

playswithfire
2011-04-01, 05:32 PM
For the Master of Surprise, under skills, you have the "x4 at first level" under skills. Just a heads up
Heh, thanks; looking back, it's on all of them. I think I used the same template for prestige classes as base classes. I'll fix that soon.


Just letting you know, I kind of went on a spree and printed off every discipline (with associated maneuvers) and class in this book. They look fantastic, and I'm certainly going to use them lots in the future. I'll cite you whenever I use it. Thank you very much.
Glad you like it. Let me know how it works out for you.


Do you need two maneuvers minimum, or three?
For master of surprise, three. I know it's a little unclear, but I think I mirrored Shadow Sun Ninja for those requirements.

jguy
2011-04-10, 11:29 PM
Was looking over your Mercenary class, since I am playing it in a real life game and will be leveling soon, and I noticed something. You have some a couple horrible dead levels.

From level 4 to 5, all you are getting is 1 extra readied maneuver and a d8 hip point boost. No bonus to saves, no BAB, no special ability, no new maneuvers. Just hit points and 1 extra readied maneuver. I dread that level.

Same thing happens at 12 to 13 level progression. No saves, no BAB, no maneuvers.

I suggest moving Evasion from level 6 to level 5 since level 6 has a bonus to just about everything. More BAB. more saves, and a new maneuver.

Moving Deep Pain to level 13 is another suggestion for that dead level because once again at level 14 you get a bonus to just about everything.

If you wish to keep these abilities where they are, I suggest coming up with a new ability to put in place of these dead levels. A bonus feat, a minor bonus to certain things, anything is better then absolutely nothing.

playswithfire
2011-04-12, 05:57 AM
Was looking over your Mercenary class, since I am playing it in a real life game and will be leveling soon, and I noticed something. You have some a couple horrible dead levels.

From level 4 to 5, all you are getting is 1 extra readied maneuver and a d8 hip point boost. No bonus to saves, no BAB, no special ability, no new maneuvers. Just hit points and 1 extra readied maneuver. I dread that level.

Same thing happens at 12 to 13 level progression. No saves, no BAB, no maneuvers.

I suggest moving Evasion from level 6 to level 5 since level 6 has a bonus to just about everything. More BAB. more saves, and a new maneuver.

Moving Deep Pain to level 13 is another suggestion for that dead level because once again at level 14 you get a bonus to just about everything.

If you wish to keep these abilities where they are, I suggest coming up with a new ability to put in place of these dead levels. A bonus feat, a minor bonus to certain things, anything is better then absolutely nothing.

Took a look and you're right; those levels were pretty bad. And thanks for the suggestions; I shifted evasion and deep pain (full) as you said. It does work better that way. Thanks for the feedback and I hope the mercenary works out well for you.

Other thoughts/updates, since I'm posting.
Took a quick look at the other classes and didn't see any other levels that were quite that dead. Anyone who does, please feel free to correct me.

In working on Rider of Legend (which will hopefully be finished this weekend) which advances either a Special Mount or an animal companion large enough to ride, I'm considering changing the Huntsman's special mount to grant bonus HD, Str/Dex, and tricks as if you were a druid of half your huntsman level, but gain the specials I mention in huntsman instead of the standard ones at levels based on effective druid level* which would allow the huntsman to benefit from this and other prestige classes, feats, etc that use druid level as the metric for animal companion and allow a huntsman willing to spend the feats on it to end up with a powerful animal companion.

* something like
{table=head]Effective Druid Level|Special
1st |Link
2nd-4th|Share Boosts
5th-7th|Multiattack
8th-10th|Share Stances[/table]

playswithfire
2011-04-16, 02:34 PM
TABLE 4-5: THE RIDER OF LEGEND__________HIT DIE : d10
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known

1st|+1|
2|
0|
0|Mount|
1|
0|
0

2nd|+2|
3|
0|
0|Horsemanship (Pole-bending)|
0|
1|
0

3rd|+3|
3|
1|
1|Horse And Rider As One|
1|
0|
1

4th|+4|
4|
1|
1|Horsemanship (Jumping)|
0|
1|
0

5th|+5|
4|
1|
1|Mounted Full Attack|
1|
0|
0

[/table]
Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level): Balance, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (nature), Ride, Tumble


RIDER OF LEGEND
I've been scared before plenty of battles, but I was scare the first time I met this two-thousand pound beast, too, and today he's a part of me, because I faced that fear. As I've faced every battle since.
-- Wenja Hony, a rider of legend
As the name implies, a rider of legend is one who fights with the assistance of an animal that lets him ride it. Most commonly, this animal will be a horse and the names of some class features reflect that, but riders of legend have been spotted astride practically all creatures of the land, sea, and even air. As the class provides combat benefits to both rider and moutn, not least through access to the Twin Spirit discipline, most riders of legend are found serving in the cavalry regiments of various armies. A small number, however, use their skills for personal gain, either as a private protection service or by being the thieves others need protection from.

BECOMING A RIDER OF LEGEND
The most common entry path to the rider of legend class is with at least a few levels in either the huntsman class or the crusader class with the cavalryman variant, as each of these provide both the martial maneuvers and the bonded animal necessary to meet the requirements. The remainder tend to be rangers and druids have either taken feats to learn the necessary stance or multiclassed to warblade.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Base Attack Bonus: 5+
Skills: Ride 8 ranks
Feats: Ride-By Attack
Martial Stances: Must know one Twin Spirit stance
Special: Must have a bonded animal (either an Animal Companion large enough to ride or a Special Mount, as the paladin class feature)

CLASS FEATURES
As a rider of legend, you move around the battlefield at the greater pace afforded you by the mount who fights with you. Where others have their tactical choices reduced by most animals' tendency to move in straight lines while bearing a rider, riders of legend find a freedom and even greater opportunities for attack when seated on their mounts. And under the guidance of their rider, the mounts gain new tactics as well.
Maneuvers: At each odd level, you gain a new maneuver known from the Twin Spirit discipline. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisites to learn it. You add your full rider of legend levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known. At second and fourth level, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.
Stances Known: At third level, you learn a new martial stance from the Twin Spirit discipline. You must meet a stance's prerequisites to learn it.
Mount (Ex): You either add your rider of legend levels to your druid level to determine the abilities or your animal companion or to your paladin level to determine the abilities of your special mount.
Horsemanship (Ex): The true hallmark or a rider of legend is not how he can fight, but how he can control and work with the animal he rides.
Pole-bending: Beginning at 2nd level, while charging, a rider of legend can make a number of 45 degree turns up to the dexterity modifier of his bonded animal. Each turn consumes 10 feet of movement and he must move at least 5 feet between turns.
Jumping: Beginning at 4th level, a rider of legend's mount can attack while leaping over an enemy up to one size category smaller than it is. If it succeeds on the Jump check (DC based on enemy size, listed below), the mount may make a single attack with each of its natural attacks against that enemy. Standard penalties for attacking with multiple natural weapons apply.
{table=head]Enemy Size|Jump DC

Fine|
2

Diminutive|
4

Tiny|
6

Small|
12

Medium|
24

Large|
48

Huge|
96

Gargantuan|
192

[/table]
Horse And Rider As One (Ex): At third level, you gain the Horse and Rider tactical feat. Additionally, when using its Rear Up tactical maneuver, you may also make a single melee attack against one opponent within range. You gain a bonus on the attack roll equal to the result of your Ride check divided by 10.
Mounted Full Attack (Ex): At fifth level, when you make a mounted charge, you may make a full attack so long as your mount's movement does not exceed a single move action. When making use of Horse and Rider's Mounted Strike tactical maneuver, you may initiate a strike with an initiation time of one full round instead of a standard action under the same movement restrictions.

Marxism
2011-04-16, 03:35 PM
this is absolutely wonderful! I just love it.

Kettenpanzer
2011-04-26, 01:05 PM
I'm stunned with all the work y'all have put into this project -- it's exhilarating. It's also driving me to distraction because I want to try several of these ideas out to see how they play compared to the original ToB material. Way to go!

As you continue the development of this project, I'd like you to consider investing a smidge more integration with the XPH (or, if you please, Dreamscarred Press's Psionics Unleashed). I've been experimenting with both psionics and ToB for several years and adore them -- mostly because they intertwine so well. You can easily "explain away" the source of ToB's martial maneuvers as an inborn, psionics-like, power source without upsetting any of the more hide-bound arcane- and divine-themed casters. They tend to quiet down and stop throwing things when you justify a shadow garrote as having been "manifested from ectoplasm" rather than "tapped from the weave" or whatever.

The wild strike feat is a strong down-payment on the kind of work y'all (we?) can do; I'd really like to see you (us?) explore some of these ideas.

As an example, I've been crafting a Warblade/Psion multiclass idea as an NPC for an upcoming PFRPG campaign because the two Int-based fighitng styles seem to integrate so smoothly that you'd assume that they'd been intended all along to merge. A PrC or feat combination or even variant cross-over rule could smooth off the rough edges of the traditional multi-classing approach and make something both fun and memorable.

Mull on it, please. No rush. If it's not to your liking, that's okay -- just keep on with the great work you're already doing and we'll all be thrilled.

Many thanks,

KP

playswithfire
2011-04-26, 10:38 PM
I like the idea of combining ToB with psionics, too; just need to find the time to actually sit down and flesh out True Psychic Warrior (10 level, full BAB, 8/10 manifesting with access to Crashing Wave, Diamond Mond, Giant's Grip, and Setting Sun) which will sort of center around Telekintec Maneuverer, sort of a psionic/ToB Master of the Unseen Hand, executing strikes with its mind, etc. In the mean time, I've got the psionic adaptation of my soldier base class and the Soulsword swordsage variant.

I'll definitely keep mulling on ways to combine ToB and XPH, and if you've got any other feats/variants/prestige class ideas in that vein, I'd be happy to have the help.

playswithfire
2011-05-02, 10:48 PM
TABLE 4-7: THE TRUE PSYCHIC WARRIOR__________HIT DIE : d8
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known|Powers Known

1st|+1|
2|
0|
2|Forceful|
1|
0|
0|+1 level manifesting class

2nd|+2|
3|
0|
3|Mind Strike|
0|
0|
0|+1 level manifesting class

3rd|+3|
3|
1|
3|-|
1|
0|
0|+1 level manifesting class

4th|+4|
4|
1|
4|Crystalline Blows|
0|
1|
1|--

5th|+5|
4|
1|
4|-|
1|
0|
0|+1 level manifesting class

6th|+6|
5|
2|
5|Mind Strike (full round)|
0|
0|
0|+1 level manifesting class

7th|+7|
5|
2|
5|-|
1|
0|
0|+1 level manifesting class

8th|+8|
6|
2|
6|Psychic Buffer|
0|
1|
1|--

9th|+9|
6|
3|
6|-|
1|
0|
0|+1 level manifesting class

10th|+10|
7|
3|
7|Mind Strike (quick-minded)|
0|
0|
0|+1 level manifesting class

[/table]
Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level): Climb, Concentration, Escape Artist, Jump, Knowledge (psionics), Martial Lore, Sense Motive, Swim, Tumble


TRUE PSYCHIC WARRIOR
Mind over matter. My mind will prove that you don't matter. Or, if you prefer, my blade will sever your mind from the rest of your matter.
-- Yeje Rang, a true psychic warrior
True psychic warriors can be found in a variety of places, from the front lines of a raging battlefield to the calm of a mountain monastery for, while they all share the smae talents, how they choose to use them varies widely. Some prefer to play the part of the traditional psionic character, dealing damage with their powers from afar, while others instantly move to melee range, using their mental abilities solely to augment their strengths and defenses.

BECOMING A TRUE PSYCHIC WARRIOR
Perhaps the most straightforward path to the true psychic warrior class is the psionic variant of the Soldier class, as this provides both the manifeter level and the study of the Sublime Way needed for entry. The most common path however, involves levels in one of the more powerful psionic classes mixed with levels in an initiator class that depends on the same mental ability score. In rare cases, a psionic character will meet the martial requirements through the use of feats, though this is a significant investment for any such class other than a psychic warrior.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Skills: Concentration 9 ranks
Martial Maneuvers: Must know two martial maneuvers
Martial Stances: Must know one martial stance
Special: Manifester level 5th

CLASS FEATURES
Telekinesis, though a particularly narrow and combat-oriented form of it, is the central feature of the true psychic warrior class, as it embodies their efforts to blend the mental and the martial. A true psychic warrior thinks of their psionic powers primarily as simply giving them additional options and a new range at which they can engage their enemies. Their choice of disciplines, among the most grounded in mundane tactics rather than the spectacular, provides a grounding for their otherwise supernatural abilities.
Powers Known: At each level except 4th an 8th, a true psychic warrior gains additional power points per day and access to new powers as if he had also gained a level in whatever manifesting class he belonged to before she added the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus feats, metapsionic or item creation feats, psicrystal special abilities, and so on). This essentially means that he adds those levels of true psychic warrior to the level of whatever manifesting class the character has, then determines power points per day, powers known, and manifester level accordingly.
If a character had more than one manifesting class before he became a true psychic warrior, he must decide to which class she adds the new level of true psychic warrior for the purpose of determining power points per day, powers known, and manifester level.
Maneuvers: At each odd level, you gain a new maneuver known from the Crashing Wave, Diamond Mond, Giant's Grip, or Setting Sun disciplines. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisites to learn it. You add your full true psychic warrior levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known. At fourth and eighth level, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.
Stances Known: At 4th and 8th level, you learn a new martial stance from the Crashing Wave, Diamond Mond, Giant's Grip, or Setting Sun disciplines. You must meet a stance's prerequisites to learn it.
Forceful (Ex): At 1st level, a true psychic warrior becomes able to learn powers he would not normally be able to, adding all powers with the [Force] descriptor to his class's power list.
Mind Strike (Ex): On of the hallmarks of a true psychic warrior is his ability to initiate strikes with his mind as well as with his sword. At 2nd level, you learn the telekinetic maneuver power, even if you could not normally learn a 4th level power, and also gain the Telekinetic Maneuverer feat.
full round: At 6th level, you can choose to spend a full round concentrating on the telekinetic maneuver power. If you do, you can make a full attack of bull rush, disarm, grapple, or trip attempts instead of single one, using your manifester level as your base attack bonus as defined by the power.
quick-minded: At 10th level, you can concentrate on the telekinetic maneuver power as move action and still execute the full attack of bull rush, disarm, grapple, or trip attempts, allowing you time to also make a physical attack in the same round.
Crystalline Blows (Su): Much as you have learned to use your martial strikes to enhance your psionic powers, you also channel your psionic might to enhance your martial skills. As a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity, you can channel power points into any melee weapon you wield, including a natural attack, as if it were made of deep crystal.
Psychic Buffer (Su): Forming a protective bubble around yourself with your psionic might, you allow yourself to manifest powers free of reprisals and attack at greater range. As a free action, you can forgo the benefits of your current stance to manifest a power without provoking an attack of opportunity. You may expend your psionic focus in the same action. If you do, the range of your melee attack increast by 10 feet and the base damage dealt by your weapon is force damage instead of its standard damage type until you initiate a stance.

Kettenpanzer
2011-05-03, 10:30 AM
Thanks for posting this, playswithfire. I'm excited to see what's sloshing about in your head.

Some off-the-cuff feedback, in no particular order. If you've already covered this ground in a different forum somewhere, tell me to bugger off and I'll leave it be. :smallbiggrin:

Are you invested in the class name? Or are you open to alternatives? I ask, because TPW stands a risk of being confused with the XPH PW basic class.

I like the balance between manifester levels and martial adept maneuvers/stances gained. The incorporation of maneuvers readied as the main benefit to the levels without a boost in manifester level keeps them from being seen as "dead levels." Nice!

Out of curiosity, why ML 5th but only Adept level 1st as the class prerequisite? Since the PrC seems to present an even balance between the two schools, would you accept a requirement for knowing both a 2nd level psionic power and a 2nd level martial maneuver? That would still require the PC to have reached at/about CL 6th before qualifying ...

The crystalline mind class feature is exhilarating -- I like it a lot. That adds greatly to the overall flavour of the class without actually unbalancing it. Given the loss of at least three (if not more) manifester levels' worth of power points, this is a feature that must be used judiciously (as opposed to using actual powers), since overuse can drain the PP reserve in just a few encounters.

Given the class's clear relationship with TK as a central power (which I greatly like), how would you feel about a higher-level class ability that allowed for some application of martial maneuvers at limited range? Something like turning a standard action strike maneuver into a maneuver with 5' of reach (as a full round action) at lower levels with a possible eventual ability to strike at 50' at 10th level (say, +5'/PrC level)? Or something similar to that?

Perhaps not as a class feature, but as a stance ... a PrC-unique ability to not provoke attacks of opportunity when manifesting powers. That'd clearly benefit the class, and would make him stand out as significantly different from other psionic classes ... But you would have to be in that stance to gain the benefit, thereby trading off the direct combat benefits gained from the more traditional stances that other martial adept classes adopt.

I get the connection to the diamond mind school; that seems like it'd be the dominant, default school for the class. Given how few high-level maneuvers you have available, though, I have a hard time believing that you'd be able to progress well in any other school (only one maneuver learned at each level) ... I realize that's a normal PrC design mechanic, but it doesn't exactly sit well. I'm not sure what (if anything) the solution might be. Any thoughts?

As-written, the PrC works within the 3.5 rule-set laid down for the original XPH, back when concentration was a skill and nearly all spellcasters had to devote maximum points in it. Diamond mind strikes rely on the concentration check methodology to produce their effects. Great for what we're going. Might want to discuss the impact of the loss of concentration as a class skill (and how to achieve the desired effect) for anyone taking this PrC into PFRPG system games (~3.75). A look at the mechanisms in Dreamscarred Press's Psionics Unleashed would be worth a sidebar.

Along those lines, the need to invest points into concentration (for the maneuvers and manifesting) means that those two skill points are going to be eaten quickly for any TPW that didn't start his manifesting life as a psion. Would you consider allowing -- as a class feature -- the TPW to replace all maneuvers and checks that would normally be accomplished with a concentration check to be performed with an autohypnosis check instead (in order to keep the psychic flavour of the class)?

I'm sure that this is going to be eating at me all week, so I'll revisit when I become coherent again.

Again, thanks for all the hard work you've been putting in to this project. I'm really eager to try this out and see how this works!

Cheers,

KP

Hazzardevil
2011-05-03, 01:18 PM
I think he put true on the front for a reason.

playswithfire
2011-05-03, 04:56 PM
Are you invested in the class name? Or are you open to alternatives? I ask, because TPW stands a risk of being confused with the XPH PW basic class.
I think he put true on the front for a reason.

I'm not too invested in the class name; that's just what occurred to me when I thought of it (sort of like how Master's Voice was first called Yakity Yak and War Leader used to be Inspirational Commander), but I haven't thought of anything better yet.


Out of curiosity, why ML 5th but only Adept level 1st as the class prerequisite? Since the PrC seems to present an even balance between the two schools, would you accept a requirement for knowing both a 2nd level psionic power and a 2nd level martial maneuver? That would still require the PC to have reached at/about CL 6th before qualifying ...
Even with those requirements, it'd still only need one adept level; the only difference is that the adept level would have to be the 5th level instead of the first.


The crystalline mind class feature is exhilarating -- I like it a lot. That adds greatly to the overall flavour of the class without actually unbalancing it. Given the loss of at least three (if not more) manifester levels' worth of power points, this is a feature that must be used judiciously (as opposed to using actual powers), since overuse can drain the PP reserve in just a few encounters.

Given the class's clear relationship with TK as a central power (which I greatly like), how would you feel about a higher-level class ability that allowed for some application of martial maneuvers at limited range? Something like turning a standard action strike maneuver into a maneuver with 5' of reach (as a full round action) at lower levels with a possible eventual ability to strike at 50' at 10th level (say, +5'/PrC level)? Or something similar to that?
I actually considered doing something like that at 8th level, but realized it had no defense boosting abilities. I also thought about trying to incorporate the ability to gain range into what become crystalline blows, but neither felt that right.


Perhaps not as a class feature, but as a stance ... a PrC-unique ability to not provoke attacks of opportunity when manifesting powers. That'd clearly benefit the class, and would make him stand out as significantly different from other psionic classes ... But you would have to be in that stance to gain the benefit, thereby trading off the direct combat benefits gained from the more traditional stances that other martial adept classes adopt.
Hmm, maybe I could do something like that at 8th level; I wanted there to be at least one defense-oriented class feature and that one would probably work better than Mind and Body as One, since it doesn't really need two class features that cost power points.


I get the connection to the diamond mind school; that seems like it'd be the dominant, default school for the class. Given how few high-level maneuvers you have available, though, I have a hard time believing that you'd be able to progress well in any other school (only one maneuver learned at each level) ... I realize that's a normal PrC design mechanic, but it doesn't exactly sit well. I'm not sure what (if anything) the solution might be. Any thoughts?
Yes and no with regards to Diamond Mind's dominance, since the other disciplines have strikes that you can perform with telekinetic maneuver/telekinetic maneuverer. Not sure what to do about the lack of high level maneuvers; I pretty much based its progression on JPM and RKV since the original ToB was the balance point I was looking for.


As-written, the PrC works within the 3.5 rule-set laid down for the original XPH, back when concentration was a skill and nearly all spellcasters had to devote maximum points in it. Diamond mind strikes rely on the concentration check methodology to produce their effects. Great for what we're going. Might want to discuss the impact of the loss of concentration as a class skill (and how to achieve the desired effect) for anyone taking this PrC into PFRPG system games (~3.75). A look at the mechanisms in Dreamscarred Press's Psionics Unleashed would be worth a sidebar.

Along those lines, the need to invest points into concentration (for the maneuvers and manifesting) means that those two skill points are going to be eaten quickly for any TPW that didn't start his manifesting life as a psion. Would you consider allowing -- as a class feature -- the TPW to replace all maneuvers and checks that would normally be accomplished with a concentration check to be performed with an autohypnosis check instead (in order to keep the psychic flavour of the class)?


Not all that familiar with Pathfinder, so I don't know what all would be involved in converting it for that. I'll take a look, though.

As for Autohypnosis/Concentration... maybe. I'd almost prefer to just give it more skill points, though. I'll think about it.

playswithfire
2011-05-06, 11:23 PM
Updated True Psychic Warrior (still need to look through Pathfinder psionics)
Added two new feats: Fan Dance and Weapon Flurry

At this point, compared to the original ToB, I have one more base class, one less discipline and I'm short 7 or 8 feats. And I still need the equipment/Weapons of Legacy section, obviously.

jguy
2011-05-30, 08:54 PM
Been awhile since anything new has been posted here. Hope the project continues to expand and improve. I've noticed some things and hope it helps make these classes even better.

Soldier:

Soldier has access to Crashing Wave but is not trained in Swim
The description under ability scores describes it as having only 4 per level, when it has 6.
5th level seems a little dead. +1 BAB and a new stance. I know stances are powerful by being on all the time but I don't think a whole levels worth is "New Stance!" Not the same as "3rd level spells!"


Mercenary: Been playing this for awhile now. Started at level 1 and I am about to level to 5. Love the class but I have found an inherit flaw in how it plays. It is a Int based class...but not really. See, it gets Int to damage over Strength, leading you to want to dump strength or at least not have it high. Since you use finessable weapons, you obviously want to use Weapon Finesse to use Dex instead.

Here is the problem. When I hit level 4 and could put a point in a stat, I didn't put it in Int. I put it in Dex. See, I get Int to Damage, but not to Attack. To make up for my 3/4 BAB and no strength, I have weapon finesse and Shadow Blade to add Dex to damage when in a Shadow Hand Stance. It is hard to consider a class "Int Based" when Dex is more important to me right now. My guy has 18 Int and 15 Dex right now but if I could do it over I'd have 16/16 and have 1 higher attack and 1 higher Init mod but the same damage. My first +2 stat item I am buying as well? Gloves of Dexterity. It gives me so much more then headband of intellect. +1 to attack, Ac, and Damage while headband will simply add +1 damage and a slightly better mod to my int based skills.

You don't get much out of having High Int that you wouldn't in playing a Swashbuckler, and they get full BAB and weapon finesse for free. I have a couple suggestions to make it a true Int Based class.

1.) Brew up a feat that gives you Int to attack that counts as Weapon Finesse for feat requirements (like Shadow Blade) and give it to Mercenary for free at level 1. This means they can dump Strength but not be punished for it.

2.) At 3rd level, give Mercenary a Ex ability that allows them to add Int to attack in place of strength for finesse weapons. This allows them to be full Int Based but it prevents casters from taking a single dip in it for Int to Rays.

3.) In the same theme as the previous, give them a inherit bonus to hit equal to half Int modifier. This means they still will probably get Weapon Finesse feat but giving yourself more Int isn't a bad thing anymore.

Mayhem
2011-05-31, 01:11 AM
jguy, why did you take shadow blade if your int is higher than dexterity and you already had weapon finesse? Did you need it for gloom razor feat? If not, I'm sorry to say but it looks like your character is suboptimal for what you're trying to do. It's ok though, you're still a great skill monkey and a competant fighter.

I think what happened is that int seemed like a primary stat when it's actually secondary, playswithfire you should rewrite your ability paragraph. The thing is it has skill points out the wazzoo and a things like tactics giving free skill points so it doesn't need int so much for skills, and most of it's class features push it into melee range which makes dex and con more important.

jguy how much does intelligence affect manuevers and the new discipline's feats? I haven't had a good look at them to know how useful int is outside of class special features. If it doesn't have much effect then you could be on to something.

Also jguy they already have a feat exactly what you're talking about- that's what informed aim is meant to be :smalltongue:( don't know if you can tell or not, but I'm not trying to be offensive here). They only need shadow blade for a prerequisite or if they have nothing better to take.

jguy
2011-05-31, 10:25 AM
I took Shadow Blade because my DM allowed it to stack with Int to Damage.

The class does present itself as Int based martial class when it is more of a Dex Primary with Int secondary for extra damage and skills.

My intelligence has had no effect on my maneuvers at all so far. It has a class ability later on that allows you to substitute Int for the primary stat of a DC but I haven't gotten to that part and I don't know if I will.

For the feat, Informed Aim replaced Damage rolls but not Attack rolls. This gives you the problem of MADness. A Fighter, or better yet a Warblade, just needs Strength for attack and Damage and can use 2-Handed weapons. For mercenary if you want to use the primary ability, Informed Aim, you need a decent Int with replaces Strength all together for damage, doesn't add. Since it is a finesse weapon you will want Weapon Finesse since early on it is easier to get a higher Dex mod then it is Strength or Int. Also, you can't 2-Hand most finesse weapons except Spiked Chain and Elven Court Blade, all exotic weapons. Also, I don't think Informed Aim allows 1.5 damage on 2 hand weapons either way.

This leads to the MADness. If you want to hit, you need high Dex, but you want High Int for extra damage, and you will need higher Con because you are a martial class with a D8 Hit dice.

I was thinking of going into Two-Weapon Fighting but my primary maneuver line, Life's Blood, requires an open hand almost at all times to use its abilities.

NineThePuma
2011-05-31, 11:46 AM
Shadowblade stacks Int/Dex/Srength on a merc.

playswithfire
2011-05-31, 04:04 PM
Been awhile since anything new has been posted here. Hope the project continues to expand and improve. I've noticed some things and hope it helps make these classes even better.Still working on it, but trying to focus on legacy weapons and a few more feats. As far as classes go, mainly making adjustments based on player/playtest feedback.


Soldier:

Soldier has access to Crashing Wave but is not trained in Swim
The description under ability scores describes it as having only 4 per level, when it has 6.
5th level seems a little dead. +1 BAB and a new stance. I know stances are powerful by being on all the time but I don't think a whole levels worth is "New Stance!" Not the same as "3rd level spells!"

1. Wow; complete oversight on my part; thanks
2. I think I went back and forth and, obviously, the two things got out of sync; thanks again
3. 16th is the same; I think when I was putting it together, I did consider stances to be a pretty substantial feature, since they can be things like 2d6 sneak attack, so I think I'm ok with a stance being the only feature of a class level, but I'll keep it in mind
Made the first two changes.


Mercenary: Been playing this for awhile now. Started at level 1 and I am about to level to 5. Love the class but I have found an inherit flaw in how it plays. It is a Int based class...but not really. See, it gets Int to damage over Strength, leading you to want to dump strength or at least not have it high. Since you use finessable weapons, you obviously want to use Weapon Finesse to use Dex instead.

Here is the problem. When I hit level 4 and could put a point in a stat, I didn't put it in Int. I put it in Dex. See, I get Int to Damage, but not to Attack. To make up for my 3/4 BAB and no strength, I have weapon finesse and Shadow Blade to add Dex to damage when in a Shadow Hand Stance. It is hard to consider a class "Int Based" when Dex is more important to me right now. My guy has 18 Int and 15 Dex right now but if I could do it over I'd have 16/16 and have 1 higher attack and 1 higher Init mod but the same damage. My first +2 stat item I am buying as well? Gloves of Dexterity. It gives me so much more then headband of intellect. +1 to attack, Ac, and Damage while headband will simply add +1 damage and a slightly better mod to my int based skills.
I think what happened is that int seemed like a primary stat when it's actually secondary, playswithfire you should rewrite your ability paragraph. The thing is it has skill points out the wazzoo and a things like tactics giving free skill points so it doesn't need int so much for skills, and most of it's class features push it into melee range which makes dex and con more important.
You're right. I meant for it to be Int-based, but only 3 class features really reference intelligence and the two that aren't informed aim come at 10th and 20th. In my head, its maneuvers had int-based DC's but that's not true either. I really need to either tweak some features and/or rewrite the abilities section.



You don't get much out of having High Int that you wouldn't in playing a Swashbuckler, and they get full BAB and weapon finesse for free. I have a couple suggestions to make it a true Int Based class.

1.) Brew up a feat that gives you Int to attack that counts as Weapon Finesse for feat requirements (like Shadow Blade) and give it to Mercenary for free at level 1. This means they can dump Strength but not be punished for it.

2.) At 3rd level, give Mercenary a Ex ability that allows them to add Int to attack in place of strength for finesse weapons. This allows them to be full Int Based but it prevents casters from taking a single dip in it for Int to Rays.

3.) In the same theme as the previous, give them a inherit bonus to hit equal to half Int modifier. This means they still will probably get Weapon Finesse feat but giving yourself more Int isn't a bad thing anymore.
Good suggestions. I've also been working on updating a feat I wrote a while ago for another homebrew class and swashbucklers that was basically a reverse power attack. Reduce your bonus damage to gain half that bonus as to-hit. Obviously mostly helpful when you have sneak attack or wounding weapons, etc. Maybe change informed aim to be in addition to strength instead of replacing it and then give them that feat at around 3rd-5th.


Also, I don't think Informed Aim allows 1.5 damage on 2 hand weapons either way.
...
I was thinking of going into Two-Weapon Fighting but my primary maneuver line, Life's Blood, requires an open hand almost at all times to use its abilities.
I never considered two-handed weapons with Informed aim, but I think I would have it be 1.5 times with a spiked chain, as currently written, but not if I do the rewrite mentioned above.

Life's blood only requires a free hand for its couple of healing maneuvers, I thought, but it's been a while since I read over everything.

Very much appreciate all the feedback and look forward to your thoughts once I update the mercenary.

Mayhem
2011-05-31, 04:30 PM
jguy Rereading it with a refreshed mind this morning, you're absolutely correct sorry. Yeah it does need some kind of attack boost at an early level when you put it like that.

Playswithfire, the firebrand doesn't have anything 'iconic' at first level in my opinion. It has cautious stance which is nice, but it just came out of left field and doesn't seem to have anything to do with the class. Maybe put it at level 2 and drop follow my lead to level 1? You could move it's level 8 upgrade then to level 7 since at level 8 you gain a 3rd level stance, a second attack, +1 to fort and will and a new 4th level manuever, and 9th will have a bonus feat and a 5th level manuever. Maybe I'm just being nitpicky.

EDIT: ninja'd by plaswithfire. Well I'll get back to you on that soon.

EDIT2: Alright. For your 'reverse power attack' feat, I think it's a good idea, the demented one has a feat like that for his oncoming storm discipline. It'd be ok to give it at level 2 I think. You could also make it an upgrade of informed aim rather than a free feat.
As for informed aim adding rather than replacing, you could also allow it to apply to ranged weapons that don't add strength. That way melee, thrown, and ranged are all useful.

jguy
2011-06-01, 12:15 AM
The Lifes Blood healing maneuvers were honestly the main reason I started playing Mercenary in the first place. Immediate action self healing, move action ally healing, and the ability to heal up out of combat infinitely. I became the party healer with a single maneuver and the others love it. No need for Wands of Vigor or Cure Light Wounds. We all have Healing Belts for when someone takes a big hit in combat and I can't get to them. Also, the innuendos are endless. "Let me put my hands on you and you will feel all better...." "You're hurt? Let me touch you and make you feel good..." It goes on endlessly.

As a side note, Weapon Lock for Circling Vulture is a serious MVP. Most fights begin with me going Total Defensive and tanking up front, then stealing the enemies weapon when they miss me. My DM hates it so much but everyone else loves it.

raxies94
2011-06-01, 11:18 AM
Wow. This is quite impressive.

playswithfire
2011-06-01, 09:51 PM
jguy Rereading it with a refreshed mind this morning, you're absolutely correct sorry. Yeah it does need some kind of attack boost at an early level when you put it like that.

EDIT2: Alright. For your 'reverse power attack' feat, I think it's a good idea, the demented one has a feat like that for his oncoming storm discipline. It'd be ok to give it at level 2 I think. You could also make it an upgrade of informed aim rather than a free feat.
As for informed aim adding rather than replacing, you could also allow it to apply to ranged weapons that don't add strength. That way melee, thrown, and ranged are all useful.

Mercenary has been updated (both the description paragraph and several class features). Most noticeably, it now gets two feats, including Weapon Savvy, the "reverse power attack" and some of the Tactics abilities now also key off of Intelligence. Abilities section has been rewritten, though, to point out that Dex still trumps Int.

Mayhem and jguy, thoughts on the rewrite?

Weapon Savvy included here for reference as well as a Crusader/Samurai multiclass feat (sort of going through the Completes looking for warrior-type classes that need a boost).

WEAPON SAVVY
Where others swing wildly and trust to their strength to bring victory, should the blow actually land, you have learned to focus on precision.
Prerequisites: Dex 15, Weapon Finesse, Informed Aim or Insightful Strike class feature
Benefit: On your action, before making attack rolls for the round, you may choose to subtract a number from the bonus damage granted by your Informed Aim or Insightful strike to a minimum of 0 and add half that number (rounded down) to attack rolls made with the weapons that qualify for the damage. If you have both class features, you may not use this feat with both features in the same round. The penalty on damage and bonus on attacks apply until your next turn.


BUSHI SPIRIT
Your zealous devotion to the code of Bushido makes you a fearsome opponent whom few can stand before unafraid.
Prerequisites: Daisho Proficiency, Steely Resolve, one Devoted Spirit maneuver
Benefit: When you demoralize an opponent while in a Devoted Spirit stance, that enemy remains shaken for two rounds instead of one.
If you have levels in crusader and samurai, those levels stack for the purpose of determining the size of your steely resolve delayed damage pool.
Your crusader and samurai levels also stack for determining your ability to use Staredown, Mass Staredown and Improved Staredown.
Additonally, you may multiclass freely between the crusader and samurai classes, though you must remain lawful in order to maintain your samurai abilities as normal.



Playswithfire, the firebrand doesn't have anything 'iconic' at first level in my opinion. It has cautious stance which is nice, but it just came out of left field and doesn't seem to have anything to do with the class. Maybe put it at level 2 and drop follow my lead to level 1? You could move it's level 8 upgrade then to level 7 since at level 8 you gain a 3rd level stance, a second attack, +1 to fort and will and a new 4th level manuever, and 9th will have a bonus feat and a 5th level manuever. Maybe I'm just being nitpicky.Follow my lead used to come at first level, i think, and got shuffled when I added rousing speech. Or maybe it was just because I didn't want to copy the bard's inspire courage progression exactly, but moving 8th to 7th also accomplishes that. Let me think about it, but I'll most likely make the change you suggested. On cautious stance, I think it may need re-fluffing (same crunch); I think I was going for a force of personality/ unapproachable/ untouchable thing and it got lost in translation


The Lifes Blood healing maneuvers were honestly the main reason I started playing Mercenary in the first place. Immediate action self healing, move action ally healing, and the ability to heal up out of combat infinitely. I became the party healer with a single maneuver and the others love it. No need for Wands of Vigor or Cure Light Wounds. We all have Healing Belts for when someone takes a big hit in combat and I can't get to them. Also, the innuendos are endless. "Let me put my hands on you and you will feel all better...." "You're hurt? Let me touch you and make you feel good..." It goes on endlessly. To be honest, I was thinking of it as an acupuncture/acupressure type thing, so the humor hadn't occurred to me, but I'm glad you're having fun with it. Still waiting to see how effective a Devoted Spirit/Life's Blood Huntsman is as a sort of warrior/shaman. I was a little concerned about the out of combat healing, but since there are a lot of ways to get that, I decided it wasn't unbalancing.


As a side note, Weapon Lock for Circling Vulture is a serious MVP. Most fights begin with me going Total Defensive and tanking up front, then stealing the enemies weapon when they miss me. My DM hates it so much but everyone else loves it.
Hmm; re-reading it, I may have to nerf Weapon Lock a bit since skill checks are so much easier to boost than attack bonuses. Probably nothing too severe if your DM hasn't ruled it ridiculous, but maybe something to take weapon size / the fact that you're disarming one handed into account.

Thanks for all the feedback.


Wow. This is quite impressive.
Thanks.

Mayhem
2011-06-02, 06:59 AM
Damn, I had a long post of what to say but damn forums screwed up and it's gone. Having had to write this a second time I might come off more harsh than intended as it frustrated the heck out of me, but I mean no disrespect.

The table for mercenary has disappeared :smallconfused:.

Weapon savvy- aside from spelling error and some inelegant wording it's good.
Bushi spirit- Seems fine.

Firebrand- At first glance, follow my lead and inspire courage seem similar, but on closer inspection it is much more limited and doesn't use the same or similar mechanics at all since it's basically an aura. So in my opinion it's different enough( supposed to be a compliment :smallsigh:). I noticed you've neglected to list a range for this ability, perhaps 30ft to put it inline with similar effects?
Cautious stance is good, just that at level 1 there aren't many enemies using touch attacks.

Huntsman- Comparing it to the tome of battle classes I think it's too good. Full BAB, 2 good saves, 6 skills, good stance progression and nearly as many manuevers as warblade I think it's a bit much. It seems that you've tried to push to many concepts together without much direction. You could lower BAB to average, which would make it the unlikely combo role of skill monkey/tank. Even with a reduced BAB it would still be a solid tier 3, and I think it would help define it's role somewhat.

Soldier- It's nearly as tanky as the crusader yet so much more flexible. It should do fine with 4 skills per level.

Mercenary- Does it really need so many skill points? Factotum and beguiler have 6, they do alright. Mercenaries are able to get good use out of mundane equipment, and outside of stealth skills and search/gather info they don't really need a whole lot of skills especially since their intelligence bonus should net them a decent amount.
I haven't looked into tactics abilities yet, I'll tell you what I think in a while.

jguy, how has your mercenary doing with skill points? It must have a truck load of them. Also what classes are the rest of your party?

Hazzardevil
2011-06-02, 08:22 AM
I have several questions:

1.
Why did you allow psionic soldiers to learn a third discipline if they had the psionic subtype?

2.
Why have the Huntsman's animal companion be only half a druid's? It seems more like a liability than a help in combat.
I understand it's the same as a standard ranger, but I think an alternative like the Pathfinder Ranger is good. Not all Rangers want a pet.

jguy
2011-06-02, 09:33 AM
Honestly at times I feel like I might need more skillpoints. It was nice being able to customize what kind of Mercenary my guy is by selecting which skills he has maxed out and can fill in holes the party doesn't have. I get 13 skills per level, with +4 Int and being Human. Funny enough, I have maxed search but I didn't put any in disable device because my guy is more an apothecary then a trap finder.

I modeled my guy after Fidelus from the Codex Alera books. Most of my skills are put in perception, hiding, social skills, and knowledge of the general population. I could have maxed out UMD but I didn't want to go that route. More of a RP thing than anything else.

My Party consists of me, the crazy old man Mercenary, a Dragonwrought Kobold Druid who summons Badgers, I mean lizards, a Dragonborn Mongrelfolk Dragonfire Adept, and a Crossbow based Ranger who really hates Bugs. We play really well together and the Dragonfire Adept is really good at Debuffing with entangling breath. The ranger could use a little power boost but that is mostly because we are in a castle right now and archery is hard in tight corridors.

For Weaponlock, a useful adjustment would be to give 2-handed weapons a +4 to the DC to disarm them to take into account the tighter grip. I don't know the rules for larger weaponry but increasing the DC by 2 or 4 per size wouldn't be out of the ordinary. I do hope to keep it Slight of Hand based because it is such a underused skill and makes disarming a good battle tactic.

Hazzardevil
2011-06-02, 09:44 AM
I think as well that the Huntsman might be a bit too powerful, although I do think that it might just seem like a very Minmaxed class.

playswithfire
2011-06-02, 05:18 PM
Damn, I had a long post of what to say but damn forums screwed up and it's gone. Having had to write this a second time I might come off more harsh than intended as it frustrated the heck out of me, but I mean no disrespect.Been there. Hate having to rewrite things because of technical glitches.


The table for mercenary has disappeared :smallconfused:.

Weapon savvy- aside from spelling error and some inelegant wording it's good.
Bushi spirit- Seems fine.
Uh, yeah; bad copy-paste. I wrote a small program so that I can write everything in a sort of shorthand and have it be converted to HTML or forum format and I apparently skipped the table when I copied the result.

Spelling error? I caught that I saw widely when I meant wildly. Did I get something else wrong I'm not seeing. As for the wording, yeah, it's based on the wording of power attack, but it could probably use some polish.


Firebrand- At first glance, follow my lead and inspire courage seem similar, but on closer inspection it is much more limited and doesn't use the same or similar mechanics at all since it's basically an aura. So in my opinion it's different enough( supposed to be a compliment :smallsigh:). I noticed you've neglected to list a range for this ability, perhaps 30ft to put it inline with similar effects?
Cautious stance is good, just that at level 1 there aren't many enemies using touch attacks.
I guess I figured that if they were attacking the same character as you or being subjected to the same reflex save, they'd be pretty nearby, but I guess not always. Capping at 30 ft. makes sense.

Not a whole lot of touch attacks no, but never to early to start dodging ray spells.


Huntsman- Comparing it to the tome of battle classes I think it's too good. Full BAB, 2 good saves, 6 skills, good stance progression and nearly as many manuevers as warblade I think it's a bit much. It seems that you've tried to push to many concepts together without much direction. You could lower BAB to average, which would make it the unlikely combo role of skill monkey/tank. Even with a reduced BAB it would still be a solid tier 3, and I think it would help define it's role somewhat.
I think as well that the Huntsman might be a bit too powerful, although I do think that it might just seem like a very Minmaxed class.
Admittedly, it is sort of a ranger/scout/barbarian hybrid, which may have led to giving it too many/disjointed abilities. In terms of maneuvers, compared to warblade, it ends up with 1 less maneuver known, 1 less readied, 3 more stances known, one less discipline available and a worse recovery mechanism, so I admit he probably does come out ahead. I like the idea of a 3/4 BAB d12 tank/skillmonkey, but I want huntsman to be full BAB so that there's a 3/4 and full BAB class for each mental stat. What if I cut it down to 2 skill points per level. Then he's either the sort of hulking, dumb wilderness dweller or he can take Street Smarts to bump up his skill points. Does that bring it more into balance or just make it even more convoluted?


Soldier- It's nearly as tanky as the crusader yet so much more flexible. It should do fine with 4 skills per level.Yeah, I think I game him 6 so that there wouldn't be a repeated hit die/skill point pairing, but that's kind of a silly reason, so I'll probably cut him down to 4, yeah. Also makes one less thing I have to change for the psionic adaptation.


Mercenary- Does it really need so many skill points? Factotum and beguiler have 6, they do alright. Mercenaries are able to get good use out of mundane equipment, and outside of stealth skills and search/gather info they don't really need a whole lot of skills especially since their intelligence bonus should net them a decent amount.
I haven't looked into tactics abilities yet, I'll tell you what I think in a while.
Honestly at times I feel like I might need more skillpoints. It was nice being able to customize what kind of Mercenary my guy is by selecting which skills he has maxed out and can fill in holes the party doesn't have. I get 13 skills per level, with +4 Int and being Human. Funny enough, I have maxed search but I didn't put any in disable device because my guy is more an apothecary then a trap finder.
The 8 skill points was partially based on my mistakenly thinking that scout was also an Int-based class with 8 per level, partly on, again, avoiding a repeated hit die/skill point pairing and partly because I wanted there to be a martial adept with a lot of skills. I wouldn't really mind cutting it to 6, but it doesn't seem to be too unbalancing. jguy, does your DM happen to post on this forum? I'd be interested in how the class looks/feels from his perspective.


I have several questions:

1. Why did you allow psionic soldiers to learn a third discipline if they had the psionic subtype?

2. Why have the Huntsman's animal companion be only half a druid's? It seems more like a liability than a help in combat.
I understand it's the same as a standard ranger, but I think an alternative like the Pathfinder Ranger is good. Not all Rangers want a pet.
1. During one of the rewrites, I decided to give psionic characters a boost when playing a psychic soldier and dragon/draconic characters a boost when playing an arcane firebrand, mainly because it seemed interesting. If pressed, I'd probably fluff it as those races being the ones most likely to take the adaptation or who originated it.
2. I wanted it to have some sort of bonded animal, if only to have something tougher than a purchased mount for use with the Twin Spirit maneuvers, but I thought a full druid AC would be a it much. With a bit of effort (Natural Bond feat, e.g.), it can also be made more formidable on its own. That said, I'm not all that familiar with Pathfinder; what's the alternative they offer?


For Weaponlock, a useful adjustment would be to give 2-handed weapons a +4 to the DC to disarm them to take into account the tighter grip. I don't know the rules for larger weaponry but increasing the DC by 2 or 4 per size wouldn't be out of the ordinary. I do hope to keep it Slight of Hand based because it is such a underused skill and makes disarming a good battle tactic.I was thinking along those lines; basically bringing in some of the normal modifiers for disarming (+4 for two-handed, +4 per size category to the DC) and possibly making it so that you only end up holding the weapon if it's light or one-handed or if you have both hands free, if only to avoid confusion about wielding a two-handed weapon in one hand. It will definitely remain a Sleight of Hand check.

Mayhem
2011-06-02, 09:36 PM
Been there. Hate having to rewrite things because of technical glitches.
Spelling error? I caught that I saw widely when I meant wildly. Did I get something else wrong I'm not seeing. As for the wording, yeah, it's based on the wording of power attack, but it could probably use some polish.

Search 'weapnss.'



I guess I figured that if they were attacking the same character as you or being subjected to the same reflex save, they'd be pretty nearby, but I guess not always. Capping at 30 ft. makes sense.

Actually IIRC some white raven moves are out to 60ft, on retrospect 30ft seems limited.



Admittedly, it is sort of a ranger/scout/barbarian hybrid, which may have led to giving it too many/disjointed abilities. In terms of maneuvers, compared to warblade, it ends up with 1 less maneuver known, 1 less readied, 3 more stances known, one less discipline available and a worse recovery mechanism, so I admit he probably does come out ahead. I like the idea of a 3/4 BAB d12 tank/skillmonkey, but I want huntsman to be full BAB so that there's a 3/4 and full BAB class for each mental stat. What if I cut it down to 2 skill points per level. Then he's either the sort of hulking, dumb wilderness dweller or he can take Street Smarts to bump up his skill points. Does that bring it more into balance or just make it even more convoluted?

Yeah it's a tough one. I was going to suggest lower HD, but then that's just a ranger- not that that's a problem. Skill points, well then there's warblade, barbarian, and crusader to fit the big dumb brute archetype.


The 8 skill points was partially based on my mistakenly thinking that scout was also an Int-based class with 8 per level, partly on, again, avoiding a repeated hit die/skill point pairing and partly because I wanted there to be a martial adept with a lot of skills. I wouldn't really mind cutting it to 6, but it doesn't seem to be too unbalancing.Oh it isn't unbalancing, it's just too much compared to rogue, factotum, beguiler, and scout. Admitedly rogue and scout are pretty obsolete though.


2. I wanted it to have some sort of bonded animal, if only to have something tougher than a purchased mount for use with the Twin Spirit maneuvers, but I thought a full druid AC would be a it much. With a bit of effort (Natural Bond feat, e.g.), it can also be made more formidable on its own. That said, I'm not all that familiar with Pathfinder; what's the alternative they offer?
Here (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger), and here (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/druid), see hunter's bond and nature bond.
Substitute muscle memory for favoured enemy, should be interesting.
To mirror the domain thing, you have a chosen discipline granting you extra manuever known and readied slots, say one of each. The granted manuever known could be chosen at the start of the day from the chosen discipline.

playswithfire
2011-06-02, 10:33 PM
Search 'weapnss.'
Ah! Thanks; for some reason I wasn't seeing it. Fixed.


Actually IIRC some white raven moves are out to 60ft, on retrospect 30ft seems limited.I'm fine with either, since it'll mostly be redundant except for archers and large area effects. Let's go with 60.


Yeah it's a tough one. I was going to suggest lower HD, but then that's just a ranger- not that that's a problem. Skill points, well then there's warblade, barbarian, and crusader to fit the big dumb brute archetype.True. I wonder how well a huntsman would work with d8. Ranger always felt a bit flimsy as a frontliner with d8, but he didn't have Life's Blood healing maneuvers which seem to be pretty effective. And it does fit with someone who survives in the wild by being clever (skill points) and prepared for anything (most stances) rather than toughness. Might have to whip up a few characters and test it out, but that may be the solution.


Oh it isn't unbalancing, it's just too much compared to rogue, factotum, beguiler, and scout. Admitedly rogue and scout are pretty obsolete though.Hmm, I guess since factotums are supposed to be the most versatile of characters, it's a bit odd for mercenary to have more skill points. I'll have to spend some time seeing how the mercenary stacks up against factotum and make a decision.


Here (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/ranger), and here (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/druid), see hunter's bond and nature bond.
Substitute muscle memory for favoured enemy, should be interesting.
To mirror the domain thing, you have a chosen discipline granting you extra manuever known and readied slots, say one of each. The granted manuever known could be chosen at the start of the day from the chosen discipline.I think hunter's bond would work better than nature bond, but I think I'm also gonna try to come up with my own. Thanks for the links.

Thanks again for all the feedback.

Elfstone
2011-06-02, 10:37 PM
In my experience with the huntsman and the one combat situation I got into (I love it by the way) I never was directly involved, and so never took damage even as I went the archer route (Iron Rain) and wiped out 32 mook archers that would have decimated the party (Hail of arrows with 150d6 or something retarded like that). So I can't attest to it needing the HP, but as I doubled as front line TWF(Swordbow + Luckblade), Id say it needs the d10. Feel free to drop it, just my two cent. On and this was lv 17.

Mayhem
2011-06-03, 10:39 PM
I agree with elfstone, d8 is too low and it would make it too similar to the swordsage.

Hazzardevil
2011-06-04, 07:52 AM
I think dropping Skill points on huntsman to 4 is fine really. I don't think that it would make it much weakers really. It's on the high end of tier 3 in my opinoin and it will take a lot to drop it to the middle, since as I said you have either very good or very medicore abilitys on it.
Also you put placeholder's in the disipline descriptions for Iron rain and Twin Spirit, have you got descriptions for them yet?
I mostly think this because when I make homebrew, I often do as much as I can to make it set out like WOTC material.

I like the option for the animal companion as well.

playswithfire
2011-06-04, 08:38 AM
Alright. Updates based on feedback:
Huntsman is now a d10 and can choose to gain some DR/- instead of its animal companion. I also put Muscle Memory back to a previous version that I think got lost when my computer died a while ago. Basically it's an attack bonus and dodge bonus instead of an attack and damage bonus. Since he gets Wisdom to damage, I think I like this version.
Firebrand now has Follow my Lead at level 1 and cautious stance (with a bit of explanation) at level 2. I left the first increases to Follow my Lead at 8th, though, just to avoid having two levels with no class features (as distinct from maneuvers/stances).

EDIT:

Also you put placeholder's in the disipline descriptions for Iron rain and Twin Spirit, have you got descriptions for them yet?

Iron Rain and Twin Spirit aren't my disciplines. I included the description by the author of Twin Spirit and gave him credit in parentheses. For Iron Rain, I guess I could message the author(s) and get their approval.

Hazzardevil
2011-06-04, 09:39 AM
I also have a question about the tactics class feature, it says you add int for the abilitys when the class has more focus on wisdom. Why?#
Also, you claim that Huntsman is a mesh or Barbarian, ranger and scout, yet there is nothing that indicates scout.

playswithfire
2011-06-04, 04:19 PM
I also have a question about the tactics class feature, it says you add int for the abilitys when the class has more focus on wisdom. Why?#
Also, you claim that Huntsman is a mesh or Barbarian, ranger and scout, yet there is nothing that indicates scout.

Mercenary is the intelligence-based class. All of its abilities are INT-based.

Yeah, the scout thing may have mainly been in my head and not really translated to the finished product other than basically blindsense/blindsight and a bit of the fluff.

Hazzardevil
2011-06-04, 05:04 PM
SOrry about the question before, I was confusing Mercenary and Huntsman.
Also you mention Energy Adaption, what book is it from? I can't find any mention of it on the wizards feat index (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/feats)here.
Did you mean Energy Admixture or Subsitution?

playswithfire
2011-06-04, 07:32 PM
SOrry about the question before, I was confusing Mercenary and Huntsman.
Also you mention Energy Adaption, what book is it from? I can't find any mention of it on the wizards feat index (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/feats)here.
Did you mean Energy Admixture or Subsitution?I meant Energy Substitution and have updated Blade Magician accordingly.

Mayhem
2011-06-05, 12:23 AM
I really like the huntsman's option to have DR, I think it solves the problem of fitting a barbarian theme perfectly.
Comparing it to the ranger the huntsman's actually pretty balanced, at least until later levels where the ranger will likely PrC out anyway, the huntsman is a bit tougher and sacrifices some tracking abilities and magic in return for martial training. Probably unintentional but it works out nicely.

jguy
2011-06-05, 10:52 AM
Question on a maneuver: Healing Palm, level 3 Life's Blood technique, gives you temporary hit points. My question is, how long do they last? You really should put a round or minute limit to it otherwise I could buff myself and the party with gobs of temp hitpoints all day.

playswithfire
2011-06-05, 04:57 PM
Question on a maneuver: Healing Palm, level 3 Life's Blood technique, gives you temporary hit points. My question is, how long do they last? You really should put a round or minute limit to it otherwise I could buff myself and the party with gobs of temp hitpoints all day.Quire right; my oversight. They now expire after a number of rounds equal to either your Int or Wis modifier. Thanks.

Also updated weapon lock to increase the DC for two-handed weapons and larger opponents.

playswithfire
2011-06-06, 07:25 PM
Did some more thinking and tweaking.

Changes made based on an earlier version of the tables below:
Removed the 18th level stance from huntsman (brings stance count more in line with everyone else and prevents using 2 eighth level stances at the same time without a feat)
Changed soldier manevuer progression to a more standard 4-13 maneuvers rather than gaining 2 every 5 levels as it had been (makes keeping track of things easier), changed its skills to 4+INT.
Also changed the soldier adaptation so that it learns a power at 1st level in addition to at every even level and its maneuvers/powers ready are increased by 2 (compared to the non-psychic version).
Changed the mercenary so that it swaps maneuvers at odd levels as the huntsman rather than at even levels as most adepts do; makes more sense with its maneuver progression.

The results
Full BAB
{table=head]Class|HD|Skills|Saves|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances
Huntsman |d10|6|Fort,Ref |2-12 |2 - 6 |6
Soldier |d10|4|Fort |4-13 |2 - 8 |5
Crusader |d10|4|Fort |5-14 |5(2)- 7(4)|4
Warblade |d12|4|Fort |3-13 |3 - 7 |4[/table]

Average BAB
{table=head]Class|HD|Skills|Saves|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances
Mercenary |d8 |8|Ref |5-20 |4 -13 |6
Arcane Firebrand|d8 |4|Will |4-23* |4 -11* |5
Firebrand |d8 |4|Fort,Will|4-23 |4 -11 |5
Psychic Soldier |d8 |4|Fort |5-24**|4 -10** |5
Swordsage |d8 |6|Ref,Will |6-25 |4 -12 |6[/table]
* maneuvers or spells
** maneuvers or powers

Feeling pretty good about the average BABs; ok with the full BABs, but I may still mess with skill points to distinguish the d10s. Considering either dropping soldier to 2+INT but giving it something like bardic knack or possibly putting soldier back and 6+INT and dropping huntsman to 2+INT with, obviously, the option to take Street Smarts to be more of a skillmonkey. Not sure; may just leave them alone.


Moving on somewhat from the base classes, any feedback on the variants?

Mayhem
2011-06-07, 08:04 AM
A 'bardic knack-like' ability would be pretty interesting, could be discipline based.
All your 3/4 BAB bonus classes have d8, that's kind of boring. Just throwing it out there.

NineThePuma
2011-06-07, 01:47 PM
The huntsman and mercenary could probably do with a dropping in HD size by one step.

Elfstone
2011-06-07, 05:16 PM
The huntsman and mercenary could probably do with a dropping in HD size by one step.

Once again I disagree.

NineThePuma
2011-06-07, 05:46 PM
We've noted your disagreement, and I was merely adding my two cents to the table as well. I'm not going to start an argument with you over it, but please understand that just because someone has a differing opinion doesn't mean that you need to dredge up yours every time that differing opinion is voiced.

The Huntsman feels more like a Ranger analogue than a Barbarian one, and the high skill points help reinforce that. By dropping the hit die by one step you help impress the feeling of being fragile, despite the DR available. If this would 'ruin' the Barbarian adaptation, it could increase the hit die back or offer double the normal DR offered by Survival in the Wild.


The Mercenary has a ridiculous number of skill points, and every skill available to him. On top of that, he's got precision damage, the most maneuvers readied, a respectable amount of maneuvers known, and the maximum number of stances. It has awesome class abilities and is really resilient, with Evasion and Mettle. Getting knocked down a single hit die size won't ruin the class.

playswithfire
2011-06-07, 10:15 PM
Brainstorming post; no changes made yet. Thank you all for the feedback.


A 'bardic knack-like' ability would be pretty interesting, could be discipline based.Yeah; best I've been able to come up with so far is that each discipline you pick gives you bardic knack style 'skill points' for one (cross-class) or two (class) skills related to the discipline skill (would add Ride, drop Use Rope on the class skill list for current thinking) which effectively gives it almost 6 per level, but with restrictions.
Circling Vulture (Sleight of Hand) = Open Lock
Crashing Wave (Swim) = Climb, Ride
Diamond Mind (Concentration) = Martial Lore, Profession(any one)
Giant's Grip (Escape Artist) = Use Rope
Iron Heart (Balance) = Jump, Tumble
Setting Sun (Sense Motive) = Bluff
Could also consider dropping the first level feat and also granting Skill Focus for either two or all of the associated skills of the chosen disciplines.


The huntsman and mercenary could probably do with a dropping in HD size by one step.

The Huntsman feels more like a Ranger analogue than a Barbarian one, and the high skill points help reinforce that. By dropping the hit die by one step you help impress the feeling of being fragile, despite the DR available. If this would 'ruin' the Barbarian adaptation, it could increase the hit die back or offer double the normal DR offered by Survival in the Wild.Or what if it was a d8, but Survival in the Wild gave you Improved Toughness as well as the DR if you chose not to have an animal companion? A straight huntsman with that option would have, on average, one HP less than a d10 huntsman.
EDIT: Though, in that case, I might have to think about bumping the animal companion to full level instead of half-level since the new non-Animal Companion option would be a feat and a bump and the Animal Companion option gives a worse AC than the Wild Cohort feat.
EDIT2: or it could just be that you gain +1 HP for each huntsman level in the style of Improved Toughness instead of gaining the feat.


All your 3/4 BAB bonus classes have d8, that's kind of boring. Just throwing it out there.
The Mercenary has a ridiculous number of skill points, and every skill available to him. On top of that, he's got precision damage, the most maneuvers readied, a respectable amount of maneuvers known, and the maximum number of stances. It has awesome class abilities and is really resilient, with Evasion and Mettle. Getting knocked down a single hit die size won't ruin the class.
My first thought was to drop the arcane firebrand to d6 (and, on a related note, remove the psychic soldier's heavy armor proficiency) for consistency between the two gish variants (reduce hit die size by 1, lose an armor proficiency) and I'll probably do that.

I could see making the mercenary a d6 (though I'm not too opposed to leaving it a d8 either) since I did so much to compensate for its lower maneuver count compared to swordsage and firebrand because I didn't treat it like the slightly different type of initiator it is.* It also has a nice symmetry of giving INT, which has the highest hit die character in ToB, the lowest hit die in ToT.

*I've started thinking of the three options as poor (adept ends up with 9 or 10 more maneuvers than it starts with e.g. crusader or warblade), full (adept ends up with 19 more maneuvers than it starts with e.g. swordsage or firebrand), and average (adept ends up with 14 or 15 more maneuvers than it started with e.g. mercenary).

jguy
2011-06-07, 11:15 PM
I will state now having a d6 HD on a martial, front line fighter character, is a bad idea. Yes, Mercenary has resiliency at late levels with Evasion and Mettle, that is if you don't multiclass out before then. I have good staying power with my Life's Blood Immediate healing but I can only do that once per turn. I have come close to dying a few time by getting ganged up before I could retreat. Good chance that I would have gotten knocked down to negative if I had d6 HD. Mettle seems really good but it is based off Fort and Will, two bad saves for Mercenary and on abilities that one would not focus very much on. Con is tertiary and Will is at best a 12.

Having a lot of skills and access to all doesn't warrant a lower HD. While someone could put points in tumble and intimidate ect, that doesn't lower damage when you get hit with a greataxe from a Barbarian.

Mayhem
2011-06-08, 05:03 AM
Putting the huntsman at d8 would make it too similar to the swordsage, the other wisdom based class.

Making the mercenary a d6 would kind of force it into the sniper role, which would make the class less variable and thus more boring( and making the skirmisher line less viable). If you have to change it, then it would be okay for it to have less skill points and if you're concerned with the reduction then grant more skill bonuses as class features to make up for it. You could also make skills( such as gather information, open lock, sense motive) based off of INT, that would be extra skills right there.

For soldier, you could also grant a skill bonus equal to the manuevers and stances of the discipline known. Or it could be a skill bonus based on his current stance, eg in a setting sun stance he might get 2+(1/2 initiator level) to sense motive.

playswithfire
2011-06-08, 05:58 PM
Still kicking ideas around. Thanks, everyone, for the feedback and suggestions


I have good staying power with my Life's Blood Immediate healing but I can only do that once per turn.Shouldn't that be once every two turns, since you can't initiate and refresh in the same round?


Making the mercenary a d6 would kind of force it into the sniper role, which would make the class less variable and thus more boring( and making the skirmisher line less viable.
I will state now having a d6 HD on a martial, front line fighter character, is a bad idea. Yes, Mercenary has resiliency at late levels with Evasion and Mettle, that is if you don't multiclass out before then.
I have come close to dying a few time by getting ganged up before I could retreat. Good chance that I would have gotten knocked down to negative if I had d6 HD. Mettle seems really good but it is based off Fort and Will, two bad saves for Mercenary and on abilities that one would not focus very much on. Con is tertiary and Will is at best a 12. Yeah, seems like d6 isn't going to work for anything except the arcane firebrand. Firebrand already hangs back and manages/boosts and the arcane would would be even more so.

Mettle does also seem to be a bit of a waste on the mercenary. Toying with the idea of going in the other direction with the mercenary, trying to wedge it into this "average" initiator slot. Drop mettle and Weapon Savvy, lose a d6 and 'professional' from tactics, shuffle things around a bit; cut maneuvers readied to a 3-9 and drop a stance; make it a d10 with 6+INT skill points. Thus making the mercenary roughly as tough as the soldier but relying on guile rather than strength. Thoughts? Is this just a ridiculous idea?


Putting the huntsman at d8 would make it too similar to the swordsage, the other wisdom based class.In that they'd both be d8 with 6+int skill points? Other than that, they're fairly different, I think, other than both being fluffed as being clever. Other than that fluff, the huntsman (not quite as intended) is a Wisdom-based class the same way a crusader is a charisma based class: one good class feature based on that stat.

If I implement all the changes I'm considering (huntsman goes to d8 with non-Animal Companion choice also granting HP, revamping mercenary, arcane firebrand drops to d6, soldier becomes 2+INT with 'knack,' probably called 'basic training'), then the table of ToB and ToT classes looks like this:
{table=head]Class |BAB |HD |Skills|Saves |Known |Readied |Stances
Warblade |Full|d12|4 |Fort |3-13 |3 - 7 |4
Crusader |Full|d10|4 |Fort |5-14 |5(2)- 7(4)|4
Soldier |Full|d10|2+ |Fort |4-13 |2 - 8 |5
Huntsman |Full|d8^|6 |Fort,Ref |2-12 |2 - 6 |6
Mercenary |3/4 |d10|6 |Ref |5-20 |3 - 9 |5
Swordsage |3/4 |d8 |6 |Ref,Will |6-25 |4 -12 |6
Firebrand |3/4 |d8 |4 |Fort,Will|4-23 |4 -11 |5
Psychic Soldier |3/4 |d8 |2+ |Fort |5-24**|4 -10* |5
Arcane Firebrand|3/4 |d6 |4 |Will |4-23* |4 -11** |5[/table]
which provides a d8-d12 hit die range for full BAB, a d6-d10 hit die range for 3/4 BAB, a skill range of 2-6 for d8s and a skill range of 2-6 for d10s

+ with bardic knack type 'skill points'
^ can effectively be a d10 by dropping animal companion
* maneuvers or powers
** maneuvers or spells


For soldier, you could also grant a skill bonus equal to the manuevers and stances of the discipline known. Or it could be a skill bonus based on his current stance, eg in a setting sun stance he might get 2+(1/2 initiator level) to sense motive.That would make him excel at certain skills; I was thinking more along the lines of it being a way to dabble in a bunch of skills.

My version, which could either replace or join the first level feat, depending on how good it ends up being, would currently read something like this (still a work in progress/crazy idea):
Basic Training (Ex): All soldiers go through a period of training to learn the skills they need to survive in battle and these lessons are so ingrained that, hen making a skill check involving the skills granted by his chosen disciplines, a soldier can use 1/2 his soldier level (rounded up) in place of the number of ranks he has in that skill, if that would be higher.
You can’t take 10 on checks when using this ability and, if the skill doesn't allow untrained checks, you must have at least 1 actual rank to attempt the check. The skills associated with each discipline are as follows:
Circling Vulture - Disable Device, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand
Crashing Wave - Climb, Ride, Swim
Diamond Mind - Autohypnosis, Concentration, Knowledge(any one)
Giant's Grip - Craft(any one), Escape Artist, Survival
Iron Heart - Balance, Jump, Tumble
Setting Sun - Listen, Sense Motive, Spot

Elfstone
2011-06-08, 07:44 PM
Still kicking ideas around. Thanks, everyone, for the feedback and suggestions

Shouldn't that be once every two turns, since you can't initiate and refresh in the same round?


I think he meant the fact that there were multiple healing manouvers.
Also, To briefly describe my huntsman PC.
CT here (http://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=118583)
And sheet here (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=256536)

I used another class as a 5 level gestalt with my first 5 levels of huntsman before I singe classed (how the game was set up, 5 free gestalt levels) in huntsman. Those levels never truly came into play at all. I took a giant warbeast Dire Eagle for my animal companion and rode around on him, while focusing on aerial attacks.(Array of the manticore from MIC) with a sword bow and luckblade so I could effectively play both sides of the ranger idiom.

When I went into combat I took a few hits but nothing major, however if I had failed a few saves and had a d8 instead of a d10 I most certainly would not have bade it through the battle.

jguy
2011-06-08, 11:55 PM
I was healing by using a heal on an opponents turn as an immediate, recovering on my turn and attacking, then when I got attacked, use my immediate to heal again. I think this work, do tell if I am wrong.

I like mercenary where it is skill wise and HD wise. D8 encourages melee but makes the person focused on preventing or immediately healing hits then just taking it on the chest if they had D10 or D12 HD. The skills are wonderful, mostly because I don't play character with access to so many like factotum and such. I honestly think you should keep the "All Skills" portion, but if you want to knock it down to a 6 per level, that seems fair. I've always pictured Mercenary more akin to a Martial adept Factotum then related to swordsage. While a factotum can modify rolls and gets spells, mercenary shores up needed areas with maneuvers and what tactics it takes.

Instead of Mettle, why not have something more akin to Paladins with Divine Favor. Getting your Int to saves encourages more Int focus stat wise and having it at 9th level means you have to stick it out and not just dip into Merc for the save bonus. Thematic wise, Int to Fort could mean that the Merc has been eating small doses of certain poisons to build up resistances, or researching diseases and ailments to better prepare himself against it. Int to reflex is just 'Think Fast!' with the brain moving faster then the body. Int to Will is simply thinking through a mental attack.

NineThePuma
2011-06-09, 12:04 AM
Instead of Mettle, why not have something more akin to Paladins with Divine Favor. Getting your Int to saves encourages more Int focus stat wise and having it at 9th level means you have to stick it out and not just dip into Merc for the save bonus. Thematic wise, Int to Fort could mean that the Merc has been eating small doses of certain poisons to build up resistances, or researching diseases and ailments to better prepare himself against it. Int to reflex is just 'Think Fast!' with the brain moving faster then the body. Int to Will is simply thinking through a mental attack.

What about, instead of Mettle, you get Inspiration Points that can be used to add your Int mod to any given save! Thematic wise, this particular thing is something you're prepared for and planned ahead to.

playswithfire
2011-06-09, 06:01 AM
I was healing by using a heal on an opponents turn as an immediate, recovering on my turn and attacking, then when I got attacked, use my immediate to heal again. I think this work, do tell if I am wrong.Since the current wording of the recovery mechanic only says that you can't initiate in the same round you recover and not that you can't recover in the same round you initiate, as long as the enemy doing the damage has higher initiative than you, it does technically work. Each round you initiate, then recover. I may need to reword it, or maybe not, since counters are the only "loophole" to what I intended, that being that, regardless of order, you can't initiate and recover in the same round.


I like mercenary where it is skill wise and HD wise. D8 encourages melee but makes the person focused on preventing or immediately healing hits then just taking it on the chest if they had D10 or D12 HD. The skills are wonderful, mostly because I don't play character with access to so many like factotum and such. I honestly think you should keep the "All Skills" portion, but if you want to knock it down to a 6 per level, that seems fair.I'd only knock it to 6 per level if I upped the hit dice and took off some class features.


I've always pictured Mercenary more akin to a Martial adept Factotum then related to swordsage. While a factotum can modify rolls and gets spells, mercenary shores up needed areas with maneuvers and what tactics it takes. Yeah, it was meant to be the martial rogue/scout, but it does seem to have become the martial factotum.


Instead of Mettle, why not have something more akin to Paladins with Divine Favor. Getting your Int to saves encourages more Int focus stat wise and having it at 9th level means you have to stick it out and not just dip into Merc for the save bonus.

What about, instead of Mettle, you get Inspiration Points that can be used to add your Int mod to any given save! Thematic wise, this particular thing is something you're prepared for and planned ahead to.While inspiration points would be thematic, I'd rather not, if only to limit the number of other sources required to understand the contents of ToT (so far, I think it's just ToB and Complete Adventurer and Warrior). Giving INT to saves was the other thing I considered, though possibly just to Fort and Will so as to avoid having to deal with interactions with warblade's battle clarity.

So I think mercenary stays as it is (d8, 8+INT), but mettle gets replaced with uncapped (neither by level nor initiator level) INT to Fort and Will saves.

playswithfire
2011-06-09, 05:35 PM
Latest round of updates, hopefully homing in on what will be the final versions

Firebrand
arcane variant has d6 hit dice and one less maneuver readied
Huntsman
dropped to a d8 and reinstated 18th level stance
variant gains d10 hit dice, but also loses Survival in the Wild
Mercenary
replaced mettle with int to saves (Forewarned is Forearmed)
Soldier
added Listen, Ride, and Survival to class skills
cut skills to 2+INT, but added Basic Training
variant loses heavy armor proficiency and only gains one extra readied instead of 2

Also tweaked a few numbers in the soulsword and cavalryman variants, so I've added them to the table.

{table=head]Class|BAB|HD|Skills|Saves|Known|Readied|Stances
Warblade |Full|d12|4 |Fort |3-13 |3 - 7 |4
Raging Huntsman |Full|d10|6 |Fort,Ref |2-12 |2 - 6 |7
Crusader |Full|d10|4 |Fort |5-14 |5(2)- 7(4)|4
Cavalryman |Full|d10|4 |Fort |4-13 |4(1)- 6(3)|4
Soldier |Full|d10|2+ |Fort |4-13 |2 - 8 |5
Mercenary |3/4 |d8 |8 |Ref |5-20 |4-13 |6
Huntsman |Full|d8 |6 |Fort,Ref |2-12 |2 - 6 |7
Swordsage |3/4 |d8 |6 |Ref,Will |6-25 |4-12 |6
Soulsword |3/4 |d8 |6 |Ref,Will |4-23 |3-11 |6
Firebrand |3/4 |d8 |4 |Fort,Will|4-23 |4-11 |5
Psychic Soldier |3/4 |d8 |2+ |Fort |5-24* |3- 9* |5
Arcane Firebrand|3/4 |d6 |4 |Will |4-23**|3-10** |5[/table]

Hazzardevil
2011-06-12, 03:04 PM
Plays, in my opinoin I think knocking skill points down to 2+ is too drastic, you probably know this but part of the problm for the fighter is they are a one-trick pony, all they do is take part in fights and start them. They can't do anything outside a fight, so I think 4+ skill points is enough.

playswithfire
2011-06-13, 09:47 PM
Plays, in my opinoin I think knocking skill points down to 2+ is too drastic, you probably know this but part of the problm for the fighter is they are a one-trick pony, all they do is take part in fights and start them. They can't do anything outside a fight, so I think 4+ skill points is enough.I agree that the fighter does have that limitation and that the soldier will similarly shine only in combat or, perhaps, on sentry duty. With its skill list, though, the soldier is mainly suited for those tasks even with 4+int. The soldier was sort of intended to be a grunt, now that there's a general (warblade), charismatic knight (crusader), spy/infiltrator (mercenary), and survivalist (huntsman); it seemed ok to have one ToB class devoted solely to combat.
Thanks for all your feedback; I'll keep it in mind as I try it out with 2+Int (with basic training effectively giving him 6/level with the skill points spread across 10-12 skills) and, if it seems too limited, I can up it to 4 again.

playswithfire
2011-06-19, 09:33 AM
New legacy weapon (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11240000&postcount=11) added to the weapons thread and linked in first post; next up, either Tidebreaker or Fury.

Things I've realized from building ToT-using NPCs for a game:
Master's Voice needs another maneuver at 3rd and 5th level; in both cases, there are two stances, but only one maneuver.
Geyser force (Crashing Wave level 3) feels like it might need something more, probably a chance to end up prone after falling.
I need to clarify, both in my own mind and in its text, what happens when a soulsword selects Iron Rain for Discipline Focus(Shape mind blade) and forms it into a bow; does it create the bow and he needs arrows as normal, does it create both, or does it let him create mind arrows that can be fired from a normal bow? First one is the simplest mechanically and probably makes the most sense.

Redshirt Army
2011-06-19, 10:27 AM
Tactics (Ex): At 3rd level, a mercenary chooses a preferred style of combat, essentially a choice between sneak attack damage and skirmish damage and gains d6 of the chosen damage type. This damage increase by d6 at 7th level and every fourth level thereafter. This choice also affects other class features.
skilled: At 3rd level, a mercenary who chose sneak attack damage adds his Intelligence modifier to his Bluff checks and one who chose skirmish damage adds it to his Move Silently checks.
professional: At 7th level, a mercenary who chose sneak attack also adds his Integlligence modifier to his Hide checks and can take 10 on both Bluff and Hide checks even if threatened or distracted and one who chose skirmish leaves no trail in natural surroundings and thus cannot be tracked and his base land speed is increased by 10 ft.
expert: At 15th level, a mercenary who chose sneak attack can hide in plain sight (as the ranger ability, except that the mercenary need not be in natural terrain) and one who chose skirmish damage can move a number of feet equal to his Intelligence score, rounded down to the nearest 5 ft whenever he would normally take a 5 ft step.

I don't particularly like the phrasing here, so here's my rewrite:

Tactics (Ex): At 3rd level, a mercenary must choose one of two preferred styles of combat: stealth or speed. If he chose stealth, he gains 1d6 sneak attack damage, and if he chose speed, he gains 1d6 skirmish damage. This damage increases by 1d6 at 7th level and every fourth level thereafter (ignoring normal skirmish progression). This choice also affects other class features.
Skilled: At 3rd level, a mercenary who chose stealth adds his Intelligence modifier to his Bluff checks, and one who chose speed adds his Intelligence modifier to his Move Silently checks.
Professional: At 7th level, a mercenary who chose stealth also adds his Intelligence modifier to his Hide checks and can take 10 on both Bluff and Hide checks even if threatened or distracted, and one who chose speed gains Trackless Step (as the Druid ability) and his base land speed is increased by 10 ft.
Expert: At 15th level, a mercenary who chose stealth can Hide in Plain Sight (as the Ranger ability, except that the mercenary need not be in natural terrain) and one who chose speed can, whenever he would normally take a 5 ft step, instead move a number of feet equal to his Intelligence score, rounded down to the nearest 5 ft.

I assumed it was intentional that it progressed skirmish without adding the bonuses to AC the scout normally gets.

playswithfire
2011-06-20, 06:30 PM
I don't particularly like the phrasing here, so here's my rewrite:

...better wording than mine...

I assumed it was intentional that it progressed skirmish without adding the bonuses to AC the scout normally gets.

Thanks for the rewrite; yours is definitely clearer and I've updated the Mercenary post with it. I think mine was a rewrite from the even more awkwardly-worded version in which you could gain a d6 of skirmish or sneak attack (either one) at each of those levels).

Yeah, I meant for it to just progress to 4d6 skirmish. I know it's nonstandard, but it was easier that way to just have both progressions be 4d6.

playswithfire
2011-07-03, 09:51 AM
Added new Alternate Class Features for
Barbarian: reduce HD and no damage reduction for some maneuvers based on totem
- also new totems to have one for each ToB and ToT discipline, so these are also available for warblades thanks to warblade academies
Druid: gains maneuvers (almost) as swordsage instead of spells
Wilder: Loses volatile mind for some Diamond Mind maneuvers

Other changes
Clarified the situation where a soulsword creates a mind bow
Crashing Wave: Added chance to knock prone to Geyser Force
Master's Voice: Added 3rd (Fire Eater) and 5th (Frightful Beating) level maneuvers. Realized I probably need to revise lead by fear. Frightful presence may be too weak for an 8th level stance, but I'm not sure what to do with it yet.
Wandering Eye: Renamed and tweaked Back and Forth (now Bob and Weave)

Hazzardevil
2011-07-03, 04:29 PM
What happens when a soulsword selects Iron Rain for Discipline Focus(Shape mind blade) and forms it into a bow; does it create the bow and he needs arrows as normal, does it create both, or does it let him create mind arrows that can be fired from a normal bow? First one is the simplest mechanically and probably makes the most sense.

I think you should allow the Soulsword to manifest a Bow and Arrows as an equivalant level soulknife, but DO allow you to use real arrows and bows too.

playswithfire
2011-07-04, 02:39 PM
I think you should allow the Soulsword to manifest a Bow and Arrows as an equivalant level soulknife, but DO allow you to use real arrows and bows too.

If he can create the arrows, too:
1. that sort of makes soulbow irrelevant and
2. What's the action to create an arrow? Normally, a soulknife/soulsword needs a move action to manifest the weapon which won't work if he needs to spend a move action for each arrow.

I've added a section that says he still needs to find arrows.
I think I will revise the Mind of Iron feat to add Autohypnosis to class skills, though, so a soulsword can become a soulbow more easily if he wants to dip into that class to create arrows to go with his mind bow.

playswithfire
2011-07-17, 06:23 AM
Felt like I was giving Warblade a lot of options and the other two original adept classes not that many, so I've added new ACFs for the Crusader, mostly centered around alignment.
Thinking what to do for swordsage; probably a divine gish of some sort, maybe cleric list but bard levels and can swap the first level stance for the ability of one domain?

I've also realized that the Sublime Shapeshifter ACF for druids sort of makes Force of Nature useless, so I might drop it for a Life's Blood/Devoted Spirit/something gish (divine and/or psionic) class that can both fight and heal effectively.

Hazzardevil
2011-07-17, 03:04 PM
I reccomend you give the swordsage an weapon crafting focused ability, I don't know why but it just seems to fit.
I just like the idea of the Cloistered Blacksmith who lives far away in the mountains creating swords.

But, this is a very big but.
Do you do Warheart or Magic weapons?

playswithfire
2011-07-17, 06:07 PM
I reccomend you give the swordsage an weapon crafting focused ability, I don't know why but it just seems to fit.
I just like the idea of the Cloistered Blacksmith who lives far away in the mountains creating swords.

But, this is a very big but.
Do you do Warheart or Magic weapons?

I like that idea, too. I think I'll still do a divine gish version, since I've already got an arcane gish, a psionic gish, and a soulknife-type, but a crafting swordsage sounds like an excellent option. I haven't used warheart items, but they sound very interesting.

Hazzardevil
2011-07-19, 05:43 AM
I like that idea, too. I think I'll still do a divine gish version, since I've already got an arcane gish, a psionic gish, and a soulknife-type, but a crafting swordsage sounds like an excellent option. I haven't used warheart items, but they sound very interesting.

For divine Gish are you just doing arcane swordsage with the cleric spell list?

Heres an explanation for Warheart items.

You can only make weapons, shields and armour.
You need the warheart version of the appropriate feats and know maneuvers.
You then make an item that costs as much as its equivalant, IE: to make a +5 warheart item it costs the same as a normal +5 item.
Except the only thing to spend the bonuses on are maneuvers that you can use 1/encounter. I think you can have multiple maneuvers on the same item.

Also, you can only have strikes on weapons, counters on shield and boost on armour. ( I might have armour and shield the wrong way round.)

For example, a +10 warheart item, (This it just the number of bonuses, you can't have enhancement bonuses on warjeart itmes) Could have Time stands still (a level 9 maneuver) and steel wind. (a 1st levl maneuver)

playswithfire
2011-07-19, 05:50 AM
For divine Gish are you just doing arcane swordsage with the cleric spell list?
Sort of.
I didn't want to give any of the gishes full spellcasting/manifesting, which is why so far, the arcane firebrand gets bard spells and the psychic soldier manifests like a psychic warrior. Current plan for the swordsaint is that he loses access to three disciplines but gains access to three cleric domains and can learn spells from those domains of a level learnable by a bard of his initiator level.
Reduce Ref save to poor and he loses Quick to Act, but gain the domain ability of one of the chosen domains. Maybe reduce maneuvers known by 1 or something. Still need to flesh it out.

Hazzardevil
2011-07-19, 06:31 AM
Sort of.
I didn't want to give any of the gishes full spellcasting/manifesting, which is why so far, the arcane firebrand gets bard spells and the psychic soldier manifests like a psychic warrior. Current plan for the swordsaint is that he loses access to three disciplines but gains access to three cleric domains and can learn spells from those domains of a level learnable by a bard of his initiator level.
Reduce Ref save to poor and he loses Quick to Act, but gain the domain ability of one of the chosen domains. Maybe reduce maneuvers known by 1 or something. Still need to flesh it out.

I think losing 2 disciplines is enough really, seeing as they are losing roughly 27 maneuvers to choose from for each disciplnine and only gaining 6 spells as options per Domain, and a power, which is worth about a feat.
I agree with losing reflex save and quick to act though.

playswithfire
2011-07-19, 08:28 PM
Revised soulsword and new swordsaint and sage of the forge below, though I still need to tweak sage of the forge a bit, mainly the details of it's Craft Reserve-like ability. I'm considering making Sage of the Forge a viable variant for the Mercenary as well, replacing Wisdom with Intelligence where needed.

{table=head]Variant | Access to | Maneuvers Known | Maneuvers Readied
Standard Swordsage | 6 disciplines | 6-25 | 4-12
Sage of the Forge | 5 disciplines | 5-24 | 4-12
Soulsword | 4 disciplines | 4-23 | 3-11
Swordsaint | 3 disciplines and 4 domains | 4-23* | 3-11
[/table]
* maneuvers or divine spells

-- out of date versions removed; see front page --

Hazzardevil
2011-07-26, 08:01 AM
I think 1/2 craft reserve isn't enough really because that means you can't craft a 1st level maneuver weapon until 5th level without spending your proper exp.

playswithfire
2011-07-26, 11:10 PM
I think 1/2 craft reserve isn't enough really because that means you can't craft a 1st level maneuver weapon until 5th level without spending your proper exp.

You're right, good catch; made it equivalent to artificer, but based on class level, not initiator level. Also made it clear that swordsaints can learn 1st level spells at 1st level, since there are no 0-level domain spells.
What do you think of a soulsword losing detect magic and getting the ability to form the mindblade as a free action at 7th level?

Updated the Sublime Shapehifter. It now basically is Force of Nature, so I'll have to scrap that and add the other prestige class I've been thinking about (Devoted Spirit/Life's Blood/Maybe Crashing Wave; sort of flow of energy warrior/healer).

Hazzardevil
2011-07-28, 03:13 PM
Aside from the legacy weapons, what else needs doing on the project?

Because aside from piling on more ACF's (you can never have too many ACF's) I don't think there is much left to do.

playswithfire
2011-07-28, 03:50 PM
Aside from the legacy weapons, what else needs doing on the project?

Because aside from piling on more ACF's (you can never have too many ACF's) I don't think there is much left to do.

There's not a whole lot left; the to-do list basically looks like (not necessarily in order):
The other 5 new legacy weapons
The new Prc that will replace Force of Nature since the Sublime Shapeshifter ACF makes it sort of pointless
A few more ACFs, with an emphasis on lower tier classes (though trying to limit it to Core, Completes, and ToB
maybe: find appropriate artwork and make an HTML/PDF version

At which point it's essentially done, but I might:
Improve the fluff/flesh out the classes (sections on Playing an X, Sample Encounter, etc)
Playtest and adjust things (mainly maneuvers and feats, I think) based on playtest data
maybe: add a section of rules on Weapon of Legacy succession; the transition of legacy item between competitors and what happens when you lose the weapon but don't renounce it because you're trying to get it back
probably: finish up the work in the Weapons thread about alternative, thematic WoL penalties, though that might be part of AoW instead of this

Hazzardevil
2011-07-28, 04:18 PM
There's not a whole lot left; the to-do list basically looks like (not necessarily in order):
The other 5 new legacy weapons
The new Prc that will replace Force of Nature since the Sublime Shapeshifter ACF makes it sort of pointless
A few more ACFs, with an emphasis on lower tier classes (though trying to limit it to Core, Completes, and ToB
maybe: find appropriate artwork and make an HTML/PDF version

At which point it's essentially done, but I might:
Improve the fluff/flesh out the classes (sections on Playing an X, Sample Encounter, etc)
Playtest and adjust things (mainly maneuvers and feats, I think) based on playtest data
maybe: add a section of rules on Weapon of Legacy succession; the transition of legacy item between competitors and what happens when you lose the weapon but don't renounce it because you're trying to get it back
probably: finish up the work in the Weapons thread about alternative, thematic WoL penalties, though that might be part of AoW instead of this

Hopefully you can run another tome of tactics playtest.
In other news, I'm playtesting sage of the forge gestalted with a paladin fix. I'll post results on how well it goes.

Edit:
Do you think that we should allow the AC bonus in armour for Sage of the Forge as it disallows you from using warheart items for counters otherwise.

playswithfire
2011-07-30, 04:06 PM
Do you think that we should allow the AC bonus in armour for Sage of the Forge as it disallows you from using warheart items for counters otherwise.Hmm, maybe. I'd probably make it:
1st level: craft reserve
4th level: feat and retain the AC bonus when wielding non-magical shields they made themselves
8th level: identify and extract xp
12th level: add Wis bonus to touch AC up to max of total AC when wearing exclusively non-magical (warheart counts) armor
16th level: when wearing only non-magical armor (warheart counts) you made yourself, add their full AC bonus to your touch AC instead of just your Wis bonus

Reference list of ACFs I could still make in an effort to bring things to around the tier 2.5-3.5 level. Samurai, Ninja, and Swashbuckler are the priorities.
Tier 1
- Wizard: has an ACF, but it doesn't reduce the power level
- Cleric: can be replaced with Swordsaint
- Druid: can be replaced with Sublime Shapeshifter
- Erudite: has the psion ACF, but it doesn't reduce the power level
Tier 2
- Sorcerer: no replacement, no ACF
- Favored Soul: no replacement, no ACF
- Psion: has an ACF, but it doesn't reduce the power level
Tier 4
- Rogue: replace with sneak attack mercenary
- Barbarian: replace with raging huntsman
- Warlock: no ACF
- Warmage: no ACF
- Scout: replace with skirmish mercenary
- Ranger: replace with huntsman
- Hexblade: no ACF
- Spellthief: no ACF
- Marshal: replace with firebrand
Tier 5
- Fighter: replace with soldier
- Monk: already replaced by swordsage
- CA Ninja: no ACF Shinobi ACF
- Swashbuckler: no ACF Corsair ACF
- Soulknife: replace with soulsword
- Paladin: already replaced by crusader
- Knight: no ACF, but arguably already replaced by crusader
Tier 6
- CW Samurai: no ACF, but Bushi ACF and added Bushi Spirit feat

playswithfire
2011-08-03, 11:37 PM
Updates:
Sage of the forge - redistributed abilities and gave ability to use shield it creates
Soulsword - now trades sense magic for the ability to create/reshape blade faster
New ACF category: Partial adept, which is basically to maneuvers what bard is to spells
Bushi - Samurai learns Devoted Spirit and Wandering Eye
Corsair - Swashbuckler learns Crashing Wave and Desert Wind (cold)
Shinobi -Ninja learns Iron Heart and Shadow Hand

Next priorities: Hail of Arrows and the new prestige class.

Odd ACF/Adaptation idea I had but probably won't implement. Since I'm sort of trying to use the ACFs to create a Tier 2.5-3.5 version of everything and bard is already T3, I could make the arcane firebrand into a sorcerer downgrade and add an arcane mercenary that would be the wizard downgrade.
Both would pull from the sorcerer/wizard spell list and be able to learn spells of a maximum level learnable by a bard of their initiator level. The distinction would be:
Arcane firebrand can only learn spells from the Conjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, and Transmutation schools
Arcane mercenary can only learn spells from the Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Illusion, and Necromancy schools

NineThePuma
2011-08-04, 02:09 AM
With this update, you have MADE MY DAY. Completely.


PARTIAL ADEPT
With the advent of martial maneuvers, some of the earlier melee classes seem short on options. The concept of a partial adept, a modified version of an exising base class which trades some of its class features for a knowledge of the Sublime Way that exceeds normal characters, but is less than that of a martial adept, can help bridge the gap. All partial adepts gain variations of the same benefits; the replaced class features are discussed in the listings below.
Benefit: A partial adept has access to two martial disciplines, knows one first level martial stance and two martial maneuvers, both of which he can ready, at first level. He learns a new maneuver at each odd class level and can learn a new maneuver in place of a known maneuver at fourth level and each even level thereafter and can ready an additional maneuver at fourth, tenth, and sixteenth level. He learns a new stance at seventh, thirteenth, and nineteenth level. A partial adept learns maneuvers and stances of a lower level than a true martial adept, as shown below.
First off, most of the benefit section needs to be cleaned up, as it contains a bunch of run on sentences.

The underlined section is poorly phrased. It's grammatically correct, but might be better phrased as "A partial adept learns stronger maneuvers and stances at a later level than a true martial adept, as shown below."

{table=head]Initiator level|Maneuver level

1st - 3rd|1st

4th - 6th|2nd

7th - 9th|3rd

10th - 12th|4th

13th - 15th|5th

16th - 20th|6th

[/table]


BUSHI
A bushi is a samurai who has more carefully studied the art of warfare. Where samurai would simply let out a mighty roar and change into a fight, a bushi assesses his opposition and adjusts his tactics to every battle.
Class: Samurai
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the Kiai smite, Iajutsu master, or Improved Initiative class features.
Benefit: You become a partial adept with access to the Devoted Spirit and Wandering Eye disciplines and you can use an Intimidate check instead of a Bluff check when feinting. A bushi can recover all expended maneuvers whenever he demoralizes one or more opponents but can not initiate a maneuver in the same round that he does.I would argue that Wandering Eye doesn't quite fit the image of the Samurai. I would consider Master's Voice in its place, or White Raven.

However, it's your project and I can only advice, etc.

But what was your reasoning for Wandering Eye?


CORSAIR
Unlike the standard swashbuckler, a corsair tends to face his enemies more directly, striking with the power of sea, which has become his home, behind every blow.
Class: Swashbuckler
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the Dodge bonus, Improved flanking, Weakening critical, or Wounding critical class features.
Benefit: You become a partial adept with access to the Crashing Wave and Desert Wind disciplines, except that your Desert Wind maneuvers which normally deal fire damage deal cold damage instead, deal one less point of damage per die, and, if they normally allow a reflex save, instead allow a fortitude save. A corsair recovers all his expended maneuvers each time he successfully tumbles through a square occupied by an opponent without being hit, but can not initiate a maneuver in the same round he does so.I would consider Acid damage damage instead of Cold damage.

The recovery mechanic here is downright unworkable. It's a DC 25 tumble check to move through a square occupied by an opponent.


SHINOBI
While other ninja emphazise the precision of their blows and the potency of their poisons, a shinobi instead focuses on improving their own physical conditioning as well as a deeper understanding of the power of shadows.
Class: Ninja
Level: 1st
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the poison use or improved poison use class features and your sudden strike damage increases by 1d6 every four ninja levels beyond first level instead of every two.
Benefit: You become a partial adept with access to the Iron Heart and Shadow Hand disciplines. A shinobi can recover all expended maneuvers with a swift action that must be followed by an attack action or a standard action to do nothing.Could you validate Iron Heart on a Ninja for me?

Hazzardevil
2011-08-04, 10:04 AM
I would consider Acid damage damage instead of Cold damage.

I disagree, this ACF is for a someone at sea on a ship, not a rogue who poisons his opponents.
Anyway, acid is a more powerful element, all this is getting is basically a bonus feat along with some maneuvers.


The recovery mechanic here is downright unworkable. It's a DC 25 tumble check to move through a square occupied by an opponent.


This I agree with, maybe you have to make a tumble check and manage to avoid an Attack of Oppurtunity?

NineThePuma
2011-08-04, 03:47 PM
Where do pirates sail? Generally not through icy/treacherous waters.

And at least Acid is a liquid. Sea water itself is a (weak) acid. It fits MORE thematically, IMO. but you're free to disagree with that.

Hazzardevil
2011-08-04, 04:21 PM
Where do pirates sail? Generally not through icy/treacherous waters.

And at least Acid is a liquid. Sea water itself is a (weak) acid. It fits MORE thematically, IMO. but you're free to disagree with that.

I understand that Sea Water is a weak acid, but I feel you're pulling at straws now.
Water is cold, cold foes not mean freezing, although that is extreme cold.

Balance wise, Acid is a more powerful element than water, so you could use a blast maneuver from desert wind, fire it at a wall and the wall will melt.

playswithfire
2011-08-04, 05:48 PM
First off, most of the benefit section needs to be cleaned up, as it contains a bunch of run on sentences.

The underlined section is poorly phrased. It's grammatically correct, but might be better phrased as "A partial adept learns stronger maneuvers and stances at a later level than a true martial adept, as shown below."
Agreed; in my effort to be brief/concise, I ended up being unclear. How's this:

Benefit: A partial adept gains an initiator level equal to his class level plus half his other class levels. He also gains a maneuver and stance progression, though the maneuvers and stances he learns are of lower level than a full adept of the same initiator level would learn, as shown in the table below.
Maneuvers: A partial adepts begins with the knowledge of two martial maneuvers and learns an additional maneuver at each odd class level. At fourth level and every even level thereafter, he can also learn a new maneuver is place of one he already knows. The disciplines available to a partial adept will vary from class to class.
Maneuvers Readied: A partial adept can ready both of his maneuvers at first level and can ready an additional maneuver at fourth, tenth, and sixteenth level.
Stances Known: A partial adept begins with knowledge of one first level martial stance and learns a new stance at seventh, thirteenth, and nineteenth level. The maximum level stance he can learn is the same as the maximum level maneuver he can learn.
{table=head]Initiator level | Maneuver level
1st - 3rd | 1st
4th - 6th | 2nd
7th - 9th | 3rd
10th - 12th | 4th
13th - 15th | 5th
16th - 20th | 6th[/table]


I would consider Acid damage damage instead of Cold damage.
I disagree, this ACF is for a someone at sea on a ship, not a rogue who poisons his opponents.
Anyway, acid is a more powerful element, all this is getting is basically a bonus feat along with some maneuvers.
Where do pirates sail? Generally not through icy/treacherous waters.
And at least Acid is a liquid. Sea water itself is a (weak) acid. It fits MORE thematically, IMO. but you're free to disagree with that.
I understand that Sea Water is a weak acid, but I feel you're pulling at straws now.
Water is cold, cold foes not mean freezing, although that is extreme cold.
Balance wise, Acid is a more powerful element than water, so you could use a blast maneuver from desert wind, fire it at a wall and the wall will melt.I was thinking along the lines that water was cold and had actually not considered that sea water was a weak acid. I'm going to stick with the cold because, to me it fits better for the cold ocean water reason and (though I thought of this now and not when I wrote it) because the ocean is essentially the opposite of the desert and if fire represents the desert, then its opposite, cold, should represent the ocean.


The recovery mechanic here is downright unworkable. It's a DC 25 tumble check to move through a square occupied by an opponent.
This I agree with, maybe you have to make a tumble check and manage to avoid an Attack of Oppurtunity?
Uh, yeah, that's what I get for writing things up after midnight. Where I had "occupied," I meant "threatened" as HazzardEvil suggests.



I would argue that Wandering Eye doesn't quite fit the image of the Samurai. I would consider Master's Voice in its place, or White Raven.
However, it's your project and I can only advice, etc.
But what was your reasoning for Wandering Eye?
Could you validate Iron Heart on a Ninja for me?
In both cases, the odd choices came out of a desire to put together pairs of disciplines that no other single adept had and, in the case of Wandering Eye for samurai, there was the additional problem of having written and rewritten the disciplines a couple times and thus not remembering the exact tone they ended up with.

My revised choices would probably be
Bushi/Samurai: Iron Heart and Devoted Spirit: absolute mastery of the sword and dedication to a cause. I could also see Iron Heart and Master's Voice if I changed what features it lost; keep Kiai Smite and lose the intimidation progression, e.g.
Shinobi/Ninja: Shadow Hand and Setting Sun: shadow hand's the one the fits the best and this pairing will let it easily access Shadow Sun Ninja, which seems appropriate. I could see going with Wandering Eye or, more probably, Life's Blood instead of Setting Sun but then precision damage gets more complicated.

Thank you both for the feedback.

NineThePuma
2011-08-04, 06:08 PM
Are you going to Errata Setting Sun Ninja so it... works?

playswithfire
2011-08-04, 08:10 PM
Are you going to Errata Setting Sun Ninja so it... works?

Haven't looked at the class in a while; what doesn't work about Shadow Sun Ninja?

In any event, I think I'm changing my mind again
Bushi: Iron Heart and Master's Voice except they use Intimidate instead of Perform(oratory) for Master's Voice maneuvers and stances. Recovers when he demoralizes.
Absolute mastery of the sword and a commanding presence.

Corsair: Crashing Wave and Desert Wind except the desert wind maneuvers deal cold damage instead of fire. Recovers when he tumbles through a square threatened by an opponent without being struck by an attack of opportunity.
Fights with the power of the sea.

Shinboi: Shadow Hand and Life's Blood except the Life's Blood maneuvers grant and increase sudden strike damage instead of skirmish damage.
Moves through darkness and strikes fast and hard.

Except for the ninja, they each have access to a pair that no other adept has and each partial adept gets a twist put on the abilities of one of their disciplines to make it more distinctive.

NineThePuma
2011-08-04, 08:16 PM
IIRC, they had mechanics that didn't quite work, and were very odd in execution.

I do, however, think that going Shinobi -> Shadow Sun Ninja was cool. x3

playswithfire
2011-08-04, 10:21 PM
I do, however, think that going Shinobi -> Shadow Sun Ninja was cool. x3
Left shinobi as Life's Blood(sudden strike)/Shadow Hand, but gave it Improved Unarmed Strike and Heal as a class skill so that it can get into either Shadow Sun Ninja or Master of Surprise at fifth level by burning a single feat (Martial Study for a Setting Sun or Wandering Eye maneuver, respectively).

Updated partial adept benefit section and all three partial adepts on the first page.

playswithfire
2011-08-31, 09:25 PM
Apologies for slowing down with the updates (assuming anyone is still watching this); vacation.

Latest updates:
Crunch for the Iron Rain legacy weapon in the Legacy Weapon thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10636086#post10636086)
Updated the fluff for the crusader variants
Rewrote the Soldier Extended Boost and Focused Strike class features since, in preparing or some playtesting, I realized that, as originally written, they wouldn't apply very often.

Coming next: Legacy for the Iron Rain legacy weapon
Then the Life's Blood legacy weapon and the prestige class to replace Force of Nature (disciplines: Life's Blood, Diamond Mind, Crashing Wave or Devoted Spirit)

Ziegander
2011-08-31, 09:36 PM
Why does the Corsair's cold-based Desert Wind deal less damage? Desert Wind is already the weakest discipline. It has no need to become any weaker. The change from reflex to fort saves, which are the strongest monster save, just causes its usefulness to plummet further.

playswithfire
2011-08-31, 09:48 PM
Why does the Corsair's cold-based Desert Wind deal less damage? Desert Wind is already the weakest discipline. It has no need to become any weaker. The change from reflex to fort saves, which are the strongest monster save, just causes its usefulness to plummet further.

Consistency with the damage variants section of wizards' implementation of variant pyrokineticists (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040625e) and their use of the different elements in general. I would be fine not reducing the damage, but cold is usually a Fort save rather than Ref save, so I'd rather leave that as is. If I don't reduce the damage here, I'll probably tweak the Elemental Wind feat for consistency.

Thanks for the feedback.

Hazzardevil
2011-09-11, 08:20 AM
Is Sublime Shapeshifter now a partial adept with the slower progression for maneuvers?

playswithfire
2011-09-11, 06:11 PM
Is Sublime Shapeshifter now a partial adept with the slower progression for maneuvers?

No, sublime shapeshifter is still a full adept. Most, if not all of the classes and variants I've created her are balanced against the idea that a full (meaning swordage level, 1 maneuver/level) is equivalent to half/two-thirds casting (bard/psychic warrior), so the druid gives up his 9th level casting to get a swordsage level maneuver progression and some other class features.

It may be a faulty idea, but I don't have enough data to confirm or deny that yet and it feels right to me so far.

NineThePuma
2011-09-14, 01:45 PM
Partial Adepts get the REALLY short end of the stick then, don't they?

Hazzardevil
2011-09-14, 01:59 PM
Partial Adepts get the REALLY short end of the stick then, don't they?

Not every Ninja wants to be a full on single strike a round attacker.

playswithfire
2011-09-14, 05:07 PM
Partial Adepts get the REALLY short end of the stick then, don't they?

But at least they now they have any end of the stick at all. I didn't want to just make all the tier 5 melee classes into full adepts, but I did want to give them something of a power boost, and the result was the partial adepts.

It probably doesn't bring those classes past Tier 4, but I envision games using tome of tactics to mainly have classes in the T2-T4 range, with T3 being the most common.

Hawkflight
2012-04-25, 12:59 PM
There are a couple questions I have about the Blade Magician PrC.


Blade Magic (Su): Having mastered both magic and the sublime way, blade magicians learn to use one to enhance the other. Each Blade Magic ability allow you to either sacrifice a spell to gain a new means of attack or to use the spells as part of your attacks. The maximum level of spell you may use as part of your Blade Magic abilities is one fourth of your caster level, rounded down.

Nothing up my sleeve: One of the signature abilities of a blade magician, you can create blades of magical energy. As a free action, you may expend a spell or spell slot to create a number of spell shards equal to your caster level which last for 1 round, can be drawn as a free action, and function like daggers except that they deal d4 damage times the level of the spell sacrificed and you do not add your Strength modifier to the damage roll. You also gain a bonus on attack rolls with the spell shards equal to the spell level. Damage done by the shards is the same as the type of damage done by the spell, if any, or slashing damage if the spell does not cause damage. You may not use the Arcane Strike feat in the same round that you use this ability.

Question 1: Do you use these blades all on the same round as a standard action, or do you just use the blades as weapons in the standard way (wield one, attack, wield another, second attack, etc.)? If the latter, can your allies pick up and wield the ones you don't use?


Spotlight: Beginning at fifth level, you may initiate any Iron Rain strike with an initiation time of one standard action as a full-round action, using a spell with the shape ray as your weapon instead of a physical ranged or thrown weapon.

Question 2: Let's say I'm using Swordmage (http://wiki.faxcelestis.net/index.php?title=Swordmage) as my base class. Could I use a ranged weapon incantation instead of a ray spell, such as Shock or Lightning Fury or Light Bow?

playswithfire
2012-04-25, 08:22 PM
Glad people are still looking at this. I definitely let work on this slide to work on a certification for work. Need to get back to this.

Question 1: Do you use these blades all on the same round as a standard action, or do you just use the blades as weapons in the standard way (wield one, attack, wield another, second attack, etc.)? If the latter, can your allies pick up and wield the ones you don't use?
You attack with them like they're normal weapons. Conjure one into your hand, throw it, conjure one into your other hand or another one into your first hand, throw it, repeat til you're out of attacks or shards.

I... honestly hadn't considered anyone but the blade magician using the shards, but, as written, I suppose you could conjure them and drop them on the ground and/or toss them to your allies. I see no reason to change that.


Question 2: Let's say I'm using Swordmage (http://wiki.faxcelestis.net/index.php?title=Swordmage) as my base class. Could I use a ranged weapon incantation instead of a ray spell, such as Shock or Lightning Fury or Light Bow?
If none of the swordmage's incantations are rays, I guess I'd consider letting them use a ranged incantation. Up to the DM, though.

jguy
2012-04-25, 09:17 PM
I have got to say, the Mercenary, and the Life's Blood school, has been my plays group favorite classes in awhile. Rare that a homebrew class gets that from us. So kudos

Hawkflight
2012-04-25, 09:24 PM
Glad people are still looking at this. I definitely let work on this slide to work on a certification for work. Need to get back to this.

You attack with them like they're normal weapons. Conjure one into your hand, throw it, conjure one into your other hand or another one into your first hand, throw it, repeat til you're out of attacks or shards.

Okay. The reason I ask is because I'm not sure weather it's 1 dagger per caster level, per initiator level, or per BM level, but either way you're going to quickly get more daggers than you can use in one round, which IMO is a bit of a problem as the others are just wasted.

Von Krieger
2012-11-20, 01:14 PM
Adept Archer (Ex): At second and fourth level, you gain Adept Archer as a bonus feat

Given that Adept Archer is a tactical feat, I'm not sure what this does. Is this a holdover from an older version of the feat/class, or is the feat/class feature meant to be something else?

legomaster00156
2012-11-20, 01:48 PM
I sense necromancy...

WarHunter
2015-11-25, 03:32 AM
May I use crushing wave, Giant's grip and Life's blood?

NineThePuma
2015-11-25, 03:37 PM
Plays With Fire has been inactive for over a year. I don't think he'd mind, depending on whether or not you were republishing for cash or not.

playswithfire
2015-12-22, 05:29 PM
Plays With Fire has been inactive for over a year. I don't think he'd mind, depending on whether or not you were republishing for cash or not.

That's about the size of it. Please use as much as you like as long as you don't try to sell it as your own work.

Don't know what made me do it, but I started thinking about Tome of Tactics on a long drive today so I thought I'd look back over it.