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View Full Version : [3.5, Skill, Z-R] Combat Training



arguskos
2011-03-11, 12:18 PM
Ok, so, since it got little attention in the main thread, I thought I'd open it up to everyone for review. Recently, I wrote a new skill, called Combat Training, for use in my setting project, Zaaman-Rul. The skill is an Advanced Skill, the rules for which are below:

Advanced Skills

Advanced Skills cannot be taken cross class. To take an advanced skill, you need the skill on your class skill list or need to take a feat for the skill (each one has an additional bonus as well, so they're not completely dead). Advanced Skills cost two skill points per rank if the charater either has it as a class skill or takes the feat, and 1 skill point per rank if the character has it both as a class skill and has the feat.


The idea is that Advanced Skills are powerful, but tough to get. They appear on fairly few class lists as well. The current Advanced Skills are as follows (and these are what Combat Training was balanced against):

Autohypnosis
Linguisitics (Decipher Script and Forgery)
Battle Meditation (Iaijutsu Focus)
Use Magic Device

Autohypnosis is considered strong. Forgery is crazy good. Battle Meditation (identical to Iaijutsu Focus) is really really powerful. UMD makes certain characters *possible*. To my mind, Combat Training needed to stand up in this company, specifically, to compare to Battle Meditation. So, here's the skill, I'm curious as to if you think I made something strong, but balanced with its limitations as an Advanced Skill.

Combat Training (Con, Trained Only)
This skill represents a character's active training in the arts of combat. Use Combat Training to show off your skills, to defeat your foes, and to endure terrible blows.

Check: Combat Training has a number of uses, and unlike many skills, grants a small passive bonus to certain checks. For every 5 ranks in Combat Training a character possesses, they gain a +1 competence bonus to Initiative checks and to any check involved in a combat maneuver (trip, disarm, bull rush, overrun, etc).

Roll With It: Once per encounter, when struck by a melee attack, make a Combat Training check with a DC equal to the attack roll. If you meet or exceed the attack roll, you roll with the blow somewhat, moving back 5 ft (this movement doesn't provoke) and reducing the damage taken by an amount equal to your ranks in Combat Training. If you fail the check, you take damage from the attack as normal.

Showmanship: You can use Combat Training in battle to show off your abilities. Once per encounter, you can make a Combat Training check in place of each of the following checks for combat maneuvers: the attack roll for a disarm; the grapple check; and the attack roll for a sunder.

Challenge Overcome: You can use your Combat Training to finish enemies in battle. Once per encounter as part of a melee attack, you can strike your foes down. You make a Combat Training check instead of an attack roll, and if your check equals or exceeds their current hit point total, they suffer damage equal to their current hit point total+1, dropping to -1 hp.

Action: Roll With It is an immediate action. Showmanship is part of another action. Challenge Overcome is part of a melee attack.

Try Again: No. Combat Training effects are in combat, and there is no chance to retry.

Special: Combat Training is an Advanced Skill and requires 2 skill points to take.

jiriku
2011-03-11, 02:38 PM
The Challenge Overcome option seems kinda iffy. At high levels, sure, it's a great finishing move, but at low levels, especially levels 1-2, it wouldn't be terribly uncommon to be able to one-shot opponents (even formidable opponents) who were in perfect health. My first thought was HD <= skill ranks, but that's no good because HD scales much faster than skill ranks. Perhaps it would be reasonable to require at least five or six ranks in the skill before you can use Challenge Overcome?

arguskos
2011-03-11, 02:42 PM
The Challenge Overcome option seems kinda iffy. At high levels, sure, it's a great finishing move, but at low levels, especially levels 1-2, it wouldn't be terribly uncommon to be able to one-shot opponents (even formidable opponents) who were in perfect health. My first thought was HD <= skill ranks, but that's no good because HD scales much faster than skill ranks. Perhaps it would be reasonable to require at least five or six ranks in the skill before you can use Challenge Overcome?
That seems like a reasonable point. I hadn't thought of Challenge Overcome as a "lolone-shot" mechanism, since I was envisioning it at higher levels as an epic finishing move (imagine, someone using Challenge Overcome to strike low the BBEG when he's weak, sounds awesome to me).

I can put some kind of limiter on there. What do you think is fair? I'm thinking 6 ranks (that's level 3, at the earliest).