Klode
2011-07-17, 04:57 PM
Hiya all ye good folks in the Playground :)
A thing that struck me the other day was that no matter how hard I tried I just could not find a gritty downside to Tome of Battle Sublime Way.
Sure the classes have a limit in maneuvers known and readied, especially the Swordsage has his work cut out for him, considering how much he knows but how "tough" it is for him to compose himself afterwards.
Still, a single feat liberates that otherwise exhausting and prolonged l abor to reclaim his maneuvers, and this is what I sorta want to change along with some other modifications, but let's start off at the aforementioned feat:
Now while the feat Adaptive Stylein and by itself is great, contributing the initiator with much needed versatality and quickness thereof, doing that all day might seem abit, hmn, too great. Therefore I suggest the following modification:
"Every time you use this feat in a stressful situation, such as a battle or while distracted with another activity, you must succed on a concentration check DC 15. Furthermore, with each subsequent use in the same encounter, the DC raises with a cumulative +2, being DC 17 at the second use, 19 at the third etc."
But If I'm takin some away, I'd better also add a bit to contribute for the loss, here is where I need others oppinion the most, because I've thought of two ways, and they are both sorta inspired by video games, but bear with me ;)
(PS. Most of the modification only applies to swordsage and warblade, since I like the way the Crusader works, but don't feel like the others should have their uniqueness striped away either.)
1) Regaining expended maneurvers automatically after a given period of time and a special rule if all are expended.
Once a maneurver is expended, it will automatically become available to you again after 1 1/2x maneurvers level (rounded up) rounds has passed, meaning that the regaining progression will look like this:
Level of maneurver: | Rounds before automatic renewal:
1st | 2
2nd | 3
3rd | 5
4th | 6
5th | 8
6th | 9
7th | 11
8th | 12
9th | 14
As a special rule, if you at any moment would find that you have no readied maneurvers left, you begin to regain more manuevers each subsequent round after expending the last maneurver. The first to return, are those with the lowest "renewal round" counter. The numbers you regain is based on your initiator level as follows:
Intitiator level: | Maneuvers renewed each round:
1st-5th | 1
6th-10th | 2
11th-15th | 3
16th-20th | 4
My notes: With this rule, the warblade won't lose it's advantage entirely, considering that it has the least readied maneurvers, and therefore will reclaim them rather quickly at higher levels.
2) Maneuvers are regained through the art of arms, meaning that with each normal attack you regain an expended maneurvers.
This one is alot more tricky, since it could be broken easily, but it works as follows. You most initiate a normal attack, having utilized no strike, boost or counter to accompany the attack. Although any stance might still have some influence, unless it grants extra attacks, in which case, only normal attacks are accounted for. Normal attacks being attacks you make through either a standard action or full-attack action. Two-weapon fighting counts as normal attacks, but multiweapon and secondary natural attacks are not accounted for. In order to regain an expended maneuver though, you need to hit with the aforemention, let's call it, mundane attack of your doing. Furthermore, it needs to be an object or creature you have marked as an enemy, so no hitting the ground or other irrelevant objects for good measure. PS. you can't just mark a creature as you opponent, it most first have become hostile towards you, this through your own actions or otherwise. Be very vary, because using this mechanic and striking innocent bypassers to reclaim one of your maneuvers is not just an act of evil, but one that corrupts and taints you(look in Heroes of Horror or Uneathed Arcana for "Taint of evil" and "Taint" respectively)
My notes:
Once again, the Warblade has a clear advantage, and while it speeds up an swordsages renewal considerably, I don't deem it as such big a deal, afterall attacks can still be countered or otherwise an extreme accomplishment in and of itself. Pay attention that one only needs to hit, damage is not an issue here at all, afterall you aren't extracting the creatures lifeessence to contribute your own. This would indeed be a heinous act worthy of taint, so would it be to attack an innocent person to regain maneuvers in the midst of combat, be very vary of that.
I hope you catch my drift, and please, if you have any thoughts or maybe know of threads concerning the "issue", I would be delighted if you'd share it with me :)
Thanks for your time,
Cheers
Edit:
PPS. I know that I liked how the classes had unique ways to renew maneuvers, and I notice that this is something that sorta eliminates that uniqueness, except for Crusader, since this is a universal rule that could apply to all classes of the sublime way, including homebrewed ones.. So, what do you think, should I change it into a universal rule, or just something for the two aforementioned classes: The swordsage and Warblade?
A thing that struck me the other day was that no matter how hard I tried I just could not find a gritty downside to Tome of Battle Sublime Way.
Sure the classes have a limit in maneuvers known and readied, especially the Swordsage has his work cut out for him, considering how much he knows but how "tough" it is for him to compose himself afterwards.
Still, a single feat liberates that otherwise exhausting and prolonged l abor to reclaim his maneuvers, and this is what I sorta want to change along with some other modifications, but let's start off at the aforementioned feat:
Now while the feat Adaptive Stylein and by itself is great, contributing the initiator with much needed versatality and quickness thereof, doing that all day might seem abit, hmn, too great. Therefore I suggest the following modification:
"Every time you use this feat in a stressful situation, such as a battle or while distracted with another activity, you must succed on a concentration check DC 15. Furthermore, with each subsequent use in the same encounter, the DC raises with a cumulative +2, being DC 17 at the second use, 19 at the third etc."
But If I'm takin some away, I'd better also add a bit to contribute for the loss, here is where I need others oppinion the most, because I've thought of two ways, and they are both sorta inspired by video games, but bear with me ;)
(PS. Most of the modification only applies to swordsage and warblade, since I like the way the Crusader works, but don't feel like the others should have their uniqueness striped away either.)
1) Regaining expended maneurvers automatically after a given period of time and a special rule if all are expended.
Once a maneurver is expended, it will automatically become available to you again after 1 1/2x maneurvers level (rounded up) rounds has passed, meaning that the regaining progression will look like this:
Level of maneurver: | Rounds before automatic renewal:
1st | 2
2nd | 3
3rd | 5
4th | 6
5th | 8
6th | 9
7th | 11
8th | 12
9th | 14
As a special rule, if you at any moment would find that you have no readied maneurvers left, you begin to regain more manuevers each subsequent round after expending the last maneurver. The first to return, are those with the lowest "renewal round" counter. The numbers you regain is based on your initiator level as follows:
Intitiator level: | Maneuvers renewed each round:
1st-5th | 1
6th-10th | 2
11th-15th | 3
16th-20th | 4
My notes: With this rule, the warblade won't lose it's advantage entirely, considering that it has the least readied maneurvers, and therefore will reclaim them rather quickly at higher levels.
2) Maneuvers are regained through the art of arms, meaning that with each normal attack you regain an expended maneurvers.
This one is alot more tricky, since it could be broken easily, but it works as follows. You most initiate a normal attack, having utilized no strike, boost or counter to accompany the attack. Although any stance might still have some influence, unless it grants extra attacks, in which case, only normal attacks are accounted for. Normal attacks being attacks you make through either a standard action or full-attack action. Two-weapon fighting counts as normal attacks, but multiweapon and secondary natural attacks are not accounted for. In order to regain an expended maneuver though, you need to hit with the aforemention, let's call it, mundane attack of your doing. Furthermore, it needs to be an object or creature you have marked as an enemy, so no hitting the ground or other irrelevant objects for good measure. PS. you can't just mark a creature as you opponent, it most first have become hostile towards you, this through your own actions or otherwise. Be very vary, because using this mechanic and striking innocent bypassers to reclaim one of your maneuvers is not just an act of evil, but one that corrupts and taints you(look in Heroes of Horror or Uneathed Arcana for "Taint of evil" and "Taint" respectively)
My notes:
Once again, the Warblade has a clear advantage, and while it speeds up an swordsages renewal considerably, I don't deem it as such big a deal, afterall attacks can still be countered or otherwise an extreme accomplishment in and of itself. Pay attention that one only needs to hit, damage is not an issue here at all, afterall you aren't extracting the creatures lifeessence to contribute your own. This would indeed be a heinous act worthy of taint, so would it be to attack an innocent person to regain maneuvers in the midst of combat, be very vary of that.
I hope you catch my drift, and please, if you have any thoughts or maybe know of threads concerning the "issue", I would be delighted if you'd share it with me :)
Thanks for your time,
Cheers
Edit:
PPS. I know that I liked how the classes had unique ways to renew maneuvers, and I notice that this is something that sorta eliminates that uniqueness, except for Crusader, since this is a universal rule that could apply to all classes of the sublime way, including homebrewed ones.. So, what do you think, should I change it into a universal rule, or just something for the two aforementioned classes: The swordsage and Warblade?