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View Full Version : [PF] Improving Combat Maneuvers



Serafina
2012-07-26, 03:42 AM
I originally wanted to call this "fixing Combat Maneuvers", but Combat Maneuvers already work - just not particularly well later in the game.
Thus, a few homebrewn changes to them. Most are additional effects to feats already present in Pathfinder (not sure whether it would be legal to copy the rest, so i didn't).
I'm not going to integrate multiple feats into each other though, because i see nothing wrong with specializing.


Improved (Combat Maneuver)
Treat enemies as one size smaller (but no smaller than you) for the purpose of whether you can (Combat Maneuver) them and their CMD against your (Combat Maneuver).

Greater (Combat Maneuver)
Treat enemies as two sizes smaller (but no smaller than you) for the purpose of whether you can (Combat Maneuver) them and their CMD against your (Combat Maneuver)
That takes care of larger enemies being immune against your Combat Maneuvers, and also makes it easier against them.
The "for purpose of use on them" is redundant for some combat maneuvers who can be performed regardless of size, but i am saving space here.

Quick (Combat Maneuver)
You can perform (Combat Maneuver) in place of any of your melee attacks, including Attacks of Opportunity.
Because using them on Attacks of Opportunity is half the point of Combat Maneuvers - its better for protecting your allies than just dishing out some damage. Yet most can't be performed like that at all, no matter what you do. This makes the Quick Maneuver feats much more attractive.

Improved Trip
As above, plus you ignore one pair of legs for determining the enemies CMD.
Because it's yet another thing that produces unfair CMDs

Greater Trip
As above, plus you can ignore any number of legs for determining the enemies CMD, and you can trip enemies regardless of their locomotion (such as Oozes). You can also trip flying enemies. They are knocked prone normally and must spend their next possible action to stand up from being knocked prone. They do not fall to the ground, unless they can not spend their next action to stand up. The CMD of flying enemies is modified according to their maneuverability.
Because too many legs are as-good-as immune. And flying is really common later in the game, making Trip almost useless. Now you can destabilize an enemies flight, though it may be hard against certain enemies.

Improved Sunder
You can ignore 5 of an objects hardness.

Greater Sunder
You can ignore 10 of an objects hardness, and energy damage of your attacks is not halved against objects. If you choose to keep an enemies equipment intact but broken, your excess damage is still applied to the enemy.
Because it make sundering easier. And why the hell shouldn't Greater Sunders special effect not apply if you leave the equipment intact?


Combat Maneuver Training
Prerequisites: Combat Reflexes, Fighter or Monk level 6
Benefit: You can spend half an hour training to select one Improved Combat Maneuver feat until you select a new one.
Special: You can take this feat in place of a Improved Combat Maneuver Feat.
Special: You can select this feat multiple times

Improved Maneuver Training
Prerequisites: Combat Maneuver Training, Fighter or Monk level 9
Benefit: You gain either Bull Rush Strike, Disarming Strike, Repositioning Strike, Sundering Strike, or Tripping Strike, OR Quick Bull Rush, Quick Dirty Trick, Quick Drag, Quick Draw, Quick Reposition or Quick Steal for one appropriate Combat Maneuver selected with Combat Maneuver Training.
Special: You can select this feat multiple times.

Greater Maneuver Taining
Prerequisites: Combat Maneuver Training, Fighter or Monk level 11
Benefit: You gain the Greater Combat Maneuver feat of one Combat Maneuver selected by Combat Maneuver Training
Special: You can take this feat in place of a Greater Combat Maneuver feat.
Special: You can select this feat multiple times.

Person_Man
2012-07-26, 09:59 AM
I think that the main issue with PF Combat Maneuvers is that most of them are Standard Actions. Thus you are limited to just 1 per round in most cases. Thus, all you really need to do is to make them Attack Actions (as most of them were in 3.5). Since the number of attacks you can make tends to scale with levels, this solves the problem.

SSGoW
2012-07-27, 05:47 AM
What you could do is go the route of...

Anytime you make a melee attack (even secondary or tertiary attacks during a full attack) you may forgo the damage from that attack to perform a combat manuever.

If you had 3 attacks during your turn you could... *trips*(miss)/*trip again* (hit) + attack of Op for tripping/*disarm* (bonus for being on higher ground)

In movies you tend to see multiple trip attempts in a row that are really fast, this would emulate that. Also this would turn the fighter/monk into one hell of a lockdown controller.

Serafina
2012-07-27, 06:07 AM
You can already do that with half the combat maneuvers (Disarm, Sunder, Trip) because they can be made "in place of a melee attack", so if you get multiple ones (or AoOs) you can make that combat maneuver instead.

The revised version of "Quick Bull Rush" etc. feats means that you can do the same with ALL combat maneuvers.