lsfreak
2012-11-19, 02:24 PM
I've ever-so-slowly been working on rewriting some melee, but I figured a better place to start than with the classes is with what they have in common: the set of combat actions that can be taken besides just attack/full attack.
The thing is, most of them suck. They require feats or other costs in order to be made useable. A number of them have an action cost that's far too limiting (feinting), while others have a downside too risky to use without a clear advantage (tripping and disarming provoke and let someone return the favor if you fail?). An easy way of spicing up a melee's life would be to make the actions worth the risk without any investment, just like a spellcaster can cast a spell they know without having to choose feats that make it worth casting.
Another thing to make it more interesting is to break up trading full attacks for more movement. The best you get with default mechanics tends to be a slow retreat or advance with 5-foot-steps every round, which isn't particularly interesting.
What I'm looking for:
Any kind of feedback, really. Things that don't make sense, balance, tricks I clearly didn't think through, possibly abuses, things that stand out as something you like/dislike...
Note on Other Rules:
I'm using a vitality system and 3d6 instead of d20, hopefully I didn't miss any changes in the main text, but I'm also including this stuff here for a bit of feedback before I continue on. Also I'm coming at this from E6, rather than normal 1-20. These are rules that compliment the combat options that are included as the core text of this post.
Modified Wound System:
- Upon reaching half vitality, a character becomes fatigued (unless they are already exhausted or collapsed)
- Upon losing all vitality or taking wound damage, a character is exhausted (unless already collapsed), unless the ability explicitly states that its wound damage does not cause exhaustion.
- A character with any wound damage is always fatigued, unless immune to the fatigue condition
- Critical hits deal wound damage only for the base weapon damage + half the weapon's ability modifier + the first point of damage from any bonus die of damage (such as sneak attack). The remainder of the damage is applied to vitality. “Half the weapon's ability modifier” means, for example, that a greatax wielded with a +6 Strength normally deals +9 damage, but on a crit deals 3 damage to wounds and the remaining 6 to vitality. This keeps critical hits dangerous, but also limits the one-shot capability, especially in the face of sneak attack or power attack.
- If an attack beats the target's AC by more than 10, the attack is an automatic critical. This does not apply to spells or spell-like abilities targeting touch AC.
[The goal here is to make combat grittier than normal, but not as unforgiving as a normal vitality system, especially when it comes to random criticals]
New Condition Rules:
In addition to conditions seeming a bit strong (especially given they are another thing that tends to be easy as a caster, damned hard as a melee), they also seemed to impact melee especially hard.
Weariness Scale:
This replaces the default fatigue and exhaustion.
Fatigued: -2Str/-2Dex penalty. If a character runs or charges, at the beginning of their next round they may either spend a move action catching their breath or they are immediately exhausted. Resting for 4 hours removes the Fatigued condition, unless the character has wound damage.
Exhausted: -4Str/-4Dex penalty. The character moves at half speed. Running or charging collapses the character after the action is completed. Resting for 1 hour moves the character up to Fatigued.
Collapsed: -8Str/-8Dex penalty. The character's movement speed drops to 5 feet or one-tenth their normal move speed, whichever is faster. Resting for 5 minutes moves a character up to Exhausted.
[I'm considering adding a mental fatigue state for spellcasters, or simply tacking it on to this, especially with fatigue/exhaustion coming into play with the vitality system.]
Impairment Scale:
This replaces the sickened and nauseated conditions, as distracted and overwhelmed. The impairment scale is used not only for nausea, but also pain, horrific sights, and so on.
Sickened (Distracted): -2 penalty on all attack and weapon damage rolls, on skill and ability checks, and a -1 penalty to caster level.
Nauseated (Overwhelmed): -2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill and ability checks, and a -1 penalty to caster level and save DC's of spells and spell-like abilities. A nauseated character can take a single move action, or can take a full-round action to perform what would otherwise be a standard action. Actions that are normally full-round actions cannot be taken.
Incapacitated: An incapacitated character is denied their Dex bonus to AC, and takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill and ability checks, and a -1 penalty to caster level and save DC's of spells and spell-like abilities. They may only take a single move action, or a standard action if attempting to end the effect requires a standard action. This does not extend to casting spells or using abilities to end the condition.
Miscellaneous Rules
Full Attacking:
A full attack action with a melee weapon can be taken as a standard action. Full attacks involving both ranged weapons and melee weapons may be taken as standard actions, provided there are as many or more melee attacks as ranged.
5-foot step:
There is no more 5-foot step. Instead, a character can move 10 feet (in a single 10-foot movement or as two 5-foot adjustments) without provoking an attack of opportunity provided the following:
- They have not moved normally this round
- They have made a melee attack, or are moving into position to make such an attack, or are otherwise engaged in melee. I can't seem to find any adequate wording; the intent of this is to allow melee some freedom of movement while engaged, but to disallow archers or spellcasters a free escape from AoO's.
A character character with a speed penalty instead moves 5 feet, unless their movement speed is currently 5 feet or lower.
Casting Defensively:
Casting a spell or using a spell-like ability normally provokes an attack of opportunity. Increasing the casting time to a full round action (or one extra round, if multiple rounds) allows a spell to be cast defensively. Attacks of opportunity may still be made and damage is still rolled, but this damage is not applied and only used to see how difficult a Concentration check casting the spell will be.
Outnumbered:
If a character is threatened by 3 or more creatures, and at least two of them are flanking, all of them are considered flanking.
Movement and Standard Actions:
You may split movement and attacks up around other actions in a round. Moving, making an attack, and then finishing movement (Spring Attack), or making the first attack of a standard-action full attack, moving, and then finishing the attack are the most basic forms of this, but one could also make the first attack, demoralize an opponent, and then finish the attack. You may only split one action per round – you cannot move, attack, move, and attack, as two actions would then be split.
Fighting Styles
Some melee weapons lend themselves to be used with agility. In addition to all light weapons, longswords, greatswords, scimitars, falchions, rapiers, courtblades, javelins, spears, and quarterstaves can use either Strength or Dexterity for their melee attack and damage rolls, whichever is higher when using them.
All classes with at least 3/4BAB provide proficiency with unarmed attacks (i.e. they never take nonprofiency penalties nor provoke)
Bows and crossbows may use your Dex or Int modifier for attack rolls. This is also added to the damage roll.
Fighting Styles:
Bows and crossbows do not benefit from these, except hand crossbows can be used to gain the Single-Handed bonus, the Two-Handed bonus if also wielding a melee weapon, and the Two-Weapon Attacking option.
Single-Handed: You add half your Dexterity modifier as a dodge bonus to AC as long as your offhand is free. You cannot gain both this bonus and the Two-Handed bonus in a single round. Fighting unarmed is counted as single-handed.
Two-Handed: You add an extra half of your Strength bonus on damage rolls with the weapon.
Two-Weapon: You add one quarter of your BAB as a shield bonus to AC.
Shield: Gain the shield's bonus to AC.
Two-Weapon Attacking: When using a shield or an offhand weapon, you may attack with your offhand weapon instead of your mainhand weapon when making an attack. You may, instead, take a -2 penalty to all attacks for the round in order to make a single, extra attack at your highest BAB with your offhand weapon or shield, which gains only half your Strength bonus on its damage roll. Using a weapon that's not light in your offhand increases the penalty to -4.
You may use an unarmed strike as an offhand to two-weapon fight even when using a two-handed weapon; in this case, your two-handed weapon gains only your Strength modifier on its damage roll.
Attack Options
Changes on Core options should be noted in italics for emphasis.
Power Attack
As part of an attack, you may subtract a number from your attacks up to your BAB. You gain a bonus on your damage rolls with your mainhand weapon equal to twice this penalty, or one each of two weapons equal to the penalty. While termed “power attack,” this can be just as much a dagger through a tiny opening in armor as a berserker with a huge axe swinging widely.
Driving Attack
As part of a melee attack, you may choose to sacrifice 10 feet of movement (whether from normal movement, a charge, or a 10-foot adjustment) in order to drive an opponent back. If your attack is successful, your opponent is driven 5 feet away from you (directly away if you are charging, or they choose directly or at an angle otherwise) and you may follow up with 5 feet of your own movement. You may sacrifice an additional 10 feet of movement to move them an additional 5 feet, either by sacrificing 20, 30, or more speed with a single attack, or by taking multiple attacks each with 10 feet of movement.
Your opponent may instead resist your driving attack, in which case you gain a +2 bonus on damage rolls with weapons against them but take a -1 penalty to AC until the beginning of your next turn, for each 10 feet of movement speed you sacrificed. An opponent who cannot move back (e.g. they're up against a wall already) is forced to take this option. An opponent knows how strongly you are driving with the attack before choosing whether to resist, and may choose to resist only some.
For example, Alice wants to set Bob up to be bull rushed off a cliff, so she attempts to drive him closer with 30 feet of movement (15 feet of drive). She can attempt this with a single attack (in which case Bob would choose to resist the last 5 feet of drive and give Alice -1AC/+2dmg for the rest of her attacks); however, she decides for reliability and attacks three times each with 5 feet of drive rather than risking her first and only diving attack misses entirely.
You may not make a driving attack with an attack of opportunity.
Fighting Defensively
As part of an attack or full attack action, you may take a -4 penalty to attacks until the beginning of your next turn in order to gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC for the same duration. At 4 BAB, you may instead take -6 to attacks for a +4 dodge bonus.
Total Defense
As a standard action, gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC. At 4 BAB, this increases to +8. In addition, you cannot be overwhelmed. You may not make any attacks, including attacks of opportunity, while in total defense, but see Riposte, below.
Combat Actions
None of the options that normally provoke an attack of opportunity (except Coup de Grace) or require a special weapon to trigger have this requirement anymore, and failure does not trigger a counter-attempt. All other changes on Core options should be noted in italics for emphasis.
Bull Rush
You may, as an attack, make a bull rush to attempt to push an opponent straight back instead of damaging them. You and the defender make opposed Strength checks, modified by your sizes (+4 for every size greater than Medium, -4 for every size smaller). You gain a +2 bonus if you are charging, and the defender gets a +4 bonus if they have more than two legs or are especially stable in some other way. If you beat the defender's Strength check result, you push them back 5 feet. You may move with the target in order to push them back an additional 5 feet for each 5 points by which your check result is greater than the defender's check result. You can't, however, exceed your normal movement limit. In addition, if you bull rush someone into a wall or other solid object, you deal 2d6+Str points of damage. [Removed: Flat size limit, AoOs]
Calculated Strike
As a full-round action, you can make a single, dedicated strike against an opponent. Before making your attack roll, make a concentration check. If this check beats your target’s AC, you ignore any miss chance they have due to cover or concealment (but not total cover or total concealment). In addition, you may treat the target as one range increment closer for the purpose of range penalties, sneak attack, and similar effects.
Coup de Grace
You may make an attack against a helpless target as a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity. It is otherwise an automatic critical strike, and if the target fails a Fort save of DC 10 + total damage dealt, they die outright. You cannot make a coup de grace against a target that has no anatomy.
Covering Fire
You may, as an attack, attempt to provide cover for another creature when you wield a ranged weapon. Any time before the beginning of your next turn, when an ally within 30 feet is attacked with a melee attack, you may declare you are using one of these cover fires and roll an attack. Your ally may use their AC or your attack roll, whichever is higher, to determine whether or not the melee attack hit.
Death Attack
You may spend 3 rounds studying a target within 60 feet. You cannot do anything during these 3 rounds except something as distracting as light conversation. You must be able to see them, and they cannot recognize you as an enemy. After these 3 rounds of study, you have 3 rounds to land an attack without your target realizing you are an enemy. If your first attack against them is successful, it is an automatic critical hit, and your target must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 your hit dice + your Int, Dex, or Str mod) or take double damage.
Demoralize
As a move action, you can attempt to demoralize an enemy within 30 feet. This opponent must have an Intelligence of at least 3, and must be able to see or hear you. If you succeed on an Intimidate check of DC 10 + the opposing character's level + any bonuses they have against fear, that opponent is shaken until the beginning of your next turn.
Distracting Shot
As an attack, you may attempt to throw an enemy off and open them to an attack. If you are wielding a ranged weapon and are within one range increment (or 30 feet, whichever is farther) of an enemy threatened in melee, you may replace an attack with a roll of d20 + your BAB + your Wisdom modifier, against DC 10 + your target's BAB + your target's Wisdom modifier. If you are successful, they immediately provoke an attack of opportunity from one creature who threatens them. If they are threatened by multiple creatures, you choose which one gets to make the attack. This does not entitle a creature to more attacks of opportunity than they can normally make, it merely provides a possibility for them to make one if they are able and choose to.
Feint
If you threaten an opponent in melee, you may take a move action to try and catch them off-guard. Make a Wisdom check with your BAB added as a bonus, against DC of 10 + your opponent's BAB + your opponent's Wisdom modifier. You take a -4 penalty against nonhumanoids and a -8 penalty against creatures of animal intelligence. If you can successful, they are denied their Dexterity bonus to AC against your next attack, made before the end of your next turn.
Recovery
You may take a standard action to attempt to catch your breath. You gain your Con modifier plus your character level in hit points (up to a maximum of half your total hit points). If you successfully repel any attacks or spells until the beginning of your next turn, you gain this benefit again. If you are taking a total defense action, recovery is instead a move action.
Riposte
While you are gaining the benefits of a Total Defense action, if an enemy you threaten attempts a melee attack against you but fails, you may use an immediate action to end the benefits of Total Defense and make an attack of opportunity in response.
The thing is, most of them suck. They require feats or other costs in order to be made useable. A number of them have an action cost that's far too limiting (feinting), while others have a downside too risky to use without a clear advantage (tripping and disarming provoke and let someone return the favor if you fail?). An easy way of spicing up a melee's life would be to make the actions worth the risk without any investment, just like a spellcaster can cast a spell they know without having to choose feats that make it worth casting.
Another thing to make it more interesting is to break up trading full attacks for more movement. The best you get with default mechanics tends to be a slow retreat or advance with 5-foot-steps every round, which isn't particularly interesting.
What I'm looking for:
Any kind of feedback, really. Things that don't make sense, balance, tricks I clearly didn't think through, possibly abuses, things that stand out as something you like/dislike...
Note on Other Rules:
I'm using a vitality system and 3d6 instead of d20, hopefully I didn't miss any changes in the main text, but I'm also including this stuff here for a bit of feedback before I continue on. Also I'm coming at this from E6, rather than normal 1-20. These are rules that compliment the combat options that are included as the core text of this post.
Modified Wound System:
- Upon reaching half vitality, a character becomes fatigued (unless they are already exhausted or collapsed)
- Upon losing all vitality or taking wound damage, a character is exhausted (unless already collapsed), unless the ability explicitly states that its wound damage does not cause exhaustion.
- A character with any wound damage is always fatigued, unless immune to the fatigue condition
- Critical hits deal wound damage only for the base weapon damage + half the weapon's ability modifier + the first point of damage from any bonus die of damage (such as sneak attack). The remainder of the damage is applied to vitality. “Half the weapon's ability modifier” means, for example, that a greatax wielded with a +6 Strength normally deals +9 damage, but on a crit deals 3 damage to wounds and the remaining 6 to vitality. This keeps critical hits dangerous, but also limits the one-shot capability, especially in the face of sneak attack or power attack.
- If an attack beats the target's AC by more than 10, the attack is an automatic critical. This does not apply to spells or spell-like abilities targeting touch AC.
[The goal here is to make combat grittier than normal, but not as unforgiving as a normal vitality system, especially when it comes to random criticals]
New Condition Rules:
In addition to conditions seeming a bit strong (especially given they are another thing that tends to be easy as a caster, damned hard as a melee), they also seemed to impact melee especially hard.
Weariness Scale:
This replaces the default fatigue and exhaustion.
Fatigued: -2Str/-2Dex penalty. If a character runs or charges, at the beginning of their next round they may either spend a move action catching their breath or they are immediately exhausted. Resting for 4 hours removes the Fatigued condition, unless the character has wound damage.
Exhausted: -4Str/-4Dex penalty. The character moves at half speed. Running or charging collapses the character after the action is completed. Resting for 1 hour moves the character up to Fatigued.
Collapsed: -8Str/-8Dex penalty. The character's movement speed drops to 5 feet or one-tenth their normal move speed, whichever is faster. Resting for 5 minutes moves a character up to Exhausted.
[I'm considering adding a mental fatigue state for spellcasters, or simply tacking it on to this, especially with fatigue/exhaustion coming into play with the vitality system.]
Impairment Scale:
This replaces the sickened and nauseated conditions, as distracted and overwhelmed. The impairment scale is used not only for nausea, but also pain, horrific sights, and so on.
Sickened (Distracted): -2 penalty on all attack and weapon damage rolls, on skill and ability checks, and a -1 penalty to caster level.
Nauseated (Overwhelmed): -2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill and ability checks, and a -1 penalty to caster level and save DC's of spells and spell-like abilities. A nauseated character can take a single move action, or can take a full-round action to perform what would otherwise be a standard action. Actions that are normally full-round actions cannot be taken.
Incapacitated: An incapacitated character is denied their Dex bonus to AC, and takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill and ability checks, and a -1 penalty to caster level and save DC's of spells and spell-like abilities. They may only take a single move action, or a standard action if attempting to end the effect requires a standard action. This does not extend to casting spells or using abilities to end the condition.
Miscellaneous Rules
Full Attacking:
A full attack action with a melee weapon can be taken as a standard action. Full attacks involving both ranged weapons and melee weapons may be taken as standard actions, provided there are as many or more melee attacks as ranged.
5-foot step:
There is no more 5-foot step. Instead, a character can move 10 feet (in a single 10-foot movement or as two 5-foot adjustments) without provoking an attack of opportunity provided the following:
- They have not moved normally this round
- They have made a melee attack, or are moving into position to make such an attack, or are otherwise engaged in melee. I can't seem to find any adequate wording; the intent of this is to allow melee some freedom of movement while engaged, but to disallow archers or spellcasters a free escape from AoO's.
A character character with a speed penalty instead moves 5 feet, unless their movement speed is currently 5 feet or lower.
Casting Defensively:
Casting a spell or using a spell-like ability normally provokes an attack of opportunity. Increasing the casting time to a full round action (or one extra round, if multiple rounds) allows a spell to be cast defensively. Attacks of opportunity may still be made and damage is still rolled, but this damage is not applied and only used to see how difficult a Concentration check casting the spell will be.
Outnumbered:
If a character is threatened by 3 or more creatures, and at least two of them are flanking, all of them are considered flanking.
Movement and Standard Actions:
You may split movement and attacks up around other actions in a round. Moving, making an attack, and then finishing movement (Spring Attack), or making the first attack of a standard-action full attack, moving, and then finishing the attack are the most basic forms of this, but one could also make the first attack, demoralize an opponent, and then finish the attack. You may only split one action per round – you cannot move, attack, move, and attack, as two actions would then be split.
Fighting Styles
Some melee weapons lend themselves to be used with agility. In addition to all light weapons, longswords, greatswords, scimitars, falchions, rapiers, courtblades, javelins, spears, and quarterstaves can use either Strength or Dexterity for their melee attack and damage rolls, whichever is higher when using them.
All classes with at least 3/4BAB provide proficiency with unarmed attacks (i.e. they never take nonprofiency penalties nor provoke)
Bows and crossbows may use your Dex or Int modifier for attack rolls. This is also added to the damage roll.
Fighting Styles:
Bows and crossbows do not benefit from these, except hand crossbows can be used to gain the Single-Handed bonus, the Two-Handed bonus if also wielding a melee weapon, and the Two-Weapon Attacking option.
Single-Handed: You add half your Dexterity modifier as a dodge bonus to AC as long as your offhand is free. You cannot gain both this bonus and the Two-Handed bonus in a single round. Fighting unarmed is counted as single-handed.
Two-Handed: You add an extra half of your Strength bonus on damage rolls with the weapon.
Two-Weapon: You add one quarter of your BAB as a shield bonus to AC.
Shield: Gain the shield's bonus to AC.
Two-Weapon Attacking: When using a shield or an offhand weapon, you may attack with your offhand weapon instead of your mainhand weapon when making an attack. You may, instead, take a -2 penalty to all attacks for the round in order to make a single, extra attack at your highest BAB with your offhand weapon or shield, which gains only half your Strength bonus on its damage roll. Using a weapon that's not light in your offhand increases the penalty to -4.
You may use an unarmed strike as an offhand to two-weapon fight even when using a two-handed weapon; in this case, your two-handed weapon gains only your Strength modifier on its damage roll.
Attack Options
Changes on Core options should be noted in italics for emphasis.
Power Attack
As part of an attack, you may subtract a number from your attacks up to your BAB. You gain a bonus on your damage rolls with your mainhand weapon equal to twice this penalty, or one each of two weapons equal to the penalty. While termed “power attack,” this can be just as much a dagger through a tiny opening in armor as a berserker with a huge axe swinging widely.
Driving Attack
As part of a melee attack, you may choose to sacrifice 10 feet of movement (whether from normal movement, a charge, or a 10-foot adjustment) in order to drive an opponent back. If your attack is successful, your opponent is driven 5 feet away from you (directly away if you are charging, or they choose directly or at an angle otherwise) and you may follow up with 5 feet of your own movement. You may sacrifice an additional 10 feet of movement to move them an additional 5 feet, either by sacrificing 20, 30, or more speed with a single attack, or by taking multiple attacks each with 10 feet of movement.
Your opponent may instead resist your driving attack, in which case you gain a +2 bonus on damage rolls with weapons against them but take a -1 penalty to AC until the beginning of your next turn, for each 10 feet of movement speed you sacrificed. An opponent who cannot move back (e.g. they're up against a wall already) is forced to take this option. An opponent knows how strongly you are driving with the attack before choosing whether to resist, and may choose to resist only some.
For example, Alice wants to set Bob up to be bull rushed off a cliff, so she attempts to drive him closer with 30 feet of movement (15 feet of drive). She can attempt this with a single attack (in which case Bob would choose to resist the last 5 feet of drive and give Alice -1AC/+2dmg for the rest of her attacks); however, she decides for reliability and attacks three times each with 5 feet of drive rather than risking her first and only diving attack misses entirely.
You may not make a driving attack with an attack of opportunity.
Fighting Defensively
As part of an attack or full attack action, you may take a -4 penalty to attacks until the beginning of your next turn in order to gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC for the same duration. At 4 BAB, you may instead take -6 to attacks for a +4 dodge bonus.
Total Defense
As a standard action, gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC. At 4 BAB, this increases to +8. In addition, you cannot be overwhelmed. You may not make any attacks, including attacks of opportunity, while in total defense, but see Riposte, below.
Combat Actions
None of the options that normally provoke an attack of opportunity (except Coup de Grace) or require a special weapon to trigger have this requirement anymore, and failure does not trigger a counter-attempt. All other changes on Core options should be noted in italics for emphasis.
Bull Rush
You may, as an attack, make a bull rush to attempt to push an opponent straight back instead of damaging them. You and the defender make opposed Strength checks, modified by your sizes (+4 for every size greater than Medium, -4 for every size smaller). You gain a +2 bonus if you are charging, and the defender gets a +4 bonus if they have more than two legs or are especially stable in some other way. If you beat the defender's Strength check result, you push them back 5 feet. You may move with the target in order to push them back an additional 5 feet for each 5 points by which your check result is greater than the defender's check result. You can't, however, exceed your normal movement limit. In addition, if you bull rush someone into a wall or other solid object, you deal 2d6+Str points of damage. [Removed: Flat size limit, AoOs]
Calculated Strike
As a full-round action, you can make a single, dedicated strike against an opponent. Before making your attack roll, make a concentration check. If this check beats your target’s AC, you ignore any miss chance they have due to cover or concealment (but not total cover or total concealment). In addition, you may treat the target as one range increment closer for the purpose of range penalties, sneak attack, and similar effects.
Coup de Grace
You may make an attack against a helpless target as a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity. It is otherwise an automatic critical strike, and if the target fails a Fort save of DC 10 + total damage dealt, they die outright. You cannot make a coup de grace against a target that has no anatomy.
Covering Fire
You may, as an attack, attempt to provide cover for another creature when you wield a ranged weapon. Any time before the beginning of your next turn, when an ally within 30 feet is attacked with a melee attack, you may declare you are using one of these cover fires and roll an attack. Your ally may use their AC or your attack roll, whichever is higher, to determine whether or not the melee attack hit.
Death Attack
You may spend 3 rounds studying a target within 60 feet. You cannot do anything during these 3 rounds except something as distracting as light conversation. You must be able to see them, and they cannot recognize you as an enemy. After these 3 rounds of study, you have 3 rounds to land an attack without your target realizing you are an enemy. If your first attack against them is successful, it is an automatic critical hit, and your target must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 your hit dice + your Int, Dex, or Str mod) or take double damage.
Demoralize
As a move action, you can attempt to demoralize an enemy within 30 feet. This opponent must have an Intelligence of at least 3, and must be able to see or hear you. If you succeed on an Intimidate check of DC 10 + the opposing character's level + any bonuses they have against fear, that opponent is shaken until the beginning of your next turn.
Distracting Shot
As an attack, you may attempt to throw an enemy off and open them to an attack. If you are wielding a ranged weapon and are within one range increment (or 30 feet, whichever is farther) of an enemy threatened in melee, you may replace an attack with a roll of d20 + your BAB + your Wisdom modifier, against DC 10 + your target's BAB + your target's Wisdom modifier. If you are successful, they immediately provoke an attack of opportunity from one creature who threatens them. If they are threatened by multiple creatures, you choose which one gets to make the attack. This does not entitle a creature to more attacks of opportunity than they can normally make, it merely provides a possibility for them to make one if they are able and choose to.
Feint
If you threaten an opponent in melee, you may take a move action to try and catch them off-guard. Make a Wisdom check with your BAB added as a bonus, against DC of 10 + your opponent's BAB + your opponent's Wisdom modifier. You take a -4 penalty against nonhumanoids and a -8 penalty against creatures of animal intelligence. If you can successful, they are denied their Dexterity bonus to AC against your next attack, made before the end of your next turn.
Recovery
You may take a standard action to attempt to catch your breath. You gain your Con modifier plus your character level in hit points (up to a maximum of half your total hit points). If you successfully repel any attacks or spells until the beginning of your next turn, you gain this benefit again. If you are taking a total defense action, recovery is instead a move action.
Riposte
While you are gaining the benefits of a Total Defense action, if an enemy you threaten attempts a melee attack against you but fails, you may use an immediate action to end the benefits of Total Defense and make an attack of opportunity in response.