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lunaramblings
2012-12-21, 09:33 PM
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The Guardian

"Anyone can pick up a sword and strike out at another. Not everyone can prevent that person from taking the lives of the innocent. It takes a special breed to take a strike meant for another. I am that breed. I am a Guardian." Deucalion Ambrose- Guardian of Thayne.

Guardians are elite bodyguards and soldiers. While they are just as capable of front lining as any martial adept they are more potent at protecting others. They forgo the glory of leading the charge, for the reward of saving the lives of others, be they party members or innocent civilians. They are masters of redirection and negation of enemy forces. They mix the strength, speed and power of other warriors with tactical prowess and pure willpower to put their very lives on the line for the causes in which they believe.

Becoming a Guardian

Guardians are not created, they are born. It requires a certain willingness and drive to go into battle over and over with the willingness to put your life on the line for others. Unlike most warriors, they purposely put themselves in harms way, accepting that in any battle there will be casualties, and they would rather it be them, than those they care about, or those that are innocent. Many Guardians take this course in the world to redeem themselves for their mistakes. Many have a death wish, or a cause in which they are willing to die for. For some this is a matter of Faith and religion, for others it is an ideology. For some it is a birthright. The methods used by Guardians are only learned through a life time of battle. It is a very particular skill set required.

For your average Guardian, Strength and Constitution are vital. They require the strength to strike down those that seek to harm their charges, and the constitution to take a hit and remain standing, a guardian who is unconscious is of no use to their would be charge. Dexterity allows them to be graceful, quick and agile, all things that are handy when attempting to defend others. Most guardians have prefer to wear armor, though their particular method requires them to be agile and able to move quickly, and as such they tend to avoid any armor which provides an Armor Check Penalty of higher than 4, as such most heavy armors are ignored, unless means are taken to lighten their burden.

This class is appealing to many classes, though geared mostly for those that have a basis in martial combat. Many Crusaders take to this cause, and more than a few Paladins and Fighters have taken this path. It is not unheard of for a Cleric of an appropriate God or Ideal to take this course, though many find that it's lack of spell progression in someways pulls them from their God. It is also not unheard of for a Monk to pursue this path, as they are generally quick and agile and their skills can be quite useful in getting to a charge, and protecting them. Unfortunately, their lack of armor and their reliance on their fists prevents them from making full use of all of the abilities granted by this class.

Entry Requirements:

Base Attack Bonus: +6
Skills: Tumble +5
Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Combat Reflexes, Proficiency with at least 1 type of Shield.

The Guardian Hit Die: 1d12
{table=head]
Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known|Special
1|+1|+2|+0|+2|5|3|1|Shield Other, Bonus Feat
2|+2|+3|+0|+3|5|4|1|Try Again
3|+3|+3|+1|+3|6|4|1|Pick On Someone Your Own Size, Bonus Feat
4|+4|+4|+1|+4|6|4|2|Bring It
5|+5|+4|+1|+4|6|5|2|Retribution[/table]

Class Skills: 6 + Int per level
The Guardians Class Skills (and Key Ability Modifiers) are: Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge [local] (Int), Knowledge [Tactics] (Int), Knowledge [Royalty and Nobility] (Int), Listen (Wis), Martial Lore (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Rope (Dex).

Maneuvers:
Upon taking their first level of The Guardian, a character gains access to a pool of Maneuvers, similar to those of other Martial Adepts. Guardians may choose maneuvers from the following Disciplines: Devoted Spirit, White Raven, Diamond Mind, Iron Heart, Setting Sun, and Righteous Sacrifice (New School, currently in the works) A first level Guardian may select maneuvers and stances from any of the above schools so long as they meet the prerequisites for the maneuver or stance in question.

To recover their manuevers, Guardians must fight defensively, taking no attacks for a full round. When they first ready their maneuvers or change them throughout the course of the day, they must contemplate their purpose through meditation for five minutes.

Shield Other (Ex) (1st Level)
A Guardian at 1st level may choose to apply some or all of his Shield Bonus to the AC of his Charge. At every odd level he can apply an additional +1 to this bonus. At 3rd level, this may be divided among any number of charges, so long as they are withing Reach of the Guardian or are Flanking the same creature. At Fifth Level, a Guardian may use an Immediate action to end this protection to instead take a hit meant for one of his chosen charges. This hit automatically strikes him, regardless of his AC. If the Guardian does so, he may not use this ability for the remainder of the encounter.

Try Again (Ex) (2nd Level)
When an enemy whom you threaten, would attack one of your charges, you may expend the use of an attack of opportunity (Within the normal limit per round) to force that enemy to reroll their attack with a penalty equal to your Guardian Class Level.

Bonus Feat (1st and 3rd Level)
At 1st and 3rd level a Guardian gains a Bonus feat from the Following List. They need not meet the prerequisite. However, if they wear any armor with an Armor Check Penalty greater than 4 they lose access to these feats.

Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Karmic Strike, Robilar's Gambit, Elusive Relflexes

Pick on Someone Your Own Size (Ex) (3rd Level)
A Guardian can use a Swift Action to attempt to interpose himself between his charge an an aggressor. The Guardian is able as part of this ability to move his Base Speed to reach the target. The Guardian must make a Tumble Check DC 5+ the Strength + Base Attack of the Aggressor. If he is successful, the Aggressor's attack is negated. A Guardian may use this ability 1/day per Guardian class level. If a Guardian wears any armor with an Armor Check Penalty greater than 4 they lose access to this ability.

Bring It (Ex) (4th Level)
A Guardian may make a Touch Attack against anyone who Threatens one of his Charges. If successful, they goad the target, requiring them to make a Will Save DC 10 + the Guardians Base Attack Bonus + the Guardian Class Level

Retribution (Su) (5th Level)
Once per day, a Guardian can turn the attacks of an enemy against them. If the enemy successfully strikes a charge, all damage dealt by that enemy to the charge this round is reflected back upon them, unless they make a Reflex Save = to 10 Plus Damage Dealt. A Guardian that wears any Armor with an Armor Check Penalty Greater than 2, they may not use this maneuver.

New Martial Discipline

If I were to allow the base ToB Classes to take this, I would likely sub it in place of Stone Dragon. Or for Swordsages/Warblades perhaps in place of Tiger Claw instead if they would rather. I have not labeled any of these as Ex/Su, will try to go through and do that tomorrow. Will also fancy it up a bit then too.

Righteous Sacrifice: Key Ability Survival. Discipline Weapons: Long Spear, Shield, Spiked Chain, Halberd, Bastard Sword.


The School of the Righteous Sacrifice is based on willingly putting the needs of your allies above your own. This school, while formidable, is not taught in all academies. This is attributed to the need for the practitioner to be truly willing to sacrifice their well being for others. This is a rare trait among warriors. As such it is much less common than the core disciplines of martial study. This discipline uses many counters as it is often more important to the Adept to protect their charge, than to dispatch their foes. However the power of a practitioner of The Righteous Sacrifice should never be considered unwilling or unable to do what must be done on the field of battle. Often their empathy makes them prone to a willingness to make the hard choices.

1st Level

Sacrificial Posture [Su] (Stance): While in this stance a Martial Adept takes a -4 to AC, but Grants Allies Fast Healing 2. This is a Supernatural Ability.

Righteous Blade (Strike): When a Martial Adept initiates this strike, they channel their righteous will to deal devastating damage to a foe. This strike deals an additional 10 damage to the target.

Righteous Dodge (Counter): The Martial Adept may make a Survival Check, DC 10+Damage Dealt to negate the damage of a single Attack.

Martyr’s Choice (Boost): The Martial Adept may take 1d6 damage in order to immediately gain the benefit of taking 10 on any one skill check, regardless of circumstance.

2nd Level:

Harry the Aggressor (Strike): You may make an flurry of attack against any target that has attacked an ally. You make 1 attack for each IL. These attacks deal no damage, and are made with a cumulative -2 Penalty. Each successful attack reduces the targets attack bonus for the next round by 1.

Rebuff Magic [Su] (Counter): You may make an Survival check to deflect any ranged or melee touch attack used to deliver a spell or psionic power against yourself or an ally within your reach. DC is equal to 10+the casting stat of the caster+ the spell’s level. If you succeed by 10 or more, you may redirect the attack. If you fail by 5 or more both you and the intended target take full effect of the spell. If you were the target, treat it as a Critical Hit. This is a Supernatural Ability.

3rd Level:

Righteous Defense [Su](Stance): While in this stance you gain Fast Healing 2, and may add your Con bonus to your AC. This is a Supernatural Ability.

Dust in the Wind (Strike): You may make a Survival check against a targets Touch AC. If you succeed, you blind the target for 1d4 rounds.

Righteous Aid (Boost): As an Immediate Action you may grant an ally the ability to use your Survival check in the place of any Fortitude save. They must choose which to use before rolling, and before knowing the difficulty of the check.

4th Level:

Press The Aggressor (Strike): As Harry the Aggressor, except the penalty is reduced to -1 cumulative on each attack.

Absorb Magic [Su] (Counter): As an immediate action you may absorb the damage dealt from the source of a spell that would be dealt to an ally. If you would already take this damage, you take double damage instead. You may not attempt any saving throw or other means of negating or lessening this damage. This is a Supernatural Ability.

5th Level:

Defend the Wounded (Counter): You may, as an immediate action grant an ally within five feet a bonus to AC equal to your Armor Class. Until your next turn after using this maneuver your Armor Class becomes 10. This provokes an attack of opportunity.

Destroy the Wicked (Strike): You may make 1 extra attack for every 3 IL. These attacks are at your highest base attack bonus, but all attacks this round suffer a -5 penalty.

Dam the Flow (Counter): You may make an attack of opportunity against any foe that charges you or an ally within 10 feet. If you deal more than 10 points of damage, the target loses their attack this round, though they still have ended their movement in the desired square.

Remove the Threat (Strike): You savagely lash at your target, attempting to disarm them. The target must make a Fortitude Save equal to 10 + Damage Dealt. If successful, they take no damage and are not disarmed. If they fail the save they are disarmed and take full damage. If the target is using natural weapons the chosen weapon cannot be used for 1d4-1 rounds, to a minimum of 1round.

6th Level:

Righteous Wrath (Stance): While in this stance you automatically confirm critical hits against any foe that has attacked and damaged at least 1 of your allies.

Might of the Righteous (Stance): You channel your might into a palpable force that fortifies your mind body and soul, this allows you to add your Strength bonus to all Saves, and as an immediate action, you may instead grant this bonus to all allies within 20ft, but this may only be used on a single type of Save (Fort/Ref/Will) and only on the Next save they make.

Bar the Way (Counter): As an immediate action you become a whirlwind of defense. You strike with force and precision against all that attempt to move within your reach until your next turn. You may make an attack of opportunity again all targets that move within your reach, these do not count against your limit for the round.

7th Level:

Dominance of the Righteous (Strike): You deliver an attack with brutal force, shattering the confidence of the target. The target must make a Will Save against a DC of 10+Damage Dealt, if they fail they will cower from you until your next action.

Defy the Willful (Counter): You may make a Survival Check in place of a Will Save. If successful, you reflect the effect on its caster. This bypasses any immunity to the effect the caster may possess.

8th Level:

The Righteous Stand [Su] (Stance): You are gain Regeneration 10/-. You cannot not be damaged by any effect that requires a Fortitude or Reflex Save. This is a Supernatural Ability.

Crash of Blades (Strike): You deliver a rain of blows upon your target. You gain 1 attack at your highest base attack bonus for each point of Wisdom Damage you voluntarily take. This Wisdom Damage can only be healed by rest or by the Heal spell.

9th Level:

Immortal Wrath of the Righteous [Su] (Stance): You gain the benefits of Might of the Righteous and deal an additional 10 Holy/Unholy damage to all attacks you make. This is a Supernatural Ability.

The Best Defense(Strike): You lash out at all targets in your reach. Each target can be struck only 1 time with this maneuver. Each strike is treated as a critical hit and deals 1d10 Strength damage. This maneuver bypasses any immunity a target might have to critical hits or precision damage. If a target has dealt damage to an ally they must also make a Fortitude Save or be Stunned for 1d4 rounds. At the end of the round you become exhausted.

Don’t Fear the Reaper (Counter): You may make a Survival check DC equal to the attack roll or Saving Throw DC of the the attack in response to any attack, spell or other effect that would kill you this round. If successful, the effect is negated, as if it had never taken place. This allows you to negate the entire effect if successful, as such it can negate area of effect attacks, as well as effects that would carry secondary effects, so long as the Survival check is made. Others effected by this attack are likewise unscathed if you are successful.

lunaramblings
2012-12-22, 06:16 PM
30+ Views no comments? Anyone?

JoshuaZ
2012-12-22, 08:29 PM
30+ Views no comments? Anyone?

Making it a link rather than something here makes people substantially less likely to go and comment (people have trouble dealing with trivial inconveniences). The formatting here isn't very difficult and putting it here will likely help get responses.


To recover their manuevers, Guardians must....

Is this supposed to have some text?


Try Again (Ex)
A Guardian may spend an Attack of Opportunity to force any one attack attempted at one of their charges to be rerolled with a penalty equal to his Guardian Class Level.

This needs more clarification.


You may make a Survival check DC 40 in response to any attack

The fixed DC here is awkward. For unoptimized characters this will be too hard to make, and for optimized ones this will be much too easy. Suggest making it for attack rolls a DC equal to the attack roll. For spells not sure what it should be. I'm also not sure what it means to negate a spell in general. For example, if it has an area effect what does this do?

lunaramblings
2012-12-22, 09:29 PM
Will Respond Inline in Blue


Making it a link rather than something here makes people substantially less likely to go and comment (people have trouble dealing with trivial inconveniences). The formatting here isn't very difficult and putting it here will likely help get responses.

.Fair enough. I will attempt to rework the formatting and get it posted over. Was just heavily discouraged when the formatting didn't match up.

Is this supposed to have some text?

I left that blank as I am still trying to ascertain the best method to recover their manuevers. Open for suggestions.

This needs more clarification.

The purpose of Try Again is that the Guardian can expend one of their potential attacks of Opportunity to force an attack against a charge to be rerolled. Is this wording better?

" Benefit: When an enemy whom you threaten, would attack one of your charges, you may expend the use of an attack of opportunity (Within the normal limit per round) to force that enemy to reroll their attack with a penalty equal to your Guardian Class Level."

The fixed DC here is awkward. For unoptimized characters this will be too hard to make, and for optimized ones this will be much too easy. Suggest making it for attack rolls a DC equal to the attack roll. For spells not sure what it should be. I'm also not sure what it means to negate a spell in general. For example, if it has an area effect what does this do?

Noted. Suggested change: "Don’t Fear the Reaper (Counter): You may make a Survival check DC equal to the attack roll or Saving Throw DC of the the attack in response to any attack, spell or other effect that would kill you this round. If successful, the effect is negated, as if it had never taken place. This allows you to negate the entire effect if successful, as such it can negate area of effect attacks, as well as effects that would carry secondary effects, so long as the Survival check is made. Others effected by this attack are likewise unscathed if you are successful."

lunaramblings
2012-12-22, 09:52 PM
I have now transferred it over as best I can. Table is still all messed up. Hopefully that is easier for everyone though. Thanks guys, hope to get lots of feedback.

JoshuaZ
2012-12-23, 09:21 AM
The purpose of Try Again is that the Guardian can expend one of their potential attacks of Opportunity to force an attack against a charge to be rerolled. Is this wording better?

Hmm, so if I'm following this correctly as soon as one hits epic levels, one can force an indefinite number of rerolls using Improved Combat Reflexes?


I left that blank as I am still trying to ascertain the best method to recover their manuevers.

The Warblade mechanic is ok but doesn't quite fit the theme. Maybe just as a swift action that doesn't require doing anything else?

The rewording for Don't Fear the Reaper is good.

(By the way, one easy way to deal with formatting is to take an entry here for a PrC written by someone else and just copy and paste it and then refill the table entries. Bold and italics are also listed in the edit box, so you can just highlight the section you want and then click on them.

lunaramblings
2012-12-23, 12:07 PM
Warblades get their maneuvers for attacking. Maybe Guardians regain a single maneuver in any round during which they take a full defense? Or perhaps any round in which they successfully prevent an ally from being harmed, they are allowed to refresh 1 maneuver?

I didn't balance for Epic. I have, in the entirety of my gaming experience, played 1 game where we had Epic rules, and it lasted only a couple hours. I could just make Try Again a hard cap as Combat Reflexes? Or not worry about it at Epic because it seems like the least broken thing an Epic Character could focus on doing. Thoughts?

Vaz
2012-12-23, 08:04 PM
Shield Other; seems a bit odd that only his shield is the beneficiary. Perhaps an improvement later on (L3?) that gives full AC? "I'll defend you with my life; provided I don't get hurt".

Retribution; need to clarify what you mean by "greater AC penalty" Greater tha. means more than, I assume you mean "AC penalty that is x or lower". On that note, why penalise someone during a Capstone? Their goal is for tanking: and yet someone with Heavy Armour cannot discharge their Retribution? You specify shields; its rare that a Character with Shields proficiency doesn't have a Medium Armour Prof at least for a Mithral HA; your first class ability ONLY benefits those with a Shield; and yet you have no requisite for shield.

A Monk gains Retribution amd adds +2/3 (please defjne every odd level; is that 1-2-3 or 3-5 for the additional +1) to shield bonus

You've got Dodge as a Prerequisite; anyone with half a brain is quite frankly unlikely to ever take that Feat unless its granted as a class feature. Instead replace Dodge with Shield Prof; and grant Dodge as a free l1 Bonus feat. For characters who already benefit from Dodge as a class feat, possibly look at something like replacing the +1 to +Class Level.

Try again I like; -5 and +2 AC to your Caster can make a slight difference (overall +7) to their AC being the equivalent of Half Plate; but is a 5 Level Prestige Class Cohort/other Friendly PC good investment when AC bonuses for Casters can be easy to come by; and as for the Guadian protecting the Caster, said Caster would be in the frontline; or said Guardian is well away from the other front line guys.

Pick on someone your own size; again with Penalizing Armour on someone intending to tank hits. And why Tumble? This is your only ability using tumble; it seems very Hollywood, but why Tumble; what is stopping simply running over/jumping? Perhaps add Tumble as a modifier but there is no reason to have it as a requisite for a 1/day ability that is as simple as stopping a single attack and moving 30ft. I'd have it as 1/encounter at l1 and then 1/minute, and finally 1/round. As for all these negates attacks, why are they not resolved against Guardian instead?

Sacrificial Posture; -4, are you serious? On a class already heavily gimped
for actually taking armour? This is at best relegated to out of combat situations, when you can sit around a campfire and heal the damage done. And considering a Dragon Shaman would be a decent candidate for the class, their Fast Healing Aura outstrips that of this ability.

Harry the Agressor; aside from sounding like a Fantasy remake of "do you feel lucky punk" the idea of a potential 20 Attacks does sound like fun when you throw use activated True Strike Weapons in.

Righteous Defence sounds like what Sacrificial Posture should be. Although I cannot think of a logical reason as to why this should be unless it is some form of Natural Armour Bonus/NAB improvement or some divine intervention giving a Sacred/Profane bonus IAW alignment.

Press The Agressor; as above, just even less fun in regards to recieving 20 attacks.

Auto Confirming Crits reliant on other party members taking damage being the ones you are supposed to be protecting as a 6th level stance? Bleh.

Lastly; what is with all of the Survival Checks? In a class based (so far) around Constitution and Dexterity; why is a Wis based skill used to track targets across the wilderness while keeping natural dangers at bay while being red related to being able to knock someones sword out of their hand, or throwing dust in their eye?

lunaramblings
2012-12-23, 10:07 PM
More or less trying to reply inline.


Shield Other; seems a bit odd that only his shield is the beneficiary. Perhaps an improvement later on (L3?) that gives full AC? "I'll defend you with my life; provided I don't get hurt".

Retribution; need to clarify what you mean by "greater AC penalty" Greater tha. means more than, I assume you mean "AC penalty that is x or lower". On that note, why penalise someone during a Capstone? Their goal is for tanking: and yet someone with Heavy Armour cannot discharge their Retribution? You specify shields; its rare that a Character with Shields proficiency doesn't have a Medium Armour Prof at least for a Mithral HA; your first class ability ONLY benefits those with a Shield; and yet you have no requisite for shield.

A Monk gains Retribution amd adds +2/3 (please defjne every odd level; is that 1-2-3 or 3-5 for the additional +1) to shield bonus

The ideal here isn't a giant tin can. The idea is a mobile protector. Hence the requirements of Dodge and Mobility as well as Combat Reflexes and Tumble ranks. I never intended the class to be a brick wall. More akin Jackie Chan than The Juggernaut. I actually took the effectiveness based on ACP from the Rokugan setting. Thought that it was an interesting way to represent mobility.

Also, off the top of my head, I am fairly certain that an Mithral Medium armor is well within the requirements. Even Full Plate has an ACP of only 6, which can be gotten down to -1 with Mithral and I believe it is the Nimble enhancement?

Shield Other already scales with level. At Level 1 you may pass on your shield bonus to an ally. At Level 3 this becomes Shield bonus +1 and can be split to more targets. At 5th level, this becomes Shield +2 and The Guardian can, as an Immediate Action, end the ability in order to take the damage from an attack against someone they were trying to shield. So I am not sure what exactly you are suggesting I do to improve it? It already scales on each Odd Class level of The Guardian, and eventually allows you to negate an attack all together.

I will add Shield Proficiency as a requirement to enter the class.


You've got Dodge as a Prerequisite; anyone with half a brain is quite frankly unlikely to ever take that Feat unless its granted as a class feature. Instead replace Dodge with Shield Prof; and grant Dodge as a free l1 Bonus feat. For characters who already benefit from Dodge as a class feat, possibly look at something like replacing the +1 to +Class Level.

The point of the class is a quick, mobile defender. It is not meant to be a brutish wall. Take a look at the write up I provided and the requisites. Dodge, Mobility, Combat Reflexes, and Tumble 5 Ranks. These all suggest a more lightly armored fighter rather than a stereotypical Dwarf in a Tin Can.


Try again I like; -5 and +2 AC to your Caster can make a slight difference (overall +7) to their AC being the equivalent of Half Plate; but is a 5 Level Prestige Class Cohort/other Friendly PC good investment when AC bonuses for Casters can be easy to come by; and as for the Guadian protecting the Caster, said Caster would be in the frontline; or said Guardian is well away from the other front line guys.

Try Again isn't just about protecting the Caster. I am sure that the Rogue, who needs to be in the thick of it for SA to work, or hell even the Monk who is meant to be upfront but tends to get pulverized, would appreciate the assist. Not to mention, that Charger that tanked his AC this round to lay the smack on the BBEG, he would probably like to have someone watching his back too.


Pick on someone your own size; again with Penalizing Armour on someone intending to tank hits. And why Tumble? This is your only ability using tumble; it seems very Hollywood, but why Tumble; what is stopping simply running over/jumping? Perhaps add Tumble as a modifier but there is no reason to have it as a requisite for a 1/day ability that is as simple as stopping a single attack and moving 30ft. I'd have it as 1/encounter at l1 and then 1/minute, and finally 1/round. As for all these negates attacks, why are they not resolved against Guardian instead?

In the core Tumble Skill, you can make a DC 25 to tumble through an opponents square and avoid an AoO. With a DC 15, you can move by. Tumble seems appropriate to interject yourself into a threatened square, and ignore the attack. There isn't a Running Skill per say, and the Jump Skill is more in reference to long jumps and high jumps, where the Tumble Skill is more about tactical movement in Combat, as per the descriptions from the PHB.


Sacrificial Posture; -4, are you serious? On a class already heavily gimped
for actually taking armour? This is at best relegated to out of combat situations, when you can sit around a campfire and heal the damage done. And considering a Dragon Shaman would be a decent candidate for the class, their Fast Healing Aura outstrips that of this ability.

This is a first level Stance. Compared to Punishing Stance, -2 AC for +1d6 damage, or Stance of Clarity +2 AC against 1 target, -2 AC against everyone else. I think that gaining some continuous healing is worth. Dragon Shamans do get fast healing, though not sure what that has to do with this. Their Fast Healing also only heals up to half your full HP, this does not. Do you think that I should lessen the drawback? I intended that flavorwise your are sacrificing your well-being to protect and heal your allies. Perhaps a penalty on skill checks or attacks in place of the AC? Many of the first level Stances have a drawback, so I would like to find some means of continuing that.


Harry the Agressor; aside from sounding like a Fantasy remake of "do you feel lucky punk" the idea of a potential 20 Attacks does sound like fun when you throw use activated True Strike Weapons in.

Righteous Defence sounds like what Sacrificial Posture should be. Although I cannot think of a logical reason as to why this should be unless it is some form of Natural Armour Bonus/NAB improvement or some divine intervention giving a Sacred/Profane bonus IAW alignment.

Press The Agressor; as above, just even less fun in regards to recieving 20 attacks.

Harry is a term that means: To disturb or distress by or as if by repeated attacks. In this case you are lashing out repeatedly in an effort to fluster and baffle the victim, lessening their effectiveness. If you have an IL of 20, you do get to make a bunch of attacks, but they deal no damage, but debuff the target. Given the cumulative penalty it is unlikely that you will actually hit all of those. But for a low level maneuver, I thought it was pretty flavorful and useful.

Press, on the other hand, is meant to be a direct improvement of Harry. Similar to how the various Setting Sun Throws improve and build on one another. Press is more likely to succeed due to the lessened penalty, which is offset by the higher level of the maneuver.

Righteous Defense is partially meant to be an improvement to Sacrificial Posture. However, it has some differences. It lacks the drawback, but it only benefits you. So, if you wanted a means of healing up friends, it doesn't help so much. However, it can be great to keep you moving on your feet to defend your allies. And as it is a Supernatual Ability, I did intend for the AC boost to be the result of your Righteous convictions empowering you.


Auto Confirming Crits reliant on other party members taking damage being the ones you are supposed to be protecting as a 6th level stance? Bleh.

Righteous Wrath is supposed to be that breaking point. Your allies have been attacked and wounded, you give in to Wrath, lashing out to destroy those that have attacked your charges. I think that maybe you misunderstood what it does. It Auto Confirms YOUR Crits AGAINST the enemy, as long as they have hurt one of your Allies. From what you wrote, it seemed you thought it was confirming hits against your allies or something?


Lastly; what is with all of the Survival Checks? In a class based (so far) around Constitution and Dexterity; why is a Wis based skill used to track targets across the wilderness while keeping natural dangers at bay while being red related to being able to knock someones sword out of their hand, or throwing dust in their eye?

The Survival checks are used not in the Class, but in the Martial Discipline I created that, while available, is not required for the class. The Class is based around defending others. Hence Con and Dex are vital.

The Discipline, while it has maneuvers and the like that assist in this, it is not the end all be all of the Class. I chose Survival as it has a flavorful connection. Your will to Survive pushes you on. If there is a skill that you think better represents this, I am willing to hear it. Yes, by the PHB, the skill doesn't directly do these things. However, Desert Wind uses Tumble, and I don't recall any Tumble checks in the PHB related to dealing fire damage to targets, creates little fire elemental things to help flank etc.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing more.

lunaramblings
2012-12-24, 05:28 PM
Hey Guys. Thanks again for the critique so far. I think that the class and the style I created seem pretty good so far. Would still love to hear more suggestions if anyone has them. Also, does anyone know of a way to scale down the size of pictures to put them into posts? Thought that I might like to mess around and find some pictures to represent some of the maneuvers/stances and insert them, but they all come out huge and detract from the flow of the post.

Also, still hoping for help with the Recovery Mechanic.

Currently thinking that it will be to take a full defensive action to refresh a single maneuver. Is there anything else that would fit better?

lunaramblings
2012-12-25, 07:26 PM
Bumping. Thanks.

Will be starting to play a character with this class starting later this week. Is there a better place for if I wanted to create a play diary examining how the class works in practice? I am thinking that I will at least create a new thread, but wasn't sure if there was better forum in which to put this sort of thing.

lunaramblings
2012-12-27, 11:52 AM
Trying to keep this on the front page to get a few more responses.

So, guys, any other feedback? Suggestions?