Hytheter
2014-11-11, 05:55 AM
In the 5e forum right now there is a large, ongoing thread about the Battle Master Fighter; whether the maneuvers are varied or numerous enough, and how the class could/should be changed. In fact, it comes up in a few threads. Comparisons are often drawn to the Tome of Battle classes from 3.5, especially the Warblade, who had a large number of semi-at will abilities to choose from.
But all that discussion got me thinking; what kind of techniques should a Martial character be able to learn? If we were to draft up a list of maneuvers, what kind of stuff should be on it? For the purposes of this discussion, I'd like to limit it to the "mundane"; by which I mean, not necessarily realstic yet not so fantastic that they are "obviously magical". Think Warblade vs Swordsage.
This is a list of ideas I can think of, mostly off the top of my head. I'll add suggestions to the list. Many of these will be techniques already usable in some game; I'm going for a thorough list here.
Grabbing/Grappling
Grabbing an opponent with your hand/s
Grabbing an opponent with a weapon eg a Whip or Sickle
Tackling an opponent
Pinning to restrain an opponent
Sleeper hold
Dragging an opponent
SUPLEX
Throwing an opponent
Throwing an opponent at another opponent
Not even throwing, just straight up using a dude as a weapon against another dude
Grabbing two guys and banging their heads together
Grabbing an aerial opponent to pull them down to earth
Grabbing and holding on to a much larger opponent to hitch a ride or be that itch they just can't scratch
Using a grappled opponent as a human shield
Drawing weapons/taking items from a grappled opponent
Headbutting a grappled opponent
Offensive Techniques
Disarming the opponent
Disarming the opponent and then using their weapon against them
Sundering a Weapon/Item
Tripping an opponent or knocking them over
Pushing or shoving an opponent back, including into another opponent or obstacle
Feinting
Lunging for extra reach
Shoving a piercing weapon all the way through an opponent and into another
Letting go of said weapon and leaving those opponents stuck together
Stunning an opponent with a blow to the head or sensitive area
"Whirlwind Attack" or Spinning Around to attack everyone around you
"Cleave" or cutting all the way through one opponents and into another
Trade-off attacks; sacrificing speed, power, accuracy and/or defense to gain a boost to one of the others eg Power Attack
going for pressure points, with potentially cool effects depending on how "mystical kung fu" you want
Called shots; targeting specific body parts for certain effects eg eyes (blinding) ears (deafening) legs (reduce movement) arms (to drop weapon or weaken attacks) wings (to prevent flight)
Ability drain
Dirty tricks like sand in the eyes, pulling down their pants etc
Shoulder barge/body slam
Leaving yourself open to lure in opponents for a counter attack
charging to add momentum to an attack (especially when mounted)
Jumping/falling to add momentum to an attack
Coup de grace/Execution
sneak attacks
Silent takedowns
Bleed (ongoing damage) effects
Using arrows or piercing weapons to pin an opponent to the wall/ground
Iaijutsu/Lighting Draw - drawing a weapon and attacking in a single motion
Shield Bashing
"en passant" attack enemies as you run past them
Pursuing an opponent or preventing them from running
Attacking in such a way that leaves the opponent open to a follow up
nasty wounds that hinder regeneration
Attacking with two weapons simultaneously
Trampling smaller creatures (or having a mount do that)
Encouraging a mount to go faster
second chance attacks eg swinging a sword back after a miss, using the opening to hit with the other hand
Ranged Techniques
Suppressing fire - shooting not to injure but to discourage movement (probably would have aoe)
An AOE volley attack
Carefully firing to bypass obstacles like range, cover, and weather
Riochet shots to hit people around corners
Ranged AOO attacks
Firing two arrows at once to boost damage at the cost of accuracy
Throw weapons that aren't built for that
Boomerang or rebound thrown weapons to come back
Bouncing thrown weapons to hit multiple enemies.
"Sword Beam"
Defensive Techniques
Deflecting an attack ie parrying
Redirecting an attack to another opponent
Redirecting an attack back at the attacker
Locking your weapon/shiled and their weapon/shield together to prevent either from being used
waving or pointing your weapon to dissuade an approach
Spinning a weapon, especially a staff or polearm, to create a shield against arrows and small projectiles
Countering after a failed attack
Using your weapon to keep opponents back as you step away
Disruping spellcasting
Actively positioning yourself to maximise the effect of armour
Movement/Utility
Swapping spaces with an enemy
running or perhaps even standing on improbable surfaces eg walls, liquids
huge jumps or leaps
Diving out of the way of an attack or behind cover
Putting yourself in the way of an attack to protect an ally
Stealthy movement
"sudden disappearance" via misdirection, smoke bombs or other
Object Busting
Busting/Cutting holes in walls to escape through
Using arrows as hand/footholds to climb
General Badassery
Striking a fearsome pose or making a menacing attack to scare opponents
Taunting to draw foes towards you (and away from allies)
killing an opponent so brutally that it scares their allies
Fight on while on 0 HP
Gain buffs from the confidence of hurting/killing (bloodlust)
Group Tactics
Motivate an ally to move or giving them an opening
Pushing an ally out of harm's way or warning them of an attack
Using a shield to protect an ally
Shield formations - mutual shield protection between allies
Motivate an ally to attack
Object Busting - breaking or cutting objects beyond what should be possible
flanking or distracting an opponent to grant an advantage to allies
Changing the initiative order
swapping places with an ally or having two allies swap places
harrassing and following an enemy to prevent him from attacking allies
Inspiring allies to do more damage, gain temp hp or other buffs
But all that discussion got me thinking; what kind of techniques should a Martial character be able to learn? If we were to draft up a list of maneuvers, what kind of stuff should be on it? For the purposes of this discussion, I'd like to limit it to the "mundane"; by which I mean, not necessarily realstic yet not so fantastic that they are "obviously magical". Think Warblade vs Swordsage.
This is a list of ideas I can think of, mostly off the top of my head. I'll add suggestions to the list. Many of these will be techniques already usable in some game; I'm going for a thorough list here.
Grabbing/Grappling
Grabbing an opponent with your hand/s
Grabbing an opponent with a weapon eg a Whip or Sickle
Tackling an opponent
Pinning to restrain an opponent
Sleeper hold
Dragging an opponent
SUPLEX
Throwing an opponent
Throwing an opponent at another opponent
Not even throwing, just straight up using a dude as a weapon against another dude
Grabbing two guys and banging their heads together
Grabbing an aerial opponent to pull them down to earth
Grabbing and holding on to a much larger opponent to hitch a ride or be that itch they just can't scratch
Using a grappled opponent as a human shield
Drawing weapons/taking items from a grappled opponent
Headbutting a grappled opponent
Offensive Techniques
Disarming the opponent
Disarming the opponent and then using their weapon against them
Sundering a Weapon/Item
Tripping an opponent or knocking them over
Pushing or shoving an opponent back, including into another opponent or obstacle
Feinting
Lunging for extra reach
Shoving a piercing weapon all the way through an opponent and into another
Letting go of said weapon and leaving those opponents stuck together
Stunning an opponent with a blow to the head or sensitive area
"Whirlwind Attack" or Spinning Around to attack everyone around you
"Cleave" or cutting all the way through one opponents and into another
Trade-off attacks; sacrificing speed, power, accuracy and/or defense to gain a boost to one of the others eg Power Attack
going for pressure points, with potentially cool effects depending on how "mystical kung fu" you want
Called shots; targeting specific body parts for certain effects eg eyes (blinding) ears (deafening) legs (reduce movement) arms (to drop weapon or weaken attacks) wings (to prevent flight)
Ability drain
Dirty tricks like sand in the eyes, pulling down their pants etc
Shoulder barge/body slam
Leaving yourself open to lure in opponents for a counter attack
charging to add momentum to an attack (especially when mounted)
Jumping/falling to add momentum to an attack
Coup de grace/Execution
sneak attacks
Silent takedowns
Bleed (ongoing damage) effects
Using arrows or piercing weapons to pin an opponent to the wall/ground
Iaijutsu/Lighting Draw - drawing a weapon and attacking in a single motion
Shield Bashing
"en passant" attack enemies as you run past them
Pursuing an opponent or preventing them from running
Attacking in such a way that leaves the opponent open to a follow up
nasty wounds that hinder regeneration
Attacking with two weapons simultaneously
Trampling smaller creatures (or having a mount do that)
Encouraging a mount to go faster
second chance attacks eg swinging a sword back after a miss, using the opening to hit with the other hand
Ranged Techniques
Suppressing fire - shooting not to injure but to discourage movement (probably would have aoe)
An AOE volley attack
Carefully firing to bypass obstacles like range, cover, and weather
Riochet shots to hit people around corners
Ranged AOO attacks
Firing two arrows at once to boost damage at the cost of accuracy
Throw weapons that aren't built for that
Boomerang or rebound thrown weapons to come back
Bouncing thrown weapons to hit multiple enemies.
"Sword Beam"
Defensive Techniques
Deflecting an attack ie parrying
Redirecting an attack to another opponent
Redirecting an attack back at the attacker
Locking your weapon/shiled and their weapon/shield together to prevent either from being used
waving or pointing your weapon to dissuade an approach
Spinning a weapon, especially a staff or polearm, to create a shield against arrows and small projectiles
Countering after a failed attack
Using your weapon to keep opponents back as you step away
Disruping spellcasting
Actively positioning yourself to maximise the effect of armour
Movement/Utility
Swapping spaces with an enemy
running or perhaps even standing on improbable surfaces eg walls, liquids
huge jumps or leaps
Diving out of the way of an attack or behind cover
Putting yourself in the way of an attack to protect an ally
Stealthy movement
"sudden disappearance" via misdirection, smoke bombs or other
Object Busting
Busting/Cutting holes in walls to escape through
Using arrows as hand/footholds to climb
General Badassery
Striking a fearsome pose or making a menacing attack to scare opponents
Taunting to draw foes towards you (and away from allies)
killing an opponent so brutally that it scares their allies
Fight on while on 0 HP
Gain buffs from the confidence of hurting/killing (bloodlust)
Group Tactics
Motivate an ally to move or giving them an opening
Pushing an ally out of harm's way or warning them of an attack
Using a shield to protect an ally
Shield formations - mutual shield protection between allies
Motivate an ally to attack
Object Busting - breaking or cutting objects beyond what should be possible
flanking or distracting an opponent to grant an advantage to allies
Changing the initiative order
swapping places with an ally or having two allies swap places
harrassing and following an enemy to prevent him from attacking allies
Inspiring allies to do more damage, gain temp hp or other buffs