Eldan
2015-02-06, 05:23 AM
So. Tome of Battle was a good thing. Just to start with that, since if you don't agree with that, this is probably not your thread :smallwink:
Anyway. Tome of Battle came very late in 3.5 and as such, suffers a bit from not being very well integrated with a lot of other stuff. Or in other words: there's not enough of it. Most noticeably, it did feature some monsters with maneuvers, but not even remotely enough for my tastes. So I thought, why not make more?
For this thread, I thought I'd sit down and rewrite existing monsters so they have maneuvers. Because that makes them more interesting, especially creatures that really don't have a lot to do otherwise in combat. Since there's really far too many monsters out there to do them all on my own, I thought I'd leave this thread open: if you have good ideas, post your own.
For this thread, I'd thought I'd change the mechanics of monsters with maneuvers a bit. For my purposes, monsters:
-Use maneuvers and stances like warblades, unless otherwise noted. With redied maneuvers and a refresh mechanic. They can also have stances.
-Have an initiator level equal to 1/2 their racial HD, unless otherwise noted.
So, some examples of what I was thinking of:
Wolf, Pack Leader (Wolf, Advanced HD, added maneuvers)
Medium Animal
HD 3d8+6 (19HP)
Init: +2
Speed 50 ft. (10 squares)
AC 14 (+2 dex, +2 natural); touch 12; flat-footed 12
BAB +2; Grp +3
Attack Bite +4 melee (1d6+1)
Full-Attack Bite +4 melee (1d6+1)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks Trip, Maneuvers
Special Qualities Low-light vision, scent
Saves Fort +6 Ref +6 Will +2
Abilities Str 13, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills Hide +2, Listen +3, Spot +4, Survival +1
Feats Track, Weapon Focus (bite), Evasive Reflexes
Environment Temperate Forests and Plains
Organization Pair (1 and 1 regular wolf) or pack (1 and 6-16 regular wolves)
Challenge Rating 2
Treasure None
Alignment Neutral
Advancement 4-6 HD (large)
Trip (Ex)
A wolf that hits with a bite attack can attempt to trip the opponent (+1 check modifier) as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the wolf.
Maneuvers (Ex)
Wolf pack leaders ready and use maneuvers like warblades, with an initiator level of 1. They have 2 maneuvers readied. They know the following maneuvers:
1-Leading the Attack (Strike, White Raven), Might Throw (Strike, Setting Sun)
Stances: Leading the Charge (White Raven)
Rabid Wolverine (Wolverine, Advanced HD, added maneuvers)
Large Animal
HD 4d8+28 (46 hp)
Init: +1
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares), burrow 10 ft., climb 10 ft.
AC 14 (+1 dex, +4 natural, -1 size); touch 10; flat-footed 13
BAB +3; Grp +13
Attack Claw +8 melee (1d4+6)
Full-Attack 2 claws +8 melee (1d4+6) and bite +2 melee (1d6+3)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks Rage, Maneuvers
Special Qualities Low-light vision, scent
Saves Fort +11 Ref +6 Will +2
Abilities Str 22, Dex 15, Con 23, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills Climb 10, Listen 4, Spot 4, Jump +7
Feats Endurance, Diehard, Track (b)
Environment Cold Forests
Organization Solitary
Challenge Rating 3
Treasure None
Alignment Neutral
Advancement 5-6 HD (large)
Rage (Ex)
A wolverine that takes damage in combat flies into a berserk rage on its next turn, clawing and biting madly until either it or its opponent is dead. It gains +4 to Strength, +4 to Constitution, and -2 to Armor Class. The creature cannot end its rage voluntarily.
Skills
Wolverines have a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.
Maneuvers (Ex)
Wolf pack leaders ready and use maneuvers like warblades, with an initiator level of 2. They have 2 maneuvers readied and know the following maneuvers:
1-Steel Wind (Iron Heart Strike), Sudden Leap (Tiger Claw Boost)
Stances: Blood in the Water (Tiger Claw)
Obviously, these examples aren't terribly exciting. Later, I'll dig into homebrew disciplines and see what I can do with some higher level creatures.
Anyway. Tome of Battle came very late in 3.5 and as such, suffers a bit from not being very well integrated with a lot of other stuff. Or in other words: there's not enough of it. Most noticeably, it did feature some monsters with maneuvers, but not even remotely enough for my tastes. So I thought, why not make more?
For this thread, I thought I'd sit down and rewrite existing monsters so they have maneuvers. Because that makes them more interesting, especially creatures that really don't have a lot to do otherwise in combat. Since there's really far too many monsters out there to do them all on my own, I thought I'd leave this thread open: if you have good ideas, post your own.
For this thread, I'd thought I'd change the mechanics of monsters with maneuvers a bit. For my purposes, monsters:
-Use maneuvers and stances like warblades, unless otherwise noted. With redied maneuvers and a refresh mechanic. They can also have stances.
-Have an initiator level equal to 1/2 their racial HD, unless otherwise noted.
So, some examples of what I was thinking of:
Wolf, Pack Leader (Wolf, Advanced HD, added maneuvers)
Medium Animal
HD 3d8+6 (19HP)
Init: +2
Speed 50 ft. (10 squares)
AC 14 (+2 dex, +2 natural); touch 12; flat-footed 12
BAB +2; Grp +3
Attack Bite +4 melee (1d6+1)
Full-Attack Bite +4 melee (1d6+1)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks Trip, Maneuvers
Special Qualities Low-light vision, scent
Saves Fort +6 Ref +6 Will +2
Abilities Str 13, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills Hide +2, Listen +3, Spot +4, Survival +1
Feats Track, Weapon Focus (bite), Evasive Reflexes
Environment Temperate Forests and Plains
Organization Pair (1 and 1 regular wolf) or pack (1 and 6-16 regular wolves)
Challenge Rating 2
Treasure None
Alignment Neutral
Advancement 4-6 HD (large)
Trip (Ex)
A wolf that hits with a bite attack can attempt to trip the opponent (+1 check modifier) as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the wolf.
Maneuvers (Ex)
Wolf pack leaders ready and use maneuvers like warblades, with an initiator level of 1. They have 2 maneuvers readied. They know the following maneuvers:
1-Leading the Attack (Strike, White Raven), Might Throw (Strike, Setting Sun)
Stances: Leading the Charge (White Raven)
Rabid Wolverine (Wolverine, Advanced HD, added maneuvers)
Large Animal
HD 4d8+28 (46 hp)
Init: +1
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares), burrow 10 ft., climb 10 ft.
AC 14 (+1 dex, +4 natural, -1 size); touch 10; flat-footed 13
BAB +3; Grp +13
Attack Claw +8 melee (1d4+6)
Full-Attack 2 claws +8 melee (1d4+6) and bite +2 melee (1d6+3)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks Rage, Maneuvers
Special Qualities Low-light vision, scent
Saves Fort +11 Ref +6 Will +2
Abilities Str 22, Dex 15, Con 23, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills Climb 10, Listen 4, Spot 4, Jump +7
Feats Endurance, Diehard, Track (b)
Environment Cold Forests
Organization Solitary
Challenge Rating 3
Treasure None
Alignment Neutral
Advancement 5-6 HD (large)
Rage (Ex)
A wolverine that takes damage in combat flies into a berserk rage on its next turn, clawing and biting madly until either it or its opponent is dead. It gains +4 to Strength, +4 to Constitution, and -2 to Armor Class. The creature cannot end its rage voluntarily.
Skills
Wolverines have a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.
Maneuvers (Ex)
Wolf pack leaders ready and use maneuvers like warblades, with an initiator level of 2. They have 2 maneuvers readied and know the following maneuvers:
1-Steel Wind (Iron Heart Strike), Sudden Leap (Tiger Claw Boost)
Stances: Blood in the Water (Tiger Claw)
Obviously, these examples aren't terribly exciting. Later, I'll dig into homebrew disciplines and see what I can do with some higher level creatures.