200000-Hits! Adaquate Combo! [Combat Mechanic]

[ArmorArmadillo]

So, we have all these options in combat; bull-rush, overrun, trample, etc.; but nobody uses them! I don't even know what overrun and trample do...and trust me, I'm not fingering through the SRD, stalling the game 15 minutes, blowing my action, and eating an AoO to push a goblin back 5 feet.

So, we could make some homebrew feats to improve them, and then nobody would take them because there are too many build-specific and PrC-necessary feats they have to trudge through already. Plus all those awesome "+2 to 2 skills" feats.

How about something that you don't have to spend skills, feats, maneuvers, or any other of your limited choices on. These maneuvers are meant to be options for anyone to use, not things you have to spend feats on for them to be even mildly useful!

I don't want to reinvent the wheel, but I do want to clothespin a playing card onto the spokes; so I'm not redoing the pre-existing mechanics but I am adding a new little bit of sugar.

Mechanic: COMBOS!
Once you successfully use one of the following techniques; bull-rush, disarm, feint, sunder, single attack, overrun, or trip; you begin a chain. You may continue a chain by using another technique on the same opponent before taking any other action other than a single move action or delaying.
If you successfully complete all the techniques listed in a specific Chain, you gain the benefits listed in that Chain.

Chain:
Predatory Jaguar Panther Mongoose More Powerful Jaguar Pounce
Combination: Bull-Rush, Trip
Benefit: Upon succeeding on the trip, you may make a bonus attack, as though you had the Improved Trip feat. If you already have that feat, you gain a +4 insight bonus on the attack.

Advance of Unending, but Not Redundant, Thunder
Combination: Bull-Rush, Bull-Rush, Overrun
Benefit: In addition to being knocked prone, your opponent is stunned for 1d4 rounds.

Some Kind of Crazy Ninja Move
Combination: Feint, Disarm, Trip
Benefit: You bewilder your opponent, leaving him dazed for 1d4 rounds.

Dance Like You Want to Win
Combination: Single Attack, Feint, Trip
Benefit: For the remainder of this encounter, you gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC.

Dual Duelist's Bane...Bane
Combination: Disarm, Disarm
Benefit: Your opponent is knocked prone.

Extended Walrus Style
Combination: Sunder, Bull-Rush
Benefit: Your opponent is stunned for 1 round.

Infinite Walrus Style
Combination: Sunder, Bull-Rush, Overrun
Benefit: Your opponent is paralysed for 1d4 rounds.
Special: This stacks with the benefits of Extended Walrus Style.

Ok; Names and combos suck. The point is I think this is a valid way of designing combos and such. Opinions.

[jjpickar]

Nice. The Some Kind of Crazy Ninja Move seems a bit too powerful. The guy is unarmed, lying on his back ad unable to move for a while. Maybe that one should be a feat. Otherwise very cool indeed.

[geez3r]

Good idea, a nice way to take advantage of some of the otherwise less than advantageous feats.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

I think it would be important to remember that every round is only 6 seconds, and is it actually possible to complete all those actions in that time frame. My understanding of things is that each action takes about that amount of time, so unless all these combo moves are quickened, it would be very difficult to pull off.

[squishycube]

This sounds like a very good idea to bring a little more attention to the advanced combat maneuvers.
Balance issues can be worked out, some combos are certainly more powerful than others.

cube o' Doom:
I don't think ArmorArmadillo intends for the combos to be executed in one round, but in consecutive rounds ("You may continue a chain by using another technique on the same opponent before taking any other action other than a single move action or delaying." This sentence only makes sense to me when I read it that way.)

[ArmorArmadillo]

Indeed, these moves should all take several turns to pull off.

I don't think any are unbalanced, because of the time and difficulty required to pull them off; given the time and difficulty of completing a chain.

However, it isn't really the specific combos that rae important, moreover the system itself. I like that people enjoy it, but I've really been grappling with the issue of making these chains worth it, as if you're unable to complete a chain you've wasted several actions.

This might bridge the gap:
Improved Chainer [General]
Pre-Requisites: Fighter Level 1
Benefit: While executing a chain, you gain a cumulative +1 bonus on attack rolls, damage, and opposed checks made for the remainder of the encounter for each maneuver you complete successfully.

[CervantesTheDefenestrator]

I love these. They will make combat much more intersting. An interesting twist would be to make some really good ones that have feat or maneuver prerequsites. Here are a few of my own

Far Horizons
Prerequisites: Bull Rush, Trip
Benefit: Make an opposed strength check against your opponant. You gain a +2 bonus on this roll for every 5ft you pushed him with your bull rush. If you beat him, you may throw him 5 ft, plus another 5ft for every 5 points by which you beat his check. You cannot throw him into an occupied space. He falls prone in that space.

This one is similar to many Setting Sun Maneuvers. It allows non-initiaters to use a similar ability without having to take the levels or the feats. It isn't as good however, as those maneuvers, and is harder to use. Hopefully it is well balanced.

[Callix]

This is a way cool. I'd like to contribute.
Shards of Hope
Chain: Bull Rush, Trip, Sunder
Benefit: Ignore up to 5 points of the sundered item's hardness. If it is destroyed, fragments of the item do 1d4 damage to the wielder.


Let It All Go
Chain: Bull Rush, Trip, Disarm
Benefit: The victim's weapon is knocked 10 feet in a direction of your choice.

[PhallicWarrior]

These are cool. I wanna try.

Furious Charging Fury Fling!
Chain: Bull Rush, Grapple, Grapple strike
You may throw your grappled opponent 10ft. +2 per point of STR bonus, dealing 1d4+STR mod damage, 1d6 if he hits something before he stops. (Lethal or nonlethal, depending on what you threw him into.)

Got the idea from a houserule from the SWRPG I GM.

[Gralamin]

Lost Pride
Chain: Disarm, Trip, Feint
Benefit: If your opponent is up, you may make another trip attack. If he is still prone, he is stunned for one round.

Lost Cause
Chain: Lost Pride (Disarm, Trip, Feint), Grapple
Benefit: You automatically pin the opponent, and stun him for one round.

[Abardam]

So awesome.

Bull Crush
Chain: Bull Rush (against obstacle, see text), Grapple
Benefit: If you managed to push your target back enough so that he is against a wall and then grapple him, you automatically pin him and deal 1d6/square pushed back + Str.

Leg-breaker
Chain: Trip, Grapple, Sunder (special, see text)
Benefit: The sunder check used in the chain is simply an opposed roll (as normal sunder). If you beat the defender, his speed is reduced by 5ft for 1 minute and he takes unarmed strike damage.

Hostage
Chain: Grapple (see text), Pin
Benefit: If your target was unaware of your presence before you started this chain, and you successfully pin her, you may at any time while maintaining the pin strike your target with a light weapon (that you are already holding) as an immediate action. This attack automatically hits, and is a critical hit.

Question, though: how is one supposed to "learn" them? Some sort of Knowledge (war) check?

Also, on a side note, you still haven't claimed your Erfatar.

[Matthew]

Yeah, this does sound like a fun idea. Not sure how much effect it would have in D&D combat, given that one opponent doesn't usually last too long, but all the same, an interesting idea.