Ointhedwarf
2016-12-25, 08:19 PM
I'm trying to upgrade the lightsaber forms to a new level by making them a basic part of lightsaber combat. To achieve
this I had to start from the very basics, tweaking several things on the way. My goal is to represent in the best possible
way the 7 lightsaber forms and make it interesting for the players to choose their specialized forms and develop their
own fighting style very much like the heroes of the Star Wars world. I'd love to hear suggestions about these
changes though they may be a bit complicated.
I've always had an issue with the d&d's system of combat and mobility (not the feat). Melee combat seems too static
and there's rarely any need to move between hits. In a normal situation, the Fighter/Barbarian will simply charge his
target and start rolling his dices until either he or the enemy is dead. This is hardly impressive and it's the DM's role
to portray the battle so that it seems cinematic or simply cool. The only strategic advantage that is present in
most systems is the "higher ground" +1 bonus, and in my experience it never really comes up. But changing such a basic
concept such as combat movement has unlimited reprecussions and incompatabilities with the rest of the rules. So I've
always searched for a place to try and prod this feature...
I am now DMing a star wars d20 campaign with two jedi PCs so I've had the luxury of tweaking the Jedi class without having to
balance everything with the other classes. Since this has always been in my mind I decided to use the Jedi combat as a
testing ground for a combat overhaul. The way it works is this: (This only works in lightsaber vs lightsaber combat)
-First of all I divided AC into "miss" (up to 10 + dex bonus + dodge bonuses) and "deflect" (from miss up to AC).
This may seem unnecessary but it was a starting point and a place to build additional features around.
-If a lightsaber user's hit misses or gets deflected, the defender can then move 5 feet backwards and get +1 to his AC. (he cannot however enter another's threat range this way). This move can happen after all the attacker's attacks are completed unless the attacker is an Ataru Master (see below)
This way the defender is not forced to move, instead gives him a bonus if he does.
This simple tweak achieves the desired mobility especially if you combine it with certain battlefield features and even
the good old "high ground rule". It does however conflict with basic combat rules such as AoOs and the withdraw option.
Moving out of a target's threat range normally provokes an AoO so we must make this movement pass this obstacle. The
second conflict is withrawing. After moving freely 5 feet backwards the defender can then simply flee since he does not
provoke any kind of AoO.
Lets ignore these two conflicts for now and move on to the next stage: Lightsaber combat and lightsaber forms.
What I did was to enhance this combat feature by adding a different taste for each lightsaber form. The way this works is
that each jedi can select one of 7 stances while fighting. The stances work as follows:
Form I : The basic form. Good against multiple users
Form II: The duelist form. Agile and precise
Form III: The ultimate defense form
Form IV: The acrobatic form. Incessant and agile
Form V: A defensive form with counter attack elements
Form VI: The moderation form. Good with force powers
Form VII: The chaotic form. Ferocious and unpredictable
Form I : When a Shii-cho practitioner faces multiple opponenents he can enter a threatened square when taking a 5-foot step. (Normally being flanked by two attackers removes any possible place to retreat. This way a shii cho practitioner can easily avoid flanking and shows the Form's great use against multiple targets)
Form II: A Makashi practitioner can choose to take the 5 feet move at any of the 7 squares that surround him. (But not in a threatened square of a different attacker)
Form III: A soresu practiotioner doesn't have to move to get the AC bonus after dodging or deflecting a hit.
Form IV: An ataru practitioner forces his defender to move after each of his attacks. Whenever he does so he can follow his defender's movements.
Form V: When an attacker misses against a Shien defender, he loses his deflect bonus.
Form VI: [WIP] (probably the ability to use diplomacy/intimidation as a move action)
Form VII: A juyo practitioner can force his defender to move to a particular square. (if he chooses to move)
I have given these stances at lvl 1 for all lightsabers classes since it only affects their fights.
Now to give more depth I have added 2 levels of mastery for each form: Expertise and Master.
These are feats that I intend to incorporate within the force-using classes without making them more powerfull than the
other ones. The idea is that a Jedi Master (lvl 12) should have mastered at least 1 Form and have expertise with 3 or 4.
I haven't finished with the prerequisites but this what I've come up with so far.
Form
Expertise lvl Feat
Mastery lvl Feat
Form I:Shii-Cho
+4 on disarm checks
[WIP]
Form II:Makashi
+3 deflect bonus against lightsaber attacks
For every turn a Makashi practitioner deflects or evades the enemy's advances he gets +1 bonus on his attacks
Form III:Soresu
+1 on attack rolls deflect (atk). +1 dodge bonus on defense
[WIP]
Form IV:Ataru
An Ataru practitioner can use his Dexterity modifier instead of his strength modifier on lightsaber damage rolls. When using Ataru the attacker suffers 2 points of vitality damage per turn
An Ataru Master gets an extra attack at -5 at full attack. If an Ataru Master uses full attack against a target and all his attacks are deflected (not missed) then the defender loses his round
Form V:Shien/Djem so
The user gains a +1 bonus to deflect(attack) and can use when it misses by 10 or less
[WIP]
Form VI:Niman
A Niman practitioner's force powers dont provoke AoO's when adjacent to an enemy in combat
On a critical a Niman Master can choose to use a Force power instead. This Force power doesn't get any save
Form VI:Jar kai
[WIP]
[WIP]
Form VII:Juyo
A Juyo practitioner gets a +2 on confirm checks. When using juyo the attacker suffers 4 points of vitality damage per turn. On a hit or deflect the defender suffers the same
The Juyo per turn usage damage is decreased by 2. After damaging the opponent once, the attackers threat range increases by 1 (stacks with improved critical)
1. Shii cho is supposed to be the simplest Form with crude movements at right angle slashes horizontally and vertically. A Master however of Shii cho is described as having movements "like water flowing". Hard to interpret that in rules..
2. Soresu is the ultimate defense Form. I struggle to come up with a Master-level feat that would make it worth while to master it.
3. I'll probably divide Shien (a defensive form with counter attacks) and Djem so (an aggressive strength oriented form) into 2 separate forms.
4. Niman mastery seems weak as it is.
5. Jar kai is still incomplete. The idea is to work around a martial/acrobatic fighting style. I'm thinking of incorporating highly accurate unarmed attacks in the fighting style (similar to Darth Maul's)
Tell me your thoughts, thanks.
this I had to start from the very basics, tweaking several things on the way. My goal is to represent in the best possible
way the 7 lightsaber forms and make it interesting for the players to choose their specialized forms and develop their
own fighting style very much like the heroes of the Star Wars world. I'd love to hear suggestions about these
changes though they may be a bit complicated.
I've always had an issue with the d&d's system of combat and mobility (not the feat). Melee combat seems too static
and there's rarely any need to move between hits. In a normal situation, the Fighter/Barbarian will simply charge his
target and start rolling his dices until either he or the enemy is dead. This is hardly impressive and it's the DM's role
to portray the battle so that it seems cinematic or simply cool. The only strategic advantage that is present in
most systems is the "higher ground" +1 bonus, and in my experience it never really comes up. But changing such a basic
concept such as combat movement has unlimited reprecussions and incompatabilities with the rest of the rules. So I've
always searched for a place to try and prod this feature...
I am now DMing a star wars d20 campaign with two jedi PCs so I've had the luxury of tweaking the Jedi class without having to
balance everything with the other classes. Since this has always been in my mind I decided to use the Jedi combat as a
testing ground for a combat overhaul. The way it works is this: (This only works in lightsaber vs lightsaber combat)
-First of all I divided AC into "miss" (up to 10 + dex bonus + dodge bonuses) and "deflect" (from miss up to AC).
This may seem unnecessary but it was a starting point and a place to build additional features around.
-If a lightsaber user's hit misses or gets deflected, the defender can then move 5 feet backwards and get +1 to his AC. (he cannot however enter another's threat range this way). This move can happen after all the attacker's attacks are completed unless the attacker is an Ataru Master (see below)
This way the defender is not forced to move, instead gives him a bonus if he does.
This simple tweak achieves the desired mobility especially if you combine it with certain battlefield features and even
the good old "high ground rule". It does however conflict with basic combat rules such as AoOs and the withdraw option.
Moving out of a target's threat range normally provokes an AoO so we must make this movement pass this obstacle. The
second conflict is withrawing. After moving freely 5 feet backwards the defender can then simply flee since he does not
provoke any kind of AoO.
Lets ignore these two conflicts for now and move on to the next stage: Lightsaber combat and lightsaber forms.
What I did was to enhance this combat feature by adding a different taste for each lightsaber form. The way this works is
that each jedi can select one of 7 stances while fighting. The stances work as follows:
Form I : The basic form. Good against multiple users
Form II: The duelist form. Agile and precise
Form III: The ultimate defense form
Form IV: The acrobatic form. Incessant and agile
Form V: A defensive form with counter attack elements
Form VI: The moderation form. Good with force powers
Form VII: The chaotic form. Ferocious and unpredictable
Form I : When a Shii-cho practitioner faces multiple opponenents he can enter a threatened square when taking a 5-foot step. (Normally being flanked by two attackers removes any possible place to retreat. This way a shii cho practitioner can easily avoid flanking and shows the Form's great use against multiple targets)
Form II: A Makashi practitioner can choose to take the 5 feet move at any of the 7 squares that surround him. (But not in a threatened square of a different attacker)
Form III: A soresu practiotioner doesn't have to move to get the AC bonus after dodging or deflecting a hit.
Form IV: An ataru practitioner forces his defender to move after each of his attacks. Whenever he does so he can follow his defender's movements.
Form V: When an attacker misses against a Shien defender, he loses his deflect bonus.
Form VI: [WIP] (probably the ability to use diplomacy/intimidation as a move action)
Form VII: A juyo practitioner can force his defender to move to a particular square. (if he chooses to move)
I have given these stances at lvl 1 for all lightsabers classes since it only affects their fights.
Now to give more depth I have added 2 levels of mastery for each form: Expertise and Master.
These are feats that I intend to incorporate within the force-using classes without making them more powerfull than the
other ones. The idea is that a Jedi Master (lvl 12) should have mastered at least 1 Form and have expertise with 3 or 4.
I haven't finished with the prerequisites but this what I've come up with so far.
Form
Expertise lvl Feat
Mastery lvl Feat
Form I:Shii-Cho
+4 on disarm checks
[WIP]
Form II:Makashi
+3 deflect bonus against lightsaber attacks
For every turn a Makashi practitioner deflects or evades the enemy's advances he gets +1 bonus on his attacks
Form III:Soresu
+1 on attack rolls deflect (atk). +1 dodge bonus on defense
[WIP]
Form IV:Ataru
An Ataru practitioner can use his Dexterity modifier instead of his strength modifier on lightsaber damage rolls. When using Ataru the attacker suffers 2 points of vitality damage per turn
An Ataru Master gets an extra attack at -5 at full attack. If an Ataru Master uses full attack against a target and all his attacks are deflected (not missed) then the defender loses his round
Form V:Shien/Djem so
The user gains a +1 bonus to deflect(attack) and can use when it misses by 10 or less
[WIP]
Form VI:Niman
A Niman practitioner's force powers dont provoke AoO's when adjacent to an enemy in combat
On a critical a Niman Master can choose to use a Force power instead. This Force power doesn't get any save
Form VI:Jar kai
[WIP]
[WIP]
Form VII:Juyo
A Juyo practitioner gets a +2 on confirm checks. When using juyo the attacker suffers 4 points of vitality damage per turn. On a hit or deflect the defender suffers the same
The Juyo per turn usage damage is decreased by 2. After damaging the opponent once, the attackers threat range increases by 1 (stacks with improved critical)
1. Shii cho is supposed to be the simplest Form with crude movements at right angle slashes horizontally and vertically. A Master however of Shii cho is described as having movements "like water flowing". Hard to interpret that in rules..
2. Soresu is the ultimate defense Form. I struggle to come up with a Master-level feat that would make it worth while to master it.
3. I'll probably divide Shien (a defensive form with counter attacks) and Djem so (an aggressive strength oriented form) into 2 separate forms.
4. Niman mastery seems weak as it is.
5. Jar kai is still incomplete. The idea is to work around a martial/acrobatic fighting style. I'm thinking of incorporating highly accurate unarmed attacks in the fighting style (similar to Darth Maul's)
Tell me your thoughts, thanks.