Ranged Iaijutsu Focus?

[Uncle Pine]

This occurred to me while reading the recent cowboy thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?553073-What-class(es)-would-a-cowboy-be), but Iaijutsu Focus doesn't seem to actually require attacking with a melee weapon.


Check: If you attack a flat-footed opponent immediately
after drawing a melee weapon, you can deal extra damage,
based on the result ofan Iaijutsu Focus check. In addition, if
you and your opponent both agree to participate in a formal iaijutsu
duel, your Iaijutsu Focus check replaces your initiative
check for the ensuing combat.
In an iaijutsu duel (see Chapter 6), you and your opponent
make opposed Iaijutsu Focus checks, and the winner accumulates
extra damage dice according to the accompanying table.
You can also use Iaijutsu Focus in preparation for striking an
inanimate object, assuming no distractions . Your extra damage
is halved, just like your ordinary damage. This is the technique
martial artists use to shatter objects.

Thus, shouldn't you be able to draw a melee weapon, attack a flat-footed opponent with any weapon (i.e. a crossbow) and still deal extra damage? Or was this errataed somewhere?

All the above assuming your DM won't simply allow you to skip this draw-a-dagger-shoot-with-something-else nonsense and just apply iaijutsu focus to ranged weapons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiHgNXxIcuo).

[Jowgen]

One way to certainly make this worth is to make the ranged weapon also a melee weapon. For example, any crossbow can be made into a steel crossbow ( Dragon 349 p 20-odd) so that it also become a melee bludgeoning weapon. Draw that, shoot with it, it's pretty damn RAW-tight.

[Venger]

or an elvencraft bow if dragon magazine isn't allowed like 99% of games. but the same principle applies. good catch.

[Darrin]

Whoever wrote the rules for iaijutsu focus was sloppy. The rules don't specify that you have to attack with the weapon you draw. You could draw any melee weapon as a free action (via Quick Draw or what have you), drop it as a free action, and then attack with whatever weapon you like, melee or otherwise.

However, unless the DM deliberately plays a "literal RAW" game for laughs, it's blatantly obvious how the designers intended iaijutsu focus to work. Most DMs will shut this down via common sense (and/or bludgeoning attacks to your head).

[RaiKirah]

You could also make this work with 4 levels of Bloodstorm Blade, though I'm unsure how to get iteratives since it explicitly has your weapon return to you. Maybe you can just drop it and draw another with Quick Draw?

[heavyfuel]

Two levels of Bloodstorm Blade makes your attack rolls count as melee ones. While I think this change only applies to the actual roll (and 150% Str and Power Attack, as the class features specifies), I've seen many DMs say the attack itself counts as melee. Ask your DM what they think and, if they agree, you can throw melee weapons proc-ing Iaijutsu Focus

[Jack_McSnatch]

Or just use throwing weapons like daggers. Now you get your ranged iaijutsu without being a complete twink.they are in fact melee weapons, and you are attacking with them at range. Bloodstorm blade is good. If you want to most out of iaijutsu you basically need to be a ToB class. I still feel it's a bit janky, but I feel that everything in that book is just a little bit janky. I say go master thrower, iaijutsu daggers. Now you can throw two daggers with a single attack action, both of which should get your iaijutsu. Your target still needs to be flat footed, but there are a ton of ways to do that. This page might help.

http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=8741.0

[SleepyShadow]

My recommendation would be Throw Anything to hurl buckets of katanas at the bad guys.