New Combat System & Flavor Notes (in-progress)

[Piedmon_Sama]

This thread is essentially an accumulation of rules and, later on, flavor changes I've had buzzing around in my head for months or sometimes years. Now that 3.5 has ossified following the release of 4e, it's my goal to develop a sort of Platonic Ideal version of everything as I'd like it to be, which I can import parts of into games I run depending on how much my players will put up with. Everything is in a very messy state of progress at the moment; what follows are in some places transcriptions of stuff I wrote in notebooks at a very late hour, others stuff I typed on the spot. In other words, this isn't even a finished first draft. But as I recently have lost my regular computer, and had a chance to use my parents' today, I decided to put these divers notes of mine together on the internet in a place where I'll be able to edit and fix it at my leisure. Also, anyone who has advice or criticism to share is more than welcome (that's another advantage of working on this on the internet). Later on, I'll edit this ugly mess into several more streamlined posts for better readability.

General Flavor & Rule Ideas

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-More lethal combat system with quick kills of greater likelihood, and injury a real factor
-Weapon and armor choice more multifaceted than damage dice and AC bonus; sometimes you want an armor-piercing warpick and sometimes a more versatile arming sword; different armors for different situations.
-Much less magic reliance for AC & health
-Dethroning Power Attack/Shock Trooper and Chain-Tripping
-Incouraging mobility and improvisation/terrain use in melee combat
-Make crossbows, pistols and archery as deadly as they were IRL
-Make melee attack not dependant on strength (decrease relevance of stats in general?)
-Reshuffle weapon groups; retain simple/martial/exotic, but base on difficulty to learn (there is no good reason for axes/hammers/picks to be martial weapons except that they're devastatingly effective. Guns being exotic weapons is absurd, IRL simplicity of use was their biggest advantage).
-More feats and skill points for everybody. No class less than 4+Int for skills, all(?) classes gain bonus feats between 3rd and 6th level.
-Make Dwarves and Elves as cool as they should be. Sp-abilities like trackless step for elves and meld into stone for dwarves. E&D may not be standard PC races.
-Ogres, goblinoids and elves should be fay, no worry about their "ecology," when they're native of a magic parallel dimension. Orcs may have a more sci-fi background (divergant evolution?) or Tolkenian ("fallen" elves?) Trolls & Dragons have a magical, not natural origin (Dwarves or giants consumed by greed become dragons, outlaws who eat manflesh become Trolls?) No good giants/titans, giants/titans are shapeshifters and the gods' #1 enemies (Jotunr).
-E6? E10? Reintroduce level limits for "mortals" (humans & standard races) as a "mortal glass ceiling" only chosen ones can break (cf. Berserk). Halting BaB/Saves but adding skill points/feats/class features (for PrCs).

Arms & Armor

Introduction Stuff

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These new rules radically alter the way combat works in d20. It is understood and intended that they make combat more dangerous, lethal and chancey than in the more abstract, heroic mode of D&D. These rules are not intended as an effort to "balance" D&D combat, either to make all fighting styles and weapons equal or to give fighters an "edge" against spellcasters. It is an effort to simulate the complicated and changing world of historical martial arts, where weapons and armor evolved to fit societal, cultural and specific needs as opposed to developing in a generalized battlefield vacuum. It is virtually suicide to carry a rapier or smallsword into melee against an enemy in full plate harness wielding a fast and devastating longsword. It would be equally suicidal, in a social sense, to wear that harness and longsword around a city or into a court, whereas the smallsword is a "civil" weapon that can travel anywhere. And of course, while the lumbering clanking clown is not an accurate portrayal of properly used harness, a lightly armored person can do things a person in 50 lb. of metal simply cannot.

Ideally, the new rules should allow you to pick an era from the Ancient, Medieval or Early Modern periods and recreate it with an admittedly generalized fidelity. However, if your players want to play as a Roman Legionnaire, a Warring States-Era Samurai, a flintlock-and-bardiche-wielding Janissary, and a mailed knight of the 12th Century, this is probably not going to work. Presumably a group should pick a generalized era (ancient/early-high-late medieval/renaissance/30 yrs' war) and go with that, limiting certain kinds of equipment as either too primitive, or not invented yet; you might choose to throw away the plate harness, which largely elliminates the specialized war picks and hammers meant to overcome it, as well as advanced weapons like the bardiche and halberd. Or you might go right into that Renaissance/Italian Wars era, in which case a kit of arming sword, kite shield and chainmail is a simply foolish choice.

Heavy Weapon Class:

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Heavy Weapons

Heavy Weapons are a class of weapons comprising certain of both OHM and THM-type; except for the Heavy Flail, all are simple weapons. Heavy Weapons are extremely brutal and straightforward, developed mostly as a reaction to protective mail and later, plate armors. Some of these weapons completely ignore any type of armor protection (such as the heavy warpick) while others cut through most of their DR. Even if a heavy weapon cannot punch through plate cleanly, it can dent a harness in such a way as to injure the wearer, even asphyxiating them if the dent impedes the lungs.

These weapons are powerful, but carry considerable drawbacks. They are heavier, slower, and require a fairly wide space to be wielded effectively.

Heavy Weapons:
OHM
-Heavy Mace
-Morningstar
-Warpick
-Warhammer
-Battleaxe
-Waraxe
THM
-Greatclub
-Greataxe
-Maul
-Heavy Flail

A Heavy Weapon cannot be used to make AoOs. A character wielding a heavy weapon one-handed and using a capable shield can make shield bashes as AoOs, however. Any character wielding a two-handed heavy weapon suffers a -8 Melee Initiative penalty; a one-handed weapons incurs a -4 penalty. Both THM and OHM heavy weapons suffer a -2 penalty on parrying.

In addition to regular damage, Heavy Weapons have a chance to knock an opponent to the ground or out of his square on a successful attack. When a character wielding a heavy weapon hits an opponent while Power Attacking (whether the attack inflicts damage or not), the stricken character must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC equal to 10+Damage) or be knocked backwards 5 feet; he must then immediately make a Balance Check (DC 5+Damage dealt) or fall prone. If there is no square behind the stricken character to fall back to and he fails his Fort save, he falls prone in his own square. A character wielding a heavy weapon and Power Attacking can opt not to knock his opponent back.

Alternatively to making his Fortitude save, a stricken character can choose to make a Tumble check (DC 10+Damage). On a successful check, he can move to any of five squares beside or behind him, and is in no danger of falling prone. On a failed check, he falls prone as if he had failed both Fortitude and Balance checks, and his attacker gains an immediate AoO (this is the only time heavy weapons can make an AoO).

If a character wielding a heavy weapon combines his power attack with a charge action, he can attempt to knock his opponent up to two squares back (or still refrain from knocking his opponent back, at the attacker's option).

*Note that a character wielding even a two-handed heavy weapon can take AoOs with unarmed strikes (e.g, kicking).

Armor Values

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Every armor kit has 6 pieces that cover the target areas on the injury (d100) table plus gauntlets. each piece gives an equal DR value to its respective body-part and prevents injuries. Certain weapons ignore the DR & injury-stopping attributes of certain armors. Although all armor pieces grant the same DR to the six target-areas of the boy, different armor-pieces can be worn over different body-parts; e.g, you might wear a steel plate cuirass (DR 12) over the torso and chainmail (DR 6) over the arms.

Plate Harness - DR 12 (Heavy Armor)
Boiled Leather - DR 4 (either solid, stiff leather or leather lamellae) (Light Armor)
Chainmail - DR 6 (Light Armor)
Brigandine - DR 6 (either a leather suit over steel plates, or lamellae with steel stitched over the back) (Medium Armor)
Metal Lamellae (scale mail) - DR 5 (Medium Armor)
Splint Plates (DR 6) (Heavy Armor)

Accessories -

Accessories are an important compliment to the basic suit of armor. They provide additional protection to one spot of the body, increaseing DR if that particular spot is hit.

Great Helm - The great helm is a larger helm fitting over a smaller one ("helmet"). It limits vision & hearing severely (-6 to perception) but provides +4 DR to the head, a possibly life-saving difference. The great helm is an ancient piece of wargear, largely replaced by the basinet.

Basinet - The "little basin" comes in many shpaes--pig-faced, stove-topped, etc. Like the great helm it provides +4 DR, reinforcing a steel cap beneath, but includes a visor which can simply be flipped up to elliminate the perception penalty.

Disc-Plate - A common article of eastern warriors, the disc-plate is a large round disc worn over belly and back, reinforcing protection for the torso. Variants include smaller discs hung by chains from the breast or a gorget to the waist (those small circles on the Mighty Thor's shirt are these). Either style grants +2 DR to the torso. Note that plate harness cuirass includes a gorget & plates over either breast, & a belly rounded to deflect blows (like a tank turret) that prevents a stomach/back plate from being used.

Gambeson - Sometimes the only armor a warrior can afford, the gambeson is a humble article that has saved many a man's life, and is particularly good for absorbing arrows into its padded cloth layers. The gambeson can be, in order of expense, a long coat, jacket, surcoat or apron, usually worn over chainmail or light armors. Plate harness includes a gambeson beneath and gains no benefit from a second being worn over. A gambeson adds DR 1 to the parts it covers and alone does not prevent injury. Against arrows or bludgeoning weapons it gives DR 4 and prevents injury.

Shields -
Note that heavy shields cannot be used for a shield bash the turn after parrying, or parry the turn after being used for a shield bash.

Hoplite's Shield/Kite Shield - +0 Parry, heavy
Heater Shield - +2 Parry, light
Buckler - +0 Parry, light, special
Round Shield - +1 parry, light
Scutum - +0 parry, heavy, special
Pavise - special

Buckler Special: May be used wielding 2-handed weapons @-1 atk penalty but can't parry, can alternate bash/parry @ no penalty.
Scutum Special: Provides +4 cover vs ranged attacks
Pavise Special: Can't be used to parry, provides cover bonus up to total vs ranged, +2 cover/+1 ref saves in melee

Combat

Beginning Combat: Initiative and Melee Initiative

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As in normal d20, when two or more combatants spot each other, initiative is rolled. Characters then take their actions as per usual, the highest initiative taking a standard + move or full-round action first and going down the order, so-on. But when one character enters melee range with another (whether by charging or normal movement), a special initiative is rolled for each character in that melee.

For example, let's say we have two fighters equipped with arming swords, A and B, and a third fighter armed with a glaive, C. Sighting each other, they roll initiative, with A winning. A charges B: when A enters the square in front of B, the Melee Initiative is rolled. Unlike regular Initiative, which stays fixed throughout a combat, melee initiative only lasts for one round. B wins this time, and attacks A when he enters, forcing A to parry or dodge. Assuming he survives, A then attacks B. Who goes next is determined by the prior Initiative Order. Should it be B, he and A roll a new Melee Initiative, with both striking in the order determined.

On the other hand, if A were to charge C, C's reach weapon lets him strike at A while there is still a square between them, unless A succeeds on a tumble check. If A would rather not attempt to tumble, he cannot dodge while moving through a square but can parry C's AoO. If C were to charge A with his reach-weapon, however, he could strike before A, and no Melee Initiative need be rolled. Reach weapons like halberds and glaives have a solid advantage in this respect; large weapons that are not technically reach, such as a quarterstaff or longsword, confer a +2 bonus to Melee Initiative.

Designer Note: So everyone and their mother needs Improved Initiative?

Maybe. Two-handed weapons give a small bonus to melee initiative, reflecting their longer reach than the typical one-handed sword or mace. But, certain two-handed or heavy weapons give no bonus, and in fact confer a penalty to melee initiative. Particularly heavy axes, two-handed clubs, a war-pick or war-hammer, while able to punch through armor, lose you the opportunity of the first strike. If you want one of these for your primary weapon, there's not much point in jockying for Melee Initiative. Or you can wield a reach weapon and try to elliminate Melee Initiative as a factor. And even if Initiative is now a much more critical factor, I'd say I've really done nothing more than dethrone the Power Attack/Shock Trooper/Combat Brute feats; doing ridiculous levels of damage is somewhat redundant in a world where Wound Points replace Hit Points.

Oh God oh God, does a 13 get him? Making attack rolls

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Attack Rolls continue to work the same way as before, BaB + Str + a 1d20 roll. There is no longer such a thing as "critical" hits. A roll of 4 or lower, however, is always a miss, and certain natural rolls (just 20 for most weapons, but 19-20 for swords or 18-20) are always hits. Even on a natural 20, DR from armor still applies. Your plucky peasant might get lucky and bean Sir Clanksalot in the face with his stick every so often, but his chances of actually hurting Clanksalot are still almost nil.

Who am I swinging at? Combat Facing

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Also critical is the factor of combat facing. Every character inhabits a 5-foot-length square, which touches eight squares around it. A character is always considered to be facing three squares: one dead ahead, one diagonally left and the other right. If a character attacks or is attacked from any of those three squares, he is considered to be "facing" his opponent, and Melee Initiative and attacks/parries are resolved normally. If a character is attacked from either of the two squares directly to his left or right, in that moment he is at something of a disadvantage. His attacker gains a +2 bonus to Melee Initiative and Attack rolls against him, and the character suffers a penalty of -5 to Attack and Parry Rolls. The three squares behind a character are considered his rear. Attempting to attack over his own shoulder afflicts a character with a -10 penalty, while the attacker has the same +2 bonus. The defending character is considered flat-footed against attacks from the rear (unless he has the Uncanny Dodge special ability).

Note that while turning an opponent's flank or striking from behind is often a sure way to a quick kill, it can be extremely difficult to get around an enemy who is prepared: turning up to 360 degrees is a free action; a character who knows a charge is coming from beside or behind can turn to face his attacker even on the attacker's turn, unless the attacker has begun their turn in a square beside or behind the character. On his action, a character can freely turn between opponents if he gets multiple attacks and chooses to disperse them amongst opponents.

A character can, beginning in a square facing his opponent, attempt to move into a square beside or behind the opponent. Exiting a threatened square still incurs an Attack of Opportunity, unless the character can make a Tumble Check vs a flat DC of 15, or the opponent's attack roll (opponent chooses). If the tumble check succeeds and the attacker moves into a square to the opponent's rear, the opponent is considered flat-footed against the attacker's next attack. A character wielding a two-handed weapon or a large shield (kite or hoplite) incurs a -8 penalty to tumble checks. Tumbling while wearing or wielding a tower/pavise shield incurs a -12 penalty, as does wearing/wielding a weapon of one size category larger than the character; for every additional size category the weapon is larger, add another -4.

Movement in Melee

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Returning to the example of A, B and C. Say A and B are already in melee, and it is B's action in the regular initiative order. If he were to simply attack A, both combatants would roll a new Melee Initiative. If B choses to move 5 feet to A's side (to flank him across from an ally, perhaps), B can opt to make a tumble check to avoid an AoO, but if he fails the check, A gets an Attack of Opportunity, which B can dodge or parry as normal. If B were to move straight back, leaving the square threatened by A, A would also get an Attack of Opportunity unless B made a full withdrawal action, just like in normal D&D. If A is wielding a heavy weapon (war-pick/war-hammer/greataxe, etc.) then he takes a -5 penalty on his AoOs.

Going back to an alternate round, say A has won the ordinary initiative order. Instead of charging B, he readies an attack-action against whatever enters the area he threatens (considered the three squares A faces). B's Initiative comes up next. He charges A, moving into one of the three squares in front of A. A automatically wins Melee Initiative, unless he is wielding a heavy weapon (such as a greataxe or warpick), or unless B is wielding a two-handed light weapon (like a longsword or spear); in both cases, Melee Initiative is rolled as normal. If B was wielding a reach weapon (a glaive, halberd, voulge, etc.) then he could attack A before even entering the squares A threatens.

Design-Note: This sounds like regular combat, except you've added this Melee Initiative thing. Why?

The Melee-Initiative exists to create a drawback to wielding armor-piercing weapons like war-picks, two-handed axes and two-handed maces. In a combat between two sword-and-board fighters, admittedly, it is somewhat irrelevant. However, because the Wound Points make armor vital to keeping your character alive, the real-life drawbacks of armor-piercing weapons (slowness, overextension) must be reflected to offset their real-life advantages (punching through plate armor). In a sense, bringing a large axe or pick into combat is like going all-in at poker: you're gambling you can settle the fight quickly by piercing the enemy's armor, whereas the longer it drags on the more likely his edge in initiative will let him get you first.

Oh no, I lost init! How do I not get stuck like a pig?

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There are two ways to evade an attack, assuming your opponent doesn't simply miss (nat. roll of 4 or lower). These are parrying and dodging. Dodging will bring your Defense into play, while parrying lets you roll an attack roll vs your opponent's, stopping his attack if you beat it by 1 or more (i.e, attacker wins ties). Note that the term "Defense" replaces D&D's "Armor Class," because armor no longer contributes to your armor class, but only deflects/absorbs damage. Every character begins life with a Defense of 10. The modifier of their dexterity score is added, as well as their class defense bonus. A flat-footed character loses both dexterity and class bonuses to defense. An "untrained" character (1/2 BaB or 3/4 BaB with no martial weapon proficiency; meaning Sorcerer, Wizard, Commoner, Adept and some Experts) can only take a partial action on their next turn if they dodge or parry an attack.

Making a parry attempt is just like making an attack roll, BaB+Str (or Dex with a finessed weapon), with modifiers for size, weapon proficiency, etc. all counted as usual. Shields, unlike armor, grant a bonus to Defense and also can be used for parrying. Some shields give a bonus to parrying checks. If your shield doesn't give a bonus, there's no inherent advantage to using it to parry as opposed to your weapon, but it still grants some bonus to your passive Defense.

Class Defense Boni
Highest (+6 to +12): 4/4 BaB + Monks/Psychic Warriors
2nd-Highest (+4 to +10) 3/4 BaB + Beguilers?
3rd-Highest (+3 to +9) for Druids
4th-Highest (+2 to +8) for Wizards, Sorcs, Psions, NPC classes

I'm hit, I'm hit! What happens now?

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When a character is struck, the character takes damage to their Wound Points (equal to Con score + Character level up to level 10). If a character is reduced to 0 WP, the character is disabled; at -1 or lower, dying, and at -10 dead. If a character takes damage to their WP, they must roll a d100 to determine where the hit has struck, unless the attacker specified a targeted body-part (see Called Shots).

001-015: Left Leg
016-031: Right Leg
032-057: Torso
058-073: Left Arm
074-089: Right Arm
090-100: Head.

The stricken character must succeed on a Fort Save vs DC 10+Damage Dealt or suffer injury to that body part, unless the head is struck in which case no save is allowed.

Effects from injury differ depending on part struck.
Right or Left Leg: 1/2 movement.
Right or Left Arm: -4 atk penalty and/or -4 parry, depending on whether the weapon or shield arm was struck and the character's equipment.
Torso: Cumulative -2 penalty to subsequent Fortitude saves to ignore damage.
Head: Damage to WP is doubled.

-For every wound a character sustains to any part of their body, add a -2 penalty to Fort saves vs Exhaustion/Fatigue.

Instead of turning the Wheel of Fortune, can't I just nail him in the face?

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Called Shots target a specific body part (elliminating the need for the d100 roll) at a certain penalty. The penalty varies depending on whether the combatant is trained (3/4 BaB + martial weapon proficiencies) or untrained (2/4 BaB or 3/4 BaB without any martial profeciency).
Vs Untrained:
Left/Right Leg: -2 atk
Left/Right Arm: -2 atk
Torso: -4 atk
Head: -8 atk

Vs Trained:
Left/Right Leg: -4 atk
Left/Right Arm: -4 atk
Torso: -8 atk
Head: -10 atk

Let's say I want to shoot a guy

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And why wouldn't you? Shooting people is inherently smarter and less risky than trying to close in with a sharpened bar of iron. Arrows, crossbow bolts, musket balls, etc. can't be parried. An arrow from a longbow, composite bow, crossbow and other powerful weapons can punch through the Light-Class armors: chainmail, leather or scale (the humble gambeson is surprisingly good at stopping arrows, however). Once a highly trained bowman has you in his sights, you can't just dodge it like Daredevil. Ranged combat is a much less sporting affair than melee.

A character making a ranged attack misses on a natural roll of 4 or lower. A character who fires without taking aim makes an ordinary ranged attack roll (BaB+Dex). Taking aim is a full-round action. If a bowman shoots after taking aim, the target retains only shield and cover bonuses to Defense, not dexterity or class. You can, of course, make Called Shots with ranged weapons, but only after spending a full-round action to take aim. Called Shots incur the following penalty at a minimum range of 1/2 the weapon's range increment, out to its full range increment:

Left/Right Leg: -2 atk
Left/Right Arm: -2 atk
Torso: -2 atk
Head: -6 atk.

Within a range of between 10 ft. and 1/2 the weapon's range increment, Called Shots incur no penalty. A called shot to head or torso against a target who is considered flat-footed, when the firer is within this range, is an automatic Coup de Grace: the target must succeed a Fortitude save vs DC 10+Damage Dealt or die, even if the damage inflicted fails to bring him to below WP 0. On a successful save, the target still takes the damage as usual.

At greater than the range increment, the penalty for called shots increases by 2 out to the weapon's maximum range of 10x the range increment.

Designer Note: Miyamoto Musashi vs Private Pyle... at 30 paces.

Yes, this means one of the most lethal situtations a character can ever find themselves in is a trained pistoleer steadying his gun on them at 10-15 feet. It is entirely possible that a feckless rookie could kill the kingdom's greatest swordsman by ambushing him with a crossbow (although I'm softening the hell out of even that by adding level to WP). This is intentional. This is the kind of danger I want. At no level can you stop worrying about the virtually-always fatal results of being shot in the back. At no level will you be enough of a badass to razz the King when he's surrounded by literally a battalion of musketmen pointing their guns at you.

Special Actions in Combat: Grappling, Charging, Fighting Defensively/Total Defense, the Coup de Grace, Disarming, Tripping, Feinting, Leap Attacks, Iaijutsu and Psychic Duels

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Leap Attack

Anytime a character may declare a charge against an opponent, if he has at least 8 ranks in Jump and the Power Attack feat, he may declare a Leap Attack. On his charge, he makes a Long Jump check (apply normal penalty without a 20 ft running start). If the character succeeds in jumping at least 10 feet in length and lands in a square threatening the target, double any damage from a Power Attack. Unless the target is wielding a Heavy Weapon, the character must succeed on a Tumble Check vs DC 15 or defender's melee attack roll (defender's option), or take an AoO after landing (unless his Leap Attack kills the defending character).

More coming; this list undoubtedly to be expanded.

[Knaight]

I like it, but facing is problematic. The main issue with facing is that it is way easier to get around someone in a turn based game than in real life, simply because both people are moving simultaneously in real life. If you split into a movement and attack stage it works better, but that isn't very realistic unless you have an AoO mechanic in the movement stage for people who have already moved, leading to a lot of complication.

[Harperfan7]

Keep it coming

[Piedmon_Sama]

I like it, but facing is problematic. The main issue with facing is that it is way easier to get around someone in a turn based game than in real life, simply because both people are moving simultaneously in real life. If you split into a movement and attack stage it works better, but that isn't very realistic unless you have an AoO mechanic in the movement stage for people who have already moved, leading to a lot of complication.

Thanks. Of course you're right, the introduction of Combat Facing adds a steep wrinkle to the round. But I feel it's necessary because I want the moment when a Rogue tumbles past your feet and comes up behind you with a knife in hand to be a real "oh ****" moment, as opposed to standard 3.5 where Rogues are rather useless when alone. (Also at the same time, trying to limit the "greatsword shank"). And really, anybody should be able to benefit from going for a "backstab," without being part of the Rogue class (Rogues are simply trained to do it much more devastatingly).

Thinking about it further, I think I'll limit the ability to flank an opponent to a successful tumble check. Simply stepping up to your opponent's side, even if you parry the AoO, lets him turn to face you. Of course, you can still flank an opponent with help in the normal way.

EDIT: Because I need to note this down somewhere, some changes I want to make for feats:
-Anyone with 8 ranks in jump can make a leap attack on a charge.
-Anyone with 4 ranks in ride and BaB +1 gets the Mounted Combat feat free.
-Anyone with BaB +1 can choke up on their reach weapon as a standard action; not hitting yourself with the haft is presumably basic training. The feat (Preq. BaB +3) makes it a free action.
-Combat Expertise now goes up to +10. Why did they cripple this and let people go hog wild with Power Attack anyway?
-Feinting in combat will come from the Sleight of Hand, not Bluff skill, and Fighters (and Swashbucklers) will get Sleight of Hand as a class skill.

*Since I made it fairly important, I'm thinking of giving the Fighter Improved Initiative for free at 1st level (not sure on this one).
*And give all Elves Improved Init. for free, for that matter. I wanted them to be awesome and Tolkienian, didn't I?

[Ashtagon]

How do two knights in full plate and armed with long swords and shields even hurt each other?

[Piedmon_Sama]

Basically, they couldn't. IRL if you had the best armor money could buy (and by no means did all knights have that top-of-the-line stuff) you were by and large invulnerable to a plain arming sword.

This was great, because for the most part Medieval knights would rather beat each other until one was on the ground and open for a coup-de-grace (as in, planting the sword through his visor) and had to surrender (then the winner could collect his ransom).

You know what fully-armored knights would really do if they just plain wanted to murder each other? They'd pull out stiletto knives and wrestle, until one guy planted his "peace-maker" through the other's visor or armpit. Basically Coup de Grace and attacks against pinned enemies will ignore DR.

[Oslecamo]

So, why can you so easily head-shot anyone, yet Bob the angry peasant with a warpick cannot kill Sir Clancksalot with a blow on his head when he's flirting with Bob's wife?

This is, geting hit with a warhammer will at least knock you uncoscious, even if you're wearing the best steel helmet money can buy.

[Piedmon_Sama]

How is getting in a headshot easy? I think I put a pretty stiff called shot penalty on it. O_o

[Milskidasith]

The problem with called shots are that anybody who already can barely hit (IE everybody the PCs are going to face if they are optimized for AC) are just going to take called shots to the head because it doesn't matter, and DR for the head is pretty bad.

Honestly, it's a complicated fix that doesn't seem to do anything, would make melee combat take hours, and doesn't appear to do anything to keep mages from killing instantly.

[Piedmon_Sama]

Ohhh, you're talking about the 15-30 ft with pistols and 15-60 ft with crossbows thing being unfair?

Right. Those weapons are very unfair. That's why the Church banned crossbows for centuries, they didn't take years to master like bows and they were just terrifically unsporting. That's real life. It's not fair. If you just want to rack up kills, whipping a crossbow out in someone's face before they're ready is pretty much the way to do it. It's something people in this game will have to deal with.

Like I will, eventually, have to deal with magic. But not today! So I'm not even factoring it in at the moment.

[Ashtagon]

It's all very well saying that two knights will just pull out stilettos and wrestle. But historically, fight with swords is what they did. It's not at all hard to find contemporary drawings of armoured knights fighting with swords, but almost unheard-of to find contemporary drawings of armoured knights fighting with stilletos. Stilettos were mainly used to coup de grace an opponent who was already severely wounded or prone (and used by assassins).

[Oslecamo]

Indeed. Armors don't cover the whole body. A skilled or very lucky warrior could make their sword slip right trough the armor cracks.

That's what criticals are suposed to represent. When you manage to slip right trough the enemy defenses and hit them hard!

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

I think you're confused as to what the European broadsword was originally intended to do. They were effective against a man in armor (not the most effective, but effective nonetheless) because they weren't designed to slash: they were designed to hack. The difference is important: swung with enough force, a two-handed broadsword could bend a suit of armor like a tin can.

While it might not be able to actually breach the armor, it could dent it terribly, and would often shatter bone and bruise skin of the man wearing the armor. Try the following: put on a close-fitting metal suit, and then have a man go nuts on you with a crowbar. It hurts, even if the suit stays intact. An instant kill isn't likely (hence the piercing weapons coming to the forefront), but that guy is in for severe pain, possible death, and a general lack of functionality.

Also, if you're being that realistic, I would like to see rules for what killed more knights than anything else: falling over in armor and being beaten to death (not stabbed...beaten) by foot soldiers. Swords and maces could indeed take out a man in armor, especially when his armor was to heavy to let him move quickly, or even get up under his own power.

[Piedmon_Sama]

That's what criticals are suposed to represent. When you manage to slip right trough the enemy defenses and hit them hard!

While some natural rolls are always hits, criticals are out because I don't see the necessity. Having only WPs will make characters a lot more fragile. Also, while you can theoretically stab your rapier in between the vents in a knight's visor... it should be pretty much ridiculously hard to do that to a moving target; 18-20+Improved Critical just makes it too easy.

I think you're confused as to what the European broadsword was originally intended to do. They were effective against a man in armor (not the most effective, but effective nonetheless) because they weren't designed to slash: they were designed to hack. The difference is important: swung with enough force, a two-handed broadsword could bend a suit of armor like a tin can.

While it might not be able to actually breach the armor, it could dent it terribly, and would often shatter bone and bruise skin of the man wearing the armor. Try the following: put on a close-fitting metal suit, and then have a man go nuts on you with a crowbar. It hurts, even if the suit stays intact. An instant kill isn't likely (hence the piercing weapons coming to the forefront), but that guy is in for severe pain, possible death, and a general lack of functionality.

Also, if you're being that realistic, I would like to see rules for what killed more knights than anything else: falling over in armor and being beaten to death (not stabbed...beaten) by foot soldiers. Swords and maces could indeed take out a man in armor, especially when his armor was to heavy to let him move quickly, or even get up under his own power.

Yeah, I agree, I'm just not sure how to represent this yet. The longsword should do bludgeoning damage as well as slashing, a lot of knights would just slam the crossguard into one another's faces during those "wrestling matches." So a longsword's bludgeoning attack should be usable in grapples. I'm thinking about having the longsword reduce but not punch through plate harness DR, maybe to 8 so a +2 Str warrior with a 2-handed weapon can certainly hurt you through it, but an instant-kill is unlikely.

ACTUALLY, this just occurred to me, the way to do it might be by fractions. Some examples:

Warpick (OHM) - ignores 4/4 armor DR
Greatclub (THM), longsword butt (THM) - ignores 1/2 armor DR
Arming Sword (OHM), longsword blade (THM) - ignores 1/4 DR
Dagger, OHM club, rapier, etc. - full DR applies

Hmm, I really like this idea.

And to further simplify it, dispense with an abstract light/heavy armor distinction, and qualify armor as plate (harness, splints & brigandine) or mail (chain or lamellae). Plate stops primitive weapons like spears and arrows better than mail, but mail handles the things developed to deform/punch through plate better or at least no worse for that warpick, and what the disc-plate/those Ottoman splint vests do is give the torso DR as plate particularly.

Thanks for the inspiration, I think this is much more elegant than where I was going originally and no less "three-quarters accurate" as I'd describe my goal.

[Oslecamo]

While some natural rolls are always hits, criticals are out because I don't see the necessity. Having only WPs will make characters a lot more fragile. Also, while you can theoretically stab your rapier in between the vents in a knight's visor... it should be pretty much ridiculously hard to do that to a moving target; 18-20+Improved Critical just makes it too easy.

Duh, that's why they created the confirmation roll rule. It's roughly 2,2% chance of scoring a crit whitout the feat, 9% with the feat. That's less than 1/10 But it demands at least lv6, and by then we're talking about very skilled warriors that should indeed be able to stick a rapier trough their oponent's visor one in ten blows, assuming they're not fighting defensively.

You could also give armors the fortification rule, giving heavier armors a bigger chance of negating the extra damage from criticals. With heavy fortification(negate 75% of the time) you end up with a crit specialized warrior still only being able to crit 2,25% of the time.

[Piedmon_Sama]

Duh, that's why they created the confirmation roll rule. It's roughly 2,2% chance of scoring a crit whitout the feat, 9% with the feat. That's less than 1/10 But it demands at least lv6, and by then we're talking about very skilled warriors that should indeed be able to stick a rapier trough their oponent's visor one in ten blows, assuming they're not fighting defensively.

Yes but if you get a knife or smallsword blade through your visor, or into your armpit or groin, you pretty much ought to be dead or dying. If I kept the crit rules as-is, 1d6+2x2 or whatever someone is going to do with a rapier is probably not gonna kill the average fighter. This falls back to the whole problem of abstract HP I am trying to eliminate. A knife in your throat or eye or arteries should not be shrugged off by a human at any level.

You could also give armors the fortification rule, giving heavier armors a bigger chance of negating the extra damage from criticals. With heavy fortification(negate 75% of the time) you end up with a crit specialized warrior still only being able to crit 2,25% of the time.

Yeah, I am considering this. It might jive well with a Fort save vs 10+Damage or Death on a confirmed crit, something I was thinking about earlier if I were to keep crits.

[Oslecamo]

Why don't use the own D&D vitality rules? Crits drain directly your vitality points! So if your oponent scores a crit, he's gonna leave you in a quite bad shape as he takes several vitality points in one blow.

Ok, they'll probably don't get killed outright, but with the penalty rules, they'll have an hard time coming back.

[thurge namor]

for the damage system you may wanna check out the RPG "Aces and Eights" by Kenzerco... its old west, but the damage is heavily penaltied. any little nick can throw you off enough to kill you, and healing is very very realisticly hard

[Roderick_BR]

It's all very well saying that two knights will just pull out stilettos and wrestle. But historically, fight with swords is what they did. It's not at all hard to find contemporary drawings of armoured knights fighting with swords, but almost unheard-of to find contemporary drawings of armoured knights fighting with stilletos. Stilettos were mainly used to coup de grace an opponent who was already severely wounded or prone (and used by assassins).

Then again, they usually fought until one of them got tired, opening himself for a disarming (often both weapon and shield), and then pushed down on his butt, making himself defenseless to his opponent. I think only jousts would have enough strenght to puncture most armors back then.

To the OP: I like a lot of this system (specially weapon types), though I find the injury system may make battles drag out, even if they are supposed to be more lethal and end quickly.

[Ashtagon]

Then again, they usually fought until one of them got tired, opening himself for a disarming (often both weapon and shield), and then pushed down on his butt, making himself defenseless to his opponent. I think only jousts would have enough strenght to puncture most armors back then.

To the OP: I like a lot of this system (specially weapon types), though I find the injury system may make battles drag out, even if they are supposed to be more lethal and end quickly.

Under the rules as written for this modification so far, those two knights can literally fight for eight hours and not get tired. It sounds like this patch needs a patch...

Personally, I would just say a crit bypasses armour DR.

[FlyingWhale]

Under the rules as written for this modification so far, those two knights can literally fight for eight hours and not get tired. It sounds like this patch needs a patch...

Personally, I would just say a crit bypasses armour DR.

I wouldn't go that far... I mean, just sword play with broomsticks and regular clothes is tiring as heck let alone adding 60lbs+ armor and a 3lb+ longsword into the equation... I like the crit bypasses armour DR though, I've used that idea in games before. I tried doing what he has under his sleeve before but man... I didn't have the internet or anything back then... I think I found a new favorite thread.

[Ashtagon]

Yeah, I know that "eight hours" bit sounds ridiculous. I'm just noting the logical conclusion of the rules written out here. Under core RAW, fights will be over long before fatigue from all that physical exertion becomes an issue - one or the other party will have lost enough hit points to have either died, dropped, surrendered, or run away. But this system as written so far creates a situation where loss of hp will potentially not be a factor in causing fights to end, which opens up the possibility of that ridiculous scenario.

[Piedmon_Sama]

Ashtagon: I don't think there even are core rules for becoming exhausted from just killing enemy after enemy. That's one of the things I plan to institute, probably instituting saves of increasing DC vs fatigue per round of combat, starting after your Con + X rounds of combat/double or full movement, varying between unarmored/light armor/heavy armor.

Probably the next logical step right now is actually reorganizing the core weapons list, reshuffling them into Simple/Martial/Exotic as makes sense to me. The new category is the fraction of DR that applies to the weapon, from 0/4 to 4/4, with separate lists for Mail armor (chain, scales, lamellae) and Plate (including splint & brigandine).

EDIT: Also added in the Melee Initiative bonus or penalty given by certain weapons. I don't think any will get better than +2, but I figured stabbing weapons ought to have a slight advantage in that regard.

Here's a go at Simple:

Spoiler

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Simple Weapons

Unarmed Attacks
Gauntlet - 1d2 (S) 1d3 (M) | 20 | Bludg.|4/4 M 4/4 P
----Fist - 1d2 (S) 1d3 (M) | 20 | Bludg.| 4/4 M 4/4 P
Light Melee
Dagger - 1d3 (S) 1d4 (M) | 19-20 |Pierce| 4/4 M 4/4 P | +2
Katar - 1d3 (S) 1d4 (M) | 19-20 | Pierce | 4/4 M 4/4 P| +2
L. Mace - 1d4 (S) 1d6 (M) | 20 | Bludg. | 3/4 M 3/4 P| +0
Sickle - 1d4 (S) 1d6 (M) | 20 | Slash | 3/4 M 3/4 P | +0
L. Pick - 1d3 (S) 1d4 (M) |20| Pierce | 3/4 M 3/4 P | +0
L. Hammer - 1d3 (S) 1d4 (M)| 20| 20 ft. | Bludg. | 3/4 M 3/4 P | +0
Handaxe - 1d4 (S) 1d6 (M) | 20 | Sla/Blu. | 3/4 M 3/4 P | +0
T. Axe - 1d4 (S) 1d6 (M) | 20 |Slash | 4/4 M 4/4 P |+0
One-Handed Melee
Club - 1d4 (S) 1d6 (M) | 20 | Bludg. | 4/4 M 4/4 P |+0
H. Mace* - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) | 20 | Bludg. | 2/4 M 1/4 P | -6
Morningstar* - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) |20| Bl./Pi.| 2/4 M 1/4 P | -6
Shortspear - 1d4 (S) 1d6 (M) |20| Pierce| 2/4 M 4/4 P | +1
H Pick* - 1d4 (S) 1d6 (M) | 20 | Pierce | 1/4 M 0/4 P | -6
H Hammer* - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) | 20 | Bludg. | 2/4 M 1/4 P | -6
Machete - 1d4 (S) 1d6 (M) | 19-20 | Slash | 4/4 M 4/4 P | +0
Battleaxe* - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) |20| Slsh/Bldg| 0/4 M 1/4 P | -6
Two-Handed Melee
Longspear - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) | 20 | Pierce | 3/4 M 4/4 P | R, +1
Quarterstaff - 1d4/1d4 (S) 1d6/1d6 (M) |20| Blu.| 4/4 M 4/4 P | +2
Spear - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) | 20 | Pierce | 3/4 M 4/4 P | +1
Greataxe* - 1d10 (S) 1d12 (M) |20| Slsh/Bld.| 0/4 M 1/4 P | -6
Maul* - 2d4 (S) 2d6 (M) | 20 | Bludg. | 1/4 M 0/4 P | -6
Ranged
L Crossbow - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) | 20 | 80 ft. | Pierce | 1/4 M 4/4 P | +0
H Crossbow - 1d8 (S) 1d10 (M) | 20 | 120 ft. | Pierce | 1/4 M 3/4 P | +0
Dart - 1d3 (S) 1d4 (M) | 20 | 20 ft. | Pierce | 4/4 M 4/4 P | +2
Sling - 1d3 (S) 1d4 (M) | 20 | 50 ft. | Bludge | 4/4 M 4/4 P | +0
Pistol - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) | 20 | 30 ft. | Pierce | 2/4 M 4/4 P | +2
Musket - 1d8 (S) 1d10 (M) | 20 | 60 ft. | Pierce | 2/4 M 4/4 P | +0
Harquebus - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) | 20 | 40 ft. | Pierce | 3/4 M 4/4 P |+0

-Gauntlets include Cesti or 'Knucks.
-"Machete" can be any basic, hacking swordlike weapon of light weight, like a cutlass.
-Weapons with an asterisk are heavy, imposing a -6 penalty on Melee Initiative (or maybe -8?) also these weapons cannot make any (or more than one?) AoO per round.

*Also, just to note, I was originally thinking about making the Longsword require an Exotic feat to use the hilt bludgeon, as one needs with a Hand and a Half sword, but I have a better idea.... anyone with BaB +1 or higher can use both attacks with a Longsword, and a Bastard Sword one-handed.

(And if anyone is confused, when I say longsword I mean what D&D calls a greatsword.)

[Piedmon_Sama]

And now, Martial:

Spoiler

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Light Melee Weapons
Kukri - 1d3 (S) 1d4 (M)| 18-20 | Slash | 4/4 M 4/4 P | +2
S. Sword - 1d4 (S) 1d6 (M)| 19-20 | Pierce | 3/4 M 4/4 P | +1
One-Handed Melee Weapons
Flail - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M)| 20 | Bludg. | 3/4 M 2/4 P | +0
A. Sword - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) |19-20| Slash/Pierce | 3/4 M 4/4 P |+0
Rapier - 1d4 (S) 1d6 (M) | 18-20 | Pierce | 4/4 M 4/4 P | +2
Scimitar - 1d4 (S) 1d6 (M) | 18-20 | Slash | 2/4 M 4/4 P | +0
Trident - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) | 20 | Pierce | 3/4 M 4/4 P | +1
B. Sword - 1d8 (S) 1d10 (M) | 19-20 | Slash/Pierce | 3/4 M 3/4 P | +0
Falchion - 1d8 (S) 1d10 (M) | 18-20 | Slash | 2/4 M 3/4 P | +0
Two-Handed Weapons
Glaive - 1d8 (S) 1d10 (M) | 20 | Slash | 3/4 M 3/4 P | R, +0
H. Flail* - 1d8 (S) 1d10 (M) | 19-20 | Bludg. | 2/4 M 1/4 P | +0
Guisarme - 1d6 (S) 2d4 (M) | 20 | Slash | 2/4 M 3/4 P | R, +0
Halberd - 1d8 (S) 1d10 (M) | 20 | Slsh/Prc. | 2/4 M 3/4 P | R, +0
Lance - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) | 19-20 | Pierce | 2/4 M 3/4 P | R, +0
Ranseur - 1d6 (S) 2d4 (M) | 20 | Pierce | 2/4 M 4/4 P | R, +0
L. Sword - 1d10 (S) 2d6 (M) | 19-20 | Slsh/Prc. | 2/4 M 3/4 P | +1
Ranged
L. bow - 1d8 (S) 1d10 (M) | 20 | 100 ft. | Pierce | 1/4 M 4/4 P | +0
C.L bow - 1d8 (S) 1d10 (M) | 20 | 120 ft. | Pierce | 0/4 M 4/4 P | +0
S. bow - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) | 20 | 60 ft. | Pierce | 2/4 M 4/4 P | +0
C.S bow - 1d6 (S) 1d8 (M) | 20 | 80 ft. | Pierce | 1/4 M 4/4 P | +0

Notes

-Short Sword represents the gladius, sax, etc. Rapier can be a smallsword, the longsword a longsword or zweihander, falchion can be a kilic, dao sword, etc.
-I changed the falchion to a hand-and-a-half weapon, like the bastard sword (which can be wielded one-handed proficiently by anyone with at least BaB +1) since I've seen some period art of this.
-Pumped up composite range by 10 feet. Just because.
-Didn't list it, but the Longsword can do 1d4 bludgeoning damage as a light weapon (can be used in a grapple) by anyone with BaB +1 or better.
-From horseback on a charge, the lance increases to 1/4 M 2/4 P.
-Dunno what to do with the sap yet.
-Shield bashes will probably be simple weapons.

Also Considering:

-Maybe even slicker and simpler than the DR lists would be stealing a page out of Warhammer's book and representing armor as a saving throw.

-Maybe some weapons like longsword/greataxe/lance, when used on a charge, force a saving throw vs shock from characters who take no damage. A failed save loses the struck character their next action. This could represent the fact that, yes, being struck by a piece of heavy metal--not to mention thrown from your horse--can be disablingly painful even in the best possible armor.

Actually, that's something else I want to simulate: being struck by heavy weapons, or an ogre's fist, or Bigby's Bitchslap or whatever, should force some kind of balance check vs getting knocked on your ass. Hell, being hit by a charging knight's lance would send a human body flying, maybe on mounted charges Lances count as having the Awesome Blow ability. Something like:
-Being struck by a two handed weapon or one-handed weapon in two hands forces a Balance check vs DC of damage, or the struck character is forced back a step and must succeed a Fort save of DC [damage] or be knocked prone.

Yeah, I like that. Even if that greataxe power-attack doesn't split your helm open and kill you, it could force a balance check, then a fort save vs falling prone if that's failed, and a save vs being stunned for one round. And of course stunning an opponent in that fashion gives you a full round to set up a coup de grace, at which point you can demand they yield for a fat ransom.

EDIT: Of course the problem is you either ignore momentum in D&D combat or you do a lot of rolling to see who ends up where at the end of every round. Maybe conveying this in a more limited way, by forcing Saves vs Knockdown on critical-hits only, is the way to go.

EDIT: vvv In that case it can be a condition called super-stunned. :V

[Milskidasith]

You can't CDG on a stun, unless you changed the CDG rules somewhere in there and I didn't notice.

[Piedmon_Sama]

Just noticed that I had written in the first post "Fort Save vs DC 10+Damage or damge goes to WP." I honestly forgot if I ever had it this way, and have been working under the assumption hits are automatic damage. Which we will go with because alongside the DR, that Fort save is a third layer of defense (layers of defense: Parry/Dodge, Armor DR) that makes characters too secure.

EDIT: Also, still thinking about how to make knockback a factor in fights without forcing it into EVERYTHING. I think I have an answer.

When a character hits with a two-handed weapon while power-attacking, and in certain other situations*, the stricken character must succeed on a Balance check equal to DC 5+[Damage Dealt] immediately after damage is rolled (whether that Damage is completely absorbed by armor or not). If the character fails this check, he is forced backwards one five-foot square, and must immediately make a Fort save of DC 10+Damage dealt or fall prone. If there is no square open behind a character who fails the initial Balance Check, the character falls prone and remains in their square.

Alternatively, a stricken character can attempt to beat a Tumble check of DC 5+Damage dealt. If successful, the character moves 5 feet back (or to either side at the character's volition) without any danger of falling prone. If the Tumble check fails, the character is treated as having failed a Balance Check. If the attacking character is not using a Heavy Weapon, he may take an AoO on Tumble checks under 15 as normal.

*this basically means lance-strike from horseback on a charge.

Leap Attack

Anytime a character may declare a charge against an opponent, if he has at least 8 ranks in Tumble and the Power Attack feat, he may declare a Leap Attack. On his charge, he makes a Long Jump check (apply normal penalty without a 20 ft running start). If the character succeeds in jumping at least 10 feet in length and lands in a square threatening the target, double any damage from a Power Attack. Unless the target is wielding a Heavy Weapon, the character must succeed on a Tumble Check vs DC 15 or defender's melee attack roll (defender's option), or take an AoO after landing (unless his Leap Attack kills the defending character).

[Piedmon_Sama]

Here we see compiled my ideas thus far for the Heavy Weapon category. It's a little simplistic to my liking to simply say one can never counterattack (AoO) with, say, a morningstar or mace, but also I'd say a fair tradeoff for the power to flatten an enemy in a single stroke.

Heavy Weapons

Heavy Weapons are a class of weapons comprising certain of both OHM and THM-type; except for the Heavy Flail, all are simple weapons. Heavy Weapons are extremely brutal and straightforward, developed mostly as a reaction to protective mail and later, plate armors. Some of these weapons completely ignore any type of armor protection (such as the heavy warpick) while others cut through most of their DR. Even if a heavy weapon cannot punch through plate cleanly, it can dent a harness in such a way as to injure the wearer, even asphyxiating them if the dent impedes the lungs.

These weapons are powerful, but carry considerable drawbacks. They are heavier, slower, and require a fairly wide space to be wielded effectively.

Heavy Weapons:
OHM
-Heavy Mace
-Morningstar
-Warpick
-Warhammer
-Battleaxe
-Waraxe
THM
-Greatclub
-Greataxe
-Maul
-Heavy Flail

A Heavy Weapon cannot be used to make AoOs. A character wielding a heavy weapon one-handed and using a capable shield can make shield bashes as AoOs, however. Any character wielding a two-handed heavy weapon suffers a -8 Melee Initiative penalty; a one-handed weapons incurs a -4 penalty. Both THM and OHM heavy weapons suffer a -2 penalty on parrying.

In addition to regular damage, Heavy Weapons have a chance to knock an opponent to the ground or out of his square on a successful attack. When a character wielding a heavy weapon hits an opponent while Power Attacking (whether the attack inflicts damage or not), the stricken character must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC equal to 10+Damage) or be knocked backwards 5 feet; he must then immediately make a Balance Check (DC 5+Damage dealt) or fall prone. If there is no square behind the stricken character to fall back to and he fails his Fort save, he falls prone in his own square. A character wielding a heavy weapon and Power Attacking can opt not to knock his opponent back.

Alternatively to making his Fortitude save, a stricken character can choose to make a Tumble check (DC 10+Damage). On a successful check, he can move to any of five squares beside or behind him, and is in no danger of falling prone. On a failed check, he falls prone as if he had failed both Fortitude and Balance checks, and his attacker gains an immediate AoO (this is the only time heavy weapons can make an AoO).

If a character wielding a heavy weapon combines his power attack with a charge action, he can attempt to knock his opponent up to two squares back (or still refrain from knocking his opponent back, at the attacker's option).

*Note that a character wielding even a two-handed heavy weapon can take AoOs with unarmed strikes (e.g, kicking).

[Ashtagon]

Hell, being hit by a charging knight's lance would send a human body flying, maybe on mounted charges Lances count as having the Awesome Blow ability. Something like:

Nope. No more than a hit from a large calibre bullet would anyway (ie. not at all this side of the silver screen). You might skewer him with the lance, you might knock him off balance, making him fall over, but an actual "push back" just won't happen.

Real lances wee either very breakable (for tournament use), or very good at piercing/impaling/skewering.

It was an extraordinarily-specific set of circumstances that would lead to a push back...

1) blunt "safety" lances, as used in tournaments
2) the lance striking armour at just the right angle to push instead of being deflected (combat lances would penetrate and impale in such circumstances). Considering the curved nature of armour, this is pretty tricky (as in "potting a billiard ball by bouncing the cue ball off two cushions" tricky).
3) the target being mounted on a steed, and hitting him at just the right moment in the horse's gallop when he is bouncing up slightly, and so not fully secure in the saddle.

[Piedmon_Sama]

Well, I'll take your word for it. So, probably the lance thing can go. Nobody ever wants to fight on a horse anyway. XD

While I'm at the library, notes on the Fighter class.

• Improved Melee Initiative (+4) at 1st level
• 4+Int skills; Perception, Sleight of Hand, Survival, and Balance are now class skills.
• The Fighter receives Light and Medium armor, Simple and Martial weapon proficiency, and proficiency with all shields except the Pavise (meaning they get the Scutum)

This is a nice segue into possibly the most radical thing I'm considering. Divorcing Attack from stat-dependency. This idea that every master fighter or expert thief must also be an amazing athlete is a little comic-book, but not in the good way like flying people are. So here's a variant I'm considering.

Determining Attack: An attack roll is determined by your BaB. That's it.

Weapon Focus: All classes get weapon focus. 4/4 BaB classes choose 4 weapon "families" (guns, axes, straight-swords, etc); 3/4 BaBs get two weapon families. 2/4s get none. With your chosen weapons, you receive a scaling attack bonus added on to your BaB. The rate of this scale varies by your BaB.

4/4 BaB:
1st-3rd: +3
4th-7th: +4
8th-10th: +5
3/4 BaB:
1st-3rd: +2
4th-7th: +3
8th-10th: +4
2/4 BaB
1st-5th: +1
6th-10th: +2

Str still applies to damage as per normal (x1.5 for two-handed weapons). Dex may no longer influence shooting, but Melee Initiative keeps it of great importance for many builds.

Ehhhh.... this one leaves me a little cold. It needs more thought. Maybe we'll come back to it, but if we must have stat dependency then I want a nonmagical way for PCs to get them up. Yes, upping your stats in the best way possible: a Rocky-style montage.

P.T
P.T (Physical Training) is a skill like Speak Language, attached to no ability with no skill checks needed. It represents your character, instead of going out and having a normal life with folk, staying in his room and doing a lot of situps, like that guy in Trigun. But really, via diverse exercises–slowly ingesting iocaine powder, pulling an ox-cart, snatching a cricket–you have raised a physical stat.

For every 4 ranks in P.T, you may raise your Str, Dex or Con stats 1 point. You can spend 8 and only 8 ranks in P.T per physical stat. Stat increases from P.T are in addition to the normal points received every 4 levels. Characters will often wait until the last level-up before their final battle with a long-hated archrival, and then sink all new skill-points into P.T in a fast-paced blitz of imagery set to pounding music.

[Piedmon_Sama]

Last night I hand wrote a bunch more notes. For the most part I took a break from fixing crunch and started to draw up some setting flavor for my next campaign. I consider this setting my more-or-less perfected one; it incorporates a bunch of ideas scattered throughout other settings, this time with changed crunch to back up my various ideas.

If anyone remembers a thread I made on orcs/shara-kim a while back, this is fluff for the same setting. It's meant as an explanation of why Wizards, the supposed masters of magic can't spontaneously cast, while all the "dabblers" (Bards, Beguilers, Duskblades) can.

Spoiler

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The Arcane Science of the Bardic College and Spontaneous Casting

What is magic? Is it any supernatural phenomena employed by a creature's will? Clerics/Favored Souls of any faith, and those of the Druidic Order, would disagree. These object that they do not cast spells, but employ miracles--channeling the power of their deities as living conduits. Indeed the Druids go further, saying they do nothing but channel the energies of nature.

Magic then, is distinct from the powers of these priests, as almost all sages and scholars agree. Magic is not enacting, but defying the laws of the natural order–physics as they were set down upon the ordering of the universe by the gods. Gravity acts on all objects, distance must be physically traveled, solids displace a certain volume. Magic, what its practitioners half-sardonically call the Arcane Science, is the suspension of these rules.

The science must be learned by painstaking years of toil and repetition. A mixture of instinct and confidence is required to cast a spell, so that one cannot simply pick up a spellbook and be a magician, even if one understands the ancient languages of their scripture. The real "language of magic," is a system of symbols, both physical and ritualistic (the material, verbal or somatic components). These are the "codes" that break the universe of the gods' order and mens' knowledge. Needless to say, mastery of the Arcane Science requires a bit of impiety, and neither the gods nor their servants are well-pleased by its practice. Nevertheless, magic is a tool which can be used for good or for ill.

However, these spells are fundamentally unnatural. They do not come easily or rest well in the minds of mortals. From the greenest novice to the most practiced archmage, human beings cannot simply retain these things in their mind. Thus, spells must be inscribed, the formula of every precious ritual recorded and stored outside the mind. The human mind can only store a certain number of these formulae for a limited time; that number grows with practice (some argue at the cost of a magician's mental health and spiritual well-being). However, as soon as the ritual is enacted, it is forgotten; the mind seals its memory in order to protect itself.

Yet there are some who break even this rule. Some creatures, such as dvergar, alfari, or dragons, can store the formulae in their mind like living spellbooks. It is commonly thought that mortal creatures such as humans, killoren or orcs, simply cannot do this. But it is really a question of conditioning the mind, as was taught to men by the Alfari in ancient times.

The descendants of those chosen ones are called Bards, though few today know that ancient word's full meaning. Bards are known in civilized lands as restless wanderers, usually traveling alone, or mixed up in some dirty business or another. They are fonts of lore, rovers in distant lands, the walking repositories of civilizations dead and living. Some think the word merely refers to any tale-teller or roving juggler who knows a few tricks, perhaps including a smattering of the Arcane Science. The truth is that, while Bards are a truly diverse lot, they are also all bound together in a secret fraternity–"order" goes too far–called the Bardic College.

The greatest secret of the Bardic College is that Spontaneous Casting. They can call upon some magic, not the flashy displays of Wizards, but subtler breaks of natural law, and do it spontaneously, remembering their full repertoire of spells naturally, and freely calling upon them as many times per day as their minds can handle. This was taught to the Bards by the Alfari in the days when the Beautiful Folk were worshiped by primitive men, and the Bards were their speakers and keepers of law, as the Ancient Druids were of rituals and religion. Through the centuries, even after the civilization that birthed them has faded into distant time, the Bards have continued to exist. They harbor the secret of spontaneous casting, sworn to protect it with their lives. It lies deeper than thought, and no avaricious Wizard has ever wrested it by torture or coercion.

Part Two: The Rise of Loenland

After sixteen centuries of silence, one can hardly say it seems inevitable the secret would one day break out. Yet at last, the Bards were betrayed. Most surprising, it was not at the hands of a Wizard, but by wholly human guile. The northern kingdom of Loenland, a nation occupying what was once land of the Druidic Tribes, was then in its sixth century of existence. There was little that set this kingdom apart from its close neighbors and rivals, except perhaps a cultural warrior tradition inherited from lying so close to the Twilight Lands of the goblins and their gods. With other countries in the northern backwater, they watched the coming of the Gold Dragon, the birth of the Alliance and the great war that followed, impotent to interfere in southern affairs. One hundred and eighty years into the Era Draconis, a revolution would begin in Loenland to change the world.

An agent of that kingdom managed what none had in a millennium and more. He infiltrated the Bardic College, and stole its most secret lore. Returning with the ancient screed that instructed one how to learn spontaneous casting, he took it directly to the King of Loenland, in the royal city of Gransdale. A Wizard who lived close to the city was called upon with the utmost secrecy; motivated by the scholar's lust to know, he agreed to translate the Bardic secret, breaking the Wizards' covenant to never serve kings or nations. That Wizard died shortly afterwards, but his work was completed.

Young scholars were called to the royal city from across the kingdom. These loyal men and women were the first generation of the Warmagi Corps, who could spontaneously cast spells of destruction. Also created was the Order of Beguilers, who could best use subtler magics of deception and enchantment. The Warmagi formed an elite body of troops loyal to the king, while the Beguilers made uncatchable spies in foreign streets and courts. With both of these arms, Loenland turned on its enemies--the orcs and wild men of the west, the rival kingdom of the Brightlands in the east, and surrounding feudatories--and smashed them all. From the first battle, knights and footmen were rendered obsolte by the Warmagi, and no secret long kept from the Beguilers.

All of this was four generations ago. Since that time, the north has changed forever, more rapidly in the last 80 years than in the passage of centuries. With an unstoppable force of not quite 100 Warmagi, the kings of Loenland no longer had to rely on the old peerage--Barons, Counts and Prelates--who had formed a Diet centuries ago to check royal power. For almost four centuries, the king had needed the Diet's permission to levy taxes; without those revenues, he couldn't very well raise an army, reducing Loenland to a quagmire of struggling factions just like every other kingdom in the north.

After the coming of the Warmagi, only one final Diet was called by the king in Gransdale. The feudal hierarchy, fully knowing they had just become outdated, ceded their right to veto taxes. The royal coffers were expanded to overflowing almost immediately.

This money, since no enormous conventional military was needed, went almost entirely to public works. Roads, raised cement roads, made travel in the kingdom more efficient than ever before. Aquaducts and irrigation, as well as dykes and drainage, opened up arable farmland on an unprecedented scale. Loenland's population exploded, along with its production, while Gransdale grew into a true metropolis and a worldwide hub of trade, as well as art and culture. Guarded by magical soldiers, the new nation was bigger, richer and stronger than anything the northern world had seen before.

More on the story of that campaign world will be coming later. Meanwhile, here's another thing: my take on elves, aka the "Alfari" (and they'll probably have 2-3 variant names). They're not really intended as an option for PC races. Instead, they're masters of the "Fairy World," somewhere between unseen manipulators and a wild force of nature. It's send they wander the world in disguise, dispensing blessings or curses, while their kingdom can only be reached by stepping into a beam of moonlight.

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• Medium-Sized Fay
• Speed 30 feet
• +2 Str, +4 Dex, +2 Con, +2 Wis, +4 Cha
• Automatic Weapon Proficiency: Shortbow or Longbow, Arming Sword or Rapier
• +4 Perception and Search rolls, +4 Survival
• Endurance and Track as automatic feats
• Detect secret doors/entrances within 5 feet
• Immune to magic sleep effects, +2 saves vs enchantment
• Low-Light Vision
• Spell-Like Abilities: At will--Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Resistance. 3/Day--Speak With Animals, Calm Animals, Buoyancy, Disguise Self. 1/day--Bestow Curse, Remove Curse, Delay Poison, Plant Growth. Always under the effect of Pass Without Trace.
• Favored Class: Duskblade