iaijutsu focus

[quiet1mi]

hey guys i was wandering if there were any extra things (rules wise) attached to iaijutsu focus (from OA)

some extra things might include...

• can you take 10 on it (if not how powerful would it to allow a feat that allows you to, and what requirements could i make to make that feat balanced)
• can you take 20 for the purpose of destroying doors and boxes with it (it says it can be used on objects but you only get bonus damage divided by 2)
• are there any skill synergies (concentration comes to mind)

[Chronos]

You can't ordinarily take 10 on skills when used in stressful situations like combat, which accounts for most of the time when you'd want to use Iajitsu Focus. You could, however, get an ability like the rogue's Skill Mastery to apply to it, in which case I see no problem with it. I likewise don't think there's a problem with taking 10 on it in a non-combat situation.

Taking 20 basically just means that you try the skill 20 times in a row, and eventually roll a 20. So I suppose you could take 20 on Iajitsu Focus to break a board or the like, but you would probably have already broken it via normal damage by that point.

[Ossian]

The way I see it,provided you pick the feat, there is no problem. I don't have the Star Wars RCR with me now, but I seem to recall that the Skill Mastery was a lot more common there, and allowed you to take 10 on any given skill of choice, provided you had ranks in it. Not sure whether it was a "scout" or "scoundrel" thing or not, but a feat is a feat. It's a big investment, so why not reward such a player?

Well roleplayed stress should be a major factor in most games, so being able to take 10 is not a small deal. Also, the way I see it a take 10 or 20 can save your skin in some cases. In the iaijitsu case, a take 20 would be easily interpreted with your Goemon Ishikawa staring at the bamboo for 20 rounds (2 minutes) gathering his ki and focusing on the blade, on the cherrytree petels, on the snowflakes and what not, and then delivering a fatally accurate slashing blow.

If you only have 1 shot, take 20 is the way to go, but only if you have the Skill Mastery.

Ossian

[UserClone]

Actually, according to the 3.5 update, you don't divide the damage by half. That was because in 3.0, all weapon damage to objects was halved. Note that in the OA description, it says something akin to: "extra damage to objects is halved, just like the ordinary damage."

[nargbop]

Taking a level of Exemplar allows you to pick some skill masteries, which allow you to take 10 in stressful situations. Also, there's skill artistry, which is a significant bonus to a particular skill you have lots of ranks in (maybe plus four). Also, Exemplar has 8 skill points, which is a LOT more than the fighter you're probably using to get to Iaijutsu Master.
[ Just realized you didn't say anything about Iaijutsu Master. ] Iaijutsu Focus is a very powerful skill, allowing a fighter to put a great deal of damage into a single strike, like rogues with their sneak attacks or scouts with their skirmishes. This ability is best used by the prestige class Iaijutsu Master in OA. It adds INT and CHA to battle situations, which is very good and reflects well on my idea of a samurai.
The ultimate ability of the Iaijutsu Master PrC is extremely powerful - as long as you start combat within five feet of an enemy, you get an automatic surprise round. You potentially can do TWO iaijutsu cuts before your enemy has realized you've moved. AWESOME. Problem with this is, by the time you're level 16, you're famous enough that no enemy will EVER be that close to you. This is not the most powerful prestige class, but for combined flavor and crunch it's close to the Dervish.
My suggested build is : Fighter 6, IM 5, Exemplar 1, IM 5, and some other prestige classes for the rest. Take Quick Draw and Quick Sheathe as feats, of course. Everything else is up for grabs.

I don't think there are any synergies with Iaijutsu Focus, and it's powerful enough that I would never allow them as a DM. As a player on the other hand I would ask my DM to allow Concentration or maybe Profession (underwater basketweaving). Those weavers have to move fast, you know!

[Mr. Friendly]

I built a character that broke an OA game, without ever taking Fighter.

Marshal 1/Bard 10/Exemplar 2

I wanna say he took Able Learner at 1st, then maxxed Iajutsu with the 2 Exemplar levels.

The Marshal Level - take Motivate Charisma.

He had *obscene* Diplomacy and Iaijutsu, to the point that the party Samurai gave up ever beating him in an Iaijutsu duel.

He also used the Skill Tricks Acrobatic Backstab and... I can't remember the name of the other one, but it's like Flick of the Wrist. So He could Iaijutsu something, then tumble behind it and Iaijutsu again, then drop that weapon, pull another and Iaijutsu a third time, if needed.

He also used Snowflake Wardance and Slippers of Battledancing to heighten the carnage.