As we developed the server we tried for months to find a solution to make the server more fun for melee characters. Just pointing, cliclking and letting all the character do the work was something that could work back in the early 2000, nowadays we all know how limitant it is. The solutions we had were not always the best and, most of the time, they added very little to the player experience.
So, last month, we decided to give it a shot to the nine swords fighting style. Those that don't know what we are talking about can make a quick search on google for the Book of the nine swords for d&d 3.5 but in short was an attempt from the wizards that lives by the coast to make fighting magic. The problem with it, is that the feats were broken and the whole concept was created for a group of friends playing a pen and paper game, not a multiplayer game like nwn can be.
So, for those that expected the broken feats of the book, consider that we have done our best to balance each style and still make it fun. We began with the most broken of them all the Diamond Mind and use it as corner stone for the next styles. In this post will cover each Styles and how they will be implemented on the server.
So here we go
Fighting Styles
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Ailander
- Posts: 109
- https://www.facebook.com/warszawa.kuchnie.na.wymiar/
- Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2024 5:37 pm
Re: Fighting Styles
Diamond Mind
Diamond Mind maneuvers allow a warrior to use their cunning, intellect, and feel for the battlefield against their enemies. Time seems to flow slower to a Diamond Mind initiate. The bastard sword (or katana), rapier, shortspear, and trident are this discipline’s favored weapons. Concentration is the Diamond Mind discipline’s key skill.
Moment of Perfect Mind
Prerequisites
Weapon Focus(Bastard Sword or katana or rapier or shortspear or trident), Concentration 4 ranks , 2 base attack bonus
Your mental focus and martial study have rendered your will into an unbreakable iron wall. When someone targets you with a spell that seeks to erode your willpower, you steel yourself against the attack.
Between your devoted study, iron will, and supreme focus, you have learned to resist attempts to subvert your willpower. When you feel such an effect try to cloud your mind, you can draw on untapped reserves of energy to counter the attempt.
Your character gains a bonus of +1 to will for every 5 ranks in concentration to a max value of +6
Action before thought
Prerequisites
Moment of perfect mind Concentration 7 ranks 5 base attack bonus
Your supreme sense of the battlefield, unmatched martial training, and simple, intuitive sense of danger allow you to act faster than the speed of thought. When a spell or other attack strikes you, you move a split second before you are even aware of the threat.
Your mind is a keenly honed weapon. Other warriors rely on their physical talents. You know that a mix of mental acuity and martial training, along with a strong sword arm, is an unbeatable combination. This maneuver epitomizes your approach. Your mind, rather than your raw reflexes, dictates your defenses.
Your character gains a bonus of +1 to reflex for every 5 ranks in concentration to a max value of +6
Mind Over Body
Prerequisites
Action before thought, Concentration 10 ranks 8 base attack bonus
Your training and mental toughness allow you to use your focus to overcome physical threats. By focusing your mind, you ignore the effect of a deadly poison or debilitating sickness.
Your diligent training and intense mental focus combine to allow you to overcome physical threats with the raw power of your mind.
Your character gains a bonus of +1 to fortitude for every 5 ranks in concentration to a max value of +6
Disrupting blow
Prerequisites
Mind Over Body, Concentration 13 ranks 11 base attack bonus
With a combination of brute force, keen timing, and exacting aim, you force your opponent into an awkward position that ruins his next action.
Full round action If this attack hits, your target takes normal melee damage and must make a Will save (DC 15 + your Str modifier) or be paralyzed for 1d4 rounds.
Pearl of Black Doubt
Prerequisites
Disrupting Blow, Concentration 16 ranks 14 base attack bonus
With every miss, your opponents become more uncertain, their doubt growing like an irritating pearl in the mouth of a helpless oyster.
You prey on your opponents’ fear and lack of confidence. Each failed attack against you reminds them that their skill cannot hope to match yours.
You become more difficult to hit with each successive attack that misses you. Each time an opponent misses you, you gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC. This bonus lasts until the start of your next turn and is cumulative for the round. The bonus applies to any attacks made by all opponents until the beginning of your next turn.
Diamond Nightmare Blade
Prerequisites
Pearl of Black Doubt Concentration 19 ranks 17 base attack bonus
You spot a single fatal flaw in your opponent’s defenses. With a single attack, you put all the force of your supreme focus into a single, crippling blow.
Full round action.You must make a Concentration check as part of this maneuver. The DC of this check is the target creature’s AC. You then make a single melee attack against your target If your Concentration check succeeds, this attack deals four times your normal melee damage. If your check fails, your next round attacks are made with a –2 penalty to hit. If your strike is a critical hit, you stack the multipliers as normal
Time Stands Still(limited use per day)
Prerequisiti
Diamond Nightmare Blade,Concentration 22 ranks 20 base attack bonus
The raindrops themselves stand still as you act at the speed of thought. You move like a blur, catching your enemies by surprise with a complex action carried out in a tiny fraction of the time normally needed to complete it.
In an unmatched burst of speed, agility, and decisive action, you move more quickly than the eye can follow. You can lash out with your blade, striking your opponent so rapidly that observers can’t keep track of your moves.
When you activate this maneuver, you activate a time stop effect that lasts for 2 rounds
Diamond Mind maneuvers allow a warrior to use their cunning, intellect, and feel for the battlefield against their enemies. Time seems to flow slower to a Diamond Mind initiate. The bastard sword (or katana), rapier, shortspear, and trident are this discipline’s favored weapons. Concentration is the Diamond Mind discipline’s key skill.
Moment of Perfect Mind
Prerequisites
Weapon Focus(Bastard Sword or katana or rapier or shortspear or trident), Concentration 4 ranks , 2 base attack bonus
Your mental focus and martial study have rendered your will into an unbreakable iron wall. When someone targets you with a spell that seeks to erode your willpower, you steel yourself against the attack.
Between your devoted study, iron will, and supreme focus, you have learned to resist attempts to subvert your willpower. When you feel such an effect try to cloud your mind, you can draw on untapped reserves of energy to counter the attempt.
Your character gains a bonus of +1 to will for every 5 ranks in concentration to a max value of +6
Action before thought
Prerequisites
Moment of perfect mind Concentration 7 ranks 5 base attack bonus
Your supreme sense of the battlefield, unmatched martial training, and simple, intuitive sense of danger allow you to act faster than the speed of thought. When a spell or other attack strikes you, you move a split second before you are even aware of the threat.
Your mind is a keenly honed weapon. Other warriors rely on their physical talents. You know that a mix of mental acuity and martial training, along with a strong sword arm, is an unbeatable combination. This maneuver epitomizes your approach. Your mind, rather than your raw reflexes, dictates your defenses.
Your character gains a bonus of +1 to reflex for every 5 ranks in concentration to a max value of +6
Mind Over Body
Prerequisites
Action before thought, Concentration 10 ranks 8 base attack bonus
Your training and mental toughness allow you to use your focus to overcome physical threats. By focusing your mind, you ignore the effect of a deadly poison or debilitating sickness.
Your diligent training and intense mental focus combine to allow you to overcome physical threats with the raw power of your mind.
Your character gains a bonus of +1 to fortitude for every 5 ranks in concentration to a max value of +6
Disrupting blow
Prerequisites
Mind Over Body, Concentration 13 ranks 11 base attack bonus
With a combination of brute force, keen timing, and exacting aim, you force your opponent into an awkward position that ruins his next action.
Full round action If this attack hits, your target takes normal melee damage and must make a Will save (DC 15 + your Str modifier) or be paralyzed for 1d4 rounds.
Pearl of Black Doubt
Prerequisites
Disrupting Blow, Concentration 16 ranks 14 base attack bonus
With every miss, your opponents become more uncertain, their doubt growing like an irritating pearl in the mouth of a helpless oyster.
You prey on your opponents’ fear and lack of confidence. Each failed attack against you reminds them that their skill cannot hope to match yours.
You become more difficult to hit with each successive attack that misses you. Each time an opponent misses you, you gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC. This bonus lasts until the start of your next turn and is cumulative for the round. The bonus applies to any attacks made by all opponents until the beginning of your next turn.
Diamond Nightmare Blade
Prerequisites
Pearl of Black Doubt Concentration 19 ranks 17 base attack bonus
You spot a single fatal flaw in your opponent’s defenses. With a single attack, you put all the force of your supreme focus into a single, crippling blow.
Full round action.You must make a Concentration check as part of this maneuver. The DC of this check is the target creature’s AC. You then make a single melee attack against your target If your Concentration check succeeds, this attack deals four times your normal melee damage. If your check fails, your next round attacks are made with a –2 penalty to hit. If your strike is a critical hit, you stack the multipliers as normal
Time Stands Still(limited use per day)
Prerequisiti
Diamond Nightmare Blade,Concentration 22 ranks 20 base attack bonus
The raindrops themselves stand still as you act at the speed of thought. You move like a blur, catching your enemies by surprise with a complex action carried out in a tiny fraction of the time normally needed to complete it.
In an unmatched burst of speed, agility, and decisive action, you move more quickly than the eye can follow. You can lash out with your blade, striking your opponent so rapidly that observers can’t keep track of your moves.
When you activate this maneuver, you activate a time stop effect that lasts for 2 rounds
Re: Fighting Styles
Devoted Spirit
Devoted Spirit maneuvers focus on toughness, endurance, ripostes, and abilities designed to defeat a specific alignment. Those who follow the Devoted Spirit discipline seek to support a cause by defending it, nurturing it, and destroying its enemies. The falchion, club, longsword, and maul are the Devoted Spirit discipline’s preferred weapons, though many who follow this school of battle embrace weapons tied to the causes they follow. Discipline is the key skill for Devoted Spirit.
Crusader's Strike
Prerequisites:
Weapon Focus(Falchion, Club, Longsword or Maul),discipline 4 ranks, base attack bonus 2
Divine energy surrounds your weapon as you strike. This power washes over you as your weapon finds its mark, mending your wounds and giving you the strength to fight on.
As part of initiating this strike, you must make a successful melee attack against an enemy whose alignment has at least one component different from yours. This foe must pose a threat to you or your allies in some direct, immediate way. If your attack hits, you and your allies within 10 feet of you heals 1d6 points of damage + 1 point per initiator level (maximum +5).
Entangling Blade
Prerequisites
Crusader's Strike,Discipline 7 ranks, base attack bonus 4
You hack into your foe’s legs, forcing his movement to slow and his resolution to falter.
As part of this maneuver, you make a melee attack against an opponent. Your attack deals an extra 2d6 points of divine damage. In addition, if your attack hits, your target’s speed is reduced by 20 feet until the end of its next turn, which might prevent it from moving entirely. This penalty applies to all movement modes. The effect doesn't stack
Martial Spirit
Prerequisites
Entangling Blade,discipline 9 ranks , 6 base attack bonus
As you cleave through your foes, each ferocious attack you make lends vigor and strength to you and your allies.
While you are in this stance, you and your allies within 30 feet heals 2 points of damage each time you make a successful melee attack. This healing represents the vigor, drive, and toughness you inspire in others. Your connection to the divine causes such inspiration to have a real, tangible effect on your allies’ health.
Devoted Charge
Prerequisites
Martial Spirit,Discipline 11 ranks, base attack bonus 8
As your convinction grows stronger it becomes palpable in the material world around you while you dive headfirst among the enemy ranks surrounded by a glimmering aura.
You charge straight against your target. If it posses 1 opposite alignment to yours (for example, if you are Lawful good it triggers against a Lawful Evil) your attack is done with a +10 bonus to hit and the enemy suffers 4d6 damage more. Furthermore, depending from the target alignment, it will trigger one of the following effects
If Evil, you gain Damage Reduction 10/- for 1 turn
If Good, you gain Vampiric regeneration 5 for 1 turn
If Lawful, you gain 1d8+1 bonus to hit and damage for 1 turn
If Chaotic, you gain +5 on saves and AC for 1 turn
Divine Surge
Prerequisites
Devoted Charge ,discipline 13 ranks , 10 base attack bonus
Your body shakes and spasms as unfettered divine energy courses through it. This power sparks off your weapon and courses into your foe, devastating your enemy but leaving you drained.
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack that deals an extra 8d8 points of damage if the target has at least 1 opposite part in your alignment (for example, if you are LG it would work against a CG or a LE but not against NG or LN)
Castigating Strike
Prerequisites
Divine Surge ,discipline 15 ranks , 12 base attack bonus
With a howling battle cry, your weapon crackles with energy. As you strike your foe, that energy detonates in a burst that scythes through those who stand against your cause.
When you use this strike, make a single melee attack. If you hit your opponent and his alignment has at least one component different from yours, a blast of divine energy originates from your attack’s point of impact. The target of this strike takes an extra 8d6 points of divine damage and must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 17 + your Cha modifier) or take a –2 penalty on attack rolls for 1 minute.
All of your opponents within a 30foot-radius burst of the target creature must also succeed on a Fortitude save. Those who fail take 5d6 points of damage and take a –2 penalty on attack rolls for 1 turn. A successful save results in half damage and negates the attack penalty.
Immortal Fortitude(limited use per day)
Prerequisites
Castigating Strike ,discipline 17 ranks , 14 base attack bonus
Despite the horrific wounds you suffer, the flash of searing spells, and the crash of a foe’s mighty attacks, you stand resolute on the field. So long as the potential for victory exists, you fight on.
Death has little meaning to you in light of the cause you fight for. So long as the mission stands before you uncompleted, or a battle remains in doubt, you fight on. Stories abound of heroes who, while in the grips of this stance, fought for days on end to hold a mountain pass against orcs, trolls, and other fiends.
So long as you remain in this stance, you cannot be killed or incapacitated by effects or attacks that reduce you to 0 or fewer hit points. If you take such damage, you can make a Fortitude save with a DC equal to the damage you suffered. If you fail this save, you die or fall unconscious (as appropriate). If this save is successful, you are still alive and conscious, with 1 hit point remaining.
This stance provides no protection against effects that slay you without dealing hit point damage, or other effects that petrify, paralyze, and so forth. You can still be slain by a coup de grace if a spell or effect renders you helpless.
Devoted Spirit maneuvers focus on toughness, endurance, ripostes, and abilities designed to defeat a specific alignment. Those who follow the Devoted Spirit discipline seek to support a cause by defending it, nurturing it, and destroying its enemies. The falchion, club, longsword, and maul are the Devoted Spirit discipline’s preferred weapons, though many who follow this school of battle embrace weapons tied to the causes they follow. Discipline is the key skill for Devoted Spirit.
Crusader's Strike
Prerequisites:
Weapon Focus(Falchion, Club, Longsword or Maul),discipline 4 ranks, base attack bonus 2
Divine energy surrounds your weapon as you strike. This power washes over you as your weapon finds its mark, mending your wounds and giving you the strength to fight on.
As part of initiating this strike, you must make a successful melee attack against an enemy whose alignment has at least one component different from yours. This foe must pose a threat to you or your allies in some direct, immediate way. If your attack hits, you and your allies within 10 feet of you heals 1d6 points of damage + 1 point per initiator level (maximum +5).
Entangling Blade
Prerequisites
Crusader's Strike,Discipline 7 ranks, base attack bonus 4
You hack into your foe’s legs, forcing his movement to slow and his resolution to falter.
As part of this maneuver, you make a melee attack against an opponent. Your attack deals an extra 2d6 points of divine damage. In addition, if your attack hits, your target’s speed is reduced by 20 feet until the end of its next turn, which might prevent it from moving entirely. This penalty applies to all movement modes. The effect doesn't stack
Martial Spirit
Prerequisites
Entangling Blade,discipline 9 ranks , 6 base attack bonus
As you cleave through your foes, each ferocious attack you make lends vigor and strength to you and your allies.
While you are in this stance, you and your allies within 30 feet heals 2 points of damage each time you make a successful melee attack. This healing represents the vigor, drive, and toughness you inspire in others. Your connection to the divine causes such inspiration to have a real, tangible effect on your allies’ health.
Devoted Charge
Prerequisites
Martial Spirit,Discipline 11 ranks, base attack bonus 8
As your convinction grows stronger it becomes palpable in the material world around you while you dive headfirst among the enemy ranks surrounded by a glimmering aura.
You charge straight against your target. If it posses 1 opposite alignment to yours (for example, if you are Lawful good it triggers against a Lawful Evil) your attack is done with a +10 bonus to hit and the enemy suffers 4d6 damage more. Furthermore, depending from the target alignment, it will trigger one of the following effects
If Evil, you gain Damage Reduction 10/- for 1 turn
If Good, you gain Vampiric regeneration 5 for 1 turn
If Lawful, you gain 1d8+1 bonus to hit and damage for 1 turn
If Chaotic, you gain +5 on saves and AC for 1 turn
Divine Surge
Prerequisites
Devoted Charge ,discipline 13 ranks , 10 base attack bonus
Your body shakes and spasms as unfettered divine energy courses through it. This power sparks off your weapon and courses into your foe, devastating your enemy but leaving you drained.
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack that deals an extra 8d8 points of damage if the target has at least 1 opposite part in your alignment (for example, if you are LG it would work against a CG or a LE but not against NG or LN)
Castigating Strike
Prerequisites
Divine Surge ,discipline 15 ranks , 12 base attack bonus
With a howling battle cry, your weapon crackles with energy. As you strike your foe, that energy detonates in a burst that scythes through those who stand against your cause.
When you use this strike, make a single melee attack. If you hit your opponent and his alignment has at least one component different from yours, a blast of divine energy originates from your attack’s point of impact. The target of this strike takes an extra 8d6 points of divine damage and must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 17 + your Cha modifier) or take a –2 penalty on attack rolls for 1 minute.
All of your opponents within a 30foot-radius burst of the target creature must also succeed on a Fortitude save. Those who fail take 5d6 points of damage and take a –2 penalty on attack rolls for 1 turn. A successful save results in half damage and negates the attack penalty.
Immortal Fortitude(limited use per day)
Prerequisites
Castigating Strike ,discipline 17 ranks , 14 base attack bonus
Despite the horrific wounds you suffer, the flash of searing spells, and the crash of a foe’s mighty attacks, you stand resolute on the field. So long as the potential for victory exists, you fight on.
Death has little meaning to you in light of the cause you fight for. So long as the mission stands before you uncompleted, or a battle remains in doubt, you fight on. Stories abound of heroes who, while in the grips of this stance, fought for days on end to hold a mountain pass against orcs, trolls, and other fiends.
So long as you remain in this stance, you cannot be killed or incapacitated by effects or attacks that reduce you to 0 or fewer hit points. If you take such damage, you can make a Fortitude save with a DC equal to the damage you suffered. If you fail this save, you die or fall unconscious (as appropriate). If this save is successful, you are still alive and conscious, with 1 hit point remaining.
This stance provides no protection against effects that slay you without dealing hit point damage, or other effects that petrify, paralyze, and so forth. You can still be slain by a coup de grace if a spell or effect renders you helpless.
