Races of War

[Username17]

Don't forget that higher level stuff also gets stat raises. That lowers the base by 2. For consistency, I'd probably just throw them down with +6 across the board.

-Username17

[RobbyPants]

Are you talking about the one point gained per four levels?

[Surgo]

For Combat School, is "signature moves", "special technique", etc. something that you work with the DM to define when you take the feat or does it apply to every attack?

[Judging__Eagle]

with melee weapons, not just 'any attack'

[Surgo]

Not only does that not answer my question, I figured that it was implied.

[CatharzGodfoot]

Not only does that not answer my question, I figured that it was implied.

Actually, it answers your question almost perfectly. Signature moves are attacks you make with signature weapons using benefits from your Combat School feat.

[Surgo]

It doesn't answer what a "special technique" is supposed to be at all. Nevermind that the feat never even mentions "signature weapons".

[Judging__Eagle]

Combat School [Combat]
You are a member of a completely arbitrary fighting school that has a number of recognizable signature fighting moves.
Benefits:First, name your fighting style (such as "Hammer and Anvil Technique" or "Crescent Moon Style", or "Way of the Lightning Mace"). This fighting style only works with a small list of melee weapons that you have to describe the connectedness to the DM in a half-way believable way. Now, whenever you are using that technique in melee combat, you gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls.
+1: Your immersion in your technique gives you great martial prowess, you gain a +2 to damage rolls in melee combat.
+6: When you strike your opponent with the signature moves of your fighting school in melee, they must make a Fortitude Save (DC 10 + ½ your level + your Strength bonus) or become dazed for one round.
+11: You may take 10 on attack rolls while using your special techniques. The DC to disarm you of a school appropriate weapon is increased by 4.
+16: You may add +5 to-hit on any one attack you make after the first each turn. If you hit an opponent twice in one round, all further attacks this round against that opponent are made with The Edge.

you pick some weapons; you tell your DM what they are; whenever you use these weapons, you get those bonuses.

The "special moves" are an elaboration on you using your normal attack actions.

[Koumei]

The "special moves" are an elaboration on you using your normal attack actions.

I'm not convinced that's actually the case. Especially seeing as that interpretation would be better than the equivalent option in other RoW feats.

I can't speak for the designers, but my ruling would be you work out a special move beforehand, and it would be one of the following:
*Attacks of Opportunity
*A standard Action
*A manoeuvre such as using a weapon to trip someone
*Hitting with every attack in a full attack (or just the last attack or whatever)

And basically can only be triggered once per round, or maybe once per target per round. Maybe. Unless it's a bullshit Whirlwind thing where you hit everyone on the planet.

[ubernoob]

Really, making it a save on every hit wouldn't be a big deal if monsters with high fort saves succeeded most of the time. In my games I let it be every hit, but change the DC to be con based so that you can only really guarantee a stunlock by eating up your whole round full attacking. That is obviously my houserule to weaken the feat though.

[RobbyPants]

Elsewhere, I saw someone mention that RoW did away with the surprise round. Is that stated somewhere explicitly that I missed? If it is gone, do you just use Init right off the get go? How do Spot/Listen factor in? Do you miss the entire first round?

How does reach work with inappropriately sized weapons? In 3.5, they have some bullshit caveat about reach weapons doubling your base reach (based on the creature's size, not the weapon's), if the weapon is appropriately sized. So technically, a medium guy with a large glaive doesn't get reach. How is this handled in RoW? I noticed that weapon sizing is treated differently (similar to how it was handled in 3.0).

Thanks.

[CatharzGodfoot]

Elsewhere, I saw someone mention that RoW did away with the surprise round. Is that stated somewhere explicitly that I missed? If it is gone, do you just use Init right off the get go? How do Spot/Listen factor in? Do you miss the entire first round?

Alright I could be wrong abou this, but here's how I think it works:

You can drop into combat time (rounds with initiative) at any point. If you have no idea where your enemies are (or that you have enemies at all), this does little good. So if you get the drop on your opponent (that is, you detect them before they detect you), you can just wait until your initiative comes up that round and then charge or whatever. If you really care, you can even delay actions so that you end up with a really high initiative--but that gives your enemies more time to find you.

[RobbyPants]

That makes enough sense to me. Any thoughts on reach?

It always seemed to me you could assign reach both by creature size and the weapon and add them together. Of course, things get weird when you start dealing with tiny and smaller creatures...

[Crissa]

Surprise works this way: Until you have identified your attackers - been melee attacked or had your initiative arrive and a successful spot/listen/etc, you're flat footed.

That's basically the same thing, but it means that for a sufficiently high init character, they're pretty much never surprised.

-Crissa

[CatharzGodfoot]

The Tome samurai suffers a bit from MAD: Dexterity for AoOs, Wisdom for save DCs, Strength for damage, Constitution to boost those low HP and fortitude saves, and with Book of Gears rules, Charisma for the save DCs of the ancestral weapon's wounding and vorpal DCs (and maybe more).

To correct this, I think that an ancestral weapon's DCs should be Wisdom-based if it is beneficial. It's not much, but at least it leaves the samurai dependent on only four attributes.

I also have a question: What kind of an action is cut magic?

[Maxus]

The Tome samurai suffers a bit from MAD:

Side note, the Samurai can take Weapon Finesse to smooth out some of that--the damage, at least.

Hell, he really gets enough sources of bonus damage (Subtle cut, magic weapon, Kiai) that he should be okay for the early levels. He could take Combat School, too. Subtle Cut and Combat School both give out save-or-suck effects. Or, hell, Subtle Cut also does Dex ability damage...

[K]

I also have a question: What kind of an action is cut magic?

Attacks. So if you are getting iterative attacks from a Full attack action, you could divide attacks between stabbing people and Cutting Magic areas with those attacks as needed (or getting normal attacks on people that dispel ongoing effects on those people, which is the best of both worlds).

[CatharzGodfoot]

Thanks, K.

Another question: When a PC enters an enemy unit's square with her allied unit, does the allied unit take normal damage or ten times normal?

[Kaelik]

I think the end of the post that ends in the new combat manuevers might have been cut off.

Is trip supposed to have size modifiers? If not, why does the Giant Slayer +16 ability say:

"When involved in an opposed bull rush, grapple, or trip check as the attacker or defender, you may negate the size modifier of both participants."

I think it makes sense for trip to not have a size, but I want to be clear if it does under Tome rules.

[gofight]

Wait, so clothing is armor. Ok. But no clothing lets you use a dex bonus higher than +9? So you have to run around naked to get the benefits of a higher dex bonus? Huh?

Shouldnt clothing in general have uncapped dex bonus?

what is the best clothing for the armor during the fight? can you post it here?

[Crissa]

That's what the Greeks believed.

-Crissa

[Hicks]

Power Attack
You leverage your combat skill into devastating attacks at the expense of accuracy.
Requirement: You must make an attack action and have a BAB of at least +1.
Effect: Before making an attack roll*, you may voluntarily take an attack penalty of up to your BAB, and inflict two times that amount in extra damage with that attack. You may take this option on any or all of your attacks if you wish.

*italicized for emphasis

So... by lacking the word "melee" before "attack roll", Power Attack works for archery and firebolts?

The part where it gets crazy is Power Attacking with a touch or ranged touched spell that does ability damage (I'm looking at you, ray of stupidity).

[Kaelik]

Frankly, someone needs to just write somewhere "Ability Damage is not a type of damage, stop being retarded" and get it over with. But Power attack still shouldn't apply to Scorching Ray and shit.

But yes, It does apply to Archers, and that's one of them infinity reasons that Archery is king in Tomes.

[Red_Rob]

I have no problem with Power Attack working for archers. Its the stacking of Blitz and Point Blank Shot that I can't believe was intended. Although the massive to-hit bonuses provided by PBS and Sniper (effectively +7 at first level when firing into combat) do allow ranged combatants to Power Attack up to their full BaB and still have a high chance of hitting.

[CatharzGodfoot]

Blitz damage shouldn't apply to ranged attacks, but so far the duo have withheld comment.

Power attack shouldn't apply to touch attacks. There are some legitimate option which that stymies, but overall I think the result is good.