Post/Author/DateTime	Post
IonizedChicken 04-27-07, 01:57 PM	Base Concept Tome of Battle classes do not compare to spellcasters. This, I think, is a fairly well-known fact. It is also easy to find out -- one need only to compare maneuvers with spells. Take Time Stop for example. What in the Swordsage's arsenal can compare to this much buff time? Hell, take Finger of Death and compare that to Feral Blow. Sure, on paper spells have limited uses per day, but as we all know this doesn't mean much. For one, while your highest level spells are limited per day, lower level ones practically aren't -- you just get so many of them. So, to give Tome of Battle classes a little nudge I thought there should be "Meta Maneuver" feats. Maybe more than a little nudge. Martial Augments A [Martial Augment] feat allows you to augment your maneuvers and stances in some way. Rather than a direct augmentation (such as Maximizing damage), most of these feats allow you to initiate boosts as free actions, initiate two strikes in a row, and so forth. [Martial Augment] feats expend additional maneuvers besides those they augment due to the toll they take upon the initiator. Treat maneuvers expended this way as if they were initiated, except that you do not also gain the benefits of the maneuvers. Note that you are limited to expending 1 maneuver per 4 initiator levels per round when using [Martial Augment] feats. Many [Martial Augment] feats require a skill check to be made or for you to be in a certain stance they are are connected to a certain discipline. Unless noted otherwise, skill checks made as a part of [Martial Augment] feats require no action. Crusaders: Crusaders may expend their withheld maneuvers and thus may be granted maneuvers that are already expended. If you are granted a maneuver you have already expended you do not gain a maneuver to replace it -- in effect, you gain nothing. Extra Augments [General] You gain augment points with which you may freely augment your maneuvers. Prerequisites: Initiator level 4th, One Martial Augment feat, (Int, Wis, or Cha 15). Benefit: When you pick this feat you gain your highest mental ability score modifier in augment points. These points may be sacrificed instead of martial maneuvers to use Martial Augment feats. These points, however, are not maneuvers. You cannot initiate them nor can they be recovered through methods that recover maneuvers. Instead, all are automatically recovered by meditating for 1d4 hours (roll for all augment points together). Meta-martial Master [Genera] You may invest more maneuvers in Martial Augments/. Prerequisites: One Martial Augment feat, Wis 13, Initiator level 12th. Benefit: You are limited to expending one third of your initiator level in maneuvers per round to power your Martial Augment feats. Normal: You are limited to expending one quarter of your initiator level in maneuvers per round to power your Martial Augment feats. Instant Boost [Martial Augment] You may instantaneously initiate a boost with but the slightest bit of concentration. Prerequisites: Initiator level 8th, one Diamond Mind stance, Concentration 12, Two Diamond Mind maneuvers. Benefit: While in a Diamond Mind stance you may make a Concentration check to initiate a boost as a free action. The Difficulty Class of this Concentration check is 20 + the boost's level. If this check is a failure you initiate the boost as a swift action and lose one of your other readied maneuvers. If this check is a success you initiate the boost as a free action and lose 3 of your other readied maneuvers. You may use this feat to initiate only one boost per round as a free action. Normal: Boosts require a swift action to initiate. Immediate Boost [Martial Augment] You may ready a boost and initiate it as an immediate action. Prerequisites: Initiator level 8th, one Diamond Mind stance, Concentration 12, Two Diamond Mind maneuvers. Benefit: While in a Diamond Mind stance you may choose one boost as a free action during your turn. You may initiate this boost as an immediate action by making a Concentration check (DC 20 + the boost's level) at any time after the end of your current turn until the beginning of your next turn. Successfully initiating a boost as an immediate action expends two additional maneuvers. A boost with the duration of '1 round' initiated while it is not your turn lasts until the end of your next turn. A boost with the duration of 'End of turn' lasts until the beginning of your next turn. Intensify Inferno [Martial Augment] You may intensify the fires you create. Prerequisites: Three Desert Wind maneuvers, Initiator level 6th. Benefit: You may take a free action to intensify the fire damage you deal for 1 round. In order to do so you must expend one of your readied maneuvers. For the rest of the round, whenever you deal fire damage the fire damage ignores fire resistance and immunity. This feat does not effect fire damage from spells. Stance Duality [Martial Augment] You may exist in two different stances concurrently at the expenditure of some of your abilities. Prerequisites: Initiator level 9th, Martial Lore 12, Two Maneuvers. Benefit: When you enter a stance you can take a free action to enter an additional stance. Every round Stance Duality is active you must make a Martial Lore check to maintain both stances (DC 15 + level of both stances). A successful check allows you to gain the benefits of both stances and expends two of your readied maneuvers. A failed check allows you to gain the benefits of only one stance and expends one of your readied maneuvers. At the beginning of a turn you may choose not to make a Marital Lore check and thus exit one of your stances without taking an action and without expending maneuvers. Normal: Normally (unless you have the Dual Stance ability of the Warblade or Master of Nine) you can only be in one stance at a time. Double Steel [Martial Augment] Your mastery of battle has taught you how to merge two different combat maneuvers into a single one. Prerequisites: 12th, one Iron Heart stance, Balance 15, Two Iron Heart maneuvers. Benefit: While in an Iron Heart stance you may take a full round action to initiate one of your strikes. The strike must require a standard action to initiate. While initiating this strike you may initiate an additional strike (the two strikes are initiated together so that one does not effect the other) by making a Balance check (DC 20 + level of both strikes). If you succeed on this check you expend four maneuvers and initiate the second strike as intended. If you fail on this check you expend one maneuver and fail to initiate the second strike (your first strike is made normally). By failing to initiate your second strike it is not expended (as it has not been initiated). Rushing Mountain[Martial Augment] You may rush at a foe and initiate a strike. Prerequisites: Initiator level 8th, one Stone Dragon stance, Two Stone Dragon maneuvers. Benefit: While in a Stone Dragon stance you can take a full round action to charge an enemy and, instead of making a melee attack against the target, initiate a strike. The strike must require a standard action to initiate and must involve at least one melee attack. One of the strike's targets must be the enemy you charge at. If the maneuver involves more than one melee attack you may direct this second attack at an additional enemy if you wish. You gain the effects of the charge against all the enemies you strike as a part of the initiated maneuver. Volcanic Synergy [Martial Augment] you can channel the energies of the desert into strikes of other disciplines. Prerequisites: Initiator level 8th, one Desert Wind stance, Two Desert Wind maneuvers. Benefit: While in a Desert Wind stance you may initiate a strike with the initiation time of a standard action, one that requires a single melee attack, and one that has a single target. If the strike hits you may make a Tumble check (DC 20 + the level of the initiated strike). On success you deal 1d6 points of fire damage per level of the initiated strike in a 5-foot burst and expend 2 of your readied maneuvers. If the check fails you deal 1d4 points of extra fire damage to the target of the strike and lose one of your readied maneuvers. Joint Maneuver [Martial Augment] You can communicate a maneuver to an ally while initiating it. Prerequisites: Initiator level 12th, White Raven stance, Two White Raven maneuvers. Benefit: While in a White Raven stance you may initiate a maneuver and allow one ally within 10 feet to initiate the same maneuver against the same target (unless the target is personal, in which case the ally initiates the maneuver on himself). This is done by making a Diplomacy check (DC 35 + the level of the maneuver - ally's initiator levels). If the ally has less hit dice than the initiator levels required to learn the maneuver you are initiating you automatically fail the check. If you have concealment from the ally or if the ally is deafened (or if you cannot speak) increase the DC by 4 for each. If the enemy cannot detect you at all your check automatically fails. An ally must take an immediate action to initiate the maneuver you initiate and so he may decline to do so. If he declines you do not roll a Diplomacy check (if the ally does not have an immediate action he automatically declines) but still initiate the maneuver as normal. If the ally accepts and the check succeeds the ally initiates the maneuver as if his initiator level was equal to his hit dice. You also expend 4 maneuvers. If the check fails the ally wastes an immediate action but does not initiate the maneuver. You also expend a single maneuver. So what do you think? Are they workable? I'm thinking of limiting recovery so that if you expend a maneuver to a Marital Augment feat you can't recover it for 1d4 rounds and then get a feat that decreases that by -1.
JiCi 04-27-07, 03:48 PM	Most of them seem good. I would make Double Steel a more generic feat instead of a Iron Heart exclusive feat. I would suggest something like: Double Strike ([chosen discipline]) Your mastery over one of the paths of the Sublime Way has taught you how to merge two different combat maneuvers into a single one. Prerequisites: 12th, one [chosen discipline] stance, Balance 15, Two [chosen discipline] maneuvers. Benefit: While in a [chosen discipline] stance you may take a full round action to initiate one of your strikes. The strike must require a standard action to initiate. While initiating this strike you may initiate an additional strike (the two strikes are initiated together so that one does not effect the other and must be from the same discipline) by making a [chosen discipline] key skill check (DC 20 + level of both strikes). If you succeed on this check you expend four maneuvers and initiate the second strike as intended. If you fail on this check you expend one maneuver and fail to initiate the second strike (your first strike is made normally). By failing to initiate your second strike it is not expended (as it has not been initiated).