Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 anthonyj Jun 30, 2009 18:14:09	I was recently thinking about the possibilities of a Rokugan game with 4e, and pretty much decided that writing up new classes was neither useful nor desirable -- if you have a party full of samurai, which is pretty much the expected result, you can get more character differentiation by allowing 'samurai' from multiple classes. Instead, there just needs to be a way to tweak characters to result in a different feel. There is one major feature of samurai drama which stands out: it is very focused on the faceoff, where two warriors spend an extended period of time just facing one another, neither one making any extensive moves, and then suddenly there is a flurry of violence, and often someone falls over dead. To some degree this can be simulated by two characters just using Ready actions, but there isn't a lot of mechanical incentive to do that in vanilla 4e. Here's my initial thoughts on a new mechanic: Focus (feat). Prerequisite: trained in Insight You gain access to the Focus special power, defined as follows: Focus Free Action, Encounter Trigger: at the start of your turn, you have an unused readied action. Effect: roll a d20. On your next attack before the start of your next turn, you may use the results of your d20 roll in place of your normal attack die. If you do not attack before the start of your next turn, this power is not expended. If you are in a faceoff (see below) you may instead use this d20 roll in place of your initiative die (you may not replace both). Special: if you focused during your prior turn, and did not use your focus, you may use your focus die in place of your d20 roll. Special: you may as a free action reveal your die roll. With a successful bluff vs insight roll you may lie.
#2 slobo777a Jul 01, 2009 11:31:34	I like the concept, and would really like a more martial-arts-for-all setting myself at some point. I'm not convinced by all the mechanisms in Focus, though I like the idea of triggering it all from a Readied Action. My main critique is that there is no mechanism on the DMs side to help decisions, it's all based on reckoning the likely damage. I think something more deterministic that resolved a standoff automatically (like the d10 version of LoFR), and gave a benefit to the winner would be better. I might post an idea later, I have something half formed in my brain, based on granting a temp Action Point to the winner of a stand off.