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I'm going to post the Combat Styles I come up with... I previously attempted to create these while trying to emulate the official Style Sheets. I don't have the required skill to do that, as it turns out... In light of this unfortunate realization I was forced to turn to something I'm familiar with; Microsoft Office Word. It looks pretty janky I'll admit but I think they are functional. I'm thinking that I should remove the gray backgrounds for each maneuver to create printer friendly versions. Hm... Anyways Any sort of feedback would be great; comments, questions, criticisms, rage, insults, etc... I expect these Styles to be pretty broken since they have not been playtested so feel free to tell me what's up. Notes AD=Attack Die DD=Defense Die Atk=Attack Def=Defense Dam=Damage Rnd=Round (r) = Requires next action to be a Balance Maneuver M = Requires that the wielder be a Master to use. underscored=Balance Maneuver Bold & Dark Red=Maneuver Name
/*~Matthew Miller~*\
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First up... Steel Charmer. My vision for this style is a powerful warrior who knows his way around the shadows. The style blends martial power and the trickery of the shadows with a touch of magic. The Living Steel Path represents the wielder's ability to alter the shape of his weapon (and only his weapon) in order to create devastating effects. Imagine Uncoiling the Steel as a swordsmen flicking his wrist and his sword suddenly uncoiling into a long and deadly sharp whip. Quicksilver represents creating a sliver of steel that launches an attack the following round. The Shadow Blade Path represents the wielder's ability to shape darkness, create shadows and take hold of their power. Shadow Step represents short range teleportation using shadows. Three Headed Snake represents the ultimate binding of shadow to steel. I'm thinking of adding that when actively utilizing the Steel Charmer Style that the wielder becomes temporarily Spellbound. 
/*~Matthew Miller~*\
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Next up... Holy Blade. This style was inspired by the classic vision of the D&D paladin. This is the 4th version, the 3rd version featured in one of my old threads... For a thematic approach, the Holy Blade Style requires an act representing the wielder's strength of faith before he can move on to punishing his enemies. Outside of some pretty potent ally buffs, Holy Blade style has a branch dedicated to the destruction of Demons and the Undead (unholy creatures in general, really). Like Steel Charmer... this Style doesn't make you Spellbound but I'm thinking that once it is utilized that it should. I like the idea of temporary Spellbound, its a neat little trick to pull out on wizards. =) EDIT: Version 5.
/*~Matthew Miller~*\
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These look very cool. Nice work. I can't speak to how balanced they are, but I think you've nailed them thematically.
I love the Paladin's prayer as a balance manuever and the loss of mood if his faith shield doesn't work ;)
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They seem pretty cool. Lay on Hands should probably have some sort of limitation on how often one can use it, though.
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Thanks guys. :)
I had thought about making Lay On Hands require the use of either a Mood point or the burning of an Inspiration.
Of course, there is the inherent limiter... The Holy Blader can only target his allies so his opponents can rip him asunder if need be. :D
So, do any of the moves seem too weak or too strong?
EDIT: It seems that I wrote 0 instead of D2 on Shoot/Throw. x_x
/*~Matthew Miller~*\
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Matthew,
Just got SBK or SK or whatever. So still getting the hang of the Style Sheets. But it does seem that a 1d6 is a bit high for a defense when the Paladin is busy healing his allies. seems it should be a 1d2 or 1d4. Likewise, for Holy Nova, is the damage Magic? again d4s seem small if it is not.
Is it purposful that the Steel Charmer has no Move technique in their style?
_________________
Jason L
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Thanks for the feedback, Jason. =)
For Lay on Hands, it depends on what the Maneuver ends up looking like. I'm thinking of adding the requirement of burning a Mood point or an Inspiration with its use to limit it. If so, I think it wouldn't be too strange to have the healing magic generate a divine shield while the Holy Blader goes about his work. =)
Holy Nova is weapon-based but it can hit two people and can be performed on the 2nd Round.
I'm not sure what you mean by Move Technique, sir. Steel Charmer does have Shadow Step which allows the Steel Charmer to bamf around at his own discretion.
/*~Matthew Miller~*\
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I'm not sure what you mean by Move Technique, sir. Steel Charmer does have Shadow Step which allows the Steel Charmer to bamf around at his own discretion.
I meant exacty that, and missed it the first time. I meant that I did not see a technique that allowed the character to switch areas... but you just pointed it out.
Thanks.
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No problem, sir. =) Thanks again for your input.
/*~Matthew Miller~*\
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Next up, Long Arm. I noticed that spearmen really didn't have their own style... and the things that one can do with a spear are pretty amazing. So here we are... I'm not entirely happy with it as it seems kind of generic... but at least it forms of a big 'S' I suppose. =) EDIT: version 2
/*~Matthew Miller~*\
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Nice stuff Mac! I'm going to look at these in reverse order.
Long Arm. I like the idea - spear fighting definitely deserves a style all its own. Great Weapon sort of includes things like Vault, but a further specialized spear style is definitely warranted.
To me, Long Pierce is the defining maneuver of the style. It's something that no one else gets (except ranged styles, I guess). I like the way you have it. In fact, as I read it, I thought that there should be another maneuver at the end of a chain that repeats the "one area away" ability with other effects added on. And lo-and-behold, there is! Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing Meteor Tip reduced in damage to 2 and attack die size to d6, and then removing the (r). Powerful, repeatable use of the style's signature ability. Not that there's anything wrong as it is - maybe it's even more realistic - but I could see going the other way too.
Hm, why is Pin a prerequisite for Javelin Throw and the others in that row? I think I might switch it with repelling winds and drop the (r) on repelling winds. RW doesn't need the (r), in my opinion, because it only has a d4 to attack. So a lot of people are still going to be able to enter your area. And I can totally buy that you have to go through your whirling, build-up maneuver of Repelling Wind in order to build up the energy to make a good Javelin Throw or a devastating Razor Winds after the Repelling Winds.
I think I might also reduce Vault to 0/d6. Move and Climb as part of a maneuver is pretty powerful, and d8 is a darn rebalancing good defense die for a style that's not primarily defensive. Plus, it takes away a little bit from Scorpion Stance. As it is, I don't see Scorpion Stance getting much use. But reduce Vault to 0/d6, and maybe make Scorpion Stance a rebalancing maneuver, and I can see it. Hm. I think if I made SS a rebalancing maneuver, I'd also drop it's defense to 0/d6.
Overall, though, this looks cool. I could see someone choosing this style, definitely. And I don't see _everyone_ choosing it. Which means it's pretty much just what you want: a valuable style that's not so valuable it overshadows everything else in the game. Nice!
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Well, I'm going to go ahead and take everyone of your suggestions and implement them. =)
As I said before, I wasn't entirely happy with how Long Arm turned out so your feedback, Mr. Brunner, is definitely appreciated!
What do you think of switching Long Pierce with Pin... removing the (r) from Long Pierce and reducing its Defense Die to D4?
/*~Matthew Miller~*\
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Hope your planning on posting updated versions.
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MacLeod wrote:What do you think of switching Long Pierce with Pin... removing the (r) from Long Pierce and reducing its Defense Die to D4? Structurally, I like that a lot more.
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The forum seems to have a problem with me deleting a file in my photobucket album only to replace it with an updated file with the same name... so I added a '2' to it. Sort of annoying, this forum. x_x khelek wrote:Hope your planning on posting updated versions. Yessir. =) MadLordOfMilk wrote:Structurally, I like that a lot more. Me too.
/*~Matthew Miller~*\
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Yeah, I like the Long Pierce/Pin change too. This is a cool style.
I remember Holy Blade from an earlier incarnation here! I like that it's changed to a cross shape. I think things like that add to the atmosphere when you play. And I LOVE that you have to begin by a show of faith. I think that's the perfect opening maneuver for this style. The fact that Shining Soul is off the center axis skews my sense of symmetry a bit. Is it off-center so that Guided Strike would have room on the main axis to be accessible from Faith Shield/Prayer? Hm. I like the "crossbar" upper horizontal axis. For a grand style, it might even be a little underpowered. There are some powerful effects there, but lots of low dice. I think you could sprinkle in another d10 and d12 somewhere.
Oh, the Prayer/Faith Shield choice and consequences are delicious. Imagine opening a combat this way. BTW if you have never played, Mood can really make a difference. Giving mood is powerful! This is because if someone's at 0 mood and they take mood damage, their Heart starts fading. Low heart = worse inspirations = dire consequences! So being able to raise your own or allies' mood is really good.
Also, it's awesome that there are no re-balancing maneuvers here. I mean, there are no maneuvers that force your enemy to rebalance. What that says to me is that this style is all about Faith. You trust in your faith to protect you. Let the enemy do whatever he wants! You have no need to knock him off-balance or prevent him from executing his most powerful maneuvers because even at his best he cannot overcome your faith! If I were playing a warrior who knew this fighting style, I would definitely have faith as an inspiration and something like "Do your worst, Low God swine!" as a catch-phrase.
Love the placement of the Sermon. And the idea. As a grand style, I'd either bump up the attack (and maybe def.) die or make it benefit all allies. You could even bump it way, way up and then add an (r). I think either one would work.
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YcoreRixle wrote:The fact that Shining Soul is off the center axis skews my sense of symmetry a bit. Is it off-center so that Guided Strike would have room on the main axis to be accessible from Faith Shield/Prayer? I did this because I didn't want three balancing maneuvers on the same axis but I still wanted the horizontal axis to be immediately available. Quote:For a grand style, it might even be a little underpowered. There are some powerful effects there, but lots of low dice. I think you could sprinkle in another d10 and d12 somewhere. I was actually thinking that the Grand styles were overpowered. =) I'm wondering if it will create problems for the game... because it seems that whenever a warrior gains access to a grand style that he won't hardly need his other styles because those are so very strong. This is only an observation from the book, not an actual playtest so I may very well be completely wrong. =D I'm sure there isn't any room for changes at this juncture but I think Grand could become Grand Master, making it the next step up from Master... and instead of adding new maneuvers like Master does, it would permanently add a special feature that is specific to each Style. Quote:So being able to raise your own or allies' mood is really good. I remember you saying as much before. =) If it is underpowered for a Grand Style, at least it has lots of Mood alterations! Quote:I would definitely have faith as an inspiration and something like "Do your worst, Low God swine!" as a catch-phrase. Heh, yeah, that would be classy stuff. =D Quote:Love the placement of the Sermon. And the idea. As a grand style, I'd either bump up the attack (and maybe def.) die or make it benefit all allies. You could even bump it way, way up and then add an (r). I think either one would work. Yeah, I didn't really think about it being a Grand Style and how that impacts the dice... Some of that is tempered by the healing though. =) What do you think of Lay on Hands' requirements?
/*~Matthew Miller~*\
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