The fighting pits of Jiaolong, the invincible city, bring together fighting styles from all around the world. Within Jiaolongs impregnable walls one can learn limitless fighting styles, if the prospective student is willing to risk the near anarchy conditions within the city itself. Fighting styles brought to the numerous fighting tournaments in the underground fight pits are truly battle-tested and honed. Impractical styles are quickly defeated and discarded. Strong styles succeed and prosper. If your character is lucky, he or she may find an opportunity to study with a master of one of these successful styles.
Fighting Styles in your Game.
The fighting styles we will detail in the next several articles assume that you will use the theme rules as detailed in the Dark Sun Campaign Guide. Why themes? Because I hate fighting styles as feat taxes — your characters should be able to build himself in other ways using themes. Most importantly though, themes to me fit the concept of a character’s profession, far more than class. With this perspective, becoming a student of a martial arts style becomes a part of what you do, not just a feat you picked up. Instead of being a fighter who picked the ‘Liquid Sword’ style, you have a liquid sword fighter. It seems like hair-splitting but to me there is a fundamental difference. The former is just another option tacked on to your character and the latter speaks to identity.
Well, enough of that. Here is the first style!
Liquid Sword Fighting.
Flowing Slash — Liquid Sword Feature
Your flowing footwork and swordplay leave you in an advantageous position and your opponent off balance.
Encounter * Weapon
Standard Action — Melee
Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.
Target: One Creature
Attack: Primary ability versus AC
Hit: [1W] + ability modifier damage. Any opponent adjacent to you suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls against you until the end of your next turn.
Effect: shift 2 squares.
Swift Moving Waves — Liquid Sword Utility 2
Your intricate footwork drills allow rapid and clever movements, like waves rising up and to shore and racing back to sea.
Daily * Stance
Minor Action
Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.
Effect: Until the stance ends, once per turn you may shift 1 square as a free action.
Rippling Slash — Liquid Sword Attack 3
Your fluid attack emulates the rippling of water, battering your enemy from all angles in rapid succession.
Encounter * Weapon
Standard Action — Melee
Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.
Requirement: You must have shifted at least 2 squares on your previous turn.
Target: One Creature
Attack: Primary Ability vs. AC
Hit: [1W] + ability modifier and the target suffers a -2 to attack rolls against you until the end of your next turn. You can shift half your speed or you can make a secondary attack.
Secondary Attack: Primary ability vs. Reflex
Hit: [1W] + ability modifer and the penalty the target suffers to attack rolls is instead equal to 1 + ability modifier.
Dragon Emerges From Water — Liquid Sword Attack 5 (daily)
You rise in the air like a dragon leaping out of the water to strike its foe. Your momentum builds strong force to topple any foe.
Encounter * Weapon
Standard Action — Melee
Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.
Requirement: You must have shifted at least 2 squares on your previous turn.
Target: One Creature
Special: You may fly your speed before the attack, You must end on the ground before the attack.
Attack: Primary Ability vs. AC
Hit: [3W] + ability modifier damage and the target is weakened (save ends). Deal extra damage equal to the number of squares flown during this attack.
Miss: Half Damage.
Effect: You are slowed until the end of your next turn.
Laughing Waves — Liquid Sword Utility 6
You focus your movements defensively, luring yoour opponent in and then leaping away at the last moment.
Daily * Stance
Minor Action
Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.
Effect: Until the stance ends,the first time you shift on your turn you gain a +3 to AC until the end of your next turn.
Fluttering Cut — Liquid Sword Attack 7
You interrupt the flow of your style with a quick interrupting attack to a vulnerable area of the opponent, pinning the enemy in place and setting up your next attack.
Encounter * Weapon
Minor Action — Melee
Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.
Requirement: You must have shifted at least 2 squares on your previous turn.
Target: One Creature
Attack: Primary Ability vs. AC
Hit: [1W] damage and the creature is immobilized until the end of your turn. You may shift 2 squares.
Tiger’s Typhoon — Liquid Sword Attack 9
A tiger’s typhoon is a fierce cyclone attack that causes terrible damage. You channel the ferocity of that devastating phenomenom into your next attack.
Daily * Weapon
Standard Action — Blast 4
Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.
Requirement: You must have shifted at least 2 squares on your previous turn.
Target: all creatures in blast
Attack: Primary Ability vs. Reflex
Hit: [3W] + ability modifier force damage and target is knocked prone and dazed until the end of your next turn.
Miss: Half damage and target is slowed until the end of your next turn.
Effect: You are immobilized until the end of your next turn.
Stone-splitting Waves — Liquid Sword Utility 10
Waves seem gentle, but a wave of sufficient force can shatter even the mightiest stone. You make bolder, larger steps in your footwork, conducive to generating more force.
Stance * Weapon
Minor Action
Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.
Effect: Until the stance ends, the first time you shift on your turn, you gain bonus damageequal to 1 + ability modifier on your next attack.
A Jack of All Trades ,or if you prefer, an extreme example of multi-classing, Gamefiend, a.k.a Quinn Murphy has been discussing, playing and designing games straight out of the womb. He is the owner and Editor-in-Chief of this site in addition to being an aspiring game designer. As you would assume, he is a huge fan of 4e.
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This is an interesting way to work martial arts into characters. I can see the beginning of a Wuxia-style game here!
The level 5 daily might be a little too good though.
The having to have shifted 2 squares in your last turn seems extremely confining for certain classes. Or at least it seems to be, I’m not exactly a crunch god.
@4649matt Glad you like! The powers could all use a little playtesting. What do you think the daily 5 should do instead?
@tardyclock The 2 square shift is granted by the class feature though, and most of the powers. Like most themes, it’s not synergistic with everything, but it is set up to “chain” shifts with the theme powers themselves. Thanks for stopping by!
This power is comparable to the Ranger 5 Daily power Excruciating shot which is just 3[W]+Dex mod, and target is weakened (save ends) and necessitates a ranged weapon.
The level 5 Daily, Dragon Emerges From Water, has a superior mobility component (flight), has a control component (weakened (save ends)), as well as doing [Squares flown] damage above this.
Balancing this is the weapon prereq, the shift prereq and the slowed UEoNT penalty.
However, Slowed does not effect shifts which is what this entire style works with, potentially making slowed a non-issue.
Also, the only level 5 daily power I can find that does more raw damage than this power is Frostwolf rage which does 4[W]+Str mod Damage IF any enemy takes a free melee basic attack against you otherwise it does 3[W]+str mod damage.
The flight component seems to be the core element of the power so I would recommend removing the bonus damage or reducing/removing the status effect.
Even as it is, the power is not likely to break a game, but it is significantly more powerful than most options available.
Sorry to double post.
I remembered a link a friend sent me a while back:
http://ideamancer.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-go-over-200-mph-in-4e.html
I think that removing the damage bonus from speed would be the best idea.
I look forward to the next MA-style theme and I might whip one up if I have some time soon.