[Homebrew] Falling Star Style: The Tenth Path of the Sublime Way (Tempest_Stormwind & Edea)

Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:


Classes:

• Falling Star is open to Crusaders by default, although most crusaders forgo its ways in favor of the more traditional teachings of Reshar. Falling Star crusaders typically describe their divine inspiration in terms of astrology rather than deities. (DMs are encouraged to make Falling Star seem exotic by restricting it from crusaders with ties to the Temple of Nine Swords, although such a crusader suddenly being blessed with maneuvers from this discipline by an unseen hand would be an interesting plot point.)
  
• Those Rangers who follow the Sublime Way also have access to Falling Star. Most of the Solstice practitioners of blade magic were sublime rangers, who are also the largest single group of Falling Star adepts in the world. However, some rangers either forsake the teachings of Solstice or never had the opportunity to learn from them, and as such follow other ranger traditions instead (see the class for more details).
  
• Finally, Marshals of the Sublime Way may choose the Artillery Captain command style, which deals greatly with distance, prediction, position, and timing. This grants the marshal access to Falling Star and allows Skill Focus (Spot) and [FEATNAME] as bonus feats. These marshals often focus on lighter armor and defensive skirmish tactics than traditional marshals. Many have a tendency to let astrological prophecy influence their strategic decisions -- whether this improves their command or not is a matter of some debate.

Additional rules: These supplement Chapter 3: Blade Magic from the Tome of Battle.

• Falling Star's unconventional use of ranged attacks operate slightly differently than melee attacks when it comes to maneuvers. If a maneuver specifies a range of 'ranged attack,' it refers to an armed attack made with a thrown or projectile weapon; such an attack provokes attacks of opportunity as normal unless the maneuver specifies otherwise. These attacks are made within the usual range of the weapon, including all penalties if the target lies beyond the first range increment.
  
• Furthermore, some supernatural Falling Star maneuvers (those marked with a * below) take 1 round to initiate. These operate like the Summon Nature's Ally spells do, in that the initiation takes a full-round action and continues past the end of your turn until the start of your next turn (this can be split using the Start/Complete Full-Round Action technique as normal). If you are damaged during this time, you must make a Concentration check (DC 10+maneuver level+damage dealt) or have the maneuver fail. Normally, maneuvers do not require concentration; Falling Star supernatural maneuvers that take 1 round to initiate do.
  If a crusader's maneuvers recover while he is using such a maneuver, the maneuver is considered expended until his next recovery cycle. It is possible to be granted an expended maneuver in this case. He may still use Adaptive Style to ready it as normal, subject to the normal use of that feat.
  
• Falling Star is a "secret" discipline in that it was never taught at the Temple of Nine Swords, never unified with the other more conventional paths of the Sublime Way. It remained distinct, true to its own traditions but incorporating none of the teachings of the others, beyond the rudimentary basics of martial lore. For this reason, Masters of Nine cannot select Falling Star maneuvers normally (they are limited to the nine disciplines presented in the Tome of Battle). DMs wishing to further distinguish Falling Star from the other nine schools are encouraged to do so in a way that suits their campaign -- one example would be assigning a -4 penalty on Martial Lore checks relating to Falling Star unless you yourself have access to the discipline (similar somewhat to a specialist mage and Spellcraft, but distinct due to the nature of the Sublime Way). If you do such a thing, and use other "secret" disciplines in your game, it would be wise to apply the same changes to them as well (including the ruling on Masters of Nine).

This list of maneuvers is in flux, and is my conversion of Edea's originals.

This is also NOT the current maneuver list. For the most recent version, see here and comment on it here.

Maneuvers By Level

SIDEBAR: Goddess
The "Goddess" referred to above is a generic term, and should probably be replaced by something campaign-specific. The default "goddess" is closest thematically to Artemis (also known as Diana if you use the Roman pantheonic names instead of the Greek originals). Other potential deities in popular settings are described below, with the first name being the most likely candidate.
Greyhawk: Ehlonna, Corellon Larethian
Forgotten Realms: Selune, Meilikki Mystra, Corellon Larethian (there's likely others; Faerun's literally swimming in divinity.)
Eberron: Syberis, the Silver Flame, Chronepsis* (While Syberis isn't a deity, the Ring of Syberis, Syberis dragonmarks, and the age-old creation myth associated with it perfectly match Falling Star's exotic style and history.)
*Chronepsis is a draconic deity of fate, and may be present in other settings as well; see the Draconomicon for more. In Eberron, he's also a deity of prophecy and best known amongst the common races as one of the constellations.
If you are interested in using the draconic pantheon in your game, Bahamut may also make a decent choice, although he is more strongly good-aligned than most of the deities mentioned here, which may shift Falling Star's place in your world.

This name is purely for thematic purposes and serves no mechanical purpose whatsoever. A character need not worship the deity in question, nor does the deity actually need to exist.

Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:




[SIZE=+1]Achilles Heel[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Strike)
Level: Crusader 1, marshal (Artillery Captain) 1, ranger (Sky Watcher) 1
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action or 1 standard action; see text
Range: Ranged attack or Melee attack; see text
Target: One creature
Duration: 2 rounds
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates

You deliver a precise, painful strike to your enemy's legs or feet.

As part of the full-round action of initiating this maneuver, you make a ranged attack. If this attack hits, it deals normal damage, and the creature must make a Fortitude save (DC 11 + your Dexterity modifier) or have its base land speed reduced by half for two rounds, similar to the effect of stepping on a caltrop. During this time, the creature cannot charge or run.
Creatures with more than two legs or those with the Stability racial trait gain a +4 bonus on the saving throw to resist this effect.
You can initiate this maneuver by using a melee attack instead of a ranged attack; doing so changes the initiation action to a standard action. Ammunition and weapons designed to be thrown (such as bolts or javelins) do not suffer the usual -4 nonproficiency penalty if used to deliver this strike in melee. You can draw a piece of ammunition or one thrown weapon as part of this strike if you have a free hand. Ammunition is not destroyed after making this melee attack.

[SIZE=+1]Bane of the Goddess[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Counter) [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Crusader 5, marshal (Artillery Captain) 5, ranger (Sky Watcher) 5
Prerequisite: Two Falling Star maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: 30 ft.
Target: One moving creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving throw: Will negates

Your moving opponent lurches under the force of your attack, as if dizzied by your strangely-shimmering weapon or the constellations he sees out of the corners of his eyes. Undaunted, he continues his motion as planned -- the other way around.

This maneuver functions as Peregrine Riposte, except that the target must make a Will saving throw (DC 15 + your Wisdom modifier) instead of a Reflex save, and if he fails he experiences a sudden burst of dizziness, similar to that felt at the edge of a deep precipice. In addition to taking normal weapon damage, he subconsciously reverses his direction, convinced that he's completing his movement when in truth he withdraws. He spends the rest of his movement retracing his steps. If he still has movement left after he reaches the square he began in, he continues along in a straight line until he is out of movement. If it is unable to retrace its steps, such as a flying creature of Average or lower maneuverability, it must make every effort possible to return to its starting position.
This maneuver is a supernatural ability.

[SIZE=+1]Comet Shower Stance[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Stance)
Level: Crusader 1, marshal (Artillery Captain) 1, ranger (Sky Watcher) 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

You crouch low on one leg, the other extended but holding enough weight to rapidly shift your posture. You hold your weapon at the ready, prepared to let it fly with uncanny speed.

A bane of many archers is being caught up close with nowhere to run; the Comet Shower Stance was developed to ensure that Falling Star adepts are not lost if this situation emerges. While you are in this stance, you threaten an area with ranged weapons, and may make attacks of opportunity as normal with them. Ranged weapons threaten as if they were reach weapons (that is, for a Small or Medium creature, a bow would threaten 10' away, but would not threaten adjacent targets). If your ranged weapon could be used as a melee weapon already (such as a dagger), it may still be used that way as normal.
You still need to have the weapon at the ready to make attacks of opportunity, although you may draw ammunition as part of the attack. Crossbows and similar weapons with reload times still must be reloaded normally, although they can make attacks of opportunity if they are loaded. You still provoke attacks of opportunity yourself when making these attacks of opportunity.

[SIZE=+1]Destiny Shot[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Strike)
Level: Crusader 1, marshal (Artillery Captain) 1, ranger (Sky Watcher) 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Ranged attack
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous

With a steely glare, you release a single attack. Others may place their fate in the hands of chance, but you manifest your own destiny, intuiting the perfect shot.

When you initiate this strike, you make a single ranged attack. This attack deals an extra 1d4 points of damage. Furthermore, you can choose to subtract a number up to 5, but no greater than your initiator level, from your damage roll and add it to the attack roll for this attack.

[SIZE=+1]Destiny Surge[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Strike)
Level: Crusader 5, marshal (Artillery Captain) 5, ranger (Sky Watcher) 5
Prerequisite: Two Falling Star maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Ranged attack
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous

The air itself seems to hum about your weapon as you draw it back. Locking your gaze on your target for a brief instant, you let fly, and your weapon follows the path you foretold it would, fluctuating mid-flight to avoid those who would stand between it and its destiny.

This maneuver functions as Destiny Shot, except the attack deals +5d4 damage, and the number you subtract from your damage rolls can be no greater than your base attack bonus (no other maximum applies).
Furthermore, this attack ignores all cover and concealment bonuses the target may have, including total cover, provided an unbroken path to the target exists within range. You still need to target the correct square your declared target is in, or the attack is wasted (you cannot simply shoot an arrow at random and have it dance around walls, even if a creature is sitting on the other side. Falling Star adepts count destiny as an ally, not a plaything to be toyed with).
I opted for the seeker-arrow approach rather than the phase arrow approach on this one.

[size=+1]Eyes to the Sky[/size]
Falling Star (Stance)
Level: Crusader 1, marshal (Artillery Captain) 1, ranger (Sky Watcher) 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

Your visual acuity sharpens. While you may not see as clearly as an eagle or owl on a conscious level, your soul guides your hand as if your perceptions were that keen.

A Falling Star adept's earliest lessons relate to accuracy of observation at a distance: precision in observation of star movements, intuiting angles of motion, and of course, planning distance attacks. This stance is an extension of those teachings, and is the most widespread Falling Star maneuver outside of Solstice.
While you are in this stance, you reduce penalties to your ranged attack rolls from cover, concealment, and distance based on your ranks in Spot, as noted on the following table. Total cover and concealment still foil attacks as normal, and you still suffer the normal penalties for firing into melee.
Spot ranks Enemy AC bonus Concealment miss Range penalty<br /> from Cover chance reduced* reduction**<br />Less than 4 +4 0% 0<br />4-8 +3 -10% 2<br />9-13 +2 -20% 4<br />14-18 +1 -30% 6<br />19+ None -40% 8<br /><br />* For targets with a miss chance due to concealment, reduce<br />that miss chance by this amount, to a minimum of 0%.<br /><br />** For attacks with a penalty due to range (beyond one range<br />inrement), reduce that penalty by this amount, to a minimum<br />of zero.
[SIZE=+1]Gaze into the Darkness[/SIZE]
Falling Star [Darkness]
Level: Crusader 4, marshal (Artillery Captain) 4, ranger (Sky Watcher) 4
Prerequisite: Two Falling Star maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 round
Range: 30 ft
Targets: Creatures attacked (see text)
Duration: End of encounter (see text)
Saving Throw: Will partial (see text)

Your hail of attacks forces your foes to focus their attention on you as you complete a ritualistic motion, fixing your gaze upon each of theirs in turn. As they stare, the colours about you seem to fade, much like they do with the onset of twilight. At the last moment, utter darkness flashes from your eyes, and the world returns to normal -- though those who saw the flash percieve only darkness.

As part of this maneuver, you make a full attack with a ranged weapon. Each attack you make must target a different individual. If successful, the weapons deal normal damage and the struck targets must make Will saving throws (DC 14 + your Wisdom modifier) or be forced to fix their gaze upon you. Creatures who fail the save and can see you when you finish the maneuver see the world as if it were midnight with a new moon, regardless of natural light sources. Artificial light (including magical light) is percieved normally (that is, a creature with a sword that sheds light as a torch can see the environment as well as he could during a dark night with torchlight alone, even if it's high noon). Creatures so affected remain that way until the end of the encounter. A light spell of 4th level or higher that affects these creatures lifts the darkness from their vision.
This maneuver is a supernatural ability.
This seems a bit spell-like to me, but I like the idea and may move it to a higher-level maneuver. Still, it seems thematically similar to Firesnake, Searing Chage, and Obsucring Shadow Veil. If it seems strong, note the short range, long initiation time and the note above on maneuvers that take that long to use.

[SIZE=+1]Lunar Razing Dance[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Strike)
Level: Crusader 4, marshal (Artillery Captain) 4, ranger (Sky Watcher) 4
Prerequisite: One Falling Star maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Ranged attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round (see text)
Saving Throw: Reflex partial (see text)

You fire a stream of weapons at your target like a hail of shooting stars. Your opponent, confounded by the sudden flurry, may make a fatal misstep.

To use this maneuver, you must be have two or more identical throwing weapons or a bow with two or more identical arrows. As part of this maneuver, you make one ranged attack roll at a -4 penalty; this represents you throwing both weapons or nocking several arrows and firing (similar to the Manyshot feat).
This attack deals normal weapon damage for two hits, although you do not add your Strength modifier to your weapon damage with this maneuver (if you were using a thrown weapon or composite bow). If it hits, your target must make a Reflex save (DC 14 + your Dexterity modifier) or be moved 5 feet in a random direction (roll 1d8 with 1 corresponding to straight away from you and going clockwise from there). Creatures displaced this way suffer a penalty to their base speed equal to the distance they were displaced until the end of their next turn.
If the attack roll indicates a critical hit, only the first weapon in the maneuver deals critical damage.
If your base attack bonus is at least +11, you can elect to add a third identical weapon to the attack, increasing the damage to normal for three hits and displacing the target by 10 ft, although the penalty to the attack increases to -6. If your base attack bonus is at least +16, you can add a fourth identical weapon in the same fashion, increasing the damage to four hits and the displacement by 15 ft, but the penalty increases to -8.
This looks strong enough for a 5th level maneuver; should I knock it up or pull something out?

[SIZE=+1]Moonwalker's Stance[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Stance)
Level: Crusader 3, marshal (Artillery Captain) 3, ranger (Sky Watcher) 3
Prerequisite: One Falling Star maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

Lowering your body into a catlike stance and focusing on fluidity of motion, you feel lighter than you actually are.

While you are in this stance, you gain a +1 Dodge bonus on AC and Reflex saves. If you have moved 10 feet from where you were at the start of your turn, this bonus disappears, but instead you gain a +10 ft bonus to your speed and a +1 bonus on attack rolls until the end of your turn.

[SIZE=+1]Nonparaiel[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Strike)
Level: Crusader 3, marshal (Artillery Captain) 3, ranger (Sky Watcher) 3
Prerequisite: One Falling Star maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: 60 ft.
Target: One creature
Duration: 5 rounds

As you sight your target, your weapon glows faintly with silver light, and grows cold to the touch. Letting it fly, it seeks toward your target like a hungry bird of prey, intent on sapping his defenses.

You must make a Spot check as part of this maneuver. The DC of this check is the target creature's AC. You then make a single ranged attack against that target, also as part of this maneuver. If your Spot check succeeds, this attack deals normal damage and the target takes a -2 penalty on AC, saving throws, and spell resistance (if any). If the check fails, this attack is made with a -2 penalty to attack and damage and doesn't sap the opponent's defenses.
This maneuver is a supernatural ability.
SUGGESTED CHANGE: The original was likely a Dispel Magic clone. It's supernatural here strictly because I think the penalty I've come up with in place of the dispel is a bit beyond what an extraordinary ability should be able to do. I'm open to suggestions.
I'd also like to rename this one to something related to the Goddess maneuvers (which are all going to be somewhat supernatural), but can't think of anything appropriate to name it.

[SIZE=+1]Orion's Lingering Grasp[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Counter)
Level: Crusader 3, marshal (Artillery Captain) 3, ranger (Sky Watcher) 3
Prerequisite: One Falling Star maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Ranged attack
Target: One charging creature
Duration: 1 round

Your weapon sails at an unusual angle -- the ranged analogue to striking with the flat of the blade. Your opponent's momentum is disrupted by the force of your blow, and his gait visibly staggers for but a moment.

This maneuver was developed by an ancient hunter, as a last-ditch defensive ploy if he was spotted by his quarry when the element of suprise was necessary. He taught it to his daughters just prior to setting off on a quest from which he would never return; those two would later teach it to the Falling Star adepts, who incorporated it into their style.
As part of this maneuver, make a ranged attack against a charging opponent (the opponent does not need to be charging you, merely charging). This attack deals no damage, although ammunition is expended as normal. If the attack hits, your opponent must make a Concentration check (DC 13 + your Dexterity modifier). If he fails, he gains no benefit from his charge but still suffers the normal penalties -- the attack roll at the end is made without the normal +2 bonus or any other charge benefits (such as a lion's Pounce), but still suffers the -2 penalty to AC. Furthermore, until the end of his next turn, he may only move at half-speed as he recovers from your strike.

[SIZE=+1]Peregrine Riposte[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Counter)
Level: Crusader 2, marshal (Artillery Captain) 2, ranger (Sky Watcher) 2
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: 30 ft.
Target: One moving creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex negates

A swift attack from your position strikes dangerously close to your target's feet, halting his approach; evidently, you wanted him alive, but dancing.

A single, precisely aimed shot is an excellent diplomat: it can convince even the hardiest foes that wanderlust about you would be... unwise. To initiate this maneuver, a creature must move toward you (though that movement need not be directly toward you), and you must have a clear line of effect to that creature (even soft cover from another creature prevents this maneuver from being initiated). This movement cannot be a charge.
As part of this maneuver, make a ranged attack against that foe. If you hit your foe, he must succeed on a Reflex save against a DC of 10 + your damage roll (the opponent does not actually take damage), or immediately halt as if he had used up his move actions for the round.

[SIZE=+1]Starstruck[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Strike) [Light]
Level: Crusader 2, marshal (Artillery Captain) 2, ranger (Sky Watcher) 2
Prerequisite: One Falling Star maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: 60 ft.
Target/Area: One creature or object / 10-ft-radius burst centered on that target
Duration: 1 minute / 3 rounds, see text.
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (dazzling only) / Reflex negates (stardust only)

Your weapon glows in mid-flight, and streams stardust like a comet's tail. As it strikes its foe, it erupts with a powerful flash of silver light, and motes of light stream from the impact, like fireflies in twilight.

As part of this maneuver, make a ranged attack. If this attack hits, it deals normal damage to its target, which must make a Fortitude save (DC 12 + your Wisdom modifier) or be dazzled for 1 minute.
After striking the target, stardust bursts out from the point of impact and clings to everything in a 10-foot-radius burst that fails a Reflex save (DC 12 + your Wisdom modifier; assume all unattended objects fail). Invisible creatures and objects that are blanketed in stardust are visibly outlined, and creatures covered in stardust take a -5 penalty on any Hide check they make. The stardust is ephemeral and cannot be physically removed, but it fades naturally after 3 rounds.
This maneuver is a supernatural ability.

[SIZE=+1]Terror of the Vast Expanse[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Boost) [Mind-Affecting, Fear]
Level: Crusader 4, marshal (Artillery Captain) 4, ranger (Sky Watcher) 4
Prerequisite: Two Falling Star maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: 30 ft.
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
Saving Throw: See text

Your weapons grow cold to the touch and colours appear dimmer in their presence.

After initiating this boost, you may choose to make ranged attacks at a -4 penalty. Any attack you make with this penalty can potentially frighten a target it hits; such a target must make a Will save (DC 10 + your damage roll; the target does not actually take damage from this attack) or become shaken. Fear effects stack as normal: rendering a shaken target shaken progresses them to frightened, and rendering a frightened target shaken progresses them to panicked (the limit of this ability). Fear effects from this boost last until the end of the target's next turn.
This maneuver is a supernatural ability.
The DC is actually 14+Damage, but I assigned a -4 penalty to it given the very potent nature of free, stacking fear effects and the ease of which archers get additional attacks. This penalty is just collapsed, just like every other Tome of Battle DC formula in a maneuver.

This maneuver remains supernatural given the stacking nature of it. I'd like to see discussion on that, if possible.

[SIZE=+1]Riding the Winds[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Boost)
Level: Crusader 2, marshal (Artillery Captain) 2, ranger (Sky Watcher) 2
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn

Every storm has small eddies and a calm center. With this knowledge in mind, a flash of insight lets you sense exactly where these eddies line up, like the tail of a comet.

To initiate this maneuver, you must be aware of some unusual atmospheric effect between you and your target, such as strong winds (natural or magical) or a wind wall. After initiating this boost, your ranged attacks are treated as if they were seige weapons for purposes relating to that effect, although they deal no additional damage. For instance, normal arrows would penetrate a wind wall and would only suffer a -4 penalty for being fired through a windstorm.

[SIZE=+1]Stance of the Unending Hunt[/SIZE]
Falling Star (Stance)
Level: Crusader 5, marshal (Artillery Captain) 5, ranger (Sky Watcher) 5
Prerequisite: Two Falling Star maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

Drawing a deep breath of fresh air and emptying your mind of conscious thoughts, you feel your pain and fatigue drain away. In tune with your surroundings, you will let nothing stand between you and your prey.

While you maintain this stance, you gain tremendous endurance. You heal an amount of nonlethal damage equal to your initiator level every minute you maintain this stance. Unlike normal nonlethal hit point recovery, this can heal nonlethal damage regardless of the source, including that caused by overland hustling, forced marches, starvation, thirst, heat, smoke inhalation, and similar environmental effects. Note that the fatigue caused by nonlethal damage for prolonged overland movement goes away if the nonlethal damage does.
Furthermore, you may go without sleep (or its equivalent, as appropriate) for an indefinite period of time as long as you maintain this stance. Your mind is not considered rested (such as for spell preparation) if you do not rest as usual, nor does your body gain the usual benefits of a night's sleep (such as healing). If this stance ends, the effects of your lost rest catch up to you.
Additionally, you gain some resiliency the rigors of combat while in this stance. Whenever you are subject to an attack against which DR would apply, you may reduce this damage by an amount up to your Constitution bonus (minimum 0). You take 2 points of nonlethal damage for every point of damage reduced this way.

Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:




[size=+1]FEATS[/size]

[SIZE=+1]Lance of the Fates [General, Fighter][/SIZE]
As a trained student of both Falling Star and more traditional paths of the Sublime Way, you can grasp the inner secrets innate to blade magic, and apply the techniques of one school to the other.
Prerequisite: Two Falling Star maneuvers, 5 ranks in Spot, two maneuvers from any other single school, 5 ranks in that school's key skill, base attack bonus +3.
Benefit: For the purposes of this maneuver, a "trained school" is a school from which you know two or more maneuvers and have 5 or more ranks in the associated key skill.
When you initiate a maneuver from a trained school that has a range of "melee attack" and affects a single target, you may also expend a readied Falling Star maneuver of equal or greater level. If you do, the maneuver you initiate has its range replaced with "ranged attack" (as defined above). All other limitations of the maneuver apply as normal.
If you initiate a Falling Star maneuver with a range of "ranged attack", you may also expend a readied maneuver from a trained school. If you do, the Falling Star maneuver has its range replaced with "melee attack" (as defined in the Tome of Battle). All other limitations of the maneuver apply as normal.
Maneuvers expended to power Lance of the Fates are expended without effect, but may be recovered normally.
Special: To use this feat, you must be under the open sky, as you would for a Falling Star supernatural maneuver.

Originally posted by Xeviat-DM:

Let me be the first to say ... darn. Awesome. I can't wait. Am I to understand that this will be a monk-ish style with stunning fists and fireballs and shouryuken? Please tell me so.

Oh ... thats different. I'll read up on the original thread then, as this could prove very interesting indeed.

Originally posted by nexis:

Pumped!

Quick question, will the style be avalible only to say Swordsages and/or, RT's Adept Ranger? Or everyone, such as Warblades and Crusaders?

Let me be the first to say ... darn. Awesome. I can't wait. Am I to understand that this will be a monk-ish style with stunning fists and fireballs and dragon uppercuts? Please tell me so.

Click to expand...

No, that’s approximated by Setting Sun and Stone Dragon. This is all about ranged attacks, such as bows and slings.

Originally posted by seerow:

Well since not much but the flavor is up yet, I'll say this.

Falling Star is possibly the best name for a ranged Discipline I've heard. It really is, in a way I can't even really coherently explain.

Though I find it kind of odd that it can be used with Crossbows... I guess Crossbows need some love too, but they don't seem like the kind of weapon that would fit with this sort of style.

Edit: Nexus, who it is available to is described explicitly in the first post. It's Crusaders, Rangers, and Marshals.

Originally posted by nexis:

Don’t want to clutter up the thread with pointless things but, I posted the question before he had entered that

and its Nexis

Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:

This was EDEA'S idea, not mine. I wrote all but the last two paragraphs of fluff and made a few changes (such as the "under the open sky" restriction and the decision to turn a few of the more dramatic maneuvers into one-round initiation actions), but I will gladly revert those if she asks.

I did decide which classes to have it open to, by the way. Here's why.
1) Ranger. The sublime way ranger variant is easily the best candidate for this, and with Falling Star getting press, the ranger gets press as well and may actually undergo a bit more scrutiny (as it seems to have faded to obscurity.
2) Crusader. The ONLY ToB martial adept actually proficient with ranged weapons, and thanks to Devoted Spirit, we expect supernatural things as well.
3) Marshal. I'm obviously biased here, but I wanted the marshal to have a bit of a ranged touch to it if it needed to (because I'm a total sucker for the "hail of arrows blotting out the sky" effect). I had a few bonus feats that were archery related on its list, but Falling Star cements it.

Warblades don't do supernatural maneuvers practically as a rule, and swordsages have enough exclusive school access as it is -- and neither are proficient with ranged weapons. Besides, from a fluff standpoint, warblades and swordsages are trained from derivatives of the Temple of the Nine Swords, which isn't even connected to Falling Star, while crusaders get inspiration from external sources (which means that even one from the Temple's derivatives could possibly gain Falling Star, to say nothing of those actually trained from Solstice).

The weapon list is one area that I don't agree with 100% either (only on the crossbows, mind you), but it's there because it was Edea's list. (I did add Dart, though.) Yes, I say this as a proponent of the "crossbows need more love" camp, too (If you have Untapped Potential, the marksman was my idea, and one of its primary goals was "make crossbows competitive again"). We'll see if my views change by the time I'm done the maneuvers; even so, it'll stay as it is at the VERY least until I'm done.

Xeviat: Currently, the maneuvers only exist in the form I linked at the top of post 1, and in rough developer forms that I'm working on right now.

Originally posted by Xeviat-DM:

I think the school might need more damaging effects. Remember, most maneuvers deal xd6 damage in addition to their effect, where X equals the maneuvers levels. But I like the idea, and am glad that someone took the time to do a ranged style.

Originally posted by Crimson_Concerto:

I knew somebody else must have been working on new disceplines!

A friend and I have got 3 in the works right now for a Sublime Marksman class we're creative for a homebrew campaign setting. Both the class and the 3 disceplines (also all meant for ranged combat) will be posted on the boards in a matter of weeks if all goes well, so if you need any help, feel free to ask.

Oh, and just because I feel like sharing, the 3 ranged disceplines we have are as follows:

Falcon Eye - Focused on sniping. Most maneuvers find ways to make 1 shot really count.
Silver Rain - Focused on gunslinging. It focuses on trick shots are making a lot of shots at once.
Twilight Tempest - This one is sort of like Desert Wind. It's basd on sonic and electric damage.

They are designed for firearms, but I've made sure they can easily be adapted for bows, crossbows, and thrown weapons.

Anyways, I'm eager too see what type of stuff other people can up with for ranged maneuvers and such.

Originally posted by malisteen:

Looks like a good start, I look forward to the maneuver list.

I disagree with the "within 30" part, though. The point of this discipline is that it deals with distance. If you restrict the strikes to such a limited range that a normal initiate could simply walk up to you and hit you with a regular strike that kind of defeats the purpose.

Don't restrict range more to anything less then a single increment of whatever weapon is being used. TBH, I wouldn't restrict range at all beyond what the weapon does. Most games will restrict range enough on their own.

Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:

Looks like a good start, I look forward to the maneuver list.

I disagree with the "within 30" part, though. The point of this discipline is that it deals with distance. If you restrict the strikes to such a limited range that a normal initiate could simply walk up to you and hit you with a regular strike that kind of defeats the purpose.

Don't restrict range more to anything less then a single increment of whatever weapon is being used. TBH, I wouldn't restrict range at all beyond what the weapon does. Most games will restrict range enough on their own.

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Actually, the idea I had for the discipline's first-tier feat was "while under the open sky, use any maneuver up to the weapons' maximum range provided you have line of sight." I suppose I could adjust it to 60' by baseline. (This was one of my ideas, not Edea's).

I'm also tweaking the maneuver list ever so slightly as I go. For instance, Edea's noted a problem with True Strike; my proposed variant is to have it deal +1d4 damage, but be able to accept a penalty up to your initiator level (max -5 on the initial maneuver; later ones would have a higher cap and add more d4s) on the damage roll and add it to the attack roll (sort of an inverse Power Attack).

I do deliberately want to keep the damage low; archery can already do insane damage if well-done, and besides:

The one key point for me, though, is that none of the discipline's strikes or boosts should be geared for dealing large amounts of damage (save, of course, for the capstone maneuver). Falling Star should be the Nine Swords equivalent of battlefield control, not uber-nuking.

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EDIT: I need to stress that you can see the initial maneuver list here. I'm just going to be applying my developer's eye to it in this thread.

Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:

Maneuver list is up. Most of it is identical to Edea's originals; I changed a few things here and there to show what direction I'm taking it.

I'm taking a breather now; post 2 is the next target but I doubt I'll get to it today.

Originally posted by zombiegleemax:

What's with the asterisks for some maneuvers anyway ?

Originally posted by periscope:

Im intrigued by the Heart of the Goddess maneuver. What effects would it protect against?

I mean I could see it allowing one to "See" through illusions and enchantments but Im stumped about anything else that Spot could protect against.

Originally posted by repeekluos:

Originally posted by Tempest Stormwind
Comet Shower Stance: Stance -- Ranged weapons threaten, may make attacks of opportunity.

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A first level Stance?
Seems a little strong. To my knowledge there are only 2 official sources that give an ability similar to this.
That is the PrC out of Silver Marches, and a feat out of Dragon Magazine. Neither of those are usable until level ten, and the feat is only usable once per round for AoOs.
Does it have any restrictions, or is it as written?

P.S. Sorry if you aren't done, and I am putting my foot in my mouth, I'm just curious.

Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:

JiCi: Read the section on the additional rules.

Periscope: That's likely going to be a spell-resistance stance, or possibly a bonus on saving throws against spells. I just had the names to go on when I started these.

Before you complain about that not fitting, look at Fear No Fire. Tumble shouldn't let you avoid taking damage when walking on magma and being blasted by jets of napalm from every direction, but it does.

Repeekulos: I'm not finished balancing everything (as may be obvious). I was considering that stance granting only one attack of opportunity per round anyway or bumping up the level, but the point is to have it threaten an area.

Originally posted by periscope:

JiCi: Read the section on the additional rules.

Periscope: That's likely going to be a spell-resistance stance, or possibly a bonus on saving throws against spells. I just had the names to go on when I started these.

Before you complain about that not fitting, look at Fear No Fire. Tumble shouldn't let you avoid taking damage when walking on magma and being blasted by jets of napalm from every direction, but it does.

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Thx for clarifying. Also, I wasnt going to complain just curious (I can imagine someone tumbling in through the flames so...)

Originally posted by DarkRhystar:

Some of the maneuvers like Gravity Well make me wonder.

Is this really a martial discipline or just magic for warriors (Blade Magic as in Tome of Battle)?

Some schools in Tome of Battle like Shadow Hand and Desert Wind cross into that territory as well. Your discipline has a lot of Su maneuvers so is it really a discipline or is it just magic with a different name tacked on a different system?

I'm curious as to how you view the Sublime Way and where your discipline fits in it.

Originally posted by repeekluos:

Some of the maneuvers like Gravity Well make me wonder.

Is this really a martial discipline or just magic for warriors (Blade Magic as in Tome of Battle)?

Some schools in Tome of Battle like Shadow Hand and Desert Wind cross into that territory as well. Your discipline has a lot of Su maneuvers so is it really a discipline or is it just magic with a different name tacked on a different system?

I'm curious as to how you view the Sublime Way and where your discipline fits in it.

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To ask this question, you should also pose; What is magic?

This Discipline just has various ways of extending one's will to cause various effects.

Magic, is simply extending ones will to cause various effects.

Originally posted by crashy75:

The fluff is absolutely awesome!!!! I would still like a ranged discipline without supernatural maneuvers but I suppose I'll have to create one myself (or steal from Crimson_Concerto). Still, looking forward to the full write-ups.

Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:

The fluff is absolutely awesome!!!! I would still like a ranged discipline without supernatural maneuvers but I suppose I'll have to create one myself (or steal from Crimson_Concerto). Still, looking forward to the full write-ups.

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Something I'll do when I tackle it tomorrow is look and see what can't be redone into an Ex system but kept thematically similar. I hope to allow at least one chain of maneuvers, up to high level, that can be met without taking a single supernatural ability. That way, a crusader/ranger/marshal could be a decent sublime archer without the supernatural abilities, while a full-on Falling Star specialist would still keep the supernatural battlefield control options. Sort of like how you can take a selection of nonsupernatural Devoted Spirit actions and simply be a very defensive shielded warrior (i.e. like the knight class) while a full-on crusader could take a lot of Devoted Spirit and have supernatural healing and smiting abilities (i.e. like a paladin).

This is, as it stands, very rough (despite the formatting).

Originally posted by seerow:

How big of an area do you threaten with comet shower stance?

If it's one range increment, even at once per round, it's absurdly broken. Now if by threaten you mean like Close Combat Shot, where you don't take AoOs for firing, and can make AoOs within 5 ft, that's one thing...

But the closest thing to the latter is that 3.0 prestige class, and even that only allows out to 30ft or something like that.

Now, I could see an 8th level stance allowing for something like threatening out to one range increment, but 1st is omgliekwoah. What Fighter DOESN'T want a 200ft threat range?

Will read other stuff, and comment on it shortly. That just stuck out, like a lot.

Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:

How big of an area do you threaten with comet shower stance?

If it's one range increment, even at once per round, it's absurdly broken. Now if by threaten you mean like Close Combat Shot, where you don't take AoOs for firing, and can make AoOs within 5 ft, that's one thing...

But the closest thing to the latter is that 3.0 prestige class, and even that only allows out to 30ft or something like that.

Now, I could see an 8th level stance allowing for something like threatening out to one range increment, but 1st is omgliekwoah. What Fighter DOESN'T want a 200ft threat range?

Will read other stuff, and comment on it shortly. That just stuck out, like a lot.

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I had considered no AoOs, and threaten like a reach weapon (that is, 10' away but not adjacent). That stance is one of my own creation and is designed for the smaller-scale archer (as opposed to the long-range sniper), and to serve as a way to use some of those boosts when it isn't your turn. I was NOT considering 30' or a range increment or anything -- I'm well aware of the power of an AoO.

Bear in mind this is all rough-draft stuff.

Originally posted by seerow:

Overall-excellent. I'll likely be stealing some of the stance ideas from here for my Fighter (as I was having a hard time allocating stances, I wanted to have 8, 4 for melee combat, 4 for ranged combat, but stuff kept getting weird and mixed up.) This could give me a new focus.

Destiny Surge- Awesome. I had actually tried to make something like this a stance, but it was kind of akward. As a strike it -works-

Gravity Well-is this basically a supernatural version of Standstill for ranged attacks?

Moonwalker Stance-I'm unsure on this one. It looks like basically permanent haste starting from 3rd level. Like the last stance, this seems strong for the level you get it at. It should be 5th or 6th level.

Destiny Surge(5th level)-You used the same name twice for different maneuvers. May want to change that >O

Also, an Extraordinary ability that phases through nonliving matter? That's pretty sick.

Bane of the Goddess-...wow. you completely reverse their direction? That's... new.

Sunlight Shot-Depends on how much it heals.

Heart of the Goddess-I'll wait to see what specifically this makes you immune to. But since it's based on spot ranks, you could move this down, and move the cometshower take its place. Maybe a weaker version of Cometshower as the lower level maneuver

Galaxy Stop-If you allow this one to affect multiple enemies in a radius, you'll win the internet.

If you get the reference, you win it twice.

Meteor Call-I assume bludgeoning damage or such. I know you're smarter than to try making a 9th level maneuver fire damage.

I would like to see a number of these made less supernatural, archery shouldn't be so inherently magical. I also liked the idea another poster presented above, where he said he was working on 3 different archery schools. Not that Im saying you should make more schools, but what he mentioned specifically may help. Arrows that deal Sonic/Electric damage, maneuvers that help snipers specifically, etc. You have plenty of "trick shots" already. you could even combine the two together. You were afraid of overpowering archery because it can already rack up good damage. Say you have something like a single shot that does a lot more damage though, that supports a more sniper shot ideal than the machine gun archers that are currently necessary to produce the absurd damage ammounts you alluded to. (Seriously, when to hit competitive damage you're firing between 10 and 20 shots a round, there's something wrong)

Besides, the Falling Star style name gave me the impression of a single arrow falling from high in the sky to strike someone. The 9th level maneuver heightens that impression.

Okay, and as I finish writing this you have responded.

I had considered no AoOs, and threaten like a reach weapon (that is, 10' away but not adjacent). That stance is one of my own creation and is designed for the smaller-scale archer (as opposed to the long-range sniper), and to serve as a way to use some of those boosts when it isn't your turn. I was NOT considering 30' or a range increment or anything -- I'm well aware of the power of an AoO.

Bear in mind this is all rough-draft stuff.

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Well, an 8th level stance that lets you take AoOs from 200ft away would be really fun to see. I just thought it was strong for a first level stance.

And I understand it's a rough draft, it was a misunderstanding due to not seeing the full descriptions yet.

Originally posted by Tempest_Stormwind:

Overall-excellent. I'll likely be stealing some of the stance ideas from here for my Fighter (as I was having a hard time allocating stances, I wanted to have 8, 4 for melee combat, 4 for ranged combat, but stuff kept getting weird and mixed up.) This could give me a new focus.

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I really like your fighter fix, by the way, although I can probably see a few ways to explain the styles a bit better (colours work, but it gets confusing when you explain why you use colours).

Destiny Surge- Awesome. I had actually tried to make something like this a stance, but it was kind of akward. As a strike it -works-

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The original of those maneuvers were literal copies of spells -- true strike and a brilliant energy weapon, respectively.

Gravity Well-is this basically a supernatural version of Standstill for ranged attacks?

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Essentially. It's one that I might change to extraordinary, on the same flavor as the Marksman's Cover Fire ability (i.e. "Dance!").

Moonwalker Stance-I'm unsure on this one. It looks like basically permanent haste starting from 3rd level. Like the last stance, this seems strong for the level you get it at. It should be 5th or 6th level.

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The original is essentially haste. I see it as granting haste WITHOUT the extra attack, and possibly fatiguing you if you're in it for too long. ...Or just a higher level.

Destiny Surge(5th level)-You used the same name twice for different maneuvers. May want to change that >O

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Names are something I'm bad at. That said, the first is Destiny Strike, the second Destiny Surge, and the third... oh, I DID use the same name twice, didn't I....

Also, an Extraordinary ability that phases through nonliving matter? That's pretty sick.

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I should change the description. It's more a matter of ignoring cover.

Bane of the Goddess-...wow. you completely reverse their direction? That's... new.

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The mechanics I had in mind for that were "when you initiate this maneuver, the opponent percieves a subtle nudge that alters its balance. It must make a will save or retrace its steps until it returns to its starting location or runs out of movement, after which it acts normally. This maneuver cannot force a creature to take an action it wouldn't; it just changes the outcome of movement."

Essentially, a modified Stand Still, if you think about it.

Sunlight Shot-Depends on how much it heals.

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I'm thinking negates all normal weapon damage but deals/heals initiator level. But that's untested.

Heart of the Goddess-I'll wait to see what specifically this makes you immune to. But since it's based on spot ranks, you could move this down, and move the cometshower take its place. Maybe a weaker version of Cometshower as the lower level maneuver

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Perhaps. But I'm thinking it as either a boost to spell saves or a boost to SR. Likely the spell saves.

Galaxy Stop-If you allow this one to affect multiple enemies in a radius, you'll win the internet.

If you get the reference, you win it twice.

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I was thinking just one, actually, and at a great cost (i.e. you fall into it as well and pull them with you). The original, I think, was a clone of Temporal Stasis with a Final Fantasy Tactics name (and in fact, it was because of that name that I pulled on the astrology connection in the initial fluff...)

I'm stuck on how to handle that one mechanically. I'm thinking two ways: first, just plain ol' vanilla paralysis. Second, locking their initiative to yours (i.e. if you delay, you force them to delay the same amount). This one is definitely one of the most supernatural abilities on the list.

Meteor Call-I assume bludgeoning damage or such. I know you're smarter than to try making a 9th level maneuver fire damage.

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I was actually considering Force, believe it or not. Unlike the other 9th level maneuvers, it takes a full round to initiate and has to be used outdoors under the open sky. On the flipside, it scales with level (tentatively) and affects an area not centered on you.

I would like to see a number of these made less supernatural, archery shouldn't be so inherently magical.

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That's my thought as well; I'm waiting for feedback from Edea on it (since it's her idea).

Arrows that deal Sonic/Electric damage, maneuvers that help snipers specifically, etc. You have plenty of "trick shots" already. you could even combine the two together. You were afraid of overpowering archery because it can already rack up good damage. Say you have something like a single shot that does a lot more damage though, that supports a more sniper shot ideal than the machine gun archers that are currently necessary to produce the absurd damage ammounts you alluded to. (Seriously, when to hit competitive damage you're firing between 10 and 20 shots a round, there's something wrong)

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You should see the marksman in Untapped Potential, then. If he uses the crossbow, he's pretty much the ultimate sniper. The bow and thrown-weapon styles are also thematically different there. (It's also a full-base-attack manifester, something that heretofore didn't exist.)

Besides, the Falling Star style name gave me the impression of a single arrow falling from high in the sky to strike someone. The 9th level maneuver heightens that impression.

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Right, now imagine it gaining *mass* as it falls as well, drawing upon the same forces that make it supernatural. The fluff *was* going to be it being shot up and literally bringing down the stars as it fell.

(I'm tempted to have it operate like some of the others, and be a targeted effect: the target'd take a chunk of damage (say, normal, +10d6) and those around it would take the area damage. If the target moves, he avoids the targeted damage but may still be subject to the area damage -- like all too many FFT effects, now that I think about it.)

Originally posted by theotherdraxen:

First off, you and Edea have an awesome discipline going here. I was really disappointed that ToB really lacked a path for the ranged-type.

However, there is one thing that I don't like: the supernatural influence here is a little too strong for me. If I want to play a Robin-hood style archer, I want to think it's my character's skill alone that lets me split my own arrow.

Whenever I play a ToB character, I avoid the Su maneuvers because I play a warrior-type to not be using magic. Maybe I'm just being picky here, but I think that it wouldn't be a stretch to change a number of these things to extraordinary by watching the flavor-text carefully:

1st Level
Twinkletoe Touch: You strike around an opponents heels, throwing them off balance.

2nd Level
Gravity Well: Change the name to Vagabonds Demise. You pin an opponent to the ground/walls/trees with a quick volley of arrows.
Starstruck (Su): Keep this one Su.

3rd Level
Moonwalker's Stance: You lower your posture into a cat-like stance, and let your mind focus deeply on the world around you.
Nonparaiel: You unleash an arrow, carefully timing it to disrupt your enemeis defences.
Orion's Lingering Grasp: You aim your shot, targeting a vital spot on your target, hampering him in his charge.

4th level
Terror of the Vast Expanse: Your arrows sail out of the sky like the vengeance of a terrible deity. Your volley strikes everywhere, creating a sense of vulnerabilty in your foes. Enemies everywhere flee from this horrid onslaught.
Gaze into the Darkness (Su)*: Keep Su.
Lunar Razing Dance (Su): Keep Su.

5th level
Sparkling Aura: Change name to Unending Hunt. You channel your mental focus on your wounds, forcing an animalistic healing rate and discovering an inner drive within yourself to keep on going.
Bane of the Goddess: You pound an arrow into your enemy (usually the shoulder), causing him to suddenly turn his direction.

6th level
Eyes of the Goddess: You scan the area around you, focusing solely on whats there, ignoring the compulsions imposed by the untrustworthy mind. Your senses reveal what is really there.
Gravity Burst (Su)*: Keep Su.

The 7th, 8th, and 9th are very diffficult to reflavor (for now, I've given up), though I think it can be done with some more effort.

Originally posted by seerow:

I really like your fighter fix, by the way, although I can probably see a few ways to explain the styles a bit better (colours work, but it gets confusing when you explain why you use colours).

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Thank you, it's always nice to hear that. I honestly wasn't sure if you'd even seen it or not =P

If you can think of a better way to describe the styles, it'd be great. That's like the 4th rewrite of the styles, and each writeup of it seems to satisfy some people, while confusing others. Always different groups of people.

Like some people took really well to the color description. Others took well to when it was described by numbers, or letters. Others reacted well to charts.... and including everything would just confuse the matter even more.

I honestly prefered the number/letter scheme, and have left the colors up mostly out of laziness.

The original of those maneuvers were literal copies of spells -- true strike and a brilliant energy weapon, respectively.

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Well, the new result is better, and cooler than that =P

The original is essentially haste. I see it as granting haste WITHOUT the extra attack, and possibly fatiguing you if you're in it for too long. ...Or just a higher level

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Simply making it a higher level would work. Fatiguing after a period of time really defeats the entire point of it being a stance, and you may as well make it a boost.

Names are something I'm bad at. That said, the first is Destiny Strike, the second Destiny Surge, and the third... oh, I DID use the same name twice, didn't I....

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*snik*

I should change the description. It's more a matter of ignoring cover.

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So no wraithstrike, shoot through walls, etc? *is thinking Farsight from Perfect Dark64*

Well, maybe that is a bit much. And it seems a higher level maneuver does just that anyway.

The mechanics I had in mind for that were "when you initiate this maneuver, the opponent percieves a subtle nudge that alters its balance. It must make a will save or retrace its steps until it returns to its starting location or runs out of movement, after which it acts normally. This maneuver cannot force a creature to take an action it wouldn't; it just changes the outcome of movement."

Essentially, a modified Stand Still, if you think about it.

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Yeah, described like that it's actually kind of weak for the level. It's standstill with a different flavor, and a lower save most likely.

I liked it better thinking of it as "Neat I can choose where my enemy moves now?!"

I'm thinking negates all normal weapon damage but deals/heals initiator level. But that's untested.

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That could lead to the interesting phenomenon of doing less damage to undead types in certain circumstances. Maybe converting the weapon damage to positive energy as well?

Perhaps. But I'm thinking it as either a boost to spell saves or a boost to SR. Likely the spell saves.

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Still. +1 to save vs spells per 4 ranks in spot or something like that could easily be a low level stance.

I was thinking just one, actually, and at a great cost (i.e. you fall into it as well and pull them with you). The original, I think, was a clone of Temporal Stasis with a Final Fantasy Tactics name (and in fact, it was because of that name that I pulled on the astrology connection in the initial fluff...)

I'm stuck on how to handle that one mechanically. I'm thinking two ways: first, just plain ol' vanilla paralysis. Second, locking their initiative to yours (i.e. if you delay, you force them to delay the same amount). This one is definitely one of the most supernatural abilities on the list.

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Well, you get one internet for getting the reference at least. *Is an FFT fanboy clearly*

It is an odd thing though. I'd say stasis would imply paralysis though. While tying their initiative to yours is a very cool effect, it's also not really an 8th level maneuver. It would give a very distinct tactical advantage, but not much beyond that.

I was actually considering Force, believe it or not. Unlike the other 9th level maneuvers, it takes a full round to initiate and has to be used outdoors under the open sky. On the flipside, it scales with level (tentatively) and affects an area not centered on you.

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Well, that would definitely make it at least as powerful as many 9th level spells. It loses power in a dungeon delver setting, but when you're outdoors... move over Warmage, there's someone new kicking ass in town.

You should see the marksman in Untapped Potential, then. If he uses the crossbow, he's pretty much the ultimate sniper. The bow and thrown-weapon styles are also thematically different there. (It's also a full-base-attack manifester, something that heretofore didn't exist.)

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I'd love to. I've been meaning to buy UP for months, and in no small part for that class. But between gaining and losing two jobs, starting at UCF, and now being a college student with less than 200 dollars to his name to buy him food until he finds a new job, I can't afford to buy the book yet.

I will eventually though. You can be sure of that.

(I'm tempted to have it operate like some of the others, and be a targeted effect: the target'd take a chunk of damage (say, normal, +10d6) and those around it would take the area damage. If the target moves, he avoids the targeted damage but may still be subject to the area damage -- like all too many FFT effects, now that I think about it.)

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Well, in FFT everyone in the area takes the same ammount of damage. Period. And excepting summons, AoEs are generally small enough that if you move out of the initial area, you're likely out of the full area as well. Then there's targetted casting.....

But I'm getting off topic. What you're saying is have the meteor do 10d6+(IL*10) to the primary target, and the IL*10 to everyone else, right?

Originally posted by periscope:

There is a spell in Complete Divine that seems to be like this (cometfall I think) that seems to be like the Capstone maneuver. Maybe take a look at it?

Originally posted by nexis:

Quick things.

Eyes to the Sky: Stance -- Ignore various degrees of cover/concealment based on Spot ranks.

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Eyes to the Sky Should be bolded.

And with all the ___ of the Goddess maneuvers I really want to know, who is the Goddess? I realize its just flavor text but it kind of implies someone specific.

Originally posted by periscope:

Maybe she's the founder of the falling star style?

Maybe its Ehlonna, she's described as wielding a bow and if you used the Sublime way variant of the ranger with the falling star style, then the goddess maneuvers could be in reference to her, to praise her, and to honor her.

Originally posted by zombiegleemax:

Could be a moon goddess as well; most of the moon or night gods I can think of off-hand were female, and as far as astrological influences go, you can't get much more impressive than the moon (what's more tangible than the changing tide?).

I second (third?) the motion for electricity/sonic effects, especially if this discipline is going to be so strongly supernatural. Actually, sonic effects could even conceivably be (ex) - I'm thinking of arrows whistling through the air, for example.

Man, this is so exciting! Ranged combat and mounted combat are the two most neglected fighting styles, and I was really crushed to see neither of them at all supported in ToB. I can't wait to see our local board geniuses help rectify that mistake.

Originally posted by tweedledope:

I can't wait for this...subscribed.

Originally posted by periscope:

Could be a moon goddess as well; most of the moon or night gods I can think of off-hand were female, and as far as astrological influences go, you can't get much more impressive than the moon (what's more tangible than the changing tide?).

I second (third?) the motion for electricity/sonic effects, especially if this discipline is going to be so strongly supernatural. Actually, sonic effects could even conceivably be (ex) - I'm thinking of arrows whistling through the air, for example.

Man, this is so exciting! Ranged combat and mounted combat are the two most neglected fighting styles, and I was really crushed to see neither of them at all supported in ToB. I can't wait to see our local board geniuses help rectify that mistake.

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Whats a good name for a mounted combat school?

The Riders of Ramone! (Cookie if you know where I got that from).

The White Scars? Always was a fan of warhammer 40k

Also if the crusaders are going to be getting this school, maybe they should get an alternative class feature (I just dont see many archers in full plate):

(Name)
To gain this feature, you must give up your heavy armor prof, medium armor prof, and your proficiency with martial melee weapons.

Benefit: You gain a sacred bonus to armor class equal to your charisma bonus +1 per 4 levels or a competence bonus to your armor class equal to your intelligence bonus +1 per 4 levels. You may also your cha bonus or your int bonus to your ranged attack rolls, in addition to your dex. You also gain hide and move silently as class skills.

Originally posted by tweedledope:

Whats a good name for a mounted combat school?

The Riders of Ramone! (Cookie if you know where I got that from).

The White Scars? Always was a fan of warhammer 40k

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Does it involve Cheech Marin?

Originally posted by periscope:

Does it involve Cheech Marin?

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No

Originally posted by tweedledope:

Lunar Pathways
Falling Star (Boost)
Level: Marshal* 9/Ranger* 9/Crusader 9
Prerequisite: Three Falling Star maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You

A glint of moonlight beams from the sky and enshrouds your eyes. Any arrow (or bolt) you fire hits its target with unerring accuracy.

You aim straight into the sky channeling the power from the heavens. With your ultimate archery skills, you bring forth the powers of the sky to slay your enemies swiftly.
All ranged attacks you make this round gain a +100 to hit. Furthermore, you gain one additional attack this round. This is a supernatural ability.

Pretty much, this is a way to hit...anything. I've always thought it was quite fallible that the other Martial Adepts didn't include any +100 bonuses to hit...only damage. What do you think?

-=TD=-

Originally posted by periscope:

So you have granted them a maneuver that allows them a minimum of 2 attacks if they move, 8 if they use multishot which are pretty much guaranteed to hit, and it can be used in conjunction with a strike. Doesnt sound broken to me, and maybe it'll make the Elminster wet his drawers.

Honestly I dont think its to bad, since you can only use it in conjunction with maneuvers of this school which doesnt seem to have anything that really boosts damage. By the time you get this you'll have (let me do some crunching)

+5 Longbow (I dont have the DMG right now so going off memory)
+1d6 flaming,
frost, corrosive, shock, and screaming

Lets assume you started with a 16 str (not that unreasonable)
16+5 (from tome)+6 (from belt)+1 (from Ioun stone)= 28 for a +8 to damage from a composite bow

Thats 1d8+8+5+5d6 (assuming no resistance)=32 damage per arrow average with 8 arrows would be 256 damage for the round (assuming all the arrows could bypass his resistances and reductions). I've seen worse.

Originally posted by seerow:

8 attacks with multishot?

You clearly aren't trying too hard. Im seeing that giving 32 attacks with Greater Manyshot, all guaranteed to hit.

Originally posted by periscope:

8 attacks with multishot?

You clearly aren't trying too hard. Im seeing that giving 32 attacks with Greater Manyshot, all guaranteed to hit.

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How do you get 32 attacks? All greater manyshot lets you do is fire each different arrow at a different target.

This is not taking into account munchining through Magic of Incarnum (precision gloves), Most of ToB (I believe there is a stance that lets you do sneack attack damage and an enhancement from Complete Adv that lets you deal bonus SA), XPH (greater psionic shot for an additional +4d6 damage with the first one) or anything else (bow of speed, I heard there is an enhancement which splits your arrows, and I heard of ones that lets your arrows go through stuff. If you had that one, you could wipe out an army with one shot! Especially if you add the explosive enhancement).

Originally posted by kresalak:

Like Stone Dragon, Falling Star draws subtly on external forces, particularly the astrological powers of the stars and the sky. As a result, the supernatural manevuers of this discipline may only be initiated under the open sky. Cloud cover and forest canopies do not obstruct the sky for this purpose, though caves, roofs, and the like do. The extraordinary maneuvers of Falling Star do not have this restriction, and can function anywhere.

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This is a horrible idea, since it arbitrarily strips people of the ability to use some of their abilities in some of the most common locales. The Stone Dragon restrictions, by the way, are also stupid.

Falling Star's unconventional use of ranged attacks operate slightly differently than melee attacks when it comes to maneuvers. If a maneuver specifies a 'ranged attack' it refers to an armed attack made with a thrown or projectile weapon; such an attack provokes attacks of opportunity as normal. These attacks must be made within 60'.

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It's better to simply have these maneuvers require themselves to be made within 60 feet, since a general rule like this only serves to screw you over if you make a manuever that would be balanced at a greater distance. Of course, it doesn't really matter, as it has the same result, but I think my way involves less book keeping.


Sadly, I can't evaluate manuevers until they're actually written, so I'll have to wait until then.

Tweedledope, it would be a lot easier (and less work) to simply say "every attack you make this round hits. You get an extra attack." This removes the need to roll the dice that are going to hit anyway, and it won't induce knee-jerk reactions from people who see "+100" and go crazy. Mechanically, the only difference is that you don't suffer a 5% miss chance.