Skill Power/Martial Practice/GrandMaster Training: Pole Vault or Riding the Spear design thoughts

Garthanos · Feb 19, 2017

In real life this is a rather specialized athletic skill and takes specialized equipment to perform but its actually fairly old and not modern at all. The Celtic Hero Cuh Culaine was said to be able to ride a hurled spear across the battle field.

A pole vault enables about double the distance of a long jump or high jump that is pretty much the extent of the real effects and it would require a polearm/spear or similar implement. The mechanics of jumping - One of the limits of long jumping and high jumping as described by skills are your move distance so doubling the move.

Analysis in combat : this might actually be easy to interfere with if you pass within or next to an enemy however the surprise when doing it the first time would make it a reasonable encounter power and perhaps allow it count as shifting.

Since a skill power ought to in my opinion address in combat skill use ie make it better in combat specific ways and not simply enhance a skill. I am currently thinking mighty leap is inadequate. Am I asking too much from a mighty leap? it seems really situational even if it is archetypal, I mean in combat sometimes having room and time to run can be a little limited and you might have a obstacle or chasm to suddenlly put between you and enemies, but it is very situational.

Perhaps what I am asking is to simply enhance mighty leap (with a clause for spear/polearm/staff users to be extra benefited.

The way it was presented in the stories of Cu Culaine it was very like a Grand Master Training. But then that was the emphasis of a huge chunk of his stories.

darkbard · Feb 19, 2017

You seem rather fixated on creating new martial training practices right now, but why not look at ways to combine existing game elements to achieve the effects you desire? For example, Mighty Leap + The Fading One - Ghostfoot alternative reward yield +10 bonus to Athletics check once per encounter, plus act as if having a running start. Then, as a daily when you spend an AP, the alternative reward bestows a fly speed EoNT. Or you could go the Boots of Bounding (L6 item) route, etc....

Garthanos · Feb 19, 2017

darkbard said:
You seem rather fixated on creating new martial training practices right now, but why not look at ways to combine existing game elements to achieve the effects you desire? For example, Mighty Leap + The Fading One - Ghostfoot alternative reward yield +10 bonus to Athletics check once per encounter, plus act as if having a running start. Then, as a daily when you spend an AP, the alternative reward bestows a fly speed EoNT. Or you could go the Boots of Bounding (L6 item) route, etc....

I had actually thought of using some combination to enhance the Mighty Leap + something else because arguably that is very like what a pole vault is. (superb leap plus a booster)

Since you suggested ... I am trying to find references to The Fading One - Ghostfoot alternative reward???

The boots of bounding would be a fair basis of a GMT on which to make a pole vault, are we still locked in by the jump not exceding your available move?

Garthanos · Feb 19, 2017

Ah found the Fading One, a Dragon Magazine element also fair.
Thanks for the pointers.

darkbard · Feb 19, 2017

You might also look at Pouncing Armor (leather or hide): Dragon 378. It lets you exceed your speed, albeit at the cost of a standard action charge attack. But on the right charactr, that's not a bad deal.

Garthanos · Feb 19, 2017

Vertical pole vault world record is 4 squares... I think it is valid to double that for distance jumping and since a hero might get his move to reach 8 as simple as taking fast runner

Basically it looks like the heros could be doing world class Pole Vaulting (without world class equipment)
with jumps of vertical 4 and horizontal 8 with a running feat and GMT or the boots.

The flight one can be mapped to a moving that doesn't provoke attacks and isnt affected by difficult terrain so that is quite nice... but tying it to spending an action points is a little wierd if i am reading it right I spend an action point to take an extra action and I can also burst in to flight (the action point can be used as normal its a trigger for when you get to use the ability)

hmmm

Garthanos · Feb 20, 2017

Ah... interesting in combat effects on the Pouncing Armor.

tied to a charge is pretty nice actually and allowing an at-will at the end could represent some sudden entry in the fight....

Garthanos · Feb 20, 2017

Creating a Grandmaster Training for it seems quite doable with the examples ... some of which would represent well the combat usage.

I am now considering my obsession with a Martial Practice for it.

The difference of something being a Martial Practice would be that it wasn't coming out of ones item pool and would have a healing surge cost tying it to the mighty leap is not actually necessary, it might require that you be leaping with a running start and provide a skill boost for that single use. Occasionally this bonus would last for longer than one action for skills that often take longer to resolve but is generally +5 and it might allow that jump to exceed movement as the subtle extra bonus that MPs sometimes provide.

In combination with the Mighty leap and Pole Vaulting Martial Practice then you get a +10 ( aka 2 squares (plus the skill and skill roll /5) ) in effect my level 6 hero with 12 skill might roll 18 and hit that 8 squares world class long jump.

I think the mighty leap deserves to be better as a combat adjunct but that is neither here nor there,

yay I think that qualifies as a a valid Martial Practice.

Thanks for your help [MENTION=1282]darkbard[/MENTION]

Garthanos · Feb 20, 2017

The question with Martial Practices is does it allow your character to be more awesome it seems valid based on other current MP designs. It allow an athletic skill to go beyond its normal reach.

I wonder if the benefit is not worth a surge ... one way to improve that is allow a check to recover the surge cost.

I might allow variants like a careful vault where it allows taking 10 even in a wild hectic circumstances of a fight... or a Creative Pushing it Vault wher it adds a D10 to your jump skill and make them all part of the Practice.