Garthanos
Arcadian Knight
Martial Techniques
Martial Techniques are generally the go to treasure of the Martial Artist (see also monk). The martial artists personal journeys often feature learning new techniques by way of new masters who see in them potentials and whom they impress with their worthiness and readiness (see karma rules). Techniques and associated rules allow the aesthetics of the ascetic monastic to be expressed nicely to donate wealth they do come upon and walk alongside the augmented might of their fellow heroes.
These techniques are an extension of Grand Master Training and include direct analogs to various weaponry and armor and enchantments which enhance them ( techniques also emulate other magic items and those typically do not require focus). For me flavor is important as is having things work in Character Builder. (so even though you can generally reflavor your war hammers as fists, it's much nicer if you can learn a technique called Herculean Fists). The monk too will be fully martial in Character builder (by way of CBloader).
Some techniques go beyond what might be enabled with even rampant reflavoring of current magic items, examples of this include the evasion techniques which introduce new armor types. Additionally these rules bring some structure to the flavor that isnt entirely free form nor constrained in the same fashion as item slots.
Martial Techniques by default require the same feat as for gaining Martial Practices (Now called Martial Artistry). This limit is however for most techniques more about flavor than balance.
Supplemental rules include Karma Points and Martial Focus and Superiority Feats.
Karma Points
Karma points are an abstraction of alternative wealth, these may be gained directly over the course of adventure awarded by the DM and are numerically directly analogous to gold (many times other forms of wealth can be converted to Karma by making anonymous gifts to charity). Certain items cannot be safely given away (OoI can be used to convert some items to Karma and others may have to be Sequestered - Sequestering involves taking an item to some hidden hard to reach place often with a guardian assigned - this process will effectively convert the item to Karma, becoming this guardian may be a backstory for retiring a hero).
After all saving the village maiden isnt something less deserving of reward just because a King will reward you directly with gold.
Advanced Techniques Cost in Karma is as per a magic item in gold of the same level. (more mundane ones which cost similar to analogous weaponry or armor in karma)
A Few Relevant Practices.
*Martial Mastery/Art of the Sensei -- insight →Forge Weapon/Armor (Create Inherent Weaponry/Defense Abilities) and Create Martial Grandmaster Training. As a development practice those who learn it are reimbursed in Karma points.
*Oath of Independence / Riddle of Steel --Athletics , Endurance → Disenchant (Destroy magic item - converts to Karma Points). Learning this focus earns one an increase in your Martial Focus.
4E - List of Potential New Martial Practices
Gaining Martial Focus
Martial Focus is gained as one learns Martial Techniques in addition to that gained upon taking the Oath of Independence or Learning the riddle of steel. For each of the following increase your Maximum Martial Focus by 1.
The first Aggressive Technique
The first Evasion/Defensive Technique
The Second Aggressive Technique or a Blocking Technique.
The first Technique requiring Focus or learning the Practice "Oath of Independence/Riddle of Steel"
Unarmed Attack Techniques
Most aggressive martial techniques can be swapped out using a minor action.
Blocking
can be swapped out or dropped using a minor action.
Evasions / Wearing of Woad / Martial Tattoos
these may take as long as 5 minutes of meditation or drawing or tracing time to attain the mental state and are lost if you are knocked unconscious. They are analogous to using leather or hide armor.
Superiority Feats
These are largely replacements for the vaguely distinguished superior weaponry and allow us to not have vaguely superior techniques, without completely prohibiting them. A superiority feat is not tied to a specific technique or weapon and can itself be swapped out as minor action. Only one superiority feat can be applied at a time to a given weapon or technique. A technique which is currently affected by these feats count as a superior weapon or technique.
Readying a Technique
most techniques require readying (typically a minor action), there are limits as to how many total one can have readied. But unless the DM is very generous you are unlikely to reach those limits (10). Techniques with a focus requirement are however far more burdensome and generally one can only have 3 or 4 of these readied.
Complex techniques
These techniques involve multiple effects may take more actions to ready - and more than 1 focus.
Technique Ranks
Most techniques requiring focus may have as many as 6 ranks (a new rank available every 5 levels)
Technique and Magic Item Interactions
Some techniques may interact positively or negatively with magic items or other equipment, possessing an item may may make learning a technique easier or having an item donned may allow one to ready the technique with fewer actions. Or readying a technique may suppress other items or be unusable while the item is worn. (flavor text) Heated Blood for instance is said to damage you if are wearing magical armor as it turns the heat inward. Generally speaking technique bonuses do not stack with item bonuses.
Techniques (those requiring focus are analogous to the primary slot item enchantments)
Blood Control - your mastery over the blood flow of your body inures you to what might be critical harm if you are prepared at the moment of injury.
Giant Slayer if you are focused you can pick out the vulnerability of larger targets
Limber Joints (escape artistry) incompatible with physical armor
Sparking Strike - typically done with normal/non-magical weaponry rather than unarmed techniques. The sparks are often from metal splintering on the edges of the weapon - A greater charge can be released daily
Heated Blood - inspired by Cu Chulainn. Throughout the course of battle your body builds up inner heat after a protracted battle you may need bathed in copious amounts of cool water to make you safe for allies and human company.
When you are bloodied, you gain an aura of radiant heat. Any creature that starts its turn adjacent to you takes 2 fire damage. Technique requires focus - though technically what it does is forces out another item that takes focus .. rather like the brain overheating inducing loss of a minor action for a round and de-rezzing 1 technique using focus til the condition ends.
flavor - This technique is said to damage you if are wearing magical armor as it turns the heat inward (perhaps this only occurs if the magic armor has an enchantment).
The first rank is available at level 13. / focus 1
Allowing the beast to rise (aka Anger Mismanagement)
This technique allows one to access certain resources and abilities normally walled off by pain and fear and rage. Additionally your default critical hits are d8 per rank with this and critical hits while bloodied are d12. Once per encounter using minor action you count as bloodied for all purposes until the end of next turn. This technique is popular with Dragonborn, Shifters and some Orcs although any who have abilities triggered by bloodied conditions may find it useful.
The first rank is available at level 3. / focus 1
Awesome Physique
You may use your strength instead of charisma for diplomacy. This often involves in minor acts of impressive physical prowess (but can also include showing off your sinuous bulges at the right moment -- this latter may require you to not be wearing body obscuring things like most armor and some clothes even)
level 6, 1800 karma
Disarming Flourish
You may use your Strength or Dex in place of charisma, with intimidation for the standard in combat usage of intimidation. Using this technique your incredible display of prowess disarms your enemy (for those not using weapons this is a figurative disarm or those with weapons or implements it can be literal) and drives them into defeat. Your ability to communicate with the enemy has no impact on this check.
level 6, 1800 karma
Note in a world with many magic items that cling to hand or leap back to hand perhaps this ability is seen as quaint and old fashioned among the elites.
Humble Elocution
This technique is technically open to many (not just martial types) and is not actually that popular often due to personality reasons nor is it necessary that natural to most though some rogues really find it very potent alah Loki. This is a self deprecating verbal technique where humility becomes an ingratiating factor it can be sincere or deceptive and may be done in blatant fashion as part of humor.
The technique confers a technique bonus equal to your rank in it for both Diplomacy and Deception skills. Additionally Daily you may choose to re-roll a Diplomacy or Deception attempt using the second even if it is lower.
the rank 1 version is available at level 3.
This technique requires 1 focus
Perfected Disarm
If your Intimidate Battlefield Submission Power Fails to fully defeat your adversary, your astounding technique remains far from pointless. If your enemy is armed with a weapon or implement it is knocked to their feet - they spend an opportunity action to drop prone rearming themselves (but they are now prone) similarly an unarmed enemy is bowled over by your display and unable to respond to opportunities.
Trigger : your initimidate check to demand submission in combat fails.
Effet: Your enemy loses an opportunity action and is prone.
Karma 4200 , 1 focus and 1 preparation
Salmon Leap
It' relies on surprise as its pretty easy to hit a back that has been spun to you even when done with the grace of a leaping salmon, never the less I swear he must rip tendons in order to dive that far yet he manages often enough never the less.
You gain +2 technique bonus to athletic checks for jumping.
Encounter Power: Effect you jump to a square within 10 squares of you this jump does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Running On Spear Tips
You have reached beyond the limits and your enemies weapons do not impede your passage when they would most wish otherwise. Rushing directly on them they brace themselves expecting to bite deep but you run on their hafts and blades with acrobatic finesse and leave them impotently dumbfounded and occasionally that even involves movement right over their heads.
When you charge none of your movement as part of the charge provoke opportunity attacks.
Daily Power: Move Action. Shift 3 squares. This shift can move through enemies' spaces, though you must end your move in a legal space.
requires 1 focus. (2 preparations)
Martial Techniques are generally the go to treasure of the Martial Artist (see also monk). The martial artists personal journeys often feature learning new techniques by way of new masters who see in them potentials and whom they impress with their worthiness and readiness (see karma rules). Techniques and associated rules allow the aesthetics of the ascetic monastic to be expressed nicely to donate wealth they do come upon and walk alongside the augmented might of their fellow heroes.
These techniques are an extension of Grand Master Training and include direct analogs to various weaponry and armor and enchantments which enhance them ( techniques also emulate other magic items and those typically do not require focus). For me flavor is important as is having things work in Character Builder. (so even though you can generally reflavor your war hammers as fists, it's much nicer if you can learn a technique called Herculean Fists). The monk too will be fully martial in Character builder (by way of CBloader).
Some techniques go beyond what might be enabled with even rampant reflavoring of current magic items, examples of this include the evasion techniques which introduce new armor types. Additionally these rules bring some structure to the flavor that isnt entirely free form nor constrained in the same fashion as item slots.
Martial Techniques by default require the same feat as for gaining Martial Practices (Now called Martial Artistry). This limit is however for most techniques more about flavor than balance.
Supplemental rules include Karma Points and Martial Focus and Superiority Feats.
Karma Points
Karma points are an abstraction of alternative wealth, these may be gained directly over the course of adventure awarded by the DM and are numerically directly analogous to gold (many times other forms of wealth can be converted to Karma by making anonymous gifts to charity). Certain items cannot be safely given away (OoI can be used to convert some items to Karma and others may have to be Sequestered - Sequestering involves taking an item to some hidden hard to reach place often with a guardian assigned - this process will effectively convert the item to Karma, becoming this guardian may be a backstory for retiring a hero).
After all saving the village maiden isnt something less deserving of reward just because a King will reward you directly with gold.
Advanced Techniques Cost in Karma is as per a magic item in gold of the same level. (more mundane ones which cost similar to analogous weaponry or armor in karma)
A Few Relevant Practices.
*Martial Mastery/Art of the Sensei -- insight →Forge Weapon/Armor (Create Inherent Weaponry/Defense Abilities) and Create Martial Grandmaster Training. As a development practice those who learn it are reimbursed in Karma points.
*Oath of Independence / Riddle of Steel --Athletics , Endurance → Disenchant (Destroy magic item - converts to Karma Points). Learning this focus earns one an increase in your Martial Focus.
4E - List of Potential New Martial Practices
Gaining Martial Focus
Martial Focus is gained as one learns Martial Techniques in addition to that gained upon taking the Oath of Independence or Learning the riddle of steel. For each of the following increase your Maximum Martial Focus by 1.
The first Aggressive Technique
The first Evasion/Defensive Technique
The Second Aggressive Technique or a Blocking Technique.
The first Technique requiring Focus or learning the Practice "Oath of Independence/Riddle of Steel"
Unarmed Attack Techniques
Most aggressive martial techniques can be swapped out using a minor action.
- *Knife Hand Strike (Dagger needs replacement trait for light thrown)
- Circular Strike - Circular Knife hand and Spin Kicks (Analogous to a Battleaxe - versatile)
- Lunging Knife Hand (Rapier) extended front kicks
- Elbow Smash or Jab (short sword or hammer)
- *Flying Kick (Glaive)
- *Flying Spin Kick (Halberd)
- Spin Kick (Greataxe)
- Herculean or Hammer Fists --> Stamping/Jump Kick (Warhammer)
- Lunge Knuckle Punch /Lunging Kick (Longsword)
- Lunge Punch and Roundhouse Kick (Broad Sword)
- Lunging Finger jab / Toe Kick (Spear?)
- Finger Jab (Counts as a pick or dagger) - high crit? Core technique in Jit Kun Do?
- Karate Strikes ( very versatile strength oriented art) mechanically a khopesh both kicks and hand strikes and spin moves and can be combined with deflections.
- Scissor Strike - include kicks and leg/arm breakers and scissor hand attacks etc... it could be brutal two handed (Great axe - but using Superior Deadliness Feat becomes brutal like the executioner's axe)
- Versatile Leverage - when using a versatile weapon two handed you may treat it as a double weapon.
Blocking
can be swapped out or dropped using a minor action.
- Deflection
- Sweeping Block
Evasions / Wearing of Woad / Martial Tattoos
these may take as long as 5 minutes of meditation or drawing or tracing time to attain the mental state and are lost if you are knocked unconscious. They are analogous to using leather or hide armor.
- Reflexive (Int or Dex) + 2 , quick thinking or nervous response.
- Focused Reflexive (Int or Dex) + 3 (-1 on checks)
- Zen (Wis or Cha) + 2, deception / perception
- Focused Zen (Wis or Cha) + 3 (-1 on checks)
- Chi (Str or Con) + 2, deflecting with might (or life force or wild instinctive movement)
- Focused Chi (Str or Con) + 3 (-1 on checks)
Superiority Feats
These are largely replacements for the vaguely distinguished superior weaponry and allow us to not have vaguely superior techniques, without completely prohibiting them. A superiority feat is not tied to a specific technique or weapon and can itself be swapped out as minor action. Only one superiority feat can be applied at a time to a given weapon or technique. A technique which is currently affected by these feats count as a superior weapon or technique.
- Superior Proficiency while wielding any weapon or martial strike that is not a superior weapon you may increase the proficiency bonus by 1
- Superior Prowess while wielding any weapon or martial strike that is not a superior weapon you may increase the dice size by 1.
- Superior Defense while wielding any offhand weapon/martial technique that is not a superior weapon increase your effective armor class by 1.
- Deadly Superiority while wielding any weapon or martial strike that is not a superior weapon and not high crit it gains the property of high crit.
- Brutal Superiority while wielding any weapon or martial strike that is not a superior weapon you may increase or set brutality to 2 or increase property by+ 1
Readying a Technique
most techniques require readying (typically a minor action), there are limits as to how many total one can have readied. But unless the DM is very generous you are unlikely to reach those limits (10). Techniques with a focus requirement are however far more burdensome and generally one can only have 3 or 4 of these readied.
Complex techniques
These techniques involve multiple effects may take more actions to ready - and more than 1 focus.
Technique Ranks
Most techniques requiring focus may have as many as 6 ranks (a new rank available every 5 levels)
Technique and Magic Item Interactions
Some techniques may interact positively or negatively with magic items or other equipment, possessing an item may may make learning a technique easier or having an item donned may allow one to ready the technique with fewer actions. Or readying a technique may suppress other items or be unusable while the item is worn. (flavor text) Heated Blood for instance is said to damage you if are wearing magical armor as it turns the heat inward. Generally speaking technique bonuses do not stack with item bonuses.
Techniques (those requiring focus are analogous to the primary slot item enchantments)
Blood Control - your mastery over the blood flow of your body inures you to what might be critical harm if you are prepared at the moment of injury.
Giant Slayer if you are focused you can pick out the vulnerability of larger targets
Limber Joints (escape artistry) incompatible with physical armor
Sparking Strike - typically done with normal/non-magical weaponry rather than unarmed techniques. The sparks are often from metal splintering on the edges of the weapon - A greater charge can be released daily
Heated Blood - inspired by Cu Chulainn. Throughout the course of battle your body builds up inner heat after a protracted battle you may need bathed in copious amounts of cool water to make you safe for allies and human company.
When you are bloodied, you gain an aura of radiant heat. Any creature that starts its turn adjacent to you takes 2 fire damage. Technique requires focus - though technically what it does is forces out another item that takes focus .. rather like the brain overheating inducing loss of a minor action for a round and de-rezzing 1 technique using focus til the condition ends.
flavor - This technique is said to damage you if are wearing magical armor as it turns the heat inward (perhaps this only occurs if the magic armor has an enchantment).
The first rank is available at level 13. / focus 1
Allowing the beast to rise (aka Anger Mismanagement)
This technique allows one to access certain resources and abilities normally walled off by pain and fear and rage. Additionally your default critical hits are d8 per rank with this and critical hits while bloodied are d12. Once per encounter using minor action you count as bloodied for all purposes until the end of next turn. This technique is popular with Dragonborn, Shifters and some Orcs although any who have abilities triggered by bloodied conditions may find it useful.
The first rank is available at level 3. / focus 1
Awesome Physique
You may use your strength instead of charisma for diplomacy. This often involves in minor acts of impressive physical prowess (but can also include showing off your sinuous bulges at the right moment -- this latter may require you to not be wearing body obscuring things like most armor and some clothes even)
level 6, 1800 karma
Disarming Flourish
You may use your Strength or Dex in place of charisma, with intimidation for the standard in combat usage of intimidation. Using this technique your incredible display of prowess disarms your enemy (for those not using weapons this is a figurative disarm or those with weapons or implements it can be literal) and drives them into defeat. Your ability to communicate with the enemy has no impact on this check.
level 6, 1800 karma
Note in a world with many magic items that cling to hand or leap back to hand perhaps this ability is seen as quaint and old fashioned among the elites.
Humble Elocution
This technique is technically open to many (not just martial types) and is not actually that popular often due to personality reasons nor is it necessary that natural to most though some rogues really find it very potent alah Loki. This is a self deprecating verbal technique where humility becomes an ingratiating factor it can be sincere or deceptive and may be done in blatant fashion as part of humor.
The technique confers a technique bonus equal to your rank in it for both Diplomacy and Deception skills. Additionally Daily you may choose to re-roll a Diplomacy or Deception attempt using the second even if it is lower.
the rank 1 version is available at level 3.
This technique requires 1 focus
Perfected Disarm
If your Intimidate Battlefield Submission Power Fails to fully defeat your adversary, your astounding technique remains far from pointless. If your enemy is armed with a weapon or implement it is knocked to their feet - they spend an opportunity action to drop prone rearming themselves (but they are now prone) similarly an unarmed enemy is bowled over by your display and unable to respond to opportunities.
Trigger : your initimidate check to demand submission in combat fails.
Effet: Your enemy loses an opportunity action and is prone.
Karma 4200 , 1 focus and 1 preparation
Salmon Leap
It' relies on surprise as its pretty easy to hit a back that has been spun to you even when done with the grace of a leaping salmon, never the less I swear he must rip tendons in order to dive that far yet he manages often enough never the less.
You gain +2 technique bonus to athletic checks for jumping.
Encounter Power: Effect you jump to a square within 10 squares of you this jump does not provoke opportunity attacks.
Running On Spear Tips
You have reached beyond the limits and your enemies weapons do not impede your passage when they would most wish otherwise. Rushing directly on them they brace themselves expecting to bite deep but you run on their hafts and blades with acrobatic finesse and leave them impotently dumbfounded and occasionally that even involves movement right over their heads.
When you charge none of your movement as part of the charge provoke opportunity attacks.
Daily Power: Move Action. Shift 3 squares. This shift can move through enemies' spaces, though you must end your move in a legal space.
requires 1 focus. (2 preparations)
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