Stunting And You: A Guide

[GlaziusF]

This is a preliminary work. I'd love some comments.

Stunting And You

These are rules for slightly more structured combat stunts, offering a little guideline beyond what's in the DMG. I use the DCs from the revised table on page 42, but add +2 for weapon DCs and +5 for skill DCs.

Overview

There are three broad categories of stunts you can do: modified charges, setup attacks, and free-form attacks. Stunts are composed of components, each with a positive or negative difficulty - most components work together, though there are some exceptions. Some components offer variable bonuses for variable difficulties.

Add the difficulty of all components to get the difficulty of the stunt. Every stunt must have an end difficulty of zero or less - linking a skill check to a stunt is a common way of reducing its difficulty.

In addition, every character gets another resource called "stunt points", which can be spent once per round as a free action to decrease stunt difficulty by 3.

Stunts are not intended to unilaterally increase your combat options, but to provide a framework to fit something you're already planning. Running up a wall to strike down an archer on the battlements, aiming a shot to drop a cargo net on a pirate, or pushing a crumbling column over onto some undead can all be modeled with this system.

Modified Charges

You hook your toes into the edge of the chandelier and swing out into empty space. That guard on the opposite balcony will be way too busy with the fighter's sword in his face to see your knife in the back coming.

The common charge may not see much use, so here are some ways to jazz it up a bit. This stunt builds on the charge attack - a standard action that lets you move up to your speed and make a basic attack at the end of the move, but that must be your last action for the turn.

Charge components come in four categories: check, motion, attack, and balance.

Check

All Check components are mutually exclusive. You must use a Check component in your stunt.

Easy - Base Difficulty -1
You must make an easy skill check to successfully pull off the charge.

Medium - Base Difficulty -2
You must make a medium skill check to successfully pull off the charge.

Hard - Base Difficulty -3
You must make a hard skill check to successfully pull off the charge.

If you fail the skill check, you must make a normal attempt to charge the target. If you cannot conventionally charge the target, you must move as close to it as possible within the limits of your normal movement speed. In either case, you can take no more actions that turn, as usual for a charge.

Motion

Speedy- Base Difficulty 1 + 1 per
Increase your speed by 2 when determining how far you can charge.
Additional Difficulty: +1 per point beyond 2.

Deft - Base Difficulty 1 + 2 per
Your motion as part of the charge does not provoke opportunity attacks from one enemy.
Additional Difficulty: +2 per additional enemy.

Momentous - Base Difficulty 2 + 1 per
Treat up to 3 squares of difficult terrain as normal when determining how far you can charge.
Additional Difficulty: +1 per extra square of difficult terrain treated as normal.

Adroit - Base Difficulty 2
You do not have to end your charge at the closest point to the enemy you are charging. You may move and end your move however you wish, though you must still end at a point where you can attack the enemy.

Impossible - Base Difficulty 3
During the charge, you gain a fly speed equal to half your charging speed. If you end your charge in a square that can't support your weight, you fall after making the attack. If you fail the skill check to make an impossible charge, make a saving throw. On a failure, you stop before you would begin flying and fall prone. On a success, you simply stop.

Round Trip - Base Difficulty 4
Not compatible with other Motion components.
The charge becomes a close burst with a radius of 1 plus half your speed, targeting one creature in the burst. For purposes of combat advantage or attack effects you may make your attack from any adjacent square within the burst.

Attack

Recoil - Base Difficulty 2
If you hit with your attack, you can take any unused actions afterward.

Sudden - Base Difficulty 3
You make the attack at the end of the charge with combat advantage.

Focused - Base Difficulty 3
You can use an at-will attack power with the melee keyword instead of a basic melee attack.

Awkward - Base Difficulty -1
You take a -2 penalty to the attack. This stacks with but does not replace any charge bonus.

Balance

Off-Balance - Base Difficulty -1
If you fail the skill check to pull off the charge, you fall prone at the end of your move. If you also took the Impossible component, you instead automatically fail the save to avoid falling prone as part of a failed Impossible charge.

Overbalanced - Base Difficulty -1
If you miss with any attack you make as part of the charge, fall prone immediately after you finish your attack.

Unbalanced - Base Difficulty -2
Not compatible with other Balance components.
You grant combat advantage until the end of your next turn.

Setup Attacks

You plant your feet and rock back, whipping your head forward into the elemental's head-analogue. Its eyespots collide with each other and the shock knocks it silly. And momma said wizard school was just a waste of money.

A setup attack is a little like a bull rush - an attribute vs. defense attack that causes a special effect. They can also cause damage. Setup attacks involve an initial skill check before this attack.

Setup attack components include check, type, attack, damage, effect, and motion components.

Making a setup attack is usually a standard action.

Check

All Check components are mutually exclusive. You must use a Check component in your stunt.

Easy - Base Difficulty -1
You must make an easy skill check to set up the attack.

Medium - Base Difficulty -2
You must make a medium skill check to set up the attack.

Hard - Base Difficulty -3
You must make a hard skill check to set up the attack.

If you fail the skill check, you cannot make the followup attack.

Type

Select one of these four attack types:

Weapon - Base Difficulty 0
Your followup attack uses your equipped weapon, with your weapon's range, and targets AC.

Body - Base Difficulty 0
Your followup attack uses either your Strength or Constitution modifier, is melee range, and targets Fortitude.

Quickness - Base Difficulty 0
Your followup attack uses either your Intelligence or Dexterity modifier, is ranged 5, and targets Reflex.

Spirit - Base Difficulty 0
Your followup attack uses either your Wisdom or Charisma modifier, is ranged 5, and targets Will.

Extended - Base Difficulty 1
A Quickness or Spirit followup attack is instead ranged 10.

Charging - Base Difficulty 0
A melee Weapon or Body followup attack can be used at the end of a charge.

Attack

Practiced - Base Difficulty 1
You make a Body, Quickness, or Spirit followup attack with a +2 bonus to hit. This bonus increases to +4 at paragon tier and +6 at epic tier.

Unconventional - Base Difficulty 1
A followup attack that targets Fortitude, Reflex, or Will instead targets a different one of these defenses.

Penetrating - Base Difficulty 2
A Weapon followup attack targets Fortitude, Reflex, or Will, instead of AC.

Sudden - Base Difficulty 3
You make the followup attack with combat advantage.

Awkward - Base Difficulty -1
Not compatible with Practiced.
You take a -2 penalty to the followup attack.

Damage

Damage refers to the damage expressions on page 42 of the DMG. Select one of these four Damage components:

High - Base Difficulty 1
The followup attack deals high normal damage.

Medium - Base Difficulty 0
The followup attack deals medium normal damage.

Low - Base Difficulty -1
The followup attack deals low normal damage.

None - Base Difficulty -2
The followup attack deals no damage. Use when you only want to inflict an effect.

Elemental - Base Difficulty Special
You can deal any type of elemental damage with the followup attack, as long as you and your DM agree it is reasonable. However, when elemental damage has a special effect, such as slowing, or when it targets a vulnerability, treat the attack as though it used a damage component that reflects the higher damage, or an effect component to create its special effect.

Effects

Push - Base Difficulty 1 + 1 per
You push the target 1 square.
Additional Difficulty - +1 per additional square.

Slide - Base Difficulty 2 + 2 per
You slide the target 1 square.
Additional Difficulty - +2 per additional square.

Prone - Base Difficulty 2
The target is knocked prone.

Slow - Base Difficulty 3
The target is slowed until the end of your next turn.

Immobilized - Base Difficulty 3
The target is immobilized until the end of your next turn.

Weakened - Base Difficulty 4
The target is weakened until the end of your next turn.

Dazed - Base Difficulty 5
The target is dazed until the end of your next turn.

Restrained - Base Difficulty 6
The target is restrained until the end of your next turn.

Blinded - Base Difficulty 6
The target is blinded until the end of your next turn.

Stunned - Base Difficulty 7
The target is stunned until the end of your next turn.

Backlash - Base Difficulty -1
You can only select Backlash with at least one other Effects or Damage component.
If your followup attack fails, you suffer all the effects and/or damage you were attempting to inflict. If you would be pushed or slid, your enemy decides where you go.

Motion

If your attack has a Charging component, you can use any Motion component from the modified charges.

Breakthrough - Base Difficulty 1 + 2 optional
If you moved to deliver the attack you can continue moving up to the limit of your movement speed.
Additional Difficulty - This movement does not provoke an opportunity attack from the creature you attacked.

Passing - Base Difficulty 4
Passing can only be used with melee-range attacks.
This attack is a free action as part of movement. If the attack fails, your movement immediately ends. You may make one Passing attack per turn.

Free-Form Attacks

A chandelier. A crowd of charging guardsmen. A loose rope. A set of cutlery hastily arranged in the symbol of Jermael, minor god of happy accidents. Some days, it's just too easy.

To make a free-form attack, you must spend a stunt point. This counts toward your normal limit of one stunt point per round and reduces the difficulty of the free-form attack by 3. Free-form attacks can deal more damage than setup attacks, and you can make them over larger areas. They may not even need followup attack rolls to hit. The costs of free-form attacks do not include the bonus for using a stunt point.

Making a free-form attack is always a standard action.

Free-form attack components include check, type, attack, damage, and effects components.

Check

All Check components are mutually exclusive. You must use a Check component in your stunt.

Easy - Base Difficulty -1
You must make an easy skill check to make the free-form attack.

Medium - Base Difficulty -2
You must make a medium skill check to make the free-form attack.

Hard - Base Difficulty -3
You must make a hard skill check to make the free-form attack.

If you fail the skill check, the free-form attack fails.

Type

Select one of the following four attack types:

Ranged - Base Difficulty 0 + 1 per
The attack is a close burst 10, targeting one creature in the burst.
Additional Difficulty - increase the burst radius by 5. You can do this twice.

Blast - Base Difficulty 3 + 2 optional
The attack is a close blast 3.
Additional Difficulty - Close blast 5.

Area - Base Difficulty 4 + 2 per
A ranged attack becomes an area burst 1 within its range.
Additional difficulty - increase the burst radius by 1. You can do this twice.

Wall - Base Difficulty 2 + 1 per
A ranged attack becomes an area wall 3 within its range.
Additional difficulty - add 2 squares to the wall.

Attack

Aimed Attack - Base Difficulty -3
Select a followup attack type from the setup attack components. You must hit with an attack targeting the appropriate defense for your free-form attack to hit, though it retains its range. You can select attack components from the setup attack components to modify this attack roll or the defense.

Damage

Damage refers to the damage expressions on page 42 of the DMG. Select one of these seven Damage components:

High Limited - Base Difficulty 6
Deal high limited damage.

Medium Limited - Base Difficulty 5
Deal medium limited damage.

Low Limited - Base Difficulty 4
Deal low limited damage.

High - Base Difficulty 0
Deal high normal damage.

Medium - Base Difficulty -1
Deal medium normal damage.

Low - Base Difficulty -2
Deal low normal damage.

None - Base Difficulty -3
Deal no damage. Use when you only want to inflict an effect.

Elemental - Base Difficulty 0
Your attack can deal any element you wish, even if it exploits creature vulnerabilities.

Effects

Most effects components are equal to setup attack components in effect and cost.

Backlash - Base Difficulty -1
You can only select Backlash with an Aimed Attack and at least one other Effects or Damage component.
If your followup attack fails, you suffer all the effects and/or damage you were attempting to inflict. If you would be pushed or slid, your enemy decides where you go.

Risky - Base Difficulty -1
You can only select Risky with at least one other Effects or Damage component.
If the initial skill check fails, you suffer all the effects and/or damage you were attempting to inflict. If you would be pushed or slid, your enemy decides where you go.

Stunt Points

You get one stunt point per encounter per tier. 1 at heroic tier, 2 at paragon tier, 3 at epic tier. Unused stunt points do not carry over between encounters. When you spend your second wind, you regain one used stunt point.

In addition, several feats can increase your stock of stunt points. To wit:

Resourceful [Heroic]
Benefits: You receive one additional stunt point per encounter. You can also use Preparation as an encounter power.
Preparation - Feat Power
Encounter
Personal - Free Action
Special: You must spend a stunt point to use this power. This counts toward your normal limit of one stunt point per turn.
Effect: For the rest of the encounter, reduce the difficulty of any stunt you perform by 1.

Quick Thinking [Paragon]
Prerequisites: Resourceful
Benefits: You receive one additional stunt point per encounter. You can also use Think Quick! as a daily power.
Think Quick! - Feat Power
Daily
Personal - Free Action
Special: You can only use this power when performing a stunt.
Effect: You can spend up to three stunt points to reduce the difficulty of the stunt. Each one reduces it by 3 as normal.

Virtuoso [Epic]
Prerequisites: Quick Thinking
Benefits: You receive one additional stunt point per encounter. When you use Preparation, the difficulty of stunts drops by 2. You can use Think Quick! a number of times per day equal to half your Dexterity or Intelligence modifier, but no more than once per encounter.

Three magical items also affect your ability to stunt.

Headband of Improvisation - Level 6+
This headband enhances your ability to salvage something from nothing.
Level 6, 1800 gp - Level 16, 45000 gp - Level 26, 1125000 gp
Property: Gain a +1 item bonus to any skill you are not trained in.
Level 16: +3 item bonus
Level 26: +5 item bonus
Power (Daily): Minor Action. Regain 1 spent stunt point.
Level 16: Up to 2 spent stunt points.
Level 26: Up to 3 spent stunt points.

Surprising Sabatons - Level 3+
These mail boots appear to be heavy and cumbersome but can be surprisingly nimble.
Level 3, 680 gp - Level 13, 17000 gp - Level 23, 425,000 gp
Power (Encounter): Minor Action. Reduce the difficulty of the next stunt you attempt by 2.
Level 13: Reduce difficulty by 4.
Level 23: Reduce difficulty by 6.

Boots of Flexibility - Level 8+
These stiff leather boots provide plenty of support, but with a little careful pressure they'll bend any way you choose.
Level 8, 3400 gp - Level 18, 85000 hp - Level 28, 2125000 gp
Property: Reduce the difficulty of all stunts you perform by 1.
Level 18: Reduce difficulty by 2.
Level 28: Reduce difficulty by 3.

 

[Crashy75]

There is a lot to take in here, but it looks promising. Could you give specific examples and how you would handle them with this system?

 

[GlaziusF]

There is a lot to take in here, but it looks promising. Could you give specific examples and how you would handle them with this system?

Sure. Some of my "at maximum" examples when I was calculating numbers worked like this.

---

Scenario: Visiting the Fray

A warlord is on the poop deck of a pirate ship. Next to him is a rope. Down below him is a raging melee. He locks his feet around the rope, swings through the fray upside-down, clouts the pirate captain on the head to open him up to an attack from the rogue, then swings back to the poop deck and dismounts.

This is a modified charge. The warlord selected the Round Trip (to wind up where he started) and Focused (to Furious Smash instead of basic melee) components for a total difficulty of 7, burned a stunt point to take the difficulty to 4, and added the Awkward disadvantage to take it to 3. He was satisfied with making the hard check, which in this case was Athletics.

He has to first make a hard Athletics check, and can then make a Furious Smash on the captain down below at -1 - +1 for the charge bonus, -2 for Awkward.

---

Scenario: Lower The Boom

Just before that, the rogue found himself up on the boom with nobody in immediate stabbing range. Having no convenient handholds, he steeled himself for the fall - but why take the fall when there's a deck full of fall guys? He launched himself at one of the pirates, yelling "Catch me, you idiot!" in his best imitation of the captain's voice. The poor sod looked up, got a faceful of boots, and was knocked sprawling while the rogue moved up to the captain.

This is a setup attack, a Strength vs. Fort attack set up by a Bluff check. The rogue wanted to keep going, so he made it a Passing attack, for a base difficulty of 4. He wanted to push the pirate one square and knock him prone, bringing the difficulty to 7. He also wanted to make sure the Passing attack hit by making it at +2, so he bumped the difficulty to 8 for Trained. He then spent a stunt point to take difficulty down to 5, opted to have the attack deal low damage to take it to 4, and then decided it might Backlash to bring it to 3, since he'd bounce off the pirate and take fall damage. That left him with a hard check.

So the rogue makes a hard Bluff check, then follows it up with a Strength + 2 vs. Fortitude attack that will deal a small amount of damage to the pirate, push him, and knock him prone. If it misses the pirate will push him and knock him prone and the rogue will take the damage. But it hit, and the rogue could use his remaining movement and make an attack on the pirate captain.

------

Scenario: Net Benefits

The ranger, not particularly inclined to join the scrum, looks around for options and spies a nearby cargo net laden with crates. He takes a moment to pick out a weak spot in the rope and shoots an arrow, dropping the whole mess down below.

This is a free-form attack, which the ranger spends a stunt point to make. He decides to base it around Perception, and makes the attack an area burst 1 within 10, at a base difficulty of 1 (4 - 3 for the stunt point). He decides that the attack will restrain anything it hits for 1 turn, for a difficulty of 7 total, and that it will deal medium normal damage, for a difficulty of 6. He then decides it will deal damage on an aimed attack, Dexterity vs. Reflex, for a total difficulty of 3, which leaves him with a hard check to make.

So the ranger makes a hard Perception check, targets the net as an area burst 1 within 10, and makes a Dexterity vs. Reflex attack against every enemy it hits, dealing medium damage and restraining them until the end of the ranger's next turn.

 

[Crashy75]

That... is very cool. I could use something like this in my online game. My dwarven cleric and his halfling rogue partner are trying to subdue a single orc minion.

 

[GlaziusF]

It came to my attention that while the original document was nicely organized, it was very hard to follow for the casual reader. Therefore:

You And Stunting

A companion document to "Stunting And You", this is a quick guide to using the system, as opposed to just how it's organized.

Step 1: Pick a Category

The stunt system is a way to model dramatic stunts. It does offer characters more flexibility, but its main intent is to put up a framework for all those crazy stunts you already have in mind but aren't quite sure how or if you can pull off. So here are the three categories of stunts and what they're trying to model. Once you've picked a category, move on to step 2.

Modified Charge

The main focus of a modified charge is movement. Stunts that involve moving in unusual ways to get into position for an attack will be pretty well modeled under the modified charge, whether it's sliding down a banister, bulling through difficult rubble, running up a wall -- even grabbing a rope to swing out to attack and back again. If you don't want to make an attack at the end of the charge, but instead something like a bull rush, keep the modified charge in mind but consider a setup attack instead.

Setup Attack

The setup attack is about delivering damage or effects to a single target that don't necessarily come from your weapon. Sliding on a slick floor to body-check an enemy, tapping into an arcane ward to lash out with force, or clouting an enemy on the head to daze it are all covered by setup attacks. Setup attacks can also be used to hit something in the middle of movement, either as a standard action or a free action. Setup attacks can incorporate charges, but have a greater variety at the impact point than a charge attack. They don't do very high damage and can't be used against multiple targets - if you want to overcome those limitations, use a freeform attack.

Freeform Attacks

Freeform attacks need a stunt point to perform, but in exchange can spread over a wide area, do a lot of damage, or have powerful effects. They're for the big things, like toppling over a crumbling pillar, loosening the bolt on a water tower to bring it crashing down, or invoking a local deity to shed a blinding flash of light. Range doesn't matter much for freeform attacks, but the mandatory stunt point makes them overkill for stuff that isn't so impressive.

Step 2: Lay the Groundwork

Now that you've decided what category your stunt's in, you need to decide what you're going to be rolling to pull it off - what skill check or ability check will set it up, and how the followup attack (if any) will work. The skill check should relate to the process of the stunt, somehow. Athletics and Acrobatics are both pretty good bases for stunts, but some scenarios may suggest other skills. Free-form attacks especially leave things wide open.

The followup attack is already decided for you in a charge, but a necessary component of setup attacks and an optional part of freeform attacks. You can make a weapon attack vs. AC, a Str or Con attack vs. Fort, a Dex or Int attack vs. Ref, or a Wis or Cha attack vs. Will. When used as part of a setup attack, a Str or Con attack is melee range, and the other attribute attacks have a slightly longer range. When used as part of a freeform attack, all followup attacks have the same range.

Once you've decided what skill to roll to see if you pull off the attack, and what attack comes after that, move on to

Step 3: Pile On Bennies

This is why you're stunting to begin with, right? Doing more than you could with your normal attacks. This is where you start racking up difficulty. Here are some notable beneficial elements for each type of attack.

For a charge attack, the main draw is motion. You can extend your normal movement range, avoid opportunity attacks, plow through difficult terrain like it weren't there, move in decidedly non-straight lines, even temporarily "fly" to reach heights and cross chasms. Or do most of the above by going round trip. But there are attack benefits too, like making your charge from a surprising angle (say, right through a smoke cloud) or using one of your melee at-will powers instead of a basic melee attack.

For a followup attack, you can spend a little difficulty boosting the range on ranged attacks or changing which defense your attack targets. If you're making the attack at the end of a charge you can add in whatever charge benefits you'd like as well. Something you'll almost certainly want is to make the followup a "practiced" attack, with a bonus of +2 per tier. This parallels a bonus you might get from a magic weapon or implement, since there aren't magic charging shoulders or head-bonking gauntlets. But the big draw is the damage and effect components. Damage can actually drop difficulty if you're okay with hitting weakly (the standard damage expressions are on page 42 of your DMG) but effects are pure bennie. Everything from pushing somebody around or knocking them prone to restraining, blinding, or stunning them, if you're willing to take the difficulty.

In addition to the damage and effect components, a big draw of freeform attacks is their area target ability. You can drop an area burst, unleash a blast, or lay down a wall effect if you want to model something like a collapsing column which will hit a long, narrow range.

Freeform attacks can deal any kind of elemental damage you want, since you're burning the stunt point, but if a followup attack deals elemental damage to a monster that takes more damage or suffers an effect like slowing from an elemental type, you need to work the damage and effects like you were trying to deliver them in the first place. Because, uh, you are.

Step 4: Scale Down Difficulty

The last thing you want to use to bring difficulty to 0 or below is the check, so after you've gotten all the bennies you wanted, add on enough negative components to bring things down to 3, 2, or 1 for a hard, medium, or easy check, respectively.

Having trouble getting it that low? Charges have balance components, where you fall over if you honk the charge or just grant combat advantage for a turn. The attack can also be made as a penalty. You can do that for followup attacks too, as long as they're not 'practiced'. For followup and free-form attacks, you can scale back on the damage the attack does, or if it's hit bottom already, add a backlash component to risk that you'll suffer the damage or effects you were trying to inflict on a failure. Backlash doesn't get any more negative with stronger effects, though, so keep that in mind.

You can also require that a freeform attack succeed at a followup attack roll to hit. You can tweak this roll by making it "practiced" or target a different defense, but if you make it too easy you might end up making up the drop in difficulty and then some.

You always take 3 points off the difficulty of a freeform attack, since you spend a stunt point to make one, but if you're having trouble bringing a modified charge or followup attack within skill distance, consider spending a stunt point.

 

[Siberys]

So, with the difficulty, the goal is to set up the points to equal 1, 2, or 3, and then make a skill check that is easy, moderate, or hard for your level, respectively?

Did I read it right?

 

[GlaziusF]

So, with the difficulty, the goal is to set up the points to equal 1, 2, or 3, and then make a skill check that is easy, moderate, or hard for your level, respectively?

Did I read it right?

Yep. Using the revised table on page 42 but adding +5 for skill checks - or using the page 42 table in the first printing but not adding anything for skill checks and dropping 5 for raw ability checks. A "hard" check at level 1 is DC 20.