I was wondering if I could also get some help with stances. I see my level 14 you have 3 stances but how do you know what level stances you can take? TOB does a good job telling you what level maneuvers you can have but not stances. I am REALLY confused!
Also 2 other questions. How many strikes can you use per round?
And again I go back to avalanche of blades. I see that it is a full round attack and you keep swinging at -4 per swing until you miss. However by this level you should have at least 3 attacks on a full attack round. That being said this helps out a little but it seams lame. Thoughts?
Thanks!
The levels of the stances you know are the same as the levels of the maneuvers that you can learn at the level you learn the stances. For example, if you learned a new stance (by taking the Martial Stance feat) at sixth level, you would be eligible for a 3rd-level stance. Basically, for levels, stances and maneuvers are governed by the same rules. The big difference is that you can't un-learn or trade up a stance like you can a regular maneuver. For a pure warblade, your level one and level four stances will be from the 1st-level stances (the stance you gain at 4th level could theoretically be a 2nd-level stance, but no such thing exists). The one you get at 10th level can be from any level at or below level 4, as that is the highest level maneuver you can know at that initiator level.
Your strikes per round are limited solely by their action type. You have one swift action each round, so you can typically use one boost. You generally have one standard action each round, so you can use one strike that uses a standard action each round. If your strike uses a full-round-action, you can perform one of those, and maybe a boost (swift action), but couldn't generally combine that with one that takes a standard action, since those action types (standard and full-round) can't be taken in the same round.
The power of Avalance of Blades comes from situations where you have an excess of accuracy for the AC of the target. If you can get a temporary boost to effective accuracy (or if you get really lucky, or if the AC of the target you are attacking is really low relative to your attack bonus), you can make -- potentially many -- more attacks than a normal full-round attack. For instance, if you were a multiclass assassin or wizard, you could apply wraithstrike as a swift action spell, then keep making touch attacks until you missed. Against a big, clumsy foe, that could be a lot of hits. Against foes with ACs high enough to make hitting with all of your iterative attacks doubtful, you are correct that it is not a huge power boost (and may, with poor luck, be a power loss) over making normal iterative attacks.
Another question I have is how many strikes, counters and boosts can be used in a round? What if they have a full round attack? Does that make a difference on how many strikes they could use?
For example lets say you are a TWF - Could you use raging mongoose, then use say Greater insightful strike, insightful strike and diamond blade strike all in the same round if you had all of the maneuvers readied?
Thanks... It just isn't written clearly.
As noted, the maneuvers you use (including initiating or changing stances) is governed by action type. In one round, you have one move and one standard action (which can be combined into a full-round action or traded to two move actions); you also have one swift/immediate action that "refreshes" at the end of each of your turns. That means you can't generally take more than one swift action during your turn. Further, if you use a counter (they are all immediate actions, if I recall), you won't be able to use a swift action on your upcoming turn. (That is meaningful to warblades in that they won't be able to recharge maneuvers on the round following the use of an immediate action, like a counter.)
Your specific example is not possible. Three of the maneuvers you are using are standard actions, so they can't all be used in the same round, and aren't in any way meaningfully combined with two-weapon fighting (which uses the full-round attack to employ). Keep in mind that many maneuvers --particularly strikes -- allow an attack, but that doesn't mean that they can be used in place of just any old attack. I would allow (and argue for) using one of the strikes on the same round as the boost. That seems pretty by-the-book. You would have one really hard hit (quadruple damage or double-concentration-check damage) followed by a flurry of normal attacks. None of those strikes, however, are really "using" TWF. They are regular standard action attack-granting maneuvers (albeit with increased damage). You would, unless you have eliminated them completely, be applying the TWF attack penalty on your main attack for the opportunity to make two additional (off-hand weapon) attacks.
A lot of this is found in the SRD or the general combat rules rather than in
Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords, so I understand your possible confusion. Anyhow, I hope that helps.
