Generic Human Warblade 1: First Stance

[Nail]

The -2 to everyone else applies to both feats.

Stances.

Still, the Power of your Rational Arguments are weakening me.......

 

[hong]

Maneuvers.

It's late here in Austria.

Or should that be early?

 

[hong]

I see it's just as late in Cedar Rapids, IA.

 

[Egres]

Where's Stormguard Warrior?

Bo9S.

 

[jasin]

The -2 to everyone else applies to both feats.

Right. You could look at it like this: you're taking -2 to AC against everyone for being in a stance: do you want +1d6 damage or +4 AC vs. one guy? That way stance of clarity seems much more attractive to me.

But then, punishing stance applies against everyone, not just one guy. At 1st-level, that might seem like pretty much the same thing, but with steel wind and Cleave you can argue otherwise.

I'd still probably pick stance of clarity for my warblade if I were doing it again. We already have steely strike for when you want to go on all out offense, and I've seen the perils of neglecting defense completely. It's fun while it works, but once your paladin who slays dragons in one strike goes down in one strike... not so much.

 

[Nail]

You could look at it like this: you're taking -2 to AC against everyone for being in a stance: do you want +1d6 damage or +4 AC vs. one guy?

+1d6 damage vs +2 AC (not +4).

 

[Slaved]

+1d6 damage vs +2 AC (not +4).

-2 vs everyone with an extra +4 vs a single guy means -2 vs everyone but that guy who is +2 instead.

 

[Nifft]

Where's Stormguard Warrior?

It's a [Tactical] feat, so it's after all the regular feats in Tome of Battle. I think it's actually the last feat in the Feats section.

Cheers, -- N

PS: And it's so sweet, like, I gain carbs just looking at it.

 

[enlightened]

It's just that -2 AC to everyone else that really takes the luster out of it.

For punishing stance, you have to accept the -2 AC to get any benefit from the stance.

But with stance of clarity, if you are facing more than one opponent, you just simply don't enter the stance. And then when everybody but one is dead, then you go into it and benefit without losing anything.

I understand the arguement that dropping them sooner is safer, but I see punishing stance as being too risky at first level (and not worth it at higher levels).

I think it is better to get no benefit for a while and a +2 at the end of the fight than to accept a -2 AC for the whole fight even with the extra damage.

 

[Nail]

It's a [Tactical] feat, so it's after all the regular feats in Tome of Battle. I think it's actually the last feat in the Feats section.

Cheers, -- N

PS: And it's so sweet, like, I gain carbs just looking at it.

Nifft, help me with this. I've looked that feat over twice, heck, four times.....I'm just not seeing how great it is. And Iron Heart Aura? Sucks.

Enlighten me.