D&D 4E List of Potential New Martial Practices

[AbdulAlhazred]

A Kensei is a specialized Swords teacher. I misspelled Sensei numerous times lol.

I don't think your use was incorrect. 'Sensei' is 'teacher' in Japanese. Kensei - I don't know the etymology, but the two words sound very similar, so I'm guessing it not only connotes a master at swordsmanship, but also one who teaches said mastery. So 'swordsmanship teacher' could pretty much use either term, though I'm sure one is more correct than the other.

Anyway, my use of the more general term was really intended to generalize the concept, though I then went ahead and used sword fighting as an example. The same concept would hold for any other discipline.

The character could have taken Forge Mastery (and be able to Forge the village weapons they werent expected to have) neither ability I think demands the kind of Ranking process you mention. Although there are ranks I have in techniques they go from any mundane weapon to +6 magic items basically.

I was specifically pushing that ANY hero could either spend the cash or effort and teach the village something of this sort which would enhance the situation but the sensei does it cheaper just like a ritualist does some things cheaper.

Yeah, HoML has other considerations with boons, which pushed me in the direction of a sort of 'path', which is mainly to say that each boon gets you a couple of power choices. So you need a number of boons in the same discipline to provide a full menu of choices across all 20 levels. However I didn't really intend it to be like a 'path' in that every PC needs to get each boon in order, you could potentially have only the most advanced one, if that makes sense narratively in the game.

I agree, any PC (or person) can teach, but having the practice will make you MUCH more effective. In HoML terms you can spend a 'boost' (usually, but not always, a Vitality Point) to guarantee a success in your SC for that check. This lets the players 'invest' in what they REALLY want. Of course if they burn a lot of VPs to breeze through the 'train the villagers' SC, then there will be that many less available when the 'defend the village' SC/combat(s) comes up.

In the case above its basically providing the village with unexpected weaponry and perhaps another party member could also say I am a Warlord and i am going to use my mastery of battle and History skill to set a plan and to get the village acting as a team I will use Diplomacy and knowing when and where to respond to the enemy. Get them wetting down buildings so the enemy cannot burn them so easily might be in their some where.

And perhaps combine that with the party engineer (wink wink) setting man traps with the villagers helping the entire process.

We can use the above so that we can funnel the baddest of the bad guys to the players who can take them out and so the village will be relatively unaffected.

Sure, and likewise you could have a 'Master Strategist' practice that provided roughly the same results, but relied on different stats and perhaps demanded a different boost price.

 

[Garthanos]

Sure, and likewise you could have a 'Master Strategist' practice that provided roughly the same results, but relied on different stats and perhaps demanded a different boost price.

Well we have been discussing how to get Strategic ability into the game... and Martial Practices kind of fit the type

Oath of Fealty practice just gets you the followers in normal circumstances.

 

[Garthanos]

Idea to give Endurance some loving in the arena of performing skills for a long time

Persistant Practictioner

Pick several practices number to be determined and if you spend X minutes longer or perhaps 2x
You can use endurance as the Normal skill for reducing the Healing Surge Cost on that use.

 

[Garthanos]

I don't think your use was incorrect. 'Sensei' is 'teacher' in Japanese.

I spelled it with an a though....

 

[Garthanos]

I think it is worth noting that the primary benefit of strategy was not really in making the battle go better for the PCs against the bigger badders but in making the scenario outcome better which is the real win and the real goal.... if the PCs just fought the bad guys and won ... they are fiddling while Rome burns if the town is pillaged around them. And there didnt have to be any big mechanic changes to make this all happen, even if it points to improvements of some non-combat elements like practices.

I think skill challenges are great they needed presented better and refined before system release and abandoning them is just reason 872 why Mearles and the capitulation which is 5e sucks.

 

[Garthanos]

Idea to give Endurance some loving in the arena of performing skills for a long time

Persistant Practictioner

Pick several practices number to be determined and if you spend X minutes longer or perhaps 2x
You can use endurance as the Normal skill for reducing the Healing Surge Cost on that use.

This is kind of like the Metapractice - Acupuncture, which allows thievery to be applied to a set of practices. If it applied to a specific category for which it made sense that would make it exactly like it.

I have at least a couple of reasons for wanting something like this

• Arcana allows the mage a huge set of rituals and EVERY mage has it.
• Endurance getting more say in long term use of skilled activity HELL yes.

I named it like a feat I know... but.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

That SCHandbook has a bit of an interesting take on SCs. Dang it [MENTION=82504]Garthanos[/MENTION], do you want me rewriting half of my game AGAIN!!!!????

 

[Garthanos]

That SCHandbook has a bit of an interesting take on SCs. Dang it @Garthanos, do you want me rewriting half of my game AGAIN!!!!????

Heh hehehehh .... yes, now that you mention it, yes I do

Skill challenges need to be sweet and given closer to their full potential ie moving forward not abandoned or short sheeted by anything wanting to be a descendant of our favorite game.

There is a lot to absorb in that handbook isnt there.

 

[Garthanos]

Especially anything with awesome name and potential of Heros of Myth and Legend. [MENTION=82106]AbdulAlhazred[/MENTION]

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Heh hehehehh .... yes, now that you mention it, yes I do

Skill challenges need to be sweet and given closer to their full potential ie moving forward not abandoned or short sheeted by anything wanting to be a descendant of our favorite game.

There is a lot to absorb in that handbook isnt there.

Agreed. Up until NOW I hadn't seen something that grabbed me and said "This is better than the RC edit of 4e SCs", but I think I have to definitely rethink that now. Luckily I could change over to a system like the one in the PDF without it really mucking up the game too much. SCs are a vital part of HoML, but the exact internals aren't SUPER critical as long as they're based on discrete task resolution, which this system is. My "practices act as a license to pay for auto-success" actually works REALLY WELL with this writeup, I think.