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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2009639" data-attributes="member: 9860">This is not a playtest review.Masters Of Arms is a sourcebook for combat manoeuvres, demonstrated using prestige classes focused on different weapons.Masters Of Arms costs $18.95 for a 96-page softcover mono book. Space is used fairly well, with a reasonable font, margins and little white space. Art is on the whole average, but often helpfully illustrates one of the combat manoeuvres. Unlike the front cover, which is somewhat confusing, though it has interesting use of colour. Steven Palmer Peterson's writing style is fairly unique - quite informal, using the first and second person (I and You) to explain things throughout the book. I'm not particularly keen on this style myself, but 'horses for courses'. What does shine through is a good sense of humour and this saves the show for me somewhat. Editing is fairly good. Masters Of Arms begins with a few definitions of terms and concepts used within the book. One of the most important concepts is that of a Combination Attack, as this is the crux of much of the rest of the book. A Combination Attack must be run as part of a full attack sequence, and is typically two or three actions linked to create an impressive or unusual attack. These may involve such actions as sacrificing an attack, skill use, a targeting attack (also known as aiming), a defensive action (requiring the Expertise feat), and changing grip on the weapon, as well as the actual final attack where appropriate.Five new weapons are discussed - the Sai (like a tined short sword), three piece staff, edged shields, kusarigama (a mix of the kama and spiked chain), and immovable rods as weapons. There is also a new material discussed - tensile mercury, which (Terminator-like) can change its shape under the psychic guidance of its wielder.There follows a somewhat lengthy and complex discussion of creating your own combination attacks, with the promise of a spreadsheet to do most of the math on the Second World Simulation website. Essentially, you look at:1. The bonuses to hit you want each phase of the combination attack to give2. Any increase or decrease in damage (or special damage effects such as blinding or entanglement)3. The interaction of the different phases - e.g. is the second phase dependent on having made a successful skill check in the first phase?The rest is probability calculus. Basically a means is presented to ensure that any combination attack you design is relatively balanced in comparison with others. The author does note that the results still need the human brain to take an intuitive look at it to check for balance, but the math can provide some interesting options you might not have thought of before. My guess is that this stuff is probably too complex for most people, but if math is your thing and you want to create balanced combination attack manoeuvres, this seems a very thorough take on it. Since my math is pretty average, I can't tell you how good the system is in reality. There is also a combo manoeuvre construction template sheet at the end of the book.There is also a note about using the combination attacks as feats, though since they're somewhat more focused than normal feats, the author posits an option for gaining extra combination attacks in trade for feat slots on a 3:2 basis. All the combination attacks are presented as feats, for use as such if desired.The remainder of the book is essentially prestige classes that specialise in a particular weapon. Each prestige class has a number of combination attacks or manoeuvres that act as class features or feats. Each prestige class is 10 levels, and has information on using it with a Wound/Vitality Point system.* Alpha Beast - designed for monsters and animals using natural attacks. Includes combination attacks such as grab and twist, bite and thrash, and pounce and slam.* Axe Power Fighter - includes combination attacks such as beheading, mighty blow, and stand fast.* Bashing Master - includes combination attacks such as concussive strike, knee-capping, and knockout blow.* Blinking Master - uses a ring of blinking or suchlike. Includes combination attacks such as by-pass threatened areas, grab heart, and step through attack.* Bow Master - includes combination attacks such as aiming, multi-targeting, and shoot through (one target into another).* Cloak Fighting Master - includes combination attacks such as cloak disarm, concealed strike, and cloak as shield.* Club Master - includes combination attacks such as vital strikes, nerve blows, and spinning throw.* Crossbow Master - includes combination attacks such as disarming shot, lung puncturing, and one shot, one kill.* Dagger Master - includes combination attacks such as hand switching, hidden blades, and throat slitting.* Double Pick Master - includes combination attacks such as double strike and flip, embed pick, and spike shield.* Dual Sai Master - includes combination attacks such as double parry, dual thrust, and hamstringing.* Dual Swords Master - includes combination manoeuvres such as crossed blade hold, dual striking, and high-low switch (an attack with both blades at once, one high, the other low)* Flail Master - includes combination attacks such as bypass shield, chain entangle and kick, and whirling shield.* Glaive Master - includes combination manoeuvres such as double weapon grip, spin swing, and threefold strike.* Greatsword Master - includes combination attacks such as armor piercing hit, greatsword spin strike, and underbelly strike.* Immovable Rod Master - includes combination attacks such as plant rod in throat, rod acrobatic kick, and power crush.* Improvised Weapon Master - focuses on the ability to use anything handy as a weapon or shield and includes features such as improvised shield, toss anything, and use person as weapon (throwing people at your enemies).* Kusarigama Master - includes combination attacks such as chain entangle, grab and spike, and wrap-around cut.* Longspear Master - includes combination manoeuvres such as hold at bay, skewer and flip, and skewer and pin.* Net Master - includes combination manoeuvres such as quick fold, ranged disarm, and spinning the net.* Precision Sword Master - focuses on targeted attacks, includes combination attacks such as blinding slash, finding the vitals, and sword thrust. Also contains a ruleset for duelling.* Quarterstaff Master - includes combination attacks such as double trip and double strike, leg sweep, and spin staff.* Ranseur Master - includes combination attacks such as damaging disarm, stick a fork in him he's done, and strike and thrust.* Rapier Master - includes combination attacks such as carve initials, cut clothing ties, and twirling blade.* Rod Of Lordly Might Master - uses the magical qualities of a rod of lordly might to effect such combination manoeuvres as lordly might (extend rod down someones throat and twist the rungs), launch self (ride the expanding rod), and launch strike (launch self as an attack).* Scimitar Master - includes combination attacks such as arrow cutting, blade whirling and hand switching, and whirling slash.* Scythe Master - includes combination attacks such as hook and grab, hook and pass, and hook and toss.* Spiked Chain Master - includes combination manoeuvres such as bypass parry, chain entangle, and chain toss.* Sword And Dagger Master - includes combination attacks such as block and throw, desperate defense, and pin and multi-stab.* Sword And Shield Master - includes combination attacks such as duck and leg slash, rush smash and slash, and shield slash (after sharpening the edge of your shield).* Telekinesis Master - focuses on the ability to use some form of telekinesis to attack with melee weapons at range and such-like.* Tensile Mercury Weapon Master - uses weapons made of tensile mercury (see above) to effect some neat tricks.* Three-Piece Staff Master - includes combination attacks such as numbing strikes, strike and disarm, and three-piece staff choke hold.* Throwing Hammer Master - includes combination attacks such as rebounding hit, concussion throw, and knockdown throw.* Trident Master - includes combination attacks such as bull rush leverage, tail grab, and underwater fighting.* Two Axe Fighting Master - includes combination attacks such as doble-hit then toss, scissors, and split strike (attack 2 different targets at once).Conclusion:Masters Of Arms is replete with ideas and examples of its subject matter. You can choose to use the combat manoeuvres presented as either class features for the 36 weapon-focused prestige classes as presented, or as feats to introduce as required to players who want a neat trick to capture the flavour of their character's fighting style. Some of the combat manoeuvres and prestige class are more interesting than others.For those who like their math and rule design, this book allows you to also create your own combination attacks and manoeuvres, but as the book itself points out, the process is not for the faint-hearted.I'm not immensely enamoured with the author's writing style though I really liked the his wry sense of humour. The book is at its most useful for those players/GMs/groups who make combat tactics a focus of their play, and to those people I would highly recommend the book. For those whose style is more story- and character-focused, there is less of interest here, but the odd combat manoeuvre here and there will still be of interest to most players to take as a feat to round out their character.The combat manoeuvres definitely have a high 'cool' factor, and from the thorough presentation of a system for balancing these combined manoeuvres, it seems likely that they will not unbalance play, whilst greatly enhancing the excitement of combat.</blockquote>

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