From Aikido to Zen (F)

Fencing- Italian

Weapon Style

Unlike the French school, Italian fencing relied more on power than grace. Two-weapon combat was favored with a classic coupe-de-grace of this style consisting of a grapple (often with the cloak or by dropping the primary weapon and using the right arm to grapple) to allow a vicious stab to the ribs with a secondary weapon.

Prerequisite: Attack Focus (sword)

Style Maneuvers

Weapons 4 ranks: When using the Two-Weapon Fighting perk, your attack penalty is reduced by 2.

Weapons 8 ranks: Attack Focus (sword): +2 on attack rolls

Weapons 12 ranks: +2 damage bonus when using the Aggressive Stance perk.

Weapons 16 ranks: Attack Specialization (sword): +3 on damage rolls

Weapons 20 ranks: Strength Training: +2 Strength

Accidental Survivors Year in review megashow

Just wanted to point everyone to the latest podcast by the Accidental Survivors, accidentally surviving for 13 months is hard, give them a listen and show your support.

I have to say, for an episode that I was not on, there was a lot of me in this episode, which is clearly for the better.

There's also an email by friend of the blog Rich, asking for more Modern20 coverage, that the survivors read on air.

All awesome stuff.

And then, there was J...

I got to the end of the martial arts that begin with H and what do I find waiting for me?

J.

HOOAH!

From Aikido to Zen (E)

Eastern Wrestling

Martial Arts Style

Every culture in the world has its own styles and traditions of wrestling. In game terms almost all external non-aesthetic wrestling forms are covered by the Greco-Roman Wrestling feat, while internal, aesthetic wrestling forms, such as Ch’in-na (China) and Vajra-musti (India) are covered by this style.

Prerequisite: Defensive Martial Arts or Improved Grab

Style Maneuvers

Unarmed 4 ranks: +2 Defense when using the Reactive Stance perk

Unarmed 8 ranks: Improved Grab: DC of the grapple check for the free grapple granted by this feat is Unarmed or Acrobatics +5

Unarmed 12 ranks: Vital lore: when making called shots with the Precision Strike perk, your penalty to hit is reduced by 2.

Unarmed 16 ranks: Poise: Your Wisdom modifier is considered +2 higher for purposes of this feat.

Unarmed 20 ranks: Self-Help: +2 Wisdom

4e: This whole backstory changing thing...

So one of the comments I hear a lot about 4e is how this edition will be "different" from previous edition changes.

How? They're changing the backstory!

Monsters that have been Devils for decades are suddenly Demons, just like that! (Or is it vice versa?)

The Great Wheel is going away.

Mechanics changes are fine I'm told, so long as the underlying backstory doesn't change.

I've been trying to put my finger on why this puzzles me for a bit now, and I finally have it:

The mechanics changes of previous editions changed the backstory of everyone's game WAY more profoundly than anything going on here.

In second edition, the whole makeup of the Cleric spell list changed overnight.

Many gods no longer granted healing or protection spells to their clerics.

Let me tell you, that had a bigger impact on MY homebrew than what extradimensional team some of the players belonged to.

And Bards. They became something completely different between 1 and 2e.

I had a PC Bard, who had clawed tooth and nail to get there, and there was no WAY he was becoming some wimpy druid/illusionist with a d6 HD.

So he became, in effect, the last of his kind. Other Bards whispered about the abilities he possessed as he walked down the street. Abilities they could no longer attain.

Between 2nd and 3rd?

Two words: Human. Multiclassing.

Again, talk about backstory changes!

Either all humans encountered in the past never chose to multi-class for some mysterious reason, while the younger set LOVED to multi-class, or, they suddenly cropped up with new abilities.

And those demi-human level limits? Turns out they were really more of a guideline than a rule and the elves could advance to high levels all along.

Sure, the elf queen stayed at 7th level fighter for 1,000 YEARS, but now, she could put on her muck boots and explore dungeons to get more powerful with the young whippersnappers.

Who knew?

I could come up with some more, but in short: change happens. And every change, even the mechanical ones, change the look, feel and smell of a world profoundly.

I think some of the mechanical changed of previous editions affected the backstory of worlds much more than the Succubus switching teams, and her home being an island in and astral sea as opposed to spinning in the spoked of a Newtonian wheel.

And those worlds survived just fine.

More thanks!

A big thanks to Steve!

And everyone who contributed, if you haven't gotten your invite to the discussion group yet, drop me a line and let me know.

I need your brainsssssssssssss... ideas! I totally meant ideas!

From Aikido to Zen (D)

Deer

Animal Style

You imitate the grace and alertness of the deer, avoiding conflict when possible but lashing out with vicious attacks if cornered.

Prerequisite: Combat Martial Arts or Defensive Martial Arts

Style Maneuvers

Unarmed 4 ranks: +2 Defense when moving 30 or more feet in a round.

Unarmed 8 ranks: Defensive Attack: +1.5 Defense per –1 attack penalty, rounded down (+1 Defense for –1 attack, +3 Defense for –2 attack and so forth).

Unarmed 12 ranks: Head Butt: once per encounter you may render an opponent flat-footed by striking him with your head when he least expects it. This ability renders targets with the Uncanny Dodge feat flat-footed as well.

You may use this ability additional times in an encounter by spending an Action Point.

Unarmed 16 ranks: Move-By Attack: you gain a +2 Defense bonus in a round where you use this feat.

Unarmed 20 ranks: Agility Training: +2 Dexterity