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Battle Veteran
Those who have seen many battles and suffered many wounds yet live to tell the tale are some of the toughest and most resilient opponents you will encounter. They last longer on the battlefield than any other and inspire the young and inexperienced to greatness. Obviously this comes with experience and as such you must be at least Level 3 to gain this skill.
Rank1 – Permanently add +1 Stamina (up to a maximum of 20)
Rank2 – Reduces the chances of injuries becoming permanent by 20%.
Rank3 – Last Stand: once/day (instant ability, add 25% of max HP to current HP, cannot be used to increase HP past max)
Rank4 – “Come on ya young pups, ya wanna live fer’ever”: once/day (instant ability, if outnumbered may grant self and 3 other friendlies double your regular movement, up to 10”, if it will result in base contact with an enemy).
Commander
This is the skill of Generals and Warlords, a natural for all leaders. On the battle field you very presence inspires awe and your voice can always be heard above the sounds of battle. Men will follow you and enemies will fear you. You are a commander of men and a brilliant strategist. A commander must be aware of what’s happening on the battlefield at all times and be quick to react to each new threat, while maintaining the respect of those they lead. Therefore a character cannot be a Commander unless 3 out of 4 of the following Stats are equal to 12 or higher: Perception, Resolve, Initiative, and Charm
Rank1 – Allows any friendlies w/in 6″ (or in a base contact combat formation) to take Resolve Stat tests off of the Commanders Resolve Stat instead of their own if they so choose. This does not include Resolve tests taken to prevent Focus loss.
Rank2 – Whenever the Commander elects to act last (“going to the bottom of queue”), he/she may assign up to 1 Initiative Score per level (with a maximum equal to their own Initiative Stat) split among their allies, thereby effecting the turn order of all combatants.
Rank3 – While Commander is conscious all friendlies (including self) w/in 6” gain +5 Advantage on Resolve rolls if a power or effect that would cause them to move against their own free will (i.e. fear, taunt, etc…), if this effect is using a Resistance instead of a Stat gain +25 Resistance against it.
Rank4 – The party may make a free movement and/or non-combat action before the battle begins. If the party is surprised they may only move at half speed or take a non-combat action (in lieu of moving), if enemy commanders are present then roll off.
Rank5 – If the Commander is knocked unconscious the remaining party members gain +5 damage on all attacks for the rest of the battle (+10 if he is slain) and any friendlies w/in 1” of the body gains an additional 25% of their max HP, +10 to hit, and continue to benefit from Rank2 skill until they move from that spot (only applies to those genuinely loyal to the Commander).
Dual Wield
This is the art of wielding one weapon in each hand in combat. The user will be granted the ability to fight without the negatives of using two weapons. The higher the Rank the increase of options, and weapons. In the case where one weapon is larger than the other, the smaller weapon ALWAYS goes in the off hand.
Rank1 – Exempts Combat Penalties when attacking with one medium and one small weapon.
Rank2 – Exempts Combat Penalties when attacking with two medium weapons or one large and one small weapon.
Rank3 – Exempts Combat Penalties when attacking with one large and one medium weapon (minimum 12 agility required).
Rank4 – Exempts Combat Penalties when attacking two large weapons (minimum 15 Agility required).
NOTE – Extra large weapons can NEVER be used in conjunction with Dual Wield, even if possessing Strongman Lv3.
Military Training
There are many adventurers in the wide world, most have very color full backgrounds, some of which include stints in the military in some form or another, while others may have been trained in the Military style but never served. Whatever the case it is valuable training that helps in numerous situations. It is a definite favorite for soldiers.
Rank1 – Can remain standing/conscious even when HP’s go below 0, and instead only go unconscious upon receiving enough damage to cause Serious Injuries.
Rank2 – Receives +1 dam and +5 hit (melee only) against an enemy when it moves into base contact, no bonus is awarded if the character is the one that moves. This bonus remains until the enemy is destroyed or the character moves out of combat. Bonus is on a per-enemy basis; does not stack when multiple enemies move into base contact.
Rank3 – When in base contact with more than one opponent with no allies in base contact with those same opponents, gain an additional regular main hand melee attack each round that counts as a separate action (this side steps the 4-3-2 Rule for Multiple Attack Actions)
Rank4 – May re-roll your initiative score at the start of a battle and any failed initiative test at any time, only using the second roll if you so desire
Riding Skill
A mounted man is worth at least five of his equal on foot. Fighting from the back of a mount whether it be a horse, a warg, a griffon, or even a dragon greatly increases mobility on the battlefield and can position you for deadly attacks upon your foes. Without the proper training however, it is difficult to even stay seated on a mount in combat, let alone use your weapons.
Riding Skill grants +1 Advantage per Rank to any Initiative stat test or roll-off that is directly related to mounts both in and out of combat (i.e. accidental dismounts, remounting, etc…)
Rank1 – Can ride normal mounts up to Threat Rating 2 in combat (including directing mounts attacks)
Rank2 – Can ride normal & exotic mounts up to Threat Rating 3 in combat (including directing mounts attacks)
Rank3 – Can ride normal, exotic, & flying mounts up to Threat Rating 4 in combat (including directing mounts attacks)
Rank4 – Can ride normal, exotic, & flying mounts up to Threat Rating 5 in combat (including directing mounts attacks)
Rank5 – Can ride normal, exotic, flying, & special mounts up to Threat Rating 7 in combat (including directing mounts attacks)
See Mount section for more details.
Note: Riding skill is also required to use wagons, chariots, or other such vehicles pulled by animals in combat.
Non-Lethal Combat
A non-lethal approach to combat allows the those trained in its methods to pull back on blows that would otherwise be lethal to their victims. This is especially useful to those who abhor killing or to those who simply wish to capture an enemy alive.
Rank1 – When a target is at 20% HP or less, may choose to cut your damage in half after having rolled damage dice, but before the GM announces any result
Rank2 – Any attack that would result in the target’s death instead inflicts only enough damage to reduce the target’s HP to -10. For some low stamina targets this may still result in fatal injuries. If the attack was a critical hit resulting in death, instead reduce the target’s hp to -20. Target must apply the appropriate level of injury for being reduced to -10 or -20. See Injuries page for details.
Rank3 – Any damage overrun lost as a result of Rank of Non-Lethal Combat can be applied to your next attack on another target (I.e. if inflicting 50 damage with a regular hit on a target with only 30HP, the damaged target drops to -10HP, resulting in 10 damage that can be applied to your next attack)
Battle Casting
Casters, whether using spirit or faith as their source, spend long hours practicing the craft. However no amount of practice can prepare them for casting in the heat of combat. It can be extremely difficult to concentrate on spell-work when an enraged ogre is swinging a massive warhammer at your head. In times such as this, only experience counts. Battle Casters are those spirit and faith casters that have proven the mettle in combat and are comfortable casting regardless of the battle raging around them.
Only spirit and faith classes that are at least Level 3 or higher can take this skill
Rank1 – May immediately use a direct damage ranged/LOS power against an enemy that moves into base contact so long as the caster was not in base contact with any enemy on the previous turn. Doing so negates any Impale weapon effect.
Rank2 – Gain +2 damage with any melee based spirit or faith power and +2 effectiveness to any shielding or healing power cast while in base contact with an enemy
Rank3 – After a successful armor-save, parry, block, or ward-off; may move up to 1″ (sideways or backwards) & cast a direct damage offensive action power out of turn. Doing so does not count as Disengaging from Combat but prevents using a casting action on your next turn.
Rank4 – Once per battle you may elect to roll as many casting rolls as there are enemies in base contact with you, selected the preferred set of d100 dice from among all those rolled
Bow Casting
Bow casters are conventional casters who have learned how to channel the powers they wield through a projectile weapon such as a bow or crossbow. It is a rare skill, but if mastered adds deadly potency to standard ranged attacks.
Restricted to Faith or Spirit Classes only
Rank1 – Ensorcelled Arrow/Bolt: May use spirit or faith to add additional damage to a single arrow or bolt fired as regular main hand attack, based in a source of power that the caster would have readily available (i.e. Holy Zealot adding holy damage, Pyromancer Battlemage adding fire damage).
- For Spirit classes: add +1 damage per spirit consumed, up to a maximum of your highest available Tier of powers (cannot use HP for Bow Casting)
- For Faith classes: add +1 damage, up to a maximum of your highest available Tier, if first passing a Difficulty test equal to the amount of bonus damage (failure consumes 1 Faith per point of bonus damage, success does NOT increase current Faith)
Rank2 – Homing Arrow/Bolt: can fire an arrow or bolt at a target that you do not have LOS on, provided they have a persistent spirit or faith effect on them that was cast by you or was damaged by one of your spirit or faith powers in the previous round (including non LOS powers like Burst powers). The homing arrow does NOT benefit from the characters +hit with ranged weapons and can only crit on a natural 100.
Rank3 – Empowered Arrow/Bolt: Use your instant & action to combine a spirit or faith power instant (i.e. Hex, Curse, etc…) with a regular ranged attack or shot. Use the same d100 roll for both the physical “hit” portion vs AC and the spirit/faith “casting” portion vs Resistance, but COMBINING modifiers for both (including critical hit). If the physical portion of the attack fails to hit then unless otherwise stated the spirit portion ALSO fails. However, if the spirit portion fails to hit but the physical hit is successful, treat it as a normal ranged attack.
Rank4 – Casting Arrow/Bolt: If no instant was used this turn, combine a spirit or faith power action (i.e. damage or CC) with a regular main hand bow/crossbow attack at 1.5x the spirit cost or +3 faith difficulty. Apply the extra damage and/or effects to the target of the attack. For AoE powers, use the point of impact of the arrow/bolt as the target of the AoE power. For template and melee powers treat as though cast from the point of impact. Use the same d100 roll for both the physical “hit” portion vs AC and the spirit/faith “casting” portion vs Resistance, but assigning separate modifiers to each (including critical hit). If the physical portion of the attack fails to hit then the spirit portion ALSO fails. However, if the spirit portion fails to hit but the physical hit is successful, treat it as a normal ranged attack.