Sword School - Flow to Demise

[Amalvi]

Flow to Demise is an alternative to Diamond Mind




All attacks serve a purpose, let the each blow of your spear bring you closer to the one final strike that'll pierce your opponents heart. Focus your mind and read your enemy: your kungfu will move your arm and weapon freely; piercing and slashing, spinning and twirling, all to wear down the defenses of the opponent for the decisive sure kill


Level 1: Apprentice

-Weapon (Cavalry): Use Cavalry weapons with your martial maneuvers.

-Action (Multiple Attacks): Use Multiple Attacks actions in martial maneuvers. Any advantages applied to this attack are applied to the last attack of the Multiple Attacks action.

Level 2: Initiate

(-1)Required control: This attack requires holding a weapon that lacks Two-Hands with both hands

(1)Circular motion: Apply this only to a Multiple Attacks action. Your weapon gains the Double special quality for the duration of this attack action. If your weapon already has the Double special quality, one of the additional attacks made as part of this action does not expend a reaction.

Level 3: Journeyman

(-1)Skill (Scrutiny): As a part of this attack, make a Scrutiny test against the target's Static Defense. If it fails, the attack fails.

(2*)Gentle kill: Only during your turn: If you struck the target with X attacks and/or affected him with X successful actions with the attack subtype (e.g. Feint, Disarm, etc), this attack adds +0kX+X to damage where X is the amount of times this advantage was taken. Otherwise the attack deals -Xk0-X damage

Level 4: Master

-Mastery (Returning hand): All cavalry weapons that lack Two-Handed gain Double. You may do an additional attack with Two-weapon Fighting

(-3) Letting go of attatchment: The weapon used with this attack cannot be used for the rest of the scene

Level 5: Grandmaster

(4)Wu Er Da: If during the same turn you dealt wounds equal to the target's level: they have -1 Resilience against this attack, you ignore all armor for this attack, and add the target's AP on the hit location to the damage. Otherwise, this attack deals half damage.

[Amanojyaku]

Apr 19, 2024 8:45:30 GMT -6 Amalvi said:

Level 1: Apprentice

-Weapon (Cavalry): Use Cavalry weapons with your martial maneuvers.

-Action (Multiple Attacks): Use Multiple Attacks actions in martial maneuvers. Any advantages applied to this attack are applied to the last attack of the Multiple Attacks action.

Spelling error.

Finisher type. Basics good.

Level 2: Initiate

(-1)Required control: You may only use this attack if you are not holding anything in one hand (this includes wielding a weapon with Two-Hands)

Better verbiage can be found here, as Naked Stance.

(1)Circular motion: The attack gains Double, (apply this effect to the beginning of your multiple attack action, regardless of all other conditions). If you use a weapon that already had Double you gains a free reaction to be used as part of a multiple attacks action

Highlighted kludge here. If you want to keep this part, suggest making this launcher type school.

Alternately, "Your weapon gains the Double special quality for the duration of this attack action." In this case, recommending also "Apply this only to a Multiple Attacks action." and the second line you have should become "If your weapon already has the Double special quality, one of the additional attacks made as part of this action does not expend a reaction."

Either way, you should probably bump the cost to at least 2.

Level 3: Journeyman

(-1)Skill (Scrutiny): As a part of this attack, make a Scrutiny test against the target's Static Defense. If it fails, the attack fails.

(1*)Gentle kill: This attacks deals +3 damage for every time this advantage has been taken

Skill is fine. Do note that the fluff for a sword school generally includes why it's associated with a given skill.

Note also that straight +numbers advantages are typically frowned upon in sword schools, as they're the universal ones already. This is where you should be putting conditional ones (such as Ageless Vendetta's Do Unto Others or more generally interesting riders, like Horrific Steps.

Level 4: Master

-Mastery (Returning hand): All cavalry weapons that lack Two-Handed gain Double. You may do an additional attack with Two-weapon Fighting

The first part actually works well with Circular Motion earlier. The second part is... wanting. You say "with Two-Weapon Fighting." Needs to also specify "as part of a Multiple Attacks action," and as it doesn't say anything about requiring a Double weapon you also need to specify which weapon gets the extra attack.

(-3) Breaking the shaft: The weapon used with this attack cannot be used for the rest of the scene

This, however, makes absolutely no sense. Why is a master of this style suddenly expected to break his pigstick? Why is there even an attempt to break the template? It's not interesting. It doesn't add anything. If anything here you should be providing a carrot for dropping your pigstick and not picking it back up, not a stick for the sake of more advantages.

Level 5: Grandmaster

(4)Wu Er Da: If during the same turn you dealt wounds equal to the target's level: Treat your opponents resilience as one less for the purpose of determining hit points lost from this attack, (minimum resilience of 1), ignore all Armor and add the target's AP on the struck hit location to the damage dealt. Otherwise the attack deals half damage

Overcomplicated. "If the target has taken wounds equal to their level from your attacks during this turn, they have -1 Resilience against this attack, you ignore all armor for this attack, and add the target's AP on the hit location to the damage. Otherwise, this attack deals half damage."

Highlighted portion butts up against universal advantages again. If you keep that, increase cost to 5.

Also going to second that Flowing Demise would read better as the school name. Poetic, implies a certain level of grace in the adept's movements, as well as a description of one's demise approaching.

[GuardianTempest]

I think an issue with Breaking the Shaft is the fluff/mechanics mismatch. I know what you wanted to do but the name implies something else even if the effect doesn't actually break your weapon.

A thing about Breaking the Shaft I never considered before is that a prospecting player would have no reason to use it unless it added an objective benefit. Applying it to an existing attack would add nothing new in terms of positive benefits. Of course he could just add it to a new special attack but it'll be costly without house rules.

If I may, I suggest turning it into a 1-point advantage but also adding a damage boost, flavoring the attack as "you hit too hars for your weapon to handle". perhaps additional damage based on the weapon's rarity?

[Divergent Reality]

Since we are talking about Breaking the Shaft, it plus the Last Resort Universal Restriction lets you make semi-disposable weapons provide big boosts.

[Amalvi]

Apr 20, 2024 10:16:58 GMT -6 Amanojyaku said:

Spelling error.

Fixed

Better verbiage can be found here, as Naked Stance.

I actually wanted to make it more restricted than Naked stance by also including that you cannot use two handed weapons. I think I fixed it

Alternately, "Your weapon gains the Double special quality for the duration of this attack action." In this case, recommending also "Apply this only to a Multiple Attacks action." and the second line you have should become "If your weapon already has the Double special quality, one of the additional attacks made as part of this action does not expend a reaction."

Thanks, fixed

Note also that straight +numbers advantages are typically frowned upon in sword schools, as they're the universal ones already. This is where you should be putting conditional ones (such as Ageless Vendetta's Do Unto Others or more generally interesting riders, like Horrific Steps.

I'll think about what to replace it with. I actually put +number advantage precisely because I hadn't seen anyone doing it. I'm unsure about conditionals, as I want to keep it simple with a philosophy of "less is more", but I'll think about something related to double and spears

Changed, now it reinforces more the theme of making a powerful finisher with a straightforward and flexible conditional

The first part actually works well with Circular Motion earlier. The second part is... wanting. You say "with Two-Weapon Fighting." Needs to also specify "as part of a Multiple Attacks action," and as it doesn't say anything about requiring a Double weapon you also need to specify which weapon gets the extra attack.

Its a bit on purpose, I don't mind if the mastery is used for other types of builds besides using double weapons, Circular motion encourages using double weapons enough.

This, however, makes absolutely no sense. Why is a master of this style suddenly expected to break his pigstick? Why is there even an attempt to break the template? It's not interesting. It doesn't add anything. If anything here you should be providing a carrot for dropping your pigstick and not picking it back up, not a stick for the sake of more advantages.

If the name confuses you I changed it, its wasn't literally breaking the weapon, but whatever

I do believe this hindrance makes for more interesting ways to play the game, as it encourages people to try out different things and play in different ways to compensate this disadvantage  with fun builds, which the people I've spoken with have confirmed.

Overcomplicated. "If the target has taken wounds equal to their level from your attacks during this turn, they have -1 Resilience against this attack, you ignore all armor for this attack, and add the target's AP on the hit location to the damage. Otherwise, this attack deals half damage."

Done. Still kept the conditional "during your turn you've dealt wounds equal to level" in case there are some smartass GMs who say "well, you dealt wounds from something that wasn't an attack, so it doesn't count!

That's because this advantage, on purpose, also encourages the user to think and use other ways of dealing wounds before using the special attack, like with spells, passive abilities, the enviorement and so on. Flow to Demise wants you to bring the target closer to death, and not obsess about how you do it.

Also going to second that Flowing Demise would read better as the school name. Poetic, implies a certain level of grace in the adept's movements, as well as a description of one's demise approaching.

I'll say the same: the Demise isn't flowing tho, its a combat style focused on movements that naturally flow and reach the inevitable death

But regardless, Flow to Demise just sounds pretty to me

Thanks for the feedback

[Amalvi]

Apr 21, 2024 15:34:26 GMT -6 Divergent Reality said:

Since we are talking about Breaking the Shaft, it plus the Last Resort Universal Restriction lets you make semi-disposable weapons provide big boosts.

Fun