Arcane magic has few talented practitioners within the world, each creating powerful effects and dweomers in the material planes.  While intelligence and skill are the hallmarks of arcane power, there is also room for inheritance — some individuals pass powerful magical effects from themselves to their kin. The descendants of such mages are born with inherent magical knacks and quirks, without needing to learn anything other than control of these special abilities.

Ironblood mages are descendants of a bloodline that defies the typical abhorrence mages have for heavy metallic armor.  Ironblood mages encase themselves in plate armor to create arcane resonance that amplifies magical effects.  Ironblood mages and warlocks live inside their armor, sommetimes mistaken for men or women of arms before they release an eldritch blast at their enemies.

Ironblood usually are part of a larger clan or family of arcanists. The Ironblood tend to create tightly regimented and hierarchal societies which you adventurer will have some place in.  Advancement is based on the power and skill one uses to defeat those above them in the hierarchy.

Prerequisites: Any arcane class

Ironblood Features and Powers

Armored Resonance — Ironblood Feature

While others use heavy armor for protection, armor to you is a second skin and a tool that you use for the

You gain proficiency in heavy armor.  You may use arcane daily powers  only when you are wearing metallic heavy armor.

Metal Will — Ironblood Utility 2

You shape magic energy into a fortress that protects your will.

Encounter
Immediate Interrupt
Trigger: You are hit with an attack that targets your Will.
Requirement: You must expend an arcane encounter power you have.

Effect: You gain a +4 bonus to Will until the end of your next turn.

Iron Riposte — Ironblood Attack 3

Those who wish to harm you must pass not only your armor, but your arcane power as well.

Encounter * Implement
Immediate Interrupt
Trigger: you are hit with an attack.

Effect: You may attack the target with an arcane at-will power.  If the power it a burst or blast attack or targets more than only one creature, it only hits the triggering creature.

You Shall Kneel — Ironblood Daily 5

A blast of concussive arcane force displays dominance  to your enemies.
Daily * Implement
Standard Action – Burst 2 within 10
Attack: Primary Ability vs Fortitude

Hit: Primary Ability modifier damage, and target is slid 2 squares, knocked prone and slowed (save ends)
Miss: The target is slid 2 squares and is slowed until the end of its next turn.

Focused Resonance — Ironblood Feature 6

You have harnessed your abilities to channel magic energy through armor to such an extent that you can use the armor as other arcanists use implements.

Choose one implement.  When in metallic heavy armor you can use the armor as an implement of that type.

Arcane Fist — Ironblood Attack 7

You deliver extra impact to your arcane attacks, crushing the will and constitution of your foes.

Encounter
Immediate Reaction
Trigger: You hit one or more targets with an arcane at-will attack.
Effect: Any target hit with the attack is slowed and weakened until the end of its next turn.

Iron Vengeance — Ironblood Daily 9

Your resonance  raises to peak levels.  Just as you feel ready to burst with arcane energy, you release it against your foes.  You will be vulnerable if anyone is left to oppose you.

Daily
Immediate Reaction
Trigger: you hit one or more targets with an arcane attack.
Requirement: you must expend a healing surge.  You gain no hit points from expending the surge.

Effect: The triggering power deals extra radiant damage to all targets equal to your primary ability modifier. You subtract your primary ability modifier from your AC (save ends).

Like the theme? Hate it? Want to see more?  Tell us in the comments as it’s how we know what to spend time on it. While you’re at it, check out Jester’s “Drunkard” theme or one of our martial arts themes.

As he rose to power others followed in his wakestudying his attacks and codifying them into a formal style.  Though he never recognized the style as his, the style became popular throughout his empire and soon his army  and his people grew to be feared in distant kingdoms.  Eventually the Destroyer’s fighting was imported to Jiaolong.

The style appealed instantly to both fighters and the audience in the fighting pits. Students rushed to learn the Destroyer’s brutal art. Most were turned away, unable to display the required toughness or skill demanded of them by their teachers.  So it remains that though Destroyer warriors are popular, there are relatively few of them that can master the rigors of this art.  Many styles seek to avoid or mitigate damage, where the art of the destroyer only mitigates damage by enduring it.  Practitioners learn to take damage to deal damage; the height of the art is to lure an opponent in for a manuever which can break his  body in some way. from their the bruising and crushing attacks continue.

Savage kicks to the leg that eventually render an opponent unable to stand,slashing elbows that opens cuts on the head, rib-breaking kicks and knees — these are all the weapons that the Destroyer bestows upon those who use this style.

Few who learn the Destroyer’s art learn his fate until they share it;  The Destroyer’s body gave way under the stress and damage of his method of fighting. In his last days the warrior king could not stand nor feed himself.  He sat on his throne as a mere figure head in his last days, his body deprived prematurely of tis vital force.  This is the fate of all those who walk the Destroyer’s path, but many consider this a fine price to pay for the power granted them.

Receive Pain, Deliver Punishment (Dai-rup-baat-jep, Tam-toot)– Feature Power
The fundamental technique of Poo Tam Lai is allow your opponent to hit you then counterattack viciously. You open yourself up to recieve pain, delivering punishment to your foes in the process.
Encounter
Standard Action — Melee touch
Target: One Creature
Attack: Primary Ability vs Fortitude
Hit: 2d8 + ability modifier damage and the opponent is slowed until the end of your next turn.
Special: Before the attack the target may attack you as a free action. If the target hits, you can deal extra damage with this attack equal to your primary ability, and the target is also weakened.

Eyes of the Destroyer (Saai-dtaa duug-kin-luuat-kin-nuua)– Utility 2
Walking the path of the destroyer teaches you the inherit vulnerability of all things. When you focus, you can more easily find flaws to attack.
Daily * Stance
Minor Action
Effect: Until this stance ends, you all enemies have vulnerability 5 versus your attacks, and you gain vulnerability 5 versus your enemies.

Slashing Limbs (Weng-mat)– Attack 3
You close with your foe and deliver quick slashing attacks with your knees and elbows opening bleeding wounds when your opponent leaves itself open.
Encounter
Standard Action — Melee touch
Target: One Creature
Attack: Primary Ability vs Fortitude
Hit: 1d8 + ability modifier damage.  At the start of your next turn, the creature takes damage equal to your ability modifier.
Special: Before the attack, you may allow the target to make an attack against you as a free action. If you do so, the creature takes ongoing damage equal to your ability modifier.

Maiming Pact (Ruuap-kaan-kaa-wai)– Daily 5
You grab your opponent and indicate with a smile that you will not let go until one of you drops.  With glee, your foe responds and you start striking each other in close quarters.
Daily
Minor Action — Melee touch
Target: One Creature
Requirement: You must have one hand free.
Effect: You grab the target.  Until the end of the encounter, you may do 1d10 + ability modifier damage as a standard action to the target while you have it grabbed. Before you deal this damage, the target gets to deal the damage from a melee basic attack to you first.  If it chooses to do this it may not attempt to escape the grab on its next turn.
Special: This power ends when the grab has been broken or either you or the target is  dropped.

Breaking Counter (Gaan-suuan-glap faai-dtrong-kaam)–Attack 7
You invite an attack from your opponent so that you may respond with  violent, bone-shattering counter.
Encounter
Immediate Reaction — Melee Touch
Target: One Creature
Trigger: An enemy hits you with a melee attack.
Requirement: You must have one hand free.
Attack: Primary Ability vs Reflex.
Hit: Deal 2d8 + ability modifier damage, and the target is knocked prone. It is weakened and dazed until the end of your next turn.  The target may choose to ignore the weakened and dazed conditions by taking 5 damage for each condition it removes.

Mutually Assured Destruction  (Gaan-suuan-glap faai-dtrong-kaam)– Daily 9
Using the Destroyer’s eight limbs of destruction — both  fists, elbows, legs and knees — you deliver a rapid fire series of blows designed to ruin your target and possibly yourself.
Daily
Standard Action — Melee Touch
Target: One Creature
Requirement: you must have one hand free.
Attack: Primary Ability vs Reflex
Hit: deal 3d8 + ability modifier damage and you may make a secondary attack.
Miss: half damage.
Secondary Attack: Primary Ability vs Fortitude
Hit: deal 2d8 + ability modifier damage.
Special: before this attack, the target may choose to attack you.  It has combat advantage for the attack. If it hits, you deal 2d12 + ability modifier damage instead.

Mind of the Destroyer (Jit-jai-mung-tam-raai)– Utility 10
You’ve learned to think like the destroyer, and now you have learned to think like him.  You ignore your own safety and work towards tearing down your enemies.
Daily * Stance
Standard Action
Effect:  While this stance is in effect, you grant combat advantage to all enemies and all enemies deal an extra 5 points of damage to you.  Your attacks  deal extra damage equal to your ability modifier.

And then it just disappeared from the map.

All the hullabaloo surrounding Fortune Cards must be taking up our communal talking space because I can’t find a blog or forum thread anywhere speculating on the subject. Am I seriously the only one who cares about this? How much hype did Hybrids stir up when they were first announced? Maybe we’re just once bitten, twice shy (or would that be twice bitten, thrice shy?) on the subject. Neither the current multiclass nor hybrid systems seem to satisfy what many feel is a true multiclass character the way it was presented in earlier editions. I believe the in-game technology now exists to correct the discrepancy but before I get into that, let’s take a short look at what does and does not need to be ‘fixed’ about the current systems as it will guide the design I eventually propose.

Entry Speed – In 3E/Pathfinder, a character must be level 2 in order to begin multiclassing by taking levels in different classes. I’m avoiding the gestalt discussion here because those characters were SPECIFICALLY meant to be stronger than a core class where as simple multiclassing is intended to be on par . Prior to 3E, a character could start as a fighter/thief, fighter/mage or whatever immediately at character generation given the right stat combinations and would gain levels in their different classes at different times. It’s much harder to make a blanket statement about progression in 2E and back as different forms of multiclassing appeared in different rulesets, but generally speaking you had the opportunity to start out as a multiclass character one way or the other. Now in 4E, you can again start as a multiclassed character at level 1 using either the standard or hybrid systems. So far so good.

Option Spread – Here again, 4E is still looking pretty good. 2E and back had fewer core classes (again, you can’t count the kits because those were not available for multiclass use) so more core classes gives you more options. 3E of course has WAY more classes and theoretically speaking every class feature could be available in full to a multiclass build, so in sheer weight, 4E falls short. Proportionally speaking, though, the current standard and hybrid multiclass systems do theoretically grant access to any power in the game and many classes have several multiclass feats, each giving access to a shortened form of a level 1 class feature so it’s not quite as bad in thorough investigation as it seems on first glance.

Option Strength – Here is where things start to fall apart for 4E. Previous editions gave multiclass characters the same features with the same numeric values and usage allowances as a single-class character. 4E is the first D&D game for which a multiclass character will, by design, be given a limited or shortened class feature. The decision was made by the devs to prevent characters from stepping on each other’s schticks too much. It’s niche protection. Though I might fiddle with option strength in a home game, for the purposes of presenting a useful product to the D&D community at large I will respect the design premise and move on.

Low-Level Efficacy: This requires some terminology definitions. By “low-level”, I mean the Heroic tier in 4E and then levels 1 to about 6 in previous 20-level schemes. By “efficacy” I mean the overall usefulness of the character for its level as well as how strongly the character feels like each of its component classes.

Previous editions of the game had few problems with any multiclassing efficacy at low-level. BAB/THAC0 simply didn’t have enough time to fall “behind the curve” in the first few levels in the vast majority of multiclass builds. Also a spellcaster would not often feel the effects of slow spell progression until (s)he failed to pick up 3rd level spells (read “fireball”) at about the time that the party really needed more daka to handle threats. You could juggle two maybe even three classes in these systems for the first few levels and not really suffer for it.

4E represents a radical divergence in results from previous editions at low-level play. It takes several levels for a standard multiclass character to really feel like a member of its secondary class(es) (one Scorching Burst per encounter does not a Wizard make!). Over the course of these several levels, the character must make a tremendous feat investiture to immerse itself in its secondary class(es) – up to 75% of its Heroic Tier feats for a non-Human! This of course puts a significant dent in the character’s ability to operate in its primary class leaving the player with a sense of loss not present in earlier editions. Hybrids do not require the feat investiture (directly, anyway) and more immediately feel like immersed members of each class but often suffer from gimped class features – particularly Defender marks. Hybrids also often have problems with MBAs, defenses and implement proficiencies. Thus one important goal of our multiclass 2.0 will be to create immersion in the secondary class(es) at low levels without burdening the character with a heavy feat tax.

Mid-Level Efficacy: “Mid-level” will here refer to Paragon Tier and levels from about 6 to 13 in 20-level schemes.

As mentioned before, the 3rd level spell bracket and a BAB/THAC0 differential of about 3 is where the edges of previous multiclass systems began to fray. Non-casters could generally multiclass back and forth without a lot of thought, but the ever-elusive fighter/mage and mage/cleric archetypes really ran into problems. At some point, you would have to jump ship and focus on one class. 3E tried to patch this by creating feats and prestige classes (Mystic Theurge, Eldritch Knight, Practiced Spellcaster) that maintained spell levels/BAB and it worked for a while. Due to the crazy permutations possible in the ever-expanding system, though, it became a chore to prop one’s stats up correctly for many builds.

Oddly enough, 4E deals with this problem pretty cleanly with Paragon Paths. No matter how few feats a standard multiclass character picks up, (s)he qualifies to take a Paragon Path of the secondary class. This is a set of 3 class features and 3 powers designed to work with and feel like a subset of the secondary class. Best of all, these powers do not get swapped out in Epic Tier and are thus built to last the lifecycle of the character. By the end of Paragon Tier, a character with only the initial multiclass feat and a Paragon Path has a E/D/U count of 1/1/1 out of 4/4/6 which is a nice dip without a ton of effort. This jumps to a possible 2/2/2 with all the power swap feats, effectively splitting the character’s powers down the middle. Include the 3 Path features built for the secondary class and that’s darn solid immersion in both classes without dinging the primary too badly. Paragon Paths are still the better option for hybrids to stabilize one of their classes as well. The paragon hybrid option is usually a trap since it gives only one (possibly gimped) class feature compared to a Paragon Path’s level-appropriate three or four. Thus we need not concern ourselves with “fixing” the mid-game so long as we provide that low-level support.

High-Level Efficacy: “High-level” refers to Epic Tier and then levels from about 13 to 20 in 20-level schemes.

Now I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t done much high-level gaming of any edition so I can’t speak with quite so much confidence, particularly in 2E and back. I suspect that if you managed to get a multiclass character to this point, the whole party is multiclassed and your progression has just been a lot slower. As for 3E, I can’t help but notice the character builds on the various gaming boards at high level. You don’t see [Class A 10/ Class B 10]. Instead, it’s [Class A 6/Class B 2/Prestige Class A 4/Prestige Class B 2/Prestige Class C 5]. Whether it’s representative of what the average player was running at any given home table I don’t know, but clearly the ‘best’ builds lost their secondary class in the shuffle somewhere, sometimes even their primary!

The question then for 4E is how much secondary class support you need at Epic Tier. Is the Paragon Path enough to carry the flavor through on its own? A level 21 character has a whopping 13 feats, jumping to a total of 17 by Level 30! Is a four-feat tax to hold on to that 2/2/2 still an issue at this point? It’s certainly an investment, but it fails to weigh NEARLY as heavily as it did with only 6 feats at level 10. Previous systems require the character to jump through a multitude of hoops to maintain a second class effectively at high levels, so I’m ok with that occuring here as well. We will keep the power swap feats in place for Epic Tier characters who really want to hold on to that premise. On the hybrdis side, only a few who exploit strong class synergy will even make it to Epic Tier. Natural selection, if you will, has culled the weak from their ranks giving us very little material to work with here that isn’t tied up in the individual classes. Thus we can leave the high-end game alone as well.

In summary we really only need to apply one patch to the whole game and let its effects percolate up the level progression to “fix” multiclassing. Low level characters need a way to get a secondary class’ iconic class feature limited to that class’ powers (generally, though there will be exceptions like the Cleric) and featless power swap.

Where have we seen featless power swaps and limited class features for Heroic Tier characters before? That’s right, folks – Themes. I believe Themes are the way to fix 4E multiclassing and I hope that’s what WoTC is up to. Next time, we’ll actually go through and create multiclass Themes for the Fighter, Rogue, Cleric and Wizard.

In the deserts of Lahan, far to the south of the Haumean Theocracy stands a lone stone structure by a large oasis. What was at one point a temple to Pelor has been converted by its inhabitants to a place of personal training and dedication known as the Oasis of the Southern Wind. Within these walls, a small handful of monks train any who are hardy enough to survive in the Southern Wind disciplines of hand-to-hand fighting.

The Southern Wind style is unusual among many of the known unarmed fighting disciplines. Rather than focus on powerful strikes and complex acrobatics, the harshness of the conditions under which these students train push them to develop a style that emphasizes minimal effort, misdirection and controlling the enemy’s position. Inspired by the constant heat and winds, the Southern Wind style means to wear its opponent down, forcing it to tire out first and make mistakes. Practitioners of the style can seem weak or unimpressive to watch, but those who have squared off against it will often seek to talk things out first before being beaten and humiliated by a man who just seems to stand there and do nothing.

The first recorded practitioner of what is now recognized as the Southern Wind combat style was a half-elf by the name of Aelar Forene. Aelar was always a contemplative type; the constant ringing of bells and calls to worship by the many temples of his home nation made it difficult for him to find the sort of spiritual equilibrium he desired. He eventually left Haumea, seeking the most isolated and quiet place he could find. Aelar did in fact find such a place in the abandoned temple, but its location left much to be desired. In order to obtain necessary supplies and goods to survive in the desert, Aelar became a bounty hunter of sorts, tracking down and subduing enemies of the various faiths of Haumea. This line of work, combined with the constant stress of the desert begat the Southern Wind unarmed fighting style.

The first students of the Oasis were other similar hunters from divine backgrounds, but Aelar quickly found that the aggressive, confrontational approach that many of the gods encouraged did not mesh well with his training. Thus he came to require that students be free of religious or worldly obligation in order to better understand the lessons he had to teach. In time, the Oasis lost its strongly divine bent, instead championing the strength of the individual over the power granted by otherworldly beings. The Oasis, however, still accepts the occasional contract from Haumean temples in honor of its past.

The current Grandmaster is an elf known as Bren Autunlif. He was reported to be something of a lunatic prior to joining the Oasis; it seems the solitude has helped him control his tumultuous mind. There are other rumors that Bren is also telepathic and his ‘lunacy’ was merely an inundation of surrounding thought, but it has not yet been confirmed or denied.

Lotus Breeze — Southern Wind Feature

Your outstretched arms look like you are open to attack. Your opponent, however, suddenly finds himself bruised and stumbling behind you
Encounter • Implement
Standard Action —  Melee Touch
Target: One creature
Attack: Primary ability vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d8 + ability modifier damage and you switch places with the target. If you have two free hands when making the attack, you may then push the target a number of squares equal to your Wisdom modifier Increase damage to 1d10 at Paragon and 1d12 at Epic

Tumbling Dune — Southern Wind Utility 2

Rolling with the momentum of an enemy’s attack, you get get back on your feet at a safe distance from him.
Encounter
Immediate Interrupt — Personal
Trigger: You are knocked prone
Effect: You may instead choose to be pushed 1 square.

Shoulder Wrench — Southern Wind Attack 3

You grab your opponent’s arm and with a swift turn, wrench its arm behind its back.
Encounter • Implement
Standard Action — Melee Touch
Target: One creature that you can grab
Attack: Primary ability vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d8 + ability modifier damage and you grab the target until the end of your next turn or the target escapes. If you have two free hands when making the attack, the target may not attack you while grabbed.

Sunrise, Sunset — Southern Wind Attack 5

You throw your arm across your opponent’s chest, lifting him as you kick his legs out from under him. He slams into the ground, losing his breath in the process.
Daily • Implement
Standard Action — Melee 1
Target: One creature
Attack: Primary ability vs. Fortitude
Hit: 3d8 + ability modifier damage and the target is dazed (save ends).
Miss: 2d8 damage.
Effect: The target is knocked prone.

Lightning Reversal — Southern Wind Utility 6

An enemy that has you its clutches finds the tables turned
Encounter
Minor Action — Personal
Effect: You escape being grabbed and instead grab your opponent, if you can do so.

Twisting Winds — Southern Wind Attack 7

You change your fighting style to an open-handed whirling discipline that momentarily improves your defenses.
Encounter • Implement
Standard Action — Close Burst 1
Target: All enemies in burst
Attack: Primary ability vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d6 + ability modifier damage and you gain a +1 power bonus to AC against the targets of this power until the end of your next turn. If you have two free hands when making the attack, the bonus increases to +2.

Blood Choke — Southern Wind Attack 9

You hook your elbow around the enemy’s carotid artery and squeeze tightly. Blood flow to the brain stops in a matter of seconds. You settle into a stance that prevents him from utilizing his weight to struggle against you.
Daily • Implement
Standard Action — Melee 1
Target: One creature that you can grab
Attack: Primary ability vs. Fortitude
Hit: 2d8 + ability modifier damage and the target takes ongoing 10 damage while grabbed.
Miss: 1d8 + ability modifier damage and the target takes ongoing 5 damage while grabbed
Effect: The target is dazed (save ends) and grabbed.
First Failed Escape: The target is unconscious (save ends).

Efficient Motion — Southern Wind Utility 10

You focus your ki into your solar plexus and allow it to flow to your feet.
Daily • Stance
Minor Action — Personal
Effect: You gain 10 + Wis modifier temporary hit points. Until the stance ends, your speed is increased by 1.

Fighting Styles in your Game.

The fighting styles we will detail  in the next several articles assume that you will use the theme rules as detailed in the Dark Sun Campaign Guide.  Why themes?  Because I hate fighting styles as feat taxes — your characters should be able to build himself in other ways using themes.  Most importantly though, themes to me fit the concept of a character’s profession, far more than class.  With this perspective, becoming a student of a martial arts style becomes a part of what you do, not just a feat you picked up.  Instead of being a fighter who picked the ‘Liquid Sword’ style, you have a liquid sword fighter.  It seems like hair-splitting but to me there is a fundamental difference.  The former is just another option tacked on to your character and the latter speaks to identity.

Well, enough of that. Here is the first style!

Liquid Sword Fighting.

Flowing Slash — Liquid Sword Feature

Your flowing footwork and swordplay leave you in an advantageous position and your opponent off balance.

Encounter * Weapon

Standard Action — Melee

Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.

Target: One Creature

Attack: Primary ability versus AC

Hit: [1W] + ability modifier damage. Any opponent adjacent to you suffers a -2 penalty to attack rolls against you until the end of your next turn.

Effect: shift 2 squares.

Swift Moving Waves — Liquid Sword Utility 2

Your intricate footwork drills allow rapid and clever movements, like waves rising up and to shore and racing back to sea.

Daily * Stance

Minor Action

Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.

Effect: Until the stance ends, once per turn you may shift 1 square as a free action.

Rippling Slash — Liquid Sword Attack 3

Your fluid attack emulates the rippling of water, battering your enemy from all angles in rapid succession.

Encounter * Weapon

Standard Action — Melee

Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.

Requirement: You must have shifted at least 2 squares on your previous turn.

Target: One Creature

Attack: Primary Ability vs. AC

Hit: [1W] + ability modifier and the target suffers a -2 to attack rolls against you until the end of your next turn. You can shift half your speed or you can make a secondary attack.

Secondary Attack: Primary ability vs. Reflex

Hit: [1W] + ability modifer and the penalty the target suffers to attack rolls is instead equal to 1 + ability modifier.

Dragon Emerges From Water — Liquid Sword Attack 5 (daily)

You rise in the air like a dragon leaping out of the water to strike its foe. Your momentum builds strong force to topple any foe.

Encounter * Weapon

Standard Action — Melee

Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.

Requirement: You must have shifted at least 2 squares on your previous turn.

Target: One Creature

Special: You may fly your speed before the attack, You must end on the ground before the attack.

Attack: Primary Ability vs. AC

Hit: [3W] + ability modifier damage and the target is weakened (save ends). Deal extra damage equal to the number of squares flown during this attack.

Miss: Half Damage.

Effect: You are slowed until the end of your next turn.

Laughing Waves — Liquid Sword Utility 6

You focus your movements defensively, luring yoour opponent in and then leaping away at the last moment.

Daily * Stance

Minor Action

Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.

Effect: Until the stance ends,the first time you shift on your turn you gain a +3 to AC until the end of your next turn.

Fluttering Cut — Liquid Sword Attack 7

You interrupt the flow of your style with a quick interrupting attack to a vulnerable area of the opponent, pinning the enemy in place and setting up your next attack.

Encounter * Weapon

Minor Action — Melee

Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.

Requirement: You must have shifted at least 2 squares on your previous turn.

Target: One Creature

Attack: Primary Ability vs. AC

Hit: [1W] damage and the creature is immobilized until the end of your turn. You may shift 2 squares.

Tiger’s Typhoon — Liquid Sword Attack 9

A tiger’s typhoon is a fierce cyclone attack that causes terrible damage.  You channel the ferocity of that devastating phenomenom into your next attack.

Daily * Weapon

Standard Action — Blast 4

Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.

Requirement: You must have shifted at least 2 squares on your previous turn.

Target: all creatures in blast

Attack: Primary Ability vs. Reflex

Hit: [3W] + ability modifier force damage and target is knocked prone and dazed until the end of your next turn.

Miss: Half damage and target is slowed until the end of your next turn.

Effect: You are immobilized until the end of your next turn.

Stone-splitting Waves — Liquid Sword Utility 10

Waves seem gentle, but a wave of sufficient force can shatter even the mightiest stone.  You make bolder, larger steps in your footwork, conducive to generating more force.

Stance * Weapon

Minor Action

Requirement: You must be wielding a one-handed heavy blade.

Effect: Until the stance ends, the first time you shift on your turn, you gain bonus damageequal to 1 + ability modifier on your next attack.

The scene is familiar: the heroes are in a seedy bar, drinking so copiously one would think their liver personally offended them. An offhand comment is made, perhaps by the adventurers or perhaps at their expense. Suddenly there are chairs flying and bottles being broken over heads as a bar brawl erupts. Bar brawls are iconic, but can be tricky in Dungeons & Dragons. Most bars that cater to adventurers should realistically require weaponry to be checked at the door, which would restricting the use of powers and class features. Choosing appropriate monsters on the fly for a bar fight can be awkward; enemies cannot be so potent as to seriously threaten the lives of the weaponless PCs – especially if they have been drinking – but neither can they be paper tigers to be casually brushed aside by the adventurers. And if the bar brawl was unplanned there might be an uncomfortable delay while  the GM finds statblocks or responds to improvised actions. The aim of this article is to provide a handful of simple options to turn your next bar brawl into an exciting diversion or full-fledged combat.

Revised Chart

With the changes to diseases and DCs in the Rules Compendium the Intoxication track also needed to be revised.

Weapons & Powers

Any innkeeper worth his apron knows that when the humanoid tin can with the six-foot length of sharpened metal or the man in the dress covered in stars with a matching pointy hat tries to walk through the door of your inn you look gruff and point to the “no spells, no swords” sign. But a good adventurer is never truly unarmed.

Improvised Weapons, One-Handed

Improvised Weapons, Two-Handed

Powers

In addition to improvised weaponry, there are a number of special attacks characters can employ while in a bar brawl. Most require specific improvised weapons, terrain, or situation. These are designed to compensate for the lack of standard weaponry in a bar fight.

Terrain Powers

Not every attack in a bar brawl can be repeated attempted. Some attacks depend on the environment and have a limited number of uses.

New Monsters, Bar Brawlers

A bar brawl is nothing without people to attack. These foes are designed for tavern brawls, with fewer than average hit points to reduce grind and make for a faster brawl.

Barmaid

Bottle Hurler

Bouncer

Pickled Brawler

Rabble Rouser

Raging Drunk

This theme is a work in progress. While playable, it needs more time at the gametable than this author can provide. Feedback is appreciated.

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“I fight better after I’ve had a few. Would ye care to put me to the test? Just need another drop o’ liquid courage and then ye’ll be spittin’ teeth!”

Drunkards can be found in every tavern and watering hole in civilized lands, and more than a few tents and huts in the less civilized areas. While most heavy drinkers are harmless alcoholics or sad individuals seeking the solution to life’s problems at the bottom of a glass, some rare few are adventurers.

There is an innate bond between adventurers and taverns: many heroes got their start adventuring being approached with a quest while in a bar or answering a call for aid tacked onto the wall. Many adventuring companies operate out of the local tap house, dividing their treasure between drinks and recuperating between quests over a pint. In some lands it is not an uncommon sight to see a group of retired adventurers comparing scars and reminiscing of old times. Many adventurers end their careers in a tavern. Some collapse into drink after repeated failure and death, while others end their wanderings through owning and operating a tavern: investing their fortunes in a place similar to the one that got them started on their heroic path.

Drunkard heroes come from all walks of life. Some unwittingly fall into the grasp of alcohol, others surrender to liquid temptation, and a rare few are skilled combatants able to augment their talents through drink.

Anyone can become a drunkard, and many adventurers have found themselves drawn to this path in the middle of their career. Responsibility can weigh heavily on heroes – especially those who have had greatness thrust onto them – driving them to drink. Failure often leads to depression and consumption, especially with the death of close comrades.
Common folk innately dislike drunkards, believing them to be wastrels or untrustworthy. There is the assumption that drunkards spend much of their money on alcohol and do not care about their responsibilities. There is also the belief that drunkards are wasting their talent and potential, that they would be more than they are if not for the drink. Sometimes this is not entirely untrue.

Building a Drunkard

Anyone who considers entering battle while not entirely sober might very well be a drunkard. You might naturally be a coward, and find alcohol allows you to risk your life in foolhardy yet exciting ways; you might be a troubled soul, seeking to forget the past and escape from some horrible deed; you might be haunted after an encounter with the unnatural, and trying erase what cannot be unseen; or you might even be a joyous reveller, and drink not to escape but to heighten your lively mood.

The drunkard theme works best with melee classes that use weapons such as the fighter, barbarian, or rogue. Classes that favour mobility or unpredictability are also good drunkards. Monks also often become drunkards, following an unusual school of fighting that emulates the movements of the intoxicated.

Someone does not need not be a melee warrior or a scoundrel to be a drunkard. A wizard seeking to forget a lost love, or a priest seeking to ease the pressure of always being the moral compass might be a drunkard.

Drunkard Powers

The following powers are available to characters with the drunkard theme.

Level 2 Utility

Level 3 Encounter Exploit

Level 5 Daily Exploit

Level 6 Utility Exploit

Level 7 Encounter Exploit

Level 9 Daily Exploit

Level 10 Utility Exploit

Paragon Path, Drunken Master

“Ah, good stuff! That last one really hit the spot. Now we can really begin the fight.”

Prerequisite: Drunkard theme or monk

You have mastered the technique of drunken boxing, a fighting style that specializes in staggering, unpredictable movements. Your enemies never know when you are going to strike or which way you will move. While sober you are a fearsome foe, and only become more deadly and agile after a few drinks. Care is needed: while you are skilled at fighting while tipsy it is easy to drink too much and risk passing out.

Drunken Master Path Features

Relaxed Limbs (11th level): Once per encounter, you can reroll an Acrobatics check but must use the second roll. While Intoxicated you instead use the higher of the two results.

Tipping Point (11th level): You ignore all penalties and negative effects from Intoxication and drinks until you reach the Hammered state. Additionally, every time you consume an alcoholic drink you gain +1 bonus to Athletics, Acrobatics, and Bluff checks until the end of your next turn. You can gain this bonus a number of times per day equal to your primary ability modifier.

Unexpected Precision (11th level): When you spend an Action Point to make an extra attack, enemies that you hit with that attack are weakened until the end of their next turn.

Clarity of Spirits (16th level): When you hit with a melee attack you gain a +2 bonus to your Reflex defence until the start of your next turn.

Drunken Master Exploits

Paragon Path, Unyielding Inebriate

“I feel no pain… or my legs.”

Prerequisite: Drunkard theme, barbarian, or fighter

While alcohol knocks most people on their back it keeps you on your feet. You are oblivious to most damage, shrugging off what would topple an ordinary person. Long after you should have fallen down you continue to stand and take blows. Nothing seems to phase you except and empty wineskin.

Unyielding Inebriate Path Features

Accustomed to Disorientation (11th level): When you spend an Action Point while prone, slowed, or dazed you gain an additional move action.

For Medicinal Purposes (11th level): You ignore all penalties and negative effects from Intoxication and drinks until you reach the Hammered state. Additionally, every time you consume an alcoholic drink you gain 5 temporary hit points. You can gain this bonus a number of times per day equal to your primary ability modifier.

Slap to the Face (11th level): When you are critically hit you gain resist 10 to all damage until the end of your next turn.

I Get Up Again (16th level): When you succeed on a death saving throw you can spend your second wind.

Unyielding Inebriate Exploits

Epic Destiny, Innkeeper

“I remember back when I was your age, around when I first started hanging out in this smelly, dirty hole and began risking my life guarding caravans and delivering strange objects. Now look at me, I OWN the smelly, dirty hole!”

Prerequisite: 21st level, must own an inn, bar, or tavern

While your former companions have abandoned their small town roots to become lords or eternal champions or gods, you have remained true to your values. Like so many retired adventurers before, you decided give back to the community by purchasing and operating a drinking establishment.

Your path starts by purchasing an inn or tavern, possibly one in your old home town or current residence. Your establishment might in a small town, built on a crossroads connecting towns, in a larger city, or even a thriving metropolis. In fact, you might even decide to set-up shop in a plane other than the natural world. You might run a bar in the chaos of the elemental planes, a treetop tavern in the fey realms, or an Astral bar and grill atop the body of a hibernating god.

Despite the seeming simplicity of your destiny there are complications. The task falls to you to keep the peace in a potential ruckus tavern, and keep drunken adventurers from misbehaving. You have the unenviable task of telling the sloshed bugbear that he missed last call, and confiscating the weaponry from the halfling rogue, while collecting the bar tab from the drinker able to control minds, and ending bar fights between patrons who can summon fire elementals and call down celestial light.

Immortality

Innkeepers have one of the surest forms of immortality, living on in the stories and memories of their patrons.

A Quiet Life: You do not have a true Destiny Quest. Unlike your friends you choose to willingly give up the adventuring life and settle down. You make it your mission to raise and educate the next generation of heroes, steering them down the right path and offering both advice and cool drinks.

Instead of protecting the world you settle for protecting your establishment. While sometimes you feel you could be doing more you recognize the fact your young patrons will never learn if you help them out of every jam. Besides, keeping order in an bar for adventurers is an epic task all its own.

Sometimes a small quest is required. The current owner of an inn might require that you prove yourself before they will pass ownership. This is especially true if the inn is an existing haven for adventurers or the bar is in an unusual location.

Inkeeper Features

A Friendly Ear (21st level): Increase your Charisma and another ability score of your choice by 2.

A Place to Call Your Own (24th level): When you take an extended rest in your establishment you gain an extra action point. If this action point is not used by the start of your next extended rest it vanishes.

Everyone Knows Your Name (24th level): You have a reputation. Pick two skills out of Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, or Streetwise. You gain a +2 bonus to your chosen skills.

A Good Night’s Sleep (30th level): When a party member spends the night in your establishment all ailments and status effects are removed including blindness, deafness, disease, poison, petrification, and death.

Inkeeper Power

Feats

Improved Drunken Boxing

Prerequisite: Drunkard theme

Benefit: If you have combat advantage against the target of drunken boxing , on a hit the target is pushed 1 square.

Drunken Monk

Prerequisite: drunkard theme, monk, Flurry of Blows class feature

Benefit: When your Flurry of Blows power is triggered by drunken boxing, one target of your Flurry of Blows is dazed until the end of their next turn.

Drunken Barbarian

Prerequisite: drunkard theme, barbarian

Benefit: If you hit with drunken boxing while raging you knock the target prone.

Tavern Brawler

Prerequisite: Con 13

Benefit: You ignore all penalties from the Intoxication disease track until you reach the Hammered state. This does not apply to the additional penalties from drinks.

Additionally, you can pick up or retrieve a stowed beverage and consume it as a single minor action.

Violent Drunk

Prerequisite: Str 13

Benefit: While Intoxicated you gain a +2 feat bonus to weapon damage rolls.

Pelagius ran through the cave at top speed which was sadly still a lot slower than his companions.  This priest of Shar had given them the slip on more than one occasion and Pelagius would sooner see the depths of the Abyss than let that little snot get away from them again.  Quicker and quicker – the priest dodged through the tunnels under Cormyr, not even needing to see where he was going.  These catacombs were his home; he knew them like his own mother…  ”Well, assuming he hasn’t sacrificed his mother already..” Pelagius considered in short gasps, much like his breath.

His uncle Mircolis was hard to see darting through the labyrinth, shrouded in his warlock’s shadowstuff, so only the slowing of footsteps and a curse word in Elven clued Pelagius in that the first of them had given up the chase.  Another twenty paces or so and the normally unsettlingly calm Piotr suddenly gave a shout followed by a hard  thud.  Piotr tripped over a rock jutting out and hit his head on the ground hard.  ”Go!  Stop him!” Piotr commanded and Pelagius’ short legs redoubled their efforts, almost on their own.

Now it was just Pelagius and the wall of a man everyone simply called Staff chasing the priest.  Left, right, right, left, up..  how would Pelagius ever remember the directions to escaping this maze?  No matter.  The priest would lead them out whether he liked it or not – of that, Pelagius was sure.  His legs burned as he ran, with Staff and the priest slowly disappearing from sight.. but wait?  Is that a door?  Is that the only way out?  The cavern surrounding them offered no other exit.  A thought raced across Pelagius’ mind as Staff prepared for some kind of leap.  ”Wait!”  Pelagius called out.  He thought, “I may not be much of a fighter, and I can’t run very fast but Selune help me, THIS I can do!”  Lightning crackled around Pelagius’ ears as he spoke the words of arcane power, “Denshi hashera!” and with a rapid swipe of his arm a pillar of electricity broke free from clouds formed by the dankness and wetness of the cave.   The priest skidded to a halt, afraid to approach the localized storm and turned just in time to see Staff launch himself and then the world went black….

Later that night, the party sat around a slowly dying fire, mending their equipment and splitting the bounty of gold they earned for catching the priest.  Mircolis sat down next to Pelagius, who seemed very much in the middle of intense concentration despite not doing much besides gazing into the fire.  ”Good job back there, Gea.  Your mother would have been proud.”  Mircolis puts a hand on Pelagius’ shoulder.  ”Now, let’s get some rest.   And put that thing out already – you must have killed every mosquito in the kingdom by now.”    Pelagius looks past the fire to his Storm Pillar just outside the camp as it casually fries a decent-sized bat and smiles.  They will rest well, indeed.

The Storm Pillar occupies its own square and zaps anything adjacent to it.  When Pelagius dropped it in front of the doorway, the priest of Shar could no longer enter (or even get close!) and had to instead deal with one very angry monk.   Since it’s an At-Will, it can be ‘sustained’ indefinitely, also making it a very handy if somewhat primitive bug zapper for those times when you really need a good night’s sleep under the stars.

P.S.  Bonus points to the first person who can tell me what power Piotr just took Off the Grid as well!  Here’s a hint – Pelagius didn’t spend a healing surge.

Well, that was a short article. I suppose it might be helpful if I explained what the heck I’m talking about. It occurred to me that there are very specific rules for players to help them figure out what they know and what they don’t know about monsters. This solves the long standing problem of the following scenario:

Player: “The troll is down? Awesome, burn it.”

DM: “Why would you do that?”

Player: “Everyone knows that you have to burn a troll.”

DM: “Well you’ve never encountered a troll before, you don’t know that.”

Player: “Well then how the heck are we going to ever beat the thing?”

Having a monster knowledge check system in D&D means that you don’t have to have the debate. It can be a simple matter of make a skill check and the DM will tell you exactly how much you do and don’t know about the monster. Done. No discussion, no debate, problem solved.

That said, I have it on some authority that many of you out there aren’t making monster knowledge checks. Why wouldn’t you want to know what attacks, resistances, vulnerabilities, and keywords that a creature has. It’s going to make your chances of survival better, in some cases MUCH better. You know what attacks to use, what not to use, what resistances to set up, even which tactics to use. If a creature has a lot of blasts or bursts then don’t group together close. If not then feel free to rush in together. It makes perfect sense in a game mechanics level that one would make a monster knowledge check at the start of every single combat for every monster on the field.

Of course, that’s also a great way to ruin the game. There’s no surprise, it all becomes very mechanical and mathematic and the combat loses a lot of it’s flavor, descriptions start to feel pointless. It can break the suspension of disbelief and discourage a person from using their imagination. I would rather hear about how “The savage creature leaps upon Vert, tear into him with it’s claws and leaving him bleeding on his back.” If I’ve made the check all I’m hearing is “Charge attack at +14 vs Fort for 2d6+4 damage and target is prone”. One of these is much more evocative than the other.

So what’s a person to do to keep their game full of awesome but not lose the tactical advantage that the game assumes when it has rules of this sort?

My first suggestion is for DMs and it’s a bit of a house rule, but I think it’s worth considering and can be applied on the fly. That is, adjust the check DCs. Use the normal rules as a baseline for the DCs but if a creature is rare in your game world add a +5 to those DCs and if it’s unique add a +10. Why should the PCs have an equal chance of knowing about an orc, of which there are countless hordes of on the world, as they would an otyugh, of which there might be 500 on the entire planet? And even more so if it’s Glargak the Dragon of Arcane Fire? They may have heard stories about Glargak, however, being unique means that such a being might have stories, legends, and the like told about them and some of that information might be useful.

Second, I would say that despite what the rules may say I would make taking a monster knowledge check take some time in the battle. I know it doesn’t always make a ton of sense. If you know it you know it, if you don’t you don’t and it doesn’t take time to figure these things out. However, I’m a teacher by day and I see students sit and stare at a single test question for 5 minute. So taking a fraction of a 6 second round of D&D to have to search your memory about what you know about a monster and then share that information in a way that makes sense to your party…well, I think you can justify a standard action for the roll, or at least a move action. If the players have to make a choice between doing a monster knowledge check or taking a move or making an attack then they’re going to do it when it matters. Research before a big fight can make a big difference in this regard as well.

My last suggestion is for players. Even if your DM doesn’t make you give up an action in the fight to make a check, think carefully if you want to go there in your game or not. If it’s a big battle that’s already dynamic and interesting and the climax of the story then go for the check. You might need it to survive. If it seems like it’s going to be a quick and easy battle then don’t bother taking the time. Reserve the monster knowledge checks for the fights that are really going to matter.

So to summarize, if you’re not using monster knowledge checks USE THEM. But don’t go too far and allow them to seep the imagination out of your fights. And DMs, make sure they matter and feel free to differentiate between the monsters. The rules are a great guideline, but go beyond that and make it make sense for your world, your game, and your story.

How do you handle monster knowledge checks? Do your players use them too little? Too much? Is it a problem for your game that you’ve even considered? What other ways could a person resolve monster knowledge checks? And what the heck is the difference between a monster knowledge check and a monster lore check (which I didn’t even talk about…maybe that will be for another article)?

In previous articles of this series I discussed ways to draw inspiration for your character based on one of the major mechanical factors of a D&D character, your class. This time, however, I’ll be looking at another aspect that could be just as important, but often takes a back seat when dealing with the major events of a PCs life. Race. Race can be not only a major factor, but THE major factor of a character’s personality and background. It can also guide other choices in character creation that are informed and changed because of these background choices and it can be done regardless of class. Even if the class is not one that you would think epitomizes your race. For this background I will give you Kzalit’ka’mara, a githzerai barbarian, who despite his class is flavored to fit right into the highly regimented martial lifestyle of the gith.

Kzalit’ka’mara was raised on the floating citadel of C’thariz, in the Astral Sea. He was surrounded by highly disciplined students of the mind and body. They practiced a style of martial arts that had been taught since their people first escaped from the illithids countless ages ago. Kzalit respected the traditions of his people, he lived for his people, he was loyal, and liked by his peers. He took his training very seriously and worked hard to master the fighting style his master’s taught.

He worked so hard at mastering these skills that he gained a level of control over his emotions that most githzerai only dream of achieving. He found himself able to maintain a calm, detached demeanor at all times until he needed his fury, at which point he could call on it to fuel his attacks.

Master Tharis De’kazo taught him the weapons common to the monks of the githzerai but Kzalit gravitated towards a weapon that would allow him to use his strength to pull his enemies in close. He chose to fight with claws forged of steel. He may not be as quick and agile as many of his compatriots he was better than nearly any other mortal and used it combined with his physical superiority to overcome his foes.

When Kzalit was learning about the history of the gith, their escape from the illithids, and his particular bastion in the Astral Sea the Master took him to the portal that they use for travel when his people needed supplies or information from outside their little corner of the planes. It was just at that moment that a never before seen wave of chaotic magic swept through the bastion, activating the portal and pushing Kzalit through.

Kzalit now finds himself in a city he’s never heard of before, but one with many wizards. He desperately wants to return to his home to see what may have caused the wave of magic and to see if his kin survived, but none of the people in the city have been able to help him yet and no one knows the way for him to go home. It was in this state that the githzerai was slowly slipping into a state of despair when he found an odd collection of people approached him, and one of them seemed to have a wolf following along. The consciousness and spirits of animals always was a concept that he had meditated on. This wolf had his attention…and seemed to like him.

So there’s the barbarian githzerai. I describe his approach to being a barbarian in such a way that it make sense in a monk-ish society. He uses twin spiked gauntlets, which I describe as metal claws to compliment the whirling barbarian build concept that I think would be ideal for the character, since it has a secondary stat of dexterity, a stat the githzerai can get a bonus in.

Be sure to check the article later this week from Ethan to see more of the adventures of Kzalit and at least one interesting way that he uses his at-will powers. And if you would like to see a pdf of my build for Kzalit you can download that here.