Weapon and Shield Style
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Normally, a character employing a shield in his off hand can shield-rush, shield-punch, block, or trap as if it were a secondary weapon, with the normal penalties for attacking with two weapons. The disadvantage is that the shield’s AC bonus is forfeited for any round in which it is used this way.
However, characters who specialize in weapon and shield style can choose to make one of these secondary attacks every round without losing the AC benefit for carrying a shield.
Shield-Punch
The shield-punch is a very basic maneuver. If you are using a buckler, small shield, or medium shield, you can use it to attack with as well as defend, by slamming it into your target's body.
When your turn to attack comes, simply announce that you're shield-punching and make your attack roll. You get no attack bonus from the shield, regardless of its size or magical enchantment.
A shield-punch does 1–3 damage, plus your Strength bonus. Once you have performed a shield-punch, you lose the AC bonus of the shield for the rest of the combat round from now until your next attack. (If you have an attack later in the round, you regain the AC bonus then; if you don't have an attack until next round, you regain the AC bonus at the very start of the next round.)
This is a good maneuver to perform when you've dropped your weapon, as it will do somewhat more damage than a barehanded attack.
Shield-Rush
This maneuver is like a combination of the Pull/Trip and Shield-Punch maneuvers.
The attacker must start at least 10 feet away from the victim, and must have either a medium or body shield. Basically, he runs at full speed up to his victim, slamming full-tilt into him, hoping to injure him or knock him down.
As with the Shield-Punch, the attacker gets no bonus to attack rolls from the shield, nor does he get the AC bonus of his shield from the time he starts the maneuver until his next attack.
If he hits, he does damage equal to the Shield-Punch, and the target must make a 1d20 roll against Dexterity to stay on his feet. The target applies these modifiers to his Dexterity:
+3 Target Was Moving Toward Attacker
+3 Target Was Not Moving
–3 Target Hit From Behind
–3 Target Was Unaware of Attack
As you can see, it's more reliable a knockdown than the Pull/Trip.
However, the attacker also has a chance to be knocked down.
If he misses his roll to attack, he slams into the target anyway, and does no damage to his target. He must make his Dexterity ability check at a –6 penalty; if he makes it, he is still standing, but if he fails it, he is knocked down. Either way, his target remains standing.
Even if he succeeds in his attack roll, he still has a chance to fall down. The attacker rolls 1d20 against his own, unadjusted Dexterity. If he fails it, he falls down, too.
Pin
With the Pin maneuver, you move close to your enemy (right up in his face) and use either a weapon or your shield to pin, or trap, his weapon—usually by pressing it against him so that he can't move.
This is like a Called Shot, except that you don't have to announce it before initiative and you don't suffer a +1 to initiative. You do still suffer the –4 attack penalty.
If you successfully hit, the victim can't use his pinned weapon until the pin is broken, and you can't use your pinning weapon or shield until the pin is broken.
When the pin is first performed, the victim gets one chance to struggle, using a Strength roll exactly as described for the Grab maneuver, above. If he succeeds, he yanks the weapon free; if he has attacks left this round, he can use all of them. If he fails, the weapon remains pinned for the rest of the round; the victim loses one of his attacks for the round (if he only had one, he's out of luck until next round); but next round and in succeeding rounds, his first struggle attempt each round does not count against his available attacks. (Subsequent ones in the same round do count as attacks.)
It is possible to Pin someone with the missile weapon you are carrying (except for the ordinary Sling). While it's being used to Pin, it may not be used as a missile weapon. If it was armed (an arrow was nocked, a quarrel was in place, or a stone was in the staff-sling's pouch), it loses that missile in the struggle; the character must reload it later. |
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Blind-fighting
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NA/6(Init)+2(Wisdom/Intuition, Dexterity/Balance)=8
This allows characters to ignore many of the problems inherent in fighting without being able to see. In total darkness, the character suffers –2 (not –4) to attack rolls, and suffers no penalties to AC versus melee attacks. In starlight or moonlight, the character suffers only a –1 penalty to attack rolls.When moving in darkness, the character is allowed to make a proficiency check at the beginning of a round; success means no movement penalties are assessed because of the darkness, while failure means the normal penalty applies.
When in combat with an invisible creature, the character with blind-fighting proficiency suffers only a –2 to attack rolls, but gains no benefit toward discovering the creature.
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Jumping
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7(Init)+5(Strength/Muscle, Dexterity/Balance)+1(CP)=13
This skill means that a character has unusual abilities to jump across distances, leap incredible heights, and vault with a pole.A human or elven character with the jumping proficiency can perform a running broad jump of 20 feet without a proficiency check; a jump of more than 20 feet requires a check, with a –1 modifier for each foot above 20. The jumper can do a standing broad jump of 8 feet without a check; longer jumps require proficiency checks with the same penalties.
The character can high jump 4 feet without a check, higher obstacles require a check, with a –1 modifier for every 6" of additional height. If jumping from a standing start, the beginning height is 3 feet, not 4 feet.
Dwarves, gnomes, and halflings are more limited in their jumping ability. For these characters, the basic distances in each category are reduced to 75 of the listed amount—e.g. 15 feet instead of 20 for the broad jump.
A vaulting pole must be at least as tall as the character using it, but no more than twice as tall. The character can vault over obstacles up to the height of the pole. If the obstacles are within 2 feet of the pole’s length, however, the character must make a proficiency check. The vaulter can also jump across a space no more than 11_2 the width of the pole’s length. If the gap is greater than the length of the pole, a proficiency check is required.
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Swords
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Ancient:Â broadsword, sapara, khopesh, sword-axe, short sword
Roman:Â broadsword, drusus, gladius, spatha
Middle Eastern:Â short sword, scimitar, great scimitar, tulwar
Oriental:Â cutlass, katana, wakizashi, no-dachi, ninja-to
Short:Â short sword, gladius, drusus, sapara, dagger, tulwar
Medium:Â broadsword, long sword, cutlass, sabre, falchion, estoc
Large:Â bastard sword, claymore, two-handed sword, great scimitar, no-dachi
Fencing weapons:Â rapier, sabre, main-gauche, parrying dagger |
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Specialization
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Club, Long Sword, Broadsword, weapon and shield style
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Two-Weapon Style
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This is a difficult style to master, since it requires exceptional coordination and skill. Normally, characters who fight with a weapon in each hand suffer a –2 penalty to attacks with their primary hand and a –4 penalty to attacks with the off-hand weapon. This can be partially or completely negated by the character’s reaction adjustment for Dexterity (or Dex/Aim if you’re also using Skills & Powers). Characters who specialize in this style reduce their penalty to 0 and –2, respectively. Ambidextrous characters who specialize in this style suffer no penalty with either attack.
The character’s secondary weapon must be one size smaller than his primary weapon—but knives and daggers can always be used as secondary weapons, regardless of the size of the primary weapon. Note that this means that for Man-sized characters, the secondary weapon has to be size S. However, if a character spends a second proficiency slot on two-weapon style specialization, he gains the ability to use two weapons of equal size, as long as he can use each one as a one-handed weapon. Rangers are considered to have the first slot of this style specialization for free as a character ability.
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Ambidexterity
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| Ambidextrous characters are able to use either hand with equal coordination and skill. They are neither right-handed nor left-handed. When fighting in two-weapon style, an ambidextrous character has two “primary†hands, and suffers a –2 penalty to hit with either weapon. If the ambidextrous character spends a slot to specialize in two-weapon fighting style, he suffers no penalty to attacks with either weapon. |
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Compulsive Honesty
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The character with this disadvantage cannot tell a lie and cannot behave in a deceitful fashion. He tends to be blunt rather than tactful, even if this means insulting someone who he and his companions are trying to impress.The character could participate in a deception—but only if it is a matter of life and death. Even then, the character must make a Wisdom/Willpower check every time he is called upon to speak a falsehood or to act out a role in front of witnesses. Failure of the role means that the character shrugs and comes clean—â€You’re right, my lord. I’m not here in the marketplace to shop for rugs, but to steal the plans for the castle’s defenses.â€
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Fast Healer
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| This highly useful trait allows a character to recover 1 hit point of damage within 2–12 turns of receiving a wound. Also, the character naturally heals at a rate of 2 hit points, not 1, per day. |
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Polearms
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Spear-like polearms:Â awl pike, partisan, ranseur, spetum
Poleaxes:Â bardiche, halberd, voulge
Bills:Â bill, bill-guisarme, glaive-guisarme, guisarme-voulge, hook fauchard
Glaives:Â glaive, fauchard, naginata, nagimaki, fauchard-fork
Beaked:Â bec de corbin, lucern hammer
Unrelated:Â military fork, tetsubo, lajatang |
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Endurance
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3(Init)+3(Constitution/Fitness)=6
A character with this proficiency can perform continual strenuous physical activity for twice as long as a normal character before becoming exhausted. If the character is ever required to make a Strength/Stamina check or a Constitution/Fitness check, the character can add his endurance score to his success number. If the fatigue rules from the Player’s Option: Combat & Tactics book are in play, the endurance proficiency is treated differently (see Combat & Tactics, Chapter One). |
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Swimming
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9(Init)+5(Strength/Stamina)+1(CP)=15
This useful proficiency allows characters to swim according to the AD&D game rules for water movement (see the Player’s Handbook for more information). Characters without this proficiency are considered untrained swimmers, and they can do little more than hold their breath and float. Proficient characters can perform most swimming tasks without any checks.
For each character point added to this proficiency after its initial purchase, swimmers can add 1 to their movement rates in water. |
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Riding, Land
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8(Init)+2(Wisdom/Willpower, Dexterity/Balance)+1(CP)=11
Riding, Airborne and Riding, Land: The riding proficiencies are well-detailed in the Player’s Handbook. Characters using the Skills and Powers rules can add +2 to their proficiency score in either category of riding if they possess the trait of animal empathy, and +1 if they have the additional proficiency in animal training. These modifiers are cumulative.
Riding, Land-Based: Those skilled in land riding are proficient in the art of riding and handling horses or other types of ground mounts. When the proficiency slot is filled, the character must declare which type of mount he is proficient in. Possibilities include griffons, unicorns, dire wolves, and virtually any creatures used as mounts by humans, demihumans, or humanoids.
A character with riding proficiency can perform all of the following feats. Some of them are automatic, while others require a proficiency check for success.
• The character can vault onto a saddle whenever the horse or other mount is standing still, even when the character is wearing armor. This does not require a proficiency check. The character must make a check, however, if he wishes to get the mount moving during the same round in which he lands in its saddle. He must also make a proficiency check if he attempts to vault onto the saddle of a moving mount. Failure indicates that the character falls to the ground--presumably quite embarrassed.
• The character can urge the mount to jump tall obstacles or leap across gaps. No check is required if the obstacle is less than three feet tall or the gap is less than 12 feet wide. If the character wants to roll a proficiency check, the mount can be urged to leap obstacles up to seven feet high, or jump across gaps up to 30 feet wide. Success means that the mount has made the jump. Failure indicates that it balks, and the character must make another proficiency check to see whether he retains his seat or falls to the ground.
• The character can spur his steed on to great speeds, adding 6 feet per round to the animal's movement rate for up to four turns. This requires a proficiency check each turn to see if the mount can be pushed this hard. If the initial check fails, no further attempts may be made, but the mount can move normally. If the second or subsequent check fails, the mount immediately slows to a walk, and the character must dismount and lead the animal for a turn. In any event, after four turns of racing, the steed must be walked by its dismounted rider for one turn.
• The character can guide his mount with his knees, enabling him to use weapons that require two hands (such as bows and two-handed swords) while mounted. This feat does not require a proficiency check unless the character takes damage while so riding. In this case, a check is required and failure means that the character falls to the ground and sustains an additional 1d6 points of damage.
• The character can drop down and hang alongside the steed, using it as a shield against attack. The character cannot make an attack or wear armor while performing this feat. The character's Armor Class is lowered by 6 while this maneuver is performed. Any attacks that would have struck the character's normal Armor Class are considered to have struck the mount instead. No proficiency check is required.
• The character can leap from the back of his steed to the ground and make a melee attack against any character or creature within 10 feet. The player must roll a successful proficiency check with a -4 penalty to succeed. On a failed roll, the character fails to land on his feet, falls clumsily to the ground, and suffers 1d3 points of damage. |
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Rope Use
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8(Init)+2(Dexterity/Aim, Wisdom/Intuition)+1(CP)=11
This proficiency enables a character to accomplish amazing feats with rope. A character with rope use proficiency is familiar with all sorts of knots and can tie knots that slip, hold tightly, slide slowly, or loosen with a quick tug. If the character's hands are bound and held with a knot, he can roll a proficiency check (with a -6 penalty) to escape the bonds.
This character gains a +2 bonus to all attacks made with a lasso. The character also receives a +10 bonus to all climbing checks made while he is using a rope, including attempts to belay (secure the end of a climbing rope) companions. |
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