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View Full Version : [3.5 Discipline] Relentless Dusk - Oblivion, Setesh, and the Servants of True Death



Xefas
2012-09-21, 02:47 AM
{{scrubbed}}

In the din of battle, one's heart burns in the moment. They see only themselves, those they fight, and perhaps those they fight for. The suffering visited upon them and upon their enemies is plain, and great indeed. But often greater are the scars left after the fires are extinguished, and the sun rises on a new day and a new world with a few less people in it.

The pain does not end there, however. Beyond the clash and struggle of a single skirmish, and beyond those involved in it, ripples are made that darken Creation just ever so slightly. One lowly bandit dead, and his friends mourn. He will never have a son, who will never redeem his family's name, who will never have a daughter, who will never slay the red dragon who threatens the kingdom, who will never establish an order of holy knights, who will never usher in an age of prosperity and tolerance the likes of which the world has never known. One clan of kobolds dead, who will never pillage a nearby village, who will never inspire the townspeople there to defend themselves, who will never spawn the greatest smith this multiverse has ever known, who will never forge the greatest implement of righteous vengeance to ever be, which will never be used to slay the dark god bringing our apocalypse just that one step closer.

Unlikely? Certainly. But each death is one possibility gone, and this world is rotting with so much death. And so it has been since before the first mortal creature opened its eyes. Out of the roiling chaos in time before time, arose the Lawgivers, and their first order of business was to slay that chaos – to define it, and constrain it, and cut at it until form and time and thought could be. An infinitude of possibilities destroyed to create limitations upon which these Gods of Order could stand.

But Law is not all that they created. If a single death can change the course of a multiverse, then certainly a death of infinite scope would have repercussions. And so all of these possibilities, all of these things that never were, that now can never be, moved beyond this realm and collected into a font of terrible darkness – Oblivion. The death beyond death, the True Death, occasionally spoken of in the fevered ramblings of the Dustmen in Sigil's Mortuary. However, few know its true scope. It is a gaping, endless, slavering maw, awaiting the consumption of all things, as well as a graveyard and monument to each unspeakable horror that it represents, and a many faceted jewel, each of its faces a Neverborn; the dead potential of our tiny multiverse encasing the withered heart of one of its creators – what was, what is, and what could have been, a Baernoloth – cast out beyond light and life by the holy Lawgivers.

Do not despair. Even in this bleakest of truths, there is yet hope. There are a few heroes yet, who hear and see and know the True Death. They understand what must be done, united by their cause, and drawn to Setesh, The Empty City which rests upon the chains which shackle Oblivion to the outermost rim of existence, they have gazed into the void and gained power from it. Power enough to fix everything. To stop the march of Oblivion, all things must be cast into it, until there is nothing, and the maw can no longer Be.

Complete existential annihilation, while simple and elegant is, however, a task of a relatively vast scope. To hasten the remedying of the multiverse and all of its myriad travesties and mistakes, these 'Deathlords' as they have loosely come to know themselves, have taken to collecting new recruits for the cause - not always politely, not always honestly; but throughout the history of our world, a few have mastered their teachings, and brought great and lasting destruction.

The vanguard for the Deathknights, those most visible, those most obviously powerful, are drawn from the ranks of otherwise unremarkable fighting men, and are taught the path of the Relentless Dusk – the discipline torn forth from Oblivion by the First And Forsaken Lion. Its every form, every motion, every mantra one more step on the road to becoming a Knight of Dusk, and serving the Lion and the Neverborn. Amongst all the Void Disciplines, perhaps the Relentless Dusk is chosen willingly the most often, although more than one warrior was under the impression they were learning the ways of the Iron Heart from a stern but fair and respectable war veteran, before realizing they had become an agent of the End Times at the feet of a Deathlord.

---

The associated skill for Relentless Dusk is Ride. Its associated weapons are the unarmed strike, greatsword, greataxe, scythe, and maul.

All Warblades, Swordsages, and Crusders may learn the Relentless Dusk Discipline, as well as any suitably appropriate homebrew martial classes, at the discretion of the group using them. A member of one of these classes may forsake one Martial Discipline they would normally be allowed. They lose all maneuvers and stances of that discipline, and must replace them with others of the same level (preferably Relentless Dusk ones). They may also, at their discretion, lose its associated skill as a class skill and gain Ride as a class skill, if they wish.

Alternative mechanics for gaining access to homebrewed disciplines are many, so feel free to utilize whichever you prefer. A method by The Demented One that I particularly like is as follows:

A prospective disciple of the Relentless Dusk may seek out a master – a martial adept capable of using at least 5th level maneuvers from the discipline, most often The First And Forsaken Lion, or a high-ranking Knight of Dusk – or, truly exceptionally, they may also be able to stare into the maw of Oblivion itself and bring forth the teachings of the discipline much as the Lion did. They must train for a month under their master, or spend a month staring into the bleak eternal nothingess, and spend 1,000 xp. They then gain the ability to learn maneuvers from the Relentless Dusk discipline in addition to any other disciplines they know. In addition, they may exchange their maneuvers known for maneuvers of the Relentless Dusk discipline, up to one maneuver of each level, with each manuever of the same level as the one exchanged for it.

Maneuver List
Level 1
Black Lion Guards The Princess (Counter) – Forestall your ally's death in favor of your opponent's.
Imminent Nightfall Understanding (Stance) – Know that your victory is only a matter of time.
Unfurling Iron Lotus (Strike) – Bring death to multiple foes at once.

Level 2
Corpse-Body Resilience (Boost) – Forsake the needs of the living.
Time-Scything Technique (Strike) – Wear away your opponent's life.

Level 3
Hope-Slaying Fortitude (Stance) – Maintain a tireless stamina.
On A Ruinous Steed – Summon forth a mount from nothing.

Level 4
Graveyard-Silencing Method (Strike) – Put undead to rest.
Indiscriminate Executioner's Justice (Boost) – Punish those unwilling to face death.

Level 5
The Chains of Setesh (Strike) – Draw your opponents into the arms of death.
Horror-Invoking Anticipation (Stance) – Ignite the impending dread in the hearts of your foes.

Level 6
Ebon Lightning Prana (Strike) – Death comes more swiftly than expected.
Regarding Guttering Flames (Counter) – Defend while you bide your time.

Level 7
Suicide-Honoring Riposte (Counter) – Break that which wishes to be broken.
Wretched Ridden Nightmare (Boost) – Create a mount truly worthy of a Deathknight.

Level 8
Apocalyptic Rider's Spirit (Stance) – Synchronize with your mount.
Life-Reaping Shadow (Strike) – Cast a grim shadow.

Level 9
Creation-Slaying Holocaust Blade (Strike) – Send bits of existence into the void.

Level 1
Black Lion Guards The Princess
Relentless Dusk (Counter)
Action: Immediate
Range: Movement Speed
Target: One Ally

Death will come to everyone. But the Deathlords are not simpletons who will allow themselves and their allies to fall prematurely, as their role in championing the cause of Oblivion is not yet fulfilled. The First And Forsaken Lion stands darkly against the fading light, shielding that which is most precious to him, and so too are his disciples the spiked barricade against which countless foes shatter, leaving their more fragile allies unharmed.

This maneuver may be activated in response to an attack being declared on an ally within range. You immediately move adjacent to that ally and, if your movement was not prevented in some way, interpose yourself in the way of the attack. You become the new target of that attack, but are considered flat-footed against it. If it succeeds in hitting you and dealing damage, you may immediately unexpend an expended Strike-tye maneuver.

At initiator level 11, the range of this maneuver becomes twice your movement speed.

Imminent Nightfall Understanding
Relentless Dusk (Stance)
Action: Swift
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

The banner of Dusk represents the futile and fleeting nature of life. Darkness will always come, and one can no more resist its embrace than they can stand against and push back the night itself. To become a Deathknight of the Relentless Dusk is to become that darkness, and flow forth as an unstoppable tide – your foes may try as hard as they may to delay you, but you will always eclipse them in the end.

While in this stance, every time you miss with a melee attack against a creature, you gain a +1 competence bonus on all melee attack rolls until the end of the encounter, or until you succeed with a melee attack. Multiple instances of this bonus stack, up to a maximum of (2 + 1/2 initiator level, rounded down).

Purposefully choosing to fail an attack roll does not apply the bonus.

Unfurling Iron Lotus
Relentless Dusk (Strike)
Action: Standard
Range: Melee
Target: Two or more creatures

The black of night blossoms outward across all the land, casting no darker a shadow on any one man, but engulfing all that it reaches with equal pleasure.

Using this maneuver, you make two melee attack rolls, each of which must be applied to two different targets within melee range.

At your discretion, before you make the attack rolls, you may choose to make your strike Relentless. This applies a -2 penalty to your attack rolls as part of this maneuver, but if all attacks miss, Unfurling Iron Lotus is not expended.

At initiator level 3, the number of attacks you may make increases to three, but each must still be made against different targets. At initiator level 5, this increases to four. At initiator level 7, this increases to five and, in lieu of making a separate attack roll against each target, you may choose to instead make a single attack roll and apply it equally to all targets. Finally, at initiator level 9, you may attack every creature within your melee range.

Level 2
Corpse-Body Resilience
Relentless Dusk (Boost)
Action: Swift
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 5 minutes

Being one of the Chosen of Oblivion means standing, often, alone, or if one is severely lucky, in a small group of friends and allies, heroic in the face of overwhelming odds, the multitudes of living and otherwise who do not wish to suffer eternal nothingness. To succeed in these impossible circumstances, one must be more clever their the living, stronger, faster, and – as this technique ensures – bereft of those inconvenient weaknesses so unique to the yet-to-be-deceased.

As you activate this maneuver, your mind clears, your aches dissolve, and your body is at peace. For the duration, you ignore all penalties from hunger, dehydration, sleep deprivation, or inhaled hazards, such as smoke. To the unknowing onlooker (or, indeed, the unknowing user), you appear to have drawn upon some inner well of adrenaline and endurance. In truth, your body has been drawn nearer to Oblivion, and a part of your humanity has momentarily left you.

At initiator level 5, you may change the activation time to 1 minute, meditating directly and deliberately upon the void. This increases the duration of the maneuver to 24 hours, and completely removes your ability to sleep or breathe. You may still speak, but your voice takes a subtely unnatural tone.

At initiator level 9, you may change the activation time to 1 hour, willingly gazing upon a facet of Oblivion in your mind, and allowing it to warp you utterly. The duration of this maneuver increases to 1 year, and in addition to the prior effects of the 24 hour version, your skin becomes either an eerily brilliant chalk white, or a terrible pure ashen blackness (each use remains consistent with the same user). If your form ever changes (such as by some form of transmutative spell), but you retain the benefits of this maneuver, this alteration of skin tone persists to the new form. If you ever lose Corpse-Body Resilience as a Maneuver Known, the effects fade over the course of a day.

At initiator level 13, you may change the activation time to 13 hours, blighting yourself permanently. The effects of the year-long version become a permanent part of your being, and persist even if you lose this maneuver as a Maneuver Known.

Time-Scything Technique
Relentless Dusk (Strike)
Action: Standard
Range: Melee
Target: One Creature

As your blade passes over a foe, they appear momentarily weak. Again and again and, eventually, it appears that wounds open across their body from seemingly no source. In their final moments, even without your weapon touching them, they die screaming as the maw of Oblivion draws their life away (although not necessarily their soul). This is the impending doom offered by the Relentless Dusk.

As part of this maneuver, make a normal melee attack. If that attack misses, the target still takes damage equal to the base dice of the weapon you are wielding (so, for instance, 2d6 for a medium-sized greatsword).

Before making the attack roll, you may choose to make your strike Relentless. This applies a -2 penalty to your attack roll, but if the attack misses, Time-Scything Technique is not expended.

Level 3
Hope-Slaying Fortitude
Relentless Dusk (Stance)
Prerequisite: One Relentless Dusk Maneuver
Action: Swift
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

The most foolish cowards may attempt to flee the night, chasing the sun to buy one more moment of warmth, but rest assured, if the darkness hasn't touched you yet, that does not mean it never will. It will never go away, always looming, always waiting, and you will tire long before it does.

While in this stance, every time you miss with a melee attack against a creature, you are healed 1d6 points of damage. Your wounds do not mend – rather, your body is merely held together by the inevitability of the void. A Knight of Dusk might fight for days, mangled and maimed beyond recognition, beyond all possibility of functioning, yet still fully capable of fulfilling its duty.

Pureposefully choosing to fail an attack does not heal you.

On A Ruinous Steed
Relentless Dusk
Prerequisite: One Relentless Dusk Maneuver
Action: Full
Range: Adjacent
Duration: Until Dismissed

Oblivion lurks closely to all Deathknights, but perhaps to none more obviously than those Knights of Dusk who take up the reins of a Ruinous Steed. Astride the shadow of a being that has never been and will never be, they may meet out death with newfound expediency.

Upon activating this maneuver, a mount appears adjacent to you. It is always of the proper size to bear you (Large for a Medium rider, Huge for a Large rider, etc), and has one Construct hit die for each initiator level you possess. It has Strength 20, Dexterity 16, Constitution -, Intelligence -, Wisdom 14, and Charisma 1. Its base speed is 60ft, it has a +8 natural armor bonus, and one primary natural attack that deals 1d8 base damage (slashing, bludgeoning, or piercing, depending upon what form the attack takes). These statistics are for a Large-sized mount, and should be adjusted accordingly for size alterations. The exact shape the mount takes is dependent on the rider – most seem to imagine themselves as Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and so their Ruinous Steed is a horse, but other shapes are possible. Regardless of shape, one's steed is always perfectly loyal, and may be communicated with telepathically over any distance or planar boundary, although its mental ability scores render it little more than an automoton – capable of receiving orders and relaying factual data, but incapable of judgment or conjecture.

One may only have a single Ruinous Steed summoned at a time, and a second activation of this maneuver dismisses the first. This maneuver also ends if the steed it has summoned is destroyed. A dismissed or destroyed steed also takes any barding, horseshoes, and saddlebags it was equipped with back to its non-existent bubble of unreality. Since each mount is specific to each rider, summoning them anew also brings forth the equipment they disappeared with.

At initiator level 9, the Ruinous Steed adds a +20 perfection bonus to its movement speed. At initiator level 11, the Ruinous Steed gains the ability to fly with a maneuverability of 'good', at its normal ground speed (in most cases, the mount's shape changes to either incorporate wings, or it simply may gallop across thin air). At initiator level 13, 15, and 17, the Ruinous Steed's perfection bonus to speed increases by an additional +30, +40, and +50 feet (for a total of +140ft at 17th level).


Level 4
Graveyard-Silencing Method
Relentless Dusk (Strike)
Prerequisite: Two Relentless Dusk Maneuvers
Action: Standard
Range: Melee
Target: One Creature

Of all the foes of Oblivion, none are so brazen as the Undead. The living march obediently to their doom, every moment another step to their death and, eventually, their True Death. But the Undead exist in stasis, forestalling their walk to the windswept precipice of darkness – of course, their ultimate end is inevitable as well, but such blatantly audacity is deserving of special attention from the Knights of Dusk.

As part of this maneuver, make a normal melee attack. Against an undead target, this attack ignores all damage reduction, miss chances (except from total cover), etherealness, incorporeality, regeneration, energy resistance, and immortality. In regards to that last one, even beings such as Ghosts, Vampires, and Liches have need to fear, as a killing blow utilizing the Graveyard-Silencing Method is quite capable of ending them completely. Undead whose existence incorporates a bound soul, such as in the case of the aforementioned Ghosts, Vampires, and Liches, that are killed by this strike have their souls returned to the natural cycle, the taint of undeath and the weight of the sins committed by their undead self alleviated, recieving judgment and being placed in an afterlife appropriately, and may be raised or ressurrected as normal.

At initiator level 13, if this strike deals damage to an undead creature, but does not kill it, then it is not expended.

Indiscriminate Executioner's Justice
Relentless Dusk (Boost)
Prerequisite: Two Relentless Dusk Maneuvers
Action: Swift
Range: 100 feet
Target: One Creature

It is the duty of a Knight of Dusk to slay the enemies of Oblivion. Which, incidentally, is everyone that exists. However, some are more egregious offenders than others and need to be dealt with more swiftly.

When you activate this maneuver, choose one target within range that can perceive you. With a gesture, you mark them as being judged. For a moment, in a brief flash of horror, they see their death approaching, dealt by your hands.

This period of judgement lasts until the beginning of your next turn. If the target accepts their death, taking no actions during the judgment, then they are spared. If the target faces their death directly, by making at least one attack roll against you during the judgment, then they are spared. Under any other circumstances, justice is dealt to them in the form of flesh-wracking agony which inflicts a -4 penalty to all of their rolls, and their armor class, from the end of the judgment period until the beginning of your next turn afterward.

At initiator level 11, you may judge two creatures simultaneously. At initiator level 13, you may judge up to four creatures. At initiator level 15, the range at which you may judge increases to as far as you can perceive, although the targets must still be able to perceive you as well, and you may judge up to eight creatures. At initiator level 17, you may judge a total of thirteen creatures at once.

Level 5
The Chains of Setesh
Relentless Dusk (Strike)
Prerequisite: Two Relentless Dusk Maneuvers
Action: Standard
Range: 100 feet
Target: One or More Creatures

Oblivion is anchored to the multiverse via immeasurably long and mountain-thick chains; the physical manifestation of the impending death of the cosmos. Every fraction of a moment, the void swallows another impercepitbly miniscule length of the chain, drawing ever closer. The Deathlords constructed their city-without-citizens, Setesh, both headquarters and hollow reminder of their lacking membership and own unavoidable demises. By proximity, the chains became known as The Chains of Setesh.

Upon activating this maneuver, a dark chasm appears like a vacuous halo behind you, and a flurry of barbed chains lunge forth from the emptiness to grasp at any targets you designate within range. Resolve each chain with a melee attack roll. Each chain that succeeds at grasping a target drags them into a space adjacent to you (if there is no adjacent space, they drag them as close as possible).

A grasped target may take actions as normal, but they cannot move further away from you without first breaking free. To break free, one must spend a move action to make a melee attack roll opposed by a melee attack roll from you. Alternatively, a character may attempt to break someone else free from their own chain, spending a move action and making opposed melee attack rolls on their behalf, but the beneficiary must be within their Reach.

If you move more than 100 feet away from a character grasped by one of your chains, they are automatically set free. You may relinquish anyone you wish at any time as a free action.

Horror-Invoking Anticipation
Relentless Dusk (Stance)
Prerequisite: Two Relentless Dusk Maneuvers
Action: Swift
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

Beings, both mortal and immortal, are all aware on some level of their eventual demise. Yet, they rejoice in their ignorance, pushing the thought from their heads, as if hoping that if they do not see death, death wil not see them. But all it takes is a spark. A single dangerous moment suddenly ignites their self-preservation, and all they can see is the approaching night.

While in this stance, every time you miss with a melee attack, you generate one Horror Charge. You may store a maximum of 10 Charges at any given time, and they always dissipate at the end of an encounter.

While in this stance, you may discharge 5 Horror Charges as part of the activation of any Stike-type martial maneuver. Any creature that takes damage as a result of that maneuver is also rendered Shaken for 1 minute.

Purposefully choosing to fail an attack does not create a Horror Charge.

Level 6

Ebon Lightning Prana
Relentless Dusk (Strike)
Prerequisite: Two Relentless Dusk Maneuvers
Action: Full
Range: Twice Your Movement Speed
Target: One or More Creatures

Death is maddeningly slow, creeping ever closer, inch by inch, that final unavoidable dark shadowing every moment of one's life like a looming specter. But death is also swift – snatching life away all too quickly, ending countless stories before they ever really began.

As part of this maneuver, you may move up to twice your movement speed in a straight line, provoking attacks of opportunity as normal. At the end of your movement, every enemy that was adjacent to you at some point during your movement is subject to a melee attack. You may roll separate melee attacks against each enemy, or roll once and apply the result to every valid target.

At your discretion, before making the attack roll(s), you may you may choose to make your strike Relentless. This applies a -2 penalty to your attack roll(s) as part of this maneuver, but if all attacks miss, Unfurling Iron Lotus is not expended.

Regarding Guttering Flames
Relentless Dusk (Counter)
Prerequisite: Two Relentless Dusk Maneuvers
Action: Immediate
Range: Personal
Target: You

The fearful light lamps and candles to ward away the night, and those facing the sunset of their lives may attempt to stave off death with magic, medicine, or healthy lifestyle choices. But the darkness will always be there. It is an unmoving, indestructible monolith, and you are just a man, or just an angel, or just a god. Eventually, no matter how much you fight it, you will die. And death can wait.

You may activate this maneuver in response to being the target of an attack. Until the beginning of your next turn, you gain a +10 competence bonus to your Armor Class. However, from the beginning of that turn to the end, you take a -10 penalty to all of your attack rolls.

Level 7
Suicide-Honoring Riposte
Relentless Dusk (Counter)
Prerequisite: Three Relentless Dusk Maneuvers
Action: Immediate
Range: Melee
Target: Attacking Creature

Death waits patiently for all, regardless of their wishes. But if one simply cannot wait for the sweet embrace of sleep eternal, the darkness will accept them wholeheartedly, even before their appointed time.

This maneuver may be activated in response to you being successfully dealt damage to by an attack from within your melee range. You may immediately make a normal melee attack against the foe who dealt you damage, or to any object on their person of which you may reach. Against objects, this attack bypasses Hardness and deals double the normal amount of damage.

Wretched Ridden Nightmare
Relentless Dusk (Boost)
Prerequisite: Three Relentless Dusk Maneuvers
Action: Swift
Range: Adjacent
Target: Mount
Duration: 1 minute

The void draws close, and those most valorous of Deathknights place reins upon it and ride onward to victory and annihilation.

Activating this maneuver transforms a willing or mindless mount into a horrifying harbinger of the End. Its flesh calcifies into pure white marble or jagged and cracked obsidian, its eyes sinking into pits of unfathomable emptiness, and the very air around it shimmers as if from a great heat – in reality, the very spacial strata of the universe in which it occupies is convulsing with revulsion and impossibility.

The effected mount loses its Intelligence score as it becomes a mindlessly subservient object, if it were not already. Its other ability scores, and its natural armor, gain a +6 perfection bonus. It gains a Fly speed equal to its land speed with (good) maneuverability, if it did not already have better. Its base attack bonus becomes equal to its hit dice, if it was not already. Whenever a creature lays eyes on the beast (or perceives it in a comprehensible but non-visual way), they must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your highest mental ability modifer) or be Shaken for 1 minute. The fear effect of a particular nightmare-steed may only impose itself on a given creature once per minute.

At the stroke of midnight, if one is riding a nightmare-steed at its full possible speed (typically taking a Run action), you may temporarily slip the boundaries of this world and disappear; reappearing upon one of the Chains of Setesh, riding into the outer limits of The Empty City. Similarly, while within the realm of darkness beyond the multiverse, you may ride at top speed through what would be the moment of dusk in the Prime Material Plane, and reappear at the last point you were at in the multiverse prior to leaving it for Setesh.

Level 8
Apocalyptic Rider's Spirit
Relentless Dusk (Stance)
Prerequisites: Three Relentless Dusk Maneuvers
Action: Swift
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

A Knight of Dusk knows true loneliness, and the fallacy of that state of mind. Everything, including time itself, will eventually be devoured by Oblivion. And, therefore, everything has already ended, and therefore nothing has ever been. It's really just you and the void. Chillin'. Forever. The realization of that kind of limitless cammeraderie can be a powerful tool for a nihilistic psychopath.

While in this stance, when you Charge while on a mount, you may choose to substitute a Relentless Dusk Strike-type maneuver with a standard-action activation time in place of the normal attack you would get at the end of a Charge. If you do so, you take a -2 penalty to your attack rolls as part of that maneuver.

While in this stance, if a Counter-type maneuver (of any discipline) would be able to be activated in reponse to a triggering action targetting you, you may activate the maneuver if your mount is being targetted by a valid triggering action (for instance, using Suicide-Honoring Riposte if your horse is dealt damage). If the Counter you use grants an ongoing effect, you may instead have it effect your mount (for instance, having the bonus and penalty of Regarding Guttering Flames applied to your mount).

Finally, while in this stance, your mount is immune to being grappled, stunned, paralyzed, dazed, entangled, or having its movement speed reduced.

Life-Reaping Shadow
Relentless Dusk (Strike)
Prerequisites: Three Relentless Dusk Maneuvers
Action: Standard
Range: Personal
Area: 100ft line

Death casts a long shadow. Like the growing night of the winter monthes, when the time of warmth has gone from the sky, times of great tragedy only beget more tragedy. Those who are hurt, hurt others and, eventually, a single act of violence can have gravely far-reaching consequences.

As part of this maneuver, your shadow deepens and elongates into a 5ft-wide 100ft line (though still two-dimensional, it may even stretch to 'stand' on open air). Make a normal melee attack against one creature within that area.

Until the end of your next turn, that line, and all spaces adjacent to that line, are considered to be within your melee Reach, as the grim outline of your shadow cuts apart those who thought they were safe from your violence just by being outside your grasp. If you move, the shadow-line moves such that it maintains identical placement in relation to you.

At your discretion, before you make the attack roll for the initial attack, you may choose to make your strike Relentless. This applies a -2 penalty to your attack roll, but if that attack misses, Life-Reaping Shadow is not expended.

Level 9
Creation-Slaying Holocaust Blade
Relentless Dusk (Strike)
Prerequisites: Four Relentless Dusk Maneuvers
Action: Standard
Range: Melee
Target: One Creature or Object

It is only fitting that, at the end of each of the Oblivion Martial Arts, waits Oblivion itself.

As part of this maneuver, make a normal melee attack. Any damage you deal cannot be healed through rest, fast healing, regeneration, or other mundane means. In the case of objects, they may be repaired via mundane craft skills, but even then, repairs are made in only half the time, as the sundered object seems to resist all attempts to be made whole again.

Furthermore, if a creature or object is killed or destroyed by this special damage, it ceases to be. True Death takes them fully, devouring them beyond all things into utter nothingness from whence there is no return.

Grimsage Matt
2012-09-21, 09:30 AM
This is awesome. Must make a death knight with this...

sirpercival
2012-09-21, 10:33 AM
If this is complete, I'll add it to the Homebrew Discipline Compendium.

Xefas
2012-09-22, 12:25 AM
This is awesome. Must make a death knight with this...
Glad you like it. If you come up with any interesting builds, it would be cool to see them.

If this is complete, I'll add it to the Homebrew Discipline Compendium.
It is complete, yes. And thank you! That compendium is very nice.

sirpercival
2012-09-22, 07:20 AM
It is complete, yes. And thank you! That compendium is very nice.

Not a problem, and thank you! There are a few of your disciplines in there that are incomplete -- if you can drop a line if/when you complete them so I can update, that would be greatly appreciated :)

Xefas
2012-09-23, 03:37 AM
So, some of my thoughts on the discipline - hopefully to generate a little conversation here (thoughts? opinions? critiques? advice?).

#1 - I only stole 8 out of 18 maneuver names from Exalted this time. And for those maneuvers, I didn't try to match them to their Exalted equivalent. I distilled the theme I wanted, came up with mechanics for the maneuvers that I thought represented that theme well enough, and picked nouns for them that I liked.

I think this discipline came out a lot better for it, honestly. It has enough of the Exalted feeling that I wanted, but not having to shoehorn something resembling the Exalted mechanics into it let me create a unified mechanical theme - here in the form of Misses Are Awesome and the Relentless option on several of the Strikes, as well as just simple synergy from how they fit together. I have the feeling that, for these reasons, this discipline might just be more fun to play than my others (although, I did manage to run a playtest for Infernal Monster at one point, and that was stupid amounts of fun to use).

#2 - Fluff-wise, I think the ride/mount maneuvers stick out kind of weirdly, so I want to elaborate on that. In my head, each of Oblivion's martial arts holds some pure facet of what Oblivion 'is', in it. But, you can't just take pure Oblivion and use it as a weapon - pure Oblivion just destroys you. So, each martial art is tempered, distorted, and impurified by the perspective of the powerful personality required to pull its knowledge from the void.

In this case, The First And Forsaken Lion, my stand-in for the Dusk-Caste Abyssals of Exalted, is a kind of black knight, and the maneuvers Black Lion Guards The Princess, Corpse-Body Resilience, On A Ruinous Steed, Indiscriminate Executioner's Justice, Wretched Ridden Nightmare, and Apocalyptic Rider's Spirit represent his understanding of what it is to be a servant of Oblivion, while the other maneuvers are more indicative of his perspective of Oblivion itself.

Other Deathlords and their disciplines would likewise be skewed in their own particular way.

#3 - I'm simultaneously waist-deep in Darksiders and Guild Wars 2 right now, but I'm considering some other disciplines in the like of "Shameless Midnight" or "Ascending Dawn". ...maybe "Violet Endings".


Not a problem, and thank you! There are a few of your disciplines in there that are incomplete -- if you can drop a line if/when you complete them so I can update, that would be greatly appreciated :)

Sure thing.

Avalonฎ
2012-09-23, 11:24 AM
Interesting. I don't see any maneuvers that give a straight up damage bonus here though I just skimmed the work so far.

Btw, still waiting on the finished Throne Shadow style. :smallbiggrin:

Amechra
2012-10-07, 06:32 PM
I literally squeaked when I saw that you had a new Discipline up.

I really, really hope that you finish all three of your non-finished Disciplines, because Adamantine Chef is so utterly, completely awesome that it needs to be completed.