Fool's Grip [Discipline]

[The Demented One]

Fool’s Grip Discipline



The Fool’s Grip discipline is a martial tradition born out of necessity, in the chaotic days following the fall of the Temple of the Nine Swords. In those chaotic times, when many martial adepts had lost their blades or had them destroyed, and attack could come from anywhere at any moment, a group of martial masters banded together to form a new discipline. This new discipline, the Fool’s Grip, allowed those who mastered it to always be armed, by teaching them to find weapons in anything. Though improvised weapons are typically far weaker than the swords and armaments most warriors employ, the techniques of the Fool’s Grip discipline allow them to strike with lethal force and speed. A Fool’s Grip master will use trickery and misdirection to strip his foes of their advantages, and them ruthlessly attack them with whatever weapons he can find. The Fool’s Grip discipline’s associated skill is Tumble, as it relies on graceful and precise movements. Any improvised weapon is treated as an associated weapon of the Fool’s Grip discipline. In addition, whenever you make an attack with an improvised weapon as part of a Fool’s Grip discipline technique, you do not take any penalties to your attack roll for using an improvised weapon.

Because the Fool’s Grip discipline was never taught at the Temple of the Nine Swords or any similar center of training, most martial adepts do not know any maneuvers from it, or even know it exists. Only Warblades can learn maneuvers from the Fool’s Grip discipline. There are two ways to master the discipline. The first is to have been trained in it. If you choose to make a martial adept that has already been trained in the Fool’s Grip discipline, you simply replace one discipline that adept could normally learn maneuvers from with the Fool’s Grip discipline. He loses the associated skill of the replaced discipline as a class skill, but gains Tumble as a class skill.

The other way is to seek out a master of the Fool’s Grip–a martial adept capable of using at least 5th-level maneuvers from the discipline–and training under him. You must train for a month under the master, and spend 1,000 xp at the end of your training. You gain the ability to learn maneuvers from the Fool’s Grip discipline, and add Tumble to your martial adept class’s list of class skills. In addition, you may exchange your maneuvers known for maneuvers of the Fool’s Grip discipline. You may exchange one maneuver of each level, and the new maneuvers you learn must be of the same level as the exchanged maneuvers, unlike normal.

[The Demented One]

1st level
Battering Strike: Strike–Knock a foe back with an improvised weapon.
Hurl: Strike–Throw a weapon.
Trickster Roll: Stance–Gain dodge bonus to AC when you move.
Warrior’s Grip: Stance–Deal extra damage with improvised weapons.

2nd level
Irregular Blow: Strike–Deal +2d6 damage with an improvised weapon, other benefits.
Kick ‘em While They’re Down: Boost–Dispatch fallen foes.
Unorthodox Riposte: Counter–Forgo attack of opportunity for bonus on attack and damage rolls.

3rd level
Giant’s Grip: Stance–Easily wield larger improvised weapons.
Makeshift Maiming: Boost–Increase critical threat ranges of improvised weapons, gain bonuses on rolls to confirm critical hits.
Windmill Throw: Strike–Thrown weapon deals +3d6 damage, returns to you.

4th level
Opportunist’s Blow: Strike–Deal +4d6 damage with an improvised weapon, stun target.
Dancing Fool: Strike–Take two 5-ft. steps and make a full attack.
Slayer's Grip: Stance–Gain bonus on damage against creatures with damage reduction.
Unorthodox Tactics: Boost–Confuse enemies you strike.

5th level
Incapacite: Strike–Deal +5d6 damage with an improvised weapon, reduce target’s speed.
Monkey’s Grip: Stance–Wield improvised weapons as reach weapons.

6th level
Adaptive Tactics: Stance–Adapt fighting style for bonuses on attack and damage rolls, AC.
Overwhelming Force: Strike–Attack and knock out a foe.

7th level
Juggernaut Strike: Strike–Deal +7d6 damage with an improvised weapon, knock enemy back.
Unorthodox Parry: Counter–Negate a foe’s attack, foe becomes flatfooted.

8th level
Savage Beatdown: Strike–Deal +10d6 damage with an improvised weapon, causes ability penalties.
Warlord’s Grip: Stance–Gain special benefits when wielding improvised weapons.

9th level
Epicenter Blast: Strike–Release shockwave that deals 25d6 damage, 50 points of nonlethal damage.

[The Demented One]

Adaptive Tactics
Fool’s Grip (Stance)
Level: Warblade 6
Prerequisite: Two Fool’s Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

To gain the greatest advantage in a fight, you must adapt to overcome your enemy’s strengths. You gain a +1 competence bonus on attack and damage rolls, and a +1 dodge bonus to AC. For each round you remain in this stance, the bonus on attack and damage rolls increases by one, and for every two rounds you remain in the stance, the bonus to AC increases by one. Neither bonus can ever exceed one-quarter of your initiator level, rounded down.

Battering Strike
Fool’s Grip (Strike)
Level: Warblade 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates

With a powerful blow from an improvised weapon, you can knock a foe back. As part of this maneuver, you make a single attack. If the attack was successful, and made with an improvised weapon, than the creature hit must make a Fortitude save or be knocked back 5 ft. away from you. If something prevents him from being knocked back, such as a wall or a similar obstacle, he remains in place, but takes 1d6 damage from being knocked up against it. The DC of the save is equal to 10 plus your Intelligence bonus, plus a modifier depending on the size of the improvised weapon you used, as given below.

{table=head]Size|Modifier
Light|-2
One-Handed|+0
Two-Handed|+2
[/table]

Dancing Fool
Fool’s Grip
Level: Warblade 4
Prerequisite: One Fool’s Grip maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 full-round action
Range: Personal
Target: You

By distracting his foes with an all-out attack, a clever martial adept can reposition himself for an even more advantageous attack. When you initiate this maneuver, you may take a 5-ft. step. You may then make a full attack, dealing +2d6 damage on any successful attack made with an improvised weapon. At the end of the full attack, you may take another 5-ft. step.

Epicenter Blast
Fool’s Grip (Strike)
Level: Warblade 9
Prerequisite: Five Fool’s Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 full round action
Area: 30-ft. burst, centered on you
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial

The ultimate weapon of the Fool’s Grip discipline, the epicenter blast can slay entire armies when used by a true master. When you use this maneuver, you strike the ground with titanic force, creating a massive shockwave. The shockwave deals up to a total of 25d6 damage, which you may distribute as you choose among all creatures within the area of this maneuver, though no target can have more than 15d6 damage assigned to it. It also deals 50 points of nonlethal damage, which you may similarly distribute. In addition, all enemies damaged by the blast are stunned. A successful Fortitude save, DC 19 plus your Intelligence modifier, halves the lethal damage, and negates the stunning and nonlethal damage.

Giant’s Grip
Fool’s Grip (Stance)
Level: Warblade 3
Prerequisite: One Fool’s Grip maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

With this specialized grip, a martial adept can wield even the heaviest and bulkiest of objects with ease. While in this stance, a Medium martial adept can wield items weighing up to 10 pounds as light improvised weapons, items weighing from 11 to 25 pounds as one-handed weapons, and items weighing 26 to 100 pounds as two-handed weapons. Halve these numbers for each size category below Medium you are, and double them for each category above medium you are.

Hurl
Fool’s Grip (Strike)
Level: Warblade 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You

A Fool’s Grip disciple doesn’t always have the luxury of getting up close and personal with his enemy, which is why this technique was developed. As part of this maneuver, you make a single attack, throwing a melee weapon–which does not need to be improvised–with a range increment of 10 ft, even if such a weapon cannot normally be thrown.

Incapacitate
Fool’s Grip (Strike)
Level: Warblade 5
Prerequisite: 1 Fool’s Grip maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 10 rounds
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial

With a powerful blow to the spine, a Fool’s Grip adept can both weaken his foe and render it incapable of escape. As part of this maneuver, you make a single attack. If the attack is made with an improvised weapon, it deals +5d6 damage, and the creature hit must make a Fortitude save, DC 15 plus your Intelligence modifier, or have all of its movement speeds halved for the duration of this maneuver.

Irregular Blow
Fool’s Grip (Strike)
Level: Warblade 2
Initiation Action: 1 full round action
Range: Personal
Target: You

The Fool’s Grip discipline relies on taking advantage of any opportunity presented to you, using any weapon to its fullest, the core philosophy behind the irregular blow technique. As part of this maneuver, you make a single attack. If the attack is made with an improvised weapon, it deals +2d6 damage. In addition, if the attack is successful, you may take another action, depending on the kind of improvised weapon you are wielding. If wielding an object with many protrusions, such as a chair, you may attempt to disarm your foe. If wielding a sheet-like object, such as a tapestry, you may attempt to entangle your foe in it, by making a ranged touch attack, as described in Complete Warrior. If wielding an object with protrusions at the end, such as a barstool, you may attempt to trip your foe. None of these actions provoke attacks of opportunity. Even if the object you are wielding could be used to perform more than one of these actions, you may still only perform one.

Juggernaut Strike
Fool’s Grip (Strike)
Level: Warblade 7
Prerequisite: 3 Fool’s Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial

With a single mighty blow, you can knock a foe away from you as if you were swatting flies. As part of this maneuver, you make a single attack. If the attack was successful, and made with an improvised weapon, then it deals an extra +7d6 damage, than the creature hit must make a Fortitude save or be knocked back 10 ft. away from you. If something prevents him from being knocked back, such as a wall or a similar obstacle, he remains in place, but takes 3d6 damage from being knocked up against it. The DC of the save is equal to 10 plus your Intelligence bonus, plus a modifier depending on the size of the improvised weapon you used, as given below.

{table=head]Size|Modifier
Light|+5
One-Handed|+7
Two-Handed|+9
[/table]

Kick ‘em While They’re Down
Fool’s Grip (Boost)
Level: Warblade 2
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 5 rounds

No sentimental honor restrains a Fool’s Grip adept–when a foe falls, best to finish it with a single strike. Whenever you reduce a foe to 0 or less hp, you may take a swift action to make a coup de grace against that creature. Doing so does not cause you to provoke attacks of opportunity.

Makeshift Maiming
Fool’s Grip (Boost)
Level: Warblade 3
Prerequisite: One Fool’s Grip maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn

Improvised weapons are notoriously poor at landing critical blows, but the adepts of the Fool’s Grip have trained themselves to overcome this limitation. Until the end of turn, the critical threat range of any improvised weapon you wield is increased, based on its size. Light weapons have their range increased to 18-20/x2, one-handed weapons have their range increase to 19-20/x2, and two-handed weapons have their range increase to 20/x3. In addition, you gain a +4 competence bonus on attack rolls made to confirm a critical hit.

Monkey’s Grip
Fool’s Grip (Stance)
Level: Warblade 5
Prerequisite: 2 Fool’s Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

With clever handling, great exertion, and perfect movement, almost any weapon can be used to strike from reach. While in this stance, any one or two-handed improvised weapon you wield is treated as being a reach weapon, but cannot be used to attack foes adjacent to you.

Opportunist’s Blow
Fool’s Grip (Strike)
Level: Warblade 4
Prerequisite: 1 Fool’s Grip maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates

Some warriors wait for their foes to let their guard down Fool’s Grip adepts take it down for them. As part of this maneuver, you make a single attack. If the attack was successful, and made with an improvised weapon, then it deals an additional 4d6 damage, and the creature hit must make a Fortitude save, DC 14 plus your Intelligence modifier, or be stunned for 1 round.

Overwhelming Force
Fool’s Grip (Strike)
Level: Warblade 6
Prerequisite: 2 Fool’s Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates

With enough strength and cleverness, any foe can be brought down. As part of this maneuver, you make a single attack. If the attack was successful, and made with an improvised weapon, then the creature must make a Fortitude save, DC 16 plus your Intelligence modifier, or take nonlethal damage equal to its maximum hit points.

Savage Beatdown
Fool’s Grip (Strike)
Level: Warblade 8
Prerequisite: 3 Fool’s Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial
Duration: 10 rounds

A brutal attack, a savage beatdown maims and destroys the bodies of those subjected to it. If the attack was successful, and made with an improvised weapon, then it deals an additional 10d6 damage, and the creature hit must make a Fortitude save, DC 18 plus your Intelligence modifier, or take a -5 penalty to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution.

Slayer’s Grip
Fool’s Grip (Stance)
Level: Warblade 4
Prerequisite: 1 Fool’s Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

A common bane of Fool's Grip adepts is enemies with damage reduction, impervious to their improvised weapons. This grip allows you to pierce this resistance, turning the force of their defenses against them. Whenever you hit a creature with damage reduction with an improvised weapon, you gain a bonus on the damage roll, based on your initiator level, as below.

{table=head]Level|Bonus
7-10|+10
11-14|+15
15-18|+20
19+|25[/table]

Trickster Roll
Fool’s Grip (Stance)
Level: Warblade 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

By using graceful acrobatics and skillfull ducking and weaving, a Fool’s Grip disciple can dance across the battlefield. In any round you move at least 10 ft. while in this stance, you gain a dodge bonus to AC until the beginning of your next round. The bonus depends on the number of skill ranks you have in the Tumble skill.

{table=head]Ranks|Bonus
1-6|+1
7-12|+2
13-18|+3
19-24|+4[/table]

Unorthodox Parry
Fool’s Grip (Counter)
Level: Warblade 7
Prerequisite: 3 Fool’s Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You

By interrupting a foe’s attack, you can throw him off balance, allowing for a devastating counter. You may initiate this maneuver whenever a foe attacks you. You may make an attack roll with any weapon you are wielding. If your roll is higher, then the enemy’s attack automatically misses, and he is flatfooted.

Unorthodox Riposte
Fool’s Grip (Counter)
Level: Warblade 2
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: See text

Surprise and confusion are two of the most cherished improvised weapons in the arsenal of the Fool’s Grip discipline. By not making a counterattack when an opponent expects one, an adept can get the better of him, allowing for an even more powerful counterattack. To initiate this maneuver, an opponent must first provoke an attack of opportunity from you. You may initiate this maneuver in place of making the attack of opportunity. If you do, you gain a +3 circumstance bonus on all attack and damage rolls against that opponent until the end of your next turn.

Unorthodox Tactics
Fool’s Grip (Boost)
Level: Warblade 4
Prerequisites: 1 Fool’s Grip maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn

The Fool’s Grip discipline is much unlike any other fighting style, very disorienting to come up against. By taking advantage of this, you can cause your foes to misread your tactics, fooling them into acting foolishly. Until the end of turn, any enemy you successfully hit with an improvised weapon must make a Will save, DC 14 plus your Intelligence modifier, or be confused for 1 round.

Warlord’s Grip
Fool’s Grip (Stance)
Level: Warblade 8
Prerequisite: Three Fool’s Grip maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

Through sheer dedication and expertise, you can wield anything like a true master of war. While in this stance, whenever you make a full attack with an improvised weapon, you may make a single extra attack at your highest base attack bonus with it. Instead of making an attack roll when attacking with an improvised weapon, you may instead choose to treat the result of the roll as a 10. Whenever an opponent attempts to disarm you of an improvised weapon, you gain a +5 competence bonus on the attack roll to resist being disarmed.

Warrior’s Grip
Fool’s Grip (Stance)
Level: Warblade 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance

A unique grip that allows improvised weapons to be used to their full potential, the warrior’s grip is one of the most fundamentals arts of the Fool’s Grip discipline. While in this stance, you may treat any improvised weapon you wield as having damage die on step higher than normal.

Windmill Throw
Fool’s Grip (Strike)
Level: Warblade 3
Prerequisite: 1 Fool’s Grip maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You

Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to throw something really big and heavy at it. As part of this maneuver, you make a single attack, throwing a light or one-handed melee weapon–which does not need to be improvised–with a range increment of 10 ft, even if such a weapon cannot normally be thrown. If it successfully hits, it deals an additional 3d6 damage, and it returns to your hand, as if it had the returning magic ability.

[Arbitrarity]

I like quite a bit of it, but it needs some editing. I haven't checked thoroughly, but here are some issues.

Overwhelming force is essentially a save or die. It's much too powerful for its level, IMO. While not quite a save or die, the amount of lose it delivers is massive. Fort save or unconscious.

Kick 'em while they're down shouldn't have a duration.

Opportunist's blow is better than the Iron Heart 5 Dazing Strike, making it too powerful for its level.

Slayer's grip seems far too useful at mid-high levels, as almost everything has DR. Then again, it replaces another stance.

You may wish to mention your attack in Unorthodox parry. If you don't attack, it's like wall of blades, which would make it overleveled. Since you appear to, the issue is that it's likely more powerful than Fool's Strike.

Warlord's Grip feels powerful, but it's an 8'th level stance. Taking 10 on all attacks feels like overkill though :/

Adaptive Tactics slow charge time is ineffective, as one can maintain stances out of combat. Prehaps change it, or not.

Epicenter blast feels underpowered. The division of damage, not to mention the "fort negates most, halves the rest" bit, make it much less powerful than other 9'th level manuvers, despite the shiny AOE stun. Prehaps seperate saves in some fashion. It's all or nothing, and not much in the way of damage.

[ronnyfire]

overwhelming force aint overpowered, its 6TH LEVEL. go thru some random spells and tell me the lowest level effective save or die spell

[StickMan]

I've been playing Dead Rising a lot lately so this is really just hitting the spot right now.


Dead Rising for people not in the know finds you in a mall filled with zombies and you have to use what ever you can find as a weapon.

[Cieyrin]

This discipline is like what Drunken Masters would do if they'd ran the Temple of Nine Swords @_@. What a scary thought. And somehow, I find it intriguing idea to look into how I could go about that.

As for taking 10s on attacks from Warlord's Grip, that's about as powerful as Weapon Supremacy from PHB2, which is achievable at about the same level, so I think it's at just the right level.

I do agree that Adaptive Tactics is a bit slow and not as effective as it could be. I know what you're going for but the way it's currently worded would have people running around with bonuses all the time. Maybe you should have it target a specific foe or number of foes to get bonuses against it/them, as you adapt to its/their particular combat style, which I think would help it achieve what you'd like it to.

[Arbitrarity]

overwhelming force aint overpowered, its 6TH LEVEL. go thru some random spells and tell me the lowest level effective save or die spell

Spell != manuver. Lowest level save or LOSE manuver? Nothing but Feral Death Blow, 9'th level. 9'th level manuvers are like 6'th level spells or so, for crying out loud.

Yeah, my evaluation of Warlord's grip was probably over-hasty.

[dyslexicfaser]

Thread necromancy go!

For Trickster Roll, why is there no +dodge bonus for ranks 13-17?

[The Demented One]

Thread necromancy go!

For Trickster Roll, why is there no +dodge bonus for ranks 13-17?

Err...editing that.

[Exanedral]

I might be missing something, but I don't understand how the 9th level strike fits in with the rest of the stance. I mean, aside from striking a large number of foes, it has little to do with improvised weapon combat. Could you explain your thoughts maybe?

[The Demented One]

I might be missing something, but I don't understand how the 9th level strike fits in with the rest of the stance. I mean, aside from striking a large number of foes, it has little to do with improvised weapon combat. Could you explain your thoughts maybe?

In retrospect? I had no idea for a cool 9th level. In retrospect, it should probably be something that does lots of damage and heaps negative effects on one enemy.

[DracoDei]

Adaptive Tactics should reset at the beginning of every combat, you would tend to have it maxed out all the time...