Author Topic: Martial Discipline - Phantom Battlefield  (Read 3283 times)

Offline Garryl

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Martial Discipline - Phantom Battlefield
« on: July 16, 2017, 11:17:16 PM »
Phantom Battlefield martial discipline
In the time before the fall of the Temple of the Nine Swords, the House of the Fallen Sun was nothing more than an underworld information network. The organization's services, like those of many others, were purchased in service of the Shadow Tiger horde. After the horde's disastrous assault on the Temple of the Nine Swords, many of the martial adepts that fought within its ranks found themselves bereft of purpose. Turning to any sense of the familiar, some of them found themselves in the employ of the very groups that they had purchased the services of just months prior, including the House of the Fallen Sun. The information network was more than willing to bring these skilled assassins, infiltrators, and warriors under its sway. Over time, these martial adepts adapted the techniques they had learned under the tutelage of Reshar and his students to better suit their new activities. These new twilight adepts combined their knowledge of the nine martial disciplines with the mundane and magical techniques employed by other agents of the House.

Among the many results of this merger of disciplines was the Phantom Battlefield martial discipline. It combines the illusory magics of beguilers and illusionists with the stealth and deception of Shadow Hand and Setting Sun.

Discipline Access
Twilight adepts have access to Phantom Battlefield, allowing them to learn and use its maneuvers. Swordsages can train in the ways of Phantom Battlefield by selecting it in place of one of the Desert Wind, Stone Dragon, or Tiger Claw disciplines, allowing them to learn and use its maneuvers instead. Like all martial disciplines, any character can dabble in Phantom Battlefield's techniques with the Martial Study and Martial Stance feats.

Discipline Key Skill: Disguise

Discipline Favored Weapons: Dagger, falchion, guisarme, kukri, rapier, unarmed strike, and whip.

Sidebar: Mirror Images and Projected Images
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Maneuvers by Level
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Afterimage
Phantom Battlefield (Stance)
Level: Swordsage 3, Twilight Adept 3
Prerequisite: One Phantom Battlefield maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
When you enter this stance and whenever you begin your turn while in this stance, you create a mirror image in your space. This image lasts for 1 round. When you leave this stance, the image it has created disappears.

This stance is a supernatural ability. This stance is an illusion (figment) effect.



Apparent Defense
Phantom Battlefield (Stance)
Level: Swordsage 1, Twilight Adept 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, your mirror images gain a dodge bonus to their Armor Class equal to your Intelligence bonus (minimum +1). Additionally, whenever you create a mirror image, the image's duration is increased by 1 round. This does not affect the duration of any other aspects of the effect that produced the image. A mirror image still disappears normally when it is struck, and some abilities impose other conditions upon which a mirror image may disappear, which continue to apply as normal.

This stance is a supernatural ability.



Blurred Motion
Phantom Battlefield (Boost)
Level: Swordsage 2, Twilight Adept 2
Prerequisite: One Phantom Battlefield maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round
You gain concealment for 1 round. This imposes a 20% miss chance on attacks made against you and allows you to hide without anything to hide behind.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is an illusion (glamer) effect.



Chains of Disbelief
Phantom Battlefield (Strike) [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Swordsage 4, Twilight Adept 4
Prerequisite: One Phantom Battlefield maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: Will negates
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If it hits, you deal an extra 4d6 points of damage, and your opponent must make a successful Will save (DC 14 + your Int modifier) or become entangled for 1 round. During this time, your opponent automatically fails to disbelieve any illusion you produce, even when presented with incontrovertible proof. A successful save negates the entanglement and inability to disbelieve but not the extra damage.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is a mind-affecting effect.



Clouded Visions
Phantom Battlefield (Strike) [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Swordsage 3, Twilight Adept 3
Prerequisite: One Phantom Battlefield maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: Will disbelief
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If it hits, you deal an extra 3d6 points of damage, and your opponent must make a successful Will save (DC 13 + your Int modifier) or suffer a 50% miss chance on all melee and ranged attacks for 1 round. A successful save negates the miss chance but not the extra damage.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is a mind-affecting illusion (phantasm) effect.



Dancing Phantom Assault
Phantom Battlefield (Strike)
Level: Swordsage 8, Twilight Adept 8
Prerequisite: Three Phantom Battlefield maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If it hits, in addition to dealing normal damage, you create seven mirror images in your space. These images separate from you and remain in a cluster, each within 5 feet of at least one other image or you. The images disappear after 1 round.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is an illusion (figment) effect.



Deceptive Edge
Phantom Battlefield (Strike) [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Swordsage 2, Twilight Adept 2
Prerequisite: One Phantom Battlefield maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Saving Throw: Will disbelief
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If your opponent fails a Will save (DC 12 + your Int modifier), you gain a +4 bonus on your attack roll and the attack deals an additional 2d6 points of damage. Otherwise, it is just a normal melee attack.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is a mind-affecting illusion (phantasm) effect.



Dextrous Attack
Phantom Battlefield (Stance)
Level: Swordsage 1, Twilight Adept 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, you gain a +2 bonus on all melee attack rolls, but you suffer a -2 penalty on all melee damage rolls.



False Keenness
Phantom Battlefield (Strike) [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Swordsage 7, Twilight Adept 7
Prerequisite: Three Phantom Battlefield maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Saving Throw: Will disbelief
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If your opponent fails a Will save (DC 17 + your Int modifier), the attack automatically hits and is an automatic crit, regardless of the attack roll, and the attack's critical multiplier becomes x4.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is a mind-affecting illusion (phantasm) effect.



Hall of Mirrors
Phantom Battlefield (Rush)
Level: Swordsage 6, Twilight Adept 6
Prerequisite: One Phantom Battlefield maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 move action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round
As part of this maneuver, move up to your speed. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity. You create a mirror image in each space you move out of, which separates from you and remains in that space. If you have any movement remaining, another mirror image separates from you and continues up to the remainder of your movement, leaving mirror images in the spaces it moves through just like you would. The mirror images created by this maneuver disappear after 1 round.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is an illusion (figment) effect.



Illusion Barrier
Phantom Battlefield (Stance)
Level: Swordsage 5, Twilight Adept 5
Prerequisite: Two Phantom Battlefield maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: 10 feet
Area: 10-ft.-radius emanation around you
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, you and all creatures within 10 feet of you are invisible, as per the invisibility spell. Those affected by this stance can see each other and themselves as if unaffected by the stance. Any affected creature moving out of the area becomes visible, and creatures moving into the area become invisible. Affected creatures (including you) who attack unaffected targets negate the invisibility for themselves for 1 round. Attacking creatures affected by this stance does not negate its invisibility.

This stance is a supernatural ability. This stance is an illusion (glamer) effect.



Illusive Stride
Phantom Battlefield (Boost)
Level: Swordsage 3, Twilight Adept 3
Prerequisite: One Phantom Battlefield maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: 50 ft.
Duration: 1 round
When you initiate this maneuver, you appear to teleport to a distant location, yet you secretly remain where you are. You create a single projected image in any space within 50 feet. The projected image remains in this space even if you move. The projected image lasts for 1 round or until either you make a successful attack or a successful attack is made against you. As normal, you are invisible while you have any projected images.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is an illusion (figment, glamer) effect.



Mirror Dance
Phantom Battlefield (Counter) [Teleportation]
Level: Swordsage 8, Twilight Adept 8
Prerequisite: Four Phantom Battlefield maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: 50 ft.
Target: A mirror image
As part of this maneuver, you swap places with one of your mirror images up to 50 feet away. You teleport to the image's space as it reappears seamlessly in your own. If you attempt to use this maneuver to move into an unoccupiable space, you do not move, and the maneuver is expended to no effect.

You can initiate this maneuver in response to an attack or effect directed at you or your image. An attack targeting you instead targets the image you swap potions with, and vice-versa. You may initiate this maneuver after the attack was declared and its target selected, but you must do so before any rolls are made.

If you use this maneuver to swap places with a mirror image occupying the same space as you, you do not move to a different space, although an attack directed at you is still redirected to the image you swap with.

As a secondary benefit, your seamless transition causes opponents to lose track of you. Unless they have a method of differentiating you from your mirror images, opponents that have previously determined which of your images is actually you no longer know which is real.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Mirror Walk
Phantom Battlefield (Rush) [Teleportation]
Level: Swordsage 2, Twilight Adept 2
Initiation Action: 1 move action
Range: 50 ft.
Target: You
As part of this maneuver, you teleport up to 50 feet away. Your destination must be within the space of or adjacent to one of your mirror images, or adjacent to a mirror or mirrored surface at least as larges as you. You must have line of sight and line of effect to your destination. If you attempt to use this maneuver to move into an unoccupiable space, you do not move, and the maneuver is expended to no effect.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Perceptive Inversion
Phantom Battlefield (Strike) [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Swordsage 6, Twilight Adept 6
Prerequisite: Two Phantom Battlefield maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: Will negates
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If it hits, you deal an extra 8d6 points of damage, and your opponent must make a successful Will save (DC 16 + your Int modifier) or believe you are only an illusion. For 1 round, nothing you or anyone does, not even incontrovertible proof, will convince your opponent that you are anything other than a figment of its imagination. The opponent even acts as though any memories he has of you are merely caused by his imagination. Your opponent is not helpless against your attacks, and will still instinctively attempt to defend himself from your attacks, even as he is consciously convinced that they are not real. A successful save negates this effect but not the extra damage.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Phantasmal Death Blow
Phantom Battlefield (Strike) [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Swordsage 9, Twilight Adept 9
Prerequisite: Four Phantom Battlefield maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Saving Throw: Will disbelief, then Fortitude partial
You strike at your foe in body and mind. What is in reality a minor nick seems as though it is a fatal wound as you push at your foe's thoughts to make that perception into truth.

As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If it hits, your opponent must make a Will save (DC 19 + your Int modifier). On a failed save, you deal an extra 20d6 points of damage and your foe must make a Fortitude save at the same DC or be instantly slain.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is a mind-affecting illusion (phantasm) effect.



Phantom Attack
Phantom Battlefield (Strike)
Level: Swordsage 1, Twilight Adept 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If it hits, in addition to dealing normal damage, you create a single mirror image in your space. The image separates from you and remains within 5 feet of at least one other image or you. The image disappears after 1 round.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is an illusion (figment) effect.



Phantom Decoy
Phantom Battlefield (Counter)
Level: Swordsage 5, Twilight Adept 5
Prerequisite: Two Phantom Battlefield maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round
You can initiate this maneuver whenever you would make a saving throw against an area effect. You must use this maneuver before rolling your saving throw. You gain a +4 bonus on your save. If you succeed, the following effects occur. You create a single projected image in your original space. You can move up to your speed to the nearest occupiable space outside of the effect's area. If no such space is available, you remain where you are. If your movement succeeds, you suffer no effects at all from the area effect that allowed the save, as though you weren't in its area. Regardless of the success or failure of your movement, the projected image remains in your original space. The projected image lasts for 1 round or until either you make a successful attack or a successful attack is made against you. As normal, you are invisible while you have any projected images.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is an illusion (figment, glamer) effect.



Phantom Dodge
Phantom Battlefield (Counter)
Level: Swordsage 2, Twilight Adept 2
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
This maneuver creates a single mirror image in your space, which instantly separates from you, dodging in another direction and possibly drawing your enemy's attack. You can initiate this maneuver in response to being targeted by an attack, before your attacker has checked for concealment or made her attack roll. Your attacker must newly select which of you or the new mirror image she is directing the attack at. Unless your attacker has some special senses that allow her to distinguish you from your mirror image or your mirror image is otherwise ineffective (for example, if your attacker cannot see you), she has a 50% chance to target the newly created mirror image instead of you. This may also be ineffective against attack forms that can affect multiple targets, such as a horrid wilting spell, as your attacker may simply be able to designate both you and the new image as targets regardless. Likewise, it offers no protection against area effects. You can initiate this maneuver against any form of targeted attack, including both weapons and spells. After resolving the attack, the mirror image disappears, regardless of if it was successfully struck or not.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is an illusion (figment) effect.



Phantom Escape
Phantom Battlefield (Counter)
Level: Swordsage 7, Twilight Adept 7
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Duration: 1 round
This maneuver functions just like phantom dodge, except that after resolving the attack, you become invisible as a projected image appears in your space and separates from you. Both you and the projected image may make a 5-foot step (you and the image need not move into the same space). The projected image lasts for 1 round or until either you make a successful attack or a successful attack is made against you. As normal, you are invisible while you have any projected images.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is an illusion (figment, glamer) effect.



Phantom Jaunt
Phantom Battlefield (Rush) [Teleportation]
Level: Swordsage 7, Twilight Adept 7
Prerequisite: One Phantom Battlefield maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 move action
Range: 50 ft.
Target: You
Duration: 1 round
As part of this maneuver, you create a projected image in your space and invisibly teleport up to 50 feet away. You must have line of sight and line of effect to your destination. If you attempt to use this maneuver to move into an unoccupiable space, you do not move. Regardless of the success or failure of your teleportation, you still create the projected image and the image remains in your original space. The projected image lasts until for 1 round or until either you make a successful attack or a successful attack is made against you. As normal, you are invisible while you have any projected images.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is an illusion (figment, glamer) effect.



Phantom Shift
Phantom Battlefield (Counter)
Level: Swordsage 4, Twilight Adept 4
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
This maneuver functions just like phantom dodge, except that after resolving the attack, you may make a 5-foot step.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is an illusion (figment) effect.



Shattered Mirrors
Phantom Battlefield (Stance)
Level: Swordsage 8, Twilight Adept 8
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, whenever a creature successfully attacks one of your mirror images in melee and causes it to disappear, the image's magical energy violently discharges into the creature. This deals 2d6 points of damage to the creature that struck the image.

This stance is a supernatural ability.



Shifting Phantom Strike
Phantom Battlefield (Strike)
Level: Swordsage 5, Twilight Adept 5
Prerequisite: Two Phantom Battlefield maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If it hits, in addition to dealing normal damage, you create three mirror images in your space. These images separate from you and remain in a cluster, each within 5 feet of at least one other image or you. The images disappear after 1 round.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is an illusion (figment) effect.



Shrouded Visions
Phantom Battlefield (Strike) [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Swordsage 1, Twilight Adept 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: Will disbelief
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If it hits, you deal an extra 1d6 points of damage, and your opponent must make a successful Will save (DC 11 + your Int modifier) or suffer a 20% miss chance on all melee and ranged attacks for 1 round. A successful save negates the miss chance but not the extra damage.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability. This maneuver is a mind-affecting illusion (phantasm) effect.



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« Last Edit: June 16, 2022, 01:14:29 AM by Garryl »

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Martial Discipline - Phantom Battleground
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2017, 04:24:06 PM »
I'll get to this as soon as I have the gumption, I'm so behind on things right now...

Offline Garryl

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Re: Martial Discipline - Phantom Battleground
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2017, 07:40:24 PM »
No rush whatsoever.

By the way, some math and analysis on mirror images, if you're interested. If you've got an incoming series of attacks, with the number of attacks being equal to or greater than the number of mirror images you have, the images will stop an average of 1/2 an attack each. Since any successful attack against an image makes it disappear, a successful attack that doesn't make the target disappear obviously hit the real target, so your attacker (and any other enemies that saw the attack) can focus on you instead of your images. I'm working under the assumption that you have to actually move (ie: something to do on your turn) to mix with your images and make enemies lose track of you again. Over an extended period of time, each image will eventually take 1 attack apiece, but that usually takes multiple rounds and I think all of the maneuvers in this discipline only make images for 1 round (excluding the stance that adds 1 round to them).

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Martial Discipline - Phantom Battleground
« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2017, 09:44:48 PM »
Fair enough.  FYI I've gotten so behind on things that I officially have a to do list in my signature thread...

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Martial Discipline - Phantom Battleground
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2017, 01:56:58 PM »
Your sidebar mentions the mirror mastery feat, where is that from?

Also, at the top I'd go ahead and link to the Twilight Adept class since it's related homebrew of yours (if it's finished).


I have no issues with any of the maneuvers except that Shattered Mirrors feels weak but I haven't actually compared it to other level 8 stances to see if it is.

This is cool!  I feel like it needs feat support just for extra coolness.

Offline Garryl

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Re: Martial Discipline - Phantom Battleground
« Reply #5 on: July 21, 2017, 03:24:25 PM »
Your sidebar mentions the mirror mastery feat, where is that from?
Quote
This is cool!  I feel like it needs feat support just for extra coolness.

Whoops, forgot to put the link back in. I was considering changing Mirror Mastery to make it into the discipline feat, but I couldn't get a tactical feat that felt right so I put it aside and forgot about it. Any ideas?

Quote
Also, at the top I'd go ahead and link to the Twilight Adept class since it's related homebrew of yours (if it's finished).

Just in the ideas stage so far. It's on page 42 of 1001 ideas, IIRC.

Quote
I have no issues with any of the maneuvers except that Shattered Mirrors feels weak but I haven't actually compared it to other level 8 stances to see if it is.

Let me know when you've had a look. It probably needs an adjustment. I was working off of memory about some comparable stances, and checking them now, I misremembered them all.

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Martial Discipline - Phantom Battleground
« Reply #6 on: July 21, 2017, 03:36:21 PM »
Mirror Mastery would be a good discipline feat.

Tactical feat ideas:
 - Make attacks using mirror images and/or projected images. (Maybe as a full-round action have the image use a standard action as if it were you?)
 - Allow images to move further apart and/or behave independently instead of copying you.
 - Have destroyed images fall down dead (same as if struck by an area attack).
 - Gain a bonus to hit an enemy that attacked an image instead of you.

Offline Garryl

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Re: Martial Discipline - Phantom Battleground
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2017, 12:25:48 AM »
Some tactical feat effect ideas:
  • Into The Rabbit Hole: Whenever a creature successfully attacks one of your mirror images and causes it to disappear, that creature suffers a cumulative (stacking) -1 penalty on its saves to disbelieve your illusions until the end of your next turn.
  • Phantom Reprisal: Whenever a creature successfully attacks you while you have any mirror images that would threaten it if they were real, you may have those mirror images attempt to distract your attacker. The mirror images make a single attack roll between them using your normal attack bonus, with an additional +2 bonus for each attacking image beyond the first. If the images hit, they deal no damage, but all attacks against the creature for 1 round treat it as flanked.
  • Unsighted: To use ability, you must become invisible or attempt to hide during your first turn. On your second turn, as a swift action, attempt to blind a creature you threaten that did not see you between the end of your first turn and the beginning of your second turn. Make a Disguise check opposed by the creature's Spot check. If you succeed, the creature is blinded for 1 round. You cannot attempt to blind the same creature in consecutive rounds.

Offline Nanshork

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Re: Martial Discipline - Phantom Battleground
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2017, 01:31:14 PM »
It's not inspiring but it's not bad.

It's probably more balanced the the stuff I was suggesting...