Author Topic: [Discipline] Restless Bones  (Read 3555 times)

Offline Garryl

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[Discipline] Restless Bones
« on: June 27, 2012, 07:43:56 AM »
Restless Bones martial discipline
Much like Undying Call, the history of the Restless Bones discipline can be traced back to the razing of the Temple of the Nine Swords. The discipline was created, not by martial adepts, but by the necromancers who fought by the sides of the Tiger Claw and Shadow Hand adepts in the Shadow Tiger horde. Having witnessed the awesome skill the martial adepts displayed, several of the surviving necromancers worked together to infuse this skill into their creations and create a perfect undead warrior with the same might and talent exhibited by the students of the nine swords. The magical processes available to them were simply unsuitable to the task; simple necromancy could bring motion to dead flesh and bone, but could not capture the spark of life that brought mastery to that motion. As their research became an obsession, these necromancers formed their own cabal dedicated to the study of martial techniques and new magics to retain the skill of a martial master after death. Over nearly a generation, the two paths of study merged into the Restless Bones discipline, and the cabal formed the first order of death knights.

Discipline Access
Death knights have access to Restless Bones, allowing them to learn and use its maneuvers. Like all martial disciplines, any character can dabble in its techniques with the Martial Study and Martial Stance feats.

Discipline Key Skill: Craft

Discipline Favored Weapons: Armor spikes, greataxe, greatclub, morningstar, and spiked gauntlet.

Restrictions: Restless Bones maneuvers can only be initiated by or directly affect creatures with a skeletal structure (including an exoskeleton). Attacks made against creatures without skeletons as part of strikes function normally but do not gain any benefits of the strike, such as bonus damage or additional effects. Restless Bones maneuvers may still indirectly affect creatures without skeletons (such as the flanking and attacks of the skeletal hands created by the grasping hands maneuver).

Maneuvers by Level
(click to show/hide)



Bone Barrier
Restless Bones (Counter)
Level: Death Knight 5
Prerequisite: Two Restless Bones maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: See text
You gain a +7 shield bonus to AC against a single attack. You also gain DR 5/bludgeoning against that attack and for the remainder of the round, until the start of your next turn. You must choose to use this maneuver before your attacker resolves his attack.



Bone Dance
Restless Bones (Stance)
Level: Death Knight 8
Prerequisite: Four Restless Bones maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
As you enter this stance, your skeleton steps out of your body, while the necromantic energies you channel continue to support your flesh. Your skeleton fights with your abilities as a returned creature (that is, as you with the returned template). It acts on your initiative count and moves and acts according to your will just like any limb of your body. It does not have a distinct pool of hit points, readied maneuvers, or other limited abilities or resources. You and your skeleton share the same pool of hit points, readied maneuvers, and other resources that your skeleton retains as a returned creature; damage that either body takes applies to both, and maneuvers initiated by one are expended for the other as well. You and your skeleton share each others' senses; what either body can see or hear, both can. You each have a full normal set of actions during each of your turns, however.

When you enter this stance, your skeleton appears in a space adjacent to you. Spells and other effects applied to you do not also apply to your skeleton; treat it as an entirely new creature in this regard. Your skeleton does not take any of your equipment with you when you animate it, other than objects that are embedded in your bones, although you can supply it with arms, armor, and other supplies afterwards.

Your skeleton can initiate maneuvers (from the same pool of readied maneuvers as you, as described above), but it cannot initiate or enter stances.

Your skeleton remains animated as a returned creature until it is destroyed, it leaves your line of effect for a full minute, or you exit this stance. If you exit this stance while your skeleton is adjacent to you, it merges back into your body harmlessly. Any equipment it was carrying simply falls to the ground. However, if your skeleton is deanimated otherwise (it is destroyed, leaves your line of effect for a minute, or your exit the stance while it is distant), the effects are far less pleasant, and are potentially fatal. Your skeleton disintegrates into a small pile of bone powder while the necromantic energies that supported your flesh rapidly attempt to regrow it within your body. You must make a Fortitude save (DC 25) or instantly die or be destroyed. Even on a success, you gain 2 negative levels, which last for 24 hours before being removed without risk of permanent level loss.

This stance immediately ends if your skeleton is destroyed or otherwise deanimated.

This stance has no effect if you do not have both a skeletal structure and flesh around it (or within it if you have an exoskeleton). If you have the returned template, this stance has no effect.

This stance is a supernatural ability.



Bone Sight
Restless Bones (Stance)
Level: Death Knight 6
Prerequisite: Three Restless Bones maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, you can sense the presence of nearby creatures with skeletal structures and objects made out of bone or calcium. You can sense such creatures and objects within 30 feet as well as if you could see them; this sense functions as blindsight in that regard. This sense ignores line of effect, allowing you to perceive creatures through walls and other solid objects.

Unlike blindsight, this sense extends only to bones and creatures with them. It does not allow you to ignore all of the penalties from being blinded, only those relating to being unable to see sensed creatures. Barring environments made out of bone or calcium, this stance grants you no ability to perceive the terrain around you if you are blinded.

This stance is a supernatural ability.



Bone Puppet
Restless Bones (Strike)
Level: Death Knight 5
Prerequisite: Two Restless Bones maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: 60 ft.
Target: One creature or corpse
Duration: 1 round or concentration, up to 1 minute
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial (object) or none (object)
You control the actions of any creature that is within range and to which you have line of sight by necromantically controlling its skeleton. If the creature resists your control, this also deals 5d6 points of damage to it as its skeleton tears against and pushes through its flesh. A successful Fortitude save (DC 15 + your Str modifier) halves this damage, in addition to negating your control. If the subject does not resist your control by voluntarily giving up its saving throw, no damage is dealt.

This maneuver doesn’t require mental contact with the subject, since you are actually forcing limb movements independent of the target’s mind. You can force the subject to stand up, sit down, walk, turn around, and so on, but operating the vocal cords or any limbs not connected to the creature's skeletal system is impossible. You can also hold the subject immobile, rendering it helpless. You cannot force the subject to manifest powers, cast spells, or use any special ability that is not a function of just its body movements. If you lose line of sight to the subject, the effect of this maneuver ends.

If you force the subject to engage in combat, its attack bonus is equal to your base attack bonus + your Intelligence bonus, and its bonus on damage rolls is equal to your Intelligence bonus. A subject of this maneuver cannot make attacks of opportunity. The subject gains no benefit to Armor Class from its Dexterity, but it does gain a bonus to its AC equal to your Intelligence bonus.

Although the subject’s body is under your control, the subject’s mind is not. Creatures capable of taking purely mental actions (such as manifesting powers) can do so.

Alternatively, you can use this maneuver to control a corpse. If you do, its statistics are as a zombie, or as a skeleton if it has insufficient flesh to be animated as a zombie, while controlled by you as described above, although it is allowed no saving throw to prevent this.

When used to control a creature, this maneuver lasts only one round. When used to control a corpse, this maneuver lasts for as long as you concentrate, to a maximum of one minute.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Bone Shard
Restless Bones (Strike)
Level: Death Knight 4
Prerequisite: One Restless Bones maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: 60 ft.
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex partial
You grow a large spike of bone from your skeleton, break it off, and hurl it at your foe. As part of this maneuver, you make a ranged touch attack against a creature within range. If your attack is successful, your opponent takes 6d6 points of piercing damage. In addition, the shard of bone lodges itself in the target if it fails a Reflex save (DC 14 + your Str modifier), interfering with its movements until removed. Lodged bone shards impose a –1 penalty on attack rolls, saves, and checks. The penalties from multiple shards stack. A bone shard can be removed safely with a DC 20 Heal check; otherwise, removing a shard deals an extra 1d6 points of damage.

The damage from this maneuver is affected by damage reduction, despite coming from a supernatural ability, but it bypasses it as though from a magical weapon.

Unlike other Restless Bones maneuvers, this maneuver can affect creatures without skeletal structures. You must still have a skeletal structure in order to initiate it.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Bone Shield
Restless Bones (Counter)
Level: Death Knight 2
Prerequisite: One Restless Bones maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: See text
You gain a +4 shield bonus to AC against a single attack. You also gain DR 2/bludgeoning against that attack and for the remainder of the round, until the start of your next turn. You must choose to use this maneuver before your attacker resolves his attack.



Bone Spear
Restless Bones (Strike)
Level: Death Knight 7
Prerequisite: One Restless Bones maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: 60 ft.
Area: 60-ft. line
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half
An elongated, lance-like bone grows from your arm. As you point it towards your enemies, it breaks off and shoots forward with unnatural speed. The bone spear deals 12d6 points of piercing damage to all creatures within its area, which begins at your fingertips. It also damages objects in its path. If the damage caused to an interposing barrier shatters or breaks through it, the spear may continue beyond the barrier if the maneuver's range permits; otherwise, it stops at the barrier just as any other maneuver effect does. A successful Reflex save (DC 17 + your Str modifier) halves the damage.

The damage from this maneuver is affected by damage reduction, despite coming from a supernatural ability, but it bypasses it as though from a magical weapon.

In addition, a shard from the bone spear breaks off and lodges itself in each creature that fails the Reflex save, interfering with its movements until removed. Lodged bone shards impose a –1 penalty on attack rolls, saves, and checks. The penalties from multiple shards stack. A bone shard can be removed safely with a DC 20 Heal check; otherwise, removing a shard deals an extra 1d6 points of damage.

Unlike other Restless Bones maneuvers, this maneuver can affect creatures without skeletal structures. You must still have a skeletal structure in order to initiate it.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Bone Spikes
Restless Bones (Boost)
Level: Death Knight 3
Prerequisite: One Restless Bones maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: End of turn
Thick spikes grow from your bones, protruding outward through you skin. They do not harm you, but you can use them to strike at your foes. These bone spikes function as a secondary natural weapon and deal piercing damage equal to that of armor spikes sized for a creature of your size. They also have a +1 enhancement bonus for every 4 initiator levels (maximum +5). You are always considered proficient with these bone spikes. When this maneuver ends, your bones return to normal and the spikes retract beneath your skin, which instantly heals up over the protrusions, leaving no lasting wounds or scars.

If you have any feats or abilities that specifically apply to armor spikes, such as the Weapon Focus feat, you can also use them with the bone spikes produced by this maneuver, except where they would only function with manufactured weapons rather than natural weapons.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Bone Wall
Restless Bones (Counter)
Level: Death Knight 7
Prerequisite: Three Restless Bones maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: See text
You gain a +10 shield bonus to AC against a single attack. You also gain DR 10/bludgeoning against that attack and for the remainder of the round, until the start of your next turn. You must choose to use this maneuver before your attacker resolves his attack.



Bonelock
Restless Bones (Strike)
Level: Death Knight 4
Prerequisite: One Restless Bones maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial
As part of this maneuver, make a single melee attack. If it hits, your attack deals an extra +2d6 points of damage and you deal 4 points of Dexterity damage. A successful Fortitude save (DC 14 + your Str modifier) halves the Dexterity damage but not the extra damage.



Cage of Wicked Bones
Restless Bones
Level: Death Knight 7
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: 60 ft.
Effect: Up to eight summoned wicked spires, all adjacent to a single creature
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: None
This maneuver summons up to eight wicked spires, as per the summon monster spell. The wicked spires must be summoned into spaces adjacent to a single creature. The wicked spires gain a bonus on their attack rolls and gain additional hit points equal to your initiator level. You can direct them not to attack, to attack particular enemies, or to perform other actions, as part of initiating this maneuver.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Calcifying Blow
Restless Bones (Strike)
Level: Death Knight 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: Reflex partial
As part of this maneuver, make a single melee attack. If it hits, your attack deals an extra +1d6 points of damage and the target suffers a -10-foot penalty to its movement speed for 1 round. A successful Reflex save (DC 11 + your Str modifier) negates the movement penalty but not the extra damage.



Corpsecrafter
Restless Bones (Stance)
Level: Death Knight 1
Prerequisite: One Restless Bones maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Touch
Target: One corpse
Duration: Stance
As you enter this stance, you animate a single corpse that you touch as a skeleton or a zombie. It remains animated until it is destroyed or you exit this stance. A destroyed skeleton or zombie can’t be animated again, but one that was deanimated because you left this stance can be.

The undead will follow you, and will obey simple orders to the best of its abilities. The undead can understand you when you speak a language you know or you address it with telepathy, even though it does not actually know any languages. Giving it orders is a simple as communicating with it (usually a free action). However, it will attempt to return to your side regardless of your orders if you leave its line of sight for more than a full minute. The undead always knows your approximate direction.

The maximum hit dice of the skeleton or zombie you can create is dependent upon the highest number of ranks you have in any single Craft skill, as indicated on the table below.
Highest Craft RankMaximum Skeleton HDMaximum Zombie HD
0-31/21
4-512
6-724
8-936
10-1148
12-13612
14-15816
16-171020
18-191224
20-211428
22+1632

This stance immediately ends if your created undead is destroyed.

This stance is a supernatural ability.



Desecration
Restless Bones (Stance) [Evil]
Level: Death Knight 3
Prerequisite: One Restless Bones maneuver, non-good alignment
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: 20 ft.
Area: 20-ft.-radius emanation centered on you
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, you radiate an aura equivalent to that of a desecrate spell. If you have at least 8 ranks in any Craft skill or if you have an aura of evil (for example, if you have the evil subtype or are a Cleric of an evil deity), the effects of the desecrate are improved as per an area with a shrine or altar to your deity.

Unlike other Restless Bones maneuvers, this maneuver can affect creatures without skeletal structures. You must still have a skeletal structure in order to initiate it.

This stance is a supernatural ability.



Dislocating Blow
Restless Bones (Strike)
Level: Death Knight 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack. If this attack hits, your target must make a Fortitude save (DC 11 + your Str modifier) or suffer a -4 penalty on attack rolls for 1 round. The target ignores the attack roll penalty on a successful save but still takes weapon damage normally.



Grasping Hands
Restless Bones (Boost)
Level: Death Knight 2
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: 30 ft.
Effect: Skeletal hands in a 5-ft. square
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: None
Skeletal hands reach up through the ground or from the walls, grasping and clawing at anyone in their space. The hands strike from multiple angles, and while their clumsy strikes are not immediately threatening to an opponent on guard, they are sufficiently distracting as to allow all attackers to treat any creature occupying the same space as the hands as flanked.

Further, the hands can make a single attack of opportunity per round as though they threatened the space they occupy. Treat the hands as a Tiny creature (+2 size bonus) with a Strength of 10 and a Base Attack Bonus equal to your own. The hands have a claw attack that deals 1d4 points of damage + 1 point per 2 initiator levels.

The hands created by this maneuver can appear from any solid environmental surface, such as the floor, walls, or even the ceiling. They cannot appear in thin air or on non-solid surfaces, such as the surface of a pool, nor can they appear on surfaces that are not part of or affixed to the local environment, such as a chair or an opponent's worn armor.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Grave Walking
Restless Bones (Rush)
Level: Death Knight 6
Prerequisite: Three Restless Bones maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 move action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 3 rounds
As part of this maneuver, you move up to your speed. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Additionally, each dead creature within 5 feet of any space you move through (including the space from which you begin your movement) is animated as a skeleton or zombie. If you move directly over a shallow grave (one in which the body is buried at a depth of 5 feet or less), you can also animate the creatures within that grave, and the resulting skeletons or zombies also gain a burrow speed of 5 feet for 1 round. You can animate a maximum of 20 HD of undead this way. You can choose for each corpse whether it is animated as a skeleton or as a zombie. You can choose not to animate some or all of the corpses that you move by.

Animated undead attack your enemies to the best of their abilities, but you do not have any direct control over them. Animated undead remain so only for the duration of the maneuver; after 3 rounds, they collapse into death once again.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Hand Snapper
Restless Bones (Strike)
Level: Death Knight 2
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
This maneuver allows you to combine a disarm attempt with a normal attack. You make a single melee attack as part of this strike. If this attack hits and deals damage, you can also attempt to disarm your opponent (PHB pg. 155). This disarm attempt does not provoke attacks of opportunity, nor is there any risk that your foe can disarm you.



Nimble Bones
Restless Bones (Stance)
Level: Death Knight 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: 60 ft.
Area: 60-ft.-radius emanation centered on you
Duration: Stance
While you are in this stance, all allies within range gain a +2 competence bonus on Reflex saves and on initiative checks.

This stance is a supernatural ability.



Ossifying Blow
Restless Bones (Strike)
Level: Death Knight 8
Prerequisite: Three Restless Bones maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial
As part of this maneuver, make a single melee attack. If it hits, your attack deals an extra +8d6 points of damage and your target is ossified and transformed into a statue of bone for 1 round in a manner similar to the flesh to stone spell. The subject, along with all its carried gear, turns into a mindless, inert statue. If the statue resulting from this spell is broken or damaged, the subject (when it is returned to its original state) has similar damage or deformities. The creature is not dead, but it does not seem to be alive either when viewed with spells such as deathwatch. Only creatures made of flesh are affected by the ossification effect of this strike. This is a transmutation effect. A successful Fortitude save (DC 18 + your Str modifier) negates the ossification effect, but not the extra damage.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Rattling Blow
Restless Bones (Strike) [Fear, Mind-Affecting]
Level: Death Knight 3
Prerequisite: One Restless Bones maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 minute
Saving Throw: Will partial
As part of this maneuver, make a single melee attack. If it hits, your attack deals an extra +4d6 points of damage and your target is shaken. A successful Will save (DC 13 + your Str modifier) negates the shaken condition but not the extra damage. The fear caused by this maneuver does not stack (striking an already-shaken creature does not cause it to be frightened, nor does demoralizing a creature already shaken through this maneuver).



Reaping Blows
Restless Bones (Boost) [Death, Evil]
Level: Death Knight 4
Prerequisite: Two Restless Bones maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Melee attack
Target: Living creature killed
Duration: Instantaneous; 1 minute
Saving Throw: None
If you kill a living opponent during your turn, you can initiate this maneuver. Dark energy flows through your weapon and into your foe as she drops, preventing her from simply being raised as though she was killed by a death effect. Meanwhile, you drain a portion of your foe's departing life, granting you temporary hit points equal to twice your initiator level and a +2 bonus to your Strength score for 1 minute. The foe you kill must be within your threatened area when you initiate this maneuver.

Unlike other Restless Bones maneuvers, this maneuver can affect creatures without skeletal structures. You must still have a skeletal structure in order to initiate it.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Ribcracker
Restless Bones (Strike)
Level: Death Knight 6
Prerequisite: Two Restless Bones maneuver
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial
As part of this maneuver, make a single melee attack. If it hits, your attack deals an extra +4d6 points of damage and you deal 4 points of Constitution damage. A successful Fortitude save (DC 16 + your Str modifier) halves the Constitution damage but not the extra damage.



Spinebreaker
Restless Bones (Strike)
Level: Death Knight 9
Prerequisite: Four Restless Bones maneuvers
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial
As part of this maneuver, make a single melee attack. If it hits, your attack deals an extra +10d6 points of damage, you deal 2d6 points of Dexterity damage, and your foe is stunned for 1 round. A successful Fortitude save (DC 19 + your Str modifier) negates the stunning and halves the Dexterity damage but not the extra damage.



Spire of Stinging Bones
Restless Bones
Level: Death Knight 2
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: 60 ft.
Effect: One summoned stinging spire
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: None
This maneuver summons a stinging spire, as per the summon monster spell. The stinging spire gains a bonus on its attack rolls and gains additional hit points equal to your initiator level. You can direct it not to attack, to attack particular enemies, or to perform other actions, as part of initiating this maneuver.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Veil of Lashing Bones
Restless Bones
Level: Death Knight 5
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: 60 ft.
Effect: Up to three summoned lashing spires in contiguous spaces
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: None
This maneuver summons up to three lashing spires, as per the summon monster spell. The lashing spires must be summoned into contiguous spaces. The lashing spires gain a bonus on their attack rolls and gain additional hit points equal to your initiator level. You can direct them not to attack, to attack particular enemies, or to perform other actions, as part of initiating this maneuver.

This maneuver is a supernatural ability.



Change Log
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« Last Edit: July 18, 2017, 07:22:07 PM by Garryl »