Iron Heart (3.5e Martial Discipline)/All Maneuvers
| Iron Heart (Stance) | |
| Level: | 4 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Two Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | Swift |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | Self |
This is the stance of someone truly comfortable with their abilities.
In this stance, you are able to push yourself to the limit. Your effective initiator level and the DC for your maneuvers rises by +2, or +4 for Iron Heart maneuvers. You don't count as a higher level for the purpose of learning new maneuvers.
In addition, when maneuvers are used against you, their initiator level and DCs against you is 4 lower, or 8 lower if from Iron Heart.
| Iron Heart, Hero's Edge (Strike) [X-Discipline] | |
| Level: | 6 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Two Iron Heart maneuvers, one Hero's Edge maneuver |
| Initiation Action: | Standard |
| Range: | Up to 4× your melee reach |
| Target: | One creature |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw: | Reflex partial |
You throw your weapon up into the air, setting it to spin wildly. As your opponent watches in dumbstruck disbelief, most likely wondering what you're trying to accomplish, you leap up after your weapon, catch it by the hilt, and bring it crashing down directly onto his head, followed up by a quick attack directly into the chinks of his armor.
As part of this maneuver, make a Jump check against a DC of 28, followed by an unarmed melee touch attack roll against your weapon's AC (the melee touch attack roll is unnecessary if you perform this maneuver with an unarmed strike or natural weapon, and no running start is needed for the Jump check either way). If you succeed on both rolls (or just the Jump check if performing an unarmed strike as described above), you choose an opponent within up to four times your melee reach and move to a location that you could legally make a melee attack against that opponent from (including straight up; for instance, a creature with a reach of 5 feet could use this maneuver to leap up to hit an enemy up to 20 feet above its vertical reach). The movement is part of the standard action used to perform Aether and does not count against any other actions used to move during this round, though it does preclude taking a 5-foot step just like any other form of movement would. As you are in midair when moving via Aether, you are unimpeded by difficult terrain; also, while your movement does provoke attacks of opportunity from creatures other than your intended target, creatures on the ground take a −4 penalty if they attempt to make an attack of opportunity against you. You are considered to move in a straight arc towards the space you choose, ignoring all obstacles (including creatures) in your path that are not taller than the maximum vertical distance you can leap or connected from the floor to the ceiling in a direct vertical line (for instance, you can't jump over, under, or through a pillar), and must conclude your movement such that your target is within your melee reach when it ends. You cannot use Aether if your arc of effect to your target includes an obstacle that you cannot jump over, under, or directly through (if you're intangible, jumping through a pillar is probably something you can do, but otherwise, it's not gonna happen). You do not need to move as part of this maneuver if your chosen target is already within your melee reach. Wave Strike and similar abilities do not affect the maximum distance you may travel via Aether.
When you reach your target, that opponent must succeed on a Reflex save (DC = 16 + your Strength modifier) or be considered flat-footed against your attacks for 1 round. Regardless of your foe's success or failure on its save, you immediately make two melee attacks against it with a +5 bonus. The first attack replenishes your hp if it hits and does damage, up to the amount of damage that it did to the enemy. (If you do more damage than necessary to reduce the foe's hp past its death/destruction threshold (generally −10 for living creatures, or 0 for undead or constructs), you do not gain hp for the surplus damage.) The second attack is resolved as a touch attack (therefore ignoring enemy armor and natural armor bonuses) and ignores any qualities the opponent may possess that could reduce the damage, including damage reduction (with only a very small number of exceptions, such as indomitability[1] and Skarmory's Armored Skin). Both attacks made via this maneuver must be targeted against the same enemy; if the first attack drops the foe, the second attack is forfeit to no effect unless you have Cleave or Great Cleave, in which case your Cleave attack is treated as the second attack from Aether.
Because this maneuver involves leaping up into the air, you may ignore up to 10 feet of falling distance per initiator level for the purposes of taking falling damage; thus, you generally won't take falling damage as a consequence of using Aether unless you fall jump off a very steep cliff. You may add 1d6 damage to the first attack of Aether for every 20 feet of falling damage ignored in this way (the second attack is not aided by gravity and thus does not benefit from this bonus). The amount of distance required for a single bonus die and the amount of distance that can be ignored for the purpose of determining fall damage is influenced by the power of gravity just like falling damage itself is; for example, if gravity were to be halved relative to the Material Plane, it would be necessary to fall 40 feet to inflict 1d4 extra damage, whereas if gravity were to be doubled, it would be necessary to fall 10 feet to inflict 1d8 extra damage. Fall distance that exceeds the protection due to using this maneuver cannot be added to the damage of the attack. Falling damage reduction due to Aether stacks with anything else that would reduce falling damage, including the standard 10 feet ignored and 10 feet converted to nonlethal due to intentionally jumping down from a great height; however, only falling damage ignored due to initiator levels via Aether's effect can be added to the damage. Damage added to the first attack by falling is considered part of that attack, and is therefore added to the hp that you gain unless it is in excess of the amount needed to kill/destroy the target. Bonus damage dice from falling are not precision-based and thus cannot be negated by fortification or similar qualities; however, like most other bonus damage dice, they are not multiplied by critical hits.
The life gain and ability to ignore the target's damage-reducing abilities are supernatural effects (and thus do not function in an antimagic field), but all other properties of this maneuver are extraordinary effects and function normally even in areas where magic is suppressed.
| Iron Heart (Rush) | |
| Level: | 5 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Two Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 move action |
| Range: | See Text |
| Target: | You |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
The quickest way to get anywhere is to go in a straight line, even if you have to plow a few people to get there.
When you use this rush, select a point within range of your base movement. You move to that point in a completely straight line, without regard to squares. Any opponent who occupies a square crossed by the line of your movement has two choices: they may either move out of the way by taking a 5-foot step or make a melee attack against you with a +2 bonus as if you are charging. If they choose to move, they must move away from your line, not along it. Once out of the way, they are safe from your onslaught but cannot make attacks of opportunity for your movement. If they choose to attack, however, you may make a single melee attack against them with a +2 bonus to attack rolls and increased damage (if applicable) as if you are charging.
You may perform this maneuver while on a mount. In this case, you still sacrifice your move action to initiate the maneuver but may use the mounts base move to determine your end point. The mount still loses the move action as normal.
| Iron Heart (Counter) | |
| Level: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Initiation Action: | Immediate |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | Self |
| Duration: | 1 round |
| Saving Throw: | None |
Bah, its your sword, not your skill, which gives your strength. How do you fare without your fancy magic?
You can use this counter when you are hit by a magical weapon. If the weapon possesses any enhancement bonus, reduce the attack roll by this amount, which could cause it to miss. If it still hits, reduce its damage by a similar amount. Additionally, if the weapon possesses any abilities that would affect its attack roll, damage roll, or trigger any effect on a successful hit or successful dealing of damage, these abilities do not apply on this attack.
Example: You are struck by a +3 flaming burst longsword and activate this counter. The attack roll result would be reduced by 3 (which could cause it to miss). If it still hits, it would deal 3 points less damage, would not deal an additional 1d6 fire damage, and if the attack roll was a successful critical, would not deal additional fire damage as a result either.
| Iron Heart (Rush) | |
| Level: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Initiation Action: | 1 move action |
| Range: | See text |
| Target: | One creature |
| Duration: | See text |
For humans, the phrase "cut and run" implies a shameful withdrawal from the field of battle. Hobgoblins do not share this view; for them there is no such thing as retreat. There is only attacking in another direction.
In a turn where you use this rush, you can move up to your speed with the benefits of the Spring Attack feat, allowing you to move both before and after taking up to a standard action provided the total distance traversed is not greater than your speed.
| Iron Heart (Stance) | |
| Level: | 8 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Three Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 swift action |
| Range: | Melee reach |
| Target: | All enemies within range |
| Duration: | Stance |
| Saving Throw: | Reflex half |
With a swift flurry of slashes, you swipe at everyone in your immediate area, reducing multiple foes to pieces with a blur of lightning-fast swordplay.
When you assume this stance and at the end of each of your turns after the first in which you enter the stance, you lash out with your sword to strike all enemies within your melee reach, dealing 1d8 points of damage per two initiator levels. No attack roll is necessary, but subjects are entitled to a Reflex save to halve the damage dealt to them.
| Iron Heart (Stance) | |
| Level: | 5 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Two Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 swift action |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | You |
| Duration: | Stance |
You become one with your weapon in spirit, hundreds of hours of meditation finally paying off to learn the secret of your sword. Its edge now strikes as though it is keener than ever
Long introspection and a lifetime of training has caused you to view your blade in a different fashion than most, but never before have you felt a connection to it this tangible. The ancestors themselves guide your swings, slicing deep into the most essential part of an opponent's being and destroying their important components. In this stance, you are able to strike critical hits against creatures that would normally be immune to criticals for any reason. Your critical damage multiplier is also increased from double to triple, triple to quadruple, or quadruple to quintuple.
| Iron Heart (Strike) | |
| Level: | 7 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Three Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 full-round action |
| Range: | Charge attack |
| Target: | One creature |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw: | None |
The tip of the spear, the first into the breach, the last to leave the fight, a true master of the Iron Heart always finds himself at the front of the line.
This maneuver consists of a charge attack in which you crash forward, taking your enemy by surprise with your direct assault. When you charge with this maneuver, you may charge up to four times your normal base speed. You also gain a +4 on your attack roll instead of the normal +2, and if used on the first round of combat you gain a bonus to damage equal to 10 points per initiator level. For every round of combat since the first, reduce this damage bonus by 2 points per initiator level (minimum 0). This maneuver may allow you to make multiple attacks on a charge, but the damage bonus only applies to the first attack if you can make more than one.
| Iron Heart (Counter) | |
| Level: | 6 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Three Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 immediate action |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | You |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw: | See text |
Whatever the enemy's greatest weapon, the might of the Iron Heart can repel it and, with sufficient skill, turn it against them. Through this maneuver, you prove inexorably that the best defense is always a good offense.
You may initiate this maneuver as an immediate action when you are targeted with any attack that requires an attack roll, including touch attack effects such as magical rays. When you initiate it, you may make an attack roll opposing their attack roll; if your attack roll is higher, you may reflect that attack or effect back on the source or at another target within the effect's range. When determining level-dependent effects such as range, damage, and duration for the reflected attack or effect, you may use either use your level (with your initiator level taking the place of caster level, if necessary) or that of the original source, whichever is higher.
| Iron Heart (Counter) | |
| Level: | 4 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | One Iron Heart maneuver |
| Initiation Action: | 1 immediate action |
| Range: | Melee attack |
| Target: | One creature |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw: | None |
In a show of mercy, you widen your grip and push into your opponent, striking him with the flat of your blade. His own momentum followed by an instantaneous pause in movement causes him to jerk backwards, falling down in a most ignoble manner.
Initiating this counter allows you to make a melee attack against one creature. If you wish, you may cut the damage dealt by this attack in half to force him to move 5 feet in a direction of your choice. If you use this counter on a target who is moving, they also automatically must make a Fortitude save (DC 14 + your Strength modifier) or be knocked prone.
You may even use this maneuver to attack a foe who is charging; if they are mounted and fail their save against becoming prone, they are automatically dismounted and both they and their mount fall prone.
| Iron Heart (Strike) | |
| Level: | 4 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | One Iron Heart maneuver |
| Initiation Action: | 1 standard action |
| Range: | Melee attack |
| Target: | One creature |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw: | None |
When faced with a weakened foe, sometimes the best thing one can do for them is grant them quick release from their pain.
This maneuver, consisting of a single melee attack, is meant to be a crushing finishing blow that deals more damage the weaker an opponent is. When you use this strike, cumulative bonus damage is added if your opponent is under any of the following conditions:
The bonus damage dealt is equal to the value below (based on the number of applicable conditions affecting the target) times the user‘s initiator level.
| Conditions Met | Bonus Damage |
|---|---|
| 1 | d6 |
| 2 | d8 |
| 3 | d10 |
| 4 | d12 |
| 5 | 10 |
| Iron Heart (Rush) | |
| Level: | 3 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | One Iron Heart maneuver |
| Initiation Action: | 1 move action |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | You |
| Duration: | See text |
Even when you are broken and battered, you will rise up, ready to slay the enemy. There is no path more glorious than that.
With a display of supreme focus, you are able to shrug off a lasting effect that would normally hinder your combat readiness and emerge more ready to fight than ever. You may use this maneuver on your turn, even when circumstances would normally not permit you to do so, to immediately end one of the following conditions should they afflict you: ability penalties (such as from ray of enfeeblement, touch of idiocy, etc.), ability damage and ability drain (but not ability burn), blindness, confusion, dazing, dazzling, deafness, entanglement, exhaustion, fatigue, fascination, fright, level drain, shaken, panicked, cowering, nausea, paralysis, sickness, stunning, uncenteredness, and any other condition that this list does not include but the DM deems permissible. Death and dying are not conditions that can be ended by use of this maneuver. Graduated conditions, such as ability score reductions and negative levels, are all removed, not only some of them.
Not only do you lose the penalties associated with the condition, but the renewed vigor gained through use of this maneuver grants you a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls until the end of your next turn.
| Iron Heart (Stance) | |
| Level: | 8 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Three Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | Swift |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | Self |
| Duration: | Stance |
Spears poked out of of every visible patch of his skin, transforming the warblade into a walking armory. He didn't even seem phased by it.
When a creature strikes you with a piercing or slashing weapon, it becomes stuck inside your body. The creature must succeed on a strength check against DC 19 + Str mod, or the weapon cannot be removed from your body. You can pull out a weapon embedded in your body with the same action as drawing a weapon, and it has a +5 morale bonus on attack and damage as long as you wield it. The bonus lasts until you drop the weapon or exit the stance.
Natural weapons cannot be entrapped, but they do get slowed down and disrupted in your flesh. If they do not succeed on the strength check, they provoke an attack of opportunity as they struggle to pull back.
| Iron Heart (Strike) | |
| Level: | 3 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | One Iron Heart maneuver |
| Initiation Action: | 1 standard action |
| Range: | Melee attack |
| Target: | One creature |
| Duration: | Permanent until repaired; see text |
| Saving Throw: | Reflex negates |
So strong your conviction and resolve that you do not fear death. So assured are you in your victory that you impose your will on opponents, striking terror and shame into their souls. So firm is the swing of your blade that your foe's weapon shatters, just like so many conquered skulls under the hobnails of goblin boots.
Make a single melee attack roll against your target. On a successful hit, deal damage as normal, and your target must make a Reflex save (DC 13 + your Strength modifier). On a failed save, you may choose a single natural or manufactured weapon that the target possesses. The attacked weapon takes a penalty to damage equal to its base hardness (not counting magical bonuses) plus any enhancement bonus your weapon possesses. If the weapon struck is a natural weapon, the base damage penalty incurred is instead equal to the creature's natural armor bonus to AC or 5, whichever is higher.
Should the owner wish to repair their weapon, they may take a full-round action to return it to its normal state. Multiple uses of this maneuver may target different weapons, but the penalty to damage does not stack with itself.
| Iron Heart (Counter) | |
| Level: | 7 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Three Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 immediate action |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | You |
| Duration: | See text |
| Saving Throw: | None |
When shit goes down, one may be surprised at how often it pays dividends to stand there and take it like a man.
In the ultimate display of courage, you stare down your opponents and endure the brunt of their attacks with superhuman endurance. When you initiate this maneuver, you make an Appraise check and gain damage reduction X/-, where X is equal to the result of the check. This effect lasts until the beginning of your next turn.
In addition, all death effects (and other effects that would instantly kill you on a failed save) affect you differently while you are under the effects of this counter. Instead of instantly dying on a failed save, you instead take 10 points of damage per caster level, initiator level, or Challenge Rating (whichever is applicable) of the source, which is then reduced normally by your damage reduction.
[Note: This version of the Iron Heart uses Appraise as its key skill instead of Balance.]
| Iron Heart (Boost) | |
| Level: | 8 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Three Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 swift action |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | You |
| Duration: | See text |
The ultimate destruction of your foe is nigh. You will make his end so glorious that even as the defeated he will gain renown by merely having basked in your presence, although it will pale in comparison to the honor that you shall receive for achieving victory in battle.
All successful attacks made until the beginning of your next turn are automatically confirmed critical hits. If you wish it, anyone slain by you while you are under the effect of this boost is cleaved and mangled so badly that they cannot be animated or rise as an undead, nor can they be raised from the dead except by a true resurrection spell.
| Iron Heart (Strike) | |
| Level: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Initiation Action: | 1 Standard Action |
| Range: | Melee attack |
| Target: | One or more creature or object (see text) |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw: | None |
As a part of initiating this maneuver make a single melee attack, if you hit you may make a second attack. If the second attack hit it deal an extra 1 damage per initiator per level (to maximum of 5). If the second attack miss however you become uncentered for 1 round.
| Diamond Mind, Iron Heart (Strike) [X-Discipline] | |
| Level: | 9 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Three Diamond Mind maneuvers, two Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 Round Action |
| Range: | Melee Attack |
| Area: | 20 ft. radius spread |
| Duration: | Instantaneous and 1/round level |
| Saving Throw: | Fortitude and Will Partial (See text) |
Kurihara concentrated, her blade sheathed at her feet, then without warning, she grasped it and moved faster than lightning; when she finally drew it, there was only blood and death.
Named after the swordswoman who invented it, this devastating maneuver is intended to finish a prolonged battle. In order to use this maneuver correctly, you must have your weapon sheathed. As part of initiating this strike, you cross the battlefield in a flash, moving up to four times your speed in a straight line; this movement does not provoke any attacks of opportunity. During this movement, you are so quick you are invisible; this effect is extraordinary and thus fools see invisibility, true seeing, and similar abilities.
At any point during this movement, you draw you weapon and unleash your attack; upon doing so, you make a single melee attack against any number of creatures and/or objects within a 20 ft. radius spread. Roll one attack roll and compare to each available opponent's AC individually. This attack deals triple damage, does not miss on a natural 1, and all struck creatures caught flat-footed by this attack must make a Fortitude save (DC 19 + Intelligence Modifier) or die.
Creatures killed by this maneuver are torn to shreds, leaving their corpse unsuitable to be raised, and any other creatures which observe another creature perishing from this maneuver must make a Will save (DC 19 + Intelligence Modifier) or be frightened for 1 round. This part of the maneuver is a mind-affecting fear effect.
| Army of One, Iron Heart (Strike) [X-Discipline] | |
| Level: | 4 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | One Army of One or Iron Heart maneuver |
| Initiation Action: | 1 standard action |
| Range: | Melee |
| Target: | One creature |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
Focusing your energy, you strike so hard that you utterly penetrate your enemy's armor.
As part of this maneuver, make a single melee attack. This attack is resolved as a touch attack, and if it connects, it ignores any qualities the foe may have that would reduce damage (like damage reduction), except for those that place a hard cap on how much damage they can sustain from a single blow (such as indomitability[1], Sturdy, or VFX Mirage).
This maneuver's ability to defeat damage reduction and other damage-reducing qualities is a supernatural effect; however, the touch attack is an extraordinary effect.
| Iron Heart, Organic Repast, Essential Cut (Strike, Boost) [X-Discipline] | |
| Level: | 7 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Three Iron Heart, Organic Repast, or Essential Cut maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 full-round action |
| Range: | Melee attack |
| Target: | As full attack (see text) |
| Duration: | Instantaneous and 1 round; see text |
As part of this maneuver, make a full attack and expend another maneuver. Instead of the normal number of attacks you would get for your full attack via your base attack bonus, you get one attack per level of the expended maneuver. (For example, expending a level 1 maneuver would entitle you to only one attack; expending a level 5 maneuver would entitle you to 5 attacks; expending a level 7 maneuver would entitle you to 7 attacks... you should get the idea.) These attacks are all made at your highest attack bonus. You still get additional attacks from sources other than your base attack bonus (such as haste) as normal. All options that would be available to you during a full attack (namely, switching targets or using special combat options like tripping and disarming) are available to you during this maneuver.
In addition, you receive 1 extra attack of opportunity for this round for every level of the expended maneuver (a level 1 maneuver grants 1 extra attack of opportunity, a level 3 maneuver grants 3 extra attacks of opportunity, and so on and so forth).
If you are xenotheric, you may take a point of bio-energy drain to make two attacks and gain two attacks of opportunity per level of the maneuver expended to fuel martial blitz.
If you have at least one level in the Carnage Zealot class and know at least two other Essential Cut maneuvers, you may invest essentia into this maneuver. You make one additional attack and gain one additional attack of opportunity for each point of essentia invested into this maneuver (or two if you took a point of bio-energy drain). After martial blitz is resolved, the invested essentia is returned to your essentia pool. (If you're a Carnage Zealot and don't have an essentia pool, something is very, very wrong with your character. Seriously, how the hell did you do that?!?)
As a final note, when you initiate this maneuver, both martial blitz and one other maneuver you have readied (and granted, if a crusader) are expended. The benefit of martial blitz is entirely dependent on the level of the maneuver expended alongside it. Martial blitz cannot be initiated if it is your only available maneuver, even if you have essentia available to invest in it. You may only expend one other maneuver when you initiate martial blitz. The second maneuver is not itself considered to have been initiated, so none of its usual effects apply. You cannot expend a stance, so you cannot use a stance alongside martial blitz. You can use martial blitz while already in a stance; you just can't enter a stance as part of the same action you use to initiate martial blitz. See synostodweomer[1] and arcane aura for more information.
| Iron Heart (Stance) | |
| Level: | 2 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Two Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | Swift |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | Self |
| Saving Throw: | None |
This sword is an extension of myself, it's part of me. And I'm gonna make it part of you!
Any weapons you wield in this stance gain the benefit of greater magic weapon with a caster level equal to your initiator level, with a minimum bonus of +1. This is a result of your expertise and skill, and so the bonus is extraordinary (but still enhancement and thus does not stack with other enhancement bonuses), but the weapon is still considered magic when beneficial (such as when bypassing DR/magic).
Unlike the spell, the bonus is uncapped. It becomes +6 at initiator level 24th and an additional +1 every four levels beyond.
| Iron Heart, Shadow Hand (Counter) [X-Discipline] | |
| Level: | 4 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | One Iron Heart maneuver or One Shadow Hand maneuver |
| Initiation Action: | Immediate |
| Range: | See text |
| Target: | One charging creature |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw: | Fortitude partial; see text |
SHING! You swear a full minute passes before one of the fighters finally moves, crumbling to the floor.
If you are charged by a creature you may activate this maneuver and move in a straight line up to twice your move speed (minimum 10 ft). Make a charge attack against your opponent. If you hit, your opponent must make a Fortitude save (DC 14 + your Str mod) or be reduced to -1 hp and dying. You also must also make a Fortitude save (DC 14 + your opponent's Str mod) or you will be reduced to -1 hp and dying.
If your attack misses, the opponent can still hit you with their charge with no other effects, and you still move your intended distance. On a successful save by either party, their charge attack goes through as normal. This is a high risk high reward maneuver often used to finish a tense battle.
| Iron Heart (Stance) | |
| Level: | 3 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | One Iron Heart maneuver |
| Initiation Action: | 1 swift action |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | You |
| Duration: | Stance |
Hobgoblin warblades have created an empire from the savage lands inhabited by extremely large and strong beasts, but so fearsome was their onslaught that even the greatest of giants heed their call to arms. This stance has proven crucial to their success in conquering and controlling these types of foes.
Precise footwork alows you to greatly increase the ease and length of your swings, granting you an additional 5 feet of reach and allowing you to strike harder against larger creatures. Each of your melee attacks deals an additional 1d6 points of damage per size category a creature is larger than you. A Medium warblade, for example, would deal an additional 2d6 points of damage on every melee attack dealt to a Huge-sized creature.
| Iron Heart (Strike) | |
| Level: | 7 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Three Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 standard action |
| Range: | Melee attack |
| Target: | One creature |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw: | None |
Sometimes it is necessary to sacrifice yourself to defeat your enemies, throwing yourself on their spear to strike them down. If you live, you may boast of the tale to your comrades; if you perish, at least it was a good death. A soldier’s death.
Make a single melee attack as a standard action. If you hit, your hit points are reduced to −1 and you add damage to your attack equal to the number of hit points you lost as a result of using this maneuver. If you miss, your hit points are not reduced.
| Iron Heart (Stance) | |
| Level: | 7 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Three Iron Heart Maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 swift action |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | You |
| Duration: | Stance |
| Saving Throw: | N/A |
While this stance is active, the initiator becomes an iron pillar of will. They fall under the effects of Last to Fall, or Why Won't You Die if they already have Last to Fall, or Can't Die, Won't Die if they already have that, or they gain DR 8/- and Fast Healing 5 if they already have that. In addition, they become immune to nonlethal damage, fear, pain, Daunt, and anything that would prevent them from fighting that isn't death. This list includes, but is not limited to, paralysis, compulsions to stand down, an ability score that isn't Constitution reaching zero, sleep effects, etc.
| Iron Heart (Boost) | |
| Level: | 2 |
|---|---|
| Initiation Action: | 1 swift action |
| Range: | See text |
| Target: | One creature |
| Duration: | See text |
You brandish your weapon in an unspoken declaration of mortal combat. Your opponent, obviously not fond of the honorable ways of the samurai, attempts to flee, but barely makes a step before you slash him down with a single precise blow. Your next enemy would do well to perform in a less shameful fashion.
As part of this maneuver, you make a challenge to a single opponent within your melee reach. That opponent must now hit you on their next turn, or else all of your attacks on your turn made against that opponent thereafter deal an additional 1d6 points of damage per initiator level.
| Iron Heart (Stance) | |
| Level: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Initiation Action: | 1 swift action |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | You |
| Duration: | Stance |
The code of the samurai does not accept defeat. You will face death and gain a firsthand understanding of the terror that it inspires in all living things. This will allow you to bring the cruelest mistress to your enemies with greater efficiency.
When you are in this stance, you take a -2 penalty to your Armor Class. In return, every one of your successful melee attacks taken in the stance deals an added amount of damage equal to 1d6 plus your initiator level.
| Iron Heart (Strike) | |
| Level: | 2 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | One Iron heart Maneuver |
| Initiation Action: | 1 standard action |
| Range: | Melee Attack |
| Target: | One Creature |
| Duration: | Instantaneous and 1 Round/Level (see text) |
| Saving Throw: | None |
Upon initiating this maneuver, make a single melee attack. If it hits, it deals an additional 1d6 damage per initiator level (maximum of 7d6). This extra damage is doubled against a foe with temporary hit points, this increase is limited to the target's current temporary hit points.
The damage dealt by this maneuver counts double for the purpose of breaking a shield and ignores the shield's hardness, if any. A shield broken by this maneuver change its recovery to very slow until it is next fully recharged, at which point its recovery changes back to its normal value.
| Ideal Heart, Iron Heart (Strike) [X-Discipline] | |
| Level: | 4 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | One Ideal Heart or Iron Heart maneuver |
| Initiation Action: | Standard |
| Range: | Melee |
| Target: | One creature |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
As you strike your enemy, their energy is transferred to you. (No, you are not a vampire.)
As part of this maneuver, make a single melee attack. If you hit, you regain hp equal to the damage dealt to your opponent. If this would bring you over your maximum hit points, the excess hp is lost. If the damage your attack deals exceeds the amount required to kill or destroy your opponent (generally −10 hp for living beings, or 0 hp for undead and constructs), you only regain hp equal to the amount of damage that was required to finish the target.
This maneuver is a supernatural ability.
| Iron Heart (Counter) | |
| Level: | 9 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Five Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 immediate action |
| Range: | See text |
| Target: | See text |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw: | None |
Cancel any one effect that either targets you, places you in its area of effect, or otherwise subjects you to its clauses as though it were never activated or triggered. The originator of the effect does not actually get any resources back, nor does this maneuver rewind time; the attack/spell/falling damage/disease/etc. is still expended. You may still allow some parts of the effect to remain, such as a character moving for a charge, but the brunt of the effects tend to be cancelled.
If this maneuver cancels out a particularly extreme effect, like a deity's Alter Reality ability or a natural disaster, it is burned out for the day, and cannot be refreshed or used again for 24 hours.
Note: This maneuver's wording doesn't technically stop you, but your DM is very much allowed to stop you from doing things like cancelling out The Sun.
| Iron Heart (Strike) | |
| Level: | 9 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Four Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 standard action |
| Range: | Melee attack |
| Target: | One creature |
| Duration: | Instananeous |
| Saving Throw: | None |
Foolish pacifists say the heart is mightier than any sword. You put that adage to the test with a single blow meant to claim the life of its target without fail.
This maneuver allows you to make a single melee attack, which if successful is an automatically confirmed critical hit. In addition, the attack gains an additional damage boost equal to 10 points of damage per initiator level you possess. This damage is not multiplied by the critical hit. If you wish, you may subtract bonus damage in 10 point increments to grant yourself a cumulative +1 bonus on the attack roll that you make for this maneuver.
| Iron Heart, Organic Repast, Essential Cut (Boost) [X-Discipline] | |
| Level: | 7 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Three Iron Heart, Organic Repast, or Essential Cut maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 swift action |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | You |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
As you initiate this maneuver, you expend another maneuver as part of the same swift action. You heal yourself for 1d6 damage per level of the expended maneuver.
If you are xenotheric, you may pay a single bio-energy charge to heal yourself for 2d6 damage per level of the expended maneuver.
If you have at least one level in the Carnage Zealot class and know at least two other Essential Cut maneuvers, you may invest essentia into this maneuver. If you do, you add 1d6 damage healed per point of invested essentia (or 2d6 damage healed per point of invested essentia if you also paid a bio-energy charge). Once the effects of synostokiai are resolved, the invested essentia is returned to your essentia pool. (If you're a Carnage Zealot and don't have an essentia pool, something is very, very wrong with your character. Seriously, how the hell did you do that?!?)
As a final note, when you initiate this maneuver, both synostokiai and one other maneuver you have readied (and granted, if a crusader) are expended. The benefit of synostokiai is entirely dependent on the level of the maneuver expended alongside it. Synostokiai cannot be initiated if it is your only available maneuver, even if you have essentia available to invest in it. You may only expend one other maneuver when you initiate synostokiai. The second maneuver is not itself considered to have been initiated, so none of its usual effects apply. You cannot expend a stance, so you cannot use a stance alongside synostokiai. You can use synostokiai while already in a stance; you just can't enter a stance as part of the same swift action you use to initiate synostokiai. See synostodweomer[1] and arcane aura for more information.
| Iron Heart (Boost) | |
| Level: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Initiation Action: | Swift |
| Range: | Personal |
| Target: | One weapon you wield |
| Duration: | 1 minute or until discharged |
You sharpen your sword mid-battle. It's a rush job, but it will do.
You make quick improvement to the quality of your weapon. You ignore up to your initiator level in damage reduction, hardness, or (if applicable) resistances to your next attack with your weapon, you benefit from Keen (which does not stack with Keen, ImpactMIC, or Improved Critical and also functions on bludgeoning weapons), and you gain your initiator level as a bonus to critical confirmation rolls. If your weapon is not masterwork, you gain masterwork benefits until the duration ends or is discharged. Once your weapon has either bypassed DR, hardness, resistances, or made a critical hit, the effect is discharged.
| Iron Heart (Strike) | |
| Level: | 8 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite: | Three Iron Heart maneuvers |
| Initiation Action: | 1 full-round action |
| Range: | Melee attack |
| Target: | One creature |
| Duration: | Instantaneous |
| Saving Throw: | None |
You forcibly impose your will on an enemy, striking him repeatedly and causing more openings to present themselves with each attack. His defense wears down under the contant onslaught until you finally drive your blade through his throat, twisting it and releasing a fountain of gore as you retract the weapon. All who witness the display will remember you, whether they want to or not.
The hobgoblin way is to press every advantage, every opening, to keep their opponent backed up as much as possible until they strike the killing blow. This combination attack epitomizes that teaching, allowing you to make a single melee attack as a full-round action. If this attack hits, you gain another attack roll using your full attack bonus, but at a -2 penalty. This sequence of attacks continues as long as you continue to hit, accruing cumulative -2 penalties with each hit. In addition, you gain an additional 1d6 points of damage on every successive attack for the rest of this maneuver for each attack in it that you have previously hit with.
