Hero's Edge (3.5e Martial Discipline)
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Martial discipline for defeating opponents larger than oneself.
Contents
A Recent History[edit]
Once... Great monsters roamed the lands, gleefully slaughtering the hordes of heroes who flocked to them in search of glory. And then the man named only 'Nimbus' noticed the one reason that most warriors lost - they were trained to fight human sized enemies, not larger foes.
Seeking to remedy this problem, he sat off to create a discipline that would help potential heroes kill their larger foes, preferably without being crushed in the process. He succeeded, creating the basis of the Hero's Edge discipline, and became a renowned monster slayer.
Sadly, his tale ended in disaster - he was defeated by another martial adept, one who refined his ability to kill lone, human-sized opponents to near absurd levels. He died a warrior's death.
Fortunately, he had three apprentices, eager students who devoured all he taught them and were well on their way to developing the next step in the school. The three, known only by their unfortunate acronym 'G.A.S.', made a great many advances in the school.
Deciding to divide the work into equal portions, they set off in separate directions, honing their skills and completing their new discipline as they did so.
Years passed, and the three met up once more, sharing their notes on designing their new school.
The first of the apprentices, who valued overwhelming might more than the others, created a set of techniques designed for sheer power - the ability to make ranged attacks with a swing of a blade was his favorite addition to the school.
The second, who valued utility and quick adaptation to new threats, provided an array of unique techniques that could be used for offense or defense - slamming a sword into the ground and prying to throw pieces of it at foes, or stabbing a sword into the ground and prying to form a shield against ranged attacks and similar techniques were his addition to the style.
And the third, who valued mobility and speed the most, supplied a slew of stances that enabled warriors to use their environment in creative ways - cutting cliffs off to use them as a makeshift weapon/battle field and similar feats were made by he.
Combining the three different approaches, they finished the discipline, creating a school unlike any other, focusing on slaying larger creatures and using the environment to kill their foes. Each taking an apprentice of their own, they split again, wandering the world for the rest of their lives.
Time passed, and the Temple of Nine Swords was created, with Reshar seeking out the greatest martial schools to join it. One of the array of practitioners in that time met him upon his travels, and offered to teach him the skills needed to slay much larger foes and much greater numbers of foes, provided that his art received a place in the school. Reshar politely declined, and went on his way, preferring to work with the environment as it was instead of adapting it to his needs mid-battle.
Following the Fall of the Temple, the masters of Hero's Edge sought out other martial adepts and attempted to aid them, lending them their skills when they were in need.
And, in recent days, a small group of Warblades have been attempting to adapt the style to fight constructs. These warriors call themselves 'The Meatbags', for some reason...
Practitioners[edit]
Warblades are the primary practicioners of this discipline, though other adepts learn some maneuvers from this on occasion. A Warblade can decide to be trained in this discipline at character creation, trading access to one of his other disciplines for access to this one. In addition, other adepts (including Warblades who were not trained in this discipline) may take one of the Access Feats to gain access to this discipline.
Feats[edit]
Hero's Blade [General]
Prerequisites: Str 15, One Hero's Edge maneuverBenefit: When wielding a weapon made for a creature one size category larger than yourself, you take a -1 penalty on attack rolls with that weapon instead of the normal penalty for using an incorrectly sized weapon. In addition, the effort required to wield that weapon is the same as for a creature of the proper size.
Normal: A creature wielding a weapon designed for a creature one size larger would take a -2 penalty on attack rolls and require one step additional effort, wielding a light weapon as one-handed, one-handed as two-handed, and two-handed weapons would be too big to wield.Special: This feat can be taken by as a bonus feat by Warblades. This feat is treated as Monkey Grip for the purposes of PrC or feat requirements. This feat and Monkey Grip may not both be taken.
Path of the First [General]
Prerequisites: One level in any Martial Adept class, Str 14Benefit: You may now learn maneuvers from the Hero's Edge discipline as though it was on your class' discipline list. Whenever you use a Hero's Edge strike that deals slashing damage, you may reroll one die of that damage.
Normal: Initiators other than Warblades cannot learn Hero's Edge maneuvers except through the Martial Study feat, and they do not receive one reroll on damage rolls.Special: You may not take this feat and Path of the Second or Path of the Third.
Path of the Second [General]
Prerequisites: One level in any Martial Adept class, Str 14Benefit: You may now learn maneuvers from the Hero's Edge discipline as though it was on your class' discipline list. Whenever you use a Hero's Edge strike that requires a Reflex saving throw, increase the DC by 1.
Normal: Initiators other than Warblades cannot learn Hero's Edge maneuvers except through the Martial Study feat, and they do not gain a bonus to their save DCs.Special: You may not take this feat and Path of the First or Path of the Third.
Path of the Third [General]
Prerequisites: One level in any Martial Adept class, Dex 14Benefit: You may now learn maneuvers from the Hero's Edge discipline as though it was on your class' discipline list. Whenever you are in a Hero's Edge stance, you gain a +2 bonus on Jump checks, as well as a +1 bonus on attack rolls.
Normal: Initiators other than Warblades cannot learn Hero's Edge maneuvers except through the Martial Study feat.Special: You may not take this feat and Path of the First or Path of the Second.
Game Mechanics of the Hero's Edge
Available To: Warblade
Discipline Skill: Jump (Str) - being a school originally created to combat giant enemies, practitioners need to be able to get high enough up to perform their attacks effectively.
Discipline Weapons: Longsword, Bastard Sword (including katana), Greatsword (including no-dachi), Fullblade, and any sword made for a character of at least one size category larger than the practitioner. - Hero's Edge practitioners rely upon being able to easily cut objects with a long blade, and so mainly use swords.
Maneuvers of the Hero's Edge Discipline[edit]
- To see the full, expanded description of every maneuver, click here.
1st-Level Maneuvers
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Boost — Your sword can cut things better. Yay!
- Skyward Smack: Strike — What goes up, must go down. Including your opponent.
- Wall Hop: Stance — Bounce off one wall to head further up another.
2nd-Level Maneuvers
- Expand Destruction: Boost — Now with rollover damage!
- Surface Wrecking: Strike — Throw rocks at your foe.
- Wall Smash: Strike — Dynamic Entry!
3rd-Level Maneuvers
- Building Surf: Stance — No falling damage as long as you're riding a piece of building down to ground level.
- Climbhazard: Strike — Toss 'em up, cut 'em down.
- Cross Slash: Strike — Hit every square around you.
4th-Level Maneuvers
- Blade Beam: Strike — A blade of energy arcs from your sword. Ranged.
- Building Devastation Strike: Strike — Deal extra damage to buildings and constructs.
- Floor Shield: Counter — Create a barrier out of the floor to block attacks.
5th-Level Maneuvers
- Dragoon's Leap: Strike — Deal extra damage to an opponent based on Jump check.
- Pick On Someone Your Own Size!: Boost — Grow to match the largest foe, but return to normal if you attack something smaller.
- To Hell With Gravity!: Stance — Jump checks have no limits based on your height, other benefits.
6th-Level Maneuvers
- Aether: Strike [X-Discipline] — A dramatic leaping attack that allows you to leech your enemy's health, then override their defenses.
- Dragging Slash: Strike — Deal weapon damage for every 10 feet you move across an enemy/building.
- Element Blade: Boost — Deal energy damage with normal attacks.
7th-Level Maneuvers
- Assault Twister: Strike — An upgraded Cross Slash
- Blasting Zone: Stance — Hit your enemies and the guys behind them!
- Omnislash: Strike — Strike a cone of foes with all your might!
8th-Level Maneuvers
- Omnislash v5: Strike — Make your foe say "Oh, crap." as copies of your sword appear around them.
- Zanzetsuken: Strike — Destroy stuff in a single blow!
9th-Level Maneuvers
- Omnislash v6: Strike — As Omnislash v5, but moreso.
Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Class Ability Components → Martial Disciplines
| Author | The-Mage-King + |
| Class | Warblade + |
| Identifier | 3.5e Martial Discipline + |
| Rating | Unrated + |
| Skill | Jump + |
| Summary | Martial discipline for defeating opponents larger than oneself. + |
| Title | Hero's Edge + |
| Weapon | Longsword +, Bastard Sword (including katana) +, Greatsword (including no-dachi) +, Fullblade + and and any sword made for a character of at least one size category larger than the practitioner. + |
