The description of each martial technique (maneuvers and stances) is presented in a standard format. Each category of information is explained and defined below.
Name
The first line of every technique description gives the name by which the technique is generally known.
Type
Martial techniques are divided into four categories: boost, counter, stance, or strike. This line typically lists one of those four categories; however, there may be the rare technique with the Special type which has its own unique rules associated with it.
Boost
A boost technique enhances the disciple who uses it in some way. Whether it focuses his ki, channels divine might, harnesses his inner rage, relies on a scientific approach to leverage and force multipliers, or some other source of power, a boost grants a bonus to certain actions during the martial disciple’s turn.
A boost is usually initiated as a swift or move action and provides its benefits until the end of the martial disciple’s current turn, unless otherwise stated. Most boosts are simply expended when used, but other have additional costs, such as inflicting fatigue or daze on the disciple how uses it.
Counter
A counter is always initiated as a response to another character’s actions. They are usually defensive in nature and are initiated as an immediate action. A counter might be a dodge to an enemy’s attack, a swift parry and riposte, or other such reaction.
A counter which grants an attack is resolved in the same way as a strike (see below).
Strike
A strike is usually an attack of some kind and initiated as a standard or full-round action. A strike grants some benefit to the disciple who uses it. Most commonly, a strike is resolved as a melee attack against a target which has additional effects beyond a normal attack.
A counter which grants an attack uses the martial disciple’s highest base attack bonus, all attack and damage modifiers for the weapon used, normal weapon damage, and so forth as if making a normal strike. If a strike threatens a critical hit, you confirm the critical and multiply weapon damage as normal; however, you do not multiply and additional damage granted by the strike.
Feats which modify attacks, such as Power Attack and Combat Expertise can be used when making a strike as normal; however, you cannot make special attacks, such as a trip attempt or bull rush, unless the strike specifically says that you can. A strike is a specific type of attack. You can modify the traits of that attack, but you can’t change it to a different type of attack.
When initiating a strike, you may not gain additional attacks from other sources, such as the haste spell, Two-Weapon Fighting or Cleave feats, or the monk’s Flurry of Blows (unless the ability specifically states that it can be used with a strike).
Stance
A stance is a type of martial technique different from the three types of maneuvers described above. A stance is a particular way of standing, moving, or harnessing energy that gives the martial disciple an ongoing benefit.
A stance is initiated as a swift action. You immediately gain the stance’s benefit and continue to benefit from it until the stance is ended. The duration of a stance lasts until you initiate a new stance, choose to end the stance, or become unconscious or are otherwise rendered helpless. Stances may even be used outside of combat, granting you their benefit whenever you might find them suitable.
Ending a stance takes no action beyond simply choosing to do so and may be done even when it is not your turn.
Although a stance is not a maneuver and is not gained or used the same way as maneuvers, a stance counts as a maneuver for purposes of meeting prerequisites for learning higher-level techniques, feats, or prestige classes that require a martial disciple to posses certain number or level of maneuvers. For example, a martial disciple who knows a 3rd-level stance would count as having 3rd-level maneuvers for the purposes of meeting prerequisites.
[Descriptor]
Appearing on the same line as the type of the technique, when applicable, is a descriptor that further categories the technique in some way. Martial techniques may have more than one descriptor or even none at all.
The most common descriptors are acid, cold, electricity, fire, and mind-affecting; however, other descriptors may also exist.
Most of these descriptors have no game effect by themselves, they govern how the technique interacts with other techniques, with special abilities, with unusual creatures, with alignment, and so on.
A mind-affecting technique works only against creatures with an Intelligence score of 1 or higher.
Martial Discipline
Beneath the technique name is a line giving the martial discipline that the technique belongs to. Typically, each technique will belong to only a single discipline; however, they are a few which may be common to multiple disciplines.
Level
On the same line as the martial discipline is the technique’s level, a number from 1 to 9 that defines the technique’s relative power. This number is immediately preceded by the discipline to which the technique belongs. If a technique belongs to multiple disciplines, then each discipline name will be followed by a number representing the technique’s level. If more than one martial discipline can teach a technique, they may teach it at different levels.
Prerequisite
This entry describes any additional prerequisites necessary to learn a technique beyond the normal class and level requires normally necessary. Some of the more powerful techniques require you to have mastered other techniques within the same martial discipline before they can be learned.
Initiation Action
This entry describes the type of action that a martial disciple must use to initiate the technique. A strike is most commonly a standard or full-round action, a boost is most commonly a swift or move action, and a counter is almost exclusively an immediate action.
Range
A technique’s range indicates how far from you it can reach, as defined in the Range entry of the technique description. A technique’s range is the maximum distance from you that the technique’s effect can occur. If any portion of the technique’s area would extend beyond this range, that area is wasted. Standard ranges include (but are not limited to) the following:
Personal
The technique affects only you.
Touch
You must touch a creature or object to affect it. A touch technique that deals damage can score a critical hit just as a weapon can. It threatens a critical hit on a natural roll of 20 and triggers any effects based on making a successful critical hit; however, you do not multiply a technique’s damage on a successful critical hit.
Melee Attack or Ranged Attack
This technique can affect any creature you make a successful melee or ranged attack against. Creatures with greater reach naturally can use techniques with a range of Melee Attack at a greater distance than can small creatures.
A ranged attack technique can be used against an enemy anywhere within the ranged weapon’s first range increment. For example, initiating a strike with a range of Ranged Attack using a shortbow could affect any target within 60 feet, the first range increment for a shortbow. Effects which increase a weapon’s range increment, such as the Far Shot feat, do not increase this range. Only the normal, base range increment of a weapon is considered.
Adjacent
This technique affects targets within 1 square of the martial disciple. See the specific technique details for determining when to count adjacency for resolving the technique.
Range Expressed in Feet
Some techniques have no standard range category, just a range expressed in feet.
Targeting a Maneuver
You must make some choice about whom the technique is to affect or where the effect is to originate, depending on the type of technique. The next entry in a technique description defines the technique’s target (or targets), its effect, or its area, as appropriate.
Target or Targets
Some techniques target one or more creatures or objects, as defined by the technique itself. You must be able to see or touch the target, and you must specifically choose that target. You must select your target when you begin initiating a technique.
If the target of a technique is yourself (the technique description has a line that reads Target: You), you do not receive a saving throw. The Saving Throw lines is omitted from such techniques.
Some techniques restrict you to willing targets only. Declaring yourself as a willing target is something that can be done at any time (even if you’re flat-footed or it isn’t your turn). Unconscious creatures are automatically considered willing, but a character who is conscious but immobile or helpless (such as one who is bound, cowering, grappling, paralyzed, pinned, or stunned) is not automatically willing.
Other techniques require you to make an attack against a creature or creatures, in which case the maneuver automatically targets the creatures you successfully attack.
Area
Some techniques affect an area. Sometimes a technique description specifies a specially defined area, but usually an area falls into one of the categories defined below.
You might be able to select the point where the technique originates, but otherwise you don’t control which creatures or objects the technique affects.
Burst, Emanation, or Spread
Most techniques that affect an area function as a burst, an emanation, or a spread. In each case, you select the technique’s point of origin and measure its effect from that point.
A burst technique affects whatever it catches in its area, even including creatures that you can’t see. It can’t affect creatures with total cover from its point of origin (in other words, its effects don’t extend around corners). The default shape for a burst effect is a sphere. A burst’s area defines how far from the point of origin the technique’s effect extends.
An emanation technique functions like a burst technique, except that the effect continues to radiate from the point of origin for the duration of the technique.
A spread technique spreads out like a burst but can turn corners. You select the point of origin, and the technique spreads out a given distance in all directions. Figure the area the technique effect fills by taking into account any turns the spell effect takes.
Other Area Effects
Techniques that produce area effects are not particularly common, but some do exist.
See Spell Descriptions for more details on resolving these types of effects. Martial techniques that produce an area effect determine the area in the same way as a spell.
Effect
Some techniques create or summon something rather than affecting things already present. You must designate the location where these things are to appear, either by seeing it or defining it. Range determines how far away an effect can appear.
Line of Effect
A line of effect is a straight, unblocked path that indicates what a technique can affect. A line of effect is canceled by a solid barrier. It’s like line of sight for ranged weapons, except that it’s not blocked by fog, darkness, and other factors that limit normal sight. An otherwise solid barrier with a hole of at least 1 square foot through it does not block a technique’s line of effect.
You must have a clear line of effect to any target that you initiate a maneuver on or to any space in which you wish to create an effect. A burst, cone, cylinder, or emanation affects only an area, creatures, or objects to which it has line of effect from its point of origin.
Duration
A technique’s Duration entry tells you how long the effect lasts.
Instantaneous
The technique’s effects end as soon as it has been initiated and resolved, but the consequences may persist long after. Any technique without a listed duration has a duration of Instantaneous.
End of Turn
The effect of the maneuver persists until the end of the disciple’s current turn.
Timed Durations
Some techniques have a duration measured in rounds or minutes. When the time is up, the effects of the technique fade away, and the technique ends.
The effects of a technique with a timed duration always end immediately before the beginning of the martial disciple’s next turn. For example, a technique with a duration of 1 round would persist from the time the disciple initiates it through his turn and the turns of every other creature in combat, ending just before he takes his next turn.
Stance
The duration of a stance persists for as long as you maintain the stance. It ends only when you initiate a new stance, choose to end the stance, or become unconscious or are otherwise rendered helpless. Some stances may have additional restrictions or methods of ending a stance.
No Duration
Techniques which add a benefit to a single action, suck as many strikes which add additional damage or other modifiers to an attack, have no duration entry listed. They effectively last only as long as it takes to resolve the maneuver. A strike which is initiated as a standard action with no listed duration has effects which persist for that one standard action.
Saving Throw
A technique that produces a supernatural or otherwise magical effect may allow a target to make a saving throw to avoid some or all of the effect.
Negates
The technique has no effect on a subject that makes a successful saving throw.
Partial
The technique causes an effect on its subject. A successful saving throw means that some lesser effect occurs.
Half
The technique deals damage, and a successful saving throw halves the damage taken (round down).
None
If no saving throw is allowed, this line is omitted.
Saving Throw Difficulty Class
A saving throw against your technique has a DC of 10 + the level of the technique + your initiator modifier (which is determined by your class). Maneuvers performed with their discipline’s favored weapon gain a +2 competence bonus to the save DC.
Spell Resistance
Martial techniques are not spells and typically do not offer spell resistance. As such, this section is only included in the rare technique that mimics a magical effect and offers spell resistance. See Spell Descriptions for more details on spell resistance.
Descriptive Text
This portion of a technique description details what the technique does and how it works. If one of the previous entries in the description included “see text,” this is where the explanation is found.