d20 Adamant Entertainment Skillful Stunts.pdf

S killful

S tunts

By Barak Blackburn

Bard the Bowman sinking the arrow into the one

weak spot of Smaug’s armored hide...a called

shot to a vampire’s heart...witty banter to catch

an opponent off-guard...the Kirk roll to sneak past

an opponent’s whirling sword and impenetrable

defense…all of these combat scenes are vital

parts of exciting narrative in media, but aside

from a GM describing action in a ﬂowery way, are

not part of standard d20 combats.

With feats so valuable, characters are not likely to

be able to have more than one or two cool tricks

up their sleeve. But the one thing all players have

in common is skills. Most adventurers are likely

to have the standard listen, search and spot,

but what about the character who has invested

skill points into appraise? What about the

character with knowledge (religion) who has an

understanding of the weaknesses of undead?

Skillful stunts will not only spice up your combats,

but will give characters more options without

necessitating the need for new rules or yet

another laundry list of feats.

The basic mechanic for skillful stunts is a simple

one: when a character wants to perform a stunt,

the character declares the stunt (a stunt counts

as a standard action) and rolls a stunt check.

A stunt check DC is determined by the

opponent’s Touch AC + the opponent’s Wis

modiﬁer + the opponent’s BAB. If the stunt is

successful, the character gets at least one Stunt

Point that can be allocated as they choose. There

is no penalty if a stunt is unsuccessful, although

a character does have to follow through with their

action. Characters may not take 10 or take 20 on

a stunt check.

Characters might also request that they be

allowed synergy bonuses for skills normally not

associated with one another. Knowledge skills

offer great opportunities for synergy against

speciﬁc foes. For example, Rangers add their

favored enemy bonus to any stunt roll against a

favored enemy. Again, it is an attacker’s request

and a GM’s ﬁnal ruling, but encouraging creativity

is sure to get characters more involved in their

skill selection.

A Stunt Point allows a character to do one of

three things:

In order to not water down the coolness of

stunts, it is recommended that each player be

given a cap for the number of stunts they can

attempt each session, perhaps one/ level (or for

NPCs without levels, one/ HD). Stunts should

encourage creativity, not become yet another tool

for min/ maxing.

1) a character may add 1d10 damage to their

ranged or melee attack (note that this damage

is multiplied in the case of a critical hit);

2) a character may lower all the saves of an

opponent by 1 for any spell or effect by the

caster;

Stunt Example:

3) a character may lower the AC of an opponent

by 2 for the follow-up attack.

Malin is facing off against a Cloud Giant.

Malin needs every advantage he can get,

so he tries to let the giant knows he means

business. He lets out a ferocious roar, ﬂexes

his muscles and raises his maul to take down

the giant. This is an intimidation stunt.

Stunt effects generally work only for the

stunter, and only last until the follow-up action

immediately following the stunt.

A character may also attempt to voluntarily

increase the number of Stunt Points with a stunt

by adding to the stunt DC. Every increment of 5

added to the DC adds an additional Stunt Point to

the total received if the stunt check is successful.

The DM (note: any DM would be well advised

to ﬁgure out stunt DCs before the session

as part of their prep) notes that the stunt DC

against the giant is 24 (9 touch AC, + 12 BAB,

+3 Wis modiﬁer).

However, although stunts are cool, opponents

are not likely to be fooled by the same stunt

again and again. After the second stunt attempt

against an opponent, the initial DC increases

by 5 for each additional attempt. Why after the

second attempt? Canny combatants will often

attempt a stunt the ﬁrst time to test the mettle of

their opponent, and after gauging their opponent

will voluntarily increase the DC to do even more

damage. But remember, NPCs can stunt as

well….

Malin has a +14 modiﬁer to his intimidate

check and rolls a 13. Success! The giant

realizes there might be more to this dwarf

than he bargained for. Malin decides to use

the Stunt Point to add 1d10 to his damage

roll.

The following round, Malin really needs a big

hit, so he increases the DC by 10 hoping to

add a total of 3d10 to his roll. Unfortunately,

Malin does not know that the stunt DC is now

a 29 (for a total of 39) and with only a +14

modiﬁer, he is unlikely to make the roll…

Sample Stunts:

Some stunts are so over the top and so detailed

that they require more than just one skill. Why not

try a combo-stunt? A combo-stunt is when more

than one skill is used for a stunt attempt.

What follows is a list of sample stunts for many of

the skills in a d20 game. Players are encouraged

to get descriptive when describing their stunts,

and come up with interesting new ways of using

their skills.

The base difﬁculty of each stunt DC increases by

2 for every additional skill used in the combo, but

damage is cumulative. If any roll in a combo stunt

is unsuccessful, the stunt itself is unsuccessful.

Appraise:

Flawed Diamond Attack a character using

appraise can look for a weakness in the armor

of an opponent, either man-made armor or

natural armor.

For example, Vysus wants to try a stunt he is

calling The Stare against the above Cloud Giant.

The Stare is a combo-stunt using Concentration,

Intimidation and Gather Information. The base

DC for a stunt against the giant is still 25, but for

the combo stunt, the DC for each skill check is 29

(25 plus 4 for the two additional skills).If all three

rolls are successful, Vysus will get 3 Stunt Points.

Balance:

Body Like the Blade a character using balance

often ﬁnds that approaching an opponent

sideways (similar to a fencing stance) allows

them to get through their defenses.

If a combo stunt is attempted more than once

against an opponent or anyone who witnessed

the combo, the DC automatically increases by 5.

Bluff:

Kitten Claws a character will attempt to appear

weaker than they really are, but every kitten has

claws….

Spell Feint a character makes it appear there

is another target, or perhaps even another spell

that they will cast, lower the defenses of an

opponent.

Climb:

Spider Style if during a move action, before a

stunt, a character comes across a wall or other

obstacle, the character will easily cross it in

a show of their climbing prowess. Characters

have been known to run halfway up a wall

around an opponent and catch them off guard.

Concentration:

Channel the Inner Strength concentration

allows a character to avoid all the distractions

and focus solely on their opponent. As the drop

of sweat falls into their unblinking eye, they

focus their attack.

Craft:

Secrets of the Trade for an appropriate Craft,

a skilled artisan can ﬁnd the shortcuts his fellow

artisan made and exploit them.

Decipher Script:

Runic Disruption creatures reading from a

scroll and constructs often suffer damage from

a skilled decipherer as they are able to sever

some of the magical ties that words bring them.

Heal:

Healing Touch one who knows how to heal,

probably also knows where to harm.

Hide:

Strike From the Shadows leaping in and out

of the shadows, an attacker uses the darkness

to mask their attack.

Diplomacy:

Friends Like Enemies perhaps there is a

larger threat, perhaps an opponent’s anger is

misguided.

Intimidate:

Furious Blow sometimes knowing your

opponent is bringing the beat-down makes it

hurt even more.

Disable Device:

The Nutcracker no, this is not meant as an

attack usable only against the manliest of

men, rather, against heavily armored foes, a

character skilled is Disabling Devices, is also

skilled enough to sneak a blade in-between

plates of armor.

Jump:

Death From Above too often attackers stay on

the ground, why not take to the air?

Knowledge:

Learned Strike many of the knowledge skills

allow someone to know a monster’s weakness

and vulnerabilities, use of this skill as a

stunt is a perfect example of exploiting them

(Arcana- constructs, dragons, magical beasts;

Dungeoneering- aberrations, oozes; Nature-

animals, fey, giants, monstrous humanoids,

plants, vermin; Religion- undead; The planes-

outsiders, elementals).

Disguise:

Instant Ally combat is chaotic. In a combat with

many combatants, a skilled disguiser is able to

use what is around her and trick an opponent

into letting down their defenses thinking the

attacker is an ally (example: wrapping up in one

of the cloaks of a recently felled Knight of the

Black Gate).

Escape Artist:

Flowing Like Water weaving through defenses

with limbs that must be double-jointed.

Listen:

The Sounds of Dying did your opponent

take a shot to the ribs, and is having trouble

breathing? Are they telegraphing their attacks

muttering under their breath? A listen stunt

allows a character to drown out the din of

combat to focus on their opponent.

Gather Information:

Confessional Strike witty banter or

psychological interrogation causes the

opponent to reveal a weakness they probably

didn’t want their opponent to know about.

Move Silently:

Whisper Strike combat is loud, sometimes a

silent blow can be quite deadly.

Handle Animal:

Bees with Honey entering combat with an

animal companion against a skilled animal

handler, is asking for trouble, both for the

animal and for the opponent. This skill breaks

some of the link between animal and master,

even just for split-second, causing hesitation

and a drop of defenses.

Perform:

Bringing the House Down juggling knives, an

opponent is unlikely to know which one will be

thrown, singing of an opponent’s demise might

be unsettling, a poem detailing every blow....

Ride:

Swine Posterior Attack some warriors believe

that there is a code of conduct in a combat,

others will do what they need to in order to

survive. While in close combat, an attacker

attempting this Ride stunt actually leaps onto

the back of their opponent for a brief moment,

catching them off guard and getting a great

opportunity to strike. Against larger foes, this

stunt coupled with a grapple check will actually

allow the attacker to use their stunt bonus

damage die (dice) in their grapple check!

Search:

Scholar’s Strike watch your opponent, learn

their weakness.

Sleight of Hand:

Snakebite an opponent can best defend

against a blow they know is coming, what about

one they do not see?

Tumble:

Monkey Strike tumble is often used to avoid

AoO, but what about using it strike from the

ﬂoor?

Speak Language:

Battleﬁeld Orders because there is no

associated skill check with the Speak

Languages skill, using this skill for a stunt is

quite difﬁcult, but not without beneﬁt. To use

this skill, the character must speak a language

native to their opponent(s) (and generally

not the Common tongue), and they will try

and add to the chaos of battle with orders of

their own by making an Intelligence check for

their stunt roll. If they succeed at this difﬁcult

check, the attacker and his allies gain the stunt

bonus against all opponents within 30’ until the

attacker’s next action!

Use Magic Device:

Magical Defense Avoidance characters

who rely too much on magic items for their

power and defense (saves, strength, AC, etc)

should avoid a skilled user of magical devices,

because they are often able to disrupt the

energies contained within to cause backlash to

an opponent.

Deactivation most effects from magic

items can be deactivated, this type of stunt

temporarily powers down a magic item,

lowering the defenses of an opponent.

Spellcraft:

Spellsight against an opponent with magic

enhancements, protections, etc this attack is

able to counter some of the magic.

Spot:

Perfect Timing seeing that one moment your

opponent is off-balance.

Survival:

Gaia’s Ally: using your surroundings, you are

able to take advantage of your opponent’s

weakness and of utilize your inherent instincts.

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