Shattered Kingdoms

I cannot accept skills that rhyme! Simply cannot!

Remember, we are trying to come up with non-boring things. Stance dance is super boring.

Rhyme-based bonus to attack! Or we could make it like that Witty Swashbuckler class or whatever the hell it was in Order of the Stick.

The problem is with fridgeraiders idea, is that once again it is another automated ability. Which is something swashies don't need.

I'm all for the distract idea though, that looks like it could be lots of fun.

Here's an idea which is a command that varies affect based on stance. A number of random, very short affects could be applied by said command. A one round decrease in opponent weapon speed, accuracy, or damage, a one round increase in swashbuckler speed, accuracy or damage, or maybe any number of random combat affects. Make a list of random options based on each stance, give it a similar lag to dirt kicking and make it an active skill that is unpredictable, but never a waste.

Each of the affects could be taken from fencing terminology. Aggressive maneuvers could include the lunge, passata-sotto, ballestra, or press. Neutral might be a coule, envelopment, or flick. Defensive might have such options as in quartata, recovery, or feint. The command would be something like flair or maneuver and it would of course cost PE.

Now that sounds pretty cool

i agree. That sounds like a big plus to swashbucklers.

Sounds cool, aye - and it is coherent with what I think swashies need, namely something against other melees, not more stuff against casters.

It would make swashbucklers VERY interesting if you put something like that in, preferably all under one skill (say Fencing or something). One action gives a bonus to disarm the next round, one action enhances the upsides and downsides to aggressive for a round, one reduces you to one attack per hand for one round but drastically increases chances of a riposte, and on and on and on. If properly implemented, it would mean that a good swashie, instead of just taunting everyone in sight, would need to think on his or her feet more so than any other class in the game. However, it would still be a very newbie-friendly class, since the ability in question wouldn't be necessary at all to be competent.

I don't know what needs to be done but swashies need to be king of melee once again. They have taunt for spell casters thats all they need but against other melee they don't seem to be as nimble as they should be, and by that I don't think they evade enough stuff.