New Fighting Styles

The Combat & Tactics sourcebooks contains a variety of "Fighting Style Specializations" to reflect unique or focused martial skills. For example, Two-Weapon Fighting is for warriors who specialise in dual-wielding, while the Sword-and-Shield style provides a balance between offense and defense for a shield-using warrior.

This page is for custom fighting styles which are even more specific - they may be restricted to a specific region, culture or organisation, and they tend to provide benefits which are specifically useful for those who use it.

Dragonslayer

This fighting style, which is used by various dragonslaying organisations, costs a single proficiency slot to learn. It can be learned directly from those who have already mastered the technique and are willing to share their knowledge, or by any player who has a long career of fighting dragons. It comprises a knowledge of various techniques and tactics, similar to called shots, which can make a draconic opponent much less dangerous in combat.

Warriors who have learned the Dragonslayer fighting style gain access to the following techniques:

• Dazzle: Dragons are particularly sensitive to annoyance, and find it impossible to focus on spellcasting when they are being distracted. A trained warrior with a brightly polished weapon or shield can take advantage of this. As long as they are engaged in melee combat with the dragon and standing directly in front of it (i.e. at eye level), no form of spellcasting is possible.
• Wing Attack: Aimed at a dragon's wing muscles, this attack is made with a -3 penalty. In addition to normal damage, this attack keeps a dragon from flying for 1 to 6 rounds. If the damage dealt is high enough, similar to a called shot, the wing is permanently crippled.
• Breath Stun: Aimed at a dragon's gullet, this attack disables a dragon's breath weapon. It is made with a -4 penalty. In addition to normal damage, the breath weapon is disabled for 1 to 6 rounds.

Warriors without the Dragonslayer fighting style may not use the Dazzle or Breath Stun abilities, as both require specialised knowledge and skills. Nonproficient warriors may make a called shot to a dragon's wing, but it will have the effect of temporarily slowing the dragon (or crippling them if enough damage is dealt) rather than keeping them from flying.