We continue our series of high-Circle previews with a look at the Warrior. As usual, you can get Morgan’s take on the design decisions behind the Discipline over on his blog.
As we preview more and more of the Warden and Master tiers for the core Disciplines, there sometimes ends up being less to talk about, since in many cases the talents are available to multiple Disciplines and there’s not as many “new” toys to play with.
The Warrior, in some respects, shares a bit with the Sky Raider progression we showed off back in December. The two have many talents in common, which makes sense for Disciplines whose primary focus is bringing the pain. The most notable difference, in my opinion, is where the Sky Raider’s defensive capability is largely reactive (through having many recovery tests that can be used to heal in battle, or power reactive talents like Vital Ward), the Warrior’s is more proactive. Their Recovery pool is used to power talents like Wood Skin, Earth Skin and the like to boost Defense ratings and build a larger health pool.
With that in mind, I want to highlight a couple of the Discipline talents that enhance those basic defensive talents, giving them a bit more “oomph.” Vine Armor increases the result of a Wood Skin test, while also giving the Warrior bonus Mystic Armor. Stone Skin does the same for Earth Skin, while providing bonus Physical Armor.
While in some ways the Warrior doesn’t quite match the Sky Raider’s potential for raw damage output, they have a bit more staying power, and abilities that help mitigate the chaos on a battlefield, or turn that chaos to their advantage.
Warden Talent Options: Burning Vigor, Critical Hit, Defensive Posture, Iron Constitution, Lion Spirit, Rally, Resist Pain, Steel Thought, Storm Shield, Vital Strike
Ninth Circle
- Battlefield Awareness: When performing Battle Rites (Player’s Guide, p. 115), the adept may take 2 Blood Magic Damage to prevent being Blindsided, Harried (this only negates the first instance of Harried in a given round), or Surprised for 24 hours. The damage may be healed after the effect ends.
- Karma: The adept may spend a Karma Point once per round on any test made when adjacent to an ally.
- Discipline Talent: Relentless Recovery
Tenth Circle
- Defense: The adept adds +2 to their Mystic Defense.
- Initiative: The adept adds +1 to their base Initiative Step.
- Discipline Talent: Unflinching Fortitude
Eleventh Circle
- Defense: The adept adds +1 to their Social Defense.
- Karma: The adept may spend a Karma Point on an Attack test made against an opponent that has attacked the adept since the start of the previous round.
- Discipline Talent: Chilling Strike
Twelfth Circle
- Defense: The adept adds +4 to their Physical Defense.
- Recovery: The adept gains 2 additional Recovery tests per day.
- Discipline Talent: Vine Armor
Master Talent Options: Champion Challenge, Ethereal Weapon, Fluid Movement, Second Chance, Soul Aegis, Spirit Strike, Vicious Wound, Vital Ward
Thirteenth Circle
- Elemental Warrior: When a Warrior is on the battlefield, they are never alone, as the elements themselves are by their side. The adept can manipulate the elements to keep their opponents off balance, such as through gusts of air, shifting earth, entangling brush, oppressive heat, icy surfaces, etc. Regardless of the nature of the manifestation, all opponents in close combat with the adept are Harried.
- Defense: The adept adds +3 to their Mystic Defense.
- Karma: The adept increases their Karma +1 Step to a d8.
- Mystic Armor: The adept gains +1 Mystic Armor.
- Discipline Talent: Aura Armor
Fourteenth Circle
- Defense: The adept adds +5 to their Physical Defense.
- Initiative: The adept adds +2 to their base Initiative Step.
- Discipline Talent: Stone Skin
Fifteenth Circle
- Defense: The adept adds +2 to their Social Defense.
- Recovery: The adept gains 3 additional Recovery tests per day.
- Discipline Talent: Multi-Strike