Combat Maneuvers

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During combat, you can attempt to perform a number of maneuvers that can hinder or even cripple your foe. Although these maneuvers have vastly different results, they all use a similar mechanic to determine success. Template:Grid

Combat Maneuver Mechanics

Combat Maneuver Bonus

Each character and creature has a Combat Maneuver Bonus (or CMB) that represents its skill at performing combat maneuvers. A creature’s CMB is determined using the following formula:

CMB = Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + special size modifier

Some feats and abilities grant a bonus to your CMB when performing specific maneuvers.

Combat Maneuver Defense

Each character and creature has a Combat Maneuver Defense (or CMD) that represents its ability to resist combat maneuvers. A creature’s CMD is determined using the following formula:

CMD = 10 + Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + Dexterity modifier + special size modifier + miscellaneous modifiers

Some feats and abilities grant a bonus to your CMD when resisting specific maneuvers.

Miscellaneous Modifiers: A creature can also add any circumstance, deflection, dodge, insight, luck, morale, profane, and sacred bonuses to AC to its CMD. Any penalties to a creature’s AC also apply to its CMD. A flat-footed creature does not add its Dexterity bonus to its CMD.

Special Size Modifier

The special size modifier for a creature’s CMB and CMD is as follows:

Fine –8, Diminutive –4, Tiny –2, Small –1, Medium +0, Large +1, Huge +2, Gargantuan +4, Colossal +8.

Performing a Combat Maneuver

When you attempt to perform a combat maneuver, make an attack roll and add your CMB in place of your normal attack bonus. Add any bonuses you currently have on attack rolls due to spells, feats, and other effects. These bonuses must be applicable to the weapon or attack used to perform the maneuver. The DC of this maneuver is your target’s Combat Maneuver Defense. Combat maneuvers are attack rolls, so you must roll for concealment and take any other penalties that would normally apply to an attack roll. Rolling a natural 20 while attempting a combat maneuver is always a success (except when attempting to escape from bonds), while rolling a natural 1 is always a failure.

Unless otherwise noted, performing a combat maneuver provokes an attack of opportunity from the target of the maneuver. If you are hit by the target, you take the damage normally and apply that amount as a penalty to the attack roll to perform the maneuver. If your target is immobilized, unconscious, or otherwise incapacitated, your maneuver automatically succeeds (treat as if you rolled a natural 20 on the attack roll). If your target is stunned, you receive a +4 bonus on your attack roll to perform a combat maneuver against it. Template:Grid

Combat Maneuvers

Bull Rush

Action: standard action or as part of a charge in place of the melee attack
Target: one opponent who is no more than one size category larger than you.
Attack of Opportunity: yes
Feats: Powerful Maneuvers, Greater Bull Rush

A bull rush attempts to push an opponent straight back without doing any harm. If your attack is successful, your target is pushed back 5 feet. For every 5 by which your attack exceeds your opponent’s CMD you can push the target back an additional 5 feet. You can move with the target if you wish but you must have the available movement to do so. If your attack fails, your movement ends in front of the target.

An enemy being moved by a bull rush does not provoke an attack of opportunity because of the movement unless you possess the Greater Bull Rush feat.

You cannot bull rush a creature into a square that is occupied by a solid object or obstacle.

If there is another creature in the way of your bull rush, you must immediately make a combat maneuver check to bull rush that creature. You take a –4 penalty on this check for each creature being pushed beyond the first. If you are successful, you can continue to push the creatures a distance equal to the lesser result.

For example, if a fighter bull rushes a goblin for a total of 15 feet, but there is another goblin 5 feet behind the first, he must make another combat maneuver check against the second goblin after having pushed the first 5 feet. If his check reveals that he can push the second goblin a total of 20 feet, he can continue to push both goblins another 10 feet (since the first goblin will have moved a total of 15 feet).

Dirty Trick

Action: standard action
Target: one opponent
Attack of Opportunity: yes
Feats: Deft Maneuvers, Greater Dirty Trick

This maneuver covers any sort of situational attack that imposes a penalty on a foe for a short period of time.

If your attack is successful, the target takes a penalty. The penalty is limited to one of the following conditions:

Blinded, Dazzled, Deafened, Entangled, Shaken, or Sickened.

This condition lasts for 1 round. For every 5 by which your attack exceeds your opponent’s CMD, the penalty lasts 1 additional round. This penalty can be removed if the target spends a move action.

Dirty trick can be used to kick sand into an opponent’s face to blind him for 1 round, pull down an enemy’s pants to halve his speed, or hit a foe in a sensitive spot to make him sickened for a round. The GM is the arbiter of what can be accomplished with this maneuver, but it cannot be used to impose a permanent penalty, and the results can be undone if the target spends a move action.

Disarm

Action: in place of a melee attack
Target: one item carried by an opponent
Attack of Opportunity: yes
Feats: Deft Maneuvers, Greater Disarm

Attempting to disarm a foe while unarmed imposes a –4 penalty on the attack. If your attack is successful, your target drops one item it is carrying of your choice.

If your attack exceeds the CMD of the target by 10 or more, the target drops the items it is carrying in both hands (maximum two items if the target has more than two hands).

If your attack fails by 10 or more, you drop the weapon that you were using to attempt the disarm.

If you successfully disarm your opponent with your bare hands, you may automatically pick up the item dropped.

Drag

Action: standard action
Target: one opponent who is no more than one size category larger than you.
Attack of Opportunity: yes
Feats: Powerful Maneuvers, Greater Drag

The aim of this maneuver is to drag a foe in a straight line behind you without doing any harm.

If your attack is successful, both you and your target are moved 5 feet back, with your opponent occupying your original space and you in the space behind that in a straight line. For every 5 by which your attack exceeds your opponent’s CMD, you can drag the target back an additional 5 feet. You must be able to move with the target to perform this maneuver. If you do not have enough movement, the drag goes to the maximum amount of movement available to you and ends.

An enemy being moved by a drag does not provoke an attack of opportunity because of the movement unless you possess the Greater Drag feat. You cannot move a creature into a square that is occupied by a solid object or obstacle. If there is another creature in the way of your movement, the drag ends adjacent to that creature.

Grapple

Action: standard action
Target: one opponent
Attack of Opportunity: yes
Feats: Unarmed Combatant, Greater Grapple

You attempt to grapple a foe, hindering his combat options.

Grappling without penalty requires two or more free hands. Grappling with one hand gives a –4 penalty on the combat maneuver roll.

If successful, both you and the target gain the Grappled condition. If you successfully grapple a creature that is not adjacent to you, move that creature to an adjacent open space (if no space is available, your grapple fails).

Although both creatures have the grappled condition, you can, as the creature that initiated the grapple (the grappler), release the grapple as a free action, removing the condition from both you and the target. To maintain hold on the opponent, the grappler must use at least one hand at all times.

Counter-Grappling: If you perform the Grapple combat maneuver while in a Grapple, on a success you become the grappler and may decide whether to maintain the grapple, or release it. If your opponent is grappling you with only one hand, you receive a +4 bonus on your check.

Multiple Creatures: You can be the grappler of no more creatures than you have free hands. Any number of creatures can grapple you, as long as they can stand adjacent to you. You can attempt to perform the Grapple combat maneuver against multiple creatures at the same time. This imposes a -4 penalty for each additional creature. If you end up being the grappler of more creatures than you have free hands, you must immediately release the grapple on the excess creatures. This may be useful in cases where you are merely attempting to escape the grapple.

Hands: Any grasping appendage counts as a hand. Some monsters may count their body as one or more grasping appendages. Use common sense.

Overrun

Action: standard action, taken during your move or as part of a charge
Target: one opponent who is no more than one size category larger than you.
Attack of Opportunity: yes
Feats: Powerful Maneuvers, Greater Overrun

You can attempt to overrun your target, moving through its square.

When you attempt to overrun a target, it can choose to avoid you, allowing you to pass through its square without requiring an attack.

If your target does not avoid you, make a combat maneuver check as normal. If your maneuver is successful, you move through the target’s space. If your attack exceeds your opponent’s CMD by 5 or more, you move through the target’s space and the target is knocked prone. If the target has more than two legs, add +2 to the DC of the combat maneuver attack roll for each additional leg it has.

If your overrun attempt fails, you stop in the space directly in front of the opponent, or the nearest open space in front of the creature if there are other creatures occupying that space.

Reposition

Action: standard action
Target: one opponent who is no more than one size category larger than you.
Attack of Opportunity: yes
Feats: Powerful Maneuvers, Greater Reposition

A reposition attempts to force a foe to move to a different position in relation to your location without doing any harm.

If your attack is successful, you may move your target 5 feet to a new location. For every 5 by which your attack exceeds your opponent’s CMD, you can move the target an additional 5 feet. The target must remain within your reach at all times during this movement, except for the final 5 feet of movement, which can be to a space adjacent to your reach.

An enemy being moved by a reposition does not provoke an attack of opportunity because of the movement unless you possess the Greater Reposition feat. You cannot use this maneuver to move a foe into a space that is intrinsically dangerous, such as a pit or wall of fire. You cannot move a creature into a square that is occupied by a solid object or obstacle.

Steal

Action: standard action
Target: one item
Attack of Opportunity: yes
Feats: Deft Maneuvers, Greater Steal

This maneuver can be used in melee to take any item that is neither held nor hidden in a bag or pack. You must have at least one hand free (holding nothing) to attempt this maneuver. You must select the item to be taken before the check is made.

Items that are simply tucked into a belt or loosely attached (such as brooches or necklaces) are the easiest to take. Items fastened to a foe (such as cloaks, sheathed weapons, or pouches) are more difficult to take, and give the opponent a +5 bonus (or greater) to his CMD. Items that are closely worn (such as armor, backpacks, boots, clothing, or rings) cannot be taken with this maneuver. Items held in the hands (such as wielded weapons or wands) also cannot be taken with the steal maneuver—you must use the disarm combat maneuver instead. The GM is the final arbiter of what items can be taken.

If your attack is successful, you may take one item from your opponent. You must be able to reach the item to be taken (subject to GM discretion). Your enemy is immediately aware of this theft unless you possess the Greater Steal feat.

Although this maneuver can only be performed if the target is within your reach, you can use a whip to steal an object from a target within range with a –4 penalty on the attack roll.

Sunder

Action: in place of a melee attack
Target: one object
Attack of Opportunity: yes
Feats: Powerful Maneuvers, Greater Sunder

If your attack is successful, you deal damage to the item normally. Damage that exceeds the object’s Hardness is subtracted from its hit points. If an object has equal to or less than half its total hit points remaining, it gains the Broken condition. If the damage you deal would reduce the object to less than 0 hit points, you can choose to destroy it. If you do not choose to destroy it, the object is left with only 1 hit point and the Broken condition.

Trip

Action: in place of a melee attack
Target: one opponent who is no more than one size category larger than you
Attack of Opportunity: yes
Feats: Deft Maneuvers, Greater Trip

If your attack exceeds the target’s CMD, the target is knocked prone.

If your attack fails by 10 or more, you are knocked prone instead.

If the target has more than two legs, add +2 to the DC of the combat maneuver attack roll for each additional leg it has. Some creatures—such as oozes, creatures without legs, and flying creatures—cannot be tripped.