Brute

Brutes like to throw their weight around, jostling and battering foes to move them about the battlefield. Brute practitioners are unarmed fighters who deal additional damage with their unarmed strikes as described in the unarmed strike practitioner table. Associated Feat:Improved Unarmed Strike.

All practitioners of the Brute sphere gain the following ability:

Shove

As a move action, you may move up to half your speed and make a melee touch attack against a creature. If successful, the target takes bludgeoning damage equal to your Strength modifier (or whichever attribute was used to make the check) and gains the battered condition until the end of your next turn.

You may perform a shove in place of the attack granted by a charge, although this does not grant the extra movement. When you successfully perform a bull rush, drag, reposition, or overrun combat maneuver (assuming the target decided to block you and did not simply move out of the way), you may apply the effect of one (manhandle) talent you know to that creature. (Manhandle) talents cannot be applied to maneuvers performed as a free action.

Brute Talents

Brace Weapon

You may use a shield or a weapon held in two hands to perform an overrun maneuver. If using a shield, you may add the shield’s AC bonus to your CMB. If using a weapon held in two hands, you may add the weapon’s enhancement bonus, as well as bonuses to attack from spells or feats such as Weapon Focus, to your CMB. You may choose to use a shield bash as your weapon for this purpose, in which case the shield’s attack bonus, rather than its AC bonus, is used.

In addition, you may use one of the above to perform a shove, adding their bonuses to your shove’s attack roll. If using a weapon in this fashion, you may also add its enhancement bonus to your shove’s damage, as well as damage from appropriate special abilities such as flaming, holy, etc.

Break Defenses

Whenever you successfully use a bull rush, drag, overrun, or reposition, combat maneuver against a creature, that creature provokes an attack of opportunity from your allies (but not you). Associated Feat: Greater Bull Rush, Greater Drag, Greater Overrun, Greater Reposition.

Brutal Manhandle

When applying a (manhandle) talent, you may expend your martial focus to apply a second (manhandle) talent. You cannot apply the same (manhandle) twice with this talent.

Dominoes

When you bull rush, drag, or reposition a creature into another creature, you may make a trip attempt as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity against the second creature, even if that creature is not within your reach. If you fail the trip attempt by 5 or more the creature cannot make a trip attempt against you in return.

Earthquake Stomp

As a full-round action, you can stomp the ground so furiously that nearby creatures fall prone. You may expend your martial focus to perform an earthquake stomp as a standard action.

Make a single trip attempt as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity and compare it to all valid targets within 5 ft. of you. You may use your bull rush CMB when making this check (as the trip is being made by slamming the ground). Enemies not knocked prone cannot attempt to trip you in return.

The affected area increases its radius by an additional 5 ft. per 10 base attack bonus.

Focused Might

Whenever you successfully perform a shove, you may regain your martial focus.

Follow-Through

Whenever you hit a target with an attack action, you may make a bull rush or reposition maneuver against the target as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

You may use your weapon to perform this maneuver, meaning your weapon’s enhancement bonus, as well as spells that increase attack bonuses or feats such as Weapon Focus, apply to the maneuver.

Greater Brute

You gain a +1 competence bonus to your bull rush, drag, overrun, and reposition combat maneuver checks, as well as to your CMD vs those maneuvers. This bonus increases by +1 for 4 points of base attack bonus you possess. This bonus does not stack with the bonus to these maneuvers provided by Improved or Greater Bull Rush, Improved or Greater Drag, Improved or Greater Overrun, or Improved or Greater Reposition feats. Associated Feats

Improved Bull Rush, Improved Drag, Improved Overrun, Improved Reposition.

Greater Shove

When you shove a target, that target suffers additional damage equal to 1/2 your base attack bonus. Additionally, you may augment your shove with feats and talents such as Power Attack despite it being a touch attack.

Hammer

As long as you have martial focus, whenever you would bull rush, drag, or reposition a creature into a space occupied by a wall, creature, or object no more than one size smaller than the creature, the target of the maneuver stops its movement in the adjacent space and both the creature and the wall, other creature, or object suffer bludgeoning damage. The amount of damage dealt is determined by the size of the creature being bull rushed, dragged, or repositioned, as indicated on the list below: Fine 1d2, Diminutive 1d3, Tiny 1d4, Small 1d6, Medium 1d8, Large 1d10, Huge 2d6, Gargantuan 2d8, Colossal 3d6. This damage is increased by the listed amount again for every 5-ft. square the creature would have traveled beyond the wall, other creature, or object.

Hostile Movement

When performing a bull rush or drag combat maneuver, you may move the creature one space left or right (relative to the direction of motion) for each square moved by the maneuver. Additionally, when performing a bull rush, drag, or reposition combat maneuver, you may place the creature in an intrinsically dangerous space (including repositioning a creature into the air and dropping it).

Muscular Surge

As a move action, you gain a bonus equal to 1/2 your base attack bonus (minimum 1) on Acrobatics checks made to jump, to all Strength checks and Strength-based skill checks, as well as to your Strength for determining your carrying capacity, for a number of rounds equal to your Constitution modifier. This does not apply to combat maneuver checks nor attack and damage rolls. You are fatigued for 1d4 rounds after the duration ends, even if you would normally be immune to fatigue. If you are fatigued when you begin or end this effect, you are instead exhausted. If you are already exhausted, you cannot use this ability.

If you expend your martial focus, this bonus increases to become equal to your full base attack bonus, but automatically leaves you exhausted for 1d4 rounds afterward.

Quick Force

You may perform a bull rush, drag, or reposition combat maneuver as a move action instead of a standard action. You must still have movement remaining in a round in order to move with your target, such as your 5-foot step.

You may expend your martial focus to perform a bull rush, pull, or reposition as a swift action.

At +10 base attack bonus, whenever you perform a bull rush, drag, or reposition combat maneuver as a move action, you may move with the creature as part of that action; in essence, using the action both to move and perform the maneuver.

Shift Weight

When a creature fails on a attack roll or combat maneuver check against you, you may expend your focus to perform a bull rush, drag, or reposition combat maneuver against that creature as an immediate action.

Additionally, you may expend your focus to perform a bull rush or reposition combat maneuver in place of an attack of opportunity. You cannot move as part of this attack of opportunity.

If this maneuver is made as a result of a creature’s movement, their movement ends for that round if your maneuver is successful. If this maneuver is successfully made as a result of a target using a spell, the creature must pass a concentration check equal to your combat maneuver check + the spell’s level or lose the spell.

Smash

Whenever you successfully perform a bull rush, drag, overrun, or reposition maneuver against a creature (other than with maneuvers performed as a free action), that creature suffers damage equal to your unarmed strike or a light weapon you are wielding. This qualifies your bull rush, drag, overrun, reposition, maneuvers for feats and talents such as Power Attack, suffering a penalty to your CMB in exchange for increased damage.

You may use your unarmed strike or a light weapon you are holding to make these maneuvers, meaning you may add their enhancement bonus, as well as spells or feats which increase their attack bonus such as Weapon Focus, to your CMB when performing a bull rush, drag, overrun, or reposition maneuver.

Stampede

When you perform a charge, you do not provoke attacks of opportunity when making a bull rush or overrun as part of that charge. Creatures may no longer choose to avoid you when you use the overrun combat maneuver unless you choose to allow it.

Unstoppable

When making a charge, you can push your way through obstacles blocking your path, be they creatures, objects, or others.

You may charge over difficult terrain. This movement still costs twice as much as normal. Additionally, when making a charge, you may attempt to overrun a creature in the path of the charge, or to make a Strength check to break an unattended object such as a door or wall that is in your way, as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If the check is successful, you may complete the charge. If the check is unsuccessful, the charge ends in the space directly in front of that creature or object.

For every 5 base attack bonus you possess you may attempt to break or overrun an additional target, but suffer a cumulative -2 penalty on each additional check made.

This can allow you to initiate a charge through squares that you do not have line of sight to. You may resolve your charge attack against any valid target within reach of the charge’s path after passing through the barriers (creature or object) blocking your line of sight. Associated Feat: Charge Through.

Manhandle Feats

Dazed and Confused (manhandle)

The creature must pass a Will save or be staggered for 1 round. At 10th base attack bonus, the duration increases to 2 rounds.

Drop (manhandle)

You may make a trip combat maneuver against the target as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If you possess the Hammer talent, a successful trip allows you to use the ground to deal damage as if it were a wall.

Dizzy Spin (manhandle)

The target must pass a Fortitude save or treat all other creatures as though they had partial concealment for 1 round. At 10th base attack bonus, the duration increases to 2 rounds.

Humiliate (manhandle)

You flip the creature into positions where it can’t act effectively. The target must pass a Reflex save or be entangled for 1 round. At 10th base attack bonus, the duration increases to 2 rounds.

Perpetual Motion (manhandle)

You may perform a bull rush, pull, or reposition combat maneuver against the target as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

Robbery (manhandle)

You may make a steal or disarm combat maneuver against the creature as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

Takedown (manhandle)

You may make a grapple check against the creature as a swift action.

Throw (manhandle)

Whenever you succeed on a bull rush, drag, or reposition maneuver, you may expend your martial focus to throw the creature. The creature travels an additional 5 ft. in any direction and must pass a Reflex save or fall prone. At +10 base attack bonus, the creature travels an additional 5 ft.

Legendary Talents

Giant

Prerequisite(s): Brute sphere, Muscular Surge.

You may use your Muscular Surge talent as a free action rather than a move action, and are not fatigued after its duration expires; in essence, the bonuses become permanent. Your total carrying capacity is also multiplied by 2. This does not stack with other effects that multiply carrying capacity, such as the ant haul spell.

You may still expend your martial focus as a free action to gain the more powerful bonus for a number of rounds equal to your Constitution modifier, and are only fatigued afterward rather than exhausted. For this duration, you also count as being one size larger than you are for the purpose of targeting creatures with combat maneuvers and for talents that have effects dependent on size, such as Rock Toss or Thrower’s Reflexes from the Equipment sphere, the Terrain Trasher legendary Brute talent, or Living Weapon from the Wrestling sphere.

Terrain Trasher

Prerequisite(s): Brute sphere, base attack bonus +5.

You may make a Strength check to break a solid surface such as a wall, door, or floor within your reach as a move action rather than a standard action. If successful, not only do you break the object, but you also rip out a large chunk of up to your size or smaller, chosen by you. If you so choose, you may use this chunk as a rock for the Rock Toss Equipment talent, or as an improvised weapon. Unsolid surfaces such as loose dirt cannot be broken in this fashion.

When using this talent against a large surface such as a stone wall or floor, you rip out a 1 ft. thick slab off of the surface in question. If the surface is thicker (for example, ripping apart 3 ft. thick walls or the ground) this leaves a 1 ft. hole deep hole in the surface. Calculate the break DC as if the material were 1 ft. thick. Ripping a Medium-sized chunk leaves a 5 ft. square hole, while the hole is half as large for each size category smaller, and twice as large for each size category larger.

If you rip a hole in the floor, the pit is deep enough that it can potentially trip creatures. Any creature occupying the square when you first create the hole, or who is shoved into the hole such as through a bull rush, pull, or reposition maneuver, must make a Reflex saving throw to avoid falling prone in an adjacent square. If the hole is smaller than a 5 ft. square, the creature gains a +2 bonus to this saving throw per size category smaller the hole is. A creature that makes its saving throw still treats the space as difficult terrain.

Thunderous Clap

Prerequisite(s): Brute sphere, base attack bonus +5.

You may expend your martial focus as a full-round action to slam your palms together, creating a thunderous shockwave that blows down anything in its path. Creatures within a close range burst (25 ft. + 5 ft. per 2 base attack bonus) or a medium- sized cone (100 ft. +10 ft. per base attack bonus) suffer 1d8 sonic damage per 2 points of base attack bonus you possess (minimum 1d8) and are deafened for 1d4+1 rounds. A successful Fortitude save halves this damage and negates the deafened effect.

In addition, you may make a bull rush at range as a free action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity against each target within the affected area. You do not move with the targets when bull rushing them in this manner, nor is there any size limitation on how large a creature you can affect with this ability.

All non-magical sources of fire within the affected area are instantly extinguished.

Titan

Prerequisite(s): Brute sphere, Muscular Surge, Giant, base attack bonus +10.

Your carrying capacity multiplier from the Giant talent increases from x2 to x10.

You are always considered as being one size larger than you are for the purpose of who you may target with combat maneuvers and for talents that have effects dependent on size. If you have expended your martial focus with the Muscular Surge talent, you are considered two size categories larger for the duration.

If you possess Strong Lungs from the Athletics sphere, you may add your bonus from Muscular Surge to your Constitution score when determining how many rounds you may run or hold your breath.

If you possess the Oversized Weapons legendary talent from the Equipment sphere, you may wield weapons of any size without increasing the effort required (i.e., you do not increase the weapon’s category by 1 step from light to one-handed, one-handed to two-handed, etc.), though you still suffer a -2 penalty on attack rolls for each size category the weapon is larger than you.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Spheres of Might, © 2017, Drop Dead Studios LLC; Authors: Adam Meyers, Michael Sayre, Andrew Stoeckle, N. Jolly

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