Class(es)/Skill: Warblade/Balance Weapons: Bastard sword, dwarven waraxe, longsword, and two-bladed sword Description: The Iron Heart discipline focuses on pure weapon skill. Its students learn to complete fighting maneuvers that border on the supernatural. Many of its maneuvers rely on body control, good footing, and impeccable timing. Punishing Stance Iron Heart (Stance) Level: Warblade 1 Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: Stance You hold your weapon overhead, allowing you to chop down with superior force. However, this fighting stance leaves you vulnerable to an opponent's attacks. Only an initiate of the Iron Heart tradition can manage the perilous balance between trading attack power for defense. A lesser warrior would leave himself nearly helpless to resist an opponent's attacks. While in this stance, you deal +1d6 damage on all melee attacks, but suffer a -2 penalty to AC because of the stance's focus on power over defense. Steel Wind Iron Heart (Strike) Level: Warblade 1 Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Targets: Two creatures Through a combination of sheer power and unmatched talent, you make an attack that injures multiple opponents. As you initiate this strike, you make two melee attacks, each against a different foe that you threaten. Resolve each attack seperately. Steely Strike Iron Heart (Strike) Level: Warblade 1 Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: 1 round; see text The Iron Heart discipline teaches focus, allowing you to engage and defeat one opponent at a time. Your other enemies mean nothing to you as you press your attack. You make a single melee attack as part of this strike, at a +4 bonus to the attack roll. All opponents other than the one you attacked gain a +4 bonus on attack rolls against you for 1 round. Disarming Strike Iron Heart (Strike) Level: Warblade 2 Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature This maneuver allows you to combine a disarm attempt with a normal attack. You make a single melee attack as part of this strike. If this attack hits and deals damage, you can also attempt to disarm your opponent. This disarm attempt doesn't provoke AoOs, nor is there any risk your foe can disarm you. Wall of Blades Iron Heart (Counter) Level: Warblade 2 Initiation Action: 1 immediate action Range: Personal Target: You Your weapon mastery transforms your blade into an extension of your arm, allowing you to wield it with the speed and timing needed to make a precise block. When an enemy makes a melee or ranged attack against you, you can initiate this counter to oppose that attack by making an attack roll with any melee weapon you are holding. Use the higher of your AC or your attack roll as your effective AC against the incoming attack. You can't use this maneuver if you're denied your Dexterity bonus to AC against your attacker. You can decide to use this ability after you learn the result of your opponent's attack. Absolute Steel Iron Heart (Stance) Level: Warblade 3 Prereqs: One Iron Heart maneuver Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: Stance The absolute steel stance allows you to enhance your mobility and speed. You move quickly, keep a sharp eye on your enemies, and are ready to instantly sidestep any incoming attacks. While in this stance, you gain a +10 foot enhancement bonus to your speed. If you move at least 10 feet during your turn, you gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC until the beginning of your next turn. Exorcism of Steel Iron Heart (Strike) Level: Warblade 3 Prereqs: One Iron Heart maneuver Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: 1 minute Saving Throw: Will half Your mastery of the Iron Heart style has taught you much about the power within a blade, and you can use this knowledge to not only enhance your own ability but also to deprive others of that power. When you initiate this maneuver, you attack your opponent's weapon. This attack doesn't provoke AoOs. If you succeed, your foe takes a -4 penalty on melee damage rolls for 1 minute. The wielder of the weapon can attempt a Will save (DC 13 + your Str mod) to halve this penalty. You can use this maneuver only against manufactured weapons. You cannot use it against natural weapons. Iron Heart Surge Iron Heart Level: Warblade 3 Prereqs: One Iron Heart maneuver Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: See text Your fighting spirit, dedication, and training allow you to overcome almost anything to defeat your enemies. When you use this maneuver, select one spell, effect, or other condition currently affecting you and with a duration of 1 or more rounds. This effect ends immediately. You also surge with confidence and vengeance against youe enemies, gaining a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls until the end of your next turn. Lightning Recovery Iron Heart (Counter) Level: Warblade 4 Prereqs: Two Iron Heart maneuvers Initiation Action: 1 immediate action Range: Personal Target: You This maneuver embodies the ethos of speed and energy that the Iron Heart tradition teaches. If one of your melee attacks misses, you can initiate this maneuver to reroll that attack roll with a +2 bonus. Mithral Tornado Iron Heart (Strike) Level: Warblade 4 Prereqs: Two Iron Heart maneuvers Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: All adjacent opponents When you initiate this strike, you make a melee attack against every opponent adjacent to you. Resolve each attack seperately. You gain a +2 bonus on each of these attacks, which are otherwise made at your highest attack bonus. Dancing Blade Form Iron Heart (Stance) Level: Warblade 5 Prereqs: Two Iron Heart maneuvers Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: Stance By carefully distributing your weight and establishing a steady, rugged posture, you can reach out and strike opponents with your melee attacks at a greater than normal distance. A warrior with less training and expertise would fall flat on his face attemping this maneuver. You, on the other hand, have the grace, focus, and skill needed to complete this complex move. While in this stance, you gain a bonus to your reach during your turn. Melee attacks made by you have +5 feet reach. Your reach is only augmented thusly during your turn and you cannot improve your reach by more than 5 feet by using this ability in conjunction with other maneuvers. Dazing Strike Iron Heart (Strike) Level: Warblade 5 Prereqs: Two Iron Heart maneuvers Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: 1 round Saving Throw: Fort partial The proper application of force to just the right part of a foe's anatomy allows you to disrupt his actions. While he stumbles back, senseless, you press the advantage. You make a single melee attack as part of this strike. If this attack hits, the target takes melee damage normall and must make a Fort save (DC 15 + your Str mod) or be dazed for 1 round. Iron Heart Focus Iron Heart (Counter) Level: Warblade 5 Prereqs: Two Iron Heart maneuvers Initiation Action: 1 immediate action Range: Personal Target: You Your training in the Iron Heart discipline grants you excellent reflexes, mental toughness, and stamina. You can draw upon your training and focus to overcome a variety of deadly effects. As an immediate action, you can reroll a saving throw you have just made. You must take this second roll's results, even if they are worse then the first roll. Iron Heart Endurance Iron Heart (Boost) Level: Warblade 6 Prereqs: Two Iron Heart maneuvers Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: You If you have half or fewer of your full normal hit points remaining, you can initiate this maneuver to heal 2 x your martial adept level's worth of hit points. Manticore Parry Iron Heart (Counter) Level: Warblade 6 Prereqs: Two Iron Heart maneuvers Initiation Action: 1 immediate action Range: Personal Target: You When you initiate this maneuver, you can attempt to block an enemy's melee attack that targets you and redirect it to another target adjacent to you. Make a melee attack roll. If your result exceeds your foe's, you bat aside the strike and direct it against a target of your choice that standard adjacent to you. You must decide whether to initiate this maneuver after the enemy attacks, but before you know whether or not the attack you are attempting to deflect actually hits. If the attack misses, you can still attempt to deflect it. If you succeed in deflecting the attack, use the result of your opponent's attack roll to determine if it strikes the new target. This maneuver functions only against armed melee attacks. You cannot use it against unarmed attacks, natural weapons, or touch spells. Finishing Move Iron Heart (Strike) Level: Warblade 7 Prereqs: Three Iron Heart maneuvers Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Iron Heart teaches that it is best to finish off a foe with as little effort as possible, the better to save your strength for your remaining enemies. When you use this maneuver, you throw yourself on the offensive with little thought to your defenses. If this attack strikes home, it might end a fight several crucial seconds early. As part of this maneuver, you make a melee attack against a creature. This attack deals +4d6 damage. If the target's current hit points are less than its full normal hit points, the bonus changes to +6d6 damage. If its hit points are equal to or elss than half its full normal hit points, the attack instead deals +14d6 damage. Scything Blade Iron Heart (Boost) Level: Warblade 7 Prereqs: Three Iron Heart maneuvers Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: You You swing your weapon in a wide, deadly arc. With your supreme skill and martial training, you aim your attack so that as you strike one opponent, you set yourself up perfectly to make a second attack against a different foe. As your weapon strikes one opponent, it cuts into him, then ricochets to your second target. If the first melee attack you make during your turn hits, you can immediately make a free attack at your highest attack bonus against a different enemy that you threaten. You can only gain one free attack each time you initiate this maneuver, regardless of how many successful attacks you make in this round. Adamantine Hurricane Iron Heart (Strike) Level: Warblade 8 Prereqs: Three Iron Heart maneuvers Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One or more adjacent creatures you threaten You sweep your weapon in a circle around you, striking out at nearby enemies. You strike with the speed and ferocity of a lightning bolt, forcing your enemies to rely on their reflexes for protection rather than their armor and shields. You make two melee attacks against each adjacent opponent you threaten when you initiate this maneuver. You receive a +4 bonus on each of these attack, which are otherwise made with your highest attack bonus. Lightning Throw Iron Heart (Strike) Level: Warblade 8 Prereqs: Two Iron Heart maneuvers Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: 30 ft. Area: 30 ft.-line Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: Reflex half The Iron Heart tradition's more esoteric teachings allow a student to transform any melee weapon into a thrown projectile. By focusing your concentration and attuning your senses to your weapon's balance, you can throw almost anything. When using this strike, you make a single melee attack (even though you're throwing the weapon). You deal damage to each creature in this maneuver's area equal to your normal melee damage (including damage from your Strength modifier, feats, magical qualities, etc.), plus +12d6 damage. Each creature in the attack's area can make a Reflex save with a DC equal to the result of your attack roll. A successful save halves the damage dealt. Your weapon automatically returns to your hand at the end of the round. Supreme Blade Parry Iron Heart (Stance) Level: Warblade 8 Prereqs: Three Iron Heart maneuvers Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: Stance As a student of the Iron Heart discipline, you learn that a simple flick of the wrist of turn of the blade can transform a deadly strike into a wild miss. In battle, you enter a steady rhythm that makes you frustratingly difficult to fight. You disrupt each attack with a perfectly timed counter, leaving your foes' strikes weak and ineffectual. While in this stance, you gain DR 5/-- against any opponent that doesn't catch you flat- footed. To gain this benefit, you must be proficient with the weapon youc arry. You gain this benefit while unarmed only if you have the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. Strike of Perfect Clarity Iron Heart (Strike) Level: Warblade 9 Prereqs: Four Iron Heart maneuvers Initiation Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature The ultimate Iron Heart maneuver teaches the precise, perfect cut necessary to slay almost any creature. Only the mightiest foes can withstand this attack. Adepts of the Iron Heart tradition seek to use this attack to end fights as quickly as possible. You might open a fight with a quick flurry of attacks, but once a foe is injured, you seek to end the battle with this decisive strike. You make a single melee attack as part of this strike. If your attack hits, it deals +100 damage (in addition to your normal melee damage).