Warfare

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Description

Ability Score Used: Choose One
Usable Untrained? No (Bailiwick)
Armor Check Penalty Applies? No


Only Brawlers, Fighters, and Warlords may learn this bailiwick skill. No other class may place ranks in it unless they have an ability which specifically states they may put ranks into a bailiwick skill not normally offered by their class. A bailiwick skill is a skill that represents the core competency of a style of adventure, and has many useful applications.

The Warfare skill is an expression of your practical knowledge of all things related to conflict. Warfare is a muscular, 'get things done' skill. For each rank a character places in Warfare, the character receives a free rank in Knowledge (Engineering). Note that no character may ever have more ranks in a skill than his character level.

Warfare is used to simulate your ability at being a martially-oriented person. Warfare isn't a thing of book learning, Warfare is that feeling you get in your gut, that solid certainty that 'this way' is right and 'that way' is wrong. With Warfare, you can anticipate combat maneuvers, get the jump on fights, handle siege weapons, engineer and assess fortifications and defenses, assault fortifications and defenses, and make magic items.

At the time the player places her first ranks in this skill, she must select one of her ability modifiers, and use that ability modifier as the key ability modifier for this skill. Once selected, this ability modifier may not be changed, except through the Character Retraining rules.

Regardless of which ability modifier is used, Bailiwick skills never suffer an armor check penalty.

As with all skills, the uses below are merely suggestions, and by no means the full gamut of possible ways a skill can be used. Players and GM's are encouraged to find additional ways to use each skill.


Identify a Combat Maneuver or Monster Power

Identifying a combat maneuver or Monster Power as it is being used requires no action, but you must be able to clearly see the maneuver or power as it is being used, and this incurs the same penalties as a Perception skill check due to distance, poor conditions, and other factors. If used against an Extraordinary monster power, the player may read the entry from the Monster write-up of that power only.
Action Required:

Free Action in Combat

DC of Check:

10 + CR of creature or object being evaluated

Modifiers to Check
Warfare Modifiers DC Modifier
Distance to the source, object, or creature 1 +1/10 feet
Distance in hazy, dusty, heat-distorted, shimmery, conditions; on other Planes; etc 1 +1/5 feet
Favorable conditions2 -2
Unfavorable conditions2 +2
Terrible conditions3 +5
  • 1 Making Warfare checks against extremely large things can be done from long distances. For every size category above Large, the range band increases by ten feet. For example, a size Huge creature in normal conditions is -1 per twenty feet, a Gargantuan creature is -1 per thirty feet, etc. This can also apply to things like cities, and it is left to the referee to work how many Titanic Pluses that Megalopolis covers, but it can probably be seen well enough for Warfare to work for a long way indeed.
  • 2 Favorable and unfavorable conditions depend upon the sense being used to make the check. For example, bright light might decrease the DC of checks involving sight, while torchlight or moonlight might give a penalty. Background noise might increase a DC involving hearing, while competing odors might penalize any DC involving scent.
  • 3 As for unfavorable conditions, but more extreme. For example, candlelight for DCs involving sight, a roaring dragon for DCs involving hearing, and an overpowering stench covering the area for DCs involving scent.
Take 10? / Take 20?

No in combat, may take 10 or 20 out of combat

Allows Assists?

Yes, up to 5 allies

Results of Success

You identify the combat maneuver or monster power and may read the description of the power to know exactly what it does and how it may be mitigated.

Consequences of Failure

You gain no useful information about the ability in question.

Retry Allowed?

Yes, if that maneuver or power is used again where you can sense it.

Provokes AOO?

No


Size Up Out of Combat

You can use the Warfare skill to assess to general skill, power, and ability of foes. Used out of combat, this takes a few seconds and a hard, penetrating look, and the only information you can get is the CR of the creature.
Action Required:

Full Round Action, non-combat only.

DC of Check:

The target number is 10+ the CR of the creature you're looking at.

Modifiers to Check
Warfare Modifiers DC Modifier
Distance to the source, object, or creature 1 +1/10 feet
Distance in hazy, dusty, heat-distorted, shimmery, conditions; on other Planes; etc 1 +1/5 feet
Favorable conditions2 -2
Unfavorable conditions2 +2
Terrible conditions3 +5
  • 1 Making Warfare checks against extremely large things can be done from long distances. For every size category above Large, the range band increases by ten feet. For example, a size Huge creature in normal conditions is -1 per twenty feet, a Gargantuan creature is -1 per thirty feet, etc. This can also apply to things like cities, and it is left to the referee to work how many Titanic Pluses that Megalopolis covers, but it can probably be seen well enough for Warfare to work for a long way indeed.
  • 2 Favorable and unfavorable conditions depend upon the sense being used to make the check. For example, bright light might decrease the DC of checks involving sight, while torchlight or moonlight might give a penalty. Background noise might increase a DC involving hearing, while competing odors might penalize any DC involving scent.
  • 3 As for unfavorable conditions, but more extreme. For example, candlelight for DCs involving sight, a roaring dragon for DCs involving hearing, and an overpowering stench covering the area for DCs involving scent.
Take 10? / Take 20?

No.

Allows Assists?

Yes, up to 5 allies.

Results of Success

Out of combat, you get a general sense of the ability of the creature you are examining. You learn the exact CR of the creature.

Consequences of Failure

If you fail by 4 or less, you learn nothing. If you fail by 5 or more, you think the creature's CR is a number that is wrong. This is generally higher or lower by 1 CR per point you missed the roll by more than 5. The GM determines randomly if you're high or low. This can lead to tragedy and comedy in equal measure, so approach with caution.

Retry Allowed?

Yes, but only after 24 hours have passed.

Provokes AOO?

No.

Size Up In Combat

You can use the Warfare skill to assess the skill, powers, and ability of foes you are facing in battle.
Action Required:

Standard Action, or, Swift Action

DC of Check:

For a Standard Action, DC is 15 + CR of the creature. For a Swift Action, DC is 20 + CR of the creature.

Modifiers to Check
Warfare Modifiers DC Modifier
Distance to the source, object, or creature 1 +1/10 feet
Distance in hazy, dusty, heat-distorted, shimmery, conditions; on other Planes; etc 1 +1/5 feet
Favorable conditions2 -2
Unfavorable conditions2 +2
Terrible conditions3 +5
  • 1 Making Warfare checks against extremely large things can be done from long distances. For every size category above Large, the range band increases by ten feet. For example, a size Huge creature in normal conditions is -1 per twenty feet, a Gargantuan creature is -1 per thirty feet, etc. This can also apply to things like cities, and it is left to the referee to work how many Titanic Pluses that Megalopolis covers, but it can probably be seen well enough for Warfare to work for a long way indeed.
  • 2 Favorable and unfavorable conditions depend upon the sense being used to make the check. For example, bright light might decrease the DC of checks involving sight, while torchlight or moonlight might give a penalty. Background noise might increase a DC involving hearing, while competing odors might penalize any DC involving scent.
  • 3 As for unfavorable conditions, but more extreme. For example, candlelight for DCs involving sight, a roaring dragon for DCs involving hearing, and an overpowering stench covering the area for DCs involving scent.
Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

No

Results of Success

If successful, you know the creature's CR and the DM will read the "Offense", "Defense", and "Combat Tactics" sections of the creature's blueprint to you, or allow you to read them for yourself, to represent your knowledge of its abilities. You may NOT read the "Special Abilities" section.

Consequences of Failure

You gain no useful information, but mercifully, even if you fail by a huge margin, you don't get any misleading information.

Retry Allowed?

No

Provokes AOO?

No


Identify Enemy Leader

You can determine who is the leader of the opposing side of an encounter, if there is such a thing. This may inform your attacks or other plan of action.
Action Required:

Swift

DC of Check:

10 + the CR of the encounter, or, the CR of the leader, whichever is higher.

Modifiers to Check
Warfare Modifiers DC Modifier
Distance to the source, object, or creature 1 +1/10 feet
Distance in hazy, dusty, heat-distorted, shimmery, conditions; on other Planes; etc 1 +1/5 feet
Favorable conditions2 -2
Unfavorable conditions2 +2
Terrible conditions3 +5
  • 1 Making Warfare checks against extremely large things can be done from long distances. For every size category above Large, the range band increases by ten feet. For example, a size Huge creature in normal conditions is -1 per twenty feet, a Gargantuan creature is -1 per thirty feet, etc. This can also apply to things like cities, and it is left to the referee to work how many Titanic Pluses that Megalopolis covers, but it can probably be seen well enough for Warfare to work for a long way indeed.
  • 2 Favorable and unfavorable conditions depend upon the sense being used to make the check. For example, bright light might decrease the DC of checks involving sight, while torchlight or moonlight might give a penalty. Background noise might increase a DC involving hearing, while competing odors might penalize any DC involving scent.
  • 3 As for unfavorable conditions, but more extreme. For example, candlelight for DCs involving sight, a roaring dragon for DCs involving hearing, and an overpowering stench covering the area for DCs involving scent.
Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

No

Results of Success

You identify the leader and may take actions based upon that knowledge. If there is no leader in the GM's opinion, you gain that information as well and may act on it.

Consequences of Failure

If you miss the roll by 4 or less, you gain no information. If you miss the roll by 5 or more, you identify that there is a leader when there actually is not, or even worse, you identify the wrong creature as the leader.

Retry Allowed?

No. If the check fails, it cannot be used until the next encounter.

Provokes AOO?

No

Recalling Combat-Specific Information

You may call upon your martial skill in combat to suggest tactics, strategies, and gambits. This can be used to determine which foes to attack first, whether to press the attack to the left or right, which ally to place in what location, and a myriad of other uses.
Action Required:

Immediate action

DC of Check:

10 plus double the CR of creature involved.

Modifiers to Check
Warfare Modifiers DC Modifier
Distance to the source, object, or creature 1 +1/10 feet
Distance in hazy, dusty, heat-distorted, shimmery, conditions; on other Planes; etc 1 +1/5 feet
Favorable conditions2 -2
Unfavorable conditions2 +2
Terrible conditions3 +5
  • 1 Making Warfare checks against extremely large things can be done from long distances. For every size category above Large, the range band increases by ten feet. For example, a size Huge creature in normal conditions is -1 per twenty feet, a Gargantuan creature is -1 per thirty feet, etc. This can also apply to things like cities, and it is left to the referee to work how many Titanic Pluses that Megalopolis covers, but it can probably be seen well enough for Warfare to work for a long way indeed.
  • 2 Favorable and unfavorable conditions depend upon the sense being used to make the check. For example, bright light might decrease the DC of checks involving sight, while torchlight or moonlight might give a penalty. Background noise might increase a DC involving hearing, while competing odors might penalize any DC involving scent.
  • 3 As for unfavorable conditions, but more extreme. For example, candlelight for DCs involving sight, a roaring dragon for DCs involving hearing, and an overpowering stench covering the area for DCs involving scent.
Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

No

Results of Success

The GM will give you sincere advice on how to do well in an upcoming battle. If the GM doesn't have any solid advice to give, they may instead grant you a +1 bonus to use on one D20 roll in the upcoming battle.

Consequences of Failure

If you fail the roll, you gain no useful information.

Retry Allowed?

No. The check represents what you know, and thinking about a topic a second time doesn't let you know something that you never learned in the first place.

Provokes AOO?

No

Crafting Magic Items

When combined with the Creator feat, warfare can be used to create magic items.

A day of crafting a magic item is 8 uninterrupted hours of work in an appropriate work space. While you can do other things during that day, you must have 8 consecutive hours in your work space for it to count towards the number of days required to make the magic item. Working fewer than 8 hours at a time fails to reduce the number of days required to finish the work – you can't work fractions of days and then add them together to create a day of work.

Days of work need not be consecutive. You can take breaks or go adventuring, then come back and keep working, and this does not harm the final product in any way, except to delay its completion date. However, if you begin working on a different magic item before the first one is finished, all work on the first one is lost, and any components used for its creation are destroyed, just as if you had failed the check.

Action Required:

2 days, +1 day per caster level of the item being created.

You can never reduce the time to create a magic item below 3 days, no matter how well you roll.

DC of Check:
  • If your skill check result is at least an Easy DC for your current level, but less than an Average DC the time required to complete the magic item is increased by 1 day OR 10%, whichever is worse.
  • If your skill check result is at least an Average DC for your current level, but less than a Challenging DC, the required time to complete the magic item is unchanged.
  • If you roll grater than or equal to a Challenging DC for your current level, but less than an Impossible DC, the required time to complete the retraining is reduced by 1 day OR 10%, whichever is better.
  • If you roll greater than or equal to an Impossible DC for your current level, the required time to complete the retraining is reduced by 3 days OR 25%, whichever is better.
Modifiers to Check

If you are attempting to create a magic item that has more than one enchantment on it, the caster level of the item is determined by taking the highest caster level of the enchantments you wish to add, and then adding +3 caster levels to that number for each additional enchantment you are adding after the first. The maximum caster level of an item is 35, and if an item's caster level is above 21, you cannot create that item until you have at least 21 ranks in your bailiwick skill.

Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

Yes, but only if each assisting ally has Cooperative Crafting (Feat). Up to 5 allies with that feat may assist.

Results of Success

You create the magic item after the designated number of days.

Consequences of Failure
  • If you fail to achieve at least an Easy DC for your current level, or you roll a natural 1 on the die, the attempt fails. The components you intended to use in the item's creation are destroyed, including any monetary expenses for the item. This failure occurs on the final day of the item's creation, meaning you also lose a number of days equal to its unmodified creation time (minimum 3 days).
Retry Allowed?

Yes, though you must procure new components to replace the destroyed ones, and begin the process again. You gain a +5 circumstance bonus on each retry after a failure, as you incorporate your new knowledge of what not to do.

Provokes AOO?

Yes. Don't try this during combat.

Beseige

You can use Warfare to assess the defenses of a fixed place. This can be used on either the offense or the defense side of a siege. The GM is left to determine the exact effects of this ability, but it will generally lead to more or fewer sunders being inflicted in a day of siege-work. This does NOT work against vehicles or bogeys, even if they are involved in a siege action.
Action Required:

One day per level of the Settlement Size chart in the Merchants page.

DC of Check:

10, plus twice the CR of the settlement, plus the size level of the settlement

Modifiers to Check
Warfare Modifiers DC Modifier
Distance to the source, object, or creature 1 +1/10 feet
Distance in hazy, dusty, heat-distorted, shimmery, conditions; on other Planes; etc 1 +1/5 feet
Favorable conditions2 -2
Unfavorable conditions2 +2
Terrible conditions3 +5
  • 1 Making Warfare checks against extremely large things can be done from long distances. For every size category above Large, the range band increases by ten feet. For example, a size Huge creature in normal conditions is -1 per twenty feet, a Gargantuan creature is -1 per thirty feet, etc. This can also apply to things like cities, and it is left to the referee to work how many Titanic Pluses that Megalopolis covers, but it can probably be seen well enough for Warfare to work for a long way indeed.
  • 2 Favorable and unfavorable conditions depend upon the sense being used to make the check. For example, bright light might decrease the DC of checks involving sight, while torchlight or moonlight might give a penalty. Background noise might increase a DC involving hearing, while competing odors might penalize any DC involving scent.
  • 3 As for unfavorable conditions, but more extreme. For example, candlelight for DCs involving sight, a roaring dragon for DCs involving hearing, and an overpowering stench covering the area for DCs involving scent.
Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

Yes, up to 5 allies.

Results of Success

You gain a bonus to the number of sunders inflicted against the enemy side in a siege. If you are the defender in a siege, you instead lower the number of sunders you suffer. As a rule of thumb, this is one additional or fewer Sunders per attack action for every 5 by which you make your Besiege skill roll, to a maximum of double the Sunders inflicted by each Siege Damage attack, or a minimum of 1 Sunder per Siege Damage Attack.

Consequences of Failure

You gain no benefit or penalty.

Retry Allowed?

Yes, but you must spend an additional week working through the process again.

Provokes AOO?

No.

Generalship

Warfare can be used to improve how well you lead a combat unit of NPC's. You deliver a rousing speech to (or simply loom competently before) the troops, after which the check is made. You stiffen their resolve, pump up their confidence, calm down their jitters, shame their fears, and fire up their fighting spirit.
Action Required:

Out of Combat only, one minute per CR of the troops.

DC of Check:

10 + double the CR of the campaign.

Modifiers to Check
  • Lawful Alignment: +2 to the roll
  • Higher level than the Campaign CR: +2 to the roll
  • Chaotic Alignment: +2 to the DC
  • Lower level than the Campaign CR: +4 to the DC
  • Possess Leadership Feat: +2 to the roll
Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

No. You're up there by yourself, and no matter how good your staff may be, you are the one who is calling the shots.

Results of Success

If you succeed on this roll, NPC troops under your command can take twice as much damage/casualties before they are required to make any sort of rout/morale checks. At the GM's discretion, this may have other effects as well.

Consequences of Failure

If you fail this roll, you do not fire your troops, but mercifully, you also do not make their morale any worse.

Retry Allowed?

No, you cannot retry this check during this battle. Hopefully, there will be a next battle, when you can try again.

Provokes AOO?

no.

Determine Properties of Magic Item

Attempting to ascertain the properties of a magic item takes 3 rounds per item to be identified and you must be able to thoroughly examine the object. Note that this skill may be used to assist another party member's attempt at determining the properties of a magic item, even if the other party member is using a different skill to make the check.

You can use warfare to identify the properties and command words (if any) of a magic item you are holding. This is identical to the Naturalism and Spellcraft ability to identify magic items. It is also very similar to the Barter ability, except that it is faster.

Warfare may also be used to assist another party member's attempt at determining the properties of a magic item, even if the other party member is using a different skill to make the check.

Action Required:

3 rounds per item you are attempting to identify

DC of Check:

10 + double the caster level of the item

Modifiers to Check
  • Identifying a Martial item, such as weapons, armor, implement, ammunition, damage-dealing alchemical item, etc.: +4 to the roll
  • Identifying non-Martial item, such as Hat of Disguise or other non-damage dealing items.: +4 to the DC
Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

Yes (up to 5 allies).

Results of Success

Item is identified, including the command words (if any) needed to trigger its magical properties.

Consequences of Failure

Item is not identified

Retry Allowed?

You must wait 24 hours before retrying on the same item. Any attempts in the meantime always fail.

Provokes AOO?

Yes


Epic Skill Uses

Note: All uses below require a minimum of 21 Ranks in the skill to use.


Inspire Troops

(DC 40 +CR of troops/creatures affected) - troops will never rout or fail a morale check.


Hardened Supply Lines

(DC 80) - troops can hustle every other day of march without fatigue.

Break Ambush

(DC 15 + double encounter's CR) - If you are surprised, you may make a Warfare roll before the surprise round is initiated as a free action. If you make this roll successfully, it completely eliminates the surprise round from the combat. Just skip over to round 1 with no one surprised.