The Undying Style

Tyrant Mantle
The Mantle of Overpowering the Unworthy

This stance focuses on overpowering your enemies by drawing them into a false sense of security, where you use their own attacks against them. The key is to quickly neutralize threats by using your low, stable position to perform brutal takedowns and gain control of the fight.

Benefits

• Overpowering Strength: While in this stance, your grapple checks and ability checks to shove a creature are made with advantage.
• Close Quarters Combat: While in this stance, when you successfully grapple an opponent, you can use your bonus action to make a melee weapon attack against them.
• Momentum Shift: When you successfully knock a creature prone with a takedown, you can immediately use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against them.

Limitations

• Defensive Weakness: While in this stance, you suffer a -2 penalty to your AC against ranged weapon attacks.
• Grounded Focus: While in this stance, you cannot use ranged attacks or cast spells that require ranged components.

Wyrm Mantle
The Mantle of Deception and Opportunity

Wyrm Mantle is about deception, patience, and seizing the right moment. By feinting, observing, and waiting for the opponent to make a mistake, you capitalize on openings in their defense and strike when they least expect it.

Benefits

• Feinting Mastery: While in this stance, you can use your bonus action to feint. When you do, your next melee weapon attack against a creature within 5 feet of you has advantage, and if it hits, it deals an additional 1d6 damage.
• Reading the Opponent: While in this stance, you gain advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks to discern an opponent’s movements, such as determining if they’re preparing to attack or retreat.
• Counterstrike: While in this stance, when a creature misses you with a melee weapon attack, you can use your reaction to make one melee weapon attack against them.

Limitations

• Patient Defense: While in this stance, you suffer disadvantage on any saving throws against effects that would force you to take immediate action (such as fear or being surprised).
• Exposed Timing: While in this stance, you cannot take the Dash action. Your focus is entirely on timing your strikes and reading your opponent.

Manticore Mantle
The Mantle of Relentless Reach

This stance is designed to control the distance between you and your opponents. By relying on precise and punishing long-range strikes, you keep your enemies at bay and ensure that they’re always within your control.

Benefits

• Extended Reach: While in this stance, you can add 5 feet to your reach for melee weapon attacks.
• Fighter’s Distance: While in this stance, you gain a +1 bonus to your AC against melee attacks, but you suffer a -1 penalty to your AC against ranged attacks.
• Relentless Offense: When you successfully hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can immediately move up to 5 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.

Limitations

• Close Range Weakness: While in this stance, you suffer disadvantage on melee weapon attacks made against creatures within 5 feet of you.
• Weakened Power: While in this stance, you suffer a -2 penalty to your damage rolls for melee weapon attacks made against creatures within 5 feet of you.

   

• The Undying Mantle
  The Mantle of Relentless Survival

  While in this stance, you embody the brutal and unyielding nature of survival, focusing on relentless aggression and adapting to any situation. The Undying Mantle allows you to shift your approach mid-fight, using every advantage at your disposal to stay in the fight, no matter how dire the circumstances.

  Benefits

  • Resilient Shift: While in this stance, you can use your reaction to switch to a different Mantle (Wyrm, Tyrant, or Manticore) at any point in the round and retain the properties of the new Mantle until the start of your next turn. You cannot use your reaction for anything other than switching Mantles.
  • Survival Instinct: While in this stance, you gain temporary hit points equal to your proficiency bonus at the start of each of your turns.
  • Aggressive Adaptation: When you switch to a new Mantle during your turn, you gain a +1 bonus to your attack rolls for the remainder of the turn.

  Limitations

  • Reaction Constraints: While in this stance, you cannot use your reaction for anything other than switching your stance. You may not use your reaction for opportunity attacks, spells, or any other abilities.
  • Unstable Focus: While in this stance, you suffer a -1 penalty to your AC as your focus shifts between stances, leaving you momentarily vulnerable.