Aerial Combat Maneuvers

“I understand that you are a very powerful young man, but tell me . . . can you fly?”  — Lord Alexander McBaine Luminary, Tremere

These combat maneuvers are additional choices to the list of combat maneuvers a character may use for free once per combat depending on her focus. A character with the Strength focus who can fly and who uses the Grapple combat maneuver for free may not then use the Dive Bomb combat maneuver for free based on her focus.

• If you possess the Strength attribute focus, you can perform Dive Bomb or Plummet once per combat without spending Willpower.

• If you possess the Dexterity attribute focus, you can perform Elude or Strafe once per combat without spending Willpower.

• If you possess the Stamina attribute focus, you cannot be affected by Plummet, unless your attacker has a higher base Physical attribute than you. This defensive bonus applies even if you are unable to make use of aerial combat maneuvers.

Elude: The nature of aerial maneuvering allows for a great number of escape vectors, permitting you to evade attacks using sudden bursts of agility. Spend your simple action to immediately move six steps in the direction of your choice. 

Strafe: This round, you swoop and evade while making a ranged attack. This requires either a weapon that allows you to attack from range or a power that allows you to target from range, but you may not make an unarmed or melee attack unless you have an effect that extends your range (such as Flick or the Reach Quality). You may apply a +2 bonus to one Dodge test pool this round.

Dive Bomb: You plunge from height and attack your target with greater speed and momentum. Spend both your simple and standard action as you make your attack. You must be at least six steps away and airborne to use this combat maneuver. Your greater maneuverability allows you to ignore any bonuses your target has to her Dodge-based defense pools, such as the Dexterity focus bonus to Celerity and the Slippery Customer merit bonus. Bonuses to your target’s defense pools which are not Dodge-based, such as from Protective Gear, are not negated.

Plummet: If you succeed in a Plummet attack, your target takes 3 fewer points of damage and is considered Grappled as the two of you enter freefall. Both of you move 10 feet downward, plus an additional 10 feet for every previous consecutive turn the two of you have been in freefall. If this causes either of you to hit the ground, your maneuvering allows you to land on top of your Grappled target. She takes 1 point of damage, and an additional point of damage for every previous consecutive turn she’s been in involved freefall. If your opponent breaks the Grapple and can fly or glide, she may end the freefall.