A maneuver is a different way of performing a particular action. For example, a defensive attack is an attack action that improves your defenses at the cost of accuracy. maneuvers are optional, you choose which, if any, apply to your action(s) when you declare them. The GM decides if a particular maneuver is appropriate or prohibited by circumstances.
Accurate Attack
When you make an attack, you can take a penalty of up to –2 on the effect modifier of the attack and add the same number (up to +2) to your attack bonus. Your effect modifier cannot be reduced below +0 and your attack bonus cannot more than double in this way. The changes are declared before you make the attack check and last until the start of your next turn.
All-Out Attack
When you make an attack you can take a penalty of up to –2 on your active defenses (Dodge and Parry) and add the same number (up to +2) to your attack bonus. Your defense bonuses cannot be reduced below +0 and your attack bonus cannot more than double. The changes to attack and defense bonus are declared before you make the attack check and last until the start of your next turn.
Defensive Attack
When you make an attack you can take a penalty of up to –2 on your attack bonus and add the same number (up to +2) to your active defenses (Dodge and Parry). Your attack bonus cannot be reduced below +0 and your defense bonuses cannot more than double. The changes to attack and defense bonus last until the start of your next turn. This maneuver does not apply to effects requiring no attack check or allowing no resistance check.
Demoralize
You can use Intimidation in combat as a standard action to undermine an opponent’s confidence. Make an Intimidation check as a standard action opposed by the better of your target’s Insight or Will defense. If your Intimidation check succeeds, your target is Impaired (a –2 circumstance penalty on checks) until the end of your next round. With four or more degrees of success, the target is Disabled until the end of your next round.
Feint
You can use Deception as a standard action to mislead an opponent in combat. Make a Deception check as a standard action opposed by the better of your target’s Deception or Insight. If your Deception check succeeds, the target is Vulnerable against your next attack, until the end of your next round.
Finishing Attack
When you attack a defenseless target at close range, you can choose to make the attack as a routine check. This generally means your attack hits automatically, since the target has no defense bonus, and the routine check overcomes the normal difficulty.
If you choose to make your attack check normally (against DC 10), then a successful hit is treated as a critical hit, with a +5 circumstance bonus to the attack’s resistance DC. Additionally, if you hit with a damaging attack with intent to kill, and the target’s resistance check has three or more degrees of failure, the target dies immediately.
Power Attack
When you make an attack you can take a penalty of up to –2 on your attack bonus and add the same number (up to +2) to the effect bonus of your attack. Your attack bonus cannot be reduced below +0 and the effect bonus cannot more than double. The changes to attack and effect are decided before you make your attack check and last until the start of your next turn. This maneuver does not apply to effects requiring no attack check or allowing no resistance check.
Slam Attack
When you charge, you can charge right into your target, using your momentum to strengthen your attack, but potentially receiving some damage from the impact yourself. The damage rank for your attack equals your movement speed rank, or your normal damage rank, with a +1 circumstance bonus, whichever is higher. If you move your full speed before you charge, increase your damage by either means by an additional +1 circumstance bonus. The Gamemaster may limit your base slam attack damage (before applying circumstance modifiers) by the series power level.
Example: Your hero flies into a foe, moving at speed rank 10. His unarmed damage (Strength) rank is only 2, so he uses his speed rank of 10 for the damage. Since he also moved his full speed to build up momentum, he increases his damage by +1 for a total damage rank of 11. If a base damage rank of 10 is too high for the series, the GM may impose a lower limit on his slam attack damage, applying the +1 modifier for the full speed move to the lowered rank.
You suffer some of the impact of slamming into a target; make a Toughness resistance check against half the damage rank of your attack (rounded down).
Example: Your hero hits his target, and must make his own Toughness resistance check against damage rank 5: his slam attack damage of 11, divided by 2, which equals 5.5, rounded down to 5. Fortunately, his helmet provides him with an invisible electromagnetic field for protection and the hero manages to avoid the damage, hoping his opponent won’t be so lucky!
Bonuses to Toughness protect against slam attack damage normally. Immunity to slam damage you inflict is a rank 2 Immunity effect, while Immunity to all slam damage is rank 5.
Surprise Attack
If any characters in the conflict are surprised, then the action begins with a surprise round. Everyone involved in the conflict makes initiative checks as usual. Surprised characters do not act on the surprise round. They are Stunned and Vulnerable until the next round. Other characters may act, but are limited to a standard action and free actions, although they may exchange their standard action for a move action, as usual.
Team Attack
Multiple attackers can attempt to combine their attacks in order to overwhelm an opponent’s resistance. The attacks to be combined must have the same effect and resistance and be within 5 ranks of each other. So attacks all doing Damage against Toughness can combine, but not with a Mental Blast, for example, which is a Damage effect, but resisted by Will rather than Toughness.
The attackers must all delay to the same point in the initiative order (that of the slowest attacker). Each attacker makes an attack check against the target’s defense. Effects not requiring an attack check may be used in a team attack; count the effect as having one degree of success, if it is not the main attack.
Take the largest effect rank of the attacks that hit and count the combined degrees of success for the other attacks: one degree provides a +2 circumstance bonus to the rank of the main attack, three or more provides a +5 circumstance bonus. Unlike a normal team check, degrees of failure do not reduce success; those attacks simply miss and have no effect.