Melee combat in modern d20 gaming often feels predictable—a repetitive exchange of attack rolls unless specific class features, feats, or spells come into play. But what if any martial character could inject more depth, risk, and strategy into their standard melee encounters?
By introducing Voluntary Combat Maneuvers, players gain tactical agency over their positioning and martial focus every single round.
How it Works At the start of your turn, before making any attacks, you can declare one combat maneuver modifier. This choice dictates your combat stance, modifying your accuracy and defenses until the start of your next turn.
Design Note: These maneuvers are intended for standard weapon attacks and cannot be combined with specialized precision features like a Rogue’s Sneak Attack or a Paladin's Divine Smite.
Example in Action: Toral the Rat-Catcher finds his escape route blocked by three guardsmen. He knows that if they dogpile him, he's done for. In desperation, he rushes forward declaring a Reckless Attack, hoping to bring down the guard on his right to open up a running lane. Because Toral managed to catch them by surprise, the DM awards him Advantage on the roll, which combines beautifully with his +2 modifier—giving him the ultimate mechanical edge to break the line before his -2 AC penalty catches up to him.
Revised: July 13th, 2026
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