Posture Mechanics (Sekiro Supplement)

Work In Progress

Basic Mechanics

Without getting into the details too much, the concept is that with each attack, the recipient must react to some degree to it, hit or miss. Drawing the blow to a protected region, blocking it with their weapon, or dodging out of the way. This is reflected in damage to their posture. Secondly, a warrior constantly readjusts their stance and returns to their guard on combat. This is reflected by a passive healing of their posture. Thirdly, if your posture drops to zero, you've been overcome by the melee, and your posture breaks, bringing your weapon and guard down as you reel back. You fall prone and are exposed to attacks, upgrading their effectiveness. These mechanics are laid out more explicitly as follows:

• Being attacked

When attacked using the attack action, each melee attack, hit or miss on a target causes it to lose a point of posture after dealing damage.

• Turn Start

At the beginning of your turn, regain one point of Posture up to your posture max.

• Guard break

When your posture drops to zero, all melee weapon attacks roll against you are upgraded as follows: Attacks that would miss instead are counted as a standard hit. Attacks that would hit are instead counted as a critical hit.

Block

Instead of defending, which for my purposes will assume to be more evasive focused and imposing disadvantage, a character may instead choose to block, bringing their weapon in a focused defensive position, making it harder to break through their defenses and restoring some posture.

• Block

As an action on your turn, your character takes a defensive position, increasing their AC by 5 and restoring their proficiency bonus of posture back.

Deflecting attacks

In combat, often the most critical time to act is as immediately following the enemy's action. By actively moving against an enemy attack, the momentum put into the attack can be used against them and the deflector can maintain their poise.

• Deflect

As a reaction to a melee or ranged attack the user can perceive, the player rolls a melee attack roll contesting the enemy's attack. If their result is higher, the deflection succeeds and the attack is negated. If the deflection succeeds on a melee attack, the attacker instead takes 2 posture damage. If the deflection fails, the attack atomically hits, ignoring AC. This reaction can only be used before the attack roll result is declared.

Advanced Mechanics

These rules may come into play later, as desired by the DM to balance simplicity and realism.

Pushed Around

When being attacked, sometimes one gets knocked down and off their feet. This too harms one's posture, even if it does not harm them. Even if not pushed over, the momentum still must be overcome. Any effect that causes one to be moved around the battlefield as well cause one's poise to be negatively affected.

• Falling Prone

Any effect that causes you to fall prone with a strength save will deal 1 point of posture damage on a success or failure. If you fail the save, take an additional 2 points of posture damage.

• Pushed

When moved across the battlefield against your will, take 1 point of posture damage for every 10 feet moved rounding up.

Spellcasting

While casting a spell has no particular harm to one's poise, concentrating on a spell instead of combat prevents its return.

• 'Concentrating on a spell

While concentrating on a spell, you do not recover Posture at the start of your turn. (Other forms of posture return are unaffected.)

Hurting

An injured opponent doesn't recover their posture as well. Their wounds and hurts prevent them from using their best form.

• Half health

When below half your maximum health, your maximum posture drops by 3.

Size and Weapons

Larger weapons and foes are harder to dodge and block, resulting in a larger hit to posture.

• Large weapons

For weapons that roll more than one die of weapon damage, the opponent loses an additional point of posture per hit. I.e. The greatclub deals 2d6 crushing damage on a hit and hit or miss causes 2 posture loss.

• Big and Small

If a creature is two size categories larger than you, your attacks do not deal posture damage to it. Deflections and pushing can still deal posture damage, however, size also modifies posture maximum, covered below.

• Vulnerability

If the creature is hit with damage, they are vulnerable to, they lose one additional point of posture.

Armor and Shields

Armor and shields change how one receives attacks. Giving more weight to a person, requiring more force to be moved. And glancing blows do nothing to interrupt.

• Medium Armor

Ignore posture loss from attacks that fail to hit by more than 5.

• Heavy Armor

You no longer regain posture at the start of each turn. You no longer take base posture damage from missed attacked.

• Shield

Opponents must still overcome AC to hit you when you deflect. +1 Posture.

Calculating Posture

Player Posture

If you opt for your players to have posture. The default posture maximum is:

• Strength Bonus + Proficiency bonus - 1

Special cases are as follows, only one s 'stance' is usable at a time.

Ashina Style

At second level, a Sekiro may opt to use the Ashina Stance, increasing their maximum to:

• Strength Bonus + Constitution bonus + Proficiency bonus - 1

Shinobi Style

At second level, a Sekiro may opt to use the Shinobi Stance, increasing their maximum to:

• Strength Bonus + Dexterity bonus + Proficiency bonus - 1

Prosthetic Style

At second level, a Sekiro may opt to use the Prosthetic Stance, increasing their maximum to:

• Strength Bonus + Intelligence bonus + Proficiency bonus - 1

Temple Style

At second level, a Sekiro may opt to use the Temple Stance, increasing their maximum to:

• Strength Bonus + Wisdom bonus + Proficiency bonus + 2

Enemy posture

Use the table below to calculate posture for enemies.

Posture Table Condition Bonus Base Strength bonus CL higher than 1 + Proficency bonus Creature is tiny -1 Large +1 Huge +3 Gargantuan +5 Multiattack +2 Shield +1 Feats To provide some additional mechanics without giving too much additional power to the existing classes, I've included some feats for variety. These are still limited by class, which is to spread some class specific love the non-caster classes sorely need. Superb Offense A Ashina trains in the art of combat. There is more to fighting than just finding openings. A Ashina trains to feel the rhythem, beat, balance, and footing of not only themselves, but their opponents. As a result, a Ashina's attacks are extra effective at causing posture loss. Prerequisite: Ashina Style or Fighter Level 4 Increase one attribute of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20. Each melee attack performed, deals an additional point of posture damage hit or miss. Piercing Offense A Shinobi can see through an enemy's dwindling defenses, taking advantage of them to strike as if they were wide open. Prerequisite: Shinobi Style or Rogue Level 4 Increase one attribute of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20. On a hit weapon attack when a Shinobi has not dealt Counterattack damage that turn, a Shinobi may ignore one point of posture per Counterattack die they have and upgrade their attack to a critical hit. If the attack qualifies, the Shinobi may deal Counterattack damage, reduced by a number of dice equal to the foe's current posture. Mighty Offence A Barbarian's attacks can knock an opponent off balance further. Bringing all their might into a single powerful attack. Prerequisite: Barbarian Level 4 Increase one attribute of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20. As an action, make one melee weapon attack. If the attack hits, the enemy takes additional posture damage equal to your barbarian rage bonus. Roll double your weapon dice of damage. Counter Master A monk's longevity of motion of ability to redirect momentum make them exceptionally well suited to performing counters and subsequently, counterattacks. Prerequisite: Temple Style or Monk Level 4 As a bonus action, you gain an additional reaction that can only be used for a deflection or Defect class feature until the beginning of your next turn. Spend 1 point of Ki or Spirit Emblem, to gain advantage on a deflection roll or an additional die to Deflect. In addition, if the deflection is successful, if the deflection roll is high enough to overcome the attacker's AC, deal 1 martial art die of damage to them. In addition, if using your Deflect class feature and the damage is reduced by 0, you add your unarmed die to the Counterattack damage. Mighty Offence Any good spellcaster knows how to cast spells and fight at the same time. Maintaining posture while fighting. Lesser blows do not distract their spellcasting. Prerequisite: Requires the ability to cast a first level spell or Prosthetic Style Increase one attribute of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20. You still regain posture at the start of your turn. Attacks that deal less than 10 damage do not trigger concentration checks. Strong Stance Through practice and a good training partner, one can deepen their stance, increasing their posture. Increase one attribute of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20. Increase your posture max by two. Once per short rest, at the start of your turn, you may regain 2 additional posture. Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Classes → Sekiro (5e Class) Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → 5e Other This page may resemble content endorsed by, sponsored by, and/or affiliated with the Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice franchise, and/or include content directly affiliated with and/or owned by Activision. D&D Wiki neither claims nor implies any rights to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice copyrights, trademarks, or logos, nor any owned by Activision. This site is for non profit use only. Furthermore, the following content is a derivative work that falls under, and the use of which is protected by, the Fair Use designation of US Copyright and Trademark Law. We ask you to please add the {{needsadmin}} template if there is a violation to this disclaimer within this page.