Bloodrager › Bloody-Knuckled Rowdy

Hand-to-Hand Training (Ex)

At 3rd level, a bloody- knuckled rowdy deals unarmed damage as a monk of a level equal to his bloodrager level – 2.

No matter what you do, you will face at least a few fights that you simply aren’t prepared for. While it’s impossible to expect the unexpected, there are things you can do to improve your odds of survival, whether you’re dumped over the side of a ship in shark-infested waters, woken up by the cries of attacking goblins, or wrapped in the not-so- loving embrace of a many-tentacled beast.

GENERAL TACTICS Dealing with unexpected situations requires the ability to adjust to the impact of the surprise, rather than avoiding it entirely. It’s impossible to prepare for everything, but you can find ways to overcome or lessen the penalties each unexpected disadvantage imposes on you. If a given tactic proves effective in multiple circumstances, it may be worth spending more time developing that option.

Fighting in the water imposes significant penalties on attacks and can give aquatic opponents powerful advantages (see Table 13–7: Combat Adjustments Underwater on page 433 of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook). Feats such as Athletic that improve your Swim checks can reduce your enemies’ advantages while still providing benefits to skills that apply on land. You should also use piercing melee weapons underwater to deal full damage with your attacks.

If enemies attack your campsite, your party’s lookout may be the only defender who is armed, awake, and ready. Sleep next to your weapon and a good shield—donning armor takes several rounds, but picking up a shield is only a move action. If you’re caught without a weapon, don’t forget that the gauntlets on most mail and plate armors can still deal lethal damage when used to make unarmed attacks. Having backup options for armor, ranging from spells to bracers of armor, can also prove useful if your armor is sundered and in social settings where wearing armor is inappropriate.

If you find yourself grappled and are not a strong melee fighter, your options are limited but not eliminated. Keep a light weapon on you at all times so you can at least deal damage if you can’t break free.

For other surprise situations, look for abilities, spells, and talents that require only swift or immediate actions. While you can’t use them when you are surprised, they provide extra capabilities during your first round of actions to help make up the difference.

ADVANCED TACTICS Some other options are worth mentioning, even though they aren’t available to all characters. Vital Strike is a valuable feat, as it increases your damage when you are limited to one attack action during a round, even if you normally focus on full-attack actions. While most characters take Combat Reflexes for the ability to make multiple attacks of opportunity in a round, it also Melee in a Pinch grants the ability to make such attacks when flat-footed. When combined with a reach weapon, Combat Reflexes can help turn the tide in an ambush. For spellcasters, a quickened spell can grant defenses without preventing you from dealing damage or taking other actions. Effects that grant invisibility—even the 1st-level vanish spell (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player’s Guide 253)—can be extremely valuable in a sudden attack, granting a +2 bonus to your CMD when you are grappled.

FEATS The following new feats provide options to help characters deal with unexpected situations.