Sword and Shield: Chivalry Lives On!

speanoz

Here we are once again! I've been busy lately but have finally found time to write up my latest comprehensive framework suggestion. Thanks to the input you very community members provided, a veritable Sword and Shield framework has been chosen to fulfill this latest theme!

This new set of powers will encompass a dynamic choice between offense, defense, or somewhere in between. It will populate a new power category called Weaponmaster, a heroic archetype plucked straight from the Hero Games's Champions pen and paper game itself! As a Weaponmaster, players "slot" between the Martial Arts category and the Brick category -- implementing facets of each while not necessarily fitting the definition of each category itself. That said, a hero built from this category would utilize a mixture of both offensive and defensive powers to stand toe-to-toe with his or her enemies!

Once more, I feel it is necessary to mention a proverbial "disclaimer" that I am no expert of Champions Online or the Champions setting itself. Much like I described on my Vegetation Manipulation thread before this, I would encourage you to review this proposed new framework lightheartedly. And now for....

SWORD AND SHIELD
"Chivalry Lives On!"

Far be it from me, but as far as I am concerned, a Sword and Shield framework is practically mandatory essential at this point! With the primary tools of shining knights the world over, this thematic framework would feel very much at home in the heroic setting of Champions Online. Swords and/or shields themselves are such mainstay comic book staples that it almost seems silly to have them omitted thus far! In an attempt to get the ball rolling on this subjectively overdue power set, I have contemplated and planned out a thorough framework of powers and abilities that revolve around the use of an aforementioned sword and shield.

Sword and Shield represents a "different train of thought" when set alongside Martial Arts's Single Blade framework. Where the latter utilizes in graceful and precise strikes, the former will involve visceral slashes and heavy impacts. Make no mistake, a master of the knightly arts is still an artist, using a sharp "paintbrush" and a robust "palette" on the proverbial canvas of the world!

Exposition aside, let's get into the nitty-gritty already! Sword and Shield will by "split in two" so to speak. A gamut of offensive attack powers will make up the first half of this framework. This type of swordplay evokes imagery of a medieval European knight and will not pride itself on the swiftness and delicacy of Single Blade attack powers. Instead, sword strikes from this set of powers will be heavy, debilitating, and brutish. Naturally, on the other side of the coin, the titular shield will incorporate defensive abilities. I will attempt to order powers as they would appear in-game, and additionally I will attempt to describe/format them in such a way as well. To conclude, this proposed framework is a work in progress and may be subject to future changes.

Tier "0" Powers

Energy Builder

Swipe
Energy Builder - Melee AoE Damage

"Swipe slashes at your enemies with your sword."

Click
+Deals Slashing damage to targets in a narrow cone in front of you.
+Generates Energy.


Advantages

Whetstone
Enhancement
+Swipe attacks now have a chance to cause your foes to Bleed.
+Bleed is a type of Wound.

Close Area Attack

Cut
Melee Damage - Bleed - Combo

"Cut at your enemies with a series of rapid strikes that may leave them bleeding from their injuries."

Click
+Deals Slashing damage to targets in front of you.
+Has a chance to cause stricken foes to begin Bleeding. Bleed deals Slashing damage over time and may stack up to five times.
+Bleed is a type of Wound.


Advantages

Heavy Blade
Enhancement
+Finishing this power's combo will Knock Down your primary target. Other foes near the target have a small chance of being Knocked Down as well.

Fanatical Blows
Enhancement
+Finishing this power's combo will apply a single stack of Furious to you.
+Furious is a critical hit buff that can stack up to three times.
+If you are struck by an attack while Furious you will gain an instance of Willpower, providing you a small heal.
-Instances of Furious applied by this advantage will not stack, instead the duration of any existing Furious buffs will refresh.

Fortifying Volley
Melee Damage - Shield - Combo

"You maintain your defensive posture while attacking your foes with calculated blows."

Click
+Deals Slashing damage to targets in front of you.
+Applies a shield effect on you. This shield takes into account your damage resistances.

Combo Finish
+Increases the magnitude of the shield effect.


Advantages

Powerful Hits
Enhancement
+Every attack of this combo has a small chance of Staggering your primary target. Stagger reduces damage resistance and movement speed and may stack up to 3 times.

speanoz

Tier 1 Powers
Requires 1 power from Sword and Shield or 2 non-energy-building powers from any framework.

Close Attack

Shield Bash
Melee Damage - Stun

"You quickly thrust your shield forward and knock some sense into your foe."

Tap
+Deals single target Crushing damage.
+Target is Stunned.


Advantages

Sharpened Metal Boss
Enhancement
+Shield Bash now has a chance to cause your target to begin Bleeding.
+Bleed is a type of wound.

Holy Smite
Enhancement
+Targets hit with Shield Bash are Illuminated. Any heroes that continue to attack the target will receive Mend, providing them a small heal over time.
+Illuminated is a type of Curse.

Close Area Attack

Broad Stroke
Melee AoE Damage - Bleed

"Swing your sword in a very wide arc, surely hitting many foes at once."

Tap
+Deals Slashing damage to targets in a very wide cone around you.
+This power may hit enemies behind depending on your angle during its activation.
+Has a chance to apply Bleed to targets if they are not already affected by any of your Bleeds.
+Bleed deals Slashing damage over time and may stack up to five times.
+Bleed is a type of Wound.

Charge
+Increase the damage and Energy cost of the Tap effect.
+Increase the chance to apply Bleed.
+Fully charging this power will allow it to apply additional instances of Bleed even if it has already inflicted Bleed on targets.


Advantages

Broadsword
Enhancement
+This power has a chance of Staggering any impacted targets. Stagger reduces damage resistance and movement speed and may stack up to 3 times.
+The chance of applying Stagger on your primary target increases with the amount of charge time, up to 100% chance.

Movement

Rush
Lunge - Stagger

"You close the distance between you and your enemy."

Tap
+Lunges to your target.
+Deals single target Slashing damage.
+Snares the target. Snared targets have their movement speed reduced.
+Staggers your target if you lunge more than 20 feet and your target is not currently controlled.


Advantages

Charge Into Battle!
Enhancement
+If you charge at your foe from more than 20 feet, they will be Knocked Down in addition to Staggered.

Nailed to the Ground
Enhancement
+Applies Nailed to the Ground to the target, preventing them from using Travel Powers for a time.

Active Powers

Righteous Fury
Active Offense

Click
+Increase the damage of all your attacks.
+Can be used while Held or Confused.
+Assists in breaking out of Hold, Root, and Disable effects.
+Increases your Strength and Presence.
+This power is considered an Active Offense. Activating this power imposes a long cooldown on all other Active Offense powers.


Advantages

Consecrated Arms
Enhancement
+All of your attacks additionally deal Dimensional damage while this ability is active.
+While under the influence of Righteous Fury, all of your melee strikes have a small chance of applying Illuminated to your target. Heroes that attack an Illuminated target will receive the Mend buff, healing them over time.

Buff Targets

Lead By Example
Damage Buff

"Your tireless pursuit of holy justice inspires a would-be knight errant."

Click
+Applies Mentored to a targeted hero.
+The Mentored buff slightly increases all damage dealt.
+Mentored may not stack and its duration is very short. Instead, its duration may be reset every time you strike a target that your Mentored ally has also attacked within 3 seconds.
+An instance of this buff has the potential to last a very long time.


Advantages

Veteran
Enhancement
+The duration and window of Mentored is increased to 5 seconds.
+While your ally is Mentored, your movement speed is slightly increased and any Snares applied to you have slightly decreased duration.

Slotted Passive

Honored
Slotted Offensive Passive

"Your prowess with a sword is the stuff of legend!"

Slotted Passive
+Can be slotted in an Offensive of Balanced passive power slot.
+Increases all your melee damage. Additionally, all other damage is increased by a lesser degree. These increases scale with your Super Stats.
+Provides a moderate amount of protection from all Physical (Crushing, Slashing, Piercing) damage and a smaller amount of resistance to all other forms of damage.
+Generates a small amount energy whenever you are struck by an attack. This amount scales with your Recovery.


Advantages

Holy Warrior
Enhancement
+Any attacks that you make with Dimensional damage will cause you to receive a very minor heal. This amount is greatly reduced if the Dimensional damage is via a maintained ability.

Revered
Slotted Defensive Passive

"You are a crusader of great renown. You inspire your friends during combat by shaking off the attacks of your enemies."

Slotted Passive
+Can be slotted in a Defensive or Balanced passive power slot.
+Every impact that you endure grants you the Resolute buff.
+Resolute increases your defense against all damage types and increases the potency of your buff and heal powers on others.
+Every time a new stack of Resolute is applied to you all other stacks have their duration reset.
+Resolute may stack up to 6 times.

Toggle Forms

Knight Training
Buff - Form

"With a few moments of concentration and preparation, you adopt an advanced martial posture."

Toggle
+Activating this power grants a stack of the Skilled buff, increasing your melee damage and ranged damage to a lesser degree.
+This Form scales with your Strength.
+Grants you energy when you gain a stack of Skilled.
+You can gain up to 8 instances of this buff.
+At Rank Two, 2 stacks of the Skilled buff are granted on activation. At Rank Three, you gain 3 stacks on activation.

Trigger Conditions
+While you maintain this Form you can gain another instance of Skilled whenever you apply a Bleed or Stagger effect on a foe.
+You can gain a stack once every 4 seconds.

Side Effects
-You must fully charge this power to activate it, and taking any damage will interrupt your concentration, canceling the charge.
-While this power is active, the energy cost of all your other powers is slightly increased.
-You may only have one Form power active at a time.
-Activating another Form power immediately ends any pre-existing forms.

Paladin Training
Buff - Form

"You take a moment to prepare yourself and your allies for the battles that lay ahead."

Toggle
+Activating this power grants you a stack of the Determined buff, increasing the efficacy of your heal and buff powers as well as your damage to a lesser degree.
+This form scales with your Constitution and Presence.
+Grants you energy when you gain a stack of Determined.
+You may gain up to 8 stacks of this buff.
+At Rank Two, 2 instances of the Determined buff are granted on activation. At Rank Three, you gain 3 instances on activation.

Trigger Conditions
+While you maintain this Form, you can gain another application of Determined whenever you receive a debuff, negative control effect, or damage over time from an enemy.
+You may gain a stack of Determined once every 4 seconds.

Side Effects
-You must fully charge this power to activate it, and taking any damage will interrupt your concentration, canceling the charge.
-While this power is active, the energy cost of all your other powers is slightly increased.
-You may only have one Form power active at a time.
-Activating another Form power immediately ends any pre-existing forms.

Block

Raise Shield
Block

"You raise your shield to protect yourself from incoming blows."

Maintain
+Self damage reduction.
+Increases your resistance to Hold and Knock effects.
+Gives you energy when struck by an attack. This amount scales with your Recovery and the amount of damage taken.
+The movement speed penalty for Raise Shield is significantly less than that of other Block powers. Additionally, you are able to jump while blocking.


Advantages

I Can Do This All Day
Enhancement
+Your resistance to damage, Hold, and Knock effects very slowly increases the longer you maintain this power.
+This resistance theoretically has no cap, however it exponentially diminishes over time.

Energy Unlock

Galvanized Shield
Innate Passive - Secondary Energy Unlock

You may only have 1 Energy Unlock power.
"Attacks made against you exhilarate your mind and body."

Innate Passive
+This power does not need to be slotted in order to function, and has no Ranks.
+Grants you a very small amount of energy whenever you are struck by Physical (Crushing, Slashing, Piercing) damage attacks.
+The amount of energy scales with your Recovery statistic.
+The Endurance stat also scales the amount of energy gained by a smaller amount.
-Due to the prevalence of Physical damage sources, the effectiveness of this Energy Unlock is not as significant as other Energy Unlock powers.

Absorbing Shield
Innate Passive - Secondary Energy Unlock

You may only have 1 Energy Unlock power.
"Your shield easily dissipates energy."

Innate Passive
+Grants you energy whenever you are struck by Energy (Electrical, Sonic, Particle) damage.
+The amount of energy scales with your Recovery statistic.
+The Endurance stat also scales the amount of energy gained by a smaller amount.

Warded Shield
Innate Passive - Secondary Energy Unlock

You may only have 1 Energy Unlock power.
"Your shield draws power from the elements."

Innate Passive
+Grants you some energy whenever you are struck by Elemental (Fire, Cold, Toxic) damage.
+The amount of energy scales with your Recovery statistic.
+The Endurance stat also scales the amount of energy gained by a smaller amount.

Arcane Shield
Innate Passive - Secondary Energy Unlock

You may only have 1 Energy Unlock power.
"Magic naturally courses through your shield. Naturally, incoming spells will bolster that flow!""

Innate Passive
+Grants you a portion of energy whenever you are struck by Paranormal (Dimensional, Ego, Magic) damage.
+The amount of energy scales with your Recovery statistic.
+The Endurance stat also scales the amount of energy gained by a smaller amount.

speanoz

Tier 2 Powers
Requires 3 powers from Sword and Shield or 4 non-energy-building powers from any framework.

Close Attack

Downright Blow
Melee Damage - Bleed

"You reel in and bring your sword crashing down upon your enemy."

Tap
+Deals single target Slashing damage.
+Has a chance to cause the target to start Bleeding. Bleed deals Slashing damage over time and can stack up to 5 times.
+Bleed is a type of Wound.

Charge
+Increase the damage and energy cost of the Tap effect.


Advantages

Weighted Strike
Enhancement
+Downright Blow may now Stagger your target. Stagger reduces damage resistance and movement speed and may stack up to 3 times.
+Your target may be Knocked Down upon fully charging Downright Blow.

Shield Pummel
Melee Damage - Knock Back

"You force your shoulder into your shield... and your shield into your foe!"

Tap
+Single target Crushing damage.
+Repels your target.
+Deals increased damage to enemies that are immune to Knock effects, such as bosses.

Charge
+Increase the damage and energy cost of the Tap effect.
+When fully charged, Knocks Back instead.


Advantages

Ride the Momentum
Enhancement
+Using Shield Pummel will apply two stacks of Charged Up to you, increasing your movement speed for a short amount of time.
+Fully charging the ability will instead apply three stacks of Charged Up.

Trauma
Enhancement
+Applies or refreshes Trauma on your target. Trauma ends any healing over time effects on your target, and causes them to receive only 50% benefit from any other incoming heals.

Close Area Attack

Close Guard
Melee Damage - Damage Shield

"You raise your shield up and repeatedly swipe at your enemies."

Maintain
+Deals continuous Slashing damage to targets in front of you.
+Applies a damage shield while maintained.
+Shield strength increases over time maintained.
-Damage dealt decreases over time maintained.


Advantages

Smashing Slashes
Enhancement
+Every hit has a chance of Staggering affected targets. Stagger reduces damage resistance and movement speed and may stack up to 3 times.

Ranged Attack

Throw Sword
Ranged Damage - Bleed

"You throw your blade at your enemy and then unsheath a secondary."

Click
+Single target Slashing damage.
+Has a chance to apply Bleed, which stacks up to 5 times and causes your target to suffer Slashing damage over time.
+Bleed is a type of Wound.


Advantages

Enchanted Scabbard
Enhancement
+This power now applies Flourish to you, increasing your Slashing and Dimensional damage for a short time.
-This effect has a short cooldown.

Throw Shield
Ranged Damage - Stun

"You bounce your shield right off of your bewildered foe!"

Tap
+Deals single target Crushing damage.
+Target may be Disoriented.

Charge
+Increase the damage and energy cost of the Tap effect.
+The likelihood of Disorienting your target increases with charge time.
+Fully charging will instead Stun your target.


Advantages

Glaring Light
Enhancement
+When fully charged, Throw Shield will now also Stuns foes within 10 feet of your primary target.

Trauma
Enhancement
+Applies or refreshes Trauma on your target. Trauma ends any healing over time effects on your target, and causes them to receive only 50% benefit from any other incoming heals.

Ranged Area Attack

Beam Swords
Ranged AoE Damage - Bleed - Stagger

"You slash your blade before you and fling celestial visages of your sword out to your foes."

Tap
+Deals Dimensional damage to targets in front of you.
+Additionally deals Slashing damage to targets closely in front of you.
+Nearby targets affected by the Slashing portion of this ability may also begin to Bleed. Bleed deals Slashing damage over time and may stack up to 5 times.
+Bleed is a type of Wound.

Charge
+Increases the damage and energy cost of the Tap effect.
+Increase the chance to apply Bleed to nearby targets in front of you.
+Fully charging will Stagger all affected targets. Stagger reduces damage resistance and movement speed and may stack up to 3 times.


Advantages

With Holy Vigor
Enhancement
+You now have a chance of applying Dependency to your targets. Dependency can stack up to 3 times.
+Dependency causes the target to heal you for a small amount when standing close to them.
+Dependency is a type of Mental State.

Healing

Catharsis
Self Heal Over Time

"You are able to find comfort in familiar actions, even during battle."

Click
+Minor self heal over time.
+Provides a larger single heal every time you directly damage a foe.
+Both of these heals scale with your Dexterity instead of Presence.


Advantages

Repetitious
Enhancement
+Instead of healing, you receive an amount of energy every time you directly damage a foe.
+The base heal over time effect is unaltered.

Blessing
Heal - Heal Over Time

"You recite a blessing upon an ally, rejuvenating them."

Click
+Heals a friendly target.
+Applies a small heal over time effect after the initial heal.
-The heal over time cannot crit.
-This power may not be used on yourself.


Advantages

Push Onward
Enhancement
+Blessing will apply two stacks of Charged Up to your target, increasing their movement speed for a short amount of time.

On A Mission...
Enhancement
+In addition to healing, Blessing will also grant your ally a small amount of energy.
+Reduces your target's rate of energy decay for a short amount of time.
-This effect has a moderate internal cooldown.

Active Powers

Stand Your Ground
Active Defense

"You will not falter no matter the odds!"

Click
+Greatly increases your damage resistance for a short time.
+Provides a very large resistance to Knock, Pull, and Repel effects.
+Can be used while Held.
-This power is considered to be an Active Defense. Activating this power imposes a long cooldown on all other Active Defenses.


Advantages

Unchained
Enhancement
+Using this power will help you break free of Holds, Roots, or Disables.
+Applies a stack of Knock and Hold resistance to you.

Buff Targets

Rally
Damage Buff - Stagger

"You let loose a rallying cry to embolden your allies and awe your foes!"

Click
+Grants Rallied to you and your allies, increasing movement speed and all damage dealt.
+Refreshes the duration of any existing Rallied instances on you and your allies.
+Applies Stagger to nearby enemies. Stagger reduces damage resistance and movement speed and may stack up to 3 times.
+Refreshes the duration of any existing Stagger effects on nearby foes.


Advantages

Renewed Resolve
Enhancement
+Places Illumination on you and your allies, increasing the healing they receive.
+Illumination counts as a Enchantment.

Debuff

Taunt
Generate Threat - Fear

"You goad your enemies into attacking you!"

Click
+Applies a very large threat debuff to your primary target.
+This effect can be stacked on top of the Challenge effect.
+Foes near your primary target will very likely be afflicted by Fear, causing them to cower in your presence and reducing the damage they deal.
+Fear is a type of Mental State.


Advantages

Never Give Up! Never Surrender!
Enhancement
+Additionally places Illuminated on your primary target. Any heroes attacking the target will receive the Mend buff, healing them over time.
+Illuminated counts as a Curse.

speanoz

Tier 3 Powers
Requires 5 powers from Sword and Shield or 6 non-energy-building powers from any framework.

Close Attack

Foyne
Melee Damage - Rupture

"Exploiting a moment of vulnerability, you thrust your blade towards your foe's vitals."

Tap
+Single target Slashing damage.
+Refreshes the duration of your Bleed effects on your target.
+Bleed is a type of Wound.

Charge
+Increase the damage and energy cost of the Tap effect.
+If fully charged, all of your instances of Bleed are Ruptured, causing significantly more additional damage to the target.
+If fully charged on a Staggered target, they may periodically go into shock and become Stunned for a short period of time.
+Enemies immune to stun effects such as Master Villains will instead receive additional damage.


Advantages

Blade of Sanctity
Enhancement
+Foyne will now also deals a small amount of Dimensional damage.
+This advantage will trigger any additional Sword and Shield effects that require Dimensional damage to be dealt.
+Applies Dependency on full charge, causing your target to heal you for a small amount while standing close to them.
+Dependency is a type of Mental State.

Shield Crush
Melee Damage - Knock

"You smash your shield down upon your foe's head with a bone-shattering impact!"

Click
+Single target Crushing damage.
+Deals additional damage for every stack of Stagger you have applied to the target.
+Knocks Down your target.
+If the target is immune to being Knocked, they are instead afflicted with Trauma, ending any heal over time effects and reducing further healing by 50%.


Advantages

Maximum Force
Enhancement
+Shield Crush becomes an AoE attack, distributing its Crushing damage to all foes near your primary target. If no other targets are nearby, your target receives the full amount of damage instead.
+The additional effects of Shield Crush are only dealt to your primary target, including any further damage from Stagger.

Close Area Attack

Sword Spin
Melee AoE Damage - Bleed

"You twirl in the air and swipe at many foes all around you."

Charge
+Must be fully charged.
+Deals Slashing damage in a sphere around you.
+Has a large chance to cause foes to begin Bleeding, dealing Slashing damage over time.
+Bleed is a type of Wound.
+Applies an instance of Furious to you. Furious increases your critical chance, gives you a small heal over time when you are struck by an attack, and may stack up to 3 times.


Advantages

Whirling Dervish
Enhancement
+Targets hit by Sword Spin will be Staggered.
+Staggered enemies have reduced damage resistance and movement speed. This can stack up to 3 times.
+Refreshes any instances of Illuminated present on any affected enemies.

Ground Pounder
Enhancement
+All impacted foes may lose their footing and be Knocked Down.

Blast of Light
Melee AoE Damage - Heal - Enchantment

"You become a conduit for a heavenly beam of energy, harming your foes and bolstering your allies."

Tap
+Deals Dimensional damage to any foes above and around you.
+Places or refreshes Illumination on you and any allies above or around you.
+Illumination is a type of Enchantment that increases all healing received.

Charge
+Increases damage, size of the affected area, and energy cost of the Tap effect.
+Fully charging this power will also heal you and any affected allies.
+The magnitude of the heal does takes into account this power's application of Illumination.


Advantages

Paragon
Enhancement
+Fully charging this power will apply Retribution to you. Retribution will prevent any single tick of damage that would otherwise defeat you.
+Retribution is consumed upon negating a killing blow. When it is consumed, you receive a moderately large heal.
+If this effect is triggered, Blast of Light will incur a large cooldown period.

Ranged Attack

Boomerang Shield
Ranged AoE Damage - Stagger

"You've mastered a technique that allows you to ricochet your shield off of many foes and have it return to you!"

Tap
+Deals Crushing damage to your primary target and can bounce to additional targets to inflict further Crushing damage.
+May Stagger any impacted enemies.

Charge
+Charging this power does not cause it to deal more damage. Instead, the number of targets this power can hit increases up to 5. The energy cost of using Boomerand Shield still increases relative to charge time.
+The likelihood of Staggering affected foes increases with charge time, up to 100%.


Advantages

Avenge
Enhancement
+This power will additionally inflict Dimensional damage to foes that are hit.
+Refreshes any instances of Illuminated on affected targets.

Ranged Area Attack

Reckoning
Ranged AoE Damage - Stun

"You point the tip of your sword to the skies and guide down a smiting blast from beyond."

Tap
+Deals Dimensional damage to your primary target and any nearby targets.
+Has a chance of Stunning affected targets.

Charge
+Increase the damage and energy cost of the Tap effect.
+Fully charging Reckoning will Stun all targets hit.


Advantages

Rapture
Enhancement
+Fully charging this power has a small chance of Corrupting all affected targets. Corrupted targets are forced to fight for you.
+Corrupt is a type of Curse.
+Remaining targets are instead afflicted with Fear.
+Fear is a type of Mental State.

Radiating Energies
Enhancement
+Reckoning will apply or refresh Illuminated on your primary target. Any heroes attacking an Illuminated target receive the Mend buff, healing them over time.
+Illuminated is a type of Curse.

Movement

Shield Charge
Lunge - Melee AoE Damage - Repel - Knock

"You put your weight into your shield and charge directly into battle!"

Charge
+This power must be fully charged. This power charges up relatively quickly.
+Deals Crushing damage to all targets between you and your primary target. Significantly more damage is dealt to your primary target.
+Targets in your path are Repelled. Some foes may be Knocked Down instead.
+Your primary target is Knocked Back. Targets immune to Knock effects instead take significantly more Crushing damage.


Advantages

Juggernaut
Enhancement
+All foes between you and your primary target are Knocked Down instead and receive more Crushing damage.
+Greatly increases the Knock Back effect on your primary target.
+Applies five stacks of Charged Up to you, increasing your movement speed.
+Refreshes all instances of Charged Up if you are already at five stacks.

Nailed to the Ground
Enhancement
+Applies Nailed to the Ground to the target, preventing them from using Travel Powers for a time.

Healing

Martyr
Heal - Convert Damage to Health - Generate Threat

"Your spirit simply cannot be broken. Any harm that comes to you emboldens your friends to fight harder for you!"

Maintain
+While you maintain this ability, enemies are more likely to attack you.
+A portion of any damage you receive is converted into a heal that is divided among nearby allies.
+Up to 5 allies can be healed by this effect.
-The heal component of this power cannot crit.


Advantages

Anointed
Enhancement
+You may now receive an even smaller portion of converted damage as a heal while maintaining this ability.

Buff Targets

Phalanx
Damage Resistance Buff

"You enter into a defensive posture in order to protect those around you."

Toggle
+You and allies within a large arc behind you receive a significant increase to their damage resistance.
+Provides moderate resistance to Knock and Repel effects to you and your allies.
+This buff persists for a very short amount of time to any allies that exit its radius.
-Greatly reduces your movement speed and prevents you from flying. Other travel power effects on you are negated while this ability is enabled.
-Using any other power will disable this toggle and place it upon cooldown. Jumping will also disable this ability and incur a cooldown.


Advantages

Defensive Coordinator
Enhancement
+The effect of this power persists much longer for any allies that exit its effective radius.
+The movement speed penalty of this power upon you is reduced.

Suit of Armor Around the World
Enhancement
+The effect of this power is now implemented as a sphere around you, even affecting allies in front of you.
-The movement speed penalty of this power upon you is increased.

Victory Shout
Damage Buff - Stagger - Fear

"You unleash a mighty call for victory upon the entire battlefield."

Click
+Rallies you and your allies, increasing movement speed and all damage dealt.
+Refreshes the duration of any existing Rally instances on you and your allies.
+Applies Stagger to nearby enemies. Stagger reduces damage resistance and movement speed and may stack up to 3 times.
+Refreshes the duration of any existing Stagger effects on nearby foes.
+Some enemies may even be overwhelmed by Fear in your presence.
+Fear is a type of Mental State.
+Refreshes any instance of Mentored from Lead by Example that you may have active.
-The cooldown period of this power increases for every affected target, be it friend or foe.


Advantages

Unwavering Loyalty
Enhancement
+Places Illumination on you and all affected allies, increasing healing received.
+Illumination is a type of Enchantment.
+Inflicts Illuminated on all affected enemies.
+Illuminated is a type of Curse.

Ultimate

Avatar
Active Ultimate

"You become a vessel of divine energy in an effort to bring order to this world."

Click
+Increases all damage that you deal.
+All of your attacks also inflict Dimensional damage relative to the regular damage dealt. For regular Dimensional damaging attacks, this is instead applied as a flat bonus relative to your Super Stats.
+Every attack you make heals you and nearby allies.
+Grants a long lasting flight effect to you that can last beyond Avatar's duration.
+Moderately increases your damage resistance. This effect can go beyond Avatar's duration but will quickly diminish over time.
+Grants Knock and Hold resistance to you.
+Greatly assists in breaking out of Hold, Root, and Disable effects.
+Can be used while Held or Confused.
-Activating this power imposes a long cooldown on all Active Offense and Active Defense powers.


Advantages

The Balance of Light
Enhancement
+Upon activation, this power may now revive fallen allies with a percentage of their health. This heal is unaffected by any bonuses to healing.
+This power may now be used to recover the user from defeat with full health.
-Imposes a very long cooldown on all other Resurrection powers.

Guardian Angel
Enhancement
+While under the influence of Avatar, any healing imparted to you or nearby allies at full health is converted into a damage shield.
-This shield effect gradually diminishes over time if not refreshed.

speanoz

Addendum

At long last, Sword and Shield is complete!

To be honest, I didn't intend to take quite this long to develop the framework. I've become very busy and occupied between Christmas, my birthday, and several other circumstances. Nonetheless, I immensely desired finishing the set and leaving the thread in a presentable state. I am pretty proud of where it is now!

I'd like to now take a moment to explain some of my reasoning for certain themes and powers. To me, Sword and Shield is a decisive framework that revolves between dealing some hard damage or being able to take some hard damage! I wanted a sort of "knight" gameplay standard that incorporated Slashing and Crushing damage as well as some offensive buffs. To be a knight, one must be a master with a sword and be capable of enduring long battles. On the other side of the coin, I created a "paladin" inter-framework theme that primarily focuses on withstanding great amounts of damage while supporting one's allies.

I feel like I've captured those two essences well, but you'll have to be the final judge of that. Please do let me know what thoughts or concerns you have! Feel free to leave a comment below about any little or big thing.

But most of all.... do remember one thing:

Chivalry lives on!!!

speanoz

Update Log

2/18/20 - Framework completed. Small edits here and there.
1/24/20 - Tier 2 abilities added. Major editing pass.
1/16/20 - Some internal revisions.
11/26/19 - Another minor editing pass.
11/25/19 - Tier 1 abilities added. Minor editing pass.
11/16/19 - Editing pass #1.
11/14/19 - Initial thread started.

speanoz

psychicslug wrote: »

I would like to see some damage and thrown options for the shield the best they could do without marvel slapping a law suit that is. But doing it as a strictly melee would be ok i guess, maybe a magic wave of force or something to get range if you can't toss the shield, maybe tech/gadget power under that place

I have got a couple of ideas in mind! Personally, I've always wanted some kind of impractical sword throw as well.

vonqball

First though...

I don't like the trigger conditions on the toggles or EUs. Form of the master got changed because it really sucked when you didn't have aggro. I can't see this playing out any differently.

cowardlion

Oh, at first I wasn't sure why someone would want this as a framework, but reading this changed my mind completely!
May I suggest some kind of counter attack that's only activated if your character is attacked while "holding" it? Maybe like the shockwave that appears whenever someone hit's a shield with a magical hammer in the marvel movies.
An advantage on Raise Shield that protects really close allies could also look appropriate, probably with a buff while they're close.
Anyway, I'm loving your suggestions <3

speanoz

vonqball wrote: »

First though...

I don't like the trigger conditions on the toggles or EUs. Form of the master got changed because it really sucked when you didn't have aggro. I can't see this playing out any differently.

Be that as it may, there was a subset of the community that was initially upset with the changes made to Defiance. More or less, I am attempting to recapture the old feeling of the original power while allowing its current incarnation stand on its own.

cowardlion#6863 wrote: »

Oh, at first I wasn't sure why someone would want this as a framework, but reading this changed my mind completely!
May I suggest some kind of counter attack that's only activated if your character is attacked while "holding" it? Maybe like the shockwave that appears whenever someone hit's a shield with a magical hammer in the marvel movies.
An advantage on Raise Shield that protects really close allies could also look appropriate, probably with a buff while they're close.
Anyway, I'm loving your suggestions

Thank you for all of your kind words!

I have tried to implement some kind of parry mechanic but didn't want to outright replicate the current iterations already in-game. As it is, Close Guard is already essentially a "reskinned" variation of the attack+damage shield maintain abilities from Single Blade and Dual Blades.

As for your second suggestion.... all I can say is to stay tuned for the culminating Tier 3 abilities I have in store!

I plan to (finally) complete Sword and Shield in the very near future!

spinnytop

I think my only criticism is that the set isn't entirely about hitting people with your shield.

speanoz

At looooong last, Sword and Shield is finally complete! Now I've set my eyes on Alien Physiology... of which I have some grand plans for!

spinnytop wrote: »

I think my only criticism is that the set isn't entirely about hitting people with your shield.

I admit, I've a soft spot for video games that allow me to duel wield shields.... .-.

But worry not! There are a few more shield smacks within the Tier 3 powers list!