Martial Power
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''Martial Power'' is a supplement for the 4th edition of the ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
''
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. It contains additional options and rules for fighters,
rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
, rogues, and
warlords Warlords are individuals who exercise military, economic, and political control over a region, often one without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over local armed forces. Warlords have existed throug ...
, including new builds for each class to further customize a
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, such as the "beastmaster ranger,"''Martial Power'' Excerpts: Beastmaster Ranger
at Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved December 4, 2008. "bravura warlord," and "resourceful warlord".''Martial Power'' Excerpts: Bravura Presence
at Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on December 4, 2008.


Contents

''Martial Power'', the first supplement in the Power series of books in ''Dungeons & Dragons'', 4th edition, published and debuted new options for the classes that were in the Martial power source. It also expanded and refined the first builds of each class (originally in the ''
Player's Handbook The ''Player's Handbook'' (spelled ''Players Handbook'' in first edition ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D'')) is the name given to one of the core rulebooks in every edition of the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') ...
'') by giving new powers and paragon paths.


Fighter

The fighter, the martial defender, received two new builds to be used in conjunction with the builds in ''
Player's Handbook The ''Player's Handbook'' (spelled ''Players Handbook'' in first edition ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D'')) is the name given to one of the core rulebooks in every edition of the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') ...
''. The battlerager fighter works as a berserker fighter, which utilizes the new Invigorating keyword, which grants the battlerager temporary hit points to make up for their lack of armor. The tempest fighter is a dual wielding fighter build with great mobility.


Ranger

The ranger, a martial striker, received one new build in ''Martial Power'', the beastmaster. Instead of choosing an archery or a two weapon fighting benefit as detailed in the Player's Handbook, the ranger could instead gain a beast to fight alongside with. The beast is used with new beast powers, which grant it attacks and their own effects.


Rogue

The rogue, a martial striker, gained two new builds in ''Martial Power'', the aerialist rogue and the cutthroat rogue. The aerialist rogue uses the Acrobatics skill to maneuver around enemies and the cutthroat uses the Intimidation skill to rattle and shake foes.


Warlord

The warlord, the martial leader, can use two new builds in conjunction with the two builds in ''Player's Handbook''. The bravura warlord uses daring, and often brash, tactics that could harm the warlord but give great benefits to their allies. The resourceful warlord is a soldier on the battlefield that adapts to certain situations.


Publication history

''Martial Power'' was published in November 2008 and was designed by
Rob Heinsoo Rob Heinsoo (born 1964) is an American tabletop game designer. He has been designing and contributing to professional role-playing games, card games, and board games since 1994. Heinsoo was the lead designer on the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons ...
, David Noonan, Chris Sims, and Robert J. Schwalb. Cover art was by William O'Connor, with interior art by Steve Belledin, Leonardo Borazio, Steve Ellis,
Wayne England Wayne England (d. 9 February 2016) was an English artist whose work regularly appeared in role-playing games, wargaming rulebooks and magazines and was used on cards for collectible card games such as '' Magic: The Gathering''. He died on 9 Feb ...
, Jason A. Engle, Gonzalo Flores,
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, Wes Louie, Howard Lyon,
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, Vincent Proce, Ron Spears,
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, Stephen Tappin, Mark Tedin, Beth Trott, and
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. ''Martial Power'' was the first book in the initial product line for 4th edition ''D&D'', a set of books which provided options for
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...
s and the focus for each book was one of the power sources associated with the new edition. '' Martial Power 2'' was published in February 2010.


Reception

Viktor Coble listed the entire ''Power'' series - including ''Martial Power'', '' Martial Power 2'', '' Divine Power'', '' Arcane Power'', '' Psionic Power'', and '' Primal Power'' - as #2 on '' CBR'''s 2021 "D&D: 10 Best Supplemental Handbooks" list, stating that "What sets the power series apart – besides their updated rules – is how they translate really well to 5e. Whereas, the "Complete" series needs a little more work. The rules have both been pared down and expanded upon in this guide, which makes picking up a copy for whatever type of character is most in favor worth it."


References


External links

*
Martial Power
' at the D&D wiki. {{D&D topics Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks Role-playing game supplements introduced in 2008