Complete Sublime (3.5e Sourcebook)/Sublime Campaigns/Monsters
There is a problem with Tome of Battle that most people fail to recognize. Actually, this is true of all of the systems created by Wizards of the Coast. The problem is that while attention was focused on players using these abilities against monsters, no space was given to monsters using these abilities. Because of that, two additions are made to assist monsters. The first is to give monsters a natural ability to use maneuvers, just like spell-like and power-like abilities. The second is Uncentered, a status for keeping stances out of play.
Maneuver-Like Abilities[edit]
Maneuver-like abilities are usually extraordinary effects which work just like martial maneuvers (though they do not need to possess the pre-requisites for the maneuvers). Maneuvers are extraordinary unless they duplicate the effect of a supernatural maneuver. A few maneuver-like abilities are unique; these are explained in the text where they are described.
A creature is presumed to have all its maneuver-like abilities readied and may use them once per encounter. By default, all maneuver-like abilities can be refreshed by using a full-round action to do nothing but focus, refreshing all maneuver-like abilities at once. Refreshing maneuver-like abilities does not provoke an attack of opportunity. A creature may possess a unique refresh method as well, which is defined in the creature text.
For creatures with maneuver-like abilities their initiator level is equal to their hit dice, unless otherwise stated in the creature text. Their initiator level defines any level-dependent variables (such as range and duration) the abilities might have. The creature’s initiator level is equal to their HD, and tracked seperately from the initiator level of martial maneuver granting classes. The saving throw (if any) against a maneuver-like ability is as the maneuver it duplicates, or specified if unique.
Uncentered[edit]
When you become uncentered, you immediately lose any stance that you have active. While you remain uncentered, you may not initiate a stance.
The uncentered condition automatically ends at the end of the encounter, or when you use a full-round action to recenter yourself, which also refreshes one martial maneuver.
