<style> .phb{padding-bottom:0.25cm;} .phb#p1:after {display:none;} .phb code{font-size:8pt;} .phb:after { content: ""; } </style> <img src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/55906068e4b0e574972b9029/1713818728540-MF9WT1H3US1AWEYR42WY/Ajani%2C+Nacatl+Avenger%2C+C.+Rallis.png?format=1000w" style="position:absolute; left:0px; bottom:-130px; width:100%; transform:scalex(1);" /> <div class='cover-diamond' style="top:120px;"></div> <div class='cover-header' style="top:50px;font-size:350%;">Refined Physical Skills</div> <div class='cover-header' style="top:150px;font-size:150%;">5e14 Expanded Strength & Constitution Skill System</div> <div style='margin-top:500px;'></div> <div class='cover-splotch'></div> <div class='cover-footer' style="font-size:175% ">This variant expands the physical skill system, introducing new Strength and Constitution proficiencies to enhance roleplay and mechanical depth. It emphasizes the nuances of physical endurance, brute force, and resilience, allowing for more dynamic challenges, contests, and combat encounters. </div> \pagebreak <img src="https://i.redd.it/o3jwh4vfr79a1.jpg" style="position:absolute; left:0px; bottom:-100px; width:100%; transform:scalex(1);" /> <img src='https://www.gmbinder.com/images/6caZrpw.png' style='position:absolute;bottom:150px;left:-0px;transform:scaley(1)scalex(-1)scaley(-1)rotate(0deg);width:100%;'/> # New Physical Skill Proficiencies ___ ## Strength Skills ### Athletics Your Strength (Athletics) check covers feats of agility and coordination in movement-based challenges, such as climbing, jumping, and swimming. This includes scaling sheer cliffs or slippery surfaces, leaping across wide gaps or executing midair stunts, and navigating treacherous waters while resisting strong currents or interference. Athletics is also used to attempt an initial escape from a grapple. If unsuccessful, subsequent escape attempts are made using Strength (Might). ### Might Your Strength (Might) check covers feats of raw physical power, such as lifting and carrying immense weight, pushing heavy objects, forcing open stuck or locked doors, or breaking through solid barriers like wooden walls, metal chains, or thick glass. Might can also be used for contests of brute strength, such as arm wrestling or holding something in place against great force. You would use this for pushing, and for escaping a successful grapple instead of Athletics. ### Brawn Your Strength (Brawn) check applies to fighting with sheer physicality in unarmed combat or rough, improvised brawls. This includes overpowering an opponent in a grapple, maintaining control in a chaotic melee, or effectively using brute force in a fight rather than technique. It can also cover handling unruly creatures or restraining someone without hurting them. You would use this for grappling someone instead of Athletics. \columnbreak ## Constitution Skills ### Endurance Your Constitution (Endurance) check determines how well you withstand prolonged physical hardship. This includes resisting exhaustion from extended travel, running long distances, maintaining a heavy load over time, or surviving in extreme environments such as freezing cold, scorching heat, or high altitudes. It also applies to enduring long periods without food, water, or rest. ### Grit Your Constitution (Grit) check measures your ability to withstand pain, shock, and extreme discomfort without flinching or losing focus. This can include resisting the urge to cry out under torture, enduring severe injuries without collapsing, or pushing through fatigue and distraction in high-stress situations. It also applies to feats requiring intense willpower, such as gripping a burning rope, holding something sharp, or remaining conscious through extreme pain. ### Vitality Your Constitution (Vitality) check reflects your control over your own bodily functions. This includes resisting poison, disease, and intoxication, controlling your breathing for deep dives or endurance-based activities, and stopping bleeding through sheer force of will. It may also be used to shake off physical ailments like nausea, dizziness, or drug-induced effects. *** \pagebreak ## Example Systems to put them in use ### Holding Your Breath Rather than using the default rule where a character can hold their breath for 1 + their Constitution modifier in minutes, characters proficient in Constitution (Vitality) can push their limits even further. The new formula is: --- Holding Breath Duration = 1 + Constitution modifier + Proficiency bonus (if proficient in Vitality) minutes. --- This allows trained individuals, such as seasoned divers or monks practicing breath control, to hold their breath for significantly longer durations. ### Quick Brawl System For fast-paced fistfights that don’t require rolling initiative, use a series of opposed Strength (Brawn) checks: --- • Both combatants roll a Strength (Brawn) check. Whoever rolls higher lands a solid hit. If the Checks are the equal, reroll. --- • The loser must then make a Constitution (Grit) check. If they fail to roll higher than the attacker's Strength (Brawn) check, they lose 1 Brawl Point. --- • Each character starts with Brawl Points equal to their Constitution modifier. If a character reaches 0 Brawl Points, they are beaten and lose the fight. --- • Rolling a natural 20 on a Strength (Brawn) check forces the losing combatant to roll two Constitution (Grit) checks instead of one, potentially losing two Brawl Points. --- • Rolling a natural 1 on a Strength (Brawn) check automatically loses your Constitution (Grit) check, instantly losing one Brawl Point. --- • If a character’s Brawl Points drop to 0, they must make a Constitution (Vitality) check. On a roll of 9 or lower, they are knocked unconscious for 1 minute. Another character can use an Action to wake them by shaking them. --- • A character regains all Brawl Points after a brawl ends, assuming they have a moment to catch their breath and recover. --- This system keeps unarmed combat quick and cinematic while still allowing room for tough fighters to hold their ground through sheer resilience. ### Credits • Page 1: Art by **Chris Rallis** at *https://www.rallisart.com/magic-the-gathering*. • Page 2: Art by **Phan Tuan Dat** at *https://www.instagram.com/ptdat1610/*. \columnbreak ## Example uses of new skills ### Strength (Might) *Feats of Raw Power* • Brute Force Puzzles: Lifting a massive stone slab, bending iron bars, or smashing through a barricade. • Competitive Strength Games: Holding up a collapsing structure, playing a game of tug-of-war, or testing raw power in a strongman contest. • Overpowering Machinery: Forcing the gears of a large mechanical device to stop or prying apart stuck mechanical parts. ### Strength (Brawn) *Physical Combat & Control* • Crowd Control: Restraining a panicked NPC without hurting them or wrestling a raging animal to the ground. • Combat Tactics: In a fight, grappling an opponent for advantageous reasons. • Tavern Brawls: Used in quick melee scuffles where weapons aren’t involved, such as boxing matches or improvised fights. ### Constitution (Endurance) *Long-Term Physical Hardship* • Survival Challenges: Resisting exhaustion from prolonged travel through harsh environments like deserts or frozen tundras. • Forced Marches: Keeping up with a grueling pace without succumbing to fatigue. • Heavy Labor: Mining, hauling massive loads, or performing difficult manual work for extended periods. ### Constitution (Grit) *Mental & Physical Fortitude* • Interrogation Resistance: Withstanding pain or intimidation without breaking. • Pain Endurance: Pushing through a debilitating wound, not flinching when hit, or remaining conscious while bleeding out. • Steady Hands: Keeping calm and focused under duress, such as performing surgery in a high-stress situation. ### Constitution (Vitality) *Bodily Control & Resistance* • Withstanding Poison & Drugs: Shaking off the effects of intoxication, resisting venom, or handling narcotics without passing out. • Deep Dives & Breath Control: Staying underwater for longer durations or performing feats that require breath control. • Resisting Disease: Fighting off an infection or resisting magical plagues. \pagebreak # Example Feats --- These feats are maybe a little bonkers, but I think these new skills could be used to make some new cool thematic feats. ### Titan's Grip *Prerequisite: Strength 17 or higher* You have mastered the art of brute strength, allowing you to wield weapons and objects far beyond normal capacity. You gain the following benefits: • While wielding a two-handed weapon, you can now hold a weapon with the Light property or a shield in one hand, using the two-handed weapon with just one hand. • You can carry, lift, or push double the normal weight for your Strength score. • When you use a Strength (Might) check to break through barriers or force open doors, you gain advantage on the roll. ### Breath of the Beast *Prerequisite: Proficient in Constitution (Vitality)* You can control your breathing with such precision that you can perform extraordinary feats of stamina. You gain the following benefits: • Your Constitution score increases by 1, to a maximum of 20. • You can hold your breath for an additional 5 minutes for every point you are proficient in Constitution (Vitality). • You gain advantage on Constitution (Vitality) checks to avoid suffocation or being forced to breathe in toxic environments. ### Pain Tolerance *Prerequisite: Proficient in Constitution (Grit)* You have an incredible ability to push through pain and injuries. You gain the following benefits: • When you take damage from a source, you can reduce it by your proficiency bonus. • You can make a Constitution (Grit) check to avoid being knocked unconscious when reduced to 0 hit points. On a success, you remain at 1 hit point. You can use this feature once per long rest. ### Enduring Traveler *Prerequisite: Proficient in Constitution (Endurance)* You are a master of enduring hardship during long journeys and harsh environments. You gain the following benefits: • You can march for an additional 4 hours per day without gaining exhaustion. • You have advantage on Constitution (Endurance) checks to resist fatigue from long periods of travel or extreme weather conditions. \columnbreak ### Unyielding Force *Prerequisite: Proficient in Strength (Might)* Your raw strength makes you a force of nature, able to overcome any obstacle in your path. You gain the following benefits: • Once per turn, when you hit a target with a melee weapon attack or a ranged weapon attack using a thrown weapon, you can perform a Mighty Strike, adding an additional 1d10 damage to your next melee attack. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. • Additionally, when you use your Strength (Might) check to push or shove, you can push a creature an additional 10 feet away from you. ### Perfect Martial *Prerequisite: Strength 13 or higher* Your unmatched physical prowess allows you to master every aspect of strength, from athletic feats to sheer raw power and brutal combat. • Your Strength score increases by 1, to a maximum of 20. Additionally, you gain proficiency in Strength (Athletics), Strength (Might), and Strength (Brawn).