Affirmation (sage ability)

A fighter prepares for the magical attack he knows is coming

Affirmation is an amateur-status sage ability that increases a combatant's confidence prior to entering combat. Characters with this knowledge are able to prepare themselves for a saving throw they know is coming, allowing them a +2 save adjustment and a further easing of -1 damage per die causing damage.

Preparation for Attack

To employ the ability, the character must know what sort of special attack is coming. There are many possible forms of attack, including breath weapon, energy drain, heat, charm, poison and spellcasting — far more than can be listed here. What matters is that the form of attack is expected, enabling the character to muster his or her courage and make conscious plans to survive. Affirmation enables the character to inwardly provide the self-confidence and skill needed in a time of trouble.

For example, the character learns that entering a certain cave will bring on an encounter with a dragon. Normally, there would be little the character could do but go in and fight, and hope for the best. However, through affirmation, the character reasons out what will need to be done: on what side to bring an attack, how best to employ a shield, what to watch out for in the dragon's movements or the dragon's eyes ... and what to do, exactly, when the dragon breathes.

Note that it is NOT the creature that is prepared against, but the form of attack! Knowing what that will be, the character sits, meditates for five full rounds without interruption and then announces that he or she is "ready." Then, so long as the attack occurs within the next hour, the character will gain the bonuses listed above.

Reasoning

The ability presumes that the character is a much better combatant when bringing to bear that individual's full experience to the fore. It is not simply a matter of concentrating hard, but deliberately remembering moments of training and personal experience that were received earlier, and correcting for possible overconfidence through mental discipline.

If the character cannot take the time to do this — and importantly, this concentration cannot take place in the middle of combat or at any time when the character is stressed or distracted by things that are going on! The character must have quiet; there must be sufficient time to think; and the character must know what to expect, and have reason to expect it. A character cannot randomly prepare for something which is unlikely to be a threat at the present.

If these conditions are met, then the bonuses gained more than justify the time taken to be ready to face the known dangers at hand.

See Empowerment