- Sweet new nojohr skill: cleave.
 
  - Sweet new poliir skill: immaculate retort. In addition, these
    poliir abilities are now much cheaper: awakening of the guard,
    focused sphere. (Thanks for the poliir feedback, Cayce.)
 
  - Focused sphere gains slightly more hit/dam for smaller characters
    and slightly less hit/dam for larger characters.
    
  - Radiant awakening has had its burst damage capability reduced, and
    its long-term benefit enhanced beyond 100% mastery.
    
  - These abilities now gain some cool benefits beyond 100%: awakening
    of the guard , passage of dark summoning.
    
  - These abilities have been enabled for followers: haste, convergence
    of balance, oblique pattern. (Thanks, Alpha.)

Cleave:

Usage: cleave

Cleave is a basic multiple target attack prevention ability. Its base
prevention time is constant, but can be situationally reduced (see below).

Nojohrs are, helm to boot, immersed in the study of and devotion to war and
the various ways of waging it. Cleave is a basic nojohr ability, both obvious
and subtle - representative of the nojohr in many ways.

Cleave is a sweeping assault, timed carefully to fall into the rhythm of
the nojohr's offense. Cleave is capable of striking up to three targets
at once; however, it will only strike enemies which are actively attacking
the nojohr or his or her allies.

The nojohr's sensitivity to tactical rhythm is such that a successful cleave
will allow him or her to follow up with a briefly enhanced defensive position,
granting an increased ability to parry attacks.

The true power of cleave is most evident in large-scale combat. The defensive
benefit is multiplied by the number of targets struck; thus, a nojohr in combat
with many opponents can revel in the glory of striking down a crowd of inferior
combatants while fending off their sundry blows with ease. Perhaps even more
impressively, the invigorating rush of such a situation allows the nojohr to
recover from cleave's prevention more swiftly for each target thus struck.

Straight +hit and +damage have a somewhat reduced effect on cleave. Its accuracy
is strongly based on dexterity, while its damage is based on strength, level, and
weapon damage. In addition, quickness contributes to both the accuracy and damage
of a nojohr's cleaves.

Mastery of this skill beyond 100% contributes to the defensive benefit slightly,
while strongly increasing its accuracy and damage.

Immaculate retort:

Usage: automatic

As a master of defense in various shapes and forms, the poliir has an often
unique way of dominating the battlefield. While offense is easy to understand
and difficult to ignore, sometimes it is the patient and thoughtful who gain
the greatest benefit.

Immaculate retort is a natural extension of the poliir's graceful fighting
style. Quite simply, the retort is an automatic attack, woven into the ebb
and flow of regular combat and instilled with the poliir's fighting spirit.
As such, it is a basic tool and great boon to any aspiring poliir; however,
its subtle benefits run even deeper.

While the retort may not be a flashy, devastating attack, it is representative
of the poliir's greatest strengths - control, survival, and mastery of the
inevitable. A poliir's retort is extremely difficult to avoid, possessing
an unbelievable level of accuracy; the poliir's innate spiritual dominance is
such that even masters of evasion cannot turn aside the immaculate retort.
This spiritual advantage also allows the retort to strike as a spiritual
attack, thus negating the benefits of armor or physical resistances.

Straight +hit and +damage have a reduced effect on this ability. The accuracy
and damage of immaculate retort is based directly on the poliir's dexterity,
as is the frequency with which the poliir can weave it into his or her flow of
combat.

Those poliir who have mastered the retort beyond 100% have gleaned several
benefits from their proficiency. The retort's accuracy and damage is increased
somewhat, but even greater is the benefit of grace - a master of this ability
can weave retorts with more speed and efficiency, even performing two in the
same combat round. It is said that more skillful retorts move so quickly that
they cannot be counterattacked.

 
  - New spell: blessing of the meek (for remort fallads and dajas).

  - Defender's discipline now gains benefits beyond 100% mastery.
 
  - The Belkan Tundra's repop time has been lowered somewhat.

Blessing of the meek:

Usage: cast 'blessing of the meek' <target>
Usage: invoke 'blessing of the meek' <target>

Blessing of the meek is a minor benediction prevention ability.

In war or in peace, it is always the weak, the luckless, and the downtrodden
who are the easiest targets. Those who lack the strength or the resources to
defend themselves are often victims of the harshest oppression.

And yet, countless stories tell of the triumphs of the small and the meek.
Through ingenuity, perseverance, or fortitude, the outmatched overcome all
odds to win the day, tracing the arc of so many myths and legends. In this
time of heroes, it can be a great comfort to have these stories on one's side;
and no-one would refuse a little help from the gods, either.

Fallads and healers can, in times of distress, call upon the blessing of the
meek in an attempt to shield the downtrodden. Those who have received this
blessing will gain an affect which bolsters the recipient's spirits when the
odds seem insurmountable.

This affect reduces incoming damage from each attack, if and only if that
damage exceeds a certain cap. This damage cap is based on the recipient's
current health; those of lesser hit points (be it due to size or injuries)
will find their determination to resist powerful blows enhanced.

Both the duration and prevention of blessing of the meek are short. In
addition, the prevention is *greatly* reduced if the recipient is of a lesser
rank than the caster. The effectiveness of the blessing is based on wisdom.

Mastery in this spell beyond 100% grants a threefold benefit; with greater
mastery, the blessing gains in duration, effectiveness, and an additional
gift.

For more information, see: help affect: pillar of the spirit