Well, for Xenophon that's pretty straightforward. The website says "To buy Stances you take a list of at least four combat boosts, and make them Specialized and Corrupted/you can only use stances totaling one-quarter of your invested points or less at any one time. This can, however, quite reasonably stack with the internal Specialization and Corruption of individual abilities – but the game master must ensure that all the stances are things that the user would actually like to be able to use at the same time. Applying “can only use a few at a time” to a list that includes social, crafting, combat, and research boosting effects really isn’t much of a limitation."
So with four stances you can only use one at a time. Buy another four (in this case for another eight points) and you can use two at a time - although if you've taken contradictory stances ("Wind Stance: I float into the air!" is not likely to work properly if you also activate "Earth Stance: I sink into the earth!").
So here are five more possibilities;
- Blood Infusion Stance: Presence/Two L1 effects that apply to the user only. Your Armor is affected by Chitin Mail and your Weapons do damage as if they were one size category larger.
quote:
Chitin Mail: L1 Transmutation. For one minute per level of the caster whatever armor the user is wearing is treated as being one armor category lighter. The maximum dexterity bonus increases by two, the armor check penalty is reduced by two, arcane spell failure goes down by 15% (to a minimum of 5%), and the speed penalty is eliminated.
- Graceful Bloodthirst Stance: (Presence, Specialized for Increased Effect / Two L1 effects that apply to the user only. Lion's Charge (May make a full attack at the end of a charge) plus Surefooted Stride (can move through difficult terrain at full speed, can run, charge, and tumble through such terrain as though it were clear terrain, and gain a +2 competence bonus on Climb checks) (2 CP).
- Invigoration Of The Blood: Presence / Two L1 effects that apply to the user only. Floating Disk (the user may run a few feet above the ground - or above water - and Resurgence (the user gets a second chance on a saving throw once per round) (2 CP).
- Vigorous Flawing Blood: Opprotunist / Each time you make an attack you can take a 5' Stop
- Rage Of Blood (Awesome Wrath): +4 Morale Bonus to Str and Con, +2 Morale Bonus to Will Saves.
John is harder, simply because what he has is "Innate Enchantment: Force Shield" - basically the "Shield" spell. It provides a +4 Shield Bonus but it isn't actually a shield; it can't be maneuvered by the user, or grasped, or thrown, or anything like that. Trying to add functions to it is like trying to make a Flight spell carry along a bunch of rocks that you can then send out to attack people. That's a lot of Metamagic or a brand new thing. John has that because he's a two-handed weapon fighter, and so has no convenient way to use a shield - but still needed the AC benefit that came of using one.
Throwing a shield at people pretty much requires that you have a physical shield that can be thrown. That's why the Enterprise fires phasers and photon torpedoes, but never throws it's shields at an enemy ship.
That being said... I would presume that what you want is the functionality of +2 AC, being able to make a Full Attack to stun a target, and being able to hit or trip things at range. Ergo:
- Metamagical Theorem (Power) with +2 Levels of Streamline, Specialized and Corrupted / Only to enhance Innate Enchantments, only to enhance Force Shield. This boost to the power of the Force Shield spell allows it to be either be enhanced or be discharged for a round (Until the user's next action) to fuel other force-based effects. No more than seven such tricks are available in total. (6 CP).
Possible Effects: 1) Shield Wall: Additional +2 Shield Bonus to AC, 2) Shield Bash: The user may take a full attack to slam the shield into a target, stunning them. Each round they get a Fortitude Save (DC 12+Str Mod) to recover. 3) Destructo Disk: Hurl the Shield as a ranged touch attack (30' increment, 2d6+Str Force Damage plus any one Combat Maneuver, no save), 4) Guardian Shield: Extend to benefits of your (Basic) Shield to all allies within 10', 5) Damage Shield: Your shield absorbs the first 20 points of damage you would take this round, then drops. 6) Binding Shield: You may hurl your shield as a net of force to Entangle a target (30' range increment, ranged touch, save (DC 12+Str Mod) each round after the first to escape, and 7) Create a Force Ladder effect.
Now that's more than a bit cheesy - and the GM might call for three levels of Streamline or a second Metamagical Theorem (likely Elemental Manipulation), (raising the cost to 8 CP) instead of two, but would something along those lines work for you?
