Flanker

Often the best way to contribute to a fight is not by directly attacking the enemy, but by using tactics carefully to give an ally the upper-hand. This is the flanker's approach to battle: find an enemy who needs to be taken care of and help an ally bring that enemy down. Flankers tend to be more lightly-equipped than their allies, preferring more agile weapons for pin-point accurate feints. Besides, their role isn't to damage the enemy. Instead, they're responsible for getting the enemy into tough tactical positions and holding them there for the hammer blow from a more powerful ally.
Flankers are especially useful thanks to their Set-Up feat. They'll move into position and harass an enemy, granting one of their allies combat advantage against a flat-footed foe (usually setting up a heavy-hitter like the brute or the artillery).
But as useful as they are, flankers by themselves are not much of a threat. Their attacks tend to be less damaging, meaning that more powerful characters often have little to fear directly from flankers themselves. Further, they suffer from poor Fortitude and Will resistances, making them prime targets for exotic attacks which target those two resistances. They are excellent support troops, but flankers are terrible front-liners. If they are not supported by more powerful and durable allies, they tend to be rather ineffective.
Flankers really shine when they come into a fight-in-progress. While the enemy is tied up with other concerns, flankers can move into position and turn the tide of the fight with their unique skills, helping to threaten key enemies and help their most potent allies make the most of their abilities. They make a great “second wave” in this respect. However, one should keep their vulnerabilities in mind when deploying the flankers, since even light blows threaten to take them out of the fight. Flankers are not a solid line of defense, and neither are they a reliable source of damage. Rather, flankers are a convenient way to improve the capabilities of their allies. They can lend a hand, but don't expect them to carry the brunt of the load on their shoulders.
==Flanker Table==
==Common FX/Gear==
Damage (PL -2) (Extras: Mighty) (PL-1 cp)
==Sample Flankers==
* Swift-footed footsoldiers who disrupt enemy formations
* Light fighters who specialize in knocking away other warriors' shields
* Distracting smaller monsters who interfere with attacks
* A sacrificial robot designed to hold an enemy still while its allies blast away
* An expert martial artist who specializes in foot sweeps and throwing enemies off-balance
Category:Rulebook
Category:GMing
Category:NPC Archetypes