TheEmerged
2006-09-20, 11:19 PM
Hello and thank you for your time. The following is an idea I've been kicking around for a while; the current implementation is inspired somewhat by World of Warcraft's talent system. Thought I'd run it passed y'all for some other opinions.
STATEMENT: Feats are, in my opinion, either the best or second-best idea 3rd Edition has brought to the table.
PROBLEM: Feats are not created equal, and it is somewhat difficult to balance them. To a certain extent this is balanced around the idea that some classses get more feats than others -- I think this is why many fighter-specific feats appear weaker than most, because a single feat selection means less to a fighter than to most other classes.
PREFERENCE: Based one the three 3rd Edition campaigns I participated in and the lone 3.5 campaign I've played in, it seems like we don't get enough feats. Increasing this slightly would be a good thing in my opinion
PROPOSAL: Instead of gaining 1 feat every 3 levels, players instead 1 "Feat Point" per level. They can spend these on feats, which will now have a cost. This cost will be from 1 to 3 points, with the 'standard' value of feat being 2 points.
BONUS FEATS? Instead of getting 'bonus feats', characters get additional feat points -- at a rate of 3 feat points per bonus feat. Additionally, these points should be prorated to the extent possible. For example, fighters get a bonus feat every other level; under this proposal they would instead get 1 additional feat point on odd-numbered levels and 2 additional feat points on even-numbered levels. Any restrictions on the feats chosen remain.
From where I type, I see two drawbacks. The more serious one is having to assign a value to the sizable number of existing feats will itself creating potential imbalances if the value of a feat is misjudged. The lesser is the added complexity but hey, I'm not afraid of a little extra paperwork :D
The following is a homebrew feat chain for my modified psionic system as an example of how it might look
Force of Will (Psionic). Requires Dreamer. 3 pts. Choose either Intellect, Wisdom, or Charisma for this feat to be based on. Choose another attribute for this feat to affect. You may now use the attribute bonus this feat is based on instead of the attribute bonus that this feat affects for any and all purposes -- including save bonuses, skill points, skill roles, damage bonuses, bonus spells, bonus power points, etc.
A fairly potent talent that could allow characters to get around a "dump stat", and hence costing more than normal
Enhanced Force of Will. 1 point. Requires Force of Will. By expending your psionic focus, you apply the original attribute bonus in addition to the replacement attribute bonus for a single roll.
Not really worth a full feat; remember the original attribute bonus is likely quite low. Chances are this will add only +1 or +2 to the roll, and the psionic focus cost means it can only be done once per combat.
[b]Epic Force of Will[b]. 2 points. Requires Level 21 and Enhanced Force of Will. The attribute bonuses are cumulative all the time.
Again, given that the 'affected' attribute is probably +1/+2 this is pretty close to a proper balance. Yes, this means that the 'affected' attribute will now have a higher bonus than the replacement bonus...
Thoughts? Comments?
STATEMENT: Feats are, in my opinion, either the best or second-best idea 3rd Edition has brought to the table.
PROBLEM: Feats are not created equal, and it is somewhat difficult to balance them. To a certain extent this is balanced around the idea that some classses get more feats than others -- I think this is why many fighter-specific feats appear weaker than most, because a single feat selection means less to a fighter than to most other classes.
PREFERENCE: Based one the three 3rd Edition campaigns I participated in and the lone 3.5 campaign I've played in, it seems like we don't get enough feats. Increasing this slightly would be a good thing in my opinion
PROPOSAL: Instead of gaining 1 feat every 3 levels, players instead 1 "Feat Point" per level. They can spend these on feats, which will now have a cost. This cost will be from 1 to 3 points, with the 'standard' value of feat being 2 points.
BONUS FEATS? Instead of getting 'bonus feats', characters get additional feat points -- at a rate of 3 feat points per bonus feat. Additionally, these points should be prorated to the extent possible. For example, fighters get a bonus feat every other level; under this proposal they would instead get 1 additional feat point on odd-numbered levels and 2 additional feat points on even-numbered levels. Any restrictions on the feats chosen remain.
From where I type, I see two drawbacks. The more serious one is having to assign a value to the sizable number of existing feats will itself creating potential imbalances if the value of a feat is misjudged. The lesser is the added complexity but hey, I'm not afraid of a little extra paperwork :D
The following is a homebrew feat chain for my modified psionic system as an example of how it might look
Force of Will (Psionic). Requires Dreamer. 3 pts. Choose either Intellect, Wisdom, or Charisma for this feat to be based on. Choose another attribute for this feat to affect. You may now use the attribute bonus this feat is based on instead of the attribute bonus that this feat affects for any and all purposes -- including save bonuses, skill points, skill roles, damage bonuses, bonus spells, bonus power points, etc.
A fairly potent talent that could allow characters to get around a "dump stat", and hence costing more than normal
Enhanced Force of Will. 1 point. Requires Force of Will. By expending your psionic focus, you apply the original attribute bonus in addition to the replacement attribute bonus for a single roll.
Not really worth a full feat; remember the original attribute bonus is likely quite low. Chances are this will add only +1 or +2 to the roll, and the psionic focus cost means it can only be done once per combat.
[b]Epic Force of Will[b]. 2 points. Requires Level 21 and Enhanced Force of Will. The attribute bonuses are cumulative all the time.
Again, given that the 'affected' attribute is probably +1/+2 this is pretty close to a proper balance. Yes, this means that the 'affected' attribute will now have a higher bonus than the replacement bonus...
Thoughts? Comments?