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Blue_C.
2006-04-30, 12:13 AM
I came up with these ideas a while ago. Basically, this is a series of feats that depend on various perform skills to activate their powers. It started with the Wind Charmer, Water Chanter, and Fire Dancer feats, and expanded from there.

Let me know what you all think.

ACTING UP [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Acting) 8 ranks
Benefit: You can substitute a Perform (Acting) check in place of Intimidate when trying to demoralize opponents. You may ignore size modifiers to Intimidate up to the number of ranks you have in Perform (Acting) when such modifiers do not benefit you (for instance, a small creature with 12 ranks in Perform (Acting) and this feat can demoralize an opponent of up to large size without penalty using this feat, and can still gain the +4 size bonus when intimidating tiny creatures).

CALMING MELODY [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Keyboard Instruments) 8 ranks.
Benefit: ith a Full-round Perform (Keyboard Instruments) check, you duplicate the effects of either a Calm Animals or Calm Emotions spell (but not both), as a cleric of your character level. The DC to resist the effect is equal to your Perform (Keyboard Insturment) check result. You must continue playing (as a full-round action) to maintain the effect, and the duration is unlimited.

EPIC OF THE UNDYING [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Oratory) 8 ranks.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must make a full-round DC 15 Perform (Oratory) check. If you succeed, one dying creature within 25 ft. is healed to 0 hp and becomes disabled instead of dying. For every 3 points by which your result exceeds 15, you may heal one additional creature.

FIRE DANCE [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Dance) 8 ranks.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must make a DC 15 Perform (dance) check (in this case, the check is a move action). If you succeed, you become immune to the effects of heat. For every three points by which your check result exceeds 15, you gain 1 point of Fire resistence. Both these effects only last as long as you continue to use a move action each round to Perform (Dance).

SCATHING TAUNT [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Comedy) 8 ranks.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must as a standard action make a Perform (Comedy) check equal to the target's HD+Will save modifier (including wisdom, feats and active spells). If successful, you suppress any morale bonus it has active on it for one round, plus one round for every 2 points you beat the DC. The target must be within five feet per rank you have in Perform (comedy) to be effected. This is a supernatural ability, and is suable only once per encounter.

STEADY BEAT [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Percussion) 10 ranks.
Benefit: As a full-round Perform (percussion) action, you can bolster your allies resistence. For every five ranks you have in Perform (percussion), your allies within 50 ft gain a +1 to all saves. You must continue performing (as a full-round action) to maintain the effect.

WATER CHANT [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Sing) 8 ranks.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must make a full-round DC 15 Perform (Sing) check. If you succeed, you duplicate the effects of the spell Animate Water, as a druid of your character level. The effect lasts only as long as you continue to devote a move action to maintaining the song, and you can see the animated water.

WIND CHARM [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Woodwinds) 15 ranks
Benefit: By making a full-round perform (woodwinds) action, you can make it difficult for air creatures and projectiles to harm you and your allies. As long as you continue to make full-round perform (woodwind) actions, you and your allies gain +1 dodge bonus versus flying creatures and projectiles for every five ranks of perform (woodwinds) you have.

And finally,

SCREW THE MUSIC [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (stringed instrument) 5 ranks
Benefit: Taking any instrument listed under Stringed Instruments in the Perform Skill, you can attempt to use it to sunder or destroy an object. The instrument itself is immedietly destroyed, however, the attack deals damage to the target object equal to the number of ranks you have in Perform (stringed instruments). Masterwork instruments grant you a +1 to the attack roll for this sunder attempt, and +2 to damage. Magical instruments do not break.
Instruments created or summoned with any spell cannot be used for this feat.

McBish
2006-04-30, 01:07 AM
They seem a little overpowered. Do they us a bardic music ablity to activate them. If not they should.

TBPBenni
2006-04-30, 01:08 AM
I love you.

What's great is that these -aren't dependant on bardic levels,- although they could be kitted to make this so. I could see Earth's Heartbeat being potentially fairly unbalanced, though. Perhaps the DC should increase by 2 for each round that the elemental has been summoned? I'd also limit it to one use per encounter.

Now I just have to figure out how to get a piano into the woods...

LordOfNarf
2006-04-30, 01:13 AM
Cool, but a little overpowered, you should make eacho f theose usable btween 1-3 times per day

Orion-the-G
2006-04-30, 01:41 AM
CALMING MELODY [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Keyboard Instruments) 8 ranks.
Benefit: By playing your instument of choice, you duplicate the effects of either a Calm Animals or Calm Emotions spell (but not both), as a cleric of your character level. The DC to resist the effect is equal to your Perform (Keyboard Insturment) check result. You must continue playing to maintain the effect, and the duration is unlimited.


This seems a little powerful, since it's basically two spells usable at will with an extremely high DC to resist. Also, you have to come up with a mechanic to determine what you can and cannot do while playing (is it a concentration action like maintaining a spell? does it just take up the use of your hands) and what action it takes to start playing the instrument. The actual potency of the spells is balanced by the skill required though. I don't know if it occured to you but the smallest keyboard instruments are pretty much completely immobile, so it's not really useful to an adventurer.




EARTH'S HEARTBEAT [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Percussion) 8 ranks.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must make a Perform (percussion) check. If you succeed this check, you call either an small, medium, or large earth elemental, or Mephit with the earth subtype to your side. The elemental acts under your control immedietly after being summoned, and continues to act on your turn during subsequent rounds. However, you must do nothing but play your instrument in order for it to remain summoned, and each round you must make the same check that initially cell the elemental. If you stop playing or fail a check, the summoned elemental is returned to where it originated. The DC for this check is 20+ the number of HD the elemental or mephit possesses.
If you have 13 ranks in Perform (percussion), you may call more than one elemental or mephit with one check. The DC then become 20+the total HD of all called creatures.


Okay, this is far, far too powerful. A large elemental is summoned with a Summon Monster 6 spell, having it available AT WILL as a feat available to 5th level characters is just not right. Especially since the duration becomes unlimited at higher levels. Yes, the fact that you must repeat the check every round adds a limiting factor but it's just too strong. A 5th level bard could easily manage a +15 or higher on his perform check. By 10th level (when summon monster 5 is available) he'll be rolling at +20 or more. Meaning he can count on keeping that elemental in play through most combats, and even if he fails he can simply ressummon it unlimited times. The potential for abuse outside of combat is even worse.




EPIC OF THE UNDYING [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Oratory) 8 ranks.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must make a DC 15 Perform (Oratory) check. If you succeed, one dying creature within 25 ft. is healed to 0 hp and becomes disabled instead of dying. For every 3 points by which your result exceeds 15, you may heal one additional creature.

You need to specify what action this is as well, however I would say that it is not too strong so long as the PC isn't pulling this off as a free action.



FIRE DANCE [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Dance) 8 ranks.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must make a DC 20 Perform (dance) check. If you succeed, you become immune to the effects of heat. For every three points by which your check result exceeds 20, you gain 1 point of Fire resistence. Both these effects only last as long as you continue to Dance.

I'd say not too powerful at all. Even a 20th level bard wouldn't be snagging much more than Fire resistance 10. If anything the feat is underpowered. However, you have to note what 'continuing to dance' entails.



MOTHER NATURE'S HEARTSTRINGS [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Strings) 10 ranks.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must make a DC 20 Perform (Strings) check. If you succeed, you duplicate the effects of one spell: either Diminish Plants, Plant Growth,or Speak with Plants, as a druid of your character level.
If you have 15 ranks in Perform (Strings), you may also duplicate the spell Command Plants. Doing so requires a DC 25 Perform check.


No, definitely not. 3 3rd level spells usable at will with just one feat? The DC 20 check isn't much of a limiter at all, since any decent bard of 7th level is rolling at +15 or +17. By the time they have 15 ranks the bard is rolling at +20 or +22 and they get a 4th level spell usable at will.



STAGE MAGIC [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Acting) 10 ranks.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must make a DC 15 Perform (Acting) check. If you succeed, you can create a phantasm no larger than yourself, but of any shape that you can imagine. Anyone who interacts with the phantasm does so as if it were comepletely real, unless they make a will save with your perform check as the DC. The illusion is created within five feet of you, and does not move. The illusion lasts one round per rank you possess in the perform skill (not just acting).


You need to make sure you limit the abilities here very strictly. As it is there isn't anything that prevents the bard from creating the phantasm of a Astral Deva or a Ghale eladrin and simply slaughtering the enemy. You state they interact with the illusion as though it were completely real but you don't specify what that means. Also keep in mind that the DC of a perform check is going to be VASTLY more powerful than the DC of a normal spell. As I pointed out a 10th level bard can expect an average result of 26 or so. The best a normal 10th level, illusion specialist could do would be a DC 25, and that's with an INT of 26. If the bard rolls well he could easily break DC 30.

Way too strong as is, the final verdict depends on how it interacts with the targets.




SCATHING TAUNT [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Comedy) 8 ranks.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must make a Perform (Comedy) check. Your target must then beat a will save whose DC equals your Perform check result, or lesions and small cuts will break out across its body as your comments about his or her character, apperance, and parentage exact their toll. For every point by which your target missed the save, it gains one point of non-lethal damage. If it rolled a natural 1, the damage is lethal.
This feat is usable only once per encounter.


You need to specify what action this takes (standard, move, full round) and what type of effect this is (supernatural, extraordinary, spell-like). Also, it needs a range (and should probably be a 'sonic' effect) because as it is the bard could taunt someone hundreds of miles away, which is clearly not the intent.



WATER CHANT [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Sing) 8 ranks.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must make a DC 15 Perform (Sing) check. If you succeed, you duplicate the effects of the spell Animate Water, as a druid of your character level.
If you have 15 ranks in Perform (Sing), you can Control Water as a druid of your level. In this case, it is a DC 25 Performance.


The basic spell isn't nearly as strong, and I might not have a problem with it if it was just animate water. Except that you don't give a duration, or even whether you have to keep singing (or what action that takes). However, with the Control water added in, it's far, far too strong like I pointed out with the rest.



WIND CHARMER [General]
Prerequisite: Perform (Wind Instrument) 12 ranks.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must make a DC 25 Perform (Wind Instrument) check. If you succeed, you duplicate the effects of the spell Control Winds, as a druid of your character level.
[/quote]

No, way too strong. This allows a competent performer to emulate a 5th level spell, at will. Just way too powerful.

Blue_C.
2006-04-30, 01:43 AM
McBish-No they do not use bardic music ability. I suppose they could, and be usable either once per day or once per expenditure of a bardic music ability. Would that make them less unbalanced?

Others-Are they all over-powered? Are some more overpowered than others?

Edit: Good, person whose name I didn't manage to look at, I lie that kind of useful feedback. In my head, I imagined all of these to be full-round actions.

Now I need to think of something for Windcharmer, but that's okay.

kailin
2006-04-30, 01:52 AM
So, yes, as McBish and TPBenni have pointed out, you should give the abilities minimum levels of bard so that they aren't too easy to get. On the other hand, the best thing about these is that they take a bunch of different perform skills to use.

Also, your perform rank requirements are a bit weird:
the ability to summon an elemental, for as long as you want (as a standard action, instead of the usual full-round), is more powerful than the ability to duplicate a low-level spell, for instance.

Why does stage magic take one perform skill to use, but any perform skill to maintain?

Scathing taunt is a weak ability at low levels--with 8 ranks of perform and +3 from charisma at level 5, it'll do an average of 8 points of nonlethal damage against a single opponent, if that opponent has a low will save. It gets worse as level goes up, because though the will DC increases, enemies' hit points increase faster.

The spell-like and elemental music abilities are cool, though. Maybe you should think about making a prestige class that blends druid and bard-like powers. Instead of bundling them up as individual feats, they can be part of the class progression, and the class could grant bonus feats, instead. Or something like that, anyway, it seems neat but the powers themselves would neat work to make them more generally useful and less, well, wierd--they're very unbalanced, but not all that great, except for the earth elemental one, which is obscene, and the illusion one, which could be, in the hands of inventive powergaming players.

Blue_C.
2006-04-30, 02:11 AM
Now, why would they need to have specific levels of Bard? Shouldn't the minimum ranks in perform do the same?