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View Full Version : [3.5] Great all-purpose feats



Grushvak
2009-11-28, 11:32 AM
It's a great thing when you gain a new feat, and you realize you already have all the necessary feats for your character build at your current level.

In these times, you can always turn to the old classics, like Improved Initiative, a good old skill focus, spell penetration and the likes. But let's see some great feats that aren't used that often, but are all-around good for a wide range of character concepts.

My DM suggested Dash from Miniatures Handbook for my warlock upon reaching level 3. Extra 5 ft movement that will also affect my fell flight? Not the greatest thing ever, but damn, it's nice for a feat.

Of course I later realized that, being a dragonwrought kobold, draconic aura (swiftness) was better. Still, Dash is a great all-purpose feat in my opinion.

sonofzeal
2009-11-28, 11:36 AM
Improved Toughness is a solid standby for me.

Nymph's Kiss is in the same vein. Extra skillpoints always help.

Open Minded is a faster payoff than Nymph's Kiss, and sometimes is worth it.

Wild Talent + Speed of Thought trumps Dash in most cases.

Martial Study / Martial Stance are just amazing, for almost everybody.

Combat Expertise is brilliant for anyone who doesn't rely on attack rolls (and good for many who do).

Adumbration
2009-11-28, 11:51 AM
I don't know a character that wouldn't be improved by the Bind Vestige feat.

Travel Devotion can be useful.

Grushvak
2009-11-28, 11:53 AM
I will pretty much always take Able Learner on my human characters, unless I'm really starved for skill points anyway.

It goes extremely well with a 1st level of rogue. Plenty of points to go around and you'll never have to worry about cross-class and maximum ranks again.

Lycanthromancer
2009-11-28, 11:57 AM
For any character with levels in a manifesting class, Psicrystal Affinity is great. It's much more durable and useful than a familiar, and you technically don't have any drawbacks if it's destroyed (according to WotC, if it's destroyed you "get another one").

It has so many uses it's not even funny.

Shape Soulmeld and Martial Stance are great ways to get special abilities and always-on buffs, whether you have associated class levels or not.

crazedloon
2009-11-28, 12:57 PM
spirit sense from HoH a nice feat which allows you to not worry about killing any messengers or any of the BBEG's minions because you can still question them.

BenTheJester
2009-11-28, 01:01 PM
For any character with the Dragonblood subtype, the Draconic Aura provide nice bonuses(I especially like Senses, a +1-4 bonus to Spot/Listen/Init to all allies? Yes thanks!)

Grushvak
2009-11-28, 01:05 PM
For any character with the Dragonblood subtype, the Draconic Aura provide nice bonuses(I especially like Senses, a +1-4 bonus to Spot/Listen/Init to all allies? Yes thanks!)

Regarding that, a Dragonwrought kobold loses its dragonblood subtype to become a pure dragon, if I remember correctly. Does that mean they're stuck at +1 with this feat? It would be pretty stupid: you're more of a dragon so your draconic aura is weaker. But the wording sure seems to point that way.

Also, does this mean a dragonwrought kobold sorcerer can sacrifice spell slots (level 2 and up) for draconic auras the way a true dragon does?

charl
2009-11-28, 01:31 PM
Insightful Reflexes (from Complete Adventurer, let's ju add Int instead of Dex to reflex saves) is good for a pretty wide variety of classes, especially since Int builds tend to use classes that don't have a good reflex bonus. It's not useful for everyone though. The same book has Jack of All trades. It lets you use any skill untrained. Pretty nifty.

Dash has been mentioned. I just wanted to add you can find it in Complete Warrior as well.

GolemsVoice
2009-11-28, 01:57 PM
There are a couple of feats that let you change the stat you use some skills with for another. Always useful for everyone who doesn't rely on the ability score in question.
The +2 bonus-on-one-saving-throw-feats is always helpful to boost a low save. Maybe a weapon focus?

erikun
2009-11-28, 02:06 PM
Improved Initiative, Improved Toughness, Quick Draw, and Blind-Fight are ones that I've made good use of. Eschew Materials is found on every one of my casters.

I will second Psicrystal Affinity; those things are all kinds of useful. Practiced Manifester is good for any multiclassed psionic character. (Practiced Spellcaster too, but spellcasters who give up caster levels are a lot rarer.)

Grushvak
2009-11-28, 02:12 PM
I'll have to second Shape Soulmeld and Martial Study / Martial Stance feats. They open up a world of possibilities. Like entirely new families of feats.

I'm looking into Shape Soulmeld (Wormtail Belt) for my kobold. +2 natural AC? All right. I rarely get attacked, but +2 is always good.

Pharaoh's Fist
2009-11-28, 02:18 PM
My DM suggested Dash from Miniatures Handbook for my warlock upon reaching level 3. Extra 5 ft movement that will also affect my fell flight? Not the greatest thing ever, but damn, it's nice for a feat.

Of course I later realized that, being a dragonwrought kobold, draconic aura (swiftness) was better. Still, Dash is a great all-purpose feat in my opinion.

Spending a feat for something that is outclassed by Boots of Striding and Springing is not a good idea.

Grushvak
2009-11-28, 02:21 PM
Spending a feat for something that is outclassed by Boots of Striding and Springing is not a good idea.

God forbid I ever have to retrain. :smalltongue:

For now, at level 3, it is great. And the availability of such magic items is never assured, so I usually don't let the existence of a magic item that accomplishes the same function keep me from a feat I find appealing.

Darrin
2009-11-28, 02:43 PM
Regarding that, a Dragonwrought kobold loses its dragonblood subtype to become a pure dragon, if I remember correctly. Does that mean they're stuck at +1 with this feat? It would be pretty stupid: you're more of a dragon so your draconic aura is weaker. But the wording sure seems to point that way.


True dragons automatically qualify for anything that requires the dragonblood subtype (RotD p. 4, down at the bottom).



Also, does this mean a dragonwrought kobold sorcerer can sacrifice spell slots (level 2 and up) for draconic auras the way a true dragon does?

I believe so.

deuxhero
2009-11-28, 03:18 PM
Dash equivlent is only 2000 something gold (fixed) on armor. You can get a 10 ft land bonus for 2000 if you give up your shoes (3000 if you don't)

tahu88810
2009-11-28, 03:56 PM
Toughness, 'nuff said

Teron
2009-11-28, 03:58 PM
Combat Expertise is brilliant for anyone who doesn't rely on attack rolls (and good for many who do).
How do you figure? You have to attack to use it.

Pharaoh's Fist
2009-11-28, 04:17 PM
Toughness, 'nuff said

:smallconfused:

ex cathedra
2009-11-28, 04:19 PM
Most builds don't take all-purpose feats. Generalizing = bad, specializing = good. That's how things work for the most part.

Improved bloody Initiative, however, is nigh-universally useful. It's not always worth a feat slot, but it's certainly better than scribe scroll in my eyes.

Beelzebub1111
2009-11-28, 04:22 PM
Most builds don't take all-purpose feats. Generalizing = bad, specializing = good. That's how things work for the most part.

Improved bloody Initiative, however, is nigh-universally useful. It's not always worth a feat slot, but it's certainly better than scribe scroll in my eyes.
Improved initiative is good for Rogues, Ninjas, and anyone who relies on their opponents being flatfooted, but only for one round. Improved Feint is much more useful.

Narazil
2009-11-28, 04:27 PM
Improved initiative is good for Rogues, Ninjas, and anyone who relies on their opponents being flatfooted, but only for one round. Improved Feint is much more useful.
Hello, my name is Wizard. I don't care about hitting first, I care about my opponents doing just that.
Seriously, winning initiative is important for everyone.

AshDesert
2009-11-28, 04:33 PM
:smallconfused:

Sarcasm I hope

Lycanthromancer
2009-11-28, 04:47 PM
Toughness, 'nuff saidNo. Just...no.

No no never no.

And hell no, for good measure.

Optimystik
2009-11-28, 04:54 PM
Sarcasm I hope

Maybe he means 3.0.

RebelRogue
2009-11-28, 05:04 PM
Blind-fight in order to avoid being punished by invisible foes with sneak attack (or similar precision damage), though only for melee. The reroll for concealment can be beneficial as well.

Thurbane
2009-11-28, 06:09 PM
Aside from feats that are part of a feat chain, here's some I really like when I have a feat to blow:

Bloodline feats from Dragon Compendium (for any spontaneous caster - 1 extra spell known per level, which might otherwise not be available to your class)
Bane Magic (2d6 extra damage against 1 creature type - good at low levels especially, if you are facing one type of foe a lot)
Able Learner (must for any human who plans to multi-class)
Wild Cohort
Domain feats (especially Chaos, Knowledge, Law, Travel and Trickery)
Rapid Spell (Summon creatures as a standard action for +1 spell level)
Scorpion's Resolve: like Iron Will, but +4 instead of +2 (still applies to 90% of Will saves you have to make). Will also stack with Iron Will.

Schylerwalker
2009-11-28, 06:59 PM
Toughness is required for Roll With It?

I made a 3rd level dwarven fighter with 45 hp and DR 2/-. Needed Toughness to do it though. :smallbiggrin:

Thrice Dead Cat
2009-11-28, 07:29 PM
If I'm playing a spellcaster, I usually grab Extend Spell ASAP. May not use it at level 1, but it's a great thing to have handy. Improved Initiative is also probably the only feat I would take, regardless of anything else on the character sheet.

Eldariel
2009-11-28, 07:40 PM
Toughness is required for Roll With It?

I made a 3rd level dwarven fighter with 45 hp and DR 2/-. Needed Toughness to do it though. :smallbiggrin:

Yeah, about that, I always ask DM if I can take Improved Toughness instead (though in one arena, I did play a character with Toughness and it won me a match; that said, that was because said arena was a level 1 arena).

'cause Toughness is frankly the reason Tarrasque isn't very intimidating. If it had useful feats instead of the infinite Toughnesses, maybe it could accomplish something other than be big and look dumb.

jokey665
2009-11-28, 07:51 PM
'cause Toughness is frankly the reason Tarrasque isn't very intimidating. If it had useful feats instead of the infinite Toughnesses, maybe it could accomplish something other than be big and look dumb.

I've got a 30-headed Tarrasque statted up if you'd like bit more of a challenge, using the multiheaded creature template from Savage Species. It has over 5,000 hp and it's supposedly only CR 29. Yay for templates under-CRing stuff, I guess? Here's its attack routine:

30 bites +141 (4d8+35/18-20/x3) and 60 horns +141 (1d10+17) and 2 claws +141 (1d12+17) and tail slap +141 (3d8+17)

And its lowest save is +41, and SR 52 and AC 69.

tyckspoon
2009-11-28, 07:52 PM
'cause Toughness is frankly the reason Tarrasque isn't very intimidating. If it had useful feats instead of the infinite Toughnesses, maybe it could accomplish something other than be big and look dumb.

Not within the bounds of Core, or even the Epic Handbook (although swapping all those Toughness for Epic Toughness would at least make them a relevant source of HP..) Mostly you can make him screw melee attackers even harder, which doesn't change his basic function- he could already do that, and he's still pretty helpless against anybody who takes a moment to stop and think about how to approach the fight. With an expanded source pool he can use feats to tap into alternate mechanics systems like binding, incarnum, and martial maneuvers, and that gets some really interesting results (and hilarious threads.)

Eldariel
2009-11-28, 08:05 PM
Not within the bounds of Core, or even the Epic Handbook (although swapping all those Toughness for Epic Toughness would at least make them a relevant source of HP..) Mostly you can make him screw melee attackers even harder, which doesn't change his basic function- he could already do that, and he's still pretty helpless against anybody who takes a moment to stop and think about how to approach the fight. With an expanded source pool he can use feats to tap into alternate mechanics systems like binding, incarnum, and martial maneuvers, and that gets some really interesting results (and hilarious threads.)

He isn't really that scary in melee even in Core. I mean, sure, he's probably going to munch your average Fighter 20 for breakfast (well, not munch since Ring of Freedom of Movement sees to that, but kill anyways), but it's killable martially in Core.

Mind you, it's not easy, but it's possible; I think you don't even need UMD abuse to pull it off. I mean, sure, you won't kill it in one charge without Polymorph or the like, but you can put a ~300-point dent in its HP (mounted charge) and you can even penetrate its DR with a Magical Beast Bane +5 weapon (courtesy of Greater Magic Weapon).

But yeah, your AC will be useless so you gotta use stuff like Blinking and Invisibility to get some defenses that might actually help, and as many immunities as possible (Greater Fortifications Armor is a v. good idea). Oh, and lots of HP. Leadershipping or Lesser Planar Binding a Nightmare is probably also a good idea; its spell-likes would make the fight easy, and it makes for a nice mount anyways with a solid bonus miss chance.


If rebuilt, especially with epic stuff, it could be substantially more of a threat. I'm not entirely sure, but it may even be possible to build it so that it could have a fighting chance against an Allip (well, just checked and no, it still dies to a single Allip).

But stuff like Dire Charge, Spellcasting Harrier, Exceptional Deflection and such could actually help. And then teach it to jump really high and it could at least catch unwary flyers. I mean, it'd still suck, but it'd suck a lot less than someone with 7 Toughnesses.


I've got a 30-headed Tarrasque statted up if you'd like bit more of a challenge, using the multiheaded creature template from Savage Species. It has over 5,000 hp and it's supposedly only CR 29. Yay for templates under-CRing stuff, I guess? Here's its attack routine:

30 bites +141 (4d8+35/18-20/x3) and 60 horns +141 (1d10+17) and 2 claws +141 (1d12+17) and tail slap +141 (3d8+17)

And its lowest save is +41, and SR 52 and AC 69.

If it doesn't fly, it's a joke. Further, it's epic. Better be prepared to deal with Epic Spellcasting. Make it a Half-Fiend and give it some extra SLAs and we may be talking. And ban Epic Spellcasting.

aje8
2009-11-28, 11:46 PM
I've got a 30-headed Tarrasque statted up if you'd like bit more of a challenge, using the multiheaded creature template from Savage Species. It has over 5,000 hp and it's supposedly only CR 29. Yay for templates under-CRing stuff, I guess? Here's its attack routine:

30 bites +141 (4d8+35/18-20/x3) and 60 horns +141 (1d10+17) and 2 claws +141 (1d12+17) and tail slap +141 (3d8+17)

And its lowest save is +41, and SR 52 and AC 69.
Non-Flying, Non-Spellcasting at Cr-29? You've been pointless for the last like 20 levels, (9th level is where Wizards get Mass Fly) yay for over-CRing!

Anyway, all purpose feats?
Improved Init and Able Learner are all I can think of. Improved Init is something every Wizard should have. You want to get your BC down before the enemy can get close to your party. For melee charatcers, wanting Improved Init should be obivous.

Temotei
2009-11-29, 12:04 AM
Improved Initiative is one of those feats everyone can and most likely will take. It's always a good thing to go before your enemies.

Combat Expertise is generally a good thing, although sometimes I wish it was infinite, like Power Attack.

Combat Reflexes isn't bad.

I like throwing invisible attackers around. Blind Fight is a good choice for players. :smalltongue:

Aquillion
2009-11-29, 12:13 AM
Leadership. 'nuff said.

(Yes, of course it's broken, but it definitely fits the criteria.)

Grushvak
2009-11-29, 09:34 AM
Leadership. 'nuff said.

(Yes, of course it's broken, but it definitely fits the criteria.)

Even more so when the DM lets you build your cohort. Oh man oh man.

And then you get your cohort to also take leadership.

DementedFellow
2009-11-29, 09:49 AM
Cohorts can't take leadership. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of them, you know, playing second banana to your character. If they are such a great leader, why are they following your character around? I could find the excerpt from the SRD I believe.

On top of that DMs are supposed to play the Cohort and I don't think any sane DM will give himself more bookkeeping to maintain.

Tshern
2009-11-29, 09:56 AM
Improved initiative is good for Rogues, Ninjas, and anyone who relies on their opponents being flatfooted, but only for one round. Improved Feint is much more useful.
I strongly disagree. Improved feint has a prerequisite, it still only allows you to make a single attack against the opponent without action economy shenanigans and Improved initiative doesn't only help you make your foe flat-footed but also protects you from being the victim yourself.

Edit: Cohorts can take Leadership. Nothing prevents that. Also, keep in mind that leaders often are under the rule of another leader in real life too. Think about army structures, for example.

DementedFellow
2009-11-29, 10:18 AM
Could have sworn I'd seen it. Oh well, guess I'm wrong. It wasn't as easy to find as I thought it would be. Since I can't find it, I will say I'm wrong.

But I still stand by my bookkeeping comment. :)

Flickerdart
2009-11-29, 10:28 AM
The trick is to hike up your and your cohort's Leadership scores high enough to attract 6th level followers, who also get Leadership for even more expendables. Easier with Thrallherd, of course.

Tshern
2009-11-29, 10:51 AM
Could have sworn I'd seen it. Oh well, guess I'm wrong. It wasn't as easy to find as I thought it would be. Since I can't find it, I will say I'm wrong.

But I still stand by my bookkeeping comment. :)
The bookkeeping argument I concur. I avoid Leadership as a player too.

CockroachTeaParty
2009-11-29, 11:45 AM
Yeah, the Shape Soulmeld feat is pretty much better than most other feats. It'll snag you all kinds of goodies. My favorite is Shape Soulmeld (Planar Ward), for immunity to mind control, a la Protection from Evil. Mage's Spectacles are also quite useful for Rogues, Artificers, or anyone else who fancies UMD. Plus they're a great source to acquire natural attacks from, with the plethora of totemist soulmelds available.

Aldizog
2009-11-29, 02:15 PM
I kind of like Quick Recovery (LoM) as an all-purpose feat because stunning or dazing sometimes comes up a "no save, you're screwed" effect (Fleshshiver, Stun Ray, Blasphemy, Word of Chaos). Not often, but almost an auto-win when it does happen.

Font of Life (HoH) because energy drain is just that bad and not every PC has a permanent Death Ward item.

Parrying Shield (LoM), for defense against rays and those stupid orbs. Shield Ward is better, but requires two feats.

Zaq
2009-11-29, 02:43 PM
For any human or human-related characters, I'm fond of Heroic Destiny (+1d6 to nearly any d20 roll once per day) and the follow-up Fearless Destiny (once per day, you... don't die. At least from HP damage.)

I've never actually taken them (as has been previously mentioned, specialization is the way to go in 3.5), but they're pretty universally applicable if you're combing the books for generic feats to use.

Also, if you can swing it, Flyby Attack. Nearly every mid-to-high level adventurer will eventually find a way to fly, and it's so very nice, even if it only works when wearing your special boots or whatever.

Spirited Charge
2009-11-29, 03:29 PM
Most of mine have already been said, but I would like to add Eyes in the back of your Head. It's always nice to get rid of an enemy's flanking bonus, even if you're not a fighter type. Actually, expecially if you're not a fighter type. A wizard surrounded by enemies is never a good idea, but when it does happen, one good dodge could make the difference between being dead and your friends coming to the rescue.