3.5 Homebrew Feats (Just Random Ideas I Had)

[NeoSeraphi]

Reliable Reflexes (Fighter, Scout)
Prerequisites: Dex 15, Improved Initiative, BAB +4
Benefit: You can take 10 on Initiative checks, always, even when you are threatened or distracted. If you choose not to take 10, you may instead roll twice and keep the higher result.


Uncanny Defense (Fighter)
Prerequisites: Dex 13, BAB +1
Benefit: When you fight defensively or take the total defense action, the dodge bonus you receive to your AC increases by +2, or +3 if you have at least 5 ranks in the Tumble skill. So if you fight defensively, you receive a total +4 dodge bonus to your AC, or +6 if you have at least 5 ranks in the Tumble skill, and if you take the total defense action, you receive a total +6 Dodge bonus to your AC, or +9 if you have 5 or more ranks in the Tumble skill (These calculations are including the increased dodge bonus your character already receives from having 5 or more ranks in the Tumble skill (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/tumble.htm)).


Retaliating Strike (Fighter)
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Combat Reflexes, Uncanny Defense, BAB +6 or Tumble 9 ranks
Benefit: Any opponent within your melee reach who attacks you and misses you while you have are fighting defensively or taking the total defense action provokes an attack of opportunity from you. As a constant secondary benefit of this feat, you still threaten all squares within your reach and may still make attacks of opportunity while you are taking the total defense action.


Improved Retaliating Strike (Fighter)
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Combat Reflexes, Uncanny Defense, BAB +8
Benefit: When you make an attack of opportunity granted to you by your Retaliating Strike feat, you deal an additional +1d6 points of damage per 2 points of BAB you have (to a maximum of +10d6 points of damage if you have +20 BAB).


Strategic Trip
Prerequisites: Int 13, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Sneak Attack +1d6 or Sudden Strike +1d6
Benefit: When you make a Trip check, you may add your Dexterity bonus to your Trip check instead of your Strength bonus. Additionally, any creature you successfully knock prone is denied their Dexterity bonus to AC against the free attack granted to you by the Improved Trip feat.


Thieving Disarm
Prerequisites: Int 13, Combat Expertise, Improved Disarm, Sleight of Hand 9 ranks
Benefit: You may make a Sleight of Hand check in place of the opposed attack roll when you make a Disarm check. You must have at least one hand free to do this. Your Sleight of Hand check receives a +4 bonus when used this way (from your Improved Disarm feat) and you do not apply any Size bonuses or penalties to your check. If both of your hands are empty and you use them both in the Disarm attempt, you receive an additional +4 bonus to your Sleight of Hand check. Your opponent opposes your Sleight of Hand check with a normal attack roll used to oppose Disarm checks, and any modifiers that apply to resisting Disarm (such as wearing locked gauntlets) apply here as well.

If you succeed your Sleight of Hand check, your opponent is Disarmed as usual and you may make a single melee attack at your highest attack bonus against it. If your Sleight of Hand check exceeded your opponent's attack roll by 5 or more, your opponent is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC against this attack.

[Hazuki]

My first thought on "Reliable Reflexes" is that it requires, at the least, a BAB requirement. Maybe a higher Dex requirement too, because it's mimicking the effects of at least one other feat, and that one requires a pool of Luck Rerolls.

"Uncanny Defense" is very jumbled up. In the second example you give, it seems like the +2 from not having 5 ranks in Tumble stacks with the +3 from having 5 ranks in Tumble. If this is intentional, I think you should revise it. Otherwise, it's not bad.

I read "Retaliating Strike" and I see that you definitely need to increase the Dex or BAB requirement. With that, a Fighter can cruise through levels 1-5 by just taking Total Defense and getting the same amount of attacks.

"Improved Retaliating Strike"...wow. This basically gives you the "Sneak Attack of Opportunity" feat, which is an Epic Feat. Maybe make it 1d6 per 4 points of BAB you have, or scrap it entirely.

"Strategic Trip" is fine.

"Thieving Disarm" is fine.

[NeoSeraphi]

My first thought on "Reliable Reflexes" is that it requires, at the least, a BAB requirement. Maybe a higher Dex requirement too, because it's mimicking the effects of at least one other feat, and that one requires a pool of Luck Rerolls.

Okay, then I'll up the Dex requirement to 15 and add a +4 BAB prerequisite.



"Uncanny Defense" is very jumbled up. In the second example you give, it seems like the +2 from not having 5 ranks in Tumble stacks with the +3 from having 5 ranks in Tumble. If this is intentional, I think you should revise it. Otherwise, it's not bad.


No, the Tumble skill itself says "If you have 5 or more ranks in Tumble, you get a +3 dodge bonus to AC while fighting defensively, and a +6 dodge bonus to AC while taking the total defense action, instead of the normal bonuses those actions provide". Source (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/tumble.htm).



I read "Retaliating Strike" and I see that you definitely need to increase the Dex or BAB requirement. With that, a Fighter can cruise through levels 1-5 by just taking Total Defense and getting the same amount of attacks.


That's kind of the point. If the fighter can't use Power Attack (because he's Dex-based instead of Str-based), he should have other options available to him. As it stands now, the only way to play a Dex-based character is to either play a swordsage/rogue/archer, or wait 7 levels and then take Champion of Correllon Larenthian, if you're an elf.



"Improved Retaliating Strike"...wow. This basically gives you the "Sneak Attack of Opportunity" feat, which is an Epic Feat. Maybe make it 1d6 per 4 points of BAB you have, or scrap it entirely.


The Sneak Attack of Opportunity feat makes every AoO you have a Sneak Attack. This gives you a bit of extra damage in exchange for either forcing you to waste a turn (and your full attack action), or taking a -2 penalty on all your attack rolls. And it also doesn't even work unless the creature attacks you and misses. Meanwhile, there are plenty of easy ways to use Sneak Attack of Opportunity to dish out serious damage. Karmic Strike, Roliar's Gambit, etc. Guaranteed AoOs, rather than AoOs that are based on whether the creature misses you or not.

Again, it's pretty hard for a Dex-based fighter to match a Str-based fighter for damage, so this is what I came up with. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to make a viable Dex-based fighter, is there?



"Strategic Trip" is fine.

"Thieving Disarm" is fine.

Thank you.

[Hazuki]

No, the Tumble skill itself says "If you have 5 or more ranks in Tumble, you get a +3 dodge bonus to AC while fighting defensively, and a +6 dodge bonus to AC while taking the total defense action, instead of the normal bonuses those actions provide". Source (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/tumble.htm).Right, right. But you really don't need all of that extra wording. Just the first sentence would do, and say it stacks with the bonus from Tumble.


That's kind of the point. If the fighter can't use Power Attack (because he's Dex-based instead of Str-based), he should have other options available to him. As it stands now, the only way to play a Dex-based character is to either play a swordsage/rogue/archer, or wait 7 levels and then take Champion of Correllon Larenthian, if you're an elf.The problem is that it gives him a huge bonus to AC witout a penalty. Sure, he could use Power Attack for +3 damage or whatever he chooses, OR he could use this and get a +9 bonus to his AC and never get hit.


The Sneak Attack of Opportunity feat makes every AoO you have a Sneak Attack. This gives you a bit of extra damage in exchange for either forcing you to waste a turn (and your full attack action), or taking a -2 penalty on all your attack rolls. And it also doesn't even work unless the creature attacks you and misses. Meanwhile, there are plenty of easy ways to use Sneak Attack of Opportunity to dish out serious damage. Karmic Strike, Roliar's Gambit, etc. Guaranteed AoOs, rather than AoOs that are based on whether the creature misses you or not.Let's assume you have Full Plate, and you need Uncanny Defense as a requisite. That's 29 AC at level 3, without Enhancements at anything. And barely anything is going to hit that, so the Fighter could solo any melee enemies with very little danger to himself.

All he'd need is Combat Reflexes and this little feat chain, easily attainable by being a Human Fighter with a Flaw, and it's a middle finger to the GM. Losing Full-Attack won't matter, because he can get just as many attacks with a Dex of 16, at level 1 through 19. Only spellcasters will be able to do any real damage to get past his unholy AC!


Again, it's pretty hard for a Dex-based fighter to match a Str-based fighter for damage, so this is what I came up with. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to make a viable Dex-based fighter, is there?Nope, there isn't.

[NeoSeraphi]

Let's assume you have Full Plate, and you need Uncanny Defense as a requisite. That's 29 AC at level 3, without Enhancements at anything. And barely anything is going to hit that, so the Fighter could solo any melee enemies with very little danger to himself.

All he'd need is Combat Reflexes and this little feat chain, easily attainable by being a Human Fighter with a Flaw, and it's a middle finger to the GM. Losing Full-Attack won't matter, because he can get just as many attacks with a Dex of 16, at level 1 through 19. Only spellcasters will be able to do any real damage to get past his unholy AC!


Actually, his AC would be 25 when he fights defensively (10+8 full plate +1 Dex + 6 Fighting Defensively) since Tumble is not a class skill for fighters and he could not get 5 ranks in it until level 7.

25 AC is pretty high, but that's kind of the point of fighting defensively.

Anyway, if you think the prerequisites need to be beefed up, then okay. I'll make it so Retaliating Strike isn't accessible until 6th level.

Uncanny Defense isn't so bad by itself, it just increases the bonus to fighting defensively by +2. +2 extra AC for a single feat at level 1, in exchange for taking a -2 to your attack rolls that round, is about on par with the Dodge feat.

[Mulletmanalive]

Uncanny Defense isn't so bad by itself, it just increases the bonus to fighting defensively by +2. +2 extra AC for a single feat at level 1, in exchange for taking a -2 to your attack rolls that round, is about on par with the Dodge feat.

It's not even that good; fighting defensively is a -4 penalty to attack rolls, so really, this feat is only Combat expertise with a fixed penalty unless you have 5 ranks in Tumble.

Good feats, can't find anything off, though Improved Retaliatory strike seems a little excessive; more because i can't figure out why you'd be so much more deadly under those circumstance than anything else.

[NeoSeraphi]

It's not even that good; fighting defensively is a -4 penalty to attack rolls, so really, this feat is only Combat expertise with a fixed penalty unless you have 5 ranks in Tumble.

Yeah, and it's actually pretty decent too, since it has a Dex requirement instead of an Int requirement. Less of a problem for fighters than Combat Expertise (though Combat Expertise has more feats to build off).



Good feats, can't find anything off, though Improved Retaliatory strike seems a little excessive; more because i can't figure out why you'd be so much more deadly under those circumstance than anything else.

It's momentum-based. If you have trained yourself to dodge your enemy perfectly and assume a concentrated, completely defensive stance, and your opponent swings and misses, they leave themselves incredibly vulnerable to a counterattack. So you take the opportunity and slam right back into them while they're off-balance.

[Mulletmanalive]

It's momentum-based. If you have trained yourself to dodge your enemy perfectly and assume a concentrated, completely defensive stance, and your opponent swings and misses, they leave themselves incredibly vulnerable to a counterattack. So you take the opportunity and slam right back into them while they're off-balance.

I'm struggling to buy it as much for the fact that it materialises at +4d6 as much as anything. If it were "add BAB to damage," I'd be far more accepting [and it'd probably still be worth the feat].

This is my opinion, feel free to ignore it.