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Empedocles
2012-04-22, 01:22 AM
This is an idea I stumbled across online while poking around. I'm just making it nice, shiny, and fancy looking. I recognize that this feat is really powerful, but it's intended to be used in a wuxia style campaign where pretty much everyone has it. It's really, really not recommended to allow a single player to have this, since he'd be doing all kinds of crazy stuff no one else could. On the other hand, a villain with this feat could be very, very interesting.


http://www.manageyourshapeblog.com/.a/6a00e54f9153e088330148c7d136fa970c-600wi

Qinggong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qinggong)
Prerequisites: Dexterity 17, Balance 5.
Benefit: The player can move up, down, and across any surfaces he wishes, such as running across water or up walls or trees. However, he must end his turn on a surface he could normally stand on, or else he suffers consequences as appropriate, such as falling if running up a vertical surface or sinking if on the water. This feat cannot be used to fly, but it can allow a player to move/jump among tree branches or use something like bamboo sticks as leverage to virtually fly.
Special: This feat can be selected by a fighter as a fighter bonus feat.

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A note on trees: Moving across tree branches requires a DC 20 Balance check at the end of each turn to avoid falling off the branches, but this feat does allow you to move and leap across the treetops :smallcool:

So this was a pretty quick piece of homebrew, but I hope it's helpful for anyone hoping to throw in a bit of wuxia flavor to their campaign. Oh, and by the way, the link in the feat name brings you to a wikipedia article about real world qinggong and its place in wuxia media.

Milo v3
2012-04-22, 02:49 AM
While it sounds fun to use that would severely screw with balance depending on were you are.

Also, you say that the whole group should have it if used. So basically only a whole party of Dexterity high people can ever use it. As it will be unfair if only one person get it.

Reluctance
2012-04-22, 03:59 AM
I'd consider it balanced if the prereqs were Dex 17 and Balance of ... I want to say 9. It's cool, but once Fly enters the picture, I don't know that there are enough situations where running up a wall would be worth a whole feat slot.

If you want a wuxia feel for the game, give this and Leap of the Heavens (PHB2, p. 80) as bonus feats. You'll still have to do something about how scattered physical skills are vs. how common skill points aren't, but you make players happier with bribes than with requirements.

DaTedinator
2012-04-22, 08:24 AM
Yeah, if you're trying to make a wuxia campaign, it'd be much better to just give this ability to everyone of a certain level, rather than forcing everyone to take a feat.

I think, were I running a wuxia campaign, I'd give everyone some basic wire-fu ability, and then have a small assortment of feats that affect it in different ways.

For example: everyone of 5th level or higher gets Leap of the Heavens (http://www.realmshelps.net/cgi-bin/featbox.pl?feat=Leap_Of_The_Heavens), and halves the DC for a high jump.

Then I have a feat requiring Str 15 that doubles the result of all of your jump checks; another feat requiring Dex 15 that's like your feat, except the surface has to be solid (so basically Up the Walls (http://www.realmshelps.net/cgi-bin/featbox.pl?feat=Up_The_Walls)); another feat requiring Wis 15 that gives you a glide speed.

Then you can have advanced versions of those with high skill requirements that let you double jump (for Strength), let you walk on surfaces that couldn't normally support you (for Dexterity), and give you a straight fly speed (for Wisdom).

Maybe try to think up another set of feats for each ability score - Constitution could be something about going faster when jumping, Intelligence could be something competitive (maybe stopping other people from wiring around, maybe copying other people's techniques), and Charisma could be something blatantly magical. Make it slower than Wisdom - probably slower than even just walking - but with perfect maneuverability.

I kinda took that and really ran with it though. To return to your feat: I'd change the Dex requirement to 17. Odd ability scores are the established standard for feats.

Cieyrin
2012-04-22, 09:23 AM
I don't think it's really powerful, it's like a super Skill Trick that doesn't have use limits. Especially the limit that you have to stop on a surface you can stand on, it's a nonmagic version of Up the Walls plus the Monk ACF that switches Slow Fall for Water Walking. I'd probably throw on a required skill in Balance (at least 2 but up to 5) but it otherwise looks fine by me. To really take advantage of it, you still need other movement skills and probably skill tricks, so it's not game-breaking by any means. OA and Complete Adventurer has skill expansions that are probably useful to have a look at to take advantage of this, though you probably want to get a nice boost to you movement skills to really make them useful.

JoshuaZ
2012-04-22, 09:46 AM
Prerequisites: Dexterity 16.



Feats that have an ability score requirement usually have an odd number score. This makes sense mechanically because ability scores care about even numbers for most other purposes (since they use the modifier rather than the score outright). So the requirement should probably be Dex 17 rather than 16. At a balance level, I'm also a little worried about this being a first level feat. Maybe also require 2 BAB?

Empedocles
2012-04-22, 11:01 AM
Okay, I made the requirement Dexterity 17 and added in 5 ranks of Balance as a prerequisite, since it wouldn't really be appropriate - even in a wuxia heavy campaign - for 1st level characters to be running up stuff.

Cieyrin
2012-04-22, 11:07 AM
Okay, I made the requirement Dexterity 17 and added in 5 ranks of Balance as a prerequisite, since it wouldn't really be appropriate - even in a wuxia heavy campaign - for 1st level characters to be running up stuff.

Might I suggest making it a Fighter bonus feat, then, so that someone can actually grab it at 2nd level, since the skill requirement aims it at that level?

Empedocles
2012-04-22, 11:09 AM
Might I suggest making it a Fighter bonus feat, then, so that someone can actually grab it at 2nd level, since the skill requirement aims it at that level?

Good idea...I put it in :smallredface:

Ziegander
2012-04-22, 01:05 PM
Might I suggest making it a Fighter bonus feat, then, so that someone can actually grab it at 2nd level, since the skill requirement aims it at that level?

Hmm... is there even any way for a Fighter to take this at 2nd level? A Cityscape ACF or something? Because, normally, he couldn't take it due to Balance being cross-classed.

Otherwise, I totally love the feat, and I don't think its "overpowered" or "unfair" at all.

Empedocles
2012-04-22, 02:10 PM
Might I suggest making it a Fighter bonus feat, then, so that someone can actually grab it at 2nd level, since the skill requirement aims it at that level?

The skill requirement isn't really meant to aim it at specifically 2nd level. It's more to avoid this being taken at 1st level.


Hmm... is there even any way for a Fighter to take this at 2nd level? A Cityscape ACF or something? Because, normally, he couldn't take it due to Balance being cross-classed.

Otherwise, I totally love the feat, and I don't think its "overpowered" or "unfair" at all.

Glad you like it. And there isn't an ACF but I'm pretty sure there're a lot of feats that give balance as a class skill...and there's the cosmopolitan feat, that gives you anything as a class skill lol.

Ashtagon
2012-04-22, 03:02 PM
Hmm... is there even any way for a Fighter to take this at 2nd level? A Cityscape ACF or something? Because, normally, he couldn't take it due to Balance being cross-classed.

Otherwise, I totally love the feat, and I don't think its "overpowered" or "unfair" at all.

Monks should be allowed to substitute their 2nd level bonus feat for this.

Cieyrin
2012-04-22, 03:14 PM
Hmm... is there even any way for a Fighter to take this at 2nd level? A Cityscape ACF or something? Because, normally, he couldn't take it due to Balance being cross-classed.

Otherwise, I totally love the feat, and I don't think its "overpowered" or "unfair" at all.

Martial Study (Iron Heart or Stone Dragon) immediately comes to mind.

Empedocles
2012-04-22, 07:10 PM
Martial Study (Iron Heart or Stone Dragon) immediately comes to mind.

That's a good point, especially since ToB is often held to be somewhat wuxia-influenced.

Grod_The_Giant
2012-04-22, 09:00 PM
I like. I like very much. I'd love to see a follow-up feat for super-jumping skills.

Empedocles
2012-04-22, 10:05 PM
I like. I like very much. I'd love to see a follow-up feat for super-jumping skills.

Follow up feats are a definite possibility. My main concern is that the D&D skill system isn't really equipped to deal with fast paced acrobatics...

That being said, a follow up feat for super jumping would be pretty cool I think :smallwink:

Story Time
2012-04-23, 07:00 AM
...hard not to think of Conan in a leotard running up the narrow pipes of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory... :smallredface: :smallbiggrin:

Still, I really-really like it. I don't know that I'd ever use, but it is neat.

The fighter has to meet the prerequisites to take the feat, or not? ??:smallconfused:??

1

Follow up feats are a definite possibility. My main concern is that the D&D skill system isn't really equipped to deal with fast paced acrobatics...

That being said, a follow up feat for super jumping would be pretty cool I think :smallwink:

My automatic thought was a running-jump kind of feat which could simulate flying...for a short time or distance.

Cieyrin
2012-04-23, 11:51 AM
Follow up feats are a definite possibility. My main concern is that the D&D skill system isn't really equipped to deal with fast paced acrobatics...:

You need to have a look at Oriental Adventures, Complete Adventurer and Complete Scoundrel, also maybe Expanded Psionics Handbook and Secrets of Sarlona, as there is plenty in there to make fast paced acrobats work just fine in D&D. Look at Thief Acrobats and Thri-Kreen and you'll begin to see the possibilities...


The fighter has to meet the prerequisites to take the feat, or not? ??:smallconfused:??

Fighters have to meet the prereqs of their bonus feats, unlike Monks, hence why Martial Study works wonderfully here, since it's also a Fighter Bonus Feat that you can take at level 1, so Fighters and Psychic Warriors can make like kung-fu extras across encounters. :smallcool:

Empedocles
2012-04-23, 03:44 PM
You need to have a look at Oriental Adventures, Complete Adventurer and Complete Scoundrel, also maybe Expanded Psionics Handbook and Secrets of Sarlona, as there is plenty in there to make fast paced acrobats work just fine in D&D. Look at Thief Acrobats and Thri-Kreen and you'll begin to see the possibilities...

Not familiar with thief acrobats. Besides that I was looking at those supplements you mentioned (Expanded Psionics especially) but they're not exactly what I'm looking for. They are, however, certainly useful.




Fighters have to meet the prereqs of their bonus feats, unlike Monks, hence why Martial Study works wonderfully here, since it's also a Fighter Bonus Feat that you can take at level 1, so Fighters and Psychic Warriors can make like kung-fu extras across encounters. :smallcool:

That's it in a nutshell :smallsmile:

DracoDei
2012-04-27, 11:21 PM
There was actually a ToB based setting that someone was working on that had rules for giving such abilities to all characters as they progressed through the levels.
Can't remember the name, or any of the details of the mechanics, but it was pretty much straight up "At X level you can do Y" type stuff, might not even have required any skill point investment, but then again it may have just been a matter of almost every or every class in the setting having balance on their skill list. Stuff like running across water.