New 3.5 Feat trees

[Chaos_Laicosin]

So I've always wanted to add some flavour to the fighter class. My roommate and I made up some feat trees to try to accommodate this. They are classified as general feats for the rime being, but I could probably turn them into some sort of MMA class if needed. Feedback would be nice.

Boxer (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Improved unarmed strike, Weapon Focus (Unarmed Strike)
Benefit
Your unarmed attacks are considered one size category larger. Additionally, you gain a damage bonus to your unarmed attacks equal to one-half of your character level. If your hands are bound or become injured you lose this bonus.

Professional Boxer (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Boxer, 6th level
Benefit
The critical threat range of your unarmed strike is increased by 1. So a threat range of 20 becomes 19-20, or a threat range of 19-20 becomes 18-20. This increase is not doubled by the improved critical feat; it is simply +1 on top of the improved critical.

Boxing Technique (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Boxer
Benefit
You gain 3 boxing techniques:
Jab – A weaker but more accurate punch, +4 to attack and -2 to damage.
Hook – A more powerful but easier to block punch, -2 to attack and +4 to damage.
Uppercut – An easy punch to block but heavily damaging if performed correctly, -4 to attack and +6 to damage. Your critical multiplier is increased by 1 when using this technique, and on a successful critical hit the opponent must succeed at a fortitude save or be knocked unconscious for 1d2 rounds. Save DC equals 10 plus one-half of your character level plus your strength modifier.

Haymaker (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Boxing Technique
Benefit
You gain the haymaker technique:
Haymaker – A very powerful but wild and inaccurate punch, -6 to attack and +10 to damage. Critical multiplier is increased by 2 when using this technique, and on a successful critical hit the opponent must succeed at a fortitude save or be knocked unconscious for 1d6 rounds. Creatures who have hit dice equal to or less than one-half of your character level must make the save or be killed. Save DC equals 10 plus one-half your character level plus your strength modifier.

Heavyweight (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Boxing technique, Professional boxer, 9th level
Benefit
Your unarmed attacks are now considered two size categories larger.

Street Thug (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Toughness, Great Fortitude
Benefit
You gain a natural armour bonus equal to you constitution modifier.

Professional Thug (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Street Thug, 4th Level
Benefit
You gain double the hit point benefit from the toughness and improved toughness feats, and you gain 1.5x your constitution modifier at each level. This feat works retroactively.

Street Fighting Technique (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Street Thug
Benefit
Below the Belt – In lieu of damage you may attempt to stun a foe for 1d2 rounds. DC 10 + ½ character level + str modifier fortitude save negates the effect.
While They’re Down – You gain +4 damage when attacking enemies that are prone, pinned, or helpless.
Within Reach – You don’t suffer the -4 attack penalty when using improvised weapons and you gain +2 damage with improvised weapons.

Eye-for-an-Eye (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Street Thug, Street fighting technique
Benefit
Whenever an opponent hits you with an attack of opportunity you may immediately strike back with a counter-attack of opportunity at -4 attack, provided the opponent is within range.

Street Boss (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Professional Thug, Street Fighting Technique, 9th Level
Benefit
Your gain a deflection bonus to AC equal to your Cha modifier. Any time you are denied you dex bonus to AC you also lose this bonus. Additionally, your Cha modifier is added to your attacks and you gain +4 on all intimidate checks.

Judo Fighter (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple
Benefit
You gain +4 on your melee touch attack to start a grapple, as well as all grapple checks.

Judo Technique (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Judo Fighter
Benefit
Throw – On a successful attack of opportunity, instead of rolling damage you may throw your opponent prone into any square adjacent to you.
Dive & Grab – You don’t need to roll a melee touch attack to start a grapple with prone opponents. Additionally, you can now start a grapple with opponents up to 10 ft. away provided you have an open path to them.
Submission – During a grapple, you can pin your opponent while dealing damage. First, you must succeed at an opposed grapple check. Next, the opponent must roll a reflex save (DC 10 + half char. level + dex modifier) to avoid the submission. If this save fails you start dealing critical nonlethal damage per round. The opponent gets a fortitude save (DC 10 + half char. level + str modifier) for half damage each round. The opponent can attempt an opposed strength check to break the hold, but can take no other actions may be taken.

Professional Judo Fighter (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Judo Fighter, 4th Level
Benefit
While grappling, you now add double your strength modifier to your unarmed damage.

Master Judo Fighter (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Professional Judo Fighter, 8th Level
Benefit
While grappling you are treated as one size larger for all beneficial effects. You also retain your full AC against outside attack while grappling. Further, you can start a grapple with any opponent adjacent to you as a free action (no opposed check required).

Chokehold (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Judo Fighter, Judo Technique
Benefit
While grappling or during an attack of opportunity, in lieu of rolling an attack you may attempt to choke out your opponent. The opponent gets a reflex save to avoid (DC 10 + half character level + str modifier) otherwise falling unconscious for 1d3 rounds or for as long as the hold is continued. Continuing the hold for 10 - Str modifier rounds after the opponent is unconscious kills the opponent. With a Str modifier of 10 or more the opponent dies on a failed save, at your discretion.

Gauntlet Training (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Weapon Focus (gauntlet)
Benefit
Your unarmed strike is considered one size category larger when wearing gauntlets

Improved Gauntlet Training (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Gauntlet Training, 4th level
Benefit
While using gauntlets you are considered 1 size category larger for all bull rush, disarm, and grapple checks.

Gauntlet Defense
Prerequisite
Gauntlet training
Benefit
While wearing gauntlets you gain a 1+(1/4 HD) shield bonus to AC. Any enhancement bonus on the gauntlets is also added to the shield bonus.

[eftexar]

Most of these look nice, but a couple of things raise my eyebrows.

Professional thug is a pretty hefty bonus and I think another feat needs placed between it or it needs to not act retroactively.

Does eye for an eye provoke an attack of opportunity. I would assume not, but as worded there isn't anything actually restricting that.

Why is chokehold a reflex and not fortitude?

I would never take gauntlet defense. AC is hard enough to boost to usable level and a +1 just doesn't cut it. Maybe add a secondary benefit.

[Chaos_Laicosin]

What if I knocked professional thug back to 1.5x con bonus at each level? And the idea with gauntlet training is that it stacks with boxing and judo, is that too many feats to take?

[eftexar]

I think x1.5 would work. As far as the gauntling training tree, the only one I have a problem with is gauntlet defense.
It isn't so much a matter of how many feats are be taken, but the fact that a +1 AC bonus isn't worth a feat. Sure any bonus helps, but there are other options to choose from that are better (such as mobility). I think it needs another benefit or needs to provide a +2 bonus (though it's still just an AC bonus). I almost always choose interesting feats over flat bonuses (see all of your other feats and compare how much more interesting they are).

[Othesemo]

I'm too tired to really critique the balance, but I should mention that save DCs are usually 10+1/2 half character level+Some ability modifier (con for poison, int for wizard spells, etcetera). For example, Boxing Technique would be something like "Save DC equals 10 plus one-half of your character level plus your strength modifier."

[Chaos_Laicosin]

So I edited the save DCs as suggested, and I just woke up and can't seem to think of anything creative so I've tentatively set the AC bonus for gauntlet defense to +2. Though if anyone has any suggestions as to how else I might soup it up, let me know.

[Othesemo]

So I edited the save DCs as suggested, and I just woke up and can't seem to think of anything creative so I've tentatively set the AC bonus for gauntlet defense to +2. Though if anyone has any suggestions as to how else I might soup it up, let me know.

Try scaling it. For example, make it a 1+(1/4 HD) bonus to AC. Also, I'd suggest making it unclassified, so that it can stack with an actual shield (or spells that grant a shield bonus to AC).

[TuggyNE]

Boxing Technique (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Boxer
Benefit
You gain 3 boxing techniques:
Jab – A weaker but more accurate punch, +4 to attack and -2 to damage.
Hook – A more powerful but easier to block punch, -2 to attack and +4 to damage.
Uppercut – An easy punch to block but heavily damaging if performed correctly, -4 to attack and +6 to damage. On a successful critical hit deal 3x damage and the opponent must succeed at a fortitude save or be knocked unconscious for 1d2 rounds. Save DC equals 10 plus one-half of your character level plus your strength modifier.

I assume any of these can be combined with Power Attack as usual, but not with each other?

Also, rather than saying 3x damage, I suggest noting that the critical multiplier is increased by 1.


Street Thug (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Toughness, Great Fortitude
Benefit
Your constitution modifier is added to you AC.

While there are already ways of getting Con to AC, I am not aware of any that require only a feat. So I suggest you not give an untyped bonus, but as a natural armor bonus or some such.


Professional Thug (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Street Thug, 4th Level
Benefit
You gain double the hit point benefit from the toughness feat and you gain 1.5x your constitution modifier at each level. This feat works retroactively.

Does this include the (rather superior) Improved Toughness feat?


Street Boss (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Professional Thug, Street Fighting Technique, 9th Level
Benefit
Your charisma modifier is added to your AC and attack. You also gain +4 on all intimidate checks.

Again, please don't simply give an untyped bonus to AC; deflection is customary for Cha bonuses, and you might even make it only applicable when Dex is applied to AC (i.e. not when flat-footed, etc).


Judo Technique (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Judo Fighter
Benefit
Throw – On a successful attack of opportunity, instead of rolling damage you may throw your opponent prone into any square adjacent to you.
Grab – You don’t need to roll a melee touch attack to start a grapple with prone opponents.
Submission – During a grapple, you can pin your opponent while dealing damage. First, you must succeed at an opposed grapple check. Next, the opponent must roll a reflex save (DC 10 + half char. level + dex modifier) to avoid the submission. If this save fails you start dealing 3d4 + strength modifier nonlethal damage per round. The opponent gets a fortitude save (DC 10 + half char. level + str modifier) for half damage each round. The opponent can attempt an opposed strength check to break the hold, but can take no other actions may be taken.

Grab seems pretty weak; you already get +4 to touch attacks, and another +4 from defender being prone, and touch attacks usually hit anyway.

Submission is also weak, since you can already do (lethal or non-lethal) damage with an opposed grapple check and no saves in a pin. In particular, it's not difficult to surpass a mere 3d4 with unarmed damage, once it scales properly.


Master Judo Fighter (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Professional Judo Fighter, 8th Level
Benefit
While grappling you are treated as one size larger for all beneficial effects. You also retain your full AC against outside attack while grappling. Further, you can start a grapple with any opponent adjacent to you as a free action (no opposed check required).

Does this stack with the various Powerful Build racial abilities out there?


Chokehold (General Feat)
Prerequisite
Judo Fighter, Judo Technique
Benefit
While grappling or during an attack of opportunity, in lieu of rolling an attack you may attempt to choke out your opponent. The opponent gets a reflex save to avoid (DC 10 + half character level + str modifier) otherwise falling unconscious for 1d3 rounds. Continuing the hold for 8 - Str modifier rounds after the opponent is unconscious kills the opponent.

It's entirely practical to have a Str modifier of +8 or over, even without funky racial choices, so what happens if you have +9?


Gauntlet Defense
Prerequisite
Gauntlet training
Benefit
While wearing gauntlets you gain a +2 shield bonus to AC

This should probably scale, or at least allow the enhancement bonus (if any) on the gauntlets to be added to the shield bonus (I don't think an untyped bonus is appropriate here).

[Chaos_Laicosin]

Edited the wording on Uppercut and Haymaker; added in types for the AC bonuses; modified Grab to Dive & Grab; modified damage and wording on submission and chokehold; put scaling AC bonus on gauntlet defense; and aside from the fact that I was unaware of the improved toughness feat, I don't think it would be too bad to allow it to work with professional thug. If it is voted as too powerful I could knock it back to 1.5x instead of 2x bonus.

[Xechon]

You've certainly made the monk feel better about herself.

Anyway, from what I see these are nice, but it would be extra nice if you tabbed them so that it can be easily seen what feats are pre-requisites for others, the same way the PH does it. It just makes it a lot easier and faster to judge, and looks better overall. If I see any other problems, I'll notify you of them.