Abrupt Jaunt shenanigans? No problem [Feat]

[Phosphate]

Spontaneous Attack
Prerequisites: Dex 17+
Benefits: You learned how to land hits fast enough so as to render your opponent unable to react. Once per round when making a melee attack with a light or one-handed weapon that you are proficient with, you may declare the attack to be a spontaneous attack by taking a -4 penalty to the damage roll.

During a spontaneous attack or as response to a spontaneous attack, your target cannot take any immediate actions or activate any readied actions whatsoever. Also, he is denied any dodge bonus to AC he may have.
Special: A fighter may take this feat as one of his bonus fighter feats.

Improved Spontaneous Attack
Prerequisites: Spontaneous Attack, Dex 19+
Benefits: Once per round when making a melee attack with any weapon, you may declare the attack to be a spontaneous attack without taking any penalty to the roll. Not only is your target unable to respond, but nobody else in the encounter can use immediate actions either. Also, an improved spontaneous attack never triggers Contingency.
Special: A fighter may take this feat as one of his bonus fighter feats.

[bobthe6th]

seems a bit... over specialized. though nice to stop counters... might be better to make it that all atacks made by the user are faster then imidiate actions, but the action still takes place after the strike. then as a secound level, you could let their full attack take place faster then an imidiate action.
the remove doge AC is nice though...

[Phosphate]

It's only as overspecialized as your DM wants it to be. A lot of people like to spice up combat with plenty of immediate action counters, but it's a fact that some of those (as an example, Abrupt Jaunt) are quite unfair.

Also, you'd REALLY want this in a campaign with a lot of initiators.

As for the full attack: spontaneous attacks do not have to be standard actions. You can have one of your attacks in a full attack be spontaneous, and the rest normal. What you're suggesting is simply too good.

[NichG]

I like these feats, though I'd want to tweak them a bit. I've done something related in my campaign, though from a very different angle.

In my campaign, all sources of immediate-action dodges or blocks fall under a broad class of things called 'Avoidance', which is ranked based on how many layers of defense are present. For instance, something that has Abrupt Jaunt and has Wings of Cover prepared would have Avoidance II.

In general, all sources of Avoidance can be reduced by an environmental condition called Hazard. This corresponds to things like junk falling from the ceiling, an arrow storm from an army, etc. Just ambient sources of trivial-to-avoid danger but that occupies one's attention. If the Hazard rating meets or exceeds a target's Avoidance, then the creature can't use their immediate action dodges.

[bobthe6th]

why? your spending 1/7 of your cool things on the ability to be faster then your opponent. It should actually be good, even when not fighting cheesy jaunting wizards.

As is, it is not worth the feat, even less so two. non fighter melee builds would never spare the feats.

my suggestion
Spontaneous Attack
Prerequisites: Dex 13+, quick draw
Benefits: You are ridiculously fast. When making a melee attack, you may chose to take a -4 penalty to hit and damage, if you do so the attack happens before any immediate actions in response to the attack.
special: when using a finessable weapon or a melee touch attack(such as eldrich glave), the penalty is reduced to -2 to hit and damage. A fighter may take this feat as one of his bonus fighter feats.

Improved Spontaneous Attack
Prerequisites: Spontaneous Attack, Dex 15+
Benefits: The penalty for using spontaneous attack is reduced to -2 to hit and damage. If the attack that is to be made at the end of a charge is to use spontaneous attack, the charge and attack happen before any immediate actions in response to the attack.
special: when using a finessable weapon or a melee touch attack(such as eldrich glave), the penalty is negated. A fighter may take this feat as one of his bonus fighter feats.

[NichG]

How about if Spontaneous Attack also worked for spells cast as a swift action (as in, they occurred before any immediate action or contingent response)? Would that make it more generally worthwhile?

[bobthe6th]

that would make them more useful to more builds, but doesn't make them any more useful for the target audience, melee.

[Phosphate]

How about if Spontaneous Attack also worked for spells cast as a swift action (as in, they occurred before any immediate action or contingent response)? Would that make it more generally worthwhile?

Casters don't need any help

Bob: the difference is very...slight. You're taking a penalty to attack, are forced to take a useless feat, are not allowed to ignore dodge bonus, cannot evade Contingency, and all you get in return is that you can full attack with it and fewer Dex is required. I'd prefer mine.

[bobthe6th]

quick draw is a fun little feat, and it make you pay a feat tax in place of a stupidly high stat prerequ. also, now the secound ends standoffs were the best option is to ready... four hours. now you can charge and hit.
also, it is nice for glave locks and gishes.
and the no doge bonus seems really odd, as it can make some unarmored classes useless.
and, why would it affect contingency? that would be more like disabeling a spell by... being... fast... :smallconfused:
that just seemed pointless...

[Phosphate]

Makes perfect sense to me.

Also, my version DOES work on a charge.

[bobthe6th]

at the end of it, you can still get skewered when you do the charge. readied action against a charge.

[Phosphate]

Fixed...naturally.