[PF] Story Feats are on the SRD

[BTB]

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/story-feats

Anyone have any immediate favorites? Fond of Magnum Opus myself.

[Squirrel_Dude]

With magnum Opus my wizard will be the absolute best at underwater basket weaving.

[stack]

More metamagic reducers!

As usual, the quality varies from useless to great.

[Kinsmarck]

Champion's not bad. Sort of an at-will lesser knight's challenge.

[Khosan]

More metamagic reducers!

As usual, the quality varies from useless to great.

For "truly novel spells" you create, specifically. That one's touchy.

[Cicciograna]

Am I the only one who thought about The Sims 2/3?

[Raven777]

I'm sad that there isn't one to "seek and achieve immortality". Shouldn't that be one of the staple adventurer goals?

[grarrrg]

As usual, the quality varies from useless to great.

What he said.

Redemption (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/story-feats/redemption-story)
WOW, first I have to be, like, a Fallen Paladin or Druid or something to even take the feat.
The 'minor' bonus I get is...beyond cruddy.
I can become Shaken for 1 _minute_ to get a _+1_ bonus on something _before_ the result is revealed.

The Goal isn't too bad, but mostly something you would WANT to do anyway if you are "fallen".

The 'major' bonus is a 1/day save re-roll, which while not bad, does NOT make up for the rest of it.


I do like Nemesis, nice bonuses on that one.

Innocent Blood has potential, with a decent 'minor' bonus.
Doesn't elaborate on if the "double shaken" applies to frightened or not though.
Definitely leaning away from Good alignment as well.

[Chained Birds]

Nemesis and Innocent Blood are my favorites.

Nemesis seems like a typical story-related occurrence for a PC, so why not get a few benefits for fluffing up how Baron Munchousen killed your wife and sold your daughter to slavery, and continues to ruin your life whenever it is convenient for him.

Innocent Blood would be nice for a Dread considering how they like Shaking people up a lot. You could even put a semi-Neutral spin on things to avoid persecution for a while:
"I had to kill Old Man Wallace, he was going to tell the guards about us and ruin our mission... And he deserved it. (Call me a homicidal maniac will he! That'll show him!)"
And nothing stops you from bluffing! Which a Dread could be really good at.

I also like the Thief of Legend completion bonus of having a reactive trap-removal ability.

[Kudaku]

I was looking at the Monument Builder feat, and... Is it just me, or is building a structure worth 100 000 GP really, really hard?

The examples for buying complete buildings (in ultimate campaign) rank the average building as worth about 5 000 gp. The most expensive one I found was the palace, described as "A grand edifice and grounds demonstrating wealth, power, and authority to the world.", can be purchased (at double the construction cost) for 19 640 GP.

So the monument builder requires you to build a minimum of five palaces, one stacked atop the other.

Oh, and for the record:
1 Altar, 1 Ballroom, 1 Bar, 2 Baths, 6 Bedrooms, 1 Bunks, 1 Cell, 1 Common Room, 2 Courtyards, 1 Crypt, 6 Defensive Walls, 1 Escape Route, 6 Furnishings (in the Ballroom, 2 Bedrooms, Office, Sitting Room, and the Throne Room), 1 Garden, 1 Gatehouse, 2 Kitchens, 1 Labyrinth, 1 Laundry, 2 Lavatories, 2 Lodgings, 2 Offices, 1 Sanctum, 3 Secret Rooms, 3 Sitting Rooms, 1 Sports Field, 4 Stalls, 2 Statues, 6 Storages, 1 Throne Room, 1 Trophy Room, 2 Vaults, and 1 War Room makes up one palace.

[Raineh Daze]

I was looking at the Monument Builder feat, and... Is it just me, or is building a structure worth 100 000 GP really, really hard?

The examples for buying complete buildings (in ultimate campaign) rank the average building as worth about 5 000 gp. The most expensive one I found was the palace, described as "A grand edifice and grounds demonstrating wealth, power, and authority to the world.", can be purchased (at double the construction cost) for 19 640 GP.

So the monument builder requires you to build a minimum of five palaces, one stacked atop the other.

Oh, and for the record:
1 Altar, 1 Ballroom, 1 Bar, 2 Baths, 6 Bedrooms, 1 Bunks, 1 Cell, 1 Common Room, 2 Courtyards, 1 Crypt, 6 Defensive Walls, 1 Escape Route, 6 Furnishings (in the Ballroom, 2 Bedrooms, Office, Sitting Room, and the Throne Room), 1 Garden, 1 Gatehouse, 2 Kitchens, 1 Labyrinth, 1 Laundry, 2 Lavatories, 2 Lodgings, 2 Offices, 1 Sanctum, 3 Secret Rooms, 3 Sitting Rooms, 1 Sports Field, 4 Stalls, 2 Statues, 6 Storages, 1 Throne Room, 1 Trophy Room, 2 Vaults, and 1 War Room makes up one palace.

Melt down X amount of GP, alloy it with the rest of the value in silver, turn it into an electrum obelisk.

I like True Love, but that's not for any mechanical reason. :smallbiggrin:

[BTB]

I'm a fan of accursed, simply because it gives me a solid mechanical benefit for selling my soul to demons.

[Kudaku]

I love Town Tamer, combine it with an urban ranger and it's basically carte blanche to play Clint Eastwood.

[Chained Birds]

I'm a fan of accursed, simply because it gives me a solid mechanical benefit for selling my soul to demons.

*Ding!*
"Muhahaha! And the contract is signed! See you in the 9 Hells Sucker!"
*Puff of Smoke away*
"I sold my soul for +2 to a stat?
...
...
Worth it!"

[Raven777]

*Ding!*
"Muhahaha! And the contract is signed! See you in the 9 Hells Sucker!"
*Puff of Smoke away*
"I sold my soul for +2 to a stat?
...
...
Worth it!"

The secret to getting away with capital E Evil is just to make sure you never die :D

[BTB]

Oh, not accursed, Damned. Silly me. And yes, totally worth it if you just don't die.

[Raven777]

But since this is an enhancement bonus, wouldn't it not stack with your run of the mill belt / headband anyway, making the whole feat rather useless?

[TuggyNE]

Accursed is interesting. Kind of a lot of work to get SR though.

Champion is lame, since it's a buff that depends on your opponents (and party members) playing fair.

Damned is lamer, because, as mentioned, it's an enhancement bonus. And since the penalty for dying is so potentially serious, I'd argue the benefits of the feat are pretty much outweighed entirely. Basically a waste of a feat slot.

Fearless Zeal is underwhelming, what with the 1/day minor bonuses.

Feral Heart is just confusing and weird. (Also, not all that impressive on completion?)

Foeslayer combines situational versions of several other feats, so it's maybe a little too weak, but in the right circumstances it shouldn't be too horrible.

Glimpse Beyond is also quite situational, but could be rather useful if you have a high enough (or low enough) Will save to make rerolls optimal.

Liberator is awesome fluff-wise, but mechanically a bit weak. Ah well.

Lost Legacy seems astonishingly minor, or is that just me?

True Love is pretty hysterical.

I'm not really sure there's anything overpowered, with the possible exception of a thoroughly-(ab)used Eldritch Researcher.

[Raven777]

Damned would be entirely fix'd by making the bonus a profane bonus, but I guess that made too much sense.

[Khosan]

But since this is an enhancement bonus, wouldn't it not stack with your run of the mill belt / headband anyway, making the whole feat rather useless?

It does tell us that your run-of-the-mill adventurer's soul is worth 4000 gp.

[Crasical]

These are pretty darn cool. I wonder if it'd upset balance if the DM handed out these as story hooks and goals for characters rather than players picking them up with feat picks.

[Coidzor]

What and where are these backgrounds that are being referenced in the story feats?

[Kornaki]

True Love is the most powerful. Not RAW, not even RAI, but RAA - read as abusable. You get your DM to give you the story feat, which locks him into letting your lover stay in the game. He can't arbitrarily kill off your lover because it has mechanical repercussions as well as narrative repercussions. Now you've got your DM in a bind:

you note that "this feat doesn't really give the benefits I was hoping for... maybe we could give it a little more oomph?"

The DM replies "uh, yeah, no. We're going with what's written"

You "OK, well, if I got an extra +2 to strength from this feat I was thinking we could go finish up that mission to restore the rightful king, but since I'm not sure if we're powerful enough without that, I'll probably just hang around town and RP some sex scenes with my lover"

+2 strength later, :smallcool:. Rinse and repeat as necessary.

To reiterate, the strength of the feat is that if you just try to RP sex to blackmail your DM then your DM can just kill off your lover, but once you have this feat it has mechanical penalties involved and you can complain a lot if he tries to do that

[Renegade Paladin]

And then your DM slaps you around a bit with a large trout. :smalltongue:

[Soras Teva Gee]

What and where are these backgrounds that are being referenced in the story feats?

Under "Character Backgrounds" same book and now on the SRD (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/basics-ability-scores/character-backgrounds).

Roll up... your entire life.

[Coidzor]

Under "Character Backgrounds" same book and now on the SRD (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/basics-ability-scores/character-backgrounds).

Roll up... your entire life.

I saw that a bit earlier, but it doesn't seem to have any references to the terms called out as prerequisites in the story feats.


Innocent Blood would be nice for a Dread considering how they like Shaking people up a lot. You could even put a semi-Neutral spin on things to avoid persecution for a while:
"I had to kill Old Man Wallace, he was going to tell the guards about us and ruin our mission... And he deserved it. (Call me a homicidal maniac will he! That'll show him!)"
And nothing stops you from bluffing! Which a Dread could be really good at.

Goblins (http://www.goblinscomic.org/10282006/)and Kobolds have noncombatants too. :smallamused:

[Soras Teva Gee]

I saw that a bit earlier, but it doesn't seem to have any references to the terms called out as prerequisites in the story feats.

Oops they haven't been loaded... guess you need the book for the moment. Yeah Ultimate Campaign has tables full of backgrounds for you to roll for fun or because you are running low on ideas. Or just scan for something that looks interesting.

And "Prerequisite" is very very loose here.

[TuggyNE]

It does tell us that your run-of-the-mill adventurer's soul is worth 4000 gp.

Wow, that's a high price!


These are pretty darn cool. I wonder if it'd upset balance if the DM handed out these as story hooks and goals for characters rather than players picking them up with feat picks.

Not really, except for Eldritch Researcher, perhaps. They're kind of only about half of a feat, mostly, I think. And given you can only have one until you finish it, it's not like it's going to be absurdly overpowered.

[Coidzor]

Not really, except for Eldritch Researcher, perhaps. They're kind of only about half of a feat, mostly, I think. And given you can only have one until you finish it, it's not like it's going to be absurdly overpowered.

Yeah... A few of them do feel like they'd sub out rather handily for a trait both in terms of backstory/character formation and benefit...

[Raven777]

Wow, that's a high price!

In the same vein, Ultimate Campaign tells us that a world class 47 rooms Oil Sheikh palace costs less than most mid-level magic items...

That's decided. When I ding 11th, I buy myself a castle.

[Alleran]

In the same vein, Ultimate Campaign tells us that a world class 47 rooms Oil Sheikh palace costs less than most mid-level magic items...

That's decided. When I ding 11th, I buy myself a castle.
Just buy one each time you level. Build them all next to each other, too, so you can turn it into a massive mega-palace.

[The Glyphstone]

And once you have your 100,000 mega-castle....sell it for 110,000. Retire from adventuring and become a real estate mogul, since anything you build from there on out magically becomes 10% more valuable.

[Kudaku]

Just buy one each time you level. Build them all next to each other, too, so you can turn it into a massive mega-palace.

Of course, if it counts as a single structure then you can only build it one room at a time. So you might be at it for a while.

[Chained Birds]

It does tell us that your run-of-the-mill adventurer's soul is worth 4000 gp.

Well, seeing as it doesn't take up a slot, an adventurer's soul is actually worth about 8000gp. At least, according to Evil Outsiders.

[Squirrel_Dude]

Overall opinion after getting some more time to think about it:

Story Feats are another attempt, like traits were, to give a direct mechanical benefit from character fluff. The problem, like with traits, some benefits are simply better than others, and most players will instead tailor their backstories to their trait/feat selection instead of the other way around. It doesn't help that they often provide minimal bonuses (or amazing ones), and in the case of story feats, take up a valuable feat slot.

In short, I don't see myself using story feats any time soon. They just don't seem that beneficial, and certainly not very flexible.

[Coidzor]

Overall opinion after getting some more time to think about it:

Story Feats are another attempt, like traits were, to give a direct mechanical benefit from character fluff. The problem, like with traits, some benefits are simply better than others, and most players will instead tailor their backstories to their trait/feat selection instead of the other way around. It doesn't help that they often provide minimal bonuses (or amazing ones), and in the case of story feats, take up a valuable feat slot.

In short, I don't see myself using story feats any time soon. They just don't seem that beneficial, and certainly not very flexible.

Right now I could see them as a good point of departure for some homebrew and rebalancing, especially with a thematic tie-in with one or two skills. Possibly with a houseruled special feat slot for a story feat which may or may not only be filled at character creation with DM permission or after in-story events trigger it, allowing the story feat to be taken at the next level-up/retraining/significant story downtime.

[NightbringerGGZ]

Well, seeing as it doesn't take up a slot, an adventurer's soul is actually worth about 8000gp. At least, according to Evil Outsiders.

True, but you can only sell something for half the listed value =P.

[Axinian]

True, but you can only sell something for half the listed value =P.

Ah but this same book introduced bargaining! You could sell it for more! (or buy it for less)

[Raven777]

Actually, Souls are even cheaper than that (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/outsiders/daemons#TOC-The-Soul-Trade).

[TuggyNE]

True, but you can only sell something for half the listed value =P.

So, since you're selling it in exchange for 8000gp worth of stat boosting, it's actually worth 16000gp?

[Blisstake]

I think it's supposed to be an inherent bonus. That's what my hardcover had last time I checked, anyway :smallconfused:

[137beth]

Well, seeing as it doesn't take up a slot, an adventurer's soul is actually worth about 8000gp. At least, according to Evil Outsiders.

That's probably enough to convince at least a few level 1 commoners. Still isn't a good deal, since if you are at a level where 8000 gold is a lot, then you probably don't have means available to you to bypass your end of the deal:smallamused: By the time you can avoid dying/kill whoever you made a bargain with, 8000 gold is nothing.

[The Random NPC]

Overall opinion after getting some more time to think about it:

Story Feats are another attempt, like traits were, to give a direct mechanical benefit from character fluff. The problem, like with traits, some benefits are simply better than others, and most players will instead tailor their backstories to their trait/feat selection instead of the other way around. It doesn't help that they often provide minimal bonuses (or amazing ones), and in the case of story feats, take up a valuable feat slot.

In short, I don't see myself using story feats any time soon. They just don't seem that beneficial, and certainly not very flexible.

I think you can also give up your two traits to get a story feat, not that that changes anything.

[Chained Birds]

I think you can also give up your two traits to get a story feat, not that that changes anything.

I like this option. Is this an actual rule?