Weirdest prerequisites for a feat?

[Pinkie Pyro]

What feat has the weirdest/most ridiculous prerequisites?

At a glance, whirlwind attack seems to, with 4 other feats that have nothing to do with it, and due to the lack of specifying a BAB, a level 1 human fighter with 2 flaws could get it and use it every round.

[Lord Haart]

There is a feat in Ravenloft Player's handbook that can only be taken by characters that were born redheads.

[nobodez]

There is a feat in Ravenloft Player's handbook that can only be taken by characters that were born redheads.

Could you qualify for that if you got reincarnated into a redhead?

[Ansem]

I find the racial requirements always a bummer.
I feel that the majority of them can simply be accomplished by being taught by the race in question.

[Firechanter]

What feat has the weirdest/most ridiculous prerequisites?

At a glance, whirlwind attack seems to, with 4 other feats that have nothing to do with it, and due to the lack of specifying a BAB, a level 1 human fighter with 2 flaws could get it and use it every round.

Well first off, Whirlwind Attack does have a +4 BAB prereq.
But it's still a dumb feat with ridiculous prereqs, so I guess it's a contender.

I vaguely recall a Feat that was supposed to be useful for Light Weapon TWFing, and required Power Attack as a prereq, but I don't remember what it was exactly.

[Karnith]

I vaguely recall a Feat that was supposed to be useful for Light Weapon TWFing, and required Power Attack as a prereq, but I don't remember what it was exactly.
I don't know if it's actually what you're talking about, but the Bear Fang weapon style feat (in Complete Warrior) requires Weapon Focus (Dagger), Weapon Focus (battleaxe, handaxe, or dwarven waraxe), Two-Weapon Fighting, and Power Attack.

Why it requires Power Attack is beyond me, since it gives you grapple-related abilities.

[Yawgmoth]

Pretty much any feat with a racial requirement that doesn't upgrade your racial abilities is nonsensical to me. Spring Attack requiring Dodge and Mobility is another contender just because (a) why do I need to learn to be more defensive to learn an offensive skill, and (b) god those feats both suck.

[Karnith]

Pretty much any feat with a racial requirement that doesn't upgrade your racial abilities is nonsensical to me.
Oh, since it came up in some other threads recently, I can go one step beyond this. Battle Jump is a regional feat in Unapproachable East that increases your damage when you drop on top of your enemy and attack. Its only requirement is Region: Taer (Taer being a race of yeti-people, basically). Regional feats are silly, and racial feats are silly, but this goes beyond that, because the Taer region specifically reflects Taer driven into exile by their clans.

Meaning that there is something about being banished from their villages that lets Taer fight more effectively when they drop from heights.

[nobodez]

Pretty much any feat with a racial requirement that doesn't upgrade your racial abilities is nonsensical to me. Spring Attack requiring Dodge and Mobility is another contender just because (a) why do I need to learn to be more defensive to learn an offensive skill, and (b) god those feats both suck.

Well, Dodge is the first step to not getting hit (+1 AC vs. a single target in v.3.5, all targets in PF), then Mobility is about moving without getting hit (+4 AC vs. AoOs due to movement). Spring Attack allows you to move in, attack, and then move back, without getting hit (no AoOs from your target). It makes sense if you remember the No AoOs part of Spring Attack.

Why Spring Attack's required for Shot on the Run is a more important question, since there's not AoO reducing bonus to Shot on the Run.

[Humble Master]

Karmic Strike is kind of weird. You need to have Dodge so you can become more open to attacks.
You need Improved Sunder for Anvil of Thunder even though Anvil of Thunder lets you daze opponetns not sunder their weapons.

Also, I concure witht the thought of racial feats (or anything really) being weird unless they specificly effect your racial abilites.

[Morgarion]

Arcane archer's elf or half-elf requirement is pretty weird. Especially if you're only looking at it on the SRD and you don't have any access to the fluff.

[Xefas]

The Apostate feat requires that you be Evil. Why does a hatred of gods require any degree of malevolence in a world heavily populated with evil gods?

Also, the Deformity feats and their Evil requirement. How does self-mutilation make you Evil? By definition, you're not hurting others. Apparently you can't play, say, a crazy person who wants to do good in the world despite being crazy. (edit: Then compare it to say, Power Attack, whose sole purpose is causing harm to others, and that's not Evil. Oh goodness no.)

[Venusaur]

I think I know.

Blessed by Tem-Et-Nu requires defeating a hippopotamus in single combat.

[Chronos]

Lichloved.

[inuyasha]

Lichloved.
^
Thread won, have a cookie

[Big Fau]

defeating a hippopotamus in single combat.

That's a feat in and of itself!

:smallbiggrin:

[123456789blaaa]

The Apostate feat requires that you be Evil. Why does a hatred of gods require any degree of malevolence in a world heavily populated with evil gods?

Also, the Deformity feats and their Evil requirement. How does self-mutilation make you Evil? By definition, you're not hurting others. Apparently you can't play, say, a crazy person who wants to do good in the world despite being crazy. (edit: Then compare it to say, Power Attack, whose sole purpose is causing harm to others, and that's not Evil. Oh goodness no.)


This book introduces a new type of feat: the vile feat. Only intelligent characters of an evil alignment can use vile feats. Vile feats are granted to characters at the behest of a powerful evil agency—a god, a demon, or something similar. As such, vile feats are supernatural abilities rather than extraordinary abilities. Some DMs may also want to require a character who seeks a vile feat to perform a special ritual or make an actual bargain with a powerful creature of evil. The patron creature may even(at the DM’s discretion) have the ability to revoke the feat should the character displease it.

All Deformity feats are vile feats.The Deformity feats specifically refer to mutilating yourself as a sacrifice to Evil. Deformity: Obese for example, doesn't refer to obese people it general. It refers to people who intentionally gorge themselves to show devotion to evil Powers and in return get power. Notice that obese people in general do not get the bonuses and penalties people with the feat do.

[Starbuck_II]

I think I know.

Blessed by Tem-Et-Nu requires defeating a hippopotamus in single combat.

Few people can do that in real life. :smallbiggrin:

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

Perfect Two-Weapon Fighting is weird because it should have requirements of Dex 15+ and nothing else.

[bekeleven]

Lichloved.

Now that I think about it, this is way worse than Nymph's Kiss. Even if one makes you go blind.

[Firechanter]

As we're about it, do you also want to talk about the weirdest prerequisites for a PrC?

I mean, there are dozens or probably hundreds of PrCs whose prereqs are tax feats that don't do squat for the actual class. The worst offenders are from 3.0 and the early days of 3.5, but even towards the end of the publishing cycle individual examples popped up here and there. Master of Nine immediately springs to mind.

[ArcturusV]

Well if you talk about PrCs, Eunuch Warlock, hands down. Chop off your balls as a prerequisite from a WotC source.

[Urpriest]

Well if you talk about PrCs, Eunuch Warlock, hands down. Chop off your balls as a prerequisite from a WotC source.

As a consequence, it's one of only two or so PrCs with Gender: Male as a requirement.

Anyway, regarding Scion of Tem-Et-Nu, I'm just imagining a warrior trying to engage in single combat with a hippo, and another hippo waddles over:

"No, this is honorable single combat! Go away! Shoo!"

[Zombulian]

As a consequence, it's one of only two or so PrCs with Gender: Male as a requirement.

Anyway, regarding Scion of Tem-Et-Nu, I'm just imagining a warrior trying to engage in single combat with a hippo, and another hippo waddles over:

"No, this is honorable single combat! Go away! Shoo!"

Can... Can I sig this?

[Urpriest]

Can... Can I sig this?

Go ahead. :smallsmile:

[TuggyNE]

Well first off, Whirlwind Attack does have a +4 BAB prereq.
But it's still a dumb feat with ridiculous prereqs, so I guess it's a contender.

The worst thing about it is you can't get it at level 4 with anything short of severe cheese (DCFS, persisting heroics, or whatever). This is because Spring Attack also has a BAB +4 prerequisite, and there's no way to get two Fighter bonus feats at 4th level.

[Morgarion]

Well if you talk about PrCs, Eunuch Warlock, hands down. Chop off your balls as a prerequisite from a WotC source.

It makes sense to me. If it didn't have that prerequisite, the class would just be 'warlock'.

[grarrrg]

Anyway, regarding Scion of Tem-Et-Nu, I'm just imagining a warrior trying to engage in single combat with a hippo, and another hippo waddles over:

"No, this is honorable single combat! Go away! Shoo!"

Can... Can I sig this?

Agreed.
10 character limit

[Telok]

Far Shot requires Point Blank Shot.

To get better at shooting further away you must first be especially good at shooting things less than 30 feet away.

[Rubik]

Faerie Mysteries Initiate. Somehow, having sex with a fey grants you your Int mod to hit points.

[Curmudgeon]

Far Shot requires Point Blank Shot.

To get better at shooting further away you must first be especially good at shooting things less than 30 feet away.
That's not necessarily weird. For instance, Far Shot with a dagger gets you to 20' range increments, and that's still viable for Point Blank Shot. Just depends on what "far" means for the particular weapon.

[Morgarion]

Faerie Mysteries Initiate. Somehow, having sex with a fey grants you your Int mod to hit points.

Is that really part of the feat?

[Rubik]

Is that really part of the feat?One of the options is called passions, and it involves an "exuberant sensual act" with a partner.

[Deaxsa]

Is that really part of the feat?

maybe you were smart enough to have sex with fey (and get away with it), so they figure you should put that intelligence to use? iunno.


on topic for the PrCs, i've been extremely confused about the invisible blade PrC: a class entirely about feinting in combat... has far shot and point plank shot as prereqs? what?

[Yawgmoth]

Now that I think about it, this is way worse than Nymph's Kiss. Even if one makes you go blind. I have a character with Nymph's Kiss whose fey girlfriend is an Oread. Because really, who wouldn't go for a strong, beautiful, slightly cruel engineering savant?

[Thanatosia]

Faerie Mysteries Initiate. Somehow, having sex with a fey grants you your Int mod to hit points.Is that really part of the feat?
As I read the feat it's not sex with a Fey, it's an 'exuberant sensual act' with anyone else who also has the Faerie Mysteries Initiate feat. Alternatively you can sing, dance, or 'frolic' with this other person for other benefits.

[Slipperychicken]

Faerie Mysteries Initiate. Somehow, having sex with a fey grants you your Int mod to hit points.

"Exuberant sensual act" could be all kinds of stuff, like weird new-agey rituals, some kind of exhausting dance, or a fantasy version of twerking.


Because seriously, if you're willing to sit in a dark grimy hole for a week without human contact (Otyugh Hole) to get a feat, or castrate yourself for a PrC, then you can twerk a fey once for int-mod to hit points.

[tyckspoon]

then you can twerk a fey

This just made my list of phrases I would never have expected to read.

[Venger]

maybe you were smart enough to have sex with fey (and get away with it), so they figure you should put that intelligence to use? iunno.


on topic for the PrCs, i've been extremely confused about the invisible blade PrC: a class entirely about feinting in combat... has far shot and point plank shot as prereqs? what?

invisible blade and master thrower used to be one 10 level long class with the combined abilities of both. then some genius decided to split them to pad out CWAR and forgot to amend IB's feat prereqs.

[bekeleven]

on topic for the PrCs, i've been extremely confused about the invisible blade PrC: a class entirely about feinting in combat... has far shot and point plank shot as prereqs? what?

The Invisible Blade was originally a 10 level class with abilities related to knife throwing.

It was cut to 5 late in dev and all throwing abilities were removed. The prerequisites were missed.

If you use the class in a game, remove those prerequisites.

[123456789blaaa]

Because seriously, if you're willing to sit in a dark grimy hole for a week without human contact (Otyugh Hole) to get a feat, or castrate yourself for a PrC, then you can twerk a fey once for int-mod to hit points.

This is sig-worthy

[Crasical]

Could you qualify for that if you got reincarnated into a redhead?


The magic of the spell creates an entirely new young adult body for the soul to inhabit from the natural elements at hand.

Unless you count that as being born, no.

As for the 'It's entirely nonsexual, honest' part of Fairy Mysteries Initiate, yeah, technically, but with that and Nymphs Kiss' "maintaining an intimate relationship with a good-aligned fey" flavor text I feel like the two feats certainly had 'fairy girlfriend' in mind when written, even if the text leaves you wriggle room for other interpretations.

[erikun]

One thing that I never understood was the prerequisite Combat Expertise for the Improved Disarm/Feint/Trip/Whirlwind Attack feats. I can sort of see how Power Attack would lead into Cleave and Improved Sunder, although there really isn't a reason to require it being a prerequisite. But I'm not sure how lowering your offense to improve your defense makes you any better at tripping opponents or tricking them into becoming flat-footed.

You might try to say that "learning to fight defensively helps prevent provoking an AoO" as an excuse, except that feinting doesn't provoke an AoO. And Sundering does, but the feat still removes it.

[Rubik]

One thing that I never understood was the prerequisite Combat Expertise for the Improved Disarm/Feint/Trip/Whirlwind Attack feats. I can sort of see how Power Attack would lead into Cleave and Improved Sunder, although there really isn't a reason to require it being a prerequisite. But I'm not sure how lowering your offense to improve your defense makes you any better at tripping opponents or tricking them into becoming flat-footed.

You might try to say that "learning to fight defensively helps prevent provoking an AoO" as an excuse, except that feinting doesn't provoke an AoO. And Sundering does, but the feat still removes it.I don't know why Combat Expertise requires Int. Making yourself more useless by improving a crappy form of defense is apparently intelligent.

[Slipperychicken]

As for the 'It's entirely nonsexual, honest' part of Fairy Mysteries Initiate, yeah, technically, but with that and Nymphs Kiss' "maintaining an intimate relationship with a good-aligned fey" flavor text I feel like the two feats certainly had 'fairy girlfriend' in mind when written, even if the text leaves you wriggle room for other interpretations.

I mean, the wiggle room is obviously there to keep things plausibly child-friendly (i.e. So you can tell your kids that Mr. Smart-Factotum was just doing a special magic dance with his fairy friend), and also allow chaste/virginal characters take the feat.

[Coidzor]

As I read the feat it's not sex with a Fey, it's an 'exuberant sensual act' with anyone else who also has the Faerie Mysteries Initiate feat. Alternatively you can sing, dance, or 'frolic' with this other person for other benefits.

So it's a sexually transmitted feat. XD


This just made my list of phrases I would never have expected to read.

Second.

[Ekul]

The worst thing about it is you can't get it at level 4 with anything short of severe cheese (DCFS, persisting heroics, or whatever). This is because Spring Attack also has a BAB +4 prerequisite, and there's no way to get two Fighter bonus feats at 4th level.
I think you may be looking at it from the wrong perspective. Maybe they thought "What if you multiclass into fighter after 4 levels in another class?" Any wizard 4/fighter 2 could get bab +4 at level 6 and pick up whirlwind attack as soon as he meets the prerequisites for it.

Okay, that's probably not what they were thinking, but there is a defensible position for it.

[TuggyNE]

I think you may be looking at it from the wrong perspective. Maybe they thought "What if you multiclass into fighter after 4 levels in another class?" Any wizard 4/fighter 2 could get bab +4 at level 6 and pick up whirlwind attack as soon as he meets the prerequisites for it.

Okay, that's probably not what they were thinking, but there is a defensible position for it.

Yeah but.

Why would they design for weird random multiclasses of non-full-BAB classes for a feat that is purely martial ability? :smallannoyed: That's not the primary use case! (And as far as I can tell, the earliest you can get the feat is level 5, if you delay Fighter levels until 4 and 5, and have at least medium BAB for the other three levels, which is pretty bizarre.)

[Scow2]

Originally, Spring Attack had a BAB requirement of +3, and Whirlwind Attack had a BAB requirement of +8.

[The Trickster]

"Exuberant sensual act" could be all kinds of stuff, like weird new-agey rituals, some kind of exhausting dance, or a fantasy version of twerking.


Because seriously, if you're willing to sit in a dark grimy hole for a week without human contact (Otyugh Hole) to get a feat, or castrate yourself for a PrC, then you can twerk a fey once for int-mod to hit points.

Please let me sig this :smallsmile:

[Xefas]

"Exuberant sensual act" could be all kinds of stuff, like weird new-agey rituals, some kind of exhausting dance, or a fantasy version of twerking.

It could also be using your significant other as an improvised weapon to traumatize innocent bystanders into rabid cannibal monsters.

If that's your character's thing. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=286983) Who are we to judge someone's quirks?

[Slipperychicken]

Please let me sig this :smallsmile:

Permission to sig granted :smallbiggrin:

[JBPuffin]

So it's a sexually transmitted feat. XD

I want this...can I sig it?

[Coidzor]

I want this...can I sig it?

Go for it. XD

[Rubik]

I want this...can I sig it?You want an STF?