[Feat] Weapon Style

[Mighty_Chicken]

Hm, so, inspired by Ziegander's most recent thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=331427), I think I consolidated an idea I've been playing with last weeks: a customizable Weapon feat for fighters.

First we fix Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization as suggested by Ziegander:

Weapon Focus
Prerequisites: Proficiency with weapon, base attack bonus +1
Benefit: Choose a weapon you are proficient with. You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls with that weapon and an additional +4 bonus to attack rolls made to confirm critical hits with that weapon.
Special: If you have at least one Fighter class level you may change the weapon you chose with this feat by spending one hour practicing with a new weapon. If not, you may take this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new weapon.

Weapon Focus, Greater
Prerequisites: Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Fighter 8
Benefit: You gain an additional +1 bonus to attack rolls with the weapon you have chosen with the Weapon Focus feat (to a total of +2) and an additional +4 bonus to attack rolls made to confirm critical hits (to a total of +8).
Special: If you have the Weapon Style feat, you gain two additional Style Points with this weapon.

Weapon Specialization
Prerequisites: Weapon Focus, Fighter 4
Benefit: You cannot be disarmed of the weapon you have chosen with the Weapon Focus feat. You deal additional damage with that weapon equal to half your Fighter level (rounded down).


Ok. Next step, Weapon Style.

Weapon Style
Prerequisites: Weapon Specialization, Fighter 6
Benefit: You gain a number of Style points equal to your Fighter level. This number progresses if you acquire more Fighter levels. You may place those points in the following abilities, which only work with your chosen weapon:

Lethal style: You deal +1 damage when attacking flat-footed opponents or rolling the damage of a critical hit for every Style point you spend in this ability. This extra damage is multiplied normally.

Swift style: In any round you start attacking or charging with your chosen weapon, you add the number of Style points placed in this ability to your Initiative roll.

Destructive style: you deal +1 damage for every 2 Style points you place in this ability.

Precise style: you add +1 to critical confirmation rolls for every Style point you place in this ability.

Flawless style: you add +1 to attack rolls for every 5 Style points you place in this ability.

Safe style: you receive +1 to resist combat maneuvers for every 2 Style points you place in this ability.

Clever style: you receive +1 to attempt all combat maneuvers for every 3 Style points you place in this ability. This bonus doesn't stack with the bonus granted by Improved Disarm, Improved Grapple and similar feats.

Guardian style: you receive +1 to your CA while welding your chosen weapon for every 3 Style points you place in this ability, or 2 if your chosen weapon is a shield.

Viennese style: you recebe +1 against fear effects for every Style point you place in this ability, and +1 to Will saves for every 4 Style points you place in this ability. A natural 1 isn't an automatic fail against fear effects if you have at least 5 points placed in this ability, or against any Will save if you have at least 10 points placed in this ability. Placing 10 points in this ability also makes you immune to fear as long as you wield your chosen weapon.

Improved Disarm: you gain the benefits of the Improved Disarm Feat when using your chosen weapon. This ability can't be used as a prerequisite and you must place 5 Style points to make use of it.

Twin style: if you are fighting with two different weapons and you have Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization in both of them, your Weapon Style benefits both weapons. You must place 2 Style points in this ability to make use of it.

Lock style: you gain a number of Style points equal to one third your Fighter levels, but you cannot you cannot alter the placement of your Style Points (except in any occasion when you gain more Style points) or apply your Weapon Focus feat to another weapon anymore.

Special: If you hadn't chosen the Lock style ability, you can replace your Style points with an hour of training.

You can gain this feat multiple times. It can either apply to a different chosen weapon you have Weapon Specialization with, or consist in a different style with the same chosen weapon. Only one style can be active at a given time; switching between them requires a swift action.


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Those would just be some examples; anything from mere numeral bonuses to special abilities could be allowed with this feat. What else could be done here?

[Mighty_Chicken]

A few possible optional rules/ideas:

Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat

I think many DMs, players and homebrewers feel as I do about how weak this feat is. Generally you're paying a feat just so you can use a weapon with a slightly bigger damage or critical thread range. However, the reference we get from fiction is that wielders of exotic weapons tend to be masters of exotic fighting styles.

So the Exotic Weapon feat should grant you additional Weapon Style points (how many?) and some unique abilities, too, depending on the weapon.


Skill points as a modular resource for Fighters

This was earlier discussed in the What do we want from a fighter feat (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=327976) thread.

The idea is, along with giving Fighters more skill points per level (4 or 6+Int), giving them the option to spend those skill points in fighting just in case you want your fighter to be the good old brainless muscle, instead of the witty veteran, or anything in-between.

The application here would be this:
A Fighter can apply up to 2 skill points per level (up to 8 at first level) at Weapon Styles. The prerequisite for having a Weapon Style would be Weapon Focus (no Specialization needed) and no more than 2 skill points/fighter level could be invested in a single Weapon Style.

Each skill point would trade for a Weapon Style point. Some abilities might need a Fighter level requirement.

If this proved to be too much powerful, we could try every Weapon Style point costing 2 skill points.

Change log:

02-20-2014: Corrected Flawless Style, added 3 more abilities.

[Erberor]

I like it. The ability to change styles on the fly strikes me as exactly the sort of thing a skilled fighter would be able to do. I would personally expand the number of options available, maybe something granting a bonus on combat maneuvers in general.

Also, I think that as you progress you should be able to be in two styles at once. Just increases flexibility and power.

[Vadskye]

Fighters should not automatically be able to change their weapon focus. That defeats the entire concept of "weapon focus".

These feats range from very good to broken. Adding fighter level to attack rolls is way too large. The same goes for adding it to damage.

Feats should be balanced against other feats. Martial classes should be balanced against other martial classes. This feat sequence is too good because it makes non-Fighter martial classes too weak by comparison, and forces every fighter to take the Weapon Focus/Specialization/Style tree or be weak relative to their overspecialized peers.

Edit: Ran some numbers. A generic 12th level fighter using original Focus + (Greater) Specialization deals 88 damage per round against an average CR 12 opponent, or 96 with Power Attack. A generic 12th level fighter using Flawless Style deals 170 damage with Power Attack. (The average monster has just shy of 200 HP, so he doesn't quite one-shot the monster, but the calculator (http://www.distanceeducationconsultants.com/ddcalc.php?strength=24&dexterity=10&BAB=12&btohit=14&btodam=6&dr=0&w1dmg=7&w1rng=2&w1mult=2&w1enh=4&w1bonus=4&pw1=&w2dmg=4.5&w2rng=2&w2mult=2&w2enh=0&w2bonus=0&pw2=&weaponwield=twohanded&pa=true&patype=3.5&impcritw1=true&sneakattack=0d6&charge_mult=1&Ilove=Macy&button1=CALCULATE) couldn't take the +8 to confirm criticals into account. That's almost double damage. (If he has Lock Style, it doesn't get much better - but that's only because he's already power attacking for full, and essentially can't miss even on his last attack.)

[Mighty_Chicken]

Also, I think that as you progress you should be able to be in two styles at once. Just increases flexibility and power.

I wouldn't know exactly how to balance it. How about this?


Double style: divide your total number of Weapon Style points (including those granted by Lock style, Greater Weapon Focus, etc) in two pools that can't be different in size by a number greater than your Int modifier (minimum 1). Then add 20% to the total number of Weapon Style points (rounding it to the nearest whole number) for which pool. Each pool counts as a different Weapon style - you can't have two Weapon Styles active at a single moment, but you can switch between styles with a swift action.


The other option would be simply spending another feat to buy Weapon Style again.


Fighters should not automatically be able to change their weapon focus. That defeats the entire concept of "weapon focus".

That's ok. I've put this here because lately, most people have been agreeing weapon adaptability (as the Warblade ability) or even feat adaptability is necessary to make Fighters more versatile. If you don't agree with this theory, just ignore this part.

Either way, if you want that flavor of a fighter being specialist in a single type of weapon, just pick Lock Style. Or, if you're the DM, rule that Lock Style is the standard for everyone and those who don't choose it have their Style points reduced to half.


These feats range from very good to broken. Adding fighter level to attack rolls is way too large. The same goes for adding it to damage.

D'oh. Oh, sorry. That was a typo, my mistake. +1 to attack every level makes no sense! I fixed it, what do you think of it now?

Any other broken abilities?



Feats should be balanced against other feats. Martial classes should be balanced against other martial classes. This feat sequence is too good because it makes non-Fighter martial classes too weak by comparison, and forces every fighter to take the Weapon Focus/Specialization/Style tree or be weak relative to their overspecialized peers.

For one, a feat with a special requirement can and should be balanced against other feats with special requirements.

In this case, we're talking about a feat that requires 6 levels of a specific class and that loses half of its potential if you get no more levels in that class.


Second, I think I should've been clearer about my intent. All combat feats should be more powerful than they are right now. A good example would be aforementioned Ziegander thread. This should be part of an effort to slightly tweak and buff all the fighter feats.

If you compare Weapon Style to the versions of Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization posted here, I don't think it's broken, is it?

I even think Weapon Style could be reasonably balanced with RAW fighter feats if it only granted (half your fighter level + your Int mod) Style points. Still more powerful than most feats, but not unbalanced.