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View Full Version : D&D 3.x Other Some Feat changes for a campaign I'm running [PEACH]



Necrovosh
2015-01-30, 02:38 PM
So in general, combat feats are set up as a tax to make the fighter look like he's getting something beneficial, when in reality they're getting diddly squat. For the same price as the "Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Spiked Chain)" feat group, which allows him to trip people within ten feet of him, a cleric may gain Extend Spell, Persist Spell, and Divine Metamagic (Persist), allowing him to become as strong and skilled as the fighter (Divine Favor) for 24 hours, usable each day. To attempt to allow other classes to do flavorful, fun combat things while still being competent characters, I've condensed some of the feat chains somewhat.

Vexing Combatant
Prerequisite: Int 13.
Benefit: When you use the attack action or the full attack action in melee, you can take a penalty of as much as your base attack bonus on your attack roll and add the same number as a dodge bonus to your Armor Class. The changes to attack rolls and Armor Class last until your next action.
You may make a Bluff check to feint in combat as a move action.
You do not provoke attacks of opportunity when you attempt to disarm an opponent, nor does the opponent have a chance to disarm you. You gain a bonus on the opposed attack roll made to disarm your opponent equal to your Intelligence modifier.
You do not provoke attacks of opportunity when you attempt to trip your opponent. You gain a bonus on the Strength check equal to your Intelligence modifier. If you trip an opponent in melee combat, you immediately get a melee attack against that opponent as if you hadn’t used your attack for the trip attempt.
Special:This feat counts as Combat Expertise, Improved Combat Expertise, Improved Feint, Improved Disarm, and Improved Trip for all prerequisites. A fighter may select this feat as one of his fighter bonus feats.

Brutal Combatant
Prerequisite: Str 13.
Benefit: On your action, before making your attack rolls for the round, you may take a penalty to your melee attack rolls, and add the same number to your melee damage rolls. This effect lasts until your next turn. The penalty may not be higher than your base attack bonus. If you are wielding a weapon in two hands, the bonus is doubled.
When you perform a bull rush you do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the defender. Your Strength modifier is doubled on the opposed Strength check you make to push back the defender.
When you attempt to overrun an opponent, the target may not choose to avoid you. Your Strength modifier is doubled on your Strength check to knock down your opponent.
When you strike at an object held or carried by an opponent in melee, you do not provoke an attack of opportunity. You also gain your Strength modifier as a bonus on any melee attack roll made to attack an object held or carried by another character.
Special: This feat counts as Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, and Improved Sunder for all prerequisites. A fighter may select this feat as one of his fighter bonus feats.

Unerring Combatant
Prerequisite: Dex 13.
Benefit: On your action, before making your attack rolls for the round, you may take a penalty to your ranged attack rolls, and add the same number to your ranged damage rolls against opponents within the first range increment of your weapon. This effect lasts until your next turn. The penalty may not be higher than your base attack bonus.
You can shoot or throw ranged weapons at an opponent engaged in melee without taking the standard -4 penalty on your attack roll.
Special: This feat counts as Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot for all prerequisites. A fighter may select this feat as one of his fighter bonus feats.

Rapid Combatant
Prerequisite: Dex 13.
Benefit: Your penalties on attack rolls for fighting with two weapons are reduced. The penalty for your primary hand lessens by 2 and the one for your off hand lessens by 6. You may make iterative attacks with your off hand weapon, in addition to your main hand weapon.
Special: This feat counts as Two Weapon Fighting for all prerequisites. At a base attack bonus of +6/+1 or higher, it also counts as Improved Two Weapon Fighting. At a base attack bonus of +11/+6/+1 or higher, it also counts as Greater Two Weapon Fighting. A fighter may select this feat as one of his fighter bonus feats.


That's 14 feats replaced with 4. None are particularly powerful, they just enable a few combat styles for classes without massive feat pools. It doesn't even nerf the fighter by weakening his value, as his bonus feats can now be spent on things he might find useful, and not on dumb filler. I've also reduced the insane stat pre-req on the upper tiers of TWF, as it just seemed to be there for WotC's own idea of flavor, and not for balance purposes. Realistically, there should be a strength requirement, as being able to effectively alter your momentum to fight with a weapon in each hand is taxing, but I don't feel like nerfing halfling rogues. Under this system, rangers might not pick combat styles, but instead get something like paladin smite against favored enemies, or acquire their animal companion earlier.

Solaris
2015-01-30, 02:56 PM
I really like these. I'd thought of doing something similar with the Two-Weapon Fighting one, but hadn't thought to expand it to the other combat styles as well.

Hanuman
2015-01-31, 06:50 AM
I'd give the added bonuses as a swift action, these seem to be just really good versions of existing popular feats with no downside, and seem to only be needed on characters without the action economy.

That being said, I'm peaching this for general use, each campaign has its own concept of balance.

Necrovosh
2015-01-31, 11:15 AM
I'd give the added bonuses as a swift action, these seem to be just really good versions of existing popular feats with no downside, and seem to only be needed on characters without the action economy.

That being said, I'm peaching this for general use, each campaign has its own concept of balance.

Which bonuses should I alter? In the case of the power attack/combat expertise upgrades, they're almost word for word clones of the feats they replace, with ability scaling in place of the flat +4 buffs you get from the combat action feats. In the case of the point blank shot replacer, I felt that ranged weapons were already so underperforming that the buff wouldn't seem out of place. Eating swift actions to get the same bonuses you'd normally get for free seems to just weaken an already weak playstyle, in that a paladin wouldn't be able to cast and then bull rush, nor would a crusader get a boost before power attacking.

The point of the feats is that they are upgrades to popular feats; feats that are popular because without them, combat is tedious and boring. Am I missing something vital about a combo these feats enable that could wreck a game? Maybe the ability scaling should be a level dependant one instead? Or should I just leave them flat +4? Do you just think the feats being squished together makes them too powerful? Because I haven't had a campaign break because the fighter did the most damage in combat...

jedipotter
2015-01-31, 11:48 PM
To attempt to allow other classes to do flavorful, fun combat things while still being competent characters, I've condensed some of the feat chains somewhat.


Seems like a huge power grab. A lot of your feats say: ''when someone does a special action in combat, they get no Attack of Opportunity.'' So, obviously, someone who wanted to use special combat action would just take the feat. One feat. If your going to make it one feat, you might as well make it none. Just change the combat rules to say ''no AoO for special combat actions.

Necrovosh
2015-02-01, 09:43 AM
Seems like a huge power grab. A lot of your feats say: ''when someone does a special action in combat, they get no Attack of Opportunity.'' So, obviously, someone who wanted to use special combat action would just take the feat. One feat. If your going to make it one feat, you might as well make it none. Just change the combat rules to say ''no AoO for special combat actions.

That's actually one thing I thought about, but decided against at the last minute. I might just go back to that. Do you think the "ranged power attack" on the point blank shot replacer is too powerful? I always thought ranged was weak, but is there a balancing factor I'm missing?

Solaris
2015-02-01, 09:51 AM
Seems like a huge power grab. A lot of your feats say: ''when someone does a special action in combat, they get no Attack of Opportunity.'' So, obviously, someone who wanted to use special combat action would just take the feat. One feat. If your going to make it one feat, you might as well make it none. Just change the combat rules to say ''no AoO for special combat actions.

"One feat" is still vastly different than "Everyone can do it with no investment whatsoever".

Consider the investment required for a wizard or a cleric to do the equivalent and then some. They don't need any feats, they need spells - which they get for free. Your proposal is to make it so that the wizard (who'd be better served by metamagic feats) can be just as good at tripping or bull-rushing his foes as the trained fighter.


That's actually one thing I thought about, but decided against at the last minute. I might just go back to that.

I wouldn't recommend it, for the reasons I've stated above. It's one thing to lower the training required to something that means a combatant can be competent at a variety of things; it's another thing entirely to say that everyone is competent at those things.


Do you think the "ranged power attack" on the point blank shot replacer is too powerful? I always thought ranged was weak, but is there a balancing factor I'm missing?

Not remotely; it fills a badly-needed gap in ranged combat's arsenal.