The "Best" Flaws (Continued)

[Rubik]

Continued from here, (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?258440-The-quot-Best-quot-Flaws) since the forum mods prefer to clog up the forum with multiple threads over the same subject, and there is apparently interest in continuing the discussion.

[Malimar]

The point was raised in that thread that flaws front-load feats, which is undesirable.

But I have just the opposite opinion: front-loading feats is good, because it makes the unpleasant earliest levels a little more survivable and a little more fun. (Which, well, yeah, you could just skip those levels, but you know what I mean.)


Anyhow, the actual subject of the thread: I like it when I'm a DM and a player takes Haunted, because I like to use the strange noises for the purposes of fun and hilarity.

[Troacctid]

I honestly don't mind if players take flaws that don't have a large impact on their chosen role. It makes them more specialized in their role, so they're more reliant on their party members to fill the other roles. Which is cool by me.

Like, if the Wizard goes and takes Noncombatant because he's like "Oh, I'm not going to be making melee attacks, I'm a caster!" then guess what? It means he's probably not going to polymorph into a ten-headed hydra in every fight and make the melee guy feel useless.

[Flickerdart]

The point was raised in that thread that flaws front-load feats, which is undesirable.

But I have just the opposite opinion: front-loading feats is good, because it makes the unpleasant earliest levels a little more survivable and a little more fun. (Which, well, yeah, you could just skip those levels, but you know what I mean.)
I think front-loading feats is fine - you can get so many feats at level 1 (base + race bonus + class bonuses) that flaws for more feats is just an option among many. In the later levels the feats suddenly dry up and that's when everyone would love to start grabbing flaws left and right so they can score all those sweet feat chain caps at the same time. Being able to pick up up to 4 feats with a level (base + class + 2 flaws) at a level that you actually have a bunch of prerequisites fulfilled would be a ridiculously powerful thing.


I like it when I'm a DM and a player takes Haunted, because I like to use the strange noises for the purposes of fun and hilarity.
Farts. Thousands of them.

[Andion Isurand]

Here's the post I made for the Divine Gestures (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18771608&postcount=56) flaw (Dragon 326).

Quick Burning Rage and Slow to Anger (Dragon 325) are "the best" for a Spiritual Lion Totem Barbarian planning to never take another Barbarian level.

[Rizban]

My personal favorite official flaw is actually in an Eberron book, though no one really knows it exists and most DMs won't allow it. This seems like an appropriate thread in which to share it.

The flaw is Excoriate. You have to be a member of a dragonmarked race, and the drawback of the flaw is that members of your dragonmark's house hate you. Even though there are some specific drawbacks, it's essentially a roleplaying penalty for a bonus feat. And, yes, the text specifically spells it out as being a flaw. That makes it rather nice from an optimization standpoint.

Of course, I also really like it from the DM side of things, because it gives total justification for throwing in a random "screw you" anytime things start getting stale or predictable. It's an easy random encounter that the player can only blame on himself.

[Inevitability]

In one of the Eberron books, it was also mentioned that an Aberrant Dragonmark could be considered a flaw in itself, meaning you don't have to spend a feat slot to take it.

Now if you add the Dark Chaos Shuffle, things get interesting...

[Rizban]

On Eberron, it was also mentioned that an Aberrant Dragonmark could be considered a flaw in itself, meaning you don't have to spend a feat slot to take it.

Now if you add the Dark Chaos Shuffle, things get interesting...

That's written as being a variant that a DM might consider, but even with that variant, it's considered to be its own bonus feat.


A character whose mark is clearly visible must deal with the consequences of carrying it, as determined by the DM. If a character with an aberrant dragonmark can expect to receive a consistently hostile or unfriendly reaction from NPCs, a DM might want to consider treating the aberrant dragonmark as both a flaw (as described in Unearthed Arcana) and a feat. This effectively allows a character to take Aberrant Dragonmark as a bonus feat because he suffers a significant social penalty for doing so.