Best Feats of 3.5

[Grod_The_Giant]

The Best Feats of 3.5

Picking feats was always one of my least favorite parts of making a character in 3.5. There are good feats, but they’re scattered across dozens of books. I’m absolutely sick of pouring through book after book, handbook after handbook trying to flesh out that one section of the character sheet. So! I sat down with a stack of books and started pouring through for useful feats. Every feat here is, if not the absolute pinnacle of power, worth taking. If you disagree, or have suggestions for things I missed… let’s talk. And otherwise, enjoy, and I hope you find this resource useful.

Author's Notes:

Feat reviews were limited to books I owned. If a good feat isn't on the list, that's probably why. (I might also have just missed it, mind you). I'm starting a new table for such things soon. Likewise, if you see an "eh, it's alright," feat, it's again due to methodology-- I was going through all the books I owned and picking out feats that wouldn't hurt to choose.
Crappy prerequisite feats did not make this list. Things like Dodge and Point-Blank Shot. Why? Because this list is about feats you want, not feats you need. You don't actually want Weapon Focus; you take it because you need it for your PrC, or a more interesting feat. If you wouldn't pick the prerequisite feat in a vacuum, it's not on here.
Because I'm making this list, I've added notes where my houserule-overhaul project, Giants and Graveyards (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?329161-Giants-and-Graveyards-Grod-s-collected-3-5-revisions)("G&G") affects things. I'll go back and change their color to make them stand out and reduce confusion when I get the chance. (Also, fixing the later tables)


Core (Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master's Guide)



Feat
Source
Requirements
Description
Type
All
Melee
Archer
Caster
Race/Class
Skills
Notes


Augment Summoning
PHB
Spell Focus (conjuration)
Summoned creatures gain +4 Str, +4 Con




X
Druid




Combat Reflexes
PHB
—
Additional attacks of opportunity
F

X




Scales by Dex. Important for most melee control builds. Combos well with Improved Trip, Stand Still, Karmic Strike and Robilar's Gambit


Craft Magic Arms and Armor
PHB
Spellcaster level 5th
Create magic weapons, armor, and shields




X


It’s easy to catch up on lost experience


Craft Wondrous Item
PHB
Spellcaster level 3rd
Create magic wondrous items




X


It’s easy to catch up on lost experience


Empower Spell
PHB
—
Increase spell’s variable, numeric effects by 50%
M



X


+2 effective spell levels


Extend Spell
PHB
—
Double spell’s duration
M



X


+1 effective spell levels


Imp. Precise Shot
PHB
Dex 19, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, BAB +11
Ignore less than total cover/concealment on ranged attack
F









Improved Initiative
PHB
—
+4 bonus on initiative checks

X








Improved Trip
PHB
(Int 13), Combat Expertise
+4 bonus on trip attempts; no attack of opportunity
F

X







Improved Unarmed Strike
PHB
—
Considered armed even when unarmed
F

X




G&G: Free at BAB+1


Manyshot
PHB
Dex 17, Point Blank Shot, BAB +6
Shoot two or more arrows simultaneously
F


X






Mounted Combat
PHB
Ride 1 rank
Negate hits on mount with Ride chec
F

X




1/round


Natural Spell
PHB
Wis 13, Ability to use wild shape
Cast spells while in wild shape





Druid, Wildshape Ranger

This is your 6th level feat as a Druid, no argument. Doesn't function in G&G due to changes to the Druid.


Power Attack
PHB
Str 13
Trade attack bonus for damage (up to BAB)
F

X
G



Key melee feat


Precise Shot
PHB
Point Blank Shot
No –4 penalty for shooting into melee
F


X



Essentially required for archers


Quicken Spell
PHB
—
Cast spells as free action
M



X


Errata'd to a swift action. +4 effective spell levels


Rapid Shot
PHB
Dex 13, Point Blank Shot
One extra ranged attack each round
F


X






Ride-By Attack
PHB
Mounted Combat
Move before and after a mounted charge
F

X







Spirited Charge
PHB
Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack
Double damage with mounted charge
F

X




Better with a lance


Two-Weapon Fighting
PHB
Dex 15
Reduce two-weapon fighting penalties by 2
F

G




Required for the style. Much better in G&G due to free follow-up feats.


Weapon Finesse
PHB
BAB +1
Use Dex modifier instead of Str modifier on attack rolls with light melee weapons
F

X




Less good in G&G, where it's mostly folded into the base rules


Leadership
DMG
Level 6
Attract cohort and followers

X





Too powerful; often banned


Ability Focus
MM
Special attack
Add +2 to the DC for all saving throws against the special attack on which the creature focuses





Hexblade, Dragonfire Adept, Dragon Shaman

Good for anyone that depends heavily on one ability


Craft Construct
MM
Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item.
Create golems and other constructs
It



X


Minionmancy abilities like this may not be allowed in all games; strong option if available.


Empower Spell-Like Ability
MM
Spell-like ability at caster level 6th or higher.
Deal half again as much damage with SLA 3/day





Warlock, Dragonfire Adept

A certain caster level is required to affect an SLA of a given level.


Flyby Attack
MM
Fly Speed
When flying, take your standard action in the middle of move-action movement.

X



Raptoran




Multiattack
MM
Three or more natural attacks
The creature’s secondary attacks with natural weapons take only a –2 penalty





Druid, Wildshape Ranger,Totemist

If you’ve got secondary natural attacks, you probably need this.


Quicken Spell-Like Ability
MM
Spell-like ability at caster level 10th or higher.
Use SLA as a free action 1/day.





Warlock

Almost certainly errata'd to a swift action. A certain caster level is required to affect an SLA of a given level



Completes (Adventurer, Arcane, Divine, Warrior, Mage, Champion, Scoundrel)




Feat
Source
Requirements
Description
Type
All
Melee
Archer
Caster
Race/Class
Skills
Notes


Ascetic Mage
CAdv
Improved Unarmed Strike, spontaneous 2nd-level arcane spells
Monk and sorcerer levels stack for AC bonus (Cha-based), sacrifice spell to gain bonus on unarmed strike




X
Sorcerer




Brutal Throw
CAdv
—
Use Str rather than Dex to attack rolls with thrown weapons
F


X






Deft Strike
CAdv
Int 13, Spot 10 ranks, Combat Expertise, sneak attack
Ignore armor and natural armor


X
X

Rogue

Takes a standard action to set up


Disguise Spell
CAdv
Perform 9 ranks, bardic music
Cast spells unobtrusively as part of a performance





Bard

Good in a social-heavy game. Useless in G&G due to changes to the Bard


Dual Strike
CAdv
Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Two-Weapon Fighting
Attack once with each hand as a standard action
F

X




One of the few legal ways to TWF as a standard action. Useless in G&G due to rules changes


Extraordinary Spell Aim
CAdv
Spellcraft 15 ranks Exclude one creature from spell area





X


Turn area debuffs into personal defense (Antimagic field?)


Insightful Reflexes
CAdv
—
Add Int modifier, rather than Dex modifier, to Reflex saves





Wizard, Archivist, Bard, Fighter (Tactician)

Ref saves are the least dangerous


Leap Attack
CAdv
Jump 8 ranks, Power Attack
Doubles damage by Power Attack on successful charge


X




Triple. Power. Attack. Bonus. With. THF.


Mobile Spellcasting
CAdv
Concentration 8 ranks
Cast a spell and move at the same time




X





Natural Bond
CAdv
Animal Companion
Add +3 to effective druid level when determining animal companion’s abilities





Druid, Ranger

Capped at your HD. Great for multiclassing druids, all rangers.


Power Throw
CAdv
Str 13, Brutal Throw, Power Attack
Power Attack with thrown weapons
F


X



Redundant in G&G thanks


Staggering Strike
CAdv
BAB +6, sneak attack
Limit target to a single action for 1 round


X


Rogue

DC=damage makes for a high DC


Tactile Trapsmith
CAdv
—
Add Dex modifier, rather than Int modifier, to Search and Disable Device checks





Rogue, Scout

Can be a big bonus. Less so in G&G due to class changes


Versatile Performer
CAdv
Perform 5 ranks
Treat number of Perform skills as if they had ranks equal to your highest Perform rank





Bard

Not super-important, but excellent flavor


Lyric Spell
CAdv
Bardic music, arcane spellcaster level 6th, Perform 9 ranks
Spend bardic music uses to cast extra spells




X
Bard

Bards have more bardic music than spells. Doesn’t work in G&G due to bard changes


Arcane Preparation
CArc
Ability to cast arcane spells without preparation
Prepare arcane spells ahead of time for faster metamagic casting




X


Can get you into some PrCs


Battle Caster
CArc
Ability to ignore arcane spell failure
Ignore arcane spell failure chance from heavier armor chance from armor





Gish

Usually only worth it to go from medium to heavy.


Craft Contingent Spell
CArc
Caster level 11th
Attach semipermanent spells to a creature and set activation conditions
It



X


Phenomenally abusable


Energy Substitution
CArc
Any other metamagic feat, Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks
Energy spells can deal different energy damage
M



X


Good for anyone with a limited list +0 effective spell levels.


Explosive Spell
CArc
—
Creatures are blasted to edge of spell area
M



X


Adds some BFC to a blaster. +2 effective spell levels.


Extra Invocation
CArc
Ability to use lesser invocations
Learn an additional invocation of one grade less than current highest grade





Warlock, Dragonfire Adept




Extra Spell
CArc
Caster level 3rd
Learn an additional spell up to one level lower than current highest level




X


Only worth it if your DM will let you learn spells from different lists


Guardian Spirit
CArc
Watchful spirit class ability
Reroll initiative two times per day, reroll any save 1/day





Wu-Jen




Mage Slayer
CArc
Spellcraft 2 ranks, BAB +3
+1 bonus on Will saves; spellcasters you threaten can’t cast defensively


X




Viability depends on your game’s optimization level.


Maximize Spell-Like Ability
CArc
Spell-like ability at caster level 6th or higher
Maximize spell-like ability’s variable numeric effects up to 3/day





Warlock




Persistent Spell
CArc
Extend Spell
Fixed or personal range spells last 24 hours
M



X


Only worth it with cost reduction. +6 effective spell levels.


Obtain Familiar
CArc
Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks, arcane caster level 3rd
Obtain a familiar in the same manner as a sorcerer or wizard




X


Scales with caster level, not class level, making it superior to class-granted options


Pierce Magical Concealment
CArc
Con 13, Blind-Fight, Mage Slayer
Ignore spell-based concealment of creatures you attack


X
X






Pierce Magical Protection
CArc
Con 13, Mage Slayer
Ignore spell-based bonuses to Armor Class


X







Practiced Spellcaster
CArc
Spellcraft 4 ranks
Increase caster level by +4




X


To a maximum of your HD. Vital for multiclassing


Sculpt Spell
CArc
Any metamagic feat
Alter spell’s area
M



X


Good for anyone with a limited list. Especially good for small-area spells. +1 effective spell level.


Split Ray
CArc
Any metamagic feat
Ray spells affect one additional target
M



X


+2 effective spell levels.


Twin Spell
CArc
Any metamagic feat
Simultaneously cast a single spell twice
M



X


+4 effective spell levels.


Arcane Discipline
CDiv
Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, Spellcraft 4 ranks, deity’s alignment
Add spells from a domain to your class list




X
Sorcerer, Beguiler, Night Soul, Warden

Great way to get extra spells known, but requires Wisdom.


Disciple of the Sun
CDiv
Ability to turn or rebuke undead, good alignment
Spend an extra turn attempt to destroy undead instead of turning them
Di




Cleric, Paladin

Makes Turning actually useful


Divine Metamagic
CDiv
Ability to turn or rebuke undead
Spend turn/rebuke attempts to enhance spells with a metamagic feat
Di



X
Cleric, Paladin

One of the best feats in the game, even without abuse. (Combo with Quicken Spell, Persistent Spell)


Divine Spell Power
CDiv
Ability to turn or rebuke undead
Spend turn/rebuke attempts to increase your caster level




X
Cleric

Easy to get +2 or +3 caster levels out of it.


Domain Spontaneity
CDiv
Ability to turn or rebuke undead
Spend turn/rebuke attempt to spontaneously cast a domain spell
Di




Cleric




Eagle’s Wings
CDiv
Ability to use wild shape
Grow wings for 1 hour
W




Druid, Wildshape Ranger

Slap wings on effective ground combat forms


Fast Wild Shape
CDiv
Ability to use wild shape
Wild shape as a move equivalent action
W




Druid, Wildshape Ranger




Practiced Spellcaster
CDiv
Spellcraft 4 ranks
Your caster level is +4 but not above your HD




X


Necessary if you multiclass


Quicken Turning
CDiv
Ability to turn or rebuke undead
Can turn undead as a free action





Cleric, Paladin

No added cost to use


Rapid Spell
CDiv
—
Decrease casting time of some spells
M



X
Druid, Seer

Good for summoners and diviners. +1 spell level


Reach Spell
CDiv
—
Touch spell becomes a ray with 30-ft. range
M



X


+2 effective spell levels


Spontaneous Healer
CDiv
Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, nonevil
Swap out your spells for cure spells on your list




X


Keeps you from having to prepare emergency heals


Spontaneous Summoner
CDiv
Knowledge (nature) 4 ranks, partly neutral alignment
Swap out your spells for summon nature’s ally




X


Great extra versatility


Arcane Strike
CWar
Ability to cast 3rd-level arcane spells, BAB +4
Sacrifice a spell for +1 on attacks and +1d4 damage per level of the spell


X

X
Gish

The more attacks you make, the better


Defensive Throw
CWar
Dex 13, Combat Refl exes, Dodge, Improved Trip, Improved Unarmed Strike
Trip attempt after foe’s attack misses


X


Monk

Much better in G&G due to reduced prerequisites and improved combat maneuvers


Extra Rage
CWar
Rage or frenzy ability
Number of rages per day increased by two





Barbarian

Required for low-level games


Fleet of Foot
CWar
Dex 15, Run
Make one direction change during a run or charge


X




Charges are super-important


Hold the Line
CWar
Combat Reflexes, BAB +2
Make attack of opportunity against charging foe


X




Best combo’d with a trip


Improved Buckler Defense
CWar
Shield Proficiency
Apply buckler’s shield bonus to AC while using off-hand weapon


X




Worth it when magic shields come into play. Better in G&G, due to boosts to shields


Improved Favored Enemy
CWar
Favored enemy ability, BAB +5
+3 bonus on damage against favored enemies





Ranger

Best for archers


Improved Mounted Archery
CWar
Ride 1 rank, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat
Reduce or eliminate attack penalties with ranged weapon while mounted



X



More practical in G&G due to reduced prerequisites


Improved Toughness
CWar
Base Fortitude save bonus +2
Gain hp equal to your current HD

X








Instantaneous Rage
CWar
Rage or frenzy ability
Rage even when it isn’t your turn





Barbarian




Intimidating Rage
CWar
Rage or frenzy ability
Cause single foe within 30 feet to become shaken




X
Barbarian

Cornerstone of fear builds


Karmic Strike
CWar
Dex 13, Combat Expertise, Dodge
Take –4 penalty to AC to make attack of opportunity against melee opponent that hits you


X







Pain Touch
CWar
Wis 15, Stunning Fist, BAB +2
Stunned opponents become nauseated for 1 round


X


Monk




Ranged Pin
CWar
Dex 15, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, BAB +5
Use ranged weapon to grapple foe within 30 feet

F

X



You won’t keep them down, but it still costs them a standard action to escape


Shield Charge
CWar
Improved Shield Bash, BAB +3
Free trip attack with shield during charge

F
X







Shield Slam
CWar
Improved Shield Bash, Shield Charge, BAB +6
Use shield to daze opponent

F
X







Divine Shield
CWar
Turn or rebuke undead ability, proficiency with a shield
Add Cha bonus as sacred bonus to your shield’s defense


X


Cleric, Paladin, Binder

1 Turn Undead/use. Combos well with Shield Ward or Parrying Shield. Better in G&G, due to changes to shield mechanics.


Zen Archery
CWar
Wis 13, BAB +1
Use Wis instead of Dex for ranged attacks



X

Cleric, Druid, Monk

Good for Wis-based caster-archers. Better in G&G, where it also applies to damage.


Divine Might
CWar
Str 13, turn or rebuke undead ability, Power Attack
Add Cha bonus to weapon damage
Di




Paladin, Cleric, Binder

Lasts for 1 round/Turn.


Divine Vigor
CWar
Turn or rebuke undead ability
Increase base speed by 10 ft., gain +2 hp/level
Di




Paladin, Cleric, Binder

Binder with unlimited Turn attempts through Tenebrous can keep this going all day.


Combat Brute
CWar
Improved Sunder, Power Attack, BAB +6
See feat description
F

X




Gain big attack bonus after charging+power attacking a foe.


Elusive Target
CWar
Dodge, Mobility, BAB +6
See feat description


X




Become immune to power attack damage, redirect attacks into foes, make free trip attacks when missed by AoOs. Even better in G&G due to reduced prerequisites


Shock Trooper
CWar
Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, BAB +6
See feat description
F

X




Lets you take Power Attack penalties to AC instead of attack.


Lightning Mace
CWar
Combat Reflexes, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (light mace)
Gain extra attack after scoring threat while wielding two light maces


X




Decent on its own, abuseable with Aptitutde weapons.


Three Mountains
CWar
Str 13, Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (heavy mace, morningstar, or greatclub)
Target hit twice with mace, morningstar, or greatclub becomes nauseated if it fails Fortitude save


X







Acidic Splatter
CM
Ability to cast 2nd-level spells
Create orb of acid 1d6 damage/spell level, +1 CL on acid spells
R



X


Acid damages objects, remember


Captivating Melody
CM
Bardic music, ability to cast arcane spells
Expend bardic music to increase the save DC of an enchantment or illusion spell




X
Bard

Spend an overcommon resource on two common spell types Useless in G&G due to class changes.


Cloudy Conjuration
CM
Spell Focus (conjuration) or conjurer level 1st
Conjurations accompanied by a cloud of sickening smoke




X





Dimensional Jaunt
CM
Ability to cast 4th-level spells
Teleport 5 feet/spell level, +1 CL on teleportation spells
R



X


At-will teleportation is always useful


Fearsome Necromancy
CM
Spell Focus (necromancy) or necromancer level 1st
Necromancy spells leave foes shaken




X


Works regardless of save


Insightful Divination
CM
Spell Focus (divination) or diviner level 1st
Gain bonus on initiative, save when casting divination spell




X


Bonuses last all day or until discharged


Melodic Casting
CM
Perform 4 ranks, Spellcraft 4 ranks, bardic music class feature
Use Perform in place of Concentration, cast spells while using bardic music




X
Bard

Vital feat. Less so in G&G


Metamagic School Focus
CM
Spell Focus (chosen school) or specialist wizard
Reduce the cost of adding metamagic feats to spells of a chosen school of magic




X





Rapid Metamagic
CM
Spellcraft 12 ranks, ability to spontaneously cast spells
Apply metamagic feats without increasing casting time




X


Better than Accelerated Metamagic/PHB2 variant sorcerer, but comes online later


Residual Magic
CM
Spellcraft 12 ranks, any metamagic feat
Apply magical effects in consecutive rounds




X


Allows for free metamagic


Somatic Weaponry
CM
Concentration 5 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks
Cast spells with somatic components while hands are full




X
Gish

May be necessary for a gish


Storm Bolt
CM
Ability to cast 3rd-level spells
Create line of electricity 1d6 damage/spell level, +1 CL on electricity spells
R



X


Spamable area-of-effect


Summon Elemental
CM
Ability to cast 4th-level spells
Summon elemental, +1 CL on summoning spells
R



X


At-will summoning is great for flanking, setting off traps, etc


Toughening Transmutation
CM
Spell Focus (transmutation) or transmuter level 1st
Grant temporary DR when casting a transmutation spell




X


DR/Magic 5, or +5 existing DR. (Fantastic at low levels; requires targets to have their own DR at higher levels)


Unsetting Enchantment
CM
Spell Focus (enchantment) or enchanter level 1st
Enchantment spells hinder foe's attacks and defense




X


Works regardless of save


Air Devotion
CC
—
Gain bonus to AC; ranged attacks have a 50% miss chance against you
Do
X



Cleric, Paladin

Decent option if you face a lot of ranged weapons


Animal Devotion
CC
—
Gain bonuses based on animal influence chosen
Do
X



Cleric, Paladin

Early way to get flight.


Awesome Smite
CC
Power Attack, BAB +6, smite ability
Gain various maneuvers you can combine with smite attacks





Paladin




Battle Blessing
CC
Ability to cast paladin spells
Cast paladin spells more quickly





Paladin

Required. Possibly the single biggest boost to the class’s playability. Get this and Serenity.


Devotion Feats
CC
—
Varies





Cleric, Paladin

All are decent, and it’s certainly worth looking at any that you could get for free by trading out domains.


Healing Devotion
CC
—
Gain or grant fast healing for 1 minute





Cleric, Paladin, Binder

Immediate action healing to save you from death is nice, but binders with infinite Turn Undead through Tenebrous makes this fantastic.


Holy Warrior
CC
Ability to cast 4th-level spells, access to the War domain
Gain bonus on weapon damage rolls
R

X
X

Cleric

Pretty much always on thanks to how domains work.


Knowledge Devotion
CC
—
Gain bonuses on attack rolls and damage rolls against specific creature types based on your knowledge of them
Do

X
X


X
Fantastic damage boost, especially if you’re making lots of attacks.


Law Devotion
CC
—
Gain bonus on attack rolls or to AC until your next action





Cleric, Paladin, Binder

Great for binders with infinite Turn Undead through Tenebrous


Retrieve Spell
CC
Any two divine feats, ability to turn or rebuke undead
Spend turn/rebuke attempts to regain a previously cast spell
Di



X
Cleric




Spontaneous Domains
CC
Ability to cast 3rd-level spells; access to two or more domains
Leave your domain spell slots open to be filled at need




X
Cleric




Strength Devotion
CC
—
Gain adamantine slam attack and the ability to overcome hardness with melee attacks
Do

X


Cleric, Paladin, Binder

Great for binders with infinite Turn Undead through Tenebrous


Swift Wild Shape
CC
Dex 13, Fast Wild Shape, wild shape class feature
Use wild shape as a swift action
W




Druid, Wildshape Ranger




Touch of Healing
CC
Ability to cast 2nd-level spells
Heal 3 points of damage per level of the highest-level healing spell you have available to cast
R






Good if people are consistently being dropped to low health.


Travel Devotion
CC
—
Move your speed as a swift action
Do
X



Scout, Cleric, Paladin

One of the best ways to get swift-action movement


Water Devotion
CC
—
Summon a water elemental with HD based on your character level
Do




Cleric, Binder

Fun for binders with infinite Turn Undead through Tenebrous


Advantageous Avoidance
CS
Character level 3rd, any luck feat
Expend luck reroll to force foe to reroll critical threat confirmation, or three luck rerolls to force foe to reroll attack

X








Daring Outlaw
CS
Grace +1, sneak attack +2d6
Rogue and swashbuckler levels stack for grace, dodge bonus, and sneak attack





Swashbuckler, Rogue

Build-defining feat. Lets you get a full sneak attack progression on a sturdier chassis


Dumb Luck
CS
Character level 6th, any two luck feats
Expend luck reroll to treat natural 1 on save as natural 20 instead

X








Improved Skirmish
CS
Skirmish +2d6/+1 AC
Move 20 feet to gain +2d6 points of damage, +2 AC





Scout




Master Spellthief
CS
Ability to cast 2nd-level arcane spells, steal spell
Spellthief and arcane spellcaster levels stack for steal spell and arcane caster level; cast arcane spells in light armor




X


A one-level dip for casting in armor and spell theft


Savvy Rogue
CS
Rogue level 10th
Your rogue special abilities improve





Rogue




Sound of Silence
CS
Bardic music, Perform 9 ranks
Bardic music deafens a target





Bard

Save DC should be sky-high


Survivor’s Luck
CS
Character level 9th, any luck feat
Reroll a saving throw

X








Swift Hunter
CS
Favored enemy, skirmish +1d6/+1 AC
Ranger and scout levels stack for skirmish bonuses, favored enemies





Ranger, Scout

Build-defining feat. Lets you get a full skirmish progression on a chassis with better…everything, really.


Throat Punch
CS
Improved Unarmed Strike, sneak attack +3d6
Trade 2d6 sneak attack damage to hinder target’s speech for 3 rounds





Rogue

50% spell failure, no save

[Grod_The_Giant]

Environmentals (Stormwreck, Sandstorm, Frostburn, Dungeonscape, Cityscape, Planar Handbook)



Feat
Source
Requirements
Description
Type
All
Melee
Archer
Caster
Race/Class
Skills
Notes


Aquatic Shot
SW
Point Blank Shot
Use ranged weapons underwater more accurately
F


X



Vital in a water-heavy campaign; not worth it otherwise


Curling Wave Strike
SW
Dex 13, Improved Trip
Gain a trip attack
F

X







Sunken Song
SW
Bardic music, Perform (sing) 4 ranks
Produce bardic music effects underwater





Bard

Vital in a water-heavy campaign; not worth it otherwise


Swim-by Attack
SW
Swim speed
Attack as you swim past your opponent

X





Great in a water-heavy campaign; not worth it otherwise


Blazing Berserker
SS
Ability to rage
Gain the fire subtype while raging





Barbarian

Fire is the most common damage type in the game; immunity to it is nice


Eagle’s Fury
SS
Dex 15, proficiency with weapon
Extra attack with the eagle's claw


X




If you can get proficiency for free, the extra attack is nice


Pharaoh’s Fist
SS
Str 15, Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist
Foe and adjacent creatures stunned by thundering blow





Monk




Scorpion’s Grasp
SS
Str 13, Dex 13, Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple
Begin grapple with a melee strike


X




Vital for grapplers


Searing Spell
SS
—
Your fire spells deal damage to fire-resistant creatures
M



X


If you’ve got to specialize in cold, use this. +1 effective spell level.


Arctic Priest
FB
Cold or Winter domain
Can swap out prepared spells for a specialized list of spells




X
Cleric

Specific spells: control weather, create food and water, endure elements,heroes’ feast, hibernate, protection from energy, and resist energy. Better in G&G where you can effectively gain them as spells known.


Beckon the Frozen
FB
Augment Summoning, Spell Focus (conjuration)
Summoned creatures gain cold subtype and +1d6 cold damage to attacks




X


Good for summons with lots of natural attacks


Craft Skill Talisman
FB
Caster level 6th
Create magic skull talismans
It



X


Like potions, but up to 9th level spells.


Frozen Wild Shape
FB
Base Fortitude save bonus +6, wild shape ability
Wild shape into cold magical beasts





Druid, Wildshape Ranger, Beastman

Cryohydra. That is all.


Piercing Cold
FB
—
Cold spells can damage creatures resistant or immune to cold
M



X


If you’ve got to specialize in cold, use this. +1 effective spell level.


Snowflake Wardance
FB
Bardic music ability, Perform (dance) 6 ranks
Add Charisma modifier to attack rolls with one-handed slashing melee weapons


X


Bard




Hammer and Piton
Dun
Str 15, Climb 3 ranks
Drive pitons into Large foe and climb him


X




Seriously cool, and lets you keep full attacking easily. Ask your GM if Small characters can use it on Medium targets.


Trap Sensitivity
Dun
Elf or trapfinding class feature, trap sense +2
Sense mechanical traps as you sense secret doors






X
Not strong, but convenient. Decent way to speed things up if your game is trap-heavy.


Invisible Spell
City
Any metamagic feat
Make spell effects invisible
M



X
Beguiler

Can be important in social games


Strong Stomach
City
Con 13, Endurance
Reduce nauseated and sickened conditions by one step

X





Sickening is common, and nausea completely shuts you down


Acheron Flurry
PH
Dex 15, Wis 15, Improved Unarmed Strike, Knowledge (the planes) 4 ranks
Distract foe with mock attacks


X




Leave ‘em with only a single standard or move for a turn, no save.


Celestial/Fiendish Summoning Specialist
PH
Knowledge (the planes) 2 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks, Nongood/evil alignment, summon monster ability
Summon additional good/evil-aligned creatures




X


GM dependant.


Neraph Charge
PH
Wis 15, Knowledge (the planes) 5 ranks
Camouflage your charge attack so foe loses Dex bonus


X


Rogue




Neraph Throw
PH
Dex 15, Knowledge (the planes) 5 ranks to AC
Camouflage your thrown attack so foe loses Dex bonus



X

Rogue




Nonverbal Spell
PH
—
Cast spells that have verbal components without uttering verbal components




X
Bard, Beguiler

Good for social-heavy games, polymorph-happy casters


Stalwart Planar Ally
PH
Cha 13, Spellcraft 5 ranks, Planar Touchstone
Improve resilience and duration of summoned creature




X


+4 AC and double duration of summon


Water Heritage
PH
—
Gain swim speed of 20 feet or increase swim speed by 20 feet, +4 on Con checks for holding your breath

X





Good for aquatic campaigns, not worth it otherwise


Races Of (Destiny, Stone, the Dragon, the Wild)



Feat
Source
Requirements
Description
Type
All
Melee
Archer
Caster
Race/Class
Skills
Notes


Able Learner
RoD
Human or doppelganger
Cross-class skills cost less per rank





Human, Doppleganger
X



City Slicker
RoD
—
Certain skills are class skills for you






X
Disguise, Forgery, Gather Information, and Knowledge (local)


Fearless Destiny
RoD
Human or half-human, Heroic Destiny, character level 6th
Avoid death once per day

X



Human, Half-_____

A great feat with a crappy prerequisite. Your choice.


Protected Destiny
RoD
Human or half-human, Heroic Destiny, character level 3rd
Reroll saving throw once per day

X



Human, Half-_____

A good feat with a crappy prerequisite. Your choice.


Sociable Personality
RoD
Half-elf, Cha 13
You may reroll Diplomacy and Gather Information checks

X



Half-Elf
X
Great, but requires you to play one of the worst races. Becomes much better in G&G, where the race is playable.


Subtle Sigil
RoD
Illumian
You can make your sigils disappear





Illumian

Might be needed for stealthy characters; otherwise a personal preference (but a nice option)


Ancestral Knowledge
RoS
Dwarf, Wis 15
Make untrained Knowledge checks and use Wisdom modifier





Cleric (Cloistered)
X
Good for anyone who needs a high Wis, especially if you’ve also got a good skill list.


Deflective Armor
RoS
Heavy Armor Optimization
Protects against touch attacks while focused
P

X


Psychic Warrior

Great for anyone in heavy armor


Fling Enemy
RoS
Rock Hurling
Throw an enemy you’re grappling


X




OK, it’s not good, but it’s seriously cool.


Goad
RoS
Cha 13, BAB +1
Cause enemy to make melee attacks only against you


X




Great feat for anyone who wants to tank, especially guys with good Cha like Paladins and Crusaders.


Knockback
RoS
Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, size Large or larger
Push foes backward with your blows


X







Metamagic Song
RoS
Any two metamagic feats, bardic music
Spend bardic music to apply metamagic to spells




X
Bard

Ridiculous good. Bards have tons of Bardic Music uses. Useless in G&G due to class changes.


Powerful Wild Shape
RoS
Powerful build racial trait, wild shape ability
Retain powerful build while wild shaped





Goliath, Half-Giant, Druid, Wildshape Ranger, Beastman

Most of the best Wildshape forms use combat maneuvers.


Shielded Casting
RoS
Concentration 5 ranks, Combat Casting, Shield Proficiency
No attacks of opportunity when you cast spells with a shield ready




X
Gish

If you’re going the gish route, this is good. Especially valuable in G&G, due to changes to defensive casting.


Trivial Knowledge
RoS
Gnome, Int 13
Choose higher of two Knowledge or bardic knowledge checks





Gnome
X
Combos well with Knowledge Devotion


Accelerate Metamagic
RotD
Dragonblood subtype, Spellcraft 4 ranks, any metamagic feat, ability to spontaneously cast 1st-level spells
Apply selected metamagic feat to spells more quickly than normal




X


Pretty important, though the PHB2 variant sorcerer reduces the necessity


Draconic Claw
RotD
Draconic Heritage; sorcerer level 1st
Gain claws and make a swift claw attack when you cast a spell


X


Sorcerer, Gish

Decent for melee who want natural attacks, fantastic for gish


Draconic Presence
RotD
Draconic Heritage, sorcerer level 1st
Render lower-HD opponents shaken when you cast a spell




X
Sorcerer

Good for gish.


Dragon Tail
RotD
Dragonblood subtype, 1st level only
Gain a tail and tail attack


X




Real good at low levels


Entangling Exhalation
RotD
Dragonblood subtype, breath weapon
Channel breath weapon to entangle enemies





Dragonfire Adept, Dragon Shaman

Required. This changes you from a crappy damage-dealing class into a decent crowd-control class.


Exhaled Barrier
RotD
Dragonblood subtype, breath weapon
Channel breath weapon to create wall of energy





Dragonfire Adept, Dragon Shaman




Improved Dragon Wings
RotD
Dragonblood subtype, Dragon Wings, 6 HD
Gain fly speed

X





(Ex) flight at level 12. (some classes might also need Reinforced Wings). Prerequisite (Dragon Wings) must be taken at level 1.


Practical Metamagic
RotD
Dragonblood subtype, Spellcraft 8 ranks, any metamagic feat, ability tospontaneously cast 3rd-level spells
Reduce metamagic feat’s spell level increase by one




X





Versatile Spellcaster
RotD
Ability to spontaneously cast spells
Use two lower-level slots to cast a higher-level spell




X





Killoren Destroyer
RotW
Killoren
Daze foes with your killoren smite attack


X




Daze is a great condition


Plunging Shot
RotW
Dex 13, Point Blank Shot
Deal an additional 1d6 points of damage against targets at least 30 feet below you



X



Good for volley archers specifically.


Woodland Archer
RotW
Point Blank Shot, BAB +6
See feat description



X



Gain attack bonus after missing foe, ignore concealment after hitting, and snipe from cover more easily.


Yondalla’s Sense
RotW
Halfling
Add Wisdom bonus on initiative checks

X





Can be much better than Improved Initiative to the right class.




Variant Systems (Expanded Psionics Handbook, Complete Psionic, Tome of Battle, Tome of Magic, Magic of Incarnum)

[tr]

Feat
Source
Requirements
Description
Type
All
Melee
Archer
Caster
Race/Class
Skills
Notes


Cloak Dance
XPH
Hide 10 ranks, Perform (dance) 2 ranks
Spend an action to gain concealment





Rogue

Great for stealthy and sneak attacky characters


Boost Construct
XPH
—
Astral construct gains additional ability
P



M





Closed Mind
XPH
—
Gain resistance to all psionic power
P
X





Only worth it in a psionics-heavy campaign


Deep Impact
XPH
Str 13, Psionic Weapon, BAB +5
Resolve melee weapon attack as touch attack
P

X




Pair with Power Attack


Empower Power
XPH
—
Increase power’s variable, number effects by 50%
P



M


+2 power points


Expanded Knowledge
XPH
Manifester level 3rd
Add one new power to powers known
P



M





Extend Power
XPH
—
Double power’s duration
P



M


+2 power points


Fell Shot
XPH
Dex 13, Point Blank Shot, Psionic Shot, base attack bonus +5
Resolve ranged attack as touch attack
P


X



Better in G&G, where you can make ranged power attacks


Force of Will
XPH
Iron Will
Make a Will save instead of Fort or Ref against psionic powers
P
X





Only useful if psionics are common


Greater Manyshot
XPH
Dex 17, Manyshot, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, BAB +6
Shoot 2 or more arrows simultaneously, even at separate targets



X






Hidden Talent
XPH
This feat can only be taken at 1st level.
Gain two power points, and learn one first level power from any class list.

X





Hidden on page 67


Metamorphic Transfer
XPH
Wis 13, manifester level 5th
Assume one supernatural ability of alternate form
P



M


Unusable in G&G, due to bans on powers.


Overchannel
XPH
—
Take damage to increase your manifester level
P



M


Take this feat instead of being a Wilder


Psionic Meditation
XPH
Wis 13, Concentration 7 ranks
Become psionically focused as a move action
P
X





Practically necessary for anyone using psionic feats


Quicken Power
XPH
—
Manifest powers as free action
P



M


+6 power points


Stand Still
XPH
Str 13
Attack of opportunity stops foe’s movement


X




Vital for AoO/battlefield control builds.


Up the Walls
XPH
Wis 13 Run on walls and ceilings

P
X








Wild Talent
XPH

Gain psionic ability and 2 power points
P
X





May be necessary for to access cool psionic feats


Extopic Form
CPsi
Know astral construct
Varies
P



M


Adds variety to the only psionic summon


Enervation Endurance
CPsi
Psychic enervation
Suffer half power point loss when enervated
P




Wilder

In G&G, you instead lose points equal to the number you surged for


Instinctive Consummator
CPsi
Str 13, Power Attack, Cleave
Expend focus to confirm critical
P

X




Critical confirmation rolls are often houseruled away


Mantle Focus
CPsi
Access to 1 psionic mantle
+1 to save DCs for mantle powers
P



M
Ardent




Postpone Enervation
CPsi
Psychic enervation, wild surge +2
Delay psychic enervation up to 3 rounds
P




Wilder

3 rounds is often enough to finish the fight


Practiced Manifester
CPsi
Psicraft 4 ranks
Manifester level increases by 4 (max your HD)
P



M


Essential if you multiclass


Skin of the Construct
CPsi
Know astral construct
Absorb construct aspects you'd otherwise manifest
P
X





Pick up flight or assorted bonus feats


Tap Mantle
CPsi
Access to one psionic mantle
Add mantle powers to powers known
P



M
Psychic Warrior, Lurk, Psychic Rogue

Good way to expand a limited list


Linked Power
CPsi
—
Manifest a power; linked power goes off next round
P



M


Fantastic action economy, and lets you ignore long casting times


Adaptive Style
ToB
Crusader, swordsage, or warblade level 1st
Change readied maneuvers with a full-round action





Swordsage

Essential, since it allows you to recover all maneuvers.


Desert Wind Dodge
ToB
Dex 13, one Desert Wind maneuver
Move 10 feet, +1 AC, +1 fire damage







Replaces Dodge with a marginally better option.


Evasive Reflexes
ToB
Dex 13
Instantly take 5-ft. step instead of an attack of opportunity


X




Pair with something like Karmic Strike to foil full attacks


Faith Unswerving
ToB
Devoted Bulwark, BAB +6, two Devoted Spirit maneuvers.
See feat description


X


Crusader

Remain adjacent to foes you charge, intercept attacks aimed at allies, and make one last attack before dying.


Instant Clarity
ToB
Concentration 7 ranks
Use swift action to gain psionic focus after initiating a successful martial strike
P

X


Gish




Martial Stance
ToB
One martial maneuver
Learn one martial stance

X



Crusader, Swordsage, Warblade

Stances are great for everyone. (Assassin’s Stance, say?)


Martial Study
ToB
—
Gain the use of a martial maneuver


X


Crusader, Swordsage, Warblade

Strikes are great for everyone.


Shadow Blade
ToB
One Shadow Hand maneuver stance
Use Dex modifier instead of Str modifier on damage rolls with Shadow Sun weapons


X


Swordsage

Essential to high-Dex melee fighters. Works with Dagger, sai, siangham, short sword, spiked chain, and unarmed strikes. (Table says maneuver, text says stance. Text trumps table)


Snap Kick
ToB
Improved Unarmed Strike, BAB +6
Make an extra attack, all attacks at –2


X







Song of the While Raven
ToB
Bardic music (inspire courage), one White Raven maneuver
Use inspire courage as swift action while in a White Raven stance


X


Crusader, Bard

Turns Bard into a great dip for a Crusader.


Stormguard Warrior
ToB
Proficiency with an Iron Heart preferred weapon (bastard sword, dwarven waraxe, longsword, or twobladed sword), Ironheart Aura, BAB +6, two Iron Heart maneuvers.
See feat description





Warblade

Get attack bonuses for not taking AoOs, make touch attacks to gain damage bonuses. Combos well with Karmic Strike, Robilar’s Gambit, and similar abilities.


Superior Unarmed Strike
ToB
Improved Unarmed Strike, BAB +3
Deal greater unarmed damage


X




If you want to be an unarmed fighter, you need this.


Vital Recovery
ToB
Two martial maneuvers
Heal 3 + level points of damage when you recover a maneuver


X


Crusader, Swordsage, Warblade

A nice emergency boost.


Bind Vestige
ToM

Gain one power from a chosen 1st-level vestige

X





Good way to pick up some minor magic


Bind Vestige, Improved
ToM
Bind Vestige
Bind one vestige of up to 5th level

X





Good way to pick up some minor magic


Ignore Special Requirements
ToM
Soul binding
Ignore special requirements when summoning vestiges





Binder

Special requirements are generally pretty easy to meet, but taking this can save a lot of headache and bookkeeping.


Improved Binding
ToM
Soul binding
+2 binder level when determining eligible vestiges





Binder

Vital. You are taking this ASAP.


Practiced Binder
ToM
Bind Vestige
Gain a second power from a bound vestige

X





Good way to pick up some minor magic


Rapid Recovery
ToM
Favored Vestige
1/day bind vestige as a full-round action





Binder

Good if you need to use a particular vestige all the time (say, due to a PrC). Less important in G&G due to class changes.


Shadow Cast
ToM
Concentration 5 ranks, shadowcaster level 1st
Avoid many attacks of opportunity




X
Shadowcaster, Gish

As long as an adjacent square isn’t threatened, you don’t provoke AoOs for casting or using SLAs.


Shadow Familiar
ToM
Shadowcaster level 3rd
Gain a familiar with the dark creature template





Shadowcaster

Familiars are great


Still Mystery
ToM
--
Cast mystery without somatic components
Metashadow




Shadowcaster

Unlike most metashadow feats, this may be used at will, with no penalty.


Quicken Utterance
ToM
Truespeak 12 ranks, ability to speak utterances
You can deliver an utterance as a swift action





Truenamer

The only thing that makes Truenamers semi-playable


Bonus Essentia
MoI
Con 13, character level 6th
Gain 1 or 2 points of essentia







Great for dips


Double Chakra
MoI
Meldshaper level 9th
Two soulmelds can occupy and be bound to the same chakra





Totemist

Vital for Totemists. Take ASAP.


Expanded Soulmeld Capacity
MoI
Con 15, meldshaper level 1st
+1 essentia capacity for one soulmeld





Incarnate, Soulborn Totemist

Vital for all meldshapers.


Midnight Augmentation
MoI
Con 13, ability to manifest 2nd-level psionic powers
Use invested essentia to augment a psionic power
I, P



M





Midnight Dodge
MoI
Con 13, Dex 13
Add invested essentia to AC against selected target
I
X





Replaces Dodge with a more functional option.


Midnight Metamagic
MoI
Con 13, ability to prepare 1st-level spells, any metamagic feat
and cast Invest essentia into spell to add metamagic effect
I



X


Free. Metamagic.


Open ___ Chakra
MoI
Con 13/15/17, character level 6th/12th/18th
Bind a soulmeld or magic item to a least/lesser/greater chakra

X





Rules interpretations are funky here; talk to your GM


Shape Soulmeld
MoI
Con 13
You can shape a single soulmeld

X





Great way to pick up a bit of extra magic.


Split Chakra
MoI
—
Magic item and soulmeld can share a chakra





Incarnate, Soulborn Totemist

Not a great trade, but it may be necessary for some characters.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Stand Alones (Player’s Handbook 2, Dragon Magazine Compendium, Book of Exalted Deeds, Dragon Magic, Draconomicon, Heroes of Battle, Heroes of Horror, Miniatures Handbook, other books)



Feat
Source
Requirements
Description
Type
All
Melee
Archer
Caster
Race/Class
Skills
Notes


Agile Shield Fighter
PHB2
Proficiency with shields, Improved Shield Bash, Shield Specialization
Reduce two weapon penalties when using shield bash
F

X




Shields aren’t great, but this makes ‘em better. Good for low-Dex warriors. G&G: Automatically-granted prerequisites and improvements to shield use make this a fantastic choice.


Arcane Thesis
PHB2
Knowledge (arcana) 9 ranks, ability to cast arcane spells
+2 caster level, cheaper metamagic with one spell




X


Good if you focus on one spell


Brutal Strike
PHB2
Str 13, Power Attack, BAB +6
Daze opponent with successful bludgeoning attack
F

X




Actually sickens on a Power Attack’d melee hit


Combat Familiar
PHB2
Arcane caster level 1st, familiar
Familiar enters foe’s square without provoking attack




X


Good if you rely on your familiar to deliver touch spells


Companion Spellbond
PHB II
Animal companion
Share spells with companion at greater range





Druid, Ranger

Important if you send your companion off to fight separately


Crossbow Sniper
PHB2
Proficiency with hand, heavy, or light crossbow, Weapon Focus with hand, heavy, or light crossbow, BAB +1
Half Dexterity bonus on crossbow damage, 60 ft. skirmish or sneak attack
F


X

Rogue, Scout/Ranger

Good for rogues, scouts, and similar sneak attackers (duh). G&G: Irrelevant due to changes to archery and specific classes


Deadeye Shot
PHB2
Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, BAB +4, skirmish or sneak attack ability
Ready action to fire, denying foe Dex bonus to AC on your attack after ally hits foe
F




Rogue

Good for rogues and other sneak attackers.


Divine Fortune
PHB2
Divine caster level 5th,
Expend turn/rebuke attempt for +4 bonus on next save ability to turn or rebuke undead





Cleric, Paladin

Immediate action


Divine Ward
PHB2
Ability to turn or rebuke undead
Increase range of spells from touch to short for ally




X
Cleric

Good for buffing/healing characters


Intimidating Strike
PHB2
Intimidate 4 ranks
Use Intimidate check with attack to shake opponent
F

X




Standard action only


Mad Foam Rager
PHB2
Rage or frenzy ability
Once per rage or frenzy, delay spell or attack effect





Barbarian

Great for barbarians


Master Manipulator
PHB2
Cha 13, Diplomacy 9 ranks
Gain two new uses of Diplomacy skill






X
Good in social-heavy games; probably not worth it otherwise


Robilar’s Gambit
PHB2
Combat Reflexes, BAB +12
Grant foes bonus on attacks and damage, but their attacks provoke attacks of opportunity
F

X







Shield Ward
PHB2
Proficiency with shields, Shield Specialization
Gain shield bonus to touch AC and against bull rush, disarm, grapple, overrun, and trip


X




Parrying Shield (Lords of Madness) gives the main bonus for better prerequisites, but if you’re taking Shield Specialization anyway, the secondary effect makes this the better choice. Cheaper but largely redundant in G&G


Steadfast Determination
PHB2
Endurance
Use Constitution to modify Will saves

X





Good for anyone with a good Con, especially barbarians


Wanderer’s Diplomacy
PHB2
Halfling or 4 ranks in Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive.
Gain special social abilities






X
Find more expensive magic items, understand unfamiliar languages, and use Bluff to improve attitudes Good in social-heavy or low-magic games; probably not worth it otherwise


Bloodline Feats
DMC
Ability to cast arcane spells without preparation.
Gain extra spells known







Good choices include: Air Anarchic Axiomatic Earth Fey Illithid Necromatic Penumbra


Combat Charm
DMC
Wis 13
Deny save bonus on charm spells in combat




X





Favored Power Attack
DMC CWar
Power Attack, base attack +4, favored enemy
More damage with Power Attack against favored enemy





Ranger




Kung Fu Genius
DMC
Int 13,1st level only
Use Int in place of Wis for monk abilities





Monk

Makes for a good dip with a Wizard


Riposte
DMC
Int 13, Combat Expertise, BAB +5
Opponent that misses provokes attack of opportunity
F

X




1/round when using Combat Expertise


Serenity
DMC
Divine grace
Use Wisdom rather than Charisma for various paladin abilities





Paladin

Vital for reducing MAD. Get this and Serenity. Not important in G&G due to class changes


Song of the Dead
DMC
—
Mind-affecting spell may target undead
M



X
Beguiler




Ancestral Relic
BoED
Any good alignment, character level 3rd
Create personal magic item

X





Good for low-magic games; games where crafting is difficult, characters that depend on a single expensive item.


Celestial Familiar
BoED
Ability to acquire a new familiar, minimum level requirement (see text)
Additional familiar choices




X


Celestial animal, coure eladrin, lantern archon, or musteval guardinal. (The latter three have good SLAs)


Exalted Companion
BoED
Ability to acquire a new animal companion, minimum level requirement (see text)
Additional animal companion choices





Druid, Ranger

Choice options include blink dog, asperi, giant eagle, pegasus, and unicorn— multiple options for flying mounts. As intelligent good-aligned creatures, you can arguable have them take Vow of Poverty.


Exalted Wild Shape
BoED
Wild shape class ability, wild shaping class level 8th
Additional wild shape options





Druid, Wildshape Ranger, Beastman

Blink dog, giant eagle, giant owl, pegasus, or unicorn, or add the celestial template. (Blink dog grants at-will teleportation.)


Intuitive Attack
BoED
BAB +1
Use Wis modifier instead of Str modifier on attack rolls with simple and natural weapons





Druid, Monk

Good for reducing MAD. Becomes much better in G&G, where it also replaces your Str when calculating damage.


Nemesis
BoED
Favored enemy class ability
Detect presence of favored enemies





Ranger

Also deal bonus damage to them


Nymph’s Kiss
BoED
—
+2 bonus on Cha-related checks, +1 bonus on saving throws against spells, 1 extra skill point per level

X





Ridiculous good. Take early to maximize skill point gain.


Touch of Golden Ice
BoED
Con 13
Evil creatures touched ravaged by golden ice





Monk, Druid, Wildshape Ranger, Beastman

Good for anyone fighting with natural weapons. (Golden Ice is essentially a contact poison that deals Dex damage)


Words of Creation
BoED
Int 15, Cha 15, base Will save bonus +5
Ability to use Words of Creation (see page 31)




X
Bard

Great way to boost Inspire Courage (take 3d4 nonlethal to double the bonus); also works for other Bardic Music uses; auto-extends Conjuration (Creation) spells.


Draconic Aura
DM
Character level 3rd
Draconic aura grants bonus to you and allies within 30 feet

X





Scales if you’re Dragontouched


Dragonfire Inspiration
DM
Cha 11, dragonblood subtype, bardic music
Add fire damage to your allies’ attacks





Bard

Convert Inspire Courage bonus into d6’s of fire damage; switch to different damage type with Draconic Heritage feat


Initiate of Astilabor
DM
Cleric level 3rd, dragonblood subtype, deity Astilabor
Improve cleric skill list and spell list





Cleric

Disable Device, Open Lock, and Search Hoard Gullet, Knock, Nondetection, Sequester


Initiate of Tiamat
DM
Cleric level 5th, dragonblood, deity Tiamat
Deal extra damage to fearful foes, improve cleric spell list





Cleric

Intimidate as a class skill, +1d6 melee damage against scared foes Charm Person, Curse of the Elemental Lords, Dominate Person, Glorious Master of the Elements, Aspect of the Chromatic Dragon


Initiate of Aasterinian
DM
Cleric level 3rd, dragonblood subtype, deity Aasterinian
Improve cleric skill list and spell list





Cleric

Bluff, Disguise, Speak Language, and Sleight of Hand Expeditious Retreat, Soul of Anarchy, Greater Invisibility, and Shadow Walk


Dragon Cohort
Drac
Character level 9th, Speak Language (Draconic)
Gain the service of a loyal dragon ally

X





Good for all the reasons Leadership is


Dragon Steed
Drac
Cha 13, Ride 8 ranks, Speak Language (Draconic)
Dragonnel serves as loyal mount for you


X
X

Paladin

Good was to get a fancy flying mount


Dragon Wild Shapae
Drac
Wis 19, Knowledge (nature) 15 ranks, wild shape ability
You can take the form of a dragon





Druid, Wildshape Ranger, Beastman




Frightful Presence
Drac
Cha 15, Intimidate 9 ranks
Gain frightful presence ability






X
Great for fear/intimidation builds


Plunging Shot
HoB
Dex 13, Point Blank Shot
+1d6 damage against targets below you



X

Raptoran

Good for anyone who can fly


Improved Cohort
HoB
Cha 15, Leadership
Your cohorts maximum level increases by 1

X





Leadership is often banned


Deformity (Tall)
HoH
Evil alignment, Willing Deformity, Medium size
Gain reach as if Large, take –1 penalty to AC


X







Deformity (Teeth)
HoH
Evil alignment, Willing Deformity
Gain bite attack, +1 bonus on Intimidate checks


X







Deformity (Tongue)
HoH
Evil alignment, Willing Deformity
Gain blindsense 30 ft.

X








Double Hit
MH
Combat Reflexes, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Two-Weapon Fighting
Gain off-hand attack when making attack of opportunity


X




Better in G&G, due to reduced prerequisites


Powerful Charge
MH
Medium or larger, BAB +1
Extra damage when you charge


X




Combo with Pounce and size-changing magic for serious danage


Reckless Charge
MH
BAB +1
Charges get +4 on attack rolls, but –4 penalty to AC







+4 attack easily translates into +8 Power Attack damage, or more with Leap Attack


Craven
CoR
Cannot be immune to fear, Sneak attack class feature
-2 to saves against fear, but +1 damage/level with Sneak Attack





Rogue

The single best Sneak Attack damage booster


Wild Cohort
Web
—
Gain the service of an animal companion

X





Cheapest way to get a scaling mount




Villain Books (Book of Vile Darkness, Drow of the Underdark, Exemplars of Evil, Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss, Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells, Libris Mortis, Lords of Madness)



Feat
Source
Requirements
Description
Type
All
Melee
Archer
Caster
Race/Class
Skills
Notes



Boost Spell-Like Ability
BoVD
—
+2 DC with SLA, 3/day per SLA (not total)





Warlock, Dragonfire Adept




Mortalbane
BoVD
—
SLAs deal bonus damage against living nonoutsiders 5/day





Warlock




Coercive Spell
DotU
—
Creatures damaged by spell take –2 penalty on Will saves
M



X


Great no-save debuff. +1 effective spell level.


Deafening Spell
DotU
—
Creatures damaged by spell are deafened for 1 round
M



X


Great no-save debuff to use on a caster. +1 effective spell level.


Hand Crossbow Focus
DotU
Proficiency with hand crossbow, +base attack bonus +1
1 bonus on attack rolls with hand crossbow; reload as free action
F


X



Counts as Weapon Focus, making it two feat taxes at once. Less good in G&G, due to bonus feat changes


Imperious Command
DotU
Cha 15, Intimidate 8 ranks
Demoralized opponent cowers for 1 round, then shaken for 1 round

X




X
Vital for intimidation builds


Master of Poisons
DotU
—
Apply poison as a swift action and with no chance of poisoning yourself


X
X



Vital for poison users.


Reactive Resistance
DotU
Spell resistance
Lower SR as immediate action

X





If you have spell resistance, you probably need this.


Staggering Critical
DotU
Improved Critical, base attack bonus +12
Critical hit slows target for 1 round
F

X
X






Surprising Riposte
DotU
Int 13, Combat Expertise, Improved Feint
Feinted target that takes damage becomes flat-footed
F

X


Rogue




Sickening Strike
DotU
Sneak attack +2d6
Trade 1d6 sneak attack damage to sicken living target for 1 round





Rogue




Venomous Strike
DotU
Poison use, sneak attack +2d6
Trade 1d6 sneak attack damage to increase poison DC by 2





Rogue

Near-vital for poison users.


Lolth’s Caress
DotU
Rebuke undead, drow or Lolth as patron deity
Spend rebuke attempt to force saves against poison’s secondary effect
Di




Cleric, Binder

Great for poison users— it’s the only time secondary damage will matter. Even better for Binders with infinite turn undead uses through Tenebrous


Aleval School
DotU
Spellcraft 2 ranks, Weapon Finesse, base attack bonus +4, sneak attack +2d6 or sudden strike +2d6
Sacrifice 1d6 sneak attack damage to apply –2 penalty on one save





Rogue

The casters will love you


Blessing of the Godless
EoE
Evil, Knowledge (religion) 6 ranks
Gain warding rituals

X




X
Grants immediate action healing with 6 ranks, +4 save vs divine spells with 12


Divine Denial
EoE
Knowledge (religion) 9 ranks, Iron Will
+2 to saves against divine spells

X





Save vs spells that don’t allow saves— powerful, though may yield silly results


Fell Conspiracy
EoE
Wis 13, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks
Forge a link that enables easy communication

X




X
Message at will, telepathic communication, near-immunity to flat-foot and flanking. Good for social games.


Hellsworn
EoE
Evil, Knowledge (the planes) 9 ranks, Evil Brand, Weapon Focus
Gain extraplanar subtype and one infernal ability


X
X



+1d6 damage with all attacks against one target at a time.


Mask of Gentility
EoE
Cha 15, Bluff 9 ranks, Disguise 9 ranks
Defeat divination attempts and make it harder to discern your motives






X
Good for social games


Proteus
EoE
Caster level 10th, Spell Focus (illusion)
Exchange a prepared spell for an illusion (glamer) spell




X





Strength of Conviction
EoE
Smite evil or good
Swap smite evil or good for smite





Paladin

Sacrifice attack bonus to smite anyone.


Uncanny Forethought
EoE
Int 17, Spell Mastery
Reserve slots to cast Spell Mastery spells




X
Wizard, Wu Jen, Archivist

Cast any spell in an empty slot for the low, low cost of full-round casting.


Abyss-Bound Soul
FCI
Evil Brand, Thrall to Demon
Gain +2 on saves against good spells, gain boon from your demonic patron

X
X




Double. Damage. When. Charging. (Or other benefits, many quite nice)


Cloak of the Obyrith
FCI
Chaotic alignment
You gain DR 1/lawful, +1 per additional Abyssal heritor feat

X





DR/Alignment is hard to pierce


Extract Demonic Essence
FCI
Any two item creation feats, Demon Mastery
Siphon life force from a demon to halve XP cost when casting spells or creating items




X


Sidestep the main cost of item creation? Yes please.


Ordered Chaos
FCI
Nonchaotic alignment, base Will save +4
Your alignment is unaffected by Abyssal heritor feats; items and effects treat you as chaotic

X





There are nice feats here. This lets you use ‘em.


Brand of the Nine Hells
FC2
Lawful evil, devil
Gain benefit based on allegiance to a Lord of the Nine







Assorted benefits, some quite nice.


Devil’s Tongue
FC2
Cha 15, Devil’s Favor
Daze one creature as standard action 1/day per devil-touched feat you have










Dilate Aura
FC2
Aura ability
Once/encounter, double range of your aura





Marshal, Dragon Shaman Paladin

Combos well with Draconic Aura


Divine Defiance
FC2
Divine caster level 3rd, ability to turn or rebuke undead
Counter enemy’s spell as an immediate action
Di



X
Cleric

Possibly the best way to counterspell


Mark of Malbolge
FC2
Brand of the Nine Hells, allegiance to Glasya
Gain fleshy tumors that can give you a variety of benefits

X





Assorted nice bonuses— reach, swift healing, bonus speed, etc


Mark of Minauros
FC2
Brand of the Nine Hells, allegiance to Mammon
Gain +2 bonus on charge attacks, and your starting square is not threatened







Makes it easy to chain charges


Mark of Nessus
FC2
Brand of the Nine Hells, ,allegiance to Asmodeus
An enemy must make a Will save before it can attack you or it must target another foe







Spells, SLAs, and SUs are the most dangerous things in the game


Mark of Phlegethos
FC2
Brand of the Nine Hells, allegiance to Belial or Fierna
When you take damage, you can gain bonuses on attacks, saves, or checks

X








Persistent Refusal
FC2
Ability to turn or rebuke undead
Make another save against ongoing effect
Di




Cleric, Binder

Great for binders with infinite turn attempts through Tenebrous


Supernatural Instincts
FC2
Combat Reflexes
Creature using a supernatural ability provokes attack of opportunity from you


X







Undo Resistance
FC2
Sneak attack, sudden strike,
Deal sneak attack with cold iron weapon and reduce a or skirmish ability creature’s spell resistance





Rogue, Scout, Ranger

Your casters will love you


Vengeful Surge
FC2
Iron Will
When you save against a spell or a spell-like or supernatural ability, gain +2 on damage against creature that targeted you for 1 round


X
X






Corpsecrafter
LM
—
Undead gain +4 Str and +2 hp per Hit Die




X
Dread Necromancer

Augment Summoning for necromancers


Deadly Chill
LM
Corpsecrafter
Undead deal +1d6 cold damage on melee attacks





Dread Necromancer




Empowered Ability Damage
LM
Cha 11, undead type, incorporeal subtype, supernatural ability to drain or damage an ability score
Increase variable effects of ability damage or ability drain





Dread Necromancer

Great for your undead minions, if you can set their feats


Empower Turning
LM
Ability to turn or rebuke undead
Can turn more undead





Cleric, Paladin

If you need the ability, this is a nice boost


Fell Animate
LM
—
Creatures slain by the spell rise as zombies
M



X
Dread Necromancer

+3 effective spell levels


Fell Drain
LM
—
Creatures hurt by the spell gain a negative level
M



X


+2 effective spell levels


Fell Frighten
LM
—
Creatures damaged by the spell are also shaken
M



X


A nice debuff on its own, but really shines when stacking fear effects. +2 effective spell levels.


Lifebond
LM
Cha 11, undead type Bond with chosen living creature to gain benefits






Dread Necromancer

Great for your undead minions, if you can set their feats


Lifesense
LM
Cha 13, Con — (no Constitution score)
Living creatures provide illumination





Psion, Necropolitan

Great feat choice for Psicrystals


Necromantic Might
LM
Necromantic Presence
Undead in your presence gain +2 on attack rolls and damage rolls





Dread Necromancer




Requiem
LM
Bardic music, Perform (any) 8 ranks
Bardic music affects undead





Bard

Depending on the campaign or party composition, could be vital


Tomb-Tainted Soul
LM
Nongood
Heal with negative energy as an undead creature





Dread Necromancer

Dread Necros can deal negative energy damage at will.


Undead Leadership
LM
Character level 6th, nongood, Knowledge (religion) 1 rank
Attract undead followers and cohort

X



Dread Necromancer

Good (and likely to be banned) for all the same reason Leadership is. Take if allowed.


Aberration Wild Shape
LoM
Aberration Blood, wild shape ability
Assume aberration form with wild shape





Druid, Wildshape Ranger, Beastman




Aquatic Spellcasting
LoM
—
Spells work normally underwater




X


Can be important for an aquatic campaign


Darkstalker
LoM
—
Hide from creatures with extraordinary senses






X
Vital for stealth characters. Bonus feat in G&G


Deepspawn
LoM
Aberration Blood, one other aberrant feat
Tentacles grant additional attacks


X




Two secondary natural attacks while wielding weapons


Inhuman Reach
LoM
Aberration Blood
Increase natural rech by 5 feet, take –1 penalty on melee attack rolls


X







Mindsight
LoM
Telepathy special quality
Detect thinking beings within telepathy range, along with their type and Int score

X





Hidden on page 126


Ocular Spell
LoM
Knowledge (dungeoneering) 4 ranks, 2 or more eyes
Cast spells as rays from eyes




X


Action economy advantage by casting two spells at once, and you can pull some tricks by changing the spell’s shape. +2 effective spell levels


Parrying Shield
LoM
Shield proficiency
Add shield bonus to touch AC
F

X




If you’ve got a shield, this makes it better. Cheaper than Shield Ward. Redundant in G&G


Starspawn
LoM
Aberration Blood,
Wings grant flight, resistance to cold 5 one other aberrant feat

X





Almost at-will flight as early as level 3

[Grod_The_Giant]

Books I don't own

Note: Because I don't own these books, the "Description" column will be unofficial language. I can also only suggest isolated feats, mostly based on your feedback, since I can't comb through the feats one by one.



Feat
Source
Requirements
Description
Type
All
Melee
Archer
Caster
Race/Class
Skills
Notes


Alternate Spell Source
Dragon #325
Ability to cast both divine and arcane spells
Cast arcane spells as divine spells, and vice versa.
M



X


Want to cast arcane spells in full plate? This is how. Also a great way to get into PrCs meant for the other type of casting.


Ashbound
Eberron Campaign Setting
Ability to spontaneously cast summon nature's ally
Double the duration of SNA spells; summoned creatures get +3 attack




X
Druid

Worth picking up Spontaneous Summoner for if you’re not a druid.


Assume Supernatural Ability
Savage Species
Wis 13, ability to assume a new form magically
Gain a single supernatural ability when shapeshifting





Druid, Wildshape Ranger

An Improved version exists to eliminate the -2 penalty


Boomerang Daze
Races of Eberron
BAB +4, Proficiency with Talenta boomerang or Xen'drik boomerang,
Targets hit by your boomerange must make a save for be dazed for a round.



X



Save DC is based on damage, making this a depressingly easy way to rob enemies of their actions.


Charming the Arrow
Web (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fey/20030815a)
Fey
Use your Charisma with bows and crossbows instead of Dex



X

X

Want to cast arcane spells in full plate? This is how. Also a great way to get into PrCs meant for the other type of casting.


Corrupt Arcane Studies
Ghostwalk
Sorcerer or wizard level 3rd, nongood alignment.
+1 bonus to spell save DC and to overcome SR, but reduce your Wisdom by 2 and make a save each night or become unable to prepare spells.





Sorcerer, Wizard

By RAW, the penalty doesn’t matter to Sorcerers. G&G: Works for all arcane casters.


Craven
Champions of Ruin
Cannot be immune to fear, Sneak attack class feature
-2 to saves against fear, but +1 damage/level with Sneak Attack





Rogue

The single best Sneak Attack damage booster


Dreadful Wrath
Player's Guide to Faerun
Regional; 1st level only
Gain frightful presence for a round when charging, full attacking, or casting a spell that affects an enemy.










Easy Metamagic
Dragon #325
Any other metamagic feat
Reduce the cost of using a specific metamagic feat by one, to a minimum of +1 spell levels.
M



X





Education
varies
1st level characters only or racial/regional
All knowledge skills are class skills; gain a +1 or +2 with two






X
Appears in Eberron Campaign Setting, Ghostwalk, Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, and Player’s Guide to Faerun, in slightly altered form each time. The ECS version has a no regional requirements, but the PGtF version has the largest skill bonus. Combos well with Knowledge Devotion Any version combos nicely with Knowledge Devotion and a high-skillpoint class like Rogue, Scout, or Ranger.


Evil’s Blessing
Elder Evils
CHA 13
Standard action to gain +Cha to saves for 5 rounds; double bonus when you damage a Good creature
V
X








Extra Rings
Eberron Campaign Setting
Forge Ring, caster level 12th,
Wear up to 4 magic rings at the same time

X








Extraordinary Artisan
Eberron Campaign Setting
Any item creation feat
25% discount when crafting items




X


Near-required for any item crafter.


Faerie Mysteries Initiate
Dragon #319
Regional restrictions
Perform a ritual to gain one of several benefits.

X



Wizard, Archivist, Duskblade, Factotum, Psion

Needs a partner with the feat, but lets you use Int to determine hit points.


Gatekeeper Initiate
Eberron Campaign Setting
Ability to spontaneously cast summon nature's ally.
Bonus on saves against Aberration's abilities, and gain extra spells known




X
Druid

Spells: Protection from evil, Zone of natural purity, Dimensional anchor, Nature's wrath, Banishment, Dimensional lock, Return to nature, Mind blank, Imprisonment. Even better in G&G, where you have limited spells known.


Greenbound Summoning
Lost Empires of Faerun
Ability to cast any summon nature's ally spell
Summoned animals gain the Greenbound template




X
Druid, Archivist

Broken-good. Template grants a big bonus to NA, spell-like abilities (Entangle at will, Wall of Thorns 1/day are standouts), good DR, tremorsense, and excellent stat boosts.


Knock-Down
Deities and Demigods
Improved Trip (PH) , Base attack bonus +2, Str 15,
Free trip attempt whenever you deal 10 or more damage in melee


X


Druid, Archivist

Broken-good. Template grants a big bonus to NA, spell-like abilities (Entangle at will, Wall of Thorns 1/day are standouts), good DR, tremorsense, and excellent stat boosts.


Mercantile Background
Player's Guide to Faerunt
Racial/Regional
Sell things for 75% list price instead of 50%, and occasionally buy them for 75% price.

X





Only one person in the party needs to take this, but it's effectively a 25% boost to the entire group's WBL.


Rashemi Elemental Summoning
Unapproachable East
Spellcaster Level 5
Summon an Orglash or Thomil in place of a normal elemental




X


The listed creatures are actually templates


Reserves of Strength
Dragonlance Campaign Setting
Iron Will, Spellcaster Level 1,
Increase your caster level at the cost of stunning yourself, and exceed the normal level-based limits




X


DM interpretation might easily weaken this. (Unless you manage to be immune to stunning)


Tashalatora
Secrets of Sarlona
Monastic Training (ECS) (psionic class) , Autohypnosis 5 ranks, Concentration 5 ranks, ability to manifest 1st level powers,
Progress monk abilities by taking levels in chosen psionic class





Psychic Warrior, Gish

Makes Monk “viable” by grafting the abilities you care about onto a caster.


Troll-Blooded
Dragon #319
Toughness, regional restrictions
Gain Regeneration 1, at the cost of being fatigued in sunlight

X





Can only be taken at level 1, but brokenly good. Fatigue is easy to become immune to, and regeneration means you take nonlethal damage from almost everything.


Silver Tongue
Oriental Adventures
Regional
Gain new Diplomacy uses






X
Change attitudes towards others, and produce the effects of Confusion, Good Hope, and Crushing Despair spells.

[Dousedinoil]

Great job! This must have taken forever.

[Blackhawk748]

By the gods thats a lot of feats.

[Troacctid]

What's this about Dodge scaling with BAB? Improved Feint letting you feint as a swift action? Skill Focus letting you roll twice and take the better result? Those aren't things that those feats do.

[jjcrpntr]

What's this about Dodge scaling with BAB? Improved Feint letting you feint as a swift action? Skill Focus letting you roll twice and take the better result? Those aren't things that those feats do.

Quicken spell letting you cast a spell as a free action?!

[Vhaidara]

Quicken is actually the original wording


What's this about Dodge scaling with BAB? Improved Feint letting you feint as a swift action? Skill Focus letting you roll twice and take the better result? Those aren't things that those feats do.

I think the "Other" section is referring to Giants and Graveyards, Grod's homebrew fixes. The "description" section is the traditional feat

[OldTrees1]

Wow. I just spent some time with Ctrl+F.
Consider Knock-down (free trip on a hit of 10+ damage)?

I also saw Exotic Weapon Proficiency missing despite Weapon Focus being included as an important prerequisite.

[Coidzor]

I'm a bit confused by the inclusion of Dodge myself. So much so that I stopped reading and went down to see if anyone else had discussed it yet and then started writing this post.

Dodge seems like a showcase of the sort of things feats were/are in 3.5 that they shouldn't be. It's weak (+1 AC), situational (only against one opponent and it has to be declared on one's turn, though PF did away with that at least, IIRC), and part of a feat chain for Spring Attack along with the similarly underwhelming Mobility. And Spring Attack is itself part of a feat chain thanks to Bounding Assault > Rapid Blitz.

[Grod_The_Giant]

What's this about Dodge scaling with BAB? Improved Feint letting you feint as a swift action? Skill Focus letting you roll twice and take the better result? Those aren't things that those feats do.
<facepalm> Crap, that's what I forgot when transferring this from my Word document... because I mainly play with my Giants and Graveyards houserules, and this started off as a utility for me, I wanted to include text about them. It was read in my Word doc, but got lost in the transition. I think one of my G&G-specific sections got tangled with the normal PHB feats, too. I'll fix some now, and deal with the G&G-specific text later on.


There's a lot of useful prerequisite feats that are missing. I would hardly call this a complete list, but it's a good start. Look at the various handbooks for rogues, wizards, fighters, and clerics.
I deliberately didn't include most prerequisite feats because, well, they're prerequisites. They're things you're forced to take, while this list is things you want to take. It's not a complete list, admittedly, but it's everything I could find from the books I have access to.

[endur]

I'm going to ignore the complete feats, but let's talk about the PHB feats... these ratings are going to be very campaign dependent.

In some campaigns, CRAFT X feats are worthless, in other campaigns the CRAFT X feats are AWESOME.

Let's talk about melee feats ... I've seen Cleave and Great Cleave used many times (more times than I can count). I've hardly ever seen Spirited Charge or Spring Attack used.

Also where is Point Blank Shot? Nearly every archer has that feat.

Also Leadership is not in the 3.5 PHB (its in the DMG and is optional).


Edit: cool house rules btw

[eggynack]

Here's my quick list of missing stuff, cause figuring out stuff that's there and shouldn't be will probably take longer (I don't particularly think you should include weird homebrew dodge. Seems like a poor inclusion for a public resource that isn't directly devoted to homebrew). I think you should add augment summoning, ashbound, assume supernatural ability, gatekeeper initiate, probably some other initiate feats, greenbound summoning, rashemi elemental summoning, companion spellbond, natural bond, and natural spell (seriously?). Might be others, probably a lot of others, but that's a decent start. Quick things I noticed that you should ditch are imbued summoning, maybe beckon the frozen, and I think that corrupt wild shape might not do anything.

Edit: Incidentally, I would consider using exotic weapon proficiency for not-prerequisite reasons. It's pretty good.

[Crake]

How did natural spell not make your list?

[eggynack]

How did natural spell not make your list?
My suspicion is that it's for the same reason I missed the fact that it's missing for so long. It's just such an obvious inclusion that you assume it's already included.

[dextercorvia]

It's missing several of my favorite Caster Level feats.

Reserves of Strength (DLCS) up to +3 CL and overrides the CL cap on spells.
Elder Giant Magic (SoX) Easy prereqs, and a +3 CL on out of combat buff spells, so long as you can make an easy concentration check
Divine Spellpower (CD) With heighten turning, easily abusable to get you a consistent +4 or +5 CL. Even without that, it is child's play to get several spells per day at a significantly higher CL than usual.

[Coidzor]

<facepalm> Crap, that's what I forgot when transferring this from my Word document... because I mainly play with my Giants and Graveyards houserules, and this started off as a utility for me, I wanted to include text about them. It was read in my Word doc, but got lost in the transition. I think one of my G&G-specific sections got tangled with the normal PHB feats, too. I'll fix some now, and deal with the G&G-specific text later on.

Ahhh. OK. That's gotta be pretty annoying.


I deliberately didn't include most prerequisite feats because, well, they're prerequisites. They're things you're forced to take, while this list is things you want to take. It's not a complete list, admittedly, but it's everything I could find from the books I have access to.

I support your reasoning here. Being a prerequisite doesn't make a feat good. Having prerequisites can make a feat less good though, because the cost of taking it can come to be more than the value it actually gives.


I'm going to ignore the complete feats, but let's talk about the PHB feats... these ratings are going to be very campaign dependent.

In some campaigns, CRAFT X feats are worthless, in other campaigns the CRAFT X feats are AWESOME.

Yep. Crafting is one of the more campaign dependent things one can (try to) do.


Also where is Point Blank Shot? Nearly every archer has that feat.

That's because Point Blank Shot is a terrible, terrible feat that is worse than Weapon Focus. Weapon Focus!

Every archer has that feat because they're required to have that feat to get access to things like Precise Shot so they can shoot into melee or Rapid Shot so they can get off more shots in a round without having 2 levels in Ranger.

[jjcrpntr]

Quicken is actually the original wording


Ah right, 3.5

In that case sorry, I've been playing pathfinder for the last year and a half so that was different. Carry on.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Here's my quick list of missing stuff, cause figuring out stuff that's there and shouldn't be will probably take longer (I don't particularly think you should include weird homebrew dodge. Seems like a poor inclusion for a public resource that isn't directly devoted to homebrew). I think you should add augment summoning, ashbound, assume supernatural ability, gatekeeper initiate, probably some other initiate feats, greenbound summoning, rashemi elemental summoning, companion spellbond, natural bond, and natural spell (seriously?). Might be others, probably a lot of others, but that's a decent start. Quick things I noticed that you should ditch are imbued summoning, maybe beckon the frozen, and I think that corrupt wild shape might not do anything.

Edit: Incidentally, I would consider using exotic weapon proficiency for not-prerequisite reasons. It's pretty good.
Not sure how I missed Augment Summoning and Natural Spell (no, wait, I do know. So many feats, so little time. And such). I thought I remembered putting Natural Bond on the list; guess I didn't, though. I do remember skipping some of the druid summoning feats (Greenbound and Rashemi specifically) because I didn't have the books. And they're campaign feats, which may or may not be OK in all games? Good call on Companion Spellbond. EWP I skipped because most exotic weapons aren't worth the feat (apart from the spiked chain).


It's missing several of my favorite Caster Level feats.

Reserves of Strength (DLCS) up to +3 CL and overrides the CL cap on spells.
Elder Giant Magic (SoX) Easy prereqs, and a +3 CL on out of combat buff spells, so long as you can make an easy concentration check
Divine Spellpower (CD) With heighten turning, easily abusable to get you a consistent +4 or +5 CL. Even without that, it is child's play to get several spells per day at a significantly higher CL than usual.
I generally don't think of CL as being very important to non-blasters, which is why I skipped Divine Spell Power, but looking back, you're right. Should be on the list. The other two...

I'll go a head and start a new section for "books I don't have." The Description column will have to be unofficial, though.


Changes should appear tomorrow sometime.

[eggynack]

EWP I skipped because most exotic weapons aren't worth the feat (apart from the spiked chain).
Well, there're a couple, like gnomish quickrazor, but really, one is enough. It's not like all those other exotic weapons are room you're not using, cause you only pick the one.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Well, there're a couple, like gnomish quickrazor, but really, one is enough. It's not like all those other exotic weapons are room you're not using, cause you only pick the one.
Eh, fair enough.

[eggynack]

Forgot exalted companion. That feat is pretty awesome if you use it to apply vow of poverty to your companion, and not the absolute worst if you don't. Incidentally, if book access is an issue on the feats I cited, I do have ludicrously detailed breakdowns of why they're good. Not that that'll necessarily be necessary, because something as simple as, "Gives a bonus density comparable to several combined lesser feats, and that's before it gives your summons the ability to cast wall of thorns," would likely be sufficient for greenbound summoning. Seriously though, the actual writeup on that feat is 581 words. The one I have for gatekeeper initiate is 987, which is apparently four pages. All the ridiculously dense descriptions of druid feats you could possibly want.

[Amphetryon]

Practiced Spellcaster appears twice on your list. Also, Practiced Spellcaster appears twice on your list. :smallwink:

[dextercorvia]

I generally don't think of CL as being very important to non-blasters, which is why I skipped Divine Spell Power, but looking back, you're right. Should be on the list. The other two...


I would argue that CL is more (or at least as) important for buffers than blasters. Several buffs scale with CL (Magic Vestments, Greater Magic Weapon, Shield of Warding). In addition, if you have massive buff layers you want protection against dispelling. The easiest way to do that is to out CL your opponent.

[Zaq]

Glad to see Fell Conspiracy is on the list. It's one of my very favorite feats.

Nitpicks: Strength Devotion's description is wrong (you C&P'd Travel Devotion's description, I think). DFAs don't get very good use out of Mortalbane—their breath weapon is Su, not SLA, and most of their SLAs don't do damage. (However, Truenamers make good use of Mortalbane, if they take any damaging utterances.) I feel like Fell Frighten is worth including—fear-stacking is a very real strategy, and your inclusion of Intimidating Strike makes me think that you're not unfriendly to it.

Overall, good stuff. This looks like it took a lot of work, so thank you for sharing it with us.

[AngelOfFaith]

Is Ultimate Feats allowed? Is that a book people use? Because there are some big feats in there like:
Known Spells Focus(General):
Prerequisites: Spontaneous caster level 8+,
Benefit:You may apply your bonus spells for the chosen class(Charisma bonus in spells for sorcerers and bards) to your list of spells known for that class.

[Anthrowhale]

I'd suggest adding twin spell [Complete Arcane] and Intuitive Attack [BoED].

So far, you haven't delved into dragon magazine feats, where Easy Metamagic, Alternate Source Spell, Troll-blooded, and Faerie Mysteries initiate stand out.

[eggynack]

I'd suggest adding twin spell [Complete Arcane] and Intuitive Attack [BoED].

He actually has intuitive attack, but misspelled as intitive attack.

[Endarire]

The core feats title should include the DMG considering Leadership is fully detailed there.

And for Quicken Spell, add a mention of "free action" being changed to "swift action."

My Hood (http://antioch.snow-fall.com/files/members/Endarire/DnD/Little%20Red%20Raiding%20Hood%202.3.zip) guide has a spiffy feats section, though you already have many of its feats listed.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Alrightie, then. I've updated everything with your suggestions, and fixed some formatting errors.

[Flickerdart]

Is Ultimate Feats allowed? Is that a book people use? Because there are some big feats in there like:
Known Spells Focus(General):
Prerequisites: Spontaneous caster level 8+,
Benefit:You may apply your bonus spells for the chosen class(Charisma bonus in spells for sorcerers and bards) to your list of spells known for that class.
Third party is generally frowned upon because of a lack of consistent quality. That feat is a great example - there's no spontaneous caster who wouldn't want to have this feat, which is how you know it's too strong.

Granted, WotC's official publications also have some stinkers and some ridiculously strong feats, but they're at least a known quantity people are familiar with. Someone shows up with "Ultimate Feats" and you have no idea what's in it until they whip this out.

[squiggit]

Crappy prerequisite feats did not make this list
Why's combat expertise the number two feat then? Isn't it the poster-child for a feat that no one wants but everyone has because all the good stuff is gated behind it?

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Grod_The_Giant
…suggestions for things I missed….

I've always liked Education, which gives all Knowledges as class skills and a bonus on any two of them. Works nicely in conjunction with Knowledge Devotion.

There are several versions floating around; the one from the Eberron Campaign Setting grants a +1 bonus to any two Knowledges, while Player's Guide to Faerûn gives +2 to any two.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Since you included Dragon Magazine what about KoK? Irresistible Spell and Miser with Magic are pretty good. (Well, Miser with Magic is pretty good, Irresistible Spell is broken as all get out).

[Grod_The_Giant]

Why's combat expertise the number two feat then? Isn't it the poster-child for a feat that no one wants but everyone has because all the good stuff is gated behind it?
Wait, that's still on there? Whoops.


I've always liked Education, which gives all Knowledges as class skills and a bonus on any two of them. Works nicely in conjunction with Knowledge Devotion.
Ooh, good one.


Since you included Dragon Magazine what about KoK? Irresistible Spell and Miser with Magic are pretty good. (Well, Miser with Magic is pretty good, Irresistible Spell is broken as all get out).
I don't even know what KoK stands for.

[ZamielVanWeber]

KoK is Kingdoms of Kalamar. It is in that same weird world as Dragon Magazine Compendium where it has the official Wizards seal but was not made by them. The book had three notable feats (and then one got errata'd into uselessness).

[Tommy2255]

KoK is Kingdoms of Kalamar. It is in that same weird world as Dragon Magazine Compendium where it has the official Wizards seal but was not made by them. The book had three notable feats (and then one got errata'd into uselessness).

Well, errata'd into not as broken. Irresistible Spell still gives a pretty hefty boost to DC. Enough to be important, though not nearly as good as removing the save entirely.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Well, errata'd into not as broken. Irresistible Spell still gives a pretty hefty boost to DC. Enough to be important, though not nearly as good as removing the save entirely.

This is a common misconception. The errata file contains nothing on Irresistible Spell. There is a feat with an identical name in Player's Guide to the Sovereign Lands that does what you are saying, but that is very strict 3rd party, so it is as legal as the Ultimate Feats book someone quoted earlier.

[Rubik]

You should expand Ability Focus to describe what happens if you're a caster, manifester, artificer, or similar character with a bunch of sub-abilities under a single ability heading. Take Ability Focus (Spellcasting), for instance. +2 to ALL of your spell DCs.

Supernatural Transformation is a great feat for any psionic character, since it turns your psi-like manifesting into supernatural manifesting, instead. Manifesting is even flat-out stated in the XPH to be an "innate ability." There are a LOT of great benefits to manifesting as a supernatural ability, including ignoring power/spell resistance, never taking AoOs, and never fizzling in the middle of manifesting. It's awesomesauce icing on a 20% cooler cake. And the feat itself specifies that your manifester level equals your HD, which means it acts as a turbocharged Practiced Manifester.

[Psyren]

You need a "setting-specific" section, perhaps under "Books I don't own" if you don't have these. For example, Eberron has Secrets of Sarlona (Tashalatora, Versatile Unarmed Strike), Races of Eberron (Racial Emulation + a slew of Warforged feats), Faiths of Eberron (Ancestral Whispers, Worldly Focus) etc.

Also, add the following to the "ToM" section:

Ignore Special Requirements: Some useful vestiges don't play nice with each other, or want to be summoned in impractical ways. This feat lets you bypass all that and customize your binder without issue.

Still Mystery: Unlike the other metashadow feats, this one can be used unlimited times per day at no cost, thus letting you auto-still every spell mystery you have (i.e. your most powerful ones) free of charge. Your shadow does all the work, letting you continue to fight or get out of trouble if you're ever tied up, pinned or paralyzed.

Shadow Cast: This can be very useful if your DM likes caster-counters like Mageslayer that prevent you from casting defensively or making your concentration check difficult. This works for regular casters and Warlocks too, if you're willing to dip.

Quicken Utterance: If you're truenaming at all, there's no reason to skip this, since you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by attempting a swift utterance every round.

[Grod_The_Giant]

KoK is Kingdoms of Kalamar. It is in that same weird world as Dragon Magazine Compendium where it has the official Wizards seal but was not made by them. The book had three notable feats (and then one got errata'd into uselessness).
Ehh... given that I'd never heard of it, I'm going to classify it as "too third-party."


You should expand Ability Focus to describe what happens if you're a caster, manifester, artificer, or similar character with a bunch of sub-abilities under a single ability heading. Take Ability Focus (Spellcasting), for instance. +2 to ALL of your spell DCs.
That, um, seems like bull**** to me. Regardless of whatever convoluted RAW reading you use to make that work, I'm pretty sure that most DMs wouldn't let you do it. And if it was going to fly in your group, you could probably come up with the argument yourself. So... no?


Supernatural Transformation is a great feat for any psionic character, since it turns your psi-like manifesting into supernatural manifesting, instead. Manifesting is even flat-out stated in the XPH to be an "innate ability." \
But...it's... not a spell-like ability?


You need a "setting-specific" section, perhaps under "Books I don't own" if you don't have these. For example, Eberron has Secrets of Sarlona (Tashalatora, Versatile Unarmed Strike), Races of Eberron (Racial Emulation + a slew of Warforged feats), Faiths of Eberron (Ancestral Whispers, Worldly Focus) etc.[QUOTE]
Hmm, not a bad idea. Also, thanks for the feat suggestions.

[QUOTE]Ignore Special Requirements: Some useful vestiges don't play nice with each other, or want to be summoned in impractical ways. This feat lets you bypass all that and customize your binder without issue.
Whoops, missed that one.


Still Mystery: Unlike the other metashadow feats, this one can be used unlimited times per day at no cost, thus letting you auto-still every spell mystery you have (i.e. your most powerful ones) free of charge. Your shadow does all the work, letting you continue to fight or get out of trouble if you're ever tied up, pinned or paralyzed.
Did not know that. Good one.


Shadow Cast: This can be very useful if your DM likes caster-counters like Mageslayer that prevent you from casting defensively or making your concentration check difficult. This works for regular casters and Warlocks too, if you're willing to dip.
Nice.


Quicken Utterance: If you're truenaming at all, there's no reason to skip this, since you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by attempting a swift utterance every round.
Already on the list.

[Zaq]

If you're including Races of Eberron stuff, don't miss Boomerang Daze. It turns every attack with a boomerang into a save-or-lose, with a DC based on damage dealt. Very good stuff.

[Rubik]

That, um, seems like bull**** to me. Regardless of whatever convoluted RAW reading you use to make that work, I'm pretty sure that most DMs wouldn't let you do it. And if it was going to fly in your group, you could probably come up with the argument yourself. So... no?Just reading it should tell you that it works. Spellcasting is an ability. Ability Focus grants +2 to the DCs of one ability. You do the math.


But...it's... not a spell-like ability?Transparency or magic mantle. The XPH says that psi-like abilities are the psi equivalent to spell-like abilities, which means that if your campaign's level of transparency isn't high enough, you can make it high enough.

[nyjastul69]

Just reading it should tell you that it works. Spellcasting is an ability. Ability Focus grants +2 to the DCs of one ability. You do the math.

Transparency or magic mantle. The XPH says that psi-like abilities are the psi equivalent to spell-like abilities, which means that if your campaign's level of transparency isn't high enough, you can make it high enough.

Ability Focus only works on special attacks. Do you have a source citation that claims spellcasting is a special attack?

[Rubik]

Ability Focus only works on special abilities. Do you have a source citation that claims spellcasting is a special ability?Spells are explicitly listed under the list of special abilities in the SRD.

[edit] They're also listed in monster entries as special attacks, JSYK.

[nyjastul69]

Spells are explicitly listed under the list of special abilities in the SRD.

My bad. It has special attacks as a prerequisite. Is spellcasting a special attack? Also, if spellcasting DC's can be increased by Ability Focus, what is the point of the Spell Focus feat?

[Rubik]

My bad. It has special attacks as a prerequisite. Is spellcasting a special attack?Most certainly -- at least, if monster entries and character entries are anything to go by.


Also, if spellcasting DC's can be increased by Ability Focus, what is the point of the Spell Focus feat?An extra +1.

I'm sure the designers never considered using Ability Focus for spellcasting characters, but they apparently never considered using wild shape in combat either, if playtesting is any indication.

[Psyren]

Perhaps create a "cheese/unlikely to fly" section for "Ability Focus (Spells)." This is about as 'No Sane DM' as it gets.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Perhaps create a "cheese/unlikely to fly" section for "Ability Focus (Spells)." This is about as 'No Sane DM' as it gets.
Yeah. I'm kind of not inclined to put such ridiculous stretches in there. I feel like if you're in a group that will accept such things, you're capable of coming up with the combo on your own.

[Rubik]

Perhaps create a "cheese/unlikely to fly" section for "Ability Focus (Spells)." This is about as 'No Sane DM' as it gets.Quicken Spell is a lot more powerful than that is. As is
Craft Contingent Spell. And Invisible Spell.

Also, Sanctum Spell. That feat is so potentially abusively powerfully amazing it's ridiculous.

And if you go with any of the crafting feats, Magical/Legendary/Extraordiary/Exceptional Artisan. Reduce crafting costs? Yee haw.

Even worse is Craft Device. Make a nonmagical version of ANY magic item whatsoever without needing any prereqs? Heck yeah.

[Psyren]

Quicken Spell is a lot more powerful than that is. As is
Craft Contingent Spell. And Invisible Spell.

Those all require other pieces to become broken, pieces which can be banned piecemeal without impacting the basic intended functionality of the feat itself. Quicken is reasonably costed without (multiple) metamagic reducers. Breaking Invisible Spell requires either the former, or nonsensical combinations, like invisible invisibility or invisible fog. Contingent Spell's power depends entirely on the power of the spell being made contingent itself.

Compare to AF(S), which is just straight up a no-brainer pick for any spellcasting creature in the entire game, invalidates (and even stacks with) two similar feats, and functionally works out to a permanent +4 to your casting stat from a single feat, or a 16-level swing - 5 feats in one.

Regardless, our opinions don't matter, Grod isn't including it in his guide and that's that.


Also, Craft Device is from a 3rd-party book (published by Arthaus/White Wolf, not WotC), no matter that they had a license to use a WotC setting, so it's printed homebrew as far as I'm concerned.

[Endarire]

Uncanny Forethought: Note that you can spontaneously cast any Spell Mastery spell you know, or cast any non-Spell Mastery spell you know, but at -2 caster level. By RAW, this changes the casting time of longer cast time spells (like genesis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/spells/genesis.htm)).

[Grod_The_Giant]

Uncanny Forethought: Note that you can spontaneously cast any Spell Mastery spell you know, or cast any non-Spell Mastery spell you know, but at -2 caster level. By RAW, this changes the casting time of longer cast time spells (like genesis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/spells/genesis.htm)).
Indeed. It's one of the most out-of-the-box-overpowered feats for prepared casters out there, which is why it's already on the list.

[Rowan Wolf]

Haven't finished looking at the list, but improved unarmed strike really seems like the "feat you need" category you relegated dodge to,

I will give more feedback after completely reading the list.

[Flickerdart]

Transparency or magic mantle. The XPH says that psi-like abilities are the psi equivalent to spell-like abilities, which means that if your campaign's level of transparency isn't high enough, you can make it high enough.
Transparency doesn't have any levels. There's either transparency, no transparency, or people trying to hoodwink the DM into allowing insane munchinkry.

[Curmudgeon]

Spells are explicitly listed under the list of special abilities in the SRD.

[edit] They're also listed in monster entries as special attacks, JSYK.
So they qualify if you're playing a monster which has that special attack listing. They're not special attacks for most classes, where they're just a class feature.

[Rubik]

Transparency doesn't have any levels. There's either transparency, no transparency, or people trying to hoodwink the DM into allowing insane munchinkry.Except Magic Mantle enforces the fact that psionics IS magic, at least in your case, and even counts for purposes that it normally wouldn't.

That, and some groups play it more or less than what the book suggests for transparency, meaning that UMD, UPD, Dispelling, and so on may have penalties when used on the opposing system, or that UMD = UPD, magic items = psionic items, and so on.

So yes, there is a higher level of transparency than standard.

There's no hoodwinking, just the Magic Mantle >> standard transparency >> or << specific group transparency.


So they qualify if you're playing a monster which has that special attack listing. They're not special attacks for most classes, where they're just a class feature.Except spells are listed for creatures with casting as class features, and they're also listed in character entries, so you can't say that.

[Curmudgeon]

Except spells are listed for creatures with casting as class features, and they're also listed in character entries, so you can't say that.
Spells are listed in different contexts (monster entries and class descriptions). These would have identical properties only if the rules say so (which they do not, to the best of my knowledge). You don't think Cleric Spells and Wizard Spells have identical properties, do you? Your argument is that both of those Spells class features, with clearly different properties, have the same properties as Spells from a monster listing. How much wool does it take to cover your DM's eyes sufficiently to pull that one over?

[Flickerdart]

Except Magic Mantle enforces the fact that psionics IS magic, at least in your case, and even counts for purposes that it normally wouldn't.

That, and some groups play it more or less than what the book suggests for transparency, meaning that UMD, UPD, Dispelling, and so on may have penalties when used on the opposing system, or that UMD = UPD, magic items = psionic items, and so on.

Specific rules are specific rules, not general transparency - and what houserules people play with doesn't matter even a little bit.

[T.G. Oskar]

Strange that Divine Shield is missing. Maybe it's because YMMV on its effectiveness, but it's one of the easiest ways to get Charisma to AC, and is one feat away from Charisma to touch AC, which is always good. Also lasts for longer than Divine Might (1/2 your character level rounds instead of 1 round). If you're going Sword & Board and have Turn Undead, there's a lot worse feats to choose from.

I wouldn't ignore Shield Ward either - if you're taking Agile Shield Fighter, you already took that prerequisite feat. It works for many combat maneuvers, and there's a few spells and monster attacks that happen to provide bull rush or trip attempts - adding your shield bonus to AC for all those events is a good idea. Just mention that Parrying Shield is a better option if you're aiming JUST for shield bonus to touch AC, unless you also aim for Agile Shield Fighting.

There's another feat that's pretty awesome, but requires you to be evil-only and is in Elder Evils - Evil's Blessing. Basically, as a standard action you get Divine Grace for 5 rounds; if you deal at least 1 point of damage to someone with the Good subtype or with an aura of good, the bonus doubles for 1 round. You can do it as a pre-battle buff (as the last component of it, BTW) or as part of a surprise attack, or even as part of your first attack while everyone starts buffing. The only other way you can get that is through a class feature. Finally...it's an Elder Evils Vile feat, so you can pledge allegiance to an Elder Evil and get it for free.

Finally, Corrupt Arcane Studies, from Ghostwalk. First, the bad news: -2 penalty to Wisdom and you have to make a Wisdom check every day you sleep or end up being unable to prepare spells (ouch!). You...also have to dress in gray or black, but that's no problem. The benefit? +1 to CL to beat Spell Resistance (meh...) and +1 to ALL spell save DCs. That's the equivalent of Spell Focus feat for ALL schools, and if there was an Universal spell with a save DC, you'd also get it. YMMV on whether 1 day out of a few without spells is a good trade-off for +1 to spell save DCs, but if you have a way to compensate (such as going Warlock and then Eldritch Theurge), you could do worse. This last one, unlike the rest which I feel are oddly missing, is only left to your consideration, though please note that it mentions that you can't prepare spells - far as I know, Sorcerers don't prepare spells at all. Or any of the spontaneous spellcaster classes (such as Dread Necromancer), so a strict RAW reading might actually make this feat pretty powerful.

[Flickerdart]

Strange that Divine Shield is missing. Maybe it's because YMMV on its effectiveness, but it's one of the easiest ways to get Charisma to AC, and is one feat away from Charisma to touch AC, which is always good. Also lasts for longer than Divine Might (1/2 your character level rounds instead of 1 round). If you're going Sword & Board and have Turn Undead, there's a lot worse feats to choose from.
Standard action activation time makes it a lot less sexy than Divine Might.

[JoshuaZ]

Is there some way to improve the formatting so that the notes don't go off the page like they currently do?

[T.G. Oskar]

Standard action activation time makes it a lot less sexy than Divine Might.

At first or second level? Maybe.

At 10th level? That's 5 good rounds worth of protection, Charisma based (so anything that boosts Charisma also boosts the feat's worth)...there's spells that offer worse benefits. Divine Might still lasts for 1 round - you'd be burning through uses of TU trying to get the same effectiveness.

Except for Epic Divine Might. Damn, that feat is sexy!

Again - with Parrying Shield or Shield Ward, that's Cha mod to Touch AC. That means there's a LOT of spells and attacks that won't hit you as hard, and last I know, you need to jump some hurdles to get non-AC defenses like concealment on those classes that actually can use the feat.

So I don't see the "lot". I can see the "less sexy" (Action Economy is king), but it's not like Divine Shield is straddled with a 1-round duration AND standard action activation (now that would make it a flop).

[Flickerdart]

At 10th level? That's 5 good rounds worth of protection
At 10th level, you'll be hard-pressed to find a combat that lasts for 6 rounds, so most of your duration will go unused.

[Calimehter]

Just wanted to say thanks for posting this. I'm starting up a generic classes E9 campaign (i.e. feats abound) and this has already been a mighty handy reference for PC and NPC design.

Thumbs up!

[Curmudgeon]

At 10th level, you'll be hard-pressed to find a combat that lasts for 6 rounds, so most of your duration will go unused.
Really? I tend to run higher-level games, and my combat round counts almost always go into the double digits. Sure, stupid opponents or 1-2 big monsters will make for easy targeting, but I prefer numbers of smart enemies who will stay dispersed, use cover, and Hide. There will also be reinforcements who hear the battle/are summoned, and arrive some rounds later. It doesn't really matter that a spellcaster or an übercharger can kill any single enemy they can hit if

they can't see most of the enemies, so they waste time trying to find targets;
it uses up their round's actions to attack one enemy; and
there are a couple dozen enemies.

[Flickerdart]

Eh, your mileage may vary between tables and encounters; that's such a standard disclaimer that it goes without saying. In my own extensive experience with high-level play, it is a rare combat that is outside the 2-5 round range - and with how long a turn takes for a 15th level caster truly dedicated to vanquishing his enemies, even that sometimes feels too long!

[Endarire]

I like to give my psicrystals the Lifesense feat since they, as true Constructs, have no CON score. (I also assume I can choose my psicrystal's feats as it gains HD.)

[137beth]

Wow, that is a great guide!

In the books you don't own category, I'm also a fan of Extra Rings (ECS), which allows you to use four magic rings at once, and Extraordinary Artisan (ECS, reduce crafting costs of magic items by 25%).

[Grod_The_Giant]

I finally remembered to update the guide with new feat suggestions-- including Divine Shield (you got me, Oskar). I might not take it, but it's got good potential.

Is there some way to improve the formatting so that the notes don't go off the page like they currently do?
Try zooming out-- it's a window size issue.


I like to give my psicrystals the Lifesense feat since they, as true Constructs, have no CON score. (I also assume I can choose my psicrystal's feats as it gains HD.)
Do psicrystals get feats? I'm not seeing anything in the writeup about that.


In the books you don't own category, I'm also a fan of Extra Rings (ECS), which allows you to use four magic rings at once, and Extraordinary Artisan (ECS, reduce crafting costs of magic items by 25%).
Good ones.


By the way, if anyone's got an account on BSG, maybe notify the guy who makes the Handbook Index about this thread?

[Troacctid]

Do psicrystals get feats? I'm not seeing anything in the writeup about that.

They get feats based on their hit dice, as all non-mindless creatures do. Unlike familiars, they have actual hit dice equal to their master's, instead of simply being treated as having that many hit dice for the purposes of effects that care about hit dice.

The example psicrystal (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/monsters/psicrystal.htm) has the Alertness feat, but presumably you should be able to choose what feats it takes.

[Grod_The_Giant]

They get feats based on their hit dice, as all non-mindless creatures do. Unlike familiars, they have actual hit dice equal to their master's, instead of simply being treated as having that many hit dice for the purposes of effects that care about hit dice.

The example psicrystal (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/monsters/psicrystal.htm) has the Alertness feat, but presumably you should be able to choose what feats it takes.
Huh. Already, adding that in.

[Curmudgeon]

The example psicrystal (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/monsters/psicrystal.htm) has the Alertness feat, but presumably you should be able to choose what feats it takes.
Yes, if by "you" you mean the DM. From page 103 of Dungeon Master's Guide:
EVERYONE IN THE WORLD
It’s your job to portray everyone in the world who isn’t a player character. Selecting and portraying every aspect of all the NPCs is how the DM has fun.

Now, if the psicrystal is attached to your character, you can certainly request a particular feat for it. That doesn't necessarily mean your idea of fun and the DM's idea of fun will overlap much.

[Rubik]

Yes, if by "you" you mean the DM. From page 103 of Dungeon Master's Guide: Selecting and portraying every aspect of all the NPCs is how the DM has fun.

Now, if the psicrystal is attached to your character, you can certainly request a particular feat for it. That doesn't necessarily mean your idea of fun and the DM's idea of fun will overlap much.The psicrystal isn't just attached to your character. It's a part of your character. It's the direct result of the Psicrystal Affinity feat, and unlike Leadership and similar effects, it actually creates the psicrystal from your character's essence. Your personality shaped it, and it follows your commands without issue. That means you're in charge of it and its progression.

[Curmudgeon]

Your personality shaped it, and it follows your commands without issue. That means you're in charge of it and its progression.
Not if your DM decides otherwise, and that's not an abuse of DM power. They'd be strictly following the rules (as I cited).

[Psyren]

Curmudgeon is correct - while familiars, psicrystals etc. are inclined to follow your orders, strictly speaking they can have their own ideas or attitudes about how those orders are followed.

"Companion and servant" has a surprising amount of leeway - a familiar who has your best interests at heart may decide that following your orders to the letter isn't actually the best way to serve you.

[Rubik]

Curmudgeon is correct - while familiars, psicrystals etc. are inclined to follow your orders, strictly speaking they can have their own ideas or attitudes about how those orders are followed.

"Companion and servant" has a surprising amount of leeway - a familiar who has your best interests at heart may decide that following your orders to the letter isn't actually the best way to serve you.There's a quick and easy solution to this. Metamorphosis + Psychic Reformation. Tell it which feats it will take.

Or just tell it before you level up. It's not hard.

[atemu1234]

I like Divine Metamagic, personally.

[Warrnan]

Great job. I did notice one error. Knock-down and greenbound summoning have the same descriptor text

[Nifft]

Hope I'm not violating necro rules. It seems like this is a living resource, and the OP is an active user.


Anyway, some thoughts...

Update Knock-Down - The class info & descriptive text were displaced from the above feat (Greenbound); see the actual description of Knock-Down here: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineAbilitiesFeats.htm#knockDown

Remove Ordered Chaos - This is a speed-bump prereq. It's worse than Dodge, which is excluded by virtue of being a speed-bump prereq. Ordered Chaos should also be excluded.

Add Mark of the Dauntless (Eberron: Dragonmarked) - This is a great feat for anyone with a True Dragonmark, but especially great for those with spells or abilities that can Stun or Daze, or who face opponents who can Stun or Daze. It's common to talk about how difficult Daze is to resist -- this gets you immunity. Great in combo with spells like celerity and metamagic feats like Born of the Three Thunders.