Fighter only feats

[Umarth]

Anyone think it would be unbalancing to allow other classes to take fighter only feats with the requirement of having a BAB equal to twice the level of fighter required?

So Weapon Specilization would become: Fighter 4th level or BAB +8.

[Threeshades]

i dont think it would be. Im not sure though, if a level 8 (or 9 for that matter) Barbarian for example could still make use of weapon specialization. At a low level its a nice feat, but at such a high level you get some much more appealing feats, and probably dont want to waste them on so low benefits when you have access to much better ones.

[Teilos]

With regard to balancing, there would be no problems to do as you suggested.

But, it is realy the most important thing the fighter has. If you give that away, people will only take Fighter 2 and nothing more. Right now they take Fighter 4, sometimes.

Weapon Specialisation sucks with all the big two handed weapon builds, anyway. But there are some niches for it. There are builds with over 20 damage rolls around level 13. Those builds love weapon specialisation.

[IonizedChicken]

No. It would not. Weapon Specialization is just as powerful as Weapon Focus. Keeping that in mind, there is no reason Weapon Specialization shouldn't be available to every character.
Of course, with the high prerequisite, it doesn't seem worth it even if you're aiming for Melee Weapon Mastery.

[magic8BALL]

As it is, 12 levels in fighter is all the class has. With this in place, they stand to loose out to 16th level barbarians in all aspects except Greater Spec.

Fighter only feats are fighter only for a reason. Thats how I see it: no other class trains enough to truely specialise in a weapon... they're all not focused enough to specialise martially: off casting spells or having evasion or rage or flurry of blows or doing the ranger/druid thing with animals and what not to be practicing with a sword for an hour a day. (effectivly what weapon spec. represents...)

...I decided I cannot construct the above paragraph in a way that it makes more sence, but hopefully you get the point.

I'm so adiment that the poor old fighter needs an edge that others can't get, I'll even change the tree so it looks like this.

BAB : Feat : total Attack/damage bonus
+1 : Focus : +1/+0
+4 : Spec : +1/+2
+7 : Improved Focus : +2/+2
+10 : Improved Spec : +2/+4
+13 : Greater Focus : +3/+4
+16 : Greater Spec : +3/+6
+17 : Supreme Focus : +4/+6
+20 : Supreme Spec : +4/+8

[Feat prereqs: BAB (listed), min Fighter level = BAB listed, all feats previous]

Then, later on you can take Epic Focus (+2 to attack, Prereq: Supreme Spec) and Epic Specialisation (+4 to damage, Prereq: Epic Focus) as many times as you want.

[Latronis]

I give fighter only bonus feats a BAB requirement of the fighter level needed +2

And let fighters take any feat with a BAB requirement at -2BAB.

[Umarth]

I give fighter only bonus feats a BAB requirement of the fighter level needed +2

And let fighters take any feat with a BAB requirement at -2BAB.

Mulling this over after posting I'd been playing arround with the first half of this idea and think I'll go that direction.

Hadn't considered giving fighters a bump with BAB -2 for any feats. Have you played using that rule?

[Roderick_BR]

As people said, not really a problem, but usually only fighters have enough feats to do an effective build. Weapon Focus and Specialization is really only useful when you scale it with the greater versions, and the new feats from PHB2 have some feats that require the fighter to be level 12 to 16, so it's not really usable by others classes.

[Latronis]

Mulling this over after posting I'd been playing arround with the first half of this idea and think I'll go that direction.

Hadn't considered giving fighters a bump with BAB -2 for any feats. Have you played using that rule?

I rarely to get to play :(

I DM like that though.

The most powerful i've seen it get is ending up with spring attack at lv2.

It's also a little odd to potentially get the Ranger weapon style feats a lv or 2 before the ranger gets them.

The only other problem is dipping abuse, I don't know how you'd actually physically write down a rule to fix, but i judged it on a case-by-case basis(are they enough of a fighter to warrant it).

Fighter-only feats have always just rubbed me the wrong way. I saw this as a way to get rid of that and also to give fighters a bit of an edge over the other warrior types.

Potential can-o-worms i guess.

Weap Spec for ex:


Weapon Specialization [General]

Choose one type of weapon for which you have already selected the Weapon Focus (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#weaponFocus) feat. You can also choose unarmed strike (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/weapons.htm#unarmedStrike) or grapple (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/specialAttacks.htm#grapple) as your weapon for purposes of this feat. You deal extra damage when using this weapon.
Prerequisites

Proficiency with selected weapon, Weapon Focus (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#weaponFocus) with selected weapon, fighter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/fighter.htm) level 4th OR a Base Attack Bonus of +6.
Benefit

You gain a +2 bonus on all damage rolls you make using the selected weapon.
Special

You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new type of weapon.
A fighter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/fighter.htm) may select Weapon Specialization as one of his fighter bonus feats.

Emphasis mine.

Doesn't change anything except now everyone can take fighter-only feats like a warblade(?)

And fighters still suck as warriors

[Umarth]

Thanks Latronis that's how I'm implementing it in my homebrew.

[Knight13]

Fighters are underpowered enough as it is. Changing the fact that those are fighter-only feats would make the class even less appealing, let them keep at least one bit of uniqueness.

[Matthew]

I don't think it would hurt anything. I do think the whole Weapon Focus, Specialisation and Mastery Feat Tree needs a significant revision, though.

[Erk]

I run my trees so that Greater Weapon Focus gives +1 to attack every 2 levels of fighter, and Greater Weapon Spec gives +2 to damage every 2 levels of fighter, so that they scale.

Personally I see fighter-only feats as their class feature, and I think there should be many more of them. Doing something like this isn't unlike giving Rage or Turn Undead away as feats.... in my opinion. Which would be fine in its own way if done right, but isn't how it's presently balanced :)

[Malroth]

Since this is the fighter only feats thread and nobody has posted any homebrew Feats yet, here's a couple I thought up a couple of secods ago.

Tatical Familarity:

Reqs: Int 13+, Fighter 2+, Knowledge (Tactics) 3 ranks,
Benefit: When an opponent attempts a combat manuver that they have previously performed this encounter, Make an opposed Knowledge (Tactics) roll, If you succeed you recieve a +2 circumstance bonus to AC and a +2 circumstance bonus to Hit against that foe for one round.

Tactical Mastery:
reqs: Fighter 4+ Tatical Familarity, Knowledge (tactics) 5 ranks,
Benefit: As a standard action Make a Knowledge (tactics) roll Dc 10+number of opponents, if you succeed all allies within 15ft of you recieve a +2 circumstance bonus to attack rolls, and Initative checks for 1d4+1 round. This is a language dependant ability.

Tatical Expertese:
Reqs Fighter 6+ Int 15+, Tactical Mastery, Knowledge (Tactics) 8 ranks,
Benefit: At any point that you are Fighting an opponent that flanks you or otherwise denies you your Dexterity bonus to AC, You may as a immediate action, choose one opponent and make an opposed Knowledge (Tactics) roll, If it succeeds, you are no longer concidered flanked or flat footed and may make an immediate attack of opportunity against all opponents withn weapon range.

[Matthew]

No, Malroth, that's not what this Thread is for; it was a discussion of the advantages and drawbacks of allowing other Base Classes access to Fighter only Feats. You want the Share Your Homebrewed Fighter Feats (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40013) Thread.

[Umarth]

BTW final version I went with was:

All feats that require BAB now read BAB x or Fighter x-2
And feats that required Fighter x now read Fighter x or Fighter x+2

It's worked well so far.

[Malroth]

No, Malroth, that's not what this Thread is for; it was a discussion of the advantages and drawbacks of allowing other Base Classes access to Fighter only Feats. You want the Share Your Homebrewed Fighter Feats (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40013) Thread.


I am officially an idiot....