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ad_hoc
2016-08-15, 11:35 PM
I have reworked a number of feats that I didn't like. This is my first draft and I welcome feedback. If a feat isn't listed it is because I have left it alone for now. If you think a feat should be modified let me know. Any ideas, criticisms, or if you particularly like one of the changes please let me know. There are some I am happy with, and others less so.

Athlete:

Increase your Strength or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You gain advantage on all Constitution checks and on Constitution saving throws made to avoid exhaustion.
Climbing doesn’t cost you extra movement.
You can make a running long jump or a running high jump after moving only 5 feet on foot, rather than 10 feet.



Keen Mind:

Increase your Intelligence score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You gain advantage on Intelligence (Investigation) checks when searching for clues or making deductions based on clues.
If you have access to a library, a teacher, or similar font of knowledge, you may spend time studying a subject which is available. If you spend at least 1 full day of uninterrupted studying, for the next month you gain advantage on any Intelligence (Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion) checks made on that subject. Examples of subjects include metallic dragons, the history of Baldur’s Gate, flora and fauna of the Reaching Woods, and the worship of Asmodeus.



Observant:

Increase your Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You gain advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to detect the presence of creatures.
You gain advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks to detect disguises and similar deceptions (such as voice mimicry).



Linguist:

Increase your Intelligence score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You learn all standard and exotic languages.
You gain advantage on checks made to decipher any written or spoken language which you do not know, including ciphers and other similar constructs.
You can ably create written ciphers. Others can’t decipher a code you create unless you teach them, they succeed on an Intelligence check (DC equal to your Intelligence score + your proficiency bonus), or they use magic to decipher it.



Weapon Master:

Increase your Strength or Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You gain proficiency in all simple and martial weapons.



Skilled:

You gain proficiency in one skill or tool of your choice.
Choose one skill or tool that you are proficient with. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check which uses that skill or tool.



Tough:

Your hit point maximum increases by an amount equal to twice your level when you gain this feat. Whenever you gain a level thereafter, your hit point maximum increases by an additional 2 points.
When you roll a Hit Die to regain hit points, the minimum number of hit points you regain from the roll equals twice your Constitution modifier (minimum 2).


Armour Proficiency:
Choose any 2 of the following benefits:

Increase your Strength or Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You gain proficiency in light armour.
If you have proficiency in light armour, gain proficiency in medium armour and shields.
If you have proficiency in medium armour, gain proficiency in heavy armour.


You can select this feat multiple times.

Medium Armour Master:

Increase your Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
Wearing medium armour doesn’t impose disadvantage on your Dexterity (Stealth) checks.
When you wear medium armour, you can add 3, rather than 2, to your AC if you have a Dexterity of 16 or higher.



Martial Adept:

You learn two maneuvers of your choice from among those available to the Battle Master archetype in the fighter class. If a maneuver you use requires your target to make a saving throw to resist the maneuver’s effects, the saving throw DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice).
You gain two superiority dice, which are d6s (these dice are added to any superiority dice you have from another source). These dice are used to fuel your maneuvers. A superiority die is expended when you use it. You regain your expended superiority dice when you finish a short or long rest.



Defensive Duelist:
Prerequisite: Dexterity 13 or higher

When you are wielding a finesse weapon with which you are proficient and another creature targets you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to add your proficiency bonus to your AC for that attack. You may choose to do so after seeing the roll but before knowing whether it hits or misses.
If you used your reaction to add your proficiency bonus to your AC against a melee attack, and that attack missed, then you may double the weapon damage dice of the next successful melee attack you make against that creature as long as it is before the end of your next turn.



Charger:

You may take the Dash action as a bonus action on your turn.
If you take the Attack action to make a melee attack or to shove a creature immediately after moving at least 10 feet in a straight line during a Dash action, then you either double the weapon’s damage dice (if you chose to make a melee attack and hit) or you may shove the target up to 10 feet away from you (if you chose to shove and you succeed).



Grappler:

Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any Strength (Athletics) check made to start or end a grapple.
You can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple a target.
When you are targeted by an attack and a creature you are grappling grants you cover against that attack, you may use your reaction to have the attack target that creature instead of you.



Polearm Master:

When you are wielding a melee weapon with the heavy, two-handed, and reach properties, other creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they enter the reach you have with that weapon.
If you use the Ready action to attack a creature when it enters your reach and you are wielding a glaive, halberd, or pike, double the weapon’s damage for that attack.



Great Weapon Master:
The following abilities only apply when you are wielding a melee weapon with the two-handed and heavy properties that does not also have the reach property.

On your turn, when you score a critical hit or reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you can make one melee weapon attack as a bonus action.
When you hit a creature which is huge or larger, you deal 1d6 additional weapon damage.
You deal double damage to objects.



Sharpshooter:

Increase your Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
The short range of all ranged weapons for you is doubled.
You may spend your action to aim at a creature. Until the end of your next turn, all of your ranged weapon attacks against that creature deal double the weapon’s damage.



Dual Wielder: Removed.
Using and drawing/stowing non-light weapons moved to Two-Weapon Fighting Style. Adding ability score to damage on off-hand attack and drawing/stowing 2 light weapons now default rule.

Durable: Removed.
Feature added to Tough feat.

Savage Attacker: Removed.
A feat just to increase damage is either too powerful, or too weak.

Crossbow Expert: Removed.
Ranged attacks should have disadvantage in melee. The original feat wasn’t for crossbow experts; it was for hand crossbow experts.

Lucky: Removed.

Rerem115
2016-08-16, 12:31 AM
Patching the Dual Wielding feat into the fighting style screws over people like Barbarians and Rogues, classes that can benefit (rogues get one more attack to make sure sneak attack hits, barbarians get an on-hit buff from rage) from the Dual Wielding feat but lack fighting styles. Also, what happened to the AC bonus?

Aside from the range increase, Sharpshooter is objectively worse than just attacking both rounds. If you take an action to increase your damage (ie, spending your attacks), it only doubles the weapon damage; you lose out on any damage increases from weapon enhancements, spells like Hunter's Mark, ability modifiers, fighting styles, etc..

I personally liked the original Keen Mind better; being able to recall any intrigue helped my group when our DM tried to chastise us, saying we wouldn't know a certain bit of information in character, and then the whole table just pointed at the guy who took Keen Mind. :smalltongue:

Halflings get shafted by Lucky, since they already get that. Feats for things other than proficiency shouldn't step on the toes of racial or class abilities.

All languages is a little silly; honestly, the original feat probably didn't need fixing.

Is there a save for redirecting the attack with Grappler? If there isn't, there should be; the guy you're grappling is going to be struggling. The only real precedent is the ranger ability, and even that required that the attack miss in the first place.

I've never actually had a problem with Savage Attacker; it's an average buff of ~1-2 damage per attack, strong (on par with a fighting style), but not game breakingly so.

Hand crossbows are cool, though. What do the folks who want to go full Van Helsing going to do now that they have to spend an action to reload?

Sooth
2016-08-16, 12:43 AM
I like a handful of the changes you made. Here are some ones that I have particular thoughts about:

Athlete: This is a nice improvement, but I wonder why you removed the component for standing up for only 5 feet of movement; it's situational, sure, but it's not like being knocked prone isn't a thing in 5e.

Keen Mind: I wonder if "You gain advantage on Intelligence (Investigation)..." should be qualified a bit more. Like if a creature spends its action trying to figure out a Minor Illusion with Intelligence (Investigation), do you want for that to count as well? If not, perhaps it should apply when you spend a minute or more investigating?

Lucky: I don't understand this change. The Halfling racial is nice, but it's not worth a feat. I agree that the core version of the Lucky feat can be a bit crazy, and even overpowering on single-encounter days. When I run, I house-rule Lucky to be usable only once per short rest, while maintaining the 3/long rest limit, and have found this to be sufficient.

Weapon Master: I like your version more than the Core version, but I wonder if this feat could be structured to be compelling even for characters who already use martial weapons - since it's called Weapon Master after all. What if it let you choose two items, with two choices being the ones you listed, and the third choice being something like, "Once per short rest, you may reroll a weapon attack roll; you must use the new roll."

Grappler: I think I can see the logic for the changes you made, but some of the other benefits - like advantage on creatures you're grappling - were pretty nice to have as well. Is there a reason you couldn't have this feat be a "pick X from a list"? What about being able to restrain creatures? That's actually a pretty significant tactical option for characters that actually build to be serious grapplers.

Great Weapon Master: Interesting. I suppose it's weaker in the early levels and better at higher levels when your party is fighting giants and dragons and such. Did you make it unavailable to reach-fighters for balance reasons, or realism/thematic reasons?

Sharpshooter: In my opinion this feat is one of the only Core feats that could definitely be called overpowered. Great Weapon Master should necessarily be better, otherwise why play melee? Your version seems more balanced. I'm sure you must have realized that the Aim option is not often useful in a round-by-round combat, but given how the other two benefits are still worth a whole feat, I guess that's OK.

Dual Wielder: I like what you did to make life easier for Two Weapon Fighters. Is there a reason there couldn't be a TWF feat that focused on the bonus to AC (two-weapon block) and something like a two-weapon rend or piranha style mechanic, where you deal extra damage comparable to a two-hander? With your changes, I feel like two-handing remains (as it was before) a more potent option than two-weapon fighting at mid-high levels, with the only advantage for dual-wielding being that you have one less feat to feel like you have to get.
EDIT: Also I second Rerem's point about the new Dual Wielding being diminishing for Rogues and especially Barbarians. I'm certain that there is a way you can get the best of both worlds and allow two-weapon fighting to be decent and accessible across multiple classes.

ad_hoc
2016-08-16, 12:50 AM
Patching the Dual Wielding feat into the fighting style screws over people like Barbarians and Rogues, classes that can benefit (rogues get one more attack to make sure sneak attack hits, barbarians get an on-hit buff from rage) from the Dual Wielding feat but lack fighting styles. Also, what happened to the AC bonus?


I am fine with Rogues being stuck with light weapons for two-weapon fighting. They don't need to dual wield rapiers.

Likewise with Barbarians, it isn't their thing. Fighting Styles are special and that is also fine.

If you want an AC bonus just take +2 Dex.



Aside from the range increase, Sharpshooter is objectively worse than just attacking both rounds. If you take an action to increase your damage (ie, spending your attacks), it only doubles the weapon damage; you lose out on any damage increases from weapon enhancements, spells like Hunter's Mark, ability modifiers, fighting styles, etc..


That is exactly the point. Combat feats should not just be better than taking a +2 in your primary stat. They should add power in narrow circumstances. It doesn't make sense to stop and take aim in the middle of a hectic battle.



I personally liked the original Keen Mind better; being able to recall any intrigue helped my group when our DM tried to chastise us, saying we wouldn't know a certain bit of information in character, and then the whole table just pointed at the guy who took Keen Mind. :smalltongue:

That sounds like a bad DM to me. The original Keen Mind is an example of an ability that characters should be able to have anyway. It sounds like the DM made it a feat tax at your table. I'm sorry.



Halflings get shafted by Lucky, since they already get that. Feats for things other than proficiency shouldn't step on the toes of racial or class abilities.

They probably shouldn't take it then. Honestly, I thought about just removing it entirely. Lucky as is is awful (design wise - not its power).



All languages is a little silly; honestly, the original feat probably didn't need fixing.

Really? When if you want to be a linguist you are better off taking Magic Initiate or Ritual Caster and just casting Comprehend Languages? The original linguist is just awful and it doesn't actually allow you to portray your character archetype.



Is there a save for redirecting the attack with Grappler? If there isn't, there should be; the guy you're grappling is going to be struggling. The only real precedent is the ranger ability, and even that required that the attack miss in the first place.

Yes, don't get grappled.



I've never actually had a problem with Savage Attacker; it's an average buff of ~1-2 damage per attack, strong (on par with a fighting style), but not game breakingly so.


It is extremely weak. Not only that but the design of a straight, always on damage buff as a feat is flawed. You should rethink how you think about balance.



Hand crossbows are cool, though. What do the folks who want to go full Van Helsing going to do now that they have to spend an action to reload?

You could say this about every weapon in the game. Maybe if I get around to making a feat for each weapon I will eventually get around to hand crossbows.

ad_hoc
2016-08-16, 01:04 AM
I like a handful of the changes you made. Here are some ones that I have particular thoughts about:

Athlete: This is a nice improvement, but I wonder why you removed the component for standing up for only 5 feet of movement; it's situational, sure, but it's not like being knocked prone isn't a thing in 5e.

Mostly just that there is a lot there now. What do you think it would take to remove the +1 stat?



Keen Mind: I wonder if "You gain advantage on Intelligence (Investigation)..." should be qualified a bit more. Like if a creature spends its action trying to figure out a Minor Illusion with Intelligence (Investigation), do you want for that to count as well? If not, perhaps it should apply when you spend a minute or more investigating?

Yes, I was thinking the wording needed work. Maybe spending a minute is the right way to do it. I want it to not apply to every Investigation check.



Lucky: I don't understand this change. The Halfling racial is nice, but it's not worth a feat. I agree that the core version of the Lucky feat can be a bit crazy, and even overpowering on single-encounter days. When I run, I house-rule Lucky to be usable only once per short rest, while maintaining the 3/long rest limit, and have found this to be sufficient.

The main problem with the core Lucky feat is not even the power, that can be adjusted. The problem is that it is about managing resources and skillful use of those resources, rather than being lucky. The theme and reality are at complete odds. It also has weird interactions with Disadvantage.



Weapon Master: I like your version more than the Core version, but I wonder if this feat could be structured to be compelling even for characters who already use martial weapons - since it's called Weapon Master after all. What if it let you choose two items, with two choices being the ones you listed, and the third choice being something like, "Once per short rest, you may reroll a weapon attack roll; you must use the new roll."

That sounds like a different feat. I think it is fine to have there just in case someone wants it in a game without multiclassing.



Grappler: I think I can see the logic for the changes you made, but some of the other benefits - like advantage on creatures you're grappling - were pretty nice to have as well. Is there a reason you couldn't have this feat be a "pick X from a list"? What about being able to restrain creatures? That's actually a pretty significant tactical option for characters that actually build to be serious grapplers.

The thing is, shoving a creature prone is already a thing you can do in the rules which is almost the same as being restrained. So it becomes a redundant ability. That is why I removed it.



Great Weapon Master: Interesting. I suppose it's weaker in the early levels and better at higher levels when your party is fighting giants and dragons and such. Did you make it unavailable to reach-fighters for balance reasons, or realism/thematic reasons?

For reach: Both. Also just for feat tax purposes. 1 Feat per weapon type is quite enough.
Yeah, but early on in the game you will be using the cleave ability a lot more. So it has something for weak creatures as well as big and huge creatures.



Sharpshooter: In my opinion this feat is one of the only Core feats that could definitely be called overpowered. Great Weapon Master should necessarily be better, otherwise why play melee? Your version seems more balanced. I'm sure you must have realized that the Aim option is not often useful in a round-by-round combat, but given how the other two benefits are still worth a whole feat, I guess that's OK.

Yep, totally realized that (: I think combat feats should add situational bonuses rather than always on powers. That is what a +2 stat increase is for.



Dual Wielder: I like what you did to make life easier for Two Weapon Fighters. Is there a reason there couldn't be a TWF feat that focused on the bonus to AC (two-weapon block) and something like a two-weapon rend or piranha style mechanic, where you deal extra damage comparable to a two-hander? With your changes, I feel like two-handing remains (as it was before) a more potent option than two-weapon fighting at mid-high levels, with the only advantage for dual-wielding being that you have one less feat to feel like you have to get.
EDIT: Also I second Rerem's point about the new Dual Wielding being diminishing for Rogues and especially Barbarians. I'm certain that there is a way you can get the best of both worlds and allow two-weapon fighting to be decent and accessible across multiple classes.

Well, keep in mind that I don't want combat feats that just mimic a +2 to a stat. So +1 AC and some extra damage sounds a lot like +2 Str/Dex. I'm open to a two-weapon fighting feat, I just don't have the right idea for one yet. The reason to be for the current one is to wield non-light weapons and draw/stow 2 at a time. I think it is silly for a fighter to need to wield short swords until they get their first feat (and then it is a feat tax).

Rogues are much happier because they don't have to spend a feat. I also think dual rapiers are a bit silly. I think having built in ability to damage and drawing/stowing light weapons is good for Rogues.

As for Barbarians, yes, but then, they also aren't the best at shooting bows. And I think that is okay. Do you think the Barbarian dual wielding 2 weapons is iconic enough that there should be something for it?

Rerem115
2016-08-16, 01:32 AM
That is exactly the point. Combat feats should not just be better than taking a +2 in your primary stat. They should add power in narrow circumstances. It doesn't make sense to stop and take aim in the middle of a hectic battle.


I understand this. The problem is, I can't see a single situation where using the Aim feature would be useful; it doesn't add power in a narrow circumstance because it doesn't add power at all.



Really? When if you want to be a linguist you are better off taking Magic Initiate or Ritual Caster and just casting Comprehend Languages? The original linguist is just awful and it doesn't actually allow you to portray your character archetype.


Yes, but Magic Initiate and Ritual Caster don't give +1 Int or knowledge about codes. I don't know, it just feels strange to learn up to 13 languages overnight.



You could say this about every weapon in the game. Maybe if I get around to making a feat for each weapon I will eventually get around to hand crossbows.


The problem is that without that feat, hand crossbows and the associated character archetype become useless. If your biggest issue is the no disadvantage within 5 feet part, why not just get rid of that, and leave the rest?



Yes, don't get grappled.


That's just not enough, though, especially since that the feat grants expertise with grappling. Being able essentially get infinite AC and damage your opponent is just too strong. I'd recommend following in the footsteps of the Ranger, and only redirect missed attacks.



It is extremely weak. Not only that but the design of a straight, always on damage buff as a feat is flawed. You should rethink how you think about balance.


Getting rid of something because it's too weak feels odd to me. Let the math maniac take this and fantasize about squeezing a bit more damage out of his greataxe; if it's not going drastically alter the dynamic of the game, why worry? Also, that last bit was uncalled for :smallannoyed:.

Rerem115
2016-08-16, 01:35 AM
Do you think the Barbarian dual wielding 2 weapons is iconic enough that there should be something for it?

Honestly, I've seen and read about as much stuff that had the barbarian with two axes as stuff that had the barbarian with one big axe. I feel that there is a thematic place for the dual wielding barbarian.

gkathellar
2016-08-16, 08:24 AM
All languages is a little silly; honestly, the original feat probably didn't need fixing.

If you want to spend an entire feat being The Languages Guy, then that feat should make you into The Languages Guy. The fact that languages are even something the game expects balance to have a relationship with is demented, especially considering the number of games they will never come up in.

ad_hoc
2016-08-16, 11:46 AM
If you want to spend an entire feat being The Languages Guy, then that feat should make you into The Languages Guy. The fact that languages are even something the game expects balance to have a relationship with is demented, especially considering the number of games they will never come up in.

Yeah, the idea that learning 3 languages overnight is perfectly fine, but 13 is silly is itself ridiculous.

This is a world where apprentice wizards learn how to know all languages an hour at a time.

It's perfectly fine to extrapolate that to just learning the languages without the need for the spell.

I think it is fine to have the feat exist. While languages are usually handwaived in most campaigns, that doesn't mean they are in all campaigns. It is very narrow and I think that is okay.

Sooth
2016-08-24, 10:45 PM
Re: Athlete:
In order for the feat to be compelling without an ability score increase, it would need some sort of raw concrete benefit that wasn't situational, I feel. Something like a speed bonus or a bonus to Strength saving throws or something; neither of these examples are desirable for this feat, because there are other feats and options for those same things, so I've got nothing on that at present.

Re: Lucky:
Fair enough. How do you suppose one emulates being naturally lucky in mechanics without breaking the system? Rerolling natural 1s is one-thing; what if the feat also allowed you to reroll critical hits that enemies roll against you (or even turn them into regular hits instead)? That and negating natural 1s is a good portion of what people use the Lucky feat for anyway. You could of course put a limit on this like maybe one per battle (and have it trigger automatically instead of by player volition) and whatever.

Re: Barbarians.
I do feel like two-weapon fighting is highly iconic to the Barbarian archetype. At least, it's no less iconic to Barbarians than it is to Fighters (noting that dual-wielding was pretty much never done in an historic battlefield by professional soldiers). This is subjective and will depend on what sort of media one has experienced, I guess... but even so, what does one gain by restricting Barbarians to one or two weapon style selections? Why cut off avenues for a class unless that avenue just plain doesn't make sense? It's true (and IMO unfortunate) that D&D has a history of making two-weapon fighting mechanically undesirable compared to the sheer power of two-handed weapons, so that's why we see Barbarians always using two-handed axes and swords in D&D parties even though that's not necessarily all that Barbarians did historically or what they do in many video games and entertainment.

Of course, I understand that these feats are for use at *your* table, so if you don't think it makes sense for savage warrior types to use two weapons at once in your setting, that's all the justification you need. I think that a lot of people will find that baffling, but whatevs.

R.Shackleford
2016-08-25, 09:18 AM
I am fine with Rogues being stuck with light weapons for two-weapon fighting. They don't need to dual wield rapiers.

Likewise with Barbarians, it isn't their thing. Fighting Styles are special and that is also fine.


The thing about Rogues and twf... they don't really care about vase weapon damage. The best weapons to use is actually the dagger as they can TWF and throw or stab with the dagger.

Even if you let me sneak attack with a great sword, I'll stick with Daggers for the most part.

Barbarians get slightly shafted, however you could allow the martial Adept feat to grant a fighting style ? Or something like that.

Ze_Azrael
2016-08-25, 05:12 PM
Lucky got destroyed. Halfling's Lucky is good, but unless your table plays with a really detrimental Nat 1 rule, it's not good enough alone for a feat. I understand your rationale and I agree managing resources optimally isn't being lucky, but I think it needs something else. Sooth provided a couple of options already. Others that come to mind are: grant yourself advantage on a roll once/day (It's not passive but being only once doesn't involve much resource management, and it has no weird interaction with disadvantage); advantage on games of chance (thematic but not very applicable); roll twice and pick on effects that involve random rolls (things like confusion, wild magic, madness, etc... could be really strong so maybe restricted to once a day or so)

I think Grappler's is too good. Being able to, almost at-will, flat out make it impossible for an attack to target you, while simultaneously redirecting it with no save is just going to aggravate your DM. Especially since it also gives Expertise and most creatures aren't especially good at grappling. I'm with Rerem in that it should probably use the Ranger's ability language (if they miss you, use reaction to re-roll the attack, targetting the grappled creature).
Speaking of language, it is also unclear (and thus could be argued) whether you are allowed to redirect a ranged spell such as Hold Person. I assume the intention is you can't, so you might want to clarify that it's only spell attack rolls. If you type simply 'ranged attacks' it encompasses weapon and spell attacks.

ad_hoc
2016-08-25, 05:37 PM
Re: Athlete:
In order for the feat to be compelling without an ability score increase, it would need some sort of raw concrete benefit that wasn't situational, I feel. Something like a speed bonus or a bonus to Strength saving throws or something; neither of these examples are desirable for this feat, because there are other feats and options for those same things, so I've got nothing on that at present.

Yeah, I am mostly coming to the same conclusion.


Re: Lucky:
Fair enough. How do you suppose one emulates being naturally lucky in mechanics without breaking the system? Rerolling natural 1s is one-thing; what if the feat also allowed you to reroll critical hits that enemies roll against you (or even turn them into regular hits instead)? That and negating natural 1s is a good portion of what people use the Lucky feat for anyway. You could of course put a limit on this like maybe one per battle (and have it trigger automatically instead of by player volition) and whatever.

I think rerolling natural 1s is better than people think it is. It is close to a +.5 on on all rolls (as you don't get to reroll if you hit a 1 again).

It doesn't work for AC or DC for abilities, but works for everything else.

I'm also just fine with letting Halflings have it. There doesn't need to be a Lucky feat.



Re: Barbarians.
I do feel like two-weapon fighting is highly iconic to the Barbarian archetype. At least, it's no less iconic to Barbarians than it is to Fighters (noting that dual-wielding was pretty much never done in an historic battlefield by professional soldiers). This is subjective and will depend on what sort of media one has experienced, I guess... but even so, what does one gain by restricting Barbarians to one or two weapon style selections? Why cut off avenues for a class unless that avenue just plain doesn't make sense? It's true (and IMO unfortunate) that D&D has a history of making two-weapon fighting mechanically undesirable compared to the sheer power of two-handed weapons, so that's why we see Barbarians always using two-handed axes and swords in D&D parties even though that's not necessarily all that Barbarians did historically or what they do in many video games and entertainment.

Well, we are talking about feats here which are entirely optional anyway. So anything you do with the feats isn't actually restricting anything.

Adding ability modifier to damage is something the Barbarian can't do in the standard game even with feats.

So what we're really talking about is a Barbarian using 2 hand axes vs using 2 battleaxes.

Mechanically the Barbarian is better off in my game using two-weapon fighting than in the standard game, so it doesn't kill the archetype. It just prevents them from wielding big weapons (reserving that for Fighters and Rangers).


I think Grappler's is too good. Being able to, almost at-will, flat out make it impossible for an attack to target you, while simultaneously redirecting it with no save is just going to aggravate your DM. Especially since it also gives Expertise and most creatures aren't especially good at grappling. I'm with Rerem in that it should probably use the Ranger's ability language (if they miss you, use reaction to re-roll the attack, targetting the grappled creature).

Here is a question: Do you think Mastermind Rogues are broken? Because they gain this ability and there is no check or save involved. It just works against any creature they want who they are next to.

The thing with the expertise is that currently Rogues and Bards are the best grapplers in the game. I would like a Barbarian to have a chance to be a good grappler too.



Speaking of language, it is also unclear (and thus could be argued) whether you are allowed to redirect a ranged spell such as Hold Person. I assume the intention is you can't, so you might want to clarify that it's only spell attack rolls. If you type simply 'ranged attacks' it encompasses weapon and spell attacks.

I think I will change it to use the Mastermind Rogue's language.

"• When you are targeted by an attack and a creature you are grappling grants you cover against that attack, you may use your reaction to have the attack target that creature instead of you."

Ze_Azrael
2016-08-25, 06:16 PM
Here is a question: Do you think Mastermind Rogues are broken? Because they gain this ability and there is no check or save involved. It just works against any creature they want who they are next to.

The thing with the expertise is that currently Rogues and Bards are the best grapplers in the game. I would like a Barbarian to have a chance to be a good grappler too.

I think I will change it to use the Mastermind Rogue's language.

"• When you are targeted by an attack and a creature you are grappling grants you cover against that attack, you may use your reaction to have the attack target that creature instead of you."

I admit I like that language better, as it doesn't leave the DM/players without options and makes for a more tactical game. Plus it also conflicts with the standard grapple+shove tactic.
Another thing I noticed was that you can always use a bonus action to grapple. Tavern Brawler restricted it to only when you used the Attack action. Allowing for things like Dash/Dodge+grapple or particularly Cast a Spell+grapple might lead to unintended circumstances (just pointing it out in case it wasn't your intention).

Barbs already have a chance at being decent grapplers due to advantage on STR checks while raging. I know it's not strictly the same as Expertise, but it's still something. In fact it's probably better than Expertise early on. Battleragers also get a little bit of a bonus for grappling.

By the way, I'm guessing you removed Tavern Brawler? Since after the errata and your fix to Grappler the only thing it gives is 1d4 unarmed attacks.