Aelsif weapon feats.

[Avianmosquito]

So, I'm not the biggest fan of weapon focus and specialization. Weapon focus is so weak as to almost never apply in gameplay (though I'm looking at ways to make it more worthwhile), and weapon specialization is better but fighter-restricted. So, here's a few new feats for Aelsif that you can take to be better with particular weapons. There's only six right now and they all do about the same thing, but this is what there is and I'll add more later.

Crippling Strike:
Choose one type of weapon. You can also choose unarmed strike as your weapon for the purposes of this feat.

Prerequisites: Weapon focus with selected weapon, base attack bonus +6
Benefit: Critical hits with selected weapon deal 2 strength damage if they have a 2x critical multiplier, 4 with a 3x multiplier and 6 with a 4x multiplier.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a different weapon.

A fighter may select Crippling Strike as one of his fighter bonus feats. If you also have Paralyzing Strike, Wounding Strike, Stupefying Strike, Disfiguring Strike or Maddening Strike on the same weapon, you may select which one applies at the time of your critical hit.

Paralyzing Strike:
Choose one type of weapon. You can also choose unarmed strike as your weapon for the purposes of this feat.

Prerequisites: Weapon focus with selected weapon, base attack bonus +5
Benefit: Critical hits with selected weapon deal 2 dexterity damage if they have a 2x critical multiplier, 4 with a 3x multiplier and 6 with a 4x multiplier.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a different weapon.

A fighter may select Paralyzing Strike as one of his fighter bonus feats. If you also have Crippling Strike, Wounding Strike, Stupefying Strike, Disfiguring Strike or Maddening Strike on the same weapon, you may select which one applies at the time of your critical hit.

Wounding Strike:
Choose one type of weapon. You can also choose unarmed strike as your weapon for the purposes of this feat.

Prerequisites: Weapon focus with selected weapon, base attack bonus +5
Benefit: Critical hits with selected weapon deal 2 constitution damage if they have a 2x critical multiplier, 4 with a 3x multiplier and 6 with a 4x multiplier.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a different weapon.

A fighter may select Wounding Strike as one of his fighter bonus feats. If you also have Crippling Strike, Paralyzing Strike, Stupefying Strike, Disfiguring Strike or Maddening Strike on the same weapon, you may select which one applies at the time of your critical hit.

Stupefying Strike:
Choose one type of weapon. You can also choose unarmed strike as your weapon for the purposes of this feat.

Prerequisites: Weapon focus with selected weapon, base attack bonus +5
Benefit: Critical hits with selected weapon deal 2 intelligence damage if they have a 2x critical multiplier, 4 with a 3x multiplier and 6 with a 4x multiplier.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a different weapon.

A fighter may select Stupefying Strike as one of his fighter bonus feats. If you also have Crippling Strike, Paralyzing Strike, Wounding Strike, Disfiguring Strike or Maddening Strike on the same weapon, you may select which one applies at the time of your critical hit.

Disfiguring Strike:
Choose one type of weapon. You can also choose unarmed strike as your weapon for the purposes of this feat.

Prerequisites: Weapon focus with selected weapon, base attack bonus +5
Benefit: Critical hits with selected weapon deal 2 charisma damage if they have a 2x critical multiplier, 4 with a 3x multiplier and 6 with a 4x multiplier.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a different weapon.

A fighter may select Disfiguring Strike as one of his fighter bonus feats. If you also have Crippling Strike, Paralyzing Strike, Wounding Strike, Stupefying Strike or Maddening Strike on the same weapon, you may select which one applies at the time of your critical hit.

Maddening Strike:
Choose one type of weapon. You can also choose unarmed strike as your weapon for the purposes of this feat.

Prerequisites: Weapon focus with selected weapon, base attack bonus +5
Benefit: Critical hits with selected weapon deal 2 wisdom damage if they have a 2x critical multiplier, 4 with a 3x multiplier and 6 with a 4x multiplier.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a different weapon.

A fighter may select Maddening Strike as one of his fighter bonus feats. If you also have Crippling Strike, Paralyzing Strike, Wounding Strike, Stupefying Strike or Disfiguring Strike on the same weapon, you may select which one applies at the time of your critical hit.

[aimlessPolymath]

Interesting.
On average, they deal 3.5 points of ability score damage per crit. Depending on whether the result of the roll is odd or even, and whether the attacked stat is odd or even, they have somewhat unusual and inconsistent effects on the resulting ability score modifier- sometimes 0, sometimes 3.

One thing that you might want to think about is that these benefits are much better for weapons with high crit ranges compared to those with higher crit multipliers- falchions are better than scythes. Do you plan to add more feats later which are better with scythe-type weapons?

Another thing you could do is slightly weaken the feats generally, but improve them with the crit multiplier of the weapon, like with elemental burst weapons- say, 2 points of ability damage, but multiplied by (crit multiplier - 1).

[Avianmosquito]

Interesting.
On average, they deal 3.5 points of ability score damage per crit. Depending on whether the result of the roll is odd or even, and whether the attacked stat is odd or even, they have somewhat unusual and inconsistent effects on the resulting ability score modifier- sometimes 0, sometimes 3.

One thing that you might want to think about is that these benefits are much better for weapons with high crit ranges compared to those with higher crit multipliers- falchions are better than scythes. Do you plan to add more feats later which are better with scythe-type weapons?

Another thing you could do is slightly weaken the feats generally, but improve them with the crit multiplier of the weapon, like with elemental burst weapons- say, 2 points of ability damage, but multiplied by (crit multiplier - 1).

Yeah, in retrospect these need to be weakened in general to work well with the weapon and armour system. (Did you ever read that, by the way?) 1d2, 1d4, 1d6 sounds about right.

[Morphic tide]

I have had similar ideas, only they are weapon-type locked and come in "chains" that really only end up practical because of the fact that the big feat sinks get crammed down into scaling feats.

For example, the TWF and Weapon Focus trees would be crammed down into one feat each, for the core numbers feats. That way, the highly limited feat counts of 3.X are much more manageable and Fighter feats start acting like proper class features. Similarly, I'd be figuring out scaling versions of a bunch of feats, to again lower the feat taxes.

More detailed, I'd be staying away from on-crit effects. It makes the dice your enemy in a big way. As for particular effects, it'd mainly be damage type based, with specific things for underpowered or situational weapons that look to deserve a bit of focus put on them. Not for Kukries or Spiked Chains or anything like that.

I'll give an example of the feat cramming(this'll be the third version of the same feat... I really need to make a thread for the Fighter Fix by Feats I've been thinking about so much)

Weapon Mastery: [Combat]
Prerequisites: BAB +1, proficiency with chosen weapon
Benefit: You get a bonus to attack rolls equal to one-quarter(1/4) your Base Attack Bonus(BAB) and a bonus to damage rolls equal to one-half(1/2) your BAB with attacks made using a chosen weapon.
Special: This may be chosen by a Fighter as one of their bonus feats. You may select this feat multiple times, choosing a new weapon for it to apply to each time. This feat counts as Weapon Focus for feat prerequisites. When you have BAB +4, this feat counts as Weapon Specialization for feat prerequisites. When you have BAB +8, this feat counts as Greater Weapon Focus for feat prerequisites. When you have BAB +12, this feat counts as Greater Weapon Specialization for feat prerequisites.

[aimlessPolymath]

I have not- while I've lurked for a while, I don't think I saw it (or connected it with you, at least). When did you post it?

I'm less concerned with how it interacts with armor, and more with:
-how the random roll interacts with the fact that only even-numbered ability scores provide bonuses, leading the feats to be somewhat inconsistent depending on whether or not the target has an odd ability score. I suggested the 2 x multiplier for that reason- it has a consistent (crit multiplier) penalty applied.
-How these feats, like all critical feats (a separate issue) swing weapon balance towards high crit range weapons over others. 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 points of ability score damage sound okay, I guess?

[Avianmosquito]

I have not- while I've lurked for a while, I don't think I saw it (or connected it with you, at least). When did you post it?

A couple hours after I told you I'd post it in a couple hours. Here:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?514210-Aelsif-weapons-armour-shields-material-quality-and-enhancement

Now, why this made these feats a bit overpowered and required a nerf was because of the damage reduction provided by armour in this system. Sure, it isn't very much damage reduction, but that DR doesn't work on ability damage at all and it basically allows Wounding Strike in particular to function as a powerful anti-armour attack if its 1d6. That isn't how it's intended to work, and makes it rather more powerful than a pure AC system would.


I'm less concerned with how it interacts with armor, and more with:
-how the random roll interacts with the fact that only even-numbered ability scores provide bonuses, leading the feats to be somewhat inconsistent depending on whether or not the target has an odd ability score. I suggested the 2 x multiplier for that reason- it has a consistent (crit multiplier) penalty applied.
-How these feats, like all critical feats (a separate issue) swing weapon balance towards high crit range weapons over others. 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 points of ability score damage sound okay, I guess?

I liked the randomization, but I can do 2, 4, 6 if need be.

[aimlessPolymath]

Ah, didn't connect it with your other stuff.
They looked okay, I guess? I'm much less confident in my balancing skills within your alternate advancement rules, so I'm afraid I'm not much help.

[Avianmosquito]

Ah, didn't connect it with your other stuff.
They looked okay, I guess? I'm much less confident in my balancing skills within your alternate advancement rules, so I'm afraid I'm not much help.

Well, they're meant to work with and without the optional rules, so judge them without. It's entirely possible to play a game in Aelsif with mostly normal D&D rules, and armour providing a small amount of DR in addition to AC works just fine in normal D&D rules. My point was the effect it has on these feats here.

[aimlessPolymath]

In combination with the feats here- the semi-automatic pistol gains significant value due to the extra attacks, giving it many more chances to crit- the penalty matters less when you're trying to crit. Interaction with shotgun-types (blunderbuss, repeating shotgun) is unclear-I hope it isn't added for each pellet which hits!


More generally:
Interaction of shotgun-types with enhancement bonuses is somewhat unclear- is the bonus added to every bullet? If so, would definitely take Weapon Focus + Specialization(Blunderbuss or repeating shotgun, depending), assuming that they operate similarly.
Also, what's the place of Rapid Reload as a feat in a gun-heavy game? Is it removed, required as a feat tax, or given automatically to martials?

Bucklers are described as held in the hand- is this true of other shields as well? Otherwise, you could reload more quickly.
Shields as weapons- do you still lose the AC bonus like with shield bashes?

With various materials, the hardness sometimes varies (i.e. different hardness for iron breastplate vs. plate armor).

Pricing information missing for all items.

[Avianmosquito]

In combination with the feats here- the semi-automatic pistol gains significant value due to the extra attacks, giving it many more chances to crit- the penalty matters less when you're trying to crit. Interaction with shotgun-types (blunderbuss, repeating shotgun) is unclear-I hope it isn't added for each pellet which hits!

It works with the semi-auto, that's part of why it's exotic and very uncommon despite its lacklustre damage and it being ineffectual against armour. (Also, don't forget about critical confirmation.) The shotgun only gets ability damage on the first pellet, just like it also only gets sneak attack on the first pellet. Same goes for other weapons and attacks that hit multiple times per attack roll.

[Avianmosquito]

I've got a few new ones.

Weapon Finesse: (This is just a redo of a feat I think is poorly handled.)
Prerequisite: Dex 13
Benefit: With a light weapon, rapier, whip or spiked chain made for a creature of your size category, you may use your dexterity modifier instead of your strength modifier on attack rolls. This also applies to longswords (what the original called bastard swords) and katanas if they are wielded in two hands.
Special: A fighter may select this as one of their bonus feats. Natural weapons are always considered light weapons.

Improved Weapon Finesse:
Prerequisite: Weapon Finesse
Benefit: You may use your dexterity modifier instead of your strength modifier on attack rolls with any weapon.
Special: A fighter may select this as one of their bonus feats.

Edge Alignment:
Prerequisite: Dex 13
Benefit: With any weapon finesse weapon, you may use your dexterity modifier instead of your strength modifier on damage rolls.
Special: A fighter may select this as one of their bonus feats.

Improved Edge Alignment:
Prerequisite: Edge alignment
Benefit: You may use your dexterity modifier instead of your strength modifier on damage rolls with any slashing or piercing weapon.
Special: A fighter may select this as one of their bonus feats.

Aimed Attack:
Prerequisite: BAB +6
Benefit: When making a single attack, you may add your intelligence modifier to your attack roll in addition to your normal ability modifier.
Special: A fighter may select this as one of their bonus feats.

Improved Aimed Attack:
Prerequisite: Aimed Attack
Benefit: When making a single attack, you may add your intelligence modifier to your attack and damage rolls in addition to your normal ability modifiers.
Special: A fighter may select this as one of their bonus feats.

Weapon Focus: (I thought this one needed a buff)
Prerequisites: Proficiency with selected weapon.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus on all attack 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 may select this as one of his fighter bonus feats.

Armor Focus:
Prerequisites: Proficiency with selected armor
Benefit: When wearing the selected armor you gain spell resistance equal to the armor's AC.
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 armor. A fighter may select this as one of his fighter bonus feats.

Shield focus:
Prerequisites: Proficiency with selected shield
Benefit: When using the selected shield you gain spell resistance equal to the shield's AC.
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 shield. A fighter may select this as one of his fighter bonus feats.