nirurin
2017-12-13, 09:23 PM
A passing thought I had for a feat for a knife thrower (such as a Sword Bard). I haven't refined it, so it's very much a draft, but thought I'd see what people thought of the basic concept before I tried mathing it out compared to feats such as sharpshooter. The basic idea is an extension to the usual ability to throw/attack with a dagger as a bonus action with TWF.
Fan of Blades
Requires 17+ DEX
- When you use the Attack action against a target, you may use a bonus action to attack a different target with up to 3 darts or daggers.
- For each dart/dagger after the first, you add a -2 attack penalty to the throw. For example, if you decide to throw 3 darts, you make a single ranged attack with a -4 penalty to the attack roll. The damage would be 3d4+(dex mod).
- This action does not stack with Sharpshooter.
I considered just making it a flat "You throw 3 Darts and you throw with disadvantage", but having the choice seemed thematically appropriate. It was originally "Up to 5 Darts" but I realised that this causes too many problems with buffs like hunters mark. This might still be too powerful, but it's less accurate than sharpshooter which you can use on every attack, and with stronger weapons.
It's the best idea I could think of to make a thematic 'knife/shuriken throw' type of move anyway. Thoughts?
Edit - Feat edited after some feedback
Edit 2 - I think a better idea -
A change to the Two Weapon Fighting style.
"When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus-action attack. This attack can be made with any light melee weapon, or a thrown dart."
This would mean that sharpshooter would still be useful, as the dart benefits from it, but it doesn't become overpowered by letting you throw 3 darts per turn (with extra attack). You could either throw 1 dart as a bonus action, or throw 2 darts as your normal attacks (and then not be able to use your bonus action for an attack). So it would be much the same as light crossbows, but a little weaker and much shorter range, but a little more flexible.
Fan of Blades
Requires 17+ DEX
- When you use the Attack action against a target, you may use a bonus action to attack a different target with up to 3 darts or daggers.
- For each dart/dagger after the first, you add a -2 attack penalty to the throw. For example, if you decide to throw 3 darts, you make a single ranged attack with a -4 penalty to the attack roll. The damage would be 3d4+(dex mod).
- This action does not stack with Sharpshooter.
I considered just making it a flat "You throw 3 Darts and you throw with disadvantage", but having the choice seemed thematically appropriate. It was originally "Up to 5 Darts" but I realised that this causes too many problems with buffs like hunters mark. This might still be too powerful, but it's less accurate than sharpshooter which you can use on every attack, and with stronger weapons.
It's the best idea I could think of to make a thematic 'knife/shuriken throw' type of move anyway. Thoughts?
Edit - Feat edited after some feedback
Edit 2 - I think a better idea -
A change to the Two Weapon Fighting style.
"When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus-action attack. This attack can be made with any light melee weapon, or a thrown dart."
This would mean that sharpshooter would still be useful, as the dart benefits from it, but it doesn't become overpowered by letting you throw 3 darts per turn (with extra attack). You could either throw 1 dart as a bonus action, or throw 2 darts as your normal attacks (and then not be able to use your bonus action for an attack). So it would be much the same as light crossbows, but a little weaker and much shorter range, but a little more flexible.