Alternate Class Features For All Classes (Feats/ACFs, P.E.A.C.H.)

[Thrice Dead Cat]

Sorry for the delay on posting. I've been meaning to get back to this for a while now.

Monk Response

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Some of them are just hard to come up with. The one quote that I probably like the most is the ranger quote, which, to me, actively sounds the best.

I'm partial to the monk quote, but they all have some interesting bits of information and character to them, which is a very good thing to have in a quote!

The Wisdom bonus to AC doesn't go away, just the extra bonus that they gain. And, although I know that Flurry of Blows is very iconic for Monks, it is rather unfortunately not very useful. A lot of the monk class features focus on mobility, or mobility-esque options, but flurry of blows is just this weird outlier. It doesn't really fit with the rest of the class. I am thinking of adding a feat for the ACF that allows the monk to cast their spell as a swift action if they have moved and made an attack with their Unarmed Strike in the same round.

Fair enough. You should mention that they keep the Wisdom bonus, at least, because I read it as loosing all of that class feature the first time around.

Good point. Improved Mettle is for Mettle what Improved Evasion is for Evasion. I will clarify with actual ability descriptions.

The issue has more to do with the fact that depending on where you are getting Mettle from, it'll work on different things. I want to say the Hexblade's Mettle only works against Spells and SLAs, while most later printings allowed it to work against any and all appropriate saving throws. For the base Mettle, you could just have it say "As X's Mettle, Page Whatever from Book This." Or copypasta it. Improved Mettle does need writing, though.

Bard Response

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Honestly, giving them a feat makes that feat mandatory. I would rather just give the Bard the ability in the first place, since it isn't like they are gaining that much otherwise. I could alternatively just have it be any time they initiate a maneuver, if that makes more sense.

Fair enough. I just had Melodic Casting on the mind, is all.

It's understandable. That said, for some people, the idea of having extra companions (more full time than otherwise) is a fun way to play a character like that without some crazy Beastmaster multiclassing, while losing the bardic music progression.

It is an interesting option. Natural Bond gives a lot to that character, but it is far more limited than spellcasting, even a bard's spellcasting, at that. That said, it is a very different sort of power considering how a bard is very capable of buffing allies when it comes to attacks.

Rest of the stuffs pre-feats.

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No, that is correct. I can see your point, I guess. Maybe I could disallow any of the Supernatural effects while the Druid is wildshaped?

That's overly large again, though, in the event that the Druid has other (Su) stuff. It would also turn off all of the Vestiges' powers, because, well, they are just straight up (Su). Another option may be to throw on some fluff requirements considering how unnatural the vestiges typically are. It's not perfect, but it is an idea.

Yeah, I saw that. I had hoped you would be able to contribute more.

I'll probably get around to reposting some of my older stuff I want a second opinion on and/or need to finish. As for the Prestige Class contest, the new Runic one looks good and I'm already working on some small ideas.

Oh no, I definitely understand that. I honestly don't really like it either. I think there are some cases where making base classes is a good thing though. I have been doing stuff in all of those contests, barring the Potpurri, since it is no longer really running, as far as I can tell.

I'm very, very fickle with base classes, in regards to PEACHing them. A lot of them I've seen don't really add anything new, which is disappointing while those that do can be had to gauge at times.

I would definitely agree about reposting them. They were a pretty cool race, if I recall correctly.

Thanks for that! It took me forever to finish them and due to my timing, I never really got enough PEACHing in the chat thread, so I will definitely get to that soon.

I love the idea behind those prestige classes. The interaction between two characters of the two classes would be so interesting and insightful for characters and players.

A lot of that came from Hyooz, I have to admit. He came up with the idea on each class having a positive and negative quote from a member and opponent, respectively to help show the opinions. One of us may have some of the design notes left over in regards to the Onyx Dream, if you're curious.

That said, I would absolutely love to hear about a group where two players went with those two prestige classes just to see how that plays out with both the players and how the DM handles the organization.

See, but I sort of think that I can't really vote for my own creations because I put so much effort into them. I view them in a higher standing than other classes simply because of how much work I did, without thinking about the work of the other entrants (because it isn't really possible to know another person's effort).

I understand you there. I felt torn in the Mono a Mono contest, just because of how much Hyooz put into our work, but I felt it wasn't a fair shake, either because of my own interest in it.

Precisely. It seems strange to me, then, that no one thought to amend the Paladin and maybe other classes later on when newer rules came about, such as Swift actions.

I'm not sure, but I'd guess that it's mostly because such options that did do so either came about via items or feats. There are a few ACFs that give them uses for the swift action, but that is a largely untouched area. In the end, it may be just that they never put much thought into "fixing" those classes in such a way.

Definitely! I love that excited feeling you get when you are working on a piece of homebrew that really gets you passionate about it.

Yeah, it's kind of an inherent problem with online homebrew.

Homebrewing is sort of its own reward in some regards, though. I've used a few of my own works in games I've run and occasionally asked for something I made to be used if I'm itching to play that, but most of the time I'm just so much more enthralled by someone else's work that I must play that instead.

Oh! Maybe the summons use their SLAs over the period of a day, and resummoning doesn't refresh the uses? Is that what you were saying? That would work perfectly!

Sort of. I was more going with the idea that when you summon a Hound Archon, it isn't just a Hound Archon, but rather Glorian of the 3rd Celestial Ring, and thus a very specific person rather than just another random summoned monster. Your fluff heavily implies that, which is good, but having a small, explicit sentence is better!

What web enhancements are these?

This and this. They aren't perfect, but they are a nice idea.

FEATS!

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Improved Summoning (Feat)
Prerequisites: Charisma or Wisdom 17, Divine Partner, Knowledge (Religion) 9 ranks
Benefits: Whenever you summon an outsider using your Divine Partner ability, that outsider gains a bonus to all physical ability scores equal to your Charisma modifier. In addition, whenever you cast a spell upon yourself, and the outsider you have summoned is within 10 feet of you, they benefit from the effects of that spell as well, as if you had cast it upon them. They lose said benefits if the spell has a duration longer than Instantaneous when they move more than 10 feet away from the Paladin. This effect does not take additional spell slots to use.

Looks nice. The stat bumps shouldn't be too much. The spell sharing should probably just be as a familiar with a wizard or animal companion with a druid, rather than having that spell cut out if it moves more than 10 feet from the paladin.

Clouddancer (Feat)
Prerequisites: Light From On High, Tumble 9 ranks, Smite Evil 4/day
Benefits: Your maneuverability while flying becomes perfect, and your fly speed becomes equal to twice your base land speed. Whenever you make a smite upon a foe and neither your nor your foe are touching the ground, you gain a bonus equal to your Wisdom modifier to the attack roll, and your opponent must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 ECL + Charisma modifier) or be pushed back 10 feet in any direction. A successful save cuts the distance traveled in half.

You should mention that the save for movement is optionable, otherwise there could be some issues full attacking. Also, it feels to me that this feat comes online a little late, but that's just me.

Hand of Justice (Feat)
Prerequisites: Improved Bull Rush, Long Arm of the Law, Spot 9 ranks
Benefits: You may use the Power Attack feat while attacking with ranged weapons (ranged weapons count as one handed weapons for this purpose), including throwing weapons. Whenever you make a ranged smite attempt with the weapon summoned from Long Arm of the Law, you may treat the target of the smite as if you had moved into that target's space and initiated a bull rush attempt, using your size modifiers, with a +4 sacred bonus to the bull rush attempt. You do not actually move into the opponent's space in this way, and stay in the location from which you made the ranged attack until acted upon by an outside force. You do not provoke an attack of opportunity for this attack.

Looks solid. It's a limited version of I want to say Brutal Throw and Ranged Pin? You should mention that you can push the target back however many feet your check would allow without issues with moving yourself, too.

Zealous Cleave (Feat)
Prerequisites: Cleave; Justice Is My Arm, Retribution Is In My Eye, Base Attack Bonus +6
Benefits: Whenever you make a smite, if automatically counts as if you had killed your target for the purposes of Cleave and Great Cleave. In addition, when you Power Attack with your summoned weapon, you may force all targets to whom you successfully deal damage to make a Reflex save (DC 10 + the Penalty to Attack Rolls + Strength modifier) or fall prone. Finally, when you make a smite attempt while power attacking for a number equal to or greater than one half of your Base Attack Bonus, you may treat the smite as if it had hit every enemy within reach.

This feels a bit much for one feat, mostly the last bit on the power attacking, since it could add free hits. The rest of it, though, is solid in that it ensures usage of your Cleave feat. The prone bit is nice, especially as an alternative to Improved Trip.