(3.5)Lower tier classes MAS into more SAD

[stenver]

Would these feats be way too overpowered?

Body built upon muscles
You use your muscles instead your constitution to hold your body togather and strong.
Benefit: Everything that constitution effects is instead effected by strength. You get all your saves, HP and whatnot not from constitution, but from strength bonus. Constitution effectively becomes a dumb stat.
Special:
1. You can only take this feat on the first level
2. You cant retrain constitution, ever, for another stat.
3. Whenever in wild shape, shapechange or other kind of other shape form, you begin to get your extra hitpoints from your base constitution instead from your strenght(like the wild shaped druid)
4. Constitution can still be drained like any other ability score and when it reaches 0, you will die.

Instinct over mind
Perequise: Str 14, Dex 14, Body built upon muscles
You trust your instincts enough to let them guide you everywhere, and they serve you damn well.
Benefit: Everything that Wisdom effects is instead effected by dexterity, except spellcasting. You get all your saves, wisdom checks and whatnot not from wisdom, but dexterity(except spellcasting). Wisdom effectively becomes a dumb stat(exept for spellcasters).
Special:
1.You can only take this feat on the first level
2.Wisdom can still be drained and the consequences on reaching 0 wisdom still apply.
3. When in any sort of other shape from other than your normal from, you will begin to gain all the wisdom bonuses from wisdom again.

The idea of these 2 feats are to make MAD classes into more SAD.
Do you see any dangers regarding those feats?

[Calintares]

Only humans and strongheart halflings can get Instinct over mind? that's sort of unfair

[Kaiyanwang]

3. Whenever in wild shape, shapechange or other kind of other shape form, you begin to get your extra hitpoints from your base constitution instead from your strenght(like the wild shaped druid)

IIRC, this has been changed. WS does not affects your HPs anymore.

[PId6]

The problem with making these as feats is that they just become another feat tax on martial characters. Now the monk's problem isn't lack of point buy, it's lack of feats. Doesn't change much.

Why does Instinct Over Mind require Body Built Upon Muscles?

[nekomata2]

Should the second one be called instinct over mind? Intuition is an aspect of wisdom, and you are now keying wisdom to dex, perhaps Action Before Thought would be more appropriate, since you are relying on reflexes over intuition.

/nitpick

I think they are a bit too good, personally. Besides the fact that strength is much easier to raise (cleric take this + divine power = extra 3 hp per level, and then theres the Bite of X spells) and with strength double dipping for hp, its much easier to focus your items and such to improve too much, i think.

Sn another side note, based on the second one, how would dex increase your ability to spot or hear enemies? Though spot and listen would decrease with age this way....

[Thurbane]

Isn't this why we have a Homebrew forum?

[Pluto]

Abilities based on ability scores aren't the problem with low-tier classes.

Look at the Cleric. Its defining abilities are keyed off Wisdom and Charisma. Then its common role of melee depends on Strength and Constitution, gaining extra benefits from a decent Dex. Add the option of the Cloistered variant and you have defining abilities based on every stat. This is a good thing. It means that there are increased opportunities for of character customization within an archetype.

The problem is that the low tier classes don't have many powerful options or much versatility.

SAD can partially mask their deficiency (by giving them slightly higher numbers in particular tasks), but a better solution would involve tacking ToB, Psionic and spell progressions to the low-tier classes (or writing new, higher-power abilities for them, but that takes actual work), so they can at least play the same game as the higher tiers.

...

And why the prerequisites for Instinct Over Mind? What if a Swashbuckler wants it? And even-numbered ability prereqs is bad form -- odd-numbered ability scores should count for something. (Otherwise, why bother?)