A quick question about feats.

[Boostaloo]

I looked around the board, and could not find an answer to my question. So here it is:

Can a character wait to select a feat at a later level? For example, can a 9th level character choose to hold on to his feat and then select a feat at level 10 or 11?

If so, could you site the source?

Thanks a million!

[Keld Denar]

No. You have to take the benefits of a level at the level you gain them. That includes class levels, feats, ability boosts, and skill points. Its in the PHB section under advancing characters, but not part of the SRD.

[Boostaloo]

I read that section completely, and I could not find one mention of selecting a feat being mandatory. Perhaps I am missing something. (I read the PHB, not the SRD)

[Myth]

What possible gain could there be in delaying your feat for two levels, unless it has ability score requirements you can't meet at the current one?

[tcrudisi]

What possible gain could there be in delaying your feat for two levels, unless it has ability score requirements you can't meet at the current one?

There are some strong potential gains.

Perhaps you are creating a level 21 character and you want to save all those feats for epic-level feats.

Perhaps your DM has promised you a new magical weapon and you want to make sure you get Weapon Focus in it, so you save the feat for that time.

Perhaps you need to hold off to get a pre-requisite before you can take the feat (example: Barbarians get damage reduction and there's a feat to increase existing damage reduction. You can't take the feat until you actually have the damage reduction from the class feature.)

I'm sure there are other reasons, too.

[Snake-Aes]

It's simpler than that, really. You gain feats at specific levels. Once you are done "Taking" the level, you go to the next level. The next level doesn't hold previous levels. If there was a concern about letting players "save feats" and the like, it would be mentioned.

[Grynning]

There are the retraining rules from PHB II, which let you switch out feat selections, but they still have to be feats you'd have met the pre-reqs for at the level you took them.

[Duke of URL]

What possible gain could there be in delaying your feat for two levels, unless it has ability score requirements you can't meet at the current one?

As noted, some feats have character or class level requirements, or require a particular class feature. If I were playing a straight rogue, it might be advantageous to "delay" my 9th level feat to gain Savvy Rogue at 10th level (the class level requirement for the feat), rather than wait until 12th level.

A replacement feat system I worked on at one point sought to use "feat points" instead of feats, weighing each feat's benefit with a cost from 1 to 9, with 5 being an average balanced feat, lower values being weak and/or situational feats, and higher values being powerful (normally overpowered) feats.

Instead of the normal feat schedule, characters would gain 5 feat points at 1st level, and 2.5 feat points per additional level. They could spend the points as fast as they gained them, or save them for better feats. Classes the provide bonus feats would provide bonus feat points at the same basic rate (e.g., wizard --> 1 feat point/level; fighter --> 5 fp at 1st level, 5 fp at 2nd level, 2.5 fp/level thereafter); characters could combine general and bonus feat points for feats off of the bonus list, but not for general feats.

[Person_Man]

No, you can't do it. The biggest issue is that BAB and caster level pre-reqs limit what feats you can select. If you could delay feat selection, you could hold off until you reached 6th+ level, and then load up on powerful feats.

[lsfreak]

I read that section completely, and I could not find one mention of selecting a feat being mandatory. Perhaps I am missing something. (I read the PHB, not the SRD)

Top of page 58, the first paragraph after "Level Advancement." These are the things you must do while leveling up. They are not optional. Included under this is selecting feats at the appropriate levels.