[PF] A way to deal with feats being weak - free feats

[The Insanity]

We know that there are a lot of feats that simply aren't worth the feat slot. So here's an idea that I had:
You gain a feat when you meet its prereqs. You still have to use feat slots for feats with no prereqs or class features as prereqs.
What do you think? I can see both pros and cons to this idea but I'm too tired to type them out. I'll probably write more during the weekend but feel free to post your criticisms in the meantime, I should have an answer to some of them.

[JoshuaZ]

We know that there are a lot of feats that simply aren't worth the feat slot. So here's an idea that I had:
You gain a feat when you meet its prereqs. You still have to use feat slots for feats with no prereqs or class features as prereqs.
What do you think? I can see both pros and cons to this idea but I'm too tired to type them out. I'll probably write more during the weekend but feel free to post your criticisms in the meantime, I should have an answer to some of them.

This would mean that the power level of characters would vary with what published books are allowed. And it is also going to be hard for people to keep track of what they have.

There are also a lot of feats that have only a few prerequisites. For example, under this system, every full BAB character will have any insane number of Critical feats by level 15 or so. Also every full caster will get every single item creation feat as soon as they hit the caster level, which are some of those most headache inducing feats in many ways. Also, this will also make it easier to enter some prestige classes (which is admittedly less of an issue).

In general, if you think that feats are too weak, there are a bunch of better options such as combining some of the weaker feats together, or having weapon related feats depend on weapon groups rather than individual weapons. If you want to do something with more feats in general, it wouldn't be terrible to get a bonus feat every level rather than the current feat distribution. My guess is that this would generally add an effective +1 to +3 to ECL of characters in general but it would also allow some interesting optimization stunts which could do a lot more without too much work, which might create its own problems.

[The Insanity]

This would mean that the power level of characters would vary with what published books are allowed. And it is also going to be hard for people to keep track of what they have.

That's not an issue for my group. We have all books allowed.
As for keeping track, I guess you could limit the number of feats you get by not giving an actual feat but instead only the benefit. That way the feat would not count for meeting the prereqs of other feats.
An example: by having 13 Int you can use Combat Expertise without taking the feat, but if you take the feat you automatically get the benefits of most of the Improved combat maneuver feats.

There are also a lot of feats that have only a few prerequisites. For example, under this system, every full BAB character will have any insane number of Critical feats by level 15 or so. Also every full caster will get every single item creation feat as soon as they hit the caster level, which are some of those most headache inducing feats in many ways. Also, this will also make it easier to enter some prestige classes (which is admittedly less of an issue).

The above additional rule should mitigate some of those problems, although personally I don't see those as problems.

In general, if you think that feats are too weak, there are a bunch of better options such as combining some of the weaker feats together, or having weapon related feats depend on weapon groups rather than individual weapons.

Unfortunately that takes significantly more time and work than my idea. Besides there are more benefits to it than just negating feat suckiness. For example investing in stats or skills you wouldn't normally invest in gives more than just some small numbers, which might make it worth it for some players.

[JoshuaZ]

This will work better for some classes than others. For example, for fighters it will essentially mean that once one has Weapon Focus one gets a whole bunch of fun feats as one progresses in level automatically. That's not bad.

But it is going to make high level mages have even higher insane power levels. For example, Spell Focus is going to now give you Mage's Tattoo and Spell Specialization for free. Almost any mage is going to get a whole bunch of feats whose only prerequisites are skill ranks in spellcraft or knowledge(arcana) or able to cast a spell of a given level. Lunging Spell Touch and Minor Spell Expertise are both examples which will come online really early. And some metamagic feats have prerequisites also. The power and flexibility given to mages will be a major headache.

[nonsi]

.
You can't fix balance issues between the classes by giving everybody more feats, because spellcasting feats will always trump all the rest.
A better solution would be to:
1. Nix totally crappy feats.
2. Modify weak feats that have potential.
3. Add awesome feats for melees and skillmonkeys.
4. Reduce feat prereqs where possible, to give more build versatility.
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