Author Topic: Rewriting Feats to Give Martial Classes Some Love  (Read 2035 times)

Offline Kethrian

  • Legendary Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2231
  • Night Owl
    • View Profile
Rewriting Feats to Give Martial Classes Some Love
« on: July 05, 2016, 01:59:16 PM »
   Feats for martial characters have never really lived up to what they should be.  They do not improve as you gain levels, they typically give small bonuses that require multiple stacking feats to turn into a decent bonus, and the ones that do give you something decent are so few and far between that everyone ends up taking mostly the same stuff.  So I have gone through some of the books and tried to make many of the craptastic feats useful.  Feats granting bonuses improve as you gain levels and possibly start stronger, feat trees are smushed down so they no longer require 6 feats just to get some half decent bonuses (I'm looking at you Two-Weapon Fighting tree!), and I've created a new category of feats, called Signature Move feats.  These will have a limit to how many you can have at one time, but will be much more powerful, and worth the multiple feat investment in order to get them.  The rules, plus some new ones, can be found in the 2nd post.

   Great Cleave and Whirlwind Attack have been rewritten to be Signature Move feats, and I think are vastly improved.  And they now combo together very nicely for truly devastating offensive capability.  I've also included a few brand new Signature Move feats, to flesh out this new feat category.

   Because some feats have been subsumed into others and are now removed from the game, if you would normally get a removed feat as a specific bonus feat, it is recommended that you be allowed to take a free feat of your choice that you qualify for in its place.  And, obviously, if a removed feat was a prerequisite for something, the feat it got added into becomes the replacement prerequisite, if it was not already a prerequisite.

   Critiques are welcome!



Feat Changes

Player's Handbook

(click to show/hide)


Complete Warrior

(click to show/hide)


Player's Handbook II

(click to show/hide)


Heroes of Battle

(click to show/hide)


Complete Adventurer

(click to show/hide)


Expanded Psionics Handbook

(click to show/hide)


Masters of the Wild

(click to show/hide)


Sword and Fist

(click to show/hide)


Defenders of the Faith

(click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: May 25, 2017, 05:30:04 PM by Kethrian »
What do I win?
An awesome-five for mentioning Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness.

Offline Kethrian

  • Legendary Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2231
  • Night Owl
    • View Profile
Re: Rewriting Feats to Give Martial Classes Some Love
« Reply #1 on: July 05, 2016, 01:59:34 PM »
New Signature Move Feats

   There is a limit to how many Signature Move feats a character can have:
    - A character can take 1 Signature Move feat for each full 10 BAB.
    - A character with Fighter levels can have another for every 7 levels of Fighter they have.  If a class counts as Fighter for taking feats, that counts toward this bonus as well.
   - If the character has no levels in a class that grants spells/powers/manoeuvres at 1st level, they can have 1 extra.  If they later gain a level in such a class, they lose this bonus allowance, and if should result in having more Signature Move feats than they are allowed, the last Signature Move feat taken becomes unusable until the limit is raised again.


Helm Splitter [Signature Move]



   Prerequisites: Str 15, Jump 10 ranks, Power Attack, base attack bonus +7.
   Benefit: When you charge a foe, you can deliver a devastating overhead chop.  You must jump the last 10 feet of your charge, requiring a successful jump check to do so, and you must be power attacking for at least -4 on your attack roll.  If you do, your attack deals double damage.  If your BAB is +13 or greater, you deal triple damage.  If your BAB is +19 or greater, you deal quadruple damage.  If your attack is a critical hit, you stack damage multipliers as normal (double damage twice is triple damge).
   If you are able to make multiple attacks when charging, only your first attack can be a Helm Splitter.
   Special: This is a Fighter bonus feat.

Izuna Drop [Signature Move]



   Prerequisites: Dex 13, Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, base attack bonus +8.
   Benefit: As a standard action, you may attempt to grapple an opponent to initiate a special attack.  Or, if you were already in a grapple, you may use a standard action to begin the special attack without needing to make another grapple check.  As part of the attack, you lift your foe; make a special Strength check, with a bonus equal to your base attack bonus, against a DC of 10, +4 for every size category your foe is larger than you, or -4 for every size category smaller.  If your opponent is especially light for its size (such as an air elemental), you gain a +5 bonus to your check, or a -5 penalty if your foe is abnormally dense and weighty for his size (like an iron golem).  If you succeed, you hurl your foe (and yourself) in the air 10 feet, plus an additional 10 feet for every 10 your check beat the DC by.  You may also choose to arc outward up to half that distance horizontally in any direction you choose.  You then flip over at the apex and begin to spin as you rocket back toward the ground, preparing to drive your foe headfirst into the unforgiving earth.  Make an opposed grapple check with a +5 bonus.
   If you win, you successfully position yourself and your foe so that he takes the full impact.  You deal damage according to the distance fallen (1d6 for every 10 feet, to a maximum of 20d6), plus double your Strength bonus to damage, and extra damage based on your size.  Sizes smaller than small gains no bonus damage, small deals +1d6, medium deals +2d6, and every size category you are larger than medium you deal an additional +2d6.  Meanwhile, you receive no damage and may place yourself standing in any available space adjacent to your foe, who is prone in the space you both landed in.  If you managed to beat your opponent's grapple check by 10 or more, you manage to perfectly position yourself and your foe, and you maximize the fall damage (6 damage per 10 feet, to a maximum of 120).  After dealing damage, your foe then must make a Fortitude save, with a DC equal to 10 + ½ your level + your Strength modifier, or he is stunned for 1 round.
   If you lose the grapple, your opponent gained control of the fall, and you take damage appropriate for the fall, while your opponent only receives half damage.  You are both prone at the end, with you in the space landed in, and your opponent in an available adjacent space of his choice.
   If you tie, you were unable to perfectly position yourself.  Your opponent takes damage from the fall, while you take half that amount.  You both end up prone, your foe in the space you landed in and you in an available adjacent space of your choice.
   Normal: An attempt to perform an Izuna Drop without the proper training is very risky.  You can try the same steps, but you take a -4 penalty on all rolls instead of the bonuses mentioned above.  If you succeed, your opponent takes full fall damage, while you take half, and you receive no bonus damage based on size, and do not get to maximize the fall damage on your foe, regardless of how much you beat his grapple check by.  If you fail, you take full fall damage while your foe takes none.  If you tie, you both take full fall damage.  Regardless, you both will be prone at the end.
   Special: If you have an ability which gives a multiplier to jump distances, you can multiply the distance you hurl your foe by the same amount.
   This is a Fighter bonus feat.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2017, 02:01:14 AM by Kethrian »
What do I win?
An awesome-five for mentioning Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness.