[3.P] Shock wave attack - feats or prc?

[ImperatorK]

I'm thinking about homebrewing something that will allow a melee warrior to make his attacks at range. It's a common trope in games or anime where a warrior is so skilled with his weapon (most often sword) that he's able to make attacks at range by using wind force/sonic wave/some kind of ki energy.
What would be better - a feat chain or a prestige class?

[Amechra]

A single feat.

Or just refluff Throw Anything and a Returning Weapon.

Really, it is just one trick, and PrCs or feat chains should be about more than one trick.

[ImperatorK]

It wouldn't work with refluffing throwing a returing weapon, because throwing is different and it would be the weapon's power, not the warrior's skill. I did consider the Bloodstorm Blade prc, but again, throwing is different.

It doesn't have to be just one trick.

[RobbyPants]

I'm thinking about homebrewing something that will allow a melee warrior to make his attacks at range. It's a common trope in games or anime where a warrior is so skilled with his weapon (most often sword) that he's able to make attacks at range by using wind force/sonic wave/some kind of ki energy.
What would be better - a feat chain or a prestige class?

I retooled the Brutal Throw feat (Complete Adventurer) to be a bit stronger. Granted, it didn't put in the Throw Anything or Returning properties in, but I did allow Power Attacking and charging with the ranged attack.


Brutal Throw [General]
Prerequisite: Strength 13+.
Benefit: When throwing a weapon, you may add your Strength modifier to the attack roll instead of your Dexterity modifier. The range increment for all of your thrown weapons doubles when you do so.
   In addition, you may Power Attack with a thrown weapon, treating it as a one-handed weapon for purposes of calculating the bonus damage. You may also throw a weapon at the end of a charge, and you gain all of the modifiers associated with a charge on this attack. You must throw the weapon along the same line that you charged.
Special: A fighter may select this feat as one of his fighter bonus feats.


So, to answer your question, I'd say "a feat", unless you're looking for something along the lines of the Bloodstorm Blade PrC or something. Honestly, I don't even feel that PrC should be a 10-level class. It's not giving you anything that is a level 15 ability.

[Bauglir]

Yeah, I'd say a single feat would be fine. Something like:

Wind Slash[General]
Prerequisite: Base Attack Bonus +6.
Benefit: At the beginning of your turn, as a free action, you may choose a 5-foot square within 25 ft., plus 5 feet per 2 points of base attack bonus you possess. Until the beginning of your next turn, that square is considered to be within your reach, regardless of its actual location. Thus, you may make melee attacks against creatures occupying that space, and a creature that leaves that space provokes an attack of opportunity.
Special: A fighter may select this feat as one of his fighter bonus feats.
Special: You may take this feat multiple times. Each additional time you take this feat, double the number of squares you may choose at the beginning of your turn, instead of gaining its normal benefit.