Author Topic: Free feats  (Read 25085 times)

Offline Cyclone Joker

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Free feats
« on: July 21, 2012, 02:31:07 AM »
Feats are the most expensive and useful commodity in D&D, and if you can get them for free, it is incredibly useful. Now, we all know the Otyugh Hole, the less useful Alertness from a Familiar/Psicrystal/etc, and the Masterwork Lute/Vest of Legends trick. The issue is the last two aren't permanent and aren't very useful.

So, that leads us to the question how else can you get free feats? Or, more importantly, permanent feats useful for anything other than shuffling?

Offline NiteCyper

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2012, 04:24:07 AM »
Personally, I didn't know the Masterwork Lute/Vest of Legends trick.

Resources to check:
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Offline sirpercival

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2012, 06:56:44 AM »
How high-op are you willing to go?  I mean, is the Dark Chaos Feat Shuffle off the table?  Because that + heroics or some other source of feats (maybe be an elf and DCFS your racial profs and then change your race) is a pretty reliable way.
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Offline kitep

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2012, 12:28:07 PM »
There seems to be a lot of magical locations that grant you some metamagic feat.

Teamwork benefits are not feats, but they come close and are free.

Quote
and the Masterwork Lute/Vest of Legends trick

<hangs head in shame>  I don't know this one.  What is it?

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2012, 12:37:10 PM »
Second post has a list as well.

Not as detailed as the in depth posts, but hey. Have a 4th list.

Offline sirpercival

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #5 on: July 21, 2012, 12:43:35 PM »
Masterwork Lute/Vest of Legends is rather shady IMO.
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Offline NiteCyper

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #6 on: July 21, 2012, 01:35:01 PM »
Quote
and the Masterwork Lute/Vest of Legends trick

<hangs head in shame>  I don't know this one.  What is it?
There, there lad. Here's a game; I'll post the ingredients and you guess the recipe instructions:

Quote from: Lute, Complete Adventurer > page 126 > Chapter 4: Tools and Equipment > MASTERWORK INSTRUMENTS, no errata applicable
Bardic Music: A bard playing a lute is treated as one level higher for the purpose of adjudicating the power of his bardic music effects. For example, a 3rd-level bard using a lute could fascinate two creatures instead of one, a 6th-level bard using a lute to make a suggestion would calculate the save DC as if he were 7th level, and a 7th-level bard using a lute to inspire courage would grant a +2 morale bonus on the appropriate rolls.

Quote from: VEST OF LEGENDS, Dungeon Master's Guide II > page 272 > Chapter 7: Magic Items > WONDROUS ITEMS
Activation: The skill bonuses granted by a vest of legends are continuously active while it is worn. In addition, a bard automatically gains the full benefits of the vest whenever she uses her bardic music abilities while wearing it.

Quote from: VEST OF LEGENDS, Dungeon Master's Guide II > page 273 > Chapter 7: Magic Items > WONDROUS ITEMS
Effect: Any character gains a +5 competence bonus on Diplomacy checks and Perform checks while wearing a vest of legends.
 In addition,
a vest of legends enhances bardic music abilities when a bard wears it. Her bard level is treated as five higher than it actually is for the purpose of determining the effects of her inspire courage, fascinate, inspire greatness, and inspire heroics abilities. This increase in effective level does not grant her any additional bardic music abilities or other class features.

Hint: Step quickly.
« Last Edit: July 21, 2012, 01:46:37 PM by NiteCyper »
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Offline kitep

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2012, 01:00:07 AM »
Thanks, but I'm not seeing it.

Unless people are reading the +2HD from Inspire Greatness gives an extra feat if it bumps them up to HD divisible by 3.  But that's from Inspire Greatness, not from the vest/lute (and I don't think the extra HD grant a feat anyway)

I googled it, and saw some people think it might give you a bard levels without being a bard, but both clearly state you have to be a bard to start with, so that's not it.

So I'm still stumped.   :???

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2012, 03:21:51 AM »
Thanks, but I'm not seeing it.
Neither do I.

The Masterwork Instruments do flat out you need Bardic Music to benefit from them and even if you tried to use UMD as an excuse, they are not magical items. Likewise, there is no silly word play; you don't have 0 levels in Bard to increase, you have no levels. Try to increment a null value some time in the real world. So I think I agree with SivP, what ever it is, there isn't really any rules backing it.


Offline NiteCyper

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2012, 08:48:15 AM »
Thanks, but I'm not seeing it.

Unless people are reading the +2HD from Inspire Greatness gives an extra feat if it bumps them up to HD divisible by 3.  But that's from Inspire Greatness, not from the vest/lute (and I don't think the extra HD grant a feat anyway)

[...]

So I'm still stumped.   :???
Thanks, but I'm not seeing it.
Neither do I.

Unless people are reading the +2HD from Inspire Greatness gives an extra feat if it bumps them up to HD divisible by 3.  But that's from Inspire Greatness, not from the vest/lute (and I don't think the extra HD grant a feat anyway)
You have the right of it, good sir. The trick is that the Inspire Greatness (Su) class feature's granting of bonus Hit Dice results in all of the benefits of gaining Hit Dice, including skill-points and in this case, feats. The hint that I gave leads to:

Quote from: dirty trick 51 of Dirty Trick Handbook Fixes by PlzBreakMyCampaign http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=3288.msg101620#msg101620
51: Psy Reformation + Temporary HD = Doc Roc's Dusk Giant quickstep, or a lame version via inspire greatness
Fix: Add a small "check" to the max skill point determination so that if your temporary HD go away, the old skillpoint max is no re-enforced and feats - whether they have been turned into something else by psychic reformation or not - also disappear (similar to the non-RAW attempts at alertness feat shuffling via familiar and DCFS)

I agree that the moniker given to the trick by the OP, Cyclone Joker,...could be more pertinent. The items grant bonuses to Inspire Greatness (Su).
« Last Edit: July 22, 2012, 08:56:05 AM by NiteCyper »
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Offline Keldar

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2012, 10:05:46 AM »
Some Affiliations grant bonus feats.  The First Scroll (Dragon Magic, 143) grants a bonus Draconic Feat at 26+, for example.

Offline kitep

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2012, 10:06:44 AM »
Thanks for the explaination.  I don't agree with the trick, but at least now I know what people are talking about.


Offline littha

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #12 on: July 22, 2012, 11:58:29 AM »
If you are playing as a true dragon there is always the Curse/Styx thing to increase your age catagory and get you a pile of extra HD...

Offline Thurbane

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #13 on: July 22, 2012, 10:34:17 PM »
I've always wondered about the wording of the bonus Vile feats you can get by worshipping an Elder Evil. Is the 1 feat/5 HD retrospective, or only from when you actually start worshipping?
Also, due to the exact wording, I believe you are restricted to only those Vile feats that are listed in the accompanying table in Edler Evils...which is a shame, since there are other (and often more useful) Vile feats in other sources.

Offline Nytemare3701

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #14 on: July 23, 2012, 10:06:55 PM »
Kingdoms of Kalamar has the Villian Design Handbook, which has a system called "Anti-Feats". You take a negative version of a random feat every level and get a free feat every other level.

Offline TC X0 Lt 0X

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #15 on: July 24, 2012, 06:17:24 PM »
If you are playing as a true dragon there is always the Curse/Styx thing to increase your age catagory and get you a pile of extra HD...

Ohoh?
This one is new to me...
Im really bad at what I do.
A+

Offline Halinn

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #16 on: July 24, 2012, 07:09:44 PM »
BoVD says that curses can increase things an age category. This is, of course, awesome for dragons.
The spell River's Ravages can increase age in years, which can result in a higher age category.
This TO thread compiles things a bit.

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #17 on: July 24, 2012, 10:55:49 PM »
You know, I never did break that epic threshold.

Either a misread ability used to cast 8th level spells to ad-hoc Greater Bestow Curse / Hasten The End or some infinite CL trick is needed to push the year old Dragon into the Mature Adult category. Anyone know of some more aging spells? Like Dragon Mag and such?

Offline PlzBreakMyCampaign

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Re: Free feats
« Reply #18 on: July 30, 2012, 12:17:32 AM »
Prereq handbook has the PBMC Free Feat Diet.

I suppose I need to port that over here. Its with all my stuff below I believe. I've been busy.