Spending Experience Points to Buy Feats

[nonamazing]

In my next campaign, I want to use some sort of system that will allow players to spend their experience points in order to buy feats (and possibly also to buy skill points, although I'm still thinking about this). I'm really impressed by the sheer variety of feats out there (thousands!), and I'd like to give my players the ability to tap into that variety.

I don't want things to be too cheap, but not too expensive, either. I'm thinking 350 xp for the first feat, x2.5 for the next and any following feats.

What do you guys think? Do you know of any systems like this?

 

[Nyaricus]

cool idea; don't think I'd allow it into any of my games though. I haven't heard anythign like this before, AFAICR. Good luck with it.

 

[Corbert]

If you're going to have them buy feats and maybe skills, why not consider making the game levelless, and have the PCs spend XP on everything - hit points, attack bonus, ability score increase? Of course then you have the problem of matching critter CR to party strength :\ .

 

[Jack Simth]

If you're going to have them buy feats and maybe skills, why not consider making the game levelless, and have the PCs spend XP on everything - hit points, attack bonus, ability score increase? Of course then you have the problem of matching critter CR to party strength :\ .

Well, if you translate things in such a manner that a character who has spent 1000 xp can duplicate a level-2 character in any class, and that a character who has spent 3000 xp can duplicate a level-3 character in any class, and so on, then, well - you have a measure.

You also have something similar to GURPS in many ways....

 

[Corbert]

Well, if you translate things in such a manner that a character who has spent 1000 xp can duplicate a level-2 character in any class, and that a character who has spent 3000 xp can duplicate a level-3 character in any class, and so on, then, well - you have a measure.

You also have something similar to GURPS in many ways....

Cool, GURPS D20.

 

[Nyaricus]

Cool, GURPS D20.

thats an oxymoron - Generic Universal Role Playing System d20 System.

Am I the only one confused??

 

[FireLance]

Just wondering, why not just give all PCs a faster rate of feat acquisition, say one feat per level, instead of one feat per three levels? The problem with a fixed xp cost system is that as you go up in levels, the cost to gain a feat becomes relatively lower, but the feats available become relatively more powerful because the higher-level character will meet more prerequisites.

 

[Kisanji Arael]

Maybe you could control it by feat tier and requirements. So a feat that only required a +13 Dex would be cheaper than... say spring attack, but even after getting spring attack, it would still be worth the Xp to get dodge.

I think 350 is way too small of a base to start at. Maybe 500 for any old feat. Add 250 if it needs a stat at a certain power, +250 for every +2 over 13 required. Add 100 for every BAB required. And add four hundred for every feat required. It still seems too many feats, but to give an example:

Spring attack needs a Dex 13 (250) + BAB +4 (400) + 2 feats (800) +500 standard. Overall, that's 1950, about what it would take to get from 1st to second level. And there aren't going to be many that high.

Leadership at 1000 exp (at least), but must be dealt with specially.

Whirlwind would cost an even 3000.

Metamagic should work the way you suggested, but with a higher base.

Though my system is far from perfect, I like in it that low level feats will cost less. Yours, of course, has the advantage that the prices for feats such as whirlwind will be staggering if they try to get it too early. Yours, unfortunately, will only allow for a few extra feats before the prices become staggering.

350, 875, 2187, 5468, 13671.

So I guess I recommend you find a middle ground, and tell me what it is.

 

[the Jester]

There are a lot of problems with trying to do this as far as balancing the game goes.

For instance, is a 1st level pc who has spent enough xp to gain an extra ten feats still CR 1? Is he worth more xp? Does he earn xp like a 1st-level character?

Etcetera.

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

There's an excellent product on rpgnow called Buy the Numbers, for just this sort of thing. I highly recommend it, though it's a bit math heavy.

Also, Upper Krust's CR system found on this very board (Immortals Handbook thread) can be a good guide. It has been for me.
A feat equals 0.2 CR. A character lvl is CR1. So if a character has bought 5 extra feats, he is +1 CR.