Spending Experience Points to Buy Feats

[Jens]

While I think that 6 feats sounds like a lot for 1 CR, it would be easy to implement as a pseudo-class which gives *nothing* except 6 feats (not even higher max skill ranks).

A refinement could then be to let each of the 6 feats be convertible into various other stuff (skill points, hit points, etc.) at appropriate rates.

 

[Cecil Solomon]

I've gamed with a point-buy system for quite a while. It makes character generation a lot more involved (read: difficult), but also gives the player a lot more control. Once players are familiar with the system, they tend to like it but it takes some getting used to.

On the other hand, I also like the idea of allowing a player to gain 4-6 feats as a specialty character level. I can see that making for powerful characters, tho. I'll have to consider that for a while.

 

[Thia Halmades]

I'm running into very similar problems; balancing the 'feel' of what players want in terms of character advancement against what the system allows, all without stretching my neck out so far the PCs cut my head off. It has, quite simply, been a total pain. I'm doing research into HERO now to see how they handle it, but I have a huge stack of questions about that system it'll take me a while to answer.

I like (read: really wish) the idea of the system granting Xp for buy purposes instead of pre-imposed level restrictions. Possibly you'd want to throw the two in a blender and hit frappe? Combine level advancement with an 'availability' system. For example, you are now 3rd level. You gain a feat! You have 3,000 XP on hand, which can use to purchase X, Y, or Z at Lv. * X * (N), where (N) is the number of things you've purchased before.

A thought.

 

[eris404]

Although I like the 1 feat per level for its simplicity, I have to ask what this does to the fighter class - Do they get sometimes get two feats per level (one for character level and one for fighter level when appropriate)?

 

[Baron Opal]

Null Levels

I've been kicking around a concept I call "Null Levels". I adapted it from some rules by a fellow named Aelrynth over on the Monte Cook boards.

If you desire, you can spend xp to gain a null level. This can be done once per character level. The cost is 400 xp times the number of null levels, e.g. 400 xp for the first, 800 xp for the second, etc. This is similar to the xp advancement for standard levels. Each null level gives you one feat, 4 + INT modifier skill points, and 2 + CON modifier hit points. There is no gain to BAB, Saves, or class abilities.

If desired, a character can use the feat to increase the uses per day of a class ability, but the character has to have levels in the appropriate class. You can't get or improve a rage ability unless you have levels in barbarian.

It is tracked similar to multiclassing, i.e. Human Paladin 3 / 2 null levels. You can't have more null levels than character levels.

To date, the players have made very sparing use of null levels, usually just to gain a feat to use an exotic weapon or magic item.

 

[genshou]

Although I like the 1 feat per level for its simplicity, I have to ask what this does to the fighter class - Do they get sometimes get two feats per level (one for character level and one for fighter level when appropriate)?

A human with straight levels in Fighter already gets two feats at some levels: At 1st, 6th, 12th, and 18th. Giving out a feat every level, Fighter bonus feats are still just as much the Fighter class ability, and a 4th-level Fighter is still a leg up on other characters when they are 3 feats ahead on getting their most desired feat chains.

Adding extra feats to other characters doesn't undercut the fighter. What it does is get rid of the ridiculous situation where the only way to get enough feats to truly round out a character is by being a straight Fighter.

 

[genshou]

Re: Null Levels

That is very cool. Consider it yoinked.

 

[Sravoff]

want an extra feat?

250 times your current character level.

For CR and LA, count up all xp, even spent on feats, and that is your ECL.

-My Input.

 

[Sravoff]

Null Level

Perfect idea.
Yoink.

 

[Baron Opal]

Glad you guys find the null level concept attractive. As far as CR goes, I would guess that each null level would add 1/3 of a character level. That's what I was going for when pricing out the cost. I figured that there are three parts to a class; attack / saves, class abilities and everything else.

Also, I never use null levels for NPCs. It is strictly a PC method to "round out the corners", if you will. My methods of making NPCs has little enough structure that unless it is a major, multiple use NPC I just use a short-hand stat block.