Just be careful that you do not marginalize the rogue. The bard and wizard comes dangerously close to making the rogue obsolete as it is.
Agree. I suppose any feats that allow other classes a shot at expertise might ought to be limited to skills and tools that are not the rogue's bread and butter.
Except classes are more than just combat styles. They're more, broadly speaking, archetypes.You are saying that if other classes can learn to sneak, pick locks and disable traps then rogues are useless? Nuh uh. And I I'm wrong and you're right, I hope it gets fixed, because I like the idea of skills being divorced from combat style.
You're right, and that's fine, I guess. But I don't think blurring the lines ruins it. If the fighter wants to drop two feats into skills and expertise, then the rogue would (comparatively) have plenty of attribute increases to spend in picking up CON boosts so he could multi into fighter and take to the front lines. I don't see how that renders either irrelevant.Except classes are more than just combat styles. They're more, broadly speaking, archetypes.
Thug
- You gain +1 to Strength, to a maximum of 20.
- You may perform a sneak attack with any weapon in which you are proficient, provided you meet the other requirements.
- Whenever you hit an opponent with a sneak attack or critical hit that deals damage, you may make a Charisma (Intimidation) check against that opponent as a bonus action. If successful, the opponent has disadvantage on attack rolls against you for 1 round.
I'm on the fence about the Strength bonus. It might make a feat a little too good, but it feels too weak without it. (The damage bonus and intimidation check are nice, but the latter uses up the Rogue's bonus action, which he already has a lot of other uses for.)
Here's my attempt at a spear & shield feat.
Hoplite
Prerequisite: Proficiency with Simple Weapons & Shields
The premier soldiers of the ancient worlds, Hoplites trained since childhood to fight with shield and spear.
- Increase your Armor Class by +1.
- When wielding a spear in combination with a shield, the spear deals 1d8 damage.
- Gain the ability to use the Phalanx combat action.
Phalanx Combat Action
When you take the Phalanx combat action, until the start of your next turn when a creature you can see attacks an ally within 5' of you, you can spend your reaction to grant Advantage to to that allies next attack against the attacking creature. You must complete a Short or Long rest before you can use this Combat Action again.
As you can see, inspired by the most badass warriors of the ancient age, with the combat action based largely off the Fighter style. It's a bit rough around the edges but a first stab at a much needed feet for my favorite weapon.