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A new feat born of nessecity

RJKrik

First Post
Well, we were in a game recently were we didn't have anyone with Open Lock as a skill, so I was thinking mabey there should be a feat to help get people through doors. Then we discussed it a bit, and decided it should work on all objects. First the bonus was at +5 but that was a bit much, so its down to +3. Let me know what you all think, if its usefull, overpowered, etc etc.

General Feat: Object Bashing
Prequisite: Expertise Int 13+, Str 13+
Benefits: You know the way things are constructed so if you study an object for a short time (1 minute) you get a +3 bonus to the strength check to break it open/down.
 
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I don't really see this as a valuable feat. The one minute of study gives you ten rounds of trying to break something. If you use Aid Another with two other people that gives you a +4 bonus. Plus through role-playing you should be able to gain at least a +2 circumstance bonus.
 

I don't think there's any need to spend a feat on this. Open Locks can be taken as a cross-class skill. Even a paladin can buy one rank of open locks. Toss in masterwork thieves' tools (or "Crime Scene Investigator's tools" in the case of the paladin:) and a decent dex and you can open just about any locked door or chest given enough time (taking 20). Two skill points is a lot cheaper than a feat. . . .

If you're not worried about making noise (and you're obviously not if you are planning on bashing the door in), you can always take 20 on bashing the door. Sure it makes a lot of noise (and makes you look like a wuss--throwing yourself into the door repeatedly until it opens; heroes open the door with a single kick:), but it'll get the job done. If that doesn't work (for example, a castle gate or an Arcane Locked door)--well that's what you carry an axe for. . . . .
 

I wouldn't say it's overpowered, and I can see its usefulness. Only a few things come to mind:

* This feat actually nullifies the Open Lock ability, since you can use it on doors and objects (such as chests). If you ever do have a rogue in the party, this will make a large part of that PC's function superfluous.

* This feat allows one to bypass a lot of traps. The poison needle in the lock of the door, for instance, will be easily bypassed. In such a situation, not giving any experience for the trap might solve the problem, but it does make it a somewhat safer world. Not sure if this is a good thing.

Overall, without a rogue I don't think there's anything wrong with this feat, even if I wouldn't use it in my campaign. Without a rogue, it allows you to set aside the Open Lock skill entirely...at the cost of a feat.
 

I don't think the feat is necessary. Assuming you have one person with a decent Str, breaking stuff unassisted isn't all that difficult. And as has been mentioned, you could always use an axe.

If you insist on bashing the thing down in one go, just buy a portable ram. It adds +2 to the check, and allows a second person to assist for another +2, giving your strongest character a total of +4 on his roll for door-bashing. And instead of taking up a valuable feat slot, the ram costs a measly 10 gp.

Need an even bigger bonus? IMC we have a custom item: the heavy dungeon ram. Manned by four people, it gives the strongest a total of +8 to his door-bashing roll. The downside is that it's not easy to lug around; anyone carrying the ram is encumbered as if by heavy armor. (This is due to its size as well as weight; imagine a five-foot chunk of a telephone pole, with iron bracing and a heavy iron head.) So far only NPCs have ever needed to use this thing, because my PC party includes a rogue.

Of course, once you can buy or create a Wand of Knock, the whole question of breaking down doors becomes moot. Or, if your campaign uses Song & Silence (and your DM doesn't frown on gnomish technology) you could buy the "mechanical burglar", a windup toy that automatically picks locks.
 


I cannot help but agree with everyone else, an Axe will achive the same effect, unless its a steel door or otherwise heavily reinforced. Just take 20! If you cannot get through it then - don't bother - go find the key :D
 



Don't think this will be a very useful feat: the minute is very long. And lockpicking is already very useless. The dc's are high, you can hardly do anything else with it, and a wand of knock will do it. For my rogue I am currently playing, I took one rank in pick lock, and if we encounter a lock, I take 20. And I am maxing my use magical device now, so I will buy a wand of knock when we start encountering high difficult locks.
 

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