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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 2518660" data-attributes="member: 3146">Hmm first comments:Making Dodge an option for everyone--it's a pain to track which target a character is dodging. Do you really want everyone to have to do it? I think you'd do much better to just replace the dodge feat with your variant.Improved Dodge: By the wording, I  think this would stack with your dodge combat option. Granting a +3 bonus to AC against a single opponent will put a pretty serious damper on your ability to make an effective single opponent encounter and you want to be able to do that every now and then.Changing the dodge target on "any action" is probably not the wording you want. On every opponent's action, I could designate them as my dodge target thereby gaining +2 against everyone. Even during my turn, I would be tempted to change opponents multiple times in order to gain the bonus against multiple foes if, for instance, I provoked three AoOs for movement. If combined with feats like Elusive Target that build off of Dodge, this would be even worse. Simply using the PHB wording "change your dodge target as a free action once during your turn" is both clearer and less open to abuse. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.On the feat in general, I think it's a good and reasonably balanced feat that just needs the semantic changes. The +2 bonus is an interesting addition to the +1 all around version of dodge and the +1 all around version is nice because it lets players who don't want to mess with changing their dodge target gain a benefit from the feat.Padded armor change: Not a bad idea. This is actually enough to make the AC available without heavy armor equal the available AC through heavy armor:Studded leather + dex=total bonus +8Chain Shirt + dex= total bonus +8Breastplate + dex= total bonus +8Fullplate + dex= total bonus +9As you can see, adding padded to studded leather, the chain shirt, or the breastplate is enough for them to pull even with the total bonus offered by fullplate.One question though: does masterwork padded also impose an additional armor check penalty?On changing heavy armor to an option for fighters: who would take it and why would they take it?1. You don't have much heavy armor in your world--especially not worthwhile heavy armor. (Splint is only a stopgap armor for characters who can't afford fullplate and don't have a dex bonus--everyone else wears a breastplate or chain shirt (banded if they have a +1 dex)  even if they eventually want to get fullplate).2. The defensive bonus available through heavy armor proficiency is less than that available through other feats--even for a character with no dex bonus.For instance, a 10 dex character faced with the choice between splint mail or breastplate/chain mail and the improved dodge feat listed above gets the same AC by taking Improved Dodge, but the option to get another point of AC when he's only facing a single opponent. (And the dodge AC counts against touch attacks). I imagine that shield focus and the other possibilities are similarly better deals than heavy armor proficiency. Without fullplate--which offers the defensive benefits of 18 dex+a chain shirt even if you don't have any dexterity and offers better benefits if you have any dex bonus at all--heavy armor proficiency isn't worthwhile.It's not really an option if it's a bad deal for nearly every imaginable character....</blockquote>

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