[AU] a new kind of toughness?

[Nifft]

Nifft,
so you're basically saing that because "you get more use out of the feat by taking it earlier rather than later", then you don't like it, right? assuming that i interpretted that correctly, then i suppose i can see your point. however, your method also rewards those with larger hit dice as those are usually the classes with good fort saves (which seems to be criticized as a design flaw here). also, it runs the risk of providing a HUGE benefit all at once if taken at later levels, which doesn't sit well with me.

1) A Feat taken at high levels *should* offer a big benefit all at once. Consider Combat Expertise. Taken at 1st level, it allows you to turn at most 1 BAB into 1 AC. Taken at 12th level, it lets you turn 5 BAB into 5 AC. What's changed? Why, your BAB!

2) "Stateful" example:
Char A:
Level 1- Rogue1
Level 2- Rogue2
Level 3- Rogue2/Fighter1 <--- takes your Toughness

Char B:
Level 1- Rogue1
Level 2- Rogue1/Fighter1
Level 3- Rogue2/Fighter1 <--- takes your Toughness

I don't like that Char B won't get the same benefit as Char A. On paper, they look identical, since you normally don't track the character's history. Forcing a player to do so runs counter to most Feats.

-- N