Change Weapon focus or Specialization

[Sqwonk]

I am not out to screw players either. When I saw the warblade's ability to switch WF and Spec I did not think it was fair if all other classes got stuck.

I was really just curious what other DMs would do.

I will probably go with a variant of the PHB2 Retraining rules, but allow the the character to change all Focus, Specialization and Greater X all in one chunk.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

I am not out to screw players either. When I saw the warblade's ability to switch WF and Spec I did not think it was fair if all other classes got stuck.

I am contemplating making the Warblade's ability available as a feat.

 

[Jarrod]

I am not out to screw players either. When I saw the warblade's ability to switch WF and Spec I did not think it was fair if all other classes got stuck.

I was really just curious what other DMs would do.

I looked at that and said "Cool! Fighters are so getting that!".

But then again, I have an agenda - I want fighters to be cool. I like the concept of the big mauler who can beat you with anything - sword, spear, club, tankard, the Clue-By-Four... so yeah, I've houseruled that fighters can swap the target of their feats. In fact, now that I think about it... I might let 'em do it in the middle of the day, just to one-up Warblades.

 

[Iku Rex]

Or just Polymorph any Object the glaive into a sword.

Polymorph any object doesn't work on magic items in 3.5 .

Edit: The morphing weapon ability (+1, Underdark) can accomplish the same thing.

 

[Archade]

There's another interesting precedent - in Fiendish Codex I, there is a spell that allows the caster to alter a willing target's feats (in the published example, it's giving or taking away fiendish heritage feats).

You could allow alternate spells to change other feats ...

 

[Artoomis]

I happen to be looking in PHB2 yesterday. Simply allow the player to re-select one feat per level of advancement. Or, in this case, allow the change in Wpn Focus and Specialization, but only upon level advancement.

Simple, eh?

 

[Nonlethal Force]

I happen to be looking in PHB2 yesterday. Simply allow the player to re-select one feat per level of advancement. Or, in this case, allow the change in Wpn Focus and Specialization, but only upon level advancement.

Simple, eh?

See conversation above. Not quite so simple, but not too complex, either.

Using the PHB II Retraining option is actually very tricky for both stages of a 2-stage feat chain.

I think there is enough legitimacy in what I am about to say that I'd allow it to happen in one step. Really, I'm simply trying to avoid screwing the player. I want my players to have fun, and something like the OP's situation only has "ruining fun" written all over it.

Don't use the feat retraining rules. Use the Class Feature Retraining Rules. More than likely, the WF and WS were taken as fighter bonus feats. The chart says that a fighter may change his bonus feats as a class feature change, not as a feat change. The example of the ranger implies that class feature changes that require further changes up the chain happen automatically.

Thus, Fighter swaps WF(greatsword) for WF(glaive). Since this was a class feature (or hopefully it was a feat gained through bonus feats!) I'd let him then change WS(greatsword) to WS(glaive) as well. It might be stretching the rules a bit, but then again in the archer example when it boils down to it they are swapping 2 feats (TWF and Imp TWF) for 2 feats (Rapid Shot and Manyshot). I don't see a big enough difference to not allow this maneuver with a fighter build (or any build in which these feats were taken as a choice from a bonus list - such as a psychic warrior).

Player is happy and gets to use the new weapon they love. Group thinks about how fair the DM is and how willing he was to compromise. Next time the DM doesn't give in, the DM is already see as a compromising kind of guy so the group accepts it more easily. To me, that is the recipe for fun gaming and my kind of DMing. Besides, you don't even really have to houserule anything to do it. Simply be inclusive in interpreting class abilities gained!

 

[MarkB]

See conversation above. Not quite so simple, but not too complex, either.



I think there is enough legitimacy in what I am about to say that I'd allow it to happen in one step. Really, I'm simply trying to avoid screwing the player. I want my players to have fun, and something like the OP's situation only has "ruining fun" written all over it.

Don't use the feat retraining rules. Use the Class Feature Retraining Rules. More than likely, the WF and WS were taken as fighter bonus feats. The chart says that a fighter may change his bonus feats as a class feature change, not as a feat change. The example of the ranger implies that class feature changes that require further changes up the chain happen automatically.

I'd probably allow it to work that way, because as you say it's about not screwing the player.

By the book, though, it wouldn't work. Changing one fighter bonus feat won't automatically change other bonus feats that build upon it, because a fighter who takes Weapon Focus as a bonus feat does not automatically gain Weapon Specialisation later.

And starwed's solution doesn't work either, because of the "you must have been able to take it at the time you took the original feat" clause. If you swap out your Ftr2 feat from Weapon Specialisation (Greatsword) to Weapon Focus (Glaive), you can't then swap out your Ftr1 feat from Weapon Focus (Greatsword) to Weapon Specialisation (Glaive), because at level 1 you weren't eligible to take Weapon Specialisation (Glaive) - your revised character only took it at 2nd level.

 

[smootrk]

I would allow the character to swap the specialization first, but making the feat go essentially inactive (like other feats that become inactive when prerequisites are lost, like a character with Belt of STR and Power Attack feat, when the belt is lost). Then when the character gets to swap the Weapon Focus feat, the Specialization becomes active as well. 2 steps, and seems fair to the player.

 

[IndyPendant]

And starwed's solution doesn't work either, because of the "you must have been able to take it at the time you took the original feat" clause. If you swap out your Ftr2 feat from Weapon Specialisation (Greatsword) to Weapon Focus (Glaive), you can't then swap out your Ftr1 feat from Weapon Focus (Greatsword) to Weapon Specialisation (Glaive), because at level 1 you weren't eligible to take Weapon Specialisation (Glaive) - your revised character only took it at 2nd level.

I would allow the character to swap the specialization first, but making the feat go essentially inactive (like other feats that become inactive when prerequisites are lost, like a character with Belt of STR and Power Attack feat, when the belt is lost). Then when the character gets to swap the Weapon Focus feat, the Specialization becomes active as well. 2 steps, and seems fair to the player.

Actually, it's even easier than that. Fighter starts with WF & Spec: Greatsword. Allow him to swap out WF: Greatsword for WF: Glaive at one level. Now he has WF in the weapon he's currently using. The Spec: Greatsword can no longer be used, because the char no longer has one of its prerequisites--but that's okay, he's not using the weapon anyways. And now for one level he gets to use WF again. Then, the next level, he swaps out Spec: Greatsword for Spec: Glaive. Done.

I would consider that fair were I GMing (or even PCing! : ), and certainly enough hoops to jump through to switch out the WF and Spec.