Re: epic feats
Andy_Collins said:
I'll try to shed some light on this issue.
1) At every third character level, a character gains a feat. The only change to this rule in ELH is that a character of character level 21+ can select an epic feat, regardless of his mix of class levels. Ftr21, Rog6/Wiz15, Bbn5/Rgr5/Ftr5/Rog6--it doesn't matter, they're all 21st-level characters and thus may select an epic feat as their newly gained feat.
2) Some character classes grant bonus feats at specific non-epic class level intervals (such as fighter every 2nd or wizard every 5th). These feats must be selected from the list of eligible feats as dictated by the PH. For instance, when a character gains his 16th level in fighter (regardless of his other class levels or his total character level), he gets a bonus feat selected from the list of fighter feats in the PH. ELH doesn't change this rule--just because the character's character level is 21+ doesn't mean the character gets to choose from a different list.
3) Most epic class progressions grant bonus feats at specific class level intervals. These feats must be taken from the list of bonus feats for the class in which the level was gained. That's pretty clearly spelled out by the "Bonus Feats" entry for each class in Chapter 1, as well as by the table for each epic class progression. When you gain your 24th level of barbarian--regardless of your other class levels or your total character level--you get a bonus feat from the list of epic barbarian bonus feats on page 9.
Yet, on page 8 of the ELH, is wording which directly and exactly contradicts this, under "Adding A Second Class." Could you explain why the FAQ, and your answer here, are the opposite of what the book says?
I mean you no offense, and I doa ppreciate your stopping by ... but it is, IMO, much like the FAQ trying to assert that a LOW roll is good on a to-hit or save: 180 degrees from what the books themselves say.
To refresh your memory, the passage I refer to is this one:
ELH page 8, "Adding a Second Class":
[...] All class descriptions provide a list of bonus feats that characters choose from. When you have to choose from a list of bonus feats in your second class, you can also choose from the bonus epic feats described for each specific class below.
Since the section begins by discussing an Epic characetr picking up the
1st level of a second class, I cannot imagine how that means anything other than the
opposite of what you have described here.
IOW, according to page 8 of the ELH, a Wizard(21) picking up their 1st level of Fighter, can choose their bonus feat from either the Fighter (PHB) or Epic Fighter (ELH) bonus feat lists.
The passage doesn't say your
character-level granted feat can do so (obviously, no feat gained by sheer dint of
character-level is limited to a class' specific list). It says
when you are restricted to a list of specific feats. That implies a bonus feat from a class. Put together with what that section is discussing, one can only conclude this would be valid for a Wizard(21)/Fighter(1) choosing their bonus feat (gained as a 1st level fighter).
Yet your answer is completely the opposite of that.
Actually, no, it doesn't. I mean no offense, but I [d]despise[/b] when a FAQ tries to do the job of an Errata. FAQs aren't supposed to
change the rules, they are supposed to
clarify them.
That's what an Errata is for.
Seriously; if you want to change what that passage means, do so in an errata. The FAQ should never contradict the rulebook, it should only clarify it. At present, it contradicts the rulebook, as do you (oddly enough, since you're half of the folks credited as authors

).