[Feat] Danger Sense: What do you think?

[Cloudgatherer]

Just an idea I had....

Danger Sense
Some people have a feel for the dangerous situations....
Prerequisites: Blind-Fight
Benefit: When caught flat-footed, you do not lose your Dexterity modifier to your AC.

Essentially, this is a very restricted form of uncanny dodge, but only applies to being caught by surprise. I choose blindfight as the prereq because I thought it fit nicely, being able to react to someone you cannot see, Danger Sense takes it one step further.

 

[med stud]

Looks OK to me. I wouldnt put it on the Fighter bonus feat list, though

 

[kreynolds]

Uncanny Dodge at 1st level? Kinda takes away the edge the rogue has, and the rogue doesn't even get it until 3rd level. Granted, this feat wouldn't help you against an invisible attacker, but still.

 

[Cloudgatherer]

The feat requires Blind-Fight, so that helps with invisible attackers...

What it can't do is help someone with flanking. And it is not truly uncanny dodge.

 

[hong]

The feat requires Blind-Fight, so that helps with invisible attackers...

What it can't do is help someone with flanking. And it is not truly uncanny dodge.

However, it's close enough to UD as to make no difference, I think. One of the guidelines in creating feats is that you shouldn't steal a class's schtick, and UD is one of these schticks.

If you want to get something like Danger Sense, the way to get it should be to multiclass to rogue or barbarian. Or the martial artist (one of the six million such classes that appeared on the net after release of CTHD).

 

[kreynolds]

The feat requires Blind-Fight, so that helps with invisible attackers...

What it can't do is help someone with flanking. And it is not truly uncanny dodge.

And a 3rd level rogue's Uncanny Dodge doesn't help against flanking either. But any 1st level human character would be able to take this feat. It seriously weakens the rogue at early levels, taking away the one advantage that the class has at low levels.

 

[Cloudgatherer]

Good points. I think if we add a prereq or two it will balance out with the rogues abilities and not steal his thunder, so to say.

Perhaps a Prereq of a +3 base reflex save would eliminate this problem? Any additional prerequisites that might better balance this feat?

 

[kreynolds]

Any additional prerequisites that might better balance this feat?

How about "must have sneak attack ability"?

 

[twjensen]

balanced as the magic items

I don't really see a problem with it. If you allow cloaks of elvenkind, boots of speed, the knock spell, the expeditious retreat spell, rings of evasion or any other such magic then you're already diluting the shtick of various classes in one way or another.

IMC I don't allow any of the items that duplicate a class feature. I also disallow items that give better than +5 circumstance to a skill. (a 1st level rogue should be better than a goat herder with a magic item)

I DO allow all the PHB spells even if I don't like all of them. Additionally, I'd also consider allowing class-feature-like feats as long as the feat does not completely duplicate the class feature. There should always be a bit of an edge to the class feature. For example, having the "run" feat is not as good as being a barbarian or a monk for movement.

 

[kreynolds]

Re: balanced as the magic items

I(a 1st level rogue should be better than a goat herder with a magic item)

A goat herder can't afford a magic item. If yours can, you really need to ask yourself why you have an Epic Level Goat Herder NPC running around in your campaign.