Feat Problems With PHB II

[comrade raoul]

There are plenty of other high-level fighter feats in PH2. Does it really matter that this one in particular is available to multiclased fighters?

A little, because a Melee Weapon Mastery isn't an especially high-level feat: it's not much tougher to get than some of the more powerful PH feats, like Improved Critical, but if it stacks with Focus and Specialization, it's much stronger than them. There are some good reasons not to like this: very good but easily accessible feats give characters a big disincentive not to take them, resulting in more characters who make those choices. It's a homogenizing, problematic influence.

(For example, let's say you designed a feat like this:

AWESOME [GENERAL]
You're just an awesome dude, in general.
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to all ability scores.
Special: You may only choose this feat at first level.

This would be a terrible feat because it basically removes the feat everyone gets at first level: characters who don't choose Awesome are massively penalized compared to those who do. Characters have one less opportunity to individuate themselves.)

Another problem is what gets done to the first four levels of fighter, which provide an extremely quick way to get very large attack and damage benefits -- if a fifth-level character takes four levels of fighter to get Specialization and Mastery, he gets +2 to attack, +4 to damage, and two feats of choice. If the same progression were presented as a five-level prestige class, it'd be unequivocally broken.

Finally, I think Melee Weapon Mastery is just more interesting when it doesn't stack: it gives fighters a reason to branch out in a way that they wouldn't have if they were also proportionately more effective with their single, chosen weapon, and it's still a perfectly powerful, appealing feat by virtue of the other feats it's a prerequisite for.

So in light of all that, and the feat's flavor text, I'm wondering, if any insiders can answer: did Wizards intend for Melee Weapon Mastery to stack?

 

[Kermez]

"Fighter" feats

Anyone else notice that Weapon Supremacy, which requires you to be an 18th level Fighter - amongst its other higher level Fighter-only feat requirements - is not, itself, a Fighter bonus feat?

Egregious oversight, or a hand-forcer to take only Fighter levels until at least 18th level (or use a precious Epic-level feat to acquire it)?

And, on a related note, what's with all the feats that have Fighter bonus feats and/or high BAB as prerequisites, but are not themselves Fighter bonus feats (including - but not limited to - Bounding Assault, Combat Tactician, Crushing Strike, Driving Attack, Overwhelming Assault, Rapid Blitz, Slashing Flurry, and Weapon Supremacy), while some Fighter bonus feats are feats for which a single-classed Fighter would be hard-pressed to qualify, if at all (including - but not limited to - Acrobatic Strike, Battle Dancer, and Combat Acrobat)?