Kemrain
First Post
I've seen a lot of threads lately about how unfavorably the Fighter compares to the updated 3.5 classes. I also saw a thread about drawing a weapon and attacking an opponent who provokes an attack of opportunity. Those threads have me thinking, never a good thing, and what I've come up with is different, to say the least.
Feat Synergy:
Many feats compliment each other in ways currently unsupported by the rules. It makes sense that with Combat Reflexes and Quickdraw you could draw a weapon and attack someone who provoked an attack of opportunity, even though the rules forbid it. Those with the Shot on the Run and Manyshot feats can move, fire and move, or fire multiple arrows at once, but even though drawing arrows is a free action they can’t both be done at once. You have a higher AC using Combat Expertise and Fighting Defensively, still making attacks, than you would by devoting yourself fully to defense? Even though you’re proficient, have great Endurance and can Run faster than most, heavy armor and encumberance still slows you right down? What I’m proposing is a way to make these ideas possible and plausible in your game, reward innovative thinking, and reward your players for taking feats that many would regard as beneath notice.
So if you have two feats, you get another special benefit, simply for having both? It’s not a stretch that this idea does little more than grant more feats to those who already have lots of feats. Yes, Fighters benefit the most from Feat Synergy, though that need not be a bad thing. Fighters might get more feats, but many find the class lacking when compared to the other combat classes, especially the 3.5 Ranger and Paladin (both combat classes with plenty of abilities and spells, too.) The Fighter has been reduced to a multiclassing tool, something you take a few levels of to give your character a combat infusion. Though anyone can benefit from Feat Synnergy, the Fighter has the most to gain, and that’s ok.
In practice:
If you have Combat Reflexes, Quickdraw, a 15+ Dex and a BAB of 1+, you may draw a weapon and make an attack of opportunity (at the cost of 3 AoO’s for that round,) upon an opponent who provoked within the area you would have threatened had you drawn your weapon before the attack was provoked. Though multiple attacks of opportunity can be made, only one weapon may be drawn in this manner each round. Though you can attack an opponent you would threaten if you were armed, before you draw and attack you are still considered unarmed, and do not truly threaten an area (and thus, you provide no flanking bonuses to allies.)
In conclusion:
I'm excited about this idea, and I hope to find others who are excited by it as well. I'm hoping to compile a list of possible Feat Synnergies, with the help of ENWorld, for use in my campaigns. It might not be for everyone, but I doubt there's a single person who hasn't come up with some way to use two abilities together that isn't supported in the rules. Let your creativity flow.
- Kemrain the Synergistic.
Feat Synergy:
Many feats compliment each other in ways currently unsupported by the rules. It makes sense that with Combat Reflexes and Quickdraw you could draw a weapon and attack someone who provoked an attack of opportunity, even though the rules forbid it. Those with the Shot on the Run and Manyshot feats can move, fire and move, or fire multiple arrows at once, but even though drawing arrows is a free action they can’t both be done at once. You have a higher AC using Combat Expertise and Fighting Defensively, still making attacks, than you would by devoting yourself fully to defense? Even though you’re proficient, have great Endurance and can Run faster than most, heavy armor and encumberance still slows you right down? What I’m proposing is a way to make these ideas possible and plausible in your game, reward innovative thinking, and reward your players for taking feats that many would regard as beneath notice.
So if you have two feats, you get another special benefit, simply for having both? It’s not a stretch that this idea does little more than grant more feats to those who already have lots of feats. Yes, Fighters benefit the most from Feat Synergy, though that need not be a bad thing. Fighters might get more feats, but many find the class lacking when compared to the other combat classes, especially the 3.5 Ranger and Paladin (both combat classes with plenty of abilities and spells, too.) The Fighter has been reduced to a multiclassing tool, something you take a few levels of to give your character a combat infusion. Though anyone can benefit from Feat Synnergy, the Fighter has the most to gain, and that’s ok.
In practice:
If you have Combat Reflexes, Quickdraw, a 15+ Dex and a BAB of 1+, you may draw a weapon and make an attack of opportunity (at the cost of 3 AoO’s for that round,) upon an opponent who provoked within the area you would have threatened had you drawn your weapon before the attack was provoked. Though multiple attacks of opportunity can be made, only one weapon may be drawn in this manner each round. Though you can attack an opponent you would threaten if you were armed, before you draw and attack you are still considered unarmed, and do not truly threaten an area (and thus, you provide no flanking bonuses to allies.)
In conclusion:
I'm excited about this idea, and I hope to find others who are excited by it as well. I'm hoping to compile a list of possible Feat Synnergies, with the help of ENWorld, for use in my campaigns. It might not be for everyone, but I doubt there's a single person who hasn't come up with some way to use two abilities together that isn't supported in the rules. Let your creativity flow.
- Kemrain the Synergistic.
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