Feats: Not enough or too many?

[Presto2112]

If every feat applied to every character type, I'd be inclined to say yes, but since the prerequisities for the majority of the non-core feats are quite specific in terms of what you do and make out of your character, then I'm forced to say no, there aren't too many.

 

[JoeGKushner]

The biggest problem with feats, IMO, is not that there are so many of them, but rather that PCs get so few. This is especially painful when many PrCs require one or more specific feats be chosen, which really hurts when you only get 7 ever.

Thirded.

Another problem is inconsistenacy in power level. Some of the feats from Exalted Deeds for example give you +1 to a roll once a day. Another official product has a similiar 'luck' feat where you get +1d6 to a roll once a day.

If they can't be bothered to keep things consistant...

 

[Razz]

You can't have too many feats. Feats are supposed to represent just that, a feat a character can do that no other can (unless they train and get the feat as well). It separates you from the others of your role, it makes sure you're unique compared to everyone else.

As long as new material keep coming out, you can expect for more feats. I feel feats for Spellthieves, Ninjas, and psionic characters are lacking, their needs to be more. Other areas need to be touched up on more feats too like the material from Magic of Incarnum and Tome of Magic, for example.

 

[The_Gneech]

There are tons of feats I'll never use; at the same time, there are feats I'd love to see that don't exist.

I suspect that's true for a lot of people, and also that their lists of which are which, would be significantly different from mine!

The game needs to please all of us, so it's going to continue in this vein. So yeah, more feats, please!

And I agree, characters in general need to get more feats.

-The Gneech

 

[Shade]

I don't think there are too many feats...just too many useless ones. The PHB II design philosophy, that things can be as good as what's in the core books, has reinvigorated me on feats. I'd love to see a Feats Compendium taking the reams of useless feats and applying this philosophy to actually make them worthwhile.

 

[Li Shenron]

Feats are the only part of 3ed which I think there's never enough. There are still many areas of the core rules which are best served with feats than with base/prestige classes abilities.

For instance, any sort of specialization with armor (reducing ACP, reducing ASF, improving AC, improving movement, extra defense capabilities) is still not explored enough. Same thing with opening up new tactics or improvements to charge, grapple, overrun, bull rush...

Why feats are the best piece of rule for these IMO? Because feats are open to everyone (save a few exceptions). Prestige classes in theory are open to everyone, but in practice they're not. New base classes are even worse because require you to fit your character into a completely different advencement "railroad", or otherwise at least face multiclassing which is just unfeasible with caster classes.

What I don't like instead, is all those feats which give supernatural powers which basically just end up being a rehash of existing abilities.
Especially I dislike feats with half a page of rules, a feat should be as simple as 2-5 lines of description.
Furthermore, I'd like to see feats which don't always require Power Attack or Combat Expertise, but feats which you can take without needing other feats, or at least which require something different that these 2...

In short, there's too many unnecessary (and unnecessarily complicated) feats, and not enough basic feats.

 

[Razz]

I don't think there are too many feats...just too many useless ones. The PHB II design philosophy, that things can be as good as what's in the core books, has reinvigorated me on feats. I'd love to see a Feats Compendium taking the reams of useless feats and applying this philosophy to actually make them worthwhile.

I agree, I have seen some near useless feats. Not entirely useless, just useless to the PCs. I have seen some that a player will gloss over because it doesn't offer as much as a feat should. I do give them to NPCs, however. So they're not entirely useless.

 

[Shade]

Feats are the only part of 3ed which I think there's never enough. There are still many areas of the core rules which are best served with feats than with base/prestige classes abilities.

For instance, any sort of specialization with armor (reducing ACP, reducing ASF, improving AC, improving movement, extra defense capabilities) is still not explored enough. Same thing with opening up new tactics or improvements to charge, grapple, overrun, bull rush...

Why feats are the best piece of rule for these IMO? Because feats are open to everyone (save a few exceptions). Prestige classes in theory are open to everyone, but in practice they're not. New base classes are even worse because require you to fit your character into a completely different advencement "railroad", or otherwise at least face multiclassing which is just unfeasible with caster classes.

What I don't like instead, is all those feats which give supernatural powers which basically just end up being a rehash of existing abilities.
Especially I dislike feats with half a page of rules, a feat should be as simple as 2-5 lines of description.
Furthermore, I'd like to see feats which don't always require Power Attack or Combat Expertise, but feats which you can take without needing other feats, or at least which require something different that these 2...

In short, there's too many unnecessary (and unnecessarily complicated) feats, and not enough basic feats.

Excellent points!

I'd also add that we have too many feats that could essentially be one feat. For example, these aren't real feats but I've seen feats like this before:

Fire Focus
Your fire spells are harder to resist.
Benefit: Add +1 to the DC of spells you cast with the fire descriptor.

Next supplement releases...

Cold Focus
Your cold spells are harder to resist.
Benefit: Add +1 to the DC of spells you cast with the cold descriptor.

And so on, when they could have simply made this feat...

Energy Focus
Choose one energy type. Spells you cast with this energy type are harder to resist.
Benefit: Add +1 to the DC of spells you cast with the chosen energy descriptor.
Special: You may select this feat more than once. Its effects do not stack. Each time you choose this feat, select a different energy type.

 

[Seeker95]

Like Psion, I did not respond. My choice "there are plenty" was not offered.

 

[DragonLancer]

Theres far far far (add as many fars as you like) too many feats being released. Every book seems to have like 15+ feats. Its too much, it really is. Lets see more fluff and less crunch for a year or so.