Handful of Style feats

[starwed]

I brainstormed a collection of style feats (feats which work with a specific weapon), and it would be nice to get some feedback on them. They tend to have lower prereqs than the style feats in CW, I'm not sure if that is a problem or not.

Reaper [Style]
You wield the scythe with ruthless might.
Prerequisite: Weapon Focus (Scythe), Cleave, base attack bonus +3
Benefit: If you drop an opponent in combat with your scythe, your scythe then deals an extra 1d8 damage to that opponent. When you use the Cleave feat in conjunction with an attack which kills your opponent, your extra attack has a +1 bonus to hit.

10 Mile Staff [Style]
You can make extended strikes when wielding a quarterstaff as a two-handed weapon.
Prerequisite: Weapon Focus (Quarterstaff), Power Attack, base attack bonus +3
Benefit: When using a quarterstaff as a two-handed weapon, your reach increases by five feet.

Shuriken Feint [Style]
Your shuriken can distract the enemy.
Prerequisite: Weapon Focus (shuriken), Improved Feint, base attack bonus +3
Benefit: When you attack with a shuriken, you can choose to feint in combat as a swift action. If you do so, the shuriken misses automatically.
Normal: It takes longer than a swift action to feint, and you cannot do so with a ranged weapon.

Sword and Board [Style]
You use your sword in shield in combination to better effect.
Prerequisite: Weapon Focus (Short sword, longsword, or bastard sword), Proficiency with Shield, Combat Expertise, base attack bonus +3
Benefit: If an opponent attacks and misses you, you get a +1 on all attacks you make against that foe until the end of your next turn. If you strike an enemy with your sword, they take a -1 penalty on any attacks against you until the beginning of your next turn. Neither the bonus nor the penalty are cumulative, and you gain these benefits only while wielding both a sword and shield.

Bloody Claw [Style]
You wield your spiked gauntlets in a particularly deadly fashion, and each successive hit deals more and more damage.
Prerequisite: Two Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (Spiked Gauntlet), base attack bonus +3
Benefit: If you hit an enemy with a spiked gauntlet more than once during you turn, each attack deals additional damage equal to the number of previous hits. Additionally, in your hands spiked gauntlets deal damage as if a size larger.

Steel Wind [Style]
You get the full use of your weapon when you cleave.
Prerequisite: Weapon Focus (two-bladed sword), Two-weapon Fighting, Cleave, base attack bonus +3
Benefit: While using the full attack action to attack with both ends of your two-bladed sword, your cleaving blows are more powerful. If you trigger the Cleave feat, you can make an extra attack with each end of your weapon. (These two attacks must be against different opponents.) Additionally, if you threaten a critical hit, you get a +2 bonus on the roll to confirm the critical.
Normal: When using the Cleave feat you get only one additional attack.

 

[ValhallaGH]

Reaper Style: This is confusing. I get to deal +1d8 on the attack that drops a foe. What if the extra 1d8 is what it takes to drop him? Do I get this extra damage on my Cleave? Do I only get the +1 when I kill, instead of merely rendering unconcious?

10 Mile Staff: You are always using a quarterstaff in two hands. Even when two weapon fighting. Did you mean, "when using a quarterstaff as a two-handed weapon"?

Shuriken Feint: Sneaky and mean. I like this one; although the language chosen may mean that it uses up the benefit for feint immediately.

Sword and Board: It would be cooler if it was cumulative, or if it scaled, but I guess it's okay.

Bloody Claw: That's very powerful. Especially for anyone with multiple attacks per round, such as a TWF Fist of Hextor. Possibly too much so. Dropping the size boost should knock it back into place. Spiked guantlets is mean.

Steel Wind: A bit too situational for my tastes but still neat. How does it interact with Great Cleave?

 

[Kularian]

Reaper: OKay, so you drop an opponent to -4 with a hit, and because he's dropped, you automatically add 1d8 damage. If that kills him, your cleave gets a +1 to hit, right? I think that's how it works.

10 Mile staff: Confusion here as well. I think I know what you mean, but then again, maybe I don't.

Shuriken Feint: I concur. Very nice.

Sword and Board: I'd make these cumulative, or else they become more or less useless at higher levels. But if you hit an enemy 4 times with your sword during a round, they'd take a -4 penalty to hit, which might do something at higher levels. Just a thought.

Bloodly Claw: Not familiar w/ the Fist of Hextor, but I don't see the power behind it, to be honest. If you hit an opponent 3 times in a round, the second hit does and additional damage and the third does two extra. Not that scary, IMO. I loved the Ifrit Gauntlets in Devil May Cry, and this reminds me heavily of them.

Steel Wind: I like it. I don't often use a double-bladed sword, but this seems like it'd be useful. But yes, how does it stack w/ great cleave?

 

[starwed]

Reaper: OKay, so you drop an opponent to -4 with a hit, and because he's dropped, you automatically add 1d8 damage. If that kills him, your cleave gets a +1 to hit, right? I think that's how it works.

Yup, that's what I intended. Looks like the actual wording needs some clarification.

10 Mile Staff: You are always using a quarterstaff in two hands. Even when two weapon fighting. Did you mean, "when using a quarterstaff as a two-handed weapon"?

Yes. Yes I did. Fixed.

Bloody Claw: That's very powerful. Especially for anyone with multiple attacks per round, such as a TWF Fist of Hextor. Possibly too much so. Dropping the size boost should knock it back into place. Spiked guantlets is mean.

I felt the size increase was ok because the base damage is so low. (Just 1d4 for medium creatures.) The other part is balanced somewhat on the assumption that spiked gauntlets are a generally suboptimal choice for dealing damage; if that prestige class you mention also gives a boost to them, then the combination might be broken. But keep in mind that by the time you get a nice damage boost, you're already well into your iterative attacks, and thus missing more often.

Steel Wind: A bit too situational for my tastes but still neat.

That's why I also gave it a +2 to confirm crits. (Half a feat in its own right, and likely increases the chance of cleaving at the same time. ^_^)

How does it interact with Great Cleave?

I have no idea why, but this simply didn't occur to me. What do you guys think is balanced?

 

[Kularian]

Additionally, if you threaten a critical hit, you get a +2 bonus on the roll to confirm the critical.

Ahh, I read that as only occurring when cleaving. Taken separately, I like the ability a lot better,

As for great cleave, I'd let it stay with the standard rules, that you can cleave as many times as you are able. However, if, say you're fighting gobbo's or some other very low HD creature:

You kill one, and use the steel wind feat to cleave two nearby enemies, killing both of them. I would rule that you only get one additional cleave after such an event, instead of two, because that could get very hectic very quickly.

The image of a lightweight warrior spinning and dancing around with said weapon is just too cool

 

[ValhallaGH]

You kill one, and use the steel wind feat to cleave two nearby enemies, killing both of them. I would rule that you only get one additional cleave after such an event, instead of two, because that could get very hectic very quickly.

Yet, it's so very cool! Killing two goblins with every swing; how is that not awesome?
Complicated and possibly too powerful, maybe. But maybe it makes the double-sword worth spending two feats on (EWP and TWF).

I felt the size increase was ok because the base damage is so low. (Just 1d4 for medium creatures.) The other part is balanced somewhat on the assumption that spiked gauntlets are a generally suboptimal choice for dealing damage;

Spiked guantlets are mean. They are punching daggers that cannot be disarmed. Every time I see a Barbarian with a greataxe I just know that he's got a Spiked Guantlet on his hand, in case he loses/needs to drop his axe. No quickdraw, knife damage and lots of good Str behind it.
Your feat ups it to short sword damage. Two guantlets is suddenly an arguably better option than two short swords (a weapon designed to be better than all other light weapons), especially as it is a Simple Weapon.
I have this horrible image of a TWF Barbarian/Ranger with two spiked guantlets, dealing more damage than he would if he were a Frenzied Berserker. This may be inaccurate, as I haven't had the time to crunch the numbers, but I have that image.

It is a very cool feat, though. It has much coolness. I'm just unsure about it's balance. Though maybe it's cool and I'm just a reactionary old fogey.