Making the Dodge feat +1 AC vs. any/all?

[the Jester]

Dodge is a nightmare for the forgetful. I actually expected it to change to a flat +1 in 3.5, but it didn't- I think it would be fine that way, personally.

 

[Scion]

I've changed it in my campaign and the dm of the one I am in changed it to be the same.

Even then people wont take it unless it is used as a prereq, it is just weak all around for the most part, even with this boost.

The one person who has taken it in the group would otherwise always forget about declaring it, and that would be even more unfortunate ;/

Also, for the feats in complete warrior you still have to pick a specific foe, or it simply defaults to whatever the player sets up to begin with. Easy enough.

 

[Black Knight Irios]

I think that the Dodge feat, as it is written, indeed is a weak feat. And you have always to remember to which opponent you had applied that bonus.
+1 dodge bonus against all opponents would make it much more interessting and easier to handle.
I've never felt that Dodge is a good choice if I don't need any feats that require Dodge as a prerequisite. :\
But there are many other feats out there, where many people complain, that they are simply to weak. But as always nothin's perfect and some guys will always complain.

 

[Plane Sailing]

You can see how the designers placed it as it is.

feats that give a bonus that might come up once a combat (imp init, cbt casting) get +4

Feats that come up every round (weapon focus on every hit) +1

Feats that come up less than every round (weapon spec - only when you hit) +2

Since a dodge vs all targets would give the +1 benefit against potentially multiple opponents it would have been "too good", so it was scaled down to work against only 1 opponent (making it notionally the same scale of benefit as weapon focus, which gives a +1 hit for all attacks you make against 1 opponent).


Having said that, I personally don't think it is an issue to allow it to be a blanket +1 dodge bonus to AC because it's not such a big thing really.

Cheers

 

[Deadguy]

One option I have tried out was making Dodge +1 against all melee opponents, but not against ranged attacks. That way, you trim out a little power in return for making it easy to apply to most combat situations.

 

[Someone]

I´ve house rules it to be a flat +1 since I started DMing; much easier to remember, and I don´t think it´s overpowered.

 

[shilsen]

Same here. Just the fact that it doesn't have to be remembered on a round-by-round basis made the change worthwhile, IMC.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

(making it notionally the same scale of benefit as weapon focus, which gives a +1 hit for all attacks you make against 1 opponent).

Except that Weapon Focus isn't limited to 1 opponent. If you attack three opponents in the same round, it works against all three. Indeed, a better description of weapon focus is to say that it works "whenever you attack." Thus the compliment would be a feat granting +1 AC whenever you are attacked.

Of course, Weapon Focus requires that you choose a single weapon, while Dodge does not, which is why I think they required you choose a single foe. The problem is that these two choices are not functionally the same limitation. By midlevels you've already specialized in a single weapon (part of which was the choice of WF,) so the "single weapon" is not particularly relevent. Meanwhile, you're still doing battle with multiple foes and only gaining +1 AC against one of them.

Having said that, I personally don't think it is an issue to allow it to be a blanket +1 dodge bonus to AC because it's not such a big thing really.

My thoughts exactly, and how I've always house-ruled it.

 

[Treebore]

Think about it, if giving a
+1 dodge bonus to AC is a game breaker, something else is wrong. i have done it this way for over a year. dodge is actually good, no one "forgets" it, and it sure hasn't made anyone nearly impossible to hit.

Do it, it won't break anything and your players will actually remember to use it because it can be factored into their primary AC total. another thing, it makes it more on par with a feat that lets you hit anything you swing at with a +1 to hit, or a +2 to damage. i find to hit bonuses to be a much bigger pain than AC bonuses for balance issues.

 

[Old Gumphrey]

i find to hit bonuses to be a much bigger pain than AC bonuses for balance issues.

That's a good point, and brings to mind something else. Active bonuses (bonuses that you decide where to apply) are generally much better than Passive bonuses (those that apply automatically). Now yes, you choose who to dodge using the core feat, but you don't choose when they attack you. You only get +1 to hit with one weapon, but as long as you have that weapon in your hand, you get to pick where you direct that bonus. Add to this the fact that your ability to attack increases automatically, and I would argue that defensive feats can be a little more powerful (and really, most of them are, probably for this reason).