New feat help

[Stone Angel]

I was thinking a feat along the lines cleave except for ranged weapons. Pierce; an arrow could be so accurate that it passes through one opponent into an opponent directly behind him.

I like this idea but don't want to make it overpowered. Opponents must be in a straight line, something should determine for what actually allows the arrow to "pierce" through the victim. Relative hardness from opponents armor versus damage dealt by the arrow.

Help is much appreciated.

 

[Kemrain]

I really like the idea, but throwing a complicated mechanic, like throwing the ammount of damage at the armor bonus and seeing if the damage is great enough to penetrate the body and strike into the next target for whatever damage got through, or someting even along those lines, seems to me to be something that will slow the game down quite a bit, especialy since most people going the archery route get copious numbers of attacks a round.

(That's my bid at longest sentance ever...)

I'd just give it the cleave mechanic. If you drop a guy with an arrow, it'll pass through and you can make another attack with the same bonus against the next guy in a straight line. You get one of these a round. Take Great Penetration to get multiple.

- Kemrain the Sharp.

 

[Zerakon]

In all honesty, it seems pretty silly. I can buy cleave because I can buy the swordsman's muscles powering the sword through one opponent and directing it toward the next one. For a missile weapon, though? Eh. Just seems too far-fetched. I could buy into the idea of magical projectiles that had this ability, but not a person who learned how to do it well in the form of a feat.

 

[Kemrain]

Please don't yell at me; I tried to simply edit my post, but it won't load. Cursed work computer!

I thought I'd suggest some prerequisites for this Penetration feat. Because of the way it works, and it's relation to Cleave, I'd suggest requiring Power Attack and Point Blank Shot. If you want to make it even harder to get, require Prescice Shot. You need to be able to strike accurately to be able to deal good damage and still have the arrow penetrate.

Any one else have any thoughts?

- Kemrain the "No! I'm not just trying to get more posts. Really. No, really!"

 

[Tilla the Hun (work)]

I was thinking a feat along the lines cleave except for ranged weapons. Pierce; an arrow could be so accurate that it passes through one opponent into an opponent directly behind him.

I like this idea but don't want to make it overpowered. Opponents must be in a straight line, something should determine for what actually allows the arrow to "pierce" through the victim. Relative hardness from opponents armor versus damage dealt by the arrow.

Help is much appreciated.

You might want to check out a product that was released shortly after 3.0 D20 dnd was. They made Diablo II into a DND mod. I remember looking at it closely, but never actually buying it.

The amanonian feat tree included this feat you are looking at creating. It might be a good starting point.


That said, I don't believe I'd ever let it happen in my game . At least, not the way cleave works.


I'd allow a feat that specifically required a projectile that did str damage in excess of 4. Said projectile, if it killed the target, could then 'pierce through' target and strike at the next target with the same attack bonus and 1/2 damage done to the first. or maybe the damage total - hp's on the first guy is done to the second.

The hidden cost therein is trying to get two opponents (or more) lined up for a piercing arrow It's not too hard on D2 with a lot of opponents, but when they were few, or scattered, or ranged opponents, it was virtually useless...

 

[Magic Slim]

(That's my bid at longest sentance ever...)

You're no Marcel Proust!

Tilla's / Diablo's mechanic could be a simple one and a cool one. If an arrow kills an opponent, the arrow goes through. For determining if it hits another enemy, use the same To-Hit roll. For determining damage... hm... it'd probably be simplest to go for a fraction of the damage (½), but that can make for some devastating critically-hitting arrows.

Also, don't forget to consider how this will stack with Rapid Shot / Manyshot / Sneak attack / Energy attacks / Ray spells...

Slim

 

[Tilla the Hun (work)]

You're no Marcel Proust!

Tilla's / Diablo's mechanic could be a simple one and a cool one. If an arrow kills an opponent, the arrow goes through. For determining if it hits another enemy, use the same To-Hit roll. For determining damage... hm... it'd probably be simplest to go for a fraction of the damage (½), but that can make for some devastating critically-hitting arrows.

Also, don't forget to consider how this will stack with Rapid Shot / Manyshot / Sneak attack / Energy attacks / Ray spells...

Slim

I had not been thinking of those things... although only manyshot and sneak attack would actually apply, IMO. I'm assuming a 'pierce' type projectile is a prereq for the feat.

You would probably want to limit it to one/half the projectile base damage - no str mod, crit multiply, or sneak attack damage.

Heh - I think I may finally be shedding my powergamer persona

 

[Kemrain]

I'd say...

You get one of these in a round, like you would with Cleave. It should work only with arrows or bolts, dealing piercing damage, and n thrown weapons (unless your Strength is absolutely obscene). If you hit and kill your intended target with an arrow (or bolt), this feat kicks in. You make another attack roll (at the same bonus <possibly minus magic bonus>)at the next target in a straight line, they need not be adjacent, but they must be within one range incriment, and deal full arrow damage, as if you fired another at them.

Basically, this is Ranged Cleave, so it should, for simplicity's sake, work as close to the origional as possible. To make this more difficult to pull off, if you are afraid of power issues, you could say that the second target attacked benefits from its own AC, or the AC of the first target to be hit, whichever is greater. I restricted it to one range incriment, but this shouldn't be too much of a detriment, and just makes sense. You should have to roll again to hit (not sure if you ment that nor not by "same To-Hit roll") and the damage should probably simply be rolled again, at base arrow damage. No strength bonus from mighty bows, and magical bonuses should only apply if you could retrieve the ammunition and use it again. I say this because all the strength bonus was used to penetrate, and if the magic is used up, it won't affect the second target at all, neither to hit, or to damage.

- Kemrain the 'No Marcel Proust.'

 

[Scion]

I am pretty sure that there are rules for grenade like weapons. If you say that evertime you score max damage on a hit you roll on the grenade like weapons for direction and see if there is anyone within half of one range increment in that direction and make an attack roll against that person. (thrown weapons have increments of 10 feet, so it could hit someone within 5 feet, not altogether impossible)

Since HP are very subjective this could be a 'real' occurance. (for less power you could have it only work on min damage or something similar)

Obviously it would automatically be rolled for any critical. I think that for a feat, and the randomness that is involved it would be very interesting, although potentially complicated. It may work better as a weapon enhancement.

 

[Stone Angel]

yeah I think that I am going to make it just like a ranged cleave. I am going to restrict it to point blank range and no opponent to be more than 10' from another, no reason to cleave someone at 100 yards. Do you think there should be a greater pierce feat where you could pierce multiple opponents?