Please rate Arcane Defense

[smetzger]

Arcane Defense [General]
REQ: Spell Focus in the school chosen
Benefit: Add +2 to your saving throws against spells of the chosen school. You may take this feat multiple times but the effects don’t stack. Each time you take this feat it must apply to a new school of magic. Tome and Blood, pg 38.

 

[Shard O'Glase]

It sucks. About the only benefit is it can give some specialist flavor, but way weaker than iron will etc and it actually has pre-reqs.

 

[Spatzimaus]

Suckage. Totally outclassed by the Iron Will type of Feats. Its only real advantage is that it stacks with Iron Will and its kin.

The problem, IMO, is that it's just the usual +2 bonus that you can get tons of other ways. Yawn. I mean, they COULD make the bonus larger, but then it'd just get ridiculous.
Better options:

"If you fail a saving throw against a spell of the chosen school, you can re-roll the check. The second roll stands."

or

"You can Take 10 on saving throws against spells of the chosen school"

or

"You gain Spell Resistance equal to your caster level plus 5 against spells of the chosen school."

Any of these would be preferable to the original, and more interesting.

 

[Stalker0]

Yeah its crap, maybe if it was a +4 or something, but compared to the iron wills and such it just doesn't hold.

 

[Merlion]

I think its good for representing a specialists enhanced knowledge of their school. Dont really like the prequisite although it does make sense

 

[Gaiden]

Flavor feat only that I could never imagine a PC taking. Worthless in comparison to the non-prereq +2 to a type of save feats that are much MUCH better than it.

 

[Merlion]

I just dont really see that myself. first to me flavour for a feat is very much a good thing...I think thats part of why they exist. second not counting the whole prequisite thing the effect isnt really that inferior to Iron Will etc..just different. instead of only helping one save it helps against a single school. I could see it being very helpful against Evocation Transmutation Enchantment and Necromancy particularly.

 

[Victim]

Evocations are Reflex saves, Enchantments are Will saves, Necromancies are Fort saves. Just take the regular saving throw feats as your specialist defense.

Each specialist defense feat protects against 1/6 or so of magical spell attacks (ignoring Div and Abjuration). Each normal save feat protects against 1/3 of save based attacks and works against supernatural abilities.

 

[Spatzimaus]

Right, and we haven't even brought Psionics into this yet. Iron Will protects against Telepathy, for example, but that's not quite the same thing as Enchantment.

Or Poisons/Diseases/Massive Damage/anything nonmagical requiring a Fort save. Greater Fortitude helps, Arcane Defense doesn't.
How about magical weapons requiring a saving throw? (Thundering, Slaying, etc.)

 

[Roland Delacroix]

I just dont really see that myself. first to me flavour for a feat is very much a good thing...I think thats part of why they exist. second not counting the whole prequisite thing the effect isnt really that inferior to Iron Will etc..just different. instead of only helping one save it helps against a single school. I could see it being very helpful against Evocation Transmutation Enchantment and Necromancy particularly.

See Spycraft for a whole collection of feats that both add flavour AND are usefull to a character. Yes, both can exist together.

Arcane Defense sucks arse. I can't think of a single adventure or module where even Toughness wouldn't be better.