[proposal] Genasi Feat: Mindful Manifestor

[fireinthedust]

No hurry on my end, unless you're thinking "yes". I'd rather not force everyone to shut down the idea before I can, erm, convince everyone that it's in fact a brilliant idea!


I see the counter points, tho. Thanks for weighing in so far. ...now let's bury this thread before it goes against me, eh?

 

[Dunamin]

Pretty much what LS said. I've also been very busy lately, but I'll drop more thorough input on this if something comes to mind.

Offhand, though, I'm reluctant. I have trouble putting my finger on why, exactly, but some of the points seem to already have been brought up. My main concern is probably that on its own the feat doesn't seem that bad, but its acceptance might set a precedent that basically says: "Customize Feats To Suit Your Personal Build".

I wouldn't despair, though. Perhaps something similar by chance is already included in the new Arcane Power?

 

[Don Incognito]

I don't like it.

At all.

 

[Ozymandias79]

I also doesn't like the proposal but I will keep open mind anyway

Ozymandias79

 

[elecgraystone]

First, I don't think this is unbalanced; in addition to Intelligent Blademaster, compare also to the Martial Training feat from PHB2 (which pretty much makes Intelligent Blademaster obsolete).

I should point out that Intelligent Blademaster is superior to Martial Training in one way. Because of the wording of the feat, thrown weapons also use your int for ranged basic attacks. "You can use your Intelligence modifier instead of your Strength modifier when making a basic attack with a melee weapon."

Thrown weapons are always melee weapons with the [light/heavy] thrown trait and a ranged basic attack IS a basic attack.

 

[elecgraystone]

How about a feat like Expertise instead?

Racial Expertise​

Benefit:​

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You gain a+1 bonus to attack rolls with any racial power you use. The bonus increases to +2 at 15th level and +3 at 25th level.​

 

[Don Incognito]

Don't get me wrong, Melee Training (read: Intelligent Blademaster) is a powerful feat. However, it is also a balanced one; it only works for basic attacks, not for at-will powers. The poster says that he wants to go Elemental Tempest, which means he'll probably want the powers from the PrC to also be keyed to his Intelligence. So that's one feat that would change the attack stat of, by my count, three encounter powers and one daily (Firepulse, Earthshock, Tempest Burst, and Elemental Fury). That's pretty narrow for one feat, and I'm not sure that I like its implications. This opens the door for Charisma-fueled Dragon Breath, or Dexterity-fueled Darkfires, or Intelligence-fueled Infernal Wrath.

I don't like it. It makes characters too cookie-cutter. If you want to be a Genasi wizard, then fine. But in 4e, not everyone can do everything. Races are generally geared toward certain classes, and those who deviate pay the price. A dwarf who chooses to be a wizard probably won't get much use out of Encumbered Speed or Dwarven Weapon Proficiency, but that doesn't mean that you should be able to pay a feat tax to trade them in for something more useful.

 

[elecgraystone]

A dwarf who chooses to be a wizard probably won't get much use out of Encumbered Speed or Dwarven Weapon Proficiency, but that doesn't mean that you should be able to pay a feat tax to trade them in for something more useful.

I don't know about that. The warhammer is a d10 versatile weapon that if keyed off a wizards int sounds like it gives a wizard a pretty good chance to hit with an opportunity attack and do some real damage. The throwing hammer is a isn't a bad basic ranged attack too if the wizard didn't take a power that counted as one.

You'll also note that Encumbered Speed works when you are carrying a heavy load so it's far from useless to a dwarf wizard that will likely be lacking in strength.

Personally I don't see an issue with the original feat. There aren't THAT many racial attacks a person can get and WOTC has made it clear that cookie-cutter feats are just fine. I see no problem with 'This opens the door for Charisma-fueled Dragon Breath, or Dexterity-fueled Darkfires, or Intelligence-fueled Infernal Wrath'. The company that makes the game doesn't seem to mind feats that let you do things better than your class/race normally would, so why should I?

EDIT: To those of you that worry that it'll lead to character ending up with everything using the same stat, well you can do that now. Take a genasi fighter. Racial powers key off STR. Class powers key off STR. Basic attacks key off STR [even ranged with heavy thrown].

AND it should be noted that fighter ISN'T one of the classes they favor but everything they do uses their best stat.

 

[fireinthedust]

EDIT: To those of you that worry that it'll lead to character ending up with everything using the same stat, well you can do that now. Take a genasi fighter. Racial powers key off STR. Class powers key off STR. Basic attacks key off STR [even ranged with heavy thrown].

AND it should be noted that fighter ISN'T one of the classes they favor but everything they do uses their best stat.

Ditto the Ranger and Warlord. And with an Int bonus, tactical Warlord isn't too bad.

 

[elecgraystone]

Ditto the Ranger and Warlord. And with an Int bonus, tactical Warlord isn't too bad.

Yeah, I don't see why it's OK for some stats to used for everything and some not. I see nothing wrong with a feat to allow the use of the race's stat that gets a bonus. It makes more sense to do that than to have it key off stats that they don't excel at, like DEX and CON. Why does STR get all the love?