Protector's Shield Feat

[Patlin]

I'm trying to evaluate this feat. At first glance, 1-8 additional damage on an ability I expect I won't often get to use (our group, including the DMs, avoid provoking OAs as a general rule) seems trivial and unworthy of a feat. However, it occurs to me that there may be a "hidden" benefit.

Without modification, the Spirit Shield attack deals only wisdom modifier damage. As it does not involve a dice roll, effects which provide bonuses to damage rolls don't help it. With a 24 wisdom, Spirit Shield does exactly 7 damage each and every time, excluding criticals, even if you are holding a +5 totem.

With the Protector's Shield feat, you have a damage roll. I'm inclined to believe a non critical hit with the feat-modified Spirit Shield with 24 wisdom and +5 totem would deal 1d8+12 damage rather than 7 damage. That's enough of a difference to justify the feat, I think.

Is this just boundless optimism, or am I interpreting the relevant rules correctly?

Bonus question: As I was writing this, it occurred to me that a critical hit with a typical magic totem would provide extra dice of damage, which by the same argument might allow in effects which aid damage rolls. Would a character with the above items on a critical (no feat) deal 5d6+7 damage, 5d6+12 damage, or just 7 damage?

Thank you all in advance for your input!

 

[Mort_Q]

It's an implement power, so WIS + TOTEM + 1d8 + whatever the totem does to a crit.

Without the feat it's WIS + TOTEM + whatever the totem does to a crit.

The feat adds nothing, save the 1d8, as I read it.

 

[kaomera]

It's an implement power, so WIS + TOTEM + 1d8 + whatever the totem does to a crit.

Without the feat it's WIS + TOTEM + whatever the totem does to a crit.

The feat adds nothing, save the 1d8, as I read it.

Enhancement bonus only adds to damage rolls, not flat damage as normally caused by Spirit Shield. I think you would still get the bonus dice on a crit, but I'm unsure if you can add the enhancement bonus to those dice.

 

[Aulirophile]

It's an implement power, so WIS + TOTEM + 1d8 + whatever the totem does to a crit.

Without the feat it's WIS + TOTEM + whatever the totem does to a crit.

The feat adds nothing, save the 1d8, as I read it.

If you carefully read any magic item it says "adds x to hit and damage rolls." No roll = no add. Flat damage scales extremely poorly for this specific reason.

I'd say yes, if you add a roll to a power from a feat, cast that power through an item, you get the item's enh bonus and other misc. bonuses.

 

[yesnomu]

Yeah, if it doesn't allow implement bonuses, there's not much point to the feat (4.5 damage roughly once per encounter, woo). However, there are so many useful shaman feats now that my level 12 one hasn't really felt tempted to snag it yet.

 

[Patlin]

Yeah, if it doesn't allow implement bonuses, there's not much point to the feat (4.5 damage roughly once per encounter, woo). However, there are so many useful shaman feats now that my level 12 one hasn't really felt tempted to snag it yet.

Yeah, I've gone through and picked most of the feats I'll want, and I'd have trouble fitting Protector's Shield in. One interesting thing is that I've found the shaman, unlike the swordmage, doesn't have much incentive to swap out heroic tier feats for paragon feats. I'm not actually taking feats I'll want to get rid of later. At least, that's how it seems from the drawing board....

 

[jbear]

You can't swap Heroic Tier feats for Paragon Tier feats in any case.

 

[Aulirophile]

You can't swap Heroic Tier feats for Paragon Tier feats in any case.

Uh, yes you can. At level 11 you can retrain any feat you know, to any feat you can now learn, including Paragon ones. So at level 11 you can have 2 Paragon Feats, at level 12 you can have 4, at level 13 you can have 5, level 14 you can have 7..... Ditto epic. Right there in the retraining rules. One of the few reliable things in the CB actually, is feat qualification and retraining. I haven't found a RAW error in either.

 

[jbear]

Err... at level 11 Im looking at the feats you can retrain for my heroic tier feats, and no paragon tier feats appear available for retraining... just raised pc to lvl 12 and tried to swap out level 6 feat... again none of them appear... so, no, you can't swap heroic tier feats for paragon feats. Sorry to disappoint you.

Yes, it seems the CB is very reliable.

 

[Aulirophile]

Err... at level 11 Im looking at the feats you can retrain for my heroic tier feats, and no paragon tier feats appear available for retraining... just raised pc to lvl 12 and tried to swap out level 6 feat... again none of them appear... so, no, you can't swap heroic tier feats for paragon feats. Sorry to disappoint you.

Yes, it seems the CB is very reliable.

Wait for it...

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
level 11

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 0, Con 0, Dex 0, Int 0, Wis 0, Cha 0.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 0, Con 0, Dex 0, Int 0, Wis 0, Cha 0.


AC: 15 Fort: 16 Reflex: 16 Will: 16
HP: 0 Surges: 0 Surge Value: 0

TRAINED SKILLS


UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +5, Arcana +5, Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Dungeoneering +5, Endurance +5, Heal +5, History +5, Insight +5, Intimidate +5, Nature +5, Perception +5, Religion +5, Stealth +5, Streetwise +5, Thievery +5, Athletics +5

FEATS
Level 1: Toughness (retrained to Paragon Defenses at Level 11)
Level 11: Agile Athlete

POWERS

====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======


I trust you're familiar with the level you can get Paragon Defenses as a Feat? You have to actually go to the Retraining button (Under the Build tab) to make it work. As an RPGA DM I have to know if a character is or isn't RPGA legal. I go over this stuff a lot.