saving feats when you level???

[KenM]

I know when you level, you must spend all your skill points. A friend of mine says that if you get a new feat when you level, you don't have to take it right away, but save it until later? Is this true? His DM just had the characters go from level 10 to level 20 in one session. So he wants to take a few epic level feats. I'm not sure if you can do this.

 

[green slime]

I know when you level, you must spend all your skill points. A friend of mine says that if you get a new feat when you level, you don't have to take it right away, but save it until later? Is this true? His DM just had the characters go from level 10 to level 20 in one session. So he wants to take a few epic level feats. I'm not sure if you can do this.

This same thing was asked twice last week. The answer remains the same. No.

 

[AuraSeer]

green slime is correct. You must take a feat on the level it is earned, and cannot save it until later.

A second problem with that scenario: you can only take epic feats at level 21 or later. Even a level 20 character is not yet epic.

A third problem: your friend's DM is on crack.

 

[Rel]

I'm not widely known as being a "softy" of a GM. But I might be willing to let a character spend a feat on something that they don't qualify for with the understanding that they can't use it until they DO qualify for it based on something like BAB.

For example, if somebody wanted their 1st level Rogue to take Weapon Finesse, I might allow that even though they don't meet the +1 BAB requirement. They would of course gain no benefit from it until they reached 2nd level and got the required +1 BAB, but it would let them take the feat earlier than 3rd level. To me getting the feat 1 level sooner than they otherwise would have is balanced by the fact that they essentially lose access to the feat for the duration of 1st level.

Part of the reason I'm ok with this is that the game supports the concept of characters having feats they can't use at present. If a Fighter gets his Str drained below 13 by a Shadow, he loses Power Attack, Cleave, Great Cleave, the whole chain of feats that were predicated on him having a 13 Str. But when he again qualifies for the feats (i.e. when he gets a Restoration on his Str), he gets them back.

I say all of that with the caveat that I'd keep a close eye on how players were using this house rule and I'd be quick to shut it down if it seemed like it was getting abusive. Fortunately, that's not something my players tend to do and actually, to date, nobody has tried doing this anyway. I think most of them (correctly) believe that having that feat NOW when it might save their life is more beneficial than some potential future benefit.

 

[Darklone]

I handle it like Rel.

The main problem you have with such a ruling: Characters generated at higher levels. DON'T allow if for them.

 

[Belbarrus]

I let players save feats IF they have a plan for them. For example, if a player gets a feat at a certain level, but will not meet the requirements for the feat until a later level, then I would let them keep the feat open.

For example, a Druid gets a feat at level 3. The want to get the Scent feat (from Masters of the Wild), but a pre-requisite is being level 5. Therefore I would let the player retain the 3rd level feat slot until they reached level 5 and they spent it on the Scent feat.

But I would only do this if the player actually has a *plan* for the feat.


Belbarrus

 

[Altalazar]

I don't see that it is such a big deal letting characters save feats like that (though not for epic purposes). It really won't affect game balance that much and if it allows a player to make a character match the character concept - well, that is just fun for the player and makes for more enjoyment all around.

I tend to be flexible in DMing where it allows for character and fun (though not for powergaming). When I am a player, I sometimes min/max and power out certain limited things just because that is the character concept - it helps sometimes to have a really stand-out ability to help shape a character's identity. Otherwise, sometimes, it can seem like characters kind of wash out to a bland sort of sameness. Having a bunch of skills at level 1 or 2 isn't as interesting as having one or two skills at level 20. The former has you rolling a lot of failures and not having much success. The latter has you, in certain situations, doing the heroic and nearly impossible, though because there are only two skills there, you need to be creative with how you use them.

 

[Dimwhit]

A third problem: your friend's DM is on crack.

That's more or less my first thought after reading the post.

 

[Limper]

The Have to Spend the feats and skill points is part of the reason why everyone plans his character 20 levels in advance.

I allow the saving of feats AND skill points.

 

[Nail]

Saving feats, like saving skill points, is a bad idea.

At any level, saving feats means being able to start PrCs early, get other feats that you would normally not qualify for, etc. Moreover, it takes away from those classes that do get feats often, like fighters.

For example, Rogues can't get Weapon Finesse until 3rd level. There's a reason for that....it's not just some weird artifact of the rules. If you want weapon finesse at 2nd level, you must take a class that either

• May get it at 1st level, or
• Gets a feat or virtual feat at second level.

Period. Anything else causes balance problems, and takes away from other classes.