Signature Feats for Kuo-Toa

[Obergnom]

I'm currently building stuff for my campaign and what I really like to do is giving monsters some signature feats, so the players know the difference between fighting say orcs and hobgoblins. (Besides the Racial abilities)

I do not plan to give those feats as bonus feats, but to replace existing ones.
for example, this is what I do with Hill Giants:

Hill Giants: (Knockback replaces improved sunder, this should emphasise the Hill Giants use of big, heavy clubs. They let small enemy fly across the battlefield)

At the moment I am working on scaling a Shrine of the Kuo-Toa-like adventure (Zenith Trajectory from Dungeon Mag) but I think those fish people lack a bit of style.

I am looking for 1 or 2 cool feats that will make them interessting opponents. (The Monitor and Whips will be taken directly out of Drow of the Underdark, the avarage Kuo-Toa soldiers are where I am stuck.)

I plan to make those soldiers CR3, so they could have a leval of any class. (Currently I'm planing to make them rangers. In the adventure they are rogues, but Kuo-Toa with rapiers seem rather goofy to me)

Any good ideas? They mostly come in groups of 6, sometimes with a backup. I am not even sure what would make a good tactic for them. (I am not looking for something to annihilate my players, I just want to make the shrine-adventure worth remembering)

 

[IamTheTest]

Maybe the trident/net fighting feat?

 

[Obergnom]

You mean Net&Trident from Complete Warrior? I just looked that one up, and that would be pretty cool for the Weapon Master Kuo-Toa, thanks for that idea!

The avarage Kuo-Toas though wont be able to quallify as it has three other feats as a prerequisite.

 

[IamTheTest]

Oops...I suppose I should read the book before making suggestions.

Kuo-Toa strengths lend themselves well to being aquatic rogues. Granted they'd look silly with rapiers I think it'd make a fine adaptation to have their rogues wield shortspears. Depending on how you use them in encounters feats that improve their natural strengths could be effective. I like the idea of overly mobile aquatic fighters...so mobility, sahuagin flip (stormwrack), swim by attack (stormwrack) could be useful or just describe them as great swimmers and give them rapid swimming for free.

If you plan on keeping combat out of the water maybe ewp(net) would be cool. As a Cavs fan I am finding Nets to be frustrating (a little nba playoff pun).

 

[Obergnom]

Hmm,

I do not plan to have them fight in water very often, and while I agree that sahuagin are pretty cool mobile fighters, I think the Kuo-Toa do not fit that theme.

Nets are pretty cool, as would be anything to give the players the feeling the Kuo-Toa are an evil race of the cold depths... I just have now Idea what might work

I was also thinking about giving them Tanglefood Bags, being sticky, oozy and cold seems to be kind of their theme.

 

[the_mighty_agrippa]

It should be something simple that most KT can qualify for.

Trident Feat
+2 dodge bonus against a single opponet when fighting with a trident

Watery Grave Grappler
+2 grapple check in water; adds strength modifier to opponent's check to hold breath each round.

Mudskipper
Treat muck, mire and mud as favored terrain; no movement penalties and a +1 attack against affected foes.

 

[pawsplay]

You mean Net&Trident from Complete Warrior? I just looked that one up, and that would be pretty cool for the Weapon Master Kuo-Toa, thanks for that idea!

The avarage Kuo-Toas though wont be able to quallify as it has three other feats as a prerequisite.

Well, a third level fighter has four feats, so unless there's a BAB issue... Why are you making them rangers? Unless they are fighting with two weapons or using a ranged weapon, that doesn't seem like it would synergize well with a distinct fighting style.

 

[Obergnom]

It should be something simple that most KT can qualify for.

Trident Feat
+2 dodge bonus against a single opponet when fighting with a trident

Watery Grave Grappler
+2 grapple check in water; adds strength modifier to opponent's check to hold breath each round.

Mudskipper
Treat muck, mire and mud as favored terrain; no movement penalties and a +1 attack against affected foes.

Where are those feats from?

I wanted to make them rangers because I thought some points in Hide or Move Silently help, and the +2 an reflex saves is nice. As they should be CR3, they only get 1 class level.

Of course, as level 1 Fighter they would have one extra feat, but I do not even know where to spend the 2 feats they allready have.

 

[nittanytbone]

I would think a foot-soldier mook would have levels in Warrior, not a PC class.

Anyways.

I think EWP (Net) is perfect. I just played D2 for 1st Edition where the Kua-Toa were first introduced, and tactically I came away with a few impressions:

- Damn near invulnerable to everything short of being hacked up in melee or hit with massive AoE (immune to surprise, charm, hold, paralysis, magic missile, etc etc etc).

- If you got into melee, they would stick you to their shields or wrap you with a net, then coup-de-grace you

In 3.5, the best way to give them that tactical infuriatingness is probably with nets. Once a Hero has been netted, they are easy prey for the mobs to swarm them, fill them up with javelins and harpoons, be dragged down prone, or be hauled away from their fellows (possibly provoking AoO for movement as they do so!) with opposed STR checks.

 

[Obergnom]

thanks for that insight. I was recently looking into the Kuo-Toa's entry in the 2nd Ed. MM, and they were tough, but I was not sure how that would effect combat (I have never used them in 2nd Ed., and never played an older edition)