Silly rules question - any feat that just drives you batty?

hazmat · Oct 8, 2004

Why Extra Wildshape?

Deset Gled · Oct 8, 2004

hazmat said:
Why Extra Wildshape?

I believe that was a joke.

I always found it rather odd when I've heard of people trying to play characters with Vow of Peace. If anyone I played with ever tried to use it, I would probably become annoyed enough to just kill them for the sake of putting them out of their misery. D+D is a combat based game. Taking a feat that doesn't allow you to fight is just counterproductive. I think that feat is there for NPCs and NPCs only.

CRGreathouse · Oct 8, 2004

I can't stand Manyshot, and I don't like Vow of Poverty. Actully, the other examples you gave (Cleave on opposite sides, Monkey Grip) don't bother me at all.

Crothian · Oct 8, 2004

None of them really. Manyshots is a bit silly as is Monkeygrip, but no one has every really wanted to use them so its not been a proble. Spellcasting prodigy is only taken for the characters that that has actually fit the background, and its been a rare feat.

maggot · Oct 8, 2004

Power-wise, natural spell is my #1 problem, mainly because it is core and I have to house rule it.

For clunky implementation, 3.5's power attack wins: with 2 for 1 for some weapons and 0-for-1 for others versus 3.0's very simple formula. I end up house ruling that one too.

For mere annoyance, dodge is very annoying because having to declare your dodge on a individual combatant is too much minutia for the game. And as a DM, I never remember to check the Feat line of a monster to find out if he has dodge or not.

Non-core, I don't like 3.0's spellcasting prodigy for power reasons. But then I don't allow many non-core feats into my game.

UltimaGabe · Oct 8, 2004

maggot said:
For mere annoyance, dodge is very annoying because having to declare your dodge on a individual combatant is too much minutia for the game. And as a DM, I never remember to check the Feat line of a monster to find out if he has dodge or not.

Considering how dodge is underpowered as it is, in our games, we house-rule Dodge to apply to all enemies. So, basically, it's a +1 dodge bonus to AC.

FireLance · Oct 8, 2004

The feat I have the most problems with is Nymph's Kiss. Not only does it seem overpowered to me, I also have trouble understanding how you can get extra skill points just for having a close relationship to a fey creature.

Mind you, I'm of the view that some of the apprehension related to "odd" feats is cultural. For example, Freezing the Lifeblood (paralyzing your opponent with a touch) is a widely-accepted ability of pugilists in Chinese martial arts stories, as is the ability to fly or make tremendous jumps, shoot beams of energy or otherwise injure others at a distance, and other powers that would seem strange if you're not familiar with the genre.

Chimera · Oct 9, 2004

Well, I don't have most of these odd books, so I don't have a problem with what I don't know about.

Monkey Grip I wouldn't allow.

I don't allow Cleave on AoOs.

Don't really know about Vow of Poverty and Vow of Peace (plugs ears 'la la la la la') but from what I hear of them, I don't care for them.

hong · Oct 9, 2004

Fauxargent said:
Touch of Golden Ice (from BoED - and the whole idea of ravages in general).

As a minimum it should have limited uses/day (probably as a stunning fist usage)

Flavour aside, Touch of Golden Ice isn't as bad as all that. At low levels, a DC 14 Fort save is meaningful; at high levels, nothing will have trouble with it.

Me, I can't stand Deflect Arrows.

rkanodia · Oct 9, 2004

hong said:
Flavour aside, Touch of Golden Ice isn't as bad as all that. At low levels, a DC 14 Fort save is meaningful; at high levels, nothing will have trouble with it.

Me, I can't stand Deflect Arrows.

Everybody still fails on a one. And if you're an outsider with high Charisma using the Two-Weapon Fighting line (like, say, a Balor), Touch of Golden Ice can really ruin what was otherwise shaping up to be a pleasant morning.

And I dislike Deflect Arrows too. I think it's rather a bit much to automatically negate an attack once per round. None of my characters have expressed interest in it, though, so I'm not worried about it.