Small annoyances that could / should be finally fixed with the Essentials

[AbdulAlhazred]

The specialization bonuses would be better if they started more general and then got more specific.

One-Handed Weapons
Swords
Longsword

Then if you wanted to specialize in a Greatsword as well it would only take one feat.

Or if you wanted to specialize in a mace it would only take 2 feats.

Not much of a fix, but a step in right sort of direction.

It would help if we could buy a feat per level, rather than every 2. If that is too much then the feats should be balanced for per level.

Also - all combat stuff should have been kept separate from all non-combat stuff. You should not have to choose between a combat, professional or social things. They should all be separate. Each level you choose a combat thing, a professional thing and a social thing. Separate. Example: Specialize in Longsword AND specialize in Intimidating.

My tuppance.

Yeah, seems to me like going with more specific feats giving bigger advantages would be the way to go. I've always thought so.

I don't think combat and non-combat feats really DO compete with each other all that much. The situation is more like you have enough feat slots for generally all of each that you want over time. The characters that don't are ones that are some kind of tricked up feat intensive build (or else situations the rules should fix some other way). So the choices are more like between 'well rounded' and 'tricked up highly focused build'.

If non-combat stuff is going to be removed to its own totally separate bin then why not just divorce it from the level (and class) system altogether? Instead of getting more of these kinds of things as you level up just make them things you can learn in the ordinary way. More like how martial practices work, want to learn a language? Go find someone that speaks it and have them teach you. Abstractly it can cost some gold or whatever the DM feels like. Problem goes away and players can make their characters do the things they feel like having them be able to do. Combat tricks are 'special', but really its just that levels and combat stuff are "getting better by practice" anyway, so its really more consistent.

 

[Solvarn]

My group has been having some issues with superior equipment. Although I kinda like the idea, spend a feat and get some type of extra whammy with your weapon, it causes issues as a campaign progresses. Namely that if you spend a ton of feats for a very specific weapon (or implement) you will forever be trying to get only that one type of weapon. Spenging $$ to make the one you have (PCs making their own magic items is another sore point with our DM) better or having your DM wave some hands and say "what do you know? another executioner's axe, but THIS one is +4. What are the odds?" We recently found a +4 Flaming bastard sword that is a key weapon in our campaign from a roleplay standpiont, but no one is going to use it because no one has that particular weapon feat. I don't recall any of my favorite sword and sorcery movies/stories/books having this problem.

If your DM wants a weapon to be central to a campaign, he should make it a weapon his PC's want to use in my opinion.

 

[keterys]

Yep, just take that super cool weapon, transfer enchantment it into something new and... hey, you can use it. And also, the lore for it no longer makes sense

 

[DEFCON 1]

Also - all combat stuff should have been kept separate from all non-combat stuff. You should not have to choose between a combat, professional or social things. They should all be separate. Each level you choose a combat thing, a professional thing and a social thing. Separate. Example: Specialize in Longsword AND specialize in Intimidating.

Yup... I also believe WotC should separate things into "feats" and "traits", giving each one every-other-level. Feats are all combat-related increases, traits are all skill or roleplaying-related increases. So things like weapon focus, powerful charge, and lethal hunter would be feats... and things like skill training, linguist, and long jumper would be traits. You get one of each at 1st level... then every even-level past that is a new feat, and every odd-level is a new trait. This way you can make your combat and your roleplaying better over time.

 

[Herschel]

Expertise/Focus could easily be built into the system, they're down right boring feats that add nothing to what you can do as a character anyway.

I disagree. Expertise allows you stat flexibility in character creation. Want to start with a 16 post-racial in your primary attack stats (maybe because you want to play a race that isn't a stat tie to a class?)? Expertise lets you do it.

Focus is dull though, I agree.

 

[CovertOps]

Hell, I'd be okay if they just made a new feat:

Adventurer - you gain a +1 feat bonus to attack and damage rolls. This bonus increases to +2 at 11th and +3 at 21st.

At least it'd take up less space and cause less problems.

This. But I'd rather see it as an option like "Inherent" on the campaign screen (keeping the feat bonus idea so it doesn't stack).

Yep, just take that super cool weapon, transfer enchantment it into something new and... hey, you can use it. And also, the lore for it no longer makes sense

Make it an artifact and immune to "Transfer Enchantment".

 

[keterys]

I disagree. Expertise allows you stat flexibility in character creation. Want to start with a 16 post-racial in your primary attack stats (maybe because you want to play a race that isn't a stat tie to a class?)? Expertise lets you do it.

This would only be true if expertise made your attack bonus treat your primary stat as an 18, or something similar (which would be interesting, actually!) But, no, it's just a +1/+2/+3 bonus. It has nothing to do with your stats, only with how important hitting is to you.

It's dull, it forces specialization in weapon types, and it's either a feat that is required for everyone after level 15 or it's _far_ too good. Either way, it's just bad, bad, bad.

ake it an artifact and immune to "Transfer Enchantment".

Yep, that's what happened to me. Blind a _god_ with a weapon, it asks me to be its master, and I go 'Hrmm, let's see, I'd need to retrain arcane implement proficiency to use you at all, and expertise is +2, focus is +2, my rogue multiclass is with light blades so I should swap that at some point, too, though less critical I guess... so, yeah, if I switched to the artifact I couldn't use 2/3 of my powers this level, would be at -1 attack and damage, etc...

 

[eamon]

This. But I'd rather see it as an option like "Inherent" on the campaign screen (keeping the feat bonus idea so it doesn't stack).


Make it an artifact and immune to "Transfer Enchantment".

I'm not actually happy with the feat bonus - that means that all feats now must scale with level and that quite a few become pretty pointless. It messes up expertise house-rules too. They should never have made expertise a feat bonus in the first place...

 

[mneme]

I'm not actually happy with the feat bonus - that means that all feats now must scale with level and that quite a few become pretty pointless.

They could have come up with a new category of bonus (adjustment bonus? Something like that) -- but the point was to differentiate scaling bonuses (which are intended to be category-level bonuses and always scale with tier--with the intent that more or less every character should have a hit bonus from this category at some point--and which, obviously, never stack) from situational bonuses (which typically -should- stack and don't scale with tier). This is interesting--as it it means there's not a slot for making situational bonuses not stack. But as long as they're generally not always present (and -most- situational bonuses are truly situational, exceptions like Nimble Blade aside), it's not a big deal if you can -situationally- get ridiculous hit bonuses.

 

[Mengu]

Yup... I also believe WotC should separate things into "feats" and "traits", giving each one every-other-level. Feats are all combat-related increases, traits are all skill or roleplaying-related increases. So things like weapon focus, powerful charge, and lethal hunter would be feats... and things like skill training, linguist, and long jumper would be traits. You get one of each at 1st level... then every even-level past that is a new feat, and every odd-level is a new trait. This way you can make your combat and your roleplaying better over time.

I was thinking in these lines too, with there being full feats and half feats that you could take two for the price of one. So you might take Dragonborn Senses and Avowed Dragonfoe for the price of 1 feat, or Gold Dwarf Pride and Shield the Fallen. But I like your trait idea better, as it keeps the avenue open for both paths.