D&D 3E/3.5 So, what's for the finesse character in 3.5?

[LokiDR]

I think it is Mongoose that publishes a feat like "greater weapon finess" that allows you to apply your dex bonus to damage. It completes the switch of strength to dex. I don't like the feat, but there it is.

Some PrC follow the medium 1-handed weapon concept pretty well, like duelist or bladesinger. I like the disarm/defect arrows ideas as well. Do abilities such as rope charge require a hand free? Personally, I think an open second hand should be a harder style to master, so it belongs in a PrC. If you prefer, you could take improved unarmed strike and TWF. That opens both the TWF and open handed styles.

Finesse in 3.5 seems focused on PrCs, sneak attacks, and TWF. I don't think finesse is about doing as much damage as your greatsword wielding pal. You can have the AC and initive to hit first and outlast your opponent. Greatsword goes down in a blaze of glory while you have mobility and defence. Seems a fair tradeoff.

 

[Will]

How-evah, I'd be inclined not to do that in 3.5, for the simple reason that TWF now has "off-hand defense," which gives an AC bonus, and it seems that too many styles would be edging in on the same niche.

Ideally 3.5 TWF's off-hand defense is a higher bonus or a different kind of bonus. I haven't seen it, so...

It seems reasonable to me that you can gain an AC bonus both with a defensive second weapon (parrying, blocking) and with edge-on fighting (keeping juicy bits away from opponent)

Each would offer a benefit for characters doing very different things, which would be nice.

IMO, I don't think it's bad if two feats are similar. What's important are how those feats fit into different characters.

 

[Mike Sullivan]

Ideally 3.5 TWF's off-hand defense is a higher bonus or a different kind of bonus. I haven't seen it, so...

According to the spoiler thread, it's a +1 Shield bonus (+2 (Shield?) bonus if you're fighting defensively)

It seems reasonable to me that you can gain an AC bonus both with a defensive second weapon (parrying, blocking) and with edge-on fighting (keeping juicy bits away from opponent)

I wholly agree that it's reasonable. I think, however, that it broadly better for the game if different fighting styles offer strongly noticeable differences of kind and not just degree.

Basically, I think that the point of a fighting-style kind of feat should be, at this point, to create a well-balanced, integrated-into-the-game-mechanics, stylistic image for a character. If everyone has an AC bonus from a feat, the styles of the characters, as conveyed by the mechanics, tend to blur. If, on the other hand, the TWFer is pouring out the damage and defending himself well in melee combat while the one-hand-free guy is, for example, making single, precise strikes and scampering round a lot, then the characters "feel" very different -- even if the players are less than brilliant about conveying their characters. Which is, in my opinion, a good thing.

 

[Darklone]

Jo well. The problem about the TWF guy not being able to be mobile in combat persists.

 

[Derulbaskul]

Here's a feat that might help:

Weapon Precision:

Your melee strikes are made with deadly precision.
Benefit: You add your Dex bonus to damage instead of your Str. This bonus does not apply to creatures that are not susceptible to critical hits.
Prerequisites: Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (the latter is to represent additional control over the weapon used).

Cheers
D

 

[Darklone]

Well, two feats to drop one stat .... Horribly broken

 

[CrimsonTemplar]

Here's a feat that might help:

Weapon Precision:

Your melee strikes are made with deadly precision.
Benefit: You add your Dex bonus to damage instead of your Str. This bonus does not apply to creatures that are not susceptible to critical hits.
Prerequisites: Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (the latter is to represent additional control over the weapon used).

Cheers
D

Where might I find this 'gem'?

 

[LokiDR]

Where might I find this 'gem'?

Quintisential Fighter, I think.