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"The Big Big Book of Feats 3.5" by Anubis
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<blockquote data-quote="seasong" data-source="post: 1066279" data-attributes="member: 5137"><p>Yup. Those reasons are why I stated that I thought the abilities were individually balanced - I just think that a single feat that provides you with such a range of flexibility is not so balanced. Compare it to weapon focus, which gives you a +1 to hit with a single weapon of choice, and weapon focus starts to look a little... wan.</p><p></p><p>And I think they look fine in relation to <em>each other</em>. But a lot of <em>ordinary</em> combat feats become considerably less tasty when these options are available instead.</p><p></p><p>Uh, no. I don't think it's broken. I just think it's not well balanced in proportion to other feats. This is a feat that is must-have for fighters, much like weapon specialization, except that you get it at 1st level.</p><p></p><p>Here's my test subject to illustrate my thoughts, Boo:</p><p></p><p>Human fighter-1, STR 12, DEX 18, CON 16. Chain shirt (AC 18 total). Endurance, Energy Manipulation, Weapon Focus (ranged touch blast). Owns a greatsword, dagger, and mighty +1 composite longbow. He's a simple man, with clean but largely unadorned equipment.</p><p></p><p>Against an archer dressed in a chain shirt:</p><p>Rng 0-110 ft: 2.2 avg dmg (using bow)</p><p>Rng 115-220 ft: 1.1 avg dmg (using bow)</p><p>Rng 225-1100 ft: 0.275 avg dmg (using bow)</p><p>Rng 0-400 ft: 2.925 avg dmg (using ranged touch; costs 1 non-lethal damage)</p><p>Rng 0-400 ft: 1.4 avg dmg (using energy ball; costs 1 non-lethal damage)</p><p>Rng 405-800 ft: 0.7 avg dmg (using energy ball; costs 1 non-lethal damage)</p><p>Rng 800-4000 ft: 0.175 avg dmg (using energy ball; costs 1 non-lethal damage)</p><p></p><p>Boo has 13 hit points; most archers will have 11 hp. Boo's sweet spot is with the ranged touch, anywhere from 115 ft to 400 ft. The archer's sweet spot will be anything at 110 ft or less (note: my archer has 11 hp and does about 3.375 avg dmg with the bow at 110 ft; 1.875 avg dmg up to 220 ft; and 0.375 dmg further than that).</p><p></p><p>So, is this balanced? Sure. Boo will win at very long range, but the archer will win at a pretty decent range or less. Counting non-lethal damage, Boo will still win at 115 ft or longer.</p><p></p><p>But my point isn't that Boo can do better than the archer at the archer's specialty. My point is that Boo can do <em>about as well</em> as the archer at the archer's specialty, and gains a host of other tactical options as well.</p><p></p><p>And at higher levels, the archer falls behind. That ranged touch attack ignores all sorts of AC boosters that enemies will have against the archer, AND Boo's average damage climbs faster than the archer's, due to the +1 per level niceness, eventually eclipsing the archer even at close ranges. But that's still not broken, although it starts to make "archer" a less-than-optimal character choice.</p><p></p><p>But even when Energy Manipulation becomes superior to the archer, Boo continues to have more tactical options than the archer, for the same feat.</p><p></p><p>-seasong</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="seasong, post: 1066279, member: 5137"] Yup. Those reasons are why I stated that I thought the abilities were individually balanced - I just think that a single feat that provides you with such a range of flexibility is not so balanced. Compare it to weapon focus, which gives you a +1 to hit with a single weapon of choice, and weapon focus starts to look a little... wan. And I think they look fine in relation to [i]each other[/i]. But a lot of [i]ordinary[/i] combat feats become considerably less tasty when these options are available instead. Uh, no. I don't think it's broken. I just think it's not well balanced in proportion to other feats. This is a feat that is must-have for fighters, much like weapon specialization, except that you get it at 1st level. Here's my test subject to illustrate my thoughts, Boo: Human fighter-1, STR 12, DEX 18, CON 16. Chain shirt (AC 18 total). Endurance, Energy Manipulation, Weapon Focus (ranged touch blast). Owns a greatsword, dagger, and mighty +1 composite longbow. He's a simple man, with clean but largely unadorned equipment. Against an archer dressed in a chain shirt: Rng 0-110 ft: 2.2 avg dmg (using bow) Rng 115-220 ft: 1.1 avg dmg (using bow) Rng 225-1100 ft: 0.275 avg dmg (using bow) Rng 0-400 ft: 2.925 avg dmg (using ranged touch; costs 1 non-lethal damage) Rng 0-400 ft: 1.4 avg dmg (using energy ball; costs 1 non-lethal damage) Rng 405-800 ft: 0.7 avg dmg (using energy ball; costs 1 non-lethal damage) Rng 800-4000 ft: 0.175 avg dmg (using energy ball; costs 1 non-lethal damage) Boo has 13 hit points; most archers will have 11 hp. Boo's sweet spot is with the ranged touch, anywhere from 115 ft to 400 ft. The archer's sweet spot will be anything at 110 ft or less (note: my archer has 11 hp and does about 3.375 avg dmg with the bow at 110 ft; 1.875 avg dmg up to 220 ft; and 0.375 dmg further than that). So, is this balanced? Sure. Boo will win at very long range, but the archer will win at a pretty decent range or less. Counting non-lethal damage, Boo will still win at 115 ft or longer. But my point isn't that Boo can do better than the archer at the archer's specialty. My point is that Boo can do [i]about as well[/i] as the archer at the archer's specialty, and gains a host of other tactical options as well. And at higher levels, the archer falls behind. That ranged touch attack ignores all sorts of AC boosters that enemies will have against the archer, AND Boo's average damage climbs faster than the archer's, due to the +1 per level niceness, eventually eclipsing the archer even at close ranges. But that's still not broken, although it starts to make "archer" a less-than-optimal character choice. But even when Energy Manipulation becomes superior to the archer, Boo continues to have more tactical options than the archer, for the same feat. -seasong [/QUOTE]
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