Useless NPC Feats

[The_Dood]

From a mechanical standpoint, what feats would you never give NPCs and why?

Alertness and the saving throw feats wouldn't be found among my NPCs. Alertness and the saving throw feats don't provide enough of a benefit for a NPC in my opinion.

 

[Crothian]

It depends on the NPC and the role it is going to play. I've had NPCs with Endurance, run, toughness, and many of the so called worthless feats.

I guess Spell Mastery is one the NPCs wouldn't really need. Cleave and Great cleave just cause they will rarely get to use it.

 

[James McMurray]

If the NPC's sole goal in life is to attck the party and kill them or die, then no, those feats aren't worth the benefit. However, if the NPC is supposed to be a part of a living breathing campaign setting, then those are feats that can get them to live long enough to reach the PCs.

 

[alsih2o]

there is no feat that an n.p..c should be automatically opted out of imo, i mean i assume all n.p.c.s have a backstory and a fully fleshed out life aside from their brief shining moment before death at the hands of the p.c.s, or dropping a hint, or serving the drinks, or dying so the p.c.s have something to avenge.

 

[Gargoyle]

From a mechanical standpoint, what feats would you never give NPCs and why?

Alertness and the saving throw feats wouldn't be found among my NPCs. Alertness and the saving throw feats don't provide enough of a benefit for a NPC in my opinion.

Actually, I often give these feats to NPCs. Since all they do is increase some stats, it makes playing the NPC easier on me. I don't have to remember that NPC X has Dodge, and that Y has Power Attack, etc. I might give an NPC one "active" feat to make them interesting, or several if they are important, but most get the more passive ones that just modify their stat blocks. If I want to make an NPC more powerful, I usually do it by giving them more levels, not a better (but harder to run) selection of feats.

To answer your question, I guess I wouldn't give an NPC a feat from a non-official book, unless it fit well, it was balanced, and I could easily remember how it worked.

 

[thalmin]

Actually, I find assigning feats for npc's to be the most difficult part of rolling them up. Not because feat choice is so hard, but because remembering what the npc's can do is is too much for my overworked hat-rest. What good is it to design a challenging group if during the battle I don't try to use all of their interesting abilities?