What do you think of Robilar's Gambit?

[the Jester]

Hippiejedi and I were just discussing this feat, and he (as well as Brain) seem to feel it's overpowered. What's the peanut gallery say? Forgive me if this has been discussed to death- I recall seeing references to it in a couple of threads as a side topic but no thread actually discussing it per se.

 

[Zaruthustran]

It's pretty great for someone with a high Speed, Spring Attack, Mobility, CR, and the feat that gives +4 to AoO attacks. Just run around, provoke attacks from a bunch of people (the +4 AC from Mobility helps them miss), and whack each of them back.

 

[frankthedm]

It depends. If a DM has not changed the -10 rule, feels character death is a normal thing, and death happens as the dice indicate, It stands a chance of being balanced.

On the other had, if the DM does not kill characters when the dice call for it, the feat has too much potency since the character risks less with the gambit.

 

[Wrathamon]

NPCs dont always have to use their AoOs. They can choose not to.

So if they are always getting hit by this guy running around they can not get fooled into thinking he is an easy target and wait till a better opportunity presents itself.

 

[Zaruthustran]

NPCs dont always have to use their AoOs. They can choose not to.

So if they are always getting hit by this guy running around they can not get fooled into thinking he is an easy target and wait till a better opportunity presents itself.

True enough, in which case a nice side benefit is effectively "This feat prevents enemies from taking AoOs on you".

Either way, the gambit still works for regular melee attacks. As long as someone takes a swing at him, he gets to take a swing back. And again, if a smart NPC figures this out and stops taking swings, the feat is effectively "This feat prevents opponents from attacking you in melee". Not bad!

 

[PallidPatience]

The Rule of Robilar's Gambit:
Only fight creatures and people stupid enough to keep trying to hit you, no matter how many times you smack them back for attempting to hit you.

 

[dvvega]

The other thing that the feat does not do is give you reach. Thus it will not generally work on those bigger monsters. Of course if the player is running around with a reach weapon, all the creatures have to do is move inside that reach.

 

[Sejs]

True enough, in which case a nice side benefit is effectively "This feat prevents enemies from taking AoOs on you".

Either way, the gambit still works for regular melee attacks. As long as someone takes a swing at him, he gets to take a swing back. And again, if a smart NPC figures this out and stops taking swings, the feat is effectively "This feat prevents opponents from attacking you in melee". Not bad!

Kinda-sorta. An enemy that realizes you're a riposteing machine could grapple you, which could really cramp your style, particularly if you're not using a light weapon of if they've got friends.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

It makes me really, really want to play a Troll Fighter as my next PC.

 

[Legildur]

A halway intelligent opponent could use a Ready Action to try and disarm/grapple/trip/move instead. Or the spellcaster would just decide the riposte specialist was a threat and deal with him in other ways. But the feat is attractive to my Whirlwind Attack enabled elven ftr/pal.