D&D (2024) 75 Feats -- not nearly enough

[tetrasodium]

it helps to have characters focused on more things than one.

I.E.
you are fighter with 3 feat slots:
and have option of Great weapon master, polearm master, sentinel, Skilled, Skill expert, Chef. actor and telepathic.

Most fighters would take the 3 out 3 combat feats, but since non combat feats are not potent enough, we can give extra feat slot and have 2 combat feat slots and 2 non combat feat slots

then that fighter might get GWM and PAM with Skill expert and telepathic.

I'm aware of what it does, but it doesn't do anything if PCs only have general feat or ASI choices. Combat and noncombat is too broad of a sorting to add more feat choices to PCs

 

[Horwath]

My observant monk was more than effective enough to be a walking detection mechanism, not needing Skill Expert. IMO it may need a nerf.

it got one in UA, now its expertise as skill expert and Search action as bonus action, if I remember correctly.

our 11th level druid had passive perception of 28, hahaha!

 

[Horwath]

I'm aware of what it does, but it doesn't do anything if PCs only have general feat or ASI choices. Combat and noncombat is too broad of a sorting to add more feat choices to PCs

1. rebalance all feats to half feat levels, remove ASIs from them.

2. break up feat slots/ASIs into separate pools per level:

1: Combat feat, non combat feat
2: Combat feat
3: +1 ASI
4: non combat feat
5: Combat feat
6: +1 ASI
7: non combat feat
8: Combat feat
9: +1 ASI
10: non combat feat
11: Combat feat
13: +1 ASI
14: non combat feat
15:Combat feat
16: +1 ASI
17: non combat feat
18: Combat feat
19: +1 ASI
20: Combat feat, non combat feat

 

[EzekielRaiden]

1. rebalance all feats to half feat levels, remove ASIs from them.

2. break up feat slots/ASIs into separate pools per level:

1: Combat feat, non combat feat
2: Combat feat
3: +1 ASI
4: non combat feat
5: Combat feat
6: +1 ASI
7: non combat feat
8: Combat feat
9: +1 ASI
10: non combat feat
11: Combat feat
13: +1 ASI
14: non combat feat
15:Combat feat
16: +1 ASI
17: non combat feat
18: Combat feat
19: +1 ASI
20: Combat feat, non combat feat

Ironically, with just a little bit of tweaking, you've effectively reinvented 4e but with 20 levels instead of 30.

That is, in 4e, at even levels you'd get a feat plus either utility powers or increased stats (and, regardless, increase the half-level bonus). At odd levels, you'd get some kind of active combat action. A few extras here and there, mostly at 1st, 11th, and 21st, aka the starting levels of each tier. (The only exception I can see was at 10th level, where you got a bonus utility power.

In other words, more or less, your combat capabilities would always remain more or less the same on even levels, so you'd have time to adjust to what you'd chosen to add (or replace) at the previous odd level. You'd just get better at doing those things.

 

[Horwath]

Ironically, with just a little bit of tweaking, you've effectively reinvented 4e but with 20 levels instead of 30.

That is, in 4e, at even levels you'd get a feat plus either utility powers or increased stats (and, regardless, increase the half-level bonus). At odd levels, you'd get some kind of active combat action. A few extras here and there, mostly at 1st, 11th, and 21st, aka the starting levels of each tier. (The only exception I can see was at 10th level, where you got a bonus utility power.

In other words, more or less, your combat capabilities would always remain more or less the same on even levels, so you'd have time to adjust to what you'd chosen to add (or replace) at the previous odd level. You'd just get better at doing those things.

I know it's vaguely similar to 4e, but not really,

one of the worst things of 4E was the power replacement mechanics;
yay, I got a new cool power, well, now you have to get rid of one existing cool power you have.
yay, thanks for (almost)nothing...

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I know it's vaguely similar to 4e, but not really,

one of the worst things of 4E was the power replacement mechanics;
yay, I got a new cool power, well, now you have to get rid of one existing cool power you have.
yay, thanks for (almost)nothing...

There's a very good reason you replace things. 4e didn't want to overload the player with a bazillion powers. Having 16+ daily and encounter powers at Epic level would be overwhelming. More than a few players found even the maximum 8 (plus a handful of utility powers) too much. Much like how many players find high-level 3e/5e spellcasters far too much to deal with, because they have literally 25+ actions (counting cantrips) they can potentially take, all of which they have to keep in memory all the time. (One reason, of several, why neither 3e nor 5e ever had a truly simple spellcaster.)

All that said...you didn't have to replace the power. You could just keep it. It probably wouldn't be wise to do that, but it's not like the game makes you.

 

[Horwath]

There's a very good reason you replace things. 4e didn't want to overload the player with a bazillion powers. Having 16+ daily and encounter powers at Epic level would be overwhelming. More than a few players found even the maximum 8 (plus a handful of utility powers) too much. Much like how many players find high-level 3e/5e spellcasters far too much to deal with, because they have literally 25+ actions (counting cantrips) they can potentially take, all of which they have to keep in memory all the time. (One reason, of several, why neither 3e nor 5e ever had a truly simple spellcaster.)

you need to write everything down and keep it clear, most 4E powers were super simple, attack, damage and some rider maybe. Not that complicated.

All that said...you didn't have to replace the power. You could just keep it. It probably wouldn't be wise to do that, but it's not like the game makes you.

why would you want to have lower level power than you can?
sure there were cases where newer level of powers were bad, but mostly it was an upgrade.

maybe one solution could be some kind of passive ability instead of new active.
like extra feat when you need to replace your 1st level encounter/daily power?

 

[GrimCo]

@EzekielRaiden

To be fair. 3.5 did have stupid simple spellcaster class. Warlock. Spell like abilities in form of eldricht blast which scales similar to sneak attack and invocations (12 max for lv 20 warlock), plus detect magic at will. Invocations either replicate spell effects or modify eldricht blast. But you have very limited amount of them and they are at will. It's as simple as casters get.

 

[Maxperson]

Why is there a limit of no +1 ASI for 1st level feat?
Is 18 at 1st level so much overpowered?

The answer to this is a flat out no. Since you can roll and 18 and with your +2 have a 20, then the designers don't view starting with a 20 as overpowered. If a 1st level 20 isn't overpowered, then an 18 can't be.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

@EzekielRaiden

To be fair. 3.5 did have stupid simple spellcaster class. Warlock. Spell like abilities in form of eldricht blast which scales similar to sneak attack and invocations (12 max for lv 20 warlock), plus detect magic at will. Invocations either replicate spell effects or modify eldricht blast. But you have very limited amount of them and they are at will. It's as simple as casters get.

Personally, I do not agree, but this is not really the appropriate place for such a discussion.