Feats that Raise Ability Scores

[GrayIguana]

Does anyone out there allow feats that would raise one of a character's ability score? For example, there could be a feat that allows a character to add +1 to their Strength score becuase they have focused on strengthening their body.

I've not allowed this, but was wondering if anyone has and how it went in the game.

This is actually leading to a PrC I have been working on. In my homebrew I have a god of strength. He has taught his cultists the secrets of strength and how to build one's physical prowess. The members of this cult would be in this PrC.

 

[Tonguez]

NO IMHO such bonuses should apply to Skills not Ability scores (and their ought to be more Str based skills)

eg IMHO in D&D Str covers

1. Lifting/Carrying capacity
2. Striking Power
3. Damage Potential
4. Muscle Endurance

I'd allow a feat for each of these four aspects eg a Feat that means that a PC carrying capacity improves one step or gives BAb+2 or a Melee Smash Feat giving +2 Damage (Melee)

 

[Thimble the Squit]

Feats that give +2 BAB or +2 Damage?!

+2 BAB or +2 Damage?! These suggestions are so much better than Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization, I cannot begin to understand how you think this could be balanced.

+2 BAB would allow far earlier access to PrCs, which is why no ability grants additional BAB other than actual leveling-up, just bonuses to hit; furthermore, Weapon Focus grants only +1 to hit, for a single weapon. Weapon Specialization is similarly only for a single chosen weapon.

I might allow a feat such as Feat of Strength, to grant +2 Strength for a single round, 1/day. I'd allow their equivalents for each other ability score as well, and for characters to select the feat more than once, for additional times per day (but not to raise the enhancement bonus).

 

[Crothian]

They exist, they are all in the epic level handbook.

 

[FireLance]

The Epic Level Handbook has Epic feats that allow a character to raise his ability scores by +1 per feat. As such, it may be overpowered when introduced into a lower level game. Nonetheless, if you're the DM, it's up to you to balance the game.

There is a 10-level PrC called "The Mighty Contender of Kord" in one of the Dragon magazines (#274? The one with a cleric or paladin smiting some demon/undead creature on the cover) which sounds very much like what you're looking for. As you progress in the PrC, you gain a total of +2 to Strength. However, it's specially tuned to clerics and (IIRC) has access to the Strength domain as a prerequisite.

Still, I see no problem with creating a PrC that increases your Strength. If you want to open it out to more classes, you could change the prerequisites.

 

[GrayIguana]

Epic Feats

I forgot about the ELH. I knew I remembered seeing feats like this but couldn't remember where. I also thought I saw a similar chain of feats elsewhere.

I'll flesh out my ideas for the Cult of Strength PrC and hopefully post it soon for criticism.

 

[IndyPendant]

A feat that allows a straight bonus to any one stat would be too powerful. However, I have some feats that increase aspects of stats, that I have collected or adapted from various sources, and I am always looking for more that are sufficiently balanced:

Skillfulness [General]
You are more skillful than normal.
Benefit: You gain 4 additional skill points at 1st level, and 1 additional skill point per level thereafter. These extra skill points are retroactive.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times.

Toughness [Fighter]
You are tougher than normal.
Benefit: You gain 1 additional hitpoint per level. These additional hitpoints are retroactive.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times.
Note: This feat replaces the Toughness feat found in the PHB.

Magic Talent [Metamagic]
You have developed a natural talent for magic.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to one spellcasting-related attribute (i.e., Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma)—but only for the purposes of bonus spells per level and DC checks for your spells. This feat will not modify your skill points, saves, skill checks, or any other aspect of those attributes.

 

[Hashmalum]

Skillfulness [General]
You are more skillful than normal.
Benefit: You gain 4 additional skill points at 1st level, and 1 additional skill point per level thereafter. These extra skill points are retroactive.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times.

Retroactive? Ugh. No form of permanent Intelligence boost does that, which is what you are looking to partly duplicate here. Plus I am not a fan of the concept of feats, or anything else, working retroactively. I would rather see the players have to make real decisions; take feats at 1st level that pay off in the long term, or go for immediate survivability? But if you make feats that are retroactive, then there's no trade-off. What I do like is the concept of trading feats for skill points, which is why I created my own Skilled feat along similar lines (minus the retroactivity) and am keenly interested in hearing what others have to say about this one.

Toughness [Fighter]
You are tougher than normal.
Benefit: You gain 1 additional hitpoint per level. These additional hitpoints are retroactive.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times.
Note: This feat replaces the Toughness feat found in the PHB.

Let's see. In terms of hit points per effective level of requisite, this feat clearly surpasses every toughness feat in Masters of the Wild and the Epic Level Handbook. This suggests that it might be too strong. On the other hand, it is clearly worthless at very low levels when characters need a hit point boost the most. So this is the rare feat that manages to both be too strong and too weak.

Magic Talent [Metamagic]
You have developed a natural talent for magic.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to one spellcasting-related attribute (i.e., Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma)—but only for the purposes of bonus spells per level and DC checks for your spells. This feat will not modify your skill points, saves, skill checks, or any other aspect of those attributes.

This sounds like Spellcasting Prodigy from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting except that you don't have to take it at 1st level. There's already been considerable debate as to whether Spellcasting Prodigy is balanced, and removing the one real restriction it has makes it nearly certain that all spellcasters will take it. This feat is certainly strictly better than Extra Spell, since it also adds half a Spell Focus (for all schools, no less) and depending on the character's exact attribute score may grant more than one additional bonus spell. There's also the fact that more than one class can potentially benefit from it, unlike Spellcasting Prodigy (if the same character has both bard and sorcerer levels, for example) but since multiclassed spellcasters have a hard time anyway, that's not much of an issue.

 

[Tonguez]

Re: Feats that give +2 BAB or +2 Damage?!

+2 BAB or +2 Damage?! These suggestions are so much better than Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization, I cannot begin to understand how you think this could be balanced.

Because I forgot to mention the the Prereq of Power Attack (Str 13) and BAb+1

 

[Stalker0]

For a low magic campaign, I think those feats could be quite nice. In a normal setting, however, they probably would be too powerful