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DarkShard
2009-05-19, 05:49 PM
Hello everyone, I got an idea in my head a few days ago for a little feat called "Death Strike." It evolved into these few feats and a spell. Enjoy! I will update as more ideas come in.


Faint
Illusion
Level: Wiz5, Sor5
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: Instant
Range: See Text
Target: All within range.
Duration: 1 Round
Saving Throw: Will Partial
Spell Resistance: No

You feel a tap on your shoulder, and as you turn around, you hear several screams and thuds to the ground. Unfortunately, you continue turning and drop dead as you see the frightening form in front of you.

This spell covers your body in black mist, and makes you terribly frightening. Unlike other spells, the save DC is not affected by your caster level, but by your Intimidate skill. You roll an intimidate check, and that becomes the DC. Anyone who is looking at you must make a Saving Throw or immediately fall unconcious. If they save successfully, they are shaken.

Material component: Anything visibly scary.

Art of Death [General]
You enter into the sacred art of using your trusted weapon to kill your opponents DEAD. And look pretty damn cool while doing it.
Prerequisites: Weapon Focus, Weapon Finesse.
Benefits: When you kill a monster, the finishing blow is treated as a Death Attack.

Death Strike [General]
Every weakness your enemy has now becomes fatal...
Prerequisites: Art of Death.
Benefits: Once per day, on a successful critical hit, you can choose to make your enemy must make a fortitude save or die. The DC is 5+The damage dealt.
Special: For every extra time you take this feat, the save DC is increased by 2.

Honorable Duel [General]
You challenge a single enemy to a deadly duel.
Prerequisites: Any Lawful, +1 base attack bonus, 15 Charisma.
Benefits: You may challenge a single Lawful enemy to a one on one duel. If this feat is used on a Neutral or Chaotic Target, it fails. The challenged enemy gets a DC (10+ Challengers Charisma Modifier) will save to resist the affect. If they fail this check, then they and the challenger may only attack each other until one combatant is unable to continue fighting, or both combatants declare the duel over.
The combatants must resist aid from people outside the duel (They are treated as Unwilling targets for beneficial spells), and must try to prevent anybody else from interfering until the duel is over. They may use any means at their disposal to defeat their foe short of asking for outside assistance. Familiars and Animal Companions do not count as "Outside Assistance". Neither do creatures summoned after the duel begins, though monsters summoned before the challenge was issued must be ordered not to intervene.
Special: If you take this feat multiple times, the times you can use it per day are increased by 1.

UPDATED: Balanced some of the things. Also added BCR's Honorable Duel.

Innis Cabal
2009-05-19, 05:58 PM
Spaces....and a good deal of bolding will help here. Can't read it well enough otherwise.

BRC
2009-05-19, 06:14 PM
Art of Death [General]
You enter into the sacred art of using your trusted weapon to kill your opponents DEAD. And look pretty damn cool while doing it.
Prerequisites: Weapon Focus, Weapon Finesse.
Benefits: When you kill a monster, the finishing blow is treated as a Death Attack.
Special: With this Feat, you may take the prestige class Assassin, regardless of it's prerequisites.

First of all, NO on the special. The Assassin pre-req's involve stealth and infiltration, not actual combat, so this makes no sense whatsoever. Especially because, up until now, this feat looks to be built for fighter-types.

Otherwise, I don't see that much problem with it mechanically. On the other hand, it's not that useful. For an NPC, it will only find use amongst DM's who hate their players. And most foes that PC's kill don't get rezzed anyway, merely replaced by more mooks, so it's pretty much useless on that front.


Death Strike [General]
Every weakness your enemy has now becomes fatal...
Prerequisites: Art of Death.
Benefits: On a successful critical hit, your enemy must make a fortitude save or die. The DC is 5+The damage dealt.
Special: For every extra time you take this feat, the save DC is increased by 5.

This seems a little overpowered too me, but I dunno. On one hand, if you get heavy-crit, chances are you are going down anyway. I'll let others judge this one.

Honorable Duel [General]
You challenge a single enemy to a deadly duel.
Prerequisites: Any Lawful, +1 base attack bonus, 15 Charisma.
Benefits: You may challenge a single Lawful enemy to a one on one duel. If this feat is used on a Neutral or Chaotic Monster, it fails. On the round after which this feat is used, if it is successful, no one may take any action. Instead, the duelists make opposing attack rolls, and the highest roller rolls for damage, then multiplies the damage by 2. The next round then continues as normal. This may only be used once per day.
Special: If you take this feat multiple times, the times you can use it per day are increased by 1.
This one here seems like it could make sense, but I would give the target a will save, or else every lawful non melee-type is instant dead meat as they are forced into a slug fest with a fighter. It seems abit convoluted for my tastes, and it relies on a very specific interpretation of "Lawful" to make sense fluff-wise.
Also, I would make it a supernatural effect, otherwise how do you explain chaotic people and monsters honoring the duel. If Pete the Paladin gets drawn into a duel with Bob the Blackguard, Pete may think "He challenged me, I'm obliged to accept", but his buddy Roger the Rogue is going to think "Pete's going to get smashed. I'll sneak in and stab Bob".

Also, why are the rest of the combatants just standing around watching instead of going at each other's throats. Just because two guys are dueling, dosn't mean you can't take out everybody else.
Personally, I would restructure it something like this


Honorable Duel [General]
You challenge a single enemy to a deadly duel.
Prerequisites: Any Lawful, +1 base attack bonus, 15 Charisma.
Benefits: You may challenge a single Lawful enemy to a one on one duel. If this feat is used on a Neutral or Chaotic Target, it fails. The challenged enemy gets a DC (10+ Challengers Charisma Modifier) will save to resist the affect. If they fail this check, then they and the challenger may only attack each other until one combatant is unable to continue fighting, or both combatants declare the duel over.
The combatants must resist aid from people outside the duel (They are treated as Unwilling targets for beneficial spells), and must try to prevent anybody else from interfering until the duel is over. They may use any means at their disposal to defeat their foe short of asking for outside assistance. Familiars and Animal Companions do not count as "Outside Assistance". Neither do creatures summoned after the duel begins, though monsters summoned before the challenge was issued must be ordered not to intervene.
Special: If you take this feat multiple times, the times you can use it per day are increased by 1.

lesser_minion
2009-05-19, 06:16 PM
You might need a little cleanup on these. I actually misread the flavour text on Died of Fright as being rules text.

Died of Fright is seriously overpowered - it is much stronger than the 9th-level spell Weird, which is supposed to do almost exactly the same thing.

It needs the Death, Fear, Phantasm and Mind-Affecting descriptors in the very least.

The feat "Art of Death" should probably include a reminder of the implications of being killed by a death effect. I'm assuming you meant it mostly as anti-resurrection?

Death Strike could get very nasty very quickly. Remember that 30% of attacks could potentially be crits, each of which will force a Fortitude SoD at a horrible DC.

sigurd
2009-05-19, 06:20 PM
Because nobody else in combat or duels is really trying to kill things dead?

DarkShard
2009-05-19, 07:55 PM
Thanks for the input everyone. It's been a while since I homebrewed last, and I wasn't even all that good at it then either.

@BRC: With your permission, I'd like to use your version of Honorable Duel. It's much better than mine.

Llama231
2009-05-19, 07:56 PM
Wizard and sorcerers get it as different spell levels?!

BRC
2009-05-19, 08:02 PM
@BRC: With your permission, I'd like to use your version of Honorable Duel. It's much better than mine.
Of course, that's why I gave it.