Buying bonus feats

[Ranting Fool]

Planning on starting a new campaign soon and one thing my players all agree that they want is more feats, some classes feel feat starved and there are just so many feats that could be nice but would never be taken if you wanted to be optimized at all.

The suggestion was made that perhaps they could buy feats and we discussed a few possible rules. Any feedback would be welcome.

Restrictions discussed:
Feats can be taught by NPC Masters: higher level then PC's (Stops PC's just teaching each other everything)

Not all feats are are available: (Weapon focus yes, Leadership no ect) The less powerful a feat is considered to be the easier it is to get.

Feats cost: Gold + XP much like item crafting though prices could be either per individual feat (Weapon focus costing less then say leap attack) or it's a scaling cost like with weapon/Armour enchants. First costs x then 2x, 4x, 8x ect

Feats take time: Requiring downtime to learn them was generally agreed to be a reasonable idea. Again how MUCH time does it take to learn to swing a sword better is up for debate.

Cap to the max number of learnable feats: Either by level (1 per/level or 1 per/2 levels) was most popular. Or based on Base Attack (Since Warrior types tend to suck more then casters and could do with a boost)

My players are all set for some kind of bonus feat feature in the next campaign so help in this would be appreciated :smallbiggrin:

[Amnoriath]

Planning on starting a new campaign soon and one thing my players all agree that they want is more feats, some classes feel feat starved and there are just so many feats that could be nice but would never be taken if you wanted to be optimized at all.

The suggestion was made that perhaps they could buy feats and we discussed a few possible rules. Any feedback would be welcome.

Restrictions discussed:
Feats can be taught by NPC Masters: higher level then PC's (Stops PC's just teaching each other everything)

Not all feats are are available: (Weapon focus yes, Leadership no ect) The less powerful a feat is considered to be the easier it is to get.

Feats cost: Gold + XP much like item crafting though prices could be either per individual feat (Weapon focus costing less then say leap attack) or it's a scaling cost like with weapon/Armour enchants. First costs x then 2x, 4x, 8x ect

Feats take time: Requiring downtime to learn them was generally agreed to be a reasonable idea. Again how MUCH time does it take to learn to swing a sword better is up for debate.

Cap to the max number of learnable feats: Either by level (1 per/level or 1 per/2 levels) was most popular. Or based on Base Attack (Since Warrior types tend to suck more then casters and could do with a boost)

My players are all set for some kind of bonus feat feature in the next campaign so help in this would be appreciated :smallbiggrin:
Restrictions should mostly be based on time and level of BAB. Your high tier characters will have ways to increase their effective wealth or budget their wealth better do to their abilities. What I have always been in favor of is a way for our tier 4's a way to grow outside of levels. Wizards will be in a room researching spells, Clerics communing with their Gods, order, and religion, Druids are experimenting with their various nature powers to maintain it and what is the Barbarian and Rogue doing? They ought to be training their bodies, feats, and skills.

[Ranting Fool]

Restrictions should mostly be based on time and level of BAB. Your high tier characters will have ways to increase their effective wealth or budget their wealth better do to their abilities. What I have always been in favor of is a way for our tier 4's a way to grow outside of levels. Wizards will be in a room researching spells, Clerics communing with their Gods, order, and religion, Druids are experimenting with their various nature powers to maintain it and what is the Barbarian and Rogue doing? They ought to be training their bodies, feats, and skills.

That was a major complaint in my current (soon to be ending) campaign from the non-casters. "Why do we have to sit around while they craft stuff, can't we go out and adventure" which of course means that either I say no or the downtime that could take 5 min for the whole group to update their sheets could be a session or two of solo side quests (which I often like but can be a pain running multiple ones)

[Amnoriath]

That was a major complaint in my current (soon to be ending) campaign from the non-casters. "Why do we have to sit around while they craft stuff, can't we go out and adventure" which of course means that either I say no or the downtime that could take 5 min for the whole group to update their sheets could be a session or two of solo side quests (which I often like but can be a pain running multiple ones)

You wouldn't need to make new quests for them, you could just devise a training system. Lets take feats for example, look at the requirements and determine the type of roll they need to make. If they don't have any and no special descriptor it is regarded as common in which an intelligence check of 10 is all that is needed to know about it, they may add half their HD to this roll. If they have attribute requirements the check is instead equal to 5+the required attribute in which you add the appropriate attribute modifier to the intelligence check as well as applying the normal benefits of being a common feat. Those that have skills and/or BAB as prerequisite are not considered common. Ones that have BAB is equal to 10+BAB requirement in which then they may add their BAB to the check. Ones that require skills instead make the appropriate skill check vs. 15+ranks, however it must always be the one in which has the most ranks. They may not take 10 in any of these rolls. In addition they must have spare time equal to eight hours a day to perform these checks. The training may be broken into 1 hour increments. They need only do one kind of check if the feat has multiple requirements. They may only make one check per day and do so for a number of succesful days equal to the minimum level entry plus any additional feats and the requirements in which you need to meet minus 1.