[Feats] Low Blows

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Desperate Blow [Fighter, General]
The desperation of impending death sharpens the focus of your attack.
Prerequisites: Heroic Destiny (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Heroic_Destiny,RD)
Benefit: When reduced to 5 hit points or less you may deal a critical hit on a roll of 16-20 and take no penalty to attacks while prone or lying down. As well, you do not suffer damage while disabled by using a desperate blow.
Normal: You take a -4 penalty to attacks while prone.


Duck Low [Fighter, General]
By keeping down you better avoid attacks.
Benefit: You may choose to duck down low on your turn, and are considered one size category smaller for the purpose of determining bonuses or penalties to AC and hide checks.
Special: While ducking low you may not move faster than your base speed and your melee attacks take a -2 penalty.

[Peregrine]

I'm not sure about the benefits of Desperate Blow. What about the fighter with a keen scimitar -- a threat range of 15-20? Does that suddenly get worse? And I'm afraid I just don't know what you mean by, 'As well, you do not suffer damage while disabled by using a desperate blow.'

Also, I can see how it's nice and dramatic to make your desperate blow while knocked down, but I can't help feeling that, in practice, it's going to be a bit of an esoteric bonus. Do PCs really get knocked prone that often in combat?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

I'm not sure about the benefits of Desperate Blow. What about the fighter with a keen scimitar -- a threat range of 15-20? Does that suddenly get worse?
I'm debating on whether I should allow keen-ness and improved critical stack with this. I mean, you do have to be human or half-human, have an extra feat and be at 5 hp or lower to make use of it.


And I'm afraid I just don't know what you mean by, 'As well, you do not suffer damage while disabled by using a desperate blow.'
If you are disabled, at 0 hit points but stable, if you do anything strenuous you lose 1 hit point and slip back into unconsciousness.

"When your current hit points drop to exactly 0, you’re disabled. You can only take a single move or standard action each turn (but not both, nor can you take full-round actions). You can take move actions without further injuring yourself, but if you perform any standard action (or any other strenuous action) you take 1 point of damage after the completing the act. Unless your activity increased your hit points, you are now at –1 hit points, and you’re dying."

And as you always see in movies, even though they were gushing blood and the like, if they kill their attacker as he's about to deliver the killing blow they always seem to stabilize.


Also, I can see how it's nice and dramatic to make your desperate blow while knocked down, but I can't help feeling that, in practice, it's going to be a bit of an esoteric bonus. Do PCs really get knocked prone that often in combat?
You don't HAVE to be knocked down. You just don't take any attack penalties if you are.

[Lord Iames Osari]

I like it, but I would make Desperate Blow's threat range enhancement be something like "your threat range increases by four". I personally would have it stack with Imp Crit/keenness, but that's just me.

[Peregrine]

I'm debating on whether I should allow keen-ness and improved critical stack with this. I mean, you do have to be human or half-human, have an extra feat and be at 5 hp or lower to make use of it.

Whether you do or not, I don't like how it's of most benefit to a scythe-wielding character, and least use to one with a scimitar. (16-20/x4? Ouch.)


If you are disabled, at 0 hit points but stable, if you do anything strenuous you lose 1 hit point and slip back into unconsciousness.

Ahh, I get it now. Maybe I'm just being dense, but, could you reword that? Or maybe put this into the Normal section?


You don't HAVE to be knocked down. You just don't take any attack penalties if you are.

Which is what I meant about it being a bit of an esoteric bonus. Meh, I'm probably just being a bit picky. It does no harm and will actually be quite useful once in a while.

[fangthane]

Heheh... Here's where I pull Desperate Blow apart and re-work it in a manner more pleasing to me (who doesn't believe that paltry humans deserve an exclusive :smallbiggrin:)

Desperate Blow [Fighter, General]
The desperation of impending death sharpens the focus of your attack.
Prerequisites: +4 BAB
Benefit: When reduced to 5 hit points or less you take no penalty to attacks while prone or lying down. As well, you do not rupture yourself when making a desperate blow at 0 hit points.
Normal: You take a -4 penalty to attacks while prone, and taking attack actions at 0 hit points cause reduction to -1 and bleeding.
Special: If you also possess the Heroic Destiny feat, your critical threat range expands by 2 when you are reduced to 5 hit points or less. This expansion of threat range stacks with any other mechanism which provides an improvement to the critical threat range.

Of course, whether YOU change your version or not, it's a perfect idea - in retrospect - for taking care of the fighter in my group what keeps tripping* the damn orcs. Of course, it was pretty funny asking him "so, you want to trip the Otyugh, right?"

*Improved trip is a hideously powerful feat if used properly; and he does.

[Eighth_Seraph]

Hrm...I would actually change 5 or less HP to a quarter or an eight of total health to gain the benefits of this feat, since 5 HP is half of a level 1 fighter's full health, and will lead to alot of criticals for a the first two or three levels. Of course, that will be balanced out from the almost complete disuse this feat will receive afterwards, since most of the time, when your character gets hit at higher levels, Hp tends to drop from 10 to -4 real quick.