New Feats and Skills

Also see HouseRules

New Feats

Bloodthirsty (Ceremonial)

This feat originally appeared in Dragon magazine #311, this was the January 2003 issue. It is being relisted here only to serve as a reminder that it is available to spellcasters interested in persuing template options.

After a daylong ritual involving you and at least six others, one of whome must be a necromancer, you gain mastery of the blood.

Benefit: You may apply the bloodleech template to your spells. If you have cast a bloodleech spell in the past 24 hours you heal naturally at an accelrated rate, recovering twice your character level with a night of rest, or three times your character level with an entire day and night of rest.

Clever Wrestling (General)

This feat originally appeared in Dragon magazine #303, this was the January 2003 issue. I reprint it here only for completeness and as a requirement for a prestige class presented elsewhere on the site.

You have a better than normal chance to escape or wriggle free from a big creatures's grapple or pin.

Prerequisites: Improved Unarmed Strike, Small or Medium-size.

Benefit: When your opponent is larger than medium-size, you gain a circumstance bonus on your grapple check to escape a grapple or pin. The Size of the bonus dependds on your opponent's size, according to the following table.

Elemalefic Spellcaster (Ceremonial)

This feat originally appeared in Dragon magazine #311, this was the January 2003 issue. It is being relisted here only to serve as a reminder that it is available to spellcasters interested in persuing template options.

After a daylong ritual involving an invocation to angry elemental spirits, you can call upon their rage to enhance your spells.

Benefit: You may apply the elemalefic template to your spells. You also gain a +2 bonus on Survival checks made while you are on any of the four elemental planes.

Ethereal Tendril (Ceremonial)

This feat originally appeared in Dragon magazine #311, this was the January 2003 issue. It is being relisted here only to serve as a reminder that it is available to spellcasters interested in persuing template options.

After a daylong ceremony in which you sacrifice and devour an ether scarab, you can imbue your spells with the power to strike incorporeal foes.

Benefit: You may apply the ghost touch template to your spells. You also gain the ability to move at your normal speed (instead of half speed) when traveling on the ethereal plane.

Greater Versatile Stance (General, Fighter)

You are better at using a reach weapon as a non-reach double weapon.

Prerequisites: BAB +10, Improved Versatile Stance, Versatile Stance, Weapon Focus (any reach weapon)

Benefit: You no longer suffer any penalty for shifting the grip of your weapon back and forth. (see Versatile Stance for additional details).

Improved Versatile Stance (General, Fighter)

You are better at using a reach weapon as a non-reach double weapon.

Prerequisites: BAB +6, Versatile Stance, Weapon Focus (any reach weapon)

Benefit: The penalty for shifting the grip on your weapon back and forth is now only -2 (see Versatile Stance for additional details).

Improved Drive Back (General, Fighter)

You are particularly skilled at using your melee attacks to drive back your opponent.

Prerequisites: Int 13+, Expertise

Benefit: When performing the drive back maneuver, your opponents are driven back 10 feet.

Normal: A character performing a drive back normally only forces his opponent to move back five feet.

Invigorating Spellcaster (Ceremonial)

This feat originally appeared in Dragon magazine #311, this was the January 2003 issue. It is being relisted here only to serve as a reminder that it is available to spellcasters interested in persuing template options.

After completing a daylong ritual involving you and six clerics, you can cast healing spells that have additional invigorating powers.

Benefit: You may apply the invigorating template to your spells. You also gain a +2 bonus on all Heal checks.

Power Drive (General, Fighter)

You are capable of forcing your opponents to retreat from your melee attacks.

Prerequisites: Str 13+, Power Attack

Benefit: When you perform a drive back, if your opponent chooses to remain where he is, you may choose to force him to step back instead taking an attack. You and your opponent must make an opposed attack roll. If you succeed, your opponent must move back.

Normal: When performing a drive back without this feat, your opponent can choose to remain where he is.

Reflexive Stance (General, Fighter)

This feat was suggested at the message board at the EnWorld.Org website. The person suggesting the feat gave no name,but I was impressed and so put it here for general consumption.

You instinctively react to nearby and distant enemies.

Prerequisites: BAB +4, Weapon Focus (any reach weapon), Versatile Stance

Benefit: Because of your training in shifting grips during attacks you now threaten both those spaces that are 10 feet away and 5 feet away when wielding a reach weapon. However, when striking at someone within 5 feet, you suffer a -4 -penalty to the attack roll.

Spellbinder (Ceremonial)

This feat originally appeared in Dragon magazine #311, this was the January 2003 issue. It is being relisted here only to serve as a reminder that it is available to spellcasters interested in persuing template options.

Upon completing a daylong ceremony during which you and six other participants are shackled together at the ankles, you master the ability to inhibit others' movement with your magic.

Benefit: You may apply the shackled template to your spells. You also gain a +2 bonus on Use Rope checks made to bind a creature.

Spellstrike (Ceremonial)

This feat originally appeared in Dragon magazine #311, this was the January 2003 issue. It is being relisted here only to serve as a reminder that it is available to spellcasters interested in persuing template options.

After a daylong ritual involving you and at least six monks, you gain the power to knock down foes with your spells.

Benefit: You may apply the concussive template to your spells. You also gain a +2 bonus on Concentration checks made to ignore vigorous, violent, or extraordinarily violent motion while casting spells.

Superior Summons (Ceremonial)

This feat originally appeared in Dragon magazine #311, this was the January 2003 issue. It is being relisted here only to serve as a reminder that it is available to spellcasters interested in persuing template options.

After completing a daylong ritual attended by six others, at least one of whom is a conjurer, you gain the ability to summon more powerful creatures than normal and establish a magical connection with them.

Benefit: You may apply the champion template to your spells. Furthermore, you cast conjuration (summoning) spells at +1 caster level.

Thick Skin (General)

You are harder to hurt than the average person.

Prerequisites: Constitution of 15+.

Benefit: This feat gives the character a +1 to their Armor Class make them harder to hit, due to the difficulty of penetrating their skin. This might be from some ancestral cross breeding with another race or the result of simply being one very hardy individual.

Special: This feat can only be taken during character creation. If its not chosen then, it cannot be chosen at all. Either you are thick skinned or your not. You don't gain it through experience.

Versatile Stance (General, Fighter)

This feat was suggested at the message board at the EnWorld.Org website. The person suggesting the feat gave no name,but I was impressed and so put it here for general consumption.

You may use a reach weapon as a non-reach double weapon.

Prerequisites: Weapon Focus (any reach weapon)

Benefit: Once per round during your turn, as a free action, you can designate if a reach weapon you are wielding can be used as a normal reach weapon, or a double weapon that lacks reach (much like a staff). The weapon's shaft deals 1d4 damage with a critical of x2 when a 20 is rolled. Because the weapon is not balanced to be used in this fashion, all attacks are made at a -4. If no choice is designated (for instance, during a surprise round), the weapon is considered to be a normal reach weapon.

New Skills