Defensive Fighter Feats

[pyrephox]

Here's a bunch of rough-draft feats for fighters (although none are definitively fighter-specific), oriented around defensive abilities. The first cascade deals with armor, and making it easier for fighters to use, and the second with defensive fighting with swords. Comments appreciated!



Armor Expertise
Prereq: Armor Proficiency (Heavy), BAB 1+
Benefit: When wearing heavy armor, the character’s maximum Dex bonus cannot go below 1.

Second Skin
Prereq: Armor Proficiency (Heavy), BAB 3+, Dex 13+
Benefit: A character with the Second Skin feat is supremely comfortable in his armor, and is not as heavily penalized as other characters. His Armor Check penalty is reduced by -1. If his Armor is a Masterwork, further reduce the penalty by 1. This feat can be taken multiple times, and the effects stack.

Steel Like Water
Prereq: Armor Proficiency (Heavy), BAB 8+, Dex 15+, Second Skin
Benefit: A character with this feat ignores all Armor Check penalties for skills, except for Swim checks. Even on Swim checks, the penalty is reduced by the character’s Dex modifier.

[Epic] Armor Mastery
Prereq: Armor Proficiency (Heavy), BAB 12+, Dex 25, Armor Expertise, Second Skin, Steel Like Water
Benefit: A character with this feat retains their full Dex bonus to AC, and no longer takes any Armor Check penalties for wearing heavy armor. If the character’s armor is of Masterwork level, he doubles his AC bonus from Dex while using it.

Defensive Bladework
Prereq: Weapon Proficiency (Martial [sword], or Exotic [Bastard Sword]), BAB 1+
Benefit: When declaring a ‘total defense’, the character with this feat may also add his normal attack bonus to his AC for the round if he is using a sword he’s proficient in, but may not make any aggressive actions, including spellcasting or attacks of opportunity, /unless/ he also has the Counterstrike feat (see below).

Counterstrike
Prereq: Weapon Proficiency (Martial [sword], or Exotic [Bastard Sword]), BAB 4+, Dex 13+, Defensive Bladework
Benefit: When a character is fighting defensively, or using total defense, while wielding a sword he’s proficient in, he may get a single attack at his highest attack rating if an opponent makes a melee attack against him and misses. He may not recieve more than one attack per round using this feat. Use of this feat does not remove the benefit of Defensive Bladework.

Fighting Retreat
Prereq: Weapon Proficiency (Martial [sword] or Exotic [Bastard Sword]), BAB 8+, Dex 16+, Defensive Bladework, Counterstrike
Benefit: A character with this feat, wielding a blade he’s proficient in, may move his full movement while fighting defensively or declaring a full defense. He provokes attacks of opportunity as normal when entering or leaving threatened squares.

[Epic] Dervish Defense
Prereq: Weapon Proficiency (Martial [sword], or Exotic [Bastard Sword]), BAB 10+, Dex 20+, Defensive Bladework, Counterstrike
Benefit: A character with this feat may choose to withhold one of his attacks in a round. As long as he does not use all attacks in a round, he may add his highest attack bonus to his AC, while he is using a sword he is proficient in. If he physically cannot attack (due to a spell or restraint), or is caught flat-footed, he cannot use the benefits of this feat.

Comments

[aerlorn.livejournal.com]

I don't really like [Epic] Armor Mastery. It seems too uber to me. With that a warrior could have +7 (25dex) +8 (full plate) +4 (tower shield) AC without any magic modifiers. That seems a bit much to me. But then, I love the roguely or magic types. Plus I never really delved into the higher end feats for many classes so maybe it is in line with the others. *shrug* Just my $.02.

[pyrephox.livejournal.com]

It's fairly powerful, but keep in mind that, for example, a dragon is /regularly/ hitting AC 45 or so! And that's not even a Great Wyrm. And, that's an Epic-level feat, for characters of level 20 and higher...other feats of that type include turning unarmed strikes into vorpal weapons, wildshaping /into/ dragons, and so forth.

[pyrephox.livejournal.com]

Also, look at some of the epic level monsters:

Xixecal: AC 58, Full Attack: 2 claws +95 melee (2d8+28/19-20), bite +89 melee (4d6+14), stamp +89 melee (4d6+14)

Iron Colossus: AC 60, Full Attack: 2 slams +99 melee (12d6+35)

Adult Force Dragon: AC 64, Full Attack: Bite +61 melee (4d6+20/19-20), 2 claws +56 melee (2d6+10/19-20), 2 wings +56 melee (2d6+10/19-20), tail slap +56 melee (2d8+30/19-20)

Against /those/ kinds of critters, it doesn't seem quite so overwhelming.