Firstly, because JaronK is making a false assumption. He assumes that the rules for monsters are different than the rules for players, despite this never being stated and the exact opposite being the implicit trend throughout all of 3.5. All creatures in 3.5 follow the same rules, unless it specifies otherwise. Creatures includes both monsters and players.
Nope, I actually said the rules are the same for both. For all creatures, Racial bonus feats don't require prerequisites, while class and level feats do (unless otherwise specified, actually). But I couldn't get past the first obvious parts to get into the details of why that's true.
After that, it comes down to general versus specific. Unless I am simply blind and have missed it entirely, the PHB feat section never states "You must meet the prerequisite of all bonus feats" (or anything analogous that is so definite). It calls out specific ones for which you must, this is true. But that does not matter, as it only applies to that particular case.
Actually, the PHB does indeed say that very thing, which is the point. Specifically, page 87 says that there are three ways to get bonus feats... from class bonus feats, from level gained feats, and the human bonus feat (remember that racial bonus feats other than humans didn't exist yet, and so weren't a proper catagory at the time of the writing). Then it says you need prerequisites for all of them. So yeah, it says it. The only one where it doesn't say anything except the specific is racial bonus feats.
To be clear, it says "Additionally, members of some classes get bonus feats as class features." and then in the next paragraph "Some feats have prerequisites. Your character must have the indicated ability score, class feature, feat, skill, base attack bonus, or other quality designated in order to select or use that feat." See? Right there, plain as day. And again, this is the ONLY entry on bonus feats that's not under the catagory of creature entries.
The MM, on the other hand, specifically states that it is acceptable to have a bonus feat without meeting the prereqs.
Only in the specific case of reading monster entries. The point I was trying to get to was that "Creature" and "Monster" are actually completely interchangable in the rules (see Dominate Monster for an obvious example... what does it work on? Creatures). Both of them as they are actually used (and feel free to try to find any counter example, if I'm wrong it should be easy) mean "any living, unliving, or animated thing which is capable of acting on its own in any way, with an implication (but not requirement) that it's an NPC." This definition is better than the PHB definition (which excludes Animated Objects, but includes Major Images of creatures... obviously both wrong). This is not to say all Creatures or Monsters are NPCs... Dominate Monster works just fine on PCs, and Goliaths are a PC race that's a Monsterous Humanoid. It's just an implication. Meanwhile, a Race is exactly that same thing, but the implication is that it's designed for PC use. For example, Kobolds are in the Monster Manual as a Creature and a Monster (it's a Monster entry, but Monster entries also talk about being Creatures) and there they're primarily an NPC, with a seperate entry for what to do when you treat them as Player Characters. However, in Races of the Dragon they're a Race... and in that book, it's talking primarily about how they exist as a PC race. But again, it's just an implication... at no point in the rules would changing Race, Monster, or Creature into any of the other names change a rule.
All of which leads to the fact that the Monster Manual is talking about Monsters and Creatures, and the bonus feats thereof. Since Race is effectively the same, just with a different implication about how it will be used, Monster bonus feats and Creature bonus feats are the same as Racial bonus feats.
The specific case of not needing to meet the prereqs for bonus feats overrules the general need of feats. And the specific case of the bonus feats that do require the prereqs overrules the more general bonus feats bypassing of that need.
Nope, because the PHB specifically says that bonus feats from class levels need prerequisites, and the Monster Manual doesn't talk about that. What it DOES talk about are bonus feats native to the creature itself (because it's talking about Monster entries, so any time you see the rules for a creature, the MM rule applies). So yes, the specific overrides the general... which means racial bonus feats ignore prerequisites. Class feats however specifically need prerequisites as per what I quoted above from the PHB which class them out specifically.
In general, most classes state one way or another whether they ignore prerequisites or not. Monks and Rangers say they ignore them, Fighters and Wizards say you need them, and so on. A specific few classes omit this line (they really shouldn't). And of those, some of them really need the line because they're supposed to have the exception. RAI is clear enough.
Just because the rule is explained under creating new monsters doesn't mean it only applies then, especially when we have both explicit and implicit statements pointing to the conclusion that players and monsters are intended to follow the same rules.
Actually, location of the rule does tell you what it applies to. That's why you don't in general get a +30 to all bluff checks to convince someone of a lie... because that rule applies under "Glibness." This is not to say that Monsters and Players follow different rules at all. Note that even the errata talks specifically about creatures as well. Can you think of any rule under the wrong heading like this that does apply outside its heading? Is there any rule under the heading of a single skill that applies to all skills, or a rule under a single spell that applies to all the time? A single counter example would be enough.
Basically, there is no rule about ignoring prerequisites that is not directly linked to talking about creature/monster bonus feats (and by directly linked, I mean in a section discussing them), which is the same as a racial feat. So the rule is, combining the Monster Manual and the PHB, that all feats require prerequisites, unless you're looking at an entry for a creature (so, racial bonus feats), in which case bonus feats don't need prerequisites. This is the only interpretation that actually uses both the PHB and Monster Manual without dropping one entirely, which is clearly the way to go.
I still can't see how anyone could think that the PHB doesn't clearly state that bonus feats need prerequisites. It talks about bonus feats, then it says you need prerequisites for all feats. What more is there really to say?
JaronK
