Under the Hood III
Feats
General Feats for the Everyday Hood[spoiler]
General Feats
*This feat can be retaken.
**This feat can be retaken with stacking effects.Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42) [Fighter]:
Requires you be from Taer, ONLY available at level 1; May require 2 Knowledge (local: Rashemen) ranks<If you drop 5'-30' from above your foe you can treat the attack as a charge; +2 accuracy, -2 AC, and a bunch of charge-related goodies. For purposes of triggering this feat, you require 5' + the creature's size in squares per side. (A Medium creature is 1 square, a Large creature is 2 squares, a Huge creature is 3 squares, and so on.)>
While this feat doesn't entirely make you a dragoon, it gives you significant progress. Plead with your DM if necessary to allow this for your dragoon!
Battle Jump Fine Print :
[spoiler]This feat is only available to level 1 characters from the Taer region. In
Player's Guide to Faerun 31, the Taer region was condensed into the Icerim Mountains, and characters from Icerim are typically only creatures of the Taer race. (The Taer/Icerim Mountain region's local knowledge is Rashemen for some reason.)
Player's Guide to Faerun 7-8 says races and subraces are typically restricted to a specific region, like humans from human lands. Being from another region may require DM approval, though by the rules as written don't need it.
Unapproachable East 40 states characters with 2 ranks of Knowledge (local) in the appropriate region may select regional feats from that region.
In short, take 2 ranks of Knowledge (local: Rashemen) and ask your DM to be safe.[/spoiler]
The 'Boing Boing' Battle Jump Trick:
[spoiler]Note how Battle Jump states, "You can execute a charge simply by dropping from a height of at least 5 feet above your opponent" (
Unapproachable East 42). It doesn't specify that you must use a specific action, like a standard action to do so. By my interpretation of the rules as written, you can, with a high enough movement speed and Jump check, repeatedly hurl yourself at your foes every turn until they die, using only movement speed to execute charges. Your DM will probably smack you or otherwise limit you if you try this, but the thought reminds me of
Mario pogo-jumping around the battlefield![/spoiler]
Cleave [Fighter]:
Requires Power Attack<Once per round when you down a foe, you get an extra attack with all applicable accuracy and damage modifiers of the attack that downed the foe.>
This helps none against single big baddies, but in most cases against small groups, the extra attack matters just enough.
Combat Brute (Complete Warrior 110) [Fighter, Tactical]:
Requires Improved Sunder, Power Attack, 6 BAB<You can perform one noteworthy maneuver, Momentum Swing. Charge your opponent and
Power Attack him for at least 5 the round after. On the round after you charge, the
Power Attack damage bonus from wielding your polearm two-handed is 3x the penalty instead of 2x. (Taking a penalty of 6 gives you a damage bonus of 18 if you hit.)>
You'll probably do this anyway, meaning you should get extra damage while you're at it.
Power Attack damage bonuses escalate quickly if you have more than 2 arms, such as being
polymorphed into a
girallon. Unfortunately, Combat Brute requires the icky
Improved Sunder feat.
Combat Reflexes [Fighter]<You can make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed, and each round make one additional AoO per point of DEX bonus.>
You shouldn't be flat-footed, but your armor spikes and polearm mean you threaten at 5' and 10' away as a Medium creature. Contemplate how spiffy this feat can be.
Dodge [Fighter]:
Requires 13 DEX<Each round, designate one foe. You get +1 dodge AC against that foe 'til the start of your next turn.>
It's +1 dodge AC against one opponent. It
may make a difference, but Dodge is mostly a prereq for blade dancer (
Oriental Adventures 37) and
Spring Attack. If you can, instead take Expeditious Dodge from
Races of the Wild 150.
Expeditious Dodge (Races of the Wild 150) [Fighter]:
Requires 13 DEX<If you move at least 40' in a round, you get +2 dodge AC until the start of your next turn.>
Considering your mobility, it's significantly better than
Dodge and it counts as
Dodge in terms of prerequisites! I still normally wouldn't take Expeditious Dodge, but it's better than the original.
Great Cleave [Fighter]:
Requires Cleave, Power Attack<So long as you continue dropping creatures, there's no limit to the number of times you can cleave per round.>
Great Cleave's usefulness comes only with hordes of small baddies, and if your DM or local necromancer is smart, he'll order his minions out of convenient Great Cleave formation.
As a dragoon, however, you should have long reach and high damage output. If you happen to wield a 20' lance and have a 10' reach with your armor spikes, suddenly most of the enemy horde is fair game. Regardless, Great Cleave is highly DM-dependent.
Greater Powerful Charge [Fighter] (Eberron Campaign Setting 54):
Requires Medium or bigger size, Powerful Charge (Eberron Campaign Setting
57), 4 BAB<You are treated as one size category larger for Powerful Charge. When you hit on a charge attack, you do +2d6 damage if Medium, +3d6 if Large, +4d6 if Huge, and +6d6 if Gargantuan or bigger.>
This feat is of dubious worth because it's mostly an early-game damage buff. Ask your DM if this feat's damage bonus applies to every attack of a pouncing charge. (I believe it should.)
Headlong Rush [Fighter] (Races of Faerun 164):
Requires orcishness, 4 BAB<When you charge, you can choose to provoke attacks of opportunity from everyone along the way, including your target, to get double damage on the charge.>
Only orcs and half-orcs get this, but this is a major perk for orcish dragoons. (The picture on this page is the stupidest I've seen for D&D.)
Improved Critical [Fighter]:
Requires weapon proficiency, 8 BAB<Your natural threat range with one weapon doubles, such as from 20 to 19 or 18 to 15. This typically doesn't stack with other threat range increases.>
It's like the
keen edge spell on your polearm in permanent feat form. If you rely on crits, and many mid- and late-game critters are resistant or immune, and you have a spare feat, this may be worthwhile. As a dragoon, you're probably better off with
keen edge and saving a feat.
Improved Initiative [Fighter]<+4 initiative>
If you can't get this lovely +4 initiative from the Time domain (
Spell Compendium 281) or warblade bonus feats, it's still worth getting eventually.
Improved Toughness (Complete Warrior 101) [Fighter]:
Requires a base Fortitude save of 2<You get 1 HP per HD, current and future.>
This is somewhat attractive considering your low HP and is typically better than
Diehard.
Knockback (Races of Stone 142) [Fighter]:
Requires Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, size Medium with Powerful Build OR at least size Large<If you hit someone while power attacking, you may start a bull rush immediately after you hit, adding your power attack damage as a bonus on your bull rush check. This bull rush doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity.>
It's thematically appropriate to want to knock someone back so they provoke attacks of opportunity by moving through your threatened area, but someone with pounce, such as via Lion Totem Barbarian (
Complete Champion 46), can already
start a bull rush as part of a charge, also getting a full attack. There's synergy with Combat Brute (
Complete Warrior 110) since you get +1 accuracy and damage for each 5' you knock a foe back with bull rush, but by the time you get the 4 requisite feats, the synergy will be minor.
The only way to qualify for this feat is with magic (
polymorph, permanent
enlarge person), taking a level adjustment. The level 1-only feat Jotunbrud from
Races of Faerun 166 may also qualify you, but it requires you be human. Knockback's trick is nifty, but it's especially niche, hence the red rating.
Knowledge Devotion (Complete Champion 60):
Requires 5 ranks in any Knowledge<Make a Knowledge check and gain an insight bonus on accuracy and damage against all foes of that type for one combat. Even if you bomb the check, you still get a bonus of at least 1.>
As a feat, the Knowledge Devotion is slightly better than
Weapon Focus, though it requires being trained in the appropriate Knowledge skill and more at-table tracking. You're better off taking a
cloistered cleric and getting this instead of the
Knowledge domain.
You need 5 ranks in Knowledge (planes) for Neraph Charge (
Planar Handbook 40) and 5 ranks in Knowledge (religion) for a bonus turning attempt with a Relinquary Holy Symbol (
Magic Item Compendium 120). Dragoons with their first level in rogue find 5 ranks of Knowledge (local) convenient, and dragoons beginning as warblades find 5 ranks in Knowledge (history) convenient.
Leap Attack (Complete Adventurer 110):
Requires 8 Jump ranks, Power Attack<According to
Complete Adventurer errata, wielding a weapon in 2 hands gives you quadruple (4x)
Power Attack damage.>
You may already deal loads of damage. If your accuracy is high enough to regularly spare some for Power Attack, go right ahead. If you're facing creatures with stats straight from a
Monster Manual, you most likely won't need the damage boost.
Leap of the Heavens (Player's Handbook II 80):
Requires 4 Jump ranks<You don't double the Jump DCs for standing jumps, effectively turning standing jumps into running jumps, and get a +5 Competence bonus on Jump checks on jumps with at least a 20' running start.>
This feat is excellent if you play in games where items granting massive Jump bonuses are rare or impractical. The Leaping Dragon stance (
Tome of Battle 88, Tiger Claw3) lets you to treat standing jumps as running jumps and gives you a continual +10 enhancement Jump. If you can retrain feats and intend to take Leaping Dragon, Leap of the Heavens is almost a no-brainer!
From my understanding, this feat is the same as the
goliath's Mountain Movement. It sure kicks the crap odda the epic feat
Legendary Leaper!
Leap of the Heavens's usefulness probably diminishes as the game progresses because eventually your Jump check will be so high that an extra 10, 20, or 40 to the DC won't matter much, especially if you can glide from being a raptoran ([i}Races of the Wild[/i] 68) or Dragonborn (
Races of the Dragon 8). It still may be viable for the Boing Boing trick. (See the Battle Jump feat description.)
Martial Stance (Tome of Battle 31) [Fighter]:
Requires 1 martial maneuver, otherwise qualifying for the stance<You gain one martial stance for which you meet all prereqs. You must also know at least one maneuver from this discipline.>
Stance usefulness varies greatly, hence the black rating.
Martial Study (Tome of Battle 31) [Fighter]<You gain one martial maneuver for which you meet all prereqs.>
Martial maneuver usefulness varies greatly. Choose well, grasshoppah.
Mental Leap [Psionic]:
Requires 13 STR, 5 Jump ranks<You must expend your psionic focus for +10 on one Jump check.>
It's a weak effect for a feat. You're typically better saving your focus and feat for
Up The Walls.
Mobility [Fighter]:
Requires 13 DEX, Dodge<You get +4 AC against all attacks of opportunity.>
Considering your mobile nature, this may be valuable as something more than a prereq for blade dancer (
Oriental Adventures 37) and
Spring Attack, but there are far better feats.
Neraph Charge (Planar Handbook 40):
Requires 15 WIS, 5 Knowledge (planes) ranks<You can charge like a neraph (
Planar Handbook 13), denying a foe his DEX bonus to AC for your attack.>
This works only once per foe per encounter and your opponent must see you, making it a low priority feat. I wanted to rate this blue, but its high requirements and use limits make this a merely OK feat for most dragoons.
Neraphim (
Planar Handbook 13) can take this feat and seemingly use their racial charge and the Neraph Charge feat once each per foe per encounter.
Power Attack [Fighter]:
Requires 13 STR<At the beginning of your turn when wielding a melee weapon in 2 hands, you may a take a penalty to your melee accuracy of up to your base attack bonus and add double that penalty as a bonus to damage should you hit. The bonuses and penalties last until the start of your next turn.>
For many, this is a key to your build and a way to squeeze more damage from well-planned attacks. With a proper setup, you can get amazing returns on Power Attack, at least 10 damage for each point of accuracy you lose! You also need it for
Leap Attack and certain other feats.
With a high enough damage output, however, Power Attack becomes merely a placeholder feat. Its viability varies greatly, hence its black rating.
Ordered Chaos (Fiendish Codex I 86):
Requires nonchaotic alignment, base Will save of 4<You're considered chaotic as well as your normal alignment.>
If for some reason you want to be considered chaotic and nonchaotic simultaneously, this is your feat. For almost everyone, this is a waste.
If you desperately want this effect as your level 3 feat, ask your DM if you can remove the base will save requirement or have
psychic warrior have a strong will save instead.
Powerful Charge [Fighter] (Eberron Campaign Setting 57):
Requires Medium or bigger size, 1 BAB<When you hit on a charge attack, you do +d8 damage if Medium, +2d6 if Large, +3d6 if Huge, +4d6 if Gargantuan, and +6d6 if Colossal.>
Though the majority your attacks will be charges, this is mostly useful early-game. If you intend to play a dragoon no higher than about level 10, Powerful Charge may be worthwhile. Ask your DM if this damage applies to every attack made with a pouncing charge. (I believe it should.)
Power Lunge (Ghostwalk 37 and Sword and Fist 8) [Fighter]:
Requires BAB 3, Power Attack<When you hit a foe with a charge, add double your STR bonus to damage. (For two-handed weapons like most polearms, this is 2.5x your STR bonus.) Conversely, your foe gets an attack of opportunity on you before you can attack it.
The
Ghostwalk version is identical to
Sword and Fist's except it also a [Fighter] feat.>
This is a cheap, easy way to get extra damage, especially when your reach is greater than your opponent's! Seemingly, you can choose to deal extra damage on a charge in exchange for provoking an attack of opportunity.
Practiced Manifester (Complete Psionic 57):
Requires 4 Psicraft ranks<Your manifester level in one class increases by up to 4, but no more than your hit dice. A rogue1/cleric1/psywar1/barbarian1 with this feat has a psywar manifester level of 4.>
Take this to extend your buffs.
Practiced Spellcaster (Complete Arcane 82 or Complete Divine 82):
Requires 4 Spellcraft ranks<Your caster level in one class increases by up to 4, but no more than your hit dice. A rogue1/cleric1/psywar1/barbarian1 with this feat has a cleric caster level of 4.>
Take this to extend your buffs and let your
cure spells heal a bit more.
Psionic Charge [Psionic]:
Requires 13 DEX, Speed of Thought<You must expend your focus to be able to make one turn of up to 90 degrees while charging.>
This doesn't fit the dragoon style; you're meant to jump off walls, mounts, and orbital satelites to inflict massive stabbity death, not turn corners!
Shock Trooper (Complete Warrior 112) [Fighter, Tactical]:
Requires Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, 6 BAB<You can perform one noteworthy maneuver, Heedless Charge. Charge your opponent and
Power Attack him for at least 5. Instead of taking the accuracy penalty from
Power Attack, you can instead take the penalty to your AC. This effect lasts one round.>
You can reliably hit with
Power Attack! (Holy cathedrals,
Batman!) You should also be far enough away that the AC penalty won't matter much. Remember that this penalty also applies to touch AC!
Unfortunately, Shock Trooper requires the crap feat
Improved Bull Rush,
Speed of Thought [Psionic]:
Requires 13 WIS<While psionically focused, you get +10' insight speed.>
You're already feat tight and an extra 10' matters much more in the early game. If you want to try setting land speed records at level 6, this is a better investment. Overall, you're probably better saving your feats for damage boosters.
Spirited Charge [Fighter]:
Requires Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, 1 Ride rank<When charging while mounted, you do double damage (triple damage with a lance) should you hit.>
If you're a mounted dragoon, this is rightfully
blue for its awesomeness and it's still a
navy for unmounted dragoons with a knack for riding, a flying mount, and the proper gear. Double charge damage while mounted or triple if using a lance? Prereq feats that don't suck for a mounted dragoon?
This is especially useful for combining mounted and unmounted dragoon styles. See the Limit Lancer trick below.
The Limit Lancer Trick-Combining Mounted & Unmounted Styles :[spoiler]Use
Ride-By Attack with a polearm, activate your Travel Devotion (
Complete Champion 62), jump off your mount and onto the foe, and pretend it's a
Final Fantasy limit break!
If you're a Raptoran (
Races of the Wild 68) or Dragonborn (
Races of the Dragon 8) and have a flying mount, you can assumedly ride-by, order your mount to fly 30' above your opponent, then dive bomb your foe at exactly 30' for the diving charge double damage plus Battle Jump (
Unapproachable East 42) and charge bonuses. Woot!
Just be careful you can land or glide back onto your mount to repeat the process next turn.[/spoiler]
Spring Attack [Fighter]:
Requires 13 DEX, Dodge, Mobility, 4 BABUnapproachable East 42) onto someone to trigger a charge then move away, similar to the
Final Fantasy dragoons. (If your DM rules this way, Spring Attack's rating changes to
navy.)
My interpretation of Spring Attack as written is "move, attack once, move," and if that's the case, Spring Attack is only slightly useful beyond a prereq for blade dancer (
Oriental Adventures 37).
Travel Devotion (Complete Champion 62)<Once per day as a swift action, you can move your normal speed for 1 minute. Spending 2 turning attempts allows another daily use.>
While you should probably trade in your
Travel domain, this devotion is worthy of a feat. This is like
hustle in feat form!
Two-Weapon Fighting [Fighter]:
Requires 15 DEX<When you make a full attack, you get an extra attack with your off-hand weapon with an accuracy penalty. See this
two-weapon fighting table for details.>
It's strictly a prereq for Bloodclaw Master (
Tome of Battle 96), though it helps a bit should you want to use your polearm and armor spikes in the same round.
Up The Walls [Psionic]:
Requires 13 WIS<While psionically focused, you can walk on walls as easily as normal floors. If you end your turn on a wall, you fall to the ground prone, taking falling damage as appropriate. Moving from the floor to the wall costs no movement, but moving along the wall provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.>
Up the Walls lets you to get into position for many jump attacks with Battle Jump (
Unapproachable East 42) and
Leap Attack.
If the ceiling if horizontal, you can safely stand on it and end your turn. You may be able to convince your DM that walls are horizontal surfaces if turned 90 degrees.
*Weapon Focus [Fighter]:
Requires weapon proficiency with chosen weapon, 1 BAB<You get +1 accuracy with that weapon.>
It helps offset your
Power Attack penalty, but it's mostly a prereq.
*Weapon Specialization [Fighter]:
Requires Weapon Focus with chosen weapon, 4 fighter levels<You get +2 damage when hitting with the selected weapon.>
You qualify via Warblade 6, but even then Weapon Specialization is of dubious worth as a feat. You should be doing ludicrous amounts of damage without this, and +2 damage is barely noticeable after a short while.[/spoiler]
Warblade Feats[spoiler]
Warblade Feats
Acrobatic<+2 Jump and Tumble>
It's +2 Jump and Tumble, but these skills should be already ludicrously high. Some believe every little bit is worthwhile.
Agile<+2 Balance and Escape Artist>
Ick, even for a bonus feat.
Athletic<+2 Climb and Swim>
You can do much better for a bonus feat.
Blade Meditation (Tome of Battle 29):
Requires 1 Concentration rank, 4 BAB, 1 martial maneuver<+1 damage with preferred weapons when using martial strikes of that discipline, +1 DC on maneuvers from chosen discipline, +2 on key discipline skill>
Normally this feat is at least average, but you'll probably have no White Raven strikes by the time you qualify. Even then, the bonus is negligible.
Blind-Fight<When you miss a melee attack because of concealment, you can reroll percentile. Also, invisible attackers get no bonuses to melee accuracy against you.>
You shouldn't need this, but it's somewhat helpful for emergencies.
Combat Reflexes<You can make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed and each round make one more AoO per point of DEX bonus you have.>
You should have higher than average DEX and longer than typical reach, making this an obvious choice.
Diehard:
Requires Endurance<You automatically stabilize at negative HP and can take a move action each round without penalty. Most other actions cause you to lose 1 HP, and you still die at -10 HP.>
Surely you can find better!
Endurance<You can sleep in medium or heavy armor without being fatigued and you get minor bonuses to rarely-used checks.>
Skip this!
Great Fortitude<+2 Fortitude>
It's +2 Fortitude to your already massive Fortitude save, but it's still better than many feats here.
Improved Initiative<+4 Initiative>
If you can't get this lovely +4 initiative from the Time domain (
Spell Compendium 281), take it ASAP from Warblade feats!
Iron Will<+2 Will>
The +2 will probably help prevent you from becoming mind controlled and slaughtering the party. Even if it doesn't, you can tell your fellow players you at least tried to prevent it.
Ironheart Aura (Tome of Battle 31):
Requires 1 Iron Heart stance<When in an Iron Heart stance, all adjacent allies within 5' get +2 morale saves.>
Giving allies +2 morale to their saves is handy, but you will be away from them action most of the time, making this feat's worth dubious.
Lightning Reflexes<+2 Reflex>
Failing a Reflex save typically means HP damage- no big whoop- but here's to living that much longer. Cheers!
Quick Draw:
Requires 1 BAB<You may draw a weapon as a free action or a weapon hidden via Sleight of Hand as a move action.>
You should never need this as a dragoon. Never. Drawing a weapon as part of a move is possible with at least 1 BAB, and most the time you should have your polearm drawn.
Run<You get +4 Jump on running jumps, keep your DEX to AC while running, and can run at 5x your normal speed instead of 4x.>
It's a prereq for the epic feat
Epic Speed, but that's about it. The most useful part of Run is +4 Jump on running jumps, which should be all jumps by this point.
Stone Power (Tome of Battle 32):
Requires 13 STR, 1 Stone Dragon maneuver<When you attack or use a Stone Dragon maneuver, you can subtract up to 5 from your BAB and add double that penalty as temporary HP for one round.>
Yay for a short-term HP boost! Boo that Stone Dragon maneuvers
must be used on the ground!
Tiger Blooded (Tome of Battle 33):
Requires raging/shifting/wild shaping, 1 Tiger Claw maneuver<When raging, shifted, or wild shaped into an animal form, you can use a Tiger Claw maneuver to also knock a foe 5' if they fail a Fortitude save of 10 + your STR mod + 1/2 your character level. This foe can't be of a larger size category than you.>
It's mostly useful for knocking someone out of your threat range then forcing them to reenter your threat range, but Tiger Blooded requires a.high STR and massive size to reliably work.
Unnerving Calm (Tome of Battle 33):
Requires 1 Concentration rank, 1 Diamond Mind maneuver<You can use Concentration instead of Intimidate in a duel of wills.>
Dragoons don't do this; they kill people.
White Raven Defense (Tome of Battle 33):
Requires 1 White Raven stance<When in a White Raven stance, each adjacent ally gets +1 AC. When wielding your halberd or another White Raven weapon, regardless of stance, each adjacent ally gets +1 AC, and I assume these bonuses stack. (You give no AC when flat-footed.)>
This feat requires you to be next to your allies and provides a minor AC boost. Pass.[/spoiler]