New Feat: Improved Combat Expertise (PEACH) [Archive] - Wizards Community

New Feat: Improved Combat Expertise (PEACH) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Bihlbo
09-04-07, 11:17 AM Edit: Thanks for letting me know it's not a new feat, Jaelis! Feel free to ignore this thread if you like.

This is probably not a new feat. I can't imagine that I'm the first to suggest this, and it might even be in a splat book I haven't read. But, in leu of simply removing the "up to -5" limitation, I thought this was a good feat to expand the defensive fighter's options:

IMPROVED COMBAT EXPERTISE [GENERAL]
Prerequisite: Int 13, Combat Expertise, base attack bonus +6.

Benefit: When using the Combat Expertise feat, you can take a penalty greater than -5 by an amount equal to your Intelligence bonus, and add the same number as a dodge bonus to your Armor Class. This number may not exceed your base attack bonus. The changes to attack rolls and Armor Class last until your next action.

Normal: Combat Expertise normally allows no more than a -5 penalty on your attack roll.

Special: A fighter may select Improved Combat Expertise as one of his fighter bonus feats.

___________

So, is this broke? The effective limit is still your BAB. If you're fighting a demon with a 32 Int, then yes, she can swap a -16 penalty to hit for a +16 AC as long as she has a +16 BAB. But, the ogres you fight, no matter how tough, probably will never do better than a -/+7 because they're dumb.

One bonus I see here is that a wizard, or someone else really smart and covered in flimsy cloth, has a better option in combat than "flee or die." At least he can attack with his dagger, no matter how paltry his chance to hit might be, and get something better than a +5 AC at the later levels. Wizards, for example, are going to cap out at +10, of course, because of the BAB limitation, even though they undoubtedly have better than a +5 Int bonus by level 10.

Fighters on the other hand, the smart ones being the ones to most likely take the feat, could really get a boost with the right buffs. Base Int 16, Fox's Cunning, and gear that gives an enhancement bonus to Int, could give the fighter an Int bonus of something like +9. So at levels 14+ he could do a full-on attack bonus drop for a +14 AC.

Is this bad? I tend to think it's not, but let's discuss it.
jaelis
09-04-07, 11:26 AM This feat appears in Complete Warrior, you can take a penalty up to your BAB, no limitation from Int. It is not overpowered.
Bihlbo
09-04-07, 11:54 AM Thanks!

I should pick that one up, I keep hearing it's worth the read.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Bihlbo 09-04-07, 11:17 AM	Edit: Thanks for letting me know it's not a new feat, Jaelis! Feel free to ignore this thread if you like. This is probably not a new feat. I can't imagine that I'm the first to suggest this, and it might even be in a splat book I haven't read. But, in leu of simply removing the "up to -5" limitation, I thought this was a good feat to expand the defensive fighter's options: IMPROVED COMBAT EXPERTISE [GENERAL] Prerequisite: Int 13, Combat Expertise, base attack bonus +6. Benefit: When using the Combat Expertise feat, you can take a penalty greater than -5 by an amount equal to your Intelligence bonus, and add the same number as a dodge bonus to your Armor Class. This number may not exceed your base attack bonus. The changes to attack rolls and Armor Class last until your next action. Normal: Combat Expertise normally allows no more than a -5 penalty on your attack roll. Special: A fighter may select Improved Combat Expertise as one of his fighter bonus feats. ___________ So, is this broke? The effective limit is still your BAB. If you're fighting a demon with a 32 Int, then yes, she can swap a -16 penalty to hit for a +16 AC as long as she has a +16 BAB. But, the ogres you fight, no matter how tough, probably will never do better than a -/+7 because they're dumb. One bonus I see here is that a wizard, or someone else really smart and covered in flimsy cloth, has a better option in combat than "flee or die." At least he can attack with his dagger, no matter how paltry his chance to hit might be, and get something better than a +5 AC at the later levels. Wizards, for example, are going to cap out at +10, of course, because of the BAB limitation, even though they undoubtedly have better than a +5 Int bonus by level 10. Fighters on the other hand, the smart ones being the ones to most likely take the feat, could really get a boost with the right buffs. Base Int 16, Fox's Cunning, and gear that gives an enhancement bonus to Int, could give the fighter an Int bonus of something like +9. So at levels 14+ he could do a full-on attack bonus drop for a +14 AC. Is this bad? I tend to think it's not, but let's discuss it.
jaelis 09-04-07, 11:26 AM	This feat appears in Complete Warrior, you can take a penalty up to your BAB, no limitation from Int. It is not overpowered.
Bihlbo 09-04-07, 11:54 AM	Thanks! I should pick that one up, I keep hearing it's worth the read.