Feats

PREREQUISITES

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. A character can gain a feat at the same level at which he or she gains the prerequisite.

A character can’t use a feat if he or she has lost a prerequisite.

TYPES OF FEATS

Some feats are general, meaning that no special rules govern them as a group. Others are item creation feats, which allow spellcasters to create magic items of all sorts. A metamagic feat lets a spellcaster prepare and cast a spell with greater effect, albeit as if the spell were a higher spell level than it actually is.

ABERRANT FEATS

Unlike typical feats, aberrant feats manifest as physical changes to your character’s features (or as additions to your character’s appearance). These feats twist and reshape your form, and you become alien in appearance.

A character who has selected at least one aberrant feat gains an inhuman, unsettling presence. You take a –1 penalty on Diplomacy, Disguise, Gather Information, Handle Animal, and wild empathy checks for every aberrant feat you possess (–2 with two feats, –3 with three feats, and so on).

Some aberrant feats have an additional cumulative effect based on your total number of aberrant feats. This accumulation increases as you gain additional aberrant feats. For example, a character with Aberration Blood who selects Durable Form gains 4 hit points (two for each aberrant feat he possesses). If he later selects Bestial Hide, he gains another 2 hit points (in addition to the normal benefit of Bestial Hide).

ABYSSAL HERITOR FEATS

The hordes of the Abyss have mingled with mortal races ever since the two first came into contact. The inevitable results of this mixing can be seen in the faces of half-fiends and, to a lesser extent, tieflings. Over the course of several generations, the fiendish bloodline tends to become diluted until the taint goes completely dormant. In exceptionally rare cases, however, this latent demonic heritage raises its ugly head, causing two otherwise normal mortals to produce a tiefling or even a half-fiend child. Yet such births are not the only way that a dormant Abyssal taint can make its presence known.

In some cases, this lingering influence manifests later in life, often spontaneously when the character undergoes a stressful period, or when he gains skill or power from other sources. At such moments, his latent demonic heritage can come to the fore in shocking ways, transforming him into an Abyssal heritor.

The manifestation of a dormant demonic heritage is modeled by the Abyssal heritor feats. Unlike vile feats , Abyssal heritor feats are not inherently evil. They are, however, inherently chaotic, since a lawful soul would have difficulty accepting the kind of strange and eldritch changes to the body and mind that such feats impose. This chaotic bent eventually affects the alignment of the character taking these feats. A character with only one Abyssal heritor feat can be of any alignment, but he immediately becomes chaotic (if he wasn't already) upon taking a second, unless he possesses the Ordered Chaos feat.

A character with multiple Abyssal heritor feats cannot voluntarily change the chaotic aspect of his alignment, if a magical effect changes his alignment away from chaotic, he loses access to the benefits of his Abyssal heritor feats until his chaotic alignment is restored (unless he has Ordered Chaos feat).

A character can select an Abyssal heritor feat at any time he can select a general feat. Though some of the more powerful Abyssal heritor feats require lesser feats as prerequisites, a character need not have established a demonic heritage before taking the basic ones. As soon as he actually selects an Abyssal heritor feat, however, he can no longer deny the existence of some sinister event in his family's past.

The benefits of many Abyssal heritor feats actually improve as the character takes more of them. Doing so, however, helps to cement the character's chaotic alignment and link with demonkind,

Abyssal heritor feats do not come without penalties. The deformity such a feat inflicts on the mind and body imposes a -2 penalty on checks made with a particular skill designated in the feat description.

AMBUSH FEATS

Ambush feats allow you to use your sneak attack ability to inflict an additional harmful or hindering effect upon an opponent, at the cost of one or more of the extra damage dice you normally deal with a successful hit. You must declare your intent to use an ambush feat before making your attack roll, and your sneak attack must deal at least one extra die of damage (that is, you can't reduce the number of extra damage dice to zero). You can apply multiple ambush feats to the same attack as long as you still deal at least one extra die of damage with the attack.

The sudden strike class feature of a ninja (Complete Adventurer) is the equivalent of sneak attack for the purpose of qualifying for ambush feats.

Creatures immune to extra damage from sneak attacks are also immune to the secondary effects created by ambush feats. Even if a creature is vulnerable to sneak attacks, if your attack deals no damage to the creature (for example, if it is negated by the creature's damage reduction), the secondary effect doesn't occur.

Although the skirmish class feature of a scout (Complete Adventurer) doesn't count as sneak attack or the purpose of qualifying for feats, a scout with the Swift Ambusher feat can combine sneak attack and skirmish extra damage for the purpose of qualifying for ambush feats. Even with this feat, a scout can't sacrifice skirmish bonus damage to gain the benefit of an ambush feat.

Two feats that should retroactively be considered ambush feats appeared in the Complete Warrior supplement: Arterial Strike and Hamstring. The feats require no change, except to note the requirements given above.

BARDIC MUSIC FEATS

Bardic music feats, as the name suggests, require the bardic music ability and cost daily uses of the bardic music ability to activate. All bardic music feats require that the character be able to produce music to use the feat, even those that only require free actions and those that require no action at all.

Class features that resemble bardic music, such as the war chanter’s war chanter music (see Complete Warrior) or a seeker of the song’s seeker music abilities (see Complete Arcane) can be substituted for the bardic music prerequisite of a bardic music feat.

BREATH FEATS

Dragons and creatures of draconic heritage that have breath weapons can choose these feats, which channel the destructive energy of a breath weapon into some other magical or supernatural effect. Using a breath channeling feat requires a creature to activate its breath weapon and counts as a use of that breath weapon.

CEREMONY FEATS

A ceremony feat grants you the knowledge and training needed to complete several specific ceremonies. Each feat uses the Knowledge (religion) skill to gauge the depth of your study. As you gain more ranks in that skill, the ceremonies available through the feat increase.

A creature can benefit from one ceremony at a time. If you attempt a second ceremony on the same creature, the first ceremony’s benefits immediately end and the second ceremony applies.

Each ceremony has a cost in time and resources. The ceremony consumes the materials needed for it when it ends (not when the benefit ends). If the ceremony is disrupted, such as if an opponent attacks before you finish, the material components are not lost.

COMBAT FORM FEATS

While most warriors draw on their strength, agility, and toughness in battle, a few learn to tap into the true potential of their minds. Somewhat like a monk, such a warrior supplements his physical practice with rigorous mental training to hone his fighting abilities. His mind and body become one as he fights, allowing him to achieve unparalleled levels of combat mastery. Being in this state of perfect mental and physical harmony is known as maintaining a combat focus. (Taking the feat called Combat Focus is how a character learns to achieve this state; all other combat form feats have Combat Focus as a prerequisite.) The task of maintaining a combat focus is both difficult and straining. Thus, a warrior cannot remain in this state for long. While he does, however, he can use any combat form feats he possesses.

DEVIL-TOUCHED FEATS

These feats reflect the insidious nature of the baatezu, as they tempt and corrupt mortals, offering characters a sample of infernal power without necessarily making them evil. Devil-touched feats are open only to humanoids and monstrous humanoids. After selecting a devil-touched feat, you can no longer use or select exalted feats (see Book of Exalted Deeds). Also, each devil- touched feat selected imposes a –1 circumstance penalty on all Charisma-based skill checks made to interact with good creatures and animals.

DIVINE FEATS

All divine feats have as a prerequisite the ability to turn or rebuke undead. Thus, they are open to clerics, paladins of 3rd level or higher, and a member of any prestige class or any creature that has that ability.

Second, the force that powers a divine feat is the ability to channel positive or negative energy to turn or rebuke undead. Each use of a divine feat costs a character a minimum of one turn/rebuke attempt from her number of attempts each day. If you don’t have any turn/rebuke attempts left, you can’t use a divine feat. Turning or rebuking undead is a standard action (unless you have a special ability that says otherwise). These feats often take a standard action to activate, but may require other types of actions as specified. Regardless, you may activate only one divine feat (or use the ability to turn or rebuke undead once) per round, though overlapping dura- tions may allow you the benefits of more than one divine feat at a time.

DOMAIN FEATS

Domain feats are a new category of feats that signify character's dedication to a particular religious ideal or tenet. You and your DM should determine a reason for this devotion as part of your character's background. A domain feat usually corresponds to one of the domains to which a particular deity grants access, or those representing set of ideals.

You can select a domain feat at any level. Once you have chosen one, however, you cannot select another unless the second fits thematically with the first. Furthermore, you can never have more than two domain feats (except as specified in Clerics and Domain Feats, below).

Unless otherwise noted, the benefit granted by any domain feat is a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to your character level. All such effects are subject to spell resistance, and you can dismiss any continuing effect as a free action. If a domain feat allows a saving throw, its entry provides the necessary information. If you have the ability to turn or rebuke undead, you can gain additional daily uses of a domain feat's benefit by permanently sacrificing daily uses of that ability.

Usually, domain feats go together only if they correspond to the domains offered by the deity you follow. For example, Kord grants access to the Chaos, Good, Luck, and Strength domains, so a worshiper of Kord could choose the Chaos Devotion, Good Devotion, Luck Devotion, or Strength Devotion feats without going outside his deity's sphere of influence.

For characters who do not worship a particular deity, use the following guidelines for which domain feats allow or preclude the selection of others. This should be done in concert with the DM.

Opposing Domains: The Good and Evil domains, and the Law and Chaos domains are in opposition, so no character should have both Good Devotion and Evil Devotion (or both Law Devotion and Chaos Devotion). In some cases, you might decide that the Healing and Death domains oppose each other, and likewise Destruction and Protection. The Fire domain does not necessarily oppose Water, nor does Air conflict with Earth, since many nature deities (such as Obad-Hai) grant access to all the elemental domains.

Appropriate Theme: If you do not follow any specific deity, your basic system of beliefs should support your domain feat choices. A good rule of thumb is to designate one to three domains (in addition to that corresponding to your first domain feat) that are important to you. These beliefs must also be consistent with your alignment.

Clerics and Domain Feats: If you are a cleric (or any other character class who gains access to a domain), you can choose any domain feat corresponding to the list of domains offered by your deity, even if you do not have access to those particular domains. A cleric of Pelor, for example, can choose to cast spells from the Good and Healing domains but select the Strength Devotion and Sun Devotion feats.

In addition, you can choose to give up access to a domain in exchange for the corresponding domain feat. Doing so allows you to select up to three domain feats, but you cannot prepare domain spells or use the granted power of the sacri­ ficed domain. In essence, you trade in a domain for an extra feat slot that you can spend only on a specific domain feat. For example, the above cleric of Pelor could choose to give up the granted power and spells of the Good domain for the Good Devotion feat.

Caster Level: Unless otherwise noted, the benefit granted by any domain feat is a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to your character level. All such effects are subject to spell resistance, and you can dismiss any continuing effect as a free action. If a domain feat allows a saving throw, its entry provides the necessary information.

DRACONIC FEATS

Draconic feats can be taken by sorcerers, granting them abilities akin to those of their draconic ancestors. Some increase a character's physical capabilities, granting him claw attacks or making him more resistant to attacks, while others allow him to channel his abilities into a potent breath weapon or grant him affinity with his draconic progenitor's breath weapon energy type.

FIGHTER BONUS FEATS

Any feat designated as a fighter feat can be selected as a fighter’s bonus feat. This designation does not restrict characters of other classes from selecting these feats, assuming that they meet any prerequisites.

EPIC FEATS

These feats are available to characters of 2lst level or higher. Dragons of at least old age also can choose these feats even if they have no class levels.

EXALTED FEATS

Only intelligent characters of good alignment and the highest moral standards can acquire exalted feats, and only as a gift from powerful agents of good—deities, celestials, or similar creatures. These feats are thus supernatural in nature (rather than being extraordinary abilities, as most feats are).

A character must have the DM’s permission to take an exalted feat. In many cases, a ritual must be performed; often this simply amounts to a character swearing a sacred vow, for example, in the presence of a celestial being. A character who willingly and willfully commits an evil act loses all benefits from all his exalted feats. She regains these benefits if she atones for her violations.

Aura of Good: A character with at least one exalted feat radiates an aura of good with a power equal to her character level (see the detect good spell), as if she were a paladin or a cleric of a good deity.

HERITAGE FEATS

A heritage feat (see also Bloodline feats - above) signifies a specific ancestry of the character. The player and DM are encouraged to come up with a background story explaining the character's heritage, though the exact source of this ancestral link isn't crucial to the feat's operation (and may remain a mystery to the character). For sorcerers, heritage feats allow a character to tap into the celestial, draconic, or infernal source of his magical power to master new abilities

A character may select a heritage feat at any level. Choosing a heritage feat after 1st level signifies that the ancestral power of the character is only now manifesting itself.

Once a character selects a heritage feat, he cannot select another heritage feat unless it lists his first heritage feat as a prerequisite. For instance, a character who selects Fire Heritage cannot also take Shadow Heritage, but he could select additional heritage feats that have Fire Heritage as a prerequisite (such as Improved Elemental Heritage).

Exception: While different sorts of heritage feats cannot normally be combined, a single sorcerer could possess draconic, infernal, and celestial sorcerer heritage feats. In this case, the sorcerer claims a truly varied family tree that includes a variety of strange beings. Sorcerers with both infernal and celestial traits are exceedingly rare, however. These casters are tormented souls, pulled between the polar opposites that lurk within their blood.

HOST FEATS

Formless entities that prefer to be housed in physical flesh are mysterious in origin, though some types of these entities refer to themselves as "quori." Others have different names for themselves, but all are formless entities that require a body in which to make their presence known in this reality. Formless psionic entities attracted by raking host feats are benign.

Host feats can only be taken by a character who is acting as a physical host to another psionic entity. Once a creature accepts a psionic entity and becomes its host, the creature and the entity are treated as a single creature for all purposes. The entity cannot be purged (except through use of the psychic reformation power), nor can it choose to leave.

A creature can have as many host feats as it desires to take. Host feats are also considered psionic feats. In an EBERRON campaign, kalashtar and Inspired are both considered to be hosts to psionic entities, and thus qualify to take host feats.

INCARNUM FEATS

Incarnum feats are similar to soulmelds in that they allow you to invest essentia into them, increasing their power. Unlike most other incarnum-based abilities, a character can invest essentia into each incarnum feat only once per day. Once invested, the essentia is unavailable for other purposes until 24 hours have passed.

However large your essentia pool is, you can only invest a certain amount of essentia into any one soulmeld, feat, class feature, magic item, or other incarnum receptacle. Your character level determines this essentia capacity.

Incarnum feats display visual manifestations of their effect, such as a faint radiance or glow. Unless noted otherwise, these effects do not provide any actual illumination and do not affect a character’s ability to hide (nor do they give away an invisible character’s location).

INITIATE FEATS

Initiate feats show that a follower has achieved some distinction with his or her patron deity, and therefore has gained access to additional spells and abilities. Some of these feats allow the addition of these spells to the spell lists of other classes. If you have more than one class that qualifies for this addition, you must choose only one spell list to which they will be added. No character can have more than one initiate feat, since such a feat presumes a deep level of commitment to a single deity.

ITEM CREATION FEATS

An item creation feat lets a spellcaster create a magic item of a certain type. Regardless of the type of items they involve, the various item creation feats all have certain features in common.

XP Cost: Experience that the spellcaster would normally keep is expended when making a magic item. The XP cost equals 1/25 of the cost of the item in gold pieces. A character cannot spend so much XP on an item that he or she loses a level. However, upon gaining enough XP to attain a new level, he or she can immediately expend XP on creating an item rather than keeping the XP to advance a level.

Raw Materials Cost: The cost of creating a magic item equals one-half the sale cost of the item.

Using an item creation feat also requires access to a laboratory or magical workshop, special tools, and so on. A character generally has access to what he or she needs unless unusual circumstances apply.

Time: The time to create a magic item depends on the feat and the cost of the item. The minimum time is one day.

Item Cost: Brew Potion, Craft Wand, and Scribe Scroll create items that directly reproduce spell effects, and the power of these items depends on their caster level—that is, a spell from such an item has the power it would have if cast by a spellcaster of that level. The price of these items (and thus the XP cost and the cost of the raw materials) also depends on the caster level. The caster level must be high enough that the spellcaster creating the item can cast the spell at that level. To find the final price in each case, multiply the caster level by the spell level, then multiply the result by a constant, as shown below:

Scrolls: Base price = spell level x caster level x 25 gp.

Potions: Base price = spell level x caster level x 50 gp.

Wands: Base price = spell level x caster level x 750 gp.

A 0-level spell is considered to have a spell level of 1/2 for the purpose of this calculation.

Extra Costs: Any potion, scroll, or wand that stores a spell with a costly material component or an XP cost also carries a commensurate cost. For potions and scrolls, the creator must expend the material component or pay the XP cost when creating the item. For a wand, the creator must expend fifty copies of the material component or pay fifty times the XP cost.

Some magic items similarly incur extra costs in material components or XP, as noted in their descriptions.

LEGACY FEATS

Unlocking the legacy abilities of an item requires the related legacy feat (least, lesser, or greater). Other legacy-related feats allow you to further enhance the item’s abilities.

In addition to the listed prerequisites, you must physically possess (carry, wear, or wield) your legacy item to benefit from any legacy feat.

LUCK FEATS

Most scoundrels think themselves to be clever, surviving by their wits and escaping capture or injury with their masterful skills and abilities. Often, though, scoundrels survive simply out of dumb luck. The luck feats put the power of luck (good and bad) into the hands of characters.

Luck feats don't directly improve your abilities or add new features to your repertoire. By selecting a luck feat, you gain access to a specific lucky effect (usually a reroll) that helps keep you alive or ensures that you succeed. Each additional luck feat grants you another specific lucky effect that can help you win even when the dice say you should lose, in addition to another daily luck reroll.

Though you as a player decide when to use a luck feat, in the game world a lucky result almost never occurs consciously. Instead, a luck reroll represents a fortuitous event, such as a fire giant inexplicably losing his grip on his weapon, a puddle on the floor causing you to slip and be missed by an arrow, or a bit of rust on a lock preventing it from fully closing-making it easier to pick than normal.

When you select a luck feat, you gain access to a luck reroll similar to the power granted by the luck domain. Unlike with that granted power, each luck feat specifies what kind of roll can be rerolled. For example, Magical Fortune allows you to reroll the damage from a single arcane spell you have just cast.

Typically, a luck feat grants one luck reroll per day, but luck rerolls can be used for any luck feat you have. For example, if you have Magical Fortune and Lucky Start, you gain two luck rerolls per day. You can use each of them either to reroll damage from an arcane spell or to reroll an initiative check. Expending a luck reroll to use a luck feat is either a swift or immediate action, as noted in the feat description. Even if you somehow have the ability to take more than one swift action or immediate action per round, you can't expend luck rerolls more than once to affect the same event.

Unless otherwise noted, you must decide whether to make a luck reroll after you have made the original roll, but before the success or failure of that roll has been announced. You must take the result of the reroll, even if it's worse than the original result. Some luck feats allow you to expend luck rerolls to change fate in ways other than simply rerolling dice.

METABREATH FEATS

Dragons (and other creatures) have developed ways to con- trol their breath weapons to produce varying degrees of effects, from the subtle to the conspicuous. To take a meta- breath feat, a creature must have a breath weapon whose time between breaths is expressed in rounds. Therefore, a hell hound (which can breathe once every 2d4 rounds) can take metabreath feats, whereas a behir (breath weapon usable 1/minute) cannot.

Effects of Metabreath Feats: In all ways, a metabreath weapon operates in its usual fashion unless the feat specifi- cally changes some aspect of the breath weapon. Using a metabreath feat puts stress on a dragon’s mind and body, increasing the time it must wait until the dragon can use its breath weapon again. Normally, a dragon must wait 1d4 rounds between breaths. Using a metabreath weapon increases that wait by 1 round or more. For example, if a dragon uses an enlarged breath weapon, it must wait 1d4+1 rounds before breathing again.

Multiple Metabreath Feats on a Breath Weapon: A dragon can use multiple metabreath feats on a single breath. All increases to the time the dragon must wait before breathing again are cumulative. For example, if a dragon uses an enlarged and maximized breath weapon, it must wait 1d4+4 rounds before breathing again.

A dragon can use the same metabreath feat multiple times on the same breath. In some cases, this has no additional effects. In other cases, the feat’s effects are stackable. Apply the feat’s effect to the base values for the breath weapon once for each time the feat is applied and add up the extra time the dragon must wait before breathing again. For example, a Small dragon with a line-shaped breath weapon could use Enlarge Breath twice on the same breath. Since the base length of the line is 40 feet, the doubly enlarged line would become 80 feet long (20 extra feet per applica- tion of the feat), and the dragon would have to wait 1d4+2 rounds before breathing again.

If a metabreath feat stacks with itself, this fact will be noted in the Special section of the feat description.

METAMAGIC FEATS

As a spellcaster’s knowledge of magic grows, she can learn to cast spells in ways slightly different from the ways in which the spells were originally designed or learned. Preparing and casting a spell in such a way is harder than normal but, thanks to metamagic feats, at least it is possible. Spells modified by a metamagic feat use a spell slot higher than normal. This does not change the level of the spell, so the DC for saving throws against it does not go up.

Wizards and Divine Spellcasters: Wizards and divine spellcasters must prepare their spells in advance. During preparation, the character chooses which spells to prepare with metamagic feats (and thus which ones take up higher-level spell slots than normal).

Sorcerers and Bards: Sorcerers and bards choose spells as they cast them. They can choose when they cast their spells whether to apply their metamagic feats to improve them. As with other spellcasters, the improved spell uses up a higher-level spell slot. But because the sorcerer or bard has not prepared the spell in a metamagic form in advance, he must apply the metamagic feat on the spot. Therefore, such a character must also take more time to cast a metamagic spell (one enhanced by a metamagic feat) than he does to cast a regular spell. If the spell’s normal casting time is 1 action, casting a metamagic version is a full-round action for a sorcerer or bard. (This isn’t the same as a 1-round casting time.) For a spell with a longer casting time, it takes an extra full-round action to cast the spell.

Spontaneous Casting and Metamagic Feats: A cleric spontaneously casting a cure or inflict spell can cast a metamagic version of it instead. Extra time is also required in this case. Casting a 1-action metamagic spell spontaneously is a full-round action, and a spell with a longer casting time takes an extra full-round action to cast.

Effects of Metamagic Feats on a Spell: In all ways, a metamagic spell operates at its original spell level, even though it is prepared and cast as a higher-level spell. Saving throw modifications are not changed unless stated otherwise in the feat description. The modifications made by these feats only apply to spells cast directly by the feat user. A spellcaster can’t use a metamagic feat to alter a spell being cast from a wand, scroll, or other device.

Metamagic feats that eliminate components of a spell don’t eliminate the attack of opportunity provoked by casting a spell while threatened. However, casting a spell modified by Quicken Spell does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

Metamagic feats cannot be used with all spells. See the specific feat descriptions for the spells that a particular feat can’t modify.

Multiple Metamagic Feats on a Spell: A spellcaster can apply multiple metamagic feats to a single spell. Changes to its level are cumulative. You can’t apply the same metamagic feat more than once to a single spell.

Magic Items and Metamagic Spells: With the right item creation feat, you can store a metamagic version of a spell in a scroll, potion, or wand. Level limits for potions and wands apply to the spell’s higher spell level (after the application of the metamagic feat). A character doesn’t need the metamagic feat to activate an item storing a metamagic version of a spell.

Counterspelling Metamagic Spells: Whether or not a spell has been enhanced by a metamagic feat does not affect its vulnerability to counterspelling or its ability to counterspell another spell.

METAPSIONIC FEATS

Manifesting Time: Powers manifested using metapsionic feats take the same time as manifesting the powers normally unless the feat description specifically says otherwise.

Manifestation Cost: To use a metapsionic feat, a psionic character must both expend his psionic focus (see the Concentration skill description) and pay an increased power point cost as given in the feat description.

Limits on Use: As with all powers, you cannot spend more power points on a power than your manifester level. Metapsionic feats merely let you manifest powers in different ways; they do not let you violate this rule.

Effects of Metapsionic Feats on a Power: In all ways, a metapsionic power operates at its original power level, even though it costs additional power points. The modifications to a power made by a metapsionic feat have only their noted effect on the power. A manifester can’t use a metapsionic feat to alter a power being cast from a power stone, dorje, or other device.

Manifesting a power modified by the Quicken Power feat does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Some metapsionic feats apply only to certain powers, as described in each specific feat entry.

Psionic Items and Metapsionic Powers: With the right psionic item creation feat, you can store a metapsionic power in a power stone, psionic tattoo, or dorje. Level limits for psionic tattoos apply to the power’s higher metapsionic level.

A character doesn’t need the appropriate metapsionic feat to activate an item in which a metapsionic power is stored, but does need the metapsionic feat to create such an item.

MONSTROUS FEATS

The feats in this category all require a "monstrous" form ability as a prerequisite. Monstrous forms and abilities unavailable to normal humanoid or animal creatures, and can include extra or nonstandard appendages and supernatural or spell-like abilities. With the DM's permission, player may be able to choose monstrous feats if his or her character has acquired unusual abilities through transformation or by advancing in a prestige class.

PSIONIC FEATS

Psionic feats are available only to characters and creatures with the ability to manifest powers. (In other words, they either have a power point reserve or have psi-like abilities.)

Because psionic feats are supernatural abilities - a departure from the general rule that feats do not grant supernatural abilities - they cannot be disrupted in combat (as powers can be) and generally do not provoke attacks of opportunity (except as noted in their descriptions). Supernatural abilities are not subject to power resistance and cannot be dispelled; however, they do not function in areas where psionics is suppressed, such as a null psionics field. Leaving such an area immediately allows psionic feats to be used.

Many psionic feats can be used only when you are psionically focused; others require you to expend your psionic focus to gain their benefit. Expending your psionic focus does not require an action; it is part of another action (such as using a feat). When you expend your psionic focus, it applies only to the action for which you expended it.

PSIONIC ITEM CREATION FEATS

A psionic item creation feat lets a manifester create a psionic item of a certain type. Regardless of the type of items they involve, the various item creation feats all have certain features in common.

XP Cost: Power and energy that the manifester would normally keep is expended when making a psionic item. The experience point cost of using a psionic item creation feat equals 1/25 the cost of the item in gold pieces. A character cannot spend so much XP on an item that he or she loses a level. However, upon gaining enough XP to attain a new level, he or she can immediately expend XP on creating an item rather than keeping the XP to advance a level.

Raw Materials Cost: Creating a psionic item requires costly components, most of which are consumed in the process. The cost of these materials equals 1/2 the cost of the item.

Using a psionic item creation feat also requires access to a laboratory or psionic workshop, special tools, and other equipment. A character generally has access to what he or she needs unless unusual circumstances apply (such as if he’s traveling far from home).

Time: The time to create a psionic item depends on the feat and the cost of the item. The minimum time is one day.

Item Cost: Craft Dorje, Imprint Stone, and Scribe Tattoo create items that directly reproduce the effects of powers, and the strength of these items depends on their manifester level-that is, a power from such an item has the strength it would have if manifested by a manifester of that level. Often, that is the minimum manifester level necessary to manifest the power. (Randomly discovered items usually follow this rule.) However, when making such an item, the item’s strength can be set higher than the minimum. Any time a character creates an item using a power augmented by spending additional power points, the character’s effective manifester level for the purpose of calculating the item’s cost increases by 1 for each 1 additional power point spent. (Augmentation is a feature of many powers that allows the power to be amplified in various ways if additional power points are spent.) All other level-dependent parameters of the power forged into the item are set according to the effective manifester level.

The price of psionic items (and thus the XP cost and the cost of the raw materials) depends on the level of the power and a character’s manifester level. The character’s manifester level must be high enough that the item creator can manifest the power at the chosen level. To find the final price in each case, multiply the character’s manifester level by the power level, then multiply the result by a constant, as shown below.

Power Stones: Base price = power level x manifester level x 25 gp

Psionic Tattoos: Base price = power level x manifester level x 50 gp

Dorjes: Base price = power level x manifester level x 750 gp

Extra Costs: Any dorje, power stone, or psionic tattoo that stores a power with an XP cost also carries a commensurate cost.

For psionic tattoos and power stones, the creator must pay the XP cost when creating the item. For a dorje, the creator must pay fifty times the XP cost.

Some psionic items similarly incur extra costs in XP, as noted in their descriptions.

RACIAL FEATS

Beings of the same race have a bewildering variety of body types, appearances, and abilities. Most of these variations fit within the D&D definition of that being's race, but some are well outside the standard. Thus - racial feats to alter a character's racial characteristics, creating a creature different from others of her kind. They alter racial bonuses and penalties, or create them where they do not exist. In many cases, they make deeper changes to your character as well.

A character may only have one racial feat, and it must be selected at 1st level. Fighters cannot use their fighter bonus feat at 1st level to gain a racial feat.

RECITATIONS

Recitations are special feats that allow you to affect yourself with the power of truenames. You must know your own personal truename to use these feats, and you’re aware that it uniquely identi? es and de? nes you. By repeating your own truename with a particular in? ection, you can rede? ne yourself in some way.

Most recitations remove harmful changes to you; in a sense you’re reminding the universe of how you’re “supposed” to be. A few augment you temporarily; you speak your personal truename and add a little “extra.”

All recitations are full-round actions that provoke attacks of opportunity. They require Truespeak checks because you must correctly speak your own personal truename. The DC for the Truespeak check is 15 + (2 × your HD) + 2, once you increase the DC by 2 for speaking a personal truename. Because it’s your own personal truename, you get a +4 competence bonus on your Truespeak check.

To learn a recitation, you must take the appropriate feat. Truenamers gain a bonus recitation feat at 8th level and again at 15th level.

RESERVE FEATS

Usable only by spellcasters, reserve feats employ an unusual form of prerequisite, drawing upon the magic inherent in a caster's body and soul and utilizing (but not consuming) energies from available spells to augment the character's already prodigious magical talents.

Each reserve feat's primary benefit is a supernatural ability that is usable at will. Unless otherwise noted, the effect requires a standard action to activate, and doing so does not provoke attacks of opportunity. If a saving throw is allowed, the DC equals 10 + the level of the spell allowing the ability's use + the ability modifier that would apply to that spell's save DC. In addition, each feat provides a caster-level boost to a certain category of spells. This increase applies at all times, regardless of whether you have any spells left to cast.

The primary benefit can be activated only if you have a spell of an appropriate variety (of a particular school, subschool, or descriptor) available to cast. The definition of "available to cast" depends on whether you prepare spells or cast spontaneously from a list of spells known.

If you prepare spells each day (as a cleric does, for example), you must have an appropriate spell prepared and not yet cast that day. If you have more than one appropri­ ate spell prepared and uncast, you gain the benefit only from the highest-level such spell; you can't gain multiple benefits, or stack benefits, by preparing more than one appropriate spell.

If you cast spells spontaneously (as a favored soul does, for example), you must know an appropriate spell and must have at least one unused spell slot of that spell's level or higher. If you have more than one appropriate spell known, you gain the benefit only from the highest-level spell for which you have an uncast spell slot.

If you have spells from more than one class, only spell slots that could actually be used to cast the appropriate spell count toward granting this benefit. For example, a paladin/cleric who knows the appropriate spell only as a paladin can't use her cleric spell slots to qualify for the reserve feat's primary benefit.

Once you no longer have an appropriate spell available— because you have cast it, have exhausted the appropriate spell slots, or have chosen a daily spell selection that does not include that spell—you can't activate the feat's power unti l you once again have that spell available for casting. You stil l retain the secondary benefit of the feat, however.

Only actual spells or spell slots allow you to use the primary benefit of a reserve feat. Spell-like abilities, supernatural abilities, and extraordinary abilities—even if they mimic or duplicate an appropriate spell—do not qualify.

Spells that do not have a descriptor until cast (such as the summon monster spells) can't be used to gain the primary benefit of a reserve feat.

You can key two or more reserve feats off of a single spell.

SHIFTER FEATS

Shifter feats are only available to shifters.

TACTICAL FEATS

Feats with the tactical descriptor allow characters to perform a number of powerful attacks.

If you’re playing a character who has a tactical feat, it’s your responsibility to keep track of the actions you’re performing as you set up the maneuver that the feat enables you to perform. It’s also a good idea to briefly mention to the DM that you’re working toward performing a tactical maneuver; a remark along the lines of “I attack the troll, using Combat Expertise to the maximum, and that’s the first step in a tactical maneuver” is appropriate.

Some of the tactical feats refer to the firrst round, second round, and so on. These terms refer to the timing of the maneuver, not the battle as a whole. You don’t have to use Combat Expertise in the first round of combat to begin a tactical maneuver, for example; the round in which you use Combat Expertise is considered the first round of the maneuver.

VILE FEATS

Vile feats, introduced in Book of Vile Darkness, are available only to intelligent characters of evil alignment. Vile feats are granted to characters at the behest of a powerful evil agent—in this case, a demon lord. As such, the benefits granted by these feats are supernatural rather than extraordinary abilities. Some DMs might also want to require any character wishing to take a vile feat to perform a special ritual or make an actual bargain with a demon lord. The demon lord could even (at the DM’s discretion) have the ability to revoke the feat should the character displease his new patron.

This chapter reproduces three vile feats from Book of Vile Darkness (Dark Speech, Evil Brand, and Thrall to Demon) and introduces some new ones as well.

WEAPON STYLE FEATS

The most famous martial characters are renowned for their distinctive styles, combinations of favored weapons and exotic maneuvers that are as unique as a signature. Many fighters discover how to use their strength to best effect by learning Power Attack, Cleave, and Improved Sunder, or study the pure art of swordsmanship by learning Combat Expertise and Improved Disarm—but in all the kingdom, there may be only a single master of the Crescent Moon technique.

A weapon style feat is one that provides a benefit that draws upon a number of specific feats, and that often requires the use of specific weapons.

WILD FEATS

All wild feats have as a prerequisite the wild shape class feature. Thus, they are open to druids of 5th level or higher, as well as any character who has gained wild shape or a similar class feature from a prestige class.

Each use of a wild feat generally costs you one daily use of your wild shape ability. If you don’t have any uses of wild shape left, you can’t use a wild feat. Changing form with wild shape is a standard action (unless you have a special ability that says otherwise); these wild feats likewise take a standard action to activate unless otherwise noted. You can activate only one wild feat (or use the wild shape ability to change form once) per round, though overlapping durations may allow you the benefits of more than one wild feat at a time.

Activating a wild feat is a supernatural ability and does not provoke attacks of opportunity unless otherwise specified in the feat description. Activating a wild feat is not considered an attack unless the feat’s activation could be the direct cause of damage to a target.

FEAT DESCRIPTIONS

Here is the format for feat descriptions.

FEAT NAME [TYPE OF FEAT]

Prerequisite: A minimum ability score, another feat or feats, a minimum base attack bonus, a minimum number of ranks in one or more skills, or a class level that a character must have in order to acquire this feat. This entry is absent if a feat has no prerequisite. A feat may have more than one prerequisite.

Benefit: What the feat enables the character (“you” in the feat description) to do. If a character has the same feat more than once, its benefits do not stack unless indicated otherwise in the description. In general, having a feat twice is the same as having it once.

Normal: What a character who does not have this feat is limited to or restricted from doing. If not having the feat causes no particular drawback, this entry is absent.

Special: Additional facts about the feat that may be helpful when you decide whether to acquire the feat.