Enhanced Magic (3.5e Sourcebook)/Magicians with Style

The Failure of Feats

Feats introduced in 3rd edition of D&D was suppose to give you an interesting edge over non hero type characters but they were never really in line for the amount of specialization they were suppose to impart. For fighters does a +1 or even +2 to strike really change the game that much compated to decent attribute rolls or check rolls. How about eschew materials spending one of seven base feats to be able not to carry around a full ton of random stones bull manure and more. I don't know why but the concept of feats has become increasingly insulting through the expansions as they all seem geared to having close to a dozen prerequisites or just unusable.

With this change up and as can be observed in other sourcebooks I am proud to start including feats that improve when your character improves and actually gives you a chance to want to take something other than maximize spell for the 50th time since nothing else is worthwhile. All of the [Magic] feats are of similar vein to the combat ready feats of the Races of War, giving someone a marked investment in there character instead of just assuming that a +4 is enough of a bonus to concentration at level 20 to be worth justifing. Further most bonuses that are given are fairly low since usually with an appropriate magic item you will exceed what the feat can give you. Making a finite resource (feats) less important than magical goods in my mind is wrong since you can almost always get another weapon of magic but those seven feats are the only seven you will have between level 1 and 20.

Unlike fighters the magic classes did have some better options than their melee counterparts as branching in the past was incredibly weakening as they would be picking prerequisite feats if they decided on a new path. With the introduction of scaling feats however a fighter is able to instantly pick up massive skills in another type of combat with a single feat which means he can be good with hand to hand, archery and two handed weapons while you are stuck with a few more low level spells. These feats are all designed to bring the abilities a little more in line with fighters powered by Races of War, so these would be considered "overpower" by normal D&D standards.

Exploits

Ah another section that I believe the same as Races of War, learning a new weapon I would not consider feat worthy. Now that being said the mages and clerics of the world won't learn weapons as fast as a fighter, so there won't be any skill checks to learn to weild something after a week of training. On the bright side any character that goes out and actually uses a weapon they want to be proficient in should automatically gain the weapon proficiency the next time they gain a level.

The same thing goes for armor though this will not remove the arcane penalty for arcane casters. If your character runs into a specific suit of armor that they decide to wear by the next level they should be considered proficient. A level usually isn't gained in a day, if it is and somehow you lived I would say you learned how to use it.

The New Feat System

The idea of scaling feats is shamelessly stolen from the creators of Races of War because quite frankly almost every feat in the book is considerably underpowered. (note: for anyone looking for a cheap way to justify metamagic feats as having less level adjustment those ones are actually useful as you gain levels so it isn't going to happen.) With the [Magic] type skills such as concentration it will scale with your spellcasting ability to give you a level appropriate ability that makes you feel like choosing it was a good option. In short if the feat makes you scratch your head at level 20 and think "why would I even take this?" it is not what I would call a good feat.

The New Magic Feats

Combat Casting [Magic]

Combat Casting allows you to keep your concentration in situations that would be impossible for ordinary people.