The best feat I believe for a first level charcter is Improved Initiative. Though Dodge and Weapon focus are pretty good choices as well.
I have heard much about this Vow of Poverty, as well, and it sounds good too, but what is it? As that is off topic, i would still like to know everyone else's opinion on first level feats.
Thanks
A.
"Vow of Poverty" is a broken, over-powered and badly implented idea from the "Book of Exalted Deeds" (which our group has dubbed the "Book of Broken Feats").
The concept is that your character has to forfeit all material possession for increasing benefits like Armor bonus, all his weapons counting as magic, then later Deflection bonuses, bonuses on saves, etc.
It is a fixed progression that is supposed to mimic what you would get by actually using your treasure share to buy standard magical equipment.
You also get a bunch of free "exalted Feats" as you progress in level.
I allowed it once in the game and we realized it was really broken. The player herself, who loved the concept, hated the implementation.
If you want to see all the pros and cons of the Feat (much more cons than pros) there used to be an immensely long thread on it over at WotC, but I don't seem to be able to find it anymore. I'll look again.
Bocklin
I like some of the regional feats:
Otherworldly (+2 to Diplomacy and Darkvision)
Fast Movement (+10 to base movement)
Are my favorites
From the PHB
Weapon Finesse (for high dex characters)
The best feat I believe for a first level charcter is Improved Initiative. Though Dodge and Weapon focus are pretty good choices as well.
I have heard much about this Vow of Poverty, as well, and it sounds good too, but what is it? As that is off topic, i would still like to know everyone else's opinion on first level feats.Thanks
A.
I'd say to keep to core feats with this thread, as there are so many feats out there that some are bound to be not as 'play-tested' as others.
Improved Initiative is generally a good all-around feat to have, especially if your DM likes to use rogues a lot. You definitely don't want to be caught flat-footed by a group of rogues.
For a level 1 character, Dodge by itself is a subpar feat. It gets you a +1 to your AC, only against a single opponent and only if you have gotten a chance to act against that foe.
Weapon Focus, on the other hand, gets you a +1 to your attacks with the chosen weapon, all the time. You can even use this with sorcerers, choosing Weapon Focus (ray) to get the bonus with all your ray spells.
Vow of Poverty, if you are a good-aligned monk, should, unless you aren't going for a traditional monk build, be inked into your sheet, if the DM allows it. Yeesh that was a lot of commas. In other words, it's a bit overpowered, IMO.
There are several good core feats. Power Attack is one of them, especially when you use a two-handed weapon.
Another excellent 1st level feat is Combat Reflexes; with a 16 Dexterity, that's 4 attacks of opportunity per round. If you're a human with a good base attack bonus, you can choose EWP (Spiked Chain) and pretty much dominate your area of the battlefield, even if your Strength score isn't all that great.
Point Blank Shot beats Weapon Focus in usefulness, I think. Most D&D combat happens at 30 ft. and less. However, PBS and WF do stack, so a ranged character might consider taking both of them eventually.
Assuming a Human Wizard who's taken Spell Focus (conjuration), Augment Summoning more than makes up for the fact that SF (conjuration) is a completely useless feat.
Skill Focus is a general purpose good feat. A character with a 14 Intelligence who takes Skill Focus (Craft: weaponsmithing) but puts no actual ranks into the skill can buy their initial simple and martial weapons (other than bows) at 1/3 price, which is handy for, say falchions (75 gp normally) or heavy crossbows (50 gp normally). An intelligent but clumsy dwarven barbarian can likewise benefit from Skill Focus (Craft: armorsmithing), netting him splint mail or banded mail at the beginning of play for only 70 or so gold. (DC 16 on that) There are tons of other uses for Skill Focus, but that's one I've personally found the most use out of. But Bluff comes to mind...
Spell Focus is great for spellcasters, since the lower level spells come with really crappy save DCs, regardless of level (usually becoming worse at higher levels as enemy save bonuses increase at a faster rate). A human necromancer with Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus (necromancy) can have up to a DC 17 with their scare spell, which is pretty neat, especially at 1st level.
Two-Weapon Fighting can be handy. I recommend having a tripping weapon such as a sickle in your primary hand. That can help things a lot for everyone in the party. If Human, getting Two-Weapon Defense along with it is like getting some sort of Improved Dodge, where it actually works ALL the time (except against touch attacks). Don't know if it's still worth getting, though (Two-Weapon Defense, that is).
Weapon Finesse is great, but unfortunately it is unavailable to the characters who could use it most: Rogues. Still, taking this along with the aformentioned Combat Reflexes is pretty darn nice.
Scribe Scroll. Starting out with some scrolls is more handy than you'd know. Of course, because of the way item creation works (XP loss), you'll have to talk with your DM before you can actually do this. If he wants some sort of sacrifice for it, I suggest 5 gp per experience point, since that's the amount NPC spellcasters charge for casting spells with XP requirements.
At 1st level, the only metamagic feat that you can actually use is Heighten Spell. I don't recommend this.
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Improved Initiative is something all of my characters get regardless of class or race.
Quick-draw is something that every Rogue, Fighter-type, or divine caster should have IMO. Arcane casters can't hit so well in melee but could benefit from it if they have several wands tucked in their belts.
Precise Shot is a must have for the archers or Arcane Artilliary.
Those are the three most important to me.
FH
Weapon Focus, on the other hand, gets you a +1 to your attacks with the chosen weapon, all the time. You can even use this with sorcerers, choosing Weapon Focus (ray) to get the bonus with all your ray spells.
True, taking a weapon focus feat at first level effectively doubles a warrior's ability to impliment damage, but sorcerers can't take it at first level because they don't have a +1 BAB.
Improved initiative is one of, if not THE, most effective feat to have in the game. The ability to move first and possibly get in a flatfooted attack is tremendous and if not taken at first level, it is certainly just as useful when taken at any level thereafter.
Personally (and I know that this thread is against non-standard feats) I like the Artist regional feat from FR. +2 to perform checks, +2 to any one craft skill that involves art, and three more uses of bardic music per day. When I saw this, all the bards in existance salivated and collectively decided to enroll in a bardic college...
I have to go with Toughness.
(Hahahaha!)
Just Kidding!!
I'm with the Improved Initiative argument. It's a must for any character.
Ultradan
Although it pretty much depends on class, role-playing style, and the kind of campaign you're in, and to a lesser extent race (being a human gives the extra feat, which allows for funner combos)...this is still a fun discussion.
Human fighter: Combat Expertise, Two-Weapon Fighting and Two-Weapon Defense using quarterstaff...you'll bash some goblins pretty good, or drop attack bonus so the boss can't hit you (hopefully) if you have at least a 14 STR.
Munchkin: Human barbarian: Toughness, Die-hard (from CW, i think)
rogue: (quick-draw, weap finesse can't be taken at level one) so take improved init--or if you're a human, its fun to take lightning reflexes and nimble fingers...or nimble fingers and skill focus (search)
Improved Initiative is a good all around feat.
Combat Reflexes is good if you have the Dex for it and plan to be a melee fighter because it opens up Karmic Strike from CW, which as I am learning from one of my players in the SCAP, is an incredibly powerful feat choice.
For ranged fighters, Point Blank Shot is a must since you need it for Precise Shot, which is also a must unless you like missing all the bad guys once melee starts.
And for spellcasters, I always like Spell Focus. Nothing like increasing your pitifully small save DC.
improve initiative is the best all arround 1 level feat.
I also like spell mastery for wizards, cause you get a number of spells you can cast with out a spell book.
Overall power attack is the best feat for a fighter, at high levels it can be devestating.
You really can't go wrong with Improved Initiative. It applies to all classes, increases the chance that you'll get to go before your enemy, and decreases the chance that your enemy will get to hit you first and flat-footed. It's especially good for rogues since it increases their chances of getting a first-round sneak attack.
You can only take Vow of Poverty at first level if you're a human, since it has a prerequisite the of Sacred Vow feat. It's not particularly broken in my opinion, when you realise how much of a high level character's power comes from his magic items. While the feat does give an awful lot of benefits, including (unusually) other feats, you're giving up 760,000gp worth of magic items by level 20. If you're anything other than a monk, sorcerer, rogue, bard or druid, you're hit hard by this feat due to your reliance on equipment.
Other than that, Point Blank Shot is great for a ranged rogue - +1 to attack AND damage within sneak attack range with any ranged weapon.
Extra Turning and Combat Casting. :-D (Did I mention I love playing human clerics?)
One of my favorite feats has got to be Zen Archery, though. A good level cleric is downright scary with this feat.
You can only take Vow of Poverty at first level if you're a human, since it has a prerequisite the of Sacred Vow feat. It's not particularly broken in my opinion, when you realise how much of a high level character's power comes from his magic items. While the feat does give an awful lot of benefits, including (unusually) other feats, you're giving up 760,000gp worth of magic items by level 20. If you're anything other than a monk, sorcerer, rogue, bard or druid, you're hit hard by this feat due to your reliance on equipment.
It's true that only a human can take this feat at first level, but the only drawbacks to Vow of Poverty are on the DM's side of the screen. At high level the character not only gets all the class skills/feats/special abilities of his core class, but also the extra feats, bonus stats, natural armor, ability to deal extra damage, etc, that the VoP gives him. Only if the DM is willing to treat the character as a paragon of virtue and disallow even the moral wiggle-room that a paladin enjoys would this super feat even be acceptable. Otherwise, it's just as if the player had access to automatic magical items that boosted his character without all the pesky in character role play. Also, it forces the DM to adhere to the same basic gp standard for all the other players - and I, as a DM, hate when my hand is forced.
Other than that, Point Blank Shot is great for a ranged rogue - +1 to attack AND damage within sneak attack range with any ranged weapon.
Can you take PBS at first level as a rogue? I got the idea that it had a +1 BAB pre-requisite... I might be wrong though.
Can you take PBS at first level as a rogue? I got the idea that it had a +1 BAB pre-requisite... I might be wrong though.
PBS, unlike Weapon Finesse or Weapon Focus, doesn't have that +1 BAB prereq. It doesn't have any prereqs, actually.
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If I'm playing human, then Able Learner (cross class skills at 1 point per level, though maximums remain the same).
Otherwise, something from Player's Guide To Faerun: I love the regional feats, tho' my choice depends on the character... Fearless is a good one if you're not going Paladin.
As an aside, I've always found VOP characters to be A) A little underpowered at high levels and B) hard to motivate. But it's never really ruined the game or whathaveyou. But, it's not really something you can powergame unless you really, really work at it...
Thanks for all the feedback. I thought it was just my group and I that thought improved initiative was great. And yes, depending on the class and race i think has alot to do with feat selection.
Thanks guys and Gals.
later
A.