I noticed another oddity. Because it's specified as a melee reach weapon with Net Adept, that would mean you can NOT attack adjacent foes. Note the Reach weapon quality and the Whip description. You could still presumably attack adjacent foes as a ranged attack (and still provoke).
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Proposed Rewrite
I plan to bring this up as a house rule with my GM. I want to play these feats, but they're kind of obnoxious and ambiguous. I doubt the devs will notice this thread at this point, and the 3 people posting in it are probably the only three interested in using nets. :p
Net Adept (Combat)
You have trained to use the net as a melee weapon.
Prerequisites: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (net), base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: You can treat a net as a one-handed melee reach weapon with a 10-foot reach, though attacking with a net is still a ranged touch attack. In addition, unlike most other weapons with reach, you can use your net against foes anywhere within your reach (including adjacent foes). Further, you take no penalty on attack rolls for using an unfolded net, and you can use one full-round action or two move actions to fold a net.
Normal: A net is a ranged weapon that imposes a –4 penalty on ranged attack rolls if it is unfolded. Folding a net takes a proficient user 2 rounds.
This means that:
- you do not provoke attacks of opportunity when attacking with your net.
- you threaten all squares within 10 feet with your net. You can take attacks of opportunity to entangle with your net.
- you can attempt to disarm with a net.
- you can dual wield a net with another melee weapon.
Changes:
- Specified that the attack roll (ranged touch attack) does not change. There's no reason for this to change. Dex makes more sense than Str, and it makes sense that a whip should be a touch attack. The only time Str makes more sense than Dex is under Net Maneuvering (Drag or Reposition), and that's handled with a Combat Maneuver check anyway. (It is possible that the original designer of the feat intended for the attack roll to be unchanged, but it is ambiguous.)
- Borrowed whip text, to make explicit that you can attack adjacent foes. The reason most reach weapons can't attack adjacent foes is because they have a long haft; there is no reason you can't attack an adjacent foe.
- Removed melee from the last sentence. You take no penalty on (any) attack rolls with an unfolded net.
Net and Trident (Combat)
Your skill with lighter weapons allows you to wield one alongside your net.
Prerequisites: Dex 15, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (net), Net Adept, Two-Weapon Fighting.
Benefit: When dual-wielding a net with a light or one-handed melee weapon, you gain a +2 bonus on damage rolls and on attack rolls to confirm a critical hit against an opponent entangled by your net.
This means:
- the bonuses are self-explanatory.
Changes:[/i]
- Removed the nonsense about wielding as a ranged weapon. It didn't actually do anything given the changes/clarification of Net Adept. While it may seem that this renders the feat underpowered, a damage bonus of +2 is fairly significant (compare Weapon Specialization).
Net Maneuvering & Net Trickery
These two received marginal clarifications, but I noticed in going over them that the trip ability seems backwards. With Net M. you can trip in place of entangling, while with Net T. you can trip someone already entangled in your net. Redistributing the benefits of these two feats might make sense. It would certainly make the phrasing simpler.
It would also make more sense because of the drag and reposition maneuvers that you gain with Net Maneuvering. These maneuvers are accomplished by manipulating someone who is entangled in your net; it makes more sense to learn how to trip someone in your net than out of your net at the same time.
