Nimble Moves seems really weak. Acrobatic steps would be mediocre even if it didn’t require Nimble Moves.
Arcana Unearthed had a feat that granted +10 movement all the time (and which, as an adjustment to base speed, was multiplied on a run/charge); Acrobatic Steps grants +10 speed only when there is 15 feet or more of difficult terrain to move through.
Even the underpowered 3.5 version of that feat- I forget what WoTC called it- granted a +5 bonus with no strings attached.
This seems unfortunate because it looks like a feat that COULD have been really cool, but they were too cautious with a new and creative ability even though it’s virtually impossible to abuse.
On the other hand, the ability to 5-foot step into difficult terrain has some tactical appeal (and it was good writing to call that boon out explicitly). Still, it doesn’t look like enough to take a feat for from where I’m sitting, and my players throw a lot of entangle around. Is this where the real power of the feat lies, and I’m just not realizing it?
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I'd say it depends on the type of campaign or GM you've got to set how useful it is.
Pre-packaged mods and GM's who use spells and terrain I'd say these feets are incredibly useful.
Boring kick in the door style dungeon crawls make it more of a meh feat.
Still, don't think you'd ever be sorry you had it.
I don't know if I buy that, since a lot of "difficult terrain" actually comes from spells like entangle (or from very vanilla dungeon terrain, such as knee-deep water or squares with furniture in them).
Furthermore, I still contend that a feat is worth anywhere between 5 feet and 10 feet of free movement, which will always be better than the "virtual movement" that these feats grant.
(You may have your terminology mixed up, by the way; "kick-in-the-door" to me means "game with lots of fighting", which in turn means "game where the DM appreciates combat and thus puts effort into making it not-booring". But I know what you're saying. ^^)
Meh. I wish the feat applied to poor visibility and/or obstacles. But it doesn't, so ):
I believe blindfight completely ignored movement penalties related to vision.
I think you're right, though, that "obsticles" don't count as "difficult terrain"...
Director of Games
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Although these feats do have some limited usefulness, I think you might find them invaluable in certain types of terrain. Being able to 5-foot step or charge through a bit of difficult terrain can make a huge difference, especially with the changes to entangle, web, and a few other spells.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
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(You may have your terminology mixed up, by the way; "kick-in-the-door" to me means "game with lots of fighting", which in turn means "game where the DM appreciates combat and thus puts effort into making it not-booring". But I know what you're saying. ^^)
Kick in the door style gaming, like the game Munchkin? You kick in the door, roll your die to try and kill the monster, gain a level, get some loot and then move onto the next door.
Kick in the door play style I'm talking about usually involves ignoring pretty much everything else to get to said levels and loot.
Although these feats do have some limited usefulness, I think you might find them invaluable in certain types of terrain. Being able to 5-foot step or charge through a bit of difficult terrain can make a huge difference, especially with the changes to entangle, web, and a few other spells.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
Thank you for the feedback, as always. ^^
My issue is, movement isn't all that powerful to begin with. Even if every fight takes place knee-deep in a swamp, taking both of these feats still only means +20 movement per round. In most games I think Blindfight alone would do more to keep a character from being shut down, and that's never been regarded as an overly powerful feat.
I am curious about how these really pan out in play, though. I hope one of my players likes them.
Kick in the door style gaming, like the game Munchkin? You kick in the door, roll your die to try and kill the monster, gain a level, get some loot and then move onto the next door.
Kick in the door play style I'm talking about usually involves ignoring pretty much everything else to get to said levels and loot.
Isn't that Monty Haul? =p
I've never played Munchkin, but in the Dungeonmaster's Guide, the "Kick in the door" style of play is defined as one focused on dungeons and combat (as opposed to "deep immersion storytelling"). And in my experience, DMs who focus on combat actually run some really cool fights. It's the ones who are bored by combat that stage simplistic brawls in 20-by-20 rooms (though in those cases, the brawl usually isn't really simplistic because the guy you're fighting is an awesome character and there's dialogue flying, but I digress).
I beleive Jason summed up it's uses pretty well. In fact, one thing being discussed on the knight thread is whether or not the knight's Bulwak of defense should negate it, since if it doesn't enemies can still 5-foot step away from the knight.