Damned feats (from Champions of Corruption)

[Douglas Muir 406]

These are feats that you gain by signing a bargain with a dark power and agreeing to be damned. The more of them you have, the harder it is to bring you back from the dead -- i.e., if you have two, Raise Dead no longer works, at the third, Resurrection no longer works, and so forth. The book gives four feat chains of four feats each. Usually the first feat is pretty feeble, but then they get better.

Two of the chains jumped out at me. First, this one:

Maleficium (Damnation)

You are a master of dark magic.
Benefit: You cast spells with the evil descriptor with
increased potency.
One Damnation Feat: Add 1 to the DCs of all saving throws
against spells with the evil descriptor that you cast.
Two Damnation Feats: When you apply a metamagic feat
to a spell with the evil descriptor, that spell takes up a spell
slot 1 level lower than normal (to a minimum of 1 level
above the spell’s actual level).
Three Damnation Feats: Add 1 to the DCs of all saving
throws against spells with the evil descriptor that you cast.
This bonus stacks with the earlier benefits of this feat.
Four Damnation Feats: Treat your caster level as being
2 higher for all level-dependent effects of spells with the
evil descriptor that you cast.

So, an obvious question: is there a way to get the evil descriptor on otherwise nonevil spells? I know of one: if you have the Demoniac PrC, spells cast through your demon mark become evil. Alas, you can only do this once/day. I'm pretty sure there are others, though.

That second feat would be awesome if it worked on +1 metamagics. As it is, you get to start casting Quickened first level evil spells as soon as you get 4th level spell slots -- pretty sweet, at least for full casters.

Then there's this one:

Soulless Gaze (Damnation)

Otherworldly dread infuses your gaze.
Benefit: You can use the Intimidate skill to manipulate
and terrify others.
One Damnation Feat: You gain a +2 bonus on Intimidate
checks.
Two Damnation Feats: When you demoralize a creature
more than once using Intimidate, you can create stronger
fear conditions rather than increasing the duration of the
shaken condition.
Three Damnation Feats: You gain a +2 bonus on Intimidate
checks (this stacks with the earlier benefits of this feat).
Four Damnation Feats: You can use Intimidate to
demoralize opponents as a swift action.

This is like... feeble, great, feeble, amazing. Am I right to think that this is the only way to use Intimidate as a swift action? So you can just Intimidate and FRA every round? And with the second feat, you'll stack your fear conditions? This makes a specialized intimidator character really, really powerful.

Thoughts?

Doug M.

[Stark_]

The big one for Maleficium is the Channel Hellfire ability of the Diabolist PRC, usable Cha mod times/day, which is absolutely amazing with this feat. I can see some crazy blaster builds coming out of this. Consider this feat with spell perfection...

Soulless Gaze's 2nd version is obscenely good. Just gross. Cornugon Smash + Enforcer = instant frightened condition. And with all the fear boosting feats for dazzling display and the like, it's crazy. The forth version is good, but not nearly as exciting, in my opinion.

The only real drawback of these feats is that Fiendskin and Mask of Virtue are pretty underwhelming. And the whole not able to be revived bit. But other than that... crazy good.

[Imbicatus]

There are several ways to Intimidate as a swift or faster. Viking Fighter, Swashbuckler Meanacing Swordplay deed, Warpriest Glory blessing, Boar Style, Rake Rogue.

[Douglas Muir 406]

Stark_ wrote:

The big one for Maleficium is the Channel Hellfire ability of the Diabolist PRC, usable Cha mod times/day, which is absolutely amazing with this feat. I can see some crazy blaster builds coming out of this. Consider this feat with spell perfection...

Holy socks, yes. How did I forget about Channel Hellfire? And the Diabolist is damned already, so it's a perfect fit.

Doug M.

[ElementalXX]

Jesus soullessgaze is fraking good. Proably not broken considering all things that are inmune to fear but a really good feat for any intimidator. Any feat which gives combat usefulness to skills is a top feat in my radar

[osopolare]

The thing that's somewhat disappointing on this front is the fact that there are only 4 feats so to gain their full abilities you have to take them all.

Why's this a problem? Because this means that the relative value of some of these feats are very much reduced for characters where the abilities don't apply.

I'm playing a fighter. The Maleficium feat won't do me much good except how it boosts the other feats.

I'm sure they had space limits to deal with in this book. Here's hoping they release additional Damnation Feats in subsequent books. <crosses fingers>

[ElementalXX]

I in general consider the "not so useful feats" here feat taxes

[Imbicatus]

It makes them more useful to hybrid characters. Magi, Bloodragers, Eldritch Knights, and Dragon Disciples all benefit more from them than a purely martial or caster would.

[Bandw2]

you presented these feats like they would impress me... sorry, that probably comes off as mean, i just come from playing Black Crusade, where the dark gods can do things like remove your face losing the ability to speak and eat but gain telepathy and no longer needing to eat. or replace your bones with metal, that's always a neat one.

I had a Chaos sorcerer, first roll on the dark gifts chart, I became a pseudo demon and had a fear aura at the highest value possible. If i took my helmet off mid combat, everyone with in eye sight would basically start running or convulsing in fear. don't worry though, he died shortly after i created him, as he tried to summon a deamonette of slaanesh and was promptly eaten by the warp.

@ soulless gaze, just get 4 levels of anti-paladin, watch as EVERYTHING must run.

[Arachnofiend]

I like how Mask of Virtue finally gives us a way to hide your alignment without access to spellcasting. BBEG Slayers will appreciate it. Soulless Gaze does much the same thing by finally giving us a way to cause frightened and panicked without spellcasting.

Kinda sucks that these fixes to prime martial issues won't be available to 90% of characters (granted only Soulless Gaze could necessarily be useful to a non-evil character) but hey at least they exist now.

[Randarak]

I hate my damned feats. They always hurt. I need new shoes.

[Douglas Muir 406]

Arachnofiend wrote:

I like how Mask of Virtue finally gives us a way to hide your alignment without access to spellcasting.

The Ring of Mind Shielding does that, and it's not terribly expensive -- just 8,000, and it also protects against Detect Thoughts and Discern Lies. Pleasingly, it becomes affordable right around the time most PCs' alignments start activating Detect spells (6th level IMS).

Doug M.

[CWheezy]

Master spy can hide his alignment.

Also these feats seem like total trash because you have to take all of them.

That is really sad, they could have been fun instead :(

[Arachnofiend]

Douglas Muir 406 wrote:

Arachnofiend wrote:

I like how Mask of Virtue finally gives us a way to hide your alignment without access to spellcasting.

The Ring of Mind Shielding does that, and it's not terribly expensive -- just 8,000, and it also protects against Detect Thoughts and Discern Lies. Pleasingly, it becomes affordable right around the time most PCs' alignments start activating Detect spells (6th level IMS).

Doug M.

Meant to include magic items in that, whoops. Basically I like how it's an option for a martial character to hide her alignment without requiring the aid of a magic user (either through purchasing a magic item or getting a spell cast on you).

CWheezy wrote:

Also these feats seem like total trash because you have to take all of them.

That is really sad, they could have been fun instead :(

No... You don't? The tastiest part of Soulless Gaze is two feats in; Mask of Virtue is very useful with two feats and a third to look Lawful Good or Chaotic Good is gravy.

[Douglas Muir 406]

Same thing with Maleficium -- two feats in will do you just fine. (Especially if you're a Diabolist and have Hellfire Admixture.)

Doug M.

[CWheezy]

Oh, I finally remember to post this, but there is a trait that lets you intimidate once/day as a swift action:

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/faith-traits/omen

[Jadeite]

My Antipaladin is going to retrain to Soulless Gaze, Fiendskin and Mask of Virtue.
Soulless Gaze is extremely potent when combined with Cornugon Smash or Enforcer. One Full Attack and the opponent is panicked.

[Teiidae]

*casts miracle*, Just a small question about the fiendskin wording.

"Benefit(s): You gain defensive abilities related to your patron's outsider subtype. For example, if your patron is a devil, the abilities listed below tie into the devil subtype. These benefits tie to your patron's subtype, not your specific patron (its abilities might differ from the norm)."

Now with that in mind I am to assume when it says "you gain the defensive abilities that below that tie to your patron (devil) subtype." They just mean this in regards to the elements in which you can gain resistance to and not the ability gain poison immunity, see in darkness,telepathy and natural weapons treated as lawful and evil for damage reduction? While I understand that this might be silly or obvious question I ask it regardless as flavour text and language can be a fickle @#&$+ at times.

[chaoseffect]

Teiidae wrote:

Now with that in mind I am to assume when it says "you gain the defensive abilities that below that tie to your patron (devil) subtype." They just mean this in regards to the elements in which you can gain resistance to and not the ability gain poison immunity, see in darkness,telepathy and natural weapons treated as lawful and evil for damage reduction?

That is correct. That first paragraph is just kind of summing up what the feat is about before getting into the actual crunch which is given below that under what happens according to how many Damnation feats you have.

Anyway, I feel like Fiendskin isn't getting enough love here. 2 different 5 energy resists, 2 energy immunities, and getting native outsider for immunity to spells and effects that target humanoids is some incredible defense. It takes 4 feats to get there, but Soulless Gaze and Mask of Virtue are good enough in their own right to justify taking and each strengthens the other. The only real feat tax is Maleficium barring specific builds that involve Diabolist.

Really I think the line would be great on a full martial character. Those defenses, that detect alignment radar, and super intimidate that you can combine with Cornugon Smash... sure you have one worthless feat, but it's Pathfinder. That happens.

[Teiidae]

Yeah after a quick look over I must of been on something when reading it that or my fell for the dreaded trap of flavour text. Yeah Fiendskin I feel is very good feat aswell as Souless Gaze and Mask of Virtue. The revival issue is something that will burn(pun intended) but all for that thematic power... *muahahahahahaaa*