The word Feat always confused me as a new player.


Skills, Feats, Equipment & Spells


Hi guys.

I understand the word Feat has been used for a while and people are kind of used to it, but when I started playing I found it incredibly confusing.
Feats are more like Abilities or Skills your character has, and since we already had ability scores and skills describing other stuff it just confused me a lot.

Wouldn't it be simpler to call ability scores "Base Stats" or something of the like and use the word "Ability" for feats?

Does anyone share this opinion with me?


Feats were explained to me as 'talents'. But there's a lot of word salad thrown around in TTRPGs.

I also had a real struggle with 'attack roll' being more like an 'accuracy roll'. I love how PF2 now calls it 'strike' which defines it a bit more.


Jader7777 wrote:

Feats were explained to me as 'talents'. But there's a lot of word salad thrown around in TTRPGs.

I also had a real struggle with 'attack roll' being more like an 'accuracy roll'. I love how PF2 now calls it 'strike' which defines it a bit more.

Ah yes. I recall having issues understanding that too. And the new group we recently introduced has also had issues getting their head around it.

Silver Crusade

I always went with Feat being short for Feature.


feat
noun
an achievement that requires great courage, skill, or strength.
synonyms: achievement, accomplishment, attainment, coup, triumph

This is the intended definition. It is a thing you can do because you have trained, have some kind of magic heritage or some innate talent.

Picking a lock in half the time other rogues can do it is a feat of skill. Slamming into someone and knocking them to the ground is a feat of strength. Tossing a fireball into a swirling melee, blasting the enemy to smithereens and leaving your friends unscathed is a feat of magic.


Mezzix wrote:

feat

noun
an achievement that requires great courage, skill, or strength.
synonyms: achievement, accomplishment, attainment, coup, triumph

This is the intended definition. It is a thing you can do because you have trained, have some kind of magic heritage or some innate talent.

I get it. I still think it would be easier to explain to new characters if it was just abilities.


Interesting, I always assumed people didn't understand the term because they thought I was talking about the things most people have at the ends of their legs. In fact I've literally had new players give the me dear in the headlights look and then some what confusedly point at their shoes. After I told them they needed to pick feats.

When I hear the word feat, it makes me think of an old timey circus where the strong man performs "amazing feats of strength" or alternatively, really old superman cartoons where similar wording is used. So It made sense to me that it's just a synonym for amazing ability.

Grand Lodge

While some feats are actually Feats, some feats are more like class Features. We noticed this as well. It is confusing.

Grand Lodge

Not having played an RPG since AD&D, I initially found the concepts of Skills and Feats confusing as well. Having taken a long hiatus from RPGs and having missed the whole d20 revolution, there was a steep learning curve when I got into PF.

I have generally explained Skills as things any character can try to do, some characters having better odds of success based on background, class, training, etc. Conversely, I have meta-explained Feats as "break the rules" mechanisms in the game (usually you cannot do X, but with this Feat you can). These are not perfect explanations, of course, but for new players they seemed to point in the right direction. And with the the PF2 rules re: skills, any character really can attempt any skill, since none are reserved only to those who have put points into them.

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