Renaming And Reordering Feats Proposal

[Drejk]

Issue #1 — Naming: Ancestry feats, class feats, skill feats, and general feats are all named "feats", which was noted by some posters as confusing and unwieldy. This also may contribute to expectation that they will be comparable in scale of their effects.

Proposed solution: Renaming. Ancestry feats could be called ancestry perks. Class feats could be named class talents. Skill feats could be called skill techniques. General feats would be feats.

Issue #2 — Progression: There are some issues with the current order in which the characters gain their feats, diminishing players choices, and locking them into options that might not always be desirable.

At the moment the PC gets 1 ancestry feat at 1st level, and every 4 level thereafter, 1 general feat at 3rd level, and every 4 levels thereafter, 1 class feat and 1 skill feat at 2nd level and every two levels thereafter (plus possibly 1 class feat at 1st level, and possibly a skill feat at every level for rogue).

While the progression of class feats and skill feats is mostly fine, the alternating general and ancestry feat progression means the player HAS to pick ancestry feats even if uninterested in them (because many of them are lackluster or not really fitting the ideas the player has for the character).

Proposed solution: The characters should get a free choice of feat at 1st level and every two levels thereafter, with the players deciding if they want to pick ancestry perk, feat, class talent, or skill technique for those universal picks. Additionally, each character should get 1 ancestry perk at 1st level (allowing them to have two ancestry perks at 1st level if they use their general 1st level pick for ancestry perk), and 1 class talent and 1 skill technique at each even level.

This would allow better customization of characters than the current progression. It would also require some additional work on human perks.

[Drakhan Valane]

I would find renaming feats to things NOT feats would be far more confusing. Because they act like feats. Having 20 different names for things that act just like feats is a pain.

[Neodymium]

Drakhan Valane wrote:

I would find renaming feats to things NOT feats would be far more confusing. Because they act like feats. Having 20 different names for things that act just like feats is a pain.

Powers are Spells, but are named differently because they are accessed differently.

Ancestry and Class feats are not accessed the same way as General and Skill feats. I don't believe it's a good idea to have "Feat" in their name. Though I understand putting them under the category of Feats(just like Powers are spells, by format and mechanic, but not by acquisition).
I drew a Venn Diagram in the margin to help my brain understand it.

I have been calling Ancestry Feats "Gifts" and Class Feats "Talents".

Try replacing the advancement chart with other terms for ancestry and class feats. For me it really makes what was a Feat sea far easier to read and understand.

[Drakhan Valane]

Feats are things that you get as a level reward that you chose from a list that may have prerequisites (such as minimum level), but they all work in essentially an identical fashion. Powers are not picked the same way as spells are.