So if all classes got a feat at every level what class abilities and/or other benefits would you give to replace bonus feats?
I am sure Fighter would be the hardest one.
You could give +1 ability boost for every 1 to 2 feats replaced.
Maybe extra skill points like +1/level per 1 feat replaced.
Why would you do that though? It only seems to lead to further problems.
Regardless of a change like this, Fighter could have used a better class ability than just feats. Maybe Fighter bonus feats ignore ability score prerequisites?
I don't think Fighter works for this. It literally already gets a feat every level. It's the only class that does. You are replacing bonus feats with... bonus feats. And giving them a +1 to any stat for per replaced feat? Majorly broken on a fighter. Start with 15 Str and at level 4, it's an 18. Without having to spend a single gold coin.
And what about classes that don't get bonus feats? Like bards, clerics, or druids. It feels like this question should be more on the line of "What class feature would you trade out to get a feat every level?"
What is the reason for doing so? This seems like a solution in search of a problem. All it does it increase the power of all characters. There are better ways to do that.
It is just an idea, thought experiment, something for fun, etc.
Of course there would be a cap on how many ability points and skill points gotten by replacing feats.
Fighter is actually one of the easiest, just let them pick AWT or AAT options in place of bonus feats.
Wizard would also be easy (just have them pick Arcane Discoveries), and Magus could get additional Arcanae. Ranger and Monk should be fine, as the bonus feats being allowed to ignore prereqs gives them an edge. Warpriest can probably stay as-is, too, as their bonus feats have an additional advantage.
Problematic are Brawler, Gunslinger, Swahsbuckler, Cavalier, and Smaurai, as those classes are horribly made and don't offer any selectable otions.
I probably wouldn't. In most cases the Bonus Feats are from a specific category; Combat Feats, Metamagic Feats, Teamwork Feats, etc... meant to reinforce the idea of specific training.
If you are just going with a general, everyone gets a feat at every level, and then take away the bonus feats you would actually be diminishing that.
So yeah I would just keep the Bonus feats as is.
Yeah but would you give everyone a feat every level and not remove the bonus feats? Would you give a player the option to get another boon in place of any feat or feats they would be fine with loosing?
With the additions of a feat at every even level would give a restriction to what feats they can take? Example would be to not allow typed feats(combat, teamwork, item creation, etc.) so basically feats like Alertness, Cunning, Endurance, Iron Will, Run, etc. and many race specific feats.
really - for simplicity sake I would just changes the feat from one every other level to one every level and leave everything else the same.
Maybe another way to think about this could be this - what would you remove from each class to get a bonus feat every even level? Let's just ignore Fighter. It gets those already and we shouldn't remove what few class features they have to give them more.
I probably wouldn't. In most cases the Bonus Feats are from a specific category; Combat Feats, Metamagic Feats, Teamwork Feats, etc... meant to reinforce the idea of specific training.
If you are just going with a general, everyone gets a feat at every level, and then take away the bonus feats you would actually be diminishing that.
Well, people will still take those feats even if the don't have to becasue bonus feats limits them. A Wizard will still want three metamagic feats to qualify for Spell Perfection, with or without bonus feats. A Hunter wills till want Teamwork feats to share with their pet, and an Inquisitor will still want teamworj feats because Solo Tactics makes them great. A Fighter, Gunslinger, Swashbuckler, or Cavalier will still want combat feats.
That said, a Wizard will replace bonus feats with Arcane Discoveries anyway, so you could let them chose. Likewise, a Magus will probably select Extra Magus Arcana, so there's no notable difference for them, either. And I still don't have good ideas to replace the combat feats of Brawler, Gunslinger, Swashbuckler, Cavalier, and Samurai, or the teamwork feats of Hunter and Inquisitor, anyway.
Note that you if I got a feat every level, with or without bonus feats I'd pick VMC Wizard with the Air school, or the Planar Heritage->Airy Step->Wings of Air feat chain on pretty much every martial.
In general, few classes get notably more combat feats than what you lose to VMC, so if you're fine with most PCs having a VMC (or feat chains like the above mentioned one or the Eldritch Heritage chain), letting the bonus feats stay isn't an issue, with the likely exception being the Fighter.
So I guess the only class I'd change is the Fighter. The thing is, if you don't replace bonus feats, you change Fighter from "the guy with all the feats you want" to "the guy half of whose feats suck because he ran out of good feats to select". Meanwhile, if you follow my suggestion of letting them pick AWT and AAT options instead of bonus feats, I think you strengthen their identity - I think especially the Advance Weapon Training options "reinforce the idea of specific training" way more than combat feats that everyone can take.
Maybe another way to think about this could be this - what would you remove from each class to get a bonus feat every even level? Let's just ignore Fighter. It gets those already and we shouldn't remove what few class features they have to give them more.
That's not "another way to think about this", it's something fundamentally different. Fare and wide, class features are stronger than feats, so unless you let people replace conditional, minor stuff like Woodland Stride or Trap Sense (and not all classes have such negligible class features!), you're basically making classes weaker and simultaneously more generic.
I suppose One option is look some of the alternate versions of classes from 3pp for inspiration.
The Talented Fighter for example Takes all the Fighter abilities, including the Bonus feats plus a bunch of stuff from the Fighter Archtypes, and turns them into "Fighter Talents". Then gives out a Fighter Talent every level.
So maybe you steal a bit from that and say when the Fighter would get a bonus feat, he can take a "Fighter Talent"