Shawnacy's 4E D&D Game, part 2! (Thread allowed 30 pages)
Actually, starting at level 9 would make picking feats easier. That starts you out with, let's see.. level 1, 2 ,4 ,6, and 8. So 5 feats.
I would get these feats, probably:
Level 1: Arcane Familiar
Level 2: Implement Focus (+1 ATK)
Level 4: Dual Implement Spellcaster (Add Off-Hand weapon's DMG bonus to rolls)
Level 6: Two-Weapon Fighting (+1 DMG when wielding two weapons [always])
Level 8: Druid Multiclass - Wild Shape
But for some reason, I don't want to take those one at a time in that order. To me, why care about damage right now? We're going to kill the enemies regardless, so adding 1 point per attack barely matters. It makes me want to pick something more RP or skill-related. But then I realize I don't make that many skill checks.
Or, with the roll twice for Wild Resistance-- I think, why? It's only come in handy -once-. And that was when I happened to have Acid Resistance and we happened to fight an Acidic Ooze. And while it could definitely come in handy if I knew what we were going to be up against, I'd still only have a 1 in 5 chance of getting the resistance I needed. And if I was that concerned about it, I could take the daily utility that lets me change my resistance for an encounter.
And then there's the "Why?" factor for a lot of them.
Example-- there are feats that give a feat bonus to DMG when you use a fire power, or a cold power, etc.
BUT. Guess what also gives a feat bonus to damage! IMPLEMENT MASTERY. Since they don't stack, why would anyone ever pick those feats??
Also, another example-- the one changeling specific feat they added, where I can attempt to escape as a minor and I don't suffer any penalties for squeezing. I haven't had to do either of these things our entire game. And the ONE time that we'd ever need to squeeze, I wouldn't mind the penalty. And escaping? I can teleport. I don't even need to roll for that.
It's just, like, most things are just barely worth taking. What I really want is attack bonuses, and this game is super stingy with those. Dual Implement Spellcaster doesn't even add the attack bonus.
Also, I have 3 interesting, but nigh useless, sorcerer-specific feats. You can look them up for specifics, but essentially I get bonuses to attack or damage on my next so-and-so attack on so-and-so target after using so-and-so at-will.
I actually made a chart to see which of my powers granted these benefits and which ones recieved benefits, and against whom, and I ultimately decided they weren't worth having.
Some feats, however, are just must-haves. Like the Wizard's destructive wizardry. None of that, if this, then this, but only if this and not that, bullshit. It's just, "If you hit 2 or more enemies, which is your motherfucking specialty, add not one, but TWO damage to the roll." That is what I consider a perfectly useful feat.
Other feats do too little, so you look for ones that do a lot in one go. Like a familiar. My Dragonling adds 2 to my healing surge (alone crappy), teaches me Draconic (again alone crappy), and basically gives me ranged close blasts (only reason I chose a dragonling).
I know ya can't do much, and I'm not even asking you to, just giving you my perspective on why I'm having a hard time choosing feats.