Dr Berry
10-12-2009, 01:22 AM
I was flipping through some of the new Pathfinder feats, and a couple of them seemed wildly overpowered. I am uneasy about three in particular:
Shield Slam: This feat has a cool flavor, but just picture what a character with this feat could be capable of by 6th level. If every foe he strikes is subject to a bull rush, not only could he knock foes around with every bop from his shield, but he would also have to make an extra roll for every attack he made with it--too powerful and slowing down play at once.
Shield Master: Maybe I am reading this one wrong, but I'm pretty sure it means that you suffer absolutely no 2-weapon penalties for using a shield as an off-hand weapon. With all these shield bashing feats, it would be a wonder if anyone continued to fight with two actual weapons. All 2-weapon attacks should incur at least a small penalty, and should not give one weapon special privileges. Also, since magic shields are way cheaper than magic weapons, the discount makes fighting with a sword and shield the obvious choice for any 2-weapon fighter, and leaving anything else a disadvantage.
Catch Off Guard: Now this one just seems ridiculous. It says that all strikes made with the weapon count as if the opponent were flat-footed. So that means that a rogue can fight better with a broken bottle than a rapier, dealing unconditional sneak attack damage with every swing?
Now, I know most of these problems could be fixed by some house rules, but I would think that Paizo would have put a little more thought into these feats before considering the balance of the game. Any thoughts? How best would you alter these feats to make them a little more playable?
Shield Slam: This feat has a cool flavor, but just picture what a character with this feat could be capable of by 6th level. If every foe he strikes is subject to a bull rush, not only could he knock foes around with every bop from his shield, but he would also have to make an extra roll for every attack he made with it--too powerful and slowing down play at once.
Shield Master: Maybe I am reading this one wrong, but I'm pretty sure it means that you suffer absolutely no 2-weapon penalties for using a shield as an off-hand weapon. With all these shield bashing feats, it would be a wonder if anyone continued to fight with two actual weapons. All 2-weapon attacks should incur at least a small penalty, and should not give one weapon special privileges. Also, since magic shields are way cheaper than magic weapons, the discount makes fighting with a sword and shield the obvious choice for any 2-weapon fighter, and leaving anything else a disadvantage.
Catch Off Guard: Now this one just seems ridiculous. It says that all strikes made with the weapon count as if the opponent were flat-footed. So that means that a rogue can fight better with a broken bottle than a rapier, dealing unconditional sneak attack damage with every swing?
Now, I know most of these problems could be fixed by some house rules, but I would think that Paizo would have put a little more thought into these feats before considering the balance of the game. Any thoughts? How best would you alter these feats to make them a little more playable?