Feats
Feats were introduced in 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons. They are similar to the proficiencies of 2nd edition, giving characters more depth in a structured way for the game.
A feat is an advantage, often some special option for the character (such as a special combat maneuver) or some modification to game options and the mechanics involved. Feats can be contrasted with skills, which were also introduced in the same edition, in that using a feat does not usually require the particular success/fail roll that skills do. Instead of possessing a certain rank at a skill, a character either possesses a feat or does not.
There are many different types of feats. Some are magical; such as "Silent Spell" which allows a spellcaster to cast a spell without speaking words. Others are combat-related, such as "Weapon Focus" which gives a bonus to attack rolls when a character is using a certain weapon (such as a longsword). Another example is "Leadership", which allows the character to attract henchmen and followers.
Many feats, especially the most powerful ones, require certain prerequisites (such as related feats or minimum ability scores) in order to select that feat. Some feats provide continual effects, while others, typically ones that have some cost to use or can be used to a variable degree, must be declared before use.
Feat types: Ambush, Bardic, Ceremony, Combat Form, Divine, Domain, Epic, Exalted, General, Heritage, Item Creation, Luck, Metamagic, Metapsionic, Psionic, Reserve, Tactical, Vile, Wild
The 4th Edition feat system is similar to the system in 3.5, with each feat having any number of prerequisites and some beneficial effect. Feats are also categorized by type, though "general" feats lack a category. "Class" and "Racial" feats require the character to be the indicated class or race. The "Heroic", "Paragon", and "Epic" descriptors indicate that the character must be in that tier or higher in order to choose the feat. "Divinity" feats grant a character with the "Channel Divinity" power an additional, alternative use for that power.
Feat types: Class, Divinity, Multiclass, Racial, Heroic, Paragon, Epic
Read more about this topic: Dungeons & Dragons Gameplay
Famous quotes containing the word feats:
“Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“He hath borne himself beyond the promise of his age, doing, in the figure of a lamb, the feats of a lion.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“One learns little more about a man from the feats of his literary memory than from the feats of his alimentary canal.”
—Frank Moore Colby (1865–1925)