OSR feats

My latest post was about OSR and customization. As I've said, Dark Fantasy Basic (currently on sale) tries to bridge that gap, giving more options to players but not as many as, say, third edition. 

DFB is a small game compared to the "big players" in the OSR scene - say, BFRPG, OSRIC, OSE, and so on. However, I think it has some elements that would interest people that play other OSR games. 

Alternate Magic was my first attempt of adapting ideas from DFB (flexible spells, random casting, blood magic, etc.) to other OSR games. I enjoyed writing it and got some great feedback. Now I'm considering doing the same for other parts of DFB, in a similar fashion. 

Here is an example of what I'm talking about:

Fighter feats

1.       Animal companion. You have an animal ally that follows you around, and will help you and fight for you (the player controls it) as long as you treat it well. It must be an ordinary animal (a wolf, horse, hound, hawk, etc.), although it is an extraordinary example of the species, and its HD is equal to your level divided by 2 (round down). If it dies, you can get a new one after spending 2d6 days in the wilderness.

2.       Armor master. When you wear armor, it is considered as being one step lighter (plate/chain/leather) for all purposes except AC, and you can move in light (leather) armor as if you were unarmored.

3.       Berserker. Whenever you wish, you can enter a state of rage for one turn, during which you get +3 to your damage and saves, and all damage against you is halved. After this, you take 1 HP of damage per level (save against paralysis/petrification for half damage).

4.       Favored enemy. Choose a type of nonhuman enemy – undead, demons, animals, giants, dragons, etc. You get a +3 bonus to your attacks, damage and saves against this type.

5.       Finesse. When you use light melee weapons (short sword plus anything lighter) or attack unarmed you can use your Dexterity bonus instead of Strength for your attack rolls. Damage rolls are still affected by Strength only.

6.       Fortitude. You get +2 bonus to saves against paralysis, petrification, and poison, but not death.

7.       Shield expert. While using a shield, you get an extra +1 AC, and also +2 to all saving throws if a shield could conceivably protect you (usually breath, wands and spells). You can extend these benefits to one ally within 5 feet of you.

8.       Unarmored defense. You get a +3 AC bonus when unarmored, +2 when wearing leather armor, and +1 when wearing chain.

9.       Wilderness explorer. While you are in the wilderness, you can hear noises and find/remove traps as a thief of the same level as you, and find tracks and hidden things with the same chances as find/remove traps. In addition, when foraging, hunting, or rolling to avoid losing direction, you have an additional 1-in-6 chance of success (e.g., 2-in-6 to forage).

10.   Wilderness skills. While you are in the wilderness, you can climb, hide and move silently as a thief of the same level as you.

11.   Warlord. Your followers gain +1 morale as long as they can see you. You can shout orders to attack (+1 to attack throws) or defend (+1 to AC and saving throws), affecting allies and followers within 60 feet that can hear you.

12.   Weapon master. You get +1 to attack, damage, and AC. Choose a type of weapon or a fighting style (blades, two-handed weapons, light weapons, missile weapons, dual wielding, sword and shield, grappling, etc.). When using this style, you get +2 to attack, damage, or AC (choose one when you pick this feat), instead of the usual +1.

I'm planning a 30ish page book, like Alt Magic, with about 60 feats, and small sections on how to replace races for feats, how to choose feats randomly, how many feats to give each class, how to give away feats in exchange for quest or XP, and so on.

I like to keep thins simple... so probably no feat on level 1 and maybe about half a dozen feats for each PC at most. Since my last book was all about magic, this one will have more feats for fighters and thieves... they deserve the boost!

Does this sounds interesting?

BTW, the Christmas in July Sale is on! Almost all of my books are included in this sale. Check my OSR picks, Classic D&D picks and D&D 5e picks from past sales.

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