Feats of Flying
Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting edition of Extraordinary Feats, where we bring you exciting feats handcrafted to improve your gaming experience. This week I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about flight. Your average Pathfinder game will pit the heroes against a host of foes with the ability to fly, and whether you’re looking at facing down fearsome dragons or 5th-level wizards, chances are you’re going to have to take to the skies to do it. And since I think Hover and Wingover, while utilitarian and purposeful, are just about the most boring feats ever to grace the pages of a source book, I figured I would provide you with some feats that flying monsters and sky-bound heroes alike will actually want to take. Here we go!
Aerial Acrobatics
You know how to maneuver through the air to avoid the attacks of lesser foes.
Prerequisites: Fly speed with at least good maneuverability.
Benefit: Whenever you fly at least 20 feet in a round, you gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC until the beginning of your next round.
Barrel Roll
In mid-air, you spin your body at extreme velocity, deflecting incoming attacks.
Prerequisite: Skill Focus (Fly) or a natural fly speed.
Benefit: Whenever you take a total defense action, if you are at least 10 feet above the ground you may make a special Fly check. If you do, you gain a dodge bonus to AC equal to 1/10th the result (rounded down) for 1 round.
Dog Fighting
You are adept at the intricacies of aerial combat and use complex maneuvers in a three-dimensional battlefield to gain an advantage on your sky-bound foes.
Prerequisite: Skill Focus (Fly) or a natural fly speed.
Benefit: The first time you make a melee attack against a creature, if both you and the target of your attack are at least 20 feet above the ground, you may make a special Fly check with a DC equal to 10 + the target’s Fly modifier. If the check is successful, you gain a +2 bonus on all weapon attacks made against that target this round. If the check fails, you suffer a -2 penalty on all weapon attacks made against the target this round, instead.
Humanoid Flight
Through willpower, meditation, and practice, you have gained some ability to fly without magical means.
Prerequisites: Dex 15, Fly 15 ranks, Acrobatic, Skill Focus (Fly), humanoid.
Benefit: You gain a natural fly speed equal to ½ your land speed with average maneuverability. You may only fly for a number of continuous rounds equal to your ranks in the Fly skill before you must land. If you are in the air at the end of this duration, you immediately fall, suffering damage as appropriate. You must remain on the ground for at least 1 round after landing before you can resume flight.
Master of the Skies
You were born to fly, and the sky is your kingdom.
Prerequisite: Fly speed.
Benefit: You gain a +10 enhancement bonus to your fly speed and treat your maneuverability as though it were 1 step better than it actually is.
Special: You can select this feat multiple times; its effects stack. This feat cannot give you a maneuverability of better than perfect maneuverability.