Kiss and Tell
A few months ago, in an article by my good friend and fellow designer Joshua Zaback, we introduced a new type of feat, called kiss feats. This was, as you might imagine, for Romance Week, which was in celebration of Valentine’s Day. At the time, I wasn’t too thrilled with them, to be honest. They seemed kind of silly, and, obviously, it always pays to be cautious when it comes to sex and gaming. But, now that I’ve had plenty of time to get used to the existing kiss feats, I actually find myself wishing that there was a bit more support for these oddball feats. Ultimately, I’m pretty happy with what I came up with, but, as they say, it takes two to tango, so why don’t you take a look for yourself?
Of course, before you do, you might want to brush up on the rules for these feats, found below. For information on Dazzling Kiss, and the other kiss feats from previous articles, you’ll want to check here.
Kiss Feat Rules
Using a kiss feat requires that you kiss the target. If the target is willing, this is rarely difficult, but if the target is unwilling, then you must succeed on a melee touch attack in order to deliver the kiss, and doing so provokes attacks of opportunity. Creatures with sufficiently inhuman anatomy (such as those without mouths, or at least without lips) may be incapable of kissing or being kissed in this way, at the GM’s discretion. Also, at the GM’s discretion, certain non-humanoid creatures may not be as susceptible to the power of the kiss as humanoids are, and may gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws made to resist the effects of kiss feats.
Each kiss feat grants a specific action that can be performed with a kiss, and, unless the individual feat specifically indicates to the contrary, you cannot combine the effects of more than one kiss feat as part of a single kiss.
Finally, even among humanoid creatures that are generally receptive to the power of kiss feats, some are more receptive to certain kissers than others. The following kiss feats reference a kiss saving throw modifier, which is an adjustment to the saving throw DC of the kiss feat’s ability, and which is dependent on the circumstances of the kiss, as outlined below.
Kiss of Betrayal (Kiss)
You know how to use a kiss in order to strike an opponent while his guard is down.
Prerequisite: Cha 13.
Benefit: As a full-round action, you can attempt to deliver a kiss that lets you deliver a deadly sneak attack. When you kiss the target, he must make a Will save (DC 10 + kiss saving throw modifier + your Charisma modifier). If he fails, you may immediately make a single melee attack against him as a free action. The target is considered flat-footed for the purposes of this attack. If the attack hits, it deals an additional 2d6 points of precision-based damage. If the target succeeds on his saving throw, you may still make an attack, but he is not flat-footed, and you suffer a -2 penalty to attack and damage for the purposes of that attack. This is a mind-affecting emotion effect, although the attack granted by the ability is not.
Kiss of Death (Kiss)
You can deliver a kiss powerful enough to stop the heart of your victim.
Prerequisite: Any five kiss feats, Cha 22.
Benefit: As a full-round action, you can deliver a potentially lethal kiss. When you kiss the target, he must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + kiss saving throw modifier + your Charisma modifier) or suffer a heart attack, taking 1d10 points of damage per Hit Dice he possesses. This is an emotion and death effect.
Mother’s Kiss (Kiss)
You know how to channel the power of a kiss into healing the wounded.
Prerequisite: Wis 13 or Cha 13.
Benefit: As a standard action, you may kiss a creature gently on the forehead, channeling soothing and comforting thoughts that promote rapid healing. The target regains a number of hit points equal to his Hit Dice. Additionally, if the target is currently under the effects of a spell or ability with the pain descriptor, and that spell or ability allows a saving throw to reduce or negate its effect, the target may make a new saving throw to resist that effect. Any modifiers that would normally apply to the DC of the kiss effect (such as the target being hostile or unfriendly, or the target being romantically attracted to you) are applied to the result of the saving throw (they apply to the roll, not the DC). Any given creature cannot regain more hit points per day from this ability than he has Hit Dice, no matter how many times the ability is used. A creature can gain no more than a single additional Will save to resist any given spell or ability with the pain descriptor as a result of this feat.
Taunting Kiss (Kiss)
You know how to deliver a kiss that taunts and humiliates a foe, enraging him and causing him to fight more recklessly.
Prerequisite: Dazzling Kiss, and either Cha 15, or Bluff 6 ranks and Diplomacy 6 ranks.
Benefit: As a standard action, you can deliver a kiss designed to infuriate and humiliate an opponent by demonstrating your superiority in combat and leaving him flustered and confused. When you kiss the target, he must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + kiss saving throw modifier + your Charisma modifier) or become enraged with you. A creature affected by this ability must attack you each turn if able, and suffers a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, but gains a +4 bonus on damage rolls made against you. The target remains enraged for 1 minute or until you become unconscious, whichever happens first.
For the purpose of this ability, the kiss saving throw modifier for the target being unfriendly is +0, instead of -5, and the kiss saving throw modifier for the target being hostile is +5, instead of -5. This ability cannot be used on a creature whose attitude towards you is not hostile or unfriendly.
Universal Appeal (Kiss)
You possess an aura of sex appeal that makes your kisses more effective on creatures that would not normally be receptive.
Prerequisite: Any kiss feat, Cha 15.
Benefit: Whenever you use an ability granted by a kiss feat, the target is treated as being more romantically attracted to you than he actually is. If the target would normally not consider you his type, the saving throw DC is unaffected. If the target is normally not particularly romantically attracted to you, the saving throw DC is increased by +2. This feat has no effect on modifiers caused by the target being hostile, unfriendly, friendly, or helpful, nor does it have any effect if the target is actively romantically attracted to you, however, the saving throw DCs of all abilities you use that are granted by kiss feats are increased by +1.
Normal: Normally, if the target would not consider you his type, the saving throw DC suffers a -5 penalty, and if the target is not particularly romantically attracted to you, there is no adjustment to the DC.