The Forgotten
Skill Feats
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Ever since we released A Necromancer’s Almanac: 2012, to what continues to be, to my view, a surprising success, we’ve been carefully working on putting together the next one. No, no, I’m not crazy. I know that A Necromancer’s Alamanc: 2012 was a compilation of our website articles, and when I say we’ve been working on making the next one, I’m not talking about the work that we do on our weekly articles (though we do work hard at that, regardless). No, what I mean is that, unlike the last almanac, which was put together at “the last minute” over the course of a month or two (Seriously. It’s bigger than you think. We wrote a lot of stuff last year.), I’m assembling the “master document” for A Necromancer’s Almanac: 2013 as we go along, in the hopes that this will make things easier come December.
The reason I’m telling you this is because the fact that I am doing this also allows me to more closely monitor what we have, and have not, done over the course of the year, to try to smooth out strange gaps. For example, critics will (rightly) tell you that it’s a little odd that A Necromancer’s Almanac: 2012 has several specific magic weapons, and several magic armor special abilities, but no magic weapon special abilities or specific magic armors. I don’t feel that there’s anything wrong with that: it is, after all, a compilation book, and that’s how the articles happened to fall that year. But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t feel a bit jarring to read, or that I don’t want to try to avoid it in the future, now that I know in advance that such an almanac will, in fact, be a reality.
This process is simple when applied to archetypes and spells, and fairly straightforward when applied to magic items (expect that if you see at least one of a certain magic item group, like rods, then you’ll probably see a few more by the end of the year). What about feats, though? Well, other than making sure that any feats with kooky descriptors get enough support to feel…well…supported, there’s not that much. Except for one thing. So far, I’ve noticed that nearly every single feat that we’ve put out this year requires some kind of prerequisite. I thought about this for a few minutes, wondering to myself what sort of theme I could put together for an article where all the feats would have no prerequisites. It’s actually harder than you might think.
Ultimately, I kept coming back to feats like Acrobatics, Alertness, Animal Affinity, and so on. You know the ones I’m talking about. They take two loosely-related skills, give a +2 bonus to them, and double the bonus once you have 10 or more ranks. Some of these always irked me. Why is Intimidate, as a skill, more appropriate for Persuasive (the feat) than Bluff? Does bluffing not require being persuasive? What’s so Stealthy (the feat) about Escape Artist (the skill)? And whatever happened to Appraise, Linguistics, and Perform (let alone myriad Knowledge, Craft, and Profession sub-skills)?
So, I decided to make some feats to cover some of the “forgotten” skills. Of course, in some cases, they were probably forgotten because they’re not as useful as other skills. +2 to Appraise and Knowledge (engineering) do not exactly a great feat make. As a result, you may notice that some of these feats actually provide a benefit to three skills, instead of two, in order to make up some of the difference.
Alchemical Background
You dabble in creating alchemical concoctions, and have picked up some rudimentary herb lore along the way.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on all Craft (alchemy) checks, Knowledge (nature) checks, and Profession (herbalist) checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Anthropologist
Your extensive studies make you an expert on history, famous figures, and local custom.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on all Knowledge (history) checks, Knowledge (local) checks, and Knowledge (nobility) checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Blacksmith
You know how to work tirelessly over a hot anvil to craft excellent weapons and armor.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on all Craft (armor) checks and Craft (weapon) checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Cosmologist
You make a study of the gods, as well as the lands in which they dwell.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on all Knowledge (planes) checks and Knowledge (religion) checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Exotic Courtesan
You know how to use your exotic performances to enhance your career.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on all Profession (courtesan) checks. Additionally, choose a single Perform skill. You gain a +2 bonus on all Perform checks of the chosen type. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Scholar
Your academic background leaves you with a strong grasp of many higher-learning subjects.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on all Knowledge (arcana) checks, Linguistics checks, and your choice of either Profession (librarian) or Profession (scribe) checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill. Additionally, you immediately learn two languages, as though you had gained two ranks in the Linguistics skill. If you have 10 or more ranks in Linguistics, you learn an additional two languages. If you lose the benefits of this feat for any reason, you are no longer able to speak the chosen languages.
Tradesman
You are an honest craftsman who knows how to make a good product, as well as how to sell and trade it.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on all Appraise checks and Profession (merchant) checks. Additionally, choose a single Craft skill. You gain a +2 bonus on all Craft checks of the chosen type. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.
Trapsmith
You are a master of crafting locks, traps, and other security measures.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on all Craft (lock) checks, Craft (traps) checks, and Knowledge (engineering) checks. If you have 10 or more ranks in one of these skills, the bonus increases to +4 for that skill.