Since there's a few feats that work with certain weapon properties I thought I'd take a shot at completing the series. Any feedback is appreciated.
Piercing Attack
If you are wielding a reach weapon that you are proficient with, you can use a bonus action to wind up your attack. The next time you attack with that weapon you can attack two targets in a 5 ft. wide line coming from you and within reach of the weapon.
Notes: While polearm master is kind of the reach weapon feat, I thought I'd make something for lances and whips too. I purposely made it require a bonus action to make it a bit incompatible with PAM.
Spread Shot
You can draw a thrown weapon as part of the same attack you make with it.
As an action, you can attack a number of targets equal to your proficiency bonus within a 60 ft. cone, using a separate throwing weapon for each target.
Notes: The first bullet point could become redundant, but it is necessary in case someone has this feat but doesn't have thrown weapon fighting style.
Sweeping Blow
When you make a melee weapon attack with a two-handed weapon that you are proficient with, you can have creatures around the main target receive 1d4 damage of the weapon’s type. This damage is done to creatures that are within 5 ft. of the target, are within your reach, and have an AC lower than your attack roll.
Versatile Weapon Master
When you wield a versatile weapon that you are proficient with in one hand, you can use its versatile damage die for its attacks.
When you take the attack action and attack using a versatile weapon that you are wielding with both hands and that you are proficient with, you can, as a bonus action, attack with that weapon, wielding it with one hand and using its normal damage die.
Swift Striker
If you haven’t moved this turn, you can reduce your speed to 0 until the start of your next turn. For this turn, when you are two-weapon fighting with two different light weapons that you are proficient with, you gain a bonus attack for each normal attack you make, instead of just once.
Notes: Easily a very powerful feat so I thought I'd add a downside to it. I was thinking of making it melee only, but the image of a fighter throwing a flurry of daggers seems too awesome to pass up.
Pummeler
Each time you make a weapon attack against a creature, and you are not using a weapon with a property, you gain a cumulative +2 bonus to your damage rolls against that creature until the end of turn.
Notes: Meant to work with various miscellaneous weapon attacks, such as natural weapons, unarmed strikes, improvised weapons, etc.
-You can draw a thrown weapon as part of the same attack you make with it.
-When you take the attack action and only make ranged attacks with thrown weapons, you can attack a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, but each attack must be made against a different target.
Notes: The first bullet point could become redundant, but it is necessary in case someone has this feat but doesn't have thrown weapon fighting style. Works really well with a Dwarven Thrower or Returning Weapon build. You could even flavor it as throwing it in a big arc that hits multiple opponents before coming back.
This would be insane with Dwarven Thrower. Like way too good. Think about a barbarian using this to make 6 attacks, each of which get the extra 1d8+3 from DT and the Rage bonus. It's like an at-will fireball. That can crit.
Thrown weapons need a lot of help, but it should focus on basic functionality - drawing as you throw, magic thrown weapons should always return, allowing long range attacks without disadvantage.
Messing with number of attacks is going to be very prone to abuse. Same deal with Swift Striker - stack on things that proc on every hit like Hunter's Mark or Flame Tongues and your damage outpaces every other build. A set of feats like this should strive to even the playing field, not introduce a few options that blow away the others.
But I like the overall idea. I've made my own Light Weapon Master feat with similar goals:
Before you make a melee attack with a light weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, it deals an additional 2d6 damage.
You can draw or stow a light weapon as part of the attack you make with the weapon.
You can expertly conceal a number of light weapons on your person equal to your proficiency modifier. Ability checks to spot these weapons are made at disadvantage.
-You can draw a thrown weapon as part of the same attack you make with it.
-When you take the attack action and only make ranged attacks with thrown weapons, you can attack a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, but each attack must be made against a different target.
Notes: The first bullet point could become redundant, but it is necessary in case someone has this feat but doesn't have thrown weapon fighting style. Works really well with a Dwarven Thrower or Returning Weapon build. You could even flavor it as throwing it in a big arc that hits multiple opponents before coming back.
This would be insane with Dwarven Thrower. Like way too good. Think about a barbarian using this to make 6 attacks, each of which get the extra 1d8+3 from DT and the Rage bonus. It's like an at-will fireball. That can crit.
Thrown weapons need a lot of help, but it should focus on basic functionality - drawing as you throw, magic thrown weapons should always return, allowing long range attacks without disadvantage.
Messing with number of attacks is going to be very prone to abuse. Same deal with Swift Striker - stack on things that proc on every hit like Hunter's Mark or Flame Tongues and your damage outpaces every other build. A set of feats like this should strive to even the playing field, not introduce a few options that blow away the others.
But I like the overall idea. I've made my own Light Weapon Master feat with similar goals:
Before you make a melee attack with a light weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, it deals an additional 2d6 damage.
You can draw or stow a light weapon as part of the attack you make with the weapon.
You can expertly conceal a number of light weapons on your person equal to your proficiency modifier. Ability checks to spot these weapons are made at disadvantage.
Barbarian is a bad example. Rage damage, Reckless Attack, and Brutal Critical don't even work with ranged attacks. But I do see your point with the DT so I am going to make some changes to the feat. Even though a 17th level fighter can already do this twice between short rests anyways.
Little known fact, but you can only attune to one copy of a magic item at a time, so no double Flame Tongues. Now I do see your concern, but let me just offer what my reasoning was. One hit from a Great Flame Tongue powered up by Great Weapon Master does more damage than the combined damage of one Short Flame Tongue and one Short Frost Brand. Now it is true that GWM has a drawback that effectively lowers the dps from it, but so does Swift Striker. You usually can't even use SS on the first turn, and it's pretty easy for a monster to deny it by simply moving away. Now I am going to pull back it's power a little bit, but I think it's mostly fine given the weakness.
Now keep in mind that focusing damage on one target is a better strategy than spreading it over different targets, so options that spread out damage need to do more overall damage in order to be worth taking over options that deal more damage to one target.
As far as making feats that are more like variations to GWM, I 100% agree that this is the most practical way of balancing the feats. I just feel like this looses the charm of having each feat do it's own main gimmick.
Since there's a few feats that work with certain weapon properties I thought I'd take a shot at completing the series. Any feedback is appreciated.
Piercing Attack
If you are wielding a reach weapon that you are proficient with, you can use a bonus action to wind up your attack. The next time you attack with that weapon you can attack two targets in a 5 ft. wide line coming from you and within reach of the weapon.
Notes: While polearm master is kind of the reach weapon feat, I thought I'd make something for lances and whips too. I purposely made it require a bonus action to make it a bit incompatible with PAM.
Spread Shot
Notes: The first bullet point could become redundant, but it is necessary in case someone has this feat but doesn't have thrown weapon fighting style.
Sweeping Blow
When you make a melee weapon attack with a two-handed weapon that you are proficient with, you can have creatures around the main target receive 1d4 damage of the weapon’s type. This damage is done to creatures that are within 5 ft. of the target, are within your reach, and have an AC lower than your attack roll.
Versatile Weapon Master
Swift Striker
If you haven’t moved this turn, you can reduce your speed to 0 until the start of your next turn. For this turn, when you are two-weapon fighting with two different light weapons that you are proficient with, you gain a bonus attack for each normal attack you make, instead of just once.
Notes: Easily a very powerful feat so I thought I'd add a downside to it. I was thinking of making it melee only, but the image of a fighter throwing a flurry of daggers seems too awesome to pass up.
Pummeler
Each time you make a weapon attack against a creature, and you are not using a weapon with a property, you gain a cumulative +2 bonus to your damage rolls against that creature until the end of turn.
Notes: Meant to work with various miscellaneous weapon attacks, such as natural weapons, unarmed strikes, improvised weapons, etc.
This would be insane with Dwarven Thrower. Like way too good. Think about a barbarian using this to make 6 attacks, each of which get the extra 1d8+3 from DT and the Rage bonus. It's like an at-will fireball. That can crit.
Thrown weapons need a lot of help, but it should focus on basic functionality - drawing as you throw, magic thrown weapons should always return, allowing long range attacks without disadvantage.
Messing with number of attacks is going to be very prone to abuse. Same deal with Swift Striker - stack on things that proc on every hit like Hunter's Mark or Flame Tongues and your damage outpaces every other build. A set of feats like this should strive to even the playing field, not introduce a few options that blow away the others.
But I like the overall idea. I've made my own Light Weapon Master feat with similar goals:
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Barbarian is a bad example. Rage damage, Reckless Attack, and Brutal Critical don't even work with ranged attacks. But I do see your point with the DT so I am going to make some changes to the feat. Even though a 17th level fighter can already do this twice between short rests anyways.
Little known fact, but you can only attune to one copy of a magic item at a time, so no double Flame Tongues. Now I do see your concern, but let me just offer what my reasoning was. One hit from a Great Flame Tongue powered up by Great Weapon Master does more damage than the combined damage of one Short Flame Tongue and one Short Frost Brand. Now it is true that GWM has a drawback that effectively lowers the dps from it, but so does Swift Striker. You usually can't even use SS on the first turn, and it's pretty easy for a monster to deny it by simply moving away. Now I am going to pull back it's power a little bit, but I think it's mostly fine given the weakness.
Now keep in mind that focusing damage on one target is a better strategy than spreading it over different targets, so options that spread out damage need to do more overall damage in order to be worth taking over options that deal more damage to one target.
As far as making feats that are more like variations to GWM, I 100% agree that this is the most practical way of balancing the feats. I just feel like this looses the charm of having each feat do it's own main gimmick.