C REDITS

Written by Eric Diaz.

Art
Cover: Some artwork © 2015 Dean Spencer, used with permission. All rights reserved.
All interior art: by Carlos Castilho.

Special thanks:
Alpha readers: Jens Durke, Miłosz Świerad.
All blog readers and friends who provided me feedback.
Your contributions have significantly improved this book.

If you want to playtest my books in the future, get in touch on social media or blogger.

You can find more of my work in my blog: methodsetmadness.blogspot.com.

Stay in touch!
I would love to hear your ideas and opinions!

©2022 Eric Diaz

2
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Credits ................................................................... 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS..................................... 3
Introduction ....................................................... 4
Why OSR? .................................................... 4
Why I use feats .......................................... 4
Magic and feats ......................................... 5
Balancing feats .......................................... 5
Creating and adapting feats ................. 5
Feats description ..................................... 5
Abbreviations ............................................ 5
Picking feats........................................................ 6
Dwarves, elves and halflings ............... 6
Feat packages ............................................ 6
Random feats ............................................. 6
Improved Feats ......................................... 7
Variant Feats.............................................. 7
List of Feats ......................................................... 8
General feats [1d10] ............................... 8
Cleric feats [1d12] ................................... 9
Fighter feats [1d20] ............................. 10
Magic-user feats [1d12] ..................... 12
Thief feats [1d20] ................................. 13
Feat Packages................................................... 15
Cleric ........................................................... 15
Dwarf .......................................................... 15
Elf ................................................................. 15
Fighter........................................................ 16
Halfling ...................................................... 16
Magic-user ................................................ 16
Thief ............................................................ 16
Optional Rules & Designer Notes ............. 17
Assumptions & conversion notes .... 17
Race and class ......................................... 17
Automatic saving throws.................... 18
Unifying XP tables ................................. 18
Flaws, features and feats .................... 18
Swapping feats........................................ 19
Prime requisites and archetypes ..... 19
Notes about specific feats (in
alphabetical order) ............................... 19
Apppendix A: Alphabetical Index of Feats
............................................................................... 21
3
 I NTRODUCTION
This book is a collection of feats for Old
School Renaissance and similar games. It
assumes you are familiar with those games.
Why OSR?
This book is intended for all OSR games.
While I have my own game (Dark Fantasy
Basic), I enjoy many OSR clones, which also
have a wider audience.
This book is NOT compatible with DFB, as
you’ve seen in the blurb; it adapts some ideas
from DFB to use with other, more traditional,
games. Instead, it assumes you are using a
small number of classes (e.g., cleric, fighter,
thief, magic-user, and maybe dwarf, elf and
halfling) and you want to expand the number
of archetypes and possibilities available.
My intention is adding the maximum amount
of options with the minimum amount of
complexity. I love the simplicity of classic
games such as Moldvay’s Basic. If you like
RPGs such as BFRPG, S&W, LL, OSE and Iron
Falcon, your tastes are probably similar to
mine. I tried to keep everything simple and
true to the spirit of the original.
Why I use feats
My favorite old school games had precious
few rules about character customization.
Spellcasters at least got to choose which
spells to memorize, but thieves, fighters, etc.,
could at most choose which equipment to use
(and hopefully find magical equipment).
Some contemporary games are almost the
opposite: there is so much character
customization that you might need to make a
dozen choices (including choosing your
ability scores with "point buy") before the
game starts... which can sometimes take an
hour or two.
This is a matter of taste, evidently. I have
enjoyed both kinds of games. Having fewer
choices makes worldbuilding a lot easier for
me. NPCs are quick to make, and you know a
lot about a captain of the city watch who is
described simply as a "5th-level fighter". On
the other hand, many players and GMs find
character customization a fun part of the
game.
Nowadays, I prefer a middle ground of sorts,
giving characters some customization but
still avoiding too much detail and analysis
paralysis. This is my goal with this book. I
hope I can have the best of both worlds:
simple rules, fast character creation, and
plenty of "builds" or “kits” to play with.
In order to do that, I created feats (using
basic, advanced and contemporary games as
inspiration, in addition to OSR games and
blogs) that add minimal crunch to the game.
The new mechanics are few and usually rely
on existing ones – ability checks, saving
throws, thief skills.
This is enough, in my opinion, to represent all
popular archetypes (berserkers, mystics,
knights, swashbucklers, and so on) that I
need, without adding more classes to the
game – in addition to providing endless
combinations to represent other archetypes
you might need. Notice that this is still
significantly simpler than some classic
versions of the game (e.g., “advanced”,
“cyclopedia”, and so on), but with a greater
number of possibilities for characters.
4
Magic and feats feats from different packages, you might find
some combinations that will make characters
My latest book before this one, Alternate too powerful, especially if you are
Magic, was all about giving spellcasters more intentionally trying to stack bonuses.
options. This book has feats for spellcasters, Although we have not detected any absurd
but focuses on non-magical features, combinations, combining feats from different
especially for fighters and thieves. As we’ve packages may require DM authorization.
mentioned above, spellcasters have many
choices available already, and we want to
avoid analysis paralysis. This is one of the Creating and adapting feats
reasons to give fighters and thieves more
Once you get used with the feats described in
feats and feat packages.
this book, I encourage you to create your own
feats, specifically designed to suit the
Balancing feats particularities of your settings and your
characters, whenever you need. Additionally,
This book aims to keep and even improve you can use feats from other books, other
balance between classes. However, it also editions, etc.
makes some characters significantly more
In both cases, use the feats described here as
powerful when compared to a game without
guidance.
feats. If you feel that feats give an undeserved
boost to some characters, you can balance
them in other ways. Feats description
For example, you may choose to give a single
Feats are described in a succinct way, and
feat per character, or to allow them to choose
some discretion is left for the DM. Some
one to four feats at certain intervals by
reference was made to existing rules to make
increasing the XP necessary for each class
comprehension easier. Designer notes on
(for example, increase XP by 10% for each
several feats were added to the last chapter.
level, or even 15-20% for classes that get
more feats than others).
We find that unnecessary, however, at least Abbreviations
for “basic” games. Newer games (some a few
A single letter in parentheses indicates one of
decades old already, and even additions to
the four basic classes: Fighter (F), Magic-user
the basic game) and advanced games usually
(M), and Thief (T), usually meaning that a
add even more extreme measures (various
certain feat is indicated for the respective
weapon specializations, additional attacks,
class. A (G) indicates general feats, which can
combat maneuvers, etc.) to bridge a
be taken regardless of class.
perceived gap between spellcasters and other
classes, and are much more generous with
ability score generation – for all characters.
This is just one small step in that direction.
These feats are created with customization in
mind, not optimization. When combining

5
 P ICKING FEATS
I use the table below to define how many They do not get their own feat lists, however.
feats a character has. I prefer to start on level Instead, since they fight approximatively as
2, to keep character creation quick and fighters of the same level, they are
simple and allow new players to try their encouraged to pick fighter feats or other feats
classes a bit before choosing feats. You can included in their packages. Elves can also
give an additional feat at level 1 if you prefer pick magic-user feats.
that the characters start the game with some
specialization already.
Feats are given at a similar rate to attack Feat packages
bonuses (i.e., every three, four or five levels). Feat packages are small collections of feats to
Dwarves, elves and halflings use the same make your choices easier and faster. They are
progression as fighters, but their maximum not obligatory, but the DM may limit stacking
level is limited as usual. The table below multiple feats from different packages (e.g.,
exemplifies how many feats characters can picking two feats that give you bonuses in the
get from level 1 to 14. You can extend it all same saving throw). The packages are
the way to level 20 or more using the same divided in archetypes such as “knight”,
progression. “barbarian”, “sorcerer”, and so on. See the
“Feat Packages” chapter for more examples.
Level Magic- Cleric/ Fighter/ It is recommended that players unfamiliar
user Thief Others with feats start by choosing a package (when
1 - - - they get to level 2) in order to avoid analysis
2 1 1 1 paralysis. Once players have tried some feats,
3 1 1 1 I prefer letting them pick their own feats.
4 1 1 1
5 1 1 2
6 1 2 2
Random feats
7 2 2 2
8 2 2 3 If you prefer to pick feats randomly, just roll
9 2 2 3 an appropriate die (for example, roll 1d20 for
10 2 3 3 fighters, since there are 20 fighter feats). If
11 2 3 4
the result is a feat you already have (except
12 3 3 4
13 3 3 4 for feats that can be taken more than once),
14 3 4 5 pick a general feat or a feat from another
class (not all feats are suitable for all classes;
if the result is redundant, useless or
Dwarves, elves and halflings incompatible, roll again).
Dwarves, elves and halflings pick feats in the
same manner as fighters, as indicated above,
and they have feat packages like other
classes.

6
Improved Feats
A few feats can be taken more than once.
They are marked with an “I”, and the effects
of picking the feat multiple times is described
under the feat. For example, Expertise II, III is
described under Expertise I. This feat can be
taken three times at most (Expertise I,
Expertise II and Expertise III). Expertise III
includes Expertise and Expertise II.

Variant Feats
A few feats contain suggestions on how to
modify it to better suit your character. These
suggestions are marked as “variant” under
the respective feat.

7
 L IST O F F EATS
The list of feats is organized by category, to 8. Lucky. Once per day, you can reroll a d20
make picking feats easier: general feats, and and pick the better result.
then cleric, fighter, magic-user and thief feats. 9. Physician. You can heal a number of HP
There is an alphabetical index including all equal to your level, once per turn for
feats in the end of the book. recent wounds (taken no more than a
turn before), and once per day for other
wounds (e.g., a level 10 PC can heal 10
General feats [1d10] points of HP per day, and 10 points after
each combat).
1. Ability Improvement I. Raise one ability
10. Resilient. Lower all your saving throws
score of your choice: +3 if it is lower than
14, +2 if it is 14 to 16, or +1 if it is 17 or by 1 point, or lower three saving throw
more (usually limited to 18). by one point and one by two points.
Ability Improvement II-IV. Each Resilient II. The same as Resilient I.
time you pick this feat, you can raise You can choose different saves.
one ability of your choice. You can
choose the same ability multiple
times.
2. Dilettante cleric. You can cast spells and
turn undead as a cleric half your level
(e.g., if you are level 10 you can turn
undead and cast spells as a 5th level
cleric), but you’re limited to 3rd level
cleric spells (See notes on page 19).
3. Dilettante fighter. You can use any
weapon and armor. You can cast spells
and even use thief skills in armor,
although your ability to climb, move
silently and hide is halved in plate armor.
4. Dilettante mage. You can cast spells as a
magic-user half your level.
5. Dilettante thief. You have access to all
the skills of a thief half your level,
including read languages (when you get
to level 8).
6. Leadership. Add three to your maximum
number of hirelings, and your hirelings
get +1 to morale when you hire them.
7. Linguist. Add three to your maximum
number of languages. You have a 50%
chance of reading unknown languages,
similarly to a thief.
8

Cleric feats [1d12]
1. Aura of courage. Allies within 30’,
including yourself, gain +1 to morale,
saving throws against magical effects and
fear effects.
2. Aura of fear. You can turn humanoids
and ordinary animals in addition to
undead. You cannot destroy them,
however. Humanoids can choose to flee
or stay, but cannot approach or attack
you.
3. Banishment. You can turn elementals,
demons and other extra-planar creatures,
in addition to undead. Some creatures
simply return to their original planes
when destroyed.
4. Command undead. You can choose to
command the undead whenever the Turn
Undead roll would indicate destruction.
This lasts for a day. You cannot control
more HD than your level.
5. Consequentialist. You can use normal
and reversed versions of cleric spells
without incurring in any punishment by
your deities.
6. Crusader. You can use any kind of
weapon (blunt or otherwise), and you
deal +2 damage against enemies of your
faith (undead, cultists, demons, anyone
desecrating churches and holy symbols,
etc.).
7. Healer. You double the number of HP
healed when using healing spells. In
addition, you can spend a prepared spell
to heal 1d6 HP per spell level (e.g., if you
memorize Resist Fire you can spend it to
heal 2d6 HP).
8. Nature Guardian. You can turn animals
(even giant ones, and possibly monsters
that are similar to animals – e.g., owlbear)
in addition to undead, using the same
table. A “destroyed” result makes the
animal serve you for a day, as if charmed,
instead (doing this for longer than a few
days might harm nature and thus is taboo
except in extreme circumstances). You
cannot control more HD than your level.
9. Smite. You double the damage of any
Cause Wounds spell. In addition, you can
spend any prepared spell to cause 1d6
damage per spell level (e.g., causing 3d6
damage instead of casting Locate Object).
You must make a melee attack roll, with a
weapon or simple touch.
10. Thaumaturgy. You can add magic-user
spells to your list of spells. The number of
spells you can add is equal to half your
level (round down). The maximum spell
level is also equal to half your level. (e.g.,
a 6th level cleric can add three magic-user
spells to his repertoire, but only magic-
user spells of level 3 or lower). You are
still limited to 5th level spells. The spells
chosen should reflect the themes of your
deity (e.g., fire, thunder, protection, war,
etc.).
11. True faith. You add your Charisma
modifier to Turn Undead rolls, similarly
to reaction rolls (i.e., up to +2). You can
use your Charisma instead of your
Wisdom to calculate your bonus (i.e., up
to +3) to saves against magical effects.
Variant. If you lack the ability to turn
undead, taking this feat allows you to
use this ability as a Cleric half your
level.
12. Willpower. You get a +4 bonus to saves
against spells that do not cause damage
or death, in addition to any Wisdom
bonus.
9
Fighter feats [1d20]
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. Its
HD is equal to your level divided by 2 (or
divide by three if the animal can fly).
Exceptional animals (griffons, giant
animals, mighty animals with more HD
than usual) are permitted at DM’s
discretion. If it dies, you can get a new
one after 2d6 days in the wild.
2. Armor master. When you wear armor,
you get +2 AC. Alternatively, you can
wear leather armor as if you were
unarmored (i.e., no speed penalty, and
allows a magic-user to cast spells in
leather armor).
3. Berserker. Whenever you wish, you can
enter a state of rage for one turn, during
which you get +3 to your damage rolls
and saves, and all damage against you is
halved. When the turn ends, you take 1
HP of damage per level (make a
Constitution check for half damage).
4. Cleave I. Once per round, when you roll a
natural 20 or reduce a creature to 0 HP
with a melee attack, you can make
another attack against a different
creature within reach.
Cleave II. You can cleave unlimited
times instead of once per round.
5. Commander. You can shout orders to
attack (+1 to attack and damage rolls) or
defend (+1 to AC and saving throws), plus
+1 morale, affecting yourself, allies and
followers within 60’ that can hear you for
one turn. Make a Charisma check; failure
means you cannot repeat this until next
day.
6. Critical strike. You deal double damage
when you roll a natural 19 or 20 in your
attack roll.
7. Extra attack. You can make two attacks
per round, each with a -2 penalty.
8. Favored enemy. Choose a type of non-
humanoid enemy – undead, animals,
giants, dragons, etc. – or a relatively small
humanoid group (wizards, elves, etc.).
You get a +2 bonus to your attacks and
damage, plus your AC or saves (choose
when you pick this feat) against this type.
9. Finesse. When you use light melee
weapons (sword, short sword, club, hand
axe, unarmed attacks, plus anything
lighter than a shortsword) you can use
your Dexterity bonus instead of Strength
for your attack rolls. Damage rolls are
still affected by Strength only, but you
cause +1 damage with such weapons.
Dexterity becomes your prime requisite if
you desire (elves swap one of theirs for
Dexterity, and halflings can choose to
keep only Dexterity).
10. Fortitude. You get a +4 bonus to saves
against paralysis, petrification, and
poison, but not death.
11. Martial artist. You deal 1d3 damage with
bare hands, which is increased to 1d4,
1d6, 1d8, 1d10 and 1d12 on levels 4, 6, 8,
10 and 12. When attacking with weapons,
you can choose to use this damage or
simply add +2 to weapon damage.
12. Mobile. During encounters, your
movement rate is half you base
movement instead of one third (e.g., 120’
[40’] becomes 120’ [60´]).
13. Predator. You can climb and move
silently as a thief of your level, and you
backstab like a thief (with +4 bonus and
double damage). You can also hide like a
thief, but your chances are halved if
you’re not in the wilderness.
14. Savage attacker. You deal more damage
with weapons: 1d6 instead of 1d4, 2d4
instead of 1d6, 2d6 instead of 1d8, and
2d8 instead of 1d10 (e.g., a battle axe
deals 2d6 damage instead of 1d8).
10
15. Shield expert. While using a shield, you
get an extra +1 AC, and +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.
16. Smash. Once per round, you can make an
attack roll with -5 penalty and add +10 to
your damage roll.
17. Toughness. You get 2 additional HP
per level, and each time you gain a
new level. You recover 1d6 instead of
1d3 HP on a day of rest.
18. Unarmored defense. You get a
bonus to AC equal to half your level
(round up), to a maximum of +5 if
unarmored, +3 with leather and +1
with chain or plate.
19. Weapon master I. You get +1 bonus
to attack and damage rolls with
weapons. Choose a type of weapon or
a fighting style (blades, mounted
combat, two-handed weapons, light
weapons, missile weapons, dual
wielding, sword and shield, etc.).
When using this style, you get +2 to
attack and damage (instead of +1).
Weapon master II. Pick a second
style. Your bonus is raised to +3
with your preferred styles, +2
otherwise.
20. 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. You can also
find tracks of one creature made one
day before with the same chances as
traps (the GM might give penalties or
bonuses to large parties or creatures,
rain, terrain, multiple days passed,
etc. – one try per day), and other
hidden things at GM’s discretion. 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).

11
Magic-user feats [1d12]
1. Arcane Artillery. You can throw small
missiles (bolts of fire, energy, etc. –
choose when you take this feat) from
your fingertips. They cause 1d4 damage
plus your Intelligence modifier, 60’ range
and require an attack roll, like a ranged
weapon (use short bow stats when
needed). At higher levels, you can throw
multiple missiles at once – one extra
missile for each 5 levels (e.g., two on level
5 and three on level 10). Treat them as
magic weapons.
2. Arcane scholar. Add a number of 1st
level spells to your spell book equal to
your Intelligence, Charisma or Wisdom
modifier (e.g., if you have a +2 modifiers,
you can have three spells on level 1). You
can trade two spell gained this way for
one 2nd level spell.
3. Battle Mage I. When you cast a spell that
causes damage, you add +1 damage per
die (e.g., a 5d6 fireball causes 5d6+5
damage).
Battle Mage II. +2 per die.
4. Charisma Casting. You can replace your
Intelligence score by your Charisma score
to make any Intelligence check related to
magic, and also for Arcane Artillery (see
above). You can replace your Wisdom
score by your Charisma score when
calculating your bonus to save against
magical effects.
5. Innate sorcery. You do not need a spell
book to memorize spells (the number of
spells you can learn and memorize is
unchanged; treat this as a virtual spell
book inside your mind).
6. Magic resistance. You get a +4 bonus to
saves against all magical effects, in
addition to your Wisdom bonus.
7. Metamagic. Once per day, you can make
an Intelligence check, with a -2 penalty, to
double the range, duration, number of
targets or area of a spell you have
memorized. Alternatively, you can triple
with by taking a -3 penalty, etc., to a
maximum multiplier and penalty of 10.
Failure means the spell is unchanged, and
you must roll again, with a second failure
meaning the spell is lost until memorized
again.
8. Potent casting. Your targets have a -4
penalty to save against your spells.
9. Signature spell. Choose of spell you
know when you pick this feat. When you
cast it, make an Intelligence check with a
penalty equal to spell level. If you
succeed, the spell is still memorized.
10. Silent casting. You can cast spells
without speaking or moving.Variant. You
powers are not necessarily spells, but
they work in a similar manner (for
example psionics, supernatural powers
from your heritage, etc.). You might gain
a few spells automatically with level, and
be unable to learn other spells.
11. War caster. When you lose initiative and
your spell is disrupted, you can make a
spell saving throw to avoid the
disruption.
12. White Magic. You can learn cleric spells
as if they were Magic-user spells. You still
need to learn them and write them down
in your grimoire as usual (unlike the
cleric).
12
Thief feats [1d20]
1. Acrobatics. You take half the usual
damage when you fall. You get a +4 bonus
to AC during retreat and withdrawal. You
get a +4 bonus to ability checks and
saves involving jumping, tumbling, etc.
2. Alchemy. You can identify potions with
an Intelligence check. A failure means you
cannot try again without drinking it. You
also start each adventure with a random
potion, already identified (permanent
effects are not allowed). If you do not use
it, there are 2-in-6 chances that the
potion can be preserved for the next
adventure.
3. Alertness. You have only 1-in-6 chance of
being surprised (instead of the usual 2-
in-6). In addition, you get a +1 bonus to
initiative. If using side initiative, your side
gets a +1 bonus, but only when rolling an
odd number (e.g., a 3 becomes a 4, but a 2
is unchanged).
4. Artifact hunter. You can use magical
items (wands, staves, dwarven throwers
and potions of heroism) regardless of
class restrictions. You can use arcane and
divine scrolls with no chance of failure
regardless of level. If you are Chaotic or
Neutral, you can use both swords of both
alignments with no adverse effects. If you
are Lawful, you can use Lawful and
Neutral swords.
5. Charmer. You can use make a musical
performance to enthrall onlookers.
People and animals that can hear you
clearly and are within 60 feet must save
versus spells or become enthralled for
one turn, becoming oblivious to
everything else. After a turn, a second
failure will make all targets charmed (as
per the Charm spell) for one turn. The
maximum number of HD affected is equal
to your level. Combat, loud noises,
intense distraction, etc., makes the
process impossible. Variant. At GM’s
discretion, you can use choose a different
method of distracting creatures when you
pick this feat – maybe by fast-talking,
illusions, magic tricks (true or false),
psionic powers, mesmerism, seduction,
juggling, and so on. Not all types of
creature are affected – specifics are up to
the GM.
6. Disguise. You can disguise yourself as
person of a different nationality,
profession, social class, etc., or even a
specific person your mark doesn’t know
intimately. The victim may save versus
spell to see through the disguise, with a
penalty equal to your level.
7. Sniper. You can backstab unaware
creatures with ranged weapons.
8. Evasion. You take half damage from
spells and breath weapons that inflict
damage (if the save is successful, only a
quarter; round down). This may apply to
other area effects at GM’s discretion.
9. Expertise I. Pick two thief skills. When
you fail one of these skills, you can roll
again once and pick the best result.
Expertise II, III. Pick two additional
skills or features each time you take
this feat.
Variant. At GM’s discretion, you can
use this feat to pick other kinds of
abilities (forage, read scrolls, turn
undead, and so on).
10. Feinting. When fighting a single
opponent in melee, you get a +3 bonus to
your attack and damage rolls.
11. First strike. You can back stab any
opponent who hasn’t taken a round yet
(e.g., if you win initiative in the first
combat turn, or if the victim is surprised).
12. Flanking. If an opponent is in mêlée with
another creature, you can backstab him
like an unaware victim attacked from
behind.
13. Jack of all trades. Choose three ability
scores when you pick this feat. You have a
+1 bonus to all ability checks with these
abilities.
13
 Jack of all trades II. You have a +1
bonus to all ability checks.
14. Nimbleness. Once per round, you can
make a Dexterity check to double your
movement speed or attempt to hide in
shadows. After you do this, you cannot
attack until the end of the round (which
means you can only attack and run/hide
if you win or tie initiative).
15. Opportunist. If you spend one turn
studying an opponent, you can backstab
them once, during the same day, even if
they are aware of your presence.
16. Perceptive. You can find secret doors
and construction details like elves and
dwarves, but with increased chances
(identical to your hear noise skill).
17. Poisoner. You can buy poison for half the
usual cost (by your knowledge of
ingredients and black markets), and
targets poisoned by you have a -4 penalty
to their saving throws. You can apply
poison to your weapons without risk for
yourself. (Note: if your game does not
include a list of poisons, check the
designer’s notes in the last chapter).
18. Reflex. You get a +4 bonus to saves
against breath, wands, and any spells or
effects that allow you to get out of the
way (e.g., fireball), in addition to any
Wisdom bonus.
19. Slippery Mind. If you fail a save against a
mind-affecting spell, you can roll a second
time.
20. Sneak attack I. When backstabbing an
opponent, your damage is tripled instead
of doubled.
Sneak attack II. Quadruple damage.

14
 F EAT PACKAGES
Feat packages are an easy way to pick feats Dwarf
according to a chosen archetype. They are
optional; players may choose to ignore them Any dwarf. Toughness (F).
altogether. You do not need to pick a package Dwarven priest. Dilettante cleric (G), Healer
until level 2, since usually characters do not (C).
get feats on level 1. Dwarven slaughterer. Unarmored defense
Each archetype has a number of suggested (F), Favored enemy (F).
feats. You can pick them in any order. For Ironclad dwarf. Armor master (F), Shield
players picking their own feats, this serves as Expert (F).
a suggestion. For DMs, it is an easy way to
quickly add feats to an existing NPC. For
example, if the NPC is a 7th level Fighter and Elf
fits the knight archetype, simply pick two
Any Elf. Alertness (G).
feats of the list below. If unsure (or if you
have more feats to pick than your package), Wood Elf. Wilderness explorer, Nature
just pick the feats on the Fighter other classes guardian Variant (C).
are marked with a letter in parentheses. For High Elf. Signature spell (M), White Mage (C).
example, a Monk/Mystic (Fighter) has Shadow elf. Dilettante thief (G), Poisoner (T).
“Evasion (T)”, which is a thief (T) feat.

Cleric
Any cleric*. Aura of courage, Healer.
Druid. Nature Guardian, Signature spell:
Polymorph self (M).
Heretic/Evil Cleric. Aura of fear, Command
undead, Smite.
War priest. Crusader, Smite.
* Heretics might avoid these feats.

15
Fighter
Any Fighter. Cleave I, Extra attack, Weapon
Master I.
Barbarian/Berserker. Savage attacker,
Unarmored defense, Toughness.
Knight. Armor master, Commander.
Monk/Mystic. Martial Artist, Unarmored
defense, Mobile, Acrobatics (T).
Paladin. Dilettante cleric (G), Aura of
Courage (C).
Ranger/Hunter. Alertness, Favored enemy,
Predator, Wilderness Expert.
Swashbuckler. Finesse, Acrobatics (T).
Warlord. Commander, Leadership (G),
Halfling
Any Halfling. Finesse (F).
Halfling sharpshooter. Weapon Master I (F)
- bows or crossbows.
Halfling burglar. Dilettante thief (G).
Magic-user
Any Magic-user. Signature spell, Arcane
Scholar.
Psionicist. Silent casting, Innate sorcery.
Sorcerer. Innate Sorcery, Metamagic.
Warlock. Arcane Artillery. Battle Mage I.
White Mage. White magic, Healing (C).
Thief
Any Thief. Nimbleness, Sneak Attack I.
Acrobat. Acrobatics, Reflex.
Assassin. Disguise, Poisoner.
Bard. Charmer, Dilettante mage (G).
Mountebank. Charmer, Alchemy (M).
Thug. Flanker, Savage Attacker (F).
Trickster. Artifact hunter, Dilettante mage
(G).
16
 OPTIONAL RULES & DESIGNER N OTES
This chapter briefly describes my reasoning
behind some feats, plus some optional rules
to use feats in other ways.
Assumptions & conversion notes
This book assumes you’re playing in low
levels (e.g., up to 14 levels), and using the
traditional “3d6 in order” or something
similar to generate ability scores. An average
array would be something along the lines of
14, 12, 11, 10, 9 and 7 for a starting PC. It also
assumes you’re using the optional “ability
checks” rules (roll 1d20 equal or under your
ability score for some feats).
These feats make extensive use of ability
checks for a few reasons. First, because you
can raise them a bit with Ability
Improvement. Second, because relying on
saving throws might generate odd results
(e.g., dwarves being good at everything).
Third, we wanted to avoid adding new
formulas to the game (‘roll 1d20 plus half
your level, if you beat 15…”) or more
bookkeeping (“you can use this feat a number
of times equal to your level per day”).
If you use a more generous approach for PC
generation, feats that rely on ability checks
will get a bit more powerful. You can use
other methods if you find necessary (e.g., roll
4d6 instead of 1d20). Other than that, the
feats apply more or less as written for other
old school games with few classes (usually 4
or 7). Some feats might be redundant in
games that already have paladins, bards, etc.
Race and class
Provided you have only 4 human classes,
these feats will apply whether your elves,
dwarves, etc., are separated classes or not,
which is why we don’t have separated racial
feats.
If you want classes to be completely
separated from races, you might let all
characters begin with some extra feats.
Option I: give humans a free feat at level 1,
while others keep their usual powers.
Option II: give humans an ability
Improvement plus another feat at level 1, and
everyone else gets a free feat plus their usual
powers. Dwarves and Halflings are
encouraged to pick a feat like Resilient or
similar.
Option III: like I, or II, but also give every
race one appropriate Ability Improvement –
Strength or Intelligence for elves,
Constitution or Dexterity for Halflings, etc.
Humans get to improve any two abilities of
their choice.
Elves, Dwarves and Halflings must them
choose a class (usually fighter or magic-user
for elves, and fighter for dwarves and
halflings) that will define their saving throws,
HD, weapons, armor and spellcasting.
Notice that this solution makes level limits
unnecessary, since they lose some of their
more powerful benefits (saving throws for
dwarves, spells for elves). You may keep level
limits or other prohibitions (e.g., “dwarves
can’t be magic-users”) for setting reasons or
your own motives, if desired.
17
Automatic saving throws
Some feats will allow characters to
automatically succeed in certain saving
throws. This is already possible in some
classic games (e.g., for dwarves with high
level and high Wisdom). It is possible to make
a ruling to avoid this (e.g., a natural 1 always
fails), but this is unnecessary as outright
immunity to certain effects is not necessarily
unbalanced nor unexpected for such
powerful characters. Consider that some
monsters and effects may give you a penalty
to saving throws (e.g., a vampire’s gaze),
which means, for example, that certain
characters can become immune to ordinary
threats but will seldom be immune to all
possible threats.
Unifying XP tables
If you prefer unified XP tables, we
recommend using the magic-user table for all
classes, adding a few extra feats for Clerics,
Thieves and Fighters. Thieves also get 1d6 HP
per level, like clerics. Clerics need no further
enhancements. This changes some
assumptions but is still balanced in my
opinion.
Flaws, features and feats
You can allow players an extra feat if they
pick a significant flaw that will affect their
character. Some examples:
 Cannot wear armor heavier than
leather.
 Cannot lie nor stay silent to allow
allies to lie.
 Cannot carry more than three magic
items.
 Can only use blunt weapons (or light
weapons, etc.)
 Will not drink potions or accept
healing magic.
 Will donate 10% of ALL treasure
found, including magic items.
 Will not carry enough treasure to
reduce your speed.
 Speed reduced to 90’ by default.
 Takes double damage from iron
weapons.
This flaw may take the form of a vow, taboo,
physical limitation, and so on. It must be
adapted to the character’s class, of course –
for a magic-user or thief, “cannot wear armor
heavier than leather” is the default, not a
flaw.

Level Magic- Cleric/ Fighter/ Likewise, you can allow players to swap one
user Thief Others of their class features for a feat. For example,
1 - - - thieves can give away a couple of their skills,
2 1 1 1 clerics can lose the ability to turn undead, etc.
3 1 1 2 One easy method that I love is allowing
4 1 2 2
thieves to swap one or more of their skills for
5 1 2 3
6 1 2 3 something equally useful: tracking instead of
7 2 3 4 traps, knowledge of lore and history instead
8 2 3 4 of climbing (to turn the thief into a smart
9 2 4 5 scholar from level 1), etc.
10 2 4 5
For clerics, it is easy to swap a few spells of
11 2 4 6
12 3 5 6 their lists for Magic-user spells, provided
13 3 5 7 they fall within the domain of the cleric’s
14 3 6 7 chosen deity.

18
Flaws are a bit prone to abuse but can expand
the number and depth of archetypes such as
monks, paladins, etc.
Swapping feats
Swapping one feat or feat details (e.g.,
changing your Signature Spell when you
learn a new spell) should be permitted once
per level. The GM might allow other changes
due to story reasons (e.g., a cleric that turns
evil trades Healer for Smite) or require
justifications to the change. When in doubt,
we advise erring on the side of fun.
Prime requisites and archetypes
Some archetypes and feats work better with
abilities that are not necessarily the classes’
prime requisites. I have avoided pointing
these out to reduce complexity and
wordiness, with the exception of Finesse, that
I left as an example.
It should be obvious that some feats require
high Charisma or Dexterity, for example. In
addition, some archetypes – Bard, Paladin,
Mountebank, Sorcerer – could benefit from
having Charisma as a prime requisite. This
has little impact in the game, in my opinion,
so feel free to require minimum Charisma 9
of swap a prerequisite for Charisma for any
player that has a feat related to Charisma or
other good reason to do this (and not merely
“because my Charisma is higher”).
Notes about specific feats (in
alphabetical order)
Ability Improvement (G). Even if you dislike
other feats, this one allows you additional
customization and advancement. Other feats
use this one for comparison. Usually, you’re
limited to 18 in each ability score, but higher
ability scores might be possible depending on
which version of the game you’re playing. An
ability score of 19 (+4) still fits the rules, but
20 or more requires reevaluating ability
checks and considering other consequences.
Alchemy (M). Starting with random potions
is fun! Adding crafting rules would be a
whole different book, but you can allow
alchemists to buy/create potions at half price
if you already have a list.
Animal companion (F). A fun thing to have
for players, but a bit fiddly for GMs. I let the
player give simple commands to his pet, and
even allow the pet to “level up” from a usual
horse to a mighty steed, from a pup to a dire
wolf, etc.
Arcane Artillery (M). An alternative to
throwing daggers when the mage runs out of
spells, especially at lower levels.
Banishment (C). Only useful for certain
types of campaigns, since demons are absent
in “basic” games, for example.
Charmer (T). Another popular trope (for
bards or even evil sorcerers, mesmerists,
etc.).
Cleave (F). Giving extra attacks for fighters is
important for balance reasons and also to
allow them to fight multiple foes at once. I
have written these feats to be useful even if
you allow multiple attacks against 1 HD
creatures. You might prefer to allow every
fighter to cleave by default.
Critical strike (F). This assumes you’re
either not using critical hits, or using a
weaker version (e.g., maximum damage on a
natural 20). If you already allow double
damage on a critical hit for everyone, I’d
allow triple damage for fighters.
Dilettante cleric, etc. (G). This is a simple
alternative to multi-classing, dual classing,
etc. In the case of the cleric, getting to levels 6
19
and 7 is extremely powerful. I recommend Thaumaturgy (C). This is similar to “white
limiting dilettante clerics to level 3 spells. mage”, with some limitations to avoid making
clerics incredibly powerful by level 6 (using
Expertise (T). This is a versatile feat to
the spell progression of the basic version),
specialize thieves and other classes.
especially considering the fact that they are
Extra attack (F). This is a somewhat weaker not limited by spell books (i.e., you access
version of a second attack, but still very these spells like cleric spells). If using some
powerful. You might require an attack bonus other version of the game, you might rule
of +5 or more before picking it. See also differently.
“Cleave”.
Weapon master (F). This feat allows
Finesse (F). This is useful for swashbucklers, multiple fighting styles while still being
pirates, and other agile fighter archetypes. useful even if you are not using your favorite
See also the “Prime requisites and weapon.
archetypes” section in this chapter (above).
Leadership (G). A leader is an interesting
archetype missing from most RPGs.
Physician (G). A little non-magical healing as
an alternative to the cleric.
Poisoner (T). This works better if your game
already has a list of poisons. It if does not, you
can use this: one vial of snake poison costs 10
gp. When applied to missiles or blades, a
target hit by this weapon must save against
poison for three rounds, taking 1d6 damage
for each failure. Applied poison lasts for one
turn or until it is used successfully. Without
this feat, every time you apply poison you
have a 5% chance of poisoning yourself. Only
Chaotic characters use poison as it is a
dishonorable tactic.

Resilient (G). Old school saving throws are

varied and a bit arbitrary. This allows you to
change yours a bit.
Silent casting (M). This is an easy way to add
psionic powers to the games with almost no
changes. You could choose a limited number
of spells to reflect what psionic powers can
do in your game: Charm, Sleep,
Ventriloquism, etc.

20
 A PPPENDIX A: A LPHABETICAL INDEX OF FEATS
Ability Improvement (G). Page 8.
Acrobatics (T). Page 13.
Alchemy. (T). Page 13.
Alertness (T). Page 13.
Animal companion (F). Page 10.
Arcane Artillery (M). Page 12.
Arcane scholar (M). Page 12.
Armor master (F). Page 10.
Artifact hunter (T). Page 13.
Aura of courage (C). Page 9.
Aura of fear (C). Page 9.
Banishment (C). Page 9.
Battle Mage (M). Page 12.
Berserker (F). Page 10.
Charisma Casting (M). Page 12.
Charmer (T). Page 13.
Cleave (F). Page 10.
Command undead (C). Page 9.
Commander (F). Page 10.
Consequentialist (C). Page 9.
Critical strike (F). Page 10.
Crusader (C). Page 9.
Dilettante cleric (G). Page 8.
Dilettante fighter (G). Page 8.
Dilettante mage (G). Page 8.
Dilettante thief (G). Page 8.
Disguise (T). Page 13.
Evasion (T). Page 13.
Expertise (T). Page 13.
Extra attack (F). Page 10.
Favored enemy (F). Page 10.
Feinting (T). Page 13.
Finesse (F). Page 10.
First strike (T). Page 13.
Flanking (T). Page 13.
Fortitude (F). Page 10.
Healer (C). Page 9.
Innate sorcery (M). Page 12.
Jack of all trades (T). Page 13.
Leadership (G). Page 8.
Linguist (G). Page 8.
Lucky (G). Page 8.
Magic resistance (M). Page 12.
Martial artist (F). Page 10.
Metamagic (M). Page 12.
Mobile (F). Page 10.
Nature Guardian (C). Page 9.
Nimbleness (T). Page 13.
Opportunist (T). Page 14.
Perceptive (T). Page 14.
Physician (G). Page 8.
Poisoner (T). Page 14.
Potent casting (M). Page 12.
Predator (F). Page 10.
Reflex (T). Page 14.
Resilient (G). Page 8.
Savage attacker (F). Page 10.
Shield expert (F). Page 11.
Signature spell (M). Page 12.
Silent casting (M). Page 12.
Slippery Mind (T). Page 14.
Smash (F). Page 11.
Smite (C). Page 9.
Sneak attack (T). Page 14.
Sniper (T). Page 13.
Thaumaturgy (C). Page 9.
Toughness (F). Page 11.
True faith (C). Page 9.
Unarmored defense (F). Page 11.
War caster (M). Page 12.
Weapon master (F). Page 11.
White Magic (M). Page 12.
Wilderness explorer (F). Page 11.
Willpower (C). Page 9.
21
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