Pathfinder Infantry Feats

These feats are inspired by some ideas I have had about reach weapons (which probably are not new) and some feats I encountered while playing in my first Conan RPG game this last weekend (which was pretty fun I should add).

Infantry Tactics

You have been trained to fight in formation and function as a unit. Such training instructs combatants to protect the soldiers next to them and to move in unison.

Benefit: If you and an ally with this feat are adjacent to one another, you both receive a +1 circumstance bonus to your AC as well as to attack rolls. Multiple adjacent allies with this feat do not provide additional bonuses.

Improved Infantry Tactics

You have mastered the technique of fighting in formation.

Prerequisite: Infantry Tactics.

Benefit: The bonus gained from having adjacent allies with the Infantry Tactics feat improves to +2.

Pole & Shield

Elite phalanx units have been trained to control their shield while wielding polearms and spears.

Prerequisite: Str 13, Infantry Tactics, Shield Proficiency, Weapon Proficiency (chosen polearm).

Benefit: You may wear a heavy shield and gain half its shield bonus to your AC when wielding glaives, guisarmes, halberds, longspears, pikes, ranseurs, or spears.

Normal: Without this feat, you cannot wear shields while using a two-handed weapon.

Rebuffing Reach

You have learned to keep opponents from getting within the reach of your polearm.

Prerequisite: Weapon Focus (chosen polearm).

Benefit: Anytime you are wielding a glaive, guisarme, halberd, longspear, pike, ranseur, or spear and succeed with an Attack of Opportunity for an enemy moving through spaces you threaten, instead of dealing full damage, you may choose to deal half damage and push the target 5 feet away from you.

Listening to: Demons & Wizards – Touched by the Crimson King – Terror Train

3 thoughts on “Pathfinder Infantry Feats

  1. @Sean: I actually struggled over whether Rebuffing Reach should deal damage or not. Logically, it should, but I like to err on the side of non-game breaking (though maybe I erred too far on that side with this feat). Since it is limited to only AOOs, as a GM, I would actually allow full damage… so let’s go with half damage (edits are already in place).

    Thanks for the input!

  2. I suggest the following changes for tightly packed “pole and shield” formations where two “soldiers” are in each 5 ft square. Reduce dex bonus to AC to 0 and give double shield bonus to AC and a +2 to attack. Give each “soldier” in a rank with sufficient reach an AOO against individuals directly infront of his file to repulse for half damage and force the individual back 5 feet. The phylanx was used successfully until missile weapons were developed with suffucient power, range and numbers to reach the formation and penetrate armor from a distance that made it difficult for the formation to overtake the missile launchers. Rough terreign made an effective phylanx difficult or impossible. It was most effective in large open areas such as plains or other unobstructed ground. It is still used by police when dealing with mobs.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.