No, I don't care about precedents and ancestors.

Who, in the course of designing D&D 3E, came up with the idea of feats?

I dunno, but originally they were skills.

Seanchai

Yeah, and I realise that this may break Sosthenes' interdiction against precedents and ancestors, but aren't feats an almost direct outgrowth of the "proficiency" slots that were introduced in AD&D, Oriental Adventures?  Feats have been tuned up a lot since then, but they seem directly comparable.

!i!

Probably whichever one had played the most Fallout.  

I suspect that it may have been Tweet, as the philosophy behind Feats is very similar to supernatural powers in Over the Edge do (i.e., they function as a way to circumvent the boundaries of other rules).

A number of the bloodline abilities of Birthright seemed to foreshadow feats. A number of feat-like abilities also appeared in 2e's "High Level Campaigns" book.

I'm with James.  Blame it on the Tweet.

!i!

Quote from: SeanchaiI dunno, but originally they were skills.

Seanchai

How did they work as skills? More like the other skills? More like feats now?

Quote from: algaubleHow did they work as skills? More like the other skills? More like feats now?

The old 2e Profiencties (sp?) were very simple. They added +1. You could double up on a single prof. making it a Speciality giving you +2. Only the Dark*Sun Gladiator was prof in all weapons automaticly. They used their slot to Specialize only when it came to weapons.

They worked more like SKILLS though. They were "Skills" in fact.

The RC "skills" really are proto-feats, way more then NWPs.
There´s stuff like blindfighting or manyshot in there.
Go figure.

Only thing I know is that during the massive playtest they were called "Heroic Feats".
The "Heroic" was dropped in the final version.

Quote from: J ArcaneProbably whichever one had played the most Fallout.  

Dude!  You're 100% correct. I was going to mention this, but you beat me to it.

The feat system and xp table of d20 is DIRECTLY ported from Fallout. Fallout is a post-nuclear computer rpg (using the SPECIAL system) released back in 1997. I haven't played the game, but it looks good.

Fallout had "perks" (feats) which you'd gain every 3 levels, and had requirements (prerequisites) for getting them.

Did I mention that the xp table from Fallout and D&D 3e are identical?   And that Fallout came out BEFORE 3e?

The SPECIAL system looks interesting. SPECIAL = Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. The game has hit points, armor class, and a percentile skill system.

The game looks like this bizarre Gamma World/Road Warrior thing. I hope I'm not threadjacking, but if you go online to check the system for this game, you'll see how WoTC so blatantly transplanted the perk/feat system of Fallout to d20. Most people don't bring it up, but it's obvious the makers of d20 either played or read about this game. .

IIRC, Fallout tried to use the GURPS engine, but they had some problems with the license.

Quote from: SosthenesIIRC, Fallout tried to use the GURPS engine, but they had some problems with the license.

You are correct, sir! :v:  I don't know what happened, but I guess sometimes these things just don't work out.

Steve Jackson terminated the deal, apparently the game was too violent for him.