Un-Downgrading Backgrounds

So, of course, Backgrounds were completely garbaged in the change to 5.5e. In terms of interestingness, in terms of roleplaying hooks, in terms of everything good that matters: 2024 (5.5e) Backgrounds are strictly a bad and terrible downgrade from 2014 (5.0e) Backgrounds. Part of the downgrade is part and parcel of 5.5e having disposed of the Trait/Ideal/Bond/Flaw system entirely; part of it is that each Background came with a roleplay-based ability, not just More Numbers -- example, the Noble background's Position of Privilege feature:

[...P]eople are inclined to think the best of you. You are welcome in high society, and people assume you have the right to be wherever you are. The common folk make every effort to accommodate you and avoid your displeasure, and other people of high birth treat you as a member of the same social sphere. You can secure an audience with a local noble if you need to.

That's way cooler than 5.5e's Noble background, which gives you the Skilled feat. (Woo. Three skill or tool proficiencies. I cannot restrain my exuberance.)

How do we fix it?

First instinct is to throw away the 5.5e Background system almost entirely, just say use 5.0e Backgrounds instead (maybe mix in the ability-scores-from-Background from 5.5e). But Origin feats are actually an okay thing to have from a homebrewing perspective (most -- all? -- of the feats I've homebrewed are Origin feats).

My second instinct, which I would and will probably go with, is to make the special feature of each 5.0e Background available as an Origin Feat, which may be taken as the Origin Feat associated with that Background in place of the listed feat.

In fact, more precisely: The Feature of any 5.0e Background is now an Origin Feat of the same name as the Feature; you may choose that Origin Feat in lieu of the feat listed for the 5.5e version of that Background, or for any other Background that it makes sense with.

Something like:

Acolyte: Shelter of the Faithful (Acolyte) or Magic Initiate (cleric)
Artisan: Guild Membership (Guild Artisan) or Crafter
Charlatan: False Identity (Charlatan) or Skilled
Criminal: Criminal Contact (Criminal) or Bad Reputation (Sailor) or Alert
Entertainer: By Popular Demand (Entertainer) or Musician
Farmer: Tough
Guard: Watcher's Eye (Guard) or Alert
Guide: Wanderer (Outlander) or Rustic Hospitality (Folk Hero) or Magic Initiate (druid)
Hermit: Discovery (Hermit, PHB) or Wanderer (Outlander, PHB) or Healer
Merchant: Guild Membership (Guild Artisan) or Lucky
Noble: Position of Privilege (Noble) or Retainers (Noble) or Skilled
Sage: Researcher (Sage) or Discovery (Hermit) or Magic Initiate (wizard)
Sailor: Ship's Passage (Sailor) or Bad Reputation (Sailor) or Tavern Brawler
Scribe: Skilled
Soldier: Military Rank (Soldier) or Savage Attacker
Wayfarer: City Secrets (Urchin) or Lucky

The 5.5e Origin Feats are of course somewhat more powerful, on the whole, than the 5.0 Background Features, which may present a bit of a hurdle in terms of anybody actually making this decision. Maybe count two upgraded-Background-Features as one regular Origin Feat (which are in turn maybe about half the strength of a General Feat)? Or maybe give upgraded-Background-Features a +1 to an Ability Score like a General Feat has? Neither of these possibilities is without flaw.

(And also we'll gently suggest that players pick up Traits/Ideals/Bonds/Flaws from 5.0e, as a matter of put it somewhere near your written background, though that's more training wheels for roleplaying than anything experienced players desperately need.)

Dynastic New Game+

Family Tree

I've long desired to run a dynastic campaign, importing something like Pendragon's "after every session/adventure/tourney/happening, a year passes", where eventually you're expected to retire your character and their heir takes over -- D&D meets Crusader Kings (Crusader Kings having been designed in a lab to be precisely catnip to Malimars).

But that's the only thing I really like about Pendragon, so I want to hack it onto a system I do like. Seems like a half-decent fit for Daggerheart, but I don't yet know the likelihood of persuading my group to try that one.

The Issue

The main problem with hacking it onto D&D would be: presuming not everybody retires at the same time (so, presuming elves and humans in the same party); and presuming I don't want any given character's heir to just automatically straight-up start at the level their parent retired at; how do I make a mixed-level party more or less balanced? How might I let one player do a New Game+ while remaining in a party with a player who just keeps playing their original character?

My second instinct is: abandon allowing mixed-level parties: heirs just start at the level of their parent, and/or every character always retires at the same time. But I low-key hate both of those options? I want players to have the option to play an elf (eg, one player just straight-up hates the dynastic game idea and wants to opt out -- if multiple players hate it, of course I would run something else). I want players to be able to pick when their character is done (perhaps using the aging rules from 3.5e to encourage done-ness, though that does hardly encourage spellcasters to retire). I want players to be able to play an Obi-Wan from the previous generation or a sidekick/apprentice from the next.

My first instinct is: something like beginning with magic items or Epic Boons or bonus feats or something? Like, establish some exchange rate: new characters begin with some amount of Stuff for each level lower your new character is than your old character would have been.

New Game+

Assumption, while we think this out:

Every time the party would level up (so, basically every adventure/delve, ish), some number of years passes. I was thinking 1d6 or 1d8 or 1d10 or 1d12, but randomness does us no favors here; another solid possibility is 5, plus or minus a few depending on DM fiat; another possibility is that it can depend on how successfully and effectively the adventure's task was accomplished, that a party gets a decade or two of peace if they completely smash it out of the park, only a year or two if they straight-up fail.

Perhaps, in the middle of some adventures, there could be an extra level-up point that applies only to characters of below the party's max level. If this were 3.5e and we were playing with experience, the increased XP and decreased XP-to-next-level from being lower level makes it balance; we need to approximate that with an inelegant hack, because we don't want characters who are behind to remain behind forever.

A new-generation character begins with all the physical loot of the previous-generation character they're taking over for.

A new-generation character starts at any level below the level of the previous-generation character they're taking over for (this may get to be a bit of a wibbly muddle if, like, one player's new character takes over for another player's old character, or two PCs get together and make babbies who then take over as new characters, or whatever, but ad hoc DM adjudication is a thing).

For each level so sacrificed, a new PC begins with an additional Thing (eg, 1st-gen PC is lvl7; 2nd-gen PC elects to begin at lvl3; the difference is 4 levels, so they begin with 4 Things).

What shall be the Things?

My first notion: each Thing is a rarity level of magic item. A 1-level difference lets you start with an extra Common item; a 2-level difference lets you start with an extra Uncommon item (or 2 Commons); a 3-level difference lets you start with an extra Rare item (or 3 Commons, or a Common and an Uncommon); a 4-level difference lets you start with an extra Very Rare item (or a Rare and a Common, or two Uncommons, or an Uncommon and two Commons, or four Commons); a 5-level difference lets you start with an extra Legendary item (or a Very Rare and a Common, or a Rare and two Commons, or a Rare and an Uncommon, or an Uncommon and three Commons, or two Uncommons and a Common, or five Commons), etc. You cannot begin with an Artifact (unless the previous-generation PC gained it during play, of course). Raising the question: can a level 5 character with a Legendary item (plus level ten character worth of miscellaneous loot) hold their own with a level 10 character (with only ten levels worth of miscellaneous loot)? Can a level 5 character with three Legendary items hold their own with a level 20 character?

Another notion: each Thing is a free bonus feat (and every so many Things is a free Epic Boon bonus feat? no, I think not, some Epic Boons may be fine for this purpose, but some are very powerful). Can a level 5 character with 5 bonus feats hold their own with a level 10 character (with only the normal number of feats)? And what happens to the bonus feats as the character acceleratedly levels up -- do they evaporate; do they start to occupy real feat slots as such become available to the character; something else?

One big issue is hit points. PCs progress fast in terms of HP, so monsters correspondingly progress fast in terms of how hard they hit. I think some kind of free bonus HPs may be the only thing to do here, though that is an inelegant solution. Maybe 5 bonus HP for each level you are different from the party's level (which you gradually lose as you level up faster than the party does, until you have 0 bonus HP when you reach the party's level)? No, I think I like this better: all characters have Hit Dice, and consequently HP, in accordance with the maximum level of the party, regardless of their character level.

Another issue is hitting power. PCs progress fast in terms of how much damage they do (doubling at level 4, among other things); monsters correspondingly progress fast in terms of HP. A single really good weapon and/or some bonus feats can make up this difference handily.

See Also

Forum thread on the topic

Update

A point was raised on Bluesky: "If you give a lower level character extra hp, and extra items, and extra feats, and let them do damage above their level aren’t they functionally just higher level characters?"

Which: no... but also yes? Reoriented my perspective drastically.

A new character shouldn't have to be exactly balanced with the old characters; there just needs to be some incentive to retire a character (the Aging rules from 3.5e might take care of that, though I might have to bite the bullet and ban elves, perhaps plus being generous with maimery), and maybe a very low-key bonus to ease the sting of starting at a lower level.

Or maybe instead of straight-up banning elves, resurrect the thing in earlier editions where you can level up a lot faster if you're a shorter-lived species? You can, if you do desire, eschew the whole conceit of the campaign by playing an elf, at the cost of your human companions ding lvl 10 -> start over at 1 -> ding 10 again a few times times over the course of the time it takes you to ding 10 once?

On Fish-People

I have long complained that, of all the array of fish-people and seafolk available in D&D, they're all kind of samey. Let's see, we've got...

• Merfolk are people with a fish tail
• Tritons are people who live underwater and are just kind of slightly fishy -- in earlier editions, they were at least Outsider(native)s, which is something to latch on to. (Although it does make them kind of overlap with water genasi -- but without it, they instead overlap with, like sea elves.)
• Locathah are just kind of generically fishy, although in earlier editions they kind of looked like the Creature from the Black Lagoon
• Sahuagin are just kind of generically fishy, albeit with a telepathic connection to sharks
• Kuo-toa are just kind of generically fishy, albeit also slimy

So let's see what I did with that to make it a little less boring (and also options for player characters, because my setting is so heavy on seafolk)...

Merfolk

Species Traits

• Ability Score Increases: Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.
• Type: Your type is Humanoid.
• Size: Your size is Medium.
• Speed: You have a land speed of 10 feet and a swim speed and a swim speed of 40 feet. You begin play with a free Combat Wheelchair, which grants a land speed of 25 feet.)
• Amphibious: You can breathe both air and water.
• Versatility: You gain one free skill proficiency of your choice and one free tool proficiency of your choice.
• Languages: You can read, write, and speak Common and Aquan.

Triton

In previous editions, tritons were native outsiders. In mine, they're still immigrants from the Hellish Plane of Water. So...

Species Traits

As in Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, except:

• You have the Humanoid and Elemental types. If any favorable effect would affect either of your types, it affects you. If any unfavorable effect would affect one of your types but not the other, you can be affected by it but you have advantage on saves against it. If any effect would affect neither of your types, you are immune to it. If any effect would affect both of your types, you do not gain immunity or resistance to it from your types. 

Sahuagin

Notwithstanding recent efforts to make them, like, green and lizardy, Sahuagin can just be shark-people.

Species Traits

• Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
• Type: Your type is Humanoid.
• Size: Sahuagin are larger than humans, ranging from 6 to 7 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
• Speed: You have a base land speed of 30 ft, and you have a swim speed equal to your land speed.
• Superior Darkvision: Within 120 feet, you can see in dim light as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
• Limited Amphibiousness: You can breathe both air and water. However, you cannot receive the benefits of a Short or Long rest unless you are fully submerged in water for the entire duration of your rest.
• Frenzy: On your turn when you reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you can use a bonus action to move up to your speed and make an additional weapon attack against another creature you can target.
• Shark Telepathy: You can telepathically speak to any shark within 120 feet of you.
• Claws and Bite: Your claws and bite are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing (claws) or piercing (bite) damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
• Languages: You know Common and Sahuagin.

Kuo-Toa

Kuo-toa shall be anglerfish, complete with anglerfish sexual dynamics: 

• Males are Tiny Beasts with 1 Intelligence (using the Quipper statblock).
• Females are Medium Humanoids (using the Kuo-Toa statblock, or the species traits here).

Biologically female Kuo-Toa have six genders (Up, Down, Charm, Strange, Top, and Bottom), which they borrowed from the sexual hexamorphism of the Aboleths they chill with. It's not well-understood by surface-dwellers how romantic combinations of these genders works.

Species Traits

• Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by 2. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
• Type: Your type is Humanoid.
• Size: Your size is Medium.
• Speed: You have 30 foot land speed and swim speed equal to your land speed.
• Superior Darkvision: Within 120 feet, you can see in dim light as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
• Amphibious: You can breathe air and water.
• Sunlight Sensitivity: You have disadvantage on attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of the attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.
• Otherworldly Perception: You can sense the presence of any creature within 30 feet of you that is invisible or on the Ethereal Plane. You can pinpoint such a creature that is moving.
• Slippery: You have advantage on ability checks and saving throws made to escape a grapple.
• Bite: Your bite is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
• Languages: You know Common and Kuo-Toan.

Locathah 

I decided Locathah should be axolotl-folk.

The main deal with axolotls is that they are actually the tadpole form of a salamander which just never metamorphoses, just grows to an adult size instead. Thyroid hormone can be administered to induce metamorphosis into a salamander that hasn't been seen in the wild for millions of years. So, naturally, axolotl-folk can do that with magic.

Species Traits

As in Locathah Rising (Extra Life 2019), except:

• Replace the listed Limited Amphibiouisness trait with:
• Limited Amphibiousness. You can breathe both air and water. However, you cannot receive the benefits of a Short or Long rest unless you are fully submerged in water for the entire duration of your rest.

Feat: Metamorphosed

A Locathah shaman can cast the Ceremony spell on another Locathah to induce metamorphosis into a super-adult stage.

Prerequisites

• Locathah species.
• You must be under the effects of the Coming of Age Ceremony cast by a Locathah shaman at time of feat selection.

Effect

• You lose the effect of your Limited Amphibiousness trait, and are now fully amphibious -- you can breathe both air and water, and do not need to be submerged in water to gain the benefits of a Short or Long Rest.
• You have Resistance to Poison damage.
• Your skin turns a vivid color and begins to secrete a poisonous toxin. If you are hit by a Bite attack, the attacker takes 1d6 Poison damage. If you are subject to the Swallow Whole ability, the creature that swallows you takes xd6 poison damage on your turn every round you are swallowed, where x is equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1).
• You can harvest your own poison as per the rules in the Dungeon Master's Guide, except you do not need to be incapacitated or dead; you are not immune to your own poison, but you remain Resistant to its Poison damage. The harvested poison can be used as-is or refined:
• When used as-is, this is an Ingested poison that deals 2d6 Poison damage, Constitution save negates. A dose of this poison lasts for 24 hours before it becomes inert.
• Refining the poison follows the Crafting rules, but you have unlimited access to the ingredients. When refined, it becomes a dose of Pale Tincture poison, which lasts indefinitely until use.

3.5e Homebrew Feats

 =Revised Feats=

===Able Learner [General]===

As in ''Races of Destiny'', except:

Special: This feat may be taken at any level. It does not apply retroactively to skill points already spent.

===Battle Blessing [General]===

As in ''Complete Champion'', except:

Prerequisite: Ability to cast paladin (any variant), ranger, hexblade, sohei, or blackguard spells.

Choose [[Ranger]], [[Hexblade]], [[Paladin]], [[Sohei]], or [[Blackguard]] spells. The benefit applies to spells cast as that class from that class's list (so it doesn't apply to Cleric spells cast by a Prestige Paladin or Druid spells cast by a Prestige Ranger).

Special: This feat can be taken more than once. Each time, select a new class from the list for the benefit to apply to.

===Dodge [Fighter]===

Prerequisite: Dex 13.

Benefit: You receive a +1 dodge bonus to Armor Class.

A condition that makes you lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) also makes you lose dodge bonuses. Also, dodge bonuses stack with each other, unlike most other types of bonuses.

For effects of other feats and class features that key off the target of your dodge, you must still pick one foe and can re-designate your target on any action.

Special: A fighter may select Dodge as one of his fighter bonus feats.

===Extra Spell [General]===

As in ''Complete Arcane'', except:

You may choose a spell from any class list. If the spell you choose isn't on your class list, then use the spell level of the first list it appears on of the following: sorcerer/wizard, cleric base list, druid, bard, paladin, ranger, any other base class, any cleric domain, any prestige class.

===Non-Living Meldshaper [Monstrous]===

Despite having no soul of your own, you maintain the ability to channel incarnum through force of will alone.

Prerequisites: Intelligence 3, Constitution nonability

Effect: Use your Wisdom score to determine the maximum number of soulmelds you can shape. If you would use your Constitution score to determine a soulmeld's save DC, use your Wisdom score instead. For the purpose of all [Incarnum] and other meldshaping-related feats (including all feats in ''Magic of Incarnum'') and meldshaper prestige classes, any Constitution prerequisites are instead Wisdom prerequisites for you.

Special: This feat updates and replaces Undead Meldshaper (''Magic of Incarnum'').

===Open Minded [General]===

You are naturally able to reroute your memory and skill expertise.

Benefit: You gain 5 skill points. For every Hit Die you possess beyond 5, you gain an additional 1 skill point. If you have more than 5 Hit Dice, you gain +1 skill point whenever you gain a Hit Die (such as when you gain a level). Spend these skill points as normal. You cannot exceed the normal maximum ranks for your level in any skill.

Special: You cannot gain this feat multiple times.

===Vow of Poverty [General]===

As in [http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?140428-Vow-of-Poverty-Fix this fix], except that bonuses accrue by HD instead of by ECL.

=New Feats=

==General Feats==

===Adept Shaman [General]===

<s>You have learned to merge two aspects of the dragon.

Prerequisite: dragon shaman level 3, dragonfire adept level 3, Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks

Benefit: Your levels in dragon shaman and dragonfire adept stack for the purpose of dragonfire adept breath weapon damage (but not breath effects), draconic invocations known (but not level of invocation known), and draconic auras known.

Special: When you take this feat, you lose your Dragon Shaman breath weapon and any advances to it you may have gained.</s>

===Average Size [Racial]===

You are closer to the line between Medium and Small than most of your kin.

Prerequisite: Engineer, Dwarf throwback, or Gnome throwback, 1st level only

Benefit: If you are an Engineer or a Gnome throwback, you gain the benefits of Powerful Build. Whenever you are subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), you are treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to you. You are also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect you. You can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, your space and reach remain those of a creature of your actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category.

If you are a Dwarf throwback, you gain the benefits of Slight Build. Whenever you are subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as Hide), you are treated as one size smaller if doing so is advantageous to you. You are also considered to be one size smaller when "squeezing" through a restrictive space. You can use weapons designed for a creature one size smaller without penalty. However, your space and reach remain those of a creature of your actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject's size category.

=== Daguna/Ataratheh [Racial] ===

You are patrilineally descended from the great [[Locathah]] hero Dagon Daguna or matrilineally descended from the Locathah heroine Atargatis Ataratheh, giving you greater rights and prestige in Locathah society.

Prerequisite: Locathah or Seafolk Heritage(Locathah), father is Daguna or mother is Ataratheh

Benefit: You gain a +5 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy when interacting with Locathah. If your father is Daguna, you are Daguna, giving you the right to be elected Tanist. If instead your mother is Ataratheh, you are Ataratheh, giving you the right to vote at the Tanistmoot.

Special: If your father is Daguna ''and'' your mother is Ataratheh, you may gain this feat twice. The circumstance bonus to Diplomacy when interacting with Locathah stacks with itself, and you are both Daguna and Ataratheh, allowing you both to be elected Tanist and to vote at the Tanistmoot.

===Draconic Marshal [General]===

<s>You have merged two different aura traditions.

Prerequisites: 4 draconic auras known, 2 minor auras known, 1 major aura known, knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, knowledge (history) 5 ranks

Benefit: Your marshal and dragon shaman levels stack for the purpose of determining minor, major, and draconic auras known. Any time you could select a new draconic aura, you may select from the major aura list; any time you could select a new major aura, you may select from the draconic aura list. Your aura bonus for both major and draconic auras is the higher of your two aura bonuses (for example, a level 2 marshal, level 5 dragon shaman has an aura bonus of +2 for both their major and draconic auras).

Normal: A marshal may select draconic auras for their major auras, but not vice versa.</s>

===Eldritch Adept [General]===

<s>You have learned to merge two invocation traditions. 

Prerequisite: eldritch blast 2d6, Dragonfire Adept breath weapon 2d6, knowledge (the planes) 5 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks 

Benefit: Your Warlock and Dragonfire Adept levels stack for the purpose of determining the level of invocation you can learn at a new level, and the damage dice for your eldritch blast and dragonfire adept breath weapon.

In addition, any time you would learn a new Warlock invocation, you may instead learn a new Dragonfire Adept invocation. Any time you would learn a new Dragonfire Adept invocation, you may instead learn a new Warlock invocation. </s>

===Enginesoul [Racial]===

You have spent so much time in the engine rooms of submarines that repairing them is second nature to you.

Prerequisite: Engineer race

Benefit: An innate talent for magic grants you the following spell-like abilities as a 1st-level caster: 1/day – ''mending'', ''repair minor damage'', ''repair light damage''.

Special: You may select this feat multiple times. Each time you do, you may use each spell-like ability one additional time per day.

===Extra Favored Class Bonus [Racial]===

Benefit: You gain the other [[Favored Class Bonuses|favored class bonus]] for your racial favored class, in addition to the one you already selected.

===Grounded [Racial]===

Due to their dwarf heritage, engineers have a natural resistance to spells and spell-like abilities, as indicated by their racial bonus to saves. Occasionally, some fluke of engineer genetics causes this magic resistance to be more powerful than usual.

Prerequisite: Engineer race, base Fortitude save +5

Benefit: You gain spell resistance equal to 5 + your total hit dice.

If you already have spell resistance from some other source, your existing spell resistance increases by +2.

===Meditator Psicrystal [Psionic]===

Prerequisite: Psicrystal Affinity, Psicrystal Containment, your psicrystal must be a [psionic] creature, manifester level 5th

Benefit: Your psicrystal can take an action (normally a full-round action, or a move action if the psicrystal has the Psionic Meditation feat) to make a Concentration check at the usual difficulty (DC20) to focus for you the psionic focus you can store inside it. Focusing your psionic focus and focusing its own psionic focus are still separate actions for your psicrystal.

Normal: If you have Psicrystal Containment and your psicrystal is a [psionic] creature, but you do not have this feat, your psicrystal can use its action to focus only its own focus, not yours.

===Mer-Descended Triton [Racial]===

There is more Merfolk blood in your lineage than that of most Tritons.

Prerequisites: Triton race, first level only

Effect: Your type becomes Humanoid and you lose the Native subtype. Your Outsider hit dice become Humanoid hit dice.

You lose your Darkvision but retain Low-Light Vision. Your Base Attack Bonus from racial HD drops from +3 to +2. Your base Reflex save from racial HD remains +3, but your base Fortitude and Will saves drop to +1. Your skill points from racial HD drops from 8+int per level to 2+int per level.

Additionally, your Level Adjustment drops from +1 to +0.

===Part of That World [Racial]===

Increased interactions and interbreeding with other races (particularly yuan-ti and the rare selkies) have given some merfolk the innate ability to, with practice, work minor transformations on themselves.

Prerequisite: Merfolk race or Mer-Descended Triton.

Benefit: An innate talent for magic grants you the following spell-like ability at a caster level equal to your hit dice: 1/day - alter self.

Special: You may select this feat multiple times. Each time you do, you may use the spell-like ability one additional time per day.

===Polearm Precision [Fighter]===

Prerequisite: Weapon Focus with any reach weapon.

Benefit: You can strike with a reach weapon past a square containing a creature without taking the standard –4 penalty on your attack roll.

Special: A fighter may select Polearm Precision as one of his fighter bonus feats.

===Split Spell-Like Ray===

You can affect two targets with a single spell-like ray.

Prerequisite: character level 3, at least one qualifying spell-like ability

Benefit: Choose a single spell-like ability that specifies a single target, makes a ranged touch attack, and does damage. You can cause this spell-like ability to fire one additional ray beyond the number normally allowed. You can split this spell-like ability up to three times per day. The additional ray requires a separate ranged touch attack roll to hit and deals damage as normal. It can be fired at the same target as the first ray or at a different target, but all rays must be aimed at targets within 30 feet of each other and fired simultaneously.

===Triton-Descended Mer [Racial]===

There is more Triton blood in your lineage than that of most Merfolk.

Prerequisite: Merfolk race, first level only

Benefit: Your type becomes Outsider and you gain the Native subtype.

You gain Darkvision 60 feet.

===Unholy Toughness===

Prerequisite: Undead type, must not have Unholy Toughness from another source

Benefit: You gain a bonus to your hit points equal to your Charisma bonus (minimum +1) times your Hit Dice.

===Versatile Alignment [General]===

You’ve picked up enough habits outside your alignment that you are able and willing to behave in ways that conflict with your true alignment, and can take levels in classes you otherwise wouldn’t due to your alignment.

Prerequisite: +3 Base Attack Bonus

Benefit: Choose one class or prestige class. You may take levels in this class even if your alignment is one step different on one axis than the requirement for that class. You never lose class features for being the wrong alignment in this class, as long as you are within one step of the correct alignment.

For example: You may take levels in the barbarian, bard, or druid class with this feat if you have any alignment. You may take levels in the monk class with this feat as long as you are not chaotic.

You may take levels in the cleric class if you are one additional step from your god. For example, a cleric of a lawful good god may now be chaotic good, neutral, or lawful evil, in addition to lawful neutral, neutral good, or lawful good. When doing a god’s work, you must still adhere in practice to that god’s alignment or risk losing your cleric powers.

You may take levels in the paladin class if you are neutral good or lawful neutral, but you must still adhere in practice to a lawful good code of conduct or lose your paladin powers.

Special: You may take this feat more than once. Each time you do, it applies to a different class.

==Mongrelfolk Feats==

===Aberrant Mongrel [Racial, Aberrant]===

Prerequisite: Mongrelfolk race, Aberration Blood (''Lords of Madness'')

Benefit: Pick any any aberration. You are descended from that race for the purposes of your Emulate Race and Diffuse Blood racial traits.

In addition, you gain the Aberration type and the [Augmented Humanoid] subtype. You gain darkvision 60.

===Aligned Heritage [Racial]===

Your aligned heritage is particularly strong.

Prerequisite: Mongrelfolk race, Mongrel Subtype Heritage (Chaotic, Evil, Good, or Lawful)

Benefit: You gain all the traits of your alignment subtype. Any effect that depends on alignment affects you as though you have your subtype's alignment, no matter what your alignment actually is. You also suffer effects according to your actual alignment. You overcome damage reduction as if your natural weapons and any weapons you wield are aligned to your subtype.

===Built Heritage [Racial]===

You are descended from giants, ogres, minotaurs, or some other oversized creature.

Prerequisites: Mongrelfolk, Monkey Grip

Effect: Pick any Large or Huge aberration, dragon, fey, giant, humanoid, monstrous humanoid, or outsider. You are descended from that race for the purpose of your Emulate Race and Diffuse Blood racial traits.

In addition, you have a Powerful Build. Whenever you are subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), you are treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to you. You are also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature's special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. You can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, your space and reach remain those of a creature of your actual size. The benefits of this trait stack with effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject's size category.

Special: This ability to use weapons designed for a creature one sized larger than your own does not stack with your Monkey Grip feat. You may not take both this feat and Small Heritage.

===Draconic Mongrel [Racial, Draconic]===

Prerequisite: Mongrelfolk race, Dragonblood subtype

Benefit: Pick any any Dragon. You are descended from that race for the purposes of your Emulate Race and Diffuse Blood racial traits.

In addition, you gain the Dragon type and the [Augmented Humanoid] subtype. You gain darkvision 60, low-light vision, and immunity to magic sleep effects and paralysis effects.

===Elemental Heritage [Racial]===

Your elemental heritage is particularly strong.

Prerequisite: Mongrelfolk race, Mongrel Subtype Heritage (Air, Cold, Earth, or Fire)

Benefit: If you have Mongrel Subtype Heritage (Air), you gain a glide speed equal to your land speed. (You never take falling damage. When falling, you may move your glide speed horizontally for every 10 feet you fall.)

If you have Mongrel Subtype (Cold), you gain cold resistance 10 and vulnerability to fire.

If you have Mongrel Subtype (Earth), you gain a burrow speed of 5 feet. You can burrow only through substances with the consistency of loose dirt.

If you have Mongrel Subtype (Fire), you gain fire resistance 10 and vulnerability to cold.

===Extra Arm [Racial]===

Prerequisite: Mongrelfolk or Myconid race

Benefit: You have an extra arm.

Special: You may take this feat more than once. Each time you do, you sprout an extra arm.

===Extra Leg [Racial]===

Prerequisite: Mongrelfolk or Myconid race

Benefit: You have an extra leg. You can carry loads as a quadruped. You gain +2 to ability checks to resist being tripped when standing on the ground.

Special: You may take this feat more than once. Each time you do, you sprout an extra leg and gain an additional +2 to your checks to resist being tripped. You never gain the benefits of being a quadruped more than once. However, if you should happen to lose some of your legs for any reason, you still count as a quadruped as long as you have at least three legs.

===Fey Mongrel [Racial]===

Prerequisite: Mongrelfolk race

Benefit: Pick any any Fey. You are descended from that race for the purposes of your Emulate Race and Diffuse Blood racial traits. In addition, your type changes to Fey, and you gain the [Augmented Humanoid] subtype.

===Large Heritage [Racial]===

You are descended from giants, ogres, minotaurs, or some other oversized creature.

Prerequisites: Mongrelfolk, Built Heritage, Monkey Grip

Effect: You lose the benefits of your Powerful Build and Monkey Grip feats, but you are naturally Large sized. Your height is doubled and your weight is multiplied by 8. You gain the following size modifiers: -1 to attack and armor class, +4 to Grapple, -4 to Hide, +2 to Strength, -2 to Dexterity (to a minimum of 1). You have a space of 10 feet and a natural reach of 10 feet. Your unarmed strikes do 1d4 instead of 1d3 damage. You use larger equipment, which is correspondingly more expensive, but your weapons also do more damage because of their size.

Special: Strongarm Bracers (Magic Item Compendium) ''do'' function with your new Large size category, and allow you to wield weapons of up to Huge size without penalty.

===Mongrel Subtype Heritage [Racial]===

You are descended from some specific manner of creature.

Prerequisite: Mongrelfolk race

Benefit: Choose any subtype, and choose a creature with that subtype. You are descended from that creature for the purpose of your Emulate Race and Diffuse Blood racial traits. You gain no traits of the subtype, but you are treated as possessing that subtype for all other purposes. (Unlike many mongrelfolk feats, you may not take this feat more than once.)

===Monstrous Mongrel [Racial]===

Your blood contains traces of something weird. There is no need to speculate on the exact mechanics of how it got there.

Prerequisite: Mongrelfolk race, level 1 only

Benefit: Pick any any aberration, animal, dragon, elemental, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, ooze, outsider, plant, undead, or vermin. You are descended from that race for the purposes of your Emulate Race and Diffuse Blood racial traits.

In addition, your type changes to Monstrous Humanoid, and you gain the [Augmented Humanoid] subtype. You gain no new traits or features.

===Outsider Mongrel [Racial]===

Prerequisite: Mongrelfolk race, level 1 only

Benefit: Pick any any Outsider. You are descended from that race for the purposes of your Emulate Race and Diffuse Blood racial traits.

In addition, your type changes to Outsider, and you gain the [Augmented Humanoid] and [Native] subtypes. You gain Darkvision 60. You can be raised, reincarnated, or resurrected as other living creatures can be. You still need to breathe, eat and sleep.

===Seafolk Heritage [Racial]===

You count one of the races of the sea among your ancestors. This can manifest even late in life.

Prerequisite: Mongrelfolk race

Benefit: Pick any creature with the [aquatic] or [water] subtype. You are descended from that race for the purpose of your Emulate Race and Diffuse Blood racial traits.

In addition, you can breathe both air and water. You gain the [aquatic] subtype. You gain +8 to Swim checks to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. You can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. You can use the run action while swimming, provided you swim in a straight line.

Special: You may take this feat more than once. Each time you do, you are descended from an additional seafolk race. You recieve no other benefits for taking this feat more than once.

===Small Heritage [Racial]===

You are descended from kobolds, halflings, fey, or some other undersized humanoid.

Prerequisites: Mongrelfolk, 1st level only

Effect: Pick any Small or Tiny aberration, dragon, fey, humanoid, monstrous humanoid, or outsider. You are descended from that race for the purpose of your Emulate Race and Diffuse Blood racial traits.

In addition, you are naturally Small sized. Your height is halved and your weight is divided by 8. You gain the following as size modifiers: +1 to attack and armor class, -4 to Grapple, +4 to Hide, -2 to Strength (to a minimum of 1), +2 to Dexterity. Your unarmed strikes do 1d2 instead of 1d3damage. You use smaller equipment, which is correspondingly less expensive, but your weapons also do less damage because of their size. 

Special: You may take this feat more than once. If you do, you may choose a second creature from which you are descended. You receive no other benefits for taking this feat more than once. You may not take both this feat and Built Heritage.

==Initiate Feats==

===Initiate of the Ancestor Spirits [Initiate]===

Prerequisites: Cleric level 3rd, patron Ancestor Spirits

Benefit: Add Iaijutsu Focus and Autohypnosis to your list of cleric class skills.

In addition, you may add the following spells to your cleric spell list:

1: Trance (OA)

2: Ancestral Vengeance (OA)

3: Castigate (OA)

3: Terra Cotta Warrior (OA)

5: Advice (OA)

===Initiate of the Burning Hate [Initiate]===

Prerequisites: Cleric level 6th, patron Burning Hate

Benefit: You can rebuke or command [Fire] creatures as an evil cleric rebukes or commands undead. You may do this a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.

In addition, you may add the following spells to your cleric spell list:

1: Burning Hands

2: Scorching Ray

3: Fireball

4: Blast of Flame (SpC)

5: Inferno (PGtF)

===Initiate of Dalya [Initiate]===

Prerequisites: Cleric level 3rd, patron Dalya

Benefit: You gain a +4 sacred bonus to saves against ingested poisons. In addition, you add Perform to your list of cleric class skills.

In addition, you may add the following spells to your cleric spell list:

1: Goodberry

2: (Tasha’s) Hideous Laughter

3: Plant Growth

4: Confusion

7: (Otto’s) Irresistible Dance

===Initiate of Hafgufa [Initiate]===

Prerequisites: Cleric or Druid level 3rd, patron Hafgufa

Benefit: You gain the ability to hold your breath for a number of rounds equal to 8 x your constitution score before you risk drowning.

In addition, you may add the following spells to your cleric or druid spell list:

2: Fog Cloud

2: Gust of Wind

2: Swim (OA)

5: Control Winds 

7: Waterspout (SpC)

===Initiate of Inglip [Initiate]===

Prerequisites: Cleric level 3rd, patron Inglip

Benefit: You deal an extra +1d4 damage when wielding a falchion.

Additionally, if you have the Madness domain, add +2 to your Insanity score.

In addition, you may add the following spells to your cleric spell list:

1: Lesser Confusion

2: Touch of Madness

4: Chaos Hammer

4: Confusion

7: Insanity

===Initiate of Mirk [Initiate]===

Prerequisites: Cleric or Archivist level 3rd, patron Mirk

Benefit: Add all Knowledge skills to your list of cleric class skills. In addition, you cast [Darkness] spells at +2 caster level.

In addition, you may add the following spells to your cleric or archivist spell list:

1: (Nystul’s) Magic Aura

2: Detect Thoughts

2: Identify

3: Clairaudience/Clairvoyance

6: Probe Thoughts (SpC)

===Initiate of Numiel [Initiate]===

Prerequisites: Cleric or Paladin level 6th, patron Numiel

Benefit: You treat your level as 2 higher for the purpose of determining if undead are Destroyed rather than Turned when you use Turn Undead.

In addition, you may add the following spells to your cleric or paladin spell list:

1: Disrupt Undead

1: Nimbus of Light (SpC)

2: Deific Vengeance (SpC)

3: Good Hope

4: Voice of the Dragon (SpC)

===Initiate of Quasxthe [Initiate]===

Prerequisites: Cleric level 6th, patron Quasxthe

Benefit: You can rebuke or command Oozes as an evil cleric rebukes or commands Undead. You may do this a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.

In addition, you may add the following spells to your cleric spell list:

1: Grease

2: (Melf’s) Acid Arrow

4: (Evard’s) Black Tentacles

4: Crushing Despair

4: Unholy Blight

===Initiate of Sequoia [Initiate]===

Prerequisites: Cleric or Druid level 3rd, patron Sequoia

Benefit: If you are a cleric, you may use Wild Empathy on Plant creatures as a druid can on Animals, treating your cleric level as your druid level.

If you are a druid, you may use your Wild Empathy on Plant creatures, and you also don’t take the -4 penalty when using Wild Empathy on Magical Beasts.

In addition, you may add the following spells to your cleric or druid spell list: 

2: Brilliant Energy Arrow (CoR)

2: Moonbeam (SpC) 

3: Dominate Animal

3: Moon Blade (SpC)

4: Blinding Beauty (BoED)

4: Command Plants

5: Moon Path (SpC)

===Initiate of Urmaggr [Initiate]===

Prerequisites: Cleric level 6th, patron Urmaggr

Benefit: You may rebuke or command Constructs as a normal cleric rebukes or commands Undead. You may do this a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.

In addition, you may add the following spells to your cleric spell list:

1: Create Trap (RotD)

4: Minor Creation

5: Fabricate

5: Major Creation

6: Fantastic Machine (SpC)

==Leadership Feats==

Without the following feats, cohorts and thralls are limited to Aristocrat, Warrior, Commoner, or racial hit dice (and level adjustment). Followers and believers are always limited to those classes. Cohorts and thralls may always take any prestige class for which they qualify; followers and believers may never take prestige classes. Cohorts, thralls, followers, and believers otherwise follow the usual character creation rules.

===Improved Cohort I===

Prerequisite: Must have a cohort or thrall

Benefit: Your cohort or thrall may take levels in Samurai, Expert, Magewright, Battle Dancer, Monk, Mountebank, Soulknife, Truenamer, Hexblade, or Sohei

===Improved Cohort II===

Prerequisite: Improved Cohort I

Benefit: Your cohort or thrall may take levels in Barbarian, Fighter, Ninja, Rogue, Scout, Savant, Adept, Shadowcaster, Paladin, Ranger, or Spellthief

===Improved Cohort III===

Prerequisite: Improved Cohort I-II

Benefit: Your cohort or thrall may take levels in Warmage, Wild Shape Ranger, Bard, Factotum, Jester, Crusader, Swordsage, Warblade, Shugenja, Binder, Dragonfire Adept, Warlock, Duskblade, or [[Healer]]

===Improved Cohort IV===

Prerequisite: Improved Cohort I-III

Benefit: Your cohort or thrall may take levels in Beguiler, Dread Necromancer, Spirit Shaman, Urban Druid, Death Master, Sorcerer, Evangelist, Favored Soul, Mystic, or Spontaneous Cleric

===Improved Cohort V===

Prerequisite: Improved Cohort I-IV

Benefit: Your cohort or thrall may take levels in Archivist, Artificer, Cleric, Druid/Spontaneous Druid, Sha'ir, Wizard, Shaman, or Wu Jen

3.5e Homebrew Flaws

 Each flaw allows that character to take one additional feat. Flaws may be taken only at first level. A character may have at most two flaws. In addition to the following and the base flaws in Unearthed Arcana, consider the flaws published in Dragon Magazine issues #324-329 and #333.

==Chicken Infested [Flaw]==

You’ve got chickens.

Effect: Whenever you draw a weapon or pull an item out of a container, you have a 50% chance of drawing a live chicken instead.

The chicken is Indifferent to you. Drawing a chicken is always a move action. Drawn chickens are worth no experience points. If you pull too many chickens in an attempt to abuse your curse, some of them may be more powerful, hostile chickens.

(Treat chickens as ravens, but replace Fly 40 with Glide 20.)

==Mode Lock [Flaw]==

After entering an animal form you were unable to leave it.

Prerequisite: Wild shape ability

Drawback: Select one form you can assume with your wild shape ability. You are permanently wildshaped into that creature, except that this is an Extraordinary ability which cannot be negated or dispelled. In all other ways this functions as a normal use of wildshape; for instance you cannot wildshape into other creatures, and you can no longer cast spells without the Natural Spell or Surrogate Spellcasting feat.

Special: You may change the form in which you are locked whenever you gain a character level. You may select this flaw at any level, as long as it does not cause you to exceed the normal number of flaws you can possess.

==Unlucky [Flaw]==

You just plum have bad luck.

Drawback: You can't benefit from Luck bonuses, luck-based rerolls, or luck-based "roll twice and take the better result". Any Luck penalties you suffer are doubled. Any time a luck-based effect has you roll twice and take the worse result, you instead automatically fail.

On Stacking Metabreath Feats

Ok, so, it is generally accepted (and possibly even RAW-correct) that you can stack metabreath feats (Draconomicon) with themselves on a single breath attack. For example, you can use Enlarge Breath twice to turn a 50-foot cone into a 100-foot cone in exchange for increasing the recharge time by +2 instead of +1.

Do you see the problem yet?

Consider that there is nothing preventing you from stacking Enlarge Breath on your breath weapon a billion times, and therefore blowing up most of the world (or all of it, depending on the world shape involved and your location on it -- if all else fails, you can throw on a couple uses of Split Breath and breathe in four directions simultaneously), at the low cost of never being able to use your breath weapon again.

That is, to say the least, a little silly.

The obvious solution is to say no, you can't stack metabreath feats with themselves after all. (This is probably the real intended solution, considering metamagic feats stopped being stackable with themselves in the 3.0-3.5 changeover, so metabreath feats should have, too.)

Or you can say you can, but you can only do it up to 3 times or 5 times or your Constitution modifier times or whatever.

But today I had a better idea: You can take metabreath feats more than once, and you can stack them with themselves as many times as you've taken them.

This is better because soft caps are always better than hard caps.

Do Familiars or Psicrystals Get Feats?

Druid/ranger animal companions and paladin special mounts gain hit dice as their master levels, and so gain all the benefits of hit dice, including feats at first and every third level and ability score increases at every fourth level. This did not occur to me until a player asked if this was so, and the answer turned out to be yes, obviously it is so.

The question is fuzzier when it comes to psicrystals and familiars. The consensus on the Rules As Written is that psicrystals do and familiars do not -- but this is naturally absurd, in the same vein as such other strict RAW weirdnesses as drown healing, death not preventing you from taking actions, and tower shields turning themselves (and their wielder) invisible when hidden behind.

Psicrystals and familiars are both treated as having their masters' hit dice and half their masters' hit points, so it should be obvious to anyone with eyes to see that the intention was that they are the same when it comes to hit dice and the benefits thereof. Where the confusion arises is a slight discrepancy in language between the two:

A familiar's hit dice are defined on the sorcerer/wizard entry as "For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master’s character level or the familiar’s normal HD total, whichever is higher."

The corresponding psion entry makes no mention of a psicrystal's hit dice, so a psicrystal's hit dice are instead defined on the psicrystal creature entry as "Its Hit Dice are equal to its master’s Hit Dice (counting only levels in psion or wilder)".

This is taken by the masses to mean that psicrystals have hit dice, and therefore all the benefits that accrue with hit dice, and familiars are merely treated as having hit dice, and therefore gain no benefits of having hit dice. Despite being baldly preposterous, this interpretation is held by so many people that I feel like I've stepped through a portal into an alternate dimension where nothing makes sense and they spell it "Berenstain Bears" instead of "Berenstein Bears". (I jest.)

Are there any (other) creatures in the game that entirely lack hit dice? I can't think of any. Even animated objects gain hit dice when animated. As far as I know, the game features no creatures that don't have hit dice; everything with hit points and no hit dice is an object.

Hit points are obviously not to be treated as an effect of hit dice here, because HP is defined separately as half the master's HP in the same sections that define familiar and psicrystal HD as equal to the master's HD. Similarly, BAB, saves, and skills are treated separately in separate sections, and are thus probably not treated as effects of hit dice. However, it is perfectly plausible to argue that feats and ability score increases are "effects related to number of Hit Dice", and thus accrue to familiars even if you somehow maintain that familiars really don't actually have hit dice.

Moreover, the line under Familiar Basics that qualifies "For each skill in which either the master or the familiar has ranks" clearly indicates that familiars have skill ranks, which they couldn't have if they don't have hit dice. It goes on to say "use either the normal skill ranks for an animal of that type or the master’s skill ranks, whichever are better", which seems to indicate that a familiar doesn't gain skill ranks beyond what they start with, but it clearly still has them, which means a familiar must have at least its starting hit dice.

In any event, the Rules As Written and the Rules as Intended should always be subservient to what makes sense and what makes fun. The RAW, being vague on what an "effect related to number of Hit Dice" is, are not as clear as everybody thinks they are, the RAI are clearly in conflict with the common interpretation, and, though what makes more fun is unclear (casters don't really need nice things; much of the familiar section seems intended to simplify the familiar for ease of play but actually has quite the opposite effect), what makes sense is that the things that are the same should be the same. Either both psicrystals and familiars have feats, or neither does.

This steadfast adherence among the GITP forums (at least, every member of the GITP forums I've talked to about it) to this particular interpretation of RAW, in defiance of other interpretations of RAW and all the considerations that should be more important than any interpretation of RAW, is a prime example of their fetishization of the consensus interpretation of RAW, however nonsensical, above all the considerations that should be more important in actual play. (Which is why I'm posting this here, in this space safe from RAW fetishization, and not there.) Don't get me wrong, the GITP forums are a great place full of great people, but they can get pretty dogmatic about their assumptions sometimes.

Mechanatrixes and Electricity

So, there's the mechanatrix race from Fiend Folio. They're kind of neat, because they're descended from robots constructs.

And also they're described as follows: "They behave with cold rationality and have a no-nonsense attitude toward life." Which is to say, they're wombats.

But the most noteworthy thing about them, from a mechanical perspective, is how electricity damage heals them. Every time a mechanatrix would take electricity damage, they take no damage, and it heals them instead, 1 point of healing for every 3 points of damage they would have taken.

So how do you get at-will electricity damage? Should be easier than at-will healing, right? Right! But, as it turns out, not much easier.

---

The obvious notion is to consult reserve feats, those feats from Complete Mage and Complete Champion that give you supernatural abilities as long as you have a spell of a certain level prepared. And, indeed, there is an electricity damage reserve feat: Storm Bolt (CM).

But wait! Storm Bolt gives you a 20-foot line of electricity. Can you include yourself in a line effect? Let's consult the SRD: "A line-shaped spell shoots away from you in a line in the direction you designate. It starts from any corner of your square and extends to the limit of its range or until it strikes a barrier that blocks line of effect."

So, by RAW, no, not really. It starts in any corner of your square, and shoots away from you. Our mechanatrix could get a mage buddy with Storm Bolt, but he couldn't Storm Bolt himself.

The same problem applies to if you're, say, a Dragonfire Adept or Dragon Shaman with lightning breath (plus you're generally explicitly immune to your own breath weapon).

---

Or, the allegation goes, you could use a persisted or or permanency'd thunderhead (SpC) spell. A little cloud that floats above your head all day, zapping you with tiny lightning bolts for one electricity damage every round, forever.

Except the mechanatrix isn't healed for 1 point every time they accumulate 3 points of electricity damage they would have taken. Every time they take electricity damage, it's divided by 3, they're healed for that much, and the remainder doesn't matter. 1/3 rounds down to 0 -- it's healing, not damage, so the "all attacks deal at least 1 damage" exception to the "always round down" rule doesn't apply. Thunderhead does nothing.

You could persist or permanency a weapon of energy spell, but then wind up with a bunch of your build or a butt-ton of gold invested in metamagic reducers or a single spell, which is hardly worth it for something so trivial as infinite out-of-combat heals.

---

You could shell out 8,301gp for a +1 Shock Whip. As long as you're wearing a bit of armor, you can whip yourself all day and only the electricity damage will go through. Expensive, weird, and a little kinky. ...I shall expend no more words on this notion.

---

You could take a level of electrokineticist. Kind of a lackluster class. It requires a powerpoint reserve but doesn't advance manifesting, so it's a trap for actual manifesters, and you should just use Wild Talent to qualify. But the class features aren't even great for a non-manifester.

Plus, most of the x-kineticist's class abilities specify things like "she takes no damage from a x lash she creates" or xs "engulf one of the pyrokineticist’s hands (but do her no harm)", so you'd have to work out whether an electrokineticist mechanatrix can deliberately target themselves for the full effect of their powers.

An entire class level, just for this ability? There's gotta be something better.

---

Well, there's something that, by RAW, does work way better: consult Magic of Incarnum, and take the Shape Soulmeld (lightning gauntlets) feat. Can't wear magic gloves, but 1d6 elec damage at will as a touch attack (and it is well known that it is possible to touch oneself).

But... incarnum is (subjectively) kind of lame. It's one of those things, along with Tome of Magic* and Tome of Battle: Book of the Nine Swords, that feels to me too slick and soulless and 4th-edition-y, and which only annoying optimizers ever tend to actually open. There's gotta be something more aesthetically pleasing. More... interesting.

*Binders can allegedly bind Focalor to achieve some form of at-will electricity damage, but honestly just typing this sentence has used up 100% of my ability to give a crap about ToM for the day, and I couldn't possibly find it in my heart to double-check whether this would actually even work.

---

So here's a more interesting idea: shocker lizard.

You could maybe get a domesticated one for money, but you could much more reliably get one by being a 5th level arcane spellcaster and taking Improved Familiar. (You may also consider trading away your regular familiar for an alternate class feature or the Forlorn flaw (Dragon #333), because the Obtain Familiar (CA) feat is better: it makes prestige classes progress your familiar.) Or you could be a ranger or druid and take Monstrous Animal Companion (Dragon #326).

Anyway, shocker lizard. Your eye might be drawn to its Stunning Shock ability, but alas! It won't work. "An electrical shock" sounds promising, but "this attack deals 2d8 points of nonlethal damage". There's no such thing as nonlethal electricity damage. Nonlethal is its own thing. A point of damage cannot be both nonlethal and electricity, it is either one or the other. The shocker lizard is quite clear: it's fluffed as electricity, but it's actually just nonlethal. (A particularly generous DM might rule that the shocker's nonlethal shock will cure any nonlethal damage the mechanatrix may have taken, but we oughtn't rely on the generosity of the DM.)

No, what we need is Lethal Shock, because that's actually electricity damage. But wait! You need two shocker lizards for that!

Are you seeing what I'm getting at yet?

What I'm getting at is this: Mechanatrixes have tamed shocker lizards, and use them in war and daily life. Mechanatrix society is ruled by a cadre of arcane casters, all with shocker lizard familiars. Mechanatrix adventuring and war parties always include at least two shocker lizards, usually more, with at least one usually being the familiar or animal companion of one of the party's casters.

Next time you use mechanatrixes as a DM, team them up with some shocker lizards. The lizards have been trained to use their lethal shock every round, and the mechanatrixes and lizards all stay within 20ft of one another. (Maybe bump the total ECR of the encounter up by one or so, because synergy.)

As for me, because I'm not currently DMing a game: next time I'm making new characters (at ECL6 or more) at the same time as somebody else (either because it's a new campaign, or because two characters died at the same time), I'm going to try to convince them to make a pair of wandering mechanatrix adventurers with shocker lizard familiars/companions. ("Hey, you feel like making a bard, beguiler, dread necromancer, druid, duskblade, hexblade, ranger, sorcerer, spellthief, wizard, warmage, or wu jen?")

EDIT: Alternately, you could just take Extra Familiar (Dragon #280), which negates the requirement that you have a buddy with the same plan, but which makes it a bit less interesting. On the other hand, every extra shocker lizard adds another 2d8 electricity damage each round (that's extra damage to anything not immune to electricity and an extra ≈3 points of healing for each mechanatrix), so you would certainly benefit from everybody involved having Extra Familiar (at most 6 lizards can contribute to any one lethal shock, but even if you have 7 lizards, you can just have one 5-lizard shock and one 2-lizard shock each round, paying only a slight save DC cost, because the save DC is also a function of the number of lizards involved. Or there's the option to just have more than 6 lizards contribute to a single shock: it would still only be 12d8 damage, but there's no cap on the save DC).