TEXT: Metafeats:  
  Embracing the Fourth Wall
  
  Credits
  Author: Joshua Hennington
  Publisher: Adam Meyers
  Layout: Rachel Meyers
  Compatibility with the Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game requires the Path-
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  The Metafeats: Embracing the Fourth Wall and all other Drop Dead Studios 
  product names and their respective logos are trademarks of Drop Dead Stu-
  dios in the U.S.A. and other countries.
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  nesses thereof are property of Drop Dead Studios. This material is protected 
  under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any similarity 
  to actual people, organizations, places, or events included herein is purely 
  coincidental.
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  System Reference Document © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors: 
  Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams, based on material by E. 
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  The difference between in-character and out-of-charac-
  ter is a definite, tangible borderline. However thick or 
  thin that line may be can differ from group to group, it 
  is still a divide that exists for Gamemasters and players. 
  It can sometimes be stretched, or even broken. Players 
  sometimes use out-of-character knowledge to influence 
  the game (whether it is accidental or not), and some 
  in-character actions can have an effect on the lives of the 
  players (which usually results in tighter or broken rela-
  tionships). Regardless of these incidental breachings, the 
  fourth wall remains where it is, ready to be broken and 
  mended at a moment’s notice. As such, why not break it 
  even further?
  This supplement contains rules for metafeats, which 
  are essentially a means with which players can break the 
  fourth wall as a reward for participating in the game. 
  How they participate to earn these rewards varies for 
  each metafeat. When players (not characters) take a 
  specified action outside of the game or as part of the 
  game, they receive a benefit that they may either use 
  immediately or later in the session, as per any metafeats 
  they possess. 
  These metafeats are assigned to the players, not the 
  characters; even if a player changes his character, the 
  metafeat is retained. Note that these abilities are in-
  tended to be fun ways to reward players for contributing 
  to the game that is being played; a general benchmark 
  for awarding metafeats is either one per five sessions 
  attended by the player or once per three character levels 
  of the player’s character, but these are not hard rules and 
  should be adjusted to accommodate groups as needed, 
  depending on rate and style of play. 
  Each Metafeat aligns to the following format:
  Metafeat Name
  Flavor description
  Action: This section describes the necessary action that 
  must be taken by the player outside of the game in order 
  for the metafeat to be triggered.
  Benefit: This section describes the benefit the player’s 
  character receives ingame.
  But I LIKED My Character... (metafeat)
  Action: A player character in the game must die. This 
  can be the character of the player with this feat, or 
  another character if the player wishes to use their feat to 
  aid their ally.
  Benefit: The character is not actually dead, and will 
  heal themselves back to consciousness, no matter how 
  much damage they might have taken or what circum-
  stances may have led to their death (including impos-
  sible situations such as being thrown off a cliff into an 
  erupting volcano), and will somehow find their way back 
  to the party in a timely manner. At the GM’s discretion, 
  the character might come back under new circumstanc-
  es (such as having become a vampire after being killed 
  by undead, or gaining an aligned template as they cross 
  back from another plane), but such changes can only be 
  beneficial to the character and cannot compromise the 
  player’s ability to control their PC.
  Special: This metafeat may only be used once. In order 
  to use it again, it must be acquired as a separate meta-
  feat, but only one instance of this metafeat may be held 
  in reserve at a time.
  Dutiful Scribe (metafeat)
  When there’s a tale to tell, it’s good to write it down.
  Action: The player must record what happened in the 
  previous session. It can be written as the session pro-
  ceeds, or afterwards.
  Benefit: The tale of the players’ characters spreads far 
  and wide, as many have heard of their exploits. Decrease 
  the difficulty of Diplomacy and Intimidate checks in set-
  tlements where the characters’ exploits could have been 
  told by an amount equal to the level of the character of 
  the player with this metafeat; this represents the local 
  bards telling the party’s tales, and possibly exaggerating 
  them.
  Feed the Beast (metafeat)
  Action:The player must bring enough food to share 
  with everybody. 
  Benefit: As a swift action once per session, the charac-
  ter may awaken the hunger within; he can make a bite 
  attack (if he does not possess a bite attack, this deals 
  1d3 damage), with a +20 luck bonus on the attack and 
  damage roll. 
  Special: A player with this metafeat may choose to 
  allow a bonded companion (such as a familiar, animal 
  companion or an eidolon) to gain its benefit instead of 
  himself. The same restrictions apply.
  Metafeats:  
  Embracing the Fourth Wall
  
  Knowledge Is Power (metafeat)
  Action: The player must bring one or more relevant 
  reference books to the session to share. This can be as 
  simple as sharing a copy of the core rules, to having a 
  relevant hardcover handy for the GM to peruse in an in-
  trigue-based campaign, to having a needed setting book. 
  Benefit: Once per session, a player may use out-of-game 
  knowledge to identify a creature, obstacle or plot ele-
  ment with which their character is currently confronted. 
  They may share this knowledge freely with the other 
  players, but only insofar as it pertains to the specific 
  impediment.
  Miniature Monstrosity (metafeat)
  Action: The player must bring an unopened box of 
  miniatures to the game. Where this box was procured is 
  irrelevant as long as the miniatures within are potential-
  ly applicable to Pathfinder, the contents of the box are 
  unknown, and it is not opened prior to the start of the 
  session.
  Benefit: As a full-round action, the player may open the 
  box of miniatures and select one miniature contained in-
  side. That creature joins the combat as an NPC friendly 
  to the players. Depending on the miniature chosen and 
  the GM’s decision, this could be a wandering monster 
  that decides to help out, a fellow adventurer that tailed 
  the PCs and decided to step in, or a planar creature that 
  happens to enter the realm at exactly the spot where 
  the PCs were battling. Depending on GM decision, the 
  monster could simply help out and leave, or could de-
  mand payment for its help or even become a continuing 
  part of the adventure.
  The miniature selected must have statistics in the game, 
  and the giant or young template may be applied once if 
  the miniature’s size differs from the base creature. Min-
  iatures of a specific NPC or entity may be used, provid-
  ed that creature’s official statblock is available for use.
  Special: This metafeat may only be used once. In order 
  to use it again, it must be acquired as a separate meta-
  feat, but only one instance of this metafeat may be held 
  in reserve at a time.
  Needed Intermission (metafeat)
  Action: A player must volunteer and run at least one 
  session in lieu of the group’s usual GM; this can be a part 
  of the same campaign, a small one-shot, or any other di-
  version from the regular play. The GM must not coordi-
  nate any part of the session, save that which is expected 
  of a player if he desires to play.
  Benefit: When the player’s character truly needs it, 
  he finds rest can come easily to him. Once during the 
  campaign when the party rests for the night, the player 
  can declare he is using this feat; nothing will come to 
  attack, harass or mobilize the players during that night. 
  They will not miss any important plot points, and will 
  wake even more refreshed than usual, with a number of 
  temporary hit points equal to twice their character level 
  that last for 24 hours.
  Special: This metafeat may not be acquired more than 
  once. Once it is acquired and used, that player may not 
  use it again.
  Note: The purpose of this metafeat is to reward players 
  who take the reins from a tired GM, and give them the 
  opportunity to play a game rather than run one. It is not 
  intended to allow players to hijack the campaign to get 
  the rest they may need in the future or alter the plot.
  Oath to Play Well (metafeat)
  Action: The GM may select one rule from the list 
  below that the player who possesses this metafeat 
  must obey for the duration of the session. If this rule is 
  followed, the player’s character gains a flash of intuition 
  when he needs it most. 
  Benefit: Once when the character rolls a d20, he may 
  roll twice and take the higher result.  Additionally, the 
  character gains an additional benefit that lasts as long 
  as the rule is obeyed, beginning with the session after 
  this metafeat is acquired, as listed below. Intuition may 
  be kept in reserve, to a maximum total of the player’s 
  character’s level. 
  • Lights Out: If the player does not pull out electron-
  ics during a part of the session where they are not 
  needed, their character gains a bonus on saving 
  throws against all visually-based effects (such as 
  gaze or light-based attacks) equal to 1/2 their HD.
  • Ruled For Now: If the player has an issue with their 
  GM’s ruling of an event, and saves prolonged dis-
  cussion on it until after the session, their character 
  gains a bonus on initiative checks equal to 1/4 their 
  HD.
  • Staying On Topic: If the player does not speak about 
  an unrelated topic during the session, their charac-
  ter gains a bonus to all Intelligence-based checks 
  equal to 1/4 their HD. 
  • True To Self: If the player acts as their character’s 
  alignment and ethos dictate in all aspects of the 
  game, including suggestions for courses of action 
  in tune with this (for instance, the Chaotic Good 
  cleric should not support selling a surrendered 
  prisoner into slavery), then they gain a bonus on 
  saving throws against enchantment effects equal to 
  1/4 their HD.
  Note: The purpose of this metafeat is to reward play-
  ers for breaking bad habits, and should not be used to 
  punish players, nor to reward players for behavior they 
  would have followed anyway. GMs are encouraged to 
  make their own rules for this metafeat as needed by 
  their group.
  
  Well-Equipped (metafeat)
  Action: The player brings a prop or other object to the 
  game that is either themed for their character, or helps 
  accentuate the feel of the campaign. This can range from 
  a prop sword for a martial character to a fidget spinner 
  with the appearance of a ship’s wheel for a piracy cam-
  paign.
  Benefit: The character seems to know how to get the 
  most out of a certain thing. If the item is not a con-
  sumable and is not used as part of an attack, they gain a 
  bonus equal to half their character level on checks to use 
  that item once during the session. If it is a non-consum-
  able that is used as part of an attack, they add half their 
  character level to an appropriate damage roll once per 
  session. If the item is consumable, they gain 1d4 of the 
  item at the start of each session. Magical consumable 
  items are not usable with this feat.
  Special: This metafeat may be taken more than once. 
  Each time it is taken, the player can gain benefits from 
  one more item of which they bring a likeness per session. 
  What If…? (metafeat)
  Action: The player need simply state that a plot el-
  ement in the game is different than how the GM de-
  scribes it; alternatively, a different action may be taken 
  by an NPC. The GM must approve of this diversion in 
  the plot before it may be used. 
  Benefit: The action resolves as the player specifies. 
  This can lead to a king having a miraculous change of 
  heart resulting in not sentencing the PCs to death, or a 
  cultist cabal failing an important incantation at the last 
  second. If the GM does not allow this element to be 
  changed, the metafeat is retained and not wasted.
  This metafeat may only be used once. This metafeat may 
  not be acquired more than once. Once it is acquired and 
  used, that player may not use it again.
  Battlecry Metafeats
  Battlecry metafeats are a specific subcategory of meta-
  feats that are activated by the player eliciting a battle cry 
  during the session. It can be a character’s catchphrase, 
  a call for glory, or simply a visceral, animalistic howl. A 
  player may use any combination of battlecry feats they 
  possess a number of times per session equal to the num-
  ber of battlecry feats they possess. The action required 
  to activate all battlecry feats is to shout a battlecry, as 
  denoted above, and if the battlecry has a non-instanta-
  neous effect, the battlecry’s benefits last for 1 minute. 
  Only one battlecry feat may be in effect at one time; 
  if another is used, the first one immediately ends. The 
  GM is encouraged to design more battlecry metafeats as 
  their group warrants. 
  Cooperative Harassment (Metafeat, Battlecry)
  Benefit: When the player’s character or an ally uses 
  a combat maneuver and fails, one of their allies that 
  threatens the combat maneuver’s target can use an 
  immediate action to attempt the same combat maneu-
  ver against that target. This does not provoke attacks of 
  opportunity.
  Group Gangpile (metafeat, battlecry)
  Benefit: All allies of the player’s character gain a team-
  work feat possessed by that character. 
  It Has to Hit (metafeat, battlecry)
  Benefit: Once per character per combat, each ally of 
  the player’s character may add 1d6 to an attack roll if it 
  misses. This can turn a miss into a hit.
  Magic is Might (metafeat, battlecry)
  Benefit: Once every other round, the player’s character 
  can cast a spell they have prepared or know as a swift 
  action. This can only be used to cast spells that have a 
  casting time of 1 round or less, and the character may 
  not use their standard action that round to cast another 
  spell.
  The Power of Friendship (metafeat, battlecry)
  Benefit: All allies within 60 ft. (including yourself) gain 
  temporary hit points equal to your character level. These 
  temporary hit points last for 1 minute, and can be used 
  to keep an ally (including yourself) from dying.
  NOOOOOOOO!!!! (metafeat, battlecry)
  Action: This battlecry can only be used immediately 
  after an ally is reduced to 0 hp or less.
  Benefit: The wounded ally immediately stabilizes and 
  gains temporary hit points equal to your character level 
  that last 1 minute. These temporary hit points can keep 
  them from dying.
  In addition, you may make a single attack roll at your 
  highest BAB against the target that struck down your 
  ally, provided they are within range of a weapon you are 
  wielding. You may draw a weapon and throw it in order 
  to make this attack.
  Wabba Wabba (metafeat, battlecry)
  Prerequisite: The player character must possess magi-
  cal ability and a fondness for tricks.
  Benefit: The character produces a random magical 
  effect, as if they had activated a rod of wonder.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Pathfinder/1st Edition/3rd Party/Drop Dead Studios/Metafeats.pdf