Fantasy Player’s Companion: Hard to Kill (Feats 2)
Fantasy Player’s
Companion:
Hard to Kill
The life of an adventurer is a difficult one, fraught with all
manner of threats to one’s body, mind, and soul. There are two
types of successful adventurers: those who, either by accident of
birth or the favor of the gods, are naturally better able to confront
certain types of perils and then there are those who learn from
their experiences and look upon defeats as momentary setbacks
rather than permanent conditions. Rather than give up, those of the
second type pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and try
again, despite the odds. Hardened by adversity, these adventurers
often find themselves better able to confront obstacles and foes
than they would have been had they not suffered earlier.
Hard to Kill is a collection of thirty new feats designed to pro-
vide players of both types of characters with ways to ensure the
success of their characters. In addition to a handful of feats for
adventurers of the first type, the bulk of the feats presented here
are for the second type. Called “Survivor Feats,” these feats offer
a wide range of new abilities to characters, but these abilities come
at a price. To take a Survivor Feat, a character must have in his
past suffered a setback of some sort, in some cases a very signifi-
cant one. It is said “that which does not kill me makes me
stronger” and that is certainly the basis for Survivor Feats –
although being killed is in fact the prerequisite for several of these
feats!
Requires the use of the
Dungeons & Dragons ®
Player’s Handbook
by James Maliszewski
Special thanks to Bruce Baugh
for the name “Survivor Feats”
The feats presented here vary greatly in their level of power
and DMs are advised to consider carefully the effects of introduc-
ing any of these feats into his campaign. Some are quite powerful
in nature, in that they circumvent the special abilities of certain
opponents (particularly undead), while others are more mundane,
providing only a small advantage to characters. Of course, most
Survivor Feats are quite specialized in nature. Likewise, their pre-
requisites can be quite steep, such as permanent level loss for
example, which might make them less attractive options than their
power level might suggest. In the end, the DM remains the final
arbiter of what is permissible in his campaign and care should be
taken in deciding which of the following feats to permit players to
select.
All too often roleplaying gamers eschew failure and see value
only in glorious victories. Survivor Feats are intended to show that
failure can sometimes be a blessing in disguise, even a gateway to
hidden power.
Fantasy Player’s Companion: Hard to Kill (Feats 2) is copyright © 2004
James Maliszewski. All text in this book is designated as open game content.
You may not distribute this PDF without permission of the author. Dungeons
& Dragons® and Wizards of the Coast® are Registered Trademarks of
Wizards of the Coast and are used with permission.
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Fantasy Player’s Companion: Hard to Kill (Feats 2)

BAD BLOOD (SURVIVOR) DEXTEROUS DODGE

Your blood is unwholesome to creatures that subsist on this
vital fluid.
(SURVIVOR)
Prerequisite: Dex 13, You must have been successfully
Prerequisite: You must have had your Constitution score
trampled by an opponent
reduced to 0 and been restored to life.
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to all Reflex saving throws to
Benefit: You are immune to the extraordinary ability blood
avoid being trampled by an opponent.
drain. Any opponent that attempts to use the ability against you
will be unsuccessful, even if he meets all the requirements for
the use of the ability. D R
ISEASE ESISTANCE
(SURVIVOR)
DAMAGE CONVERSION You are resistant to the effects of diseases.
(GENERAL) Prerequisite: You must have survived infection by a disease,
whether non-magical or magical
You can make your opponent’s blows less damaging.
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to any saving throw made to
Prerequisite: Con 13, Toughness
resist the effects of diseases, including magical diseases.
Benefit: You convert a limited number of normal damage
from each hit you take to subdual damage. The amount you can
convert is equal to your Constitution modifier. Thus, a character ENERGY RESISTANCE
with Constitution 15 converts 2 points from every hit to subdual
damage. You must be conscious for this feat to function, how-
(GENERAL)
You are resistant to damage caused by one type of energy.
ever. That is, if reduced to 0 or fewer hit points, any further dam-
age you take is normal damage and is not converted to subdual Prerequisite: Con 15, Great Fortitude
damage. Benefit: You gain a resistance of 5 against one type of ener-
gy (acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic). This feat does not stack
DEAD MAN’S EYES (SURVIVOR) with energy resistance granted by magic items or nonpermanent
magical effects.
You have seen the face of death and it no longer holds power Special: A character can take this feat multiple times. Its
over you. effects do not stack. Each time, he chooses a new energy type.
Benefit: You must have died and been restored to life
Benefit: You are immune to the supernatural ability Death
Gaze or any similar supernatural ability that causes death by
F
AST BILITY A H
EALER
sight. Beams or rays emitted from the eyes of a creature fall (G
ENERAL )
under this immunity so long as they are supernatural in origin You heal ability score damage faster than normal.
and not spells or spell-like abilities. This feat does not, howev- Benefit: Your ability score damage heals at 1.5 times the nor-
er, grant immunity to the supernatural ability Petrifying Gaze, mal rate. This increase is effective while under the care of some-
since it does not cause immediate death but petrification. one using Heal as well.

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Fantasy Player’s Companion: Hard to Kill (Feats 2)
Normal: Characters naturally heal 1 ability score point for a Prerequisite: Dex 13, You must have suffered paralysis and
full 8 hours of rest in a day, or 2 ability score points for each day recovered
of complete rest. Under the care of someone using Heal, the Benefit: You are immune to the extraordinary ability paraly-
recovery rates are 2 ability score points and 4 ability score points sis, such as that possessed by a ghoul or a ghast. Against spells,
respectively. spell-like or supernatural abilities, or magic items, however, you
gain a +2 bonus to your Fortitude saves but you are not immune
F AST H EALER (G ENERAL ) to their effects.
Your wounds naturally heal faster than normal.
Benefit: Your wounds naturally heal at 1.5 times the normal G RAY W ANDERER (S URVIVOR )
rate. This increase is effective while under the care of someone The passage from death to life is less traumatic to you than to
using Heal as well. others.
Normal: Characters naturally heal 1 hit point per level for a Prerequisite: You must have died and been restored to life
full 8 hours of rest in a day, or 2 hit points per level for each day Benefit: If you die and are restored to life by magical means,
of complete rest. Under the care of someone using Heal, the such as raise dead or resurrection, you suffer no loss of either
recovery rates are 2 hit points per level and 4 hit points per level Constitution or character levels as a result.
respectively.
HARD OF HEARING (SURVIVOR)
FEARLESS (GENERAL) You cannot hear as well as you once could.
Nothing can frighten you. Prerequisite: You must have taken sonic damage equal to
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to all saves made against fear twice your Wisdom score
effects of any sort, including magical fear. Benefit: You are immune to spell-like or supernatural abili-
ties that depend on music to be effective, such as a harpy’s song
FLOW LIKE WATER (GENERAL) or a grig’s fiddling. In addition, you gain a +2 bonus to saves
Your body is extremely supple and difficult to grasp. against sonic attacks of other types.
Prerequisite: Escape Artist 1 rank
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to Escape Artist checks when I
NDIGESTIBLE (G
ENERAL )
used to break a grappling pin. In addition, you suffer only a –2 Even the most ravenous creature finds itself unable to con-
penalty to AC while pinned by an opponent. sume your body.
Normal: While a character is pinned, he takes a –4 penalty Benefit: You are immune to any and all Engulf or Swallow
to his AC against opponents other than the one pinning him. Whole attacks made against you. Creatures with these extraor-
dinary abilities simply cannot use them against you, even if they
F REEDOM OF M OVEMENT succeed in meeting all the conditions for their use. This does not
prevent such creatures from successfully doing bite damage
(S URVIVOR ) against you, however.
You cannot be paralyzed.

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Fantasy Player’s Companion: Hard to Kill (Feats 2)
LIGHT STEP (GENERAL)
You walk gently on the ground and leave little evidence of
your passage.
Benefit: You are treated as two size categories smaller for the
purposes of determining the DC of Survival checks made to
track you. Thus, a Medium creature is treated as Tiny, increas-
ing the DC to +2, while a Huge creature is treated as Medium,
with no penalty or bonus to the check. In addition, you gain a +2
bonus to Move Silently checks.
MAGIC RESISTANCE
(GENERAL)
You are resistant to the effects of magic.
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus to any saving throw made to
resist the effects of spells, spell-like or supernatural abilities, or
magic items.
NEGATIVE ENERGY BUFFER
(GENERAL)
You can ignore the effects of a limited number of negative
levels per day.
Prerequisite: Great Fortitude, Con 13
Benefit: You can ignore a number of negative levels per day
equal to your Constitution modifier. Thus, a character with a
Constitution of 13 who gains two negative levels from a vam-
pire’s successful slam attack instead gains only one negative
level, while a character with a Constitution of 15 would gain no
negative levels.
NEGATIVE ENERGY
RESISTANCE (SURVIVOR)
You are less susceptible the life draining power of negative
energy.
Prerequisite: Con 15, You must have permanently lost at
least one level due to energy drain.
Benefit: You gain negative energy resistance equal to your
total number of levels lost due to energy drain by creatures like
wights or spectres at the time you take this feat. Thus, a charac-
ter who had previously lost two levels due to energy drain would
gain negative energy resistance 2, while one who had lost only
one level would gain negative energy resistance 1. Should you
lose additional levels after taking this feat, your negative energy
resistance does not increase unless you choose to take this feat
again, in which case your resistance increases to your new total
levels lost.
This feat overlaps (and does not stack with) the feat Negative
Energy Buffer. If a character possesses both feats, the level of
Negative Energy Resistance is deducted first, with any remain-
ing negative levels being absorbed by Negative Energy Buffer.
OLFACTORY FORTITUDE
(SURVIVOR)
No smell, no matter how unpleasant, can adversely affect
you.
Prerequisite: You must have failed a saving throw against a
spell, spell-like or supernatural ability, or magic item whose
effects depend on the sense of smell
Benefit: You are immune to spells, spell-like or supernatural
abilities, or magic items whose effects depend on overwhelming
your sense of smell, such as stinking cloud or a troglodyte’s
stench.
POISON RESISTANCE
(GENERAL)
You are resistant to the effects of poison
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to any saving throw to resist
the effects of poisons, including magical poisons.
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Fantasy Player’s Companion: Hard to Kill (Feats 2)
REST IN PEACE (SURVIVOR)
Should you die, your body and soul will gently repose unless
called back by your deity.
Prerequisite: You must have been reduced to 0 or fewer hit
points by an undead creature that can create spawn and survived;
Patron deity
Benefit: You cannot become the spawn of any undead crea-
ture. Should you be killed by an undead create that can create
spawn, you will not rise as one of them but will remain dead
until restored to life by a cleric of the deity you worship.
SCHOOL RESISTANCE
(GENERAL)
You are resistant to the effects of a single school of magic.
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus to any saving throw made the
resist spells, spell-like or supernatural abilities, or magic items
whose effects come from a particular school of magic, such as
evocation, divination, or enchantment.
Special: A character can take this feat multiple times. Its
effects do not stack. Each time, he chooses a new school of
magic.
SECOND SIGHT (GENERAL)
Your mind is attuned to the energies of the Ethereal Plane,
allowing you to sense invisible creatures and objects.
Prerequisite: Wis 15, Alertness
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to Spot checks to notice the
presence of an active invisible creature within 30 feet of your-
self. In addition, you do not lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor
Class when attacked by an invisible opponent. Neither does an
invisible opponent get a +2 bonus to hit you as usual. However,
ranged attacks by an invisible opponent still ignore your
Dexterity bonus to Armor Class and gain a +2 bonus to attack.
Special: This +4 bonus to Spot checks does not stack with
the bonus gained through the Alertness feat.
STEADY FEET (GENERAL)
Your feet are solidly planted on the ground.
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to Dexterity checks used to
resist trip attacks made against you. In addition, an opponent
must be two size categories larger than you before he gains a +4
bonus to his trip attempt.
Normal: An opponent gets a +4 bonus for every size catego-
ry he is larger than Medium.
STEELY RESOLVE (GENERAL)
You have a firm grasp on reality and few things can under-
mine it.
Prerequisite: Wis 13
Benefit: You can ignore a limited amount of Wisdom ability
damage from the effects of madness per day. The amount of
ability damage ignored is equal to double your current Wisdom
modifier. Thus, if a character has Wisdom 13, he may ignore 2
points of Wisdom damage from madness effects per day, while
a character with Wisdom 17 may ignore 6 points of Wisdom
damage. Should your Wisdom modifier increase after you have
taken this feat, so do its effects.
STONE FACED (SURVIVOR)
Neither the gaze of the medusa nor the basilisk holds any fear
for you.
Prerequisite: Must have been petrified and restored to nor-
mal.
Benefit: You are immune to the supernatural ability
Petrifying Gaze. You are not, however, immune to petrification
by other means, such as a cockatrice’s bite or the flesh to stone
spell.
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 Fantasy Player’s Companion: Hard to Kill (Feats 2)

STRONG WILLED (GENERAL) ral ability lifesense are immune to the effects of this feat and can
detect you as normal.
Your mind is particularly unruly and difficult to control.
Prerequisite: Iron Will NSHAKEABLE ENERAL U (G )
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to Will saves against all spells, Nothing can cause you to lose your grip on reality.
spell-like abilities, magic items, or other effects that attempt to
Prerequisite: Steely Resolve
control your mind. In addition, you have twice as many oppor-
tunities to break free from any effects that give you one. For Benefit: You are immune to the spells confusion and insani -
example, an aboleth’s supernatural enslave ability grants anyone ty, as well as other spells, spell-like or supernatural abilities, and
affected by it the opportunity to make a Will save in order to magic items that cause madness. Nothing short of a miracle or
break free every 24 hours. A character with this feat gets an wish can cause you to go insane.
opportunity every 12 hours.
Special: This bonus stacks with other bonuses to Will saves, ALK ITHOUT HYTHM W W R
including those that specifically resist mind-affecting magic. ENERAL (G )
You can disguise your footfalls so that they are harder to
TOUCH OF DEATH (SURVIVOR) detect.
The cold hand of death protects you from beyond the grave. Prerequisite: Light Step
Prerequisite: You must have died and been restored to life Benefit: The special quality tremorsense does not work
Benefit: Mindless undead, such as skeletons and zombies, against you. Thus, a purple worm cannot detect you simply
ignore you unless you attack them. Intelligent undead ignore because you are moving within 60 ft. of it. The creature must
you if they fail a Will save whose DC is 10 + the reverse of your instead detect you through normal means. In addition, you gain
Charisma modifier. Thus, if you have Charisma 13, the DC is 9, a +2 bonus to your Move Silently checks. This bonus stacks
because your +1 ability modifier is in this case a –1 modifier. On with that from the feat Light Step and any other feat that grants
the other hand, if your Charisma were 9, the DC would be 11, a similar bonus (such as Stealthy).
since the –1 modifier becomes +1. Undead with the supernatu-
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