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Is there a feat that's the opposite of the Combat Expertise feat? I'm looking for a feat which would allow you to subtract a number from your AC and add it to your attack roll.

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It's not really a feat but more of an action you can choose in combat. If you use the charge attack and move at least 10ft and have an unobstructed path to your target you can move up to double your movement speed and make a single attack that gains +2 to the attack roll but suffer -2 to AC until your next turn. I used to do that with my half orc barbarian to guarantee a hit on the first attack.

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    \$\begingroup\$ A good point! Doesn’t scale, but it is the kind of trade discussed here. And no feat cost. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Dec 5, 2018 at 0:17
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank you everyone! I've been researching in the books all day. I did finally run across a solution though, if anyone ever wants to have this kind of flexibility with their character. It's a combination of feats, power attack, combat expertise, unerring strike, and reckless attack (not to be confused for the lesser Reckless Offensive). Allows you to shift up to your base ATK from anywhere to anywhere, between ATK, DMG, & AC. \$\endgroup\$
    – Sonkuragari
    Dec 5, 2018 at 2:41
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Sam You mean this homebrew feat Reckless Attack? Be sure to run that by the DM first! \$\endgroup\$
    – Hey I Can Chan
    Dec 5, 2018 at 6:40
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Sam If going for charging and Power Attack, definitely look at Complete Warrior’s Shock Trooper feat. Also Complete Champion’s lion spirit totem alternate barbarian class feature. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Dec 5, 2018 at 13:20
  • \$\begingroup\$ No no, not the Homebrew version, although that one is the easiest to come across. It's in Quintessential Fighter which I think is 3rd party. Prereqs are ST 15 & Power Attack. It gives +1 dmg per -1 AC if I remember correctly. \$\endgroup\$
    – Sonkuragari
    Feb 23, 2019 at 5:57
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As @KRyan says, there is no such feat. However, what you're looking for does exist in a class feature. 3 levels of War Chanter allow you to use Bardic Music to Inspire Recklessness in yourself and your allies, letting you (and them) take a penalty to AC up to your BAB and add it to your attack bonus.

You may also be interested in the Shock Trooper feat, which (among other things) lets you take your Power Attack penalty from AC instead of BAB when charging, allowing you to sacrifice your AC for damage.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Additionally, the classic barbarian Rage does almost exactly this (also a class feature). \$\endgroup\$
    – Mathaddict
    Dec 4, 2018 at 21:24
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No such feat exists. If it did, nearly everyone (who wants to make attacks, that is) would take it, because it would be amazing. You would see it recommended constantly, listed in every martial-class handbook, and so on, but you do not.

Combat Expertise is a really poor feat—even if you have it, most of the time it is the wrong choice to activate it. Quite simply, AC is a weak defense—most characters rely on non-AC defenses rather than waste the money it costs to keep AC relevant at mid-to-high levels. Meanwhile, attack bonus allows you to kill things, which is the greatest defense in the game—things cannot hurt you once they are dead. The only reason Combat Expertise gets taken at all is because of the feats that require it—and even once you have it, it’s rarely a good choice to use it.

Therefore, “flipping” Combat Expertise is not balanced—inverting an unreasonably bad trade becomes an unreasonably good one.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ @Miniman Eh, that’s only “close” if you were specifically imagining this feat being paired with Power Attack to mitigate the attack penalties of Power Attack. Which I agree, is the most obvious use for such a feat (and probably one of the best ones), but it isn’t necessarily related. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Dec 4, 2018 at 21:13
  • \$\begingroup\$ War Story: I had a PC in a recent short E6 campaign that used Combat Expertise to some good effect—in conjunction with the feat Stone Power—, after he drew aggro using the feat Master of Mockery. Combined with a broadblade shortsword, 5 ranks in Tumble, and a special ability that increased his Combat Expertise's effect by 50%, it wasn't terrible, he contributed, and other folks still got to play. To be fair, though, the foes were just dudes with bows and not casters. \$\endgroup\$
    – Hey I Can Chan
    Dec 4, 2018 at 21:34
  • \$\begingroup\$ @HeyICanChan Yeah, E6 helps Combat Expertise where the cost is lower and the alternative options for defenses more limited. I’ve been considering it in my E6 tank... but still have found better things to do with my feats so far. Thanks for the reminder of Master of Mockery, though; that could prove useful. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Dec 4, 2018 at 21:37
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    \$\begingroup\$ In D&D there are plenty of things that can hurt you a lot more once they are dead. Vampires, for example. \$\endgroup\$
    – Erik
    Dec 5, 2018 at 10:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ Reminds me of the Aggressive trait: -1 AC for +2 Initiative. I've yet to find a character for which it's not a good trade, which is not a great sign of "balance". \$\endgroup\$
    – Matthieu M.
    Dec 5, 2018 at 12:44
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There is a Reckless Offense feat that adds +2 to all attack rolls at the expense of a penalty of -4 to your Armor Class. The exchange is active until your next turn.

The feat is from the psionic feats list but it is a general feat that requires only +1 base attack bonus.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Right. This is the counterpart to Fighting Defensively and requires a feat. There is no other feat that makes this commensurate with Combat Expertise. \$\endgroup\$
    – Wyrmwood
    Dec 8, 2018 at 18:05
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Thank you everyone. I found what I was looking for. It's in a 3rd party publication called Quintessential Fighter.

To be more precise, it's called Reckless Attack (not to be confused with Reckless Offense which is similar but different), it's found on page 39, and it actually adds to damage not attack.

However, when combined with Power Attack, Combat Expertise, and Unerring Strike (Kingdoms of Kalamar Players Guide p. 92), you can shift your bonus between AC, Attack, and Damage allowing you supreme flexibility.

Unerring Strike let's you take a number from Damage and add it to Attack.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Could this answer provide the feat's name and page number on which it appears? Could it quote it's benefit and summarize its prerequisites? \$\endgroup\$
    – Hey I Can Chan
    Feb 23, 2019 at 7:40

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