I'm going to backpeddle slightly from a previous statement I made.
If you want Capstones, you need to re-write your own version of D&D
I apologize as this could have been stated in a more friendly manner.
So let's talk about the idea of Capstones. The second thread for E6 in 3.5 D&D comes is here It is not until places like this and this which encourage cherry picking of Prestige Class abilities.
Let's look at some of the suggested feats
Ability Mastery [E6]
Benefit
You gain +2 to a single Ability (str, dex, con, int, wis, cha) of your choice.
If allowed only once, it's probably ok. But as a note, every ability like this moves saving throws further off the Range making save or dies progressively more effective.
Capstone [E6]
Prerequisite
Level 6, 5 levels in chosen class.
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Benefit
You gain the class abilities of the 6th, 7th, and 8th levels in your chosen class. If you already have 6 levels in your chosen class, you do not gain further benefit. This does not include Hit Die, Save bonuses, and BaB. If you have full casting, you do not gain 4th level spell slots. If you have an ability similar to full casting (psionics, initating, etc) you do not gain 4th level powers in that class. You still count caster level and similar abilities as if they were 2 levels higher.
If you're offering 8th level abilities, then perhaps you should play an 8th level character. Trying to deny 4th level powers or spells is silly as that's part of the class abilities of the class. Moreover, why 5 levels? and not 4,3,2,1 or none? This seems remarkably convenient for Factotum 5 / Cloistered Cleric 1 Characters. a Class X 3 Class Y 2 Prestige Z 1 Makeup is just as legitimate a choice for character creation.
Job Diversification [E6: Multiple]
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Benefit
You gain one level 1 class ability of any base class you do not already possess levels in. This effect stacks up to a maximum of 4th level in the class the feat is chosen for. Special: You may not take this for any other class besides the one the first is dedicated for.
So now rather than using a scarce resource (levels) to gain abilities, I can use a cheap feat to cherry pick 1 ability from any base class? Moreover class ability is not well defined, spellcasting, martial maneuvers and so forth could be a class ability. Moreover certain abilities like a Cleric's Domain and Turn Undead are meant to work in unison and splitting them up loses the benefit
Third, most classes aren't designed in the neat 1,2,3,4 I get useful abilities.
Prestige Monger [E6]
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Prerequisite
Type Prerequisites here if they exist. Else Delete This line and Prerequisite
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Benefit
You gain the abilities of one level 1 prestige class that you would normally qualify to take outside of E6.
This one is even worse. Now I cherry pick any Level 1 from a Prestige class that I want which discourages me from going the standard Class X 5 / Prestige Y 1 Now, I might as well go Class X 6 or something else. So now we get things Like Chameleon which grant the ability for anyone to cast 2nd level spells and so forth and other sorts of riddled consequences.
Feats were according to Andy Collins
" a small, self-contained mechanical element, the feat provided immense opportunities for characters to differentiate themselves from others of the same class and race."
Feats aren't supposed to give you other classes or races.
If you want to use these feats, these indicate to me that you really want to play a higher level character. If you want to play a higher level character, then these feats don't belong in E6.
I'm going to respond to some specific comments.
I'd like to change this to… Only your E6 character sheet can have these feats… It doesn't make any sense a 6th lvl character would suddenly and exponentially gain power either.
We're not making special exceptions for certain characters. If a feat is available, it's available for all. If My Fighter 6 can have a feat, there's no reason that my Fighter 7 should suddenly be denied.
Epic 6 was written so we wouldn't have to remake dnd, just use existing rules within it. If we change the above to apply to the E6 sheets only, then > the issues go away.
I would urge the other council members to seriously consider their votes, and the edits needed before denial of this request. I, and many others, love E6 and would like to continue using it as is, rather than… a gimped version.
I am not on the council, but if I might give my 2 cents here… I would add that without E6 capstones or something similar, progression in E6 becomes > nil at level 6. Without progress, there is only stagnation,
These statements show some ignorance about both E6 and D&D. An earlier version of the E6 Thread contained only 8 feats that might be labeled as capstones found here.
Furthermore, please look at some of the entries from the E6 Balor Challenge thread
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8972187&postcount=118
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9010150&postcount=208
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8975930&postcount=142
There's PLENTY of allowed feats for power gain. Moreover, although there are certainly exceptions, feats were never intended to be very powerful. But to say that you're stagnant and not making progress is not true, gaining a feat every 5K xp is progress, and there are plenty of powerful feats to choose from.
And let's think about this and look at this from 10,000 feet. If you're trying to play a game where it's easier to deal with player power by staying at a maximum level of 6, fine. But if you start adding options which give you abilities above and beyond that baseline, you're no longer at that baseline. The point of feats was small bonuses to make you feel better about your character, as soon as you start giving anything beyond that, you're no longer meeting that objective.