Taking cursed magic items has never been more appealing. This feat closes the second week of grimdark archetypes by letting your spellcaster forge a symbiotic bond with hexes and forbidden artifacts, turning each cursed attunement into sharper magic and a lingering, unnatural resilience.
Built for both D&D 5e and the updated 5.5e rules, it’s the perfect finishing piece for the School of Malediction wizard or any character whose story began with a curse they refused to break. What cursed relic has your caster secretly bound themselves to, and what quiet promises did it whisper in return?
—
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You’re an expert at avoiding and getting out of tight situations. If you are targeted by an attack that would grapple or restrain you, you add +2 to your Armor Class for that attack. When making skill checks or saving throws to escape or avoid being grappled or restrained, you add 1d4 to the roll.
Mariner
You are an excellent and trained swimmer. You gain the following benefits:
Increase your Strength or Dexterity by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.
You can survive while suffocating for 1 additional round.
When you make a ranged attack against a target while underwater, you do not have disadvantage while using a weapon’s normal range.
Outsize Strength
Prerequisite: Your size is Small
Despite your small size, you have no difficulty wielding large weapons or carrying large objects. You gain the following benefits:
Increase your Strength or Dexterity by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You do not have disadvantage on attack rolls due to your size while wielding weapons with the Heavy property.
When determining how much weight you are carrying, heavy weapons weigh half as much for you.
Prone Fighter
Being prone has less of an effect on your fighting abilities. You gain the following benefits:
Crawling does not cost you extra movement.
You do not have disadvantage on attack rolls as a result of being prone.
You have a +5 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks made while you are prone, as long as you do not move on your turn.
Scroll Adept
Prerequisite: Spellcasting or Pact Magic feature
You are especially adept at the use and creation of spell scrolls. You gain the following benefits:
You gain proficiency with the Arcana skill. If you are already proficient, you gain a +2 bonus to Arcana checks.
The time and cost it takes for you to create a spell scroll is reduced by half.
You can use a spell scroll even if the spell contained in it does not appear on your spell list.
When you use a cantrip spell scroll, it is not destroyed, and can be reused. With higher level spell scrolls, roll 1d10. If the number you roll is the spell’s level or lower, the spell scroll is destroyed as normal, but if you roll higher than the spell’s level, it can be reused. A roll of 0 always destroys the scroll.
Instead of the spell save DC listed, you use your own spell save DC for spell scrolls, unless the DC on the scroll is higher.
Whip Expert
Prerequisite: Proficiency with whips
You use a whip not just for offense, but for utility and defense. You gain the following benefits while you are wielding a whip:
You can use your whip in the same way that you would use a grappling hook, swinging from or climbing up anything you attach your whip to.
While you are within 5 feet of a creature and using a whip, you can attempt to use the whip to grapple it. While grappling a target in this way, it is restrained, but can escape the grapple as normal.
You can grab tiny objects not being worn or carried with your whip, bringing them to a free hand. In addition, when you attack a creature wielding a weapon with your whip, you can forgo any damage you would have dealt to force your opponent to drop an object it is holding in its hands (you choose the item). You may only do so once per turn.
Alright, new post time. Uhhhh... feats? Yeah, feats. That's what I'm gonna go with.
These will either serve for a variety of builds or just straight up make for good, flavorful feats when nothing else fits the flavor of your character (hence Callused's whole existence).
Gosh, it's been a while since I wrote up a race. It was fun to go back to doing that for this.
So yeah, the Asyne. I'm a fan of planetouched races, they're just really cool to me, and with the vast number of planes within dnd's lore, there's a lot of opportunities to fill in the gaps sitting between the Aasimar and Tieflings of the world.
I chose Limbo for a plane to make a race out of partly because of my DM's setting being a bit different, using a Limbo-style plane in place of the astral, with a different plane filling limbos role, but also because out of all the planes, limbos just the weirdest. Like, it's a plane where reality and its usual rules are just thrown out of the window for whatever is chaotic and random. So for a race, that's a fun place to build from.
So yeah, lore-wise you don't even need to have any connection to limbo to be born or become an Asyne, since why should a plane of randomness let you logically draw a line to how you became one?
This race also functions as a sorta alt - changeling in a way, which you can see in their racial mimicry powers. Though, the changeling does definitely have a different role in comparison to the Asyne, since the Asyne cannot mimic things perfectly. A changeling wanting to steal someone's appearance could just up and do that, while an Asyne might have to wait a whole day for their natural shapeshifting, and when they do, they'll still have noticeable quirks that give them away.
Another note on changeling light is their action - race shift, though this one differs in that it's limited in its usage in both amount of times per day and duration but in exchange its a good bit more powerful, in that you can steal racial traits.
So, their roles do differ. Changelings definitely do better in terms of deception and stealth, while an Asyne is better suited to pulling out the right tool when they need it during the day, such as a Goliath's strength or an Aasimar's wings or a Drow's sight.
Ah, and there's a racial feat too, which is fun since you get extra uses of your class feature, as well as bonus traits that you can use outside of your imitation form
Background Feats inspired by "Spelljammer - Adventures in Space"
So since the newest adventure for 5e now includes feats with backgrounds, something WotC has previously started to introduce with the more recent UAs, I wanted to look at the PHB backgrounds and see which feats (also from the PHB) which make sense to attach them to which background! So here's my quick attempt at this where I limited myself to three options which seemed to me to make the most sense. Enjoy!
Also as a sidenote: if a feat were to involve an ability score increase, that would not be granted.
I’m a particular fan of wasting my time so I decided to rate all the Half-Feats for no real reason
(Artwork from the Acquisitions Incorporated 5th Edition sourcebook, because I can’t just use artwork from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.)
If you have been around my blog for any lengthy period of time you will know two things about me.
I often fall into flights of fancy mostly under the guise of attempting to branch out with this blog, even though the real reason is that I wish to publicize any and all work I do for this hobby.
I really like half-feats.
And who could blame me (at least for the second point.) It’s always exciting when you can get a feat, and half-feats allow you to round out a stat of your choice while still allowing you to diversify your character with unique abilities to make them your own. Feats are always strong and even the most basic half-feat still provides you with unique traits to differentiate yourself from the standard adventurer. But it can be hard to choose when they are all so diverse which is why I’m making this list for myself and anyone who may find it useful.
I would also like to thank LudicSavant from the Giant in the Playground forums for their organized list of Half-Feats. It has made the creation of this list far easier and I frequently reference it when making builds.
WHAT IS A HALF-FEAT?
For the sake of understanding (because the last time I used the term “half-feat” on Reddit a lot of people got confused) I will define a half-feat here: A half-feat is any feat that gives half of an ability score improvement (+1 to a given stat) along with its regular features. They are obviously good choices for any player with an uneven stat, as they can make that stat even (for the increase in ability modifier) while also gaining an additional bonus.
HOW IS THIS LIST ORGANIZED
This post is split into 6 sections, one for each stat. (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma.) The feats are organized in alphabetical order. Basically I’m lifting the formatting from LudicSavant.
Each feat will be shown as follows:
FEAT NAME
Description
Summary
Rating
Feats that can be applied to varied ability scores will be mentioned multiple times, however unless the feat changes based on the ability score chosen the entry will simply be shown as a redirect to where it was summarized earlier.
And I guess it also has to be said: This list is just my opinion and is in no way an objective ranking of the half-feats that currently exist in D&D 5th Edition. Feel free to make your own decisions when designing your character: this post is merely meant to share my opinion and provide a reference resource for people making characters.
(Artwork still from the Acquisitions Incorporated 5th Edition sourcebook. Damn this book has some nice artwork.)
STRENGTH
Athlete
Grants you the ability to stand up from prone faster, climb more easily, and jump further.
You’d think with the amount of builds I’ve included this feat in I’d have more positive things to say about it. But no: this feat is trash. Climbing is rare and jumping is pretty much never used in D&D. Even if it was there are low level spells (Spider Climb / Jump) that allow you to do what this feat does.
The only really useful addition to this feat is the faster speed to get up from the prone position. Being prone sucks and it can heavily restrict your movement when it happens. Putting yourself prone is also helpful in a ranged build to give enemies disadvantage to hit you from range. (You can technically knock yourself prone after attacking to make it harder to hit you.) But this strategy loses effectiveness quickly and it isn’t worth taking a feat to combat the rare possibility of being knocked off your feet.
Ultimately if you genuinely see any of the features of the Athlete feat as being useful chances are that either your DM forces way too much jumping / climbing, really likes knocking people over, or you really like knocking yourself prone.
2/10
Crusher
Grants extra utility to bludgeoning weapons, allowing you to move foes into more favorable positions.
RIP in piss Monks am I right lads? To be fair there aren’t any Finesse Bludgeoning Weapons with the only exception being the Sling. But regardless: this feat has two features along with its Ability Score Improvement:
The pushing ability is situational at best. Displacement abilities in 5th edition rarely have a significant impact. You may push an enemy off a cliff on occasion but unless your DM makes a significant effort to present these opportunities to you it won’t come up often. There is some niche use for this feat to work as a poor man’s Mobile feat, as you can push a foe back 5 feet before running away without needing to disengage.
But perhaps the biggest problem with the displacement ability of Crusher is that Shield Master does everything it does almost objectively better, all while providing additional benefits to Dexterity saving throws. Shield Master isn’t a half-feat, granted. But one could get one of the better +1 feats to STR / CON along with Shield Master.
The effect on a crit is incredibly potent. Giving all allies advantage to hit a foe will lead to more damage being dealt and an even higher chance to crit. However relying on crits usually isn’t a smart idea, and crits are already deadly enough without a feat to boost them.
7/10
Dragon Fear
DRAGONBORN EXCLUSIVE FEAT
Allows you to roar with your Breath Weapon ability, frightening nearby enemies.
This feat singlehandedly makes Dragonborn viable. I’m not even joking: being able to replace your CON based, low damage Burning Hands-lite with essentially the Fear spell which comes back on a Short Rest and is based on Charisma is insanely useful for any Charisma character. The most obvious use is for the Charisma casters: Bards and Sorcerers can get an extreme amount of value from this feature. But other Charisma classes like Paladins, Swashbuckler Rogues, and any other class that requires Charisma can use it well. Warlocks get a little less use out of it than most since their abilities already come back on a Short Rest but it’s still nice to have in your pocket.
It’s less useful for non-Charisma classes but it can’t be flawless. But it removes the problem of choosing between a subpar AoE damage ability or just attacking with your weapons / spells, and instead gives you a utility ability to give yourself space. It doesn’t scale well late when most enemies resist fears, but neither did your breath weapon. Especially with the Dragonborn subraces from Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount this feat is extremely good.
I mean, you could just play a Leonin and get the fear without investing in a feat, especially since Tasha’s lets you move ability scores around. But Dragonborn have more fun roleplay and other abilities that the Leonin lack.
10/10
Dragon Hide
DRAGONBORN EXCLUSIVE FEAT
Your AC is equal to 13 + DEX and your unarmed strikes do a d4 + STR damage.
The Mage Armor feat / the worse Tavern Brawler feat. What confuses me about this feat is how at-odds it is with itself. On one hand your AC is still based on DEX but on the other hand your natural weapon is based on STR?
Let’s just ignore the Unarmed Strike damage because let’s be real here: you can just pick up a dagger instead of slashing people with your dragon claws. Is Mage Armor really worth losing half of a feat? If you have nothing better maybe, but this list alone shows that there are better options. There are some very specific niche scenarios where Unarmored Defense is more valuable than actual armor but those scenarios are usually campaign-specific or a choice done more for roleplay, and you could just as easily accomplish the roleplay by taking the Magic Initiate feat to get Mage Armor along with two useful cantrips.
Honestly this should’ve just been added as a base feature for the Dragonborn, and most DMs I know give this feat to Dragonborn at level 1. (Minus the half feat ASI.) Lizardfolk have innate AC, crafting skills, and a healing bite; Dragonborn should get innate AC, damage resistance, and a crappy breath weapon that can be upgraded by the Dragon Fear feat.
3/10
Heavily Armored
Gain proficiency with heavy armor.
The vast majority of classes that are expected to wear Heavy Armor have Heavy Armor Proficiency. In fact the only Martial class that doesn’t have Heavy Armor proficiency (minus Barbarians and Monks who can’t wear Heavy Armor) is the Ranger, so this feat is good if you want to play a Ranger like a Paladin. Huhn. Ironic that I am playing a Horizon Walker Ranger like a Paladin in one of the campaigns I’m in.
(Artwork by Bo “chenbowow” Chen. Made for Riot Games.)
Like, you can grab this feat for Clerics and Druids I guess, but why would you? Medium Armor is on-par with Heavy Armor, and 14 DEX is far more useful than the 15 STR required to wear Platemail.
The only other two (well technically three) subclasses I can think of which could grab this feat are the Hexblade Warlock and the two Martial Bards. (College of Swords / College of Valor.) For Hexblade... why do you need Strength? You can swing your sword with Charisma. Bard however... I guess if you want to play a Strength Bard it’s an option?
But yeah: the only time I ever used this feat was to play a Ranger like a Paladin. And saying “I used this feat to play one of the worst classes in the game like a better class” isn’t exactly an accomplishment.
1/10
Heavy Armor Master
While wearing heavy armor, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage that you take from nonmagical weapons is reduced by 3.
The word that kills this feat is “nonmagical.” I can tell you as a fact having had a Fighter use this feat in a level 1 - 5 campaign that it is TORTURE for any DM. “Oh boy I finally hit the 20 AC Fighter annnnd I did 5 total damage, even though I rolled max damage.”
But this feat literally becomes useless past level 8 or so when enemies start getting magical weapons. There are a few enemies that still technically do nonmagical damage at high levels, but even then this feat isn’t going to save you from foes that are normally doing upwards of 15 damage per swing. It adds up yes, but it’ll rarely add up in my personal experience.
Take this feat on a Variant Human at level 1 if you’re doing a level 3 one shot, just to be an asshole.
2/10
Lightly Armored
Gain proficiency with light armor.
?????
Mage Armor exists. The only classes in the game that don’t get proficiency with at least Light Armor are Sorcerer and Wizard. You can afford to lose a spell slot for Mage Armor. Seriously.
1/10
Moderately Armored
Gain proficiency with medium armor.
The best of the “armored” feats because (hot take time) Medium Armor is the best armor in the game. It requires the least investment which makes it the most easily accessible armor in the game. If you have a 13 in DEX I’d highly recommend grabbing this feat. If your DEX is at a 16 (+3) or higher I’d honestly maybe just recommend Light Armor / Mage Armor instead?
8/10
Orcish Fury
HALF-ORC EXCLUSIVE FEAT
Get the ability to choose to roll an additional damage die once per short rest. Additionally, you can use your Reaction to make a weapon attack after being knocked down to 1 HP via your racial trait once per short rest.
Anyone find it amusing that this feat is only available to Half-Orcs but not full Orcs? Anyways: having the ability to essentially crit on-demand is nice. Having the reactionary attack after being knocked to 1 HP is situational, but still alright. I think if I was playing a Half-Orc and I needed to round out either my Strength or my Constitution (more likely my CON since there are far better feats for STR) I wouldn’t be upset taking this. Is it worth playing a Half-Orc just for this feat? Not by a long shot lol.
6/10
Piercer
When you deal damage with a piercing weapon you can reroll one of the damage die on one attack per turn. When you crit you can roll an additional damage die.
Savage Attacker as a half feat, proving that Savage Attacker is a bad feat lol. I’m actually going to talk more about this feat when I go into the Dexterity section which makes this the first feat where I’ll actually rank it lower for a specific Ability Score.
3/10 (if using STR)
Resilient (STR)
Gain proficiency with Strength saving throws.
Strength saves are common and pretty bad, but not as bad as Wisdom or Dexterity. What’s more is that most classes that will be forced to make Strength saves have proficiency in Strength saving throws already. If you have an uneven Strength score this isn’t the worst way to round it out, but I’d sooner get a stronger feat for another ability.
3/10
Revenant Blade
Essentially Dual-Wielder for the Double-Bladed Scimitar.
A very specific feat to the Eberron setting, and even though I use Eberron content frequently in my builds I’ll be honest: I know very little about the setting. The DBS honestly just seems worse than uh... wielding two scimitars? 3d4 damage is about on-par with 2d6. This feat is something you take more for roleplay than actual practicality with your character, though I have played with people (outside of Eberron lol) using a double-bladed scimitar and it seems like a cool weapon. Dual Wielder is also a good feat and it seems you can use the DBS without grabbing the Dual Wielding Fighting Style.
5/10
Skill Expert
Learn a skill and gain expertise in a skill.
A very good skill to round out any build. Expertise can actually shape your character quite a lot, as it allows you to be good at things even if your Ability Scores are bad. A good go-to feat to round off any uneven Ability Score if you have nothing better imo.
7/10
Slasher
Slashing weapons lower the speed of the target hit by 10. On a crit the target has disadvantage on all attack rolls until the start of your next turn.
Easily the worst of the weapon damage type feats, which is a shame because I like slashing weapons. The slowdown effect is rarely useful: the only class which I really think can use the slowdown effect well is hit-and-run Rogues, but Slashing weapons are heavily restricted from Rogues for some reason. The crit effect is nice but you shouldn’t be banking on crits, even as a Champion Fighter. This feat at least has a niche if you plan to play a Whip Rogue but that’s about it.
3/10
Squat Nimbleness
Increase your movement speed by 5, gain proficiency with Athletics or Acrobatics, and gain Advantage to escape grapples.
It is actually goddamn hilarious how good this feat is. +5 movement is already nice (especially if you’re playing one of the later-added small races [or a Homebrew race] that has 30 feet of movement) but you also get a free skill proficiency in either of the two most commonly used skills in the game, and to top it off to my knowledge this feat is the only way to gain a bonus to escaping grapples. (Outside of like, the Freedom of Movement spell.)
Take this! Good lord take this! If you have an uneven ability score and are small don’t even hesitate!
10/10
Tavern Brawler
Gain a d4 unarmed strike and proficiency with improvised weapons. After striking a creature with an unarmed strike or improvised weapon on your turn you can grapple them as a bonus action.
This feat will either be the best or worst feat you take depending on your DM. If your DM lives up to the Dead Rising promise of “anything is a weapon” and lets you pick up a stick off the ground and use it as an improvised weapon: congratulations your Wizard now has an infinite supply of short swords!
The grapple after making an improvised or unarmed strike is... interesting. I’ve expressed my distaste for grappling in the past but on its own at lower levels its not the worst option. The main problem is really just that the Grappler feat is bad, but if you want to keep an enemy from running then grabbing them isn’t the worst option!
5/10
Weapon Master
Gain proficiency with 3 weapons.
Just take a single level in Fighter. Honestly upgrading your weapon’s damage die isn’t worth losing the ASI. Even in the most extreme example of upgrading a dagger (d4) to a rapier (d8) you’re only getting +4 damage potential max.
The only application I really think is worth it for this feat is Rogues, because for some stupid reason Rogues don’t get proficiency with either Scimitars or (more importantly) Whips. So if for whatever reason you want to play a Reach Weapon Whip Rogue but still get Stroke of Luck from the 20th level of Rogue then I guess Weapon Master has some use? But you could just as easily grab the Mobile feat to reap similar benefits without being forced to use a d4 weapon.
1/10
DEXTERITY
Athlete
See above.
Elven Accuracy
ELF / HALF-ELF EXCLUSIVE FEAT.
Roll 3 d20s instead of 2 when you have advantage and are attacking with DEX or a spell.
Otherwise known as “why Elf Samurai is secretly overpowered.” If you have a reliable way to get Advantage this feat is absolutely nutty. If not well... It’s still a nice way to round out an uneven Ability Score, and it works with spell attack rolls too which gives it plenty of versatility!
Basically if there’s any semi-consistent chance that you’re going to get advantage I’d take this feat. If not? There are better half feats out there. Really a shame this doesn’t work with STR attacks but I guess they didn’t want Elf Barbarians to be the most overpowered shit in the game.
8/10
Fade Away
GNOME EXCLUSIVE FEAT
Use your reaction to become invisible after taking damage. You remain invisible until the end of your next turn unless you perform an aggressive action.
Invisibility is never a bad thing. This feat gives you what is essentially a stronger version of the Shield spell once per Short Rest since (rules as written) enemies can’t target you if they can’t see you. Now of course a lot of this depends on your DM (how many enemies with Blindsense are around, and if enemies will swing where you just were because metagaming) but this feat is almost exclusively why you should play a Gnome as opposed to something else.
This feat plus Squat Nimbleness is honestly worth losing an ASI for. Fade Away, Squat Nimbleness, and Moderately Armored combined can be three very good feats for a Gnome spellcaster who already has a high casting stat.
9/10
Gunner
Crossbow Expert for guns.
Crossbow Expert for guns. The only part of this feat that affects non-firearms is the lack of disadvantage in melee range which I mean... if you’re not planning to use crossbows it might be useful? But I’d sooner take Piercer, Elven Accuracy, or another more useful feat.
GUN/10 3/10
Lightly Armored
See above.
Piercer
When you deal damage with a piercing weapon you can reroll one of the damage die on one attack per turn. When you crit you can roll an additional damage die.
The first and probably only feat where increasing one Ability Score is far more useful than the other! Let’s start with the obvious: Savage Attacker doesn’t work with ranged weapons, but since all ranged weapons (minus the Sling) do Piercing damage this feat affects them! For most ranged weapons this isn’t that big of a deal but if you’re using one of the ranged weapons with a bigger damage die (Longbow / Heavy Crossbow) it’s still nice to have, especially if you have multiple attacks and will henceforth have a higher chance of rolling low for damage.
The triple damage effect on a crit is also very nice for a ranged weapon, and lets you live out that sharpshooter fantasy. But again banking on crits is unreliable. Overall this feat is a very nice way to increase an uneven Dexterity score and get some benefits for your ranged weapons. It’s not something I’d go out of my way to get but it does feel very good to grab.
7/10 (if using DEX)
Moderately Armored
See above. Slightly better when increasing DEX because DEX is more universally useful than STR.
Resilient (DEX)
Gain proficiency with Dexterity saving throws.
Dexterity saving throws are some of the most common saving throws in 5e. Being able to halve the damage of a Fireball is always worth it.
9/10
Revenant Blade
See above.
Second Chance
HALFLING EXCLUSIVE FEAT
Force an enemy that’s attacking you to reroll their attack once per combat.
This feat interests me because (to my knowledge) it’s the only feat that replenishes when you “roll initiative at the start of combat.” But regardless: being able to force an enemy to reroll a hit on you is really nice, but mind you that there is the chance to turn a regular hit into a crit.
If your class already has reactions this really isn’t worth it. But if you’re playing something like a Fighter this can be a nice way to shrug off a hit or two over the course of the day. A good way to round out your stats and give yourself some safety, but not something I’d go out of the way to get.
7/10
Squat Nimbleness
See above.
Skill Expert
See above.
Slasher
See above.
Weapon Master
See above.
CONSTITUTION
Aberrant Dragonmark
Get one Sorcerer cantrip and one level 1 Sorcerer spell. Constitution is your spellcasting modifier for these spells. Additional effects when you cast your level 1 spell.
Veterans of this blog will know how much I love Aberrant Dragonmark. If you’re taking Magic Initiate to have a ranged attack then Aberrant Dragonmark is pretty much just universally better than Magic Initiate. The only real flaw with this feat is that you can only take from the Sorcerer list... oh and that it’s very Eberron specific. It’s unlikely that you’ll be allowed this feat, but I would recommend it for just about anyone who needs a ranged backup. Constitution becomes a lot more exciting when it’s used for more than just health.
8/10
Chef
Allies heal more during short rests. Prepare treats allies can use to gain Temporary hitpoints as a Bonus Action.
Song of Rest? Never heard of her! A fairly mediocre feat on its own, though admittedly fun for roleplay. The treats are actually not that bad to give allies a tiny bit of bulk. The definitely-not-Song of Rest feature is also good in its own right.
It’s a nice way to round out your Constitution or Wisdom if it’s uneven, and is very fun for roleplay. But it’s not the most impressive in terms of utility.
6/10
Crusher
See above.
Dragon Fear
See above.
Dragon Hide
See above.
Durable
Add double your Constitution modifier to rolled hit die while Short Resting.
I mean, it’s nice? But the only real use I see for this is for a Barbarian. It can definitely allow you save up on your hit die but unless you have a 13 in CON (14 with this feat) I wouldn’t recommend it. I’d much rather not take the damage in the first place: an ounce of prevention beats a cure!
5/10
Dwarven Fortitude
DWARF EXCLUSIVE FEAT
When you take the Dodge action you can heal with a hit die.
Otherwise known as “Dwarf Monks are super legit for no good reason.” It’s a very interesting feat that allows you to tank in interesting ways, and it’s particularly good if you know your DM doesn’t let you frequently short rest. It can be nice to heal in a pinch, but much like with Durable I’d rather negate the damage than heal with hit die.
And if your DM allows frequent short rests? This feat is objectively worse than Durable, since it doesn’t really matter when you heal with hit die.
5/10
Infernal Constitution
TIEFLING EXCLUSIVE FEAT
Resist Cold and Poison damage, and gain Advantage on saving throws against Poisons.
You already resist Fire damage, which is extremely common. This feat adds two more common damage types to that list, and also helps you against a common debuff. This is just a very good way to give your character more bulk! Of course if you aren’t fighting a lot of poisonous or cold enemies this feat won’t be too practical, but in a standard campaign with varied foes this will quickly carry its weight!
7/10
Orcish Fury
See above.
Resilient (CON)
Gain proficiency with Constitution saving throws.
Constitution saves are extremely common, most notably for Concentration checks. Other people have done the math that Resilient scales better than War Caster to help with Concentration checks. This feat is a must-have for spellcasters, and very good all-around.
10/10
Second Chance
See above.
Skill Expert
See above.
Tavern Brawler
See above.
INTELLIGENCE
Elven Accuracy
See above.
Fade Away
See above.
Fey Teleportation
HIGH ELF EXCLUSIVE FEAT
Learn Sylvan. Cast Misty Step once per Short Rest.
Otherwise known as LITERALLY THE ONLY REASON TO PLAY A HIGH ELF. Holy shit if you’re playing a High Elf take this feat! A free language is nice and all but Misty Step is one of the most useful utility spells in the game, and you have near-constant access to it!
10/10
Fey Touched
Learn Misty Step and one additional first level spell from the Enchantment or Divination schools. You can cast both of these spells once without using a spell slot.
Misty Step is one of the strongest spells in the game: if your class doesn’t normally get it I’d definitely recommend Fey Touched just to get Misty Step. Being able to grab strong first level Enchantment and Divination spells like Hex, Hunter’s Mark, Bless, Heroism, and Detect Magic are also very useful.
9/10
Flames of Phlegethos
Reroll 1s when dealing Fire damage. Surround yourself in Fire when casting a Fire damage spell.
Otherwise known as “Elemental Adept lite.” Only really useful if you’re planning to consistently be in close range, but very fun and flavorful if you are casting fire up close.
I honestly wish this feat wasn’t Tiefling exclusive because it’s cool as shit but so situational: I’d love to see a version of this feat that’s damage type exclusive and race exclusive. Hm maybe that’ll be a Homebrew project of mine.
7/10
Keen Mind
Know some information you should probably already know.
Otherwise known as “hey mister DM I forgot to buy a compass or a watch in town, and I’m too stupid to take notes.” This is the feat for bad players, and most DMs will ignore it even if you do take it.
1/10
Linguist
Learn 3 languages. Write cyphers.
The languages are honestly useless: Comprehend Languages is a first level spell, and Tongues is a third level spell. The cyphers are a lot more interesting, but they’re admittedly extremely situational outside of specific campaigns. It also really sucks that your feat can be undone with the Comprehend Languages spell, which can be cast as a ritual.
4/10
Observant
+5 to Passive Perception / Investigation. You can read creatures’ lips if you understand the language they’re speaking.
The ability to read creatures’ lips is honestly really interesting for espionage, but let’s be real: you picked up this feat for the increase to Passive Perception. Honestly if you don’t want to be ambushed just take the Alert feat.
7/10
Resilient (INT)
Gain proficiency with Intelligence saving throws.
Intelligence saves are rare. Devastating when they occur, yes. But I’d sooner take Observant, Linguist, or one of the Tasha’s feats over Resilient.
5/10
Shadow Touched
Learn the Invisibility spell and one additional first level spell from the Necromancy or Illusion schools. You can cast both of these spells once without using a spell slot.
Invisibility is less universally useful than Misty Step, and Necromancy / Illusion spells are weaker than Divination / Enchantment spells. (At least if we’re talking first level.) There are some nice ones like Disguise Self and Inflict Wounds but generally speaking mobility is more useful in my humble opinion.
7/10
Skill Expert
See above.
Telekinetic
Learn the Mage Hand cantrip. If you know it already, increase its range by 30 feet. You can make the Mage Hand invisible. Additionally, you may shove a creature 5 feet towards or away from you as a Bonus Action on your turn.
Mage Hand is one of the best cantrips in the game and being able to make it invisible was a subclass feature restricted to just Arcane Trickster Rogues previously. Having an invisible grabbing arm is insanely useful, and extending it to 60 feet is even better.
And that isn’t even the best part! Being able to shove people around isn’t necessarily the most overpowered thing but it still gives you a way to use your Bonus Action every turn! If you play on a tabletop you can use this feat to push enemies back into AoE damage abilities or pull allies away from danger! In Theater of the Mind however this feat isn’t as strong and I wouldn’t recommend using the shove too much as its liable to annoy your DM.
8/10
Telepathic
You can speak telepathically to a creature within 60 feet of you. They have to understand the language, and don’t gain the ability to respond telepathically. Additionally, you learn the Detect Thoughts spell, and can cast it once per Long Rest without using a spell slot.
Detect Thoughts isn’t that great of a spell, though granted this is just my personal experience. That being said having telepathy is extremely useful, and this is speaking from experience!
I will say right now: take this feat if you are a Druid. Unless your DM is a real stickler for the rules this will let you speak to people while Wildshaped! This opens up a whole world of possibilities for your Druid! I unironically consider this feat mandatory for a Druid, and fairly useful for any other character who wants to speak quietly and stealthily. And you know: doesn’t have access to Message.
8/10 - Mandatory for a Druid
WISDOM
Chef
See above.
Elven Accuracy
See above.
Fey Touched
See above.
Observant
See above.
Resilient (WIS)
Gain proficiency with Wisdom saving throws.
Wisdom saves are very common, but most Wisdom classes already get Wisdom saving throw proficiency. If you have an uneven Wisdom score it can be worth it to get the proficiency, but Wisdom saving throws are arguably the most common saving throw to be proficient with.
7/10
Shadow Touched
See above.
Skill Expert
See above.
Telekinetic
See above.
Telepathic
See above.
CHARISMA
Actor
Gain advantage when pretending to be someone else, and become capable of mimicking someone’s voice after listening to them.
A very good feat if you plan to do any infiltration or other political intrigue stuff. With the Disguise Self spell this feat can be used by just about anyone, but the real value comes for Changelings. Having Disguise Self as a racial trait means the “be better at fooling people” feat is insanely useful. Inversely this feat isn’t as useful for Kenku since you can already mimic voices more-or-less perfectly.
This feat is inherently situational but it’s beyond useful for the campaigns where it can be used. And again: it’s near-mandatory for a Changeling or a Warlock with the Mask of Many Faces invocation (or anyone who takes Eldritch Adept for Mask of Many Faces.)
7/10 - Mandatory for Changelings
Dragon Fear
See above.
Dragon Hide
See above. (How the hell this feat increases Charisma I have no idea.)
Elven Accuracy
See above.
Fey Teleportation
See above.
Fey Touched
See above.
Flames of Phlegethos
See above.
Resilient (CHA)
Gain proficiency in Charisma saving throws.
Charisma saving throws are extremely rare, and more often than not they’re more of the “don’t get to play the game” variety and less “die super bad and become a living vegetable” like Intelligence saving throws. Even if looking to round out uneven ability scores feats like Skill Expert and Telepathic are better.
Since we had to cancel dnd again... I am spending the night watching Critical Role (Campaign 1) and going over options for my character when we get our next ASI.
Definitely open to suggestions!!!
Aasimar Paladin: Oath of the Ancients
Level 9 AC: 21 HP: 80
STR: 18 DEX: 8 CON: 14 INT: 14 WIS: 18 CHA:20
Fighting Style Dueling: +2 damage to one handed attacks and fights with a warhammer and shield already have the Shield Master feat!
Currently looking into taking another feat possibly??? Top ones right now are Magic Initiate, Charger or Sentinel.
Magic Initiate to gain 2 cantrips and the Shield spell. Since I am the main hitter a +5 AC increase could make a huge difference in a big battle!
Charger would allow me to get to an enemy I otherwise wouldn't be able to reach in one round and get an extra attack in.
Sentinel Get opportunity attacks even when creatures disengage. If I hit with opportunity attacks it knocks the creatures speed to 0 and if a creature within 5 ft attacks anyone other than me I can make a melee attack with my reaction.
I am also interested in any other suggestions or ideas!
I didn’t know about Feats for quite some time when I first got into D&D. I thought increasing ability scores was the only thing. I’ve still never gotten to play a character who I’ve added a Feat to. Waiting for that day, I enjoy diving into the Feats section of the Players Handbook and reading about them.
My favorites are probably Alert, Linguist and Observant.
Skilled is pretty cool. Sharpshooter and Spell Sniper are pretty high up there as well, because I am and have always been a lover of stealth and range. It’s my go-to when playing games. I don’t think I’ve ever, in any game, played a tank.
What’re your favorite Feats? Which ones have you used or hope to get to use?
