Feats have been a part ofDungeons and Dragonssince Third Edition was released in 2000, but their role has changed from edition to edition. They’ve taken a bit of a backseat since the release of Fifth EditionDungeons and Dragonsin 2014, leaving many players wondering if they’re even worth taking.
Feats are an optional rule in Fifth Edition, and a 2018 tweet from Lead Rules Designer Jeremy Crawford reports that the majority of players don’t use them. Dungeon Masters don’t have to allow feats in their campaigns, and taking a feat in Fifth Edition means choosing not to increase a character’s ability scores. This is a strong departure from previous editions, leading some to ask whether feats will appear infuture editions ofDungeons and Dragonsat all.
RELATED:Join the Party’s Eric Silver Talks Moving Dungeons and Dragons Forward
A History of Feats in DnD
In Third EditionDungeons and Dragons, new characters started with a feat and then gained another every three levels. Since the maximum level was 20, players could expect their characters to gain 7 feats over the course of their adventuring careers. Feats served a similar purpose as in Fifth Edition, opening up new player options and abilities.
Some Third Edition feats even became class featuresin Fifth EditionDnD. For example, several of the first-level fighting styles available to Fifth Edition fighters were once feats in Third Edition. Third Edition also required characters to take feats if they wanted to craft items, whereas Fifth Edition allows characters to craft items as long as they’re proficient with the associated tools.
Fourth EditionDungeons and Dragonswas even more generous with its feats. Characters gained a feat at levels one, 11, and 21, as well as at every even-numbered level. With a max level of 30, that meant Fourth Edition characters had the potential to gain 18 feats. Feats in Fourth Edition were further broken down into power tiers, with more powerful feats becoming available every ten levels.
The sheer number of feats in Fourth Edition might be the reason they’ve been pared back in Fifth Edition. There were hundreds of feats to choose from, spread out over nearly a dozen rulebooks. It was difficult to keep track of them all at higher levels, and in terms of power they ran the gamut from uselessly niche to incredibly OP.
Feats in Fifth Edition
The rework offeats in Fifth EditionDnDwas likely an attempt to make the game more approachable. Characters now only gain the option to take feats ever four levels, and must choose to do so instead of increasing their ability scores. 20th-level PCs in Fifth Edition can have up to five feats, but most players will only choose to take two or three.
Some feats that grant less powerful effects still allow players to raise an ability score, but by one point instead of two. Many classes in Fifth Edition also receive abilities upon leveling up that would have required a feat in previous editions, making them a less necessary component of character progression. Even without feats, first-level characters inFifth EditionDungeon and Dragonsare generally stronger than first-level characters from previous editions.
RELATED:Dungeons and Dragons: What is Adventurer’s League?
Which Feats Are Worth Taking?
Since feats vary wildly in power level, it can be difficult to evaluate if taking a feat is better than opting for an ability score increase.Enemies in Fifth EditionDnDdon’t scale in a linear fashion, so higher ability scores can have a bigger impact than it might seem. Though Fifth Edition doesn’t differentiate between feats, they generally fall into a few different categories.
Combat:This includes feats like Sentinel, Sharpshooter, and Great Weapon Master. For characters using the associated weapons, these are always worth taking. The damage increase from some of these feats has a huge impact on combat even in later levels, and the abilities they unlock can change the way a group approaches battle.
Social:Feats like Actor and Linguist go here, and they’re generally not worth taking. Though they offer cool abilities, nearly all of these benefits can be replicated by low-level spells. Unless the campaign focuses heavily on social encounters and intrigue, players might never get an opportunity to put these feats to use.
Proficiency:Feats that grant skill and weapon proficiencies are generally useless. Most subclasses that rely on a particular proficiency grant them automatically.Tasha’s Cauldron of Everythingadded a few rules that allow players to customize their proficiencies at first level, further limiting the usefulness of these feats.
Multi-Class:Many feats with “Initiate” in their names act allow character to gain the abilities of other classes. It’s often more beneficial to multi-class.
Racial:These were added inXanathar’s Guide to Everything, and they’re so different from one another that they’re difficult to evaluate as a group. In general, their usefulness is fairly niche and will depend on the type of campaign being played.
Generic:Feats like Mobile and Tough can help round out a character concept, but aren’t strictly necessary. However, the Lucky feat is almost always worth taking.
Other Ways to Gain Feats
Though not all feats are worth taking in place of an ability score increase, they all add interesting effects to the game. Dungeon Masters have the option to rewards feats in place of loot, and the ones with weaker mechanical implications can be especially good options. Most feats in Fifth EditionDnDoffer multiple benefits, so Dungeon Masters who are wary of a feat’s power level can also choose to offer a weaker version with one or two effects shaved off.
TheThought Cabinet inDisco Elysiumoffers another interesting model for how players could gain feats. As a house rule, Dungeon Masters can try allowing their players to passively ruminate on feats over a period of time, gaining the feat at the end. While this might be unbalanced with powerhouses like Great Weapon Fighting, it could be a great way to award niche feats like Chef or Actor.
Feats canadd a lot of texture toDungeons and Dragons, and it’s a shame they’re less prominent in Fifth Edition. If Sixth Edition actually is on the horizon, hopefully feats will be given more room to shine.
MORE:Custom Dungeons and Dragons Campaign Brings World of Warcraft to Tabletop
