Magic Initiate - Feats in D&D 5e

MONSTERS OF DRAKKENHEIM is 300+ pages of eldritch horror inspired monsters for 5e by the Dungeon Dudes! Coming to Kickstarter March 26th, 2024: www.kickstarte... An in-depth look at the Magic Initiate feat in Dungeons and Dragons 5e!
We’re taking an in-depth look at the perfect feat for any character who wants to dabble in magical abilities. We’ll review the rules governing how you select and use the spells granted by Magic Initiate feat, and then discuss a few potent spell combinations for you can consider for a wide range of classes. Finally, we’ll discuss roleplaying ideas for characters who take the feat, whether they are magical dabblers, discovering newfound powers, or gaining a mysterious magical boons.
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[@DungeonDudes]

There are WAY more combinations for this feat that we could cover in this episode, so we need your help! Share your favourite combinations for the Magic Initiate feat here by telling us what character classes you'd use, and the two cantrips and first level spell you'd take!

[@telkei3365]

Dungeon Dudes Detect magic , in a social setting like a ball to see if any trickery happens Anything you give with thia with fighter is great Protection from good and evil or detect good and evil You have experience slaying monsters You a scholar? Identify Have faith but dont or cant multiclass? Use this One of my favor is hex the disadvantage and extra d6

[@telkei3365]

OH absorb elements, any class can benefit from taking damage, less on a rogue, BUT HUGE on anyone else, i helps always

[@parkerbrantley4356]

life cleric + goodberry? This should be an immediate option for a human V cleric that wants to help by being the "healer"

[@brondwin]

i cannot find you guys on twitter maybe i dont know how to twitter or im and idiot LOL

[@Jimdica]

My druid uses Find Familiar for his 1st level MI spell. Advantage on attacks from my familiar (usually an owl to avoid it taking opportunity attacks as it swoops in and swoops out). I have added Message and Prestidigitation as the cantrips. Both are huge in their RP capabilities and add a lot of versatility. With Alter Self at will, can send a Message to someone else in that person's own voice....aka he is their conscience. My Barb used MI too. Blade Ward (rage saver) and Firebolt for distance attacks.... he too used Find Familiar... as you said... "so incredibly useful".

[@LemanRussVanquisher]

The other thing I've loved to do with Magic Initiate is give it to low level NPCs as boost. Take a CR 0 commoner give them a 12 in WIS the acolyte background and magic initiate with guidance, ceremony, and resistance and you've got a NPC priest for your party to interact with.

[@Mystakaphoros]

I LOVE this idea.

[@Alphadog2064]

That’s... actually a really good idea

[@unwithering5313]

I cast a 9th level YES at that idea

[@jcdenton2187]

Love this idea

[@Leftists_are_Losers]

@@unwithering5313 this idea might be grounds for establishing 10th level spell slots.

[@Bigtilley]

My girlfriend took Warlock Magic Initiate with her Monk. Hex with that extra 1d6 on each hit is amazing with flurry of blows. Plus imposing disadvantage on CON saves makes stunning strike even deadly. Really keeps me on my toes as a DM.

[@DungeonDudes]

Great combination, but just remember that Hex applies disadvantage to *ability checks*, not saving throws!

[@Bigtilley]

I did not pick up on that! Slightly less scary now for my monsters, however slightly more scary for me now that I have to break the news to my girlfriend.... Thank you!

[@Guilherme030303]

Good luck brave warrior

[@applecrow8]

Just let her know that Grapple however, is a strength check.

[@tadious9415]

It does have a lot of uses with disadvantage on checks like perception on the guard to be seen, or dexterity for initiative or the grapple checks but then they can choose str or dex, or you could go for dex on someone you're following so they get disadvantage on stealth. But yeah checks vs saves will get you!

[@alncst3005]

I really like the idea of a npc teaching the feat, it makes the system feel so much more alive

[@unwithering5313]

Training for Feats should become commonplace; it can help level the playing field for weaker party members and for classes that don't usually benefit from magic items as effectively.

[@ATV327]

I like the idea of a paladin who keeps their armor pristine with prestidigitation and uses light on their weapon or shield to be a beacon of hope. The shield spell is always a solid choice, but feather fall is nice to have in your back pocket as well.

[@safetzukic7445]

Feathers erupt out of your Paladin's back, and you feel your Deities presence, "You still have work to do" you hear in your Head.

[@charliearthur7776]

The pocket parrashoot for that failed Dex check.

[@Babidi111]

I love taking that feat just to get a familiar. it's always fun to have a little buddy to scout around and hang out with.

[@Mystakaphoros]

yeah tbh I'm considering it mostly because of this

[@dogOFdark1]

I personally took this feat with my fighter (samurai, because they have a reason to have a higher charisma) and said that their father was a powerful warlock, and that became of his pack, one of his requirements was to teach his first born childhood a minor spell and cantrips. So they can get their first taste of power and hopefully join them later.

[@Aleph-Noll]

why is int high for you? samurai fighters top three stats should be str, con, and wis

[@Derpldorf]

My favorite recent use of Magic Initiate is on my Arcana Cleric. I selected the Wizard list and chose Mage Hand, Prestidigitation and Shield, all incredibly useful spells that don't require a casting attribute. Doing so freed up my Arcane Initiate class feature to take Firebolt and Green Flame Blade, both powerful scaling damage dealers and lets them key off of my wisdom and benefit from the Potent Spellcasting class feature as cleric cantrips.

[@MumboJ]

Find Familiar's ability to deliver touch spells is incredibly useful for healers. I once played a Halfling Cleric with heavy armour and low Strength, so his speed was like 15ft and his pet owl (with Flyby) delivered all his healing for him while he rode on the back of the Ranger's giant spider pet. :)

[@chrisriley1450]

Right now I am playing a Swashbuckler "former" pirate. I used Magic Initiate to get find familiar. This way I have an owl in the shape of a parrot that perches on my shoulder, and helps me get advantage on attacks. I also took prestidigitation primarily for role playing options. (Passing off glass as gems, etc)

[@corwyncorey3703]

Watch out for enemies with sentinel... kills owls easily

[@maid_of_heart3261]

@@corwyncorey3703 Sentinel is triggered if you use the disengage action to move away. Flyby is not using the disengage action, so Sentinel is not triggered by it

[@corwyncorey3703]

​@@maid_of_heart3261 Sentinel grants the opportunity attack on enemies even when using disengage. Owls special feature most use them for allows a flyby: an attack that normally provokes no opportunity attacks. RAW (since the wording in the feat is specific), it does counter flyby. Sentinel states :Creatures within 5 feel of you provoke opportunity attacks from you even if they lake the Disengage action before leaving your reach" as one of its bonuses. it does not state IF... it says " *EVEN* if". Situations like this, where one would normally have their opportunity attack negated, is exactly the point of the feat. Quick, practiced reaction to situations that would normally not allow one. Edit: To clarify Jeremy Crawford disagrees, which may mean RAI it doesn't trigger sentinel... However Jeremy has been wrong before, and boils down to one thing, in the end... how the DM rules it works :)

[@Melantrist]

I think probably the best cantrip to take out of class is Message. Some people just can't appreciate how important communication is some times.

[@Mystakaphoros]

Utility spells for the win.

[@pauldelaunay180]

not sure : message can be good in a stealth condition, but : in combat you want that action for something else, and sending is just that better. Message has a range, that is not that good for a communicaton spell I think. Plus the limitation about what the whispers can go throught or not. Still good for stealth com or short/mid-range com with the party ... but not that efficient for what it does.

[@heikesiegl2640]

@@pauldelaunay180 there are other things happening beside combat. My players love to frighten other people with message^^

[@farmazonlost]

@@heikesiegl2640 DM: No. Leaving horse's head in somebody's bed is not how "message" work!

[@gabebernhard4601]

Lol, Warlock magic initiate with Eldritch Blast, Minor Illusion, and Hex is what I got for my Blood Hunter

[@5-Volt]

Magic initiate is probably my favorite feat. You guys hit the nail on the head calling it "multi classing lite". I usually use it to give my characters a certain theme when the spell lists for my class don't allow for it. I hope you guys do a video on the "sister feat" of magic Initiate, Ritual Caster.

[@AVspectre]

5 Volt I have been trying to decide between these two feats for my Druid (mostly want a familiar...)

[@5-Volt]

@@AVspectre It's kinda dumb to me that druids don't get access to find familiar by default.. Hopefully that UA class feature where druids can cast it using one of their wild shapes is in TCoE.

[@AVspectre]

5 Volt Fingers and toes are crossed...

[@enriquepincheira3299]

I was thinking of a concept using magic initiate. a human variant fighter that specializes on bows, choosing the wizard list, and message and mold earth + shield for the spells. eventually going for the arcane archer subclass. You can make cover on the fly, communicate from the backline and protect yourself in a pinch with shield if needed. I wonder if that would be any good at all for a character?

[@Kopenich]

The first time I saw Mold Earth I thought of it's application on a more traditional battlefield, being able to both dig a trench and build a wall in a single move is awesome! While shield is good, you are still a fighter and can wear a lot of armor, so it might be worth considering taking something like Find Familiar. It can be thematically awesome as well, as you could have a hawk or falcon to go with your archer with which you can scout, then relay that information with Message!

[@AllThingsFascinate]

@@Kopenich omg that's so cool haha

[@br0adsw0rd65]

That feat also unlocks the ability to use spell scrolls, at least those from the class you chose

[@Viking2Go]

What? Really? Where is that stated? :)

[@Sentinel851]

unfortunately, it doesn't. the only benefits are learning the spells, and being able to cast the 1st level one once. it doesn't mean you are part of that class for scrolls unfortunately. that being said, if a GM wants to let it happen, it's not going to break the game. activating a staff might, but a one off scroll probably not so much.

[@br0adsw0rd65]

@@Sentinel851 you just provoced me, so I was forced to reply with the source didn't you? How clever, Boo is impressed. As *you had to choose a class' spell list* for the feat, your character *is* bound to at least one spell list (even if this one is static and does not improve), and you unlocked the ability to cast level 1 spells (doesn't matter that it's just a single one...) *RAW* regarding spell scrolls: "A spell scroll bears the words of a single spell, written in a mystical cipher. *If the spell is on your class’s spell list,* *you can read the scroll* *and cast its spell without providing any material components* . Otherwise, the scroll is unintelligible. Casting the spell by reading the scroll requires the spell’s normal casting time. Once the spell is cast, the words on the scroll fade, and it crumbles to dust. If the casting is interrupted, the scroll is not lost. *If the spell is on your class’s spell list but of a higher level than you can normally cast, you must make an ability check using your spellcasting ability to determine whether you cast it successfully* . The DC equals 10 + the spell’s level. On a failed check, the spell disappears from the scroll with no other effect. The level of the spell on the scroll determines the spell’s saving throw DC and attack bonus, as well as the scroll’s rarity, as shown in the Spell Scroll table." If you choose "Magic Initiate (Wizard)" you can indeed try to use all scrolls with spells that are on the wizards's class spell list. Of couse you still need to do that "DC10 + spell level" roll every time you try to use a scroll with a level 2+ spell. My interpretation of *RAI* is: The PC might be to unable (lack of interest / talent / wits) to improve her magic skills, but since she knows the basics of *that kind of magic* , she can understand instructions on scrolls, and *try* to follow them.

[@Sentinel851]

@@br0adsw0rd65 you're picking a spell from the class's list, and getting a once per day spell. it's not making it so it is your spell list. if it were to add to your spell list, then the feat would call out "you can cast scrolls from this list". it's similar to how a racial spell doesn't give it to you as a known spell, it's literally just what it says in the entry. if you can find a clarification or FAQ, then I'll admit I'm wrong, but the reading of it doesn't support your position.

[@br0adsw0rd65]

@@Sentinel851 Look dude, just play the way it suits your party. It does not break the game eighter way. Since you get the spell modifiers (attack bonus and spell save DC) based on the spellcasting attribute of the class you choose the spell list from-ergo have to fill out sheet 3 (magic) of the basic character sheet-I just don't see it working the same way as spells that are integrated in class or racial treats.

[@cmmosher8035]

I am playing a human Variant Human Life Cleric. I took magic initiate and picked Sheleighly, magic stone and Goodberry. With the Life clerics boost to healing spells I have 10 4 hp heals per day.

[@patricklyons794]

That's what I did too. Wisdom based melee and ranged attacks, and 10 free 4 hp healing meals. His party NEVER goes hungry.

[@mme.veronica735]

Hate to spoil your fun, but good berry isn't a healing spell and doesn't benefit from life cleric. The spell creates an item called a good berry that heals one hp, the spell itself doesn't heal. Still a great spell though

[@patricklyons794]

@@mme.veronica735 Actually, Goodberry IS classified as a Healing spell. And according to Sage Advice, the Life Cleric bonus DOES apply. media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/DND/SA-Compendium.pdf

[@applesauceranger]

@@mme.veronica735 Jeremy Crawford has specified that this interaction does work.

[@vikashv1]

Another good 1st level option for a cleric magic initiate is shield of faith. +2 to AC and it has a 10 minute duration, making it possibly good for more than one encounter.

[@beargrills3508]

I just realised you meant taking magic initiate from the cleric spell list rather than a cleric taking magic initiate from another list and i sat here scratching my head for a minute thinking how the fuck does the cleric not have shield of faith, he's a tank and the spell has both shield and faith in the name.

[@kyliepoe6231]

A great feat for serious spellcasters, having cross class cantrip access really boosts your skill set.

[@AnimeNPC.]

I want to make a forest Gnome (talk to small animals) background urchin gives small animal pet. Magic initiate find familiar. And go ranger beastmaster.

[@DungeonDudes]

Sounds like the start of a real menagerie!

[@AnimeNPC.]

Ill go full Disney princess with all the animal companions lol.

[@MarkD5678]

Shillelagh is a great choice for a non-heavy-weapon barbarian for overcoming resistance to nonmagical weapons. It lasts a whole minute after you cast it, doesnt use concentration, and allows you to still use strength to attack with if you so desire. So if you cast it and then on the next turn activate rage, you still have 9 rounds of having a 1d8 magic weapon.

[@steveaustin2686]

1d10 if you convince your DM to up the versatile damage when the base damage is upgraded. It's the same as the battleaxe, longsword, and warhammer versatile damage.

[@93lozfan]

as a role playing choice I played a fey pact warlock pretending to be a bard and I took the magic initiate feat as a variant human. Just wanted fey magic to captivate audiences and got some bard spells for flavor and so my fellow players weren't suspicious. my DM was in on it the whole time though.

[@christianwhite8877]

I have a character that because of there spells could be a sorcerer pretending to be a cleric who is pretending to be a warlock not necessarily in that order

[@destroyerinazuma96]

Hey, people do that in Real Life too! I know a guy who has Computers cantrips and a Spell, but his class is Languages student :)

[@ruis1982]

Create Bonfire deserves an honorable mention as it is a concentration cantrip. To be able to utilize your concentration slot when your all out of spells is extremely handy, especially when you may be a half caster or 1/3 caster. Its great to provoke movement from enemies, or to impede enemies from entering through a door.

[@rufflesandfalcor199]

I like healing word for the cleric list. Being able to bring a party member back up at range is awesome.

[@ShirotoraGodsbane]

You should do a vid about familiars.

[@UmekCrafter]

But theres only one true Familiar! The Owl! (OvO) I like to reskin owl for diffrent people, like city administration worker has messanger pidgeon, or witch with a crow.

[@xelloskaczor5051]

Totally. We need more cheese rogues :)

[@stevennowachek2657]

God I hate find familiar 😭. Good spell still hate it. IDK

[@saulo4302]

@@UmekCrafter ('v'\

[@AVspectre]

They have one now :)

[@GuardLlamaPictures]

Great video! I have a new player in my game that asked me how his warlock could get access to a wider variety of spells. This seems like a really good option.

[@brunorosadasilva2139]

The part about the Sorcerer is exactly what im doing in a game with a Stone Sorcery Minotaur. The Stone Sorcerer can get the smites like a Paladin, and using any smite + Booming Blade on my Gore attack feels amazing.

[@brothermutant7370]

Love the suggestion on Paladin that is turning away from their Sorcerer powers, but still has access to the spells. Great idea.

[@crodd92]

I took magic initiate (druid) for my way of 4 elements hill dwarf. I took healing word , produce flame and frostbite. I uses all of these multiple times with healing word saving my allies from possible death by brining them up from 0 hp. I love this feat.

[@charliescheirmann2926]

A cool thematic choice, while not as optimized could have been absorb elements

[@robsonfar_]

Magic Initiate is my favorite Feat. It basically fills some gaps in your character. If you want your Wizard more versatile, take Magic Initiate Wizard and you have a lot of Cantrips and a extra first level Spell. If you need some buffs for your Paladin, take Magic Initiate Cleric and now you don't have to carry a torch, but your weapon/shield emiting light in a dungeon and still you can stabilize a dying friend. Soooo many possibilities!

[@mysteryshadow5m439]

I liked the video. I gave my bard mage armor because he is to vain to be caught walking around in leather armor lol. I also took firebolt so i had a cantrip that relies on attack roles for creatures with a decent wisdom save

[@davidburks5872]

BTW great video dudes. I wasn't to sure about taking the feat. Your video has showed me I took the perfect starter feat for my uthgardt druid. Thanks and may the pinecones be plentifull.

[@NachoBran_CandyCabbage]

I like using magic initiate to represent a growth of racial bonuses or innate abilities. Imagine a genasi taking MI sorcerer to represent their gifts growing. Maybe a high elf taking MI wizard or a wood elf taking MI druid. It can also be used to get a bit more milage from non-caster subclasses that require a tertiary stat to get the full effect (samurai, arcane archer, swashbuckler) or subclasses were it just makes sence, like a path of the zealot barbarian taking MI cleric.

[@shaylic3795]

Swashbuckler rogue with booming blade and lighting lure is such a fun battlefield commander

[@andrewvanhorne4359]

Every time I hear that opening riff, I expect the Batman Beyond title sequence to follow.

[@pprunty5809]

Magic Initiate is great on a Fighter as a level 1 variant human, it helps the class come on-line earlier. I took lightning lure, booming blade, and find familiar.

[@crimfan]

I played a samurai fighter who had Magic Initiate (Sorcerer). The character's background was coming from a noble house that claimed decent from a Gold Dragon and were mostly Dragon Sorcerers. My character had only a bit of the gift. I took Control Flames, Firebolt, and Feather Fall. Control Flames proved to be surprisingly useful at low levels for things like light management because it doubles the radius of torches. Firebolt was a good way to get an OK ranged attack for times when foes were too far away to get hit with a naginata.

[@teeseeuu]

This one inspired me to go shadow sorcerer with wizard magic initiate (find familiar, mage hand and prestidigitation) great character hook/flavour. Thanks guys!

[@dayel11]

I have a player who play a very sadistic and cruel tiefling, bounty hunter College of whispers bard. He choose magic initiate with Warlock with Eldritch Blast (because he never use weapons), Toll the Dead and Hex as first level spell, justifiying the feat as a little touch of power granted by one of his devil ancestor that was pleased by his cruelty on prisoners, I really like him! :D

[@lancevonalden5585]

Something I did was, since I wanted to do an Eldricht Knight Fighter, and didn't want the Int Score to be an useless high score for like 3 levels, but also to get a few more spells and a real background of how my character got to be a fighter with Magical Prowess, I gave a Variant Human the Magic Initiate Feat with Wizard Magic, giving him Green-Flame Blade from the very beginning.

[@jordanmellor5903]

Having a hard time picking between Magic Initiate or War Caster for my College of Whispers bard but your videos really helped! My weakness is my AC so I was tempted to pick up Sorcerer for Shield once per long rest. However, watching this helped me realise I need to try and shift my character to crowd control spells and pick up War Caster instead as I think it will help the party more in the long run rather than a short term AC boost. Thanks again!

[@caledvwych1366]

The best class to get green-flame/booming blade on is rogue, since you can still benefit from sneak attack in addition to the cantrip dice.

[@broomemike1]

I love the RP discussion at the end here. I really feel like so much of what you guys said here was heard by Wizards team when they cooked up the OneDnD Backgrounds that include feats.

[@PaiOeShi]

I went with Green Flame Blade, Find Familiar owl, Message on my initiate rogue. Really love it.

[@davidesangiorgi955]

QuiteGoneJin owl for the help action and flyby i guess.. not all DMs are totally cool with that combo and your pidgeon can still explode quite easily in combat, just saying

[@PaiOeShi]

Owl works for my theme too, and yeah can't use help all the time, but I don't abuse it and my DM is fine with it. So although that is valid criticism it doesn't really matter in my campaign.

[@BittyVids]

Davide Sangiorgi true, but having a flier with dark vision is super helpful for scouting.

[@laschicvalisca2481]

I had a dragonborn monk serving Bahamut as a Way of Shadow that was also a maker of potions. My DM had stated that making magical potions required expending a spell each day as part of the crafting process. With the Magic Intitate feat, he was able to craft the healing potions in line with the DM's rule, and with the cantrips Sacred Flame and Dancing Lights, he had a ranged attack at all times as well as a spell that could not only create light, but attempt to get the attention of patrols as he snuck past them.

[@cubandarknez]

I think absorb elements is another great L1 spell. It's not super critical in the early levels, but it really shines after level 5 when you start facing spell caster enemies and creatures with big magic attacks (dragon breaths). Can translate to a lot of HP when you half a failed fire breath roll.

[@dragoninthewest1]

Paladin: takes magic initiate to pick up vicious mockery Paladin next combat: unleashes a brutal fire-and-brimstone sermon

[@ButlerWho]

Surprised this wasn't mentioned as a spell choice: Feather Fall. Now you never have to worry about preparing it or running out of spell slots to cast it, it can just sit in the corner of your character sheet until you need it. Plus you shouldn't need to cast it more than once per day anyway, unless you're extremely unlucky.

[@smilevsky]

I once played as Rogue Swashbuckler with Migic Initiate (booming blade, gf blade and find familiar). I took expertise in Intimidate and Acrobatics. Honestly, it was the coolest pirate doing very good in melee and looking sooo awesome with parrot on a shoulder))

[@MarcLucksch]

My 8 int barbarian took wizard. It was fun. then I found a headband of intellect. Now it is useful as well.

[@williammoore1917]

My current character is a human variant trickster cleric with Magic initiate and bard spells. Their backstory is starting out as a street performer who turned to lady luck and became a cleric because of wanting luck on their side. With minor illusion, dancing lights, and a once a day unseen servant(on top of his domain spells) He has proven a very slippery cleric to get a hold of. (didn't take damage until somewhere around level 3) Also, with the performer background the bard and trickster spells let him pass as a bard until he starts doing damage spells.

[@estebanramirez1178]

You can’t forget that the choice of spells can get crazy with specific class combos. For example… - A level 1 variant Human Life Cleric can heal up to 40 hp out of combat once per long rest. Even if it’s once a day, it’s a lot of healing being done and any extra unused berries could be stored for the next 24 hours, so you’d have even more healing by the time you cast it again. - My personal favorite is a weird one; Battle-smith with Druid magic initiate. The big one is the Shillelagh cantrip. It makes any quarterstaff or club a d8 magic weapon that uses wisdom. One of the main features of the Battlesmith is that any magic weapon the battlesmith wields uses intelligence instead. In conclusion, you could actually use Shillelagh with intelligence and have a one-handed d8 weapon. The next cantrip is Mending since you don’t need a spell casting modifier for it and it’s important for your Steel Defender, which is the other big feature of the battlesmith. The first level option is whatever.

[@Medaumplay3]

I played a forge cleric with MI, that took find familiar, message and control flames. I was having a lot of fun with my owl, also the most useful of them so far is actually control flames, I used it a bunch of times in a very chaotic infiltration. it was a blast! (I considered taking prestidigitation and mage hand, but both the warlock and the artificer at the party already had them, so I had to get creative)

[@KaiserSoze679]

For any melee class that decides to take magic initiate: wizard, Booming Blade is awesome. I've got it on my Swashbuckler rogue and when I hit somebody stacking the weapon damage + thunder damage + sneak attack + a threat if they move all at once gets pretty ridiculous.

[@Treblaine]

Healing Word is my choice. This feat also lets you use "attuned by a spellcaster" magic items such as wands.

[@d.k.t.3380]

I've always thought this was one of the weakest feats unless the DM prohibits multiclassing: I've always just multiclassed into wizard (yes, INT 13 isn't easy on all characters, but it gets easier when it's everyone's dump stat) to at least Lv2 divination for the dice manipulation, and taken both Faerie Fire and Find Familiar, along with whatever magic cantrip attacks round out the party's damage profile (if nobody picked up ice damage or poison damage, for example). A big, tanky fighter with a familiar bat with blindsight on your shoulder so you don't run into invisible enemies, AND the ability to mark them for the rest of the team? You can get sneaky unkillable real fast when you use your feats for Shield Mastery and Defensive Duelist, can manipulate 2 dice rolls, and can use a blindsight familiar and Faerie Fire to turn creature traps into advantages for the party...

[@getthegoons]

Fun Magic Initiate Combos- Life Cleric+Goodberry- Disciple of Life gets to add the healing bonus to EACH. INDIVIDUAL. GOODBERRY. That's 40 points a day free, good for 24 hours. Pass them out to allies so they can rez each other. Arcana Cleric +Shillelagh - Shillelagh from initiate, take booming blade for one of the wizard cantrips, and you get to add Wis mod to it at level 8. Pump Wis and con (14 Dex for armor of course) and you have a good melee cleric. Monk+Hex- 4 hits dealing an additional 1d6 damage. Eventually, you get Prof with all saves so Concentration won't be as big of a deal. Bard+Guidance- Run out of big bardic inspiration, give out baby bardic inspiration. Especially nice for Swords Bards and Whisper bards cuz they use their Inspiration for offensive abilities. Fighter+Hex- target athletics/acrobatics, Shove, Stab Stab Stab, Action surge, Stab Stab Stab Stab. Rogue+Booming Blade- Sneak Attack off of a decent spell. Rogue+find familiar- free help and scouting. Just some ideas off the top of my head

[@euchiron]

I love your ideas about granting this feat as a boon. This opens up so many doors...

[@mal2ksc]

Having Guidance in your back pocket is like having a bard's Jack of All Trades on all your ability checks -- except that it also applies even when you _do_ have proficiency. I'm playing with a gloom stalker ranger who, after level 8, dipped Rogue (justified because they were living on the interface between the Underdark and the surface for months), and now has dipped Druid and plans to take two levels in order to gain Wild Shape, but has already gained Guidance and Druidcraft, both of which are awesome for rangers. Also Goodberry is a Druid spell, freeing up one of his Ranger spells known for his next Ranger level. He also has Sharpshooter, so if you need three arrows stuck through something really fast, he's your guy. He's also the party skill monkey thanks to the combination of Rogue and Guidance, and healer due to Healing Spirit. He's basically the perfect side man for any two-character party. The player considered Magic Initiate to pick up Guidance, but just couldn't live without that +2 DEX at Ranger 8 after passing it up for Sharpshooter previously. She's thinking maybe even running 4 and 4 on each of the side hustles to Get All The Points.

[@lordk.gaimiz6881]

Monk way of the long death Druid magic iniciate Goodberry (for convenience) Primal savagery(big damage at all levels and at later levels you'll have a big attack modifier) Produce flame(for range and lighting/flavor) Or any other flavorful cantrip like coltrol flames/mold earth Or take the wizard magic iniciate with shocking grasp(allowing you to hit and run without using a ki point) And chilltouch (for a loooong ranged attack and not allowing your quarry to heal +the flavor) and for the 1level spell take feather fall for convenience What do you guys think?

[@azurethescaletipper210]

My Human Undying Warlock to make in the future would appreciate some Wizard spells. Message, Mending, and possibly Alarm will work. A melee class can also use the Lightning Lure cantrip better than most other casters.

[@josephmath1]

a good way to use this feat is to use something like, find familaur, and cantrips that are more utility cantrips, like prestiddation, to light a fire or something small, that doesnt effect anything major

[@zoll2000]

Paladin: wizard initiate, prestidigitation or light, fire bolt or mage hand. And either featherfall or find familiar. Depending on if you have dark vision, your INT score, and how much your DM likes to make you fall, respectively.

[@patricklyons794]

@zoll2000 Don't go Wizard. Go Sorcerer so your casting stats sync up, and the spell list is mostly the same.

[@finalfantasy50]

arcana cleric with magic initiate druid is fun because you start with 7 cantrips, shillelagh allows you to attack using your wisdom, you can get booming blade from the wizard spell list which counts as a cleric cantrip for you so at level 8 when you get potent spellcasting you can deal your wisdom mod in damage 3 times (up to 6 with warcaster) per round making your damage extremely reliable, thorn whip from MI:D also allows you to drag enemies into your spirit guardians so they take 2d6 magical piercing, 3d8 radiant/necrotic and then at the start of their turn, they take another 3d8 radiant/necrotic really solid

[@joegaylord87]

I had a Kenku Bard with Magic Initiate: Druid. She had been rescued from slavery by a group of druids and had lived with them for years. She took Produce Flame, Shillelagh and Goodberry. I think produce flame is criminally underrated as a spell. Yeah, it's damage and range aren't the best, but the fact that it has this great utility component alongside its combat application is surprisingly strong.

[@mrbean3470]

Hex and booming blade for a high strength/high athletics melee PC. Disadvantage on on strength/dex checks for the opponent means shoving them prone. Booming blade them with advantage while they are prone, and they can't get up without triggering the attack, since ending prone condition requires movement.

[@TardisPilot2004]

Variant human, rogue, magic initiate, faerie fire spell from druid or bard, whatever cantrips you choose. Faerie fire give advantage, sneak attack happens due to advantage. Great way to start combat, and if you multiclass into whatever class you take the spell and cantrips from, you can cast faerie fire more often.

[@andrewshaughnessy5828]

Our party has a nature domain cleric who took this feat in wizard because she REALLY wanted a familiar. Her cantrips are booming blade and mending. She fights with a club which, thanks to her shillelagh cantrip, does 4d8+4 damage on a hit!😲

[@warwerewolf777]

That sounds brilliant in possibly giving players magic initiate / some sort of variant of the feat as a reward / boon. Hell, even if they already have the feat just adding more stuff by saying something awakens in them sounds brilliant as well

[@alphasia91]

I’m playing an aasimar paladin taking the wizard magic initiate feat. I’m picking booming blade and true strike (or green-flame blade, haven’t decided yet) in order to beef up my melee attacks and expeditious retreat to help my movement.

[@patricklyons794]

Variant Human, Life Cleric. Magic Initiate - Druid. Cantrips: Magic Stone, Shilleigh. 1st level spell: Goodberry. As a Life Cleric, each berry heals 4 hp for 40 hp total.

[@ZombieOfTheWest]

I recently made a Tiefling Bard, but gave him Magic Initiate for Wizard spells for both flavor purposes (I imagine him as a theater nerd, great at singing and music, who also enjoys books and learning), and to get a familiar (a bat named Sir Batrick Stewart), a decent form of damage with Toll the Dead, and utility with Mold Earth. I'm excited to try the new spells out, since the regular bard spells my guy has are mostly support.

[@Gnomeitall]

One thing to keep in mind: the feat does not say you cast it without components. So, while Shield is a good option, you still have to be able to perform the somatic component.

[@LaMirah]

This can indeed be a problem if you're a sword-and-board user, but an archer or two-handed build would be fine.

[@metleon]

There's also Rogue with Booming Blade and Find Familiar from the Wizard. Get advantage from your Owl (Flyby attack keeps it pretty safe), run in, Booming Blade and Sneak Attack for extra damage, Disengage as a bonus and run away. If they go to follow you, they take the extra Booming Blade damage.

[@phelkis]

I like to take magic initiate wizard, on my fighter, and give him message, so he can talk to other party members without being overheard in social situations. Had a really good time spying with the partys wizard who also had message, so we were having a whole conversation in private while gathering information in the bar. Also love find familiar: owl for most characters.

[@tpguitars]

My dragonborn hexblade Warlock with the magic initiate feat took a dip into the bard list and took vicious mockery, light and dissonant whispers. Light came in very handy with our dragonborn party where no one has division. One of favourite things to do is cast blink on myself and blink in and out slew vicious insults at foes giving them disadvantage. Dissonant whispers to provide attack of opportunities for our fighter and paladin when I get in the thick of things.

[@sandrockman]

I found this to be a great way to both get the jump on an eldritch knight's abilities and cement the character's background thematically. As they offered, I used wizard initiate, chose utility cantrips like mage hand and either minor illusion or mending, and find familiar, but the more battle-hungry or tanky could shoot for longstrider first to get in there or swap for mold earth to gain a tactical advantage.

[@davidragan9233]

One (Bard) Heal a day is good for a Scorcerer (I tend to choose Untility Cantrips) as well-They really should make Prestidigitation & Mending Automatic and non-count to Cantrips.

[@DragonKnightJin]

Dungeon Dudes! Amazing vid, on an amazing feat. I'm always tempted to pick this one up at some point during a characters career. Sure, mostly theorycrafting, but it's still fun to do. Anyway, on to the question I had. Let's say that I have an Eldritch Knight, and he knows the Shield spell. As any self-respecting EK should, really. If I pick up the Magic Initiate feat, and pick Wizard, with the Shield spell as the 1st level spell to cast once per day.. Could I swap out the Shield spell on a level up, as the EK allows.. And still cast the Shield spell with my spell slots? It's a Wizard spell, it came from the Wizard spell list, and EK uses the Wizard spell list for their casting. I believe that according to Sage Advice, it would count as a spell you know, and you would be able to cast it with your spell slots. As well as having one 'free' cast of the spell per day.

[@geoffdewitt6845]

Another great thing to do with Magic Initiate is combo it with Ritual Caster. So get the benefits of a full level 20 fighter who has a constant unseen servant, phantom steed, Leomund's tiny hut, and a familiar, along with minor illusion, prestidigitation, and mage armor, shield, or disguise self as the 1st-level spell option. Kiss that caster/martial divide goodbye.

[@conner121100]

The wizard one works perfectly for my current game :D it’s a story telling paladin who will eventually learn how to make little illusions and animate them to the stories lol

[@MN-cr5jh]

For a fighter character, I feel like this feat option really makes eldritch knight build a lot less attractive. Taking battle master at 3rd level for the maneuvers and magic initiate feat at 4th level means you have TONS of options for what to do on your turn. Plus, you’re not locked in to wizard cantrips and mostly evocation/abjuration spells like the eldritch knight. Lots of battlefield control potential! Great video, dudes!

[@telkei3365]

Michael Nick Hey, hex is a good choice Plus you can take eldritch blast

[@OopsAllAlpharius]

The first time I took this feat I was a Battle Master Fighter and I took Shocking Grasp and Fire Bolt as Cantrips in order to be useful whenever I was without my weapons (happens a surprising amount with my group) and Find Familiar as the 1st level (it's just generally my favorite all around spell.)

[@speedymemes8127]

Cleric, sanctuary, spare the undying, and toll. I'm running an Astral Self Monk and I'm considering the above vs. The druid recommendation you guys had. Thoughts?

[@lordzaboem]

What did you decide to choose?

[@speedymemes8127]

@@lordzaboem I did do the cleric spells.

[@Andromeda7Music]

My DM gave me Magic Initiate Druid for my Cleric after I rolled 3 really high rolls during a Druid ritual to reincarnate a fallen party member. I really loved this reward because it really fit with the story and made sense with her background. Such a cool feat and great reward!

[@chuckallerston9997]

Omg I was just looking up genies when the camera focused on the genie minis cool,

[@seanellis5410]

One thing that would be great about taking Magic Initiate with a rogue would be that the Arcane Trickster ALREADY has Mage Hand Legerdemain, as well as two other cantrips and two first level spells from the wizard spell list. So, if you took the Magic Initiate feat, you'd have FIVE cantrips and THREE first level spells at level four (or level three if you're a variant human and took the feat early), and you'd have all those at your disposal, as well as abilities like sneak attack and, at 9th level, Magical Ambush. You have SO many options if you do this.

[@jaboys90]

Hey I’m playing as a Soul Knife Mystic and I’m now seriously considering taking this feat for Green-Flame Blade which I really miss from my Warlock character. My only worry is whether I can combine that additional d8 psychic damage from Potent Psionics with the Green-Flame Blade cantrip? Potent Psionics doesn’t specify the Attack Action, only “when you hit a creature with a weapon”, so I assume I can?

[@DungeonDudes]

I believe so yes.

[@UgyBoogie]

4:00 That belly rub

[@DungeonDudes]

LOL

[@BBP081]

Warlock initiate fighter: booming blade, green flameblade, Hex. For low levels, so much fun to have tons of attack options and in the battle where you break out the hex and action surge for four attacks

[@Bigulth]

One that I’m enjoying atm is and eldritch knight who took hex from the feat. The extra attacks from action surging can cause a sheer ludicrous amount of damage were we currently are in the campaign

[@Speverban]

Way of the Shadow monk who knows prestidigitation, druid craft, or control flame. Use one of those to extinguish torches to create more shadows and opportunities for shadow step! Throw in whatever other spells you think would assist in expanding his scouting and infiltration (find familiar, mage hand) or combat damage (hex, faerie fire) or assisting the team (healing word, bless) depending the theme you are going for.

[@jacobchapman8180]

I sort of did with with Spell Sniper on my Cleric to get some extra range for Sacred Flame and Guiding Bolt. Grabbed Eldritch Blast because of my 13 Charisma, and played it as a sort of variant of Sacred Flame that forgoes the holy power to just deal more raw damage. Tons of fun role playing opportunities.

[@Maelinar]

I can't understate the roleplay options that Magic Initiate can give to a non-magic based character. I recently played a rogue swashbuckler in a campaign where the amount of magic you had dictated your position in society - by having just that little bit of magic allowed me to substantiate my 'disguise' throughout different levels in the society - Mage Hand, Booming Blade (fantastic with swashbuckler skills) and Find Familiar.

[@saskiascott8181]

Storm cleric - dip into wizard list: green flame blade reflavoured as lightning, booming blade, and find familiar reflavoured as a seabird like an albatross especially with a sailor or pirate background

[@asahansson5874]

I would love to see this updated with what you would pick for an Artificer.

[@DragonKnightJin]

I made a Mastermind Rogue for a one shot. Half-Elven Courtier. At 4th level, I picked Magic Initiate (Sorcerer), and took Booming Blade, Prestidigitation, and Mage Armor. Why? Because it made perfect sense for someone at court to know how to defend themselves, but also not walk around in armor all day. Plus, with Presti, he'd look his best at any given time. Spilled drinks, the occasional splash of blood.. Out of the outfit in a snap of the fingers. He was amazingly fun to play.

[@xeniwargaming]

Blood Knight with Wizard Initiate: Mind Sliver, Sword Burst and Protection Evil :D

[@theedwardstewart]

I always look forward to your content. Would love to see your pics for Magic Initiate with the new errata.

[@awillaway015]

I would replace shillelagh with primal savagery since it scales so much better

[@bootaweeb9156]

oddly, shillelagh doesnt scale with levels, but it scales with 'extra attack', hence my wisdom based fighter who took druid MI for shillelagh, magic stone (more attacks=more stone throws) and faerie fire. Not as effective as a base fighter, sure, but awesome flavour-wise.