The Best & Worst Feats In D&D

[@DnDShorts]

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[@scormern]

Dude, I love your videos, but you gotta slow down on the Kickstarter ads, I have only have so much money to give to these really cool and amazing projects. I'm the tyrpe of guy who loves trinkets, so I make pledges that give the most amount of cool stuff without getting too expensive. But it feels like every video you release has a new kickstarter ad and it's torture for me because I have to really budget my money and I won't have the money before the kickstarter ends.

[@avenshil]

This is an awesome supplement…and Backed!

[@samjohnston5877]

Your purple hoodie goes unnecessarily hard

[@garyco766]

There is no way in hell that Lucky is the #1 feat. It's good, but doesn't even come close to the other 4 listed here, especially Fey Touched and Sharpshooter/GWM. It's arguably less good than Elvin Accuracy, Resilience or Sentinel also. Why? Because it's 3/day. Good, not broken.

[@Supremax67]

Keen Mind is actually OP if you have a bad memory but your character no longer does. Make the DM recall everything you don't remember in the last 30 in-game days with perfect details. Factual!

[@Oberonsen]

Mixing best and worst feats is genius for retention, especially since we have bookmarks on the timeline these days

[@whitleypedia]

he's so good at this -- almost makes me wish I still cared about 5e

[@Rathkryn]

@@whitleypedia You must care at least a little bit otherwise you wouldn't have loaded the video to comment.

[@socialistrepublicofvietnam1500]

I've seen this format in this order a long time ago, so I don't think he invented it and I'm not sure if that was even intentional Still very smart if it was

[@desmo6765]

What does “retention” mean? (English isn’t my first language)

[@socialistrepublicofvietnam1500]

@@desmo6765 "the condition of being retained." Specifically in KZbin, it is talking about retaining the audience's attention throughout the entire video Having high retention is a really good thing in KZbin

[@nicholasprovencher7360]

My favorite use of tavern brawler: punching an opponent, then using a bonus action to grapple them. They die. Use my action on the following turn to pick up the first creatures corpse and smack them into another creature, then, since the first creature was an improvised weapon, use my bonus action to start a grapple with the second creature

[@Feu_Ghost]

Damn, that sound like a very feral barbarian build

[@UninterestingPedant]

Keen Mind has a great IRL usage for when you miss something in your notes and your DM is being uncool about it - having your character remember everything perfectly from the last month in game time means that I the player can’t be punished for having had things happen in my life in between sessions and not remembering something

[@HurricaneHawk]

Plus the best thing for a wizard with Keen Mind is that they can recall every single spell they've read in the last 30 days. With a GM willing to roll with it (so basically only in a one-shot unless you're luckier than a Halfling), you've got a Wizard with the ability to use any of their spells every day. True, the designers came out and said that it wasn't intended to change how spell preparation works, but as written it definitely does.

[@fizhing]

To be fair thats kind of just your DM being a jerk imo

[@Plystire]

It also means you can't be punished for being a lazy player that doesn't take any notes... which is more often the case.

[@Rathkryn]

That's why the DM allows 31 in-game days to pass in between you not taking notes and then needing to remember all thirteen of the books on the mayor's bookshelf that you made him list for the lols.

[@Coolbond2]

Look its lucky if the dm remembers half the details they concocted.

[@AtelierGod]

Grappler does have an ultra niche application where if you play an Oath of the Open Sea Paladin and is level 7 you gain immunity to the Restrained condition. So you can pin an enemy and then gain all the benefits of the enemy being restrained while suffering none of the penalties.

[@captainpolar2343]

okay, but it's homebrew, therefore invalid (unless in the tal'dorei campaign, but that would not be under my ruling)

[@jacobleach7408]

@@captainpolar2343 Not quite homebrew, so only invalid by your rulings. Oath of the open sea ,echo knight, chronomancer and graviturgy wizard are all published by Wizards in EGTW and widely used at many tables, however they are rarely restricted. Edit:it wasn't released in egtw, but was released alongside the book on DND beyond in 2020

[@philtess3126]

So, in the best case scenario grappler is able to compete with a push?

[@Gallacant]

Restrained is different, it makes them fail very popular saves ​@philtess3126

[@xriban4363]

@@Gallacantthe other benefit for restrained is that a prone enemy does give disadvantage to ranged attacks on them so restrained doesn't nerf you're squishier backliners

[@weaselwolf]

The Lucky feat and its interaction with disadvantage reminds me of a scene from Sir Terry Pratchett's 'Guards! Guards!' where a particularly genre savvy character sited the trope that one in a million chances tend to happen nine times out of ten, and preceded to set up an *exactly* million-to-one shot to give themselves the best chance for success. So as a result the 'disadvantage becomes super advantage' aspect makes total sense and anyone who knows that they are a particularly lucky protagonist would absolutely abuse it

[@Dieonceperday]

Yeah I've always found it to be super flavorful. People get so uppity about lucky, but there are a number of RPGs that have hero points by default (PF2e being a big one right now) and it's even an optional rule in the dmg. I hope people end up deciding on using hero points more often in future (as someone with terrible dice luck) and stop getting so weird about changing the outcome of so few dice per session, surely over the course of the campaign you'll affect like maybe 5% of rolls that happen, if that, whereas an ASI can mean so much more than that.

[@CivilWarMan]

Slight correction, and also one of the things that makes Terry Pratchett so great, is that the characters miscalculated, and they failed to make their odds of success exactly one in a million, so their plan didn't work. Fortunately for them, the odds of them surviving the dragon's retaliation *were* exactly one in a million.

[@Drekromancer]

@@CivilWarMan G-d bless that man.

[@ryanholley406]

PS, don’t checkout the backgrounds in Book of Many Things in which Rewarded gives you the choice of taking the Lucky feat for free….

[@hamzamotara4304]

That man was a master of words.

[@oriondourden]

Minor correction for anyone that wants to run a longsword monk: you dont bump from d6 to d8, because you can still use the longsword in 2 hands as a monk and you bump to d10.

[@Delmworks]

I mean, looking at a lot of Wuxia films it’s not even that weird for a shaolin monk to pick up a sword

[@Merilirem]

@@Delmworks Absolutely. Honestly Monks got kinda screwed in DND by being put into such a strict niche. There are so many types of monk and monk like characters who use so many different kinds of weapons. Monks should just get to choose a weapon to be proficient in as a monk weapon. Also is there a heavy weapon monk because that also has both real world and Wuxia examples.

[@AtelierGod]

@@Merilirem no, even the weapons specialist monk Kensei has the restrictions that is no heavy or special traits weapons making them redundant now that Dedicated weapon exists.

[@friskybitzboi]

I think Liam O’Brien proved how incredibly useful Keen Mind is for a wizard- especially one that doesn’t take the best notes and forgets things lmao

[@kristidaemon4709]

agreed xD but that only works for dnd campaign where people take things seriously. I campaign in our friends circle we don't pay much attention to day/night, time, North or memories of something. DM can just tell whatever it is. However, in Critical Role that was so valuable!

[@NigeltheLucky]

In his case, in the game he's in, it works. Keen mind is as important as the DM makes it.

[@nickm9102]

​@@NigeltheLuckyagreed, there are a lot of mechanics that have the DM decide how effective they are. In the case of keen mind it can be useful for some mid lvl casters. Need a key/tool/item that you saw a few weeks ago, Fabricate it. Need a map that can't be stolen, look at one then replicate it with an illusion spell to show to others. Party gets arrested, use prestidigitation to make a trinket of an old key that happens to be the exact cut for the cell key. Granted you can do this without the feat with the right DM but I have found that creating a rules interaction keeps DM interpretation out is more likely to work. With the right DM you will be given a chance to recall the key to make it but I have had DMs that will just say no. They are usually the same DMs that make illusion spells useless because "everyone knows about illusion magic so they won't believe it." And your high lvl spell slot is gone for nothing. (Actually happened in an AL Epic)

[@NigeltheLucky]

@@nickm9102 those illusion don’t work dms piss me off. They actually had to make it take an action and an investigate and some dms will say… too unlikely no roll. Same with stealth, I consider rogues ninjas so if you can give me any reason you could vanish I’ll allow it. I don’t believe dms that selectively lean on realism when tiny men can kill dragons with swords and daggers

[@buboniccraig896]

I'd make an argument that Keen Mind lets you memorize a spell to copy into your spellbook at a glance. And if your GM is REALLY insane, technically preparing spells is "memorization." So with Keen Mind, you'd be able to have every single spell prepared.

[@VakovoSheggorri]

Upon seeing the spell be cast, or upon seeing a spell scroll? Because if its the former, then pairing that with Arcane trickster can get you the true "Definately not a bootleg Uchiha" vibes.

[@Arkainjel]

It also makes it so you don’t have to take notes or make history checks on anything that happened recently. Just ask the DM for the information that you as a character would already remember but you as a player may have forgotten.

[@kilbert666]

If you tried to convince me that Keen Mind means you have unlimited spell slots, I'd kick you out of my game.

[@WD_Fluidity]

@@kilbert666Not unlimited spell slots, unlimited spells known.

[@Plystire]

​@@kilbert666 Not unlimited spell slots, just unlimited spells prepared.... specifically as a Wizard, as the means for "preparing a spell" for them means (RAW) memorizing the incantations and gestures needed to cast them. Keen Mind specifically states "You can accurately recall anything you have seen or heard within the past month", which IS memorization. So if the Wizard has read through their entire spellbook sometime within the last MONTH, they essentially have all their spells prepared. This most definitely is NOT RAI, but it most definitely is RAW.

[@luckyblock403]

Literaly Athletic is a better feat than grappler for grappling builds, you suplex your grapled target by jumping and dropping it and the you can stand up from prone, if you can jump more than 10ft (this hight includes your characters' hight) the target falls prone and you only need 5ft, to not be prone, and with Tasha's custom fall rules, the target gets his and half your fall damage

[@OrangeyChocolate]

Now I'm just picturing a dude in full plate performing a Spinning Piledriver on some hapless sod.

[@luckyblock403]

its just hulk hogan in a shiny armor

[@davidedevincentis5444]

The Super Mario build

[@unironicallylikesranger7122]

While not broken, the Tough feat is severely underrated

[@MayHugger]

It’s really not. If you don’t need it, then extra hp doesn’t add anything, and if you do need it, then the DM has overtuned the numbers. It’s a redundant noob trap.

[@ameliasaurus9326]

@@MayHugger​​⁠​​⁠I use Tough on some of my tank builds and it can be hilarious to watch my DMs faces when I say I’m still alive after the fifth attack. I blame this feat for being the only reason I have never had a character die, even in campaigns where several other characters died. It’s not a great feat, sure, but it’s not bad by any means.

[@MayHugger]

@@ameliasaurus9326 Refer to my previous comment. It is bad, and redundant.

[@thalmorjusticiar1]

@@MayHugger just take that spelljammer background that gives it to you for free. what else are you using your background for anyway, gambling proficiency?

[@Plystire]

​@@MayHugger Not sure there's a single character that WOULDN'T benefit from extra health. If the DM's doing their job, there is no such thing as a safe build.

[@Kreed360]

Say what you will about bad feats but you cannot deny the cool imagery of a wizard running into battle armed with a great axe, a trident, a musket, and a whip wearing studded leather armor.

[@sneezyfido]

But how many whips would a leather armor wear? I'm all for it, even if it's for curiosity's sake.

[@Femmigje112]

I’ve played with Feytouched little brother Shadowtouched on my Triton Rogue. The most fun combat encounter I had was turning Invisible and disabling a hell portal while everyone else were fighting the demons. Plus, it fitted thematically with my character

[@ryanholley406]

Shadow Touched is fantastic as well, and something I try to get on my spellcasters when possible. I only lean Fey Touched first for access to Gift of Alacrity.

[@Rayne_Storms]

Did you just call Keen Mind useless? Are you trying to rage-bait me into making a comment? I shan't be baited, sir. I shan't!

[@dolgorukysvyatoslav]

I remember all keys in that store down to the last one

[@cjr4908]

he commented

[@avakio19]

He called it useless because it is useless.

[@marcigo36]

⁠@@avakio19I play a pact of the chain warlock in our current campaign and the whole build is based on the keen mind feat. My character is an excellent spy/information broker. You might be unaware of how a character can benefit from photographic memory, but that does not mean it is useless.

[@andrewandsueniemeyer6958]

I have to agree Keen mind in an espionage campaign is God tier. Outside of that, most games don't see enough RP to make it worth the time

[@TheGiggleMasterP]

Best feat in D&D: Getting your friends together to play. Worst feat in D&D: Getting your friends together to play. 😅

[@thediamondking1170]

10:42 The Grappler feat is also the only feat available for free on D&D Beyond

[@alexgruel9932]

I think... technically, RAW you can use sharpshooter and great weapon master on the same strike. GWM requires "a melee attack with a heavy weapon that you are proficient with" and sharpshooter says "make an attack with a ranged weapon that you are proficient with". Not a ranged attack, an attack with a ranged weapon. A Heavy Crossbow is both a ranged weapon and a heavy weapon. Fitting the description of both. Therefore, hitting someone, as in bludgeoning them with a Heavy Cross bow allows you to take a -10 to hit for 20 additional damage.

[@trebmal587]

I guess... but going by RAW that melee heavy crossbow attack would probably be considered an improvised weapon attack, which you wouldn't be proficient with unless you also took the tavern brawler feat... That's a lot of feats for being able to make an attack that is unlikely to hit ^^.

[@themonkeys96]

​@@trebmal587It also may not necessarily be a heavy weapon and/or a ranged weapon. The DM can treat it as a the closest analogue of a real weapon, which is this case may be a club or mace. Considering it as such would nullify both feats.

[@Kreed360]

@@trebmal587 This just made me realize, my current DnD character uses a gun that also has an axe head for melee attacks, which means, if I took sharpshooter then the beneficial effects should technically apply to those melee attacks without me having to suffer any improvised weapon disadvantage. Which would make the already broken feat even more broken for me. Now if only the weapon was heavy umu.

[@ColonelMustache]

I think most DMs would rule that a crossbow isn’t a ranged weapon while you’re using it to make a melee attack. The rules might support this too, but I’d have to check. I’m all for cheeky rulings to support niche strategies, but with this one you’re stacking two of the best feats in the game.

[@collinw9792]

Using a ranged weapon as a melee weapon would be making an improvised weapon attack, which would make it no longer a ranged weapon unfortunately. If your GM goes for it though yes you can, although a -10 to hit would probably not be worth it except in very specific scenarios

[@xiongray]

But... but... Grappler is the only Feat in Dnd Beyond.

[@xxertz164]

Idk if you are meming or not. But if you aren't it's because you don't have any books purchased. They unlock a ton of stuff feats included

[@seaserpent079]

You can also get the svirfeblin magic feat for some reason.

[@AdarinMonk]

You should be using pencil and paper & the D&D wikidot anyways

[@nothanksgoodbye]

@@xxertz164ngl, there’s no point actually using D&D beyond when there’s so many other resources that you can just combine.

[@babket6972]

Pls give examples of these​@@nothanksgoodbye

[@ryanholley406]

Let’s not forget that Fey Touched gives access to Gift of Alacrity, a spell accessible by only a single subclass in the Chronurgy Wizard (assuming you allow EGtW content) - an incredibly useful spell that assists with boosting initiative and doesn’t require concentration. Use this on a Sorcerer who can extend Extend Spell this before a long rest to start the next day with 8 hours of GoA plus a reset free casting or twinned spell to buff 2 allies at the cost of a single Sorcery Point and no spell slots.

[@y2a1979]

I'd just like to take a moment to recognize you for talking about Sharpshooter properly, and recognizing the advantages of longbowing from afar, rather than pairing it with hand crossbows like everyone else seems to, as though every combat ever will happen within their terrible range.

[@ilovethelegend]

I mean, they will if you've got primarily melee-focused martials in your party. Actually, in my experience, the thing that's very rare to happen is that you'll be able to engage a group of enemies from further than 60 or 100 feet out.

[@jothrax4673]

My friend once used Sharpshooter+Longbow to kill all of an armies siege giant-zombies before they could even reach the wall.

[@Thumperoo]

I'd just like to take a moment to say that both Sharpshooter and GWM feats are seriously nerfed at my table, as they are totally OP and broken. Like a lot of 5e rules, aimed at showering players with 'gifts' and multiple Toys'R'Us badassery options without regards to immersion, context, or general game balance, so that said-players can keep buying more badly-written books from WotC... * end of rant , thank you ! *

[@HannahSiemer]

My longest running character is a wood elf, with a long bow, so you want to talk about the stereotype everyone using short crossbows, I am here to break that stereotype

[@notbob555]

@@Thumperoo How you gonna rant like that but then not specify how you changed the feats?

[@spectralfilmer1264]

I think an honorable mention is the alert feat, it gives you a plus 5 to initiative and you can’t be surprise attacked

[@enzoponce1881]

It also adds the fact that enemies can't have advantage against you as a result of you not seeing them, meaning RAW you don't get advantage'd even when blinded

[@spectralfilmer1264]

@@enzoponce1881 yea that’s rlly good to

[@elrondxiloscient]

this one's solid. one of my players, a bard, took it in a fairly grueling feywild questline and ho boy did it come in handy. as it turns out, with the optional rule that lets bards give spellcasters extra damage with inspiration, having the party wizard always start combat with that works pretty well.

[@HumphreyBertram]

again, love the differnet places your recording in, it feels so much closer and nicer, i think its a great idea

[@brewdaly1873]

Important note about Sharpshooter: only the first two effects, ignoring cover and long range, work on thrown weapons. The -5/+10 does not work with thrown weapons RAW. The first two effects just say "ranged weapon attacks," but the other specifies "an attack WITH a ranged weapon."

[@collinw9792]

Unless you go for darts yeah, which is the only thrown ranged weapon. I made a grung monk build a while back that used darts with SS

[@Futeito]

I was about to write this same thing, I'll leave you the like

[@Kayledon777]

What is the difference between the two? They sound the same

[@collinw9792]

@@Kayledon777 a ranged weapon attack is an attack with any weapon that is at ranged. An attack with a ranged weapon is any attack, melee or ranged, made with a weapon in the ranged category. A dagger for example has the thrown property, you can make ranged attacks with it. But they are ranged attacks with a melee weapon. The only ranged weapon with melee is the dart, which works with sharpshooter

[@Kayledon777]

@@collinw9792 How does a dart have a melee attack option? It just has the finesse and thrown properties.

[@MalloonTarka]

Hey... _Linguist_ and _Keen Mind_ can be very useful. In a campaign where there are a lot of languages used, _Linguist_ can really round out your capabilities, and _Keen Mind_ essentially adds a flashback button to your DM. Combine it with actor and some way of disguising yourself (magically if you can get it) and you've given yourself a way to lawlessly impersonate anyone without needing to roll a single die.

[@leomeyer280495]

You have to look at it from the perspective of DnD being a combat game, which is it for about 80% for the vast majority of people. Most groups I played in never bothered with language really being a thing unless we were visiting aeons-old ruins.

[@The_Remage]

I feel like linguist is overshadowed by spells like "Comprehend languages" and "Tongues" not to mention College of Eloquence bards in combination with CL

[@MalloonTarka]

@@The_Remage You're not wrong, though it does let you access mutual communication earlier and more permanently, and doesn't cost spell slots. There are situations where that is very useful - and if you communicate to your DM that you want to play a diplomat-type of character, you can even have the story be one where it _is_ useful. You might scoff at the idea that someone would give up a feat for that... but I'm planning to take _Eldritch Adept: Beast Speech_ on my ranger as soon as I can, because I want to be able to talk to my pet bat permanently.

[@The_Remage]

@@MalloonTarka Oh by no means, I like the feat as to what it does - I especially love the whole cypher schtick, so you can feel like a real spy. I mainly just had the internal need to denote it a bit as feat-less options exist, haha. Like especially where one of them is just a ritual, the feat feels better suited for intermediate-to-advanced players that can do all the lovely fluff around it. I DO have to say that it is completely pointless in the majority of APs, though, which I find to be a shame

[@JacobRemmler]

Man I sure do love having 7 languages especially when it gives me the chance to teach a Xorn Common XD

[@damianjaviervediamcmahon7149]

Hot Take: I think Feats like Warcaster and Dual wielder aren't actually good at all. They 're obligatory taxes that you have to pay to be able to do something you feel like you should be able to do anyway. Now I'm not saying they should be given out from level one, but there should be a way for spellcasters to gaint he ability to cast while holding a shield within their own class progression. Ditto Dueal wielding which should really be part of the two weapon fighting style or some advanced version of it unlocked at a higher level.

[@DnDShorts]

Totally get that perspective! This video didn't discuss the concept of "healthy" feats. I agree that some feats are so powerful that they demand players take them, and as such can be limiting to builds

[@frankbarbee3212]

I think the rules for a spell focus help with some of those. I know clerics and paladins at least can have a holy symbol on their shield for a focus and some other subclasses can integrate a focus into their weapons.

[@Malkuth-Gaming]

Considering that Feats are optional and not the default: No they are not obligatory :P

[@justnoob8141]

You know what is tax feat? the one that give light armor skill, you either hinder by it, start off with one or already have a better one in the list

[@ilovethelegend]

Spellcasters that are expected to be able to wield weapons or shields from within their own class progression usually either already have ways around needing a free hand to cast, aren't typically expected to have a shield, or are mechanically forbidden from having a free hand anyway. The two-weapon fighting rules in 5e are kind of a mess to begin with, and the feat only sort of helps with that.

[@emanonbackwards]

its funny how life works. yesterday i spent over and hour looking up what the best feats are and then this video pops up in my for you page the next day

[@arcticbanana66]

Other comments have already said this, but I feel like Weapon Master is mainly for characters to get access to firearms. If I were to try to fix this feat, I'd make it more like the Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization feats from 3.5 and Pathfinder. Something like "Choose a weapon (or x number of weapons) you're proficient with, and gain a bonus to attack rolls (maybe double Proficiency) and damage rolls (maybe your Proficiency bonus, or reroll and choose like Savage Attacker)." Maybe throw in Improved Critical, as a treat. I don't know, it's a work in progress that I haven't started.

[@Merilirem]

Honestly I wouldn't mind it at all if it gave actual mastery of weapons, as in all weapons. A feat to get access to martial weapons wouldn't be so bad, getting all weapons under the sun though, that would be awesome on characters who normally can't use simple and martial. There are so many builds that just can't use all the weapons you want and personally I like the option of using whatever we find. Sometimes the DM gives the fighter too many weapons and a hand me down can go to the other members. Some of which might be running melee caster builds that don't get the proficiency they need for that weapon even though they could use it otherwise. Having to just multiclass fighter instead because feats literally can't do that is kinda silly.

[@AtelierGod]

They made the gunner feat to get around that and that’s a half feat and removes disadvantage firing in melee.

[@arcticbanana66]

@@AtelierGod True, but we didn't have Gunner until Tasha's Cauldron was released in 2020 (and maybe in a UA a bit earlier).

[@myself2782]

Come to think of it, wouldn't the Grappler pin move just remove the first benefit? If both you and the target are restrained, then attacks against the target are made at both Advantage (because they're restrained) and Disadvantage (because you're restrained), and because sources of (dis)advantage don't stack and cancel each other out, it's going to be a straight roll to attack when you would normally have advantage. A feat that removes its own benefits is uniquely bad.

[@Kytseo]

To be fair, it's a bit better if treated as Super Prone for fellow Martials. Keep the guy in a headlock while your allies destroy him.

[@VakovoSheggorri]

As a basic feat to pick up, yea Grappler is kinda bad. For a dedicated grappling build though, this and Tavern Brawler are your only options. And do not underestimate a dedicated Barbarian Grappler. I once managed to sit for 5 turns being constantly stunned by a monk before taking them down in 2 with almost no difficulty (they'd stunned after I managed to already grapple). Grappler just giving somewhat reliable advantage to grapplers is pretty decent on its own. Though, yea, debatable whether it's worth the rest. Maybe if it were a half-feat. Do you think it was meant to negate the disadvantage you get with the double advantage? Not how it works sadly, but maybe that's how it was intended? At least if it didnt take a full action, you could take Tavern Brawler and bonus action grapple before using your second attack to pin.

[@Kytseo]

@@VakovoSheggorri Ehh, to be fair, while it's only once pet short rest, Fighting Initiate can get you Superior Technique, which gives you Grappling Strike, which adds a Superiority Die on top of the Grapple Check

[@jonahcraven8669]

The idea with the grappler pin isn't to give yourself benefits, it's to combo with your teammates. You can grapple an enemy to get advantage for yourself, or you can pin to give advantage to your friends in exchange for taking penalties yourself. From what I know, grapple builds often sacrifice damage potential, so the idea is that with the Grappler feat is not to enhance your own build, but to turbocharge the Rogue or Paladin so they can absolutely obliterate your pinned target. It's still a really poorly designed feat, but it isn't a bad idea in concept

[@danktyrant420]

​@@VakovoSheggorribetter than tavern brawler for an unarmed/grappler build would be fighting initiate for the unarmed fighting style from TCE

[@jorisboonekamp9038]

Thank you yet again for a wonderful video that's not clickbait but actually useful. The choice to highlight both the best and worst feats was a masterstroke!

[@kendyer8761]

Him shitting on linguist has me tilted. My lvl 8 rogue speaks 12 languages and can create unbreakable cyphers. It has absolutely been helpful in my campaign.

[@SammyNail]

It's such a good base for a spy or Indy type character. If you stack it with Observant it's so good. You thought DMs get mad when you have dark vision? Reading lips of the sketchy dudes across the bar or through a spy glass? Oh the salt.

[@Eisenwulf666]

The cyphers thing can be useful but you can just create a cypher by yourself and use it, if the master wants to decipher it, he will find a way. "oh you used a cypher to leave a message for your contact, the contact happens to be charmed and tells me everything" or similar loophole. My point being : you don't need a feat saying that your cyphers can't be deciphered, just use a cypher that is reasonably hard to decypher. You can use the feat for something else. Of course, if you like it, more power to you, it's flavorful for sure.

[@MayHugger]

Bro at that point just cast tongues.

[@leomeyer280495]

Literally cast tongues.

[@crushcommando8637]

@@MayHugger I mean If you want to burn a 3rd level spell slot for a limited amount of time sure (assuming the group caster takes that spell which I've never seen).

[@SaveXXVII]

I think that Savage attacker and Defensive duelist are op feats even if you didn't mentioned them: the first one basically gives you advantage on damage rolls once per turn and the second one let you add your proficiency bonus to your AC as a reaction, as long as you are holding a finesse weapon.

[@alucardhellsing125]

Sentinel, and war caster on a warlock with repelling blast goes crazy.

[@nicholass5621]

throw in some echo knight levels and you're cooking with gas :)

[@cve7335]

Forcelance or even better, Ghostlance!

[@MayHugger]

Except it doesn’t work work the way I bet you think it does, as War caster lets you cast a spell instead of using your attack of opportunity. Thus, Sentinel doesn’t do anything for Eldritch Blast. Also, since Eldritch Blast is a ranged spell attack, you would still have disadvantage.

[@thalmorjusticiar1]

Sentinel reduces an enemy's speed to 0 when you hit an opportunity attack, which isn't the same as casting a spell. Despite that, you can do something similar with polearm master and war caster because of the order of operations. Hold a polearm with reach, creature steps into your 10ft melee range, trigger opportunity attack, opportunity attack is replaced by the cast a spell action, eldritch blast hits x times and creature is pushed x feet away, likely preventing damage. You don't even need to be proficient with the weapon, just holding it increases your melee range.

[@michaelgrouse7850]

I'd say that "Holding a pole arm for purposes of triggering sentinel requires both hands and the use of the pole arm". Leaving no hands free for the spell/cantrip of eldritch blast which has no feat allowing you to cast as a reaction. You can't have your pole arm in 2 hands for the attack manuvere that was clearly intended to be a performed with the pole arm and yet not have it come into play while casting a cantrip with one hand. No having of cake and eating it too. Rules as intended not as written.

[@Thrythlind]

In my brother's current airship-focused campaign, my monk has Dungeon Delver... I picked it up as an RP thing, but due to how my brother builds battlefields and hazards, the resistance to traps has been useful... a lot.

[@deltadubs]

the video just came out, but I already know there's the grappler feat somewhere

[@DnDShorts]

oh yeah, the best feat in the game had to make an appearance!! GRAPPLE 'EM BABY!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥💀

[@stevethemagicguy]

​@@DnDShortsyou should be grappled for making that joke😅

[@OrangeyChocolate]

Grappler? I hardly know'er. **badum-tsss!**

[@vanessaeve925]

One of my old characters was an Elf Ranger who had the Sharpshooter feat. She was an absolute beast with a longbow. Miss playing her.

[@scorpionvenom9031]

I feel elemental adept (all of them) should get an honorable mention, ignoring resistances of a specific damage type and increasing your damage slightly is great

[@CivilWarMan]

I think Elemental Adept sounds better on paper than it is in practice. It's got great flavor potential for a single damage type blasting character, but there are a few things holding it back. 1. It ignores resistance, but does nothing against immunity, so that Pyromancer character is still going to need to take some non-fire spells in order to contribute to that fight against the Adult Red Dragon. 2. It only applies to spells you cast, so it has no effect for a character like an Ascendant Dragon Monk or a character wielding a Flametongue weapon. 3. Not all damage types are created equal. Elemental Adept (Thunder), for instance, is not going to be relevant all that often, since there are relatively few spells that deal Thunder damage, and also not a ton of monsters that are resistant to it. Elemental Adept (Fire), on the other hand, applies to a ton of spells, and there are a ton of fire-resistant enemies, but there are also a ton of fire immune enemies, which circles back around to issue 1. 4. The damage boost only happens at all if you roll poorly, and even then the boost can be pretty disappointing. One of the *best* case scenarios for the damage boost is a Fire Adept rolling all 1s on their Fireball, because the feat would then double the damage from 8 to 16, for a spell that does an average damage of 28. Worst case scenario, you roll all 2s on the damage dice, and get no damage boost at all. It basically ends up coming down to the fact that while a character that specializes in a single element is a really cool theme, Elemental Adept doesn't really provide enough of a benefit for that type of character, especially when compared to a character that gets around resistances by diversifying the damage types of their spells.

[@fizhing]

Honorable mention for the one of the worst feats yeah

[@ZeoffArcaneOfficial]

I honestly wish Elemental Adept did something a little more, like once per turn being able to convert other elemental spells to your element of choice as well. It'd be so cool (heh) to be making an ice character and be able to use Elemental Adept to turn Fireball into a a blizzardball. Especially for the elements that don't have enough spells.

[@thalmorjusticiar1]

@@ZeoffArcaneOfficial transmute spell metamagic and order of scribes wizard both do that already. you can do a decent level 2 combo with vuman scribe wizard and elemental adept, it increases magic missile's minimum damage to 9 from 6.

[@ZeoffArcaneOfficial]

@@thalmorjusticiar1 I am aware that both of those do that. It just seems like something that should have been on the elemental feat long before those became a thing

[@KillerGamesINC]

Damn, thanks for the info on Grappler, looks like I have a new Feat slot for my unarmed grappler fighter.

[@nate51691]

The really funny combo is adding War Caster to the already silly Polearm Master and Sentinel combo, while playing a warlock with the Repelling Blast invocation. Now, when an enemy comes within 10 feet of you, not only do you get an attack of opportunity which stops them in their tracks -- you can opt to cast Eldritch Blast as your attack of opportunity instead of a polearm strike, and not only STOP their movement, but then *launch them back 10 feet per blast that lands* (so, 30 feet potentially when you'd have all three feats up). It's a lot of investment, and won't be happening until late game, but it's the KING of 1v1 nuisances against any enemy without ranged attacks of their own.

[@mightytoothpick]

you can have it by level 8 if you take the human variant with a feat at level 1

[@Guy_With_A_Laser]

Warcaster and Sentinel don't work together. Warcaster replaces your opportunity attack with a spell, so Sentinel doesn't apply.

[@mightytoothpick]

@@Guy_With_A_Laser sentinel doesnt specify it needs to be a melee attack on opportunity attack, it says "When you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, the creature's speed becomes 0 for the rest of the turn. Creatures provoke opportunity attacks from you even if they take the Disengage action before leaving your reach. When a creature within 5 feet of you makes an attack against a target other than you (and that target doesn't have this feat), you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against the attacking creature." no where does it say it needs to be a melee attack, so this combo works

[@Guy_With_A_Laser]

@@mightytoothpick Yes, that is what Sentinel says. The problem is War Caster specifically says "you can use your reaction to cast a spell at the creature, RATHER THAN making an opportunity attack" (emph mine). You are not making an opportunity attack with War caster, so Sentinel does not apply.

[@thalmorjusticiar1]

@@Guy_With_A_Laser This seems to be a common misunderstanding. A lot of players seem to think that casting a spell is just any old action, but it's specifically the "casting a spell" action, which is distinct from the "opportunity attack" action. when a feature mentions an "opportunity attack" it means exclusively the weapon or unarmed attack that is made when a creature exits your melee range. The reason polearm master works with warcaster is that you are replacing the opportunity attack that polearm master gives you with the casting a spell action. This, in turn, nullifies sentinel, which only triggers on the opportunity attack action.

[@Delmworks]

8:53 we really need to bring back traps in a big way, but the Venn diagram of interesting traps and traps you can organically place within an area is almost two separate circles

[@markturner1220]

Gotta love Elven accuracy!

[@camael4209]

My dm was like, wait whut? when io showed it to him (he did allow it), it just feels too good to roll 3 d20's

[@unboundsoul3582]

My favorite combo of this was using it in combination with Artificer Armorer Thunder Gauntlets to impose disadvantage while my wolf totem barbarian buddy went reckless and was giving me advantage. Banger synergy.

[@trebmal587]

Elven Accuracy is a bit overrated IMO. Whenever you roll an attack with advantage, you're already quite likely to succeed. The only time this feat does something is when your two first rolls didn't allow you to land the attack, but the third did. Sure it might make a difference sometimes, but was that really worth sacrificing an ability score improvement or not taking an other feat ? The only builds I can think of that truely benefit from this feat are the critfishers or power attack users (sharpshooter or heavy weapon master). But even then, I think the lucky feat would do more for them, and whithout having to play an elf or half-elf. EDIT : oh wait, I just realised that you can't use elven accuracy with strength based attack, so you can't use it on HWM unless you made the heavy weapon a monk weapon, a batllesmith weapon, or an hexblade pact weapon...

[@unboundsoul3582]

@@trebmal587 it's extremely useful in letting you spread your stats around to other areas because consistent advantage means you don't need to bump your attacking stat quite as much. Further, any build that just needs to hit can always benefit from higher accuracy (sometimes you just roll badly) and higher crit rate (more damage!) Plus, any build that does an on-hit effect (Armorer Thunder Gauntlets to impose disadvantage on attacks against allies meaning they target you) just needs to hit *once* to be doing their job.

[@trebmal587]

@@unboundsoul3582 Well, upon re-reading the feat, my opinion changed a bit : the fact that it is an half feat makes it a bit better than I thought, I didn't remember it was one. Still, getting a third dice on advantages is probably not that much of a buff for most characters, but on low accuracy builds or crit fishers it might be.

[@wintersolace9206]

we've since learned to ban the lucky feat when 3 people in our party had it, it slowed things down so much

[@Dutchofclass]

I love the prodigy feat! 😮 the slander on this!

[@zachrom2621]

same. The character I'm playing is a linguistics nerd and a skill monkey, so Prodigy is literally perfect for him. The fact that he also slandered linguist... tsk tsk tsk

[@Griff1011]

I used Dungeon Delver to great effect in a heist one shot. Obviously it was a very particular arcane trickster build, but there is a niche place for it.

[@Curathol]

So, I have taken the Weapon Master-feat unironically once and I am not regretting it (yet). I have a Variant Human Bladesinging Wizard that started with an 18 in INT, a 17 in DEX and a 16 in CON. Race feat went into Tough for the extra HP, but on level 4 I actually came out an Weapon Master as a half feat. I picked up shortsword, longsword, scimitar and longbow (i already had the rapier proficiency due to my subclass). Basically to be a bit thematic with the whole Bladsinging-vibe but also for some niche applications. Shortsword proficiency to go into a Sun Blade later on and go full Jedi with that build and the longbow proficiency to bolster the ranged damage with the Bladesinging extra attack (fire bolt + longbow shot). It is definitely not the minmaxers route but I am pretty happy with it ...

[@thalmorjusticiar1]

It's important to know that making an attack with two hands ends bladesong, and hand crossbows are the only one handed ranged weapon. you don't need bladesong up for your extra attack, but it will essentially restrict your ranged attacks to before you start bladesong. that also means longsword proficiency is wasted, because if you're in melee without bladesong active you're on something.

[@Delmworks]

I mean yeah, but the Sunblade is cool enough that it justified going out of your way to get proficiency in it

[@regabrielexv]

If you're having fun, then that's all that matters

[@brotherfromanothermother4383]

Bro, you are funniest dnd KZbinr I have seen in the last Century 😍😂... I have said what you wanted. Could you now please release my Family from your basement?

[@BlazingMichael]

Glad to see you still finding fresh ideas for longform videos man.

[@EvilLobsterKing]

I had a lot of fun playing a wrestler (mostly fighter with a little bit of Barbarian) who had grappler, tavern brawler, and the unarmed fighting style. But I also had a belt of giant strength and a custom set of magical elbow and kneepads that made my unarmed attacks magical and hit a little harder. Very generous DM. Probably not a build that I would have tried building up from level 1, but I was joining a campaign at level 10, so everything was already online. I never used the restraining feature, but I made a lot of attacks at advantage, and with Rage for important fights nobody was escaping my grapples. For the reasons you listed, for most people, not an ideal feat. But under some very special circumstances it can add a nice little extra boon to your build

[@katzen1002]

i just wanna say, keen mind isn't always trash, it depends on the style of play (and the GM's style). i once played a higher level oneshot and i took keen mind for my wizard, and the oneshot involved breaking into a building, but we were not given a map of the building, only allowed to study one during our planning session. because my wizard had keen mind, i was the only one in party who got to keep accessing the map, because my character could instantly memorize things. if the gm is the kind of person who will remind players of anything they forget no matter what, i can see why keen mind might be less useful. but in more immersive games where the gm challenges you to rely on your own note-taking, keen mind can be a little bit of a nice "phone a friend" style cheat. it just takes a little imagination

[@astuteanansi4935]

It's also decent in more survival-based games.

[@morrigankasa570]

I actually like Linguist & Keen Mind Feats. I unfortunately don't have a group to play with:( But I have created 12 different Lvl 1 Characters in case I found a group. 1 of them is a Chaotic Neutral Female High Elf Sage background Ranger planning Drakewarden. Currently at lvl 1 she knows 8 languages and eventually will have many more languages. If i could play her as well as eventually get those 2 fears will be even greater.

[@Smilley85]

Shoutout to Elemental Adept. Our DM allowed us to use it with Class Features in addition to spells - including my Artillerist Artificer's Flamethrower. The amount of times I rolled a 1 on my damage rolls alone made it worth it. And it made me able to cook a Shambling Mound.

[@keesgeerligs8123]

Very niche use for grappler. Moon druid lvl 10 with an enlarge potion and a belt of hill giant strength can shapeshift into an air-elemental, make two grapple checks a turn (one for each attack)and if he succeeds drag a dragon to the floor. (Legendary save doesn't work because its a contested role)Then your party can go balistic on the creature. If he wastes his action to get free its worth it and you do the same thing next turn. Haste spell helps too. You also have resistence to slash/bludgening/piercing so he won't cut through your 80 HP that quick. If its a green dragon use heroes feast and it should be a walk in the park 11:00

[@sammiebray1661]

I love warlocks, and I finally made a character that wasn’t a warlock, I went bard. However I felt like being cheeky with my friends and annoy them with eldritch blast again, so I took spell sniper (picked up EB obviously) and eldritch adept (taking the agonizing blast invocation.) The look on everyone’s face when I used Eldritch blast again was ✨priceless ✨

[@legendsofabhaile]

My level 13 wizard took prodigy, it fits his vibe more. Skill expert is great, especially in a standard array/point buy situation, but with decent rolled stats I'll take flavor over optimal any day.

[@legendsofabhaile]

Don't knock keen mind either lol. if a dm is cool they can remember their entire spellbook.

[@Merilirem]

Sure its flavorful but if that's the only reason you are taking something then its probably bad. They should just add another thing to it to bring it up to speed while keeping the flavor.

[@legendsofabhaile]

@@Merilirem I definitely don't disagree, but I sorta just love good flavor. Wild Magic is my favorite barbarian subclass just for the amount of fun I can have flavoring everything to my backstory and personality and unique character style, and it's FAR from optimal.

[@SuperKosi]

3:50 "every class already gets every weapon proficiency they need" ... so were is the Warhammer on the Forge Cleric? Still don´t get why Twilight and Tempest Domain both get Martial Weapons and the Forge Domain, the Meele/Tank Cleric, does not.

[@Wintermute909]

Absolutely awesome as usual! It'd be freaking awesome if the footage / visualisations could have a footnote saying which game or show they came from!

[@zackfaircc5624]

Saying keen mind is a poor feat is wild. It is really good when paired with an artificer's magical tinkering too, especially the following: -A static visual effect appears on one of the object's surfaces. This effect can be a picture, up to 25 words of text, lines and shapes, or a mixture of these elements, as you like. You need a portrait? Need to simulate a simple yet important document? Just do it with magical tinkering. Magical tinkering is also capable of imitating nonverbal sounds (maybe like a secret door knock or to imitate a creature's call). Keen mind makes sure you know how to replicate these effects without fail through magical tinkering. But even outside of an artificer it has a lot of use like having temporary access to a library (like candlekeep's, for example), you can now glance at the most important works and for a month you know what important information was contained with them and can transcribe them if necessary. That scar on that noble's face is incredibly familiar... OH! you know! you saw it on that underground auction you were scouting yesterday. That voice crack on the tavernkeeper is bugging you for some reason... You remember the doppelganger you accidentally let escape yesterday had a weirdly similar voice crack when pronouncing certain words... While underground it is also great to be a human compass, you will also be able to see whether you have passed by this tree before if lost or that that box in the corner is now weirdly 2 inches to the left than 3 min ago, etc. A conjuration wizard can replicate keys exactly by just taking a look at them through keen mind, an illusionist can do similar stuff to magical tinkering, a druid can accurately recall any trees they have seen for the past 30 days for transport via plants Observant might directly change how your passive investigation and perception values, but Keen Mind changes how you perceive and interact with the world around you. Not forgetting anything for a full month is an incredible superpower, but it does depend on a good DM to know when a player should have extra insight into the current situation because of their previous knowledge. It is definitely a feat that needs an interaction between players/DM, but can be absolutely incredible when in the correct situation. Liam O'Brien also demonstrates how good it can be in critical role's 2nd campaign. It is obviously not gonna really change how good your wizard is at fighting the dragon in front of you, but calling it a poor feat when it has a bunch of roleplay applications seems a very shallow analysis to me, just my thoughts

[@hackcubit9663]

A warlock with a level dip in fighter and the pact of the blade loves war caster. I would know, it's me. Regarding the Grappler feat, as someone who built a brawler fighter in 4e, the way to make the 5e feat worthwhile is this: you have advantage when initiating grapples, enemies grappled by you grant advantage to creatures attacking them, and you can move up to your speed while grappling a creature, taking them with to, no opportunity attacks granted to your grappled victim. Also increase strength by 1 because even the benefits I listed are only so-so.

[@maybevoldemort8995]

Keen mind is really useful for urban campaigns- anonymity is a key part of stealth in that environment. If you can memorise crowds and everyone you’ve seen in the last month that is hugely beneficial.

[@capriccio9294]

Keen Mind, Linguist, and even Prodigy are utility feats. They’re there for specific reasons. None of them are bad, they have their uses. Like if you’re only talking about fighting things in your game knowing more languages doesn’t help you hit better, but knowing more languages might stop you from needing to hit more. Cyphers can be useful especially with how the feat works on an intelligent character. Keen Mind can help you navigate and recall important details about situations. I feel like people are sleeping on how useful tools, languages, and an extra skill (on top of the expertise) can be as well. In the right hands utility is really good.

[@kristhebrownie]

In a campaign that starts later today, I'm playing a custom lineage that took skill expert but another player is a human that took prodigy specifically because they wanted another tool proficiency.

[@romandunn9410]

I made very good use of “Prodigy” on a character. Wanted him to mostly be almost indispensable in situations involving language and puzzles. He spoke something like 9 languages and always learned things first or exclusively through eavesdropping

[@Phobetor-Necros]

I actually took Prodigy for my bard so that I could flavor his contracts with calligraphy. I weaved it into his backstory pretty well, too, so I can see some flavor uses for it with variant humans. It was the only feat I could find that gave tool proficiency & his background wasn't giving me anything, so I had to take it.

[@FelisMortis]

I also took it as a variant human, though it was a warlock. The character is a literal child prodigy with a devil patron, so Infernal language and skill bonuses made perfect sense. Furthermore they had a stuffed animal that could could be possessed by a familiar so a proficiency in weaver tool let him fix damage it had taken... Really don't understand the comment in the video that it can't contribute to roleplaying. It absolutely can. 🤷‍♀

[@Phobetor-Necros]

@@FelisMortis My bard's muse is also a devil. I wonder if all prodigies are devil worshippers...

[@Ametisti]

While not fey /touched/ I did respec to Fey Wanderer on my Kobold Ranger, since they had a cloak that let them misty step when hit, and I loved that so much I just wanted more misty step. I also love the idea of a lil kobold archer just poofin' about a battlefield randomly. They even had Dimension Door as well.

[@jonthrift4848]

Will. Just wanna say. YOU ROCK, MATE...! I love all your videos... And yours is the only channel where the adds are just as funny as the rest of the content... Keep it up...😂

[@EnergizerMegumin]

What about telekinetic feat? It gives you one stat point, one of the best (if not the best) utility cantrips in a game, and even if you already have it, it just makes it better, and gives you an ability to move anyone within 30 feet of you using bonus action, potentially giving them (or yourself) disengage at the cost of your bonus action. And it also includes moving enemies in harmful areas, such as holes, cliffs, magic area such as cloudkill or sleet storm. Considering how many classes don't get to use their bonus action, giving them opportunity to affect battlefield on EVERY turn as bonus action by moving allies and foes around as chess pieces can affect outcome of any battle dramatically.

[@Feanor6450]

weapon master is good for a melee based spellcaster, proficiency with longsword or double bladed scimitar can be very helpful if you are intending to make use of spells like divine favour or font of moonlight, the problem is that you can get weapon proficiencies in so many better ways, like a single level dip into paladin/ranger or fighter depending on the spellcasting class. Or a single level dip into druid for Shillelagh. I think the new one is the right idea, where it lets you get weapon masteries.

[@Synamint87]

That lizardman or dragonborn art from the kickstarter was sick as heck. 10 out of 10!

[@funnyblog100]

I played a college of whispers bard and picked up the sharpshooter feat. Due to being a bard he had several spells in his back pocket to give himself and the party advantage while being extremely deadly in combat once he dropped the theatrics. Several encounters got absolutely wrecked by him.

[@Waaaaagh-n7r]

Cartomancer is my new favourite feat. If you dip a couple levels into one spellcaster class but have a higher level in another spellcaster class you can grab a higher level spell from the lower level class. That means if you play a coffee lock and dip 2 levels into warlock you can grab a high level warlock spell as a sorcerer. That’s pretty awesome to me.

[@Lohleo]

"Keen mind is trash", my party going like XP to level three: "I remember EVERY. SINGLE. KEY"

[@user-if7vt2ni2z]

What's the one that lets you reroll damage dice on weapon attacks? Savage Attacker? That one always bums me out because it SOUNDS awesome, but if you actually do the math you realize that it comes out to less than 1 damage for any die but a d12, meaning taking the stat boost is better. As with advantage, you gotta remember that 50% of the time it does literally nothing because your first roll was the higher one anyway.

[@soaringraven0]

I've taken it exactly once, on a GWF Greatsword build cause I had the space and nothing else was useful-er

[@Merilirem]

I looked at that and immediately knew it sucked. Like it doesn't even work multiple times. Its once per turn. So multiple attacks each turn make it actively worse feeling. If it worked each role it would be good. Like having advantage on your damage.

[@Harl3inger]

To be fair, Prodigy is bad just because it got powercrept. It existed in Xanathar's Racial feats before Skill Expert was added by Tasha's.

[@Wlerin7]

It's still okay-ish even with Skill Expert since you can't take the same feat twice (unless the feat says otherwise).

[@nivlog6917]

I'd like to add the Alert feat on the great list Alert has 3 effect : - +5 initiative (always good) - cant' be surprised while conscious (no lost turn during ambush, take advantage when reacting to traps) - Creatures don't gain advantage on attack roll on you if they are unseen (Rogue are way less of a threat)

[@datdude888]

6:24 “nobody cares about grabbing a feat to learn languages or tools, that’s what your race and background are for” Me picking the skilled feat solely for more tools: interesting 🤔 (We have a free feat and tbh I don’t need it so I’m using it solely for flavor)

[@superrelic64]

Funny thing, I actually took feat keen mind in a campaign as a battle master artificer. I used it to round up my intelligence to 18 at lv 4 but more importantly the ability to recall accurate info for the last month. Now ordinarily I agree it's not great, but in a campaign where the party is struggling with amnesia on a daily basis due to outside influence this feat gave a chance to keep at least some, if not all memories if I rolled well on history checks and intelligence saving throws (DM's ruling). We did find/fix the amnesia problem, but for roleplay it was funny being the only one who remembered what was going on in character

[@RDrakewind]

I combined Grappler and Tavern Brawler and Skill Expert with Fighter with Unarmed Fighting Style to make basically a fun heavy armor monk. Expertise on Athletics, High Str, hit them unarmed for 1d8 then Bonus Grapple then Adv on all future unarmed attacks plus the 1d4 each turn I maintain said grapple. Was a fun build.

[@swartzwalker]

I didn't know all of the sources of the cutscenes. Those were awesome

[@dustindurham6825]

I personally like the gunner feat. It ups a stat and lets you make ranged attacks at point blank without disadvantage. This works for spells too, and pairs well with the fall damage halfling warlock

[@futurecaredesign]

First level spells don't scale in damage. But Opportunity Attacks made by your allies do. Fey Touched also gives you the option of taking either Command or Dissonant Whispers. These spells are great first level damage spells in that you can cause your enemies to flee, thus provoking Opportunity Attacks. Add them to a Sorcerer with Twinned spell and you've got the best first level damage spell available IMO. I am about to take one of these two on my Sorcerer and I have two melee characters in my party, a rogue and a paladin!

[@spo0pti304]

god you hoodies are all so fucking cool. youre the luckiest thrift shopper

[@Jackendo]

On of my favorite feats is bountiful luck for Halflings. I’m currently playing a campaign with a Grave Domain Cleric, and I’ve built my character in such a way that I can now nullify the players nat 1’s and nullify the DM’s nat 20’s Lucky is always my go to no matter the character, but it goes even harder with halfling.

[@thefloridaman41]

I feel like a crazy underrated feat is the one that allows you to take a fighting style off the fighter’s list. Even discounting the weapon based ones either the +1AC for Mace/Board Clerics or for anyone to get the true sight is incredibly useful.

[@MayHugger]

Just multiclass a level into fighter, a single level is worth a lot less than a feat or ability score improvement.

[@trebmal587]

@@MayHugger Yep, that's the issue with a lot of those feats. Picking one or two level in fighter or paladin will do way more for your build than wasting an ASC or feat for weapon or armor proficiencies, or fighting styles.

[@jmvbento]

@@MayHugger If you're going to nab a level in Fighter, you probably want to get 2 instead, for Action Surge, because being able to cast 2 spells in a round once per short rest is lol. If nothing else, it cuts down your self-buff time by 1 round

[@MayHugger]

@@jmvbento Yes, but the point was more about how this feat is garbage.

[@Merilirem]

@@MayHugger True but it makes it even more garbage when its actively good to double down and take 2 levels. Like that first level wasn't even close to a waste as it pushed you closer to the second level. For real though there are feats that are on the level of a hypothetical action surge feat and then there are things that give you a tiny fraction of just dipping once. DND having so few feats makes them need to be BIG. Like imagine if feats were every 2 levels but were balanced like the fighting style feat. That would be much better than having these giant feats that are actually worth taking every 4 levels and everything else being useless.

[@ryanstreeter6551]

Let us not forget the true way to break the polearm master and sentinel combo. Adding the bugbear race for long limbed, increasing your weapon range by a further 5ft for a greater area you can shut down and the tunnel fighter fighting style, trading your bonus action 1d4 boop for the defensive stance. This allows you to shut down a 15ft radius with your character and make unlimited reactions. Find a choke point and become the wall to safeguard your squishies while they shoot around you.

[@amyshaw6825]

I once made a wild mage halfling sorc with Lucky. So many rerolls, it was great.

[@thewolfpriest77]

Really depends on the campaign. I played in a game where the DM had a list of exotic weapons (weapons with extra effects) that you could had to take weapons master to get proficiency. I played a spy/information peddler wizard in another game that combined observant, keen mind, and linguist to great effect. The best/worst fests are really context dependent

[@daltoncook209]

It is fun to make some lesser known feats and try and workshop it. I love taking dwarven toughness on monks so every time you patient defense you can pop a hit die

[@dagamerboi]

tavern brawler with an improvised weapon shove attack allows you to knock an enemy prone and then grapple them as a bonus action, so a rogue can get repeated sneak attack on a target, especially good for phantoms who can basically generate spontaneous damage around them while totally eliminating a single target from combat

[@joemaster312]

I would like to give an honorable mention to alert, being unable to be surprised and +5 to initiative has saved my ass so many times

[@ScarHydreigon87]

I recently made a Human Warlock and took Weapon Master as my Variant Feat since I rolled high Strength, which allowed me to not have to sink my Warlock levels into Hexblade and POTB or take Fighter levels to be still be decent in Melee, and so I could focus more on other Warlock options and take Fiend with Pact of the Tome, while having the 4 weapons I chose (Glaive, Flail, Scimitar, and Trident) all being symbolic of my Patron, which was how he had proficiency in them. Just shows that even mediocre feats mechanically can shine when incorporated well enough into a character

[@collinw9792]

No hate, I'm not sure if it's mechanically shining on a class that doesn't get extra attack. Unless your charisma got dumped for some reason, using a glaive over a great club, which warlock already gets proficiency with, is only an extra like 1 damage on a hit. Which is fine! It's ok to take feats for flavor, but unless there's a big part of your build I'm missing it doesn't mechanically really shine, at least on my opinion

[@ScarHydreigon87]

@@collinw9792 Mainly for flavor to take advantage of the highest Strength I rolled with alongside high Charisma to wield weapons symbolic of my patron while building pure caster Warlock

[@collinw9792]

@@ScarHydreigon87 right! And I love that! And it's fine to make less than mechanically optimal choices. You said it mechanically shines tho, I'm saying I disagree with it being mechanically shining is all. Flavor is great

[@robertmittoniii5427]

Weapon master really helped my mage build. Granted I was given a bonus feat during character creation and it was a feat almost created specifically for the concept character I was building

[@jameslevesque9945]

Out of curiosity, care to develop? Always liked martial mages and underdogs feats...

[@helgrenze]

I love GWM on Fighters. Combined with Great Weapon Fighting, Roll a 1-2, reroll even if you use the GWM -5/+10. While good on a Barbarian, the GWF ability on Fighters and Paladins makes it better. MY fave Feat on Rogues and Rangers is still Alert. With a high enough Dex, it's basically a "take 10" for Initiative, as the minimum you can roll is a 10 (18 Dex = +4, plus the Feat's +5, plus rolling a 1). My group calls it the "I go first" rule.

[@matsh5633]

What/Where did you get all these super special races you're using as examples for this video?

[@Amanoob105]

I love the flavour of Tavern Brawler, I really do. But for most martial classes, and their subclasses, in this game it's often useless at best if not more often pointless. I shall now try to explain, starting with the simple stuff. -1d4 unarmed damage. A fun idea but if you're going to punch more than once in a campaign you've already either taken the Unarmed Fighting Style, or you're a monk. -Proficiency with improvised weapons. This is the flavour I love, but it's just rarely ever useful and the fun doesn't last. Outside of a city 9/10 times you'll be attacking with either a rock or a stick. The only real use it can offer is a, mostly, never ending supply of improvised daggers (sharp/pointy things) and light hammers (blunt things) to throw at people, but when it comes to hitting them in melee chances are you'll just run out of "fun things" to hit people with when your normal weapon would do more damage and often be just as, if not more, fun. -Bonus action grapple, the big one. I, again, acknowledge there are some rare outlaying exceptions, but for the vast majority.... All the classes that that could get the most use out of this are the ones that don't get a multiattack, but almost always means they would lack the STR to make it worth it. All the classes that could have the STR for a grapple will get a multiattack, making this only really useful for the first four levels and of the many subclasses a surprising number of them will have something else the may well want to use their bonus action for. There's this little thing about multiattack that it seems most people that play 5e (myself included for the longest time) don't realise about it. You can use the individual attacks of your multiattack to do more than just "hit person". They can, by default and RAW, be used for either shoving (attempt to push the target 5ft away or prone) or grappling. To quote a line that turns up in both the grappling and shoving rules: "If you’re able to make multiple attacks with the Attack action, this attack replaces one of them."

[@koda_1]

man ur videos are the best, have a nice day!!

[@LemanRussVanquisher]

On the lightly armored feat (and weapon master as well), you could also forgo the ASI entirely and just pop one level of fighter. I would give you ALL armor proficiencies as well as shields, all weapons, and a minor health increase. Yes it means you will only be able to get to level 19 as a Sorc/Wizard, but really how many campaigns actually make it that far.

[@Arkainjel]

Grappler should have some wrestling flavor. Like if you make an unarmed strike against a target you’re grappling, you have advantage and it has disadvantage to be knocked prone if it doesn’t already have the prone condition. But also, you can choose to go prone with it and if you do it takes additional unarmed strike damage as you also put your weight into body slamming the target. Unarmed strikes aren’t overpowered so this shouldn’t be gamebreaking. Hell you could even add that you can use half your movement to stand the target back up (using the other half to stand yourself up) for multiple slams.

[@jedpeg_6412]

In a Tomb of Annihilation game rn and Dungeon delver on my arcane trickster bomb defusal bot autognome was one of the best picks I ever took. Helped us through the jungles and is now helping me and my party in the tomb. Pretty much useless outside of specific campaigns or rulesets? Absolutely but it has saved mine and my party's lives on multiple occasions. So it does have at least some use in my eyes.

[@drzander3378]

Magic Initiate is a very good feat. Use it to get Find Familiar and from it get an owl familiar. Your familiar can take the help action giving you advantage on your first attack every round. What’s more, the owl doesn’t provoke opportunity attack when it leaves your opponent’s space, so it can safely circle round, harrying your enemy.

[@thegayghost872]

In the last campaign I played, our Paladin had Polearm Master and Blind Fighting, and she was a killing machine

[@Daktangle]

Maths wise Resilient Con is better than Warcaster for Concentration checks if you are at least level 12 and have a Con of at least 16. Otherwise Warcaster is better. So if you are running a short campaign at a specific level band choose based on that info.

[@mactireliath2356]

Nice movie clips: got Iron Monkey & Dragon-Tiger gate clips in the same vid! Pretty badass