Treantmonk's Guide to Wizards: Feats

[@Briansgate]

I, as a player, need Keen Mind, just because as I'm getting older, I'm getting more forgetful, and I can just tell my DM that my character would know, even though I forgot 15 minutes ago.

[@snazzyfeathers]

I can't take notes fast enough at my table to remember stuff because I hold up the gameplay

[@CyclopsWasRight]

😂

[@Mantorok12]

I'm sure Tasha's has changed this. Telekinetic is an awesome half feat that gives you a very helpful tactical tool for your bonus action. Pull allies out of danger without the danger of an opportunity attack, position enemies into hazards, and a free cantrip. Or if you've already got mage hand, now it can be invisible and 60 feet away! Telepathic, shadow touched, and fey touched are also great half feats that give you some great spells you can cast for free. Metamagic adept could be very interesting, probably with quickened spell and subtle spell. Eldritch adept only really offers devil's sight, but that could be cool in the right party.

[@SmugLookingBarrel]

IMO, if you have an odd Intelligence score and don't have access to a racial +1 Int feat, you should probably take +1 Int/+1 Con, and then take Resilient(Con).

[@philosophyLad]

I play Pathfinder, and because of the inspiration of your God Wizard guide my Wizard/Collegiate Arcanist's backstory cites one of his Wizard teachers as tha Archmage Treantmonk.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Awesome!

[@matteonozza7236]

Keen mind can be an insurance over your spellbook: if you read it frequently, you’re able to recall it for a month and so if you lose it you still can rewrite it within a month. Depending from the dm, you may also be able to prepare spells without the book in front of you, since you’ve already studied it with your exceptional memory. It may be a good pick for an alternative human which needs a +1 to int to get an even intelligence score

[@zozilin]

I keep hearing these horror stories of wizards losing their books, having them destroyed. Apparently frequently enough to take feats to counteract it or tattoo their spells on their body. My condolences. In my opinion, it's really not fun at all and I'd just walk away from such a table.

[@ncpolley]

​@@zozilinSounds a little dramatic. Losing a spell book is written into the Wizard class. If you think that it's never warranted to lose your spellbook, you at least can't say you weren't warned by the game itself.

[@ГрафМакдакула]

​​@@zozilinI really think it's an okay thing to do. Though I provide ways to protect books for wizards. Like enchant it against fire or protect it against water for gold. Mending is a pretty cool thing too.

[@brianfairchild4665]

Really like your videos. I read your guide awhile back, but I'm still getting a lot from these. I particularly like the upbeat attitude, and the way you don't just shit on things that are bad, but rather give an argument for why you think they're bad.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Thank you so much!

[@markcronan]

Some additional uses for the Perfect Recall ability: Good for Conjuration and Illusion spells. For conjuration wizards, every short rest Iyou Minor Conjuration a book you skimmed in a library, and every long rest begins with a new book. You can even review books you conjured earlier, extending that "last 30 days" for much longer. For intelligence checks to find out what you know about monsters, if you can read some books on monsters, like demonologist books, it will make those checks go much better. For illusions, if you saw someone/something once, you have perfect recall for what they/it looked and sounded like. This will make creating illusions of those people/things go well.

[@ariagrumpy8254]

The DM could really make or break this feat tho

[@SB-yp8vp]

More often than not I pick resilient (con) just because it applies to all con saves and war caster only applies to concentration saves. That small distinction makes a difference in my opinion.

[@krishollow]

good point

[@dainslatton9877]

A good guide. Thank you. My personal recommendation is going Variant Human Artificer 1/ Wizard X. You can pick up Guidance, Con Saves, Medium Armor, Shields, and Warcaster. Start with Scalemail, Staff, and Shield with 8, 14, 16, 16, 10, 8. That's an 18 AC and a +5 concentration save with advantage at level 1. Artificer 1 gives you access to some great spells too. Some of which can be used in effective ways with a Familiar.

[@AverageAnnusEnthusiast]

Plus you have full access to the artificer spell list

[@TheGbitte]

Spell Sniper - you cast a spell that requires you to make an attack roll, the spell’s range is doubled. NOT only cantrip, technically double the range of Steel Wind Attack, Mordenkainen's Sword and Booming Blade with reach makes a melle have reason to move, good for Bladesong

[@TheChace85]

I have this and picked up Eldritch blast. 240 ft and only full cover protects you!

[@bleddynwolf8463]

booming blade got errated in tashas

[@TJWaddle17]

Fey Teleport doesn't give you Misty Step once per day. It gives you Misty Step once per short or long rest. So maybe 2 per day... Fey TOUCHED gives you 1 Misty Step per day, but also 1 free 1st-level spell per day.

[@FlutesLoot]

For Elemental Adept using acid, the average damage bonus is higher since spells like Vitriolic Sphere roll more, smaller dice (d4), but the average bonus is still only about four (average d4 roll increases from 2.5 to 2.75). That includes the 5d4 damage after the initial damage. Bummer to see the damage bonus is still low unless it's overcoming resistance, which you pointed out was the main reason to take Elemental Adept. On a different topic, do you think you pronounce "conjurer" and "melee" strangely?

[@zionich]

I am variant human and decided to go magic initiate wizard so I can mage armor once a day with some extra cantrips.

[@mydknightcloud]

I went variant human and went fighter 1 and magic initiate with booming blade and light with find familiar for the first level. I plan on multi classing fighter 2 wizard 18 and go war mage for extra tankiness. I get con proficiency and warcaster at character level 5 (wizard 4)

[@Treblaine]

If you were in my campaign I'd just let you find some scrolls. They're cheap, they're common, they're perfect for things like mage armor.

[@maxpot46]

I took Observant as my 1st feat as I needed the +1 Int and I think +5 to Passive Perception and Investigation is fantastic because you can then add Advantage to those skills (I use Sentinel Shield and Stonespeaker Crystal) to get a whopping +10 to both. Passive Investigation is lovely because it becomes your floor, and in my game we use it for finding traps, procuring items at market, and hunting down intel in towns and such. I plan to go with Alert next, not only because of the +5 Init (to go with Advantage due to Sentinel Shield and +d8 for Gift of Alacrity) and inability to be surprised, but the "no advantage against unseen attacks" is AMAZING if you're leveraging heavy obscurement, as you're attacked at disadvantage while attacking normally. I use a lot of heavy obscurement (Sleet Storm, Eversmoking Bottle, Smokesticks) as a combo with my Tiny Servants (who have Blindsight) and so do our enemies (who are quite fond of Darkness and Cloudkill). I'm considering Metamagic Initiate for Subtle Spell and Careful Spell, as Subtle spell is great for Enchanters and allows for casting even when, say, manacled or silenced. Eldritch Initiate is pretty tempting too, with Mask of Many Faces and Misty Visions giving powerful "at will" abilities. Warcaster and Resilient are "meh" to me because I almost never take damage. I'm always using Phantom Steed (200' of movement per round) to take advantage of cover/range, am almost never targetable by sight attacks with Minor Illusion/Invis, and have Shield/Mirror Image/Blink/Counterspell/Instinctive Charm available to negate attacks entirely, which I find to be a much better way to avoid concentration checks.

[@shannowsevens7237]

Deep Gnomes and Svirfneblin magic are both in SCAG which makes it a totally legit combo with Abjuration as far as I am concerned. I’m playing a lvl 11 Deep Gnome Abjurer at the moment and having a blast with him. Great way to activate your Arcane Ward after a long rest and be protected from scrying for 8 hrs too without using a slot. Funnily enough I have a 15 CON and was definitely going to go with Resilient CON at lvl 12. Half tempted to go with Lucky instead.

[@ryancparker]

I love my deep gnome abjurer as well.

[@smbakeresq]

On Alert - excellent analysis. Its hard to go first and drop that spell that can win for you but only if you go first. For example, it is for reason I like Slow more than Hypnotism, its friendly. I do think Hypnotism is better over all but more difficult to place.

[@ericg7183]

Warcaster does not specify that you can ONLY have weapons in your hands in order to not be required to perform somatic components. You can perform the somatic components of spells even when you have weapons or a shield in one or both hands. That's how I adjudicate it at my table, you are no longer required to perform somatic components.

[@leodouskyron5671]

30:04 you can cast Misty Step once and then can cast it again after a long or short rest. Basically it gives you a free short rest spell and +1 int and that is 5 Star good to me. (Minor points. You learn Sylvan and it is called out that you canmove thought the Fry wild as the Eladrin use it and more over you can get this spell as a high elf non-spell caster - so you don’t have to prepare the spell by the text. But if your dm wants to restrict it with another implementation of the text YMMV)

[@stranger6822]

I know you'll hate this suggestion, but...Elven Accuracy on a Bladesinger with Tenser's Transformation can TWF and make three attacks, rolling 9d20 for attack dice, dealing 4d12 extra force damage on a crit due to Tenser's, and can use spell slots to reduce incoming damage (Bladesinger) to help maintain concentration. Optimal? Probably not. But it's funny. And there are worse things you can do when face to face with something that has legendary resistance.

[@KhristianBolano]

Well I mean, it's not optimal for your traditional Wizard, but for an Elf Bladesinger taking Elven Accuracy in Dexterity is actually a good choice. You're not a Devil Sight Warlock but there are certainly ways to get advantage as a Wizard yourself. Elves have Darkvision, so if you have to possibility to plan a proper approach (maybe you need to raid a place) you can decide to attack at night and use the Shadow Blade spell which attacks with advantage while in dim light or darkness. Or maybe you just cast Greater Invisibility. Maybe there's another frontline character with Shield Master and you may often find some prone enemies in combat. Maybe the Bard or the Druid casted Faerie Fire and you just have advantage.. It's very easy to find a situation where you have advantage, and rolling thrice instead of twice is just great even alone. But you also get to rise your Dexterity this way, or even your Intelligence if for some reason you have an odd Int score. Elven Accuracy still works for every ability score, even if the attack roll requires a different ability score than the one you increased. There's the new "Jim's Magic Missile" spell, which is a slightly stronger and riskier Magic Missile that requires attack rolls and deals more damage (regularly) and even more damage on crits. Well, if your DM allows this spell, you can cast Greater Invisibility and then cast this new Magic Missile, rolling thrice for each Missile, fishing for crits and still dealing more damage. I would see this more viable on an Evoker though. On top of that, there's your Tenser's Transformation example. I get that it's a suboptimal spell choice, 6th level Wizard spells are CRAZY. But mostly because of the fact high level spells are still crazy, a suboptimal spell like Tenser's Transformation is still a good spell. You can do better, but other classes can do much worse.

[@TheRobversion1]

Personally, if I'm playing a war mage heavy on control spells with 16 dex , I'm taking alert (especially if I'm a variant human). The best way imo to avoid concentration checks is to never have need for them in the 1st place. By level 8, I could be looking at a +13 to initiative with maxed int, 16 dex and alert.

[@ben5056]

The effect of the svirenenblin magic with abjurer is replicated at level 18 with spell mastery or with a 2 level dip in warlock (armor of shadows) if you want it for a 4th character. So what is the harm? It’s already a built in feature. Any DM should be able to work around character features to challenge them.

[@ryancparker]

Svirfneblin Magic appears in three different source books: The EE Player’s Companion, Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, and Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes. Does any other feat occur in three different books? I’m currently playing a deep gnome wizard with svirfneblin magic. It’s not an exploit. It’s a nice little synergy which you must spend a valuable feat for. I love that it’s unique to deep gnomes. The simple fact it gives me a reason to say ‘svirfneblin’ during my d&d game is the most overpowered thing about it.

[@Glexarn]

Taking Healer as my variant human feat for my human Wizard has been so insanely useful the entire game that I honestly would feel a little scummy about it if my party wasn't so damned happy to have all this healing. It's just been an absolute godsend to have effectively *resourceless* healing, which is the #1 weakness of normal healing (i.e. that normal healing is typically a poor usage of resources). In tier 1, it starts as around equal to a 1st level Cure Wounds, and is about equal to a 2nd level Cure Wounds by tier 2. Per person. Per short rest. For a grand cost of 5 silver per use. If the whole party has taken at least one hit at some point (not always the case, but extremely plausible), you're getting 3-5 (or however many party members you have) worth of castings of Cure Wounds for basically free instead of having to waste precious spell slots. I think I would still consider it on a non-human Wizard at 4 (over an INT boost, gasp) if I wanted the party patchup ability, though the decision would be a lot harder. For variant human Wizards, it's honestly a no-brainer in my opinion. The other thing that I think is so great about Healer is that its healing strongly incentivizes a beat-up party to short rest so that you can use it again, unlike most other healing that incentivizes pushing on without a short rest. And in addition to preserving spell slots and rewarding short resting even more, it preserves hit dice for those really gruelling sections of adventures where hit dice start to run dry, as 1 use of Healer is equal to 1-2 hit dice at early levels, and in mid levels it becomes as good as 2-3 hit dice for most characters. Is it great at the highest levels? No. But most of the game takes place at low levels. And for low to mid level D&D, I stan the hell out of Healer. *exception: if you're in a very low material resource campaign, like if you got shipwrecked on a deserted island or taken prisoner in the underdark and there are simply no Healer's Kits available, then Healer is going to be pretty difficult to use. those campaigns absolutely exist, but for most campaigns, the requirement for Healer (having a bunch of Healer's Kits) is trivially accomplished from a very early level.

[@dhaas4698]

Conjurer with healer feat, resource problem solved

[@allthenewsordeath5772]

Vexacia I mean if you don’t have a cleric or a paladin

[@AtelierGod]

Passive investigation is so rarely used because in the core rule book its mentioned once and its during the Observant feat so most DM's probably don't even know the skill exists.

[@ryancparker]

Except that it’s on literally every character sheet.

[@AtelierGod]

@@ryancparker no that’s passive perception not passive investigation.

[@ryancparker]

@@AtelierGod I see passive perception, investigation, and insight, but I went paperless years ago and build all my characters on D&D Beyond. I just looked up the paper character sheets and you’re right there.

[@AtelierGod]

@@ryancparker maybe double check next time, and remember 5e is older than D&DBeyond so a lot of functions on it might be seldom used in regular games, I wouldn’t even be surprised if DMs who do know how to use it doesn’t because there’s no explanation of “Passive Investigation” in any book.

[@ryancparker]

@@AtelierGod Sorry, but I haven’t played in a game that used paper character sheets in over five years. My bad.

[@keeganmbg6999]

@Treantmomk As always Chris you deliver. Thank you again sir. 1st notes, although I completely agree with you on defensive duelist, just remember it’s not only +2, it uses proficiency. 2nd note, if you’re using straight wizard then you hit the nail on the head about Spell Sniper. If you Multiclass, it then gives you a 10 ft reach on booming blade. If you can wield a reach weapon, you may now run around the field outside of the attack of opportunity range of most enemies hitting them with booming blade essentially locking them down with a Cantrip. Especially good on Hexblade/School of Abjuration/Sorc builds.

[@undrhil]

How does multiclassing affect spell sniper? Also, using booming blade with polearm master and war caster is effective for getting one guy who might decide to stop moving instead of taking the extra damage from booming blade.

[@anthonynorman7545]

That booming blade trick is pretty ingenious! I wouldn't have thought to do that.

[@anthonynorman7545]

@@undrhil if you're a pure wizard, booming blade is pretty useless given that one wants to avoid melee and cantrips are a fixed number.

[@keeganmbg6999]

You want to Multiclass so you have more access to reach weapons and so you can be capable in Melee. Otherwise it’s unnecessary.

[@undrhil]

@@anthonynorman7545 Bladesingers will disagree with you, sir

[@chrislieu6757]

Svirfneblin magic is also published in Mordekainen's Tome of Foes.

[@Jesse_Carl]

I think war caster and resilient is not a good choice, especially if you rolled scores and have decent con. You are much better of with resilient and lucky.

[@isaragnor]

Playing in AL i found a headband of intellect before level 4 where you can rebuild your character. I dropped my int to 8 and boosted all my other stats and used the headband to get a 19 int. Ill never have a 20 but it freed me up for a ton of room for feats while still being pretty close in pure stat effectiveness.

[@anthonynorman7545]

What happens if you lose the headband?

[@isaragnor]

@@anthonynorman7545 dm a few times and reunlock it on the character. If im in a nul magic zone my int bonus for casting spells doesnt matter

[@anthonynorman7545]

@@isaragnor ah, not too familiar with AL. Reunlocking is cool. I know some DMs would sabotage characters if they respeced around an item.

[@DyrgeAfterDark]

Good Luck VS that Beholder

[@isaragnor]

@@DyrgeAfterDark yup ill need it since if im in an anti msgic zone i can't cast... same as any other wizard

[@destroyerinazuma96]

Some Flavor feats are hard to pass on, like the memory one on a Sherlock Holmes like character. Or Mage Slayer if you're emulating a Warhammer Fantasy Repurgator.

[@scytha3721]

Currently playing a Level 1 Human (standard) Wizard and plan to Order of Scribes. Abilities Scores are; 12 Str, 14 Dex, 15 Con, 17 Int, 15 Wis, 14 Cha. My ASI/Feat plans are; - Level 4: Fey Touched (Intelligence) with Bless - Level 8: Resilient Con (Would bring me to 30 hp) - Level 12: +2 Intelligence - Level 16: War Caster - Level 19: Observant (Wisdom) 12 and 16 are interchangeable depending on how the game goes. If I end up being downed in a lot of low level battles I will dip into Artificer for the AC and grab War Caster at level 8 then move back down the list. Also considering dropping +2 Intelligence and Observant (Wisdom) to get Telekinetic (Intelligence) and Observant (Intelligence). But don't want to delay 20 Intelligence that long.

[@coldfusion230]

I think you're underselling Alert. Getting surprised is devastating as a wizard because you don't have a reaction until your turn comes around. Need to counter that spell? Sorry no reaction. Enemy arrow incoming and want to shield it off? Sorry no reaction. Want to save the other guy with your projected ward? Sorry no reaction. If you roll low initiative and are surprised, the enemies gets two whole rounds to wail on you and your wizard is probably toast before he even took a turn. Alert solves all these problems and more so I think it is worthy of serious consideration, possibly at higher levels.

[@Treblaine]

This is such a good point and this is what frankly makes Alert too much of a "must pick". However if just one member of your party has a "Weapon of Warning" and is within 30ft of you then you can't be surprised. This is an uncommon item in the DMG. I really like this item much more than the alert feat which is very stacked and everyone wants to get it. What I like about a Sword of Warning is everyone just loves that player for the buff they share and it encourages the party to stick together.

[@paulkocherhans608]

The other advantage on alert is +5 to initiative, playing a divination wizard, and there is flavor here too ;D But it's great, someone tries to ambush you, you are not surprised, you likely beat them in initiative, and before they can leap from their cover, they are suffering your wrath xD

[@ChristnThms]

Excellent topic. So many good feats, but ASIs are so important too.

[@Treblaine]

I'd argue that you never need a single ASI and the game is better if they are banned. Feats are fun, they are interesting and engaging. A +1 is meaningless as the GM can set the AC at whatever number results in you needing a 16 or higher to hit. The game hasn't changed, you're still needing to roll the same number only to add a slightly bigger number to compared to a slightly bigger AC.

[@ChristnThms]

@@Treblaine choosing to not try to be better at something is fine. But to say that there is no point is patently false. The point is to do better, and quite obviously it works. I'm not sure if you just never did the math, or don't believe in statistical probability or what. But there are most definitely benefits to raising specific ability scores. Taken one step further... if your logic says that the DM is always going to manipulate the target number anyway, why bother with PC stats or dice rolls at all? Why not just ask the DM is you succeed? If you roll dice, you introduce a probability curve. If you've ever played a character with a negative modifier, and felt like you couldn't ever succeed, then you know exactly why improving the stats matter.

[@Treblaine]

​@@ChristnThms I'd argue the point is to NOT do better. If the DM doesn't increase AC to match the increased attack rolls then the players are hitting opponents far too often. " I'm not sure if you just never did the math, or don't believe in statistical probability or what." The math is pretty simple. If everyone's stat for their main attack is +1 higher than normal and the DM just increases every opponent's AC by +1 then logically you aren't any more likely to hit them. "if your logic says that the DM is always going to manipulate the target number anyway, why bother with PC stats or dice rolls at all?" They aren't manipulated on the fly, they are set when the DM looks at everyone's stats and sees they have +8 rather than +7 to attack so just selects tougher enemies or slightly ups their armour. "Why not just ask the DM is you succeed?" Because the DM is still leaving it up to probability... ... but it's the SAME spread of probabilities. The DM will pick the "low level mooks" to have AC11 if you have a +5 to hit, but if you have a +10 to hit then the mooks will have AC16. You're not going to still be facing AC11 mooks when you've got +10 to hit, then you'd only miss on a natural 1. As an Early DM I made this mistake, I showered my players with toys that brought them up to such high bonuses that they were hitting on a die roll of only 2. Then I struggled to try to find a plausible way the opponents would have high enough AC to counteract all the stat bonuses they got. I still shower my players with goodies but NOT anything that increases their attack bonus because it's pointless. Now this is VERY DIFFERENT from granting them more rolls from more attacks or more rolls to confirm each attack. " If you've ever played a character with a negative modifier, and felt like you couldn't ever succeed, then you know exactly why improving the stats matter." Why would anyone have a negative modifier on their stat they used for attack? I'd let them have items that let them circumstantially set their dump stat high, like potion of (hill) giant strength which allows the weedy STR10 Goblin to temporarily have STR21

[@ChristnThms]

@@Treblaine you're wrong. I don't mean in a philosophical sense. I mean, actual math. Hard facts. In a d20 roll, with no modifiers, each possible result represents a 5% probability. If there were only a single target AC, or challenge DC to roll, you'd be correct that incrementing the bonus to the roll upward, along with the target result would result in no change to the probability at all. What you're not accounting for the the wide array of possible target results. Adding to your bonus means that many targets are easy, a few are an even toss, and some are very difficult. If you had NOT added to your bonus, everything ratchets up a notch, such that many are even, a few are difficult, and a few aren't even possible. Your scenario reduces every single possibility to a single roll. The game is many different rolls, against many different target numbers. You can't be good at all of them. But the very concept of "game" means you're going to try to beat them. Giving yourself the best chance of beating the largest number of these target numbers is the literal concept of the game. If you're not trying to beat them, you're very literally not playing the game. Now, each person has their own motives and I couldn't say that yours is any more intrinsically "right" than mine. However, since this GAME is normally played in groups, and the goal of most GROUPS is to actually play the game, your approach doesn't ONLY detract from your own success. It detracts from everyone else's chance of success as well. You become the weak link, which drags everyone else down. If you don't like to win, that's fine. But pretending there is virtue in reducing everyone else's fun is BS.

[@Treblaine]

​@@ChristnThms "What you're not accounting for the the wide array of possible target results. " No I did account for that, there's no reason that only SOME of the enemy NPCs would have higher AC... they would ALL have higher AC. " The game is many different rolls, against many different target numbers." Yes so when your attack bonus is +5 then easiest enemies are AC11 and the toughest are AC21. But when your attack bonus is +10 then the easiest enemies are AC16 and the toughest are AC26! You need the EXACT SAME ROLL on the d20 to be able to hit the easiest enemies you face. "It detracts from everyone else's chance of success as well." You don't understand that the DM can and DOES increase the armour class of ALL ENEMIES! Why would you possibly think the DM couldn't or wouldn't increase the AC of all opponents?!? "If you don't like to win, that's fine." You literally don't understand that the chance of winning is IDENTICAL! d20 + 5 attack bonus to hit AC11 is the EXACT SAME CHANCE as d20 +10 to hit AC16. And GET THIS INTO YOUR HEAD this is done with ALL ENEMIES.

[@theechoes6845]

Would you ever consider taking the feat Magic Initiate: Cleric over Druid? You could choose Guidance and Spare the Dying/Toll the Dead as cantrips and Bless for the 1st level spell. This could allow you to take Minor Illusion, Fire Bolt and one additional utility cantrip, and providing you the option to have a save and roll damage cantrip. You can also combine the touch and your Find Familiar to administer the Spare the Dying to fallen allies. Would be interested to hear the thoughts on this?

[@chrismarshall7131]

Don't forget that Toll the Dead will be using Wisdom, not Intelligence.

[@theechoes6845]

@@chrismarshall7131 But isn't Toll the Dead a Wis save of 13 regardless of your Wis? or am I interpreting this wrong?

[@chrismarshall7131]

@@theechoes6845 you're interpreting it wrong. It's Save DC is calculated like any other Save spell, and it being from the Cleric list means it will be based on your Wisdom.

[@theechoes6845]

@@chrismarshall7131 Ah, OK. Thank you for the clarification.

[@MethosJK9]

@@chrismarshall7131 Toll the Dead is on the Wizard spell list so it would still use INT for the spell modifier if all the other spells taken with the feat were for wizards.

[@MauriceLacerda0]

Hey Treantmonk! I love your recommendation of the Magic Initiate (Druid) with Goodberry. That said, with the scarcity of feats I often feel more inclined to take more optimizing ones, like Warcaster, Lucky, Alert, and Resilient (Con). Do you think proficiency with the Herbalism Kit to make common Potions of Healing can be used with the Familiar to restore fallen allies? Do you think it is a good alternative? I'd love to have your thoughts on this. Thanks!

[@MauriceLacerda0]

I mean, of course, I would miss the Guidance cantrip, but hey...you can't have everything, right?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

It depends how big your DM says a healing potion is. I discuss this question in my Find Familiar vid

[@MauriceLacerda0]

@@TreantmonksTemple Great video on Find Familiar! I just watched it. I have similar thoughts for delivering potions. I'd never use a spider familiar to do it. But I have created a homebrew tiny beast called a Callithrix (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callithrix). It's a quite common animal in Brazil (where I'm from). I used the Weasel as a template and gave it a little tweak. The Callithrix is a species of tiny monkey, so it has hands and opposable thumbs. I can see them delivering potions, but I still have to work that out with my DM. Thanks for the feedback!

[@Ironfist85hu1]

TM, just one thing, idk, if anyone else already said it or not, but at 4:08 you said, for opportunity attack with war caster, you'd do booming blade with bladedancer. Booming blade is a cantrip, and technically don't count as a spell.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Cantrips absolutely count as spells. From the PHB "A cantrip is a spell that can be cast at will"

[@Ironfist85hu1]

@@TreantmonksTemple Oh, i checked it, and true. So that means we used it wrongly for years now. :D Thank you. ^^

[@joaodias7152]

I agree with your opinion that in the general case, War Caster >> Resilient(Con) because of the earlier levels. But how about a war mage? With 14 Con, +2 proficiency at lvl 4, and Arcane Deflection you can get +8 on your concentration saving throw. This means that you would only fail a DC 10 (most of the saves at early levels) with a natural 1 roll (5%). As the opportunity cost of Arcane Deflection goes up (with your levels), your proficiency will go up, meaning that you will not have to rely on Arcane Deflection that often. Do you think that in this case the Resilient (Con) >> War Caster, or would you still prefer War Caster?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I think you make a pretty strong case, I think I agree.

[@bwhit7919]

If you have a DM that is willing to play along, I think keen mind could be a really broken feat. Say you find a library. Speed read every book. Suddenly, you have thousands of history checks worth of knowledge in your character’s brain that you can recall at any point. Say you’re fighting a Beholder. You want to know what their armor class is. Ask your DM, “what was the lowest number that we rolled that hit the beholder?” Say you’re fighting a spell caster. You want to know if you should cast a high level spell, but you’re not sure if they have a reaction. Ask your DM if they used their reaction. Here is where things should get fun. Any DND setting not full of utter buffoons will keep a detailed overview of the stat blocks of every creature. Because the real life books of Mordekainen’s tome of Foes and Volo’s guide to monsters are written from the perspectives of Mordekainen and Volo, there is actually good reason to believe that these books exist in universe. Even if they don’t, there has to be some local person that takes it upon themselves to catalogue the abilities and weaknesses of creatures. It only takes one dragon attack before people pay a well off wizard to research the armor class, move speed, resistances, and abilities of the creature that just attacked them. When it’s a matter of life and death, people will pay anything. So, all you have to do is find one of these resources and then read through them. For the next month, your DM should give you an exact stat block for every monster you come across. Obviously all of this requires DM cooperation, but I could see it being one of the most useful feats in the game.

[@krandomzz]

Ty for making these guides dude, i really appreciate the time and effort you put into these. I have a question for you, i am playing a wizard rn and i'm very conflicted because i don't know if i should take lucky towards late game or just take +1 to two of my ability scores to make them even numbers. i rolled for stats. 6 str 15 dex 16 con 19 int 12 wis 12 cha i was planning to take 1.war caster, 2.Fade away (since i'm a gnome figured it would be good since i only need +1 to reach 20 int), 3.resilent -constitution, which would leave my con score at an odd number and lastly i was going to just increase dex and con +1 to make them both even at 16dex 18con but i don't know if that's better than just taking lucky. What do you think i should do.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Dex +1, Con +1 looks pretty good to me in that scenario.

[@krandomzz]

@@TreantmonksTemple thank you so much for your answer have a great week see you in your next video :D

[@isaacnewton5913]

Yes, Warcaster is better than Resilient Constitution if you want keep concentration on your spells. But if we're only looking at this aspect we're also ignoring a huge portion of Con saves. When you are targeted by the enemy caster's blindness spell, or the medusa's gaze, or the troglodyte's stench, or the wyvern's sting, or the lich's touch then Warcaster isn't doing a damned thing for you. Con saves are one of the most important saves for ANY character, not just casters who want to concentrate on spells. If we ignore this, we're ignoring one of the major benefits of Resilient Con. AND Resilient is only a half feat. In my opinion, Resilient is easily superior to Warcaster for most casters. I know you mentioned that Con saves are more than just concentration checks, but it seemed more as an afterthought.

[@JonathanMandrake]

Yes, but Resilient(Wisdom) is way more important for meelee characters. I find it interesting how meelee characters are helped way more by the mental fortitude while casters need more physical fortitude. Also, Warcaster becomes useless whenever you already have advantage on the check, which doesn't happen with Resilient(Constitution). For example one of the Warlock Invocations

[@joshuahendershot196]

The casting a spell as an opportunity attack rather than making a weapon attack from the War Caster feat might have some fun applications with Polearm Master, provoking an Attack of Opportunity when a creature enters your reach rather than leaving it, could have some fun applications. Especially if you decide the spell you cast when it approaches is something like banishment, because now that creature just lost it's entire turn and several after that.

[@banan9377]

How about Magic Initiate (Wizard)? I get to take Mage Armor with 1 free casting and 2 extra cantrips. That's a +1 to spells known at early levels and since you always cast Mage Armor anyway that's also pretty much a +1 level 1 slot

[@ianm5782]

I've done this with a couple of wizards I've played and it is really great at low levels, but feels more and more like a wasted feet as you gain levels

[@anthonynorman7545]

@@ianm5782 I never get out of lie level play. At about what level does it waste to feel like a waste? I almost did this with a level 4 gnome before my DM agreed to let me have made armor as a ritual (it cost all of 300 gp and a favor but I thought it was worth it).

[@ianm5782]

@@anthonynorman7545 around level 7, when you get 4th level spells. I find that my 1st level slots aren't needed for much other than mage armour and shield. Especially with 2nd level slots being used more for defense (mirror image and misty step). I find that with 4th level spells at my disposal, the lower level attack spells lose a lot of power and tend to get used more for defense so I start to wish I'd used the feat for something more useful (+2 INT, lucky or warcaster)

[@ronaldeldonald]

No love for Fade Away? I think that's a good "half-feat" if you're going gnome. Circumstantially good, so I think it would deserve your orange rating.

[@Clanjade22]

Had my dm ask/look at passive investigation for first time ever yesterday...

[@jand.4737]

if you get Polearm master + Warcaster, you can make an opportunity spell against incoming enemies while holding a quarterstaff. It is another thing, if you want to sacrifice an ASI for that, but if your DM grants you a free feat and you already have warcaster, you can definitely go for that.

[@Hyde_Hill]

Maybe useful to update this one with all the Tasha feat's? Which gave us a lot more half feats.

[@Lycaon1765]

When you said crossbow expert was something heard recommended a lot for wizards I fucking cried on the inside.

[@Lycaon1765]

Oh he forgot linguist :0

[@montereye8273]

This is very useful building my Yuan-ti Wizard for Season 3 AL.

[@jtg1509]

Fey Teleportation I believe, is one per short rest, not per day. Fey TOUCHED is once per day but it is also not race restricted.

[@charliescheirmann2926]

It should be noted for Elemental Adept, that fire damage spells typically do more damage than most other damaging spells. That's because more creatures have fire resistance than other damage types, so as a balancing mechanic they do more damage. And Elemental Adept flat-out removes that balancing mechanic, and adds a little cherry on top by making all 1s rolled 2s. Granted fire immunity is still ignored.

[@Similacrest]

FYI, "Concentration Checks" are Concentration saves in 5e, Chris

[@TreantmonksTemple]

House Rule: I get to call them concentration checks.

[@Treblaine]

Next you'll be telling me there's no such thing as a surprise round!

[@tophersuwita]

A question about a high elf level 7 Divination Wizard (given Arcane Grimoire +2 for starting item): is it more optimal to get to 18 INT at lv 4 or just take the Warcaster feat? I have Web, Hypnotic Pattern, and Sickening Radiance for concentration spells. PS. Your Wizard guide is legendary!🎉

[@MrNatnac]

If you use war caster in concert in pole-arm mastery. If you have a quarterstaff and someone gets into your reach you can provoke an attack of opportunity. And with war caster you get to make that AoO a spell. And then on your next turn you can get leaving it.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

The designers have said that it is not the intention, but by RAW you are correct. www.sageadvice.eu/2014/09/16/polearm-caster/?fbclid=IwAR13vWo8BqxRIhrY94n72GJamOUA8_jZkQyku1T29gxuHHoOCmX_6dnbIcA

[@kylelonnes5833]

If you have a wizard with a decent CON stat, The Durability trait is a decent trait to have (especially if you can near or max out your CON)

[@fortunatus1]

Spell Sniper is quite useful for a Variant Human to take at level 1. You don't have very many spells or spell slots at this point and you're going to be using your cantrips A LOT. Greater range and ignoring cover is very useful. Having an Extra attack cantrip is also helpful. I took Ray of Frost as one of my regular cantrips and Shocking Grasp as my Spell Sniper cantrip so I can get away from 1 guy without using a spell slot (Misty Step) and avoiding the opportunity attack while getting to do some damage (disengage at low levels precludes damage dealing in most cases). It's been a life saver more than once. Then I go for Warcaster at level 4, then Intelligence boosts (hopefully you'll only need 1 depending on if its point buy or rolling). Resilient (Con) might come up if I have an odd Con at level 12 but I didn't so I maxed out Intel. I've never played to the very high levels so I've never had to take next steps in choosing between Lucky or Alert or Tough.

[@lukecarroll4052]

You can get by the early levels using a crossbow and by level 5 cantrips get a lil boost and you have enough slots that you don't rely so much on them

[@JoseRodriguez-pi8cx]

What do you think of Cure Wounds for magic Initiate Druid? Goodberry is definitely by far the optimal choice for action economy and daily uses(not even gonna talk abt a life cleric dip for wizards here), but Cure Wounds has the benefit of being able to be attached to contingency as a “second chance” style ability. Your character can get hit to 0, regain 4~ hp and act dead so enemies ignore them, and then misty step/dimension door outta trouble on the following turn. It even has the benefit of being able to be delivered via familiar to the main healer without any rules disputes! Healing word is also an option, but familiar+goodberry definitely eclipses it so contingency+cure wounds seems like a more attractive choice to me

[@smbakeresq]

TM I don’t recall you saying it but IMO it’s ESSENTIAL to know all the spells you will take for your career. It affects all of your feat choices.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Can you elaborate?

[@smbakeresq]

Well if you take attack roll spells, then maybe you take the ABI before concentration booster. Or if in a group that abuses OppAtt, then warcaster is a priority as you will be abusing BB, with lucky right behind it in case you miss. As a Conjurer casting mostly concentration spells you need to get warcaster early. Things like that.

[@curthill5185]

I'm really enjoying all your content. I appreciate all the thought and detail you put into your guide videos. Since you're on the subject of wizards, I thought maybe I could get some ideas for a concept I'm working on. Currently level Warforged 2 fighter, temporarily mind controlled by a mind flayer. The concept is super tanky eldritch knight with very tactical mind but would be ok with multi class into wizard. Any suggestions?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I don't know the Warforged at all. As for EK/Wiz, it really depends on how you want to balance things. a 2 level fighter/X wiz can make use of action surge for multi spell rounds. A 2 level dip in Wiz can get you Arcane Deflection and a nice init bonus. If you want closer to half/half, I would definitely go fighter 5 before taking any Wiz. Abjurer and War Wizard are the obvious choices to look at IMO.

[@curthill5185]

@@TreantmonksTemple That's what I was thinking as well. Warforged has floating bonuses to ability scores and good ac bonuses.

[@mephiztophelezemephiztophe31]

Hey Chris; Love your vids. Any chance of a spell-list series on just Wizard spells at some stage? Your 'best spells' series are good and informative, but throw all classes spells in together.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

A full list of what's coming for wizard videos is listed in the vid description of this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppStaIyrZ8uthtE

[@silverjaiden2450]

You can re-roll all ones with flames of phlegethos

[@TreantmonksTemple]

You're right. Thanks!

[@BiowareNut]

What about Infernal Constitution for Tieflings? It gives resistance to cold and poison damage (which are the second and third most commonly occurring damage types) and advantage on saving throws against the Poisoned condition. It can also even out an odd Constitution score, giving you more HP. All in all, I think it adds some decent survivability to Wizard.

[@AverageAnnusEnthusiast]

One feat that I used with a Wizard X/Cleric 1 was Tough because it gave me heavy armor (life domain) plus a static +8 hp per level so I could be a lot less squishy

[@MrMossMan7272]

I am playing a urchin wizard. So he has dex based skills. My original plan for him was for him to be a thief. He is constantly stealing things when he gets a chance, so here is what I was planning on for him. His intelligence is currently at 16 at level 3 so level 4 imma take +2 to intelligence. And his dexterity is at 13 so at level 8 I am planning on taking resilience (dex) to get him proficiency for dex and get his modifier to +2. I know it’s not super efficient, but what’s the point of a thief wizard if he can’t thieve anything haha. A lot of the spells I either currently have or are planning on taking help with stealing as well. Such as mage hand, invisible servant, knock, and a few others. So far he has been a lot of fun though.

[@destroyerinazuma96]

Sounds neat. Do you plan on dipping into Rogue too?

[@MrMossMan7272]

Destroyer Inazuma not currently no. I kinda like the idea of a self taught wizard down on his luck. Plus because of the urchin background I already get proficiency with stealth, sleight of hand, and thrives tools. And my DM was quite kind and allowed me to give him thieves can’t (although we are playing Out of the Abyss so it’s kinda useless haha). Plus I bought my items so I actually have thieves tools. So I don’t really feel the need for it. He basically is a rogue but with none of the benefits of being one haha. There are reasons for this in his backstory that i can get into if you want. But to give you the gist of it he was taught magic at a young age but due to reasons beyond his control he was made homeless and had to learn to steal to survive and he saw magic as his best chance.

[@WexMajor82]

I made a similar wizard. He is an Eladrin Diviner. So he started with 8 STR, 16 DEX, 14 CON, 16 (now 18) INT, 12 WIS, 8 CHA. I am thinking about getting Elven Accuracy at level 8, Resillient CON at 12, and +1 INT and CON at 16. He is a decent thief, and can always mist step away if something goes awry. His mentor is a human wizard who found him in the gutters and taught him magic.

[@MrMossMan7272]

@@WexMajor82 ​my last game unfortunately ended before i got to do my plans for him but i brought this character back in a different campaign and this time i made him a divination wizard and changed up his stats a bit. he currently has a 14 str 14 dex 14 con 16 int 9 wisdom and 12 charisma. this time i am not taking the resilience feat because its kinda unnecessary this time. my guy is self taught and has his spellbook tattooed on his skin that he can move around with his fingers that act like stylists. (he had his spellbooks stolen 3 times so he vowed to never let it get stolen again and learned how to do magical tattoos.) he started with cantrip runes to just let him steal stuff (mage hand) and protect himself (poison spray) and slowly they got more complex. the runes dont move however they are locked in place. he has one on the palm of each hand and one on his neck

[@SpidermanandhisAmazingFriends]

Thanks for not just crapping on Keen Mind, I find there are DMs that just decide it isn't good, then don't allow creative uses just don't work because of that

[@Gafizal1]

Your arguments for warcaster are compelling. That said, I resent needing to spend a feat on war caster every build...I keep wanting to make casters without war caster, usually with med armor and a shield (possibly med armor feat if not multiclassed and not a dwarf where you forgo the shield for other benefits) , using say shock cantrip (to get out of mele if I end up in it without opportunity attacks) and a ranged cantrip as default attacks when not doing anything else specific. I'm fond of lvl 1 arcana cleric and then go arcane caster thereafter with wither variant human or custom liniage) What do you think of using a shield, a free hand, some armor, and cantrips in combat when playing casters while avoiding war caster? (you did kind of elude to this in the moderately armored feat, and one could of course play a Gith , dip fighter lvl 1...etc..) Thanks for your consideration

[@fernandokaiba]

I see you. Almost every friking caster build has warcaster. Lucky and resilient are quite popular as well. My way to avoid these feats was by making a really old abjurer. The age justify the lack of physical capabilities (8 str, 10 dex, 12 con). The defense is entirely based on magic (spells and abjurer skills) and sharp senses (alert and observant). I know I'm no Treantmonk, but, about your sugestions: if you are planing stay away from heat of combat (like most wizards), you gain little advantage trading levels or feats just for the better armor. If you are aiming for other skills (domain features, action surge or whatever) it's fine, the armor is a nice bonus. But dipping purely for the armor is "meh", the low level defensive spells tend to be good enough for protection, if you take care of your positioning. Now, if plan to be a melee wizard, investing in armor is absolutely necessary, and warcaster will likely be too. Of course, I'm saying these things based in my experience, and YMMV. Again, I know I'm no Treantmonk, but I hope I could help.

[@Mandabar2]

Hey Treantmonk, going to play for the first time with a group of online friends and this whole guide has been really helpful and useful. So thanks so very much! I wanted to ask you a question/opinions on my 'plans'. We rolled the almost standard 4d6 drop lowest, and ended up with the following stats that I slotted in this order. 10STR, 14DEX, 15CON, 16INT, 13WIS, 12CHA. I plan to go variant human, so I get 2 +1. Plan(ned) to put those into Int and Wis for a 17/14 respectively. Plan is to start game as a level 3 Wizard, subclass likely projected to be Diviner or War Caster though since we are playing in EgtW when that releases on 3/17 I might go with the new wizard subclasses Chronourgist/Graviturgist after I see what they got loaded in their quivers. It's likely our game won't get to mid level or high levels, so most of play will probably be level 3-5 if anything. Longer lasting game of course wanted! For my first level feat I'm torn on to go War Caster or some half feat with +1. Keen Mind/Observant are my thoughts, and spoken with DM and they should be useful beyond the just +1. I'm leaning towards Observant though with more mechanical uses. Either way one of those half feats would get me to 18 int and a +4 modifier. I don't think there are any other choices for a half int feat, and a double ASI would probably be wasted elsewhere with all my stats being even other than Con. There is that Arcanist UA Feat, but it isn't official, and not even available for selection on DNDB anymore. Still it was an the always good cantrip Prestidigitation, 1 use of detect magic, +1 int and expertise in Arcana. Dunno if my DM is up to that UA though. I plan to take Resilience (Con) at level 12 for the extra hp, the proficiency in all con saves and of course that additional +1 on even number. At level four, I would either take war caster, or the one +1 int feat that I didn't take as a racial feat is my thought. That is, an either or of Keen Mind/Observant, not both. I was torn on either having war caster for game start at level 3, or having instead the +1 int for an even 18 Int and +1 dc/atk and other benefits till I hit lvl 4. I know there is an argument for going with Resilience (con) early as well because of the dual benefit of making my con even (for a +1) but that would only give me a +5 to my con rolls vs the con roll with advantage of +2 (advantage is technically like a +4-5 it has been said) for a total of +7ish. Resilience (con) seems to really hit when you hit level 12/13 with the high enough Prof boost. And at level 8 +2 ASI to Int to hit 20. Level 12 of course for Resilience (Con). Level 16/19 is a bit up in the air, but I've been thinking Lucky/Alert or even possibly Prodigy for the expertise. I would like to have Alert/Lucky/Prodigy earlier, but I feel the first 4 feats are pretty locked in. I could do the +2 Int ASI later, level 16/19 but that seems counter productive. Man I wrote an essay, I'm sorry! Thanks for your videos again!

[@quonomonna8126]

One DM told me the creature hit by booming blade as a reaction with war caster might choose not to move after getting struck

[@chrislieu6757]

Gnomes also have access to fade away as a half feat.

[@Gafizal1]

As to alert, why not split the difference (and get potentially more upside) with Fey touched and gift of alacrity? 1/2 feat, good effects, can still be surprised but... thanks for your consideration.

[@MikeKilo1969]

I love D&D and have been playing it since Basic edition in the early 80's, but good Lord it has more loopholes than the U.S tax code!! Racial bonuses, buffs, debuffs, feats, skills, and on and on. This is the exact reason I switched to playing Open Legend; a level playing field with about 90% less roles and 90% more story. But I absolutely love watching the content creator's videos, builds, etc.

[@scottparsons829]

What do you think about Telekinetic as a feat for wizard? Another great video, ty!

[@molluskscommawethe]

I didn't know crossbow expert could help with spell attacks (at close range). This would be very handy for my multiclass divination wizard/tempest cleric for a hold person + chromatic orb combo (64 lightning/thunder damage when cast at 2nd level).

[@Michaelkaergaard]

Im playing a forest gnome divination wizard, currently at lvl 3 with 19 int and 13 constitution. Have been thinking about selecting Fade Away (+1 int and able to cast Invisibility once/short rest). Would you still rate this below War Caster/+2/Resilient (Con)?

[@gregoryfloriolli9031]

I go back and forth over whether War Caster is better than Resilient - Con. War Caster is clearly better for a Variant Human but since I get to be a plain old boring human everyday in real life, I usually like to play non-human characters. For the non-human races, it comes down to whether you want 14 Dex 14 Con 16 Int and better Concentration saves at 4th level or 16 Dex 14 Con 16 Int and proficiency in all Con saves but not as good Concentration saves.

[@broomemike1]

I'm always curious as to what we should concentrate on at the level 1-4 range as a wizard... It seems like a wizard isnt really needing concentration until level 3 spells.

[@skullkrusher-dx4kg]

Is Mobile good for a bladesinger?

[@RickarRickani]

Hey Chris, for a Bladesinger. What do yo think of the elven accuracy feat? Your Familiar can give you advantage with the helping action. Works in melee and with the few attack rolls.

[@navidmohebbi2462]

What about Elven Accuracy??? It gives you +1 to intelligence

[@ben5056]

Navid Mohebbi guess it would imply your primary weapon are spell attacks which are mostly cantrips. The usefulness dips fast for most builds.

[@ChristnThms]

Especially if you have Lucky as well. Remember, Lucky can even turn DISadvantage into super-advantage. Elven Accuracy can't do that.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

It does indeed. However, you aren't going to be making many attack rolls, so super-advantage really goes to waste

[@occultnightingale1106]

You see...I understand why you're recommending Lucky, I'm pretty comfortable saying it's the most powerful feat in the game. But, that's exactly the reason I wouldn't take it. I'd feel like it's a safety net, and most of my character ideas involve challenging myself in some way. Taking Lucky would cheapen that challenge for me.

[@phillipheaton9832]

Keen Mind is great for ocean going campaign.

[@Kahgro]

Treant what do you think about Aberrant Dragonmark? Getting another cantrip, a half feat AND a level one spell slot per short rest is super powerful at low levels.

[@Nr4747]

Great video as always, but I slightly disagree with your take on Resilient (CON) vs. War Caster. CON saves for concentration, but also "regular" CON saves, come up all the time as a spellcaster, so I usually purposefully start with an odd CON score when playing a (non sorcerer) spellcaster using point buy. That way, I can get the most value out of Resilient (CON) and feel much better about making one of - if not *the* - most common saving throw with proficiency.

[@revianwirabuana5278]

Fey teleportation gives you a misty step per rest btw

[@CarrowMind]

Should mention the Unearthed Arcana feat Arcanist which gives you +1 Intelligence, expertise with Arcana, the Prestidigitation cantrip for free and Detect Magic that you can cast for free once per long rest, and you can always cast it as a ritual later too. An amazing feat for any Variant Human to grab to get +2 Intelligence instead of just the 1 and a huge advantage over other spellcasters!

[@alexirmendoza3600]

I k ow this was 2 years ago, but in case someone is watching this now (like me) fey touched replaces fey teleportation completely.

[@colbythomas3820]

My DM lets us add ASI pass 20... would you recommend going pass 20 or feats?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Good question. I would probably give the 20+ a try personally. That's going to give you a very nice DC

[@Treblaine]

I don't get this, take advantage of the bounded accuracy and don't try to endlessly up stats. Remember, higher int doesn't let you cast any extra spells, it just slightly increases spell attack roll and spell DC. I'd much rather ban ASI increases to prevent some people choosing only ASI and others only choosing feats. As the GM I can increase or decrease AC and Save bonuses to give the right challenge, I don't like the +1 vs +1 progression.

[@johndevlin9225]

I feel like you’ve undersold the value of resilient (con) compared to warcaster at higher levels. While it may be only a slight statistical improvement on average, as DCs get higher the flat +5 is a lot better than advantage. Against DC 20 with 16 con (fairly standard for 15-20) you have a 28% chance of success with warcaster, compared to a 40-45% chance with resilient (depending on level). In fact, at all levels advantage averages out to a +4 rather than a +5, due to its decreased benefit with high/low DCs.

[@pacman7654]

Also resilient (con) lets you get to +9 to concentration checks, at which point you can just skip concentration checks for hits lower than 21 damage. Warcaster is better at low levels but it never gives you this complete protection from minor hits disrupting your spells. It comes down to a gamble on whether you think you can make it through the early levels without warcaster.

[@zer0prototype5]

I have an ability in a Dark Heresy game called 'Total' Recall' and in an investigation style RPG that has been super useful. Of course I have now developed a madness related to the abuse of that skill so oh well.

[@TheMcloving1]

Hey I just was wondering about Ur opinion on using the magical initiate feat to pick mage armour as Ur LVL 1 and then using the 2 cantrips to add greater versitility, maybe mending and mage hand or some combination of different offensive spells. If you do this chances are you will be using mage armour once every day anyways and it saves a slot on your 1st level spells.

[@solarupdraft]

Niche question: Take a hobgoblin war mage with Moderately Armored at level four. Would you put Warcaster on him too? At what level? Casting with hands full becomes pretty useful once you have shield proficiency, but putting off +INT seems greedy.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I would probably do warcaster at 8

[@silvergiovanni2658]

I’m gonna mention Linguist for the sake of my Conjurer that wants to go to the Planescape setting and be able to converse with dragons and fey and elementals alike. This is more of a roleplay feat but I like it

[@BlackTempleGaurdian]

Could half-elves take Wood Elf Magic?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Not officially.

[@Porphyrogenitus1]

They can take half of it.

[@destroyerinazuma96]

If I was DMing and you'd bring up the SCAG and say you're playing a Half-Wood Elf I'd allow it.

[@Treblaine]

@@Porphyrogenitus1 Fine, as they're half human they can get half of a feat at level one.

[@Porphyrogenitus1]

@@Treblaine Nice - we'll cut their other feet off with a hatchet to make it even.

[@marcdavis4509]

I’ll bump it up to 20 and take a feat after

[@Adurnis]

Ooh, equipment and magic items! The latter especially is like the ultimate in wish-fulfillment; because when does a DM let you choose what magic items will show up? 😂

[@Adurnis]

I mean, it doesn’t seem unreasonable-especially in high magic settings like Eberron-that artificers would set up little shops and sell common magic items like healing potions and the like. When you start talking about the really powerful magic items, though-your tome of clear thought, your staff of the magi, your ring of spell storing-those are always decided on by the DM, I’d think. Which does add to the excitement, I think, but sometimes it makes me feel sort of like the kid on Christmas morning who got an action figure he hates. “Why would I want a Wand of the War Mage?! I’m not a blaster!”

[@Jomit427]

Lucky is better than warcaster for your standard wizard. Getting nailed with a bad fort save or an unfortunate wisdom save can shut down your spells too. It's something I'd rather have and not use then need and not have.

[@LunarFoxfyre]

okay, I have to pause and say that spellsniper isn't restricted to cantrips it is all spells that have an attack and depends on the spell. Honestly, I have spells that work with spellsniper really well sure cantrips go well but I wouldn't waste its use on just cantrips. It does say a spell attack, does that mean that touch is doubled?

[@TiasVsEverything]

Gods, I am so glad the racial stat increases are no longer locked by race. A Wood Elf Bladesinger would potentially get something out of that boosted movement speed. The new Mordenkainen MotM Air Genasi falls into this too but its old boosts (+2 CON, +1DEX) aren’t THE WORST for a Wizard.

[@matthewcritchley7521]

No love for linguist? Can make a encoded spell book so noone can steal your spells plus extra languages is always fun

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Languages? That's why we have spells! I know all the languages with a single cast (a ritual if I only need to understand it)

[@antondovydaitis2261]

My Dwarven Trader made a fortune in gold from his realization that the leading cause of player character death is insufficient Hit Points.

[@harjutapa]

Hobgoblin War Wizard: level 4 War Caster, level 8 Moderately Armored, then go Int bonuses until I hit 20, then Resilient (Con)? Does that work?

[@harjutapa]

I'm thinking that with War Wizard's abilities to help with Con saves, plus hobgoblin's Saving Face, along with War Caster, Resilient (Con) becomes less urgent.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Yes, I think that works just fine. Your DC will be slightly behind for a bit, but it's a fair trade for the super-strong defences your character will enjoy I think

[@Setzer]

Telepathic/Telekinetic?