It’s been almost a week since D&D shared its latest playtest, and I’m still thinking about the devious new character options. We saw some of the subclasses get a serious upgrade after a second round of tweaks – but did you know there’s a bunch of feats stuffed in this bad boy, too? And, honestly, they’re pretty good.
Here’s a quick summary of how excited you should be about these new build options. I’ve ranked each based on its power, flavor, and how widely useful it is to the DnD classes.
Atoner’s Grace
Rank: B
Atoner’s Grace is an origin feat whose mileage depends a lot on how your DM runs their game. If you’re in a social intrigue game where they militantly track which NPCs are indifferent, hostile, or friendly, the ability to ignore Disadvantage on Charisma checks could be huge. On the other hand, if they apply the social interaction rules inconsistently (which, I confess, I often do), this might feel less impactful.
The feat’s second benefit is a bit more consistently useful. When you Disengage or Influence, you can give creatures within five feet advantage on their next ability check or saving throw.
Power gamers might spy an exploit here where you could spam these actions outside of combat, but I think the actual likelihood of a DM allowing that to be unlikely. And, without that exploit, this feature looks a lot more like something you’d do on your turn if you had nothing better to do than Disengage.
The verdict? Kind of cool, but not awe-inspiring. There are stronger origin feats.
Raised by Cultists
Rank: S
I love how evocative the name of this feat is – edgy backstories ahoy! This is more than a surface-level S rank, though. Raised by Cultists seems fun and powerful enough to content with the great origin options we already have.
When you’re Bloodied, you can spend a reaction to gain Heroic Inspiration. Plus, when an ally within five feet makes a concentration save, you can spend your reaction to give them advantage.
I can see this feat being great on a high-mobility character who can juggle the front and back lines of battle, defending key casters from attacks while not lingering too long to invite area-of-effect attacks. Perhaps a particularly supportive Rogue, Ranger, or Monk? Though this could benefit any character that moves across a map with care.
Trapper
Rank: A
This feat is tailor-made for the party scout. A more consistent Study action and no disadvantage on Survival or Perception while travelling at a fast pace? Yes please.
This might not feel as impactful as a combat-focused ability, but it can be a life-saver in plenty of ways. I’ve seen parties gain several levels of exhaustion from getting lost in the woods, and Trapper would have saved them a lot of trouble.
Plus, you get Trap Expert, which lets you set traps as a bonus action rather than an action. You also add your proficiency bonus to the DC of rolls to avoid or escape your trap. This sounds delightful and will encourage players to actually use traps, but a bonus action is a high price for classes that already rely on this resource heavily (read: basically every Wisdom class).
Underhanded
Rank: A
Underhanded starts with a lackluster ability, the power to move 10 feet after you roll Initiative. 10 feet might be enough to get you into melee slightly sooner or split the party to defend against AoE spells, but it’s not enough distance to be really impactful.
Plus, it might be challenging to use this to its full potential if you’re not exploring a map for the entire session. Many DMs switch from theater of the mind to a map after initiative is rolled, which could play havoc with a feature like this.
Things get much better, though. Fight Dirty gives you a reaction that knocks creatures prone after they miss an opportunity attack against you, provided they’re a size larger or smaller than you and you have a free hand. My first thoughts? Tiny Halfling Monk with an absurd AC that trips people. Or a Goliath Monk, also with an absurd AC, that bounces attackers off their rock-hard abs.
Boon of the Bandit King
Rank: D
There’s more pressure to make Epic Boon feats feel epic – because they’re so high level, but it’s also in the name. I’m not convinced Bandit King quite meets the quota. You get a partial ASI, yes, but the rest is alarmingly situational.
You get advantage on Sleight of Hand checks to pick pockets, and succeeding gives your target the charmed condition. Once per rest. I’m struggling to think of a D&D scenario where this is universally useful.
Oh, you also don’t provoke opportunity attacks. That’s very nice, but I’m not sure it’s enough for Boon of the Bandit King to compete with other Epic Boon feats.
Boon of the Cleansed Heart
Rank: C
You can cast Dispel Evil and Good for free, but you can’t use it to banish affected creatures. That leaves you inflicting disadvantage on very specific creature types and able to rid friends of charm or frighten. Is it useful? Sometimes, yes. Is this worth burning your one Epic Boon feat on to save a fifth level spell slot? I’d say no, not even with the +1 ASI.
You do also get immunity to necrotic damage and the power to deal damage to anyone who tries to hit you with a dose of necrosis. I’d rate this at similar levels of power and fun: it’s cool, but so situational. Why would I take this over the Boon of Energy Resistance?
Boon of the Hunter’s Eye
Rank: A
This is more like it. If I plan to knock a creature out rather than kill them, I do it automatically if they have 20 hit points or fewer. This is pretty average per-attack damage for a level 20 character, but it saves you having to leave the fate of a final blow in the hands of dice rolls.
As well as the standard Epic Boon ASI, you can choose a creature you see when you roll initiative. You instantly know its immunities, resistances, and vulnerabilities – which is incredibly useful. Your party will thank you for taking this one, especially if you find yourself fighting a recurring villain.
Boon of Unwavering Devotion
Rank: B
This is a flavorful one that I can see creating interesting roleplay. Beyond the standard ASI, you succeed on all saves against possession, you can’t be fooled by illusions, and, once per fight, you can force an enemy to re-roll a passed Wisdom save against an effect you created.
That’s delightfully spooky, but it’s all so damn situational. After a decade of playing D&D, I can count on my hand the times that our party had to deal with possession. Maybe we’re just not meeting the right kind of ghosts.
Got your own opinions on the latest playtest? Let us know in the Wargamer Discord.
Source: Wargamer
