A slightly OP Feat: Arcane Spycraft (PEACH)

[SilverStud]

Ever want to be James Bond, but magic? Ever want to sneak around and espionage your way through high society? Look no further than this feat!

Arcane Spycraft:
Prerequisites: the ability to cast at least one spell, Intelligence 13
You have adapted your spellcasting to clandestine activities.

You may ignore the Verbal component of spells.
You do not have disadvantage on ranged spell attacks when within 5 feet of the target.


Bam, there it is.

[JNAProductions]

Yeah, that is OP. Combo with silence to shut down other casters while you're totally unaffected.

[Hitdice]

I think it's the melee combat aspect that worries me. I like the idea of removing the need for verbal components, but that's so applicable that it's well out of micro-feat territory all on its own.

[SilverStud]

@JNAProductions: So then what if we changed it to only cantrips? Or maybe they could pick one spell and ignore the Verbal for that spell only?

@Hitdice: Why does the melee spell thing worry you? It is the same as Crossbow Expert. In fact, I often take Crossbow Expert to get this exact effect.



What do y'all think could be a better part of this feat? The melee portion has got to stay, but I don't think that is good enough for a whole feat(since Crossbow Expert has that AND ignore loading AND bonus action attack). So I'm looking for some ability to replace the Verbal component clause. Any thoughts?

[JNAProductions]

Perhaps give you a once per long rest Subtle Spell effect?

[Hitdice]

@JNAProductions: So then what if we changed it to only cantrips? Or maybe they could pick one spell and ignore the Verbal for that spell only?

@Hitdice: Why does the melee spell thing worry you? It is the same as Crossbow Expert. In fact, I often take Crossbow Expert to get this exact effect.



What do y'all think could be a better part of this feat? The melee portion has got to stay, but I don't think that is good enough for a whole feat(since Crossbow Expert has that AND ignore loading AND bonus action attack). So I'm looking for some ability to replace the Verbal component clause. Any thoughts?

It's not that the melee spell thing worries me (yes, I know that's exactly what I said), it's that ignoring verbal components is game changer in terms of how 5e handles stealth. The last paragraph of Crossbow Expert is very specific in its wording. I guess you'd have to ignore the loading quality as there's no such thing with spells, and tie the bonus action to a cantrip or something.

Forgive me, I haven't put a whole lot of thought into this before posting.