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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Buffing weaker feats



Yakk
2020-05-29, 01:07 PM
I took feats on the weaker half and gave them small to medium sized boosts. They are intended to tempt someone away from putting an ASI boost into their primary attribute.

Heavy Armor Master (rewrite)
While wearing heavy armor, you reduce the damage from slashing, piercing and bludgeoning damage by your proficiency bonus. Magical slashing, piercing and bludgeoning damage is only reduced if your armor has an enchantment on it.
Design notes
This is now weaker at level 1-3, but stronger at higher levels. It used to be crazy strong at low levels and nearly obsolete later on.

Dual Wielder (rewrite)
• You gain a +1 bonus to AC while you are wielding a separate melee weapon in each hand.
• You can use two-weapon fighting even when the one handed melee weapons you are wielding aren’t light, and you add your attribute bonus to damage on any attack granted by it.
• As part of the attack action, if you make an attack with advantage with a weapon held in one hand, you may use one lower attack roll to attack with a weapon held in the other hand.
Design notes
This gets the +attribute to offhand damage instead of the two weapon fighting style (which was eliminated; Duelists can add +2 damage to all 1 handed weapon attacks in this variation); a minor benefit, but makes mass-rolling of to-hit rolls faster. Point 3 means you can do serious damage with advantage, rivaling GWF/SS builds.

Athlete
Requires proficiency in athletics. When making a Strength, Dexterity or Constitution saving throw, if you do not already add your proficiency bonus to the save, you may add ˝ of your proficiency bonus to the save.
Design notes
Half proficiency on all physical saves is a nice pick me up. I'm a bit sad it makes the feat worse for Str/Con and Dex/Str save classes, but what cha gonna do.

Weapon Master
Also grants a fighting style from the Fighter list.

Tavern Brawler
When making an attack with an improvised weapon in held in both hands, if it is large enough the damage die becomes 1d8 and you may sacrifice your proficiency bonus to attack in exchange for adding twice your proficiency bonus to damage.
Design notes
I'm still not sure if this is enough.

Grappler
You also have advantage on checks to prevent someone from escaping from your Grapple, and can Grapple creatures 1 size larger than usual at the cost of disadvantage on your Strength(Athletics) check.
Design notes
Making it harder to break free, plus making it possible to grapple really big foes, hopefully makes this investment worthwhile.

Dungeon Delver
When you are surprised, attackers have disadvantage on their attacks on you on the first round of combat.
Design notes
Basically your eternal watchfulness makes it a bit harder to surprise you.

Linguist
You can read spell scrolls for spells not on your class spell lists with an intelligence check against a DC of 10+the level of the spell on the scroll. On a failure, the scroll is destroyed.

Elemental Adept
Whenever you roll damage for a spell that deals damage of the chosen type, treat any rolled 1's as rolling the maximum value on the die.
Design notes
The "treat 1s as 2s" was a joke.

Heavily Armored/Moderately/Lightly Armored
You also gain +1 AC when wearing that level of armor.
Design notes
The standard way for MC builds to get armor proficiency is to dip a level. This makes using a feat more tempting.

Medium Armor Master
Your dex cap in medium armor becomes +4 instead of +3.
Design notes
This makes it compete with Moderately Armored, and means a MAM in medium armor can have higher AC than a vanilla Plate wearer.

Skilled
When you make an ability check you are adding your proficiency bonus, you can reroll the check, but must keep the new value. You may do this once before completing a long or short rest.
Design notes
Not just on the skills you pick up, you become generally more skilled.

Skulker
You can remain hidden from a creature who has disadvantage on wisdom(perception) checks to see you so long as you don’t move at more than half speed.
Design notes
For example, someone with darkvision looking into darkness, or a normal person looking into dim light.

Keen Mind
When making an intelligence or wisdom saving throw or ability check, if you do not already add proficiency to your roll you may add ˝ of your proficiency bonus.
Design notes
1/2 proficiency on wisdom saves is awesome, as is 1/2 proficiency on all knowledge checks.

Actor
When making a Charisma ability check, charisma saving throw, or wisdom(insight) check and you aren’t already adding your proficiency modifier to the roll, you may add ˝ of your proficiency modifier to the roll.
Design notes
+1/2 prof to intimidate, deception, persuasion and insight is pretty good, and 1/2 prof charisma save isn't bad either.

Dwarven Fortitude
You can take the dodge action as a bonus action. You can only do this once before completing a long or short rest.
Design notes
Dwarven Fortitude used to be best on monks, as they can bonus action dodge. I gave everyone this benefit. Might not be enough, but is a solid boost.

Spell Sniper
You also gain a +2 bonus to ranged spell attack rolls.
Design notes
You gain the accuracy of an Archery combat style melee class. You still don't have -5/+10. There are, at this point, no really broken spell attack roll combos; the strongest (double Hex AEB) I have made require Warlock 17 (EB is a Warlock class feature).

Sharpshooter
Instead of -5/10, you can sacrifice your proficiency bonus to attack in exchange for twice your proficiency bonus to damage.
Great Weapon Master
Instead of -5/10, you can sacrifice your proficiency bonus to attack in exchange for twice your proficiency bonus to damage. You can use this on versatile or heavy melee weapons wielded two handed.
Design notes
I’ve replaced -5/+10 with “-prof / +2*prof” everywhere. I have added a few other ways to get it as well (Barbarian reckless power attack, Tavern Brawler). The fact you are sacrificing your proficiency bonus makes it clear you can only do it once, even if more than one applies.

I am permitting GWM to apply to versatile weapons, as I want to encourage people who switch grips more than discourage them. (I have some mechanics involving sacrificing your shield and ways that using a one-handed grip is better than a two-handed grip sometimes)

This change isn't a buff or a nerf really; -2/+4 at level 1 is competitive -5/+10 (sometimes better, sometimes worse). But it did make the wording to spread the feature around smoother.