Best 1st level feats.

[Khrysaes]

I just finished my degree and havent played in a while because of schoolwork.

I am going to be playing a curse of strahd campaign next month my friend is starting.

He approved my character concept,
Level 3 astral elf phantom rogue, with the hollowed one curse/boon from wildemount.

Then he told me i get a bonus feat, but other than the basic elven accuracy or fey/shadow touched i am not sure what are good feats for this character and could use some suggestions.

[paladinn]

I just finished my degree and havent played in a while because of schoolwork.

I am going to be playing a curse of strahd campaign next month my friend is starting.

He approved my character concept,
Level 3 astral elf phantom rogue, with the hollowed one curse/boon from wildemount.

Then he told me i get a bonus feat, but other than the basic elven accuracy or fey/shadow touched i am not sure what are good feats for this character and could use some suggestions.

Lucky is always a good one.

If you need a good ranged attack, I'd take Magic Initiate/ Warlock and grab Eldritch Blast. Even if you don't dip Warlock, the damage scales with level.

[KorvinStarmast]

Lucky is always a good one.
concur
Another good one for a rogue is telekinetic. (A free mage hand that's the very good version).

If you need a good ranged attack, I'd take Magic Initiate/ Warlock and grab Eldritch Blast. Even if you don't dip Warlock, the damage scales with level.With Tier. :smallwink:

[nickl_2000]

-Mobile allows you to use your bonus action for hiding more often
-Resilient Wisdom would be particularly useful against vampire charm, sure you would get it at level 15, but CoS doesn't go that high
-Skill Expert is awesome to get more expertise
-Healer would help keep your party alive


Amongst the others you mentioned

[tiornys]

Best feat available is Crossbow Expert.

If you were planning to be a melee rogue, best feat is still Crossbow Expert.

If you were planning to use melee weapons and can't be persuaded otherwise, Mobile and Moderately Armored (for shield proficiency) are worth consideration alongside Elven Accuracy, Fey Touched, or Shadow Touched.

[paladinn]

Best feat available is Crossbow Expert.

If you were planning to be a melee rogue, best feat is still Crossbow Expert.

Why is that?

[tiornys]

Why is that?
CBE removes the disadvantage of using ranged attacks in melee while otherwise retaining all advantages of ranged attacks.

That said, I forgot about the existence of Steady Aim. Given that, Elven Accuracy is arguably as good as CBE (in both cases, the primary goal is to increase the odds of landing Sneak Attack every round) while being more thematic and easier to play, so Elven Accuracy is what I think I would actually pick here.

[paladinn]

CBE removes the disadvantage of using ranged attacks in melee while otherwise retaining all advantages of ranged attacks.

That said, I forgot about the existence of Steady Aim. Given that, Elven Accuracy is arguably as good as CBE (in both cases, the primary goal is to increase the odds of landing Sneak Attack every round) while being more thematic and easier to play, so Elven Accuracy is what I think I would actually pick here.

You said "If you were planning to be a melee rogue, best feat is still Crossbow Expert." How does CBE benefit melee combat if you're using actual melee weapons? Would it help with a sneak attack?

[Psyren]

Half-feats tend to work great at 1st-level so you can start with an 18 in your primary stat (or another 14/16 elsewhere) while also getting some other benefit. Some good ones include Skill Expert, Telekinetic, Fey-Touched, Shadow-Touched and Resilient.

[Khrysaes]

Thank you for the responses. I will probably start with fey touched or telekinetic.

[tiornys]

You said "If you were planning to be a melee rogue, best feat is still Crossbow Expert." How does CBE benefit melee combat if you're using actual melee weapons? Would it help with a sneak attack?
It doesn't, thus the next line about using melee weapons. The point is that melee doesn't offer anything good enough to be better than using CBE for an extra attack, even if stuck in melee. Yes, that includes feats that enhance two weapon fighting.

By contrast, Elven Accuracy for a rogue specifically does offer sufficient benefits to be competitive with the extra attack while also being a half feat.

[strangebloke]

Inspiring leader: this is a very good feat at all levels but early on it's insane. Biggest thing your party lacks at this level is HP, and with IL your party's HP will be well protected. +4 thp every short rest is a big deal

Lucky is insane as well. Use it on initiative, use it on saves.

And yeah elven accuracy is good. CBE is good too but beware the short range

[RogueJK]

As long as you meet the CHA requirements, Inspiring Leader lets you pump out a huge amount of extra HP each day. It's one of the best overall feats, IMO.


But depending on what specific playstyle and role you're planning, don't overlook Moderately Armored... It's a DEX half-feat if you need to round up an odd DEX score, and the ability to use a shield is a nice AC boost for a Rogue, netting you a 18/19 AC, which is on par with stuff like a Heavy Armor or Medium Armor + Shield user.

[strangebloke]

As long as you meet the CHA requirements, Inspiring Leader lets you pump out a huge amount of extra HP each day. It's one of the best overall feats, IMO.


But depending on what specific playstyle and role you're planning, don't overlook Moderately Armored... It's a DEX half-feat if you need to round up an odd DEX score, and the ability to use a shield is a nice AC boost for a Rogue, netting you a 18/19 AC, which is on par with stuff like a Heavy Armor or Medium Armor + Shield user.

Mandatory for a melee rogue, I would argue, though for a ranged rogue its less useful. Really the feat should be called: "shielded" or something similar.

On that note, another good melee rogue feat is sentinel for the reaction attack procs and doubled sneak attacks

[stoutstien]

I just finished my degree and havent played in a while because of schoolwork.

I am going to be playing a curse of strahd campaign next month my friend is starting.

He approved my character concept,
Level 3 astral elf phantom rogue, with the hollowed one curse/boon from wildemount.

Then he told me i get a bonus feat, but other than the basic elven accuracy or fey/shadow touched i am not sure what are good feats for this character and could use some suggestions.

Forget best bad just take the one you want. Rogues already get bonus ASIs to toss around and are generally SaD so you have room to play.