I know it’s really tempting to bump up your stats as soon as you get the opportunity, but there are other ways to power up your character. Being able to hit harder, or dodge attacks better is important, but so is being able to read lips or inspire your party.
Not all Game Masters are open to characters learning feats, which is a shame. Feats are one of the coolest parts of character progression, and through the right combination of feats you can make a truly unique character. So if you have the chance to learn one, you should think about it.
There are some undeniably great and fun feats available for your character as they level up. And one of the best parts of playing a human is that they can have a feat at level one. So here are a few feats to think about when you’re faced with the choice.
11. Healer
A healer works to bring a fallen warrior back from the brink of death.
You can never get enough healing in D&D, and not every party is lucky enough to have a Cleric on standby. This is the perfect feat to take when you need an extra dose of healing in a party full of damage dealers.
Without this feat, healer’s kits only stabilize a dying creature, which is helpful, sure. But with the feat you can bring a dying creature back to 1 hit point instead. And you can use it on a conscious creature to restore a healthy dose of hit points.
Why Healer Is Great:
- Bring people back into the fight without wasting a spell slot.
- It heals more than the common healing spells in a Cleric’s arsenal.
- Makes Healer’s Kits a far more necessary item.
Healer Details:
- No prerequisites.
- Use a Healer’s kit to bring back a dying creature with 1 hit point.
- You can use it as an action to restore 1d6 + 4 + the target’s max number of hit dice. A creature can only regain hit points from this feat once per short or long rest.
10. Crossbow Expert
A crossbow expert readies his weapon to shoot his enemies at any range. Multiple times if necessary.
Crossbows are a good ranged weapon, but most players who specialize in ranged fighting usually prefer the longbow. I can’t blame them, longbows have impressive range and damage. But crossbows can be even more dangerous in the right hands.
The worst part about crossbows is loading them, and this feat completely gets rid of that. You can also shoot a target close to you without disadvantage, and you can make a bonus attack thanks to this feat.
If you’re already using a crossbow, you need this feat.
Why Crossbow Expert Is Great:
- Shoot without worry, even if your target is right in your face.
- Combine with other feats, like Sharpshooter to become truly scary in battle.
- Never waste time loading a crossbow again.
Crossbow Expert Details:
- No prerequisites.
- You ignore the loading quality of crossbows you’re proficient with.
- Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls.
- When you use the Attack action to attack with a one handed weapon, you can attack with a loaded hand crossbow you’re holding as a bonus action.
9. Actor
I performer puts on a show at a crowded bar. The people sure do seem to love the character they're playing.
There are countless reasons for you to want to act like a different person in D&D. The problem is that not everyone is going to be quick to believe you. The Actor feat takes those baldfaced lies and turns them into convincing performances learnt through acting.
Why Actor Is Great:
- It’s one of the few feats that will increase your Charisma score. Which is very helpful for Bards, Paladins, and Sorcerers.
- Become another person. Turn a disguise kit or Disguise Self into more than just an outward appearance, develop an entire convincing persona.
- Never take off your persona and you’ll always have advantage on deception checks. People will be hard pressed to ever see through your deceit again.
Actor Details:
- No prerequisites.
- You increase your Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20. And you have advantage on deception and performance checks when trying to pass yourself off as a different person.
- You can mimic the speech of another person or the sounds made by other creatures. You must have heard the person speaking, or heard the creature make the sound, for at least 1 minute. A successful insight check contested by your deception check allows a listener to determine that the effect is faked.
8. Mage Slayer
A defeated mage lays dying. Most certainly after an encounter with someone posessing this feat.
For Melee damage dealers like Fighters or Barbarians, magic casting enemies can be the most fearsome opponents. It’s just the worst when you can’t manage to break free from a Hold Person, or your hits can’t break a Wizard’s concentration. The Mage Slayer feat gives anyone without Counterspell a chance against particularly fierce spell slingers.
Why Mage Slayer Is Great:
- Make casters think twice before casting a spell while you’re close to them.
- It’s a wonderful feeling cutting down a wizard just as they’re about to cast their most powerful spell.
- If you’re already the party tank, you’ll be able to withstand even more kinds of attacks for your allies.
Mage Slayer Details:
- No prerequisites.
- When a creature within 5 feet of you casts a spell, you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against that creature.
- When you damage a creature that is concentrating on a spell, that creature has disadvantage on the saving throw it makes to maintain its concentration.
- You have advantage on saving throws against spells cast by creatures within 5 feet of you.
7. Inspiring Leader
A charismatic knight rallies his companions, bolstering their wills for the battles ahead.
You ever wish your party could take a few more hits before walking into a terrifying boss room? Do you have countless motivating speeches swimming around your head that you don’t know what to do with? Well, this might just be the feat for you.
Why Inspiring Leader Is Great:
- Gives you an excuse to wax poetically to your party for around 10 minutes.
- Sometimes the best speeches are awkward and off the cuff.
- You can use this feat to bolster a group of NPCs that are accompanying you to make sure they don’t go and die too quickly.
Inspiring Leader Details:
- Must have a Charisma score of 13 or higher to learn this feat.
- You spend 10 minutes inspiring up to six friendly creatures within 30 feet of you with an inspirational speech. Each creature can gain temporary hit points equal to your level + your charisma modifier.
- A creature can’t gain temporary hit points from this feat again until it has finished a short or long rest.
6. Mobile
Moving as fast as lightning all around the battlefield is no problem with this feat.
Movement is critical in D&D. There’s not much worse than being just 5 feet too far to hit something. Luckily, there’s this handy dandy feat you can take. Mobile is a great feat for anyone who wants to really move around the battlefield, ignoring terrain, and even enemies.
Why Mobile Is Great:
- Works wonderfully with classes like Rogues and Monks that can already dash as a bonus action.
- Also works great for classes like Barbarians or Fighters that get extra attacks.
- Anyone can benefit from an extra 10 feet of movement. Whether you’re running into the thick of things, or getting out of dodge.
Mobile Details:
- No prerequisites.
- Your speed increases by 10 feet.
- Difficult terrain doesn’t cost you extra movement on a turn where you dash.
- When you make a melee attack against a creature, you don’t provoke opportunity attacks from that creature for the rest of the turn, whether you hit or not.
5. Observant
Whisper as much as you want, secretive people, this guy can read lips thanks to this feat.
There’s nothing more aggravating, for both the players and the DM, then having something story related happening that the party wasn’t observant enough to notice. Luckily, as you may have guessed by the name of this feat, you’ll have a hard time missing anything again. It’s ll part of living that Observant life.
Why Observant Is Great:
- Enhance your passive Wisdom and Intelligence and learn things without even trying.
- Read lips and learn secrets that others are whispering from a distance.
- High Wisdom characters with Observant can be a DM’s worst nightmare, discovering all the secrets that they both want the party to know and would rather them not.
Observant Details:
- No prerequisites.
- Increase your Intelligence or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- If you can see a creature’s mouth while it is speaking a language you understand, you can interpret what it’s saying by reading its lips.
- You have a +5 bonus to your passive Perception and passive Investigation scores.
4. Great Weapon Master
You just know this guy is never going to miss a chance to deal extra damage with that massive axe of his combined with this feat.
Some of the best weapons for the heavy hitters in D&D are pretty heavy themselves. If you’re going to be using weapons that require both hands, then why not take this feat and make those greatswords even greater.
Why Great Weapon Master Is Great:
- There is no quicker way to deal a ton of damage to something than 2 or three hits with Great Weapon Master.
- If you know you’re fighting something with a low armor class, but a lot of health, this is the feat to use.
- Getting a potential extra attack as a bonus action is always a welcome added benefit to a critical or a defeated foe.
Great Weapon Master Details:
- No prerequisites.
- On your turn, when you score a critical hit with a melee weapon or reduce a creature to 0 hit points with one, you can make another melee weapon attack as a bonus action.
- Before melee attacking with a heavy weapon that you’re proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack’s damage.
3. Ritual Caster
This lady is getting nice and comfortable, preparing to spend the next short while casting some ritual spells out of that book of hers.
Ritual Caster is a great feat to take for someone looking to expand their skill set. No class has all the best spells, but now you don’t have to multiclass to dip your toes into the spell list of another class.
Whether you’re a Cleric that wants to find a familiar, or a Bard that wants to cast an alarm on their stuff. There’s always a useful ritual spell that you could take advantage of with this feat.
Why Ritual Caster Is Great:
- Bolster your spell casting abilities with rituals from another class.
- Even if you don’t have a very high Intelligence, Charisma, or Wisdom, there are plenty of ritual spells that aren’t for attacking that could be useful in your arsenal.
- You don’t even have to be a caster to take this feat. You could just be a Fighter that can cast Identify and have a familiar.
Ritual Caster Details:
- Requires an Intelligence or Wisdom score of 13 or higher.
- You gain a Ritual Book holding two 1st level spells of your choice from one of any of the spell casting classes. The spells you choose must have the ritual tag. And the class you choose determines the spell casting ability used for the spells.
- If you come across a spell in written form, you might be able to add it to your ritual book. The spell must be on the spell list for the class you chose, it can be no higher than half your level (rounded up), and it must have the ritual tag.
2. Martial Adept
Don't you want to learn some martial maneuvers and be like this guy?
This feat is similar to Ritual Caster in a lot of ways. Instead of spells, this is for people that want to dip their toes into the Fighter pool and learn some of the awesome maneuvers that Battle Masters can learn. It’s not as powerful as an actual Battle Master, but it’s a great addition to the arsenal of any physical fighting class.
Why Martial Adept Is Great:
- Learn from the many maneuvers that the Battle Master Fighter has available to them.
- Whip out an awesome parry, or knock a weapon out of your opponent’s hand unexpectedly.
- Rogues, Barbarians, and even Fighters could all benefit from this feat and use maneuvers to change the tide of battle in creative ways.
Martial Adept Details:
- No prerequisites.
- You learn two maneuvers of your choice from among those available to the Battle Master Fighter. If a maneuver you use requires your target to make a saving throw, the saving throw DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier.
- If you already have superiority dice, you gain one more; otherwise, you have one superiority die, which is a d6. This die is used to fuel your maneuvers. A superiority die is expended when you use it. You regain your expended superiority dice when you finish a short or long rest.
1. War Caster
A War Caster's concentration is almost impossible to interrupt.
Any magic casters that like to get into the thick of things know the pain of losing concentration on a spell. The worst thing that can happen in the middle of a tough battle is the Wizard taking a big hit and losing concentration on the hasted Fighter.
War Caster is a necessary feat for any magic caster who finds themself unfairly targeted in battle. Make the enemies think twice before picking on you with this feat.
Why War Caster Is Great:
- Have advantage when some baddies deal damage to you and force you to make a concentration check.
- Cast spells as opportunity attacks when your foes try to get away from your magical might.
- If you’re facing off with a Mage Slayer, this feat might even give them a run for their money.
War Caster Details:
- You must be able to cast at least one spell to learn this feat.
- You have advantage on Constitution saving throws that you make to maintain your concentration on a spell when you take damage.
- You can perform the somatic components of spells even when your hands are otherwise preoccupied with weapons or shields.
- When a hostile creature’s movement provokes an opportunity attack from you, you can use your reaction to cast a spell at the creature instead of making a melee attack. The spell must have a casting time of 1 action and must target only that creature.
