D&D 5E Favorite Epic Boons

While only a microscopic fraction of players are believed to be playing on post-20th level games, the chances are that (as long as you actually grabbed that DMG) you should have seen the epic boon list on page 232 of the DMG. So I decided to make a poll to see which ones are preferred over others, out of sheer curiosity.

As technically under DM's allowance you may take all of them as long as you meet the prerequisites (if any), the poll is designed to pick up to five(5) out of 26+2 options, assuming that they are the firstmost taken ones for your character(s).

----

Edit: Sorry for not including basic descriptions for each options. I refrained at first for them not in the SRD5, but oh well, here they are for reference...

Unless otherwise stated, these boons affect only you who gained that boon. Boons that can be used once per short rest (OPSR) also charge on a long rest, I think.

Boon of Combat Prowess
Turn a missed melee weapon attack into a hit OPSR.

Boon of Dimensional Prowess
Cast misty step as an action without slots/components OPSR.

Boon of Fate
When another visible creature within 60 ft. makes an ability check/attack roll/saving throw, roll 1d10 and add/subtract from the result OPSR.

Boon of Fortitude
Increase max HP by 40.

Boon of High Magic
Get an extra 9th level spell slot; requires that you already have one beforehand.

Boon of Immortality
Stop aging, immune to any aging effect, and don't die from old age.

Boon of Invincibility
Reduce damage dealt from any source to 0 OPSR.

Boon of Irresistable Offense
Ignore damage resistances of any creature.

Boon of Luck
Add 1d10 to any one of your ability check/attack roll/saving throw OPSR.

Boon of Magic Resistance
Get magic resistance that many monsters have; in other words, permanent advantage on saves against spells or other magical effects.

Boon of Peerless Aim
Add +20 to a ranged attack roll you make OPSR.

Boon of Perfect Health
Immune to all diseases and poisons, plus permanent advantage on CON saves.

Boon of Planar Travel
Choose a plane other than the Material Plane; you may cast plane shift without slots/components targeting only yourself to travel to that plane only and the Material Plane OPSR.

Boon of Quick Casting
Choose one 1st~3rd level spell you know that is cast on 1 action, and change its casting time to a bonus action for you.

Boon of Recovery
Use a bonus action to heal an amount of HP equal to half your max HP once per long rest.

Boon of Resilience
Get resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.

Boon of Skill Proficiency
Be proficient with all skills.

Boon of Speed
Walking speed +30 ft.; may also use bonus action to dash/disengage OPSR.

Boon of Spell Mastery
May cast one 1st level sorcerer/warlock/wizard spell you can cast at-will (no spell slots).

Boon of Spell Recall
Cast any spell you know/prepared without spending a spell slot once per long rest.

Boon of the Fire Soul
Immunity to fire damage, and may cast burning hands (1st level, DC 15) without slots/components.

Boon of the Night Spirit
May become invisible at-will as an action, provided that you're already in an area of dim light or darkness; you remain invisible until making an action or a reaction.

Boon of the Stormborn
Immunity to lightning/thunder damage, and may cast thunderwave (1st level, DC 15) without slots/components.

Boon of the Unfettered
Permanent advantage on ability checks made to resist being grappled; also may spend an action to automatically escape a grapple or be free of any kind of restraint.

Boon of Truesight
Permanent truesight 60 ft.

Boon of Undetectability
Get a +10 bonus to DEX (Stealth) checks, and cannot be detected/targeted by divination magic, including scrying sensors.

The ASI alternative lets you raise your AS up to 30, instead of 20, and the new feat alternative is, well, a new feat.

Please add a short description to what each of these does, so we don't have to plop up our books just to respond. Thanks.

Lucas Yew said:

I refrained at first for them not in the SRD5, but oh well, here they are for reference...

Click to expand...

Thanks!

Boon of Combat Prowess
Turn a missed melee weapon attack into a hit once per rest.

Click to expand...

Considering the number of attacks an epic martial character can pull off, and the high attack bonus, this is really weak.

To make this really epic:
* Your first melee weapon attack each round hits automatically
Now you're talking.

Boon of Dimensional Prowess
Cast misty step as an action without slots/components once per rest.

Click to expand...

Meh. Shadow Monks gets to this 1) every round 2) as a bonus action. An epic boon considerably worse than a class ability from fourteen levels ago isn't epic.

Suggested improvements:
* Cast teleport as an action for yourself and 50 pounds of non-living gear only without slots/components once per rest.
Now you're matching the ability of monsters half your level.
* Cast misty step as an action without slots/components at-will.
Now you have epic maneuvrability, but still cannot attack-and-step like a Monk.

Boon of Fate
When another visible creature within 60 ft. makes an ability check/attack roll/saving throw, roll 1d10 and add/subtract from the result once per rest.

Click to expand...

So this cannot affect yourself? Weaksauce. (See Boon of Luck for that)

And 1d10 is way too unreliable. I suggest:

* Once per long rest when a creature you see succeeds at a check/roll/throw, you can choose to make it fail instead. Once you have used this boon, you cannot use it again until after a long rest.

This way, you can defeat Legendary Resistance.

Boon of Fortitude
Increase max HP by 40.

Click to expand...

This is perhaps the first boon that's suitably epic as-is. (That doesn't mean it's particularly powerful, only that 40 HP represents several levels worth of hp)

Boon of High Magic
Get an extra 9th level spell slot; requires that you already have one beforehand.

Click to expand...

Nice. (Yes, this is strictly inferior to Boon of Spell Recall, but who says every Boon must be equal? The boons aren't a menu players get to pick and choose from. All that matters is that this boon is powerful enough, and I'd say it is)

Boon of Immortality
Stop aging, immune to any aging effect, and don't die from old age.

Click to expand...

Nice. (More rp than minmax, but still)

Boon of Invincibility
Reduce damage dealt from any source to 0 once per rest.

Click to expand...

Meh. Not only is this against a single attack or effect, it only specifies damage. At 20th level, damage is one of your least concerns.

* At the start of your turn, declare yourself invincible. Until the start of your next turn, you are immune to all damage, all effects and all conditions. Once you have used this boon, you cannot use it again until after a long rest.
Much better!

Boon of Irresistable Offense
Ignore damage resistances of any creature.

Click to expand...

If there were lots of monsters with resistances you couldn't circumvent, perhaps. But there aren't. Once you have a magic weapon, it's immunities that might concern you. (Spellcasters: choose radiant or force, and you're fine).

* Select one creature you see. You ignore its resistances and immunities for one hour. Once you have used this boon, you cannot use it again until after a short rest.

At least this way, the boon is actually useful.

Boon of Luck
Add 1d10 to any one of your ability check/attack roll/saving throw once per rest.

Click to expand...

Sorry, but that's not epic. That's low-level Bard. And when you have a +0 bonus and have to make a DC 25 saving throw, 1d10 is nothing.

* Once per long rest when you fail a check/roll/throw, you can choose to succeed instead. Once you have used this boon, you cannot use it again until after a long rest.

Boon of Magic Resistance
Get the magic resistance that many monsters have; in other words, permanent advantage on saves against spells or other magical effects.

Click to expand...

Nice.

Boon of Peerless Aim
Add +20 to a ranged attack roll you make once per rest.

Click to expand...

That's actually a fiddly and complicated way of saying "you hit".

Besides, the same analysis as for the melee boon applies - this is weak sauce indeed.

* Your first ranged weapon attack each round hits automatically

Boon of Perfect Health
Immune to all diseases and poisons, plus permanent advantage on CON saves.

Click to expand...

Okay.

Boon of Planar Travel
Choose a plane other than the Material Plane; you may cast plane shift without slots/components targeting only yourself to travel to that plane only and the Material Plane once per rest.

Click to expand...

Cool.

Boon of Quick Casting
Choose one 1st~3rd level spell you know that is cast on 1 action, and change its casting time to a bonus action for you.

Click to expand...

It's not nothing, but to make this epic, I'd go with:

* Choose one spell of 3rd level or lower you know that is cast on 1 action, and change its casting time to a reaction for you.
If you're familiar with epic-level combat, you know what I'm doing here.

Boon of Recovery
Use a bonus action to heal an amount of HP equal to half your max HP once per long rest.

Click to expand...

Sure, but why so stingy? HP only gets you so far at epic levels.

* Use a bonus action to heal yourself to full hp once per short rest.

Boon of Resilience
Get resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, slashing damage from nonmagical weapons.

Click to expand...

Pathetic.

* Get resistance to three types of damage (including bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing).

Now you can pick bludgeoning, piercing.. and fire, say. And it actually works against 90% of the creatures you'll face at epic levels.

Boon of Skill Proficiency
Be proficient with all skills.

Click to expand...

That's not only boring, it's also not epic, since it does nothing for the skills you really want to become better at.

* Gain a +5 bonus to all skill checks.

Boon of Speed
Walking speed +30 ft.; may also use bonus action to dash/disengage once per rest.

Click to expand...

Assuming the restriction to walking speed only doesn't really mean anything (since most ways to gain new Speeds work off your land speed), okay I guess.

That is: if you have an item or ability that says "You gain a Climb Speed equal to your Walking Speed" and this boon thus increases both your regular speed to 60 ft and your Climb Speed to 60 ft, okay. Not particularly epic, but sure.

Boon of Spell Mastery
May cast one 1st level sorcerer/warlock/wizard spell you can cast at-will (no spell slots).

Click to expand...

Any particular reason for the "you can cast" restriction.

Even as
* Choose one 1st level spell on the wizard spell list. You can now cast it at-will (no spell slots).
This isn't broken at epic levels.

Boon of Spell Recall
Cast any spell you know/prepared without spending a spell slot once per long rest.

Click to expand...

Yeah.

Boon of the Fire Soul
Immunity to fire damage, and may cast burning hands (1st level, DC 15) without slots/components.

Click to expand...

Sure. More thematic than actually good, but sure.

The restriction on 1st level castings only doesn't make any sense. It makes the spell effectively useless, and makes the boon only about the immunity.

Boon of the Night Spirit
May become invisible at-will as an action, provided that you're already in an area of dim light or darkness; you remain invisible until making an action or a reaction.

Click to expand...

Original phrasing allows you to leave the darkness and still remain invisible. Nice.

To be epic, this should have been Greater Invisibility though.

Boon of the Stormborn
Immunity to lightning/thunder damage, and may cast thunderwave (1st level, DC 15) without slots/components.

Click to expand...

The restriction on 1st level castings only doesn't make any sense. It makes the spell effectively useless, and makes the boon only about the immunity.

Boon of the Unfettered
Permanent advantage on ability checks made to resist being grappled; also may spend an action to automatically escape a grapple or be free of any kind of restraint.

Click to expand...

Should explicitly say: no creature regardless of size autowins grapple checks against you.

Boon of Truesight
Permanent truesight 60 ft.

Click to expand...

Cool.

Boon of Undetectability
Get a +10 bonus to DEX (Stealth) checks, and cannot be detected/targeted by divination magic, including scrying sensors.

Click to expand...

Okay. The second benefit is really good, considering that only at epic play does 5E resemble old editions, where scry/teleport immunity is a huge deal.

Boon of Ability Score Increase
Get +1/+1 or +2 up to a maximum of 30 (not 20).

Click to expand...

Fair enuff

Boon of Feat
Gain a feat okayed by your DM

Click to expand...

Fair enuff



By reading my commentary, which boons I didn't vote for should be obvious

A few features and abilities the game carelessly sprinkles at even medium to lowish levels should really have been epic.

Boon of Foreknowledge
* You cannot be surprised.
See my point?

Now, as an actual epic boon that's not enough.
* You cannot be surprised. You gain 3 extra reactions per short rest.

(There's a few more absolutes given to low-level characters, where the absoluteness is more appropriate as an epic boon. Being able to evade tracking, detect any monsters are such effects)

---

Some spellcasting restrictions should be breakable by epic casters in my opinion

Boon of Attunement
* You can attune to 5 items, not three

Boon of Concentration
* You can concentrate on 2 spells at once. If you fail a Concentration save, you lose both spells

---

Simbul's magic work well as epic boons.

Boon of the Sequencer
* You may sequence up to five spell levels (such as one level 3 spell and two level 1 spells), changeable once a week. You can cast the entire sequence (not parts of it) using the casting time of the longest individual spell. You must still expend spell slots and costly components as normal.

Boon of the Synostodweomer
* As an action, expend an unused spell slot. You heal yourself or a target you touch 10 hp per level of the slot.

Boon of the Matrix
* You may cast up to ten spell levels into your "matrix". This follows all the regular rules of spellcasting, except that the effect is stored in the matrix. You may release a matrix effect as a bonus action, even if you also cast a non-cantrip spell the same round. The matrix dissipates after a short or long rest.

Where is [MENTION=6799753]lowkey13[/MENTION] and his survivor thread for this topic? More importantly, where has it been?

*Deleted by user*

Coming soon: Survivor: Equipment packs!

Kobold Stew said:

Coming soon: Survivor: Equipment packs!

Click to expand...

Back on topic:

What do you think of my Boon analysis, [MENTION=23484]Kobold Stew[/MENTION]?

Do you agree with my conclusions regarding which boons aren't epic enough? Do you like my proposed upgrades?

Cheers

Honestly, I've not played at that level. A character gets a lot of boons, and they come relatively quickly. My sense is that for the most part you are right.

Ones that seem great to me:
Fortitutude: much greater benefit for a d6 hit-die class than a d10 or d12 class.

Immortality: so anyone who is not a Monk 15 (or maybe Druid 18 or an Elf 1) should want this. I want this, or think I do because I haven't learned the lesson of Tithonus. It is a fantasy wish from time immemorial. Except that it has no game impact at all. I mean really, if the DM gave this to every character in a party at level 1 ("you've been chosen"), the characters wouldn't be played differently, and it would never impact an adventuring life, except that "and she lived happily ever after" means something slightly different. So, it becomes the ultimate "ribbon" ability.

Planar travel: Not sure how gameable it is with the limit of self-only, but "free trip to heaven" seems a perfect boon.

Speed: great bonus, affecting all characters, those who have worked to increase their speed, and those who haven't. Even if the second bit is a weak sauce version of a second level Rogue ability.

Ones that seems quite weak to me:
Skill Proficiency: A character works 20 levels to max to their skills (cf. various skill monkey builds on these boards), and finally at level 21 you can have them all. So can the fighter with only 4 skills who has bumped up their stats with ASIs. That seems to me wrong.

Spell Mastery: a good ability, but operates at the power level of a warlock invocation or a magic item: who can benefit from this? What choices would someone make? Warlock's Hex, maybe (which they might get from Magic Initiate). I'd like to be able to cast Comprehend Languages at will (it would make my job easier), but since I can't cast it now, the boon is no good to me. As Edward van Halen noted, one might as well Jump.

*Deleted by user*