D&D 5E Would you like to have feats which build on specific class abilities?

[Li Shenron]

If I remember correctly there is only a couple of feats in the PHB which require and improve spellcasting abilities. Otherwise all feats are open to all classes.

What would be your opinion on having a few feats to improve or expand other class-specific abilities? I can imagine that the main drawback could be for those to become a sort of "feat tax", if they are perceived to be a "fix" on the ability rather than an optional improvement. But otherwise, now that we officially have race-specific feats published, would you be ok with class-specific* feats or would you rather only have feats that are open to all classes?

*Unlike feats for races, these would not strictly need to require a specific class, but rather to require an ability that usually only one or more classes have, such as Rage, Ki or Sorcery Points, to leave the possibility open for characters to gain those ability from somewhere else than class (as well as to be usable with custom/modified classes)

 

[rgoodbb]

You mean like Martial Adept - both for expanding Battle Master options and giving a taste for an outsider?

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

I'd allow it as a specific request, but I wouldn't use the feat being class-specific as a balancing factor.

I'd take each example as it comes, but it isn't something I think is necessary to implement for 5e in general.

 

[77IM]

I specifically don't want this, because of the feat-tax aspect.

It's already bad enough that there are feats that are redundant with class abilities. For example, if I want to play the very best archer, it's not enough to have a high Dex and the Archery fighting style; I need to also take Sharpshooter feat. If I don't, I know there's someone out there with Sharpshooter who's just a little bit better. I don't feel like I should have to give up ability score increases to attain my character concept.

More importantly, when I choose what my character is good at, I'm also choosing what they're bad at. I don't want to have to re-make that choice throughout my character's career. I want them to only get better. If I'm committed to playing an amazing archer, I have to give up other abilities. Later in the game, if I face that same choice again, I feel torn between slacking on the archery thing or giving up those other abilities all over again. It feels like a lose-lose.

I know that this is all in my head and that lots of players don't feel this way. But many do. So I'd be very very cautious about adding feats that improve existing special abilities.

 

[77IM]

Now, all that said, I think you could pull this off as long as you sharply limited it to one feat per character concept. For example, with Sharpshooter, that's the only archery-related feat. So when I'm building an archer I have to get Archery fighting style and then plan when to get Sharpshooter vs. when to improve my Dex. That's not too too much of an emotional burden for me. But if there were a whole tree of archery-related feats, ala 3E/PF, that would be a nightmare. 5E just isn't built to handle that.

It's tricky. Suppose I am playing an Illusionist wizard. I might not mind if there were a "Master of Illusions" feat I could take -- in fact, such a feat might be cool because other classes could take it (like sorcerers or Arcane Trickster rogues). BUT I would mind if there were a "Master of Illusions" feat plus an "Extra Spell Slots" feat plus a "Learn More Spells" feat plus a bunch of other "You are just better at spellcasting in general" feats. That would be totally lame.

A good guidepost might be to make sure each feat maps really well to an in-setting character concept. Stuff like "Extra Spell Slots" reflects nothing in the setting. Nobody looks at Gandalf or Hermione Granger or Doctor Strange and says "oh yeah that character totally has Extra Spell Slots."

 

[Charlaquin]

Not in 5th Edition. In 3 and 4 e, when Feats were smaller in individual impact and gained every other level, stuff like that was great. But in 5th Edition, Feat choice has a lot more gravity to it. Most games you can only really count on seeing 2 ASI levels, maybe 3 if you’re playing a fighter or a rogue, or the game goes to 12th level. Which means only 2-4 Feats at most in a typical character’s career, and they come at the opportunity cost of a potential +2 to an Ability Score. Those Feats each need to be a huge deal to be worthwhile. A Feat that enhances a Class feature would have a very fine line to walk between not feeling worth it over a Feat that will let you do something new, and feeling so good it’s effectively a tax for characters of that Class.

 

[Ganymede81]

*Delete*

 

[Ganymede81]

I much prefer the "feats as mini-dips into another class" model than the model that makes a PC even better at something its class already does.

It is one of the main reasons I dislike the various weapon style mastery feats as they make it feel like martial PCs need those feats to get the most out of their class.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[5ekyu]

In general my answer is no. I am ok with feats being more reflective of scope than adjusting class power.

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