Exactly. People see "X% of characters" have feats and jump to "X% of tables allow feats," which is completely wrong.Our table allows feats, but very few characters actually have them.
Exactly. People see "X% of characters" have feats and jump to "X% of tables allow feats," which is completely wrong.Our table allows feats, but very few characters actually have them.
I think, and this is pure speculation based on personal experience, that a lot of tables do use feats. The way the game is designed they don't take feats until after they max out important ability scores, which is why games show them being used at higher level.
It's not so much that the games aren't using feats, it's that the characters in games aren't taking them until higher levels. And since many games end before they get that high, it reduces the number of characters showing feats overall when pulling them from raw data like that.
The only 5e games I see with no feats are the few only using the 4 class basic rules or SRD rules.
(Full disclosure: I give 1 out of 5 to any Feat option in Unearthed Arcana, and write in that I would like to see Feats die in a fire whenever they give me a field to do so)
But the feat has resistance to fire, and turns the fire green. So, that could take a while.
The "overwhelming majority of tables?" I'd like to see a cite for that claim. If you're talking about Jeremy Crawford tweeting that "the majority of characters don't use feats," you are assuming that the only reason a PC wouldn't have a feat is that they are banned at the table, which is utterly wrong.WotC has maintained for years that their in-depth research shows that the overwhelming majority of tables do not use Feats (across hundreds of thousands of games), which is why they haven't pushed the mechanic..
The "overwhelming majority of tables?" I'd like to see a cite for that claim. If you're talking about Jeremy Crawford tweeting that "the majority of characters don't use feats," you are assuming that the only reason a PC wouldn't have a feat is that they are banned at the table, which is utterly wrong.
So, if you want to estimate how many tables allow feats, level 12 is the most informative: That's the level where a PC is very likely to have a feat unless a) the player just doesn't like feats or b) the table doesn't allow them. Per D&D Beyond, 58% of PCs at levels 12-16 have a feat.
- From levels 1-3, feats aren't available at all (except to variant humans).
- At levels 4 and 8, feats are competing with "+2 to your prime stat." This is a tough call and many players, especially caster players, will prefer to max their prime stat first.
- At level 12, you get your first opportunity to take a feat after hitting your stat cap.
There may be a little selection bias here; high-level tables might be more inclined to allow more complex options. However, if that were a significant factor, you would expect to see the percentage continue to climb as you approach the highest levels, and it doesn't - it stays around 58% through level 20. This suggests that selection bias is not a major factor.
Moreover, at the lower tiers, 34% of PCs grab a feat the instant it becomes possible to do so (levels 4-7), and the number is up to 49% by levels 8-11. That is not at all consistent with the idea that most tables - let alone an "overwhelming majority" - ban feats.
The important word is "tables," not "overwhelming." Where has he said that the majority of tables do not allow feats? Got a link?Yeah, Crawford has said that frequently, using the language of overwhelming majority.
Are you playing the quote game? I can confirm he made comments along the lines of most players don't use feats.The important word is "tables," not "overwhelming." Where has he said that the majority of tables do not allow feats? Got a link?
That gets back to why players don't use feats. Anecdotal though it may be, my experience correlates with @Dausuul as per above. The majority of players won't use feats due to the levels the games are at and competition for ASI's early.Are you playing the quote game? I can confirm he made comments along the lines of most players don't use feats.