D&D 5E Remove feats and replace as magic items

[Nebulous]

I'm a bit old school and not a fan of ASI. However, this raises the question of the characters being OP. If they get their ASI and their feats via magic items, aren't they significantly stronger? I guess it depends how far you take it.

That's my concern too, if they get their API and random feat weapon slots they're OP. That's why i wanted to see how others maybe handled it. I DO think it can work.

 

[Nebulous]

Also, monsters get Feats like PCs so it gets balanced like that. Well not full feats but like Talents to make them slightly better.

 

[Tonguez]

The Batman Utility Belt school of character design says it can be done but really how many different Infinity Gauntlets do you want In your world?

Remember the Incredibles - replacing feats with items was Syndromes entire villain plot

 

[Nebulous]

I'm a bit old school and not a fan of ASI. However, this raises the question of the characters being OP. If they get their ASI and their feats via magic items, aren't they significantly stronger? I guess it depends how far you take it.

You are completely right. How to balance that?

 

[Nebulous]

What i love about Enworld is that it's mostly old experienced DM's offering suggestions

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Can you give an example of how this would work?

(fwiw I’ve removed the limit on the number of attunement slots allowed - gone back to the 3e limits with some slight adjustments, game works great)

I would need to find my notes and translate them, but something like this:

When you would gain a feat, you gain 1 Resonance.
You can infuse an item with Resonance. An item with resonance is considered magical and does not requires attunement.
First Resonance: Roll twice on the minor magic item properties.
2nd Resonance: roll once on the minor beneficial artifact properties. Item grants +1 attack/damage (weapons/focus) +1 AC (armors or other gears)
3rd Resonance: roll once on the minor beneficial artifact properties.
4th Resonance: The item is now sentient; roll its personality in the DMG. Roll once the major beneficial properties. Item grants +2 attack/damage (weapons/focus) +1 AC (armors or other gears)
5th Resonance: Roll once the major beneficial properties.
6th Resonance: Item grants +3 attack/damage (weapons/focus) +3 AC (armors or other gears).

So you can invest in many items for lesser effects, or 1 single powerful item.

 

[Lanefan]

If I had to choose, I would rather replace all magic items with feats than vice versa, but in the ideal world I prefer not to do either.

Thing I wouldn't like about this is that feats are locked in once chosen, where items come and go, or can do: you can sell them, trade them, sacrifice them to a deity, whatever. Way more flexible.

 

[Lanefan]

You are completely right. How to balance that?

Slow down and somehow randomize ASI so it's neither such a big deal nor a guaranteed event at any given level. Or get rid of it entirely.

Then maybe give out occasional items (maybe one every other average-PC-level or so) that when first used, instead of doing what they seem to want to do and what all identification says they'll do, instead perma-boost a random stat for the user by one and then crumble to dust.

 

[ScuroNotte]

To say it another way, instead of introducing a slew of alternative UA ideas, take the core feats everyone in 5e has already playtested 6 years and see if we can retrofit them into magic items.

You can also create magic tomes that offer a feat to the person who reads it and trains for X days. Then tome disappears. Now you have both worlds

 

[Magister Ludorum]

I actually have no problems with magic items that grant feats, so long as they require attunement. I just don't see the need for replacing them with magic items.

3rd and 4th edition made the mistake of requiring characters to have magic items in order to be competitive.

I give out lots of cool magic items, but very few that grant pluses to ability scores or more than a +1 to hit and damage.

The players in my games prefer their special abilities to come from class or feats. They always have.