D&D 5E Adding Feats to the Existing Backgrounds

[Charlaquin]

Humans and only humans getting one feat at level 1 already showcases that. When I talk about power creep, I'm using level 1 characters from 2014 as the baseline.

The power has already been crept. Strixhaven backgrounds get Feats and unless there’s an uproar in the survey, so will Dragonlance backgrounds. The 2024 revisions present an opportunity to reset the baseline, so that core-only characters are on par with characters using setting-specific options. If necessary, make monsters a bit tougher to compensate.

 

[HammerMan]

The power has already been crept. Strixhaven backgrounds get Feats and unless there’s an uproar in the survey, so will Dragonlance backgrounds. The 2024 revisions present an opportunity to reset the baseline, so that core-only characters are on par with characters using setting-specific options. If necessary, make monsters a bit tougher to compensate.

also custom linage can take a feat

 

[Yaarel]

There can still be an official setting that doesnt grant feats.

For example, perhaps Greyhawk will present low-tier fragility as a setting trope, a feature, not a bug. Maybe the default will ban feats from the setting, with advice to DMs who want feats.

Meanwhile I imagine, the Forgotten Realms setting cant wait to get its hands on FR setting feats.

Feats are a great way to get buy in from players to familiarize themselves with the themes and tropes unique to each setting.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Theros is supposed to be heroic, mythic, and high-powered. That may not have been what everyone wanted from Strixhaven.

True... but then again, the abilities you got from Supernatural Gifts were about as powerful as a pair of racial features. So it isn't like the PCs of Theros became now these mythic beings at 1st level from having them either.

 

[TwoSix]

For sure. Alternatively, just lean on the Customizing Backgrounds rule to allow you to swap out the default Feat for something else.

Yea, I think/hope they’ll emphasize that rule in the revision, rather than it’s current status of being under the radar RAW.

 

[James Gasik]

I was a little surprised to see Backgrounds getting free armor proficiencies, when Monsters of the Multiverse seems to be removing armor proficiencies from races going forward.

 

[NaturalZero]

I was a little surprised to see Backgrounds getting free armor proficiencies, when Monsters of the Multiverse seems to be removing armor proficiencies from races going forward.

That exactly why they're in backgrounds though. The idea is that they're learned from experience instead of being inherited.

 

[NaturalZero]

I think backgrounds should totally give you something tangible and mechanical to put on you sheet. I absolutely do not want that to be a feat or combat feature though. Classes are loaded with combat features, let backgrounds fill a different niche instead of more armor or damage.

 

[Charlaquin]

Yea, I think/hope they’ll emphasize that rule in the revision, rather than it’s current status of being under the radar RAW.

Yeah, in its current state, even though it is very clearly allowed by RAW, not even called out as optional, it feels like cheating. Here’s this list of backgrounds that each give specific proficiencies, equipment, and abilities. Sure, it says you can change a background if you want to, but it doesn’t seem like you’re really supposed to. Like, maybe ask your DM if you can swap out a proficiency if you already got it from your class, but don’t mess with it too much. Otherwise, why would they be presented in complete packages like they are? If you were supposed to just be able to pick whatever two skills, two tools/languages, trait, and starting equipment you wanted, they’d just say that (nevermind the fact that custom backgrounds are also a totally RAW option).

If I had my druthers, custom backgrounds would be presented as the default option, with the pre-built backgrounds as examples.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I hope not. That would be not so much power creep as power leap, if every character now starts with a feat and variant humans get two.

FWIW, every group I know of plays this way already... so I could easily see WotC following the lead.