D&D (2024) Alternate Alert 1st-level feat: Help me choose

[renbot]

Starting a new campaign and including some elements of 1DnD in order to test drive them. Every PC will start with a 1st-level feat but I'm not wild about the "initiative swap" option for Alert conceptually or practically (swapping initiative in Roll20 is annoying).

The PHB Alert feat (does anyone else still call it "Alertness"? Where is the Eternal Sunshine method to relieve me of old gaming terminology!) has three bullet points:

• You can’t be surprised while you are conscious.
• You gain a +5 bonus to initiative.
• Other creatures don’t gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of being unseen by you.

I plan to keep the "add PB to initiative" from the 1DnD playtest in place of the original +5. Now I'm trying to decide if either of the other two (can't be surprised, unseen opponents don't get advantage against you) makes sense as a replacement for "initiative swap." And if yes, then which one makes more sense and is generally balanced against other 1-level feats.

Your opinions are appreciated. Please show your work for full credit (e.g. tell me why one or the other would be a terrible idea!)

 

[mellored]

Starting a new campaign and including some elements of 1DnD in order to test drive them. Every PC will start with a 1st-level feat but I'm not wild about the "initiative swap" option for Alert conceptually or practically (swapping initiative in Roll20 is annoying).

The PHB Alert feat (does anyone else still call it "Alertness"? Where is the Eternal Sunshine method to relieve me of old gaming terminology!) has three bullet points:

• You can’t be surprised while you are conscious.
• You gain a +5 bonus to initiative.
• Other creatures don’t gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of being unseen by you.

I plan to keep the "add PB to initiative" from the 1DnD playtest in place of the original +5. Now I'm trying to decide if either of the other two (can't be surprised, unseen opponents don't get advantage against you) makes sense as a replacement for "initiative swap." And if yes, then which one makes more sense and is generally balanced against other 1-level feats.

Your opinions are appreciated. Please show your work for full credit (e.g. tell me why one or the other would be a terrible idea!)

Surprise in the playtest is now (dis)advantage.

So just giving advantage on initiative would cancel the disadvantage.

 

[Horwath]

1D&D Alert is very weak, even for a half feat house rule option.
Alert 5E if too powerful. And boring.

1D&D alert could be:
prof bonus to initiative.
proficiency in Perception, Insight or Investigation.

 

[aco175]

Starting a new campaign and including some elements of 1DnD in order to test drive them. Every PC will start with a 1st-level feat but I'm not wild about the "initiative swap" option for Alert conceptually or practically (swapping initiative in Roll20 is annoying).

I'm confused on wanting to try the new rules and then want to change them though. I agree that the 5e alert is rather powerful for a free 1st level feat but not trying the new option first and then change it after a few levels seems like you are not giving things a chance.

The initiative swap will come up each fight as an option while the invisibility people attacking you might not come up but a few times. I think that makes it a weaker option and DM focused if he has invisible monsters and if they choose to attack you. Cannot be surprised is kind of the same thing. Depends on how often your group is surprised and taking a full turn would be good. @mellored is saying the surprise rules are changed so that you would still get to do something if you are surprised, at disadvantage though, so that seems to water down this part even more. I wonder if keeping both these and dropping the part of swapping initiative is equal.

 

[Charlaquin]

Surprise in the playtest is now (dis)advantage.

Kind of. They say that anything that hasn’t specifically been mentioned in the rules glossary should be assumed to work the same way as it does in the current rules. And surprise doesn’t have its own rules glossary entry in any of the UAs yet, it’s just that a lot of things that would normally have interacted with the surprise rules instead grant dis/advantage to the initiative roll.

 

[mellored]

Kind of. They say that anything that hasn’t specifically been mentioned in the rules glossary should be assumed to work the same way as it does in the current rules. And surprise doesn’t have its own rules glossary entry in any of the UAs yet, it’s just that a lot of things that would normally have interacted with the surprise rules instead grant dis/advantage to the initiative roll.

Surprise.If you are Hidden when you roll Initiative, you have Advantage on the roll. (Also for invisible)
Surprised.If you are Incapacitated when you roll Initiative, you have Disadvantage on the roll.

I mean, I guess you could see them as 2 different "surprised" conditions. But they have the same name.

 

[Shiroiken]

(swapping initiative in Roll20 is annoying).

Not crapping on your main concern, but after you sort the initative order, you should be able to drag and drop anyone around the tracker.

 

[Clint_L]

Advantage on initiative
Cannot be surprised
On a natural 20 initiative roll, automatically goes first and gains an extra action - that would make it spicy!

 

[Horwath]

1. swapping initiative is a hassle. Better return the Delay action if initiative must be juggled around.
2. Cannot be surprised and removal of advantage from current feat is too powerful.

Maybe just focus on initiative:
2×prof bonus on initiative.
You cannot have disadvantage on initiative roll.
You can make Reactions even when surprised.

 

[renbot]

You cannot have disadvantage on initiative roll.
You can make Reactions even when surprised.

This! Thank you!