D&D (2024) D&D Background and Origin Feat Article

It doesn't matter what you're using it for. It's a physical thing in the world. You either have it or you don't. D&D isn't designed to use video game inventory.
And if a mad wizard starts releases an army of gold golems who's every step turns the ground beneath their feat into gold.

You'll still physically have 16 GP, but it won't be enough to buy a shovel.
 

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I still think, there are many situatiins where you don't play out shopping. I bet there are downtime rules for that. In those cases, the rule makes a lot of sense.
I would not use it in roleplaying encounters. Otherwise it would go:

PC: "I am a crafter, I get 20% discount."
Shopkeeper: "No problem, the prices just went up 25%."

Let's apply that to other rules in the game:

PC. I'm a tiefling, I have fire resistance.
DM. Ok. The red dragon does double damage with their breath weapon vs tieflings.

PC. I have expertise in Stealth. I scout ahead.
DM. The guards here are all highly trained and have expertise in Perception.
 

And if a mad wizard starts releases an army of gold golems who's every step turns the ground beneath their feat into gold.

You'll still physically have 16 GP, but it won't be enough to buy a shovel.
Sure, now a shovel costs 10,000 GP, but mysteriously I can buy it for 8,000 GP. I don't see how crashing the economy with a gold-explosion affects this particular feature.
 


Let's apply that to other rules in the game:

PC. I'm a tiefling, I have fire resistance.
DM. Ok. The red dragon does double damage with their breath weapon vs tieflings.
This is not a one on one situation. So it does not count. ;)
PC. I have expertise in Stealth. I scout ahead.
DM. The guards here are all highly trained and have expertise in Perception.
Don't you do it that way? I have seen too mamy DMs in 3.x do it exactly like this...

I really have to to use joke tags...
 


So background feats are more or less bad as they were in 2014.
The background feats aren't competing with 2014 Polearm Master and War Caster. They are competing with each other - and to me the early leaders are Tough, Alert, Magic Initiate, and Musician (Lucky took savage nerfs in reducing it to Advantage and Musician is the new Lucky). What made most of them bad wasn't being bad
 

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