Greg Benage
Legend
What's funny about this is that the sword of sharpness is still in 5e, and the Lingering Injuries optional rule actually does have an option for broken ribs.
D&D 5E Krynn's Free Feats: setting-specific or the future of the game?
- Thread starter Kobold Stew
- Start date
Henadic Theologian
Hero
I really hope it IS the case, 5e desperately needs this to keep from going stale.
Henadic Theologian
Hero
You still need a generic setting agnostic version for homebrewers and settings they haven't got to yet.
Ruin Explorer
Legend
I think there's zero possibility of you not getting free Feat at L1 in DND2024.
Whether that Feat is determined by your background (either specifically or giving you a list), or chosen from a small list, or freely chosen, remains to be seen (I suspect both of the first two are more likely).
At this point, with 50m+ players, and only at most maybe 10m of them even potentially "burned" by Feats in 3E/4E/PF (and most people actually didn't hate Feats in those), I don't think Feats being optional or not is a "dealbreaker" for any significant proportion of the audience. So they can easily flip it so in the DMG you can just have the Background Feats and all other Feats are ASIs or whatever. Again very different to 2014 where nearly 100% of players were ex-3E/4E/PF.
Whether we also get on at L4 I think may well depend on feedback to this, but I think it's quite likely.
Whether that Feat is determined by your background (either specifically or giving you a list), or chosen from a small list, or freely chosen, remains to be seen (I suspect both of the first two are more likely).
At this point, with 50m+ players, and only at most maybe 10m of them even potentially "burned" by Feats in 3E/4E/PF (and most people actually didn't hate Feats in those), I don't think Feats being optional or not is a "dealbreaker" for any significant proportion of the audience. So they can easily flip it so in the DMG you can just have the Background Feats and all other Feats are ASIs or whatever. Again very different to 2014 where nearly 100% of players were ex-3E/4E/PF.
Whether we also get on at L4 I think may well depend on feedback to this, but I think it's quite likely.
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Ruin Explorer
Legend
I think what they're trying to do with Dragonlance is to find a way to balance both the "more customization" and "keep it simple" sides (and I suspect the former side is a lot larger than the latter, particularly under 40), by linking the Feats to backgrounds, and by having the list for L1 for other backgrounds be extremely small - literally three Feats. You don't meaningfully complicate chargen or introduce analysis paralysis with three Feats (especially those three).
Then at 4th they have a slightly wider choice.
TwoSix
Unserious gamer
Every class gives at least 2 skills, some give 3. No class gives only 1.
Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
That's not true at all. You get a limited selection, most of which are Knight of Solomnia orders or High Sorcery orders. The rest are a very limited set of caster or fighting feats that are appropriate for your 1st level choice. They all have a relationship to the background selected. You cannot for instance, select Observant as your 4th level feat.
For background feats I would expect that when you say take the Urchin background, you will be given a 1st level Urchin feat, and then a limited selection for your 4th level pick that are written into the Urchin background.
Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
This is why I both like and dislike background feats. I'm very worried that some backgrounds will become about a specific class type when it shouldn't. Soldier background feats should probably be geared towards martial, but I really don't want to see the same thing from Sailor, but often Sailors are associated with brawling and improvised weapons, which can mean that the background will suddenly be shied away from by people playing caster.
Maxperson
Morkus from Orkus
Yes and no. You are also allowed to create your own background with skills and such of your choice. If there are skills I envision for my PC and the Criminal background doesn't do it, my created Mafia background will. I still get to have a criminal background and it works for my character vision.
That allows backgrounds to be about RP and not just about what skills you get.
Aldarc
Legend
It's not creeping; it's jogging at a steady pace.
aco175
Legend
Everyone wants it, regardless if they say it.
I can see where backgrounds can be better. Giving the less used feats as a bonus there for char-gen may be ok. I would not want to see veterans getting polearm mastery and another feat though. I would also like if there was a choice of a couple/few to choose from.
I can see where backgrounds can be better. Giving the less used feats as a bonus there for char-gen may be ok. I would not want to see veterans getting polearm mastery and another feat though. I would also like if there was a choice of a couple/few to choose from.
I mean, it was obviously intended for the Background Feature to matter in games, but it often is vestigial with no real benefit, especially in public play. I remember my noble getting zero benefit for being a noble, and then one time when we needed shelter, I announced I'd ask the local lord to put us up in his keep, using my feature, and the DM actually said "I mean, I guess, but I don't understand how that works, the guy has never heard of you."
When I get pushback on simply finding my party a place to sleep for the night, it's obvious (to me) that a component of backgrounds has failed to work as advertised.
When I get pushback on simply finding my party a place to sleep for the night, it's obvious (to me) that a component of backgrounds has failed to work as advertised.
GMforPowergamers
Legend
I HATE that thought process... I even hate the idea with him giving it to you, but you know there are some that don't evven let it work
GMforPowergamers
Legend
but is putting the toughness feat in there anydiffrent then picking the background featurre you want and mixing it with the skills
overgeeked
B/X Known World
Not really. More options is just more options. If those new options are explicitly more powerful than the older options, that's power creep.
bedir than
Hero
Nope. The document doesn't connect the options to a background at 4th level. There's no "if you were a Folk Hero you take YYY" suggestion. Even the knight and wizard ones aren't connected to background, only requiring a previous feat, something you might get by being human.
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overgeeked
B/X Known World
It is a really weird one, noble. It's like you have this "I'm better than you" aura that all peasants the world over simply detect and they must grovel. Likewise, all other nobles can sense that same aura but read it as "you're better than everyone else, just like me" and will be your friends. It's a really strange permanent and global friendship & charm person spell. Most players think it works just like mind control. It's so weird.
Ruin Explorer
Legend
Power creep is fine so long as it's controlled and doesn't mess up balance significantly. It's not inherently bad and literally every edition has had it.
I'd actually like to see 5.5E flip it so that Feats were standard and ASIs were optional. Feats at 1, 4, 8, 12, etc. If you don't want a feat, you can add +1 to two ability scores. That's what I'm moving to in my home games.
But, that said, I do think Backgrounds should have more mechanical weight and feats seem like a reasonable way to do it.
But, that said, I do think Backgrounds should have more mechanical weight and feats seem like a reasonable way to do it.
GMforPowergamers
Legend
yes becuse getting a place to spend the night is the same as charm....
having things on your sheet should mean something
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