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

[TaranTheWanderer]

I think just having magic items with Feat properties is a cool addition to the game without needing to change any existing rules. These items should be fairly rare since they feel more unique than just a static bonus.

The weaker feats could be a property of a single item while the stronger feats may have to be broken into multiple items. I love the idea of 'item sets'.

Like most magic items in a game, A DM would have to use their discretion.

I've seen DMs give out home-brew items that had way more power than the typical feat. They did so not really realizing what they were handing out and, only too late, realizing the item was way too powerful. At least you know that feats have been play-tested and having one or two extra feats over the course of a campaign isn't going to break the game.

 

[Nebulous]

I think just having magic items with Feat properties is a cool addition to the game without needing to change any existing rules. These items should be fairly rare since they feel more unique than just a static bonus.

The weaker feats could be a property of a single item while the stronger feats may have to be broken into multiple items. I love the idea of 'item sets'.

Like most magic items in a game, A DM would have to use their discretion.

I've seen DMs give out home-brew items that had way more power than the typical feat. They did so not really realizing what they were handing out and, only too late, realizing the item was way too powerful. At least you know that feats have been play-tested and having one or two extra feats over the course of a campaign isn't going to break the game.

I don't know if the +2 bump AND the feats are too much.

Here's a quick look at what some of them might look like:

Helmet of Delving. This helmet belonged to the dwarven adventurer Thargos the Bullheaded, who was a masterful thief of ruins and dungeons, until a stone slab trap crushed him to death and his helmet was knocked off, the only part of him that survived. A sliver of his spirit dwells in the helmet now, still trying to find hidden treasures. Once attuned, you gain the Dungeon Delver feat.

Alert to the hidden traps and secret doors found in many dungeons, you gain the following benefits:

• You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Intelligence (Investigation) made to detect the presence of secret doors.
• You have advantage on saving throws made to avoid or resist traps.
• You have resistance to the damage dealt by traps.
• You can search for traps while traveling at a normal pace, instead of only at a slow pace

Headband of Keen Thoughts. Once attuned, you gain the Keen Mind feat.

You have a mind that can track time, direction, and detail with uncanny precision. You gain the following benefits:
• Increase your Intelligence by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• You always know which way is north.
• You always know how the number of hours left before the next sunrise or sunset.
• You can accurately recall anything you have seen or heard within the past month.

Wand of Phelegathos. (No attunement, and the INT boost is removed).
When you roll fire damage for a spell you cast, you can reroll any roll of 1 on the fire damage dice, but you must use the new roll, even if it is another 1.

Whenever you cast a spell that deals fire damage, you can cause flames to wreathe you until the end of your next turn. The flames don’t harm you or your possessions, and they shed bright light out to 30 feet and dim light for an additional 30 feet. While the flames are present, any creature within 5 feet of you that hits you with a melee attack takes 1d4 fire damage.

 

[Nebulous]

Axe of Rage. Once the weapon of a long dead northern barbarian, this magic item is infused with his ancient hatred and aggression. Once attuned, the bearer gains the following feats: Savage Attacker and Charger. The bearer of this axe is often angry to enough to embark on foolhardy attacks (DMs discretion or Wis save to resist)

Savage Attacker
Once per turn when you roll damage for a melee weapon attack, you can reroll the weapon's damage dice and use either total.

Charger
When you use your action to Dash, you can use a bonus action to make one melee weapon attack or to shove a creature. If you move at least 10 feet in a straight line immediately before taking this bonus action, you either gain a +5 bonus to the attack’s damage roll (if you chose to make a melee attack and hit) or push the target up to 10 feet away from you (if you chose to shove and you succeed).

 

[Nebulous]

Azgard - The Spear of Retribution. Once attuned you gain the Sentinel feat.

• Whenever you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, its speed drops to 0 for the rest of the turn. This stops any movement they may have been taking.

• Creatures within your reach provoke opportunity attacks even if they took the Disengage action.

• When a creature within your reach makes an attack against a target other than you (and that target doesn't have this feat), you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against the attacking creature.

 

[Nebulous]

Potion of Luck. For 24 hours you're incredibly lucky. Use it wisely. Gain the Lucky feat.

You have inexplicable luck that seems to kick in at just the right moment.

You have 3 luck points. Whenever you make an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw, you can spend one luck point to roll an additional d20. You can choose to spend one of your luck points after you roll the die, but before the outcome is determined. You choose which of the d20s is used for the attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.

You can also spend one luck point when an attack roll is made against you. Roll a d20, and then choose whether the attack uses the attacker’s roll or yours.
If more than one creature spends a luck point to influence the outcome of a roll, the points cancel each other out; no additional dice are rolled.

 

[Gadget]

You know, I've often thought of doing something very similar. I love 5e, but the feat design in, like many other aspects of 5e, is very uneven. Putting them in magic items allows for a more controlled aspect of the game, hopefully allowing some of the lesser used 'feats' to come into play while solving the "another +1 sword/dagger/whatever issue.

 

[Nebulous]

You know, I've often thought of doing something very similar. I love 5e, but the feat design in, like many other aspects of 5e, is very uneven. Putting them in magic items allows for a more controlled aspect of the game, hopefully allowing some of the lesser used 'feats' to come into play while solving the "another +1 sword/dagger/whatever issue.

Yeah, I'm removing the "pluses" and replacing them with a feat, sometimes two feats. Even arguably OP feats like Sharpshooter and Lucky, if relegated to consumables, are now just really awesome to have, but not OP.

 

[Nebulous]

Elven Quiver of Death. Twenty arrows enchanted by the elven ranger Mysteros, each arrow has the Sharpshooter feat property. They do not return to the quiver and cannot be gathered from the battlefield.

• Attacking at long range doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged weapon attack rolls.
• Your ranged weapon attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover.
• Before you make an attack with a ranged weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a - 5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack’s damage.

 

[Nebulous]

I think just having magic items with Feat properties is a cool addition to the game without needing to change any existing rules. These items should be fairly rare since they feel more unique than just a static bonus.

The weaker feats could be a property of a single item while the stronger feats may have to be broken into multiple items. I love the idea of 'item sets'.

Like most magic items in a game, A DM would have to use their discretion.

I've seen DMs give out home-brew items that had way more power than the typical feat. They did so not really realizing what they were handing out and, only too late, realizing the item was way too powerful. At least you know that feats have been play-tested and having one or two extra feats over the course of a campaign isn't going to break the game.

I like the idea of sets too, a weapon and shield and helmet that work in unison. Now, I know this against 5e design where it wants the power in the players hands, not their weapons, but players really LOVE having both feats and magic items, so this could be a way to manage it. It would need some playtesting.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

I like the idea of sets too, a weapon and shield and helmet that work in unison. Now, I know this against 5e design where it wants the power in the players hands, not their weapons, but players really LOVE having both feats and magic items, so this could be a way to manage it. It would need some playtesting.

I mean, is it really that bad? Look at a cloak of ElvenKind or Look at a Cloak of the Bat which is an existing item:

While wearing this cloak, you have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. In an area of dim light or Darkness, you can grip the edges of the cloak with both hands and use it to fly at a speed of 40 feet. If you ever fail to grip the cloak's edges while flying in this way, or if you are no longer in dim light or Darkness, you lose this flying speed.

While wearing the cloak in an area of dim light or Darkness, you can use your action to cast Polymorph on yourself, transforming into a bat. While you are in the form of the bat, you retain your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. The cloak can't be used this way again until the next dawn.

Now look at the Skulker feat, which would make an excellent cloak with a similar flavour:
-You can try to hide when you are lightly obscured from the creature from which you are hiding.
• When you are hidden from a creature and miss it with a ranged weapon attack, making the attack doesn't reveal your position.
• Dim light doesn’t impose disadvantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks relying on sight.

That said, I'd be wary, though, of adding two feats to an item, like your Ax of Rage. Although, I do think it's thematic.