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

[TaranTheWanderer]

I'm not sure why Feats and magic items that contain feats have to be mutually exclusive. Why not keep the game as-is and add fun feat-based items?

 

[Nebulous]

I'm not sure why Feats and magic items that contain feats have to be mutually exclusive. Why not keep the game as-is and add fun feat-based items?

You're saying add double feats? I mean, sure, you can do that.

 

[Nebulous]

But every baddie needs the same feats too to keep pace. It becomes another DM chore. Feats are SO good mostly in 5th edition that it makes them easy slide into magic items. But even crappy feats make great potions!

One of my players argued at me that monsters couldn't get feats, it was reserved for PCs.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

You're saying add double feats? I mean, sure, you do that.

No. I'm saying most of the feats are about as flavorful as many magic items that already exist. As I pointed out earlier, Cloak of the bat or Cloak of Elvenkind are pretty much on par or more powerful than any of the feats in the book. Adding a few more magic items doesn't seem bad. Not EVERY magic item is going to be a feat. I just don't see how sprinkling a few items here or there is going to break the game. Feats are already pretty balanced and on par for many of the magic items in the DMG.

Baddies also have magic items. They always have so it's not much of a chore. Now you have more to offer. In any case, That's part of what makes them challenging. I mean, how else are the players going to earn the items they have? They take them out of the cold, dead hands of their enemies.

 

[Nebulous]

No. I'm saying most of the feats are about as flavorful as many magic items that already exist. As I pointed out earlier, Cloak of the bat or Cloak of Elvenkind are pretty much on par or more powerful than any of the feats in the book. Adding a few more magic items doesn't seem bad. Not EVERY magic item is going to be a feat. I just don't see how sprinkling a few items here or there is going to break the game. Feats are already pretty balanced and on par for many of the magic items in the DMG.

Baddies also have magic items. They always have so it's not much of a chore. Now you have more to offer. In any case, That's part of what makes them challenging. I mean, how else are the players going to earn the items they have? They take them out of the cold, dead hands of their enemies.

I agree Yes, the feats as exist are as flavorful as the magic items that exist. You're right, sprinkling some here and there won't break anything.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Magic items that grant interesting abilities instead of simple +‘s are great.

But why get rid of feats and have more magic items? That’s the part I’m not following.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I agree Yes, the feats as exist are as flavorful as the magic items that exist. You're right, sprinkling some here and there won't break anything.

Please do report back how things go...

 

[Lanefan]

Magic items that grant interesting abilities instead of simple +‘s are great.

But why get rid of feats and have more magic items? That’s the part I’m not following.

Because magic items are fun; and finding magic items is fun; and having them appear in the fiction at random times during the run of play just feels far more organic than the meta-play of selecting feats from a list in a book at level-up.

As an interesting potential side effect, this also gives the DM an easy way of trying out new or homebrew 'feats' to see how they work in play - just stick it in a magic item and make sure a PC finds it. If it works, great. If it doesn't - guess that item's unique, huh?

 

[Guest 6801328]

Because magic items are fun; and finding magic items is fun; and having them appear in the fiction at random times during the run of play just feels far more organic than the meta-play of selecting feats from a list in a book at level-up.

Sure, magic items are fun, but...

1. Part of what makes them fun (for me) is their rarity. Increasing the rate at which you find magic items would in turn devalue all of them.
2. Another part of what makes them fun (again, for me) is their unpredictability. You don't pick magic items; they pick you (effectively). But what I like about feats is their predictability: you know that at level X you can add some nifty feature. It's one of the few places in 5e you can deterministically customize your character. So, if feats become magic items, either you get to pick your magic items...which ruins the fun of magic items...or you don't get to pick your character's special abilities...which also sucks.

YMMV, of course, but I think I'll pass.

 

[Lanefan]

Sure, magic items are fun, but...

--- Part of what makes them fun (for me) is their rarity. Increasing the rate at which you find magic items would in turn devalue all of them.

I guess I'm used to games where magic items are generally easy come, easy go. (in the session I ran tonight I blew up a couple, one of which was a rather costly loss)

--- Another part of what makes them fun (again, for me) is their unpredictability. You don't pick magic items; they pick you (effectively). But what I like about feats is their predictability: you know that at level X you can add some nifty feature. It's one of the few places in 5e you can deterministically customize your character.

Which is something I rather dislike about 3e-and-newer D&D: too much focus on planned-out character building.

So, if feats become magic items, either you get to pick your magic items...which ruins the fun of magic items...or you don't get to pick your character's special abilities...which also sucks.

Or, you've just got to adapt to suit whatever special abilities you might end up with.

And they'd always be temporary if you so desired: with a feat, once you pick it you're stuck with it; but a magic item can always be sold-traded-discarded in favour of something else.

I agree that picking your magic items ruins the fun.

Another cool aspect to feat-like magic items is that even where two items in theory give the same feat there can be some item-by-item tweaking such that one's just a bit better or worse or different than the other; and it might be random who ends up with what, or some horse-trading goes on among the PCs (and-or externally, if items can be bought-sold-traded in your game).