D&D 5E (2014) Sage Advice is back!

[Parmandur]

Jeremy Crawford goes into detail about the game design exploration of Backgrounds giving Feats and Feat chains in Strixhaven and Dragonlance.

 

[Jer]

As I said in the Dragonlance thread - having Backgrounds carry a Feat with them by default would break mathematical compatibility with the current game in a way that none of the other changes they have made so far do. So I hope that these experiments are being kept to optional books and setting specific Backgrounds and not something they're thinking of putting into the Anniversary Edition.

The one way I could see this work mechanically is if they allow you to swap your +2 ASI at 1st level for a Feat, and you have to do that to take any Background with a Feat attached. Which I think would be a good idea to be honest, so I could see how they could make this mechanically compatible with the current edition if they do it that way.

 

[darjr]

Sage Advice is back! #DnD Game Design Architect @JeremyECrawford answers community questions about backgrounds, feats, hit dice and more.

Watch now: Feat Stacking, Backgrounds and Hit Dice | Sage Advice | D&D

 

[Maxperson]

Sage Advice is back! #DnD Game Design Architect @JeremyECrawford answers community questions about backgrounds, feats, hit dice and more.

Watch now: Feat Stacking, Backgrounds and Hit Dice | Sage Advice | D&D

Why say, "Sage Advice is just a tool for the group to use or not." in 13 words when 1000 will do!

 

[overgeeked]

Yeah. I just watched that. Can’t say I’m enjoying the stated direction things will be going.

Feat chains are in going forward.

Backgrounds with feats are in going forward.

The use of hit dice will be expanded. Not sure where that’s coming from or where it’s going.

 

[overgeeked]

Why say, "Sage Advice is just a tool for the group to use or not." in 13 words when 1000 will do!

The joys of “natural language” in game design.

 

[Scribe]

Feat chains are in going forward.

Backgrounds with feats are in going forward.

Interesting.

 

[Maxperson]

Yeah. I just watched that. Can’t say I’m enjoying the stated direction things will be going.

Feat chains are in going forward.

Backgrounds with feats are in going forward.

The use of hit dice will be expanded. Not sure where that’s coming from or where it’s going.

I like it a lot. Short(2-3) feat chains are in going forward, which is fine. You get feats that are better if you invest and feats are more fun and just as useful as stat bonuses anyway. Backgrounds with feats is also something I really liked.

None of it was Sage Advice, though. They should have just called it an interview.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Why say, "Sage Advice is just a tool for the group to use or not." in 13 words when 1000 will do!

Because anything that appears in Sage Advice can eventually become official errata in new printings or even official new rules in updated printings.

 

[Burnside]

I don't like the feat chains. To me it smacks of 3E system mastery expectations. 90% of my players will never read the books enough to figure out feat chains, so I hope the design won't assume widespread use of them moving forward, because if so many players will be "left behind" or make trap choices. Accommodating casual players is a big part of 5E's success and I'm against anything that jeopardizes that approach.

I don't think backgrounds with feats are in any way necessary but I do acknowledge they are a logical response to what a lot of people actually want and many groups are already doing in practice anyway ("starter feat" for everyone).