D&D 5E Thoughts on giving level 4 ASI / Feat at level 1 instead of 4?

[FrogReaver]

Thoughts on giving level 4 ASI / Feat at level 1 instead of 4?

I find feats to be very thematic and am often disappointed when I have a killer concept but it won't come together till I can take the feat at 4th level. I think many players feel this way. Would it be terrible to go ahead and give the ASI / Feat that is normally gotten at level 4 at character creation and to have level 4 be a dead level?

 

[Zardnaar]

I have seen this as a houserule, maybe feat of DMs choice or have a list of the uber feats you can't pick.

 

[FrogReaver]

I have sen this as a houserule, maybe feat of DMs choice or have a list of the uber feats you can't pick.

If I allow this I do so knowing full well it will mean more powerful characters out the gate. When you seen it how did it work out?

 

[Ath'kethin]

All characters in my campaign are human, so everybody gets a feat at 1st level. Easy solution.

 

[pukunui]

One game I played in, the DM allowed non-humans to trade in their +2 racial stat boost for a feat at 1st level. I did that with my PC and it worked out just fine.

 

[Zardnaar]

If I allow this I do so knowing full well it will mean more powerful characters out the gate. When you seen it how did it work out?

We had a goliath with 20 strength, 18 or 19 con and GWM. In effect about 4 or 5 bonus feats. Of course those stats were rolled off camera.

For smaller parties and some feats its kinda fun. I had sentinel+inspiring leader as a sword n board Paladin at lvl 1.

Basically you don't want Great Weapon, Sharpshooter, Crossbow Expert, Polearm master handed out for free. The Zeitgeist AP from EN5ider has a free feat but its limited to a selected list for what faction you join.

Free feat= fine, any feat though= problem.

Perhaps tie the bonus feat to a region, back ground or faction.

 

[Oofta]

Personally I like the feeling of growth, the feeling that my character has gone from being just an adventurous sod to becoming a fledgling hero.

But if you want to do it the characters will have a minor bump in power, but it won't be anything game breaking.

 

[Fanaelialae]

I've given a bonus feat at level 1 for players who write a background. Good encouragement and it did not break the game.

 

[FrogReaver]

We had a goliath with 20 strength, 18 or 19 con and GWM. In effect about 4 or 5 bonus feats. Of course those stats were rolled off camera.

For smaller parties and some feats its kinda fun. I had sentinel+inspiring leader as a sword n board Paladin at lvl 1.

Basically you don't want Great Weapon, Sharpshooter, Crossbow Expert, Polearm master handed out for free. The Zeitgeist AP from EN5ider has a free feat but its limited to a selected list for what faction you join.

Free feat= fine, any feat though= problem.

Perhaps tie the bonus feat to a region, back ground or faction.

I'm not as worried about said feats though.

At level 1: Crossbow expertise is a slight boost compared to a dual wielder but comparable enough to a character with the dual wielder feat and 2 rapiers. Or even a dual wielder with +1 stat.

Polearm Mastery is again slightly better than a dual wielder but adds a reaction attack. Both add great flavor to those weapon styles. It will still be level 8 before you can get both GWM and Polearm mastery unless you are a variant human. There may be some issue early on if a variant human can get both.

But a single feat, even the good ones, I'm not very worried about.

 

[FrogReaver]

Personally I like the feeling of growth, the feeling that my character has gone from being just an adventurous sod to becoming a fledgling hero.

But if you want to do it the characters will have a minor bump in power, but it won't be anything game breaking.

I like growth too. I like organic growth the most. Suddenly getting many of the feats doesn't feel very organic to me.