D&D 5E Unearthed Arcana: 16 New Feats

"Today’s Unearthed Arcana presents a selection of new feats for Dungeons & Dragons. Each feat offers a way to become better at something or to gain a whole new ability."

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The feats include Artificer Initiate, Chef, Crusher, Eldritch Adept, Fey Touched, Fighting Initiate, Gunner, Metamagic Adept, Poisoner, Piercer, Practiced Expert, Shadow Touched, Shield Training, Slasher, Tandem Tactician, and Tracker.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

It seems that they might officially associate illusion/enchantment with fey and necromancy/illusion with shadow.

Do you think there was an abjuration/evocation based Elemental Touched feat that was axed?

Maybe it's still coming in the next UA? I wouldn't be surprised if a sequel to this had more planar feats.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Thief of Five Fates: You can cast bane once using a warlock spell slot. You can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

I don't see many non-warlocks taking this invocation, as it would be absolutely useless to them.

 

[Undrave]

Another thing

It seems that they might officially associate illusion/enchantment with fey and necromancy/illusion with shadow.

Do you think there was an abjuration/evocation based Elemental Touched feat that was axed?

Actually, I think the Elemental one should be Transmutation and Evocation. Invocation and Abjuration could go with the Astral plane! Astral Touched would give Shield as a free spell.

Dunno what Elemental Touch would give as a free spell. The problem is the Evocation school is the 'damage' school so they're probably worried about balancing it for some reason.

Concept perhaps, but I skipped 4e (wasn't my cup of tea). Honestly I'd prefer the Ranger to not be so hideously reliant on their spellcasting. Spells that alter terrain and creating impediments (Entangle and the like) but nothing tied so directly to combat (Hunter's Mark and the like). Spells that offer a utilitarian impact (in or out of combat) and let their warrior skills manage the actual hitting and dealing of damage. Then their terrain expertise can come into play with those utilitarian spells, allowing them to move about those effects more or less freely....and give them (and Paladins) some damn cantrips as part of their spellcasting feature. If EK and AT receive them, then there is absolutely no reason not to give Paladins and Rangers default access to them. Limit them, certainly, but yeesh.

The 4e Ranger was purely martial. Its hunter’s quarry feature was its striker damage enhancement and it had a choice to specialize in two-weapon fighting or archery. It had powers with lots of mobility and multiattacks. There was no mucking about with spell slots or anything. Though you could pick up Rituals with a feat if you wanted to.

I think 5e just didn’t have enough design space left to mundane pursuits to make the Ranger work without spells… or the tradition of the Ranger as a magical warrior was just too strong, despite that there is no pop culture version of that Ranger that doesn’t rely on DnD for inspiration to begin with.

I think the new Druidic Warrior fighting style will be great if you want a more magical Ranger. Druidcraft would be very flavourful.

I feel like the Ranger’s subclass don’t play enough with the ‘magical dial’. Some subclass should be more martial and other more magical. Like the ‘I replace my pet when it dies, whatever’ beastmaster would be more martial but the ‘I forge an unbreakable bond with one partner’ style would be more magical. You know?

 

[Gradine]

Here is the list of invocations non-warlocks can take with the feat. It's sort of a mini-guide. I am curious about the ones which do not list a prerequisite but mention "using a warlock spell slot" and how that works with the feat for a non-warlock.

Armor of Shadows: You can cast mage armor on yourself at will, without expending a spell slot or material components.
Beast, Speech: You can cast speak with animals at will, without expending a spell slot.
Beguiling Influence: You gain proficiency in the Deception and Persuasion skills.
Devil's Sight: You can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 120 feet.
Eldritch Sight: You can cast detect magic at will, without expending a spell slot.
Eyes of the Rune Keeper: You can read all writing.
Fiendish Vigor: You can cast false life on yourself at will as a 1st-level spell, without expending a spell slot or material components.
Gaze of Two Minds: You can use your action to touch a willing humanoid and perceive through its senses until the end of your next turn. As long as the creature is on the same plane of existence as you, you can use your action on subsequent turns to maintain this connection, extending the duration until the end of your next turn. While perceiving through the other creature’s senses, you benefit from any special senses possessed by that creature, and you are blinded and deafened to your own surroundings.
Mask of Many Faces: You can cast disguise self at will, without expending a spell slot.
Misty Visions: You can cast silent image at will, without expending a spell slot or material components.
Thief of Five Fates: You can cast bane once using a warlock spell slot. You can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

There are some great invocations in there. But yeah, not Agonizing Blast.

Thief of Five Fates is bad, and Beguiling Influence isn't a terrible invocation but not worth a Feat (objectively worse than Skilled in that regard), but the rest of these are definitely worth the feat, given specific characters builds. Armor and Beast Speech are probably the most underwhelming but not terrible.

 

[bedir than]

Here is the list of invocations non-warlocks can take with the feat. It's sort of a mini-guide. I am curious about the ones which do not list a prerequisite but mention "using a warlock spell slot" and how that works with the feat for a non-warlock.

Armor of Shadows: You can cast mage armor on yourself at will, without expending a spell slot or material components.
Beast, Speech: You can cast speak with animals at will, without expending a spell slot.
Beguiling Influence: You gain proficiency in the Deception and Persuasion skills.
Devil's Sight: You can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 120 feet.
Eldritch Sight: You can cast detect magic at will, without expending a spell slot.
Eyes of the Rune Keeper: You can read all writing.
Fiendish Vigor: You can cast false life on yourself at will as a 1st-level spell, without expending a spell slot or material components.
Gaze of Two Minds: You can use your action to touch a willing humanoid and perceive through its senses until the end of your next turn. As long as the creature is on the same plane of existence as you, you can use your action on subsequent turns to maintain this connection, extending the duration until the end of your next turn. While perceiving through the other creature’s senses, you benefit from any special senses possessed by that creature, and you are blinded and deafened to your own surroundings.
Mask of Many Faces: You can cast disguise self at will, without expending a spell slot.
Misty Visions: You can cast silent image at will, without expending a spell slot or material components.
Thief of Five Fates: You can cast bane once using a warlock spell slot. You can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

There are some great invocations in there. But yeah, not Agonizing Blast.

Speaking of Rangers - unlimited uses of Beast Speech would be handy for a Rogue:Scout and Fighter:Scout (RIP) and all Rangers.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Dunno what Elemental Touch would give as a free spell. The problem is the Evocation school is the 'damage' school so they're probably worried about balancing it for some reason.

Chromatic Orb, and you choose the 2nd level spell? Could this work?

 

[Undrave]

Chromatic Orb, and you choose the 2nd level spell? Could this work?

The Touched spell only give you 1st level spell.

Having looked at them, I think the Transmutation school is pretty weak at level 1 so I dunno about pairing it with Evocation since no one is gonna pick a Transmutation spell. Unless the given spell is Transmutation like Feather Fall or Expeditious Retreat.

Chromatic Orb is a good pick... but none of the other give a damaging spell so I wouldn't give that.

 

[Parmandur]

Actually, I think the Elemental one should be Transmutation and Evocation. Invocation and Abjuration could go with the Astral plane! Astral Touched would give Shield as a free spell.

Dunno what Elemental Touch would give as a free spell. The problem is the Evocation school is the 'damage' school so they're probably

Choice of one of four: Control Flames, Gust, Mold Earth or Shape Water. One Level 1 Spell of Transmutation or Evocation school.

Which would leave...Abjuration and Conjuration...for what theme...?

 

[Minigiant]

Uhh, why? If it's the one-size higher damage dice, the rogues already do more with sneak attack. Sure, the lower range kind of sucks at lower levels, but if you want to be a ranger rogue with a longbow at lower levels, give up the feat to get Longbow proficiency, or ask the DM for Bracers of Archery when the game starts out.

Breaks the image. The D&D ranger wields longsowrds, battleaxes, longbows, or a massive crossbow.
Not a pair of dagger or a dinky bow to catch bunnies.
Especially not the roguish style archer who stands back, cowers, and shoots.

And let's not talk about melee rogues trying to be rangers at low levels.

Maybe it's still coming in the next UA? I wouldn't be surprised if a sequel to this had more planar feats.

A planar book sounds right.

The current trend I see is them just adding more and more themed magic.

There really should be one... but the problem is the Evocation school is the 'damage' school so they're probably worried about balancing it for some reason. What would be the free spell? I'd go with Shield myself.

I was thinking shield, an evocation cantrip, and a 1st level evocation spell.
Damage spells don't scale in 5e automatically. So a "Elemental Adept" cannot run on just the 2 1st level spells.

The 4e Ranger was purely martial. Its hunter’s quarry feature was its striker damage enhancement and it had a choice to specialize in two-weapon fighting or archery. It had powers with lots of mobility and multiattacks. There was no mucking about with spell slots or anything. Though you could pick up Rituals with a feat if you wanted to.

I think 5e just didn’t have enough design space left to mundane pursuits to make the Ranger work without spells… or the tradition of the Ranger as a magical warrior was just too strong, despite that there is no pop culture version of that Ranger that doesn’t rely on DnD for inspiration to begin with.

I think the new Druidic Warrior fighting style will be great if you want a more magical Ranger. Druidcraft would be very flavourful.

I feel like the Ranger’s subclass don’t play enough with the ‘magical dial’. Some subclass should be more martial and other more magical. Like the ‘I replace my pet when it dies, whatever’ beastmaster would be more martial but the ‘I forge an unbreakable bond with one partner’ style would be more magical. You know?

I think the core disconnect is that the base D&D experience is very magical. After a few levels, doing everything but fighting, sneaking, and talking is partially entangled in the magical sphere. After a few levels, everything is gigantic, flying, teleporting, and casting spells.

So if you are looking going at the ranger looking for a low magic one,it wasn't going to happen since the magic was pushed back to the forefront with 5e. I don't even think the designers themselves really thought about what a ranger is with a high magic base that D&D. This is why some ranger class features are bad and the subclasses looked off.

 

[Parmandur]

Maybe it's still coming in the next UA? I wouldn't be surprised if a sequel to this had more planar feats.

Wouldn't expect anymore Feats: maybe they'll test the new Race approach, but they might be done.