Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana: Get Better At Skills With These Feats

The latest Unearthed Arcana from Jeremy Crawford and again featuring guest writer Robert J. Schwalb introduces a number of feats which make you better at skills. Each increases the skill's primary ability score, doubles your proficiency bonus, and gives you a little bonus ability. "This week we introduce new feats to playtest. Each of these feats makes you better at one of the game’s eighteen skills. We invite you to read them, give them a try in play, and let us know what you think in the survey we release in the next installment of Unearthed Arcana."

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[Tony Vargas]

I am basically saying it is just a feat tax. I don't want to go back to the days where you need maxed out skill points and a bunch of feats to be good at a skill.

It doesn't stack with Expertise, so doesn't really go there. Currently, you have to acquire Expertise as a class feature to be 'good at a skill' in that sense. The feats just open up another way to do so that might not be as contrary to as many character concepts.

 

[Corwin]

I am saying my vote is against this for the feedback they want from Unearthed Arcana articles.

I get that. And I commend it. I'm all for people offering their feedback.

Skills should be good enough on their own without a feat to be good at the skill.

But I don't get this. These feats don't change whether you can be "good" at a skill. Taking one does, however, significantly improve the chances of being "singularly great" at its corresponding skill. I'll give you that. But you certainly don't need one to be good at a skill. Are only bards and rogues good at Arcana? Wizards don't get expertise, after all, so I can only presuppose that's your belief. I'd beg to differ.

 

[BookBarbarian]

I am saying my vote is against this for the feedback they want from Unearthed Arcana articles. Skills should be good enough on their own without a feat to be good at the skill.

I agree with this.

I also dislike feat taxes, but I dislike Multiclass taxes even more. My barbarian shouldn't have to go to Rogue or Bard school to learn their special grappling techniques.

I would have preferred not having expertise in the game at all, and have Rogues and Bards be the best at skills by virtue of getting the most proficiencies, or have each class able to get Expertise in one of their chosen class skills, and still have Rogues and Bards being the best at skills by have more Expertises.

 

[Oofta]

I get that. And I commend it. I'm all for people offering their feedback.


But I don't get this. These feats don't change whether you can be "good" at a skill. Taking one does, however, significantly improve the chances of being "singularly great" at its corresponding skill. I'll give you that. But you certainly don't need one to be good at a skill. Are only bards and rogues good at Arcana? Wizards don't get expertise, after all, so I can only presuppose that's your belief. I'd beg to differ.

It does help that you only ever double (and never triple) proficiency bonus. I may house rule that observant doubles proficiency instead of a flat bonus, it would stop some sky-high passive perceptions I've seen (especially when combined with Sentinel Shield).

But I think being wary of power creep for published modules is a very realistic concern.

 

[Arnwolf666]

I dislike Multiclass period. Glad it is an optional rule.

 

[Arnwolf666]

Where are people getting the idea that I think these new feats stack with expertise

 

[BookBarbarian]

I dislike Multiclass period. Glad it is an optional rule.

Feats are too

I'm also glad they are both optional.

 

[Oofta]

Where are people getting the idea that I think these new feats stack with expertise

Page 7 basic rules "Your proficiency bonus can’t be added to a single die roll or other number more than once." rule is kind of buried in the intro "how to build a character" section of the rules.

It's easy to miss, that's all.

 

[Arnwolf666]

Page 7 basic rules "Your proficiency bonus can’t be added to a single die roll or other number more than once." rule is kind of buried in the intro "how to build a character" section of the rules.

It's easy to miss, that's all.

Yes and why are people thinking I think they stack

 

[Oofta]

Yes and why are people thinking I think they stack

Because they missed the rule? Because they only skimmed over the "how to create a character section"?