Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Unearthed Arcana: Get Better At Skills With These Feats
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Gradine" data-source="post: 7714837" data-attributes="member: 57112"><p>An example can be specific and still be an example.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>They do no such thing. They give you a specific application with a specific set of rules, but they in no way imply any kind of limiting factor. That's something you putting into it because of a superficial resemblance to 4e power structure. But nothing about 5e has changed. This is still the rulings over rules edition. Which means...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Once again, I'll grant you Performer. Even though it tries to have the kinds of specific rules that other feats do, all it ultimately grants is disadvantage, which is one the DM's most powerful tools in their "rulings over rules" toolkit. Performer's ability is something that every character should be able to attempt, and create an identical or nearly-identical result. That makes the feat a huge problem. So yeah, boo on Performer.</p><p></p><p>Let's look at Acrobat though. It sets a specific DC (15) to move across difficult terrain at full speed with a bonus action. Each specific piece of the feat (the DC, the speed boost, the action economy) gives me a fairly wide range of options on how to adjudicate that same action attempt for a PC without the feat. Is the DC higher? Do they make the attempt at disadvantage? Maybe they get a small speed penalty, like they don't get full speed, but something better than half. Maybe they have to use their action rather than their bonus, but a successful check allows them to move at 1.5 speed (so it's still strictly better than using a Dash action). These are all just off the top of my head; I could choose one (or several) of those options depending on the specific circumstances of the check. More possible options might reveal themselves depending on any number of variables that might be in play. My only limit is that whatever I declare, it has to either be not as easy or not as effective to perform without the feat.</p><p></p><p>An here's the honest truth. Before the existence of this feat, how would I have adjudicated a PC attempting to Acrobatics their way through difficult terrain? "Make a DC 15 Dexterity(Athletics) check". Maybe a higher DC depending on the nature of the obstruction, but that's it. I probably wouldn't have even made them burn their bonus action. Because that's basically how it worked in 3.5, right? Now, though? Now it's got me and my players thinking of all sorts of different ideas for adjudicating this action for PCs without the feat.</p><p></p><p>Parameters vastly increase creativity.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>That's on them and their DM. Everything about 5e's style of adjudicating actions specifically rejects this mindset. Stop thinking of them as 3.X or 4e feats or powers and the problem evaporates.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>...Except for Performer. Of course. Because Performer is terrible.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Gradine, post: 7714837, member: 57112"] An example can be specific and still be an example. They do no such thing. They give you a specific application with a specific set of rules, but they in no way imply any kind of limiting factor. That's something you putting into it because of a superficial resemblance to 4e power structure. But nothing about 5e has changed. This is still the rulings over rules edition. Which means... Once again, I'll grant you Performer. Even though it tries to have the kinds of specific rules that other feats do, all it ultimately grants is disadvantage, which is one the DM's most powerful tools in their "rulings over rules" toolkit. Performer's ability is something that every character should be able to attempt, and create an identical or nearly-identical result. That makes the feat a huge problem. So yeah, boo on Performer. Let's look at Acrobat though. It sets a specific DC (15) to move across difficult terrain at full speed with a bonus action. Each specific piece of the feat (the DC, the speed boost, the action economy) gives me a fairly wide range of options on how to adjudicate that same action attempt for a PC without the feat. Is the DC higher? Do they make the attempt at disadvantage? Maybe they get a small speed penalty, like they don't get full speed, but something better than half. Maybe they have to use their action rather than their bonus, but a successful check allows them to move at 1.5 speed (so it's still strictly better than using a Dash action). These are all just off the top of my head; I could choose one (or several) of those options depending on the specific circumstances of the check. More possible options might reveal themselves depending on any number of variables that might be in play. My only limit is that whatever I declare, it has to either be not as easy or not as effective to perform without the feat. An here's the honest truth. Before the existence of this feat, how would I have adjudicated a PC attempting to Acrobatics their way through difficult terrain? "Make a DC 15 Dexterity(Athletics) check". Maybe a higher DC depending on the nature of the obstruction, but that's it. I probably wouldn't have even made them burn their bonus action. Because that's basically how it worked in 3.5, right? Now, though? Now it's got me and my players thinking of all sorts of different ideas for adjudicating this action for PCs without the feat. Parameters vastly increase creativity. That's on them and their DM. Everything about 5e's style of adjudicating actions specifically rejects this mindset. Stop thinking of them as 3.X or 4e feats or powers and the problem evaporates. ...Except for Performer. Of course. Because Performer is terrible. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Unearthed Arcana: Get Better At Skills With These Feats
Top