Yes, I allow feats in my game. Basically, I break it down like this...
There are three types of feats: Full feats, half feats, and shitty full feats.
You can hand out shitty full feats with little consequence. For half feats, you can offer them without the ASI. Full feats should be given out VERY carefully.
Here's my list of shitty full feats. These are (arguably) the worst feats in the game,
Charger
Dungeon Delver
Grappler
Healer
Inspiring Leader
Mage Slayer
Martial Adept
Mounted Combatant
Savage Attacker
Skulker
There has been some argument about Healer and Inspiring Leader, but I just don't see much downside to these. Players do like them, and some folks actually do pick these over other feats, but I think the impact to the game is minimal.
Why, oh why, would you remove the ASI from half feats? It's the best of both worlds a lot of the time. Especially for casters. Giving them, at low level, more spells, and at all levels more known spells without that it unbalances the game?
I should have been more clear. Removing the ASI from half feats isn't for when PCs get ASIs at level up, they are for when the DM wants to give the PCs something extra. For example, at the end of a story arc.
Just two cents ... but Healer and Inspiring Leader are both very good feats. Healer is excellent on a thief rogue and in any party lacking in the healing department while Inspiring Leader is just good on any character with high charisma. The big difference about these is that they are party boosting feats rather than personal power boosting ones.
I should change the way I phrase that list to "The 10 (least) favorite feats."
Just two cents ... but Healer and Inspiring Leader are both very good feats. Healer is excellent on a thief rogue and in any party lacking in the healing department while Inspiring Leader is just good on any character with high charisma. The big difference about these is that they are party boosting feats rather than personal power boosting ones.
Honestly, Healer is one of the strongest and most useful feats in the PHB for all classes. It scales very well as you level (guaranteeing more healing than Cure Wounds ever can), recharges per character on a short rest, and offers dirt cheap healing (1gp per use of a healer's kit, zero spell slots). With this feat, martial characters and non-healer mages suddenly become field medics for themselves or downed allies, and healers get to reserve precious spell slots.
If healing isn't your thing, then this feat isn't going to be appealing. But you can't deny it delivers on value.
Looking at the feats in the PHB, my list of 'bad' feats are
Actor: overly situational. Could be useful in a very rare type of game.
Athlete: overly situational. Could be useful in a very rare type of game.
Charger: there are multiple ways to dash as a bonus action. Use one of them instead of this.
Dungeon Delver: Could be useful in games that make heavy use of traps, though just being good at perception is usually better.
Durable: so my 16 Con fighter goes from averaging 8.5 hp/hd to 8.8...
Grappler: You know, you can just trip the person you have grappled...
Lightly Armored: by the time a sorcerer or wizard is looking at feats, they can afford to cast mage armor.
Linguist: how often are languages really relevant? Particularly given that read languages is a level 1 ritual.
Savage Attacker: This is 1-1.5 damage per turn, depending on weapon. So many other options will do more...
Skilled: skills are decently valuable, but most people already have their key skills so an extra three is marginal skills, and that's not worth 2 ability points.
Weapon Master: Very few characters want to use weapons and aren't already proficient with all of the weapons they might want to use, and the exceptions will usually be better served by multiclassing.
Just two cents ... but Healer and Inspiring Leader are both very good feats. Healer is excellent on a thief rogue and in any party lacking in the healing department while Inspiring Leader is just good on any character with high charisma. The big difference about these is that they are party boosting feats rather than personal power boosting ones.
Honestly, Healer is one of the strongest and most useful feats in the PHB for all classes. It scales very well as you level (guaranteeing more healing than Cure Wounds ever can), recharges per character on a short rest, and offers dirt cheap healing (1gp per use of a healer's kit, zero spell slots). With this feat, martial characters and non-healer mages suddenly become field medics for themselves or downed allies, and healers get to reserve precious spell slots.
If healing isn't your thing, then this feat isn't going to be appealing. But you can't deny it delivers on value.
Yeah, Healer is great. But few pick it. There's some old data available here that shows the top three feats picked by class. Healer isn't on any of them. That's not to say people never pick it, or that it doesn't have value, but few people ever pick it because there are other feats they would prefer.
Yeah, Healer is great. But few pick it. There's some old data available here that shows the top three feats picked by class. Healer isn't on any of them. That's not to say people never pick it, or that it doesn't have value, but few people ever pick it because there are other feats they would prefer.
Healer suffers from the fact that restoring hit points to the party between encounters is boring, and for in-combat healing people favor bonus action heals such as healing word.
I allow Feats in my campaigns. I really think they help customize characters and in some case keep up their power curve, especially some martial classes.h
To me they're the ones affected the most when Feats are banned.
Yeah, Healer is great. But few pick it. There's some old data available here that shows the top three feats picked by class. Healer isn't on any of them. That's not to say people never pick it, or that it doesn't have value, but few people ever pick it because there are other feats they would prefer.
Healer suffers from the fact that restoring hit points to the party between encounters is boring, and for in-combat healing people favor bonus action heals such as healing word.
Healer can be used as an action in combat.
Granted, you only get to use it once per character until you short rest, but it's not intended to be a replacement for healing magic entirely. (It also can't be Counterspelled and works if you can't see your target, unlike Healing Word.)
Essentially, this is the combat medic feat that's intended for dire situations or emergencies. Healing Word has its place, but sometimes the initiative order makes it a waste if it isn't going to restore enough HP to let the target last another round. Cure Wounds is better, and this feat is better still on average.
I'm not saying it's popular. My point all along is that it's underrated. (I also didn't intend to hijack this thread. Sorry, OP.)
In my GREYHAWK campaign 2 characters out of 4 started with the Healer feat. I must say its more gritty i use a houserule where dying cause Exhaustion and variant healing rule where long rest regain All HD but no HP. In this case the Feat is terrific!
Honestly don't see the problem one bit with players writing stuff down and constantly reading it to remember? Like, what's the problem here, the players actually wanting to take interest in your story and dont wanna miss out?..... This seems utterly weird to me, not even a meta-gaming question, I'd just be amazingly happy as a DM to see this.
I personally think that feats should be allowed, no matter the circumstance. If, after you play it, you notice that less players are having fun because of a reason that stems from the feat, you should work out a compromise with the character that took it, maybe let them choose a different feat, or give them a homebrew feat that is similar, but will not cause any problems at the table
I'd say talk it over with your players. You can always ban anything you believe is a game breaker. But keep in mind, there are always ways around "game breaking" mechanics if you feel the players are over-utilizing them.
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Aut Inveniam Viam Aut Faciam (Find a way or make one) - Hannibal Allegedly
Lessons learned in blood are not soon forgotten. - Clyde Shelton
The truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is and you must bow to it's power or live a lie. -Miyamoto Musashi
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I should have been more clear. Removing the ASI from half feats isn't for when PCs get ASIs at level up, they are for when the DM wants to give the PCs something extra. For example, at the end of a story arc.
I should change the way I phrase that list to "The 10 (least) favorite feats."
Honestly, Healer is one of the strongest and most useful feats in the PHB for all classes. It scales very well as you level (guaranteeing more healing than Cure Wounds ever can), recharges per character on a short rest, and offers dirt cheap healing (1gp per use of a healer's kit, zero spell slots). With this feat, martial characters and non-healer mages suddenly become field medics for themselves or downed allies, and healers get to reserve precious spell slots.
If healing isn't your thing, then this feat isn't going to be appealing. But you can't deny it delivers on value.
Looking at the feats in the PHB, my list of 'bad' feats are
Yeah, Healer is great. But few pick it. There's some old data available here that shows the top three feats picked by class. Healer isn't on any of them. That's not to say people never pick it, or that it doesn't have value, but few people ever pick it because there are other feats they would prefer.
Healer suffers from the fact that restoring hit points to the party between encounters is boring, and for in-combat healing people favor bonus action heals such as healing word.
I allow Feats in my campaigns. I really think they help customize characters and in some case keep up their power curve, especially some martial classes.h
To me they're the ones affected the most when Feats are banned.
Healer can be used as an action in combat.
Granted, you only get to use it once per character until you short rest, but it's not intended to be a replacement for healing magic entirely. (It also can't be Counterspelled and works if you can't see your target, unlike Healing Word.)
Essentially, this is the combat medic feat that's intended for dire situations or emergencies. Healing Word has its place, but sometimes the initiative order makes it a waste if it isn't going to restore enough HP to let the target last another round. Cure Wounds is better, and this feat is better still on average.
I'm not saying it's popular. My point all along is that it's underrated. (I also didn't intend to hijack this thread. Sorry, OP.)
In my GREYHAWK campaign 2 characters out of 4 started with the Healer feat. I must say its more gritty i use a houserule where dying cause Exhaustion and variant healing rule where long rest regain All HD but no HP. In this case the Feat is terrific!
Honestly don't see the problem one bit with players writing stuff down and constantly reading it to remember? Like, what's the problem here, the players actually wanting to take interest in your story and dont wanna miss out?..... This seems utterly weird to me, not even a meta-gaming question, I'd just be amazingly happy as a DM to see this.
I personally think that feats should be allowed, no matter the circumstance. If, after you play it, you notice that less players are having fun because of a reason that stems from the feat, you should work out a compromise with the character that took it, maybe let them choose a different feat, or give them a homebrew feat that is similar, but will not cause any problems at the table
I'd say talk it over with your players. You can always ban anything you believe is a game breaker. But keep in mind, there are always ways around "game breaking" mechanics if you feel the players are over-utilizing them.
Aut Inveniam Viam Aut Faciam (Find a way or make one) - Hannibal Allegedly
Lessons learned in blood are not soon forgotten. - Clyde Shelton
The truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is and you must bow to it's power or live a lie. -Miyamoto Musashi