Hello! I've only been here for a bit but I am loving the interface of DnD beyond and how easy it makes homebrew. I made 6 feats because I wanted to make a Japanese style campaign with ninja's, samurai, war, and infiltration wrapped into your characters story. I was going to let each player take one of these feats for free, and they can grab more if they want to in place of ASI if they decide to grab a feat. Are these too strong? Do they seemed balanced? Any constructive criticism is appreciated. I made these feats in order to mimic what real and fantasy Samurai/Ninja were able to do. They will most likely be starting at level 5, and the campaign will go to about level 15 ( If people really like it though, I might extend it to level 20), so not being able to have these feats at level 1 is something to consider. Here they are.
Edit: If these are too strong because a player gets one of the above for free, would simply buffing enemy CR by a tiny amount make this better? or should I say they are only able to take these when they normally get a feat?
Ninja technique: ninjutsu. So a variant metamagic and 2 wizard cantrips. First, you don't have to exclude booming blade and green-flame blade because they already don't have a somatic component. Second, you didn't say what the "spell's cost" is for the number of points to spend. Lastly, I feel like getting 2 cantrips is 1 too many, and while I see what you are doing with the DEX spellcasting modifier, I don't think it is appropriate with the spellcasting lore (no actual balance issue) and recommend sticking with the class's normal mod.
Trades of the ninja is kind of wierd. So it lets you gain the monk's 9th level unarmored movement improvement and expertise in 2 out of 4 skills if you already had proficiency in those 2 skills. Getting the monk's 9th level feature earlier that it can seems too much, and the expertise thing is too limiting.
Bushido: I don't have the patience to talk about each effect, but I don't think it is over powered.
I really like patient body. A good spread of effects to balance the situational ones.
Soul of the samurai: I don't think the Iaijutsu needs to be limited by rest, but the DC should be 8+hit mod. I'm also a little worried about how this works for spears and battlaxes, but not shortswords and scimitars. Maybe it should be non-heavy sword instead (you can keep the bit about versatile damage die as is). And for the reaction, use the wording of the parry reaction of monsters (noble for example).
Thank you for the tips. I have fixed combat ninja. What would be your suggestions to improve trades of the ninja? I might just have to scrap it altogether. I like the idea of ninjas running over water though. Maybe if i make it just water and no climbing it would be more balanced? I thought booming blade and green flame blades somatic component was making a melee attack, so you can two weapon fighting and get to dual cast those spells and make extra melee attacks, but if that's not the case I'll remove that part. I was fine with the samurai being able to use spears and battle axes ( samurai didn't only use katanas afterall from a lore standpoint) unless you are talking about spears and battleaxes being able totperform the iaijutsu. I don't think balance wise it really matters, but i will consider that part cause of lore. I will definately change it too the parry mechanic from monsters, but probably specify once per round and until end of turn for the effect. I don't want a permanent +2AC boost😂 for the ninjutsu spellcasting, the cost is equal to what level you cast the spell at ( with a minimum of 1 point). Does that change your evaluation of it? Or should i still limit them to 1 cantrip? Lastly, is bushido too underpowered? Thank you for taking your time to help me :D
These are the first homebrew feats i've ever made ( I've made a bunch of races though) so i oonly have a half idea of making them. I know i should compare them powerwise against similar feats, but that's about it so i just tried to make them fit japanese lore mechanic wise the best i could and try not to break them. I think you were on the nose with the ninja trades feat being a bit much though. That will probably be my biggest fix here
Oh and i will drop that to 8+ hit mod otherwise it might be too good for the Iaijutsu. If i remove the rest part, i think i will limit it so you cannot perform it against the same opponent more then once every four hours. I don't want players to stow their sword then perform the technique again and again. ( I know it's inneficent to stow your weapon for the attack, but i find it ridiculous that a samurai would stow their blade to perform it again and again withiut limits and players might try to abuse it against high AC low dex enemies.)
Thank you for the tips. I have fixed combat ninja.
Disarming is a very weak mechanic without house rules. The enemy doesn't have to use an action or provoke an opportunity attack to go get his weapon. Plus you will be fighting a lot of non-weapon using monsters. Maybe you should toss it 10 feet away. I like the improved disengage though.
What would be your suggestions to improve trades of the ninja? I might just have to scrap it altogether. I like the idea of ninjas running over water though. Maybe if i make it just water and no climbing it would be more balanced?
I'm not sure what to tell you here. In a lot of ways, the monk is very ninja like. A way of shadow monk with a 3 level dip assassin is basically a full ninja.
I thought booming blade and green flame blades somatic component was making a melee attack, so you can two weapon fighting and get to dual cast those spells and make extra melee attacks, but if that's not the case I'll remove that part.
The weapon is a material component, but the attack is part of the spell itself, not a component. You use the cast a spell action, not the attack action, so you can't use two weapon fighting or extra attack that turn.
I was fine with the samurai being able to use spears and battle axes ( samurai didn't only use katanas afterall from a lore standpoint) unless you are talking about spears and battleaxes being able totperform the iaijutsu. I don't think balance wise it really matters, but i will consider that part cause of lore.
I was referring to the Iaijutsu specifically. I'm fine with samurai still benefiting from other weapons.
I will definately change it too the parry mechanic from monsters, but probably specify once per round and until end of turn for the effect. I don't want a permanent +2AC boost😂
The monster's parry specifically only raises AC for the 1 attack, not permanently. You would actually be buffing it by making it last until the end of the turn. And it uses your reaction (of which you get 1 per round) so you don't need to limit it to once per round.
for the ninjutsu spellcasting, the cost is equal to what level you cast the spell at ( with a minimum of 1 point). Does that change your evaluation of it? Or should i still limit them to 1 cantrip?
I still think it should probably be 1 cantrip looking at spell sniper as an example, but wouldn't really be worth taking for a non-caster.
Lastly, is bushido too underpowered? Thank you for taking your time to help me :D
I don't think it is underpowered, some of those effects are really good. Just janky, what with the random roll every long rest and all, but if you let them choose it becomes too good with so many options. I did like how you could take it multiple times though.
I was thinking the ninjutsu feat to cast spells was good on an arcane trickster or part caster type martial classes for the most part ( especially monk subclasses), and the full caster classes. I will bring it to one instead of two for cantrips. I wanted tools cause of bias and ninja's were "prepared" but it might make it too good you are correct. so effectively you can trigger that trait 3 times with cantrips/first level spells, a 2nd level spell and a cantrip/first level spell, or a 3rd level spell before having to rest, which seems fine for a limited version of metamagic. If I keep the expertise part of trades of the ninja, what if I change the effect to something along the lines of the crossbow expert feat or sharphooter feat but with thrown, finesse weapons? ( that is darts and daggers, or reskined in this campaign, kunai and shurikans) Maybe something like increasing the ranges like the sharpshooter feat and the penalty/damage bonus, and then the expertise on top? I was worried the disarm was too strong if it was a further range, but i've never tried disarming an enemy in dnd really (probably goes to show how weak the effect is XD) I'll take your advice and buff it. Looks about done here I'll copy the feats and update them later when I get back from class. Thank you for your time!
Oh I was aware I was buffing the parry, but i feel it was in line with a samurai "dueling" and blocking someones attacks, but i could make it for the one attack if that is too good.
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Hello! I've only been here for a bit but I am loving the interface of DnD beyond and how easy it makes homebrew. I made 6 feats because I wanted to make a Japanese style campaign with ninja's, samurai, war, and infiltration wrapped into your characters story. I was going to let each player take one of these feats for free, and they can grab more if they want to in place of ASI if they decide to grab a feat. Are these too strong? Do they seemed balanced? Any constructive criticism is appreciated. I made these feats in order to mimic what real and fantasy Samurai/Ninja were able to do. They will most likely be starting at level 5, and the campaign will go to about level 15 ( If people really like it though, I might extend it to level 20), so not being able to have these feats at level 1 is something to consider. Here they are.
Ninja Feats:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/feats/76651-combat-ninja
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/feats/76625-ninja-technique-ninjutsu
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/feats/76581-ninja-technique-trades-of-the-ninja
Samurai Feats:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/feats/76699-samurai-teaching-bushido
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/feats/76579-samurai-teaching-patient-body
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/feats/76612-samurai-teaching-soul-of-the-samurai
Edit: If these are too strong because a player gets one of the above for free, would simply buffing enemy CR by a tiny amount make this better? or should I say they are only able to take these when they normally get a feat?
You haven't published these, have you? It is saying 403 forbidden for them.
No i have not. I'll make sure to do that right now sorry😅 i thought you can share the link and it is fine. I guess not🤔 hold on.
Okay done submitting it. I didn't want too at first so i could edit it after i got feed back, but it's whatever haha.
You don't have to publish them for you and your party to use in a campaign, or for mods to bug check them.
For future reference, to get feedback without publishing, you can type out (or paste) descriptions or use a screenshot.
Combat ninja link still not working.
Ninja technique: ninjutsu. So a variant metamagic and 2 wizard cantrips. First, you don't have to exclude booming blade and green-flame blade because they already don't have a somatic component. Second, you didn't say what the "spell's cost" is for the number of points to spend. Lastly, I feel like getting 2 cantrips is 1 too many, and while I see what you are doing with the DEX spellcasting modifier, I don't think it is appropriate with the spellcasting lore (no actual balance issue) and recommend sticking with the class's normal mod.
Trades of the ninja is kind of wierd. So it lets you gain the monk's 9th level unarmored movement improvement and expertise in 2 out of 4 skills if you already had proficiency in those 2 skills. Getting the monk's 9th level feature earlier that it can seems too much, and the expertise thing is too limiting.
Bushido: I don't have the patience to talk about each effect, but I don't think it is over powered.
I really like patient body. A good spread of effects to balance the situational ones.
Soul of the samurai: I don't think the Iaijutsu needs to be limited by rest, but the DC should be 8+hit mod. I'm also a little worried about how this works for spears and battlaxes, but not shortswords and scimitars. Maybe it should be non-heavy sword instead (you can keep the bit about versatile damage die as is). And for the reaction, use the wording of the parry reaction of monsters (noble for example).
Thank you for the tips. I have fixed combat ninja. What would be your suggestions to improve trades of the ninja? I might just have to scrap it altogether. I like the idea of ninjas running over water though. Maybe if i make it just water and no climbing it would be more balanced? I thought booming blade and green flame blades somatic component was making a melee attack, so you can two weapon fighting and get to dual cast those spells and make extra melee attacks, but if that's not the case I'll remove that part. I was fine with the samurai being able to use spears and battle axes ( samurai didn't only use katanas afterall from a lore standpoint) unless you are talking about spears and battleaxes being able totperform the iaijutsu. I don't think balance wise it really matters, but i will consider that part cause of lore. I will definately change it too the parry mechanic from monsters, but probably specify once per round and until end of turn for the effect. I don't want a permanent +2AC boost😂 for the ninjutsu spellcasting, the cost is equal to what level you cast the spell at ( with a minimum of 1 point). Does that change your evaluation of it? Or should i still limit them to 1 cantrip? Lastly, is bushido too underpowered? Thank you for taking your time to help me :D
These are the first homebrew feats i've ever made ( I've made a bunch of races though) so i oonly have a half idea of making them. I know i should compare them powerwise against similar feats, but that's about it so i just tried to make them fit japanese lore mechanic wise the best i could and try not to break them. I think you were on the nose with the ninja trades feat being a bit much though. That will probably be my biggest fix here
Oh and i will drop that to 8+ hit mod otherwise it might be too good for the Iaijutsu. If i remove the rest part, i think i will limit it so you cannot perform it against the same opponent more then once every four hours. I don't want players to stow their sword then perform the technique again and again. ( I know it's inneficent to stow your weapon for the attack, but i find it ridiculous that a samurai would stow their blade to perform it again and again withiut limits and players might try to abuse it against high AC low dex enemies.)
Disarming is a very weak mechanic without house rules. The enemy doesn't have to use an action or provoke an opportunity attack to go get his weapon. Plus you will be fighting a lot of non-weapon using monsters. Maybe you should toss it 10 feet away. I like the improved disengage though.
I'm not sure what to tell you here. In a lot of ways, the monk is very ninja like. A way of shadow monk with a 3 level dip assassin is basically a full ninja.
The weapon is a material component, but the attack is part of the spell itself, not a component. You use the cast a spell action, not the attack action, so you can't use two weapon fighting or extra attack that turn.
I was referring to the Iaijutsu specifically. I'm fine with samurai still benefiting from other weapons.
The monster's parry specifically only raises AC for the 1 attack, not permanently. You would actually be buffing it by making it last until the end of the turn. And it uses your reaction (of which you get 1 per round) so you don't need to limit it to once per round.
I still think it should probably be 1 cantrip looking at spell sniper as an example, but wouldn't really be worth taking for a non-caster.
I don't think it is underpowered, some of those effects are really good. Just janky, what with the random roll every long rest and all, but if you let them choose it becomes too good with so many options. I did like how you could take it multiple times though.
I was thinking the ninjutsu feat to cast spells was good on an arcane trickster or part caster type martial classes for the most part ( especially monk subclasses), and the full caster classes. I will bring it to one instead of two for cantrips. I wanted tools cause of bias and ninja's were "prepared" but it might make it too good you are correct. so effectively you can trigger that trait 3 times with cantrips/first level spells, a 2nd level spell and a cantrip/first level spell, or a 3rd level spell before having to rest, which seems fine for a limited version of metamagic. If I keep the expertise part of trades of the ninja, what if I change the effect to something along the lines of the crossbow expert feat or sharphooter feat but with thrown, finesse weapons? ( that is darts and daggers, or reskined in this campaign, kunai and shurikans) Maybe something like increasing the ranges like the sharpshooter feat and the penalty/damage bonus, and then the expertise on top? I was worried the disarm was too strong if it was a further range, but i've never tried disarming an enemy in dnd really (probably goes to show how weak the effect is XD) I'll take your advice and buff it. Looks about done here I'll copy the feats and update them later when I get back from class. Thank you for your time!
Oh I was aware I was buffing the parry, but i feel it was in line with a samurai "dueling" and blocking someones attacks, but i could make it for the one attack if that is too good.