Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in- Marketplace
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in
Are Epic Boons only available to players that take one class to 19 or could a multiclass character attain them without a DM giving it to them?
There has been some debate about this. In my case, I agree with the following interpretation:
The threads I remember about this topic:
- Epic Boon Eligibility confusion (the previous quote is from here)
- 2024 Epic Boons
- A question regarding the Epic Boon Feats
A multiclass character can take an Epic Boon in some fairly narrow circumstances. Specifically, they would have to be reaching a total character level of 19 (or 20) at the same time that they're reaching a class level with a class feature that grants a feat.
The "Ability Score Improvement" class features that provide feats don't place any restrictions on what kind of feat you can take with them; you just have to meet the prerequisites for the feat itself. Epic Boon feats generally have a prerequisite of "Level 19+", but that refers to character level rather than levels in any specific class.
So, for example, if you had 15 levels in Sorcerer and 3 in Bard (total character level 18) and took another level of Bard, you'd now be Sorcerer 15/Bard 4, for a total character level of 19. The 4th level "Ability Score Improvement" feature from the Bard class grants you a feat. That feature doesn't place any restrictions on what kind of feat you can take with it, so you can take any feat you meet the prerequisites for. Since your total character level is 19, you meet the prerequisites for most Epic Boon feats, so you can take one of those.
If, on your next level up, you took a level of Sorcerer, you'd then be Sorcerer 16/Bard 4. You get another "Ability Score Improvement" feature from the Sorcerer class at level 16, so you get another feat, which can be another Epic Boon feat if you want (since you still meet the Level 19+ prerequisite, as your total character level is 20).
pronouns: he/she/they
The first part. You can only gain an Epic Boon at 19th level from a single class. There is nothing in the Multiclass section that pertains to feats. Even the section that talks about adding class levels together (aka Total Character Levels) neither explicitly nor implicitly mention those rules apply to Epic Boons or even regular Feats for that matter.
The underlined part is correct, and is actually why you can take them while multiclassing. You seem to be implicitly comparing it spellcasting, which does have rules in the multiclassing section; namely that you prepare spells for each class as if you were simply the levels of each sinlge class you have separately, while spell slots gained are according to the table and levels in each class (plus some math, depending on class).
The fact that the multiclassing rules don't say anything about feats simply means that you go off of what is written for the prerequisite of the feat. And what is written is that in order to take an Epic Boon, you need to be "level 19+". Not "19+ of a single class". In other words, if they didn't want you to take epic boons as a multiclass, they would have put rules in place to stop it (presumably in the multiclassing section).
That's incorrect.
Here is what the text actually says:
Example prerequisite text:
It seems like you may be getting this confused with the rules for Spellcasting with multiclass characters. That has nothing to do with how feat prerequisites work.
If a feat has a prerequisite like "Level 19+", that refers to total character level. It would need to say something like "Level 19+ in a single class" or "Level 19+ Rogue" for it to be limited to levels in a single class. (As of this writing there are no existing feats that are limited in this way, but I suppose there could be in the future.)
pronouns: he/she/they
I don't see where the issue is tbh. It will only come up at the really late stage of character progression and at that level getting a epic boon (or even two due to multiclassing) won't unbalance the game in any noticeable way, every character should be plenty strong any way (especially counting the magic items one should be expected to have at that point).
The rules already suggest giving out epic boons instead of levels if you play past level 20 so I would see it being unreasonable to limit it to only single class characters at that point. And if you don't do it at level 21+ I don't see much reason to do it at level 19-20 either, but then again I don think you have to allow it either.
That's categorically incorrect. There is nothing in Multiclassing, which is the only place Total Character Level is mentioned, that implies that Epic Boons are included. The rules for TLC is specified in the section. The fact that it does NOT say it doesn't apply to Epic Boons is not a valid argument. I have my own opinion on regular Feats in the same way, but that is a discussion I'll reserve until such a thread comes up.
Again, nothing in the Multiclassing rules has anything to do with this, so I'm not sure why you keep bringing that up.
All I'm talking about is the prerequisites listed on the feats themselves. They simply say "Level 19+". There is nothing in the feat prerequisites or anywhere else in the rules that says those 19 levels have to all be in the same class. That restriction simply doesn't exist in the actual rules.
pronouns: he/she/they
To gain two Epic Boons by multiclassing means that the highest level you can be in any class is 16, which means you’re giving up access to level 9 spells.
Yeah, I'm definitely not saying it's ever a particularly good idea.
pronouns: he/she/they
I think you might have misunderstood what I said. A DM deciding not to give epic boons to his level 20+ characters is an entirely acceptable choice. But if you do decide to give epic boons to the level 20+ characters then I think it would be unreasonable to only allow the single class characters to get them but not allow the multiclass characters to do so.
Well the good news is 20the level is a hard rule. There is no 21, 22, 23rd etc in this game outside a HB. Once you hit 20th, the the only thing that happens from there is you can another Feat or Epic Boon for every 30k XP you qualify for. So Epic Boon at 19the level. None at 20. Your second at 20+30k XP. Another a 20+60k XP.
Epic Boons aren't acquired from multiclassing's Total Character Levels: only single class unless you decide to play 19 one class and just 1 level in another.
Again, there is nothing in the rules that actually says that; it's a restriction that you've invented.
pronouns: he/she/they
There is also nothing in the rules that say that Boons are inclusive with Total Character levels, that is something you homebrewed.
So your position is actually that the rules don't say anything about it either way? I'm having trouble figuring out what you're saying.
When interpreting things like this, it's often helpful to ask oneself: if this is what they meant, would they have written it this way?
If the intent was for the feat prerequisite "Level 19+" to actually mean "Level 19+ in a single class", is that the way they would've written it? Is it credible to imagine that they wouldn't have explicitly said "Level 19+ in a single class" if that's what they actually meant?
Remember, everywhere else in the rules where "level" refers to a class level, they call that out explicitly, saying things like "Hit Points equal to 1d10 plus your Fighter level".
pronouns: he/she/they
That's a 2014 rule. This was removed in 2024. It's now a feat with the only requirement that the character be level 19+.
The fact that DnDBeyond let's you pick them when multiclassing is not a bug or an oversight. DnDB correctly prevents you from getting 2 Action Surges at level 17 if you don't have 17 levels in Fighter, for example. DnDB's character sheets have many bugs and issues, but multiclassing is not something that causes them.
It would be an understandable interpretation. Wrong, but understandable.
All ASIs have the same text: "You gain the Ability Score Improvement feat (see chapter 5) or another feat of your choice for which you qualify."
Qualify, here, means "you meet the prerequisites". Most epic boon feats have only one prerequisite: level 19+. Thus, you can take an epic boon feat with an ASI if you're high enough level to do so, because it is "another feat ... for which you qualify"