is it possible to give a character a feat other then as a replacement to a ASI when leveling up? l was thinking of some cool roll play reasons/options to give PCs feats,but haveing to have these specifically tied to the level up ASIs is restricting.
(edited because I was wrong in my initial response)
I think this is up to the DM. I gave everyone in my party a small feat homebrew feat after they completed a challenging side-quest with flying colors. I think that these little gifts of feats or other character abilities can be good rewards for PCs.
If you watch Critical Role, Matt Mercer does this for Keyleth near the end of Season 1 as well. She got the Inspiring Leader feat for completing her main backstory arc.
Epic Boons, other awards, training... it's an overlooked option, but yes, fully supported. Dndbeyond will even let you manually add feats to a character outside of class progression, by viewing the character sheet instead of the character editor.
Keep in mind that "time intensive" rarely truly means anything. It takes about fifteen seconds to describe the grueling years your character trained and then the players move on. Time should only be treated as a cost if there are actual consequences for its passing or there are other benefits the character could have chosen to work for in that downtime.
Only other thing I'd caution about giving free feats is to make sure they're given out equally and/or are equally useful to the players.
Ive done this before and I've considered doing it again. Ive also done this on characters in campaigns starting at higher levels and when I've restricted leveling past level 6 or really put a vise on leveling in general to keep things feeling more gritty but giving players a bit more of a leg up and standout without the normal things that happen with leveling up, especially if its a caster heavy party. Also at the end of long adventure hooks or for accomplishing great feats don't overlook the epic boons. They can come in handy as a good reward on campaigns where that are deity-centric. I used the boon of immortality for a pc who was the lone human in a group of elves, it fit and allowed a thematic way for him to overcome the short-lived downfall of being a human. My recommendation on any of these is for you as the DM to look at the situation, the characters and campaign and you decide what they get, make it a real reward, something they aren't expecting. If youre not a fan of min/maxing then it also helps prevent that.
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is it possible to give a character a feat other then as a replacement to a ASI when leveling up? l was thinking of some cool roll play reasons/options to give PCs feats,but haveing to have these specifically tied to the level up ASIs is restricting.
(edited because I was wrong in my initial response)
I think this is up to the DM. I gave everyone in my party a small feat homebrew feat after they completed a challenging side-quest with flying colors. I think that these little gifts of feats or other character abilities can be good rewards for PCs.
If you watch Critical Role, Matt Mercer does this for Keyleth near the end of Season 1 as well. She got the Inspiring Leader feat for completing her main backstory arc.
Yes, it is 100% possible to give players feats outside of their level progression tables. The DMG suggests this as a non-monetary reward.
You can also receive a feat from training. However, this training is rare and time intensive, and is often only used as a downtime activity.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
which is exactly how l planed on granting it (that or a one time use magic item gotten as loot or divine intervention)
Epic Boons, other awards, training... it's an overlooked option, but yes, fully supported. Dndbeyond will even let you manually add feats to a character outside of class progression, by viewing the character sheet instead of the character editor.
dndbeyond.com forum tags
I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
Keep in mind that "time intensive" rarely truly means anything. It takes about fifteen seconds to describe the grueling years your character trained and then the players move on. Time should only be treated as a cost if there are actual consequences for its passing or there are other benefits the character could have chosen to work for in that downtime.
Only other thing I'd caution about giving free feats is to make sure they're given out equally and/or are equally useful to the players.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Ive done this before and I've considered doing it again. Ive also done this on characters in campaigns starting at higher levels and when I've restricted leveling past level 6 or really put a vise on leveling in general to keep things feeling more gritty but giving players a bit more of a leg up and standout without the normal things that happen with leveling up, especially if its a caster heavy party. Also at the end of long adventure hooks or for accomplishing great feats don't overlook the epic boons. They can come in handy as a good reward on campaigns where that are deity-centric. I used the boon of immortality for a pc who was the lone human in a group of elves, it fit and allowed a thematic way for him to overcome the short-lived downfall of being a human. My recommendation on any of these is for you as the DM to look at the situation, the characters and campaign and you decide what they get, make it a real reward, something they aren't expecting. If youre not a fan of min/maxing then it also helps prevent that.