Summary
Feats are one of the best ways you’re able to distinguish your character concept from other players inDungeons & Dragons. While you’ll of course take an Origin Feat at character creation, you can also take different feats at various levels, ranging from low to high-level tiers of play. But if you really want to shake things up at your table, you should try homebrewing your own feats.
Particularly if you’re an expert or high-level Dungeons & Dragons player, homebrewing your own feat can make a world of difference in both combat and roleplay scenarios. Here are some sample feats for expert players in DND.
Prerequisite
None
When you take this feat at character creation, you are more adept than most at learning from your mistakes. If you make an ability check and fail, you may try the check again, this time at advantage using the same skill or ability. You may only do this once per long rest.
This is a great basic feat that is super helpfulat lower levels, and takes inspiration from features like Halfling Luck. Just remember, you can only use this feat on ability checks, not saving throws or attacks.
Level 4+
When you take this feat, you first increase your Dexterity score by one, to a maximum of 20. Additionally, you gain the ability to use ammunition in ranged weapons in unexpected ways. Once per short or long rest, you can swap out one Ranged Weapon Mastery property for another on a ranged weapon, provided you have access to at least one mastery property.
Weapon Mastery properties are often undervalued and can add a lot of complexity to your combat. For example, swapping out Vex for a Push effect can make the difference between having to take an opportunity attack or not.
You were born on cliffsides and mountains, and have a natural affinity for these types of environments. When making any kind of check to climb, whether the surface is natural or not, you have advantage on the roll.
Additionally, if you have access toa Climber’s Kit or other climbing gearthat you share with your party, once per long rest, you’re able to grant another player an advantage on a check to climb, provided they are using the gear you have given them. This is great for exploration-based campaigns and can help flesh out a character concept in interesting ways.
Level 19+
When you take this feat, you gain the ability to siphon the life force out of enemies you kill. First, when you take this feat, you increase your Constitution score by one, to a maximum of 30. From there, whenever you kill an enemy with a melee attack, you can magically siphon a number of Temporary Hit Points off of them equal to half the amount of damage you inflicted on them.
As these Hit Points are temporary, they don’t affect your HP maximum, and disappear after they are gone. You may only use this effect once per long rest. This is a great feat for martial combatants at high levels, as, depending on the attack you do, you’re able to easily gain a decent buff to your HP just when you need it most.
You have a keen eye for when something’s actually dead or not, and are very adept at fighting against resilient creatures. When you attack a creature, once per short or long rest, you can use this feat to negate healing on them for one round of combat.
When you do so, enemies suffer under the effects of an anti-healing zone, meaning that, until the start of your next turn, they cannot receive healing from allies, potions, or any other effect that would regain them HP. This is a great feat for expert players who are tired of watching bosses like vampires regain HP every turn, making it harder to kill them.
You are an expert interrogator, and perhaps even have a history in law enforcement or mercenary work. When you take this feat at character creation, you are very adept at snuffing out lies and deceit. You have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks to tell if a creature is lying to you. You must speak the same language, and the creature must be able to verbally communicate with you.
This feat is great forroleplay-heavy campaignsor for high-level players who want to play investigative characters. If you’re playing a mystery campaign as well, consider trying out this homebrew feat for your detective character.
This feat has a little bit of a nerf and boon to it, making it great for unique characters and challenging gameplay for expert players. Since birth, you have always been a bit of the butt of the universe’s joke. And yet, when things go wrong, you make the best of it. Whenever you roll a natural one on an ability check or saving throw, you can choose one of the following two benefits.
One, you can either keep the roll and gain a Heroic Inspiration die that you must use within the next minute. Or two, you can reroll the roll. You must use the new roll. You can do this a number of times equal to your proficiency modifier per long rest. This is a great feat for high-level players who want to challenge themselves on a roleplay level and turn bad news into good news later down the line.
You have a penchant for remembering the most minute of details, and can recall them at the drop of a hat. First, increase your Intelligence score by one, to a maximum of 20. Second, whenever you make an Intelligence check (History or Investigation) to recall lore or connect the dots in some way, you have advantage on the roll.
This is great for lore-heavy campaigns, in which your DM expects you to remember large swaths of lore. Plus, this is a great low-level ability that can make a huge difference in your Investigation checks, which come up quite often, particularly in exploration-based campaigns.
When you fight, you fight to the death. When you take this feat, whenever your HP is reduced to less than 25, you gain the following benefits. First, increase your Constitution score by one to a maximum of 30. Second, you have advantage on checks to maintain concentration for any active spells. Third, your proficiency bonus is doubled for attack rolls and for calculating damage.
This allows you to play a bit recklessly, and perhaps even go down in combat swinging. If you die, you’re taking someone with you with this epic feat.
Fighting Style Feature
When you take this feat, you may protect your allies and reduce incoming damage. When an ally within five feet of you is hit with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to redirect the attack to yourself, swapping places with your ally. The damage is reduced by half when you do so. When you do so, you cannot use this ability on the same enemy again.
This fighting style feat is similar tosome fighter subclass abilities, but allows for some flexibility for other martial classes. A great way to homebrew your own feats is to take existing class or subclass features and tweak them lightly to suit your needs.
