Feat Trees’ New Roots in 5e D&D

D&D is reviving "feat trees" from older editions. Learn about what WotC has in testing and how it's being adapted to 5th Edition.

D&D: The SADdening

Examining D&D's added ability score flexibility and how the SAD/MAD balance affects characters.

That Broken GWM/SS “Fix”

The most notorious feats in 5th Edition D&D are Sharpshooter (SS) and Great Weapon Master (GWM). These feats are considered the most powerful because of a mechanic they share in common. Yet, a common "fix" to nerf them does not have the intended result! Let's run the numbers.

War Caster vs. Resilient (CON)

Comparing the War Caster and Resilient (CON) feats to determine which one gives a bigger boost to maintaining concentration on a spell.

Do Changelings Power Creep?

Eberron's new Changeling is the first class that can start with an 18 ability score at level 1. Although this "power creep" doesn't mean the class is unbalanced, the answer to rebalancing the race within the existing design paradigm may lay within cut content.

Is Oath of Heroism OP?

The Oath of Heroism Paladin subclass is D&D's latest Unearthed Arcana playtest release. While the mythological flavor is incredible, the subclass gets some goodies that were historically only available by multiclassing: expanded critical range, Haste as an oath spell, and free attacks. How does this add up to a standard Paladin? We ran the numbers.

Thrown Weapon Master

Today we're building a feat to alleviate action economy woes with thrown weapons and give them a nice damage boost to bring it in line with other weapon loadouts.

Pole Position: PAM over GWM

Why to take the Polearm Master feat before the Great Weapon Master feat.

Martial Adept vs. Magic Initiate

We're comparing the Martial Adept feat and the Magic Initiate feat. While the effect of linear fighters vs. quadratic wizards most often manifests in class design (mostly due to spell access), there’s an interesting reflection of this design in the 5e feats, which we expect to be balanced against each other.

Two-Weapon Fighting

D&D Creative Director Mike Mearls recently tweeted about revised Two-Weapon Fighting rules, including a poll about where its damage output should lie: Mechanics Any discussion regarding two-weapon fighting involves these mechanics: Two-Weapon Fighting bonus action Dual Wielder feat Two-Weapon Fighting style Let's explore these mechanics first to identify where we have wiggle room to improve … Continue reading Two-Weapon Fighting →