This week’s Unearthed Arcana brings us 27 new Feats and is clearly building off of last week’s Feats for Skills. What’s really cool about this week’s Feat list is that each of these Feats is restricted to a particular character race. The reason for this is because these are Feats that are designed to showcase a specific racial ability and showcase how well your character embodies those racial abilities. The article contains a few options for each of the 9 races presented in the Player’s Handbook and I want to talk about my favourite Feat for each race.
DWARF: GRUDGE-BEARER
Like an elephant, Dwarves never forget and now there is a Feat to reflect it. You pick a type of creature that has wronged you (or 2 different types of humanoids), and get some extra benefits, in addition to some long-burning hate. You increase your strength, wisdom, or constitution by 1, have advantage during the first round of combat against your selected grudge, convey disadvantage to attacks of opportunity made against you by them, and even get to add double your proficiency to checks that are recalling specific information about your least favourite type of creature. It fits the background of Dwarves and gives you some great benefits, so what’s not to love?
ELF: ELVEN ACCURACY
Even though every sub-race of Elf has a cool Feat, nothing beats Elven Accuracy. You increase your Dexterity by 1 point and then, any time you attack with advantage, you can re-roll one of the dice rolls. Every. Time. You. Have. Advantage. Make sure you are extra nice to any Elven Rogues you encounter; odds are good they could kill you without even trying.
HALFLING: BOUNTIFUL LUCK
The Halfling racial ability of Lucky lets them re-roll a natural 1 on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll. With Bountiful Luck, the Halfling player can grant this ability to any ally they can see, within 30 feet. This definitely helps with adventuring because it removes the sting of rolling a 1 (but multiplies it when you re-roll ANOTHER 1), but don’t plan on gambling all of your gold at the dockside speakeasy.
HUMAN: HUMAN DETERMINATION
In a world of fantasy creatures and magic, humans stand as being…ordinary. The one thing that stands out about humans is their determination. To quote the D&D Player’s Handbook, “They set their hearts on something, they’ll get it, whether it’s a dragon’s hoard or an empire’s throne.” This determination is what makes humans in D&D stand out and I love this trait because it reflects that. You get to add 1 to any of your statistics and you can also give yourself advantage on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, once per long rest.
DRAGONBORN: DRAGON WINGS
Dragonborn players have 3 great options with this Unearthed Arcana but my favourite has to be Dragon Wings. You sprout wings that grant you a 20-feet flying speed as long as you are not wearing heavy armour or over your carrying capacity. Be sure to ask your DM if a dive bomb attack counts as a surprise round.
GNOME: WONDER MAKER
I know Wonder Maker is only available to Rock Gnomes, but it’s so delightful. You can increase your Dexterity or Intelligence score by 1, get to add double your proficiency bonus to any check involving your tinker tools and even get 5 additional devices you can create. Alarm is my favourite but don’t underestimate the usefulness of the Lifter when strapped to the party Barbarian.
HALF-ELF: EVERYBODY’S FRIEND
Let’s say this first. Half-Elves have access to Elven Accuracy and should always take it. But seeing as this is a list of favourites, it felt wrong to list it twice. Everybody’s friend is great for most roleplay scenarios and becomes crazy good if you play a Bard. You increase your Charisma by 1 point and gain proficiency in both Deception and Persuasion. If you happen to already be proficient in those skills, you get to add double your proficiency bonus. Now go hit the tavern and get your hustle on.
HALF-ORC: ORCISH AGGRESSION
Unless you happen to be playing a squishy Half-Orc spell caster (at which point I have to ask about your character’s incredible backstory), Orcish Aggression is a fantastic Feat to help you get into the thickest fighting. As a bonus action, you can move up to your speed toward an enemy of your choice that you can see or hear. This gives your Half-Orc punch wizard a total of 60 feet of movement to close the gap and start casting “Punch”.
TIEFLING: INFERNAL CONSTITUTION
Tieflings already have resistance to fire damage due to their infernal lineage. Infernal constitution also grants them resistance to cold and poison damage, increases their Constitution score by 1, and even gives them advantage on saving rolls against being poisoned. Based on this, I would bet that all but the rowdiest of Half-Orcs could be drunk under the table by your resident, infernally-constituted Tiefling.
What are your favourite Feats? Let us know in the comments!
Image Credits: Wizards of the Coast