Burials of Teganshire Post 17 of 30

In addition to three custom feats, we’re going to go back up and talk about the custom backgrounds from several days ago, and provide some additional context on modifying those backgrounds and the feats.

But before we do that, let’s talk about D&D Beyond.

D&D Beyond is a 5E Customizer’s Dream Software

Have to admit, like many other people, D&D Beyond’s branding agreement with Wizards of the Coast confused me. I thought I was going to a Wizard’s site. I could not understand why Wizards would sell their hardcovers without an option to also buy a coupon to access the book on D&D Beyond. Stuffing a unique coupon in a printed book—there are a dozen ways to do it.

Then I went on their forum, and read the dozens of replies to confused people—D&D Beyond was not Wizards of the Coast.

Oh. Hahahaha. Take my money then, D&D Beyond, you go with your bad selves.

I love D&D Beyond quite a bit. It has a modern, responsive UI, almost everything I want is available, and I can subscribe and share all my custom goo, and the books I purchase, to our group’s game tables.

The customization, and sharing thereof, makes me a big fan.

Custom 5E Backgrounds—In It for the Roleplay

I can take or leave official Backgrounds, but in D&D 5E, it’s easy to pick one and apply it to your PC, so why not? The players I know like Backgrounds as it gives a bit of customization to the PC without expending a lot of effort,  and that’s the appeal, I believe. If picking a Background meant doing a lot of work, they wouldn’t do it.

Let’s go over the list of Backgrounds from the Background post and why they were inserted into the game.

Three Custom Backgrounds

Imperial University Scholar

https://www.dndbeyond.com/backgrounds/54023-imperial-university-scholar

In the Kingdom of Lothmar Campaign Setting, there is a remote holdout city under the direct control of the neighboring Empire, the conglomerate of provinces Lothmar used to be a part of.

This University has strict requirements, and students at the Imperial University of Darathole must exhibit proficiency with magic, or the Dean of Students expels them. They are the elitists of the Empire and Kingdom when it comes to arcane magic. Graduates are either sages, court wizards, or war wizards (the other two backgrounds are under construction).

Mercenary Company Forward Scout

https://www.dndbeyond.com/backgrounds/137902-mercenary-company-forward-scout

The campaign setting has a Barony that is run by mercenary compies. A player requested a mercenary forward scout Background, that was all about mercenary companies. She was precise: a scout had to have Perception, Survival, and Nature as skill proficiencies, available at first level, and that’s it. That’s all she wanted—no languages or tools.

Who am I to argue when a player does world-building for you? Certainly not me!

Someday I’ll run a mercenary campaign where all the PCs are forward scouts, kind of like the Black Company meets, um, the Black Company.

Royal University Scholar

https://www.dndbeyond.com/backgrounds/137425-royal-university-scholar

I made this as a mirror of the sage-like Imperial University scholar, only for the Kingdom’s theology students.

The (non) Balance of the Backgrounds

In an ideal world, this would not be a thing:

“As detailed in the rules for backgrounds, if a character would gain the same proficiency from two different sources, he or she can choose a different proficiency of the same kind (skill or tool) instead. This will happen automatically in the character builder.”

But it is, and it’s enforced in D&D Beyond. To meet the roleplaying requirements of the Background, I had to list three skills, which would set up the possibility of the player picking something else from the list.

Is this balanced?

Yes and no. It’s not balanced because the custom Backgrounds don’t follow this pattern:

• 2 skill proficiencies from a list
• 1 language
• 1 tool proficiency

However, it is balanced in my particular campaign world. For one thing, most encounters are designed to be Deadly, random encounters can also be deadly, and there are static locations that are super Deadly. And we play with gritty rules (long rest is a week, short rest is eight hours).

Furthermore, my players have a high degree of expertise in playing D&D. It’s a harsh and unforgiving place for their PCs. An extra skill proficiency just isn’t going to unbalance anything, given the extra planning and tactics they need to use to stay alive. In fact, the setting is so challenging; some of these backgrounds come with extra feats!

And here they are.

Homebrew Feats for Your Homebrew Backgrounds

The two “academic” backgrounds eventually come with extra feats. The gist of the feats is for roleplaying purposes for PCs and to set a particular tone with NPCs. These feats are awarded during the campaign after a year at the University. The student is no longer a freshman and has survived “The Culling,” in which the Dean of Students or the Seargent of Arms has expelled the students that did not pass muster.

Imperial University Arcane Initiate

https://www.dndbeyond.com/feats/120647-imperial-university-arcane-initiate

Prerequisite: Intelligence Score of 12 or higher.

The Dean of Students expells any student that does not show some proficiency with arcane magic after the first year. The ability to read and write magic is a required skill of any well-educated Imperial student, regardless of their study area.

• You learn two cantrips of your choice from the wizard’s spell list.
• Choose one 1st-level spell from the wizard’s spell list. You learn that spell and can cast it at its lowest level. Once you cast it, you must finish a short rest before casting it again using this feat.
• Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
• You become proficient in Arcana, if not already.

Design Comments

This feat is a modification of the Magic Initiate Feat, but specific to arcane magic and a prerequisite.

The feat goes with the Imperial University Scholar background, the campaign setting’s version of a sage. However, the school is much more vigorous than that. If the student doesn’t learn at least two cantrips and a spell, out the door they go, banished from the city gates!

When the game ticks from Freshman to Sophomore, the player adds the feat to their character. D&D Beyond supports this from the character sheet by clicking on the Feats gear icon.

This feat also has the design for application without the Background. For example, a PC or NPC that makes it past the first year but not the second.

Royal University Divine Initiate

https://www.dndbeyond.com/feats/389856-royal-university-divine-initiate

Prerequisite: Wisdom Score of 12 or higher.

The Royal University’s Seargent of Arms expells any student that does not show some proficiency with divine magic after the first year. The student must also pass a test on the Kingdom’s religions and church history.

• You learn two cantrips of your choice from the cleric’s spell list.
• Choose one 1st-level spell from the cleric’s spell list. You learn that spell and can cast it at its lowest level. Once you cast it, you must finish a short rest before casting it again using this feat.
• Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
• You become proficient in Religion, if not already.

Design Comments

Similar to the arcane counterpart, this feat adds the same flair, but down the divine path, to the religious college in the Royal City of Lothmar.

Wilderness Shadow

https://www.dndbeyond.com/feats/389602-wilderness-shadow

Your expertise as a mercenary troop/army scout makes you an expert at slinking through the wilderness, leaving no trace. You gain the following benefits:

• You gain +1 to Dexterity or Wisdom, up to 20 in either ability
• In the wilderness and other uncivilized places, you do not leave tracks or other noticeable signs of your passing.

Design Comments

Since we had three Custom Backgrounds, here’s a custom feat to go along with the Mercenary Company Forward Scout. Unlike the other two feats, this one the PC must pay for by choosing it when leveling.

Wilderness Shadow is a simple feat, but in the context of the campaign world, leaving no tracks without being a druid or a spell-casting ranger is almost a prerequisite. In the Black Company-like mercenary campaign, an enemy tracking a forward scout is a super big problem.

More telling, however, is the bump for either Dexterity or Wisdom. Not much use for that except for the mercenary forward scout. At least in the Kingdom of Lothmar Campaign Setting.

The Mercenary Forward Scout usually has nice views. When it isn’t raining. Or being chased by bears.  Angry druids. Occasional obnoxious fae. And mosquitoes. So. Many. Mosquitoes.

Departing Words on Feat Homebrew

The feat customization and creation options in 5E, once you use the core feats as a template, are a powerful, powerful way to add campaign setting specifics to your game world that has an immediate impact on players’ PCs. I also use homebrew feats to attach to homebrew magical items for a unique flair.

Before embarking down that path, a DM needs to keep in mind three things:

• Player buy-in, as it’s their PC
• Keep the feat balanced by using other core feats as a template
• Willingness to increase the difficulty of the game if players are receiving feats outside of leveling

What are some of your favorite custom feats? Bonus points for a link to D&D Beyond!

Crossbow Man: absolutely going to pick Crossbow Expert feat at 4th Level

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