Notes from the Nails: this one just came to me out of the blue, when one of my players was really hamming up their character’s low intelligence score. Hope you like them!
Feats for the Incompetent
As a DM, I feel that a lot of players are missing an opportunity by always relying on their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses: things are often a lot more fun when characters venture out of their comfort zones! So, I thought, why not incentivise players to keep their dump stats low and actually get into situations where they might need to use them?
Thus, these feats are designed for characters with ability scores below a certain threshold. With all of these feats, if a character temporarily raises an ability score, such as by wearing a Headband of Intellect or drinking a Potion of Giant Strength, the feat ceases to function for the duration, and if the character permanently raises their ability score using an Ability Score Improvement or an item like the Manual of Quickness of Action, they must replace the feat with another that they qualify for.
Better Lucky than Good
Prerequisite: One ability score of your choice 8 or lower, Charisma 13 or higher
You may not be the best at everything you do, but you’ve gotten pretty good at riding your luck, which is almost, but not quite, a skill in its own right. You gain the following benefits:
- Your Charisma score increases by 1.
- When you fail a ability check, attack roll, or saving throw, you can reroll that check, taking the second result. Once you use this ability, you must take a long rest before you can do so again.
- Whenever you make an ability check for an ability with a score of 8 or lower, you can use your Charisma modifier instead of that ability’s modifier.
Feel No Pain
Prerequisite: Constitution 15 or higher, Wisdom 8 or lower
Some people wonder whether you’re really physically tough, or if you’re just too oblivious to notice you’ve been wounded. Who needs mental fortitude when you’ve got a skull thick enough to stop evil magic! You gain the following benefits:
- Whenever you take damage, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage you take by 1d6, to a minimum of 1 damage.
- You have advantage on any saving throw you make against being charmed.
Lithe Gymnast
Prerequisite: Strength 10 or lower, Dexterity 13 or higher
Your skinny frame is perfect for squeezing into tight spaces and performing acrobatics at high speed. You gain the following benefits:
- Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
- You can squeeze through spaces one size category smaller than you without suffering any penalties.
- If you spend 1 minute stretching and limbering up, you can gain advantage on one Strength check that happens within the next minute.
- As a reaction when you are knocked prone, you can immediately stand back up.
Lovable Klutz
Prerequisite: Dexterity 8 or lower, Charisma 13 or higher
Though your clumsiness often interferes with routine tasks and you spend as much time on the ground as you do standing up, you always stay positive! It’s important to do your best every day. You gain the following benefits:
- Any creature that makes a melee attacks against you while you are prone does not gain advantage, and you can stand from being prone without using any movement.
- Whenever you roll 10 or less on an ability check or attack roll on your turn, you can use your bonus action to gain some forgiveness. The next attack roll made against you before the beginning of your next turn has disadvantage.
- You can take the Use an Object action on your turn to break one non-magical, manufactured object you are touching. The object cannot be larger than 5 feet in any dimension.
- People forgive you quickly for your mistakes. You have advantage on any Charisma check that you make to gain favor with a creature you’ve accidentally wronged.
No Presence
Prerequisite: Charisma 8 or lower
No matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to make yourself stand out from the crowd – sometimes even your closest friends forget that you’re there! This can be turned to your advantage, though, when you don’t want to be noticed. While you are within 15 feet of creatures that are not hostile to you, you can use your action to fade into the background, becoming invisible. This invisibility ends if you move, speak, perform any kind of action or bonus action except for Hiding, or if you interact with an object.
Short Attention Span
Prerequisite: Intelligence 10 or lower
You’ve always been kind of forgetful, and you have found that that isn’t always a bad thing. You gain the following benefits:
- When you take a break from adventuring, your wacky antics help people forget their worries much faster. A short rest takes only 30 minutes for you and up to 12 friendly creatures that rest with you.
- During periods of downtime, you can work as a performer (as a jester, village idiot, or similar role), even if you are not proficient in the Performance skill.
- If you are subject to an ongoing effect or condition that allows you to make additional saving throws against it at the end of your turns, you can use an action to forget about that effect, ending it immediately. Once you use this ability, you must finish a long rest before using it again.
