Heroic Feats

The heroes of Orr come from a wide background and from extraordinary circumstances. The Endless of the world have long seeded champions into the annals of history, manipulating events and nudging fate to provide the tempering that separates an ordinary person from those whose deeds will become legend. These feats and powers are meant to be inspiration for creating heroic characters in the world of Orr. They draw upon familiar tropes and archetypes to help emulate other heroic figures of high fantasy. Use these boons with caution during your games.
Table of Contents

Addict

A life of adventure takes its toll and sometimes it takes more than just a kettle of tea to help see us through to the end of the dungeon. Your character has become addicted to a certain substance(s) that help them perform throughout the day but going without it has a heavy cost.

You are addicted to one or more substances. Breaking an addiction requires going without this substance for up to three weeks in game. At the end of each week you must roll a CHARISMA Saving Throw. On a failed save you relapse and will do anything to acquire more of your addictive substance.

To sustain your habit you must spend 25gp per in game week.

While maintaining your habit you have advantage on all DEXTERITY and INTELLIGENCE based Ability Checks, Saving Throws, Initiative rolls, and your movement is increased by 10ft.

When unable to maintain your habit, either due to no monetary funds or being in an area (such as a jail) where it is not accessible you have disadvantage on all STRENGTH and CHARISMA based Ability Checks, Saving Throws, Initiative rolls, and your movement is decreased by 10ft.

While maintaining your habit you may increase [3] Ability scores of your choice by [+1], and may choose the same Ability Score more than once for this bonus.

When unable to maintain your habit you must reduce [3] ability scores of your choice by [-1] and may choose the same Ability Score more than once.

If you succeed in breaking your addiction to these substances you may increase your WISDOM score by [+2], but reduce your INTELLIGENCE score by [-1]

The substance you are addicted to is considered illegal and possession of it is generally a jailable crime.

Aegis

You have dedicated your life to the protection of others and will always place yourself between those you love and harm.

As a bonus action on your turn you may deliver a "shield bash" attack. Your shield has a base damage 1d4 and uses your CONSTITUTION modifier as a bonus to its to-hit and damage.

While standing within 5ft of an ally who has been hit by a successful ranged or melee attack you may spend your reaction for the turn to be dealt the damage in their stead.

Allies that are within 5ft of you gain [+1] circumstance bonus to their AC.

Arcane Duelist

You have become adept at foiling fellow spell casters, and your spells are likewise harder to overcome.

You may increase your INTELLIGENCE, WISDOM, or CHARISMA stat by [+1] Spells you cast are treated as one spell level higher for the purposes of Counterspell and Dispel Magic.

When you cast Counterspell or Dispel Magic, these spells are treated as being cast at one spell level higher.

Once per day you either reroll a saving throw against a magical effect or force an enemy to reroll a saving throw against a magical effect BEFORE knowing the result of the check.

Battle Tested

Your experience on the battlefield has hardened you and gifted you with tactical instinct.

You may increase your STRENGTH, DEXTERITY, or CONSTITUTION score by [+1]

You gain a bonus to your initiative roll equal to your WISDOM modifier.

You gain a bonus to your Death Saving Throws equal to your CONSTITUTION modifier.

You may use the help action as a bonus action on your turn.

Benefactor

Your adventures have brought you into contact with a wealthy benefactor who believes investing in your work may yield something worthwhile.

When visiting a new city your lodgings and meals are superb quality and provided by your benefactor.

Your benefactor pays you a monthly salary of 250 gold which must be collected in the nearest reasonable settlement.

Your benefactor may provide other useful items such as Health Potions or Treasure Maps at DM discretion.

This feat may be taken multiple times to increase the character's monthly salary.

Blind Faith

You have lost your sight, but higher powers guide you along the path.

You are blind.

You have blindsight of 30ft.

You may increase your WISDOM score by [+2].

Once per day you may cast "Detect Evil and Good" without expending a Spell Slot.

You have advantage on Insight checks to determine deceitful, or harmful intentions.

Bookworm

You have a mind for study, and are able to learn new skills and languages with ease.

You gain proficiency in History, if you are already proficient, you gain expertise instead.

You may learn one additional language of your choice.

When encountering a written language you do not know, you can recall or record the symbols with perfect clarity for up to one week.

The cost to create and copy spell scrolls is reduced by half.

Companion

You've formed an unlikely friendship with a highly emotive creature who has become something much more than a simple pet.

You gain a (tiny) animal follower, such as a small spider, a monkey, parrot, squirrel, lizard, frog, cat, dog, or other similar sized creature. This companion has [1] Hit Point, an INTELLIGENCE Score of [5], and can understand common and all other languages that you speak.

Choose any three Abilities that the companion is proficient in.

The companion has a strange, uncanny luck that sees it through even the most deadly situations. Mechanically, the companion cannot die, never rolls death saving throws (but can be knocked unconscious), provokes no attacks of opportunity when leaving threatened spaces of your enemies, and cannot be damaged by effects that are spread across a wide area (such as a Fireball spell).

Your companion always knows when you are under the effects of a charm spell, an enchantment, or if you are "not yourself" for any reason.

Courtesan

Before assuming your life of adventure you were an entertainer of the night and gained valuable skills and connections to your clientele.

Increase an Ability Score of your choice by [+1]

You may choose to become proficient in either Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, History, Performance, Persuasion, Religion, or Sleight of Hand.

You may choose one instrument or gaming set to become proficient in.

When you take this feat you may choose either to have acted as a secret paramour to someone in a seat of authority/power and possibly gain benefits and favors from that person, or during your time as a courtesan you learned a terrible secret of such a person.

Cultured Lifestyle

Your journies or your upbringing have brought you into contact with a variety of cultures and skilled teachers who imparted you with their wisdom and experience.

You may increase one Ability Score of your choice by [+1]

You gain proficiency in one of the following weapons: quarterstaff, spear, glaive, halberd, lance, longsword, pike, rapier, scimitar, shortsword, light crossbow, shortbow, or hand crossbow.

You gain proficiency in one of the following skills: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Arcana, Athletics, History, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, Performance, or Religion.

You gain proficiency in one language of your choice, one gaming set, or one instrument.

Dark Arts

During your travels or in the past you have come into contact with practitioners or relics related to the dark arts. Whether you embraced these forbidden powers or were merely touched by them in passing it has granted you unique abilities and perspective regarding them.

You have advantage on ability checks related to occult practices, rituals, monsters, artifacts, and magical phenomenon.

You are resistant to necrotic damage but suffer a weakness to fire damage.

You may choose to become proficient in either Arcana, Religion, or Nature.

You have advantage against saving throws related to curses.

When you choose this feat you may also choose to receive a unique curse in exchange for a [+2] bonus to an Ability Score of your choice.

Desperate Casting

You have learned to tap into a piece of your own vital energies to cast spells when times are desperate.

You may use an action to attempt to cast a spell with a casting time of 1 action, without expending a spell slot:

If you do not possess a spell slot of equal or greater level than the spell you are attempting to cast and attempt to use this feature, in addition to each level of exhaustion you receive, you also immediately fail a death saving throw and these do not reset until you have completed a long rest.

Gain one level of exhaustion and make a spellcasting check using your spellcasting ability with the [DC] equal to [10 + twice the level] of the spell you are attempting to cast. On a success you cast the chosen spell as normal without expending a slot. On a failed check your spell is cast as normal, expending the slot (if you possess no spell slots the spell is not cast and your action is still expended), and if you failed the check by 5 or more you gain an additional level of exhaustion. If you accrue more than three levels of exhaustion you immediately become unconscious (Hit Points = 0) for 1d4 hours and awaken with three levels of exhaustion, and if you accrue 3 failed death saving throws through the use of this feat you immediately die.

Drunken Master

You have learned to shrug off blows that might fell a normal man by soaking your senses with spirit and alcohol.

While drunk you receive a +2 circumstance bonus to your AC and reduce all non-magical damage dealt to you by your CONSTITUTION modifier.

While drunk your movement speed is reduced by half.

While drunk you have advantage on CONSTITUTION and STRENGTH saving throws and disadvantage to INTELLIGENCE and WISDOM saving throws.

Elemental Mastery

You have mastered the manipulation of the planar elements and can alter spells that evoke them.

When you gain this feat, choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder.

You can substitute the damage type of a spell you cast with the type you select when choosing this feat (Example: You may choose to have a fireball deal lightning rather than fire damage).

When you cast a spell that deals damage of the chosen type it deals additional bonus damage equal to your proficiency modifier.

You can select this feat multiple times. Each time you do so, you must choose a different damage type.

Erudite of Magic

Your studies of or experiences with magic have given you insight into magic and its effects.

You gain proficiency in Arcana, if you are already proficient, double your proficiency bonus instead.

You have "passive arcane perception" making it easier for you to detect magical objects, components, illusions and to identify spells either already cast or being cast. If such magic is present you have advantage on checks to discover or to identify them. In combat identifying a spell may provide similar advantage or bonus to your saving throw if you are the subject of the spell (at DM discretion).

The time requirements for creating magical items (such as potions) and scribing spell scrolls is halved.

Freed from Bondage

At some point in your life you were in a desperate situation and were freed from bondage. The experience has left its mark on you and taught you valuable survival skills.

You gain proficiency in one saving throw of your choice and must reduce one statistic of your choice by [-2] or two statistics of your choice by [-1].

You become proficient in either Athletics, Investigation, Nature, Performance, or Survival.

You have advantage on grappling checks.

Your movement speed is increased by 10ft.

If an opponent attempts an attack of opportunity against you as you leave it's threatened space and fails, you can spend your reaction to cause that enemy to fall prone.

Giant's Strength

With inhuman power you are able to wield massive weapons unhindered and deal out fatal blows.

You may choose to wield one weapon that is considered a size category larger than you could normally wield (This increases its damage dice by one stage: 1d4 > 1d6 > 1d8 > 1d10 > 1d12 > 2d6 > 2d8)

You may choose for damage dealt by this weapon to be dealt as bludgeoning damage if it does not already deal that damage type.

During combat on your turn you may declare you are attempting a "Power Attack" with a melee weapon of your choice. For each instance of the Extra Attack feature granted by your class you may add an additional [1d6] bonus damage. You gain a level of exhaustion. This feature may be used a number of times per day equal to your STRENGTH modifier. Damage you deal to mundane structures / objects is doubled.

Gourmand

You have mastered a variety of special recipes, allowing you to prepare exotic dishes with useful effects.

Your CONSTITUTION increases by [+1]

You gain proficiency with cook’s utensils. If you are already proficient with them, you add double your proficiency bonus to checks you make with them.

As an action, you can inspect a drink or plate of food within 5 feet of you and determine whether it is poisoned, provided that you can see and smell it.

During a long rest, you can prepare and serve a meal that helps you and your allies recover from the rigors of adventuring, provided you have suitable food, cook’s utensils, and other supplies on hand. The meal serves up to six people, and each person who eats it regains two additional Hit Dice at the end of the long rest. In addition, those who partake of the meal have advantage on Constitution saving throws against disease for the next 24 hours.

Healer

You have mastered the art of healing magic, and have also discovered nuances in your healing magic that make it more effective.

Any time you roll dice for a spell you cast or ability you use that heals Hit Points, you may treat any 1 on a die as a 2.

When you heal an ally who was previously dying, or unconscious (Hit Points = 0) that ally gains resistance to non-magical bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage until the end of that ally's next turn.

During a short rest, you can clean and bind the wounds of one willing beast or humanoid. Make a DC=(15) Medicine check for that creature. On a success, if that creature spends a Hit Die during this rest, that creature can forgo the roll and instead regain the maximum number of hit points the die can restore. A creature can do so only once per rest, regardless of how many Hit Dice it spends.

Heroic Destiny

You have a destiny to fulfill, and fate helps keep you alive until you do.

When making death saving throws, a natural 1 only causes one failure.

If an attack would reduce you to 0 Hit Points, you may immediately take one attack of opportunity against that same opponent. If your attack kills that opponent, instead you regain half your hit points and gain a level of exhaustion.

At the end of each long rest, you gain temporary hit points equal to your level.

Improvised Fighting

Accustomed to fighting using whatever weapons happen to be at hand, you have developed a unique fighting style, made up of flowing movements and many quick strikes.

All improvised weapons are considered as possessing the versatile feature (Choose to either use DEX or STR as your to hit and damage modifier)

You are proficient with all improvised weapons.

Your unarmed strikes and improvised weapons have a base of 1d6 damage

During your turn, when you successfully deal damage to an opponent, you may use your reaction to "break" any improvised weapons you're currently wielding and either: deal 1d6 bonus damage, push your target in a direction of your choice up to 10ft, disengage an target, or switch places with your target. Your opponent makes an opposed Insight (WISDOM) check versus either an Athletics, Acrobats, or Deception check to negate this effect.

Insult to Injury

You have learned how to injure pride as easily as the body.

Your CHARISMA score increases by [+1]

Each time that an enemy attempts to strike you with a physical attack and is unsuccessful or you successfully save against a enemy's spell DC, you gain [+1] additional bonus AC and a [1d4] "goading die" (up to a maximum of 5)

Goading Dice can be used to increase your to-hit rolls, or as bonus damage to your attacks and spell damage. When Goading Dice are spent your bonus to AC is removed for each die spent.

All goading dice are lost when the combat ends or if you are reduced to [0] hit points.

Never Go Alone

It's a tough world, but you don't have to face it all by yourself.

Your familiar or animal companion gains an additional (+1) Hit Point for each level you possess and gains (+1) additional Hit Point each time you level up.

If your familiar or animal companion's INTELLIGENCE score is less than 7, it becomes 7, granting them the ability to communicate and understand complex ideas if they did not already possess this trait.

Noble Upbringing

Your family name is well known throughout the realms of Orr which extends certain privileges to you beyond the usual hospitality you might find in the world.

You may increase an Ability Score of your choice by [+1]

You may receive either a riding mount of your choice, or a vehicle of your choice (DM discretion).

Food and lodging for you and your companions is always free as long as it is humble and there are no known hostilities.

You may procure a "loan" of up to 1000 gold at any time from your family whose repayment will be negotiated by the liasons of your house.

Patience

You perfectly understand the meaning of ''patience is a virtue'', waiting for the ideal moment to act

When completing a "Ready" action outside of your turn you may use your reaction to either move up to 10ft, drop prone, or take the dodge action in place of your "Ready" action.

If one of your "Ready" actions deals damage to an opponent, you may add an additional 1d4 bonus damage to one of those attacks.

You may "Ready" a bonus action in addition to your normal action.

Poisoner

You have perfected the creation of poisons, their use, and developed a tolerance against them.

You gain proficiency with a poisoner's kit, and you add double your proficiency bonus to checks you make with it.

You can apply a poison to one slashing or piercing weapon or up to three pieces of ammunition as a bonus action.

You have advantage on saving throws against poison and resistance against poison damage.

Raised by Wolves

You grew up in the wildness, far away from civilization and possibly survived on your own for many years. During that time you developed a strong connection with nature.

You may increase one Ability Score of your choice by [+2] or two Ability Scores by [+1].

Your CHARISMA score is reduced by [-2].

You do not understand common and may learn one of the following languages in its place: Giant, Primordial, or Sylvan.

Once per day you may cast "Speak with Plants" and "Speak with Animals" without expending a spell slot.

You have advantage on Survival checks related to hunting, foraging, and tracking.

You have advantage on Medicine checks related to binding wounds and may craft healing kits and health potions from medicinal plants.

You may use the Animal Handling check in place of Persuasion checks (DM discretion)

Reputation

Your reputation precedes you in the world, drawing admirers, allies and gloryseekers.

Once per week you may gather information and secrets about a specific settlement, object, person or similar subject from your allies and admirers. Roll 1d100 to determine the usefulness of what has been found.

You may acquire the aid of mercenaries and hirelings at a discounted price (DM discretion)

You may choose to have a secret paramour who may offer favors and gifts during your travels.

Your intimidating presence and deeds effects how likely a group of enemies is to break their morale during battle or target you specifically.

You may choose to become proficient in either Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion.

Once per day you may give one of your allies an inspiration die (1d6) that can be added to any attack roll, ability check to saving throw. This is considered a free action.

Throwing Weapon Mastery

You've honed the ability to throw weapons with deadly force and accuracy.

You may throw your weapons at their maximum range without suffering disadvantage.

Throwing weapons deal damage equal to their damage dice + your STRENGTH and DEXTERITY modifiers + your proficiency modifier.

You may substitute your attack with a thrown weapon to instigate a ranged "grapple" action. If you succeed the target is restrained to a nearby surface.

Tumbling

Your natural speed and cunning makes it impossible for your opponents to out maneuver you on a battlefield.

As reaction on your turn you make make an opposed Acrobats check against one opponent whose threatened space you occupy, if you succeed you do not provoke attacks of opportunity from that creature when leaving its threatened space for the remainder of your turn.

You have resistance against falling damage.

When you succeed on a DEXTERITY saving throw you may use your reaction to immediately move half your movement speed (rounded down).

When attacking a target from any height greater than 10ft you may add your falling damage to any successful attack rolls.

Underworld Connections

Throughout your life you've made certain connections and skills that some would consider less than reputable, but are nonetheless useful in a pinch.

You are proficient in "Thieves' Cant", the language of rogues and saboteurs

When you are alone you may choose to enter an "alert" state that prevents an opponent from surprising you, and gives you advantage on perception checks to detect hidden dangers.

Daggers you wield deal 1d6 damage

If you do not possess darkvision you gain darkvision up to 15ft

You have advantage on social checks related to acquiring illegal substances or services

Visions

You have always possessed the "sight", the magical ability to see into the future and other strange, mystical powers. Once per day you may choose one of the following benefits:

Ritually cast the spell Augury without its material component cost.

Negate the effects of [1] surprise round during the adventuring day.

Regain one spell slot of 3rd level or lower.

Ritually cast Speak with Dead.

Purpose

These feats are intended as exceptional bonuses for starting characters to help create more iconic archetypes, and as rewards for completing major quests within the homebrew setting of Orr. They are, without doubt, unbalanced compared to the feats available through the source materials of D&D5e and are subject to review and revision at any point in time by the game's Dungeon Master.

World Primers

The Endless

Planar Guide

Homebrew Rules (D&D5e)