D&D 5E Assaying a change to Elemental Adept

[clearstream]

This might be called more fairly a rewrite. My aim is to redress the meta in my campaign so that PCs and NPCs can get around resistances if they want to. This was partly inspired by thinking about how Soul Blade might foreseeably nudge the balance across classes and multiclasses (their psionic blades deal psychic). I chose Elemental Adept as it does part of this albeit being somewhat underpowered and considerably narrower.

Elemental Adept​

Increase one ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20.
Choose two damage types: when an attack or spell of yours would deal damage of one of those types, you can choose to have it deal damage of the other type instead.

Does this feel too strong? Broken? Annoying? Can it be improved?


[EDIT So the version I will test in play is

Elemental Adept​

Your affinity with materials that form the planes, results in the following benefits—

• Increase one ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• Choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. Effects you control of the chosen type ignore resistance to damage.

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

 

[cbwjm]

This might be called more fairly a rewrite. My aim is to redress the meta in my campaign so that PCs and NPCs can get around resistances if they want to. This was partly inspired by thinking about how Soul Blade might foreseeably nudge the balance across classes and multiclasses (their psionic blades deal psychic). I chose Elemental Adept as it does part of this albeit being somewhat underpowered and considerably narrower.

Elemental Adept​

Increase one ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20.
Choose two damage types: when an attack or spell of yours would deal damage of one of those types, you can choose to have it deal damage of the other type instead.

Does this feel too strong? Broken? Annoying? Can it be improved?

Does this replace the current feat or does it still ignore resistance and treat 1s as 2s? If the former then I think it is too weak. If the latter I think it might be okay. I feel the feat needs something else as is.

 

[Stalker0]

I think the feat is probably reasonable, though I'd argue it serves a completely different purpose. The vanilla EA is really to serve for the elemental focus archetype. I want to do all fire all the time, and so here is how I do fire big.

This new feat is more of a generalist, I cover several different elements and have them when I need them. Nothing wrong with that concept, but you are removing one concept to serve another.

 

[Horwath]

This might be called more fairly a rewrite. My aim is to redress the meta in my campaign so that PCs and NPCs can get around resistances if they want to. This was partly inspired by thinking about how Soul Blade might foreseeably nudge the balance across classes and multiclasses (their psionic blades deal psychic). I chose Elemental Adept as it does part of this albeit being somewhat underpowered and considerably narrower.

Elemental Adept​

Increase one ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20.
Choose two damage types: when an attack or spell of yours would deal damage of one of those types, you can choose to have it deal damage of the other type instead.

Does this feel too strong? Broken? Annoying? Can it be improved?

This would probably fall under energy substitution feat. Might then include Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning and Thunder.

Elemental adept is in general a very weak feat.

My version gives +1 damage per damage die of the spell, ignores resistance to that element and treats immunity as resistance.

 

[clearstream]

I think the feat is probably reasonable, though I'd argue it serves a completely different purpose. The vanilla EA is really to serve for the elemental focus archetype. I want to do all fire all the time, and so here is how I do fire big.

I see what you mean. Even though EA as written doesn't embiggen fire especially well, it does let you focus on using fire spells without worrying about resistances.

This new feat is more of a generalist, I cover several different elements and have them when I need them. Nothing wrong with that concept, but you are removing one concept to serve another.

In the sense you mean, I agree. In another sense, EA isn't often chosen so a more mechanically viable version might not be removing anything that would be missed. When I surveyed feats a while back it came out at about a 3% pick rate of ASIs invested in feats.

 

[clearstream]

This would probably fall under energy substitution feat. Might then include Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning and Thunder.

I very much agree with you that it should cover more damage types. Choosing any damage type is intended to capture all types, including those!

Elemental adept is in general a very weak feat.

My version gives +1 damage per damage die of the spell, ignores resistance to that element and treats immunity as resistance.

Ignoring resistance and +1 per die makes it viable. Maybe more than viable.

What I am particularly interested in is whether it can work to broaden it so martial characters can also benefit from it (change bludgeoning to force, for e.g.)?

 

[clearstream]

Does this replace the current feat or does it still ignore resistance and treat 1s as 2s? If the former then I think it is too weak. If the latter I think it might be okay. I feel the feat needs something else as is.

My thought was that making it a half-feat could redress the feat strength. If your wizard character has say a 13 Intelligence, does this version then feel interesting, and mechanically viable?

 

[cbwjm]

My thought was that making it a half-feat could redress the feat strength. If your wizard character has say a 13 Intelligence, does this version then feel interesting, and mechanically viable?

I feel like it would need something else. Maybe not ignoring resistance, but if the 1s became 2s then i think that would work.

 

[clearstream]

I feel like it would need something else. Maybe not ignoring resistance, but if the 1s became 2s then i think that would work.

Perhaps something that synchs better with Empowered Spell, like count 6s as 7s?

 

[Horwath]

I very much agree with you that it should cover more damage types. Choosing any damage type is intended to capture all types, including those!


Ignoring resistance and +1 per die makes it viable. Maybe more than viable.

What I am particularly interested in is whether it can work to broaden it so martial characters can also benefit from it (change bludgeoning to force, for e.g.)?

Well, blaster wizards(and other casters) are little underwhelming(outside fireball at level 5, but even that fades after level or two).
This variant gives me option to have a blaster with a solid and more importantly reliable damage source.