Jan 12

Jan 12 A Player's Guide to Feats - Fey Teleportation

The previous article discussed the Fade Away feat, which allowed the gnome to go invisible. Today, we’re looking at the Fey Teleportation feat, exclusive to the High Elf. Is it a better feat? Is it one that an elf should consider taking? Let’s take the time to examine this feat. Then, you can decide for yourself if bypassing ASI is worth it.

It is worth noting that the next feat up will be Fey Touched, which is very similar to the Fey Teleportation feat. In fact, it may even be better, but you’ll have to wait until next week to find out.

What is the Fade Away Feat

Prerequisite: Elf (high)
Your study of high elven lore has unlocked fey power that few other elves possess, except your eladrin cousins. Drawing on your fey ancestry, you can momentarily stride through the Feywild to shorten your path from one place to another. You gain the following benefits:
Increase your Intelligence or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You learn to speak, read, and write Sylvan.
You learn the misty step spell and can cast it once without expending a spell slot. You regain the ability to cast it in this way when you finish a short or long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

Dissecting the Feat

Another day, another 1/2 feat. As with the Fade Away feat, I’m relatively surprised that you get an ASI bonus on top of the central ability provided. I know, I didn’t actually mention it when talking about Fade Away, but I am now. By limiting the options to Intelligence or Charisma, the target classes regarding the ability bonus are obviously geared toward primary spellcasters. It’s worth noting that high elves gain a +2 Dexterity and +1 Intelligence from the start, at least before the changes to racial abilities. This makes playing a high elf wizard a great option, but it works against the feat. Just take the ASI bonus and call it a day.

Another big problem is sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards already have access to misty step, eliminating the need for these classes to take the feat. Casting the spell without using a spell slot and regaining the opportunity to do so after a short rest is nice. But at higher levels, what else will you do with 2nd spell slots? Some other classes benefit from the +1 bonus to Intelligence and/or Charisma, but as we’ll see below, it’s not enough to justify taking the feat.

Don’t even get me started on learning how to speak, read, and write Sylvan. As I’ve said in previous articles, languages are practically useless in 5e.

The Fey Teleportation Feat Useability by Class

Artificer: If you're playing a battlesmith or armorer, this is a decent feat to pick up. Teleporting 30 feet can get you out of trouble fast, position you on the battlefield to assist a comrade (primarily if you use flanking rules), and get over to the helpless wizard, cowering in front of the scary kobold standing in front of them. The +1 to Intelligence is a nice boost to their primary stat.

Barbarian: Not worth taking.

Bard: Misty step isn't on the bard's spell list, and the +1 bonus to Charisma is beneficial. Are there better feats out there for the bard? Sure, but Fey Teleportation is one you will want to consider.

Cleric: Not worth taking.

Druid: Not worth taking. We all know you're just going to be in wild shape form as a bear, and you can't cast spells when you're a cuddly ol' bear.

Fighter: Fighters don't need much in the way of Charisma, and we all know that Intelligence is a fighter's dump stat. If you're regretting your class choice because you don't get to cast spells, you still shouldn't take this feat. You can take plenty of other feats to harness the powers of arcane magic (Fey Touched, Magic Initiate, etc.)

Monk: Not worth taking.

Paladin: Charisma is your spellcasting ability, so the ASI bonus is excellent. Oath of the Ancients, Open Sea, and Vengeance all have access to the misty step spell, so the feat is wasted on them. For the rest of the subclasses, consider taking the feat. Teleporting on the battlefield can put the bad guys into a painful aura (Oath of Conquest) or protect your friends when they need it the most (Oath of Redemption).

Ranger: Not worth taking.

Rogue: The feat could be a decent choice for the rogue, but it has a few things working against it. Neither Intelligence nor Charisma is beneficial to the rogue. Also, there are several better feats for the rogue. (Flute's Loot has the best recommendations and why). Misty Step is a good spell for the rogue unless you're an arcane trickster, as you'll have access to the spell. It can get you out of a jam or potentially set you up to use Sneak Attack. But that alone isn't enough to justify taking this feat.

Sorcerer: They already have access to the feat, so it's not worth taking.

Warlock: They already have access to the feat, so it's not worth taking.

Wizard: They already have access to the feat, so it's not worth taking.

Conclusion

Don't get me wrong, misty step is an excellent spell to have access to, especially if your class still needs to get it on their spell list or can't cast spells. That's not enough to recommend this feat for a large majority of the classes. This is especially true when you could grab Fey Touched instead. We'll get into that next week.

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