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Today we’re diving into one of the juiciest aspects of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition: Feats that increase Wisdom. If you’ve ever found yourself pondering over how to bolster your druid’s animal whispering skills or your cleric’s divine connection, then you’ve stumbled upon the right scroll of knowledge.
Feats in D&D 5e are special abilities that you can choose to give your character an extra edge, a unique talent, or a boost in their attributes. Wisdom, being one of the six primary ability scores, is particularly important for classes like druids, clerics, and rangers who use it to cast spells and make crucial skill checks.
But enough with the chit-chat. Let’s dig into the good stuff.
Observe and Learn: The Observer Feat
Let’s kick off with the Observer feat. When you take this feat, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check that uses either the Perception or Investigation skill. And you’re probably thinking, “Hey! There’s no Wisdom increase there!” And you’re right, except for this juicy bit: you get a +1 bonus to your Wisdom score, pushing it up to a maximum of 20.
This feat is perfect for those who want to enhance their perception and investigative skills while also getting a nifty bump in Wisdom. Remember that roguish character you’ve been building who’s got a knack for details? With Observer, they’re now a shadow in the night who misses nothing.
Embrace Your Inner Sage: The Keen Mind Feat
Next on the list is the Keen Mind feat. This one doesn’t explicitly increase Wisdom, but hear me out. Keen Mind gives you a +1 increase to your Intelligence (up to a maximum of 20), and you always know which way is north, the number of hours left until the next sunrise or sunset, and can accurately recall anything you’ve seen or heard in the past month.
Now, you may be wondering how this fits into our Wisdom-boosting narrative. Well, let me tell you, it’s all about playing smart. Use your newfound intellectual prowess to roleplay a character who approaches situations with wisdom beyond their years. Your Dungeon Master (DM) will have a tough time disputing your wisdom-inspired actions when you’ve got an infallible memory to back them up!
Delve into Divinity: The Theologian Feat
This feat is tailor-made for those seeking a divine path. The Theologian feat allows you to pick two divine cantrips from any class’s spell list. In addition, your Wisdom score increases by 1.
This is a fantastic choice for any budding clerics, paladins, or druids out there. Not only do you get a bonus to your Wisdom score, but you also get to add two divine cantrips to your spell list. That’s like getting a wisdom power-up and a spellbook expansion all in one!
Strength of Heart: The Resilient Feat
Finally, we come to the Resilient feat. Resilient allows you to choose one ability score to increase by 1, and you gain proficiency in saving throws using that ability. So, if you choose Wisdom, you get a Wisdom increase and become better at resisting effects that target your mental fortitude.
This is a great option for any character, but it’s especially useful for front-line fighters who face off against spellcasters. Just imagine it: your burly barbarian shrugging off mind control spells with a grin, courtesy of their newfound mental resilience. Now that’s what I call a power move.
Harness the Elements: The Elemental Adept Feat
While the Elemental Adept feat might not directly boost your Wisdom score, it’s a hidden gem for those casters who rely on their wisdom. This feat lets you choose one of the damage types associated with spells (Fire, Cold, Lightning, or Acid), and any spell you cast ignores resistance to that damage type.
Wait, there’s more! When you roll damage for a spell dealing your chosen type, you treat any roll of a 1 on a damage die as a 2. This feat can be a game-changer for our nature-loving druids or tempestuous clerics who often use elemental magic. Combine this with a high wisdom score, and your spellcasting becomes a force to be reckoned with!
Get Tough: The Durable Feat
The Durable feat is another one of those feats that, while not directly increasing your Wisdom score, can indirectly enhance your Wisdom-based character. Durable increases your Constitution score by 1 and gives you a fantastic boost to healing when you spend Hit Dice during a short rest.
For a Wisdom-based character, this feat can provide the necessary staying power in those long dungeons or battles. Your character’s wisdom could mean the difference between making it out alive or not. A higher constitution means more hit points and better survival chances, allowing your Wisdom-based skills and spells to shine for longer!
Become a Skilled Expert: The Skilled Feat
The Skilled feat is an absolute power move for those who want to become a jack-of-all-trades. It allows you to gain proficiency in any combination of three skills or tools of your choice. This means you could choose skills like Perception, Insight, or Medicine – all Wisdom-based skills – to become a true master in your chosen areas.
Combine this with a high Wisdom score, and your character becomes the go-to party member for discerning the truth, healing the wounded, or spotting hidden traps. Not to mention, it’s a fantastic role-playing opportunity!
The Magic of Role-Playing: Using Feats for Character Development
And now, a little note on feats and character development. While it’s great to optimize your character for combat, remember that D&D is, at its heart, a role-playing game. Feats can offer fantastic opportunities for character development and backstory.
For example, why does your character have the Resilient feat? Did they have a traumatic experience that made them mentally tough? Or perhaps your character with the Theologian feat spent years studying in a monastery, and now they use that knowledge to guide their actions.
The best D&D characters are those with depth and personality, and using feats to enhance not just your character’s abilities but also their backstory and personal growth can lead to a much more rewarding role-playing experience.
Concluding Our Wisdom-Filled Journey
Feats in Dungeons & Dragons 5e offer a multitude of ways to boost your character’s wisdom and the skills associated with it. From the direct Wisdom boosters like Observer and Theologian, to the more indirect, role-play focused feats like Keen Mind and Skilled, there’s a feat for every type of Wisdom-based character.
So whether you’re crafting a wise old cleric, a perceptive ranger, or a nature-attuned druid, remember to consider feats as part of your character creation process. They can add an exciting layer of complexity and uniqueness to your character, leading to a more immersive and enjoyable D&D experience.
