20th Level Class Features: Revisited (5e)
There is no denying that some of the level 20 Capstone abilities for 5e were god-like (C'mon Druids¸ Paladins¸ and Clerics. Everyone else is poking things with sticks and you're turning into Beast Boy¸ Avatars of Gods¸ or getting your Deity's cell phone number). Perhaps it was just compared to these massive abilities that so many others seemed underwhelming¸ but a sense of unfairness permiated the community anytime level 20 abilities were discussed. Well¸ through DMing 2-4 times a week and countless hours of pondering¸ along with community feedback and game developer input¸ I think i've managed to find a sweet-spot for all the capstones I felt were lacking. My goal here wasn't to make them all uniformally powerful¸ but for the capstone to offer something that a player would internally struggle to give up in order to Multiclass (for tables that allowed it). Smarter Not Bigger: I did not want to complicate the list. It's hard to add flavor/utility and keep the features relatively short¸ but I did my best. Following the Name: It was important to me to showcase the feature as it was named in the 5e Player's Handbook. A capstone like "Perfect Self" should reflect that - not be about becoming an Iron Golem for 10 minutes. Borrowed Mechanics: Some games have very interesting and dynamic mechanics that 5e lacks. Some of those mechanics have made their way into these capstones¸ particularly the idea of recurring bonuses/effects. I tried to keep these things streamlined to not be so jarring as to feel alien to new and veteran players alike! Easily Applied: Like the rest of my Revisited series - i did not want to break away from 5e just for the sake of doing new things - I wanted to shape and tweak the 5e I know and love¸ and am familiar with¸ in subtle ways to make it see more "balanced" and fun throughout.