5E Dragonlance Feats Guide

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There are plenty of Dragonlance fans who were delighted to see that a 5E-compatible Dragonlance adventure actually did drop even as the attempted movement from 5E to DnD One begins. The beloved world of Dragonlance, and the old school stories and campaigns tied around it, might not be as famous as The Curse of Strahd, or the worlds of

This is also the first time in 5th Edition where the feats are clearly defined as only belonging to a specific campaign. While most DMs I know understand that any feat introduced in a campaign book are assumed to be that campaign world only unless the DM gives approval – but this is the first time it’s been explicitly stated in the rules as such.

Dragonlance 5E introduces 9 new feats specifically created for the Dragonlance campaign with varying degrees of requirements, all of which include playing this specific world/campaign.

With all that said, let’s jump into 5th Edition D&D’s world of Dragonlance and see what new feats might open up the possibilities for interesting character creations.

Dragonlance original adventures book
No question this original Dragonlance book from TSR saw plenty of gaming love from its tables back in the day.

The 9 New Dragonlance Feats for the 5E Campaign

The 9 new feats are set for the campaign and it’s important to look at how all these feats interact with one another because the feats in Dragonlance are “chained” to one another. Meaning that when you choose which moon you are connected to with the Initiate to High Sorcery Feat, that is going to determine which later level feats in 5E Dragonlance you can take and which ones you’re locked out of.

So without any further ado let’s jump into a deep dive of all these 5E Dragonlance feats

Divinely Favored Feat

So the Divinely Favored Feat is interesting, though not necessarily overpowering. This is another way to sneak in some extra spells, but this is also very similar to many feats that give a low-level spell so it’s not likely to generate a ton of excitement, especially among Evil Alignment.

Prerequisite: 4th Level, Dragonlance Campaign

A god chose your to carry a spark of their power.

You learn one cantrip of your choice from the Cleric spell list and one 1st-level spell based on the alignment of your character, as specified in the Alignment Spells table below. You also learn the augury spell.

  • Evil Alignment: Choose one 1st-Level Warlock Spell
  • Good Alignment: Choose one 1st Level Cleric Spell
  • Neutral Alignment: Choose one 1st-Level Druid Spell

You can cast the chosen 1st-level spell and the augury spell without a spell slot once for free before needing a long rest to recharge. However, you have the ability to cast those spells with existing spell slots, as well. The player chooses which of the casting stats (Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma) that they use to cast that spell.

The augury spell isn’t bad. There are some interesting things that can be done with it, and it’s nice to have, but nothing most builds would go out of their way to grab. The 1lst-Level Warlock spells are admittedly the least impressive (though a few are quite fun) but Clerics and Druids have plenty to choose from.

This is an okay feat, but existing feats like Fey Touched or Shadow Touched both still feel a bit more exciting than this. It’s not the worst take in the world, but it’s not going to set a lot of worlds on fire.

Initiate of High Sorcery Feat

The Initiate of High Sorcery Feat is going to get attention because it gives a lot of different options for directions and since the feats in the world of Dragonlance are tied to the moon that you choose, that means the decision made here determines which later level feats you can choose and which you can’t.

Prerequisite: Dragonlance Campaign, Sorcerer or Wizard Class or Mage of High Sorcery Background

You’ve received training from magic-users affiliated with the Mages of High Sorcery.

Choose one of the three moons of Krynn to influence your magic: the black moon, Nuitari, the red moon, Lunitari, or the white moon, Solinari. You learn one cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell list and two 1st-level spells based on the moon you choose, as specified in the Lunar Spells table.

  • Nuitari: Choose two from dissonant whispers, false life, hex, and ray of sickness
  • Lunitari: Choose two from color spray, disguise self, feather fall, and longstrider
  • Solinari: Choose two from comprehend languages, detect evil and good, protection from evil and good, and shield

You can cast these spells without a spell slot once and this ability recharges with a long rest. Again the spells can also be cast with existing spell slots, and the player chooses the casting ability score that is used for the spell.

IMPORTANT: The moon you select with this feat that you pick makes a difference for what you can get from other feats in the campaign so if you have your eye on a specific moon-based feat later, you’ll want to make sure you’re not shooting yourself in the foot by taking this one early.

On it’s own this is kind of a cool feat. It doesn’t blow you away because there are so many feats that do the 1-1 spell thing, but this delivers two spells and it gives versatility in picking them, which is kind of cool.

If this was standalone I’d say Nuitari is likely the clear winner because Dissonant Whispers + Hex is super powerful whether you are playing a Warlock or another class completely and just want that combination, but since this does determine which feats are available to you in the future, you want to look at both and see which combination is best for you.

The Chains:

  • Nuitari – Leads to Adept of the Black Robes
  • Lunitari – Leads to Adept of the Red Robes
  • Solinari – Leads to Adept of the White Robes

Since this is a “chain feat” for what can be taken in the future it’s best to keep this in mind when making the initial choice.

Adept of the Black Robes Feat

Available if you chose the Nuitari from the Initiate of High Sorcery Feat, you can then move forward to become an Adept of the Black Robes and that opens up some serious spell options from the enchantment and necromancy schools of magic in addition to setting you up with a second level spell of your choice the Life Channel ability is just nasty.

In the Dragonlance world you don’t need to figure out how to mesh flavor and mechanics. If you choose the Nuitari and go with the Black Robes you are going to be terrifying to go up against.

Prerequisite: 4th Level, Initiate of High Sorcery (Nuitari) Feat

You chose the moon Nuitari to influence your magic, and your ambition and loyalty to the Order of the Black Robes have been recognized, granting you these benefits:

Ambitious Magic. You learn one 2nd-level spell of your choice. The 2nd-level spell must be from the enchantment or necromancy school of magic. You can cast this feat’s 2nd-level spell without a spell slot, and you must finish a long rest before you can cast it in this way again. You can also cast this spell using spell slots you have of the appropriate level. The spell’s spellcasting ability is the one chosen when you gain the Initiate of High Sorcery Feat.

Life Channel. You can channel your life force into the power of your magic. When a creature you can see within 60 feet of you fails a saving throw against a spell that deals damage that you cast, you can expand a number of hit dice equal to the level of the spell. Roll the expended Hit Dice and add them together. The damage that the creature takes increases by an amount equal to that total.

Well that’s a nasty little feat, isn’t it? This also continues to scale because as you get more Hit Dice by leveling up, that means higher level spells that cause damage still have all that room for you to add in more dice to the damage itself.

The Life Channel aspect of the Adept of the Black Robes is by far and away the winning gem of this feat. This is fantastic from a flavor/thematic standpoint and it’s done in a very smart way mechanically. You give up a bit of your readily available reserve life force to inflict damage on others by taking away their active life force (you hit dice vs their hit points).

This is an outstanding feature and fits in with a society known as “The Black Robes.”

On top of that, this does NOT use your reaction, which is fantastic. This means you can still counterspell, or counter attack, or use any other class ability or spell that is reaction based.

This is just an outstanding feat that fits into the world perfectly and can really powerfully feed into a build.

Adept of the Red Robes Feat

The Adept of the Red Robes comes from those who chose the moon of Lunitari to guide their magic, and if you’re a really old school gamer you probably gave at least one thought to the Red Mage in the original Final Fantasy 1 video game.

While that’s a nice callback to very early RPGs on the NES, when it comes to Dragonlance the Red Robes are about Illusion and Transmutation, and as opposed to dealing extra damage like the Black Robes do, it’s about moving the basement up and becoming more likely to succeed, or at least avoid critical failures.

Prerequisite: 4th Level, Initiate of High Sorcery of Lunitari

You choose the moon Lunitari to influence your magic, and your dedication to maintaining the balance between all things has been recognized by the Order of the Red Robes, granting you these benefits:

Insightful Magic. You learn one 2nd-level spell of your choice. The 2nd-level spell must be from the illusion or transmutation school of magic. You can cast this feat’s 2nd-Level spell without a spell slot, and you must finish a long rest before you can cast it in this way again. You can also cast this spell using spell slots you have of the appropriate level. The spell’s spellcasting ability is the one chosen when you gained the Initiate of High Sorcery Feat.

Magical Balance. When you make an attack roll or an ability check and roll a 9 or lower on the d20, you can balance fate and treat the roll as a 10. You can balance fate this way a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and regain the expended uses after finishing a long rest.

Adept of the Red Robes is about Illusion or Transmutation magic, but the special aspect of being a Red Robes is that you have a much higher basement. The combination of the spells and Magical balance makes for a strong feat that has a lot to offer, but it’s the spell list for illusion and transmutation that steals the show as they are excellent at second level with serious spells that can work really well solo or in conjunction with your party.

Examples include:

  • Mirror Image
  • Spike Growth
  • Levitate
  • Invisibility
  • Heat Metal
  • Pyrotechnics

These are outstanding low level spells and ones that can be very creatively used. Spike growth is a nightmare when dealing with a party who has force movement abilities whether through the Telekinetic Feat, Charger Feat, or Eldritch Blast.

Mirror Image has also done serious work in many a game I’ve been in. Mirror Image is solid though it’s not something that is going to be overpowering or wowing. Great spell list, though, which will make the

Adept of the White Robes Feat

The Adept of the White Robes is interesting and takes on the role of the healer, the defender, the protector, but does it do so in a way that really adds to a character build or boosts them in a powerful enough way to make the character stronger and more interesting.

Prerequisite: 4th Level, Initiate of High Sorcery (Solinari) Feat

You chose the moon Solinari to influence your magic, and your oath to use magic to make the world a better place has been recognized by the Order of the White Robes, granting you these benefits:

Protective Magic. You learn one 2nd-level spell of your choice. The 2nd-level spell must be from the abjuration or divination school of magic. You can cast this feat’s 2nd-level spell without a spell slot, and you must finish a long rest before you can cast it in this way again. You can also cast this spell using spell slots you have of the appropriate level. The spell’s spellcasting ability is the one chosen when you gained the Initiate of High Sorcery feat.

Protective Ward. When you or a creature you can see within 30 feet of you takes damage, you can use your reaction to expend a spell slot and weave protective magic around the target. Roll a number of d6s equal to the level of the spell slot expended and reduce the damage the target takes by the total rolled on those dice + your spellcasting ability modifier.

This feat is clearly assuming you are a caster even outside of added feats, but you get to pick your second level spell (as a former Ranger may I recommend the amazingly overpowered Pass Without a Trace spell?). Aide is also a good choice.

This is interesting, and allows you to protect a party member, however it’s also important to note that you are burning your spell slots which are precious to a caster…so I’m not really sure if this is the feat I would want compare to the others we’ve seen.

Among the robed feats, there’s a lot of DMs and players who think in combination the Black Robes are the best combination and it’s honestly hard for me to argue with that. Based on playing style the Red Robes could also be fairly effective, but I’m least excited for what the White Robes have to offer.

giant wizard dragonlance calendar
Beautiful art from a Dragonlance Calendar in the 1980s.

Martial Character Dragonlance Feats

While it’s clear that the earlier feats focused more on spellcasters, there are 5E Dragonlance feats that are clearly focused on the martial characters of the group and these feats focus on boosting them up and making them stronger in this intriguing and dangerous world.

Squire of Solamnia Feat

The Squire of Solamnia is a solid feat with two main points, one which is okay but the other is outstanding and very powerful. It won’t be hard to pick out which is which.

Prerequisite: Dragonlance campaign, Fighter or Paladin Class or Knight of Solamnia Background

Your training in the ways of the Knights of Solamnia grants you these benefits:

Mount Up. Mounting or dismounting costs you only 5 feet of movement.

Precise Strike. Once per turn, when you make a weapon attack roll against a creature, you can cause the attack roll to have advantage. If the attack hits, you roll a d8 and add the number rolled as a bonus to the attack’s damage roll. You can use this benefit a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, but a use is expended only if the attack hits. You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

That’s a nice scaling effect, and having multiple abilities to add advantage to your attack in between long rests in most campaigns means most of your attack should have advantage, and then you get to add a d8 to damage.

This is an insane feat for Rogues, and Fighters and Paladins are also going to love it. There isn’t a melee attack that won’t like this feat other than maybe Barbarian and that’s just because there are Barbarian builds that can create it on demand.

This scales with proficiency bonus and if you don’t make the hit, you don’t use it. It’s a powerful feat, but there are drawbacks such as having to commit prior to attacking, meaning at some point you probably would have rolled a Natural 20 anyway, but you gain fare more often than you lose.

Knights of the Crown Feat

Knights of the Crown are one of the other knight dedications and offers a different wrinkle, offering a build that is all about the martial characters who are part of the team and want to strengthen and encourage their fellow knights and adventurers to victory.

Prerequisite: 4th Level, Squire of Solamnia Feat

You are a Knight of Solamnia aligned with the Order of the Crown, a group that extols the virtues of cooperation, loyalty, and obedience. You excel in group combat and gain these benefits:

Ability Score Increase. Increase your Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20.

Commanding Rally. As a bonus action, you can command one ally within 30 feet of yourself to attack. If that ally can see or hear you, they can immediately make one weapon attack as a reaction.

If the attack hits, the ally can roll a d8 and add the number rolled as a bonus to the attack’s damage roll. You can use this bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

If this feels a lot like certain builds of the base Fighter Class in 5E, it’s because there are many similarities. The mechanics are there plus a little extra damage, though the ability score increase is a nice little touch.

The Knights of the Crown is a good 4th-Level feat for the martial Fighter or Paladin who was built in such a way that they had yet to weaponize their bonus action.

So it is a niche build, but not so much as to drastically narrow the scope of who can use it, making it a viable pick.

Knights of the Rose Feat

The Knights of the Rose rally the weak of heart, act as Inspiring Leader, and allow them to add a decent number of hit points to weather through some damage, and keep pushing forward.

Prerequisite: 4th Level, Squire of Solamnia Feat

You are a Knight of Solamnia aligned with the Order of the Rose, a group known for leadership, justice, and wisdom. Your resolve grants you these benefits:

Ability Score Increase. Increase your Constitution, Wisdom, or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20.

Bolstering Rally. As a bonus action, you can encourage one creature you can see within 30 feet of yourself (you can choose yourself). If the target can see or hear you, the target gains temporary hit points equal to 1d8 plus your proficiency bonus plus the ability modifier of the ability score increased by this feat.

You can use this bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

At first glance this looks good and I don’t want to brush off temporary hit points, but there are times that’s just not enough.

Now that said, it’s a very solid half-feat and one that can fit into many common martial builds that make it easy to slide in with common builds and other feats, which is always nice to see.

Add in the the hit temporary points with a reasonable group of ability scores to get a +1 from and it’s not bad – but it’s not super special, either.

Knights of the Sword Feat

The Knights of the Sword are, in my opinion, the most interesting of the three groups because their setup is a bit strange compared to others. Does this being “interesting” make it actually good or worth taking?

Well let’s dive into what it offers to get a better idea of what this Dragonlance feat actually does have to offer.

Prerequisite: 4th Level, Squire of Solamnia Feat

You are a Knight of Solamnia aligned with the Order of the Sword, a group devoted to heroism and courage. Bravery steels your spirit, granting you these benefits:

Ability Score Increase. Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score by 1 to a maximum of 20.

Demoralizing Strike. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack roll, you can attempt to frighten that target. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + the ability modifier of the score increased by this feat). On a failed save, the target is frightened of you until the end of your next turn.

On a successful save, the target has disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn. You can use this benefit a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Very interesting that the ability score increases are ability scores that are generally known for being caster classes, but there are melee wizard and melee warlock builds that are interesting that might really like this feat, and let’s not forget that Paladins and Clerics also have plenty of use for those stats.

The Demoralizing strike is definitely the more interesting part of it. Frightening a target means they can’t move towards you and must move away if at all possible rather than confront you, and that’s interesting. It doesn’t use an action or bonus action which is even better.

The fact that even on a successful save the target has disadvantage on their next attack even makes it so I kind of hope my attempt to frighten them fails so they have a hard time hitting me.

It’s an intriguing feat, though you will want to talk about your DM to find out if they would rule if up against creatures immune to being frightened (which there are quite a few). Do they still get disadvantage on the next attack as a homebrew D&D rule, or do they go technical rules as written (RAW) to say it doesn’t?

It’s weird wording, and at our table we’d just say immunity counts as a failed attempt and impose the disadvantage next turn, but knowing how your DM would rule here directly affects just how powerful this feat could be.

adventurers vs dragon dragonlance calendar
An adventuring party facing off against a dragon, picture from a 1980s Dragonlance Calendar.

The Best Video I’ve Seen on Dragonlance 5E D&D Feats

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWevdT8e1_E&ab_channel=DungeonDudes

The Verdict on D&D Dragonlance Feats?

Whether you’re a fan of most of these feats or not, let’s take a moment to allow Dragonlance fans an appreciation that this came out. Since the shift to DnD One started happening, many believed the 5E Dragonlance that was promised years ago was DOA.

Fortunately, this wasn’t the case, and it’s a book that gives some very interesting feats, even if they are explicitly for this campaign world only. They help bring in the feeling of a unique world, of a magic system that works a very specific way, and shows a campaign that clearly was being revised with the shift to DnD One in mind to give an interesting insight into the attempt to blend the two systems and maybe give a sort of working blueprint of how compatibility would work.

While there’s no feat here that is overpowering on its own, there isn’t a complete loser of a feat. Most of these are fair to middling with some really intriguing niche applications.

There are also a couple of specific feat sections that are powerful, and the setup of how the feats so closely interact to the setting is something I’d love to see more often in various D&D adventures.

So there you have it.

The 9 new 5E Dragonlance feats are:

  • Divinely Favored
  • Initiate of Sorcery
  • Adept of the Black Robes
  • Adept of the Red Robes
  • Adept of the White Robes
  • Squire of Solamnia
  • Knights of the Crown
  • Knights of the Rose
  • Knights of the Sword

These show a lot of interesting things bringing us feats for spell casters, feats for martials, and chaining feats in a way so that decisions early will have repercussions later on. Take a look at what each has to offer you in your next 5E Dragonlance game, choose your feats wisely and as always, good gaming!

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