The Actor Feat is one that I’ve taken and enjoyed, and while specialize it opens up some really cool features, or at least it did in 5th Edition. So how has it changed in DnD One and is this feat still a nearly must-take for any Bard or for those Rogues who want another tool in their tool box for being able to do charismatic roguish things in public outside of the shadows.
The Actor Feat in D&D One is a Level-4 feat mostly meant for Bards and Rogues that grants +1 Charisma, advantage on checks impersonating another individual, and the ability to mimic speech or sounds to fool others by passing a Charisma check.
Let’s dive in!
Actor Feat DnD One Review
The best way to break down a feat is to check out the exact wording.
From Unearthed Arcana, Expert Classes, 2022:
Prerequisite: Charisma 13+, Level 4+
Skilled at mimicry and dramatics, you gain the following benefits:
Ability Score Increase: Increase your Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
Impersonation. While you’re disguised as a fictional person or a real person other than yourself, you have Advantage on Charisma Checks (performance) to convince others that you are that person.
Mimicry. You can mimic the sounds of other creatures, including speech. To mimic a sound or a way of speaking, you must listen to it for at least 1 minute. Any time thereafter, you can make a DC 15 Charisma Check (Performance) to perform the mimicry; on a success, you perform it convincingly for up to 1 hour.
Unearthed Arcana Expert Classes, 2022
No doubt still aimed to be considered about the Best Feats for Bards and Best Feats for Rogues, let’s break down these benefits to see how the new DnD One version of the Actor Feat plays.
Benefit #1: Charisma Ability Score increases by one, up to a maximum of 20.
As with many feats that changed from 5E to DnD One, the Actor feat is now a Half Feat which adds a +1 to Charisma. This naturally makes it a great pickup for Bards and Rogue-like Warlock builds. For charismatic Rogue builds, this can also be helpful, especially if taken as one of the Rogue’s extra feats to get to the next even number.
Not special in and of itself, but a nice addition to the previous version of the feat.
Benefit #2: When you’re disguised as another person (fictional or real) you have advantage on all Performance Charisma checks to convince others you are that person.
Advantage is a very powerful benefit, and since the most common class taking this feat would be Bard, this is a powerful benefit. Since Performance (along with Persuasion) are among the skills that often get the Expertise bump, that could make this a near certain success for a Bard with expertise in Performance.
It’s niche useful – but it opens up the possibilities for how a D&D party can pull off various schemes.
Benefit #3: The ability to Mimic another’s voice or a sound perfectly, assuming you pass a DC 15 CHR check and that lasts for an hour.
As discussed in our DnD One Level 4 Feats Guide, Mimicry was in 5th Edition, but it used to be an opposed Wisdom check. This change actually makes it stronger because a DC 15 Charisma check should be easy for a Bard, especially at middle to high levels. For any other classes considering this feat, they should be good enough to make this a reasonable check.
How Does Actor Feat Measure Up?
The Actor feat is a situational feat, but it’s one where in many situations you could see yourself creating a situation or setup to make it extremely useful instead of always just having to wait and hope. That makes it must more interesting than your average “niche use” feat. Since it’s a half feat now, if you have an odd number Charisma score, this becomes tempting over an Ability Score Increase since the benefits that come with the Actor Feat is better than an off-Charisma +1.
Which means overall this is a pretty good feat that has to be right up at the top of feats that any Bard would want. This could also be an intriguing pick for a rogue who has to do a lot of front room and back room diplomacy in that type of campaign or a Warlock built like a rogue (which is very possible with their invocations) and has an odd-number Charisma ability score.
I’d also say this is an interesting feat for a Changeling with a Charisma-based class because of their natural abilities combined with Mimicry and Impersonation could frankly be devastating…and put a very interesting spin on a Paladin to a Trickster God or a Charismatic Sorcerer stepping in for a party who doesn’t have anyone else who can do it.
This isn’t a feat for everyone, and it’s most common use will be straight to the Bard, but it’s interesting and it’s solid in its niche, and that’s more than we could say about many of the worst 5E feats.
Actor Feat: DnD One Vs 5E
The first obvious change is that in DnD One Actor becomes a half feat, thus gaining a +1 to Charisma. The Impersonation is the same, but the Mimicry is made stronger in DnD One because of how the mechanics work.
So for players like me who absolutely love the bard, they’re going to really like what the Actor feat brings to the table as it’s even bigger and better in DnD One than it was in 5th Edition.
Related Article: 5E Actor Feat Guide
If you’re playing a bard then this is a feat that should be at the very top of your shortlist of feats to take in your next character build.
Who Should Take the Actor Feat in DnD One?
Bards. As mentioned multiple times, this is a feat built for the bards. For a certain build of rogue, especially one that has to do things outside of the shadows for the party, it could also conceivably be a good pick. Ditto with the build I like to call “The Warlock Rogue.”
Most other builds are going to be specialty builds and don’t get me wrong, this is a feat you can actually put some cool and unique character ideas around, but they won’t be mainstream.
This is a Bard feat first and foremost, and beyond that it’s a feat that offers some interesting perks for others and for creative players who have something different and interesting in mind.
DnD One Actor Feat Final Grade
Right now I would give this feat a solid B, with the caveat that it’s an A for a traditional bard build. It’s a good feat with some cool pieces. Not overpowered except in certain builds it’s meant to be put into. Situational, but solid, and flavor text wise it fits in perfectly. There’s a lot to like here for an above average feat with some clear specialty uses.
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Proud to embrace the locally created moniker of “Corrupt Overlord” from one of the all time great Lords of Waterdeep runs, Shane is one member of the Assorted Meeples crew and will be hard at work creating awesome content for the website. He is a long-time player of board games, one time semi-professional poker player, and tends to run to the quirky or RPG side of things when it comes to playing video games. He loves tabletop roleplaying systems like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Werewolf, Fate, and others, and not only has been a player but has run games as DM for years. You can find his other work in publications like Level Skip or Hobby Lark.