Spend enough time in the shadows, and it’s only a matter of time until you become one with them. The Skulker feat is all about those D&D characters who hide in the shadows, watch from the darkness, and use stealth to position themselves to scout out dangers ahead or set up for a devastating attack.
The One DnD Skulker feat allows a player to increase their Dexterity score by +1, acquire Blindsight up to 10 feet, Advantage on Dexterity Stealth Checks to take a Hide Action during combat, and a missed attack while in the Hidden Condition no longer pulls the player out of the Hidden condition.
Let’s dive in!
Let’s dive in and find out!
Skulker Feat DnD One Review
The best way to break down a feat is to check out the exact wording. So let’s take a look at the current Skulker Feat from Unearthed Arcana for One DnD aka 6E.
From Unearthed Arcana:
Prerequisite: Dexterity 13+
You are expert at slinking through shadows, grating you the following benefits:
Ability Score Increase. Increase your Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
Blindsight. You have Blindsight with a range of 10 feet.
Fog of War. Exploiting the distractions of battle, you have Advantage on any Dexterity Check (Stealth) you make as part of the Hide Action during combat.
Sniper. If you make an Attack Roll while Hidden and the roll misses, making the Attack Roll doesn’t end the Hidden Condition on you.
Unearthed Arcana, Expert Classes 2022
Now we break down each of these benefits one by one to get a real good feel for whether this feat is worth your time or not.
Benefit #1: +1 Dexterity ability score improvement.
This makes sense as a +1 since being agile, and being able to move quickly with minimal sound is a major part of stealth. That extra Dexterity isn’t going to make or break a feat but it’s a nice little bonus.
Benefit #2: You have blindsight with a range of up to 10 feet.
In short range, you can see, no matter how dark. I love this for flavor and while it’s niche, for the scouts who have had to roll in dim light, this is a great “F You” to the DM (hopefully in a funny way). This is an improvement off the dim light stuff from 5E which just further complicated in-game situations. Giving the player limited blind sight just simplifies the whole process in a way that makes a lot of sense and keeps the game running smoothly.
Benefit #3: You have advantage on any Stealth Dexterity Checks anytime you are attempting to take the Hide Action during combat.
Depending on DM rule you either usually can’t Hide during battle or you’re going to do it at penalty or disadvantage. This eliminates that and is great for a wounded Ranger who needs to find some cover or especially a Rogue who used their devastating Sneak Attack once and wants to double dip into that well.
With the Skulker Feat, that becomes much more viable.
Benefit #4: If you make an Attack Roll while Hidden and the roll misses, making the Attack roll doesn’t end the Hidden Condition.
Previously you revealed yourself from being Hidden and that was it, you were seen whether or not you made a hit with the attack. Now the fact that a miss allows you to stay hidden and gives the DM a chance to roleplay “WTF?” moments in a comical way in-game is just a win-win for everyone at the table.
How Does The Skulker Feat Measure Up?
The Skulker Feat is clearly a feat built for a very niche build that only a small handful of classes are going to take. That said, for those who want to sneak, set up sneak attacks, or otherwise stay out of sight, this is a very solid feat. There’s no part of it that is going to wow people or blow them away, but it is a solid B feat all the way through, and even higher for Rogues because it gives a RAW way to use Sneak Attack more than once during the same combat, something that was hard or impossible to do at tables being run RAW.
Most importantly, Skulker is a feat that does what it promises and fits into the flavor text and style of characters who are going to be built in a way to take advantage of this feat.
Skulker Feat: DnD One Vs 5E
There are some variations between the 5E Skulker feat Vs the One DnD/6E Skulker Feat, and as a whole I’m a fan of the new version if for no other reason that it really simplifies things. The +1 to Dexterity is completely new, but the changes from 5E to this version is excellent. Gone are Dim Light effects on perception checks and the “lightly obscured” gray area replaced with straight out advantage on taking the Hidden Action.
Related Article: 5E Skulker Feat Guide
Nothing was lost in the new version, while Blind Sight is superior to Dim Light not imposing disadvantage on a badly worded benefit about hiding from creatures is replaced by a solid mechanical solution that is actually in the rule set.
In pretty much all ways, shapes, and forms the One DnD Skulker feat is the superior option.
Who Should Take the Skulker Feat in DnD One?
Anyone who is going to be relying on stealth or sneaking – basically whoever is responsible for sneaking and scouting for the party but normally this will be right at the top of best feats for rogues or best feats for rangers. While there can be some use for other classes, without question rogues and rangers get the most mileage out of the Skulker Feat by not even close.
There are some scouting or rouge-lite builds that can also make use of the Skulker feat, and we’ll include those in the list, but this is a Rogue feat first, a Ranger feat second, and a fill-in for better sneaking and scouting to specialty builds a distant, distant third.
Some builds that might want to consider the Skulker Feat are:
- Rogues
- Rangers
- Rogue/Ranger Multiclass
- Rogue-Like Warlocks
- Monks (Scouting Build)
- Druids (a bit redundant because of Wild Shape, but it can work)
This is a feat for those classes that aren’t so big about being front and center.
DnD One Skulker Feat Final Grade
Skulker is a solid B, but it’s an A for Rogues. Many of the benefits are good and very niche. None are spectacular, though they work well together, but for Rogues who rely on being Hidden for Sneak Attack, Skulker becomes a must-have feat since it allows them to stay Hidden or re-hide, something that often isn’t otherwise possible.
This is a rock solid feat for classes and builds that need it, and no one should feel bad about making this part of a build as it will do some serious work for you.
Other Articles of Interest
- One DnD Sharpshooter Feat Guide
- One DnD Shield Master Feat Guide
- One DnD Sentinel Feat Guide
- Damage Types 5E DnD
- Skills and Expertise Guide 5E DnD
- 5E DnD Core Stats
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.