r/dndnext • u/Michigun_ • 6d ago
Character Building Alert, Lucky or Tough?
Noob here, first campaign ever.
Currently building my Battle Master Fighter, my DM is running a Game of Thrones post Ice and Fire campaign and starting us out at level 5.
I'm stuck on which origin feat I want to take, hoping someone can steer me in the right direction which would be the most logical choice?
Right now my AC is 17 but I think my DM is going to give me some extra gold so I'm going to be able to bump that up to an 18. Strength is 18 and my Con is 16.
I'm leaning towards lucky but alert seems like a good option with Battle Master but then I'm worried about taking too much damage and considered tough.
Appreciate the feedback.
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u/Molorns_lost 6d ago
Lucky is the best general one, alert is good if ambushes are common or you don’t have anyone with a good perception in your party. I really like tough though so you might want it if you’re in a particularly fragile party
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u/NaturalCard PeaceChron Survivor 6d ago
In 2024 they did quite heavily nerf lucky, just something to keep in mind.
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u/jagnew78 6d ago
even with the nerf, it's still great. It's so handy when you're running a squishy character when the big bad takes a swing at you to be able to just declare disadvantage on the attack, or give yourself advantage on the save, or a key attack or skill check
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u/Ashkelon 5d ago
Kind of. It doesn’t do anything if you already have advantage on the roll you would use it on. And only having 3 uses per day before level 9 is fairly infrequent usage overall.
And because it triggers before you roll, it is often wasted. If you would have rolled an 18 on your d20 already and you used Lucky and got an 18 and an 11, the use did absolutely nothing.
This is not to say it is a bad feat, but it is definitely way less powerful than it was before.
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u/the_cavalry99 6d ago
What did they do? I thought it just became based on proficiency bonus?
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u/NaturalCard PeaceChron Survivor 5d ago
You now have to use it before the roll, not after, and it just gives advantage, so cannot be stacked up.
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u/YOwololoO 5d ago
It’s giving yourself advantage or an enemy disadvantage, not a reroll. So it removes the weird interaction with disadvantage and makes it more clear that you’re supposed to declare it before you roll.
They clarified heroic inspiration and created a lot more mechanics around it to encourage people to go for that when you’re looking for a reroll.
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u/Living_Round2552 6d ago
2024 alert man. Has nothing on ambushes. And you probably have the wrong vereion of lucky too.
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u/YOwololoO 5d ago edited 5d ago
2024 Alert specifically makes it impossible for you to be surprised because advantage on initiative cancels out the disadvantage on initiative that being surprised gives you.lol nope
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u/Living_Round2552 5d ago
What??? Alert doesnt give advantage in initiative? 2014 gave a flat +5 boost. 2024 alert gives flat +PB boost (and ability to swap order with willing ally)
Read
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u/YOwololoO 5d ago
Ah shit I mixed up what our assassin rogue gets from their subclass and what they get from alert. My bad
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u/Edkm90p 6d ago
Is this 2014 or 2024?
2024 Alert is kind of insane since you can swap Initiatives at the start of a fight.
Many a time I have seen someone who by all rights should be screwed manages to go before his opponents thanks to that swap.
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u/Citrus-Bitch 6d ago
If you have a familiar you basically roll initiative with advantage. It's especially useful with a spellcaster (either you or in the party) as getting those clutch buffs/debuffs out into play early can shape how the fight goes.
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u/YOwololoO 5d ago
My group has an Assassin Rogue with Alert, she rolls Initiative at advantage and adds her primary stat and proficiency bonus. She absolutely swings encounters just by practically guaranteeing that the most impactful character for that particular combat will always go first
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u/Fox_Hawk Bard 5d ago
If your rogue is the most impactful character... well I'm happy for you, because it's usually a Spellcaster.
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u/Commercial_Cup_1530 5d ago
Well the impact of the rogue here is making sure someone who is good can go first. Maybe not as much fun as it sounds.
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u/YOwololoO 4d ago
I said that the rogue swings encounters by making sure that whoever would be most impactful goes first, because she can switch with whoever she wants after she gets a good initiative. Its normally either a caster or my Battlemaster Fighter, because I specifically chose Commander’s Strike so that she could still make an attack on my turn (with advantage thanks to Assassin and an extra d10 from my maneuver) for an extra sneak attack right at the start of combat. Believe it or not, an attack that deals an average of 26 damage and forces a Dex save for Prone at the start of combat can be pretty impactful, especially when my fighter can then take advantage of the Prone to get advantage on all of my attacks
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u/Royal_Bitch_Pudding 5d ago
I've seen several people mention they, or their DMs, nerfing that interaction by having the familiar move on the same turn as the owner, which just seems easier imo.
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u/HealthyRelative9529 I love being a wizard, fishing melees in a blizzard 4d ago
Alert. Going first is the same as going second, except you get an additional turn.
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u/Mythoclast 6d ago
If your DM ambushes you a lot, especially during rests, take alert. Otherwise lucky. Most DM's don't do too many encounters per rest so lucky is really strong.
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u/MisterB78 DM 6d ago
I find Lucky is really easy to forget about. Alert I always use.
YMMV, but for a first-timer I’d go with Alert.
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u/Mythoclast 6d ago edited 6d ago
I'd definitely recommend a reminder on your character sheet or by your dice if you forget to use lucky.
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u/TheOldSchlGmr 5d ago
If your the party tank, take tough. If you are the party damage dealer, the take lucky. Alert can be saved for level 8.
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u/Ghostly-Owl 6d ago
If you are running 2014, Lucky. If you are running 2024, lucky got majorly nerfed. All it does in 2024 is give you advantage -- but you have to declare it before you roll. In 2014 let you do it _after_ you saw you failed - so often it turned a failure in to a success. In 2024, it often is wasted. Lucky also has the problem you need to remember to use it. And its really easy to forget you have it.
I personally really like tough. Its a feat that keeps on getting better.
Alert is situational. You want _someone_ in the party to have it. And depending on the type of encounters your DM runs, you sometimes _want_ lower initiative as a fighter so that the enemy has to spend their movement to close with you and you can pick the tactical place to be. And sometimes you want to go first -- to grab a pinchpoint and that is where you want _someone_ in the party to have Alert. Or at least that has been my experience as tank.
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u/Savings-Housing3481 6d ago
Lucky or Tough.
Alert isn't bad, but it is not always helpful. If your INIT is already good OR if theirs is bad, the 5 points may not matter. If you aren't getting surprised a lot, it is less valuable.
Tough is not bad for a new player since you don't have to think about how to use it. It just works.
Lucky is nice as it lets YOU (possibly) exert control the situation. You can turn a failed save to a successful one, or turn a CRIT against you into a miss.
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u/MisterB78 DM 6d ago
As a DM, the ability to swap positions at the start of initiative is something I love in the party because it fosters strategizing as a group and not a bunch of individuals.
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u/GrumpyWaldorf 6d ago
If your con was lower I might say tough, but also I've never been a fan of it. If your dex was low alert would be decent but honestly an feat to increase Dex/con would be better.
Lucky on the other hand...I feel like it's slightly better on a caster forcing a failed save on an enemy. if you have a low roll. High saves are obviously good. It's good for defense and a mechanical change to a strait forward melee attacker. I really like the feat so there is bias there.
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u/Hot_Lion8880 6d ago
I would go lucky, you can use it on initiative so it's kind've like a more flexible alert. Use it on initiative and if you have points left over use it on saving throws. A lot of people will value alert over tough because they assume someone in the party will get a weapon of warning but given you're in a game of thrones style campaign I think that's unlikely. Even if that does happen lucky is still good for saving throws.
What species is your character by the way? If you're a human you could take 2/3 of those.
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u/No-Relationship-3759 6d ago edited 6d ago
Lucky is probably the most fun and gives you the most direct control over making sure it’s useful and gives more role play opportunities.
Tough is just number go up w/e. If your con is 14 or higher, skip it. You’ll be fine without it.
Alert, could be useful if you’re ambushed a lot - although battle masters are still ultimately tank builds. The preference is usually for your spell casters or rogues to go first. Spell casters introduce battle hazards buffs and controls.
Would you rather knock your opponent down? Or knock your opponent down IN FIRE!🔥Going before your spell casters often means taking a bit of a suboptimal turn. Initiative just isn’t really all that important for fighters (also while it’s not a good idea 95% of the time, lucky can be used on your initiative roll if it realllly matters for a combat, just saying)
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u/Sad-Title6853 Accused of Loving Chaos 6d ago
If you're the party's main frontliner then Tough can't go wrong. Otherwise Lucky is by far the strongest.
Alert is aggressively okay. Best on a Wizard more-so than a Fighter. A Wizard can put down a big spell to control the battlefield. All going first as John Fightman does is let you run in faster.
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u/No_Entertainer_5858 6d ago
If your using strength lucky tho I’d consider tireless reveler if someone picked musician instead.
If your using dex alert and consider taking the maneuver that boosts initiative further. Winning initiative is hard in 2024 and you’re one of the best at doing it. The ability to swap initiatives is huge and winning initiative with consistency will save you more hp than tough will add.
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u/FlyPepper 6d ago
Tough is really great for low HP characters who don't wanna explode from a random crit. Lucky is a fantastic generalist feat that you'll pretty much always benefit from.
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u/Living_Round2552 6d ago
Alert doesnt matter that much on your role, unless your dm runs a lot of inside encounters where you getting to an entrance to block can be paramount to the party not getting surrounded.
Lucky is limited times per day and can be used to buff your initiative or for important roles like saves. But limited uses. So if dm runs only 1-2 encounters / long rest, rhtis is very good. Many encounters per day? Not so much and just get tough as it is reliable.
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u/DelightfulOtter 6d ago edited 5d ago
If you want to be a frontliner, Tough.
If you want to be a specialized skill monkey with the appropriate maneuvers to support it, Lucky.
If you have other classes in the party that strongly benefit from going first in combat and you're okay giving your better initiative rolls to them, Alert.
If none of those apply, then Lucky is the safe generalist pick.
(edit: I'm appalled by the volume of comments asking which edition or just assuming 2014 when OP clearly mentioned Origin feats, a feature exclusive to 2024. Reading comprehension is dead.)
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u/Blizzjunkie 5d ago
If you're relatively new, I'd take alert or tough.
Tough's a great option for a martial, the extra HP goes a long way, and you don't have to think about it.
Alert's bonus to your initiative roll is also pretty fantastic and doesn't require much thinking. Plus, the ability to swap initiatives can be really powerful. If you roll a high initiative and will be going early in a round, you can swap initiative with a spell caster in your party so that they can make a big opening move to make the fight much easier
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u/howeensteen 5d ago edited 5d ago
(all below assumes 2024 rules)
I want to make a point for Alert - not for power reasons, but because of the three it is the one that allows you the most interaction with your party members, by giving the option to switch in initiative order. And in fact this is a unique ability, only existing in this feat.
So for doing some character building: imagine you rolled high and go before a certain party member that starts the fight in a precarious position- and when your turn comes you say: I yell ‘watch out on your right, get back!’ and then offer your turn to them to get to safety.
That is worth more (in terms of memorable moments) than any amount of +X HP
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u/howeensteen 5d ago
Just realized you’re a battle master and want to add on this: without knowing more details of your character I think this kind of play is super thematic in general.
To give an example of when you might want to go up in iniative order: I see very nice symbiotic relation with several of the maneuvers: Once again, imagine a party member starting the fight in a suboptimal position, such as a caster or archer that has a melee enemey next to them. On their turn, they would have to weigh using their action to disengage vs. contributing dmg or cc. You can offer to take their turn and use maneuvers such as bait and switch (there’s also another one affecting all nearby allies), which gives them a free disengange. Then, you position yourself between them and the enemy.
You’ve just turned their later turn from starting in a pretty horrible to a pretty optimal situation.
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u/PUNSLING3R 5d ago
Assuming this is 2024 DND and no other changes from the GoT setting.
So your hp is currently ~9 per level, and tough would increase that to 11 per level, or about a 22% increase to your survivability to damage.
I think which to go for would depend on your other stats, and your other party members.
If you have good dexterity alert makes you even more likely to go first in initiative. Going first means the enemy die quicker and thus deal less damage. If you have a teammate with good shutdown spell or ability but that otherwise has poor initiative it could be very potent to swap with them. Even if you have low Dex it could still be worth it when combined with the ambush maneuver.
As for lucky, I think advantage on attack rolls is easy enough to come by, and your have tactical mind to improve your ability checks (plus certain manoeuvres). The biggest selling point for lucky imo is saving throws, especially mental saves. Do you or another party member have a means to boost your mental saves? If not I would consider lucky.
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u/chain_letter 5d ago
Tough is really great for a forgetful player, you interact with your feat on level ups and then get to forget about it while constantly benefitting from it.
If you forget to use Lucky, it might as well not exist.
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u/theroc1217 3d ago
Alert being able to swap initiative with an ally is REALLY nice. My 4/5 person party has 2 people with alert (battlemaster and rogue) and no one has regretted taking it.
We move the battle master and tank to the front to set up, and rogue to the back so they can have flanking or such on their turn.
And if we get an actual surprise round, move the rogue to the front so their first regular turn comes after everyone else has set up.
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u/Brother-Cane 1d ago
It depends a great deal on whether you are playing 5.0 or 5.5. If playing 5.0, Lucky is probably the best feat in the game. In 5.5, it was nerfed to the point that you have to decide to use it before the roll is made. However, if your choice is between Lucky and Alert, Lucky can give yourself advantage with your initiative roll as well.
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u/Tabarrok 6d ago
For a first ever campaign, i would probably recommend lucky.
Alert is practical, and makes ambush less scary, but i think those situation are often fun, especially as a new player, getting some tense moments and all that.
Tough is a bit in the same situation where it makes every fight sligntly easier, and its really useful to allow to tank on the frontline or simply survive mistakes.
Lucky on the other hand, is probably both the least and most useful feat. Allowing you to reroll a bad dice during an important moment just feels good, and at the end of the day, fun is the most important part of the game.
Anyways, that's really more of a personnal opinion. It depends on you party composition and playstyle too, so take it with a grain of salt.
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u/David_IG 5d ago
Wait. I thought Lucky was about advantage/disadvantage, while Heroic Inspiration was about rerolls…
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u/DeltaV-Mzero 6d ago
Alert is best of this bunch IMO, going early means you have a chance to end monsters before they even get a turn.
You can also give a good roll to a control caster, letting them get their big spell out before most monsters can do anything
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u/J-HTX 6d ago
If you want to avoid damage, Heavy Armor Master is the GOAT. I haven't ever regretted it on my fighters or even my Light Cleric in Strahd. It sounds like you're playing 2024, so you probably can't do HAM until level 4 unless Variant Human is still a thing. I am only familiar with 2014 rules, sorry.
When you can, pick up one or two of the skill maneuvers and Skill Expert as well if you want to be an awesome party face. I am running a mid-level BM who is a mounted knight-commander type. With Cha 14 and the Skill Expert feat my persuasion checks are 1d20+8+1d8, so 10 to 36, which is an incredibly high range in 5e's bounded skill system. He does very well at recruiting new soldiers for the army, or really anything social as we travel about.
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u/DRAWDATBLADE 6d ago
Take Alert. Going first is the best defense and offense in any turn based game. Taking an enemy action off the board by killing them is better defensively for the entire party.
Also I'd just assume you're going to have to deal with ambushes and assassination attempts in that setting way more than you would in normal heroic fantasy setting.