Though the modern-day is undeniably the pinnacle of Dungeons And Dragons fandom, the 1st edition of the game was released by TSR all the way back in 1974. Since then, the game has evolved through a number of new edition releases, culminating in the release of 5th edition in 2014. The game has gained much over the course of these many editions, but just as many mechanics have been lost to time. Discarded to the past in favor of a more streamlined experience.
Most of these mechanics, rules, or abilities were left behind with good reason. But if you flip through the pages of the 4th edition player’s handbook, you will come across a gold mine of inspiration for new abilities in your 5e game. You can tack these abilities onto a custom magic item, unlock them to players as a kind of boon, or add them to their class kit as a reward for reaching a certain level. These abilities might be gone for now, but they don’t have to be forgotten.
10 Wizard Blood Mage: Bolstering Blood
Bolstering blood was a feature of the blood mage subclass available to wizards at 11th level. The ability allows you to deal a minor or serious wound to yourself as a free action before casting any spell or cantrip that deals damage. A minor wound deals 1d10 damage to you, while a serious wound deals 2d10. The spell you cast then becomes empowered by your blood, dealing extra psychic damage equal to the amount of damage you dealt to yourself. This ability works almost exactly like Matt Mercer’s Blood Hunter class, so, if you’re really interested in blood magic, give the homebrew class a look.
9 Warlord: Commander’s Strike
The Warlord is a 4th edition class that was replaced by the bard in 5th edition. Both of these classes fill a similar niche, using the charisma ability score to bolster their allies and hamper their enemies. The commander’s strike ability costs 1 action and has an ally of your choice within range of the target make a melee attack against it. The attack deals bonus damage equal to your intelligence modifier, but this could easily be changed to charisma. Furthermore, the rogue’s sneak attack can trigger off of this attack, giving players the opportunity to work together in order to deal tons of damage.
8 Warlord: Denying Smite
A smite? But warlord’s aren’t paladins! The class identity of warlords is thoroughly jumbled together with paladins and fighters, which is probably why they were replaced by bards in 5th edition. If you don’t believe bards have a distinct class identity, try telling that to a bard player. All that aside, denying smite is an empowered weapon attack that allows you to choose one ally within 25 feet of you.
The target of your attack cannot attack that ally until the end of your next turn. Effects that prevent your opponents from attacking your allies are few and far between in 5th edition, which makes denying smite unique.
7 Combat Veteran Warlord: Miss Me Once
Miss me once is a reaction ability. There are some classes and subclasses in 5th edition that have a glaring issue: They don’t have an ability to reliably use as their reaction. The champion fighter and berserker barbarian are two subclasses that immediately come to mind. Consider introducing miss me once to character classes that need a reliable reaction. You can use the ability when an enemy within 10 feet of you misses you with an attack. Until the start of that enemy’s next turn, all allies who can currently see the target gain advantage on attacks against them. It’s a little bit powerful as listed, so you might try changing the wording to one ally.
6 Warlock: Thief Of Five Fates
Thief of five fates is a medium level concentration spell that curses a target with bad luck. Converted to 5th edition rules, thief of five fates reads that one creature within 10 feet must make a wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the target is cursed. Whenever the target makes an attack roll or a saving throw, you roll a d20 without modifiers. If the result of your die is higher than the result of the opponent’s die without modifiers, the target’s attack misses or the target’s saving throw fails. The affected creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns.
5 Rogue Shadow Assassin: Final Blow
We can’t think of a single attack or ability in 5th edition that rewards you for attacking a damaged enemy. That’s what makes final blow unique. Plus, players love setting up a climactic and decisive finishing blow. Why not give them an attack that increases the odds of this happening? Final blow can be used once per day and only on an enemy that’s already been bloodied (reduced to half its hit points).
In 4th edition, this ability allowed the player to roll five weapon dice for damage. Though the attack must be made with a light crossbow, dagger, or sling. These weapons are generally much less powerful than other options available to players, so providing an incentive for their use is a welcome change.
4 Rogue Daggermaster: Daggermaster’s Action
Speaking of incentives for generally inferior weapons, the daggermaster paragon path in 4th edition was the stuff of any dagger-wielding rogue’s dreams. One of the incentives the daggermaster path provided was called the daggermaster’s action. This ability allowed the player to reroll an attack roll or damage roll made using a dagger, instead of taking an extra action. If we were to translate this ability to 5th edition, the reroll could come at the cost of your character’s bonus action. Unlike other melee attackers, rogues only get one chance to strike. Thus, the possibility of a reroll is especially appealing, no matter the dagger’s pitiful d4 damage die.
3 Paladin: Angelic Intercession
While 5th edition is keen on providing players with a multitude of attack options, methods for defending allies are much more scarce. You can remedy this problem somewhat with the addition of the angelic intercession ability. It’s a reaction that can be used once per day to teleport up to 25 feet and change the target of an attack meant for an ally to you instead.
The teleportation feature of the ability gives it a magical edge more fitting for clerics or paladins, but you could easily reword angelic intercession to make it on-brand for fighters and barbarians as well.
2 Fighter Pit Figher: Deadly Payback
Here’s one last reaction ability to consider adding to your game, just in case the first two didn’t quite rub you the right way. Deadly payback is a reaction that can be used once a day as soon as you take damage from a melee attack. “Until the end of your next turn, you gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls against the enemy that damaged you.” Fifth edition did away with many of the abilities that added extra modifiers onto attacks in order to streamline combat, but +2 to attacks and damage for one turn shouldn’t give anyone a headache.
1 Cleric Divine Oracle: Prophecy of Doom
Prophecy of doom is incredibly strong when used in tandem with a paladin or rogue, which might make it a little too powerful to add to your game. But tweaking it into a once per long rest ability makes prophecy of doom a lot more palatable. This ability targets a creature within 25 feet. Until the end of your next turn, you or an ally may expend the prophecy to turn a regular hit into a critical. Players love critical hits, and giving them the chance to work together to set up a single devastating blow builds teamwork. Not to mention, a particularly savvy enemy might act to counter the party’s teamwork, providing a deeper layer of combat for the entire table to enjoy.
NEXT: Dungeons And Dragons: 10 Nonmagical Items To Purchase ASAP
