Epic Boons are one of the endgame rewards of D&D 5.5E. At least that’s how they’re intended. But just look at how good these are.
Epic Boons aren’t new to D&D 5.5E. Many existed in the old 5E Dungeon Master’s Guide, right alongside Blessings, Charms, and Marks of Prestige. These were meant to be alternative rewards – possibly as an alternate to a level up. At high levels, that could help maintain a sense of progression when you either hit the level cap, or to keep you from levelling too far, too fast.
Epic Boons exist in the Player’s Handbook as feats you can take once you’re level 19. But, you know, looking at some of these? They’re about as powerful as certain magic items. And if you wanted to play a higher power game (maybe you played a game of Pathfinder with the Mythic rules and are hungry for heroic heroes) these boons wouldn’t be terribly unbalanced at lower levels either.
Make those epic quests freel truly epic with a reward that suits a saga. Here are five Epic Boons that could change your whole game.
Boon of Speed
Sometimes you really gtta go fast. The Boon of Speed is the ultimate mobility aid. It grants you the ability to Disengage as a Bonus Action, but your Disengage ends the Grappled Condition. So you can escape from a grapple automatically. But on top of that, your Speed goes up by 30 feet. Which is great on any class, but absolutely ludicrous on a high-mobility character like a Barbarian or Monk.
A speed increase of 30 feet is about equivalent to Boots of Speed (which double your Speed) albeit it’s a permanent upgrade. And the Boon of Speed also increases an ability score of your choice by one. But again, that’s not an unheard of reward at any level. Especially at the higher tiers.
Boon of Energy Resistance
This Boon is a powerful boost to any character. In addition to an ability score increase, it also grants you Resistance to two different Energy Types (which isn’t hard to achieve on its own). But on top of that, you can redirect damage of the type your resistant to whenever you take the corresponding damage type.
To do this, you use your Reaction and pick a target within 60 feet. They make a save or take 2d12 + your Constitution modifier damage. It’s not the most broken thing, and will make characters much more resilient. But it’s a cool ability to grant someone.
Boon of Dimensional Travel
Now we start to creep into “you’re a Demigod” territory. The Boon of Dimensional Travel. This Boon lets you teleport up to 30 feet immediately after you make an Attack or Magic action. Notably, it doesn’t take an action to do this, you just get to do it completely for free. Oh, and you get a stat increase to any attribute.
Yeah, definitely Demigod territory. This one does feel like something a high level character could do. But you might be okay tossing this in as a reward when your campaign might be nearing its climax. It’s very active. Very fun.
Boon of Fate
What if Lucky was on steroids? You’d get the Epic Boon of Fate. In addition to the stat increase to any attribute, you gain the ability to immediately give someone a sort of Super Guidance. You can roll 2d4 whenever you or another creature succeeds or fails an attack, check, or save, and then add it as a bonus or penalty to the d20 roll.
You can only do it once per Rest (Short or Long), but it’s sure to stack the deck in your favor.
Boon of Irresistible Offense
Another one for the mythic hero/demigod category. This lets you increase Strength or Dex by 1 (up to 30). You also get to ignore resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing.
But the real fun of this one comes whenever you roll a natural 20. Whe you do, in addition to all the normal critical hit goodness, you get to also add your Ability Score (not modifier, the whole score) to the damage you deal.
Again, these Boons will change any game. It’s up to you (the DM) to decide if you want to wait until level 19 or not to start playing with them.
Happy high-powered adventuring!
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