D&D: Five Feats That Prove You Don’t Have to Even Be a Spellcaster to Cast Spells

In D&D, it is almost comically easy for your character to gain a modicum of magical ability. Even without the Spellcasting feature.

It is no secret that magic rules the roost in D&D. While there is no shortage of damage dealing or combat capabilities on the more mundane side of the character class list, magical powers are the cream of the crop. But it is also very easy for even the humblest hero to have at least a partial gift when it comes to magic. And here are five feats that let you pretend like you’re the spellcaster in your party, even if you don’t have a spell list.

Magic Initiate

Magic Initiate is one of the easiest ways to give your character a little bit of magical power. Even if you’re the most farm-boy Fighter out there with out even a bone of magical study, the Magic Initiate feat has your back. It’s probably the least “painless” way in D&D to have a character that can cast a couple spells.

It’s an Origin Feat, which means you can take it during Character Creation as a part of your background. There are three backgrounds that give you access to it—but even if you don’t, you could have it as a Human or pick it up as part of a custom background. Either way, you’ll have three spells to start with: two cantrips and one Level 1 spell. And you can swap out that spell after you level up, so you kind of have multiple spells—just one Level 1 spell per level.

Fey Touched

The General Feats, which aren’t available until 4th level, give you access to more potent magic. Starting with Fey Touched. This feat lets you tap into the enchanting magic of the Feywild. Again, you don’t have to have any magical ability. The only “cost” really is that you have to increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by one. Which if you’re a Fighter, say, may not be your first choice. But if you rolled your stats or aren’t worried about optimization, this feat has a lot to offer.

First of all, you get to pick a Level 1 Enchantment or Divination spell. There are some good ones. And then you get Misty Step. And you can cast each of these once per Long Rest with no spell slot needed. Handy to have access to. Even a one time teleport can be useful for a Fighter or Barbarian or Rogue.

Shadow Touched

Or take the dark twin of Fey Touched and imbue your character with the tenebrous magic of the Shadowfell. This feat gives you access to a level 1 Illusion or Necromancy spell as well as the Invisibility spell. And like its Fey counterpart, you can cast these spells once per Long Rest without the need for spell slots.

And depending on your choices, this feat can round out some of the sharp edges of a more martial character, giving even the clankiest Fighter at least some ability for stealth or non-combat utility.

Ritual Caster

Of course if you really want to have magic without actually taking a spellcasting class, the Ritual Caster feat is the way to go. This feat gives you access to a suite of 1st-level spells. Albeit with some restrictions. They have to have the Ritual Tag, and you can only pick a number equal to your proficiency bonus. So, starting off it might be 2 spells, but whenever your proficiency bonus increases, so do your Ritual Spells known.

These spells, you can cast as much as you like, because they’re Rituals. It just takes longer to cast them. But even then, once per day you can cast a Ritual Spell at its normal speed (and still without needing a spell slot). This is a great “utility belt” feat for any character who doesn’t have ritual magic as part of their core kit.

War Caster

Finally, there’s War Caster. Now this is a “hear me out” for sure. But hear me out. This feat lets you cast a spell as a reaction. Sure it’s in place of an Opportunity Attack, and it can only target the creature provoking the AoO. But that opens up some interesting doors. You could potentially use even a ranged spell against your target, giving them a debilitating condition in place of a single swing of your weapon.

Admittedly, you probably don’t care about having Advantage on maintaining Concentration. But this feat does mean you don’t have to worry about Somatic Components as well. That’s why it’s a “hear me out.”

But it all serves to illustrate just how easy it is for any character to have magical power in D&D 5.5E.

Happy adventuring!

Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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