Half-feat is a term used in Dungeons & Dragons that refers to feats that give you a +1 increase to one of your ability scores. While this might not appear to provide a meaningful difference, veteran players know that half-feats are some of the most powerful feats in the game. This is thanks to all ability score generation methods providing odd ability scores.

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Ability score increases are only meaningful at every even interval. Therefore, you can take advantage of an odd ability score by picking up a half-feat and applying it to one of your odd scores. This allows player characters the enjoyment of an ability score increase and additional feat benefits at the same time. In other words, it's like having your cake and eating it too.

10 Second Chance

halfling runs from beholder, xanathar
Destroy the Lair by Wizards of the Coast 

This is a feat that's unfortunately restricted to the Halfling race; however, considering how it works, it's really quite thematic. First off, Second Chance increases your Dexterity, Constitution, or Charisma by one, benefitting just about any character who is capable of taking it, as long as you apply an odd score to your Constitution.

Secondly, Second Chance gives you the powerful ability to expend your reaction and force an enemy you can see to reroll an attack roll that hits you. This ability also recharges every time you roll initiative, providing your character with no shortage of second chances. Sometimes it pays to be small.

9 Infernal Constitution

Dungeons & Dragons Tiefling Wizard
Eccentric Apprentice by Campbell White

Yet another thematic feat that's restriced by race, Infernal Constitution can only be picked up by Tieflings. This half-feat can only increase your Constitution score; however, this is a meaningful increase for literally any player character as Consitution provides characters with more hit points.

Additionally, this half feat provides your character with resistance to two damage types: poison and cold. There aren't many sources of resistance in Dungeons & Dragons to begin with, so getting two for the price of one almost feels like cheating the devil. On top of that, you now have advantage on saving throws against the incredibly common poisoned condition, which is bound to come up sooner or later no matter what kind of campaign you're playing in.

8 Elven Accuracy

elf chooses weapon
Choose Your Weapon by Olivier Bernard 

The most controversial of the race-restricted feats, Elven Accuracy is a build-specific feat but an incredibly powerful one at that. First off, you can choose between increasing your Dexterity, Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom, giving you more than enough choices to make the +1 meaningful.

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Here's where things really get out of control, though. Any time you make an attack with advantage using one of these ability scores, you can reroll one of the d20s. In other words, this feat turns attacks made at advantage into attacks made at super advantage. If you love landing critical strikes, look no further than Elven Accuracy.

7 Observant

D&D characters surrounding a campfire.
Characters at the Fire via Wizards of the Coast

Observant is a feat commonly taken by Clerics and Wizards in order to protect their party from unwanted surprises. The ability score increase only applies to Intelligence or Wisdom, so you can see why Clerics and Wizards are the primary buyers.

In addition, you gain a +5 bonus to both your passive Perception and your passive Investigation scores. This makes the chances that enemies surprise your character much, much less likely. You also get the ribbon ability to read creature's lips as long as you can speak their language, which is likely to come in handy now and then.

6 Crusher

A dragonborn mercenary sitting inside inn in Dungeons & Dragons.
Jaded Sell-Sword by Randy Vargas 

Finally, a feat that's useful for our Strength-based melee characters. The ability score increase from Crusher can be applied to either Strength or Constitution, so Fighters, Paladins, and Barbarians can all benefit from this feat greatly. On top of that, any time you score a critical hit on a creature, all attacks against that creature are made at advantage until the start of your next turn.

Most importantly, any time you hit a creature, you can choose to move them up to five feet to an unoccupied space. This provides melee characters with a reliable way of saving their squishier friends from the threats of melee combat while also allowing you to use terrain hazards to your advantage on some occasions. The caveat here is that you have to be using a weapon that deals bludgeoning damage, so we hope you like maces and mauls.

5 Aberrant Dragonmark

Kobold cry with dragon overhead
Minion of the Mighy by Oriana Menendez 

An often forgotten feat from the Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron, Aberrant Dragonmark provides access to limited magic. The ability score increase here only applies to Constitution, but that's a great score for any character. This feat allows you to take a cantrip and a 1st-level spell from the Sorcerer spell list. However, you can only cast the spell once per short rest.

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Additionally, when you cast the spell, you can choose to roll one of your hit dice. On an even number, you gain temporary hit points but on an odd number, you or an ally within 30 feet takes force damage equal to the roll. Perhaps most importantly, this feat provides your character with an awesome Dragonmark that gives your character an additional flaw for you to roleplay.

4 Resilient

manticore stands over dead adventurer fighter
Manticore by Billy Christian 

Perhaps the most versatile half-feat, Resilient's +1 ability score can be applied to any ability score you wish. That being said, the ability score you choose also gains proficiency in saving throws, so you'll want to choose wisely.

Saving throw proficiency is huge for avoiding devastating magical effects and abilities, especially at higher levels where save DCs (difficulty checks) are often in the high teens. Consequently, Resilient is a great feat for any character who's tired of being subject to detrimental conditions.

3 Heavy Armor Master

A goliath in heavy armor attacking a gith whose fists are glowing
Goliath by Ben Thompson

The most overpowered feat at low levels by a long shot, Heavy Armor Master is a dream for any character interested in tanking. This feat only applies an ability score increase to Strength, so it's clearly cut out for martial classes.

Any time you are hit by an attack that deals nonmagical bludgeoning, slashing, or piercing damage while wearing heavy armor, you reduce that damage by three points. This might not seem like a lot of damage at first glance; however, at low levels, it adds up very quickly. Even at higher levels, Heavy Armor Master can easily save you around 20 hit points in most combat scenarios.

2 Shadow Touched

Warlock touched by shadow eldritch powers in DND.
Herald of Hadar by Valera Lutfullina 

Shadow Touched increases your choice of Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by one. In addition, you learn the 2nd level spell Invisibility and one additional 1st level spell of your choice from the necromancy or illusion schools of magic. These spells can only be cast once per long rest; however, spellcasters can use their spell slots to cast them additional times if they wish.

Spells allow for some of the most game-breaking actions in all of Dungeons & Dragons, and Invisibility is one of those spells that can be extremely powerful in the right situation. Considering that a 1st level character can cast a 2nd level spell by taking this feat, it's at least worth thinking about adding a restriction that prevents characters below level 3 from accessing this feat.

1 Fey Touched

Ellywick Tumblestrum playing her lute whilst a white frog and three fairies listen
Ellywick Tumblestrum by Steve Prescott

Like Shadow Touched but even better, Fey Touched also allows you to increase your choice of Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by one. Also like Shadow Touched, this feat gives you access to a 2nd level spell and a 1st level spell of your choice from the divination or enchantment schools of magic.

The problem here is that the 2nd level spell is Misty Step: a low-level teleportation spell that acts as a get-out-of-jail-free card for literally any player character. This spell is so good that it's hard to argue against taking Fey Touched due to the mechanical advantage it provides, no matter what character you're playing. While that might not be a problem for most tables, it certainly can be for some.

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