Last Updated on November 13, 2023
Linguist
You have studied languages and codes, gaining the following benefits:
- Increase your Intelligence score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- You learn three languages of your choice.
- You can ably create written ciphers. Others can’t decipher a code you create unless you teach them, they succeed on an Intelligence check (DC equal to your Intelligence score + your proficiency bonus), or they use magic to decipher it.
Source: Player’s Handbook
(For a list of all the Feats in D&D 5e you can refer to our Feats List)
What Is the Linguist Feat?Â
The Linguist feat grants you a +1 to your intelligence stat, up to a maximum of 20. It allows you to learn three languages of your choice, and in addition to this, it grants you the ability to create written ciphers.
Others can’t decipher your cipher unless you teach them to, or if they succeed on an intelligence check, or if they use magic to figure it out.
This may not seem like much because overall, it isn’t really.
However, if you’re playing in a campaign with a lot of political aspects or one that happens to be spy-themed or has a lot of espionage and all that interesting secret stuff, then this might be something you want to take.
The three languages sound great and can be a lot of fun. But again, languages rarely play a role in most D&D campaigns. It drastically depends on whether or not languages do play a role.
If they do, there are magical items, such as the Helm of Comprehend Languages, that can completely overpower this feat and render it useless. It’s an extremely situational feat. In play however, this feat is rather useless.
If you’re looking for other Feats, try these two:
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Rich is an avid D&D player and DM. He has been playing since the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st and 2nd editions. He has run campaigns of various editions with family and friends for over 20 years. Playing DnD 5th Edition in person at local game stores and online with VTT’s over the past 10 years has provided a consistent connection to how the game has grown. He strongly believes in understanding the source material, but catering the games to your individual players. Feel free to ask anything in the comments or drop him an email: [email protected].
