Last Updated on January 22, 2023
So clearly you’re here because you want a solid boost to your magical capabilities. Well, I’m glad you’re reading this because this feat is something you definitely want to consider taking.
What Is the Shadow Touched Feat in DnD 5e?
Shadow Touched grants you a +1 to your Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma stats. In addition to this, it also grants you the Invisibility spell and a 1st-level spell of your choice from the illusion or necromancy schools.
Casting these spells doesn’t burn a spell slot either, which is super helpful, however, they are only castable once per long rest.
You can also cast these spells using slots you have of the appropriate level too, which is handy if you want to bump up their power.
Shadow Touched
Your exposure to the Shadowfell’s magic has changed you, granting you the following benefits:
- Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score by 1 to a maximum of 20.
- You learn the Invisibility spell and one 1st-level spell of your choice. The 1st-level spell must be from the Illusion or Necromancy school of magic. You can cast each of these spells without expending a spell slot.
- Once you cast either of these spells in this way, you can’t cast that spell in this way again until you finish a long rest.
- You can also cast these spells using spell slots you have of the appropriate level. The spells’ spellcasting ability is the ability increased by this feat.
Source: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Now that you’ve read what it can do, let’s dive into it.
I Just Want To Know if It’s Good or Not…
Shadow Touched is a good feat, especially for casters. The ability to not only gain a minor stat boost but to also learn Invisibility from the illusion or necromancy schools is extremely handy.
Some of the spells you can learn from these schools are:
- Cause Fear
- Color Spray
- Disguise Self
- Distort Value
- False Life
- Illusory Script
- Inflict Wounds
- Ray of Sickness
- Silent Image
As you can see, you have quite a few options as far as spells go. These are all fairly effective spells too.
Taking this feat early on can provide a huge benefit to your character.
Okay, So I’ve Taken the Feat and Seen the Spells List, But I Need More Info
Let me break it down for you. This feat allows anyone to cast Invisibility.
Invisibility is (arguably) the best scouting spell in the game, allowing a creature to approach the frontlines of a battlefield without fear of being seen.
There is counterplay, true, but that relies on the creature being detected in the first place.
You also get a secondary spell, as mentioned before. Some are better than others. Personally, I like Inflict wounds; it can be cast at higher levels, and its base level-one damage is 3d10 necrotic.
Silent image, Cause fear, Ray of sickness, and Silent image are also notable spells to take too, depending on what sort of caster or build you’re planning on doing.
It’s also worth noting that you DON’T need to be a spell caster to take this feat. A class with no spellcasting ability can take this if they want to.
For example, maybe a Monk wants to take it for invisibility or for a cool secondary spell like Disguise self or Silent image.
Perhaps a Rogue wants to add a bit of flavor to his class and Cause fear or even false life for that necromancy feel. In addition to that, your DM can also add some sort of event in which you acquire the feat, especially given its name.
As for which classes should take this feat, I recommend any class or character that has a good reason to go invisible. Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, and even Rogue all have good reasons to go invisible.
In addition to this, if you’re going for a sneak/burst build, invisibility is a great spell for that. All of those classes don’t have great access to the school of necromancy either, so that’s a bonus.
Throw this feat on an assassin rogue or an arcane trickster rogue, and you’ve got yourself a pretty high damage build on your hands.Â
Alright, So What’s Wrong With It?
This feat often gets overlooked when compared with Fey Touched. Fey Touched is extremely similar, but it grants the Misty Step spell, which allows you to essentially teleport 30 feet to anywhere you can see.
As a caster, teleporting 30 feet is extremely valuable when trying to escape danger or the threat of being hit by a powerful melee attack. Fey Touched without a doubt is a great feat when you compare these two together.
Secondly, Invisibility is available on a TON of spell lists, specifically these five: Artificer, Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard.
If you have a caster in your party, odds are they have invisibility, especially a Wizard or Sorcerer.
To continue on, 1st-level spells can be useful, but 1st level is certainly not the peak of the Illusion or Necromancy schools by any means, so is it worth taking? I think it is, but that’s totally up to you.
To Finalize It All
In summary, this is a pretty good feat. Invisibility is good, the stat increase is decent, and the first-level spell slot is alright, depending on which spell you take.
Yes, anyone can take this feat, but I highly recommend that you have some spell slots available to bump up that first-level spell, especially if it’s something like Ray of sickness or Inflict wounds.
All in all, you should consider taking this feat; it’s definitely not a feat you want to overlook. Don’t forget that in the end, it’s up to you!Â
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].
