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Bountiful Luck is one of the most interesting feats that nobody chooses. I bet you forgot it exists. However, I love the design of this feat. I think it could use a buff, but I still like it as it is.
This article will discuss the following aspects of Bountiful Luck:
What does Bountiful Luck do?
Bountiful Luck limitations and considerations.
When does Bountiful Luck shine?
Best character classes for Bountiful Luck.
How I’d build a Bountiful Luck character.
What Does Bountiful Luck Do?
Xanathar’s Guide to Everything gives us racial feats, one of which is Bountiful Luck for Halflings. It allows your character to spread their Halfling luck (rerolling 1s on d20 rolls) to their allies. When an ally within 30 feet of you rolls a 1 on an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check, you can use your reaction to allow them to reroll it.
You are a fountain of luck to your allies… or at least that’s what the feat is supposed to do. There are several limitations that get in the way of realizing the fantasy behind the feat.
Why Don’t More Players Pick Bountiful Luck?
There’s a weird limitation on Bountiful Luck. Using it will temporarily suspend your own Halfling luck until the end of your next turn. The designers clearly thought this feat was going to be very powerful, so they wanted to limit it. I believe they did so needlessly.
The 30-foot range is a surprisingly hefty limitation. If you want to help allies, you’re ideally keeping your whole party within 30 feet of your position. This means you’ll probably be a mid-line character to stay between the melee characters (frontline) and the spellcasters and archers (backline). Not all character builds are suited to the mid-line, so we need to be mindful of this limitation.
Bountiful Luck does not come with a stat boost. This means it’s more difficult to fit into a character’s progression plan where they want to get a 20 in their primary stat. Additionally, many characters will want 2-3 other feats before this one so they can deal more damage or cast more spells. It’s tricky to fit BL into a build.
You must be able to see your allies. If some corners or obscurements frequently hinder your line of sight, BL suffers. Dungeons might be problematic due to tight quarters.
Finally, the use of your reaction is a heavy price to pay. Some character builds utilize their reactions for opportunity attacks, Counterspell, and other options. Those characters won’t have room for BL. For this reason, BL is best suited to characters who are not already using their reactions. Clerics are great examples of characters who don’t heavily leverage their reactions already.
When Does Bountiful Luck Shine?
The more your party rolls dice, the better Bountiful Luck becomes. If you’re in a party of three, you’re rolling less and probably won’t often trigger BL. You want to be in a large adventuring party if you’re thinking of using BL.
For party composition, you want allies who make multiple attacks per round. If they have advantage on their attacks, even better. Advantage means double the rolls to potentially roll 1s for rerolling, though the higher roll may mean you don’t need to react. Parties that feature many spellcasters who don’t need to roll d20s are not good for Bountiful Luck.
You’ll also be happier with Bountiful Luck if you are experiencing multiple encounters with rolls in each session. If you have one combat that lasts three rounds, there’s less chance of BL working for you. This isn’t limited to combat, either. You can have social or exploration encounters where you can assist your allies, but it’s the same concept. BL likes sessions where your party actually rolls dice. It’s not impactful for roleplay-heavy campaigns where players may roll three times in a session.
Mid-liners will also use BL more reliably due to its limited range. When I refer to the mid-line, I’m talking about characters who position themselves 10-50 feet behind the front-line melee characters. It’s not far enough back to what I’d consider the back-line position. Characters need to be comfortable in the mid-line because they want to support everyone in the party; being central in party positioning is important for that.
If you have many allies making many attacks in frequent encounters, you’re in a prime party to enjoy Bountiful Luck.
Which Character Options Are Suitable for Bountiful Luck?
Halfling is a good race that can fit many character concepts. They’re small, so they won’t be wielding heavy weapons, but their reactions are wide open to use if their class is suited to it.
We need to look at classes that don’t frequently use their reactions and can position themselves in the mid-line (between melee and long-range character positions):
Potentially Good Classes for Bountiful Luck:
Artificer: Flash of Genius is a very useful Artificer feature that supports allies, and its 30-foot range incentivizes an Artificer to position in the mid-line. That’s the exact range of Bountiful Luck! Now your Artificer can stand thirty feet behind the frontlines to support with either Flash of Genius or BL as needed. Artificers don’t otherwise use their reactions heavily, though they do have helpful reaction spells. Some Artificers will use their reactions for other things, so keep that in mind when you consider becoming a Halfling Artificer with BL. Artificers also can use medium armor as mid-liners.
Bard: The Bard is probably the most difficult class to rate for Bountiful Luck viability. It really depends on the subclass. Some Bards have no business being in the mid-line, but others will be comfortable there (Valor). Some Bards also use their reactions more heavily than others. They might also want to focus on Counterspell from Magical Secrets. Since Bard players often enjoy playing a supportive role, I’ll put Bard in the potentially good category for Bountiful Luck.
Cleric: Since Clerics can use armor (good mid-liner) and they don’t rely on reaction-cast spells, Clerics will love Bountiful Luck. Players often use supportive spells and abilities when playing Clerics, so it’s an easy synergy for a Halfling Cleric to pick BL.
Druid: Your Druid can use Bountiful Luck even in Wild Shape. You can concentrate on a spell while you hang out in the mid-line while ready to use BL. Druids have very few reaction options, too.
Fighter: Due to their versatility, Fighters can be excellent mid-liners. They also get two extra feats than other classes, so they can afford the ASI price. Not all Fighter concepts will be suitable for Bountiful Luck, particularly if they go melee; however, they’re great for anyone who wants to make the feat happen. Building around a playstyle is easy for a Fighter.
Rogue: Some Rogue players like to be in melee so they can use their reaction to Sneak Attack twice in a round. However, if you’re focusing on ranged attacks, your range isn’t very high with the weapons you’re proficient with. Many Rogues don’t pick Sharpshooter because they usually focus on one attack in a round for Sneak Attack, not multiple attacks. Ranged Rogues are good mid-liners who likely won’t need reactions for Uncanny Dodge or opportunity attacks. This makes them good candidates for Bountiful Luck’s positioning. Rogues also get one extra feat compared to other classes, so they can afford another feat choice on the side like Bountiful Luck.
Warlock: Eldritch Blast is the default action for many Warlocks. Unless they have ways to increase EB’s range, Warlocks could feasibly camp in the mid-line, especially if they can push enemies back with EB. Warlocks also lack the spell slots inventory to dish out Counterspell. Your Warlock may have reactions wide open for Bountiful Luck!
Probably Bad Classes for Bountiful Luck:
Barbarian: Since Barbarians don’t thrive with ranged weapons, they’re not good mid-liners. I tried using Bountiful Luck with a Beast Barbarian in a large party, but I ended up asking my DM to swap it out because I wasn’t getting enough use out of it.
Monk: I believe Monks do their best work as harassers who camp in the mid-line. They don’t have amazing reactions from that position, so Bountiful Luck could make sense. However, Monks need to boost their stats and pick a few other feats to be effective. For this reason, I don’t love Bountiful Luck on a Monk.
Paladin: Smite doesn’t work on ranged attacks, so Paladins tend to be front-liners. I don’t recommend Paladins for Bountiful Luck. Paladins also need other feats to enhance what they do.
Ranger: Most Rangers are in melee, or they are archer back-liners. Even if they use a hand crossbow for the Crossbow Expert feat, they will likely also grab Sharpshooter to reliably fire from 100 feet away. Rangers could be ok options for Bountiful Luck, but I’m not going to recommend them.
Sorcerer: Due to being squishy with spells that crowd their reactions, Sorcerers don’t make
Wizard: Subclasses exist that can make a Wizard more durable for the mid-line. War Magic and Abjuration Wizards come to mind, especially if they pack the Shield spell and have armor proficiencies from multiclassing. If you’re a squishier Wizard, stay away from the mid-line, please. Wizards also have many spells to utilize their reactions, so I don’t believe Wizard is a good option.
How I’d Build a Bountiful Luck Character
My preference goes to the Cleric. I enjoy playing the class, and I could do so as a Halfling mid-liner.
For subclasses, I’d pick one of the following domains that would all do well: Twilight, Peace, War, Trickery, Nature, Life, Grave, Forge. The focus is on Wisdom (16+), followed by Constitution (14+) and Dexterity (14). Some of these domains can use heavy armor, so I’d consider investing in Strength instead of Dexterity for those.
If not a Cleric, I’d probably go for Artificer or Druid to support allies with my fountain of luck. Bard and Fighter would be possibilities, too. That’s my taste.
Conclusion
That’s Bountiful Luck as I see it. Halfling characters will enjoy it if they’re in the mid-line, aren’t crowding their reaction economy, and can afford the feat slot. It’s preferable to have a large party.
Have you ever used Bountiful Luck? How did it go? Cast Message in the comments to tell me about your experiences. Let me know if I’ve inspired you to play a Halfling with Bountiful Luck!
Before you go, you can read additional articles about D&D 5e feats here.
