Fey Touched Feat 5E Guide | Pros, Cons, and Builds

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything introduced a ton of fey and psionic influences to the game. Fey Touched is a feat for those who were exposed to the magic of the Feywild… Which happens to be everywhere, so you don’t really need an excuse to take this! What you might need is a quick check-in to see if Fey Touched is worth it. If you want some ideas, check out our Fey Touched 5E guide!

How Does Fey Touched Work?

The Fey Touched Feat gives a +1 to Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. In addition, you “learn” Misty Step and one 1st level Divination or Enchantment spell of your choice. You may cast Misty Step and that spell once per day without spending a spell slot. You can also cast those spells with your spell slots if you wish.

Is Fey Touched Worth It?

This is a pretty awesome feat! I’m fairly biased towards loving Misty Step. Being able to spend a spell to, as a Bonus Action, teleport 30 feet is just so good. With this feat, you get to Misty Step for free once, and then you’ve learned a spell that you have always ready… And Misty Step is always a good thing to have in your pocket!

How about the other spell? Are there many good 1st level spells in those categories? Well… Just a few… Like Hex, Hunter’s Mark, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Compelled Duel, Command, Dissonant Whispers, Heroism, Bless, Bane… Just to name a few! You have realistic options from this list. This is one of the few ways a Fighter  can get Hunter’s Mark or Hex, for example! It doesn’t have any prerequisites, either. So a Barbarian can have access to Misty Step! That’s kinda cool!

Downsides of the Fey Touched Feat

Because of my biases, there aren’t too many! You’re losing an ability score improvement, which is huge. You’re essentially spending a +1 to an ability score to learn two spells. Instead of increasing your survivability, or dealing more damage… You learned Misty Step. After you reach 20 in your most important stat, this gets to be less of a con, but it’s still a little hard to swallow.

No other feat gives a 2nd level spell and the ability to cast it with your own slots. So in a way, this feat is far too unique to really be compared to other feats! Magic Initiate wishes it could do something like this!

Potential Builds

As was mentioned before, a 5E Fighter can benefit a ton from this. An Eldritch Knight, for instance, can get a huge amount of damage from Hunter’s Mark or Hex, since the Fighter has 4 attacks naturally. They can also benefit from Misty Step, allowing them to reposition correctly to handle whatever situation comes.

Otherwise, it’s a pretty great feat on any class that doesn’t get Misty Step naturally… So, non-Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard types. Cleric comes to mind as getting fantastic value out of this ability, since they can teleport out of danger and then heal someone 60 feet away, or something like that.

Best Spell Options with Fey Touched

If picking up Misty Step wasn’t enough, this feat comes with a second spell of your choice. It must be a first-level spell, and it must come from either the Divination or Enchantment schools of magic. You have many spells to choose from, but making the right selection will depend largely on your build.

If you are playing a caster already, the sky is the limit with these spells. Assuming that the ability you increased with this feat has a decent modifier, you should be able to get some use out of spells like Tasha’s Hideous Laughter that requires a Wisdom saving throwing.

If you aren’t playing a caster, or the ability you selected isn’t your normal spellcasting ability, you should probably go for spells that don’t require saving throws at all. Thankfully, there are quite a few strong options available. Here are a few of our favorite spells that you could use with Fey Touched:

S-Tier: Must Have Spells

• Hex. Hex is my go-to option for Fey Touched when I take this feat as a melee character. The ability to tack on Hex damage to sneak attack damage with a rogue is a great option. While you have to maintain concentration, the effect applies without the need for a saving throw.
• Bless. Bless is a powerful buff spell that could turn the tide in a fight. If you don’t have a divine caster in your party, this is one of the few ways you can get Bless. This is arguably the best buff available with 1st-level spell.
• Heroism. Heroism makes you immune to being frightened and gives you temporary HP. It works best for spellcasters as the temp HP is linked to your spellcasting modifier, but it is a nice option in general.
• Silvery Barbs. Most people consider Silvery Barbs to be one of the most broken spells in 5E. This low-level spell can force the strongest of monsters to make saving throws at advantage, which can quickly burn through legendary resistances or have conditions stack on opponents.
• Hunter’s Mark. This option does not require a saving throw, making it useful for melee characters in the same way Hex is useful.

A Tier: Excellent Options

• Bane. One of the best low-level spells for hampering your enemies. The only thing keeping it out of the S-tier is the need for a saving throw. This should be high on your list if you are a casting-focused character.
• Dissonant Whispers. The damage for this spell is excellent, and it is a fun option to pick up since it is only on the Bard spell list. The damage could also scale better.
• Tasha’s Hideous Laughter. Another great spell, but another spell that requires a failed saving throw. This option works in similar ways to hold person, in that it can temporarily take a creature of of the fight.

B Tier: Situationally Strong

• Charm Person. Being able to charm a person has so many uses, so this spell is great in most campaigns. The fact that your target knows they were charmed in the end is a bummer, and you’re going to want a decent spell save DC.
• Command. This is a great spell, but it requires a failed Wisdom saving throw from your target. That means this is not a great option for non-casters or characters with low save DCs.

C Tier: Helpful in Limited Situations

• Beast Bond. This an OK option depending on your setting, but will get limited use in others.
• Command. This spell can be useful at lower levels if you have a decent spell save DC.
• Compelled Duel. This spell is very situational, but the right build could make it an excellent option.
• Detect Evil and Good. You sense the presence of aberrations, celestials, elementals, feys, fiends, and undead within 30 feet. How useful this spell is depends on the campaign you are in, but it could be a strong option in the right setting.
• Sleep. Sleep is a nice spell, especially at low levels, but it does not scale and is a poor option if you have a low DC.

D Tier: Spells Usually Worth Avoiding

• Comprehend Languages. This is far too situational to use for your one spell selection.
• Detect Magic. Hopefully, your party has someone that can cast this as a ritual. It might be worth taking if not, however.
• Detect Poison. This spell is not only very situational, but ideally it should be used by ritual casters. This is not what I’d go with in most cases.
• Identify. Ideally, someone in your party can cast this using ritual casting.
• Speak with Animals. Another situational ritual spell. Noticing a trend here?

Who Should Take the Fey Touched Feat?

It depends on your style of play, but virtually any class or archetype could benefit from this feat. Martial characters get access to two very useful spells that they can cast without the need for spell slots. Casters get extra spells that don’t count as prepared and do not require a spell slot. What’s not to like? Whether or not this tradeoff is worth the loss of an ability score improvement is entirely up to you.

Some might say this feat isn’t great for barbarians. While you cannot case fey touched spells while raging, this feat is still potentially useful as there are some valuable non-combat spells available. If your party doesn’t have much in the way of casters, having a barbarian that knows a few out of combat spells isn’t a bad option.

Fey Touched FAQ

Have questions about maximizing Fey Touched? Here are some answers.

Can You Take Gift of Alacrity with Fey Touched?

When you take Fey Touched, you gain one 1st-level spell of your choice. The only limitation in the rules as written is that it must be from either the Divination or Enchantment school of magic. Gift of Alacrity is a divination spell, so it meets those requirements. However, whether or not this spell is available is a DM call. Gift of Alacrity is a spell originating from the world of Critical Role. In that setting, only a small number of wizards have access to this type of magic, known as dunamancy. It is up to your DM whether or not they will allow this spell.

Do Fey Touched Spells Count as Prepared Spells

You should treat the spells you add with the Fey Touched feat as if they were prepared. However, they do not count towards the total number of prepared spells you have available each day. This means you aren’t hampered in the number or spells you can prepare each day, but you can also use your spell slots to cast these spells as if they were prepared.

What Book is Fey Touched In?

Fey Touched is found in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything .

Wrapping Up Our Fey Touched 5E Guide

Is Fey Touched good? We sure think so. Fey Touched is one of my favorite feats, just because it opens up so many kooky builds! Try it out on a class that doesn’t get Misty Step, and see how unlocking that spell benefits you. Just… try and make sure your character can handle not getting the bonus +1 of an Ability Score Improvement for a little while. Still thinking about your character options? See our 5E Feats Guide for help!