Feat: Fey Touched - What Spell Should You Choose?

One of the best feats in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is Fey Touched. Not only do you get a +1 to either Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma, but you get two spells that reset with a long rest. This is a good addition to any spellcaster or any other class that can use a boost to those ability scores. Not only do they get to increase their spellcasting ability score, but they get two more spells.

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This is a very good feat for any spellcaster or a build where you want to bolster Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. The warlocks will double their spell slots in the first ten levels of play and it dovetails nicely with the archfey patron. Monks could add a +1 to their Wisdom to improve their armor class and pick up a couple of spells. Rogue Swashbuckler could add to their Charisma which would bolster their Rakish Audacity feature. Rangers could use Fey Touched to pick up a nice animal-centric spell to keep their spell slots open for combat-enhancing spells and boost their Wisdom score to increase their spell DC. This might boost a Paladin’s Wisdom enough to get a +1 to their Wisdom-based saving throws.

The Spells

The character gets Misty Step plus another 1st level spell from either the divination or enchantment school. Let’s take a look at the possible choices and rank them.

Any of these spells are good choices depending on the build you want to make or the need of the party. I would avoid spells that are more utility if the party’s wizard already has them. You also want to think about the scalable usefulness of the spell. If your character is not a spellcaster, then you won’t be able to upcast any of these spells.

The divination and enchantment spells that are available are:

• Animal Friendship

• Animal Messenger

• Bane

• Beast Bond (XGtE)

• Bless

• Charm Person

• Command

• Compelled Duel

• Comprehend Languages

• Detect Evil and Good

• Detect Magic

• Detect Poison and Disease

• Dissonant Whispers

• Gift of Alacrity (EGtW)

• Heroism

• Hex

• Hunter’s Mark

• Identify

• Silvery Barbs (Strixhaven)

• Sleep

• Speak with Animals

• Tasha’s Hideous Laughter

Here is how I would rank each of these spells to choose the best one for your character.

S Tier

• Bane – Do you want to hurt your enemies? Then go for it.

• Bless – Do you want to help your friends? Then go for it.

• Gift of Alacrity (EGtW) - My personal favorite choice, a plus 1d8 to your initiative rolls is always useful. The only issue is the one-minute casting time, but it does last for 8 hours without concentration.

• Heroism – Immunity to being frightened plus an accruing amount of temporary hit points, what is not to love about this spell?

• Silvery Barbs (Strixhaven) – The only reaction spell in this list and very useful to give your enemies disadvantage while giving your friends (or yourself) advantage.

A Tier

• Animal Friendship – It is always useful to be able to make an animal a friend (unless there are no animals in the campaign).

• Dissonant Whispers – A very good offensive spell if you need one plus it is only available to bards and great old one warlocks. This would be S Tier if it was scalable.

• Hunter’s Mark – A Ranger-only spell that could be very useful to the right build.

• Tasha’s Hideous Laughter – This spell can knock an opponent prone which gives a nice advantage during combat but it is a concentration spell.

B Tier

• Charm Person – You can make friends and influence people up until the spell ends and they realize you charmed them.

• Compelled Dual – This would be very interesting for your Bladesinger Wizard or Hexblade Warlock, but I would not pick this up for just any squishy spellcaster.

• Hex – This spell is usually only available to Warlocks, but would be a nice addition to any fighter type whether they are melee or ranged based.

C Tier

• Animal Messenger – This is a niche spell and there are much better spells available to send messages, but if this is your only choice then I can’t blame you for taking it.

• Beast Bond (XGtE) – A nice spell that works well with a charm spell or if you have a friendly relationship with an animal.

• Command – A useful spell at lower levels but there is a saving throw that may have a low DC if your character is not normally a spellcaster.

• Comprehend Languages – If your character needs to be able to read anything they find and this works for you then grab it, but your wizard might have this as a ritual spell.

• Detect Evil and Good - Nice to have but your wizard has this as a ritual spell, so you might want to pick something else

• Detect Magic – Nice to have but your wizard has this as a ritual spell, so you might want to pick something else

• Detect Poison and Disease – This is dependent on the campaign you are playing, but if you only get one spell this would not be my choice.

• Identify – Always useful but not necessarily my first choice but when you need this spell you need it.

• Speak with Animals – This can be useful, but not something you would need daily.

D Tier

• Sleep – Is useful at lower levels but soon becomes obsolete, so I’d avoid this one.

Fey Touched is one of my favorite feats and can be very useful and augment your character’s abilities. If your character is not a spellcaster then try to avoid any spells that require a saving throw. The +1 to an ability score and the two spells can make for a great addition to your character. With over twenty spells to choose from, the only problem might be choosing the right one for your character.

Do you agree with my rankings? What changes would you make? Here is how I used it in a build.

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