Feats That Increase Your Charisma In DnD

Charisma is an interesting ability score in Dungeons & Dragons, controlling your social skills but also powers that are innate to your character, at least in most situations. Because of that, it’s a powerful option for spellcasters like bards, sorcerers, and warlocks, or even half-casters like paladins.

At certain levels, you’ll have the opportunity to add a +2 to your Charisma (or other ability scores), which is very helpful, but you’ll also be able to get a feat that gives you unique features to use during the campaign. That said, some feats will still give you a +1 to your Charisma while also giving you different perks, making these “half-feats” interesting options for your character.

Updated on October 31, 2024, by Lucas Olah: Dungeons & Dragons got an update. 2024 has presented us with a new version of the Player’s Handbook, and it reorganized some feats. Now, the general feats, as the game calls them, give everyone a +1 bonus to an ability score along with its features, meaning we now have a lot of new feats that also increase your Charisma. For old feats that got updated, we’ll also say which version we think is better, or if they’re both good for different reasons, we’ll explain why.

Your charisma bonus will only increase whenever your Charisma reaches an even number, so getting a feat that increases it from a 16 to a 17 won’t do much. If you want this increase, you’d need to reach 18 or get two feats that increase your Charisma as you level up.

14 Elemental Adept

Resistance Can’t Stop You

• Best Version: New version.

Elemental Adept is the same feat it used to be, but it also gives you a +1 to Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom – meaning it’s better. When you pick this feat, you choose one of the following damage types: Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder.

From this point forward, anytime you use a spell with the damage you chose, you can surpass the enemy’s resistance to the damage type if they have it, and anytime you roll one for damage, this one will become a two.

The fun part about this feat is that you can pick it multiple times – you just need to select another damage type when you pick it again. That means you can keep increasing your Charisma while giving yourself the power to ignore multiple damage resistances. Just keep in mind that it won’t ignore damage immunity.

13 Ritual Caster

Done In Ten Minutes Or Less

• Best Version: New version.

Ritual Caster is another feat that got a +1 to the spellcasting trio (Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom). You get a book where you can add first-level ritual spells, and the number is equal to your proficiency bonus – already an upgrade to the limited number from the old version. You also don’t need to worry about sticking to just one class; you can just pick ritual spells from whoever you want to.

Along with this mechanic, you can also cast a ritual spell using its default casting time rather than spending ten minutes, the default amount for casting rituals. You can do that once per long rest, and quickly casting your ritual will also not spend any spell slots in the process.

12 Spell Sniper

Also Works For Melee Combat

Both new and old versions of Spell Sniper are useful. The old one doesn’t increase your Charisma but gives you an extra cantrip, doubles the range of your ranged spell attacks, and lets you ignore any cover that isn’t full cover.

The new version lets you increase your Charisma, and any spell you have with a range of at least ten feet (3m) will increase its range by 60ft (18m). Additionally, you can attack someone with a ranged spell attack at melee range without getting a disadvantage. You’ll also get the cover thing but nothing else from the old version.

An extra cantrip and double range can be useful depending on your spell choices, but attacking at melee range and getting a 60ft (18m) increase is also quite useful. It’s up to you to decide which one fits your character better.

11 War Caster

If It Ain’t Broke…

• Best Version: New version.

War Caster has always been one of the best feats for spellcasters, and now that it has a +1 to Charisma (or Intelligence or Wisdom), it has become even better. You have advantage on concentration saving throws, you can cast a spell as an opportunity attack (as long as it targets a single creature), and you can perform somatic components even when carrying stuff on both hands.

Technically, the new version removed the term ‘hostile’ when mentioning opportunity attacks on creatures, so in theory, you could do Cure Wounds as an opportunity ‘attack’ when an ally steps away from you, but your DM will likely find that cheesy and say no. But hey, it’s still one of the best feats in the game.

10 Actor

Perfect For Impersonating

• Best Version: New version.

Actor is a fun option if your character idea revolves around pretending to be others. Along with the +1 on Charisma, you’ll get an advantage on any Deception or Performance rolls that revolve around pretending to be someone else. The new version specifies that you need to be disguised, while the old version only states that you need to pretend to be someone else, but it’s open to your DM to decide what counts as being disguised. Regardless, there’s more.

In the old version, if you hear the person you want to pretend to be for at least a minute (the same applies to creatures and their noise), you can mimic them, forcing a Deception versus Insight to see if you’ll successfully fool someone. The new version eliminates the one-minute thing, and instead of being Deception versus Insight, the enemy will roll Insight against a DC equal to eight, plus your proficiency bonus, plus your Charisma bonus. Since you’re using a fixed number rather than rolling a die with the new version, your trick is far more consistent.

9 Elven Accuracy

For Elves And Half-Elves Only

• Best Version: This feat wasn’t updated.

Focusing more on combat now, this one is particularly useful if your magic revolves around Charisma. You’ll get your +1 to charisma (though it can also go to Dexterity, Intelligence, or Wisdom), and if you ever get an advantage on an attack that revolves around one of these ability scores, you can re-roll one of your advantage dice.

Since nothing stops you from just re-rolling whichever is lower, you’re pretty much just rolling three dice whenever you have an advantage, significantly increasing your chances of hitting the target. And it’ll work with any of these four ability scores, not just the one you gave a +1.

8 Second Chance

For Halflings Only

• Best Version: This feat wasn’t updated.

Halflings are known for their re-roll abilities, and Second Chance will make them more powerful. Your +1 can go to your Charisma, Dexterity, or Constitution, and whenever an enemy you can see hits you, you can make them roll again, potentially making them miss the attack – useful for annulling critical hits on you.

You can’t use this anytime, though, so you have to be smart about it. You can use it once per initiative roll (once per battle, essentially) or once per short rest, and you have to spend your reaction to trigger it.

7 Fey Teleportation

For High-Elves Only

• Best Version: This feat wasn’t updated.

Elves get another fun feat for them, but this time, you have to be a High-Elf. Your +1 can go to Charisma or Intelligence. You’ll automatically learn the Sylvan language, and you also learn the spell Misty Step, which is perfect for quick getaways.

You can use it once per short or long rest, and it won’t cost you a spell slot when using it. You have to use your Intelligence to cast it, but since this isn’t an attack nor can it force anyone into Saving Throws, it doesn’t really matter which ability score is used for casting the spell.

6 Flames of Phlegethos

For Tieflings Only

• Best Version: This feat wasn’t updated.

Tieflings can increase their Charisma or Intelligence, and their fire prowess will improve even more. First, whenever you use a spell with fire damage and roll a one on any of the damage dice, you can roll again and replace this one (if it rolls another one, you can’t re-roll that one yet again).

You’ll also be surrounded by flames whenever you use a spell with fire damage (it won’t hurt you), becoming a light source, and whoever hits you while being five feet away from you will take 1d4 fire damage. The flames will stay until the end of your next turn – though if you keep spamming fire spells, the flames will just keep going.

5 Fey-Touched And Shadow-Touched

• Best Version: These feats, while added to the new book, weren’t updated.

These feats work the same way, with the core difference being the extra spells they give you. Both of them will give you a +1, which can go to your Charisma, Wisdom, or Intelligence, and you get a specific first-level spell along with an extra one of your choice – with some restrictions.

Fey Touched will give you Misty Step, and the spell you choose must be from the divination or enchantment schools of magic. Shadow Touched will give you Invisibility, and the spell you choose must be from the illusion or necromancy schools of magic.

You can use each of these spells once per long rest without using spell slots. Still, if you have your own spell slots, you can also choose to burn them for extra uses of these spells – as long as you have spell slots for the appropriate level, since Invisibility and Misty Step are second-level spells.

You may have noticed that both Fey-Touched and Fey Teleportation give you Misty Step, so which one does it better? Fey Teleportation needs you to be an elf specifically, and its Misty Step is once per any rest while also not letting you use your own spell slots. Fey-Touched is one use per long rest, but you can use your own spell slots.

Our recommendation is: If your class has spell slots, Fey-Touched is better because you can use them for extra Misty Steps. If your class doesn’t have spell slots, Fey Teleportation is better because you’ll recover your use with a short rest.

4 Gift Of The Gem Dragon

Be Blessed By The Dragons

• Best Version: This feat wasn’t updated.

Despite what the name may imply, this feat is available to all. Your +1 can go to your Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom. You’ll also be able to punish enemies who hit you by using your powers to hurt them and pushing them away with your reaction when they hit you with an attack.

You’ll force the enemy into a Strength Saving Throw, based on the ability score you increased. They’ll take 2d8 force damage and be pushed ten feet (3m) away on failure and half the damage on success, without being pushed. You can only use this reaction a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you’ll recover these uses with a long rest.

3 Telekinetic

Another Way To Push People

• Best Version: This feat, while added to the new book, wasn’t updated.

Your +1 bonus also goes to either Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom here, and you also get to push people, this time with your bonus action rather than your reaction. You’ll only push people five feet (1.5m) away, though, and there’s no damage involved, but you can use this at any time.

You’ll also get a free, invisible Mage Hand, and it requires no somatic or verbal components, meaning you can have your Hand doing things without your character moving a muscle. If you already have the cantrip, this feat will expand Mage Hand’s range to 30ft (9m).

2 Telepathic

Annoy People In Their Minds

• Best Version: This feat, while added to the new book, wasn’t updated.

As you can imagine through the name, Telepathic lets you talk to people with your thoughts. You can talk to anyone within 60ft (18m) of you, as long as both of you have a language in common. They won’t be able to reply to you, though.

You also get Detect Thoughts, and you’ll be able to cast it once per long rest without using spell slots (though you can use them to cast the spell more often). The saving throw for the spell will be based on the ability score you boosted with this feat (Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom).

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