Published on March 12, 2022, Last modified on June 12th, 2023
Allowing you to draw on the powers of Shadowfell to turn invisible, Shadow Touched adds amazing utility to any class that is looking for a bit of stealth.
Tomasz Jedruszek - Wizards of the Coast - Shadowmage Infiltrator
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What Is Shadow Touched 5e?
Opposite the bright and whimsical world of the Feywild, the plane of shadow called Shadowfell exists. As a foil to the world of the fey, this plane is known as “a bleak, desolate place full of decay and death.”.
In Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, we were granted two similar feats: Fey Touched gives a character the grace of the Feywild, while Shadow Touched embraced the darkness of Shadowfell.
How Does Shadow Touched Work?
After picking up this feat, you get to increase either your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by 1 (still capping at 20). Additionally, you get to learn the spell invisibility and one other 1st-level spell from the Illusion or Necromancy schools. Once per long rest, you can cast one of these spells at will without spending a spell slot. However, if you do have the spell slots to cast this at a higher level, you can.
Is Shadow Touched Good?
In our 5e Feats Tier List, Shadow Touched was given an A Tier rating, making it an excellent pickup for specific classes.
Invisibility is one of the best low-level spells out there, but it is available to the majority of the caster classes (bard, sorcerer, warlock, and wizard) already. With this in mind, this Shadow Touched also includes an ASI to INT, WIS, and CHA. This makes Shadow Touched an amazing feat for druids, clerics, paladins, and rangers who want to pick up invisibility, another spell from the Illusion or Necromancy schools, and still pump their spellcasting ability. An interesting concept explored in the Shadow Touched and Fey Touched feats is they don’t require a spellcasting feature in order to pick up. This means that other stealth-aligned builds, like a rogue or Way of the Shadow monk can also pick this feat for once-a-day invisibility and added utility.
As for the 1st-level Illusion or Necromancy spell to grab, here are some stellar choices:
Cause fear: Decent single-target debuff for a 1st-level spell slot, but will need a solid spellcasting modifier because it invokes a saving throw.
Disguise self: Another solid infiltration spell that isn’t hampered much by the once-a-day casting because of the long duration.
False life: 1d4 + 4 temporary hitpoints aren’t necessarily exciting, but it’s an excellent way to self-heal once per day at lower levels.
Silent image: Really good utility spell, and can certainly make an impact once per day.
Which 5e Classes Make the Most of Shadow Touched?
The color code below has been implemented to help you identify, at a glance, how good the Shadow Touched 5e feat is for a specific class/subclass.
Red isn’t going to contribute to the effectiveness of your character build at all
Orange Situationally good, but a below-average option otherwise
Green is a good option
Blue is a great option, you should strongly consider this option for your character
Sky Blue is an amazing option. If you do not take this option your character would not be optimized
Like the Fey Touched feat, Shadow Touched gives us many options on a free spell, and giving invisibility to any class is a significant boon on its own. Most classes can use this unless they don’t want to do any surveillance or stealth on rare occasions.
Artificer: Being able to recon with invisibility or just cast inflict wounds can be pretty powerful, and the stat boost is nothing to sneeze at. Almost any artificer subclass who wants more spell flexibility should pick this up.
Barbarian: It’s rare to see barbarians favoring a stealthy option, so this feels a little lackluster. Most first-level spells in these two schools don’t mesh well with the barbarian’s skill set, making this a pass.
Bard: Most bards can get away with this, as they’re much more apt to use a free invisibility spell or other illusion magic. I don’t see a lot of situations where a bard wouldn’t want to pick this feat over others, especially when they have an odd CHA score.
Cleric: While most cleric classes could use this feat well, I think it best suits Trickery Domain, Grave Domain, or Death Domain clerics. It expands their spell list slightly, stays flavorful to their domains, and can upcast if needed.
Druid: In most cases, druids make excellent reconnaissance party members. They can use wild shape to blend in with stealth or support their team with a wide variety of utility spells. This feat delivers both of those things, though I wouldn’t say it’s an absolute need. If you don’t want to be a more supportive player, or if you prefer to be in wild shape, I’d skip this feat.
Fighter: This could work out either way based on how you prefer to play your fighter. Most fighter subclasses aren’t interested in being stealthy at all, but it’s not wrong to have a few spells up your sleeve in a pinch. Yet, for most fighters, this one can be skipped.
Monk: This feat is primarily dependent on playstyle. Since monks can’t ever upcast these spells, they turn into one-trick ponies. Way of Shadow can get a little more flexibility out of this, but it’s not a must-have.
Paladin: Unfortunately, due to their heavy armor proficiency, paladins will rarely ever be a steathy class. Oathbreaker paladins are the only subclass who would benefit from this, as they get access to an additional inflict wounds for free.
Ranger: Because of the tendency to be the scout for a party, this feat is great for most rangers. A free casting of invisibility will go a long way to making sure they are undetected and the ASI to WIS and extra 1st-level spell is gravy. Most rangers can use this for all kinds of utility unless they’re dedicated to melee combat only.
Rogue: This feat is a perfect choice for rogues. It gives them some of the utility of an Arcane Trickster without needing to take the subclass. That said, Arcane Tricksters will absolutely love this feat, especially if they have an odd INT score. Strangely enough, Swashbucklers will also love this feat to help them boost their CHA score.
Sorcerer: Invisibility is a great spell for casters that need to get out of dodge. The free casting of invisibility and another 1st-level spell goes a long way because of the sorcerer’s reduced spell list. Plus, you get to increase your CHA. This is a go-to option if you end up with an odd CHA score after character creation.
Warlock: Invisibility is a great spell for casters that need to get out of dodge. The free casting of invisibility and another 1st-level spell goes a long way because of the warlock's lack of spell slots. Plus, you get to increase your CHA. This is a go-to option if you end up with an odd CHA score after character creation.
Wizard: If you aren’t looking to be a pure damage beast, this feat is terrific for wizards. Of course, they want free spells, but being able to upcast them is a massive boon for any wizard. Almost all wizards should be picking up this or Fey Touched, especially if they have an odd INT score.
Conclusion
Like its twin Fey Touched, this feat is incredible for almost all classes. The free invisibility is no joke, and a stat bump is fantastic. Picking this feat is a solid choice for virtually any class, and we recommend taking a look at it whenever you have a feat available.
What are your thoughts on Shadow Touched? Are there any great combinations we missed today? Let us know in the comments below!
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Jeff Nabors has been playing D&D ever since he stumbled upon the 3.5E core books in his high school library. When he isn’t running a campaign or designing a game, you can find him on Twitch, writing about game design, or staring off into the endless abyss.
