Squat Nimbleness 5e

Published on August 14, 2023, Last modified on September 28th, 2023

Get ready to dive, duck, dip, dive, and dodge with the Squat Nimbleness feat in D&D 5e!

A nimble halfling acrobatically kicks a larger foe

JB Casacop - Wizards of the Coast - Nimble Hobbit

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What Is Squat Nimbleness 5e?

Squat Nimbleness is a feat tailored for those who wish to enhance their agility and physical prowess. Whether you’re a nimble rogue dodging traps or a dwarf wanting to move faster, this feat is for you. It not only boosts your DEX or STR, but it also increases your walking speed and grants proficiency in the Acrobatics skill. Ready to dance through danger? Let’s dive in!

How Does Squat Nimbleness Work?

This half-feat provides the following benefits:

Provides an ASI to either Strength or Dexterity.
Increases your walking speed by 5 feet.
You gain a proficiency in either Acrobatics or Athletics.
You get advantage on checks made to escape a grapple (either Athletics or Acrobatics).

Breaking down the benefits:

The ability score increase is almost always beneficial, allowing non-martials to boost AC and Stealth while martials get to boost damage and attack rolls.
The speed increase is particularly useful for races with a base walking speed lower than 30 feet, like dwarves.
Acrobatics or Athletics are decently useful skills. It’s worth noting that proficiency in Athletics could be useful if you’re a Strength-based build that wants to Grapple or Shove more effectively.
Escaping grapples more easily is a deceptively solid benefit, because creatures with grapple effects are all too common in D&D 5e.

Squat Nimbleness Vs Mobile

Small races looking to boost their mobility would do well to take a look at the Mobile feat instead. This A-Tier feat allows you to increase your speed by 10 feet, Dash across difficult terrain unimpeded, and essentially Disengage for free whenever you attack a creature.

Is Squat Nimbleness Good?

In our 5e Feats Tier List, Squat Nimbleness was given a B Tier rating, making it a niche feat that can improve some builds in D&D 5e.

This is a solid half-feat because it provides a lot of small benefits that add together into something that is viable. Usually, this will be chosen by a melee Strength-based dwarf or Dexterity-based halfling builds so they can even out the disadvantages provided by their Small race.

Which 5e Classes Make the Most of Squat Nimbleness?

The color code below has been implemented to help you identify, at a glance, how good the Squat Nimbleness 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

While Squat Nimbleness gives you an ASI and is generally better for Strength builds because of the Athletics proficiency, Mobile provides stronger features for Dexterity builds who want the extra speed and battlefield mobility.

It’s also worth noting that this feat is primarily for martial builds that want to boost their primary damage-dealing ability. Casters won’t get nearly as much benefit out of the ASI, additional movement speed, and can usually escape grapples easily with misty step or a similar ability.

Artificer: Could be decent for Armorer or Battle Smiths, as gnomes are an attractive option for artificers.

Barbarian: Mountain dwarves make awesome barbarians because of their +2 to Strength and Constitution. The extra speed is welcome here to get you to the front lines quicker, as is the ASI to Strength and proficiency in Athletics.

Bard: Not much of use here, unless you're playing a halfing (or other Small race) Swords or Valor bard.

Cleric: Not much of use here for clerics, unless you're going for a mountain dwarf (or other Small race) martial cleric who wants the Strength boost.

Druid: Not much of use here for druids. If you need to get somewhere quick, just use Wild Shape.

Fighter: Mountain dwarves make awesome fighters because of their +2 to Strength and Constitution. The extra speed is welcome here to get you to the front lines quicker, as is the ASI to Strength and proficiency in Athletics.

Monk: Monks are much better off going with Mobile, even though Squat Nimbleness provides an ASI.

Paladin: Mountain dwarves make awesome paladins because of their +2 to Strength and Constitution. The extra speed is welcome here to get you to the front lines quicker, as is the ASI to Strength and proficiency in Athletics.

Ranger: Could be alright for Strength-based rangers, though you're likely better off going with a Dexterity-based build and using Mobile if you plan on being in combat.

Rogue: Rogues are much better off going with Mobile, even though Squat Nimbleness provides an ASI.

Sorcerer: Nothing here for a sorcerer.

Warlock: Nothing here for a warlock.

Wizard: Nothing here for a wizard.

Mike Bernier

Mike Bernier is the lead content writer and founder of Arcane Eye. He is a Adamantine best-selling author of Strixhaven: A Syllabus of Sorcery on DMs Guild and is a contributing author at D&D Beyond. Follow Mike on Twitter.