ASI or Feat at Level 4 in D&D 5e?

At level 4 every class takes Ability Score Improvement (+2 to one score, or +1 to two, to a maximum of 20) or another feat it qualifies for. Level 4 is the first time every class picks a feat. The SRD holds two General feats: Ability Score Improvement and Grappler. Here they are, quoted, with the one rule that decides most picks: modifiers move on even scores.

Who gets a feat, and when

Every class reaches it at level 4. The Barbarian's line reads like all of them:

You gain the Ability Score Improvement feat (see "Feats") or another feat of your choice for which you qualify. You gain this feature again at Barbarian levels 8, 12, and 16.

Most classes repeat it at 8, 12 and 16, then take an Epic Boon at 19. Two get more:

• Fighter: "6, 8, 12, 14, and 16".
• Rogue: "8, 10, 12, and 16".

"Another feat of your choice for which you qualify" opens the whole list. An Origin feat has no prerequisite, so a level 4 Wizard can take Alert. A Fighting Style feat needs the Fighting Style feature, so that Wizard can't take Archery.

Ability Score Improvement

Increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. This feat can't increase an ability score above 20.

It is marked "Repeatable": you can take it at every feat level. Take it at 4, 8 and 12 and a 16 becomes a 20 by level 8 with a point to spare.

Grappler

General Feat (Prerequisite: Level 4+, Strength or Dexterity 13+)

Four benefits:

Ability Score Increase. Increase your Strength or Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.

Punch and Grab. When you hit a creature with an Unarmed Strike as part of the Attack action on your turn, you can use both the Damage and the Grapple option. You can use this benefit only once per turn.

Attack Advantage. You have Advantage on attack rolls against a creature Grappled by you.

Fast Wrestler. You don't have to spend extra movement to move a creature Grappled by you if the creature is your size or smaller.

Without the feat, an Unarmed Strike either deals damage or grapples. With it, one hit does both. The grapple still needs a free hand and still gives the target a saving throw. The full grapple rules are in Grappling and Shoving.

Odd or even decides it

Your modifier is the score minus 10, halved, rounded down. A 16 and a 17 are both +3. An 18 is +4. So the score you start level 4 with changes what each feat costs.

From 16, Grappler costs a full point: +1 to hit, +1 damage, +1 to your grapple DC and Athletics. A level 4 Fighter at +5 with a Greatsword deals 5.85 a swing against AC 15; at +6, 6.95. That is the price of grabbing.

From 17, Grappler costs only the stray +1. Ability Score Improvement would put it on another score, and an odd Constitution of 15 gains nothing over 14. The odd score makes the half-feat close to free.

What a grab is worth

Take a level 5 Fighter with Strength 18 (+4) and Proficiency Bonus +3: +7 to hit, grapple DC 8 + 4 + 3 = 15. Extra Attack gives two attacks. One hand holds a Longsword (1d8 + 4); the other stays free.

The turn: the first attack is an Unarmed Strike (5 damage on a hit). Punch and Grab grapples the target if it then fails its save. The second attack is the Longsword, with Advantage if the grab took.

Against a Goblin Warrior (AC 15; it picks Dexterity, +2):

• Unarmed Strike hits: 65%. Goblin fails the save: 60%. Grabbed this turn: 39%.
• Longsword: 65% to hit, 5.75 average. With Advantage, 87.75% and 7.90.
• Escape costs the goblin its action: Acrobatics +2 against DC 15, 40% a try.

Against an Ogre (AC 11, Large; it picks Strength, +4):

• Unarmed Strike hits: 85%. Ogre fails the save: 50%. Grabbed: 42.5%.
• Longsword: 85% and 7.45. With Advantage, 97.75% and 8.75.
• Escape: Athletics +4 against DC 15, 50% a try. A try costs it the Greatclub swing.

The grab turn deals less. The payoff comes on the turns after: a held goblin takes 37% more damage, and the Ogre's Advantage barely matters at AC 11. The real gain is control. A Grappled creature's Speed is 0, and the Grappled condition gives it "Disadvantage on attack rolls against any target other than the grappler". The goblin can't run and the ogre can't reach the Wizard cleanly.

At level 4, with one attack, Punch and Grab is the whole turn. The feat starts to pay at level 5.

Which one

• Primary score is odd (15, 17, 19): Grappler if you fight in melee with a free hand; it rounds the score up and adds the grab. Otherwise Ability Score Improvement, +1 primary and +1 to a second odd score.
• Primary score is even: Ability Score Improvement +2. Every attack, save DC or spell gains from the modifier.
• Two-handed weapon or a shield: no free hand, no grab. Ability Score Improvement.

For the first feats your background hands you, see Origin Feats. For the Fighter's style feats, see Fighting Style Feats. For how scores are made in the first place, see Three Ways to Make Ability Scores.

This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 ("SRD 5.2.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.