Crusher Feat 5e: A ‘Staggering’ Feat For Promising Monks
Are you looking for a feat that actually makes bludgeoning damage do something? Do you want to help fend off enemies attacking your squishy spellcaster? If you’re looking for a powerful feat for your monk (or melee class), look no further than the Crusher feat in 5e from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.
Crusher is an excellent choice if you regularly find yourself wondering:
“Why are there 3 melee damage types when none of them does anything unique?”
The Crusher feat in 5e is one of three feats introduced by Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything that adds useful flavorful mechanics to the various melee damage types. The other two are Slasher and Piercer.
So, what is special about this feat and why is it perfect for monks?
By the end of this article, you will have the answers to those questions and more:
- What is the Crusher feat in 5e?
- What does the feat grant you?
- What classes is the feat good for?
- What classes is the feat NOT good for?
What is the Crusher feat in 5e?
The Crusher feat in 5e was introduced by Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. It combines the Shove action with the Stunning Strike ability that monks learn. But it works with melee weapons and spells that deal bludgeoning damage. This means you can dish out some extra effects with the club, staff, war hammer, mace, morningstar, and your FISTS!
The Crusher feat in 5e gives you the following benefits:
- Increase your Strength or Constitution by 1, to a maximum of 20.
- Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack that deals bludgeoning damage, you can move it 5 feet to an unoccupied space, provided the target is no more than one size larger than you.
- When you score a critical hit that deals bludgeoning damage to a creature, attack rolls against that creature are made with advantage until the start of your next turn.
What does the Crusher feat in 5e do?
Increase your Strength or Constitution by 1, to a maximum of 20
It never hurts to get a stat boost with a feat! This benefits everyone because Strength might not be useful for your class but every class benefits from an increased Constitution.
When you hit a creature with bludgeoning damage, you can move it 5 feet to an unoccupied space, provided the target is no more than one size larger than you
This is a great feature for several reasons.
First, it allows you to get an attack in and disengage without triggering an opportunity attack. If you’re in trouble, it’s not the best idea to risk this because you still need to land the attack. And if your hit points are low, it might be better to use your standard action to Disengage. Otherwise you risk missing an attack and triggering an opportunity attack when you move away.
Second, it allows you to move an enemy away from an ally without triggering an opportunity attack. This is good for situations where the enemy engages a squishy spellcaster or severely injured party member. You can save that character from spending a standard action to Disengage.
Third, you can push an enemy off a cliff. Who doesn’t enjoy letting gravity do the work?
When you land a critical hit with bludgeoning damage, attack rolls against that creature are made with advantage until the start of your next turn
Imagine you hit an opponent so hard the opponent staggered and is more susceptible to attacks.
But it’s unfortunate this only happens on critical hits because that means you can’t rely on it. I don’t think making it available all the time would be the solution. But once per short rest sounds reasonable.
However, if you take the Crusher feat in 5e as a monk, then you have Flurry of Blows to increase the chances of a critical hit with attack roll on top of attack roll on top of attack roll.
Just make sure that when this effect does happen that you call out to your party. You’ll want to focus attacks on the target to take advantage of the advantage.
What classes is the Crusher feat in 5e good for?
This feat is perfect for monks because monks primarily rely on their fists and bludgeoning weapons. Not to mention, it’s just cool to envision your monk punching a troll so hard that it staggers backward. That’s some Bruce Lee shit.
And on top of that, monks get Flurry of Blows at 2nd level. So they can use their bonus action to get extra attacks, increasing the chance to land a critical hit.
A homebrew class like the pugilist would also benefit immensely from Crusher. Because the pugilist is the street fighting equivalent of the monk.
Aside from the monk and pugilist, it’s a good choice if you’re playing a melee character and you want to use a bludgeoning weapon.
Lastly, it’s a powerful feat for spellcasters who utilize bludgeoning spells like Control Water and Earthquake.
What classes is the Crusher feat in 5e NOT good for?
Right off the bat (ba-dum-tsch), this feat is certainly not good for any class that won’t be fighting with fists or blunt weapons. The same goes for spellcasters who won’t be learning spells that do bludgeoning damage.
And that’s about it.
But just because it can be used by any class that wants to use weapons or spells that inflict bludgeoning damage, should it?
That’s up to you.
I don’t minmax in Dungeons and Dragons so I tend to choose feats that sound interesting, make for interesting roleplaying options, or make for interesting options in combat. So if your character already smashes things, Crusher will make your character stronger, better at smashing things, and better at protecting your party.
Crusher Feat 5e FAQ
Is the Crusher feat good in 5e?
It’s good if your character deals bludgeoning damage or plan on using a bludgeoning weapon a lot (fists, clubs, hammers, etc). The ability score improvement is welcomed. And the feat will create more opportunities in combat to protect party members and take down enemies faster.
It’s also a decent choice if your character uses spells frequently that inflict bludgeoning damage like Earthquake or Black Tentacles.
Does the Crusher feat in 5e work with spells?
Yes, the Crusher feat in 5e works with spells. The description of the feat reads, “when you hit a creature with an attack that deals bludgeoning damage”. It doesn’t specify the attack has to be made with a weapon, so as long as any physical or magical attack you make causes bludgeoning damage, you will reap the benefits of the Crusher feat.
Can the Crusher feat push enemies off cliffs?
You bet it can! If the enemy is less than five feet from the edge of a cliff and you use Crusher to push the enemy five feet toward the edge, gravity will take care of the rest!
Final Thoughts—Crusher Feat 5e
It was a pretty solid move for Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything to introduce a feat for each of the melee damage types: Crusher, Slasher, and Piercer. Because the damage types don’t feel like they matter most of the time.
If I was DMing a campaign, I would let my players choose one of those three feats at the start to make the different melee damage types feel distinct. And because strict martial builds can feel lacking in the early game compared to spellcasters and hybrids.
What are your thoughts on the Crusher feat in 5e? Do you think it’s worth taking? Let us know in the comments below!
