Prerequisite: No other dragonmark

You have manifested an aberrant dragonmark. Determine its appearance and the flaw associated with it. You gain the following benefits:

Increase your Constitution score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
You learn a cantrip of your choice from the sorcerer spell list. In addition, choose a 1st-level spell from the sorcerer spell list. You learn that spell and can cast it through your mark. Once you cast it, you must finish a short or long rest before you can cast it again through the mark. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
When you cast the 1st-level spell through your mark, you can expend one of your Hit Dice and roll it. If you roll an even number, you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to the number rolled. If you roll an odd number, one random creature within 30 feet of you (not including you) takes force damage equal to the number rolled. If no other creatures are in range, you take the damage.

You also develop a random flaw from the Aberrant Dragonmark Flaws table.

Aberrant Dragonmark Flaws (roll d8 to determine)
Your mark is a source of constant physical pain.
Your mark whispers to you. Its meaning can be unclear.
When you're stressed, the mark hisses audibly.
The skin around the mark is burned, scaly, or withered.
Animals are uneasy around you.
You have a mood swing any time you use your mark.
Your looks change slightly whenever you use the mark.
You have horrific nightmares after you use your mark.

Option: Greater Aberrant Powers

At the DM's option, a character who has the Aberrant Dragonmark feat has a chance of manifesting greater power. Upon reaching 10th level, such a character has a 10 percent chance of gaining an epic boon from among the options in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. If the character fails to gain a boon, they have a 10 percent chance the next time they gain a level.
If the character gains a boon, the DM chooses it or determines it randomly. The character also permanently loses one of their Hit Dice, and their hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to a roll of that die plus their Constitution modifier (minimum reduction of 1). This reduction can't be reversed by any means.

Aberrant Dragonmark: The PC with the Dragon Tattoo

Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold

Magic Initiate is a feat I rave about. It's great; two cantrips plus a 1st level spell AND spell slot? Sign me up! Aberrant Dragonmark then says “Pst; if you’re picking sorcerer anyway, why not take ME instead?”

Aberrant Dragonmark is native to Eberron, so it might not fit in thematically at any table. This feat, more than most, you’re going to want to discuss with your DM before taking it. Should everything work out, though, this feat is exceptional. Out the gate, you’re getting your pick from one of the best cantrip lists in the game. Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Green Flame Blade, Mind Sliver, Prestidigitation, Sword Burst… you have no shortage of great options that will flexibly fit on a ton of different characters.

On top of that, you get a 1st level sorcerer spell of your choice with an empowered cast that refreshes on short rest. Just the 1st level spell, before its new empowered effect, can be great; Sorcerers have a really solid 1st level list, only missing out on a few big wizard options like Find Familiar. You can get Absorb Elements, Shield, Detect Magic, Disguise Self, Feather Fall, Expeditious Retreat, and Mage Armor, all attached to a free bonus spell slot, all being able to find homes on a variety of different characters. Now consider it comes back once a short rest instead of long rest, making it fairly reliable and cheap to expend over and over. A lot of characters want a free Shield every short rest.

But wait, there’s more! Optionally, whenever you cast your dragonmark 1st level spell, you can spend and roll a hit die to get one of two effects: you gain temporary hit points if it’s even, or you deal damage equal to the rolled odd result to a random creature within 30 feet of you (or if no other creatures are in range, you take the damage). This extra boost is an optional way to use your hit dice to get something extra whenever you’d be casting your spell anyway. This can position it as a tool you take attached to a spell like Thunderwave to use when you’re inside a large group of enemies and away from your party, encouraging high risk/higher reward play patterns. Attached to Shield, you can be dealing free damage while also defending yourself from an onslaught of attacks, or getting free temp HP in the same situation. It empowers defensive options in a fairly meaningful way, especially with characters who aren’t regularly expending all your hit dice. It will be quite a bit worse on out of combat spells, as you’ll be encouraged to not use it at all as to not kill a random passerby, and it is a LOT better on higher hit die characters as you care about the die size quite a bit. Still, I don’t think you need to care about this that much to want this feat. Some characters will care about it a lot, though, namely paladins, fighters, and rangers.

The last element to the feat is a random flavorful flaw, something I desperately wished was included in more game options than this. It gives you a change in your character’s character, a roleplaying consequence or opportunity, depending on your perspective. It adds to a character's thematics in an easily digestible way, and can be as impactful as you want it to be. It's a great inclusion here that some people will opt to ignore, while others will have a lot of fun in growing their character through this flaw.

There is an optional Greater Aberrant Powers option later. If your DM doesn’t offer it to you, I’d recommend not using it. Epic Boons are hugely impactful, often game warping in utility, and getting one for free potentially as early as 10th level will warp the game. The HP penalty isn’t close to comparable to an Epic Boon, so this the kind of mechanic the whole table has to buy into and be ready to play with, otherwise face potential major imbalances and feelings of inadequacy while the Dragonmark character runs off with infinite Misty Steps, 40 free bonus HP, a bonus action regain half your HP once per long rest, a free 30 feet of speed and cunning action once per short rest, infinite casts of a 1st level sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell, etc., etc.

Outside the optional Great Aberrant Powers text, I think this feat is a homerun. It's powerful, flexible, and adds to more than just the game mechanics with its text. It won’t be for every table, but I’d highly encourage working it into yours if presented with the opportunity.

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