Top 10 Feats to Give Monsters in Dungeons & Dragons
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- Опубліковано 17 вер 2024
- Monsters are one of the core elements a dungeon master uses when running a game in Dungeons & Dragons. A DM can use a monsters straight out of the book as-is, or they can customize them for their group and game. In this video, I discuss the top 10 feats that dungeon masters should consider giving their monsters to make the game more exciting and keep pace with PC power creep.
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Don’t get me wrong, I love your videos, including this one. However, I don’t think you’re old enough to claim that you’ve been playing since “the first boring, lame D&D monster was ever imagined”. I would know, because I AM that old. Of course, to 8 year old me, none of the monsters in D&D Basic were boring or lame. But, that was just part of being a kid in 1977. Are you even old enough to have seen box set dice that came with a crayon for coloring in the numbers?
lmao, Luke your comment on players that cheat reminds me of this one time i was using the "The Demogorgon"
from the Infernal Machine Rebuild book, I altered its gaze ability to be like that of a medusa (on your turn you look away) and one player wouldnt let that go. For the adventure I rped that it was a gaze and the player asked in private if he could advert his eyes, i said at the start of your turn, he then kept arguing and even saying "if you rule differently thats fine" even when i had stated my ruling multiple times
One thing luke didn’t mention is using the feats thematically to either inspire the theme of a monster or as a result of it. Random goblin has mage slayer? Okay cool. But your wizard got a bounty on their head and the party is attacked by specially trained bounty hunters that all have mage slayer? That’s much cooler and thematic.
Something like a Vrock would be rather challenging with Mage Slayer. Having magic resistance is already good, making it more adept at taking out spellcasters seems natural.
I'm stealing this. And the general idea of keeping it thematic
@@mattyb.5628 Or just a Satyr or Yuan Ti.
agree that you shouldn't just add random feats to make the fight harder, the feats should suit the enemy
I would agree that the lucky feat should only be given to strong enemies, when it make sense (like I did for a powerfull Fey). And yes, you might think it's kinda broken, and it might be interprated as a "DM vs Players" dynamic, but in the end, I think it's not as bad as giving legendary actions and resistances to your boss ^^.
Take a giant , give it 2 ballistas, call them "hand crossbows for giants", give them the Crossbow Expert and Sharpshooter feats.
So cause a tpk?
Hello there Satan.
Not so boring now, are they?
0:00 - Table Sketch
1:49 - Cheesy Plug
2:28 - Intro
3:17 - Sponsored Add (𝗱𝗦𝗰𝗿𝘆𝗯)
4:42 - Why give monsters feats?
4:45 - No 1. To make them more interesting
5:30 - No 2. To make them more powerful
6:57 - Top 10 feats for Monsters
7:00 - No 1. War Caster
7:33 - No 2. Sharp Shooter
8:10 - No 3. Lucky
8:35 - No 4. Mounted Combatant
8:57 - No 5. Great Weapon Master
9:30 - No 6. Grappler
10:03 - No 7. Polearm Master
10:30 - No 8. Sentinel
12:11 - No 9. Shield Master
12:53 - No 10. War Caster
13:45 - Outro
It doesnt start until 6:57 wow
Frost Giant with Charger and Mobile Feats.
Fight in the middle of frozen waste land making it difficult terrain. You move at half speed while the Frost Giant runs in 50 ft, hits you with a +9 to hit, reach 10 ft, Hit: 3d12 + 6 + 5, then runs away 50 ft.
That's just a straight up drive by
@@Ra_views Which actually used to be a feat in older edition. Ride by attack. Same idea just on a mount.
@@KnicKnac good call. Put the First Giant on a Mammoth then it can do the Gore and Trampling Charge attacks.
I also like grabbing an occasional class feature to give monsters/npcs when appropriate.
Also CR1 or lower creatures often don't have many things to do,
So this works really well for them.
Give Lucky to your cats,
Give Magic Initiate to your awakened shrubs,
Give Elemental Adept to your acolytes.
Ect ect.
I use this at times but rarely on mooks. I use it predominantly on bosses/sub-bosses and significant lackeys (LTs or something of the like). Most of all, I use it when it makes sense. It certainly spices things up and watching players figure out for the first time that “oh dang!, the monsters can get feats too?!!” is a priceless, evil reward for a DM. However, giving it too often or to every mook (unless they are some special group and it makes sense in THAT particular situation) takes away from the “specialness” of the feat and to a greater degree the specialness of the characters, who are supposed to be extraordinary. Anyway, just thought that should be stated. I loved the video as I love them all. Thank you for the hard work and time that goes into these!
I like giving boss monsters the alert feat. Especially if they're kind of twitchy and shady, like a bandit leader or something. Having feats that fit the monsters works well
It's important to give your monsters a number of feets equal to the number of the monster's legs. Unless they are an Aberration. Then, you can do whatever you want.
One thing that's important to note with Sentinel -- if you attack a creature that has Sentinel, an adjacent ally that has Sentinel does not get to use its opportunity attack by RAW -- it specifically says so in the feat's description to avoid these sort of chain link phalanx feat trains.
That is specifically the part about opportunity attacking an enemy that is trying to attack your ally.
“When a creature within 5 feet of you makes an attack against a target other than you (and that target doesn't have this feat), you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against the attacking creature.”
I like to give all monsters special abilities... even if it’s just a class feature, like bardic inspiration or something. Always adds a dynamic spin on combat. Great video Luke, thank you!
I had a player that I caught looking up monster stat blocks on their phone while we were playing.
I've homebrewed every monster since.
One of the players in the group I play in definitely does this. And if she doesn't look up as we play, she definitely looks up the entire adventure beforehand anyway.
@@silverwyhrecat5 these people are trying to "win" dnd. It's kinda sad
Yep. That's just what I do. Feats, and Reactions/Bonus Actions too. Players love it.
I like giving monsters the Resilient feat. It's so simple but when the PCs let one monster free you know said monster is gonna tell the entire tribe about the PCs favorite saving throw and train for it.
Also, magic initiate is fun and randomly having a monster that can cast cantrips makes it surprising for the PCs
If it makes sense thematically then fair enough; if it is only to make them harder then it feels a bit awkward; especially if it logically makes no sense.
The Mark of Healing Halfling from Eberron can add Healing Word to a Wizard's spell list.
Theurgy Wizard, Magic Initiate, etc are options too in order to gain Healing Word.
@@avakio19 Theurgy is not official material and is also an UA that was dropped and thus isn't even playtest anymore.
Still doesn't explain raise dead. That's That's 5th level spell.
@@novaiscool1 Transmutation Wizard
Now I want to add a group of shadow monk assassins into my campaign that all have mage slayer. They always attack in groups of 3, along with underlings, or wait until the party is engrossed in combat already. Just watch as all the casters shit themselves as the shadow monks teleport behind them and when they try to cast something to get out of dodge, opportunity attack. Bonus points if they have sentinel too, just in case they try to get out non magically.
Luke was very kind to not mention the martial adept feat, which can make even a lowly kobald into a king-slayer.
Depending on the monster/scenario, I sometimes give low-CR monsters class levels. It's even easier now with the sidekick rules :)
Those are some gnarly combinations. I would not want to come up against the gnoll phalanx or a pack of shieldwalling-one-handed-weapon-wielding-great-weapon-master-having giants
I thought Giants were boring in 5e too. That is why I increased their armor class a little when it makes sense, increased their move speed by 10 feet, range to 10 feet, and give them an area attack where they swipe their weapon and require a dexterity saving throw to avoid the damage. Gives them interesting options.
Make the sweep have the effects of a bull rush - they can throw players around with club sweeps.
8:28 I do wanna point out; it _is_ often a little unfair. Lucky can be used only a limited amount of times per day, and I'm willing to bet most DMs will not have the monsters to have failed a sleight of hand or a history check earlier in the day. With limited consumables, especially something like a reroll, your players are more likely have to conserve or spend them for out of combat, while the monster that will only exist in this scene gets to spend all of theirs in succession. You might as well give them a legendary resistance at that point.
Agreed however the same can be said of any monster resource. Princeton's monster spellcasters start with all of their spell slots but might they have spent some of them during the course of the day? Maybe. But the game needs those monsters who have their spell slots so that they can keep up with player characters. It's part of the game balance to assume the monsters have all their spells Lots. In the same way when I get a feat like lucky to a monster I do that considering the game balance. I'm literally trying to make the monsters more challenging to keep up with the power creep that is in the game. It's a very intentional decision.
@@theDMLair I think my issue with Lucky in particular is the fact that my players at least are infinitely more likely to use it for ability checks and the like than on attack rolls, while as on a monster, it's three free rerolls per combat per monster. For me, it's not an issue of balance as much as it's irritating to players; boosting an attack bonus and the monster's saving throw proficiencies a little bit results in the same if not more favourable average, but feels less dickish to the players.
There are instances where narratively, especially for a named NPC that will do other things to the story than simply attack, Lucky could be fun (a famous archeologist/grave robber whose reputation is that they seem to always skirt off danger, or a Hawkeye "I never miss" type), but otherwise, I will always prefer the tension of "does a 28 hit?" to "that's a natural 3, no it isn't, 18 to hit."
@@aurora5481 These are options. If you don't like them (or Lucky specifically), don't use them ;) I like the idea of the rest but, like you, I'd reserve Lucky for very specific characters (or maybe specific monsters if it seems appropriate [I can only think of the halfling off-hand]). BUT, I think the rest are easily accepted in-game.
Also but: I run high-powered games so, as powerful as the PC's are at your table, the PC's at my table are stronger. So, buffing up monsters (or their quantities) is something I do on the regular anyway (up to and including class levels).I also give all named opponents extra villain abilities (my take on Matt Colville's system). Villain actions are like legendary actions BUT they only get 1/round (lieutenants and level bosses get 2/round and dungeon bosses get 3/round), must be taken in order regardless of the situation (I'm thinking about changing this), and when I build them, I make up 3 for them to have. Villain reactions operate in much the same manner but they're a reaction with a specific trigger and must be performed in order (I'm thinking about changing this, too).
Ran an encounter with a Fang of Yeenoghu with grappler, mobility and some Witherlings. Made it way more interesting and exciting for the players.
I really love your enthusiasm, always gives me a smile!
Anyhow, never thought about adding feats to monsters; Really opened my mind to different possibilities! Thank you once again & hopefully one day I can make art for you :)
I find that giving alert to boss monsters is almost essential so my players dont get a surprise round every time.(its also nice to have them go first)
This is a cool idea...which will have to wait til I'm a better DM and I'm more confident running just the basics of the monsters
Starting with the basics until you learned them properly is always a good way to go. And then once you understand and get the hang of things you can spice things up.
Warcaster on Strahd, a powerful Warrior, General and Wizard I might have to try that. > D
When I run strahd. He will almost assuredly have War caster. LOL
Love this. I haven't really done much with feats, but I love adding custom abilities (usually modified from spells or class abilities) to major enemies and NPCs. I think I'll have to mix in since feats as well now.
I’ve used many of these to great effect, creating unique “mini-boss” encounters.
Season sparingly & lean into bonus actions & reactions.
I’m a pretty newbie DM, and I’m loving all your tips! Adding feats to monsters is such a great idea. This will keep them in their toes and employ some more thoughtful tactics during combat. More fun all around
I never thought of giving my monsters feats! I always developed specific mechanics to make them interesting O_O Like a bossbattle where the evil guy had actually 3 phases... But the idea with feats is awesome!
Stay crunchy.
As an unrepentant optimization DM I love that I finally saw a video that does the same thing anyone who DMs past T2 does. Even if you're not using a creature with class levels it definitely doesn't hurt to give a monster sentinel. As a joke. Have fun swashbuckler or rogue who thought disengaging meant you were safe.
You're certainly welcome to do what you want at your table but, iirc, RAW, swashbuckler and mobility are not disengage actions. They just straight up prevent AOO's.
RAW sentinel does ignore it, as it specifically states it can ignore such features.
Crawford has explained RAI is that the feat is not meant to but it still applies as per the RAW.
@@avakio19 False. Sentinel specifically triggers off of Disengage. Mobile stops the target(s) of your melee attacks from getting AoO's against you for the turn (not a Disengage). Swashbuckler likewise stops the target(s) of your melee attacks during your turn from getting AoO's against you (not a Disengage).
Sentinel:
You have mastered techniques to take advantage of every drop in any enemy's guard, gaining the following benefits:
--When you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, the creature's speed becomes 0 for the rest of the turn.
--Creatures provoke opportunity attacks from you even if they take the Disengage action before leaving your reach.
--When a creature within 5 feet of you makes an attack against a target other than you (and that target doesn't have this feat), you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against the attacking creature.
I'm a little concerned about the lucky feat. Outside some thematic uses it could promote a DM vs player dynamic if given to monsters.
I think I'd restrict it's use a bit, such as only using it for saving throws it something like that.
@@MatthewSmith-pv6gd Also to cancel the PC use of Lucky. The feat explicitly has rules making multiple uses cancel each other out, so make use of it.
@@stewartb1019 Unless it's an opponent specifically sent after the party (ie rarely used in that manner), you're going to piss off players with that use.
@@urdaanglospey6666 Which is why you tell players in session 0 that any feat they take can be added to any monster (that has the prerequisites), determined by die roll. I definitely wouldn't deliberately add Lucky to a random monster. They need to be lucky to get that.
@@stewartb1019 I wouldn't give Lucky to minions destined to use up all their resources and die in a single encounter - if that's their fate, they aren't exactly lucky, are they? On the other hand, Lucky could make sense for a named villain who would conserve their re-rolls to escape and threaten the characters in later stories.
How to balance combat:
Step 1: Don't.
Step 2: Watch your players try to come up with a solution.
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit.
Welp, Wizard took magic initiate to get healing word. Good to know
Also I recommend the resilient feat so minions can dodge fireballs better, keep concentration (if they’re a spell caster) or not be charmed as easily also tough is a nasty feat if given to something like a giant as 2 hp per hit die is amazing for monsters.
Good ideas. Personally, I'd like to see a way to just "level" monsters, as well as the return of templates from 3rd edition. I may have to craft that myself at some point.
My comment keeps getting deleted.
Do a search for monster scaling 5e and there is a website that can scale up and down stats for monsters. So you can have a CR 5 Lich or CR 15 kobold.
The CR system is broken enough that I wouldn't feel badly about just importing the 3e templates wholesale (just tweak to align the rules as needed but probably nothing else).
My gosh, great ideas Luke. Going to give a feat to the juvenile dragon at the end of Dragon of Icespire Peak. I’m still a new DM so this is a huge help.
Hi, which feat are you thinking?
@@chrisd5169 Lucky, Mage Slayer, or Sentinel. Haven’t decided if I could take more than one or if it’s too OP.
I remember Feats being part of named NPC's in 3.5 ed. I know in 2nd ed. named NPC's had levels in fighter, cleric, rogue, wizard, etc. I think Dynamic NPC's is still the best option for 5th Ed. Although the feat option is a viable option to give NPC's and probably less work.
Better yet, make 'em racial feats: all Goblins have X feat! All Kobolds have Y feat! And then think of the possibilities!
Don't forget to give all your elves Elven Accuracy
now I'm imagining goblins having 4 toes, 2 pointing forward and two backwards, creating an "X" shape, and Kobolds having 2 forward toes and 1 back facing toe, creating a "Y" shape.
@@BleydTorvall Prehensile? What are the mechanical advantages/disadvantages of that?
Just another comment for the algorithm to let UA-cam know that Luke Hart doesn't completely suck. :)
The barbarian in our party uses his GWM bonus action attack like 5 times minimum every session, it has been very very useful
All of my guards have PM and sentinel. Never have to deal with murder hobos terrorizing towns...
Add plate armor and up CR by 1 for every level and you basically get oblivion guards.
Some comments
1. Not to Well actually but Kobolds were dog-faced, not rat-faced and Forgotten Realms ones were made Draconic pretty early on.
2. Imo it should be done with care for what kind of monster gets the feat. Your little Eentinel-Polearm Master trick is neat but it doesn't sound to me like Gnolls. Hobgoblins on the other hand...
3. I gave Rahadin Mage Slayer but also made it he has Sentinel but ONLY when Strahd is in his line of sight.
Using Sentinel against my players, mmmmh sweet vengeance
I've thought about doing this, but I was afraid it would be too strong. I hope it doesn't get out of hand and it is just the right amount of challenge for my players
Awesome advice, I love this idea and am totally gonna use it in my games! I gotta say though, an army unit with spears is a phalanx, not a phalnax.
The sleazy plug bit always gets me lol
sharpshooter does not give +10 dammage on every attack, it only gives the +10 on attacks where you take -5 from the attack roll.
The divine casting wizard is obvious either a Unearthed Arcana theurgy wizard or a divine soul sorcerer pretending to be a wizard.
I've found that if you use the variant rules for giants in Storm King's Thunder, they're way better and much more fun.
Letting UA-cam know you haven't completely sucked since high school.
Always hated that every monster in 3.5 wasted feats on alertness. This makes much more sense. Kobolds just became more fun, if only my players hadn't banned them. 🙄
Use Swolebolds instead. They just like kobolds but they can bench press a house.
It's logical. power creep occurs. make it balanced for challenge resulting in a unique and better play experience leading to fun encounters.
If you don't like giants, you might like the homebrew ice giant named Icethorn, who could coat himself in icy armor (stole that from you) and a bellow attack that was essentially a Fus ro Dah ability that recharges on a 5 or 6.
12:06 great spot for a wall spell or spike growth or something
This is awesome, great advice I can immediately implement. Its important to not hold back against players, it took me a while to learn.
I rarely create a monster that doesn't have at least one or two feats. Sentinel is a go to for anything that is meant to be a front line fighter, so that the characters can't just run around and to the spell casters behind. War caster is basically a must for a powerful spell caster. Of course, I also enjoy giving them feats that players aren't able to use. Spell reflection is one that I like that players are not able to use. Basically, it allows the creature to use their counterspell/spell dueling reaction to redirect a single target spell at an enemy instead of simply canceling the spell.
These are the kinds of mechanics I'd initiate when my players start believing nothing can defeat them. Arrogance and pride is the downfall of all.
"With each splatbook PCs get more powerful"
*Raises hand in Wizard with Metamagic Initiate*
Raises someone else's hand with Telekinetic.
I don't think Shield Master provides protection from Fireball. It's stipulated in the feat that the bonus is only applied to spells and harmful effects that target ONLY you. Fireball is an area of effect, so it does not count.
At low levels Goblins with Pack Tactics and Kobolds with Nimble Escape...
100% on your points in that intro re: WotC retcons...
The little jab at the lore rewrites. Dangerous, but I respect that
Dangerous? It's infuriating. Don't need to change the lore of things they have nothing wrong with them. If there's low around something that's inappropriate or wrong for some reason okay I get it. But they're changing the lore around things they don't have anything wrong with them such as the firbolg.
@@theDMLair they used to look like a viking berserker sort of if memory serves me correctly. There has been a lot of changes with very little (if any) explanation or justification. Firbolg had a small "answer". They said the one in Volo's was fey touched... buuutttt... that's about all they said
@@theDMLair of course, and any sane person understands that. It's dangerous to rave on this topic in the current times since there is that... Vocal minority that can do a lot of harm.
The saddest part is that they can cause said harm only because people assume they are able to do so. A perception thing. It's gotten to the point where I believe it :(
Yeah I've been adding feats since we started since the characters were so powerful, at least one was minmaxed so I added fests that affected him but not really the others so they felt more balanced
"Luke doesn't completely suck."
Rather than the wholesale feat: you can sub in the MM and DMG Monster traits in some spots
Ex: Rather than the -5, +10 on GWM or SS, there is a “Brute” Trait that just lets you add dice with no downside.
topic starts at @4:40
I think you are missing magic/artificier initiate, even if its just 1 spell, that still makes things more dynamic
The feats make more sense to humanoid creatures. But if you want to give monstrous creatures some interesting abilities, take a look at spells and give them a permanent slight buff. Like a haste on a frenezied werewolf. Or you could also take a look at different monster features already in the book such as blood rush or fearsome roar. Don't forget to test with mechanics that aren't usually played with, such as exhaustion or other conditions
I like to adapt creatures from other systems (both video and TT). And I modified one to nullify luck to match what it had in the original setting. So every time you get hit with an attack, that's cumulative 1d4 rounds where you cannot be affected by advantage/disadvantage. Hit a rogue with that, bye bye sneak attack unless the rogue can get a pal up there. Players rarely consider the no disadvantage part. Good times.
Heck, I might use that service for my own spells in your game!
Luke: Give your monsters feats
Me, the oh-so-innocent new dungeon master: YOU CAN DO THAT??!!?!?
Luke doesn't suck! I was requested to "challenge" my players with tactics. I have Game Mastered with other systems but D&D 5e is fairly new to me. I've been binging Luke and a few others for ideas 🤣
Always give gaints special abilities
I really like the idea that groups of giants can conjure blizzard or infernos
Mechanically a creature must make a con save or takes 1d8 cold or fire damge when ever they start their turn within 15 feet or 2 giants plus 1d8 for every additional giant.
Looking it up kobolds were always scaly, it appears people just skimmed the section where it says they sound and smell like dogs
Top 10 Feats for Monsters! (per the DM Lair)
1. Warcaster
2. Sharpshooter
3. Lucky
4. Mounted Combatant
5. Great Weapon Master
6. Grappler
7. Polearm Master
8. Sentinel
9. Shield Master
10. Mage Slayer
It's not adding a feat but I find on all easy and medium combats, maxing out hp on the monsters makes them more challenging without altering the balance too much.
I also preplan the monsters tactics both to think of different ways to fight and also so I cannot be accused of trying to kill the party.
Means I give away a lot of opportunity attacks which the players love.
I wish I watched this before my session yesterday. My party of level 3s wrecked an Ettin and his minions in 2 rounds.
I think we've learned recently that wizards can in fact Raise Dead...
A very specific wizard.....
Raising a very specific dead..........
*stares at caleb Widogast*
Raise Dead is a Wizard thing right?
Elemental Adept (Fire), so you can cast Fireball on the raging Bear Totem Warrior Barbarian.
I was getting antsy about if Mage Slayer was gonna be on this list or not. Only 3 classes have the potential of not having ANY spells to cast, so this works on most any PC compared to when a PC has this feat.
Tbh, this feat practically was built for boss creatures. Had a boss fight myself with this feat attached to it and he focus fired my cleric since I was both making sure people stayed alive and holding concentration on Spirit Guardians, and he hated radiant damage. If not for my +6 save to CON, that disadvantage would have probably killed us.
Turnarounds fair play. Also, shocked to hear that's not a normal thing.
Ad: "...this is no simple feat..."
Me: 🤯
Hey Luke! Happy Humpday!
8:25 it is; the players have to manage resources through multi encounters.
I love how he said that giants are bland when I just started thinking they can throw boulders, houses, players, you give them weapons. To be honest a DM can make a good encounter if they use a creature like a creature and not a stat block.
BBEG ultimate PC concentration breaker: Minion mage + mage slayer + magic missile. Your players will never be able to concentrate on spells again.
This is great advise for make ing combat harder on the players
Polearm master and sentinal are very nice. Add archers with the sharpshooter feats a bit further away and you've got some dead pcs, maybe.
Archers are honestly scary enough on their own even without feats. I threw a squad of 10 archers at my players last week, and they were consistently dealing around 50 damage per turn. And do you know how far longbows can shoot? Really frickin far. My players were more afraid of the archers than they were the evil necromancer that nearly disintegrated the paladin lmao
Great Weapon Master to Frost and Fire giants. Sharpshooter to Stone giants (DM discretion)
So would you mean that all the orcs in a pack of orcs have a given feat? If not, do you have any suggestions as to how many might have this, how you might have that? Part of the reason I ask this question is, you said near the end of the video that a boss monster would have at least a couple of minions trained in this and such feat. Ok, sounds good to me, but some at least of what you describe is definitely a group of monsters using good tactics (the polearm thing you described). I guess a bit more guidance in the area of implementation is what I am looking for. 😁
Can I suggest that you do a video that addresses some of the
Hm, I wonder how many sessions I can pull this, before I’m sitting at the table as the lone DM 🤔
Sounds like fun!!!😬
I am cujrrently going through the Monster Manual and doing this, though I am only three creatures in.
Err, unless you count the 300 Diablo (rough estimate) creatures I've converted.
I hate to be that guy but I do need to point out that shield master doesn't help against fireball.
It's specifically worded so that it's dexterity saving throws that only affect you. Not AOEs
Great stuff friend 👏 👍
Nice ideas for the homebrew I am making. Hope my party doesn’t see this, especially the current DM. 🤓
I really thought Luke's #1 feat would have been "to run faster"
I think the people that disliked this video were the ones you used the infernal gnolls against... lol
Nicely Evil. WOTC hire him to do Adventure League stuff.
Feats to monsters are a great idea