Squire of Solamnia 5e — Worth a Feat Slot Without the Background?

Introduction

Squire of Solamnia is the entry point to Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen's Knights of Solamnia feat chain, and like Planescape's Scion of the Outer Planes, most characters who take it never spend a feat slot on it. The Knight of Solamnia background grants it as part of Dragonlance's own bonus-feat system, which hands every character in the setting a feat at 1st level regardless of background.

This guide covers both benefits, the surprisingly generous cost structure on Precise Strike, and how the feat sets up your choice among the three Knight orders at 4th level.

What the Feat Does

Prerequisite: Dragonlance Campaign; Fighter or Paladin class, or Knight of Solamnia background.

Mount Up. Mounting or dismounting a creature costs you only 5 feet of movement, rather than half your speed.

Precise Strike. Once per turn, when you make a weapon attack roll against a creature, you can give that roll advantage. If the attack hits, roll a d8 and add the result as bonus damage. You can use this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, but a use is expended only if the attack hits - a miss costs you nothing. You regain all expended uses on a long rest.

Squire of Solamnia carries no Ability Score Increase. That matters because all three of its 4th-level follow-ons - Knight of the Crown, Knight of the Rose, and Knight of the Sword - do include one, so the ASI arrives one feat later than a reader might expect from the chain as a whole.

The Precise Strike Cost Structure Is Unusually Generous

Most limited-use combat options spend a use the moment you activate them, whether the attack connects or not. Precise Strike doesn't work that way: you grant yourself advantage first, see whether the attack hits, and only then does a use get consumed - and only on a hit. A miss with advantage active costs you nothing.

That structure changes how you should think about "saving" uses. There's no reason to hold Precise Strike in reserve the way you might ration a strictly limited resource, since a failed attempt doesn't burn a charge. Use it on your first attack of a turn against a target you have a reasonable chance to hit; the worst case is an ordinary attack roll with no downside beyond the miss itself.

Why Most Solamnic Characters Get This Free

The Knight of Solamnia background's feature grants Squire of Solamnia as part of Dragonlance's bonus-feat subsystem: every character in a Dragonlance campaign gets a bonus feat at 1st level, and taking the Knight of Solamnia background is what determines that the feat you get is this one specifically. Any other background instead grants a free choice of Skilled or Tough at 1st level.

This mirrors the free-feat-from-background pattern the library already documents for Strixhaven and Spelljammer backgrounds, and for Planescape's Gate Warden and Planar Philosopher. A character built without the Knight of Solamnia background - a standard Fighter who never trained with the knighthood, for instance - can still qualify for Squire of Solamnia through the Fighter or Paladin class prerequisite alone, but has to spend an actual feat slot to pick it up.

Which Knight Order Should Squire Point You Toward?

Squire of Solamnia doesn't require choosing an order itself - that decision happens at 4th level, when you select one of three follow-on feats. Membership in an order can also change later without losing feats you've already taken, so this isn't a permanent lock the way Planescape's plane choice is. For the orders themselves, their patron gods, and the Oath and Measure that govern them, see Knights of Solamnia in the Dragonlance guide.

● Knight of the Crown — the support pick

Crown's Commanding Rally lets an ally within 30 feet make a free weapon attack as a reaction when you command them, adding bonus damage on a hit. If your party has a strong secondary attacker who benefits from an extra swing, Crown converts your bonus action into more party damage than you'd get attacking yourself.

● Knight of the Rose — the durability pick

Rose's Bolstering Rally grants temporary hit points to yourself or an ally, scaled by your proficiency bonus and the ability score Rose increases. This is the safest generalist pick for a front-liner who wants to shore up the party's survivability turn after turn rather than add burst damage.

● Knight of the Sword — the control pick

Sword's Demoralizing Strike forces a frightened condition on a failed Wisdom save after a weapon hit, with a consolation disadvantage on the target's next attack even on a success. This is the strongest pick against a single dangerous enemy you want neutralized rather than simply damaged.

For the full comparison of all three Knight follow-ons alongside the Adept and Divinely Favored feats, see The Three Knight Feats, Compared in the Dragonlance guide.

Common Mistakes

Assuming Squire of Solamnia grants an Ability Score Increase. It doesn't - all three of its follow-ons do, which makes this an easy detail to get backwards when skimming the chain.

Treating a Precise Strike miss as a wasted use. It isn't. The use is only spent on a hit, so there's no real cost to activating it on any reasonable attack roll.

Forgetting the free-background interaction. A Knight of Solamnia character already has this feat from the bonus-feat system - check before planning to spend an Ability Score Improvement on it.

Verdict

Free for most Knight of Solamnia characters via the Dragonlance bonus-feat system, which makes Mount Up and the cost-free-on-a-miss Precise Strike a clean floor benefit with no real downside. For a Fighter or Paladin built without that background, it's a reasonable feat-slot spend specifically as the entry ticket to the three Knight follow-ons - weigh it against a stronger standalone combat feat if you have no plan to pursue one of those follow-ons at 4th level.

FAQ

Do I have to spend a feat slot on this? Usually not - the Knight of Solamnia background grants it free through Dragonlance's bonus-feat system.

Does it give an Ability Score Increase? No - all three of its 4th-level follow-ons do, but Squire of Solamnia itself doesn't.

Which Knight order should I plan to join? Decide at 4th level based on which follow-on fits your build: Crown for supporting an ally's attack, Rose for temporary hit points, Sword for a frighten effect.

Does this work outside a Dragonlance campaign? No - the prerequisite is literally "Dragonlance Campaign." Confirm with your DM first.