There are a few things that modify initiative and make you immune to surprise.Surprise Immunity
- Alertness feat
- Weapon of Warning (uncommon magic weapon)
- Ioun Stone of Awareness (rare magic item)
- Feral Instincts (Barbarian ability 7th level)
- Foresight (9th level spell)
Initiative Bonus
- Alertness feat +5 bonus
- Rod of Alertness (very rare magic item) advantage
- Sentinel Shield (uncommon magic item) advantage
- Guardian (minor magic item property) +2 bonus
- Weapon of Warning (uncommon magic weapon) advantage
- Jack of all Trades (Bard ability 2nd level) +1/2 prof bonus
- Feral Instincts (Barbarian ability 7th level) advantage
- Remarkable Athlete (Champion Fighter ability 7th level) +1/2 prof bonus
I don't think the feat is out of line with the rest of the abilities.
Surprise isn't that big of a deal, and some people love going first but honestly after the first round of combat initiative is not that big of a deal either.
I did leave off the artifacts, having both the hand and eye of vecna makes you immune to surprise and the sword of kas gives you a +1d10 to initiative, but those are artifacts and not commonly seen.
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