D&D 5E A First Look at Tasha’s Lineage System In AL Player’s Guide - Customizing Your Origin In D&D

The new player’s guide for the D&D Adventurers League has been released. Appendix 1 includes the new info from Tasha’s Cauldron on customizing your origin. It‘s a one-page appendix.

The D&D Adventurers League now uses this variant system from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything since it allows for a greater degree of customization. For ease of reference, the relevant information is included as an appendix to this document and doesn’t count against the PH + 1 rule.

You can do any of the following (obviously the full document has more detail):

1. Move your race ability score increases wherever your want to. “...take any ability score increase you gain in your race or subrace and apply it to an ability score of your choice.”​

2. Replace each language from your race with any language from a set list.​

3. Swap each proficiency for another of the same type.​

4. Alter behaviour/personality race-based descriptions.​

Its not clear if that’s the whole Lineage system or just part of it. You can download the player’s guide here.

 

[Azzy]

Is your 8' giant-kin super strong if he can't out arm wrestle the halfling and gnome?

Yes. Just because a particular halfling or gnome is just as strong or stronger than that particular goliath doesn't mean that that goliath isn't super strong—they could still pick up and throw most other halfling, gnomes, dwarves, elves, and humans for distance and accuracy.

 

[Cadence]

Yes. Just because a particular halfling or gnome is just as strong or stronger than that particular goliath doesn't mean that that goliath isn't super strong—they could still pick up and throw most other halfling, gnomes, dwarves, elves, and humans for distance and accuracy.

And that particular halfling or gnome can throw them just as far. I kind of want to see a video of this as the worlds strongest goliath gets more and more frustrated with each competition when he can never get ahead of the worlds strongest gnome. (Like Bugs Bunny and the turtle racing).

 

[Maxperson]

Who said it had to be a competition? You're supposed to be cooperating together. But, if you choose a race that makes you worse at your role than another character with the optimal race is a theirs, that's a problem, even if you aren't competing, comparison matters.

If it doesn't bother the person who isn't optimal, it isn't a problem. It's nobody else's business what I do with my PC. Other players have no right to expect me to optimize or be upset with me if I don't.

 

[Azzy]

If it's vital to be optimal, then should the game even allow sub-optimal choices?

Even if it isn't vital to be optimal, why should a game include choices that are deliberately suboptimal? Wouldn't be better to at least try to make all choices equally optimal? That way none of this would even be an issue.

 

[Cadence]

If it doesn't bother the person who isn't optimal, it isn't a problem. It's nobody else's business what I do with my PC. Other players have no right to expect me to optimize or be upset with me if I don't.

I mean, at some point if the character is too sub-optimal, uncooperative, or trouble, then they're probably actively endangering the party and should be ditched. It feels like missing a single +1 modifier is way off from missing that mark. (If it wasn't, then heaven help the person whose +1 sword gets nailed by a rust monster when there aren't any replacements around).

 

[Azzy]

Because sometimes discovering that character by rolling them up is more fun.

Yes, sometimes, for some people. That's why it's good that there are options to accomodate different methods and styles of play.

 

[Cadence]

Even if it isn't vital to be optimal, why should a game include choices that are deliberately suboptimal? Wouldn't be better to at least try to make all choices equally optimal? That way none of this would even be an issue.

Like balancing the races by making sure the dwarf subspecies that had armor, str, and con as its things was lifted up to the others by making both of the ASI +2 instead of a +2 and +1?

Are any race/clase combinations uniformly sub-optima? If a character is not getting a +2 in their prime requisite, it's presumably helping somewhere else. Maybe it's extra con so they can still cast their minisculely less effective spells after the other wizard fails their con save against poison? Maybe it's extra chr so they can have a better chance of talking the parties way past the guard to bust the bard out of jail when their dark vision allowed them to not be caught.

But yes, going through PF for example, they have a lot of archtypes that are flagged in the class guides as being dumpster fires. There's no need for that.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Who said it had to be a competition? You're supposed to be cooperating together. But, if you choose a race that makes you worse at your role than another character with the optimal race is a theirs, that's a problem, even if you aren't competing, comparison matters.

That is a different argument than the one you made before. Now you compare people within the same role. Here I can follow your thought. But still, a +1 difference hardly matters, and there are other things that differentiate those fighters more.
Lets compare a rock gnome with a half orc whochose the same standard array and make a list:
Str 14 (+2 half orc), Dex 12 (half orc) 10 gnome, Con 15+1, Int 10 (half orc) 12+2 (rock gnome) , Wis 13, Cha 8

The half orc has:
One extra crit die.
Once per rest has an extra life
Average intelligence
Probably a great weapon and great weapon mastery.

The gnome has:
Tinker tools
Gnome Magic resistance
Quite high intelligence and maybe some knowledge skills
Probably duelling fighting style and a shield.
A bit lower dex due to stat choice.

So the Orc deals more damage but against enemies that use magic, the gnome has the advantage of a much higher chance to save against debilating spells like hold person or phantasmal force.
The gnome has 2 more AC.

Once they reach level 3, the comparison most probably they will take different subclasses.

Of course now you could say: but the gnome and the half orc probably want to be both battle masters with great weapons... After level 8, both have 20 Strength anyway, and what is left of both differences is that the gnome deals slightly less damage (d10 vs d12 or 2d6) and magic resistance for the gnome. If you use feats, of course the galf orc now will take great weapon mastery and deals a lot more damage... But that feat was never in question for the gnome, not because of his lower strength, but because he can't use heavy weapons.

Maybe the half orc instead takes resilient wisdom though, because he noticed that being controlled by mind affecting spells negates all of his damage so the difference between both characters are mostly style.

 

[Maxperson]

I mean, at some point if the character is too sub-optimal, uncooperative, or trouble, then they're probably actively endangering the party and should be ditched. It feels like missing a single +1 modifier is way off from missing that mark. (If it wasn't, then heaven help the person whose +1 sword gets nailed by a rust monster when there aren't any replacements around).

It's very, very hard to make a character in 5e that is too suboptimal, though. We're talking just picking a suboptimal race, not making a wizard with a 3 Int or something.

And I think making such a wizard goes beyond suboptimal into just plain bad. Bad is different.

 

[Cadence]

It's very, very hard to make a character in 5e that is too suboptimal, though. We're talking just picking a suboptimal race, not making a wizard with a 3 Int or something.

I've been reading about 8's being put in prime requisites so often I thought it was an epidemic. Just checking