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.

 

[DND_Reborn]

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.

I've argued this point precisely before. For the most part the response was "no, having a bump in a non-optimal spot doesn't make up for it" even if that bump is in DEX, CON, or WIS, all of which a nearly universally helpful regardless of class selection.

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

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.

In the immortal words of Dwarf Fortress: losing is fun.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

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.

And that's fine, but to some it isn't. You are definitely not doing anything wrong in the campaign if you're having fun with your character.

 

[Azzy]

And that particular halfling or gnome can throw them just as far.

And that's cool, too. Since this can already happen in the game (as PC stats cap out at 20 regardless of bonuses), it's not something new. Also keep in mind that goliaths have the powerful build trait, so they can lift/drag/pull weight as if they were large creatures.

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).

It would be humorous, wouldn't it.

 

[Cadence]

I've argued this point precisely before. For the most part the response was "no, having a bump in a non-optimal spot doesn't make up for it" even if that bump is in DEX, CON, or WIS, all of which a nearly universally helpful regardless of class selection.

Is there an official list of the optimal race per class that folks were (until today) supposed to pick so they weren't a drag on their party if playing at a table that judged that way?

I'm kind of interested in how the update looks after the change today and which merely +2/+1 races get displaced. (Missing an extra hp per level as a second high stat, or having a 5% chance less of hitting with ranged attacks and on AC because of a +1 instead of +2, for example, feel big things for lots of classes).

 

[DND_Reborn]

Is there an official list of the optimal race per class that folks were (until today) supposed to pick so they weren't a drag on their party if playing at a table that judged that way?

Are you talking just in terms of ASIs for what is optimal? I think you are, but I want to clarify.

I'm kind of interested in how the update looks after the change today and which merely +2/+1 races get displaced.

None of those races will be displaced, it is just now every other race can be just as optimal.

 

[Cadence]

Are you talking just in terms of ASIs for what is optimal? I think you are, but I want to clarify.

Yes. I haven't 5e'd long, so it would be helpful orienting myself.

None of those races will be displaced, it is just now every other race can be just as optimal.

Putting two +2s or a +2, +1, +1 anywhere you want doesn't get rid of any merely +2, +1?

 

[Haldrik]

To chime in on the small race / STR/ size issue:

• A small race should be able to have a STR 20 for purposes of attacks, damage, skills, and saves... basically any place a die is or would be rolled because WotC defines a large part of STR (IMO) as application of power as well as degree of power.
• The small race should not be equal to a medium race for purposes of encumbrance, etc. unless you have a justifiable reason for your game why that would happen. If your rock gnomes have muscles which are genetically difference in composition from other races, sure--don't give them a penalty. I know the designers left this stuff out because of the idea that small-sized plate armor would not weigh the same as medium-sized plate armor, etc., but it isn't that hard to adjust (if you want to).
• Likewise, grappling a creature of a difference size should be harder in both directions. Trying to catch a young child running around is not easy, nor would it be easy for that child to try to wrestle an adult to the ground. Neither feat is impossible, of course, just harder. So, we ignore the "up to one size category larger" (or whatever it is) when it comes to grappling etc.

That's it I guess. Cheers.

Ballpark encumbrance by volume, not weight.

A Medium creature can carry upto a Small load without encumbrance. A Medium creature carrying a Medium creature is encumbered.

A Small creature can carry upto a Tiny load without encumbrance.

A Medium creature can drag or heave a Large load, albeit with encumbrance.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Yes. I haven't 5e'd long, so it would be helpful orienting myself.

Putting two +2s or a +2, +1, +1 anywhere you want doesn't get rid of any merely +2, +1?

Race	STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA	ANY
Aarakocra		2			1
Aasimar, Fallen	1					2
Aasimar, Protector					1	2
Aasimar, Scourge			1			2
Bugbear	2	1
Centaur	2				1
Changeling						2	1
Dragonborn	2					1
Dwarf, Duergar	1		2
Dwarf, Hill			2		1
Dwarf, Mountain	2		2
Elf, Drow		2				1
Elf, Eladrin		2		1
Elf, High		2		1
Elf, Sea		2	1
Elf, Shadar-Kai		2	1
Elf, Wood		2			1
Firbolg	2				1
Genasi, Air		1	2
Genasi, Earth	1		2
Genasi, Fire			2	1
Genasi, Water			2		1
Gith				1
Gnome, Forest		1		2
Gnome, Rock			1	2
Gnome, Svifniblen				2
Goblin		2	1
Goliath	2		1
Grung		2	1
Half-Elf						2	2
Halfling, Lightfoot		2				1
Halfling, Stout		2	1
Half-Orc	2		1
Hobgoblin			2	1
Human							2
Kalashtar					2	1
Kenku		2			1
Kobold	-2	2
Locathah	2	1
Leonin	1		2
Lizardfolk			2		1
Loxodon			2		1
Minotaur	2		1
Orc	2		1	-2
Orc of Eberron	2		1
Satyr		1				2
Shifter
Simic Hybrid			2				1
Tabaxi		2				1
Tiefling				1		2
Tiefling, Feral		2		1
Tortle	2				1
Triton	1		1			1
Vedalken				2	1
Warforged			2				1
Yuan-Ti Pureblood				1		2
Dragonmark, Detection					2		1
Dragonmark, Finding			1		2
Dragonmark, Handling					2		1
Dragonmark, Healing		2			1
Dragonmark, Hospitality		2				1
Dragonmark, Making				2			1
Dragonmark, Passage		2					1
Dragonmark, Scribing				2		1
Dragonmark, Sentinel			2		1
Dragonmark, Shadow		2				1
Dragonmark, Storm		1				2
Dragonmark, Warding			2	1

Those are all the races I know of, but I probably missed some. I've attached a PDF as well.

For the optimal build, the +2 is really the important factor. Since most races have a +2, those would lead to the optimal builds if someone wanted the 17 to start. Only a handful of races don't have a +2: Gith, Humans, Shifters, and Tritons. These races only have +1s.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Gosh, 5e has a lot of races. I counted 58 in that list, and you didn't include Dragonmarked ones, or Locathah and Grung (I may be missing some, too).