Okay, it's review time! I'll go down alphabetically, as the UA does.
Numero Uno!: the Star Elves! ("Astral" comes from the Latin root "Astrum", which means "Star". Asteroids literally means "Starlike", and "Astral" means "Starry". Etymology-wise, the Spelljammmer monster the Astereater, which is a dumb, eyestalk-less cousin of the
Beholder, is literally a "Star Eater".)
Okay, that's enough trivia for now, let's get to the actual race. This race is interesting for a few reasons.
First off, its lore for the Astral Plane seems to echo the lore that we got for the Astral Sea in 4e, in the sense that it's where the gods dwell and the Astral Elves were trying to get closer to their gods by moving to this realm. This could mean a number of things, but the most intriguing to me is the possibility of WotC going the 4e route of Spelljammer, which is to combine Spelljammer and Planescape into the same setting. (Again, "Astral" literally means "Starry", so the "Astral Plane" means the "Starry Plane", which is a good etymological reason to connect the Astral Plane to Spelljammer, which is literally just D&D in space. It would also solve the problem that has existed for awhile, which is, what monsters do you even fight/encounter in the Astral Plane? There's like 3 of them; the
Astral Dreadnought, the
Berbalang, and the
Githyanki, and otherwise, it's just a completely empty silver void. Combining Spelljammer's traditional monsters with the Astral Plane's monsters could result in a really interesting product that could house awesome adventures and stories.)
Secondly, it's a
race,
not an elven subrace. This seems to be going back to how D&D 4e did things; having subraces be completely different races (in 4e, High Elves were called Eladrin, and were a completely separate race from the "Elves", which were the Wood Elves). I actually like this approach, but it's definitely going to be a controversial decision.
Third, it's Trance Proficiencies give them floating weapon/tool proficiencies that they can change during a long rest. This could be amazingly useful, especially when combined with the fact that Vehicles are technically "tools" in D&D 5e, and this feature doesn't specify "Artisans' Tools". So, if you want to be an Astral Elf Pilot of a
Living Armada Ship, you can definitely do that with this feature by using your Trance Proficiencies to grant you proficiency in Air Vehicles.
It's mechanics are solid. I don't see anything gamebreakingly amazing here, and it's definitely not underwhelming/underpowered. I'd say that it's about on-par with most other Elven Subraces, especially comparable to the High Elves and Eladrin. Radiant Soul is particularly intersting, as it's a bit similar to the Half Orc's Relentless Endurance feature, but in exchange for the requirement that you actually drop to 0 HP and make death saving throws (and have to succeed on one), you regain more hit points than a Half-Orc does when it uses its feature. It also scales interestingly, from between -3 hit points (because it doesn't specify a "minimum of 1 hit point regained") and 5 hit points regained at level 1, to between 1 hit point and 11 hit points at level 20 (or between 2 hit points and 12 hit points at level 20 if you have an
Ioun Stone of Mastery).
As a final, minor note on this race, I would love it if they changed its Darkvision from seeing in shades of gray in total darkness to seeing in shades of silver, as they do live on the Astral Plane, and it would be cool if their darkvision adapted to this region.
Segundo! Autognomes! The fabulous, terrifying child of two of my favorite races in the game; the Gnomes and Warforged! (Because of this, I will be referring to them for the rest of the post as "Gnomeforged".)
To start off with this race, let's review the lore. Although I'm a Spelljammer enthusiast, I have never played it in previous editions, and only have played it by using existing tools for them in D&D 5e (and a tiny bit of homebrew to spice it up a bit), so I don't know much about the lore for these races in previous editions. However, I do know one thing, and that is that the Gnomeforged in previous editions were originally created by the Tinker Gnomes of Krynn (the world of Dragonlance) that made it to space, and this bit of lore is nowhere to be found in this race's description in this UA! Why this bit of lore isn't included in this UA could mean nothing, or it could mean that they're purposefully changing the lore (possibly to get rid of the problematic elements of Krynn's Tinker Gnomes), or to just make them more widespread across the D&D Multiverse (WotC really is leaning hard into the "Multiverse" idea recently, with the Great Wyrm Dragons and their Echoes in Fizban's Treasury of Dragons, the idea of the First World, the new book that's coming out, called Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, and this UA being named "Travelers of the Multiverse". Just something to note). That's enough lore-talk for now, onto the mechanics!
So, this race is the first Construct race in D&D 5e (and will be the first official one if/when it's officially published). It also has a Pinocchio-like ability called "True Life" that lets them benefit from some healing magic, while they also get an interesting ability to benefit from having the
Mending Spell cast on them. I actually really like how this is tackled, but there still could be a few issues from it, but they seem pretty minor (like them being vulnerable to a
Mace of Smiting and incapable of being targeted by certain other spells that aren't mentioned).
The Gnomeforged also get a "Sleep, but not actually" ability, identical to the Warforged's Sentry's Rest ability, get Specialized Design, which also lets them pilot Spelljamming Vessels like the Star Elf can, gets immunity to disease and basically Dwarven Resilience, but with the added benefit of having advantage on saving throws against being Paralyzed (which is a really nice added benefit), get standard Natural Armor identical to always on
Mage Armor, and get the really nice Built for Success feature that's kinda like the Reborn's Knowledge from a Past Life ability, but it's a d4 instead of a d6 and applies to Saving Throws instead of Ability Checks.
Overall, I really like this race, but it might be a smidge more powerful than the Warforged, but them being Small is a minor debuff that could help balance this out. I would also love to see the race get a feature that lets them attune to magic items that require attunement by a Warforged, but I doubt that they're going to clarify that minor mechanical point, and will just leave it up to the DMs to determine if they're fine with a Gnomeforged attuning to a
Wand Sheath,
Docent, or
Armblade.
Tres! Now for the Gunslinging, Space-Colonizing, Gunpowder-lovin', Hippo-Headed Hobo-Mercenaries, the Giff (or maybe Jiff, because WotC will not pass up a corny joke when they see the opportunity to include one, proven by the existence of Thaco the Clown in The Wild Beyond the Witchlight and the Harengon's "Hare Trigger" ability).
I'm not going to lie, but
Giff are one of my favorite creatures from the whole Spelljammer campaign setting. There's just something so loveable about these Hippo-Faced Brits, and they embody everything amazing about the Spelljammer setting (which is the ridiculousness being taken up to 11 and embraced as part of the core identity of the setting). I'm strongly biased in favor of this race, but these mechanics are . . . lacking, to say the least.
I understand that WotC doesn't want to include traditional, cultural aspects of races in racial mechanics now, but I feel like this hurts this race. Giff have to love gunpowder. It is so entwined with their identity, that without it, they're basically not Giff, they're just Hippo-People. They didn't even mention this bit of lore in its lore description! I'm fine if it's not in its mechanics, but you have to at least include it in their lore! (Maybe mentioning the Gunner feat as being commonly taken by this race.) And another pet peeve of mine about this race is that it doesn't even match any of the mechanics about this race that are contained in the
Giff Monster Stat Block from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes! It's like they're not the same race, just being two completely different Hippofolk!
This race basically only gets two racial features, too; Hippo Build and Damage Dealer. Hippo Build is fine, I don't know why they didn't just call it "Powerful Build", but Centaurs have "Equine Build", so this isn't a huge gripe of mine. The permanent advantage on Strength Saving Throws and Ability Checks seems a bit lazy to me, as it is just a minor, situational ability (it does help with Grappling and Shoving, though, which would help for combat onboard a Spelljamming Ship), especially because this feature will be redundant for Raging Giff Barbarians,
Enlarged Giff, and Giff Rune Knights (which I suddenly have the urge to play). I'm not sure how I would fix this ability, but maybe do something like Jack of All Trades, adding half your proficiency bonus to all of your Strength Ability Checks and Saving Throws, even if you're already proficient.
Then, Damage Dealer. God, I hate this feature. It's just plain worse than Elemental Adept/Great Weapon Master, and it doesn't even work on the Giff's signature weapon; Firearms! If this feature stays more or less as is in the official publication, they at least have to allow this to work on Ranged Attacks, because Giff are known for using their Firearms. (It's doubly interesting/befuddling that this feature works on Melee Spell Attacks, like
Shocking Grasp and
Inflict Wounds, but not the signature weapon of the Giff species.)
I love this race, I just don't love this execution of it, mechanically. I'd give them the Lizardfolk's Hold Breath feature (because Hippos are known for being able to hold their breaths for quite awhile, and this race does get a Swimming Speed of 30 feet) and a Loxodon's Natural Armor feature, as both Elephants and Hippos are know for having thick skin. (Hippos have even thicker skin on certain parts of their body than Elephants do!) Then, maybe consider giving them something similar to the monster stat block's Headfirst Charge feature, maybe like the Minotaur's Goring Rush feature.
El Cuatro! The Monkey-Men!
Sips-Humanoids, but with a Flying Squirrel's Gliding Membrane and Opposable Thumbs on their feet! The first Simianfolk in D&D 5e, besides Humans, Halflings, and a few other similar races. Their lore is . . . I have to admit, I have absolutely no clue what their lore is in 5e or previous versions of D&D's Hadozee race. Reading this UA's lore for them, it seems like some generic Monkeyfolk lore, which seems absolutely . . . passable. It's strangely mundane for the Spelljammer setting, but the race makes up for it in pure, unadulterated monkey vibes. Monkeys are weird, as are all of their relatives (Lemurs, Apes, Humans, and especially Humans), so they fit the oddball, gonzo setting that is Spelljammer!
Their mechanics are pretty interesting, obviously taking some notes from the Simic Hybrid for its Glide ability, but they also get a cool "ignore fall damage as a reaction" ability that will allow for these Monkeymen to perform fantastic aerial stunts and tricks aboard a Spelljamming Ship with the combined grace of a Flying Squirrel and the sheer insanity of Primates. Their Dextrous Feet ability is pretty cool and useful, especially for anyone with a Magic Item that can be activated as an action. I kinda want to play a Hadozee Swashbuckler Rogue now, that jumps from the mast of a Speljjamming Ship down onto the deck, gliding in circles on the way down, with a rapier in each hand (including their feet), and then stabbing anyone that boards it while screeching as loud as inhumanly possible.
This race is interesting. I think the mechanics are fairly solid, and would gladly play one, if I ever get to play a character again. I especially like that you can play a Small or Medium Monkeyman, given that Primates are so diverse in size, which really allows you to customize which type of simian you want to flavor your Hadozee as.
Onto the fifth race; the Plasmoid! The first oozefolk in the game, for anyone that fantasizes about playing the lovechild of a
Gray Ooze and a
Mimic. Another race with a very literal name (Plasma is a late-Latin word that meant "mold", so "Plasmoid" means "Mold-like", basically a Sentient Slime-Mold race). This race's lore is pretty interesting, especially because it uses more big-boy science words than D&D typically tolerates having in its games, but it fits the alien theme of this race. It does leave me wishing that it actually explained where this race came from, though, as it currently has no explanation and could range from "created by an ooze-like Elder Evil/Demon Lord in their likeness" to "You're just a sentient, amorphous oozeman".
The mechanics are interesting and pretty revolutionary, with a quite a few notable features, like Amorphous requiring you to not be wearing or carrying anything when using the feature (which makes Plasmoid Monks a very attractive option if you want to maximize your use of this feature) and giving you a really good grapple-avoidance (or enhancement) feature, Natural Resilience giving you resistance to two fairly common damage types; Acid and Poison (Aasimar do get resistance to Necrotic and Radiant damage, but both of those damage types are fairly uncommon, which makes this race even more interesting), and Shapeself being kinda like a Poor Mimic's Shapechanger feature.
I don't see anything wrong with this race, and if I ever played one, I'd probably be either a Plasmoid Monk (Way of Mercy, with its damaging and healing features reflavored as alchemical tinctures stored in your oozy-body) or a Rune Knight Fighter with the Unarmed Fighting Style (because who doesn't want to play an ooze that can suddenly grow to giant sizes and crush their enemies to death with their constricting grapple attacks?).
And finally, the Thri-Kreen, the first Bugfolk in D&D 5e. Typically from Dark Sun, but they also exist in Spelljammer. D&D definitely needs more playable Bugfolk, and this is a step in the right direction. The lore is . . . not really lore. More just descriptions of how they live, which is fine, but a bit mundane.
And, they're Monstrosities! WTF? Why are they Monstrosities? They're humanoids in the Monster Manual. Their natural armor is also identical to always-on Mage Armor, which is fine, and matches how the AC of the Monster Manual's
Thri-Kreen seems to be generated. Their Chameleon Carapace's camoflague ability seems kinda weird, as they have to use an action to activate it, but it could make for a really effective Rogue character. Their sleep-aversion matches the Monster Manual, and their Telepathy is fine.
Onto the thing that we're all really here for; the Secondary Arms. It's a bit . . . disappointing, I've got to say. However, it is still a bit gameable. You can hold a shield in one of your main arms, as well as any one-handed weapon, and then a spellcasting focus and light weapon in your smaller arms. I'm not exactly sure what this ability is trying to prevent, and it's a bit unclear on what it actually prevents. Does it stop you from duel wielding Double-Bladed Scimitars? It doesn't specify that you can't use a secondary arm as well as a primary arm to wield a two-handed weapon, so if you have the Duel Wielder and Revenant Blade feats (if your DM lets you ignore the Elf-only restriction of Revenant Blade) you might be able to Duel Wield Double-Bladed Scimitars (which would look awesome, grant you a +3 to AC, and would let you Sneak Attack with both of them).
This race . . . needs work. I think it's almost there, but I would remove the action restriction of Chameleon Carapace, make them be Humanoids, give them a feature that makes it clear that they can't speak Common or other languages, and remove the restrictions of Secondary Arms. There's not really a balance reason for it, and it's not a huge deal to let them wield non-light weapons with it (I'd at least let them wield Mithral weapons in their Secondary Arms).
To conclude this huge post, I like this UA. It needs some tweaks and a few major changes, but it's mostly good. It has some pretty revolutionary racial ideas and traits for D&D 5e, and probably means that we're getting Spelljammer or Planejammer sometime next year, which I'm a big fan of. I'm glad that D&D 5e is now expanding to include more diverse options like this, and can't wait for more stuff like this to happen.
Now all we need is the survey for this, so we can all scream at WotC for messing up some minor detail about these races.
dnd.wizards.com
