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.

 

[Shiroiken]

Well, no one plays basic human, anyway. I have only ever seen variant and dragonmarked humans be played.

You think maybe that's because WotC made humans suck?

 

[dave2008]

Just checked the wording, and instead the basic human gets absolutely nothing. You can't move an ability bonus to another ability you already have a bonus to. So now the basic human (already the worst race in the game) is hot garbage. My statement about WotC being stands.

This is an optional rule, relax.

Also, if the basic human is the worst race, why is it by far the most popular?

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

You think maybe that's because WotC made humans suck?

I don't think they suck, they're decent at everything, but the variant and dragonmarked humans are more focused on specific aspects.

 

[dave2008]

Well, no one plays basic human, anyway. I have only ever seen variant and dragonmarked humans be played.

Humans are by far the most popular race IIRC. Not sure which version though.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Humans are by far the most popular race IIRC. Not sure which version though.

Almost definitely the Variant Human.

 

[Shiroiken]

This is an optional rule, relax.

Also, if the basic human is the worst race, why is it by far the most popular?

As for it being an optional rule, I'm fine with it. Fortunately I don't play AL or any organized play, so I don't have to deal with this crap. I personally detest this current popularity that mechanics should make everyone the same, because it completely diminishes the purpose of have the races in the first place.

On to humans. As one of the four base races, it has the advantage of being available to everyone, even if you never buy a single D&D product. Secondly, most beginners are likely to stick to something familiar (at least in my 3 decades of teaching players this has been the case). Finally, it can be abused with Point Buy, a system already rife with abuse (I don't know any DMs IRL who allow it).

Please note I'm only referring to the standard human, not the variant human. The variant human should have been the standard, but they decided to make feats optional (which I actually agree with, even though it messed up the human). I'm curious if the standard human is popular, or if the combination of the two is what really boosts those numbers.

 

[Cadence]

Whatever D&D race you choose for your character, you get a trait called Ability Score Increase. This increase reflects an archetypal bit of excellence in the adventurers of this kind in D&D’s past. For example, if you’re a dwarf, your Constitution increases by 2, because dwarf heroes in D&D are often exceptionally tough. This increase doesn’t apply to every dwarf, just to dwarf adventurers, and it exists to reinforce an archetype.

After lots of arguing about that in various threads throughout the years, nice to see a quote that PC racial adjustments are for PCs only, and has no implications for world building.

I thought the die rolling method and/or point buy for PCs already set them apart from the typical NPC. This is discussed explicitly as far back as the 1e DMG.

Unlike 3.5/PF (where the NPCs did get the mods), 5e doesn't even need NPCs to be started, does it? If they are statted, the 5e DMG pg.92 has them made the same way as the PCs in the PhB. So this appears to be an actual rules change to what it implies about the world in that sense. For the races in the MM, the stats there seem to imply something about the world. I guess it's good they left the PC races out.

 

[GlassJaw]

I'm all for more customization but this removes race as a choice. It's a la carte ability score bonuses.

I still like my rule better: If a race increases an ability score by 2, you may instead increase that score by 1 and increase another ability score of your choice by 1.

Simple as that.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I'm all for more customization but this removes race as a choice. It's a la carte ability score bonuses.

I still like my rule better: If a race increases an ability score by 2, you may instead increase that score by 1 and increase another ability score of your choice by 1.

Simple as that.

The approach I’m taking with Chromatic Dungeons is that race only gives a +1 bonus. Class selection gives you the other

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I'm all for more customization but this removes race as a choice. It's a la carte ability score bonuses.

It doesn't. It lets you move around ability scores and proficiencies, and that's it. Aarakocra still get wings, Tritons still get swimming, and elves still get darkvision.