D&D 5E Unearthed Arcana: Gothic Lineages & New Race/Culture Distinction

The latest Unearthed Arcana contains the Dhampir, Reborn, and Hexblood races. The Dhampir is a half-vampire; the Hexblood is a character which has made a pact with a hag; and the Reborn is somebody brought back to life.

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Perhaps the bigger news is this declaration on how race is to be handled in future D&D books as it joins other games by stating that:

"...the race options in this article and in future D&D books lack the Ability Score Increase trait, the Language trait, the Alignment trait, and any other trait that is purely cultural. Racial traits henceforth reflect only the physical or magical realities of being a player character who’s a member of a particular lineage. Such traits include things like darkvision, a breath weapon (as in the dragonborn), or innate magical ability (as in the forest gnome). Such traits don’t include cultural characteristics, like language or training with a weapon or a tool, and the traits also don’t include an alignment suggestion, since alignment is a choice for each individual, not a characteristic shared by a lineage."

 

[ppaladin123]

A dhampir monk who always has advantage on unarmed strikes or with monk weapon fangs whenever bloodied could be powerful. Slap on a source of temporary HP and go to town.

 

[Charlaquin]

Agreed on that.

For example, let's imagine that you aren't using the various custom options from Tasha's. Then what are you supposed to do with this UA Material?

If you look, they have the Design Note. So, going forward, Tasha's custom options ... aren't options. And if you want to ignore the custom options, going forward, you'll have to homebrew what the ability score, languages, and skill/armor/weapons of every new race is.

So what is the default is now an option, and the Tasha's option is not the default, but only moving forward.

Right. It’s just an awkward kludgy mess. And I say that as someone who supports the idea behind the changes. They’ve just gone about making them in the least elegant way possible.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

A dhampir monk who always has advantage on unarmed strikes or with monk weapon fangs whenever bloodied could be powerful. Slap on a source of temporary HP and go to town.

Yep. Especially as a Shadow or Long Death Monk. Both would fit quite well.

 

[Charlaquin]

I agree that I would prefer fully realized systems. But if the choice is between an inelegantly presented option and no option at all, I'll take the former. I think the Tasha's system is a kludge, personally, but it's still better than simply not having the option.

That’s fair. It’s just frustrating to see what looks like it’s going to be more kludge on top of the kludge from Tasha’s. When you start getting kludge on top of kludge, it’s time to start seriously considering going back to the drawing board.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Right. It’s just an awkward kludgy mess. And I say that as someone who supports the idea behind the changes. They’ve just gone about making them in the least elegant way possible.

It's 5e's design philosophy; Keep it Simple, Stupid.

The system is inelegant because it's supposed to be. I prefer an inelegant solution to an underlying issue with the game to no solution whatsoever.

 

[Weiley31]

It's 5e's design philosophy; Keep it Simple, Stupid.

To be quite honest, it's the design philosophy that taught me how to play DND and to understand how the D20 mechanic works. It's only recently with Pathfinder 1(in looking at it) that I've started to actually gain a hang of the mechanics for 3E/3.5.

 

[Nilbog]

Well it's taken another small step away from being a system I will go to as my default, it's simply becoming too homegionous for me, heading more down the story telling system route and not a game, it's not a bad thing just not to my tastes.

 

[Charlaquin]

It's 5e's design philosophy; Keep it Simple, Stupid.

The thing is, I don’t think this is simple. Like, at all.

The system is inelegant because it's supposed to be. I prefer an inelegant solution to an underlying issue with the game to no solution whatsoever.

I agree, an inelegant solution is better than no solution. But there comes a point when you’ve got inelegant solutions built on the backs of other inelegant solutions, built on a foundation that’s clearly struggling to support their weight that it becomes pertinent to ask how much longer the thing will be able to maintain structural integrity.

 

[TwoSix]

The thing is, I don’t think this is simple. Like, at all.

I agree, an inelegant solution is better than no solution. But there comes a point when you’ve got inelegant solutions built on the backs of other inelegant solutions, built on a foundation that’s clearly struggling to support their weight that it becomes pertinent to ask how much longer the thing will be able to maintain structural integrity.

My guess would be 2025, but I'm certainly not Nostradamus.

 

[Scribe]

Yep, I have it. Haven't published it yet. Was going to put it in a larger DMs Guild product.

Well if you do, let folks know.

If you choose not to, also let me know so I can go through and write up my own. This +2/+1 isn't something I'll pay for...