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.

News Archive | Dungeons and Dragons

Read the full archives of Dungeons & Dragons news, Sage Advice, Unearthed Arcana, and D&D Studio Blogs.

dnd.wizards.com

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."

 

[Mind of tempest]

Not wanting to continue any of my previous discussion on this, but after reading several more pages, my mind started thinking, what would 6e actually look like if WoTC continue with the current direction of travel, imagining that race and class both need an overhaul, and that more sacred cows are lined up for slaughter? I just wonder if there is line somewhere that says this has gone too far and if WoTC step over that line, would the D&D success bubble burst?

I was all excited by 4e until I finally played it. I took a year off fantasy RPGs until Pathfinder came out. When 5e came out, I realised that my personal preference was still 3.x/Pathfinder, but 5e was a step in the right direction and couldn't deny its strengths as a game. D&D is very influential in the TTRPG market, but it isn't infallible (4e proved this). Would it continue to be the trend setter or push itself too far outside of the community's expectations?

well D&D lacking magic, elves and dice would likely be a bad idea.

 

[Scott Christian]

I wrote a little bit of code to sim this out. Bearing in mind that the low AC of a darkmantle makes your case look better, what I did was look at how many swings (which means rounds, at levels 1-4) it takes to kill a single darkmantle. I assumed a 1d8 weapon. 10,000 iterations.

Str 15 vs. Str 16
2 swings: 0 (not possible) vs 1% (possible but highly unlikely)
3 swings: 10% vs 23%
4 swings: 22% vs 32%
5 or more swings: 77% vs 44%

As you can see*, the 16 Str fighter, all else being equal, is significantly more likely to kill the darkmantle in fewer rounds, just by being a little more likely to hit, and doing a little bit more damage. Maybe you don't think a couple points of damage are a significant difference, but how do you feel about an extra action? Or two?

*If you trust my code. Happy to share it.

Yeah, an extra round is a big deal. Much more than a few extra hit points. Thanks for sharing.

One thing I would say is in our first example, the two fighters were together. I know the coding for that is much more complex, so no need to take your time. But, I do think it changes things a bit, seeing a team work together versus a solo adventure.

But your math is well taken and thank you for doing it. It is a bigger deal than a few extra HP of damage.

 

[Scott Christian]

Like 10 Cha instead of 8 Cha?

Or 14 dex versus 12. That would matter for ranged weapons and initiative and a boat load of skills. I mean, honestly, if a +1 is substantial, as you proved it was, then a +1 somewhere else, especially something associated with more of the character, is just as substantial.

 

[BookTenTiger]

Not wanting to continue any of my previous discussion on this, but after reading several more pages, my mind started thinking, what would 6e actually look like if WoTC continue with the current direction of travel, imagining that race and class both need an overhaul, and that more sacred cows are lined up for slaughter? I just wonder if there is line somewhere that says this has gone too far and if WoTC step over that line, would the D&D success bubble burst?

I was all excited by 4e until I finally played it. I took a year off fantasy RPGs until Pathfinder came out. When 5e came out, I realised that my personal preference was still 3.x/Pathfinder, but 5e was a step in the right direction and couldn't deny its strengths as a game. D&D is very influential in the TTRPG market, but it isn't infallible (4e proved this). Would it continue to be the trend setter or push itself too far outside of the community's expectations?

D&D is a game with a strong tradition (otherwise these kinds of threads wouldn't exist), but it's also a product. I imagine "crossing the line" for WotC would look like people no longer buying their product. This has been the impetus for new editions in the past, and I'm sure it'll be the inspiration for the next one.

That said, please remember what "feels like D&D" to one person can be completely different to another, especially if they started playing in different editions.

I think it's really neat that WotC is playing around with these changes (and anything in UA I would definitely call playing around) even though 5e is still selling really really well.

 

[Scott Christian]

proper consultation groups would be nice plus mashing every light cavalry together would probably end up worse both mechanically and culturally.

From a different vantage (not against nor for your statement), my friends and I all began reading about other cultures and the histories of other places, in part, because of fantasy cultures turning us onto them. I think this is true for a lot of people who like to read or study. If the fantasy culture becomes unrecognizable, there might be a haziness that gets applied.

I don't really think it is earth shattering or really anything to care about. But it does seem like a small effect to take into consideration.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

From a different vantage (not against nor for your statement), my friends and I all began reading about other cultures and the histories of other places, in part, because of fantasy cultures turning us onto them. I think this is true for a lot of people who like to read or study. If the fantasy culture becomes unrecognizable, there might be a haziness that gets applied.

I don't really think it is earth shattering or really anything to care about. But it does seem like a small effect to take into consideration.

Building compelling fantasy cultures that are not directly analogous to real world cultures is hard. In my current setting I have endeavoured to do that. Nevertheless, avoiding any parallels is literally impossible. Some elements will always be reminiscent of some real cultures.

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

Building compelling fantasy cultures that are not directly analogous to real world cultures is hard. In my current setting I have endeavoured to do that. Nevertheless, avoiding any parallels is literally impossible. Some elements will always be reminiscent of some real cultures

Especially if there is a lot of overintepretation around.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Or 14 dex versus 12. That would matter for ranged weapons and initiative and a boat load of skills. I mean, honestly, if a +1 is substantial, as you proved it was, then a +1 somewhere else, especially something associated with more of the character, is just as substantial.

Let's work with that example. +2 Dex (whether it's 8 to 10 or 14 to 16) gets you:
+1 AC
+1 Initiative
+1 Dex Saving throws
Those are all great things. Maybe even as useful overall to a fighter as +2 Str would have been. (I tend to think not, but it's a really hard thing to model.). Less useful to classes that tend not be as attacked as often, but still pretty useful.

But Dex is also the über stat, and not all races give +2 to Dex. For any of the mental stats the benefit is much more dubious. Sure, +1 to my social interaction rolls can come in handy, but if I have a 10 or 12 Cha I'm not going to be the party "face" anyway, so generally I'll only be making Cha rolls if forced to.

Look, I'm definitely not arguing that there's zero benefit to a non-primary ASI, just that that benefit is so dramatically outweighed by a primary ASI that for many, many players it's too much benefit to pass up on.

 

[Guest 6801328]

One thing I would say is in our first example, the two fighters were together. I know the coding for that is much more complex, so no need to take your time. But, I do think it changes things a bit, seeing a team work together versus a solo adventure.

I'm not totally understanding what you want to model here, but I'm willing to take a crack at it. Can you explain what it is you're asking? What two scenarios can I test against each other?

 

[Remathilis]

Building compelling fantasy cultures that are not directly analogous to real world cultures is hard. In my current setting I have endeavoured to do that. Nevertheless, avoiding any parallels is literally impossible. Some elements will always be reminiscent of some real cultures.

Especially if there is a lot of overintepretation around.

The first setting I ever played in was Mystara, a setting whose is LITERALLY "Fantasy X Culture". From Wikipedia...

"The "Known World" covers the most notable nations of Mystara, the ones most commonly used in Mystara-based campaigns and featured in fiction. It includes the Thyatian Empire, which could be compared to Byzantine Empire; the Grand Duchy of Karameikos (which includes the town of Threshold, the default setting of many classic D&D adventures), comparable to medieval southeastern Europe; the Principalities of Glantri, which is similar to medieval western Europe, ruled by wizard-princes; the Ethengar Khanate, a Mongol-like society; the merchant-run Republic of Darokin, which is based somewhat loosely on the mercantile states of Medieval Italy; the Emirates of Ylaruam which have an Arabic flavor; the Heldannic Territories, ruled by an order of religious Knights devoted to the Immortal Vanya, similar to the Teutonic Knights; the Atruaghin Clans, which have an Amerindian feel; the nation of Sind, based on India during the rule of the Mughals; the Northern Reaches Kingdoms of Ostland, Vestland, the Soderfjord Jarldoms, based on Scandinavian kingdoms at various periods of history; the Dwarven nation of Rockhome; the elven Kingdom of Alfheim; the Halfling lands of the Five Shires; and the Alphatian Empire, ruled by wizards and other spellcasters."

And that doesn't include the Savage Coast (Spanish Conquistadors) and the Hollow World (even more of a hodge-podge of settings, from Pirates of the Caribbean to Ancient Egypt), nor Thunder Rift introducing rakasta (cat-men like Tabaxi) who were Japanese in culture.

There is no way such a setting could exist now; its very nature would be offensive. I'm mildly surprised WotC even acknowledges its existence and doesn't try to bury it along with Birthright in the "lets never speak of this again" bin of history. I'll be surprised if the "Old Empires" or Moonshae Isles" similarly survive considering how much they are literally "fantasy Greece/Egypt or Norse/Ireland" in design.

But I digress. I guess the good news is I no longer have to work on my Vryloka/vampiric race anymore....