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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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."

 

[Umbran]

Because, specifically to spite anyone ...

Mod Note:
It would be better if folks took a little more effort to keep the conversation constructive.

 

[Umbran]

Did nobody teach you how to share?

Mod note:

Making it personal like this is not generally constructive. Bring it away from casting aspersions on people, and back to the logic of the positions, please.

 

[Faolyn]

Apologies.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

If it wasn't for Investigate it would be easy to replace it with "Education". All the other intelligence skills are highly associated with some degree of scholarly education.

That's really how I've played for a long time. Just as Wisdom is really mostly perception, Intelligence is mostly Education. Or in other words - it's not so much your intelligence but your education and corresponding ability to appear intelligent.

This way the Half-Orc barbarian who really has no option to have a high intelligence score is merely uneducated (which actually makes some kind of sense).

I really dislike that. Wits, I can get behind, but education? No thanks. To me, there absolutely should be an ability score that represents cleverness, wits, etc. Your ability to see patterns in events, make connections between complex ideas and various sources of data and draw rational conclusions, etc.

Something about the idea of making Education the same type of game element as strength and wisdom bothers me viscerally.

I think it’s that it reminds me of being discriminated against due to ADHD and memorization issues, and seeing my friends with dyslexia get even worse treatment, as if we were less intelligent than the kids for whom memorization was easy, even when those kids couldn’t problem solve their way out of a L-shaped maze, and had literally no idea why any of the things they’d memorized as true were true.

If anything, Intelligence should represent the ability to reason through complex problems, think creatively about a situation, imagine the world complexly, and have nothing to do with memorization.

Not to mention, an ability score should be a consistent type of thing, and Education is inherently a different type of thing from every other ability score.

 

[Scribe]

If anything, Intelligence should represent the ability to reason through complex problems, think creatively about a situation, imagine the world complexly, and have nothing to do with memorization.

Not to mention, an ability score should be a consistent type of thing, and Education is inherently a different type of thing from every other ability score

Wits is a good one. What you describe to me is ability to perform analysis, but Analysis Ability doesn't roll off the tongue in a Fantasy setting.

 

[Aldarc]

If anything, Intelligence should represent the ability to reason through complex problems, think creatively about a situation, imagine the world complexly, and have nothing to do with memorization.

Then why not just call it "Reason"?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Wits is a good one. What you describe to me is ability to perform analysis, but Analysis Ability doesn't roll off the tongue in a Fantasy setting.

Luckily, Intelligence does, which...is what I described.

Then why not just call it "Reason"?

Because there is already a name for it, it covers more than the general usage of the term “reason”, and it’s already in place. It’s called Intelligence.

Wits would also work, but Reason is much more limited.

The problem isn’t Intelligence. The problem is that IRL football linebackers aren’t stupid, but their D&D equivalent (Barbarians) are.

And also that each of the three mental stats are ultimately a type of intelligence, which is why I like Wits

 

[Mind of tempest]

... In terms of "medium sized" there are a few.

In terms of PC options... I can't think of any

well, that is odd this is d&d if a gap exists sooner or later a pc race will fill it.

 

[Aldarc]

Luckily, Intelligence does, which...is what I described.

I'm not sure if anything about is particularly appropriate in terms of fantasy; it's simply the name that we are accustomed to by this point. "Intelligence" is likely not an attribute that would likely be one used as part of actual medieval fantasy: e.g., Sapientia, Mind, Sagacity, etc.

Because there is already a name for it, it covers more than the general usage of the term “reason”, and it’s already in place. It’s called Intelligence.

Wits would also work, but Reason is much more limited.

So why would you describe Intelligence explicitly with "reason" and as a form of reasoning if it's too limited?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I'm not sure if anything about is particularly appropriate in terms of fantasy; it's simply the name that we are accustomed to by this point. "Intelligence" is likely not an attribute that would likely be one used as part of actual medieval fantasy: e.g., Sapientia, Mind, Sagacity, etc.

And? Where is the D&D mechanics for the humors?

So why would you describe Intelligence explicitly with "reason" and as a form of reasoning if it's too limited?

This makes no sense. Maybe reread what I said? Or maybe it’s just that your wording isn’t communicating what you want it to?

I didn’t describe intelligence as a form of reasoning. I described rational reasoning as part of intelligence, along with creativity and abstract thinking.