D&D 5E Unearthed Arcana: Draconic Options

The latest Unearthed Arcana from WotC is called Draconic Options. It includes three variant Dragonborn races and a new kobold race, as well as a handful of new spells and feats. Dragonlance fans might do a double-take when they see Fizban's platinum shield (two Forgotten Realms dragons are referenced in the spells, too -- Icingdeath and Raulothim -- as is the FR god of fey dragons, Nathair).

Harness the power of dragons in this installment of Unearthed Arcana! This playtest document presents race, feat, and spell options related to dragons in Dungeons & Dragons.

First is a trio of draconic race options presented as an alternative to the dragonborn race in the Player’s Handbook, as well as a fresh look at the kobold race. Then comes a handful of feat options that reflect a connection to draconic power. Finally, an assortment of spells—many of them bearing the names of famous or infamous dragons—offer a variety of approaches to manifesting dragon magic.

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

 

[Parmandur]

PLANESCAPE CONFIRMED!

I mean, one of the named Dragons in the spell section is obsessed with Spelljamming threats to Toril, so...

SPELLJAMMER CONFIRMED

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Don't read too much into it. Icingdeath is the Dragon Drizzt fought and clearly a Realms character. This is a "NPC's Guide to Dragons" book.

The Heroes of the Lance would be the most obvious NPCs for a _____'s Draconomicon. (People would lose their minds if it was "Tasslehoff Burrfoot's Draconomicon.") Are there any other non-Krynn NPCs closely associated with dragons? "Venger's Draconomicon?" (Which would cause a different group of people to lose their minds.)

 

[Kurotowa]

I'm liking the "stealth" fix to Dragonborn. Makes them playable finally.

There's certainly a trend of "backdoor 5.5E" going on. Tasha's offered "alternative" Ranger options to fix the class without invalidating any characters made with the old material. Now we're seeing "fixed" stats for Dragonborn and Kobolds and Hobgoblins; all popular races with underwhelming racial packages from the early days of 5e. Or maybe 5.5E is too much, and this is more like 5.25E. But whatever you call it, the Devs are going back and taking a second crack at things a lot of people would claim they got wrong the first time. Which I have to commend them for.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

will it have cool stuff and lore is the great question?

Every Draconomicon has.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Kobolds were the big enemies for the first half of my campaign, and their scale color was a big deal. (Amusingly, my players haven't put two and two together about one of the surviving kobolds and their scale color.)

It could be the case that Chromatic Kobolds are evil and Metallic Kobolds are good, if Dragons are generally that way.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

maybe Mystara?

They have gem dragons, but they're completely different, as so often happens with Mystara.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So for those keeping score of post-Tasha's UAs for predicting the next book... the Gothic Lineages and Undead Subclasses both went into the Ravenloft book. That leaves us the Draconic Subclasses and this new Draconic Options, which are obviously a pair, and the Fey Folk racial pack. So either there's two books in the works or there's a multi-section book like Volo's or Mordenkainen's (though maybe a bit narrower in focus) that covers dragons and fae.

Would dragon and fey stuff work for an Eldraine book?

 

[Parmandur]

Would dragon and fey stuff work for an Eldraine book?

The Faerie lineage specifically, sure, the rest of it? No, not really.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It could be the case that Chromatic Kobolds are evil and Metallic Kobolds are good, if Dragons are generally that way.

And a bunch of gem kobolds off to the sides, muttering that no one ever pays attention to them.

 

[Parmandur]

You know, one possible connection here...the Intermediate Deity mentioned in the Spell list is the god of Faerie dragons, and a member of one of the Fey courts. Makes as much sense as mixing Fiends with Gith next to Elves & Dwarves.