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.

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[LuisCarlos17f]

Sorry but maybe my level of English is not enough good to understand this (or it is an errata):

Feat: Gift of the Metallic Dragon (pag4)
The spell’s spellcasting ability is the ability increased by this feat.

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There are kaijus in D&D, even in the core monster compendium, for example the famous tarrasque, but also practically the catatrophic dragons and dzalmaus is practically the D&D version of Ghidora, and we can't forget Ilkoria is now part of the D&D multiverse. Now I am thinking about a dzalmaus dragonborn as a Lovecraftian subrace created by any creature from the Far Realm.

Maybe there is a future Councyl of Wyrms, and not only for D&D but also for Magic: the Gathering.

* The metallic dragons from Dragonlance didn't appear as "monster allies" in the battlefield untile the third book of the first trilogy of novels.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

do we have dragon warlocks yet?

It's crazy that we don't. Dragons seem much more likely to be a warlock patron than, as has been depicted in previous editions, teaching draconic magic to lesser beings. Even a good-aligned dragon will want the option of turning the power faucet off if the warlock displeases them.

 

[Demetrios1453]

we need a better gem dragon characterisation like goals for why they do things.

throw in aberrations and we would have the whole set.

I was previously thinking it might be a "creatures of magic" Volo's-type book. Aberrations would work thematically, although it may be a matter of whether there will be room to fit them in!

 

[Mind of tempest]

Other than Draconic Transformation and Summon Draconic Spirit, the other spells don't feel particularly draconic. They're fine, but they don't feel like something a dragon or their follower would use or something a dragon hunter would use.

It feels like a missed opportunity to not look at the three (!) dragon-focused 3E books and the 4E dragon books (two of them, as I recall) and bring the good stuff there forward. Hopefully they'll at least do that with the new monsters if this is indeed a Draconomicon.

they do seem very normal spells we will need more fundamentally draconic spells as well.

so we are likely to get a book of dragons a fae correct?

There are kaijus in D&D, even in the core monster compendium, for example the famous tarrasque, but also practically the catatrophic dragons and dzalmaus is practically the D&D version of Ghidora, and we can't forget Ilkoria is now part of the D&D multiverse. Now I am thinking about a dzalmaus dragonborn as a Lovecraftian subrace created by any creature from the Far Realm.

the tarrasque is small by modern kaiju standards have you seen the size of Godzilla these days?

Ghidorah is clearly an elder evil and an aberration.

 

[Parmandur]

I was previously thinking it might be a "creatures of magic" Volo's-type book. Aberrations would work thematically, although it may be a matter of whether there will be room to fit them in!

Alternative possiblity: Draconomicon in November, with a Feywild Adventure in September that has some Fey Lineages, similar to Icewind Dale. That would fit with a lot of the Tasha's Cauldron material.

 

[Faolyn]

I was previously thinking it might be a "creatures of magic" Volo's-type book. Aberrations would work thematically, although it may be a matter of whether there will be room to fit them in!

They already had a focus on beholders and mind flayers in Volo's, so this time around, they could maybe have a chapter on neogi and grell... thus providing a tie-in for a future Spelljammer book.

I wonder what sort of races they'd have for the aberration section, though. Beyond "normal humanoids mutated by eldritch energies or psionic grafts."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I was previously thinking it might be a "creatures of magic" Volo's-type book. Aberrations would work thematically, although it may be a matter of whether there will be room to fit them in!

If we're on our second set of draconic UA material and there's no sign of anything other than a single fey UA, I don't think there's any reason to suspect this is going to be a Big Book of Multiple Monster Types.

Occam's Razor would suggest a Draconomicon and a separate book that includes fey stuff.

We'll have to see what the next UA contains.

 

[Mind of tempest]

They already had a focus on beholders and mind flayers in Volo's, so this time around, they could maybe have a chapter on neogi and grell... thus providing a tie-in for a future Spelljammer book.

I wonder what sort of races they'd have for the aberration section, though. Beyond "normal humanoids mutated by eldritch energies or psionic grafts."

grell are just animals go abolith and Psurlon.

I have debate hammering out an idea for a decent aberration pc character race with a suitably iconic look.

 

[Nikosandros]

Could be they put it in originally, but crunched the numbers and found the powers were too good with an ability increase.

It is possible. But then Cure Wounds lacks a spellcasting ability.

 

[Mind of tempest]

It is possible. But then Cure Wounds lacks a spellcasting ability.

I do not follow?