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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[Parmandur]

Fair point. I guess I'm just meaning that Bahamut as old wizard does not necessarily have to equal Fizban. The latter is probably one of many "old man" guises that he puts on. I also don't recall Fizban / Paladine ever being associated with seven gold dragons canaries.

Spoilers be damned! This is ancient history we're talking here.

My God, man, those books just came out 37 years ago, they are practically new!

The link is more that Fizban is name checked with his own spell here, and the Bahumat-as-Wizard trope is name checked in the other article. Seems patternish.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I'm not particularly turned off by any of them but "Sting".

One of them is Biter.

It’s totally wacky to say that Biter is fine but Icingdeath or Twinkle are bad.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

One of them is Biter.

It’s totally wacky to say that Biter is fine but Icingdeath or Twinkle are bad.

This conversation isn't going anywhere. I'm just going to step away.

 

[Undrave]

I don’t know about the new Kobold. Fear resistance, smacking enemies with their tails, and roaring like a dragon don’t strike me as particularly Kobold-like. I mean, I guess it beats having a strength penalty and an ability based on acting pathetic, but... Eh, not a fan. Then again, my Kobolds are rat-folk, so anything that doubles down on the draconic heritage probably won’t get used at my table anyway.

I miss the 4e shifty Kobolds. They were very good.

 

[Parmandur]

This conversation isn't going anywhere. I'm just going to step away.

That's sort of what we specialize in here.

 

[Charlaquin]

I miss the 4e shifty Kobolds. They were very good.

Yes they were! Although I also like 5e’s pack tactics kobolds quite a bit. That’s actually how I landed on them being rat-folk in my setting. I wanted a rat-people race, looked to giant rats for a starting point for abilities, landed on pack tactics... And realized the Kobold racial stats already pretty much did what I wanted a rat-folk race to do. Then looked at their lore and realized they also filled the narrative role I wanted rat-folk to fill. Decided, alright, let’s just call back to old school mammalian Kobold descriptions and rat them up a bit. Then remembered Kobolds are rat-folk in WoW too and that pretty much solidified the decision for me. Urds became bat-folk.

Dragon worship is still very common among my Kobolds, but more out of practicality than a shared ancestry. Kobolds and dragons often inhabit the same spaces, and both have hoarding tendencies, so offering tribute to the dragon you share a lair with is a prudent practice, which it makes sense would develop ritual significance.

 

[pukunui]

I miss the 4e shifty Kobolds. They were very good.

5e’s got shifty goblins instead. You could easily trade out the kobold’s Pack Tactics for the goblin’s Nimble Escape. Or give them something akin to the scout rogue’s ability to move away from someone as a reaction.

 

[Charlaquin]

5e’s got shifty goblins instead. You could easily trade out the kobold’s Pack Tactics for the goblin’s Nimble Escape. Or give them something akin to the scout rogue’s ability to move away from someone as a reaction.

Yeah, I prefer goblins as hit-and-run skirmishers and Kobolds as swarm-mobs. Gives them distinct vibes that I think fit well with their lore.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

There is a ruby dragon, and he's even mentioned in the UA in the gem dragonborn section. That's Saridor, the Ruby Dragon, who is the gem dragon equivalent of Bahamut and Tiamat.

Yes, I got it the first half-dozen times.

Again, there are different gem dragons in Mystara, and it wouldn't be weird to have had them show up in 5E, given that Mystaran monsters have been getting pulled into the core game since the 3E Monster Manual.

Mystaran gem dragons include the crystalline, jade, onyx and ruby.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

And remember: if you think Twinkle and Iceingdeath are weird names, I think those two are, personally, the tamest name wise. FR and DND has had some weird naming conventions before.

Yeah, like most of the names in Greyhawk.