D&D 5E Unearthed Arcana: Travelers of the Multiverse

New free content from WotC - the latest 4-page Unearthed Arcana introduces six new races: astral elf, autognome, giff, hadozee, plasmoid, and thri-kreen.

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dnd.wizards.com

Looks like Spelljammer and/or Planescape is back on the menu!

 

[Hatmatter]

That's true, however I think if they were doing a single "Multiversal Product" they probably would have thrown in a couple of Planescape races too, and probably fewer races so Spelljammer focused. That doesn't mean there won't be a Planescape-Race UA coming next, but I do think if this was all getting shoved into one book, they'd probably come in the same UA as well (a Races UA). Seems more likely than another races UA coming later.

More likely IMO, that they've decided to separate Spelljammer and Planescape into separate products. It makes sense to do that for a couple reason; more products to sell! And they do fill different niches thematically in many ways, as Spelljammer is more swashbuckling, Buck Rogers style fantasy, while Planescape a bit more cerebral, almost Sandman-like fantasy.

I definitely feel that the Boo alternative cover is for this Spelljammer book, and that with this many races, it could well be a hybrid setting-adventure (instead of firmly one-or-the-other).

I'm still very much expecting Planescape to come, it seems like a homerun winner of a product, but I think this UA points to it releasing separately from Spelljammer.

I agree with this Urriak Uruk. There is, in addition, another possibility. Ray Winninger in the past year has mentioned this oft-speculated on new and innovative format with which the D&D Studio will be experimenting. It could be that if this new format is multi-volume in scope of some kind, that there could be an effort to do both plane travel and spelljamming in a combined multiverse concept without gutting the Spelljammer cosmology with some of the "Planejammer" ideas that have been expressed here on Enworld over the years. A multi-volume, new format that explores new crystal spheres as well as takes us, in depth, to outer, inner, and transversal planes, might be grand and innovative both in form and content.

 

[jasper]

New race. Darkvision. You are humoniad, slime, or contrust. Move 30 feet. You have darkvision.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I think it’s intended to apply to gear.

If you’re wielding a two-handed weapon and one light weapon, no, because you haven’t met the requirement for two-weapon fighting of making an attack with a light melee weapon you’re wielding in one hand. If you’re wielding a two-handed weapon in your main hands and one light melee weapon in each of your secondary hands, of course you can use two-weapon fighting with the weapons in your secondary hands. If you have Extra Attack, you could even attack with the two-handed weapon with one of your attacks, one of your light melee weapons with your other attack, and with the other light melee weapon as a bonus action with two weapon fighting.

Sure, but you’d need Extra Attack or Crossbow Expert to attack with both on the same turn, since they aren’t light melee weapons.

With respect, I'm not interested in how you would rule, I'm interested in how the people creating the game intend it to work.

 

[Hatmatter]

I'm leaning on them ditching Phlogiston and just saying you can sail through the Astral through specific routes or something (they may just call the paths "phlogiston paths" or something). The Astral Elves do seem to be elves from the Imperial Elven Navy.

For what it is worth, Jeremy Crawford, in a DragonTalk about the D&D cosmology, specifically identified that the D&D multiverse Material Plane worlds are on the same Material Plane. Therefore, if one has the requisite information, one could teleport (which does not transverse planes) from Krynn to Oerth, for example. I would think that if the the cosmology is retconned from the phlogiston to the Astral Plane, then there is planar travel taking place between crystal spheres that would be inconsistent with how teleport works.

In other words, even though this kind of idea is popular here, Urriak Uruk, I do not see evidence from the D&D Studio that they want to alter the multiverse cosmology in this way, the Astral Elf notwithstanding. Sometimes, the idea for different books or projects can be combined in a single UA. Or, perhaps, the D&D Studio will be attempting to do both Spelljamming and Planescape at the same time, without changing some of the fundamentals of its cosmology. For example, there can be races and people that prefer to traverse planes, ones that prefer to traverse the Material Plane through spelljamming, and then races and people that do both.

 

[jasper]

There is no advantage in wielding more than 2 weapons for the purpose of two weapon fighting rules.

two weapon plus a shield. So Long sword, shield main hands. Light saber um light weight weapon in middle hands. Automatic +2 to ac = AC 15 naked and two weapon attacks at first level. So 10% AC bonus.

 

[jasper]

IT'S A OOZE SPENDING 10 MINUTES TRYING TO ASFIXIATE SOMEONE BY HUGGIN THEIR FACE

DM can I fill the NPC lungs with my body because according the Grey's Anadomine of all thing throats are generally 1.5 inches in diameter.

 

[Parmandur]

It's pointless. And most people won't understand the reference.

Equally pointless to get rid of it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Equally pointless to get rid of it.

It's already rid. Only a tiny fraction of current players remember it, and only a few of those actually use it in their games. It wound be not resurrecting it, not getting rid of it.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

My point was that not all Aberrations have to be evil abominations from beyond this world. There are in fact options that are benevolent, so a Playable Aberration race (like a Ceremorph) is a feasible concept.

I don’t understand how “there have been friendly aberrations” is a counter to “there shouldn’t be friendly aberrations”.

“Is” statements do not counter “should” statements.

 

[TwoSix]

Has it been noted yet that giff sometimes get into arguments as to whether it's pronounced with a hard or soft g?

Choosy moms choose giff.