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!

 

[jasper]

I have no problem with races being small or medium. Or having human weights and life spans. Will make the lifespan column easy.
Yea another freaking elf. Elfs we breed any where so you don't have to.
Autognome. Sentry Rest is just trance for 6 hours. True life Yeah you construct but since you whined about the lack of healing here three healing spells which will work for you. Plus some one up thread posted the construct affect/ not affected list. AC 13 + mod so AC 15 no need for mage armour. Plus no darkvision.
Giff. Yes no gun powder. And no Darkvision. + +
Hadozee Well I be a monkey's uncle. A flying monkey. Okay Gliding. Free feather falling for ever. 150 movement when you climb that 30 foot wall and oops I fell dm. I glide 150 feet away from the monster. Bonus no darkvision.
Plasmoid. Why yes I want to be a yummy slime mold. Bonus no darkvision. But others have stated the casting, carrying etc problem.
Thri-kreen. Free shield carry. BOO Darkvision. A new trance type.
My comments. Drop the elf totally. Remove the healing spells from the robot gnome. Drop the Slime mold. Drop the darkvision from the insect and drop the Sleepless ability.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

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.

What they’re saying there is simply how the RAW would interact with the wording of the ability if it becomes RAW as is. If they want it to enable TWF with heavy weapons, they’ll have to word it differently.

 

[Charlaquin]

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.

That’s not “how I would rule,” it’s what the rules say. In absence of any sort of statement from the people who created the rules that suggests otherwise, the default assumption should be that the rules work as they say they do.

 

[Parmandur]

That’s not “how I would rule,” it’s what the rules say. In absence of any sort of statement from the people who created the rules that suggests otherwise, the default assumption should be that the rules work as they say they do.

They seem to have worded it very carefully to mean that, yup.

 

[Parmandur]

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.

Is it? Where is it omitted in any 5E source?

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

If Spelljammer comes back, then we have to know the timeline of all the crystal spheres. For example a trade skyship from Oerth (after the Sundering event) goes to Krynn, is this for the war of the lance, for the summer of the chaos or after the soul war?

Spelljammers are very expensive for 1st level PCs... but what about the skyships in the astral plane?

I remember a module about a "deadsphere", a crystal sphere that suffered its own undead apocalypse. I guess most of population could be evacuated but it is perfect to be the place where the characters arrive after sucessly excape the demiplane of the dread (Ravenloft). Or some lord mummy from Innistrad world found a planar gate and now she is founding a new undead empire.

Flumpfs as a PC race are possible, but we should remember their taxonomy is radically different and they can't wear the ordinary clothes for bipedal humanoids (magic boots, belts, hats, capes, gloves, helms, armors...).

 

[Steampunkette]

So... Let's examine the "It's not Spelljammer or Planescape but a Multiverse" setup for a moment...

I think they kind of already laid out the outline for this potential reality back in the Van Richten's Guide, since it explores the realms of Ravenloft and expresses that they're all broken shards of a mirror universe sliding inexorably toward oblivion where different shards of the reality hold different truths (Like Strahd -not- being the first vampire in one Barovia and being the first in another, and the resultant headache that comes from that).

So what does that mean for us as players and our expectations of releases, particularly in the context of a "New Format"?

The first thing to consider is the "Old Settings" they've promised us. And with this particular UA it leans hard towards Spelljammer and Star Frontiers, which would allows us to travel from planet to planet (Crystal Spheres, if you prefer) within a given galaxy... But that's not really a new format, nor does it particularly play into a Multiversal Structure unless the facets of the Crystal lead to alternate realities on the same planet... which could be pretty amazing.

Planescape, likewise, doesn't really do the cross-reality setup, either. While it definitely allows a character to travel to different and disparate aspects of reality (The inner and outer planes) it doesn't really capture the multiverse-hopping angle... Not like Magic the Gathering's Planeswalkers, who traverse to different entire existences that occasionally have entirely alternate rules for how things function.

But by separating different worlds out to their own unique universes (With their own Prime Material Planes and their own Planar Structures) they can go full "What If..?" with Sigil. How about a reality where the City of Doors has a lot fewer doors 'cause there's less outer planes to visit? Or one in which the Lady of Pain is aware of the Multiverse and HATES IT.

Suddenly, Planeswalkers (Really Multiverse-Walkers) become people who visit different entire universes where there's different Sigils and Spelljamming structures. Where Sigil isn't just the crossroads of the outer planes, but a single Multiversal Constant that Planeswalkers use as a reference point. "This reality has no Abyss... We must be in Reality 22114..." or "Sigil is dead, with only a handful of shambling zombies moving around. This must be Dominaria, where the Lady of Pain went insane."

The "New Format" would be stat blocks for all the old characters with a bunch of templates for alternate realities and a whole new Planescape layout, ruleset, and concept... but it's just -one- Sigil and the old one is still canon, just apply the new 5e Stat Blocks to your old Sigil NPCs.

Now -that- would be different... Particularly if they also release an alternate-reality Spelljammer to go with it... Or first? Not sure.

And then Alternate Athas. False Krynn. Imposter Oerth.

... yeah. I'm not a huge fan of this particular angle... but at least it would be an interesting twist for updating old settings while maintaining the prior canon.

 

[Kurotowa]

Wow, that would be a real shame. The 5th edition era interviews with designers on DragonTalk from say about 2012 on have evinced a respect for the legacy of D&D worlds, monsters, and lore. To attempt to do Spelljammer but "cut and" replace "the phlogiston and crystal sphere business" would not only be a shame to me personally, but inconsistent with what I have heard from how the game's designers attempt to walk the line of iterating in ways that make improvements for a new generation and yet remain respectful for the legacy of the game.

Not every detail has to be preserved to respect a setting's legacy. If you refuse to update anything, why even publish a new book? The themes and narrative weight can be carried on while less important surface details get shuffled around. Take the example of this year's Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft that reworked many of the people and places while still retaining the core essence of Ravenloft. If you thought that book went too far, well, you're probably not going to be happy with the new Spelljammer book either.

Are the phlogiston and crystal spheres essential to Spelljammer? I don't think so. I had the whole dang novel series, and what was important was that it D&D In Space!(tm), not that fire spells were sometimes off the table. The locations, the politics, the strange new races and the old familiar races in new roles... those are what make Spelljammer cool. Not head scratching references to old disproven scientific theories.

 

[Parmandur]

Not every detail has to be preserved to respect a setting's legacy. If you refuse to update anything, why even publish a new book? The themes and narrative weight can be carried on while less important surface details get shuffled around. Take the example of this year's Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft that reworked many of the people and places while still retaining the core essence of Ravenloft. If you thought that book went too far, well, you're probably not going to be happy with the new Spelljammer book either.

Are the phlogiston and crystal spheres essential to Spelljammer? I don't think so. I had the whole dang novel series, and what was important was that it D&D In Space!(tm), not that fire spells were sometimes off the table. The locations, the politics, the strange new races and the old familiar races in new roles... those are what make Spelljammer cool. Not head scratching references to old disproven scientific theories.

The Crystal Spheres are, at least, still a thing in 5E, having been referenced in game products.

 

[Steampunkette]

So... on further reflection... I'm thinking Planesjammer.

The Hadozee entry refers specifically to their Homeworld, which heavily leans toward it being Spelljammer in structure, but Spelljamming doesn't really cut it with "Multiverse". Slap some Planescape in there with the hint of Planeswalking I referenced for alternate-reality travel and it makes a lot more sense.

Particularly if Sigil, city of doors, is also a Spelljammer port of call through the Astral Sea.

It'd still be a new format. A somewhat loathed "Mashup", I suspect, but it'd get a lot of important foundational stuff out before they start making new worlds to travel to through various means that you can either play "Natives" or "Invaders" with.