D&D 5E New Unearthed Arcana Today: Giant Themed Class Options and Feats

A new Unearthed Arcana dropped today, focusing on giant-themed player options. "In today’s Unearthed Arcana, we explore character options related to the magic and majesty of giants. This playtest document presents the Path of the Giant barbarian subclass, the Circle of the Primeval druid subclass, the Runecrafter wizard subclass, and a collection of new feats, all for use in Dungeons & Dragons."

Giant Options | Unearthed Arcana | Dungeons & Dragons

Explore character options related to the magic and majesty of giants! This playtest document presents new subclasses for the barbarian, druid, and wizard, and a collection of new feats, all for use in Dungeons & Dragons.

dnd.wizards.com

New Class options:

• Barbarian: Path of the Giant
• Druid: Circle of the Primeval
• Wizard: Runecrafter Tradition

New Feats:

• Elemental Touched
• Ember of the Fire Giant
• Fury of the Frost Giant
• Guile of the Cloud Giant
• Keeness of the Stone Giant
• Outsized Might
• Rune Carver Apprentice
• Rune Carvwr Adept
• Soul of the Storm Giant
• Vigor of the Hill Giant

WotC's Jeremy Crawford talks Barbarian Path of the Giant here:

 

[Parmandur]

But would they produce a giants book? Giants already had a chapter in Volo's, after all, while dragons didn't. And this UA has dinosaurs and pleistocene megafauna as well.

Anyway, I could see them doing a primeval/neolithic/lost world-type setting, since that's something they really haven't done before, or at least not in a long while. Heck, it could be a rewrite of the Hollow World of Mystara, made to be as a location that could be inside the world of any other setting.

I personally would prefer something like that, if only because, as I said, they already gave giants text in Volo's and I would like something different.

Why would a discontinued book prevent them from making a new one to reach the current audience? Dinosaurs are already tied to the Primordials I'm 4E, IIRC, in lore written by...James Wyatt, the project manager for whatever this is intended to become.

The Volo's lore is something they have been actively trying ti retcon, so that makes a Giant book bringing in Primordial elemental lore even more likely.

A new Setting would be cool, and that may be what this is...butnit looks more like Giant Fizban's.

 

[Charlaquin]

Not sure if someone else has said this yet, but the Barbarian subclass feels very much like they saw a lot of the Rune Knight feedback saying, “feels like a Barbarian” and decided to go ahead and make the Barbarian people felt like it was. Which, to be clear, I think is awesome. I like that both subclasses can exist side-by side. Some folks may cry “niche protection,” but I like that multiple classes can express similar concepts in mechanically different ways.

 

[Charlaquin]

Also, has the possibility that this could be for a Muraganda setting been brought up yet? IIRC, it’s been confirmed that M:tG will be visiting Muraganda soon, and the primeval vibes here could signal a tie-in D&D setting book.

 

[Faolyn]

Why would a discontinued book prevent them from making a new one to reach the current audience? Dinosaurs are already tied to the Primordials I'm 4E, IIRC, in lore written by...James Wyatt, the project manager for whatever this is intended to become.

The Volo's lore is something they have been actively trying ti retcon, so that makes a Giant book bringing in Primordial elemental lore even more likely.

A new Setting would be cool, and that may be what this is...butnit looks more like Giant Fizban's.

You're right; I'd forgotten they were discontinuing Volo's. I don't use D&D Beyond or Roll20 or anything like that, so my actual dead tree books aren't being yanked.

Hmm, but now I wonder if, instead of a Fizban's for giants, it's going to be more of a Volo's 2.0, with ecologies for giants, elementals, and maybe some other creatures. If we get another UA soonish that focuses on a different type of creature, we'll know more.

 

[kapars]

Yeah, and it feels like the Level 1 available Feats are supposed to go with Backgrounds they didn't share because they might tip their hand too much.

In the new Baldur’s Gate Commander deck there is a Background card called “Raised by Giants” the wording of Outsized Might suggests to me that it could be the background feat of a medium/small character that grew up with giants and absorbed their magic.

 

[Bill Zebub]

Someone at WotC saw my post about the Monk, Bard, and Sorcerors capstone abilities being way too late.

Nuh-uh. More like somebody at WotC was spying on our game session once when we were talking about this exact thing. Kinda uncanny/spooky, really.

 

[Parmandur]

You're right; I'd forgotten they were discontinuing Volo's. I don't use D&D Beyond or Roll20 or anything like that, so my actual dead tree books aren't being yanked.

Hmm, but now I wonder if, instead of a Fizban's for giants, it's going to be more of a Volo's 2.0, with ecologies for giants, elementals, and maybe some other creatures. If we get another UA soonish that focuses on a different type of creature, we'll know more.

Well, one reason to suspect it may be like Fizban's is that it is Wyatt's direct followup project to Fizban's. Also, Primordials and Dinosaurs ate already Giant relayed, in the Primeval cosmic struggle between the Dragon gods and the Titans...

 

[Mistwell]

Could First World be Greyhawk?

 

[DeviousQuail]

Nuh-uh. More like somebody at WotC was spying on our game session once when we were talking about this exact thing. Kinda uncanny/spooky, really.

I dunno. Sports announcers regularly copy everything I say. WotC piggybacking on a reliable source seems likely.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

I have only read the barbarian and druid entries, but so far I like it.