D&D 5E A Compilation of all the Race Changes in Monsters of the Multiverse

Over on Reddit, user KingJackel went through the video leak which came out a few days ago and manually compiled a list of all the changes to races in the book. The changes are quite extensive, with only the fairy and harengon remaining unchanged. The book contains 33 races in total, compiled and updated from previous Dungeons & Dragons books.

D&D 5E - List of All 33 Races in Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse

Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse contains 33 races compiled from previous Dungeons & Dragons books. Aarackocra Assimar Bugbear Centaur Changeling Deep Gnome Duergar Eladrin Fairy Firbolg Genasi, Air Genasi, Earth Genasi, Fire Gennasi, Water Githyanki Githzerai Goblin Goliath...

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D&D 5E - Full List of Monsters in Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse

Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse contains revamped stat blocks for 260 monsters previously published in previous Dungeons & Dragons 5E books. The list was compiled by YouTuber Bob Worldbuilder based on some blurry screenshots originally shared by Nerd Immersion (see the video...

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[Tales and Chronicles]

Yup, love these changes very much. The bugbears are really scary, with their squeezing space.

The nerf from Fury of the Small is bad, tho.

 

[Leatherhead]

Lets see:
Natural Weapons being changed into Unarmed Strikes means they no longer count as weapons. Which means you can't do fun things like powering up your teeth with Magic Weapon.

Magic resistance only working on spells is a massive nerf, especially when you consider that Monsters will be using named actions instead of casting spells going forward.

Those Elemental Evil spells really need to be folded into the core ruleset so they can get around that nasty PHB+1 rule. Especially the elemental Cantrips. Those would be great for the Genassai, speaking of which, the Fire type no longer has their pseudo-thermal-optic vision, which is a pity because it was fun flavor without any real mechanical benefit.

Bugbears are absolutely terrifying now, they are a Powerful Build sized creature that can curl up and fit inside your backpack. Then still reach out 10' to strike.

 

[fnordland]

What does PB mean? As in "equal to your PB." Is it proficiency bonus?

Thanks.

 

[Morrus]

What does PB mean? As in "equal to your PB." Is it proficiency bonus?

Yup.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I think realizing they could make more extensive use of the proficiency bonus a couple years back initially was inspiring to WotC designers in giving another option with how to balance abilities. It gave a number that scaled with level, other than level, that didn't require extra math and was great as a new balance option. But now they've just gone off the deepend in making it the preferred balance option for everything. I'm usually on board with WotC changes and adjustments, but I think they've just lost the plot here in terms of using the proficiency bonus for everything all the time, as if by compulsion.

They've basically used "proficiency bonus per day" to eliminate racial short rest abilities now. This isn't a problem if short rests are phased out entirely in some future 5.X edition or 6th edition; I think they are a game mechanic with good potential that was never implemented very well and while I'd hate to see them go, I can accept that it might make for a better game in some future iteration of D&D. But at the moment we are still in 5th edition, the 5th edition PHB is still the core game, and there are 2 and a half short rest dependent classes, and I would like more, not fewer, incentives for other party members to want to short rest with them. I think some of these once per short rest to proficiency bonus per day changes are probably necessary to make the abilities available often enough the players remember to use them or that they feel meaningful (goliaths being able to use Stone's Endurance multiple time in a fight where they are taking lots of damage really makes the ability much more meaningful and less of a ribbon). But the extent of changes seems to undermine the game balance overall.

And then there's just some silly, "proficiency bonus used for the sake of using proficiency bonus" things. Goblin "Fury of the Small" doing proficiency bonus damage rather than level damage nerfs an already minor ability that could at least occasionally shine at the right moment with a noticeable and narratively compelling effect down to a meaningless amount of damage per turn that's just another tedious thing to track. If it weren't for the once per turn limitation it could at least still feel meaningful for characters with many attacks. Now it potentially does more damage with less fun and more book-keeping.

There are lots of changes I do like here, and lots that I'm ambivalent about, but I think the "everything must equal proficiency bonus" trend (which I initially liked) is now doing more harm than good.

 

[Krachek]

What does PB mean? As in "equal to your PB." Is it proficiency bonus?

Thanks.

proficiency bonus

 

[Azzy]

Some good, some bad, some necessary, some unnecessary, some wanted, some unwanted. This looks like a mixed batch from my perspective.

 

[Oofta]

The change to proficiency bonus times per day isn't horrible, but does give the DM less control over such things. If I were to adopt this across the board, it would make short rest features much more powerful at times.

Goblinoids being fey is something I've always done. Good to see WOTC is finally catching up.

Some races seem to have big benefits over others with this. Seems like hobgoblins just won the power up lottery.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I am worried about the new magic resistance combined with the new monster abilities that replace spells.

Combined it is very hard to explain, why you don't get advantage against "fiery explosion" which mimics a plain old fireball.

 

[Li Shenron]

Changes for the sake of changes