D&D 5E Latest D&D Errata: Drow, Alignment, & More

Sage Advice is a series of articles in which Jeremy Crawford, one of the D&D Studio’s game design architects, talks about the design of the game’s rules and answers questions about them.

Book Updates | Sage Advice | Dungeons & Dragons

This Sage Advice provides updates and errata for a number of books, as well as answers to rules questions.

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D&D books occasionally receive corrections and other updates to their rules and story. This Sage Advice installment presents updates to several books. I then answer a handful of rules questions, focusing on queries related to Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons and Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos.

Official errata has been published for the following books:

• Curse of Strahd
• Dungeon Master’s Guide
• Player’s Handbook
• Storm King’s Thunder
• Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
• Tales from the Yawning Portal
• Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
• Tomb of Annihilation
• Volo’s Guide to Monsters

Here's some of the highlights.

• Alignment is removed from the Racial Traits section of races.
• Drow have undergone lore changes which reflect the different types of drow. The 'darkness of the drow' sidebar which portrays them as only evil has been removed.
• Storm King's Thunder alters references to 'Savage Frontier' and 'barbarians'; Curse of Strahd alters references to the Vistani.
• The controversial Silvery Barbs spell has been clarified.

As a drow, you are infused with the magic of the Underdark, an underground realm of wonders and horrors rarely seen on the surface above. You are at home in shadows and, thanks to your innate magic, learn to con- jure forth both light and darkness. Your kin tend to have stark white hair and grayish skin of many hues.

The cult of the god Lolth, Queen of Spiders, has cor- rupted some of the oldest drow cities, especially in the worlds of Oerth and Toril. Eberron, Krynn, and other realms have escaped the cult’s influence—for now. Wherever the cult lurks, drow heroes stand on the front lines in the war against it, seeking to sunder Lolth’s web.

 

[Weiley31]

I don't know what everybody's problem is: none of the books I own mention any of these things.

 

[DEFCON 1]

D&D has always had an implied setting in the core books, and part of why settings like Dark Sun, Planescape and Eberron work is because the play against those implied assumptions. If they aren't their to react against it doesn't work as well.

That doesn't make any sense. Something playing against nothing works just as well as something playing against something else. Eberron's assumptions are just as interesting whether or not they are compared to Oerth's assumptions or no assumptions at all.

 

[DarkCrisis]

One change I'd like to see is changing the "Barbarian" class to "Berserker".

 

[Paul Farquhar]

If you look at the history of FR, Brothels don't have the same dark history as say Brothels during ancient Roman times did with the use of slavery (exceptions exist), in FR Brothels often have more religious element thanks to Sune, Sharess, Llirra, and Waukeen among other Gods, and they & sex workers aren't judged nearly as harshly as they are in the real world.

FR has an Renaissance aesthetic,but it's never really been a midevil or Renaissance world in terms of social dynamics, there really isn't a RL equivalent. Imagine the sexual revolution of the 60's happened back during the Renaissance, and that the idea that humans have races in the popular culture sense didn't exist, along with no rise of Monotheism, and ancient Egypt, Greece, and Mesopotamia but with access to Renaissance tech, still exist, and tons of wide and high magic then you get a step closer to FR.

I don't think "sex work is okay because religion" is any more acceptable...

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Eberron already had the concept of the Coautl-Worshipping Yuan-Ti known as the Shulassakar.

And from there I definitely came up with the idea that many Yuan-Ti aren't evil, especially when aligning them closer to the concepts of Nagas who were traditionally of many different alignments. So instead I came up with different Serpents beings produce different types of Yuan-Ti cults/orders. Sure there could be ones aligned with Apep/Apophis or Jormangandr (the Midgaard Serpent) who probably would be evil, Yuan-Ti aligned with Vasuki (the snake around Shivas neck) or Manasa (Hindu Snake Goddess) might typically be neutral, and Yuan-Ti aligned with Lillendi Celestials (introduced in 2e) or Mucalinda (the snake who protected Buddha from the elements) might be good aligned.

 

[orial]

A book of NPC allies and companion creatures would be amazing. Great idea.

There is! AC1 The Shady Dragon Inn (Basic) - Wizards of the Coast | D&D Basic | Maps/Terrain/Game Aids | D&D Basic | Dungeon Masters Guild

 

[overgeeked]

"Dungeons and Dragons, now with less Cringe"

Now if only they’d remove the murder is the best path to power stuff, the home invasion for fun and profit stuff, the kill everything and steal everything stuff, and all the conquistadors & colonizers stuff.

 

[bedir than]

Can you tell me what they removed that differentiated an dwarf from Waterdeep and an dwarf from the Dalelands? A halfling from Chult vs. a halfling from the Amn? Because I don't see where they removed anything where the character's race affected the culture for any of what you are claiming was removed.

I cannot support claims I've never made nor ideas I don't have.

 

[Weiley31]

Also: Since the brothel is a Music Hall/Venue now, that would explain why all the lovely working girls there have a level or two in Bard now while the Madam has 15 levels in Bard. And is in line with the usual known fact about Bards in general, which means WoTC has made it officially canon.

So not all the Errata is a total failure.

 

[Remathilis]

Now if only they’d remove the murder is the best path to power stuff, the home invasion for fun and profit stuff, the kill everything and steal everything stuff, and all the conquistadors & colonizers stuff.

I do love how we hem and haw about racial alignment, brothels and barbarians and then blithely ignore the central premise of the game is rooted in killing things that don't look like you and taking thier stuff.