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.

dnd.wizards.com

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.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I'm new here and don't know how to split up posts like you did, so I've numbered your points to reply to them:

1) You clearly think that those things being normal and there being no stigma is the right thing. I don't want those things to be a normal part of society. And I don't want to have to deal with rampant sexualisation because of it, and it's not just those places, because those places exist, they're depicted in shows and movies, where actresses are dressed (or not) appropriately for that place.

The pervasive sexualisation that has been occurring for a long time now has no constructive place in society in my opinion, if it is to exist it should be something that those interested in it seek out, not something that bleeds through into all facets of life. I couldn't read more than half of the 'newspapers' in the UK growing up without being shown women being made sex objects. Whether or not they choose to do that with their time and body is not the point, the point is that it effects others.

2) Except I seem to be right on time, as they just removed it. This is an edition where things are dynamically changed by errata, they put it there originally and now they have removed it.

3) How is removing an instance of sexualization a step backwards? How in anyway does that make sense?

4) The 2024 event is meant to be backwards compatible, and in the interim thousands of copies of the DMG will likely be sold. The attitude 'it's basically too late to make things better' is not good enough and will never lead to anything but harm. It's never too late to change for the better, it may not have been ideal timing, but it's never too late to be better.

5) So what? Some might not feel comfortable, some might not care, some might prefer it. That has zero bearing on not doing it to begin with, it's exposure to things like games you play as a child that normalises these things.

And what female players say at a table is a narrow metric, I don't allow it at tables I run that are all guys and I ask my DMs to avoid it. I don't want it, and I don't want to stand by and allow it where I have the power to make a difference. That is my stance as the man I have become after years of being a toxic part of the problem.

As for how one word makes that difference, every little helps, but if you nitpick every change then they'll never add up, will they? And in a roleplaying game someone rolling that option could lead to a very unpleasant experience.

6) What is it with you and this whole sex worker thing? No one has made them less as human beings, the exact opposite has happened in this thread. What you're doing is trying to normalise it as a profession which is entirely different and not something I support.

And you seem to be missing the point. If you're fading to black, it's still there, with plenty of potential for other things.

There's no good reason why something like a brothel should be included in the game, and if the game was created now instead of when it was, I have a feeling things like this wouldn't have been so ingrained to begin with.

Children play this game, they shouldn't come across these things and sorry, in today's age they'd just google what it is and that isn't leading anywhere wholesome or productive to healthy development.

Whilst I think them removing "brothel" is the smart move here, it's worth noting that your opinion is pretty extreme, and is not actually a well-accepted or broadly-held opinion, even on the left. Nor is his, but the point is, neither of you is "right", and neither of you is making a particularly great case for your position. Your continual reference to "what I support" as if we should care is a bit much, frankly.

 

[HammerMan]

I'm new here and don't know how to split up posts like you did, so I've numbered your points to reply to them:

oh okay I took forever to learn this, put the curser in the quote and hit enter a few times

1) You clearly think that those things being normal and there being no stigma is the right thing. I don't want those things to be a normal part of society. And I don't want to have to deal with rampant sexualisation because of it, and it's not just those places, because those places exist, they're depicted in shows and movies, where actresses are dressed (or not) appropriately for that place.

We will never agree then. Becuse it isn't just normal it is BOTH normal and demonized.

The pervasive sexualisation that has been occurring for a long time now has no constructive place in society in my opinion, if it is to exist it should be something that those interested in it seek out, not something that bleeds through into all facets of life.

except if you hide things in shadows bad things happen to people there. if you expose it to the light you help more people

I couldn't read more than half of the 'newspapers' in the UK growing up without being shown women being made sex objects. Whether or not they choose to do that with their time and body is not the point, the point is that it effects others.

wait...what? are the newspapers playboys or are they VIctoria secret catalogs?

2) Except I seem to be right on time, as they just removed it. This is an edition where things are dynamically changed by errata, they put it there originally and now they have removed it.

if this WAS an edition changed by errata I would at least understand... but problems with play get later book patches instead of errata (summoning spells, ranger)

3) How is removing an instance of sexualization a step backwards? How in anyway does that make sense?

step forwards are into the light, not pushing things into shadow, and not eraseing them. Not making people think it is okay to just say "brothals bad"

4) The 2024 event is meant to be backwards compatible, and in the interim thousands of copies of the DMG will likely be sold.

and most will have that word in it.

The attitude 'it's basically too late to make things better' is not good enough and will never lead to anything but harm. It's never too late to change for the better, it may not have been ideal timing, but it's never too late to be better.

more harm comes from thinking these people don't have a place in the world.

5) So what? Some might not feel comfortable, some might not care, some might prefer it. That has zero bearing on not doing it to begin with, it's exposure to things like games you play as a child that normalises these things.

yes, and normalise it we should. I promise you when I was working at the clubs A LOT of these women had children.

And what female players say at a table is a narrow metric, I don't allow it at tables I run that are all guys and I ask my DMs to avoid it.

cool, we red card somethings and allow otheres too. table to table is the best way to make that call.

I don't want it, and I don't want to stand by and allow it where I have the power to make a difference. That is my stance as the man I have become after years of being a toxic part of the problem.

no offense but saying that "The pervasive sexualisation that has been occurring for a long time now has no constructive place in society in my opinion" still seems kinda toxic

As for how one word makes that difference, every little helps, but if you nitpick every change then they'll never add up, will they? And in a roleplaying game someone rolling that option could lead to a very unpleasant experience.

and again what is the cross over of 'can cause unpleasant," and 'used the chart' and 'found the errata'?

6) What is it with you and this whole sex worker thing? No one has made them less as human beings, the exact opposite has happened in this thread. What you're doing is trying to normalise it as a profession which is entirely different and not something I support.

and it is many professions not just one, and your entire thing here is why I think more then ever I need to speak up.

And you seem to be missing the point. If you're fading to black, it's still there, with plenty of potential for other things.

okay and?

There's no good reason why something like a brothel should be included in the game, and if the game was created now instead of when it was, I have a feeling things like this wouldn't have been so ingrained to begin with.

okay, so next edition just don't bring it up, why go back AND CALL OUT YOU ARE???

Children play this game, they shouldn't come across these things and sorry, in today's age they'd just google what it is and that isn't leading anywhere wholesome or productive to healthy development.

oh no... children might find something about sex online... I am shocked, shocked I say.

 

[Ixal]

Racism, as we know it, was invented, pretty much ex nihilo, in order to enable slavery, and it was invented a lot earlier than the 1800s. The 1800s just pushed it even further. Racism (in the modern sense) and slavery then became a sort of dynamo, with one driving the other. The idea that you can cleanly separate them is simply wrong. Seeing modern racism as simply appearing in the "rush for Africa" is like thinking that jet aeroplanes just popped into existence in the 1940s. Sure they made it much worse with more of a scientific veneer, but it was already well on the way, and the pseudoscience was just the latest adaptation of a long series of adaptations to make the concept more successful.

Likewise poverty in the US in many cases directly stems from the fallout of slavery meaning millions and millions of people in the 1860s started with basically zero in an area directly hostile to them getting anything (this is very different to the situation most immigrants faced - many of them came in with significant wealth, even ones who saw themselves as poor, and were entering a society far less hostile to them in most cases). This is a complex discussion which shouldn't be had here, though.

Slavery started out as "everyone we could defeat militarily" when captured soldiers and civilians were sold as slaves.
Later it changed into religious slavery and everyone not of your religion was fair game both in the Christian and the Muslim world. The idea of different races was more of an excuse why Europeans could colonize Africa "in the name of enlightening them" (and also to stop slavery. Go figure). But by that time the triangle trade was pretty much over.

Slavery was racial before that, but mostly because Africa became the main and only source of slaves, especially for Europeans as they couldn't get them from anywhere else, but it was still technically a religious deal and not limited to black people.

 

[DorkForge]

now try to put together the ven diagram of those people who are or would be offended and people who rolled it on the chart or even noticed the chart...

I promise you it is small overlap, but erasing it (and calling it out as erasing it) is hurting the normalization of a job.

okay, but that is out the window...it has been in the book for the better part of a decade.

You know I started off by saying this was weird and prudish... but the more people defend it the more I feel it is out right wrong.

Here's something: It shouldn't be normal

You seem to think things like brothels and stripclubs exist in an explicit bubble that don't leak, that's not how things work. I'd sincerely love if I could retroactively remove being introduced to porn in highschool, and if I could remove the instances where stripclubs and brothels led to me seeing women turned into objects in shows and movies I watched.

It doesn't lead to the empowerment of women or anything else you may wish to paint as noble, it leads to objectification and the notion that doing so is normal. Which leads to horrendous body issues for women and the degradation of the morals of men.

It isn't being prudish to want those things, and the very real harm they create, to stay away from the lives of those that don't actively seek it out. And even if you think it is prudish, there's far worse things to be in life.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

oh okay I took forever to learn this, put the curser in the quote and hit enter a few times

We will never agree then. Becuse it isn't just normal it is BOTH normal and demonized.

except if you hide things in shadows bad things happen to people there. if you expose it to the light you help more people

wait...what? are the newspapers playboys or are they VIctoria secret catalogs?

if this WAS an edition changed by errata I would at least understand... but problems with play get later book patches instead of errata (summoning spells, ranger)

step forwards are into the light, not pushing things into shadow, and not eraseing them. Not making people think it is okay to just say "brothals bad"

and most will have that word in it.

more harm comes from thinking these people don't have a place in the world.

yes, and normalise it we should. I promise you when I was working at the clubs A LOT of these women had children.

cool, we red card somethings and allow otheres too. table to table is the best way to make that call.

no offense but saying that "The pervasive sexualisation that has been occurring for a long time now has no constructive place in society in my opinion" still seems kinda toxic

and again what is the cross over of 'can cause unpleasant," and 'used the chart' and 'found the errata'?

and it is many professions not just one, and your entire thing here is why I think more then ever I need to speak up.

okay and?

okay, so next edition just don't bring it up, why go back AND CALL OUT YOU ARE???

oh no... children might find something about sex online... I am shocked, shocked I say.

Maybe you guys could take it to DMs? Neither of you is "right" or "wrong", and the argument is going nowhere.

 

[Minigiant]

One thing about the gaming and entertainment community I noticed recently is that many forget that gaming companies still need to make everi-ncreasing profits and money. This means expanding or milking their customer base.

 

[Justice and Rule]

now try to put together the ven diagram of those people who are or would be offended and people who rolled it on the chart or even noticed the chart...

I promise you it is small overlap, but erasing it (and calling it out as erasing it) is hurting the normalization of a job.

The problem is really less about the potential outrage of people who just don't want brothels, but more the people who have negative views of sex workers who would use it. And I don't mean negative in that they don't like sex workers, but the more lurid and outdated ideas about what sex work is.

okay, but that is out the window...it has been in the book for the better part of a decade.

I mean, it's not? They could totally reintroduce such things in the future with a proper aside about how such things should be handled. I'm not sure if WOTC is ready for that, though.

You know I started off by saying this was weird and prudish... but the more people defend it the more I feel it is out right wrong.

Again, I think the risk is someone doing a bad portrayal of what a brothel is at some Adventurer's League function and there being a whole internet blow-up to not giving players guidance on how to handle that stuff.

 

[Zardnaar]

I think it's a complicated question, realistically.

Personally I'd say there were three major things which can push the issue from "Not really" to "Yeah it does say something bad about you":

1) The author's works incorporate ideas which, once you realize their personal politics, make it clear that they really do think X horrific thing is actually a good thing.

and/or

2) The author's views are so horrific that they're not merely grotesque or outdated or eye-roll-worthy, but in fact "beyond the pale". Obviously there are a few people who are ridiculous about this - like I once read a blog that suggested any fantasy author who features racism or sexuality-based oppressed should be cancelled - but they're outliers and rarely have much support (esp. as it would mean cancelling most left-wing fantasy authors!). It's easy to see (imho) who is genuinely beyond the pale of mainstream-ish society in their views.

and/or

3) The author has really awful views and is alive, and is actively campaigning based on those views/encouraging people to them. If this is the case, and you keep spending money on the author's works, or actively promoting them, it's pretty easy to see that there's a direct line between you supporting that author and the author being empowered to further be awful.


Sure but I can find 4-6 hour long series on YouTube about how [insert horrific historical figure] was actually a good person, or how Star Trek "became woke" and started sucking (at no point was Star Trek not "woke" for it's time period lol). Chancers on YouTube will make videos about anything and people will watch them. Hell, I once clicked on a mild criticism of Mass Effect (which in no way touched on feminism or anything of the sort), and then YouTube decided I wanted right-wing lunatics ranting about "the feminists ruining gaming", and apparently there were dozens/hundreds of videos on the subject, because they made up about 20% of my recommended videos from then until YouTube changed it's algorithm away from the the "radicalization" algorithm.

There's no possibility the authors didn't know it was basically a massive whitewash. Douglas Niles is only 67, not 97, and he and the other author certainly did some research into the subject. The discussion of exactly how awful the Spanish were in South America had been ongoing since literally the 1600s! (C.f. the "Black Legend" and "White Legend" re: Spain). They basically chose a "White Legend" approach, and they didn't have to do the conquistador thing at all - they could have written something actually original.

I mean, he probably should be downplayed a fair bit because his actual personal importance has been overstated and he was a monster, and "Columbus day" definitely shouldn't be a thing (and it isn't in many places now) - it's easy to keep the holiday and just make it be about something else.

I didn't mind Maztica for what it depicted more it was a thinly veiled rip off of real life.

And the quality was crap. Aged all of 17 or 18.

 

[HammerMan]

Here's something: It shouldn't be normal

sigh...here we go

You seem to think things like brothels and stripclubs exist in an explicit bubble that don't leak, that's not how things work. I'd sincerely love if I could retroactively remove being introduced to porn in highschool, and if I could remove the instances where stripclubs and brothels led to me seeing women turned into objects in shows and movies I watched.

becuse you know what is best for those little ladies and they shouldn't have a choice... yup heard it before (even from regulars of porn and strip clubs and other vices like it)

It doesn't lead to the empowerment of women or anything else you may wish to paint as noble, it leads to objectification and the notion that doing so is normal. Which leads to horrendous body issues for women and the degradation of the morals of men.

protect these women from themselves... just think of all the poor women who made massive bank of only fans when jobs were hard to come by... imagine those poor souls paying rent and making up there own minds.

It isn't being prudish to want those things, and the very real harm they create, to stay away from the lives of those that don't actively seek it out. And even if you think it is prudish, there's far worse things to be in life.

what harm can a stripper cause you if you don't go to the strip club?

 

[HammerMan]

Maybe you guys could take it to DMs? Neither of you is "right" or "wrong", and the argument is going nowhere.

I don't feel like the conversation that I literal started by saying "thats weird" and has pinwheeled into a major thing needs to be private.