D&D 5E New Errata & Advice For D&D Issued

WotC has issued an update to the 'Sage Advice' compilation, including new errata documents and amendments to racial attributes.

Compendium: October 2020 | Sage Advice | Dungeons & Dragons

This Sage Advice Compendium includes updates to Curse of Strahd, Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Storm King’s Thunder, Tomb of Annihilation, and Volo’s Guide to Monsters.

dnd.wizards.com

"The PDF contains answers to a collection of new questions. To find the latest answers, search for “[New]” in the PDF.

The compendium includes links to new errata documents for Curse of Strahd, Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Storm King’s Thunder, Tomb of Annihilation, and Volo’s Guide to Monsters."

Racial attributes have been altered (thanks to @dave2008 for pointing that out).

 

[Mistwell]

You're objectively wrong.

He gave his subjective opinion about a subjective topic concerning whether or not you like something. How could he be "objectively wrong"?

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

So Kobolds do not get a strength penalty anymore? That is kinda ridiculous. Imagine a Kobold with 18/00 (well, I still prefer AD&D stats) in full plate with a giant two handed axe. The whole point of playing a Kobold is that they are at the bottom of the food chain, they are weak and hence have to use teamwork and their wits and cleverness to stay alive. To be frank, I was equally not liking how Halflings get no strength penalties either.
And if Orcs had no intelligence penalty... that'd mean Orcs are as smart as humans, and should have long ago conquered half of Faerun. Especially if they had wizards. These changes really play havoc on the lore, too. This whole "everyone is equal" thing, as we have seen in Ray Bradbury's Harrisson Bergeron, does not end well.

If someone needs race ability modifiers for modeling demographic characteristics of whole societies, you will have trouble accepting these optional rules.

It still allows us to still say, “these [fill in the blank] in this region tend to be less [this] and more [that].

I for one am glad the rules are less useful for guiding demographic modeling. I’ll do that myself. It’s the Players Handbook. Not the modeler’s handbook.

 

[Oofta]

You're objectively wrong. We've all discussed this to death. Ancestry-based penalties are a bad thing, have always been a bad thing, and removing them does not diminish them or any other peoples.

Whether or not I agree with you, you are using the word "objectively" incorrectly.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

All getting rid of penalties does is make anyone who now doesn't have a bonus inferior to anyone who does. A pointless abilities arms race that ultimately says nothing of value. It's a strange thing, IMO, for anyone to feel strongly about.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

Not so strange really, given the tug-o-war between whether D&D has Tolkien-Orcs or Warcraft-Orcs. Looks like officialdom's settled with Warcraft, and some folk simply don't like it, fair enough. I mean, Orcs are a staple in umpteen home-brew settings, mucking with them was bound to stir things up.

Regarding smite, I'm fine with paladins needing weapons. Humanoids are marked by not having natural weapons, and so forge the plethora we see. Paladins are themed around civilization, therefore requiring them to use weapons is fine by me. Likewise, I'm okay with natural weapons working with smites, though I'd treat such a PC a rarity.

 

[Weiley31]

Imagine a Kobold, with STR maxed out, becoming a Level 20 Barbarian.

 

[Weiley31]

I say DND has both Tolkien AND Warcraft Orcs.

 

[delazar_fb]

Imagine a Kobold, with STR maxed out, becoming a Level 20 Barbarian.

How would that be different from an halfling or a gnome doing the very same?

 

[FitzTheRuke]

How would that be different from an halfling or a gnome doing the very same?

All of them are weird being as strong as everyone else, and all of them used to have strength penalties.

Personally, I don't feel strongly about it either way (I'm happy to keep their smallness as mechanically-free fluff if I have to), but I can't fathom why anyone is offended by ability score penalties, but I can accept that they are.

Ultimately, the game doesn't have to mechanically simulate any reality - it just needs to be fun.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Imagine a Kobold, with STR maxed out, becoming a Level 20 Barbarian.

How would that be different from an halfling or a gnome doing the very same?

Also, the same could happen with the Strength penalty at the start if that's what a player intended to do with their character progression. Assuming standard array, start with a 13 STR (15-2) and then bump STR at each ASI. Three and half ASI and the kobold is at 20 STR. With new rules they get to 20 STR at 12th level instead of 16th. So... not seeing the issue.