New Ravnica Race and Guild Details Revealed

As part of their Extra Life 2018 stream, members of WotC's Magic the Gathering team played through the introductory 1st level adventure Krenko’s Way included in the Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica. Some new race details were revealed along with new information about how the Guilds impact character creation.

As part of their Extra Life 2018 stream, members of WotC's Magic the Gathering team played through the introductory 1st level adventure Krenko’s Way included in the Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica. Some new race details were revealed along with new information about how the Guilds impact character creation.


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  • The DM reviewed the pre-generated characters they would be using for the adventure including each character’s racial abilities which included changes from the UA versions we have already seen.
  • The first character was an Azorius vedalken wizard. The vedalken has Vedalken Dispassion and Tireless Precision which sounded like the UA versions. It also has the feature Partially Amphibious. The DM said that Vedalken have a membrane-like skin that they can breathe through. You can breathe underwater for up to an hour and it refreshes on a long rest.
  • The DM went on to say that in Ravnica your guild choice replaces your Background choice. As a member of the Azorius the wizard had the feature Azorius Functionary which grants an ability called Legal Authority that allows you to enforce the laws of Ravnica. Showing your Azorius insignia will allow you an audience with whoever you want. “Let’s you get in the door.”
  • The second character was a Selesnyan loxodon paladin. I am a little uncertain but it sounded like the Selesnya Initiate feature grants you the Selesnya Conclave ability. You can request shelter and aid for yourself and your companions from your guild as well as a place to rest and heal. Selesnya will also shield you from the law if there is a dispute.
  • As a loxodon he had Powerful Build which is not changed from the UA version. He also had Loxodon Serenity which is a change from the UA Loxodon Bravery. Now the loxodon has advantage on saving throws against being charmed and frightened (not just frightened). I couldn’t tell if Natural Armor was changed or he was just giving the player an abbreviated description so he didn’t have to go into the math. Keen Smell seemed to be the same.
  • The loxodon has a new feature: Trunk. They can use it to lift, drop, push, or pull creatures or objects. You can open/close doors or containers or grapple someone. You make a strike with it. It’s reach is 5ft and you can lift up to 75lbs.
  • The third character was a Rakdos goblin bard. Goblins tend to be chaotic, are Small size and have Darkvision 60ft. They have the feature Fury of the Small. Whenever you damage a creature with a spell or an attack and they are at least one size larger you can deal an extra point of damage that scales with your level. So level 1 is point. Refreshes after short or long rest. They also have Nimble Escape: Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on your turn.
  • The goblin had the Rakdos Cultist feature. You have a Fearsome Reputation. People give you a wide berth. They don’t want to draw your anger or ridicule. You can get away with minor criminal offenses especially if no legal authority witnessed it.
  • The party also had an Izzet goblin sorcerer. The Izzet feature was Urban Infrastructure. You have basic knowledge of buildings and how they’re built and you can get blueprints to structures. Izzet have a huge library of them.
  • In Ravnica you roll for personality traits, ideals, bonds, flaws but from tables from your Guild.
  • New for Ravnica is that each character starts with contacts. Each guild has their own list of contacts that you roll off of. Or create on your own. You roll for two contacts within the guild. One is an ally and one is a rival. You also roll for one contact outside of the guild (usually an ally).
 

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Ymdar

Explorer
Planewalkers will not be featured in this book. This book is about guilds.

Give them an epic boon of planeswalking and there you have it. Your old high level characters could be the new planeswalkers!

How cool would that be for a high level campaign? Guilds slowly waging war or stabbing each other in the back and suddenly, I mean SUDDENLY a group of planeswalkers appear in the middle of that who don’t know anything of this and now every guild wants to have them join or killed! Daring adventures in the high towers of Sharn...I mean Ravnica of course and the characters find themselves in the shoes of Planeswalker Luke! Or Jace or whatever. Who would care when your level 15-18+ group will soon try to bring down the entire town if you know they are the type of players who fail any diplomacy situation ever.

Phew. I’d most certainly take part in that.
 

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Parmandur

Book-Friend
Yup. Me. I've never played M:tG, or even really seen it, but as a new setting for D&D this looks like fun.

Yeah, same here, though I've played a few hands of Magic in my time. I've really enjoyed what WotC has been offering for the past few years, but this is easily the most bold and interesting looking product they've put out in a looking time.
 

Gull

Villager
Is there anyone actually looking forward to the D&D/MtG crossover?

Me! Heck, I'd look forward to any non-Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

Ravnica in particular is neat. It's a city that spans an entire world, with plenty of colorful factions running things. It really pushes the limits of an "urban campaign setting," considering the entire world is one big city.

I actually really admire the MtG worldbuilding department. They've came out with some crazy settings over the years. I've been thinking of converting Shards of Alara over to D&D 5e, just for fun.
 

cbwjm

Seb-wejem
Yeah man, I'm really looking forward to it. I've enjoyed reading the MtG lore over the years and when they did the planeshift PDFs I loved flicking through them. I think this Ravnica book is going to be amazing.
 

gyor

Legend
Is there anyone actually looking forward to the D&D/MtG crossover? I am having a hard time even feigning interest. The MtG setting was always just a backdrop for a card game and there are a ton of other settings I would rather see converted to 5e. It just seems like a decision made by some Hasbro executive sitting in a boardroom "MtG is a game....D&D is a game..."

It was something driven by James Wyatt, not an executive.
 

epithet

Explorer
It was something driven by James Wyatt, not an executive.

James Wyatt certainly pitched it, but he's a smart guy--his pitch to the suits would have included the fact that MtG has a large customer base that would be inclined to pay MSRP for a D&D book if it was a crossover product.
 

Parmandur

Book-Friend
James Wyatt certainly pitched it, but he's a smart guy--his pitch to the suits would have included the fact that MtG has a large customer base that would be inclined to pay MSRP for a D&D book if it was a crossover product.

Ain't nothing wrong with that. Hasbro wasn't involved, still, it was Crawford and his Magic equivalent who gave it the OK.
 
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Jhaelen

First Post
Is there anyone actually looking forward to the D&D/MtG crossover?
You bet!
And it's long overdue, too.

I'm just a bit sad they didn't just continue their series of free articles (Planeshift).

It's a big advantage if they can reuse the extensive artwork that has been created for Magic. At least theoretically that means they can spend more resources on the actual development and design of the MtG settings.
This is an approach that has been working extremely well for 'Fantasy Flight Games'.
 

gyor

Legend
Give them an epic boon of planeswalking and there you have it. Your old high level characters could be the new planeswalkers!

How cool would that be for a high level campaign? Guilds slowly waging war or stabbing each other in the back and suddenly, I mean SUDDENLY a group of planeswalkers appear in the middle of that who don’t know anything of this and now every guild wants to have them join or killed! Daring adventures in the high towers of Sharn...I mean Ravnica of course and the characters find themselves in the shoes of Planeswalker Luke! Or Jace or whatever. Who would care when your level 15-18+ group will soon try to bring down the entire town if you know they are the type of players who fail any diplomacy situation ever.

Phew. I’d most certainly take part in that.

There rules for Planeswalking PCs in the Amonkmet Planeshift article.
 

gyor

Legend
You bet!
And it's long overdue, too.

I'm just a bit sad they didn't just continue their series of free articles (Planeshift).

It's a big advantage if they can reuse the extensive artwork that has been created for Magic. At least theoretically that means they can spend more resources on the actual development and design of the MtG settings.
This is an approach that has been working extremely well for 'Fantasy Flight Games'.

I think it's going to be a mix of new art and old art.
 

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