New SCAG Info: Someone Got The Book

Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide hits preferred stores tomorrow (and everywhere else in a couple of weeks). However, some stores have jumped the gun - which only benefits us, as folks on social media are telling us all about it! Below is a compilation of that information. I'm sure come tomorrow, the amount of information on the book will increase dramatically.

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[h=4]Original Post[/h]
Thread is here, Gnunn and others are answering questions about it:

https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/3pot39/call_your_local_stores_scag/

The info:

I'am trying to compile the answers here by those who have new information. The answers do not represent me in anyway I'am just passing on the information.

Q: Name all the subclasses (submitted by me)

A:

Not really interested in spoiling all of the specifics, but here's what I noticed to be new at first glance:
Races:
Gray Dwaves (Duergar)
Ghostwise Halflings
Deep Gnomes (Svirfneblin) -- also provides a new feat "Svirfneblin Magic" (same as EE)
Half-Elf Variants
Tiefling Variants


Classes (only new class options, not new classes):
Barbarian - Path of the Battlerager, new Totem Spirits
Bard - New musical instruments
Cleric - Arcana Domain
Fighter - Purple Dragon Knight
Monk - Way of the Long Death, Way of the Sun Soul
Paladin - Oath of the Crown
Ranger - Several paragraphs that amount to nothing
Rogue - Mastermind Swashbuckler
Sorcerer - Storm Sorcery
Warlock - The Undying
Wizard - Bladesinging


New cantrips for sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards
Booming blade, green-flame blade, lightning lure, sword burst.

Backgrounds:
City Watch
Clan Crafter
Cloistered Scholar
Courtier
Faction Agent
Far Traveler
Inheritor
Knight of the Order
Mercenary Veteran
Urban Bounty Hunter
Uthgardt Tribe Member
Waterdhavian Noble
This only covers about 50 pages of the almost 160 page book. There's a TON of info on the Sword Coast itself. I'm sure DMs who already have the book are salivating at the moment.



Q: No Bard, Ranger or Druid subclasses?

A: There are new bard colleges. I only listed non-flavor changes (in my opinion at least each one is paired with an existing class option so nothing new in terms of mechanics.

-Q2: Wait WHAT? So the Bard Colleges AND Druid Circles don't list fully new subclasses that offer new mechanics to that class? And no "spell-less" Ranger variant or anything?

-A2: Correct on all accounts.



Q: Monk Subclasses specifics

A: Sun Soul gives the monk methods of dealing radiant damage. Burning hands makes an appearance as well.It seems almost too obvious, but all of the Long Death abilities are triggered by death in some way - either yours or an enemy.



Q: Warlock the Undying

A: Hard to explain. It's Lich-like, but not undead it seems.



Q: Paladin Oath of the Crown

A: The new paladin oath is a straight up tank. They seem to have added a ton more detail for the paladin codes. Too much to go into here.



Q: Fighter Purple Dragon Knight

A:Party buffs/heals. Would be a good party leader out of combat as well.




Q: How do the Half elf and tiefling variants work?

A: Tiefling variants are pretty different. I'm not next to my book currently, but I believe there were three options. Half elf replaced the half elf skill dealy with a selection from the elf half. Like Drow magic replacing the skill selection for example.


Q: What does it say about Aasimar?

A: It basically just says, "See the DMG.

(I guess that makes Eldarin valid as well)

Edit 1: Did some cleaning, added cantrips and explanation that is not me giving the answers.

 

[pukunui]

I have to say that I really like the way that SCAG is done. Its a bit like an old Volo's Guide but from an unnamed persons perspective. Lots of open ended descriptions leaving plenty for the DM to fill in.

Awesome!

 

[Mirtek]

. So are Lathander and Amaunator the same god? I'm not sure we will ever find out

well novels are still canon, so we already found out even while the SCAG doesn't say one thing or another

For many it's not a bug but a feature that the FR have an ever flowing canon metaplot through the novels

I would never read an eberron novels since beging non canon they're just glorified fanfiction to me. I personally suspect that's a big part of the reason why the eberron novels line failed and was ended while FR novels march on

 

[Prism]

well novels are still canon, so we already found out even while the SCAG doesn't say one thing or another

For many it's not a bug but a feature that the FR have an ever flowing canon metaplot through the novels

I would never read an eberron novels since beging non canon they're just glorified fanfiction to me. I personally suspect that's a big part of the reason why the eberron novels line failed and was ended while FR novels march on

We didn't find out at all. A character in one of the novels believed this to be the case. I have read the Sundering novels where this was spoken about and its simply given as a characters opinion. The various authors have stated a number of times that what their characters say in novels is not necessarily true and just opinion. If they describe an event as happening from a non character perspective, like the volcano eruption at Neverwinter or the fall of the Netheril cities then you can take that as canon.

 

[CapnZapp]

You can actually get advantage on anything you do, including skill use out of combat. Like, say, a persuasion check as you are likely the party face with your high charisma.

You just need to cast a 1st level or higher spell to recharge the ability. The ability itself can be applied to any roll you make. Heck, you can use it to gain advantage on Initiative checks too.

I know this.

What I sign up for is in-combat advantage on attacks. Since you can't transform your advantage into giving enemies disadvantage when they save against your spells, you're left with ranged spell attacks.

And there's not enough of them to base a strategy on.

 

[Mirtek]

We didn't find out at all. A character in one of the novels believed this to be the case. I have read the Sundering novels where this was spoken about and its simply given as a characters opinion. The various authors have stated a number of times that what their characters say in novels is not necessarily true and just opinion. If they describe an event as happening from a non character perspective, like the volcano eruption at Neverwinter or the fall of the Netheril cities then you can take that as canon.

actually the Charakter was a chosen of lathander and actually did speak with lathander himself at the end of the novel.

For all the promise oft dialing back in the deities, starting with the sundering novels wie have more deities appearing in novels than before

Shar, Mystra, Cyric, Lolth, Azuth, Asmodeus, Nobanion, Helm, Lathander, it might be easier to count the recent novels without a deity appearing

 

[pagnabros]

Can you please elaborate more about the adaptation section in the last part of the book for other settings? (like Dragonlance, Eberron, Ravenloft etc.)

 

[Irennan]

The religion section is generic. It covers things like forms of worship, prayers, how devotees sometimes worship new gods and forget old ones, the afterlife.... that kind of stuff

The gods section itself covers the details or worship for specific gods. So for example if we take Lathander, we are told that he is the god of the dawn, that people often pray to him before embarking on a new endeavor, his colours are rose, gold and violet and that his followers despise undead. No mention of the god himself - no description, thoughts or background. No mention of Amaunator in his section. No allies nor enemies. In fact the only thing we know about the god himself is his alignment NG.

Wizards did say that they were going to make the gods more distant from now on and I see this as a good example of that. I'm not sure we will ever know what really happened during the Sundering (which is great since our group already made our own lore up) and if we will ever learn the same amount of detail about the gods that we did during the Time of Troubles. So are Lathander and Amaunator the same god? I'm not sure we will ever find out and I'm happy about that because a church with schisms, claims of heresy and disagreements is far more interesting. If the DM ever chooses to reveal to their group the truth behind such an issue then they can do so without worry about going against canon.

Yes, I see what you mean. I don't really that kind of approach, because if I want to change something, I have no problem doing so, but I still want to know what things are like in the Realms. However, it works for many, so...

Ed Greenwood pretty much always writes from the perspective of Elminster, who himself is an unreliable source. Elminster himself sometimes wonders if Mystra uses him to feed the information she wants him to know. Mortals (and us) know almost nothing about Mystra but rather we know what Elminster knows, which in turn is what Mystra wants him to know.

RAS did include a cut scene about Lloth in the latest book. It seemed to be there to give us some background about the reason behind the Rage of Demons storyline. In this case we are getting to learn something that no mortals would ever know (actually one might do) but I believe information like this will be pretty rare. There is certainly nothing like it, that I have seen, in SCAG.

With their storylines, WotC has been using ''uber'' beings, even gods (like Tiamat), in very blunt, not subtle ways. Info about gods (whether they come from Elminster, of Farideh, or whoever) are getting included in various novels. Yes, they are from a character's perspective, and they have a varying degree of accuracy, but if you look at it from our perspective, they're obviously there to inform us about what's happening/what has happened with the gods (or because they are key to the story), so they can be considered true. They're fully optional to use (everything is), but they're still info about the gods or other ''above mortals'' stuff in the current time.

Ed Greenwood has also given answers about various matters, including deities, in his ''Questions for'' thread over Candlekeep, and that is considered official unless WotC decides to overwrite it (which, given their approach of letting details out, seems very unlikely). Granted, they have mostly been ''yes, X is back'', but he also given insight on stuff that mortals would have no way to know (the matter with Tiamat, Bane, and Asmodeus for example, or that Eilistraee and Vhaeraun are separate again).

 

[Prism]

Yes, I see what you mean. I don't really that kind of approach, because if I want to change something, I have no problem doing so, but I still want to know what things are like in the Realms. However, it works for many, so...

I would quite like a small background piece, maybe a dragon article at some point, to explain 'what really happened'. I don't hold out much hope.

I am just about ok with demon lords and princes of elemental evil making an appearance but it is getting a bit too much. Lets hope for a more down to earth story next time.

Those authors and their love of godly intervention though! Its getting a bit stale

 

[Irennan]

I would quite like a small background piece, maybe a dragon article at some point, to explain 'what really happened'. I don't hold out much hope.

Neither do I. Probably the only insight we're going to get will be nuggets hidden in the novels, or --if you're lucky enough to not run into a NDA-- by asking Ed Greenwood.

I am just about ok with demon lords and princes of elemental evil making an appearance but it is getting a bit too much. Lets hope for a more down to earth story next time.

Those authors and their love of godly intervention though! Its getting a bit stale

I like having info and updates about them being given through stories, even small appearances, *but* yeah, we've got to the point where people (probably even in-universe) are taking bets on what uber being will try to lay waste on the Sword Coast the next year, and selling apocalypse survival kits around...

 

[gyor]

well novels are still canon, so we already found out even while the SCAG doesn't say one thing or another

For many it's not a bug but a feature that the FR have an ever flowing canon metaplot through the novels

I would never read an eberron novels since beging non canon they're just glorified fanfiction to me. I personally suspect that's a big part of the reason why the eberron novels line failed and was ended while FR novels march on

Bingo.