D&D 5E New Unearthed Arcana: Folk of the Feywild!

Wander into the magical realm of the Feywild with our latest Unearthed Arcana: Folk of the Feywild!

Your character can be a member of one of the new D&D races: fairy, hobgoblin of the Feywild, owlfolk, or rabbitfolk. Which will you choose?

Playtest now:

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[doctorbadwolf]

Potential unpopular opinion: I really dislike the Mos Eisley/Pirates of Dark Water style anything goes attitude for PC ancestries. At some point it's just a bunch of bad rubber masks. A few species with defined, deep cultures (a few each, even; monoculture is bad too) is much more preferable. You can actually tell interesting stories with that.

And, yes, you can kindly get off my lawn.

So, don’t use all the races in one game.

 

[Reynard]

So, don’t use all the races in one game.

While I don't have a problem with that, in my experience players feel like options presented in official books -- especially the PHB -- are always available, even if Dragonborn don't fit the setting and Gnomes are a pointless race that should never be played by anyone, ever.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

While I don't have a problem with that, in my experience players feel like options presented in official books -- especially the PHB -- are always available, even if Dragonborn don't fit the setting and Gnomes are a pointless race that should never be played by anyone, ever.

Ah, a gnome hater. The most wrong of people who are wrong on the internet.

But I hear ya. I find it’s pretty easy to get players to grok that my game set in a small forest world only has a half dozen or so races.
I’ve never met a setting that Dragonborn don’t fit in, though. 99.9% it’s just that the DM wants a world without Dragonborn.

Continuing with floating ASIs in races,
Also every subclass that appeared is more powerful than 90% of PHB subclasses,

Well that’s objectively false.

Smells like 5.5E...

How?

but we should get UA with rewrite of EVERY race and sub-class from PHB. Maybe even XGtE...

No, we shouldn’t.

 

[darjr]

Oy! You lot! There is a swarm of gnomes out front that want to have a word.
I knew a player that wasn’t that interested in D&D till they learned they could play a dragon. So I think it’s fine.

 

[jmartkdr2]

Potential unpopular opinion: I really dislike the Mos Eisley/Pirates of Dark Water style anything goes attitude for PC ancestries. At some point it's just a bunch of bad rubber masks. A few species with defined, deep cultures (a few each, even; monoculture is bad too) is much more preferable. You can actually tell interesting stories with that.

And, yes, you can kindly get off my lawn.

Both as a player and a dm, my personal preference goes:

Well-curated list of specific, detailed options >> players just do whatever >>>> badly curated list.

There's a big subjective bit in the middle there of what makes for a good list, but when I dm I often don't bother because I know doing a good job is a lot of work, and as a player I will judge which dm's I want to play with by how they world-build, with "they don't, really" being a middle option.

 

[ccooke]

Horrifying.
But in defence(?) of this UA, it should be noted that rabbitfolk are also a natural fit for horror.
Warning: Gore

 

[jmartkdr2]

Folks are allowed to express their unhappiness, are they not?


They probably won't do that, because while some players would love it, it would also make the game much less accessible to the casual player. They're more likely to strip back the difference between races, sort of like the base character races in 4E (basically an ASI and one power).


Feywild hobgoblins were actually a thing in 4E, they do have history.


On the contrary, I think it's increasingly clear we will be seeing a 5.5/5E Essentials/6E. You can't convince folks you've changed your ways on stuff they consider problematic, and also leave that stuff in the core product for the game in stores. To prove they're serious, the core rules have to be adjusted. And 2024 would be a good excuse...

I=My money's on them calling it the "Anniversary Edition" and it being just 5e with revisions.

 

[Reynard]

Ah, a gnome hater. The most wrong of people who are wrong on the internet.

"Oh, look at me, I'm the result of an affair between a sickly dwarf and an inebriated elf and I LOOOOVE my pointy red hat!"*

*Content Warning: This post may contain satire and/or hyperbole. Ask your doctor before accepting at face value.

 

[Mercurius]

While I don't have a problem with that, in my experience players feel like options presented in official books -- especially the PHB -- are always available, even if Dragonborn don't fit the setting and Gnomes are a pointless race that should never be played by anyone, ever.

Just say no. If you are the DM, you are the creator of the world (be it homebrew, official setting, hybrid, etc). You create the context for the game and offer parameters for the players. Consider all requests, and try to accommodate them if possible, but if you feel that a request (e.g. a dragonborn PC in a low fantasy game) compromises the tone and vibe you're going for, feel free to say no.

That said, be clear to yourself--and your players--as to why you are saying no. Make sure it isn't "just because" but serves what you want to accomplish. Meaning, try to be flexible and open-minded but also stand true to your creative vision. You may find yourself compromising in some instances, holding your ground in others.

Alternately, you can try running a co-created campaign in which players help craft the campaign through what they want to do and play. But again, if you as the DM don't find joy in that, you have every right to say "take it or leave it." DMs put in far more work and time and elbow grease so should feel empowered to make such decisions. Player empowerment doesn't have to mean player entitlement to their every whim and desire.

 

[BookTenTiger]

"Oh, look at me, I'm the result of an affair between a sickly dwarf and an inebriated elf and I LOOOOVE my pointy red hat!"*

*Content Warning: This post may contain satire and/or hyperbole. Ask your doctor before accepting at face value.

Ugg, I am so tired of these stereotypes. It's 2021. Don't you know that gnomes can now wear pointy red hats AND pointy green hats???