D&D 5E Preview Witchlight's New Rabbit People

You can take a look at the harengons, a rabbit-themed race in the upcoming Wild Beyond the Witchlight, over at D&D Beyond.

Harengons are medium or small humanoids with a bonus to initiative, Dexterity saving throws, and a 'rabbit hop' which lets them jump up to five times their proficiency bonus without provoking opportunity attacks.

Creature Type. You are a Humanoid.

Size. You are Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.

Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Hare-Trigger. You can add your proficiency bonus to your initiative rolls.

Leporine Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

Lucky Footwork. When you fail a Dexterity saving throw, you can use your reaction to roll a d4 and add it to the save, potentially turning the failure into a success. You can’t use this reaction if you’re prone or your speed is 0.

Rabbit Hop. As a bonus action, you can jump a number of feet equal to five times your proficiency bonus, without provoking opportunity attacks. You can use this trait only if your speed is greater than 0. You can use it a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

When you create a harengon or fairy using the rules from The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, you can choose to increase one ability score by 2 and another by 1, or choose to increase three different scores by 1. Further, you know Common and will choose one other language to learn.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I am sad to see racial abilities also going to prof bonus per long rest.
It really seems 1/short rest is going the way of the dodo...

On the other hand lucky foot is exactly the ability I expect to replace fixed stat bonuses. 1d4 to dexterity saves enforces the dextrous character of the race and is useful for every class.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Having been playing for a while, yeah, it started that way. And it might have been the "default" for a while too. But I think it's also important to realize that D&D has been played incorporating anthropomorphic races for a long, long, time. When The Secret of NIMH came out in 1982, it was a thing. When TMNT came out in 1984 and even had it's own system (Palladium), it was a thing. Then when the popular series Redwall came out in 1986, it was a thing now too.

As an old school gamer, I get how a lot of people view D&D in a traditional Tolkien-setting with knights and wizards, but I think we need to understand that for at least 20 years, probably closer to 30, D&D players have been playing a bit of everything as their D&D experience.

Yes, I feel old realizing that the 90s was 30 years ago...

Edit And I don't think the "old way" is irrelevant any more than any other style of preferences is. They are all relevant as long as there is an audience for them. We're not dead yet...

I would call it 40. Chronicles of Narnia came out in the 1950s, and where an influence on the way people played D&D from the off, even if Gygax wasn't a fan.

 

[Ulfgeir]

I think I still prefer the "fluffy" hoops from 1st Edition Gamma World as my definitive "humanoid bunny" race.

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Johnathan

In the Swedish game Mutant you had "Rubbitar". They were kind of similar, and had very strong opinions about humans (Meat-eaters)..

 

[YojimboHawkins]

Finally. Harengon + Fighter/Samurai =

and I'm all in for that.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Well, there is if you want one.

Point is, you can choose if you want to give your bunny +2 DEX or not, but you get more mileage out of the inherent abilities if you do.

Likewise the fairies don't have to boost DEX and INT/CHA, but they get more from their inherent abilities if they do.

 

[Rafael Martin]

 

[NaturalZero]

Point is, you can choose if you want to give your bunny +2 DEX or not, but you get more mileage out of the inherent abilities if you do.

Actually, you get the exact same mileage out of the low Dex harengon as a high Dex one, which is why I feel like they're well designed.

• Hare-trigger. If you have low dex, you can still get an amazing initiative roll bonus. +6 to initiative on a Dex 10 character is great.
• Leoprine senses. Not dex dependent.
• Lucky Footwork. This actually benefits a low Dexterity character more than a high Dex one since it can turn a +0 to a Dex save into a +4. But it works with high Dex too!
• Rabbit Hop. Doesn't key off of Dex and is probably less beneficial to a rogue with cunning action, though it gives Dash and Disengage in one shot.

None of the variable bonuses granted by the harengon are keyed off of Dex.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Actually, you get the exact same mileage out of the low Dex harengon as a high Dex one, which is why I feel like they're well designed.

• Hare-trigger. If you have low dex, you can still get an amazing initiative roll bonus. +6 to initiative on a Dex 10 character is great.
• Leoprine senses. Not dex dependent.
• Lucky Footwork. This actually benefits a low Dexterity character more than a high Dex one since it can turn a +0 to a Dex save into a +4. But it works with high Dex too!
• Rabbit Hop. Doesn't key off of Dex and is probably less beneficial to a rogue with cunning action, though it gives Dash and Disengage in one shot.

None of the variable bonuses granted by the harengon are keyed off of Dex.

"Not keyed off" is not the same as "more useful for". You only need a combined dash and disengage if your character is an archer, striker or caster. All of whom are likely to want DEX. Lucky Footwork gives more value in conjunction with Evasion. And in order to get evasion you need to be a monk or a rogue. And most monks and rogues want DEX.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

"Not keyed off" is not the same as "more useful for". You only need a combined dash and disengage if your character is an archer, striker or caster. All of whom are likely to want DEX. Lucky Footwork gives more value in conjunction with Evasion. And in order to get evasion you need to be a monk or a rogue. And most monks and rogues want DEX.

A hop to get your great wepon fighter into the right place, or get a caster out of a dire situation. Evasion does not change the amount of damage you reduce on a successful saving throw (remember: evasion is 3e's improved evasion in 5e: 1 - 1/2 = 1/2, 1/2 - 0 = 1/2).

Of course bunny abilities synergize well with high dex, but they work with all characters and never feel wasted.

This is class design along the lines of the goliath, which in my book is perfect.

 

[NaturalZero]

"Not keyed off" is not the same as "more useful for". You only need a combined dash and disengage if your character is an archer, striker or caster. All of whom are likely to want DEX. Lucky Footwork gives more value in conjunction with Evasion. And in order to get evasion you need to be a monk or a rogue. And most monks and rogues want DEX.

Not being keyed off of Dex was only my last pont. It's certain good for Dex classes, but casters aren't exactly dex builds and rogues aren't going to need the hop, so I guess an archer might be the only high Dex build that really gets full of mileage out of it. On the other hand, ignoring OAs to get specific placement is great for fighters, paladins, or barbarians, and they're the classes without cunning action or teleportation. Dex builds generally already have the escape tools.

It certainly does synergize with evasion, though a turning a fighter's +0 Dex save into a +4 is pretty great. The fairy, meanwhile, has spells that need certain ability scores in order to be optimal. This makes the harengon better designed, IMO.