D&D 5E Unearthed Arcana: Gothic Lineages & New Race/Culture Distinction

The latest Unearthed Arcana contains the Dhampir, Reborn, and Hexblood races. The Dhampir is a half-vampire; the Hexblood is a character which has made a pact with a hag; and the Reborn is somebody brought back to life.

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Perhaps the bigger news is this declaration on how race is to be handled in future D&D books as it joins other games by stating that:

"...the race options in this article and in future D&D books lack the Ability Score Increase trait, the Language trait, the Alignment trait, and any other trait that is purely cultural. Racial traits henceforth reflect only the physical or magical realities of being a player character who’s a member of a particular lineage. Such traits include things like darkvision, a breath weapon (as in the dragonborn), or innate magical ability (as in the forest gnome). Such traits don’t include cultural characteristics, like language or training with a weapon or a tool, and the traits also don’t include an alignment suggestion, since alignment is a choice for each individual, not a characteristic shared by a lineage."

 

[Azuresun]

Guys, where do Hurin88 come from? 88 is a common nazi symbol in USA. You are not the whole world. In Europe (and we know something of Nazism) the 88 as nazi symbol is recognized by the 0,0001 % of people. Just to inform you.

Just plus-one-ing this.

Might be time to get a lock on this thread and open a new one that actually has some mod attention to make people actually talk about using this to playing Alucard or the Nameless One rather than being tackled off a cliff by yet another Tasha's ASI tangent.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

One of the most common things we mods have to tell posters is “Don’t make it personal.”

How that applies in this case: if you have a problem with another person’s forum name, don’t make it an issue of it in threads, report it to the Moderating Staff. Let us handle it instead of derailing threads. ESPECIALLY derailments with RW political implications.

Now, back to the regularly scheduled bickering about RPGs.

 

[Aldarc]

"Okay DM, in your game world, what race is the strongest race that is allowed for PCs?"

"Among the playable races in my world, goliaths are the strongest."

"I want as strong a PC as I can, so I'll play a goliath. What bonus do I get to my Str score for being a goliath?"

"None. PC goliaths are no stronger or weaker than any other race. If you want to play the strongest fighty type that you can, best play a halfling; that Halfling Luck trait makes you a much better Str-based PC than any goliath."

Did you see where that stopped making sense there?

Sure, where you framed this as purely about ASIs.

"Okay DM, in your game world, what race is the physically strongest race that is allowed for PCs?"

"All lineages can provide a +2 to a stat of their choice, so you could easily put that into Strength, so don't worry about that. Goliaths do, however, get a few other things that make them stronger than others."

"I want as a strong as a PC as I can, so what else do I get for being a goliath?"

"You get proficiency in Athletics, which will help you make Grapple checks. You also count as one size larger when it comes to calculating what you can push, drag, or lift. Plus, while not necessarily being strong, you have an ability that lets you shrug off some HP damage."

"Cool! I'll play a Goliath barbarian, which means I can potentially get my Strength and Constitution to 24 at level 20!"

 

[Scott Christian]

I've never heard anything like this before. I've been using this username for a while; no one ever said anything remotely like that to me. 8 has been my favorite number since I was 8 years old (it was a good year), so whenever I have to type a number I type 8 or 88. And when I signed up for the forums, Hurin was taken, so I typed 88.

But now that I've been made aware that this number is used by white supremacists, let me be clear, so we can all move on: I reject white supremacy and all forms of racism. I never intended to perpetuate such a harmful and misguided ideology. My apologies if I gave the impression that I was signaling white nationalists.

I'll be honest. Maybe I am just naïve, but I have never heard of 88 being attached to anything. I mean, 7, yes. 13, yes. 69, yes. But I have never heard nor seen 88. I am glad I am aware of it now though.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

We could use the option from Pahtfinder 2, you can to choose between +2A, +B or +2 and +2 B but also with -2 C. The atributes modifiers are in my opinion one of the main signs of the racial traits.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

Guys, where do Hurin88 come from? 88 is a common nazi symbol in USA. You are not the whole world. In Europe (and we know something of Nazism) the 88 as nazi symbol is recognized by the 0,0001 % of people. Just to inform you.

First, I had no idea 88 was seen as a nazi symbol. I live in Canada. So...yeah...take that for what it's worth.

Second, having things in pairs is considered good luck and desirable in Chinese culture. The number 8 is considered the luckiest number in Chinese culture (when pronounced it sounds like the word for 'wealth/fortune')...so 88 is an extremely lucky number for Chinese folks.

Third...which "culture" is the one that "wins"? Go ahead... say "European culture is superior" or "Chinese culture is superior", so we should use that cultures interpretation of what "88" means. I double dog dare you...

Fourth...the best option, IMNSHO? Just shrug your shoulders and assume the BEST of the person until they do/say something concrete that gives you an opinion on where they lean, social/culture/religion/idologic/political.

PS: My thoughts on no-adjustments for race? shrug Isn't going to affect my game as I have adjustments for Race AND Sex (AND Culture/Background). I'm on the "that's silly to not have adjustments...." side of the fence, but hey, as I said, not going to affect my game, so 'You do you, Boo-Boo'...to quote a favourite Youtuber of mine.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[Remathilis]

Just plus-one-ing this.

Might be time to get a lock on this thread and open a new one that actually has some mod attention to make people actually talk about using this to playing Alucard or the Nameless One rather than being tackled off a cliff by yet another Tasha's ASI tangent.

This please.

 

[Remathilis]

So in the last three UAs, we've had gothic races, gothic subclasses, and Draconic subclasses. One of those things is not like the other and I wouldn't be surprised if the draconic stuff is for a separate project (much like how the Theros stuff was mixed in with the Tasha stuff).

Further, we got the hint that there are three settings getting love this year, implications of additional Dragonlance stuff besides the new novels, and a book that will have Vistani in it. We also will probably have an AP as the annual storyline.

We got Candlekeep Mysteries. There could be three more books this year.

My guess is this is for a monster book themed around horror with a strong Ravenloft vibe, but not a setting book per se. The Draconic stuff could be for a Dragonlance book or something else entirely. But I wager with strong certainty we are getting one spooky book before years end.

And I can't wait.

 

[Oofta]

So in the last three UAs, we've had gothic races, gothic subclasses, and Draconic subclasses. One of those things is not like the other and I wouldn't be surprised if the draconic stuff is for a separate project (much like how the Theros stuff was mixed in with the Tasha stuff).

Further, we got the hint that there are three settings getting love this year, implications of additional Dragonlance stuff besides the new novels, and a book that will have Vistani in it. We also will probably have an AP as the annual storyline.

We got Candlekeep Mysteries. There could be three more books this year.

My guess is this is for a monster book themed around horror with a strong Ravenloft vibe, but not a setting book per se. The Draconic stuff could be for a Dragonlance book or something else entirely. But I wager with strong certainty we are getting one spooky book before years end.

And I can't wait.

Wait ... a post that actually discusses the OP? Is that allowed?

I think gothic horror could be a fun addition to the D&D quiver. Ravenloft did it a bit, but that's it's own thing. Having something that applies a bit more broadly would be great. I'm not sure I'd allow these options for PCs or not because I'm not personally a big fan of tortured/anti-hero PCs for various reasons. On the other hand I do think they could make interesting NPCs.

So maybe an expansion of the concept of haunted environment from Tasha's? A guide to curses, especially ones that can't be removed easily? Anyway, a book that had more generic advice than a specific campaign could be a lot of fun.

 

[Aldarc]

My guess is this is for a monster book themed around horror with a strong Ravenloft vibe, but not a setting book per se. The Draconic stuff could be for a Dragonlance book or something else entirely. But I wager with strong certainty we are getting one spooky book before years end.

And I can't wait.

I would love to see a draconic-themed bard - maybe a "College of Scales" - that would also work for your Deekin Kobold Bards.