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."

 

[Charlaquin]

One could easily put Ravenloft and Innistrad material in an undead-themed monster book like Draconomicon. (Previous editions have had them, although they've all had different names, since none has anything as punchy as "Draconomicon.")

Planeshift: Innistrad had a whole section on running Curse of Strahd there instead of Barovia.

 

[Weiley31]

With the amount of 3PP races I have as options, I'm not really that in a tissy over getting new races. (Alright all of you quit looking at me when I say 3PP because I know everybody has mixed views on it.)

And while I'm still big on the idea of Elves are dexterous and my Dwarves have Scottish Accents with stocky builds, I honestly want them to take the Lineage template system they have here. I want to see an option to make dat Hexblood Drider pc or that Half Dragon Kobold.

 

[Weiley31]

That genie is all the way out of the bottle. Theros sold way too well to expect otherwise.

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a Throne of Eldraine.

 

[Leatherhead]

I've just heard about something regarding the Vampiric bite:

The Dhampire Bite doesn't read like it's Constitution Based.
It reads " You add your Constitution modifier to the attack and damage rolls when you attack with your bite."
As opposed to something like Hex Warrior, which reads "When you attack with that weapon, you can use your Charisma modifier, instead of strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls. "

The lack of "instead" means the math for the Bite attack would be 1d20+Prof+STR+CON, and the damage would be 1d4+STR+CON.

 

[SkidAce]

One could easily put Ravenloft and Innistrad material in an undead-themed monster book like Draconomicon. (Previous editions have had them, although they've all had different names, since none has anything as punchy as "Draconomicon.")

Which is funny, cause Draconomicon is a play on the Necronomicon.

 

[see]

The dumbest human is less intelligent than the smartest dolphin.

Of course, back in AD&D, the average human was less intelligent than the average dolphin.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I've just heard about something regarding the Vampiric bite:

The Dhampire Bite doesn't read like it's Constitution Based.
It reads " You add your Constitution modifier to the attack and damage rolls when you attack with your bite."
As opposed to something like Hex Warrior, which reads "When you attack with that weapon, you can use your Charisma modifier, instead of strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls. "

The lack of "instead" means the math for the Bite attack would be 1d20+Prof+STR+CON, and the damage would be 1d4+STR+CON.

Yeah. That's clearly not the RAI, but is unfortunately the RAW. WotC needs to improve their wording on these features.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a Throne of Eldraine.

Yeah, I'm not a MTG player, but that sounds like a setting two of the three people in my family would flip for. At the very least, I can see both of them wanting to mine that setting for its flavor.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Definitely empowers the idea that the PHB descriptions don't need to be extrapolated for world building.

The one thing, the singular thing, I was really hoping they wouldn't do.

IMO, this makes even having races/lineages in dnd a total waste of time and space.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Which is funny, cause Draconomicon is a play on the Necronomicon.

The Necromonicon, though, is now thought of as a Far Realms thing, thanks to CoC, even though it's clearly a good name for a tome of necromancy. Presumably 3E's Libris Mortis was an attempt to establish a new D&D text of necromancy. To date, though, I don't think it really took.