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."

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Yes. It is. It's a design decision on the same order as encouraging Dwarves to be Fighters, Half-Orcs and Goliaths to be Barbarians, and Halflings to be Rogues.

Basically, it's been clear to anyone who's paid attention over the last couple of editions that encouraging archetypes is something that WOTC have not just allowed to continue but have actively worked to do until their sudden turnaround in the last year.

But this problem is the larger one because it goes deeper and is more real.

Ultimately a class based game must encourage archetypes to the certain extent or the whole concept simply falls apart. You of course can still disagree on the specifics of how that is handled.

 

[Bagpuss]

But this problem is the larger one because it goes deeper and is more real.

The problem being the sudden turnaround? Or at least how it is being handled.

I agree archetypes are a pretty core design concept in D&D (certainly since 3rd ed if not sooner), and the fantasy tropes they reflect run even deeper. Trying to rip them out and then cover it with the sticking plaster that is Tasha's non-optional rule is a bit of a mess.

 

[Don Durito]

The problem being the sudden turnaround? Or at least how it is being handled.

The problem being the perceived lack of flexibility in character generation.

Not that I think things are being handled very well. I don't.

But there has been a certain laziness and conservatism to D&D design. The archetype that Fighters have few skills or are bad at saving against mind affecting effects for example. These are not real archetypes they're just carryovers of bad design decisions from 3rd edition (The first the idea that the tradeoff between combat and non-combat effectiveness should continue even when everyone has become good at combat, and the second was always bad - not only does it make Fighters less good at what they do, it flies in contradiction to how Fighter types tend to respond to mind control in fictional sources).

The idea that Fighters or Barbarians or Paladins must be stupid is another such 'archetype' that has nothing archetypal about it.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Things I've learned about why it's not only important to have floating bonuses for those DM's that want them, but it's also important that DM's are NOT given the option of set racial bonuses for future published races:-

1.) It's totally not about min-maxing, it's just that it's impossible to play an effective character with a 15 instead of a 16....

You know, I figure this is a pointless endeavor, but let me ask you a question.

Is playing a Half Orc Barbarian Min Maxing?

Is playing a Halfling Rogue Min Maxing?

Is Playing a Wood Elf Ranger Min Maxing?

Is playing a Tiefling Warlock Min Maxing?

Is playing a Rock Gnome Wizard Min-Maxing?

Is playing a Hill Dwarf Cleric Min Maxing?


Because every single one of these allows you to get a 16 in your primary score. Some of them give you 16's in two vital scores. (In fact only the Tiefling doesn't, because Intelligence is rarely vital)

So, all of these, are they min maxing? And if they are... what's wrong with min maxing then? Why are so many people obsessed with accusing of us min maxing as though it is some high crime that the pure shame of will drive us into the wilderness to leave these rules behind?

 

[Scribe]

In other news, there is indeed an Aberration Template in Book of Aberrations. Half-Farspawn.

You became an outsider, grew tentacles, increased AC, and some spell casting, and a host of other things ASI Increase, and a big ol' +4 Level Adjustment.

 

[JEB]

I don't think anyone who actually plays characters like Halfling Fighters cares about "overcoming disadvantages" or "being special" in the sense you're using it. That sounds like the sort of retro-fitted messageboard logic people apply when they can't actually understand why people pick certain combos.

One of my players made a halfling barbarian specifically because it was a strange and unlikely combination, and it was more interesting to see how such a character could succeed. So yes, these players exist.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Charisma and Charisma skills are largely interchangeable. It's hard to imagine a charismatic person who is not good at persuading, intimidating and decieving because that's basically what the game percieves Charisma as being.

Wisdom is sort of different in that it's so nebulous these days that it basically no longer has any conception to the concept of 'wise' but means a combination of willpower and perception. But certainly if your conception of your character is either strongwilled or perceptive then putting points in Wisdom gives you a very clear mechanical boost to those elements.

Intelligence (in the usual sense of it's meaning) and most of the intelligence skills are not very clearly connected (or rather the connection only goes one way). It's very easy to imagine a smart outlander who never had any formal education but is nevertheless smart. Should this character have any training in knowledge skills like Arcana, History and Religion not necessarily. So the question then becomes if, seeing as I don't need any of these skills for my character I drop my Int to 8 - should I have to play my character as dumb? Why? I've already accepted the mechanical penalty for dumping Intelligence which is the penalty to certain skills - but if you tell me I can't contribute to solving a puzzle because of the mechanical choices I made (which were strongly determined by my choice of class), then I'm out.

This whole post is excellent. Thank you for breaking down your thoughts on this.

This is why, in my own system, the ability scores are pools of points you can draw upon, rather than the foundation of the math. Your attack or check to climb or avoid taking a fireball is just skill ranks. If you need to juice a roll up a step on the success ladder (fail-mixed result-success-great success), you can draw upon you Strength, Agility, Fortitude, Wits, Will, or Charisma, spending a point from the chosen attribute, and bump the check up one step.

To me, it means that the stats feel like those moments in life when you draw upon what you’ve got inside to overcome a challenge, rather than limiting a character.

 

[JEB]

One of my players made a halfling barbarian specifically because it was a strange and unlikely combination, and it was more interesting to see how such a character could succeed. So yes, these players exist.

Also, to add onto this, the same player said it would be difficult for them to create a deliberately sub-optimal character (i.e. knowingly choosing weak stats instead of the obvious good stats for his class) to re-create the same experience under Tasha's system. So for some players, limitations make the game more diverse and interesting than it would be otherwise.

But for others, restrictions are clearly stifling and unfun. This, once again, is why Wizards should support both options - unrestricted, but with defaults if you want them too.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Also, to add onto this, the same player said it would be difficult for them to create a deliberately sub-optimal character (i.e. knowingly choosing weak stats instead of the obvious good stats for his class) to re-create the same experience under Tasha's system. So for some players, limitations make the game more diverse and interesting than it would be otherwise.

But for others, restrictions are clearly stifling and unfun. This, once again, is why Wizards should support both options - unrestricted, but with defaults if you want them too.

Yep. While I do think all three UA lineages make sense to have floating ASIs, I could see a “default” where you pick what race your parents are and take the ASIs of that race, I guess.

But either way, lineages that are more like an actual species rather than a special magical background should have a suggested ASI, and a note that it isn’t binding if the group is using the Tasha’s rules.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Also, to add onto this, the same player said it would be difficult for them to create a deliberately sub-optimal character (i.e. knowingly choosing weak stats instead of the obvious good stats for his class) to re-create the same experience under Tasha's system. So for some players, limitations make the game more diverse and interesting than it would be otherwise.

But for others, restrictions are clearly stifling and unfun. This, once again, is why Wizards should support both options - unrestricted, but with defaults if you want them too.

They can always just... use the default system.

Sure, some races aren't going to be options, but that was already the case with races like Humans, half-elves, changelings and Warforged. Is it really all that terrible if we add another few races to that list? They still have plenty of options for forcing themselves to play an unoptimized combo, but just picking any other currently published races.

Like Halflings.