D&D 5E Witchlight publishes the new official format for player character races.

[Scott Christian]

maybe if a setting had as a major race a bunch of flyers and built itself with them in mind it would be better as then it would teach on how to deal with them?

Oh yeah, no doubt. That's kind of my point. It really depends on the setting. I mean, if everyone is a dragonfly/humanoid, then it's all good. But, flight, in many campaign settings, can be overwhelmingly powerful. Especially, when only one player has it. Its a spotlight special.

 

[Arilyn]

I had a flier in one of my campaigns. Yes, it's very useful, but the character often got herself in trouble because she'd end up flying ahead and smack into danger. Fly over a trap, sure, but sometimes there's a monster lurking around the corner and the rest of the group is cut off. Fly up to the open window at the keep you are infiltrating, but once again, you're all alone and trouble can happen in an instant.

It was a fairly long running group. Sometimes the flight solved problems easily, but that's true of a lot of abilities. As a side note, I didn't even have to alter the normal way I GM to take the flight into consideration. For us, anyway, flight is nothing to worry over.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Since we are on the subject of flight, there's a rule in the DMG that helps a lot to avoid being kitted by a PC staying in the air all the time:

Strong Wind
Weather
A strong wind imposes disadvantage on ranged weapon attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing. A strong wind also extinguishes open flames, disperses fog, and makes flying by nonmagical means nearly impossible. A flying creature in a strong wind must land at the end of its turn or fall.

A strong wind in a desert can create a sandstorm that imposes disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

A mix of that, plus the cover of natural features (trees, low cloud/fog, rock), plus indoor encounters, plus ranged attacks/flying enemies/spells or features, plus a liberal use of prone/grapple means that while flight might be effective in many situation, its never been that much of a thorn in my side as a DM.

 

[Yaarel]

The salient difference between fairy Flight and the Fly spell is the spell requires the concentration mechanic. To fly without concentration, so as to add other magical effects, can situationally be extra powerful. Fly is the kind of spell that kinda deserves concentration, so as to avoid stacking. Also, the spell only lasts for 10 minutes.



Until now, I have been expecting players to gain flight in terms of tiers.

Levels of Tier: Flight
• 1-4 Apprentice: limited forms of flight (Levitation, Spider Climb)
• 5-8 Professional: temporary access to perfect flight (Fly)
• 9-12 Master: permanent perfect flight is usually normal by now

So, for me, the fairy Flight trait is making a mid-tier capability available at level 1. For me, this is shocking.

However, the designers a fully aware of how powerful flight is − and they have a history of nerfing overpowered abilities. I take this to mean they are intentionally making flight a normal part of gameplay.

Compare Invisibility: also potentially ultrapowerful, but is a normal part of D&D gameplay.



Capabilities that were overestimated but are now becoming more normal at level 1 include various forms of Telepathy.



An other capability that I want to see become more normal from level 1 is phasing thru solid objects. Designers have been wary of it because it might spoil dungeons plans. But I feel Protection from Evil effects (more accurately called Planar Protection) should be able to block phasing, scrying, teleporting, etcetera. A new item, akin to holy water, should be "salt of protection", that can create such Planar Protection effect easily at level 1. So, DMs who need to prevent access to certain rooms in the adventure, can enclose it within a border of protective salt.



So, flight is to become a normal feature if D&D.

 

[Yaarel]

Oozekin

Size: medium
Type: aberrant humanoid
speed: 30

Unsettling form. When a creature you can see makes an attack roll against you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the roll. You must use this feature before knowing whether the attack hits or misses. Using this trait reveals your shapeshifting nature to any creature within 30 feet that can see you and you gain a climb speed of 30 until the end of your next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You must then complete a long rest before you can use this feature again.

Change Appearance. As an action, you can transform your appearance or revert to your natural form. You can't duplicate the appearance of a creature you've never seen, and you revert to your natural form if you die. You decide what you look like, including your height, weight, facial features, the sound of your voice, coloration, hair length, sex, and any other distinguishing characteristics. You can make yourself appear as a member of another race, though none of your game statistics change.

Aberrant anatomy. You have resistance to acid damage and have advantage on saves made to resist any spell or effect that would alter your form. When you move, you can squeeze and crawl in a space as small as 4 inches on a side.

These are cool. They focus on the physical anatomy of an Aberration. The psychological aspects of an Aberration (driving targets insane) are also a central archetype. The physical traits are important because not all Aberrations are psionic. Generally, I want each race to have a list of traits to pick from. So players can decide if they want physical or mental traits, or both, for it.

Ozirmok ion is what I assume a high-level psion devoted to mastering control of flesh is thus absolutely terrifying.

the one before was wilding ontopathogenic powers or in English the ability to affect the reality of something. also, look kind like this in their youth:

View attachment 143965

I do like thri kreen they seem well fought out both physically and mentally and are influences for how I want to build fantasy sapient folk.

Cool.

 

[JEB]

Has Wizards ever said anything about this in addition to the issue you mention here?

I am bothered more than I should be about this LOL.

Jeremy Crawford discussed it on Twitter:

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

To be frank, if they are allowing an always-on, concentration-free 2nd/3rd level spell equivalent in racial flight, I'm not sure why they're worried about an always-on equivalent of Enlarge Person spell.

 

[Helpful NPC Thom]

The biggest downside to at-will flight is the same downside as the outlander background: it removes core elements of gameplay. In a game about exploration, the ability to fly removes the need for climbing, swimming, balancing, and other sorts of obstacle navigation.

Aside from that, the lot of you wailing over potential balance issues: do your bandits not have crossbows?

 

[Mistwell]

I am very much looking forward to this book because my 10 year old daughter is just learning to play, is playing a fairy druid, and it seems this book will fit well with her play preferences. She doesn't like combat as much as exploration and social, and I suspect this book will satisfy those interests well.

Just a follow up on this, I got the book and I love what I've read so far. It's exactly what I am looking for concerning a game for my daughter and her friends. I think she will love it, and I am enjoying reading through it as well.