New UA: Draconic Options

[P. G. Macer]

https://media.wizards.com/2021/downl...ic-Options.pdf

Revised Dragonborn and Kobolds, new feats, and new spells!

[Millstone85]

I don't know if any of this is balanced, but I love the flavor.

Draconomicon on the way?

[Man_Over_Game]

Looks like we got ranged dragonborn, tank dragonborn, and melee assassin dragonborn. A bit biased towards attack-action users, but still a step in the right direction.

Also, kobolds are really good melee combatants now. What's interesting is that they are small but still have 30 speed.

As for the spells, they're mostly centered around combat utility. Nothing underpowered, nothing overpowered. The only notable thing I'd mention is that some of them are cast with Bonus Actions, so I'm glad that they're taking that seriously. They also seem to be cutting down on ambiguity, which is really nice.

[Zhorn]

What's interesting is that they are small but still have 30 speed.

As player races both kobolds and goblins have been published with 30ft speeds.

[MrStabby]

Hmm. Smelling a bit of a theme developing with this and the ranger and monk...

[Unoriginal]

Didn't think we would be seeing the Gem Dragons anytime soon. Interesting.

[Warder]

So kobolds are now, on average, braver than most other races. I don't think that I'm very unfair when I say that this edition is a bit of a rollercoaster.

[jaappleton]

Hmm. Smelling a bit of a theme developing with this and the ranger and monk...

Im wondering if they axed the Draconic Monk in favor of these racial options. If they did, that’s a shame. Really like that Monk. Hope they didn’t.

———

On to the broader topic:

Had a feeling a UA was on the way. Didn’t know the topic but it felt like we were due.

Like the Kobold.

If you look back at the PHB, there’s numerous gray side text boxes. Mentions of the Death Domain, Oathbreaker Paladin, Deurgar.... All things we have seen. And one more:

Draconian. Which we have never gotten.

Curious if this is their answer, after all these years, or if there’s another race that’s dedicated to Draconian which we have not seen yet.

[Man_Over_Game]

So kobolds are now, on average, braver than most other races. I don't think that I'm very unfair when I say that this edition is a bit of a rollercoaster.

I'd be down for having two different subclasses of kobolds: Those that bend and those that don't.

[Dienekes]

I don't think a single one of those abilities make me think "Yeah, that's something that fits the kobold fluff." Draconic Roar is certainly mechanically what Grovel, Cower, and Beg should have been to be a useful ability. But the given fluff loses what made the kobolds unique. I don't see the great underdogs in this.

Making the Dragonborn Breath Weapon usable as only an attack and more times per rest is certainly one way to solve the scaling issues. Expending two uses to deal double damage to roughly 27 at 5th level is not bad at all. 36 at 11th, and 45 at 17th is very respectable for an AOE. I think I'd personally like it fewer times but always having the damage scale of the double burst. But that's just personal preference. I like the idea of a huge draconic breath weapon more than rapid-fire spitting. Even though the latter is probably more useful overall.

Of the 3rd level boosts. Flying, immunity to one damage type, or AOE CC I think flying and the CC take the cake in usefulness. Incapacitated is a nasty condition though Con save hurts it a little.

Interesting UA.

[P. G. Macer]

Okay, now that the conversation as started and I’m not double-posting, here are my thoughts:

• I’m still disappointed that the “optional” Tasha’s racial rules are no longer optional, but I’m almost resigned to it at this point. Still going to kvetch about it in the survey, though.

• I’m a kind of amused that WotC is revising the dragonborn because I had been working on my own revision of the race, and there were a few cases of “Great Minds Think Alike” if I do say so myself, such as changing the breath weapon to d8s instead of d6s, changing the progression to match cantrip scaling, and giving a number of uses equal to the proficiency bonus, though my idea was ½-PB rounded up, recharging on a short or long rest.

• I don’t like how all the breath weapons are now DEX saves, rather than DEX or CON depending on the type. I imagine it’s easier to balance, and if they didn’t make it so it’d be hard to justify in-world giving Emerald Dragonborn an INT save breath, which would be much stronger than the others.

• The chromatic dragonborn’s 10-minute immunity is busted IMO. It needs to be reduced to 1 minute or changed entirely.

• Metallic Breath Weapon and Gem Flight are cool, and seem reasonable enough for being gated behind 3rd level.

• I adore the new Kobold compared to the one in Volo’s Guide. Draconic Roar is mechanically very similar to Grovel, Cower, and Beg, but without the annoying flavor. You can also now get WIS-based Shocking Grasp on a Tempest Cleric without needing a Ravnica background, something I know optimizers will enjoy. There is a ridiculous' oversight on the tail attack, though, as it says, “1d6 bludgeoning damage, as opposed to the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.”

• Gift of the Chromatic Dragon seems a bit redundant when paired with the Chromatic Dragonborn. The other two feats are sweet, though.

• Raulothim’s Psychic Lance is seriously broken, even if you take into account nothing happening if the target makes its save. Its 10d6 on an INT save, at LEVEL 4.

[StoneSeraph]

Gem Dragon material - nice!

I like that the three dragonborn categories (chromatic, metallic, gem) encourage a substantive mechanical choice, as opposed to the PHB's "You could've picked Black or Copper/Silver or White/Red or Gold/Blue or Bronze, but it would've made no difference".

Probably gonna snag most of this for the home table after a more thorough read later.

Draconomicon on the way?

Here's hoping, actually.

[RogueJK]

• Gift of the Chromatic Dragon seems a bit redundant when paired with the Chromatic Dragonborn.

Not really. Being a Chromatic/Metallic Dragonborn gives you Resistance to one type of elemental damage all the time. The feat lets you get Resistance to all of those types of elemental energy as a Reaction. So it would overlap on one element, but would still be useful for all the other elements.

The feat is also useful on a non-Dragonborn.

Basically free quasi-Absorb Elements, usable proficiency times per day. Plus quasi-Divine Favor for a little added weapon damage for 1 minute each day, customizable around the specific resistances/vulnerabilities of whatever you're currently fighting, and Concentration-free.

I dig it. Handy for martial characters, both for defense and offense. Even applies to ranged weapons, unlike some of the other ways to boost damage that only apply to melee.

[Man_Over_Game]

• Raulothim’s Psychic Lance is seriously broken, even if you take into account nothing happening if the target makes its save. Its 10d6 on an INT save, at LEVEL 4.

Just to clarify, that's a level 4 spell slot, requiring a minimum level of 7. It also doesn't do anything on a save.

[RogueJK]

Note that Raulothim’s Psychic Lance is an Enchantment spell, so a level 10+ Enchanter could "Twin" it for free.

I don't think it's that broken... The high damage is mitigated by being save-or-suck with a chance to do absolutely nothing if they make their INT save.

Edit: Misread initially.

[Waazraath]

"Fizban’s Platinum Shield" --> that's Dragonlance, right?

[Unoriginal]

So kobolds are now, on average, braver than most other races. I don't think that I'm very unfair when I say that this edition is a bit of a rollercoaster.

Kobolds were always braver than most other species, though. They're the kind to jump into a monster's maw if they think it'll choke the monster and save their home.

The groveling ability didn't mean they were cowards, just that they know how to exploit those who think kobolds are pathetic weaklings.

[RogueJK]

"Fizban’s Platinum Shield" --> that's Dragonlance, right?

Yep. Fizban the Fabulous.

But Joe Mangianello had mentioned in a video a month or two back that he had been given a sneak peak of some of the Dragonlance material for 5E. So we already knew that was coming...

[MrStabby]

Note that Raulothim’s Psychic Lance is an Enchantment spell, so a level 10+ Enchanter could "Twin" it for free, provided there are two enemies whose names you know within range.

I don't think it's that broken... The high damage is mitigated by a) being save-or-suck with a chance to do absolutely nothing if they make their INT save, and b) requiring that you know the target's name, whereas you often won't know enemies' names and/or many enemies won't even have names.

It's powerful, but only narrowly applicable.

You dont need to know the name... there is just a bonus function if you do.

I dont think this is broken at all. 10d6 is only d6 more than a fireball from the same slot. Fireball also doesnt need you to see your enemy, does ok damage on a passed save as well.


I think that the Mischief spell looks seriously good. A movable 20ft cube that takes no kind of action to move is good. Sure the effects are unreliable but as a crowd control spell from a level 2 slot it isnt bad.

The dragon summon spell seems pretty awesome as well, especially if you have any kind of buffing in the party. High AC, decent offence, great movement and an AoE on its multi attack action. With a Twighlight cleric making its limited HP go a bit further this will be a powerful force. It scales to level 6 pretty damn well as well.

[GooeyChewie]

The ability score increase part allows you to give +1 to three different ability scores, which is different from the Gothic lineages. I had to double-check, and the Fey lineages also allow the three +1s. I really wish they would keep the ASIs listed in the lineages themselves, especially if they're going to have them be different from different lineages.

The Dragonborns appear to be straight up power boosts compared to the PHB Dragonborn. The breath weapon is better, replacing an attack instead of taking an action and rolling d8s instead of d6s. Also, it gets the first increase in number of dice one level sooner (and the last increase one level later, if you happen to get to 16th level). The resistance pieces stays the same, except that Gem Dragonborn get access to different damage types. And then each lineage gets another bonus. Granted, the PHB Dragonborn are generally considered one of the weaker races, so perhaps the boost is warrented.

I'm not terribly familiar with the existing Kobold race, but this one looks pretty good. The cantrip option seems like the obvious choice. The advantage against frightened might not come up, and might not matter even if it does come up. And you'd probably only be interested in doing an unarmed attack with your tail if you already have a means of boosting unarmed attack damage, such as being a monk or having the Unarmed Fighting Style.

The feats feel weird not having any prerequisites. In theory you could be a Chromatic Dragonborn and get feats for blessings from both Metallic and Gem Dragons (or whatever combination you choose). I'm probably more likely to bestow these on players as gifts from deities than to actually take them as a player.

I'll have to take a closer look at the spells. I am glad they're all available to sorcerer, so a Draconic lineage sorcerer can really play up that aspect of their backstory.

[MaxWilson]

https://media.wizards.com/2021/downl...ic-Options.pdf

Revised Dragonborn and Kobolds, new feats, and new spells!

(1) Dragonborn are unexciting, but at least the implementation is better than the PHB Dragonborn. If someone wanted to play a Dragonborn in my games using one of these instead of the PHB Dragonborn, I'd shrug and let them. But I don't love how they treat Chromatic/Metallic/Gem separately, e.g. only Chromatics get elemental damage resistance feats. That doesn't align with the actual dragon lore, so in practice I'd just merge them all back into one race and let the players choose whatever fits them.

(2) Gift of the Metallic Dragon is pretty crummy. Getting to use your reaction PROF times per long rest to add +d4 to someone's AC within 5', when someone is hit by an attack... the problem is that d4 is unreliable and there's a high chance of wasting it (about half the time if you use it on any hit by 4 or less), and it doesn't scale the way Defensive Duelist does. It's not so terrible that no one would ever take it, but it won't be as good as they are expecting either.

(3) Gift of the Chromatic Dragon is pretty strong on the other hand. In practice it's permanent resistance to all elemental damage, just like Absorb Elements, plus a no-concentration damage boost on weapon attacks. Probably a good alternative to GWM for certain kinds of warriors, e.g. Beast Barbarians.

(4) Gift of the Gem Dragon is awkward to use because its main effect is triggered as a reaction to taking damage, instead of proactively as a bonus action like Telekinetic. Looks weak to me, hard to leverage synergistically.

(5) Draconic Transformation is pretty trash, like most transformation spells. Blindsight is great, but it's not 7th level spell great. Flying speed is... okay for a wizard, good for a gish that needs to melee flying monsters. 3d8 of breath weapon as a bonus action, meh. For a spell that isn't accessible until 13th level and costs your concentration, I'd hope for more. If it were a straight 1 minute duration (no concentration) it would be exciting for a Paladin 6/Sorcerer 13, but I can think of better things to concentrate on in a tough fight against a big monster (like Wall of Force or Telekinesis), and the breath weapon is only significant against hordes of smaller fire-resistant/immune monsters.

(6) Fizban's Platinum Shield is actually quite good, worthy of 6th level status. Being able to protect others, plus +2 AC and Dex saves from half cover, plus Evasion--it's what Primordial Ward should have been.

(7) Flame Stride is thematically weird (fiery feet makes you faster?) but is overall quite good, worthy of 3rd level status. It's sort of Zephyr Strike + Expeditious Retreat + offensive AoE, all rolled into one, with a good action economy. I would take this on some wizards (especially dwarf or halfling wizards) and might consider taking it on an Eldritch Knight Sharpshooter as a level 13 replacement for Expeditious Retreat.

(8) Icingdeath's Frost: probably my favorite of the spells in this UA, from a powergaming perspective. No-concentration immobilizer/action denial that also does some damage. Since it's 2nd level, it competes with Web. Weaker effects than Web but the no-concentration aspect means you can use it to e.g. hold enemies inside your Sickening Radiance for longer. Has a typo in it: it's both a 15' cone and a 30' cone, depending upon which line you read. Might be a bit overpowered as a 30' cone. Upcasting isn't worth it.

(9) Nathair's Mischief, also pretty strong crowd control for a 2nd level spell, like a moveable Web. I hate the flavor though--cycling through the same 4 "random" practical joke effects will get old very quickly. I feel like they didn't think this one through. Should have named it Nathair's Tired Cliches. Most interesting to Bards because they get it but don't get Web.

(10) Raulothim's Psychic Lance: quite good, maybe OP. Detect invisible enemies without expending a spell slot, incapacitate for 1 turn (Int save negates) while doing 10d6 psychic damage, no concentration cost. I would drop the bit about "if the named target is not within range... the spell slot is not expended" bit. Compare with Blight (8d8 necrotic, Con save, no incapacitation rider). It might be best to raise this spell to 5th or 6th level, on par with Synaptic Static, although personally I'd allow a player to research a spell like this one down to 4th level using my spell optimization rules, since it's not more powerful than the best existing 4th level spells like Polymorph. Upcasting isn't worth it.

(11) Summon Draconic Spirit: breath weapon is meh (2d6, 30' cone) at first glance, but then you realize the breath weapon is rolled into the Multiattack so you'll be using it every round! It has reach and blindsight, and acquiring one of its resistances is potentially interesting, if you have good enough Constitution saves to be willing to take damage. Not better than Summon Celestial (especially since it can't be Planar Bound for more duration) and not better than Conjure Elemental (the spirit is fragile, 50 HP unless upcast) but overall pretty good given that flying + reach weapons lets it avoid many types of damage. Both this and Draconic Transformation are available to druid/sorc/wiz and since upcasting this spell to 7th level gets you 3 attacks for 1d6+11 (14.5) plus 2d6 (7) of breath weapon plus whatever you do with your own action (see: Raulothim's Psychic Lance)... tell me again what is the point of Draconic Transformation?

[RogueJK]

You dont need to know the name... there is just a bonus function if you do.

Good catch. I misread it initially.

So yeah, that makes it more generally applicable, as a potentially powerful save-or-suck straight damage spell. Especially good for Enchanter Wizards, as noted, for the free Twin.

[Gyor]

I don't know if any of this is balanced, but I love the flavor.

Draconomicon on the way?

Outside of the original 3 core books (PHB, MM, and DMG), they have said they won't be reusing titles from past editions.

But will be a book where Dragons feature prominently, yes, but probably not exclusively Dragons.

[x3n0n]

I totally missed this last time: the Feywild UA and this one both allow +1/+1/+1 as valid racial ASIs in addition to +2/+1.

I'm mostly a fan. These Dragonborn seem to be basically on par with "normal" races now.

The racial breath weapons make me wonder if they'll significantly change the UA Monk's breath weapons, since they're so similar.

It's interesting that most of the named spells refer to Forgotten Realms dragons; I had figured this would be a Dragonlance setting book with draconic player options.

[Aett_Thorn]

That's a fun UA! Some definite balance tweaks needed, as always, but I like the flavor.

1) Again, not a fan that they don't give us base stat adjustments for tables that don't use Tasha's optional rules, but this seems to be the trend

2) These Dragonborn are definitely better than the PHB ones, and I'd never take a PHB one over these new choices

3) GEM DRAGONS!!!!!!

4) I like that Kobold's get a choice of a feature that reflects their ties to their ancestors, but wish that the Draconic Roar wasn't tied to proficiency bonus (use 1/SR or something). And again with the small races getting 30-ft movement speed. At this point, just errata the speed for Dwarves, Gnomes, and Halflings!

5) Feats are fun, though I wish that the Gift of the Chromatic Dragon had you choose a type and set it. Seems odd to be able to choose each time.

6) Spells are fun but as always probably have some balance issues here or there. What jumps out at me is that Flame Stride has no attack or save associated with it. It does minor damage, so it's not a huge deal, but that's automatic fire damage each round if you want. A 9th-level casting can do 7d6 damage each round. Again, not overpowered, but could definitely have uses.

[Makorel]

I've never heard of a gem dragon before. Are those like Astral dragons? Regardless it's nice to have dragon options to fill out the rest of the damage types we were missing.

[Aett_Thorn]

I've never heard of a gem dragon before. Are those like Astral dragons? Regardless it's nice to have dragon options to fill out the rest of the damage types we were missing.

Gem dragons were in older editions. You had Metallic Dragons (good-aligned), Chromatic Dragons (evil-aligned), and Gem Dragons (neutral-aligned). In 1e and 2e (not sure about later editions), they also had psionic powers and used those in addition to normal dragon spellcasting.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

• I adore the new Kobold compared to the one in Volo’s Guide. Draconic Roar is mechanically very similar to Grovel, Cower, and Beg, but without the annoying flavor. You can also now get WIS-based Shocking Grasp on a Tempest Cleric without needing a Ravnica background, something I know optimizers will enjoy. There is a ridiculous' oversight on the tail attack, though, as it says, “1d6 bludgeoning damage, as opposed to the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.”

Tempest Cleric is the first thing I thought of when reading the new Kobold, and Gift of the Chromatic Dragon is a decent substitute for Elemental Weapon (via the Ravnica background) if you want to add lightning damage to all your attacks. Granted it's not a requirement (but the secondary effect is totally worth it), and you'll still need Magic Initiate for BB if you use Kobold to take Shocking Grasp, but more options is always better for optimization.

[MaxWilson]

Note that Raulothim’s Psychic Lance is an Enchantment spell, so a level 10+ Enchanter could "Twin" it for free, provided there are two enemies whose names you know within range.

I don't think it's that broken... The high damage is mitigated by a) being save-or-suck with a chance to do absolutely nothing if they make their INT save, and b) requiring that you know the target's name, whereas you often won't know enemies' names and/or many enemies won't even have names.

It's powerful, but only narrowly applicable. Potentially good for a Wizard to have in his back pocket just in case the appropriate opportunity arises, but not necessarily something I'd take on a Sorcerer with more limited spells known, for example.

You don't have to know the creature's name, you just have to be able to see the creature OR know its name. Good catch on the Enchanter--I can see this spell, if adopted, boosting the popularity of Enchanters quite a bit. No-concentration + 10d6 psychic damage + action denial + only 4th level + two targets = good.

I don't think a single one of those abilities make me think "Yeah, that's something that fits the kobold fluff." Draconic Roar is certainly mechanically what Grovel, Cower, and Beg should have been to be a useful ability. But the given fluff loses what made the kobolds unique. I don't see the great underdogs in this.

Making the Dragonborn Breath Weapon usable as only an attack and more times per rest is certainly one way to solve the scaling issues. Expending two uses to deal double damage to roughly 27 at 5th level is not bad at all. 36 at 11th, and 45 at 17th is very respectable for an AOE. I think I'd personally like it fewer times but always having the damage scale of the double burst. But that's just personal preference. I like the idea of a huge draconic breath weapon more than rapid-fire spitting. Even though the latter is probably more useful overall.

I don't get the sense that expending two uses in one Attack action is intended to be legal.

Kobolds were always braver than most other species, though. They're the kind to jump into a monster's maw if they think it'll choke the monster and save their home.

The groveling ability didn't mean they were cowards, just that they know how to exploit those who think kobolds are pathetic weaklings.

If it had been named "Distract" instead of "Grovel, Cower, and Beg" it might not have turned off so many players.

[Gyor]

Yep. Fizban the Fabulous.

But Joe Mangianello had mentioned in a video a month or two back that he had been given a sneak peak of some of the Dragonlance material for 5E. So we already knew that was coming...

Despite Fizban being mentioned, this UA actually rules out a Dragonlance Campaign Book.

There are Dragonborn variant races, but NO DRACONIANS, yes there is a Metallic Dragonborn variant, but it doesn't match up to Draconians at all. If it was Draconians there would be 5 Dragonborn variants, all based on corrupted Metallic Dragon Breeds (Gold Dragon, Bronze, Silver, Brass, Copper), with specific names and powers, which aren't present.

Also all the named spells refer to Forgotten Realms lore except Fizban. Icinkingdeath is the nickname of the Dragon Drizzt slew. The one that casts a psychic lance is a an FR Gem Dragon. Nathiar is a Forgotten Realms God of Fey Dragons (which is why Clerics should also get access to that spell).

So either this is another Monster book with player options like VGTM and MTOFs (and as such also including the Feywild races) OR its a Faerun Campaign World Book because unlike Dragonlance, the Forgotten Realms HAS Gem Dragons and Feyish Dragons.

The AFR set could confirm this if it has Fizban and Mordenkainen as Planeswalker cards.