Take to the Skies With the New Owlin Race From Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

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Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos introduces the owlin, a new race of owl-like humanoids, to the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse. Distant descendants of giant owls from the Feywild, these fluffy fliers make for the perfect Strixhaven bookworms. They can also fit into any campaign as heroes who enjoy dodging the attacks of enemies while flapping in the air and delivering their own blows with raucous hoots.

Here’s a sneak peek at the owlin, along with some ideas for playing and building your own avian adventurer.

Owlin racial traits

Owlin race artworkOwlin come in all shapes and sizes and are as varied as the strigiformes of the real world. Some might have the majestic, multicolored feathers of a great horned owl with massive tufts around their eyes, granting them a distinguished, wizened appearance. Others may appear strikingly white like snowy owls or possess the seemingly gentle faces of barn owls.

Whatever their exterior appearance, owlin are all classified as humanoids, and upon first glance, their racial traits bear a resemblance to the eagle-like aarakocra. There are a few key differences, however, since owlin can come in either Medium or Small size. Owlin also possess a faster walking speed of 30 feet.

The following are other notable racial traits:

Darkvision. Owls are renowned for their nocturnal habits, and owlin are no exception. They can see in dim light within 120 feet.

Flight. Owlin can fly at their walking speed of 30 feet. Their flight capabilities aren’t quite as powerful as their aarakocra cousins, who can fly at 50 feet. But both races share a similar handicap: they can’t wear medium or heavy armor if they hope to take to the skies. It’s tough to spiral up into the air if you’ve got plate mail weighing you down, after all!

Silent Feathers. Owlin have proficiency in Stealth, which makes perfect sense considering that owls are birds of prey known for snatching mice out of the darkness, making nary a sound.

What about ability score increases?

When you create an owlin using the rules from Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos, you can choose to increase one ability score by 2 and another by 1, or choose to increase three different scores by 1.

An owlin’s outlook on life

Owlin could easily be roleplayed as wise creatures, similar to how their namesakes have been portrayed in ancient Greek and Roman mythology. One can easily imagine groups of owlin delving into the ancient tomes that exist in Strixhaven’s miraculous Biblioplex, mastering all manner of arcane knowledge. The nocturnal nature of some owlin can also make them the sort of Strixhaven students who are prone to pulling all-nighters, or at least sleeping in and missing the occasional class or two.

Their Feywild heritage, however, means that the owlin’s aptitude for studying might be tempered with an underlying current of whimsy and unpredictable mischief, perhaps giving the race something in common with other Fey ancestries like harengon and faeries. Don’t assume that your owlin must be limited to the world of Strixhaven — these birds could be excellent carnival workers in The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, an adventure that would also give them a chance to explore their Fey lineage.

Make your owlin character your own

While common owl stereotypes are a solid start for developing an owlin adventurer, feel free to defy these tropes or look at lesser-known folklore for inspiration. In many myths from African countries, for instance, owls were associated with witchcraft and seen as heralds of death. This is perfect fodder for an owlin who’s a bit grimmer and gothic than one might expect.

Building an owlin character

With the freedom to increase ability scores as you see fit, the owlin race works well for a wide variety of characters and can easily encompass spellcasting and martial archetypes. For a few focused suggestions, consider the following:

  • Silent Feathers makes owlin naturally stealth-inclined. An owlin rogue could creep up on an enemy from above and deliver a devastating dive bomb strike, then Disengage as a bonus action to avoid retaliation. Remember that owlin can only fly if they wear light armor, so plan your gear, melee strikes, and escape routes accordingly.
  • For those who want to combine spell-slinging with roguish backstabbing, an owlin Arcane Trickster is the way to go. Alternatively, an owlin monk following the Way of the Shadow would be an interesting character with both magic and melee at their disposal, and the Shadow Step ability that allows for teleportation in dim light and darkness works perfectly for a predator of the night. For inspiration, check out the Talon assassins who carry out wetwork for the Court of the Owls, the shadowy organization featured in the Batman comics and the upcoming Gotham Knights video game.
  • Going back to African myths regarding owls as harbingers of death, try creating an owlin who utilizes the subclasses from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. An owlin with an unnerving face — perhaps fashioned after the Sri Lanka bay owl — who communicates with ghosts as a College of Spirits bard would instantly be a memorable character. If you’re playing as a warlock, perhaps your owlin could even turn his head 180 degrees as he uses a scrying ball to chat with his warlock patron, an ancient lich!
Build your owlin on D&D Beyond

When Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos becomes available on D&D Beyond, you can purchase the book in the marketplace or simply buy the owlin race separately. Then, use D&D Beyond’s character builder to experiment with different builds and classes to bring your vision of these stealthy avians to life.

Study more about Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

Owlin aren’t the only new addition to Dungeons & Dragons with Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos. Releasing December 7, the book contains a host of new backgrounds, spells, and magic items to make your tenure at the most enchanting school across the planes all the more memorable, as well as plenty of monsters to match wits against. Keep your eyes peeled for more previews from D&D Beyond!

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Jeremy Blum (@PixelGrotto) is a journalist, gaming blogger, comic book aficionado, and fan of all forms of storytelling who rolled his first polyhedral dice while living in Hong Kong in 2017. Since then, he's never looked back and loves roleplaying games for the chance to tell the tales that have been swirling in his head since childhood.

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