Quote from NickScott >>

Are there any books dedicated to the Feywild from older editions of D&D? I've only ever seen it briefly mentioned when explaining the cosmology of D&D like in the DMG.

Also is D&D's Feywild like Pathfinder's First World? I assume they're very similar. I loved learning about the First World in Pathfinder Kingmaker. That game made me finally appreciate gnomes as something far more than short humans with pointy ears.

 Heroes of the Feywild is an entire 4th-Edition Sourcebook about the Feywild. I maintain that it's also one of the best 4th-Edition books, period.

There were also a number of Dungeon and Dragon articles (which you can still find for free online) that detailed more specific things about the Feywild. In particular, there were articles on The Bramble Queen, Cernunnos, The Prince of Frost, and Baba Yaga.

Quote from Yamana_Eajii>>

Rabbitfolk (Burrowfolk) and Owlfolk (Owlkockra) should get their special proficiencies swapped (Burrowfolk get Stealth and Owlkockra get Perception). 

I actually prefer it as is. If you've ever tried to catch a rabbit, you'd know that they get away from you mostly by being able to see you very easily and their speed. Owls are very quiet fliers, which is demonstrated very well by this video. Also, this doesn't matter much, as if you use Tasha's Customize your Origin feature with either race, you can switch the skill for any other that you want. 

The Fairy should have the ability to shrink to tiny and grow to small (only using the Fey Passage when Tiny).

That would be an interesting tweak. Maybe allow them to innately cast Enlarge/Reduce (only reduce) a certain amount of times each day. This would allow you to get rid or Fey Passage in its entirety, and also solve the innate flaws of having Faeries be automatically Tiny. 

All small creatures are missing a 25 foot speed?  

Goblins have 30 feet walking speed, as do Kobolds, Verdan (until level 5), and small-sized Custom Lineage characters. A 25 foot walking speed on small races is actually less common than a 30 foot walking speed on small races. 

Fairy surely needs Fey Ancestry?  As do the rest of them?  

Fun fact, as of the official races, the only races with Fey Ancestry (Elf and Half-El) are actually not fey, while the only actual fey races (Satyr and Centaur) do not have the Fey Ancestry feature. 

The Owlfolk's Nimble Flight and Pixie's hover just kicks the Aaracockra and makes it way weaker than it already was.  

I will direct you to the Aarakocra's 50 foot flying speed. Aarakocra are not weak or nerfed by these races having flying speeds. 

I read these lineages and liked them significantly more than I liked the Gothic Lineages, but upon re-reading they're very poor.  Which is a shame - the Fey needed some love.  This UA is lazy and sad.  

I disagree. I think that this UA was fairly well done, while not being without its flaws. 

So were "critter folk" (owl folk and rabbit folk) part of the Feywild in 4e or is this WotC just trying to stitch some Humblewood into their game without acknowledging that Hit Point Press knocked that one out of the park (fingers crossed the same shop's Heckna! does the same because Hexbound teases is not doing it for me)?  I'll have to look at fairies in game and other lore to see if they've convinced me but I think I have some of the "well that's a bit off scale starting with size".  I really think they should have started with goblin if they were going to Fey up the goblinoids, not sure if I did that but it seems to speak to some trailer I saw of Neverwinter Nights not too far back leading a lot of Youtubers thinking Feywild was coming instead in the teases up to Candlekeep,  

My concern is we got the three Gothlines (tm, Midnightplat 2021), and that is going to be _it_ for Ravensloft.  I'm hoping this is just Round 1 of stuff being considered for the Feywild's playable (wait, WotC are you calling them races or lineages now?) options for PCs.  I would have like to see more of a rollout of Fey goblinoids, Fey "fey" (faeries, etc), and Fey Humblewood steal but we'll say it's Lewis Carroll or something in the ramp up.  

Hot take: Fairy read quick seem less fairy than sub race of Halfling as Eladrin is to Elf.

D&D has had critter folk going back to 1st Edition.  Not necessarily in the Feywild, but in both Prime Material worlds and some of the Outer Planes like the Beastlands and the Outlands.

Quote from Third_Sundering >>

Fairy (Which they should totally rename as "Faerie").

 No, I think that leaving Fairy/Fairies as the name is better since they're the small types.  "Faerie" is usually used either to refer to the tall Tolkenesque Fey who rule, as a catchall for all types of Fey, or as the name of their homeland.

I find it interesting that these appear to be "Races" not "Lineages" but I haven't had time to read the UA, just skim through it.

Quote from 6thLyranGuard >>

D&D has had critter folk going back to 1st Edition.  Not necessarily in the Feywild, but in both Prime Material worlds and some of the Outer Planes like the Beastlands and the Outlands.

Playable critter folk, you know like Humblewood?

Quote from Golaryn >>

I find it interesting that these appear to be "Races" not "Lineages" but I haven't had time to read the UA, just skim through it.

Yep, raised my eyebrows too and will have to do a closer read through to see if they're trying for consistency or just spitballing. For such a boldly proclaimed move, they sure could use an in house continuity internal style editor to flag their word choice flip flopping.  That or write something with a little more clarity supported by examples so their players know the preferred terminology.  To be fair, my guess is you've got separate design teams, but still I think this UA did mention the gothic UA, and then blew off the language adjustment.  

They could have easily done a feathered and critter lineage thing so it wouldn't be too much of a steal from Humblewood (Aarokocka and Kenku would be different despite having feathers too).  A goblinoid lineage.  And a fairy lineage.  All three or four lines could have been broader with options, frankly the Eladrin with its seasonal features would be good place to start.  

I'd like to think these UA's are just teases and lineage will be more expounded upon in future books, if not for the fact that Tasha's basically produced UA as pre-published for the most part, changes being more tweaks of features than more in depth explanations of psionics for example.  I keep saying I want to see otherwise though.

Quote from MidnightPlat >>

Quote from 6thLyranGuard >>

D&D has had critter folk going back to 1st Edition.  Not necessarily in the Feywild, but in both Prime Material worlds and some of the Outer Planes like the Beastlands and the Outlands.

 

Playable critter folk, you know like Humblewood?

 

And predating it by 30+ years.

Quote from Golaryn >>

I find it interesting that these appear to be "Races" not "Lineages" but I haven't had time to read the UA, just skim through it.

 Maybe they got enough negative feedback to reverse course on the idea.

Quote from 6thLyranGuard >>

Quote from Golaryn >>

I find it interesting that these appear to be "Races" not "Lineages" but I haven't had time to read the UA, just skim through it.

 Maybe they got enough negative feedback to reverse course on the idea.

 If so, they didn't exactly reverse very far.  From what I can see it looks just these are in line with the previous stated ideas about Lineage, but they just used the word Race instead.  Like a typo.

My impression was that the term race is being used for something highly specific, like hobgoblins or bunny people, whereas lineage is something more amorphous and harder to pin down, like the reborn being either a stitched together frankenstein monster or a taxidermy experement gone horribly wrong.

Could be mistaken on that, but that was my understanding of it anyways.

Okay, I've got to ask. What do people even think Lineage is supposed to be? As far as I know, it's just a rebranded way of presenting race without any cultural bagage or implications by focusing on individuals, as well as removing real world racial concerns. Mechanically, it's still the same thing.

Quote from Third_Sundering>>

Fairy surely needs Fey Ancestry?  As do the rest of them?  

Fun fact, as of the official races, the only races with Fey Ancestry (Elf and Half-El) are actually not fey, while the only actual fey races (Satyr and Centaur) do not have the Fey Ancestry feature. 

 Ancestry is the keyword here. In D&D, the elves used to be Fey but they aren't anymore, but they still have Fey Ancestry because it is a thing they inherit from having Fey ancestors.

Actual Fey races are still Fey, so them having that feature wouldn't make much sense: They didn't have a 'fall from grace' ages ago like the elves did, they are still the real thing.

4e did have a catch-all 'critter folk" race, as it happens. They were called Hengeyokai and did indeed have ties to the Feywild. I recall badgers and rabbits specifically (and perhaps foxes?) But really, they could be any critter you wanted them to be.

Worth noting is the second half of the name, yokai, which refers to what can loosely be described as the Japanese mythology equivalent to Fairies.

"Owlfolk" and "Rabbitfolk" are enormously lazy names (brainstormed with some friends and came up with "Strix" and "Usagin" as alternatives) and I hate the math on the bunny hop (mats and most D&D rules regarding physical space are keyed towards 5-foot increments, and the finer details tend to get lost in Theater, so how do you resolve rolling a 7 on that d12?), but otherwise, I'm very very into all of this. 

Quote from Envoyofwater >>

4e did have a catch-all 'critter folk" race, as it happens. They were called Hengeyokai and did indeed have ties to the Feywild. I recall badgers and rabbits specifically (and perhaps foxes?) But really, they could be any critter you wanted them to be.

Worth noting is the second half of the name, yokai, which refers to what can loosely be described as the Japanese mythology equivalent to Fairies.

 Yes, I remember those. And indeed, there were foxes in there. 

Wait a second, that reminds me... Aren't the Kenku based/inspired on a type of yokai?

That makes the Feygoblin even more awkward for me, as now WotC are playtesting yet another avian race (Owlfolk) and kinda rewriting the origins of three well-established races, but the already existing avian race with an already vague origin story, who would make as much sense as the hobgoblin on a Feywild setting from a mythological standpoint but without having to rewrite any existing lore, was left out?

Quote from Envoyofwater >>

4e did have a catch-all 'critter folk" race, as it happens. They were called Hengeyokai and did indeed have ties to the Feywild. I recall badgers and rabbits specifically (and perhaps foxes?) But really, they could be any critter you wanted them to be.

Worth noting is the second half of the name, yokai, which refers to what can loosely be described as the Japanese mythology equivalent to Fairies.

Hengeyokai actually existed since AD&D 1e’s Oriental Adventures, and they function more like the Fey version of Lycanthropy. A Hengeyokai could change between a humanoid, hybrid and animal form based on the animal they were connected to and had special senses and skill proficiencies depending on the animal. Each addition had a list of animals to choose from.

I do believe that 4e is where they were established as Fey beings though, instead of part of a more Asian themed setting. Not entirely sure on that part.

Quote from Paapcorn >>

I like the new races (except Rabbitfolk), but they pose an interesting question: what book are these going to be released in? I'm still hoping for a Draconomicon later this year, but these imply a Feywild setting book, but we generally get at least 1 adventure a year, and I'm not sure if Candlekeep counts. 

 At the big recent Hasbro investors' meeting thing they had, there was discussion of both D&D and Magic "increasing the cadence of releases." I would not be remotely surprised to see as many as 5-6 books this year.

Also, re: Everyone talking about race vs. lineage: Honestly, I'm surprised this is causing as much confusion as it is. The Gothic Lineages were very specifically not races, not something you're born as, and that was reflected in the flavor/fluff text. I didn't think Wizards would be throwing out "Race" as a concept or as a word, and I fully expected there to be more Races with future releases. The Gothic Lineages were a new thing, intended to be able to append to a character during a campaign, well after creation (though the way that works is sloppy af and needs fixing before Van Richten's comes out), so they got a new name. They never said "Race" was going away forever. At most, they said that it didn't apply to those three UA. I don't see this as a change or reversal of any kind, just that the Dhampir, Hexblood, and Reborn were different things. 

Quote from 6thLyranGuard >>

Could say that these hobgoblins are descendants of ones that were taken as slaves by powerful Fey Lords a thousand years ago.  Centuries of being changed to suit their masters' whims and exposure to the Feywilds have left them heavily changed from their kin on the prime.

Could also explain why their ability score bonuses aren't fixed- they've been altered so many times that there's no longer a racial tendency toward any particular stat.

That would be fine, but the tiny snippet of flavor text they gave us says that these hobgoblins are the OG ones, with the goblinoids on the Material Plane descending from them, not the other way around:

Hobgoblins trace their origins to the Feywild, where they first appeared with their goblin and bugbear kin. That history has left its mark, for though hobgoblins are found throughout the Material Plane, they continue to channel an aspect of the Feywild’s rule of reciprocity, which creates a mystical bond between the giver and the receiver of a gift.

On some worlds, such bonds lead hobgoblins to form communities with deep ties to each other. In the Forgotten Realms, vast hobgoblin legions have emerged, with ranks upon ranks of devoted soldiers noteworthy for how effective they are at fighting as a unit. 

So yes, they are rewriting their 5e origins. They came from the Feywild and then... they just forgot all that when they went militaristic and became Templar soldiers with a fanatical worship of a war god, I guess? Where does Maglubiyet fits in all this?

I mean, I can play (a D&D original character inspired by) Rabbit now.  That's a win in and of itself.

HeroAca fansqueeing aside?  Initial impressions of this document are favorable, if slightly confused.  The Fairy being Small but able to ooze their way through inch-wide cracks feels like Wizards trying to have its cake and eat it too re: Tiny PCs.  "You count as Small because our system breaks when PCs are Tiny, but we'll let you move around like you're Tiny anyways!  That's close enough, right?  ...right?"  I'm not sure how a gnome/halfling/gobbo-sized critter manages that trick, but hey.  Elsewise the Fairies are pretty standard.  They have fairy flight, a bit of nature magic, Faerie Fire because they god damn better, and that weird passage trait that likely won't make it past UA.

Fey Hobgoblins (Fobgoblins?  Fablins?  Fablins) are a little bizarre.  Wizards has a weird love/hate relationship with The Help Action(C); they want people to use it a lot more than people do, but...well.  It's an arguably overpowered use of a bonus action and a horrific waste of a regular action.  These things have an interesting thing going on with the whole Law of Reciprocity thing, but that feels more like it should be a setting rule for a Feywild book than a function of a single given species.  I don't think this one landed with me, powerful as it undoubtedly is.

Owlfolk/Owlkocra/NIN-BIRBS are overloaded ay-eff.  Unrestricted flight - note, Owlkocra can fly in platemail - mostly-reliable immunity to falling damage, free Stealth, free Detect Magic, extended darkvision...these things are bonkers.  Bon.  Kers.  Aarakocra are faster (and also not UA), but it feels like these things can't possibly make it out of UA with this ability stack.  Like, I see how each individual piece makes sense and is fine, but that's a lot of pieces, ne?

And the Rabbitfolk are kinda out of left field but **** me if I don't like how they panned out.  I legit giggled aloud at the 'Hare Trigger' thing, and rabbits are known for being twitchy bastids so it works as more than just a cute pun.  the rabbit hop thing is weird - like Semantic said, D&D doesn't like movement in increments other than five feet - but I suppose it's one of those things that maybe works for theater of the mind?  I'd maybe do "a number of feet equal to 5+1d8" rather than a d12, though I'll admit I appreciate them trying to give the poor dusty d12 more use.  Just feels a little weird.  It is more interesting than a flat movement bonus, though.  Also allows the player to leap over low obstacles like caltrops or other broken ground.  Plus, if ever there was a species where 'Lucky' counted as a species/racial feat, this is the one.  I mean, they have two lucky rabbit's feet, even!