Neat. These are primarily Spelljammer races and a Dark Sun race (Thri-kreen), right?
I wonder if these will be part of the Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse book? Or part of the book that was teased with alternate artwork of Boo on the cover?
I find it interesting that the Astral Elf is a full race option as opposed to an Elf subrace. I also find it interesting how their Trance feature is different from a traditional Elf. It explicitly states for an Astral Elf that they complete a long rest in 4 hours. Coffee-lock here we come
Edit: Honestly, it seems like alot of these races have a way to get around a traditional long rest
New UA that i would love to play test and DNDBeyond doesn't do UA content on the site anymore. Very Sad. I only run games online with my players and this would have been a great tool to test.
New UA that i would love to play test and DNDBeyond doesn't do UA content on the site anymore. Very Sad. I only run games online with my players and this would have been a great tool to test.
Can still homebrew it. If you dont, I am sure someone will in the next few weeks to get around it. Hopefully the D&DBeyond team is working on other site improvements or gearing up for implementing Fizbans and Strixhaven content
I am most excited to see the Giff and Thri-kreen in this UA. I must admit that I am a slightly disappointed in the Giff. I would have liked them to be a bit more that generic strong guys, but I can live with it. The Thri-Kreen look great and them being Monstrosities is an interesting choice for a PC race. The Secondary Arms are interesting and it will be cool to work out how they will interact with the rules. Right off the bat I can see that they can wield two light weapons, a shield and a spell focus all at the same time. OR wield a weapon and a Hand Crossbow at the same time and still have a free hand to load with.
Kreen isn't quite right. Need to change the chameleon and telepathy abilities and replace with claws (or bite) and standing leap like the grung.
I think that is there because WotC has failed to fully implement Psionics and Thri-kreen were naturally psionic in previous editions. I think that WotC should expand on psionics and adjust the Thri-kreen accordingly.
Just a little weird that they went with thri-keen instead of xixchil given that everything else is spelljammer related. Perhaps they don't want two similar insect races but I will still miss my poisonous body-mod mantises.
This might be the greatest bit of flavor I've ever seen in any D&D product ever...
The giff are split into two camps concerning how their name is pronounced. Half of them say it with a hard g, half with a soft g. Disagreements over the correct pronunciation often blossom into hard feelings, loud arguments, and headbutting contests, but rarely escalate beyond that.
It's a shame that the giff are mechanically so boring. But I am DESPARATE to play one of these guys. He will be named Geoff, pronounced "Jeff," with a soft g. And he will be DOGMATIC in pronouncing "giff" with a hard g, willing to fight absolutely anyone who says otherwise.
I don't know who was responsible for this, but Tyr bless you, whoever you are. Please please please let this wonderful little bit of gold make it in to the final book. I will weep if it gets cut.
If Astral Elf was only a subrace, I do not see why they would reprint those first four features since they overlap with the base race. One could make the argument that Astral Elf is intended to be a subrace, with its unique subrace features being the last three and the first four just being included to give an idea of what the whole character would look like. The reason I am not sure that is the case is because for this elf they also changed the language of Trance a little, making it a somewhat different Trance than that of the base Elf race.
Although, since I know they are going to reprint races, this might also be a change to Trance they intend to carry over to the reprinted Elf race. Idk
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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If Astral Elf was only a subrace, I do not see why they would reprint those first four features since they overlap with the base race. One could make the argument that Astral Elf is intended to be a subrace, with its unique subrace features being the last three and the first four just being included to give an idea of what the whole character would look like. The reason I am not sure that is the case is because for this elf they also changed the language of Trance a little, making it a somewhat different Trance than that of the base Elf race.
Although, since I know they are going to reprint races, this might also be a change to Trance they intend to carry over to the reprinted Elf race. Idk
I wonder if they are thinking of dropping subraces all together going forward.
Any TSR old timers seeing Hadozee = Yazarian, Plasmoid = Dralastite, and the Thri-Kreen being basically a stand in for the Vrusk?
EDIT, huh, looks like WotC did inherit the rights to Star Frontiers, but yeah they're pretty much right out of Alpha Dawn as presented.
EDIT2: I would've given the Hadozee dark vision, maybe, Plasmoid would have definitely got tremorsense or blindsight to fit the Ooze nature.
EDIT3: Heh, didn't realize Spelljammer ported Star Frontiers races and these are basically spell jammer legacies, pretty cool.
The Astral Elf blends well with a group of "dream based" races I've toyed with from MCDM's Arcadia. I think I might encourage adding one to that group (which would give a meta reason for another character to finally use a feature they've been withholding since the feature's activated by character death).
This! Right above here! This is what I came here to say. This is definitely a nod to Star Frontiers. The Hadozee can even glide! And the Thri-Kreen changes people note above put them more in line with the Vrusk, right?
Kreen isn't quite right. Need to change the chameleon and telepathy abilities and replace with claws (or bite) and standing leap like the grung.
I think that is there because WotC has failed to fully implement Psionics and Thri-kreen were naturally psionic in previous editions. I think that WotC should expand on psionics and adjust the Thri-kreen accordingly.
I just wish they had gotten Psionics right in the first place. I’m actually a little disappointed to see this as it means we will likely be seeing a version of Dark Sun soon, and the way this edition is going, the only thing likely to be more glaring than their disappointing approach to Psionics will be the changes they make to the setting to make it non-offensive enough for market. If they present Athas without slavery and cannibalism it won’t really be Athas.
If Astral Elf was only a subrace, I do not see why they would reprint those first four features since they overlap with the base race. One could make the argument that Astral Elf is intended to be a subrace, with its unique subrace features being the last three and the first four just being included to give an idea of what the whole character would look like. The reason I am not sure that is the case is because for this elf they also changed the language of Trance a little, making it a somewhat different Trance than that of the base Elf race.
Although, since I know they are going to reprint races, this might also be a change to Trance they intend to carry over to the reprinted Elf race. Idk
I wonder if they are thinking of dropping subraces all together going forward.
Ye gads I hope not, think of the bloat if they reprint the same exact things over and over and over and over….
https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/travelers-multiverse
/thread
Neat. These are primarily Spelljammer races and a Dark Sun race (Thri-kreen), right?
I wonder if these will be part of the Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse book? Or part of the book that was teased with alternate artwork of Boo on the cover?
Finally. New UA. I am so pumped.
Edit: Havent read anything in depth, but what immediately stands out to me is that I need to play and Astral Self (monk) Astral Elf just for the name
Four-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
I find it interesting that the Astral Elf is a full race option as opposed to an Elf subrace. I also find it interesting how their Trance feature is different from a traditional Elf. It explicitly states for an Astral Elf that they complete a long rest in 4 hours. Coffee-lock here we come
Edit: Honestly, it seems like alot of these races have a way to get around a traditional long rest
Four-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
New UA that i would love to play test and DNDBeyond doesn't do UA content on the site anymore. Very Sad. I only run games online with my players and this would have been a great tool to test.
Can still homebrew it. If you dont, I am sure someone will in the next few weeks to get around it. Hopefully the D&DBeyond team is working on other site improvements or gearing up for implementing Fizbans and Strixhaven content
Four-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
I am most excited to see the Giff and Thri-kreen in this UA. I must admit that I am a slightly disappointed in the Giff. I would have liked them to be a bit more that generic strong guys, but I can live with it. The Thri-Kreen look great and them being Monstrosities is an interesting choice for a PC race. The Secondary Arms are interesting and it will be cool to work out how they will interact with the rules. Right off the bat I can see that they can wield two light weapons, a shield and a spell focus all at the same time. OR wield a weapon and a Hand Crossbow at the same time and still have a free hand to load with.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I wonder if that was the intent and they just pushed out the UA without specifying, as I think something similar could be said about the autognome.
I think it is intended to be its own race since it goes out of its way to reprint Darkvision and Trance (which are part of the base Elf race).
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Kreen isn't quite right. Need to change the chameleon and telepathy abilities and replace with claws (or bite) and standing leap like the grung.
Some of my 5e homebrews on GM Binder for Dark Sun, Dark Sun Sub-classes. Feel free to message me with any questions, suggestions, or critiques.
I think that is there because WotC has failed to fully implement Psionics and Thri-kreen were naturally psionic in previous editions. I think that WotC should expand on psionics and adjust the Thri-kreen accordingly.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Just a little weird that they went with thri-keen instead of xixchil given that everything else is spelljammer related. Perhaps they don't want two similar insect races but I will still miss my poisonous body-mod mantises.
This might be the greatest bit of flavor I've ever seen in any D&D product ever...
It's a shame that the giff are mechanically so boring. But I am DESPARATE to play one of these guys. He will be named Geoff, pronounced "Jeff," with a soft g. And he will be DOGMATIC in pronouncing "giff" with a hard g, willing to fight absolutely anyone who says otherwise.
I don't know who was responsible for this, but Tyr bless you, whoever you are. Please please please let this wonderful little bit of gold make it in to the final book. I will weep if it gets cut.
But . . . why? It's not really that distinct from High Elf.
The Thri-Keen entry needs a LOT more detail on how the multiple arms interact with the rules.
I will try to explain further
Elf (base race): Darkvision, Fey Ancestry, Trance, Keen Senses
Elf subraces: Features like weapon training, extra spellcasting, sunlight sensitivity etc
Astral Elf: Darkvision, Fey Ancestry, Trance*, Keen Senses, Radiant Soul, Trance Proficiencies, Astral Fire
If Astral Elf was only a subrace, I do not see why they would reprint those first four features since they overlap with the base race. One could make the argument that Astral Elf is intended to be a subrace, with its unique subrace features being the last three and the first four just being included to give an idea of what the whole character would look like. The reason I am not sure that is the case is because for this elf they also changed the language of Trance a little, making it a somewhat different Trance than that of the base Elf race.
Although, since I know they are going to reprint races, this might also be a change to Trance they intend to carry over to the reprinted Elf race. Idk
Four-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
I wonder if they are thinking of dropping subraces all together going forward.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Any TSR old timers seeing Hadozee = Yazarian, Plasmoid = Dralastite, and the Thri-Kreen being basically a stand in for the Vrusk?
EDIT, huh, looks like WotC did inherit the rights to Star Frontiers, but yeah they're pretty much right out of Alpha Dawn as presented.
EDIT2: I would've given the Hadozee dark vision, maybe, Plasmoid would have definitely got tremorsense or blindsight to fit the Ooze nature.
EDIT3: Heh, didn't realize Spelljammer ported Star Frontiers races and these are basically spell jammer legacies, pretty cool.
The Astral Elf blends well with a group of "dream based" races I've toyed with from MCDM's Arcadia. I think I might encourage adding one to that group (which would give a meta reason for another character to finally use a feature they've been withholding since the feature's activated by character death).
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
This! Right above here! This is what I came here to say. This is definitely a nod to Star Frontiers. The Hadozee can even glide! And the Thri-Kreen changes people note above put them more in line with the Vrusk, right?
ey/em/eirs, or they/them works, too (just not he).
Role-playing since that keep on those borderlands. I love it so.
I just wish they had gotten Psionics right in the first place. I’m actually a little disappointed to see this as it means we will likely be seeing a version of Dark Sun soon, and the way this edition is going, the only thing likely to be more glaring than their disappointing approach to Psionics will be the changes they make to the setting to make it non-offensive enough for market. If they present Athas without slavery and cannibalism it won’t really be Athas.
Ye gads I hope not, think of the bloat if they reprint the same exact things over and over and over and over….
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