Races that got Nerfed in Monsters of the Multiverse D&D 5e

[@TheAirRon]

Can we all just thank David for loaning this book to Chris? David, you’re awesome!

[@SupaBass1793]

For the firbolg's speech of Beast and leaf, I think it added "vegetation" to differentiate between creatures with the Plant subtype vs random plantlife like grasses and trees.

[@Coid]

I can see that, but that's also more than a little silly. OTOH, from horror stories online, it seems like a lot of DMs are more than a little silly with how ridiculously narrow they want to view everything.

[@chillycharizard5985]

Also fungi

[@BR4IN1N4J4R]

Strangely, I think Githzerai just got a massive boost and may actually be one of the most clever Barbarian options, strange as that sounds. Hear me out: the spells are good outside of Rage, and if you go Bear Totem, you have resistance to EVERYTHING because of your inherent Psychic Resistance

[@buxtehudemuzik]

Damn, this is a cool idea!!

[@joshuagaliley7564]

Also, that Shield spell is super valuable Round 1 before the Barbarian has had a chance to rage. (That’s when most of the Barbs I’ve run for have gotten in the most trouble.)

[@evaahh9584]

Meh. Might as well just go kalashtar if you want that.

[@АлександрСудаков-с2и]

Are you confusing githzerai and githyanki by any chance? (The video said nothing about githzerai), but yeah, githzerai are now maybe the best way to get the shield spell, and githyanki make an ok bearbarian

[@Duranous.]

I think it's cool to be resistant to everything but it's a bit of an oversell to say adding psychic to the list is a big deal. Like it was sad in the video, psychic is pretty rare.

[@gaminginthedark225]

I think they added the vegetation part to Firbolgs because plant is a creature type, meaning that there was a possible interpretation of the ability where it only allowed you communicate with creatures of the beast and plant types. Now that it says it includes vegetation there can be no mistake that it allows you to talk to non-creature plants as well. This was more of a clarification then a change.

[@benjaminkowal7310]

You are probably right but so is Treantmonk...It seems like a 100% pointless clarification because the DMs that read it so narrowly in the past are the same DMs who will rule vegetation has nothing worth saying...

[@TedSroka]

My guess is the Mountain Dwarf will lose armor proficiency when the 5E revision comes out.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Yeah, I think so too.

[@afasdfasafd314]

@@TreantmonksTemple its a shame, no more lv1 wizard with medium armor profiency

[@SnarkyRogue]

I'm worried they'll lose the +2/+2 as well. They better get something to replace the cultural stuff they lose, as dropping down to +2/+1 is going to hurt even harder if they strip away the armor/weapon proficiencies. It's almost all they have going for them.

[@fortunatus1]

Likely, elves will lose Weapon Training as well.

[@Anndgrim]

@@afasdfasafd314 If the new Dragonlance UA becomes official, it will still be a thing, and no longer bound to a racial choice. I do not get the logic of creating a martial background which provides benefits that are only useful to spellcasters. Do we want all our wizards to be knight's apprentices and all our Fighters to be magical school graduates ?

[@MechaRouge4]

I feel a race that got hit pretty big that wasn't mentioned is the aasimar. Going from getting bonus damage equal to your level while shrouded down to only your proficiency bonus is a huge loss in power. From a max of 20 damage on your first hit to only a max of 6, which feels pretty significant.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I felt the boost to moving it to a bonus action made up that difference.

[@Tigonite]

I feel like it being a bonus action still doesn't make up for the damage loss, but I'm thinking the math might not support my feeling there 😅 Would definitely be interesting to see an analysis on that

[@johnhodges2760]

I didn't feel anything. I thought about it and then did some calculations, and while there may be a slight benefit in earlier levels as well as during shorter combats (three rounds or less), in middle and later levels and any time with longer combats, it's a clear nerf.

[@Mev-ni2mi]

wouldnt it be the same amount of damage spread out over multiple attacks?

[@joelsasmad]

@@Mev-ni2miNo. It still can only be applied a single time per turn.

[@Magnushamann]

I think we will see all races losing armor prof. (incl. the mountain dwarf) it is probably going to be placed on some kind of background... as it is something "learned" and not something "natural"

[@mozartdminor]

It's already on a background in the most recent UA, so that seems likely to me

[@symmetry8049]

Only issue rn with such, is that these "nurture/culture" features weren't moved, but instead simply removed

[@joelsasmad]

I'm sorry but I just never really saw the appeal of the dwarven armor profs. Most classes that are frontliners get medium or heavy armor already.

[@SamFinklestein]

Speaking of dwarves, I read this change to poison resilience as a clarification of design intent when it comes to the original dwarven resilience. The "advantage on saving throws against poison" was never 100% unambiguous, so the fact that they changed the wording of both duergar and yuan-ti suggests that this is what we can expect from the dwarven features in 2024 as well.

[@andrecosta8680]

Moutain dwaf lost armor prof? Where?

[@goodgulfgas]

For D&D 5.5, say goodbye to the the Mountain Dwarf armor proficiencies and +2 to two stats and say goodbye to the Half-Elf +2, +1, +1.

[@SpiderWaffle]

Ya probably, I don't mind losing armor prof or 17 Ac natural armor from race though. I wonder if Tortle 17 AC will remain, Class and AC should be more coupled imho. My guess is there will be lots of Tortle Wiz and Sorcs in 5.5. It's too bad they couldn't balance the races enough to have +2 +2 or +2 +1 +1 or other schemes as those can pretty interesting choices, but not a huge deal, race choice being only based off racial perks and abilities has it's benefits too.

[@dicksonmattxenoblade6491]

Tortle is in Monsters of the Multiverse. The 17 AC is still there.

[@SpiderWaffle]

@@dicksonmattxenoblade6491 Right, which is why I don't think its changing for 5.5 and there's going to be a influx of Tortle Wiz/Sorc in the Forgotten Realms.

[@externalthoughts2924]

A nerf for Half-Elves sounds very justified tbh

[@SpiderWaffle]

@@externalthoughts2924 ya, and mountain dwarf and Aven Hawk-headed with +2 +2 are a bit rich too, Kobold with just +2 they also got right, and then Triton with +1 +1 +1 should have had more like Kobold but didn't.

[@elliotbryant3459]

One thing I haven’t seen discussed -that all naturals weapons are the same. Kinda seems silly that cat and turtle finger claws are as deadly as a scimitar at baseline. OTOH, I feel Minotaur horns could be a 1d8.

[@csdn4483]

One thing you forgot about with the Kobold and the change from Beg, Cower, and Grovel vs. the Draconic Cry is this. Before with Beg, Cower, and Grovel you could not take advantage of it, only your party members could because it took your action to perform. Now, with Draconic Cry, you can use it along with your party because it's a bonus action now which means you do this before you take your action and then you get the bonus of it as well.

[@Dinodudematt]

I think of new kobold is more of a side-grade to old kobold. It feels more utility-based vs old kobold combat-focused traits. I understand losing pack tactics is rough, but since Wizards confirmed old kobold is still a valid choice, you can pick your favorite version. (I like both, personally)

[@sneekygnome]

Yea, this version of the Kobold is pretty much the UA version (from Draconic Options 2021) which many thought would appear in Fizban's, but apparently was delayed to be included here; I guess WoC didn't want to call Kobolds actual Dragons!

[@ddrew1973]

Are the older Kobolds going to be allowed in AL play, or are they using the updated version?

[@evonthon]

It feels a lot more appropriate as an adventurer/hero than old kobold. Being cowardly as a racial trait, while interesting doesn't make sense to be required in a profession that essentially requires an amount of bravery.

[@hazezero689]

For the Firbolg, Beast is a creature type, Plants are also a creature type, just like Fiends are a creature type. I think this was mostly just to clarify that you can speak with plants are not creatures, but regular vegetation. I feel that most of us understood the intention behind this trait as it was originally stated, but D&D can be very literal in its rules at time.

[@jrrthompson1996]

The nicest thing about d&d is that you can choose what patch you play on. I'm not going to do much with any of these new races at any of my tables.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

I hear people turning on their stoves and getting out cutting boards with the rumblings about 5.5e

[@JoshSmith-de7nl]

Just thought I should mention this as you still don't seem to understand it. I think the firbolg's speech of beast and leaf was changed to clarify the distinction between talking to mundane vegetation like trees and grass and the ability to talk to creatures with the plant creature type.

[@benjaminkowal7310]

I guess you are right...I have written before about the DMs who read about Firbolgs and thought there was now way they would allow this race to talk to trees and grass in their games...It is probably a great way to decide if a DM is going to work out for you.

[@Nexus-X001]

Can't wait to get this book in may,thanks for giving us an insight into whats in it.Love your channel...

[@gavinerickson9392]

Something I'd really want to see in future D&D content is more creature templates, allowing for more DM customization options while keeping things sort of balanced.

[@joelsasmad]

They are sort of going in that direction with lineages but it doesn't feel like something they are committing to yet.

[@gavinerickson9392]

@@joelsasmad I meant more for monsters and not characters, something like Half Dragons or options from MToF.

[@andrewshandle]

So maybe I'm crazy, but in a 4 person party, does Pack Tactics come up all that often for Kobolds? In fights against a single opponent they can use the new Draconic Cry feature to benefit everyone, and in fights against multiple opponents there was never a guarantee you could configure your party to exploit it. To me, Pack Tactics just _sounds_ way better than it actually is in practice.

[@patdav56]

Considering what I've experienced in a similar party with our paladin kobold and a barbarian, Pact Tactics comes online basically all the time Same in another (albeit larger) party where we have a barbarian, a monk, a melee ranger, and a kobold rogue

[@andrewshandle]

​@@patdav56 I didn't say it never comes up, but I think we can agree that a party with 4 melee in it is incredibly rare out there in the world...and besides, the Kobold is a Rogue, the one class that gains zero benefit from Pack Tactics since they get Advantage in that situation anyway. As for the first party, depending how many encounters you do a day swapping out pack tactics for the Dragon Cry might actually work out better because you'd be buffing the Barbarian damage too.

[@bugbearormiss]

@@andrewshandle My first character was a Kobold. The party was a Ranged Ranger, Caster land druid, and Paladin. The campaign didnt last incredibly long, like 10 sessions, but I literally had Pack Tactics on every attack even when we had an insane dungeon at the end with dozens of enemies at once. Remember, its any ally, so Conjured Animals, familiars, beast pets, any creature on your side procs it. Its also just better in general to focus on one enemy at a time. Also what do you mean by rogue already having advantage? Having an ally nearby doesnt give advantage, it just allows you to use sneak attack.

[@andrewshandle]

@@bugbearormiss Rogues want advantage for Sneak Attack, and for that reason as a class they are the best at getting it without using Pack Tactics as a complete crutch. "The campaign didnt last incredibly long, like 10 sessions, but I literally had Pack Tactics on every attack even when we had an insane dungeon at the end with dozens of enemies at once. " Based on your comment, if you "literally" had advantage on every attack, your DM really needs to create better encounters. My goodness, letting a player abuse a single feature every combat is incredibly lame, and shows why it needed to be removed from the game.

[@bugbearormiss]

@@andrewshandle Sure Rogues *want* it but that doesnt mean they *get* it. Rogues get advantage either through hiding or ranged ones can use steady aim. Few of the Subclasses give advantage, only allowing you more ways to proc sneak attack. I dont see how being able to use a feature means the dm is bad? We had plenty of outdoor encounters, we as a party just forced them indoors or into shadows we either made or in the environment to keep it going. The druid even cast Druidcraft to check the weather before we went places to see if they had to stock fog cloud or the like! Using teamwork we made the dream work. But seriously, being able to use a feature often isnt a fault of the dm. This is like saying "You let your Firbolg talk to plants and your Asimmar use their damage boost?? Awful dm should have pulled some random bs to prevent them from using their features."

[@bgdragon99]

I remember the days when Kobolds got -2 STR.

[@patrickmcathey7081]

that is sad what happened to the yuan ti. I would have happily given UP magic resistance entirely to keep posion immunity :( IMO it was the largest draw to picking the race. This used to be a race that could compete with variant human and custom option. I forsee alot more humans and customs at my table in the future.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Agree. Player races with immunities of any kind are so good for roleplay. Being the guy that can check for poison, or the guy that can constantly check for party wide charm effects is so huge.

[@nickm9102]

I loved playing my Yuan ti even in Adventurers League when it was PHB +1 but honestly the Magic Resistance and Poison Immunity rarely came up. Poison Immunity came up one time beyond me drinking poison to annoy the other Characters (in game) and it was a special halloween modified monster that tried to suffocate you and shared damage with you once it latched on and delt poison damage. In that case Poison Spray and immunity turned me into the one person who calmly spewed poison until it died to half damage attacks. so one situational use of a key feature. Everyone complains that the Yuan ti was OP or that Counterspell breaks the game. no one ever stops to think how often it actually comes up. I have a lvl 16 Yuan ti Warlock/Wizard that I would have been better off making any other race as he never encountered another caster or any creatures that could poison. LEVEL 16!

[@patrickmcathey7081]

@@nickm9102 AH here is the problem I doupt you leveled up that from level 1. at LOW levels said benfits are far more useful. example The Mines of Phandelver the green dragons breath weapon is negated by posion immunity,

[@muddlewait8844]

I’d love a video breaking down what the removal of magical effects from magic resistance will do. Mostly I’m interested in how that change will work with 1) the corresponding changes to creatures to use more magical effects rather than spells and 2) previously existing abilities that will no longer allow advantage on the save, like Intellect Devourer attacks and Mind Flayers’ Mind Blast.

[@scorpiovenator_4736]

prof with medium armor, greatswords, longsword, and shortswords as a racial traits is insane

[@ZarHakkar]

In the design of the original Kobold, Pack Tactics was supposed to offset Sunlight Sensitivity- yes, you have disadvantage on attack rolls im direct sunlight, but have an ally nearby and you attack just fine.

[@MrKlutch02]

For Kobolds, if you run with the flanking rule, you dont mind they lost pack tactics. I think the removal of sunlight sensitivity heavily outweighs loosing pack tactics and makes this race actually playable. It would take one encounter in sunlight to sour a kobold player than the multitude of ways you can get advantage.

[@Batuhanify]

Aasimar should be on the list. Their subrace action effect changed from damage+Radiant/Necrotic damage equals to your level, to damage+Radiant/Necrotic damage equals to your proficiency bonus. That's from +20 to +6 at level 20... That is a major nerf.

[@lord6617]

The thing about Kobolds was prior, sunlight sensitivity was almost always at least balanced by Pack Tactics. Disadvantage and advantage cancel out, so you were at least always getting flat rolls. And as a kobold fighting in sunlight, you could do things like fight with a greatsword or throw nets and fight with straight rolls because adv/dis always cancel out. Now there are fewer build paths and variety available to kobolds.

[@hieronymusnervig8712]

I actually think that it has become better for the casual player though. Before, your Grovel, Cower and Beg effectively just traded your damage for your allies' damage and was really only useful in situations where you were already at a disadvantage (e.g. in Sunlight with no Pack Tactics). The additional attacks you gain from being able to attack yourself equals 3 turns with Pack Tactics. In most casual games that's enough to bring you through an entire adventuring day's worth of Pack Tactics. Where it's become worse is comboing the advantage with other aspects of your build.

[@dragonhearthx8369]

@@hieronymusnervig8712 GCB is good for the blaster caster when he is surrounded and out of steam. This did come up in a game for me. It came out as a "save me!" situation.

[@SamSam-ke9zy]

I totally agree with you on Kobolds. OP befire and now more balanced.

[@syndeth]

On the kobold entry you said you get disadvantage from Sunlight Sensitivity in Sunlight. You get it in ANY bright light. You can give kobolds disadvantagy with a torch or Light cantrip. I don't see why people miss that so often.

[@syndeth]

Ah, I see now. I checked the online resources vs my book and it looks like it was changed to be sunlight only. It was far more balanced in the original when it was all sources of bright light.

[@Coid]

7:20 Especially since the publication date of Monsters of the Multiverse means you have to take Customizing Your Origin into account as on the table, that proficiency with short swords, long swords, and great swords could become proficiency with any weapon *or* tool. So you could have gotten 2 weapons you wanted AND proficiency with Herbalism Kit to be able to make healing potions.

[@Coid]

Or even 1 weapon + Herbalism Kit + Thieves' Tools

[@ryanmcmenamim9871]

I’m surprised Lizardfolk didn’t make the cut on this. That quick crafting option is just amazing for money and gear at low level play, and loosing that hurts.

[@thebitterfig9903]

I dunno. It’s kind of strange to have a racial feature that ought to be a tool check. They really ought to have gotten a tool proficiency in compensation, however.

[@Iceblade269]

What is everyone’s thoughts on the changes to Aasimar? The improved healing hands and racial features makes them have some nice utility on the fly

[@leodouskyron5671]

I am not a fan of the changes honesty because I could work with that was there and it almost would be a video to explain it all. The thing if they assumed that players would be a cleric (protector), a Barbarian (scourge), fighter/Paladin (Fallen). While many bought into this, it is a horrible way to make a species. The changes make that *same* assumption! This is why they did not give them PB uses of the abilities per day as would seem valid for the loss of high level damage output. ((The assumption is that you will be heavily armored and this is the only way at lower levels to fly with heavy armor - of course not all Assimar use heavy armor so the restriction just hurts in those cases when compared with other fliers.)) To consider it an upgrade would mean you believe you would be attacking with that first action. Or you ARE doing less damage with the species attribute (I mean 1-20 a turn on one guy as opposed to 2-6) but you don’t have to use your main action. By making it a bonus action, this now clashes with other feature of classes that are not the ones I mentioned. For those that use that bonus action, some of the things you could do are going to be interrupted. Healing hands is now stronger at lower levels and weaker at higher (that is a wash and barely worth the ink). Making the powers not separate subraces is fine but it does cripple the STRONG storytelling narrative that was possible with redemption stories by going from say Fallen to protector.

[@KoryLunaa]

**TL;DR, Defo stronger and way improved due to Transforms now being Bonus Actions instead of Actions, Healing Hands ehhh** // Base Aasimar is about the same but the subrace transformations now called Celestial Revelation being a ***Bonus Action instead of an Action*** now is HUGE , though disagree on Healing Hands somewhat (which I'll get to later) Because it's a **Bonus Action** to transform now, the damage has been reduced, instead of equal to level, it's now equal to Proficiency Mod, but again, you still have your damned action to work with so the difference in damage output overall is minimal and maybe even better because you still have your action (unless the combat goes for really long) Of the Transformation options in the order I think go buffed from least to most **Fallen Aasimar/Necrotic Shroud** is pretty much the same, still dependent on your Charisma mod and is still a distance of 10 feet, so the mileage on this varies **Protector/Radiant Soul** flight is speed is now based on your walking speed, not 30 feet anymore, small but nice buff **Scourge** really got buffed which im gonna explain here Volo's Scourge had a massive drawback of making it so that you actively *lose* HP when you use it, equal to Half your Character level rounded up, (and your enemies in a 10 foot radius take the same amount of damage) Monsters nerfs the damage making it equal to your Prof mod only, but removes the HP drawback, which I think makes it a fair trade, the damage taken really adds up the Higher level you go and the longer the rounds are (taking potentially 100 damage by the time the transform duration is up which is 10 rounds, though you can use a bonus action to end it early), the math below) So 1-3 Monster of the Multiverse Aasimar does more, levels 4-6 their equal 7-8 Volo's aasimar is now +4 damage so it pulls ahead, at 9th level Volo's Scourge damage it turns into 5, while Multiverse is a +4 now Difference between Volo's and multiverse only gets higher from here, Multiverse Scourge Aasimar is 9-12 is +4 13-16 is +5 17-20 is +6 Volo's Scourge damage is now 12 = 6 13-14 = 7 15- 16 = 8 17-18 = 9 19 -20 = 10 9 5 (+4 prof mod) |||||**Healing Hands** Btw for anyone else reading, Multiverse Aasimar's Healing Hands HP regain is is based on rolling a number of d4s equal to your proficiency bonus. **NOTE**, because its a roll, at times Healing Hands does better than average, but for the purposes of this I'll assume the average dice rolls of a d4 Healing Hands is straight better until level 7 , where the average total of 3d4 would be 7.5, and Volo's Aasimar would heal 7 here, the at 8th level Volo's pulls ahead by one point Then at 9th level its better again by one point again, the 3d4 turns into 4d4 as our Prof mod turns to +4, turning tour average to 10 At 10 it's about equal **At 11th, Volo's Aasimar's healing pulls ahead** At 13th, are average now is 12.5. only 0.5 behind Volo's 13 HP Then 14th-20th back to Volo's being better, even at level 17 where we would get a +6 Prof Mod, Multiverse Aasimar's healing average is 12.5 points of healing, with a max of 24 Overall I think the ability is still good just a bit nerfed, defo better than Volo's Aasimar at levels 1-6 though, and at times it can heal more than Volo's Aasimar at stages where the average dice roll would be equal or worse than Volo's Aasimar because well, we are rolling **Overall** Yes Aasimar is a great option

[@elliotbryant3459]

Huge nerf imo, especially to classes that could still get damage in on their first turn like clerics, sorcerers and fighters. Proficiency damage is so paltry at the respective levels that it seems kind of insulting to even keep it, more tedious than impactful at its respective levels. [Not to mention the glut of bonus actions these days]. And while other races are getting their feature uses a number of times = to proficiency [some without any net loss like goliath and shadar kai], it's still just 1 use for aasimar. They could have at least given a use of each per long rest [limited to one active at a time], or apply the damage to each of your damage rolls or something to approach its former value [and given that aoe damage is less effective than focus fire, and focus fire would still require 2-4 hits to approach its former output it seems kinda reasonable]. So you're left with 2 niche resistances, 1 use of healing, 1 less impactful transformation per long rest -and a magic light bulb, for the entirety of your race benefit.

[@cameronlancefrii7356]

@@KoryLunaa so, how does the new aasimar work? Is it you can transform once per day still, but you can pick which transformation? Or can you use each transformation once per day? Also, Volo's Scourge would only take 5 radiant damage per round at level 20, because Aasimar are resistant to radiant damage. Radiant Consumption doesn't specify that you can't reduce its damage in any way, like how Overchannel for Evocation wizards specifies that maxing out your damage rolls more than once per day WILL f**k you up. But uhhh... yeah. At first I thought that they shifted power budget from celestial transformations to healing hands, but they really only shifted healing hands into a gamble instead of a set value, which isn't much of a change in terms of power. And the logic of "now I can use my attack on 1st turn of going celestial" to say proficiency damage is better is... dumb. At level 1? It's better, sure. Level 2? Eh, if you can't get a bonus action attack of some kind off, the MotM version is better. Level 3? By 3rd round of combat, they're equal, if the combat goes on any longer Volo's is straight up better. Level 5 when the proficiency bonus hits 3? Even if you land an attack in all 3 rounds of combat, Volo's Aasimar landing a hit in both rounds after the first will beat it by 1. Then will go to 15 damage. MotM will be at 12 damage on the next round of combat. Then 20 and 15. Level 6? First 3 rounds of combat are 9 for MotM and 12 for Volo's. Then 12 and 18. Such a huge nerf. Idk why WotC gotta be out here nerfing stuff. Should be buffing up underwhelming races instead. If everything sucks, everything sucks... and then pathfinder gonna start looking like a snack. Anyway, if an aasimar can use all 3 types of transformations once each per day, it'd have a similar total damage output to Volo's. 3 rounds of extra damage in 3 different fights with 6 damage is about the same total output of 3 rounds of bonus damage against the final boss with 20 damage.

[@lionheart8503]

@@KoryLunaa I fundamentally disagree that it's an improvement for Scourge aasimar! For Protector aasimar, changing flight from an action to a bonus action is straight up better. But for a Scourge....? Right now I'm playing a Volo's Scourge aasimar Eagle Totem barbarian. On round 1 I can Rage as a bonus action and Radiant Consumption as my action, and I don't lose Rage because I'm taking a tiny bit of damage every round, from myself! Good! It lets me do anything I want with my action without ending Rage. I got the new book shortly after I started playing him, and was given the option of using the new version instead. I analysed it, and realised that it would be worse to change. First, since I couldn't guarantee taking damage then I could lose my Rage. Second, both Rage and Radiant Consumption being bonus actions, and since my main shtick in combat is to use my bonus action to dash (Eagle totem), I couldn't even start that until round 3, aaaand the fight's over. Third, I've just hit 8th level. With the Volo's version, I do an extra 8 damage 1/rnd, it would become only 3, my aura does 4 damage and that would reduce to 3, and I take 2 damage myself which keeps my Rage going and I'm confident that my 110hp can take it! The difference in damage just gets worse as I level up! At 20th it will be 20/10/5, instead of 6/6/0. I'll use the new version if I play a Protector aasimar, but I'll stick to Volo's version for a Scourge aasimar. It's a no-brainer.

[@Alexa_Temujin]

I feel like the change to changelings as a nerf was overlooked. Previously, they counted as humanoid which added to their role in Eberron of anyone could be a changeling. Now with them counting as fey it literally takes a 1st level spell to detect changelings, which is frankly stupid, I can see why it is done for other settings, but it certainly weakens them.

[@gray007nl]

You're immune to so many other harmful spells and abilities though as a fey.

[@CyberChaosV2]

@@gray007nl yes, but it also goes against the point of playing a changeling, you play as one to deceive and play yourself off as someone else, and suddenly you're spotted so easily. If given a decent enough reason for an enemy paladin to pulse divine sense (Which generally has no purpose) now you've just been discovered, and thus disguise self would've been a better option, as it also means you wouldn't have had to take time to strip the armor off that guard you either knocked out or killed.

[@sha2143]

@@CyberChaosV2 As always, homebrew will be the solution. Ask DM's for a magical amulet or something that hides your fey ancestry from divination or detection.

[@kaemonbonet4931]

I think draconic cry is fitting replacement for pack tactics. I'm still calling grovel cower and beg tho, such a fun name!

[@mattgopack7395]

Githyanki does change a good bit, yeah - I think they're nerfed in some builds (if you're a wizard/sorcerer), but misty step becoming a known spell bumps it up in others (cleric and druid). On the whole, I would probably put it in roughly equal overall, personally. Kobold is one I'd almost consider as a different race - the changes are significant enough to the previous version (with pack tactics/sunlight sensitivity) that while it's weaker, it's also very different. A little different to the Yuan-Ti, like you say - where that one was justifiably nerfed (poison immunity in particular was egregiously powerful in my experience). It's still a powerful package on the whole, but it's in-line with the rest.

[@morkka]

I get the hate on Kobolds for the removal of Pack Tactics, but I am actually a huge fan of these changes. I am playing a kobold at the moment, and am loving the new options. My freebie cantrip sees a lot of use, and the draconic cry is excellent.

[@100madmic]

Well you can always bring the pack tactics back with draconic cry If you want

[@gavinerickson9392]

Winged Tiefling it is then!

[@JoshuaSmith-hl1xj]

I've never been a fan of how player race sunlight sensisitivity and monster stat block version are different. I've had people say it's to make it easier for the dungeon master since they only have to track the monster's sunlight level(although most monsters with it are fought in dark areas or inside). But if a player picks a race with it suddenly the dm now needs to track the sun level for every creature on the board, seems like a oversight. But I find it an interesting thing that causes the player to think and take positioning into account. Don't want to see it go but want it simplified.

[@jacobmonroe3899]

For the Firbolg it should have been changed to plants, animals, and fungus, because fungus is it's own kingdom in reality, but I do believe they categorize fungus monsters and such as plants in D&D.

[@sha2143]

I think the Distinction is "plants" being plant type creatures, and "Vegetation" being just any other plant life.

[@ryanweaver3348]

Disappointed Aasimar didn't make this list, but then I think I voiced that opinion in previous video comments.

[@jonathanhaynes9914]

Thanks Chris.

[@cp1cupcake]

I think that the reason most people don't think of the yuan-ti getting hurt more than kobolds is because of how often they are just banned. Nobody remembers that they exist. Regarding their magic resistance, they stopped being the only PC race with it once the satyr happened.

[@fenec250]

5:15: Are racial spells added to your spell list? Having spells in your spell list or always prepared is significant for features like Ritual Casting. My understanding is that racial spells can be cast using spell slots but do not count as prepared/known spells for Ritual Casting and do not count as spells of your class for features like the level 11 Artificer's spell-storing item.

[@Schmeethe88]

You can ritual cast Detect Magic, assuming you are either a Bard, Cleric, Druid, or Artificer full stop. They're now considered fully known/always prepared, and Detect Magic is already on the Bard/Cleric/Druid/Artificer spellcasting lists so you're golden. The one hiccup is Wizard, as Wizard holds the stipulation that you must have the spell in your spellbook in order to ritual cast it using that feature. However, as it's a spell known, you could add it to your spellbook for 50g worth of inks. Once it's added, you'll never actually have to prepare it but you're all set to ritual cast as needed. As for Disguise Self, you struck gold again since it's already on the Artificer list. So as for spell storing item, both spells apply as they're both natively on the Artificer spell list. Both spells are also known, so even if you picked a casting class without access to either of these spells, say cleric and you want to cast Disguise Self, you can still use regular spell slots on it regardless. Fast edit: no change to the information above, but adding that Detect Magic is, of course, also on the Wizard list. You can't just add any old spell into your spellbook just because the spell is known to you. It has to be a wizard spell to copy it that way. You're not allowed to, for example, add Hellish Rebuke if you're a weird Oathbreaker pally/Wizard multiclass; it's not a wizard spell so isn't compatible. I kinda skipped over that bit since it's already a wizard spell.

[@fenec250]

@@Schmeethe88 The feature only says you can cast its spells once using this trait per long rest and can also cast them using spell slots. It doesn't specify RAW they count as spells from your class or that they are prepared or known. What I am looking for is wording similar to the cleric feature Domain Spells, which specifies the spells are prepared and count as cleric spells. Why do you say that these racial spells are known and prepared. Where does it say that? I'm not just asking about Detect Magic and Disguise Self and the Firbolg, I'm asking about this racial innate spellcasting in general. You're right about wizards being able to copy a prepared wizard spell to their spellbook. I don't think the racial spells are "prepared" so I don't think it works.

[@Sean-fo8kg]

I think Pack Tactics was supposed to be offset by sunlight sensitivity, and a lot of DM’s just ignore (or forget about) the latter. A lot of combats are outside during the day, even if not all. So it ended up being pretty OP in many campaigns. I still think it’s a pretty powerful race. Just not for me flavor wise.

[@marioaviles2191]

If your in a traditional dungeon crawl, which plenty of games still are, sunlight sensitivity will be largely irrelevant. It depends on the table.

[@Joemantler]

I'm not paying another $50 for another book, esp one that invalidates parts of previous books, and ESPECIALLY one that invalidates a fundamental part of the game presented in the Basic Books! Things that add new races or something, maybe. Some expanded rules or suggestions, maybe. Clarifications, certainly! But dont go mucking around with the basics.

[@heroworkshop3701]

Re; Kobolds and Pack Tactics. Since they had Sunlight Sensitivity, Pack Tactics would essentially cancel that out. Now that Sunlight Sensitivity has been taken out, that function is no longer needed. The only other use of Pack Tactics was to gain unlimited advantage underground - which was great for the kobold, but probably OP. I think this is actually balanced better, and made simpler by removing a source of disadvantage as well as a source of advantage.

[@mikelsmith6803]

I wish they just left Yuan-ti with the poison inmunity and took away all the the rest, maybe leave "the talk to snakes once per day" thing too, I don't know. But, the inmunity was such a cool feature. I know it was explotable and if a player I knew min-maxed would ask me to play one, I would deny it. But... I don't know, "you are the snake that does not care about poison" felt like a cool character concept. Now this race it feels like the snake tiefling (have your thematic resistance, weird body complection, apropiate spells and good to go). Same old formula.

[@AlgaeGaming]

Yuan-Ti were at least really strong before. I feel like Githyanki got caught unfairly, should have gotten more if they are removing armor profs.

[@lucasm9942]

Grungs also have poison immunity

[@TreantmonksTemple]

True, I guess I didn't consider them official.

[@lostsoulman]

With the yuan ti you could give prof/LR poison immunity for a few rounds. Or a poison damage resistance (after resistance they don't take poison damage for 1-2 points of dmg).

[@Anndgrim]

Not sure why nobody talks about Immunity to Magical sleep having been moved from Fey Ancestry to Trance and how that affects races Half Elves. (Going off the leaks as I don't have the book yet.)

[@TreantmonksTemple]

The change will not affect half elves (until the PHB gets revised, then it might)

[@comfortablegrey]

Moss, lichen, and seaweeds or kelp are not technically plants. I don't think any DM kept their firbolg players from speaking with them however. Vegetation may also include fungi, which I think could have been excluded from the previous rules. Thanks for another great video.

[@tobak952]

the thing about the old kobold is that pack tactics would almost always nullify the sunlight sensitivity, turning it into just a perception debuff. It would still be annoying but by no means debilitating. Pack tactics on the other hand wouldnt be as overpowered because it would only work indoors

[@hieronymusnervig8712]

Fire Genasi got nerfed as well. I mean by the time you get Flame Blade, it barely deals more damage than the Cantrip you get. Just a useless ability that'll trick new players into dying.

[@johnmichaelarnaud]

Maybe they're planning to improve the spell for the next edition, thus making the addition to Fire Genasi a preemptive improvement as well. We can hope.

[@elliotbryant3459]

plus they no longer see in red!!!

[@CaitSith87]

07:45 i imagine there will be a background in 5.5 that gives you armor proficency.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

They may as well call that background "magic schooled".

[@CaitSith87]

@@aprinnyonbreak1290 i imagine soldier and merc will give you armor and some weapons and scholar and such backgriunds spells. Other i imagine skills. Whcih makes completly sense. The problem with this aproach is that for spellcasters the martial backgrounds will be more useful and vice versa. They could solve that if you have a battle mage origin for armor for spellcasters and spells for fighters?

[@lugaruclone]

I think they removed pack tactics because it is more common for tables to treat flanked as advantage, than it being common that people play kobolds. Personally I'm super against flank as advantage, just pointing it out.

[@100madmic]

Well how we worked with that if we party wanted flanking the monster could also use it.

[@robertcarson9169]

Tbh i feel like although in some niche campaigns in the underdark og kobold would be better, i think new kobold is actually better (at least for some classes). Firstly, giving all allies advantage is amazing only as a bonus action, and with the Feature that lets you take a sorcerer cantrip, you could take booming blade, which is a great setup for rogues.

[@bwhit7919]

I’m curious what builds truly made use of the Githyanki medium armor proficiency. Medium armor gives a max AC of 17. Compare this to mage armor and a DEX of 16, which gives an AC of 16. Does that one AC offset being able to cast misty step will spell slots? It’s also worth noting that a free weapon proficiency every long rest is basically the same thing as proficiency in all weapons, as you rarely ever use more than one weapon per day. This would work wonders on a bladesinger.

[@elliotbryant3459]

going from 14 to 16 is a significant point allocation and is still less armor. It also allows a bard, wizard, warlock or sorcerer to skip learning mage armor [and taxing their spells slots daily], and is 1 half feat away from heavy armor for the less dexterous. Also you go from light & medium armor, 3 weapons, a language and a skill, to just 1 floating skill and 1 floating weapon or tool proficiency and a kinda niche damage resistance.

[@roninhare9615]

I’m kind of thinking the new 5.5e/dnd5adv will expand on backgrounds like they have with strixheaven and with the new play test feats for heroes of kyrn. 2024 rerelease seems to me they are focusing on backgrounds and giving you options for dedicating to this background as you progress in your campaign, giving more role play opportunities. Subsequently we are seeing races seeing certain nerfs that may or may not make sense at the moment. I would not be surprised to see the mountain dwarf to lose its armor proficiency. Thoughts?

[@elliotbryant3459]

I kinda liked having backgrounds being the one area largely divorced from optimization mechanics. Where you were free to draw your desired character history without concern for shoring up your weaknesses. For example, I'm not sure what an updated Sage background could really offer to a wizard that would compare with a hypothetical Squire background's medium armor proficiency.

[@roninhare9615]

@@elliotbryant3459 well, I could look at both Strixhaven initiate, you gained bonus cantrips and spells, same thing with Initiate of High Sorcery (the new feat in the current heroes of Krynn Unearthed arcana). both build into a feat you can grab later, that expands upon your background... you still have to sacrifice an asi to take this feat... the second feat isnt free. Martial characters would likely be modeled after the "Squire of Solamnia" heroes of Krynn UA. giving you proficiency or 2 and maybe an ability. Again leading into the optional knights of the crown, sword, or rose options. However these are only a few examples of how backgrounds could be if they did take this path. I think by expanding on the backgrounds its giving you more, and more where the game needs it... early game... if you ever play a level 1 or 2, you usually don't have many options, all this is doing is creating a few more options for you to expand on in those early levels, yet still providing some utility later on.

[@elliotbryant3459]

@@roninhare9615 right, but what I’m saying is tying backgrounds to strong mechanics creates a significant influencing factor. While you may desire to play with an Indians Jones background, you would now be mechanically shooting yourself in the foot, because ‘knight of the moon’ benefits your build so much more than the ‘tomb raider’ background, resulting in less conceptual freedom for your character’s origin if you were to be influenced by what the backgrounds mechanically benefits you the most.

[@roninhare9615]

@@elliotbryant3459 because they are trying to improve the game, they are revising the players handbook and re releasing a revision/update to bring everything. Races and classes will be more similar to the newer releases we have been seeing over the last few books or upcoming books. I’m trying to say is in the neee 2024 book your “tomb raider” background may very well have this all tied in to it before to long.

[@elliotbryant3459]

@@roninhare9615 If backgrounds are codified with strong features, then the value of the features is now influencing the background you choose for your class. This railroads your backstory for the benefit of character mechanics if you allow it to influence you [also turns homebrewing a background into a huge balancing act from a minor one]. As an example, if soldier background gives you light and medium armor and shield proficiency, while the cook background gives you the chef feat -we're going to be seeing a lot fewer wizards chefs out in the world, even if they made the chef feat much better. I understand the spirit of dropping mechanics of learned abilities from the inherent abilities of race, but I don't think reallocating former power budgets straight onto backgrounds is the right answer.

[@akmi1931]

Thing about Yuan-ti is that I think of this version is actually a separate race from the Yuan-ti Purebloods. Even the book now just calls them Yuan-ti. Of course, that’s just them trying to erase the Purebloods and their lore but it has the side effect of them now being two variant races.

[@leodouskyron5671]

I believe they are the same species. The removal of the term “purebloods” was (IMHO) a way to remove a racist thing from the product. The Yuan-Ti have some old school issues in some groups and that term is particularly loaded. I understand the story behind it but saying someone is “pureblooded” (even when the story makes it clear they are the MOST corrupt) can be triggering and if you don’t have the rest of the Yuan-Ti community it makes a lot less sense.

[@sable2146]

I would argue they did not make kobolds weaker, but instead made them more in line with how kobold pack tactics would actually work *and* made them devastating in a party with *other* kobolds, since they can basically give each other advantage with a bonus action, essentially recreating pack tactics. The problem isn't the kobold. It's that's the other races don't know how to fight like a kobold.

[@ticozayas6430]

I will respectfully disagree getting rid of sunlight sensitivity is a big net gain while loosing always on adv from pack tactics might suck for rogue mains, but all that ever did was turn ur adv into regular rolls with the sunlight sensitivity... then you spend the whole beginning of the campaign trying to find goggles of the night to get rid of it... so I feel the trade off is totally worth it since now when you do have adv rolls they are actually at adv instead of flat...

[@SpiderWaffle]

I never considered Hobgoblin light armor prof that significant. A: You wouldn't want to use the race with Wiz or Sorc, it has no particular synergies, other than light armor prof which is addressed in B, and is obtuse thematically (sans bladesinger) B: Mage armor will give 1 more armor for the small cost of the L1 slot, and the moderate cost of prepping the spell, this usually suffices for every combat you do in 1 day and can cast ahead of time. Even if my Wizard had light armor prof, I'd still strongly consider mage armor as +1 AC is that good. Sorc maybe not if your very limited in spell selection but not so much with the Tasha's subclasses which have relatively strong appeal.

[@elliotbryant3459]

one factor [if you don't plan on multiclassing] is if starting with light armor proficiency, you are 1 half feat away from medium armor and shield proficiency, allowing you to have a decent AC without investing heavily in dex, potentially bringing your AC from studded 13 to 19 with half plate & shield. Also as a wizard, preparing mage armor and wasting a slot every day is a huge pain in my experience, let alone if you're a sorcerer and you only know like 5 spells in total.

[@kurtoogle4576]

I'm fine with all these changes, and agree that they were either necessary or are solid options. I'd play them all and let them in my games. The original variants (Gith & Yuan Ti) I'd be more reluctant to allow.

[@jonathanchapple9651]

The new wording for yuanti poison resistance confuse me. Would you get advantage on saves vs an effect that does poison damage and if you fail, your poisoned? And only get non advantage. Against poison damage that doesn't have the poison condition rider? Would you get two saving throws? One for the damage and advantage against the condition? Just sounds like with most effects that give the poison condition also do poison damage(I know not all just a bunch) so it either doesn't work at all against those effect(even though gives the condition on a failed save) or it works just like it does now when condition is part of the effect.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

You would get advantage on any saving throw to avoid the poisoned condition. Even if that saving throw was against the poisoned condition plus something else.

[@SofaKingDead]

I completely disagree with your assessment of the hobgoblin. The loss of light armor proficiency and two martial weapons. The reduction to the max bonus of saving face. Is way more of a price than wack "buffs" to the help action.

[@opheliaquinn4680]

I thought it was a move away from individual power to group power. We see this trend in a lot of the newer subclasses, especially the cleric.

[@SofaKingDead]

@@opheliaquinn4680 If those buffs were worth doing, or the bonus action version wasn't limited per day i might agree. I am unaware of anywhere else this move to "group power" has taken place in this new book with any of the other races. Why here? Is it the terrible new lore? Of which makes no sense? They literally state in the NEW lore none of the living hobgoblins remember the ages past when they were from the feywild but now they spontaneously have the powers of fey contract magic? I don't believe it.

[@SpiderWaffle]

I never considered Hobgoblin light armor prof that significant. A: You wouldn't want to use the race with Wiz or Sorc, it has no particular synergies, other than light armor prof which is addressed in B, and is obtuse thematically (sans bladesinger) B: Mage armor will give 1 more armor for the small cost of the L1 slot, and the moderate cost of prepping the spell, this usually suffices for every combat you do in 1 day and can cast ahead of time. Even if my Wizard had light armor prof, I'd still strongly consider mage armor as +1 AC is that good. Sorc maybe not if your very limited in spell selection but not so much with the Tasha's subclasses which have relatively strong appeal.

[@SpiderWaffle]

I think the saving face changes are a wash. Unless playing in large party or with summons, more than 3 allies in 30ft is rare, being able to use more than once per combat I prefer overall to once per shortest, not as much L1-4 but hardly play those levels, and at L9+ definitely prefer 4 times over once per short rest. Pros and Cons to both, mechanically can be quite a bit different, but over a wash.

[@SpiderWaffle]

You get to use the help action as a bonus is the thing though, that's the big bonus. The small buffs that come with the help are very noteworthy, you can choose between 3 very different options any one of which could be very good in a given situation.

[@ChristnThms]

You didn't mention Gnomes, but I actually think they got hit as hard as the Yuan-ti. Previously they has advantage on all mental saves, not just against spells. This seems a lot bigger to me, as it included many of those types of effects where the player no longer controls his character. That was the single mechanical benefit to playing a Gnome. Especially in games with limited racial options, specifically those that say no monstrous races or only PHB races, the Gnome was a defensive stand-out. Both of these nerfs, and a couple other similar ones, are compounded by the fact that so many monsters had spells replaced by magical abilities. So it's kind of a double nerf. It does seem, along with several other smaller things, like an intentional, gradual dumbing down of the game. Strategy=bad, thinking=bad, optimizing=bad. Just buy the books and push the red attack button, and think only what we tell you to think.

[@SpiderWaffle]

It always had to be magic causing the save though (unlike Vedalken). I suppose you could see it as a nerf if you'll come across a lot of the new magic monsters with non-spell saving throws to mental abilities. However, they did get a lot of buffs and how many monster with those particular abilities are in the limited scope of core books?

[@elliotbryant3459]

preach!

[@ChristnThms]

@@SpiderWaffle can you think of any nonmagical mental saving throws?

[@SpiderWaffle]

@@ChristnThms I've wondered this too. There's gaze or Medusa effects, hypnosis, charming, hallucinagens probably some others.

[@ChristnThms]

@@SpiderWaffle hallucinations due to poison would usually be a CON save. I think Petrification usually is as well. Frightened and Charmed effects are usually magical in nature if they offer a save. If it was nonmagical, I'd imagine it would be something more like a contested roll (vs a frightening or charming creature), though I can imagine using the environment of some settings as a nonmagical source of the effect. That's not covered in any books, though, so we can't say it's RAW. While certainly I wouldn't claim it as an absolute, I'm pretty sure the vast majority of mental saves are against magic effects, if not actual spells.

[@NutronicAtomic]

Technically Yuan-ti got one more buff: You are no longer restricted to playing pure-bloods. Obviously still limited by class and race mechanics, but technically you can play any form of Yuan-ti your DM will accept as medium :)

[@patdav56]

I'll admit, Sunlight Sensitivity never really came up in games I currently see kobolds or other creatures in, primarily because in one game we have a kobold rogue who makes advantage anyway, and in 2 other games its Underdark and a slightly modified Rime of the Frostmaiden to be everlasting night

[@MoarCheeseBirb]

Goblin is a weird one to evaluate. Damage equal to level, once per short rest. Versus new Damage equal to proficiency bonus, proficiency bonus number of times per long rest.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

The second one is per long rest. The old ability was better. Nothing resets on a short rest in this new book.

[@MoarCheeseBirb]

@@TreantmonksTemple what I get for mindless copy/paste

[@KaitlynBurnellMath]

I think the nerf to Kobold was called for. So much power swing dependent on whether you were in sunlight or not. And (at tables where Kobold was allowed) it cheapened class features that give advantage. When giving advantage can be the focus of a subclass (Samurai Fighter, Vengeance Paladin) I''m not a big fan of what Kobold does to balance. New Kobold still looks very good, TBH, but also something I'd actually allow at my table. A little surprised to see Firbolg as a top 4 here, since the nerf seems fairly minor. Would have thought maybe Aarakokra would be considered a bigger nerf, having gone from 50 flying speed to flying speed equal to their walking speed (30 on most characters). Githyanki nerf is rough, since medium armour proficiency is just about the only reason I thought about Githyanki in character creation. Yuan-ti still looks pretty playable. Advantage in saving throws against spells is still a reason to be interested in the race. You still get to be medium, which gnomes do not (gnomes being another race with this trait)--and often when I want better saving throws, it's on a melee character like a barbarian or a fighter or a hexblade, all of which usually don't want to be small cause they want to use heavy weapons. I guess there's now more competition from Satyr than there used to be (who also get advantage on saving throws vs spells), but Yuan-ti still looks probably slightly stronger than Satyr--poison resistance, darkvision, some innate spellcasting, versus Satyr's 5 extra movement and roll a d8 to add distance to your long jump/high jump. Although now I'll at least consider Satyr!

[@joelsasmad]

The swing was part of the fun though. A kobold would encourage a player to pay more attention to the surroundings to avoid sunlight sensitivity and Pack tactic would balance it out to a flat check most of the time.

[@Coid]

That also showcases the flaw with making subclasses that focus on giving advantage as a major feature.

[@LurchibaldBioshock]

Counterpoint, technically this race is called "Yuan Ti" the race in Volo's is called "Yuan-Ti Pureblood" so, technically they are two completely different races, like Sea Elves are different from Wood Elves...

[@JohnDoe662002]

I feel the advantage provided by the Draconic Legacy of Kobolds is being downplayed. Advantage vs Fear, a free skill from an array, or a free sorcerer cantrip with a preferred mental stat. That last one can be huge for caster builds with low cantrips known (Artificer/Warlock) or that have an element theme with lack of relevant cantrip. Heck, just the ability to take Firebolt with any class they want can be a huge boost.

[@eliasjedi8230]

are you going to touch upon the changing of many monster's natural weapon attacks (claws/tails) to force damage instead of bludgeoning/piercing/slashing? I think the idea was that it would act like 'true damage' when in reality all it does is make barbarian and other partial classes weaker.

[@guamae]

I wouldn't have banned Yuan-Ti before, but I Would have house-ruled the Poison Immunity to Resistance... :P The Spell Resistance is still HUGE, and seems better than what other races get though...

[@eduardopereiradossantosmel7403]

Am I the only one here who thinks the +20 on hit from the aasimar going to +6 is a strong loss?

[@craigauty8874]

What about the massive nerf to Aasimar? I think they came off worst out of this book and you haven't even listed them.

[@Duranous.]

I hate the changes to Kobolds, also they pack tactics was replaced by draconic cry and they just lost grovel. The changes don't make a lot of sense and they are really overselling how draconic Kobolds are. They're more like troglodytic lizard-goblins then they are like dragons.

[@matthewpownall1196]

I had that same concept, Kinda like how pseudo dragons are not dragons, they just kinda look like them and (obviously) have dragon in the name.

[@therandom58]

Well I think the point of the changes when u look at it is in DnD lore moving forward kobolds are a lot closer to dragons

[@Ciberbuster]

I'm on the yuan-ti camp too, I have them banned as a player option, but this version seems ok.

[@nooneyouknowof]

So now, maybe I can make Thulsa Doom from the Conan movie w/ a Yuan-ti Conquest Paladin build 😮

[@davescrams]

I wonder if Rock Gnomes will lose Tinker given that Lizardfolk lost Cunning Artisan. I suppose they could even lose Artificer's Lore. I wonder what replacement(s) they'd get. I could see a solution of building the cultural features into setting-specific background options such as "Lantanese Tinker" in a Forgotten Realms setting book.

[@anarchclown]

I personally want to know. Were there far too many Yuan-ti characters being played out there? I allowed them when they came out and had like 3 played over the course of maybe 20-30 different campaigns and one shots. More people have played Satyr than Yuan-ti. Meanwhile things like the Twillight cleric is sitting there and being picked by every person about to play a cleric for over a year now.

[@SmugLookingBarrel]

Now, while the Yuan-ti did get nerfed in this book compared to how they were post-tashas when every race got flexible ability scores, I also think it's fair to say they're reasonable comparable to their original printing in which they could only get Intelligence and Charisma as their stat boosts, since no class wants both those stats.

[@Coid]

Unless they somehow had a separate team working on making MotM that had no knowledge of Tasha, there's no reason to only compare to the original printing unless you've got a very odd DM who will go with the new way of doing things post-Tasha's but won't use Customizing your Origin.

[@bastienmillecam3183]

Did the Aasimar get worse? What do you guys think?

[@leodouskyron5671]

Slightly. Damage down for some classes, healing stronger at low levels and weaker at high. Some classes inconvenienced. The biggest thing was not rebalancing/rewriting the use of the subclass feature to be PB. (I said more in the other Aasimar comment posting about this. I hope others post there too.

[@elliotbryant3459]

Definitely. Huge damage nerf and is still only 1 use per long rest whereas everyone else is getting a proficiency of uses, some without any mechanical change [like goliath and shadar kai]. They could have at least gotten a use of each form per long rest, or let it apply per damage instance on your turn given that aoe damage is less valuable than focus fire, and even focus fire with it would require at least 2-4 hits to reach or surpass the former output. Proficiency damage once per round is more tedious than effective. And it's not like there is a shortage of bonus actions competing with it these days.

[@thebitterfig9903]

Overall, I think these changes are good for the game. It kind of reminds me of ignoring the UA, and judging the final published version on it’s own merits. If we forget that there were earlier versions of these races and compare each of them to the other races in this book, they all seem fine. The spellcasting on each of them is as good as anyone else’s, likewise the resistance abilities. The PB per Long Rest abilities are all fairly well balanced. What was lost? An immunity that could enable oddly specific build-arounds, an armor proficiency that was either hecking strong (on a Wizard, Sorcerer, most Bards, or some Warlocks) or dead useless (on a Monk, Barb, Fighter, Ranger, Paladin, Cleric, Druid, Hexblade, or arguably Rogue… that’s far more classes where it’s useless), and a radically unbalanced unlimited advantage ability (that’s still replaced by a feature stronger than a 3rd level subclass feature). I don’t mind having the rough edges and power spikes shaved off, so long as anyone coming in new to the game or these races is going to find something fair, and I think they will. I think any of these races is playable with probably any class, and that’s a totally fine end result.

[@gaberobison680]

Problem is the game doesn’t feel like a game if everything is EXACTLY the same power level and no choice you make actually matters. It also feels kind of insulting how WOTC is assuming their players are babies who can’t understand any degree of complexity

[@thebitterfig9903]

@@gaberobison680 Yeah, that's just entirely wrong. Less complex? How? There's dozens of additional options for which race works with any particular class. There are far more choices that someone who wants to min-max can employ. We've moved away from a world where the only good options for a race were almost always the races which granted mainstat bonuses (that is to say, the obvious choices). There are still going to be synergies, places where particular abilities don't help the goals of the character as much, but you won't be hosed by stats or overall bad picks. Meanwhile, it's utter nonsense to suggest that this is a game where choices don't matter. Everything in D&D is choices (unless it's dice rolls). There's still major variety in the spells and mechanics available to each class and race. There's a really big difference between turning invisible on a Firbolg, casting a spell with a Yuan-Ti, or flying with an Aarakocra. Which spells you use, which feats you pick, which combat tactics you employ--none of these things are changed. Decision points are as important as always. The only thing that changed is the gap between the best race for a particular class, and a race that someone wanted to pick because they thought it was cool. Considering that D&D is a cooperative storytelling game, that's a big plus. Oh, but I guess it is harder to maintain the gatekeeper mindset that only they -understood- read the right forums about which races were good for what classes. The mindset that "balance is bad, since I can't feel superior" is really toxic.

[@gaberobison680]

@@thebitterfig9903 This is entirely inaccurate. As you mentioned, this is a “storytelling game” , but it got a lot harder. The only thing that makes a Duergar a Duergar now is having advantage on saves against two random conditions and fiat. Essentially, the only thing that makes a race itself are game constructs, not something that actually exists in the canon of the game worlds themselves. I get some people don’t want to think hard when playing a game. But the thing that makes D&D so fun for me is that an intelligent person can derive a lot of worldbuilding from race rules. Dwarven weapon and armor proficiencies (while ultimately useless most of the time since any martial class will get them) establishes that dwarves are an industrious and martial society, this gives me more to work with when imagining a character. My dwarf artificer is more of a lone intellectual, but I brought dwarven stereotypes through in his commitment to protecting the things he doesn’t question, or does value. Another example: elves now just can get free skill proficiencies they can change on a whim. The only lore to support this is “elf fiat”. This trivializes the character who’s backstory and lore worked to provide a justification for why they have a proficiency in a certain skill. TL;DR: it’s way harder to make a good, believable story that doesn’t require much suspension of disbelief with these changes. A purely min-maxed character is now just as logical narratively as a character built to conform to the structure and rules of the world they will be inhabiting. So there’s no reason NOT to optimize.

[@thebitterfig9903]

@@gaberobison680 I have no clue what you're on about. The world of Forgotten Realms hasn't changed. All that culture and lore is there to draw from if you want it. None of that has changed. The Duergar there have all the same context, they're still exactly the Duergar or Drow or Sun Elves that fans of those stories remember. Mithral Hall is still there. You can draw on as much of that as you like. But what if it's a different world? Can't we have Drow in some other cultural context? Best example is the Hobgoblins. They're still cruel taskmasters and soldiers in any context where that matters, we can still tell the story of a runaway, a gentle soul of a Hob who didn't want to cast spells of violence and so apprenticed themself to an Elven mage. We can still tell a story of a gruff mercenary hob, maybe something like The Seven Samurai or The Magnificent Seven works really well with a Hobgoblin. Or we could tell stories of a group of Hobgoblins more connected to the feywilds, a welcoming and cooperative bunch. You can tell the story in Forgotten Realms, on Eberon, in the mists of the Domains of Dread, soon once again on Krynn and the War of the Lance. That lore is all still there. It can be a part of a game, and you can derive all the world-building you want from that. Or you can do something completely different, and don't have to fight against rules designed for one particular story.

[@thebitterfig9903]

@@gaberobison680 put another way: The core rules are just rules, and the lore is now part of the campaign settings. Everything that was there in terms of culture and history is still there, if that's the setting at any given table. It's just far easier for another table to play a different settings.

[@captainpandabear1422]

I think them crushing down all of the "overpowered" things in the game is pretty lame. Yuan Ti being immune to poison makes sense, and I think the setting feeling organic and real should come a bit before keeping everything balanced and homogenous. And in some cases the commitment to balance just makes for really ridiculous flavor. "Dhampir" are supposed to be vampires, vampires are supposed to be powerful, but the race kinda sucks. Wouldn't it make more sense to give them some really profound bonuses to fit being a vampire, and some really steep penalties to match? WotC seems to want to remove all the things that are truly unique in the game, mechanically.

[@TyranusRex721]

I understand where you are coming from with Kobolds, but I think Wizards made them far more consistent and impactful with these changes. Yes, pact tactics is strong, but relying on a companion to activate it would be difficult at times and sunlight sensitivity would often cancel it out too. Now, you can get advantage on attack rolls in a more player controlled state. Plus the race was given some added utility to better fit other builds. To me, the Kobold got a buff, not a nerf.

[@Xezarious42]

This list is exactly why at my table everyone can choose freely between the old and the new versions of the races. I encourage all DMs to do the same.

[@franciszekbalcerowski1814]

what about hogbolin

[@bahamutkaiser]

Elves are immune to the sleep condition.

[@piketheknight2581]

Cool changes. I suposse now the humans will completely rise in dominance and most dnd tables will be only human parties. I think is important to keep racial traits that can compete with variant humans, because well, variant human is broken

[@Coid]

The way they implemented feats in the first place was broken, Vumans just let us notice it more easily.

[@timeforsuchaword]

I totally get why they nerfed kobolds and yuan-ti, but when they add flying races at the same time it just leaves me scratching my head. Does WotC not think that immunity to ground based melee is way better than immunity to poison?

[@lukeholbrook204]

It’s interesting that the grung don’t seem to have made it into this book. I think they are the only race left with poison immunity.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Grung and the fish race aren't core D&D content. Tortle was the exception that got approved for core usage.

[@TheDarthnazrael]

The Kobold change takes them from being amazing in underdark campaigns and iffy at best in any other campaign, to now pretty good unconditionally. Net positive to me.

[@Negeta]

The Githyanki losing armor proficiency isn’t too big of a deal for me. Whenever I looked at what I’d do with a Githyanki, I’d want to make some sort of gish character. With their stats, I’d always look at an Eldritch knight fighter or a bladesinger wizard, or possibly a multiclass of the two. Well, a fighter already has all the proficiencies and the bladesinger can’t wear better than light armor. True, it affects things like sorcerers and such now, but with their Str and Int boosts, I’d honestly have never considered sorcerer for them. If you use the optional rules in Tasha’s, you could also look at it as a nerf in the Githyanki missing out on five tool proficiencies, but that seemed broken to me.

[@gaberobison680]

Why is nobody pointing out how immersion breaking it is for Draconic Cry to not be a self debuff? NOBODY is intimidated by an upright walking lizard making a sound.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hanTpGl5br94bNU

[@gaberobison680]

@@TreantmonksTemple Respect for having the knowledge that clip exists! Definitely brightened my day!

[@yogsothoth7594]

Ah the kobold nerf i really hate, thematically and mechanically. I'd be fine with changes to grovel and beg, it was never a core feature of kobolds on either that mechanical or thematic side of things i think. But sunlight sensitivity and its contrasted pack tactics really made a kobold feel like a kobold.

[@slimee8841]

Kobolds/Yuan-ti got better in terms of design. Pact tactics and Magic resistance were busted abilities that clearly were not designed having players in mind.

[@100madmic]

Well they kept magic resistance for yunati. They just took out poison immunity. I fill like what they should of done is take out magis resistance and poison immunity to poison resistance And for the kobolds it can go both way I like pack tactics sure draconic can be cool but If you already have a lot of support in the part in can be useless.

[@Logan-ef8hq]

Might be an unpopular opinion but I really like the new kobold. I totally get the argument against it, but from a flavor perspective I think the new one seems more fun! It is weird seeing races lose things like sunlight sensitivity when their MM counterparts do not.

[@davidhamer7820]

I thought Duergar got worse to. They lost armor proficiency aswell.

[@elliotbryant3459]

only the mountain dwarf subrace got armor proficiency. They all got 4 weapon proficiencies though.

[@cesargarcia5490]

you know what else is often banned? satyrs. why? it's because of magic resistance! That IS the big feature!

[@bsabruzzo]

I've seen comments where people complain the Kobolds loss of Grovel Cower And Beg for the Draconic Roar being a loss of flavor. But nothing is stopping you from making the Roar "please don't hit me".