Wizards of the Coast just dropped its first Unearthed Arcana (UA) of 2021.
The Gothic Lineages UA was released on Tuesday, January 26, and offers players an alternative to the features and traits that they’d usually receive through their initial chosen race.
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What’s different about these options is that they do not exactly replace a race, but instead trump the racial features that a character may have had being born a Dragonborn, gnome, Halfling, etc.
“If you choose a lineage, you might have once been a member of another race, but you aren’t any longer. You now possess only your lineage’s racial traits.”
When creating a character with a Gothic Lineage, you will be able to increase one ability score of your choosing by two and another by one. This replaces whatever bonuses you may have gotten from a race.
The character can speak common and one other language determined by you and the DM together.
Some Gothic Lineage characters will have more than one type, and the UA states that “if an effect works on at least one of the creature’s type, that effect can work on the creature.”
Dhampir
Essentially a watered down vampire, the Dhampir exists both in the world of the living and of the dead (their type is both humanoid and undead).
They have an insatiable thirst, though it doesn’t have to be for blood, and they can be created from anything from a vampire bite gone wrong (or right, depending how you look at it), or through “macabre bargains, necromantic influences, and encounters with mysterious immortals.”
Dhampir’s can be either medium or small, have a speed of 35 feet, have Darkvision, a climbing speed equal to their walking speed (that is buffed at level three), and a Vampiric Bite ability, which is essentially a better unarmed strike that allows you either some heals on a hit or advantage on the next attack (as many times as your proficiency bonus, that is).
Hexblood
Hexbloods, as their name suggests, are individuals that have had their blood infused by magic. The UA references a Hag’s influence, including split and forked ears, skin in strange shades, a living crown that can’t be removed, and long hair.
Hexbloods are essentially how Hag’s create more of their own, with the living crown a visual representation of “a debt owed, or a change to come.” Hexbloods can become hags through a ritual (with both sides consenting) and that “once a Hexblood undergoes this irreversible ritual, they emerge as a hag NPC no longer under the control of the Hexblood’s player, unless the DM rules otherwise.”
Hexbloods are both Fey and Humanoid, can be medium or small, have a speed of 30 feet, and get Darkvision, advantage on Saving throws against being charmed, once-per-long-rest casting of disguise self and hex, as well as a watered down version of sending (within 10 miles, and the person you’re sending it to has have a magically-imbued piece of yourself).
Reborn
Brought back from the dead, Reborn can simply be those who have died yet returned, or even Frankenstein’s Monster-like beings, stitched together from various body parts.
Memories of past lives are often hazy for Reborn, if there at all, and instead of sleep they simply sit and try to remember the past.
Reborn are both Humanoid as well as Construct or Undead, can be small or medium, have 30 feet of movement, Darkvision, and Deathless Nature, which allows Reborn to have advantage against disease and poison, as well as resistance to poison damage, have advantage on death saving throws, don’t need to eat, drink, or sleep, and can finish a long rest in four hours.
Reborn can also add a d6 to an ability check using a skill a number of times equal to their proficiency bonus, which restocks at the end of a long rest.
Commentary
I love this Unearthed Arcana. I think the most important aspect of it is that players can choose to become a Reborn, Hexblood, or Dhampir during the campaign (with the go ahead from your DM, of course), rather than just at the start — which is also an option.
This gives players the ability to shake things up a bit, and to try out something new with their existing character if they were feeling at all underwhelmed by what they’re currently capable of.
However, I do have some issues with Reborn… namely how it turns the characters background (or past life) into something that they are constantly trying to uncover. This is great in the hands of a creative player who could come up with their own past life experiences that they would slowly remember throughout the campaign, but I can see players taking this lineage and expecting the DM to come up with their entire backstory, one small memory at a time.
That might be fun for some DMs, but as someone who runs a table of six, putting that much focus onto individual characters’ backstories would grind the game to a halt.
Also, I can’t help but feet that advantage on all death saving throws is a little OP. The odds are already in the player’s favor rolling flat (55% chance of a save, 45% chance of a fail), so I feel this just takes away any suspense when Reborn drop to 0.
I love the RP possibilities of a Hexblood hating hags, though are constantly reminded of the debt owed to one of them through their altered appearance. The magical abilities offered are a little lackluster (especially once sending becomes available to spellcasters), but could definitely be good in a pinch.
Being half Fey also just feels fun.
And, finally, the Dhampir. I’d have to assume part of this UA is influenced by players who were turned into vampires at some point in their campaigns and actually kind of liked it.
…But then they ran into the whole sunlight sensitivity issue, and wanting to eat their friends, and being straight up owned by the vampire that turned them, and things probably got a little less fun.
Well, now they can have all the edge with none only some of the drawbacks!
Could you imagine a Dhampir Blood Hunter Lycan? Werewolf meet vampire, oh my.
As far as UAs go, I love that this one can be tried out by any PC if they so want, without introducing anything that seems completely OP (other than that advantage on death saves, that is). Whether or not it will be introduced in a coming publication remains to be seen, but given the included Design Note about Changes to Racial Traits, it’s clear that Wizards is shifting how race options work, and these fit right in with that new look.
What do you think about the new Gothic Lineages UA? Tell us in the comments below.