Well, if Ravenloft is going to give us some Shadowfell adventuring possibilities (I wonder if they're going to do any fleshing out of the "Greater Shadowfell" like Gloomwrought and other areas from 4th Edition or if they're going to do Ravenloft and call it a day) it stands to reason we might give the Feywild some love.
While the Feywild is drawn from very real-world mythologies - particularly the Otherworld of Celtic Mythology from which the concept of Fairies most directly comes (though many cultures have similar ideas) - at least in 5th Edition, there's barely any fleshing out of the realm apart from the existence of Fey creatures in the Monster Manual and Volo's Guide to Monsters (we do also have the Eladrin in Mordenkainen's).
But I'm getting ahead of myself - this doesn't guarantee a Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft-style campaign setting book is coming for the Feywild, but... it could!
Today's new UA introduces four new* playable races that are all Feywild-themed. They are the Fairy, Owlfolk, Rabbitfolk, and *"Hobgoblin of the Feywild." We'll tackle that one last despite its alphabetical position.
Like the Gothic Lineages, some elements of these races are left entirely up to the player. Ability score increases are up to you, and you can choose either a +2 and a +1 or three different +1s. This reflects the rules going forward in 5th Edition that retroactively change existing playable races to make them more flexible. Likewise, Languages can be chosen appropriately to the character, so if your Fairy grew up in the Material Plane, perhaps they don't know Sylvan. Let's go through them:
Fairy:
Fairies are the classic Feywild inhabitants. Larger than Pixies or Sprites, Fairies are nevertheless similar to these Fey relatives. They are small in size, but true to the hyper-manic nature of the Feywild, have the standard 30 ft movement speed (like Goblins, who are linked to the Feywild in this UA - we'll get to that.)
Fairies have the Fey creature type, which, you know, duh. For the most part this shouldn't affect anything, but it does provide immunity to your Hold Persons and similar spells.
Fairies also get a flight speed equal to their walking speed, and unlike Aarakocra, this does not worry about what kind of armor you're wearing, so a heavy-armored Oath of the Ancients Fairy Paladin can zip around the battlefield no problem. You might have wings as a fairy, but this flight doesn't require them.
Fairies have some innate spellcasting, too. They can cast Druidcraft, and they can cast Faerie Fire for free once, and then spend any spell slots they have to cast it again, and get to choose between Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma as their spellcasting stat for this.
Finally, you can go through 1-inch holes without squeezing, which is some Alice in Wonderland stuff. Very cool.
Owlfolk:
Owlfolk are humanoid and can choose if they're small or medium (the latter being the choice if you wish to use heavy weapons). You have 30 ft. of movement speed and 90, rather than 60 feet of darkvision.
The headlining ability here is Magic Sight. You can cast Detect Magic as a ritual, or you can cast it normally if you spend a spell slot, so Owlfolk are going to be good for spotting any kind of magical stuff.
Nimble Flying grants you a flight speed equal to your walking speed, like Fairies, but in addition, if you fall off of something, you can make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw to stop falling and fly in place until your next turn. So if you're a Dex-based class, you basically never have to worry about falling.
Finally, because of your soft, fluffy owl feathers, you have proficiency in Stealth.
Man, an Owlkin Rogue or Monk would be a very nice combination - great for scouting ahead.
Rabbitfolk:
Rabbitfolk are humanoids and also choose whether to be small or large when you create your character. You have the standard 30 ft. movement speed.
Rabbitfolk get to add their proficiency bonus to initiative rolls, as part of their... Hare-Trigger trait. They also get proficiency in Perception.
Lucy Footwork allows you to use your reaction to add a d4 to a failed Dexterity saving throw, potentially making it a success.
Finally, Rabbit Hop lets you add a d12 of movement if you move at least 5 feet and your speed hasn't been reduced to zero, as you hop away. Unlike normal jumping, this hop doesn't cost movement speed, so you can effectively move an extra d12 feet each turn.
Hobgoblin:
Hey, hold on a minute! Don't we already have Hobgoblins? Since Volo's Guide to Monsters (and, you know, the Monster Manual,) Hobgoblins have been a race of goblinoids who are the sort of smarter, more intelligent and human-like goblins with a martial culture. These hobgoblins, though, are very different, as beings of the Feywild. Let's take a look:
Hobgoblins are Medium Humanoids (no change there) with 60 ft. darkvision and 30 ft. of movement.
You also get Fey Ancestry, which gives advantage on saving throws against charm effects.
Fey Gift allows you to use the Help action as a bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. Once you hit level 3, any time you take the help action:
Hospitality: you and the target get 1d6+PB temporary hit points.
Passage: you and the target get a 10-ft boost to your walking speed until the end of your next turn.
Spite: The first time you or your target hit a creature with an attack roll, that creature has disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes in the next minute.
Finally, Fortune from the Many: when you fail an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check, you can add a number equal to the number of allies you can see within 30 ft to the roll, potentially making it a success (maximum of +5). You can use this PB times per Long Rest.
Comparing this with the older Hobgoblin, Fortune from the Many is just a buffed version of Saving Face, but the other traits are wholly new.
Flavor-wise, what little we get of the Hobgoblin is a lot more whimsical than their kind of aggressive-samurai feel in the Monster Manual, including the detail that their noses change color when they experience strong emotions.
It's very early to say, but I'd keep an eye out for future releases later this year that might have more of a Feywild vibe to them.
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