Enormous New UA Gives us Our First Glimpse at PHB 2024 - Races and Backgrounds

 Oh boy. Where even to start?

In the first of what will be many Unearthed Arcana articles to show off testing material for the new Player's Handbook, we have a slew of Character Creation options and revisions.

In broad strokes, this covers the PHB's race options and a new system for building backgrounds.

Race Overview:

Here are the big changes:

First off, ability score bonuses, which were already made race-agnostic in Tasha's and with newer options, are now actually moved over to backgrounds.

It seems all races now have a minimum walking speed of 30 feet.

Also, it seems the concept of "sub-race" has been rolled in as a racial feature, somewhat akin to the Dragonborn's existing draconic ancestry trait. You can still play as a Rock Gnome or a Drow, with separate features from others of your race, but the "race" part of your character sheet will just say Gnome or Elf, respectively. Notably, Dwarves are now just the one race (with Duergar representing the physiologically distinct off-shoot).

"Half-" races are also removed on a mechanical level. Instead, characters can freely have any mix of humanoid ancestries, which could be reflected in their appearance, while their mechanics will simply fall under one of their parents' racial identities. For example, if you have a character whose father is a dwarf and whose mother is an orc, you could choose whether your character has the racial traits of one or the other, while making it clear that they have green-grey skin and tusks along with a glorious beard and short stature.

While Half-Orcs and Half-Elves are being phased out in favor of this new approach to characters with mixed ancestry, we have two new races to the PHB. Orcs, and Ardlings. The former is unchanged from its Monsters of the Multiverse version, preserving some of the best features of the Half-Orc while allowing this iconic fantasy race into the PHB.

Ardlings are essentially the upper-planes equivalent of Tieflings. They have animal-like heads and potentially bodies, and are linked to the upper planes (but just like Tieflings, are not tied to sharing their legacy's alignments). Ardlings can have an Exalted, Heavenly, or Idyllic legacy, corresponding to the Chaotic Good, Lawful Good, and Neutral Good planes, respectively. This comes with some spells. They can also manifest temporary wings to fly for a round.

Now, let's get in gritty with the existing races:

Humans have gotten a bit of a rework, in part I think because many of their most exciting features have sort of lost their sheen with the evolution of the game. Now, they start with Inspiration whenever they finish a long rest (and the rules on Inspiration have changed to make it a more directly supported part of the game). You also get one bonus skill proficiency of your choice. You also get any 1st level feat of your choice (and we're going to get to that list later on - basically, you still get your free feat, as well as the one from your background. Also, yeah, I guess feats aren't an optional rule anymore!)

Ultimately, this isn't a huge change, but Inspiration will likely be a much bigger part of the game moving forward (and I'm definitely going to be trying that out with the game I run). Also, humans can now be small or medium, because that is also true in the real world.

Ardlings, the new race, are inspired by creatures like Hound Archons and Guardinals - animal-headed celestials being a common thing in the upper planes. They get to fly for a turn as a bonus action a limited number of times, and they get radiant resistance. They also get spells based on their Celestial Legacy, with a cantrip at level 1, another spell at level 3, and another at level 5. Exalted (CG planes) get Thaumaturgy, Divine Favor, and Lesser Restoration. Heavenly (LG planes) get Light, Cure Wounds, and Zone of Truth. Idyllic (NG planes) get Guidance, Healing Word, and Animal Messenger.

Dragonborn are actually pretty stripped down from the versions we got in Fizban's, and are closer to their original form. They have darkvision now, and all breath weapons are now a 15-foot cone that does 1d10+your character level in damage. You can use this PB times per long rest. So, while I'm sad to lose breath-as-an-attack, the damage here will likely be higher in most cases - my level 12 Dragonborn went from 4d6 to 3d10 (14 vs 16.5) and this would make it 1d10+12 (17.5). But it still takes the full action. And none of the special Metallic/Chromatic/Gem bonuses are preserved.

Dwarves now have 30 feet of movement. They still have darkvision and their resistance to poison and advantage against the poisoned condition. Mountain and Hill dwarves are now just Dwarves. They all have dwarven toughness (essentially adding their level to their max HP). Forge Wise gives you a choice between Jeweler's Tools, Mason's Tools, Smith's Tools, and Tinker's Tools (are Brewing Supplies still a thing? Because if so that feels like an oversight).

Stonecunning now works very differently. PB times per long rest, you can give yourself tremorsense out to 60 feet as long as you're touching or standing on a stone surface. That's actually freaking cool.

Elves' sub-races are now part of their Elven Lineage trait, which includes High Elves, Wood Elves, and Drow. You still get Keen Senses, Fey Ancestry, and Darkvision, and Trance (which does not give you any temporary proficiencies like the Monsters of the Multiverse ones). Drow get 120 foot darkvision and Dancing Lights, and at level 3 Faerie Fire and level 5 Darkness. High Elves get Prestidigitation but can swap it out for any other Arcane (see below) cantrip on a long rest, and then Detect Magic at 3rd level and Misty Step at 5th level. Wood Elves get 35 feet of movement and Druidcraft, then Longstrider at 3rd level and Pass without Trace at 5th level.

So, a bit more magic for the elves, and more versatility for High Elves and their cantrip. But not too different.

Gnomes get a similar treatment of their former subraces, folded into the Gnomish Lineage trait. They get darkvision and Gnomish Cunning - advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws period. Forest Gnomes get Minor Illusion and can cast Speak with Animals PB times per long rest (or with spell slots). Rock gnomes get Mending and Prestidigitation, and they can make their clockwork device, but it now specifies that the device can do any single effect that Prestidigitation can do, and lasts for 8 hours.

Halflings have had lightfoot and stouts folded into a single race like the Dwarf. You have Brave (advantage on saves against the frightened condition) and Halfling Nimbleness (you can pass through larger creatures' spaces, though not stay there. Also, Halflings now all get Stealth as a proficiency. They also still have Lucky, which now refers to the new term "d20 test," which is attack rolls, saving throws, or ability checks.

Orcs, as mentioned before, are unchanged from Monsters of the Multiverse, with Adrenaline Rush, Darkvision, Powerful Build, and Relentless Endurance.

Tieflings are now a bit more diverse. They all get darkvision and can cast thaumaturgy, but they now pick between three Fiendish Legacies: Abyssal, Infernal, and Chthonic. Infernal tieflings work very much like the current ones. They get resistance to fire damage, as well as Fire Bolt, then Hellish Rebuke at level 3, and Darkness at level 5. Abyssal tieflings get resistance to poison damage, and Poison Spray, then Ray of Sickness at 3rd level and Hold Person at 5th level. Chthonic tieflings get resistance to necrotic damage and get Chill Touch, and then False Life at 3rd level and Ray of Enfeeblement at 5th level.

One thing that's fun about the new tieflings is that they're embracing the diverse weirdness of them from 2nd Edition. Infernal tieflings will look like your classic red skin, horns, and such. But abyssal tieflings can have fur and tusks and Chthonic can have cadaverous appearances. Like humans and ardlings, you can choose small or medium for tieflings now.

And that's races! (No Warforged in the PHB, sadly).

Now, let's talk backgrounds!

Essentially, backgrounds now come with the following, for players to customize as they see fit:

You choose ability score bonuses - either a +2 and a +1 or three +1s, basically just like the Tasha's era racial rules, only now it's meant to reflect the effect of your pre-adventuring life.

You pick two skill proficiencies.

You pick one tool, gaining Tool Proficiency (which is apparently a new official term - and works a little differently).

You pick one Language, with options on the Standard and Rare languages table (Common Sign Language has been added as a new Standard Language option).

You also pick a 1st-level Feat. Feats are now divided by levels and prerequisites, so the options here are a little narrower (but also more manageable).

Finally, you get 50 gold to spend on equipment, keeping whatever is left over. I imagine this is in addition to the starting equipment you get for your class, though I suppose we'll see.

This post is getting insanely long, so I think we'll stop here and address feats, spell categories, and new game terminology (along with some rules changes) in future posts.