Hello and welcome back to another Unearthed Arcana Analysis. This Unearthed Arcana instalment features four new, Feywild themed, races. Let’s get to it!

Like with Gothic Lineages, we get some initial info. I think there are no changes other than the Ability Score Improvement feature. This one allows us to give a +2 to an ability score and a +1 to another one. So far so good. The difference is that now you can also give +1 to three different scores. I don’t really have an issue with that. It gives more options for your character build but nothing broken. Let’s move to the races themselves.

Fairy

I would be surprised if we didn’t see Fairies here. The Feywild makes Fairies differ from one another, having unique characteristics. This is translated as a roll table that determines a unique Fey characteristic your Fairy possesses. I like his because it is a nice flavour addition here. Moreover, we get a sentence saying Fairies are different from pixies and sprites and they are also larger than them. Sprite and pixie race coming soon?

Type. Of course it’s Fey. This can lead to various spell shenanigans, which I now find delightful and during a session I may find confusing. Overall, I like the different creature types.

Size. You are small, as expected. I like to see that we’re moving from the medium only rule for playable races.

Speed. That’s a standard speed of 30 feet. But check the feature below.

Fairy Flight. That’s magical flight and hover from level 1. Can freely flying characters create issues? I will leave that as homework for you. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Fairy Magic. This is similar with the Hex Magic feature for the Hexblood that was in the Gothic Lineages. You know the druidcraft and faerie fire spells and you get to cast faerie fire for free once per long rest. I think I like this feature template but I hope we won’t get too many of them.

Fey Passage. I’m not sure whether this is a flavour thing or a size thing, but I don’t mind. It’s a nice addition and the situations this would be useful can be very funny.

This isn’t a bad race. Fairies seem to have a lot of mobility and their Fey creature type can add some resilience. I can see myself playing one at some point.

Hobgoblin of the Feywild

What we learn from this race’s introduction that goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears come from the Feywild.

Type. Humanoid.

Size. Medium. Hobgoblins are larger than goblins so it makes sense.

Speed. 30 feet.

Darkvision. This is the regular 60 feet darkvision.

Fey Ancestry. We know this feature. It gives advantage against being charmed.

Fey Gift. That’s a big one! So, first of all, you can use the Help action using a bonus action a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. You get those charges back after a long rest. But wait, there’s more. At the 3rd level you have more options for your Help action:

• Hospitality. You and the target of your Help action gain temporary hit points equal to 1d6 plus your proficiency bonus. At lower levels, this can be a lifesaver.
• Passage. You and the target of your Help action gain an extra speed of 10 feet until the start of your next turn. That could be quite helpful. Getting into the radius of a friendly spell or out of the radius of an enemy’s spell can change the outcome of an encounter.
• Spite. If you or the target of your Help action hit a creature with an attack roll, that creature has disadvantage on their next attack roll it will make within the next minute. If used strategically, this can be pretty powerful, especially if it’s used against different creatures. Plus, it doesn’t affect only the next turn so ranged attack rolls, before enemies reach melee range, can work too.

Fortune from the Many. This affects missed attacks, skill checks, and saving throws. You can add a bonus to that roll equal to the number of allies you can see within 30 feet of you. You can use that a number of times equal to your proficiency modifier between long rests. This is really helpful, in and out of combat. Just make sure you have enough friends around you, which is a requirement that also fits the theme of the race.

Fey Gift and Fortune of the Many are the features that make this race unique since we can see all the other features elsewhere. To be honest, I’d love to see an all hobgoblin party getting into weird situations and trying to get out of them using these features.

Owlfolk

Just to be clear, I love owls so I may be a bit subjective when it comes to this race. The first thing that comes to mind are the Arakkoa from World of Warcraft, even though the name should make me think of the Aarakocra. Anyway, let’s move on.

Creature Type. Humanoid.

Size. You get to choose between Medium and Small. Just like there are big owls and tiny, cute owls.

Speed. 30 feet.

Darkvision. Of course owls have darkvision and, of course, it has to be better than the regular, 60 feet one. So we get 90 feet of darkvision.

Magic Sight. You know the detect magic spell and can cast it as a ritual. You can cast it with your spell slots as well, provided you have any. I like the flavour of it a lot!

Nimble Flight. You have a flying speed equal to your walking speed. Moreover, if you fall you can make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw in order to use your wings to stay in your place. Even though I like owls, I need to be fair and express the same concern with the Fairies. Flight at 1st level can be tricky for the GM.

Silent Feathers. You have proficiency in the Stealth skill. Your feathers make no sound so it makes sense.

I want to play an Owlfolk. Compared to the other races in this instalment, this is not the most powerful one but I love its flavour.

Rabbitfolk

I wonder how the relations between Owlfolk and Rabbitfolk are…

Creature Type. Humanoid.

Size. You get to choose between Medium and Small.

Speed. 30 feet. Personally, I’d make it 40 feet. You know, rabbits and all that.

Hare-Trigger. You add your proficiency bonus to your initiative rolls. As a feature, it’s not bad at all but its name makes it an A-class feature.

Leporine Senses. Proficiency with the Perception skill. Not a bad skill to have proficiency with and also fits the flavour nicely.

Lucky Footwork. You use your reaction to add 1d4 to failed Dexterity checks. You know, the rabbit foot being lucky and all. Not bad.

Rabbit Hop. Another fun one. Once during each of your turns, you can hop 1d12 feet for free. However, you need to move at least 5 feet beforehand. Moreover, you can’t hop if your speed is 0, so you can’t hop when, for example, you are grappled (that would be fun though).

This is my second favourite race of this instalment, after the Owlfolk, of course. I like that the features were so flavourful and that Hare-Trigger pun was all I needed to like this race.

Overall, I am quite happy with the races presented here. To be honest, I have no idea if there is any mention of hobgoblins coming from the Feywild, but I don’t really mind that. I’m just wondering if it’s a new thing. Owlfolk could use a bit more work, because their “unique” feature isn’t that great. The rest of the races are pretty nice. I’m looking forward to seeing them in a future instalment or an official publication.

You can read the full article here, and download the PDF here.