D&D: New Dragon Spells, Feats, And Lore In Unearthed Arcana
Does it feel like we’re getting a peek at the Draconomicon to you? Because these new spells and feats are all about dragons.
The Unearthed Arcana today is all about dragons. Which has many people conjuring up the 3rd Edition big book of dragons, the Draconomicon, especially considering that this new swath of rules is rife with hidden dragon lore.
Alongside new rules for draconic feats and spells, and even in the write-up of the new gem dragonborn, you get tons of tidbits about dragons that haven’t had a lot of “screen time” in 5E yet. For instance, you’ll find out about Sardior, the ruby dragon who is firstborn in all of creation, made by Bahamut and Tiamat during the first days of the First World. Which is a lot of capitalized words to be throwing around.
And many of the new spells introduce the names of dragons of D&D’s glorious past, including Icingdeath, better known as Ingeloakastimizilian, a white dragon who dwelt in the Evermelt region of the Reghed Glacier. Nicknamed Icingdeath by the barbarians of the Spine of the World mountains, the dragon was slain by none other than Drizzt Do’Urden who found the dragon’s namesake magic scimitar in the hoard.
Or how about Raulothim? A paranoid emerald dragon who was famous for spying and exploring the multiverse. But it’s not all Forgotten Realms lore sprinkled in. Another spell evokes Fizban the Fabulous, a doddering old mage who is secretly the avatar for Paladine–better known as legally distinct Bahamut, aka a platinum dragon god in the world of Krynn.
All of which points to a glorious new dragon book crammed full of trivia and tidbits–but let’s forget all that for now and look at the cool new spells you’ve been waiting to see. There are seven all in all from 2nd-7th level:
First up Icingdeath’s Frost, which deals cold damage but also reduces a target’s speed to 0 for a minute.
Nathair’s Mischief is a big cube of random effects that is like a predictable wild surge, you can charm, blind, or incapacitate creatures in the area, or make it difficult terrain.
If you cast Flame Stride, you’ll increase your movement speed and deal 1d6 fire damage to creatures you move near–this is a great spell for a gish.
With Raulothim’s Psychic Lance, you gain a devastating bolt of psychic energy that deals 10d6 to a target you can see or whose name you know (and say out loud) within 120 feet. If you know their name, the bolt finds the target no matter what. Either way, the target takes damage and is incapacitated–though nothing happens on a successful sae, which is a bummer for a 4th level spell.
Summoners will delight in Summon Draconic Spirit, which is another of the new summon type spells we’ve seen lately. This lets you summon a creature that resembles a dragon and uses the following statblock:
Making it one of the more powerful summon options out there right now.
Fizban’s Platinum Shield offers up a defensive option that you can pass around from creature to creature, giving them cover, resistance, and evasion.
Finally Draconic Transformation which lets you become a draconic creature who can use a breath weapon as a bonus action, can fly, and has blindsight. It’s a bonus action, but even so feels a little underwhelming for a 7th level spell when compared to other area attacks of the same power.
Alongside those new spells are new feats that can imbue characters with draconic power even if they’re not dragonborn or sorcerers. There are three feats, one for each dragon type, chromatic, metallic, and gem–and they’re pretty fun. Gift of the Chromatic Dragon lets you infuse one of your weapons with acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison damage as a bonus action, giving you an extra d4 for a minute, and when you would take one of those types of damage, you can sue your reaction to give yourself resistance to that instance of damage. Pretty handy.
Gift of the Metallic Dragon lets you learn and cast cure wounds once per day for free (and afterwards using spells lots), and you can manifest protective wings to shield yourself or others from attacks.
Gift of the Gem Dragon rounds out the trio of new feats with a stat increase (Int, Wis, or Cha by 1), and a reaction that you can use to damage enemies that attack you and push them away.
All in all, some fun dragon options.
Happy Adventuring!
