D&D: Strixhaven Player Options Abound In New Preview
Curriculum of Chaos is packed with new options for players. The new Strixhaven preview video gives us some insight into how they work.
The first semester of school at Strixhaven is just around the corner. Ahead of the forthcoming release, lead rules designer for D&D Jeremy Crawford sat down to chat about some of the new player options in the game.
It looks like WotC is moving towards a bigger emphasis on Backgrounds. The Background features introduced in Strixhaven are bigger than those in previous books. They also play a larger role in the adventure and character. too.
That’s because Backgrounds represent the college you intend to get into after your first year. In addition to the standard background features like skill, language, and tool proficiencies, they also come with a free feat: the new Strixhaven Initiate feat.
Even if you don’t pick one of the specialized backgrounds, you can still pick up the feat normally. It works a lot like the Magic Initiate feat, only the spells are pre-packaged to fit the new spells.
It also comes with a list of spells that are considered class spells for you. The list you get depends on what college you choose.
There are new spells added in the book as well. Each is a part of one of the feats but will be available to certain spell lists by class as well. That includes new spells for the Artificer.
Last but not least, we got another look at the Strixhaven mascot system, a boost you get at the Strixhaven Initiate Feat at 4th level. Once you meet both requirements, you can summon a mascot spirit to serve you as well as the usual options.
Like a Warlock, you can command your mascot to attack. But you can also teleport and swap places with it a number of times per day. So if you want to level up your familiar game, this is the way to go.
We also learned that Owlin are largely the same as they appeared in the Unearthed Arcana. So in addition to their inborn flying speed, Owlin will also have proficiency with stealth and darkvision.
Finally, Crawford hinted at material that will appear in a book outside of Strixhaven. In an upcoming, as-yet-unannounced book, we might get to see another version of the new Feywild Hobgoblins. So keep your eyes out.
Happy Adventuring!
