D&D BREAKING – New Unearthed Arcana Reveals One D&D Cleric, Removes ‘Race’
WotC’s newest Unearthed Arcana introduces One D&D’s Cleric, and “moves on” from using the term race for its three new species.
WotC has just released a new packet of playtest materials for the next iteration of D&D. In it we get a look at the One D&D Cleric, new versions of the Goliath, Dragonborn, and Ardlings, as well as a whole slew of new core rules.
But one thing you won’t find in the new Unearthed Arcana is the term player race. With the latest Unearthed Arcana and moving forward, it seems One D&D will “move on” from using the term race, according to a post on D&D Beyond.
One D&D Moves On From Race
Dungeons & Dragons has a history of evolving to meet the needs of our players and foster an inviting space for everyone.
With that in mind, we understand “race” is a problematic term that has had prejudiced links between real world people and the fantasy peoples of D&D worlds. The usage of the term across D&D and other popular IP has evolved over time. Now it’s time for the next evolution.
It’s a move D&D has steadily been making since the release of books like Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, when they experimented with decoupling ability scores from species. And in One D&D, that rule goes even further.
According to WotC’s statement, they have no intention of returning to the term:
In the next Unearthed Arcana containing playtest materials for One D&D, we are presenting a replacement for the term “race.” That new term is “species.”
We know this is an important change to D&D—one that requires an open conversation with our community. And we want to be clear about a few things as we playtest the new term.
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- We have made the decision to move on from using the term “race” everywhere in One D&D, and we do not intend to return to that term.
- The term “species” was chosen in close coordination with multiple outside cultural consultants.
- In the survey for this Unearthed Arcana playtest, which will go live on December 21, players will be able to give feedback on the term “species” along with everything else present in the playtest materials.
Other games, like Pathfinder 2E and Level Up have paved the way, moving on from race to use terms like ancestry or culture to reflect the circumstances of a character’s birth and childhood. In fact, for 5E, the 3rd-party handbook Ancestry and Culture offered up similar alternatives.
Now WotC is following in their official footsteps. But what else is in the playtest packet?
One D&D – Cleric, Ardling, Dragonborn, Goliath, And More
The new One D&D Unearthed Arcana iterates on previous material. However, unlike the last packet, which introduced the entire “Expert group” of classes. This time we only get a look at one new class: the Cleric. But that’s just as well, since Clerics are a fairly complex bunch in One D&D. Clerics, Druids, and Paladins make up the Priest group. But Clerics, especially, are emblematic of priests in D&D.
In One D&D Clerics have a lot more flexibility. We’ll take a deeper dive into them soon, but for now it looks like Clerics can decide whether to pick up Martial Weapon/Armor training, slightly better Spellcasting/Channel Divinity, or skills—as opposed to these options being tied to your Domain.
Speaking of, we get a look at the Life Domain subclass for Clerics (the first of a total four that will be in the PHB). Life Domain is still all about healing. Moreso than ever with abilities that allow you to heal even more hit points with a spell slot, use your Channel Divinity to heal, or “heal thyself” as healers/physicians are often prompted to do.
We also get a revised version of the Ardling. The Ardlings, if you recall, are basically celestial furries. And they have new options, everything from bears to triceratops, with new abilities that feel a bit better/more consequential.
The new Dragonborn have been updated to be more like the Dragonborn in Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons, which is about where they needed to be.
And finally Goliaths are here, with their Giant ancestry playing a much bigger role.
You can check all of this out in One D&D’s new playtest packet.
Happy Adventuring
