Unearthed Arcana is swooping in once again with new dragon-inspired player options! This is a beefy, 7-page document including new dragonborn options, a new kobold option, feats, and spells.

The “Looking at UA” series is where I take a look at new Unearthed Arcana from Wizards of the Coast! This is all playtest material that may appear in future UA or in official D&D books.

Let’s get into it!

This article follows in the recent trend of WotC’s playtest character options—you pick your own Ability Score Increases, Language, and so on. We have four new options here: chromatic dragonborn, metallic dragonborn, gem dragonborn, and kobold.

Chromatic Dragonborn

Chromatic dragonborn are descended from chromatic dragons—that is, the dragons named after colors (red, blue, green, black, and white). This description emphasizes their elemental power. Like the Player’s Handbook dragonborn, these pick a particular dragon type or “Chromatic Ancestry” that determines the damage type of their Breath Weapon and what damage they resist with their Draconic Resistance.

Notably, the damage die for Breath Weapon is a d8 instead of a d6 from the PHB, and the damage increase progression is slightly tweaked (for example, the UA version gets 3d8 damage at 5th level vs. the PHB’s 3d6 damage at 6th level). While the PHB version gets one Breath Weapon usage per long/short rest, this UA version can use their Breath Weapon for a number of times equal to their proficiency bonus per long rest.

Chromatic Warding is a new feature that kicks in at 3rd level. You can use this feature to grant yourself immunity to the damage type chosen in Chromatic Ancestry for 10 minutes, once every long rest.

Metallic Dragonborn

Metallic dragonborn trace their ancestry back to metallic dragons, which are named after metals including gold, silver, copper, bronze, and brass. They have elemental affinity like the chromatic dragons, though their description here emphasizes more abstract qualities of those elements (versus the “raw elemental power” of the chromatics).

These Metallic Dragonborn have a similar feature structure as the Chromatic above, also getting a boost to their breath weapon. Instead of Chromatic Warding, their new feature is called Metallic Breath Weapon.

Metallic Breath Weapon also becomes available at 3rd level. Once per long rest, you can replace an Attack action with a use of Metallic Breath Weapon, exhaling magical gas that can have one of two effects that you choose when you use it. The first effect forces a Strength saving throw that pushes targets away and knocks them prone on a failed save. The second effect incapacitates targets until the start of your next turn if they fail a Constitution save.

So far, I like that these new options give more variety to dragonborn, and that your choice of metallic vs. chromatic ancestry matters more! Let’s move on to the more novel option: the Gem Dragonborn.

Gem Dragonborn

These dragonborn are descended from gem dragons, which haven not traditionally appeared in Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition. The dragon types you can choose from in the Gem Ancestry table are the amethyst dragon (force damage), crystal dragon (radiant damage), emerald dragon (psychic damage), sapphire dragon (thunder damage), and the topaz dragon (necrotic damage).

Their Breath Weapon is a 15-foot cone like the Metallic Dragonborn. They have two unique features: Psionic Mind and Gem Flight.

Psionic Mind allows you to speak telepathically to a nearby creature who can understand at least one language. They can’t respond telepathically with this feature.

Gem Flight grants you a flying speed (and hover) for 1 minute once per long rest, as you summon spectral gems that arrange themselves in a winglike shape.

This is a cool new option! I like that the gem dragons have different damage associations from the chromatic and metallic dragons. The psionic element is also neat, especially since we’ve gotten some psionic-inspired subclass options in previous UA.

Kobold

Kobolds are Small-sized, bipedal creatures that have the body and tail of a dragon but no wings. This version of the kobold seems to only share the Darkvision trait with its equivalent in Volo’s Guide to Monsters.

This option’s Draconic Legacy feature allows you to pick one of three ways that your draconic heritage manifests. One effect gives you advantage against being (and staying) frightened, another gives you a sorcerer cantrip, and the final option allows you to make improved unarmed strikes with your tail.

You also have access to the Draconic Roar feature. This roar is a bonus action that effects targets within 10 feet of you. It grants advantage on attack rolls to your and your allies against the targets of the roar. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

I like this new version of the kobold a lot more than the Volo’s option! It’s a more neutral depiction of kobolds than past versions, and the roar feature is very cool.

Feats

There are three news feats, which represent blessings or favors of one of the three types of dragons.

Gift of the Chromatic Dragon

With this feat, you can imbue a weapon with acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison damage, and that weapon will do 1d4 extra of that type of damage per hit for the next minute. You can do this once per long rest.

You can also use this feat to use your reaction to grant yourself resistance to the triggering instance of acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison damage (a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest).

Gift of the Metallic Dragon

This feat gives you the cure wounds spell and the ability to temporarily summon protective, spectral wings. The wings grant a d4 bonus to a close by creature’s AC as a reaction to them being hit by an attack roll (a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest).

Gift of the Gem Dragon

You can take this feat to increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score by 1 (20 is still the max). The reaction effect for this feat allows you to use a burst of telekinetic energy against the enemy that hit you (as long as they’re close by). This energy burst forces a Strength saving throw, dealing force damage and pushing the target away on a failed save. Same as the other feats, you can use this reaction a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

I think these types of feats are fun, since you can use them on any character to give them some draconic flair. The variety here is nice—the split between chromatic and metallic, plus the new gem option, offers a good amount of choice between different flavors.

Spells

New spells time! There are seven new spells introduced here, of a variety of levels and schools. Let’s quickly run through what sort of spells these are, which classes get them, and what they do.

Draconic Transformation

This is a 7th level spell available to druids, sorcerers, and wizards. It’s a concentration spell with a cost component. Casting this spell allows you to gain blindsight, incorporeal wings (and accompanying fly speed), and a breath attack. Very cool for some flashy combat!

Fizban’s Platinum Shield

This is a 6th level spell available to sorcerers and wizards. It is a concentration spell that has a cost component. This spell summons a dimly glowing field that surrounds one creature. The field grants a number of protective benefits, including half cover, resistance to certain elemental damage types, and an Evasion-like boost to the target’s Dexterity saving throws. This seems really nice for protecting yourself or another, especially if you’re more vulnerable to area of effect attacks or ranged attacks.

Flame Stride

Flame stride is a 3rd level spell available to artificers, rangers, sorcerers, and wizards. This spell requires concentration. Casting it boosts your speed, allows you to move without incurring opportunity attacks, and damages creatures with fire damage when you move near them. Casting this spell at higher levels increases your speed boost and the fire damage. I’m almost surprised we didn’t have a spell like this already! It creates a really fun mental image, very flavorful.

Icingdeath’s Frost

This is a 2nd level spell available to sorcerers and wizards. You use this spell to shoot a cone of frost energy, which forces affected creatures to make a Constitution saving throw. A successful save halves the damage with no additional effects; a failed save incurs the full amount of cold damage and covers the target in ice. That additional effect reduces the creature’s speed to zero unless they or another uses an action to break off the ice. The damage increases if you cast the spell at higher levels. Again, this is another spell that is really cool, and it would be great for a cold-focused character’s spell list!

Nathair’s Mischief

Nathair’s mischief is a 2nd level spell available to bards, sorcerers, and wizards. The spell requires concentration. Casting the spell creates an area of fey and draconic magic with one of four random effects determined by the Mischievous Surge table. You can move the area and reroll on the table. The table includes effects that can charm, blind, or incapacitate targets in the area if they fail a certain saving throw, the fourth effect creates a zone of difficult terrain. This spell is so silly, and I love it with my entire heart.

Raulothim’s Psychic Lance

This is a 4th level spell available to bards, sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards. This spell is a psychic attack that forces the target make an Intelligence saving throw. If they fail, they take a chunk of psychic damage and are briefly incapacitated. You can target a creature you can see within range, or you can say the target’s name—if they’re within range, naming them will erase any benefits they get from cover or invisibility. Casting this spell at higher levels increases the damage. I also really like this spell; any magic that has to do with names is very cool in my book.

Summon Draconic Spirit

Summon draconic spirit is a 5th level spell available to druids, sorcerers, and wizards. It requires concentration and has a cost component. This spell allows you to summon a Large draconic spirit. When you summon it, you choose whether it resembles a chromatic, metallic, or gem dragon; this determines certain aspects of its stat block. The draconic spirit can fight alongside you in combat. If you cast the spell at higher levels, some of its stats will increase accordingly. I like when UA adds new “summon” spells with stat blocks like these!

These new spells, overall, are fun and exciting additions!

I hope we see all of these new options appear in future UAs or as official options. I like the boosts to the new dragonborn options, as well as the refactored kobold option, and new spells are always a treat!