Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos is here! This book provides a level 1 – 10 campaign centered around playing students of Strixhaven, an academy of magic from Magic: The Gathering. To that end, it also contains new monster stat blocks, worldbuilding information, roleplay guidance, and new player options! I’m very excited about Strixhaven as a D&D setting.

So, let’s talk about the Owlin player option and how it has changed from its original UA appearance. We’ll also touch on the new backgrounds, feats, and spells!  

Owlin

Owlin, previously known as owlfolk, are humanoid owl people with wings on their back.

The official owlin are still Medium or Small sized humanoids with a fly speed equal to their walk speed. They can’t wear heavy or medium armor and use their fly speed. They still have the Silent Feathers feature, which gives them proficiency in the Stealth skill.

They no longer have the Magic Sight feature or the ability to use a reaction to potentially stop a fall.

I really like the owlin. I generally don’t play animal-like characters, but the owlin makes a very convincing case (especially with all the art of owlin in the Strixhaven book!).

Backgrounds

There is a background related to each of the colleges of Strixhaven. This background represents your character’s studies in the past in anticipation of becoming a student of the relevant college.

Each background provides two skill proficiencies, additional language or tool proficiencies, and equipment appropriate to the identity of the college (including an ink pen and school uniform).

Each background also grants the Strixhaven Initiate feat. If you picked the Lorehold Student background, you must select Lorehold as the relevant college for the feat, and so on for the other backgrounds.

If you have Spellcasting or Pact Magic, then you get additional spells added to your spell list. These expanded spell lists include the new spells representing each college.

These backgrounds are super handy. If you are not sure what background to pick, but you know you’re going to play the Strixhaven campaign, these backgrounds make that decision a heck of a lot easier. It’s also great for playing “honors student” type characters who really care about their academic performance.

Feat: Strixhaven Initiate

The new Strixhaven Initiate feat, even independent of the new backgrounds, can do a great job tying your player characters to the setting.

You must select a particular college this feat is affiliated with. This choice affects your choices of two cantrips and one 1st level spell (the college determines which spell lists you can select the spell from).

Additionally, at 4th level, this feat grants you the ability to summon one of the Strixhaven mascots as your familiar (per find familiar). You can swap places with this familiar as an action if they are summoned and within 60 feet of you. You can perform the swap once per long rest, or you can expend a 2nd level or higher level spell slot to use it after your first usage.

Spells

There are five new spells introduced in Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos, one for each of the colleges.

Borrowed knowledge is a 2nd level spell that requires a 25 gp book as a component. It is added to the spell lists for bards, clerics, warlocks, and wizards. This spell grants you a proficiency you didn’t have before for the duration. This spell is related to the Lorehold college, which converses with spirits to learn knowledge from times past. I’m not sure I’d select this spell myself, but I can think of other players who would like this one!

Kinetic jaunt is a 2nd level spell that requires concentration. It is added to the spell lists for artificers, bards, sorcerers, and wizards. With this spell, your movement speed is increased, you can move without provoking opportunity attacks, and you can move through another creature’s space. This spell is tied to the Prismari college, which uses elemental energy in dazzling performances. This spell is perfect for characters who want extra mobility.

Silvery barbs is a 1st level spell that is cast as a reaction when a creature succeeds on a roll. It is added to the spell lists for bards, sorcerers, and wizards. This spell forces the target to reroll and use the lower result for the roll that you are reacting to. At the same time, you designate another creature (or yourself) to receive advantage on the next roll they (or you) make within a minute. This spell is related to the Silverquill college, which uses the power of words in their magic. I know some are concerned about the power of this spell, but I’m excited to see how it actually plays out!

Vortex warp is a 2nd level spell that requires the target to roll a Constitution saving throw to avoid the effect, if desired. It is added to the spell lists for artificers, sorcerers, and wizards. With this spell, you teleport the target to a space on a surface or liquid that can support it within 90 feet. You can increase the range by casting the spell at higher levels. This spell comes from the Quandrix college, which interrogates the mathematic principles behind creation. Teleportation is very popular with my group, so I’m sure we’ll see a lot of use with this one!

Wither and bloom is a 2nd level spell that also forces a Constitution saving throw. It is added to the spell lists for druids, sorcerers, and wizards. This spell affects a 10-foot-radius sphere, and each target takes 2d6 necrotic damage if they fail the save (half if they succeed). The spell also affects nonmagical plants in the area. You then select a creature in that same area and grant them the ability to spend and roll an unused Hit Die, regaining hit points equal to the die’s result plus your spellcasting modifier. You can increase the damage and healing by casting this spell at higher levels. This spell is related to the Witherbloom college, which wields both the forces of growth and decay. We don’t have a lot of mechanics that do things with Hit Die, so this is a cool addition!

The Strixhaven-related subclasses that appeared in a previous UA will not appear in this book. It’s a little disappointing, because I liked the novelty of them, but I think these other player options are great. They successfully capture the flavor of the setting for players to potentially infuse into their characters!

Are you planning (or planning to play in) a Strixhaven campaign? How are you finding the new player options introduced in this book?