Guide Updates: Fizban’s & Strixhaven

Author: pandaniel

While (some) of our writers are enjoying a well-deserved break during the holiday season, we are finishing off the year with an update to a multitude of our articles. Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons, released in October, and Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos, released this month, introduced us with a variety of new content, including a renewed look at Dragonborn, the Owlin, spells and feats!

This post serves as an overview to see how our articles have changed this month to accommodate these fancy new options. Like with our other updates, the following changes are already part of our articles, but this post is for any of you who want to know exactly what has changed.

We have revised our:

• Race and Lineage Guide to include the Owlin and change our entries on Dragonborn;
• Feat Guide to evaluate the feats from both Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons and Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos, and change our blurb on the feat Dragon Fear;
• Spell Spotlight: Find Familiar to rate the familiar options from Strixhaven Mascot;
• Guide to Spell Scrolls to take the spells from Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos into account.
• Flagship Builds and their variants.

We are still in the process of revising:

• Sections of the Artificer Class Guide impacted by these books.

Tiefling (Winged), Fairy, Owlin, Aarakocra (★★★★★)

These races are an extremely powerful option. Flight is amazing because on a fundamental level, almost every encounter in Tier 1 and 2 skews heavily towards grounded enemies with big melee damage, and the ability to just ignore them completely at any time for free is very good. Even when monsters have ranged attacks, they often do twice as much damage in melee regardless.

Then there are the numerous powerful tactics flight opens up, like grappling or casting thorn whip while flying to drop people for damage and an automatic prone, immunity to difficult terrain and ground-locked area of effect spells or abilities (including your own), the powerful exploration benefits unavailable to grounded characters, the universal helpfulness of three-dimensional movement as an aid in positioning, and the borderline degenerate play of flying a little bit ahead with a longbow or firebolt and kiting things for free. Dealing with flying player characters in a published adventure can require significant overhauls by the DM to make encounters challenging, which is a surefire sign of how powerful it can be. 

Winged Tieflings, unlike Fairies, Owlin, or Aaracokra, can use their wings in medium armor. That combined with their Darkvision and resistance to fire damage, which is the most common form of elemental damage, means they’re generally the best of the three on account of being the most well rounded and having the least opportunity cost. Fairies instead gain Small size, immunities from their fey typing, and a useful but not amazing casting suite in the form of druidcraft, 1/day faerie fire, and 1/day enlarge/reduce. Owlin get to choose between going Small or Medium in addition to getting Darkvision and an extra skill proficiency. Aarakocra make up for their lack of other useful traits with the highest base racial speed in the game (though not quite the fastest movement, as we’ll see later). 50 feet would be impressive even as a ground speed, but when combined with flight it really pushes their mobility into a league of their own. Either way, flight is the one racial feature that your DM will have to think about in every encounter they ever run, and for that it’ll always be powerful.

Dragonborn (Gem, Metallic, Chromatic) (★★★☆☆)

The signature feature of all Dragonborn is their Breath Weapon, and Fizban’s Dragonborn are no different: this one does 1d10 damage in a 15 foot cone for Gem and Metallic Dragonborn, or a 30 foot line that is 5 feet wide for Chromatic Dragonborn. Unlike other Dragonborn who can only use their breath weapon once per rest, Fizban’s Dragonborn can use their breath weapon a proficiency bonus number of times per long rest, and adds 1d10 at 5th, 11th, and 17th level. It compares favorably against a single attack with its ability to hit multiple targets, and it’s also much more useful for anyone with Extra Attack because it only takes a single attack in the Attack Action. Not only do you not have to give up both attacks, but now the second one can still trigger bonus action attacks from the likes of Polearm Master and Crossbow Expert. Note that it’s actually worse in raw damage than the old Dragonborn with their 2d6 weapons at first, but 1d10 versus 1d6 scaling means the new Breath Weapon does more damage past level 5.

They each also gain a resistance, with the caveat that it matches their Breath Weapon damage. It’s not uncommon for dealers of necrotic and the various elemental damage types to be resistant or immune to the same damage types, which makes the Breath Weapon a lot worse against those kinds of creatures. Having that resistance is a positive trade overall due to how common these creatures are, and because you should still have a variety of other options in combat besides the Breath Weapon.

Subrace	Features
Gem	Their ancestry choices consist of mostly non-elemental damage types, with the exception of thunder. The most common one of these to face is necrotic, which has the previously mentioned trade-off. (While psychic has almost as many users across all books, it is much less common in the core Monster Manual and thus most games.) They also gain the ability to fly for a minute as a bonus action. As previously explained, flight is still really good to have so even this limited instance of it is quite valuable. They lastly get one-way telepathy with a range of 30 feet with built-in translation, which is decent.
Metallic	They get a choice out of elemental damage types, of which fire is the most commonly faced, and thus the best choice. They also get the ability to replace their Breath Weapon with either a mass incapacitation effect on a Constitution save until the start of your next turn or a multi-push + prone effect on a Strength save. Usually the Enervating Breath wins out, but Repulsion Breath can also be useful when combining it with something like web or sleet storm.
Chromatic	They also get to choose one of what are mostly elemental damage types, with the addition of poison. Of the options, fire and poison are the most commonly faced. Depending on your campaign, see what is right for you. They also get to become immune to the damage type that they resist for 1 minute as an action, which is not often worth it if you don’t get to use it before a fight.

Overall, the new Dragonborn have kept a lot of features from their predecessors while receiving significant new ones on top, and that extra budget does a lot for them.

Dragonborn (Ravenite, PHB, Draconblood) (★★☆☆☆)

Both the original and Fizban’s Dragonborn share a Breath Weapon ability, but it works slightly differently for the original Dragonborn. The whole race pivots around its Breath Weapon as this huge, defining feature, and that’s a problem because it just isn’t. The lackluster scaling really lets it down later, especially as it always costs an action. 2d6 is genuinely good damage at levels 1 to 3, as it’s still basically a martial weapon’s worth of damage that can potentially hit 2 or more targets, but is quickly going to fall by the wayside once players get class boosts to damage, never mind multiple attacks.

The majority of the power of these Dragonborn actually lies in its subraces, with both Ravenite and Draconblood granting Darkvision along with their subrace feature.

Subrace	Benefit
Ravenite	Once per short rest, you get to attack back with your reaction against a creature that hit you. It’s actually good value for levels before 5, and can go especially far for Rogues who can use it to potentially Sneak Attack again.  Between this and their Breath Weapon, low level Ravenites are similar to Bugbears with their combination of Darkvision and damage features. They’re worse, given that they rely on enemy positioning for their Breath Weapon and being attacked by an enemy for their revenge strike (which will rarely have optimal targeting as a result), but not needing any Stealth support can be nice.
PHB	Gets one resistance of their choice from a short list, including options for common damage types like fire or poison, which is still quite good. Note, though, as with Fizban’s Dragonborn, this resistance is the same as their Breath Weapon damage, so the same deal applies here: Getting a common resistance is quite good, but your Breath Weapon will be worse off. Do keep in mind you will be using your Breath Weapon less with the PHB Dragonborn anyway.
Draconblood	The ability to roll a single Intimidation or Persuasion check with advantage per short rest. This feature provides no benefit that could not already be achieved during a social interaction from two or more characters teaming up together (see page 175 of the Player’s Handbook, under Working Together). In a situation where help during a social interaction is not possible or doesn’t apply, the feature does what it says: you gain advantage on one Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check. Overall, this is redundant at worst and likely niche at best. Darkvision combined with low level Breath Weapon is enough to be ok at low levels, but effectively having no subrace features is really rough.

Dragonborn get to be alright in the early game through combining basic stuff like Darkvision and Resistances with their damage features before they fall off, while Ravenite + Sneak Attack can even extend that middling performance into higher levels. Not good, but could be worse.

Xanathar’s Guide to Everything Feats

Dragon Fear (★★★☆☆) 
This is available to Dragonborn. +1 to Strength, Constitution, or Charisma, and you can trade your Breath Weapon for the ability to roar and cause creatures to be frightened of you. The DC also uses your Charisma instead of your Constitution. This is normally a better option than your Breath Weapon, so this is definitely a welcome addition. Note the minor Conquest Paladin Aura of Conquest synergy.

Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons Feats

Gift of the Chromatic Dragon (★★★☆☆) 
Some d4 additional damage and access to a budget absorb elements. This feat looks almost good, but features too many caveats in character building to actually be worthwhile. 

The flexible damage type is negligible, outside of very niche interactions like turning off the troll or revenant’s Regeneration trait. The bonus action cost makes it hardly ever worthwhile. 

The budget absorb elements part is good, but it only applies to one instance of damage. It only makes this feat into a worthy consideration on a very small number of characters. If the character can cast spells, they likely have much more efficient ways to gain access to the real deal, and maybe shield as well. 

Gift of the Gem Dragon (★★☆☆☆)
+1 Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma and an awkward hybrid between the spell hellish rebuke and the Repulsion Shield infusion. While the effect is largely underwhelming, this feat can almost be worth something since this also gives us an increase in an ability score. 

Gift of the Metallic Dragon (★☆☆☆☆)
Cure wounds is a negligible addition to a character’s kit, while protective wings boast some irrelevant flavor text that somehow ends up being an even worse and more limited version of Defensive Duelist. This is not it.

Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos Feats

Strixhaven Initiate (★★★★☆)
All 5 of the college options allow you to choose from the most powerful, build-defining 1st level spells of shield, absorb element, and silvery barbs, with shield providing the greatest improvement for a character that lacks all 3. The other distinction between the schools is their choice of two bonus cantrips on a list of three, which is rather minor.

There are other niche picks like goodberry for a Life Domain Cleric who already dipped Sorcerer 1, but they are not enough to change this feat’s rating. 

Below are the different options ranked against each other, but we believe they are all worthy of four stars separately.

College	Cantrips (Choose two)	1st level spell
Lorehold (★★★★☆)	Light, sacred flame, thaumaturgy	Cleric or Wizard
Prismari (★★★★★)	Firebolt, prestidigitation, ray of frost	Bard or Sorcerer
Quandrix (★★★★★)	Druidcraft, guidance, mage hand	Druid or Wizard
Silverquill (★★★☆☆)	Sacred flame, thaumaturgy, vicious mockery	Bard or Cleric
Witherbloom (★★★★☆)	Chill touch, druidcraft , spare the dying	Druid or Wizard

Strixhaven Mascot (★★★☆☆) 
You get find familiar with an extra familiar option, and some other abilities. The familiar options on their own are… boring. Other than their increased tankiness, some of them are marginal upgrades over basic options, while others, not at all. For a further analysis on familiars, including these mascots, check out our DnD 5E Spell Spotlight: Find Familiar.

The option to replace the attack action is rather insignificant, because the mascot familiars have terrible attacks. However, it does open up some possibilities with grappling, as it is a special attack. 

You can teleport up to 60 feet by swapping places with the familiar once per day for free and using a 2nd level slot for subsequent uses. This is similar to misty step, but differs in that it is no spell, and thus can’t be counterspelled, and is also not magic, allowing it to work in an anti-magic field if your mascot is outside of it. There is the additional bonus of no sight requirement, but a normal familiar and misty step allow for a similar interaction.

Overall, this feat is good, but its prerequisite of 4th level and Strixhaven Initiate (especially if they don’t come for free with your background) makes it rather awkward to fit into your build. 

Familiar Form Ratings

Upon casting find familiar you get the choice of a select few creatures to serve you as a companion. There are upsides and downsides for each of these summons, but some make out better than the others. 

The spell lists out 15 different options, additional options are listed in a few published adventures that can be used with your DM’s permission. Even more options are opened up for Pact of the Chain Warlocks, who get 4 extra choices. Finally, Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos has opened up more options through Strixhaven Mascot, a new feat. This section will rate these different servants against each other, where choices that are usable with DM’s approval will be noted with ^Optional, choices that are usable as a Pact of the Chain Warlock with ^{Pact of the Chain}, and the mascots with ^Mascot. 

These ratings do not take into account opportunity cost, like having to pick up Pact of the Chain instead of another pact, or having to pick up Strixhaven Mascot, or losing out on using a better familiar. Some options might have a dual rating if something drastically changes their viability. Sea creatures might not be very useful across an entire campaign, but when you are underwater they become a lot more useful. Familiars that can be used to acquire poisons (see more info on this in our Complete Guide to Tools in DnD 5e here) are generally less useful if you are not in need of more poison.

Now for the actual ratings:

Art Elemental Mascot ^Mascot (★★☆☆☆)

The art elemental mascot is a familiar accessible through the Strixhaven Mascot feat. Its charm ability is cute, but is not very useful due to its low save DC and because it allows targets to repeat the save every turn. Additionally, it is limited to one use per day. Besides its charm ability, the art elemental mascot is not much more than a sack of hit points with some measly attacks. This lacks all good qualities of a familiar, as it cannot fly, has no proficiency in Stealth or Perception, and has no additional senses, thus qualifying it as a poor scout.

Fractal Mascot ^Mascot (★★★☆☆)

The fractal mascot is a familiar accessible through the Strixhaven Mascot feat. This has a small niche in being able to be used as a cork in a bottle with its Augment ability to completely block doorways and Dodge. However, keep in mind that it won’t be able to survive too many hits without significant investment (see the “Survivability” section below). It also has advantage on most checks to Grapple when it uses this ability, which could be occasionally useful. This mascot isn’t a great scout, as it lacks any sort of darkvision or blindsight and has low Perception and Stealth bonuses (it can use its Diminish ability to become Tiny, which may improve its ability to stay hidden). It is, however, capable of traversing through walls that are less than 60 feet thick, which gives it more maneuverability than is afforded by the ability to resummon your familiar to a space you cannot see (see “What is so special about making my familiar reappear?” below).

Inkling ^Mascot (★★★★★)

The inkling mascot is a familiar accessible through the Strixhaven Mascot feat. While its Perception is not great, it has proficiency in Stealth, can Hide as a bonus action in darkness or dim light, has a 60 feet range Blindsight, and can fly! This is easily the best mascot option. The inkling mascot even has the Amorphous quality, meaning it can squeeze through a space as narrow as 1 inch, which should open up traversal opportunities as well. The Ink Spray ability isn’t half-bad, either. 

Pest Mascot ^Mascot (★★☆☆☆)

The pest mascot is a familiar accessible through the Strixhaven Mascot feat. This is really only just usable as an alternative to a “bag of rats” for Dhampirs due to its Regeneration, and not much else. Darkvision and a decent passive Perception don’t make up for a lack of Stealth proficiency and its ground-bound movement speed.

Spirit Statue Mascot ^Mascot (★★★★☆)

The spirit statue mascot is a familiar accessible through the Strixhaven Mascot feat. It has some nice social skills, but the big kicker is its Counsel of the Past ability which can give you a d4 twice a day that you can add to any ability check you want. You can basically get 1d4 twice for 10 gp, and it stacks with things like guidance (remember, initiative rolls are ability checks)! The ability to choose which ability check you want to apply it on within the 10 minute duration gives it a bit more flexibility than guidance. This mascot also has proficiency in Perception, but with its Medium size, lack of Stealth proficiency, and lack of flight, you won’t be getting too much use of it.

Silvery barbs: An incredible spell which we have fully detailed here. First level spell slots are getting tighter and tighter with new spells being introduced, so having some scrolls on hand helps alleviate some of that. As you’ll likely have another caster in your party who can use a scroll of this, you can even help each other out by sharing your scrolls amongst each other.

Absorb elements: A great spell, and even better when you do not need to use spell slots to use it. One issue that might arise, here and with other reaction spells, like shield, is that you need to be able to read the scroll to use it. If you do not have a free hand to do this, you can remedy this problem by, for example, attaching your spell scroll to your shield or staff or the like. If you have both silvery barbs and shield already, you might not be getting to use this much.