Dungeons & Dragons Releases New Giant-Themed Playtest

Dungeons & Dragons is going big with its next playtest. Today, Wizards of the Coast released a new “Giant Options” Unearthed Arcana, which introduces three new subraces and a number of new feat options for players looking to tie their characters to Giants. Most notably, the playtest includes a new Circle of the Primeval Druid subclass that allows you to summon a dinosaur as a companion. Other new subclasses includes a Path of the Giant barbarian class that allows a player to “Hulk out” (become a Large creature whenever they rage) and a Runecrafter Wizard that uses runes to enhance their magical spells. The Path of the Giant Barbarian seems particularly potent as it becomes even more effective at high levels, with the ability to deal even more extra damage when they rage.

The playtest also includes several new giant-themed feats that range adopting certain giant traits, such as the heartiness of hill giants or the fire resistance of fire giants, to the ability to imbue items with the power of runes, granting that player the use of certain spells once per day.

Unlike other recent playtests, there’s no clear hint as to what this new playtest could be related to. Giants are present in just about every Dungeons & Dragons setting, although they rarely are a focus of any particular setting. The possibilities range from a Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons-style book about Giants to a new primeval-themed campaign setting, in which dinosaurs and giants are focus. 

Based on the timing of the playtest, it could be several months before we know what the new material will be used for. Dungeons & Dragons has already announced a Spelljammer set of books for August and a Dragonlance adventure for late 2022. That means this material could be tied to a 2023 release of some kind. 

You can check out the full playtest here.