Dungeons & Dragons' New Satyr Race Is Subtly Overpowered

One of Dungeons & Dragons' newest races is actually a bit overpowered and a boon to min/max players. Earlier this week, Dungeons & Dragons released Mythic Odysseys of Theros, a new sourcebook detailing the Magic: The Gathering world of Theros. The new sourcebook introduces two new playable races for Dungeons & Dragons - the feline Leonin class and the Satyr, which comes from classical Greek lore. While the Leonin doesn't offer too much in the way of surprises, the Satyr has several racial traits that make it surprisingly overpowered compared to other races.

The Satyr has two core racial traits that raise a few eyebrows. The first is that they are classified as Fey creatures instead of Humanoid. This means that they aren't affected by spells like "Charm Person," "Hold Person," or any other spells that specifically target humanoids.The second is that they have an innate Magic Resistance, meaning that they have advantage on all saving throws caused by spells or magical abilities. This not only gives the satyr advantage on spell saving throws, but also against things like the Beholder's eye rays, the Mind Flayer's Mind Blast, and other innate magical monster abilities. They also have other little perks, such as a 35 movement speed, natural proficiency in both Persuasion and Performance, and a +1 Ability Score increase to Dexterity, which can translate to a boost to AC depending on how players distribute their Ability Scores.

Of course, Satyrs aren't the only race that have Magic Resistance, nor are they the only Fey race in Dungeons & Dragons. However, any weaknesses that come from being a Fey (such as their susceptibility to Planar Binding and Protection From Good and Evil) are at least somewhat negated by their Magic Resistance, which gives them advantage on any saving throws against spells that might otherwise take them out of the fight.

At the end of the day, Satyrs aren't so overpowered that a good DM can't work around their strengths when necessary. However, some fans may find them to be problematic in the same way that they found Yuan-Ti problematic during the release of Volo's Guide to Monsters. Because of their natural synergies, expect to see some players build Satyr Bards, Sorcerers, and Warlocks, with an eye for causing as many problems as they can.

Mythic Odysseys of Theros is available now on digital platforms.