One D&D: Goliath Playtest Rules Revealed

The Goliath has been a playable (albeit often overlooked) Dungeons & Dragons race for several decades now. Recently, however, Wizards of the Coast has taken a fresh look at these towering mountain warriors as part of One D&D; a new system compatible with D&D 5th edition that’s currently in development and slated for release sometime in 2024.

The update to the Goliath was released as part of the recent One D&D playtest, in which experimental material was made available to players and DMs under the banner of their Unearthed Arcana online series. The update also recently included a completely new race known as the Ardling, which was met with somewhat mixed results according to player feedback.

So just what is included in the new One D&D Goliath? Below, we break out all the details.

What is a Goliath?

Goliaths first appeared as a playable race in the DnD 3.5 supplement Races of Stone, later appearing in D&D 5th edition in the Elemental Evil Player’s Companion, making them one of the first new playable races in 5e. Much like dragonborn are a humanoid version of dragon, goliaths are humanoids that have descended from giants. Intelligent and reclusive they dwell at the top of remote mountain peaks. Their bodies appear as if they are carved from mountain stone and give them great physical strength. Living in close knit tribes they pride themselves on their strength and maintain a deeply ingrained sense of fairness.

Current Goliath D&D 5e stats

In their current fifth edition incarnation, a Goliath character gains the following abilities:

Ability score increases: A+2 Strength and +1 Constitution bonus due to their unique physical nature

Age: Goliaths have lifespans comparable to humans. They enter adulthood in their late teens and usually live less than a century.

Size: Between 7 and 8 feet tall, and weighing between 280 and 340 pounds. Their size is Medium.

Speed: 30 feet base walking speed.

Natural Athlete: Automatically gains proficiency in the Athletics skill.

Stone’s Endurance: A Goliath can occasionally shrug off an injury. When they take damage, they can use their reaction to roll a d12 and adding their Constitution modifier. They then reduce the damage by that total. This trait cannot be used again until the Goliath takes a short or long rest.

Powerful build: They count as size larger when determining carrying capacity and the weight they can push, drag or lift.

Mountain born: Resistance to cold damage and can travel at elevations above 20,000 feet without an ill effects.

Languages: Automatically speak, read, and write Common and Giant.

What are One D&D’s changes to the Goliath?

The new One D&D playtesting rules also introduce a number of tweaks to the Goliath that provide a bit more punch in combat and more accurately reflect their giant heritage.

New Speed

Goliaths’ now have a base walking speed of 35 feet as opposed to 30 in the current rules. This is due to the larger size, as presumably they have much longer strides than a human or other similar sized creature.

New Special Trait: Giant Ancestry

Goliaths are descended from Giants and as such are granted a supernatural boon from their ancestors. They can use the chosen benefit a number of times equal to the character’s Proficiency Bonus, and regain all expended uses after a Long Rest.

• Cloud’s Jaunt (Cloud Giant): As a Bonus Action, a Goliath can magically Teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space they can see.
• Fire’s Burn (Fire Giant): When they hit a target with an Attack Roll and deal damage to it, they can also deal 1d10 Fire Damage to that target.
• Frost’s Chill (Frost Giant): When they hit a target with an Attack Roll and deal damage to it, they can also deal 1d6 Cold Damage to that target and reduce its Speed by 10 feet until the start of their next turn.
• Hill’s Tumble (Hill Giant): When they hit a large or smaller creature with an Attack Roll and deal damage to it, they can knock that target Prone.
• Stone’s Endurance (Stone Giant): When they take damage, they can use their Reaction to roll a d12. They then add their Constitution modifier to the number rolled and reduce the damage by that total. Notably, this is the only existing 5e ability that
• Storm’s Thunder (Storm Giant): When they take damage from a creature within 60 feet, they can use their Reaction to deal 1d8 Thunder Damage to that creature.

New Special Trait: Large Form

Starting at 5th level, a Goliath gains the ability to supernaturally increase their size. As a Bonus Action, they change their Size to Large, provided the Goliath is in a big enough space. The transformation lasts for 10 minutes or until the character ends it (using a Bonus Action). During that duration, the Goliath has Advantage on Strength Checks and their Speed increases by 10 feet. Once this trait is used, it can’t be use it finishing a Long Rest.

New Special Trait: Powerful Build (Saving Throw on Grapple)

This Goliath trait is virtually identical to what currently exists in 5e, except for the fact that a Goliath receives Advantage on any Saving Throw to end the Grappled condition.

What comes next?

The next One D&D playtest (which is scheduled to be released via Unearthed Arcana in the coming days) will include several new rules for weapons, encounters and monsters, in addition to a new system for building and managing a player groups’ “home base.” Stay posted to Dungeons & Dragons Fanatics as we’ll keep a close eye on these updates in the days ahead.

In the meantime, for more information on the changes to the Goliath you can check out the full video interview below or read the full Unearthed Arcana Playtest Update.

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