Editing Dragonborn (section)

===Variant Dragonborn===
The first real variant dragonborn came with [[Critical Role]]'s unique variant race of Ravenite Dragonborn. While initially penned in Matt Mercer's ''Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting'', Wizards would not only make their own version of the Ravenites in ''Explorer's Guide to Wildemount'', but also port over the Draconblood subrace as well.

'''Draconblood Dragonborn'''
::Ability Score Modifier: +2 to Charisma, +1 to Intelligence
::Creature Type: Humanoid
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Chromatic Ancestry: As before
::Draconic Resistance: As before, you resist the element associated with your Ancestry
::Breath Weapon: As before
::Forceful Presence: You can gain advantage on an Persuasion and Intimidation check once per rest.

'''Ravenite Dragonborn'''
::Ability Score Modifier: +2 to Strength, +1 to Constitution
::Creature Type: Humanoid
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Chromatic Ancestry: As before
::Draconic Resistance: As before, you resist the element associated with your Ancestry
::Breath Weapon: As before
::Vengeful Assault: Once per rest, you can immediately counter-attack right after getting hit by an enemy within reach of your weapon.

A sort-of revamp of the race would be introduced in the April 2021 issue of [[Unearthed Arcana]]. This new version of the dragonborn does away with that whole homogenized scale color thing, opting for a closer resemblance to their ancestors. Also, instead of being one race, it's now ''three'': the [[Chromatic Dragon]]born, the [[Metallic Dragon]]born, and — perhaps most shockingly — ''[[Gem Dragon|Gem]]'' Dragonborn. These would later be officially released in ''Fizban's Treasury of Dragons''.

'''Chromatic Dragonborn'''
::Ability Score Modifier: +2 to one ability score of your choice and +1 to a second ability score of your choice, or +1 to three different ability scores of your choice. After the release of [[Tasha's Cauldron of Everything|Tasha's]], this has become the standard for all new and UA races.
::Creature Type: Humanoid
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Chromatic Ancestry: As before, Black (acid), Blue (lightning), Green (poison), Red (fire), or White (cold)
::Draconic Resistance: As before, you resist the element associated with your Ancestry
::Breath Weapon: As a Chromatic Dragonborn, regardless of your element, your breath weapon takes the form of a 30 ft line that is 5 ft wide. It's a Dex save against 8 + Con mod + proficiency. The four key differences are that it can now replace ''one'' of your attacks instead of requiring an action of its own, it does ''2d8'' damage instead of 2d6, it scales up by one die at levels 5, 11, and 17, and—most importantly—you can use it a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest, instead of once per short rest.
::Chromatic Warding: At 3rd level, once per long rest, you can use an action to become completely ''immune'' to the damage type you normally resist for 10 minutes. FTD nerfs this to last only 1 minute and at level 5.

'''Metallic Dragonborn'''
::Ability Score Modifier: As above
::Creature Type: Humanoid
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Metallic Ancestry: As before, Brass (fire), Bronze (lightning), Copper (acid), Gold (also fire), or Silver (cold)
::Draconic Resistance: As above
::Breath Weapon: All the same changes as above, except your breath weapon is always a 15 ft cone
::Metallic Breath Weapon: At 3rd level, once per long rest, you can replace one of your attacks with yet ''another'' breath weapon. Same range, same DC as the standard one, but this time you can either choose to knock your enemies prone (requiring a Strength save) or incapacitate them until your next turn (requiring a Constitution save). FTD would delay this to level 5.

'''Gem Dragonborn'''
::Ability Score Modifier: As above
::Creature Type: Humanoid
::Size: Medium
::Speed: 30 feet
::Gem Ancestry: Choose Amethyst (force), Crystal (radiant), Emerald (psychic), Sapphire (thunder), or Topaz (necrotic)
::Draconic Resistance: As above
::Breath Weapon: Same as the Metallic Dragonborn's regular breath weapon
::Psionic Mind: GOOlock's Awakened Mind, but this time it specifies that the creature can't respond
::Gem Flight: At 3rd level, once per long rest, you can use a bonus action to let give yourself a flying speed equal to your walking speed and the ability to hover for 1 minute. FTD delays this to level 5.

This take on the race is... bizarre. The improvements to the breath weapon are welcome, as they do a lot to make the ability more uniform ''and'' more uniformly ''useful,'' but the Chromatic Dragonborn's third level ability is pretty blatantly more situational than the Metallic Dragonborn's, and the Gem Dragonborn's is ''crazy'' useful compared to either of the other two. All in all it still has its flaws, but it's still a ''massive'' and much-needed improvement over the PHB Dragonborn.