Return to life with complications with this skillful lineage.
Some beings have their very nature transformed by some magic or event. It transforms them into something not quite like their original race. These are known as lineages and are a special subset of races found in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft.
One of these lineages is the Reborn. These include creatures that have died, but by a fluke of magic, science or technology, have somehow survived. They might have been stitched and repair with the body parts of others or they may have a mind placed into the body of some kind of construct. They may bear the physical scars of whatever caused their previous death such as ashen skin or bloodless veins.
While Reborn are generally deeply disturbed by their nature and the loss of memories of their former life, there are advantages to their deathless nature. They don’t need the same basics of life that other beings do like food or air. They can also use the vague memories of their former life to gain a boost to ability checks.
If you want to play a Reborn, then read on for advice on optimisation and tactics.
Is a Reborn the right species for me?
Choose a Reborn if you want to…
- Be great at skills
- Have greater resilience
- Be great at being underwater
A Reborn might not be for you if…
- You care little for skills
- Will not be dealing with aquatic areas much
Using a lineage
Lineages are a little different from standard races. They transform a character from their original race into something a fair bit different, though they also retain attributes of their original race.
If you’re creating a character that starts with a lineage, then this just replaces the traits your race would have given you. However, if you start as another race and then gain a lineage during the game, you do the following:
- Replace all your original racial traits with the traits from the new lineage.
- The exception is for the traits specified in the ancestral legacy trait of your new lineage. This states that you can retain any skill proficiencies from your original race and/or any climbing, flying or swimming speed you gained from your original race.
- If you choose not to keep these skill proficiencies and extra movement types, then you can instead choose any 2 skill proficiencies to gain instead.
And that’s it, you now have your lineage.
Reborn traits
| Ability score increase | Increase 1 ability score by 2 and another by 1 or increase 3 ability scores by 1 |
| Languages | Common and 1 other |
| Creature Type | Humanoid |
| Size | Small or medium |
| Speed | 30ft |
| Traits | Ancestral legacy, deathless nature, knowledge from a past life |
| Resistances | Poison, poisoned and disease |
| Proficiencies | Those from your race or 2 of your choice |
| Darkvision | No |
| Innate spellcasting | None |
| Book found in | Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft |
Tactics
Reborn are primarily about greater resilience as well as having strong ability checks.
Skill savant: Reborn are exceedingly skillful. 2 skill proficiencies plus you can add d6 to some skill checks makes them really reliable with these. This is especially useful for classes that need plenty of extra proficiencies like party faces and stealth specialists. It’s also important for those involved in high stakes ability checks (like rogues).
Aquatic potential: Not needing to breathe can be very handy when dealing with being underwater. Some species, abilities and spells might make you a quick swimmer, but keep you limited when it comes to underwater breathing. Not needing to breathe means you can be underwater as long as you like and even cast verbal spells underwater without suffocating. Very handy, especially if you can pair them up with competent swimming.
Resilience: Advantage against disease wont come up much, but being tough against poison damage and the poisoned condition will making you that bit tougher.
Choosing a class for your Reborn
Below I’ve scored how well each class works with a Reborn:
Artificer⭐⭐
Barbarian ⭐⭐⭐
Bard ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cleric ⭐⭐
Druid ⭐⭐
Fighter ⭐⭐⭐
Monk ⭐⭐⭐
Paladin ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ranger ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rogue ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sorcerer ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Warlock ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wizard ⭐⭐
*Star ratings scored out of 5
Best classes for a Reborn
It’s all about skills with the Reborn. Any class that will regularly be making skill checks is going to do well here. Especially those that need a variety of skill proficiencies. Just be aware the knowledge from a past life only works for skill checks, not tool checks.
This means that bards and rogues are your best option with rangers and the other charisma classes as other great options.
While all classes enjoy some extra resilience, frontline martials also benefit most from this.
Worst Reborn classes
Basically any classes that don’t use skills much. This includes things like artificers, clerics, druids and wizards. Especially as these classes will tend to rely less on the extra resilience too.
About Reborn
Appearance
Reborn can take on a variety of appearances. This is partly because their original race affects how they look, but also because the method of becoming reborn affects this too.
Some Reborn may simply be a resurrected form of themself, but where the soul didn’t transition properly. But even this may have left them with the injuries that incurred their former death. Others may be made from stitched flesh of many different bodies while others may possess clockwork organs. It’s up to you how your Reborn state affects your appearance.
How can you become a Reborn?
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft suggests several ways you might become a Reborn:
- A magical resurrection gone wrong
- You’re made from the stitched bodies of multiple creatures, and possess their memories too
- You clawed yourself free from your grave and have only a single memory
- You were an undead creature whose memories returned
- Awoke in a laboratory surrounded by clockwork organs
- Released from petrification, but your memories and body have faded
- Your body is hostile to another spirit that replaces your missing limbs with phantasmal limbs
- You appear normal, but are filled with itchy straw
How to roleplay a Reborn
Most Reborn find themselves muddled by missing or even merged memories from multiple lives. They find themselves feeling and remembering differently from their former life.
You may find that your mood is more sombre or pensive and that your thoughts can become muddled and confused. Many Reborn seek to better understand their origins and who they are, placing together parts of memories.
Other D&D race guides
Not sure a Reborn is the right race for you? Why not check out one of our other race guides for D&D 5e.
