[RPG] Which version of the Squat Nimbleness feat is correct

dnd-5efeatsunearthed-arcana

I recently discovered Squat Nimbleness and thought that it would be a great feat, as I am playing a goblin.

I ran into some problems, however. I noticed in the Unearthed Arcana official PDF for racial feats that says it is only for dwarfs, gnomes, or halflings (boo).

But I found a conflicting source. In Xanathar's Guide to Everything, it says that the prerequisite is for you to be a dwarf or a Small race (yay!).

Furthermore, the feats themselves are a bit different on the sources. In Xanathar's, it states that I would have advantage on escaping grapple checks, and get proficiency in Athletics or Acrobatics. In the Unearthed Arcana racial feat PDF, it says that I could gain the Acrobatics or Athletics, and if I am already proficient, then double the proficiency.

Overall I'm a bit confused about which feat is correct, or if I can even take it.
Which of these versions is the correct one?

Best Answer

One is an official published version and the other a rough draft

Unearthed Arcana is WotC's way of playtesting material before potential publishing. You can use it, but it is always considered to be in "rough draft" form until it is published. Sometimes UA material never makes it out of UA playtesting, but when it does, it is often changed to a lesser or greater degree in the published form.

So what happened was that they published the feat Squat Nimbleness in UA first, did playtesting and received feedback then changed it and published it in XGtE.

You can still use either version (pending DM approval for using UA material), but the version in XGtE is considered the official published version and likely is the better one to use at most tables.

So, officially, your goblin character does meet the qualifications for the feat being that it is a Small race. And the updated effects listed in the XGtE should be the one you use unless you and your DM agree that there are overriding benefits to using the UA version.