Unearthed Arcana Cast your guess for upcoming Unearthed Arcana

[Li Shenron]

The Unearthed Arcana article for September is probably just behind the corner...

So far in the UA column we have seen articles about:

- Eberron fantasy setting
- Mass combat rules
- Class customization guidelines
- Seafaring character options
- Vitality points (plus a couple more minor variant rules)
- Psionics
- Modern campaigns

What is your guess for the topic of the next UA article(s)?

With the new demon-based storyline kicking off this month, we might get an article about madness rules or horror campaigns, but on the other hand it might be too late for that considering that UA articles also serve the purpose of gathering feedback.

So which topics do you think are likely to be covered by UA for the rest of the 2015 year?

 

[CapnZapp]

Madness as described by the DMG is already used and expanded upon by the Abyss, so you're right: I don't think that subject will come up now. If anything, it needed to come up 6-8 months ago.

 

[pukunui]

I'm hoping that there'll be another DM-focused Unearthed Arcana with some more monster templates and the like in it. That would be sweet as.

 

[Evenglare]

I'd be super happy if they did some Dragonlance stuff. Orders of Wizards, Knightly Orders.... etc. Also Kender race and possibly Irda? Im not holding my breath but I would really like to see it. Wouldn't mind some Dark Sun rules either. Apart from campaign settings... I would LOVE some ideas for a prehistoric campaign. Making weapons out of bone and eventually rare metals, possibly some Dino stuff (yes I know humans didn't live with dinos but this is D&D we are talking about here. ) I'd also like to see older prestige classes return as Feats. I really loved the idea of doing that with the Arcane Archer but for whatever reason they removed it from the actual game...

 

[ccooke]

I'm actually really interested in the 5e Modern articles - but since the last one was in that series (I hope it continues to be a series, at least!), I doubt we'll see another for a while.

I think what would be really useful sometime soon is recreating a couple of monsters in 5e and working through the CR calculation for them. I'm finding it a pretty good way to build monsters, but more material for advice is a good thing.

In terms of templates, it's also worth remembering that there actually are many templates in the Monster Manual - of a sort. The NPC statblocks work very much like a template. You can get a huge amount of variation in creatures if you take an NPC statblock, apply the relevant racial modifiers (There's a handy table in the DMG) and tweak the equipment to suit the new creature. This is why on Saturday I threw eight hobgoblin scouts and a hobgoblin captain (all mounted on warhorses) at my players. It made for a very nicely balanced fight with some interesting tactics - the hobgoblin martial advantage meant that as long as one of them engaged an enemy, all the rest could attack with higher damage... and even when the melee hobgoblin died, its horse would continue fighting for a bit due to its training.

 

[dracomilan]

I would love:
- more options for tactical combats, maybe with a gladiator fighter subclass (for Dark Sun)
- regency rules for Birthright, that we can use with the mass combat module
- spelljamming rules, Scro and Giffs for Spelljammer

 

[Paraxis]

I am expecting an article soon about extreme environments.

So underwater, frozen wastelands, darksun like silt seas, stuff like that. My reasoning is you can use it to test all kinds of material from sea elves, arctic dwarves, harpoons and snow shoes, new subclasses based around survival or primal environments and so on.

I would love second eberron UA article, updates to the last one, expanded psionics, flying ships and lightning rails.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Prestige classes would rock

 

[Jester David]

Nothing. Due to Labour Day and still catching up from being away at PAX the week before.

 

[ccooke]

Prestige classes would rock

Hmm. What do you see prestige classes giving to 5e that the base classes don't? That is, I'm curious what you think a 3e-style prestige class would give that - say - new options for a base class would not. IIRC, you have quite a different preferred style to me, though, so maybe it's a taste thing I don't get?

The design space for prestige classes in 3e seemed to exist to fill two different goals - to make for more flexible character design (that is, to allow 3e character building to reach a larger proportion of the notional many-dimensional space that is "Possible character ideas") and to allow for personal character growth by tying them in to the world, into some organisation, or into a particular character arc.

I loved the concept of prestige classes in 3e, but I think there are reasons not to use them in 5e:

* Character gen in 5e is already vastly more flexible than it was in 3e. Yes, there's a fraction of the material available, but you can already reach exponentially more character concepts with the 5e PHB alone than you could with 3e and the core splat books. What's more, you can reach them at a lower level. There are dozens of concepts I've played in 3e that only really reach the shape of the character I wanted to play around levels 6-8 (or in one particular case, level 11). In every case, the core concept I wanted to play is possible to create at level 1-2 in 5e. I think 5e would be better served by more non-prestige character options - new feats, new martial archetypes, new subclasses, etc than a new type of classes.

* 5e already has a better way to tie people in to the world, organisations, character arcs, etc. I've been handing out bonds and background features to characters at appropriate points. In general, I'm allowing any character to create a new bond for themselves to some organisation, concept, people, whatever. I will then (if the situation warrants it) give the character a relevant background feature. Sometimes I work it the other way around - for instance, the entire party in one game are about to be knighted for services rendered. They will (if they don't already have it (none of this party do)) gain the Noble background feature. They will then have the option to add a bond to their character.

What do you think? Am I missing some core piece of what prestige classes do to your game?