Unearthed Arcana New UA: 43 D&D Class Feature Variants

The latest Unearthed Arcana is a big 13-page document! “Every character class in D&D has features, and every class gets one or more class feature variants in today’s Unearthed Arcana! These variants replace or enhance a class’s normal features, giving you new ways to enjoy your character’s class.”

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[Salthorae]

Maybe we need to move this to its own tread?

It already is to a degree: 5E - UA Spell Versatility: A deeper dive

 

[Tony Vargas]

But in the case of the sorcerer, long term stability really helps to keep the flavor that magic is part of your being -a natural and core part of our being-. It doesn't have to be that you are locked in forever, but change slowly enough perhaps.

It's not just the flavor of the D&D sorcerer that having somewhat consistent supernatural powers from day to day models well - it's the flavor of just about every other character from genre with supernatural powers, however they ended up with them. They might add to or discover or develop new ones or new ways to use them, but the whole "swapping out" thing is kinda an outlier.

Why not have it be a single spell known that you can change every day?

Like a wildcard? Sure. That way you have some flexibility, but you're not completely changing the identity you've established for your magic over a matter of days.

 

[Garthanos]

It's not just the flavor of the D&D sorcerer that having somewhat consistent supernatural powers from day to day models well - it's the flavor of just about every other character from genre with supernatural powers, however they ended up with them. They might add to or discover or develop new ones or new ways to use them, but the whole "swapping out" thing is kinda an outlier.

Yeh but myth and legend did sometimes tie some of that to scavenging the right ingredients which if you used them they needed replenished. One could argue using the 4e ritual system for all magic use if you want authentic.

 

[OB1]

Like a wildcard? Sure. That way you have some flexibility, but you're not completely changing the identity you've established for your magic over a matter of days.

Wildcard is a great name for it!
I suggest getting a number of those equal to 1/2 proficiency and allowing only one to be over 5th level.

I love the idea of some daily flexibility to go along with a solid set of more permanent ones.

 

[MoonSong]

Yeh but myth and legend did sometimes tie some of that to scavenging the right ingredients which if you used them they needed replenished. One could argue using the 4e ritual system for all magic use if you want authentic.

That's a separate tradition more in line with the wizard...

 

[Garthanos]

That's a separate tradition more in line with the wizard...

Well the closest I I have found to the D&D flash bang magic were Celtic Sorcerer references and it was treated as a profession among the Tuatha. And seemed largely for affecting enemy troops with rituals but they had some who were of a different measure with abilities like Spin about three times and vanish... or transform in to an animal.

 

[Garthanos]

Throw your spear and it becomes a lightning bolt...

 

[gyor]

Some folks have concerns about Versatile Spells for Sorcerer thematically, so how about versatile Metamagic. Instead of trading a spell known during a long rest, they trade a metamagic for a different metamagic?

 

[Ashrym]

Throw your spear and it becomes a lightning bolt...

So the 3rd-level ranger spell?

 

[Garthanos]

So the 3rd-level ranger spell?

The common references to Mythic Lightning tossing often described as things like Lughs spear a hungry flaming spear that leaped from enemy to enemy on the battle field