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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[doctorbadwolf]

Or broad popularity of the archetypes it models.

Indeed, the rogue is easily the class least dependent on limited resources, and most dependent on situations, to maximize DPR. A good, diverse, 6-8 encounter day has a lot more to do with how it'll balance, DPR-wise, with an Action-Surging fighter or Smiting Paladin or the like.

I mean they also have survey data on actual player satisfaction with the classes, though. Insofar as we know anything about player satisfaction in 5e, we know that people are mostly satisfied with the rogue, and that it’s one of the most popular classes.

That doesn’t speak to a class that is “woefully” behind any curve.

 

[Kurotowa]

Someday I would LOVE to sit in on @CapnZapp's table because every single thing he says is true in 5e is the complete opposite at my table. Rogues are "woefully" behind? Certainly not in any game I've ever played.

They're usually one of the top damage dealers at my table, but no one in my group uses anything close to an optimized build. I think it's one of those cases where the Rogue's base performance level is quite good but they have weaker scaling options if you're piling on feats and multiclassing to really try to optimize things. It would explain why there's such variance in group experience with them.

ETA: Heck, maybe Rogue performance is in a U shape. Starts off good, goes down in comparison when feats and multiclassing come in, goes up again when really high end char-op starts getting them off-turn second Sneak Attacks.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Insofar as we know anything about player satisfaction in 5e, we know that people are mostly satisfied with the rogue, and that it’s one of the most popular classes.
That doesn’t speak to a class that is “woefully” behind any curve.

Neither does it refute it. Unpacking the reasons behind self-selected survey results about experiences with a game that can be played in as widely varied ways as D&D would be quite the exercise.

ETA: Heck, maybe Rogue performance is in a U shape. Starts off good, goes down in comparison when feats and multiclassing come in, goes up again when really high end char-op starts getting them off-turn second Sneak Attacks.

That'd be consistent with the contradictory claims we've been hearing.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Neither does it refute it. Unpacking the reasons behind self-selected survey results about experiences with a game that can be played in as widely varied ways as D&D would be quite the exercise.

That'd be consistent with the contradictory claims we've been hearing.

It does, actually. They have vastly more respondents than needed to gather good data, and the “self selection” is “people who are playing dnd”. Meanwhile the classes that are actually lacking have lower satisfaction rates, regardless of how much people like the concepts.

So yes, the popularity and satisfaction absolutely refuted the notion that the rogue is woefully behind other classes, especially when combined with the suggestion that this terrible circumstance is clear with “actual play experience”.

Obviously most peoples’ actual play experience points toward very different conclusions.

 

[Tony Vargas]

It does, actually. They have vastly more respondents than needed to gather good data, and the “self selection” is “people who are playing dnd”.

And who are presented with the opportunity to take the survey, and choose to do so. That could exclude complacent folks who are quite satisfied, or disaffected ones who are so dissatisfied they've stopped engaging.

Meanwhile the classes that are actually lacking have lower satisfaction rates, regardless of how much people like the concepts.

Again, you'd have to unpack what's causing the (dis)satisfaction before you could draw conclusions.

For instance, there could be satisfaction with the rogue being 'woefully behind' in the sense expounded upon, above, because it paints the clever/opportunistic concept well to a "real roleplayer," or because players who like playing other classes enjoy being ahead of the rogue that way, or because it's expected and feels like 'real D&D,' or even because it's a less important factor than non-combat performance, or role assumption or the like.

"It's popular, ergo the design is perfect" just doesn't hold water.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

And who are presented with the opportunity to take the survey, and choose to do so. That could exclude complacent folks who are quite satisfied, or disaffected ones who are so dissatisfied they've stopped engaging.

Again, you'd have to unpack what's causing the (dis)satisfaction before you could draw conclusions.

For instance, there could be satisfaction with the rogue being 'woefully behind' in the sense expounded upon, above, because it paints the clever/opportunistic concept well to a "real roleplayer," or because players who like playing other classes enjoy being ahead of the rogue that way, or because it's expected and feels like 'real D&D,' or even because it's a less important factor than non-combat performance, or role assumption or the like.

"It's popular, ergo the design is perfect" just doesn't hold water.

No one but you said “perfect”, Tony. Don’t put words in my mouth.

 

[Tony Vargas]

No one but you said “perfect”, Tony. Don’t put words in my mouth.

Awesome. Good. Adequate. OK. Not horribly broken. Tastes like chicken. Doesn't cause cancer.

Slot whatever you like in there. Apart from tautologies restating popularity, no conclusion is supported by 'it's popular.'

 

[Maxperson]

Never said that you always get 100% of all 10 rounds on a searing smite. I said you have the potential of it. IME most often the target ends up taking an action to douse the flames. Which I have no problem with them wasting an entire action just to deal with my bonus action 1st level spell

The point is that you get hit as well, forcing saves or lose the spell. If you're holding it for 10 rounds, you've almost surely lost the spell well before that point.

 

[Ashrym]

Divine Favor is very suboptimal unless the extra 2.5 average damage is the difference between living and dead minions, or you're caught entirely in ranged combat in which case you can't Smite. You need to hit 4 times with that spell active to barely surpass a 1st-level Divine Smite. Against a single enemy, it's even worse than Searing Smite, and I have no love for that particular Smite spell.

Bless is a great effect but requires a use of an entire action. Which means unless you cast it either in anticipation of an obvious upcoming combat encounter, or you scouted it well, or you're taking your first turn of the encounter with all enemies more than 30 feet away from you, it's better to attack + cast a bonus-action spell (which Smite spells are).

Crusader's Mantle, again takes an action to activate so same issue as Bless there. And your party needs to hit 8 times with it to surpass a 3rd-level Divine Smite, so unless your party has a Fighter ready to Action Surge and/or especially a caster ready to pop Animate Objects, it's not going to be an efficient use of your 3rd-level slot.

Elemental Weapon, at least has the hit bonus going for it, but again, generally weaker than a 3rd-level Divine Smite for the same slot.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the "longer benefits" are overrated, especially when you consider what the effect is, and often the action (as opposed to a bonus action) you have to spend to get that effect.

Wrathful Smite with its crippling frightening effect that forces an enemy to burn actions on Wisdom checks to end it, or Blinding Smite to deal just 4.5 less damage than a same-level Divine Smite while making the enemy unlikely to hit you and your party more likely to hit them, those are often much better uses of your spell slot and your action economy than the above-mentioned spells.

It doesn't matter how many attacks with divine favor it takes to match a 1st level divine smite because I can do both at the same time. What matters is how long I expect to be fighting and how many attacks I expect to be making. If I don't expect to use it I can always just use divine smite even if I've prepped divine favor.

How divine favor compares to smite spells is more important. What I'm not taking in that example is searing smite. I'd rather use the same slot for another divine smite than a searing smite, and I may or may not take divine favor (I like it on TWF pallies).

Bless includes the saving throw bonus. It's not just the attack bonus that matters there. It's a good spell to have up.

Crusader's mantle definitely works depending on number of attacks per round. Again, it doesn't matter how it compares to divine smite because I haven't given up that option. 3d8 blinding smite compared to a party of 9th+ level characters can add up number of attacks quickly for 2 rounds of combat. I can make that up in 1 round of combat working with the group because they will use abilities to take advantage of it while it's up. It doesn't have to be animate objects but that's an example of solid use of crusader's mantle. If I don't have it up I can use the slot for divine smite.

Blindness is the only thing there that looks attractive and it's an advantage / disadvantage mechanic that I can add on a long rest if it ever looks like I might need it. I don't find that happens because other members of the group run status effects. I'm just adding damage with crusader's mantle or divine smite for the same slot instead. Mostly because my ASI's have gone towards my attack ability stat and I let other characters better able to use status effects cover it.

Elemental weapon is one I would use less often but it does give the attack bonus and can target weakness to an element. It's more situational than the other options.

I can see the appeal of status effects and bonus action spells. I also see the appeal of buffs with the option to use divine smite, which happens a lot with the slots I have. I can't take everything so I make choices and those normally don't end up fitting smite spells in just for the status effects.

 

[Gladius Legis]

It doesn't matter how many attacks with divine favor it takes to match a 1st level divine smite because I can do both at the same time.

Crusader's mantle definitely works depending on number of attacks per round. Again, it doesn't matter how it compares to divine smite because I haven't given up that option.

Yes, it does matter. In both examples, they both use up the same spell slot.

In most cases, Smiting twice is going to be better, certainly than Divine Favor + Smite with 1st-level slots. And depending on party composition, if I wasn't able to prebuff (since Crusader's Mantle requires a full action), then two 3rd-level Smites can also be (and often is) better than CM + Smite.

How divine favor compares to smite spells is more important.

It doesn't compare favorably there, either.

At Lv. 1-4 it even loses to Searing Smite. SS's 1d6 on initial hit + 1d6 on failed save the first 2 rounds is better than DF's 1d4 + 1d4 1st 2 rounds. And probably have similar rates of success/failure. Not that I'd use SS at all.

DF is only slightly better 1st 2 rounds than SS if you dual-wield, since you're not getting DF the 1st round due to your off-hand attack also taking up a bonus action.

If I was going for megahit damage I'd do Thunderous Smite's 2d6 right of the bat and stick a Divine Smite on top of that hit. Frontloaded damage is a big deal in this edition and is better than damage over time like you get with DF.

Or again, compare DF to Wrathful Smite ... yeah, not even a comparison.

Bless includes the saving throw bonus. It's not just the attack bonus that matters there. It's a good spell to have up.

Yes, Bless is great. Bless also requires an action, as opposed to a bonus action. You act like that's nothing.