Unearthed Arcana Revived, Noble Genie and Archivist Revisited in UA

The latest Unearthed Arcana replaces the Revived, Noble Genie, and Archivist subclasses with new versions called the Phantom, the Genie, and the Order of Scribes.

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[Fenris-77]

It’s not the mythological inconsistency that gets me, it’s the fact that they’re just different spellings of the same word. It’s like if faerie was a type of fairy.

That's what sidhe said.

 

[phantomK9]

This is one of the view UA where I like all the presented material.
Phantom seems a bit weak, the extra sneak attack should be done each turn. It tracks with most other rogue classes where they get an alternate way to use sneak attack.

Honestly though, each new Wizard subclass really makes me think that the Wizard should have a two factor level choice like the Warlock, and others. One factor the Wizard path, and the 2nd factor school of specialization (or generalist).

 

[Charlaquin]

That sort of thing is all over D&D, though: Dueregar and Drow are both literally just a variant of the word "Dwarf" and it doesn't end there...

Right, but all three of those are different words. Genie is just an anglicized spelling of Djinni.

 

[RSIxidor]

The Phantom's flavor is incredible, this is much more interesting than the previous subclass idea. However, I want the flavor of Tokens of the Damned (which is the most interesting part of the subclass) at level 3. I want everything to be tied to that concept because it is rad as heck. It oozes in flavor. And optionally using the tokens again in a later feature is a nice touch. I really enjoy seeing these alternate ways to regain abilities outside of resting. I don't love Wail from the Grave but I can't put my finger on exactly why just yet. Might be the limited

Genie is fine if not that interesting to me. The ability to do 10 minute short rest once a day with bonus healing is pretty good, should be reasonably easy to find ways to keep the item out of harm's way in most situations. The other features are mechanically strong. Wish they had an option for Dao damage/resistance that was as useful as the other damage types.

Scribe is pretty neat. I love the spellbook being focused on. Damage flexibility being based on what's in your spellbook is pretty cool. Quick ritual once a day is useful enough (basically a bonus spell slot with conditions). Then they get another limited bonus slot at level 6. One with the Word is an incredibly cool feature. I think there's room for this and the Archivist, they just need to iron the artificer subclass out a bit.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Right, but all three of those are different words. Genie is just an anglicized spelling of Djinni.

No, Drow and Duergar are literally the same word, they're just different anglicizations of it. D&D is absolutely chock-full of this. Objecting only to Djinn/Genie seems pretty weird.

Also now I have Jean Genie stuck in my head so THANKS! Could be worse I guess.

 

[Parmandur]

I can't see WotC skipping the opportunity to give us a Sigil gazeteer, even if the book isn't called Planescape. (Spoiler: It won't be called Planescape.)

I would wager that when they go there wh

Right, but all three of those are different words. Genie is just an anglicized spelling of Djinni.

That's D&D, yup.

 

[Fenris-77]

No, Drow and Duergar are literally the same word, they're just different anglicizations of it. D&D is absolutely chock-full of this. Objecting only to Djinn/Genie seems pretty weird.

Huh, I thought Drow came from trow, which is a cognate of troll in some celtic dialect. Duergar comes from the Old Norse Dvergr, or dwarf. Is there a cognate farther back that connect the two? There's solid etymology for Duergar, but not so much for Drow, at least that I can dig up on short notice.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

This is one of the few recent UA that I am not upset with any of the subclasses.

 

[Blue]

Also, has anyone noticed how many features key off your proficiency bonus in this UA? Things like the amount of damage done, uses/day, etc. That seems to be a newer direction than we've seen previously. I don't hate it, but I'm wondering if that's a shift in their design philosophy. It makes the features friendlier to MAD characters.

I had noticed this and was wondering it myself. the first place I came across it was in the Phantom, where it was already giving half SA - which increases from rogue levels. So I was like "okay, if you stay rogue it's exponential, but it still grows even if you multiclass". But then I saw it in other places.

In general, I'm fine with it. But I think it needs to be kept away from low level subclass features that can be cherry picked and then grow forever. To bring an example of this in existing play, Warlock 2 on a CHR-based character for a strong ranged attack, since as a cantrip EB grows with character level, and the way it grows with Agonizing Blast invocation makes it the most powerful direct damage cantrip.

 

[Chaosmancer]

No to both. Genie's Wrath activates "Once during each of your turns when you hit with an attack roll", not on every attack. Then Sanctuary Vessel specifies that "everyone is ejected if you leave".

I caught the wrath, missed the sanctuary.

Well, boo for my fun idea, but it is much better that way (I'm totally going to have an NPC do it anyways)

Wish they had an option for Dao damage/resistance that was as useful as the other damage types.

Really? I think it is far more useful than Thunder from the Djinn. Obviously Cold and Fire share the problem they always have (I'd love to have fire resistance, but I don't like fire damage) but getting Bludgeoning is kind of unique and I could see it coming up quite a bit.