This week brings the release of
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything and with it, the giddy anticipation of Christmas Eve for Dungeons & Dragons fans. Wizards of the Coast has kept a pretty tight grip on new player options in Fifth Edition, making any time a bunch of them roll out something of an event. I’m going through each class to pick my favorite options out of each class through my very unscientific method of what I would probably play first. It might be a mechanical thing, a flavor thing or a game designer thing.
One broad note on that front; as a game designer, I am very happy that these options have been out as part of the Unearthed Arcana series. The early releases let a massive pool of playtesters provide feedback and give the designers a second chance if their first attempt is weak. It’s very tempting to hold things back to preserve a sense of surprise for a big release like this but I would rather have better versions of things we’ve seen before than brand new stuff that hasn’t been tested.
Artificer
The full artificer class makes its debut here in
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. It’s a great addition for those worlds that want a little bit of crafting or steampunk elements in them. For those folks who already own
Eberron: Rising From the Last War, there’s one subclass that’s completely new here.
The Armorer lets players get their Iron Man on, complete with two versions within the subclass: the front line Guardian or the run and fun Infiltrator.
Barbarian
Any time an option offers a little more chaos on the battlefield, I am into it. The
Path of Wild Magic gives barbarians a pocket version of the Sorcerer's Wild Magic table and lets them roll on it whenever they activate their rage. Given how often these players might be rolling on this table, I might be tempted to come up with a bigger one for fun.
Bard
The College of Eloquence first appeared in
Mythic Odysseys of Theros and offers a solid choice for players who want to talk their way out of (or into) trouble. I really like the
College of Creation though as the type of D&D class where a player creates a solution to a problem that the Dungeon Master never expects. It’s one that can be rethemed depending on the world. Want to outspook Blinsky in Ravenloft with your own creepy toys? This college may be for you.
Cleric
The
Peace domain offers an interesting idea for a pacifist-type character in a game chock full of fighting. Don’t worry, it still offers bonuses for attacks and healing, complete with an ability for peace bonded members of the team to jump in and take big hits for each other.
Druid
I like that the
Circle of Stars really stretches the Druid concept beyond plant and animal magic. It’s a circle that takes “we are made of stars” literally. They get constellation based forms to add to their Wild Shape choices (which seem ripe for customization based on the world) and also grab a little oracle/divination flavor with their ability to affect attack rolls for allies or enemies.
Fighter
The Fighter section has a lot of stuff for battle masters in its section including a fighting style that opens up battle master maneuvers to other subclasses. The Psi Warrior is our first taste of the psychic subclasses scattered throughout the book, but I ultimately preferred the
Rune Knight because of its versatility with rune choices and because you can eventually embiggen like a Power Rangers monster.
Monk
Monks and medicine go together like peanut butter and chocolate. I like that
Way of Mercy gives monks some healing tech to further push out party composition from needing a healer. I love that it's compatible with Flurry of Blows so the monk can still kick but while healing a party member in the same turn.
Paladin
Our second reprint from
Mythic Odysseys of Theros appears here but this time I prefer it. The
Oath of Glory feels like a quintessential paladin path; a little self-centered, but also a fantastic choice for someone who wants to play the party leader. I don’t know if we’ll ever get the warlord back in 5e, but this path seems like a nod in that classic Shouty Man direction.
Ranger
The expanded class features are the big news for this class, but I’ll let the arguments for those play out in the comments. Instead, I would be very happy to play a
Swarmkeeper with whatever tiny creatures I can imagine. Birds and bees are a good starting point, but there are a lot of creatures that could fit this particular build well.
Rogue
Do I want to be The Crow or Psylocke? The Phantom offers some creepy death and spirit sub theming which always appeals to me. But the
Soulknife lets me stab people with my brain. The Psychic Energy dice also offer a little bit of that bardic/battlemaster dice pool versatility.
Sorcerer
The psychic subclasses are on a hot streak as I really enjoyed the
Aberrant Mind. It feels like the closest we’re going to get to a full on psion class until they come out with a 5e setting where psionics are a major focus like Dark Sun.
Warlock
The Genie offers an interesting take on the usual power dynamic in this class. It seems more symbiotic than the patron lording over the warlock. Unofficial patrons have explored this space and it's interesting to see official books do the same.
Wizard
We end with a tough choice between the very popular Bladesingers and the Order of Scribes. Ultimately, I liked the
Order of Scribes more because of the narrative element of a magic pen. Being able to touch a pen to a page and fill it with words appeals to me as a writer, creating scrolls sounds cool as a player, and being able to quote that one sketch from The Kids In The Hall constantly seems deadly to my Dungeon Master.
