Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana: Mages of Strixhaven

An Unearthed Arcana playtest document for the upcoming Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos hardcover has been released by WotC!

"Become a student of magic in this installment of Unearthed Arcana! This playtest document presents five subclasses for Dungeons & Dragons. Each of these subclasses allows you to play a mage associated with one of the five colleges of Strixhaven, a university of magic. These subclasses are special, with each one being available to more than one class."

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It's 9 pages, and contains five subclasses, one for each the Strixhaven colleges:

• Lorehold College, dedicated to the pursuit of history by conversing with ancient spirits and understanding the whims of time itself
• Prismari College, dedicated to the visual and performing arts and bolstered with the power of the elements
• Quandrix College, dedicated to the study and manipulation of nature’s core mathematic principles
• Silverquill College, dedicated to the magic of words, whether encouraging speeches that uplift allies or piercing wit that derides foes
• Witherbloom College, dedicated to the alchemy of life and death and harnessing the devastating energies of both

 

[Micah Sweet]

If the devil didn’t make his deals seem to favor the other party significantly more than it did him, no reasonable, well-meaning person would ever take them. Nah, he’s a sneaky bastard who will make you think you’re getting something for nothing, until you’re in deep enough that he can extract the real price without scaring you away.

But would that price be? Per the rules, he can't actually do anything.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Why do you need a particular class chassis for a Faustian bargain to be a significant part of a story.

You don't, but you also can't pretend that at least the Fiend patron is directly using that story in the lore. They just dont back it up.

 

[TwoSix]

And I get that, for folks who just want to focus on the mechanics of the warlock and to get on with Eldritch Blasting everything into a fine powder, that's great, but if the fluff is in there, it ought to matter.

Don't forget the option where I replace the PHB fluff with new, better fluff more fitting to the character or campaign.

But this is really a group-level decision. Either you are cool with your DM going off-book in D&D (in other words, you trust your DM to not screw you by breaking the rules) or you'd rather they not. I don't know that anyone is going to convince someone who feels differently than them to change their point of view.

A DM I can't trust is one that forces a warlock patron or paladin oath on me when my concept explicitly pushes in another direction. A DM who doesn't trust me to reskin appropriately to fit the setting is one I don't want to play with.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Also one of 4e’s best books.

We’re they? I had a Slayer and a PHB fighter in the same party and there was no issues of any kind.

I’ve never understood this. Isn’t one of the most common tropes with characters who have made a such a deal going against their patron and directly defying them and fighting their agents?

Why even play a warlock if it requires actual loyalty to the patron? That’s a cleric!

If I play a fiend warlock, I’m here to play Spawn (well, not exactly, since I’m not an edge lord, but you get the notion I’m sure) not some guy who is going to actually do what Asmodeus wants.

The 4e fighter and the slayer both fulfill the same narrative role with different mechanics. That's not a meaningless distinction, even if they are compatible.

Clerics can do anything they want, just like warlocks. Gods can't take away the power they grant in 5e any more than patrons can.

If you aren't going to do what the patron wants, and they can't stop you, why did they make the deal in the first place?

 

[Yaarel]

Actually, the Warlock flavor is fine with dumping your Patron and choosing a new one.

Players Handbook. Classes. Warlock. 105.

"More often, though, the arrangement is similar to that between a master and an apprentice."

A person can, of course, dump a teacher, and get a new teacher.

 

[Yaarel]

Depending on what or who is the "patron", the DM can (and should) request to the player to do something for the patron, as a hook for an adventure.

However, the player doesnt have to do it if the player doesnt want to.

It might even be, the patron tells the Warlock to go find somebody else to teach them magic. And the player can do this without any kind of mechanical punishment whatsoever. The character wont lose levels or features or anything. And will continue to level normally.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

So how are people feeling about these subclasses just giving you the subclass spells and not counting against your spells know as a warlock? Isn't it rather unfair compared to all other warlock subclasses who don't get that?

I always gave out the pact spells as spells known anyways, so its in line w my house rule at least lol.

 

[TwoSix]

If you aren't going to do what the patron wants, and they can't stop you, why did they make the deal in the first place?

Of course they can stop you. It's just not fun to have them cut the power like a light switch. Turning against the patron simply turns them into an antagonist (something the game always needs, and antagonists driven by the PC's dramatic needs are always more interesting) or into a metaphysical threat (now the warlock's soul is damned when they die, or something with narrative consequences but not mechanical ones).

 

[Cadence]

Depending on what or who is the "patron", the DM can (and should) request to the player to do something for the patron, as a hook for an adventure.

However, the player doesnt have to do it if the player doesnt want to.

And presumably the patron doesn't give them the benefits of the pact when they level? (At least all of the ones explicitly labeled as coming from loyal service).

It might even be, the patron tells the Warlock to go find somebody else to teach them magic. And the player can do this without any kind of mechanical punishment whatsoever. The character wont lose levels or features or anything. And will continue to level normally.

Assuming the player can work something out with the DM about the new patron (like they were supposed to for the original)?

 

[Micah Sweet]

The Warlock can vote for a different Patron.

Heh, it sure has support in the actual mechanics.

Unfortunately, I cannot disagree.