D&D Beyond Adds Illrigger Class from MCDM

D&D Beyond has added the Illrigger class from MCDM, marking only the second time that the service has added a third party class made for D&D 5th edition. This week, D&D Beyond launched support for the Illrigger, an elite servant of hell with a versatile number of combat options. MCDM originally released the Illrigger class back in 2021 and revised the class in 2023. Both were made for 5th Edition rules and do not incorporate rules from the 2024 Core Rulebook updates.

The illrigger is a primarily martial class that can place seals on their enemy and burn them to deal additional damage. As agents of hell, illriggers are generally evil-aligned characters, but players aren't limited to a specific alignment. The illrigger ruleset on D&D Beyond comes with 5 different subclasses, as well as 8 new spells, and 2 new magic items.

Other than the illrigger, D&D Beyond also supports the Blood Hunter, a 5E class originally designed by Matt Mercer and used in Critical Role. While the Blood Hunter was released for free, the illrigger costs $14.99 on D&D Beyond.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Strong argument! The price measures the quality. Cool!

This 7-page class costs $15 (about $2 per page). The 284-page D&D 2024 Player's Handbook costs $30, about $0.10 per page.

The 600-page Adventurer's Guide for A5E costs $50, about $0.8 per page.

So what we're agreeing here is that the MCDM illrigger class, at $2 per page is [[digs out calculator]] 20 times more playtested and iterated than the 2024 PHB and 25 times more playtested and iterated than the A5E Adventurer's Guide.

I mean, we're playing for the playtesting and iterations, right? That's what we're agreed on?

Let's not be silly. "Playtesting and iterations" are not the explanation for the price. Otherwise the PHB would cost $600.



Nobody asked for free classes. Seriously, at this point in the internet's history, strawmanning is just embarrassing. Everybody who read that winced a collective cringe. You might have gotten away with it in the early 2000s, but it's internet literacy 101 by now.

Wow! Deep breath my man. Also, not sure your economic breakdown holds up to scrutiny honestly.

You understand the principal of 'what the market bears' right? If this is overpriced, no one will buy it, and the product will disappear under the waves. I think you do... you just have another axe to grind, and this is your way of showing everyone that axe.

Justifying your position with some rage and some half-baked 'math'... if you think that's achieving something, all power to you. I don't think it is though.

Not saying you don't have an argument... but this is a, perhaps cathartic in the moment, but largely ineffectual way of getting your point across.

 

[Will Brandiman]

After watching some of the videos from the D&D Beyond team I purchased the Illrigger class. I've not had a chance to go over it with a fine tooth comb but my first impressions are generally positive. There's a lot of content for your $15 but I do still feel the price is a bit steep.

My main gripe is that it doesn't seem to have been written with the 2024 rules in mind. If you're going to release a new class shortly after the launch of a new/revised ruleset, I personally would have liked to see it more in tune with the 2024 rules. I appreciate the design period would have started long before the new rules were published but I would have preferred slightly delaying the release to allow for the work to have been updated. It's nothing major, and I think it's perfectly playable, but it just feels old when it should feel new.

Minor gripes aside, the class has a good feel to it but I do worry that there is a lot of stuff to keep track of. Seals, Interdict Boons (bit like warlock invocations), Invoke Hell (bit like Channel Divinity), Infernal Conduit dice plus any sub-class abilities (which can include spellcasting, additional uses for Invoke Hell and additional Interdict Boons, as well as other abilities). Definitely not a class for a beginner and I worry that even veteran players may find it a little daunting.

There's also the issue that the class is, pretty much by it's nature, evil. Many campaigns do not allow evil characters so there may well be problems in getting to play the class at all.

All that being said, I'm still keen to give it a whirl!

 

[Steampunkette]

My gripes with the illrigger:

1) Terrible name. Absolutely awful.
2) Terrible name for ability. "Baleful Interdiction" just say Malediction. SO pretentious.
3) DEEPLY narrow concept. Hellknights, exclusively. At least Warlocks get options.
4) 9 Subclasses to design and then you're done. One for each layer of Hell. YAWN.
5) Forked Tongue is "Instinctive" knowledge of Infernal... FOR A MEMBER OF AN ORDER OF HELLKNIGHTS. Clearly this is something you could just -learn- as part of your training to be an 'illrigger'.

Good stuff:

1) Seals are kinda cool as a concept, I like 'em. They might need to be stronger on the whole since you only get a few of them and most fights top out at 3 rounds.
2) Burning seals for damage is really good as a concept! Mechanically it's pretty underwhelming. Limited use resource dealing comparatively low damage to other unlimited resource options. Action Economy on it cannot be beat, though.

Do kinda love the idea of a Pact of the Chain/Illrigger multiclass who uses their Imp familiar to lightly poke a low-health target then add 6d6 of burning seals damage to "Drag them to Hell".

3) Combat Mastery is pretty solid design. Bravado is cool, Inexorable is OP.
4) Blood Price. Give me -anything- to expend hit dice on for benefits and you'll make me happy. Plus they've got Infernal Conduit to offset the lost healing potential? Chef's kiss.

 

[Parmandur]

My main gripe is that it doesn't seem to have been written with the 2024 rules in mind. If you're going to release a new class shortly after the launch of a new/revised ruleset, I personally would have liked to see it more in tune with the 2024 rules. I appreciate the design period would have started long before the new rules were published but I would have preferred slightly delaying the release to allow for the work to have been updated. It's nothing major, and I think it's perfectly playable, but it just feels old when it should feel new.

I mean, it was released in 2021 after playtesting since 2019, sure it feels old because it is old...?

 

[Will Brandiman]

I mean, it was released in 2021 after playtesting since 2019, sure it feels old because it is old...?

I was under the impression that this is a revised version of the earlier release?

 

[Parmandur]

I was under the impression that this is a revised version of the earlier release?

Honestly not sure that it is or isn't: if it is revised, probably only slightly.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I was under the impression that this is a revised version of the earlier release?

It is. Matt designed the first version for a player in his group then released it to patrons to check out, then the public to buy.

The version on DnD Beyond is an updated version. Matt hired a designer (Sadie Lowrie?) to take it, update it, add to it, give it to MCDM playtesters to go at.

 

[Mecheon]

Yeah, the original version of the Illrigger, while pretty popular, had a lot of balance issues

I haven't heard too many opinions on the updated one since, so I'm not fully aware how it was received

 

[Distracted DM]

The revised Illrigger came out December 2023 iirc. They definitely weren't revising it on WotC's 5e24 timetable, and I'm guessing they didn't know it'd eventually end up on DDB.

 

[Waller]

Who peed in your cornflakes this morning?

You did. You said the price was because we were "paying for all the playtesting and iterations".

And I said that wasn't true. Because counterexamples.