Dungeons & Dragons Playtests Four New Mystic-Themed Subclasses

Dungeons & Dragons has dropped their first Unearthed Arcana playtest of 2026, with four brand-new subclasses being tested. Today, Wizards of the Coast posted a Mystic Subclasses Unearthed Arcana playtest to D&D Beyond, featuring four magic-themed subclasses. The new subclasses include the Warrior of the Mystic Arts Monk subclass, the Oath of the Spellguard Paladin subclass, the Magic Stealer Rogue subclass and the Vestige Patron Warlock subclass.

The Warrior of the Mystic Arts is a spellcasting subclass that grants Monks the ability to cast Sorcerer spells up to 4th level spells. The Oath of the Spellguard is designed with protecting magic-casters in mind, while the Magic Stealer Rogue targets spellcasting and can empower their Sneak Attacks with magic stolen from nearby spellcasters. The Vestige Patron Warlock forms a bond with a dying god, with the god taking on a vestige form as a companion. The Vestige companion grows in power with the spellcaster. Notably, the Vestige Patron draws inspiration from the Binder from past editions of D&D.

There's no indication when or what this new Unearthed Arcana could be related to. There are several Unearthed Arcanas not currently attached to an announced D&D product, although two almost are certainly tied to a Dark Sun sourcebook.

You can check out the subclasses here. Feedback opens for the playtest on January 22nd.

 

[Minigiant]

is this supported in 5e lore or are we again assigning systems that no longer exist lore value that doesn't exist?

Hey.

I don't know what the heck a dying god is.

EDIT: Technically there is no Dying in 5e 2024.

 

[Zardnaar]

Where is this written?

"Immediately after a creature you can see within 30
feet of you casts a level 1+ spell, you can take a
Reaction to absorb magical energy from the spell.
When you do so, until the end of your next turn, the
next time you hit with your Sneak Attack you deal
extra Force damage. To determine the extra damage,
roll a number of d6s equal to the spell’s level, and
add them together"


The "absorb magical energy" is just the usual fluff mixed into rulestext. You do absorb magical energy from the spell yes, but the spell is not weaker in any form, you just need a spell being cast, and a reaction, to make your next attack do more magical boom.


So what this does is just that when your Wizard casts a level 3 fireball, your next sneak attack deals 3d6 more damage. With more casters in the party its better, since then chances someone uses a high level spell slot in a combat is better.

I misread it.

Ok its a bit better.

Hypothetically an order cleric with silvery barbs.......

 

[Esme_Bancroft]

I expected the term "Mystic" to refer to psionic. But it seems to be the term for a "spell caster" of any power source.

This was my first thought too.

 

[occam]

And what if they use the original cover art?

The blond woman swooning in the vampire’s arms had dark roots in her hair, and a peasant dress with a plunging neckline. She looked like she came from an MTV music video with a Gothic horror theme, made for a 1980’s hair metal band like Cinderella or Whitesnake.

Not MTV, but possibly Marvel Comics:

Although there are other possible inspirations, as mentioned here.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Not MTV, but possibly Marvel Comics:

View attachment 427481
Although there are other possible inspirations, as mentioned here.

I think they both reference the same classic movie poster.

 

[Kobold Stew]

It occurs to me that Chain Pact, by itself, is perfectly fine. Spend an invocation, get a better than standard familiar. Very worthwhile use of an invocation slot. It's Invocation of the Chain Master than fails. It tries to turn the familiar into an ongoing combat pet, but with a static non-scaling stat block it quickly fades into irrelevance. The damage isn't nothing but the HP and attack bonus are crippling.

That's fair. Investment of the Chain Master was already a bit of a hard sell; at the same time, the Pact options should be appealing beyond simply everyone taking Pact of the Blade, an I don't think this does that.

Magic Stealer (Rogue) is bizarre. The level 3 abilities might see no play at all, and it becomes totally campaign dependent. No one is playing this until level 9 in order to be able to buff an ally's casting. I would say it's not even worth re-working and should just be scrapped. Grade: F.

I am rethinking this, as I see the level 3 ability can key off an Ally's spell as well. That means that as long as there's an attack caster in the party using leveled spells (including e.g. Clerics with Spirit Guardians, that don't have specific targets at casting), you can get a damage bonus. The weird wording is just to ensure any spell in combat can count, and you don't have to target the same target that the caster did (if they did).

Drain Magic also works on allies, and can help a caster recover slots through the casting of rituals on party members. It's not pretty, but it is perhaps effective at helping some casters get beyond the 5-minute adventuring day.

I revise my grade to a B.

 

[Zardnaar]

Pact of the nothing is best pact imho.

Bladelock didnt impress me piloted by good plyer with 5.0 material. Casting spirit shroud a lot.

Probably better off with Paladin.

Theres a decent chainpactbuild mid levels but scales poorly.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Not MTV, but possibly Marvel Comics:

View attachment 427481
Although there are other possible inspirations, as mentioned here.

It is a source of endless delight to me that starting at issue 7 this vampire comic was written by a person named Marv Wolfman.

 

[Minigiant]

Where is this written?

"Immediately after a creature you can see within 30
feet of you casts a level 1+ spell, you can take a
Reaction to absorb magical energy from the spell.
When you do so, until the end of your next turn, the
next time you hit with your Sneak Attack you deal
extra Force damage. To determine the extra damage,
roll a number of d6s equal to the spell’s level, and
add them together"


The "absorb magical energy" is just the usual fluff mixed into rulestext. You do absorb magical energy from the spell yes, but the spell is not weaker in any form, you just need a spell being cast, and a reaction, to make your next attack do more magical boom.


So what this does is just that when your Wizard casts a level 3 fireball, your next sneak attack deals 3d6 more damage. With more casters in the party its better, since then chances someone uses a high level spell slot in a combat is better.

Don't you also see yourself when you cast a spell?

 

[Eyes of Nine]

It is a source of endless delight to me that starting at issue 7 this vampire comic was written by a person named Marv Wolfman.

Tomb of Dracula published by a company whose fans are known as Zombies, written by a guy named Marv Wolfman, in a thread about Mages - it's pretty much the World of Darkness singularity - just need some changelings/fae...