Dungeons & Dragons Releases Updated Unearthed Arcana for Arcane Subclasses

Dungeons & Dragons has released an updated set of Unearthed Arcana, incorporating feedback about the Arcane Subclasses released for playtesting earlier this year. Included in the new subclass is the Arcane Archer Fighter, Tattooed Warrior Monk, and the Conjurer, Transmuter, Necromancer, and Enchanter Wizard classes.

The Arcane Archer has several new features, including Magical Ammunition that can be used outside of combat and a new Arcane Burst that pushes creatures away when the Indomitable feature is used. The Tattooed Warrior Monk has also been redesigned, with magical abilities that are no longer spellcasting, along with Beast Tattoos that provide cantrips in addition to enhancing other core Monk features.

Meanwhile, the Conjurer Wizard now emphasizes summoning spells with creatures that are much more durable, the Enchanter has moved back to a subclass similar to the 2014 design, the Necromancer now has ways to summon multiple Undead creatures, and the Transmuter now has shape-shifting ability. With the Transmuter ability, the Durability option of the Transmuter's Stone is now included as a default, as that option was seen as the strongest and other options were considered far inferior.

Three other subclasses from the original playtest - two Warlock subclasses and a Cleric Domain - were not included in the new playtest.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Initial thoughts on the UA.

My initial sense is that it is a substantial improvement over the last version. They’ve clearly responded to at least some of the feedback.

Arcane Archer.

• This feels more solid overall. I love that it applies to any weapon with the ammunition property (Hello, blowgun!). Still think it should be able to bypass the loading property, but that’s in the Crossbow Expert Feat (covering crossbows, but not firearms (or blowguns)).
• Banishing Shot is still the standout, but I think a player could have fun with many of these. I’d expect most would start with Banishing and either Piercing or Seeking.

Tattooed Monk.

• While not as constrained as last time, this still feels underwhelming. Level 3 is great – Bat’s blindsight would always be my choice, probably with Crane. The higher-level tattoos don’t feel like they are offering substantial payoffs, and I might be looking for off-ramps after level 5.
• At the very least, you should be able to take one of the new options or one of the options you haven’t chosen from a previous level.

Conjuror.

• Durable Summons is the big buff now, giving THP as well as resistance to typical damage types.

Enchanter.

• Totally viable and reads like it would be fun to play, with a good range of abilities. Hypnotic Presence does what it should. This is the most coherent subclass in the package.
• Enchanting Conversationalist. Weird name. Slightly weird that you can’t get the bonus to a skill you had from your background – it has to be the new skill you’ve gained proficiency in. It’s a needlessly complex choice that could accidentally hobble some players.
• Instinctive charm can be reset with the casting of (e.g.) Command, which means it will be regularly available.

Necromancer.

• Much improved.
• Necromancy Spellbook is solid. An undead familiar is exactly right. Grim Harvest restores hitpoints to wounded minions – curiously making spells like False Life more interesting.
• Grave Power at 6 feels a little underwhelming.

Transmuter.

• Another very solid revision. I’d want to play it all the way up.
• The stone is improved (proficiency in Constitution saves!), and has some fun choices, especially for players who want passive buffs.
• When it says you can use it as a spellcasting focus, does it need to be wielded? Yes – PHB 237 says the focus must be “held”.
• Wonderous Alteration now makes a 3-level caster dip desirable for a Charisma rogue. Guaranteed advantage on Deception checks, along with Expertise, adds up quite substantially.
• Shapechanger at 10 does exactly what it should. Transform yourself into a T Rex and go adventuring. Awesome.
• Master Transmuter. A good range of options here. Restore Life comes 4 levels later than divine intervention for the Cleric, but right on point. I think the wording for “restore Youth” is still awkward (do you just “appear” younger? It’s not an illusion – your body de-ages), and I think “carry” is wrong – you get these benefits when you “hold” your stone.

 

[Selas]

My initial sense is that it is a substantial improvement over the last version. They’ve clearly responded to at least some of the feedback.

I haven't read it but from the UA article I gathered that the new team is actually considering player feedback more than in the past. I get the feeling the previous design team were being either too conservative in making changes or kinda tone deaf with feedback, and was probably a reflection of the leadership present at the time.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

I would love to play a necromancer.

 

[Zaukrie]

• Enchanting Conversationalist. Weird name. Slightly weird that you can’t get the bonus to a skill you had from your background – it has to be the new skill you’ve gained proficiency in. It’s a needlessly complex choice that could accidentally hobble some players.

agreed. I have no idea why the designers over complicate everything.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I liked the format of Player's Handbook, Player's Handbook 2, and Player's Handbook 3 from 4th edition. I'd love to see this sort of format come to 5e.

I'm a 4e lover, curious what about the format of these PHB you liked specifically? I personally was such a fan of the sources of power combined with party role being the root of the class. That's not a format / presentation approach though, that's more design.

 

[Reynard]

Yup. They are planning a Tashas/Xanathars killer.

 

[Zaukrie]

Yup. They are planning a Tashas/Xanathars killer.

I hope so! One book to rule them all.....

 

[Charlaquin]

Yup. They are planning a Tashas/Xanathars killer.

I mean, I don’t think they want to “kill” their own product. I imagine the goal will be not to fully reproduce the content of either of those books, so there’s reason to want all three.

 

[Parmandur]

I mean, I don’t think they want to “kill” their own product. I imagine the goal will be not to fully reproduce the content of either of those books, so there’s reason to want all three.

In particular, there hasn't been any testing of Tasha's content: so far we have post-Tasha's content revisited (from Van Richten's Guide), entirely new content, SCAG content revisited, 2014 PHB content revisited, and some Xanathar's content revisited.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I mean, I don’t think they want to “kill” their own product. I imagine the goal will be not to fully reproduce the content of either of those books, so there’s reason to want all three.

I think they absolutely want to replace the two existing Everything books on store shelves -- even modestly updated subclasses are a guaranteed big seller. Sales of older books taper way off over time and those 2014 book spines are going to make it clear that these are the "old" books, which will be a bigger and bigger deal as time goes on. (Witness what happened to the sales of 3E books in the 3.5 era, despite the books being at least as compatible as the 2014/2024 books. Whole third party companies went under after the transition.)

But I also think that not everything will make the jump. There's probably no saving the Twilight cleric, for instance. Either you fix it and people who play it now don't want it, or you don't fix it, and you have the internet yelling at you for not understanding game balance after years of complaints about the issue.

And a lot of the other stuff has either been subsumed into the 2024 core books (the low level magic items, for instance) or never exactly caught fire the way WotC had hoped (revised traps, downtime activities, the sidekick classes). So there will be room for new "everything" stuff in the next book as well.