Dungeons & Dragons releases Villainous Options playtest

Wizards of the Coast has released a new playtest featuring four new "villainous" subclasses, along with two more feat paths designed to transform characters into either a lich or a death knight. Today, Wizards released a new "Villainous Options" Unearthed Arcana. The new document contains four subclasses - a Pestilence Domain Cleric, a Circle of the Titan Druid, a Hell Knight Fighter, and a Demonic Sorcerer, alongside feat paths intended to slowly transform a player character into either a lich or a death knight. While previous D&D books have brought back the concept of mini-feat trees, these villainous paths are intended to be used at every opportunity a feat can be taken.

The Pestilence Domain cleric's core ability allows it to confer exhaustion levels on opponents via use of Channel Divinity. Enemies who die while having one or more Exhaustion level can explode and inflict necrotic damage on others. The capstone ability allows the Cleric to transform into a swarm of pestilence-infused pests.

The Circle of the Titan Druid has a Wild Shape ability that transforms them into various kinds of kaiju-esque monsters, which eventually become gargantuan in size.

The Hell Knight Fighter deals extra Infernal damage that varies in type depending on the ability and eventually transforms foes into minor devils upon their death.

The Demonic Sorcerer likewise grants various kinds of sorcerer abilities Abyssal effects, culminating in the ability to summon a demon to the battlefield once per day for free.

The path feats are interesting - both culminate with a feat that can only be taken at Level 12 or higher and requires a player to have at least two other feats from the feat path. Death Knights gain a pool of Death Points that fuel various abilities, while the Lich gains a Soul Jar and eventually gains the mechanical benefits of being a lich.

The playtest is open now, with a playtest survey launching next week.

 

[Scribe]

I think this is something that can be addressed in a Session Zero.

You can have an evil campaign where the goal is to overthrow the king or raise up a temple to an evil god or something without being a bunch of transgressive edgelords. For one thing, being a bunch of obnoxious edgelords is a great way to get heroes on your tail, looking to kill you. If, instead, you seem to be like any other adventurers, but with villainous goals, you can get a lot further.

I wouldn't want to run or play in a game that was all about "ooh, look, I just kicked the head off a peasant," either. But I think with a mature group -- and a group of powerful NPCs heroes on the lookout for edgelord nonsense -- it can be done and everyone can probably have a lot of fun.

I would look at the villain comics by Mark Waid -- a guy who definitely is a big believer in Capital G Good Guys -- for how this might be done.

As I've mentioned elsewhere.

Settings I want to play in? Grimdark.
Characters I want to run in said setting? Capital G Good Paladins or amoral Barbarians with a bit of heart.

Settings I want to run, border on the weird, the whimsical, but a bit of edge because I dont run for children.
Characters I want to run for in said setting? Anything the players are up for.

So its not that I need the BoVD to be full edgelord nonsense, or that I demand being able to play Chaotic Evil asshats. In fact the worst I ever do is LE Paladins really..but I think its absolutely important that the option to be a CE asshat exists, that the BoVD is for better or worse a touchstone of this niche culture we all share, and its critical that Wizards does not come across as moralizing, patronizing busybodies by yes openly supporting the options for Evil Campaigns, and players running Evil characters.

So in that spirit, I applaud this and hope it comes with some fantastic art.

 

[Remathilis]

On the other hand, all the Subclass options can be easily run as anti-heroes, or even pretty morally neutral heroes. The Druid isn't really even partiicularly sinister.

The Titan Druids lore blurb is classic Godzilla. But the other three subclasses all provide some out for playing a morally dubious character as an antihero. The mention the pestilence cleric as a plague doctor, the hell knight as a being tricked or coerced, and abyssal sorcerer as being tainted by the Abyss. Really, not too much different than a grave cleric, hexblade or necromancer. The feat chains feel a little more purposeful though.

 

[Parmandur]

The Titan Druids lore blurb is classic Godzilla. But the other three subclasses all provide some out for playing a morally dubious character as an antihero. The mention the pestilence cleric as a plague doctor, the hell knight as a being tricked or coerced, and abyssal sorcerer as being tainted by the Abyss. Really, not too much different than a grave cleric, hexblade or necromancer. The feat chains feel a little more purposeful though.

I agree, the Paths are far more edgy, both design wise and villain-ishness. If these end up in a book with, like 8 or nine Paths with these being the edgy two...not all that Villainous in impact.

They posted a designer insight article just a bit ago, as well, and the intro blurb shows that they are definitely not going full Book of Vile Darkness here, hedging towards anti-hero with a 'Tude:

"These options encourage players to embrace their inner antiheroes and harness forces of evil, though characters who walk these paths can be of any alignment. Call on these forbidden powers—of demons and decay, titanic might, and wounding hellfire—in defense of civilization…or use them to hasten its destruction."

Designer Insights from Unearthed Arcana: Villainous Options

Embrace your inner antihero with villainous subclasses and dark paths that unleash plague, hellfire, titanic destruction, and abyssal magic in defense o...

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[Chaltab]

Hell Knight rules

I'm having trouble with this one. Thematically it's neat but mechanically it feels underwhelming and poorly worded.

The level 3 feature says that you get one Infernal Wounds Die which is a d6... which would imply that you could get more like Superiority Dice. But you don't actually expend the die. You don't get more of them and it doesn't get bigger. You expend uses of the Inflicting Infernal Wounds feature instead.

And that makes the level 10 feature incredibly weak (1d6 fire damage and burning, save for half and not burning? Seriously?)

The level 7 wounds are weak for a different reason... they last until the start of the creature's next turn. Which means that if the target goes after the fighter in initiative then that part of the feature likely does absolutely nothing.

 

[Silam]

Am very excited for the feat paths and I hope they come up with more of these (better balanced than these two though).

I think there could be three power levels or tiers of feat paths:

- Origin paths: basically what Eberron did with Dragonmarks, which have the Greater/Potent feats later. Analogous to a 2e kit. Cooler than a subclass because you get something tangible at level 1.

- Middle or regular paths: the entry point is a level 4+ feat, the capstone is level 8 or 12 or 16. Kinda like the ones they did in that UA. Akin to 3.5e prestige classes. I’m hoping most future customization options come in this flavor, rather than subclasses.

- Epic paths: starts whenever, but likely a tad higher (8, 12-ish) and the capstone is an Epic Boon. The Lich path should be one of those IMHO. Makes no sense to be a lich at level 12 in my mind. These paths could also include Archmage, Dragonking (Dark Sun), Hierophant Druid or whatever else.

Theoretically, there could be some paths that are origin all the way to epic, though that might be a bit much. Maybe for a massive 1-20th level adventure it might work, with some path options that are hooked into the theme of that adventure (e.g., like in the old Baldur’s Gate games where the main character was a son of Bhaal or something like that). Overall, I’m not necessarily hoping for that, but it could work. I think the above three "shorter paths" are better though.

 

[DeviousQuail]

L10: Primal Havoc. Get bigger. Power fantasy but no mechanics.

The level 10 features Rampager, Toxic Stench, and Hive Mind are in the stat blocks instead of the subclass.

 

[Marandahir]

FINALLY can play Chapter Black / Three Kings UU
Been wanting Demonic Atavism Sorcerer since D&D Next.

Next hoping for a Vampiric Magic Sorcerer (Vryloka from Heroes of Shadow)…


The two feat trees here essentially reintroduce Paragon Paths / Prestige Classes. We had Lv1+ Origin Feats, Lv4+ Feats (Heroic Tier), and Lv19+ Boon Feats (Epic Tier), but now we've got Lv12+ Feats (Paragon Tier).

I'd like to see a bit more of this concept fleshed out throughout 5.5e. I think there's a lot of design conceptual space for feat trees, as long as they're not feat taxes and there's multiple branching options for different play styles. Reminds me of the D&D Next promise of various bells and levers and whistles and plug-ins, etc.

 

[DeviousQuail]

Druid is one of my favorite classes and I feel like the Titan is pretty solid. The spells are thematic, the stat blocks and size changes are fun, and it gives multiple uses for spell slots in kaiju form. My only want is making the Titan Appearance mechanical and not just flavor. They don't need to be crazy or scale much. Like chitinous horns grants 1d10 instead of 1d8 rend damage, many tentacled let's you grapple an additional creature, multiple heads gives advantage on perception, etc.

 

[Kurotowa]

Druid is one of my favorite classes and I feel like the Titan is pretty solid. The spells are thematic, the stat blocks and size changes are fun, and it gives multiple uses for spell slots in kaiju form. My only want is making the Titan Appearance mechanical and not just flavor. They don't need to be crazy or scale much. Like chitinous horns grants 1d10 instead of 1d8 rend damage, many tentacled let's you grapple an additional creature, multiple heads gives advantage on perception, etc.

I don't know. That feels both limiting in how you can flavor your form, and minmaxable if you've got the ability to assemble the power suite you want. I kind of like how it is now. Pick from the three forms, flavor it however you want within the mechanics, done.

Of the options in this UA, as they stand, the Titan Druid is the only one that's really caught my imagination. I'm picturing a Lizardfolk Druid who goes from a scrawny normal form to a brawny mini-Godzilla Behemoth form. You know, steal a few notes from The Incredible Hulk, mixed with using Atomic Incandescent Breath to blast down castle walls.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

My need for symmetry wants the third titan form to be called a Ziz.