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.

 

[saviirkad]

You can do double damage to buildings and are not slowed down by rubble. I am pretty sure you can use them out of combat if no-one shows up to stop the rampage as well.

Just to reiterate, I was not saying there is no non-combat usage.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

And another thing, if our Types are changing to Undead via these paths, that means WoTC needs to get comfortable with like the negative downsides to pursuing these paths. Undead can't exactly benefit from healing per se(easy fix since playable constructs have that clause that lets a small number of healing spells affect em).

Cure Wounds, Healing Word and Heal do not have the restriction about undead, I just looked at them in the PHB.

They brought up that point when they mentioned the Warlock could have a skeleton familiar, and that it could be healed by those spells.

 

[Weiley31]

The Hell Knight Fighter seems like a toned down version of the Illrigger without all the cool options that make that class fun. Playing an "evil" character in a world of good is a lot of fun. Fighting on the side of good against Evil A because it furthers the goals of the Evil B you serve.

Hmmmm, I like the idea of an MCDN Illrigger PC and taking the Death Knight line of this UA feat chain.
We even get the unholy paladin nich there by getting Wrathful Smite added to the kit.

Ya know what, yeeeah I'm feeling that Illrigger+Death Knight feat chain.

 

[Weiley31]

The Hell Knight Fighter seems like a toned down version of the Illrigger without all the cool options that make that class fun. Playing an "evil" character in a world of good is a lot of fun. Fighting on the side of good against Evil A because it furthers the goals of the Evil B you serve.

I like that they included some narrative requirements for the DK and Lich paths. Though I can easily see players just passing over them and taking the feat as part of the level-up process without any actual action taken in-game to do so (other than gaining levels). "Oh yeah I'm level 16 and now am a lich." "What? You didn't do anything to get it!" "I took the feats."

On the other hand - Hell Knight to Death Knight is a really obvious progression, and the subclass certainly qualifies as making a deal with an evil entity.

Here's another villainous option I could see them rolling out: use the feat path system to let players become Athasian Dragons if they are truly working on a Dark Sun book

Again, I still think the idea of these Feat Chains/Pathes being specific faction awards after reaching certain levels of Renown would be a FANTASTIC WAY of doing it while ALSO fulfilling such Narrative requirements for em. Lich would work for stuff like Red Wizards given who runs the show there and Tiamat/Cult of Dragons could have stuff like Lich Dragonborn PCs.

 

[Mistwell]

Pretty sure the term predates Paizo by a long way. Probably predates D&D too.

Well it was definitely a named thing in Doom 2 from 1994, and then in Diablo 1 in 1997.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The thing here is that although the Titans are niche outside combat (there are uses for turning into giant flying monsters that are strong enough to carry people and giant siege attackers) this is a druid; it has wild shape, familiars, and one of the best out of combat spell lists. When a fighter or barbarian subclass has basically no use out of combat I'm going to pass but I don't mind it so much for druids.

And the titan can cast a selection of spells and spell like special abilities whist shifted. Certainly if you just punch you are wasting it, but its emanations are massive. The bug titan can do AoE cure wounds covering an area of 96 grid squares at a cost of one first level slot.

 

[Scribe]

WoTC needs to get comfortable with like the negative downsides to pursuing these paths. Undead can't exactly benefit from healing per se(easy fix since playable constructs have that clause that lets a small number of healing spells affect em).

Yes, trade offs, consequences, that's how things should work.

 

[Neonchameleon]

And the titan can cast a selection of spells and spell like special abilities whist shifted. Certainly if you just punch you are wasting it, but its emanations are massive. The bug titan can do AoE cure wounds covering an area of 96 grid squares at a cost of one first level slot.

Of course the AoE Cure Wounds main purpose is if you have multiple people in the party on 0hp; it's no more spell slot efficient than simply casting Cure Wounds. But for getting people from 0 to 1hp it can be really good.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Of course the AoE Cure Wounds main purpose is if you have multiple people in the party on 0hp; it's no more spell slot efficient than simply casting Cure Wounds. But for getting people from 0 to 1hp it can be really good.

March into battle surrounded by an army of low level NPCs.

And the other forms have huge AoEs that can devastate enemy minions by the hundreds. The behemoth’s trample ability is particularly open to abuse.

And that’s before you persuade your DM that your giant ape can wield a tree trunk and throw goblins for miles.

 

[Kurotowa]

Regarding Titan Druid AC, people are pointing out there's a work around. Since the Titan form gets its Dex set equal to Wis, if you have an alternative AC calculation available it's often going to be better.

The all in route is to dip a level of Monk for Unarmored Defense. That gets you AC 20, but at the cost of a multiclass level that offers very little else. The more tempered route is to get Mage Armor from Magic Initiate or an Enspelled Staff, or just from another party member. That gets you AC 18 for a much lower investment.

If you're dead set on being a frontline brawler, there's ways to make it happen. And even if you're not, Mage Armor is +5 AC for Insectoid Form, which is nothing to sneeze at.