New D&D Unearthed Arcana Reveals Two New Subclasses for Monk and Sorcerer, Plus Revamps For Seven More

Wizards of the Coast has a new Unearthed Arcana playtest for Dungeons & Dragons, featuring revamps of seven existing Arcane-themed subclasses, plus two new subclasses. Today, Wizards of the Coast unveiled a new Arcane Subclass Unearthed Arcana, featuring the following subclasses:

• Arcana Domain Cleric
• Arcane Archer Fighter
• Hexblade Patron Warlock
• Conjurer Wizard
• Enchanter Wizard
• Necromancer Wizard
• Transmuter Wizard
• Tattooed Warrior Monk
• Ancestral Sorcery Sorcerer

Notably, the Hexblade Patron and Necromancer Wizard were both relatively high on the wishlist of many D&D players.

That Tattooed Warrior grants the Monk access to several magic tattoos with specific effects that enhance various monk abilities. The Ancestral Sorcery plays off the idea of having a powerful magical ancestor that grants them guidance and direction from beyond. Notably, the ancestral spirit has an spectral haze form and can even Frighten those around the sorcerer at higher levels.

Some of the notable changes in the UA include a revised Arcane Shot ability that comes with an Arcane Shot die used to deal extra damage that ramps up in size, the Conjurer Wizard's benign transposition starts at an earlier level as does Durable Summons, the Enchanter Wizard has some more versatile low-level options that replace Hypnotic Gaze, and the Necromancer has been wholly redesigned with an emphasis on generating temporary hit points for the wizard, their party members, and undead thralls.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Another useful consideration (in a world where AA is worth taking) is Shadow Shot.

Yep. It's not a lot of valid effects to pick from (because things you'd want certain effects to hit, are going to have good Str/Con saves), but choosing between auto-damage / put someone in jail while you drop their friends first / make someone ineffective and vulnerable is at least a choice.

 

[pukunui]

Yeah, I think the contemporary necromancer fantasy is the Diablo necromancer, with an army of skeletons. Summoning in one or two temporary undead isn't at all the same thing.

Right. Which is fine for a single player game, especially in video game format, but not so great for a team-based tabletop game.

 

[Stalker0]

on the arcane archer, if they just gave us one more reason to like int I think we could be good here. Int to initiative for example, just something that makes going hard int worth a bit more of my time, and this class can look good to me.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

on the arcane archer, if they just gave us one more reason to like int I think we could be good here. Int to initiative for example, just something that makes going hard int worth a bit more of my time, and this class can look good to me.

That, and some aggressive scaling in the abilities is needed.

Right now, lv10, your extra damage goes from +2d6 to +2d8, that'll surely take a big chunk out of the 200hp enemy. You could go 'hit tier 3, every arcane shot does double damage. tier 4, double again', and it would still barely be noticed because it's just one shot per turn.

 

[Kurotowa]

Funny enough accursed shield was one of my least favorite things about this class. No armor....so I have to have the mage armor invocation (and lets be honest I'm already using pact of the blade if I'm going this route, so that's two invocations committed for the concept)...and I have to have cursed the target, AND I have to be within 10 feet. Thats not a feature that's a gimmick.

Just say "you get a +1 AC when not using a shield" and call it a day or something.

If you break it down, Accursed Shield has two elements.

One is a conditional AC boost from being in melee range. This I am 100% in support of. The continual problem with old Hexblade (and Bladesinger too) was that it was recommended you take it for the AC boost and then play them as a standard ranged caster but with a melee caliber AC. Which was not so great for balance and against the design intent. So by making the AC boost conditional on actually being in melee, they somewhat cleverly square the circle and make is so the Hexblade only has melee level AC when they're in melee. I like it.

The other element is the "no armor" clause. Now, obviously they need to put some cap on it, so you don't multiclass and stack it with heavy or even medium armor. So the curious part is why it isn't capped at Light armor. Maybe it's for flavor. Maybe it's to really point players at the idea that Mage Armor + Bracers of Defense is available a lot earlier than +3 Studded Leather, if for a higher Invocation tax. This is the part that's a little odd, but I don't mind it too much. It's not a deal breaker for me.

Over all, the defensive package in this version of the Hexblade looks pretty good. It's just literally everything else I have issue with.

 

[Parmandur]

With the choice between Prestidigitation and Druidcraft as cantrips, I think I'd most certainly pick Prestidigitation in all cases.

Seems to me the point of giving a choice of those two Spells, in particular, is to allow Wood Elves and High Elves to be even Elfier if they choose this Subclass, which was originally a Prestige Class based on the older D&D Elf Gish.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Hmm. True Strike Rogue dipping into AA to get 5 arcane shots with 3-4 level expenditure... you'd basically be making back the lost sneak attack dice with the arcane shot dice. Make it a Thief, and you have a wand use for your bonus action, too, how's that for magic support without being a caster.

 

[GarrettKP]

The hexblade's curse is too gimmicky and clunky. They already have hex on their spell list, and they already put in that clause so you could use the two together. So just....put them together. Have the class add in some bonuses to the hex spell, and maybe give them a few free uses for day, and call it a day.

They did this, and the overwhelming response online was people hated it. So there’s no chance they go back now.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

The Tattooed Warrior Monk effectively has one good set of tats: Crane, Crescent Moon, Volcano, and Displacer Beast. Every other option is strictly inferior.

 

[Weiley31]

I personally still think the Death Domain and the Grave Domain are my go to choices for a Necromancer.