Unearthed Arcana New UA: 43 D&D Class Feature Variants

The latest Unearthed Arcana is a big 13-page document! “Every character class in D&D has features, and every class gets one or more class feature variants in today’s Unearthed Arcana! These variants replace or enhance a class’s normal features, giving you new ways to enjoy your character’s class.”

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[Parmandur]

I believe what you're saying is that the knife-fighter, stabbing & throwing lots of daggers around, wasn't always well-supported in D&D, which is true, to an extent - it didn't start working in AD&D until weapon specialization came into, and it didn't start working in 5e until just now. But, in-between, 2e, 3e, & 4e, it worked quite well out of the box, in 3e, admittedly, with a fair bit of optimization to concept.

It is a common/familiar archetype, however.

It is not an unheard-of archetype, but it is not a huge one.

 

[Weiley31]

Honestly I like ALOT of the ideas. Spellbook Versatility just seems wicked cool and the Sorcerer being able to change a Fireball's damage type via their Spell Points really helps out against damage immunities.

Blessed Warrior fighting style seems like a MUST for Paladins.

Rangers got ALOT a love. And I love the bit of lore bout the Lineage of Primal Beasts.(also then Owl was dethroned from OP animal companion as ALL Beasts of The Air get Flyby now.)

Honestly, even though I'm going to be DMing/playing DnD for the first time, I'm probably gonna allow this UA ruleset from the start.

 

[Salthorae]

So your point is... "Git gud"?

Not sure what you're saying here, so maybe?

 

[BookBarbarian]

Yeah, those darn spell attack and DC modifiers get me every time with my EK's!

Mine almost never do since I'm typically looking to Haste or otherwise buff myself and Booming Blade, then hit again as a bonus action, and cast Shield liberally.

 

[Kurotowa]

To be fair, theme and flavor are not really "nonsense objections" to those who find those things important.

Okay, let me clarify. Theme and flavor are nonsense objections in this specific case. I'm in full agreement that they're important design goals that should be respected. I just don't think letting Known Spell classes have more freedom of spell selection impacts them. That ship already sailed when the 5e Wizard stole most of the good toys from the 3e Sorcerer.

 

[Salthorae]

Okay, let me clarify. Theme and flavor are nonsense objections in this specific case. I'm in full agreement that they're important design goals that should be respected. I just don't think letting Known Spell classes have more freedom of spell selection impacts them. That ship already sailed when the 5e Wizard stole most of the good toys from the 3e Sorcerer.

I mean 5e sorcerers did steal all the Wizard's fun metamagic toys for themselves at the same time., so... it's not like Wizards only won in the edition shift.

I do think that letting limited spells known classes have daily freedom of spell selection does impact both the theme and flavor of those classes.

They can already swap out on a level up so it's not like they have zero flexibility in spell selection.

 

[Kurotowa]

I would prefer having a handful more spells known for a sorcerer, but I like the locked-in nature of the class and having only level up swaps.

It makes you really think about your spells, their selection and whether you want to spend a spell known on something that is more broadly usable or something that is keyed into your concept/theme in some way.

That's great. You do you. But not everyone enjoys playing that way. Not everyone has the system mastery to do it well, either. And for that matter not every campaign play style is conducive to it. So it's a good thing these are being presented as optional variants, isn't it? You can keep playing on restricted hard mode, along with anyone who enjoys it as well, and those of us who drool eagerly at the thought of having a fraction of the spell flexibility of a Cleric or Wizard can use the new option.

 

[PsyzhranV2]

Not sure what you're saying here, so maybe?

"Git gud" is a meme making fun of experienced players of a game making fun of newer players who want quality of life changes, balance patches, or bugfix. The newer player identifies something wrong with the game that is negatively impacting their play experience, but the experienced player dismisses their complaints, telling them to adapt or quit.

Example: when Doomfist was first released for Overwatch, he was broken as hell. His Rocket Punch was the biggest offender, having the width of a freight train. Overall, he's a highly mobile character with equally high burst damage focused on punishing out of position squishies. He later went through several rebalancings and as of now he's not as overpowered, but still an optimal pick, especially when dealing with the Orisa-Sigma combo.

So say somebody -- probably a Support player on Ana or Zenyatta -- complains about Doomfist, about how it's too easy for him to come out nowhere and eliminate them before dashing out, all in the span of 5 seconds, and their team doesn't have enough time to react, if they're even paying attention in the first place. The "git gud" guy would throw the Support player's complaints back in their faces; if they're being charitable, they'd offer ways for vulnerable Support characters to mitigate the worst aspects of the matchup, but it's more likely that the Support player just gets dunked on for being a noob with no gamesense.

That's the comparison @Undrave was drawing. Experienced player with system mastery telling new player complaining about a class's limitations unduly hamstringing them that their complaints are unfounded = "git gud"

 

[Tony Vargas]

You can keep playing on restricted hard mode, along with anyone who enjoys it as well, and those of us who drool eagerly at the thought of having a fraction of the spell flexibility of a Cleric or Wizard can use the new option.

It's kinda amusing hearing 5e, notoriously pretty easy after 1st level, as 'hard mode,' but I do see the point. However, I'd be inclined to go the other way with it: the neo-Vancian prepped casters, Wizard, Cleric, and Druid, got prettymuch the main benefit of 3.0 spontaneous casting in 5e, on top of retaining the main benefit of 3e prepped casting (which, alone, had made them Class Tier 1). That was a crazy increase in versatility, and, along with too-short days not pressuring their slots, contributes to 5e often feeling 'too easy.'

Addressing that issue by increasing the versatility of other casters is kinda the gasoline solution to a fire. Returning prepped castes to prep-directly-into-slots, so spontaneous is a benefit, rather than universal, would be a better way to narrow the gap.

 

[Kurotowa]

I do think that letting limited spells known classes have daily freedom of spell selection does impact both the theme and flavor of those classes.

They can already swap out on a level up so it's not like they have zero flexibility in spell selection.

Depends how your DM rolls. If you're leveling up once a month, sure, that might be a viable option. If you're like mine and you get a level maybe every three months, that's a lot rougher. Being able to swap one spell per long rest means you can try to get creative, you can experiment, you can try things and see if they work and not be penalized if they don't. I'm all for all of those.

Also, explain to me how it impacts the theme and flavor, would you? When I think theme and flavor of a Warlock, I think about someone who's made a possibly unwise pact with a mighty inhuman entity for power, or someone who was desperate or lazy enough they didn't want to take the slow path of the Wizard for arcane mastery, or someone who found a way to exploit a loophole in the rules of the cosmos for their own advantage. When I think about a Sorcerer I think about someone with power in their blood, someone with an extraordinary heritage or who had a close brush with cosmic forces, someone whose magic comes from within not without.

You notice how nothing on those lists comes even close to "has to carefully pick your spell selection because you're mostly locked into those choices"? That's because I don't consider that little mechanical quirk to be even a shadow of the theme and flavor of those classes. So if I'm missing something, do share.