New Unearthed Arcana Brings Back Five Subclasses

Five existing D&D subclasses are getting a rework in a newly released Unearthed Arcana. Four of the subclasses come from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, while the fifth is the Oathbreaker subclass for Paladins from the 2014 Player’s Handbook.

The revised subclasses are:

• Path of the Spiritual Guardian Barbarian (previously Path of the Ancestral Guardian)
• Path of the Storm Herald Barbarian
• Cavalier Fighter
• Warrior of Intoxication Monk (formerly Way of the Drunken Master)
• Oathbreaker Paladin

The Path of the Spiritual Guardian has received a revamped Spiritual Protectors ability with a choice of effects. The Storm Herald’s Storm Aura now scales with Rage damage and the Raging Storm now has redesigned environments. The Cavalier’s Unwavering Mark no longer has limited uses. The Warrior of Intoxication now has the ability to create potent drinks that grant abilities when drank. The Oathbreaker has received some updates bringing its abilities in line with the revamped Paladin’s ability.

The survey for the new subclasses opens on November 6th.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

One note of caution: the inclusion of a jester class historically was taken by some players as license to behave disruptively.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

I'm just not entirely convinced it's trope that needs to be turned into a full archetype for the game at this point, in the year 2025 (2026, presumably for the actual published product), both for cultural sensitivity issues and for the promotion of alcohol issues (given the game is still, ostensibly, being targeted at least in part towards teenagers).

That said, a more generically-inclined "fool" monk archetype; one centered around the whole "obfuscasting stupidity" trope that can easily encompass a "drunken" style monk without explicitly signaling alcohol use.

But on a private, non published level, I like the theme. It would be great for a fantasy-themed Drunken Master who makes his own brews.

 

[Kurotowa]

I was discussing potential future books on reddit, and someone threw this video short my way. It has a clip of Ed Greenwood in July having a slip of the tongue and mentioning a Ravenloft book coming soon. Which was maybe a mistake, but you put it together with the Horror Subclasses UA and the Ravenloft novel they just did and that next year is the 10th anniversary of Curse of Strahd, and it doesn't seem impossible.

So something for you to put in your permutation breakdowns, @Parmandur

 

[Charlaquin]

”Staggering Style” sounds okay, it’s the “Warrior of…” format that’s dragging butt on this one

Staggering Warrior would be fine I think, but “Warrior of” seems to be a tough naming convention to work with.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I was discussing potential future books on reddit, and someone threw this video short my way. It has a clip of Ed Greenwood in July having a slip of the tongue and mentioning a Ravenloft book coming soon. Which was maybe a mistake, but you put it together with the Horror Subclasses UA and the Ravenloft novel they just did and that next year is the 10th anniversary of Curse of Strahd, and it doesn't seem impossible.

So something for you to put in your permutation breakdowns, @Parmandur

The “horror class” thing is obviously a red herring. Doesn’t mean there won’t be anything Ravenloft, but it’s not going to be a collection of subclasses, that’s the book these are for. An adventure, presented as a sequel to CoS, is quite likely. There is obviously going to be an adventure of some description next year. Combine that with the supplemental core rule book and the Dark Sun product and that’s 75% of next year’s releases mapped out.

NB they won’t do another slim book like Eberron, it wasn’t coincidence that caused them to warp.

 

[Kurotowa]

The “horror class” thing is obviously a red herring. Doesn’t mean there won’t be anything Ravenloft, but it’s not going to be a collection of subclasses, that’s the book these are for. An adventure, presented as a sequel to CoS, is quite likely. There is obviously going to be an adventure of some description next year. Combine that with the supplemental core rule book and the Dark Sun product and that’s 75% of next year’s releases mapped out.

That's a fair take, and where I was before I saw the Greenwood clip. Now, I'm less entirely confident. But I suppose we'll see before too long, won't we? They have to announce the 2026 release slate soon.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

Warrior of Staggering? It’s better than intoxication but I’m not sold

Warrior of Staggering Fist

 

[Charlaquin]

Warrior of Staggering Fist

That’s a bit better. Fist is a little odd to combine with staggering. Maybe Warrior of the Staggering Step or Staggering Gait, something like that.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Warrior of Staggering Fist

It’s not the fist that is staggering, it’s the monk’s movements.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Warrior of feigned inebriation.