New Unearthed Arcana Released, With 8 New Forgotten Realms-Themed Subclasses

Today, Wizards of the Coast has announced a new Unearthed Arcana playtest featuring eight new Dungeons & Dragons subclasses that will appear in the upcoming Forgotten Realms Player's Guide. The new subclasses include five classes tied to Forgotten Realms regions, as well as the return of the Knowledge Domain Cleric subclass from the 2014 Player's Handbook and the Bladesinger Wizard subclass and Purple Dragon Knight Fighter subclass from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide.

Each of the five remaining subclasses are themed to one of the five regions explored in the Forgotten Realms Adventure Guide also coming out in November. The College of the Moon Bard subclass is tied to the Moonshae Isles, the Winter Walker Ranger subclass is tied to Icewind Dale, and the Oath of the Noble Genies is tied to Calimshan. The Scion of The Three is tied to the Dead Three (of Baldur's Gate fame). Meanwhile, Spellfire Sorcery dates back to 2nd Edition and can both heal allies and harm foes.

The eight new subclasses can be found below:

• College Of The Moon (Bard)
• Knowledge Domain (Cleric)
• Purple Dragon Knight (Fighter)
• Oath Of The Noble Genies (Paladin)
• Winter Walker (Ranger)
• Scion Of The Three (Rogue)
• Spellfire Sorcery (Sorcerer)
• Bladesinger (Wizard)

The Forgotten Realm's Players Guide comes out on November 11th.

 

[Charlaquin]

I think it's curious that some of the support about the PDK being a dragon-tamer are the people who aren't really fans of FR, weighing in on FR subclasses, for an FR book.

It's feeling like a roller coaster company asking for advice on building a roller coaster and people who have inner ear problems saying "I like this one, it's slow and has no loops."

WotC isn’t just a roller coaster company though, they’re a full amusement park attraction company. And if they have reason to believe that they could appease more of their customers by making a slow ride with no loops than they would by making a really intense roller coaster…

I do wonder why WotC decided to return to the FR well (BG3, maybe?), but I assume their goal is a product that appeals to FR fans and that maybe attracts some new ones, and that can broadly appeal to general D&D fans. I don't know how much effort they should expend on appealing to people who actively dislike FR.

I mean, if that effort shifts the product from being one that only FR fans will buy to one that their audience will buy even if they don’t like FR, it seems likely they’d want to do that.

Like, the rogue and sorcerer subclasses here suffer from the same issue, but respect their origins much better.

They don’t really though. Healing, magic-absorbing fire may have originated in FR, but it could easily go anywhere and is cool enough on its own for people to want to port to other settings. The dead three rogue… is a little more specific that I might consider ideal, but could fairly easily be ported over along with the dead three, converted to another pantheon, or turned into into a general magical assassin.

 

[I'm A Banana]

WotC isn’t just a roller coaster company though, they’re a full amusement park attraction company. And if they have reason to believe that they could appease more of their customers by making a slow ride with no loops than they would by making a really intense roller coaster…

I mean, if that effort shifts the product from being one that only FR fans will buy to one that their audience will buy even if they don’t like FR, it seems likely they’d want to do that.

There is a product that could be too niche, but I don't think FR would be it. Spelljammer, I'd understand. I don't think they'd sell fewer books by having a more lore-accurate PDK.

They don’t really though. Healing, magic-absorbing fire may have originated in FR, but it could easily go anywhere and is cool enough on its own for people to want to port to other settings. The dead three rogue… is a little more specific that I might consider ideal, but could fairly easily be ported over along with the dead three, converted to another pantheon, or turned into into a general magical assassin.

A charismatic military leader is not exactly a niche concept. If you can over look the "spellfire" name and the three specific gods and file those serial numbers off, why not the words "Purple Dragon Knight?" Why do those trip you up?

 

[Rabulias]

• The limits on uses of Bladesong are not constraining in any way. And it is just so powerful: AC bonus, Attack with your casting stat, speed bonus, Concentration check bonus, plus you get a free skill and weapon proficiency. It just feels like so much.

Keep in mind that Bladesong no longer works with light armor. Seems about on par with current Bladesinger. And they still have a Wizard's d6s for Hit Points. I have a Tasha's Bladesinger in my game and he can be frustratingly hard to hit with attacks when he is using Bladesong. But all it takes is one area of effect spell, a shove, or a critical hit and he is then misty stepping or disengaging out of melee.

I wonder if there will be any changes to booming blade and/or green-flame blade?

 

[Charlaquin]

So, one way this could go is by making a subclass that works for FR's Purple Dragon Knights and just calling it something else (the "Banneret" option).

Another way this could go is by augmenting FR's Purple Dragon Knights by, idk, making them the pre-eminent group of military leaders in the whole setting, where everyone sends their captains to be educated in the art of war, sort of a fantasy West Point or something, blowing them up real big and highlighting them as an archetype rather than as a niche (the "Spellfire" option). Everyone from Neverwinter to Thay talks about the Purple Dragon Knights and how amazing they are.

But one way this shouldn't go is by deciding that the Purple Dragon Knight is suddenly something entirely different (the current option).

I get that. But also, purple dragon knight has the unfortunate problem of sounding like something really cool that a lot of people want, and then not actually being that thing. So, they’re floating the idea of just… changing the purple dragon knight to actually be the cool thing it sounds like. Maybe that won’t poll well, but I don’t blame them for trying. Maybe the purple dragon knights haven’t been dragon tamers in the past, but the thing about settings with ongoing metaplots is that new things can happen in them. They could become dragon tamers, and if having that happen would help WotC sell more books, they’re probably going to do that.

 

[Charlaquin]

A charismatic military leader is not exactly a niche concept. If you can over look the "spellfire" name and the three specific gods and file those serial numbers off, why not the words "Purple Dragon Knight?" Why do those trip you up?

Spellfire sounds like what it is. Purple Dragon Knight sounds like something much cooler than what it is. That’s the difference.

The dead three rogue I’m not really that into. I would prefer it be less FR specific and am probably going to say so in my feedback. But at least the dead three are three gods who are dead.

 

[mamba]

I think it's curious that some of the support about the PDK being a dragon-tamer are the people who aren't really fans of FR, weighing in on FR subclasses, for an FR book.

then you can only hope that the people filling out the survey that do like the FR outnumber the others by a lot…

 

[GarrettKP]

then you can only hope that the people filling out the survey that do like the FR outnumber the others by a lot…

I like the FR, even really like Cormyr, and I like this new PDK more than what they have been.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Keep in mind that Bladesong no longer works with light armor.

But it does work with Mage Armor.

I wonder if there will be any changes to booming blade and/or green-flame blade?

I really hope they just leave those spells in the old material. They became so ubiquitous; if they never return, I won't be sad.

 

[cbwjm]

Had a quick look through and like others I'm not too keen on the purple dragon knight either. As a subclass, I think it's fine and I could see it being easily adapted to different orders of dragon riding knights, but as the class for the purple dragon knights, it just doesn't fit the history of the order and I would have liked to have seen an improved version of the previous purple dragon knight that kept the same themes.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I get that. But also, purple dragon knight has the unfortunate problem of sounding like something really cool that a lot of people want, and then not actually being that thing. So, they’re floating the idea of just… changing the purple dragon knight to actually be the cool thing it sounds like. Maybe that won’t poll well, but I don’t blame them for trying. Maybe the purple dragon knights haven’t been dragon tamers in the past, but the thing about settings with ongoing metaplots is that new things can happen in them. They could become dragon tamers, and if having that happen would help WotC sell more books, they’re probably going to do that.

In general, I'm not a fan of marketing-led design, specifically because it gives people exactly what they say they want, without regard to creating new wants. The whole "if I'd asked people what they wanted, they'd say a faster horse!" thing.

A well-done FR book doesn't need to appeal to the haters, but it should be able to invite a general audience to consider the stories the setting can tell. It doesn't need to give people things that meet their assumptions anymore than Gandalf needs to be a Slytherin. It needs to invite curiosity and exploration. It needs folks to ask what kinds of stories they can tell here.