Unearthed Arcana Revived, Noble Genie and Archivist Revisited in UA

The latest Unearthed Arcana replaces the Revived, Noble Genie, and Archivist subclasses with new versions called the Phantom, the Genie, and the Order of Scribes.

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[cbwjm]

Huh, I thought Drow came from trow, which is a cognate of troll in some celtic dialect. Duergar comes from the Old Norse Dvergr, or dwarf. Is there a cognate farther back that connect the two? There's solid etymology for Duergar, but not so much for Drow, at least that I can dig up on short notice.

I think you're right, drow seem to be a form of trow not duergar. The term duergar could also be old english rather than old norse (though it may have evolved from old norse) even if the DnD version of these two races resemble the norse myths of these races.

 

[Hatmatter]

I agree 100%. Revived was too limiting and confusing, also a bit video-gamey, which WotC should avoid after 4e. The Phantom is a lot cooler in flavor, broader, and has better mechanics, apart from the semi-useless Soul Trinkets.

Absolutely. In addition, The Phantom gives us a great class/subclass basis for creating a character like The Shadow from the pulps and the radio drama. I find myself drawn to class/subclass combinations that reproduce literary or mythical archetypes and I had never considered playing a character based on The Shadow. Now I can't get it out of my head.

 

[cbwjm]

Bigby’s Handy Handbook

That might be Heward's Handy Handbook that he keeps in his handy haversack.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

That might be Heward's Handy Handbook that he keeps in his handy haversack.

Sounds like a DMsGuild product, not an official book.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Absolutely. In addition, The Phantom gives us a great class/subclass basis for creating a character like The Shadow from the pulps and the radio drama. I find myself drawn to class/subclass combinations that reproduce literary or mythical archetypes and I had never considered playing a character based on The Shadow. Now I can't get it out of my head.

Definitely. Subclasses should expand creativity, not limit it, like the Revived Rogue did mechanically and thematically (Some exceptions, Warlocks typically need to be fairly limiting). Rogue subclasses should open up player options, not limit them to having previous lives.

 

[Hatmatter]

Definitely. Subclasses should expand creativity, not limit it, like the Revived Rogue did mechanically and thematically (Some exceptions, Warlocks typically need to be fairly limiting). Rogue subclasses should open up player options, not limit them to having previous lives.

I find the Wizard of the Coast team's commitment to revision, playtest, and public commitment to sharing ideas quite encouraging. Many hands get to polish ideas many times over.

 

[Undrave]

I like the Phantom, but the psychic splash damage seems a bit large. It is a 50% damage buff to sneak attack. I enjoy the flavor of harnessed souls to ask questions and use as bargaining chips with death (advantage on death saving throws). Ghostwalk is thematic.
The Genie lock is ok. The free bag of holding for your stuff and rope trick is maybe a bit strong but works the theme. Limited wish as a class feature worries me but is very thematic and a great capstone.

The Psychic damage is only a limited number of times. And the Bag of Holding can only be accessed once per day so you're not gonna store anything sensitive there.

Yes, and while that's fine, it's essentially always active (because you can always have one of them on you) and so loses any real association with the tokens and their use. It's using a token that appears to be the mechanic in question, and nobody is going to actually "use" them until much later levels.

What if you could sacrifice them for additional uses of Wail? That would be thematic.

It will likely appear in November, in a book titled:
<Proper Noun>'s <Term for Book> to/of <Noun>s

Like Zagyg's Lexicon of Mystery or Tenser's Folio of Wonders or Elminster's Logbook to Adventurers.

Robilar's Reader of Retorts and Tall Tales
Tenser's Treatise of Terrors and Disks
Leomund's Libram of Legendary Lands and Huts
Vecna's Vexing Volume of Artifacts, Relics, and Body Parts
Iggwilv's Illuminated Manuscript of Ill-gotten & Illegal Instruments
Tharizdun's Black Book

I made a whole thread for silly book titles a while back! (<-Link)

Leomund's Libram of Legendary Lands would be an awesome title. It would even be a great title for a combination Manual of the Planes/Planescape.

Leomund's Magnificent Real Estate Portfolio

Awakened Spellbook: I can use my spellbook as a spellcasting focus! I always wondered why I couldn't do that. Most pop-culture wizards have scenes where they cast a spell with a spellbook in hand. Up until now, there was no reason at all to do this before.

The 4e Wizard could use Tomes as arcane focus. I think some of the Magical Item ones basically had an extra spell in them for you.

Expanded Spell List
The big news here: Wish as a 9th level warlock spell. The first example of going beyond the traditional level list. Otherwise it's a standard pick of optional elemental themed spells, that unfortunately doesn't feature the Elemental Evil spells. A pity because free elemental cantrips would be rad.

Would be a good feedback to tell them to reprint the Elemental Evil spells with this subclass.

The Phantom's flavor is incredible, this is much more interesting than the previous subclass idea. However, I want the flavor of Tokens of the Damned (which is the most interesting part of the subclass) at level 3. I want everything to be tied to that concept because it is rad as heck. It oozes in flavor. And optionally using the tokens again in a later feature is a nice touch. I really enjoy seeing these alternate ways to regain abilities outside of resting. I don't love Wail from the Grave but I can't put my finger on exactly why just yet. Might be the limited

Oh I could totally see that working yeah... How about Wail from the Grave being fueled by your tokens instead? And add the CON and Death Save advantage thing at later level?

Absolutely. In addition, The Phantom gives us a great class/subclass basis for creating a character like The Shadow from the pulps and the radio drama. I find myself drawn to class/subclass combinations that reproduce literary or mythical archetypes and I had never considered playing a character based on The Shadow. Now I can't get it out of my head.

The Shadow Knows! Have you ever heard of the Red Panda Adventures (Link here) by Decoder Ring Theatre? It's a 120 episodes (plus 3 audio books) long complete story 'Masked Mystery Man' audio drama in podcast forms (each episode being roughly half an hour). It starts in Depression Era Toronto and ends sometimes after WWII. It's one of my favorite piece of media EVER!

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I find the Wizard of the Coast team's commitment to revision, playtest, and public commitment to sharing ideas quite encouraging. Many hands get to polish ideas many times over.

It is a good sign. There are many companies these days that only make products as cash-grabs, but WotC shows through this process that they actually care and appreciate our feedback (Mojang and WotC are the 2 companies I can think of that does this). There are problems that come with asking the feedback of everyone in a community, but I think the general response to these UA articles are constructive and positive.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

The 4e Wizard could use Tomes as arcane focus. I think some of the Magical Item ones basically had an extra spell in them for you.

I'd love for them to have a proficiency modifier times per day ability to read a spell from their spellbook and cast it without having it prepared (still expending a spell slot, though). It would be a cool feature for this subclass, IMHO.

 

[Undrave]

I'd love for them to have a proficiency modifier times per day ability to read a spell from their spellbook and cast it without having it prepared (still expending a spell slot, though). It would be a cool feature for this subclass, IMHO.

Something to suggest in the feedback then?