Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana: Cleric, Druid, Wizard Options

In another new Unearthed Arcana (these things are coming out fast right now!) the cleric receives a new Divine Domain option: the Twilight Domain; the druid gains a new Druid Circle option: the Circle of Wildfire; and the wizard gains a new Arcane Tradition feature: Onomancy, the magic of true names.

 

[fobia]

"Hmmm. Might be misremembering and i dont know for sure which edition your perspective is from but i was thinking from an admittedly 3/3.5 perspective. Are spells like planar binding and gate not in phb? There are several others too but im more thinking those are in spell compendium and others. A devils true name is relevant to those."

They are, but true names are only necessary to summon a specific planar being. In the case of Planar Binding you get the aforementioned disadvantage for the summoned creature on the saving throw. The duration is dependent on the spell level. 5th gets you 24h, 9th gets you a year of service.
Gate only lets you summon the specific planar being with it's true name. You gain no measure of control over it. And rulers of a plane can deny the gate. So not that powerful.

I agree with the lore part of your post though. And I love the idea of blackmailing fiends with their true names. I'd absolutely let players do that at my table, if the setup they create makes sense and they accomplish it.

I got introduced to DnD with 3rd and 3.5 and I was a bit disappointed when I went through the fiend part of 5e Monster Manual and then again when I read the "new" summoning spells in Xanathars.
The measure of control you get with true names in 5e is way less significant than the lore implies. But then again, that's not lore of 5e, but earlier editions. And maybe in 5e the bits we have in the MM etc. are just the new lore. That's what I meant with different terms regarding the topic.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

"They are, but true names are only necessary to summon a specific planar being."

Yes. Something of his a devil therefore doesnt want you to have.

"I agree with the lore part of your post though. And I love the idea of blackmailing fiends with their true names. I'd absolutely let players do that at my table, if the setup they create makes sense and they accomplish it."

Its that weird type of cannon that unless everything is homebrew actually has concrete effect on the game too, effectively making it a weird sort of soft RAW rules too. This sort of thing is actually one of the most powerful uses for true names and honestly any spell use of true names as oppose to an rp use is essentially novice use of true names. An expert is gonna use it in contracts (like fiends do) blackmail and other less spellish sorts of ways. Most of the power true names have to offer is by threat or other manipulation as well as diplomacy and deal making. Doing it well requires elaborate planning most players arent committed enough to actually slowly and laboriously work out though.

"I got introduced to DnD with 3rd and 3.5 and I was a bit disappointed when I went through the fiend part of 5e Monster Manual and then again when I read the "new" summoning spells in Xanathars.
The measure of control you get with true names in 5e is way less significant than the lore implies. But then again, that's not lore of 5e, but earlier editions. And maybe in 5e the bits we have in the MM etc. are just the new lore. That's what I meant with different terms regarding the topic."

Ah. I see. Also a totally valid thing is that true names can fetch a MASSIVE amount of favor and money with outsiders. Playing the money-to-acquire-power game is very possible with true names. Information brokering in general is a valid professional pursuit for a true namer.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

A lot of npcs will hate them for it though

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Like how a lot of people hate mark zuckerberg (he deserves most of it putting it bluntly)

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Ooooooh...want free at will planar travel for life?

Get the true name of an alcylith and get it sufficiently under your thumb also taking care to be adequately protected against its ire and you have a golden ticket to the planes for life.

 

[gyor]

I think the bolded bit is especially important. Sure, I can find tons of free name lists and name generators on the internet with no difficulty, but most of the names they give me are not going to be good fits for characters in whatever setting I’m playing in. They’re usually randomly generated, and usually kind of suck.

They are no worse then the list of names in XGTE which is not great. It really isn't hard to find cool names online.

 

[Parmandur]

They are no worse then the list of names in XGTE which is not great. It really isn't hard to find cool names online.

No worse for you, maybe, but lots of people disagree. I'd like to see more name lists in the future.

 

[Parmandur]

The whole subclass is a can of worms for the DM unless it is nailed down to a specific setting designed for it.

This material is probably for a specific setting that this is geared towards, so that works.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

This is, quite frankly, garbage.

The favour of the izzet wizard is absolutely spot on if you know it's supposed to taste of izzet wizard. If you expect it to taste of Universalist Mage, it will taste off. Context is everything, especially when it comes to gut reactions.

If this is what WotC actually think, they would be better off rolling a D20 and taking any subclass that scores higher than 14.

Personally, I think (or I hope) they aren't that stupid.

It was presented as an Invention Wizard. It was even called that.

People didn’t like it. That’s it. The end.

 

[Son of the Serpent]

Lemme validate that. Im a random people.

This people doesn't like it either. And i play magic. And my favorite color combo is blue black white. But in this order, mostly black, bit of blue, splash of white. Also i know izzer is blue red. I was just stating my favorite combo. Which happens to be the color of the fairy deck that just came out. Going to a draft held in my friends home in a few days. Yeeeee...

And i dont like it. Meh.