Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana: Mages of Strixhaven

An Unearthed Arcana playtest document for the upcoming Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos hardcover has been released by WotC!

"Become a student of magic in this installment of Unearthed Arcana! This playtest document presents five subclasses for Dungeons & Dragons. Each of these subclasses allows you to play a mage associated with one of the five colleges of Strixhaven, a university of magic. These subclasses are special, with each one being available to more than one class."

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It's 9 pages, and contains five subclasses, one for each the Strixhaven colleges:

• Lorehold College, dedicated to the pursuit of history by conversing with ancient spirits and understanding the whims of time itself
• Prismari College, dedicated to the visual and performing arts and bolstered with the power of the elements
• Quandrix College, dedicated to the study and manipulation of nature’s core mathematic principles
• Silverquill College, dedicated to the magic of words, whether encouraging speeches that uplift allies or piercing wit that derides foes
• Witherbloom College, dedicated to the alchemy of life and death and harnessing the devastating energies of both

 

[Minigiant]

The only abilities a Warlock gets from their patron are an expanded spell list and subclass features at 1st level, 6th, 10th, and 14th levels. Everything else is just part of being a warlock. Accordingly, a Warlock who’s patron pays their way through Silverquill is taught a different expanded spell list and subclass features at those levels. Same as a Silverquill wizard or bard learns.

Again doesn't work.

If the patron just pays for teaching then the patron isn't needed to be a warlock. In theory anyone could become a warlock without a patron or making a deal or pact. And this isn't true.

You can't book learning your way into warlock in D&D nor MTG. You can only study your way into wizard and artificer.

 

[Cadence]

I didn't really understand this question, but the Elder Dragons are part of Strixhaven's lore. An elder dragon founded each college. It's not mentioned in the UA, but it's a suitable substitute if you're not a fan of the College itself being a patron.

I just wasn't clear that old dragons (minus maybe a brother or two) in MtG lore went around giving others magical powers, or that they served as patrons in D&D.

Doesn't page 1 of the document suggest the Warlocks arrive with a patron already, but replace that granted power from the one learned at the college. It didn't to read to me like there was anything saying the college was actually anyone's initial patron... (or that it couldn't be, but that doesn't seem to fit the usual fluff).

 

[Remathilis]

Again doesn't work.

If the patron just pays for teaching then the patron isn't needed to be a warlock. In theory anyone could become a warlock without a patron or making a deal or pact. And this isn't true.

You can't book learning your way into warlock in D&D nor MTG. You can only study your way into wizard and artificer.

It's a side effect of trying to emulate MTGs color wheel using the classes in the PHB. Since WotC didn't want to design new color-based caster classes, they opted for the "squint and they look similar" approach that isn't 100% compatible with either.

I accepted that the MTG settings are basically running in emulation mode in D&D and accept the lore and mechanical quirks will produce funky results. This is one of them.

 

[Yaarel]

Well, the doylist answer is because the book of shadows is a common witch trope, something the warlock class tries to capture. The Wattsonian answer is because it’s a gift from the patron. It isn’t a catalogue of Arcane formulae, it’s a manifestation of the patron’s power.

So the Warlock book is more like a wand, a material component. The Warlock doesnt need to know how to read it?

 

[Charlaquin]

So the Warlock book is more like a wand, a material component. The Warlock doesnt need to know how to read it?

I’d probably say they need to be able to read it.

 

[Yaarel]

I’d probably say they need to be able to read it.

So you are saying that this kind of Warlock needs to study?

 

[ph0rk]

So you are saying that this kind of Warlock needs to study?

Hell, there's a whole invocation just so they can spend all night reading:

Aspect of the Moon
You no longer need to sleep and can't be forced to sleep by any means. To gain the benefits of a long rest, you can spend all 8 hours doing light activity, such as reading your Book of Shadows and keeping watch.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

So you are saying that this kind of Warlock needs to study?

In my setting I changed the tome pact stuff into ritual tattoos, the warlock has mystical patterns and runes inscribed on their body. I did this to take them thematically farther from the wizards. In my mind a person who learns creepy evil spells from forbidden books is still a wizard.

 

[Charlaquin]

So you are saying that this kind of Warlock needs to study?

If by “this kind of warlock” you mean “any warlock with the tome pact boon” and by “study” you mean “know how to read,” then sure.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Crawford has said that once a Warlock’s pact is signed they have the power and the Patron can’t take it away from them. It’s like the Patron is giving away a spark of their essence to the Warlock in exchange for future favours. Alternatively, the Patrons have access to the Weave/Mana Stream/Ether/etc and teach the Warlock how to hack into it via back channels in exchange for future requests. The penalties for breaking promises to the Patron are roleplaying ones, not mechanical one.

Crawford is free to have his wrong opinions.

I wouldn't take away a warlock PC's abilities permanently if they went to war with their patron, but I would require a quest to get them an alternate power source or patron.

Canonically taking that off the table is wrong-headed, IMO. Critical Role, for instance, has done a great job of showing how rich a vein it can be to have a warlock's patron be a somewhat dangerous NPC everyone interacts with despite that. I don't think there's anything gained by making them into non-custodial divorced dads, just hanging around, even though they no longer have any power over the warlock.