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

 

[Yaarel]

That really doesn't track with Red, no. Red is Goblins and Dwarves, fire and emotion.

"Red is fire and emotion."

Then what does that have to do with Shamanism?

 

[Yaarel]

Sure, that works too.

But that goes back to there being little or no difference between Wizard and Warlock, where both need to study in order to understand and do magic.

 

[PsyzhranV2]

Don't know if everybody knows, but just to make it clear: as of the release of the Strixhaven: School of Mages set back in April, there are officially five types of spellcasters in MtG:

• Cleric: White Mana, faith in a cause or higher being
• Druid: Green Mana, nature
• Shaman: Red Mana, spirituality, rituals, lore, and years of practice
• Warlock: Black Mana, contracts with demons and other dark beings
• Wizard: Blue Mana, study

 

[PsyzhranV2]

"Red is fire and emotion."

Then what does that have to do with Shamanism?

As per this old article from 2008:
"Mage" is a broad term in the Magic multiverse. It doesn't just mean the studious spellcaster with his nose planted firmly in the brittle pages of an ancient grimoire (in other words, a wizard). It also means the shaman, the mage who wields magic from the gut, who lets her emotions and personal experiences of nature guide her enlightenment. The shaman derives magical power and inspiration directly from the world around her, without allowing too much abstract, ivory-tower thinking to get in the way. A shaman derives power from her passion and her instincts. Many shamans believe fervently in the importance of the fundamental forces of nature, including their own instincts... Shamans are tightly tied to the green and red part of the color wheel. The values of self-expression, motivation by instinct and passion rather than forethought, and individual freedom hit both those colors and the flavor of shamans right on the head.

 

[Parmandur]

"Red is fire and emotion."

Then what does that have to do with Shamanism?

In MtG, that's what Shamans are: aggressive, warlike mages who go straight for the jugular. Honestly has next to nothing to do with proper Shamanism, whichnis what is probably best termed problematic.

 

[Undrave]

...

OK, that not my experience.

You mean the Wizard subclasses excite you or that you think the Monk is powerful?

 

[Parmandur]

You mean the Wizard subclasses excite you or that you think the Monk is powerful?

More the former, but the latter is also accurate in my experience. Maybe the Monk didn't fit your playstyle, but it is not a mechanically bad Class.

 

[Charlaquin]

But that goes back to there being little or no difference between Wizard and Warlock, where both need to study in order to understand and do magic.

If you choose to interpret the warlock that way, but at that point I’d say it’s a problem of your own making.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Ah, actually just noticed this disconnect here: the Guild Signets are actually.totemic magic items given to members, that tie into the magical power of the Guildpact (which has power in the world):

View attachment 138036View attachment 138037

That makes sense.

"I turn the army of ghouls by showing it my Waste Disposal Guild Badge" is still an awkward fit.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Illusionist and Necromancer have strong enough identity they could work as their own subclass, and possibly Diviner too because it has that cool pre-roll dice mechanic... but Evoker? Enchanter? Transmuter? Abjurer? (What even IS Abjuration magic?) They could have simply made a single specialist scholar subclass that gets the bonus to adding spells to their book for cheaper, maybe an extra prep slot for their specialty and then an ability that recharges when they cast a spell of their specialty. Heck, give them strong Counter Spell against their own specialty.

If I were remaking the abjurer, it would be all about blocking and banishing things out. Sort of the anti-conjurer or a wizardly exorcist.

Evokers should be the best ever at blowing stuff up, to the point that Tim "the Enchanter" never uses anything else, other than an appropriately violent Dimension Door spell.

I would peel off alchemy from Transmutation and make it its own thing, and make Transmuters the kings of shapechanging and polymorph.

Enchanters should have all sorts of Charisma-based abilities and powers. Maybe they're the one set of wizards for whom the victims of their charms don't know it's happened, making them the only ones to use those spells very much.

But yes, your overall point stands: As it is, the PHB specialists are pretty dull.