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

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The 3PP 5E book, The Red Opera: Last days of the Warlocks, actually has a Pactless Warlock subclass. And yes I believe it is for said Warlocks who broke their pacts.

I am trying to keep my Kickstarter habit to a bare minimum, but a warlock-centered city setting sounds fascinating.

 

[Weiley31]

I am trying to keep my Kickstarter habit to a bare minimum, but a warlock-centered city setting sounds fascinating.

It's quite literally Warlock: The Campaign Setting basically.

 

[ph0rk]

It's quite literally Warlock: The Campaign Setting basically.

Seems neat.


The whole idea about stripping powers only really made sense in 2e when Paladins were Fighters+ - a paladin that lost their paladin abilities was still a fighter.

A 5e Warlock without their warlock abilities isn't even an NPC class; they're what, exactly? Even their hit die is technically a class feature.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Ur-Priest, which also got republished in Complete Divine. It was grossly overpowered, especially in the right combination, but every prepared caster was grossly overpowered in 3.5, so that isn't saying much.

I was a component of one of my favorite 3.5 builds, Bard 7/Mindbender 1/Ur-Priest 2/Sublime Chord 2/Mystic Theurge 8.

I think the concept would be nice in 5e. Maybe in a ''Book of the Fallen'' with a few archetypes made to subvert the usual tropes of a class:

• Oathbreaker Paladin
• Redempted Warlock
• Urban Ranger
• Shadow Druid
• Ur-Cleric

A Ur-Cleric could go something like this:

1: Extra spells

1: Escape Judgement:
You gain proficiency with Deception and Stealth.

2: Channel Divinity: Infidel Reversal
You use your Channel Divinity as a reaction when you see a creature cast a spell that deals damage or restore hit points. If the spell deals damage, one of the target of the spell regain hit points to the damage they would have received, and if the spell restore hit points, one of the target of the spell take psychic damage equal to the number of hit points they would have regained.

6: Mighty Disbelief
When you cast Dispel Magic and Counterspell, you have advantage on the ability check required by the spell. When you successfully dispel or counter the spell of a creature, you have advantage on all saving throw against the creature spell until the end of your next turn.

8: Potent spellcasting

17: Removed from Creation
You are immune to the charmed condition and your mind cannot be read unwillingly. Furthermore, you have advantage on Death saving throws and you can cast non-detection on yourself at-will.

 

[ph0rk]

Redempted Warlock

This assumes all Warlocks need redeeming.

I like "Warlock in Breach of Contract" better.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Seems neat.


The whole idea about stripping powers only really made sense in 2e when Paladins were Fighters+ - a paladin that lost their paladin abilities was still a fighter.

A 5e Warlock without their warlock abilities isn't even an NPC class; they're what, exactly? Even their hit die is technically a class feature.

Obviously they wouldn't just not have a class. If that situation occurred, the player and DM would work together to determine what direction the PC goes next. As has been mentioned, it's a great reason for a PC to move to another class.

 

[ph0rk]

Obviously they wouldn't just not have a class.

I don't think it is at all that obvious they way some people talk about it. They sound more like they are rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of punishing the player of the warlock for... playing a warlock.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I don't think it is at all that obvious they way some people talk about it. They sound more like they are rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of punishing the player of the warlock for... playing a warlock.

I think of it less as punishment and more as consequences for getting into a business arrangement you no longer wish to honor. It doesn't mean you stop being a PC. It doesn't even have to mean you stop being a warlock. Plenty of patrons in the Astral Sea. And if not, you work with the player to find out what they want to do with the PC next.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It's quite literally Warlock: The Campaign Setting basically.

I'm most curious about how all of the patrons react to having so many agents of other patrons running around. Is everyone pawns in some big supernatural chess game? Or is it something totally different? How much of an infernal flavor does it have? There's lots of other warlocks, post-3E, but that's where I think most people go when they think of pacts.

Not something I would likely ever want to play, run or own, but it sounds cool as hell.

 

[Kurotowa]

I don't think it is at all that obvious they way some people talk about it. They sound more like they are rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of punishing the player of the warlock for... playing a warlock.

Just like how in previous editions there were some DMs who thought that every Paladin PC story's was required to be them getting cornered into violating their oaths by harsh moral dilemmas, the 5e version seems to be Warlocks having a falling out with their patron and getting their powers foreclosed on. It's a powerful and iconic story, but it's not appropriate for every PC and trying to force it on them is just annoying. Not to mention how repetitive it gets.