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]

Well I guess this was a fun UA discussion why it lasted: seems like its all about Warlocks now..............and whether they can go to school or not to get an education and be a productive member of society.

It's page 39. There's a limited amount of on-topic discussion any subject will take.

 

[Parmandur]

It's page 39. There's a limited amount of on-topic discussion any subject will take.

I mean, it's also on topic, because these options really do push the narratives inherent in several Classes, particularly Warlocks and Sorcerers.

 

[Hussar]

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.

Swimming upthread a bit to pull this out.

I think this is an important point. I never read the 3e warlock. Didn't have the book, none of my players played one, so, other than knowing it existed, I never bothered with it. My go to inspiration for warlocks is the Binder. Which, while having patrons, means that the patrons have zero control over your day to day actions. At worst, the bound patron can make some minor physical changes to your character and influence a specific line of action - binding X patron badly makes you grow faces in your stomach and use stately gestures when talking. Things like that. Tons of flavor, lots of RP opportunities, but, no real mechanical impact. And certainly the notion of the vestige stripping anything away from you was never on the table.

Also, there's the issue that the DM is playing the patron in a baffling manner. Why on earth would Asmodeus give the slightest toss what a 4th level, or even 14th level warlock is doing? Is he dead yet? No? Then I don't get to use his soul for eternity as my plaything? Did he die and get rezz'd? Ah well, still needs to marinate a little longer. He died for realsies? Woohoo snack time!!

The question of what does the patron get out of the deal is an easy one to answer. The patron gets the warlock's soul for eternity to do whatever the patron wants to do with it. If the warlock is acting against the patron's interests somehow on the mortal plane? Aw well, that warlock knows what his afterlife is going to be like.

Again, why on earth would a Patron give the slightest rat's patoot about what a warlock does during their life?

 

[Cadence]

Again, why on earth would a Patron give the slightest rat's patoot about what a warlock does during their life?

The low level one who is a drop of water in the river of their plans, or the high level one who might be risking derailing some of their long-planned schemes by not doing what they're asked or might be putting those plans in severe jeopardy by actively work against them?

The Dresden files feel like they'd be a lot different without the various ties that bind different folks.

 

[Rikka66]

The question of what does the patron get out of the deal is an easy one to answer. The patron gets the warlock's soul for eternity to do whatever the patron wants to do with it. If the warlock is acting against the patron's interests somehow on the mortal plane? Aw well, that warlock knows what his afterlife is going to be like.

Again, why on earth would a Patron give the slightest rat's patoot about what a warlock does during their life?

Because their game has a different story than your example.

 

[Hussar]

I'm curious. Are you saying the fact that the character has been granted powers by another entity is meaningless, that there should be no consequences to betraying said being? The character in question is not going to end up with no class abilities, and I feel it is disingenuous to assume that is what DMs want. What would happen in my game is they start on a new path, possibly including some of their previous abilities "left over" from their old alligence. And what that path is is worked out between the DM and player in what is hopefully mature conversation. Internally consistancy is important, and the mechanics and fluff have to work together to achieve it.

Heh. I go even further than this - I apply this to EVERYONE. Clerics in my games, paladins, you name it. You are never, ever bound to your "Higher Power" to the point where you can be stripped for your behavior. Your powers come from your studies, not granted by anything. You CHOOSE to have faith/have a relationship with that "Higher Power", but, that higher power has no say in the matter.

Which means that now I can have chaotic evil clerics in the Church of Lathander working as apostates to bring down the church from the inside without being instantly detectable because they can't cast spells. Opens up so many avenues of play that are closed off when you force everyone working for Team Power to be working lockstep together.

But, I do freely admit that this is home-brew territory and not supported by the mechanics of the game.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Heh. I go even further than this - I apply this to EVERYONE. Clerics in my games, paladins, you name it. You are never, ever bound to your "Higher Power" to the point where you can be stripped for your behavior. Your powers come from your studies, not granted by anything. You CHOOSE to have faith/have a relationship with that "Higher Power", but, that higher power has no say in the matter.

What's the difference between a religious wizard and a cleric then?

 

[Hussar]

The low level one who is a drop of water in the river of their plans, or the high level one who might be risking derailing some of their long-planned schemes by not doing what they're asked or might be putting those plans in severe jeopardy by actively work against them?

The Dresden files feel like they'd be a lot different without the various ties that bind different folks.

Never read them. But, I do roughly understand the reference.

Like I said, my inspiration is taken from different sources. Cabalistic cultists that learn forgotten/forbidden knowledge and gain mystical powers. These powers come from various non-deity sources but, the patron in question is an immortal being of immense power and scope. Virtually nothing your warlock is doing will have the slightest impact on that being's plans. Your warlock of Asmodeus is perfectly free to kill every Asmodeus worshipper he can find. Simply makes the survivors that much stronger. Needed to prune the tree anyway.

Granted, as was mentioned upthread, I've never seen a warlock player actually decide, "Hey, my warlock is going to actively work against the concept I started with" anyway, so, it's never come up. My last warlock player started his own cult, promoted worship of his patron and spread the word everywhere he went. I'm really beginning to wonder if this is far more of a made up issue than something that actually happens at tables.

 

[Hussar]

What's the difference between a religious wizard and a cleric then?

Nothing.

 

[PsyzhranV2]

Also, there's the issue that the DM is playing the patron in a baffling manner. Why on earth would Asmodeus give the slightest toss what a 4th level, or even 14th level warlock is doing? Is he dead yet? No? Then I don't get to use his soul for eternity as my plaything? Did he die and get rezz'd? Ah well, still needs to marinate a little longer. He died for realsies? Woohoo snack time!!

The question of what does the patron get out of the deal is an easy one to answer. The patron gets the warlock's soul for eternity to do whatever the patron wants to do with it. If the warlock is acting against the patron's interests somehow on the mortal plane? Aw well, that warlock knows what his afterlife is going to be like.

Again, why on earth would a Patron give the slightest rat's pa

What if your patron isn't Asmodeus, but a lower level fiend? And what if the price of the pact isn't surrendering ownership of your soul, but something more mundane, or even frivolous?

Example: the iconic tiefling in the 5e PHB, Farideh, was a Warlock who accidentally made a pact with Lorcan, a cambion from Malbolge who was basically the Baatorian equivalent of a fast food store manager (exaggeration, but he was by no means a big deal in Baator due to being half-mortal). Lorcan asked for nothing in return for his patronage; his goal in making a pact with Farideh was to complete his set of Toril 13, tieflings descended from the thirteen Warlocks who aided in Asmodeus's apotheosis during the Spellplague. His subsequent attempts in contacting Farideh were either to teach her new spells or to ask for her help whenever he got in trouble with Infernal politics.

Note that Lorcan himself wasn't the source of Farideh's powers. Rather, by establishing a pact between himself and Farideh, he could act as a conduit between Baator and the Material Plane and channel planar energy to Farideh for her to use as fuel for her magic. When Farideh eventually breaks the pact with Lorcan, the conduit is also severed and she loses her Warlock abilities.