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

 

[Hussar]

Because their game has a different story than your example.

What warlock's patron isn't an immortal being of immense power that has interests that span centuries or even millennia?

Again, unless your campaign is covering events that last for centuries, most patrons wouldn't even notice. Never minding that most patrons are so inhuman that their goals are pretty much inscrutable by definition. Archfey? Attention span of gnats. Great Old One? Blue Manchester piccolo? Celestial or Fiend? They get your soul when you're done living it. On and on.

Maybe if your warlock is about 15th level or higher it might be noticeable by your patron? Maybe? Among the hundreds of thousands or maybe millions of warlocks that that power is the patron of across the multiverse?

You're just not that important.

 

[Hussar]

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.

This is why I never, ever read RPG novels. Great for a joke character I suppose.

 

[Charlaquin]

Because their game has a different story than your example.

This. In my games, warlock pacts usually aren’t for the warlock’s soul. What the patron gets out of the arrangement is… to empower a warlock. Same as an artist’s patron gets… to fund an artist.

 

[Rikka66]

What warlock's patron isn't an immortal being of immense power that has interests that span centuries or even millennia?

Again, unless your campaign is covering events that last for centuries, most patrons wouldn't even notice. Never minding that most patrons are so inhuman that their goals are pretty much inscrutable by definition. Archfey? Attention span of gnats. Great Old One? Blue Manchester piccolo? Celestial or Fiend? They get your soul when you're done living it. On and on.

Maybe if your warlock is about 15th level or higher it might be noticeable by your patron? Maybe? Among the hundreds of thousands or maybe millions of warlocks that that power is the patron of across the multiverse?

You're just not that important.

If you want all your patrons to work that way, more power to you. I've had a warlock in the party with a patron of that kind. It was fine. I've also had a warlock with a patron that took an interest in him. He was one of several of her agents, but she gave him missions to do, and after he did well she threw a party for him. That was fine too.

No need to get indignant at the thought of people running games with lore that's not to your preference.

 

[PsyzhranV2]

This is why I never, ever read RPG novels. Great for a joke character I suppose.

Not really seeing how that's a joke character. I mean, it's an answer to:

What warlock's patron isn't an immortal being of immense power that has interests that span centuries or even millennia?

Answer being the child of said immortal being who has too much time on their hands and is bored (though Lorcan's mother was an Erinyes, not an Archdevil, but you get the point).

Other answers could be a mid-level devil, fey, or angel who wants an agent on the Material Plane in order to fulfil or disrupt a prophecy, or to act as their minion in politics material or planar, or some other mundane matter; and they'll be happy to turn the Warlock loose after their job is done (though depending on the character of the patron in question, they might be more inclined to silence loose ends instead).

Point being that not all patrons have to be entities on the level of Asmodeus, lower level outsiders can fill the role just fine, with canon precedent to back the concept up.

 

[Hussar]

I agree, it's all about play style. The idea of patron as "artist's patron" is far too intrusive. As a DM, I'm not interested in that level of responsibility over someone else's character and as a player, I would resent the DM for being far too hands on with my character.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Nothing.

Why are they different classes then?

 

[Hussar]

Not really seeing how that's a joke character. I mean, it's an answer to:

You don't see how that patron only being a patron because they want to catch them all and complete a set isn't a joke character? Ok.

 

[Faolyn]

Maybe the result of a warlock losing their patron is that they simply cannot take any more warlock levels. At least not until they find a new patron?

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Maybe the result of a warlock losing their patron is that they simply cannot take any more warlock levels. At least not until they find a new patron?

That would be a logical outcome under certain metaphysical assumptions.