Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana: Spirits Bard and Undeath Warlock

We have a new UA release with two subclasses. The College of Spirits Bard is a fortune teller or spirit medium type character with a big random effect table. Meanwhile the Undeath Pact Warlock is a a do-over of the Undying Pact Warlock.

 

[CleverNickName]

Undead, Undying... neither of them have Animate Dead on their spell list so I still can't make a damned Warlock necromancer which is all I ever wanted to do with a Warlock.

It’s on the expanded Warlock spell list from the class feature options UA.

You can also just ask your DM if you could swap out vampiric touch (or another 3rd level Necromancy warlock spell) for animate dead. Or better yet, ask them if you can rewrite the Sign of Ill Omen invocation so that it allows you to cast animate dead once per long rest instead of bestow curse.

 

[cbwjm]

These subclasses are probably fine but I'm not too interested in them, maybe because of the theme and personal opinions. I tend to think that a spiritualist should be a warlock subclass (I think the warlock fits for a few concepts that don't technically require a patron).

 

[Morrus]

That isn't how it works. The British are the oppressors, the colonizers.

The Americans are the colonisers; America was a colony. We’re descended from the ones who stayed at home.

But yes, you are right; citizens of the UK are not oppressed or discriminated against for being citizens of the UK (though we have plenty of internal prinems).

That isn't how it works. The British are the oppressors, the colonizers.

For the record it is also not possible to be racist towards white people.

[color]Lets not refer to an entire nation as oppressors, eh?[/color]

 

[Marandahir]

But then it's almost close to the Revived Rogue UA

I know, but it's much more thematically on point as an Otherworldly Patron than as a Rogueish Archetype.

I like Phantom for what we got with the revision to the Revived. Why are Rogues special? Why couldn't I be a Revived Fighter? or a Revived Bard?

Phantom instead focuses on telling you what this is - it's the House of White and Black, the Faceless Men, from Game of Thrones. Explores deathly themes for Rogues but very much a Rogue and not something else.

As a Warlock, I'm not playing an Archfey Warlock - my PATRON is the Archfey, not me. So the Risen Patron would be thematically on point - a patron who died and came back. It's a fun way of saying Undead without saying Undead.

Just thinking about the Warlock/Warlord/Warden/Warpriest thing back in 4e… better to keep the names of character options as far away from each other as possible without sounding awkward and difficult to remember.

 

[Undrave]

With Thirsting Blade, Life Drinker, a Stength of 20, Dual-Wielder with a Lance, riding on top a mount, that gives you 3 attacks a round, you can be 10 feet away from all creatures when you do these attacks (making almost no opportunity attacks against you, so the risk is low), it's still broken. Especially if you take the feat to get the Dual Wielder Fighting Style.

That gives you 2d12+1d6+10 necrotic damage for 2 attacks, with low risk, and a fairly high bonus to hit, and 2d12+1d6+5 necrotic damage as a bonus action. In a turn, that's an average of 62 necrotic damage. It's definitely not super OP, but is powerful, as it only takes 2 Eldritch Invocations, a feat, and a spell slot for Hex.

Yeah but if you're dual wielding lances on a horse, it feels like a corner case at that point... But it makes a great build for a villain.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

But then it's almost close to the Revived Rogue UA

Yeah, but the Revived is now the Phantom, so that doesn't seem like a real problem.

 

[Blue]

Part of me really wants to change the title of College of Spirits to Dirge Singer.

Necroprancer?

Ouija Board?

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

And no where does it say you get to add an extra die to every unique damage source. It says 1) When you hit a creature with an attack you can cause the attack to deal necrotic damage, and 2) IF you substitute necrotic damage AND have Form of Dread active you roll one additional damage die. That doesn't mean every damage source, that doesn't mean mean any necrotic damage, it means it happens once when you hit with an attack.

You might as well argue that a half-orc's Savage Attacks adds extra Hex or Hunter's Mark dice. That's just not how it works.

That may be correct. I'm not sure, it was just my first reaction to seeing that.

 

[Undrave]

Doesn't work. You roll 1 additional die when determining damage, so you can't do the blast and the hex.

And even if you want to claim the hex is a seperate damage roll, it isn't tied to the attack roll then, and so wouldn't qualify.

I would let them role the extra d6 instead of a necrotic d4 from stabbing with a dagger though.

I thin he's saying you do you blast, you get D10 for the Eldritch Blast, D10 from the subclass, D6 from Hex, (CHA from Agonizing Blast), any OTHER bonus dice and THEN all that gets doubled on a crit.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I don’t know... Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think it’s super clear-cut which is better between 1d10 force and 2d10 necrotic. A lot of stuff resists or has immunity to necrotic, and very little does to force. Like, it is probably too good, but I don’t think by that much. And the biggest problem is the synergy with Eldritch Blast. I think the best solution would just be to restrict the bonus damage to one roll against one target, just like the Celestial does with Radiant Soul .

Well, the point is, that you don't use it when you are fighting something like Celestials or Undead, those are generally about the only things that care about Necrotic. Meaning it will only be a bonus to damage, rarely running into the resistance or immunity.

Hex is part of the same attack, but is a different damage roll.

Right, so it is 1 die when rolling damage. You are rolling damage that is 1d10+1d6. So you only get 1 die, not two.

I thin he's saying you do you blast, you get D10 for the Eldritch Blast, D10 from the subclass, D6 from Hex, (CHA from Agonizing Blast), any OTHER bonus dice and THEN all that gets doubled on a crit.

Well, sure it all gets doubled from a crit, but Acerak is claiming that you get 1d10 Blast, 1d10 subclass, 1d6 hex, 1d6 subclass. Which is not true