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.

 

[Fenris-77]

It's not really any different than including feats. The base level CR is set kinda low anyway, so there a bunch of reasons you might need to up the ante.

 

[OblivionDrive]

When it comes to new rules, or rules interactions, that I haven't really pulled apart or done some math on, I'll often still let a player use it, with the proviso that it may need to be reigned in if it proves too good. Most reasonable adults are fine with that compromise.

You would think this would go without saying. That's how I generally feel too. I was just saying I don't get the concept of a DM that's afraid to reign their players in if stuff gets too ridiculous.

I get being a people pleaser. I get wanting everyone to have fun. I don't get thinking that has to mean you have to allow you players to do literally anything they want with zero pushback. You can be an enabling and supportive DM without being a pushover who lets problem players dominate the game.

 

[ZeshinX]

Yeah, that's all true. Still find it annoying that a default positive experience assumes the player's aren't good at the game, but what are you going to do?

I just play with people with similar interests. It's pretty easy for me. I just ask about what types of characters they like to play (which pretty much any D&D gamer is happy to talk about). If I hear more about mechanics and stats and statistical analysis and synergies, I know I'm not likely to enjoy playing with them all that much. If they talk about exploring character and concepts, offering examples of fantasy characters they've read about and how much fun they think it would be to play something like that....they're the ones I want to game with.

It's not so much a question of being "good" or "bad" at the game for me, it's more about finding people to game with that want similar things from the experience as I do. Narrows the field of potential players, sure, but the rewards are worth it (to me at least).

 

[Parmandur]

Yeah, that's all true. Still find it annoying that a default positive experience assumes the player's aren't good at the game, but what are you going to do?

Their default assumption is that people will come with average ability: better than assuming high ability.

 

[FlyingChihuahua]

Their default assumption is that people will come with average ability: better than assuming high ability.

And lets the people who are good at the game feel good about themselves.

 

[Parmandur]

And lets the people who are good at the game feel good about themselves.

Exactly, if the design of the game is an arms race with skill, it cuts some people out of play and makes psychological rewards for skilled play more and more esoteric and unobtainable.

 

[jmartkdr2]

I've yet to see anything more game-breakingly powerful than Crossbow Expert + Sharpshooter, really, despite the fact the WotC tends to err on the side of more power with experimental content.

But I have been in a couple open-table games where you have 30 or so players and 2-3 dms - taking extra steps to keep things more balanced would help such games, especially since you can't always get all 30 people to sit down for a session 0 and align expectations among the group. That's where houserules to aid balance really help.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Their default assumption is that people will come with average ability: better than assuming high ability.

And lets the people who are good at the game feel good about themselves.

I guess, but there are also a lot of times that that gets framed by people in discussions as being toxic for the game. Whether they call you a powergamer, a munchkin, a min-maxxer.

And, weirdly but I guess because these people avoid even talking about the extreme examples, the simpler and more obvious the "powergaming" the more push back you get. Built a Polearm-Sentinel Hexblade Paladin and you get a mild shrug. Say that you play rogues who take a race with +2 Dex and you are a monster.

It is weird.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Picture possible character concepts as an index card. Toss some coins on it - those are the classes. Many of the concepts are under a coin - these can be realized by a class. Sometimes coins overlap, and these are concepts like "archer" that can be realized by multiple classes.

There's still a lot of uncovered space on the index card, and it basically falls into to two categories. The larger is the space between coins. Those are concepts that can be made with joining coins together. That's what multiclassing brings us.

I'm skeptical.

Sure, there are combinations of abilities that require multiclassing. And I can easily imagine somebody complaining that "my concept can't be fulfilled without ability X."

But I'm skeptical that there are narrative concepts that can only be realized through multiclassing.

So how about some examples?

 

[Kurotowa]

But I'm skeptical that there are narrative concepts that can only be realized through multiclassing.

So how about some examples?

Most of the non-naughty word stories of multiclass character I've seen involve a PC undergoing a major shift in career aspirations or life goal during the course of a campaign. The Fighter or Rogue who finds a holy cause and becomes a Paladin would be the archetypal example. In many respects this treats the levels in the initial class as an extended Background, the prelude before the character reaches their true narrative endpoint.

This is a fairly niche purpose. One that, at least on Internet forums, gets completely eclipsed by optimized builds that mix classes simply to cherry pick ability combinations and give zero narrative consideration to what you're drafting. Is it worth putting up with the latter to preserve the former? I'm not so sure it is. The new UA multiclass lite feats seem a much better fit for a PC who wants to dabble in a different field. As for the PC who has a life changing experience... for that, maybe it's better to just tear up the old character sheet and convert them to a PC of the new class of the same level and ability scores. It's a bit of an extreme change, but that's what we're talking about isn't it?