D&D General WotC confirms the 8 subclasses coming in Arcana Unleashed

A new article on Beyond has revealed all that is coming in Arcana Unleashed.

The book will feature 8 subclasses:

• Arcana Domain Cleric
• Arcane Archer Fighter
• Warrior of the Mystic Arts Monk
• Vestige Patron Warlock
• Conjurer Wizard
• Enchanter Wizard
• Necromancer Wizard
• Transmuter Wizard

The book will also include 33 spells, with over half being 5th level or higher, 10 backgrounds, over 20 feats (including new Fighting Styles) and over 45 magic items, including “Evolving Magic Items” that grow with the players.

Arcana Unleashed also features a bestiary, and promises stats for the classic cartoon villain Vengar and a level 1 adventure with him as the quest giver.

• 8 new and revised subclasses inspired by powerful arcane traditions.
• 33 new and revised spells that unleash spellcasting prowess in new ways.
• 19 magical creatures ranging from mysterious allies to deadly foes.
• 9 arcane factions and 6 group patrons that shape the politics and power of magical society.
• 47 magical items including evolving relics and legendary artifacts.
• Tomb of the Shadow Serpents: A level 1introductory adventure for 1 to 2 sessions of play.
• 10 backgrounds and 20+ feats rooted in arcane factions and magical traditions.

The adventure, Deadfall, is confirmed to be 11-20 and will include a stat block for Szas Tam and a Thay gazetteer.

 

[GarrettKP]

Probably just mirrors the Druidic/Divine fighting styles from the PHB, but for the Wizard Spell list.

Way to bring my mood down cause you’re probably right

 

[TwoSix]

Seems to be in keeping with WotC’s average of 80% recycled with minor tweaks, and 20% actually interesting changes or something novel.

 

[TwoSix]

Pretty much. Laser Llama made one for his homebrewed Magus class sometime ago.

Arcane Warrior​

Prerequisite: proficiency in Arcana
You learn two Cantrips of your choice from the Wizard spell list. These do not count against your total number of Cantrips Known, Intelligence is their spellcasting ability, and when you gain Spellcasting, they count as Magus spells for you.

Laserllama’s classes are the real 5.5 in my opinion. The WotC changes are barely a 5.1 in comparison.

 

[Parmandur]

Way to bring my mood down cause you’re probably right

Sorry, lol, I was honestly just surprised that wasn't in the PHB for Eldritch Knights as it was.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Seems to be in keeping with WotC’s average of 80% recycled with minor tweaks, and 20% actually interesting changes or something novel.

They know a winning formula when they see it.

 

[jerryrice4949]

I think if they didn't roll out the rest of the wizard subschool classes, people would riot. I trust new stuff is coming on the far side of this.

Is anyone tracking which 2014 subclasses haven't been converted? Some of them, like Twilight Cleric, probably never will be, but they seem to be making good progress with the "essentials."

I agree and wanted those released too. But just updating previous subclasses seems so weak without new content too. Arcana Unleashed sounds grand this is more like Arcana Rehashed. I would like to see some new subclasses. Maybe ideas for alternate magic systems, low magic and many other things. This reminds me Fizbans. Something that could have been great but was totally uninspired.

 

[Remathilis]

kind of disappointed. Feels like a rehash of 2014. Would be nice if WoTC could really offer some new subclasses.

They tried several: ancestor sorcerer, tattooed monk, spellguard paladin, magic stealer rogue. They all got soundly rejected for one reason or another. So we got six updates and two new options.

Say what you will about each of the rejected options, but they are trying new stuff. It's just not Landing..

 

[GarrettKP]

The new Play-Along pack gives our first look at the Order of the Ninth Quill faction, background, origin feat, and two magic items.

The faction background uses Dex, Int, or Char ASIs, and gives the “Arcane Infiltrator” origin feat, which gives the Friends Cantrip and lets you use Dodge as a bonus action PB times a day.

The Ninth Quill is a faction of magic thieves and spies who steal magic from others to protect the multiverse from dangerous artifacts. They sell the less dangerous ones to fund their order, and their bastion facility is a Heist Planning Chamber that lets you research a building for a heist and give your party roles (like the face or the lookout) which gives bonuses to useful skills.

The magic items are a magic dagger called Mage Breaker (+1 Dagger that imposes disadvantage on concentration checks when it hits a mage) and our first Evolving Magic Item, the Idol of Good Fortunes. The idol gives benefits depending on its level, which is suppose to evolve as you get to higher tiers of play:

Uncommon Level: Can cast Augury with it.
Rare: +1 AC and can use a magic action to transform stuff like gemstones and precious metal bars into their equivalent coinage value.
Very Rare: Can cast Globe of Invulnerability.

The items keep their lesser rarity properties when they level up.

 

[Remathilis]

I agree and wanted those released too. But just updating previous subclasses seems so weak without new content too. Arcana Unleashed sounds grand this is more like Arcana Rehashed. I would like to see some new subclasses. Maybe ideas for alternate magic systems, low magic and many other things. This reminds me Fizbans. Something that could have been great but was totally uninspired.

WotC isn't in the business of alternative rulesets that replace existing rules. That's 3pp territory. They do add ones that are compatible with rules, not replacing them. The 2024 DMG gave evidence to that.

 

[Silam]

WotC isn't in the business of alternative rulesets that replace existing rules. That's 3pp territory. They do add ones that are compatible with rules, not replacing them. The 2024 DMG gave evidence to that.

Is this a recent trend? I seem to remember they deleted gritty rest alt rules from the 2024 DMG, even though it was present in 2014, though I hadn’t realized it was part of a more generalized pattern… why though?

They’ve had plenty of alternative rules in the past for all sorts of things.