Unearthed Arcana WotC Removes Latest Unearthed Arcana

WotC has removed this week's Unearthed Arcana from its website. Not only has the article's web page itself been removed, the actual PDF has been replaced with last month's "Subclasses, Part 1" PDF (although it's URL still reads... /UA2020-Subclasses02.pdf).

The article included three new subclasses, the bardic College of Creation, the cleric's Love Domain, and the sorcerer's Clockwork Soul.

[NOTE - NSFW language follows].

I don't know if it's linked, but WotC came under criticism on Twitter for its treatment of the Love Domain. The main argument isn't that mind-control magic has no place in the game, but rather that coercive powers should not be described as "love", and that the domain might be poorly named.

People like game designer Emmy Allen commented: "It seems WotC have tried to create a 'Love' domain for clerics in 5e. By some sheer coincidence they seem to have accidentally created a 'roofie' domain instead. Nothing says 'love' like overriding your target's free will to bring them under your power."


That domain was introduced as follows: "Love exists in many forms—compassion, infatuation, friendly affection, and passionate love as a few facets. Whatever form these feelings take, the gods of love deepen the bonds between individuals."

The powers were Eboldening Bond, Impulsive Infatuation ("Overwhelm a creature with a flash of short-lived by intense admiration for you, driving them to rash action in your defense”), Protective Bond, and Enduring Unity.

Whether the criticism was a factor in the article's withdrawal, I don't know. It might be that it just wasn't ready for prime-time yet. It seems the domain itself would be better named a "control" or "charm" domain than a "love" domain, which seems to be the main thrust of the criticism on Twitter.

WotC's Jeremy Crawford commented: "The official version of the Unearthed Arcana article “Subclasses, Part 2” is still ahead of us, later this week or sometime next week. Our team will hold off on answering questions until you’ve seen the real deal!"

 

[Celebrim]

Slander and murder are NOT on the same level in christian morality

I'm not going to fight you on that. If you really want to discuss it, I suppose we could take it private.

 

[Salthorae]

The fact that it's so unbelievable to some that quite a few people have an issue with giving a "Love" Domain the ability to mentally dominate

This is what I'm talking about with exaggerated or hyperbolic reactions.

The domain in no way gave complete mental domination or control. It let you try to force someone to make an attack against a target you designated. And it gave the Charm Person spell.

Charm Person, "The charmed creature regards you as a friendly acquaintance.", the charmed can't attack the charmer, and charmer has adv. on Charisma checks.

Also not mental domination. There's a spell for that... Dominate Person. Wasn't on the list.

 

[Salthorae]

Look at Friends

Friends automatically make a target hostile when it ends. I believe that is saying less about in-world assumptions than it is about game balance given that it's an unlimited per day cantrip

Charm spells, the target knows they were charmed by you. It does NOT explicitly make the charmed target hostile. Maybe, maybe not. Up to the DM.

 

[Gradine]

This is what I'm talking about with exaggerated or hyperbolic reactions.

The domain in no way gave complete mental domination or control. It let you try to force someone to make an attack against a target you designated. And it gave the Charm Person spell.

Charm Person, "The charmed creature regards you as a friendly acquaintance.", the charmed can't attack the charmer, and charmer has adv. on Charisma checks.

Also not mental domination. There's a spell for that... Dominate Person. Wasn't on the list.

All of this is incredibly pedantic and totally besides the point. The insinuation with the original archetype and abilities is that you're mentally forcing people into falling in love with you, which, again, has all kinds of a icky implications that I'm sure WotC did not intend and would have preferred to avoid altogether.

 

[Panda-s1]

I don't know how you run charms, but "advantage on Charisma checks" implies to me "they're not going to do anything that a normal Charisma check wouldn't convince them to do".

"A charmed creature can’t Attack the charmer or target the charmer with harmful Abilities or magical Effects."
but I guess the concept of agency is meaningless to you. if someone is charmed not only do you have influence on them they also can't do anything about it. having high Cha might give you a level of influence on someone, but that influence can be easily broken for whatever reason, see: the trope where a woman throws a glass of wine in a man's face.

(and again, "turning" is some gross naughty word, but is doable with enchantment spells, not so much with making someone attractive)

 

[generic]

"A charmed creature can’t Attack the charmer or target the charmer with harmful Abilities or magical Effects."
but I guess the concept of agency is meaningless to you. if someone is charmed not only do you have influence on them they also can't do anything about it. having high Cha might give you a level of influence on someone, but that influence can be easily broken for whatever reason, see: the trope where a woman throws a glass of wine in a man's face.

(and again, "turning" is some gross naughty word, but is doable with enchantment spells, not so much with making someone attractive)

It's a subclass, not something that actually happened to someone. No one was harmed by the creation of this subclass.

 

[generic]

Bearing false witness isn't accorded the same weight as murder.

According to whom? I can't get into this in-thread. But, your statement is not an absolute.

 

[Gradine]

It's a subclass, not something that actually happened to someone. No one was harmed by the creation of this subclass.

 

[generic]

I do not know what this means in the context of what I said. Please repeat, as I am apt to take humor in a manner more autistic than memetic.

 

[Salthorae]

The insinuation with the original archetype and abilities is that you're mentally forcing people into falling in love with you,

So if it'd been called the Charm Domain or the Enchantment Domain and had the same spell list and the Instant Infatuation channel divinity option, everything would be a-ok?

If that is your opinion, that seems just as pedantic to me.

I guess the concept of agency is meaningless to you. if someone is charmed not only do you have influence on them they also can't do anything about it.

So your issue is really with Charm and enchantment school spells it seems like. Not their inclusion on this list.

Charm Person is already present on the: Bard, Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard, and Trickery Domain spell lists. It's everywhere.

If you have a problem with this the Love Domain as originally published, where is the hate from everyone for the College of Glamour Bard?

College of Glamour:

• Level 3 - Enthralling performance, no concentration Charm against Charisma Mod creatures who can see/hear you. Usable 1/short rest

  Each target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be charmed by you. While charmed in this way, the target idolizes you, it speaks glowingly of you to anyone who talks to it, and it hinders anyone who opposes you, although it avoids violence unless it was already inclined to fight on your behalf. This effect ends on a target after 1 hour, if it takes any damage, if you attack it, or if it witnesses you attacking or damaging any of its allies.

• Level 6 - Mantle of Majesty, 1/Long Rest, doubles down here

  During this time, you can cast command as a bonus action on each of your turns, without expending a spell slot.
  Any creature charmed by you automatically fails its saving throw against the command you cast with this feature

• Level 14 - Unbreakable Majesty. 1/Long rest

  For the duration, whenever any creature tries to attack you for the first time on a turn, the attacker must make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, it can’t attack you on this turn, and it must choose a new target for its attack or the attack is wasted. On a successful save, it can attack you on this turn, but it has disadvantage on any saving throw it makes against your spells on your next turn.

That subclass takes away other character's (PC or NPC) agency in a WAY bigger manner than anything the Love domain threw out there.