The Winter Queen's Sister

 Oddly, when I first did the Ardenweald quests on my main, I missed out on the climactic cutscene in which...

It's a new expansion, let's put a spoiler cut here.

SPOILERS AHEAD

An Alt in the Shadowlands

 Having blazed through leveling up and now running heroic dungeons and waiting for daily callings and world quests to let me progress other systems, I decided it was time to bring in my first alt - by tradition, it's my Death Knight (who has been, since Wrath, my sort of "Vice Main," even outgearing the tankadin in Mists of Pandaria.) I think my Demon Hunter will come next, and then I'll probably let one of my Horde characters come (though faction divide seems like it will be immensely less significant than it was last time - indeed, I think I might have leveled my Shaman prior to the DK in BFA just so I could see Zandalar).

While it looks like every character must go through the introductory quests in the Maw (which gets you most of the way to 51, actually) when you arrive in Oribos on a character after the first has hit 60 and chosen a covenant (I assume that's the criterion) time actually freezes while a special NPC shows up to let you choose - do you play through the main story again or go into a free-form mode?

Now, actually, for all of my characters, the Death Knight makes the most sense to play in this free-mode (which I'll detail below) given that I leveled him up to 60 in the beta, and thus have actually gotten to try out all the covenant abilities. You can actually switch over from story mode to this free-form mode later if you want to skip ahead, but you cannot go the other way.

While I'm tempted to try that on him, I'm also sort of hesitant to do so, given the vast number of quests I'd be missing out on - though there's obviously some content (lots of bonus objectives, I believe) that open up. The key advantage to the free-form is that you get to do the zones in any order, and can choose your covenant at 50, getting to start work on stuff like renown from the get-go.

But given that I've only played through the leveling story once on beta and once on live, I'm not exactly sick of it yet. A conundrum. Of course, every other class I play I'll probably want to get a chance to use the four covenant abilities outside of some training dummies in that room in Oribos, which the linear questing experience really gives you tons of opportunity to do.

For the DK, I think I want to go Venthyr, which is seen, I think, as a kinda ok option for Frost, though it's also seen as pretty good for Blood, so I think I'll probably be ok with that.

I do want to be able to play all four covenant campaigns, but at the same time, the min-maxer in me wants to make sure that I get my characters the best stuff, so... hm. And as it happens, it looks like I'm going to have a ton of Venthyr characters among my most-played ones (I might elevate my Frost Mage a bit early so I have someone to go Night Fae.)

Also, I'll be honest, I kind of hate Fleshcrafting, the universal Necrolord ability. If the channel time were half as long, I might like it a whole lot more.

Anyway, the DK is sitting in Oribos, having gotten his professions upgraded to Shadowlands level and chilling for the time being. I'll probably return to the paladin main tomorrow and get daily content done. (Naturally, his worst piece of gear is his weapon - haven't had much luck with drops. But heroics don't seem to be a massive difficulty jump, so I'll just give it time.)

What Hit the Arbiter?

 Shortly after we arrive in Oribos, before we're sent to Bastion to start our little mystery investigation through the Shadowlands, we get a cutscene that explains why the afterlife is broken, and all souls are currently going directly to the Maw.

But one explanation just raises other questions.

What we know is that when things are working correctly, the Arbiter sees every soul and understands it immediately, then sends it on its way to the proper afterlife. But in the midst of the stream of incoming souls, there was some red (in contrast to the tranquil bluish-white of the others) missile that struck her, knocking her out and causing the entire stream to go directly down (which, ok, bad design, guys.)

As I see it, there are two possibilities: the red projectile was either a soul or some kind of magical attack.

Now, the latter case leaves a ton of possibilities open - basically, anyone who can aim something into the Shadowlands could pull it off. This could still totally be the case, but I think it's more interesting if one individual's demise was what caused this.

But who?

Ok, let's talk timing.

Thanks to the tearjerkingly tragic Ardenweald Afterlives cinematic, we know that the system was still functioning when we did the Emerald Nightmare raid. Ursoc's demise there led to his arrival as a spirit in Ardenweald, ready to undergo the long hibernation that would bring his eventual rebirth - only for the anima drought to deny him the chance to be reborn or even live on in Ardenweald (oof, still hurts).

So we have a moment it could not have happened before (even accepting that time works differently in the Shadowlands, we're talking causality here, and if the story is to make sense, it has to at least respect that a little, unless we find out the Infinite Dragonflight is behind all of this (which... sign me up?)

Now, I believe that there's been mentions of the souls that burned in Teldrassil going to the Maw (which makes Elune's putting them to sleep before they could die feel like less of an effective act of mercy). That would suggest that this violation of the system happened before the War of Thorns.

So that means that something happened during Legion or in the between-expansion period after it. If my hypothesis that the red thing is a soul, whose might it be?

My initial guess would be Argus. Frankly, there are a lot of things we have yet to really understand about Argus. When we arrived on his planet, he was still just a World-Soul like Azeroth - which seems to be a kind of formless essence at the heart of the planet. The Legion had worked Argus over like crazy, as we saw that a giant chunk of the planet had been carved away, and it had been profoundly corrupted by fel magic.

But in the very last moments of the raid, Argus manifests as a true Titanic form within the Seat of the Pantheon, and we fight him while the uncorrupted (and in the case of Aggramar de-corrupted) Titans watch. It's his defeat that seems to empower the Pantheon to capture Sargeras and seal him on his throne (though again, we really don't know what exactly happened next - the one kinda-sorta mortal there hasn't been able to call home.)

But here's a question: do Titans go to the Shadowlands?

I believe there was either an answer from a Blizzard person in an interview or possibly a line in Shadowlands that suggests that the Titans are beings of Order, and that the material world is their realm (which is kind of interesting - if each of the 6 primordial forces has its own plane, with the Shadowlands being that of Death and the Twisting Nether being that of Disorder, is "Reality" the realm of Order?) Though Sargeras had slain Aggramar and the rest of the Pantheon way back in the distant past, they lived on, and while their essences were (with the exception of Eonar) recaptured by the Legion (as we saw in Antorus,) they were able to return to their Titanic forms by the Argus fight.

Man, it's a shame we didn't get more time to spend with them, because there were a lot of questions I'd have wanted to ask them. Also, I'd have really liked to be reminded what the difference between Norgannon and Golganeth was - after so long building up the ultimate divine pantheon of the Warcraft universe, we didn't really get any time to see them do anything individually.

Anyway, if Argus hasn't just been annihilated like Telogrus was (I maintain that that's the name of the World-Soul that Sargeras first destroyed when he found that the planet was corrupted with Old Gods, because it's heavily implied that the Void Elf starting zone is that world) would his soul go to the Shadowlands? Or would it persist, maybe in the Seat of the Pantheon?

Let's set him aside for a moment, though.

What about Kil'jaeden? Killy J even had a connection to the Shadowlands, as it was he who built the Lich King (out of, I believe we'll discover, pieces made by the Runecarver, plus one Orc soul). But that's also an interesting question: given that Kil'jaeden had spent 25,000 years as a demon (and a particularly powerful one at that, meaning he must have been saturated with fel energy - which is probably why he exploded and took out his whole flagship when he died) can he even go to the Shadowlands? My read of his death was that he faced true extinction, dying in the Twisting Nether as he did. It made his last words all the more tragic - that he had given up his humanity (er... Draenanity? No, hold on, Eredaranity?) thinking that Sargeras could not be opposed, and that it would be better for him and his people to be on the winning side, only to face oblivion.

Like Argus, I'm not sure that there is a soul of Kil'jaeden's to even go to the Shadowlands.

But here's, perhaps, an interesting option:

What about Gul'dan?

See, there's a problem with Gul'dan. His soul had already been sent to the Shadowlands.

Now, take this with a boulder of rock salt, because even in Warlords of Draenor - the literal time travel expansion - Blizzard was resolute in not actually making use of the time-travel elements in the story. As someone who has been fascinated by the Infinite Dragonflight since they were introduced in Burning Crusade, it felt criminal that they never actually made use of them within Warlords - the only tiny reference to them being Kairozdormu claiming he would "become infinite" right before Garrosh strangled him to death.

While I think there's a lot of merit to the theory that no one is supposed to go directly to the Maw - that everyone's supposed to get a chance in Revendreth - if there's any character in Warcraft who seems 100% suited for the Maw, it's Gul'dan (Cho'gall's another possibility).

(As a side note, in the Gul'dan Harbingers cinematic from Legion, I think most people would read, and perhaps the intended read is, that the gruff warrior guy who exiles Gul'dan from his home is just another toxic "warrior culture" orc who can't understand the value of people without physical strength, and that the shaman who shows him mercy is the wise one, even if it gets him killed. I kind of like the possibility that the warrior guy doesn't exile him for being weak, but because he understands the darkness within what was then a young man, and that the shaman is just being naive.)

So Gul'dan might have just gone to the Maw immediately. But what if, when we killed the second Gul'dan, it caused an error?

The inhabitants of Bastion have a vaguely mechanical vibe to them (same with the Brokers, who, by the way, I'm convinced are up to something profoundly shady, and also feel like they would get along well with the Ethereals) and so I could understand Gul'dan Mk. II showing up for judgment causing a major error.

Now, on the other hand, plenty of invading orcs from Alt-Draenor died before he did well before Legion. And I also wonder if the Shadowlands transcends timelines the way that the Legion does (which... I'm about 95% convinced was the Blizzard lore team just wanting to get Warlords over with and let Archimonde die for real-real).

So I'm not 100% convinced that it's him either.

Of all the things that happened in Legion, the one most closely associated with the force of Death was Helya and her Kvaldir. We now know that Helya is one of the many figures in league with the Jailer (likewise Mueh'zalla, who I think is the hardest dungeon boss in the expansion, at least on normal and when we're still learning the fights) and we were told during BFA (if you got a particular drop from an island expedition) that even in death, she's been more powerful than ever.

Naturally, I think we'll find out more over the course of this expansion. But I am happy to have some major lore to speculate about.

Kyrian Covenant, Level 60, Almost All the Dungeons Run

 The one dungeon I have left is De Other Side, which is actually the one I've been most excited for (so it's kind of fun to have it saved for last.)

I hit 60 yesterday - while I always try to stop and read the quest text when an expansion goes live, having done the whole 50-60 climb on my Death Knight in the beta, I wasn't exactly poring over every detail, and so my ascent was rather quick.

Thankfully, since that time of the Beta, they've fixed the experience required for the last few levels, so I was 60 before I tried the final scenario in Revendreth (I had been about halfway through 67 on the Beta, and it was unforgiving - they also fixed it so that your Stoneborn allies are a buff rather than NPCs you can lose - and dying doesn't remove said buff.)

Playing through with all the cutscenes has of course clarified some things. The quests here are very good.

There are a ton of things to do at the level cap, which the game walks you through individually. I've capped my renown for the week.

I guess I'll go through the dungeons and my general impressions (just a paragraph a piece.)

Necrotic Wake:

This will be the first dungeon you run if you do that while leveling. Fighting through the evil Maldraxxi who are invading Bastion, I'd say most of the fights are rather straightforward except for the third one - as a PSA: IF YOU GET THE MEAT HOOK ON YOU, AIM IT AT THE BOSS. I anticipate the first few weeks of this expansion that fight's going to be a pain, but people will figure it out eventually.

Plaguefall:

I think the oddest thing about this dungeon is that I'm not sure you can clear all the trash before you get the second boss. The other thing is that those tentacles are real nasty on the final boss - remember to treat it as a series of void zones, not something that can be out-ranged (actually, it's a bit like King Dazar.) I will say I think it's slightly cheating that Maldraxxus effectively has three dungeons (including the Necrotic Wake in Bastion,) but it earns that thanks to the level-cap one, which is really cool - and we'll get to that.

Mists of Tirna Scithe:

It feels like each dungeon so far has a "you really need to know this before you start" hint. Here's the key: the puzzles before and during the second boss are all about finding the one thing that doesn't fit - There'll be an element that everything else has, and you want to go with the passage or clone that doesn't have it. Again, this is going to be a pain for the first couple weeks. I will say that I hope there's a little more depth to the Drust - they were one of the cooler minor villains in BFA, but there's no personality like Gorak Tul to give the Drust in Ardenweald a real identity beyond "these guys are bad."

Halls of Atonement:

While I had done this on the Beta, and it is a level-up dungeon, I cannot seem to find a quest for it, so I actually only ran it live after doing three of the level-cap dungeons. There's nothing terribly obscure about this (though I do like how the Stoneborn boss smashes out of the doors when you try to open them.) I'm sure there will be some strategies that develop for the first part to most efficiently kill the three golems to empower the boss.

Spires of Acension:

This is a remarkably large dungeon, but one in which much of the ground is covered on the wings of Kyrians. Most is rather straightforward, but the final boss is actually pretty tough - and I can only imagine what it'll be like on Mythic. Basically, collect those globes while dodging (if you possibly can) the patches of nasty stuff, and toss that spear as soon as possible. As a sidenote: I find the Forsworn to be a really interesting quasi-villain group. While their leadership has made a deal with a seriously bad dude, the cause for their rebellion is, like, reasonable. And it's nice to see that the Archon recognizes that when you finish the dungeon and hints that reforms are coming.

Theater of Pain:

I did not expect this dungeon to be so cool. After a rather easy first boss (which feels more like a major trash pull) you get sucked into the arena's depths, where the middle three bosses are (or is it four?) Anyway, you can do these bosses in any order, and each has their own little short old-school Scarlet Monastery wing-sized mini dungeon. Once the bosses at the bottom are defeated, you can fight the final boss.

De Other Side:

Haven't run this one yet!

Sanguine Depths:

This one is almost all tight quarters. A couple things - first, the second boss took me by surprise, as it's in a really narrow part of a long hallway, so I pulled without realizing I was targeting a boss (we were fine.) The second thing is that the player that's carrying the escaped prisoner, and thus gets a special ability, is apparently supposed to save it for a particular attack the final boss does, which screwed up because I used it too early.

Now, this is a point in the game (like, two days an a couple hours since launch) where more or less everyone's playing their mains, so we're cutting through these dungeons like butter. I suspect they'll feel a bit more challenging later on. Still, I think the difficulty's about right - not so hard that it's a constant wipe-fest, but tough enough that you need to pay attention to most of the boss mechanics.

Of course, this is all normal mode. I'm not geared enough for heroics yet (I wonder who is) and I'm sure there will be some new wrinkles to deal with.

Anyway, I want to run De Other Side and then finish out what I imagine is my weekly Torghast Soul Ash quest. I'm looking forward to my roommate getting to that point, as I hope to do some Torghast runs as a pair. It's pretty fun solo, but I actually don't know how anima powers and such work with multiple people.

Shadowlands has a really great aesthetic and a ton of interesting lore - and I'm really eager to see how that lore ties into ongoing stories. The quest you get in Sanguine Depths (which seems to be unique among the level cap dungeons - unless De Other Side has one) remind us that while the Shadowlands are sort of their own universe, it's still part of the larger Warcraft multiverse. I'm reminded of Mists of Pandaria, when everything felt so new and almost disconnected from what we had already seen - but then we found out that there was some really major lore surrounding the Titans and the Old Gods to be found there.

I will also suggest that people keep an ear out for mentions of mysterious new figures in the Shadowlands - having done the Venthyr campaign on the Beta, I'm pretty sure that I know who they're talking about, but there are some nice, subtle "blink and you'll miss it" mentions that seem to refer to this, well, established lore figure.

Oh, and we need to talk about that cinematic showing the Arbiter getting shut down. What was that? Was it a direct attack, or was it a particular soul? And in the former case, fired by whom? And in the latter case, who was it?

Big questions posed, and big answers to look forward to!

Also, we're all agreed that the Brokers are up to something really sketchy, right?

PSA: An Armorer Artificer by Level 20 is Nigh-Unkillable

While doing some planning for an AL character, I came up with a 1-20 plan.

And I discovered that things get utterly crazy if you actually make it to level 20.

In AL, you generally either take the Standard Array or the Point Buy system for your stats - you can't roll them, because basically everything has to be replicable and not just "trust me, I rolled really well when I made this character." But with the new racial rules, you can reassign ability score improvements. Any race with +2 to one stat and +1 to another can thus achieve the model I'm using.

So, with the Standard Array, you give the 14 to Intelligence and the 15 to Constitution, and then grant the +2 to Int and the +1 to Con (or vice versa - the idea is to get yourself both to 16 at level 1.) Eventually, you'll be getting Int and Con both maxed, with one leftover ASI for a feat.

By level 9, an Armorer can infuse two extra items, as long as they're part of the four elements of their armor that can be infused. This isn't strictly relevant, but you want to make sure you've got all your attunement slots filled by 20 - something that this will help with.

Now, Armorers can get heavy armor, and as long as it's their Arcane Armor, they don't need any Strength to move at full speed in it. So you want to get a set of plate as soon as you can.

Next, you'll also want a shield - while Artificers don't start with one, they can use them, and there's no reason I know of that an Armorer wouldn't want to use one (especially since your weapons aren't even going to occupy your dominant hand.)

Putting Repulsion Shield on your shield and Enhanced Defense on your armor means that, if you have a set of plate, by level 10 (when Enhanced Defense upgrades) you'll have 23 AC.

Also at level 10, you can learn to replicate Cloak of Protection, which increases AC and your saving throws by 1. So now, you've actually got 24 AC.

At level 14, you can learn to replicate Ring of Protection, which does the same thing but is a higher rarity for some reason. But now, you have that and you have 25 AC - which is the same AC as Tiamat and the Tarrasque, the highest CR monsters in the game, have.

Making sure that you have every attunement slot filled (which you can do regardless of what the DM is giving you thanks to your infusions,) you'll eventually have six items.

So, with the standard array, you'll have gotten Int and Con both up to +5. These are also the saving throws you're proficient in as an Artificer, which by level 20 is a +6 bonus.

Artificers also get +1 to their saving throws for every item they are attuned to once they hit level 20. Which means that you will have +5 for the ability, +6 for proficiency, +6 for your attunements, and +2 for the ring and the cloak.

And thus have a +19 to your Intelligence and Constitution saving throws.

Now, your other stats will have two +1s, a +0, and a -1. But that still gets the +6 and the +2 bonuses from attunements and the ring and cloak, which comes out to two +9s, a +8, and a +7.

(Team up with a level 20 Paladin with maxed Charisma for extra fun!)

25 AC. And +19 to Con saves. Which then means that concentration saves are going to be a bit easier, right?

Man, I want to play one of these.

Shadowlands Tomorrow!

 Shadowlands, WoW's 8th (!) expansion launches tomorrow (or today if it's the 23rd in your time zone.) So while we're all hoping for Bronjahm to drop his freaking bag (I really can't complain, as I've gotten it on 4 characters now, but I want to get it for my Rogue, dammit, and I missed two spawns today because I remembered he was coming about two minutes after he did) the pre-expansion event will come to a close an hour before the expansion goes live. That is set to occur at 3 PM Pacific time, at which point you should get a quest sending you to your faction capital before getting a ride to Acherus, and from there to Icecrown Citadel.

Your first character will have to complete the campaign quests, which will take you first into the Maw, and then to the capital city of Oribos, and then through the main quest lines in Bastion, Maldraxxus, Ardenweald, and then Revendreth. At level 60, you'll pick your Covenant, which will lock in the two abilities and your options for things like soulbinds and such.

There is a ton of theorycrafting on Covenants, but I think I'm going to try to ignore that and just pick the ones that fit the personalities and characters of my various characters - my theory being that ideal covenant might shift over the course of the expansion. Is this a terrible idea? I hope not!

I'm given to understand that they've nerfed the amount of XP you need to get from 50-60, which was very necessary, as I finished the final story quests in the Beta before that change at about halfway through 57, which meant I eventually needed to dungeon grind after finishing all the side quests in... I think every zone. The intention now is that you should be able to hit the cap with the four leveling dungeons and the campaign, but I'd say do some side quests just to be safe (especially in the early zones, as these will not scale up, and thus their XP will be deprecated when you outlevel them.)

Now, subsequent characters can choose to either go through the same linear path or pick their covenant immediately and then level up through side quests and bonus objectives. Beware: the entire main campaign quests (other than the Maw intro, which you need to get through to make this choice) is unavailable if you choose this, so make sure you really don't want to do any of those story quests. Side quest chains should still be available, and you'll have bonus objectives in the regions where the main story quests would otherwise be in order to make up for the lost XP.

Personally, I'd recommend doing the main campaign at least on the first couple characters, particularly because this will give you a chance to try out all the covenant abilities before you commit to a choice. If you put your full trust in Icy-Veins or Noxxic or whatever the kids are using these days, then feel free to just pick the best-simmed one, but I'm going to try them all out (note that before you commit even in this version of the leveling experience, you do get to try out the various abilities on combat dummies before you make a choice).

I'm given to understand that the first raid, Castle Nathria (which is actually the only announced raid at this point) opens up just two weeks after launch. I don't know how easy it will be to gear up for that in time, but that of course depends on your playstyle (given the year we're in, I imagine people will have more time to power-level.) Castle Nathria is the home of Sire Denathrius, the main villain of Revendreth, and is a massive gothic castle (insert Arrested Development joke here) where Denathrius has been stockpiling anima while the lower classes of Revendreth suffer, not to mention the souls there that are supposed to be getting rehabilitated but are instead just being squeezed for every last drop of anima.

Anyway, it's a brand new day in WoW, and we'll be leaving behind Azerite Armor and Heart of Azeroth essences the moment we enter the Shadowlands (well, the armor will stay, but we won't get the azerite powers anymore.)

I think the big question is whether the Soulbind system will feel as intrusive on the gameplay as Azerite was - I'm hopeful it won't, but we'll see. (Personally, I'd love to see the next expansion ditch these "borrowed power" systems and just go back to straight gear - artifact weapons were cool, but I don't think we need another version of them in every expansion.)

There is plenty of story left to be revealed, and apparently some bits that were missing from the beta (such as the cinematic that shows how and when the system of death got broken - something we know happened after Ursoc died but before Teldrassil burned - was it the death of Argus?) that I'm eager to see.

Anyway, it's a big day for WoW tomorrow!

Comparing PHB vs Tasha's Ranger

 More than any other class, the Ranger got a profound rework with Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. Given the reputation for the poor state of the Ranger over the last 6 years, I thought I'd go through feature-by-feature and consider how the new ones stack up against the old ones.

Note that I'll be ignoring the Beast Master changes. While certainly good (you sort of just have Summon Beast up at all times, though the stat blocks are a bit different) I'm looking at universal Ranger features.

Level 1: Favored Enemy vs. Favored Foe.

Favored Enemy: This lets you choose a creature type (or two humanoid races) and designate them as your favored enemies. You learn a language associated with them, and you get advantage on Survival checks to track them, as well as any Intelligence checks to recall information about them. You get additional favored enemies at 6th and 14th level, with all the perks.

Favored Foe: When you hit an enemy, you can mark them for 1 minute while maintaining concentration (as if on a spell) as your foe, dealing an extra d4 of damage to them once per turn (including when you mark them.) You can do this a number of times equal to your PB, getting all uses back on a long rest. The damage bonus goes up to a d6 at level 6, and a d8 at level 14. (The marked target also counts for your Foe Slayer feature at level 20.)

    So, I'll be honest, I think I like the original better in this case. The fact that Favored Foe both requires concentration and is also limited by your PB - and you can't move it to other targets while it's up - means that it's basically a worse, albeit spell-slot free version of Hunter's Mark, which you're probably going to pick up at level 2 anyway. Just take Hunter's Mark instead and enjoy the flavorful element of Favored Enemy.

Level 1: Natural Explorer vs Deft Explorer.

Natural Explorer: This lets you choose a favored terrain, with an array of examples from which you can choose. When making an Intelligence or Wisdom check related to that terrain, your proficiency is doubled if you're using a skill that you're proficient with (wow, guess I've been doing that wrong - honestly, I think part of the reason to swap this one out is that it's so complicated.) If you travel for an hour or more in that terrain, you get the following benefits:

Difficult terrain doesn't slow your travel. You can't be come lost except by magical means. While engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking) you remain alert to danger. If traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace. When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would. While tracking other creatures, you learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.

And you pick additional terrain types at 6th and 10th level.

Deft Explorer: You get the following benefits at levels 1, 6, and 10: Level 1: Canny: Choose one of your skill proficiencies. You double your proficiency when you make a check that uses that skill (basically expertise, right?) Level 6: Roving: Your movement speed increases by 5 and you gain a climbing speed and a swimming speed equal to your walking speed. Level 10: Tireless: As an action, you can give yourself temp HP equal to 1d8+Wis (minimum of 1.) You can do this a number of times equal to your PB per long rest. Also, if you finish a short rest, your exhaustion level, if any, decreases by 1.

    So, in this case, I'd actually lean toward the newer one. While the former has some great sort of immunities, unless your adventure is focusing a lot on long-distance travel, it's basically fluff, while the Deft Explorer features are all very clearly useful in any campaign. So in this case, I'd go with the new feature (though I'm debating if I'd want to swap it out in my Tomb of Annihilation group, where I'm playing a Ranger - having Forest as his favored terrain has been very useful, though it'll abruptly not be when we get to the dungeon itself.)

Level 3: Primeval Awareness vs Primal Awareness

Primeval Awareness: You can expend a Ranger spell slot to sense (for 1 minute per spell level) whether there are any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, or undead within 1 mile (or 6 miles if you're in your favored terrain.)

Primal Awareness: You learn additional spells that don't count against your spells known, each at a different level. 3rd level: Speak with Animals. 5th level: Beast Sense. 9th level: Speak with Plants. 13th level: Locate Creature. 17th level: Commune with Nature. You can cast each of these spells once without expending a spell slot, regaining this use on a long rest.

    Going to hand it to the new one, Primal Awareness. While Primeval Awareness can be nice, the RP potential and general usefulness of the other spells feels way cooler.

10th level: Hide in Plain Sight vs. Nature's Veil:

Hide in Plain Sight: You can spend 1 minute creating camouflage for yourself. You must have access to fresh mud, dirt, plants, soot, and other naturally occurring materials with which to create your camouflage. Once camouflaged this way, you can try to hide by pressing yourself up to a solid surface, such as a tree or a wall, that is at least as tall and wide as you are. You gain a +10 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks as long are you remain there without moving or taking actions. Once you move or take an action or reaction, you must camouflage yourself again to gain this benefit.

Nature's Veil: As a bonus action, you can magically become invisible, along with any equipment you're wearing or carrying, until the start of your next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your PB, regaining all uses when you finish a long rest.

    Oh man. On one hand, I adore the absurd flavor baked into Hide in Plain Sight. On the other hand, it's so over the top impractical unless the situation is built for it (and useless in dungeon environments.) Frankly, this is the kind of thing I'd let a Ranger do if they sold me on the RP and maybe succeeded on a Survival check. But Nature's Veil is clearly going to be far more useful in almost every situation.

    And there we have it. Half of the Ranger's unique class features can be swapped out for others. I don't know how most people will choose to play this - whether a player can pick and choose each of them or if they have to take the full suite. I really like the new ones except for Favored Foe, which I really think just doesn't seem worth it (if it weren't a concentration effect, that would salvage it for me.)

    I think you do lose some of the Ranger's really idiosyncratic specificity by taking the new options, but if it makes the class feel less like it's being held back in comparison to, say, a ranged fighter, I'm all for players who want to play that fantasy feeling like they aren't handicapping themselves by playing a broken class. And what's nice about this being simply new optional rules instead of a whole new edition is that if you preferred the original Ranger, there's nothing stopping you from playing it that way.

Tasha's, Class by Class - Artificer

 Finally, we come to the newest but also alphabetically first class in 5e D&D. Tasha's includes a full reprint (with just a couple changes) from Eberron, Rising from the Last War, which first gave us the Artificer. Given that it's kinda-sorta a new class but also not, there aren't really any big class changes that come with it. I'd have to go through their spell lists in each book to see if there are any changes, other than some spells that are found in Tasha's itself (while nearly all Artificers have some major use for their Bonus Action, I still think Summon Construct would be a lot of fun to play with.)

Notably, some of the Replicate Magic Item infusions have been removed, as they had items found only in the Eberron book (though Prosthetic Limb is reprinted in Tasha's and no longer requires attunement!) I don't believe there are any brand-new infusions, though there might be some subtle changes, for example to the Homunculus Servant, that I haven't caught.

However, there is the new subclass, Armorer, which is printed here along with the established Alchemist, Artillerist, and Battle-Smith (man, you know there are 24 other letters in the alphabet, Artificer subclasses!)

New Subclass:

Armorer:

As I've written about here before, the Armorer is more or less your Iron Man subclass. You get proficiency in heavy armor and smith's tools. You can then work with a set of armor (not just heavy) and turn it, with an action, into a suit of Arcane Armor, which removes its Strength requirement, lets you use it as a spellcasting focus, makes it so the armor can't be removed against your will (though you can retract or deploy the helmet as a bonus action) and the armor also replaces any limbs you're missing with prosthetics of the same functionality, and finally, allows you to doff or don the armor as an action (great if you need to recover hit dice on a long rest but are worried about nighttime fights - just suit up with a single action!

You also get to switch your set of armor between Guardian and Infiltrator mode. The former is tanky, with some special weapons that encourage foes to attack you instead of your allies, while the Infiltrator lets you make ranged lightning attacks and also gives you advantage on Stealth checks.

This is an interesting change from UA, which simply removed the disadvantage on Stealth from certain types of armor (notably all heavy armor.) By giving you advantage instead, on one hand, it means you'll never be able to get true advantage on stealth checks while wearing non-mithril heavy armor, but it also means that you'll never get any sort of disadvantage, and if you use light armor or a breastplate (or have Medium Armor master and use any Medium armor) you'll always be extra-sneaky, which is darned cool. I think overall this probably actually comes out to be a buff.

    The Artificer has been a very well-received addition to the game, and rightly so, and I think the Armorer manages to introduce a new flavor of Artificer that simultaneously feels very on-brand for the class while feeling very distinct from the other subclasses.

Tasha's, Class by Class - Barbarians

 Ah, the Barbarian, the little-to-no-armor tank. Barbarians are the big beefy warriors of D&D, with their unmatched HP and their Rage fueling extra damage and greater survival. Let's look at what they get, starting with class features:

Primal Knowledge (3rd level):

When you reach 3rd level, and again at 10th, you can learn one additional skill proficiency from the Barbarian skill list.

Instinctive Pounce (7th level):

As part of the bonus action to enter your rage, you can move up to half your speed.

    I really like this feature, as it's always kind of frustrating for a Barbarian to feel like they can't Rage because they're too far from the foes at the beginning of the fight - only for the bad guys to then get some nasty attack on them before they have their resistances running. Making it a bit easier to get to the foe is great.

Subclasses:

Path of the Beast:

I've already written about how much I like this subclass, but let's break it down: you sort of take on a bestial aspect when you rage in this subclass, which can either be flavored as a sort of mystical connection to nature or maybe you've literally been affected by some kind of lycanthrope. If I get to play one of these, I'd just flavor it as being a full-on werewolf.

You get a selection of natural weapons while raging, and later you get bonuses you can swap out on rests that include stuff like swim speed and water breathing, being able to spider-climb, or just being able to jump much farther.

The feral ferocity of this class seems like it could be a ton of fun, and the damage potential (particularly with the claws) is quite high.

Path of Wild Magic:

You ever see a Wild Magic Sorcerer and think "what if that were a Barbarian subclass?" Well, this is more or less that. When you rage, you roll on a table, getting a random ability that goes off immediately and then generally can be used for the rest of your rage. The wild magic effects are fewer than the Sorcerer, but they're also pretty much all beneficial.

This is a high-chaos subclass, and brings a lot of whimsy to a class that tends to skew more metal.

    Again, these subclasses pass my big aesthetic test, as both feel very unique compared to the ones that came before, and very distinct from one another. While Beast feels like a great subclass for a Ravenloft campaign, Wild Magic could be in something with weird planar magic of the Feywild or Limbo.

    Ironically, while the Barbarian class itself is not my typical tastes, there are now several subclasses that I really want to try - Beast might be pushing out Storm Herald as the one I'm most into at this point.

Tasha's, Class by Class - Bard

 Bards are such a weird and idiosyncratic class - really powerful in their group synergy, but generally underpowered in terms of personal power. We get some interesting ideas here in Tasha's. Let's look at class features first:

New Spells:

Like all the casters, the options for PHB spells are expanded, as well as getting new spells out of Tasha's. The new PHB spells are: Color Spray, Command, Aid, Enlarge/Reduce, Mirror Image, Mass Healing Word, Slow, Phantasmal Killer, Rary's Telepathic Bond, Heroes' Feast, Prismatic Spray, Antipathy/Sympathy, and Prismatic Wall.

Magical Inspiration (2nd level):

If a creature has a Bardic Inspiration die from you and casts a spell that restores hit points or deals damage, the creature can roll that die and choose a target affected by the spell. Add the number rolled as a bonus to the hit points regained or damage dealt. The Bardic Inspiration die is then lost.

    This gives BI another potential use, though limiting it to a single target keeps it from getting crazy. Still, being able to toss in a bit of extra healing or damage is pretty great.

Bardic Versatility (4th level):

Whenever you get the Ability Score Improvement feature, you can either replace one of the skills you chose for the Expertise feature with another skill proficiency you have that doesn't have Expertise already, or you can replace a Bard cantrip with a different Bard cantrip.

Subclasses:

College of Creation:

This can be flavored as either whimsical, primal, or both, allowing you to basically sing or play things into existence. In addition to granting bonus effects for the normal uses of your Bardic Inspiration (with a cool visual to represent it) you can also just sing into being nonmagical objects of a certain value, which scales up in both value and potential size with your bard level. The objects are temporary, and obviously made by magic (as they glimmer and there's faint music that can be heard by anyone touching it,) but if you need anything in a jiffy, this is a great way to provide it.

Also, you can turn any large or smaller object into a friendly construct that can fight alongside you, and while it uses your bonus action to command it, you can also command it when you use Bardic Inspiration, so you'll generally always be able to direct it.

College of Eloquence:

Reprinted from Mythic Odysseys of Theros, what is ostensibly a much drier flavor of Bard is actually quite powerful, focusing on the idea of being a great orator. You essentially get reliable talent for Persuasion and Deception right there at level 3, and eventually your Bardic Inspiration sticks around until it actually causes a success, which is, frankly, amazing.

With that and other features, you essentially become extremely efficient with your Bardic Inspiration - this is a fantastic subclass if you want to be your group's "face."

    So, overall, we only get one brand new subclass, though the one we do is really quite excellent. Eloquence, while a reprint, is also pretty fantastic, and again, what I think always seems to be a good sign is that I can really visualize the different subclasses and their aesthetics. College of Creation has a major whimsical, feywild aspect to it, while it feels like everything an Eloquence bard says should feel like the inspiring, climactic speech of a legal drama.

    I'll be honest, what little I've played of Bards, I've not been that into them, but these both feel like they could be fun in their own ways.

Tasha's, Class by Class - Cleric

 Ah, yes, officially and intentionally the most powerful class in D&D, Clerics are the most iconic healers in the game, but they also come with a lot of other tools to make them quite powerful in other aspects. Let's get into class features:

New Spells:

Clerics already have a rather unique and powerful set of spells, and I'll be honest, some of the ones added here I really assumed they already had. But in addition to a couple from Tasha's, the PHB spells they now also get are: Aura of Vitality, Aura of Life, Aura of Purity, Sunbeam, Sunburst, and Power Word Heal.

Harness Divine Power (2nd level):

You can expend a use of your Channel Divinity to fuel your spells. As a bonus action, you touch your holy symbol, utter a prayer, and regain one expended spell slot, the level of which can be no higher than half your PB. You can use this once per long rest, or twice at level 6 or higher or thrice at level 18 or higher.

Cantrip Versatility (4th level):

Any time you get an Ability Score Improvement, you can swap out a cleric cantrip you know for a different cleric cantrip.

Blessed Strikes (8th level, replaces Divine Strike or Potent Spellcasting from your subclass):

When a creature takes damage form one of your cantrips or weapon attacks, you can also deal 1d8 radiant damage to that creature. Once you use this feature, you can't again until the start of your next turn.

    My sense is that this is actually generally worse than the features it replaces, though it does mean you can use it as an opportunity attack, and radiant damage does sometimes disrupt particular foes like vampires. Still, it doesn't scale up like Divine Strike and Potent Spellcasting, which will be a +5 after you've gotten your Wisdom capped, will be on average a little better than a d8.

Subclasses:

Order Domain:

This is another reprint from GGtR, which seemed primarily built for the Azorius Senate (though it also works a bit for the Orzhov Syndicate.) Generally, there's a teamwork and enchantment theme to this subclass, allowing you to really enforce your will upon your foes and get your allies to hit harder and more often.

I don't think this one took off quite like Circle of Spores, but it's a solid subclass.

Peace Domain:

Ultimately, this domain is really focused on teamwork and synergy, creating bonds between allies that protects them. You can basically turn your party into a super-team that can constantly help one another out.

I imagine this could prove pretty powerful in a group that uses all these features, spreading the damage out and assisting one another on various rolls.

Twilight Domain:

The theme here is all about lighting - in addition to getting a freaking 300-ft darkvision, you can also create a kind of sanctuary of dim light around you that bolsters allies and cures charms and fear effects. You can even fly while in dim light or darkness.

    Personally, I think Twilight wins in terms of flavor and fun factor for its abilities. Both Peace and Order domains seem good from a mechanical standpoint, but require some heavy lifting on the part of the player to make the idea of their domain interesting.

    I think Clerics have a bit of the Wizard issue - the main thing that's powerful about the class is its spell list, and while that's certainly nothing to be scoffed at, it does mean that the actual class and subclass features are generally less flashy than, say, that of a Paladin or a Rogue.

Tasha's, Class by Class - Druids

 Druids are a highly versatile class with a lot of spells unique to them. While in they're generally not thought of as quite as powerful healers as Clerics, they are a rather unique and powerful type of spellcaster, and also get the iconic Wild Shape feature, which in Tasha's new subclasses, can be used for other purposes as a kind of new resource. But let's get into class features first!

New Spells:

Druids get some new spells from Tasha's (three of the new Summon spells) as well as some additional spells from the PHB (and Xanathar's? The wording is a little confusing, and I don't recall which spells are PHB versus Xanathar's). Anyway, Druids can now also prepare/cast: Protection from Good and Evil, Augury, Continual Flame, Enlarge/Reduce, Aura of Vitality, Elemental Weapon, Revivify, Divination, Fire Shield, Cone of Cold, Flesh to Stone, Symbol, and Incendiary Cloud.

Wild Companion (2nd level): You can now expend a use of Wild Shape to cast Find Familiar without needing components. The familiar is fey instead of a beast (which I thought was default for the spell, but ok) and in this case only lasts a number of hours equal to half your druid level.

    It makes a ton of sense that a Druid should be able to call on little nature spirits in the form of animals to assist them.

Cantrip Versatility (4th level):

Whenever you get the ability score improvement feature, you can swap out one of your druid cantrips for a different one.

    Quality of Life, always good.

Subclasses:

Circle of Spores:

This is a reprint from the popular Spore Druid from Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica. In addition to being able to damage nearby foes with your cloud of spores, you can also use it to gain a massive number of temp hit points (4 times your level) and you also get a bit of necromancy, including Animate Dead as a circle spell and also letting you use your reaction to turn a beast or humanoid that dies within 10 feet of you into a zombie with 1 hit point under your command for the next hour.

Basically, it's the ultimate creepy druid subclass. While it was clearly designed very specifically to fit with Ravnica's Golgari Swarm, it's easily translatable to other settings.

Circle of Stars:

The Circle of Stars focuses a lot on divination - a druid who's deeply connected not just to terrestrial nature, but also the kind of hum of the universe. As such, there's a strong focus on divination magic - you actually don't get any circle spells, except kind of guidance and guiding bolt. But you do get three special forms you can spend your Wild Shape charges on - these are all starry constellations which either give you extra magical attacks, boosting your healing, or improving your ability to maintain concentration on spells.

There's definitely an otherworldly vibe to this subclass, which is a real change of pace for Druids, who are usually very decidedly of this world (well, except I guess Circle of Dreams).

Circle of Wildfire:

Wildfire has two major focuses - fire damage and healing. While I'd be very tempted to play this as a sinister, Wickerman-style druid, the general idea behind it is fire as a source of renewal. You do get circle spells here, which are nearly all some form of healing or fire damage (sadly you don't get fireball, as you did in UA). This subclass' alternate use of Wild Shape lets you summon a Wildfire Spirit, which has one of those scaling stat blocks similar to the Battle-Smith's Steel Defender, and which you can command with a bonus action.

The spirit fights alongside you, but also buffs your fire damage and healing, and can help friendly creatures get out of a jam if they're in trouble with a teleport ability.

    So, to review, I really love the flavor of these Druids - each of which is, again, doing something pretty unusual and unique among Druid subclasses. Circle of Spores is already a very popular subclass to come out of GGtR, and it's nice to see it here in an AL-legal printing.

    I think a good sign for any subclass is that you can really conjure a unique visual for each of them, and all three of these look very different in my head. Also, if my Ranger dies in Tomb of Annihilation, I'm totally rolling a Wildfire Druid whose solution to finding Omu is to just burn down all of Chult (it could really use it.)

Tasha's, Class by Class - Fighters

 Fighters are a great workhorse class in 5e - nothing terribly fancy, but really solid at dishing out the damage or soaking it up. In the game I'm currently running, one Fighter started playing their Warlock alt, while another has been too busy to play, and I've been shocked at how much longer my monsters are surviving in combat without the Fighters. Let's get to class features:

Class Features:

New Fighting Styles:

Blind Fighting: (does this look familiar.) You have blindsight out to 10 feet, allowing you to effectively see things in that range even if you're blind, including invisible creatures that aren't successfully hidden from you.

Interception: When a creature you can see hits a target other than you within 5 feet of you with an attack, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage by 1d10 + PB, to a minimum of 0, if you're wielding a shield or a simple or martial weapon.

Superior Technique: You learn one maneuver of your choice from among those available to the Battle Master archetype. If a maneuver requires your target to make a saving throw, the DC is equal to 8 + your PB + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice.) You gain one superiority die, which is a d6 (added to any dice you get from other sources.) The die is used to fuel your maneuvers, and is expended when you take the maneuver. You regain the die on a short or long rest.

Thrown Weapon Fighting: You can draw a thrown weapon as part of the attack to throw it, and when you hit with a ranged attack with a thrown weapon, you get a +2 bonus to the damage roll.

Unarmed Fighting: Your unarmed strikes deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your strength modifier on a hit, and if you aren't wielding weapons or a shield when you make the attack roll, the d6 becomes a d8. Additionally, at the start of your turn, if you're grappling a creature, you can deal 1d4 bludgeoning damage to it.

Martial Versatility (4th level):

When you get an Ability Score Improvement, you can either change your Fighting Style to a different Fighter fighting style, or if you know any maneuvers from the Battle master archetype, you can replace it with a different manuever.

New Maneuver Options:

Ambush: When you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check or an initiative roll, you can expend one superiority die and add the die to the roll, as long as you are not incapacitated.

Bait and Switch: When you're within 5 feet of a creature on your turn, you can expend one superiority die and switch places with that creature, provided you spend at least 5 feet of movement and the creature is willing and not incapacitated. The movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks. Roll the superiority die, and you or the other creature (your choice) gains a bonus to AC equal to the number rolled until the start of your next turn.

Brace: When a creature you can see moves into the reach you have with the melee weapon you're wielding, you can use your reaction to expend a superiority die and make one attack against the creature, using that weapon. If the attack hits, add the superiority die to the weapon's damage roll.

Commanding Presence: When you make a Charisma (Intimidation,) a Charisma (Performance,) or a Charisma (Persuasion) check, you can expend one superiority die and add the die to the ability check.

Grappling Strike: Immediately after you hit a creature with a melee attack on your turn, you can expend one superiority die and then ry to grapple the target as a bonus action. Add the superiority die to your Strength (Athletics) check.

Quick Toss: As a bonus action, you can expend one superiority die and make a ranged attack with a weapon that has the thrown property. You can draw the weapon as part of making this attack. If you hit, add the superiority die to the weapon's damage roll.

Tactical Assessment: When you make an Intelligence (Investigation), an Intelligence (History), or a Wisdom (Insight) check, you can expend one superiority die and add the die to the ability check.

    Hoo! That's a lot of maneuvers. It's pretty clear that WotC feels the Battle Master was the most successful of their Fighter subclasses, and I'd expect for similar gameplay concepts to be baked into the Fighter in general in any hypothetical 6e.

Subclasses:

Psi Warrior:

This is another of the psionic-themed subclasses, in this case leveraging your psychic abilities to be a better warrior. Like the Soulknife, you'll have a number of Psionic Energy dice that get bigger as you level up, and you get more of them as your PB goes up (you have a number equal to twice your PB, so you start with 4.) You spend these dice on various abilities, or sometimes to get additional uses of other abilities.

The abilities you get for this include various kinds of telekinesis, as well as the ability to deal a bit of extra force damage to targets you hit. There are also some defensive abilities to reduce damage you take and give allies cover.

Rune Knight:

The concept of this is that you've learned a number of magical giant runes that you can carve into your weapons and armor to get various effects. You also have a feature that lets you become Large in size, and later Huge, granting bonuses to your damage, as well as Strength checks and Saving Throws.

This is a pretty thematic and customizable subclass (though by 15th level, you'll know all but one of the rune options.) Also, a lot of the runes grant you abilities outside of combat, which is a nice thing for the Fighter, which tends to be a pretty combat-focused class.

Battle Master Builds:

This isn't actually a new feature, per se, but there are 12 suggested builds for battle master Fighters, focusing on particular strength and styles. Again, I think WotC really likes the Battle Master. The suggestions they grant are the Archer, Bodyguard, Brawler, Duelist, Gladiator, Hoplite, Lancer, Outrider, Pugilist, Shock Trooper, Skirmisher, and Strategist, each with suggested Fighting Styles, Maneuvers, and Feats. It's a fun little bit, though for players who have already got a strong idea of what they want to do, it'll read mostly as filler.

    So, overall, I think the Fighter subclasses bring some interesting ideas. The Rune Knight feels like an attempt to have another highly customizable subclass like the Battle Master, though the relatively small number of runes to pick from means it won't be quite at that level.

Tasha's, Class by Class - Monks

 Hey, have you been sleeping on Monks? Monks are one of the coolest, craziest classes in 5e, and while I think some people might be turned off by what they view as a limited class fantasy (which... buckle up when you see these subclasses) the number of cool features Monks get is really over-the-top and awesome.

So let's see what they get in the new book!

Class Features:

Dedicated Weapon (2nd level):

When you finish a short or long rest, you can touch a weapon, focus your ki on it, and count that as a monk weapon until you use this feature again. The weapon has to meet the following criteria:

It has to be a simple or martial weapon. You must be proficient with it. And it must lack the heavy and special properties.

    So no, you can't start using a maul as a monk weapon. The proficiency element does limit this somewhat - after all, the weapons monks are proficient with are already mostly monk weapons. But this would allow you to use, for example, a Longsword (my Drunken Master actually has a Sunblade that he'd really love to use as a Monk weapon - but can't because while anyone proficient with a shortsword is considered proficient with it, it's technically a longsword.) But given that some races, backgrounds, or, you know classes you might have multiclassed into, grant other weapon proficiencies, you could start using other weapons. For example, a Dwarf might use a Warhammer. Or a wood elf like my Monk could make unarmed strikes after shooting things with his longbow.

Ki-Fueled Attack (3rd level):

If you spend 1 ki point or more as part of your action on your turn, you can make one attack with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon as a bonus action before the end of the turn.

    While a lot of ki-abilities either take a bonus action or can be used while you're making an attack anyway, this should make non-attack ki moves a little more appealing, as you can still hit things.

Quickened Healing (4th level):

As an action, you can spend 2 ki points and roll a Martial Arts die. You regain hit points equal to the number + PB.

    Just a nice bit of self-healing.

Focused Aim (5th level):

When you miss with an attack roll, you can spend 1-3 ki points to increase your attack roll by 2 per ki point spent, potentially turning the miss into a hit.

    This is pretty amazing - potentially giving yourself a +6 bonus to your attack roll. If you really need to land a hit, this can be a lifesaver, and it's pretty great that you'll know exactly how many you need before you spend your ki.

Subclasses:

Way of Mercy:

Hey, want to play a creepy monk? And a creepy monk who's also a healer? There are, admittedly, already a lot of tables with options to suggest how you can flavor various subclasses that I've already covered, but this one struck me in particular: Way of Mercy monks typically wear a signature mask of their order - the illustrated option being that of a Plague Doctor, which is always cool.

Way of Mercy monks get both Hands of Healing and Hands of Harm. The latter is straightforward, allowing you to add necrotic damage to your strikes by spending Ki (and a fair amount, I'll say - Martial Arts die plus Wisdom). But the former allows you to heal a creature you can touch by that same amount if you either spend 1 ki point as an action, or replace one of your unarmed strikes from Fury of Blows.

This improves, letting you use them more often without spending ki as you level up. You also gain the ability to cure blindness, deafness, paralyzation, poison, and stuns with your Hands of Healing, or inflict the poisoned condition with Hands of Harm.

Eventually, you can spend 5 ki points to bring someone back to life once per long rest, healing them for 4d10 plus your Wisdom.

Way of the Astral Self:

While not precisely the psionic monk I had dreamed up, the Way of the Astral self really leans into the mystical side of things. It's also a subclass that pushes a Monk to actually prioritize Wisdom over Dexterity (though ideally you'll max both eventually.)

Basically, as a bonus action, you can start to summon more and more of your "astral soul," essentially fighting with your spirit more than your body.

There are a lot of ways the subclass can use Wisdom to replace both Strength and Dexterity, and you eventually get the ability to effective deflect missiles against acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, and thunder damage. The only real downside is that you need to spend ki points to activate any of these features, so you'll need to lobby almost as hard as the Warlock for those short rests whenever you can. The transformation lasts 10 minutes, regardless of how many of your features are active.

    Monks are pretty awesome already, and I think the push into more mystical, supernatural subclasses is a lot of fun. Again, the two presented in this book are very different from one another, which I also count as a point in their favor.

Tasha's, Class by Class - Paladin

     My general feelings about Paladins in 5th Edition is that the class in general is great, while the subclasses are... fine, though I'll say that the level 20 super-modes for each subclass are the kind of thing I wish more level 20 features were like - bright, flashy, and a reward for sticking with the class the whole way.

But let's get into the new class features!

New Spells:

In addition to a couple of new spells in Tasha's, Paladins get a couple from the PHB, namely: Gentle Repose, Prayer of Healing and Warding Bond. Yep, that's it for them!

New Fighting Style Options:

Blessed Warrior: You learn two Cleric cantrips, which count as Paladin spells for you, and you use Charisma to cast them. When you gain a paladin level, you can swap one of these with another Cleric cantrip.

Blind Fighting: You gain blindsight out to a range of 10 feet, allowing you to effectively see within that range while blinded, and also spot invisible creatures that haven't successfully hidden from you.

Interception: When a creature you can see hits a target, other than you, within 5 feet of you with an attack, you can use yoru reaction to reduce the damage the target takes by 1d10 + your PB (they've started abbreviating Profiicency Bonus, and I will too!) to a minimum of 0 damage. You must be wielding a shield or a simple or martial weapon to use this reaction.

Harness Divine Power (3rd level):

You can use a bonus action and expend your Channel Divinity to regain one expended spell slot, the level of which can be no higher than half your PB. You can use this a limited number of times per long rest - once at 3rd level, twice at 7th level, and three times at 15th level.

Martial Versatility (4th level):

When you get an ability score improvement, you can switch your fighting style to a different Paladin fighting style.

Subclasses:

Oath of Glory:

This one we already saw printed in Mythic Odyesseys of Theros. The general theme is athletic prowess and alacrity, improving movement speed and basically reposting foes attacks against you or allies.

Oath of the Watchers:

This subclass is built around defending the world from extraplanar threats. It's very themed around vigilance, with an aura that buffs initiative rolls, rebuking creatures trying to affect your party's minds, and having tools to deal with aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, and fiends.

    In contrast with Rangers, I think 5e Paladins have been pretty strong since they were introduced. Again, I think the subclasses tend to carry with them some less exciting and powerful abilities (apart from the level 20 capstone,) but that's fine given the overall strength of the class in general.

Tasha's, Class by Class - Ranger

 Ah, the Ranger. The Ranger has always had a poor reputation in 5th Edition, and while not all of that is deserved, there are some features that could use some love.

While most of the new class features in Tasha's are pure additions, for the Ranger, they instead swap them out, in many cases for better, or at least more broadly useful features. So let's get into them!

Deft Explorer (1st level, replaces Natural Explorer):

Giving away Favored Terrain, you get an array of new features at 1st, 6th, and 10th level.

Canny (Deft Explorer): You essentially get expertise in one of your skill proficiencies, doubling your proficiency bonus in that skill. You also learn two additional languages.

Roving (Deft Explorer, 6th Level): Your walking speed increases by 5, and you gain a climbing speed and swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

Tireless (Deft Explorer, 10th Level): As an action, you can give yourself temporary hit points equal to 1d8+ your Wisdom modifier (minimum of +1,) and you can do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all uses when you finish a long rest. Additionally, your exhaustion level is reduced by 1 if you finish a short rest.

Favored Foe (1st level, replaces the Favored Enemy feature and works with the Foe Slayer feature):

When you hit a creature with an attack roll, you can call on your mystic bond with nature to mark the target as your favored enemy for 1 minute or until you lose concentration (as if on a spell.) The first time on your turn you hit the favored enemy and deal damage to it, including when you mark it, the damage is increased by 1d4. You can use this feature to mark a favored enemy a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all uses when you finish a long rest. The damage increases to 1d6 at 6th level and 1d8 at 14th level.

    Overall, I think the main benefit of these is that they'll be active regardless of your environment or foes - while it's cool to have particular prey, this frees a character up to be useful regardless of what the DM throws at you. I don't think Favored Foe is crazy powerful - you're probably better off using Hunter's Mark in most cases.

New Spells:

Rangers get some new spells in Tasha's, but also some access to some PHB and Xanathar's Spells. The PHB ones are Entangle, Searing Smite, Aid, Enhance Ability, Gust of Wind, Magic Weapon, Elemental Weapon, Meld into Stone, Revivify, Dominate Beast, and Greater Restoration.

New Fighting Options:

Blind Fighting: You have blindsight out to a range of 10 feet, allowing you to effectively see when blinded or even if the target's invisible, as long as the target doesn't successfully hide from you.

Druidic Warrior: You learn two Druid cantrips, using Wisdom as your spellcasting ability. When you level up in this class, you can swap one of these with a different Druid cantrip. The cantrips count as ranger spells for you.

Thrown Weapon Fighting: You can draw a thrown weapon as part of the attack to throw it, and when you hit with a ranged attack using a throw weapon, you can add a +2 bonus to the damage roll. (Given that my ranger primarily fights with a Handaxe that the Artificer put Returning Weapon on, this would probably be great for him.)

Spellcasting Focus (2nd level): Rangers can now use a druid focus as a spellcasting focus for their ranger spells (so no more worrying about material components for most spells!)

Primal Awareness (3rd level, replaces Primeval Awareness): You learn additional spells that don't count against your spells known, and you can cast each of them once per long rest without spending a spell slot - though you need to be high enough level to cast them as a half-caster. The spells are Speak with Animals, Beast Sense, Speak with Plants, Locate Creature, and Commune with Nature.

Martial Versatility (4th, etc. level):

When you get an Ability Score Improvement, you can replace a fighting style you know with a different Ranger fighting style. Again, nice Quality of Life change.

Nature's Veil (10th level, replaces Hide in Plain Sight):

As a bonus action, you can magically become invisible, along with any equipment you're waring or carrying, until the start of your next turn. You can use this a number of time equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all uses on a long rest.

    Holy crap, folks, that's a lot of changes. Roughly half the Ranger class features can be swapped out for these new ones. Let's get to the subclasses (though we won't even be done after that!)

Fey Wanderer:

This type of ranger has a strong connection to the Feywild, gaining some of the magic of that realm. As usual, you get a couple extra spells (that are pretty Fey-themed) as well as the ability to deal a bit of extra psychic damage once per turn. You also get some bonuses to your Charisma checks and ways to turn around charm and fear effects on your foes.

In addition to your spells, you also get a class feature that lets you misty step - making the Fey Wanderer a slippery ranger if ever there was one.

Swarmkeeper:

The main concept of the swarmkeeper is that you have a swarm of creatures - maybe insects or other tiny creatures, or even nature spirits - that can aid you in various ways.

The swarm can augment your attacks with extra damage or moving the target or yourself. Also, amongst the spells you get is Mage Hand, which is just your swarm manipulating objects for you. The capstone allows you to discorporate into your swarm and teleport 30 feet away, making this arguably one of the creepiest ranger subclasses.

Beast Mastery Features:

Ah, perhaps the most maligned subclass of the most maligned class, Beast Mastery in the PHB is an early attempt at a pet-based class that didn't really work out that well. Using newer concepts, this attempts to fix it:

Primal Companion (3rd level Beast master feature, replacing Ranger's Companion):

This lets you magically summon a beast - choosing a Beast of the Land, Beast of the Sea, or Beast of the Sky. While not quite the same as the spirits summoned by the Summon Beast spell (which Rangers can get, though it might be a bit redundant for beast masters) it works a bit similarly. The beast can move and use reactions on its own, but you need to use a bonus action to command it to take an action. You can also, like with the PHB version, use one of your attacks when you take the Attack action to instead have the beast attack.

You can also revive the beast if it dies by touching it and expending any spell slot if it's been dead less than an hour - it comes back with full hit points after a minute.

You can also summon a new beast after you finish a long rest, though the previous one will vanish if you do this, or if you die.

The beasts have scaling stat blocks. The Beast of the Land has a 40-ft movement speed, including a 40-ft climb speed, as well as the Charge feature of a Boar, Elk, or Rhino, and its health is 5+ 5x your ranger level (so 20 at level 3 when you first get it, and 105 by level 20). The Beast of the Sea has a swim speed of 60 (but only 5 feet of normal movement) and is Ampibious. Its attack grapples the target. The Beast of the Sky has 10 feet of normal movement but a fly speed of 60 and the Flyby feature (no opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy's reach) which is good, as it has less health than the others (it's a small beast, thus its HP is 4 + 4x Ranger level, so 16 at level 3 to 84 at level 20). The Beast of the Land does the most damage, at 1d8 + 2 + your Proficiency Bonus, while the Beast of the Sea replaces the d8 with a d6, while the Beast of the Air does 1d4 + 3 + PB, which I believe should work out to be the same damage as the Beast of the Sea on average, both of which are just 1 average damage below the Beast of the Land, so do as you like!

I believe that any Beast Master feature that applies to the Ranger's Companion should also work with the Primal Companion.

    Overall, I think this feature is good because it's clean and simple, and the built-in ability for the Ranger to bring their companion back to life makes it easier for an RP-focused character to feel ok about sending their beast into battle.

    Frankly, as a DM, I'd allow that mystical bond to persist such that even if technically they're replacing a dead companion they couldn't revive with one with the same stat block, I'd allow for it to canonically just be a longer process for bringing them back. I keep thinking about how in Critical Role's first campaign, Vex was very hesitant to send her bear, Trinket, into battle, given that the bear was such an important figure to her (having lost pets as a kid, I sympathize.) Frankly, I might even allow for a player to flavor the summoning of different types of beasts as simply changing the form of the same animal spirit, similar to how one can shift the form of one's familiar with the Find Familiar spell.

    As you can see, this post is pretty deeply involved - Rangers got a major overhaul with Tasha's. While "viability" isn't really something I care too much about in D&D, I think it does really create a more broadly appealing version of the class.

Tasha's, Class by Class - Rogues

 I've now been able to finally play a Rogue briefly in a kind of substitute game for one of my regular sessions, a Tabaxi Rogue in Wildemount (he's a daring explorer with an English accent and a signature Pith helmet, an archaeologist working for the Cobalt Soul) doing one of the low-level adventures in the Wildemount book. Anyway, they're fun! In Tasha's, we get just one new class feature but two new subclasses!

Class Features:

Steady Aim (3rd level): As a bonus  action, you give yourself advantage on your next attack roll on the current turn. You can use this bonus action only if you haven't moved during this turn, and after you use the bonus action, your speed is 0 until the end of the current turn. Basically, this lets you get advantage, and thus sneak attack if you hit, when conditions aren't terribly favorable - a great option when you want to hit something far from any of your allies and when there's no great place to hide.

Sucblasses:

Phantom:

The concept here is that you've developed a close bond with death on a mystical level. As a non-magic (outside of Arcane Tricksters) class, it's always fun to see Rogues get some supernatural element to their abilities.

The Phantom gets to gain temporary proficiencies when they finish rests - either tools or skills - which really lets them be great at nearly anything.

You also get to deal damage to a second target when you get a sneak-attack - rolling half your sneak attack dice (rounded up, for a change) to deal necrotic damage to the other foe, though this is limited to a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest - though any multi-target damage is pretty great for a class like a rogue.

The real flavorful thing is Tokens of the Departed - allowing you to snatch a physical manifestation of a kind of memory of a thing's soul when they die. Carrying it gives you various helpful bonuses, including a sort of single-question Speak with Dead effect.

Oh, and at level 13 you can walk through walls.

Soulknife:

The psionic rogue subclass, Soulknives' real signature feature is that they can manifest psychic blades as part of an attack, which they can either use in melee or throw, dealing psychic damage. You also get Psionic Energy dice, which get bigger and you get more of them as you level up (you have double your proficiency bonus per long rest, but with some abilities to regain them outside of that.) The dice can be rolled to help you succeed on ability checks you'd other wise have failed, and you can also use them to establish a telepathic connection with allies (great for a Rogue.)

Eventually, you can use your psychic blades to teleport or use them to stun targets hit with them. And at level 13, you can turn invisible - pretty useful for a Rogue.

    Both of these subclasses come with some exciting flavor. The Phantom I think would work fantastically in a Ravenloft-type gothic setting. The Soulknife also feels like the most secret of the rogues - your weapons don't even leave any wounds, and they disappear after you hit with them, so good luck investigating that kill! (I feel like House Dimir on Ravnica would be very, very into Soulknives.)

Tasha's, Class by Class - Sorcerers

 Moving onto Sorcerers!

New Spells:

Sorcerers get a bunch of the new spells in Tasha's, but they also, like the Warlock, get a somewhat broader number of arcane-themed spells from the PHB, namely: Grease, Flame Blade, Flaming Sphere, Magic Weapon, Vampiric Touch, Fire Shield, Bigby's Hand, Flesh to Stone, Otiluke's Freezing Sphere, and Demiplane. And they also get the SCAG cantrips.

New Metamagic Options:

Seeking Spell: This lets you reroll the d20 if you miss with a spell attack for 2 sorcery points, and can stack this with other metamagic options.

Transmute Spell: For 1 sorcery point, you can change the damage type of a spell from acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, or thunder to another from that list.

New Features:

Sorcerous Versatility: When you get the Ability Score Improvement feature, you can swap out either a Metamagic Option or a Sorcerer cantrip for a different one. Again, nice Quality of Life change.

Magical Guidance (5th level): if you fail an ability check, you can spend a sorcery point to reroll the d20 once, potentially turning it into a success.

Subclasses:

Aberrant Mind:

This is one of three psionic-themed subclasses, though unlike the Soulknife and Psi Knight, there isn't any "psionic die" involved. The theme here is that something deeply alien altered you to grant you your sorcerous powers. Of note, this and the other new Sorcerer subclass come with extra spells you automatically learn and don't count against your known spells. You can actually trade these out when you level up, as long as the spell chosen is a divination or enchantment spell from the sorcerer, warlock, or wizard spell list. As an Aberrant Mind, these are listed as Psionic Spells. At 6th level, you can cast these with sorcery points, and if you do, you don't need to provide any components unless material components are consumed for it (so no need for a costly component for Summon Aberration, which is one of them.)

You also gain the ability to form a telepathic link with a creature, which you can use any number of times (but only connect with one person at a time.) Eventually, you can get various body-warping bonuses that allow you to fly, see invisible creatures, swim and breathe underwater, or become squishy so you can squeeze through small passages. The capstone allows you to teleport up to 120 feet and leave behind a spatial implosion that damages creatures caught within it.

Clockwork Soul:

Perhaps the opposite of the Wild-Magic Sorcerer, this has your power tied to Mechanus, the plane of law. Like the Aberrant Mind, you get several spells automatically. These can be traded for abjuration or transmutation spells from the sorcerer, warlock, or wizard list when you level up.

As a Clockwork soul, you have various ways to normalize fate - cancelling advantage and disadvantage, or later, entering a state where you can't roll below a 10 on attack rolls, ability checks, or saving throws.

Overall, the Clockwork Soul has a fair number of defensive abilities, and a capstone that can repair things, heal allies, and end harmful spell effects.

    I've got to say, both of these subclasses play into elements of fantasy that I really like - both the cosmic horror weirdness and the power of rational and mechanical elements. So I'd be a bit torn on which I wanted to play (I might skew Clockwork given that I've already got the Great Old One Warlock.)

Tasha's, Class by Class - Warlock

 Ah, Warlocks. I love Warlocks, even if their spellcasting is somewhat limited compared to, say, a Wizard's. But the inherent story, and the massive degree of customization available to them, is really pretty amazing. Let's look at what they get in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything:

Class Features:

New Spells: Like all casters, there are some new spells for Warlocks to take. In addition to the new spells that come in the book (along with reprints from SCAG and Rime of the Frostmaiden) there are also some PHB spells that Warlocks can now use, namely: Mislead, Planar Binding, Teleportation Circle, Gate, and Weird, which all feel pretty flavorfully Warlock-y.

New Pact Boon:

There's now a fourth Pact Boon option for level 3: the Talisman. While wearing it (and you can give this to another person if you want to,) when a creature fails an ability check, they can add a d4 to it and potentially turn that failure into a success, which they can do a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.

Eldritch Versatility:

Any time you get the Ability Score Improvement feature, you can also swap out a Warlock cantrip, choose a different Pact Boon, or change one of your Mystic Arcanum spells for one of the same level. Also, if any of these choices make you ineligible for any Invocations you already have, you can swap those out for ones you are eligible for. This is a pretty nice Quality of Life change to enshrine in the rules.

New Eldritch Invocations:

You knew we'd get some of these!

Bond of the Talisman (12th level, Talisman Pact)

You and the person wearing your talisman can now teleport to one another as an action as long as you're on the same plane of existence, a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest. The buddy system!

Eldritch Mind:

You have advantage on Concentration saves.

Far Scribe (5th level, Tome Pact):

You can write a number of names (with the person's permission) equal to your proficiency bonus into your Book of Shadows (and you can also erase a name as an action if you need to free up space) and then you can cast Sending to any of those people as long as you can write the message to them, and their response comes back as text, which disappears after a minute. And there's no limit on how many times you can do it!

Gift of the Protectors (9th level, Tome Pact):

You can write a number of names equal to your proficiency bonus (again, with the person's permission) into your Book of Shadows. When a named creature drops to 0 hit points and isn't killed outright, they drop to 1 instead, and then the feature can't go off until you finish a long rest.

Investment of the Chain Master (Chain Pact):

Your familiar becomes a lot better in myriad ways - gaining a flying or swimming speed of 40 feet, allowing you to command it to attack with a bonus action, getting magical attacks, using your spell save DC for any saving throws it forces the target to make, and allowing you to use your reaction to give it resistance to damage it takes. Basically, this makes the familiar a bigger part of your combat options.

Protection of the Talisman (7th level, Talisman Pact):

The wearer can add a d4 to failed saving throws, potentially making them successes. Usable a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus.

Rebuke of the Talisman (Talisman Pact):

When the wearer is hit by an attacker you can see within 30 feet, you can use your reaction to have them take psychic damage equal to your proficiency bonus and push them 10 feet away from the wearer.

Undying Servitude (5th level)

You can cast Animate Dead once per long rest without using a spell slot. Hooray for Warlock Necromancy!

New Subclasses:

Yes, we've also got those!

The Fathomless:

The concept here is that your patron is an ancient, deep-sea creature. While the most obvious would be something like a Kraken, or Uko'toa from Wildemount, this could technically be any entity from deep waters, even the elemental plane of water. Naturally, there's a bit of a Lovecraftian feel to this as well (though it occurred to me a few days ago that a Kraken is, more or less, a Lovecraftian monster, as a being of profoundly ancient origin, mostly hidden from the surface world, powerful enough to be an apocalyptic threat, and tends to have weird cults and stuff dedicated to it.)

The subclass has a strong tentacle theme - allowing you to manifest a tentacle that attacks foes, and defends you. You also get a swim speed, cold resistance, and the ability to breathe water, as well as the ability to teleport your party up to a mile, as long as you wind up within a body of water (which could be anything from an ocean to a small pond.)

This would naturally be a great fit for a nautical campaign, and can be flavored in very different ways.

The Genie:

This is one that always felt obvious, and I'm glad they've made it happen!

First off, this is kind of four subclasses in one - you choose between either a Dao (Earth), Djinni (Air), Efreeti (Fire), or Marid (Water) and get different expanded spell lists based on your choice, as well as a spell for each of the first five spell levels for all Genie Warlocks. Additionally, beyond the 1st-5th level spells, every Genie Warlock can take Wish as their 9th level Mystic Arcanum. Which I have to imagine any Warlock in their right mind would do.

But, beyond Wish (which, man, that's probably enough to sell me on it already) there are also, of course, some class features. The big theme is that you get a Genie's Vessel - a bottle, lamp, or other classic Genie-holder. You can use this as a spell focus (and get it back if you lose it). You can enter the vessel once a day and use it as both a nice lounge to chill in as well as a storage space. At level 10, you can take friends there, and if you spend 10 minutes inside, you get the benefits of a short rest.

You also get some extra damage and resistances based on your patron's genie type, as well as a "limited wish" feature at level 14 that lets you get any 6th level spell or lower if it can be cast with one action - without needing to provide costly spell components - a nice clutch revivify, greater restoration, etc.

    So I've technically already played two Warlocks, but damn if this isn't making me want to play another! The Genie feels like a way to play a much less sinister-seeming Warlock, which could be a ton of fun.

Tasha's, Class by Class - Wizards

 So, the game I DM is on an odd alternating schedule - it's on Mondays one week and then Saturday the next week (essentially, it's every weekend, but either right at the beginning of it or right after it) and so the 9-day stretch between sessions after a Saturday game is always interminable.

And we just got a new D&D book!

So I'm going to go through, class by class, the new features and subclasses. I think I'll be going in reverse alphabetical order to switch things up. So we start with the Wizard!

New Class Features:

New Spells: There are a number of new spells available to Wizards in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. Of particular note are all the new "Summon" spells, which are great. In addition, a couple of PHB spell have been added, namely Augury, Enhance Ability, Speak with Dead, and Divination. Likewise, some reprinted spells from SCAG and Rime of the Frostmaiden are also added here.

Cantrip Formulas:

Wizards, starting at 3rd level, can now swap out cantrips merely after finishing a long rest. What was once a one-time choice you had to commit to is now something you can easily swap out without any need to research or anything. Pretty cool!

Subclasses:

Bladesinger:

This is a reprint from SCAG, but while they mention that it began as an Elvish tradition, the racial restriction has been removed.

I'm not going to get into everything about every subclass, but the basic gist is this: you get light armor and proficiency in any one-handed melee weapon. You have a feature called Bladesong that increases your AC and your checks to maintain concentration by an amount equal to your Intelligence modifier, and a couple of other benefits, which you can do a couple times a day (based on your proficiency bonus, which is nice as this will scale regardless of if you multiclass.)

You will probably still want some Dexterity and Con to survive in melee combat, especially because you can't use Intelligence as your weapon attack ability. The overall concept for the class, I think, is that you can be a melee wizard, kind of approaching the Eldritch Knight Fighter from the opposite direction. You get Extra Attack, and can actually use a Cantrip in place of one of your attacks - a good time to use something like Booming Blade or Green-Flame Blade.

It's worth noting that with Bladesong, even a modestly Dextrous Wizard (say, with +2 to Dexterity) that then focused everything on Intelligence would actually wind up with a pretty solid Armor Class - with Studded Leather, +2 to Dex, and +5 to Int, you'd be sitting at 19 AC, which is better than a Fighter in full plate with no shield.

Order of Scribes:

This Wizard subclass is all about making your spellbook a major part of your gameplay.

You can manifest a magical quill that lets you write (and doesn't need ink,) which also allows you to copy spells into your spellbook in a tiny fraction of the time it normally would take (only 2 minutes per spell level - I think by default it's like an hour.)

But the real headliner is that your spellbook becomes magical in a few ways, eventually allowing you to manifest an intelligence from the book that acts a bit like an intangible (and thus unkillable) familiar.

The whimsy factor for this subclass is top-notch. Addtionally, its capstone feature allows you to avoid the damage of an attack by removing spells from the book for 1d6 days - a pretty handy emergency button for a squishy wizard.

    So, that's Wizards. Two very different subclasses, each with interesting charms and implications. Next, we'll look at Warlocks!

The Gunner Feat and Its Implications for D&D

 Firearms have been part of 5th Edition D&D since its inception - but you'll see no mention of it in the Player's Handbook. Instead, it's found in the Dungeon Master's Guide. There are statistics provided for firearms from three different technological eras - Renaissance, Modern, and Futuristic. I think the reason these show up in the DMG instead of the PHB is that, while a player should have the ultimate say on the construction of their character, it is the DM's role to determine the broader reality of their setting.

To some people, their preferred form of fantasy is one that limits technology to that seen in the High Middle Ages at its most advanced, and the strictest limit on that is the absence of guns. In fact, there's a whole TV Trope about it. (As a side note, some people consider fantasy to be an inherently medieval-set genre, which I strongly disagree with, citing important works like the Dark Tower series, not to mention His Dark Materials, Harry Potter, and Star Wars - the latter of which I realize also starts an argument over where fantasy ends and science fiction begins).

In one of the more influential examples of D&D in recent years, namely Critical Role, the first campaign had within it the character of Percy, who was a Gunslinger. Now, I'm given to understand that this was a Pathfinder class that had to be converted to 5th Edition, which they did by making it a Fighter subclass (which works out pretty well) but on the other hand, the character was, in fact, the inventor of firearms within Exandria, the technology inspired by a demon with which Percy had made a deal to get his revenge.

Generally, we've seen only a few creature stat blocks that use firearms - in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist there are some Drow Gunslingers. In Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, the Giff have a nigh-religious devotion to firearms and explosives, and use muskets in their stat block. And in Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden (spoiler alert) there are some Gnome Cereomorphs (apparently Gnomish minds don't get totally converted when they're taken over by Illithids) that wield Laser Pistols.

But these have all generally been rare edge cases.

However, in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, in a section that's clearly designed for players as well as DMs (in a way that lists of creatures' stat blocks wouldn't be) there is the Gunner feat.

So let's unpack it:

First off, you gain a +1 bonus to Dexterity, to a maximum of 20.

Next, you gain proficiency with Firearms (which gets around the odd question of just who would be proficient with them. On one hand, they're considered martial weapons, so in theory any Fighter, Ranger, Paladin, etc. maybe should be, but they're also kind of their own weird thing.)

Next, you ignore the loading property of firearms. This one's interesting, because I think it only really affects Renaissance firearms. Modern and Futuristic instead have the Reload property, which works similarly, but you get to fire a certain number of shots before you have to load it again. Rules as Written, this only affects Loading, so you'd never have to use a bonus action or action to reload a musket or pistol, but you would, every couple turns (or every turn with a Shotgun and Extra Attack) have to reload your more advanced weapon. (As a DM I might rule that this covers Reload as well.)

Finally, being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls.

First off, this clearly resembles the Crossbow Expert feat, which allows you to shoot in melee and ignore the loading property. Rather than allowing a bonus action attack with a Hand Crossbow, it instead gives you the Dexterity and the ability to use firearms.

So let's analyze:

First off, this is a sure sign that WotC is telling DMs and players they can really consider putting guns into their worlds. (To be clear, I'm not advocating for gun ownership in the real world - I don't want to get deep into politics here, but I think it's pretty clear that when there are fewer guns around, people tend to get shot a lot less).

It's possible this will also create some difficult conversations between DMs and players if a player wants to use guns but the DM doesn't really want that to be part of the campaign, and I'd remind any player that A: everything in Tasha's is up for DMs to decide whether they can be used or not, B: technically the entire feat rule is only usable at the DM's discretion, but also C: if your player has a cool concept, DMs should try to support it - if a player wants to take this feat, give them an opportunity for their character to get those kinds of weapons.

In terms of strength, I'd say that this feat is actually a way to handle some of the overpowered nature of firearms.

As an example, the lowest damage of any firearm is 1d10, and that with a one-handed pistol (though its range is pretty terrible - 30/90.) 1d10 is already on par with all but the strongest melee weapons, and I think generally they keep ranged weapon damage a little lower due to the inherent advantage of being able to fight from afar (not to mention the existence of +X ammunition on top of +X weapons).

Before we get to the craziness that is futuristic weapons (though in my original campaign it actually worked out when I gave the Rogue a laser pistol, given that Rogues rely much less on weapon damage than, say, a Fighter), the least powerful of the modern weapons is already on par with the most powerful melee weapons - the automatic pistol does 2d6 damage.

That being said, if you force players to take the Gunner feat if they want to use firearms, you can effectively counterbalance this - they'll have to make the rather big investment in order to use these weapons, and apart from the +1 bonus to Dexterity, there's not much in the feat that really boosts the damage output of the guns - it just makes them more convenient to use.

I would note, however, that the Artificer class does explicitly say that if your world has firearms, that class would most likely be (which I read as: is) proficient with firearms. But given that an Artificer isn't going to be pumping out weapon damage like a Ranger or Fighter, I think it's not going to break things to let them use a gun.

As a big fan of decidedly non-medieval D&D settings, I'm actually really happy to see this possibility pushed forward as a potential option for the game.