What is WotC Doing with Unearthed Arcana?

 In the year leading up to the release of the 2024 revised core rulebooks, we got a ton of Unearthed Arcana posts suggesting new ways the classes and subclasses and other game systems could be structured. Early on, they took on some rather radical redesigns, such as grouping the twelve classes (and a special mention for the Artificer) into the categories of Experts, Mages, Priests, and Warriors, with associated mechanics. They walked back a lot of these more radical design shifts, which I think did raise a valid (though one I wouldn't agree with) criticism that the revision wound up barely justifying the release of new books. (There are also some camps that refuse the new version out of what I see more as hostility toward WotC as a company - which, fair. I still personally like most of the revised rules and systems).

Anyway, the point of the UAs was pretty clear: giving us a sense of the direction they were going for the new versions of these classes and other systems. And while there were some radical changes (much as I like the Soulknife, I think the Swashbuckler on a flavor side of things made more sense as a PHB inclusion, and I was bummed to see it dropped) we more or less got what had been tested.

While things went quiet for a bit once the PHB dropped, this year things picked up at a pace that has been almost staggering. There's so, so much stuff being tested.

But are these tests guarantees of future projects, or speculative?

As an example, I think that the existence of the Post-Apocalyptic subclasses and the Psion point heavily to some kind of Dark Sun campaign setting book. It has been a while since these UAs (we got a second pass on the Psion earlier this month) but we actually don't know about any books after the Forgotten Realms ones officially get published and Eberron: Forge of the Artificer gets its release after the delay in August (I believe it's now expected in December).

But we've also gotten horror subclasses (largely revisions of old ones,) as well as "arcane" subclasses, including the four Wizard ones from the 2014 PHB that didn't make it into the 2024 one, and now, as of I think Tuesday, a scattering of revised Xanathar's subclasses (and the Oathbreaker).

Now, as excited as I am to see updated versions of some of these old classics (I really want to play a good Drunken Master Monk, and the version in the UA was a big step in the right direction, though it needs some more work) I'm also kind of bummed that so much of what is being presented is old stuff.

D&D 2024 is backwards compatible, so there's nothing preventing you from playing a Storm Herald Barbarian or Transmutation Wizard now. Do those subclasses show their age? Sure.

But I worry that the model right now is to just sell us the same stuff we already had with subtle improvements rather than coming up with new and exciting things.

The truth is that I imagine future products are largely going to be a mix. The Forgotten Realms book gives us three revised subclasses and five brand-new ones.

But also, if you look at the early days of UAs for 5E, there was a lot more speculative design, with things like Modern Magic giving us the City Domain or Ghost in the Machine Patron, which never saw official publication (though notably, one of the PCs in Dimension 20's Unsleeping City is a City Domain Cleric, whose divine source is New York itself).

We did see some of that stuff see print: before we knew that Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica was coming out, the Circle of Spores, Order Domain, and a Wizard School of Invention that would be turned into the Mizzium Apparatus magic item all hinted strongly at it.

So, are we looking forward to several new "splat books" in 2026 that just haven't been announced yet? Or is UA being used in a more speculative, experimental way, throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks?

Bladesinger Wizard

 Boy, we've been here before, haven't we?

The Bladesinger Wizard is, I think at this point, the most-published subclass in all of 5E, first appearing in SCAG, then again with some light revisions in Tasha's. Now, we're getting a third version (don't worry, the three original Artificer subclasses will catch up to it in the should-have-been-published-by-now Forge of the Artificer, due in I think December). The revisions here are, I think, more extensive, and I think are probably a buff overall.

Bladesingers allow you to take your squishy Wizard to the front lines to fight in melee, and come with tools to make that a less suicidal idea. Let's look at it!

Level 3:

Bladesong:

As a bonus action, you can enter the Bladesong as long as you are not wearing armor or using a shield (which, as Wizards, we probably aren't). The Bladesong lasts 1 minute and ends early if you become incapacitated, or if you don a shield or armor (though what armor can you put on in less than a minute?) or if you dismiss it (no action required) or if you use two hands to attack with a weapon. You can invoke the Bladesong Int times per long rest, and regain one use when you use Arcane Recovery.

    So, given that it's not just on a short rest, but only upon use of Arcane Recovery, this effectively means Int+1 uses per day.

While it's active, you gain several benefits:

Agility: You gain a bonus to your AC equal to your Int modifier (minimum +1) and your speed increases by 10 feet. You also have advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks.

    So, while I'd recommend most Wizards pick Con as their second-highest ability score, Bladesingers will probably want to make this Dex (though Con is also good). If you get +3s to both, you'll have an AC of 16, though note that this doesn't change the math on how you calculate AC, but is just a bonus, so if you have Mage Armor up, that should then actually be an AC of 19, with the Shield spell also available to you - in other words, Bladesingers can push their AC to be quite high. Assuming we cap Intelligence, that's going to eventually get to 21 (or 26 with Shield) and if we push more Dex, we can get it even higher.

Bladework: Whenever you attack with a weapon with which you have proficiency, you can use your Intelligence rather than Strength or Dexterity for attack rolls.

    This is new, not in the old versions, and actually frees you up to use a lot of other weapons. While Rapiers were the obvious choice in older versions because they're the strongest finesse weapons, now you can quite easily use other one-handed weapons. Note that you'll still be at a d8 at most, because you can't use the versatile property without ending your Bladesong.

Focus: When you make a Con save to maintain concentration, you can add your Intelligence modifier to the total.

    That's a pretty big deal (and partially compensates us for having to pump Dexterity at the expense of Con). Given that most concentration saves are DC 10, this gets us closer to fully pushing failures off the board.

Training in War and Song:

You gain proficiency with melee martial weapons that don't have the two-handed or heavy property. You can use a melee weapon with which you have proficiency as a spellcasting focus for your wizard spells. You also gain proficiency in your choice of Acrobatics, Athletics, Performance, or Persuasion.

    The final piece of the puzzle. This opens up War Picks, Longsword, Rapiers, Warhammers, Battleaxes, Whips, Morningstars, and Tridents (possibly more, though that's what I can think of at this point). Most are d8 weapons, and as we don't have weapon masteries, it'll be somewhat arbitrary which we choose. Rapiers are the classic, though if my Triton Wizard had gone this route (and he had the rolled stats for it) I might have gone thematic with a trident (which are better in 2024 rules - arguably the best one-handed melee weapon). While we have to keep one hand free to maintain the bladesong, we don't actually need it to hold a spellcasting focus thanks to this feature.

Level 6:

Extra Attack:

You can attack twice instead of once when you take the attack action on your turn. You can also replace one of those attacks with a Wizard cantrip that has a casting time as an action.

    The Bladesinger introduced it, and now shares it with Eldritch Knights and Valor Bards. While Booming Blade and Green-Flame Blade already let you double-dip a little on this power progression (as cantrips also scale in level,) the fact that you're now attacking with Intelligence opens up a few more options. True Strike is a solid choice for single-target damage (though because of the Bladesong bonus, I think you could argue that BB and GFB have better scaling now, each adding a d8 to your primary damage compared with True Strike's d6). Alternatively, you could do something like Chill Touch (you do have a free hand, after all). Now, given you probably have a +4 to Int at this point, Booming Blade with a d8 weapon will hit for 2d8+4, or 13 total, while Chill Touch will hit for just 2d8. Acid Splash is a decent option here, for some cantrip AoE, but I think you're overall better off with the SCAG/Tasha's cantrips. If you're restricted by your DM to 2024+ options, I do think True Strike becomes you likely best option here unless you need some range. (1d8+1d6+4 is 12, versus only 9 on average for a d8 cantrip, or even 11 with Fire Bolt). Toll the Dead could rival True Strike if you get the d12 version (which you might accomplish by making the second attack your cantrip,) as 2d12 is 13 on average.

Level 10:

Song of Defense:

When you take damage while Bladesong is active, you can use a reaction to expend a spell slot and reduce the incoming damage by 5 times the spell slot's level.

    While fully negating damage from an attack is going to probably take a pretty high-level slot at this level, the benefit here is reducing the damage by a little bit. This can really help with concentration saves - if you get hit for 40 damage by a dragon's breath, expending a second level spell slot will reduce the concentration save from 20 to 15, making it far more likely for you to succeed. But also, given that we still have a tiny hit point die despite our high AC, any way to reduce incoming damage is welcome, and by level 10, 1st and 2nd level spell slots are relatively cheap.

Level 14:

Song of Victory:

After you cast a spell that has a casting time of an action, you can make one attack with a weapon as a bonus action.

    Kind of the old version of Improved War Magic for Eldritch Knights, it does kind of make sense they didn't just take the new version, as using "two of your attacks" on a Bladesinger would be the same as just... taking the Magic action to cast a spell. Bladesingers are probably not loaded up on a ton of great damage-dealing feats (though I'll note that Polearm Master does work with Quarterstaves - though the pole strike wouldn't apply here) so that extra attack won't be huge... except when you remember that we have things like Conjure Minor Elementals. Indeed, this feature works great with that, as you can cast it with an action and immediately benefit from it.

Overall Thoughts:

The best part about Bladesingers is that at the end of the day, they're still a full Wizard. While I like my Battlemages more heavily armored and wielding big weapons (meaning basically Eldritch Knights,) this is going to be a fantastic choice for people wanting to play a melee/magic hybrid, and remains one of the best and most transformative subclasses in the game.

And that's it! All the new subclasses in the new book. I don't know that I have a fantastic instinct for determining which subclasses are the most powerful, and will have to see some of these in play. But I think that at the very least, there aren't any true clunkers like there were in SCAG. Again, I'm shocked they revisited the Purple Dragon Knight, and it remains a subclass I don't really care for.

Anyway, between this and the UA the other day, I've done a lot of subclass reviews, so I'll be happy to take a break.

Happy Halloween!

Spellfire Sorcery Sorcerer

 Yeah, the format of sorcerer subclasses is a bit awkward using my convention for taxonomy here... oh well.

Spellfire Sorcery ties into the FR idea of magic, which involves the magical weave - a kind of energy field (not unlike our universe's electromagnetic or gravitational fields) where magic is the pattern and twisting of these energies within that field.

Honestly, a real "Sorcerer's Sorcerer," Spellfire actually gives you some healing capabilities, which is rare for this class.

Spellfire Spells:

1st: Cure Wounds, Guiding Bolt

2nd: Lesser Restoration, Scorching Ray

3rd: Aura of Vitality, Dispel Magic

4th: Fire Shield, Wall of Fire

5th: Greater Restoration, Flame Strike

    Recall that Cure Wounds is quite solid in 2024 rules. I will also say that, outside of big healing spells, the main reason you want a dedicated healer in your group is for things like Greater Restoration. This subclass can actually do a lot of the functions you need from such a character. Sneakily, you can also effectively add Counterspell to this list, which we'll cover at level 6.

Level 3:

Spellfire Burst:

When you spend at least 1 SP as part of a Magic action or bonus action, you can add one of the following benefits:

Bolstering Flames: You or a creature you can see within 30 feet gains temp hp equal to 1d4 plus your Charisma.

    While not a ton, this is a free add-on to what you're already doing. Note that the bonus action to turn SP into spell slots is, well, a bonus action, so I think this would count (though I don't know how often Sorcerers do the conversion that way).

Radiant Fire: One creature you can see within 30 feet takes 1d4 of your choice of Fire or Radiant damage.

    This is tiny damage, but it's free and guaranteed. Might be a good option to try to break concentration.

Level 6:

Absorb Spells:

You always have Counterspell prepared. Additionally, when a target fails its save against Counterspell, you regain 1d4 SP.

    Situational of course - only useful if you're dealing with enemy spellcasters. But major villains often are spellcasters (as are adult and ancient dragons). While counterspell isn't as powerful as it used to be, this can be a way to recharge sorcery points.

Level 14:

Honed Spellfire:

Spellfire Burst improves. You now add your Sorcery level to the temp HP granted by Bolstered Flames, and the damage of Radiant Fire goes up to 1d8.

    The temp HP here gets a pretty significant boost. The radiant fire damage is still going to be pretty pitiful for this level.

Level 18:

Crown of Spellfire:

When you use Innate Sorcery, you can gain additional benefits by infusing it yourself with the essence of Spellfire. You can use this once per long rest, but you can expend a 5th level spell slot or higher to regain a use of it. The benefits are as follows:

Burning Life Force: Once per turn when you're hit with an attack, you can expend a number of hit point dice up to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Roll the dice, and reduce the damage you take by the total rolled.

    While not as efficient HP restoration as using this on a short rest, this can make concentration saves easier, and of course, prevent you from going unconscious.

Flight: You gain a 60 foot flying speed and can hover.

    Pretty common at this level, but not unwelcome.

Spell Avoidance: If a spell or magical effect would deal half damage on a successful saving throw, you now take only have if you fail and none if you succeed. This only works if you're not incapacitated.

    Note that this doesn't work on natural effects like Dragons' breaths. But it's still avoidance, not evasion, so it works on any magical effect regardless of which save you make. That can be huge, like taking nothing from a Lich's Chain Lightning, or Death Knight's Hellfire Orb.

Overall Thoughts:

I think if you want a no-nonsense "magic-themed" sorcerer, this is a good option (reminds me a bit of the Rune Scion or whatever it's called from Tal'dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, actually,) though the presence of healing spells also lets you play a very unconventional role for a sorcerer in your party.

I think this is pretty decent, though I don't know that it truly inspires me, personally.

Scion of the Three Rogue

 Thanks to the computer games, Baldur's Gate is a very well-known part of the Forgotten Realms, and the Dead Three, the gods Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul, are also quite notable.

This is the rare subclass where you'll need to work fairly hard if you want to play a good-aligned character and justify it. It's a brutal, violent subclass, literally themed around the blessings of three evil gods.

Level 3:

Bloodthirst:

When an enemy you can see within 30 feet of yourself takes damage and is bloodied after taking that damage but not killed outright, you can use a reaction to teleport to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of them and make one melee attack. You can use this feature Int times per long rest.

    In the right circumstances, this can be a big boost to your damage, but with a few considerations: the target already has to be bloodied for this to work (though it can trigger on the damage that gets them to being bloodied). That means the fight is already going poorly for them. That being said, I've seen some dismiss the power of this feature because a bloodied creature is close to death, but running high-level D&D where most monsters have like 200 HP, there's still plenty of damage needed to be done to take down a bloodied creature. However, if you want Sneak Attack damage on this, it'll probably have to be on someone else's turn. Then again, its being on someone else's turn means that you might be more likely to get Sneak Attack because you might wait for a melee ally to hit them in order to trigger this. The teleport is also nice.

    The limitation on uses, though, is pretty rough: at best we're talking 3 times per day until much higher levels.

Dread Allegiance:

When you get this subclass feature and when you finish a long rest, you can pick between Bane, Bhaal, or Myrkul to give you their blessing. Each gives you a cantrip and a damage resistance. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability.

Bane: Psychic, Minor Illusion

Bhaal: Poison, Blade Ward

Myrkul: Necrotic, Chill Touch

    Each resistance is decent to have. I don't think you're likely to use Chill Touch as a Rogue, but if you're facing a lot of undead (especially incorporeal undead,) it'll be good to have that resistance. Blade Ward is good if you can get it off before combat starts.

Level 9:

Strike Fear:

You gain a new Cunning Strike option: Terrify (cost: 1d6): The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. While frightened in this way, you get advantage on attack rolls against them. They can repeat the save at the end of their turns, ending it on a success.

    Ideally you'll have other ways to get advantage, like a Vex weapon, but fear can be a really good debuff to put on foes.

Level 13:

Aura of Malevolence:

When you use Bloodthirst to teleport, each creature of your choice within 10 feet of either the space you left or the one you enter (your choice) takes damage equal to your Int modifier, the damage being the same as the resistance associated with your current Dread Allegiance choice. This damage ignores resistance.

    There's very few creatures with resistance to any of those damage types, if memory serves. It's not a ton of damage, but Rogues don't tend to get AoE damage options.

Level 17:

Dread Incarnate:

You get two benefits:

Cutthroat: You regain a use of Bloodthirst when you finish a short rest.

    Bloodthirst was pretty limited in use, so getting a way to get more of them is certainly nice.

Murderous Intent: When you roll Sneak Attack damage, you treat 1s and 2s as 3s on the d6s.

    This changes the average roll of a d6 from 3.5 to 4. At 17th level, we do 9d6 with Sneak Attack, so that's a boost of 4.5 average damage, and 5 at level 19. It does make the floor on our Sneak Attack 27 damage.

Overall Thoughts:

I like the flavor of this one. I think we could stand to get more uses of Bloodthirst. As always with Rogues, it's tough that they don't get their second set of subclass features until level 9, and for a class that feels like it struggles a bit to keep up with other martial classes in terms of damage, I feel like they played it a little conservatively here.

The storytelling potential of this subclass, though, is enormous.

Winter Walker Ranger

 Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden is one of those published adventures I'd be really curious to run - it's a big sandbox with a horror theme, a frozen wasteland in perpetual darkness (in the name of clarity, the maps for the adventure are all bright and easily legible, but I think it's an important thing to stress to the players that it's all profoundly dark all the time. True Detective: Night Country is a good reference to consider for the level of dark, frozen spookiness.

Anyway, this subclass feels built for such an adventure and environment: a decidedly cold-themed ranger subclass. Let's see if it's any good!

Winter Walker Spells:

1st: Ice Knife

2nd: Hold Person

3rd: Remove Curse

4th: Ice Storm

5th: Cone of Cold

    Remove Curse is good to have when you need it. I'm not sure any of these spells are going to be all that great for you as a Ranger. While Cone of Cold is good as a big-area AoE spell, by level 17, it's not going to feel as powerful as when the 9th level Sorcerer cast it half the campaign ago.

Level 3:

Frigid Explorer:

You gain a few benefits:

Biting Cold: Damage from your weapons, ranger spells, and ranger features ignore resistance to cold damage.

    Cold resistance is certainly more common than, say, Necrotic resistance. Indeed, this will help not only when fighting traditionally chilly foes, but also I believe most demons and some devils. Of course, your weapons aren't going to deal cold damage by default, but let's keep looking.

Frost Resistance: You gain resistance to Cold damage.

    A reasonably common damage type, but also very useful when exploring in cold regions, where you'll be able to skip cold weather gear and happily cross the tundra in a t-shirt.

Polar Strikes: Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon, you can deal 1d4 extra Cold damage. At level 11, this goes up to 1d6.

    It's not a ton of damage, but it's always there for you. You'll get more out of this if you can make lots of opportunity attacks or a friend has ways to let you make attacks as a reaction.

Hunter's Rime:

When you cast Hunter's Mark, you gain temporary hit points equal to 1d10 plus your Ranger level. While a creature is marked with Hunter's Mark, it can't take the disengage action.

    So, this is going to be a class that strongly encourages you to use Hunter's Mark. That carries with it all the problems we've talked about when designing a class around a 1st level spell that requires concentration. But these effects are both pretty decent - we get a lot of uses of Hunter's Mark, so we'll be able to get a lot of temp HP. Also, by preventing disengages, we get more opportunity attacks!

Level 7:

Fortifying Soul:

As a magic action, you can choose a number of creatures you can see equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1). Each creature regains HP equal to 1d10 plus your Ranger level and has advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the frightened condition for 1 hour. You can do this once per long rest.

    This is a decent little group heal - notably with no range limit beyond being able to see them. When you get this it's going to be an average of 12.5 HP - not a huge heal, but it can give you some breathing room. The fear protection will be situational, but can be good.

Level 11:

Chilling Retribution:

When a creature hits you with an attack, you can take a reaction to force them to make a wisdom saving throw, and on a failure, they are stunned until the end of your next turn, with a speed of 0 (remember that stunned creatures can move now - though not in this case). You can do this Wis times per long rest.

    I think the biggest downside is that it's most likely going to go off on their turn, meaning that they've already gotten to do something, and it'll end before their next turn, meaning that while you might cut off additional attacks and perhaps a bonus action or movement (and reactions,) you aren't robbing them of a turn the way you would with a Stunning Strike or the like.

Level 15:

Frozen Haunt:

When you cast Hunter's Mark, you can adopt a ghostly form until the spell ends. You can do this once per long rest, or expend a 4th or higher level spell slot to get another use. You get the following benefits:

Frozen Soul: You have immunity to cold damage. When you first adopt the form and at the start of each of your turns thereafter, each creature of your choice in a 15 foot emanation takes 2d4 Cold damage.

    While an average of 5 damage per turn is pretty low at level 15, it is both AoE and guaranteed damage.

Partially Incorporeal: You are immune to being grappled, prone, or restrained. You can also move through creatures as if they were difficult terrain but take 1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside a creature or object. If the form ends while you're inside a creature or object, you are shunted to the nearest unoccupied space.

    While the incorporeal movement has some potential, I think the immunity to those conditions is a bigger deal - pass right through the Tarrasque's stomach. Using this purely for utility outside of combat might, however, require you to do something silly like putting Hunter's Mark on an ally (not great as that will prevent them from disengaging, though you can drop the spell if combat breaks out). As usual, I assume that if you aren't given a hovering fly speed with this, somehow the floor will still hold your weight despite being incorporeal.

Overall Thoughts:

I honestly like the flavor of this - while the art for the subclass doesn't really give off this vibe, I can see this being a really spooky ranger, and it'd be quite appropriate for Rime of the Frostmaiden (though note that a lot of creatures in that are probably fully immune, not just resistant to cold damage).

I also think that this subclass probably leans a little more toward a melee build, though I also think 2024 Rangers are probably better off going that direction anyway.

Oath of Noble Genies Paladin

 Two background notes:

Disney's Aladdin came out when I was six years old. I was already a fan of the story, which I think I had seen a version of at Boston's Children's Theater, or maybe on some television program. We also had some audio cassettes of Arabian Nights stories. But even with that background, I fell in love with that movie, and particularly Robin Williams' Genie. I love Genies as a fixture of fantasy.

Seemingly unrelated: while it's a common convention in D&D that Bards are the horniest class, among my friends, perhaps by coincidence, we've found that Paladins are, by far, the hornier characters. My own Aasimar Vengeance Paladin in our Curse of Strahd game was a traumatized disaster lesbian who dulled her pain with prostitutes (well, in her backstory. She had a hard time finding any in Barovia), and the two paladins in my Wildemount game have both been led by their libidos (one of who slept with the daughter of Ludinus Deleth).

Anyway, I mention the horny paladin trope because I think this subclass might lend itself well to chivalric horniness because it's one where you're encouraged to go unarmored.

While I tend to prefer heavy armor and heavy weapons for my melee character, the Noble Genie paladin is going to enable dual-wielding or using a rapier and shield. We'll see why soon:

Oath Spells:

Cantrip: Elementalism

1st: Chromatic Orb, Thunderous Smite

2nd: Mirror Image, Phantasmal Force

3rd: Fly, Gaseous Form

4th: Conjure Minor Elementals, Summon Elemental

5th: Banishing Smite, Contact Other Plane

    Some solid damage spells here. Chromatic Orb is quite good, though better when you're focused on your spellcasting stat and can upcast it by a lot. Mirror Image is now great for a character with a high AC. And of course, despite the nerf, Conjure Minor Elementals is fantastic - though again, it gets a lot of power out of upcasting, which we won't be able to do at all until level 17 (unless we start multiclassing into Bard or Sorcerer).

Level 3:

Elemental Smite:

When you cast Divine Smite, you can expend a Channel Divinity to add one additional effect from the following options:

Dao's Crush: Earth rises up to grapple the target of your divine smite. The target is grappled and restrained (escape DC is your spell save DC).

    So, I think because the grapple is coming from the earth, you don't need to stay within range of the target to maintain the grapple (and you don't need a free hand). That means a no-save restraint on a target as long as you hit them. That's quite good! And it's not even, like, they're restrained for a round - it lasts until they can break free.

Djinni's Escape: You teleport to an unoccupied space you can see within 30 feet and take on a semi-incorporeal form until the end of your next turn. While in this form, you have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, and you are immune to being grappled, prone, or restrained.

    Almost the opposite of Dao's Crush, this is a very nice defensive move, or it can get you from one enemy to your next target and protect you a bit. A solid option.

Efreeti's Fury: The target of the divine smite takes an extra 2d4 fire damage, and the fire jumps to another creature within 30 feet of you that you can see, also taking 2d4 fire damage.

    This damage isn't nothing, but it's not huge either. I think this is the "not sure what else we need to do" option.

Marid's Surge: The target of your divine smite and each creature of your choice within a 10 foot emanation originating from you has to make a Strength save against your spell save DC. On a failure, a creature is pushed 15 feet directly away from you and is prone.

    Potentially good if you need to break up enemy lines, but more situational than the Dao or Djinni options.

    Overall, this is a very cool feature that you'll get a lot of use out of. Of course it is limited by both your spell slots and your Channel Divinity options, but this is a case where there are multiple very powerful options.

Genie's Splendor:

While you aren't wearing any armor (shields are ok) your AC is equal to 10 plus your Dex plus your Charisma. You also gain proficiency in your choice of Acrobatic, Intimidation, Performance, or Persuasion.

    This: this is why you can be the horny paladin. Ok, jokes aside: if you go for a Dex build, focusing on finesse weapons, you'll actually be able to have a quite good AC. If we assume you start off with +3s in both Dex and Charisma, that's already matching a suit of Chain Mail. If you can cap both, that's a 20 AC, which is as good as plate with a shield - and then you can get up to 22 with a shield (though I'd probably be tempted to dual-wield). Even if you don't manage to get Charisma past +3, maybe trying to fill it with general feats, you'll still get the equivalent of plate armor once you cap Dexterity.

    Now, you can forgo this entirely - nothing is stopping you from going the standard Strength-based route (also, if you want to multiclass, such as to go Genie patron Warlock, you'll need at least 13 Strength). But the option there is for you to be a paladin who fights in fine silks rather than steel. I really imagine mine having an open-chested, flowing silk shirt as he spins across the battlefield with scimitars and shortswords.

Level 7:

Aura of Elemental Shielding:

Choose Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder: you and allies within your Aura of Protection gain resistance to that damage type. At the start of each of your turns, you can change the damage type to another one of these options (no action required).

    The fact that you can change this on a turn-by-turn basis is incredible. These are all reasonably common damage types, but if you had to change them on a rest or something, it'd require anticipating what kind of monsters you're going to face. Here, though, you can react quickly to the scenario. Oh, did a black dragon pop out of that marsh? Let's get acid resistance running!

    Also of note, this will help a lot in traversing areas of extreme heat or cold, as you can protect allies from exhaustion by giving them the appropriate resistance. You'll still need something like a Leomund's Tiny hut for when you sleep for the night, but it's good stuff.

Level 15:

Elemental Rebuke:

When you're hit with an attack, you can use a reaction to halve the damage against yourself (rounded down) and force the attacker to make a Dex save against your spell save DC. On a failure, the target takes 2d10+Cha of your choice of Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder damage, or half as much on a success. You can do this Cha times per long rest (minimum 1).

    This is ok. The damage is decent, though not enormous at this level. It's a solid feature, but not as exciting as the other stuff.

Level 20:

Noble Scion:

As a bonus action, you gain the following benefits for 10 minutes or until you end the effect (no action required). You can do this once per long rest, or regain a use by expending a 5th level spell slot (standard 2024 Paladin ult stuff).

The benefits are that you get a fly speed of 60 feet and can hover, and when you or an ally within your aura of protection fails a d20 test, you can use a reaction to make them succeed instead.

    The flight is fine, though not as impressive at level 20. The automatic success on any d20 test, though, is quite good - the most obvious would be ensuring that an ally succeeds on a crucial saving throw, like avoiding being swallowed by the Tarrasque or sucked in by a Blob of Annihilation. But it could also potentially be powerful when you need some high-stakes ability check to succeed. Say you're binding some evil lich god with an anchor that will pull it out of the mortal plane (when has that ever happened before?) and you need to make a high-DC check to ensure that the anchor is properly attached to them? This guy can ensure that works!

Overall Thoughts:

I really like this subclass. I think in terms of flavor, it's a bit of a stretch, sure - the oath does have tenets, but it feels much more like you're going to be the champion or herald of a noble genie. But that's fine. I really like it.

Banneret Fighter

 If you had asked me what my least favorite subclass in all of 5E was, I might say the Purple Dragon Knight. Fighters are a simple class at base, and my feelings toward the PDK were that it eschewed adding anything interesting to the class in favor of just spreading the meagre three unique things that the Fighter class could do.

So I'm a little shocked to see a revision/reprint of this one. But let's cast aside our previous judgments and take this subclass on its own terms. The class has been renamed the Banneret (which was always an alternate name for them) and is really built around the flavor of being a kind of battlefield inspiration - the kind of person who carries the banner of your armies into battle and rallies your troops.

Level 3:

Knightly Envoy:

You can cast Comprehend Languages as a ritual (Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it - I can never remember why that matters for spells without attack rolls or saving throws).

Also, you learn one language from the language tables in the PHB, and can replace a learned language with another one on a long rest.

You also get proficiency in your choice of Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion, or Performance.

    Clearly the idea here (right there in the name) is that you'll be a helpful envoy/ambassador. I don't think this will be quite enough to make you a party "face," but you'll certainly be able to help the party deal with people whose languages you don't speak (I think the PHB includes rarer languages, like Sylvan or Abyssal).

Group Recovery:

When you use Second Wind to regain HP, you can choose a number of allies equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1) in a 30 foot emanation to regain HP equal to 1d4 plus your Fighter level. You can do this once per short or long rest.

    So, while the die is much smaller than our own Second Wind, the bulk of Second Wind healing by level 6 is from your Fighter level, so you're putting out a decent amount of healing with it. The limitation to just once per short rest, to me, is kind of annoying. I mean, yes, healing needs to be carefully limited because it's the main source of tension in the game, but while the previous feature feels a bit ribbon-like, this feels thin for everything else we get at 3.

Level 7:

Team Tactics:

When you use Group Recovery, each chosen ally gets advantage on d20 tests until the start of your next turn.

    This can be a powerful effect, like we see with the Zealot Barbarian, though you'll need to time it A: when you want to do some healing to the group and B: when enough of your allies are within 30 feet, which is certainly not always going to catch the whole party.

Level 10:

Rallying Surge:

When you use Action Surge, you can choose allies within 30 feet of you up to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). Each ally can take a reaction to either attack with a weapon or unarmed strike, or move up to half their speed without provoking opportunity attacks.

    Again, I'd really prefer this be de-coupled from using Action Surge, like Group Recovery from Second Wind. The effect is nice, though again, that 30-foot range will require some careful positioning to make the best use of it.

    Also, something that applies to Group Recovery: we'll certainly need a +2 to Charisma at least to be somewhat decent with this subclass. In a small party, that'll probably cover at least the other party members that are up on the front lines with you.

Level 15:

Shared Resilience:

When an ally within 60 feet of you fails a saving throw, you can take a reaction to expend a use of your Indomitable feature, allowing the ally to reroll the saving throw with a bonus equal to your fighter level.

    Indomitable got way, way better in 2024, and being able to spread the love with this is certainly good. The increased range is nice here. I actually think this is decent.

Level 18:

Inspiring Commander:

You gain two benefits:

Bolstered Rally: The area of your Group Recovery and Rallying Surge is now a 60-foot emanation.

Unshakable Bravery: You have immunity to the Charmed and Frightened conditions.

    It's fine.

Overall Thoughts:

I still don't like this subclass. It has a lot of the same issues I had with the old version, though I'll concede that with the buffs to the fighter overall, these features get a bit of a buff by association.

I can kind of sort of see a bit better the flavor the subclass is going for. Honestly, I think the proper use for this subclass is to be an alternative to the Champion as a "beginner-friendly" subclass. If you're worried about the complexity of an Eldritch Knight, Psi Warrior, Battle Master, or like, a Rune Knight, this is going to be more straightforward. I don't think it's very... good? But there is a clear utility to its features. I just think they played it safe with a subclass I never liked in the first place.

As you might recall, there was a totally out-there potential rework in the UA that retained the Purple Dragon Knight name and gave the subclass an actual purple dragon as a battle pet. While this flew in the face of the actual lore of this Cormyr-based knightly order that was merely inspired by an old amethyst dragon, I think that subclass would have been way cooler and more fun to play.

Luckily, our next subclass will be probably my favorite in the book.

Knowledge Domain Cleric

 So far the only 2014 PHB subclass that didn't make it into the 2024 book that has now been republished. We haven't even gotten a UA version of a new Nature or Tempest Domain. While the addition of fourth (and even third in some cases) subclasses for each class in 2024 outweighed the 7 Cleric and Wizard subclasses dropped, I can imagine that fans of Knowledge, Nature, Tempest, Transmutation, Conjuration, Enchantment, and Necromancy might have been disappointed.

Well, we have the new Knowledge Domain now. Let's take a look:

Domain Spells:

1st: Command, Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic, Identify

2nd: Detect Thoughts, Mind Spike

3rd: Dispel Magic, Nondetection, Tongues

4th: Arcane Eye, Banishment, Confusion

5th: Legend Lore, Scrying, Synaptic Static

    You'll notice that there are more spells on this list than you typically get with domain spells (usually just two per spell level 1-5). Odd to me that you get 4 1st level spells and just 2 2nd level. There's a ton of utility here - lots of good ritual spells that you might otherwise rely on a Wizard to cast (because they don't need them prepared as long as they've got them in their spellbook). Outside of utility, you have a few good combat spells - Command is deceptively powerful, Banishment is a great crowd control spell (and can end a fight against a fiend, elemental, fey, etc.) Synaptic Static is a wonderful poor-man's Fireball (the only thing Fireball has over it is the lower level).

Level 3:

Blessings of Knowledge:

You gain proficiency with one type of Artisan's Tools of your choice, and you get proficiency and expertise in two of your choice of Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion.

    While you might consider this a ribbon feature, it's quite a generous one - three proficiencies, two of which become expertise? If you're a Thaumaturge (which I assume most Clerics go with) you will likely be better at Arcana than a Wizard (if that's what you choose).

Mind Magic:

As a magic action, you can expend a Channel Divinity use to cast a Divination spell on the Knowledge Domain Spell list without a spell slot or material components.

    So: free spells, basically. The only real combat spell within this list is Mind Spike, but notably, there's no limit on the spell's level for this feature, so you can cast Legend Lore and Scrying with naught but a Channel Divinity, which is pretty cool. Some of these are ritual spells, of course, so it's less exciting in those cases.

Level 6:

Unfettered Mind:

You gain telepathy out to 60 feet. You can simultaneously contact a number of creatures equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1). Additionally, you gain proficiency in Intelligence saving throws, or another saving throw you lack proficiency with if you already have it.

    Int saves are rare, but it's still nice to have (screw you, Mind Flayers!) The telepathy's range isn't enormous, but large enough for most purposes, and I'd rule you could use this to make yourself a kind of telepathic hub so that the party can all speak together when near you.

Level 17:

Divine Foreknowledge:

As a bonus action, you can give yourself Advantage on all d20 tests for one hour. You can use this once per long rest, or you can regain a use of it by expending a 6th level spell slot or higher.

    My initial thought was that this was just Foresight, which is a 9th level spell. But Foresight lasts longer and also imposes disadvantage to attackers. This is a little more reined it. It's very simple, but I think it can be quite powerful - though it would be more powerful if you could bestow this upon others. Still, a nice feature to use in the day's most serious situation.

Overall Thoughts:

This isn't a flashy subclass. I'm too lazy to take out the 2014 version and compare it all, but I think it got an extensive overhaul. The old version, as I recall, made you a bit of a Sherlockian detective, and one who could blow through a mystery plot the DM had prepped for weeks. This one feels like a solid utility player, bringing a lot of helpful stuff without being overpowered in combat.

College of the Moon Bard

 Tied lorewise to the Moonshae Isles (though of course, you can always reflavor things as you see fit,) the Moon Bard evokes druidic and fey magic - the latter of which feels like a really solid fit for the Bard class as a whole.

Level 3:

Moon's Inspiration:

You gain two benefits: Inspired Eclipse gives you a secondary effect when you grant Bardic Inspiration with a bonus action: you can now become invisible and teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. The invisibility ends at the start of your next turn, or if you make an attack roll, cast a spell, or deal damage in any other way.

    Bards can be somewhat squishy, and this turns your BI into a Misty Step with extra benefits, so this is pretty nice.

Lunar Vitality, the other effect, lets you expend a BI die when you restore hit points to a creature with a spell to increase the HP restored by a roll of the BI die. The creature's speed also increases by 10 feet until the end of their next turn.

    I'm skeptical you'll often want to expend this resource for just a little extra healing, though the speed boost combined with that could give a downed character the extra oomph to spend their turn getting out of danger.

Primal Lore:

You learn Druidic and one cantrip from the Druid spell list. It counts as a Bard spell for you but not against the number of cantrips you can learn. You can replace this cantrip when you gain a Bard level with another Druid cantrip. Additionally, you gain your choice of proficiency in Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Nature, Perception, or Survival.

    Druid cantrip to me often screams "Shillelagh," as it's a way to let spellcasters use their best stat for a weapon. But there are other options here.

Level 6:

Blessing of Moonlight:

You always have Moonbeam prepared. When you cast it, you can modify the spell so that you also faintly glow, shedding dim light out to 5 feet, and whenever a creature fails a save against this Moonbeam, another creature within 60 feet of you regains 2d4 HP. You can cast the spell this way once per long rest.

    Moonbeam's radius is small, but you can potentially catch multiple foes within it, and I think that this healing will work even if multiple foes fail the save at the same time. It's not a ton of healing, but it's something. Also, the fact that you glow feels more for flavor than anything else.

Level 14:

Eventide's Splendor:

You gain two benefits:

Shadow of the New Moon causes your Inspired Eclipse to also grant the recipient of your BI invisibility (if they want it) and allows them to use a reaction to teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space they can see. They remain invisible until the start of their next turn (meaning that they might stay invisible through an opportunity attack or reaction spell).

    Certainly pretty good to give you some ways to help your allies teleport around.

Vibrance of the New Moon lets you, when you use Lunar Vitality, roll 1d6 instead of the BI die and add it to the healing without expending a BI die.

    So you're always healing 1d6 more. At this level, that's not a ton.

Overall Thoughts:

So, I think this will allow some fun flavor: there's definitely a "tricksy fey" vibe to this subclass. And I always have to remind myself that Bard subclasses always feel thin because there are only three levels at which you get features.

I'm not sure that this is really inspiring me, so to speak. There's a little taste of something flavorful here, but while the visuals of a Moon Bard seem very cool, I don't really see a lot of potential or power in its mechanics.

Forgotten Realms Subclass Review

 Yeah, I know that I just blew through all the new UA revisions of existing subclasses, but we've also got a new book with true, officially-published subclasses!

Now, I'm just a humble blog with an audience of, as far as I can tell, just me when I go back to read my own posts. I think it's ok to post what I have here - I didn't sign an NDA or anything. I did also review the UA versions of these subclasses when they came out.

The list of new designed-for-2024-D&D subclasses is the College of the Moon Bard, the Knowledge Domain Cleric, Banneret Fighter, Oath of Noble Genies Paladin, Winter Walker Ranger, Scion of the Three Rogue, Spellfire Sorcery Sorcerer, and Bladesinger Wizard.

You'll of course recognize some of these - the Knowledge Cleric was in the 2014 PHB, the Banneret was in SCAG under the name Purple Dragon Knight, and the Bladesinger has been published in both SCAG and Tasha's, getting a third version here.

I'm going to go through each subclass and review it much like I did for the UA ones, but with the understanding that these are set in, if not stone, at least print. These are the versions we're getting, or rather, we've got.

UA: Oathbreaker Paladin

 Along with the Death Cleric, the Oathbreaker was originally designed not with players in mind, but for NPCs statted out as players. As someone who has now been running D&D for almost precisely 10 years (started in November of 2015) I can tell you: don't stat out NPCs like players. Use NPC stat blocks. It's a nightmare to try to run a character that way.

But the thematics of a dark paladin have been very popular, and some have played Oathbreakers despite the subclass having some weird interactions.

Here, WotC has reimagined the Oathbreaker as a more player-facing option, in case you want to play as an evil paladin who abandoned their righteous oath, or perhaps someone who wants to use these powers to atone for a past deed.

While the whole idea here is that you've abandoned the tenets of your oath, there are some that unite Oathbreakers: Fear is a tool in the hands of the powerful, strive for power at any cost, and do what must be done but never lose sight of your goal.

I think you could play this, arguably, as a more morally neutral character, but the clear intent is that you're basically an antipaladin, and on the path to becoming a death knight.

Personally, I love a "dark but not evil" character in an RPG (while my main is a Paladin in WoW, my "vice main" and almost-as-main is a Death Knight,) so let's see if this subclass would be worth playing!

Oathbreaker Spells: Yeah, we don't have an oath, but we have oath spells.

1st: Hellish Rebuke, Witch Bolt

2nd: Crown of Madness, Darkness

3rd: Fear, Summon Undead

4th: Blight, Phantasmal Killer

5th: Contagion, Steel Wind Strike

    A few strong spells here, though I think it doesn't really pick up until we're level 9 and can get Fear. Summon Undead is good but far better upcast to 4th level, meaning not until we're level 13. I will say that there are later features that will encourage you to invest heavily in Charisma. A Warlock dip for Pact of the Blade (maybe getting Undead Patron if we put 3 whole levels in) might not be a bad idea.

Level 3:

Conjure Undead:

As a bonus action, you can expend a Channel Divinity use to summon a number of undead minions equal to half your Charisma modifier rounded down (so if you have +3, that's 2, and capping at 3 if you have +5). The undead appear in unoccupied spaces within 30 feet of you that you can see, and use the Skeleton or Zombie stat blocks, you choice. They are under your control for 1 minute, and then they dissolve into ash.

Each of these undead is an ally to you and your allies. They share your initiative but take their turns immediately after yours. They obey your verbal commands (no action required to command them) and will take the dodge action and move to avoid danger if they aren't commanded.

    This. Freaking. Rocks. While the stat blocks won't scale very well, popping up a pair of minions to fight for you is exactly the kind of death knight vibe we're going for with this subclass, and the fact that once they're summoned, we don't need to worry about our action economy to command them is great.

Dreadful Aspect:

After you cast Divine Smite, you can use a Channel Divinity to cause each creature of your choice within a 30 foot emanation of you to make a wisdom save, becoming frightened for 1 minute. They can repeat the save at the end of each of their turns.

    Not as flashy, maybe, as Conjure Undead, but fear's a good condition to inflict, and for sure thematic.

Level 7:

Aura of Hate:

You and any allied Fiend or Undead that is within your Aura of Protection that hits with a melee attack deals extra Necrotic damage equal to your Charisma modifier.

    First off, the big fix from the old version: this no longer buffs enemies! That's a huge deal. While your Zombies and Skeletons might not often hit with their attacks (though Skeletons now have a +5 to hit, which is at least decent) remember that you're also getting this bonus. You're getting this bonus, and while you likely don't have any fiends with you, if an allied Wizard or Warlock has a Summon Fiend ally, that Demon/Yugoloths (Devils have a ranged attack) will be hitting all the harder. Also, your Summon Undead ally is going to benefit from this as well.

Level 15:

Supernatural Resistance:

You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

    These are still very common damage types, and while some supernatural creatures might deal force damage with their attacks, you're still going to mostly be dealing with these. Simple but good.

Level 20:

Dread Lord:

As a bonus action, you can grant new benefits to your Aura of Protection for 10 minutes or until you end it (no action required). You can do this once per long rest, or expend a 5th level spell slot to restore your use of it.

Darkness: Magical darkness fills your Aura of Protection. You and allies within the aura can see in this magical darkness.

Fear: When a creature with the Frightened condition starts its turn in your aura, it takes 4d10 Psychic damage.

Shadow Strike: As a bonus action, you can make a melee spell attack against a creature within your aura of protection. On a hit, the attack deals 3d10 plus your Charisma modifier in Necrotic damage.

    So, barring Truesight or Blindsight, that's going to blind most creatures. Naturally, Dreadful Aspect will allow you to frighten foes, though the Ghostly Spirit from Summon Undead can also do this automatically on a hit now. The Shadow Strike is not quite as much damage as a high-level divine smite, but it's free.

Overall Thoughts:

I like this. I think it really gets the death knight fantasy right - I sort of wish that the Aura of Hate improved attack rolls rather than damage rolls so that our Conjure Undead minions were more likely to hit (or if it did both, like Danse Macabre) but I'll take it.

Genuinely, I really want to play this (as well as the Warrior of Intoxication Monk,) which is a good sign for the design.

UA: Warrior of Intoxication Monk

 My primary Adventurer's League character, and my second major (maybe third?) D&D character concept overall, was a Drunken Master monk. While now I look back on that subclass and feel it was kind of underpowered, I love the flavor of it. And nothing would delight me more than to see a really good version of the Drunken Master that meets its full potential.

First off, not a comment on the mechanics, but I hate this new name. Drunken Master is so much better than "Intoxication." They mean the same thing, but one calls to mind the classic martial arts form of Drunken Boxing, as made particularly famous by Jackie Chan's Drunken Master movies.

I will say, one new addition to this is something I felt the original version was missing, which also links it a bit with World of Warcraft's Brewmaster Monks, which we'll get to. The Monk overall got a lot stronger in 2024, so any subclass will benefit. Let's see how it is!

Level 3:

Bonus Proficiencies:

You gain the Performance skill, or another Monk proficiency if you already have it. You also gain proficiency with Brewer's Supplies (but evidently don't get a different one if you already have that).

    It's a ribbon, but fun.

Drunken Technique:

When you use Flurry of Blows, your speed increases by 10 feet until the end of your turn and your movement on that turn doesn't provoke opportunity attacks.

    This is unchanged, giving you a free disengage and speed boost when you use what most Monks are going to be using most turns. Monks don't need to rely as much on being evasive as they used to thanks to Deflect Attacks, but it's nice. Is this enough for level 3? Eh, Monks are particularly strong in tier 1, so it's probably ok (and I think the other 2024 Monk subclasses don't get a ton at level 3).

Level 6:

Tipsy Sway:

When you are prone, you can stand up using just 5 feet of movement. If a creature misses you with a melee attack, you can spend 1 FP as a reaction to cause the attack to hit one creature of your choice that is within 5 feet of you and isn't the attack.

    In practice, I didn't get to use the Redirect Attack feature all that much (frustratingly, I had a moment were, RAW, I should have been able to, but because the swarm attacking me had to be within the same space to attack, the DM ruled it couldn't be redirected 5 feet away). Flavorfully, this is a lot of fun. Combined with Deflect Attack, you can really punish people for attacking you.

Mystic Brew:

When you finish a short or long rest while holding Brewer's Supplies, you can use the tool to magically produce a bottle or cask of one of the following beverages (the container appears when you brew the concoction and vanishes when you drink it). A beverage will last until you finish a short or long rest or until you drink it.

Only you can drink the beverage, and you have to drink a pint of it before gaining its benefits. You can spend 1 minute to drink a pint, and then gain its benefits for 1 hour.

If you expend 1 FP when you create the brew (presumably meaning after finishing the rest, so you don't immediately get it back,) the duration of the brew's effect now lasts 8 hours.

    This is brand new and finally makes actual brewing a part of the subclass. I LOVE this.

The brews are:

Cinnamon Dragon: You can take a magic action to exhale toxic flames in a 30 foot cone. Each creature in the cone must make a Dex save (DC based on Wisdom). On a failure, they take four rolls of your Martial Arts die of fire damage and are poisoned until the end of their next turn. On a success, they take half damage only.

    Ok, flavorfully I freaking love this - it's almost precisely the Breath of Fire ability from WoW, and feels perfect and what the old version was lacking. Let's figure out some math, though: we're sacrificing two attacks for this. If we have a +4 to Dex at this level, that means 1d8+4 twice, or 17 average damage. There are potentially crits and wraps of unarmed prowess and things that could affect that. 4d8 is 18 on average, and potentially hitting multiple targets. Yeah, this is probably worth it, then. It's save for half, which I think more than makes up for the lack of crits, and if we can hit multiple targets, that's huge. Even without the poison effect, this is great. Yeah, love it.

Heavenly Spirit: You gain resistance to psychic and radiant damage.

    Super situational. Not nearly as exciting. Not a ton of monsters do radiant damage. Might throw in, like, Necrotic?

Refreshing Dip: Whenever you regain HP, you regain additional HP equal to a roll of your MA die.

    Yeah, it's a small amount of bonus healing.

    For sure my default here would be Cinnamon Dragon. The others are both too weak and not nearly cool enough.

Level 11:

Master Brewer:

You gain two new brew options:

Blue Lightning: Whenever you take a reaction that isn't making an opportunity attack or casting a spell, you can make one unarmed strike as part of that reaction.

    I mean, Monks are always making Deflect Attack reactions (or Tipsy Sway redirect attacks) so once again, we're really punishing foes for going after us. This is possibly the only competition for Cinnamon Dragon, but I still see that as my default.

Drunkard's Luck: You gain Heroic inspiration if you don't already have it, and you can give yourself Heroic inspiration when you roll initiative without it.

    While not as godawful as the old sole level 11 Drunken Master feature, I doubt this would be my choice when I could get Blue Lighting or Cinnamon Dragon.

Level 17:

Intoxicated Frenzy:

When you use Flurry of Blows, you can make up to three additional unarmed strikes with it (for a total of six) provided each strike targets a different creature this turn.

    This is unchanged, if I recall, from the old version, though of course Flurry of Blows get buffed at level 10 now to give you a third strike. Given that you can now only Stunning Strike once per turn, the most powerful aspect of this is gone, meaning it's essentially turning into glorified AoE, with damage equal to only 1d12+5, most likely.

Overall Thoughts:

I love the Brewing Mechanic, but I do think that we need to make the other options more exciting - Cinnamon Dragon is just so much better than almost all the other ones (please don't nerf it!) The rest of the subclass is nearly unchanged, and while again, they got rid of the most dogshit feature (the old Drunkard's Luck, which let you spend 2 Ki - 2! - to cancel disadvantage on a roll - not, like, give you advantage instead or something) I might take another pass at Intoxicated Frenzy and maybe even bump the Mystic Brew thing up to level 3.

I feel like it needs just a little oomph, but once again, I love, love, love the Mystic Brew idea, which might just need a bit of refinement.

UA: Cavalier Fighter

 The Cavalier was one of the two Fighter subclasses from Xanathar's that I never gave a ton of thought to (I did have an NPC Samurai at one point in my original campaign). The Cavalier is the mounted combat specialist, which does make things a little tricky depending on the campaign you're in. The good news is that the subclass also has a lot of stuff that works when you're not mounted. The French word chevalier means "knight," but literally it means "horseman". This class allows you to take on some chivalric roles, being a protector to your allies.

Level 3:

Bonus Proficiency:

You gain your choice of Animal Handling, History, Insight, Performance, or Persuasion as a skill proficiency, or alternatively, a language of your choice.

    Classic ribbon, though Animal Handling can be useful if you are going to be able to use a mount often.

Born to the Saddle:

You have advantage on saving throws to avoid falling off your mount. If you do fall and descend no more than 10 feet, you can land on your feet if you're not incapacitated. Additionally, mounting and dismounting only costs 5 feet of movement.

    This is all very nice if you can fight with a mount. Naturally, the Mounted Combatant feat would be a natural fit for this subclass.

Unwavering Mark:

When you hit a creature with a melee weapon, you can mark them until the end of your next turn, or until you become incapacitated, die, or someone else marks the creature in the same way.

While within 5 feet of you, the creature has disadvantage on attack rolls agains creatures other than you. Additionally, if a creature marked by you hits another creature with an attack, you have advantage on attack rolls against them until the end of your next turn.

    This is the thing that will be useful regardless of how cramped your arena is or how dead your horse is. It's actually not dissimilar from the Spiritual Guardian's tanking ability, but punishes them for ignoring you if they try to go after someone else. I think I'd be fine with the mark giving disadvantage even if the foe runs away from you. Alternatively or in addition to that, I wouldn't mind if the mark persisted longer (though it's in line with the SG as mentioned before). Fighters can make decent tanks, though given how much more damage scales up than AC, I don't think they do it quite as well as a Barbarian. Honestly, Defensive Duelist might be a good call here.

Level 7:

Warding Maneuver:

If you or a creature you can see with 5 feet (like your mount) is hit with an attack roll, you can roll 1d8 as a reaction if you have a melee weapon or shield in hand, and add the number rolled to the target's AC against the triggering attack. If it still hits even with this bonus, the target gets resistance to the attack's damage. You can use this Con times (minimum 1) per long rest.

    I like that this will for sure help the friend regardless of whether your roll is high enough - even on a crit, you can halve that damage. But also, 4.5 on average added to one's AC is almost as good as a Shield spell, but less reliable.

    Again, you might just use this to keep your mount alive (I'd honestly have loved if you could get a bespoke mount spell block with this that scaled with your level) but this is also going to be great even if you can't get a mount. Once again, this has real knight in shining armor energy.

Level 10:

Hold the Line:

Creatures provoke opportunity attacks from you when they move 5 or more feet while within you reach. When you hit with an opportunity attack, you reduce their movement to 0 until the end of the current turn.

    So, kind of Sentinel, and also makes your opp attacks work like they did in 3.5, if I understand correctly. This makes it far more likely you'll be making opportunity attacks, which does mean you'll have competition for your Warding Maneuver, but again, it's going to make it much easier for you to keep foes from going after your friends.

Level 15:

Ferocious Charger:

During the first round of combat, you and your mount's speed increase by 10 feet, and your movement does't provoke opportunity attacks. When you move within 5 feet of a creature this round, they make a Strength save (DC based on your Strength) and you can either push them 5 feet away or knock them prone (a creature can only be affected by this once per turn).

    I believe that a controlled mount can dash on their turn as their own action, rather than yours, so with a Warhorse, I believe this gives you 70 (and dash for 140) feet of movement, potentially trampling a bunch of foes. Minus a mount, this is going to be more limited, but you're also probably in closer quarters. I'd guess in most cases prone is the better choice, unless there are hazards like lava or ledges to knock foes into.

Level 18:

Vigilant Defender:

In combat, you gain a special reaction that you can take once per turn other than your own turn. You can only use this reaction for opportunity attacks, and can't take it the turn you use your normal reaction.

    Combining this with Hold the Line, you could seriously bottleneck a lot of enemies. I actually think this subclass would work fantastically with Polearm Master, using a reach weapon to cover a big swath of the battlefield.

Overall Thoughts:

This is very similar to the Xanathar's version (just some changes to Unwavering Mark). I actually think it's pretty solid, with a real theme that they build on. And while you won't be getting the full benefit of the subclass if you can't have a mount to ride around, I think the other features are strong enough to make it at least a reasonable option.

As always with Fighters, I think the Battle Master and Eldritch Knight are so good that you have to compare any new subclass to them. The key to why I think this is decent, even if it might benefit from a little more polish, is that it really sticks to a true "defend your allies" role for the group in a way that other fighters don't quite accomplish. Do we need a revision if they're changing so little, though? Or do we just need to reevaluate the Xanathar's one?

UA: Storm Herald Barbarian

 In my previous post, I argued that while the new Spiritual Guardian Barbarian might not be a wholly necessary revision to the already-fine Ancestral Guardian, the Storm Herald is one that I'm actually really eager to see another take on. Conceptually, I love the Storm Herald, but the version we got in Xanathar's was pretty weak. It was also a subclass that seemed to present lots of cool options, but ultimately the subclass itself was three less versatile subclasses, as you needed to pick one kind of storm and stick to it.

I will also say that this is one of the subclasses that feels thematically most similar to my oldest World of Warcraft character, who is an Enhancement Shaman.

The new version, notably, lets you pick a new storm each time you rage, which is already a huge bonus. But are the effects powerful enough? Let's look at it.

Level 3:

Storm Aura:

When you rage, you choose Desert, Sea, or Tundra, and a stormy aura in a 10-foot emanation extends around you for the duration of the rage.

When it first appears, and again as a bonus action on each of your turns, you can activate the storm and get one the corresponding effect. If it calls for a saving throw, the DC is based on your Constitution.

    First, before we get to the storms: why not make this Strength? It would give you a better DC in most cases, and given that things like Primal Knowledge suggest that Strength represents a Barbarian's primal connection to their power, it would fit. I will say that picking a storm type each time you rage is an enormous improvement over the old version of this feature.

    I will also say that because activating the aura requires you bonus action, this is going to be a bit of a pain for those with the Dual Wielder or Polearm Master feat, and even potentially with the Great Weapon Master feat. I'd change this to just have it happen at the start of each subsequent turn, no action required.

Desert: Roll d4s equal to your Rage damage bonus. Each creature in the aura must succeed on a Dex save or take fire damage equal to the amount rolled. You can choose one creature you see within the aura to automatically succeed.

    I'd rather that this just let you damage creatures of your choice, rather than getting a single carve-out.

Sea: Roll d6s equal to your Rage damage bonus. You can hurl a bolt of lightning at one creature within the aura. They make a dex save. On a failure, they take that much lightning damage, or half as much on a success.

    It's not a huge amount more than the fire damage, but I think the save for half element here does make it a genuinely better option if you need to burn down a single target.

Tundra: Roll d4s equal to your Rage damage bonus. You can choose a creature within the aura. They make a Strength save, and on a failure, they subtract the number you rolled from the next damage roll they make.

    I think I'd bump up the damage reduction: this is going to provide less damage prevention than the damage of either of the other options, and on top of it, they can save out of this, so you might get nothing out of it.

Level 6:

Storm Soul:

You gain a persistent benefit based on the environment chosen the last time you rage, which lasts indefinitely (obviously changing if you rage with a different storm).

Desert: You gain resistance to Fire damage, and as a magic action, you can touch a flammable object that isn't being worn or carried and cause it to start burning.

    Fire resistance is good, though it very much depends on the situation. If you're on the elemental plane of fire, it's great for both combat and avoiding exhaustion, but you'll also probably not want to use that storm in such a location. The burning things aspect is fine, but if you have a Tinder Box you've basically already got this capability.

Sea: You gain resistance to lightning damage, and can breathe underwater. You also gain a swim speed equal to your speed.

    While lightning damage isn't super common (though not unheard of,) this is going to be fantastic if you have any underwater combat, and is a great option to have (also, lightning damage can still hurt a lot of underwater creatures, so the rage effect isn't wasted).

Tundra: You gain resistance to cold damage, and as a magic action, you can touch a 5-foot cube of water and turn it into ice for one minute, as long as there aren't creatures in that area of water.

    Cold damage isn't terribly uncommon, but it's not as common as fire (my level 9 Triton Wizard just took cold damage for the first time in a years-running campaign last week). The ice cube thing could actually be really fun as a way to create a temporary barrier or make a stepping-stone.

    This will require you to keep an account of what storm you used last, which could be a slight hurdle. I wonder if this could just be something you pick on a short or long rest?

Level 10:

Shielding Storm:

Each creature of your choice within your storm aura gains the resistance granted by Storm Soul.

    This makes sense, but given that the Desert Aura encourages you to avoid getting more than one teammate inside of it, it's a bit of mixed messaging. I really think that they just need to make the Desert aura be "creatures of your choice."

Level 14:

Raging Storm:

Your storm auras gain new effects:

    I will say, I'm shocked that this doesn't expand the aura to a larger radius.

Desert: Once per turn, when a creature fails its save against your Storm Aura effect, you can cause them to start burning for 1 minute or until the rage ends. The burning creature takes 1d4 extra fire damage (on top of the normal 1d4 for the burning condition, so 2d4) at the start of each of its turns.

    At level 14, this isn't a ton of damage, but I suppose it adds up. I don't think more instances of burning adds d4s here.

Sea: Whether a creature succeeds or fails against the lightning bolt effect, a bolt of lightning leaps from your initial target to another target within 30 feet of the first target. The new target makes a Dex save just like the first target.

    This is pretty good as long as you do actually have a secondary target - you're sort of hitting two targets with a half-powered lightning bolt each turn as a bonus action.

Tundra: Once per turn, when a creature fails its save against the damage reduction effect, you can cause them to take 2d4 Cold damage and their speed is halved until the end of its next turn.

    Again, kind of pitiful damage. The speed reduction is situational.

Overall Thoughts:

While this is an improvement over the Xanathar's version of the subclass, I think that the subclass as a whole suffers from a fear that the many options will make you overpowered. But I just feel like each effect we get is not really enough to make it worth it.

I know there's a danger of power creep, but it's just a shame because conceptually, this subclass feels like it should be awesome. If they're worried about power, I might take a look at how the damage of the subclass is routed - maybe our attacks are instead imbued with elemental power, and then we get more exciting effects like a fly speed while raging - or perhaps we get something like teleporting as fast as lightning with a sea storm, flying with a desert cyclone, and maybe blinding foes with a tundra storm?

Unlike the Ancestral/Spiritual Guardian (which again, was fine), this is a subclass I do want to see a revision for, because it's one that always seemed like it had a lot of potential that it failed to live up to. But I feel like they're just too gunshy to go back to the drawing board with it.

UA: Spiritual Guardian Barbarian

 So, for context, one of my players in my Ravnica campaign is a Loxodon Ancestral Guardian Barbarian (part of the Selesnya Conclave). It's been a fun character, who's a total himbo, and tends to keep it light, while also being a really powerful tank character in combat (he's also the one that has the party's artifact weapon, which, among other things, gives him angelic wings with a 90 foot flying speed).

This subclass, from Xanathar's, is one of the best "true tank" subclasses, largely because it causes foes you hit to both get disadvantage on attacks against other targets and also gives those targets resistance to their damage. In other words, the monsters are strongly incentivized to keep attacking the character who can take the most punishment.

The revision appears to actually slightly nerf this capability, though it also grants some new options.

Level 3:

Spiritual Protectors:

When you are raging, if you hit a creature with a weapon or unarmed strike, the spirits cause one of the following effects of your choice:

Distract: The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls against targets other than the Barbarian until the start of your next turn.

Protect: The next time the creature hits a creature other than you with an attack roll, its target has resistance to the damage of that attack.

Strike: The target takes an extra 1d6 of your choice of Acid, Cold, Fire, Force, Lightning, or Thunder damage.

    So, notably this nerfs the old version's protective capabilities because you don't get Distract and Protect combined. Also, protect now only affects one attack. That being said, you'll note that there's nothing here saying a creature can't take different effects from different attacks - if you hit them with the first attack, you can Distract, and if you hit them with the second attack, you can Protect, which nearly gets you back to the old version. The damage bonus isn't huge but isn't nothing either, and especially at low levels can potentially let you finish something off (which would make the other effects irrelevant).

Level 6:

Spirit Shield:

While your rage is active, if you see a creature within 30 feet of you take damage, you can use a reaction to reduce the damage by an amount equal to the rolls of d6s equal to your rage bonus (so 2d6, 3d6, and eventually 4d6).

    I think the scaling here is a different than the old version, but it's the same idea. The difference is that at higher levels, you don't get to then reflect that damage back upon the target, as that later feature has been replaced. Again, though, this continues the trend of letting you really defend your allies effectively. (Now that I actually have Xanathar's open:) the scaling is similar, but the old version had the dice go up at different levels, not tied to your Rage bonus.

Level 10:

Consult the Spirits:

You can cast Augury or Clairvoyance without a spell slot or material components, with Wisdom as your spellcasting ability for them. Once you cast either spell, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

    This is unchanged. This doesn't see a ton of use in my game, but I think the rest of the subclass is still quite strong.

Level 14:

Vengeful Spirits:

When you attack with a melee weapon as part of the attack action and roll an 18 or higher on the d20, you can make one additional attack roll with the same weapon as part of that action. Once you do this, you can't do so again until the start of your next turn.

    So, this totally replaces the old one, which allowed you to reflect back the Spirit Shield damage reduction as damage to the attacker. With two attacks made at advantage, you have a roughly 48% chance to get this third attack. A roughly 50% chance to get another attack in each turn means roughly a 25% damage increase - though only if you're being reckless.

Overall Thoughts:

    It's a bit of a question of interpretation: I think that this is overall a bit of a nerf, but not enough to make it a bad subclass. The overall idea of it remains in place, but notably, if we want to forgo our protective capabilities and focus on pure damage, we have options to do that.

Does this need a reprint? I'm not convinced - I think the Xanathar's version is actually fine. But if it were reprinted in this way, I don't think I'd complain about its new form.