Getting Six Feet Deep into the Path to the Grave

 The Grave Domain is maybe the Cleric subclass I'm most familiar with. One of my most consistent players in my 6-years-running Ravnica campaign is a Grave Cleric (he was Orzhov but has broken with the guild over the efforts by the guild leadership to maintain their hold on power through undeath - actually, by this point in the campaign, the Obzedat have all been banished to true death in Agryem, and there are a lot of internal reforms), but on top of that, when I did (most of) Curse of Strahd, our Cleric was also a Grave Cleric.

The new version of this subclass sparked a lot of debate because of the perception that it had been nerfed. I want to investigate that.

Now, several features changed. Sentinel at Death's Door is more effective now when it's used, but you can only use it when a target is Bloodied, meaning that you can't save a friend from a big crit at the start of combat. It's basically a trickier judgment call now - typically I see it just automatically used if the Cleric has a reaction open to negate any critical hit.

But the much biggest controversy is over Path to the Grave.

The Xanathar's version of this had you use your Channel Divinity to set up a monster, giving them vulnerability to the next attack that hit them. Ideally, you get someone like a Paladin to hit them and then expend a high-level Divine Smite, or have a Rogue land a Sneak Attack. It required careful planning, though the Cleric can opt to Ready this action to ensure that the right character is about to attack (I'm not sure if I'd let you declare this after you see an ally crit, though if you're waiting for them to crit and they never do, it'd be a wasted action... might be ok).

Anyway, the new version works very differently:

Now, you curse the target (no save) as a bonus action (you do need to be within 30 feet). This lasts until the start of your next turn. The curse imposes Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Saving Throws. Then, when you or an ally lands an attack on the target, you can end the curse (no action required) to cause the attack to deal Radiant or Necrotic damage equal to your Cleric level.

Let's unpack things a little:

First off, the disadvantage that the curse imposes is entirely new. That aspect, at least, is a full buff.

But what about the damage?

Well, you're doing 3-20 damage, depending on your level. What's interesting about this is that it really doesn't matter who hits or how hard. An off-hand dagger attack is going to benefit from this just as much as a Paladin smiting on a crit. It's flat damage, and the only thing you need to deliver it is for someone to hit the target before your next turn. This can even be you, as this only takes your bonus action to activate.

Now, vulnerability did double all damage, effectively (if they were resistant, you'd negate that, which still doubles the damage they would have done. It doesn't help with immunity, but that's just doubling zero). So, basically, it's a question of whether the ally whose attack you're boosting was dealing damage with a single attack higher than your level.

I do think there's a good chance they were. Even a dual-wielding fighter is going to probably be doing something like 1d6+3 damage on a hit when you first get this, which is obviously more than the 3 you're adding.

But at higher levels, what kind of damage are we looking at? A Paladin hitting with a +3 Greatsword and with Great Weapon Master and capped Strength at level 17 is going to hit for 2d6+1d8+14, which is 25.5. So, yeah, vulnerability would be better.

But a level 20 Monk might still only be hitting on an individual attack for 1d12+10 (if they have +3 Wraps of Unarmed Prowess and had capped their Dex before hitting level 20,) meaning that Path to the Grave would actually be more damage for them than the old version (well, if they crit the vulnerability would be better).

    Look: I think in a vacuum, this does look like a nerf. It's certainly not going to enable insane burst damage the way the old version worked.

But the disadvantage imposed by the curse can potentially be really helpful, making it harder for them to resist things like grapples and stuns, or just full on damage from something like your own Spirit Guardians.

I maintain that if we had not previously had the old Grave Domain Cleric, people would actually be pretty excited about the one out of Horrors Within. Really, only the Phantom Rogue, to me, missed the mark (it could be so much better if you got the Spirit Trinkets earlier).

War Cleric vs Wyvern

 You'll notice that a lot of my builds have been for martial character, usually half casters, third casters, or not casters at all. Pure spellcasters aside from the Warlock will often present so many possibilities for what we can do that it's really more likely you'll be playing sort of reactively, figuring out what makes the most sense in the moment. Now, sure, my Wizard can do his Conjure Minor Elementals/Scorching Ray combo to do insane damage (though not very sustainably) but I certainly don't do that every combat.

Still, even if you don't have that particular combo of spells, I wanted to get a sense of what other casters might consider using.

Clerics are most classically the healers of D&D. But there are two ways in which that doesn't really do them justice - first of all, basically no character should or even can just spend every turn in combat healing (ok, maybe when you get to higher levels you might find yourself doing that). Second, there's plenty that a Cleric can do as an offensive combatant.

I'd considered looking at the Grave Cleric, updated in Horrors Within (and one that has generally gotten disappointed reviews - my take was that if we didn't already have the Xanathar's version, it would be well-received. Part of the reason you sometimes need to just break and do a new edition is that people won't play a nerfed version of an older option if that older option is still available). But I decided to set that aside because I think the War Cleric might give us some more interesting decisions.

More than any other Cleric, War Clerics really favor going the Protector route, which gives you heavy armor training and martial weapon proficiency. To be honest, I think that the former is probably not worth it - sticking to medium armor will get you just one AC shy of the highest type of heavy armor, and with less of an ability score investment (you get slowed if you have less than 15 Strength in Splint or Plate, whereas 14 Dexterity will ensure you're getting the maximum AC out of medium armor).

On basically any other cleric, I'd prefer the extra cantrip and the ability to add Wisdom to Arcana and Religion checks (more or less making them Wisdom skills if you take a 10 in Int). But because this is a class that gives us (limited) additional attacks, I'm tempted to push for more of a martial vibe.

Now: we probably need to be wary of just treating this like it's a Martial class. Without Extra Attack, we get less value out of a feat like Great Weapon Master. We also don't get Weapon Masteries, which make something like Dual Wielder useful. Polearm Master can work great for us, but the bonus action Pole Strike attack we get is slightly redundant with our War Priest feature.

The big question, I think, is whether we want to pour everything into Strength or Wisdom.

Naturally, Wisdom is usually the top stat for a Cleric, as it affects our spells. It also gives us more uses of our War Priest feature.

But we also want to have decent Strength if we are choosing to fight with a big martial weapon.

Now, we can solve this issue, to an extent at least: if we take Magic Initiate: Wizard, we can pick up True Strike as a cantrip. This would let us make our regular attack with Wisdom, and even do an extra d6 of damage at level 10.

Alternatively, if we grabbed Magic Initiate: Druid, we could take Shillelagh, which would transform a Club or Quarterstaff into, at this level, a d10 weapon. The benefit here is that we could use this with both the Attack action and a War Priest bonus action - however, we need to spend our first bonus action on casting Shillelagh, as it only lasts a minute.

Here's what I think we're going to do:

We'll aim to start off at level 1 with a 17 in Wisdom and a 15 in Strength. At level 4, we take Great Weapon Master, making our Strength 16, and then at level 8, we take War Caster, giving us an 18 in Wisdom. By starting off with 15 in Strength, if we're willing to dump Dex, Int, and Cha, we could manage to get Con up to 16 (assuming we have a background that can boost both Wis and Con).

The Sage background gives us these as well as Magic Initiate Wizard, so we can grab True Strike and then pick up probably Shield as our 1st level spell (or Find Familiar, though I never actually wind up using my Familiar in combat, so I'd err toward Shield).

Now, how often will we actually use True Strike? Maybe not all the time, but it's nice to have.

Now, for a weapon, I would go with a Maul - without Weapon Masteries, it's sort of arbitrary whether you grab a Maul or Greatsword, and I actually prefer Mauls on an aesthetic level (especially if they're unrealistic massive sledgehammers with a head as big as your torso). It's pretty flexible - as long as it's a heavy melee weapon, you'll get the benefit of your feat from it - though note that heavy ranged weapons will suffer from our low dex).

Ok, next, let's talk spells.

For our big concentration spell, Spirit Guardians are usually a great call, especially if there are a lot of melee monsters. In single-target situations, you're still going to be getting a fair amount of damage each turn (if upcast to 5th level, you're looking at 5d8 damage, which is 22.5 damage on average for a failed save, or 11.25 damage on a success. Hit more than one target and it's for sure paying for itself.

But there are other possibilities. Crusader's Mantle won't give us a ton of damage, but if we have a lot of allies who make lots of attacks, it could add up. The spell doesn't upcast, though, so in order to hit the 22.5 damage mark, we'd need our party within the emanation to hit 9 times per round (against a single target). That seems tough to do unless we're specifically fighting alongside a Monk and a Fighter.

Summon Celestial is another option here, hitting for 12 damage on average twice per turn. Indeed, in a pure single-target situation, it likely would out-damage Spirit Guardians. But if there's anyone else you might hit, good old reliable SG will do it for you.

Now, thanks to War God's Blessing, we can cast Spiritual Weapon without concentration. That being said, that will cast it at its base level, which means only hitting for 1d8+4 once a turn. Our War Priest bonus action attack will be hitting for 2d6+3, which means 8.5 versus 10. Now, sure, the Spiritual Weapon will hit a bit more often, but I suspect that it won't make up for it.

In other words, we might hold off on Spiritual Weapon until we're out of War Priest attacks.

We might also want to cast Fire Shield before combat if we can, as it will dole out punish damage to melee attackers, but I won't be making this part of our calculation (Fire Shield is non-concentration).

But after turn 1, getting Spirit Guardians running, what do we do with our action on subsequent turns? The truth is that, as a Cleric, it's good to not have a necessary action here, as we'll be able to respond to the battlefield situation. But we'll calculate this as if we're just casting True Strike each turn (after the 1st).

We can sustain our War Priest attacks for four rounds, which will hopefully be long enough for combat to be over.

Finally, how often are we using Guided Strike? While we can get some good hits in with it ourselves, I'd assume someone else in the party, like a Rogue, Barbarian, or Paladin, is actually hitting harder with their attacks, and so we'd rather use this to help them land their strikes. That being said, when we use it on ourselves, we don't need to use a reaction. At this level, we have 3 Channel Divinity uses. Actually, I say that others are hitting harder than we are, but...

Oh, I just realized something:

GWM only buffs our damage if we are taking the Attack Action. So, no True Strike.

I will say, the True Strike damage bonus will outpace GWM, I think. At level 10, it's just 3.5 more on average compared with GWM's 4, but next level it goes up to 7, which is already outpacing GWM at its best. (This wouldn't be true if we had extra attack, but going pure Cleric means we won't.)

So let's rejigger this:

We start off with a 15 in Con and 17 Wis. Now, Sage doesn't boost Strength, which is a bit of an issue, but if our DM lets us use a custom background, we can get the same bonuses and feat. We'll just start off with a 16 Strength if we can this way. Then, we'll take War Caster at level 4 and Resilient: Con at level 8, getting us back to our same stats as before.

Ok, now we're just getting that True Strike damage.

So, gameplan:

Turn one, we cast Spirit Guardians at 5th level and close in with our target. As a bonus action, we make an attack with our Maul using the War Priest feature. We're going to save Guided Strike for our allies or for when we make a True Strike attack.

Turn two, we cast True Strike, and then again do a bonus action War Priest attack. And so on.

Let's figure out our damage:

First off, Spirit Guardians. This damage happens on the enemy's turn. They do have an 80-foot fly speed, so even in the spell's difficult terrain, they could get away if they aren't stopped. But we'll assume they're standing and fighting.

This deals, as mentioned above, 22.5 damage on a failed save, and 11.25 on a success. The Wyvern has a Wisdom save bonus of +1. Our saving throw DC is 16. So, the Wyvern saves on a roll of 15 or higher, meaning that they fail 70% of the time. 22.5x70% is 15.75 and 11.25x30% is 3.375, so the total damage each turn we get from this spell (assuming that the wyvern remains within it and we maintain concentration) is 19.125 (we'll shorten that to 19.1).

Next, we have our War Priest attack. With only +3 to Strength (and that's if we're willing to dump three stats to -1. More likely we have a +2) we have a +7 to hit. The Wyvern's AC is 14, so we'll hit on a 7 or higher, or 70% of the time. Our hits land for 2d6+3, or 10 average, and we add 7 for crits. 10x70% is, obviously, 7. 7x5% is .35, so the average damage for this is 7.35 (rounded to 7.4).

So, turn 1, we do 26.5 damage (well, round 1, as the Spirit Guardians damage doesn't happen until their turn).

Turn two, we are really just adding our True Strike damage to that. With this, we have a +8 to hit, meaning we land 75% of the time. This also hits for 3d6+4 damage, or 14.5, with an extra 10.5 on a crit. 14.5x75% is 10.875, and 10.5x5% is .525, so we do 11.4.

Thus, on round 2, we're getting 37.9 damage.

Ah, but what of Guided Strike?

Well, honestly, it feels a little silly to use it on a Wyvern. For our True Strike, we would only benefit from it if we rolled a natural 2-5, meaning that we're actually only getting at most the equivalent of a +4 from it.

But on this round, we'd essentially turn our hit chance into a 95% chance, which means we'd get 13.775 (rounded to 13.8) from our hits (crits don't change), adding 2.4 damage per round.

Ok, now, if we ran out of War Priest attacks (maybe this isn't our first fight since our last short rest) we can use War God's Blessing to cast Spiritual Weapon. Note that this shares the resource with Guided Strike, though that's not having an enormous impact.

This would have the same hit chance as our True Strike, and takes the bonus action place of our War Priest attacks. 1d8+4 is 8.5 on average, with 4.5 extra on a crit, so it's 8.5x75%, or 6.375, with an extra .225 on a crit, for 6.6 damage per turn.

Thus, it's about .8 less damage than our War Priest maul attacks, meaning we're going down to 37.1 - not too bad.

    There are some nuances here, of course:

The biggest is that if we do catch more than one target in our Spirit Guardians, our damage per round skyrockets. Just a second equivalent foe in the area gives us an extra 19.1 damage, which would put us at 57 damage per round. A third would mean 76.1.

That being said, if we get hit hard enough and lose concentration (hopefully unlikely thanks to War Caster and Resilient Con) we'd be in trouble. If we didn't need the actions for healing, I might just re-cast Spirit Guardians each time.

How likely is it that we lose concentration? Well, it depends a little on what armor we have. But if we assume by level 10 we have mundane plate, our AC is now 18 (we've got a Maul, so no shield). A Wyvern has a +7 to hit, so a 50% hit chance against us.

Their bite does 13 damage on a hit, and an extra 9 on a crit. We'll abstract this to say that 50% of the time, we get hit for 13, and 5% of the time, we get hit for 22. With +3 to Con, Resilient Con, and War Caster, we have a +7 to Con saves and advantage on them. Thus, on a hit, we need to just hit a 10, requiring us to only hit a natural 3 or higher with advantage (90% success). On a crit, we need to hit an 11, and so we need to get a natural 4 or higher with advantage (85% success).

So, in the 45% of the time we're hit but not crit, we have only a 1% chance to fail. And then, in the 5% of the time we're crit, we have a 2.25% chance to fail. So, if we get attacked with the bite, that's 1%x50%, or .5%, and then 2.25%x5%, or .1% (rounded). Basically, there's a .6% chance we lose concentration if we're attacked with a bite.

However, the Sting is a lot nastier. It has the same hit chance, but it deals a ton more damage: 35 on a hit (mix of piercing and poison) and 66 on a crit.

So, if we're hit, we have to beat a 17 con save for concentration, meaning we have a 55% chance to do so. If we're crit, we need to beat a DC 33, which is just not possible without a ton of stacking buffs or a Mind Sharpener from an Artificer. So, for our chance to fail, we've got basically 45%x50%, or 22.5%, and then 100%x5%, which is obviously 5%.

Therefore, if we're targeted by the Sting, we have a 27.5% chance to lose concentration.

Inverting those again, we can figure out the chance that we maintain concentration through a full assault by a Wyvern - 99.4% of the time we succeed against the bite. But only 72.5% of the time do we succeed (I should say succeed or don't need to make the save in the first place) against the Sting. So, that means we have pretty close to a 72% chance to maintain concentration. It's still more likely than not, but we shouldn't be shocked if Spirit Guardians drops.

Grave Domain Cleric (Horrors Within)

 Another subclass I'm intimately familiar with - one of my consistent players in my 6-year Ravnica campaign is a Grave Cleric and former member of the Orzhov Syndicate.

I've actually seen a lot of Grave Clerics, from Caduceus in Campaign Two of Critical Role to multiple home games. It was a very solid subclass out of Xanathar's. I know there are some big changes here, but are the buffs, nerfs, or sidegrades?

Domain Spells:

Cantrip: Spare the Dying

1st: Detect Evil and Good, False Life

2nd: Gentle Repose, Ray of Enfeeblement

3rd: Revivify, Vampiric Touch

4th: Blight, Death Ward

5th: Dispel Evil and Good, Raise Dead

    Ok, so, they lose Bane and gain Detect Evil and Good (which I suspect also means they lost Eyes of the Grave). Also, they lose Antilife Shell and gain Dispel Evil and Good. I don't think I've seen my player ever cast Antilife Shell, but I suspect that they'd lament losing Bane, especially to replace it with a spell that they kind of already got anyway with Eyes of the Grave.

Level 3:

Circle of Mortality:

You get two benefits.

Pull of Death lets you add a d4 of Necrotic damage once per turn to damage you deal to a creature that's missing any HP via a spell or an attack roll. The damage goes up to 1d6 when you hit level 11.

    It's not much, but given that this stacks up with Divine Strikes/Potent Cantrips, it's a something. And that "missing any HP" qualifier is most of the time - a spell like Toll the Dead almost always gets its higher damage mode.

Return to Life lets you cast Spare the Dying with a bonus action.

Additionally, if you would roll one or more dice to heal a creature with 0 HP via a spell or Channel Divinity, you don't roll and instead just take the maximum.

    This is basically the same as before, except that it doesn't increase the range of Spare the Dying because that's now baked into the spell. Admittedly, at lower levels, this is a slight nerf because it's only a 15-foot range at tier 1, but thereafter it's functionally identical.

Path to the Grave:

As a bonus action, you present your holy symbol and use Channel Divinity to curse one creature you can see within 30 feet of you until the start of your next turn. While cursed, the creature has Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws.

When you or an ally hits the creature with an attack, you can end the curse early (no action required) to make the attack deal extra Necrotic or Radiant damage (your choice) equal to your Cleric level.

    So, a lot to unpack: The old version made the target Vulnerable to all damage of the next attack that hit it, but took an action. So, it's a very different feature overall. The new one realistically allows you to gain the damage benefit.

    But also, the benefit is a flat amount of damage, so no matter if the Monk hits for just one of their attacks or the Paladin lands an insane crit-smite, the damage this feature will deal will be 3-20 damage, depending on your level. The insane burst potential that you can get with this has for sure been nerfed. But A: that seems to be a design goal for 5.5E and B: there are other pretty solid benefits that this gives you.

    For sure, for pure damage potential, this is a nerf. But I'm tempted to say that overall it's a sidegrade.

Level 6:

Sentinel at Death's Door:

When you or a bloodied creature you can see within 60 feet of yourself is hit with an attack roll, you can take a reaction to halve that attack's damage (round down). Also, if the triggering attack was a critical hit, it now just counts as a regular hit. You can use this Wis dimes per long rest.

    Again, one quite big buff and one significant... limitation. Notably, you can use this on yourself any time, but to use it on a friend, they need to be bloodied. That said, if you figure the old version of just cancelling a crit more or less halved the damage that the attack did, this lets you do that on far more attacks. And then, effectively, you're quartering the damage that a crit would do.

    This is a feature that will run out if the DM is rolling well. The bloodied restriction, in a sense, forces you to conserve it until you really need to use it. Once again, I think there are arguments for this being a buff and some for its being a nerf, but I think overall it's probably a buff, even if it might not feel as good when you can't cancel the crit on the first round of combat.

Level 17:

Divine Reaper:

You get two benefits:

Enhanced Necromancy lets you expend a use of Channel Divinity when you cast a Necromancy spell of 5th level or lower that targets one creature, or a spell from the Grave Domain spells table a secondary creature in range. (You still need to expend material components for each target if it requires costly or consumed components).

    So, this is actually from the Death Cleric - which does have a lot of thematic overlap with the Grave Cleric (even if they're also kind of opposite numbers). Naturally, a lot of spells that fit this, like resurrection magic, will still consume lots of components, but even if I think Blight is underpowered, hitting two targets with it is certainly better.

Keeper of Souls allows you to heal yourself or a creature you can see within 60 feet of yourself when an enemy dies within 60 feet of you. The healing is equal to twice your Cleric Level (so 34 when you get this). You can't use this if you're incapacitated. Also, you can use it once per short or long rest, unless you expend a 6th or higher level spell slot to restore your use.

    The old version had no limitation in use except that it happened only once per round (and, like this, doesn't take any action on your part) but the healing was the number of hit dice that the monster had. That actually winds up rarely being all that many. Like, an Ancient Red Dragon only has 26 hit dice. But, it's also totally free to use as much as you like. This is a beefier heal, but it's a serious resource to expend if you want to use it again (though coming back on a short rest is pretty generous).

Overall Thoughts:

    This subclass got a pretty thorough reworking. I suspect that those who were already familiar with and fond of the Xanathar's Grave Cleric will probably feel some ambivalence and even reluctance to embrace this version. But I think if this were brand new, it'd probably be pretty well-received. I truly don't think we can call this a nerf to the subclass, but it's certainly different than it was.

UA: Pestilence Domain Cleric

 Plague and contagion is such a universal human experience, and one that, until shockingly recently, we really didn't understand. There are a lot of things that can go wrong with the human body, but the existence of microbes like bacteria and viruses (are viruses technically microbes? I know they're not considered alive) is something that we've only known about for the better part of two centuries. Thus, the suffering, pain, and horror of plagues was historically connected to supernatural forces - the presence of evil spirits or perhaps the wrath of an angry god.

It's hard to imagine a lot of good deities who would be associated with Pestilence, though as someone of Jewish ancestry, I'm well aware of a recent holiday that was all about the divine invocation of plagues used to punish the Egyptians for holding our ancestors in slavery (a status that is debatable or even dubious historically, but it's a pretty powerful story).

I'm a big fan of good characters with evil powers, and all of these subclasses could probably fit into this. Perhaps you're on a mission of divine vengeance or punishment, and maybe you have to grapple with the morality of that.

Flavor aside, let's leap into the mechanics.

Domain Spells:

1st: Detect Poison and Disease, Ray of Sickness

2nd: Protection from Poison, Ray of Enfeeblement

3rd: Stinking Cloud, Vampiric Touch

4th: Blight, Giant Insect

5th: Contagion, Insect Plague

    To be frank, I don't know that any of these spells are jumping out at me as incredible options. Ray of Enfeeblement can help protect the party from damage if it goes off. One note, though, is that we're going to get another option that makes a lot of poison-based spells much more appealing. (Though I don't think this would apply to the Giant Insect stat block).

Level 3:

Blight Weaver:

You get the following benefits:

Inoculated Soul: You gain resistance to Necrotic and Poison damage, and you cannot be infected by magical contagions.

    Given that they sort of got rid of the idea of diseases in 5.5, this is curious. While the Contagion spell inflicts the poisoned condition, I feel as a DM I'd be forced to rule that this applies. Will we see diseases coming back to 5.5?

Rot and Fester: Damage from your Cleric spells and Cleric features ignores resistance to Necrotic and Poison damage. Additionally, when you cast a Cleric spell or use a Cleric feature that does either Necrotic or Poison damage, you can change that damage to the other type.

    The first part is, I think, nearly useless, as there's almost nothing that's resistant but not immune to either damage types (some vampires might be resistant to Necrotic, but I believe only the Giant Badger has resistance to poison). The second part, though, is huge, because Necrotic is a far more reliable damage type than Poison, so you'll almost always swap out poison damage to Necrotic. Now, how many poison spells do you have? Ray of Sickness is one, but I think all the other spells on your domain list do Necrotic if anything already. And I don't think there are a ton of Cleric spells that do Poison either.

Plague Blessing:

As a magic action, you can present your holy symbol and expend a Channel Divinity to manifest a 5-foot emanation of plague around you or a willing creature you touch for 1 minute. It ends early if you dismiss it, manifest it again, or become incapacitated.

Each creature of your choice that starts its turn in the emanation must succeed on a Con save against you spell save DC or gain 1 Exhaustion level. This cannot raise their exhaustion to a level above your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1).

    This is, frankly, nutso. It's incredibly rare for a player to be able to inflict Exhaustion on monsters, and this is technically an AoE (albeit a pretty short-range emanation). Even if, without epic boons or other magical means to raise your Wisdom beyond 20, you can't fully exhaust a foe to death with this (that takes 6 levels) Exhaustion is a really nasty debuff, reducing their speed and all d20 tests (including the Con save to resist this) by 2 for each level.

    The fact that you can even slap this on an ally (and it does avoid friendly fire, only infecting creatures you choose) makes it really powerful - start off a fight by putting it on one of your melee allies, and they're going to be potentially forcing that save every turn.

    Is this going to win a fight? No. Con saves can be difficult, because basically every monster has a decent Con. But if it does go off, even just one level is going to reduce their speed by 5 feet and make them less likely to succeed on any d20 test.

    Oh, and if it's a character who is likely to escape the combat, you've put a debuff on them that might take multiple days to recover from.

Level 6:

Virulent Burst:

When an enemy within 60 feet of you is reduced to 0 hit points, you can use a reaction to cause plague to burst from the creature in a 10-foot emanation, or 20 feet if they had any levels of Exhaustion. Each creature of your choice in the emanation must make a Con save against your spell save DC, suffering one of the following effects (presumably your choice):

Putrid Shock: The target is incapacitated until the end of its next turn and its speed is 0 while incapacitated.

Toxic Infection: The target takes 3d6 Necrotic or Poison damage (your choice).

You can use this feature Wis tiems per long rest.

    So, this is pretty effective even if you haven't exhausted them. Once again, it's creatures of your choice, so you can happily do this even on foes that are crowded by your allies. This is useless in a single-monster encounter, or if they're spread out, but against a big horde of enemies, this could potentially hit a lot of targets (and more if the target is exhausted). I think the toxic infection option is going to be great in swarms of weak foes, but especially at higher levels, the Incapacitation effect is going to be a much bigger deal.

Level 17:

Oh right, Clerics only get subclass features at three levels now. Weird.

Vermin Form:

As a bonus action, you can shape-shift into a Medium swarm of tiny pests (like rats, cockroaches, maggots, etc.) While in this form, you retain your general shape, personality, memories, ability to speak, equipment, etc. You're the same except for the following:

Condition Immunities: You have immunity to being Grappled, Paralyzed, Prone, or Restrained

    That's amazing, and I think a really key thing at high levels when you're fighting things that are big enough to swallow you.

Damage Resistances: You have resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage.

    Also great. Not much to say about it.

Movement: You can enter and occupy another creature's space and vice versa. You also gain a climb speed equal to your speed and can climb on difficult surfaces including ceilings without making an ability check.

    Definitely creepy. The Spider Climb ability is probably not as exciting at level 17, but fitting with the flavor.

Plague Bites: When you enter an enemy's space, that creature takes your choice of Necrotic, Piercing, or Poison damage equal to your Wisdom modifier. A creature takes this damage when it enters your space or ends its turn there (one instance of damage per turn).

    At 17, this is pretty small damage, though some fun cheese-grater stuff with a Warlock or other movement-heavy character assisting could get some extra damage out of it.

The form lasts 10 minutes unless you end it early, become incapacitated, or die. You can use this once for free per long rest, or spend a 5th or higher level spell slot to restore your use of it.

    The damage potential of this is not all that exciting, but the condition immunities and damage resistances probably make it a pretty good feature.

Overall Thoughts:

    There are some really strong points here and some weaknesses:

    Strong points include that Exhaustion is a horrifying condition to impose on your foes, and your ability to do so here is in AoE, so against a lot of enemies with not-particularly-good Con saves, this can be amazing. Likewise, the fact that every one of these nasty abilities avoids friendly fire makes this far easier to use. Indeed, the fact that you can choose an ally to be the vector for Plague Blessing is really good.

    Weaknesses are that the domain spells aren't all that exciting, the subclass features lean heavily on Con saves, which monsters are often good at... that might be it.

    I think I'd really need to see this in practice, but my gut tells me this could be a really nasty subclass, less about pumping out damage than totally debilitating your foes, which is a strong strategy.

Which Subclasses Should Get a Revision: Cleric

 The Cleric shares with the Wizard the distinction of being one of the two classes that did not see all of its PHB subclasses reprinted in the 2024 version. As one of two classes that got over 3 back in 2014 (and quite a lot more - Clerics had 7 and Wizards had 8) 2024's standardization of giving each class four subclasses to choose from made Clerics actually lose subclasses.

Except not... really. Because, after all, those old subclasses still exist, and you can still take them.

That being said, of all classes, Clerics' old subclasses are also probably the most awkward to update. Pre-2024, Cleric subclasses not only got features at both levels 1 and 2, before the new Clerics even get a subclass, but they also tended to get their armor training, weapon proficiencies, and their divine strike/potent spellcasting features, which all got pulled out of the subclass formula and made into their own separate class choices.

All of this, then, is to say, that Cleric subclasses from before 2024 need a lot of clean-up to use with the new Cleric, and so there's an argument that just about every one of their old divine domains could use some love.

But we're here to be discerning. We can't just reprint every old subclass.

One of the PHB domains (that's easier to write than "subclass" every time) excluded from the new PHB has already gotten a reprint, so what we're going to touch on here is the Nature, Tempest, Death, Arcana, Forge, Grave, Order, Peace, and Twilight Domains.

Nature: No

    The Nature Domain was always kind of the "druid-y cleric," and especially given the parallels between Cleric and Druid features in 2024, I really think you're fine playing a "nature priest" just as a Druid. This was never the most exciting subclass anyway.

Tempest: No

    I could be talked into a yes here, but let's explore this: Tempest is one of the most clearly damage-focused Clerics, which is a cool space to be in. Clerics are often pigeon-holed as the party healers (and people often ignore that other classes can fill that role, though I think few come close to being as effective except maybe the Druid). The real thing is that I think the mechanics to this subclass are already pretty good - not gamebreakingly amazing, but they work.

Death: No

    Another maybe here, but leaning no. Again, I love a dark subclass, and it might be cool to get a player-facing version of this (this is one of two DMG subclasses for NPCs that weren't built for player characters). I'd probably want to flesh a few things out here with another pass, like giving them more than ignoring necrotic resistance at 6th level (one of those damage types that monsters tend to have full immunity to more often than resistance). But I also think we might have a thematically-similar subclass I'm more interested in later on.

Arcana: No

    Ok, I'll grant that this subclass potentially fixes a problem: when your party needs a healer, but no one wants to play a Cleric. You get the person who wanted to play a Wizard to do this instead. But I feel on thematic level that Knowledge overlaps a lot with this.

Forge: Yes

    Forge gods are a pretty common thing, so the thematics here work. The subclass is oddly a kind of retroactive "artificer cleric," actually. But I think this is a good theme that could use a lot of clean-up, especially given that it require heavy armor, something that your Cleric might not get.

Grave: Yes

    This is the more player-facing Death Domain alternative, with a rather more heroic vibe. Certainly one of the most popular subclasses in my experience, it could also use some clean-up regarding its use of Spare the Dying (which is now ranged at baseline).

Order: No

    I'm not really opposed to this subclass, but I think it doesn't really seem like something calling out for a reprint. The concept of it I think can probably be handled by existing subclasses.

Peace: No

    This is one of two subclasses generally thought to be overpowered. A reprint would likely mean nerfing it, and I don't think that would be a popular move. Probably better to just leave it be. I also think you can cover its ground fairly successfully with other subclasses.

Twilight: No

    This one hurts, because I do genuinely love the conceptual vibes of this subclass. It's also flagrantly overpowered, and like Peace, a nerfed version is not going to make people all that happy. Might it be better for the game to release these nerfed versions? Only if tables truly adopt the notion that people must use the new version. It might be the better bet overall to just let overpowered options fade quietly into the background.

 And that's Clerics! Yeah, only two here that I'm really advocating for, but that's fine. Clerics have always had a lot of options for their subclasses. I suspect that when we visit Druids, who have among the fewest subclass options overall, I might be more generous.

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.

UA: Arcana Domain

 The Arcana Domain for Clerics was one of the rare subclasses in Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide that was neither very popular nor utter dogshit. It makes sense, though, that in a polytheistic world filled with magic that there might very well be some priests who worship gods of magic.

Sort of the inverse of the Divine Soul Sorcerer, the Arcana Cleric gets to dip their toes in arcane magic.

We'll be looking at this feature-by-feature and comparing it to the SCAG version. As a note, because of the consolidation of 1st and 2nd level features into 3rd level features and moving Divine Strike and Potent Spellcasting to a choice separate from subclass in 2024, Clerics actually only have three feature levels - though they still have domain spells that come online at 3, 5, 7, and 9.

Arcana Domain Spells:

1st: Detect Magic, Magic Missile

2nd: Magic Weapon, Nystul's Magic Aura

3rd: Counterspell, Dispel Magic

4th: Arcane Eye, Leomund's Secret Chest

5th: Bigby's Hand, Teleportation Circle

    There are some really solid spells here - a number of go-to classics that a Wizard is likely to pick up, especially among the 1st and 3rd level spells. As we'll see is something of a theme with this UA, there's a lot of counter-mage magic here, with Nystul's Magic Aura in particular feeling like it's useful in extremely specific scenarios, but in most campaigns probably useless.

    We lose Magic Circle for Counterspell, which is probably a trade-up (even if Counterspell isn't as powerful as it used to be). We also lose Planar Binding for Bigby's Hand, which I also think is a big upgrade.

3rd level:

Arcane Initiate gives you two benefits:

Arcane Knowledge gives you both proficiency and expertise in the Arcana skill, if you didn't have it already (remember that if we go with the Thaumaturge Divine Order option, we can also add our Wisdom to Arcana and Religion checks, so we could be better than a Wizard at Arcana).

You also gain two Wizard cantrips of your choice, and can replace one you know when you gain a Cleric level. While it doesn't say this explicitly, I'd assume we can use Wisdom to cast these. Even though Thaumaturge plays well with the former feature, grabbing True Strike here and picking up Divine Strike could make us hit really hard with a martial weapon (as I wrote long ago, Clerics and Druids ironically are the best classes to use guns if you can't use feats or the Artificer class from Tasha's). Still, outside of that particular combination, Wizards have far more cantrip options than the relatively small Cleric list, with some pretty good damage options as well as tons of utility ones.

    The old version gave us the cantrips, but didn't give us any way to swap them on level-up. The expertise in Arcana is also brand-new. I might want to have a clause that says if you already have Arcana, that you can take proficiency in a different Cleric skill, but otherwise, this is a nice if not enormous feature.

Modify Magic, the next 3rd level feature, lets you alter your spells when you cast them by expending a use of Channel Divinity in one of the following ways:

Fortifying Spell lets you give one target of the spell 2d8 + your Cleric level's worth of Temp HP.

    That's actually a pretty good chunk of Temp HP. If I'm slapping you with a 1st level Cure Wounds, already doing an average of 12 points of healing if I have a +3 to Wisdom, I can throw another 12 Temp HP on top of that, really fortifying whoever just got healed.

Tenacious Spell lets you apply a penalty of 1d6 to one target's saving throw against the spell.

    A d6 has the potential to be a big dent in their roll to resist one of your spells. This option's certainly riskier than the previous one - if the target would fail anyway, or if they roll super-high, or if you roll really low on the d6, it might not actually clinch you a failed save. But with some luck, this could come in clutch.

    Modify Magic is a full replacement of the old Arcane Abjuration, which was effectively a "turn celestial, fey, or fiend" ability that would also, at 5th level, have a sort of "destroy undead" effect on them, except instead of auto-killing them, it would banish them.

    Arcane Abjuration was for sure a powerful ability, but only useful against a few creature types (one of which you rarely fight,) so I think we're probably going to be happier with this version - except in those rare cases when we want to mass-banish a whole bunch of Imps.

6th level:

Dispelling Recovery allows us, when we cast a spell with a spell slot that restores HP or ends a condition on a creature, we can also cast Dispel Magic on that creature as a bonus action without expending a spell slot. We can do this Wis times per long rest.

    This is clearly a nice little action-economy and spell-slot-conservation hack. If an ally gets hit by some nasty spell that deals damage and hurts them, you can clear it off. It'll also work with Lesser Restoration, and while that might seem redundant with Dispel Magic in a lot of cases, remember that this saves you the 3rd level spell slot. Certainly only useful when you need to dispel an ally, but that doesn't seem super rare.

    The old feature, Spell Breaker, let you end a spell on an ally to whom you were restoring HP with a spell, as long as the spell you were ending was equal to or less than the level of your healing spell. The old version had no limited use, but this one will allow you to potentially end higher-level spells if you roll well. Probably a bit better.

17th level:

Arcane Mastery allows you to learn four Wizard spells, one each of levels 6, 7, 8, and 9, and they're always prepared. You can also swap them out when you gain a Cleric level.

    This is actually very similar to the old version, except that this allows you to swap them as you gain Cleric levels. A really solid feature - especially because if you pick Wish as your 9th level spell, you effectively get all spells of 8th level or lower. You don't get extra spell slots to cast these, but still, you're really expanding your options (and spells prepared).

Overall Thoughts:

I think that this is a very solid subclass with some fantastic utility and a hell of a capstone. I do think you're going to be happiest in a campaign with a lot of enemy spellcasters, but even outside of that, there are some really good things in here as well. Truly solid, and a pretty great option if you wanted to play a Wizard but the party really needs a healer.

UA: Grave Domain Cleric

 Grave Domain is actually the Cleric subclass that I have the most familiarity with, running a 5-and-going campaign with one as well as having one as our healer in Curse of Strahd, as well as of course watching Caduceus in Critical Role's second campaign. It's a very solid subclass that has always been great for bringing allies back from the brink. Let's see how the UA alters it - naturally, we'll be seeing the removal of its enhanced cantrip as that's now a baseline class choice.

My sense on my first reading of it was that it actually incorporates some ideas from the 2014 DMG's Death Domain, but let's look closely:

Domain Spells:

Cantrip: Chill Touch

1st: Bane, Detect Evil and Good

2nd: Gentle Repose, Ray of Enfeeblement

3rd: Revivify, Vampiric Touch

4th: Blight, Dispel Evil and Good

5th: Hold Monster, Raise Dead

    Here are the changes: You don't automatically get Spare the Dying, and you lose False Life, Death Ward, and Antilife Shell, getting instead Chill Touch, Detect Evil and Good, Dispel Evil and Good, and Hold Monster.

Chill Touch of course is now a touch spell, making it harder to use than before. Spare the Dying's old benefits from this subclass are less important now that it's a ranged cantrip anyway (though having it as a bonus action was really nice). Blight, again, is not very good, but it's not a change. I suspect that Detect Evil and Good is there to replace Eyes of the Grave. Dispel Evil and Good is actually pretty strong (and kind of a misleading name, as the dispelling is kind of a secondary use of the spell).

Level 3:

Circle of Mortality has two sub-features:

Pull of Death lets you, once per turn, when you cast a spell or hit with an attack roll and deal damage to a Bloodied creature, they take an extra 1d4 Necrotic damage.

    Not a ton, and if you're fighting little dudes you might not need the extra damage when they're already bloodied. When the enemy is beefier, though, I don't know if 1d4 is going to make an enormous difference. Still, fun.

Return to Life works like the old feature, letting you maximize healing on a target that is at 0 HP with your spells and Channel Divinity healing.

Path to the Grave lets you use a bonus action and a channel divinity charge to curse a target within 30 feet, giving them disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws until the start of your next turn. When you or an ally hit the target with an attack roll, you can end the curse early (no action required) to make the attack deal your choice of Necrotic or Radiant damage equal to 1d8 + your Cleric level.

    Ok, so there's a lot to unpack here. The old version would make the target vulnerable to the damage of the next attack that hit it, and also cost an action. So, this could be considered a nerf in some ways, but also a buff. If you lined up to ensure that the next thing to hit it was a Paladin who burned their highest level divine smite, you could land an absolutely devastating hit. Now, the damage is not strictly speaking flat, but it's much more regular. When you get this at 3rd level, you're adding 1d8+3, which is actually not too far off from doubling an attacks' damage anyway. By level 10, it's 1d8+10, or 14.5 average damage. A Barbarian hitting with a Greatsword and Great Weapon Master who has 20 Strength by this point would be doing an average of 19 damage here. So, the damage is a little lower, but let's consider the positives:

First, you have the curse elements - if you have a scary boss monster, cursing it to havd disadvantage on all attack rolls and saving throws for a round (and as a bonus action) is quite strong. You're also not beholden as much to the initiative order - if you really want to use this on the Paladin's really big hit rather than the Monk's many smaller hits, you can wait to set it off. But actually, given that it isn't scaling with the power of the hit anyway, you don't need to worry about that.

I'm tempted to say this is a qualified buff.

And yes, Eyes of the Grave is missing, so you'll need to use Detect Evil and Good, which to be fair, is more versatile.

Level 6:

Sentinel at Death's Door has gotten an interesting change: first off, it only protects creatures who are Bloodied, which is obviously a nerf. However, rather than canceling critical hits, you now instead use your reaction to halve the damage of an attack.

    Mathematically, this is actually better against crits, unless it's a spell attack that adds no modifiers (which very few monsters do, I think). After all, an attack that does 3d12+7 on a hit has an average damage of 26.5, and a crit with that does 6d12+7, or 46 on average. Halving that crit will make it do 24 damage on average instead, which is lower than if it were only changing it to a normal hit.

    I think the challenge here will be deciding when to use it on a non-crit. It's the same number of limited uses. The restriction to Bloodied targets will also limit how much you can use it, but you'll be using it on people who really need that damage reduction.

Level 17:

Divine Reaper has two sub-features:

Enhanced Necromancy says that, when you cast a spell of 5th level or lower from the Necromancy school, or one from the Grave Domain Spells table, and when that spell targets one creature, you can duplicate the spell targeting a second creature within range, similar to the DMG's Death Domain Reaper feature. You still have to provide costly or consumed material components if the spell has them.

    Notably, with the shuffle of spell schools for certain spells, we need to consider what we can actually use this on. The list is not super-long, but outside of the domain spells, we are looking at Toll the Dead, Spare the Dying, Inflict Wounds, Bestow Curse, Feign Death, Life Transference, Speak with Dead (there's a trip - hopefully you can alternate which you ask with each question), and Contagion.

Keeper of Souls is somewhat different, but thematically similar: Once per short or long rest, when an enemy dies within 60 feet of you, you can cause yourself or another creature you can see within 60 feet to regain HP equal to three times your Cleric level, as long as you're not incapacitated.

    The old version of this could be used once a round (neither version takes any action on your part, which is cool) but the healing was the number of hit dice the slain creature had, meaning that the healing was rarely very much.

    Now, of course, it's far more limited in use, but the heal is far more substantial - starting off at 51, and hitting 60 when you're level 20. Depending on how many short rests you get, that might out-heal the old version, but I do think there's something kind of comforting about being unable to run out of this. I might increase its uses (maybe Wisdom modifier per long rest) while nerfing the heal (perhaps to just your Cleric level.

Overall, I'm on the fence about this subclass revamp. There's a lot that's similar but different. I suspect that players who already like Grave Domain might bristle at the changes here, but I also think if this subclass were presented to me and I had never seen the old version, I'd think it was pretty decent.

Next, we'll talk about the other brand-new subclass in this UA, the Hollow Warden Ranger!

UA: New Subclasses in the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide

 In something of an echo of the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, among the first new books that will be coming out for "5.5" Edition is a two-book set that will be a big campaign setting book for the Forgotten Realms. While ten years of published adventures primarily in the Realms along with the aforementioned SCAG, not to mention the popular Baldur's Gate 3 computer game, and the D&D movie, probably means that anyone with any understanding of D&D beyond the surface level is well-aware of the Forgotten Realms or at least elements therein, these books will likely serve as the new definitive setting books. Will we get stuff beyond the Sword Coast, and maybe even beyond the continent of Faerun? No idea.

But, as someone who has actually never run anything in the Forgotten Realms, and who really likes setting-agnostic sourcebooks so that he can use them with his homebrew setting, the number one top appeal here is that, like SCAG, this comes with several subclasses.

And we just received the Unearthed Arcana to test said subclasses.

The subclasses are a mix of returning and brand-new. They are:

College of the Moon for Bards

Knowledge Domain for Clerics

Purple Dragon Knight for Fighters (don't worry - it looks like this is mechanically entirely different than the old one, which made the Champion seem complex and interesting)

Oath of Noble Genies for Paladins

Winter Walker for Rangers

Scion of the Three for Rogues

Spellfire Sorcery for Sorcerers

Bladesinger for Wizards

    You'll note that some of these have very specific FR themes - the "Three" likely refers to the Dead Three, the trio of allied evil gods often worshipped in Baldur's Gate, and even the college of the Moon is specifically linked to the Moonshae Isles. This, thus, might require a bit of lore-bending for other settings, but we'll look at it mechanically.

College of the Moon:

    Moon Bards weave tales of druidic magic into their Bard powers. At the core is your 3rd level feature, which lets you swap between three different "Folktales," each of which give you a different capability. You remain in this "mode" until you swap to another one.

Tale of Life allows you to expend a Bardic Inspiration die when you restore HP to a creature with a spell, adding the result rolled to the heal (no more than one BI per turn). One area of clarification that would be good to get is how this works on AOE heals, such as Mass Healing Word.

Tale of Gloam allows you to Disengage or Hide when you use your usual bonus action Bardic Inspiration feature.

Tale of Mirth allows you to, when an enemy succeeds on a saving throw within 60 feet of you, use a reaction and spend a BI die, forcing the enemy to subtract the roll of that die from their saving throw result, potentially turning it into a failure.

Given how reliant on saving throw spells Bards are, I think this last one is probably going to be your "default" option, and this is the one of these tales that I think could be a huge, clutch play - if some major enemy gets an 18 against your DC 16 spell, this could really turn the tables.

At 6th level, you get Blessing of the Moonwells, which automatically gives you the Moonbeam spell. You can cast the spell as a bonus action for free once per long rest, or by expending a 3rd level spell slot, and when cast this way, you get some extra benefits: while concentrating on it, you glow with dim light for 5 feet, and whenever a creature fails its save against the spell, another creature of your choice within 60 feet regains 2d4 HP.

Moonbeam is an ok spell, and this does a lot to buff it. I don't know that I'd rely on the healing, given that it requires the target to fail a saving throw, but making it a bonus action also means you can do plenty of other things with your turn.

Finally, at 14th level, you get Bolstered Folktales, which allows you to simply roll a d6 instead of expending a Bardic Inspiration die when you use Tale of Life and Tale of Mirth, and then, if you're using Tale of Gloam, you can teleport up to 30 feet as part of the bonus action.

This is a nice feature - basically allowing you to use the feature without ever running out. Again, getting to toss a d6 at a monster's saving throw, especially after you know what they rolled, can be very powerful.

I'll confess that I'm really bad at evaluating Bards. It's a class I can never totally wrap my head around. I feel like this is decent, but probably not blowing anyone's minds in terms of power - though that Tale of Mirth feature feels like it could be the gamechanger.

Knowledge Domain:

    The first PHB subclass to be reprinted outside the PHB following the 2024 culling of Cleric and Wizard subclasses, Knowledge is the Cleric of the mind.

From the start, the first thing one will notice is that they get more domain spells than other subclasses - 3 for each spell level of 1-5, rather than the typical 2. (Remember that Cleric subclasses come at level 3 now, so you'll be getting your 1st and 2nd level domain spells at the same time.)

Domain spells are:

1st: Command, Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic

2nd: Detect Thoughts, Identify, Mind Spike

3rd: Dispel Magic, Nondetection, Tongues

4th: Arcane Eye, Banishment, Confusion

5th: Legend Lore, Scrying, Synaptic Static

    That's a mix of some really solid spells to always have prepared, some very niche ones, and a few combat bangers (I love Synaptic Static).

Beyond this, it appears there's pretty extensive changes, so let's get into them:

At level 3, you get Blessings of Knowledge, giving you proficiency in a type of Artisan's Tools as well as not just proficiency, but expertise in two of the following: Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion. Damn, build yourself a Knowledge Cleric with the Thaumaturge Divine Order and you'll have the highest Arcana/Religion modifier by a large margin.

Also at 3, you get Mind Magic. You can use Channel Divinity to cast any spell on your Domain Spells list without expending a spell slot or requiring material components. That is... actually that's damn good: Scrying for just a Channel Divinity? No need to get the ivory strips and such for Legend Lore? (Also, I think this might turn the casting time into an action as well - I don't know the casting times for all those spells off the top of my head, but still pretty good). The other massive takeaway is that this means a 7th level Knowledge Cleric could potentially cast Banishment several times per day. Not bad at all.

At 6th level, you get Unfettered Mind, gaining telepathy out to 60 feet, and allowing you to simultaneously contact a number of creatures equal to your Wisdom modifier. Also, if you make an Intelligence check and the total is lower than your Wisdom score, you can take the score instead as your total. Granted, with your expertise in two knowledge skills, this might not come up super-often, but it does mean that if you have a -1 to Intelligence, and you beef an Investigation check looking for a trap or something, you could just say "nah, that's a 16." It's not quite Reliable talent, but at the least, if you're trying to figure out some major lore reveal, you have a pretty decent floor on what you can get.

At 17th level, you get Divine Foreknowledge. As a bonus action, you can give yourself advantage on all d20 tests for an hour. You can do this once per long rest, or by expending a 6th or higher level spell slot.

So, this is almost Foresight - a 9th level spell - once per day for free, or as a 6th level spell and as a bonus action. You can only cast it on yourself, and it doesn't impose disadvantage on attackers, but still. That feels... pretty damn good. A 6th level slot is certainly not cheap, but it's a powerful effect that could be clutch.

I've got to say: I don't know if this Cleric is going to be superpowered or anything, and the 6th level feature, while cool, does not really enhance your combat power or anything. But I could imagine playing one of these and really enjoying it, smartypants know-it-all that I am.

Purple Dragon Knight:

    Ok, here we come to what, in the SCAG-version, I consider to be the least-inspired subclass in all of 5th Edition. A subclass that basically just took the three core Fighter features - Second Wind, Action Surge, and Indomitable - and let you spread them to your party, but adding absolutely nothing new to you.

Thankfully, though, this version just utterly trashes the SCAG PDK/"Banneret" in favor of a subclass with an actual identity. And that identity is: Fighter Pet Class!

At 3rd level, we get two features, but let's start with the headliner: Purple Dragon Companion.

The Purple Dragon (likely meant to represent an Amethyst Gem Dragon, as seen in Fizban's) has a scaling stat block, and like a Beast Master's pet or a Battle Smith's steel defender, uses the typical battle pet rules - they act only if you use your bonus action. You can always revive your dragon with the expenditure of a Second Wind use (and 1 minute - so not in-combat) or as part of an hour ritual that can be made as part of a short or long rest.

The Dragon scales with your level and your Intelligence modifier, so you'll really need to work on both your main attack stat and that. Its AC is 13+ your Int and its attack modifier is 3+ your Int (which means I suspect it'll fall behind a bit at high levels - I'll probably suggest in the response to this that it'd be nice to have the dragon scale better by using your Strength or Dexterity instead). The dragon does a Rend attack that deals Force damage, as well as a 2/day Gravity Breath, which doesn't deal damage, but can push or pull targets caught in it.

Also at level 3, harkening to the diplomatic role that PDKs are supposed to play, you get Knightly Envoy, giving you one additional Language and the ability to cast Comprehend Languages as a ritual.

At 7th level, you get Dragon Rider. Your dragon grows to Medium size, and you can ride it as a mount if you're Medium or smaller, but the dragon will fall to the ground at the end of a turn if it's airborne and being held aloft only by its Fly speed. It also only takes 5 feet of movement to mount or dismount. Additionally, the Gravity Breath now deals 2d6 Force damage to creatures that fail the save against it. Finally, when you use Second Wind to regain HP, your dragon regains HP equal to 1d6+ your Fighter level, and regains a use of Gravity Breath.

One thing I'd want to be really specific about is what kind of mount the dragon is. We'd probably want it as an uncontrolled mount so that it can use its own actions. And given that it acts on your turn and not immediately after, this should work fine, as the dragon can move you before you take your action.

At 10th level, you get Rallying Surge. When you use Action Surge, up to three allies in a 30-foot emanation (which could include your dragon, I guess) can use a Reaction to either Advance or Retreat. Advancing allows them to make an attack with a weapon or Unarmed Strike, or if the ally is your dragon, they can make a Rend attack. Retreating allows them to move up to half their speed without provoking Opportunity attacks.

This is... ok, so this is actually a bit like one of the subclass' old features, but what it does is turn your Action Surge into a real battlefield-management ability. I might prefer that this be its own resource, but this ensures that Action Surge will be a really climactic moment.

At 15th level, there's Amethyst Pinnacle. The Dragon grows to Large size and both its Speed and Fly Speed increase to 40 feet, and the dragon can now remain in flight even if you're still mounted on it. Additionally, you get Tandem Attack, which allows you to trade out one of your attacks to command your dragon to attack with a Rend, or spend two of your attacks to have them do their Gravity Breath.

This is fine, but there's an issue: I think the chance that your Dragon's Rend attack is more powerful than one of your own weapon attacks is deeply, deeply unlikely. Unless you are fighting something that resists Bludgeoning/Piercing/Slashing damage (which is more likely in the 2025 Monster Manual, as "magical" versions of those damage types don't exist anymore), even a Shortsword is probably going to deal more damage because it'll be using your preferred stats. I think the dragon could use better damage scaling - its attacks literally don't go up at all unless you can boost your Intelligence, meaning that there's a chance that it never does.

Finally, at level 18, you get Enduring Commander, which gives both you and your dragon resistance to both Force and Psychic Damage. That's pretty cool, actually - Force is a damage type we do see in some endgame campaign bosses, like the Monsters of the Multiverse-versions of the Demon Lords, for example. You'd actually be a more effective tank against such things than a Barbarian. This is not a flashy feature, but it's a solid one.

Overall, of course, this is a massive improvement over the original PDK. I do think it steps on the Drakewarden Ranger's toes, feet, and ankles. I'd prefer a version that's not so reliant on Intelligence, but then, to be fair, Beast Masters need to heavily invest in Wisdom. The main thing is that I think I could actually imagine taking this subclass, even if realistically I'm unlikely to ever play a Fighter that isn't an Eldritch Knight or Battle Master (or maybe Rune Knight).

Oath of Noble Genies

If you want an elemental-themed Paladin, this one is all about the glory and splendor of the most powerful Genies. A paladin oath that respects the power of the elements, here's what you get:

Your Oath spells are the following:

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

Whoo boy, you know what I'm seeing there: even if a Paladin won't get the infamous Conjure Minor Elementals until they're 13th level, that is a spell that works quite well for characters who have Extra Attack. Upcasting it to 5th level once in tier 4 will also be quite strong (though it is still better for someone like a Valor Bard, who can upcast it to higher levels). But even if we set aside that arguably busted spell, a Paladin with Fly or Mirror Image (especially the new version of Mirror Image, which gets better if you have high AC) is not bad.

At 3rd level, you get Elemental Smite: When you cast Divine Smite, you can also expend a Channel Divinity use to cause one of four additional effects: 

Dao's Crush grapples the target (DC is equal to your spell save DC.) 

Djinni's Escape allows you to teleport up to 30 feet and take on a mist-like form, which gives you immunity to being Grappled, Prone, or Restrained until the end of your next turn.

Efreeti's Fury adds 2d4 Fire damage on top of your Smite.

Marid's Surge causes the target and each creature of your choice within a 10 foot emanation coming from you to have to make a Strength save or get knocked back 15 feet and fall Prone.

This is a bit resource-heavy, but damn if that isn't some excellent utility. Efreeti's Fury of course you'll want to save for a Crit, but I can see Marid's Surge doing a great job of opening up a hole to retreat, and Djinni's Escape is going to be a great way to get away from some sticky monster.

Also at 3rd level, when you aren't wearing Medium or Heavy Armor, you can add your Charisma modifier to your AC. You also gain proficiency in your choice of Acrobatics, Intimidation, Performance, or Persuasion. So, that's really interesting: if ever you wanted to make a Dex Paladin, this subclass is 100% the one you want to choose. Now, the Paladin I've played had a -2 to Dex, so if I had this subclass, I'd still definitely take heavy armor. But, for example, in my Witchlight campaign, we have a Fairy Paladin, who can't wear heavy armor and fly. Indeed, now that dual-wielding Paladins are quite viable, I could very easily imagine a Dex-based one using Studded Leather and a Shortsword and Scimitar. You could easily start a Paladin character with a +3 to Dex and +2 to Charisma (or even +3, but we'll be conservative,) which would mean a 16 AC in Leather Armor. At high levels, if you maxed out Dex and got Charisma to, say, +4, even in just Studded Leather with no shield, you could have an AC 21. And you would actually stand a good chance at decent stealth checks! I will say that I prefer the aesthetic of heavy armor, but I could very much imagine this being a fun way to build.

At 7th level, you get Aura of Elemental Shielding. At the start of each of your turns, you can choose for creatures affected by your Aura of Protection to have resistance to your choice of Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder damage (I've rephrased this: the aura remains in effect at all times the Aura is, you can just swap the damage type each turn with no action required).

This is, just, you know, good. And fighting Fire Elementals? Now you and nearby friends are resistant. It's responsive and applies to the most common magical damage types.

At 15th level, you get Elemental Rebuke. When you are hit with an attack roll, you can take a Reaction to halve the damage (rounded down) and then you can force the attacker (there does not appear to be a restriction on being able to see them or any distance limit) to make a Dexterity saving throw (against your spell save DC). On a failure, the attacker takes 4d10+Cha of your choice of Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder damage. They take half damage on a success. You can do this a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier per long rest.

The retaliatory damage is fine and good, but the enormous thing here is that you have an amazing defensive feature to use against a massive hit - use this when you get crit, for example. And 4d10+Cha (likely 25 or so) is not a small amount of damage on a reaction.

Finally, your level 20 Ult is Noble Scion. As a bonus action, for ten minutes, you get a 60 foot flying speed (with hover) and when you or an ally in your Aura of Protection fails a d20 test, you can use a reaction to cause the test to succeed instead. Like other Ults, you can use this again by expending a 5th level spell slot.

That is damned good. At level 20, a failed saving throw can be massive, so being able to just, as a reaction, say "no, it succeeded," is hugely powerful. Sure, you might use this on an attack to make sure that you're damaging the final boss as much as possible, but I think the "no, I don't think I will get swallowed by the Tarrasque" reaction, for example, is really, really big.

I've got to say, of the four subclasses we've been through so far, this is the one that has me the most excited. This feels good. Possibly too good, but I'm ok with that.

Winter Walker

Gotta say, just from the name I'm already pretty excited about this one. While I've happily moved to Southern California where it's nice and warm basically all the time, in a fantasy tale, the frigid cold is a good setting for grim fantasy tales (naturally, the name evokes the White Walkers of A Song of Ice and Fire). So, let's look at what it is, mechanically:

At 3rd level, you get Frigid Explorer. This gives you the following: You have resistance to Cold damage (which, remember, also means that you don't get Exhaustion from being exposed to extreme cold) and also, when you hit a creature with a weapon, you can deal an extra 1d4 Cold damage. The target can take this damage only once per turn. The damage ignores resistance to Cold damage and goes up to 1d6 at level 11.

Couple nuances: first of all, this is just free damage. It's not a ton, but it's there, and should stack with things like Hunter's Mark or other boosts. Second, it's the creature that can only take this extra damage once per turn, meaning that if you are, say, a Dual Wielder, you could potentially hit four separate monsters and deal this damage to all of them (if you've got main hand 1, main hand 2, off hand Nick, and then off hand Bonus Action). Not enormous, but a pretty solid boost for a 3rd level feature. Ignoring Cold resistance also really helps it fit into the themes of the subclass without paradoxically hamstringing you when fighting in your preferred envrionment.

Also at 3, you get Hunter's Rime. When you cast Hunter's Mark, you gain Temp HP equal to 1d10+your Ranger level. Also, while a creature is marked by Hunter's Mark, it cannot take the Disengage action.

While I'm not always happy about features that only work when the Ranger is using Hunter's Mark, this is nice if you are using it. (I really wish the spell were just a class feature that didn't interact with the rest of your spellcasting abilities).

Finally, you have your subclass spells. These are:

Ice Knife, Pass without Trace, Remove Curse, Ice Storm, and Cone of Cold.

Nothing terrible there. Pass without Trace is a no-brainer for any Ranger, but I guess this frees up a spell option. All seems on-theme.

At 7, you get Fortifying Soul. When you finish a Short Rest, you can choose a number of creatures up to your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1) and they regain HP equal to 1d10 + your Ranger level and have Advantage against being Frightened for 1 hour. You can use this once per Long rest.

This feels... it feels very niche. The HP boost is cool, but the 1 hour of advantage against Fear effects feels like it's such a roll of the dice. If you know you're about to face something that will frighten party members, are you really able to take a rest before such a fight? And so soon before? And why can't we give this bonus at the end of a long rest?

At 11, we get Chilling Retribution. When a creature hits you with an attack roll, you can take a Reaction to make them make a Wisdom save. If they fail, the creature is Frightened until the end of your next turn and while Frightened, their speed is 0. You can use this a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier.

This is cool, but I'd prefer a slight change: let you use this in response to an attack, rather than a hit. That way the reaction can potentially prevent the hit coming for you.

At 15, you get Frozen Haunt. When you cast Hunter's Mark, you can adopt a ghostly, snowy form. The form lasts until the spell ends. While it's up, you have Immunity to Cold damage, and when you adopt the form and at the start of each subsequent turn, each creature of your choice within a 15 foot emanation takes 2d4 Cold damage. You also have immunity to being Grappled, Prone, and Restrained, and can pass through creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain, taking 1d10 Force damage if you stop inside a creature or object, and getting shunted to the nearest unoccupied space if the feature ends while inside a creature or object.

You can do this once per long rest, or you can spend a 4th level spell slot to do it again. (As far as I can tell, this is in addition to your casting of Hunter's Mark).

2d4 isn't a ton of damage at 15th level, unfortunately, even if it's guaranteed damage (and AoE damage... maybe it is fair?)

I'm mixed on this subclass: flavor-wise, I adore it. It's dripping with vibes, and those vibes are extremely grim. It would be the perfect subclass for playing in Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden. Like so many Ranger things, including the class in general, I just worry that it's a little undertuned.

Scion of the Three:

Do you want to be the party's token evil teammate? Ok, sure, you don't have to be a bad guy, but this is the subclass related to the Dead Three. Already a pretty strong aesthetic is presenting itself, but let's look at its mechanics.

At 3rd level, you get Bloodthirst. If your Sneak Attack hits a Bloodied creature, the creature takes extra damage equal to half your Rogue level (rounded up). When an enemy you can see is reduced to 0 hit points, you can use a reaction to teleport to an unoccupied space within 30 feet of yourself, and then you can make one melee attack. You can do this a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1) per long rest.

Ok, yes. Not only does this boost your damage by a bit, but so many team compositions are about finding ways to get the Rogue multiple Sneak Attacks per round. This has it built in.

Also at 3, you get Dread Allegiance. You pick between Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul. Each god grants a damage resistance and a cantrip (Intelligence to cast). You can swap your allegiance after a long rest.

Bane grants Psychic resistance and Minor Illusion

Bhaal grants Poison resistance and Blade Ward

Myrkul grants Necrotic resistance and Chill Touch.

Of these, I think Minor Illusion will be the easiest to use in most scenarios, though you might find the Poison resistance more broadly helpful.

At 9th level, you get Strike Fear. You gain an additional Cunning Strike, which is "Terrify." This costs 1d6 of your Sneak Attack and forces the creature to make a Wisdom saving throw, becoming Frightened for 1 minute on a failure (they can repeat the save at the end of each of their turns).

This makes perfect sense for the vibes here. And Frightened is a potentially really powerful effect.

At 13th level, you gain Aura of Malevolence. At the start of each of your turns, each creature of your choice within a 10 foot Emanation takes damage equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimim 1), the damage being the same kind you have resistance to via your Dread Allegiance feature. The damage ignores resistance (though the aura is inactive if you're incapacitated).

This definitely encourages you to fight in melee, which can be a risky proposition for a Rogue, but it's free, guaranteed, AoE damage that is always on, so I can't complain much.

Finally, at 17, you get Dread Incarnate: You have Advantage on attack rolls against creatures with the Frightened condition, and when you roll Sneak Attack damage, you can treat a roll of 1 or 2 on the die as a 3.

Ok, the first part is going to be very nice if your party can toss fear effects around, but you also have your Terrify Cunning Strike, so you can set this up for yourself. Let's figure out how the damage boost treats you:

Normally, a d6's average damage is 3.5. But with this change, the average damage becomes 4. So, at level 17, our Sneak Attack does 9d6, meaning we're going from 31.5 to 36, or a boost of 5.5 damage. (And 6 at level 19). Much like the new Great Weapon Fighting style, this isn't enormous, but we're also rolling way more d6s than we would with a Greatsword, so the boost is multiplied. I don't think this is a massive game-changer, but it's nice.

Like the Winter Walker, I love the vibe of this subclass - truly wicked, you can imagine this Rogue is just utterly splattered with blood in the midst of combat. I think the best features are probably the first ones, especially Bloodthirst. It might need a tune-up, but I think it's probably in pretty good shape.

Spellfire Sorcery:

The Spellfire Sorcerer gets its power directly from the Weave (the FR explanation for how magic works is that there's essentially an underlying energy field to the universe call the Weave). Thematically, you have strange magic that can act in myriad ways - both harmful and helpful.

First off, you get a number of subclass spells. These are:

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

Naturally, the notable ones here are that you get various healing and restoration spells, usually not the purview of a Sorcerer. Otherwise, there's a "radiant/fire" theme, not unlike a Celestial Warlock.

At 3rd level, you get Spellfire Burst. When you expend at least 1 Sorcery Point as a Magic action or bonus action on your turn, you can unleash one of the following effects (max once per turn). Bolstering Flames grants you or a creature you see within 30 feet Temp HP equal to 1d4 + Cha. Radiant Fire forces a creature you can see within 30 feet to make a Dex save or take 1d6 Fire or Radiant damage (your choice).

So, this is nice mainly in that it doesn't expend any more resources than you're already doing: just using Sorcery Points, which Sorcerers do most of the time anyway, will get these little bonus effects. Neither are huge, but they can help.

At 6th level, you get Absorb Spells. In addition to your subclass spells, you also get Counterspell, and if a target fails its saving throw against Counterspell, you regain 1d4 Sorcery Points. A fun little efficiency boost, though it's very, very dependent on how many spellcasters you're fighting.

At 14th level, you get Honed Spellfire, which lets you add your Sorcerer level to the Temp HP from Bolstering Flame (a massive boost) and Radiant Fire is now 3d6, up from 1d6, more or less keeping it relevant at this higher level.

Finally, at 18, you get Crown of Spellfire. As a bonus action, you gain a buff for 1 minute. Once per turn while under this effect, if you are hit by an attack roll, you can spend a number of Hit Dice up to your Charisma modifier, and reduce the damage you take by an mount equal to the roll plus your Sorcerer level. (So, if you spend the max of, say, 5d6 + 18, that's 35.5 on average). Additionally, you gain a Fly speed of 60 feet and can hover. Finally, you gain Spell Avoidance - if you're subjected to a spell or magical effect (notably a Dragon's Breath does not count, as it's not magical) that allows you to save for half damage, you instead take no damage on a success and half on a failure, as long as you're not incapaciated.

You can do this once per long rest, or you can expend 7 Sorcery Points to do it again.

This is actually a pretty cool Ult move, like a Paladin's. The spend-hit-dice feature is probably not the most efficient use of hit dice, but if you're in a really tight spot, this could be a way to avoid or mitigate some truly deadly blast of damage.

I think overall that the Spellfire Sorcerer is probably all right, and definitely letting Sorcerers use their tricksy metamagic on healing spells has some potential for fun. Thematically it's a little dull, though.

Bladesinger:

It feels like this was only just reprinted, but then I guess Tasha's was actually a while ago at this point.

Now, we've seen a lot of versions of this, but I'm going to go through each feature individually to make sure we're catching it all:

At 3rd level, we get Bladesong. As a bonus action, we enter our Bladesong, as long as we aren't wearign armor or using a shield (interesting: no armor whatsoever - this used to allow light armor). The Bladesong lasts 1 minute and ends if you're incapacitated or don armor or a shield, or if you use two hands to make an attack with a weapon. Or you can dismiss it, no action required. You can invoke the Bladesong Int times per long rest.

While active, the Bladesong does the following:

You gain a bonus to your AC equal to your Int modifier and your speed increases by 10 feet.

When you attack with a weapon with which you have proficiency, you can add Intelligence rather than Strength or Dexterity to the attack and damage rolls.

You can add your Intelligence modifier to your Concentration saving throws.

Let's back up: the enormous change here is that you can now use Intelligence to make your weapon attacks. I believe the earlier version allowed you to add Int to your damage rolls, but this will allow you to fully focus on your spellcasting ability and keep full pace on your weapon ability. Essentially, you get the benefits that Bladelock or an Armorer/Battle Smith does.

Also at 3rd level, you get Training in War and Song. You gain proficiency with all Melee Martial Weapons that don't have the Two-Handed or Heavy properties. You can use a Melee weapon you have proficiency with as a spellcasting focus for Wizard spells. You also gain your choice of Acrobatics, Athletics, Performance, or Persuasion.

So! While you won't be able to use a Greatsword or a Halberd, you can easily use a Longsword or a War Pick. That said, you won't be able to get a d10 die, as you still can't go Versatile. Thus, a Rapier is probably one of your best picks still. Or is it? You could also dual-wield d6 weapons, as nothing says you have to keep one hand free (and given that your weapons can be spell foci, you can still cast just fine with them).

With a reasonable +2 to Dex, and then with Mage Armor, you shouldn't have too much trouble pushing your AC up to Heavy Armor levels (with +5 to Int, that's now at 20, and 25 with the Shield spell).

At 6th level, you get Extra Attack. Much as in Tasha's, as well as what the Eldritch Knight and Valor Bard have inherited, the Bladesinger can replace one attack with a Cantrip. I think 99% of Bladesingers should pick up the new True Strike, which will work perfectly for them given that they can use Intelligence for attacks anyway.

At 10th level, you get Song of Defense. As a reaction, when you take damage, you can expend a spell slot and reduce the damage by an amount equal to 5 times the spell slot's level. So, if Shield doesn't do it, you can pick the spell slot to mitigate the ideal amount of damage. I think this is the same as from Tasha's.

At 14th level, you gain Song of Victory. If you cast a spell that has a casting time of one action, you can make an attack with a weapon as a bonus action. Note that this interacts nicely with your Extra Attack - if you cast True Strike and then make a normal attack as your Attack Action, True Strike triggers this and gives you a third attack.

The Bladesinger is a popular and powerful subclass (when I rolled really good stats for my Scribes Wizard I actually considered going this way because I could). I think that this version cuts down on some of the doubling-down that can let their numbers go crazy, but in exchange, the whole thing gets more user friendly. I think my only possible change would be to let a Wizard expend some level of spell slot to get additional uses of Bladesong. Even outside of Bladesong, the subclass has a lot going on, though.

    And there we have it! A whole bunch of subclasses reviewed.

I think my favorite is probably the Oath of the Noble Genie. In terms of flavor, I like the Winter Walker and Scion of the Three best. Most improved has to go to the Purple Dragon Knight (though it's only one of three revisions).

I'll be curious to see what others think of these subclasses, but I think it's a decent crop.