D&D: Unearthed Arcana – Expect More Strangeness
The two most recent subclasses in Unearthed Arcana take traditional classes in unexpected directions–and from the sound of it, this is only the beginning.
Barbarians and Monks have some magical new options in the latest Unearthed Arcana, with Barbarians gaining the raw magical power of the Feywild and expressing it in wild magic-fueled surges as they rage, and monks calling upon the true power of their ‘astral self’ to conjure their raw essence or true self to fight with. In this latest video, lead rules designer Jeremy Crawford talks about the new places classes like these are starting to carve out.
As he says in the video, these two subclasses are exciting because they represent something new–these archetypes aren’t rooted in the traditional classic fantasy archetypes, all of which are lovely, but they’re also explored in the Player’s Handbook and Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. Vanilla is a delicious flavor, after all, but now that these familiar archetypes are out in the world doing their own things, it’s time for some strangeness.
Crawford says that he loves finding subclasses that bring audiences new appreciation for the base classes. One of the things that the D&D team sets their sights on with new subclasses is looking for ways to highlight the base class in a new way, to show “oh the Barbarian can build something like this.” It sparks more creativity and exploration (which again is one of the big pillars of D&D). And from the possibilities they talk about in the video, it feels like these two classes are only just the beginning. We can “expect more strangeness” as well as more classic archetypes as the D&D team refines 5th Edition.
We know, for instance, that the Ranger is going to see some changes when Baldur’s Gate 3 comes down the pipe to help it work better in that game. Whether this means an overhaul or a few new subclasses remains to be seen, but the D&D team is taking a look at player options and setting their sights on new ways to tell stories with those tools. This makes me hopeful we’ll see more regarding the Mystic in a while, especially now that the Artificer is breaking new ground in the upcoming Eberron: Rising from the Last War.
At any rate, you can read more about the Wild Soul Barbarian and the Astral Self Monk right here.
Happy Adventuring
