Two new spooky subclasses whisper their way to the world of Dungeons and Dragons, in the latest Unearthed Arcana release from Wizards of the Coast.
Bards and Warlocks are the latest classes to get the Unearthed Arcana treament with two dealthy new subclasses; College of Spirits and the Undead Warlock Patron.
College of Spirits
Stories of the past are powerful; they hold lessons of history, philosophy, and magic. Bards of the College of Spirits seek the stories of those from beyond the material plane. Using gaming sets, they reach out to hear their stories, but the bards have no control over what story they find.
As you’ve probably gathered, College of Spirits is all about communing with the dead to tell their tales to aid you in your own adventures.
At level 3, Bards get Guiding Whispers, allowing you to learn the Guidance cantrip, which also doesn’t count towards the number of cantrips you know.
By telling the tales of the undead, at level 3 you also get Tales of the Beyond, allowing you to either help your own party or hinder the enemy, depending on which story you tell.
While at 6th level, you learn Spirit Session, which allows you to learn a brand new Divination or Necromancy spell from any class, by casting a ritual with the help of your party.
The Undead Patron
The Undead is an entity that resides in the dark corners of the multiverse. Your patron could be Acererak, Azalin, Lord Soth, Strahd, or some other ancient undead being. You may seek to gain knowledge from your patron’s countless lifetimes of experience, while it may see you as a piece of a centuries-long plan.
As well as a rather deadly looking extended spell list, at level 1 you learn Form of Dread, which gives you a number of benefits, including temporary hit points, as you take on the form of your patron’s power.
At level 10 you get Mortal Husk, think Corpse Explosion from Diablo 3 and finally, at level 14 you get Spirit Projection, which, yup, you guessed it, allows you to project your spirit for all manner of dark dealings.
Both new subclasses add a much darker way of playing and could work quite nicely with Wizard of the Coasts next release, the horror setting of Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frost Maiden.
To download a PDF of the new Unearthed Arcana from the Wizards of the Coast website, click here.