Dungeons & Dragons Is Playtesting Two Very Creepy New Subclasses

Dungeons & Dragons is testing out some new subclasses with some very disturbing origins. Earlier today, Dungeons & Dragons released a new set of Unearthed Arcana playtest material, providing players with two more new subclasses to try out. This time, D&D players can now try out the Aberrant Mind subclass for Sorcerers and the Lurker in the Deep patron for warlocks. Both subclasses seem to have origins in cosmic horror, and thus feature an emphasis on tentacles and body horror. Interestingly, the Aberrant Mind sorcerer also contains a list of Psionic spells, which could potentially tease a return to the Dark Sun setting.

The Aberrant Mind Sorcerer is a sorcerer impacted by the influence of an alien entity such as a mind flayer or aboleth. Not only do these sorcerers gain access to a list of psionic spells that don't count against the number of sorcerer spells they usually know, they also gain natural armor. At higher levels, the Aberrant Mind Sorcerer can spend sorcery points to cast psionic spells without using a spell slot, and cause reality to warp, causing enemies to take persistent psychic damage and giving players an opportunity to teleport themselves away from danger.

The Lurker in the Deep is a new patron for warlocks, granting them a sliver of their power in exchange for watching the world beyond its domains. Warlocks pledged to a Lurker of the Deep can summon tentacles to attack foes or protect allies. Eventually, players can summon their patron's manifestation to chew on opponents, unleash a terrifying tentacle attack, or grab the warlock and its allies and teleport them away from danger.

Additionally, the Unearthed Arcana contains a new spell - Mind Sliver. The Mind Sliver serves as a psychic blast of sorts, causing opponents to take damage and disorienting them. If affected by the Mind Sliver, the next time a creature makes a saving throw, they have to subtract a D4 from their total.

These are two very interesting subclasses that could tease some big plans for Dungeons & Dragons in the next couple of years. You can check out the new subclasses here.